and that from a military perspective. Before we knew it, we were in separate areas calling to one another down empty hallways designed to circumnavigate the control area. We would join each other at the back entry. I thought little of it as I had already put my heart into the ship. It would make a wonderful home for the Kee.

I wandered into an engine room of sorts. While there were no engines, as such, all the mountings and brackets were in place. The room was a small forest of upright pipes and ductwork. Boxes were set for the installation of controls and wiring lay in bundles. I walked past standing gas cylinders and welding machinery to look inside a corner enclosed by upright studs. Had it been the toolbox that piqued my curiosity?

I heard the Captain call out to me, “Heir. We should leave.”

His voice was distant and muffled as I imagined him in a room similar to the one I inspected. However, I was instantly confused for I sensed movement behind me and was startled to think that Taush could reach me so quickly after sounding so thoroughly removed. I turned back to the door just as the large hand of the shuttle pilot swung at me.

I dodged back, instinctively, but not in time. His middle claw raked painfully across my forehead. I was knocked into the corner with the toolbox and fell upon it painfully. I don’t have to tell you I was scared. I had never experienced physical violence. My heart raced, my vision blurred. I immediately scrambled back. The narrow opening between the studs, at least for the moment, prevented the Alhiisian from coming closer. His eyes blinked slowly, his long dark tongue played along the side of his face. He moved around the corner and pressed his face between the solid metal framework just above the crossbar.

I cried out in my fear, “Help! Captain!”

The Alhiisian laughed at my plea. I took a large wrench in my hands and held it forward protectively. The face of the pilot was burned into my mind. His eyes rolled and blinked lethargically. His long tongue flicked out through menacing teeth as his sinister laugh rattled in the back of his throat. Then he squatted and pressed his face through the lower framework. He tried the framework with the strength of his arms. His tail slipped in through the framework and the elongated pincers at the end snapped twice.

The pilot grated, “Captain dead.”

I remembered there was a co-pilot and my heart sank. Too many thoughts flashed across the taut skin of my terror. Was the Captain really dead? If I had to fight the beast, his superior strength would prevail. The framework was solid metal, surely it would hold. Would I also die? I had not even reached the alpha level. I would never see Rigil again, Imabelai, I would never get to say goodbye to father. I struggled to my feet, all the while brandishing my wrench before me. I looked about for egress but found only confinement.

The pilot said, “Heir die too.”

He stood and pushed his left arm into my cage near the back wall. I evaded, stepping right toward the studs I had fallen through. It all happened too fast. His tail whipped into the side of my cage and pincers caught my feet. I fell against the back wall and screamed at the realization I was being dragged out. Twisting, I beat at the pilot’s tail frantically. I had never entertained thoughts of death but, for the first time in my atomic existence, I was fighting for my life. The pincers loosed and the pilot jumped back. That gave me a moment to scramble to my feet. I was pressed against the back wall with the wrench clutched to my chest. All I could see was that angry Alhii face as he held his pommeled tail in his hands. Standing was painful as I had literally beat my own ankles with a wrench. I fell to the side and caught myself against the crossbar.

That is when it happened. The pilot leaped to that side and before I could move, grabbed my hands and pulled the wrench free. He held me in place while he pressed his face through the framework. His tongue flicked out and licked my cheek. Alhii breath truly was offensive. He pressed his sharpened claws into the palms of my hands until I screamed in pain. He laughed and thrust the pincers of his tail into my feet. I would have fallen were it not that he held me up. He dragged me around to the open studs, pulled me between them, and threw me to the floor. As my consciousness faded, the Alhii crouched over me. He grabbed my chest and I felt a horrible crunching pain in my side.

There was an indication of motion behind the pilot. I thought the co-pilot had joined him but there was a loud metallic thud. The Alhii’s head snapped forward, pivoted. His eyes lost focus. His heavy body fell across mine. Then the body was pulled away. Taush bent over me, his hands touched me here and there as he inspected me.

“Hold on, Heir. Help is on the way.” His voice was distant as before.

All I could think was how sad I was to see his immaculate uniform soiled. His short brown hair was out of place. I would never have imagined the Captain in such a state. He tried to smile but there was dark blood on his face. He shook me and said something unintelligible. As the dim light flashed and began to fade, I wanted to speak. I think I tried to console the Captain by patting his hand but there was no sensation. Dying was new for me, but, I didn’t care – I was too weak. So, this is death, I thought. Even though I was unpracticed, I felt as though I had fallen into the role with heroic aplomb. Then, there was nothing.

Lights came on, dim at first, then, too bright. I was in a room aboard the Mercy. The whir of portable medical devices and the beeping of a heart monitor reminded me of the time I visited Tiri. 43S7 stood over me. I blinked and suddenly 43S7 was Taush. I wondered if I might be hallucinating, dreaming, or worse, experiencing postmortem memories. I blinked and Taush turned back into 43S7. I told the apparition to stand still, to stop changing. I could not hear my voice.

Taush and 43S7 lifted me and forced water past my lips. Pillows were placed behind me. I was alive. I rolled my head to view the room. 43S7 busied himself with a medical device while the Captain walked to my feet and stood watching me, his hands behind his back. There was great concern in his eyes. His clothes were clean and pressed. His hair was combed. I noticed two men standing by the door. Their uniforms were new to me. Taush turned to the med tech.

“Well,” he asked?

The answer was distant. 43S7 said, “Yes. He will be fine. He needs to sleep.”

When I awoke, I was alone. The room was quiet. The medical monitors had been removed and I lay in my bed propped forward on several pillows. I looked at my feet, covered with a single synthetic sheet. I looked at my hands and saw the scars. An image flashed before me. I saw the large cracked nails as they pierced my palms. I turned my head away, I pressed my eyes closed. It was a horrible memory. I felt the fear as real as if the Alhii stood before me in my room. I opened my eyes, looked toward my feet. I had to see.

I pulled the sheet away and saw the small scars on the top of my feet. There was no pain. I forced aside the memories by will alone and swung my legs off the bed. I could not think what to do; I just sat there. Then I remembered my side. Standing on the cold floor, I twisted but could not see the scar on my side. I felt around with my hand but the skin was smooth. I felt my forehead and looked around the room for a reflective surface. The door opened and 43S7 walked in with clean clothing.

He said, “It is good to see you up. I have these.”

I took the clothes and began to dress. I asked, “How long have I been here?”

The med-tech clasped his hands and answered, “Just over one rotation.”

“Is the Captain well,” I asked?

He answered, “Quite well. He is in another room visiting the wounded.”

“How badly was I hurt,” I asked?

I was answered with patience, “You were nearly dead when they brought you. Your atomic lattice aside, your heart came quite close to being punctured. Had they waited longer, you would not be with us. The scarring is minimal and should disappear in time. Your lateral puncture was between your eighth and seventh rib. The lattice suture should hold, but no jumping or falling for the immediate future.”

I finished dressing and stepped into my sandals. I asked, “I can leave?”

“You may but the Captain has asked that you remain until he speaks with you.”

I asked, “Was the Captain injured?”

43S7 said, “Fifteens are highly resilient. At his level, a breach will close itself and require nothing more than simple reticulation.”

 

I asked, “So who got injured?”

His response was concerned. “A cycle eight cadet was wounded. Due to his low atomic level, he accrued greater molecular damage.”

The Captain walked into the room and stood before me with his hands clasped behind his back. His look was stern. 43S7 excused himself. When he spoke,  I was disquieted. I felt as though I had displeased him.

“Our carelessness nearly killed you,” said the Captain in a low steady voice. “Siri was right on two points. There is a vacuum in leadership, and, the heir is not prepared to fill his father’s shoes.”

“Father will . . .” I began to say but the Captain cut me off.

“Die,” he finished. “As Siri said. All of us know this. It is time for you to accept the inevitable. A new ruler will stand in his place. The question is, will that ruler be you?”

I felt a need to argue. His words were cruel and it was hard to keep my composure. I felt like I was frozen in time while an internal war raged inside. I did not want to appear weak, not before the Captain. I hung my head, took a slow breath to steady myself. I looked into the Captain’s eyes and answered with a quiet question.

“What, then?”

“Two things,” said Taush. “First, protection. I've secured four Archangels as personal security. Two of them will be at your side at all times.”

Feeling ignorance, I asked, “Archangels?”

He answered, “The armada’s elite, trained for all eventualities. Now, for item two.”

I felt a surge of chemicals. My heart beat faster. My muscles tensed. I knew, not only by what the Captain said but, how he said it, that I would not like what I was about to hear. I had acquiesced to the Captain’s authority. I had placed myself in his hands. Now, I feared, I would learn the price. I knew my life was about to be turned upside down, and I knew I did not have it in me to resist. I held perfectly still, fearing even to swallow. The Captain’s eyes narrowed as he assessed me.

“The education of the heir.” He paused to let it sink in. I said nothing as he continued. “As heir to the king, it falls to you to know all that we are. Your isolation must end. I will bring together teachers you will need and you will attend to their instructions. You will learn science and combat, the laws that govern us, the protocols that bind our races. You will learn terraforming and planetary harvesting. Whatever a king should know, that is what you will learn.”

He continued to speak but my mind was numb as if I could no longer bear the weight of his words. There was no room for them in my head. Life as I knew it was over. Experience with the probe taught me just how much I needed my Seed Ship. The rigors of the probe had stretched me beyond my limit. At the end of the rotation, I desired nothing more than my ship and my Kee. There, was all that sustained me. Now, I would be even further from my normal. As I thought, I felt wash over me what could only be described as cold waves of loneliness.

Taush was saying, “ . . . for now, you may return to your ship . . .” when 43S7 walked into the room. I finally inhaled.

Taush turned to the med-tech. “Yes,” he said as if addressing one of his soldiers.

43S7 held up a flat device for his inspection and said, “I have one more test to run.”

I said to no one in particular, “I need to leave.” I felt growing desperation to be on my ship.

The Captain said, “Right.” To 43S7, he said, “Come with us.”

I sat in Bollate’s shuttle. Taush sat across from me. To either side of me sat an Archangel. I felt pressed between. With his work tablet, 43S7 monitored the device on my head. It was a brain monitor with a transparent display meant to light up when damage was detected. The motor on each side moved the display from back to front. It was near the top of my head.

“I feel ridiculous,” I complained.

“Please be patient,” said the med-tech.

Hoping conversation might still me, I turned to the Huim on my left and asked, “What may I call you?”

His uniform was a tight-fitting synthetic, gray with brown and black trim on the trouser seam and jacket lapel. He wore a white shirt beneath. A belt circled his waist and held weapons and communicators. His shoes were a hard black synthetic and looked uncomfortable. His elite rank was intimidating. The man looked to the Captain, who gave the quiet nod of assent.

“Heir,” said the Archangel. “My Archangel designation is Khamuel.” 

When he said no more, I turned to the other Archangel, who answered without being asked. “I am designated Barachiel.”

Khamuel had short brown hair like the Captain but Barachiel had long yellow hair that reached his collar. Barachiel was not as large or imposing as Khamuel, he was slender with the sweet facial features of youth. While both uniforms were identical, Barachiel wore a silver pin on his right lapel. It was in the form of two wings spreading in the same direction. I looked to the Captain, but he gave no indication how I might respond to my personal guards. Just then, the shuttle docked softly with the Seed Ship.

“I’ll wait here,” said Bollate. When we stood to depart, he stood and faced me, saying, “Happy to see you well, sir.”

I thanked him and departed. 

The Seed Ship was in dark mode. Hundreds of small lights pulsed in the ceiling to imitate stars. My guards shone lights from behind me to illuminate the path ahead. With the med-tech behind me, the Captain stood in the lighted doorway. The device on my head clicked into its final upright position. 43S7 busied his tablet for a moment and announced, “All results are positive.”

The Captain said, “Eyes open.”

Khamuel snapped out a very military, “Yes, sir.”

When he turned again with his hand light, the illumination cast my shadow forward with a bright halo around my head. It was at that moment that Ava stepped out of the dark into the dim penumbra.  She looked up at me with her mouth agape. At once, my guards stepped forward and I could see their hands readied over their weapons. I stepped quickly between them and hugged Ava to me.

“She’s with me,” I said hastily.

They stood down. The embarrassing device was removed from my head, and 43S7 left on the shuttle with Captain Taush. I turned and realized that Odum was not far away. I walked forward with my hands on the shoulders of two souls I was happy to see. I settled my guards in Nathlan’s room with Barachiel sitting in the lounge taking the first watch. I invited my Kee friends into my quarters and sealed away my ordeal with the door.