by Zara Zenia
I looked up from the sheet of paper in front of me and saw a sea of happy faces. People always liked to be complimented and I was off to a good start. I gave them all a polite smile.
“As many of you know… There was a war recently, a terrible war in which many brave Ura-Than soldiers perished. May we think about them now in this moment of contemplation.”
Everyone bowed their heads and looked solemnly to the ground.
“As you also know, the war was ignited after the brutal kidnapping of my wife and child after members of my palace were savagely executed. Some of you, I have heard, were not willing to accept that I wanted to fight for my family. Some of you, it has come to my attention, could not fathom why I would want to save the life of a human and my half-breed son. This attitude about my own family has destroyed some of the faith I had in members of my court.”
I paused for dramatic effect and a little wave of gasps moved through the auditorium.
“You know who you are! At one point I was so angry with your derogatory comments and lack of respect that I was ready to fight you all one by one but now I have changed my mind. Samantha…”
I touched the small of her back and she looked up to me with a beaming smile.
“My lovely wife here, in all her wisdom, shared with me a phrase from her native land. The pen is mightier than the sword… I will give you a moment to take that in.”
I paused again, took a deep breath and looked down into the camera then resumed my speech.
“I think you will all agree that it is a poignant and succinct saying that gathers more meaning each time you hear it. My only regret is that I didn’t hear it sooner. With this in mind, my will is to cast aside any inclination for violence and to scribe a new law with the proverbial pen. That law is as follows: The abuse, physical or verbal, inflicted upon any species other than the Ura-Than will be now deemed illegal.”
The crowd erupted.
“Quiet!”
The slam of the gavel.
“It is time for a great change, and ideas considering other species and races, especially human, as being less than us are outdated at best. This is a great time for the Ura-Than, a time for us to prosper and I truly believe that if we allow the full integration of other species into our culture then we can thrive! Take the saying that I learned from my dear Samantha. Would I have gained such an insight without her? With greater integration comes greater knowledge. May we remember that. Thank you.”
The sun was high in the sky and the streets were crowded. Little Urie toddled in front of Samantha and I as we shared an afternoon together.
“I am so pleased we’re not at war anymore,” she said as she tangled her fingers into mine.
“Me too.”
“It means we can have so much time together. Also, I’m not scared that we’re all going to die,” she laughed.
“That’s my favorite part too.”
She reached up on tiptoes and kissed my cheek. Then she pulled away and stood still.
“What’s wrong?” I squeezed her hand.
“Over there,” she pointed. “You don’t remember what it was?”
“It used to be the stage where we had slave auctions,” I said, now feeling terribly guilty that such a phenomenon once existed.
The spot where I first laid eyes on Samantha was now nothing more than a local shop, innocent and beautiful. A string of children were queued up outside with smiles spread across their chubby cheeks.
“I have to say, I think it looks a lot better now,” I said.
“That wouldn’t be hard,” she rolled her eyes.
I picked up Urie Junior and held him in my arms. I had the strongest feeling of happiness wash over me. I was happy that he would never have to witness a slave auction in his life, happy that he was going to grow up in a new era where people had compassion and tolerance for one another.
“Aww, he’s smiling,” Samantha laughed and dabbed at his face with a cloth.
“I love you,” I blurted out suddenly.
“I love you too. Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know. I just wanted to tell you.”
She wrapped her arms around both of us and we stood bunched up together beneath the warm rays of the sun. The perfect family.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get him back home. He’ll be needing to take a nap soon.”
“Good idea. Let’s get you home, my prince!”
As we approached the palace walls, Samantha placed a hand on my back and asked:
“Hey… what ever happened to that woman?”
“What woman?”
“The one that brought me here in the first place, you know, the slave master.”
“Reli?” I laughed. “Oh… she’s doing just fine now.”
“But where is she? Now that slavery has been abolished, I couldn’t imagine her suddenly getting a normal job and committing herself to an ordinary life.”
“She has a job now… in intelligence.”
“Intelligence?”
I nodded.
“Yep. She was an odd lady, an exceptionally smart and resourceful, odd lady,” I laughed. “I heard she gets to travel a lot these days.”
Samantha frowned.
“Is she a spy?”
“Maybe,” I gave her a wry smile.
Samantha opened her mouth but before she could talk, Urie began to cry.
“Oh no, it’s ok. Mommy’s got you.”
She scooped him up and began planting kisses all over his face as she bounced him up and down. He immediately became silent and began to fall asleep in her arms. It was then that I heard the sound of feet slapping on the ground. I looked up and saw Oban trying his best to run toward us.
“Sir!”
“What is it, Oban?”
“We have a problem.”
“Well spit it out!”
“This was found within the palace walls.”
He pulled out a little stick of rolled up paper.
“Someone has been smoking marrow dust in the palace! Isn’t that despicable? What would you like me to do with this?”
I took it from between his bony fingers and tucked it behind my ear.
“I was wondering where that went.”
Oban looked aghast.
“What’s marrow dust?” Samantha asked innocently.
“Never mind,” I laughed. “It’s just part of another law we need to work on.”
I kissed the top of her head and we headed inside.
Thank You
Zara Zenia writes steamy, sexy, and suspenseful sci-fi romances! You will find her writing alien romances from intergalactic planets, bionic romances, superheroes and time travel romances too.
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Also by Zara Zenia
Warriors of Orba Series:
Benzen: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Book 1)
Book 2-Coming Soon!
Bionic Outlaw’s Baby: A Secret Baby Sci-Fi Romance
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Preview
Excerpt:
Benzen: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance
I think it’s all working out with our escape plan, everything going as it should. I think so right up until the very last minute, when the engine fails. It comes as a violent shudder, the sound of metal crunching and stuttering, coughing like a dying old man before giving out completely. The next thing I feel is the terror inside my gut as we hit a spe
ed I scarcely thought possible.
We’re tumbling, flying, falling fast down to the nearest planet. I see it come closer, a glowing blue orb the color of lightning bolts and vegetation. For a moment, as we plummet down at breakneck speed, I wonder what the puffy, white substance is that caresses the atmosphere of the world we’re about to land on. I ponder it until we’re right in the middle of its softness and realize they’re clouds. They moisten the sides of the ship as we stab through them, a ball of mechanical fire falling to disintegration.
The ground comes up fast, then faster, then faster still until I hold my breath, certain that we will crumble upon impact. Glancing around at my crew, I see them more terrified than I am. Victorinth, her eyes are ablaze in fear, her gaze following mine out the window as the ship falls sideways. She’s holding onto her seat, gripping it as though it’s the last connection she has to her life before it became a disaster, before we felt the fear of falling.
Our eyes meet over the chaos, panic surging between us like a tangible energy. Horror is etched into Victorinth’s face, and I see her lips twitch as she tries to tell me something, but I don’t hear a word. All that enters my ears are the rapid sounds of the craft cracking up around me and the rush of air as it escapes through the gaps in the falling wreckage. It hits my face, cold and caustic, the force almost burning my skin.
The last thing I see before we crash is a large building on the edge of a city. If I knew of its importance to the crew, I would have feared nothing, but in that moment, I’m stricken with an intense fear, one that grows the closer we get.
It’s right before my eyes, the ground black with symmetrical white stripes, and it’s coming up fast. I resign myself to fate, it will swallow me up and I will live no more. There’s a crunch, Victorinth screams, and the crew falls into a mass of tangled-up terror as the ship splinters at the edges.
Before the blackness arrives, I look up and see the large building beside us. There’s a sign on the wall in an alphabet I’m not familiar with.
RICHMOND CITY MALL
I squint in an attempt to decipher the symbols, but as I strain my eyes, shock takes over my body. Then, nothing but darkness.
***
My eyes are stinging, blistering with the pain of unseen molecules. It would seem where we’ve landed has something in the air we’re not used to. It takes a few breaths to adjust to the light. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. The sky is dark like the blackest onyx, but every now and again, items are illuminated, like buildings or vehicles of sorts. As I glance out the window, I can see there are various other crafts. Some are larger than others and in different colors, but they are mostly of similar length, or at least much smaller than our craft.
“What are you looking for?” One of my team shouts from behind me.
“I don’t know yet,” I answer. “I’m still figuring things out.”
I see something move, another being. They’re tall, slender, ethereal, and calm as they walk across the space in front of me. I see them enter one of the vehicles, then watch as it disappears around a bend.
“What was that? I hear something.”
I can hear the team behind me spruce themselves up and get back on their feet.
“Is anyone hurt?” I turn around to check everyone.
They all look themselves over before shaking their heads.
“I’m scared,” says the youngest, Victorinth.
“Me too,” I admit. “But we’ll be fine if we stick together.”
We all nod at one another to show we’re in agreement.
“But what was that?” asked Victorinth again. “What was that noise?”
She rushes to the window and looks out. Seeing nothing, she turns back around.
“It was a craft,” I explain.
“Like this one?” She runs to her brother, Jarick, and clings onto him.
“No. It looks nothing like this one. It was smaller, much smaller, and did not leave the ground,” I explain.
“It didn’t leave the ground?” Jarick asks, bewildered. “How strange.”
I can see him churn the idea around in his mind, the cogs of his brain whirring as he tries to figure it out.
“Then how did it move?” he finally asks.
“With wheels on the ground.”
“Like… What the primitives used back in the olden years?” He’s aghast.
“Yes, something like that.” I look solemnly to the ground. “But never mind that. We have to formulate a plan for ourselves.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Ethazol says, stepping forward. “We can’t stay here forever, we’re a sitting target.”
“Always the sensible one,” I smile at him.
Walking back over to the window, I look out once more for signs of danger. Every now and again, the beings pass by, but they don’t so much as look over at us. It confuses me.
“I don’t think anyone can see us. Not the craft, anyway. It appears the body work done before takeoff works here too.”
“You mean the diversion worked?” Jarick asks.
“Yeah,” I keep my sight outside the craft. “We’re safe for now, I hope.”
I’m so busy being lost in my thoughts that I don’t notice the human getting closer and closer until it’s too late. It’s striding purposely right to us, as though it doesn’t know we’re here. He’s walking briskly, so briskly in fact that it's only a few breaths until he’s right at the window.
“Look!” I shout at the crew.
They all huddle around the window and gasp as they see him approach, closer and closer until…
“Argh!”
We hear him yell. He’s walked right into our craft, his face crumpling against the metal fragments of our broken ship. He pulls away hurt. There’s a red substance coming out the center of his face. It trickles down into his mouth and covers his teeth.
We all remain silent as we try to figure out what has happened. The human looks to be in a state of shock. He tries to walk again but once again he hits the window.
“What the hell?” We hear him say.
He takes a couple steps to the side and tries to walk again. Yet, just like before, he walks into the craft. He takes another couple steps to the side and repeats and still, he can’t get anywhere. I watch as a look comes over his face. It’s a look of terror, one that shows his ideas of reality tearing at the seams.
“I almost feel as though I want to go out there and help him,” I say as I see him fail over and over again to get to where he’s going.
“You’ll do no such thing.” Ethazol claps a hand to my shoulder. “We are in enough trouble,” he explains. “No use in complicating things.”
Yet we watch enraptured for a long while as the man attempts to get around the ship. At one point, we watch him stop for a little while. He looks exhausted and just stands still, looking down at his body. It’s then that he places a hand on his gut and then examines his fingers.
“Oh my god…” We can hear him muttering through the walls. “What is this?”
As we look at his hands, we see there is a peculiar green substance attached to his fingers. It seems as though his body has come into contact with our jet fuel, and we can only hope that he remains safe with the chemical on his body.
“Don’t go out there, Benzen.” Jarick turns to me. “I know what you’re like. You want to help everyone, but right now you have to focus on just helping us get out of this ship and somewhere safe.”
I nod.
“Very well. It appears you know me too well.”
We’re all silent for a moment as we contemplate what we have to do.
“What were those things on his body?” Victorinth blurts out eventually.
“I’m not sure,” I answer.
“It looked like some sort of body armor, but not for combat,” she says as she bites on her lower lip in deep thought.
“Yeah you’re right,” I agree. “That is what it looked like. I saw the others out there wearing them too.”
&nbs
p; “Well then, we’ll have to get them,” Ethazol commands. “Or we’ll be noticed.”
We Orbas wore very light attire, usually a large piece of cloth across our bodies. Unless, of course, we are in battle.
We all stand around looking at one another, trying to figure out how to get these items onto our bodies.
“I have an idea,” I say, glancing out the window and seeing the man still out there, examining the jet fuel on his body. “I need to concentrate, but I think there’s a chance I can do it.”
“What are you talking about, Benzen?” Jarick laughs. “You and your ridiculous ideas,” he shakes his head.
“Me and my ridiculous ideas might help us stay alive,” I explain to him without anger in my voice. “So just bear with me.”
As young Orbans, many of us are trained from an early age to partake in activities that suit our minds and bodies the best. Ethazol’s particular talent, for instance, was being authoritative and intellectual. That is why he was taught from a young age to have engaging leadership skills and a clear thinking mind that could deal with problems in front of him. However, his talent does not extend to thinking outside of usual situations, and so he is only performing at his best in already learned scenarios.
I, on the other hand, inherited my talent. It came from my mother, a being so vastly special that she could create any talent she pleased. Yet she only chose ones that could be good for the planet, ones that would benefit others before herself.
When I came into being, she chose a talent for me that she said suited my personality. She waited until I was old enough to form opinions and congruent thoughts before she sat me down and asked:
“Benzen… What do you want to do when you are older?”
I thought for a second, looking into her opal eyes before I answered:
“I want to be able to move anything anywhere, but with my mind.”
I remember watching her sit back in thought for a moment before she raised her hands and declared:
“Very well,” she held me. “I will give you the ability to have a mind that transcends the body.”
