Chapter 45
May – 3,390 BC
Earth: Village of Assur
Colonel Mikhail Mannuki'ili
MIKHAIL
Gritty ochre dust blew across the vast, barren landscape, as desolate and empty as the space between his ears. Long-dead streams divided the desert into patches of dark and light, giving the impression of squares. With each step, destiny moved him forward, as though some ancient god moved him across a chess board.
"Who am I? Why am I here?"
He fingered the dog tags he'd woken up with strung around his neck. They jingled with a hollow clink, the totality of his identity:
.
Colonel Mikhail Mannuki’ili
352d SOG
Angelic Air Force
Second Galactic Alliance
.
The name evoked no emotion, no belonging, and no sense of recognition. Only the pin worn over his heart; a tree emblazoned with the words, "
