“Well, Reingle, you see your question is a part of the story.”
“Oh?” Major General Reingle asked, “There’s more?”
J’uhleesa nodded. “What you see before you is the exact location that Saroulzell snuck into because he knew Sli’voria was here. Saroulzell and his followers slid down here into this exact spot that we are standing on, and one by one, as Sli’voria and her followers were asleep, they murdered them as they slept. If you notice the rocks beneath your feet, some of them are blue, they are stained with the blood of the Snargde. The Major Generals looked down at the rocks and slowly backed away. J’uhleesa shook his head and smiled. “Don’t worry, they are dried for years, it is a permanent reminder.”
“You mean to tell us that Saroulzell snuck in here and killed all the Snargde?” Major General Solbrig remarked.
“No, not all of them.” J’uhleesa replied, “They had to do it quietly. They snuck behind each Snargde and slit their throats. Each Snargde choked on their own blood. For every Snargde that Saroulzell and his followers killed, the closer they were to live in freedom. Throughout the night, they had killed every single Snargde except for Sli’voria. They waited over there by the falling Azuard until she woke up, and when she did, you can imagine what happened.”
J’uhleesa walked over to the river and looked at the Major Generals as he spoke. “Sli’voria woke up and turned around and saw what had happened. She frantically looked around and noticed Saroulzell standing with his Snargde. Her anger got the best of her, and she ran towards him as fast as she could, full of hatred, and yelled, ‘Go ahead, kill me!’ Saroulzell denied her request and told her, ‘I will not do that.’ Sli’voria became extremely angry and walked over to the edge and shouted, ‘I hope you will be able to live with yourself. Being the leader is not so easy!’ Then she jumped off the edge and was gone. Saroulzell was now the leader of all the Snargde.”
“Wow, that was….something else,” Major General Solbrig asked, “His plan worked, then?”
J’uhleesa nodded, “Ever since Saroulzell, there had been a few Snargde that thought they could kill other Snargde in their sleep. Some even showed other Snargde that ability.”
M’leezenah admitted to me before you two showed up that she learned exactly how to harness the sun's energy. I have to admit, I was scared for myself and my followers. I did not want that to happen to us, and I am grateful to you forever that you killed her before she had a chance to kill me.”
“Well, you’re welcome. I didn’t want to do it, but I had a feeling about what would happen if I didn’t.” Major General Reingle continued, “But you don’t have to repay us, you healed Solbrig’s back with the Azuard.”
“Oh, that was nothing. You deserve much more than that!” J’uhleesa smiled. “You ready to hunt for food?”
“Sure, but where?” asked Major General Reingle.
“You don’t see them?” J’uhleesa asked.
The Major Generals shook their heads.
“Nope. I don’t see anything else here besides us.” Major General Reingle admitted.
J’uhleesa turned and asked Major General Solbrig, “What about you? Do you see anything here?”
“No, I don’t.”
J’uhleesa frowned and looked at them. “Are you sure? You really don’t?”
J’uhleesa looked to his left and then to his right, then he turned around slowly then looked back at them. “You seriously don’t see anything here?” J’uhleesa pointed to his right over by the Azuard waterfall. “There you don’t see that?”
They shook their heads in disagreement.
“Maybe it’s something only Snargde can see?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Yeah, like what if they are camouflaged, perhaps?”
“What do you mean?” J’uhleesa asked.
“What if it is invisible to us and only visible to you?” Major General Solbrig pondered.
“Is that possible?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Seems to be the case.” Major General Solbrig replied, “What do you see, J’uhleesa?”
J’uhleesa looked around the cave. “There are three types of creatures here.” He pointed up towards the ceiling of the cave. “There is something up there that looks like the thing you came in.” His eyes darted in the direction he was looking. “Then, there is something in the distance on four legs and furry, and then there is something in this water.”
The Major Generals looked down and saw the water moving towards the edge of the cliff. “Wait, you said there’s something here in the water?” Major General Reingle asked as he bent down and looked in the water.
“There is, yes.”
“Where does it go?”
“Down, I think.”
“You don’t know where it goes down to?” Major General Solbrig questioned.
“Nope. If you look, the Azuard runs until it reaches the edge, and then it gets dark down there.”
“Hm. Solbrig..” Major General Reingle stood up and walked closer to the edge. “I wonder if the Azuard drops down into an ocean?”
“That is a possibility.” Major General Solbrig stated, “Wouldn’t the water levels make it rise?”
“Not if the water is being let out somewhere.”
“That’s true. In that case, if there are fish in this stream, then there must be hundreds if not thousands down there.”
“If water is down there, sure.” Major General Reingle turned and asked J’uhleesa, “How many generations has this place been around?”
J’uhleesa tapped his tail on the ground behind him while he was in thought. “I’m not sure since forever, I suppose.”
“Do you know any stories about this place other than the one you told us?” Major General Solbrig asked.
J’uhleesa shook his head. “No, I do not, why?”
“Is there more to this place than what we see? I’m asking because I think it is bigger than what we see here.” Major General Solbrig wondered. “Maybe this is connected to other caves on Snakardekus?”
“You think so?” J’uhleesa asked.
“Well, it’s only a hunch, but...” He looked at Major General Reingle, “We think it’s possible.”
“Well, at least from what I was told about the caves is that they go on forever underground. Some sort of ancient traveling system.” J’uhleesa replied.
“Oh, really?” Major General Reingle asked. “So, we might be right then!”
“That might be worth exploring.” Major General Solbrig inquired. “How would we get out of here anyway?”
“Well, behind that is one way out.” J’uhleesa pointed towards the Azuard waterfall. “And over there is another way, too.” He pointed in the direction he was facing.
“Have you been in here before?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Of course, a few times, actually.”
“How is that possible?” Major General Reingle asked, “I thought you said only leaders and followers were allowed inside.
“I did say that. The leader, before myself, was Su’louso, and I was his follower, so I was allowed access when he brought us here.”
“Oh, wow…how long was he the leader?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Oh...just about a generation, then he died of natural causes.” J’uhleesa admitted, “M’leezenah knew that too; after all, we were both his followers.”
The Major Generals looked at J’uhleesa with a shocked expression upon their faces. Their mouth had slowly come open, and their eyebrows rose.
“You said, what?” Major General Reingle asked, “What did you say?”
“That M’leezenah and I were followers, together?”
“Yes. That’s what we thought.”
“What’s the matter with that? Just because we both wanted to become the leader does not mean anything else.”
“But...answer me something, how did you hate her enough to kill her if you two were both following the same leader?” Major General Reingle asked. “Wouldn’t you two bel
ieve the same thing?”
J’uhleesa shook his head and replied. “We didn’t hate each other; we just were two of the strongest Snargde in the group with opposing views, and well, those are both perfect qualities of leadership, according to Snargde.”
“That makes sense.” Major General Reingle agreed.
“What is the purpose of being the leader of the Snargde then, J’uhleesa?” Major General Solbrig asked. “From what we have heard is that every few generations, a new Snargde is the leader, and the cycle repeats over and over. What’s the point?”
“Maybe it is something only Snargde understands, but to be the Snargde leader is some sort of…” J’uhleesa spoke, but the words were unintelligible to the Major Generals OBA. “I don’t know any other way to describe it.
The Major Generals turned and looked at one another in confusion then back at J’uhleesa.
“We don’t fully quite understand, J’uhleesa.” Major General Reingle explained.
“It is something only Snargde understands. It is the cycle of Snargde life.”
“Well, whatever it is, it has been ongoing for years and working.” Major General Solbrig looked around and spoke. “Shouldn’t you get the Snargde something to eat?”
“Well, I could just bring them here, and they can also hunt themselves.” J’uhleesa admitted, “I brought you two here for a different reason, I lied. I’m sorry.”
Major General Reingle turned and looked over at Major General Solbrig nervously then he turned back to look at J’uhleesa. “Then what did you bring us here for anyways?”
“Well, I wanted to show you what you’ve helped me accomplish. Look all around you, it is wonderful, no?” J’uhleesa asked.
“Snargadia is very breathtaking, that’s for sure.” Major General Reingle agreed.
Major General Solbrig nodded, “It really is something special. I’m glad it’s yours.”
J’uhleesa smiled and waved his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
They walked towards the waterfall, and Major General Reingle looked up and asked. “Geez, how high is this?”
“Oh, I’m not quite sure, but it seems to go on for a while,” J’uhleesa replied.
Major General Reingle asked. “I wonder what’s up there.”
The cave opened behind the waterfall as J’uhleesa told them. The cave opening was sloped, and it was moving up on an incline.
“Are you going to bring the Snargde to Snargadia?” Major General Reingle asked.
“Since I am the new leader, I am going to bring the Snargde back here to live in.”
“But J’uhleesa, what about the Azuard?” Major General Solbrig asked, “Are you just going to leave it there?”
“Hmm. I doubt any Snargde could take it, and if they could, it would be a little bit, so I am not going to worry.” J’uhleesa admitted, “Maybe one day, I will bring it here.”
“That sounds like a good idea!” Major General Reingle agreed.
They continued to walk up and then the slope slowly stopped and plateaued, they continued to walk in the cave and came to the fork in the road like before, but this time on the right side.
“We’re almost out of the cave.” J’uhleesa noted, “I still cannot believe that this belongs to me now, my entire life I have always wanted to become the leader, and now I am. I never thought I would need help from not Snargde.”
“Not Snargde, huh?” Major General Solbrig asked, “Is that what we are?”
“Well, of course, you are not Snargde.” J’uhleesa replied, “What else would you be?”
“We’re transhumans, J’uhleesa. Just like how you are, Snargde, that is what we are.”
“Oh, I see. Transhuman Solbrig and Transhuman Reingle.”
Major General Reingle turned behind him and shook his head to Major General Solbrig, then he turned around.
“Now we are out of the cave, pretty easy, huh?”
“Well, what if you get lost?” Major General Reingle asked.
“All roads eventually lead out, it just depends on how long you want to stay inside,” J’uhleesa admitted.
J’uhlessa led them out of the cave and downhill past the rocks from before. They walked down then passed the Azuard cave then to the Snargde. As they approached the Snargde, they were still in formation. J’uhleesa walked in front of them and said something unintelligible to Major Generals Reingle and Solbrig, and the Snargde seemed to loosen their stance. The Snargde then walked closer to where there would not be a gap in between the two groups. J’uhleesa turned towards Major Generals Solbrig and Reingle.
“Thank you for saving me and helping me become the leader. I am going to lead these Snargde to Snargadia, and we will be there. You are welcome to join us if you wish.”
“That’s okay, J’uhleesa.” Major General Reingle replied, “We’ll be seeing you.”
J’uhleesa smiled and turned around, walking the same path as he did earlier to Snargadia. The Major Generals walked back to the Drakdel and turned their heads every so often and watched as the Snargde followed J’uhleesa.
“Today was something else, huh? It all went by so quickly.”
Major General Solbrig pondered. “I just realized that we didn’t scan anything at all today.”
“Wait, we didn’t?” Major General Reingle asked, “Are you sure? Will General Deschner be upset?”
“When did we have time to scan anything?” Major General Solbrig asked, “Oh well, we’ll just tell General Deschner that the Azuard is available and ready to extract...maybe then he will overlook our mistake.”
“I hope so, I don’t see why not. I mean, we can just scan everything when General Deschner sends more support, right?”
“Well, yeah, we can...except for you know, M’leezenah.” Major General Solbrig noted.
“Oh, right...” Major General Reingle uttered, “About that...”
“No one has to know, Reingle. I mean, there wasn’t any evidence of her being here, so I mean, that’s a good thing.”
“When you put it that way, I’m sure General Deschner won’t find out.”
“Exactly.” Major General Solbrig walked on the Drakdels’ ramp and extended out his hand and pressed the button to open the door. When it opened, he stepped inside, and Major General Reingle followed after him and the door shut. They walked to the desk and sat down in their chairs as they took off their OBA’s.
Major General Reingle exhaled and sat down. “Today was definitely a long day.”
“And it’s going to get longer. We still have to call General Deschner.”
“Let’s get it over with.” Major General Reingle shook his head and exhaled again. He swiped his hand, and his INH opened, and he tapped on “Call.” He scrolled down and tapped on “General Deschner, Koba.” He swiped his hand forward to project his INH to the screen. In a moment, the screen flickered, and General Deschner’s face appeared.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
General Deschner stood with his arms behind his back as he peered out the window, looking at Snakardekus from inside of the conference room.
Great things will soon be happening. The Azuard will be mine, and I will find out exactly what it is capable of doing. I need to contact the Brigadier Generals and tell them to get ready for a mission
A knocking sound came towards his right. Lieutenant Generals Armitage and dee Veyra had arrived right on time.
“Yes, come in.” General Deschner answered.
The door opened, and the Lieutenant Generals walked inside the room and saw General Deschner standing there looking out the window.
“How are you two doing?” General Deschner asked.
“I’m alright.” Lieutenant General Armitage stated.
“Another day, General.” Lieutenant General dee Veyra replied.
“What could make your day better?”
Lieutenant General dee Veyra turned and looked at Lieutenant General Armitage. Her mouth slightly open as if she were about to say something. General Deschner turned around and spoke. �
��The Major Generals mission is doing really well. That alone should brighten up your day.”
“Have you talked to them?” Lieutenant General Armitage asked.
“You seem worried about them, Armitage.” General Deschner asked.
“Not exactly.”
“Why not? It’s good to worry, especially on foreign planets such as these two.” General Deschner turned around and walked to his chair and sat down and motioned the Lieutenant Generals to do the same. “Don’t worry, I have called them every day.”
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