Cadets

by Edward Miller

  “Everyone, hold your fire,” said Admiral Thompson.

  Ryan looked around. He could see many of the squad members on the ground. Thankfully, his father wasn’t one of them.

  The elder tribesman stopped directly in front of Kyron. He put his spear on the ground and knelt in front of her and Granthaxe on one knee. Almost immediately, the rest of the tribesmen followed suit. Ryan looked around, and in all directions, hundreds of Sentinelese had dropped to one knee and placed their weapons in front of them on the ground. Even the ones in the trees had climbed down and joined them.

  He could hear his father calling for the medic. There were many injured in need of attention. By his count, there were twelve men down. Unfortunately, he felt like he was about to be one of them as he dropped the flare to the ground and fell face forward onto the hard dirt. Suddenly, he felt another jarring pain in his shoulder. Son of a—! Had they seriously shot him again?

  “It’s out,” said Amanda from above him, holding the small arrow near his face so he could see. “Just be glad there was only one arrow. Hold still, this may sting a bit.” Ryan braced himself as he felt her rubbing the antibiotic salve onto the wound. Then he felt her press gauze to the wound and bandage it. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she said. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

  “I saw the light,” he said, as he got up.

  “Very funny.”

  “How about a ‘flare’ for danger? Better? No?”

  “Quit while you’re ahead,” she said.

  Ryan noticed Kyron talking to the elder tribesmen. He approached them. “What’s going on?” he said.

  “I am conversing with the esteemed chief of the tribe,” said Kyron. “Fortunately they still speak our ancient language.”

  “And fortunately,” said Granthaxe, “I had the wisdom to bring Kyron with us. The old tongue has not been spoken by our people in thousands of years. But our science officers have a duty to be versed in the ancient ways.”

  As Kyron continued speaking with the chief, Ryan noticed the chief pointing to him and the other soldiers. Kyron said something in response. The chief looked at her, then replied and began laughing. Another nearby tribesman laughed as well. Ryan tapped Kyron on the shoulder. “I’m glad the chief is finding us so damn funny,” he said. “What was it he said, anyway?”

  “The chief wanted to know who you and your people are. I told him that you were our guards.”

  “And?” said Ryan.

  “The chief said we should find better guards.”

  “Real funny,” said Ryan. “Tell the chief I said to keep his day job. How about the queen? Is she here?”

  “Indeed she is,” said Kyron. “Back at the tribe’s village, there is a hidden cave near the volcano. It is there we can find her.”

  “Great,” said Ryan. “I’m going to check with my father and see about the injured. We may have to evacuate some of them. Be sure to tell the chief, when the big flying machines come not to shoot their arrows at them.”

  “I shall be sure to inform him,” said Kyron.

  Ryan motioned to Amanda to join him, and they headed toward his father. The admiral was surveying the situation. “Sir,” said Ryan, “how many injured?”

  “Twelve. Mostly broken bones, possible concussions, and a few are showing signs of internal injuries. If not for the body armor, they’d all be dead. We’ll have to get a MedEvac ship in here to lift them out. Maybe Kyron and Granthaxe can let these tribesmen know not to shoot it down.”

  “Already done, sir,” said Ryan.

  “Great work. And by the way, quick thinking with those flares. If I knew you were planning that I might have stopped you. And I’d have been wrong.”

  Ryan just nodded and smiled. This was one time acting on his instincts had paid off. Feeling vindicated, he walked back to Kyron to make sure she knew about the MedEvac. He explained to her that it would be arriving shortly to take the injured men to a nearby carrier. He then waited while she relayed everything to the tribal chief.

  “The chief is now aware that you are summoning your flying medical ship,” said Kyron. “But he has extended an offer to use the tribe’s medicine man.”

  Ryan tried to avoid laughing. He didn’t want to insult the man.

  “Please inform the chief that we have our own medicine man, but thank him for his very generous offer. Also, tell him that as soon as we get all of our injured off the island, we’ll be ready to proceed to their village.”

  Ryan noticed that his father was being treated by the medic. He hadn’t noticed any injuries when he was talking to him. He went to check on the status.

  “Are you all right, sir?”

  “It’s nothing I can’t handle, Ryan. A couple of cracked ribs. I’ll be fine. How’s the shoulder?”

  “It’s sore. Amanda did a great job patching it up, though.”

  The medic, Lieutenant Jenkins, piped up. “Sir,” he said to the admiral, “it’s more than likely your ribs are broken. I highly suggest you return to the ship with the wounded.”

  “Suggestion ignored, Jenkins. Tape them up and get the others ready to leave. The medical ship will be here in less than five minutes. If I start coughing up blood, then you can have me shipped out. Until then, I’m not going anywhere. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir. Loud and clear, Admiral.”

  “Stubborn as an ox,” said Amanda, who just walked up behind Ryan. “Like father, like son.”

  The deafening sound of the incoming medical vessel put an end to the conversation. Because of the dense trees and brush, the ship couldn’t land. Instead, the injured had to be hoisted up with a pulley as the ship hovered two hundred feet above the ground. Within thirty minutes, the last member of the injured officers was on board, and the MedEvac took to the skies.

  Now came the fun part. If they could just get to the village and find the queen, the nightmare could finally be put to rest—hopefully once and for all. Ryan couldn’t wait to get back and tell Tanner and Paul. Then again, it wasn’t over yet. After all that had transpired, nothing would surprise him. In fact, he’d always had a queasy feeling when things seemed to be going too well. It was sort of a sixth sense—the same feeling he had had when his mother was driving him to the academy on that fateful day. And he was feeling it now.

  Chapter 51

  Finding The Queen

  Though it didn’t help his nerves any, Ryan was glad that the last two hours had passed in silence. The odd collection of Sentinelese tribesmen, Altarrans, and special forces had made their trek toward the village without incident, though he felt like was in The Wizard of Oz, marching with a misfit cast of cronies toward the Emerald City. Finally, he could see the village ahead through the tropical foliage.

  The heat and humidity were getting to him, and the helmet he was wearing didn’t make it any easier. Still, he felt more comfortable with it on, as he used it as a battering ram whenever he’d encounter thick brush. At least it was getting lighter out now and he didn’t need the night vision goggles. Some of the tribe still carried their torches though.

  Before long, everyone had stopped. Ryan looked ahead to see what was going on. The chief was walking to the side toward a large wall of rock that appeared to be part of an immense boulder. As Ryan looked more closely, he could see they were actually at the foot of a huge mountain, or perhaps a volcano. He looked up and guessed it was nearly 400 feet high. He noticed a strong sulfur smell in the air, which indicated it was more than likely volcanic.

  The chief approached the huge stone wall and seemed to be pressing random sections of it. Then a tremendous rumbling sound began. Ryan jumped back a few steps as it nearly shook him off his feet. The stone wall was moving! Somehow, with the Altarrans’ help no doubt, they had created a door of stone, built right into the volcano. But how, with no tools and only a few Altarrans? Could they have been that strong? It made him think of the Great Pyramids at Giza and the countless other ancient sites with inexplicable stone formations that seemed t
o fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

  Ryan saw Granthaxe up ahead, talking with Amanda and Kyron. Seconds after, Kyron left them and approached the chief. The science officer and the chief seemed to be discussing entry procedures. At Granthaxe’s prodding, Amanda joined them and stepped to the front of the entrance. She knelt to the ground. Kyron seemed to be getting her into position. Then Kyron joined Granthaxe behind her. The two Altarrans dropped to the ground with their heads down.

  The chief uttered a strange language, similar to what Kyron had spoken to him earlier. It was almost chant-like, and it grew louder as it went on. Ryan could hear heavy footsteps approaching from inside the cave. Everyone else was dead silent. He noticed they were all dropped to one knee, and his father was motioning to him to do the same, so he did.

  Ryan stared in amazement as three huge figures appeared in the darkness of the cave. As they approached, between the emerging daylight and the light of the torches, he could begin to make out their features. They resembled Granthaxe more than Kyron. He was wondering which of them might be the queen. But then the answer became obvious, for behind them, a much larger figure emerged, with an open mouth and large fangs resembling the science officer’s. The three Altarrans in front exited the cave and bowed to the ground. Only the queen remained standing. Ryan glanced over at Granthaxe and Kyron, who still had their heads down. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amanda get up. He watched as she slowly approached the gigantic Altarran queen, who was now staring down at her with a combination of awe and curiosity.

  Amanda held up the amulet and uttered a few words in the same bizarre language the chief had spoken. The queen took the amulet and held it up high. She bellowed out a chant in the same language, and suddenly the other three Altarrans stood. Ryan looked around and saw that Granthaxe and Kyron were now standing, so he stood as well. Little by little, everyone rose to their feet.

  Ryan watched as the queen put her hand on Amanda’s face in an almost loving way. “Daughter of Williamson,” she said to Amanda, dragging out the last name. Her voice was soothing, like Kyron’s, though much deeper. “You have fulfilled my greatest hopes for our two worlds.”

  “It was my great-great grandfather’s wish too, Your Highness,” said Amanda. “I know that now.”

  Just then, Granthaxe approached the queen, and the mother and son embraced. As Ryan observed them swaying in joy, he imagined being reunited with his own mother. He looked up at the blue sky as if to acknowledge her—the kindest, most loving soul he’d ever known. He felt his eyes welling up, but it wasn’t from sadness. On the contrary, his heart was as full as it had ever been. It was as if, in this one moment, he had become whole again.

  The queen held her son back to look at him. “There is no greater pride a queen has,” she said, “than the love of her people—and a mother the love of her son.”

  “I would never have abandoned you, Mother,” said Granthaxe.

  “I knew you would not. My greater wish was that your pain and your fury would not lead you astray. And I see it has not.”

  “It has not been without loss, Mother. Many of our brave warriors have fallen to bring this day.”

  The queen held up her hand. “And we will honor them justly,” she said. “All that I see here pleases my heart, as the ancient ones gather with the humans and our own. There will be much to discuss later, my son, of their honor and yours.”

  They embraced again.

  Ryan looked over at his father, and then at Amanda, who was looking back at him with a big grin on her face. Just a few short weeks ago, he could never have dreamt that he’d be with Amanda and his father together. And not just together, but getting along and truly supportive of one another. His anger toward the two of them seemed like a distant past. In fact, his whole opinion of the world had changed. For the first time, he realized something. Peace was worth fighting for, and no amount of pride or hatred should ever stand in its way.

  His career sure hadn’t suffered any. He’d now successfully commanded an entire fleet of ships, and with the help of his classmates, had staved off the destruction of the entire planet. But now he’d lead with new eyes, and a new purpose. Sure, it had taken a strange set of events, but he finally felt worthy to be his father’s son—worthy and proud. But there was something else he’d gained that was even more powerful than any of that. He looked over at Amanda, who was now coming his way.

  She raced toward him and into his open arms. “Well that went well,” he said, holding her. “And in case I haven’t said it, thanks. I mean that. You made all this happen, and I, for one, am sure glad you were here.”

  Amanda looked up at him. “I’ve always been here, Ryan. And I always will be.”

  He was basking in the moment when he felt a heavy pressure on his shoulder. He turned around. It was the queen.

  Ryan wasn’t sure what to say or how to greet her, so he just went with his gut. “It is my pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I’m Ryan—Ryan Thompson, and this is my friend, Amanda Williamson.”

  The queen smiled at them. Ryan tried to suppress a shudder as a pair of giant fangs protruded from her mouth. It must have been a trait of the female Altarrans, and not one of their better ones.

  “Good day to you, Ryan Thompson and Amanda Williamson. I am Queen Darthaxe of Altarra.” She looked at Amanda. “You do indeed resemble your ancestor, my dear Robert Williamson. He was kind and generous and wise. You should be most proud of him.”

  “I wish I’d met him,” said Amanda. “He died long before I was born. But from what I’ve heard from my family and others that knew him, he was a great man.”

  “His spirit lives in you,” said the queen. “Like you, he risked his life and everything he had to do what is right. If only his leaders were of the same heart. I pray yours are better.”

  “I pray too,” said Amanda.

  “They’re much more enlightened now,” said Ryan. He didn’t want the queen to get the wrong impression.

  “Then let us go drink and dine to the future,” said the queen. “Our hosts are preparing a feast.”

  Just as she said that, Ryan noticed the smell of cooking in the air. Meat of some sort. He was almost afraid to ask what they were cooking.

  He and Amanda followed the queen toward the fire pits, which were nestled in an open field in a village of small, thatched roof huts. The men of the tribe were carrying a huge wooden spit with what looked like a roasted pig or boar. A large bamboo mat was spread out on the ground, and tribeswomen were arranging a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. There were also several large green buckets placed in the center, carrying some sort of fish. He wondered where they got the buckets from, as they appeared to be made of metal.

  For the first time, Ryan got a good look at the Sentinelese people. Nearly all of them, the men and women, wore a handmade necklace or scarf of one sort or another. None of them wore much else, other than a small strip of cloth around their waists. Some wore makeshift shorts, but most just had a row of small vertical wooden sticks guarding their private parts. Nearly all of the women wore rope-like headbands made of bamboo or wood.

  Ryan took off his helmet, and Amanda did the same. Suddenly, all the tribesmen and women started talking in hushed tones and kept glancing their way. They looked upset, and some of them started slowly moving away, chattering to one another. Ryan wondered why all of a sudden the Sentinelese people were spooked. He turned around to see if perhaps there was a lion or something behind him that was causing the ruckus. But there was nothing unusual. He looked at Amanda, then saw the chief sprinting toward them and motioning for the queen to come.

  The chief stopped in front of Amanda and looked closely at her face, examining it as an artist would a model. He then shielded his eyes as the queen approached. He spoke rapidly to the queen in his native language—unless it was the Altarran tongue he was speaking.

  Whatever language it was, it was obvious that something about Amanda had spooked the Sentinelese villagers. After talki
ng with the queen, the chief bowed in front of Amanda, then walked away to speak to other villagers.

  “What was that all about?” said Ryan. Then he realized who he was speaking to and added, “Your Majesty.”

  “You must understand,” said the queen, “the Sentinelese tribe have never set eyes upon a white female, and especially one with red hair. They feared that Amanda Williamson was a demoness, sent to bring evil. But then the chief saw her eyes.”

  “My eyes?” said Amanda. “How would that make a difference?”

  “Oh, but it makes all the difference,” said the queen. “They have never seen a human with green eyes. To their people, green is reserved for the gods and red is for fire and the blood of life. That you have both red hair and green eyes caused the chief great confusion, Amanda Williamson.”

  “And what did you tell him?” said Amanda.

  “I informed him,” said the queen, “that you are the one true goddess of fire, and that if any harm had come to you here, their people would have been incinerated.”

  “That’s amazing,” said Ryan. “Our very own goddess of fire. It’s a good thing they didn’t kill her first.”

  “I’ll say,” said Amanda.

  “Fear not,” said the queen. “Observe.”

  Ryan turned around to see all the Sentinelese people on their knees looking at Amanda.

  “Raise your arm slowly,” said the queen to Amanda. “And look out at the people.”

  Amanda did as the queen suggested, and the tribesmen and women all rose to their feet.

  “If your people ever wish to visit the islands again,” said the queen to Ryan, “Amanda Williamson will have to be the one to make contact with them.”

  Amanda lowered her arm and turned around, and the Sentinelese people went about their business.

  Granthaxe approached and put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “You see, Ryan Thompson,” he said, “even the women of our kind have great imagination.”

  Ryan laughed and looked at Amanda, who burst out laughing as well.