Nexus

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I'm back, and with another chapter. I mentioned in my blog that Inspiration is a cruel and fickle mistress. This time, however, she wasn't so fickle, but probably just as cruel. I hit a figurative wall quite violently with this chapter, and said cruel mistress decided to slam my figurative head through said figurative wall until it broke. Anyway, enough about my rambling. Enjoy the chapter!


Nexus
Chapter Three: Broken Hallelujah
Part One


Ariano’s merchant ship, the Old Rifle, flanked closely by the sleek, black Espandon-class scout ship Crescendo, came out of hyperspace and beheld a lavender-colored planet with several large sandy-colored continents.

“There she is, Tavo,” Edwyn heard Ariano say through the private communications channel. “The planet Avanni.”

“I’ve never been to Avaani before,” Karissa said. Edwyn looked up at her from the copilot’s seat and nodded. He’d never left Terra Sixteen and Home, to his recollection. He frowned and turned back.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking down at him.

He shook his head. “Nothing.” He opened the private channel. “Ariano, can you pick up any signs of other ships orbiting Avaani?”

There was a brief moment of silence. “Why would you want me to do that?”

Edwyn sighed. “Look, I just want to make sure that there’s only the regular patrols that the Council forced the Avaaniites to put up.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me, Edwyn.”

Edwyn was getting impatient. He ran his hand through his hair. “Forget about it. I’ll tell you when we get on planet.”

There was another moment of silence. Edwyn visualized Ariano nodding with a frown. “Understood.” The private line went dead.

“What is it that has you so bugged, Edwyn?”

He turned to Tavo. “I can’t say for certain. I just have this…feeling.”


* * * * *


“This is Ariano Kraus, captain of the merchant ship Old Rifle, and pilot of its express delivery ship Crescendo. Avaani Central Starport, I am requesting clearance to enter the planet.”

As they neared the planet, he heard no confirmation.

“Avaani Central Starport, I repeat: This is Ariano Kraus of the merchant ship Old Rifle, and pilot of the express delivery ship Crescendo. I am requesting entrance to Avaani aerospace. Please respond.”

He was answered once more by light static. He opened a private channel.

“Guys, there’s something wrong.”

Tavo’s voice rang through the Crescendo’s cockpit. “What’s up, Ano?”

“The Avaaniites aren’t responding to my requests to enter the atmosphere.”

“Are you sure?”

Ariano noticed a green light flashing steadily. “Wait a minute. I’ve got something on my main channel. I’ll patch it through.” He pressed several buttons and touched the button underneath the green light. “This is Ariano Kraus.”

“Ariano Kraus, this is the Avaani Central Spaceport. We apologize for not returning your transmissions sooner, but we noticed your ships come out of hyperspace and we were under strict orders to inform our Empress and her daughter immediately upon your arrival.”

Ariano pressed his head against the high back of his chair. “Thank goodness. For a moment, I was scared something had happened.”

A light laugh reached his ears, and he smiled widely.

“Aren’t you being a bit paranoid, Ariano? It’s not like you.”

“S’Jini? Is that you?”

“We’re on our way to the starport now, Ariano. To’resh and I wanted to be the first to welcome you home.”

Ariano chuckled, despite the chill running down his spine. To’resh was the Avaani word for mother, and the stony bearing of the Avaani Empress, he knew, was something he did not want to rattle.

“Give the Empress my thanks, S’Jini,” he said, glad that it was an audio transmission. He didn’t want his fiancée to see him break into a sweat at the mere mention of her mother. “I’ll be on planet in an hour.”

“I can’t wait, Malinara,” she said seductively before the public channel went dead. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Malinara was the Avaani term for lover, and, ironically, the name he took up as an Avaaniite on his last mission as a mercenary. The way she said that to me… He shook his head. I’m not even married yet, and already I’m thinking of the honeymoon…


* * * * *


“We will reach Avaani in about twenty-four hours.”

Kanaji nodded. “Good. Have the preparations been made?”

The soldier saluted. “Yes, sir. The advance teams will reach Avaani five hours before us and destroy their aerospace patrols.”

“Good. I want you to have every fighter ship at the ready. As soon as we come out of hyperspace, I want all fighters dispatched and heading towards the planet alongside the transports.”

“What about orbital bombardment, sir? We could use it to destroy key targets, such as the spaceports and the Palace.”

Kanaji looked up at the soldier. “Have some of your operatives hack into Avaaniite satellites immediately upon coming out of hyperspace. If we manage to get control of even one, send out warnings to the troops of possible orbital strikes on key points. I was informed that there must be nothing left of the planet but an inhospitable wasteland. I failed the Master once. I don’t intend to fail again.”


* * * * *


The Old Rifle and the Crescendo landed side by side in perfect synchronization, throwing up a light cloud of dust as the landing gear touched ground. The Crescendo’s hatch opened first and Ariano stepped out with a stretch, taking in the Avaani air.

Tavo was the first to step out of the Old Rifle, flanked by Karissa and Edwyn.

“Smells faintly like Melody,” Karissa said.

“It would, seeing as all the bodies of water contain the stuff,” Ariano said as he strode over to them, his hands behind his head.

“Where’s our welcoming committee?” Tavo asked. “They said they’d welcome us as soon as we touched down.”

As if on cue, a set of double doors at their landing platform opened.

“Kneel, and don’t talk until I say so,” Ariano said quickly, falling to one knee and bowing his head reverently. Immediately, his brother and his companions followed suit. There was nothing but silence as marching commenced.

Tavo chanced a look at his brother out of the corner of his eye. He held in the urge to gasp as his brother’s skin began to ripple and change form. He closed his eyes as soon as the marching stopped and light steps advanced towards his brother.

“Munoretiki, Malinara,” a deep stoic voice ordered, and immediately Tavo heard Ariano stand up.

Ariano spoke briefly in the Avaani language, and the stoic voice repeated itself in the Universal language.

“I have asked him to rise,” the voice said. “And now I ask you three to rise as well.”

Tavo, Karissa and Edwyn slowly got to their feet and beheld, for the first time in their lives, the Empress of Avaani.

At six and a half feet tall with sleek, raven hair that fell all the way to her ankles, the Empress of Avaani was a figure that demanded attention. Her skin was a shade of deep pink and had no imperfections whatsoever. Her face was oval, with almond-shaped eyes and a steely gaze that matched their metallic color. She had a slightly long neck, made more prominent by the sleeveless red high-neck dress she wore, a style similar to the Oriental styles of ancient Earth.

Edwyn and Tavo swallowed the lumps in their throats in unison as their eyes lowered, taking in the full figure of the royal figure standing before them. A ring of eight tentacles at each shoulder surrounded her two long arms, and eight more, smaller tendrils ringed each wrist. Each set of tentacles covered her arms; her upper arms and one covered hand looking like flowers yet to bloom. Her right hand, the hand she used to address Ariano, had its set of wrist tentacles opened and moving about lazily.

The two young men blushed even deeper as their eyes continued to rove over the Empress’ form. Her hips were slender, and her dress hugged her as if she were born in it. A cut on either side of her dress fell down the rest of its length to her calves. Her ankles were also ringed with a set of eight small tentacles, but those were closed upward, revealing her bare feet.

Ariano, now in the form of an Avaani but with silver skin with a blue hue, and Karissa noticed the uncharacteristic smirk on the Empress’ face and realized immediately why such a feature manifested itself on her features. Ariano nudged his brother subtly while Karissa pressed her knuckles against the small of Edwyn's back. Ariano fell to one knee and spoke quickly in the Avaani, but the Empress silenced him with a hand.

“It is all right, Malinara,” the Empress said in the Universal tongue. “The young men have quite a good taste in women, Human or otherwise.”

To everyone’s surprise, Edwyn fell to one knee and bowed.

“Suno’ri kinaleshnita, Horinikua,” he blurted out.

Ariano and Karissa exchanged bewildered looks, while the Empress’ eyes went wide as she covered her mouth with the fingertips of her bared hand.

“And he has a great grasp of our language,” the Empress said with an impressed nod. She moved towards him and bared her other hand, laying it on his shoulder as she knelt in front of him.

“Arise, young one,” she said in a gentle voice. “Your apologies are not necessary. Your humility is flattering.” She rose to her full height with a gentle laugh. “Come. My daughter awaits your presence.”

Ariano nodded as the Empress turned and raised a gentle hand. Immediately, the entourage of soldiers turned and marched towards the double doors. As the five of them walked down the path, Ariano turned to Edwyn.

“You never told me you speak Avaani.”

“I don’t,” he said. “I don’t know what came over me back there.”

“Whatever it is you did back there, you really impressed her.” Ariano looked quickly in front of him to see the Empress oblivious to their conversation then turned back. “She has knelt to no one before.”

Karissa narrowed her eyes. “What did he say to her, Ariano?”

“He said, ‘Sincerest apologies, Empress’.”

Tavo looked at Edwyn. “That’s it? The way you talked, it sounded like it was your first language.”

Edwyn shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know! I’ve never left Terra Sixteen before now.” He lowered his head. “At least, I don’t think I have.”

“Malinara!”

The voice rang out as soon as they passed the double doors. Ariano smiled brightly as he turned and saw the source of the voice.

S’Jini, daughter of the Empress of Avaani, looked almost like her mother, though her skin was more purple than pink and she was shorter than Ariano by about an inch and a half. She wore a black dress with a loose skirt that fell to her ankles, and her lips were accented with red lipstick.

“S’Jini,” he said, running up to her and catching her in a deep embrace. “It’s been too long.”

S’Jini nodded and kissed him on the cheek. “Indeed, it has.”

He clasped one hand in hers, and their tentacles closed around them perfectly, purple and silver tentacles alternating the whole way around their wrists. “I promised we’d be married when I returned.”

S’Jini nodded. “I know. I remember that promise.” She looked past him to her friends. “Come with us. The ceremony begins in three hours.”


* * * * *


“I’ve just received word from the advance force. Their orbital patrols have been decimated without any transmissions to the planet being sent.”

Kanaji nodded. “Excellent.”

“Sir, apparently the advance force had considered orbital attacks on the planet. They have commandeered three satellites and will be waiting for your orders immediately upon arrival.”

Kanaji nodded. “Good. As soon as we get out of hyperspace, send all our transports immediately onto the planet and inform me of our arrival. I will be in my quarters, informing the Master.”

The soldier saluted. “Understood, sir.” He turned on his heel and began to leave, but stopped at the door.

“Is there anything else?”

The soldier paused briefly. “The Captain has ordered me to inform you that because we still have five hours before we arrive in the Avaani system, you have been given access to the brig. We have kept many slaves there, mostly to relieve crew stress, sir.”

The remark was not lost on Kanaji. “Send my thanks to your Captain. Inform her that should she be about the brig, she may see me there.”

A chill crept down the soldier’s spine. “Understood, sir.”

=[ End of Part One ]=

A/N: Well, that's that. I've been trying to figure out the Avaani ceremony for a couple of weeks now, and I don't think I've gotten anywhere close to completing an idea for it. Anyway, if anyone noticed, the name of this chapter, because it's a wedding, was inspired by the first Shrek movie (I don't belong Shrek). You'll find out why in the next part of the chapter. Anyway, don't forget to review! Comments and criticisms are always welcome!