Elementis 1: The Heir to the Stone

by Jonathan Wedge

  Dog-Star looked down at his watch, "One eighty-three, one eighty-two…" he called out to the class.

  Knocking their chairs skidding across the smooth stone floor with the backs of their legs, the kids scrambled out of the classroom. Jonas and Twain were the last to leave. They didn't know where the firing range was so hurried on behind the others. They followed into a room lined with stacks of Guard standard-issue helix-blasters. Everyone grabbed a weapon and ran on through an exit door.

  The collecting of weapons alone was the most organised operation Jonas had ever witnessed. The kids flooded outside onto a well manicured field. The first thing Jonas noticed was no targets, only some reeds and long grass, twice as tall as him at the far end of the field. The children Jonas had observed inside had somehow switched in an instant from immature adolescents into mini super-soldiers. The kids lined up in two rows, a hundred across, shielded behind a long metal barrier sculpted with a design for protection from attack. A front man took a knee, bending down beneath a jolt in the metal barrier, and a man at the back remained standing poking the barrel of his blaster through the cut-out embrasure at head height. Twain joined at the end of the line and took a knee, pointing his blaster through the lower embrasure. Jonas stood behind him and took aim at the long grass through his own firing hole just as the others did.

  Dog-Star watched the last of the soldiers take their places, who happened to be Jonas and Twain. "Very good, gentlemen," he said, pleased with the swiftness of the preparation for attack. "Fire when ready!" he crowed.

  Fire at what? thought Jonas. There were still no targets—but just then, wading out from the reeds in the distance came as many dydrid fantoms as there were children, sweeping forward, firing thousands of fire bolts from their fully energized arm-blasters. The black-armoured suits of the fantoms were even stronger than their skin cells. Their red-faced helmets concealed the man or beast inside and the onboard computer gave the soldier mechanical precision in firing at the enemy. The children opened fire as an exchange of white and blue light streamed through the air. The helix-blasters fired shots with a swirling double-helix of laser light. The drill-like effect was deadly to the fantoms, specially designed to twist through the hardened layers of the armoured suits and into the metal skin beneath.

  The kids shouted encouragement to each other. "Defend, stand tall," one would start off with. "They will fall," another shouted. Then all together each of them chorused with delight, "The Guard will never surrender!"

  Jonas shot fantoms in the head, the chest and the body. Their uniforms were badly burned by his efforts but the soldiers wouldn't fall. He called down to Twain. "I had no idea training would actually be fun!"

  Twain called back. "Learning is always fun!" he said, taking aim and blasting a stream of helix plasma out into the field.

  "Yeah, if you're a dork!" said Jonas, who had never had a day of schooling in his life.

  "You must be a dork then!" said Twain.

  Jonas couldn't understand why none of his targets were falling. He'd had enough with the blaster. He knew he could beat them if he could get close enough. "Ever seen a dork do this!?" Jonas said, launching himself over the barrier, running towards the dydrid.

  One of the fantoms locked Jonas as a target and ran towards him. Jonas sped up, concentrating a stream of helix fire onto the fantom's arm-blasters, disabling his weapons. The two of them clashed with grappling arms, knocking each other to the ground. Jonas dropped his weapon in the fall. Getting to his feet, Jonas threw a fist up into the helmet of the fantom. The helmet came off revealing a silver-eyed pale face beneath. All shooting stopped. Only two fantoms remained standing; one that Jonas fought with and the other running across to attack him. The helmet-less fantom struck Jonas in the face. He smiled, feeling little pain from the strike. The running fantom shot a rapid burst of laser fire towards Jonas. He swung around, grabbing the neck of the closest fantom to shield him from the shots.

  "Stop!" barked Dog-Star, with a powerful voice full of irritation. "That is enough!"

  The fantom soldiers went limp with the command, their arms and heads dropped down to a lifeless sleep. Jonas gave the bloodless face of the fantom one last punch, sending it flying through the air with his legs and arms tumbling across the ground.

  "Would you mind talking me through exactly what you think you're doing?" said Dog-Star, pacing towards Jonas.

  "I was trying to kill him," Jonas responded, worrying that this was the wrong answer.

  "Shooting out his guns and moving into hand to hand combat will get you killed quicker than a shento bites its prey," Dog-Star explained, with a reprimanding condescendence to Jonas in front of the entire class.

  "I nearly had him," Jonas said, not wanting to be rude or show disrespect but merely being honest.

  "Look around you, Jonas. Did these children nearly have their opponents!?"

  Jonas looked around. The fantoms on the ground all had blast holes in the chest of their armour.

  "When the helix stream is held for long enough in one place, the blaster can pierce the dydrids armour and skin, leaving you free to burn away their metal hearts. This is the best way to kill a dydrid," said Dog-Star.

  "I still nearly had him," Jonas replied, not wanting to go down without a little bit of a fight.

  The children laughed at Jonas's backchat. Dog-Star stared them down into silence with one glance.

  "I don’t think infantry quite suits a prince. Tomorrow we will see how you fare in fighter training against your protectors. I take it you can fly?" said Dog-Star, looking across to the side where Spectrum, Cortex, Menace and Goldheart stood watching.

  Jonas didn't respond. He had been embarrassed enough in front of everyone. It was just what his protectors had expected of him, this boy wasn't ready to protect them. He knew too little about so much and he didn't have the urge to listen and learn. They all agreed on one thing, Jonas should never have been brought in to do the work of Prince Calyx, it was all too clear to them that he didn't have the skills of Calyx, the mind of Calyx or the desire needed to protect them from the Zohr as Calyx did. It had only taken the first training exercise to prove it to themselves what they already knew.

  *

  Alone and back in his quarters, Jonas stared out of his window with the thoughts of today's failure. Perhaps he needed work on his decision-making but what he didn't need was everyone running against him.

  The academy was perched on the top of a steep cliff and the view from Jonas's window stretched out along the ravines of a lush valley below. Fresh river water trickled down over the mosses and the fallen rocks from the towering mountainside above. Pine forests grew at an angle on the steep, fertile riverbanks and the river itself wound along the valley floor like a lizards path, flowing over grey pebbles with ripples of white.

  Jonas was deep in thought submerging his eyes into the nature around him. He was here now, he had come this far and he wouldn't let himself down. He wouldn't let the people who counted on him down. He felt the pressure of all that they wanted from him, and for once in his life he embraced it. Witakker had told him to train his own mind. No one else could find what it was inside of him that may lead him to control even the Zohr's mind. Jonas took out his vial and studied it. He popped the cork from its top and sniffed the liquid inside. Patience, he told himself. Witakker had once said that he had none. That only inspired him to find it, no doubt exactly what Witakker had intended it to do. And as eager as he was to gulp down this liquid and find the powers in his mind and prove the protectors and the naysayers wrong, he replaced the cork and put the vial back into his pocket.

  He closed his eyes, searching for something, anything that felt… different. A voice came into his mind, and another. It was the same muddled thoughts of the converted dydrid that he had heard on Aquilla. They came all this way from the fourth planet of the Valo System. Time and space meant nothing in the transference of a thought between minds. The frequencies of their psyche travelled from mind to mind in an inst
ant. Jonas thought perhaps he should talk to Willow, but then he reminded himself that he had promised himself to keep thoughts of her away. The voices were becoming clearer; they asked for help, for reasons why. Jonas didn't know what they needed help from or what they needed a reason for, but in these voices; there was a true desperation and sadness in their words. Jonas strained his mind. He tried to speak with them but no matter what he was thinking he couldn't get through. It was impossible, his mind couldn't even work telepathy en masse how was it supposed to control the Esla Maven and overcome the Zohr. He opened his eyes and with a look of empty disappointment he lowered his head. For once he didn't want to be alone. He left his room in search of a friend, Twain.

  In the games hall, some of the junior Guard were swiping arms, kicking legs, pulling triggers and thrusting swords inside of holographic simulation games. Jonas peered through the glass door, admiring the realistic visuals of the shoot'em-ups, fighter-ship space battles, beast wrestling and a fierce dual of pulsar-blade combat in which one kid sliced his way through dozens of enemy as his score spun up with some floating numbers beside him. The explosions from the games and the laser sound effects filled the room with a busy noise. Jonas pushed the door open, took one step inside and every noise dropped to silence. Jonas was even more infamous after today's fight with the cloned fantom. Spectrum and Goldheart rested their arms on the top of a drinks bar with two ice-steaming shakes sat in front of them. The kids resumed playing their games and Jonas walked over to the bar. For now, the humiliating silence was over.

  Spectrum watched Jonas walk towards them out the corner of his eye. "Tough first day, Spider," he said, as Jonas came over.

  Great, he thought, a new nickname was just what he needed. "I've had harder days," Jonas said.

  Spectrum turned to face Jonas fully, "Dog-Star’s a real battle-axe, I’m glad he’s on our side. He doesn’t like you much, though."

  "I seem to have that effect on some people," said Jonas.

  "Fighting that droid wasn’t the smartest thing you’ll ever do," Spectrum said, dwelling on the embarrassment.

  "It wouldn't have hurt for someone to tell me how to kill the dydrid before the exercise," Jonas said.

  "We must have forgotten that you weren’t from our planet. Everyone knows that!" said Spectrum, a little smugly.

  "Is there anything else I need to be let in on?" asked Jonas.

  "I'm sure something will crop up!" Spectrum said.

  "I'm sure it will."

  Jonas had hoped that the protectors hostility towards him ever since they'd seen his face on Kroyto would have passed by now. But since it had got worse he saw no reason spending time where he wasn't wanted. Jonas walked away from the bar without another word.

  Spectrum called after him, "Hopefully, tomorrow you’ll start learning, Spider!"

  Menace and Cortex walked into the games hall. Jonas walked straight past them with an uncomfortable feeling of ignorance. It was starting to get to Jonas. He'd never commanded one word of respect from anyone and he was well aware that he was a stranger to almost everyone here. But to be treated like an outsider, and teased with the nickname, Spider, when he was here to do nothing but train to become fit enough to be called a Guard, let alone a prince, cut a feeling deep into Jonas's throat. The fact remained that he hadn't asked for this life; he was doing it for them, for their survival. Tomorrow, Jonas was determined to show them that he already had what it took to be the protector of the Elementis. He had been flying ships since he was six; that was a better education than any academy could give him.

  Menace and Cortex joined Spec and Goldheart at the bar, "Do you think he’ll ever understand what this all means?" Menace said to the group.

  "He might understand, Menace, whether or not he can save us is the question we need to ask," Spectrum said, watching the door close as Jonas left the room.

  *

  Standing in line with Spectrum, Menace, Cortex and Goldheart, Jonas wore a matte-black armoured flight suit with a metallic-silver trim. The landing bay they were in was filled with row upon row of the long, sharp-hulled dekapod fighters, all coated with the shining burgundy colouring of the Cytherean Guard.

  Dog-Star strolled across the front of their line, staring at the five soldiers as if they were a brick wall. He stopped in front of Cortex and scanned systematically into each of their eyes, saying, "As a soldier of the Guard you must be as skilled in the air as you are on the ground. Jonas, you can't do any worse than yesterday but the rest of you are experts in all fields. If any of you finish worse than the Spider I'll have you cleaning and picking the crumbs out of the juniors uniforms for the rest of your visit. The instructions for each challenge will be on your display screens. Choose your fighter colours and begin the training."

  The protectors saluted Dog-Star and rushed across the shining bay floor to five waiting dekapods. Jonas nodded towards the hardened soldier, he would have smiled but somehow didn't think he'd get one in return. Jonas followed the others and boarded his fighter. As he took his seat he picked up a flight helmet that sat in the cockpit. Turning it around he saw the others had had a helmet battle signed with "Spider" across the front. He put the helmet on; he didn't care; it's what he was. The fact that the others thought they were being clever bothered him but being labelled as "the Spider" was the least of his worries at the moment.

  At least the dekapod controls were familiar to him, even if he'd not yet had the chance to fly one of these properly. The data-screen in front of him activated, overlaying Jonas's windshield. "Test Communications" flashed up on the screen.

  Menace tapped at her control panel, programming a colour change as the pigment of her fighters surface followed her command with an instant paint job turning from burgundy to a suit matching blue, "Menace set!" she said into the communications.

  Spectrum's fighter turned white, "Spectrum set!"

  Goldheart's sprayed across with gold, "Goldheart set!"

  Cortex's changed to green, "Cortex set and ready!"

  Jonas settled on a metallic-silver paint to match his flight suit, "Jonas set!" he said, with confidence. "And I hope none of you take it personally when you lose out there," he said.

  Menace's voice came back through his radio, "You just let your flying do the talking, Spider."

  Jonas smiled and boostered out of the docks flying out above the lush valley beneath the cliff of the academy.

  Cortex pressed a button on his dash excluding Jonas from his transmission. "I knew we should have left him on Kroyto!"

  "None of us like it, Lucas," said Spectrum.

  "The kid doesn’t help himself Spec," Goldheart added.

  "The least we can do is show him how to fly," said Menace.

  Their dekapods hovered up and blasted out of the landing dock. The fighters beeped onto Jonas's radar as they approached behind him. "Test 1" wrote itself across Jonas's data-screen, and a robotic voice spoke into his helmet as the words typed out.

  "Test 1 Nerve… You must race against your opponents through the winding cliffs of Hydar Canyon, from the great rock of Hydar to the waterfall of Arasti. The challenge is a test of a pilot's ability towards risk analysis. If you pull up above the cliff line, you are disqualified. If you crash or eject, you are disqualified. Beware the lightning storm. The lower you fly, the safer you are. Good luck."

  Jonas's screen flashed up with a points system, behind which the fast approaching canyon came into view.

  Winner = 5 points

  Second = 3 points

  Third = 1 point

  The text disappeared and the great rock of Hydar towered hundreds of feet into the air above Jonas at the entrance to the canyon. Rain began to pour, streaming straight off the front and sides of Jonas's windshield. Thick bolts of lightning flashed up ahead, thundering down from the dark clouds above, cracking through the canyon valley below.

  Cortex's green fighter pulled up alongside Jonas. "Don't go too fast, Spider, you never know how tight the next turn is… Oh, and don�
�t get yourself killed. The king wouldn’t like us very much for that," he said.

  Jonas nodded across to Cortex. "Thanks for the concern, Lucas. I can look after myself."

  Neck and neck the fighters screamed past the rock of Hydar and between the straights of the canyon walls. A timer beeped on and counted up from 00:00:00 in the bottom-left corner of Jonas's data-screen. The fighters eased around a gentle right bend, Cortex took the inside and the early lead. Spectrum was right behind him, inches from his wings. Jonas sat in third with Menace and Goldheart tied at the back.

  Rocky sediment flew past the pilots' windows at colossal speed. The canyon narrowed up ahead. All five fighters jostled for position. Goldheart fell back into last as the others squeezed closer together and sped through a tight alleyway. A sharp left turn came out of nowhere, a sharp left again, a sharp right, and the fighters shifted under and over a canyon bridge. Jonas didn't let his concentration stray into thinking what the other fighters were doing; he just flew as fast as he felt he could into every turn. Spectrum was right behind him and Cortex pulled away into a solid lead.

  What looked like a dead end came up to the windshield in a blink. Jonas couldn't see which way the turn was. He slowed and stayed in the middle of the canyon. Spectrum rocketed past on his left and Cortex was in trouble up ahead; his speed took him too fast into a backwards turn on the left and he twisted his fighter upwards, clipping the cliff edge and scraping to a halt in the dust of the sands above. Jonas banked his wings left and accelerated into the bend catching Spectrum as the leader pulled on his breaks. Menace and Goldheart were out of the race for first place and battling for third some way behind.

  At full speed, on a straight run, the tops of the canyon walls fell lower and lower. Jonas and Spectrum skimmed above the river of the canyon floor, spraying water vapour into the sky with the thrust of their fighters. The canyon ahead split two ways, with a sharp rock sitting in the middle. Jonas took the left, Spectrum went right. Jonas could see Spectrum slipping behind through gaps in the rock. Jonas had taken his eye off the track for a moment too long. He looked up and turned into a tight right-hander. The belly of his dekapod scraped against the hairy moss of the canyon wall. Spectrum had chosen the fastest racing route losing no speed into the final right-hand bend. He shot out of the canyon above a gushing waterfall, stopping his timer on 01:04:30. Jonas flew out above the waterfall after him on a time of 01:05:15. And Menace came bursting out of the canyon into third, shortly followed by a disgruntled Goldheart.