SWNOVELS Chapter Hear My Voice
Clanworld Camelin -17 BA
Ryo stood in the great hall of the Desinlo Citadel, shoulder to shoulder with Gya and Lyo, with the other members of his bridge crew and the staff who had served also close by. All dressed in their finest. In front of them, very carefully dressed and prepared, lay the body of Lya Desinlo, in a glass-enclosed case as she lay in state. A long line of Desinlo clansmen and women slowly filed past, each paying their respects to the woman who had helped to break the impasse and had brought the clan back into the Confederacy nearly fifteen cycles ago.
As the last mourner passed through, and the door slowly swung shut, Ryo turned to the Keeper of the Gates and walked over to the coffin. He picked up a single Regal coin that had been sitting on the casket, on a sheet of azure fabric, and turned to the other man.
“As it has been the tradition for more than 25 Grand cycles, for any Clansman or Clanswoman to Pass Through The Gates of Pangea, there is a cost to guarantee safe passage. Do you have that cost, My Lord Camelin?”
“The cost is One Regal, I have it here,” Ryo replied.
The Keeper of The Gate opened an ornate wooden box. “Place the toll in the case, My Lord.”
Ryo put the coin in the box, and the Keeper closed it, and then the box disappeared into his robes.
He bowed and signaled. Six assistants came forward and gently lifted the coffin from its mounts and walked with it, followed by the family as they left the Great Hall and went towards two ships that were sitting on the landing apron. One was a standard shuttle, the other was a shuttle with all windows blocked out, except for the pilots, and it was in deep mauve. A colour only ever associated with death.
As the coffin was carefully loaded onto the transport shuttle, Ryo instructed the Keeper of the Gates that they would be transported to Pangea on board the TGX-2, for the final ceremony.
Less than an hour later, both ships lifted off and swiftly pulled into orbit, so they could dock with the immense battlecruiser. Shortly thereafter, the TGX-2 broke orbit and shifted into Vortex drive for a journey that not many wanted to witness, but was necessary for closure.
The TGX-2 came out of Vortex eighty million kims from a swirling cloud of gas and rock in the middle of a broken star system. The transport shuttle departed and flew inwards, down to the 5 million kim mark, where a facility had been constructed. Soon thereafter, the message came, and the assembled crew of the TGX-2 paid their final respects to the departed lady Lya Desinlo.
Her coffin was released from the facility to spiral inwards with the aid of a small thruster so that it went directly towards the maw of Pangea. A flare on the sensors and a flash of pure light indicated the passage of Lya Desinlo. Ryo signaled to Sergeant Cato. “Open a channel, all frequencies, all bands – I need to send a message.”
Cato made some adjustments, then nodded silently at her Commander. Ryo took up the Comm as tears began to trickle down his face.
“Hear me, Gods of the Confederacy. Gods of the Center Worlds. Hear my voice and tremble. I am sending you a warrior. Her name was Lya Helvanysa Desinlo. You forgot about her, in your hubris, and your wisdom. Hear me, Helva, God of the Ancients, Hear me, Nysa, God of Wisdom. I announce on this day that you will be in the presence of one who stood for more than just your names. She had a purpose. She kept her Clan alive, despite your efforts. She will be honoured, she will never be forgotten, and her name will continue, even when you are less than a memory. Be warned, Gods, Lady Desinlo comes, and you will tremble!”
He hung up the comm, and as he turned, the bridge crew began to slowly applaud. As Ryo walked out of the bridge and back to his quarters, he heard the applause. He felt proud even in the face of his tremendous loss.