Belinea

by Andrew Mack

  The Chairman asked again. “Would you like to join myself, Argo, and Quillisar Prill looking at this video from Avola tomorrow?”

  Malovex slammed his drink. Leaving the glass on the table, he stood up. “I would rather light myself on fire.”

  As Malovex was walking towards the door, Tempest asked, “Seriously, you are not gonna help us with the Ambassadors out there?”

  Malovex walked out of the room, and yelled, “Same answer…”

  Alexis kept trying to break away from Bird when she saw Orlando talking with Trujillo, Tunsall, Willits, and Jones. But they were a good forty meters away, on the other side of the room.

  Willits, handing Orlando a stick for his tablet, said, “Orders from Kimakawa. He wants you to round up whatever eight-man team you need, your new detail will be Bird.”

  Lieutenant Orlando said, “Yes, sir. No longer in charge, Commander?”

  Jones interjected and said, “No more security detail. Back to the daytime job.”

  Orlando looked at both of them and said, “I heard a rumor…”

  Willits quickly answered, “Keep it that way.”

  Orlando smiled and, nodding at Trujillo and Tunsall, said, “Taking them with you?”

  Tunsall answered quickly, “We were not invited.”

  Jones said, “Who said that?”

  Willits added, “We just figured you were going back to school, try to join the AuFa.”

  Trujillo added, “Is that even an option, to come with you guys?”

  Willits and Jones just looked at each other for a few seconds. Jones said, “They did perform pretty well getting the Ambassador here. We heard about Molar.”

  Willits said, “And we certainly will never have more clout with Kimakawa about picking our own team than we do now.”

  Jones continued, “It won’t be flying fighters, you two….”

  Willits added, “But it will be a lot of sticky situations and undercover work. What do you say? Lieutenants of the Delegate Ambassador Guard?”

  Trujillo and Tunsall just looked at each other for a few seconds. Trujillo then said, “You know how I feel. But I understand what you have to do. I go where you go.”

  Tunsall thought for awhile. Willits and Jones were surprised by Trujillo’s answer. They had noticed it first hand, but these two acknowledging out loud that they made decisions together really demonstrated their trust for each other. Tunsall continued to think. After another moment, he looked at Willits and said, “Where is loyalty and trust in the job description?”

  Willits cracked a tiny grin and said, “Number one on the list.”

  Jones followed with, “We don’t leave any man behind.”

  Tunsall thought a few more seconds, before he said, “My father will not be happy. But if Trujillo and I are assigned to you two as our Commanding officers, we would like to join.”

  Trujillo and Tunsall saluted. Willits and Jones casually saluted back. Willits said, “Welcome, gentlemen. Let’s get out of here and get to work.”

  Willits gave a quick nod to Orlando, who saluted back. As the four of them began to walk away, Trujillo asked, “Start work now?”

  Jones replied, “First, we gotta return the D-21 Sirralo to Vihaan Kapoor. Two of them actually.”

  Tunsall said, “A D-21 Sirralo, really? And who is Vihaan Kapoor?”

  Willits stopped, causing the other three to stop. “A friend on Torsalli. However, perhaps we can get Vi to meet us on Vandabri?”

  Jones, speaking very seriously as to confuse Tunsall and Trujillo, said, “Probably need to stay away from Torsalli for a while anyway. Do you think Vihaan could be persuaded to meet us on Vanadbri?”

  Willits crossed his arms. In a solemn tone also, he answered, “I don’t know, very serious man. He has a lot going on. It might be tough.”

  Alexis came walking up. She then said, “Gentlemen, enjoying yourselves?”

  Willits said, “We were just leaving.”

  Alexis said, “Leaving, without saying goodbye?”

  Jones replied, “Our apologies Miss Devanoe, how rude of us.”

  Alexis asked them, “Headed home?”

  Willits answered, “Not exactly…”

  Alexis looked confused. She then said, “I figured Trujillo and Tunsall needed to get back to graduate, no?”

  Jones replied, “I guess this mission was their graduation. They are joining the DAG.”

  Alexis was a little stunned. “Really?”

  They both nodded. After a pause, Alexis asked, “Commander Willits, may I have a moment with Trujillo?”

  Willits, a little puzzled about the question, replied, “Yes….”

  Alexis grabbed Trujillo’s hand and whispered, “This way….”

  They walked around a corner. Willits looked at Jones and Tunsall and said, “What is that all about?”

  Jones and Tunsall just shook their heads. When Trujillo and Alexis got around the corner, she looked at him angrily and said, “Gonna leave without saying goodbye?”

  Trujillo countered, “I didn’t know we were leaving until a minute ago.”

  After a pause, Alexis asked, “You’re joining DAG? What about flying fighters for the AuFa?”

  Trujillo paused for a second and said, “Joining a family was more important.”

  Alexis said, “Agreed.”

  She kissed him. After ten seconds, he said, “I gotta go. How do I contact you?”

  Alexis just said, “Don’t worry. I will find you.”

  Alexis walked back down the corridor and back out to the main room. Passing Tunsall, Willits, and Jones, she said, “Tunsall, watch him for me. Willits and Jones, good luck, thanks for everything. I owe you one.”

  Willits and Jones nodded, as Alexis never stopped and walked right back into the crowd. Tunsall looked at Willits and Jones, who provided the same confused expression. A few seconds went by, and Trujillo joined them again. Willits asked Trujillo, “Something you want to talk with us about?”

  Trujillo left them behind and continued to walk towards the exit. He said, “Nope.”

  Trujillo made it about ten meters, but none of the three followed him. He stopped and turned around at all three, and said, “Are you coming?”

  They all looked at each other, smiled, and then proceeded to walk toward him, out the door.

  Belinea 8.17

  Avola

  Bisi Base

  Kaya was alone looking into a mirror. Quillisar Balerra walked into the room. Kaya turned around and said, “My Quillisar…”

  The old lady, dress in bright red robes, walked up to Kaya, and said, “Is there anything you would like me to say?”

  Kaya shook her head. “I am not sure what to say, how can I ask you to say anything?”

  Balerra grabbed Kaya’s hands. “You are not alone, my child.”

  Kaya looked up, over Balerra’s head, and whispered, “Octavious was the one who always did these. I just listened.”

  Balerra looked up at her and said, “Anyone can talk. Listening is the virtue, now more than ever.”

  Kaya had a small tear run down her face. “I’m afraid, and that never happens to me.”

  Balerra smiled. She said, “Did you see what happened before Octavious died?”

  Kaya did not understand. She looked down at Balerra with confusion, not answering the question. Balerra continued. “The energy moved on, in a way I have only seen once. His energy was so bright, that he has put the power of that energy into others.”

  Kaya shook her head. She said, “I do not understand my Quillisar.”

  Balerra said, “Do you understand why some of you with orange Quill field stones have the ability to manipulate the fire, to turn them into sabers, and some of you are just workers?”

  Kaya said, “I thought it was our dedicated faith, beginning at an ea
rly stage for training.”

  Balerra said, “Yes, it is your training. But the faith, the faith rewards you for believing.”

  Kaya gently shook her head again. “My Quillisar, I still do not….”

  Balerra now quoted, “If you believe in the Energy of the Diamond without seeing the Power it imposes, your faith will be rewarded in ways that cannot be explained….”

  Kaya said, “The Quill, Orange Code Four?”

  Balerra nodded and said, “Yes, my child. I believe you are about to see something extraordinary.”

  Cortes walked into the room. “Kaya, it’s time.”

  Kaya, still confused, began walking away. She looked at Cortes and said, “Just the soldiers, right Cortes?”

  Cortes said, “A few more people have joined. Some through the caves.”

  Kaya started walking to the door and said, “As long as it is only a couple…”

  As Kaya walked out of the room, she took a few steps into the base’s interior. The giant cave now had all the aircraft pushed to the sides. In the middle of the room were the four wooden beams that made a diamond shape, holding the dead body of Octavious Killian. The rest of the room was packed, over two thousand people, all kneeling in prayer. Kaya did not turn around, as she still gazed at all the people. She said, “Cortes?”

  Cortes was right behind her. She said, “Kaya, these people have been showing up all night. Most of them walked. It took them twenty hours. We could not say no.”

  Kaya paused for a second. Kaya continued, “What if this is a trap? What if the Majavkee followed them here, or worse, they are among the crowd?”

  Cortes said, “I do not think so. The Majavkee have laid low, probably reassessing the situation. Most of these people came through the tunnels. It would be nearly impossible to track them. They lost people too, Kaya.”

  Kaya kept looking. She put her hood on, as to try and go undetected into the crowd. After about twenty steps, though, people began to recognize her. As she strolled down the aisle, people stood up and bowed to her. Some touched her arm. The emotion was real. People felt something being next to her, touching her. Step by step, she made her way to the middle of the diamond. It took her five solid minutes, but she finally got next to it. Everyone went back to kneeling. There was silence now in the cave. Quillisar Ballera and Cortes were next to her. Kaya, taking her hood off and glancing at Balerra, finally spook.

  “There is nothing I can say that will bring your loved ones back. We all lost someone two days ago, so did I. I have lost many friends, over many days, it does not seem to end. I feel your pain, and I feel your loss. My friends, my Avolians, go home. Be with your loved ones now, in this time of reflection and sorrow.”

  Sterling got up from several rows back. “We came to pay our respects, Miss Killian. Octavious was a great man.”

  A few people talked out loud, agreeing with the sentiment. Kaya said, “He was, I know that. And I thank you for the concern. But the threat moving forward is real, and we all must individually decide how we are to handle it.”

  Another person stood up and said, “We are with you, Kaya!”

  Another person stood up and yelled, “You paid your respects to us, to our families! We are only doing the same.”

  Kaya shook her head. “I promise it is because I care about each of your families that I ask you to return home. The Majavkee and the AuFa are still out there. They want me and my soldiers, not you.”

  A woman got up and said, “Do you think that anyone in this room would let the Majavkee take you away? Or Octavious’ body?”

  Kaya said nothing. A few more got up. An older man said, “Now is not the time to garner peaceful solutions. We pay our respects, yes. Then we plan our retaliation. We seek justice to avenge all that they have done. We are ready to fight Kaya, with you!”

  Everyone in the room stood up. A few more claps and yelling could be heard. Kaya looked at all of them before signaling for them to keep it down. “Fifteen years ago, we began to train harder, dedicated ourselves to our Quill, even though the Belineans did not allow it. When the Majavkee had the massacre at Valmay, we changed our name to that. Yet, here we stand today. In more despair, with more loved ones lost than ever before. Countless times Octavious tried to tell me this. I would not listen. And this is what you ask? You still want to fight? Because if we keep fighting, it will not stop until all of us are dead. And I am prepared for that, but only if you are too.”

  There was an awkward silence in the room. After a few seconds, one of the older women yelled, “Red Ring Rise!”

  Another few men began saying it as well. “Red Ring Rise, Red Ring Rise….”

  After about ten seconds, everyone in the cave began chanting “Red Ring Rise, Red Ring Rise, Red Ring Rise!”

  Balerra then closed her eyes. Kaya continued to look around, sensing an energy in the air. Balerra raised her arms towards the sky. Instinctively, Kaya took out her ring and held it with two hands in front of her. The flame extended from it, but not in a saber-like fashion. She stared at it for a few seconds before closing her one good eye. A ray of fire shot from it and ignited Octavious’ diamond. Balerra yelled, “Energy is added, energy is taken, the peace is the energy around us. The energy is in us, and when the light of our energy is extinct, the energy is added to the light around us. We are the energy.”

  Everyone was still chanting, “Red Ring Rise!”

  Kaya still had a flame as she softly said, “The energy is in all of us….”

  As she spoke, the flame turned into her fire saber. She pointed it up towards the top of the cave but was still looking at the wooden diamond. Suddenly water came out from all around Octavious’s body, and began to extinguish the flames around it. Balerra continued, “The energy never dies, the energy is reborn again.”

  Kaya repeated, “The energy is in all of us….”

  A forceful wind blew through the cave, almost knocking a few people down. The crowd was still chanting “Red Ring Rise, Red Ring Rise….”

  Balerra yelled at the top of her lungs, “The energy is here in all of us, let the energy show us the light…..”

  A mini sand storm tornado formed over Octavious body. It rose circular towards the top of the cave. Many of the people went back to their knees, witnessing something they had never seen before. Kaya closed her eyes and said, “The energy is in all of us…”

  Her fire saber grew larger, rather quickly. In one deep breath, she lowered it, pointing it at the diamond. A massive burst of fire came out of it. The fire engulfed the entire room. Anyone not kneeling was now. It was the most exquisite fireball anyone had seen come out of a saber, and it swept through the entire room in six seconds.

  The chants had then stopped. Kaya opened her one good eye, petrified, expecting to see hundreds of people on fire. In astonishment, her brother’s diamond, and entire body, were gone. No ashes, no more wooden pillars, nothing. Everyone else thought the fire burned them, but looking at their bodies, they realized they were fine. Balerra had waited all this time to open her eyes. When she did, she looked at Kaya. Kaya was looking at her stone, which was glowing bright reddish-orange. Everyone there began taking out their Quill field stones, most of them hanging from their neck. They were all glowing. Blue and green ones, as bright as they could. But the orange ones were glowing the most luminous. Cortes was staring at her field stone, glowing a brilliant orangeish-red, before looking at Kaya in disbelief. Kaya turned to look at Balerra. Balerra took one long look at her and said, “The energy is in all of us….”

  Belinea 8.18

  Belinea

  Outside Capital City

  Lord Malovex Residence

  Malovex got out of his personal transport, alone. He walked over to the front gate of his residence and had the scanner read his palm. As the gate door opened, he walked through the garden. When he got to the primary residence, he sidestepped and walked aro
und back. In the backyard was a tranquil looking Asian-style garden, with pebble paths and small wooden bridges over Koi ponds. The giant redwood trees of Belinea were all around his residence, keeping him very secluded. He walked across a small bridge and got to a small shrine temple area. There was a pagoda over it, with wisteria growing all throughout. The shrine was a small tombstone with a diamond on it. A small Vossai tree grew in front of the tombstone, with a little spot to put a stone. Malovex took his ring out and removed the blue stone that was in it. He got on his knees, placing the stone in the base of the Vossai tree. He closed his eyes, and immediately he could see the image again.

  Inside the cockpit. The control panel. The chaos of bombs and missiles going off outside the cockpit glass. The barrel roll. The eyes.

  Malovex opened his eyes again. He then thought back. The flashback that was as clear as the present day to him.

  Twenty years before...

  Malovex was walking through his residency towards the front door. The injuries from the battle were still present on his body, causing a small limp. He had a drink in his hand as he opened the front door. Dr. Fiona Faxon stood in the rain, a hood over her head. She looked up as the two stared at each other for a few seconds. Fiona reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring and stone she had retrieved. She held it in her hand for Malovex to see.

  Malovex looked at it for a few seconds. Softly he said, “It belongs on Serpia, with you.”

  She began to cry. She said, “They will deface it, if they do not destroy it, once they find out.”

  Malovex continued to just stare at her hand. He accepted the stone. Sometime later, he would place the stone in the base of the tiny Vossai tree. Flash forward to the present, Malovex just stared at the tree. After a few seconds, it started to rain. The pagoda blocked most of it, as he never stopped staring at the stone.

  Twenty years before

  Commander Kimmel, Quillisar Farra, and Quillisar Sallor were all standing around the table. The toddler on the table was no longer frozen, but he lay there, motionless. They had a couple of tubes in his arms. The operating spotlight was above his head. Sallor was looking at the toddler’s chest. Kimmel said, “I do not understand why they are taking so long to defrost?”