The Exiled Earthborn (12 page)

Lucas had another idea. He looked up when Talis Vale came into power. Records showed that it was on the eighth of Torsis in 24,440 CT. He didn’t know what “CT” meant as a year indicator, but he knew Torsis was one of Sora’s fifteen months. He entered the date into the search modifier. A singular result sprang up in front of him.

“The Fall of Vitalla.”

He tried to enter the information page, but was met with a flashing red error message across the scroll.

R
ESTRICTED
A
CCESS
: V
IOLATION
L
OGGED

Violation? It was true then, Talis didn’t want anyone speaking about what happened that day, or apparently even reading about it. He wondered if someone was about to come arrest him, but a few minutes passed and the ward was silent. His scroll had returned to normal.

He tried to press his luck, attempting to enter a variety of links to “related stories” about Vitalla. He earned a new violation each time when he was met with the same foreboding message.

Midway through the list of terms, he came across one called “Send-off.” He pressed it absentmindedly, assuming he’d get another violation, but was surprised when a video actually started playing. He was further stunned when he saw who was speaking in it.

It was Corinthia Vale, as gorgeous as when he’d seen her at the party, if not more so. She was standing on a stage that almost looked like it was made out of crystal. A line of dignitaries stood behind her including Talis, Tannon, and … Hex Tulwar? It couldn’t be. But behind them all was a familiar sight; the sheer red cliffs of Rhylos were unmistakable. A fleet of seemingly enormous ships hung in the sky behind them. Lucas’s face was illuminated by the warm glow of the scroll as she began to speak.

“Greetings citizens of Rhylos, and the billions of Sorans watching on this momentous day.”

The strong winds did their best to tear her blond hair from their braids, but they remained in place while the ends of her long dress danced about.

“I have been privileged and honored to have worked on the Vitalla project for the past decade, an idea sparked many years before I was even born. It represents the single greatest advancement in our history, and one that can help benefit the least fortunate among us.”

She spoke articulately and with obvious confidence. A born leader. Or, from the way she had described herself, a bred leader.

“Rhylos has been ravaged by disasters both natural and unnatural throughout history. Many here live in poverty, struggling with the challenges of day-to-day survival, things most of us take for granted. We knew when the Vitalla project was created that it should benefit those who need it the most. It has been an enlightening experience working with Grand Cleric Tulwar, a man who wants nothing more than to see his homeland rise again.”

Tulwar smiled. He clasped his hands together and made a small bow in her direction. His hair was shorter, his face absent of insanity.

“The land may be beyond saving, but the people are not. Vitalla will be their salvation, and the Rhylosi will earn a reward they’ve long deserved.”

She motioned behind her. Lucas could see an enormous metal structure sitting on the cliff behind them.

“In a few hours, the largest convoy fleet ever launched from our world will make its way to Vitalla, a world outside our solar system we’ve spent the better part of a hundred years terraforming. One hidden from the Xalans and now filled with every resource and comfort a Soran could want. Cities stand erected, waiting to be filled. Millions of homes have been manufactured and will offer the people of Rhylos a long-awaited respite from their troubles on Sora. There will be plenty of opportunities available for all. Some may attend schools and be taught by some of the greatest minds our world has to offer. Others will find plentiful work farming and mining.”

The live audience cheered, and Corinthia couldn’t contain a dazzling smile.

“As this is the largest colony we’ve ever constructed, and the first outside our own solar system, there will of course be challenges. The journey to Vitalla, which begins today, will take just over a year. A hundred million citizens of Rhylos will load into thousands of our largest ships, which will take them there. The convoy will be personally escorted by my grandfather, High Chancellor Vale, and he will bring the might of the Soran military to ensure the path is safe, and the destination secure.”

A gruff-looking man behind her gave a curt nod. He was Talis’s father, the original High Chancellor Vale. Varrus, was it? He looked like an older model of Tannon and wore a perfectly pressed suit adorned with an incredible number of distinctions. Both Tannon and Talis eyed the taller man reverently, and the crowd cheered at the mention of his name.

“My mother will be acting Chancellor while my grandfather is away. Our homeworld is more secure than it’s ever been. With Xala defeated soundly at the Battle of Golgath, they have been forced to retreat and regroup, and we have little to fear from them for some time. The Soran Defense Initiative remains in place guarding our borders while at the same time deploying troops to safeguard the passage to Vitalla.”

The winds were picking up now, and Corinthia had to shield her face from stinging sand.

“I now invite Grand Cleric Tulwar to say a few words on the behalf of his people.”

Another short bow from Tulwar and he strode up to the podium where he greeted Corinthia with a friendly embrace. He looked like no religious figure Lucas had ever seen, dressed in a short red coat with knee high boots and golden chestplate.

“Zurana bless us!” he said as he reached the podium, his voice booming around the canyon.

“Kyneth save us!” came the monolithic reply from the audience.

Lucas was jolted out of the scroll by an alarm sounding in the hall. He frantically looked to Asha, who hadn’t stirred, and then watched as a number of silvercoats sprinted past their door and bustled into the next room. The alarm was silenced and Asha’s head rolled to her left. Lucas bent across her bed and threaded her hair from her face back over her ear. When he turned back to his scroll to continue playing the video, he was met with a familiar message:

R
ESTRICTED
A
CCESS
: V
IOLATION
L
OGGED

Repeated tries only yielded the same result, and finally his scroll shut down completely and refused to turn back on. Perhaps he’d violated one protocol too many. He tossed the device to the foot of Asha’s bed and rubbed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.

What had happened at Vitalla? The feed he’d just watched showed the Vales and Tulwar as allies, even friends. What sort of betrayal would spark an entire resistance movement pushing the planet to the brink of civil war? And how was Maston mixed up in all this? The thoughts plagued him as he eventually drifted off to sleep in the darkness of the medical wing.

7

Lucas awoke from a booted kick. He jumped and saw Asha standing over him, dressed in a fresh set of tight-fitting Soran clothes made out of an unidentifiable green-and-black material.

“Up and at ’em, soldier.”

Lucas looked around groggily. She had a white bandage around her tan forearm and was favoring her right leg.

“They’re letting you out?”

“I’m letting myself out. I didn’t even need to be in here in the first place.”

Lucas rolled his eyes.

“You were caught in an explosion, kidnapped, and tortured, all within the last day.”

Asha scoffed as she began rifling through her pack.

“And I hear you fought off a robot the size of a semi-truck, and I didn’t see anyone forcing you in here.”

Lucas rubbed his sides, which still ached.

“You know, few cracked ribs, the usual.”

“Whatever, I’m getting out of here.” She kept digging through her pack. Her burns and bruises did look noticeably better. “Where the hell is my Magnum? And my sword?”

“Natalie’s watching over them in the armory, don’t worry.”

She shook her head.

“You and that gun, I swear. It’s like your daughter.”

“Says the girl frantically trying to find her own weapons. Though I suppose that revolver is a priceless artifact here.”

Asha stopped cold, a look of horror creeping across her face.

“Oh shit.”

“What?”

“Speaking of priceless artifacts, I’m pretty sure I lost that ancient necklace full of fist-size diamonds I was wearing the other night.”

Lucas laughed.

“Hah, maybe the Fourth Order will have their ransom after all.”

“Not likely,” said a voice from the doorway. It was Talis Vale, clad in a long purple gown that flowed over her feet. “It was a fake.”

Asha didn’t miss a beat with the sudden appearance of the High Chancellor. Box-shaped palace guards loomed behind her.

“What, you didn’t trust me with the real one?” Asha asked.

Talis walked into the room while the guards stayed behind.

“No, no, that isn’t it, my dear. The original was stolen from the palace vault a century ago, but we don’t like to tell people that,” she said with a wry smile.

The guards were eyeing Lucas, and he wondered if those were just the usual stares he got as the Earthborn, or if they were about to take him into custody for his apparently illegal inquiries into Vitalla last night. They made no moves toward him.

“I’m glad to see you up and about, Asha,” Talis continued. “I wanted to personally come and apologize for your treatment at the hands of my … countrymen.”

Asha waved her off.

“I was just telling him, it was nothing.”

“If that was nothing, I can’t imagine what your Earth must have been like.”

“Well, the last few years certainly weren’t great, as you’ve heard.”

Asha paused, and her tone shifted into something more subdued.

“I was sorry to hear about your daughter.”

Talis nodded.

“Thank you, though I suppose if anyone can share my pain, it’s the pair of you. We three seem to have lost everyone over the past few years. It’s a lonely place to be, but you should be thankful you have each other to help you through.”

Lucas and Asha glanced at one other. If someone had told Lucas years ago that he’d fall for the woman who shot him and left him for dead in hundred-degree heat, he’d have laughed in their face. What a strange journey it had been.

“Also,” Talis continued, “I have a humble request of the pair of you.”

Talis’s last request almost got him killed when he tried to stop Maston from executing Hex Tulwar. What would it be this time?

“If both of you are feeling well enough after your most recent ordeal, I’d like for you to discover a more pleasant side of Sora. One that doesn’t involve imprisonment, war, or bloodshed of any kind. I want you to experience the best of our world, not just the worst.”

They were both taken aback.

“Uh, what did you have in mind?” Lucas asked.

A few hours later they were speeding through the air in a luxury hovercraft far larger than others Lucas could see. It was the size of a small room and had a full array of drinks and beverages on a central table surrounded by plush seating that wrapped its way around the cabin. The windows were only tinted from the outside this time, and they had an amazing view of the surrounding countryside, which showcased vibrant forests of twisted trees and crisp blue mountains that surrounded the glimmering cityscape of Elyria. A constant feed of the Stream was plastered against the far wall of the vehicle, and it was tuned to a local sporting event instead of the news broadcasts that were usually focused on the war or, more recently, the two of them.

Lucas didn’t understand the rules of the game onscreen. Two teams were flying through the air in colorful armored jet suits, clutching electric melee stun weapons, which they frequently used to incapacitate each other. There was a glowing, floating ball they batted around between them, and the object of the game appeared to be to get it into one of four light spheres hovering around the arena.

“Hey Silo, what’s this called again?” Lucas called up to the front.

“Sakala,” the large man replied from the driver’s seat. “I played it in prime school before the SDI. We won the provincial championship three years in a row.”

Silo had volunteered to head up Lucas and Asha’s security detail on the trip into Elyria that Talis had arranged. Flying adjacent to all four corners of their craft were smaller armored vessels full of non-Guardian, palace-issue bodyguards meant to ensure their safe passage to and from the metropolis up ahead. The menacing gun barrels poking out from all angles of their crafts ensured there was no competing traffic within a few hundred yards of them.

“Try these,” Asha said, tossing Lucas a bundle of orange fruit. They were attached to a central stem like grapes. They were completely round and almost translucent. Lucas popped one in his mouth.

“Not bad. It’s like, mango … cherry?”

“I haven’t tasted one thing here I can actually place,” Asha said, tearing off a piece of oval-shaped bread and dipping it into a bowl of blue syrup. “But it’s all fantastic.”

Perhaps they were just used to eating cockroaches and dead Xalans for too many years, but the spread before them was undeniably spectacular.

“Don’t eat too much,” Silo said from the front. “You’ve got dinner reservations at the Golden Leaf later.”

“Any good?” Lucas asked, his mouth full of orange pulp.

“The waiting list is several years long and a meal there costs more than I make in month, so yeah, it’s good.”

Silo had been somewhat friendly to him previously but was much more jovial off-mission. Another armored man sat up in the cockpit with him. His shoulder armor had a palace security emblem stamped on it. He never turned around or spoke.

“Well, maybe you can take Kiati there some time,” Lucas said. Silo erupted with laughter.

“That’ll be the day. Against regulation.”

“Officially?” Lucas said with a raised eyebrow.

“Officially,” Silo said with a broad smile and a quick wink.

Asha looked up from her syrup-soaked bread.