Solar Star

Twilight settled over the rolling hills surrounding Sakkara, a haven of peace and tranquillity, yet looks can be deceiving. O’realian sighed, his heart was heavy and his head ached from trying to remember if he had overlooked anything. The community’s leaders had spent the day sorting and packing, yet trying to maintain an outward appearance of normality, as they knew they had at least one spy amongst them. They were also being monitored by agents in the land around them and satellites in the sky above which was all very oppressive and disturbing.

O’realian couldn’t help blaming himself for the problems they were having with Colonel Nye, yet what he could have done differently eluded him. Although they had never met face to face before he believed that Nye was a passionate, obstinate woman, who believes totally that she is always right. In their non-verbal negotiations it became obvious she saw life as black and white; either you obeyed or you were the enemy. So however hard O’realian had tried to show her there were valid positions in between these two extremes, it only went to convince her even more that the community was a hot bed of subversives and anarchists, and had to be destroyed. Spiritual values scared a lot of people and not being able to control them through conventional means made them a threat to the powers that be. The end, as she saw it, was inevitable and they would be removed and the problem would be solved. O’realian hoped there could be another alternative, which was why he had stayed in the circle room to wait for Kassina to contact him.

He stood by the open window watching the shadows grow taller as the light slowly faded and wondered if this was to be their last couple of days here. He was so preoccupied he didn’t hear Tel’kesa enter the room. She stood silently watching the man she most admired in the whole world in such pain and it hurt her deeply. She had known him almost all of her fifty years and had loved him for most of that time. He, of course, never knew this but after Kassina’s mother had died she had hoped one day to be more to him than a friend and council member but it wasn’t to be. He had loved only Kaymara and she had had to be content with his trust and friendship, but not his love. He became aware of her presence and turned toward her. She smiled and his strong symmetrical face softened when he smiled back. He hadn’t seemed to have aged, yet he was now fifty two, but was very fit and energetic and it was this charismatic energy that you noticed when you met him. It was almost palatable, a wave of warmth and excitement. His hazel eyes shone with life and vigour and you couldn’t help but like him as she had never seen him dejected or depressed and even now in their darkest hour, she felt him holding onto the positive energy and hope that would see them through. His faith was unquestionable and unshakeable, but was faith going to be enough? She hoped so.

‘Tel’kesa, how are the preparations going?’ he asked.

She moved to his side and placed a hand on his arm.

‘They are going as well as they can.’

She left the rest unsaid, but he understood how difficult it was with a spy in the midst, but so far all they had were suspicions, no one knew for certain who was betraying them. He sighed again.

‘I hope Kassina has been successful.....Time is one area in which we have no control.’

He looked out of the window before adding.

‘And the clock is definitely ticking.’

She squeezed his arm.

‘How much time do you think we have?’ she asked.

He turned back to face her and she was shocked to see tears in his eyes.

‘They may come tonight.’ He said, his voice cracking with emotion.

‘Tonight.’ She gasped. ‘Are you sure?’

He tried to smile, but failed miserably.

‘We still have a few friends out there,’ he said. ’Earlier I had a message from one of them. Colonel Nye’s forces are on standby and anytime in the next couple of days they will move against us.

‘What can we do?’ she asked.

‘Pray and hope we can leave before they attack us,’ he replied.

She knew he was right as violence was not the way for a community built on love and to stay or try to defend themselves would mean turning into the very people they had spent years of effort to erase. He took her hand.

‘Tel’kesa, I want you to let the other council members know and tell them they are to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.’

She nodded, her grey eyes concerned but calm.

‘I will, and don’t worry, Kassina won’t fail us.’

He nodded and smiled. As she left he rubbed his temples with his hands and muttered.

’I hope not.” But even he wasn’t completely convinced salvation was so close by.

The light had gone now and the half moon shone in the clear cold sky and he was worried.

‘She should have been in touch by now,’ he thought, as he looked out of the window again and tried to centre himself. It took a long time, but finally he felt a familiar inner stillness and calm fill him. Somehow they had to hold on just a little longer.

The old quarter of Denver with its few remaining high rise buildings, its open parkland and city buildings was a pretty sight to Kassina, who had grown up in the more natural beauty of South Dakota. She nervously looked out of the hotel window four stories up and felt a bit dizzy. Sarrin watched her and hid a smile as in some ways she was older than her years, but outside of the familiar environment of the community she showed a more vulnerable and childlike side. They had found one of the few hotels that still operated in the old style, where you could come in off the street and get a room but increasingly movements of people were being monitored and controlled. Everything having to be authorised and planned months before it happened, but not in this hotel. It wasn’t very clean or inviting, but it was a place where they could sign in with false names and be left alone. Sarrin picked up the small metal case he had brought with him and placed it carefully on the table.

‘It is time,’ he said and went about setting up the link to O’realian.

Kassina nodded.

‘Yes, it is later than I realised; he’ll be waiting and worrying.’

‘But we have good news,’ Sarrin said firmly.

She still had her doubts, but they had no other possibilities to follow up so it was Ty Kelsey and Ray Silvereen or nothing. She sighed.

‘I suppose we do,’ she said softly and settled down in front of the small screen to speak to her father.

Sarrin punched up the pre-arranged code, activated the anti-detection device and waited for the signal to be acknowledged. The console bleeped twice and he replied pressing the red key three times then another five seconds passed and the screen activated showing O’realian’s tired face.

‘Sarrin, Kassina. Do you have good news?’ he asked, unable to conceal the strain he was under.

‘Father, are you alright?’

Kassina was shocked at his grey drawn appearance.

He nodded.

‘I’m fine, but we have had some bad news. Colonel Nye is ready to attack at any moment and there are troops gathering around us. We need to leave tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow,’ she cried. ‘I don’t know if that’s possible.’

O’realian sighed.

‘It has to be or it’ll be too late. It may be too late already, she could attack tonight.’

Kassina gasped and put her hand to her mouth too shocked to speak but Sarrin however, had a logical, even methodical mind for someone so spiritual, so he picked up the conversation. He filled O’realian in on the arrangements they had already made, and then added.

‘We will now return immediately to see Captain Kelsey and then relay our findings back to you directly.’

O’realian’s mouth rose in a half smile at the way the Andromedian spoke, but he appreciated his grasp of the situation.

‘Thank you Sarrin. I’ll stay here and wait for your call.’