by C. C. Ekeke
Antur had been certain he would be witnessing another Earth Holocaust. The longer the planetary shields remained active, the more his brain conjured up the worst-case scenarios of watching Maelstrom’s hijacked battle station burn all his non-Korvenite friends and neighbors to death.
None of the 406 Korvenites in Big Victory were in danger had the Korvenite Independence Front’s ‘purge’ succeeded. But that mattered little and less.
Since its founding in the year 2370 from a cluster of rundown spaceships, Big Victory had known no racial barriers. Every sentient in Big Victory was family.
Today, despite the town’s modest yet slowly expanding sprawl, that tenet of family still held true.
Antur and the other Korvenites had lived here in secret for over twenty-five years, building new lives in a time when their species was being enslaved or hunted like game. So as a member of this town and its council, The Korvenite had buried his own worries in favor of offering reassuring words and calming embraces when needed. Any of his Korvenite brethren able look past their own fears followed his lead, keeping Big Victory tranquil.
Losing a homeworld, triggering so much chaos, Antur had considered, all due to the stupidity of a dozen. What a well-deserved dose of cosmic karma for his past crimes.
And even if the Union and Imperium warships breached Terra Sollus’s compromised defenses, what would stop the Kedri from declaring war on the Union? Maelstrom’s attack had not only ruined the Union-Imperium Trade Merger but had embarrassed both hyperpowers involved on an intergalactic scale.
…All due to the stupidity of a dozen…
Thank Korvan that the heavens had turned blue again, and the Kedri departed from Terra Sollus without a single shot fired at UComm forces.
Only then did the weight of the galaxy leave Antur’s shoulders. Only then had that sweet sigh of relief left his lips.
Four days after what the news streams had called ‘the Battle of Terra Sollus,’ fear still hung heavy amongst many of Big Victory’s 6,800-plus citizens. Not just for their safety, but for that of their Korvenite neighbors.
Everyone knew what Maelstrom’s attacks meant for any Korvenites discovered on Terra Sollus’s surface. The afterglow of celebration and relief had long faded, replaced by palpable dread of UComm warships casting eclipsing shadows over Big Victory to seize friends and neighbors.
That was why, under a moonlit sky, Mayor Sunshine ‘Sunny’ Nakamura addressed her town tonight. Well-placed streetlamps cast pale yet ample lighting over a town square teeming with hundreds of Big Victory’s residents. Ringing the massive town square’s borders were nine metallic tall, angular and twisty sculptures lacquered in silver, all constructed from the innards of nonfunctioning ships.
In front of a rusted military command cruiser now serving as the town hall, the earthborn woman stood on an elevated podium shaped like an enlarged half-tablet. Even dressed in a casual chunky ash grey turtleneck and dark blue denims along with a brown Kurthahide jacket, she carried an unmistakable presence. Sunny cast a sweeping gaze over her constituents and shrugged. “Wish I could say I was up here tonight just because I’m a sucker for your applause.”
The nine sculptures around the town square sonor-amped her quip across the settlement, and a collective chuckle rippled through the audience. Antur allowed himself a brief laugh. He was just one of many in the crowd watching Sunny’s speech. A quick, psychic scan of the gathering revealed the taut worry and at times animosity over the events in Conuropolis. Most blamed Maelstrom and his brainwashed cronies, while small pockets of some humans blamed all Korvenites. For Antur, those reactions weren’t unexpected or worrisome…yet.
“Unfortunately,” Sunny’s voice sobered and she straightened up in posture, “we all saw what happened four days ago. Let’s pray for those living in Conuropolis, Sheffield, and every city-state that suffered from Maelstrom’s attacks, those who lost their homes and loved ones. We may be worlds away from them big megapolises, but we’re all of the same planet and the same Union.”
Steady applause followed Sunny’s declaration. Age had etched fine lines around her almond-shaped eyes and pouty lips. Yet for a fifty-one-year-old, Antur still found her handsome by any humanoid’s criteria. Her thick, flowing hair was a bright shade of powder blue, which she had perma-dyed several years ago when the white hairs began outnumbering the black. Tonight she draped her customary long braid loosely over the right shoulder, her blunt and heavy bangs skimming just over the eyebrows. “However, as much as we support our fellow Unionists in other parts of Terra Sollus, we must look to our own community.
“There will be a lot of blame and hatred being lobbed at the Korvenite species over the next few weeks or months or years. The Korvenites in this town will need us more than ever.”
“What if UComm comesss?” someone shouted out in the crowd, the hissing cadence indicative of a Rothorid. “What are we ssssupposed to do?”
“Well, Rojuic,” Sunny cast a melodramatic eye toward the speaker, addressing her by name, “here’s hoping we never have to answer that question. But if we do, the answer is plain and simple.” Her dark, almond eyes filled with fire as she continued. “Just like over a quarter of a century ago, we protect all Korvenites in this town, hide them in the underground bunkers where the UComm’s scans and probes can’t reach. If that doesn’t work, then we will make a case of it with the courts, and let everyone see how much the Korvenites in this town mean to the community. Big Victory protects its own, no matter what.”
Antur’s pride threatened to burst from his chest. The human had a gift for this, owning the crowd yet making each and every citizen feel like she addressed them directly. His pride notwithstanding, that declaration received a more mixed reaction. The Korvenite exchanged glances with some of the many Korvenites scattered throughout the crowd, unmistakable by their ivory skin, purple-colored hair and their physical similitude to humans. The forty-plus Korvenites in the crowd were connected with each other through a telepathic Unilink, and all shared varying degrees of unease.
Crowd’s a bit agitated in my area, a Korvenite named Isydryas commented, especially the Kent and Gutiérrez clans.
A female named Kumett chimed in. Got a few Rothorids not buying what Sunny’s selling, dead-set on ratting us out if UComm comes around.
Relive their tension a little, Antur replied to the Unilink. Remind them to feel safe around us.
Isydryas and other Korvenites stretched themselves with their Mindspeak gifts. Almost instantly Antur sensed the doubts and resentment of several in the crowd simmer down. Soon, only flickers of unease and doubt lingered amongst the citizens tonight, but nothing warranting any further concern.
Antur sighed, forgiving himself as always for the manipulation, and returned his gaze to Sunny.
“I understand everyone is scared. So am I,” the earthborn woman admitted in high and ringing tones. “But we cannot let our fears and worries drive us apart. The Korvenites in this town had nothing to do with the tragedy that took place in Conuropolis. They are family. And in Big Victory, we protect our family,” she then gestured down to a Korvenite standing in the front of the crowd, “even Tharace.”
The crowd howled with laughter over that, and Antur sensed the Korvenite she spoke of seethe with embarrassment.
“For now, go home, spend time with your loved ones and your friends. Let us enjoy the very things we’ve labored for and fought hardest to protect—our family.” The crowd burst in applause, then the cheering from days ago returning in full force. Sunny nodded and voiced her thanks to the crowd. She then angled a look in Antur’s direction with a subtle askance that only he saw.
Antur nodded his approval. You did great, Sunshine, he telepathically reassured her, as usual.
And then Sunny let her shoulders sag in relief. A big smile played across her lips as she waved and soaked in the appreciation from Big Victory’s citizens.
Antur watched her in amusement. Yes, she really was a sucker for all the applause.
“What’s the temperature out there tonight?” she asked quietly. Even this late in the day, her work as mayor was never done.
“Concerned and scared,” Antur answered. “Some of our more remote citizens were ready to give us up if UComm ever visited.”
Sunny gave him her look through the mirror, collected but pointed. “I assume the weather’s cooled?”
Antur set the comb down atop a drawer next to the holomirror. “Do you even have to ask?” To keep the peace in Big Victory, Sunny had tasked Antur and the other Korvenites over the years with training the townsfolk in ‘psychic defensive.’ But in truth this allowed the Korvenite familiarity and access to occasionally sway public opinion to benefit their standing in Big Victory, like ensuring that Sunny’s two-decade rule as mayor remained unopposed.
“Smooth winds for now,” he placed both hands on Sunny’s slim shoulders to start rubbing away the knots. Antur was one of Sunny’s chief advisors on Big Victory’s town council, and her partner in everything else.
He sensed Sunny’s lack of regret for any actions taken to protect this town, as well as her already ebbing relief. “Let me know if anything else comes up.”
The Korvenite couldn’t help but smile. “You worry too much.”
Sunny closed her eyes and let her head loll forward, surrendering to the massage. “You never worry enough,” she sighed.
I worry more than you could ever know, Antur said to himself, feeling a sharp pang deep in his chest. “You carry enough worry for us both.”
Sunny opened her beady eyes and shrugged. “Have to. I’m the mayor.”
“Not in this house,” the Korvenite declared in his sexiest voice and continued kneading away his partner’s worries. They had made a rule to try and not let town politics affect their personal relationship. For the most part, the rule had worked for them.
“Maybe…” Sunny cooed once the Korvenite pulled his hands away. She rose to her feet, standing about three inches shorter than him. “…maybe I need a reminder.” The impish grin on her face made Sunny look twenty years younger.
Lust jolted like lightning through Antur. A soft caress on the cheek from her, a lingering kiss on the mouth from him and soon they were tearing each other’s clothes off. He took Sunny’s hand, pulling her eagerly toward their bed.
As her bare pink flesh pressed up against his alabaster white skin, Antur was reaching out telepathically to weave their minds together. By the time the two lovers were deep in the throes, Antur and Sunny’s thoughts were merged completely. Every memory of his were laid bare for her to experience, all except that one cataclysmic day from almost three decades past.
…the sheer horror of watching Earth’s atmosphere burn, the allegedly righteous pact with eleven other Korvenites that had set Earth’s ruin in motion…
Sunny would never know that side of Antur. Years of practice had allowed him to bury those memories from his paramour whenever their minds merged, without her ever realizing.
The sound of Sunny’s contented moan drew Antur back to the pleasures before him. If tonight is my last night as a free Korvenite, he mused, then I will actively enjoy every last moment. The Korvenite clasped Sunny’s hands, pinning her to their bed, and sank on into the warmth between her thighs.
After they finished, a telepathic call roused him from his slumber.
Antur. The Korvenite sat up in the dark, recognizing the firm cadence of longtime friend Vycho.
Something wrong? In the background Antur also sensed quiet mental chatter like a babbling brook, several Korvenites he didn’t recognize. That icy fear returned, but he couldn’t figure out why.
You’re needed in the Underground Hub, Vycho continued. Tharace found something.
Tharace was also a longtime acquaintance and sometimes friend. She was also the best tracker amongst Big Victory’s Korvenites. If she required Antur’s presence, then Tharace must have found a potential threat to this town. His breathing grew labored with anxiety.
He glanced to the left. Sunny continue to doze peacefully beside him, swaddled in only sheets and shadows. The human was dreaming of sparkling Galdorian seas she once visited as a child.
No need to wake her. I’ll be there in ten macroms. Antur swung his legs off the side of the bed.
After throwing on some clothes, Antur ventured out into the chilly night toward the edge of town. The more rural and scattered residential areas of Big Victory were evident by the increased dilapidation of the ships-turned-homes. Antur ventured to one of the mobile homes, an ancient mini-starliner so rusted over that Antur couldn’t recall its original color. After entering through the vessel’s helm, the Korvenite soon found himself in the luxury section of the ship.
The halolights came to life as soon as he entered that gutted section, revealing eight circular transmat platforms of crimson coloring, lined up in two rows of four. The walls of this former luxury section, however, were as timeworn as the outside of the ship.
These transmatters had been smuggled in sometime before the Earth Holocaust, allowing quicker transportation to and from the massive tunnels beneath Big Victory. The underground Hub was the refitted military bunker where the Korvenites in this town had been hidden, keeping them safe from global gene scans until UComm assumed they’d captured every Korvenite on Terra Sollus. When needed, the Hub also served as a meeting place for the town’s Korvenites.
“Computer,” Antur spoke. Immediately, a rainbow of blinking consoles lit up in the room. Antur stood on the circle closest to him. “One to transport. The Hub.” The insides of the transmat center vanished in a shimmer of white, replaced by the gloom of the subterranean tunnels beneath Big Victory. The transmat platforms were identical to those in the starliner, even down to their metallic sheen.
Upon stepping off the transmat platform, he was greeted by two senior members of Big Victory’s Korvenites. Vycho, stocky in build and sporting a mop of dark curly hair, offered Antur an anxious smile. At his side stood Tharace, petite and pudgy. But her pudginess was the only thing soft about the female Korvenite. Tharace’s crewcut lilac tresses were as severe as her flinty expression. Antur had known these two since before he’d made Big Victory his home, so he expected such greetings.
The babbling of thoughts he’d sensed from earlier was stronger and more pronounced. Several new Korvenites, most confused, some relieved, quite a few angry—all of them Retributionaries.
A chill swept over Antur. “[What’s going on?]” he asked in Korcei, approaching the duo.
Vycho led the way into a larger, more open room. “[See for yourself.]”
Antur stepped out of a short corridor and into a bowl-shaped meeting room built to fit hundreds. It had been his home for almost a year after the Earth Holocaust. This room was just one section in a vast underground complex capable of housing the whole town if needed.
Antur spotted over two dozen Korvenites who worked town security, all armed with pulse rifles. He exchanged greetings with them as well. Antur was far less welcoming to the new group of Korvenites, nameless faces under the dim lighting of the Hub.
Their complexions were white as snow, like his own; their hair, varying shades of purple similar to his; their eyes, black on gold exactly like Antur’s. Korvenites, birthed from the same world. But they chose to murder willingly, Antur fumed. They are nothing like me. He lost count of how many we
re present but noted that all appeared robust and well fed. Yet many sported wounds that ranged in severity; from minor cuts and bruises to poorly bandaged wounds and serious burn injuries. The majority wore next to nothing, and shivered from the brisk drafts underground. Clearly these Retributionaries escaped the ruins of Conuropolis after Maelstrom had been thwarted and killed.
And now, they have found Big Victory. That icy fear from earlier had seeped into every cell of Antur’s body. Regardless of his private fears, the Korvenite approached the gaggle of his own kind with as much confidence as he could muster, speaking with them telepathically.
We want no trouble, a Korvenite female named Cymae assured him. Only sanctuary. There’s nowhere else for us to go. Cymae’s plea mirrored all of these Korvenites’. They needed shelter and safety. There was nowhere else for them to go. The ice filling Antur’s insides thawed then, but not the fears.
Some were older and had known freedom before the Earth Holocaust. Most of these Korvenites were either younger or children, whose only homes had been the internment camps. The bitterness and anger ruling many of these younglings’ thoughts tasted of poison, but not nearly as much as the unanimously staunch hatred all of these Korvenites harbored for anything human.
Antur knew without question that Big Victory did not need this infusion of rogue Korvenites. But they’re still my brethren. If he turned them away, their chances of survival dropped to nil. “[How did they find us?]” Antur asked after putting some distance between himself and the new Korvenites.
“[I sensed their presence a day ago and led the group to this location,]” Tharace declared, as if he’d asked a stupid question. “[They’ve been walking through Terra Sollus’s subterranean tunnels for days.]”
Antur rubbed at the bridge of his nose, sensing the onset of anger, arguments, and a massive headache. “[Are you sure they weren’t followed?]”
“[Yes,]” replied Joreis. The young and brawny security guard kept shooting uneasy glances at this new group of Korvenites.
Antur’s heart thundered hard against his chest as he considered what to do next. “[Check again with the military scanners,]” he ordered Joreis, “[We can’t be wrong about this.]” After Joreis departed, Antur gave both Vycho and Tharace pointed looks before stalking even further from the gathering.