[story] Eternity Walkers

[Kiddo [le pwnsome]]

Again, this one goes too fast.


Chapter One

Karto looked anxiously into the eyes of the Examiner and thought, Please, please pick me.
He had waited for this moment for years, agonizing over all of his Assignments, trying very hard to be on the List. He wanted desperately to be part of the Korelean Forces, defending the Station from the attacks of the foolish Markand Forces.
At that thought, he almost snorted, but stopped himself just in time. His derision of the Markands could be interpreted the wrong way and cause the Examiner to choose someone else. Karto forced himself to be still, barely succeeding. His hands were shaking slightly from anxiety.
The Examiner turned and marched stiffly back to the front of the room, small round badges jingling on his uniform. There was an obvious air of tension, all the Acolytes sat up, clasping their hands together or tapping their fingers on their legs nervously.
As the Examiner started to speak in his loud, ringing voice, the tension increased, small movements more obvious. Karto smiled inwardly, calm and collected on the outside, no matter what he was feeling on the inside. He just knew that he would be chosen.
“All of your Assignments have been reviewed, along with your Attainments, and I have come to a decision.”
Karto’s lip twitched slightly, halfway to a smile, he had aced all of his Attainments.
“Only one of you has been chosen, the others will be given different places to work.”
Karto almost grinned, glancing at Paxta, who was biting her lip and looking hopeful, she had no chance of being chosen. She had lost her head in almost all of her Assignments, doing a bit better during her Attainments, but not enough to redeem herself.
The man in the front of the room paused, glaring around the room, then continued, “I have decided that Jartu Klormax will serve in the Korelean Forces.”
Karto blinked in surprise, his only visible sign of disappointment, but he felt that some crucial part of him had been blown off and was falling, falling into darkness. Why hadn’t he been chosen? He was the most accomplished Acolyte in the room, why had the Examiner chosen Jartu?
He glanced over at Jartu, who was smirking as he shook hands with the Examiner. Jartu was, in all senses of the word, a jock. Jartu was athletic, but not intelligent. He was a leader on the field, but a definite follower in education.
Karto had thought that you had to be intelligent and cunning to be in the Korelean Forces. Was he wrong? Or had the Examiner not chosen Karto for a reason?
Karto closed his eyes and relived the Examination, everything he had done, everything he had said, running through his mind. What if he had acted differently? Karto thought of hundreds of different things he could have done. But it didn’t really matter now, he realized. The Examiner had chosen Jartu, not him.
A sudden thought struck him, could he persuade the Examiner to accept him as well? Karto thought of how it could be possible, he thought of hundreds of ways, different things he could do. He was so specific, he even thought of his hand gestures and the way he spoke.
Suddenly, his eyes were forced open, but instead of the silver surroundings of the Examination Hall, a great white river was in front of him, behind him, and all around him. Karto cried out in surprise and fear, thinking he would be swept away. Where was he?
Then he noticed that he was not in the river, but on top of it, floating gently above the rippling surface. Another thought struck him, the river did not seem to be of water, but of light. Quickly, Karto knelt down and touched the white light. Without seeing any writing or hearing and voice, he knew what the river was. It was choices.
The small strand he was touching was a choice he could make, of standing up and demanding the Examiner choose him. He ran his finger along the choice and the multitude of other different choices faded away, showing what would happen if he chose to do this.
Another white strand split off from the first choice, Karto touched this one as well. It was the possibility of him blushing and sitting back down, deciding that he had made the wrong choice. Karto took his finger away and returned to the other strand, but saw that it had disappeared.
He looked up and saw that the river was consolidating into a single strand. He touched it, and felt the choice of him staying still, not moving, not even breathing, the choice of being in this strange river of light. He realized that the wave of disappearing light must be the present. He was in the river, and he could see the choices he could make, and the consequences of his choices. He supposed that he was looking into the future, but time was not stopped, the wave of the present was wiping out the choices he could have made.
Karto leapt up and dashed over the wave, quickly kneeling down and rubbing his thick finger over the existing choice. He saw a strand coming off it and selected it. Instantly, he knew that this was the choice in his life to return to himself, to leave the strange and frightening river.
Karto pressed the strand, but nothing happened, he closed his eyes and concentrated, willing himself back into his body. He felt the wave slide under him on its journey through the ages. When it met the point where his finger touched the choice, the river faded.
As Karto smiled and opened his eyes, he thought he heard a small cry of “Wait!” Coming from behind him. He turned to see who it was, but just saw Yenti, who was sobbing at her desk.
Karto turned to face forward and jumped backwards. The Examiner was right in front of him, staring right into his eyes, an expression halfway between a glare and satisfaction on his face.
“I think,” The Examiner said quietly, “That you might be accepted after all.”
“Really?” Karto was stunned, the Examiner had changed his mind!
The stiff-backed soldier nodded and smiled slightly, not a friendly smile, but the smile of someone who is about to be rewarded, “Oh yes, I think we’ll take you after all. In fact, I think you’ll be accepted into the Elite Squad.”
Karto had heard of the Elite Squad before, they were the best of the best. No one really knew what they did, but there were rumors that they left the Station and flew into Deeper Space, or down to Lanarx to fight with different enemies.
“Thank you sir.” Karto tried to regain his composure, taking deep breaths and sitting straight in his chair.
The Examiner nodded again, “Jartu will report to HQ tomorrow, but you will come with me now. We must discover if you will serve in the Elite Squad or not.”
Karto stood, “Yes sir.”
The Examiner turned and marched away, Karto followed clumsily, not used to marching. They exited the classroom and passed through the Acolyte’s Sector. They crossed the Merchant’s Sector and entered the Korelean Forces Headquarters.
Like all of the Station, the walls were steel and titanium, but in HQ, there were small symbols next to each door, describing what was inside. Karto saw an armory, barracks, and supply room, but did not see any of the soldiers. He supposed they were in their barracks or on the parade grounds. He was trying to imagine what the parade grounds looked like, when the Examiner stopped in front of an unmarked door.
There was no keypad or sensor, just an intercom with a large red button that the Examiner pushed. There was silence for a few seconds, then an annoyed voice issued from the speaker.
“What is it Munte?”
The Examiner smiled smugly, “I think I found you a new recruit.”
The voice sounded interested, but skeptical, “I hope this isn’t one of your supposed Walkers.”
“I’m sure this time. He’s one you want.”
There was a sigh, “All right, I don’t have anything else to do.”
The door slid open silently and the Examiner stepped inside, Karto followed, slightly anxious. There was a man in a black and silver uniform standing in front of him, looking bored. When their eyes met, the man started forward, and Karto realized that he wasn’t looking into his eyes, but at his eyes.
“Yes,” The man whispered, almost to himself, “Yes, his eyes have seen the River, he has been before. And by himself I suppose. When did you notice it?”
“I was in the middle of an Examination. I was about to select him to enter the Forces. But I noticed the way he looked at me, it reminded me a lot of you Ranto. So I didn’t select him, to see what he would do. He Left. I could tell, because he wasn’t moving or breathing. And when he opened his eyes again, it was obvious that he had been to the River. He was breathing heavily and his eyes had changed.”
Karto looked at Munte, the Examiner, and Ranto, who he supposed was a member of the Elite Squad, confused and a little frightened. They seemed to know about his strange excursion into the river.
“So Ranto, what do you think?”
Ranto closed his eyes, his brow furrowed, then his whole body went stiff. Munte sighed and steadied him, obviously used to Ranto Leaving. While everything was still and silent, Karto saw that Ranto was rather thin, but muscular. He appeared to be in his thirties, experience etched into his face and into his hair, which was graying slightly.
After several minutes of quiet, Ranto Returned, smiling broadly in triumph. “Perfect,” he said, so excited, he was almost babbling, “He’s Been there, and was able to Return on his own. I was able to watch what he did. Excellent, almost like he’d been taught for years. He hasn’t though, I checked.”
Munte grinned, “So, what do you think?”
“He’s in. Welcome Karto, to the Creators of Destiny.”

















Chapter Two

Karto looked nervously around the room, hands clasped on his knees, sitting as straight as possible. Ranto and Munte had left him in this room and gone, he could not tell where.
The door slid silently open, he would have missed it had he not been looking at it at that moment. Ranto stepped in, without Munte. He looked almost gleeful, “You’ve been accepted, not many can join us. I suppose you have many questions.”
Karto nodded, “Yes sir.”
Ranto turned to him and asked, “Do you know where you went today, and how you got there?”
“No sir.” Karto was frightened, but also curious to know about the river of choices.
“Well,” Ranto said, smiling slightly, “It’s a bit difficult to explain. All of life is choices you see, and no one can see what the result of their choices will be, because they cannot see the future. But the River--unfinished--