Moments later, they slipped through the shields as it opened and closed behind them. He took one ride around Earth II to show Syra her beloved Zhian Sphere now called Zhian Sphere Space Station, and this thrilled her to no end!
This was Syra’s very first long flight at the new speeds and she was excited about that. She could not travel back to Earth for fear of retaliation, but this trip, she would be in Zhian space once again.
Syra’s quarters had all the comforts of home, and she would be able to send messages to James if she wanted to. But he had made her promise not to. He did not feel comfortable with that idea since it was a secret mission. Plus, no one aboard the Ark Royal wanted to take any chances.
Each day Syra worked at the helm with Zee, and time was passing quicker than most thought it would. There was just so much to do every day, and each shift performed their duties and the next one took over.
Then just after a month in flight, a new message came in from the planet Orzion 3 and was marked urgent.
The captain called Syra and together they listened to the message.
This is Izan, leader of Orzion 3, this message is for Captain Zee. Please respond, we are a desperate people with many medical needs, food, and anything thing else you can provide for us. We are awaiting your landing. We hope to see you soon.
Zee sent out the message that they were approaching Orzion 3’s space and would be landing momentarily. Izan had the rescue plan and was well organized.
The Ark Royal circled the planet and scanned the area and it was all clear. This was an operation that would need to be swift.
Once the Ark Royal landed, Ellead quickly disembarked from the cargo bay, and flew to where the crowd waited and when he was filled with no room to spare, flew them to the deck of the Ark Royal for boarding.
Ohtron and his bitrons began carrying large crates of supplies and placing them in the port and starboard side of the Ark Royal’s smaller cargo bay storage areas. This would also continue, and they would work as fast as possible.
With each trip Ellead made, the Zhianites were great in understanding the urgency to board swiftly, quietly and in an orderly fashion.
The main cargo bay was now opened at the stern and the Zhianites began moving heavy equipment, transport vehicles, and supplies and together with Ohtron they were done, and it took less time than many had predicted.
With a few more trips of passengers, everyone was on board. The captain welcomed them aboard and Syra made the announced to everyone to please be seated, they would be lifting off shortly.
The captain knew his ship was fully loaded. There was no room to spare anywhere, but at least this evening once in flight, Syra’s people would be able to have a hot meal once again. Hot meals were something they could only have one a day, and on some days, no food at all on Orzion 3.
Zee was proud of his crew as they worked tirelessly escorting the passengers on the ship and explaining where all the facilities were on each level of the ship, and where they would live for the next month as they traveled to Earth II.
Many were bunking in halls and any place they could so they would be able to settle down quickly for liftoff. With the countdown, the ship lifted and Syra told her people to watch the visuals which are found throughout the ship.
The planet was scanned and all those still living were on board, and there were no supplies left behind. He gave them visuals of their old home that had been theirs for the past 70 or so years before shooting out into deep space. None wanted to look back.
Once they were out of Orzion 3 space, Syra came on the visuals to talk to her people. A long-awaited welcome was given, and you could hear her people cheer throughout the Ark Royal. She felt deep in her heart for her people and was proud to be a part of their rescue.
Each level of the ship had a medical unit, kitchen and seating area for eating, a recreational area and living quarters. The crew on each level worked around the clock to keep everyone settled, well fed and happy.
Everyone now knew exactly where the medical area was, and those that needed help had already been taken there before liftoff.
The children had a play area and the adults had a bar and snack area which most hung out at every opportunity. But even the Zhianites on Orzion 3 were lucky to have one child per couple.
This, of course, was for the best since the planet was small and many of the first settlers had died or were incredibly old now. At best, they may have lasted another 50 years but from the looks of things, it was doubtful.
Each day many would line up to get medical help and some were kept on bed rest from weakness and general failing health.
Every evening, the captain made sure there was always dancing and music which kept everyone’s morale up, and the trip seemed much faster than anyone expected.
Within a month, the passengers had already started looking better.
Syra would speak with them every evening either by the visuals on each level, or a surprise visit just to build excitement and her people was happier than she could ever remember them being back on the planet Zhian.
By the time they reached Earth II’s space, the entire crew and passengers began to cheer, and you could hear it throughout the ship as the Ark Royal approached Earth II’s space.
Zee called into the Central Command Center, where Crawford was waiting. James was present and so was Syra’s entire family.
When the visuals came on, the captain had them continue to show each level of the ship and all the happy faces aboard his Ark Royal.
They would be landing at the new location, the Southern Paradise, in just a few moments. The captain then flew his ship above the new location to show those rescued their new home from above. They could see the temporary camp and they were anxious to land and get started settling in right away.
James and his family boarded the Sheevah and flew to the Southern Paradise location to meet with Syra. They found a nice clearing which would be out of everyone’s way and near the beach before they met with Syra.
Syra received special transport from the ship to meet up with her family and was the first person to disembark.
Syra made sure she met with her family first thing, and when they did, the entire family could not stop embracing each other.
She wanted to stay at the Southern Paradise until she could see that everyone was well and settling in. That was exactly what her family was hoping for, and Syra’s children brought their spouses and children and grandchildren along for a vacation.
They would all enjoy the beach at the Southern Paradise, which had beautiful white sands and crystal-clear waters. The tropical plants were so beautiful that when the passengers disembarked, they were left breathless.
The ship Sheevah was well equipped to handle the family and it was full of supplies and fun things to do.
James, Zack, and Zoey watched as Syra played beach games with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she was truly winning without a doubt and none could keep up with her.
The Sheevah was holding 27 passengers who would live inside and vacation for at least a month. Never in all the time the Sheevah had been built did she carry such a large family.
But accommodations were there, and that ship was as busy as any beach hotel back on Earth, James thought.
Every evening, many of the young ones slept outside and under the stars. They had brought along temporary beach shelters and that at least quieted things down a bit so the adults could get a little sleep from their long days.
Each day, Syra was up early, and when she got up, everybody got up!
The first meal of the day was always out front, and the food was spread out on three long benches. Syra’s grandchildren now had babies of their own and that kept them busy most days just keeping after the ones still crawling and even those learning to walk.
Syra spent as much time with them as she could, but she also had a duty to her people now settling in on the Southern Paradise.
Syra called a meeting and all agreed that
Izan would continue as their leader on Earth II and he quickly began stating ideas on how best to proceed with the Southern Paradise settlement.
Each day, they built their new settlement from the tropical nature of the area. The plants were very similar to Earth’s and James enjoyed sharing ideas the new settlers loved.
James enjoyed helping them design the welcome center area where folks from the city and the mountains would be able to visit and warm their bones, go swimming and have absolutely nothing to do but relax.
Every day, huts were popping up with bars, food shacks, and even personal supplies one would need while on vacation.
Since bartering was a favorite thing on Earth II, some trading would be a lot of fun and certainly would make everyone happy, James thought.
The fruits in the area would make great tropical drinks and James suggested if they had anyone who knew how to create tasty drinks, the bar would be a favorite place to hang out. That is when Izan asked James to show him a few drinks he had in mind and they would see what they could do.
But once James started making the drinks, they started begging him to stay at the Southern Paradise and bartend for them until someone could be trained.
Syra saw that James was so enjoying what he was doing, and since the southern weather was always good for him and warmed his sometimes-aching bones, they agreed that day they would settle down at the new settlement.
When the vacation time was up, Syra’s family was flown back to their homes and Sheevah would land at the Chadwell Lawson Retreat and Cynthia and Bart made sure all Syra’s and James’ personal things were packed into Sheevah, and they were moved to the new location within a couple of days.
Syra had found her home at last! Sunshine, warmth and beach fun every day with people she knew that would be vacationing there as well as the new settlers.
James loved it for everything the place stood for and together, they would live out their lives in Southern Paradise!
Zach went on to run the Central Command Center and in only a few years, an election was held for the first president of Earth II.
Jeremiah Cole, the grandson of Randall Cole, was the biggest contender.
He only had a few contenders, who backed out of the election when they saw Jeremiah’s popularity!
Zach retired from the Central Command Center and he and Celeste moved to the Southern Paradise location. His children and grandchildren preferred the city life, but they visited the Southern Paradise to be with their parents and to just get away from all responsibilities when they could.
Zoey and Preston stayed at the observatory as it was where their hearts were. But they would vacation as often as time would allow her to see her parents.
James and Syra built a private home on the secluded beach not far from the Southern Paradise, and that was where they would live out their lives.
Every evening, Syra would look to the stars to see if she could see her Zhian Sphere and James would always have to remind her, it was the brightest large star in the night sky. It was Earth II’s space station. It would take some time for her to get used to that.
The Crawford military base continued its operations protecting Earth II.
Zee ordered the wormhole reopened to Earth and would be visiting Earth once again to pick up people who had been cleared to relocate to Earth II.
The United States was now a super-power once again and stronger than it ever was in the past. With the new White House reopened, monuments repaired, it was time to deliver the old documents once housed in the government’s archives.
They had been in safe-keeping in the museum on Earth II, but they rightly belonged on Earth. The captain headed a special mission to return these documents and to meet with the new president of the US.
With Zee would be the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and Amendments which had already been updated. They held at least 15 original documents and speeches which would soon be returned.
The Three Settlements of Freedom were eventually returned to the National Parks they once were, and the land was as pristine as it was before they became settlements and temporary government offices.
They were the only truly preserved parks the U.S. had since the war days. It would be many more years of rebuilding for America, but they had most of the nations around the world backing them.
Earth and Earth II would finally become the sister planets they were meant to be thanks to Syra, who never gave up hope!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
She was born in southeastern Kentucky to parents both born and raised in Leslie County. She enjoys genealogy research and her family ancestors’ history involves Kentucky and Virginia.
Once retired, she began traveling the countryside in her recreational vehicle, spending much of her time writing, hiking, and photographing nature. Inspired by everything around her, there will always be another story and another book!
She had always had a passion for science fiction writing as well as many other genres.
Visit her website at http://carolyndavidsonhicks.com
terminology
SYRA: MAIN CHARACTER
ZEE10: LEADER OF ALL BOTS
THE PLANET: ZHIAN
RACE: ZHIANITES, GENETICALLY ENHANCED BEINGS
SYRA’S FATHER: ARTEEMUS
SYRA’S MOTHER: ALLIEAH
THE COUNCIL OF 12: PLANET LEADERS MOSTLY Led by ZERK
ZHIAN SHROUD: A CLOAKING DEVICE
REPLICATOR: REPLICATES INANIMATE OBJECTS
RESTORE POD: TO FIX OR REPAIR BEINGS
A SECOND SKIN: PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
CLEANSER: TO REMOVE SOIL OR BATHE
ONE INTERVAL: ONE DAY
FULL MOON CYCLE: 45 INTERVALS
ONE PASS: ONE YEAR
THE ZHIANCOM: COMMUNICATION THROUGH ALL PORTS
HOLOCOM UNIT: HOLLOWGRAM TYPE OF COMMUNICATION
HOLOCOM CHAMBER: DIRECT INTERACTION WITHIN A HOLOGRAM ENVIRONMENT
SECOND VISION: ENHANCED VISION
SLEEPER/SLEEPER UNIT: TEMPORARY REST OF SUSPENDED ANIMATION
NUTRITIONAL-CHARGE: TO EAT OR CONSUME NUTRIENTS
WORKER BOT: ROBOTS DESIGN TO DO ALL LABOR
MEDICAL BOT TREXIEN: ROBOT DESIGNED TO PERFORM ALL MEDICAL NEEDS FOR THE ZHIANS
BOTANIST BOT: CORIYAN
SERVICE BOT: ROBOTS DESIGNED TO SERVICE THE NEEDS OF THE ZHIANS
SECURITY BOT: ROBOTS DESIGNED TO PERFORM SECURITY DETAIL FOR ZHIAN
AMA or ADVANCED MEDICAL ANDROID: NAME TROXIEN
BLUE CRYSTAL: INFINITE POWER SOURCE FOR TRANSPORTATION
RED CRYSTAL: WEAPONS POWER SOURCE
OPAQUE CRYSTAL: FORCEFIELD OR CLOAKING POWER SOURCE
GREEN CRYSTAL: PROVIDES POWER SOURCE TO EVERYTHING ELSE
POD: TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES
THE ZHIAN SPHERE: SYRA’S VESSEL
BOTCAM: SIMILAR TO DRONES BUT ARE WEAPONIZED
ZHIAN TOWERS: DWELLINGS SHAPED LIKE ROCKETS THAT ALLOW DOCKING BY ZPODS AND DWELLINGS. SUSPENDED ABOVE THE SURFACE
BEAST: SYRA’S BEAST SHE RODE IN THE HOLOCOM CHAMBER
EARLY ZHIAN: A TIME ON THE PLANET BEFORE IT SHOWED SIGNS IT WOULD ONE DAY BECOME INHABITABLE.
OHTRON: FIRST BOTCAM TO VISIT PLANET EARTH
COM SCREEN: SYRA’S COM SCREEN FOR OUTSIDE VISUALS, AND TEXT WITHIN THE VESSEL
BITRONS: MINIATURE BOTS FROM OHTRONS UNDERSIDE.
IMAGE IDENTIFIER: IDENTIFIES AND OBJECT DISCOVERED
EMERGENCY TRANSPORTER POD: AN EMERGENCY TRANSPORT TO either AND ONLY USED WHEN RESOURCES NEEDED CONSERVED.
Zhian Botanist Bot coriyan: Keeper of the seeds of zhian
travel pod: similar to ohtron but can carry passengers
zee-uv: zEE10’S COUNTER-PART
Ellead exploration bot: returns to earth when Its mission is over because zhianites were there.
EMERGENCY SAFETY TRANSPORT WRISTBAND OR EST: A PROTECTIVE SHIELD PROJECTED FROM THE WRISTBAND THAT CAN ALSO TRANSPORT THE WEARER.
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br /> SPECIAL transport vehicle: OR STV, linked directly to EST wristband named sheevah, meaning the beautiful.
OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
My Family, A journey through time. A family genealogy and reference book and
My Family, A Journey Through Photographs, a supplement book.
The Civil War, through photographs and documents. Based on actual events and supplies original documents, some very rare
Snow on the Mountain. A fiction trilogy story about one family, the Chamberlains. Book one
Fire on the Mountain. A fiction trilogy story about one family, the Chamberlains. Book two
Storm on the Mountain. A fiction trilogy story about one family, the Chamberlains. Book three
The Mountain Trilogy. Includes the entire series.
The Secrets, and Devil’s Jump. A prequel to The Mountain Trilogy
The Forgotten Feud. In southeastern Kentucky. Book 1 of The Frontier Series
Down Middle Fork, On a Prayer. Book 2 of The Frontier Series
Syra, The Arrival. Book 1 of the Chronicles of Syra.
Syra, Race Against Time, Book 2 of the Chronicles of Syra.
Syra, The Awakening, Book 3
The Chronicles of Syra, Includes all three books
The Chronicles of Syra Omnibus Page 49
