Chapter 13: Orientation and Erupting Volcanoes

The time had finally come. The convoy had arrived on the outskirts of a new galaxy. After centuries of traveling through the void between galaxies, we had finally arrived at a potential new home. There was no way that humanity could have had any comprehension of what lay ahead. We stared into the void that lay before our eyes with mixed feelings of wonder and consternation. And yet, despite our apprehension, we set out into the unknown with a sense of prideful ignorance that bordered on arrogance. As far as mankind knew, we were still alone in this universe. As far as mankind knew, there was no greater power than the human spirit. We had no idea how ridiculously wrong we were.

In another district of Tarrus, thousands of miles away from Fernady City, a dark conspiracy was underway.

Two men stood alone in a large launching chamber with a satellite in the center being prepared for take-off. The shuttle was shaped like a circular UFO from Ancient Earth science fiction movies. Several antenna and dishes projected from the top of the unmanned vehicle. Nearby, several dozen droids carefully handled a large warhead which they prepped to place inside the shuttle’s cargo hangers. The warhead rose into the silo like a massive sword ready to deal out righteous fury. This silver missile held the emblem of Gregory Industries emblazoned in red letters on its blade.

“Is it ready yet?” questioned the nobleman in blue robes impatiently.

“All systems are operational and ready for launch, sir,” replied the scientist in a white lab coat as he worked at the computer station.

“Place the warhead within the shuttle and prepare for launch,” ordered the nobleman.

“Y-yes, sir,” said the scientist with obvious hesitation.

The scientist typed in a few commands on his keyboard, signaling the droids that floated nearby to gently store the warhead in the containment chamber of the satellite. The orb-shaped droids complied immediately and slowly lowered the missile into the open doors before two mechanical arms from the satellite placed the missile within the center of the unmanned vessel.

The doors on the satellite quickly closed, shielding the missile from view, though its presence was no less lost on the scientist as he sweated profusely. The scientist gave another command and the engines on the satellite ignited. A computer voice rang throughout the chamber as the timer counted down from sixty.

The scientist turned to his employer nervously as the timer continued to count down.

Fifty-five ... Fifty-four ... Fifty-three...

“Once the shuttle breaches the atmosphere, it will cloak and go into geosynchronous orbit around the planet as a satellite, responding only to your command.” To relieve some of the pressure, the scientist adjusted the collar on his shirt before addressing his superior. “The missile was especially designed to your specifications, sir. The Omega will wreak devastation never before seen on Tarrus.”

Forty-seven ... Forty-six ... Forty-five...

“Very good, Dr. Mansly,” said the man in the blue dress suit as he took a step closer to the scientist. “And since it’s unregistered, it should give us an edge over those Elemental animals.”

Forty-one ... Forty ... Thirty-nine...

“If I may ask, sir,” said Dr. Mansly as his hands started to shake. “The Omega, it’s only precautionary, right? A deterrent for war. I mean, you aren’t really considering using it, right? At least not on Tarrus?”

Thirty-three ... Thirty-two ... Thirty-one...

The nobleman smiled sweetly. “That is no longer your concern, Doctor.”

Twenty-nine ... Twenty-eight ... Twenty-seven...

“Sir?” asked the scientist in confusion.

Without a word, the man fell face-first to the metal floor. A crooked dagger with a black blade protruded from his back. A figure in tattered, gray robes stood hunched over the scientist’s body.

Twenty ... Nineteen ... Eighteen...

The nobleman smiled at the hunched figure, and said, “Merci beaucoup.”

Fifteen ... Fourteen ... Thirteen...

Out of the shadows stepped a man with green skin, yellow eyes, and sharpened fangs. “My Lord Gregory. You know that weapon won’t do any good against the Ministry of Fire’s shields, so you can’t be planning to use the missile on them,” said the creature in a whispering voice.

Ten ... Nine ... Eight...

“Of course I know that, you Goblin twit,” replied the nobleman angrily. “But I also know that in this sort of game, it’s good to have an ace in the hole.”

Three ... Two ... One ... Launch!

The thrusters ignited. The ignition roared. The burners blazed. The fuel pumps churned. With a flash of light, the vessel took from the ground and sailed off through the portal at the top of the chamber, flying far off into the night sky before disappearing from sight.

Planet Tarrus: District 8: Headquarters of the Ministry of Fire.

Éclair Hamashe sat in silence with her curious companion. Éclair knew it was risky using one of her family’s custom-made transports, but she didn’t have much of a choice. They needed to get Ryan to the Ministry as safely as possible. Right now, most of the Gateways were down for maintenance, and Éclair wasn’t a Spiritual psionic type that could teleport anywhere she wanted to willy-nilly. Besides, it’s not like her Swan Flyer would be detected, not while equipped with its psionic cloak.

However, something else worried Éclair. Apparently, Black Dragons had hunted this boy, but he had escaped miraculously. Two questions haunted her thoughts; why were they after him and how did he escape? The Black Dragons had kept a low profile for centuries now, showing no interests in humans or Elementals. Why choose now to start a ruckus? Éclair recalled something her godfather had once told her.

Why can’t we know all the answers to the mysteries that our realm hides? Then let me answer your question with another question. What’s the point of a mystery if you don’t have to look for the answer? Life would seem rather bland if there were no surprises left.

Old Starbeard had taught Éclair that there were too many mysteries out there to even begin to imagine. Never be bogged down in ignorance, rather see it as an opportunity to learn. Éclair remembered fondly the old man’s kind green eyes filled with the wisdom of the ages and the wonder of a child. His smooth, eloquent voice had lulled her to sleep many times as he told her stories of all the magic the universe held for those courageous enough to search for it. Éclair sorely missed her mentor ... sometimes the pain felt unbearable.

But her circumstances weren’t all that bad. After all, she’d met Grafael and Leon, and even her annoying stepsister counted for something. Yes, in the Ministry of Fire, Éclair had found some semblance of the family that she’d lost.

On a different note, the recent encounter with Hannah Lioness had raised even more questions. It surprised Éclair to find out that the Lioness woman knew the Prime Minister’s old nickname. But then, Hannah Lioness was a name almost as famous, or infamous, as Eramar Razor himself. Heaven only knew what secrets that woman held. Fortunately, it seemed that Lioness could be considered an ally, at least for the moment. Why else did she seem so compliant with Éclair’s wishes to keep her secret hidden from Ryan?

Still, it was a little unsettling that a complete stranger knew Éclair’s most closely guarded secret. If only Éclair knew the right way to ask Ryan about it. But then again, Starbeard always deterred her from worrying too much. Trusting in the teachings that her godfather had instilled in her at a very young age, she decided to be patient, and seek out the answers to this particular mystery when it seemed most appropriate.

Besides, the poor fellow looks frazzled enough already. It won’t do to grill him when I can already tell that he knows as much as I do ... probably less based on his crude mannerisms.

The boy was a bit of a curiosity to Éclair. Of course, she had been slightly put off by his appearance when she first met him, but she also found him quite intriguing to look at. His orangish, gold skin and bright scarlet hair gave him an otherworldly appearance. Plus, his passionate red eyes made him seem almost devilish, but in a good way.

Though his attire wasn’t nearly as impressive as his physical attributes. For some reason, he refused to wear shoes even though Éclair knew that Lady Lioness had packed him some. His sleeveless shirt and black jeans seemed to be new, and yet there were still holes in the fabric. Though the sleeveless shirt did give Éclair a nice view of Ryan’s strong arms which bulged with muscles unseemly for a fifteen-year-old boy. Although, he did seem a little scrawny in some areas of his physique, especially in his face and stomach, probably due to his years of living as a vagrant. And he was a tad too short for her tastes in men.

The boy’s rugged appearance was almost a match for his garish personality. One second as bold as a lion, then the next as sheepish as a mouse. He obviously had no idea how to properly treat a lady, otherwise, Éclair wouldn’t have the impulse to smack him every time he opened his obnoxious mouth.

And yet, despite his harsh accent and flamboyant arrogance, Éclair got the feeling that it was more for his own sake than anyone else. The boy probably went through a lot, what with growing up on the streets and having to defend himself from prejudiced humans. He must have felt so alone, so isolated. Éclair related to that sentiment. For a while, she’d been on her own too.

There was something else about Ryan Uruks, something deeper. A quiet dignity that refused to bow down to any authority, no matter how powerful. True, the boy was obviously naïve, immature, and clumsy. But even so, Éclair admired Ryan if only just a little for his pure foolhardiness.

Despite their disturbing conversation with the old Weretortoise just moments ago, the boy seemed as riled as ever, raving on and on about some tyrant or whatnot. Truth be told, Éclair felt slightly annoyed despite resolving to treat Ryan more gently due to the gravity of the news he’d just heard.

However, Ryan could drive a saint to sin; the sin in this case involving strangling Ryan just to get him to shut up for five seconds. Éclair gave Ryan every facial expression she knew to convey the message that he needed to stop talking. But apparently, the boy seemed inept at reading inaudible signals, or even audible ones for that matter.

“I’ve already told you a dozen times over,” started Éclair once again. “We can’t go back or else we risk being discovered. I would think you’d want to avoid running into more mercenaries ... at least until you’ve been trained in the Ministry ... which, need I remind you, is the only safe place left to you.”

If Ryan Uruks could be credited for anything, it would be the art of keeping an argument going for as long as possible. “You don’t understand! This is more than just a pet! He’s my best friend in the world ... or worlds, I guess. Look, just tell the driver to land and give me five minutes. He’s probably going out of his little bird brain just looking for me.

“I’m the only one who feeds him, and he gets cranky when he’s hungry. He starts pecking at anyone in sight and dropping poop bombs in the most unexpected places possible. He even got some into this rich guy’s flying yacht. I can’t even tell you how he got in there, but he did. The bird’s like a ninja. Trust me, if I don’t find him, it’s going to be Armageddon at the least.”

He certainly has a flair for the dramatic, thought Éclair to herself. Kind of reminds me of Grafael. It might actually be cute if it wasn’t so agonizingly frustrating at the moment.

Since reason clearly did not exist within the boy’s vocabulary, Éclair decided to take a different approach of diplomacy. “Look, it’s not that I don’t care. I’m sure that Tyrant is a very good bird. It’s just that you need to consider what’s best for everyone. If we land this vessel, even for a moment, it could risk exposing you. Elementals are not particularly popular these days, you know. Besides, he seemed to get along just fine without you before; and if he’s as resourceful and clever as you say, I’m sure he’ll be alright.”

Éclair was unsure how Ryan even found a hawk. There weren’t any forests left to sustain it, except for the Ministry of Fire hundreds of miles from the place that Ryan supposedly found the creature. Éclair decided that it must’ve escaped from a petting zoo, or the black market that occasionally smuggled animals from the human’s original homeworld.

Ryan then pointed at the windshield, and screamed, “WATCH OUT, DRIVER!!”

The vessel flew straight into a towering skyscraper. However, the Swan Flyer passed through the skyscraper’s walls like smoke through a vent. Figures of people and aliens passed through both them and the vehicle harmlessly as if they were ghosts. Despite Ryan’s subtle reptilian scales, a very human and very boyish expression of confusion washed over his features as he tried to come to terms with what transpired.

After flying through the building, Ryan spoke in a shaky, squeak-like voice, “Are we dead?!”

Éclair sniffed. “Of course not, dumb-dumb. I forgot to tell you. This vessel is ... well ... it’s somewhat special you might say. A Spiritual-Type Elemental used Elemency to psionically cloak this vessel, as well as give it the ability to phase through solid objects. It’s a little complicated to explain, but basically, as long as we are in this ship, nobody can see or touch us, at least so long as we don’t come across an energy forcefield.”

Ryan appeared unconvinced as his head swiveled back and forth, as if expecting to fall through the seats. “Then how come we can see and touch it?”

“The vessel is made to recognize certain types of DNA. In this case, being my DNA since the ship was created to protect me.”

“Protect you?”

Éclair mentally scolded herself for revealing more than she needed to. “To protect me and those like me. Young Elementals just learning to control their powers.”

Instead of asking her anything else, Ryan addressed the driver. “Hey, driver! What did she mean by that earlier? Come on, be a friend. I can keep a secret.”

Éclair tried to stop Ryan before he upset her rather grouchy chauffeur. “Um ... Ryan ... my driver is-”

Too late! Ryan could only see the back of the chauffeur’s black suit and bowler hat. As the driver turned around, he revealed not the face of a man, but the white head of a bird; a bald eagle to be exact.

Felix decided to respond to Ryan’s rude questions in kind. “AACK!” screeched Felix in his native bird speech.

“AAAH!” yelled Ryan.

“YEEEK!” screamed Éclair, startled by Ryan’s scream.

“AAAK!” screeched Felix again in an attempt to calm Ryan down, only it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“AAAH!” screamed Ryan again, apparently still shocked by the giant bird chauffeur screeching at him.

“Ryan!” cried out Éclair, trying to take control of the situation before it became a scream fest. “Calm down! This is my chauffeur, Felix. He’s one of the aerial races. A Harpy. He understands Basic, but he can’t speak it himself because his vocal cords are not designed for it, and he refuses to get the proper implant. You see, the bird peoples are natural Spiritual-Type Psionic Users, so that’s why I need him to do the driving. He makes cloaking and phasing easier on the ship because he’s feeding it a little of his own psions while he’s piloting.” Not that she expected him to understand, but Éclair enjoyed explaining things; it was habitual.

Felix puffed up his feathers, apparently miffed at being yelled at, and said, “AAACK,” one last time for good measure.

Ryan relaxed a little. “Okay, nice to meet you, Felix. Sorry for screaming at you, man. I mean bird ... or birdman. It’s just that for some reason, I thought you were my bird, Tyrant ... like he’d been turn into a birdman, or something.”

Éclair frowned in confusion. “What?”

“We were just talking about Tyrant, alright! It got me thinking about birds. Plus, I’m just a little shaken by the fact that we’re in a ghost ship. I apologize.”

Felix eased up a little as he continued piloting the vehicle. Éclair almost wanted to laugh. There was always something with Ryan Uruks. Not just his mannerisms, but the way he conducted himself when something unexpected came along. It made Éclair feel like chortling until her sides ached. But there seemed to be even more to it than that. Though she’d just met him, Éclair felt a familiarity for Ryan; a warmness, as if they’d known each other since they were kids. It made Éclair feel like an innocent little girl again, living life for the sake of enjoyment and fun. On more than one occasion, Éclair caught herself telling things to Ryan she’d normally keep to herself.

Is there something different about him that I’m just missing, she considered.

Then Ryan made a grab for Felix’s hat like a kindergartener on a bus might do. She decided that she must have imagined there being more to this boy than met the eye. The phrase ’what you see, is what you get’ applied most adequately to Ryan Uruks. The boy seemed to forget his troubles with his bird, Tyrant, and instead pressed Éclair for answers on just about every question he could think of. Éclair remembered when she first joined the Ministry that she had a lot of questions to ask as well, so she tried to be patient with him.

“So what is that stuff you were talking about? Psionic Users and psionic abilities and stuff? What does any of that have to do with the elements?”

Éclair knew that telling him too much now would only confuse him and impede his journey into Elemency, so she decided to be brief and save the really important lessons for his instructor to explain in more clarity. “As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, there’s more to Elemency than simply shooting fire out of your hands. Just trust me. Everything will be explained at orientation.”