Cydonia Rising

by Dave Walsh

  Kara

  The longer Kara sat in the palace the more she got the impression that things had spun out of control and that there was no turning back for any of them. Cronus was becoming startlingly distant as the mounting tensions rose in the Republic, and the only silver lining she saw to that was that he was becoming more lucid and aware of what was really going on. It had been cycles since she had seen Cronus this aware of what things were really like outside of the protective bubble he lived inside of. She felt guilty for only adding to that bubble throughout most of his life, for keeping him away from the people of the Republic and what their lives were really like. Perhaps he would have been able to empathize and be more human if he had seen the people close up instead of through the many filters that life inside of the the palace had provided.

  The difference between how her children were raised and how she was raised felt overwhelming, although upon reflection, she was more privileged than others were. Jonah had always talked about how life aboard the Omega Destiny was miserable, oppressive and how he’d fight for the rest of his life to ensure that those under his rule wouldn’t have to live a life like that. The Omega Destiny had never seemed that bad to her growing up—in fact she had everything she could have ever wanted. The thought had crossed her mind of how the way they were brought up influenced how they were as parents; Jonah was more attentive and tried to spend every last moment with Katrijn, while Kara was good and loving to Cronus, but focused on his wants and desires. Parenting like that was never their intention, it just broke down like that when they were left to their own devices.

  Kara felt like a failure seeing how Cronus had turned out, but what was done was done. Parenting felt like the least of her concerns after she was briefed by Trallex on that strange gate out by the Gimle system. Everything was crumbling around them and Kara’s power had been stripped from her before she ever had a chance to use it. In a way it felt ironic that she held power for so many years but when she could have actually used it to accomplish something, it was no longer within her grasp, instead it was just out of reach. There were no implicit restrictions upon her, but she knew that returning to Andlios unannounced was a risky plan. If it meant that she could possibly fix something, though, it would be worth it. She hoped.

  Her holoscanner blared behind her, Kara quickly turning to look at it to see that it was Jack requesting a link to her. She clicked accepted and saw a projection of Jack, who looked haggard. “Jack?”

  “Kara,” he said, pausing slightly thanks to the lag between Andal-3 and Andlios. “Gods damned, there is always this lag that I forget about. I’m just going to talk then. It’s Peter, he’s been captured by Cronus. He’s in the palace right now and by the looks of it, you are there as well. I’m not sure if you are able to do much, but I think he’s in trouble.”

  A pregnant pause filled the space, Kara understanding that it was her time to talk, but she didn’t quite know how to respond. “Okay,” she said. “I’m not sure what I can do, but I’ll try to see what is happening. So he’s here?” Kara’s heart began thumping in her chest. “Does that mean that Katrijn is here as well? Has she been captured?”

  Another long pause filled the space between them, and it was very clear that there were light years between them. She could read Jack’s face while he listened to her message and began formulating a reply. “No word on Katrijn,” he said, and Kara felt a wave of relief. “But I’m worried about Peter, Kara. He’s…well, he’s been modified quite a bit and we both know how proud he is. If someone were looking to use something against him that’d be a good place to start. They won’t hurt him, I don’t think, they’ll look to make a fool out of him. This Giger has been behind a lot of these political shifts and as much of a jackass as he seems to be, he’s a dangerous guy. Be careful if you do do anything. Also, these walls have ears, Kara. This call was encrypted, but unless you can pull together an encrypted line of your own, stay off the comm channels.”

  With that his image disappeared and Kara once again found herself alone inside the palace, knowing that after the years of comfort, she’d once again need to gather up the courage to try to make a difference. The last time she had done so she was sent off to Andal-3 where she’d be out of the way and they had hoped out of their affairs. Her return wasn’t entirely unexpected considering the invitation extended to her, but it had been perhaps sent in bad faith, just ceremonial. This resulted in her being closely watched and kept at arm’s length.

  Kara picked herself up and took a deep breath, knowing that she had to go directly to her son and attempt to get around Giger at all costs. She propelled herself forward, pushing open the two great doors and ignoring the two guards who were standing out in the hallway. They began following her and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “I know you are doing your job,” she said without looking back, “so I won’t take this personally, but I’m going where I’m going. You’ll need to lock me up to stop me.”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” one said. “We are simply instructed to protect you.”

  “Inside the Imperial Palace?” she asked. “Strange times, indeed.”

  There was no reply while she strode down the hallways toward the audience chamber, knowing that Cronus would be there tending to whatever matters had arisen. Disposing of the Senate might have seemed like a brilliant idea at the time, but neither Giger nor Cronus had realized just how much was handled by the other branches of government. She was actually surprised they hadn’t delegated handling of certain responsibilities to her. She was in charge of Andal-3, but Andal-3 rarely ever had issues to deal with and Jack had been dealing with most of the moon’s issues for a long time before she was ever assigned there, so he’d continue to do so now.

  The doors to the audience chamber were open already, Kara and her two guards simply striding in while the other guards looked on, assuming they belonged there. Inside Cronus was sitting on his throne, face in his hand and a look of frustration lining his face. There was no sign of Giger, which was a good thing, but a slew of projections sat on the opposite wall, voices coming from each toward Cronus while he watched. He turned and saw her, simply nodding toward the empty chair next to his. She stepped up onto the dais and sat down next to him, in the spot that had been reserved for her in the past.

  She sat quietly, listening while shipping magnates bickered over trade routes and slowdowns in service, complaints starting to pile up about having to avoid doing business through the Gimle sector in particular. Things were escalating and it was becoming more and more difficult for Cronus to keep it all under wraps. At this rate, shipping companies would be taking shortcuts through the Gimle sector without clearance—if they weren’t already—and they’d see for themselves that things were going wrong there.

  After Cronus dismissed them he took a deep breath and turned to her. “I assume you have a problem that I must attend to urgently as well, mother?”

  “Am I really that easy to read?”

  “No,” he said. “It’s just that it seems like no one talks to me unless they want something of me these days.”

  “That’s what it’s like to be in charge,” she said softly. “Your father dealt with the same thing.”

  “Well we all know that father was a saint, now don’t we.” He was agitated, as always, at the mention of his father.

  “This isn’t what I’m here to talk about,” she said. “But we can’t hide what is happening by Gimle for much longer. They are going to find out sooner or later, then what? I feel this whole Gimle situation is spiraling out of control. What do we do if that is really a gate and Earth starts sending forces through?”

  “I’m handling it,” he replied.

  “I don’t think that you understand, what if—”

  “I’m handling it!” he shouted. “My war fleet is being worked on right now, as we speak, Mother. Father never thought it was prudent to make such preparations, which left us woefully unprepared for a possible war like this.”

  “B
ecause he was careful, Son,” she said in a soft voice. “He knew not to poke the hornet’s nest.”

  “It was a different time,” he said. “Now is a time of action.”

  “We raised you better than this, Cronus,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. “Or was it I who failed you?”

  “I’m the emperor of the Andlios Republic and no, it is not as cut and dry as when Father ran things,” he looked away from her. “You should be proud, or maybe that is too difficult. Why are you here, anyway?”

  “I’ve heard troubling news,” she said. “I’ve heard that your uncle is back and that you have…imprisoned him.”

  “He is in the palace,” Cronus said. “We’ve detained him and suspect him of being part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government.”

  “Cronus,” she said cautiously. “You know that is a mistake. He has always wanted to help you, you just never let him. You have to believe me, this situation is only going to get worse and your uncle could help.”

  “I do not need his help, mother,” he turned to her and snarled. “Nor do I need your help, either. Guards,” he snapped his fingers at them. “Return the empress regent to her quarters and see to it that she rests.”

  “Gods dammit, Cronus!” She sprung from her chair, turning to her son. “Can’t you see? Cronus!”

  He simply waved at her and turned away, and she felt the guards tugging on her arms and pulling her from the dais.

  030. Zahira Nights

  Alva

  The Zarr’nid kept a low profile, existing solely inside their intricate series of caves throughout the Zahira Desert. Sadly for Alva, the beds they were accustomed to were quite different from the beds that she was, especially the one in her apartment that Trallex had given to her. In a way, it felt like penance for Alva to be sleeping on a tough, flat cushion laid out on top of the ground inside a cave. She wasn’t sure who she was asking forgiveness from, but she had lost her way and let herself be used by those around her. Things felt different inside the Zarr’nid cave after seeing how they lived and struggled through their daily lives. They weren’t fighting back or trying to conquer anything, they were simply doing what they needed to do to survive.

  “Hi,” a small voice came from the other side of the blanket that served as a partition to her sleeping area. Alva looked up and saw the boy Zun’thir had shown her the night before.

  “Hi,” she smiled warmly up at him. “Zum’il, right?”

  “Yeah,” he said bashfully. “My dad told me I should wake you up, he’s gonna go on another raid tonight.”

  “Oh, thanks Zum’il,” she picked herself up and stretched. “Where is your dad, anyway?”

  “He’s outside preparing that new transport, want to come see?”

  “That’d be great.” Alva followed the boy as he strutted through the caves, saying hi to the various people they passed by in between coughing fits. Her heart dipped each time he coughed, imagining that without help he’d die from asphyxiation within a few cycles, possibly even sooner. What she hadn’t seen the previous night when she arrived was just how many elderly and children were around. The Wild Ones themselves seemed limited in numbers, but the people that came with them were in the hundreds at least. There could be thousands, even, scattered across the vast cave system in the Zahira.

  Outside the sun had risen and it was already scorchingly hot and dry out beyond the cave. Zum’il paused at the mouth of the cave and pointed out toward his father. Alva thanked him and sent him back inside before trekking out into the morning sunlight toward the Wild Ones, who were working away on the new transport; a woman younger than Alva with short cropped black hair wearing a few pieces of leather armor stood in all of her bronzed glory atop the transport with a pulsesaw in hand, working away at the roof of the transport. Alva watched her as if she was in a trance before she heard someone behind her.

  “We’ll make good use of that transport yet.” Zun’thir was standing there with a steaming mug in his hand.

  “Is that coffee?” she asked.

  “That it is, would you like some?”

  “I would, but it’s already hot enough out here, and I’m not sure I can handle any more.”

  “Oh, that,” he said. “You get used to the heat after a while. We’ll have that transport ready for tonight’s raid, at least.”

  “Raid?” Her interest was piqued. “What will you be raiding.”

  “We’ll be raiding a convoy headed into Cydonia for supplies.”

  “We?” She noted his tone.

  “Yes,” he said, motioning back toward the cave. “How else can we know if we can trust you or not, Princess Alva? You must become one of us.”

  “I’ll do whatever it takes,” she said. “As long as this isn’t some trick where you intend to hang me out to dry. There’s been a lot of that lately.”

  “That is not our way. If Zun’thir and his Wild Ones make a promise to you, that is a promise that will be kept. You will ride with me and tonight we will see what you are made of.”

  “Just tell me what I have to do.” She swallowed hard. Alva knew it wouldn’t be as simple as making a big promise to the Wild Ones and have them ready to help her. That being said, she hadn’t imagined helping them on a raid. This wasn’t an ideal situation, but if it was what she had to do, she would gladly help out on a raid.

  Throughout the rest of the day, Alva was simply another cog in the machine that was the Wild Ones. She helped convert the transport she brought to them as a gift into a Wild Ones chariot, although she wasn’t clear if it would be christened on the raid that night or not. Seeing Zun’thir interact with his gang firsthand was quite an experience. Alva had been around leaders before—in fact, she had been around leaders for most of her life before her death and resurrection. Most girls in a position of power like her would have been kept at arm’s length, protected and groomed to be a proper lady. Her father felt that Alva would take the reins from him eventually, so he kept her very close to him, even when he chose to live in a stronghold with his most trusted men while at war with the Fourth Fleet.

  Tyr’s style of ruling was that of awe and benevolence, but he was still very much the leader and tended to keep a fair distance from the rest of his warband. They loved him and were willing to do anything for him, but he still didn’t spend much time with them unless he had to. Instead, he chose a more secluded existence that helped to build up an aura of invincibility. Zun’thir on the other hand was just another of the Wild Ones, working with them side-by-side and in places simply assisting and letting others take charge of the conversion process. The Wild Ones still treated him with reverence and respect, but Zun’thir was unafraid to appear human with the men and women of the Wild Ones.

  Alva just sat and watched him for a while before he approached her, wiping the sweat from his brow and taking a pull from his skin of water. “That transport will do nicely.” He tossed the skin down to her. “No matter what happens, we are grateful for the gift.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” she said.

  “You were pretty handy out there.” He stared back at his group loading up weapons and supplies onto the transports. “Maybe you don’t have to throw your life away to try to get out of your father’s shadow.”

  “Maybe. It’s more than that now, though.”

  “So it is.”

  “I made a promise and I intend to keep it.”

  “Truly a noble calling,” he said, kneeling down next to her. “But a ruler without an understanding of his or her own people is no ruler at all.”

  “I noticed how you are with the Wild Ones,” she motioned toward them. “You weren’t afraid to let them take control in a few cases.”

  “Why wouldn’t I? Jum’en is a far better mechanic than I, I feel honored to assist her in tuning up an engine. I’d be foolish to handle it myself and do only half as good of a job.”

  “I get that, but that doesn’t mean you have to hand her tools. You could have anyone else do that.”

 
“But why?” He looked at her earnestly. “I was right there, everyone else was busy, so why would I not help Jum’en work her magic? There is no job I am too good for. True leadership, Princess Alva, is not simply about appearing above everyone else or inspiring them, it is being one of them and being reliable as well. There are many facets to being a leader.”

  “I feel like I’m kind of learning on the job right now.”

  “In a way you are,” he said.

  “I’m not sure I feel ready, though. I went to what was left of my father’s men in Krigar and they were quick to bring me into their ranks, but they just wanted to use my name for their movement. They didn’t respect me.”

  “Then you don’t need them.”

  “I do, though,” she said. “They are the Krigan movement right now. I need to earn their respect to lead them or else I have nothing.”

  “There will always be a place for you out here,” he said. “That is, as long as you prove yourself to be a woman of your word.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “That is all you have to do. Being a leader is not an easy task, but it’s also not something you can know everything about beforehand. I’m not a perfect leader, nor will I ever be, but I will learn until the day I die.”

  “I have a lot to think about, don’t I?”

  “You do.” He picked himself up and stretched his arms out. “Tonight we’ll see how you are in action, though—you’ll be driving the new transport.”

  Trella

  Her suit was intact but it was working overtime to assess and repair any damage that may have happened. The readout on Trella’s suit told her she was suffering from a mild concussion but that it shouldn’t interfere with any other operations. She looked around and had to force her suit to autofocus to compensate for her dark, grim surroundings. What she saw didn’t help much when her suit began to compensate—a small room, just big enough for one person and a cot. There was one door, made of heavy steel with a small barred window near the top. She didn’t have to scan around much to realize that she had been tossed into a cell and that she was most likely in the bowels of the palace they had just ridden into.