Tales from the Empire
Operation: Dark Skies
By Robert C. Moore
May 13, 1997
Episode 5:
Secrets of the Desert
Stardate: 2411.3.25
The truth has its way of revealing itself. Sometimes in small, others in large ways.
Whatever happens, nothing is the same. All parties may intend to be "Business as
usual", but it is far from that. In fact, it is an act of war.
Kero's diary dated May 6, 2409
The walk home would be a lonely one today. I found out that I was suspended for 3 days for that demonstration fight against Holly. Never in my life have I been in trouble, and now this. The train had just arrived at the station when Laurie Phillips & Holly arrived.
"Sorry to hear about your suspension," Holly said sympathetically. "I'm also sorry that the fight went on too far. Besides, I don't think I'm Academy material."
"I know you are," Laurie said. "Besides, you were the only one trained to fight Kero."
The girls were right for once. The two top girls, who had always fought each other in school, were now agreeing on something. The train stopped, and the people were getting off. I got on and sat against the window, Holly was next to me.
"Look, I think this is so stupid. Besides, I didn't harm you physically in any way."
"You were not ready to fight." He looked into her eyes and knew that this is where he should be. He whispered to her, "I love you."
The train doors closed and we decided to settle in for the long ride home. The ticketman came forward. He was an elderly man in his 70's, in earth years. As we gave our tickets to him, I could feel a presence fill me. It was not love, but of fear. The room began to change, and ghost began to appear.
A stock young man stood over me, but didn't say a word. The look in his eyes was one of judgment. Then he spoke to me. "You are the one whose coming was foretold. Be strong, and do not into the night."
The train and everyone else disappeared. We were standing in the middle of a vast city. Crystal and pearls shone everywhere I looked. He was dressed in a fighter's outfit in royal green, and a symbol of his head. The symbol of an eagle.
I did not speak, for I was in awe. " My name is Danvo. We were residents of a world long forgotten. A city that met its fate before its time. Yet, we are like you. We yearn to be better. When you awake, you will be right where you were."
"I've come this way for years, and why now." I explained. There had to be an explanation to this.
"The time is now. Its strange how history has a way to tell us who this starchild might be." He took a few steps back and reveled to me a legacy most of my people forgot.
"Your people are in great danger. Soon, the Dark Sun will rise in the east, and destroy the garden for a price of a warrior." I was awed at his response, for he was accurate in his view of the galaxy. "You will need to find the orb. In it there is power and strength." The orb was a simple crystal ball with ancient powers for good or evil. He held one in his hand. Streaks of light emerged, filing the room with love and peace. Then the light changed to dark red with screams and groans. "You see, only you can choose to do good or evil. It just does what you want. Choose wisely."
The room and him disappeared, and I awoke on the train. As we headed for the main city of Callos, I could see the vast emptiness of the desert. The city must be there, I said to myself. Get the orb, and solve the riddle.
TO BE CONTINUED...