Zherosha Chronicles- Unknown Origin

by Nancie Neal

  Soon the chatter on the communications began to pick up. Amnika looked around and found the Destrien ships. They were massive, and even the Nahborian flagships were small in comparison. Amnika began to worry. None of the last attacks showed such ships.

  "It's okay, they'll take care of them. Big doesn't mean better." Sh'iraskirish rubbed her arm.

  "Hold the pods. Don't release the beacon ships until I say." Amnika heard her father say. In front of her, she saw the Nahborian attack first. They send out what appeared to be energy blasts towards the largest ship. She could see the lights shut off and the vessel lost power.

  "See? Already disabled." Sh'iraskirish gave her a light squeeze.

  "Now release the first wave pods. Don't let any ships get away. All must be destroyed." It was comforting to know that her father was in the command ship behind the Nahborians.

  She watched as the pods swung forward and open like flowers. Thousands upon thousands of weaponized beacon ships flew out. They swarmed the smaller ships immediately and took them out. Many of them exploding on impact taking several out in one shot. Some used their energy to fire focused energy bursts.

  The lights came back on the Destrien ship, and the Nahborian ship sent another energy blast which shut it back down but not before sending its own shot. It looked like some type of laser. It hit one of the Nahborian command ships.

  "We're hit!" The voice spoke in Standard. "Damage minimal. Large ship is disabled."

  "All the smaller ships are destroyed." It sounded like Mihka.

  "The larger ship might be a challenge, but you are to completely destroy them. We cannot have survivors that report back. Send the second wave."

  One of the pods set for the second wave swung forward and opened. The weaponized beacon ships swarmed the enormous ship. Small puffs of fire could be seen on the surface.

  The ship powered up and fired. Because the beacon ships pushed it off course, it missed.

  "Send in another pod. Be sure to hit some of the same marks. It looks like we can dig to the center."

  Again, more puffs.

  "The fire is red and orange." Amnika looked at Sh'iraskirish. "They're oxygen-breathers." She realized that she inadvertently cast her thoughts to him.

  Soon, one of the hits produced a stream of fire instead of a puff.

  "There's an opening, keep hitting it!" The accent was strong, and Amnika could barely make out what he said.

  Soon, all of the openings began to light up. One of the beacon ships made it to the center and detonated causing the entire ship to explode from the inside. It broke up into smaller pieces. The other beacon ships and some of the smaller warships began to destroy even the smaller pieces.

  "That is to make sure that there is no pocket of survivors." Sh'iraskirish cast a thought to Amnika. "But it is over. We won."

  They both watch as the weaponized beacon ships swarmed the pieces and destroyed them. Some began to lose power as they used up their internal energy. Some detonated on the larger pieces, creating a bright ring of light.

  When they were sure that the threat was no longer there, the command ships headed back to Nahbor. Amnika and Sh'iraskirish watched as the smaller warships stay behind for the cleanup. One of them collected the undetonated beacon ships for recycling.

  "By now, the command ship shuttles are landing here," Sh'iraskirish cast a thought to Amnika. He guided her to the door. As they walked out, they almost ran into Sanna. There was a moment of unease, and then Sh'iraskirish dropped his hands to his sides. Sanna patted his shoulder and continued on.

  "You can cut us off when you cast thoughts?" Amnika asked after Sanna was out of range.

  He looked at her and smiled. "Yes, but we cannot manipulate energy like some of you can."

  Amnika was a little surprised to hear him speak out loud. He motioned toward the landing platform. A Zheroshian Transport ship landed on the platform. The door opened, and Her father disembarked.

  Amnika ran and hugged her father, but she found this a little difficult since they were both still wearing their flight suits. They both chuckled, and instead, Amnika grasped her father's hand and shared her experience in the battle room.

  He showed her that he was happy that she was safe. Then he shared the experience, a combination of confidence that thing will go well and the possibility that he could be wrong. He also shared that he did see the inside of the battle room when he was young.

  Amnika backed up and looked at her father. She noticed that he was starting to show some wrinkles around his eyes. Some grey dotted his black hair.

  "Amnika!" Anias disembarked behind her father.

  "I thought you would be home."

  "Since Zeth was commanding the fleet, Zakkon thought it would be good for me to go and he stayed home. Something about making new plans with Earth."

  Father stepped behind his daughter.

  Amnika kept her hands by her sides and smiled at Anias.

  Anias scoffed. "I'm going to hug a friend!"

  Amnika could hear her father chuckle as Anias wrapped his arms around her.

  Anias flew home with Amnika and her father. Father sat in the second analyzer's chair behind Rhada so that Anias could be in front with Amnika.

  They landed and are greeted with cheers by the citizens. Amnika let Anias and her Father disembark first. After all, they were the ones who deserve the attention. Amnika followed, and her father took her hand on her way down. Rhada walked out behind and put both of his hands in the air. The Natisiens whooped, and more cheers came from the crowd.

  She stood by her father as the Natisiens sung celebratory songs. While their songs did make Amnika feel happy, she still was ambivalent about the battle. She had too many questions she will have to ask her father later.

  She looked over at Nahaeda who stood by Zakkon. He wasn't singing with the others. Instead, he studied Amnika. She studied him back. He pursed his lips and gave her a slow nod.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The celebrations died down, and the leadership, Amnika, Rhada, Anias, and Nahaeda lingered in the hangar. Amnika stood in front of Roniathan with her hand on the ships' nose.

  "I haven't seen celebrations like that since I was a child." Zakkon waved off the last few Inersiens. "And that includes the end of cycle celebrations."

  "Well, we did win a battle against a potentially serious threat," Rhada said. "The tension was high here. Everyone is relieved."

  Amnika looked at Nahaeda again who gave her a nod.

  "It seemed too easy." Amnika didn't take her eyes off of Nahaeda.

  They all looked at Amnika. She took her hand off her ship.

  "I don't understand." She looked back at them. "I didn't see too many shots fired from them. The Nahborians were quick to fire when in range, but you would think a species capable of sophisticated attacks on out smaller fleets would…" She took a deep breath. "Would have a more sophisticated attack on a larger scale."

  "Perhaps their main weapon was to give us tumors," Father said, but he didn't sound too sure either.

  "Or maybe they aren't capable of a larger attack?" Rhada said helpfully. She could hear Nahaeda growl a little. Rhada isn't supposed to speak in leadership sessions.

  Amnika tipped her head to the side. Something really bothered her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

  "When they attacked us in the beginning, they used their weapons. They had weapons. They knew we had them too. They knew we were capable of fighting with very little."

  "Well, if they were only to test our defenses, there aren't any of them left," Zakkon said. "I don't think they'll bother us for a little while."

  Taking a deep breath, Amnika hesitated before going on. "I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I don't mean to dampen everyone's mood."

  "No," Father said. "Those are good questions. We will have to analyze the data to be sure. However, I am with Zakkon with this one. We will have a little while before they try again. In the meantime, the manufacturing buildings will convert to maki
ng weaponized beacon ships. We have an overstock of riochi bars and as usual and most of our niaka crystals are from Hemeria, so we are setting those buildings aside. We will be ready for them again."

  "So…" Amnika paused. She still wasn't completely satisfied with her father's answer but couldn't think of why. "Well, I guess. Maybe I'm letting myself get worked up again." Amnika realized that without enough information, she may never figure out what's bothering her about the battle. She made a mental note to check the research building later.

  "You are planning on visiting earth?" Roniathan asked after a long silence.

  "Roniathan!" Zakkon spun to look at the ship. "I had forgotten that you are now tied with the system. Yes, we are planning a visit. As a matter of fact…" He turned to Amnika, "You are going to go on that trip."

  "Me? I thought I was a child."

  Zakkon sighed.

  "I'm sorry." Amnika looked down. "I meant no offense. I don't think I'm really for the job. I don't have enough experience."

  Amnika could hear Nahaeda's satisfied grunt. Zakkon put his arm around her.

  "You are young, but you are the only one we can send. A lot of high-level Inersiens passed on recently. The rest cannot be pulled from their duties. You, on the other hand, are familiar with Roniathan, you don't have any adult duties to attend to. From what I hear, you finished most of your studies. I don't think there is anyone more qualified than you. Of course, Roniathan found a way to travel through the anomaly safely. It wouldn't be any more dangerous than any other mission."

  "Besides," Father added, "You have relatives on your mother's side there. And…" he stopped. Amnika could sense a struggle.

  "And?"

  "And my two older brothers are there." It was Father's turn to looked down. "I'm sorry, I said no more secrets, but so much happened since your last mission, I didn't think to tell you about them until now."

  Amnika gave him a hug. She shared that she wasn't angry. "That was the two men I saw listed on that ship. I was going to ask you about it. But we all got busy with other troubles. I understand."

  "They were the ones that stayed behind. Besides uniting with humans, they thought it would be a good idea to stay behind in case we make contact. They work with one of the factions’ Leaderships."

  "Rhada will go with you," Zakkon said. "He is your protectorate after all."

  "Perhaps when you contact them, you should make arrangements to relocate the rest of the Inersiens."

  Everyone looked at Roniathan.

  "Why would we do that?" Amnika asked.

  "If the Destriens do come back, they may cause more high levels to die."

  Amnika thought about it. "No, they would have to come close to the planet."

  "I haven't analyzed the data yet," Roniathan said. "But their attacks on the other fleets indicate that they might be able to get past our defenses."

  Amnika paused. She looked Father and Zakkon. They both looked uneasy.

  "Remember, you are a high-level Inersien." Roniathan waited for a response. When there was none he continued, "Some children have the potential for a high level."

  Amnika stared at Roniathan for a few moments. "It does seem a little drastic."

  "The probability of their return is low" Roniathan continued, "However, you did have some good points. We just don't know. It may be your only chance to find out if you can to the transfer. Even if it's not necessary, you will have that option open."

  "Well, then," Zakkon said. "We will discuss such details in the morning in the Leader's tower."

  Zakkon and Rodgistan left to go home. Anias hung back for a moment and hugged Amnika before following his father. Amnika looked at her father.

  "You go ahead. I'll be up soon."

  Father nodded and left.

  Amnika looked at Rhada then at Nahaeda.

  "I usually don't like when someone questions traditions," he said as if to read her mind. "But you are going to anyway, in typical Amnika fashion."

  Amnika gave a weak smile and looked down. "You know things change. So I hope you listen to what I have to say first. I will listen to your answer and not ask again."

  The old Natisien kneeled next to her. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her head so that she was looking at him. "Go on."

  "We are losing high-level Inersiens. The same ones that help with the Natisiens. We may need input from those like Rhada and you so we know what you want. Some of us will be spread too thin to ask."

  "This may be necessary if we lose more Inersiens. For now, Rhada shouldn't contribute to the Leadership discussions. However, there's no tradition stopping him from speaking to you."

  Amnika nodded. "I understand." Rhada can talk to her, and she could tell the leadership. She really didn't understand why it had to be that way. It seemed too cumbersome.

  Nahaeda put out his arms, and Amnika gave him a hug.

  Later that night, she laid in bed thinking of the day's events.

  "I will be going to a new and strange planet," Amnika said to Rhada. "It's a dangerous place. They kill each other sometimes."

  "That is why you need a protectorate."

  Amnika looked in the direction of Rhada. "Do you think it's the same as when I went into the anomaly?"

  "You know the dangers this time," Rhada said. "If you go, you are not being tricked into going. This time, it will be your choice."

  That would make me an adult, Amnika thought. She turned to face the wall and fell asleep.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Nancie is a stay at home mom of six, a Christina and an undercover geek. She lives with her husband and kids in Texas.