Kragon had a reason to be happy; he was closing in on completing the "Geeryo Guard" Android. He had convinced himself that this project, this engineering challenge, was totally separate from his love for JaKaelath.

JaKaelath could only watch on as the man she loved built a device meant to destroy her people. 

"How is Kragon even going to work this thing? He's not exactly an engineer", JaKaelath says.

Kragon springs up, "That's the great part, there's voice activation. You enter a code the first time, and then it can accept your voice on command." JaKaelath looks over at a sheet of paper, "27180," that's a pretty short code for something so powerful," she says. 

"That's just until I get it finished up tonight and hand it over to Kallian, then we'll change the code to something very long, like 15 or 20 digits once I give it to him. It should be ready to unveil in another day or so. 

The next night, everything came to a head. Earlier in the night, she had overheard Kragon and Kallian talking. Kallian was actually cordial and congratulated Kragon on his intelligence, much to the chagrin of Dukota, who was looking on at Kragon's praises with envy. 

What startled her most was what happened next...

Kragon’s voice was low, but JaKaelath heard every word. "This will finally give us the chance to defeat them."

"Yes, wipe them ALL out," Kallian agreed, his voice steady. "But what about...?"

"She's not a Ponu," Kragon cut in sharply with a slight look of anger. "I need assurances that this machine won't be used against her."

Kallian scoffed. "Well, if she's not a Ponu, then she has nothing to worry about."

"The machine can be turned on by anyone," Kragon insisted. "That is my only request. It's not too much to ask for, since I am giving you the chance to finally wipe away the Ponu from the Earth. The machine can build copies of itself. Soon, you could have an army even the Dowath would not be able to stand against. The Ponu will be under your boot, where they belong."

It sent chills through JaKaelath. Now back in the tent with Kragon, she had to know if the callousness she had overheard was real or just a calculated performance for Kallian.

"This thing will wipe out all of the Ponu, you know," JaKaelath said, her voice shaking slightly. "Including me."

Kragon turned from his work. "No. You're different. You're a scavenger like us."

"But by blood I'm a Ponu," she countered.

"That doesn't matter," he insisted, his tone suddenly desperate. "In your head and your heart, you're one of us."

"To that machine I'm not."

Kragon walked to her and took her hands. "Don't worry about that. I've been given assurances. Soon, our people's enemies will be gone, and Kallian will be gone. It will just be the two of us, happy as we always should have been."

JaKaelath closes her eyes, rubs his hands tenderly for a moment and then releases them. She walks to a corner of the tent and begins to pack her belongings in a bag.

"What are you doing?" Kragon asked, alarmed.

"I just can't," she answered while placing what little she cared to take in the bag. "You're about to justify the murder of those poor women."

"Murder? They're our enemy. This is war," he argued with his voice rising.

"You don't even care as long as I'm not one of them," she accused, finally looking up. "I used to think you were just so caught up in the engineering challenge, but now I see... I never suspected. All you crave is to see the Ponu defeated."

"Don't say I'm no better than Kallian," Kragon pleaded, taking a step forward, spurred now by anger at the insinuation. "He wants them all dead. I just wanted them kicked out of their hiding place, to leave here and go far away. That would be good enough for me."

JaKaelath has tears in her eyes. She begins to put on her scavenger cloths over her Ponu-suit, finally her black boots.

"I did love you, Kragon," she whispered, the tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "I still do. But it hurts too much to think of you condoning this. Goodbye."

"Where are you going?" Kragon demanded, desperate now. "It's the middle of the night."

"I am leaving here," she said, strapping the bag across her chest. "No, I am not going to the Ponu cave. Just somewhere else. Anywhere but here."

"JaKaelath, I love you!"

Tears began to pool in his own eyes, transforming his face from one of defensiveness to true, agonizing loss.

"I think you believe you do," she replied, her voice thick with sorrow. "But you don't. Not really. Not the real me, if you can allow this to happen to my people."

Kragon stood frozen, filled with regret, almost disbelief that this was happening, then choked out, "Take Whisper." The name of his horse came out cracked as his voice broke. "He will get you wherever you need to go."

With that final, painful exchange, Kaela turned, her bag secured, and walked out of the tent without looking back. She found the dependable horse named Whisper by the camp's small corral and mounted up. Her eyes were blurred with tears as she began her solitary journey, but she pushed the horse into the darkness, knowing she must go away from this place and the man she loved.

The next morning, the entire camp gathered. Kallian stood on a makeshift stage, basking in the attention, proud to introduce the weapon that would win them their endless war. Kragon stood slightly behind him, a mixture of pride in his engineering achievement and a deep, aching emptiness in his chest.

"I give you," Kallian roared, throwing his arm out in a dramatic gesture, "The Geeryo Guard!"

The massive Android whirred to life.

"Geeryo Guard," Kallian commanded, a smug grin splitting his face. "What is your prime mission?"

The metallic voice was cold and resonant. "Subjugation of the Ponu race."

Then, a pause.

"Previous prime mission relegated, uploading new prime mission."

Kallian’s triumphant smile evaporated. He looked over at Kragon, who seemed just as confused and pale as he was.

"Explain what's going on!" Kallian said, glaring at Kragon.

The Android answered before Kragon could stammer a reply. "New prime mission uploaded thirty-eight hours ago, time delay passed, awaiting the unit's activation to implement. Attack Kallian."

The Android moved with terrifying speed. It seized Kallian, yanking him off the stage and throwing him toward the center of the camp with effortless force. Kallian gasped, scrambling to get up, but the Android was upon him too quickly. It swatted his hand away as he reached for his sidearm. Another near-effortless blow from the machine sent Kallian sprawling again. The Geeryo Guard knelt over the leader, pinning him to the dirt.

Panic erupted, the surrounding cheers turning into shrieks of terror. Kragon's mouth hung open in shock, his mind racing. Could Dukota have found a way to tamper with it? Or… JaKaelath?

Kallian's men, armed with light weaponry, aimed carefully to avoid hitting their leader and fired. The small arms rounds ricocheted off the Android’s armored shell with no effect. Their weapons were useless.

The Android swiped at Kallian's face, almost playing with him. A blow at full strength would have decapitated the man, but the machine delivered measured punches, glancing blows that were enough to take the fight out of the warlord Kallian. Then, it raised its massive fist, positioning itself to deliver the killing strike. Kallian's eyes went wide, reflecting the metallic underside of the fist about to end his life.

The Android paused, a low electronic tone preceding its final message.

"Message from code 27180," the Geeryo Guard announced. "My father used to say there is one word that is more important to humans than any word in the world, more important than love, hate, anything." The Android's head tilted slightly. "I hope you remember that word and think of it before you die. That word is 'Mercy'."

With that, the Android’s fist lowered peacefully, its internal systems powering down. It was deactivated.

Epilogue:

That same morning, far away. JaKaelath, now going by her Ponu name Kaela, is miles away, on Whisper. She comes to a canyon and takes a second to enjoy the beauty. She looks at a piece of paper in her hand with "27180" scribbled on it and folds it back into her pocket. She takes a deep breath. She doesn't know where she will go, maybe to the Ponu Cave eventually, maybe north to the woods where there is rumored safety, another scavenger village, maybe Vulture town, or maybe back to her own camp one day, once Kallian leaves. All she knows is that she has the freedom to do any or none of those options if she chooses. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a smile comes across Kaela's face, and she loves it. "Come on, Whisper, let's go see what this world has for us".

The End.