Keystone Trilogy Book II- Rift World

11

The robot led them down the same hall they had been heading for. "I am Voss." it said. "You have a Colonist?"

"Yes, I am taking it directly to the Intelligence."

"Good. He looks like a troublemaker."

Voss brought them to an elevator. The ride up was silent, yet Elias knew that Voss was suspicious. It was obviously unusual for a captive to be brought to Command. They stepped out into a vast atrium with a glass ceiling. In the center was a strange mechanism which gave off a slight hum. Floating above it was something out of Elias's nightmares. A swirling globe of shadow, with tendrils extending as if to grab the onlookers. Elias instinctively shuddered. A deep, resounding voice echoed throughout the room. No, not the room, in Elias's mind. The Intelligence communicated through thought.

"What do you want?" It said.

"I have brought a Colonist." responded Glael. Quietly, to Elias, he said, "Pull out your gun." Elias reached into his back pocket and grabbed the pistol. Yet this movement did not go unnoticed. Voss saw what he was doing and attempted to attack Glael. Elias noticed then that Glael carried no weapon, save his fists, but his question was answered as Glael mimicked pulling a sword out of a sheath, and to Elias's amazement one actually did appear in his hand!

It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, with an eight inch hilt, and a cross guard of about six inches end to end. Each end was capped by a carved stone in the shape of a diamond and engraved with strange symbols. The blade was just over three and a half feet long, gleaming silver with a black fuller running down the center, wide at the hilt and tapering off just below the tip. On one side of the fuller were more strange markings that Elias did not know how to read.

The room rang as Voss's sword-staff clashed onto Glael's blade, and the battle began.