Thursday, May 29, 2014

May 29th, Into the Riot

    For today's prompt, we were asked to write about a gathering of experts that Degenerates into a rammy.  The following is an excerpt from a work in progress.  Once again, please forgive any errors.


     Tran watched the view screen as they docked.  This was one conference that he wished he could avoid at all costs.  Whoever planned this must have taken leave of their senses because everyone knew that the Drackma were mortal enemies of the Starlor.  How he’d gotten invited as an authority on both species was beyond him.  Yes, he’d had dealings with both factions and yes, he’d come out the winner on both occasions, but he was in no way an expert.  Of course, he was willing to bet that the other six delegates from Stralos Minor weren’t experts either.
     He stood from his seat and strode toward the lift doors.  “Kreighton, you have the bridge.  Telara, you are with me.”
     The young woman managed to slip in beside him before the lift doors swooshed shut and plummeted them the three floors to the platform that would transport them to the skywalk below the ship.  From there they would make their way to the Parcenon where the delegates were meeting.
     Telara placed her small hand in his and smiled up at him.  He could already feel her magic working as she said, “You worry too much.”
     He allowed one of the rare smiles that he reserved for only for Telara.  She was the light in his otherwise dark world.  Since joining his crew seven years ago, she’d changed everyone’s life for the better. 
     Telara was Arobian.  The people on her planet were divided into three factions, telepaths, empaths, and seers.  It was unheard of for an Arobian to be born with all three abilities, that is until Telara.  Her mother was one of the strongest empaths on their world and her father was the strongest telepath on record.  It wasn’t until Telara was born that they’d learned her father Delor’s own father had been a seer. 
     Telara’s abilities were so strong that not only could they not be adequately tested, but the majority of Delarians feared her.  When she’d reached her seventeenth birthday, she realized that remaining on her own world would not only endanger her life, but that of the rest of her family as well.  She bravely stole aboard a departing freighter and that’s how she came to be with the Shak Paw. 
     When they reached the Parcenon, Telara held up a hand.  Knowing she would not act without reason, Tran stood patiently waiting for her to start moving once again. 
     Her eyes widened and her chin lifted sharply into the air as her nostrils flared.
     Tran leaned closer to whisper, “What is it, little dove?”
     “Danger’s near.  All is not as it seems.”
    He gave a miniscule nod, then tapped the badge on his chest as he said, “Run scans and raise shields.  Keep a lock on us at all times.”
     A deep, gravelly voice replied, “Understood.”
     Telara smiled.  “Kreighton won’t will any jocularity contests.”
     Tran winked.  “I’d rather have him with us, grumbles and all than someone more personable.  He’s damn good at his job.”
     She smiled up at him.  “Yes, he is worth the trouble to know.”
     The two continued into the glass structure.  It looked like they were the last ones to join the group.  Telara squeezed Trans hand as they made for their seats.   
     Chartress, the delegate from Ornithius stood and called the meeting to order.  “The time has come for peace to reign.  No longer can the Drackma and Starlor afford to be at odds.  A new enemy has surfaced and in order to survive, the two must unite their resources for the good of all.”
     Tran studied the delegates just as he knew Telara was doing beside him.  He was good at reading auras, and from what he could see, the only one that believed what Chartress was saying was the delegate himself. 
     He felt the gentle probing that told him someone was in his mind, but he was familiar enough with the feeling that he recognized it was Telara.  He could hear her thoughts clearly, “They want the two factions to continue the war so they can slip in and pillage their world while they are distracted by the Tuparians.”
     Tran knew that name.  The Tuparians were responsible for desolating many worlds…  Then he paused, a remembered tidbit from his childhood came back to him.  Tuparians are always black.  They can’t disguise their true evil intentions.  His gaze ran through the delegates, and there beside the Drackma delegate was an aura he’d only seen a few times before.
     He pressed the badge on his chest and held it till it vibrated, then he did a series of taps telling Kreighton just what he needed.  He felt the answering vibration when Ruffario rose to speak. 
     Out of nowhere a blue beam of light appeared and the black aura rose, screaming in rage as if it’s owner were in extreme agony.  The blue light disappeared and the lighting returned to normal.  The delegates were up in arms, battling what they now knew was the real enemy.  They’d all had run-ins with the Tuparians, and to date, none of their races had come out the victor.
     Pandemonium broke out.
     Tran joined the melee, even though he didn’t hold out much hope in them being able to best the Tuparian.  His attention was diverted because he was worried about Telara.  She was more vulnerable to the creature than the rest of them.
     It didn’t take long for the creature to have them down on the ground trying to recuperate enough to take the fight to him once again.  It was in the third such lull in the fighting that Tuparian rose to his full height of over seven and a half feet.
     The creature roared before saying, “You will all be destroyed.  None of you are a match for us.  And now I mark you all for destruction!”
     The Drackma and Starlor delegates teamed up and got the Tuparian down on the ground.  When they each grabbed the creatures machete, it was like watching two halves of a hole in action and when the blade came down on the Tuparian, a brilliant light blinded everyone in the room. 
     When the light disappeared, Telara gasped.  Tran looked to see what was the matter and they both looked on at the child who was standing between the two.  She was a beautiful child with the Starlor’s features and the Drackma’s coloring.  Her eyes were  a beautiful golden color and when she smiled, a feeling of warmth permeated the room.
     When she spoke, it was as if her voice was amplified yet there didn’t seem to be anything making the sound effect.  “I am Staracklor.  By working together to defeat a common enemy, you have joined our people forever.  In doing so, you have given birth to a new race.  From this day forward, there are no Drackma, and there are no Starlor.  There are only Staracklor.”
     She held her palms face up and as she looked on with shimmering stars in her eyes, she was lifted above all of them and a light appeared again.  This time, when the light disappeared, the delegate from Drackma and the delegate from Starlor had been transformed so that their appearance was similar to the child’s.  She was once again standing on the floor beside the other two. 
     She took one hand from each and said, “You are my mother and father.  From today forward, we are a family.  Let’s go home.”
     Telara placed her small hand in Trans.  “We can go home now.  They will have peace for many centuries, and Ariellis is well in control.”
     “Ariellis?”
     She nodded.  The child born of both factions has saved her world by uniting them in a new race.  All that was before is forgotten.  No one on their planet remembers what went on before because only those willing tomake the transformation survived.”
     Tran looked at the child.  “That’s quite a feat for one so young.”
     “She’s up for the responsibility.”
     Tran turned to Telara and cupped her cheek.  “Let’ go home then.”

     The two turned and walked hand in hand back to the teleport that would take them back to their ship the Shak Paw.






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