The Fall of Paradise: Chapter One
Introduction:
The Seed of the Future
The Fall of Paradise
Chapter One: The Seed of the Future
Avriel ran through the corridors of the Pallace, her golden blonde hair streaming behind her and her pristine white wings held slitghtky dispended from her body to maintain her balance at a dead run. Her sword clenched one one hand and her son, Azriel, cradled firmly against her side. He had not cried since she picked him up and told him he had to be silent. He just cuddled against her and stared up into her face in silence, even when her sword intercepted another inches from his face he had not uttered a sound. She could have almost believed he could understand her and comprehend their need for silence. While the palace guard fought valiantly against the invaders and her beloved Gabriel held back the ten in the throne room for her and Azriel to escape they were vastly outnumbered. So she ran through the pallace avoiding the combat between the guard and Hellion invaders searching for an open route to the emergency shuttle rounding the corner she slid to a halt and cursed. The stone of the wall cracked at the unfocus, rage filled, power of her Voice. Farther along the hall three of the guard battled ferociuosly with eight of the twisted hellion soldiers. Standing back to back in a triangle their swords a blur of motion the three held them back. Her heart screaming for her to rush forward and aid them but knowing the sight of her would not only distract them from their defense but to enter the fray would endanger her son so she didn’t nothing. She combed her memory for a way to the escape vessel but despair began to rise in her. All of the paths to their only way out were blocked by the fighting and the advancing horde of invaders.
“My Queen,” a voice said behind her as hand gripped the arm that cradled her son.
Cursing her self for her foolishness at be caught unaware she spun her sword streaking for the neck of whom ever was behind her. As her sword clashed with the person’s as his words sank in and she did not continue the attack. Seeing that she did not mean to continue the man before her lowered his sword. The captain of the guard stood in front of examined her to make sure that she was uninjured and then his gaze flicked to the fight behind her as a Hellion screamed in agony but its scream was cut silent an instant later. His gaze never settled on any thing he continually watched the halls around them and the fight behind her. He stood before her six feet tall his blue eyes as almost all their race had. His jet black wings, stained that color from the act of killing over and over in defense of his beliefs, outlined his powerful body.
“Rafiel, I’m so glad to see you. But I can’t find away to the escape ship,” she said relief and worried both evident in her tone.
“A good thing you couldn’t the escape ship has been seized, your uncle, Lord Lucifer, has betrayed us. He has taken the queen of Hell hostage with the help of her generals and imprisoned her. He let them through the planetary defense grid that is how they reached here of fast with out our knowledge. I am sorry my queen but the palace is all but lost the guard will fight to the last man but we will lose, there are to many. What of King Gabriel?”
She lowered her eyes from his and a tear fell down her cheek as she shook her head. His mind raced trying to figure out a way to get her out.
“My queen come, I think I might have a way for you to get off the planet,” Rafiel said as he grabbed her arm and began to drag her down one of the other two hall ways. When she began to run alongside him he released her and pull his sword free. As they ran down hallway after hallway they dispatched any Hellion on the way as long as it did not require them to stop. Rafiel had to detour them around three skirmishes but they finally burst into the research and developement wing. Micheal the head scientist spun to face them as he brought up his sword, fire pulsed along its edge. Seeing the two of them he sighed in relief and then spun back to what he was doing with the console behind him. Avriel and Rafiel look around at the bodies of the Hellions around them on the floor in front of the door.
“My queen how lovely to see you unharmed and prince Azriel as well. Let me guess Lucifer has betrayed us, the escape vessel has been taken, and last but not least the captian of the guard who hates me and all my technical mumbo jumbo has come to beg my aid in this most pressing time of need,” Micheal said bitterness loaded into his last statement. He did not turn to face them but his hands flew over the keys of the console.
“Look the queen needs your help the prototype stealth ship you built, is it operational?”
“Yes, the Self Replicating Atrifically Intelligent Nanite Ship is fully functional. I call it Sidney after my beautiful daughter,” Micheal replied.
The door behind Avriel burst open and Hellions poured into the room the first one through jabbing a spear into Avriel’s side. With a shriek of pain, fear, and rage she spun cleaving the Hellions horned head from its shoulders. It’s wieght falling on it’s spear as it fell pulled Avriel to her knee before the spear finally ripped free and blood flowed freely down her side. With a scream of denial Rafiel leaped into the mass of Hellions and with sword flickering like lightning drove them back to out side the doors. Micheal seeing that Rafiel couldn’t hold out for long as the numbers of hellions outside the lab doors began to swell slowly pushing the front one forward into the path of Rafiel sword, while the one in front tried to retreat away from death.
“My queen take this he handed her an information pad, an electronic devise to digitally store information. That has all the information of the royal libraries and archives, simply plug it into the the ships console to upload it, The injection is a single self replicating nanite it will take months if not years to become useful but there is no time like the present to start bettering your self. It will raise the density of your bones and muscles while retaining the flexibility. It will also repair and damage to your body. It will probably increase your appetite as well so just eat whenever your hungry,” he said then jabbed an air loaded syringe into her neck maing her jerk in suprise and she was to late to stop him from doing the same to her son. He pushed her toward a door on the opposite wall he was carrying a sword in each hand. They pushed through the door into a hanger and in the middle sat a sleek ship that was maybe thirty feet long.
“Alright. I know it looks small my queen but it is the seed of a fleet. You will understand later get in you know how to fly, the controls are simple. I would suggest the you hide on a backwater planet. There are only two cabins at the moment, a medical bay, the bridge, and the engine room. There is a small cargo bay but until it is expanded it is all but useless. Pushing her up the ramp and into the ship he gave her a roguish smile and handed her the sword that was still in its shieth in his right hand.
“I wish you good luck magesty. This sword is for your son if he grows old enough to use it before Paradise is reclaimed. Do not worry about me I have a way out and Sidney is safe I will join her and we will resist this occupation until you or Azriel returns or we die.”
“Thank you Micheal for eveything, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you and your warning about uncle Lucifer.”
“Don’t worry about it my queen. Nobody wishes to see the bad in the ones we love. I’ll be seeing you around,” he said bowing low to her rising he gently flapped his graying wings blowing her hair from her face with a gentle cooling breeze. He straightened gave her his roguish grin again gave her a mock salute and slapped a panel causing the ships door to slide shut. She hobbled to the bridge of the ship and sat in the chair lowering Azriel to her lap and he grabbed her silken dress in his chubby hands and held on. She fired up the ship lifted off through the hanger door in the roof. She hoped desperately that Micheal did manage to get away as she guide the ship away from the palace. Suddenly the ship lurched, her arm snaked around Azriel to hold him to her as she was flung forward in her seat slaming her head against the console. Dazed she looked at the monitor the showed a rear view of the palace. A fireball and large plumes of black smoke rose from the R&D wing of the palace. With a sob she throttled the ship to maximum speed and input the code to let them through the defense net around the planet. Once through she enter in the emergency lock down codes for the defense net that only he king and queen of Paradise knew and turned the ship out to open space. She set a course for a backwoods planet, Rayne, it was inhabited two primative sentient races, the Leos, and the Lupos. The Leos were a race descended from a feline and the Lupos descended from a canine. Both races were war like and said to be honorable. It is said through the universe that those of the Planet Rayne never tell an untruth.
Having set a course, Avriel stood with Azriel in her arms and began to stagger back to the medbay. The loss of blood nearly causing her to fall over more then once on the way there she finally made it. Setting Azriel down on an examination table she lurched to the cabinets where the medical supplies were most likely stored. Pulling out a tube of wound sealant she ripped off the cap and pressed the tip into her wound groaning at the pain. Taking a deep breath she gritted her teeth and pressed the release on the side of the tube. She screamed through her cleched teeth as the healing foam filled the wound and be gan to harden. She went limp when the numbing agent in the foam finally kicked in and dulled the nerves around the wound. Looking down at her front and checking the exit wound in her back in the mirror to be sure they were both completely sealed by the foam she staggered dizzily over to the table her son was on. Knowing she should go and sleep in one of the cabins she was to tired to make it there so she laboriously pulled herself on to the exam table and curled her body protectively around her son. She thought of her husband and all that had been taken from her and hugged Azriel tightly to her as she began to weep. She extended her wings to cover them and exhaustion took hold and dragged her into sleep as she wept over all that was lost.
