by Lake, Edward
Juozas released a few tears and kissed the baby’s head. “My spawn.” He wiped his eyes and glanced at Isabella. “Our daughter.”
Zydrunas held Susan close as she cried in his hulking arms. Indeed, it was a touching moment for everyone, especially me. My granddaughter.
Still, I was growing impatient with the situation and needed to move things along. “You must name her, Isabella.”
Without hesitation, she looked at Juozas with a loving smile. “This was easy for us.” She turned to the baby and said, “Sam.”
I, along with her parents, gave each other a confused look. “Sam?” we said with one voice.
Juozas nodded with a grin. “Yes.”
Susan quickly stepped in. “Well, technically, Sam is a boy’s name. However, the girl version is Samantha.”
Isabella and Juozas looked at each for a moment, nodding. Then Isabella looked up at her mother. “We like it.”
Juozas merrily laughed and kissed the baby again. “Our beautiful little girl, Samantha.”
Happy as I was, I stood there and looked on at a complete loss. Why in the world would they pick Sam?
Shortly after, we headed to my building for the celebration of Samantha’s birth. In honor of tradition, I had to at least give them the ceremony before arresting them. Deep down, there was a part of me that hoped Samantha’s birth would mend the conflict between Juozas and me, and restore order to our reign.
I was standing at the top of the long stairs that led to our building, watching the parallel lines of soldiers dancing and singing as Juozas and Isabella walked down the line toward me. Isabella was holding Samantha, while Juozas waved at the crowd. I watched them closely and smiled as I listened to the soldiers chant a celebratory phrase.
“Juozas spawn, here at dawn! Juozas spawn, here at dawn!”
When they arrived at the edge of the steps, the singing stopped and everyone froze. I took a deep breath and gradually walked down. Juozas and Isabella stood tall as I approached. Finally, I came off the last step and walked up to them with my hands held below my waist.
After staring at Isabella for a moment with a warm smile, I began. “Isabella, as Ruler of all Mamluks, I look on you with great pride. You have conducted yourself with tremendous nobility, and you will one day become a great Ruler.” It’s a shame that you’ve betrayed us. You could have been my successor. I glanced at Juozas. “And now, you bear the responsibility of nurturing the spawn of our Champion into a worthy successor.” I paused for a few seconds and looked into her eyes. “Do you accept this responsibility?”
Isabella stared at Juozas with a smile. “Yes. I do.”
I carefully studied her with a bittersweet grin. So beautiful, yet so misguided. Then, along with Juozas and all the soldiers, I kneeled and bowed my head. After a short while, I rose and held my hand out toward the crowd. “Rise.”
The soldiers jumped up and started dancing and cheering again. I reached out to Isabella and led her up the steps. Juozas rose and followed us. We went to the top and faced the soldiers. As I looked down at them with a delighted grin, I gradually became somber and my grin faded into a frown. It was time.
I turned to Isabella and kindly placed my hand on Samantha’s tiny body. “I’ve been dying to hold her.”
She was hesitant to let go, and Juozas looked on with a worried gaze. I flashed a tense smile to try and calm them, and at last, Isabella carefully loosened her grip.
Samantha cried out as I hugged her close. “There, there, Dear. It’s just Grandma.” Then, in the blink of an eye, I turned on my force field and backed away.
Juozas lunged at me and his hands sparked against the bright, see-through shield. “Mother!”
A group of soldiers hurried up the steps and turned their shields on. They surrounded Juozas and Isabella and aimed their sijas.
In the background, I heard a collection of ships flying in. Then a message from London came over the radio on my sija. “Ready at your command, My Ruler.”
I nodded and sent a response. “Very good, Soldier.”
Juozas and Isabella quickly turned on their force fields and got back to back.
I shook my head and let out a mournful sigh. “It’s over, Son. Release your shields.”
He glared at me with seething eyes. “Mother, give us our child, or I swear I will kill you now.”
“You’re grounded, Juozas. And...I brought a little insurance.” I lifted my arm and radioed to the soldiers inside the building. “Bring them out.”
Seconds later, a group of soldiers dragged Zydrunas and Susan out from the building and threw them to the floor. They had been beaten badly, and Zydrunas’s sija had been removed—and they were wearing prisoner collars.
Isabella gasped and wept. “Mother! Father!”
Juozas released an angry screech with his teeth bared. “How could you do this?”
I laughed. “How could I do what? You’re the ones who betrayed us.”
“Let them go, Mother!”
“No. You release your shields at once, or they die now.” I waited a few seconds. “Fine.” I heatedly pointed at Susan. A soldier marched up to her and aimed at her head. “Fire.”
In a hurry, Juozas threw his hands out, stopping the soldier. “All right!”
He held his fire and stepped back.
Zydrunas looked up at Juozas with a bloody face. “No, My Champion.”
Juozas looked at me and slowly reached for his sija. He turned off his shield and lowered his head.
I looked on, lightly tapping my foot. “Isabella?”
She followed along and lowered her head, too.
I exhaled and gave the soldiers an urgent nod. “Detain them.”
Two soldiers rushed forward with prisoner collars in hand, but before they could put them on, a large group of soldiers charged up the steps.
“Stop!” one of them called out.
Everyone turned and watched as they quickly activated their shields. They blasted at the other soldiers and all hell broke loose. All at once, Juozas and Isabella turned their shields back on and joined the fight.
I ran into the building with a few soldiers watching my back. “Destroy them!” In the background, I could hear Juozas screaming at me as the battle raged on.
“Mother!”
Part Five—Civil War
Chapter 41: Juozas
Even with the help, we were still outnumbered by thousands, and with all those lasers blasting us, our shields would be knocked out in no time.
I guided Isabella through the chaos as we fired away, then I quickly sent a message over the radio to the soldiers, knowing that any who were on my side would follow the order. “Retreat, my soldiers. Hurry to your ships and accelerate to the northern ice lands.”
I looked back at the entry, and from afar, I saw that Mother’s soldiers had taken Zydrunas and Susan back inside.
There was so much shooting, so much flashing from all the lasers. I could barely see as we budged through the mayhem. Finally, we got to the bottom of the steps and a ship flew down. The ramp opened and a soldier waved us on.
“Hurry, My Champion!”
We ran inside and the ramp closed as we flew up and away. The soldier helped Isabella to a seat, and I ran to the cockpit. I sat next to the other soldier who was operating the ship, and I couldn’t help but pause and stare at her, wondering. “Why?”
She glanced at me with courageous eyes. “Because we believe in you, My Champion.”
I smiled and kindly touched her shoulder. “Thank you.”
Then everyone got locked in, and we accelerated to the northern ice lands.
Chapter 42: Emily
I hurried to the security room with Samantha and had a few soldiers guard the entryway. Just down the hall, I could hear lasers blasting from all around. Samantha cried loudly as I took a seat at the control board and activated the automated system.
A hologram of Marsden popped out and gradually spun around. “Identify yourself.”
; “This is Emily of Earth. Ruler of all Mamluks.”
“Authentication complete.”
“Our Champion has betrayed us and several soldiers have turned on me. Send reinforcements to Earth from all planets under my rule.” I rubbed Samantha and gently rocked her from side to side as I waited.
“Sending reinforcements now.”
To follow, I activated the security system. The spinning hologram of Marsden froze for a second and the lights on the control board flashed. Then the hologram started moving again. “Override the Champion’s authority to access the security system.” I restlessly tapped my foot as the system did its work.
“Override of the Champion’s authority to access the security system complete.”
From behind, it seemed the chaos down the hall was ending. Moments later, I got a message from London over the radio. “My Ruler, it appears as if the traitors have all fled to the northern ice lands. Nevertheless, we are sweeping the area to make sure our region is secure.”
I released a pleased sigh before sending my response. “Very good, London. Search the North for any signals. Find those ships and send the nearest defense to that province.”
He answered in a hurry. “Right away, My Ruler.”
Chapter 43: Juozas
We landed outside the cave. I quickly sent a message to Robert, telling him to hurry out of the cave with the others and find a ship. As I waited, I counted the signals on the screen. There were over a dozen ships on the snowy terrain, and a few more flying in.
Out the window, I saw Robert and the others sprinting out the cave with all the supplies they could carry. Everyone hurried inside a ship as the ramps opened up. A few came into our ship and found a seat.
After making sure everyone was accounted for, I pressed a button on the control board that brought up the security system.
“Identify yourself.”
“This is Juozas. Champion of all Mamluks.”
The automated system took more time to respond than usual. “Access denied.”
I narrowed my eyes and glanced at the soldier sitting next to me. “That’s impossible.” I tried again.
“Access denied.”
At last, I realized what had been done. “Mother’s overruled my access to the security system.” I became extremely anxious. In order to hide from an impending attack, I had to deactivate the tracking devices in our ships.
Isabella came up from behind and placed her hand on my shoulder. “There must be another way.”
I pondered for a moment. “Yes. There is only one other way. We have to locate the tracking devices and destroy them.” I activated the radio on the control board and sent a message to the other ships. “Listen carefully, My Soldiers. Scan your ships and locate the tracking device. You must then destroy it and accelerate to another location. We will regroup once everyone is clear.”
Wasting no time, everyone on our ship who had a sija, including me, activated their scanner and searched the ship. When the tracking devices had been installed, Father had made sure to put them in different areas of the ship to make it harder for someone to remove it, and unfortunately the tactic was working.
We scanned the ship for a while and came up with nothing. Moments later, I glanced at the holographic screen on the control board and saw it filling up with ship signals fast. I hurried back to the control board and turned on the force field.
Out the window, I saw the other rebel ships doing the same. I stayed there for a moment and watched the sky. Thousands of enemy ships were flying in from all over, shooting at us with constant beams and rapid fire. In a fret, I sent another message over the radio. “Soldiers, we won’t last long in this idle position. Someone needs to fight back while the others search the ships for the tracking devices.”
I strapped myself in and took off in a flash. As I flew over and around the incoming ships, I heard Isabella and the others struggling to keep their balance. Still, they carried on as best they could. I readied the laser on my side of the control board and blasted the enemy ships with rapid fire.
Then finally, Isabella found the tracking device. “It’s here!”
“Destroy it, My Love!”
I heard her laser spark and blast the spot. She fired a few more times, and on another screen, I saw the tracking signal fade away. “Excellent. Now hurry to your seats.”
Everyone went back to their chairs and got locked in, but I wasn’t leaving just yet. I sped up and helped the other ships fight back as they searched for their tracking signals.
The soldier sitting beside me touched my arm. “My Champion, I admire your willingness to help the others, but you are the most important member of this rebellion. We must leave now before our shield is destroyed.”
I shook my head. “No. We will be the last ship to leave, and it may take a while, so ready your laser.”
She nodded and quickly powered up the laser on her side. We worked as a unit, combining our fire to block the enemy ships. After a while, on the screen, I saw the levels of our force field decrease dramatically, but by now there were only a few rebel ships left.
All at once, a swarm of enemy ships came at us with constant beams. They hit us hard, and our shield was knocked out.
The ship shuddered as it blazed through the sky. Gradually, I regained control and flew in circles, trying to evade the unrelenting fire.
Isabella shouted at me from behind. “Juozas! We must accelerate now!”
“No! Not until the others are clear.”
Our ship was taking heavy damage, and it appeared as if we would be going down at any moment. Then, finally, the last rebel ship found their tracking signal, destroyed it and took off.
“Brace yourself!” I stopped shooting and pressed the button for acceleration. Our ship froze and took some more damage as it charged up. Then, in a flash, we blasted away.
Chapter 44: Emily
At sundown, I gathered thousands of soldiers and citizens at the beach for a momentous declaration. They surrounded me as I stood on a metal stage, holding Samantha. London was standing by the edge of the stage, wearing a look of utter disappointment on his face, but I was still pleased with his efforts.
In the crowd, there were a series of amplifiers scattered throughout, and a collection of bonfires to give us light. A few of the nearby onlookers were filming me with their sijas, and broadcasting it to Earth and our other planets.
I exhaled and supported Samantha with my bare arm. I lifted my sija to my mouth and began. “Today has no doubt been the worst day of our great history. Never before has a Champion betrayed his people. With great sorrow, I have no choice but to revoke Juozas as Champion of all Mamluks.”
A thunderous roar of approval sparked, and a few others howled at the moon. Then everyone gradually calmed.
“Therefore, to protect the lineage of the championship, I pronounce Samantha, Juozas’s spawn, as the new Champion of all Mamluks.”
The crowd cheered steadily and ended with a gracious bow.
“However, because she is not ready, or able to defend the title, we must conduct a battle to name an Interim Champion. Whoever wins that fight will battle Samantha when the time comes, and an Undisputed Champion will be crowned.” I took a moment and let that register with the crowd. “If Samantha loses, the mother of the winner will then become Ruler of our kind. If she wins, my reign will continue, and she will serve as my protector.”
The crowd shouted praise and danced around a bit. Then, when everyone was silent again, one of the onlookers who had been filming me raised his hand to ask a question. “My Ruler, how will you select the combatants for the interim title fight?”
“That will be determined at a later time. Right now, my main focus is the rebellion. Juozas has become a threat to the entire Mamluk race. He must be killed at once. Until the Interim Champion has been named, all security commands will go through me.”
The crowd threw their hands up and burst into singing and dancing. I looked them over and smiled as I lifted Samant
ha up higher. They clamored over each other and reached up to the stage like I was some kind of rock star.
We’re going to win this war.
Chapter 45: Juozas
As planned, we found a safe refuge in the North and regrouped, but we didn’t have much time. Mother would surely be sending a massive fleet of enemy ships to the snowy ice lands to destroy us.
Our ships were parked in a tight circle with the ramps open. Everyone gathered by the ramp of their ship and let the heat from inside warm them. I was standing by my ship with Isabella, looking around at the others with firmness in my eyes. “All right everyone, we made it this far, but we have to go further.” I looked up at the sky for a moment. What I was about to tell them was upsetting. Still, I knew we had no choice. “We have to leave Earth.” I looked down and waited for them to respond.
There was a long, cold silence. Finally, Robert stepped forward with immense fear stamped across his face. “But Juozas...where will we go?”
“We’ll have to scan the universe and find a habitable planet.”
He jerked his head back a little and glanced around the circle. “We can do that?”
“Yes, we can,” a soldier said from afar. “And I suggest we get moving. Emily’s fleet is on the way.”
However, I wasn’t leaving without my daughter. “I can’t ascend into space just yet.” I turned to Isabella and took her hand. She was looking down at the snow, crying with red eyes. “I have to go back and rescue Samantha.”
Bill budged through the crowd. “That’s suicide, Juozas. Don’t worry, once we find a safe planet, we’ll come back to Earth and save her.”
“No. This may be my only chance to save her.”
Robert walked forward and stood at the center of the circle. “Then we’ll draw Emily’s fleet into space. That should make it easier for you to sneak back into Los Angeles.”
“Los Angeles?” a soldier said.