He checked himself over in the mirror again. His helmet was polished, the green stripes of House Judgment standing out bold on the white ivory. His tunic was neat, he'd heated the wrinkles out of it the night before. The symbol of House Judgment stared back at him, as if nodding to him, saying "You can do this, you can do this, you are of House judgment, you can do this."
He took a deep breath. It was early in the morning, so early, the sky was only a rusty, russet color. The sun had not yet risen. The transport shuttle that would take him to the launch site would be here any moment. There... he would meet his Kell, face to face. Every member of a House met their Kell, in a way, when they were fully initiated. He or she would appear on a screen; in person, if it was a particularly important or special ceremony.
He'd seen his Kell on a screen before, at his own ceremony. Now, felt like a giddy hatchling at the moment; not at all like an Eliksni of five years like he was. He heard a sound outside his door; the sound of shuttle thrusters, followed by a loud beeping. he gave a small jump, with an animalistic hiss of excitement. It is time!
Variks ran out the door, snatching a case with a few small belongings up with one lower hand as he did so. A few extra clothes, a couple of data pads, some examples of Eliksni history. The last item was just in case. After all, with exploring new worlds came the possibility of meeting a new race of people. They could be hostile, like the Cabal; but there was always a possibility of a none-hostile encounter.
He burst out the door, not bothering to close it. He might not be coming back, after all, if it came to a planet-wide evacuation. It wasn't as if he had much of value, anyway; once an Eliksni grew up, at age two, their parental bonds faded almost entirely over the course of the years. He had little of both material and personal value in this home, which may not be his home for much longer.
And there was the shuttle, coming to a low hover out on the road. He ran to it, the doors opening. He almost tripped on the stairs, and the House Sky Eliksni driving the vehicle gave him a look as he scrambled on board.
"Sorry." he muttered, turning to the seats lined up before him. There were a few occupants, though there were no other House Judgment Eliksni besides himself on board. No matter. He thought, though he was secretly a little disappointed. There was a House Blood Eliksni sharpening a shock blade with an almost bored expression, a member of House Winter, who had probably been on leave when he received his order, who was going over several data pads with almost feverish tenacity, and a somewhat frightened-looking member of House Waters, who sat at the very back.
He chose a seat up front, and scooted up against the window to watch the ground, and his home, get farther and farther away. He was going. This was it. He was going to the stars!
Variks must have fallen asleep at some point, because it was the jolt of the shuttle landing that woke him up. he let out a small whine as he moved his spectacularly stiff neck from the position he'd been in, head pressed against the window. Looking around, he saw that there were significantly more Eliksni on the shuttle than when he last remembered. And then his eyes gazed out the window... and he saw it.
The super ship!
It was massive, with thrusters on each wing. It's front tapered to a point, and the insignia of House Kings was painted on the side, like a House King's warship. But there was a new addition to the symbol; lined up on either side of it, slightly smaller, were the insignias of all the other Houses, arranged in a crescent, like the Council of Kells meeting room. He felt like he might explode with pride as his gaze located the House Judgment symbol.
The others around him stood up and began to file out of the shuttle. He didn't bother looking to see if any others of his House had boarded while he was asleep; he just wanted to get off the shuttle, to see the ship again, in full view, in all it's glory. He practically jumped off of the stairs and ran around the shuttle, looking up at the ship, taking it in in wonderment. This is to be our carrier to the star ways!
He couldn't wait to get on it, to explore every nook and cranny. Oh, he would have so much fun writing about this!
"Eliksni of shuttle twenty of five, report to your Kells in hall thirty six of ten." a voice commanded. He looked behind him, to see those he had ridden with being directed by a member of House Sky standing on a stack of crates near by, wavering his right arms in the direction of a tunnel entrance dug into the landing zone. The launching preparation quarters must be underground. He realized.
Variks gathered himself, with one last look at what would be his vessel into space, and flowed his fellow Eliksni down into the red-lit tunnels below.
It would be easy to get lost down here. He thought as he went further into the dark. His people could see in the dark, but it was still strange to be underground, with these red lights dully illuminating their path. A few House Sky or Winter members pushed past them on occasion, carrying crates or information.
They approached a hallway lined with doors, and a member of House Sky was directing the others to their Kells. He looked Variks over as he approached.
"Kell Felkis is in room five of twelve." he told him. Variks nodded his appreciation, and continued on. he passed several door, and had to stop to allow a House Water Eliksni, the one who had sat in the back of the shuttle, enter one of them. Variks could smell his fear, and came to the conclusion that that particular Eliksni didn't want to be here. But if your Kell gave you an order, you followed it.
Five of twelve, five of twelve... ah! He stopped outside the door, hesitating, gathering himself. He was about to meet his Kell. The most revered member of Eliksni society. He took a deep breath, and opened the door. There were already many members of his House inside, though he didn't count. At the front of the room was a very large Eliksni in House Judgment colors standing, talking to a Baron.
Kell Felkis! He suddenly felt like he was frozen to the spot, all heads turning to him. Felkis was actually... well he was actually quite shocking. He was larger than the Baron, but smaller than he was supposed to be. Variks was pretty sure he'd been bigger than that. He must be giving up his ether supplements. The scribe realized. With ether becoming short on hand, he'd heard tell that the Kells were neglecting the extra amounts of ether that gave them their size, and that even some of the Barons were doing the same thing.
Swallowing hard, trying to ignore the stares, Variks closed the door and enter completely.
"I believe that is the last, my Kell." the Baron addressed Felkis. The large Eliksni nodded.
"Very well." His massive head turned to face the lesser members he had gathered, and all eyes left Variks to focus on their Kell, much to the scribe's relief. "You all know why you have been gathered here. I need not stress how important this journey may be. You are here to represent our House, House Judgment, on a task that must not be failed."
Variks felt a shiver slip down his spine. For the first time, it occurred to him this was not just a journey; this was a quest. One that, if failed, could mean the slow, painful extinction of the Eliksni species.
"Your duty is as it always has been. Keep the peace. Judge the criminal. Record the offense. Make sure our ways are not forgotten amongst isolation. Those you are traveling with will be far from Eliksni society; be sure they remember, be sure they keep the law the way they always have. For if we lose our sense of duty, our sense of honor... we will fall." the Kell of Judgment continued. "Do as you always do, Eliksni of Judgment, as you reach for the stars. Keep the law."
Epic inspiring speechifying time!
My assignment of some of the Houses is based off some HoW flavor text where the Ghost is theorizing what roles they may have played long ago. I'm writing Uldren's miserable scenes right now; he's kind of being purposefully pathetic about it all. He hates it all.
I have plenty of chapters in storage for everyone.
And...
THE KELL OF WAFFLES WILL RISE! BOW BEFORE VARIKS, EARTHINLGS; BOW!
Ahem.
Read and REVIEW!
