The Akello Saga: Book One

The Akello Saga: Book One is a story written by ToaInfinity. It details a Blue Suns mercenary named Jarek Akello and his search for his missing brother.

Prologue
I sat quietly on the padded seat that faced the control panel of my space transport, glancing out the window at a sea of black space dotted with asteroids. My brother, Keraj, sat impatiently at the edge of his seat. His shaky hand tapped against the side of his seat, producing a beat that was composed of adrenaline and anxiety.

Glancing over at him, I began to wonder why he was so nervous. After all, he had no reason to be. He was one of the best mercenaries I knew, participating in countless missions for the Blue Suns. Hell, he'd saved my ass plenty of times during past missions together. But despite his skills, something seemed to be troubling him.

"You doing alright?" I asked.

He didn't take his glance away from the side viewport to his right. "Nothing," he said. He remained silent for a few seconds, then continued. "I don't know. This mission seems easy enough, but...I just feel like something isn't going to turn out right." He sighed heavily and flopped his head back, gazing up at the roof of the vehicle.

I returned my eyes to the front windshield and steered a bit to the left. I could see the jellyfish-like structure Omega's fluorescent crimson body directly ahead of us. "Don't worry, Keraj," I said. "You'll do just fine. This 'Archangel' character is yours for the killing."

Within moments, we'd arrived on Omega. I slowed the ship to a halt and lowered it down on a busy parking platform. A couple hundred feet away was the Afterlife club, its fiery pink neon sign casting a sinful glow on the entryway below it.

"Here you go: Omega!" I proclaimed, raising my hands in the air as if presenting something great. "The recruiting room should be right inside the Upper Afterlife." I opened the ship's hatch and stretched my arms and back, letting my brother climb out of the vehicle. Though as much as a few hundred reward credits sounded satisfying, I wasn't joining Jarek on his Archangel mission with some of the other Blue Suns members; instead, I would be supporting him from back home and awaiting his arrival. He'd have to do just fine without me.

"Don't get too boozed up here before your mission!" I joked, calling out to him as the hatch of the ship began to close. As he turned around to face me, the expression on his face clearly told me he wasn't in the mood for a laugh. I guessed the mission at hand was still troubling him. He turned around and quickly paced up to the front entrance of the Afterlife Club.

"And don't die," I said softly, even though he couldn't hear me. But this time, it wasn't a joke.

I sunk back into the driver seat of the vehicle and sighed. "He'll be fine," I convinced myself. "I hope."

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