Kartega

Getting away from Ashlan and the Starblades was easier than Sid had anticipated. When she returned back to the tent they were sharing, he was already asleep. After a restless night with Ashlan snoring at the foot of the bed, she had enough time to come up with a plausible excuse not to join the group on their patrol today. It was more of a hunt than a simple patrol, and Sid used that to her advantage. She had told Ashlan that the incident with Connor and the Domer was more than she signed up for. Which wasn’t quite a lie since everything thus far had been much more than she signed up. Sid put quite the show on, telling him she simply had to get away last night. That she spent all night walking around the shops and trying to clear her head, even adding a few tears for good measure. He seemed unsure at first but once she started bawling and shaking uncontrollably, he was more than glad to give her the day off the patrol. Going as far as offering to accompany her for the day. Before he pressed the matter, she assured him that all she needed was a day to herself. Domers did not get tangled up in the queen’s business and she just wanted to make sure that she could return to her family unharmed and continue being the good little Domer she was. The lie slid off her lips like wild tree sap and by the time she was done, Ashlan was almost running out the door.

Which led her right to that moment, standing at the door of a flat on the seventh floor and debating her life choices.

Sid must have raised her white knuckled fist to the metal a dozen times before she actually mustered up enough courage to knock.

A small slit appeared at eye level and though she couldn’t see through, she was certain Nyala was on the other side, inspecting to make sure Sid came alone. And she did. Sort of. She wasn’t counting the droid that stood solemnly next to her like a dumbfounded bodyguard.

There was a ruffle behind the door and the slit disappeared as quickly as it came. Mere seconds later, the metal creaked and slid halfway open, letting Sid and the droid enter.

“And who’s this?” Nyala asked, pointing to the droid.

“This is Fred. He’s fine. Say hello, Fred. Don’t be rude,” she tapped on the screen and Fred raised his hand to wave. Slowly, so slowly Sid cringed from the discomfort of the interaction. She looked past Nyala, avoiding her questioning eyebrows and pushed her way inside. “So this place is safe then?”

“As safe as anything can be right now.”

Nyala gestured for Sid to come in and she scanned the living quarters, though quarters was far more grandiose a word than Sid would have used to describe the space. The entire flat was no bigger than one of the boxes in Magic. There was almost no furniture except for two cots that looked very much unused in the corner, a table full of discarded food packages and another door that she hoped led to a bathing area.

“It’s very,” she said, “straight forward.”

Nyala chuckled, “The one who lives here doesn’t spend much time inside. It makes sense to move around when you’re one of us.”

“A Freedom Runner?”

“That’s right. You remember.”

“What exactly is a Freedom Runner?” She asked.

“It’s kind of like those little Starblades you’re surrounding yourself with.” A gruff voice sounded behind her, “Except without the queen in their ear and living on the right side of the truth.”

Sid nearly tripped over the droid’s metal foot when she twirled to face the other person in the room. She thought Nyala would be alone and now not only did she bring another Domer in, but one that knew things about Sid. This was unacceptable. This was absolutely not what they agreed on. This was…

Stardaughter! He’s beautiful.

Her mouth gaped and she was hoping in the name of the star that she wasn’t salivating. She tried to keep her focus on the man’s uncannily dark eyes and not let her gaze travel down past his full lips to his unfairly chiseled chest. Tried but failed. Sid noticed herself staring and looked down at her nails, suddenly finding them incredibly interesting. Anything not to notice the way the pale of his skin accentuated the deepness of his eyes and thick eyelashes.

“Tann,” Nyala said, “this is our Irin.”

“Who? Oh, right, that’s me. I kind of go by Sid now. Hope that’s alright. You can call me Irin if that’s better but no guarantee I’ll answer you. It’s just, you know, not what my name is.” Mucking stars, stop babbling.

Tann extended a strong arm, “Nice to meet you, Sid. I’ll call you whatever you like.”

How about ‘darling’?

“Great, thank you.” She shook his hand, holding it a little longer than was necessary, and backed away when she caught Nyala staring. “So this is your place?”

“Mine and my fathers. But we barely stay here. Him even less than me.”

“Why?”

“I think Nyala will be filling you in on that part. I’m just here because I wasn’t sure I believed it.”

“Believed what?”

“That you’re actually alive. That you came back.”

“You knew me?” Her mouth was open again. Why couldn’t she just keep her stardamned lips shut around this guy?

“Of course. We basically grew up together. I’m sorry, this must be a lot. We can talk about that some other time.”

“No, no. It’s alright, I don’t mind. I’d like to know about both of you,” she hesitated. “And about my parents. And Colton.”

“The general?”

“Yes, the general, Tann,” Nyala added sharply. “The man who saved and raised her.”

“Right. Him.”

She wasn’t sure why, but Tann did not seem to like Colton much. By the end of the day, Sid was determined to find out more about what happened to her and how she came to live on a ship orbiting the star and not down here in the domes with this stunning specimen who was apparently one of her close childhood friends.

“So me and you were friends and you knew my parents?” She asked, hoping to steer the conversation back to Nyala.

“I more than knew your parents, child. I grew up in the same flat as your father. He was like a brother to me and your mother, well she was just the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. It’s no wonder they ended up together. Greatness carries greatness.”

“So what happened? If they were so great, why did they throw me away?”

“Throw you away? What on the star are you talking about?” Nyala looked genuinely shocked at Sid’s question which made her head hurt and spin.

“Colton said they didn’t want me. That he took me away so they wouldn’t hurt me. That they wanted nothing to do with me.”

“That stardamned brute fool! Of all the crazy things that man ever said, this has to be the worst of them all!” Nyala screeched.

“So he lied?”

“Well, of course he lied, child. Your parents loved you more than anything on the entire star. That’s why when the chipping started, they fought to protect you. So you wouldn’t end up like the rest of us.”

“But why? Why give me away? Why throw me on some ship and never talk to me? I want to see them! I don’t care if they don’t want to see me, I want to see them!” She screamed. She was finally going to confront the people that left her alone and scared and living a pointless life on some rotting ship.

Nyala went silent and Tann only lowered his gaze and bit his bottom lip. That lip! She swooned. Get it together, Sid! Now is not the time!

It was a few moments before Nyala spoke again, her hands coming to grip Sid’s in a fierce hold. “You cannot speak to them, Sid.” She whispered, “You cannot see them because they’re dead.”

Sid’s vision blurred and her stomach turned in so many rapid flips that she was sure she’d lose her breakfast any moment. She pulled away from Nyala’s grasp and reached her hand back to find Fred’s sturdy arm. As the familiar cool of his exterior reached her, she squeezed with all her might, careful not to fall over on the rigid floor beneath her.

“How?” She asked shakily.

“Right after Colton took you. He saved you but he couldn’t save them. The queen’s guards were too fast, too strong, and too many. And that was before she sent the Starblades in. Many of us died that day; your parents among them. I’m so sorry, Sid.” She dropped to her knees in front of Sid, wrapping her arms around her legs. “They loved you so much! Everything they did was to protect you. To protect this star so you would have a future worth fighting for!”

Sid reached down and pulled Nyala to her feet. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and snapped her goggles over her eyes. “It’s alright. Let’s sit. Tell me how they died,” she said, her breath hitched. “And tell me how they lived.”

* * *

The stories Sid let Colton tell her on their calls were nothing like what she learned that day. Her parents weren’t just Domers. They weren’t just people that showed up and gave up their magic for the ring’s grip. They didn’t believe in the Circulum System, didn’t believe it was the only way for them to share the star with Colton’s people. They wanted a better life and they loved their magic too much to give it up. Sid still wasn’t sure if that made them heroes or fools but it did make them one thing in the eyes of the queen’s mother. They were rebels; Freedom Runners.

The Freedom Runners were a group of resistance fighters organized across several domes that had been trying to restore the equilibrium to the star’s habitat. They did not believe in the chipping, thought it was a foul practice and one that made sure they could never leave the confines of the domes.

Nyala said that when the ring was first put in place, the Al’iil had no choice in the matter. Colton’s people brought with them a technology that they couldn’t fight. Arms and weapons that were stronger than all their magic combined and to stay alive, they had to agree to the queen’s mother’s plans for the star. To give up their magic for the sake of improving life for everyone. Or so they thought. It wasn’t until years after the chipping that they realized the queen’s mother had no intention of sharing the magic they had poured into her ring. She did it all to better the life of her own people, of her Citizens, and they were left in the dust. Forced to live in the cages of the domes and do her bidding. After a while, the conditions in the domes were lowered so greatly that the queen offered another exchange. A way for them to earn back some of their magic to help provide more adequate living solutions. To give more energy to the domes so they would have heat and running water, basic needs to survive. They could work for her, on a tightly timed schedule, helping her manufacture more technology and more machines. Help her grow her precious Neostar into the place it is today.

When the queen had a child, the Al’iil — who now had all but forgotten that name — prayed to the star that the girl would grow up to be a better leader. A better queen than her mother and someone they could reason with. Upon the queen’s mother’s untimely passing, Sid’s parents went to her, begging for the chance to work together and a way for the Domers and the Citizens to live side by side.

“And what did she say?” Sid asked as Nyala told the story, though she had the notion she already knew what the answer would be.

“She all but laughed in their face. I’ll never forget the way your parents looked when they returned that day. A young couple, in love, about to have a child. A child that would be chipped and live her life bound and shackled like the rest of us. Their hopes were shattered in a matter of one conversation. Leona had no plans to rule in any other way than her mother’s. In fact, from what your parents could gather, she was going to be a much worse leader in the end.”

“And they weren’t wrong,” Tann added.

“No, no they were not.” Nyala continued, “It was that day, right there in their small flat in dome forty-eight that the Freedom Runners started. It was just a small group of us at first. Young kids trying to come up with schemes and plans to start a revolution. Your parents hid you from the queen and her guard, your mother gave birth to you in Magic; off the records and away from watchful eyes. You spent your entire young life hiding in a flat and we all made sure you stayed hidden. We were young and stupid then, thinking one child could save the star but that’s what you do when you are young and have people you love depending on you. You make up tales and stories to stay strong. You stay alive. We called ourselves the runners because we would spend our days running from dome to dome before the ring made its turns to pass messages to one another. Spreading the word of better days to come. We had no idea what our feeble words would turn into.”

“And my parents? What happened to them?”

“One day, a few years after you were born, we were close to getting more information on the Arcane. Information that could help us shut down the ring, once and for all. Your parents were so sure that this was it, the thing that would change everything. They didn’t know Leona had been watching them for weeks, figuring out their every move. Where they ate, where they slept, who they talked to; who they loved. She planted false information for anyone who crossed their path, leading right into a trap. We were ambushed. So many died. I remember crawling through bodies to find them and when I did, I was horrified. The general himself was standing over them as your mother clutched you to her chest. I crept closer, trying to hear what they were saying but all I could see was your father dragging you out of your mother’s arms and handing you to Colton. I screamed for them to stop, not to give you up when your mother reached out her hand to stop me. She told me it will be alright. That the general will save you and that one day, you’ll save us all.”

“And then what happened?”

“Then,” Nyala sighed, “your mother asked him to kill them. To keep the secret of your whereabouts from the queen and anyone else that might do you harm.”

“And?”

Nyala let a loose tear fall down her face and hit the top of her torn tunic. “And he did.”

* * *

Once again, everything Sid knew was a lie. Another lie in an endless loop of misdirection. Can a lie that was a lie that was another lie still even be a lie? Or is there somewhere along the lines that it simply becomes the truth? Could this be her truth now?

An orphan that let the man who killed her parents raise her. A helpless fool stuck on a ship for years. These people thought she had come to save them, how was she supposed to tell them that it was her that needed saving?

Tann rested a hand on her shoulder and she remembered he was in the room. She was suddenly all too aware of it. How long had she sat there, stunned and silent? How long had she let him see her as the broken piece of scrap metal she felt like?

She shook off his hand and stood up. For a moment, she considered telling Ashlan everything. He was a Starblade and she shouldn’t trust him but he was Colton’s son. Her parents trusted Colton with her life and with their death.

Someone coughed behind her — Tann again — and she spun around to face him.

“You,” she said with as much bravado as she could muster, “you’re never here, right?”

“Uhm, yes, why?”

“That means you’re out there? Doing that running thing?”

“Passing messages and building the army, you mean?”

“Yes, sure, that.” She cleared her throat and looked between him and Nyala. “Between the two of you, you must know quite a lot about where things are hidden here in the domes and in the city. And if not, you could find out, right?”

Tann looked at Nyala with worry.

“Why, child? What are you looking for?” Nyala asked.

“I want to know where the queen keeps the original ships. The ones that Colton’s people came here on.”

“Why do you need that?” Tann asked gruffly.

“Because I want an out.”

“Sid, please. You can’t.”

“I’m not leaving, not yet. I will help you with this revolution of yours. As much as I can, though trust me when I say, it won’t be much. But after that, I’m gone. I want nothing to do with this.”

“You’re kidding?” Tann roared, “After everything you’ve just heard, you’re gone? Really, Nyala, let’s go. This kid is a waste of time.”

Excuse him? Sid’s fire screamed within her. Who the muck does this guy think he is? I’m a waste of time? I’ll show you a waste of time!

Before she could stop herself, her hands sprung in front of her and the magic in them propelled from her body in a ray of bright yellow light. The energy materialized as it left her body, picking up speed and looking for a target. Like all energy, it needed to ground itself to something. Sid watched horrified as the ball of energy shot straight at Tann, grazing his shoulder and missing him by a millimeter before burning a fist-sized hole through a cot and crashing into the floor tile. His body jerked to the side, whipping around from the hit. His arms went instinctively to the burn wound on his shoulder.

“Ow!” He yelled, then turned to her, eyes wider than the engine core on her ship. “How did you do that?”

“She’s not chipped, Tann.” Nyala said and nodded to Sid’s neck.

“Yes, Tann, I’m not chipped. Keep up.” She stuck her tongue out and looked at the gap in the cot. “Sorry about that.”

“You should be, I sleep there. Sometimes.”

“So do we have a deal?” Sid asked. She was so tired of making deals with people.

“You help us shut down the ring and we help you track down the original human ships?”

Human. So that’s what they’re called. Good to know.

“Yep,” she nodded.

Tann’s eyes found Nyala, who looked down and stayed quiet. He turned back to Sid, a brightness in his dark eyes she hadn’t seen before. “Yes, magic girl. We have a deal.”