As Zolna looked up at the stars in the sky, his gaze fell on Le'ha, beautiful Le'ah. She was casually chatting with another E'meset woman standing to her left. Their unintelligible conversation was punctuated with laughter. It occurred to Zolna he had not heard her laugh before now.
She was still laughing when she turned to look down at him. "My little Talme, you have not danced or lifted your voice in song or done those things that celebrate. What is wrong, my little Talme?" Not receiving a reply, Le'ha turned to face him and looked hard into his eyes. She took hold of him by his upper arms. "Talme, be true with me. Is Kathee, my sister…is she—"
Over the raucous noise of the now tipsy, joyous crowd Zolna heard someone calling his name, doubtless a SUB—Bios could not amplify their voices like that. Zolna stood and shouted, "Over here!"
Mitch and Cassie, hand in hand as always, ran up to him. "Zolna," Cassie exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Wilmington is offline, he'll not be sending anything down here, do you understand?"
"What, really?"
"Yes, really. Zolna…it’s over."
Zolna raised his arms, threw back his head, and shouted at the top of his voice modulator. His demonstration of joy was louder than the celebrations around him, causing everyone for several meters around him to stop and look in amazement.
Zolna quickly turned, grabbed Le’ha and kissed her passionately. The kiss quickly altered to a soft, deep expression of love.
“La’ha, you have to marry me now.” Zolna exclaimed.
La’ha wrapped her long arms around his waist and lifted him up to her. She kissed him as he had just kissed her. “My Talme, you kiss much better than the E'meset! We will join, and with our joining will come joy and peace.”
○O○
Not long after the celebration had started, a call went out to all personnel with any form of medical training to report to any one of the medical facilities within New Roanoke. The battle won, the time to care for the wounded became paramount. Soon, the med facs were full, and aid stations were set up outside near the gate.
The E’meset, who now numbered in the thousands, had sent several hundred onto the field to work with the humans to aid the wounded and recover the dead.
In the med facs and the aid stations, elaborately dressed E’meset shaman were removing handfuls of a glowing, yellow slime from clay jars and rubbing it into the wounds of injured tribesmen and humans alike. All the injured were drinking copiously from bladders filled with a similar liquid. These “walking wounded” would be healed by dawn.
At the same time as the medical crisis was being handled, Dave began the take inventory of the overall situation, and quickly formed a plan. The colony, their primary habitat on the planet, needed immediate attention. Dave looked up at a sensor on the ceiling. "Indra," he called out.
"Yes, Major."
"I need a list of all technicians, SUB or bio."
"Here you are, sir."
○O○
Kathy marveled as Dave dove immediately into the problems of survival and recovery. She so admired his determination and dedication to the people of colony, and to the planet itself. Through his leadership, all the colonists agreed that Eya'Etee Ki Kee should remain herself, both wild and dangerous. They would make no plan to tame her. For like the E’meset, they had come to see her as a living entity.
Kathy looked back on the events they had both endured, wondering why it had taken her so long to fall in love this this remarkable man.
A recollection caused her to look up at a sensor. "Indra?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Dave once looked up your name. Indra was a demon…the antithesis of the Hindi god Indra who hates the truth and causes men to fight. Why would you pick such a name?"
"I selected the Hindi god’s name, Indra, not the name of the evil demon. It is confusing that they share the same name, yes, that was the intent of the demon. The god Indra was considered the god of war, yes, but also the god of storms and rainfall. Which, as you know, we get a lot of here on Antyllus. Indra is also associated with Vajrapani … the chief defender and protector of the Buddha. I consider myself the defender and protector of the colony and the colonists. Ergo, I am more than thankful you two arrived and made me aware of my myopia."
○O○
It took several weeks before New Roanoke’s physical condition was stabilized.
Though work continued, and would for some time, things were calm enough now that Le’ah and Kathy began to plan for their weddings. It would be a duel ceremony, and a hybrid mix of Earth and E’meset customs.
One evening, Dave and Kathy took a vehicle and drove out to the hill with the cleared eastern side, devoid of trees, and covered with low, blue vegetation just south of the city. They sat at the forest’s edge and watched Ourinco set in the west.
Kath put her right arm around Dave’s waist, and with her left pointed toward the forest. “U’alline toy e’vahn, the cave of hope, lies at the base of those cliffs way over there.”
“Yes,” Dave replied. “And the city of Vortain Val Leasa is…well, that way.”
Kathy looked to their right, then leaned forward to look to the south. “Vortain Val Leasa, the Fish, the clinic. It all suddenly feels like ancient history, now.”
A moment of silence passed before Dave replied, “Kathy, I had no idea what to expect when I was sent here. Magobie made me feel like I was being sent here just to get me out of the way. Frankly, it felt like a death sentence…until I met you. Still, the last thing I expected to do was fall in love.”
Kathy leaned over and kissed him. Dave pulled her into his chest, and kissing her, laid her back on the blue verge.
“Dave, darling…” Kathy smiled up at him, teasingly. “The Tum matap ayat, the night hunters, will be prowling about now.”
“That’s too bad, I got here first.”
She smiled again, holding up the palm of her left hand. “Give me your left hand, Dave.”
Dave quickly set up and shook his head, “No. No, reciprocal data transfer this time. I want to reintroduce you to some old-fashioned practices.” He stood, offering her his hand. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Kathy glanced down the hill at New Roanoke. “Home…we are home, aren’t we?”
“Yup.” Dave replied.
“Lay back down, Dave.” Kathy murmured. “I want to embrace you here, in the soft blue fields. In our nyadah, I will express my deep sudamine for you.”
Dave smiled, settled down next to her and replied, “Me nune meacka mesli, me rakestan see nu ah neen.”
“Well, you going native on me?” Kathy asked.
Dave did not reply. He just grabbed her and pulled her under him. His kiss was passionate, and Kathy returned a kiss filled with desire.
○O○
Ourinco vanished behind the western hills, its soft red light replaced with the harsh blue white lights of New Roanoke.
To the southwest, a loud clap of thunder heralded rain. To the east, some large beast roared, and overhead, a flock of Lentavat Top'Aya flew past.
All was as it should be on Eya'Etee Ki Kee. Surely, Lu’aya was pleased.
About the Author
Mike Gonzales was born in Long Beach, California, back in the 20th Century.
He spent twenty years’ service in the Army and over thirty as a museum curator. Now he has embarked on yet a third profession—that of fictionist.
Mike’s mind has always been a fertile place, where at the sight of an oddly shaped cloud, or some other anomaly, he would ask himself, what if?
At last, he has exhumed his imagination from the mental sarcophagus in which it had been so long entombed, and set it free. It now roams through caverns in the Moon, the blue forests of other worlds, and the WWII battlefields of North Africa, only to arrive on the Isle of Apples at the foot of Arthur’s tomb.
If you have no fear of murderers, aliens, wyverns, and phantoms—if the embrace of a lover's arms is your desire—if solving a mystery is to your liking—If you see tear drops on
the page as a mark of the depth of your empathy…then come along on the many adventures this vibrant new author has given rise to.
The Unborn Galaxy: Book One
Dark Moon Rising
Nothing is as it seems—not even the valiant soldier, determined to save the woman he loves and the band of humans from a DARK MOON RISING…
The Unborn Galaxy: Book Two
The Battle of Broken Moon
With the war in Oceania now contaminating the Moon, will the complete destruction of JILL—and Earth itself—be far behind? How can a handful of soldiers hold off the hostile forces in this unforgiving realm that seek to destroy civilization?
The Unborn Galaxy: Book Three
Across a Sea of Stars
With billions of lives at stake—including those who have joined him in the deadly fight against advancing evil forces, Cris embraces a destiny he could never have anticipated from light years away ACROSS A SEA OF STARS...
The Vampires of Antyllus Page 41