The ship glides through the air, over land of green. We rise higher and miss the sky traffic of the region's capital. A vast city that sprawls over the continent. A city, but it's as green as any forest. Trees and plants spiral up towers, viaducts deliver crystal clear water. Children play, as adults watch, in high rise parks, that thrust them upwards under the sun. From up here it's a beautiful sight, and I wonder what it looks like from the ground.
I came to conquer this land. To conquer these people. The actions of my ancestors, of entra still alive and my own personal guilt, rest heavy on my shoulders and I don't believe it will ever shift. Maybe that's a good thing.
We leave behind the city and glide closer to a rocky beach. I watch the ocean through the window by my side. It doesn't look as blue as it did from space. It's grey like the clouds above, cold and uninviting. On the horizon I see land once more. The deserted continent, surrounded by ocean and far from the influence of people.
The ship descends over the land of ice and trees, tall trees with thick straight trunks. Trees like towers. Frost clings to them and transforms them a sparkling white, but brown and green peek shyly from beneath slender cracks. The ship lowers within an icy clearing, upon a frozen, snow-covered, lake.
Fendan approaches and slips a set of cuffs over my wrists. Metal pinches my skin, it chafes, these weren't made to minimise discomfort like the ones the Oneerans used. These were made to remind their prisoner, they are trapped, they are vulnerable. And right now, I couldn't feel more vulnerable. I position myself on the floor, kneeling with my head lowered.
Fendan inhales deeply and clasps his hands together. "Ramet, suit up, and hold a knife to Cantral's neck."
Ramet stands and approaches a locker set into the wall of the ship. She clips her suit in place, each gentle clink is a like a hammer to my head and my heartbeat rises too. I stare at the floor as Ramet nears, her boots strike the metal under me, the sound booms in my ears. She stands behind me. One hand grabs my hair gently and the other holds a curved blade to my neck.
Another lie, another pretence. Another situation that blurs the lines of reality and fiction. Why must it always be this way with Fendan?
"Okay." Fendan nods. "We're ready."
Fendan sits at the cockpit, his hands dart across the console. A holographic screen rises and then Haroc's face appears. He looks different, but he hasn't changed. His skin is still the same shade of pale grey, his hair is still buzzed and black, the incubation units still deceive his true age of over a two hundred and delivers to us, a man in his prime.
I stare unabashed, Haroc can't see me, Fendan has blurred the background. This Haroc, has no kindness in his eyes, there is no softness in his mouth. He sits at his desk, in his office on Prime. This is the Haroc Fendan and everyone else knows. Behind him, windows stretch the full length of the wall, and behind them, Naerris glows. The star's light floods the room and the Universe watches as Haroc condemns worlds. As he condemns us all.
"Fendan," Haroc says, cheerfully, he leans forward, "what do you want?" A smirk pulls at the corner of his lips. "Having trouble? Need ... help?" he utters the words with satisfaction, as if he derives some perverse pleasure from the prospect of Fendan's potential failure.
"Help," Fendan almost sings the word, "yes, you could say I need your help."
Haroc laughs, he leans back in his chair. "Fendan the Entara, my greatest disappointment. I think you need to remind me, just how exactly are you useful to me?" A long smile spreads across his face and reveals neat white teeth. "Three reasons!" The smile vanishes, he's serious. "Now!"
"First," Fendan says, his voice is calm, but I detect the underlying current of anger and humiliation, "if it wasn't for me you never would have defeated Entara, you would not have your empire. Secondly, it was I who enabled you to expand your reach across the universe ... without my scientific discoveries—"
"These victories are old, they are almost as old as you." Haroc smiles, he enjoys making Fendan squirm. "You see Fendan, one cannot live in the past. We are entra, we only look to the future. Your third reason must be a promise ... what can you promise me?"
Fendan laughs, now. "What can I promise you? I can promise you rage, heartache." He pauses, I can imagine the smile on his face, and I can see the anger shine through Haroc's eyes. "I think, I can promise you death too."
Fendan's finger taps the screen, and he steps to the side for the reveal. It must be quite a sight. Two of Haroc's most trusted followers, slathered in deceit and displayed for his humiliation. And me. Me, knelt on the floor, bruised blue by Fendan's fists. Me, hunched, with a blade to my neck. Me, the girl he loves. But does he love me enough to risk his life?
"Fendan," Haroc drawls, his smile sets my heart on fire, "I didn't know you had it in you." He knows? He sees through us? "Do as you wish with the girl. She allowed herself to be duped by you, she has already proven herself worthless. Go ahead, Ramet—" he leans forward "—Renew her Energy."
He's calling our bluff. This needs to be more convincing. I struggle against my captor, it's what Haroc will expect. Ramet's hand tightens around my hair, she yanks my head back. The blade still rests against my neck, my head darts to the side and I bite her arm. Hard. My teeth sink into Ramet's scarred flesh. She screams and strikes me on the temple with the hilt of the blade. Dizziness, nausea, they engulf me, and I release Ramet's arm.
I watch as the blade curves towards my throat in slow motion. I hope she knows what I'm doing, I hope she's playing along. The knife presses harder against my neck, it breaks the seal on my flesh. Blood seeps from the cut and trickles lazily down my skin.
"Do you think I won't do it?" Ramet shouts, she spits the words with contempt. "I covered myself in scars for Cantral. I refused command of my own ship. I was content living in her shadow, being her Second and she chose Jaxa!" The knife delves deeper into my flesh, the lazy trickle becomes a stream.
"Wait!" Haroc's voice cracks. Just a little. And how could he not believe Ramet, when she spoke the truth?
Ramet holds the knife still between my parted flesh.
"If you come to Oneera, alone in just a shuttle, I give the Universe my word Cantral's life will be spared," Fendan says.
"You wish to take my place." Haroc remains composed, he speaks to Fendan, but his eyes do not leave me.
"Yes—"
Haroc snorts a laugh. "You will fail. I will make you whimper like you did when you lost your fingers. I will make you cry, you will live to be triple your age and each day you will suffer." He looks past Fendan and stares at Ramet. "And you girl, you will recall your Trials as pleasant memories when I am eventually done with you ... but if you return to Prime, with Cantral alive, I will give you a quick death."
"Haroc, you almost had me worried," Ramet mocks. "A whisper travels across the universe, it's sung in my ears many a time, do you want to know what it says?" she pauses as if she expects an answer from Haroc, but none comes. "Haroc the once brave, Haroc the coward," she speaks in a cheery voice, as if reciting a favourite poem, "if he can, he will, he'll spend all his time, in Prime. He huddles in corners, he shouts orders from his office, he lives off Fendan's glory, and tells it as his own story—"
Haroc roars, he stands and lunges forward, his fist meets the screen and contact crackles away.
"Rude." Ramet sighs. "I had at least another verse."
"Uncuff me." I stand and glare at Ramet.
Ramet steps around me and releases my hands. "What's wrong with you?"
I give my wrists an obligatory rub. "What's wrong with me? Are you serious? Everything you said—"
Ramet traces her pocket healer over the wound on my neck. "I didn't mean that stuff I said about you ... okay, once I felt like that, but I don't anymore."
"You sounded pretty convincing."
"Yeah, you bite felt pretty convincing too," Ramet snaps back.
"Will you two shut up!" Fendan sits at the cock pit with his head in his hands. "We've just goaded and prodded a tender wound of the most dangerous man in the universe. If we don't kill him ... he will make us suffer."
Ramet sits with a thud and stretches her legs out. "Scared?" she mumbles under her breath.
"Yes!" Fendan shouts. "I'm terrified, and if you're not, you're more stupid than I believed."
"Sorry! Alright?" Ramet leans forward and wipes her hands over her face. "Fine, I'm scared, you happy? And Cantral, I'm sorry I said that stuff, but I didn't mean it. Either of you considered that maybe, I'm not a terrible person and I'm just good at acting? Huh?"
We sit in silence. A trio steeped in anger, full of resentment and yet, somehow, we must work together to kill Haroc. I return to my seat by the window. Fear infiltrates every muscle in my body. Haroc will tear through us, he'll expose our weakness, our inability to work together. He'll pull on our strings of resentment and set us against each other, just like he has now.
And if by some fluke we win, I have to kill the man I once loved. I have to see the look in his eyes as I sink the blade into his flesh. What kind of victory is that?
Animals cross the frozen lake, a family of giant white bears. Jaarva. Long shaggy fur drapes from their backs, tangled and matted. They're far bigger than Zafira's toy suggested and much less appealing. Zafira enters my head and I pluck the envelope from my pocket. I groan angrily and stomp to the back of the ship.
Ramet collects the paper as it drifts to the floor and reads aloud "I'm in the locker at the back, I don't think I can open it from the inside. Can you let me out?"
I tear open the locker. "Zafira!"
"Hi, phew," she says as she looks out of the window opposite and she hops out of the locker. "I'm so glad you waited. I was scared you'd read it before we left. I scoped out the ship in the night, and picked my hiding place, then I wrote that note." She finishes with a grin, clearly proud of herself.
Ramet laughs, she walks to Zafira and pats her on the back as she grabs Fendan's metal suit. "Good to see you." She places the suit by Fendan.
Zafira sits down, as I return to my seat. "Don't be mad."
"I'm furious," I say.
Fendan's head perks up. "I'm not. We need all the help we can get." He looks to me. "If you had ever seen Haroc in combat you would understand. And when he realises that you have deceived him, his rage will know no bounds."
"You said our involvement would be minimal?" I say, I'm not sure why I mention this, I already know Haroc won't allow it.
"Haroc is clever, he'll find a way to get to us."
"Zafira shouldn't be here! We need to take her home." I stand and approach the cockpit.
"No! None of you should be here." Fendan jumps to his feet and stands before me, barring my way. "This should be between Haroc and I, but I can't beat him alone and this affects Zafira as much as it does every other person in the universe. Zafira wants to help, and I believe she can, why shouldn't she help defend her planet?"
"Move out of my way." My fists clench at my sides.
Fendan's face hardens. "No. Zafira is staying."
I step around Fendan. His hand constricts around my arm, sharp fingers dig into my flesh. The pressure is familiar, but I'm not a child he can drag through the corridors of Prime anymore, I'm bigger than him. My palm slams into his chest, he crashes against the wall with a groan.
"Cantral, I'm not fighting you," Fendan says, too calmly, as if this was all planned, as if he anticipated Zafira would sneak on board our ship. "We're on the same side."
"Are we?" I whisper.
"Ramet, talk some sense into her," Fendan barks and he slips away.
Ramet rests her palms on my shoulders. "He's right Zafira should stay."
"She's a child!" I didn't doubt Ramet would take Fendan's side.
"So what? She's older than me. She could make a difference. If we fail, if Haroc doesn't die today, every single Oneeran, including Zafira—" Ramet points to Zafira "—will be slaughtered. We've already placed her at risk, she was at risk before we even set food on this world."
I push Ramet's hands from me and return to my seat. "This was an awful idea, going against Haroc ... we can't do this. I'm not doing it. We're not letting him on the planet!" My voice rises to a shout and my fist slams against the empty chair next to me.
Zafira sits next to me and takes my hand. "You're scared of Haroc. Terrified of him. You always have been. As a child his voice made you tremble, you loved him because you had no choice. It was how you kept yourself safe."
Zafira's voice reaches me, it travels deep within, it shines light into the darkest ravine. You can't truly love someone you're scared of, that seems so obvious now.
"But you're not that scared child anymore and you have a choice." Zafria stares at me, her eyes go through me. "If you run from this opportunity, if you hide from it, you will be choosing Haroc. There is no middle ground, you kill him or you're with him."
I nod, the fire from Zafira's words burn within me. "I'm going to kill him."
"You are," Zafira whispers, "you are going to kill him. And I'm not going home, I'm staying here."
"I don't want you here," I say but as I look to Fendan and Ramet I know I've lost, I'm outnumbered. "You have to stay out of the way."
Zafira grins and claps her hands together. "I will!" She throws her arms around me. "I promise, you will not regret this ... Oh! I have an idea," she says as she pulls away. "Why can't the Battle Cruiser you came from help? It could land on Oneera. You're the Captain, they have to do what you say, right?"
Fendan shakes his head. "Haroc insisted on placing a great number of entra loyal to him on board to protect Cantral, they would not fight against Haroc and they are highly skilled, more so than the average entra."
I pace the hold. Anxiety keeps my throbbing pain, from Fendan's assault, at bay. But I'd rather the pain than the intrusive thoughts. Than imagining everyone I care about dead. Than watching my eventual failure over and over again.
As Fendan clips his metal spacesuit in place, Zafira dons some more cold appropriate clothes. Bright pink snow trousers with matching boots. Her arms thread through the sleeves of a frosty blue coat and she pulls a hat over her head. She doesn't look ready to aid the downfall of an empire.
A beep comes from the cockpit and Fendan becomes alert, his chair swivels to face a screen. "Haroc's here, he's alone."
Fendan's hand pauses over a button, is he having second thoughts? A part of me hopes he is. But his blue finger lowers, I stare outside, up at the sky. I imagine the forcefield opening, and Haroc's shuttle slipping through.
Ramet leans over Fendan, she taps the screen. "His ship is flying too erratically, I can't get a lock, he clearly expected we'd try to shoot him down."
"Wait until he's closer," Fendan says, calmly. "He's... firing at the planet—"
"At the generators!" Ramet takes over. "Holes are opening in the forcefield. More Battle Cruisers have arrived outside Oneera ... he brought his fleet!" She turns to me, her fear is contagious.
"Concentrate on his ship!" Fendan snaps.
"He's coming in fast, he's overhead, I have a lock!" Ramet shouts.
A laser shoots from our ship, it pierces the air with its brilliance and hits Haroc's shuttle. We watch his ship as it speeds towards us, out of control and Ramet sends another laser towards it. I don't breathe, I don't move.
"Is he dead?" Zafira shouts. "Did we do it?"
The shuttle rights itself moments before impact and slides across the icy lake towards us. There's an almighty crash as the two ships meet and we spin away. From above comes the sound of footsteps, boom, boom, boom, across the hull of our ship.
I stare up. "When did he get chance ... He's on the roof." I look to Zafira. "Stay here."
But before we have chance to register our next move a long black blade pierces the hull.