Rise of Aen (48 page)

“And besides old friend, with the small personal shield you and the Guild cooked up for me I highly doubt I will be in any real
danger.”

“Still, I must voice my concern and protest this action,” Bryx quickly answered. “There still may be those in the population that hold resentment to outsiders and may view you in the same light as the Husk which tormented
them.”

“I am going, Bryx, like it or not—and I will not have this discussion a second longer! I have been held captive on my throne for ages and I have learned from Aen’s example that life needs to be lived. This discussion is over, am I clear on
this?”

It was the closest he had seen her to losing her temper in over a thousand years and he wasn’t too eager to push the envelope further. He simply hung his head in acceptance of her wishes and nodded in agreement; in the end, her wish was truly his command. She was correct in the fact that he and others had more than pressured her to stay away from public functions; the loss of her would be nothing short of devastating for the Empire. He thought it was best to change the subject quickly as to not push his luck in a losing
effort.

“How has the child fared in her studies?” he growled in a softer tone, referring to the teaching of young Sara Foster, newly appointed Terra Sol Council. For the past few months she had been working closely with the Empress and the other Imperial Fleet representatives. Unlike most children her age, the human had absorbed the information and knowledge being thrown at her with a thirst he had never seen before. Any doubt Bryx had about her being the right one for the job had been thrust away
quickly.

“Young Sara is an amazing creature—fascinating, really!” Iana spoke proudly. “After all she has been through, she moves forward in her life willingly, instead of cowering in pain from all that has struck out at her. Her will has been forged in the fires of tragedy and despair; she is the perfect representative of Terra Sol and will serve them well in the
Council.”

Iana was immensely proud of her new protégé and it showed in her smile as she spoke about her. It would always be a secret that she had selected Sara on a whim to honor Aen, to have his blood stand for the people he fought so hard to protect. It was a whim that felt more than right at the time, but now as she helped the young human the Empress could see that it was a whim well worth acting upon. Indeed, Sara Foster had been through a lot—more than most her age—but those experiences had shaped this child and poised her to be the voice of reason the Council needed more of. Iana was convinced that there would be no backing down from the other Councillors when push came to shove in this child, her resolve would be unbroken as she would stand against all that would be wrong and
unfair.

“She will sit beside me in tonight’s banquet and address Terra Sol for the first time as its Council. It is she who shall introduce the newly appointed government, it is her voice that shall usher in the new ways for her world,” she said
smiling.

Iana shuffled through her closet in an attempt to find the perfect robes for tonight. Long had it been since she had felt like this, giddy and excited to look glamorous for others. She stood naked in front of her modest—yet grand by any other’s opinion—wardrobe as the scent of flowers from the planet below as they had soaked with her in the bath she had enjoyed not so long ago. Even with her companion in the room with her, Iana showed no shame in being nude. She was comfortable in her skin and didn’t care who was around. Besides, after all this time at her side, if she couldn’t be herself with Bryx, then what kind of Empress could she be for the billions in the Empire. Tonight she would be the guest of honor in person, tonight she would be the Goddess on a mountain on Earth, in a place called
Switzerland.

She remembered the days of arguments as the many separated cultures of the humans fought to be the home of the capital of Terra Sol; in the end it had been agreed upon for a so-called neutral site to be used and one untouched by the ravages of the Husk attacks. A picturesque city called Geneva was chosen to house the ruling body of the planet, and in a few hours Iana was to get the grand tour of the city from someone called a “mayor,” which would culminate at her arrival at the evening’s ceremonies. She felt giddy and excited and for once let herself revel in these feelings she so rarely gave in
to.

Geneva, Switzerland – Place des Nations -
Four Months After Victory

“Our world has changed, and with it so have we,” Sara began her first public words as the Council of Earth. Her words—and her pause after she spoke them—hit home with all those attending the inauguration and those watching it around the planet. She stood tall on the podium perched on the stage at the Place des Nations in the heart of Geneva. In the audience were dignitaries, ordinary citizens, and some of the Lyarran representatives from the flagship above. The head table beside her had the Empress, her mammoth guard Bryx, Council Lyxia from the Dark Light and the nine members of the New Earth government. Everywhere she looked, there was someone with greater credentials for this position than her, but she stood tall with the fact that this is what her father wanted her to
do.

“Only a short time ago, most of us thought we were alone in the universe. We let petty differences divide us and fought over land and religion because we knew no different. Now, I stand before you with my eyes open to see the truth: not only are we not alone but we are definitely not a power in the
galaxy.”

Sara looked over to the Empress beside her who nodded in a gesture of support. She had heard the criticisms of her; she was a puppet of the aliens and she would bow to whatever whims they had. Sara had confronted the Empress with these concerns and was told that none of it would come true. Earth was free, a member of a galactic collective of worlds governed by the same ideals. So in response of these harsh words, Sara had chosen tonight to shoot back at her
detractors.

“In the past few months I have learned much from the Empress and her people; the Lyarran Empire has opened their arms to us and offer many things that were beyond our reach. For that, and their help against scourge that ravaged our world I humbly thank them. But I have also heard the talk about my appointment to the Council and words like ‘puppet’ and ‘doormat’ have been thrown about casually in reference to me, so before we commence with tonight’s presentations I want to make something
clear.”

“To those who said those words, to those who thought them as well, and to the Empress of the Lyarran Empire I will say that I am no one’s puppet or doormat! I will stand for Earth as a strong and loud voice, without bowing to those who may seek to disregard us. To be any less would dishonor the memory of my father who died at the start of this year’s events along with every other soul lost to the Husk. I stand before you proud to represent you, and in doing so I will promise that our voice will be
heard!”

“As we speak, I have offers from Imperial interests pouring in for the mining rights to planets in our solar system. After consulting with our new government officials, I will be responding back to those interests with a no. We will learn how to harvest our own resources and will offer them to the highest bidder while protecting those resources from being stripped bare by someone who doesn’t care! I have come to learn that we have a wealth of riches surrounding us, and we will guard these riches. We have also gotten requests for tourism to open on Earth; planets like ours with the wonders we know so well are rare and quite popular. For this option, I have asked for time—not only to rebuild the devastation left behind, but for us as a people to heal as well. From all this we shall arise a stronger people, and most importantly a united
people!”

“As we step forward into this new life, we must remember what it cost us to get here. Billions were lost, and we are lesser now without them. We must also thank Council Lyxia of the Dark Light as she bravely chose to come to our aide against the will of the Council and in doing so lost many of her own people.” Applause began to rise and Sara paused to let the adulation run its course. Once it died down, she
continued.

“Lastly, we must give thanks to a man who gave his life to ensure all this. Aen was much more than a man—the result of a crooked experiment by our own people that created not a monster, but an angel that we so sorely needed at our side. Tonight we raise our glasses to salute those who have fallen and to those who risked it all to make sure we will see the dawn of
tomorrow.”

Sara stopped and stepped back from the microphone, unsure of how her words would be taken. Before the pangs of regret could dig into her soul, the crowd returned her raised glass to honor the fallen. Then the applause began in earnest and rose to a thunderous volume quickly as people stood on their feet to cheer and show their appreciation of what was heard. As she looked about her, she even saw the head table—including the Empress—standing, with huge smiles on their faces. Iana winked and nodded to her; her new career had started with a
bang!

The rest of the night went well; the introductions and official inauguration of the Earth government was seamless and applauded, as was the official turnover from the military running things to the people. Sara was overwhelmed by the support she was getting throughout the night; her speech had opened many eyes and changed many more minds about her. As was expected, Iana was receiving much attention from the Earth dignitaries as they attempted, although probably for naught, to schmooze their way into her good graces. Had these people known what Sara did, that the Empress was not involved much in the politics and business of the Empire, they would spend more time pestering the new officials and herself. But Iana seemed to be revelling in the attention, and Sara was happy to have none of it, as that was a part of the new job she was not going to
enjoy.

As she looked around, the only ones that looked unhappy this evening was Council Lyxia and the Empress’s guard Bryx, who would probably only be happy if his charge was under constant lock and key and safe for eternity. Lyxia, however, was the enigma. Since Sara had first met this creature, she had looked forlorn and defeated. At first, Sara wrote it off to the damage done during the fight in orbit and the massive loss of life aboard the Dark Light, which was now under heavy reconstruction. Sara had witnessed the heartbreaking ceremonies for the deceased; a ship full of almost four thousand bodies encased in armour that was remotely flown into the sun that returned the souls to the nearest God and joined their light with its own. Sara felt honored to be a part of such an intimate act, but felt terrible because these souls were lost in defence of her
planet.

But time had passed since this had transpired, and even the Empress seemed genuinely concerned. Throughout the night, the two were constantly whispering to each other with the Empress being the one motioning to Lyxia to pick herself up. As much as Sara tried to dismiss this as none of her business, her mind was drawing an unseen connection to this stranger’s frame of mind. No matter what, tonight wasn’t time to figure this out; it was a time of celebration and joy. A new chapter in the history of humanity had been started, and this one showed the promise of the greatest adventure of
all.

—

There was quite the gathering around Iana as the discussion about the end of the war on Earth. Military delegates, the new heads of state, Council Sara Foster, and Lyxia all were involved in the discussion. Lyxia used a translator as her English skills were fragmented at best, but other than the delays for her the conversation flowed well. The humans were extremely proud of how well they had fared against such overwhelming odds and such a dominant foe. Iana stroked their egos by letting them know that they were one of the few worlds to remain standing after an encounter with the Husk. She told them stories of the Fleet answering distress calls for an attack only to arrive to a desolate and stripped world which smoldered in the quiet darkness. Once populated with billions of inhabitants, these worlds were found empty with the exception of the dead left behind to burn in the
ashes.

But as these stories made a few egos grow, Iana was quick to point out this victory wasn’t achieved without help from others, and that it wasn’t without a great cost. Aen was a variable none of the other worlds had in the mix, his inclusion in the fight along with the bravery of those on the Dark Light was the real reason Terra Sol didn’t fall. At the mention of his name, both Sara and Lyxia became a bit withdrawn; the wound of his death still too fresh to not be
felt.

“None of this now children, this night—and your very lives—wouldn’t have been possible if Aen hadn’t thrown himself in the fires of that blast to carry the Husk to the afterlife. So tread carefully when boasting about this victory and be mindful at what it cost to get here.” Iana said softly to her
audience.

Slowly, the people began to disperse from the festivities; the night wore on into the early morning hours and the sun began to show signs of its arrival in the skies. A few people remained around the head table; it was obvious the Empress would be the last one to leave, as she was enjoying a rare night out. Sara was worn out and excused herself to go and rest, but not before Iana embraced her in a warm hug to congratulate her for a night well done. Once she left, only Lyxia, General Patterson, and of course Bryx remained behind the empty square along with the dozens of Ifierin
guards.

“It is a shame we had to lose Aen in all this,” Patterson spoke, holding his tongue through the whole night on the subject. “With him in the fold, it would have sent a message to the rest of the galaxy that we were a force to be reckoned
with.”

“And that is why I would not let you lead this world for any longer than needed. You are a soldier through and through, and soldiers can never stop thinking along those lines. Aen was never meant to be a weapon; destiny brings such beings into existence for much more than that. He is a creature unlike anything this universe has seen and our wants and wishes for them shall always remain just that.” Iana responded in her ever songful
voice.