Trying as hard as he could to calm his mind and find that spot in his head where the DNA rested, Uther envisioned the mountains behind him that bordered Vortigern’s land. The secluded spot would be a good place for him to unwind from the battle and gather his thoughts together to greet his men.
Focusing his eyes, he felt lighter. Excalibur flew of its own accord. And something felt different. The Avamech was out of his control and he couldn’t feel his body at all. And the temperature inside rose so fast, he could feel it begin to burn him already.
“Now get out, quickly,” Merlin said.
To his supreme relief, the pilot bay window popped open and he nearly got ejected onto the hard mountain ground by the sharp angle. He panted and rubbed his burned wrists and ankles. He looked up as if to chide Excalibur and gasped when he saw the change. The once white and blue machine faded and changed to a void black and burnt red. Its face even seemed more ominous than before.
“What happened to Excalibur?” he asked. Remembering the com-unit in his ear, he switched it on since he no longer had the system from the Avamech to communicate with. “Merlin, what happened to my mecha?”
“I’m afraid I cannot see it now, the transmission has been shut off. Would you like me to send a party to retrieve you?”
“Yes,” Uther breathed.
He turned and began to run down the mountain away from the strange war machine as the heat pulsed off of it like a roaring fire. No one must see it now. No one must know. He stopped and felt his face with his hands. Not his hands. Galois’s hands. Galois’s face.
“Merlin!” he called into the unit. “Don’t send the men. I—”
A hissing sound interrupted him. Excalibur’s outer armor heated to such a high temperature on the outside that it melted the rock it sat on top of. Slowly with horrifying grace, it sunk into the mountainside.
“No!” Uther ran back the few steps he descended and watched helplessly as his prized weapon sank up to its hips in molten rock. It seemed to halt its descent then. Quickly, the rock cooled so the Avamech remained in the rock, trapped in the mountain.
“Merlin!” Uther growled into his com-unit. “What is going on?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, sir. I can’t see the machine anymore.”
“That’s because it’s in the mountain!”
“I’m sorry?”
Uther growled again. He paced quickly then stopped. He had won his battle but lost his best spoil of war. He had killed Vortigern though. And Galois had been there too. He was dead. Uther had no doubt in his mind that he was dead. No one could have survived that fall and the collapse.
Had he killed his best friend? No, surly Vortigern intended to push Galois to his death.
What now? Well, the spoils of war, he thought. A smile crept over his face, just a moment ago so pale with fear and pain. The blush brought to life images and fantasies in his mind that needed tending.
“Merlin, I won’t be back this evening. Tell the men I’m off planet for treatment or something.”
“Sir?” A little warning in Merlin’s voice caught his attention. It wasn’t so much a question as a dare.
“We’ve won. See to clean up and re-incorporating these men into our cities and military. If Galois wanted courts, we’ll start with prisoners of war.” He cleared his throat and the glee in his voice was unmistakable. “Galois has died. Igrain must be comforted. And I have a victory to celebrate.”
Merlin waited just a few seconds before he realized that Uther had flicked the tiny com-unit from his ear. Perhaps he had made a mistake?
Turning around in his lab where he had been watching the whole battle, he stared at the large glass orb full of red liquid: Uther’s DNA kept safe and growing in case they needed it. His biology was now more Avalonian and Galois now than himself. This leftover bit would no doubt come in handy when Uther wanted—no, needed—to be himself again.
Merlin touched the glass in thought. With these genes he could re-create Uther if he had to. He could tamper with the design, make a better man. That idea brought a rush of ideas to his mind. The horror of creating a human life seemed beyond him. But so many of his people had been altered or merely created by humans. Was there a difference?
***
In the skin of Galois, Uther took a tera-bike to the hangar and from there, he boarded the little transport that carried his friend to his death on this planet. Lot was there, waiting for him.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you,” he started quickly. “But I am a soldier, a man in Uther’s army—”
Uther clapped Lot on his shoulders and smiled. “Don’t worry, I admire a patriot. I won’t forget this, Lot. Let’s get to Lothian.”
Eagerness consumed him to take the transport back to a woman who would rejoice at seeing her husband alive and knowing the war was over.
The only surprise in Uther’s journey from Camelot to Lothian came after he landed the craft. A small army of guards led by Morgause greeted him. Morgause’s face crumbled into relief when she saw him and she ran into his arms. Uther stood for just a moment too long with his arms held out in confusion. Slowly he brought them around her and stroked her hair.
“Why are you in battle garb?” he asked her. The two laser pistols at her side were more than a little discomforting. “The battle is over, of course!” he laughed and held her out at arms’ length.
She cocked her head to the side and frowned. A girlish gesture for a nearly grown woman. “I am a soldier, father. Your soldier.” A question coated her words.
“Yes! My little soldier.” He kissed her forehead then
