Night Come Down

Chapter 8 "The Storm Caller"

Kal'ia sits in the throne room of the Capitol building, a doctor by her side and hitting her knees occasionally with a plexor. Her legs didn't budge, and her expression remained unchanged from its' sullen, defeated look.

Doctor; "Anything?"

Kal'ia simply shook her head, as if to say no. Her neck muscles seemed more exaggerated, as if she'd lost weight.

Doctor; "Damn blood clots... And proper cybernetic prosthetics are still a few years off... So you'll have to settle for a mobile throne, I'm afraid."

Kal'ia lets out a quiet sigh as she looked down at her legs.

Kal'ia; "I'll live, regardless..."

With a lazy gesture from Kal'ia, the doctor stood and saluted before heading for the door. She waved to her right, and No'lo came over to her side, saluting her.

No'lo; "Yes, Kal?"

Kal'ia; "... Do you think the people will be off put by my... Injury?

No'lo; "Do you want my expectations or my hope?"

Kal'ia; "Gimme the hope first."

No'lo; "I would hope that the people see not the injury, but the Empress that survived it, and is made stronger by it... Experience, however, has taught me to expect the worst from folks."

Kal'ia nodded with a sigh as she looked away.

Kal'ia; "You and me both."

She pressed a panel down on one of the armrests of the throne, and a portion of it lowered to reveal the seat was on several small legs. It moved forward and Kal'ia tapped a couple buttons on the opposite armrest, directing it to leave the room as No'lo followed.

No'lo; "Where are we going?"

Kal'ia; "The memorial."

-

Kal'ia sat motionless as she looked upon a simple headstone. It was in the shape of a Lorinthian heart, and had the name "Quav Vadam" emblazoned on the side facing her. It bore no ornamentation or decor; bedight in only a wreath of small green blossoms on the verge of wilting. She let out a quiet sigh as one of the petals broke off and drifted away in the wind. Her eyes then drifted upward to see a rocket leaving the surface in the distance.

Kal'ia; "... What is that, fourty?"

No'lo approached behind her, resting his arms on the back of her chair.

No'lo; "I believe that is sixty... Sixty satellites in two months, I think that's a new record."

Kal'ia; "And they think they can fit more on there?"

Kal'ia chuckled dryly, to the point of it sounding forced.

Kal'ia; "I remember when we first invented smokeless powder and thought we were gods then... We had the whole world in the palm of our hand. If only we knew what was out there, we'd see how small and vulnerable we were."

No'lo grunted with a half-effort shrug before coming to Kal'ias' side, crouching so he was at eye level.

No'lo; "Maybe we still are... But that doesn't mean we're going down without a fight. We could lose... Heck, we could even die. But the galaxy will know Lorinthia as a place of legends, not some backwater planet that was once mighty. It has been, is, and always will be mighty, for we have had the mightiest of Empresses to lead us."

Kal'ia gave him a gentle smile before the pager on his wrist beeped. He looked at it for a few silent seconds and then looked to Kal'ia.

No'lo; "They're asking for us in the observatory."

-

Kal'ia and No'lo enter through the door of the Observatory, a massive telescope in the center of the room. The Lorinthian scientist at the telescope looks through it with concern about his face.

No'lo; "What are we looking at, professor?"

Scientist; "It's orbiting our star for now, but it's definitely moving in our direction."

Kal'ia comes over to the telescope and peeks through to see a silver pyramid floating through space, red stripes highlighting the exterior.

Kal'ia; "... What do you mean it's moving in our direction?"

Scientist; "It seems to be slingshotting itself over to our planet by gravity, but it certainly got here through self propulsion."

No'lo; "... So it's a ship?"

Scientist; "A ship, maybe. Possibly a drone. We're also considering it to potentially be a living entity."

Kal'ia; "Something that big? I don't know about that..."

Scientist; "We're accounting for all possibilities... But the main thing we're sure about is that it's not here for an amicable visit."

No'lo leans down to look through the telescope as Kal'ia backs away.

Kal'ia; "Have they attempted to make contact?"

Scientist; "Uh, no..."

Kal'ia; "I would like a message sent, stating that we'll defend ourselves if they intend to harm Lorinthia, I don't care if they know our language or not... They'll know our intentions when they see the army at the landing zone."

Scientist; "I'll uh... Relay that to the chief of staff."

Kal'ia looks back into the telescope once No'lo is done looking.

No'lo; "What is it, exactly?"

Scientist; "From what we've observed, it'll occasionally send out bolts of lightning to the sun, and cause sunspots to form. One of the team members has come to term it Jev'mowli. The Storm Caller."