“Wait,” replied Eden. “Where do we go?”
Nyx gave Eden a blank expression. “Start running, Eden. We'll get there sooner if we run there.”
“Run? Where exactly are we going?” questioned Eden.
“To that starship below.”
“But—it's like five miles to the starship.”
Nyx ignored her and started jogging.
It's more like ten miles, mentioned Jantu.
Eden was startled that he was right behind her.
She gave him a friendly punch to the forearm. “How do you do that? You are like invisible, but not. Stop doing that.”
I apologize, Eden. It was not my intention to frighten you.
“Meh,” she retorted. “You don't frighten me. You're a good guy...cat...thingy.”
He chuckled. If you need to get on my back, I can carry you.
Eden glanced at Jantu's shoulders, seeing how muscular they were and almost took his offer, but decided against it. His back was full of blue fur, and she didn't want to think about what it would be like if he started perspiring while she hung on. She imagined herself slipping down his fur, tumbling off his legs, and catching the back of his heels with her face. Not something she wanted to do.
Your imagination is funny, said Jantu. He pointed ahead at his friends. Can you keep their pace?
Eden frowned. “Probably not.” She ran anyway, as if she was back in Sphere 1 at Star Guild Academy, although it had been more than ten years since training days.
Ahead of her were the Fae and Sirians, Thomas in the lead, running as if it was just as easy as walking. Their pace was far too fast for her to keep up, but as they passed a giant pile of rocks she was shocked at how invigorated she felt with each breath. This was her first time on Lumus and her first time running outside of Starbase Matrona. And unlike Matrona, on Lumus the air was real.
I may actually be able to do this.
Eden stumbled her last steps to Starship Sirona. There it was, right in front of her and as big as can be, dented up and bruised all over. She had never seen a starship on the ground: it was like a massive duck out of water.
You poor girl, she told the starship. We'll get you fixed up and back in space.
Taking deep breaths she sat down on the ebb ground and against the wall of the ridge. She put her head in her hands, wiping the sweat from her brow. The Fae and Sirian all seemed unaffected by the exertion, barely breaking a sweat. Eden slumped when she observed Thomas patting the back of the yellow-furred female Sirian.
The Sirians and Fae. I need to learn some of their names, decided Eden.
A loud hissing sound captured everyone's attention. A side launch bay door had opened and a ramp descended from it, sliding noisily to the ground. A man, old and weary and wearing an oxygen mask stood at the opening, and a woman, tall and healthy, stood next to him, also wearing an oxygen mask. Several Sirona Guards were behind them, heavy in their fighting gear, pointing their phasers.
Eden stood and moved swiftly to Thomas and her friends, standing in front of them with her hands up. “Don't shoot! We are here to help. I'm Eden from Starship Brigantia, Commanding officer of Starfighter Division and Ranks!”
The Sirona Guards lowered their weapons and the older man hurried down the ramp, his thin and long gray hair bobbing against his shoulders with every step. Reaching Eden he immediately wrapped his arms around her, saying something she couldn't understand. When she saw the tears in his eyes, she suddenly realized who it was.
“Wrench?”
He cleared his throat. “The one and only.” He took his oxygen mask off. “If you can breathe, then I can breathe.” He backed up when he saw a giant Sirian coming near.
Eden pointed a thumb at the blue cat-human. “That's Jantu. He's gentle.”
Wrench looked awe-struck. He'd never seen any other two-legged walking creature besides his own race. Just as quickly his attention returned to the sight of Eden standing in front of him. “How the Guild are ya alive? We got information that ya had disintegrated. I even watched it on the HDC!” Before Eden could reply, he kept going. “What's going on? And, how long have we had oxygen on this shit-hole planet?”
“Always,” replied Thomas, stepping forward. His long, flowing hair gleamed in the sunlight. His calming blue eyes put Wrench at ease immediately.
“Come, come,” said Wrench, gesturing for them to follow him up the ramp. “We need to get ya'll out of sight. Who knows when the Drags are comin'.”
“Drags?” questioned Eden.
“Oh,” snorted Wrench, stopping just before the ramp. “That's what we call the shit-heads who attacked us. We call 'em Drags, thanks to Crystal.”
“Crystal is here?” asked Eden.
Wrench shook his head. “I told her not to go out, but she did. We haven't heard from her in two days. I'm very worried, Eden.”
Eden wrinkled her nose. “Is she in a starfighter?”
“No. A modified Mech, but I'll explain that later,” responded Wrench, again gesturing for them to follow him as he walked up the ramp and into Sirona's starboard launch bay.
Up the ramp and into the bay, Eden, Thomas, and Nyx, along with the rest of their crew, stood next to each other, still surrounded by the Sirona Guard.
“Menacing,” said Nyx, her tone sarcastic and flat. “If you lower your weapons, only good will come to you.”
Eden stood at attention the moment she saw Admiral Diana McCoy.
“Relax, Eden,” said Diana. “Who are these...” She paused, at a loss as what to call the gorgeous Fae and the furry Sirians. “Who are your friends?”
Eden relaxed. “To my left is Nyx. To my right is Thomas. And behind us are Jantu and...” Eden paused, unsure of anyone else's name.
Thomas walked forward, his hand out for a gentle handshake. Diana returned the gesture, feeling the comfort from his hand. He wrapped his other hand on top of hers. “The light in me bows to the light in you.” He dipped his head. “That is what we say where I come from. I respect your inner light and I hope you respect mine.”
“Wrench,” Diana said, letting go of Thomas's soft grip. “Get these people and...” she paused, looking at the large cat-like humanoids, “and them, some food and drink.”
Wrench pointed to himself, confused. “I...uh...I'm not the chef, Admiral. Ya think we should get the chef to do it?” His manner was informal, though everyone felt his humble nature and didn't think twice about it.
“Okay, then tell the head chef that we have guests.”
“Aye, Admiral.” He walked over to Eden and squeezed her hand. “I'm very happy ya made it back alive, Missy.” He hurried away, pressing a button on his HDC as he passed it. The large bay door made a sound, then started to shut.
“Is there a place we could speak, Admiral?” asked Thomas.
“Yes,” replied Diana. She gave a sideways tip of her head to her Sirona Guard, telling them they weren't needed and she felt safe. “Just you and me?”
“I'd like Eden and Nyx with me, if that is alright.”
“I'll have a couple with me, as well.” She turned on her heels and headed to her quarters. “Follow me, gentlemen...and ladies.”
∞
There were hundreds of Brigantia and Taranis Guards standing in the lobby, lining the hallways and watching from the balconies overhead.
“Soldiers of Star Guild,” spoke Captain Louise Stripe. She stood on top of a chair in the middle of the infirmary lobby. On one side of her was Brigger and on the other side, Sergeant Manning. “I regret to inform you that the group we had detained in the psych ward has escaped. We will call them Payson's team.” A commotion immediately echoed throughout and the guards looked quizzically at one another. Questions erupted, spiraling down the hallways, turning into jumbled words by the time they hit everyone's ears.
Louise raised her hand, gesturing for everyone to slow down and be quiet. She had more to say.
“They escaped by lethal force. They are elite soldiers and we weren't as pre
pared as I would have liked.” There was a distaste in her words, knowing that her past warnings to everyone about keeping Payson alive fell on deaf ears—Admiral Byrd's deaf ears. “And, they are most likely out of the biosphere by now.”
Louise cleared her throat, ready to give the worst news to her fellow Guards. “In the process of their escape, Admiral Byrd was wounded...” she paused, as an even heavier hush entered the room. “Admiral James Byrd...” again, she paused, doing her best to keep her voice from cracking. “Admiral James Byrd passed away from his—“
Before she could finish, a roar drowned out her words. Some people were worried; others were already preparing to bolt after the killers.
“Attention!” yelled Manning. “The captain was not finished!”
All came to attention, waiting for orders, some wiping their tears.
“We don't know which Spheres they have infiltrated or if they have split up and infiltrated all of the Spheres. They may be going after Prime Director Zim. They may be going after the civilians. We don't know. Every minute we stand here is a minute they go deeper within the starbase. We will divide up and you will grab your weapons, your com links, your rations, and your gear. We will have 9 divisions and each will have a Sphere. I expect lead officers to take charge in each Sphere without disturbing or harming the Matrona citizens. I'll be on the com link with the Matrona Guard after you have all dispersed, letting them know the situation and which actions they need to take, as I assume their attitude has changed after Zim's recent comments on the vid channels, washing us clean of any presumed crimes. I'll attempt to get each team access to the Intelligence Tech Support—ITS—if the Matrona Guard grants it. The ITS will be your eyes, seeing all that goes on from the vids in each Sphere. You'll be fully informed as you search for those bastards.”
She took a moment, then a deep breath. “Sergeant Manning and Lieutenant Brigger are under my command and will be following me to Sphere 1. You have all been trained in terrorist response and we will be using the same precautions and protocols. Generals and Sergeants, you know what to do. Taranis Guard, you’ll be searching Spheres 2, 3, 4, and 5. Brigantia Guard, you'll be searching Spheres 6, 7, 8, and 9. If you find them, kill them.”
She hopped off the chair. “Manning, get our team ready. I'm grabbing my phaser and com link. You take lead. I'll be on the link with the Matrona Guard officers and ITS while we move toward Sphere 1. And, let's hope to Guild that Payson shows up in our path. I'd love to pay him my respects.”
∞
A bright light touched upon Crystal's closed eyes, as if someone had just pointed a flashlight at her. She fumbled into a seated position, frantically trying to figure out where she was. Her sleeping quarters shouldn't be this well lit, especially since the ebb shields were drawn over her windows. Was Starship Sirona under attack...again?
A loud horn blasted her upright and into a standing position. She touched her legs and realized she was wearing her boots Why would I fall asleep in my Star Guild Mech garb? Another horn blast made Crystal lose her balance and she tumbled back onto the bed.
The horn finally stopped and she looked at her surroundings, seeing that the walls curved around in a circle and the ceiling was domed. This was not her usual sleeping quarters.
“Where the Guild am I?”
Before her was a door. It was closed, but light shone through a window at the top of it, seeping brilliantly through two other windows on each side of the room.
“What is going on?”
Another horn sounded, this time even louder. She ran to a window and looked out. Little men and women, about 4 feet tall at the most, were gathering all around, quietly watching a display in the sky.
“Come out here, please,” said a male voice.
Stepping away from the window Crystal’s head swiveled in the direction of the voice. A small man shadowed by the light was holding the door open. As he came forward the shadow faded. His stern eyes and long beard couldn't hide the gentleness of his aura. He held out his hand for her to grasp.
“I'm sure you haven't forgotten me already.” He pounded his chest with his other hand. “Thun, son of King Bilrak, brother of Harak. First in line as King.”
Then it hit her and hit her hard. She backed away, placing her hand on her heart. “The city under the mountain?”
He nodded.
She wasn't on Starship Sirona anymore. She was in Dirn Garum, the home of the Dwarves.
“My home away from home,” replied Thun. “I want you to see something.”
She rubbed her eyes and wagged her head like a dog's tail to wake herself. She wasn't quite fully in her mind; if she could just get some water it would do wonders for her state of being. She sat on the bed. “Water please.”
“We don't have time. I'm afraid—”
“Now!”
Thun unclipped a thick sack from his belt and tossed it in her direction. Crystal caught it, felt the weight of water in it, and opened the cap. It was half full and she drank it down quickly. She wiped her mouth with satisfaction and threw it back at him. “Thank you.”She followed him out of the room and into the square, where thousands of Dwarves were watching a light stream from a corner of the mountain. The light looked to be about a hundred or so feet up, near the mountainous-rock ceiling of Dirn Garum. It lit up the entire city. Crystal squinted, then tried to shield the light out of her eyes with her hand.
Thun jumped and pulled her hand down. “Your eyes will adjust.”
Another horn blared and Thun tugged on Crystal's pant leg. “Watch this!”
The light transformed into a beam and shot straight into an enormous golden bowl on top of a building a few blocks away. The bowl instantly reflected the light back, slowly turning the light into a blueish-white color, flooding the upper rocky walls.
The crowd broke into cheer, then bowed, thanking their Goddess, Berronar. The crowd then dispersed, going back to their structures and buildings, even though the light display hadn't ended.
“What's going on?” asked Crystal.
“That is how we get our energy to power the lights you see in the city. At this time, the setting sun delivers very important chlorophyll-satiated light. We direct that light with mirrors throughout a tunnel system we created in the upper portion of the mountain.” He pointed at the beaming light above, saying, “Our last mirror is operated by a Dwarf. He positions the mirror exactly where it needs to be in order to send the light into the golden bowl. The bowl is filled with blue selenium, which collects the power and streams it down to our Capacitor Building that the bowl sits atop, where the energy is stored and shared to the accompanying buildings. Each building is stationed with copper coils, where it too collects and spreads the energy to the next building, acting much like a partnership. This in turn illuminates our lights. Since we are not surface dwellers, this energy system gives us all the nutrients from the sun that we need.”
Crystal crossed her arms. “That's a mouthful.” She fidgeted with her sleeve. “The blue light is everywhere. How do you guys function in this?” questioned Crystal.
“We just go inside for a while. We close up the tunnel as soon as we have stored up enough energy to last us for days and days.”
Crystal paused, thinking. “So, you have tunnel systems throughout the mountain?”
Thun grunted. “Yes.”
She tapped her front teeth, thinking some more. “You are probably aware that this blue light shoots out every crevice and hole in the mountain? Daf and I saw it several evenings ago.”
Thun crossed his arms. “That is not a problem.”
“You are showing the Drags your location.”
“I don't know what Drags are.”
“We call the ones who attacked us the ‘Drags’.”
“Drags? Why?” asked Thun.
“Because they wear outfits that remind us of dragons. But I call them Drags because they drag us down. You know, hold us back.”
Thun held his arms crossed. Crystal could see he wasn't get
ting the analogy. She continued, “They are a drag, which means annoying assholes.”
Thun still didn't understand.
Crystal pursed her lips, trying to find another way of saying it, then gave up. “Never mind. Still, can you cover up those holes so they don't get curious and explore the mountain for the source of the blue light?”
Thun shifted and his brows drew low. He paused for several moments in deep thought. Finally he smiled and then spoke. “No.” His grin disappeared and he began to walk away. “Follow me.”
“Where to?”
“We have fashioned you a baldric for your sword.”
Crystal checked her hands. “Wait. Where is my sword?”
“Don't worry. No one can lift it but you. It was by your bed when you came out of Shan Ru's dwelling.”
Shan Ru, thought Crystal. Where's that guy? She looked around. She didn't see him. “Let me go get my sword.”
Thun flicked his hand. “No time. Come with me.”
They walked around a building and toward a large boulder sitting between several structures.
“Where's Daf?” asked Crystal.
Thun grunted.
After a brief pause, Crystal spoke, “And, that means?”
“It means I don't know.” He forced a smile.
“Okay, where is Shan Ru?”
Thun grunted.
“That tells me so much,” said Crystal. “You haven't seen them?”
Thun ignored her.
Reaching the boulder, Thun pressed a button on the side of it, then stood, staring at the boulder, humming a tune.
Crystal felt a hand on her back. “I'm right here, Crystal.”
Looking over her shoulder, she saw the tall man, Shan-Ru. He touched both hands together at his heart and bowed. “I'm going to accompany you to your fitting, if you allow me.”
Crystal gestured at the rock, giving a confused face. “Is this the fitting room?”
Thun kicked the boulder. “You sun dweller piece of pebble!” He pressed the button again.
“A Dwarf’s patience is nothing to be envious of,” said Shan. “Making a Dwarf wait is worse than cutting their throats.”
Star Guild Episodes 10 - 18 (Star Guild Saga) Page 8