Chapter One
“I will hold no prisoners here,” Lokun said to the distance soldier who was trying to be defiant, but who was failing because he refused to look Lokun in his eyes. The three infantry soldiers in the male’s unit had agreed to abandon their military posts and stay at the outpost to follow Lokun, but the one soldier had refused. “I will supply you with provisions for two passings, but as you know, it is a ten-passing journey from here to the city. Coming here, you had the benefit of the other soldiers. You will now be alone and must use your skills and cunning to survive.”
As if on cue, Captain Tam Sundus brought over a pack containing the provisions Lokun had promised. Tam had been the captain at the mining settlement before Lokun had taken over. While he had still been general, Lokun had trained Tam and had personally placed Tam as captain at the mining settlement because Lokun knew that Tam had both the skill and the courage to survive and lead the others in the harsh conditions of the Outlands.
When Lokun and the Shokus had attacked the mining settlement, Tam’s loyalty to Lokun had been tested, but in the end, Tam chose to abandon his military position and follow Lokun in his quest to save and protect the Sacred Mountain.
“If you survive,” Lokun said to the soldier as he purposefully donned the provided backpack. “Give your General Appus a message to provide to both the Glypha and the other generals: I am the protector of the Sacred Mountain. I will allow none to harm it while I still breathe Arkainian air. It matters not how many soldiers they send.” Lokun stared at the soldier, who met his eyes briefly before looking away. The soldier caught the eyes of the three males who had been in his unit. They looked away and over to Lokun.
“Go now. May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe.” With that, he turned away from the male, as did everyone who was in the area. The soldier paused for a moment before turning and walking out into the Outlands.
Once he was out of the area, Lokun turned and watched his retreating back. Tam came to stand next to him. “That was the fourteenth unit that General Appus has sent. No other generals have sent any units.”
Lokun nodded, still watching the soldier walk away. “When I was general, it was agreed upon that I would provide protection to Arkainia, and as such had the most ground units on the planet. The military outposts in each of the three cities were filled mostly with my soldiers.” He turned away from watching the soldier’s retreating back and over to Tam. “Jorial has sent none of them to attack.”
Tam cracked a half smile. “That is because he knows doing so will simply strengthen our numbers. Your soldiers are loyal to you, General. General Krymthus might have been your second in command, and the soldiers will follow his direction, but he will have to earn their loyalty before they will fight against you.”
Tam paused and contemplated his next words before speaking. “We are getting low on supplies. I wanted to discuss with you how we can go about getting what we need. Normally, we would dispatch two units to travel to the city. Perhaps if we do that, we can persuade some of the soldiers stationed there to join us.”
Lokun pondered the idea. “By my calculation, we now have eighty-two soldiers here. Is that correct?”
Tam nodded. “Eighty-two soldiers, fifty-seven humans, and twenty-five to thirty Shokus, but their numbers change as they come and go. At least twenty-five are steady here.”
Lokun turned to face Tam. “And you have been training the humans and Shokus to fight?”
Again, Tam nodded. “We are all accustomed to being busy. Getting the settlement up and running keeps many busy, but there is a lot of downtime. Idle hands create problems. To alleviate this, I mandated the soldiers to do routine drills and exercises. Many of the humans and some of the Shokus have begun to join us in the routine.”
“Excellent. When they fail to take back the mountain, the Glypha will send more soldiers to retaliate. There is a supply of diarok and golrok stored in each of the cities, but when those supplies run low, they will begin to get nervous.”
“Just as I am getting nervous that our supplies are running low.”
“Precisely.” Lokun paused and scanned the sand around him. Tam waited just watching him. “The Rukkus settlement can provide for itself. They do not need to resupply from the cities.” He turned to look at Tam. “What supplies are you low on?”
“Food, mainly. We have enough for half a moon rotation. A few passings less now with the additional fifteen soldiers.”
Lokun nodded. “There are plenty of people at the Rukkus settlement who are skilled at growing food. Perhaps I can persuade some of them to journey here with me the next time to teach some here how to grow food.”
“The crops will take time to grow.”
“I will see what supplies the Rukkus settlement can spare. If they cannot spare enough, I will heed your suggestion and have soldiers venture discretely into the city for supplies.”
“But not to recruit soldiers?”
“Let me ponder that. It feels dishonorable.” He turned again to Tam. “Are there any other issues we need to address?”
“There is the issue with lighting. Being above ground, lighting was not a concern. We used the sun to provide heat and light. With the settlement underground, it is cooler and darker. We are struggling to find enough light. We kept limited diarok from the mining operation, just what were needed. The rest went back to the mountain. But as the settlement grows, we lack sufficient light.
“The humans have said they have something called fire on their planet. There is a human who is skilled at studying the rocks, but he says there is not the right material in our rocks or wood to create this fire. They have tried piling pieces of dried branches up and have attempted to create fire, but they have been unsuccessful.”
“The lighting and heating are of concern at the Rukkus settlement as well. Weston is working with the human Tink. He tells me that she has an idea to generate energy from the sun to provide heat and light.” Lokun paused and took a deep breath of dusty air. It had taken over a sun rotation, but he had finally adjusted to the air and gravity on the planet.
Living nearly half of his life on a ship out in space, Lokun had been accustomed to breathing in clear, filtered air, and dealing with the gravity the ship stabilizers provided. When his masa had forced his retirement and he was on the planet surface permanently, the dusty air irritated the inside of his nose, and the gravity provided from the planet’s rotation made him feel heavy. Just like the humans who came to Arkainia, though, his body had adjusted to the living conditions he was immersed in.
“I will see what diarok there are at the Rukkus settlement that can be spared and brought here.” He turned and looked up at the mountain, looming like a gigantic triangle pointing up to the sky.
When Lokun had been promoted to general, he had his choice of what symbol he wished to be associated with. Each general had a unique shape embedded into the military uniform of every soldier under his command, so all knew who commanded which soldiers. Lokun chose a triangle as his symbol. To him, it represented stability. Using that as his basis of command, he secured three males he trusted to provide council to him. He also split all his units into three sections under three commanders. Furthermore, he would deploy no less than three units per mission.
He also had three males in charge of establishing and protecting the Shokus settlement he had created from the remains of the mining outpost. Tam oversaw the Arkainian soldiers, Chapman Mann oversaw of all the humans at the settlement. And Jensen Gerterus was the one he chose to keep the Shokus in line.
“Have you had any communication from Jensen?” Lokun asked Tam when the thought of Jensen came into his mind.
“He has come back several times to rest for a passing or two and then he is gone again. What mission have you sent him on? He will not tell me.”
“That is because I asked him not to.”
Jensen Gerterus had been the one who had allegedly been hired by Lokun’s masa to abduct Star away from him over a sun rotation ago. Jensen had come to Lokun’s living unit in Karkus and had shot them both with a plut dart. The dart did not have the effect on Lokun that Jensen had been expecting, and so Lokun had been able to restrain and question him.
After being questioned and revealing what he knew, Jensen had been released. He had gone back into the Outlands where Lokun and Weston had encountered him again on their way to the Rukkus settlement to find Star. This time, Jensen attempted to shoot Lokun with a plut dart, but Weston had put his arm in the way. Lokun had it in his mind to kill Jensen, and he would have, if not for an image of Dasus telling him not to kill. Lokun had spared Jensen’s life, changing the male’s opinion of Lokun.
When Lokun had come upon Jensen a third time, Jensen had saved Lokun from the sand beast that had injured Weston and would have done the same to Lokun given the opportunity. Jensen seemed to seek Lokun’s trust. It was Jensen who had provided the Shokus who had fought the original soldiers at the mining settlement so Lokun could take over the settlement and stop the mining under the Sacred Mountain.
Lokun looked over at Tam, who was watching him. Lokun sighed. “I sent him off to hunt down the living sand that escaped from the base of the mountain.”
“Weston had us stand guard to block the opening whenever he opened the door when we were building the bridge over the sand. How did some escape?”
“The sand escaped the first time Weston and I came here, well before I seized control over the mining settlement. Before we realized Weston’s ability to open the door, I used water to open it. Unlike when Weston uses his plant and the door closes immediately behind him, the water allowed the door to stay open. It was then that the sand escaped.”
“Weston told us that the sand takes the water out of anything that touches it.”
Lokun nodded. “When I first learned of it from Dasus, Weston and I came here to see if I could use it to my advantage in my attempt to take control of the mining settlement. Weston went into the sand. It weakened him and was only appeased by water. Dasus had told me that the sand drinks greedily. Giving it water was the only way it would release Weston from its grip.”
“I am thankful that you did not use the sand against us.”
“As am I. Once I realized how dangerous it was, we found another way.”
Tam smiled at the memory. “Your attack was efficient and successful, General, as were all of your missions according to the soldiers here.”
“Not all, but with careful planning, the loss was minimized.”
“Do you miss your life in the military, General?”
Tam’s question surprised Lokun. Tam was one who usually kept their discussions strictly about the settlement and the soldiers. But at Tam’s request, Lokun had brought Holu to the Shokus settlement on many occasions for Holu to teach those who were interested about the history of their race. Holu had told Lokun that Tam was curious and asked many questions.
“On some occasions, yes. I was a good general for Arkainia. I believed my purpose was to protect the planet and our people. I put my life in danger so the ones on the planet stayed safe. But now I realize, though my purpose remains the same, the way I go about it is different. I no longer travel among the stars to protect Arkainia. Now, I protect the Sacred Mountain which is the source for all life. By protecting the mountain, I protect the ones on the planet.”
“Even though they are the same ones who view males in the military as less than they are.”
“The females in Mesta view us that way, but their view will change over the sun rotations.” He looked over at Tam. “I will change the way they think of us.”
“How will you do that?”
Lokun’s mind went to the comment that his masa had said to him when she had first retired him. He had been angry with her and had told her that he wished to return to his life in the military. For the first time in his life, his masa had placed her hand on him denoting her affection for him. She had told him that changes were coming and that those changes were more important than his position of general in the Arkainian military. He had not understood what she had meant at the time, but now, he wondered if she had known all along that he would be in the position he was currently in.
Up until he came to the Outlands, Lokun believed, as all the people in the cities did, that their race had no mystical figures. There were no religious beliefs like the humans have. There was no belief in any divine figures, except for the thirteen females on the Glypha Committee that many viewed in that manner. The general belief was that the thirteen females of the first Glypha Committee were responsible for the start of their race. Any knowledge of the time before the Great War was erased from existence by the first Glypha Committee over seven hundred sun rotations ago. Only the Rukkus knew the truth.
The Arkainian race was started when Masa and Dasus mated and produced offspring. Dasus was an Arkain stag, a race of being native to Arkainia. The stags were hunted to extinction for their ability to alter their internal structure to mimic any other being whose blood they ingested. The purpose of this change was for the sake of reproduction and the continuation of their species. The ability to alter themselves was highly sought after by other beings in the galaxy.
Masa was not of Arkainia but had come with her people to the planet. The very mountain that Lokun was striving to protect was the ship Masa and her people had used to travel in the stars. They had fled their dying planet and, because of a ship malfunction, had landed on the barren and life-less planet to fix their ship. When they went to leave, they realized that their ship and taken hold and had bonded with the planet, digging its roots deep and altering the barren planet to sustain life.
Unable to adapt to the climate, Masa and her people had died off. But when her people died, they did not cease to be. Their lifeforce went back into the rocks of the mountain to feed future life. It is from the mountain that all life on the planet comes and to where the energy goes when the life ends.
“General?” Tam urged when Lokun fell silent.
“I am uncertain of how I will change their opinion, but I know this to be.”
He took another deep breath. As it often did when he did not force it onto other things, his thoughts drifted to Star. He and Weston had been away from the Rukkus settlement for three passings. He missed his Star, and he missed his little asa, named by Star as Mira Star Lokuna. Weston often offered to come to the settlement alone to handle any issues that had come up since their last visit, but Lokun always refused. This settlement was his responsibility. Given the chance, he knew he would never leave Star’s side if he did not force himself to go. The bond to Star was getting stronger and leaving her was getting more difficult. So he forced himself to leave just to prove to himself that he could.
He blinked and found Tam watching him.
“I must find Weston.”
“Are you leaving to return to the Rukkus settlement?”
“Yes, I feel the pull to return.”
Tam nodded but said nothing. The subject of why Lokun’s eyes looked different from traditional Arkainian eyes came up every so often when they gained new soldiers, but rarely did anyone ask him about Star or Mira. The original twenty-two soldiers who were on duty when Lokun had attacked and had taken over the settlement were present when he had brought Star to the mountain for her to give birth in the sacred waters. Weston had briefly explained why Lokun was bringing Star and why a bridge had been needed for safe passage over the living sand at the mountain’s base, but no one had asked him about it. Lokun was unsure of what he would say if anyone chose to ask.
“I think Weston is working with Cort on the radio for communications,” Tam said to him.
After one last look along the horizon of the Outlands, Lokun turned to Tam. “Then, let us go and hear what they have discovered.”
Lokun and Tam walked through the courtyard where the mining settlement used to be. After Lokun had taken over the outpost, he made the decision to move the newly established Shokus settlement to under the mountain where the mining tunnels had been carved out. Chapman Mann was the human in charge before Lokun had taken over. Chap had been a miner on Earth and had come over on the first transport ship that had come to Arkainia over eleven sun rotations ago. Chap knew the tunnels better than anyone else and had taken a leadership role when determining which tunnels could be combined and which ones had to stay for stability.
The entrance to the Rukkus settlement was kept a mystery by what Star called an illusion, or a deceit of the eyes. The opening was concealed when the wall directly behind the opening was of the same material and design as the walls on either side of the opening. Looking directly at it, one could not see the opening at all. Lokun had decided that was how he wanted the opening of the Shokus settlement to look as well. Walking up to the opening now, he noticed that the humans and Arkainians who had worked on the opening had done an excellent job. The illusion of this opening was, perhaps, even better than the one at the Rukkus settlement.
Walking through, Lokun followed Tam down the carved stairs. Because of the limited number of yellow diarok allowed, the stairway was not lit, but Lokun could see well enough to not hinder his downward progress. Once at the bottom, the area opened into a cavernous space much like the Rukkus settlement. The top of the cave was not quite as high, and the area was smaller, but the settlement was growing as more Shokus and soldiers came.
Tam led the way through the busy settlement. Any soldier they passed bowed his head when Lokun walked by, and Lokun gave him a nod back. Some of the humans also nodded. During his tenure in the military, Lokun had taken the time to know every captain under his command. He refused to send someone into battle unless he was sure he was sending the correct person. Relating that to the settlement, Lokun was taking the time to know every human and Arkainian who was under his protection. He would take the time to meet the fifteen newest soldiers when he took them to the alter stone to give the metal in their military uniform back to the mountain. He usually gave them some time to adjust to their new life before he insisted that they give up their uniform, though most had already stopped wearing it before he insisted that they did.
Lokun spotted Weston sitting by Cort Primstus. Cort had been under Lokun’s command when he had been in the military. During a Traxan battle, Cort had lost the three infantry soldiers in his unit to the buried weapon the Traxan so often used. Seeing how grief-stricken Cort was, Lokun had relocated him to what he figured was an easy assignment while he recovered his state of mind. Lokun had assigned him to work with Tam in the mining settlement for a sun rotation. Just before the sun rotation assignment was up, Lokun had attacked the settlement and Cort had abandoned his military post to join Lokun and Weston. Being both distance soldiers, Cort and Weston had developed a friendship, and Weston was, more often than not, with Cort when Lokun was looking for him.
Cort looked back and saw Tam and Lokun approaching. He nudged Weston before standing and bowing his head. “General.”
Weston rose to his feet and faced Lokun. He did not bow but gave Lokun a nod.
“What have you discovered here about the loss of communication?” Lokun asked.
When she had left Karkus to travel with Sturm Merkornus and Luna Khalil, Tina Bell, affectionately called Tink, had brought with her the radio she had used to contact Jorial on his ship when Lokun had needed to send a message to him regarding Star’s pregnancy complications. Lokun had asked Jorial to travel to Earth and retrieve Bella’s older hasa, who was a doctor who specialized in complicated pregnancies. When Tink had arrived at the Rukkus settlement, Weston worked with both Tink and Cort to establish communication between the settlements. Communication had been established, but recently, the communication ended, and Weston was trying to understand why.
“I believe the sandstorm at the Rukkus settlement six passings ago damaged a part of Tink’s energy source. Cort tells me that there was another storm nearby three passings ago, and it might have damaged some of his radio. I believe Tink got her radio fixed, but we cannot determine how to fix the one here. I am going to bring Tink with me the next time we come, and she can help us reestablish communication.”
Lokun nodded. “Have you accomplished all that you need to here?”
“Aside from the radio, yes.” Weston studied him and looked into his eyes. “We are leaving now for the Rukkus settlement?”
“Yes. My Star pulls me to her.”
When Lokun had bonded with the human Star Miller and consumed her blood, the attribute that all could see changed was Lokun’s eyes. They changed from the typical Arkainian eyes of mostly white with a small plu of black surrounded by a thin arn of purple. The small plu protected the Arkainian eye from damage from the harsh, bright sun. It limited their vision, though, to directly in front.
Lokun’s eyes had changed to more resemble Star’s human eyes, with a larger pupil and iris. Lokun enjoyed what the humans called peripheral vision, but his eyes were much more sensitive in the light. Normal travel in the Outlands was done after the sun went below the sand, and, since both settlements were underground, Lokun’s eyes gave him little to worry about.
But as Star’s blood became depleted out of Lokun’s system, his eyes began to return to typical Arkainian eyes. To prevent severe distress, Lokun needed to return to Star before his eyes changed too much. Looking at his eyes now, Weston could see the beginning of the change, meaning Lokun needed to return to the Rukkus settlement.
Weston turned to Cort and placed his hand on Cort’s shoulder. “I will return soon to get the radio fixed. Try not to damage it further until I do.” He said the last part to Cort with humor in his voice. “May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe.” He leaned forward and bumped his ehlus against Cort’s.
Cort smiled and pushed at Weston in jest. “Just make sure you do not forget the Tinkerbell.”
Being the one who was stationed at the radio at the Shokus settlement, Cort spoke often with Tink, who was the one stationed at the radio in the Rukkus settlement. The two had developed a friendship over the radio and Cort was eager to meet Tink in person.
“She was upset that I did not bring her this time, but with the potential for attack, the general thought it best for her to stay behind.”
Cort nodded. “A wise decision, but the battle went cleanly, as they all do.”
“That is because we have the best general in Arkainian history on our side,” Weston said, smiling over at Lokun.
Lokun nodded, acknowledging the compliment. “Ready yourself, Weston. We must arrive at the settlement before the sun does.”
“I am ready, General,” Weston said, bending to reach for his and Lokun’s bag. He kept both canteens and slung his bag over his head and settled it across his chest. “I will fill the canteens and meet you up top.”
Lokun nodded and turned to Tam. “I trust you to handle any issues until the radio is repaired.” He lifted a hand and placed it on Tam’s shoulder. “May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe.”
Tam lifted his hand and placed it on Lokun’s shoulder. “May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe as well, General.”
Both males dropped their arms, and Lokun gave both Tam and Cort a nod before turning and walking purposefully to the stairs.
As if on cue, Captain Tam Sundus brought over a pack containing the provisions Lokun had promised. Tam had been the captain at the mining settlement before Lokun had taken over. While he had still been general, Lokun had trained Tam and had personally placed Tam as captain at the mining settlement because Lokun knew that Tam had both the skill and the courage to survive and lead the others in the harsh conditions of the Outlands.
When Lokun and the Shokus had attacked the mining settlement, Tam’s loyalty to Lokun had been tested, but in the end, Tam chose to abandon his military position and follow Lokun in his quest to save and protect the Sacred Mountain.
“If you survive,” Lokun said to the soldier as he purposefully donned the provided backpack. “Give your General Appus a message to provide to both the Glypha and the other generals: I am the protector of the Sacred Mountain. I will allow none to harm it while I still breathe Arkainian air. It matters not how many soldiers they send.” Lokun stared at the soldier, who met his eyes briefly before looking away. The soldier caught the eyes of the three males who had been in his unit. They looked away and over to Lokun.
“Go now. May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe.” With that, he turned away from the male, as did everyone who was in the area. The soldier paused for a moment before turning and walking out into the Outlands.
Once he was out of the area, Lokun turned and watched his retreating back. Tam came to stand next to him. “That was the fourteenth unit that General Appus has sent. No other generals have sent any units.”
Lokun nodded, still watching the soldier walk away. “When I was general, it was agreed upon that I would provide protection to Arkainia, and as such had the most ground units on the planet. The military outposts in each of the three cities were filled mostly with my soldiers.” He turned away from watching the soldier’s retreating back and over to Tam. “Jorial has sent none of them to attack.”
Tam cracked a half smile. “That is because he knows doing so will simply strengthen our numbers. Your soldiers are loyal to you, General. General Krymthus might have been your second in command, and the soldiers will follow his direction, but he will have to earn their loyalty before they will fight against you.”
Tam paused and contemplated his next words before speaking. “We are getting low on supplies. I wanted to discuss with you how we can go about getting what we need. Normally, we would dispatch two units to travel to the city. Perhaps if we do that, we can persuade some of the soldiers stationed there to join us.”
Lokun pondered the idea. “By my calculation, we now have eighty-two soldiers here. Is that correct?”
Tam nodded. “Eighty-two soldiers, fifty-seven humans, and twenty-five to thirty Shokus, but their numbers change as they come and go. At least twenty-five are steady here.”
Lokun turned to face Tam. “And you have been training the humans and Shokus to fight?”
Again, Tam nodded. “We are all accustomed to being busy. Getting the settlement up and running keeps many busy, but there is a lot of downtime. Idle hands create problems. To alleviate this, I mandated the soldiers to do routine drills and exercises. Many of the humans and some of the Shokus have begun to join us in the routine.”
“Excellent. When they fail to take back the mountain, the Glypha will send more soldiers to retaliate. There is a supply of diarok and golrok stored in each of the cities, but when those supplies run low, they will begin to get nervous.”
“Just as I am getting nervous that our supplies are running low.”
“Precisely.” Lokun paused and scanned the sand around him. Tam waited just watching him. “The Rukkus settlement can provide for itself. They do not need to resupply from the cities.” He turned to look at Tam. “What supplies are you low on?”
“Food, mainly. We have enough for half a moon rotation. A few passings less now with the additional fifteen soldiers.”
Lokun nodded. “There are plenty of people at the Rukkus settlement who are skilled at growing food. Perhaps I can persuade some of them to journey here with me the next time to teach some here how to grow food.”
“The crops will take time to grow.”
“I will see what supplies the Rukkus settlement can spare. If they cannot spare enough, I will heed your suggestion and have soldiers venture discretely into the city for supplies.”
“But not to recruit soldiers?”
“Let me ponder that. It feels dishonorable.” He turned again to Tam. “Are there any other issues we need to address?”
“There is the issue with lighting. Being above ground, lighting was not a concern. We used the sun to provide heat and light. With the settlement underground, it is cooler and darker. We are struggling to find enough light. We kept limited diarok from the mining operation, just what were needed. The rest went back to the mountain. But as the settlement grows, we lack sufficient light.
“The humans have said they have something called fire on their planet. There is a human who is skilled at studying the rocks, but he says there is not the right material in our rocks or wood to create this fire. They have tried piling pieces of dried branches up and have attempted to create fire, but they have been unsuccessful.”
“The lighting and heating are of concern at the Rukkus settlement as well. Weston is working with the human Tink. He tells me that she has an idea to generate energy from the sun to provide heat and light.” Lokun paused and took a deep breath of dusty air. It had taken over a sun rotation, but he had finally adjusted to the air and gravity on the planet.
Living nearly half of his life on a ship out in space, Lokun had been accustomed to breathing in clear, filtered air, and dealing with the gravity the ship stabilizers provided. When his masa had forced his retirement and he was on the planet surface permanently, the dusty air irritated the inside of his nose, and the gravity provided from the planet’s rotation made him feel heavy. Just like the humans who came to Arkainia, though, his body had adjusted to the living conditions he was immersed in.
“I will see what diarok there are at the Rukkus settlement that can be spared and brought here.” He turned and looked up at the mountain, looming like a gigantic triangle pointing up to the sky.
When Lokun had been promoted to general, he had his choice of what symbol he wished to be associated with. Each general had a unique shape embedded into the military uniform of every soldier under his command, so all knew who commanded which soldiers. Lokun chose a triangle as his symbol. To him, it represented stability. Using that as his basis of command, he secured three males he trusted to provide council to him. He also split all his units into three sections under three commanders. Furthermore, he would deploy no less than three units per mission.
He also had three males in charge of establishing and protecting the Shokus settlement he had created from the remains of the mining outpost. Tam oversaw the Arkainian soldiers, Chapman Mann oversaw of all the humans at the settlement. And Jensen Gerterus was the one he chose to keep the Shokus in line.
“Have you had any communication from Jensen?” Lokun asked Tam when the thought of Jensen came into his mind.
“He has come back several times to rest for a passing or two and then he is gone again. What mission have you sent him on? He will not tell me.”
“That is because I asked him not to.”
Jensen Gerterus had been the one who had allegedly been hired by Lokun’s masa to abduct Star away from him over a sun rotation ago. Jensen had come to Lokun’s living unit in Karkus and had shot them both with a plut dart. The dart did not have the effect on Lokun that Jensen had been expecting, and so Lokun had been able to restrain and question him.
After being questioned and revealing what he knew, Jensen had been released. He had gone back into the Outlands where Lokun and Weston had encountered him again on their way to the Rukkus settlement to find Star. This time, Jensen attempted to shoot Lokun with a plut dart, but Weston had put his arm in the way. Lokun had it in his mind to kill Jensen, and he would have, if not for an image of Dasus telling him not to kill. Lokun had spared Jensen’s life, changing the male’s opinion of Lokun.
When Lokun had come upon Jensen a third time, Jensen had saved Lokun from the sand beast that had injured Weston and would have done the same to Lokun given the opportunity. Jensen seemed to seek Lokun’s trust. It was Jensen who had provided the Shokus who had fought the original soldiers at the mining settlement so Lokun could take over the settlement and stop the mining under the Sacred Mountain.
Lokun looked over at Tam, who was watching him. Lokun sighed. “I sent him off to hunt down the living sand that escaped from the base of the mountain.”
“Weston had us stand guard to block the opening whenever he opened the door when we were building the bridge over the sand. How did some escape?”
“The sand escaped the first time Weston and I came here, well before I seized control over the mining settlement. Before we realized Weston’s ability to open the door, I used water to open it. Unlike when Weston uses his plant and the door closes immediately behind him, the water allowed the door to stay open. It was then that the sand escaped.”
“Weston told us that the sand takes the water out of anything that touches it.”
Lokun nodded. “When I first learned of it from Dasus, Weston and I came here to see if I could use it to my advantage in my attempt to take control of the mining settlement. Weston went into the sand. It weakened him and was only appeased by water. Dasus had told me that the sand drinks greedily. Giving it water was the only way it would release Weston from its grip.”
“I am thankful that you did not use the sand against us.”
“As am I. Once I realized how dangerous it was, we found another way.”
Tam smiled at the memory. “Your attack was efficient and successful, General, as were all of your missions according to the soldiers here.”
“Not all, but with careful planning, the loss was minimized.”
“Do you miss your life in the military, General?”
Tam’s question surprised Lokun. Tam was one who usually kept their discussions strictly about the settlement and the soldiers. But at Tam’s request, Lokun had brought Holu to the Shokus settlement on many occasions for Holu to teach those who were interested about the history of their race. Holu had told Lokun that Tam was curious and asked many questions.
“On some occasions, yes. I was a good general for Arkainia. I believed my purpose was to protect the planet and our people. I put my life in danger so the ones on the planet stayed safe. But now I realize, though my purpose remains the same, the way I go about it is different. I no longer travel among the stars to protect Arkainia. Now, I protect the Sacred Mountain which is the source for all life. By protecting the mountain, I protect the ones on the planet.”
“Even though they are the same ones who view males in the military as less than they are.”
“The females in Mesta view us that way, but their view will change over the sun rotations.” He looked over at Tam. “I will change the way they think of us.”
“How will you do that?”
Lokun’s mind went to the comment that his masa had said to him when she had first retired him. He had been angry with her and had told her that he wished to return to his life in the military. For the first time in his life, his masa had placed her hand on him denoting her affection for him. She had told him that changes were coming and that those changes were more important than his position of general in the Arkainian military. He had not understood what she had meant at the time, but now, he wondered if she had known all along that he would be in the position he was currently in.
Up until he came to the Outlands, Lokun believed, as all the people in the cities did, that their race had no mystical figures. There were no religious beliefs like the humans have. There was no belief in any divine figures, except for the thirteen females on the Glypha Committee that many viewed in that manner. The general belief was that the thirteen females of the first Glypha Committee were responsible for the start of their race. Any knowledge of the time before the Great War was erased from existence by the first Glypha Committee over seven hundred sun rotations ago. Only the Rukkus knew the truth.
The Arkainian race was started when Masa and Dasus mated and produced offspring. Dasus was an Arkain stag, a race of being native to Arkainia. The stags were hunted to extinction for their ability to alter their internal structure to mimic any other being whose blood they ingested. The purpose of this change was for the sake of reproduction and the continuation of their species. The ability to alter themselves was highly sought after by other beings in the galaxy.
Masa was not of Arkainia but had come with her people to the planet. The very mountain that Lokun was striving to protect was the ship Masa and her people had used to travel in the stars. They had fled their dying planet and, because of a ship malfunction, had landed on the barren and life-less planet to fix their ship. When they went to leave, they realized that their ship and taken hold and had bonded with the planet, digging its roots deep and altering the barren planet to sustain life.
Unable to adapt to the climate, Masa and her people had died off. But when her people died, they did not cease to be. Their lifeforce went back into the rocks of the mountain to feed future life. It is from the mountain that all life on the planet comes and to where the energy goes when the life ends.
“General?” Tam urged when Lokun fell silent.
“I am uncertain of how I will change their opinion, but I know this to be.”
He took another deep breath. As it often did when he did not force it onto other things, his thoughts drifted to Star. He and Weston had been away from the Rukkus settlement for three passings. He missed his Star, and he missed his little asa, named by Star as Mira Star Lokuna. Weston often offered to come to the settlement alone to handle any issues that had come up since their last visit, but Lokun always refused. This settlement was his responsibility. Given the chance, he knew he would never leave Star’s side if he did not force himself to go. The bond to Star was getting stronger and leaving her was getting more difficult. So he forced himself to leave just to prove to himself that he could.
He blinked and found Tam watching him.
“I must find Weston.”
“Are you leaving to return to the Rukkus settlement?”
“Yes, I feel the pull to return.”
Tam nodded but said nothing. The subject of why Lokun’s eyes looked different from traditional Arkainian eyes came up every so often when they gained new soldiers, but rarely did anyone ask him about Star or Mira. The original twenty-two soldiers who were on duty when Lokun had attacked and had taken over the settlement were present when he had brought Star to the mountain for her to give birth in the sacred waters. Weston had briefly explained why Lokun was bringing Star and why a bridge had been needed for safe passage over the living sand at the mountain’s base, but no one had asked him about it. Lokun was unsure of what he would say if anyone chose to ask.
“I think Weston is working with Cort on the radio for communications,” Tam said to him.
After one last look along the horizon of the Outlands, Lokun turned to Tam. “Then, let us go and hear what they have discovered.”
Lokun and Tam walked through the courtyard where the mining settlement used to be. After Lokun had taken over the outpost, he made the decision to move the newly established Shokus settlement to under the mountain where the mining tunnels had been carved out. Chapman Mann was the human in charge before Lokun had taken over. Chap had been a miner on Earth and had come over on the first transport ship that had come to Arkainia over eleven sun rotations ago. Chap knew the tunnels better than anyone else and had taken a leadership role when determining which tunnels could be combined and which ones had to stay for stability.
The entrance to the Rukkus settlement was kept a mystery by what Star called an illusion, or a deceit of the eyes. The opening was concealed when the wall directly behind the opening was of the same material and design as the walls on either side of the opening. Looking directly at it, one could not see the opening at all. Lokun had decided that was how he wanted the opening of the Shokus settlement to look as well. Walking up to the opening now, he noticed that the humans and Arkainians who had worked on the opening had done an excellent job. The illusion of this opening was, perhaps, even better than the one at the Rukkus settlement.
Walking through, Lokun followed Tam down the carved stairs. Because of the limited number of yellow diarok allowed, the stairway was not lit, but Lokun could see well enough to not hinder his downward progress. Once at the bottom, the area opened into a cavernous space much like the Rukkus settlement. The top of the cave was not quite as high, and the area was smaller, but the settlement was growing as more Shokus and soldiers came.
Tam led the way through the busy settlement. Any soldier they passed bowed his head when Lokun walked by, and Lokun gave him a nod back. Some of the humans also nodded. During his tenure in the military, Lokun had taken the time to know every captain under his command. He refused to send someone into battle unless he was sure he was sending the correct person. Relating that to the settlement, Lokun was taking the time to know every human and Arkainian who was under his protection. He would take the time to meet the fifteen newest soldiers when he took them to the alter stone to give the metal in their military uniform back to the mountain. He usually gave them some time to adjust to their new life before he insisted that they give up their uniform, though most had already stopped wearing it before he insisted that they did.
Lokun spotted Weston sitting by Cort Primstus. Cort had been under Lokun’s command when he had been in the military. During a Traxan battle, Cort had lost the three infantry soldiers in his unit to the buried weapon the Traxan so often used. Seeing how grief-stricken Cort was, Lokun had relocated him to what he figured was an easy assignment while he recovered his state of mind. Lokun had assigned him to work with Tam in the mining settlement for a sun rotation. Just before the sun rotation assignment was up, Lokun had attacked the settlement and Cort had abandoned his military post to join Lokun and Weston. Being both distance soldiers, Cort and Weston had developed a friendship, and Weston was, more often than not, with Cort when Lokun was looking for him.
Cort looked back and saw Tam and Lokun approaching. He nudged Weston before standing and bowing his head. “General.”
Weston rose to his feet and faced Lokun. He did not bow but gave Lokun a nod.
“What have you discovered here about the loss of communication?” Lokun asked.
When she had left Karkus to travel with Sturm Merkornus and Luna Khalil, Tina Bell, affectionately called Tink, had brought with her the radio she had used to contact Jorial on his ship when Lokun had needed to send a message to him regarding Star’s pregnancy complications. Lokun had asked Jorial to travel to Earth and retrieve Bella’s older hasa, who was a doctor who specialized in complicated pregnancies. When Tink had arrived at the Rukkus settlement, Weston worked with both Tink and Cort to establish communication between the settlements. Communication had been established, but recently, the communication ended, and Weston was trying to understand why.
“I believe the sandstorm at the Rukkus settlement six passings ago damaged a part of Tink’s energy source. Cort tells me that there was another storm nearby three passings ago, and it might have damaged some of his radio. I believe Tink got her radio fixed, but we cannot determine how to fix the one here. I am going to bring Tink with me the next time we come, and she can help us reestablish communication.”
Lokun nodded. “Have you accomplished all that you need to here?”
“Aside from the radio, yes.” Weston studied him and looked into his eyes. “We are leaving now for the Rukkus settlement?”
“Yes. My Star pulls me to her.”
When Lokun had bonded with the human Star Miller and consumed her blood, the attribute that all could see changed was Lokun’s eyes. They changed from the typical Arkainian eyes of mostly white with a small plu of black surrounded by a thin arn of purple. The small plu protected the Arkainian eye from damage from the harsh, bright sun. It limited their vision, though, to directly in front.
Lokun’s eyes had changed to more resemble Star’s human eyes, with a larger pupil and iris. Lokun enjoyed what the humans called peripheral vision, but his eyes were much more sensitive in the light. Normal travel in the Outlands was done after the sun went below the sand, and, since both settlements were underground, Lokun’s eyes gave him little to worry about.
But as Star’s blood became depleted out of Lokun’s system, his eyes began to return to typical Arkainian eyes. To prevent severe distress, Lokun needed to return to Star before his eyes changed too much. Looking at his eyes now, Weston could see the beginning of the change, meaning Lokun needed to return to the Rukkus settlement.
Weston turned to Cort and placed his hand on Cort’s shoulder. “I will return soon to get the radio fixed. Try not to damage it further until I do.” He said the last part to Cort with humor in his voice. “May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe.” He leaned forward and bumped his ehlus against Cort’s.
Cort smiled and pushed at Weston in jest. “Just make sure you do not forget the Tinkerbell.”
Being the one who was stationed at the radio at the Shokus settlement, Cort spoke often with Tink, who was the one stationed at the radio in the Rukkus settlement. The two had developed a friendship over the radio and Cort was eager to meet Tink in person.
“She was upset that I did not bring her this time, but with the potential for attack, the general thought it best for her to stay behind.”
Cort nodded. “A wise decision, but the battle went cleanly, as they all do.”
“That is because we have the best general in Arkainian history on our side,” Weston said, smiling over at Lokun.
Lokun nodded, acknowledging the compliment. “Ready yourself, Weston. We must arrive at the settlement before the sun does.”
“I am ready, General,” Weston said, bending to reach for his and Lokun’s bag. He kept both canteens and slung his bag over his head and settled it across his chest. “I will fill the canteens and meet you up top.”
Lokun nodded and turned to Tam. “I trust you to handle any issues until the radio is repaired.” He lifted a hand and placed it on Tam’s shoulder. “May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe.”
Tam lifted his hand and placed it on Lokun’s shoulder. “May Masa and Dasus watch over you and keep you safe as well, General.”
Both males dropped their arms, and Lokun gave both Tam and Cort a nod before turning and walking purposefully to the stairs.
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