The beach was in sight, the light from the setting star was turning a bright blue purple against the sky. It would be dark soon and there was no sign of anything or anyone else around. Lyria silently flitted from one side of the deck to the other, checking stealthily upon all the others aboard.

  They didn’t know how hard it was to keep up flying with a moving ship. Just holding still meant she had to be moving at the same rate of speed and at the same angle. Even the waves rocking it side to side had to be considered to make sure she didn’t bump into things.

  At least being small and having a fairly good amount of flying practice before jumping into this body had made it seem natural. Shadowglimmer, the name of her pride and joy, had been a revolutionary machine back on her home world. It was a triple rotor, single engine, sleek copter that she had helped design. Military training was tough, but so rewarding if you were good at it. And Lyria was always good at what she did.

  Here in this body, on this world, she was good at being stealthy and dealing massive damage when she needed to. Her best ability was Multiply, and that came from her innate casting ability. Magic wasn’t something that her real self had ever thought of; but here, it was something she didn’t have to put much thought into at all, it just happened.

  Multiply did exactly as it said, it let her multiply things. She could multiply her strength, her speed, her mental processing, or even herself. It also worked on objects, and because she had wanted to know, it also worked on other creatures. One small dragon had been bad. Two had caused her training partners to suffer massive damage.

  Out of the eight Lyria had started with, four had died to the poison breath that the dragons spat out. Green, foul smelling, and deadly. The other three she had been with had barely made it out of that underwater lair. The exit of their tutorial had been a deadly trap that Lyria had only made worse. She had been scrambling, searching for something to take down that dragon. Her Multiply skill had targeted the beast, and without much thought as to why or what it would do, her curiosity got the better of her and she tried it.

  Her hope was that it would multiply a weakness since she was using it on an enemy target. It happened so fast that the others thought a second one had sprung up out of the lake.

  From then on, Lyria intended to use Multiply only on allies or herself. She was still curious by nature, and an expert in military tactics. It was her job to be the best, but she also wanted to know how it all worked. Knowing every possible action and reaction was the only way to predict with certainty.

  Jorn sat below decks. The rocking of the ship was bad enough without having to watch it sway as well. His stomach never felt like it was in sync with gravity aboard a moving vessel. Now that gravity and earth elements were intrinsically a part of him, it seemed even worse to be out on open water like this.

  It was his only option though. He wouldn’t have survived a town blowing up like Duerlin did. Blasting a ship to pieces would be an entertaining day, but one that he would rather do on a beach than three days from the nearest port.

  Jorn pulled out his axe, then laid his hammer across it. Duel wielding these large weapons was about as close as he came to fulfilling his dream here. As Jacob, he was stuck in a bed. His body was eating away at important organs on its own. No treatment had been available for him. His virtual reality headset was the only thing that let him escape from what was essentially a drawn out death. His parents had forked over more money than that hospital had seen in the last several cycles combined just to keep him living, hoping for a cure to magically spring up.

  Jorn sniffed loudly, realizing that he should thank them instead of being resentful. He hadn’t wanted to keep living, it was painful just to be. They would have been devastated without him though, how could he dare take away more happiness from them. He saw, when he pretended to sleep when he didn’t want to talk with them. How they would break down in tears and whisper to each other about how life was so tragic and how they couldn’t bear to lose Jacob.

  Jorn realized now how his parents had been mostly right. They had given so much to keep him alive. Wanting to bring him home, healthy, but had wound up getting both outcomes for their effort. Jacob had been reborn as Jorn, he lived, but was given a different life to live. Jorn had felt it, when his connection to his old self had been severed. Kuru had given him this hammer, and he had taken it without question.

  It had given him the power he wanted, but had also cemented his soul into this body. Kuru’s explanation of it all had been over his head, but Jorn guessed that there was a lot more going on than he knew. For now, he just wanted to get back to solid land.

  Anunt had walked Jorn down below to one of the small quarters. After a small wave of healing, she had left him. Anunt had many things she wanted to worry about, but now was the time to decide on one important matter. Would she care for SarthDarah, and ultimately give in to Kuru’s gambit, or let the rest of the group perish and fail it anyway?

  She sighed heavily. There was only one right answer, and she hated the immortal demi-god for putting her in this position. Though Kuru had been right, even without her interference and directing, this would be the same path Anunt would have taken anyway.

  “Damn my pride. Shortsighted and blind it has made me.” Anunt cursed out loud.

  Her wager had been that she wouldn’t need to oversee medical treatment to the vessels, that they would be strong enough on their own. She was very displeased with the results of this test. SarthDarah was proving to be the best litmus they had so far. Overwhelming strength, an ability to actually utilize it, and yet, she failed. Numerous times, she had been injured and required someone else to aid her.

  Anunt wasn’t sure of the final end goals herself, but the commands to create a soldier that could complete missions in overwhelming circumstances were clear. No screw ups, no traces left if required, no injuries or extra collateral. Mistress Nyx was clear on every one of those points.

  Was that why Kuru was frantically trying to save the few that remained? A show that even if the number was less than one percent of the starting forces, you still had some sort of success?

  Anunt shook her head, she was along for the ride and was now going to lose a bet with the girl who was about to lose a planet. A smile crept onto her lips at the thought. How absurd it was, even Hizumi must be laughing by now. Though, that purple eyed monster would be even more upset at losing than Mistress Nyx.

  Lavia had been waiting for SarthDarah to come down the stairs. She was leaning over the railing, catching the water spray in her hand to pass the time. SarthDarah stopped to watch, letting the large woman dry her arm before reaching out a hand to her.

  “Thanks for looking out for me. I heard you were about to beat down the door to make sure they hadn’t tied me up.” SarthDarah felt her arm get swallowed by the massive hand of Lavia.

  “Of course! Jorn had a plan to break down the wall while I smashed in from above. It was going to for sure wake you if you hadn’t been locked away.” Lavia laughed loudly.

  SarthDarah could tell she was playing along with the joke. It was fun to have someone to talk with, it had been a long time since…

  “Hey, do you remember coming here? And before it?”

  “Of course I do. I was a dancer, my name was Alena.”

  SarthDarah stared, her mouth hanging open for a moment. A wave rocked the boat and she looked around for a moment. She was stunned at how easily Lavia, or Alena, had pulled that up.

  “Uhm, so, you remember a different life that you lived?”

  “Yes. I was a small child that always loved to dance. When I grew up, I never really filled out, my body stayed small and I continued to dance. By the time I was in my thirties, I had just about danced everywhere in the world.” She was smiling brightly, her eyes distant and glimmering with happiness, which suddenly dropped as she continued. “Then I got injured, took a few years off to heal. Found in my age that I had grown slower and less precise. The younger generation was well past me. So I turned to new hobbies. Found myself here in a completely different body and have been loving it ever since.”

  “Oh, that’s amazing.”

  “What about you?”

  SarthDarah looked down, she only had what the dream had shown her in those memories. Her only real memories that she could say were her own came from being here. Her family, her sister, her old life, all of it had been shown to her through projection. With her head all scrambled, SarthDarah couldn’t figure out if they were real or not.

  “I don’t remember being anyone else. This is me, and my memories are all…” Should she tell her? “Hazy. Like they're clouded and I’m not sure what’s real or not.”

  Lavia looked seriously at SarthDarah. Her eyes took in the new robes, the not so neat hair that was tied up tall above her head. Then watched as the fire in her eyes danced and grew.

  “You are special. And sometimes special people have to go through tough changes. Maybe that is this?” Her large hands settled down on SarthDarah’s shoulders, the gold was warm to the touch. “Memories of ourselves tend to be muddied when we are focused on the future. Sometimes our mind will lock us out of areas as it undergoes maintenance or upgrades. Just like our new bodies do.”

  “You really think my mind is just keeping me out of these memories?”

  “Perhaps, perhaps it is something else that locked them away. You are still you, here just the same way the rest of us are. That tells me that you must have a past life you remember. Just not right now.”

  SarthDarah felt a little better for some reason. The words were kind, even if they didn’t really answer anything. Maybe it was just the warm feeling of her simple touch and care to express sympathy.

  “Thanks, again. For everything.”

  SarthDarah was ready to meet the next hurdle with a clear mind, and strong allies beside her.

  Duerlin blinked, the wetness in his eyes hadn’t gone away. Too many times he had thought about his brother and not cried yet. Now, he couldn’t stop.

  “She had to bring that up now…” Duerlin moaned.

  He watched the waves crest and wane. He took note of the closing shoreline, and steered to be on the left of the last mountain peak. The star was setting behind the ripple of mountains by the time they saw the port of Safe Harbor.

  Duerlin let his mind wander close to the eject button. He could still press it, he could still feel the buzz that linked him to his other body. It was there as a test. Kuru said she would sever the connection and trap him in the void between bodies if he pressed it. His soul would be floating in limbo.

  Was his brother’s soul floating in limbo? Had Kuru trapped all the other souls after they were slain? Or was it just a punishment she intended for those who went against her will?

  He didn’t have time to contemplate the meanings and consequences, they would be nearing shore in a few moments. The light of day was turning to dusk, it would be dark before they arrived at the beach in the shadow of the mountains. The tide had started to shift, slowing them down.

  Was it his fate to be quick enough to see the terrible things happen, and yet be too late to stop them everytime?

  “We’re falling behind already.” Kuru appeared next to him.

  “I can’t make it go faster.”

  “No, but it is still the reality of our situation. We better hope the road to the capital is clear.”

  Duerlin grunted. There was no helping it, and she was right. His own thoughts were confirmed by the jailer keeping him here. He saw how the rest of them looked at her, they all had their own ideas of who Kuru really was. He still didn’t understand how none of them realized how they had all become slaves and test subjects. He chose to bite his tongue now, he had many things to say to Kuru that would probably get him severely punished in some way.

  “If it is not?” He asked instead of any of the other burning questions he had.

  “Hmm, then I guess we go through any obstacle.” Kuru was getting tired with this situation and Duerlin could tell by her voice. “We are a small group, one that should be able to move fast enough to avoid any major issues we come across. Otherwise most of you are strong enough to at least put up a small fight.”

  Duerlin grunted, that was what he expected from her. She would pit them against whatever they came across, all in order to get herself out. SarthDarah had already given herself pretty much completely to Kuru’s agenda. The rest of the group was still mostly oblivious or trusted in her enough that it would be futile to try and go against it at this point.

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  “What comes after?” Duerlin couldn’t keep his mouth shut after all.

  “After what?” Kuru was trying to sound innocent, like she didn’t know what he was asking.

  “This. Tios, when we get you off world, what then?”

  “Then it is on to the next ordeal that needs overcoming.”

  Her cryptic answer was enough to tell Duerlin what he didn’t want to know. He was sure they were now her slaves, it wouldn’t end here. Kuru was going to keep them if they survived.

  “What happens to those that didn’t make it through this test of yours?”

  Kuru walked around him, looking out over the edge of the ship towards the ever closing shoreline. Her hair had started to fall loose in the wind, but it still framed her face perfectly. Her mind was calm and she was not concerned with the boy's questioning. In fact, she thought it refreshing that someone finally wanted to know the truth of what they were getting into.

  SarthDarah was the only one she had to keep convincing. She alone needed to be shepherded and altered to keep in line. Duerlin was the only one she needed to instill fear in. The rest played along and were living out fantasy lives that made their past selves seem dull and unappealing. Her smile was genuine and it only enhanced the effect of fear in Duerlin as she spoke.

  “They are in me. I will keep care of those that failed this time around. Maybe there will be a use for them someday.” Kuru let a bit of darkness seep from around her. “I have many, many interests Duerlin, or should we call you Ling? Honesty with your new friends is important, you know.”

  Duerlin’s grip on the wheel tightened. He felt the wood groan under his stress. She was going to play with and torture them forever. His brother, SarthDarah’s sister, and all the others.

  “It doesn’t have to be bad, Duerlin. You can all live happily, if you just choose to. Like Lavia, or Ironfiddle, they choose to be happy. They remember everything as clearly as their minds allow, and yet they choose to stay. You remember everything, and yet you think yourself trapped and unable to be happy. Was this not the life Ling, the person who wanted to get away from cramped cities and boring jobs, wanted? Could you be afraid of actually getting your desire when your brother is no longer here to achieve it with you?”

  Duerlin’s eyes went wide and he turned to see Kuru smiling and gazing directly through his eyes and into his soul. She knew. She knew everything.

  “Don’t act like it would be impossible for him to come back. These vessels are special. With resources, and time, there will be many many more of them. With my ability to house and preserve souls, along with transference power, your brother and her sister could be brought back. They would be exactly as they were, just as you and SarthDarah could be brought back as you once were. The upgrades to your bodies go away if you don’t have someone bring it back. Each reincarnation is back to a blank shell.”

  That changed things. Duerlin was on the verge of crying, his brother could be brought back. It was no longer fear that kept him from trying to eject now. He was ready to do anything Kuru asked, so long as it brought his family back together.

  “Can I see him?”

  “Now? I’m afraid not. It takes considerable time and energy to pull someone in and out with their consciousness attached. Get us to the capital and be aboard the ship as we leave, and you can spend the entire flight back to Erebus with him.”

  “Erebus?” That was the only thing Duerlin hadn’t understood, the rest made him giddy with anticipation.

  “The central star and planet that Mistress Nyx makes her home on. It houses the majority of the Federation’s dignitaries and the military.”

  Duerlin was more than a little distracted at the thought of getting to see his brother again. He was sure he would, he would fight to make sure of it. He realized that what Kuru had told them at the start of their conversation was exactly correct. The reality of the situation was what they were dealing with, not a hope for how it should go. The road was hopefully clear, but if not, then they would go through anyway. They had no choice.

  Lyria floated up next to Kuru, appearing out of thin air. Duerlin had been lost in thought, looking intently at Kuru. Had he missed her approach?

  “We have a problem Miss.” Her voice was quiet, but loud enough for both of them to hear. “There is an army on the beach.”

  Kuru turned to look at the shoreline. As the light of day disappeared, dozens of fires had been lit along the beach. They were only about twenty or so minutes from landing, and now they were sailing right into a trap. If they landed there, or even got close enough for long range weapons, Kuru wanted to avoid that.

  “Get everyone ready, hurry.” Kuru commanded, Lyria blinked from existence.

  “How? What?” Duerlin was stammering and not able to comprehend how the fairy had come in and out like that.

  “Take us to land now, Duerlin. Turn hard.” Kuru’s command registered and he obeyed.

  “How did she do that?”

  “It’s a skill. Steer.” Kuru wasn’t in the mood for questions anymore. “Be ready to launch an all out attack when we land.”

  She left the steering deck and went down to the others gathering on the main deck. The eyes of everyone were on the beach. The firelight was growing and the shadows danced on the ships beached around them. A close look and they could see the ships already tore half apart.

  “What is happening?” Jorn asked.

  “Invasion.” Kuru answered.

  “Is that the road to the capital?” Ironfiddle rubbed his head with the end of his lute.

  “It is.”

  “How are we going to get through now?”

  “By any means necessary.” SarthDarah was stepping in front of everyone.

  When she turned to look at them, her eyes sparked and lit aflame. The light she gave off reflected and radiated from the golden trim on her robes. Everyone stopped looking at the light from the beaches and gazed upon her instead.

  “We will get through. We will get safely off this planet. We might have to fight, but that’s what we’re good at.”

  With all the attention on her, SarthDarah felt a little self conscious about her appearance. Then she remembered how she looked in the mirror and realized she wasn’t who she used to be. She was now the commander of an elite force. One put together by Kuru. Meant to protect her and carry out her commands. She might still have questions about her past, but she knew what she wanted for her future.

  SarthDarah met eyes with Kuru, they both smiled. They held each other's gaze for a few moments before a loud cheer from the rest of the group broke out. Jorn and Lavia were yelling, Ironfiddle was joining in with a higher pitched yodel. Only Anunt seemed to be holding back her support. She was looking at the beach again, no doubt thinking of what awful injuries she was going to have to heal.

  “So what do we do?” Lyria spoke up loud enough to be heard over the cheering.

  The ship was already turning in towards land. They would beach well before reaching the army, but they would still have to get through it somehow. The mountains were sheer cliffs rising up out of the ground. There was a road along the beach up the coastline, but it was wide open and offered no cover.

  “We’re gonna need a distraction.” SarthDarah was looking at the ship and thinking. “Can we all get to the beach and leave the ship on a collision course with where the army is?”

  “Someone would still have to steer, the winds are pushing towards Safe Harbor. It would wash across the bay before it ever landed anywhere on its own.” Lyria, who was fluttering forwards and back could easily tell which way the wind was blowing them.

  “So, if I stayed and kept it pointed at them until it was close enough to not miss, then jumped up and off, could you all meet me at the army camp and we could rush through the chaos and try to get to the other side?”

  “You really do come up with insane plans, lass.” Ironfiddle was chuckling.

  “Hey, they’ve all worked out so far.” That got even more laughs.

  “Like jumping from a mountain?” Jorn poked at her.

  “Lass, seriously, you and I are gonna sit down so you can give me musical inspiration!” The laughter continued for a short bit.

  Kuru was using a hand to hide her chuckles, but SarthDarah saw it. It made her feel lighter inside, the happiness and joy even with the struggle to come. She was really feeling the connection between them all. She could sense each of their energies, and the more their feelings were being shown and shared, the more she could sense.

  “I think we should figure out if they are hostile or not before openly engaging them with aggressive actions.” Lyria was the only one not laughing.

  “Wouldn’t any army be hostile towards us at this point?”

  “The Empire forces might not be.”

  “But they might just attack anyway. We are on the pirate ship that just attacked the port they obliterated.”

  “Hmm.” SarthDarah listened to her friends discuss. “Could we send someone to sneak up and check it out? Maybe figure out a place for us all to regroup and plan how we get through?”

  Lyria floated up, her wings fluttering silently. Everyone looked her way and gave the idea some thought.

  “It is what my class is built for.” Lyria was already scanning the horizon.

  “How will you get a message back to us?”

  Without a word, Lyria used her Multiply ability and split into eight copies of herself. Seven of them shimmered slightly, then went invisible. SarthDarah was looking at the spot where one of the copies of Lyria had just appeared and then disappeared. That was a neat trick, she was thinking of how useful that ability could be when SarthDarah got a flick on the nose.

  “Ah!” It didn’t hurt, but it had surprised her.

  “Did I pass the sneak test then? And don’t worry, I can speak telepathically with my copies. Give me a few minutes for them to get to the beach, then I’ll start relaying information.”

  “That’s impressive.” SarthDarah was still wishing she could split herself.

  The rest of the group all waited in silence as the waves broke against the ship. They were getting close enough to the shoreline now that SarthDarah thought she could jump to it. She did have a slight problem with wanting to jump from things. SarthDarah let the thought bring a smile to her face.

  “A brave young lass, who had to save our ass. She may have scorched the hull, but she left them dull. Got no horde, like a minotaord. They never should’ve left their underground labyrinth!” Ironfiddle started singing, picking up his lute and playing loudly at the end.

  For a moment, everyone seemed intrigued by the singing. Then Anunt came over and sharply slapped Ironfiddle across the face. He stopped instantly and everyone’s eyes went wide in shock.

  “Are you an idiot? We are trying to sneak to the beach with an entire army, possibly hostile, only a short distance away!” She yelled in a hushed tone. “Absolutely no music!”

  “But, it’s a buff for everyone.” The Dwarf stared at the taller woman. “I… damn, didn’t think of them hearing us from way over there. Just tryin ta help.”

  “Oh,” The healer seemed taken aback by Ironfiddle’s words. “Well, have better timing next time.”

  “Oh come on, don’t be too hard on him.” SarthDarah was smiling, she kind of liked the attention.

  “There is a time and place for everything.” Kuru spoke up, pointing at the shore. “Now is the time for us to get off this ship. Lyria, what have you found out so far?”

  “It is the Empire’s army. A pretty large portion of it too.” Lyria was speaking with her eyes closed. “I’ve seen a bunch of pits dug out and used for mounting long range attacks. Men are tearing apart ships, ships that are still being brought in from across the bay. My guess is they are planning to demolish all of the vessels from Safe Harbor and use the materials to set up blockades and bunkers on the beach.”

  “Blockades for what? Who do they expect to come marching up this road?” SarthDarah was starting to wonder if they had been mistaken to come back this way.

  “Dunno, but it’s a lot of them. By my count so far, there’s around six thousand on the south end of their camp. Another few hundred dismantling ships, with around a thousand builders set up across different parts of the road and beach. There is fire light coming from farther up the mountain, on the plateaus overlooking the beaches. Once I get one of my selves around to the north side of the camp I will update the numbers.”

  “That is a lot.” Jorn was rubbing his face with one hand and his hammer with the other.

  “I’ll bet I can take out more than you.” Lavia stepped up with bravado.

  “Hah! You’re on!”

  “We don’t even know if we need to fight yet. Besides going against an army like that is a suicide mission.” Anunt cut across them before anymore could be said.

  SarthDarah wasn’t sure if fighting was the right idea or not. They didn’t have time to waste if they wanted off this planet. Kuru wasn’t going to wait for them all if she thought they wouldn’t make it.

  “We need to get across the beach and to the cliffs. We can move closer using the rocks as cover, hopefully.”

  Everyone turned to look at SarthDarah, quiet and ready to receive orders. Kuru was even watching her with focus. Their ship was almost in reach of the sandy beach, and they were all growing tense with anticipation.

  “We need to remain hidden, but move as quickly as we can. We don’t have time to stop and fight this army. We need a way to push past or through with minimal contact.” SarthDarah felt something tighten in her chest, not in panic, but in confidence. “I know you all are the best of everyone who came here. I know you all have your own reasons for being here and for wanting to get back out. If we all work together to make this happen, and stick to the plan that is in the best interest of the group as a whole, I think we can do this. Lyria, is there any way for us to get up onto the plateaus and past them?”

  “My clone just got there, there are no clear paths to get up and down without some serious rock climbing gear. Flying is about the only way to go. Hold on.” Lyria held her hand up for a moment, her eyes still closed. “I can see a path at the north edge of the cliffs. It leads back down to the road behind the army camp. There’s about four dozen armed guards up here though, and one extremely large machine. I don’t know what it does, but it looks like a massive gun turret.”

  Everyone started mumbling and whispering to each other. The idea that there was a more secluded path was good to hear. Not having a ready way up to it for everyone made it annoyingly improbable though.

  “Don’t worry bout the way up, I can cast Fly on six of us.” Ironfiddle was pulling on his beard as he counted again. “Hmm, Lyria can already fly so that helps. Seems I’m still two persons short though.”

  “I might be able to jump high enough to get atop the cliffs.” SarthDarah was itching to get into the open air again, she hadn’t had much chance for it since she learned how exhilarating it was to soar so far up.

  “Hey, are those fireworks?” Jorn asked, he had turned to look out over the bay.

  Everyone else turned to look as well, watching as the darkening sky was momentarily lit up in streaks. Three waves of fire flew across the sky like arrows. They didn’t last long, and just before they impacted into Safe Harbor, each streak exploded into dozens of smaller fireballs. The fragments split, and sent a wave of heat into the city. The evening dusk turned back to midday light in a flash.

  “Not fireworks. Artillery.” Kuru was frowning seriously at the sight.

  The fireball that engulfed the harbor was dying down, but it left the entire shoreline ablaze. Sirens and screams could be heard even this far away. A wave of wind rushed out and rocked their ship. It was pushed hard enough that it shook violently when it suddenly crashed into the shallows at the beach.

  They were back to the land. They had an army to get through and a city to reach. They also couldn’t stop staring at the burning harbor, knowing that they could do nothing to help. SarthDarah clenched her fist and swore quietly. Who was attacking? The army was here for a reason, and they knew this attack was coming. Did they know it would destroy Safe Harbor?

  “Not much choice for us. The army is all running in chaotic prep. Some took off in vehicles towards Safe Harbor. There are dozens of warships incoming. The attack came from far enough out that none of the sentries were aware of it. I’ve got a clone inside their command tent and they are not ready for the size of the force they say is coming in. We either move now, or get caught up in the battle.”

  “Then we need to move, now. Everyone to the cliffs, Ironfiddle can cast when we get there.” SarthDarah was already moving to the front of the ship. “Lyria, is there a path for us to get by the guards up there?”

  “Kind of, not really. There’s only a small ledge where they put their machine. One way or another we are gonna have to get past it.”

  “Good. I’m ready to punch something.”

  SarthDarah leapt from the ship, pushing her Levitate and Windwalker abilities until she could see Safe Harbor from above. There was a huge mass of cloud and smoke moving away in all directions thanks to the blast. In the middle, a city that was burning and completely engulfed in chaos. She could see figures running about in the open streets and by the docks.

  Every time she thought she was close to achieving a goal, something blew up.