Seeker's Light

by N. I. Snow

  Despite cooperative actions they had shared, a fair amount of distrust still hovered between the two soldiers. Even though Connell had removed the tracking device implanted in the young Tazalian and had fought off two angry presidents, Vemque regarded Connell with a cold silence. The Lieutenant hardly trusted the creature either, but he needed him.

  “How much longer?” Connell called back to the reptile.

  Vemque looked over at Connell, his gold eyes communicating annoyance. His thin voice strained with each word he spoke in Earthnan, “Nearly complete. Very soon we strike at Dohma.”

  Connell nodded. “Good, but make sure you increase power to the engines. We will still need to get aboard a warship before they find out what happened to their precious snake.”

  “Still think you can board easily? You will be found or lose way before reaching bridge.”

  The lieutenant turned and limped over to the young reptile, who rolled his golden eyes and returned to his work. Connell stopped behind Vemque. “Well then it's a good thing you will be going with me.”

  Vemque gritted his fangs. “Why you expect me to aid you I will never know. If caught, I die.”

  “We both die,” Connell retorted, “and if you do not help me, then I cannot promise that the Q.D.s won't get their hands on you.” Connell turned his gaze towards a hole in the hangar roof. His voice became pensive. “I wonder If Kahluna has rescued the boy's sister yet.”

  “If you can trust the traitor, then no doubt she has. It is said that only Zaharak is better than she is,” Vemque snorted.

  “She may be a traitor in your eyes, but I see her as a true ally.” Connell's eyes grew solemn. “I hope she will rescue the girl.”

  Sparks flew from a small torch in Vemque's claws as he welded a piece of steel to the jet's hull. “Should focus on insane mission you have dragged me into.”

  Connell sighed. He couldn't argue with the young reptile. He had to stay focused on his own mission. If his plan worked, then mankind would have a better chance against the Tazalian forces with the possibility of regaining control of one of the fallen quadrants. If that happened, then the Tazalians would be forced to retreat. He had to take this chance; there wasn't any other person more capable than he was. Should he fail, then the human race, might as well surrender to Salianos's rule, and Connell would rather die than see that happen.

  A soft rustle woke Emma from her dreams. Her gray eyes opened slowly. She peered from the soft pillow of her bed, which Lutianist had installed in one end of the study. The young girl looked sleepy eyed at Lutianist, who shuffled slowly towards the doorway of the room. The ancient Tazalian seemed unaware of the human child watching him as he opened the door. Emma knew very well where the grizzled Tazalian was going. The chronograph on the panel of the center pillar showed that it was just over an hour before sunrise. The elderly Tazalian enjoyed watching Tazal's orange sun rise. Emma closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep.

  As dawn drew near, the city of Xempor slowly began to wake. Shopkeepers began laying out their wares for the day. Hunters brought in their kill to feed their families. The few canyon dwellers who passed the graying Tazalian gave him careful smiles. Lutianist would return their smile with a gentle nod. There wasn't a single Tazalian citizen who did not respect the Elder.

  Quietly Lutianist shuffled his way toward a pathway carved along the side of the ravine wall. The steep path stretched along the red walls to the canyon rim. At the base of the path the Elder shifted his weight around, providing his diminishing legs more support. Step by slow step, Lutianist made his way upwards. Despite his ancient appearing body, he made his way undaunted, using the smooth canyon wall for support.

  Upon reaching the rim, Lutianist crossed to the center of the smooth plateau. The grizzled Tazalian shuffled over to a large boulder and settled down on it, his long tail curled around the base of the rock. Milky eyes gazed towards the now rising sun. Overhead the dark orb of Zahar loomed above the Elder like the eyes of Salianos, a heavy reminder that the High Elder would arrive the next day. But that day, as the golden rays of Tazal's sun cut through the emerald blue sky, Zahar's dark glow dimmed. As the sun's rays hit Lutianist's bearded snout, all his worries seemed to fade like Zahar. Despite the looming darkness, that moment’s warm light brought hope.

  “Imagine that warmth piercing the souls of every being on every planet,” came a calm, deep voice.

  Lutianist kept his near-blind eyes directed at the dawning sun. His voice gave no surprise as he spoke, “I have. From the moment I became one of the Seekers, I never stopped wondering.”

  “You know what must be done. You and the girl must escape before it is too late.”

  Lutianist nodded his bearded snout solemnly, “I understand all too well the dangers Emma will be in if I keep her here any longer. When Salianos arrives I can't protect her for very long. I can only push his patience to its limits for a short time.”

  “I trust you have a plan?”

  Lutianist continued to stare toward the fully risen sun, “I do.”

  Emma jolted awake as a gentle clawed hand shook her. Rubbing a hand across her still sleepy gray eyes, she looked over at the timekeeper. It was only an hour after sunrise. Lutianist never woke her this early, unless…

  She looked happily into Lutianist's murky eyes, “Are we going to Dulain?”

  Lutianist nodded. The tip of his white beard quivered as he spoke, “The High Elder will be arriving tomorrow, and I decided it would be best if we visit our friends before his arrival.”

  The Elder quickly stepped back as the young girl leapt out of the bed. Once a Tazalian week, the pair would travel to the small village of Dulain located in the prairie lands south of Xempor. When they first met the human girl, the humble Tazalians were curious as to what she even was. After all, she was the first human to have traveled beyond the Orion Arm. The only Tazalians that knew what a human was were the soldiers and Seekers, so Emma had become a large celebrity amongst the Tazalian citizens.

  As the girl stood up, Lutianist glared disapprovingly at the wrinkled dress she had been sleeping in, “Why are you not wearing your sleepwear? Did we not agree that you would no longer wear your dress to bed?”

  Emma shuffled her feet on the ground, “I was reading one of Alekia's journals last night and dozed off.”

  Lutianist smiled gently. “That interesting, was it?”

  Emma shrugged as she picked up her slippers from the foot of the bed. “You tell me. Alekia discovered a race that could shape shift into any creature they had seen.”

  Lutianist's milky eyes peered deep into Emma's gray eyes. The intense look in those depths would have caused any being to panic, but Emma knew what the old reptile was doing. She and Lutianist had created a list of phrases as codes for the mind-reading Elder to peer into Emma's memories if she had discovered something that they did not want the hidden Tigret to know.

  From Emma's memory, Lutianist was able to relive Alekia's past. He was able to witness advanced races with technology similar to that of the Tazalian's technology fight amongst one another. Some of the creatures would show hospitality to their foreign visitors, while others would be hostile towards the reptilian travelers.

  “What about the Light?” Lutianist asked, despite already knowing the answer. The changelings had no knowledge of their own origins, nor did they care.

  “They didn't learn anything from the shape shifters,” replied Emma while she placed the slippers on her feet, “The Ancients went to the planet Eltep shortly after.”

  Lutianist's eyes became more intense as he peered into Emma's memories. Her thoughts were clear, the Ancients were traveling from the outer edge of the galaxy to the inner. The young girl believed they would find better clues from planets deep within the galaxy. This made the Elder pause. Only fifty relics had been retrieved from the inner arms of the galaxy, fifty-one if he counted the one in Jonah and Kahluna's hold. If Salianos were to discover this, he would force Emma to unlock every single one, and shoul
d any of them hold any information about the Light's location…

  Lutianist stopped himself. No, they would escape long before Salianos knew of their secret. The five months of waiting had given the Elder more than enough time to plan. He and Emma would have three days after the High Elder's arrival to escape. On that third day Lutianist promised to himself he would reunite Emma and her brother and they would be far away from the High Elder.

  Lutianist looked over at Emma whose pale face showed concern. The Elder lifted a shaking hand and inspected it. No doubt his grizzled snout did not look any better. He needed to be more careful with the amount of knowledge he took in, else he may not make it to that third day.

  Lutianist smiled gently to Emma, “Nothing to worry about little one. Let us be on our way.”

  Emma was still worried about the grizzled Tazalian. As they walked out into the dimly lit hallway, she couldn't help but notice how bent over the Elder was, even more than usual. Despite his reassurance, Emma wondered just how much strength he had left. As they walked up and down the ramp ways that spanned the underground city center, Emma readied herself to spring to Lutianist's aide should he stumble. Yet even as they passed into the hallway leading to the cliff-side hangars, the old reptile held his own. He did well to remind her that despite his aging appearance, he was still one of the original seven Seekers.

  Slowly, the odd pair made their way into a vast, open room well beneath the ground’s surface. Different sized ships were lined up along the side of the room. The larger ships Emma had been previously told were for off-planet travels while the smaller were used to shuttle civilians from one city to the next. Across from the pair was a wide opening carved from the side of the room. The opening provided light from outdoors as well as a view of a drop to a near bottomless ravine below.

  Lutianist lead her to the largest shuttle in the hangar. The blade-like ship was one of seven created exclusively for the Elders. Dual Lotardrives were built into the wings providing much greater speed than normal Tazalian shuttles, though not approaching as great as that of Zaharak's.

  Lutianist shuffled his way up the ramp way at the rear of the ship with Emma following slowly. Inside was a lavishly decorated study with a holoscreen set in the center. Around the holoscreen were three well-cushioned chairs, which appeared not to have been used in a long time. At one corner was a small bar with a built-in food synthesizer and drink dispenser. Next to the bar was a door leading to the only bedroom in the shuttle. Across from the pair was another door leading to the control room.

  “Tigret. Fly the ship to Dulain for me. I'm afraid I am a little too weary to guide it myself.” Lutianist spoke to the hidden Seeker.

  “Of course Elder,” came Tigret's steely voice from the shadows in front of them.

  The ramp way began closing as the ship’s engines revved, ready to take off. Lutianist slowly settled himself into one of the chairs curling his tail on his cloaked lap. Emma watched as the Elder closed his milky eyes and fell into a gentle slumber. She hoped the kindly Tazalian would not fall into a much deeper sleep. During her time on Tazal she had grown well accustomed to how the other Elders acted compared to Lutianist. Shadonel gave her chills down her spine whenever the emotionless Elder would stop to check on her and Lutianist's progress, though not nearly as much as her run in with Soforin.

  Emma shivered just remembering her meeting with the silent Elder. At first glance he almost appeared to be a ghost. His scales were bone white with odd bits of gray striping through them. The wisp of gray hair at the back of his head reminded her of a spider's web. Most of all she remembered his wild, gray eyes, which burned with an animal-like light. Observing the tormented depths of his eyes, Emma could only wonder what twisted thoughts passed through his mind. Once she had passed the carved hallway leading to his room. The once carefully crafted images of the Elder's past triumphs had been painted over with crazed symbols or images of death. She could hardly imagine what the room itself looked like. Lutianist had told her that even he doubted that the insane Soforin had any remnants of himself left within his lost soul. One could wonder if he even remembered that he was a Tazalian Elder.

  Gazing at the sleeping form of Lutianist, a deep dread overcame Emma. Should anything happen to him, there would be no one left to protect her from the fiends. However, if the Elder did pass away, she hoped to be placed in Abilasso's ward. The calm-minded Elder had visited Lutianist on several occasions during her time on Tazal. From what she could tell, he and Lutianist were good friends sharing similar dispositions, despite Abilasso's loyalty to Salianos.

  Emma paused. Even though the thought of being under Abilasso's care was comforting, he was far from being Lutianist. Without the Elder of Knowledge, she would no longer be safe from Salianos's power-hungry claws.

  The Tazalian sun beat heavily down on a dust-colored reptile as he herded a group of long-necked horse creatures through a tall-grassed prairie. As the herd stopped to graze, he gazed up at the emerald sky. Lifting a clawed hand above his brow, his eyes caught the silver glint of a shuttle flying towards the prairie.

  The Tazalian let out a happy shout and turned toward a small village behind him. Running at full speed, he shouted to the villagers walking about. All stopped, looked up at the landing shuttle, and then hurried to gather at the lowering ramp way of the ship.

  As Emma stepped down the gangway she was greeted by the dusty-scaled Tazalian, “Mylïna, Emma. This is unexpected.”

  Emma smiled at the Tazalian, “Mylïna, Jâfon.”

  The dust-colored Tazalian matched her smile with a fang-filled grin of his own. “I assume Elder Lutianist is aboard?”

  Emma nodded. “He is resting for the moment. He was very tired when we left.” She looked past the group of Tazalians to the prairie behind them. “Isn't that your herd of gifas running off?”

  Jâfon turned and ran off towards the migrating herd. Emma laughed and followed after the madly dashing Tazalian while the others waited patiently for Lutianist's appearance. By the time she reached the tall grass, Jâfon had the gifas rounded together. Emma smiled as she walked towards one of the smaller gifas. The creature bent its long neck down as she reached up to pet it, and then let out a low trumpet as the girl ran a hand along its snout.

  “Hey there, Mimzy. Is that silly Tazalian taking good care of you?” Emma spoke softly to the gifa.

  “Silly?” Jâfon snorted. “Not as much as a certain human cub that gives a name to creatures we eat.”

  Emma gave the Tazalian herder a horrified look. “You promised you wouldn't eat Mimzy.”

  “You are right. Look at how small she is compared to the others. She eats and eats, yet never grows. There's not enough meat on her to feed a single family.”

  Emma gave the gifa a sad smile. “I'm going to miss her.”

  Jâfon looked at Emma curiously. “Going to? Why do you say that?”

  Emma sighed. “The High Elder will be arriving tomorrow. This will be our last visit here.”

  “I see.” Jâfon bowed his head. “But surely the High Elder would understand that you and Lutianist cannot study all the time.”

  Emma frowned as she gazed into the dark eyes of the gifa. She wished she could tell Jâfon that he was right, but the memory of Salianos's hungry, violet eyes dashed that away. There would be no resting until the High Elder had the Gaia's power in his claws.

  Fifteen

  Focus, Jonah, the twenty-year-old young man told himself as he watched Kahluna slow the ship to normal flight speed. Think of the plan; don't become too enthusiastic because you are now arriving at the edge of Tazal. Yet the young adult found it hard to remain calm when he kept thinking about rescuing his sister from the crazed violet-eyed lizard's hold.

  Kahluna sat back in her chair as the ship slowed. Her red eyes gazed calmly through the viewport at the vibrant planet before them. Jonah tried to match her expression, but found it hard. How was it that the former Seeker could remain so calm even when looking at the planet that betrayed her,
when he couldn't control his emotions? They both knew they were about to attempt a suicide mission.

  “Remember the plan,” Kahluna spoke coolly as though reading his thoughts. “We will land at the outskirts of Xempor. I have friends who will help us hide until we are ready to break into the city. Three days is the most I will give us to prepare. On that third day we will sneak into Xempor and rescue Emma. If anything goes wrong I want you to run as quickly as possible to the hangars that I will show you and escape. Do not wait for me.”

  Before Jonah could argue with the blue-green Tazalian, the ship’s alarms blared. Kahluna looked down at the built-in holoscreen and frowned. She quickly switched on the ship’s stealth system before placing her clawed hands on the red control panels to suddenly dive the ship downward. Jonah didn't have time to ask the former Seeker what she was doing, nor did he need to. The dropship shuttered as an enormous warship appeared above them.

  Jonah gazed at the holoscreen with horror. The warship, warped from stress of being pushed to its limits, was dropping debris, and many panels were beginning to peel and fall off. Kahluna carefully navigated the dropship away from the debris while keeping her attention on the ship. When the warship came to a complete stop, a small vessel detached itself and glided towards the planet.

  Jonah didn't need to question who was aboard that vessel. If their mission wasn't a suicide mission before, undoubtedly it was now. Kahluna balled her claws into tight fists. Her calm voice was lined with a steely rage, “This doesn't change anything.”

  Emma's heart raced in her chest as her gray eyes watched the sleek vessel come to a halt in the hangar of Xempor. Even with Lutianist standing beside her, she couldn't hide her fear. As the ramp way lowered, her knees nearly gave out from under her. Lutianist put a clawed hand gently on her shoulder to comfort her and surprisingly she was able to control her fear.