2199 Extinction

I will forever remember the day my mother was murdered. Her name was Nova, and she was the queen of the Talfarian people. Her husband, of course, denies it and swears that she died of natural causes. But I know better. She was only forty-seven years old. What are forty-seven years to a race that lives an average of two thousand years? I was away in school, Andromeda Royal Preparatory Academy, so I wasn’t there to save her. The day I found out, was just an ordinary day.

“I’m going to pair you off, one of you will be the student and will fight the Guard, while the other will try and help you to win. If done correctly, the Guard will release his blade.” Professor Elan says, walking around the large room.

“You each have three minutes to disarm your guard and then it will be your partner’s turn. The winner of each pair will face off until we have one winner left. For now, Year one students will face Year one students and so on. Then the winner from Year One will face the winner from Year Two. While the winner from Year Three faces the winner from Year Four. Then the winner from the first two will face the winner from the second two.” She walks through the students, pointing at who she wants to be paired together.

Amlican and I are paired together. “I’ll go first,” I say to him.

His eyes narrow in suspicion. “Why? So, you can point out all my failures as you fight?”

“No. I wouldn’t call it pointing out your failures but simply giving advice.” I say, sweeping my long black hair up into a ponytail. “I know your fighting style by now and I want to help you win. Besides, it would be kind of boring if I kicked your butt every time.”

“I think I’ll go first. Then I won’t be distracted by how much better you are.” Amlican says, chuckling and pulling his Raptor, a long thin-bladed sword, from its sheath.

“The winning student will be declared the strongest student in the school and will earn a mystery prize. Good luck, everyone. Is everyone ready?” the professor asks. “En Garde! And begin!”

Amlican holds his Raptor in the Front Guard position, as does the Guard he is fighting.

“Lunge and Attack!” I shout to him. “You have to move fast before the Guard has time to decide his first move!”

Amlican lunges forward and attacks but the Guard blocks and rotates just out of reach. He spins around to face the Guard. The Guard’s sword is held up in a Front Guard position.

“Watch out for a feint!” I shout.

Sure enough, the Guard feints, Amlican guards, and then the Guard lunges forward. Amlican retreats and then guards again. This time Amlican lunges forward, but doesn’t move fast enough, and must block his Guard’s attack. He is forced to retreat as the Guard performs a series of complicated maneuvers, that knocks Amlican to the ground, with his Guard’s sword tip at his throat.

“Time’s up!” The professor shouts. She walks around pointing out the winners and resetting the Guards. “Alright, time for the next round of students. En Garde! And begin!”

I lunge, attack, parry, advance, and retreat until I have my blade aimed at my Guard’s throat. He drops his Raptor and then the teacher calls time’s up. Before the next round, the professor pushes a series of buttons on the control, she carries around, to increase the difficulty level.

This is repeated until there are only two left, me, and a Fourth Year. I have watched this Fourth-Year fight before. He is good. Really good. He stands shoulder and head above me and is broad. He has probably been training his entire life. He looks like he could snap me in two, but luckily for me, I’m a Copaie. I am a born fighter, and I will not go down so easily.

“Both Guards are turned up to the maximum level. This final battle will not be timed. Instead, the winner will be decided by the first person to disarm their Guard.” The professor explains. “Are you both ready?”

I nod my head in affirmation, as does the Fourth-Year student.

“En Garde! And begin!” the professor shouts.

I lunge, attack, parry, duck, retreat and still find myself on my back with the Guard’s blade to my throat. In a moment of pure desperation, I kick out at the Guard’s arm that is holding his blade, and to my surprise, he drops it. I quickly grab my Raptor, jump to my feet, and I’m back in the game. My Guard picks up his blade and holds it in the guard position.

A mixture of boos and cheers come from the other students, but I tune them out. I can’t let them distract me. I feint, then lunge and attack again, this time forcing my Guard to drop his blade in defeat. A few moments later, I hear the Guard of the Fourth Year, dropping his blade. I did it! I won! I successfully beat every other student!

“Congratulations, Astra! You are officially the strongest student in this school. And the prize is five hundred credits. I will transfer that to your account, later today. In the meantime, class is dismissed.” Professor Elan says.

**************************

Shelves line every available inch of wall space; with worn-out, leather-bound books crammed onto every shelf. The leather on the books is blue, although, on some books it’s so, worn that the blue appears grey. The left side of the room is crowded with free-standing shelves, that are also crammed with books. The right side of the room has a few tables haphazardly placed with a few chairs tucked underneath. The room is dimmer than what it should be; with just a few lights hanging from the ceiling to chase away total darkness.

Only twenty-six students are allowed to use this library. Seventy-five students completed their General Studies education, a few months ago. Only six students, out of the seventy-five graduates were allowed to continue to the Advanced Studies classes. The other five hundred students in the school are younger. The twenty-six oldest are the children of the most powerful Talfarians in the galaxy. And out of those twenty-six, only two students are currently lost in the pages of the books.

I sigh, rub my eyes, and close the book I was reading. A few books lay strewn on different tables, collecting light purple dust. Ugh. I hate how you can never seem to get rid of all the dust, here. You can clean and clean, and still, within a week everything is back to being covered in dust. I wonder whose bright idea it was to place a school on this dusty purple moon.

Across from me sits the only other student here, his light brown hair is the only thing visible over the book he is reading. The dim light makes his hair appear a darker shade of brown. I check my watch; the purple moon and the yellow planet are directly opposite each other. I have been studying for the past three hours. I have two languages to master in the next two days, but I’m fairly sure I will ace both the written and spoken tests.

I look down at the book I was studying, Language and Customs of the Copaie. The Copaie, my own people, in looks. I have the same lightly tinted yellow skin all the Copaie share. The difference between me and most Copaie is my eyes. My left eye is light brown while my right eye is a bright green color. According to all the books I’ve read, this is an extremely rare trait, with only the royal Copaie displaying heterochromia. But there is no way I am royalty, at least not among the Copaie.

I was found by a young Talfarian princess when I was a baby, abandoned on one of the most dangerous planets that have ever been discovered. The young princess brought me to Talfar and raised me as a member of the royal family. This means I got shipped off to the purple moon called Lila Luna when I was five to attend Andromeda Royal Preparatory Academy.

“Why are you reading about the Copaie? Why would you want to learn about that moronic, violent, and deadly race?” Amlican says, pulling me from my thoughts. He reaches across the table and grabs the book in front of me. His dark green eyes seem to be laughing. Amlican is not like me, he is Talfarian, which means his skin is not yellow. Other than that, we have the same genetic makeup. The Talfarians and the Copaie are originally from the same planet, but a few thousand years ago, a bloody civil war raged and ended with the Talfarians being driven from the planet.

“Well,” I say, holding my hands out. “I’m kind of one of them.”

“Not really,” he says. “I mean, sure you look like them, but since when does skin color mean anything?” he says, pulling a chair up next to me, with his free hand, and sitting down.

“You try being the only one of your kind in a sea of sameness. The only red legov in a flock of black.”

“Are you still talking about that breeding experiment? That was just some sort of genetic anomaly. You aren’t an anomaly, there are others of your race. The difference between you and the Copaie is that you are not violent, stupid, or arrogant.

Well...” he pauses, “how about we just say you aren’t violent or stupid.”

“Are you calling me arrogant?” I ask playfully shoving him.

“Yes, and violent as well. Here,” he says putting the book back down in front of me. “Take your book back.”

“Thank you. By the way, I am reading this book at the insistence of my mother.”

“What?” he asks, confused.

“This book. You asked why I was reading it. My mother says that it will do me some good to learn about the Copaie. She says to better understand who I am; I need to understand where I came from. She says this is the key to one day becoming a good ruler.”

“Will reading from a book help you with that?” Amlican asks.

“That’s the same thing I asked. My mother said, when I graduate, in four years, that she wants me to go spend some time in Saltu. This book and others like it will give me the basic knowledge I need to survive there. The rest will have to be learned as I go.”

“Spending time on the Copaie home world? Sounds kind of dangerous,” he says turning serious.

“Not so much when you look like you belong. Besides, it’s no different than having to join the Solarus, like you have to.” I say defensively.

The Solarus is the Talfarian military. All citizens of Talfar are required to dedicate twenty years of their lives, starting after they get done with their schooling. Those born into power are only required to dedicate fifteen years to the military.

The average Talfarian finishes school at the age of twenty-one, those born into positions of power are required to attend school until they are twenty-six. Like me, Amlican was born into a position of power. So, neither one of us will graduate for another four years.

“That may be true, but won’t you still have to join the Solarus, when you return?”

“That will depend on how long I stay. Mother says that any amount of time I spend on Saltu will count towards my fifteen-year commitment to the Solarus. I might just spend the entire fifteen years amongst my people. In fact, I might just stay there. I’m not really interested in becoming the ruler of Talfar.” A fact that I’ve told my mother, several times. But every time I tell her, she changes the subject.

Amlican gasps. “But you are the only heir to Talfar! If you don’t lead the people, then who will? My family cannot do it, we don’t have the training or the public favor.”

“Can I trust you to keep a secret?” I ask, lowering my voice, even though we are alone. But you can never be too careful, listening ears are everywhere.

“Yes. What is the secret?” he asks, also lowering his voice.

“There is another heir. Has been for a while now. I have a baby brother. He was born two years ago. Malum has insisted on keeping his birth a family secret. Doesn’t want anyone else to know about the additional heir.”

“What?!” he says, loudly. “Shhh!” I say, covering his mouth with my hand. He moves my hand and then whispers, “why doesn’t he want anyone to know?”

“I don’t know, exactly. He said something about being worried that someone might try to harm the baby. You know, to force me into becoming the Queen.” I roll my eyes. “Doesn’t matter though, Mom is still young enough to have several more heirs. And I am determined to avoid the throne. I don’t want that kind of responsibility. I prefer to do my own thing.”

“Can I go with you?” Amlican asks.

“Huh? Go with me, where?” To Saltu? To the Copaie home world? Have you lost your mind? Do you not realize how much your people and my people hate each other? They could imprison you, injure you, kill you, or enslave you.” I say.

Although I would never admit it to him, it would kind of be nice to have my best friend with me while I stay on that strange planet. But there is no way I can let him go with me. If something were to happen to him, I would not be able to live with myself.

“No, I haven’t forgotten but I don’t want to lose you. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. And I do intend on marrying you once my commitment to the Solarus is finished. Don’t you remember our promise?”

“Amlican,” I say, annoyed. “We were just kids.” I think back to the first day of school, seventeen years ago.

A crowd of kids form around me, all of them jeering and calling me names.

“Look at her, with her stupid yellow skin.” one girl says.

“My father says Copaie are stupid and that’s why the Talfarians left.” a boy huffs.

“She is so ugly. Look at her two different colored eyes. Her body couldn’t even decide what color to make her eyes.” taunts another girl.

“Hey stupid, why are you even here?” a different boy asks.

“Copaie are so stupid, they don’t even go to school!” this declaration is followed by laughter.

“Look at her! She can’t even talk!” One of the boys pushes me down and I land, hard, on my butt.

“Look! She’s going to cry!” says a voice, and they all laugh.

“Stop!” says a boy, pushing his way through the crowd. “Leave her alone!”

“And what if we don’t want to?”

“I’ll fight you!” says the brown-haired boy, standing in front of me.

“You can’t fight all of us!” says another boy.

“Yes, I can, and yes, I will! Who wants the first punch?” asks the brown-haired boy.

“I recognize him. His daddy is the best fighter in this galaxy. Even the Copaie fear him.” shouts a little girl. This declaration is effective enough to break up the crowd.

The brown-haired boy turns to me and holds his hand out. “My name is American. Let me help you up.”

“My name is Astra,” I say taking his hand. “Thank you so much!”

That wasn’t the only time he stood up for me. As we got older, I gained the respect of my classmates, through actions the adults labeled reckless and dangerous. Like the time we hunted down the mysterious creature that turned out to be a dragon. Many times, Amlican and I would find ourselves on the brink of death; some of those times I only survived because of Amlican.

After one such, incident, when we were twelve, I was so grateful to be alive that I told him we should marry when we grew up. But that was such a long time ago, and so many things have changed since then.

“Hm. You are a great friend and all, but I just don’t know about marriage. We are so young and so different. What will everyone think about a Copaie and a Talfarian getting married? I don’t think that would go over, very well.”

“I don’t think that would be a problem. The people love you, now, and I am a Talfarian from a well-respected family. The only problem, as far as I can see, is you. Are you telling me that you don’t love me?”

“Yes, I do. I mean, no, I don’t. Actually, I don’t know. All I know is that my future is far off still, and all I want to think about is passing our language class.” I stand up and grab my books from the table.

Language and Customs of the Copaie. Rise and Fall of the Nelkan Empire. Tips and Tricks to Learning the Salvarian language. I could never admit that I have been starting to have feelings for him. It would never work between us. Copaie and Talfarians just don’t get together, nor would they ever consider marriage. Not that I have ever thought of marrying him or anyone else.

“Come on, I’ll walk you back to your room,” he says, also standing up and grabbing his copy of the Nelkan and Salvarian books.

“We better hurry, you know how angry professor Kalmin gets if we are late for class,” I say.