by Kyle Larson
He flew into the engine room and just before he reached the duct he’d have to break, the ship violently rumbled. It was as if the ship had been struck. Kelvin waited a few seconds and then it happened again. This time, all of the lights in the engineering section went out and the shaking didn’t stop. Just to be safe, Kelvin smashed the duct once again and then got out of the ship as soon as he could.
Everything had changed in the sky.
When Kelvin broke through the hull, he saw the sky of Venus was now dark with smoke and dust, and a bright orange beam drilled into the surface. Kelvin looked frantically for Amelia and Teve, who he spotted much higher than him. He raced to them and knew they were in trouble as soon as he saw the look on Teve’s face. The ground below rumbled and the beam sizzled and roared. The beam was coming from above the planet.
Kelvin remembered the confidence in Aren’s voice and knew right away whatever the weapon was, it was her.
“It’s Aren!” Kelvin shouted as he approached them.
Teve and Amelia said nothing. There was no need for words. After a few moments, the beam stopped, but the ground still trembled from the aftershock. Teve unsheathed his staff and pulled a helmet over his head. Once it was on, it surrounded his head completely, turning into a space helmet. A small oxygen hose rose from his vest and connected with the back of the helmet. Kelvin and Amelia had helmets on their armor that were similar, so they started to follow Teve’s lead and attached the oxygen hose from their armor.
“No,” Teve said. He motioned for them to stop preparing their helmets. “The two of you stay here. I need to see what that thing is. Whatever it is, it broke through the gravity shield.”
“No, we’re going with you. We can help,” Kelvin insisted.
“Stay here, Kelvin. I mean it. If I’m not back in five minutes, get back to the Archive and wait for someone to come for you. Don’t forget your training,” Teve said and turned to Amelia. “Both of you!”
Teve flew away so fast it looked like he disappeared in front of them
“What’s the point in him training us if we can’t help?” Kelvin said in anger.
“He doesn’t know what we’re up against. Did you see his face, Kelvin? He’s terrified.”
They could see Teve climbing in altitude and then another beam blasted down. It was very close to Teve, but it didn’t hit him. Something was wrong though because Teve started to tumble down as if he’d been knocked out. Amelia and Kelvin bolted toward him.
Amelia was the first one to catch Teve. She moved in from behind him and got a hold of him under his arms. At the speed he was falling, Amelia would have broken his arm if she just grabbed it. Kelvin grabbed him by the legs and the two of them flew back toward the canyon. They saw a large clearing where the trees had been torched in the forest below them. Luckily, the forest was very lush so none of the trees caught on fire. They were still obliterated, though, a place forever marked by Aren’s rage.
They made their way back into the canyon and back to the Archive. They took Teve to Kelvin’s quarters and laid him out on the small couch. Amelia had been trained in first aid and quickly examined Teve. He was breathing and appeared to have simply been knocked out. There weren’t any bruises or burns, so the attacking beam hadn’t touched him.
“Is he okay?” Kelvin said as he ran to fill up a glass of water for Teve.
“As far as I can tell. He just lost consciousness.”
“Mara, request a contact link with the Venusian Royal Palace, request a communication link with Queen Tendai. You can tag it an emergency if you think that will help” Kelvin said, as he dashed back and handed the glass to Amelia.
“Way ahead of you boss. Queen Tendai is standing by,” Mara said.
Kelvin held his mobile up but positioned himself so that Teve’s body wouldn’t be the first thing she saw. He didn’t want to upset her and it would be hard enough without the added image. Her face appeared on the mobile.
“Lord Sellwood,” Tendai said. “That blast was very close to your Archive. Where is my son? He hasn’t responded to my communication attempts. It’s time to bring you three back to Judur.”
“Your majesty, Teve’s been hurt,” Kelvin said.
Tendai’s eyes widened and then she was gone. The transmission hadn’t ended, Tendai was just gone, with the wall behind where she had been the only thing that remained in the transmission. Kelvin called out for her a few times and then ended the transmission. He tossed his mobile on the couch out of frustration.
“Hey!” Mara shouted. “Careful! This is my world, Kelvin. If something happened to this mobile I’d be gone.”
“Sorry, Mara,” Kelvin said. “Can you try to reestablish a communication link with the queen?”
Just as he said that Queen Tendai burst through the door. Amelia and Kelvin didn’t know how far Judur was, but they imagined it would take most people a lot longer than it took the queen to get to them.
“What happened?” Tendai said. She didn’t even look at them and went straight to Teve. Her only son was the only thing she could think of. The attack on her planet went away until she confirmed for herself that Teve was breathing.
“Whatever that beam is…Teve flew to see where it came from and he was close to the second blast. It didn’t hit him, he just started falling,” Amelia said.
Tendai looked for something she could use to comfort Teve. She eyed the glass of water Amelia had. “Give me that water.” Amelia handed it over and Tendai splashed it on her palms. Gently, she set them on Teve’s head and closed her eyes. Both Amelia and Kelvin were certain she was doing something with the gravity beyond their comprehension. They knew well that Tendai was the most powerful Gravity Warrior. They’d barely seen what Teve was capable of and they couldn’t imagine what Tendai could do.
In a few seconds, Teve opened his eyes and sat up quickly. Tendai wrapped her arms around him and they held each other tightly. Both of them knew what it would mean to lose the other. They never wanted to know the pain of losing a family member. Tendai helped him stand, but as soon as he was up, Teve was fine.
“It’s coming from the Empress,” Tendai said. She looked at Kelvin and shook her head. “It’s your sister’s ship. She’s brought down the Gravity Shield. They will be able to send in star divers and attack our cities.”
“Like hell, they will,” Teve said.
Amelia and Kelvin unsheathed their staffs. Teve and Tendai looked at them and smiled.
“I take it their training went well,” Tendai said.
“They didn’t finish, but they’re ready. Let me go back up there. Let me lead the attack.”
“No, Teve, you need to come back with me to Judur. All the Archives around Venus are standing by. We need to analyze this before we decide how to respond. Every Gravity Warrior on Venus has their eye on the sky right now. If they attempt to even land an escape pod here, we’ll be all over it. We need to figure out what that beam is and how to stop it,” Tendai said. She stood and walked to the edge of the balcony. “I’ll need to go ahead. Teve, you stay behind and lead them to Judur.”
A huge gust of wind blew back and Tendai was gone. Kelvin and Amelia couldn’t believe how fast she was. Teve didn’t wait for them and he flew off. There wasn’t any time to think, so Kelvin and Amelia followed.
Kelvin could feel the tension in his chest and stomach. He thought of Aren and remembered the look in her eyes when he spoke to her. Her confidence terrified him even more at that moment since he was aware of the power she had. He appreciated that Teve felt he was ready, but Kelvin didn’t feel ready for a fight. The fact that Teve had come that close to being harmed frightened him of what Aren would do next. If a city had been below that beam, everyone in it would be dead.
Amelia had the same thought about what Aren’s beam could do to a populated area. It made her think there was no reason Aren would send in ships when she could just attack from orbit. The Gravity Warriors were going to have to get up there if they were going to stop it. She watch
ed the landscape underneath them pass by until a skyline came into view, with massive skyscrapers and several large boulders, all carved like arrowheads, that floated over the city.
It was Judur and it was more spectacular than Amelia imagined. This was the first time she’d seen the city, as well as Kelvin. The towers and buildings all looked ancient, but they were just as tall and large as those on Earth. The boulders seemed to naturally exist in mid-air, floating like the jagged monoliths, untethered to anything on the ground. Like everything else on Venus, it was magical. As they got closer to one of the floating boulders, Amelia could see there were homes built on each boulder. They were like mountain tops without the mountains.
“This is amazing,” Amelia said, as she picked up on Kelvin’s nervous energy. “I’m coming back here someday, no matter what happens.”
“Yeah, I’m honored we get to defend a planet as amazing as this,” Kelvin said. He thought of all the people that watched him and Amelia now. All the Nine Kingdoms had their eyes on Venus. Kelvin and Amelia would not just be proving themselves to Queen Tendai, but to everyone in the Nine Kingdoms who would look to them for protection. He was also aware that enemies –– those he already knew and those he’d yet to meet –– would be watching as well.
Teve lead them to an Archive in the center of the city. On the balcony, Kelvin and Amelia counted at least a few dozen people, crowded around Queen Tendai and King Etho. The three of them descended and touched down on the balcony. Tendai looked as if she had been in the middle of a heated discussion with a large man who stood in the front of the circle. The man looked angry with her, but when he caught sight of Teve, he softened his face.
Kelvin and Amelia could tell the two men were not happy to see each other.
“Master Teve,” the man said. “Perhaps you can help me convince your mother that now is the time to attack before that mad princess points that thing at us.” The man made sure to look right at Kelvin when he spoke.
“My mother is our queen and you will show her respect, Javier,” Teve said. “The people of Venus trust her to lead, so we trust her with patience as well. We don’t know what it is and we should not try to fight what we don’t understand, especially something that powerful.”
Javier looked away and shook his head.
“I present to you all Prince Kelvin Sellwood and Lieutenant Amelia Chapman from Earth. They are here to fight with us. Both of their families have fought with our people before. You know their parents and their grandparents, so I hope you will offer them the same respect. What little time I’ve spent with the two of them assures me they will continue the honorable ways of their respective family names.”
“Welcome,” the crowd said in unison. “Master Chapman. Master Sellwood. Welcome.” It sounded like this was a traditional greeting at a Gravity Warrior meeting. Kelvin and Amelia looked around and everyone nodded in respect to them. They wondered if everyone that stood on the balcony knew their ancestors. Each person was most likely hundreds of years old. They all held staffs and all wore the same armor as Kelvin and Amelia. The only people not wearing Armor were Tendai and Etho.
A Gravity Warrior touched down on the balcony, just as the greeting finished. He wore a helmet and what looked like a minimal space suit. He ripped off the helmet and everyone could tell he was frantic.
“We did our first fly by. It’s an anti-gravity cannon. It’s Justeph! He built the anti-gravity cannon from the ancient wars! The one he always claimed he would build someday!” the Gravity Warrior said.
“Justeph?” Teve said, his eyes widened.
Kelvin could see the alarm in Tendai’s eyes. The Gravity Warrior realized he shouldn’t have said that, as Teve walked very close to his father. Tendai moved to get in between them.
“Are you saying Justeph is up there? We need to attack now. You know what he’s capable of! If he built that, he’s going to use it!” Teve said. He unsheathed his staff as if he were preparing to use it that instant. Teve took on a different demeanor.
“Justeph is the Colonel,” Kelvin whispered to Amelia. “The queen didn’t want Teve to know, because she said he’d go berserk. I guess he blames him for his brother’s death as much as he blames himself.”
Amelia’s mouth opened wide, as she couldn’t believe what she learned. “Kelvin, how do you know that?”
“I’m sorry,” Kelvin said. “Tendai told me last night, asked me to let her be the one to tell him. She was worried this would rock him.” They’d lost track of Teve’s words but could hear his voice elevate. “I think she had a point.”
“He’s a traitor to our people and he’ll do anything to hurt Venus!” Teve said, the words blistered with each syllable.
“We don’t know if he’s up there, son,” Tendai said. “But, there should be total truth between us. The man they call the Colonel…that’s Justeph Leray. We didn’t want to tell you, but that was my mistake and you deserve to truly understand your enemy.”
“Son, please control your anger. There is a time for anger, but that is not now. We need to remain calm and focused. Justeph will pay for what he did to our people and for the lives he took from Earth Navy. Protecting our planet should be our focus now. Do you understand me?”
Teve sheathed his staff and put his hand on his father’s shoulder. Tendai moved closer and the three of them embraced. It was exactly what they and everyone else on the balcony needed. There was strength in the Gravity Warriors of Venus, and the bond between each person was a testament to that. The people of Venus knew how special their home was, that’s why they trusted it to people who believed in honor and love.
They faced grave danger, but there had never been a stronger belief that Venus would prevail. The Gravity Warriors began to prepare their attack.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AREN SCANNED THE surface, looking to make for her next demonstration. She was going to avoid populated areas but wanted to make a lasting statement. The Kraskyo Mountain range was known to be uninhabited and considered a protected area of Venusian wilderness. Aren would level the glacial peaks to puddles and dust. It would be another good way to get the people of Venus to consider giving up Queen Tendai. In a very misguided way, Aren hoped to compel the people to take back their planet.
The only protection from the super-cannon had been the gravity shield. That was gone. Aren could do what she wanted unless the Venusians had something else to fight back with. Not for a second did Aren think it was going to be as easy as taking down the Gravity Shield, since the Colonel and Riz both seemed confident in the Gravity Warriors abilities to defend themselves. Aren felt not only was this a way to gaslight the citizens of Venus, it was also effective in calling the Gravity Warriors to a fight.
“Have you detected any launches from their cities? Ships or returned fire?” Aren said into her headset. She expected whatever defenses they had would strike back swiftly.
“No ma’am,” an officer said. “We’ve got every potential launch point monitored. Nothing’s getting off that surface. We’ve detected several lifeforms in flight. We haven’t been able to get a look at them yet, but the computer estimates they’re giant birds, about the size of an average human. That’s the only anomaly we’ve monitored.”
Giant birds? Aren laughed in her head that was possibly the reason the Colonel and Riz seemed to think the Gravity Warriors would be fine. There was no telling what was down in Venus, but giant birds were not what concerned her. Electro-blasts or missiles were what she’d expected. She expected the Gravity Warriors to fight back with star divers or wait for the Wanderers to land on the surface. Her tactical advantage was that she wouldn’t have to land on the surface with the super-cannon. She could sit comfortably above the planet and carve up the surface until they surrendered. If idealism wouldn’t wake the Venusians to her cause, fear would.
“Try paying less attention to birds and more attention to where other planetary defenses are. I’m preparing another blast. Aimed at the Kraskyo Mountains,” Aren said.
She pushed her finger down on the panel and fired the cannon. The orange beam emerged and shot down towards the planet. Through the telescopic sensors, she could see the mountains crumble under the beam. Clouds of smoke and dust quickly distorted the view, but Aren let the beam continue for minutes. It ripped through the treasured mountain peaks and dug into the bedrock. Aren intended to burn it into the brain of the people that the Wanderers would be heard. She demonstrated what she felt to be the monumental sacrifice they must make against their rulers if they wanted to be free. Sometimes you must destroy what is most precious to demonstrate strength.
Aren wanted the Nine Kingdoms to be free, but she also thought the people should have to work for it. She had worked for her freedom and they could work for theirs. The Wanderers, under her leadership, would play the role of mentors and guardians. They would ensure the proper transitions would take place and that the population of the Nine Kingdoms could govern however they wanted. There were voices around the Nine Kingdoms that sympathized and agreed with what the Wanderers wanted, and Aren wanted those voices to become a chorus. Venus and Jupiter would be demonstrations. They would be a call to arms to those who would take back the Nine Kingdoms.
“Ma’am, a transmission is coming in from Judur. It’s Queen Tendai.”
Aren smiled out of pride. There were two possibilities of what Tendai would say to her and she was prepared to respond to them both with one answer: surrender.
“Do put her through,” Aren said, her voice very congenial. When Aren heard the transmission switchover, she didn’t give Tendai the courtesy of the first word. “Your majesty, what a tragedy that it’s come to this.”
There was no reply.
