“Dr. Jenku!” Flupotia pushed her way through the crowd and embraced Dr. Jenku.
“Flupotia!” She embraced Flupotia back just as strongly. “I have been so worried about you!”
“With everything I’ve learned from you and everyone else, did you really have to?”
“I’m so proud of you.” Dr. Jenku pulled back slightly to admire Flupotia and look her in the eye. “If your mother was still alive today, you know that she would feel the same.”
“Thank you.” Flupotia held back the tears that wanted to break free. “How did you end up here though! Is he really that desperate that he’s sending doctors down now too?”
“It’s all hands on deck after your little stunt on Earth.” Dr. Jenku raised an eyebrow. “I am assuming you had something to do with that?”
“Guilty,” she laughed. “It’s a long story.”
“I’m sure it is. It seems you’ve made quite a few new friends along the way?” She nodded her head towards Frize. “He’s a clever one, getting to me the way he did. Do they all know?”
“No.” Flupotia hung her head. “Would you mind keeping it between us? Just for now.”
“Who am I to tell your secrets.” She lifted Flupotia’s head. “We’re in the middle of a huge war right now, such things don’t matter. Let’s get things here settled and then we’ll sit down and talk. Okay?”
“Okay.” Flupotia nodded her head rapidly, grateful to have someone like Dr. Jenku in her life.
◆◆◆
“Where is he?” Commotion in the hallway outside their temporary cell grabbed Patrick’s attention. “Why is the door locked?” The voice was familiar.
The handle jiggled as someone struggled with the lock on the other side. Patrick and the others in the room had stood and were all staring at the door.
“Come on!” There was a loud banging on the other side. “Get it open!”
The door finally opened as someone helped with the lock on the other side. Flupotia came rushing into the room, her face flustered.
“Patrick! Gin-us!” Upon seeing them her smile went brighter than Patrick had ever seen. “I can’t believe it! Where did you all disappear to? How did you end up here? So many questions, I need to know what happened!”
They all filed out from the room and began the long walk off the ship. They all filled each other in on their adventures, each of them trying to talk louder than the others. When they reached the exit, Patrick was shocked by what he found. There were a number of Plutonians tied up, guarded by a combination of his soldiers along with several new Plutonian soldiers. Just outside the camp were the three ships under his command. He had no idea how Flupotia and Dr. Jenku had managed to take the base, but he was glad they were on his side.
It took some convincing from Patrick, but finally, Gin-us and Flupotia agreed to return to the Yakopiz camp and meet their Chancellor. Gin-us was wary after his encounter with the Rojozic while Flupotia wasn’t fond of how they had treated Patrick while he was a prisoner. Jane, Oliver, Frize, Tabina, Eclogite, Gneiss, Zolay, Flee, Iflama, Yuzar, and Reizod all joined them. Everyone else had agreed to stay behind with Dr. Jenku and make sure the King's soldiers were handled appropriately.
They decided to take only one ship back and leave the others for repairs. Several of the rebels claimed to be wonderful mechanics and wanted a chance to prove themselves. Flupotia and Dr. Jenku spoke for them so Patrick had no problems leaving the ships behind.
◆◆◆
Chowsin was waiting with open arms for Patrick when he returned. He had left the safety of his city walls and led his army to the ground where they were already celebrating. Patrick, Gin-us, Flupotia and the others were greeted by loud cheering as they exited their ship.
“Patrick!” Chowsin stepped forward and again embraced Patrick. “I feared for you when you did not return!”
“Ran into a little bit of trouble.”
“Nothing too serious I hope?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle.”
“There is nothing you can’t handle!” Chowsin threw his hands in the air and let out a hearty laugh. “The boy who consumed fire!”
Flupotia looked at Patrick with laughter in her eyes. Tears were welling up as she fought the urge to break out in a fit of hysteria. Chowsin continued to talk, introducing himself to the others as he walked down the line. He never waned, maintaining the same level of enthusiasm with each introduction.
When he reached the end of the line he called for a Yakopiz in the crowd. Patrick and his soldiers were led through the city, a grand parade in their honor. The festivities lasted for hours before Patrick finally found himself in bed. He closed his eyes excited to get some much-needed sleep.
◆◆◆
“Maybe you are just what I’m looking for.” Sardena watched Patrick. “There is so little magic in you, yet such potential. I need to get you here now. Before it’s too late. There’s still a chance that us Sentinels can be successful. There’s still a chance we can control the fate of the galaxy.”
◆◆◆
XVII: Breaking Silence
The next morning Patrick woke feeling well-rested. It had been a peaceful sleep without fear of being attacked or worry about what the next day would bring. He reluctantly rose from the bed and headed for the exit of the ship, knowing there was still much to do. It was an odd scene walking around the rolling city. The ground was littered with shrapnel from the battle but that had been covered with bright colored streamers and decorations left behind from the celebration the night before.
Patrick made his way into the city, walking around until he stumbled across Zinta. He was surprised to see him up and about but overjoyed that he had recovered. He was walking with two crutches and his left leg was still in a cast. His right eye was purple and swollen shut. Despite all of that his spirits were still high and he promised Patrick that the Yakopiz had taken good care of him.
Patrick then found Flupotia and Chowsin sitting together and sharing stories. Chowsin was hell-bent on convincing Flupotia that his people were from Jupiter while she simply couldn’t fathom it. Her people had been to Jupiter and they had found no life there. They dropped their conversation as Patrick approached and switched to talking about next steps.
Chowsin promised that he would supply well-armed troops for Patrick as well as outfit all of his current soldiers with propulsion units. He had half of his engineers working on retrofitting some of his larger ships to accommodate the new requirements for war. The other half of his engineers were tearing apart the Plutonian ship he had gotten his hands on. He swore that he would figure out their weakness and use it to his advantage.
Patrick headed back to his newly stocked ship to return to Dr. Jenku and the others. He stood in the command center and watched the Yakopiz until they were so small on the horizon they looked like worker bees buzzing around a nest. The Plutonian rebels had made some progress back at their base in repairing the ships. One of Patrick’s smaller ships had been torn down for scrap parts, the majority of the hull going to repair the large ship that had crash-landed. There were a few pilots in the mix who readily volunteered to fly for Patrick.
Weeks flew by as the preparations were completed and the armies were gathered. They were nearing completion, only days to go before they were to head back to Venus when their plans suddenly changed.
“Patrick.”
“Did you guys hear that?” Patrick looked to those around him and everyone shook their heads.
“They cannot hear me.”
“What in the…”
“Please, do not panic. This message is for you alone. You must travel to the sun with only those closest to you. I am here anxiously awaiting your arrival. I know there are many questions surrounding the magic you possess and I, Sardena, Silent Sentinel of Earth am one of the only beings left alive who can answer them for you. Make haste and do not delay. There is little time to spare in the midst of such a war. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Patrick dro
pped the weapon he was working on and ran to find Flupotia, Gin-us, Frize, Dr. Jenku, or anyone else who could help him make sense of what he had just heard and figure out what to do about it.
◆◆◆
READ ALONG FOR AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT BOOK IN THIS SERIES!
COMING 2020!
An excerpt from Chapter III:
Mercury’s Civil War
The scene in the city was far worse than Patrick could have imagined. The streets were flooded with a red so thick you couldn’t even see the lower levels of the buildings below. Several of the buildings had been infiltrated, and the red liquid was pouring out of the upper floors.
“What do we do?” Frize was standing by Patrick’s side in the small ship.
“Save as many as we can.” Patrick sighed and turned to the small crew on the ship with him. “Alright everyone, let’s get this ship down in a safe place. Jane, I want you manning the controls. Chelydra, Frize and Gneiss, you’re with me. The rest of you can go with Flupotia.”
He turned to her and she nodded her approval.
“We can get the craft down over there.”
Jane pointed out the window at a rooftop that was all too familiar to Patrick. Sitting atop a blackened rooftop was a large tank with the side ripped open. Patrick did his best to push the images of that day from his head.
“Perfect set us down then. The rest of you, gear up!”
As Jane maneuvered the ship carefully on the edge of the rooftop, the rest of the crew waited impatiently at the exit hatch. The landing was smooth though, and they soon were piling out, weapons drawn.
Flupotia and her team jumped across the small clearing to a building at their left. She left Flee and John behind to enter the building while jumping to the next with Yuzar. Patrick sent Chelydra and Gneiss to a building at their left while heading down the stairs of the current building with Frize.
They cleared the highest floors of the building first and found nobody. Realizing time was not on their side, they quickly changed tactics. Instead of searching each floor, they simply yelled down the hallways and waited ten seconds for a response. If nobody answered, they dropped to the next floor. It wasn’t until they had reached the eighth floor of the building that they finally found a group of Yakopiz. They were all standing at a doorway on the other end of the hallway, fighting to keep a barricade in place that held back the Rojozic.
“Thank science you’re here!”
One of the Yakopiz stepped back from the barrier and ran to Patrick’s side. He was wearing a black hazmat suit, with the mask hanging around his neck. He looked older than any of the other Yakopiz currently in the hallway, and it was clear he was running the show.
“We can’t hold them off much longer!”
“Do you know where the Chancellor is?”
“Damned if I know. Everyone took off running when the red sea showed up! I don’t even know where my own wife is.”
“You need to abandon the barrier and run for the roof. We have a small craft up there, we’re trying to clear as many of you out of here as we can.”
“Soon as we let go of that thing,” he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, “they’re flooding in.”
“I can help with that.” Frize stepped forward and motioned for Patrick to stand back. “I’m going to start from the ground and work my way up,” he looked to the Yakopiz all standing at the barricade. “When the ice reaches your hands, you need to break free and run for the stairs.”
They all nodded and Frize took a position at the center of the barricade. Everyone watched as a thick layer of ice began climbing the barricade. In no time at all, the ice was covering half of the space. One by one, the Yakopiz began to release their holds and run for the stairs.
“You too.” Patrick nodded to the other Yakopiz who nodded back and took off running.
Soon it was just Patrick, Frize, and three other Yakopiz left standing in the hallway. Each of them had removed one of their hands from the barricade and placed their masks over their faces. They were leaning away from the barricade, counting down the seconds until they should run.
“Go, now!”
Frize shouted at the three and they released their hold. They ran for the stairs and Frize finished his work, following close behind. The three Yakopiz ran through the door Patrick had been holding open at the end of the hall. Frize cleared it just as Patrick saw the ice around the barricade begin to crack. Within seconds it imploded inwards and the Rojozic rushed forward. There was no time to close the door securely behind him before he ran for the stairs.
The Rojozic advanced quickly, filling up the staircase behind him. They moved faster than Patrick and he knew there was nothing he could do. He felt the liquid reach up and grab hold of his ankle. He slipped, fell, and smacked his elbow and head on the stairs. He closed his eyes and waited for the Rojozic to fully engulf him, but the hold on his ankle did not spread.
Slowly, Patrick opened his eyes and saw that the Rojozic had stopped their advance. The red liquid had filled the staircase beneath him but was now barely moving.
“You have found the balance.”
Patrick looked around in confusion, the voice echoing in his mind.
“You have come to save us. You will free the Rojozic.”
“Oh come on!” I’m not about to be somebody else's prophesized hero!
“Not you. Him.”
The thin strand of red liquid around Patrick’s leg released itself and fell to the stairs. It stretched out, climbing past Patrick. He watched as it rose just beyond his head and pointed up the stairs.
“It is he who has found the balance. It is he who is our savior.”
Patrick looked up the stairs to where the Rojozic was pointing. His eyes rested on Frize, standing there on the stairs with balls of fire in both hands, and a look of confusion on his face.
◆◆◆
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Sipperly wrote the first draft of Aliens from Arapholanx when he was twelve years old. Over the next decade and a half, the story would undergo dozens of edits and revisions. Adam's writing is inspired by his love of both science fiction and fantasy. He hopes through his writing he can create new worlds for others to get lost in and enjoy.
Connect with the author:
On the web: www.thedapperauthor.com
Instagram @the.dapper.author
Facebook www.facebook.com/the.dapper.author/
Aliens from Arapholanx: The Burn of Magic Page 24
