Trojian Horse
Chapter 44

It seemed as if he was trapped in an alternate reality. Only a few weeks ago, he had been sitting in his laboratory pondering things that seemed of such little importance now. He still had so many things he needed to share with Arien, too many experiments to conduct but there was no escaping that this felt like the end of an era. This was most likely going to be the end. Of everything. No longer would they as a species have a share in the events of the universe. They faced a very real extinction and all he could think about was how much he still had to accomplish, and how much he wished he had spent the time he had a little better. The Queen knew how he felt about Yanwe, how he could not be compelled to believe that their destinies were in the hands of a mysterious deity, yet at this moment he found himself searching for an answer, for some hope to materialise from the ether. It was, without a doubt in his mind, he and not Yanwe who was responsible for the successful evacuation of the Vulpeculae from Mer-oonit and their relocation to Trojian. It was he and not Yanwe who had help them adjust to life on Trojian, built the city or rather assembled it and so far, it was he who had the best plan to preserve them, and not Yanwe. However, he knew his limits and what he was hoping for was far beyond anything he could conjure up in his laboratory. They needed a miracle and if Yanwe wanted to gain some ground in tearing down his unbelief then this was the day to deliver. He wasn’t making any promises but at the very least he would refrain from judging those who chose to believe in the supernatural. He understood.

They had done everything they could to meet Reeger in battle but it still felt like they would fall far short. The ships were all being refuelled and would be ready for take-off soon, their on-board weapons had been reloaded and armed but against the might of the dracien armada they seemed an infinitesimal defence.

Hethios was alone in his laboratory staring at the hologram of the topography of their land. He zoomed in on the area in the Oases where Reeger had landed his ships. The others had not completely scoffed his plan but he knew what they were thinking. He was thinking it too. It was a ridiculous plan and would most certainly result in a number of casualties that he would be responsible for. Their lives would weigh heavily on him and yet there was nothing that could be done. Although he figured that whatever happened, Yanwe would be just as responsible for anything that happened to the Vulpeculae today, good, or bad. The Queen had a habit of attributing only the good to Yanwe but neglected to mention Yanwe when things were going right. It was infuriating. It was fortunate he had been present to diffuse the potentially explosive situation between the Queen and Reinon when she mentioned Yanwe particularly because he had no idea what Reinon believed in but from their conversation it certainly wasn’t Yanwe. There was no room for competing deities in the Queen’s eyes. At this point though he encouraged them to connect to whomever they needed to make peace with themselves and replace courage for what lay ahead.

Despondency had threatened to creep into the camp when the death of Arien was made known. He could not blame them either. While the news was certainly demoralising, the presence of Roue and his companions added an element of hope. They were an unknown element, they understood the enemy and naturally the Vulpeculae would turn to them for inspiration. Roue seemed to understand what was needed and despite his own apprehension, evident to him who knew Roue so well, Roue had managed to inject some optimism into the Vulpeculae. The other three who had come with him were fairly easy to read, except for Turo of course. It was immediately clear to him that Turo had plenty of secrets she intended to keep. Roue knew some of them evidently though it didn’t seem like he was authorised to share any of them. For now, it was not a problem because they all had bigger problems to deal with but he hoped to replace out one day what sort of knowledge Turo was eager to keep hidden. His inquisitive nature would not allow him to simply forget but he would not press. At least not yet.

He walked over to the room adjacent to his laboratory and stepped through the table. He gave one last look at Arien’s body which had been moved into this room. Arien had been lain on a metal table hanging about a hand’s breadth from the floor in the artificially cooled room. Arien looked so peaceful. Hethios wondered what Arien’s last thoughts were. He stepped out of the room, locked the room and walked out of his laboratory headed for the command centre.

His thoughts weighed heavily on him as he walked. He wondered what they all saw in Arien that could have changed the outcome of this battle. He knew Arien was special because he had been told this was so although he knew no specifics. It seemed to him that those who had only met Arien earlier that day knew more about him than he did. This prophecy that Reinon kept talking about seemed to have all the answers to the questions he was currently faced with but he was no closer to knowing its content than before he knew of its existence. All he knew was that Arien was the one who was supposed to save them. Somehow. Now that he thought about it, his role in bringing up Arien was not clearly explained to him. It all meant nothing now though. Arien was dead and very soon so would they. Probably.

Hethios entered the command centre and walked straight to the Queen who was seated on her large chair. The room was abuzz with activity.

“My Queen, preparations are complete.”

The Queen nodded and continued monitoring the lift-off procedure on her screen beside her chair. Hethios peered out of the transparent walls into the clear red-blue sky, admiring the brilliance of the two suns that hung high above the eastern side of the command centre. He turned his head to the west and saw Mato-Rayo, Roue, Reinon, Turo and Elia-bi jumping into the Rogue. They would be in his thoughts, perhaps for the last time.

“My queen, it’s not too late,” he whispered to the Queen, “you may yet have a future away from all this. A future for our people.”

The Queen seemed impervious to his pleas. “And you Hethios, would you leave?”

He did not answer. He knew the answer he would give and it was not the answer that he wanted to hear.

“I know you feel I would be saving our people at this time. I also know if you were in my position you wouldn’t leave me so don’t ask me to. There may yet be a miracle today,” the Queen said when she got no reply to her question.

Hethios fixed his gaze on the floor, a rather dejected look on his face. He felt proud of her resolve though he wished she would listen to reason. She chose to have hope in a rather hopeless situation. Their decisive moment would soon be here.

The ship roared to life, rumbling as it shook violently then gradually began to rise from the ground. Hethios held on tightly to the Queen’s chair. He felt the floor beneath him begin to vibrate as the ship slowly began to lift itself from the ground and the vibrations soon began to diminish in intensity as the ship launched into the clear blue sky. If it were not for the occasion it would have been a really beautiful day. More than half the ship was underground and as it lifted higher into the sky its colossal form became evident. Many smaller ships began lifting off around them taking up a v-formation around the command ship as soon as they were airborne.

“Commander Garey, I wish you well,” the queen said to a face on the screen. “You know your instructions. Yanwe grant you speed and grace.”

The face on the screen replied with a similar fervency then disappeared. The ships slowly began drifting toward their destination gradually picking up speed until they were hurtling through the sky. Hethios took the time to appreciate the beauty that was all around them, sparing a moment for the countless creatures and tribes in the forests oblivious of how their livelihood depended on a battle that would be fought on the shore of the Oases. Within an hour, they could see the Oases and soon after Reeger’s ships appeared on their screen.

“Prepare for assault,” the queen announced over the intercoms. Hethios felt himself involuntarily holding his breath as they made their final approach.