Chapter 2
Commander Trent Qoln
“Trent, we have to stay on top of the Waysaw Zenkian. Now that they have been stealing resources from Earth, they are stronger than ever,” my superior, Leader Nizok said to me.
“I agree, Leader; I am doubling the patrols of the outer lands. I am about to join the patrol myself,” I said as I stood in his chambers inside the Grantsion mountains.
“Good. I like having one of my high commanders out on patrol. You might see things that others might overlook,” he said in praise of my skills.
“That is why I like to go myself,” I said.
“We will stay on high alert. It is possible that they could attack us in retaliation for our last attack on them, no matter how necessary that was. This is what war looks like. It is constant, and can happen at any time, a large battle or a small one. We must be ready for all of it,” Leader Nizok said.
“I understand, Leader. I'm going on patrol now.” I bowed to him and left his sight.
Half an hour later, I was in my speeder patrolling the outer lands between the mountains we called home and the Waysaw City where our enemy lived. We had rebelled against them almost a decade before when they started to conquer other planets and we were opposed to it. Now, we were full-on enemies. I don’t know how the divide happened as I was just a youngling at the time. But it happened that the red sect of Zenkian started to act differently. The blue Zenkian, like myself, were against this new hunger for power that the red Zenkian had suddenly acquired. It eventually led to a split between the blue and the red Zenkian. We rebelled and left the city and had been living in the Grantsion Mountains ever since. It was a solid fortress, and our battalions were just as many as the Waysaw.
As I patrolled, I looked down at the ground passing underneath me. I was looking for hidden Waysaw speeders or scouts. They would often send a scout out before they attacked us. The scout would alert them to how many soldiers we had on guard. If I could find a scout, then I knew they were planning something. But as I scanned the ground, there was something that stood out. It was just a flash of white.
“What the hell was that?” I said to myself.
I turned my speeder around and went back. I slowed down and hovered over the white pile on the rock.
“Is that? It can't be. What would a human be doing way out here?”
Was this a trap of some sort? I landed my speeder away from her under a rock ledge. I stepped out of my speeder armed to the teeth. I looked around waiting to see if I could hear any activity. If this was a trap, then she was the bait, and as soon as I went to her, I would be caught. I heard a moan escape her mouth. She seemed to be in real peril. I slowly stepped over to her. I was surprised by what I saw.
In her shredded white dress, she was dirty and looked like she had been walking far. Her red hair was messy around her head, and there was dirt smudged on her pale face. Her eyes were closed, and she did not seem to be in a good way. I leaned down, kneeling over her. Her eyes fluttered open. I asked who she was and how she got out there, but she did not respond. Her mouth opened and her lips trembled as though she were trying to respond, but she did not have the energy to. She closed her eyes and passed out.
“Shit. I have to get you to base, whoever you are. You need medical attention,” I whispered to her. As I kneeled down to pick her up, I noticed the tattoo on her wrist. It was several lines, and I knew exactly what it meant. She was a Waysaw slave. Though that did not shock me at all. The only humans on this planet were brought here by the Waysaw Zenkian. So I knew that she must be from the city. I picked her up and scooped her into my arms, carrying her to my speeder. She moaned again and rested her head against my chest. She felt light as a feather and was very petite. “She must only be about five feet,” I thought. She was frail and seemed very fragile, like most humans were. I laid her in the seat next to mine. I got in my speeder and raced back to my home in the mountains. But there was a very big problem.
We Grantsion Zenkian were forbidden to have any relations with humans. We were very proud that we were the opposite of the Waysaw Zenkian. We had no interest in the resources from Earth or stealing their humans. Once we knew the humans existed, the superiors passed a law that we were not able to have any relations with them. This was done to prevent any Grantsion Zenkian that might take it upon himself to steal a human from Earth for his own benefit. It was a law that we all obeyed. So bringing the human home would be going against this law. But what could I do? I couldn't leave her out there to die. That was not the Grantsion way. We helped those in need, and that was what I had to do. I would just have to do it in secret.
I landed on the rock ledge outside my home. It was completely dark now, and I was glad for the cover of night. I picked up the human and carried her inside my home. She moaned again in pain, but she did not wake up. I poured some water into a cup and pressed it against her lips.
“It is water. Here; drink,” I said.
This made her stir. Her mouth opened but her eyes did not. I poured some water into her mouth, and she drank it. I did it a few more times until she could not drink anymore. She laid down on her back again in the bed.
“You are safe here. Can you hear me? You are safe; do not worry. I am going to go get a doctor for you. Just stay here,” I said.
I left my home, locking the door behind me. I walked out into the trails that went up and down the mountain on different levels. We made our home along the mountainside. This made it very safe from invasion. I went down to the home of Malaya. She was a doctor and a very good friend. I had known her since we were children. I knocked on her door.
“Trent? It is always good to see you; please come in,” she smiled.
“Hello, Malaya,” I said, walking in. I closed the door behind me.
“Do you have company?” I asked.
“No, I am alone,” she smiled again.
“I need your help, but I need it in secret,” I said.
“That sounds very serious. Of course you can have my help; what is it?” she asked, gently putting her hand on my arm.
“I need your expertise to help a wounded. They need medical attention now,” I said.
“Oh my, I will get my things,” she said moving to the back of the room. She grabbed a bag and draped it across her body.
“We must go quietly and say nothing of it if we run into friends along the way,” I said to her in a very serious tone. She nodded her head in agreement.
I led her out of her home, and we walked to mine. I unlocked the door and let her in.
“She is on the bed,” I said.
“She?” Malaya asked as she walked over to the bed and then she gasped. “Is that a…?”
“That is why I need your secrecy. I found her lying in the outer lands. I think she must have escaped from the city. She must have been running for miles. I think she exhausted herself to the point of danger. Will you please see to her?”
“We can get into a lot of trouble for this,” Malaya said.
“I know. If we are caught, I will not mention your name. If they know, I will say that I forced you to. Do not worry; you will not get in trouble for this,” I said.
“I don't want you to get in trouble for this either,” she said.
“Malaya, please. There is no time to waste or argue,” I said looking at the human.
Her shoulders dropped, and she sighed. “Fine, for you, I will do it.”
She put her bag beside the human and opened it. She began to use various devices to check on her. I walked back and forth waiting.
I had so many questions. But, Malaya was right; we could get into a lot of trouble for this. Of course, I would not let her get in trouble, and I would take the fall, but this was very dangerous territory. What was she doing so far from the city? If she had escaped, then she was very strong to get so far on her own.
“I don't know much about humans, but she does seem a lot like us. As far as I can tell, she is going to be fine. She just needs a lot of water and perhaps a little bit of salt, just a pinch in a large cup of water. She needs enormous amounts of sleep as well,” Malaya told me.
I nodded and went to put a pinch of salt in a very large cup of water. I put it by the bedside.
“As soon as she wakes, I will give it to her. What else?” I asked.
Malaya seemed to be in deep thought as she looked at her device that she had scanned the human with. Then she said, “Do you really think she came from the city?”
“I know that she did. Look at this,” I said showing Malaya the human's arm. “That is a slave tattoo. They all get them to show who owns them.”
“I see. I think that she will be fine once she gets plenty of sleep. But you do know that you cannot keep her, Trent. You will have to tell the superiors at some point so that they can decide what to do with her. Maybe they will even help her get back to Earth,” Malaya said.
“That is a good point. I will think it over. First, I will do nothing until she is healthy again. She shall stay here so that she can recover. Can you promise that you will speak of this to no one?” I asked as I put my hand on her shoulder. She looked at my hand and put her hand on top of it.
“I promise. I told you I would keep your secret. We are in this together,” she said.
“Will you come back tomorrow to check on her?” I asked.
“Yes, I will,” she said as she grabbed her stuff and left.
I watched over the delicate human with the red hair all night. I could not take my eyes off of her. She fascinated me.