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A New Hope

George Atmell

I must admit I was worried about Kilkaja. I told him about the dangers he might face when he traveled with Sel and Astha, especially when everyone out there knew that he was a former slave. But then, despite all that, I could see that Kilkaja wanted to help, and his eyes, despite of being completely black and featureless, showed a sense of determination and drive for adventure. I couldn’t stop him from that. He made his own choices now, and I could not stop him. I only hoped that we would meet again someday, preferably sooner than I hoped.

But I got someone else to help. With the situation at hand and the possibility that some colonist might try to blame Andrates, we quickly helped straighten things out with the colonists and revealed the danger of the Trikelians to them, along with the reason why we were here. Xilna, who understood the situation due to the Trikelian in her custody escaping, also helped straighten things up and took some of the blame herself. They seemed to understand, but I knew they needed time to accept that it wasn’t Andrates who did all these. We wanted to help, but Arkari seemed to distrust us for standing up for Andrates and the Vyrnians of Lekan.

I did not manage to find the Trikelian. The tentacled alien was moving too fast and it found a place to hide before I could catch to it. I hoped that slimy little thing was already dying after the powerful electric burst Arcturus did. I did not want other Vyrnians to suffer the same fate as Andrates.That was when I met several survivors from Lekan. They were Artemis, Areil, and Timetis. They claimed one of them, Orionis, was still on the database station. They were still in the database room when the rest of them were attacked by the Trikelian and taken over. They hid inside the maintenance corridor and waited until the Vyrnians were gone, during which they got out and found out of the plan. They tried to warn Arkari, but it was already too late. They felt responsible for Arkari’s destruction, but no one ever blamed them for anything. Well, they did blame Andrates, but I knew they needed the old Vyrnian to prove that it wasn’t him.

The attack on Arkari proved that the Vyrnians were targeted a long time ago, and the threat was never gone. It simply hid for 500 years, waiting for a perfect time to strike. The Vyrnians had made sure that the planet stayed sealed with no key to open it, but I knew that, given time, they would find a way to destroy the well-protected generator and resume their ambition. They had influenced the lives and cultures of the space-faring aliens, and they had all the time they needed.

Our encounter with the Trikelians and what they claimed made me think that the mystery out there was far more dangerous than we initially thought, especially for me. Just a month ago, I was wyvern rider whose touch of anything beyond Earth was Arcturus and his spaceship. Now, I became involved in one of the most dangerous crisis this galaxy ever faced, and it would take more than just the crew of the now divided Vyrkaya to tackle.

No. It needed the whole galaxy to fight the invaders, and right now, the galaxy’s in a chaotic state. The Saukaurs were fighting among themselves, the Felinians were dealing with overpopulation and territorial problems with the Saukaurs, the Vyrnians were in danger of being taken over by the Trikelians, and many other problems. We could not consider the Nuoevans and Orians as a whole as allies, knowing what their cultures were derided upon. If the Trikelian struck now, they’d win. We had already lost before we got a chance to fight back.

But then there was one thing that the Trikelians did not consider, and that was Andrates and his allies. Deciding that we could not just sit around and let the Trikelians defeat us, we returned to Lekan to try and salvage anything we could find. The colony was in ruins, much like its state when the Nuoevans used it as their base. There were damages everywhere due to energy guns. They put up quite a fight, but then, ultimately, they lost. Now, all hopes of ever retaliating against the Trikelians were lost. However, it wasn’t completely gone yet.

Arcturus looked around Lekan silently while conversing with whatever’s possessing him. I wondered if he would be declared insane for talking to himself, but I knew he had a dangerous entity to contend with. Andrates, who used a borrowed hovering chair for mobility, also looked at his son with sympathy.

“I want to help,” he said. “But I know he’s already blaming himself for causing so much harm for me…and for his friend.”

“It’s not him,” I said.

“I know,” said Andrates. “But even then, I can’t shake the feeling that despite of our actions not being ours, the body that did it was still ours.”

“You can’t think of it that way,” I said. “You’re not in control of your body and that’s the end of it. I know you’ve been fighting against those controlling you and, in the end, you got out of it without losing your life.”

“I appreciate your youthful enthusiasm, George Atmell,” he said. “And I hope it’s enough to convince others.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t sure if it was the case.

Looking back, I suppose everyone in the Vyrkaya had lost something. Sel, who died once, lost one of her lives. Kilkaja, who was sold as a slave and achieved his freedom, lost the life he had before slavery. Astha, who was very close with his twin and looked up to him, now lost his twin and tried to get him back. Zarya, who was an orphan, lost her parents first, then her foster parent next. Now, Arcturus lost his individualism, and I lost my chance to become a proper wyvern rider.

We fought those losses and came out victorious in the end, but those loss would not help us be ready for what’s coming next. The Trikelians had taken the first place. Unless we took the fights to our hands and gather more allies, we would not be able to fight…and we would lose.

Turned out hope was always there, even if it was as small as a lighter’s flame. We just need a fuel to make an inferno. That hope rested on the plan Andrates made as he pointed it out to me.

Andrates then called Arcturus and Zarya towards the briefing room where we were sent to Ijuri, thinking that we might find the key to Vyrn. He apologized for misleading us due to misinformation.

“I never thought they would destroy the key and declare anyone asking for it their enemies,” he said. “Clearly, I misread the whole situation.”

“Hey, at least we got out okay in the end, right?” I said. “Not that we got anything useful except the Draconus Arcturus had.”

“Ah, yes, the Draconus,” he said. “A weapon for a more civilized age. I taught Arcturus how to wield it properly because, as a trick weapon, it needs some good techniques to master. I never thought he would also ask other masters for lessons.”

“Better than being too predictable, right?” said Arcturus with a smile.

Andrates chuckled as he moved to a nearby table and faced us.

“I suspected that the Trikelians already expected us to become drastic and seal the planet along with the Eye in it. Our efforts in finding allies may also alerted the Trikelians that we restarted the efforts that was halted years ago, when the planet was sealed. However, they have not win yet, and it depends on you now,” He said. “There is something I’ve never told you before, and it’s about the Exodus. We did not come from an ancient era, but instead we came from the era close to when Exodus happened. However, Arcturus, your ship fell into a space-time crack near Ijuri as you crash-landed on Earth. Your ship was monitored by some scientists on Ijuri and the reason I asked you to go there was to investigate their works and let you learn the truth yourself.”

“Why don’t you tell me yourself, then?”

“I wasn’t sure of it, either,” said Andrates. “But you might’ve found some files from that facility. It might shed the truth for your exile. Also, I have a gift for you.”

He then pulled out the galaxy map and showed us the schematics of a ship. It looked like a saucer.

“This ship is a ship designed by Orionis that used a different control schematic that’s easy to learn. It had the elements of all the space-faring races out there, so anyone can man the ship, Vyrnians and other races alike. We did not find a place to build this before the Trikelians attacked, but we can try and find it for you. This ship will be the ship of hopes for a united galaxy against a common threat. I know it sounds too far-fetched, but you’ll never know who to find out there.”

“Will anyone listen to us?” asked Arcturus.

“Take Artem and Areil with you,” he said. “And maybe contact Xilna about it. Right now, she’s the one we can trust for this.”

“I guess we can ask her first, then,” said Zarya.

“Oh, and before I forget,” said Andrates. “I also left you something in your room, Arc. It’s a different Draconus model, but it’s much better than that old thing you got that’s clearly not tailored for your use. I asked the weaponsmith on Arkari to make it. May he rest in peace.”

He was referring to Kentores, the same weaponsmith who modified my gun-sword so it ran with battery instead of mana crystal. I kept the mana crystals for myself, of course, in case I returned to Earth. I saw his grandson attended his funeral earlier today. I wanted to visit them, but I knew they might not remember me.

Arcturus looked at dad, but then I noticed him looking towards a point behind his father. He growled before he turned to us and said, “We got a job to do. Would you like to come with me?”

We both smiled. Of course, we would follow him. I grew to regard Arcturus as a family away from home, and Zarya loved him and was ready to support him. I was, however, glad that Arcturus still trusted his friends.

We then walked towards his room, one that he used when he stayed on Lekan. There, on his bed, was a wrapped gift that looked like a pole. I instantly knew this was the same glaive he used back on Ijuri that he still carry behind his back. This one, however, looked far more advanced than the one Arcturus already wielded, given that the tip looked less like a blade and more like a futuristic-looking energy rifle, in addition to being blocky and black-colored.

Arcturus gasped as he looked at it. He then said, “It’s my Draconus. It’s an almost perfect copy of the Draconus I used years ago.”

“Almost perfect?”

“Yeah. The tip’s different. Dad must’ve kept the schematics in the database. This Draconus is custom-made and tailored to suit my style, far more than any Draconus could.”

I then noticed a paper fell on the side. I pointed this towards Arcturus who took it and read it.

“Modified to match your partner’s blade,” he said. “Got inspired by it. Give it a try.”

I did not know what it meant, but Arcturus got the idea. With just a simple transfer of electric energy, the whole weapon came to life. However, the tip of the Draconus let out a rather bright plasma energy sustained by the energy rifle tips, forming a blade and crackling with pure electricity.

I felt like I did not want to be upstaged, so I simply set my gun-sword so the sword was coated with plasma energy, giving out a similar bright light blade strong enough to cut through steel. We both looked at each other and smiled.

“Now that’s what I call a compatibility,” he said. “What do you say, rider?”

“Let’s get out there and continue this adventure, partner,” I said with a smile.

The three of us walked out of that room, and met with Andrates, who had finally met Orionis. He told us not to worry about him and pay a visit from time to time. After saying goodbye, we then boarded the Vyrkaya with Artem and Areil, before we lifted off and warped towards Amurlun, to meet with Xilna to discuss the ship.

It was the dawn of the new hope, and we’d be the catalyst for the future.