An Untitled Novel

Spiro looked on at Basil’s apparent suicide attempt. He was about to say something, but was interrupted by the unmistakable roar of an Elthrice craft traveling at high speed. He strained his head to look upwards, but realized he felt oddly dizzy - probably the blood loss. He glanced at Lamb, who looked terrified. Perhaps the first time seeing an Elthrice craft, in the midst of a firefight no less, would be rather unsettling. Basil remained still, laughing in whispers, arms stretched wide.

ACE observed from the gunship’s sensors; a machine glowing white and certain to momentarily deafen everyone present except Basil. He changed the direction of the drive’s artificial gravity, a panel being torn off the side of the gunship; canisters dropping below. While tearing a panel off was rather destructive, he didn’t even have time to get the mechanism for the ramp working yet, so tossing some canisters behind a panel and tearing it off now would have to do. The canisters hit the ground, enveloping the approaching army in a white mist - world becoming still.

There was this metaphor people used, of a butterfly flapping its wings, sending ripples across time and space. ACE wasn’t sure why the metaphor had come to him - both that specific metaphor, and that any metaphor had come to him at all. Metaphors had come to him before, simply as a means of conveying information to others, but never within his own thoughts. A spark formed, the result of wires completing a circuit, and his bright orange butterfly spread its wings across the countryside.

Spiro watched the blinding flash, a sense of victory warring with horror at the haunting melody of screams. Basil shouted something in Elthrice, his mantle simultaneously present and not. The world again fell still.

Basil slowly came to, beginning to remember where he was, and what he needed to be doing. He checked his rifle; empty. He pulled out his handgun, beginning to canvas the area. “Wow” Spiro said, seemingly all he could muster as he leaned against the wall. Basil turned to see Lamb approaching, but she jumped back as he moved. Fear turned to confusion on her face, confusion turning to a look of victory as she burst out in nervous laughter. “Hey, who ‘a thought I’d live long enough to see a nuke?” Spiro squeaked out, voice weak. Basil laughed a laugh that almost sounded crazy, even to himself. “That wasn’t a nuke. Whatever ACE cooked up, that was closer to a gunshot than a nuke.” Spiro replied with an apprehensive look.

Basil looked back to the sky, the gunship landing close nearby, then to the water, Gina’s boat approaching the empty dock. Basil rushed over to meet the disembarking Gina, holding out his hand to help her onto the dock, the rest of her crew apprehensively staying on their boat. “I can’t thank you enough for being willing to rush into a war zone for a rescue mission.” Gina looked shaken when she replied. “You sounded like you were in a lot more danger. What happened?” Basil shrugged. “ACE thought it would take a lot longer to get the gunship in the air, I don’t know how he managed to get it here so fast. When I flipped my truck in the sand it looked like a boat was going to be our only chance to get out.” Gina looked confused, asking “But you’re the Rejected-Death Elthrice?” Basil shrugged again. “Doesn’t make me immortal. And certainly doesn’t make any of my friends immortal.” Gina still looked confused, but calmer now, and many of her crew began disembarking from the boat.

Cicero ran over, done checking on those in the building. Basil turned his attention to him. “Cicero, everyone alright?” Cicero looked like he was in shock, but eventually nodded. “Yes, we’re all okay” seemingly all he could muster. A motion caught Basil’s eye, Lizard Kingdom soldiers pouring out of the gunship. The Lizard King himself stepped out, and Basil began to make his way over. “Hey” he greeted in an apologetic tone, wanting to thank him, but also wanting to avoid antagonizing his old friend who’d refused to speak with him after the trauma of watching himself be rebuilt by relics. “I appreciate you coming out here to save our asses” Basil continued, adding “Sorry, I’ll get out of your hair now” when the Lizard King only replied with his usual melancholy smile.

“Perhaps a battlefield is not the place for this conversation” the Lizard King replied as Basil went to turn away. He paused, as if to search for words, but continued a few moments later. “But you have nothing to apologize for. Perhaps we should talk later, I fear I have treated you harshly, friend, for something you did not do.” Basil nodded, turning to return to those exiting the building they had holed up in, but was interrupted by Lamb supporting Spiro with her shoulder. The blood stain on Spiro’s chest had grown, and before Lamb could speak, he had ACE on the radio in a panicked tone telling him to prepare to treat Spiro in the facility. Radioing for General Edwards to join them, he and Lamb rushed for the wormhole device within the gunship.

The four stepped through a door sized wormhole, Basil motioning to a wide eyed Lamb to set Spiro onto the nearby table. “What is he…?” Spiro began to ask as a maintenance drone injected him with a syringe, but he was unconscious before he could receive a reply. The same maintenance drone placed an IV into Spiro’s arm, a second one beginning to assess the wound. “What’s this place? And what are those things?” Lamb asked in an unsettled tone, but Basil was too busy asking “How is he?” to answer.

ACE answered both questions simultaneously through two different maintenance drones. “This is my and Basil’s facility, and these are maintenance drones - machines I operate to perform tasks” to Lamb, and “He is low on blood, but operable. Survival rates are above eighty percent” to Basil.

“No, I must remain conscious, they’ll need me as soon as we are done here” Edwards exclaimed. Basil turned to see Edwards on another table, a maintenance drone holding a syringe near the IV it had put in Edwards. “I cannot have you panicking while I operate, that wound will require surgery if you wish to retain the leg” ACE replied. “Please, I must have my wits about me once this is over” Edwards replied, sounding as if he was almost panicking already. The maintenance drone put down the syringe, taking another from a shelf, drawing different medication from a bottle. “I can perform the operation with local anesthetic, but you cannot squirm or panic during the process.”

“I’ve been through two wars with Edwards, if there’s anyone who can push through something because he’s needed, it’ll be him” Basil interjected, hoping he was right.