Champions Vol. 02

Her eyes widened as she grasped what he was saying. His world had weapons that could shoot something farther than the best eyes could see, and powerful enough to level a building. By Eros!

"Yes, it is a very powerful and dangerous weapon. In the wrong hands it can do great harm," he sighed then, and the sorrow returned to his face. "It can do the same in arrogant or inexperienced hands."

He took another puff from his cigarette, convincing himself to continue the story. This was something she had to hear.

"My job was to teach people to use these weapons safely, and to stop them if they did not. Unfortunately, I was not always allowed to do my job," he said, anger leeching into his voice. "One day, I was training with these men and..." he paused, trying to simplify the day that changed his life, "...they decided to shoot the weapon wrong." He finally said. "I argued with them, insisting that they were doing it wrong, and that I would not allow them to do it. My commander," seeing the look of confusion on her face at the unfamiliar word he chose another, "my boss, overruled me. He said that it was their country and their weapon. We were there to teach them and keep our own people safe, not interfere in every little issue. Since no American lives were at risk, we had to let them shoot," he said in disgust.

Some of what he said was strange, but after all the time she had spent listening to him talk about his world, she did understand enough. Americans were David's people, and Afghans were the people he had helped. They were also the people he had fought. The war was confusing, a single people fighting against themselves, but since war was common in his world she had just assumed that it was something that happened there.

"I wanted to argue, wanted to stop the fire mission. I hadn't had the time to reverse calculate their equations to figure out where the round was actually going to land, but I knew it might be bad," David had become lost in his story, and was no longer trying to use words that Laurena would understand. "There was a village on that firing line, about three kilometers past the target, farther up the mountain. I knew they were going to overshoot, but I didn't know how far.

"But I was afraid. I had already argued with the commander over a fire mission before, and he had threatened to fire me if I did so again. He was right to do it. I was unprofessional the first time we disagreed, so caught up in the risk that I forgot he had to maintain his authority in front of the Afghan Commander. I had already fucked up once, and I couldn't afford to do it again. Even if I was right," David said, the sorrow no longer a hint in his voice. It was soaked in it.

"So I said nothing, and they fired. The round missed, exactly like I said it would, and it landed just outside the village. It landed so close, but it did miss all the homes..."

Laurena was having trouble understanding everything that David was saying, but she was able to follow his words enough to fear the ending of his tale. She was so relieved to hear that the explosion had not struck the village she did not think to question the reason for his pause.

"...it missed all the buildings, and killed two small children who were playing in a nearby field instead," he choked out, the lump in his throat threatening to strangle his voice into silence; as though his body was willing to resort to any means to resist recalling that day.

Children! Laurena thought in shock. By Eros, not children!

"That boy and girl, not even old enough to understand the violent world around them were killed by people who had sworn to protect them from it," David continued, his voice harsh with raw emotion. "I could have stopped it, I should have stopped it. It was my job to stop it. We were there to protect those people; but when my honor, my integrity, my fucking duty was clear, I chose to protect myself instead."

Laurena was horrified, saddened, and confused at the same time. To hear about the death of children was terrible, but she was unsure how it was David's fault. He knew they should not shoot. He had argued that they should not shoot. But his 'commander' (she considered the unfamiliar word for a moment) seemed to have the ability to overrule his decision. She did not understand why he thought it was his fault.

Seeing her confusion, David wiped his eyes brusquely and cleared his throat. "Sorry, I guess I didn't do a very good job of explaining."

"No, you did it well enough," Laurena replied. "I understood the basic idea, but I do not understand how this was your fault. You said you tried to stop it, but then you were overruled by your commander?"

He nodded slowly. It was a little more complicated than that, but apparently she grasped the basics of his story.

"Then how was it your fault?" she asked. "It sounds like you could not have stopped it, even if you had argued harder."

David sighed. Apparently the nuance of the story had been lost on her.

"Maybe. Maybe I would have accomplished absolutely nothing, and those children would have died anyway. But the fact is that I didn't," he explained again. "I could have, but I didn't. I knew that there was no legal reason for me to argue, or deny the order. The locals had jurisdiction, and since no American lives were at risk we technically had to let them shoot. But morally? Ethically? That should never have happened. A good man would have done everything he could to save those children. A good man would have placed the lives of others above his own. I didn't. That is why I am no longer a 'good' man."

Laurena was still confused why he would blame himself for something that truly seemed out of his control, but was she not also doing the exact same thing with these memories from other people's lives?

"But I am still alive," David said with a laugh, which lacked any form of mirth. It sounded more like the crack of a whip, or a shot from one of his guns. "So I decided if I could not be a good man, then I could at least do good things. So I try to help others when I can, maybe even atone for some of mistakes, and stay vigilant. Because the next time my spirit is tested, I want to be ready."

Taking a final puff of his cigarette, he flicked the small brown end into the ocean. Turning away from the rail, his face started to light up, and a small smile crept onto it. Seeing the change in his demeanor, Laurena turned as well looking for what had so suddenly changed him. She quickly saw Sapphire, who was walking towards them with an impish smile of her own. His reaction to the Dracian was so happy, filled with so much joy and hope; it hurt her to see it.

Turning back to Laurena, he shared his final thoughts with her before Sapphire arrived. "I'm not the man I used to be, and I may never be a 'good' man again, but I refuse to become a 'bad' man. She deserves better than that," motioning toward his love.

"The question you should consider is what do you have to atone for? Also, what should you be vigilant against, to ensure you are ready the next time?"

His words made her think, but not about what he had intended. She realized something in that moment. David made her want to be a better person, but for David it was different. He felt like he needed to be a better person, for Sapphire. Sapphire understood him, understood his darkness as well as his goodness, and accepted them both. But she also pushed him toward the light, determined to ensure that he did not slip back into the darkness that he saw in himself. She wanted David, but he needed Sapphire. That was the difference, and why she would never have a chance with him.

Before Laurena could vocalize this realization, Sapphire arrived. "What are you two gloomies pouting about over here?" she teased them with a smirk, as she pulled David's face down for a kiss. It was a short one, as she pulled back quickly with a disgusted look on her face.

"Yuck," she spat. "What did I tell you about kissing me after you've been smoking?" she demanded in annoyance.

"That it's manly and invigorating?" David teased.

"Close, but what I actually said 'Don't ever do it again'!" she snapped back in annoyance.

"Yes, dear," he said with faux chagrin at his castigation.

Sapphire sighed at his antics. Sometimes he was like child. A big child. A big, handsome, deliciously sexy, man-child. Catching a whiff of the lingering cigarette smell, she quickly amended her thought. A big, handsome, deliciously sexy, stinky, man-child.

"You still stink," she admonished. "Fix it."

He muttered out a quick spell of cleansing, and the foul smell disappeared.

"How many of those things do you have left anyway?" Sapphire asked.

David shrugged and replied, "A few."

"I can't wait until it's none," she countered firmly.

"Yes, dear," he replied again.

Turning to Laurena, she inquired, "Are you going to join us for lunch Laurena, we've missed you the last couple days?"

Laurena considered the request. She did not feel that hungry, and she really did not feel like being around others at that moment. But after seeing the banter between David and Sapphire in the light of her realization, she felt better. Sapphire was exactly the woman that David needed, and she cared for both of them enough to finally accept that fact. Plus, their antics had raised her spirits. Maybe spending a little more time with them would not be a bad thing.

"Sure," the blonde replied, and the three of them ate lunch together that day.

All in all it was a strange conversation, but David had never asked her to share her burden. He had simply offered a part of himself, hoping that it would help her through her troubles. The surprising part was that it eventually did.

She was not sure when she figured it out. Her realization about their relationship had overshadowed much of the message he had tried to impart to her. But slowly, over many days she began to think back on his story. She realized that the message he had tried to share that day was actually the same message that the Fallen Champions had shared during the Trials. These are my mistakes, and the underlying flaws that caused them. Do your best to discover and accept your own, so that you will be ready in the future.

His delivery had not been the best, but she also realized that if he had come right out with that message she would not have accepted his words at the time. The memories from Trials were too fresh, and the wound to her heart too raw.

Once she realized the purpose behind his talk, she also realized that she had been looking at everything about the Trials wrong. She was stuck focusing on the past; with her past mistakes and the Champions' past memories. The past was done, the future was what was important. Not trying to be 'good', but instead focusing on being 'better'. Better than the person she used to be, and perhaps, better than the Champions that came before her.

That revelation had occurred a week ago, and since then the crew and her friends had noticed an improvement in her personality. She was happier, and more approachable than she had been since the isle. Nowhere near the woman she had been before it, but...better.

So it was with hope and eagerness that the crew and passengers of the two ships sailed towards home. They'd been blessed with a strong, steady wind during the entire night, and had made excellent time. They would be arriving nearly a full day ahead of schedule, later that afternoon in fact, and everyone was excited for their first look at Erosius.

As the eastern horizon began to lighten, every person not actively involved in the running of the ship was leaning forward on the bow rail, desperate for their first look at home. However, as the sun began to cast its glow upon the world, it exposed more than the shores of their homeland.

Sapphire was the first to gasp in shock, her sharp eyes picking out the chilling sight before the rest. However, soon a series of gasps, wails, and cries joined hers, as the rest of the crew of the Sophia saw what she had.

A massive column of smoke hovered over the coast of their homeland. The port city of Calavius, the crew's home, was burning.

The invasion had already begun.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Final Notes * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

First, I want to apologize for the cliffhanger ending. As a reader I personally hate them, and the idea that I would leave it like this for the next year until Volume 3 is released will -- I am certain -- infuriate some. However, it was the most logical point in which to break the original story I envisioned as Volume 2 into two parts.

Second, it will not be another year until Volume 3 is released. I have already written over 25,000 words for Vol. 3, and I plan to release it no later than winter 2017. If I am exceedingly successful it may be out as soon as the end of this summer (but I doubt it).

Thank you all for your support in this novice endeavor of mine, and I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

--ScreamingEagle101