Zherosha Chronicles- Unknown Origin Read online

  Zherosha Chronicles:

  Unknown Origin

  Nancie Neal

  Copyright © 2018 Nancie Neal

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN:9781729255759

  Dedication

  To my husband who supported me though all of this and most of all, to God who gave me the drive to finish.

  .

  CONTENTS.

  Acknowledgments

  i

  Prologue

  1

  Chapter One

  5

  Chapter Two

  16

  Chapter Three

  24

  Chapter Four

  29

  Chapter Five

  40

  Chapter Six

  54

  Chapter Seven

  59

  Chapter Eight

  70

  Chapter Nine

  76

  Chapter Ten

  81

  Chapter Eleven

  86

  Chapter Twelve

  96

  Chapter Thirteen

  103

  Chapter Fourteen

  109

  Chapter Fifteen

  115

  Chapter Sixteen

  120

  Chapter Seventeen

  127

  Chapter Eighteen

  133

  Chapter Nineteen

  141

  Chapter Twenty

  144

  Chapter Twenty-one

  154

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  161

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  166

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  171

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  176

  Chapter Twenty-six

  181

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  189

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  196

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  202

  Chapter Thirty

  209

  Chapter Thirty-one

  213

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  217

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  223

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  230

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  236

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  241

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  247

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Michael Pilgrim and Brandy Sharpe for helping to make this possible.

  Prologue

  Cycle: #6985.332 9.075

  Status: Urgent

  Situation: Attack on Mahla Staging base; 15 injuries, 2 deaths. Unidentified ships, unknown entity signatures

  Action taken: Retreat, request more evaluation

  ###

  Zeth stopped reading his tablet as he stepped out of the research building. He looked up at the five towers that overlooked the city of Zherosha. The rikta fluid that flowed between the polymers gave the towers a silver-blue hue. Standing tall on the wall of the crater that nestled the city, they housed the officials including the Leader. Two cargo ships flew by as they prepped to land in the central dome hangar. That is where he needed to be, and it seemed so far away.

  Sighing, he looked down towards the large opening in front of him. The large rectangle opening cut into the rock. Stains marked the old track where the blast doors once stood. Looking across the massive cavity, Zeth brought his tablet under his cape. He had to battle the crowd to get to the lifts to the towers. The air was abuzz with talk of the End of Cycle celebrations. He felt as if he were the only one not in a celebratory mood.

  It wasn't long before he was stopped as he started his trek across the smooth floor of the hangar.

  "Naei, Advisor Zeth!"

  He glanced over to see the ship engineer supervisor wave. One of the two Natisiens stood up, patting his chest. He looked at his squatting coworker studying an open panel on a small transport ship. He gave him a shove which sent the squatting Natisien sprawling.

  "Look!" The standing Natisien said, pointing in Zeth's direction.

  The second Natisien saw Zeth, jumped to his feet and patted his chest.

  Zeth chuckled as he acknowledged them with a nod.

  He almost made it past the ship before he had to stop to let a young Inersien struggling with two rather large cases pass by him. The boy was small, even for an Inersien. Zeth was impressed that he could carry so much for his size.

  "Bringing your project home?"

  "I'm so close to finishing it, but I won't finish it in time for the shutdown. I can finish it at home."

  "You shouldn't be carrying so much. You could injure yourself." Putting his hand on the boy's shoulder, Zeth waved over a Natisien youth. She skipped over towards them, her fiery red braids bouncing with each step.

  "Are you busy?" He asked, looking up at her.

  She shook her head.

  "Would you mind helping him with his cases?"

  She smiled, showing the dimples in her cheeks. Taking both of the cases, she placed them on her head. Zeth watched the children walked towards the transport tube.

  He managed to get a little farther before a group of students and their instructors crossed his path. They gathered in an open area next to the lifts, close to the transport tube entrance. He could sense the head instructor's presence from behind.

  "You seem distressed." Zeth heard the voice in his head.

  "City matters," Zeth cast a thought back turning to look at the instructor. He saw the anxious looks on the children's faces, and he realized that he was projecting his stress. He pulled the hood of his cape over his head. "I'll have to tell you later in private."

  The head instructor nodded as he turned to his students. Zeth stepped into the center lift. After a moment, the platform glowed beneath his feet.

  Concerned for the delay, Zeth made a note on his tablet. When the lift brought him to the top, he finished and looked up.

  The city's Leader, Zakkon stood waiting along with his youngest son, Anias.

  Zeth watched as Anias brushed his darkening hair aside. Darkening hair showed a sign of physical maturity. It wouldn't be long before his hair is black and boy would be old enough to take over for his father soon if his father were to retire.

  "Prompt, as usual," Zakkon said, "So what do you have?"

  "More attacks, but not by the usual raiders," Zeth said. "These attacks were a lot more sophisticated. I got the information this morning. I just submitted the data a few moments ago."

  He stopped, not sure how to tell Zakkon. He glanced uneasily at Anias.

  "What happened?" Zakkon asked.

  "We lost the line to Mahla."

  "Loss of life?"

  "Minimal." Zeth double checked his tablet. "Two Natisiens died. It's fortunate that the commander saw what was happening and retreated. It might have been much worse. There were other injuries, but it seems that they were able to treat them on the site."

  "Did they attack Mahla?"

  "I don't know. These new raiders attacked the staging base closest to Mahla. I don't think we had any ships on the planet at the time."

  Zakkon paused for a moment.

  "We started trading with them only recently," He said. "We didn't lose much. Be sure to tell the commander that he did the right thing. Let the security fleet refresh themselves. After, send them to the staging bases near Hemeria and Nahbor, in case we need the reinforcements there. Have the researchers analyze the data and come up with strategies for this new threat. Mahla was promising, but it's too far to spend resources there. If we figure out these raiders soon enough, we could start trading with them again." Z
eth nodded and made notes on his tablet.

  "I don't think these… new raiders will be a problem," he mused.

  Zeth stopped tapping for a moment. He looked up at Zakkon.

  "We don't know who they are," Zeth said. "We don't know what they are capable of."

  "They are far. I doubt these entities will make it all the way here. It isn't an easy trip, you know."

  Zeth didn't say anything. Instead, he gave Zakkon an intense look.

  "Come, now. You don't…" Zakkon paused.

  "We. Don't. Know." Zeth stayed firm. "We should take every precaution if…"

  "Why don't we ask your daughter?"

  Zeth hesitated. "I don't know if we should put that much pressure on her."

  "She knows that her answer will only be for insight."

  Annoyed, Zeth didn't respond and stared at Zakkon. In the past, Zeth's daughter, through her innocence came up with a few solutions to some puzzling problems. Ever since, when the two men would get into a disagreement, Zakkon would insist on including her in some of the discussions. It made Zeth uneasy. He thought his daughter a little young to be involved in such matters. It also went against protocol to include a non-citizen in city discussions.

  "Amnika does like to give her input," Anias said, breaking the tense moment.

  The two men looked at him. Zeth almost forgot that he stood there. It wasn't unusual for Zakkon's son to be so quiet, and it did contrast his father's animated, spontaneous nature.

  "You're right," Zeth sighed. "Her young mind does give us a unique perspective, now doesn't it? I suppose you two will want to visit." Zeth glanced at his tablet. "We hadn't had a friendly meal in a while. I'll have to ask my wife first. She doesn't always have the energy so late in the day. If Natia is free, she might help."

  "Well, even if we don't pose the question, I would still like to see your daughter's project." Zakkon put his hand on Zeth's shoulder. "How is that coming along?"

  Chapter One

  "Amnika!"

  Amnika could hear footsteps walk into the room she was in.

  "Mother wants you to go to the market with her."

  Amnika untangled herself from the mass of wires and electronics and peered over the table. Her brother stood in the doorway, leaning up against the post. His black hair contrasted his pale skin. His silver-blue eyes stared intently in her direction.

  "Oh, Petrez. You're home!" She ducked back behind the table to pick up some dropped parts. "How were the mines?"

  "Well, I’m the head supervisor already." There was a hint of pride in his voice. "So, how is my little sister? How is your…" He paused, and Amnika could hear parts shuffling above her.

  "How is your project?" Another pause. "New rikta generators?"

  "Zakkon commissioned it. He was afraid I was going to bring down the system again."

  Petrez chuckled. "We live and learn. Using the main power grid was probably a bad idea in retrospect."

  A strand of her hair tickled Amnika's nose, and she tucked it into her braid. "It's supposed to work now, but I'm not getting a response." She stood up, nearly hitting her head on the cubbies above her. The strand refused to stay in and fell into her face again. "I'm double checking the connections. I wish I could purchase better connectors instead of having to patch them together to make them work. You should see all the wires below the table I have to sort through!"

  Petrez narrowed his eyes at her. "You aren't wearing a cape!"

  "It's an insulated room. I don't need my cape!" Amnika crossed her arms.

  "The door is open." Petrez also crossed his arms and glanced back at the door. Amnika noticed his stern expression made him look very much like their father.

  "But I'm keeping my emotions even, and my cape is within reach. I can grab it in a hurry, see?" Her voice wavered as she grabbed her cape that was at the edge of the table and put it on. She struggled with the clasp, her resolve gone. "It's not likely I will distract anyone."

  "You are a very strong Inersien. A little frustration with your project and everyone knows it." Petrez helped her clip the fastener together. "Now, Did you double check your code?"

  Dropping her hands to her side, Amnika responded with an irritated sigh.

  "I mean, check for missing syntax yet again. You know how easy it is to miss simple errors. Maybe you should have someone else check the code."

  "Father already checked the base code," Amnika said. "It seems to be okay. There might be a problem with the editable code. It's a self-correcting program. If there's nothing wrong with the base program, it should correct the problem code. Maybe, or at least, I hope so."

  "What if it doesn't know that there's something wrong?" Petrez asked. "It's supposed to speak, right?"

  "Well, yeah. It's supposed to, but…" Amnika paused and stared at the device. "Maybe I should check the code for voice modulation. I may have typed in the wrong figures throwing the algorithm off." Amnika poked at one of the loose components. "If Father isn't busy, he said he would check that code later." Amnika paused. "By the concerned look he had when he stopped by this morning, I don't think that's going to happen."

  "I noticed it too. Earlier I saw him walk by as I came out of the insulated rooms. I didn't stop him because he looked too focused."

  He paused for a moment. Amnika caught on to one of his thoughts. She saw in her brother's point of view, her father's furrow brow as he walked past towards the lifts. He didn't even look over at Petrez.

  "He's clutching that tablet of his under his cape, no doubt," Amnika cast a thought to her brother.

  Petrez chuckled. "Well, Mother is expecting you to go with her now."

  Amnika eyed the box sitting on the table.

  "I guess I could use a break."

  She squeezed her brother's arm, and he gave her a side hug.

  "I have someone I'm going to meet. We'll come by later." Petrez said, and he walked out of the room. Amnika followed him through the door, by the lifts to the upper bedrooms, and into the main gathering room. A Natisien woman walked between her and her brother, allowing him to gain some distance. Amnika glanced up at her childhood guardian, then back at Petrez who now stood by her mother in the cooking area. The smell of her mother's cooking caught her off guard.

  Pointing to the Natisien Amnika asked, "We have guests coming over?" At that moment, she realized that the plush seats in the family area were all pushed closer together. "You are waiting on a spare table?"

  "Yes, the table should arrive soon. The table we need is too big for the delivery system, so we have to wait for it. I'm not sure how many are visiting so I ordered a size larger. Natia is here to help me out." Her mother sighed. "I don't have the energy like I used to."

  Petrez glanced over at Amnika and cleared his throat. "Natia will make more than enough food. We can feed half the community!" He hugged Amnika's mother. "You do look well, though, Glondikia. I wish I could stay, but I'm going to meet someone. Perhaps we'll be by later." He headed out the door to the outside, turning momentarily to give Amnika a wink.

  Amnika tilted her head and watched him disappear from sight. What kind of surprise did he have planned? She looked at her mother who walked over to Amnika and opened her cape a little.

  "You should change into your formals. You know how important it is to your father."

  "My formals, Mother?" Amnika protested, "We'll be with the Natisiens!"

  "I know you like playing with the children there, but you are no Natisien." Mother dropped the edges of the cape.

  "Inersiens injure easily," Natia agreed.

  "Shall I remind you," Mother continued as she nodded, "how many times you injured yourself?"

  Sighing, Amnika walked over to the lift to her room. She knew better than to argue with her mother, or her father would deal with her later. She remembered the last time her father and the head instructor scanned her because she did something wrong. It was uncomfortable for her, and she didn't want to go through it again.

  When she entered her room, some
one already laid out her formals onto her bed. She took off her cape and her outer clothes revealing her health monitor suit. The top, instead of fitting snug across her torso, bunched up around her chest. The bottom was also feeling a little tight.

  She touched one of the wall panels in her room, and it cleared away to show her looking at herself. Her suit wrinkled in odd areas on her chest and it tugged at the lower half. If the two parts weren't connected, Amnika figured that the top would ride up.

  As she tugged at her suit, she could hear the lift activate.

  "Amnika?" Amnika's mother sounded annoyed. "I put out clothes for you to speed things along. Is there a problem?"

  "My suit doesn't fit right anymore," Amnika said. "Actually, I think it's been this way for a little while, but now it seems to be worse."

  Amnika turned to face her mother.

  "Well, then," she smiled. "You are growing up, now aren’t you? We'll have to talk to your father about getting you refitted. In the meantime, get dressed. We can't waste any time."

  Relieved, Amnika looked back at the display. Because of her young age, she thought that there may have been something amiss about her growth.