The Alliance - 21. Moving Forward

“Do you really think I should go back to Astara?”

Mateio twisted his bangle nervously. He had been suffering this whole trip. Maybe he should just give up. He hadn’t technically bonded with Aaron. Maybe there was still someone out there for him.

“Trust me Mateio, Aaron does nothing without thinking it through. Sending us away, that was not him. That was grief talking. You are his mate and I know he misses you. He probably misses me, but I completely understand why he had to send me away.”

Itumak pressed a chip into his new bangle like Mateio had shown him. It would translate his words into the common language so anyone could understand him. The neko fiddled with the bangle, figuring out how to turn the translater down low. In the process, he also found the light Mateio had used the day before.

“I miss him too,” he said, shutting the light off again. “Go back to Astara. Talk to him. It couldn’t hurt too bad.”

Mateio nodded slowly. He had to try. The Faro hadn’t even been able to say goodbye before they left.

“There… uh, there’s a ship… Cadets generally start their training on either Utharil or Eyrel. You should be able to catch a ship out to either planet. Eyrel is closer,” he said.

“Thanks,” Itumak smiled.

Setting down the bag Mateio had bought him for his clothes, the neko knelt down, wrapping his arms around the Faro.

“If nothing else, I will always be your friend,” Itumak said quietly. “Thank you for everything you have done, for me and for Astara.”

The two parted, Mateio letting out a shaky sigh. Here he was, heading off into the unknown once again. Hopefully with better results this time.

“Oh, and let Aaron know I’m sorry,” Itumak added.

“Of course,” Mateio nodded.

The neko turned and walked away, Lian following at his tail. Mateio consoled himself with the fact that he had at least managed to make two beings happy.

Heading back to his ship, Mateio entered the vessel. He was probably imagining the echo of the door closing behind him, but it still drove home the fact that he was alone. And he would remain alone unless he was willing to take a risk.

An hour later, Mateio was passing through the portal into the alternate universe. He had made up his mind. The Faro just hoped the choice would be worth it.

There were passenger ships.

It made sense, Itumak had to admit. Not everyone could be a pilot, and some beings would likely want to travel through space.

More surprising was the fact that he and Lian were given a space on the next passenger ship to Eyrel. The Faro collecting the payment for the ship had just scanned his bangle twice and sent him on board.

Now Itumak was standing in a hall, small bag in hand, as Lian asked a grey alien about where they would be staying.

It wasn’t long before the Daknar returned with a worried frown.

“Master, they say that since you are a fleet cadet, we are not entitled to a berth. But the trip to Eyrel is supposed to be only eight hours.”

“That’s okay. We have a ride at least. I suppose the fleet will pay for this,” Itumak shrugged.

A Faro walked past the two, a comically large suitcase being dragged behind him. Itumak shook his head with a small chuckle.

“Come on, let’s see if we can find a place to hunker down for the next eight hours.”

He felt lost, unsure of himself. Here he was, a neko in a strange new reality. But Itumak had put himself in this position. And he would overcome the obstacles thrown at him.

Finding a sign with runes on it, the neko stared at the writing. It looked familiar; the common language perhaps? The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. He swore one of the strange words was food.

“Lian, I don’t suppose you know if the implants Mateio had us get can translate writing as well as the spoken word.”

The Daknar shook his head.

“I was never taught how to read,” he said.

“Hmm… We’ll have to figure out how to change that,” Itumak said. “Well, there’s one way to test my theory.”

He started walking in the direction the sign was pointing, soon coming across a large room with a series of food creators and tables. Various signs sat over each device, their texts difficult to make out. To Itumak, it seemed each sign was in a different language. Maybe menus for the different styles of food?

The neko focused on one sign, hoping it would become legible like the other sign had, but it remained unreadable.

“Okay, maybe I need to find runes,” he said, scanning the other signs.

He found one that shared the runes with the other sign from the hall, but it, too, was unreadable. After a few minutes, Itumak sighed.

“Okay… So the food sign was right, I found food. But I can’t read anything else. Why?”

“Master? Can I suggest something?” Lian asked quietly.

“Of course,” Itumak replied.

“My… implant, the thing that lets me understand you? It took awhile for me to learn your words.”

“So it might take me awhile to read the words I’m seeing… Which suggests I’ve seen food written elsewhere, I just didn’t realize it.”

Itumak shrugged.

“Well, we’re here for eight hours. I guess I can keep staring at these signs. Maybe I’ll pick something up.”

He picked out a seat, making sure Lian sat beside him. The dragon’s wing brushed against his arm as they looked around the room, Itumak uncertain whether the move was intentional or not.

It didn’t matter. He may have been tired of the Daknar’s presence on Mateio’s ship, but here he needed the knowledge that at least one person had his back.

Lian stood in his usual spot at Itumak’s back as they stared out of a window at the pink water below. The ship had made two orbits of the planet and was now descending quickly into the atmosphere.

He had never seen water like this before. It was certainly an interesting sight. Even the air around them seemed strange, the light of the setting sun appearing blue.

Land appeared on the horizon, growing larger by the second. An island rushed past, sandy beaches surrounding a brightly coloured jungle of pink, orange, and yellow plants. Lian looked ahead as they neared the planet’s surface, a large city appearing with several docks ranging out into the ocean.

“I can’t seem to get a map of this place,” Itumak muttered, poking at his bangle.

Another problem Lian couldn’t help with. The Daknar was feeling increasingly useless.

The ship landed with a slight bump, a rush of aliens hurrying for the exit. Itumak and Lian held back, waiting for the chaos to die down.

Nearly half an hour later, the two walked down a ramp onto a stone pier. Xanar and Faro rushed around, each intent on their own tasks. Lian made sure he kept close to Itumak, afraid he would never find the two soul again if he lost him here.

Itumak looked around, before walking toward a Faro with an orange necklace who was looking up at the sunset.

“Excuse me, do you know where new cadets are supposed to go?” the neko asked, his words translated into the common tongue by his bangle.

“New cadet…?”

The Faro looked up at Itumak, frowning slightly.

“There is a fleet building on the other side of the city. You can’t miss it,” he said dismissively.

“Thank you,” Itumak said, turning away.

Thanks for what, Lian wondered. The Faro hadn’t really helped at all.

“So now we just need to get across this city,” Itumak frowned.

He started walking, Lian hurrying to follow.

Aaron sat in the new council chambers, looking around the table. Nearly a quarter of his advisors were missing, taken by the invasion. He really shouldn’t have pushed this meeting off as long as he did, waiting nearly two weeks to finally gather the people who helped to run his kingdom. It was irresponsible and he had no excuse. But they were here now.

“I would like to start this meeting with an apology. As many of you know, I left the planet the day of the invasion. Though I did this for what I feel is a good reason, I know it caused much stress among the people.

“In my escape, however, I made contact with the Alliance of Free Systems, and petitioned for their protection. After some scouting, they have agreed to consider my request. We all know how politics can work. I feel it is safe to say it will take some time before we receive any real aid.”

“Forgive me if the question is out of line, but what of your mate, Your Majesty? Should he not be here as a representative of his people?” Lord Sarin asked.

“Mateio… has left the planet for an undetermined length of time. I do not know if he will return.”

There were several quiet murmurs at the news, many of Aaron’s advisors casting sympathetic looks at the king.

“My apologies sir. I understand a werewolf losing their mate is an ordeal.”

“In any case, we must focus on rebuilding. It will take time, but we can come back from this attack. One of the first things I believe we should do is set up missiles to combat any future invaders.”

“Your Majesty, General Damian informed me that many of our weapons failed to affect the enemy,” an elf said. “Our wolf fighters had better luck on the ground than any of our firearms did.”

“I believe most of the ground invasion consisted of a species known as the Daknar. I had to fight one in my escape, and I will say that I found it much easier in my wolf form,” Aaron admitted. “Part of our trouble may have been from the armour they wore. I am unsure if it was made of metal similar to our own.”

Aaron fought back a yawn, not wanting to let on how exhausted he was. He had not been sleeping well since Mateio left, his wolf restless. That was his problem to deal with, and he would not allow it to affect his work.

“We also must decide if we wish to formally join the Alliance. I met a few of the species that comprise of the Alliance and I will admit they have some strange tendencies. However, their level of technological superiority cannot be ignored. They have tools that would allow us to end hunger and cut down on pollution. They can also contribute to medicine, perhaps creating solutions to Astara’s werewolf issues among other things.”

“My concern, one that is surely shared among others here, is what all of this would cost our planet? Would we be swarmed with aliens intent on changing us? Do they want access to our resources?” a woman questioned.

“These are all good questions, ones that I will admit I do not know the answers to. However, it is my hope that if, and when, the Alliance sends representatives out, we will get these questions answered to our satisfaction. At this point, it is merely a proposal, something to be contemplated. One thing is certain. We are now operating on a galactic stage that we know next to nothing about. The planet’s safety is of utmost importance.”

“We must also work to reassure the masses that we have the situation under control,” Lord Sarin added. “It has come to my attention that these… Daknar… retreated due to the belief that our foxes were another alien species, presumably of this Alliance. I believe we can use this to our advantage. Let the people know that we orchestrated the revelation of foxes to the aliens, knowing they would have this reaction. It will install confidence in our ability to defend the planet, at the cost of trust.”

Aaron nodded.

“Get to work on that then. I would like the official statement ready to be released in the next two days. Do we know how widespread the attacks were?”

“Planetwide. Sarelin was demolished, and Mydara suffered heavy damage. Astara got off light compared to them.”

“Lady Corin, send two companies of soldiers to help rebuild both Mydara and Sarelin. We should also consider a campaign to increase our armed forces. We cannot rely on help; we must be proactive.”

Around the table, his advisors nodded, some making notes. So many missing… and he would have to find their replacements.

A king’s work was never done.