Solaris Seethes (Solaris Saga book 1)

Chapter 8 At the Beginning

Chapter 8 

At the Beginning

The shuttle craft bounced and rocked as it entered the atmosphere of Lanyr. Rynah’s adroit skills showed as she handled the controls, keeping the craft as steady as she could. She glanced back at her passengers. Alfric remained calm, as the display of fear was not in his nature. She figured he was a man who never openly displayed fear. Both Solon and Brie looked apprehensive. Brie’s face bulged from the urge to scream. Of all the people to pick, why did Solaris choose the girl? Brie’s lack of courage annoyed Rynah. Her violet eyes flicked over to Tom. Though not liking the turbulence, Tom was intrigued by the construction and mechanisms of the sleek shuttle.

The charred lavender clouds cleared and the turbulence ceased as Rynah dropped into the lower atmosphere. She made out the damaged structures and city below. Smoke still rose from smoldering ruins. Finding a clearing, Rynah steered the shuttle for it, hoping that the ground was stable and not deceiving her. She pulled back on the throttle, released the landing gear, and lowered the craft until a soft thud told her she had touched the ground. She opened the hatch.

“We’re here.”

The others unbuckled their seatbelts and stood up. Brie wobbled a bit from motion sickness. “Are you sure this is safe?” she asked, “You said yourself that your planet was suffering from severe earthquakes.”

“Safe enough for our purposes,” replied Rynah with impatience. “Solaris has stabilized the magnetic fields for now, but cannot hold it indefinitely. We have an hour, and we must make good use of it.”

She walked over to a panel, pressed a button, and a door slid open.

“Here,” she said, tossing each of them a laser pistol, “you might need these.”

Alfric took his and turned it over in his calloused hands. “I have my sword.”

“Just keep it in case,” said Rynah.

“What amazing construction,” muttered Tom as he examined the pistol enthralled by the technology behind it.

Solon remained silent, while Brie added, “I’m not sure about how to use this.”

“Then you’ll have to learn,” said Rynah as she jumped down the steps and to the scarred terrain before her.

Unsure of what to do, Brie and the others tied the pistols around their waists. Alfric leapt out of the shuttle and strode proudly, while the others took their time. Poor Brie—her timidity forced her to cling to the handle in the open hatch (while horrid thoughts of untold dangers filled her mind) as she delicately put her foot on the charred grass that had once been a royal purple. She trailed behind the others, looking around at the smoldering fires and remains of ships that had failed to escape the fury of the planet. Brie glanced up at the blackened sky with tinges of purple in it and wisps of clouds that seemed to weep at the destruction that had been wrought.

“Brie, keep up!” yelled Rynah.

Brie hurried after the others. The silence unnerved her. No bugs hummed, nor did any birds chirp. Even the wind refused to make a sound. Only death remained. A few bodies lay in the blackened grass. Sadness engulfed Brie as she looked at them and their vacant expressions. The horrors they must have seen. She was reminded of the stories her father had told her mother when he had come home for Christmas one year. She wasn’t supposed to hear, but Brie was unable to sleep and listened in the doorway to her parents’ bedroom. Soon after that, her father had been redeployed back to Afghanistan and died in a bomb blast. The remains of the planet Lanyr brought all of those memories back in a flood that her emotions refused to handle.