Page 1 of Taurus's Quest
Prologue
The doom of civilization began the moment the avatar for the Ophiuchus constellation finally escaped its dark void prison. Its series of stars, nestled in the Milky Way, started glowing brighter, not that most people noticed or cared.
Astronomers, who watched the night sky on a regular basis, did wonder why the Thirteenth Zodiac suddenly shone more clearly than before. However, their interest in it quickly waned as something more astonishing occurred.
From the Milky Way, whose spinning arms contained a multitude of solar systems, emerged an interstellar object. An asteroid, not an alien ship, to the dismay of many. Still, despite it not being a UAP, the rare occurrence did rouse curiosity. To date, only two other interstellar objects had ever been observed entering Earth’s solar system. The first, a cigar-shaped rock in 2017 that was named ‘Oumuamua. It caused great excitement among observers, as it demonstrated non-gravitational acceleration, which led many to theorize it might have actually been an extraterrestrial craft with a propulsion system. However, the scientific community explained that this phenomenon was likely due to internal gases combusting.
The second object, the Borisov comet, appeared in 2019 and didn’t garner nearly as much attention, as it obeyed the laws scientists thought set in stone and its trajectory took it out of Earth’s solar system.
All this to show the rarity of interstellar objects, meaning the third one in such a short time frame had astronomers in a tizzy, especially since, like ‘Oumuamua, it had varying orbital characteristics—like a comet—yet was confirmed through spectroscopy to be comprised of rocky materials—making it an asteroid.
While many drooled at the thought of getting samples, they had to content themselves with tracking and capturing images because the modelling showed it wouldn’t come anywhere close to Earth. A good thing, since, given its size, an impact with the surface of the planet would have been catastrophic.
Only one person predicted it would shift course, not that anyone believed her.
Those within the rocketing asteroid made sure of that.
Chapter 1
“…and that is how we ended up saving Tower and acquiring a thirteenth warrior.” Aries concluded his summary to a drop-jawed Taurus.
Apparently, the months Taurus spent hunting a misbehaving werewolf meant he missed a mega battle. Bummer. He’d have much preferred to be pitting his skills against mercenaries than stalking the smelly canine that led him on a merry chase through the untamed forests of Hungary. Even worse, in the end, he’d not even been the one to kill the rabid beast. That honor went to the werewolf’s wife, who’d invested in some silver bullets when she realized her husband had been the one killing all their neighbors. When the hairy bastard brazenly returned home, he met his fatal end.
With the mission complete, Taurus returned to Tower for some R&R, where not only did he get to hear all about the epic fight he’d missed, but he also got to meet Aries and Sage’s baby girl. Tiny little thing, kind of boring if you asked him, unlike Leo’s talkative—and spooky at times—daughter, Olivia.
A kid who suddenly looked at him from across the dining room table and said, “Uncy Taurus, you should shave.”
The comment led to Taurus stroking the splendid beard that had grown wild during his absence. “I thought you liked my beard.” Upon seeing it, Olivia had clapped her hands and demanded her daddy grow one just as bushy.
“I do, but the green lady won’t.” An announcement that drew the attention of everyone gathered to eat breakfast.
The usually gruff Leo used a pussy-soft voice to ask, “What green lady?”
Rather than reply to that query, Olivia held out her hand. “Can I have another piece of bacon, please?”
Sage snagged a strip and handed it over while cradling her newborn to her chest. “Olivia, can you tell us about the green lady?”
“She needs help.”
“What kind of help? Is she in trouble? Did you have a vision?” Sage used to be their only seer until Leo reunited with his missing daughter. Turned out Olivia had the gift, too, but she’d yet to learn to control it and thus tended to blurt out the most random things, such as telling him he should be practicing his sword skills—as if he wasn’t a master with his weapon of choice already.
“I saw the green lady in my dream last night. Her and Uncy Taurus,” Olivia said in between chewing her strip of bacon.
“What were they doing?” Thankfully Sage possessed more patience than Taurus. He only held back from barking at the kid because doing so would likely lead to Leo pummeling his face to a pulp.
“They was arguing.”
“About what?” Sage kept doing her best to draw out answers.
“I don’t remember. Just that Uncy Taurus is gonna help because no one believes her.”
“Believes her about what?” Leo took over questioning since the baby began to fuss.
Olivia’s nose wrinkled. “Dunno. Couldn’t see that part. But I think you need to find something.”
“And you’re sure it’s me who helps her?” Taurus couldn’t help but sound dubious because he really didn’t seem like the right choice in a mission that required detective work. He tended to be more likely to lose things than find them.
“Yes, you. There’s gonna be monsters, so make sure you bring your sword,” Olivia exclaimed, bouncing in her seat.
