I picked up the picture of Tyfanni and I a couple months before she caught the plague, looking lively and carefree. Her long, golden brown locks were perfectly placed and her sort of golden hazel eyes were sparkling not unlike the way the Chief’s had. She was pretty much smiling, her lips curved upwards, so not as eccentric as the Chief’s smile, but it was much more natural than mine had been in the picture and still was now.
“I did it, Tyff. I made it onto the fleet! I’m lieutenant, or as I shall be referred to from now on, Lieutenant Dawn. This boy Zadrian Archer is chief now, and he reminds me of you. He’s so cheerful. I miss you so much Tyff, and I promise that I am going to rip the stone cold heart out of every last Zorak, and then I’ll find the cure. I swear on my life, Tyff. I love you,” I said to the picture, and if I had the ability to cry, the tears would’ve come easily, but none fell.
I carefully put the picture into the bag, and then looked over at the picture at Mom and Dad. It was when they were younger, maybe late twenties. My mom was laughing so hard, her shoulder-length blonde hair flying around her and dark blue eyes filled with love. Dad was laughing too, dark brown hair gelled up, his arms around Mom, with his face buried into her neck. His smile was so big it made his eyes close shut, only letting a little bit of the dark green hue through.
I think I was the only one in my family who didn’t possess the ability to even remotely smile, and was probably the least joyful of the bunch. Tyff and Mom and Dad were always having fun, but I was always out hunting or practicing fist fighting in our old yard.
I packed that picture too, along with a few more of the whole family. I quckly changed into the uniform, and pinned the lieutenant sign on my left breast. There was nothing else I could think to bring, so I started to make my way up to the docking station, to find that Chief Archer was already there.
“Hey,” he said, and walked over to me. He had a small bag not unlike mine, and probably about as full.
“Hey,” I replied sullenly, the wind blowing my hair into my face, so I was practically unable to see Zadrian, other than flashes of raised lips and a dark uniform.
“Are you excited?” He asked, seeming very excited himself. He seemed quite childish for what his age appeared to be, bouncing on his knees and twiddling his thumbs anxiously.
“Um, yeah, I guess?” I answered, just wanting him to stop talking, and thank the Gods, The Ajaxia flew down from the sky and onto the dock.
It was definitely huge, lengthwise being exactly 1, 554 feet long. In the front there were two jets, and in the back there six, all sprouting blue and white firepower. On the side, in elegantly printed white letters, ‘The Ajaxia” was scrolled. It was all black metal, so it could be nearly impossible to see in the middle of the galaxy against the darkness. A giant door on one side opened, and Commander Donnika appeared.
Her red hair reached her hips, and was tied into a very long braid. Her piercing green eyes could probably kill with a single cold look, and she wore her Commander badge (a golden, silver and black star all intertwined) proudly. Surprisingly, she only looked to be about 25, which was very young considering her status. She gave a quick salute, as did the Chief and I in response.
“We have selected you two among hundreds of citizens to be on The Ajaxian fleet. If you fail to serve us as we assumed you would, you will die. If you do not do what you are told, you will die. If you make one little mistake, you will die. Do you read me?” She asked, her voice harsh on every ‘die’. The Chief and I both nodded in reply.
“If you are addressing me or responding to my questions, you will always finish your statement with sir,” she added.
“Yes, sir,” the Chief and I said simultaneously.
“Well then, Chief Archer, Lieutenant Dawn, welcome aboard The Ajaxia. You shall receive the tour tomorrow at exactly thirteen hours, but for now, you shall be shown to your rooms where you may get settled. Lieutenant Dawn, I had been told you are acquainted with another soldier aboard the ship, Major Blitz, I believe?”
“Yes, sir,” I answered.
“Yes so I have given her permission to welcome you aboard the ship when she is not on duty,”
“Thank you, sir,” I responded, excited to see Vendelynne, or Major Blitz, again. She had been my only friend, having met in grade school, when I had ‘accidentally’ punch a little boy named Pluto Walker, and she had defended me for whatever reason. She still has not told me to this day, 9 years later.
The Commander motioned for us to enter The Ajaxia, which we did. Inside the ship, the walls were silver, and the floors a black marble. Two officers, one female, one male, were waiting for us. The male one took the Chief’s arm, as did the female to mine, I turned around to see the Chief waving at me and was mouthing something. Mea-Meat, wait that could only be meet, ma-, no me, in, tho-tha; the, ka-kaf-a-tear-ee-ah; cafeteria, lay-tur; later. Meet me in the cafeteria later. I quickly gave him a nod and turned around to follow along with the officer.
“My name is Officer Zora. I have been aboard The Ajaxia for 3 and a half years, and I shall be escorting you to your room,” she said. Her hair had been dyed a pale blue colour to match the hue of the uniform’s tank top, and her eyes were a blue and brown kind of hazel colour.
Officer Zora took me around a couple of bends that I tried to keep track of but eventually forgot, until we stopped in front of a tall, steel door, with Lieutenant Dawn’s Quarters engraved upon it. She slid a key card threw the lock, which was followed by a clicking noise, and the door opening.
“Welcoming, Lieutenant Dawn. I am Neon, your room. You may ask me anything you wish, and I shall reply openly,” a voice suddenly said from out of nowhere. I spun around quickly looking for the source, when Officer Zora grabbed my shoulders. “Aboard Ajaxia, we have complex programming in each of our quarters to support our needs,” she explained, and then left without another word.
The room was simple enough; a white bed, white walls, a white dresser, the same black marble floors as on the rest of the ship, and a bathroom. I put the pictures I had packed onto the dresser, and took a quick shower, relishing the hot water when it fell onto my face. I got out after a lot longer than I intended, and changed into the uniform.
I thought I might take a nap, and after brushing my teeth with a fancy automatic toothbrush, and went back into the bedroom. I found a window in the corner of the room though, so instead of taking a nap, I lifted the blinds. We still hadn’t left Earth yet, although I could hear the engines that were turned on.
I had nothing to miss on Earth, but it still felt like I was leaving Mom, Dad and Tyfanni behind. The Zoraks were going to pay, that was inevitable, and I was going to keep my promise to Tyff.
I was about to actually flop onto the bed, as I was suddenly feeling a bit tired, when a cold, slimy hand was clasped around my mouth. I was going to kick whoever was there, but then there suddenly was a gag in my mouth and my wrists were clasped together, along with my ankles.
“Where is he? Where is the warrior?” A hard, slithery voice whispered in my ears. I wasn’t going to freak out, I had never been able to, and now was not a time for firsts. But then it hit me. I recognized that voice. It was the same voice that had laughed before disappearing after I found both my parents left in pieces on the kitchen floor. It was the voice of a Zorak.
Ember Bound 