Zherosha Chronicles- Unknown Origin

by Nancie Neal

  "That was definitely surreal," She said.

  Mihka chuckled from behind them. He held his headset in his hands.

  Amnika watched him as he put his headset on then sat in the analyzer's seat. He strapped himself into his chair.

  "The Natisiens' headset takes advantage of their hunting instincts," Rodgistan said. "They see more of the spectrum than we do, and sometimes in space that can be distracting. So their headsets filter out the light that isn't needed."

  After checking the fit, he gave Amnika a wink and then pulled the display over his eyes.

  Amnika looked back at Rodgistan who motioned towards the captain's chair.

  "Really?" Amnika said.

  "Well, the ship is yours, now isn't he?"

  Amnika, excited, sat in the captain's chair. Rodgistan sat in the Navigator's seat. Roniathan closed the doors.

  Rodgistan pointed to Amnika's communicator, and Amnika put her hand to it. The Lens display flipped out and set itself in front of her eye. Green markings seemed to appear everywhere as the communicator assessed the area.

  "It can be disorienting at first, but it is an asset when flying," Rodgistan explained. "But you will find it essential when communicating with the base you are connecting to, flying through the asteroid wall, or picking up on new signals that might be another intelligent lifeform."

  He then showed her the controls which were on the armrests on the chair. Then he had her try to fly out of the simulated hangar. Immediate, she clipped the wall.

  "Well, there goes our repair tools and the engineers' wash closet" Rodgistan chuckled.

  Mihka laughed. "With the way you fly, Natisiens will not have to expand the hangar. You'll do it for them!"

  Amnika turned red and tried reaching for her hood. Then she realized that she wasn't wearing her cape.

  "No," Rodgistan consoled. "No, it's okay. I don't think anyone flew out of the hangar without hitting the wall at least once. That's why we do simulations. We will do simulations until you can fly out of here in your sleep."

  Amnika took a deep breath and tried again. She trained for what seemed to be a long time. When they finished, she was able to go forward out of the hangar without any problems. She still needed to learn to go backward.

  Amnika was concerned that she might mess up one day and hit the hangar walls. Thinking of it made her a little nervous.

  "You know," Rodgistan said as they got back into their clothes. "The only reason why we have you train to park in the hangar is to get you used to the controls. The auto-pilot usually takes care of arriving in and out of hangars."

  Amnika looked at him blankly as the technician took off her flight suit top. She could sense the technician's amusement.

  "All this time," Amnika started.

  Mihka started laughing.

  "I was really concerned that I would eventually end up doing damage," Amnika finished.

  Rhada, who walked in from the market, chuckled.

  "By the looks on your face, I guess you found out about the autopilot," he said, "after you already trained to fly?"

  Amnika looked at him, confused.

  "They did the same to Mihka."

  Mihka grunted in agreement. "They told me after I took out the rikta ceiling and the insulated rooms. I was concerned that I would never be allowed to fly. I had the same reaction when they told me about the autopilot."

  Rhada handed Amnika a bag.

  She opened it and peeked inside. "Patri wraps!"

  "He always thinks of you." Amnika looked up to see her father walking from the lifts with Zakkon. He gave her a hug and asked, "How did it go?"

  "I did finally manage to fly out without a problem. I still need to learn to back in."

  "That is pretty difficult," Father agreed. "You'll get it, though. It takes a little practice."

  Then he looked up at Rhada.

  "I bet you are here for the Scant hunt," Father said.

  Rhada grunted.

  "I came here to ask Amnika to join us four days from now," Rhada said. "Inersiens make finding scant easier."

  Amnika looked expectantly at her father.

  "It would be nice if Amnika saw me catch my first one," Rhada added.

  Father glanced at Zakkon.

  "I don't have a problem with it," he said. "It's certainly safer than the mission you are assigned to."

  Amnika smiled at Rhada. She's never been on a scant hunt before.

  Natisiens would hunt scants at the end of each cycle. The ones who were coming of age would go with the adults to get their first one. It was a rite of passage for the young adults.

  "I think I will go on that hunt too," Mihka said. He looked a little smug.

  Rhada groaned a little.

  "Come on now," Mihka consoled, "You are quick. You'll do well."

  He took off his communicator and handed it to the flight technician. Then Mihka walked by Rhada and clapped his shoulder.

  "You'll do well," he repeated.

  "I wish you could come on my first mission." Amnika looked at her ship.

  "I wish I could go, too," Rhada said. "But I have more training to do before we go to the caves."

  Amnika sighed. "I'm glad this is the last time we go there for protectorate training."

  Rhada agreed.

  "It's almost past evening meal," Father said. "I take it you have some things to do."

  Amnika could sense Nahaeda nearby, but she didn't say anything.

  "Father is taking me out night stalking. I will see you in four days after your flight training." Rhada got down on his knees, and Amnika hugged him.

  "It's good to see you again." She buried her face in his neck.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Amnika woke up with a start. It was still dark, and it took her a few moments to realize where she was. She knew it was still night since the walls of her room were not even dim yet.

  Feeling sad, she wondered if her cycle was starting again. She learned after the last time that Inersien women would have them sporadically throughout their lives. She doubled checked her health monitor bottoms. No blood.

  She thought of the other things that could be affecting her. Her mother's time is almost up, and it made Amnika sad when she thought about it.

  Perhaps that was the problem, she thought.

  Amnika sighed and turned and faced the wall. She decided to distract herself with something that made her happy. She had been training for three days. She thought about how Rodgistan made her feel better about all of her gaffs. She thought about how she felt when she first succeeded backing into the hangar without incident. It worked, and she fell back to sleep.

  The walls were bright when Amnika woke up again. She did her usual morning routine and walked out of her room.

  She looked at her father who leaned on his counter, tapping on his tablet. Taking a few steps towards him, she felt another connection break. It felt as if her heart squeezed itself tight for a moment. She put her hand to her chest and stopped. She looked horrified at her father. And then another one.

  Father put his tablet down and went over to her.

  "Father, it's happening again!" Amnika gasped. A few more connections. She leaned on her father.

  "They're dying."

  "Go ahead and share it, Amnika," Father said.

  Amnika did, and she did feel better. They both cried.

  The morning seemed to drag on forever. Finally, the broken connections stopped.

  "You need to eat something," Father said.

  Amnika didn't answer. She sat on the floor, next to the cleared wall, looking outside at the city. Father grabbed a bar from the sealed cubby and handed it to her. Amnika took it and thanked him. Then she continued looking out.

  Her mother finally walked out of her room. "What's going on?" Her voice sounded tight.

  "More broken connections." Father reached out and took his wife in his arms. "Amnika is feeling them again."

  Amnika got up and joined the hug.

  Father w
as the first to let go. "You really do need to eat your bar. I can sense your energy is low."

  Amnika nodded and ate her bar. The door buzzed when she was almost finished. Feeling some of her energy come back, she walked over to check the door. She Managed to get a glimpse of Rodgistan before Astran reached out to hug her. She hugged him back.

  "What is going on?" Amnika said.

  "I'm sure you already know about the deaths," Rodgistan lamented. "They were all high-level Inersiens."

  Astran let Amnika go. "I thought one of them might be you," He whispered.

  "Oh, Astran," Amnika said. "I'm okay, at least."

  Amnika glanced at Mother who was listening to the conversation while they talked about the symptoms.

  "Medical is looking into it now. Before some died, they volunteered to let them use their bodies." Rodgistan voice wavered. "Including my wife." He sighed. Amnika could feel his grief. "She wanted to end this. So she offered to be scanned throughout the process." His voice cracked.

  Amnika was in shock. She walked over and took Rodgistan's hand. They shared their grief.

  "She lived well." Rodgistan held onto Amnika and cried. "It was her who volunteered first. Others followed when they found out." Rodgistan took a deep breath. "We have more information on how the illness progresses, now. Unfortunately, we still don't know the cause."

  "It seems that all the symptoms point out to some form of brain problem." Mother's voice was low and even.

  "Do you think that's what it is?" Father asked.

  "Well, yes. When I," Mother paused and looked at Amnika. "When I worked in Medical as an assistant, it was common with the older ones who were close to passing on."

  Father glanced at Amnika.

  "I'll have medical to look into it." He said.

  Rodgistan nodded and let Amnika go.

  "We may have to postpone formal education again," Rodgistan said. "Some that passed on were children."

  Amnika studied Astran who was looking at his hands.

  "That's why you were so concerned," Amnika said.

  "Yes," Astran responded. "I mean, I know now how to deal with death, but…" Astran trailed off. "I don't want to lose you."

  Amnika took his hand, and they shared their feelings of fear and uncertainty.

  The ceremonies on the next day were the same as last time only Amnika hadn't connected with anyone who died. Her father insisted she stay in the towers.

  "Remember what happened last time?" Father saw that she was about to protest. "I'm sorry. It's hard for me to see you in so much pain."

  Amnika sighed and nodded.

  "I'll be here with you," Mother said.

  Amnika looked at her mother. She continued to have good days and bad days. This time, Mother looked so well that Amnika couldn't tell that she was ill.

  "Perhaps, it will be best this way anyway," Amnika said and gave a weak smile to her mother.

  The ceremonies took the entire day. When Father came home, Amnika could tell that he was exhausted. He gave his wife a small bag.

  Peeking into the bag, Mother smiled. "Riana roots!" She got up to put them into the sealed cubby.

  "It was another long day." Father yawned. "I'm going to bed early."

  "You know," Mother said. "I'm going to join you."

  Amnika leaned up against the window and looked out. She thought she felt the pulse stop briefly, like a heart skipping a beat.

  The next day, Amnika met Rodgistan in the Mountain hangar.

  "Are you sure that you want to continue this now?" He asked.

  "I thought doing something I looked forward to would be a good distraction." Amnika gave Rodgistan a concerned look. "If you don't want to, I mean after everything that happened…"

  "No, no." Rodgistan held his hand up to stop her. "You are right. Life goes on, and this will help us get back into things. I miss my wife." He stopped for a moment and took a breath. "But training you will help." His voice wavered, and he gave a sad smile.

  "You know what else is distracting?" She heard a deep voice come from the hangar opening. She turned in the direction of the sound to find Rhada standing at the edge of the opening.

  "Oh?" Amnika asked.

  "Scant hunts," he said.

  "I know your father postponed the hunt for the ceremonies yesterday," Amnika said.

  Rhada grunted his affirmation.

  "He thought it would be best to do it after midday meal today."

  Amnika nodded. Life must go on.

  Amnika, Mihka, and Rodgistan suited up. Amnika sense her mentor's struggle with his emotions.

  "Well, that was quick!" Amnika said after her suit was snapped on.

  "It helps when you are used to it," the technician said. "You don't wiggle so much."

  "Sorry, I sometimes I have a hard time standing still, I suppose." Amnika chuckled.

  They went into the ship for more training. In the simulation, Amnika was able to fly out and back into the hangar. She only clipped the wing once.

  "It's okay," Mihka teased. "It will only stop the use of the hangar for a few days. The polymer takes a while to replace."

  "It's a simulation!" Amnika glared at him in mock annoyance.

  Mihka laughed.

  "It's good enough. A few more times and you can do it without any problems." Rodgistan tapped on the front panel. "We sent beacon ships to the anomaly when it last showed up. Roniathan has that information. He'll use that to create a simulation."

  "So why can't we just send beacon ships up there?" Amnika asked.

  "We need to have real-time analysis of the data. It's too far for us to do it here and the wall can be too unstable to have a base nearby. So sometimes we have to send people up there." Rodgistan motioned to the panel. "This time may be the last time. With programs like Roniathan, we may be able to create intelligent beacon ships which will do it for us."

  "But this mission is to train him," Amnika said. "I understand."

  The mission training was straightforward. Amnika found it dull. There was a lot of waiting involved. Waiting for the anomaly to appear. Waiting for responses for the beacon ships and even then, Mihka oversaw analyzing the data so all the Inersiens could do is sit and watch. Waiting for the beacon ships to return and then flying home. During this time, Amnika encouraged Rodgistan to talk about his wife.

  "You know, I never met her in person," Amnika said. "I did hear a lot about her. I remember watching her disembark thinking that's the type of person I would like to emulate."

  "She lived her life well." Rodgistan's voice wasn't wavering anymore.

  "Talking about Oshtron helped me when he died," Amnika said. "I felt better after."

  "And I think you are right. I do feel better talking about the memories of my wife." He shared with her his sadness and frustration. "She married old. I was supposed to go before her. She did live her life well, and because of her, we may be able to fix this problem."

  They finished the mission and stepped out of the ship.

  "We simulate the mission one more time after the hunt. Then we leave tomorrow," Rodgistan said. "We only have a small window of time to get the data we need of the anomaly."

  In her peripheral vision, Amnika thought she saw Afkistan, Zakkon's son, watching them from the hallway. When she looked in that direction, he wasn't there.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Mihka, Rodgistan, and Amnika got out of their flight suits. Mihka walked out of the hangar through the insulated rooms.

  Fastening her cape, Amnika watched Mihka leave. She raised an eyebrow at Rhada.

  "It's a bad idea to hunt in wall-guard uniform," he explained.

  Amnika nodded.

  Rhada walked over to her and picked her up in one arm. He then carried her to the front gate. At the entrance were a few other Natisiens with Nahaeda.

  "Mihka will be here soon?" Nahaeda asked.

  Rhada grunted an affirmation. "He's changing into hunting clothes."

  Amnika looked at the Natisiens. There were
only a few going this time. She wasn't surprised since the biggest hunt usually starts on the first day of the cycle. There will be a few hunts before then with only a few going.

  It wasn't long before Mihka showed up with Father following behind.

  "I was wondering if you were going to see me off," Amnika said.

  Father chuckled a little. He grabbed her hand and shared his last experience on a hunt. It was a traditional game of trust done since the mountain Natisiens decided to help the Inersiens.

  "Do what Nahaeda says, and you should do fine," he told her.

  Amnika smiled and put her hood over her head. Then they headed out of the gate. She followed closely to Nahaeda. Right behind her was Rhada, followed by four other Natisiens. Mihka, who was the most adept hunter of the group except for Nahaeda, was last to make sure no one was left behind.

  They reached the bridge to the ravine. Nahaeda turned to Amnika. In one swift motion, he stooped down, and Amnika jumped onto his arm. She knew it was safer for him to carry her across.

  After they crossed the bridge, they followed the narrow path downhill until finally, Nahaeda put Amnika down.

  "Okay," he said. "In a moment, I will tell you to take off your cape. You can hang it up on those branches next to you if you like. Then you seek out emotions from the scants."

  Amnika remembered her father sharing this part.

  "I'm to tell you when I feel something and how many sources?" She asked.

  Nahaeda grunted. He looked around and sniffed the air then he grunted again. "Go ahead and take off your cape."

  Amnika took her cape off and hung them on the branches and waited. After a moment, she sensed it.

  "Irritation and intense focus," Amnika said.

  "How many sources?" Nahaeda asked.

  "Five." Amnika looked at him.

  Nahaeda motioned to the others. Despite their size, the Natisiens disappeared into the thicket and trees. Amnika looked back at the source of the emotions coming from some underbrush. She could hear the clicking that the Natisiens make when they hunt. It bounced off the ridges and trees. If Amnika didn't see the Natisiens before, she would have thought there were more.

  They stopped, and everything became silent. Even the birds and chirping insects calmed their usual racket. The irritation was gone, and Amnika only could sense intense focus. She knew she was being hunted, but that was the point. She tried to see the scants, but their brown, tan, and black fur camouflaged them well in the thicket.