by James Somers
Kale heaved out a sigh of relief. “Can I see him?”
“Your mother would like to hold off on that for now, but she did say you could see him later, after we’ve all had some much needed rest.”
Emil eyed his father, letting him know that Kale was feeling guilty about the whole affair.
Grod knelt down to Kale’s level and placed his arm around the boy’s shoulder, looking right into his eyes. “You are not to blame. Your father would be very hurt to know that you are blaming yourself for what has happened. We are all in a fight for our lives and that involves risks. He knows those risks and accepts them. Punishing yourself will only hurt him more.”
Sobering words. Kale nodded in reluctant agreement. Grod would not have accepted anything else.
“Now, come and let’s get you men some food,” he said, taking both boys by the shoulders and prodding them out toward the galley.
“Father, what about those people left back on Draconis?” Emil asked.
Grod’s enthusiastic smile faded as he walked. “I don’t know. We’ve got a lot to deal with here right now. Anything else is going to have to wait.”
PROPHET
“The kingdom of Elithias is at hand!” the Prophet said. The man held a wild look in his eye accentuated by his age and his white hair. He wore a chestnut colored robe with pants that dropped into view near the floor.
Everyone assembled in the Guniran Great Hall sat rigid as a board. No one dared to even breathe heavily. Aija the Prophet glared down from the raised cylindrical platform to punctuate his statement. It was, after all, of the utmost importance that they all understand what the Eternal One wanted them to know.
Tiet stirred a little, seated upon the floor with the others. His injuries still bothered him after three months. He had ended up with a minor concussion, several broken ribs and a collapsed lung, all at the hands of his son, under symbyte control. The wooden floor they were sitting on didn’t help.
Kale sat cross-legged, his head propped up by his arm upon his knee. The large room had filled to capacity with every Guniran able to attend. They encircled the prophet who stood upon a slightly raised cylinder in the middle of the massive room. The Great Hall was itself, a large cylinder.
The Prophet had not come down out of his home in the mountains for nearly a decade. This was important. “It has been nearly three thousand years since Elithias appeared on Castai.”
Aija began to walk around the pulpit now. “The first time, the Eternal One came to offer mankind a pardon for our rebellion. Soon, He will appear the second time in Judgment. The Day of Elithias is upon us!”
A hushed murmur swept across the room now. It had been a long time since Tiet had heard anything about the prophecies still to be fulfilled concerning the return of Elithias, the Eternal Son. He had appeared long ago to bring mercy, but it had been so long since that time that many had scoffed at the idea of a true return.
“Elithias has been patient with us, but the clans have not turned,” Aija said. “The Baruk were destroyed as part of the coming judgment. They allied themselves with the fallen one, giving their selves over completely to him and they have been destroyed. Soon, others will face similar judgment.”
Everyone focused now. Anticipation and anxiety preceded every word of the prophet as the people waited to hear if judgment would fall upon the Guniran clan also. But how could it, they had been the keepers and protectors of the prophecies after the war between the clans? They alone possessed the copies that could be saved as destruction and oppression swept from planet to planet. Surely they would be spared whatever was coming.
“As the prophecy tells us, your guardians will be taken from you, for you have not been thankful for the hedge I have kept around you. The Barudii were allowed to be taken from us so that this war could spread,” Aija continued. “God intends to purge mankind before the coming of Elithias to establish his kingdom. Many atrocities have been committed against our brothers and it will not go unpunished.”
All eyes remained fixed on the man as he made his way down from the platform and walked in a circle in front of those seated on the ground before him. Tears became noticeable in his eyes then—they had become bloodshot as he fought his emotions. Aija stood still among the assembly. “My fellow Gunirans.” His words choked. “We will not be spared this judgment.”
The entire assembly gasped at that statement. Faces turned pale as the realization hit them. It might not have made much difference, had this man not been well known as a genuine prophet of the Eternal One. He had, according to the Logostus—assembled prophecies, been proven by the fact that his prophecies came true. Before the massacre of the Barudii, Aija had descended to tell his fellow Gunirans that God’s hedge was about to fall. The prophecy had been given a thousand years earlier with a link to the last prophet of the age who would herald the coming of Elithias. Aija had given the time of their demise to the day.
Now, Tiet worried. The judgment wasn’t over—more people were going to perish. He felt his wife’s hand tighten around his own. They had so hoped to find peace—to escape all the turmoil of war among these peaceful people. But there can be no peace when judgment is coming.
The people became restless. Aija raised his hands to still them—he was not through with his proclamation. The room became still very quickly. “We have been the keepers of Logostus, but we have not spread the prophecies to the other clans as we were meant to. The Logostus says, you are set as watchmen to your brothers; so speak my words to them that they may turn from their wickedness and live. If you will not, they will die in their rebellion, but I will require their blood at your hands.”
Aija turned from the people and walked back up on the platform and took his place again. “We are guilty of much blood for our failure to warn the clans from this coming judgment. And now we are entering the final days before Elithias comes. It is time to believe on the Eternal one and turn from our rebellion. There’s not much time to do so.”
Almost the entire assembly disorganized as many cried out to Elithias for mercy. They fell to their faces in prayer crying out to be forgiven. The young and the old weeped as they confessed their rebellion before God and cast themselves upon the promise of pardon for those who would come to him by the pajet—act of sincere submission.
Tiet remained the only one still sitting. His wife, their son, Wynn, Grod, Emil, Merab and Jael had all bowed on their faces committing to Elithias through the pajet. Tiet looked among them and saw the prophet standing over Kale as the boy prayed. Aija looked up from the boy and stared directly at Tiet. His ribs ached again and his breathing became labored. He shook as the prophet’s gaze fell on him like a great weight. Aija walked over to Tiet, maneuvering through those on the ground. The prophet stood over the Barudii king. Tiet remained frozen in place.
“Will the king turn to Elithias today?”
Tears threatened to fall across his cheeks. “Why did my people have to die?” Tiet asked.
“Men killed your people, my king,” Aija said, “The Eternal One kept you alive and your family and he will yet use you to accomplish his will for us, if you will submit yourself to him and surrender. When Elithias comes, all will be set right—after the darkness of night a new day is coming.”
Tiet surrendered his will and got to his knees as the prophet knelt beside him and they prayed together.
☼
The moment seemed to last a long time. But when Aija calmed the people again, only ten minutes had passed. “Men and brethren a wonderful thing has happened to you in turning to Elithias,” Aija said. “For all of you that have committed yourselves to the Eternal One, the promise of eternal life is now yours. But the time is still upon us for judgment. Now, go and seek your refuge in the mountains and do not delay for the fallen one has come.”
The thunderous roar of a starship’s engines howled throughout the small city. People began to scream as they rushed for the building’s exits. Tiet and the others made their way out of the meeting hall in t
urn and saw a building crumble under fire from a Vorn warship coming close overhead. They followed the flow of screaming attendees as they ran toward the base of the mountain that hung over the Great Hall.
A natural alcove in the rock provided extra protection to the building and provided the citizens with a quick way out in case of attack. Tiet saw Aija directing people into the tunnel carved through the face of the rock. Wynn and Grod brought up the rear of their group as they tried to stay together among the throng of people evacuating the provincial town.
Blasts rang out behind them as the first cruiser was joined by others appearing over the horizon. Tiet recognized them as the ships that had been part of their Castillian fleet. The only explanation appeared to be that the symbytes had now decided to use them to launch an attack on this planet. They had left Castai. The thought of other planets being overcome by the Symbytes made his flesh crawl.
Smaller craft streamed out of the fighter bays at the rear of the warships. They swept through the city, tearing through buildings and people who tried to flee toward the mountains.
The approached the entrance to the mountain tunnel, but the prophet Aija was no where to be found now. Behind them, speeder pods closed in. The small one-man vehicles had been built for high velocity ground warfare. They sped across the terrain—their turbines howling with the intake of wind. Blaster cannons on the front of the pods sprayed the Guniran evacuees as they fled for the mountain tunnel. Tiet’s group kept up the pace, making their way into the tunnel as the pods approached.
☼
Inside, hundreds of rail cars sat docked while others continued the exodus through the mountain along four point equidistant metal rails. Each car held four people and could travel at speeds up to ninety miles per hour. Row upon row of cars and there respective rails led into the rock wall ahead.
Kale and Emil found two cars together and yelled for the others to get in. Kale and his parents boarded one along with Merab as Grod, Wynn, and Jael boarded the other with Emil piloting. Kale fired up the thrusters in his car and switched on the radio as he signaled to Emil in the adjacent car with three fingers held up to the window followed by one finger. Emil switched his radio to channel thirty one and placed the headset on as the thrusters took up a steady hum in the rear of the vehicle.
All around them, rail cars burst away into the mountain through the one hundred tunnels available to them. People piled up in lines to get safely into a tunnel as the sound of laser cannons continued to pound in their ears from outside.
Emil launched his car as others behind him in line brought their thrusters to readiness for launch. Kale followed suit and they blasted away into the darkness with only a single headlight and the rails to guide them.
“Emil, do you copy?” Kale asked.
“I copy. What’s the plan?”
“Whichever one of us gets to the hangar first begins the launch sequence for the Equinox.”
The ship had been docked in the Guniran hangar after the Council allowed their group to move into a dwelling inside the province, according to Aija’s command.
“We’ll meet you there.”
“Copy that.”
☼
Lucin’s fingers drummed along the arm of his command chair as he watched the invasion in real time on the main viewer. He now had the host body of commander Zurig for his use. He leaned forward analyzing the incoming scan data on the display and the reports from the squad commanders on the ground.
What Lucin had feared was already taking place. The collective mind was fading and while he still commanded the individuals, they were not one in mind as the Baruk had been. The number of those assimilated had simply been too many considering the strong will of these humans. He still wanted the boy and his power—a more fitting host for his glorious reign over humanity.
“What are we getting on scans of the mountain?” Lucin asked.
“Not much, sir, we have a lot of interference from heavy metals,” the science officer said.
If they are running through a rail car system through the mountain, then they must be expecting to go somewhere that could provide them all with a way of escape, he thought.
“Bring us around, helmsman. I want to be waiting on the other side of this mountain when they emerge.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Vorn warship left the main group, still attacking the city, and began its trek over and beyond Mt. Ortiss. Smoke pillared up into the sky behind them as the Guniran province fell to their onslaught.
☼
Kale pushed the rail car’s thrusters to the limit as they sped through the mountain. The rails groaned under the pressure along with the glide-wheel assemblies on the car as they strained to maintain the vehicle’s integrity. The gravitational forces pulled unrelenting on the passengers, but Kale had to keep pushing hard to maintain the distance between them and the attack pods.
Something flashed off of the rock behind the headlights corona. Then the car shuddered as a laser blast sheered off one of the glide-wheel assemblies.
“We’ve got a pod on our tail!” Tiet said.
“This thing won’t go any faster,” Kale said.
The car shifted around the next sharp turn on the four point rail and metal squealed for mercy.
“What’s that?” Mirah shouted.
“We’ve lost a rail guide! We’re only anchored at three points now,” Kale said as he examined the system failure warnings on the control display.
“How long will that hold us?” Merab asked from the rear seat.
“Not long enough,” Tiet said. “Kale, if we don’t slow down a little the other rail guides will twist off…”
“And if I slow down the pod blows us away. I could collapse the tunnel maybe, but we’re traveling so fast it might hit us first or the pod might get through before it came down.”
“No,” Tiet said, “I want you to slow down a little and—”
“But—”
“—And then when I tell you, deploy the drag chute.”
“I get it.”
Kale reduced thruster power slightly and the car slowed a few miles per hour in speed. He sensed the pod gaining on them. At the same moment, Tiet yelled, “Now!” Kale triggered the release and the chute burst away. The wind speed caught the chute’s billowing folds and it bloomed to its full circumference, trailing behind the car and quickly reducing its speed.
“Release it!” Tiet shouted.
The pod came upon the rail car abruptly and blasted away with its laser turrets as the billowing canopy flew back and enveloped it like a Carcarion Jellyfish. The blinded pod-pilot failed to follow the tunnel path on the next turn. The pod dragged against the tunnel wall, then burst into flame leaving a burning carcass of debris on the ground as the rail car continued on ahead.
Kale tapped the microphone, “Emil, how are you guys doing? Any pod trouble?”
“No, we’ve had a pretty smooth ride. We’re almost to the hangar. Father will get the Equinox ready as soon as we arrive. How about you?”
“We’ve had some trouble—we lost a rail guide to a pod attack, but I think we’re okay now. I’ve reduce speed to compensate. We should be there soon—don’t go leaving without us.”
“Always ruining my well-laid plans--copy that.”
Tiet leaned forward behind his son to look at the map readout. They approached the terminal point on the rail that reached into the hangar, but their speed was still too fast.
“Ease off the power all the way, Kale.”
The hydraulic brake system flashed a failure warning on the display. His father was right, they were approaching too fast. Better deploy the drag chute…oh boy.
Kale pulled the throttle all the way back to the lowest thruster setting, but the glide rate remained steady.
“We’re not slowing down fast enough!”
Tiet reached over his son, pushing him into the canopy with the effort and grabbed the lever for the rear grapple. He pulled the lever and the grapple shot away from b
eside the thruster vent and found a purchase in the rock wall.
The tow cable threaded out fast and the cable tensioner quickly slowed its release rate to slow the vehicle. The end of the rail came fast and they slammed into it, but not as hard as they could have. Tiet pushed the damaged canopy open allowing everyone to get out.
The rail car had been smashed up pretty good, but they were still alive. Kale helped his mother. They made their way onto the platform where the Equinox was exhausting from its engine vents across the hangar bay. Other cars came through but not many. Evidently the pods had stopped the others before launch.
Kale ran on ahead to the ship. He needed something. The boarding ramp stood down for them and Tiet, Mirah and Merab made their way up into the ship. Kale ran back down past them as they entered.
“Where are you going?” Tiet shouted after him.
“They’re coming! Get the ship going, I’ll be back!”
☼
Juli came running after Kale in the hallway. “Where is he going? Emil said we were leaving.”
“He’ll be back in time,” Mirah said. “Let’s get you strapped into a harness—things are about to get rough.” She calmed Juli, who looked like her viral illness had still not abated. Heat radiated from her skin. She had left her in bed while they went to the meeting, but she probably wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep now.
She strapped the girl into a flight chair and checked her temperature again.
“I’ll be right back. You need something to bring your fever down again.”
The whining sound of approaching pods flooded the busy hangar as people boarded several large transport ships. They were large enough together to accommodate nearly the entire population of the province. Not even a third of that number had made it to the hangar. The people scrambled for the transport loading ramps as the pods came through the numerous rail car tunnels. The pod fighters immediately rained down a firestorm on the transport ships and those trying to board them.