Zherosha Chronicles- Unknown Origin

by Nancie Neal

  Amnika took a deep breath and looked around. "Okay, now where are we?"

  "Still in the anomaly, I think." Mihka brushed Amnika's arm.

  "It's okay," Amnika told him, "I'm going to be okay." She noticed that her hearing was coming back.

  Amnika looked out of the front window to find only blackness. She realized that the only light was coming from the panel, which was still using the energy storage bank.

  "Mihka, you might want to go sit back down," Amnika said. "If we had such an entrance, I have a feeling that we will have a similar exit."

  Mihka grunted and sat back in his seat.

  "What of the generator?" Rodgistan asked.

  "It is probably best if we wait until we are out," Amnika said.

  "There's a spare stabilizer fusion rod next to it," Mihka said helpfully. "I can probably change it as soon as we are out."

  The ship lurched forward.

  "How fast do you think we are going?" Amnika wondered out loud.

  "I estimate it to be three million, four hundred twenty thousand stick-lengths per a tick," Roniathan responded.

  "Faster than the speed of light?" Amnika asked. "How is it possible?"

  Again the ship lurched forward again and began to shudder.

  "Here we go again," Amnika muttered.

  This time as she felt the energy she pushed it around her.

  Rodgistan chuckled.

  "Good idea," he said. Amnika could sense him doing the same before it became too intense.

  The window brightened again, and loud roar began again. There was so much energy that Amnika couldn't keep up with it. However, she did manage to keep herself from passing out.

  The ship stopped shuttering, and it looked like they were in normal space. Before Amnika could say anything, a large grey mass passed on their left.

  They both look in the direction of the Mass.

  "What was that?!" Amnika exclaimed.

  When she looked forward, she saw a large blue glass like planet in front of them.

  "That's not Zherosha," Amnika said. Then it dawned on her how much in danger they were. The planet was growing large quickly.

  "Mihka, get the generator fixed!" She said. "We need to slow down!"

  She looked back at Mihka who already had the case open. Amnika looked back at the planet which appeared to be larger. It was getting close too fast.

  "Mihka!" Amnika's panic caused her voice to sound an octave higher.

  "I got it," Mihka said. "Roniathan, start the generator." He then got into his seat and buckled up.

  The planet filled the window. Amnika could hear the generator power up. She could feel the planet's gravitational pull.

  "External temperature is rising," Roniathan said.

  Amnika pulled the nose of the ship up, and the horizon of the planet dipped below the front window. The plasma began to swirl around them.

  "Sixteen hundred fifty heat points and holding," Roniathan said after a few moments.

  "Well, there's that, at least," Rodgistan said.

  Amnika could sense his fear, and she grabbed his hand. Until they reach the lower atmosphere, she couldn't turn on the hover-plates. So all they could do is wait.

  After a few moments, the plasma disappeared, and Amnika could see blue sky. She let go of Rodgistan's hand and put her hand on the controls. The ship slowed to a stop. Amnika set it to auto-hover and took a deep breath. For the moment, they were safe.

  Amnika switched the window display to view the ground. The different shades of green and brown squares reminded of the patchwork of the fur blankets the Natisiens made.

  "Wow, I never see anything like it," She said. "What do you think created that?"

  "I'm picking up some communications using radio waves," Roniathan said.

  "You are still writing data, right?" Amnika asked as she turned off her display.

  "Yes," Roniathan responded. "It seems to be encrypted. Do you want me to decrypt it?"

  "Yes, and play the results out loud. I want to hear it."

  Rodgistan looked at Amnika. He seemed uneasy.

  "You know something about this place, don't you?" Amnika asked.

  Rodgistan didn't answer right away. Amnika gave him a questioning look.

  The sound of the communications filled the cockpit. Amnika looked back at Mihka. His headset was up, listening intently.

  Amnika recognized the language.

  "This is the distant planet, isn't it?" Amnika asked. Her voice was low and sullen.

  "Amnika, I…" Rodgistan stopped. Amnika could sense his struggle, then he sighed. "I think Zakkon knew or at least thought that maybe he hoped…"

  "He hoped that we would risk our lives? For what? Is he that desperate for data?" Amnika interrupted in disbelief.

  "I'm sorry," Rodgistan said. "I'm speculating right now. I didn't think of it until we saw the planet."

  At that moment, two objects whizzed by.

  "What was that?" Amnika asked. "Roniathan?"

  "I took a snapshot," Roniathan said, and Amnika saw it in her eyepiece.

  "They look like some form of airship." Amnika turned in the direction they went. "It appears that they have to keep moving to stay afloat." She looked at Rodgistan. "Kind of like the old airships I saw in the research center."

  "They're coming back around," Roniathan said.

  "Track them and continue recording their communications," Amnika said.

  Roniathan began to fly backward. By the time the airships caught up, he had matched their speed. After a moment Amnika nodded.

  "Okay, we recorded enough. Let's get out of their atmosphere."

  Roniathan sped up and broke away from the airships. It wasn't long before the sky darkened and they were in the upper atmosphere. No one said anything for a long while.

  "Amnika," Rodgistan said gently. "The anomaly won't stay there for long."

  Amnika just nodded.

  "Roniathan, get us going fast enough in the direction of the center of the anomaly. Then when there is vague interference, shut the generator down." She said.

  "Wow," Mihka said. "You catch on quick."

  Amnika knew that he was trying to make her feel better. She looked back at him and gave him a reassuring smile.

  "I'm not mad at you, Rodgistan," Amnika said. "As a matter of fact, I'm not mad at all. Just disappointed."

  Rodgistan sighed.

  "Zakkon treats me as an equal," Amnika said, "but then feels the need to trick me? Or maybe he feels the need to hide information from me because he can't trust me yet? Is he that conflicted between me being an equal and a child at the same time?"

  "Zakkon can be a bit ambitious. He didn't think of the danger as much as he should have," Rodgistan said. "I was so excited to see Roniathan put to use, I didn't think to question it either."

  They watched the grey mass, to what Amnika figured was the distant planet's moon, pass them by.

  "That's not the hardest thing to think about, though," Amnika said as she heard the generator turn off. "Is the fact that my father, the advisor, knew."

  "It is possible that he didn't." Rodgistan tried to comfort her. Amnika noticed that he didn't sound so sure.

  Rodgistan took her hand and squeezed it. Then they both had to let go so they could hang onto the restraints while the ship began to shake.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Going through the anomaly the second time took a lot less effort than the first. By the time the trio came out the other end, Amnika was adept at pushing the energy around her. Her head still hurt, but at least she was still awake.

  Rodgistan brushed her arm.

  "I think you need to be reevaluated," he said. "I bet you surpassed twenty-one already."

  Amnika smiled at him a little but didn't say anything.

  "You are still upset?" Mihka asked. Amnika looked back at him. He had his headset up again. Since they did their research, he really didn't need it unless raiders attacked.

  "I just have a lot to think about,
" Amnika responded. "I'll be okay."

  He nodded and gave her a sad smile.

  Seeing Zherosha and the two moons, made her appreciate her home. She never thought she would be happy to study genetics in the tiny research rooms.

  "That relief is a wonderful feeling," Rodgistan said. "Isn't it?"

  Amnika nodded.

  "Definitely," Mihka said.

  When they lowered into the city, a Nahborian ship stood on the old landing pad. Amnika wondered why they were there as she set Roniathan to back into the hangar.

  Mihka stayed in the ship to make sure the data was transferred to the research center. The two Inersiens unstrapped themselves and went to disembark.

  "Amnika!"

  Amnika turned to face her father as she disembarked. He hugged her. She could sense his fear and relief. She kept her emotions as even as she could, but did share that she was happy to be home.

  Rodgistan was right behind her. He didn't keep his emotions as even. He was upset. Zakkon, who was walking over from the tubes, stopped. He looked at Rodgistan. Rodgistan saw Sh'iraskirish behind Zakkon and took a deep breath. Amnika sensed him forcing his emotions down.

  The Inersiens all knew that whatever they had to discuss, it would have to wait until the Nahborian left.

  Sh'iraskirish walked over to Amnika. At first, He looked a little confused with what is going on between the Inersiens. Then he looked at Amnika and smiled.

  "I have some news for you," he said to her, and he smiled. "We finished the shielding."

  Amnika chuckled.

  "You find this humorous?" Sh'iraskirish tipped his head to the side.

  Amnika looked up at him. "We just came back from a mission riddled with interference problems."

  Sh'iraskirish smiled and nodded.

  "I apologize," he said. "We ran into some minor problems with forging it."

  "No," Amnika said, "Don't apologize. We understand." The Inersiens murmured their agreement. "The good news is that the shielding around the Processor worked wonderfully."

  Amnika heard Mihka grunt behind her. "No data corruption. Great piece of work."

  "Good," Sh'iraskirish said. "However, I recommend that once the cab shielding is installed, you still will have to use the processor shielding as well."

  Amnika looked past him to Zakkon.

  "The new raiders again," Zakkon said. "They Attacked a Nahborian outpost. Apparently, they were able to partly penetrate their shielding."

  Amnika looked back at the Nahborians concerned.

  "They do not pose a threat to us," Sh'iraskirish assured her. "Like with the Exorlak, we will work together to make sure that these new creatures do not threaten our safety or yours."

  "They are working to make shielding for our warships," Father explained. "It will mostly be for our generators, but at least they will not cut out due to interference anymore."

  "Thank you," Amnika said.

  He gave her a slight bow and walked away. Everyone watched him board his ship and leave. Amnika still marveled on how silent it was as it glided out of the city, then vanished into the sky.

  It was Mihka who broke the silence first.

  "How could you have put us in danger like that," Mihka growled.

  Amnika turned to him surprised. She didn't realize he was that angry over what happened.

  "Mihka?"

  He looked at her. "They put you in danger, Amnika." Now he sounded as if he were about to cry. "Why would they do that?"

  "You downplayed the danger more than you should have," Rodgistan said. Amnika could sense him getting worked up. She was beginning to think that he might challenge Zakkon. She felt someone touch her hand. She looked to her left to find Anias standing there. He took her hand and squeezed it a little. Then he looked towards the others.

  Rodgistan faced Zakkon, and Amnika's father stood next to him.

  "Hear him out, Rodgistan," Father said.

  "You put your own daughter in danger!" Rodgistan sounded indignant. "You, as advisor knew what was going on!"

  Father looked down. Amnika could feel that he was remorseful. She interlaced her fingers with Anias' and squeezed back.

  "I didn't know until the beacon ship came back," Father said. "There was some missing data…"

  "If you knew what was going on here," Zakkon interrupted.

  "I would know if you would just tell me!" Rodgistan said. "I'm still head instructor! I have a right to know when I'm mentoring a high-level Inersien. I should be the one to determine what information is necessary to give to my students!"

  "Am I an equal or a child?" Amnika said finally. She kept her voice even and low.

  Everyone stopped to look at her.

  "If I'm a child, then shame on you all for putting me in danger like that," Amnika took a deep breath and looked down. She didn't want what she said to be taken as a challenge. “But if you see me as an equal, why did you hide information from me?"

  Anias looked at her and squeezed her hand again. She was glad that he was there, even if he didn't say anything.

  Zakkon pleaded with her and Rodgistan, "We didn't know the anomaly would grow. This is the truth."

  "But you knew it was unstable, even more so than before," Amnika said.

  There was a pause, and everyone stared at each other for a moment. Father shifted, still looking down. Amnika wondered if he really didn't know.

  Zakkon sighed. "Space is unstable. Everyone knows that. You did what was routine. It wasn't supposed to expand so quickly."

  "So you knew it had the propensity to expand!" Rodgistan said. "Did you not give that information to Roniathan?"

  "There is no data on the anomaly expanding," Roniathan said. Amnika thought it was odd that she found his lack of emotion unnerving.

  "All the data on the anomaly is there. I checked it, and I had my sons check it. " Zakkon defended himself. "It was all there."

  "But you didn't tell us. We are supposed to be training Roniathan," Amnika said. She realized that keeping her voice even was getting more attention than if she yelled. While her father looked down, She could sense Zakkon's fear from where she was standing.

  Silence.

  "I'm sorry, I so much wanted to be seen as an equal," Amnika lamented. She let go of Anias' hand to walk over to Rodgistan. "But I would rather you treat me as a child then try to treat me as both. It's confusing."

  Amnika touched Rodgistan's hand.

  "Don't challenge him," Amnika cast a thought to him. "We should discuss this when we aren't so emotionally strained."

  Rodgistan sighed and nodded. He put his hand on her head.

  She scoffed a little. "So child it is, then. I'm tired, I need to rest."

  The technicians who were standing back to watch the scene unfold came forward and helped the flight crew out of their suits. Zakkon and Anias left. No one else said a word for a few moments.

  "And to think I was working to become commander," Mihka lamented. "I'm going to the mines."

  Amnika pulled her shirt on and looked at him. "You were going to be commander?"

  Natisiens rarely try for the higher positions and when they do it's usually foremen of the laborers or Supervisors of the wall guards.

  He put his traditional shirt on and hesitated. "I don't know anymore. I wanted to until today."

  "Don't give that up," Amnika said. "You would be very good at it."

  Mihka just looked at her. She walked over to him, and he got to his knees. She hugged him. "We don't have too many Natisien commanders. We should have more."

  Amnika could feel his chest rise as he took in a deep breath. Then he let it out slowly.

  "I will work the mines for a while," he said finally. "It will help me think about it."

  Amnika pulled away from Mihka. She knew that Nahaeda and Rhada were standing in the opening.

  Rodgistan, who saw the Natisiens, sighed.

  "It can't wait another day? She needs her rest. She's been through enough already."

  "She needs to be
at the caves tonight. The test is in the morning," Nahaeda said.

  "It's the last one," Amnika said. "I won't have to do it again."

  Rodgistan didn't answer, he was looking at Amnika's father who approached them with caution.

  "I know we aren't on good terms right now," Father said. "I still would like to go with you."

  "I'm not angry with you," Amnika said. "I have a lot of questions that need to be answered."

  Father nodded. "I understand."

  Rodgistan was quiet for a moment. "I have to go and get Trinka. Maybe soon after you come back home, I'll bring her over."

  Amnika still sensed his frustration. "That would be good. I would like to see her again." She watched him leave.

  "I'm going with you," Mihka said to Amnika. "It will be good to see the caves again."

  Amnika and Father followed the Natisiens to the side gate past the riochi fields. Rhada offered to carry Amnika the whole way.

  "You can nap on the way," He said.

  Amnika chuckled.

  "Well, I don't know if I will able to nap, but you can carry me."

  He picked her up in a cradle-carry, and they headed towards the Natisiens' Mountain.

  Like the last time, they sat around the fire telling stories. Instead of talking about hunting, however, they spoke more about Rhada's childhood.

  "The first time you two separated," Mihka reminisced, "He cried himself to sleep."

  Rhada chuckled out of embarrassment. Amnika touched his hand.

  "I was sad, too," Amnika said. "I remember."

  "Oh," One of the other older adults piped up. "Remember the Hemerian children?"

  "Bah!" a few of the others said. Some were waving their hands in the air as if to shoo the thought away.

  "He was already a good protectorate," Amnika chuckled.

  Rhada gave her a knowing look. "Hemerian children refused to listen," He said. "But Amnika was so adamant about not letting the scants have them."

  "It's important to be empathetic, even to those not of your own kind," Nahaeda said.

  Then Nahaeda spoke of the return of Adeli. The one who scatters will come and do their work. Inersiens will leave for a time and like before, Adeli will go and gather them back. Then she will face the fiery beast and the trouble for Zherosha will end.