Chapter 72

The Solaris Project

Fourteen rows of sentinels passed within a few feet of their position. Hidden in the boughs of a tightly woven tree, Sonic, Gawain and Silver watched the road for an opening. "They've increased the patrols," Gawain muttered. "Mesto must have called for more sentinels from the capital."

"It doesn't matter," Silver hissed. "It only means that Mesto is getting nervous." When the way was clear, Silver motioned for them to move and the trio swiftly crossed the open path.

The cloak and dagger routine had lost its luster by now. It had taken them a night and the better part of a day just to reach the edge of the forest. The mountains were behind them now, and the towers of the city were only a few miles off to the north. Silver maintained that beyond the city there was a dry valley, land shielded from rain by the mountains to the south east. There, a series of high plateaus rose out of the desert, and on the highest one was the fortress of Masada. While Silver insisted it wasn't too far away, at the rate they were going, Sonic knew they wouldn't reach the fortress until the following evening.

Gawain took point as his eyes and senses were the sharpest. Sonic followed behind him with Silver insisting on bringing up the rear. It was obvious to Sonic that Silver intended to keep his eyes on him. Sonic did not try to argue. He knew there was nothing he could do to force Silver to trust him, he just had to wait until Silver saw the light.

Another hour dragged on, as the trio marched. The trees grew thinner as the land sloped down. They waited at the next crossing and saw another host of sentinels glide past. Gawain appeared visibly nervous as they hurried out into the open. Around dusk they reached the end of the forest and Sonic saw the land expand outward and delve down into a wetland filled with dozens of little rivers.

"Those are the great canals." Gawain pointed Sonic towards the east. He saw that the wetlands continued towards the base of the city. Its eastern walls had three massive cisterns that allowed water to pass in and out.

Passing through the wetlands was uncomfortable. The area was swarmed with insects and Silver insisted they passed through slowly so as not attract any attention. By the time they had crossed to the dry earth on the other side, Sonic's shoes were soaked in, he was covered in insect bites and his stomach was rumbling.

Mercifully, Silver called for a halt and the trio camped in a concealed inlet of tall trees. This would be the last bit of cover before they would have to walk openly in the desert. Gawain perched himself upon one of the highest branches and took up a silent vigil. Silver sat with his legs folded and a green mist rose up from the ground and encompassed him.

Sonic fidgeted constantly as he tried to stem his boredom. Eating had lessened the empty feeling in his gut, but it had not been a feast by any stretch of the imagination. Sonic took to pacing as the night dragged on, much to Silver's annoyance. Silver flinched every time Sonic's foot crushed a leaf. Just when Sonic was finally feeling tired enough to lie down, he heard an echoing scream.

"What was that?" Silver's mist faded and the hedgehog was instantly alert and on his feet.

"Fires!" Came Gawain's voice from above. "There is a checkpoint on the road ahead. It seems they've caught someone.

"Looks like we aren't getting any sleep tonight," Silver spat.

Another, higher scream pierced the night. "Shouldn't we go help?" Sonic could feel his blood already rushing to his feet.

"No! We have our mission."

"It sounds like someone is in trouble!"

"That's not our problem!" Silver grabbed Sonic by the arm. "We can't risk revealing ourselves. We have a job to do."

Gawain landed soundlessly beside Silver. He had his sniper mounted over his arm. "Imperials are searching a waggon. I think someone was trying to get smuggled out of the city."

"What will happen to them?" Sonic pleaded.

Gawain shrugged. "Hard to say. If they are ordinary citizens, they will probably be sent to the labor camps, otherwise Mesto may just have them shot on sight."

The third scream was the loudest and worst of them all. Sonic's entire body seemed to tremble with an electric jolt. "Damn it! We can't just sit here!"

"I'm ordering you to stand down." Silver took an aggressive step towards Sonic. His yellow eyes glowed with a mystic green energy. "You will obey my orders."

Sonic didn't flinch. "I thought you two were knights? What is the good in all your titles if you're just gonna stand here while innocent creatures are in trouble?"

"Don't lecture me. This isn't a game, this is a war. We don't get to choose the battles, nor do we get to pick who lives or who dies. Now, Blaze put me in charge, I am the commander here and what I say is final."

Sonic took a step backward. "None of that matters. All that matters is what we can do right now, in this moment. And right now…I can save those people."

"No!"

Sonic was gone before the words left Silver's mouth. He sped out of the trees and hurried down the road. The checkpoint was a wooden barricade with two small towers, placed straight in the middle of the road. A wagon was being searched by a group of armed imperials. Sonic raced up one of the towers and inspected the scene. He quickly located the source of the screams.

A female fox was kneeling on the road. Blood was dripping from her mouth. The imperials had tied her hands behind her back. Two lumped figures lay sprawled out beside her. Black hoods had been placed over their faces so Sonic couldn't see who they were. A behemoth, feline imperial walked over to the fox and seized her by the top of the head. "Still want to test our patience? How many more of your friends are we going to have to bury tonight?"

The fox responded by spitting out a glob of blood. Her captor slapped her across the face and then hoisted her up into the air. She let out a scream of pain and Sonic decided he had seen enough. "HEY pea brain!"

At once, all the imperials dropped what they were doing and looked up. Sonic stood at the edge of the tower and pointed down at the integrator. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

There were several dozen flashes of light. Sonic zipped away before any of the blasts could even singe one of his quills. He took his momentum and transferred it over into his fist as he punched the large imperial right in the gut. The blow made him drop the fox girl and sent him flying backwards. "Right, now it's my turn!" Sonic vanished into the wind. His speed caused several gusts of sand that enveloped the other imperials. They fired their weapons blindly into the night, without any hope of hitting their target.

One by one, Sonic blitzed the imperials and knocked them out with a light tap on the neck. Soon only one remained. The last was a snarling wolf who carried two curved blades. His eyes darted side to side, seemingly partially capable of tracking Sonic's speed. "There you are!" The wolf sprang to his right and managed to guess right. His foot slammed into Sonic's gut launching him backward. Sonic absorbed the blow and landed gracefully back on his feet.

"Nice hit!" Sonic smirked at his flustered opponent.

"You're dead!" The wolf howled. Salvia pooled out of his snarling jaws. He clashed his two swords together and dashed at Sonic.

Sonic held his ground and waited until the very last moment to move. The twin blades slanted by him as Sonic slipped the blows. He closed his hand into a fist and countered with a viscous uppercut. His arm shook from the force of the impact and he felt the wolf's jaws snap shut. The imperial fell back in a daze. He made a halfhearted attempt to keep his feet before falling onto his back.

After checking to make sure he got them all, Sonic rushed over to the fox. She was laying face down next to one of the hooded figures and was weeping uncontrollably. "Here." She did not resist him as Sonic pulled her up and tore off her restraints. As soon as she was free, she clung to the nearest body and started crying even louder than before.

"Hey, we can't stay here." Sonic tried pulling her shoulder but she brushed him aside.

"Get up!" Sonic whipped around in surprise. To his relief, the newcomer was not an imperial. He was a sly looking echidna with a bad scar over his left eye. His clothes were torn and he held his arm as though it had been recently injured. The echidna came over to the fox and looked down at the bodies. His expression was set with rage and disgust. "Get up, Maren."

"No…" Maren wept. "I can't….I can't leave them."

"They're dead. Your tears can't help them now. If we stay here any longer we will miss our chance and we'll die too."

"I don't care!" She sobbed.

The echidna suddenly reached down and wrenched the fox to her feet. "Don't care, do you? You don't care that they're dead? Do you want your sons to have died for nothing?"

"Hey, take it easy…" Sonic's words were lost as the echidna took the woman by the shoulders and shook her.

"They're gone. Accept it. We'll be dead soon anyway. But we have to finish the job first. Mourn them when we've finished." The echidna turned to Sonic. "The imperials took our case into the checkpoint. It's a small golden chest, you can't miss it. Bring it here."

Sonic raced into the checkpoint and found the chest immediately. It had been set on a table along with other items taken from the wagon. He brought it back out and found the echidna carrying the woman. "She won't make it far on the road. Do you have a camp somewhere?"

Sonic nodded. "This way!"

The echidna was surprisingly quick and managed to keep a decent pace despite holding onto the woman. It only took them around fifteen minutes to return to the camp. When they entered the small opening between the trees, a red bolt flashed from the sky and exploded at the echidna's feet. "Not another step." Gawain's voice echoed out of the darkness.

Sonic stepped forward. "Gawain it's okay. These people were attacked by the imperials, I just helped them-" Something heavy struck Sonic on his side. His vision blurred as he was launched into a nearby tree. He hit the trunk so hard it made a loud crack! All the air had been knocked out of his lungs and Sonic wiggled feebly on the ground.

Silver emerged out of the trees. His hands were encased in his mystic aura. "Damn you Sonic. Why did you have to bring them here?"

Sonic couldn't answer. His head was throbbing painfully and he could barely push himself onto his knees. The echidna was facing Silver without flinching. "You are Thirteens." He said simply. "You must be the rebels we've heard so much about."

"And now you've seen us," Silver hissed. "There's no way to guarantee you won't give up our position to the empire."

"Only one way to make sure," The echidna corrected. A red dot appeared on the echidna's forehead. He looked up impassively into the trees. "Your friend has the right idea at least."

"Gawain….no.." Sonic used a tree branch to pull himself up. His legs were shaking horribly. He couldn't outrun a blaster shot right now.

"It's either you or us…" Silver said, his voice trembling slightly. "I have a job to do….I…this isn't a game….I don't want to…"

"I understand." The echidna continued. "We aren't your people. Just imperials who made a few wrong moves. You gotta do what you have to do."

Silver raised his hand to give the order to Gawain. Sonic could see his arms shaking. Don't do it…His arm hung in the air for several tense seconds, until at last, Silver slowly lowered it. "Gawain…lower your weapon." The red dot on the echidna's forehead vanished.

Sonic let out a sigh of relief and collapsed.

He woke up sometime later at the sound of soft voices. Sonic had been placed onto his sleeping mat. The others were sitting in a circle speaking in hushed tones. Sonic stirred himself and came over to join them.

"After that we knew we were done for. We had to find a way to leave the city or Mesto's secret police would come barging down our doors. I linked up with Maren and found a group of people all trying to escape. We were meant to leave in small shifts, tonight was to be our first go." The echidna took a long slow sip from a canteen and then wiped his mouth. His golden case was sitting, secure in his lap. "Imperials must have been on to us for weeks. We'd leaked false times and routes, but they've known the true path this entire time. Mesto's goons must have been having a nice long laugh letting us on like rats in a maze."

"How many others know the truth?" Gawain asked. He scooted to his right to allow Sonic into the circle.

The echidna shrugged. "Can't say. I suppose most figure it out on their own and then are too scared to say anything. Also, many might not even care. The ends justify the means sort of thing."

"For some," Silver started, his tone laced with rage. "But that doesn't mean they get to impose their will on everyone else."

The echidna laughed. "You really must be rebels. Everyone else seems to have bought into the program, or at least are wise enough to know that there is no point in resisting."

"That's not true Darren." Maren spoke in a low whisper. Sonic could tell that it was the first time she had spoken that night. "There are plenty of people who'd stand up and fight."

"Plenty of dead people, you mean." Darren threw his empty canteen aside. "No one is fighting anymore, at least not openly. I mean, what's the point? Life has gotten better for pretty much everybody since the emperor took over. What is the point in looking under the rug? Ignorance is bliss, as they say." For the first time, Darren noticed Sonic's arrival. The echidna gave him a toothy grin. "And there is our savior. I must admit, I am impressed. I've never seen someone make such light work of imperial soldiers before."

Sonic ignored the compliment. "Why were you trying to leave the city?"

"That's what we have been discussing while you took your little nap." Darren leaned back and yawned. "Believe it or not I was an imperial scientist. I was one of the first people on board when they started the Solaris Project."

"And what is that?"

"The empire's grand vision for Arvana. He wants to mine the planet for Sol Gems and use their energy to create a Dyson Sphere. With his megastructure channeling the power of an entire sun, his energy availability will be essentially limitless. But that isn't all. The empire envisions an array of Dyson Spheres set up throughout the galaxy. The Solaris Project, is essentially, the emperor's plan to rule the universe."

Sonic turned to Gawain and Silver. Both knights were staring fixedly at the ground. They had obviously already heard this alarming report. "Solaris…but isn't that the name of-"

"The god of the Thirteens?" Darren finished. "The emperor's genius is matched only by his megalomania. In some respects he probably finds the project a kind of apotheosis."

"Apo-what?"

"The emperor wants to become a god. And if things continue as they are…he may have his wish."

"So why did you leave?" Sonic pressed.

Darren scowled. "Found out too late that the emperor's grand vision didn't include us. Mining Arvana for Sol Gems was causing intense seismic reactions. So far, the empire has managed to limit the damage, but it won't last. If we keep making Sol Gems, eventually the entire planet will be destroyed. The Solaris Project didn't intend to make Arvana the seat of a grand interstellar empire, it was meant to be a discarded shell." Darren glared up at Sonic. His one good eye was dark as night and full of bitter rage. "Only the emperor and his machines are meant to survive. Once Arvana has been sucked dry, he will take his forces into the stars and leave us to die. I found out the truth and tried to warn the others. No one believed me. Eventually, Lord Mesto's spies caught wind of what I was saying and now I'm on the run."

"You haven't told us anything that we didn't already know," Silver said crossly. "You only decided to resist the empire when you realized your own life was in jeopardy. Did it ever occur to you that there were other victims?"

"I never cared," Darren admitted. "I always thought Thirteens were superstitious freaks." Darren smiled mockingly at Silver. "Don't pretend for a second that your little rebellion is based on pure altruism. Thirteens just want their kingdom back, they don't care about the rest of Arvana."

"But they saved us…" Maren squeaked. Her eyes darted around the circle furtively. "My sons…they didn't just want to escape. They wanted to help, they wanted to save Arvana from the emperor. What does it matter where we've come from? This world is all of our home, shouldn't we work together to save it?"

"Easy for you to say, imperial." Silver said stiffly. He rose and walked over to Maren. "Let me see your mark!" Silver took her arm and pulled back her sleeve. Sonic leaned over and saw that the skin of her forearm had been burned away.

Maren glared at Silver with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't bother comparing your suffering to mine. There is nothing to gain in that contest." She ripped her arm free and glared back and forth from Silver to Darren. "What does it matter what the victims call themselves? If we wait until it's our turn to do something, there won't be anyone left to save." Maren turned away and stormed out of the circle.

Silver huffed and approached Darren. The echidna extended his arm to display a scarred section of skin. "I tore mine out a while ago."

"How noble of you." Silver said dryly. "You'd best go with your companion and make sure she is alright. We have things to discuss."

Darren feigned a bow. "As you wish."

When they were alone, Silver addressed Gawain and Sonic. "We can't let them leave."

"You heard what they said," Sonic protested. "They won't give us up to the empire."

"Sure they will," Gawain interposed. "They'd use that information to get back into the good graces of the empire."

"I don't trust them." Silver summarized.

"Why am I not surprised," Sonic flung up his arms in exasperation. "You've got some real trust issues, you know that?"

Silver's eyes flashed dangerously. "Forgive me if I don't take the words of an insipient simpleton too seriously."

Sonic brushed aside the insult with a mischievous grin. "Just hit me over the head with a dictionary next time, it'll do more damage."

"This isn't a game!" Silver's voice crescendoed into the night. "I'm sick of your mocking smile. You may be able to take risks and have fun, but for the rest of us, this is life and death."

Sonic stepped forward until he was eye to eye with Silver. "There will be even more deaths unless you learn how to trust people. You may think you know everything because you're some fancy knight or whatever, but you'll never defeat Eggman trying to match his power with power."

"Enough." Gawain stepped between the two hedgehogs and spread out his wings. "We get nowhere by fighting amongst ourselves. Sonic, we cannot take it on faith that these two won't betray us. And since we can't just kill them, the only option is to bring them along. Perhaps, another way will open up to us along the road."

Silver's chest heaved as he suppressed his anger. "Very well. But one of us must remain awake at all times now. The prisoners must be watched carefully." With that, Silver turned aside and went to lay down on his mat.

Sonic laid down as well, and a few minutes later, Darren and Maren returned. They clustered together in a semi circle and all waited to drift to sleep. Based on the unnatural quiet that persisted, Sonic figured he wasn't the only one who couldn't rest. He kept up the pretense for another few hours before deciding to get up. Sonic dashed up the tree and joined Gawain on watch.

The falcon rested his rifle against his shoulder and peered out over the desert. He moved over to allow Sonic to sit beside him on the tree branch. "You should not antagonize Silver." Gawain said stiffly. "He is young and very proud. But do not take his youth as a sign of naivety. Silver is a cunning warrior and a great leader when he has to be."

Sonic stretched out and shook his feet. "He's a little too eager to prove himself, don't ya think?"

"It's not my job to question him." Gawain countered. "He is my commander. You do not understand, you are not a knight."

"Enlighten me."

Gawain ruffled his feathers. "The Knight's life is rooted in chivalry and honor. When one takes the oath, they abandon every aspect of their former life. A knight lives as a shield, defending the traditions, values and lives of Soleanna. What one does, is often only as important as how one does it. When we act, we act on the behalf of all knights, of all those that came before us. The pride of Soleanna is in our hands, we must bear that responsibility gravely."

The Knight of the Sky gazed outward. It was immediately apparent to Sonic that Gawain believed in the knight's cause. The falcon spoke with the kind of reverence only a true convert could possess. Sonic was both impressed and a little saddened. "That doesn't sound easy. But…" Sonic felt warmth on his face. Across the desert, the first rays of dawn were rising above the horizon. "I could never be that caged in. Honor…oaths…those are just chains that bind you down. Anything that would prevent you from reaching out and helping someone else…that isn't for me."

Gawain turned to Sonic and smiled softly. "You remind me of Tristen. He was a free spirit like you. There was never a challenge he wouldn't face, never a danger beyond his reach. Alas…chained or no…death came for him all the same." The sun continued to rise and Gawain heralded the day by extending his long wings. After stretching, Gawain sighed in contentment and turned back to Sonic. "Do not be too quick to condemn the code of Knights. We must all live by a creed, be it written or not. I can leap into the sky and drift upon the wind, but if I do not beat my wings, then my destination is not my own, and I am simply carried along by the winds of fate."

"There's a lot of talk about fate here." Sonic pointed out with a laugh.

"It is the way of words here. Soleanna is a land forged by story. We must all take up our part in the theater at one time or another. Although, I fear that the great play is nearing its end. What will the land say about us when we've gone? Does it cry out for our deliverance? Or does it await its own inheritance when we return to the dust?" Gawain leapt from the tree and glided gracefully to the ground.

Sonic remained where he was and watched the sunrise. While he maintained that he did not believe in fate and destiny, Gawain's words lodged into his heart and mind. A sense of foreboding stole upon him, drowning out his usual excitement for adventure.