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"Stellarward" by Warshekel
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Stellarward
by Zuykov Tsarovich
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dedicated to
my loving family.
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Stellarward
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Stellarward
Musrani was a dangerous planet, as most of them were. Its radioactive surface forced everyone living there to move underground. Many patrols of the Archayon militia combated those trying to leave the harsh conditions.
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This is one of the reasons why Ray hated the Archayon Empire. He was almost 18 and had lived on Musrani for most of his life. Neston, his friend, also had no taste for the Empire. Their longing for freedom finally came true when a freighter was emptied.
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“This ship requires inspection,” Ya’al Stryn, an officer, told the pilot of the ship. The pilot had no choice but to hand his ship over to them. Nobody ever defied the military in fear of retaliation. The pilot reluctantly motioned his crew to disembark.
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“This is our chance, let’s climb aboard!” whispered Ray, who was ready to sneak onto the ship. He signaled with his hand to Neston, and they crept aboard behind the backs of the officers. They crawled in and closed the hatch to the ship.
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“Have you ever flown a ship, let alone an interstellar cargo freighter?” questioned Neston. He was very pessimistic about their escape.
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“No, but I've seen the soldiers in their simulations. It isn’t that hard,” Ray told Neston. He closed the airlock and locked the doors. The officers turned around, only to find the door sealed. Within minutes, they entered the upper atmosphere.
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“Are we safe?” asked Neston. Several Archayon fighters responded by taking off and firing their weapons at the freighter, which still hadn’t left the atmosphere.
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“Not yet!” Ray exclaimed exasperatedly. He didn’t know how to use the ship’s weapons, and the fighters were moving closer. He fumbled with the buttons until he found the shield, which was neutralized from enemy fire.
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Ray knew there was no way to fight the Archayons. But he did know how to activate the Point-Drive. “Hold on!” he hollered over the sound of the drive activating. Suddenly, the fighters stopped firing. The planet and stars dissapeared.
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There was an eerie silence, accompanied by a pitch-black sky. They had entered Pointspace.
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“Where are we to go now?” questioned Neston. He had no experience with ships. “I think we should escape and leave the Empire’s boundaries before they find us. News of our escape is probably already out.”
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“No,” said Ray. “We got out of there for a reason: to stop the empire’s tyranny and sustain peace. We can go to the Tykroti Nebula, I'm pretty sure there’s an abandoned base there we can stay.” Neston nodded.
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The ship slowed and returned to normal space-time as a nebula appeared up ahead. The nebula was not under strict control, as the nebula interrupted most radio transmissions.
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The base was soon found after searching through a thick cloud of nebula. Instead of sending a radio transmission (as this would be futile), they sent a coded message through flashes of lights, saying, “WE-ARE-FRIENDS".
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The hangar on the side of the base opened, and the freighter carefully maneuvered through the nebula into the hangar. The landing struts gripped the deck, and the bay door slowly crawled to a close. Hisses notified that the hangar was pressurized.
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“Thank you for your help,” a voice said, climbing aboard the ship. “I’m Bent, and I'm guessing you are the ones that escaped Musrani?” Bent clearly was curious. He had never heard of an escape towing such a large vessel.
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“Yes, we are. I’m Ray and he’s Neston,” Ray responded. “We wanted to help the people of Musrani as the Archayons made the once pleasant conditions very harsh there. We decided to join the fight.” A team of fighters walked in and unloaded the cargo.
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“It seems that your ship has weapons that could be very useful in defeating the Empire,” Bent noticed. He opened the cargo hatch to find high-tiered particle-emitter proto-cannons, which were very uncommon and hard to find.
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He motioned for Ray and Neston to follow him into the other hangar to prepare for takeoff.
Bent continued. “We were waiting for a signal to start the attack, and your arrival has finally motivated the others to start."
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Suddenly, the base shook. He barked orders to the other fighters. “Move, now!” There was hustling throughout the base to get to the fighters stationed in the primary hangar. The ships took off to Pointspace to avoid the Archayon fleet.
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“Move to Detlaria, the Archayon’s capital planet!” motioned Neston in the communications channel. “If we take out their central command, the rest of the Empire could collapse around it!” The other fighters responded in agreement.
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he fighters jumped into the planets orbit, only to find a defense force surrounding it. The next thing to happen was unclear. Nobody knew who fired first. They just cared about surviving. One blast after another erupted then quietly dissipated into space.
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After the battle, it was clear who won. The fighters had successfully defeated the defense force. But compared to the rest of the Empire, the force was miniscule. They had a long way to go.
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The fighters landed on the planet nearest to the Dome, a large fortress dedicated to the Archayon Empire’s ruler, Ka’al Detla. The rest of the fleet attacked outposts around the planet. Neston’s logic was correct.
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Ray, Neston, and Bent made their way into the Dome, watching the other fighters take down defense towers. They reached the doors to the heart of the fortress, and slowly pushed them open.
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In the middle stood Ka’al Detla himself, speaking to an attendent. The Ka’al waved his hand, and the attendent nodded, leaving the chamber.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my chamber?” demanded the Ka’al. He was not amused.
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Nobody had ever dared to step foot inside the chamber without requesting an audience first. Ray stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak.
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Ray spoke of freedom. He spoke of the harsh conditions of the Ka’al’s subjects, He told him of massacre and the strict rules preventing people from living free lives. He spoke with dignity, standing up for those oppressed under the Ka’al’s rule.
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Detla might have called for his guards. He may have even left the chamber. He was so taken by these words, he stood there in awe. He contemplated Ray’s message, and he thought of what it might do. And the Ka’al realized how wrong he had been.
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I am deeply sorry, for my life’s work and my ancestors has caused my people pain,” the Ka’al cried. “I believed it was for their best interests, but alas, that was not the case. For that, I ask for forgiveness and a new government for a newfounding peace.
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They agreed, and soon celebrated their victory. The Ka’al reorganized the government as a republic, protecting the rights of all within its grasp. There were still problems such as radiation and hunger. But they did everything they could to solve them.
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THE END