The Sky Has Fallen

| Chapter 21

Vera and I managed to stand straight.

"Brylon, what do you mean?" Vera shook her head, approaching her special guard. "You need to help my father. You need to tell our sister ships to stop this, to pull out and back into space. If they continue this descent, the humans will attack us all."

"We've already descended, Vera," Brylon said, wincing as he sighed. "Our descent began long ago, with no hopes of rising. I thought if I'd give into this one man, just once, I could preserve our fate." Brylon's looked behind us. "But your father preferred to befriend them. Stay and nurture them." He looked at the room. "And look at the damage done! We're sinking, Vera."

After taking in a deep breath, he smiled. "And I've moved everyone down to the lowest levels for safety."

Was that why there weren't any Pylons on the ship?

"So, no." Brylon moved past us, approaching Holmes with slow steps.

Holmes did not attack him. He smiled at the Pylon. "It's a shame our plan has to come to an end," Holmes said to him, giving him a small shrug. "I thought we could do this forever."

"Same." Brylon chuckled, but the sound was laced with pain. "But you've spent too long tarnishing our name. So, I, second in command on this ship, will accept my guilt and crumble before you. All the ether you've acquired is now yours, no strings attached. All I ask is that you let us go in peace."

"No, no." Aggressively, Holmes shook his head. "I want submission. I want pain." He shook his gun next. "This peaceful forfeit isn't what I want from you! I've seen enough of it!" Squeezing his eyes tight, he laughed. "My mother submitted to one, then submitted to my father, begging for forgiveness. And I, I was the one who paid—" He lifted his gun, eyes wide. "—but I will not pay for this! I will grow from this! This power is mine!"

"You have them." Brylon dropped to his knees and lifted his hands over his head. "You have the latest batch of ether in your tunnels. Distribute as you wish."

"I want the seeds!"

Amid all the yelling, the officers had lowered their weapons. The two with remorse, with guilt, dropped theirs. I couldn't help but follow the line of one of them as the weapon slid across the floor.

"You can't have them!" Brylon lowered his head as he shouted. "I've given you what I can, in exchange for our safety. Instead, I placed my trust in the wrong hands and I've failed my people."

"Brylon." Looking up, I could see the captain extend a hand towards his second in command. And Brylon did the same but couldn't reach him. The gap between them was too far.

"Ha, you've failed your people, you!" Holmes laughed and kicked at the Pylon man. I watched him fall, curling into a ball. And Holmes pointed his gun at him. "You single handedly destroyed your species. I couldn't do that."

"Oh yeah?" Courage found its way in me. It built up in my legs, coursing up them with a speed I'd never felt before.

In one move, I dive for the gun closest to me. My hand wrapped around the butt of it, finger landing on the trigger. And I fired it. "Tell that to the human race!"

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The bullet clipped Holmes' shoulder. He screamed, diving back into the computers behind him. Blood dripped down the front of his shirt.

With him wounded, Brylon moved forward to retrieve his captain. With the other Pylon man in his arms, he cradled him, dragging him away from Holmes' increasing yells. I heard him whisper, "I'm sorry, my brother. I am sorry. Please, please forgive me."