Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2254526" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 216: The RedstarNever in his life would Jyren have ever imagined an assault like had happened to the Capital. It made no tactical sense at all. The bombardment had not been from orbit, as there were only a small amount of ships there, which didn’t even fire on the escaping Kanyaks. Again, it made no sense. Why land thousands of troops to take a huge city and then let everyone go?!    There was more going on. There had to be. Either that, or Ket had gotten a serious decrease in intelligence in a very short amount of time. Of course, Jyren didn’t know many of the details of what had happened, as the ship was in a state of chaos, still.    Despite the fact that a majority of the people in the Capital had escaped alive, there were many, many injuries. Jyren was sitting in the cabin where the guards had dragged him...a large, open area aboard the good sized Kanyak. There were a few chairs here and there, but they were all occupied by the more seriously injured. He sat near the boarding ramp, on the ‘floor’(was it a deck if the ship was alive...? Jyren still couldn’t figure out all the correct terms) his back against the ‘wall’(or bulkhead...). The two guards stood not far from him, keeping an eye on him in a very noticeable way. He was also given a good amount of room on both sides.    Of course, none of this seemed to matter. He sat there...silent, and unmoving. Just staring forward with a blank expression on his face. He had looked like that since the link had gone silent. Redstar medics were moving from person to person, dealing with what they could, though it was obvious even they were taxed at this point. About seven or so minutes after leaving the planet, one of the Redstars made her way to Jyren.    She was probably about his age, a little shorter than he was, with medium length, brown-black hair and tail fur. Like all the Redstars, she emitted a soothing calm about her, and when she reached Jyren, she knelt down in front of him and looked him in the eyes. When he didn’t even blink, a slightly concerned look worked its way onto her features. After a quick look over, she found nothing but a couple small cuts that he hadn’t bothered to remorph for whatever reason. Quietly, she asked, “Are you alright?”    His eyes looked on her. What kind of question was that? Was he alright? Of course not! He was stuck in some hellish corner of the galaxy, Shadow was completely gone from the link despite the basic idea that she was alive, and he couldn’t do a single thing about anything. How could he be alright?!    The Redstar obviously picked up on these thoughts and rested a hand on his shoulder. At the same time, Jyren could feel her using the Force to attempt to calm him a little more, “You cannot always fight.”    That definitely got his attention. She hadn’t just picked up on his thoughts...she’d read them word for word. A mild glare formed on his features as he said a little too harshly, “What would you know about that? You barely know who I am.”    “I know enough,” she said, a smile forming on her face. It was not forced, and very natural, “I’m not here to fight with you.”    Surprisingly, Jyren slowly nodded, realizing he was just trying to let out the annoyance and anger he was keeping inside. Those were, of course, very dangerous to do...but he’d done it for years, what made now any different? The stupidity and arrogance in that was not, however, lost on him. So, realizing the Redstar was wanting him to talk to get his mind off of the situation, he tried changing the subject himself, “Where are we going?”    “A small planet not far from the Capital,” answered the Redstar, with an odd glance back to the two guards before she turned back to face him, “We are to meet with your mother and father, and join them on their ship.”    “We?” again, the subtleties in the Redstar’s word choices was not lost on him. This woman was not just picking words randomly.    She was obviously glad that he wasn’t an idiot, and so nodded with a smile still on her features, “Yes. I will stay with you for as long as I can. Don’t argue it...its not something you can do anything about. Besides, I know you don’t want to be in all of this all by yourself.”    Jyren laughed slightly, “Usually, I get angry when people read me like you’re doing.”    “But you’ve got other things to worry about now?” she read off the second half of that thought.    With a sigh, he just nodded. Sensing this was not a good direction to head things in, the Redstar quickly change things, “Come on, we’ll be there in matter of moments. On your feet.”    She hadn’t used the Force with that. Definitely not. He would have felt it...and yet, somehow, the way she said it, he just reacted. Not Jedi-like...but...but...motherly. That was it. Sure, he’d never truly experienced that, but he’d heard stories and that just felt right. She said it. It happened. Your brain was left wondering why it was ignored by the body. And when he found himself on his feet, with her idly dusting him off and straightening his tunic, he actually felt like his legs had betrayed him.    After a moment, she then reached down and picked up the pack he’d carried with him, eyed it a moment, then handed it to one of the guards who approached. Normally, Jyren would have said something about it. Be careful. Don’t let that out of my sight. Whatever. But he didn’t this time. Did he even need to? The Redstar was reading him like only Shadow could, so he probably didn’t. But then a thought came to mind. Something completely divergent, and only because the pack reminded him of the little one that Toby had carried on their way to the Capital...    Toby.    At that thought, the Redstar’s eyes widened in surprise, and she spoke a little too quickly, betraying a sense of worry, “Your son is safe, don’t worry.”    That was a lie. A blatant, horribly spoken lie. And she knew it when she’d spoken it. With a sudden, almost dangerous look in his eyes, Jyren looked down at the Redstar, “What happened?”    “He was ah...” she paused a moment, and if not for the fact that he could tell she was gathering information through the Alraxian Network he had no access to, he’d have thought she was just stalling, “He is alright. I promise you that...but he was...injured on the planet. He is...ah...unconscious, and will heal fine in the next few days.”    “Where is he?” the words came out before Jyren even knew he was speaking them. There was an urgency in them like he’d never had before. It was vital he saw Toby. He had no idea why...didn’t even think about the why. But he needed to. It was that simple.    Again, the Redstar was silent, and as she started to speak, stuttering slightly as she tried to make sense of things, Jyren couldn’t take it. This time, emotion won over reason. Suddenly, and very roughly, he grabbed her by the collar and forced her hard against the wall, growling loudly, “Where is he?!”    Silence. Not just her, but everyone in the entire cabin. The Redstar’s face was, somehow, amazingly calm, and though Jyren could feel the two guards coming to move him away, they stopped around two steps in. With a deep, calming breath, she looked into his eyes and rested a hand on his shoulder, “He is on the ship with your parents. After you speak with them, you will be able to see him. I understand this is difficult...but you must calm yourself.”    Slowly, the odd rage faded and Jyren nodded. Mumbling an apology, he went silent again. It seemed like it took no time at all before they docked with another Kanyak. The Redstar and guards led him to the ship, and they were immediately greeted by the Empress and Cole. However, after the quick hello and hugs, it was straight to business. And important business it was.    Leading Jyren to the main cabin, the Empress said simply, “We’ve recieved word that Ket is about to speak.”    So here it was. The explanation. The ultimatum. What else could it be? This was it. This was exactly what Ket had been working for. Despite working towards this point the entire time, knowing it would come eventually in some form, Jyren was suddenly terrified of what it actually would mean.</blockquote>

Verification