Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

Turi’s fingers moved over the datapad’s glowing surface, her eyes scanning the lines of text that filled the screen. The words, written in Ellion’s precise script, spoke of a time long past, a history that had been deliberately hidden from her people. The dimly lit chamber beneath the surface of Rakid was silent, save for the soft rustling of pages as Ara, in her shadowy Terian form, pored over the ancient journal that Turi had found in the fortress library.

The hours slipped by, unnoticed, as Turi delved deeper into Ellion’s missing memories. The journal entries were a mixture of factual reports and personal reflections, a chronicle of the Zaruxian’s internal struggle as he sought to reconcile his duty to the Axis with his growing compassion for the Terians under his watch. It was a tale of awakening, of a heart slowly thawing from centuries of enforced isolation and cold detachment. Then, she read something that made her heart race.

“Ara,” Turi’s voice broke the quiet, her tone low and urgent. “I think you should see this.”

Ara’s head looked up from the journal and nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Long have I served the Axis, carrying out their orders without question,” Turi read aloud, her voice echoing softly in the chamber. “But I have learned how to operate the fortress at its full capabilities. I came across ancestry logs in one of the auxiliary memory banks. I have brothers. Five brothers, all dispersed in the Axis’ evil system. My only goal now is to restore this fortress to its true form as a starship and leave this planet. I will find them.” Turi looked up. “He has five brothers? Did you know this?”

“No,” Ara replied. “He didn’t share that with me. It seems that was knowledge he wanted to keep secret. I can’t blame him.”

Turi looked at the files remaining on the datapad. “It wasn’t long after this that the entries end.”

“The Axis discerned what he was doing.” Ara placed the journal down. “And took it all away.”

“Here’s a question,” Turi mused, tapping her chin. “Why did the Axis let Ellion keep the fortress? They must have known it was a ship.”

“Not necessarily,” said Ara. “We know the fortress was here before the Axis created Penal Colony 5-11B. My peoples’ accounts of the Zaruxians and the Axis are a bit unreliable—they just weren’t interested in what was going on over the mountain, but it’s been widely said that there were Zaruxians in that fortress. There was a battle, the Zaruxians lost and were abducted by the Axis. It stayed abandoned for several hundred years before the Axis returned, took over vast swaths to make their penal colony, and installed Ellion as the overseer.”

Turi’s jaw dropped. “They never searched or scanned it? The Axis would be more thorough than that.”

“Maybe they did and found rooms like the library—full of moldering books—and a defunct control room buried so deep in the fortress, it looked harmless. They wouldn’t be able to activate anything. It needs a Zaruxian present to power up. I tried, once, after Ellion’s second memory wipe. It stayed dark.”

Turi’s mind raced as she considered their options. “The fortress is out of the question,” she said, her voice heavy with disappointment. “We can’t operate it, and even if we could, we have nowhere to go.”

Ara nodded, her shadowy form shifting slightly. “The Skrac lands are hidden and protected, but they are not a sanctuary for those who are not of our kind. And we cannot take on the Axis alone.”

Turi’s gaze fell on the datapad and the ancient journal, the weight of their history pressing down on her. “The Riests can read,” she mused, a spark of an idea flickering to life. “They are the ones who maintain the records and enforce the Axis’ laws. If they read the beginning of the first journal, which documents our peoples’ arrival, they’d know the truth about our past. They’d learn the Axis’ deception and could tell the rest of the people.”

Ara’s edges blurred, her form shivering with unease. “The Riests are deeply entrenched in the Axis’ doctrine. They may not believe what they read, even if it comes from Ellion’s own hand.”

“But it’s a chance we have to take,” Turi insisted, her determination growing with each passing moment. “If we can show them the evidence of the Axis’ lies, we might be able to sway them to our side. They have influence over the Terians, and if they start questioning the Axis, it could lead to a widespread uprising.”

Ara considered this, her gaze thoughtful. “It’s a risky plan, Turi. If the Riests refuse to listen, or worse, if they consider you a threat to the Axis…”

“I know,” Turi replied, her voice steady despite remembering the Terian whose eyes were taken out by Riests because the male had secretly learned to read. “But we have to try. Ellion is facing the Axis alone, and we can’t let his sacrifice be in vain. We need to show the Terians that there’s a different path—one that doesn’t lead to subjugation and fear.”

Ara nodded, her form solidifying into that of a Terian once more. “Then we will go to the settlement. We will bring the journal and show it to the Riests. We’ll force them to read it, if we must, and hope their minds are open to the truth.”

Turi’s heart pounded with a mix of excitement and apprehension as she stood. She tucked the journal back in the pouch. “Let’s go,” she said, her voice filled with a newfound courage and resolve. “We have a fight to win.”

Ara’s shadowy hands reached out, resting gently on Turi’s shoulders. “If your people turn on you, I won’t be able to fight them all off on my own. May the strength of your ancestors guide you, Turi.”

“The Riests will listen.” They had to. Turi’s grip on the pouch tightened.

Turi and Ara left the hidden chamber deep within the Rakid lands and ascended to the surface. The weight of their task settled heavily on Turi’s shoulders. The path ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, but she knew that the time for action had come. For her and Ellion. For her five friends who had been abducted.

The tunnel beneath the mountain was narrow and claustrophobic, its walls pressing in on Turi as she and Ara made their way through the darkness. The air was cool and damp, the only sound the soft shuffle of their footsteps echoing through the silence. Turi clutched the pouch containing the journal tightly against her chest, her heart pounding with a mix of determination and fear.

After what felt like an eternity, they emerged from the tunnel into the quiet stillness of the settlement. The predawn hour was dark. The sky above lay cloaked with the swirling vortex of the Axis’ communications array. It cast a dim, ominous glow over the landscape. The settlement was quiet, the fields of dormant sogfrut plants stretching out like a silent, eerie expanse under the faint moonlight.

“Stay close to me,” Turi whispered. “The Riests’ hut is this way.”

“I know where they are,” Ara hissed. Her shadowy form shifted, melting down to a blob from her Terian shape. “I don’t like this, Turi.”

“Me either,” Turi said as she led the way through the deserted streets. The Riests’ hut was the nicest building in the settlement, its walls made of sturdy wood and its roof thatched with dried leaves. Inside, three Riests slept on simple beds, their forms silhouetted against the dim light filtering through the small windows.

Turi approached the nearest Riest. Her heart beat like a hammer. She’d never been inside the Riests’ residence. It was off limits, of course. But now she straightened her back to take on a more intimidating appearance. “Onis,” she said, addressing the Riest by name.

The Riest’s eyes snapped open, widening in terror as he took in Turi and the shadowy figure looming over him. A strangled cry escaped his lips, waking the other two Riests.

“What…what is this?” Onis stammered, scrambling back against the wall, his eyes wide with fear.

“Silence,” Ara commanded, her voice low and authoritative as her form rose to a Terian-like shape, but taller and more imposing in appearance. “You will stay where you are and listen. We have something to show you.” She raised an arm and pointed at them. “Do not anger me.”

The other two Riests sat up, their faces pale. “W-who are you?” one of them demanded, his voice shaking.

Turi stepped forward, pulled off her cloak and held up the pouch containing the journal. “I am Turi, daughter of Tregit. I come with information that will change everything.”

The Riests exchanged nervous glances, their eyes flicking between Turi and the menacing shadow. “Are you returning to the settlements to take your place as Thraip’s mate?” the eldest one asked.

“What?” Turi replied, having forgotten all about Thraip. “No. I’m here—”

“Then we have no interest in what you have to say,” Onis cut in. His eyes were hard, cold. “We will call for help and have you locked in your father’s home.”

“Try it,” Ara snarled, “and you’ll be dead before you utter your first word.”

That shut them up, although she couldn’t imagine Ara following through on such a threat.

Turi’s gaze locked on the youngest of the three, who seemed slightly less terrified than his companions, and pulled the journal from her bag. “As you know, I have been living at the fortress with the overseer. I have learned to read and with it, the truth about our people and the Axis. You must read this journal. It documents our people’s arrival here and the Axis’ deception.”

The youngest Riest hesitated, then reached out a trembling hand, taking the journal from Turi. “What is this?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“It is a personal log book of the overseer at the beginning of our time on this planet,” Turi explained. “It reveals the truth about our past. We are not native to this planet. We were brought here as prisoners. The Axis have manipulated us into believing they are gods.”

The Riests exchanged glances, their faces etched with disbelief and fear. “This is blasphemy,” Onis spat. “The Axis is our savior, our protector. They have given us this land, this life.”

“A life of suffering and servitude,” Turi countered, her voice firm. “The Axis are not divine. They are an interstellar conglomerate that profits from imprisoning entire species, including ours. They have lied to us, manipulated us, and forced us to work their fields for their gain.”

The youngest Riest’s eyes widened as he flipped through the pages of the journal. “This…is the overseer’s handwriting,” he murmured. “If what you say is true, and this book backs up these claims, then everything we know is…a lie.” He had a hard time getting that last word out.

“It is true,” Ara interjected, her form shifting slightly, becoming less intimidating. “My kind already lived here long before the Axis created this penal colony. I have seen the truth with my own eyes. The Axis have hidden it from you, but it is time you knew what is real.”

The oldest Riest, Onis, snorted, his eyes narrowing. “You expect us to believe this…this specter and some scribbles in a book?”

Turi stepped closer, her gaze fixed on the youngest Riest. “You must read it,” she said, her voice urgent. “Open your minds to the possibility that what you have been taught, and even what you have enforced, is a lie. See the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or frightening it may be.”

The youngest Riest nodded, swallowing hard. “I will read it,” he said, his voice firm. “The truth is important. And we need to know what it is.”

Turi let out a sigh of relief, even if they were only reading it under threat of death from a being that terrified them. Onis’s eyes flashed with anger, but the young Riest held the journal firmly, his gaze fixed on the pages. Turi knew that this was only the beginning. Convincing the Riests of the truth would be a difficult task, but she also knew that it was a necessary one.

As the Riests began to read, Turi and Ara stepped back, their eyes fixed on the three males who held the key to the Terians’ future. Turi’s heart pounded with a mix of hope and apprehension, but she also knew that whatever happened next, she and Ara had taken the first step toward revealing the truth and freeing her people from the Axis’ grip.