CHAPTER 10: THE POWER
ALEX
I struggle with the weight of the pickaxe I’ve scrounged from a corner of the cave. Raeden instructs me to find a weak point in the ore, where the mineral is just starting to crack. Searching frantically, I am able to locate one near the ground. All the time I keep an eye on my visor to see when the missile is about to strike. I only have a few more minutes until we’re blasted into another galaxy.
Raeden gives me a weak nod, telling me I’ve found a good spot. Gathering all my strength, I bring down the pickaxe in a forceful swing. The point clangs against the mineral with a melodic tone that rings throughout the cavern. I notice everyone covering their ears, but I continue as quickly as I can. My arms are exhausted, but a strong surge of energy pulses through me, and I’m determined to get all of us out of here alive. It doesn’t look like it’s about to give, but I concentrate all of my energy into a final swing, a fragment of the mineral is moves away from the rest. As it comes loose, a wave of glowing light knocks me onto the ground and a rough vibration shakes my bones. As the dust settles, I can see the faint glow of the mineral fragment waiting for me: it’s roughly the size of a quarter.
“Is this even enough?” I ask Raeden, horrified at the smallness of it.
“That’s more than enough,” he assures me, and I place the mineral in my pocket.
“What now?” I ask him.
He thinks for a second. “We have to get to a beacon,” he says. “A distress beacon.” His eyes flutter, and I can tell he’s trying to hold on as long as he can. I can’t lose him here, not now. “There,” he adds, pointing to a ragged rock structure just a few yards away. “There should be one there.”
“I’m not doing this alone,” I tell him, signaling for Rex to lift him back up.
We take off running towards the forest, where a large rock structure waits. This must be the beacon he was talking about. I look up at the sky, the streak in the sky is growing closer, more eminent. I’m wondering where the hell Hali is right now and why she hasn’t contacted me. The tower has a spiral staircase cut into the rock. Rex ducks as he follows me, Raeden breathing raggedly over his shoulder.
“We’re almost there,” I say, worried that my helmet now tells me I have just a few minutes left to save this planet.
“Alex?” I hear Hali say.
“Thank God,” I tell her as I bound to the top of the stairs. My legs are exhausted from the climb, but I tell myself I’m going to make it. We’re all going to make it.
“I’ve made a connection. You’re live right now!” Hali tells me. I look back as Rex leans Raeden up against the wall of the beacon. In the center, there’s a rock formation, a small pillar, open to hold something even smaller. I have to work quickly, but also I need to send my message … just in case we don’t make it out.
I press record and take off my helmet, pointing it at my face.
“My name is Alex McKinley,” I begin, every part of me shaking. “I’m the daughter of Captain McKinley of the spacecraft Cordelia. Months ago, we set a course for Ventra in hopes to mine resources for the United States Space Resource Program. We’ve made an alliance with the Krillux army in hopes they’d provide assistance. But other plans have been made. My father has lied to these people as well as this entire planet.”
I point the helmet at the missile, and I hear Rex cry out as the missile breaks in half with a thundering crack, the payload about to pass through the atmosphere.
We’ve all been tricked,” I hear myself, talking at a thousand miles-an-hour. These could very well be my last words. “My father set a trap to extinguish the Krillux, breaking space trading codes-”
“Alex!” Rex cries out. “We don’t have time for speeches!” I realize I don’t have as much time as I thought to make my speech, but someone else can. I rush over to Raeden and hand him the helmet. “I got the beacon,” I tell him. “Just say what you need to.”
RAEDEN
I hold the helmet in my hands as Alex rushes over to the beacon. She fumbles with the mineral in her pocket, looking back at missile just moments from exploding.
I’m Raeden,” I say into the helmet, not quite sure what it is I’m doing. I understand I’m about to reach thousands of people, and I only have a short amount of time. “I am the only one of my kind in the Krillux. Ventra is a peaceful planet, and we have been violently attacked under Captain McKinley’s unauthorized command.”
Through the glass of the helmet, I can see footage of bodies, my own people, lying defeated on the battlefield. Alex must be transmitting all of this to our audience. The sight of these poor people fills me with unexplainable rage.
“This is what fighting has done to a peaceful people,” I tell everyone. “These people didn’t know they were going to be attacked. The Krillux were fed lies by a corrupt captain, and now we are all about to suffer, because someone decided wealth was more important than thousands of lives. But I’ve found love, even through the hatred, and we will die here knowing that we tried our very best. Let this be a message that fighting met with fighting can only separate us further.”
I can feel myself growing more tired, the fiery passion of my voice cracking as I feel more and more weak. The helmet rolls out of my hands, and I can hear the faint voice of Alex crying out to me. The world looks dark as I fade in and out, my eyes feeling heavy. The missile burns brightly, and I use my last seconds to look at the one I’ve come to love the most. She looks at me, tears in her eyes.
“I love you,” she shouts to me, and I realize that I would be fine to die in this moment after hearing those words.
Before I can say anything, a blinding light engulfs us, as a warm wave of fiery energy whooshes past my ears as the ground rumbles with incredible force. This is it.
I open my eyes, disoriented, my vision blurred. I’m in the afterlife, my spirit about to leave my body behind. As I gain focus, however, I realize that I’m very much alive. Alex hovers over me, holding me up and kissing my forehead.
“Look Raeden,” she whispers. “We did it. We’re alive.” I sit up and gaze up at the sky. A beautiful glassy field of energy surrounds us. I watch the dark smoke from the extinguished missile softly fall and conform around a massive energy force field protecting us, encasing this part of the planet in the safety of the mineral.
I lie back down, breathing in the smell of fresh Ventran air, and I feel extremely grateful.
“Thank you,” I say to Alex. She takes my hand, pressing it to her cheek. “I love you too,” I tell her, and she smiles her beautiful smile. I’ve done it. I’ve cracked her shell. But now it’s too late, as I feel myself growing heavier, my wound pulsing in pain.
Suddenly, I feel incredible warmth, and I wonder if this is what death feels like. I realize I’m feeling more and more energized, however, as if I’m being shocked with electricity. I sit up, full of life, and see that Alex is now holding the mineral against my wounds. The skin around it heals up quickly, and suddenly I feel as if I had was never in the battle in the first place.
“It worked,” I tell her, but she’s preoccupied with something else. She brings the helmet over to me. “Listen,” she says, her smile spreading from ear to ear. She holds the helmet up between us, and I can hear the roaring cheer of what sounds like hundreds inside.
“They got our message,” Alex says tearfully. I wipe away one of them from her eye and kiss her as if I’ve never kissed her before. I realize I can hear even more cheering, now, this time coming from nearby. Alex helps me up and we look over the edge of the beacon’s tower. Below, Ventran people are emerging from the forests, women carrying their babies, soldiers tired from running and fighting. The rest of the Krillux army is standing nearby, in peace. They look up at us, their applause mighty, all of them relieved to be blessed with life. Alex and I look at each other, hand-in-hand; cherishing what would truly be one of our greatest moments together. We’ve saved my people, and countless others.
Now, I am truly home.