Star Guild Episodes 10 - 18 (Star Guild Saga)

by Brandon Ellis

“Let's go,” said Nyx, not waiting for a response.

  Eden followed Nyx down a hall that led to Swift's giant midsection. A dozen landings claimed each side of the enormous area. Each landing had a row of hundreds of small domed abodes, with foliage surrounding each one. And here, just like on the bridge, the ceiling glowed with a soft light that gently pulsed like a heartbeat.

  “You have bottom row, first dome,” pointed Nyx.

  Palm trees encircled Eden's dome, and she could see a small fruit and a vegetable garden. This would be her little home inside of Swift. Nyx gestured for Eden to enter, and Eden was surprised how much larger the dome was inside than it appeared from the outside. Nyx then continued on to her quarters, which happened to be in the dome next to Eden’s.

  Eden ambled around her abode taking it all in, running her fingers over the crystal counter top with her fingers, feeling the slight ridges on the otherwise smooth surface. Fatigue suddenly overcame her and she toppled into bed, delighted to discover that it seemed to fit her body perfectly.

  Closing her eyes was effortless and she wondered if the water had some magic potion in it. Where just moments ago she was energized, sleep came easily now. Her last waking thought was that a Knights Templar must have had a hand in that potion mix.

  Episode 17

  Gaia

  Chase never knew the sky could be so big. It was blue and wide, and random cotton ball clouds drifting across the horizon. The moons, which might as well be called planets, were just above the atmosphere—or so it seemed. They appeared so close that he thought he could toss a rock at them and actually hit them. In a way, it was frightening. Any closer and those planets would get sucked into Aurora's magnetic gravity pull, causing a collision he didn't want to think about.

  His thoughts turned to his old home, Starbase Matrona. He had learned it would be decommissioned and torn apart. All living organisms on the starbase, including plants and animals, would be transported planet-side. And there it was, floating like a silver gem in front of Aurora's moons.

  He turned away and his eyes met orange-colored hills that rolled across the countryside, lush with foliage and leafy green trees.

  I'm free, he thought. This is what freedom is.

  He wanted to put his arms out and twirl like a kid, and in the next moment he realized he was doing just that. He took a deep sniff—the air was soft and gentle—and slowed his spin, his feet firmly touching the adorned stone pad he was on. “I'm in awe. I'm breathing and I'm on a planet. We were told that all planets were lifeless and air nonexistent, except inside our man-made units. How stupid could we be?”

  Devon leaned against the Starhawk, watching a group of humans stroll down a long path and guiding a hovering gurney that Kalista was lying on. They hadn't much farther to go since the path soon ended at a colorless domed building.

  Even from that distance Devon could see Kalista raise her arm and give a thumbs up. He chuckled, moseying over to Chase. “I don't think she's the terrible person she thinks she is.”

  The sound of engines filled the sky and they both looked up to see a craft coming down through cloud cover and in their direction.

  Chase put a friendly arm around Devon's shoulders and smiled. “Maybe Uncle James is on that one.”

  “Yeah, and maybe my sister and my parents.” Devon's voice softened. “You never knew your parents, did you?”

  “A little. They died when I was young.”

  “How did they die? On Starship Hathor, right?”

  Chase nodded his head, smiling a sad smile. “Strange, really. It had to do with some fluke mishap with papers getting shuffled in the same pile. They were stationed on the same ship at the same time. They couldn't get out of it and Uncle James volunteered to watch me while they were away. It was my first time on Brigantia. It was there that we heard the news of Starship Hathor's accident...and, well, you know the rest of the story.”

  “They were on that ship together?”

  Chase lifted his chin, watching another ship enter the atmosphere. “I'm afraid so.”

  “I'm sorry to hear that, Chase.”

  “Nothing you can do about it, buddy. I was lucky to have my uncle to raise me and teach me how to be a man. Not only a man, but a good man. Someone that I hope he'll be proud of someday.”

  “He's proud of you. You can see it in his eyes when you enter the room. It's like you're the only one there.”

  Chase cocked an eyebrow. “Really?”

  Devon nodded. “Think he'll be surprised to see you?”

  Chase half-grinned. “I bet he'll shit his pants. He's probably thinking the worst about me. And to see me alive and well? But he's probably tired from all the stress, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was asleep when they drop him off here.”

  Devon pointed over his shoulder at the path that Kalista and the men were on. “You know that CJ guy?”

  Chase leaned down and touched the green mossy grass that stuck up out of the rock pad he was on, rubbing his fingers against the laminae's cottony feel. “The Knights Templar guy we met in Zim's office?”

  “Yeah. He was one of the guys walking next to Kalista's gurney. He mentioned that this was the first time he's been on this planet. I guess he lives on one of those moons up there.”

  Chase crinkled his brow. “Kalista said something about that before we got down here. It's weird, you'd think they'd be moving back and forth between planet and moon.”

  The wind picked up as a ship made its way for a landing. Chase and Devon watched it slowly touch down, its door opening the moment it made contact with the landing pad.

  A woman, strong and as tall as a Nankuani, exited the orbed ship and lithely walked toward them. She glowed, reminding Devon of Naveya, but much too tall to be her. She was chiseled like a perfectly-sculptured statue, and as gorgeous as any woman they had ever seen.

  Reaching them she put her hands together at chest level and bowed her head. “The light in me bows to the light in you.”

  Devon and Chase looked at each other, then bowed in unison.

  “That is the Knights Templar greeting to all Beings.” She smiled. “My name is Shanraing and we have a mission for you two.”

  “But we just got here,” whined Devon. He glanced past her and at the ship behind her. “Did Naveya come down with you, or my parents?”

  “Naveya is managing the evacuation of your old home and your parents are probably still there.” Shanraing looked upon Chase. “You're Chase Byrd I presume?”

  “I am.”

  “Follow me.”

  “Can Devon come?” asked Chase, wondering what this was all about.

  Another ship hummed overhead, coming in for a landing, and Shanraing stepped away from the landing pad and onto a patch of soft, mossy grass. She looked over her shoulder with a sparkle in her eyes. “I don't know. Can you come with us, Devon?”

  He nodded and she giggled in response. “I thought so.” She winked and proceeded toward a forest at the base of the nearest hill.

  Pushing aside the massive ferns that grew at the forest's edge, ducking under the wide palm leaves they entered the forest, feeling the dampness it brought, as if it had just rained earlier in the day.

  Stepping over exposed roots, passing by random vines and branches full of leaves of various sizes, they continued walking in silence.

  Shanraing raised her hand and they all stopped. In front of them was a small clearing, surrounded by a circle of spiraled trees. “We’re here.”

  “Where is here?” asked a confused Chase.

  “Chase, I have something for you. It has been waiting for you for many centuries, and arrived here several days ago by emergency craft, said Shanraing. “It has been set on a charging crystal: it is a pendant that has been worn by your lineage throughout the centuries.” She gestured to the middle of the clearing, her manner somber. “The stone in the middle. Chase, go to it.”

  Chase made his way to a large stone of clear quartz that sat lazily in the clearing. It was half sunken in
the ground and changed colors depending Chase's view and angle of the rock. He bent down and inspected it, touching it with his hand, then stumbled backward, gasping in surprise.

  Embedded on the top of the stone was a round, golden pendant with mystical figures carved within it. There were two men riding one horse, both carrying a spear and shield. Chase had seen this pendant before. It was his uncle’s and his uncle's grandfather's before him. But what was it doing here? “This is Admiral Byrd's pendant.” Then it hit him and his heart burned, as if someone had just shot him with a laser impulse. “He didn't make it?” Chase felt a knot choke his throat.

  Shanraing shook her head. “No. He did not.”

  Devon moved to console Chase but Shanraing stopped him. “If we were in any other place on Aurora, I'd let you console your friend. But it is not safe for you to be too close to him right now.”

  “Why? What's going to happen to me?” questioned Chase, straining to keep his tears at bay.

  “Your uncle was of the bloodline and so are you. There are but a few families in your race that carry such royalty. Only you, and a few others, can touch that stone. Anyone else would end up in a coma, or worse yet, dead,” replied Shanraing.

  Chase stood. “I'm not royalty.”

  “In a way, you are. Please take the pendant. It is for you.”

  Chase shook his head. “It is my uncle’s and it shall be with him.”

  “Your uncle,” replied Shanraing, much melancholy in her voice, “would not permit you to give this pendant up.”

  “This is his.”

  “He would want you to be in service to all. He would want that pendant passed down from generation to generation, like it was passed down through the lines and to him.”

  Chase was still, knowing her words were true, but everything inside of him wanted to rip the pendant apart the same way his insides were ripping apart.

  “Your mission, Prime Overseer Chase Byrd, starts after you take that pendant. Listen to your inner voice, your gut, and it will tell you what to do. If you choose not to take it there will be no judgment, and it will have to wait for a son or daughter born from your seed.”

  Numbness crept over Chase, his emotions stuck in the blackest part of his heart.

  “What do you feel?” asked Shanraing.

  Chase flared, his face reddening. “Stupid!” He lowered his head. “I feel like an idiot. Here I was thinking Uncle James was alive and well while Devon and I floated across space on some kind of wild goose chase.” He laughed, then spit on the ground. Wiping his mouth he continued, “He was dead the whole time I bet.” Embarrassed by his sudden outburst Chase fell silent. He knew this behavior wasn't very diplomatic, so he took a deep breath. “Who will I talk to now? Who is going to give me guidance? I'm... I'm alone.” He took the pendant and stuffed it in his pocket. “Where is Captain Louise Stripe? Does she know my uncle is dead?”

  Shainrang nodded. “I heard she was there when he passed into the next life. So was Brigger and Sergeant Manning.”

  “Can I see them?” asked Chase.

  “Brigger has disappeared, and again, I am sad to say that Manning and Louise passed across the veil and to the other realm, as well.”

  Chase reached into his pocket and wrapping his fist around the pendant and stepped away from the clear quartz. Gritting his teeth he pulled his hand out, and reared back to throw the pendant as far as he could.

  A soft hand touched his forearm and Chase dropped his arm, and dug his foot into the ground.

  Devon let go of Chase's arm. “I'm sorry, Chase. I know how angry you are—”

  “You don't know!” Chase dropped the pendant back into his pocket and spun around to face Shanraing. “Send me on your Guild damn mission. Do it now before I change my mind.”

  “I'll take you to Thomas Berard. He'll be planet-side soon.”

  ∞

  “Eden, I must go.”

  Eden looked around. She was somewhere cold and well-lit. Snow, just like in the higher elevations of the biosphere of Starbase Matrona, was all around. This snow, unlike the biosphere's, didn't seem manufactured though. She took a step and felt the crunching of it underneath her feet. Trees with ice-packed bark surrounded her.

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  A man in a billowy robe with his back to her had spoken. “There will be a time when you will train more with me. But right now I'm being called elsewhere.” He turned, lowering his hood.

  “Thomas?” She shook her head, seeing his eyes were filled with gloom, his heart longing for hers. She then felt something—an intuitive knowing. “You don't know if you'll survive...you...you don't know if I'll survive.”

  “There is a need and I'm answering that call.”

  “Please, don't go. Don't leave me.” She put her hand to her heart, sliding it up to her throat, softly touching it. “I don't know what to do. We can't do this without you.”

  “Yes, you can. You have the dragon crystal. You are of the bloodline. The spark of the 8th Order of the Melchizedek and the Knight's Templar of the Brotherhood of Light runs through your veins. You are more powerful than you could ever imagine and more powerful than most others in the entire spectrum of the universe. Your emotions, tied with love, can set in motion an energetic strength more superior than the biggest, darkest adversary. You have it, Eden. You must trust it.”

  “I have what?” She reached out her hands, wanting him to come to her, to touch her, to love her and hold her. She wanted to feel safe. But most of all, she wanted to know without a doubt that wherever Thomas was going, he would return in one piece, safely to her arms.

  “You have immeasurable power and you'll find it along the way. Not all at once, but in small steps.”

  He turned and vanished.

  Eden dropped to her knees, grabbed a handful of snow and sobbed. “Thomas!”

  She bolted upright, feeling the hard mattress beneath her, darkness all around.

  Was I dreaming?

  She fell back against her pillow, breathing hard as if she had just come back from a long run. She stared into the darkness, faintly making out the shadow of the ceiling. “Thomas?”

  “Yes?”

  Startled, Eden twisted around in her bed and peered into a corner of the domed room.

  “I'm sorry I frightened you, Eden.”

  “I was dreaming. I had a bad dream.”

  She heard Thomas take a step, and then another, until she could see a shadow of him through the pale blackness. “You felt me.”

  Eden nodded. “Yes, how?”

  “If you could see my smile, Eden. Your intuition is growing.”

  There was gentleness in his voice and a lingering sadness as well.

  “Why are you sad?” asked Eden.

  “That is the very same question I ask myself. I'm not supposed to be attached. It's part of the Order. You disavow all cords that tie you, but I don't know if I've ever really learned that basic lesson. I've had attachments all my life, even though I've done my duty to the Light many times. And lately I've found an attachment that is very hard for me to let go of.”

  Eden's heart rushed to her throat and she tried to swallow it down. “So, my dream was true?”

  “I must leave. Not tomorrow, but now. I just wanted to see you one last time. You're important to us...to me.”

  “Can I convince you to stay?”

  In the darkness she could see Thomas shaking his head. “We will meet again. You'll be led to me at another time where you will train under my tutelage once again.”

  He walked to the door. “I don't feel I was the best teacher for you, but I did my best.” He looked at the door, saying, “Open.”

  A soft light poured through the doorway, silhouetting his body. Eden reached out to him. “Let me come with you.”

  He dipped his head and touched his third eye, bowing to her. Then he turned and walked down the hall, the door quietly closing behind him.

  Eden jumped out of bed. “Open,” she muttered. As the door
opened she hurried out into the giant belly of Tranquil where all the domed quarters were located and searched for Thomas. He was nowhere to be seen. She dashed as fast as she could into a hallway that led to the rear of the craft and came to a “T.” Looking left and right, the corridor was empty as well.

  She fell to her knees, feeling the same emptiness she felt in her dream. He was gone and she was alone.

  A silent whisper spoke to her. “No one is alone—ever. We shall meet again, my Eden.”

  ∞

  Crystal couldn't sleep. Of course, at a time like this how could anyone? She looked around Tranquil's bridge at all the Dwarves, and Daf, who were conked out in their reclining chairs, slumbering, snoring, and slobbering.

  My mom's somewhere on this ship. She couldn't remember if that was true or not, or even if someone had told her. But deep down she felt it...somehow.

  She looked at the vid screen that circled the bridge, noting that she was still following Starship Swift to wherever or whatever mission they were going on. They were traveling at incredible speed, but they could have been at a standstill for all that she could tell. There weren't any planets nearby, no asteroid belts, just stars that weren't getting closer or farther away. They just were.

  Earlier, and over the vid screen, Crystal was briefed by the seemingly always pissed-off Fae—Nyx. She explained that they would be jumping to different coordinates from sector to sector until they reached their destination. Crystal was ordered to follow the coordinates, patch any new coordinates designated to her crew, and jump when Starship Swift jumps. It seemed easy enough, and practically effortless.

  Why are they called Fae?

  Nyx and all of the other Fae looked human. Maybe under their clothes there was something different. She did notice that their ears were a little pointy, but that was all.

  But now they were supposed to get some rest. And of course, she was the one who couldn't sleep.

  Hence, my life.

  She left the bridge intending to find her mother, although finding her would be practically impossible.

  Wherever she is she deserves a slap, and preferably by me.