Canaan

by David Salvi

  His hearty laugh filled up the comms, but Riley couldn’t hear it. She saw the boats below as beacons of hope and salvation. Chris saw her desperate eyes point downward.

  At the sight of Canaanite bi-copters, Motus soldiers tucked themselves behind the hull of the ships and drew weapons. Their barrels aimed upward, and they shouted instructions as if to surrender even though they were outgunned by superior weaponry. Spittle of fish flew out of their mouths.

  But Riley waved furiously from the cockpit to assure them. They had received the signal, recognizing their captain. They then ushered out and welcomed the Canaanite aircraft.

  “Sorry, Captain. We didn’t expect to see in those things,” one said once Riley jumped out of Chris’s bi-copter.

  “I didn’t expect to be in one,” Riley said with a faint smile. She asked for a status report.

  None of Timothy’s company were expected for weeks given their route. With the Canaanite forces tracking them closely, it was best to leave.

  Riley knew getting the exotic matter and Rob II away from the Canaanite forces was the best decision for Motus. And Motus Island was the safest place for it. A long trek across much of the Ocean of Antiquity, braving ‘canes, whales, and fatigue. There’s no way Canaanites could reach them, even though they may try.

  The group climbed aboard the Armada and hit the line, all of them. Lavik reveled in the opportunity to take the line and hull the group off the mainland and back to safety. Chris secured Rob II and the exotic matter device in a small storage space in the captain’s quarters on the sub-main level.

  “I’ll see you when we reach Motus Island,” Chris said before closing the storage and sealing it from air and water.

  “Sick of me already?” Rob II replied.

  “I need to man the line with the rest of the crew. And maybe get some fresh air.”

  “Of course. Godspeed, Christopher.”

  When he got to the line, Chris pulled on thick leathery gloves to protect his hands. They were loose and worn. He found a spot near the back, so to not screw the flow. Experts in front, newbies in back.

  Lavik barked orders. The line started slow and in unison, like riding a bike as they said back on Earth. After several repetitions, the smooth pull took the vessel off the rocky shore completely. They picked up speed on the water and the weight of the boat decreased with the momentum in the water. Still, each pull on the line was stronger than the last and the group found a rhythm.

  After a few minutes, conversation started. The crew mates were asking question, mostly about the fighting. To those Lavik and Chris regaled a few snippets to satisfy their thirst, though they had little understanding of the devastation. Then a sobering question arose.

  “What’s going to happen to Timothy’s company?” one said.

  “Don’t know,” Lavik said.

  “They’d be smart to stay in the mountains,” Riley said from the front of the line, right behind Lavik, who took point.

  Dodging the thought, Chris had another idea torturing his brain.

  “Canaan is going to come after us. Right to Motus Island,” Chris said from the back. Heads turned to hear who said such a thing. Murmuring voices were silenced, and you could only hear the clanking of the line. Their minds were pensive as their arms, legs, and back put power into each pull by habit.

  “Through Antiquity?” a linesman said.

  “Yep,” Chris said. “They’ll bring everything.” He was emotionless and let his words hang in the air.

  “Why don’t we just destroy the line back on the island? They’ll have no way to return.”

  “And let Timothy and the company rot in the mountains without a way to get back home?” Riley replied.

  The linesmen, including Lavik and Chris, paused for someone to speak up in a way. Any way, really.

  “No.” She had convinced herself it was the right way to think.

  Chris said, “Do you think Timothy would want us to destroy the line? Save Motus? He would as soon scuttle the boats and destroy the lines himself if he knew the circumstances.”

  “No,” Riley repeated. “I won’t do that to him.”

  “They will come, Riley,” Chris said. A sobering air flew around the line again. No one wanted to breathe it in, but they had no choice.

  Riley spoke up in a loud, confident voice, “Then it’s best we get the message back to everyone, so we can prepare.” For the ones defending their homeland, she flexed her courage as if she urged a siege of their island.

  Off they went into the Ocean of Antiquity. Not much more needed to be said.

  Entry 2 -- Space -- Four Light-Years from Earth

  I write these for future generations. Always make progress possible.

  We just became the first human beings, or anything for that matter, to travel through a man-made wormhole, connecting two distant points of our galaxy.

  Invention of the wheel.

  Crossing an ocean.

  Breaking the sound barrier.

  Reaching space.

  Four light-years within moments.

  I’m in awe of our achievements, now only driven harder to complete the journey and establish the first non-Earth settlement as interstellar travelers. Over one hundred souls are aboard our vessel. Every last one of them will see the horizon of Apollo from Canaan’s shores.

  There’s a blue dot in our window. It’s Canaan, our new home. We have a few days before we can begin the landing procedures. Until then, we prepare.

  I must tell you about the wormhole sometime, but in another entry. Now the work really starts.

  End of Entry.

  Oscar Marian

  CHAPTER 20

  MOTUS ISLAND was in the ship’s sights after an uneventful five days crossing the Ocean of Antiquity. Two more days than anticipated. Everyone on the Armada huffed and puffed for air as they approached the gate on the outer atoll. Arms and legs burned with fire in every muscle fiber. Their backs ached from the repetitive tugging of the much larger boat fit for more crew on the line. Their minds were blanked by the monotonous dredging of the line, but their hearts were partially shattered from their mission in Canaanite City.

  When Riley called out Motus, the crew collectively drew a faint smile, knowing rest and food were imminent. Maybe a beer too, if they had the energy.

  “Finally,” Lavik said under his breath. “What do you see, Captain?” he shouted shortly after up to the dock where Riley signaled the guards at the atoll gate.

  “Just as we left it, thankfully.” Riley was relieved. A haunting nightmare of smoke billowing from their island struck her mind every night. The image was copied from what she saw in Canaan. The mere thought devastated her. We must prepare, she kept telling herself through the ocean’s journey.

  “Damn good to see you, ma’am,” shouted the gate guard upon seeing Riley. The ship slowed as it approached the gate. Riley instructed Lavik carefully on distance remaining.

  “Same to you,” Riley shouted back.

  “Bit lighter company than when you departed, ma’am.”

  Riley nodded her head, which tracked down to her feet. The damn image from the nightmare again burned in her mind. She said loudly with her head still down, “Yes. More may come, but right now it’s just us. We have a special package for the dignitaries.”

  “Come on in, ma’am. And welcome home,” said the guard.

  Riley thanked him, then instructed Lavik again. The line picked up their pace and breached the atoll into Motus Bay. Onward they went to just get home and settled.

  Their welcome at the pier was uneventful compared to the departure over a month ago. No clamoring of people. No giant horns to announce their return. No special festivities planned. A small gathering if you could call it that.

  The pier was nearly bare of souls. Fishers tying up their boats turned to see only one vessel, Armada, instead of four. They’d throw their catch for the day on the dock and stare. Children stopped play in the square to walk over, defeated and sad. A few dignitaries e
merged from the mountain. Their faces showed worry and concern.

  Riley arose from the hull and looked around at the scene. Nothing special about our arrival. Most of their army was depleted. Motus virtually left defenseless. Before they could imagine inciting change in Canaanite City, they were destroyed. They were prepared for the Motus invasion.

  Behind Riley was Lavik. His broad shoulders slouched after he managed his way down a rope to the dock. And one by one the army’s remnants made their way to the mountain. Last out was Chris who saw the underwhelmed crowd already disperse back to their normal lives, although Riley waited for him.

  “Thanks for waiting,” Chris said.

  “You saved my life. It was the least I could do.”

  Riley took one look into his eyes, tried to smile, and hugged him. A tear streamed down her face. Where their bodies touched the area grew warmer, and she squeezed a bit tighter to emphasize her gratitude. She drew a deep breath and smelled Chris.

  Then a familiar voice reappeared in their lives.

  “Chris!” It was Olivia, nearly teary-eyed herself. Her eager run from the library was accompanied by shrieking in panic and excitement. Back in the library, half of her desk was on the floor moments during her abrupt exit. Some one had come into the library to announce Armada’s return.

  Chris turned his head and his battered face looked at her fondly. He gave Riley one final squeeze and let go to greet Olivia.

  Riley saw them kiss, and it stung her heart. She did not want to admit to herself that she had fallen for the man she promised not to fall in love with. Not Jason and Myra Mena’s kid. Not the kid with a legendary family and enormous shoes to fill. That made her a sucker. A heartthrob follower type. But she saw Chris beyond his last name, perhaps the same as Olivia did. He let her in. But he then let Riley in over the last few weeks.

  Olivia then extended her well wishes to Riley. Her voice was kind and soft. She even held out her hand to rub Riley’s shoulder. It was a nice gesture, and Chris smiled at the sight as if the olive branch was passed and all was right in the world again.

  Riley knew she could not wish ill will toward Olivia because she was just a girl in love with a boy. Focus was to be elsewhere. Especially with things soon to be dire.

  ***

  Groups of men and women from Armada walked gingerly to the square. Disparate Motus folk followed while offering words of encouragement, though they felt empty. A pat on the back may have been an act of expressing solidarity, but the soldiers only sought a warm bed for rest. They were tired and rotten from the enduring stretch across Antiquity.

  Riley, Lavik, and Chris had haunting images burned in their memory. Then there was the fear for Timothy’s party. The collection of negativity drove them to silence.

  Olivia held Chris’s hand. She picked up on his silence. In Chris’s other hand was a wooden cart on wheels. It carried Rob II and the exotic matter.

  “What are you going to do with it?” Riley asked.

  “Keep it in a safe place. Somewhere in the mountain,” Chris said.

  “And what if…”

  Chris cut Riley off, “I’ll take care of it.” They had spoken sparingly of the exotic matter and Rob II since Canaanite City. Chris kept it that way.

  He picked up his pace right after his brief exchange with Riley. The cart rattled across the firm ground of Motus square. Olivia followed suit, looking concerned. Riley was puzzled by Chris.

  Upon entering the mountain, Chris halted his cart and turned to Olivia. His face was devious and sincere. His eyes glared with a newfound intensity.

  Olivia said, “What’s wrong?”

  Chris replied, “We have to get out of here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We have to escape?”

  “And go where?”

  “Up.” Chris’s eyes tilted to the sky, through the clouds and at the moons in view. Only two at the moment.

  “Why do we have to escape?”

  “They’re coming and there’s nothing we can do.”

  “Who is?”

  “Canaan. All of them.”

  Olivia took a look at the cart. She said, “What’d you take from them?”

  Chris paused to look at Rob II and the exotic matter, then said, “We have to get to the laboratory.”

  Olivia nodded at her love. She took a deep breath and grabbed Chris’s hand. He pulled the cart and they walked together without looking back.

  Deeper into the mountain they went, step by step, roll by roll with the cart. Several Motus onlookers paused to see what the two were all about. A strange box on a cart with wiring. And two people walking with a determined gait. The cart echoed in the residential halls of the mountain.

  Chris did his best to explain to Olivia.

  “It was an ambush. The whole thing. They knew we were coming.”

  “But how?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they additional surveillance outside of the city. I don’t know for sure.”

  “Shit.”

  “You can say that again.”

  “What’s in the laboratory?”

  “Brody.”

  “Oh, I’ve always liked him. Smiles at me when he comes into the library.”

  “Yeah, he’s great,” Chris said abruptly, “But he’s got something in there. I can explain more when we get inside.”

  Butterflies erupted in Chris’s stomach.

  ***

  AURORA

  Several minutes passed as they made their way, and they then arrived at the laboratory, like Chris had so many times prior to this monumental time. Each visit added more gravity than the last. Now even more so with exotic matter and Rob II in tow.

  Brody emerged from behind his desk to see who had intruded on his work. His face of anger morphed into a bright smile in a flash. Around him were dozens of engineers and scientists hard at work in their individual spaces.

  “Chris!” the old engineer said.

  “Hello, sir.”

  “And you are…” he squinted his eyes. Heavy crows feet bloomed bloomed before his temples. “I know you. You’re the curator of the library!”

  “Olivia,” she said.

  “Olivia! A pleasure to see you. I had no idea Chris had a, ahem, love interest.”

  “Not really my thing to talk about it.” Chris held his gaze downward. Beside him Olivia blushed while trying not to crack a smile.

  Brody replied, “No matter! Glad to meet you, dear and fair, Olivia!

  To change the subject, Chris spoke up, “I’ve got it, Brody.”

  “You mean it, it?”

  “Yes.”

  Brody’s smile erupted into a full-body giddy bounce. He looked down to analyze the cart. A metallic box and headgear with wires. He wondered for a moment and scanned the box thoroughly. An interesting device, but one he knew perfectly well.

  “Yep, this is it,” Brody said. “Exactly what we need.”

  “For what?” Olivia asked.

  Everyone looked her way. How could she possibility not know about what Chris was trying to do? How could he keep this a secret from her?

  Brody spoke up as the voice of sobriety, “You didn’t tell her?”

  “I’d rather show her,” Chris said.

  “Let’s! This way.”

  Instead of letting Rob II ride as the exotic matter’s partner, Chris put him back on so he could analyze the area. Olivia had helped this time, adjusting the shoulder straps. Brody marveled at Rob II’s transportation device.

  Once Chris was all set, Brody motioned for the group to follow his lead to the back end of the laboratory. They weaved in-between desks and chairs.

  Rob II whispered in Chris’s ear, “Not the cleanest of work spaces.”

  Past the mess of paperwork, beakers, measuring instruments, and half-eaten food, was a metal door and its frame carved out of the mountain’s rocky face.

  Brody punched in a code and a mechanical click unlocked the door. The group entered as a pan of lights illuminated a lo
ng pathway. At the far end, several hundred feet ahead, was another door, but it was hard to make it out.

  Together they walked as one unit. Brody, Chris, Olivia, and a team of engineers. The tunnel was shaped like a cylinder and paneled with metal slabs.

  “Chris, I am thrilled to share this with you as well!” Brody said.

  An engineer spoke up, “The designs you provided were perfect.”

  “Yes, yes. No details spared. Quite the challenge, but we believe we succeeded,” Another said.

  This set off a ripple of comments.

  “Once the exotic matter is implanted…”

  “Rob II will certify the construction, finding any holes…”

  “Just imagine…”

  They reached the door. Another code punch and unlocked it went. Brody paused for effect, looked back at his group of engineers with a wink, then at Chris and Olivia with that signature giddy smile.

  The engineer’s grin almost annoyed Chris since it was plastered on Brody’s face as an unyielding emotion. Then again, he did not know what was on the other side of the door.

  As the door opened, lights pointed upward came into view. Stretching above in a large cavernous space deep in the mountain was a spacecraft, spectacular and ethereal at first sight. She had a cylinder body with exterior wings and thrusters around the entire hull—a color mixture of teals, tans, and reds, reflecting the eclectic nature of Canaan’s crust. Landing gears held her above ground. Black cone-like engines rested several feet off the rocky floor. Painted up along the side, perpendicular to the ground, was her name. Chris tilted his head to read it, though he already knew her name. He was proud to see it officially sealed on a celestial-bound spacecraft.

  Everyone shuffled in to get a full view. A few engineers were already working on the craft, mostly fine-tuning calculations and running tests, which all checked out.

  “Meet Aurora,” Brody said.

  Imperium, Year 1 Entry -- Canaan’s Orbit

  I write these for future generations. Always make progress possible.