Glossary II:
Conqourd (con-cord) Valley: Xeufian
1. a large, expansive valley surrounded ¾ of the way around which
is extremely dry and desert-like for three months out of the year, then suffers extreme
rain for another three months before becoming a lush and fertile landscape for the
remaining eight months of the year; 2. an agriculture community that largely relies on
it's cotton export business; 3. listed on the United Federation of Planets' registry as
a culture operating a slave system
V'na (vee-nah) Tairum (tar-e-um): Xeufian
A major port city on the planet Xeuf; primarily deals with
trade and inter-planetary commerce/travel
Xeuf (zoo-v): Xeufian
An inhospitable planet with temperamental weather, compromised mostly of desert and
bogs/marshes used primarily as a refueling station or criminal hideout
Waif (wey-if): Terran/ Xeufian
Lost; wayward; a person, usually a child, without home or family
Theta-nu (th-ee-ta-new) gene: Federation
A gene found in humanoid DNA believed to be responsible for telepathic and empathic abilities. Originally identified by Federation scientists thirty years ago, recent studies suggest the theta-nu gene is exclusive to naturally telepathic humanoids, the gene having only been recognized in species such as Betazoids, Vulcans, Ankarians, the Cairn,
and Ullians, but not Humans, the Aenar, Talosians, or Melkot (though the two latter have not cooperated with Federation studies). It is theorized that the theta-nu gene is responsible for the development of these species paracortex and might provide a clue into the origin of humanoid
species.
Kinji (kin-gee): Ankarian
One of two ancient clans that inhabit the planet of Shankar, predominately the western continents
Fygo (fi-go): Ankarian
One of two ancient clans that inhabit the planet of Shankar, predominately the eastern continents
Ankon (ann-con): Ankarian
The capital city of Fygo and the subject of an attack by the United Kinji Army which involved the destruction of three Federation starships
...
Chapter One
"Bold New Freedom"
Conqourd Valley
492 kilometers off the Eastern Coast
Planet of Xeuf
Thad couldn't remember ever seeing the town so dirty. A part of the problem might've been the recent wind storm that was just beginning to subside. After having lived in Conqourd Valley for several years, though, Thad was used to the thick layers of dust that constantly covered the town and outlying structures until the rainy season. It was the actual trash that rolled around in the wind that bothered Thad. It made him miss Lee even more, but also served as a reminder for why they were leaving the Valley in the first place.
Without thinking about it, Thad fixed Carmen's headscarf, pulling the fabric higher onto her nose and cheeks. She wiggled her nose, readjusting it herself a bit, and also caught his wrist. "How long has it been?"
"Just a bit. We got here early." Thad answered. Though his littlest sister's iron grip had caught his wrist in such a way that he couldn't actually read his watch, Thad knew it said less than ten minutes had ticked by since they'd arrived at the rail station. The watch also monitored his heart rate, his amount of steps, his oxygen level, and his brain waves. It had a crack in the screen and a withering leather strap, but the young man knew every molecule of the watch and could therefore answer Carmen's question without hesitation.
"Why?"
"In case the train came early."
"What if it's come early and left without us knowing?" Carmen asked the question out of both anxiety and playfulness. She didn't talk when she was nervous like Kestra, but she wanted to be assured that their plan was solid. And tease Simon.
As was generally usual, Carmen succeeded. Simon straightened between Carmen and Kestra, glancing at Thad, who was closer to his height than the girls. "Could-"
"If it did come early, then another will be here soon," Kestra assured with a tight smile. "We have nothing to worry about. Everyone got that?"
Her tone was threatening enough to make Simon and Carmen answer in unison, "Yes."
Good, Thad thought to himself, though Kestra could be seen raising an amused eyebrow.
There was, understandably, a degree of anxiety about the four of them leaving Concord for V'na Tairum, on the other side of the mountain range on the horizon. It was their first real act of freedom, and a small, irrational voice in the back of Thad's mind kept whispering that that freedom - at any moment - could be snatched away. Thad knew it was unlikely, but he also knew fear was irrational. That being said, no one in Conquord wanted them to stay, either willingly or unwillingly. Had they remained any longer, depending on the day of the week, they might have either been lynched or the benefactors of a fundraiser that would buy them tickets out of the Valley.
As it was, the waifs had scrounged up just enough money to get themselves out of town. So their fellow townspeople didn't have to worry much longer. In fact, several people had begun to gather to make sure they left. Including Lee's son, Jay. The spineless creep lurked beneath the nearest awning, unaffected by the heat and wind, smoking the pipe that would send him to an early grave.
"Don't, Thad," Carmen ordered, turning his shoulders, and therefore his sight, away from Jay. "Don't give him the satisfaction."
"We could've done well here if it weren't for Jay," Simon said, sending a glare of his own in the man's direction.
"Don't be so sure of that, waif. You're good workers, good farmers. You'll succeed somewhere, but it was never going to be here." The sheriff sauntered up, his hands tucked beneath his shawl. His hair was standing straight up from the wind, but he pushed it back when he lifted his goggles. "It's best that you leave Conquord, all reasons being for your benefit."
Simon didn't look thoroughly convinced, but Thad knew that the sheriff was correct. A successful life was not necessarily based just on successful living. And Thad wanted to do more than just live.
"Did the train get here before we did, Sheriff?" Carmen asked.
Both Thad and Kestra rolled their eyes.
"I would've been here earlier had it. The train usually wakes me up if it comes by too early." The sheriff patted Carmen's head affectionately, making her wiggle her nose again.
One of the townspeople pushed Simon in the back, kicking over some of their bags. The young man immediately spun around and Carmen's dog, Hercules, began to growl, but the sheriff had already pushed the perpetrator away, kicking him in the rear for good measure. "They're leaving in a few minutes!" A gust of wind blew from the east, making everything sway. "Don't give them any reason to stay and kick your asses!"
He was certainly right. Before they'd made plans to leave, Thad, Simon, Kestra, and Carmen had argued the merits of staying or going. In the beginning, they'd all been very stubborn and had insisted on staying in Conquord Valley, if only to spite the townspeople and get the chance to beat up some select individuals. While they had eventually seen the logic in leaving, the four young adults were nothing if not stubborn, such was their species. Carmen felt her brother reconsidering their decision in that brief moment when the gathering crowd looked ready to eat them all.
She grabbed his arm again, but this time as a warning. "I can hear the train. I'd prefer to not have to tend to any wounds while bouncing around in a passenger car."
Everyone looked to the east, following the trail of rails that sunk into the dry, cracking earth, squinting against the wind. Out of a cloud of dust, a locomotive appeared, barreling straight for the shack station that designated Conquord as an inhabited area. Thad shot a steely warning glance over his shoulder at the townspeople, a final threat to those who'd tormented them so much. It was enough to hold the narrow-minded people at bay, at least until the train finally squealed to a stop in a wave of steam and dirt.
"Now boarding." The skeletal android-conductor announced.
"Check their arms!" One of the crowd called out, just as the kids had begun picking up their bags. "They're slaves!"
It was finally Kestra's turn to issue a warning. She turned around, submitting the crowd to a glare even worse than Thad's. Kestra could make anyone feel guilty for breathing, and she did just that to the townspeople. "We're freemen. Lee released us."
"All slaves must ride in the cargo car." The conductor announced, pointing towards the end of the train.
"We have tickets," Simon stepped up and presented the paper to the android.
Rather than scanning the barcodes on the tickets, the android scanned Simon's arm. Upon completion, the robotic creature chirped aggressively. "All slaves must ride in the cargo car."
"But we have tickets," Thad snapped. "For the passenger car."
The android took the tickets but continued to point to the end of the train. "The train is leaving in three minutes. Are you or are you not boarding?"
When Thad looked towards his sisters for their opinion, he found them already walking towards the cargo door, Hercules along with them.
"The train is leaving in two minutes. What shall it be?"
Onboard the Benbow, the group bundled up after a long day of travel in their small cabin. The engineer didn't want to waste fuel or energy on heating the ship (though Kestra speculated that there wasn't even an adequate system to heat the whole clunk of metal), so the boys shared one bed and the girls shared the other with Hercules. Kestra hogged the blankets, as usual, so Carmen was practically riding her back to keep warm while the boys slept, immobile, on their stomachs, barely disturbing a sheet.
The four children who slept so easily on a cold ship and stiff beds had all been born citizens of the United Federation of Planets, but time and circumstance had driven them away from their homes to be orphaned, exploited, and then abandoned on the far reaches of the galaxy. Leaving Conquord Valley behind on the Benbow was one of the better things to have happened to them in almost ten years. They each secretly feared that something was bound to go wrong between Conquord and Federation space (it was a long way), but they had yet to learn that their trials were nearly over.
Simon had been born on the planet Betazed to exobiologists. When Simon was eight, they'd moved to the world of Shankar to study the theta-nu gene, the Ankarians being just one of the several species with telepathic and empathic abilities.
Thad, Kestra, and Carmen were the three children of Starfleet officers. They'd been born and raised on starships until one day when they docked at the Shankarian spaceport. Their school had gone down for a field trip to the Ankarian Aquarium but had never returned.
On a lovely spring day on heaven-only-knows-what stardate (the children had forgotten), the sky blackened with war cruisers across the capital city and the streets flooded with the infantry of an invading clan.
Among those killed were the children's parents - scientists and officers alike. Simon's parents were killed where they stood while the Starfleet ship Thad, Kestra, and Carmen had called home was shot out of the sky in a ball of fire.
All the children in Ankon were spared.
Their lives, at least.