Descension

CHAPTER 29

Zeline rushes towards Ben, her pistol aimed right at the soldier pinning him down, her shots ricocheting off of the trooper's armor. She ducks down to dodge her own bullets ricocheting back at her, squeezing her eyes shut in preparation for a possible hit. Once the zip of plasma bolts over her head and moves behind her, she leaps back up onto her feet to find Ben now triumphant over his oppressor. She watches as he submerges his hand into the soldier's blood and presses it into the fabric on his shoulder. She doesn't move an inch closer to him. He then snatches a dog tag from the soldier's neck with a violent, purposeful yank, so strong it snaps the chain.

"Zeline!" Khenan shouts.

She turns around to find Khenan fending off guards from nearly every angle. She rushes over to him, the guards quickly creating a gap for her at the sight of her armor. Zeline roars as she unsheaths her sword and slices through the padded cloth armor of the soldiers before her, those surrounding her frozen in shock. With that advantage, she's able to cut down a couple more guards before shots are fired at her, dissolving over her chromium plates. She blocks the bolts with her blade, reflecting them back at her offenders, the plasma singing their padding. She gasps for breath as the last soldiers fall, then turns to Khenan. She slashes the chains binding his wrists just in time before a plume of smoke swells to fill the square's atmosphere, leading Khenan up a set of rusted stairs to safety.

Zeline closes her eyes and digs her fingers into her temple, teeth clenching as she broadcasts to every cyborg in the ternary, "Everyone head Northeast! All armed individuals form a line at the front of the march!"

She repeats the statement a few more times, her voice echoing in her own head. Zeline helps people up the walls and out of the smoke of the square, commanding their positions in the formation. Once enough people have gathered up top and begun helping more people climb, Zeline rushes to the front of the charge to lead, only to find at least 10 TC's, and a thousand more speeders charging directly for them. Zeline's heart thumps harshly in her chest, banging against the walls of her ribcage, adrenaline flooding her senses at the sight. Time slows as she gazes to the daunting horizon, her hands shaking violently.

"Don't be afraid, just face it like you already know you're going to win," Her grandfather says, his arm wrapping comfortingly around her shoulders as he squats next to her.

She gulps, then stutters out a response, "But, I know I'm not going to pass. I just know it."

She stares down at the replica laser-blaster in her hands, and then up to the shaking dot on the hologram of an enemy before her. This is the final test for her to become a cadet, all leading up to this moment. She stands frozen in place, her eyes flicking up to the observation tower above her. Antonov--the commander of the Ordership's militia--stares down at her with his steel-blue eyes.

Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe she only advanced because she's Holden's prodigy. Maybe she really wasn't as marvelous as everyone told her. Maybe they made it easy on her because it would be a disgrace to her legacy. Tears fill her eyes. Disgrace.

"Zeline." Her grandfather presses, "I was scared too when I first took this test. But you know what?"

She sniffles and turns to him, her eyes pleading for him to continue.

"The only failure is not trying at all."

Zeline takes a quick, deep breath, and cements her feet into the ground. She raises her chin and thrusts her pistol into its holster before unsheathing her sword, charging forward with an atmosphere-shattering war cry. Chants bellow from behind her, the thundering of feet on the ground resonating into her own body and invigorating her, the ground shaking beneath their might with Zeline leading the charge.