Reborn

Solomon Corvus

Solomon Corvus“You have to stop toying with him, Calypso.”

His back faced Calypso and he tried to hide the frustration in his words. A burgundy hood covered most of his head, shielding his face. Calypso had a knack for reading a person's expression, feeding off their emotion and anticipating responses. Corvus guarded himself well around him.

“Toying? I call it positioning,” he replied.

Corvus sighed and turned. His lavender eyes reflected the overhead fluorescent lights, as he focused them on Calypso. “Positioning, you say?” he mocked.

Calypso shuffled uncomfortably under the stare. “I admit I have a soft spot for the boy.” He paused before adding, “He reminds me of my son.”

Corvus' eyes darkened. “More the reason to distance yourself and follow my instructions. Or have you forgotten what I told you?”

“No I haven't forgotten,” Calypso muttered. “I found it hard to believe at first, but it's not hard to forget.”

Corvus turned toward the window. A bright orb in the sky greeted him, backdropped by the dark wilderness of space. The Cirrus began its descent toward the moon. Time was short and they needed to move ahead with the next phase of their plan. He had no more time for Calypso's games.

“Your son is dead,” Corvus stated calmly. He glanced at the former Council of Five member. “It's up to us to avenge his demise, not mourn it. If we fail then the universe…” The words died on his lips. When he turned to Calypso he had fire in his eyes and his hands were clenched at his sides.

“Don't you think I know?” he growled.

His features softened and he turned back to the window. He remembered the day he found Calypso. It was during his second trip through the Richat Structure portal. Calypso rarely traveled to Earth during routine maintenance missions but Corvus spent years studying seized Explorer's League archives and timed it perfectly to coincide with one such visit. After Corvus “persuaded” a private pilot to secure a flight to the United States, he landed in New Mexico the night before the scheduled mission. At first it was difficult to convince Calypso that he was more than some random hiker in the park. He knew secrets of the Consortium, however. Impossible things that no ordinary human could possibly know. Although reluctant to join Corvus at first, it took just under an hour to explain what had been planned for the future—including the fate of his son. After the tale was told Calypso practically begged to join.

“Meta sent him to war. Despite everything I had done for the Explorer's League, they sent him off without telling me,” Calypso stated, as if reading Corvus' mind. He had an uncanny knack of doing it, which always made Corvus wary.

“They will send a lot of children to war, Calypso,” he explained. “Unless we stop them.”

“There will be no Explorer's League,” Calypso's voice faded as he reminisced about the future. “No Science League…no Medical Society…nothing. There was no point in serving the lie anymore.”

Corvus decided to let him ramble. He learned this after their first meeting. Over time the random musings helped him learn a lot of the Consortium's tactics not contained within the archives. The compilations will assist him in devising a plan to defeat the Consortium.

“Eternal war.” Calypso continued staring blankly at the stars. “That's our future.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked down. “With the entire technological might of the Consortium focused on warfare instead of exploration and science, nothing could stop them, not even you humans.”

“Humans?” Corvus' eyes flared. “You know who I really am. We ceased being the sheep of the Consortium.”

Calypso closed his eyes and placed the palms of his hands on the window ledge. “I'm sorry, not even the Ascended could stop them.”

“Can we put the history lesson aside and get on with things?” A gruff voice asked behind them.

They turned to see Natronix standing in the doorway rubbing his eyes.

“About time you woke up,” Calypso mused.

“Neutralizer darts are not a joke,” he grumbled. “They are more potent than I remembered.” His face became serious when an alert rang out from the communication station. He moved to a nearby communication panel and brought up an image on the main screen.

“Well hello, Shai,” Corvus purred. “I was beginning to think you wouldn't show.”

Shai curled his lip. “A mercenary makes sure to finish the job he is paid for.”

Colonel Noz, the former warden of the prison planet Carcer-4, stepped into the picture. A bright red scar stretched from an eye patch down his cheek. “He will finish it thanks to me.”

Corvus knew that Calypso had made arrangements to release the leader of the Scarlet Moon. He knew of Noz and judging by the scar the prison break did not go as smoothly as planned. When he saw him, however, it caught him off guard.

“You're human,” Corvus said, mildly surprised.

The colonel's face soured. “Was,” he growled.

“I'm afraid I don't understand,” Corvus admitted.

“Colonel Noz had been found by the Erudites drifting near Neptune in a Russian space capsule,” Calypso chimed in. “They mistook him for a member of the Lumagom and transported him to the prison planet. Eventually the administrators of Carcer-4 learned he was human and offered their apologies and compensation for the inconvenience.”

“I chose to stay,” Noz said. “They made me one of the administrators and over time I eventually became the warden.”

“Noz is a strange name for a human,” Corvus said with a hint of suspicion.

The colonel chuckled dryly. “Well my real name is Ivan Nozchevsky but in order to prevent the constant butchering of my name I just shortened it.”

“Judging by your scenery, I assume you are at the rendezvous point?” Corvus smiled.

Rocky outcroppings split the stretched barren landscape that provided the backdrop to their conversation. Shai shrugged. “Yeah I guess you can say that,” he groaned. “Quite a dump you have here.”

Corvus ignored the barb. “Are your men in place?”

Shai looked annoyed. “Yeah, yeah. We got it covered over here.”

His insolent tone grated his nerves. He clenched his teeth and bit back the rage. “Good we will be landing soon.”

Corvus cut the connection and the screen went dark. Calypso shifted his feet restlessly and mumbled, “He is rough around the edges but will do what we need of him.”

He is a loose cannon that must be dealt with when the mission is complete. He kept the thought to himself. Calypso considered him an ally and Corvus needed to measure how deep his loyalties rested with the mercenary.

“Do we have a shuttle ready?” Corvus asked.

“Um, yeah.” The question surprised Calypso. “Can I ask why?”

“Because we are abandoning the Cirrus.”

Natronix stepped forward, his cheeks flushed red with anger. “This is my ship! What the hell do you mean, you're abandoning it?”

Corvus ignored the question. “I suggest you prepare yourselves and join me on the shuttle.”

It was Calypso's turn to flush. His face darkened and he placed a hand on Corvus' shoulder, stopping him at the door. “This ship can be a valuable asset in the upcoming battles against the Consortium.”

“An exploration vessel against the mighty defense fleet,” he scoffed. “What was I thinking, perhaps we should attack Caelum directly!”

Calypso backed down underneath his glare. “I just thought—,”

Corvus folded his arms impatiently. “That's your problem, Calypso. Perhaps I should do the thinking around here.” He headed to the door but turned before walking through. “Oh before I forget, make sure to leave the Universal Map on the ship.” He exited before Calypso could respond. The door slid shut and he chuckled. He caught the look of shock and confusion on both their faces and was pleased. He didn't want Calypso using any of his mind tricks to anticipate his moves. If he gained any type of advantage he will snatch it in an instant, tipping the scales in his favor. Corvus preferred setting up confusion among them. Confusion was good. It kept them in check.

Right where he wanted them.