The Acolytes of Crane "Updated Edition" (30 page)

I
was now heavily confused. I thought Trazuline had possibly been an ally all
along. ‘You mean King Trazuline? You spoke of him earlier.’

‘Ha!’
Pike muttered. ‘No, not King Trazuline. No, our own Dark King, the one that Jezra
just spoke of. The King of Jaakruid reigns from the mile-high canopy city, a fortified
plant structure that houses an entire population of Elons under siege to their
Dark Majesty. Your first worry should be of the giant plant beast that will
surely be guarding it. It is called a Morlorian’ he said.

My
eyes widened in fear. ‘What is a Morlorian? Isn’t there a way I can avoid that
thing?’ I asked.

‘Theodore,
there is no avoiding a Morlorian. They are the largest sentient plants in
Tritillia, and this one is the deadliest of all of them. Between the Morlorian
and the evil Elon King, you will have your hands full.’

 Gads.
I had just survived a crash on a bizarre new planet, after escaping by the skin
of my teeth from the wrath of Zane. This was all too much for me, right now. ‘I
have been through so much, that I can barely stand up and keep awake. Can I
rest before facing those things?’ I asked.

 ‘You
can rest here, but in one week’s time we will need to take you to your ultimate
destination. I have to go tend to my wife. She is with child,’ Pike said. Jezra
nodded, then retreated into a corner of the cave that was dark and brooding. He
went up to the wall, pulled on some pulleys, and a swath of curtains enveloped
the exit where Jezra had withdrawn.

I
looked to Ed. ‘Ed, what is,
with child
?’

‘
With
child
, refers to a pregnant woman. Jezra is going to bear children,’ he
said.

I
heard morose crying down the hall, causing me alarm. Ed was about to relapse
due to lack of power, so I plugged him into a type of generator Pike gave us.

I
slowly made my way through the cave to find the source of the sorrow. It was at
the tunnel where Jezra had secluded herself. I felt as if I was invading her
privacy, but Pike was following me closely and did not object, so I continued
on. When I lifted the curtains, I found Jezra lying upon the floor blanketed in
a mossy substance that was a deep shade of green. The sunlight beamed through
as I pushed aside the curtains. She was bound to the ground through newly grown
roots sprouting from all over her body, and Pike went over to kneel by her
side.   Vines twisted and intertwined over her body. It was a weave of
branches, twiglets, and active buds.

‘Pike,
what is happening to her?’ I cried out, thinking Jezra had been attacked by a
strange protoplasmic creature. Weeping—with joy, to my great surprise—he stood
up quickly, then grabbed me by my shoulder.

‘Theodore,
you are about to witness the most glorious display of life you have ever seen,’
he said. We were waiting. For what, I wasn’t certain.

Pike
reveled in ecstasy, standing up to watch side by side with me. To him, it was
the cusp of a new birth of life. This moment, today. Glowing purple flowers,
swiveling in perfect harmony from tendrils all over her healthy body, were
blooming, boasting a phosphorus-like glimmer. Then, in the space of a few
minutes, these flowers morphed into seed-bearing fuzz balls as my astonished
eyes looked on.

Now,
the seeds, at their perfect ripened moment, were ready to lift off and
propagate. As if on cue, a slight brush of wind crept in through the tunnel and
sent the seeds in flight. Thousands of the seeds parachuted about, dotting the
inside of the cave.

The
seeds stuck to the walls, budding and sprouting flowers of their own within
precious minutes. From these flowers, thousands of glowing ambient bulbous
fruits formed. They were growing larger by the second.

Pike
lowered down to his overjoyed wife and held her tenderly.  He said as he
kneeled, ‘Come, Theodore, I must tell you. I am a Rangier. My role on Tritillia
was to develop the culture of the Elons. For years, I lived in the solitary
peace of the jungle, until a princess wandered into the deep of the woods—in
search of freedom from the evil Elon King Quasikeum. My Jezra. When we met, her
beauty drove me near madness. I love her.’

‘Is
she then the Queen of Tritillia? How?’

‘She
was indeed born into royalty,’ Pike answered. ‘It was this Dark King that
usurped her power and drove her away from the palace. Everyone suspects he
imprisoned and murdered her parents.’ He sighed. ‘Now you see this Queen,
living in a cave. A decent one, at that. But it is no palace for the rightful
Queen of Tritillia. You are going to help, and she is going to supply you her
army. Once you succeed, she will reclaim her throne in Jaakruid.’

He
looked on at the enlarging bulbs, his eyes transfixed at the walls where they
lay.

I
tried to get his attention again. ‘The Dark King. Did Zane send him in to
conquer the planet?’

Pike
didn’t look at me, and I got the impression my pressing questions weren’t of
concern to him now. ‘No. The Dark King is an Elon too and is of this planet. He
was one of the senior guards of the parents of Princess Jezra, before he became
corrupted by Odion. Sorry, I will tell you more later. Just look at that!’ He
pointed at the foliage, excited.

It
was as if I was watching time-lapse in real time. The bulbs grew, and I stepped
back because the glory was incredible. Pike grabbed my arm and pulled me toward
a hidden corridor of the cave.

‘Where
are we going? That was incredible. I have never seen anything like that before
in my life. What were those things? What happened to Jezra?’ I asked. A barrage
of questions flowed out of my mouth, because next to Tez standing in my
doorway, that was the most beautiful experience I ever witnessed.

Pike
looked at me as if he was about to show me a grand secret and said, ‘I have
something to show you. You are going to love it.’

He
brought me into a hidden area. He pulled a vine woven tapestry aside and for
about three thousand feet, as far as my eyes could see in the dark, there was a
barracks: a large cavern full of bunk beds, fashioned from logs.

‘What
is this?’ I asked.

‘Ha!
You don’t see, our lives were meant for this—for you?’ He asked, ‘These bulbs
that you saw in the cave are going to grow, and into what? They will become
young Elons! They are coming, Theodore. Soon these beds will be filled with
around a thousand Elons, and Theodore, they will train and fight with you,
because they are of my wife. My wife believes in you. They will be undeniably
drawn to you, and you will have to lead them. I have something I want to show
you, just one more thing. It is something that my Jezra helped me develop in my
lab. It took me my entire life with Jezra to complete. Come this way.’

‘What
about the Dark King? Have his soldiers found this cave yet?’ I was worried about
the concealment of such a strategic base that could threaten his brutal rule.
It was practically an army-in-waiting, ready to overthrow a despot. My pulse
quickened as I realized the true extent of my next mission.

‘They
have searched countless times and found nothing. So don’t worry. This is my
lab. Don’t touch anything. Here it is.’

‘What
is it?’ I was curious if he was going to show me a brand new weapon. I was keen
to add something to my arsenal that night.

‘This
is an Elon suit. It’s an original. There isn’t anything like it. Put it on. It
should be your size, and if it isn’t—it will adjust to fit you,’ Pike said.
Grunting, with considerable strain, I put the suit on, and it felt like it was
a living, breathing layer encompassing me. It was leafy.

‘Now,
press that button right there in the center of your chest,’ Pike instructed.

When
I pressed the button, the suit grew to accommodate my size. Thin, weed-like
woody vines erupted from the suit. The trailing plants started to braid and
cover me. I was covered in wiry young wood. When my suit had finished adjusting
itself, I found that I could move freely because the wicker-like suit was
pliant and flowed with my movement.

From
the wall, Pike grabbed an axe and menacingly advanced toward me, the axe held up
high. He had a maniacal look on his face.

‘What
are you freakin’ doing?’ I shrank back, unable to strike back in time.

 Gleefully
chuckling, he slammed the sharp axe in my direction, striking me square in the
arm.

Nothing.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Although I felt the jarring impact, the axe
penetrated only a few centimeters into my armor; it then repaired itself within
seconds.

‘What
the hell was that for?’ I yelled, still a bit rattled.

‘I
figured that might be the only way you would trust it. I must warn you. This
suit protects against most physical attacks. However, any plasma gun blade
could cut through this like a knife through beetle butter, but it will keep
your body from sustaining an injury. Your enemies, the Dacturons, are
telekinetic, and can fling objects at your body with their mind. With your
rolesk and sword, your boots and Elon suit, you will be a force to be reckoned
with. Now, those steel balls you have on your waist belt, do you know what
those are?’ he asked.

‘No,
I just found them on the ship.’

‘Ha!
Those are scouts, portable recon devices. If you depress that red button on any
of them, it will detach itself from your belt. The recon device can hover in
the air, and can scout ahead of you to convey valuable intelligence about the enemy
to you. It’s very adept at foraging ahead, unseen by your adversaries.’

‘Wow,’
was all I could say. I was awestruck. I had the best in combat gear from many
different universes. I had stuff from Zane, stuff from Ed, and stuff from Pike.
I was unstoppable. I jutted out my chin in a brief flash of arrogance.

Pike
sized me up. “All right,’ he said, wagging a finger at me. ‘I want you to go to
sleep now. It is going to be a long day tomorrow.’

‘Goodnight,’
I said to Pike, as he walked me toward my room.

I
fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the ordeals of the past few traumatizing
days.

I
woke up in the morning to excited chatter and bustling noises. There was
something going on. Well, more than that. It was verging on insanity. The
energy in the cave was so intense. I heard fast-paced footsteps and objects
banging.

I
was afraid to go outside of my room. They had not found me in my room yet, so I
figured I could hide under my blanket to escape the commotion. I held Wrath at
the ready, because my nerves were still raw and sensitive, even if I was in a
safe hideaway. Ed was still in re-charging hibernation, and I didn’t want to
remove my hands from my sword to interrupt his charging battery.

I
stood up, and leaned toward the direction of the door, eager, ready, and
nervous.

“I’m
just devastated, and he’s standing closer to me. I felt his infectious energy;
it was obvious that he cared about me. The way he looked at me, it was as if I
knew him all my life. He said, ‘Without you, we would all be lost.’ And then
we—”

A
guard walks in, wearing his usual stern expression. “Prisoner
eight-six-seven-eight. Come with me,” he requests, breaking up our
conversation.

“What
is going on?” I ask.

“Mariah,
tell me the rest in a few minutes when you come back. I know your release is
tomorrow, but I want to hear the rest of the story!” my girlfriend Javon says,
deferring to the authority of the guard out of fear. She clasps my hand for a
moment, attempting to reassure me. I’m allowed to mingle with the other female
prisoners in the common room, and we’d bonded right away.

I
walk toward the guard, and I keep my distance. Standing too close to a guard
was bound to make him feel threatened. I turn, looking at Javon and say, “If I
don’t see you, then you know…”

“I’m
so happy for you, my turn will come soon. When you hear I’m out, give me a call!
Bye, chica!” She waved at me jubilantly.

“The
warden would like to speak with you,” the guard says as he escorts me to the
meeting.

“Am
I in trouble or something? Can you tell me? Ugh—God help us,” I say. The guards
tend to ignore me. He has a thread dangling from the cuff of his uniform. I
want to pull it off badly, but to approach a guard over something so trivial
would be ridiculous.

Thankfully,
the Multiversal Council does not harbor female war criminals very long. This
unexpected meeting worries me that the council may have changed its plans to
release me at this time.

A
few of the other female prisoners, staring behind bars, are pointing at me in
condemnation as I walk by their cells. It is never a good thing when someone is
called to see the warden. Every time the warden sees me, he brings up the time
I spat on his face. I fear him slightly, but I would not dare to show my
anxiety. Not in here. My mother and father would be proud.

It
is a typical stroll through the prison. Those who are not part of the cleaning
detail sit in their cells, twiddling their thumbs. I walk by them, and I cannot
help feeling sorry for them. A part of me wishes I could swap places with them,
but just barely.

The
guard says, “Turn around. Hands placed above your head ...  She is clean,
warden.”

“Am
I here, because you are sending me home a day early?” I ask.

“Not
quite. Sit down prisoner,” the warden says, “Guard, wait outside.” He glares at
me. “What do you know about Nilo, prisoner?” The warden cuts right to the
chase. Usually he at least warms up to me. 

“We
met him in Karshiz. We were never close, so I apologize if I cannot offer much
information about him.”

“Were
you ever in conference with King Trazuline?” the warden asks, undeterred.

“If
you have five minutes, I will tell you,’ I say, pulling my black hair away from
my face. “I will tell you about the time we met. I can’t say I like him very
much.” I am pretending that I don’t like Trazuline, because I want to prevent
the Multiverse Council from learning of my carefully concealed association with
his rebellion force. He is a major player in the resistance. I pray to God that
the resistance is still flourishing without me.

“Take
the five minutes to tell your story. Then we will go over your final exit
counseling,” the warden says. I notice he is tickled to be in my company.
Perhaps I should play up my feminine allure to him. Just don’t overdo it. He is
bouncing on the edge of his seat, like a kid starting a brand new video game.

“Have
you found my friends yet?” I ask playfully. I prayed for Theodore, fearing him
and the other boys are either dead or imprisoned. I still have hope.

“No,
we haven’t. It is likely we never will,” he says. I sense he is lying. Call it
woman’s intuition.

“Okay,”
the warden says, sensing that I believe him. “Let’s start with Karshiz then.”

“Linc
always told me, if I ever talk about our time on Karshiz, to leave out the part
where I got a verbal lashing from the king,” I utter conspiratorially, throwing
my head slightly back. I try to gain the warden’s trust, without really giving
up anything of value. Call it bait and switch. “I prefer to include it, because
it just shows how vulnerable we really were.”

“That
is good. I like accuracy. Any details you may find insignificant; I may find
useful. Do you mind if I record this? With our database destroyed, we are left
searching for what really occurred, up to Eppa’s destruction,” the warden says.

“No.
Not at all. I suppose, after Theodore destroyed Eppa, everything is probably in
shambles.”

“That
is the long and short of it,” the warden says.

I
start. “We were previously aboard the Uriel. The ship that carried us was
called the ZF-Targine. It landed on Karshiz, the realm of King Trazuline, after
a smooth descent.”

Our
new objective began with the lowering of its hatch.

The
boys unbuckled and gathered their gear. The hatch continued to drop and a
Sepheran navigator said, ‘This is Karshiz. I guess it is dry like my sense of
humor and as hot as the Karshiz princess! Hey! Do not disengage your harness
until the cabin has depressurized. Stand by for your brief.’

The
hatch lowered to form a ramp with the ground and the sun silhouetted a being
who stood directly outside. My eyes were still adjusting to the glaring light,
but I could still see a glistening crown hovering over the person’s head. As he
walked underneath the shade of the vessel’s hatch, I saw he was a royal tyrant.
He was both impressive and frightening.

‘Welcome
to Karshiz. I am King Trazuline. Apparently, Zane finds you too strategic to
remain on the Uriel, where his enemies constantly target him. My planet,
however, has infinite possibilities for your safety. And the best facilities
for your training. Which, after all that has happened, we’ll have to escalate.’

‘At
least someone wants to look after us. After all, the Urilians yanked us from
our cushy lives on Earth,’ Lincoln said.

‘For
me to agree to take you in, was a huge risk. It will be my duty to assess your skills
and develop all of you into noble tacticians,’ Trazuline said, as he walked up
the hatch. He was no longer shaded by the shadow of the ship and sun. ‘Zane
doesn't trust you enough to stay aboard the mother ship and you have negatively
affected the morale of the Uriel. That is why you are in Karshiz under my
guidance.’

‘We
haven't done anything to affect morale! Theodore is the one who went crazy!’
Dan shouted.

‘Dan,
is it?’ Trazuline asked. Dan nodded his head. ‘I am a king, and you are a
soldier. My position on this planet and in this fight was earned, so my
subordinates respect me and follow their complaints by saying—your majesty, or
sir. I would appreciate it if you can trust me and give me the respect I
deserve by honoring my position. And remember, my daughter is aboard the Uriel,
training with the other teams. Your friend put her in considerable danger.’

We
all nodded our heads. I felt like I was being scolded at school and bowed my
head downward, because a part of me was ashamed.

‘Where
will we stay?’ Liam asked.

‘See
my palace over there?’ he asked. What a sight! His majestic, colossal palace
sat upon a hill, casting considerable shade over the city—a long and deep
shadow that could be perceived either as fearful presence, or as the natural
consequence of an inspiring spectacle. We did not know yet. Although at first
glance the castle seemed far away, we knew from our frame of reference that it
would be nothing short of massive once we arrived there. ‘My guards will escort
you through the town to the castle.’

‘Is
this city named Karshiz?’ Lincoln asked.

‘This
is one of a thousand towns on the planet Karshiz. They are all represented by
symbols. This town's symbol is a sand surfer, because this is where the annual
sand surfing competition is held.’

‘So
this planet is named Karshiz? You are the king of the entire planet?’ I asked.

‘Last
time I checked.’

Liam
looked surprised, and asked, ‘Where is your security detail? Our president back
home always has a secret service entourage.’

‘An
attempt on the king would be futile. I have a rolesk, one that is truly
unbridled and dangerous. I could see an assassination plot on me from a mile
away. Now, please dismount the ship and follow my guards through the town. Do
not stop in the bazaar and be careful. There are many Rangier swindlers and
thieves.’ The king walked out of the ship and into the sun. ‘Before you arrive
at the main corridor of the castle, my guard detail will bring you to the
armory and then, the training simulator. Once there, we will determine your official
skill sets. We have a mission that we must finish quickly.’

Above
his head, the crown that hovered over it glowed and radiated an indigo blue
light. He summoned a whirl of Dietons. They piled upon each other
systematically until a portable flying unit was constructed, and it enclosed
the king. The Sepheran contraption sucked him up and lifted him out of my
sight.

‘I
don't trust him,’ Liam whispered.

I
placed my hand on his forearm and said, ‘Take it easy, big guy. Give him a
chance. Besides, if he has a rolesk, he will be watching us closely.’

‘If
you are done whispering amongst each other, we will escort you to the armory,’
the guard suggested.

“The
planet Karshiz was inhabited with many different species. The majority of the
population consisted of hairy Karshiz natives like King Trazuline, a handful of
Rangiers, and Humans. As I am sure you already know, Karshiz harbors a human
trafficking ring.” I pause, looking at the warden. I wonder if he has been
satisfied, or if he has been looking at me that way because he wants to
fantasize about me.

“Yes.
The Multiverse Council is aware of this trafficking. It is part of the culture.
The traffickers are treated as equals, and they are not punished under any
laws,” the warden says.

I
hold my head up in disgust, recalling America’s abolition of slavery not too
long ago. I wish to challenge the guard. “Is the Sepheran slave ring widely
accepted among the ‘culture’ as well?” I  ask.

The
warden refuses to take my bait, shrugging instead. “The council tends to focus
its interest only on what they can control. That doesn't include your radical
ideals. Anyway, we are getting off topic. Please continue about the king. And
tell me more about the Rangiers.”

“Rangiers
are an interesting bunch. They have a few intriguing skills, like conjuring
imaginative projections, for one. Rangiers altered the way in which they and
their environment were perceived. This was very useful to them in battle. They
were able to fool the enemy into seeing things that weren’t there.

“Anyway,
while we were still aboard the Uriel, Nezatron told us some Rangiers were not
to be trusted, and to stay clear of any bazaars in the town. Trazuline did not
seem to worry about it. His detail was leading us right through it.”

The
warden is smiling, and he asks, “Did the boys, as you call them, ever know they
were going to be an ambush by these lowly scum Rangiers?”

“No.
Not at all. They were always trying to either garner a kiss from me, or find
some fresh excitement.”

“So
what did you think of Karshiz?” the warden asks.

“I
would have liked to leave, because of the smell alone.”

The
warden laughs and says, “I have been there a few times, and I know exactly what
you are referring to. The putrid environment gives me sinus troubles.  Please
carry on about the Rangiers.”

“It
was easy to identify a Rangier. They wore bands around their heads that looked
similar to rolesks. They used it for their imagery projections. Rangiers were
perceived as thick-necked people. They wore clothing with a hood attached to
cover up that characteristic, as well as to hide their projection bands.
Lincoln told me they had extremely large occipital lobes inside their brains.
That is why their heads were so big.”

“How
could you tell that they were deceiving you?” the warden asks.

“A
smell that didn’t quite mesh, or an odd glance out of the corners of their
eyes. Things like that.” I shrugged. “There were always these little
discrepancies.”

 The
warden gazes straight at me, nodding. “We’re getting off track again. Tell me
about your trip through the bazaar.”

“Yes.
We were on the way to King Trazuline’s palace under heavy guard in a land
hovercraft. As we sped through the desert, there were dust devils rising up
from the sand—nasty things, really. They’re what you call mini dirt cyclones.
When large birds flew overhead, they had to fly very high, because otherwise
they’d get sucked in to a certain death.”