What did you say?
Is life a part of death
Or the end a part of life?
You have it your own way
Climbing hand over hand
A perpetual ladder of self
You may struggle ’til the end
Heart a closed door
A bricked wall of resistance
You may fight for survival
Alone in the darkness
Enshrouded with mists of confusion
Deceitful fog surrounding
Beckoning, deadening
Choices hidden, senses numb
What burns away the fog?
The sun, if you ask.
Lift the veil
Open the door
Be free
Embrace the sun
The Index -|-
Kpleeb opened his eyes when the squeaking reached an abnormal volume.
[The incessant chattering; I can’t think like this!]
He turned his head and saw Hiro standing with two other Hkkli. Kpleeb was no expert on the strange, rodent-like Hkkli, but it seemed like Hiro was being verbally assailed by the other two.
“Listen- Hey!!” Three Hkkli heads swiveled to surveil Kpleeb’s shaggy hair and annoyed face. “Would you just leave him alone and just shut up?!” Kpleeb stood gruffly and stalked away toward the Greki. When he reached the doorway, he climbed into the dark opening.
The air inside was cooler, and the doorway into an interior hall slid open. Kpleeb could hear the two Hkkli ramp up Hiro’s verbal lashing again just as the door closed. The lights in the hall increased in luminosity indicating that he was the first entrant in the last few moments.
[The Hkkli are so excitable. No wonder they are always at war. Poor Hiro.]
Kpleeb settled down on a sling in the command center and prodded the red tiered device in front of him. The data cloud that appeared above the device said it all. His fleet of Xi ships were near Jorqu. Three of the larger XC ships moved slowly outward from the planet’s orbit followed by five of XF configurations. The Greki and Hsstak were the only ships left on the surface.
He pressed a protrusion. “Zara, are you ready?”
After a long moment, Zara’s voice replied. “I think we’re ready, Da. I’ve just closed the outer bay door.”
“Great,” said Kpleeb, tapping his console a few more times.
“This is the Builder. The Greki is taking off in two minutes. closing the outer door now.”
The door to the command center slid open and Oiitr entered followed by Nairo. Oiitr settled immediately in front of its own console and began checking the Greki’s systems. “Everything is in order,” it said with a slight lift of its chin.
“Nairo, are your troops ready?”
The rotund Hkkli chittered something squeaky and Zara translator device replied. “We have ten of the best Hkkli warriors on board, sir.”
Kpleeb nodded and turned to watch the external view as the ship lifted away from the clearing in Jorqu’s endless sea of foliage. The sky darkened in another minute and then became pitch black as the view rotated forward and zoomed in on his fleet.
The ships were tiny, gleaming dots that slowly increased in size as the Greki accelerated toward them.
“Here we go,” Kpleeb muttered nervously. He stood and walked toward the door. “Oiitr, I’m going to work.”
The Xi did not respond.
###
Kpleeb stirred from his sleep when the chime sounded. “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered irritably, reaching out to press a protrusion next to his sleeping pad. “What do you want?”
Oiitr’s voice spoke concisely. “We are approaching the terminal now. Estimated arrival is ten minutes.”
Kpleeb scrubbed his eyes with his palms and rolled to his knees and then to his feet.
[Finally!]
Kpleeb stepped into the command center within a few minutes. “Are there any Xi ships nearby?”
“No sir,” said Oiitr with a downward tilt of its chin. “The terminal seems clear of any traffic.”
“Where is it?”
The external view that showed on dark space peppered with distant stars began to zoom at Oiitr’s instruction. Quickly, there appeared a silvery pyramid shape that floated idly in space some distance away. “This is the terminal.”
“It seems… underwhelming somehow,” said Kpleeb. “How does a ship use the terminal?”
“The ship issues a command to the terminal and identifies itself and its desired destination. The terminal opens a gateway and the ship approaches and is coalesced into the gateway. When the transfer is complete, the ship exits the same gateway at the destination.”
“Hmm.” Kpleeb tried to picture the process and the resulting gateway, but his mind only produced images of sticks woven with reed-cords into rough shapes in the way Ullipt use contain his muskrats back home in the river canyon. Finally, he just smiled and looked Oiitr. “Fine. Destroy it.”
Oiitr lifted its chin and tapped its console. The external view pulled back as the Greki spat four bolts of twisted, blue fire toward the pyramid. In a few long moments, the bolts impacted and the pyramid disappeared in a flash of debris that was quickly consumed by a vortex that folded in on itself and disappeared.
“That’s it?” Kpleeb shrugged.
“The power integrated into the terminal is tremendous,” said Oiitr. “but terminals are linked in such a way that any energy release is spread across the network and used to generate gateways.”
“And no other ships can come through this terminal?”
“This terminal is completely destroyed. It cannot be repaired, only replaced.
“Well, okay. Let’s visit Juma then.”
###
Kpleeb worked and slept and waited for a few more days, and finally Oiitr called him to the command center. When he arrived, Oiitr and Nairo were there observing the view that was projected into the air on one side of the room. It was mostly filled with Juma, which was a golden orb that had a certain sheen to it. Large, blue-green bodies of water dotted the surface.
“Sir,” said Oiitr pointing at the display. “There is a large village below. The Jiti has come back from circling the orb and reports that there are no other sizable villages on the surface.”
The external view zoomed to show the village that Oiitr indicated which was located near a body of water. Due to the top-down view, the scale of the village was not readily apparent, but it appeared to be a thousand times more massive than the largest village Kpleeb had ever seen. The buildings were mostly triangle and varied in footprint and height. Their surfaces gleamed in the light of the local star.
“Oiitr, are the villages made of lak? I was once held captive in the lak house on Phaedro and remember how shiny it is.”
Oiitr tilted its chin downward slightly. “Lak is primarily used in manufacturing higher technology such as the terminal, but the buildings that make up a Xi village are coated with the by-products of lak refinement to protect them from the weather. This is what gives these structures the shiny texture.”
“Da,” came Zara’s voice over the radio. “We are ready to attack at your command.”
Kpleeb paused and considered the plan. Oiitr, Viinox, and Tiiwr had all confirmed that every Xi inhabited orb was guarded by a sensor system that detected vessels in their orb’s vicinity. There were no active defenses because the Xi had no real challengers, but a warning would be issued to the office of the Iteek – the orb’s designated outpost leader. The Iteek’s office would respond by passing a warning along to the First Terminal, which would eventually result in the arrival of Xi vessels.
Kpleeb and Zara had determined that the attack would be most effective as a surprise. They knew that the surprise would be useful one time or maybe two depending on how quick the Xi were to respond. The Xi empire was not stupid, it was merely complacent and had never been challenged, so Kpleeb could not afford to take lightly what they were about to do.
Kpleeb grimaced and thought about Thoka. He remembered his life back in the river canyon, and his time imprisoned aboard the Xih ship. He thought about the prisoners on the Hsstak: Kanta, Rog, and the Hkkli. His anger rose as it often did when he pondered what he had lost and how the Xih treated the inhabitants of so many orbs.
[What I know of the Xi is probably just a fraction of the suffering caused and that still continues. The Xi will pay. I’ve always said it, and I mean it. It is time.]
“All ships fire simultaneously as planned. Begin countdown.”
Nairo tapped the weapons console with his chunky-clawed fingers, and the external view flashed a timer showing fifty vertical bars that began to disappear in a regular cadence.
Kpleeb tried to judge Oiitr’s mental state, but the Xi was emotionless as usual.
Soon, the last bar blinked out and a flood of projectiles were released from all of the ships in Kpleeb’s fleet. There were hundreds of blue bolts, and more appeared every second. It was as if time slowed to imprint the full destruction into Kpleeb’s mind. The Xi village erupted in a cloud of flame and debris, and a shockwave rippled over the nearby body of water creating a steam cloud.
The command center was quiet. Kpleeb clenched his fists, smiled grimly, and witnessed the destruction.
[A little bit of pay back. Time to see what a Xi village looks like.]
a transition
breath internal not sustaining
life must be replenished
release of pride and self
a cycle never finished
from inhaling, taking
like moth to a flame
dry and icy smoke drawn below
to the lowest plane
to outpouring
open heart exuding love
like steam rising from my body
soaring above
the colors glowing
mixing with those near
hues ascending together
into the highest tier
the air is filling
incense a sweet bouquet
currents of song mount up
enthroning Him today
and forever, echoing
an eternal serenade
tribute and adoration
of majesty portrayed
The Index -|-
“Once we launch the kerflk, we just have to wait,” said Zara.
Kpleeb scratched his hairy chin. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“The kerflk will have received its command, and once it hits the impulsors of the Xi ship, it will seep in and block the aji flows that run the engines within a few moments. Then we only have to board the ships and command the kerflk to pull away and cover the outside hull. The flows will resolve themselves once the blockage is removed.”
“All while they shoot at us?”
“Yes, maybe for a few moments, but the Hsstak can deflect the attacks for a little while because of the kerflk shell. Then we shoot a hole in their own hull and send in a team of Ganix to clean out the Xi and destroy their beacon.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Kpleeb said with a concerned smile. “What could possibly go wrong?”
“There will be times when things go wrong, Da, but we must have more ships. This is the only way we can disable the ships from a distance.”
Kpleeb nodded. “I know, I know.” He sunk into his thoughts. [An army without transportation is useless., and unless we can bring the fight to the Xi, we can never really hurt them. Unless we can spread our warriors to other orbs and continue to grow, we will always be vulnerable to attack and at risk of being exterminated.] He sighed. “We will need even more ships than we expect, and more fighters too.”
“We have the Ganix and almost all the Hkkli. Thousands at least. I’ve asked Kanta, but she has stated that her family simply could not fight without being altered first.”
“Who can blame her,” said Kpleeb. “I wouldn’t wish that on my family either. I do hope the warriors we have are enough.”
“Saeli is bringing in more Hkkli to fight, and I have trained Kanta and a few Ganix to fly the Hsstak and the Greki. We have four crews trained and more are in school. The Ikol has almost been repaired, and the Kssma is still waiting to be fixed. I need more Xi to help repair, and we certainly need more ships.”
Kpleeb nodded. “I’m satisfied with that, but I don’t know where you will find more Xi willing to turn against their own. If this kerflk weapon works like you say and we capture more Xi ships, we may finally be able to attack Juma. I am working on a battle plan with Xir and Hiro’s cousin, Nairo. He seems to have a good grasp of tactics in the void. We definitely need those ships.”
###
“Da, wake up.”
Kpleeb rolled over and looked up at the face of his only daughter. She was bright and awake, and he wondered when she ever slept.
“There is a Xi vessel approaching Jorqu. This is our chance to capture another ship!”
Kpleeb nodded and clambered to his feet slowly. “Alright, how far away are we now?”
“We should be able to intercept them in less than an hour.”
“If they’ve found our base here, they could also have notified the First Terminal.”
“We can’t know for sure unless we capture their ship and check the communication logs. I already gave the command for Ikol and Greki to cease all transmissions. We’ll run silent with the Hsstak and perhaps still have some element of surprise.”
“Smart girl,” said Kpleeb. “Let’s go.” He grabbed a small piece of green frond-bread from the table next to his sleeping mat. He had found the Hkkli bread to be bland, but surprisingly filling and readily available.
Within a few minutes, he stood in the command center with Zara, Xir, Tiirw, Kanta and Nairo. The sensor’s light-cloud clearly displayed the nearby vessel as it approached. “This one is of the XC configuration like the Kssma,” said Tiirw.
Zara nodded. “I’m glad we’ve seen one of these before now. Go ahead and set up for the attack. I want to watch.”
Kanta’s highly dexterous fins peppered the console, and a large holographic display replaced the data-cloud. The atmosphere became silent and tense as the Xih vessel appeared and finally became clear. Like the Kssma that rested in Jorqu’s orbit, the ship that approached them was much larger than the Hsstak. It was a ship that would certainly contain a Xih commander of some sort, one with a higher rank than even Iqw Okrat had been before Zara killed it. The ship would also host a larger contingent, perhaps as many as fifty Xi. The view changed, pulling out as the Hsstak approached.
“Weapon ready,” said Tiirw emotionlessly. “Nine deployed.”
The display showed no movement, which was not unexpected to Kpleeb. The kerflk deployments that Zara had tested on the Ikol had shown him that the chunks that were ejected were too small to display. He grasped the tether on Zara’s sling. “They’re attacking us, hold on!”
Nairo’s Hkkli face was unreadable to Kpleeb, but his small mouth twitched, and his short arm tightly clutched the edge of his sling in a grip that Kpleeb would only describe as a death grip.
A bolt of blueish fire appeared from a nodule on the back of the Xih vessel. The glowing spear twisted around an invisible center axis and rapidly approached the Hsstak.
“The kerflk has attached to the vessel.” Tiirw neck-slits fluttered rapidly.
The command center shook with the impact of the blue bolt. Kanta spoke up. “The kerflk shield has reduced the attack effectiveness by at least half.”
Kpleeb sensed surprise and relief from Nairo, but Kanta gave no indication that she was concerned.
Another two bolts ejected from the ship, followed by two more. “I think they expected to harm us more than they have,” said Zara with a smile. Her eyes had the far away look that told Kpleeb she was currently tuned into her view of the aji realm. “They must be noticing the beginning of engine shutdown. Prepare to fire on the breach location.”
Kanta prodded her console a few times and then tilted her head causing the water in her airo-walking helmet to slosh gently. “Locked on and ready.” After another moment. “Firing.”
Kpleeb saw the Hsstak’s own blue bolt cross the void. The Hsstak buckled under another blow followed by one more, and only Kpleeb’s grasp prevented him from being bashed against the chamber wall. A small puncture in the side of the Xih ship appeared as the Hsstak’s bolt hit home.
“The Hsstak is unable to take much more. There is minor damage to a few systems, and I have tuned the release mechanisms to shorten the energy ejection paths.” Tiirw looked at Zara. “The enemy ship has lost its ability to fight.”
“The kerflk is working” said Zara with a smile. “Approach and send the warriors.”
Xir nodded at Kpleeb and turned on his heel without saying a word.
Nairo spoke in his squeaky dialect and Zara’s device translated in a higher-pitched monotone. “Is that hole big enough?”
“It looks small, but it’s at least the width of four warriors.” Zara patted Nairo on his shoulder. “It’s just so far away right now.”
“Even the Hkkli?” Kpleeb eyed Nairo’s Hkkli bulk.
Zara ignored his comment and pointed at the Xih vessel that had grown considerably larger in the view. “The warriors are on their way.”
To Kpleeb’s eye, the warriors seemed tiny, but then the view changed and everything came close. “Thank you, Kanta.”
The hole in the side of the of the grey hull was jagged and appeared discolored around the edges, but the warriors entered in single file with plenty of room to spare. Kpleeb could see them reduce speed using the belts that Zara had designed for them. The last warrior to enter was a Hkkli.
[All we can do now is wait.]
###
Zara waited silently in her room. Her sling was still, and the ceiling above her glowed with a web of aji. With an irritated sigh, Zara jabbed at a tight bundle in the center of the web. The same thought that crossed her mind a hundred times broke the surface yet again.
[Did I imagine being rescued by Qon? Perhaps I was temporarily insane from the torture.]
Carefully, she prodded and poked at the web again. The aji was serene, bland even. With a renewed annoyance, she wrapped a thread of golden Qon around her fingers and used it to slice the other aji longways into even thinner strips. The threads squiggled, hanging loose from their siblings. Another swipe with Qon cut them crossways, and the rainbow of glowing strings became jumbled into a pile of similarity.
[Curious.] Zara made a shallow bowl with the Qon and used it to mash the shredded aji together. The colors had almost blended when the Qon pulsed once and lost its form.
