Episode 1: On Angels' Wings
Brilliant sparks danced through the crystal caverns. The waves' whispers filled the lonely mountain as Trelaina's hazel eyes fixed on each rolling crest. Her abode—a tiny pod of clear, thick glass—was her haven, her castle in the wastelands. She stood at its door.
Today, no earthquakes disturbed the underground lake.
You once teemed with people from a host of worlds… housed the genetics capitol of the universe… Trelaina took a step onto the stairs' top crystal step. Until the calamity…
Father… you took me when I was abandoned—when my own mother left me. Holden Krom. You loved me, cared for me, taught me. You were so simple, but kind. She fingered the silver ring that adorned her right hand.
If only Telezart could stand beautiful and whole again.
Tears burned her eyes. It's my fault. I caused this. Father, you tried to tell me otherwise—to your last breath… but I know the truth. So normal… these hands. She held them up. Except that persistent glow. The surrounding shine dimmed but refused to fade.
I didn't ask for this power. She folded her pale hands. It wasn't your fault, Father. I could never blame you for what you did. You couldn't know what would come of your good-willed efforts to lengthen my life…
She went inside.
How long will I linger, Shaddai*…? Though decades pass, the mirror still shows the same young face. I am lonely, and though Your presence gives me comfort and hope that someday this curse might be another's blessing… death still beckons… In my weakness, I would heed its call.
She crossed the room and sat. The monitoring station hummed alive at her touch, and she scanned new images. Shaddai placed such beauty in the heavens. A neighboring planet neared its apsis, and one of Telezart's moons waxed full.
In wonder, she lost herself in the beauty of the heavens. Her glow brightened, and her long hair rose from the floor to swirl golden in the sizzling air. She extended the station's scanning range beyond Telezart's system and glimpsed other worlds, stars, galaxies. New discoveries formed neat rows and floated to either side of the main projection.
She gave the list a glance as it grew. Nebulae, an asteroid field, two new black holes, and–
Trelaina's glow filled the pod in a blinding flash. "Oh, Shaddai… let it not be–Not again!" Tears trailed to her chin and dripped on the console. "Haven't you taken enough?" she choked at the newest anomaly—a visitor whose return she'd long dreaded. It stared at her through the observation panel, a blazing white eye, swirling thick with malice. "Would you come again to destroy my planet? Only this dead husk remains because of you!"
She examined the entry, and her breath checked. "No—no—not Origin! You cannot take her!" Toward heaven she pleaded, "Shaddai! Give me a way to stop this evil." A com console sat in disuse nearby. "They are too far to hear me. Take my warning to Origin. Fend off this atrocity. It must not take them as it took my world a century past." She slid to her knees as the glowing orbs hanging from her long sleeves floated just above the floor.
"Daughter of the promise," a voice rumbled through her. "Shaddai hears your call." Beside the console, bathed in white, a magnificent broadsword slung at his hip, stood a stranger.
"Who… are you?" She drew back, attention on the sheathed blade.
"I am a messenger," he said. "My name is Arkan." His hand rested on the sword hilt. "Only those who oppose Shaddai's will need fear me." His eyes burned with light.
"You… have a message for me?"
"No. I am to be a messenger for you. Shaddai sees what is to come. My brother Arach and I will carry your warning."
"You are of… Shaddai's Realm*…" She bowed in awe. "I do not deserve such a visitation."
"Raise your head, child of the promise. I warrant not your worship. The universe quakes. Its Maker's return draws nigh," said Arkan. "But Origin's prophesied rebirth will not come by the hands of those who took Telezart."
A second stranger appeared and whispered to Arkan before he took a step back and bowed to Trelaina.
"This is Arach, the brother of whom I spoke." He nodded to Arach. "I must warn you, Trelaina. We will bring this portent of doom to Origin, but her champions must come here and claim your full message themselves."
"I don't understand," Trelaina said. "Telling them is simpler."
"It is." Arkan nodded. "But Shaddai knows the hearts of all who will join this fight, and they must make this journey. Destruction lurks beyond your borders." Arkan held out a hand, and Trelaina took it. He pulled her up with ease. "Stand ready, Diviner. Face the future with courage and hold Shaddai's hope in your heart." He stepped back.
Trelaina stood tall and nodded. "I await Origin's champions. When will they arrive?"
"In time," Arkan said. "In time."
Yunagi, last of the fifteen escort ships assigned to Earth's second cargo fleet trailed after the convoy. Derek Wildstar, its captain, sat on the bridge, arms folded, eyes glazed with memory.
Has it really been a year since the Cosmo DNA activated? Earth is restored, in-system bases rebuilt. Cargo fleets run resources to Earth more often than I can track.
It's been a long year. He tapped his chair arm. Stale air recycled through Yunagi's tiny bridge. I want to go home. It doesn't help that everyone's still thinking about the trip to Iscandar. Not a dull moment during that trip. But there aren't any more Gamilons to fend off, no stellar phenomena to gawk at, no alien Gates to trek—though I can't say I'm disappointed about that last one.
When we get back, I'm never leaving home again. It was bad enough they drafted us a week after we came back from Iscandar, but to watch mining bots load and unload cargo is brain-numbing. Derek propped his chin on one fist. The reunion can't come soon enough. He scanned the small bridge. Fellow Star Force members Chris Eager, Homer Glitchman and Jordan Dashell—Dash as everyone called him—tended their stations. Each one showcased varying stages of boredom.
For the twenty-eighth time Derek checked the convoy's progress. Getting close. Half a day from Earth. He leaned back in the uncomfortable chair. What does it look like now…? No more radiation, no more dry sea-beds. Is it green again? That red sky, has it faded to blue yet?
Derek closed his eyes, and Nova's face appeared. Your letters are the only sparks of color in this dull trip. Of course, no video calls for us. Budget was too low. Derek flipped to her last message and opened the picture again. Nova leaned into the image frame and waved as a reconstructed EDF Headquarters building filled the background.
I hope you've gotten my replies. Derek shifted in his seat as he reread the last line of her note. "What are you living for?" He sighed and shook his head. I don't know the answer to that anymore, Nova…
Everything lurched, and the chair arm bit into Derek's side. "What was that?" he demanded.
"Shots to port!" Eager's freckled face housed more confusion than fear.
"Friendly fire?
"Don't know," Eager replied. "Radar's got patches, but no solid images."
Yunagi jolted again.
"Something's out there," Derek hissed as the hair on his arms and neck prickled. "Warn the fleet."
"I can't get through," Homer said. "Signal's jammed."
"Great," Derek growled. "Keep trying."
"I can't get a target lock," said Dash. "It's moving too fast."
"Then fire manually."
"I'm trying! It flickers like it's traveling in a warp field," Dash said.
"Eager, can you get video?" Derek flipped open a small viewscreen, and the feed blinked on. He almost missed the passing gray-green streak. "Slow it down." The clip restarted, but the crawling image was just as indecipherable. "Try frame by frame." A blurry smear proved the only salvageable image. "Get us closer to the rest of the fleet." Derek growled under his breath. "I wish we had Argo's specialized radar."
"Yeah," Eager huffed. "This would be over by now if we had her instead of this tin can." He smacked his console as one of the panels shorted, then blinked on again. "Her upgrades could've waited." He checked the sensors and shook his head. "It's gone."
"Try the fleet again," said Derek.
"Got them," Homer said. "This is Yunagi. We've–" The com panel crackled, sputtered, and died; the bridge lights flashed out, replaced by emergency power's crimson cast.
"What…?" Derek floated an inch out of this chair. His seat harness held him down in the temporary absence of artificial gravity.
"Power surge," Eager supplied.
"Homer?" Derek called. "Homer, you okay?" When he didn't respond, Derek unclipped his harness and pushed toward the com console. "Hey." He shook the other officer. "Homer?"
"Wha…? What?" Homer blinked hard and shook his head.
"You okay? You spaced out," Derek said.
"Uh… Yeah—yeah, fine. I'm fine," he stuttered.
"You sure?"
"Yeah," Homer studied his dark station.
The power flickered on, and Derek's boots settled to the deck with a clunk. "Let's catch up to the fleet."
Nova sat with the rest of Commander Singleton's staff. Her crisp, white uniform shone in the soft morning light.
Far below the gathered crowd, the Earth Defense Force's new flagship sat ready for take-off. It was gigantic, bigger than the Argo. Twin wave-motion guns, like yawning wolves, formed giant red vortexes to either side of the ship's proud bow.
She half-listened as the President of the Assembly of Nations droned.
I wish the reunion tomorrow was aboard Argo… She's like a second home to everyone. Nova smiled to herself. Derek's coming back! And Homer, and Mark, and everyone else. She folded her hands. In his letters, Derek seems fine, but I won't trust that until I see him.
If only I'd written more… She covered a yawn. Too many long hours. Get up, go to work, get home, work at home, sleep, work. What I'd give for a day off. No meetings or dinners, or formal affairs.
Government leaders from around the globe sat nearby, and the Commander sat two seats down, separated from her by his granddaughter Wendy, and his overenthusiastic adjunct, General Stone.
Nova jumped, startled, as glass shattered.
"We christen this ship, Andromeda." The President concluded his speech as the crowd rose and cheered.
Pieces of broken champagne bottle sprinkled the long runway. Nova stood and applauded with the rest of the staff. Everyone else was still cheering when a stubborn bright spot invaded her vision. She rubbed tired eyes, but the spot grew into a blinding curtain.
A woman, hair the color of spring daffodils knelt with folded hands. Her alabaster skin glowed ethereal, as pleading hazel eyes and a sea-colored dress reminded Nova of Starsha of Iscandar, but there was something different about this woman.
"Board the Argo," said the stranger.
"I don't understand," Nova replied.
"Board the Argo," the woman repeated.
Andromeda's engines roared and shattered the phantom.
As the gathered thousands watched Andromeda lift off on its maiden voyage, a sense of urgency gripped Nova. Who is she? What did she mean?
"Almost there," Derek said hours after their mystery encounter. "How're radio repairs?"
"Too slow," Homer muttered as he fiddled under the panel. "There's no way I can fix this without help—and spare parts. Half these elements are toast." He tossed out another blackened piece. It clanked into a pile of soot and stank of smoke.
"Incoming!" Eager yelped.
"Hey!" Homer grabbed the console to keep from crashing into the bulkhead as Yunagi careened to starboard.
A gigantic ship raced into view and just scraped past them.
"What was that?" Eager said.
"The new flagship," Derek said. "Andromeda."
"That monstrosity?" Dash asked. "How did they scrounge a crew?"
"There isn't much of one… They automated all its systems." Derek noted the men's surprise. "Nova told me about it. That's one reason for ferrying so many extra resources to Earth—to subsidize building that thing."
"If we'd taken a ship like that to Iscandar we could've beaten Gamilon no problem," said Dash.
"Don't be so sure," Derek cautioned. "Andromeda…" He sat with a sigh. Cold, gray deck plates stared at him. "It… has no soul… The Argo—she was our home, our friend. When I board her, I feel…"
"Like part of her," Homer finished. "We all feel that way, Wildstar. And we wouldn't trade that—even if someone tried to make us."
"Hey, wait up!" EDF pilot Feria Noble called after Nova as her friend raced through the crowded space-port. "They know we're coming. They won't die if they have to wait two seconds." She caught up as Nova hit traffic near a baggage terminal.
"It's been almost a year, Feria. Twelve months." Nova skirted past two people approaching the baggage claim.
Feria wrapped her flight jacket closer and slipped between a burly American and a fellow Korean.
Ahead, Nova dodged a rolling suitcase, and a crowd of old men and women swarmed past. Each one sported a hat and shirt plastered with pictures of tourist attractions.
"I don't know what I'd do without you, Feria," Nova called to her.
"I don't know, wander off—get kidnapped again," Feria quipped as she brushed by two girls, engrossed in taking pictures of themselves. Probably for the re-established net. She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Kids these days." Then to Nova she said, "Seriously, slow down. You'll end up on your face. They won't leave without us. We have the car, remember?"
Nova pushed ahead but stopped when she broke through a wall of businessmen.
Feria arrived just as Derek stepped off the transport, Homer on his heels.
"Over here!" Nova waved to them. "Derek! Homer!"
Derek's eyes brightened, and he rushed over. "Nova!"
Homer followed, pace more measured.
"You got here fast," Derek said.
Feria slipped beside Nova. "She's a crazy driver. Don't let her take you anywhere or you'll regret it." A sharp elbow jarred her ribs. "Hey! It's true, and you know it."
"Feria." Derek smiled. "Good to see you too. Airbase still standing?"
"Last night it was," she replied. "Nova says your run was a snooze-fest."
Derek avoided her gaze. "With no Gamilon threat, escort ships are pretty dull…"
"What about you, Homer?" Feria asked. "Anything exciting happen?"
"Uh…" He shoved his hands in his pockets and studied a bright image on a nearby advertising space. "Not much…"
"Let's get to The Harbor. Our reservation's in twenty minutes." Nova beckoned everyone toward the garage.
"We'll never make that," Derek protested as they waded through the crowd.
"We will if I'm driving." Nova slung her keys around her finger, a mischievous smile on her face.
Feria groaned.
"You weren't kidding," Derek whispered to Feria as he exited the car.
"Told you," she muttered back.
"Good thing there aren't posted speed limits around here yet," said Derek. "We'd be explaining to public safety why we're going thirty over."
Feria laughed as she stepped into the crowded restaurant just behind Derek.
"Forrester—party of four," Nova told the hostess.
"This way, please." The young woman ushered them to a window table. "Order when you're ready," she said as the four took their seats, Derek and Nova nearest the window.
Everyone scrolled through the holographic menu and made their selections. Ten minutes later, their food arrived.
Through a mouthful of decked-out cheeseburger, Feria said, "Nothing like Harbor food."
"I'm glad they reopened it," said Nova.
Homer picked at his chicken parmesan and vegetables.
Derek stuffed a bite of Japanese curry in his mouth but hesitated before he took a second.
"What's the matter?" Nova asked.
"Huh?" Derek looked up from his plate.
"Your face. And you're not eating—what's wrong?"
He looked away.
"It's the crowd, isn't it? I should have picked a smaller place." Nova sighed.
"It's not that," Derek muttered.
Nova looked at him perplexed.
"I… don't know if I should talk about it…" He set his chopsticks on the edge of his plate.
"It can't be all that terrible," Feria said.
Derek's eyes darkened.
"Okay, it can," she corrected.
Derek looked from Feria to Nova. "On the way home… a ship we couldn't identify attacked Yunagi. Radar, sensors, neither one could get a good look at it. It was too fast."
"Does Commander Singleton know?" Nova said.
Derek nodded. "We reported it the second we landed. We'd have done it sooner, but something knocked out our radio."
"That ship?" said Feria.
"Homer didn't think so, but what else could it be? Whatever it was didn't just turn off the radio, it fried its guts. Homer pulled charred pieces out of the console all the way back to Earth."
"You have anything to add to this?" Feria asked Homer.
He pushed his chicken away, and his fork clinked the plate as his hand shook.
"Spill, Glitchman." Feria pulled the toothpick out of her half-eaten burger and pointed it at Homer.
"When the radio failed…" Homer glanced at Derek. "I saw… something."
"Another ship?" Derek sat up straighter. "You didn't say anything back—"
"Not outside." Homer shook his head. "In my head… Like a—a—"
"Vision…?" Nova whispered, eyes wide.
Feria leaned back in her seat, mouth open. "When did you see it?"
"Right when the radio died. We were about half an hour from Earth," Homer said.
Nova fidgeted.
"You saw her, didn't you?" Feria said. "That woman?"
"You too?" Nova asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't tell me you'd seen anything either," Feria defended.
Nova hung her head. "I thought I was seeing things—all the stress lately… I thought it was just… not enough sleep. Derek, did you see her?"
Wildstar picked up his chopsticks and pushed a clump of rice toward a carrot. "No… I didn't…"
Episode 1: Notes
* Origin–Earth
* Shaddai–a name used here of God the Father
* Shaddai's Realm-Heaven; the place where God the Father dwells
Editing pass five completed on 9/17/2019
Author's Note:
Great to see so many returning readers. Feel free to fave/follow/review as you see fit.
Happy reading and writing,
*dtill359
