The Topaz Operation

by Jared Sizemore

  * * *

  In his private chamber on the Battleship Lightcrusher, Zermal observed the situation. The Light on Trizo was lit. Astonishing. Jez, oh Jez, what did you do? Zermal shook his head. He tottered over to his chamber door and passed through into the Lightcrusher’s command center.

  General Xamgar, one of the few high-ranking females in Aqtal’s military, approached. She had short, black hair, styled for military service. “Governor Zermal, when do we make our assault on Onyx? Time is ticking.”

  “We’re not,” said Zermal.

  “Pardon?”

  “At least not with me along.”

  “But...Lord Aqtal’s orders—”

  “He delegated authority over this battle to me, and I say withdraw. The battle over Topaz has turned against us. Your supply lines are shattered. Even if we retake Onyx, we won’t hold it for long. Withdraw, General. Live to fight another day. I must leave now.”

  She tensed up, clearly frustrated. “Leave, Governor?”

  Zermal nodded and shuffled back toward his chamber.

  Xamgar called out after him, “Maybe I’ll conquer Onyx myself!”

  Zermal threw up his hand dismissively, not even looking at her. “Fine, be my guest.” He entered his chamber, grabbed a short staff, pistol, and a cardiac monitor and stuffed them into his pack. He removed a memory card from his computer workstation, placed it in his personal ship’s cargo container, and squeezed in behind the flight controls.

  Zermal’s ship blasted out of its tiny hangar bay and sped away from the Lightcrusher. The cargo container ejected from his ship and exploded, destroying all contents.

  With the Archon fleet incurring heavy losses over Topaz, Aqtal finally allowed a retreat. Xamgar’s bluff was called and she withdrew her Onyx fleet as well, heeding Zermal’s warning.

  Chapter 61

  An Onyx shuttle landed on top of the over-sized diamond resting in the middle of Laylon’s main thoroughfare. The door opened and Aphiemi stepped out onto the diamond, gingerly at first but soon realized she couldn’t hurt it. Her eyes watered at the sight of Ryle lying on his back, arms outstretched, unconscious on top of the gem. She hurried over to him, put her hand on his neck—whew, pulse and breathing. Her breath returned. Two red-armored Sardonyx soldiers stepped out of the shuttle behind her. One kept watch and the other kneeled down with her.

  She stroked Ryle’s hair which oddly had patches of ice in it. Where was he? She felt warmth on his side...blood! She stripped off his armor and his suit and found a cut in his abdomen—but not deep. She applied pressure. “Do you have a bandage?” she asked the soldier.

  The soldier ran back to the shuttle and retrieved a bandage. While they applied it to Ryle, he coughed and then groaned with discomfort. His eyes cracked open. “You.”

  “You,” she said. “Where have you been?”

  “Oh, out and about.” He exhaled deeply and looked himself over. “Armor was good but not perfect I guess.” He winced in pain then noticed the shining light. “Whoa, is that...,” he pointed at the mountain.

  She nodded. “This one wasn’t your fault, was it?”

  “Definitely not. I was barely even there.” He sat up. “Has anyone heard from Rez?”

  She shook her head. “Not that I know of. I’ve been busy too. I’ll tell you everything later.”

  “Fair enough.” Ryle turned his gaze toward the light, holding a hand just over his eyes to shield them from the full brightness. He took Aphiemi’s hand and for a silent few moments they gazed together upon the conglomeration of radiance across the sky—red, orange, and bright white reaching into the highest clouds.

  “Hey Aph, I have a question for ya.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Will you marry me? I brought a bigger diamond this time.”

  A smile formed across her face, and she couldn’t restrain from laughing.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked.

  “Will you dance with me at our wedding?”

  Ryle appeared to be debating his response for a moment and said, “Sure, if there’s time.”

  She took his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes just as tears drained from hers. “Then the answer is yes.”

  He pulled her onto him so they laid on the diamond and kissed. She enjoyed it, even forgiving the myriad combination of combat-related smells emanating from her new fiancé.

  * * *

  Fucarsen, with dozens of his fellow Topazians, descended through the clouds over Laylon and landed their ships in a field beside their beloved, though ravaged, city. They deboarded their ships, stood, and with tearful eyes took in the carnage that had wrecked their homeland—but the gleaming light on the mountain blazed forth as a beacon of hope. They made contact with rebel pockets who were still in hiding and joyfully reunited, determining to rebuild their city and world together. Nomlin Fucarsen was unanimously chosen as acting Governor.

  With help from Ryle, Bao, and Mitchett’s team, they rigged cranes to lift the diamond drill upward so it stood straight and tall–a mesmerizing, startling, and haunting monument to the events which had transpired. The diamond reflected light from Mount Trizo, splattering multi-colored light all over the city which seemed to reach into every crevice. The light shone through destroyed buildings and piles of debris. The mammoth Sargossi plants, one of Topaz’s natural treasures, began to grow again in earnest.

  * * *

  Onyx reinforcement ships arrived to retrieve the rest of their young and Aphiemi made sure she and Jyssa were there to greet them. With one arm on Malaiya and another on Brayden, Aphiemi wanted to see their faces when the ship’s doors opened. The kids raced into the arms of Prys and Edward as they stepped off the ships and hugged tightly for a good while. Prys brought their favorite food and drinks—several bottles of raspberry juice—and let them eat and drink as much as they wanted. Arlo also stuffed himself until full.

  Prys and Edward thanked Aphiemi for all her help, but she deflected the praise. “Jyssa Gelibor here is the one to thank.” They both heaped profuse thanks upon Jyssa.

  “Actually,” said Jyssa. “Those little ones...they are the real heroes. You should be immensely proud. I’m sure Brayden would love to tell you of their exploits. I won’t steal his thunder.”

  Brayden’s face turned red. Prys laughed.

  As Jyssa started to leave, Malaiya called out after a taking a big gulp of raspberry juice, “Jys! Don’t forget you have to train me to fly!”

  “I won’t forget,” said Jyssa. “I promise.”

  * * *

  Ryle, concerned that neither Rez nor Jez had resurfaced yet, found Jyssa and together with Aphiemi grabbed a shuttle and took off on a search. “Rez was on Jez’s ship with me. They must have gone down with it.”

  “Rez was with you?” said Jyssa.

  They circled the mountain, turning up the shuttle’s window tint, though the brightness was difficult to contain. There were signs of avalanche around the edges of the previous ring—enormous mounds of dirt and rubble.

  Jyssa read the scanners. “There are life readings...several.”

  Ryle steered the shuttle down and landed on a level area near a rocky outcropping. They put on opaque light-blocking eye-wear and exited the shuttle. A mound of dirt in front of them shifted. The dirt moved outward in a bubble-like shape and popped, spraying them with dirt and revealing a wizard with a dirt-caked beard.

  “Hello, my friends,” said Qusam, coughing.

  Ryle grinned. “I knew it was you, ol’ pal.” He took Qusam’s hand and helped him step over a mound of dirt.

  Qusam brushed dirt and mud off his robe. “It is not only me.” With a hand he helped Neyla out, and Izil came last. They shielded their eyes against the blazing bright light.

  “Ryle!” beamed Izil. “Haven’t seen you in ages. You look terrible.”

  “Thanks, Izil. You don’t look too good either. Have any of you heard from Rez?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “When did you
last see him?” asked Qusam.

  “We were on that ship, the Chironex, and got separated. Then things got crazy to say the least. He must have gone down with it. Will you help us search?”

  “Do you have room in your shuttle for us?” said Qusam.

  “We’ll squeeze you in,” said Jyssa, smiling.

  As they headed toward the shuttle, Qusam stopped, covered his eyes and looked back toward the mountain. “Ryle, can I borrow your spectacles?”

  Ryle handed him his glasses. “What is it?”

  “Something caught my eye.”

  “All I can see is the ridiculously bright light blazing in front of us,” said Ryle, shielding his eyes.

  Qusam, wearing the eye-wear, stared up at the peak and let out a gasp. “Come with me.” He ran toward the peak.

  Ryle waved at Jyssa. “Jys! Gimme your glasses, please.” He grabbed her glasses, scrambled over the rocky terrain, stepping in deceptively deep piles of dirt, and made it to where Qusam was perched on the edge of the old rim.

  Two small triangular metallic ships sat near the light’s source. Two silver figures stood there with arms raised, absorbing light into their bodies. One of the figures had only a left arm, and the other had only a right.

  “Who...what are they?” said Ryle.

  “I don’t know, though it was definitely one of them that injured Sienna.”

  “Hmm, well...,” before Ryle could finish, Qusam bounded over the rim and approached the silver figures.

  “Identify yourselves, oh thieves of light!” said Qusam in a booming voice, staff raised.

  The two figures stopped their absorbing and turned toward Qusam, standing side by side. Their bodies bobbed in and out like mercury with light rippling throughout their legs, arm, and heads. Qusam stared at them and they seemed to stare back, though Ryle could discern no eyes on them. After a tense minute, Qusam collapsed to the ground. Danger be damned, Ryle jumped over the rim and ran toward Qusam. The two silver men entered their ships, lifted up, and sped away into the sky.

  Ryle held Qusam’s head in his lap. “Qusam! Q! Are you okay?” Ryle slid the eyewear up just enough to see Qusam’s closed eyes. He was shaking but alive.

  Qusam stammered out, “Eyes...eyes.”

  “What do you mean, ‘eyes’? Your eyes? Are they okay?”

  “No, no,” said Qusam. “His...eyes.”

  Izil and Neyla jumped over the rim and joined them. “Q, what happened?” said Izil.

  Qusam stayed silent, trembling.

  “He said something about ‘eyes’,” said Ryle.

  Neyla put her hands on Qusam’s face, closed her eyes, and hummed a gentle tune.

  “Is he okay?” said Ryle.

  Neyla’s hum quieted. “He’s been assaulted…inside. He feels wretched, but at the moment he’s recovering.”

  “I say, let’s all go home, my love,” said Izil.

  “I agree. Let’s go, Q,” said Neyla. Qusam finally cracked open his eyes. They helped him up and he was able to walk back to the shuttle.

  Ryle was more than glad to get them out of there but needed to search more for Rez before leaving Topaz. They flew all around the mountain, ran several scans, got out and searched various places around the mountain but turned up nothing. Ryle concluded Rez was alive but not yet ready to be found. Concerning Jez, Ryle had to wonder if he made it into the cavern. Was he there now? Could they get him out? How did the Light affect it? Many questions, not enough answers.

  Sienna returned and found them just before they departed from Topaz on a Chrysolite royal cruiser, her presence helping to bring Qusam back to normalcy. They all sat together in the cruiser’s comfortable sitting room and even found some instant tea—not the best but luxurious under the circumstances. Sienna’s story about the singers captivated them. Qusam’s story about the eyes terrified her. Ryle shared how the wizard he fought in space was not able to sing, but Sienna’s story about the singing and the account of the subsequent battle seemed to contradict it. She considered it all and said, “The true music is not bound by time or space.”

  Qusam questioned Ryle about Jez. Ryle admitted that while Jez’s motives were a little clearer than before, Zermal’s intentions remained a mystery. Both Ryle and Qusam concluded Zermal could not be trusted as any kind of true ally to Jez despite any so-called agreement, especially since Jez couldn’t give a straight answer about him. Ryle was forced to admit he had drastically underestimated the impact of their father’s death upon Jez. The consequences for this were far-reaching, and he did not yet know the solution.

  While recapping his experience on the Chironex, Ryle recalled that the diamonds from Nawrosh’s sword penetrated the force field—a potentially significant fact? That could be how Jez broke into Ethin’s cell with so little trace. A small ceremony for Ethin was set to be held. Traitor or not, he was still a King of Ochuroma.

  On the trip back to Chrysolite, Ryle rehearsed how to explain everything regarding Jez to their mother who would not understand no matter how he spun it. Telling Jyssa was hard enough. Jyssa took it like a champ though not without tears. She would need time to process things and come to acceptance before figuring out what in the world to do next. Regarding his engagement, Ryle realized he better call his mother now to inform her of that detail lest she find out some other way.

  Chapter 62

  President Prevwahn ordered that the victors of this latest battle be received home with great honor. A lavish reception at Ochuroma Palace awaited the bruised and bloodied survivors. Ryle, Jyssa, Qusam, Sienna, Mitchett, Lygalia, Bao, and the others appreciated the praise, but their hearts were heavy. Even though major victories had been won on Onyx and Topaz, and two more Lights were shining, Jez was missing and presumably still in Aqtal’s grip. And now Rez was missing as well.

  Qusam’s electronic version of the scroll was damaged in all the action, so he was eager to see the original scroll at the palace. Prevwahn escorted him, Ryle, and Jyssa to the scroll room and they beheld the Scroll of Apothena with a new word.

  Qusam examined it closely. “Hmmm, the new word is: Bahdikai.”

  “Which means?” asked Jyssa.

  “‘Choosing right.’ Or...choosing righteousness. It has a flexible meaning, but the gist is the same. Does this perhaps shed light on what happened to Jez or even Rez?”

  Ryle and Jyssa became optimistic this was describing Jez, but both were careful not to get their hopes up.

  News of Ryle and Aphiemi’s engagement spread like wildfire and lightened the mood considerably. When Prevwahn found out he turned the occasion into a large-scale celebration of their engagement. Hundreds of people from the city attended and showered adoration on Aphiemi, asking endless questions like: “So when is the wedding? What dress will you wear? Where will it be? Here? Where?” Her response to all these was a smile and: “I’m not sure yet.”

  Ryle decided he better fill in the president sooner rather than later about Rez’s role in the events. He pulled Prevwahn aside and told him straight up everything that happened. Prevwahn, though flabbergasted by the story, seemed to take it well. He personally called Odura, canceled her house arrest and invited her to attend, promising her a royal escort and assuring her of the highest reverence. She agreed.

  Upon arrival, Odura went straight for Ryle and Aphiemi and grabbed them in a tearful hug. “My new daughter...” She sobbed over Aphiemi, making a very uncomfortable scene. Aphiemi let her go as long as she wished.

  Afterward, Odura bumped into Sienna, and Qusam made sure they were properly introduced. The two hit it off and spent an hour chatting about everything from exotic flora to Ryle and Aphiemi’s relationship. Odura expressed interest in visiting Sienna’s underground cave but inadvertently caused Sienna’s eyes to get misty. Odura changed the subject.

  Tara was repaired, polished up, and given new blue-colored robes. There was hesitation about letting her attend events at the palace, but Lygalia made a strong plea on her behalf. Any scrap of Archon influence had been e
rased. Many were fascinated by Tara’s presence as robotic wizards on Chrysolite had been frowned upon and often mocked. Of course, the real wizards were often treated similarly. Rajaan and Seilah were tasked with keeping close eyes on her.

  General Turj, not the party type, arrived and shared his congratulations to Ryle. Ryle thanked him and gave a partial apology for disobeying orders after the Onyx battle. Turj didn’t seem concerned and asked for a private meeting with the president, with Ryle allowed to tag along. The three of them hurried to Prevwahn’s office. Ryle became worried there was some dreadful turn of events in the war. But it was not so.

  Turj stood at attention. “Mr. President, Colonel Gelibor, I am resigning as Head of the Chrysolite Armed Forces.”

  Ryle nearly dropped his drink.

  “Excuse me, General?” said Prevwahn.

  “I’m sure you heard me correctly, President,” said Turj as he removed his General rank insignia off his vest and laid it on Prevwahn’s desk.

  Prevwahn, not normally at a loss for words, stuttered out a response. “But...I don’t understand, Waap. We just won a major battle.”

  Two actually, thought Ryle.

  “Sir, my military training and experience did not prepare me for this. Mountain lights shining. Singing wizards. All kinds of magical stuff I have no idea what to make of. No offense to Ryle here, and to our many brave, excellent troops, but it seems that those lights keeping winning the battles for us. I can’t strategize around that, sir.”

  “Well,” said Prevwahn. “I don’t accept your resignation. The war is still going and we need you.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. President. I’m not the right man for this job anymore. But I never said I’m done with the war effort. My talents will be put to use in other ways.”

  “I said I don’t accept,” said Prevwahn, stone faced.