Acquisition

Chapter One - Arrival of Viktor

Viktor

Year 0 Part 1

"...Some legends end with death. Destruction. Pain. Some will inevitably reach the end of their life at the end of their quest no matter how great or selfless they may be. This is the risk of greatness. This is the code of the hero."

"Great story, mate."

"Congratulations, you didn't screw it up this time."

"Lay of 'im, man. 'E's under a lot o'  pressure."

I was sitting with my co-workers in the undercarriage of a large cargo vessel heading towards the large island of Kozakliin. The journey was arduous and boring, but we had each other to keep company. Our journey was nearly its end, though, as it was getting close to the estimated 78 hours. I could probably sleep the rest of the trip away. The rocking of the boat was making me sick and it had been far too long since I have touched the ground. The ground even seemed like a gift at this point. I leaned over on my crate while the crewmen spoke of home. Their families, friends, and where they were from. It would be a while until we went back now, though. We were to work in Kozakliin for months before finally returning home.

I wouldn't have signed up for this were it not for him, though. He said we could really use the money.

As I slowly leaned forward I heard a loud shout with some panicked screaming blaring over the loud speaker box. I didn't make out what was said but the other crewmen did.

"Oh no, mate!"

"Everyone down!"

I fell to my knees when we collided with a large spiring rock. A large wooden board fell to the endless sea and into the swirling rain that blasted water into the undercarriage of the boat. I climbed for safety as one crewman fell, screaming. A stiff crate made for a place to wait momentarily as my energy came back. Another crewman fell.

"We have to get to the lifeboats!"

I fought my way to the ladder, climbing the best I could for a sideways ship. Two more crewmen fell to the watery abyss. I was on the top, looking for cracks to hold as the rain barraged me. The last of my friends fell as I continued. The captain noticed me and screamed something I couldn't make out before swirling into the mess. I rolled to the left, determined to make it safely away from here. I grabbed the railing and tumbled into the lifeboat. My small dagger sliced the ropes and I fell into the water. The lifeboat bounced lightly as I sat, exhausted, simply hoping to get home.

It would not be so easy.

The lifeboat cracked into multiple pieces as it collided with a piece of the sinking ship. I lost consciousness clinging for my life to the largest of the boards.

***

"Welcome to Dalion Island, mate. We found you on shore clinging to a board. Couldn't pry you from it to save our lives. Had to have five guys pin you down to get it out of there."

"Dalion... Island?" What was all this about?

"Aye," the darkly tanned man responded. "Called the End of The World. You won't find anything about it in your regular history books. People say it's the edge of what we know as Earth and a portal to something bigger, but I'm not so sure."

"Why is it so unknown? Why have I never heard of it before?"

"We don't want tourists coming from all over to build their shopping malls and airports on our land. That's why we never leave or export."

"How do you get your resources? Surely you couldn't have built such a place without tapping the land out."

"Isn't it obvious?" I shook my head. "Piracy." He grinned in amusement as I pieced together what had been said. I got up from the sand and noticed a large dock housing rows of ships, each more and more impressive than the last.

"Now I'm afraid you can't leave here or you might announce our operations to the rest of society." It was that sentence that made me come to my conclusion. I must escape the island and find a way home.

"I understand," I lied. How could I ever understand why one would imprison another on an island because they didn't want to build a few airports or malls. The entire endeavor seemed selfish to me. Another privateer greeted my savior and spoke quietly while I pieced everything together. I imagined how much they would have looted by now. A mountain of gold. An army of soldiers. A shipload of iron and diamond. No doubt they'd have me join. I'd die if I got caught. If not by the captors then by them for leaking information. It seemed like a horrible idea to me.

"My associate here tells me you plan on escapin'." How did he know that? The privateer grinned at me and his eyes flashed like stars flailing towards you from the edge of existence at night. This entire idea bored me when my other side bubbled to the surface.

Give me control. It would be oh so simple. Nobody would even have to know. It would be our little secret.

I considered resisting but I knew it was futile. Slowly my mind... stopped.

I am Viktor.

I am the last of the Tech-bound.

And I will find them all.