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.Brent could only imagine how much power it had taken to jump something so large.A split formed down the center of the ship from end to end.As the split widened, the serrated edges of the massive plates gave the ship the appearance of a massive maw opening to devour the planet below.It was all he could do to suppress the trembling as he recalled the razor sharp teeth from his nightmares.The monster from his dream was no figment, and his imagination had failed to match the shear power of the real thing.A brilliant blue glow escaped from the split and cast the entire battlefield in a warm, pale blue haze.As the mouth opened further and further, Brent could make out a massive spinning sphere of blue.His mind was too enwrapped by fear for him to even begin to guess what it was.The surface of the sphere undulated and surged violently as the opening massive maw slowly revealed more of it.Thin translucent wisps of light seeped out of the massive maw high above the Citadel.The ground under him started to shake.Violent tremors ripped at the Citadel, but it remained firm.Brent could hear collapsing structures in the distance.The city he had started in was shaking into nothingness.He couldn’t keep his balance as the shaking intensified.Forced to his knees, he watched as the bay of the massive ship overhead opened completely.Only the edges of the teeth remained visible as the blue sphere started to grow.The screaming of the troopers was drowned out by a steady hum.The massive sphere of pure blue light hung listlessly for a moment in the sky.Then with impossible speed, the blue sphere dropped from the sky.The speed of its movement warped it into a gigantic, translucent teardrop.The hum of the sphere had transformed into a wail.Its speed increased as it raced toward the surface, melting its shape sharper and sharper until it resembled a long spear of pale blue light.The wail cried out as the spear descended on the planet beneath, as if begging for forgiveness from those below.The spear grew closer and closer.The tremors pushed and pulled at the ground, giving it the appearance of a massive sea of metal quicksand.The wail was deafening.The tip of the spear collided with the top of the Citadel.In a brilliant flash, the mighty Citadel was gone, replaced by a massive wall of light.Brent felt a wave of intolerable heat rush over him.There had been no massive explosion, no crimson whips, or mushroom clouds.There had been no sound at all.One moment the world was full of life and sound; now only nothingness remained.The world was being suffocated by silence.In the distance, Brent watched as the wall of pure white rushed over the recruits and Slashers alike.He knew everything beyond the wall was gone.The emptiness rushed toward him.He knew it was over.The invading troopers were dead.The defending Shards were dead.They were all dead.Brent forced himself to his feet.He stood ready to face the wall of blinding light.There was no way anyone could stop such a terror; the nothingness would consume the entire world.As the wall washed over him, a single tear rolled down his cheek.A stunned silence fell over the observation room.Troopers exchanged glances, unsure what they had just witnessed.A dull murmur grew in the silence.The monitors were still brightly shining, a pure white light covering every inch.“Is it over?” A lone trooper broke the silence.After a slight pause, faint laughter could be heard.Several troopers had started laughing.With the silence broken, the floodwaters were released.The massive room burst into a calamity of cheers as their mutual anxiety was unanimously released.“I didn’t see that one coming.” Nathan was still watching the brilliant white monitors.“I know you didn’t want Brent to win, but seriously, Jack, was that necessary?”There was no response.Nathan turned to find his friend staring blankly into the distance, more than a little pale.Nathan waved his hand in front of Jack’s black stare.“You okay, Jack?” He shook the Weaver.“That wasn’t planned, Nathan.” Jack’s voice was shaky.“What do you mean? You told me all about your plan.Wasn’t that it?”“What I discussed with Julia wasn’t anything like this.The ‘recreation’ as she called it, was limited to the landscape.The troopers were to fight on a metal world.That was it.”“So the Shard.”“Weren’t supposed to be there.None of it was.No fleet overhead, no bombardment, and no armies.Brent was supposed to be on the ground with a squad of Commonwealth troopers using outdated weapons along side two other groups of recruits.”“Could Miss Coudert have fleshed out the exam without you knowing?” Nathan asked, hoping for a simple solution.“Don’t be silly [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]