by Nancie Neal
Amnika blinked and in front of her, in midair, was a scant. Its mouth was open, it's front claws splayed, but it didn't reach her. A large hand grabbed the long, outstretched neck.
Snap!
In one swift move, one of the Natisiens broke its spine.
Three other scants behind her were killed by the other Natisiens. One used it's muscular legs to jump out at Rhada. He looked ready to grab it, but he missed. It immediately grabbed Rhada's leg and climbed up his back, using its tail for balance. Mihka appeared behind him and grabbed it by its neck and snapped it.
During the struggle, Amnika became concerned that the two might step on her, so she tried to back out of the way. Her foot gave out from under her, and she slipped down an embankment. It seemed only moments before she stood up, looking at where she slid. Amnika counted herself lucky to not have been injured on any of the trees on her way down.
Brushing herself off, she realized that she didn't have her cape and she could attract more scants. She kept her emotions even while checking to make sure there were none nearby. Once she felt that it was safe, she took a few steps out to get a better look at her surroundings.
It was an old Natisien settlement. Multiple entrances lined the cliff, each framed by massive pillars and topped off with carvings of animals. She remembered the story Ishda once told about how once the Natisiens lived here until the sea overflowed and flooded the area.
Forcing the Natisiens to move elsewhere they split into four tribes which later broke up into more. The leading tribe, the "cave" or "Mountain" Natisiens, were the ones who interacted with the city the most.
At that moment, Amnika felt an odd sense of energy. She almost couldn't see it at first. She watched the area in the direction it came from. A glowing orb landed a few feet in front of her and transformed into the shape of an Inersien.
"Hello," it said, "my name is Niesh."
Amnika became very uneasy. Something seemed off about this light being. She waited.
"I believe," it said, "you are Amnika."
Again Amnika didn't answer.
"I understand you are unfamiliar with me," Niesh continued. "We had existed long before your planet was formed. I know your kind likes knowledge. We can give you all the knowledge you desire." It spoke in an older type of Inersien dialect. It was more straightforward, and it had a different accent. It wasn't difficult for Amnika to understand it, but some words needed context to make sense.
Intrigued, Amnika finally spoke up, "What kind of knowledge?" She remembered what happened to Naehus. He let his knowledge destroy him, along with many of Inersiens and Natisiens.
"Whatever you desire," it said. Niesh voice was even and devoid of emotion. "The best way to share the knowledge is to unite with a physical being. We energy beings find it easier to communicate that way."
"I'm too young to be that intimate!" Amnika was indignant.
"Amnika!" Amnika heard Rhada call for her.
Without taking her eyes off the strange being, she yelled back in her highest pitched voice, "I'm down here! I slipped!" She remembered what her father taught her about Natisiens' hearing. Higher pitched voices carry farther.
"What are you doing here?" Niesh asked.
"We were hunting scants," Amnika responded. "I slipped."
"Aren't Scants dangerous for Inersiens like yourself?"
"Not if there are plenty of Natisiens nearby."
A rustling came from the slope. It was only then when Amnika looked away from the being and saw Rhada walk over to her. He looked at the strange creature. Then he looked at Amnika and stepped ahead of her.
Soon after, Nahaeda slid down the slope. Amnika saw his face when he saw the being. She couldn't recall when she saw him look so fearful. She touched the palm of Rhada's hand. He stooped and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Take her to the city," Nahaeda said.
Rhada hesitated for a moment, still staring at the being that stood before them.
"Now!" Nahaeda said.
Rhada climbed back up the slope, and Amnika could see Nahaeda close behind them.
"What did he say to you." Nahaeda sounded voice strained as they started their way towards the city walls.
"He wanted to share Knowledge," Amnika responded. "He said something about uniting, but I said I was too young."
Looking relieved, Nahaeda chuckled.
"He meant 'join' not 'unite.' What did you tell them?"
"I only told them we were hunting scants and that I slipped down the slope. The entity thought it was dangerous, but I said not if there were Natisiens nearby."
The few Natisiens that heard her whooped.
Nahaeda grunted an affirmation. "Good, from now on, do not talk to them. No matter what, you must not talk to such creatures at all."
Confused, Amnika nodded. "I won't talk to them, but I don't understand why."
Nahaeda turned to the others and started talking about the hunt, leaving Amnika feeling even more confused. Mihka took the dead scant and waved the head in front of Rhada's face.
"What's that, Rhada?" Mihka said in a falsetto voice. He bobbed the head as if he were making the scant talk. "I was too fast for you? Well, I wasn't too fast for your older, stronger, and faster brother. He's the best!"
Rhada pushed the scant away with his free hand. He pretended to be angry, but he couldn't help but smile at his brother's antics.
"No worries," Nahaeda chuckled. He clapped Rhada on the back, "Not all Natisiens get a scant on their first try."
They started their long walk up the path towards the city. Nahaeda walked alongside Rhada.
Natisiens begin to hop and chant:
"We went hunting scants
Rhada to prove himself a hunter (hop, hop)
Missed the last scant
And gave it to his older brother (hop, hop)
Bring the Inersien to help
And bring the scants to us to hunt (hop, hop)
She wasn't watching her step
She slipped under the brush (hop, hop)
Where she went, no one knew (hop, hop)
Till Rhada calls out to her
And there she was in front of him (hop, hop)
Next time he'll open his eyes wider."
The Natisiens laughed, and some clapped Rhada on the back. Amnika knew the last stanza was a jab at her and Rhada. She felt bad.
"I'm so sorry for making you lose that last scant. I should've watched my step," Amnika apologized.
"No," Rhada assured her, "Mihka got the last one before you fell. We will try again when you come back from your mission. I want you to be there when I catch my first one."
"I'm concerned about the Ostosien," Nahaeda confided to Rhada.
"Of light?" Amnika asked. She understood the ancient word.
"It's what my father called them. He thought that they were involved with Naehus' downfall," Nahaeda explained. "He said that they are very tricky. Most of what they say are lies. If they tell the truth, it's only to gain something for themselves. Sometimes what they want is destruction and sometimes what they want is power. They come as beings of light, but they are nothing more than darkness."
Amnika never heard Nahaeda sound so concerned. She rested her head on Rhada's shoulder and sighed. "I won't talk to them. I don't want to be like Naehus," Amnika said.
"Good girl." She felt Nahaeda pat her upper back. "Good girl."
Nahaeda walked ahead to lead. Mihka, took his place at the back, proudly carrying yet another one of his kills over his shoulder.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Amnika held her arms out to her side. The flight technician helped her with her flight suit. While she waited, she watched Mihka study his headset, before putting it on. On his left, another flight technician put a communicator on Rodgistan. The technician finished with Amnika, and she was able to turn to see Zakkon study his tablet with one of the flight technicians. Rhada stood behind him, watching everyone work. Amnika glanced up at Nahaeda who smile
d at her with a nod.
Father walked up to Amnika. He waited until the flight technician finished putting a communicator on her before giving her a hug. Amnika could sense a mix of emotions from her father.
"I'll be okay," she said. "It's pretty routine."
"I still worry," Father said. "But don't concern yourself with me. It's your first mission."
"Mother couldn't make it?" Amnika said.
Father sighed and shook his head.
Amnika hugged her father.
"I'm sorry," he consoled, "She needs her rest."
"I understand," Amnika said.
She pulled away from him, and he held her at arm's length. She looked over her shoulder to see Natia carry her mother off the lift.
"She doesn't seem to think so," Amnika chuckled.
Natia put her mother down next to Amnika and shrugged. "She insisted."
"Well, this is a significant part of my daughter's life. I thought I should be here." Mother hugged her.
Finding it difficult to contain her emotions, Amnika sighed. "I should have my cape." She could feel her father put his arm around her and join in the hug.
"I am happy that you came," Amnika straightened up and smiled at her father.
"You look grown up," he said.
She looked at Rhada who walked over to say his goodbye. He kneeled next to her.
"I wish you could come," Amnika told him as she gave him a hug.
"He has more training to do," Nahaeda said. "It won't be long before he goes everywhere you go."
"I know." Amnika joined the others.
"Are you ready to go, Amnika?" Zakkon asked.
"Yes."
"Do you understand the mission?"
"To gather data on the anomaly near the wall."
Zakkon looked satisfied. "You know, with this data, we may be able to create gates that allow us to travel through space." Zakkon put his hand on her shoulder. "Imagine being able to fold space so we can expand our reach outside of our system. We may be able to trade with Mahla again."
Amnika was glad to continue to benefit the city.
The new flight crew boarded Roniathan. Amnika took her place in the Captain's seat. Rodgistan sat next to her as the navigator, and Mihka sat in his position as the analyzer.
They go through a pre-flight check. Then Amnika started the generator.
"That is a great sound," Amnika said after it powers up. She could hear Mihka grunt his affirmation.
"Indeed," Rodgistan agreed.
In larger ships with more crew members, Inersiens will wear their capes to prevent distractions. Since it was only two friends, it wasn't necessary, and Amnika could sense Rodgistan's excitement.
"Ready, Roniathan?" Amnika said.
"I was built ready," he responded.
Amnika chuckled at Roniathan's literalness.
"Alright, using the auto navigation to get us to our destination," Amnika said. She set the auto navigation, and the ship hovered out of the hangar.
Then it lifted out of the city and headed into the sky.
Amnika kept her hands on the controls as she watched the blue sky darken to black. She could feel the pressure in her seat changed as they escaped the planet's gravity.
A few times Amnika felt the strange energies that were there the last time she was in space. She glanced over to Rodgistan who was looking at her.
"Yes, I can feel it too," he said.
Finally, the seat stopped pressing on her back.
"We are at max speed," Roniathan said. "One hundred, seventy-six thousand, four hundred units per tick."
"Well that's a little more than half light speed, now isn't it?" Rodgistan chuckled. "Congratulations."
She turned to Rodgistan and smiled. "We should be at the wall sooner than planned."
They talked a little about schooling and Amnika's early physical maturity to which Amnika felt her face become hot.
Rodgistan gave her an odd look. “It’s normal. All women go through this."
"I know." Amnika sighed. "I'm not sure why I feel embarrassed."
"Well, it's not something we normally talk about, I suppose." Rodgistan shifted. "You have done well in your genetics evaluation."
Amnika smiled at him. She knew he was changing the subject for her.
"I think I barely passed." Amnika felt herself being pressed up against her harness. They were slowing down.
"No, you did better than pass. Not as well as your other subjects." Rodgistan scoffed. "You know, if you didn't rush through it, you probably would have done better."
"I rushed because I wanted to get it over with. You know that Anias is only a level eight?"
"In the last known safe position," Roniathan's voice interrupted their conversation. "Using energy to maintain position."
"Sending out beacon ships," Mihka said. "Roniathan, start recording data."
"Recording," Roniathan said.
Amnika can hear the hissing as the beacon ships were released towards the area where the anomaly appeared last.
Amnika sighed.
"This is the worse part of any mission," Rodgistan said. "We wait. It could be minutes. It could be several twentieths."
Amnika undid her straps.
"May I?" She asked.
"You may," Rodgistan said with a smile.
With that, Amnika pushed herself out of her chair. Then she pushed herself towards the back. Mihka lifted his headset a little and watched her float past. He laughed and put his headset back on.
"I wish I could join you," he said. "But as long as we are out here I have a job to do."
Amnika pushed herself towards him and caught herself by grabbing his shoulders.
"Put what you see on the display," Amnika said.
Mihka did just that. Three displays appeared overhead. One for each beacon ship released.
Amnika marveled at the brightness of the stars. Even the stars over the caves, where there was minimal light, weren't as bright.
The displays switched between different light filters, showing infrared, ultraviolet, blue, red, green, etc.
Then, one of the displays showed new activity.
"You better get back to your seats," Mihka said, "Looks like we are going to see some action, soon."
Amnika and Rodgistan floated back to their seats. Right as Amnika finished the last buckle she heard the generator fluctuate. She looked over at the generator. Rodgistan also looked at it. Then they looked at each other.
"Roniathan," Amnika said, "Show me the anomaly."
Part of the front window showed the anomaly from the beacon ship closest to them.
Amnika watched as at first, a mass of light began to form. The energy snaked around making it appear to be like tangled yarn. Then it distorted as it began to swirl, taking some of the asteroids with it. She started to get an uneasy feeling.
"We are far enough," Rodgistan said. "The data showed that we are safe here."
Amnika could sense he was just as uneasy as she was.
Roniathan put the data he had from the city in her lens. It appeared over the anomaly. It looked like it was the right size. Amnika still observed it. The light now pulled into the center, creating some sort of tunnel.
"Roniathan, isolate the processor but keep writing data," Amnika said. She didn't take her eyes off the display.
She could hear the quiet whirring of the shield covering the processor.
It was quiet at first, then the anomaly pulsated, giving a blast of light and an intense energy burst. Amnika felt it hit her hard in her chest.
"The creator wills!" Rodgistan exclaimed. He held his hand over his heart.
"We lost one of the beacon ships," Mihka said.
The generator began to pop again.
"Roniathan is isolated, I'll have to fly manually." Amnika, forcing down her panic, used the controls to try to move the ship out of the area. The ship turned in the direction of home, but she could feel herself being pressed up against the harness. They were going in th
e wrong direction. The ship was caught in the gravitational pull of the anomaly.
"I don't have enough power," Amnika said.
"Keep trying." Rodgistan focused on his display, using the control panel for options.
The generator began to fizzle. Amnika looked at Rodgistan.
"Generator functionality low." The voice emanating from the panel startled Amnika.
"If the generator fails now, we'll go in backward." Amnika tried adding more power, but the generator kept fizzling. "If we go in backward, we are more likely to hit something." Amnika sighed, trying her best to keep calm. "We’ll have to face it."
Rodgistan nodded.
"Your father survived it, you will too."
Amnika knew it was her father and a few others who were caught up in the Anomaly the last time. No one talked about it except what to do if they were caught up in it.
Amnika turned the ship around in time for the generator to quit with a loud pop.
"I managed to get one of the beacon ships out of the pull," Mihka said. "It's on its way to Zherosha."
Amnika grabbed Rodgistan's hand. She shared her fear. Rodgistan shared that he was just as afraid.
The ship lurched forward and shuddered. The Inersiens grabbed their harnesses and held on.
The energy from the anomaly was overwhelming. Amnika could no longer sense Rodgistan next to her. The ship jerked around too much for her to turn her head.
She thought she heard Roniathan say something, but she couldn't make it out over the deafening roar. Amnika's head felt like it was full enough to pop. She closed her eyes and then it was silent.
She opened her eyes to find Mihka next to her.
"You passed out," he said. His voice sounded as if it were muted.
"Rod-" Amnika said, but the sound of her own muted voice caught her off guard. She put her hand to her ears. The earpieces were still in.
"I'm okay," Rodgistan said. "I think we both passed out. It will be a moment before your hearing comes back. Keep the earpieces in. They are designed to help the healing process."