Four—
Why you should never get involved in an Omicronian war.
"Can't we just... I don't know, fly away? You do have a spaceship, you know."
"No, Harry. We can't leave, we can't move. FAI is literally paralysed until the airspace is clear. We're stuck here. I'm just going to have a quick look outside, see what position we're in." I walked to the door and peered out. "By the looks of the sky and the ground, we're in the 4th mountain range of Guta. It's deserted. That's odd. This place should be full of Omicronians of the 6th Order. It should be full... of...life," I said, my words drifting off lazily, as if I were exceptionally tired. I tumbled out of FAI and she beeped a warning to Harry. He went to the door, but I was no-where to be found. He started getting the same effects as me and only managed three words before he passed out.
"FAI... stealth...mode." He fell on his face in the dirt.
I woke in a tent that was exceptionally dirty. I was surrounded by people wearing cloths over their faces. It was still easy to tell by their vividly coloured hair that they were Omicronian.
"She's foreign," one said in 6th League Omicronian. So they were Omicronians of the 6th Order. "Two hearts, and her cells are all backwards. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear she was Deltan." I groaned and attempted to sit up, failing miserably.
"Someone get her a scarf," the one sitting next to me ordered. A shorter Omicronian brought forth a grey cloth and tied it around my head. I sat up and cracked my neck.
"That was fun. Where am I?" I asked. They all looked at me confusedly. Of course; I was speaking in Deltan. "Where am I?" I repeated in 6th League Omicronian.
"You speak the language?" the one next to me asked.
"Yeah," I said, rubbing my head. I had a shocking headache.
"You're in the main Medical Base," she told me.
"Where is everyone? What happened? Last time I was on Omicron 6, there were people everywhere!"
"Our neighbouring planets happened. They wiped out most of us, and forced the rest of us to set up camps like this. Pray tell us, child: what is your name?"
"I'm Key-hah. What is your name?"
"Jardlacka. Key-hah, that's a pretty name. What planet is it from?"
"Not from a planet. But it's Deltan."
"What does it mean?" Jardlacka asked urgently.
"I had a friend, travelling with me. Is he here?"
"Child, the meaning of your name! What is it?"
"Key-hah. It means—."
"Survivor," we said in unison.
"And you: are you Deltan?"
"Yes. I am the last of my kind."
"You're the survivor. Oh my Lord Omicron! It's coming true; the prophecy's coming true! After all these years!"
"The prophecy?"
"You said you'd come here before, Key-hah. What do you know of the 11 Prophecies of Omicron?"
Harry woke to find a scarf tied roughly around his mouth, his hands and feet bound, being dragged backwards down the Guta Mountain Range. He was groggy, but aware of the fact that his captors were speaking in a foreign language. Somehow his glasses hadn't slipped off yet, and he was grateful of that fact. Half an hour later, he found himself being yanked to his feet by two people with brightly coloured hair. They made him walk (as best he could) into a large building with seven strokes on it. Harry supposed that this was the base for Omicron 7. He was marched up to the door and the shorter one rapped a specific pattern of seven knocks and part of the door was slid open. The guard inside had a short conversation with the short one and then Harry was dragged inside. He was sat on a white chair in an empty room, followed in by a very old alien. His once bright blue hair was faded and matted and he pointed to himself.
"Janda," he said slowly.
"Harry," Harry nodded, pointing to himself.
"Harry," the old man confirmed, pointing at Harry. He nodded.
"Janda," Harry said, pointing at the other. He received a smile and a nod. "Where am I?" Janda looked at him confusedly. "Do you speak English?" Harry did a mime and Janda shook his head. "Earth?" he asked exasperatedly. The man nodded and pulled a device out of his pocket. He pressed a button and a 3D map of the Omicronian planets appeared. Janda pointed to Omicron 6, which they were on, and manoeuvred the joystick so that there was a much larger range of planets. He pointed to one and enlarged it. Harry could see that it was Earth and nodded. Out of his pocket he pulled another device, and attached it to Harry's shirt.
"Hello," Janda said, smiling. "Now we will be able to understand each other."
"How...?" Harry asked, perplexed.
"A simple translator. I would have given it to you earlier, but I had no idea what your language was. Now, tell me why you're here."
"The Eleven prophecies of Omicron? I know that there's one for every planet, but I don't know what each individual one is. I only know the second one. Oh, wasn't that a fun day full of savages and disease."
"You were the one in the Second prophecy?" Jardlacka gasped.
"Yeah. It was a bit awkward, actually. Anyway, what is your prophecy?"
"The 6th prophecy of our Lord Omicron has been guarded for many centuries.
"In a time of war and danger, a girl will come to the aid of those who wish it. The greatest survivor in the universe, the last of her kind, shall come to be the saviour of the faithful. At sunrise on the 6th day of war, she shall come, and will speak the language. She will reveal the meaning of her name and save the lives of all who have not yet perished.
"Key-hah, you must be the one who ends this war! But you're so young!" I understood this. I looked very young, probably only fifteen or so. "You must have little experience!"
"I'm always the one that ends wars," I said coldly. "And I'm older than I look. Now, you must tell me: can you take me back to where you found me? I need to find my friend."
"Of course. But not now. Not until the sun goes down. You need to eat, and rest. Here, have some Gimbles."
"Did you know that it's been nearly three hundred years since anyone made me anything to eat? Last time I was here, that was. They gave me Gwam and Greada. The most delicious thing I'd ever tasted. Can't say the same for Gimbles, though," I said, grimacing at the taste of the lumpy green goo. "Jambarna was the best cook."
"My grandmother's name was Jambarna," said Jardlacka excitedly.
"Yes, you look a lot like her. This was probably about 50 years ago, from your point of view. Nearly 300 for me. That was a long time ago. What happened to her? Did she have a good life?"
"Yes, she did. She passed on only a few years ago."
"And what of her daughter, Julahmatr?"
"My mother was killed as a result of the 5th order of Omicron."
"Bastards," I said, under my breath in English. After the sun had gone down, it was decidedly cooler, and the short Omicronian who had gotten me the scarf earlier led me to where FAI should have been.
"Your ship has disappeared! Perhaps your friend moved it?"
"No, FAI can't move until the war is resolved. She's stuck here. Just a second." I whistled a low calling to my ship. The returning whistle was much higher. I cringed. "She's here, but she's in a lot of pain. Harry must have put her in stealth mode. FAI?" I asked in a clear voice. She flickered into sight and back out again. I walked up to her and put my cheek on her side, the way one might do with cool glass. "FAI, you're freezing! I stepped inside, and what I saw made me want to be sick. Instead of the cheerful interior I was used to, FAI had to resort to the option that took least effort for her. It was a plain, pale brown and everything from the control panel to the computer screens to the doorways to her small beeping screamed sick. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of all the things she and I had been through. I started humming soothingly and placed my hand on the flap that covered her heart. I opened it and involuntarily took a step backwards in disgust. I knelt down to get a better look at what had once been the most beautiful machine in the universe. A pale sickly green glow emanated from the cavity and I didn't hesitate in sticking my hand down so that she could absorb some of my energy.
"FAI, what happened to Harry?" One of the screens flickered to life and it showed Harry leaning out and looking for me, then falling to the ground. He was dragged off by two men, muttering something. "Enhance Audio," I said and it became immediately clear that they were Omicronians of the 7th Order. I ordered temporary shut down on FAI, and she did so as I walked out the door. "Alright, I need you to tell me where Omicron 7's main base is. That's where my friend has been taken."
"It's that way," the little Omicronian replied, pointing over the mountain.
"And how long will it take me to get there?"
"About an hour and a half."
"Alright. Thank you very much. What was your name again?"
"I'm Jambaron."
"Thank you for everything you've done. Now get back to the others."
"Where are you going, Miss Key-hah?"
I started walking the way he'd pointed. "I'm going to save my friend and possibly stop the war."
"Well, good luck, Miss Key-hah!"
"And you, Jambaron." I turned back and started walking down the sloping path. "I'm coming, Harry."