by Jeremy Dwyer
“They’ll listen if you just tell them about the child we’re expecting,” Ra’Naka’Tuveo said.
“You don’t believe that, do you? Look, I love you, but if I don’t follow orders, we’re both going to be killed. Let me go and get this over with,” Mendis’Kanto’Petarin said. He hugged Ra’Naka’Tuveo and then left their apartment on the one hundred sixteenth (116) floor of the naval officer residential tower to report for duty and to make sure that the cargo ship was ready.
Ra’Naka’Tuveo looked out the window of their apartment and saw the lone orange sun around which the planet Votteus was orbiting. She had never seen a world like the one in her dreams, which had many suns. And she was terrified that the fire descending from those many suns would be the demise of her husband.
~~~
Captain Mendis’Kanto’Petarin had served in the military since he was twelve (12) and was lectured on the laws of the chain of command and the punishments for error as well for disobedience. He had no intention of defying orders, or of taking back his acceptance of the mission, for which he was a volunteer. He was forty-one (41) years old, and had hoped to see twenty (20) more, at least, as well as see the child. Mendis’Kanto’Petarin looked forward to fatherhood, but knew that failure to follow orders was actually punished more severely the older you were, as it was assumed that maturity meant knowing defiance, and the greater responsibility that came with age meant that the disobedience had a greater negative impact on the military. The punishment would be incredibly painful, as well as fatal: his wife would be tortured and killed first, while he watched, and then he would be slowly burned to death.
He went to the ground floor of the residential tower and then took a transport pod to the shuttle bay to perform a pre-flight check on the ship. He was no believer in a Creator, but he was slightly nervous after what Ra’Naka’Tuveo said, and he couldn’t explain why it was having an impact on him, so he inspected the ship more thoroughly than usual.
~~~
Commander Doriv’Natix walked through the dining hall, on the first floor of the naval residential tower, where he saw thousands of troops eating as much as they could in the limited time they were given. They seemed to him as if they were more than sufficiently well fed, and so they should have ample strength to fight.
However, Doriv’Natix believed only what he actually saw, and liked to test all of his assumptions. He took a pair of metal rods with a length of chain between them and suddenly struck three (3) different randomly chosen soldiers as they were carrying their meals. They fell to the ground, bleeding out of the backs of their heads.
Four (4) more soldiers ran to stop Doriv’Natix but he sent them shrieking away with some careful maneuvers targeting their backs, which the chain-linked weapon made possible even as they faced him. Since the age of twelve (12), he had been a master of various close combat weapons – especially flails – and considered them to be the true test of his opponent’s readiness and suitability for combat.
It took eight (8) soldiers to stop him and disarm him, but he was able to backflip over them and strike the necks of three (3) of them.
“Five (5) left. That’s better than last time. Good. I’ll be leading a company of you tomorrow,” Commander Doriv’Natix said and he left the mess hall to return to his quarters on the fifty-seventh (57) floor of the naval officer residential tower. He would be on standby the next day for departure at any time, so he rested himself by repeatedly punching the metal walls and floor until he was too tired to do it any longer, and then fell into a deep yet dreamless sleep. He never remembered his dreams, because he brought himself to such a deep sleep every night through exhaustive violence – whether during preparation for a mission or while deployed on active duty. He was an otherwise empty man, with no hopes or ambitions beyond combat.
~~~
Second Lieutenant Vy’Jaden’Rokano stood alone in his room on the seventy-third (73) floor of the naval officer residential tower. It was a hexagonal building that extended two-hundred forty (240) floors up, providing quarters for seventy-two thousand (72000) officers. He looked out the east-facing window and saw several aircraft – some cargo shuttles and some fighter jets – flying through the skies, most likely on resource collection missions. The various aircraft flew under the pale orange sun, which was setting over the shore as the tide ebbed and flowed.
The sun had already set on his life, it seemed to him, despite his young age of thirty-two (32) years. His new bride – the exquisitely kind and attractive Ialta’Lasri – had been taken from him only two (2) months after their wedding, and only four (4) months ago. She had suddenly been ordered to serve in a peacekeeping force during a revolt on the planet Nyettix, which had been a relatively docile territory in the Caval’Rukero’Nyptic Empire up to that point. Her company was captured and dismembered, and their mutilated remains were sent back as a warning of what was coming to this world – the empire’s core world – if the abundant profits from mining operations on resource-rich Nyettix and other outlying planets weren’t shared with their residents.
Vy’Jaden’Rokano had been raised to be a master of combat, in every form, and to set an example for others. Training in the use of metal blades, laser weapons, crossbows, sonic weapons, poisons, nets, hand to hand combat and even improvised weapons was drilled into him since he was twelve (12). Though he thought it cruel, at first, that his life was essentially taken from him – the military conscripted him at that age and he had not seen his parents since – his instructors insisted that this level of training was essential not only to survive but to thrive and utterly overpower and outmaneuver any enemy, for it was no victory if a man cannot walk away from battle intact to be able to enjoy the life outside the battlefield. Fortunately, he demonstrated sufficient aptitude in every endeavor: some conscripts did not, and they were crippled at a young age. Some of the youth were so greatly injured that they had to be destroyed lest they become a burden on society, never mind that they were conscripted to begin with.
In addition to combat training, he acquired the secondary skillset of piloting cargo shuttles when he was twenty-three (23), hoping to reduce the amount of combat action he was directly involved in. He was required to also train in repair of the ships, and this additional skillset made him invaluable for duties outside an active combat role, lessening his direct engagement by around twenty (20) percent, but he was still expected to be able to hunt and kill as effectively as before, if not as often. He was a backup pilot and repair technician, but his primary duty was still combat. The fact that he was skilled in both made him more in demand – increasing his overall working hours – however. Whether this was the best choice for him was something he often questioned, because he was only helping to satisfy the appetite for more and more resources from various worlds in the empire and on its borders.
Combat – or combat readiness – never ended in the Caval’Rukero’Nyptic Empire. World after world had to be kept in check – so that its minerals and other resources remained available, of course – and uprisings had to be quelled, only to have a previously docile world suddenly revolt and break the peace. Vy’Jaden’Rokano had been on one hundred ninety one (191) missions throughout his career, rising in rank to Second Lieutenant after repeatedly proving himself capable and even masterful and inventive.
Vy’Jaden’Rokano could outthink and outfight any adversary so that he rarely had to outrun them. He had worried, at first, that he might not survive to have a family, because many young men were slain in battle, or disabled, before the age of twenty-four (24), which was the earliest age at which they were allowed to marry, despite being interested long before then. This worry had motivated his pursuit of the cargo piloting certification, as that was a generally less injury prone line of work: the fighter pilots usually took the hits for you, and they were good enough, with the assistance of the targeting computers, at handling whatever came their way. Their mission was to protect the valuable cargo, so being on the same ship as something the empire considere
d valuable tended to be a good path to survival.
Fatherhood – and marriage – were rewards that had to be earned through service in the military. The enforcement of the laws of unity by the empire was essential to avoid the alternative – the chaos of many separate worlds engaged in trade wars and espionage and sabotage and outright violent conflict. That was what Vy’Jaden’Rokano had been told, dozens of times, at least. He wasn’t sure if he believed it. But he was sufficiently expert in conforming to the expectations that were set. His wife – who died at the age of thirty (30) – was not trained nearly as well, unfortunately.
Vy’Jaden’Rokano did not know if Ialta’Lasri was with child or not when she died, and he did not pursue relationships with other women out of respect for her memory. They had known each other only a year before their marriage, and would never know each other again, because death was the final stage and everlasting. Each life was unique, and would never happen again: just the blackness of nonexistence came afterwards. That is all that anyone believed, so they had to fight to make the most of this one (1) life, because that was all they would ever have. Religion – and belief in any kind of life after this one (1) – was long since ruled the mark of mental illness: it was a fantasy and wishful thinking that had to be cured by mind altering drugs. However, Vy’Jaden’Rokano wanted more, and believed that more was possible, and that he would see Ialta’Lasri again. He simply never shared his hope – or his belief – with anyone else.
In the morning, he knew that he would have to report for duty once again, although it was for a mission for which he had volunteered. Second Lieutenant Vy’Jaden’Rokano trusted Captain Mendis’Kanto’Petarin neither more nor less than any other captain. It was the mission itself that interested him: to take a cargo shuttle to that unusual world known as Thalariveth, in order to bring back large samples of its ocean waters – all thirteen (13) of them – said to be rich with varied energies. He had heard of there being a fourteenth, but that it was underground, and would be acquired by a ground support team.
The mission was highly classified, but Second Lieutenant Vy’Jaden’Rokano was no stranger to maintaining secrecy, for he had been keeping the greatest secret of all: that he hoped for – and even believed – that there was a creator deity, and that people had souls that lived on after death to be with that creator deity and with each other. There was one (1) kind, loving and precious soul in particular he was hoping to meet again, and he wondered and hoped that the planet with the many different ocean waters might just offer a way.
CHAPTER 16: Darkness and Burning of the Desert Sands
In a private room in their castle, in the Jenaldej mining town located in the Citrine Desert of western Volaraden, Baron Ottokar and Elsa looked out of a high window and saw the darkness in the skies.
“The skies are darker now. Almost certainly, that means that he’s found more of the luminaries and lit them. With each new one that is lit, the darkness will spread and intensify,” Baron Ottokar said.
“How many are there? How much darker can it become?” Elsa asked, frightened, but needing to know.
“The number is a secret, as is the identity of the others who hide the luminaries. Yet, somehow, the man named Pandaros continues to find them and light them,” Baron Ottokar said.
“Would he have killed those who hide the luminaries?” Elsa asked.
“Very likely, or he deceived them, which he is apt to do. It is also possible – though I would hope it weren’t so – that the protectors of the luminaries would have betrayed the cause for monetary gain, as Pandaros is clearly willing and able to pay for them,” Baron Ottokar said.
“You provided a false one to him before, did you not?” Elsa asked.
“Indeed. And I have more false luminaries to mislead men like Pandaros who have only the worst intentions,” Baron Ottokar said.
“What are his intentions? How would he benefit from the darkness?” Elsa asked.
“In the darkness, he will be able to steal what he desires, and collect confidential knowledge without hindrance,” Baron Ottokar said.
“He will need a true light to see in the darkness. By this, he will be seen,” Elsa said.
“Yes, but he will more easily hide, and the darkness brings cold, which can kill,” Baron Ottokar said.
“Is killing his motive? Or only knowledge?” Elsa asked.
“I believe he seeks knowledge of all power as his ultimate goal, and kills as a means to acquire it,” Baron Ottokar said.
“Will he return here, knowing that you have a luminary?” Elsa asked.
“Quite likely. That is why I intend to send the true luminary away, along with the false ones,” Baron Ottokar said.
“To whom will you give the true one,” Elsa asked??”
“I do not intend to find out. Rather, I will mix in the true with the false, and give them out by drawing cards, naming my most trusted guards. Each will be told he has something of value to protect with his life. Even if he defends a false luminary, it will be a distraction for those who, like Pandaros, wish to find and light them and spread the darkness for their own selfish purposes,” Baron Ottokar said.
“If he cannot find the luminary when he returns, what will he do?” Elsa asked.
“He will face the military again, and leave, most likely,” Baron Ottokar said.
“Is there a way to stop him altogether?” Elsa asked.
“Now that I know that it is him, perhaps. But he will have considerable powers at his disposal – all of these seekers do – and he will have the purest of waters to energize him. The military is large enough to become a deterrent, but it is not certain that they could capture him or kill him. When he first arrived, I was hesitant to use lethal force, thinking that deception would have given us more time. It seems that I was overly optimistic,” Baron Ottokar said.
“Perhaps we should leave. If he returns, he may want to kill you, if he is as vile a man as you suggest. If you send the luminaries – both false and true – away now, then we have no reason to stay. I don’t want to lose you – you are part of me, and I love you always, and want to be with you, even if we have to live in hiding, away from a position of power. I want us to be together,” Elsa said.
Baron Ottokar thought about this and considered that it might be best if he left the mining town to another capable person, but he struggled to think of an adequate replacement. It would have the advantage of complicating Pandaros’ search, however, so he decided that it was agreeable.
“My dear Elsa, I do agree with your plan: we will leave together. In preparation, I will take these luminaries – both the four (4) false and the one (1) true – and secure them in locked boxes. To each box there will be given a number, and the number will be written on a card. The cards will be shuffled, and I will not look at them, but give them each to one (1) of my most trusted guard captains to take the corresponding locked box and leave at once to a different place in the world, and never meet with us – or each other – again,” Baron Ottokar said.
At this, Baron Ottokar placed the true luminary and the four (4) false luminaries in identical boxes and locked them. Then, he placed the key on top and etched a number on the boxes with a small knife. Ottokar then took a set of playing cards from a drawer under a table and pulled out the cards that had the suit of flames on them. He selected the cards numbered from one (1) to five (5) and shuffled them.
“Come with me, Elsa. We will summon the trusted guard captains to the great hall and hand to them the cards, which are not to be shown to us. They will be sent into this room, one by one, and choose the locked box with the same number etched into it that matches the number on the card. Then, they will take the locked box and hide it in a distant land and defend it. Thereafter, I will choose a remaining guard captain to assume my responsibilities and we will make preparations to leave,” Baron Ottokar said.
~~~
Amalthea and Erikkos traveled east over the Nabavodel Ocean on hired transport, arriving in the continent of
Volaraden after two (2) days at sea. The darkness slowed them down – the trip should have been half that or less – because the crew had to make extra efforts to navigate under the darkness of the twilight skies without the guidance of the stars.
The western portion of the continent was the Citrine Desert, and they made their way inland by renting a small sandship for personal use. The sandship was an airship that was built with carefully chosen woods and metals so as to withstand the increased heat of the desert and to resist the erosion caused by the blowing of the sand.
After one (1) day of travel into the desert – which was also slowed by the darkness and navigational difficulties – they approached a small town and were let off onto a stone road to walk the rest of the way.
“There is a town, Erikkos. Yet, how will we find the luminary quickly? The baron would certainly expect Pandaros – or someone – to return for it, so he will have hidden it,” Amaltheia asked.
“He will have done more than hide it – the baron has command of a large military force, and they will defend it. That may be the first – and greatest – concern,” Erikkos said.
“Are we to fight for it? Pandaros didn’t give us an army. He didn’t give us much…and I don’t trust him,” Amaltheia said.
“Nor should you trust him. Yet, he needn’t give us an army. I have all that we need: we are here, and I have this,” Erikkos said, holding up his water vial.
At this, Erikkos drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial and he was energized. He searched for words and they came to him, and those words expressed his purpose. He began singing Through the Deepest Darkness while marching toward the town:
Through the deepest darkness,
Is the path that leads to greatest light.
It illuminates the hidden truths,
When nothing else can shine as bright.
Through the hottest fire,
We will suffer to find what we now seek.
