by Ford, Lizzy
“It won’t be necessary.” Mansr was frowning. “The spacecraft carrying nishani went down on the planet.”
For a long moment, A’Ran wasn’t able to breathe. He couldn’t live with the idea of losing one of the women he loved let alone two, but to know his own planet had a hand in their deaths …
It was unbearable. All he had done the past fifteen cycles, every battle he’d fought to keep his family safe and his people alive, was all for nothing if he lost Kiera and Gage. Finally, he drew a breath.
“Then we’re going to the surface,” he said simply. “Get the first two atmospheric cleaners in place and melt down whatever else the Qatwali need to build them here. None of them are going anywhere until nishani is returned.”
D’Ryn gasped.
For once, Mansr didn’t try to remind him it wasn’t smart to keep the ruler of another planet hostage. He nodded and hurried away, issuing commands on his communicator as he left.
“Take Talal and rest,” A’Ran said to his oldest sister. “She does not help us in such a state.”
D’Ryn nodded and moved towards the private wing of their home where the family lived.
“Dhjan.”
A’Ran wasn’t ready for more bad news and glanced at the slender, tall man approaching him. “What is it?” he asked.
“I wish to go to the surface with you.”
A’Ran considered the somewhat skittish miner. They had shared a meal for the first time a week before, when Kiera invited the young man to lunch. Ketnan was smart, a member of the lower class – and the man who had impregnated A’ran’s youngest sister. He hadn’t forgiven the miner for the slight, but he wasn’t about to put someone else Talal cared about at risk, either.
“No,” he said and started into the command room.
“Dhjan, please!” Ketnan followed him. “I know the mines and surface of Anshan better than anyone. I know the cavern system beneath the surface, too, and I want to help my family.”
A’Ran stiffened and clenched his jaw, hating the reminder he was expected to reward the fool who impregnated his sister by giving his blessing for Ketnan to marry into the royal family.
The practical side of him acknowledged Ketnan had a point about going to the surface with a miner.
“It is because you are going to become my family that I refuse my permission,” he said through clenched teeth. “My youngest sister cannot handle losing a sister, nishani, and you.”
“I cannot live with knowing I can help and must stay behind. She would be more proud of me if I died saving her sisters than if I stayed here.”
This is the first thing the fool has ever said that’s sounded Anshani. A’Ran faced Ketnan, whose features were determined. Bravery was a distinctly Anshani trait.
“Very well,” he replied reluctantly. “Report to Mansr.”
Ketnan bowed hastily and darted out of the command center.
A’Ran watched him, not at all convinced this was remotely a smart course of action. For Talal’s sake, he’d keep the boy close.
“Dhjan.”
On the day A’Ran wanted no distractions, he was faced with yet another. “What is it now?” This time, he barked at the man at the other end of the hallway. Small for his age, the bald man lowered his gaze quickly and appeared ready to flee. Anshan recognized the patch on his arm indicating he was one of the medics. “You are here for the mission,” he said, regaining control over his anger.
“Forgive me, dhjan. I did not mean to intrude. I wish to -”
“Come.” A’Ran didn’t bother waiting for the man to finish but finally joined the others in the command center. The others were gathered around the hologram of Anshan being managed by Mansr.
“Dhjan, the spacecraft carrying the nishanis went down here.” Mansr pointed and replayed what the moon’s radars had picked up. The ship disappeared quickly into the storms, but their finely tuned systems were able to track its movement even after it was no longer visible.
A’Ran expertly scanned the images. “We can trace its trajectory after we lose the signal based on speed and angle of descent.” He took over from Mansr and deftly manipulated the computer systems, mixing the live feeds with a simulation used to train pilots. The simulation stripped away the storms to reveal the planets topography. Everyone watched with interest as the craft was projected to have a controlled descent into a deep draw rather than crashing.
“It was not an accident. They meant to come here,” Romas was the first to speak.
“Who meant to come here?” Mansr asked, puzzled. “We have full accountability on every pilot capable of navigating the storms.”
A’Ran studied the area around where the spacecraft appeared to have gone. “The simulation can’t give us the current condition of this area. This mountain may not be there anymore.”
He didn’t say what else was on his mind, that the central palace – home to his family for thousands of cycles – located at the center of the mountain range was possibly gone, too. If so, it was a testament to how badly he’d hurt his own planet and his own family in the name of saving everyone from invaders.
“The mines are,” said the soft voice of Ketnan.
The men turned to look at him, and the young man’s gaze darted from Romas to A’Ran to the floor.
“What are you saying?” Mansr prodded.
“The mines have levels. When we tested them, before the surface was … ah … before the surface …” His face blazed red and he stopped.
“Before I destroyed it,” A’Ran pushed. “It is no secret or shame I destroyed the surface to repel the invaders.”
“No, dhjan, of course there is not,” Ketnan said quickly. “Before the incident, we surveyed the mines.”
“I know this,” A’Ran said impatiently. “I read the reports.”
“What we did not include in the report was the theory that many of the mines had sunk. Over half of them in fact.”
“What does this mean sunk?” Romas asked with a frown. “How does a hole in the ground grow deeper? The Yirkin?”
“No. It was not done by men.”
“Then what did it?”
The planet. A’Ran exchanged a look with Mansr, who appeared pensive. He had been young enough when expelled from Anshan to know the history of the planet without grasping its true nature in the way an adult or true ruler might.
“It’s possible,” Mansr said, answering the question in A’Ran’s head. “We surveyed the mines recently without finding most of them. We assumed they were destroyed. It’s possible they simple became deeper than we knew to look.”
“This is not logical,” Romas said. “How does your planet have a mind of its own?”
“It’s a living being,” Mansr replied.
“The reason isn’t important,” A’Ran returned. “What is important is that the mine where our lifemates were taken may be deep enough to have avoided the fate of the shallower mines.”
“Then we go there now.”
“On this we agree.” A’Ran tossed his head towards the door. “You, medic,” he turned to face the older man lingering nervously near the entrance, “how many are coming with you?”
“Well, no one, dhjan. I did not have any intention of –”
“You’ll do. We only need one medical monitor. Go to the ship. All of you. We have exoskeletons on board already.”
Romas’ party left quickly, as did Ketnan and the confused doctor, until it was just Mansr and A’Ran. Mansr was already adjusting the images before them, aware of what A’Ran was going to ask next.
“Gage,” he said. His chest tightened at the word. Whoever had Kiera hadn’t wanted her dead, or there would be no effort to put her in a mine deep enough to protect her.
But Gage …
“She did not fair so well.” Mansr zoomed in on an area not too far from where Kiera had disappeared.
A’Ran watched her spacecraft tumble into the atmosphere before beginning an ascent too rapid to have been controlled. He wasn’t able to
breathe as he watched her craft fall out of the sky into the plains on the other side of the mountains near which Kiera had gone down. The two ships had reached the planet within moments of one another, both from the direction of the moon. It was a blessing during a time when he had few others to count, for it meant they were close to one another and not spread across the planet.
“What do you wish to do?” Mansr asked.
A’Ran blinked, unable to look away from the possible site of Gage’s crash. He debated for a long moment, torn between going after his sister and lifemate. “I’m going to Gage first,” he said finally. “Find Kiera. Use whatever leverage or bribery you need on Romas. Once I determine …” if Gage is dead. The words stuck in his throat and he cleared it. “Once I determine my sister’s fate, I’ll come to your location.”
“This is wise,” Mansr said. “Gage has no one to go for her.”
The words stung, though A’Ran knew Mansr didn’t plan for them to. In that moment, he realized how right Mansr and Kiera were.
Gage had no one but him right now to protect her, to care for her, to love her, and he had been willing to exile her out of what was nothing more than fear of Ne’Rin’s family. He had blown up his planet, defied the Planetary Council at every turn, even almost destroyed one of the most respected planets in the Five Galaxies.
What did he care if Ne’Rin’s family went to the Planetary Council and petitioned them to return Gage’s child to them, as was customary? How was the opinion of the Planetary Council, and avoiding the family of a traitor, more important than defending his sister?
“You are better equipped to handle the surface than I am,” Mansr added, breaking into A’Ran’s thoughts. “I cannot use the respirators yet.” He patted his chest, a reminder of the injury he sustained during the final battles on Anshan.
“I will go in your place, cousin,” Leyon said. “I will find nishani.”
A’Ran looked at the member of the family who most closely resembled him. Near the same age, Leyon was as trustworthy as his father, a valiant warrior and someone who knew Kiera well enough for A’Ran to entrust him with her safety. “I would have no one else lead this mission,” A’Ran said.
“It is my honor, dhjan,” Leyon said and bowed his head.
“I will take my personal battle cruiser,” A’Ran said and moved away from the hologram.
“Coordinates have been sent to it already,” Mansr said. “Dhjan, may I ask something of you?”
“Quickly.”
“When were you last on Anshan?”
“Several days ago.”
“When were you last on Anshan when the planet might recognize you?” Mansr clarified. “The exoskeletons retain the normal signature our kind gives off. It allows nothing in or out.”
A’Ran paused to think and shook his head. “Not for any length of time since I was exiled. I have flown through its airspace, visited you once in the ground command weeks ago and a second brief encounter in an exoskeleton. What are you thinking?”
“In the history of Anshan, there was never a time when the dhjan and nishani were so long gone from the planet’s surface. We know nishani is connected to the life force. What if you are, in a way we do not understand, as well? What if it takes more than the nishani to heal?”
“You believe both of us must be present.”
“I believe the answer was lost with your parents, in the knowledge passed down from dhjan to dhjan, a chain unbroken for thousands of generations until yours.”
“Such secrets, let alone their existence, cannot be discerned in discussion.”
“No.”
“Then what would you have me do?” A’Ran was unable to prevent the frustration in his tone.
“I do not know. It was a thought only.”
“We do not have time for such thoughts.” A’Ran touched the buttons on the battle station, and the images disappeared. “Be safe.”
“May the suns long grace you, nephew.”
“And you both.” A’Ran spoke the words over his shoulder. He waited until he was in the hallway to break into a run. Despite the urgency racing through his veins, he found himself going over Mansr’s words. He had no doubt a great deal of information was lost when his father was killed before A’Ran came of age. He was not willing to spend time fantasizing over what that might be.
But the idea the planet needed both him and Kiera present struck him hard. What if finding his nishani was the first step? What if there had never needed to be a second step in the past, because Anshan had never been conquered and invaded?
What if he could fix the planet better from the surface than he was able to orbiting it on the moon?
A’Ran ignored everyone whose path he crossed as he hurried towards the gaping canyon acting as a space port for the massive gray ships anchored in the open space of the canyon. He flung the plate-sized personal transport device onto the ground and leapt onto it, using his body weight to launch it from the edge of the canyon and steer it towards the tiny spacecraft dwarfed many times over by the hulking ships.
His state of the art, personal ship was worth five of the huge ones, built solely from the highest grade metal Anshan produced. He placed his hand on the hidden pad outside the door and entered, stopping to retrieve his personal transporter before closing the doors behind him.
His thoughts weren’t on flying or Gage but on the image in his head, the one first drawn by Kiera soon after they met. She’d used her strange Earth tools to draw a picture of the two of them walking together hand in hand on Anshan’s surface. He settled into the cockpit and pulled the drawing free.
It had cored him the first time he saw it, the dream of an exiled prince finally within reach. This time when he unfolded the delicate paper, he had the same strong reaction, except it was laced with fear instead of hope.
There was no way to know what happened to anyone who went to the surface now let alone dare to hope the image on the paper before him was possible. After studying it for a moment, he tucked it away.
“Dhjan, you are cleared to proceed,” said the local battle commander.
A’Ran sparked the engines and shot off into the atmosphere around the moon. His focus was straight ahead, on Anshan, his mind playing Mansr’s comments over and over. He was missing something; he felt it.
His attention soon turned to the rapidly approaching planet, and he shifted the ship towards the coordinates Mansr had loaded into the navigation components. The history of Anshan wasn’t going to matter if he was reckless trying to get to the surface of the planet.
A’Ran plunged into the storms and relied upon the navigation system to guide his approach. Gusts of wind tossed the small ship while dust and small rocks pelted its side. He continued, concentrating hard on his destination and not imagining what he was about to find there.
An alarm went off in the navigation system, and he snapped to the right to avoid a massive chunk of … something headed towards him. It didn’t read as metal or a ship on stealth ode, which meant it was likely a chunk of the planet’s surface caught in the hurricane winds. With gravity, the winds and debris in the air, more effort was required to steer the craft than navigating an asteroid field in space.
He avoided the incoming rock with relative ease, a second one twice as large, and smashed into the third originating from the opposite direction. A’Ran’s craft began to spiral downwards into the storms. Another boulder, followed by three more, pelted the craft, throwing him off course and tumbling out of the sky towards the planet below.
He issued an emergency call before employing every last one of the measures meant to keep him from exploding into thousands of pieces when he hit the surface. One by one, each measure failed, and he was left with a grim choice: eject without an exoskeleton or face the full impact of a crash.
A’Ran’s decision was quick. He was going to die both ways, but he had a little better chance of surviving if he remained in one piece.
Stretching back, he engaged the craft’s beacon and s
mashed his elbow into the emergency release. The top half of his ship flew off, and sand pelted him hard. He closed his eyes, drew a breath, and jumped out of the spacecraft.
The gray metal was swallowed by red storms. The emergency escape apparatus around his upper body flared to life, slowing his fall. He righted himself in the air and changed his course to land closer to Gage’s crash site.
A shadow loomed out of the storm. A’Ran struggled to redirect the equipment, avoiding the boulder lazily whirling through the air by a hair’s width. A down draft snagged him and yanked him towards the ground faster.
He plunged towards the planet’s surface at a speed he knew to be dangerous, if not deadly.
Chapter Seven
“There’s nothing here,” Turi said, frustrated. He planted his hands on his hips and stared at a wall.
Kiera nodded, exhausted after the hours they spent exploring the underground network of corridors and chambers. It appeared to have been some kind of dwelling at one point, perhaps a larger version of the lunar home where A’Ran’s family lived. However, the chambers were completely empty without any indication of when or who had lived there.
“I need a break,” she said and sank down with her back against one wall. The energy of Anshan was fainter here than anywhere else. It had gone from a tingle to an inconsistent spark.
The stale, heavy and still air was worse than in the cavern. It reminded her of a hot, muggy day in her home of Monterey. Sweat trickled down her neck, back and legs, and she’d braided her long hair to keep its weight from annoying her.
“We spotted no other entrance or exit, no windows, nothing,” Turi stated.
Kiera was feeling too lightheaded to listen. She was thirsty, hungry and guessed it was past her normal bedtime. Combined with the stress of being kidnapped and trapped underground, she wasn’t feeling up to much of anything. No grass grew here in the stone chambers, though the lights went on in whatever room she stepped into. She rested her head back against the wall and closed her eyes for a brief moment of rest. Anshan had appeared to her in dreams recently, but the images were generally blurry and disjointed. She sought to recall something of the dreams as she sat.
