“Fuckin A. And don’t let Richards tell you otherwise either. Anyways. I was even given an Early assignment, as the pilot of the TSS Challenger on her maiden voyage.” Amelia explains, she seems a little regretful but not to the point of oh yeah I hate myself for making that decision. No, it’s much subtler than that. “After Costas descended into chaos, there were riots, murders, then the war happened. So I left Transcendence, which really pissed off Richards, and I went back.” She explains. “Do you regret it?” I ask. “Not one bit.”
Chapter 7
I haven’t slept in god knows how long. We landed on Maeve about an hour ago, Admiral Richards told me to get some rest, he assured me that he’s going to take care of tracking down Tion. Good luck with that…No, I need to get out there and help aid the search. Why would I want to just lay here and do nothing? No. I’m going. Sleep can wait for now.
Amelia is sitting in the pilot’s chair; her feet are up on the VI interface as she leans back on the chair. She has awful posture, but I’ll keep that to myself. “Not part of the shore team I see.” Amelia spins the chair around to face me, unstartled by my sudden words. “I see you finished your nap.” She responds. “If you can call it that. I didn’t get a wink of sleep. How are you able to relax knowing everything that’s happening on Costas?” I ask her. “It’s not easy, but eventually you just get used to it.” She responds genuinely. “I don’t think anyone should have to get used to war.” I answer her. “I know. But sometimes you don’t have a choice.”
The second I exit the Endeavor I’m blinded by the sunlight as if I haven’t left the confides of this ship in days. It hurts for only a moment, but what I see next completely blows my mind. Maeve is a small, medieval era village. A giant mountainscape blankets the distance, the grass between there and the village is the greenest grass I’ve ever seen. It’s a very beautiful site, untouched by modern times. The endeavor is massive compared to the houses, and shops in this village. It’s docked only a short distance away. There is no docking bay, which makes sense considering what little traffic probably flows through here.
I search the village, there aren’t all humans here surprisingly, there are Nim, Harca, and even Xerox. Which is a complete stunner considering the majority population here are human. As I make my way through town, the people walking passed me just stare, it’s probably because everything here is so different, even the fashion vastly differs from what I’m used to. My search for my crewmates isn’t a short one. I think I’ve pretty much covered the entire village yet there is still no sign of them.
The sound of T catches my ear, I’d recognize his smooth, fluent sounds anywhere. I follow the sound to find Duron outside of a tavern. No surprise there. “I’m looking for a human male named Tion? He lives in this village.” He is asking one of the locals, a Harca. “No. I’m sorry, I do not know anyone by that name.” The villager just continues to walk on by. I know what was said earlier is still lingering, so I’m going to try not to make this awkward. “Any luck finding our man?” I hope that didn’t come off unnatural. He looks at me as if nothing happened before, he is probably thinking the same thing I am... Thank god. “These locals are no help, not the smartest bunch that’s for sure.”
Aura and Admiral Richards approach from two different directions, they must have split up to cover more ground. They don’t look very pleased right now, I’m sure they had the same luck as Duron. “Any luck?” Duron asks them. “Not at all.” Aura responds. “Maybe the information the council gave you is dated?” I ask the Admiral. “Maybe. But I highly doubt it, the council keeps tabs on every current, and former member of Transcendence.” He tells me. That’s a lot of people to keep an eye on, the council is full of surprises.
T speaks in Aura’s direction, grabbing her attention. “Typical. You would be the one to say that.” Aura is annoyed with whatever it was T said. “You understand code?” Duron asks Aura completely stunned. “I know, impressive isn’t it?” She responds with her head held high. “So what happens now?” I ask, trying not to get to far off track. “I know Tion is still living here on Maeve, but that’s as deep as the files went. Maybe he changed his name as a way of trying to fly under the radar.” I think for a moment, finding the Admiral’s theory to be plausible.
The towns people can be heard screaming in the distance. It’s like a domino effect, until eventually the entire village is in a complete panic. “What’s going on?” I ask my crew, even though they wouldn’t know the answer. I watch as the villagers all run in the same direction. They’re running from something. “Uh, guys.” Says Duron as he stares at the sky. A dragon flies from the direction of the mountain. With blood red eyes, and scales black like midnight. “Awesome.” I let my thoughts escape me. “How the hell is this awesome!?” Aura asks me. The Dragon begins to blow fire upon the town, my eyes widen. This can’t be good. “I take it back; this is not awesome!”
We make a run for it right as the dragon flies over the town. Destruction follows closely behind it. Soldiers wielding bows and arrows fight back, which honestly isn’t doing much good. We take cover behind one of the houses. It’s one of the only buildings left untouched…for now. “We need to attack that thing!” Duron tells us. “Are you insane!? That’s not exactly the best idea you’ve ever had.” Aura screams. “There’s no way that thing can survive a laser shot, just trust me.” Duron speaks with authority. I give him a nod of approval, maybe this will work?
It’s gone quiet for the time being. I’m nervous, I won’t lie. My palms are soaked, I’m barely able to keep a handle on my weapon. “Oh my god.” Admiral Richards says, taken by surprise. Holy hell, the dragon seems to be infatuated by the Endeavor. Admiral Richards signals for everyone to lower their weapons. It walks around the starship until it reaches the front. Oh man, I can only imagine what Amelia is thinking right now. Three shots are fired from the Endeavor, shocking the dragon and knocking it backwards. We ready our weapons to fire, but I can see it doesn’t even have a scratch on it. The Endeavor’s weapon system should have at least done some kind of damage.
The dragon squirms around for a moment, a bit overdramatic if you ask me. It shakes the entire ground while doing so. I don’t bother raising my weapon to the giant creature, I know it won’t do any good. I’m ready to take off running again, the dragon is beginning to regain itself. I hope Amelia is alright, I know she’s probably freaking out right now. The dragon takes flight, I’m backing away here, I wasn’t planning on dying today but it’s not looking good right now. I breathe a sigh of relief when the creature thrusts its wings toward the mountain pass. I fall to the ground, breathing heavily, but more importantly…relieved.
The towns folk seem to be used to this, I’d assume they’ve had run ins with this dragon before. I never thought Dragons were real, I’ve read about them in old literature, but to see one up close is terrifying. I’m on the porch steps of one of the homes, smoke rises from most of the buildings. People run around frantically, aiding those injured in the attack. Duron flops down next to me, T is by his side as usual, we don’t speak for an elongated moment. “It never gets any easier does it?” I ask. “No. No it doesn’t.” A man approaches us. He looks to be in his forties, with long, untamed hair and a grossly long beard.
“Excuse me. Are you the ones who come from space?” The man asks. “Yes.” I stumbled over my words, this guy caught me off guard big time. “If you don’t mind coming with me to my home, it’s just across the village. I’d like to speak with you.” He says to us, I’m hesitant to say the least. “What for?” I ask. “Oh I apologize, where are my manners? My name is Zira, I’m the town blacksmith. I have a proposal for you, if you’d indulge me.” He asks in an extremely polite voice, making it hard to decline his offer. I look over at Duron, he shrugs as if we don’t have nothing to lose.
Zira’s home was affected by the attack but it’s mostly intact. Aura and the Admiral are nowhere to be seen right now, last I knew they were off tending to the wounded. I didn’t want to take them o
ut of their work. Besides, Duron and T are here with me, so I’m not alone. We enter his home, it’s small, only one giant room. Fitted with a fireplace with wooden chairs placed in front of it, and a bed against the wall. There are shelving units lining a majority of the house. There is a large array of books, food, and other things on these shelves. I can’t quite make out everything that’s on them. There is an array of steel swords, bows, and shields lying around the home, as well as many different steel armor sets, each of them have their own unique design.
“Please. Take a seat.” Zira offers. I sit on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace, which has no fire going at the moment. Duron is a bit more hesitant than me, but he eventually has a seat as well. “Do you live alone here?” I ask Zira, trying to break the silence that blankets this place. “Yes.” He’s vague with me. “No wife or kids?” He’s a bit uncomfortable now, I can tell he’s not the most open man. “Never married, and never had children. I’ve lived most of my life alone here, forging weapons and armor for the soldiers, and civilians who can afford them.” He tells me, changing the subject to something a little less personal. But seriously, who wouldn’t want kids? I mean, why wouldn’t you want your bloodline to live on? Without an offspring, once you die, that’s it, no one can carry on your legacy.
“So why’d you ask us here, Zira?” Duron asks bluntly. “What you saw today is a reoccurring event. Maeve lives in fear of when the next attack is going to be. We rebuild our village just to watch it fall again. Everybody acknowledges the problem, but nobody wants to do anything about it. That’s why I asked you here.” Zira explains. I don’t know what to say right now, I’m literally at a loss for words. “Hold on a minute, man. You expect us to risk our lives to fight a dragon?” Duron responds, he’s not angry but he’s stunned by Zira’s proposal. “To put it bluntly, yes.” Zira says. “And here’s my answer. Fuck. That.” Duron’s words strike Zira the wrong way, he was expecting us to just agree to this without hesitation.
“Why did you even come to Maeve if not to help us?” Zira asks. “We came here in search of a man named Tion, he’s a former Transcendence Engineer.” I explain. Zira is silent for a moment, he’s a bit hesitant at first. “And why are you searching for him?” He asks. “Oh you haven’t heard? Of course not, this planet doesn’t even have electricity. There’s a war brewing, we’re building a crew strong enough to aid us in the search for the Essari home world.” Duron says. Zira doesn’t speak a word long enough for the silence to become awkward. “So that’s the real reason why you came here?” He asks as he moves in a bit closer, he’s at an uncomfortably close distance now. He stares me in the eyes and says, “What if I told you I can help you find him?” Now we’re talking.
“Let me guess. This is one of those, you scratch my back, and I scratch yours, scenarios?” I ask. I can tell by the look on Zira’s face that I’m right. “Yes.” Called it. Duron stands up, he paces with frustration. “No. I’m not doing this.” He says to me, I get up to try and calm him down. “Just relax, it’s not like you’ll be doing this on your own.” I say to him eye to eye, not backing down. “We can just move on, count this one as a loss, it’s not worth it.” Duron suggests. “I know you’re afraid, but Admiral Richards says Tion is vital to the mission…” “Oh fuck the mission. We’re not worth anything if we’re dead. That thing didn’t even take damage from the Endeavor’s weapon system. How the hell do you expect to kill something like that?” Duron asks me, he kind of has a point here.
“You see. That was your first mistake. You can’t kill a dragon with a laser blast, at least not this one. Its scales are like a shield that protects it. You have to find the weakness and pierce it with an arrow, or stab it with some steel. I’ll provide you with what you need.” Zira tell us. “Will the young man be joining you?” I look at Duron hoping for him to agree. He takes a moment to think on it. “Yeah.” He says. T breaks his silence and responds to Duron. “Yeah. I know.” Duron says to his robot. Zira grabs a bow and a quiver of arrows that have been lying around the house. He hands them to me, and I strap them around my back. Not very comfortable but tolerable at least.
Zira hands a sword and shield to Duron who straps the sword and holster around his waist then places the shield on his back. He pulls the sword from the holster and admires it for a moment. “What do you think, T? It looks good on me right?” T responds to Duron with disinterested. “Whatever.” He says. Zira shows us to the door after giving us as good of direction to the dragon’s lair as he possibly could. Head north, to the foot of the largest mountain. From there head up the path until we reach the second cave. Sounds easy enough.
My nerves are going berserk right now, it’s not every day you get to fight a creature thought to have only been in stories. “Good luck. Upon your return I will aid you in your search for Tion.” Zira says. “How do we know you’re not lying?” I ask. “I always keep my word. As long as you hold up your end, I’ll hold up mine.”
The Admiral isn’t happy when Duron and I tell him about our current plan. “Why didn’t you consult me on this first?” He asks. We’re outside of the hospital building where more and more wounded are entering as we speak. However, their wounds are not all fatal thankfully. “I didn’t think I had to, I mean we came here to find Tion, and if we do this our search might be over.” I say to him hoping he sees that this isn’t a bad idea. “No. You’re not doing this. It’s a suicide mission.” He tells me, much to my disdain. I’m going to try to keep my cool but I might just fail.
“With all due respect sir, I don’t think this should be your decision to make.” I respond, I think I might have fired up Admiral Richards. I’m bracing myself for the backlash. “I’m your commanding officer, and I say you’re not doing this. I’m not going to lose you both just to find one man.” Admiral Richards is stern with his statement. Aura exits the hospital building, instantly catching our attention. “Sir. I need your assistance in here ASAP.” Hey now, this is the most serious I’ve ever seen Aura. “I’m on my way.” Admiral Richards looks at me as he begins to walk away, he’s completely serious about this. “Do not leave the village.”
I wait until the Admiral enters the hospital before turning toward the mountain. “Where are you going?” Duron asks as he rushes to catch up with me. “You heard what he said, we don’t need Tion.” He continues. “I heard what he said. And I’m not going to let this village continue to be ravaged by a giant lizard.” Wow, A giant lizard? Why the hell did I just say that. “You’re just in a hurry to get yourself killed aren’t you?” Duron responds with more pessimism than I’d like to hear right now.
“You don’t have to come, you can just stay here and hang out with the villagers.” I say to Duron which causes him to stop for a swift moment. I gain a bit of distance, is he really not coming? “Wait.” I can hear Duron jogging to catch up to me. “You’re gonna get me killed one of these days.”
Duron walks by my side as we walk through a large field of grass that seems endless. He told T to stay in the village, he didn’t want anything happening to him. The robot listened of course, he always does. We aren’t too far off from a distant wooded area, I’m in no hurry to get there, it’s an eerie sight. Not that I’m afraid or anything, I just have no idea what to expect from this planet. Who knows what could be in those woods? “So what are you going to do when this is all over?” I ask Duron, the question came from left field but I just can’t stand the silence. “After I get my ship back, I’m gonna continue what I started.” He tells me. I can’t believe he’s still stuck on this whole finding Earth nonsense. I want to tell him he’s wasting his time, but for the sake of an awkward trip, I’ll hold my tongue.
“What made you want to find Earth anyways?” I ask. Duron is hesitant to answer, but he eventually caves. “My father spent his entire life searching the galaxies for treasure, hoping something would bring him unmeasurable wealth. I spent a lot of my teenaged years by his side. At first I thought he was crazy, there’s no way Earth exists. But I was
made a believer when he showed me what he found.” Duron explains. He’s vague, but I remember him telling me about a star map in his journal, interesting. I have to see this journal now, just out of mere curiosity. “Did he ever tell you where he found it?” I ask. “No. Never, he always told me it would be better for me not to know.” I look at Duron for a moment, dumbfounded.
“Well that makes no fucking sense.” I say bluntly. Duron chuckles a bit. “That’s exactly what I used to say to him. Hell, I didn’t give a damn where he found it at the time, I was just a dumb teenager who was mesmerized by the words immeasurable and wealth. I never knew why he brought me with him, or why I even wanted to go in the first place. I guess I just thought it was his way of making up for missing most of my childhood.” Duron speaks with a hint of sadness in his voice. I’m wondering if I should comfort him. Fuck it, I’ll just pat his shoulder in a friendly manner. “I’m sorry, I really am. My father wasn’t around much either, he was in the Transcendence so he didn’t get much shore leave.”
Duron smiles slightly, I guess he enjoyed our talk. But there is one more thing I just have to know. “So let me ask you something, Admiral Richards told me you went to jail for starship racing?” I ask. Duron is awkward about this question; he even laughs about it. “Oh my god, I didn’t think you knew about that. Yeah I was pretty good, even won a few races. Wasn’t no match for those Transcendence ships though, they caught up to me real fast. My ship just didn’t have it in her to escape them. I spent a few years in jail because of it, and that was not fun.” He tells me as we approach the woods. It’s dark in there, I don’t know about Duron, but not knowing what’s lurking in those woods, and thinking about what could be sends chills down my spine.
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