Admiral Kongjian of the Novus Earth Navy and his escort of ten strode up the mountain as quickly and efficiently as they could. His military escort formed a circle around him, both to provide living shields for if they were attacked and to protect Kongjian from falling should the mountain become too steep. The mountains were very large, and there would be no coming back with one wrong step. Kongjian’s short black hair did not protect him from the blisteringly cold winds that constantly gushed from the air towards them. It was as if the skies themselves were trying to prevent them from reaching the rendezvous point. Kongjian smirked. Humanity had time and time again defied the laws of nature, and Kongjian would defy it again, even if it was in a small way.

Kongjian had been approaching the summit of this tall mountain with the purpose of rendezvousing with another high-ranking military officer: General Xornan. Kongjian shivered. General Xornan was good at his job, but he still made Kongjian very nervous. Xornan showed a particular ruthlessness when solving a problem.

Before Kongjian could think much more of General Xornan, one of his escorts turned to him. “We have reached the plateau,” the officer said through his helmet.

“Do you see the General?” Admiral Kongjian said.

The officer motioned for his men to spread out, and after a few minutes of scouting the officer approached Admiral Kongjian again. “We can’t find General Xornan, sir. What are your orders?”

Suddenly, the sound of something like miniature jet engines reached the ears of the escort party and a man in a cybernetic suit descended onto the plateau. The suit covered his entire body, and flames came from the feet until the man finally landed.

General Xornan.

General Xornan was in a Skirmisher unit, a cybernetic suit made to optimize combat performance. The suit stood to about nine feet tall, towering above the escort party. Although ground soldiers were still used in combat, Skirmishers were able to fight both on the ground and in the air. Control of the skies was key in combat, and an artificial intelligence was also built into the suit, for numerous reasons; namely that if the soldier died it could take over the suit. Although the suit in and of itself did not have the skills and expertise of a trained soldier, it prevented the possibility of a useless Skirmisher. Another reason was that it prevented soldiers from leaving the combat zone should a soldier try to flee. The suit would take over and continue fighting.

A legend in the military, Xornan could fight both on land and in the air easily, and he showed great skill in doing so. He also struck fear into the hearts of his soldiers. Those under his charge knew that one mistake could ruin their career. Or worse.

“I apologize for my delay,” General Xornan began. “I met with some resistance. None of that matters now. I am here.”

General Xornan’s voice was just as unsettling as his suit. It was strong and firm, but it was the way he spoke that disturbed Admiral Kongjian. The tone and cadence of the voice was smooth yet condescending. General Xornan always wore the Skirmisher unit; he’d been in the military for a long time and had never been seen out of it. His voice coming through the speaker of the helmet was more terrifying than it would have been otherwise. Or so Kongjian thought.

Admiral Kongjian, impatient, approached General Xornan. “Your delay is forgiven, General. Now, I would ask that you explain the reason for this rendezvous. I have to be getting back to base shortly.”

“Of course, Admiral. However, what I have to speak with you about is of such importance that I cannot allow these soldiers to be present. You must come with me.”

Kongjian hid a grimace. He knew what that implied. “Very well.”

Kongjian braced himself for the uncomfortable experience of flying with a Skirmisher, as General Xornan picked the Admiral up and flew into the sky with him. Although the Skirmisher could reach greater speeds than the speed Xornan was traveling at, any faster and Kongjian would be in danger. Despite having flown aircraft before, the Skirmisher was an entirely different experience, and one that Kongjian greatly disliked.

After roughly ten minutes, General Xornan landed again, releasing Admiral Kongjian. They had landed on ar mountain plateau with a cave. Markings covered the entrance of the cave, inscribed in a language Kongjian did not understand.

“These markings are a Akkadian, a language that would eventually morph into Aramaic,” General Xornan stated, as if knowing what was on Kongjian’s mind. “The language was used by Babylon and Assyria in ancient times.’

Admiral Kongjian snorted. “This isn’t the Middle East.”

“Their cultures and languages are ancient. Little do many know that they are also widespread. Come with me.”

A light shone from the shoulder lights on the Skirmisher suit, and Xornan entered the cave. Admiral Kongjian followed. Despite the ornate carvings on the entrance of the cave, the cave itself was uninteresting. Admittedly Kongjian couldn’t see much outside of the Skirmisher’s beacon, but he doubted much was different.

After several minutes General Xornan stopped. They had entered a larger cavern in the cave, and Xornan turned off the lights. Suddenly, the cave filled with twinkling light as from stars, and gems lit up the room. Admiral Kongjian gasped in astonishment, but his eyes were instantly captured by an object on a podium in the center of the chamber. The object’s shape was hard to grasp; was it a circle or a square? Kongjian did not know, nor did he care. The object was radiating power, and Kongjian wanted it.

Kongjian cautiously began moving towards the object. General Xornan did not stop him. Boldened by this, the Admiral continued on. The object was slightly larger than his head, and he reached out to grab it.

“If you wish to die, by all means, take it,” General Xornan spoke out, suddenly. “An officer of mine tried.”

With a sharp intake of breath Admiral Kongjian retracted his hands. He turned to General Xornan. “What is this?”

Xornan approached as he began to explain. “It is an artifact of immense, almost unfathomable power. An artifact that would give the wielder the power to create. The pyramids, ziggurats, and more created by this blasphemous object of mass defiance. And it could be ours.”

The last statement of Xornan’s made Admiral Kongjian’s hair stand on end. “Ours? How do we take it?”

“I have found that certain elements can resist the destructive and creative power of the artifact. Notably aluminum, the element used to manufacture Skirmishers.” General Xornan scooped the object up in his hand and gazed at it through the helmet. Moments passed. Then Xornan put it back. “Unfortunately there is no known way to contain or activate the power of the artifact. That is where your authority comes in, Admiral. With your influence and my power, we could become invincible in this world. We can create a containment unit to hold the artifact, and then we could create a weapon of mass creation and destruction that would put us as the supreme force not only on Earth but in the universe. We could be greater than Rameses, Gilgamesh, Hammurabi, Cyrus, and Nebuchadnezzar. Their power shall become ours. We will become gods.”