Free Falco Invictus: On the Forge of War by Rodney C. Johnson Page B

arrangement of their large eyes. These furry
warriors were clearly hunters. The jackrabbit creatures wielded
curved swords and carried almost old fashion projectile rifles. A
dragon of fire led these feral rabbits. It was not evident though
to Aranskrai which side in this onslaught between rams and hares
could be labeled the aggressor.
    Inscribed in the alien script beneath the
mural glowed the name Kranix T’Raul.
    The dragon of flame held Kulcarin's eye.
    He heard an echo in his mind. A voice called
out to him. It was not unfamiliar as all Falcanians felt it.
    Char! That is all. The echo of the
over-soul. That WiFi connection which all Falcanians
experience.
    The connection simply reconfigures ,
Kulcarin told himself.
    He turned away from the mural with the
intent of going from the chamber. His hand reached for the door
button, yet he remained reluctant to open the tomb. Instead he
turned back to face the sarcophagus. Before him the black box
loomed. All sense of his individuality lost, Kulcarin keyed an
alien code into the latch. As quickly as he recalled the code, the
memory of it erased itself from his mind.
    A thousand years the sarcophagus had lain
closed, sealed away, a prison hoped to be lost to the universe, now
opened. The shape, long and coiled oil-black, its wings seemed to
have been burnt away, and scorched to the bone. The creature's eyes
were empty and lifeless. Kulcarin looked down at the corpse,
reached out to feel the alien remains.
    The beast turned its head. Its eyes glowed
with flame and the scorched bone-wings burst to life. Aranskrai,
normally a man of great courage, ran for the door but the creature
fell upon him. He wrestled with the beast, but it subdued him with
ease.
    Yes , said a voice within Aranskrai's
skull.
    Who are you? What are you doing to me?
    Kranix.
    Kranix searched the creature's mind and
body. He discovered this one proved familiar to him. He forgot many
things over the countless years, but the memories began to return.
They had met before, destined once more do so here and now. A
moment yet to be flashed in his mind: blue light and gunfire. This
Kulcarin was so much like him. Even winged. Kranix liked that.
    Kranix had taken other bodies, but those
forced to walk the earth were always so tedious. His natural state
could fly the stars and this body had the potential to perhaps do
the same given some alterations.
    He burrowed deeper, examining this
Kulcarin's life. A girl with long dark hair and pointed ears like
this Falcanian was prominent within Aranskrai’s mind. She was
called Sitara, Kulcarin's lover. He found this being's family and
that he was a respected member of his people's military.
    That would serve him well.
    The biology of this Falcanian in part helped
awaken Kranix from his thousand-year slumber. It seemed the
Falcanian skeleton contained that rare mineral Q-X which also
functioned as part of Kranix's composition. The mineral vibrated
within him to endow the dragon with fascinating spatial
abilities.
    The perfect tool could be found in these
Falcanians. Kranix could turn them into a fantastic army. Better
than any he had made in the past. The potential to be had in the
Falcanian peoples evolution was barely tapped.
    He would guide it.
    As he moved deeper, Kranix found a signal
being emitted from the Falcanian and amplified by the background
radiation of the universe. Kranix felt the other Falcanians on
board his sepulcher. The sense of the over-soul reached out to
ensure that Kulcarin still remained among it. Before the over-soul
could notice him the dragon went further, and concealed himself
away in Kulcarin's mind. He would have time, but not if the
Falcanians noticed him first.
    Kranix would wait. He did that well. His
mother made him into the perfect creature and he would bring
perfection to the Universe’s inherit chaos. He needed for Kulcarin
to become a willing partner in his cause. He would teach Ironsol
that his was the right way, for both himself and his