by M E Wise
“Reign, you were needed at the site below an hour ago.” Dae called to me from the elevator.
“They could have just linked with me or messaged my COM. You didn’t need to come all the way down here, leaving your work and…” Dae stilled my words with a kiss. “Any excuse to see my husband is a good one!” She took my hand and pulled me away from the elevator. “Do you remember our first visit here?”
“I wouldn’t call it a visit! This tower beckoned like a tomb and begged us to find out what the history buried inside was.” I replied forehead furrowed. “I’m not romanticizing the time or the lure of this place; I just remember I would follow you anywhere.” She said with conviction. “And I did. Even when bugs tried to eat us and an even bigger bug almost did!”
“Follow?” I scoffed. “I went and you tailed me for my own good is what I remember!” She smacked my chest.
“And now we lead. We don’t just move at our own behest Reign. Not anymore, we lead and do so unflinchingly.” She stated proudly. “And why is that?”
“I’m not sure I follow.” I said honestly.
“Of course you’re not sure! That is why. You think when others wouldn’t. You act when it is needed not because forces move you too. You walk alone until you know you need to include others.” She stood directly in front of me and held my hands ceremoniously. “A person without a path will always follow someone with one. A leader will not see this as a nuisance but as a possible ally in that long walk.”
“You are one wise lady, Dae of Mor’h.” I basked in her glow. “You better know it!” She quipped back. “You don’t have to walk alone because people will always follow you. It’s an endless and timeless quality. One of many reasons to love you.” I tucked her head under my chin and breathed in her perfumed hair. “To work then.” We walked to the elevator together.
The sun began setting once again on the nearly completed housing project. It was good to lend a physical hand as opposed to always postulating authority or performing some bureaucracy. Hermes saw an end finally to Sal’s continuous aesthetic changes and we would have everyone in permanent housing by weeks’ end. No more domed tent camps! We even allocated space for growth. Another plaque would soon be commemorated in Sal Mor’h’s honor; even centuries after his death.
I sat down by the now eternal fire pit at the Cresche’s basin. Ben and Taiyou arranged for the permanent building of the monument for Little Tengoku remembering those lost with an engraved Tri-Utopia image central of the pit wrapping a pillar on all sides. Ben said the design reminded him of a top; some toy long lost in the annals of their history. I found little alone time with the greater populace anymore. It was heads of state or diplomatic affairs that dominated my company. Kasai left a group of children running in circles to waddle my way. His parent’s watched nearby.
He wasted little time climbing into my lap. I found this quite enjoyable and unnerving. “Kasai!” Called Rasha. I waved off the concern. He stared at me deep and thoughtful. For being near four years old he held a very aged gaze in his playfully full face. “Did you beat Brigs?” He questioned and I was unsure how to answer that. “Brigs said you did!” He bugged his eyes. “Brigs is way bigger than you!” He made huge exaggerated movements to charade Brigman’s size over me.
“We had some things to work out.” I answered weathering what would soon be a storm of questions.
Kasai then aimed his fleeting attentions at a Tah’l nearby exchanging with some Lo’Mor’h. “Are they gods?” He pointed at the Tah’l diplomat. Again this was a profound question. “No not gods.” I answered. “But they are way old?” He questioned further. “That may be so but living a long time doesn’t make someone a god.” I smiled. “Paps isn’t a god!”
“Paps’, not that old!” He pulled his cheeks and wrinkled his eyes. “No he isn’t that old.” I assume we are referring to the Tah’l and their aged features. “Are you a god?” He poked me in the chest as if the contact made the accusation real. “No. Not by any measure.” Kasai turned and looked at the lights in the sky forming more clearly above. “Do you believe in any God?” He asked starry eyed. This question was as delicate as any that could ever leave a child’s lips. What should he believe?
“I believe in all that is around me.” I held him close and pointed everywhere and up at those stars who held his attention now. “I believe in my people. Their families. The nature of all things. I believe in you!” I poked him in the belly. “Am I a God?” His eyes grew huge! I was entering into imaginative territory. “I believe in you and if that is all it takes then you could be.” He crinkled his nose. “You’re playing!” He giggled. “I don’t play with gods!” I said with a smile.
“Are we forming a religion now?” Questioned Rashana. “I think not.” I answered her quickly.
She took her son and lifted him to a hip. “He is here because of you.” She touched Kasai’s chest and he laughed like he was tickled. “I only answered his question how I felt it would make sense, not only to him but to me.” I recoiled hoping I hadn’t caused some undo harm. “No.” She grinned. “I believe in him too.” She kissed her boy.
“What you have made possible under so much strain and balance is amazing.” She handed Kasai to Ben as he approached. “Can I sing for you?” The request was odd. “Of course you can. I would be honored.”
People gathered as Rashana was known to sing beautifully and was the local entertainer.
This is my island in the Sun
Where my people have come to begin again
I may see by many stars
Her shores will always be home to me
Her voice rang out loudly and clean. You could feel each word like it felt in her chest. Her mother hummed and so did a few nearby who joined in. The choir carried across the fire and drifted onto the sands.
Oh, island in the Sun
Willed to me by another’s hands
All my days I will sing in praise
Of her forest, waters,
Your shining sands
As morning breaks
The heaven on high
I lift my heavy load to the sky
Sun comes down with a burning glow
Mingles my sweat with the earth below
Oh, island in the Sun
Willed to me by another’s hand
My new days will be spent in praise
Of the one
Who brought me here
And ended much too soon. “Thank you!” I praised her. “Forgive me I don’t know the song but it was inspiring. What is it?”
Ahleea interjected, “A new rendition of Island in the Sun. Rasha loved that song by Belafonte as a child. She changed what she needed to for our times.” Rasha smiled wide, “thank you for my son! And for my life.” She hugged Ben. “Yeah thanks bro!” Ben grabbed her buttocks! Rasha smacked his hand and they chased each other around the fire.
I took my seat by the fire this time. I kept it warm and soon Dae joined me with Marta in tow. Brigman ran children in circles growling and stalking slowly. They howled in laughter. Little Tengoku, little kingdom of heaven, so I am told is the translation, is one tiny safe place for many now but growing. The world is and will be right for a night.
Reign Eternal Chapter 2
Peace Without War
Brigman and myself had climbed much higher than we had before. Mount Heiwa was approximately two hundred miles south and due east of the Cresche. We had gotten in the habit of extending our explorations further by several miles each time we scouted for materials, food and long forgotten Mor’h histories to be uncovered.
“We near the peak Reign!” Announced Brigs excitedly. His pace quickened. Keeping pace with him was at times a challenge.
“So 20,000 feet then. Give or take.” I added. Brigs looked to his wrist tablet and shook his head in agreement. “That’s about ten thousand short of the highest peak on Earth. Ben owes me some wine!” Brigs laughed. Ben often wagered his special brew in bets for things he
wanted. In this case his bounty was Brigs’ sidearm from the OG. Brigs felt the wager was a worthy venture considering Ben’s inadequate ability to judge scale outside of an aircraft.
The air was thin but our vacuum suits’ geometric hoods kept the air nice and cycled. We left our opal craft on a crest nearby, near one-thousand-feet below. “I still think the opal craft are the best way to remain undetected.” I’ve held this position on reconnaissance and extraction mission craft without bending to Brigs desire of acquiring other options. “I don’t disagree Reign. They maneuver incredibly well but under fire they don’t have any punch.” Brigs stood high on the peak like a massive mountain beast. “They have the pulse bursts. I don’t want to weaponize Mor’h. It’s not for weakness that we’ve decided not to choose a side in the Sol conflict. Even if we know which side to support.” I debated.
“It’s not weakness I have in mind. It’s offense!” Brigs knew war. He trained since his teens for the fight. “If we don’t take on Gorgon, no one can. I’ve seen his kind level an entire colony to make a point. Green Acres comes to mind. Artemis II…” Brigs paused. He was nearing forty but still had the stature and vigor of a young soldier. “Look no further than me!” He held up his hands and measured his size against the sun. “I may have wanted to become more efficient against an enemy but the lengths provided for that glory left me forever changed. And I could’ve learned more about you and the Mor’h in a lab not being the lab-rat!”
“How are the side effects-with what Dae synthesized?” I asked as his hands shook. “They work fine and take the edge off the old stuff.”
The SPEAR soldiers underwent extensive physical changes. To gain muscle mass they used a hormone from my own chemistry and turned it into a steroid. Their bones were denser. They healed somewhat more effectively and gained stamina and mass. I held a firm athletic build regardless of activity but I never grew in mass. However, they used my contribution and built into an advantage when combined with multiple other supplements. Unfortunately, it was a cocktail that was habit forming and a strain on the nervous system.
“It’s been nearly four years Reign; since you and I tangled. I know what you are capable of, but these people; I once saw them as weak cause of how they could be exploited. How they were pacified. Gorgon put something different into the SPEAR training. He warped the idea of war into some lively hood. We fought to live! Warred to exist.” Brigs rarely spoke loosely like this with anyone else; with Ben maybe when they were off together like we are now, I felt fortunate to have his counsel now. He wasn’t brilliant but he was experienced and held his loyalty above all else. A born defender.
“The Mor’h might put their equipment in harm’s way but I don’t reckon that many would be hard-pressed to put that grand self-preservation of theirs to test. How many Ku’Gel do you think they hide out there?” Brigs pointed out toward the shimmering Lotus station above. And then in the direction of De Braga. “They hold their cards real close.”
“We can’t just commandeer some SPEAR tech though, Brigs!” I felt he longed for more militaristic comforts at times. “I could see needing a larger vessel for the transport of the opal crafts but to gain some military style edge is not something we can teach or even man. We simply don’t have the numbers. Even if we could somehow capture a craft, getting it here would require a massive phase jump that could tear it apart.”
“I know, I know. Heard it the last ten times we talked about it. We would then need to retrofit the damn thing for phase jump and yada, yada.” His big chest seized a great breath after closing his geometric hood. “We need breathing room. And if we run into Pri and the Liberty or some other high-speed low drag craft that is nothing but a can of death; we just run. We run and leave him winning. Nothing changes.”
Brigman’s passion was his strongest trait. He had dedicated his life to the service of mankind in the Guard. He gave up a rank of Sergeant Major to join the SPEAR. He knew sacrifice and I felt that in him behind the hate when we first exchanged in the link, he would die to protect what he believed in. After Gorgon attacked the colonies, broke his alliance with Earth and the Orbital Guard oath, Brigs gave up hope that anything resembling a peace could be attained without the destruction of one side over another.
“The Hermes77 got us into Sol space time and again. I still don’t see why we can’t just build another craft that can chameleon its way into the system and do what we need to do.” I paused for a moment as frustration set in. “If it weren’t for the Kog I could get council support on this. They may not get their hands dirty but they would provide what we needed!”
Brigs pointed his fingers at a moth that resembled a bat and popped the trigger thumb like a silent shot. “All I need is targets.” Brigs smiled. “Those targets are my people too Brigs. Not to mention they can read your mind at a great distance and shut you down like a battery operated toy.” I quipped. We both moved to see a reflection in the distance. Something below was reflecting back and it wasn’t natural. “Below the tree-line!” Brigs said quietly.
“I see it too. The Mor’h once controlled the planet but lost the genetic foothold to sustain that vastness. Could be an old city, town or something of the like. Want to investigate?” I inquired. “Yessir.” Replied Brigs anxiously.
We took the better part of an hour to retrieve the opal craft that sat only two with a smaller cargo area that could squeeze a few more if necessary. That craft placed us on site in minutes. We landed with waves of bat moths pouring away in our advance. “We should be ready for anything.” Brigs suggested while checking his sidearm and pulling his rifle from behind his seat. We had recovered several rifles and various equipment in the exodus of Green Acres. Making munitions was an easy past-time for Brigs. I donned my wrist stunner.
We landed firmly on a paved surface. The growth had overtaken whatever this place was centuries before. “Dead town.” Brigs alerted. “Why’d Mor’h build some things to last and some that didn’t?” He pointed to obvious former foundations to completely eroded buildings, some dilapidated and many leveled. “The Mor’h are an evolution from plants. Many of their creeds are about decay and seasonal changes. They built some structures that would simply return to earth and be used by the natural surroundings once they were no longer needed. It is why we rarely find structures that don’t have some significant meaning.” I answered as we moved forward.
“Compost then.” Brigs was firmly into field-speak. He often went into full scout mode when somewhere new. Speaking in short but readily understood sentences and questions. It took some time to get used to this and the hand signals that also accompanied the mode. “Ahead.” He gestured to the shining source of the reflection we saw from so high up. There was a large building resolutely intact. Random soft-shelled beetles dotted in black and white ran through the foliage. “Damn those are as big as housecats!” A rare reaction came from Brigs.
“You should see the beetle crab near Bhur’Anto Sit proper in the forest. They are the size of rhino saucers.” I said causing Brigs to stop. “Rhinoceros.” He corrected and continued. “I will have to bag one of those babies!” He touted.
We arrived at the landing of the building and hugged to the walls. Brigs gave a signal as he made entry and I followed low. Once we had an all clear we stood to a more comfortable height. I was shocked at how nimble he could be even at his size. “Empty.” Brigs said bored. I used my wrist panel to begin mapping the area inside. It would seem this was some sort of council building. Most of the etchings on the walls were formal in their style. Something wasn’t the same though. This wasn’t the ordinary council surroundings.
“Fyte’Fyt?” I read on the wall aloud. I closed my eyes and got a sense of the area. We were alone and I was searching for link panels. “Above!” I motioned to the incline ahead. The walls and structure were more like the Cathedraline than the Cresche. It lacked the smooth, polished look. There were no stairs just a steady climb. Brigs signaled to a panel with power on the wall. I link
ed with it and opened the door.
There were barriers in the programming that didn’t allow for the linking to be fluid. Something was written into the connection to stop an outsider looking in. “It’s a firewall of some kind.” I tapped at my head and used language Ben and Dae had used when working around similar barriers in computers. Brigs nodded and understood. The room above was greatly similar to the room below with the exception of partitions and the panels.
“I’d recognize something like that anywhere. It’s military!” Brigs stated soundly. “See the stances and the order.” He pointed to a mural on the wall of Lo’Mor’h lined up in front of a Tah’l. “This is some recruiting station or something.” I looked around the room for more legible writing. I was taught in English and several other Earth languages. The Mor’h at this stage of their existence rarely wrote and only linked. This written kanji or skrit was not only aged but of a different dialect. We came to a locked room with no link to enter. “Let’s knock!” Brigs kicked at where the doors met with no reaction.
“Let’s try something else.” He took some device from his tactical webbing he wore over his vacuum suit. “I’m surprised the Mor’h gave me back my gear. Thanks again!” He said as he sprayed a goop into the cracks between the doors. “It’s going to be bright!” He ducked his head and moved back. The paste went white hot and sparks flowed downward. Even in the peripheral of my eyes it was intense. The crease was softened and burnt. We both took machetes we had made for earlier excursions and used them to pry the doors apart.