One World

Part 31

"All is ready for the launch, our Supreme."

Rag'ell stood on the command bridge of the Ardanian mothership, looking out through the porthole at the blue planet whose orbit they were about to leave. He could still see Gabriel's eyes in that deep blue and knew he would never forget the man he had met on that world.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think of Kairen and the lonely life he had led after being forced to leave Mariana. Would this be the fate that awaited him as well?

His heart clenched as he watched the last of the air fighters and transporters being boarded, while the larger ships, like this one, prepared for the long journey.

"Any word from Earth?" He asked for the umpteenth time, only to get the same answer from the operator.

"No, my lord."

"But a message has come from Ardana, Mieh-ga is very concerned and demands an explanation," echoed Maw-ghet, who until now had stood silently beside the Ardanian leader, watching the final preparations for the launch.

"I will deal with them when I return," he replied firmly, having neither the time nor the energy for his nagging commander just now.

He was adamant about his decision to leave Earth, however, and didn't care what the council had to say.

For he had done exactly what he should have done a long time ago. The invasion had been a mistake from the beginning. And now he was trying to correct that mistake.

Of course, his encounter with Gabriel was the main reason he'd come to this conclusion, but it was far from the only one. He also recalled the words of the Ardanians, who had argued passionately against the war from the beginning. Ardanians like Kairen. But he was not a lone voice. His views were shared by many others.

But they were eventually overruled and silenced.

Once again, Mieh-ga would surely protest, but the Supreme believed there were enough councillors to support his decision to end the invasion.

"Shall we proceed?" asked the navigator sitting at the command desk.

"Still no message?"

"No, my lord," came another negative reply from the operator.

The eyes of everyone on the bridge, from the navigator and Maw-ghet to the other technicians, were on Rag'ell. They all waited anxiously for the order to launch.

But the Supreme remained silent.

He was waiting.

For what? For a miracle? For Gabriel to send him a last minute message not to go?

"Sir, we must take off," the navigator spoke urgently. "The calculations for the space-time shift are based on the relative positions of the space bodies at a given moment, and we can't miss it."

"Of course," Rag'ell nodded, his voice unshaken even though everything inside him was clenching in pain.

He gathered his last shreds of resolve and, with a heavy heart, gave the order he knew would separate him forever from the man he loved: "Lets go."

Then everything was set in motion, the operator sending the order to the entire fleet, the navigator checking the coordinates one last time.

The ship jerked and shuddered for a moment as the huge engines ignited, along with other complex devices that bent time and space around the ship, creating a space-time tunnel that allowed for rapid movement over extremely long distances.

Everything around them went dark, lights flickered, and Rag'ell felt the strange tension and uncomfortable chill that always accompanied the launch of a star ship.