Page 38 of Selected By the Dragon Alien
The crowd erupted into chaos, a swirling mix of voices and emotions. Some called out in support, urging the Riests to share the journal’s contents. Others shouted in anger, accusing the youngest Riest of blasphemy and demanding his immediate imprisonment. The eldest Riest and the third, quiet one stood frozen, their faces unreadable masks.
Turi watched the scene unfold, trying to keep her breath steady and her body from shaking. This was by far the riskiest thing she’d done and she was well aware that multiple lives were on the line, including Ara and the young Riest’s. Convincing the Terians of the truth would be a difficult, if not impossible, task, but she also knew that they had to try.
As the chaos settled, the youngest Riest stepped forward once more, his gaze fixed on the crowd. “I understand your fear,”he said, his voice steady. “I understand your doubt. But I ask you to listen, to open your minds to the possibility that what you have been taught, what we ourselves have enforced, is not our way. This book shows a different view of the Terian people. The future of our people depends on it.”
A hush fell over the crowd, a heavy weight of silence as the Terians considered the Riest’s words. Turi held her breath, hands tight fists as she looked at the faces. All of them were familiar. All of them were twisted in conflict and dismay.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the crowd, clear and strong. “I want to hear the truth.” It was a female. Her voice was loud and clear and achingly familiar.
“Mother…” Turi said breathlessly. She locked eyes with the resilient female who had endured so much.
“I want to know what is in that journal.” Her mother stepped forward, chin tilted up at the same determined angle that Turi’s was. “This…” She pulled up the bottom of her skirt to reveal hobbles between her ankles. “Is not our way. It is the Axis’ way.” She jabbed a finger toward the sky where the last of the Axis’ array fell away. “And it’s time we’re done with it.”
As she spoke the words, the gray swirl of clouds finished dispersing and the light of the closest star, Purrik, shone down on the settlement, bathing the people in the first true, unfiltered light they’d ever seen. Turi watched the faces around her turn to the sky, eyes closed as breaths of awe and wonder filled the square. She did the same, breathing in the warmth. Even in the cold season, the light made her skin feel like it was being bathed in nourishment.
When the Terians looked back to the Riests, their expressions had changed. More voices joined her mother’s in a growing chorus of support. “Yes, let us hear the truth,” one called out. “Show us the journal,” others demanded. “We deserve to know what has been hidden from us.”
The youngest Riest nodded, a smile on his lips. “Very well,” he said, his voice filled with a sense of triumph. “I will read it aloud, and you will hear the truth with your own ears. You will decide for yourselves what to believe.”
As the Riest began to read, the eldest Riest put his hands over his face and wept.
TWENTY-SIX
Yuric turned in his seat at the weapons console, his fingers hovering over the controls. “How many ships do you think they’ll send?” he asked, his eyes fixed on the viewing screen.
Ellion’s wings rustled with tension. “I don’t know. Maybe one. Maybe ten,” he replied. “The Axis won’t want to waste resources on a small penal colony.”
Just then, the sky erupted with flashes of light. Twenty Axis ships burst through the atmosphere, their sleek, dark forms filling the viewing screen. They were combat vessels, armed and ready for battle.
“Fek!” Yuric cursed, his hands flying over the weapons controls. “You were wrong about that, my friend.”
The first volley from the fortress’s weapons struck true, destroying two Axis ships in brilliant explosions. But there were too many. The remaining ships spread out, taking up attack positions around the fortress.
“Incoming!” a Hecron warrior shouted just before the first blast from the Axis ships struck the fortress. The entire structure shuddered. Warning lights flashed across the command center’s screens.
“Hull breach on level three,” another Hecron reported, her voice tight with worry.
Yuric kept firing, taking down another Axis ship, but there had to be twenty returning fire. The fortress rocked with each hit, the ancient structure groaning under the assault.
Ellion gripped the arms of his command chair. “Keep firing,” he ordered, even as another blast shook the fortress. “We can’t let them land.” But he knew, with a sinking feeling in his gut, that they were badly outnumbered. The Axis had come prepared for war.
Another blast rocked the fortress, sending sparks flying from several consoles. The ancient structure groaned under the assault. The command center shook with another hit from the Axis ships. Smoke filled the air and alarms blared.
“Masar!” Lekrin, the warrior at one of the stations, shouted over the noise of battle. “They’re breaking off their attack and heading for Settlement 112-1.”
“Power down the weapons,” Ellion ordered, rising from his command chair.
Yuric spun around, his eyes wide with disbelief. “We can’t stop fighting now.”
“We can’t fire near settlements without killing people there,” Ellion growled, his hands tightening on the command console.
“That eliminates our ability to attack from here. We’d have to leave and go to the settlements,” Yuric said as something shorted out and warning lights flashed red across all the screens. “Would you have us abandon the fortress?”
“Yes. We abandon it,” Ellion roared.
“We take the fight to them,” Yuric declared. He turned to Lekrin. “Gather our warriors. Take them to the settleme—”
“No,” Ellion said. “You and your warriors have done enough. I will deal with the Axis ships. Whoever is operating them will have me to deal with. If you can, enter the other settlements—the three that don’t have Axis ships hovering over them—and get as many Terians to safety as you can.”