When he was a boy, Vitya Lih had been particularly taken with the frescoes on the ceiling of his school chapel. He’d loved all pictures of mythical creatures, and pored over old books and military texts, but the chapel frescoes had been special. The domed ceiling had been a wide, cloudy blue, an imitation sky through which furies of war had flown on golden wings, swords aloft. With them, depicted in that quaint, primitive style of old murals, there had been strike fighters and gods, the hosts of the air, radiant and mighty.
He opened his eyes, and thought for a moment that he was still a boy, still in the old chapel. The roof above him, swollen with clouds, full of furies and … angels.
His hearing returned like a hammer blow. He tried his micro-bead, but there was nothing except sizzling distortion.
Lih looked around. He wondered where to go, what to do.
He realized that this was finally it. This was legendary. He’d yearned for it, trained for it, prepared for it, and worked hard to earn himself a place in the ranks of CCDPD so he could pursue it. This, ridiculously, was what he’d been searching for all his life. This madness, this chaos, this calamity: rougarou; wolves; dragons; gods.
It had no sense or shape, no structure or meaning. It was simply a storm of hurt and damage. It was as if Lih had been let in on some giant, private joke. Officer trained for battle, rehearsed, honed skills, solemnly studied military teachings, as if warfare was something that could be learnt and controlled and conducted, like a formal dance or banquet. But here was the raw truth of it all. All theories of combat perished immediately in the face of real monsters, in the jaws of the beast. Could anything human survive in that horror?
How foolish the senior officers seemed, plotting in their rooms and command stations, dreaming up battle principles and schemes. Against these creatures, they might as well be trying to govern and contain a supernova...
Lih began to laugh. He couldn’t help it. Then sheer insanity of it all had got to him. Behind him, defying comprehension and logic. In front of him, stood Sage, who had a few quiet words with Aiden—the two men kissed away the day, like their garden party had been rained off.
Lih had almost forgotten his wine-stained, gloved hand clutching Sage's, or what it was Sage had told him about a gift. He watched in helpless awe as Sage led him. He realized his cap had come off somewhere, probably when he fell down. He tried to stroke back his disheveled hair, and felt it was caked with sweat.
“Did you…” Lih paused as he fought to get his head around it. “Did you just hack my lenses?” he asked, rubbing his dazed, frightened face.
His voice was hoarse.
He swallowed hard, tried to clear his throat a little and put some authority into his words.
“Who are you?”
Lih, getting his butt into gear and doing what he’s supposed to be doing
He opened his eyes, and thought for a moment that he was still a boy, still in the old chapel. The roof above him, swollen with clouds, full of furies and … angels.
His hearing returned like a hammer blow. He tried his micro-bead, but there was nothing except sizzling distortion.
Lih looked around. He wondered where to go, what to do.
He realized that this was finally it. This was legendary. He’d yearned for it, trained for it, prepared for it, and worked hard to earn himself a place in the ranks of CCDPD so he could pursue it. This, ridiculously, was what he’d been searching for all his life. This madness, this chaos, this calamity: rougarou; wolves; dragons; gods.
It had no sense or shape, no structure or meaning. It was simply a storm of hurt and damage. It was as if Lih had been let in on some giant, private joke. Officer trained for battle, rehearsed, honed skills, solemnly studied military teachings, as if warfare was something that could be learnt and controlled and conducted, like a formal dance or banquet. But here was the raw truth of it all. All theories of combat perished immediately in the face of real monsters, in the jaws of the beast. Could anything human survive in that horror?
How foolish the senior officers seemed, plotting in their rooms and command stations, dreaming up battle principles and schemes. Against these creatures, they might as well be trying to govern and contain a supernova...
Lih began to laugh. He couldn’t help it. Then sheer insanity of it all had got to him. Behind him, defying comprehension and logic. In front of him, stood Sage, who had a few quiet words with Aiden—the two men kissed away the day, like their garden party had been rained off.
Lih had almost forgotten his wine-stained, gloved hand clutching Sage's, or what it was Sage had told him about a gift. He watched in helpless awe as Sage led him. He realized his cap had come off somewhere, probably when he fell down. He tried to stroke back his disheveled hair, and felt it was caked with sweat.
“Did you…” Lih paused as he fought to get his head around it. “Did you just hack my lenses?” he asked, rubbing his dazed, frightened face.
His voice was hoarse.
He swallowed hard, tried to clear his throat a little and put some authority into his words.
“Who are you?”
Lih, getting his butt into gear and doing what he’s supposed to be doing