Arden looked out at the decimated planet around them. “What do we do? Draw lots to see who stays?”
Theo shook his head. “No. This is my job.” Theo took the sphere in his hands. He poured swirling light into the glass sphere, slowly drawing back his hands. The sphere remained suspended between his palms. Everyone could see the brewing storm that was filling the sphere. Theo’s hands shook with effort. He concentrated harder, pouring all of his hopes, fears, and desires for the universe into the small, glass globe.
White light swirled inside, slowly overtaken by purple and grey. The slow swirls become faster and faster. Golden sparks flickered inside the orb. The golden light grew brighter. Intense heat was coming from the glass sphere in waves. It was enough to make everyone but Theo shy away. In a matter of moments, the glass had been transformed into a miniature yellow star. Theo raised it up higher, suspended in one palm. The light was too bright for anyone but Theo to look at.
Winds were whipping around them now. Soot and debris whirled around in the air, grating against their skin. Theo was ready to sacrifice the entire planet, to finish destroying Relisse, and the imperials that were coming. The fleet and the palace complex were visible now, looming like a twisted, hellish star field. It was only a matter of time. Destroying them would be a fresh start. It would be a clean slate for the empire.
Suddenly, he caught Cierra’s eye. His resolve faltered. Even if he was willing to sacrifice himself, he couldn’t kill her. That was too high of a cost. It frightened him that he would be willing to risk the entire galaxy to save her.
Theo allowed his eyes to drink her in. To remember her exactly as she was. “You all need to leave the planet, immediately.”
Cierra reached out her hand to him. “I don’t want to leave you.”
Theo smiled at her. He held the glowing ball away from her enough for him to be able to lean down and lift her hand to his lips. “I need you to live. I need you to get out of here. If you don’t make it, all of this will have been for nothing.”
She clutched at his hand. “I’m not leaving without you.”
Hubard’s eyes lit up. “What if you don’t have to? I have an idea. I should have thought of this sooner. My old memory must be slipping. Let’s finish this the way that we started it: together.”
Twelve
Cierra pulled Theo closer to the ship. “If there’s even a chance we can both survive this, we have to take it. Even if we left right now, there’s no guarantee we’d be out of the blast range in time. If we are apart, then I know this isn’t going to work. Us being together is only way any of this is going to be okay, Theo. I can’t imagine Batumah wanting us to be separated now. Not after everything he’s put us through to bring us together. Please, do this. Please.”
“Okay. We can try.”
“Wait!” Hojae ran towards the ship. He had stepped away while everyone was focused on the small orb. Cherish’s body was cradled in his arms. “We can’t leave her here. She deserves better than to be here with them when they die.”
All of them climbed into the ship. Hubard stroked Cherish’s hair. He bit back the tears that threatened to cloud his vision. Slipping into the pilot seat, Hubard prepared for takeoff. The ship left the surface of Relisse for the last time. They were cloaked with Arden’s invisibility gift. Theo and Cierra looked at the planet they had both called home at one time. Theo gripped the glowing ball in one hand, using his skin to shield the ship and the other passengers from the heat and the light. In his other hand was Cierra’s. Her fingers were woven into his.
Hubard soared upwards. “Are you ready?”
Theo gave Cierra’s hand a squeeze. He let go, and cupped both hands around the sphere. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Hubard opened a wormhole in front of them. “At the back of the ship, there’s a port. You can load the orb in there, and then launch it towards the planet.”
Theo found the port that Hubard had mentioned. He carefully loaded the orb into the chute, and launched it towards Relisse. He willed the orb to the planet’s surface. Just as the light matter that flowed from him obeyed his thoughts and desires, so did the golden ball he had charged with spiritual matter.
As soon as the orb touched the planet’s surface, Hubard launched them into the wormhole. It looked like the planet had vanished before their eyes, but before they could really make sense of what they had seen, the glimmering lights of subspace swirled around the ship. After a few moments, they pulled out of the wormhole.
They were left floating in the black, empty vastness of space. It seemed almost like their senses were cut off after so much noise and war. The emptiness was startling.
In the inky, black distance, one star began to shine more brightly than the others. It kept growing brighter.
Theo knelt beside Cherish. Her body was broken in more ways than he had first realized. The light matter inside of him poured into her, feeling around the wounds both visible and not. It wouldn’t be the first time he had brought her back to life. He closed his eyes, feeling the light flooding into her. It worked to repair her organs and mechanisms alike.
A soft whirring noise made Theo open his eyes. The color was coming back to Cherish’s cheeks. Her eyes moved slowly behind her eyelids. The gentle rise and fall of her chest made Hubard cry out in delight. She blinked a few times, trying to figure out where she was. Cherish’s eyes landed on Cierra. She reached out her hand to the other woman.
Cierra smoothed Cherish’s hair away from her face. “How are you feeling?”
“Me?” Cherish laughed happily. “You’re the one that was dead in the ship, but I guess looking around, I must have died again, too.”
Hojae grabbed one of her hands with his own. “You managed to take a good chunk of Aphilranius with you.”
She looked up from Hojae to Theo. “Did you get him? Is he dead?”
Theo nodded. “He’s dead, and so are Karl and Makram.” The mention of Makram made her heart ache, but Cherish tried to keep the pain to herself.
In the distance, they could see the star glowing brighter and brighter. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash, and light winked out of existence. Cierra moved closer to the window. “Is that it then? Are we the only ones left?”
Cherish held her hands over her ears. “Ow!”
Hubard moved towards her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Cherish looked at the others. Her eyes suddenly lit up. Using her augmentation, she tuned the ship’s comms between different distress signals being sent out. “We definitely aren’t the only ones.” Over the comm system, different voices could be heard.
Jiyeon’s voice was the first that came in. “This is a mayday for the Yasta forces. Is anyone out there? Can anyone hear me?”
Cherish flipped to another channel. The next voice was a woman that Cierra recognized as Dr. Brax. “Tell them we have a woman in labor! Can’t you open a wormhole?”
Theo and Hojae were surprised to hear Titan answer her. “Lady, you’re lucky I’ve even still got this under control!”
Cherish skipped to another channel, but she talked over them. “There’s dozens of them. No one seems to know what channel to be on, or where to go. Everyone’s just flying blind. It’s a mix of imperial ships that seem to have been hijacked by citizens escaping palace compound, and a few Yasta fighters that managed to get away. What do you want me to do?”
Everyone turned to Theo. A small smile spread across his face. “Cherish, can you give everyone a coordinate to head towards?”
She nodded. “Sure. Where do you want everyone to meet?”
Theo thought for a moment. “Send everyone the coordinates for the Kinyah monastery. It’s at the top of a steep mountain, of course, but there’s a wide plain to the west. Tell them to land there.”
Cherish looked at him in surprise. “Kinyah? Are you sure? The monasteries were destroyed.”
He nodded. “I’m sure.” Cherish went about sending out the coordinates, and helping talk Titan through actuall
y doing more than just keep the enormous ship from crashing.
Theo let his mind wander.
Cierra leaned her head on Theo’s shoulder. “What are you planning?”
He laughed a little. “You know, we spent so much time just trying to overthrow the emperor, we never really thought about what needed to be done once that was over. This is just the beginning, in some ways.”
Cierra looped her arm through his. “What do you mean?”
Theo leaned over, and kissed the top of her head. “The rest of the Yasta, as well as the rest of the galaxy are in desperate need of spiritual and political guidance. People are hurting. Planets are suffering. There’s a deep need for healing. Even though Pollus and his empire are gone, the wounds he left behind are still very much alive. It takes time for people to be hurt as badly as they’ve been, and it takes just as much time for that damage to be undone.”
Hubard called out uncertainly. “I take it you want us to go land near the monastery as well?”
Theo nodded. “Yes.”
Arden shifted painfully. His hand touched the leg that was still giving him fits. “I’ll be glad when I can get out of this ship. A bed wouldn’t be terrible.”
Theo smiled at the Aphaian. “You saw me bring Cherish back to life, and yet you never asked for me to heal your leg.”
Arden looked away, a little shyly. “Well, a messed-up leg is hardly as big of a deal as being dead. I knew I’d heal on my own eventually. It seemed unnecessary to ask something so small of someone with your kind of power.”
Placing a hand on Arden’s leg, Theo spoke gently. “Never think you’re worth less than anyone else. You’re important, and your sacrifices will be remembered.”
Arden clicked his beak, unable to find the words to express his gratitude. Light flowed from Theo to Arden’s leg. Warmth spread along his wounded leg, and he could feel the bones mending. The pain faded until it was only a memory. “Thank you.”
Theo nodded, and then moved to Hojae. The necrotic flesh from the wounds created by Pollus’s scythe still scarred the Josti’s body. “You have endured more pain from this twisted empire than most, and not all of your wounds are physical.”
Hojae reached up one hand and placed it on top of Theo’s. “Please, just heal the physical wounds. The mental, and spiritual wounds are part of what have made me who I am. I wouldn’t be me if those were suddenly gone.”
Theo understood what the Josti meant. “You don’t want to forget everything that you’ve gone through, and you don’t want to forget Karl.”
Hojae’s voice shook. “I know that none of you really knew him other than as the hardened man he was turned into, but to me, he was a very dear friend. Someone should remember him the way he was before his father poisoned him so much. Someone should still think of him as a person, and not as a monster.”
A sad smile touched Theo’s lips. “As you wish.” The rotting flesh along Hojae’s arms healed, leaving behind small, shiny scars. Once he was healed, Theo took a look around at the ones who had supported him and believed in him, even when he hadn’t believed in himself. He knelt close to Hubard. “How does our course look?”
The old man adjusted his glasses on his face. “I think we should be there in…well…if I’m being honest, I’m having a bit of a hard time reading the dials. I think my time is getting more and more borrowed. There are so many more things I want to do. So many more discoveries, and scientific breakthroughs that I want to be a part of. You know, looking back, I always put my career before anything else. Now, I wonder what it would be like to have the chance to make some of those choices again.” He patted Theo’s knee. “Regrets are the privilege of the old.”
Theo gently took Hubard’s face in both of his hands. “I don’t think the universe is quite ready to let you go, old friend.”
Light flowed from Theo’s hands to the scientist’s body. The years seemed to melt away. When Theo pulled his hands away again, Hubard reached up to touch his own cheeks. The wrinkles were gone. He removed his glasses, suddenly no longer needing them. The slight tremor in his hands had subsided. Hubard flipped open a mirror. The face staring back at him was one from his prime. He smiled, laughing at the gift Theo had given him. He pulled the young man into a tight hug, and whispered in his ear. “Thank you. Thank you, so much.”
Theo clapped him on the back. “You’re very welcome. Make sure you make the most of it.”
Hubard turned back to flying the ship with his face full of delight. “I will. I will!”
Cherish let out a slightly frustrated sigh. “Okay, everyone is headed to the base of Mount Kinyah. I told them to just land wherever they could find a spot. Honestly at this point, I’m just hoping Titan doesn’t crash. He could do a lot of damage with that thing. I told them to put it on autopilot, but I don’t know if he even knows how to do that correctly.” She stopped talking as she saw Hubard’s new appearance.
Hubard smiled nervously. “What do you think?”
Cherish laughed, and punched him playfully on the shoulder. “I think you’re going to have to try and keep the women back!”
He blushed, and focused on flying again. “Well, I don’t know about that.”
Theo took a seat next to Cierra, who was only too happy to have him back by her side. She wound her fingers through his. “Are you planning on opening the monasteries again?”
He nodded, pulling her into an embrace. “That’s the plan.”
Hubard called back from the front of the ship. “We do have five gifted individuals: Theo, Cierra, Cherish, Hojae, and Arden.”
Cherish rolled her eyes. “If Theo runs a monastery, no one’ll want to go to any of the other four. Everyone’ll just want to go to his.”
Theo chuckled. “I think after we get everything lined out, I’m going to take a little bit of a break away from the spotlight.”
Cierra glanced up at him. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” He toyed with her fingers. “Maybe take a little honeymoon.”
She sat up quickly. “Honeymoon?”
Theo smirked at her. “That is, if you’ll have me.”
Cierra narrowed her eyes at him. “No.”
“No?” Theo’s eyes widened in surprise.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Theo Jaiteoux, just because you can bring people back from the dead and overthrow an emperor doesn’t mean you get to skimp on a proposal. When you do it right, then maybe I’ll change my answer.”
He laughed and pulled her into a hug. “Yes, ma’am.”
Thirteen
The mountains and plains surrounded them. The sawtooth peaks of the main range were behind them, the almost pencil like Mount Kinyah was to the left, and the other four peaks supporting other ruined monasteries were silhouetted in the far distance, in front. It was almost like a mythical landscape. No wonder the Yasta chose this place to glorify Batumah, Theo thought.
Below them, a few ships had already landed. They would be followed by hundreds more, some of which already dotted the sky. Theo was reminded briefly of the crowded landing zone at the souk, now a lifetime ago.
The other Yasta survivors, and a few of the people lucky enough to escape from the palace compound, huddled nervously, as Hubard landed. They watched anxiously as the members of the newest ship to land slowly filed out. Whispers went through the gathered crowd as Theo stepped down from the craft.
Theo was about to open his mouth to talk, but a scream went through the crowd. A large troop transport, into which Titan and the other palace refugees had fled, was descending too quickly. It was apparent that the pilot was having difficulties. Everyone started to run for cover except for Theo and Cherish. Cherish focused intensely on the ship. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
She gritted her teeth. “I knew he couldn’t even use autopilot!”
Under her augmented navigation skills, the craft landed safely, but roughly. A few moments later, the hatch opened. A very angry Dr. Brax climbed out of the ship. Korrine was only a few st
eps behind her mother. Cierra lit up as she saw the little girl, but the procession didn’t stop there. Jeanette climbed out of the ship next, holding a new baby in her arms. The woman was visibly shaken. With a sheepish smile on his face, Titan climbed out of the ship last.
Jiyeon rushed forward from one of the groups that had scurried for shelter. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it!” She quickly thanked Cherish for helping the other ship land. “Thank you. There were too many of them to load all of the concubines on my ship. Luckily, Titan got the rest of them.”
Dr. Brax narrowed her eyes at Titan. “I’m not sure ‘luckily’ would be the word I would have used, but we made it just the same.”
Titan looked at his feet. “What Theo said about us still having a choice really stuck with me after you two left the control room. I decided that somehow I would find another way to help my family.”
Rix hummed over to Hubard. The little robot hesitated for a second. “Are my sensors operating correctly? You seem…different.”
Hubard laughed. “I’m quite a bit younger than the last time you saw me.”
Rix’s processors whirled. “Correct me if I am wrong, but it is not typical of your species to age erratically, is it?”
The scientist’s eyes sparkled. “No, my friend, it is not. Just think of it as a gift that we’ll have much more time together now.”
Bealize ran to Cierra. “My lady!”
Cierra hugged her in surprise. “Bealize, you got out!”
Jiyeon motioned for all of the other women to come forward. “We got almost everyone that was in the harem. A few of them were too afraid to leave, but most of them’ll be able to have a fresh start now.”
Dr. Brax motioned to the baby Jeanette was holding. “We even have the first child born out from under the emperor’s reign. Let me tell you though, the inside of that ship should just be burned.”
Theo, sensing his friend’s emotions and seeing that he was already making a move towards the other Josti, raised his hands. “Hojae, before you go off to court Jiyoen, why don’t you let me talk to everyone?” The Josti seemed to blush a little, but he didn’t say anything. Theo climbed up on a rocky outcrop. “Can I please have all of your attention? I know things have been a little stressful lately. I want to start off by answering the question that I am sure is on everyone’s mind. Pollus is dead. His rule is over. We have a chance to start over new, to build a new way of life for everyone. I’m planning on restarting the monasteries here. Anyone that’s been displaced by the old regime, or anyone who’d like to be part of the building of the new monasteries, you are welcome here.”
The Relissarium Wars Omnibus Page 69
