Kings of Black Rock

Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash

“Noa, daylight will be soon. C’mon.”

Trying to crack open her tired eyes, Noa could only moan in reply.

“Noa. You got 2 minutes.”

An unintelligible answer came from Noa from under a heap of covers. She couldn’t understand why her brother was so adamant about going for a jog around the hill at the ungodliest hour every morning. The hill wasn’t even a hill, it was a giant satellite protruding from the blackened ground a few miles from the safety of the base. Noa’s big brother, Harper, was in perfect physical shape from a highly disciplined regiment. As one of the commanding officers at the base, Noa supposed it was all part of the job. Why he insisted she train with him, was beyond her.

“Time’s up.”

Ice cold water pelted Noa in the face, causing her to gasp in shock.

“30 seconds to meet me downstairs or I refill the bucket.”

Pushing her long mop of dark blonde hair out of her face, she squinted in irritation as he walked brusquely out the door. “You’re a horrible person.”

“Yep!”

Jumping up from the soft mat on the floor, Noa rushed to get ready before she was soaked again.

Cool night air hit her wet face when she raced out the door and ran along the balcony to meet the others. The base where they lived was a small military barracks in the shape of a horseshoe, with living quarters on the top floors, and offices below. All the balconies were open to the large courtyard where the massive security gate stood. This was where the troops were either training or being sent on expeditions to different parts of the planet to look for sources of plant life suitable for colonization. Aerod, is what they called this planet. Black Rock is what the soldiers christened it, since that’s the only thing they ever found.

“Oy! There’s Sleeping Beauty now! Was afraid you wouldn’t be joining us this morning! Don’t look so glum, little run never hurt, eh?”

There was rarely a day when Noa didn’t hear the sarcastic Australian accent across the courtyard.

Noa grumbled, “I’m always here, Walker. I don’t think it’s fair to call it morning though, the stars aren’t even awake at this hour...”

“No argument there.” Walker looked up in thought, “Could definitely use some sun right about now.”

The soldiers always mentioned the sun in conversation, but Noa wasn’t sure what they meant. She had never seen anything like it in all her years. Then again, the only thing she’d ever known was Black Rock, and that was given daylight by two bright stars.

Harper swiftly marched to the front of the group and tossed out a few light rings, which the recipients promptly turned on and fastened around their arms. Only 4 people wore the light rings, evenly spaced out among the group.

“Alright, let’s go! Noah’s ark!”

Begrudgingly, Noa ran to stand beside her brother in the front, while the others lined up behind in groups of two. The unit began a steady jog as soon as the security gate creaked open to the blackness ahead.

“Try to keep up the pace, runt!” Walker teased from the back of the group.

Noa fired back, “Same to you, old man!”

The others chuckled while moving quietly through the darkness towards the hill. If not for the light rings, nothing would be seen from either side of the path. Running always seemed to energize Noa, recharging her senses and filling her lungs with the smells of the air. She swore she could see in the dark, but Harper brushed it off as wishful thinking.

Glancing around them, Noa could see movement in the distance, but nothing that appeared to be coming in their direction. “Are we just circling the hill, or do we have to do a maintenance check?”

“Circling the hill.” Harper looked at her curiously. “Why? You see something?”

“Nothing coming our way. Looks like something died a couple miles west of us.”

“Mmm. Thought you could only see a few feet out?”

“I guess I can see more now.”

“Noa, I can’t even see my hand.”

Pursing her lips stubbornly, she replied, “Well, call me an overachiever.”

Harper shook his head while they reached the satellite and turned to circle around the back. The group paused to watch the two stars rise into the sky and fill the landscape with warmth.

“Nothing but black rock and black sand...”

Noa looked at her friend, Macawi, and gave a sad smile. When he would describe the beautiful land of his family, Noa could almost close her eyes and see the lush green fields and blue rivers. Even though he was from the same country as Harper, they were from very different places in America, which was completely fascinating to Noa.

“It could be beautiful. With water...and life. I can imagine a waterfall right there, at the highest point.”

Noa tried to imagine what the rocky cliffs and rolling hills would look like with vibrant colors, but it seemed so impossible. Turning around to face the wind beaten satellite, she noticed something strange.

“Something’s been here.”

The group turned around quickly to see where she was looking and were surprised to find giant claw marks across the metal door into the control room.

Harper moved to inspect it closely, squinting his eyes in thought.

Noa looked at the quiet man beside her brother and asked, “Khomo, do you think it looks like something an animal might’ve done?”

Khomo had the most wonderful stories of wildlife from his country of Kenya. Noa grew up listening to his adventures of traveling and guiding safaris, sometimes coming a little too close to the magnificent creatures of the land.

“There are no lions here...I do not know what kind of beast could have made this.”

Noa nodded grimly. “Maybe we can find out from the dead carcass west of here. Could be that one of them died.”

The men looked at her in alarm, while Harper ran his hand through his hair.

“What carcass?” Walker prodded.

“I saw -”

“She thinks she saw something. We’ll call it in for aerial view to be sure.”

Noa bit the inside of her lip nervously, wondering why Harper seemed so irritated when she was just trying to help.

The men exchanged glances before regrouping to head back to base.

Khomo squeezed her shoulder and motioned for her to inhale and exhale slowly. “Stay calm, stay focused. We will find the cause for it.”

Noa complied and joined the others to jog silently into the shelter of the gate. She sometimes got too nervous, sometimes too angry. Harper and the others always taught her to stay calm. She had to stay calm, they said.

Inside the cement blocks they called the surveillance room, Harper stood beside the men who made up the small unit from the morning jog. Unfortunately for Noa, she was never allowed in the room because she wasn’t technically a soldier. She simply tagged along, under the watchful eye of her brother. Standing outside of the room, Noa casually leaned against the wall to hear what was happening inside, without drawing the attention of the guards walking by.

“Do you have a lock on anything yet?” Harper asked the men sitting at a large control desk.

“Not yet. But if there’s anything on the west side, we should be able to pick it up anytime now.”

Noa recognized the British voice of Griffin, the most tech savvy person on base.

“Look, right there.”

That was the sound of Ryu, whose obsession with geology had brought him from Korea to specialize in research at Black Rock.

Griffin answered, “Lowering the drone now to take a closer look.”

“What is that?” Harper asked.

“Drag marks.” Khomo answered slowly.

“Can you follow them?” Harper pressed Griffin.

“Yeah, one sec -”

Noa listened to the painfully silent few seconds where no one said anything and wondered what was going on.

“Looks like it’s going into the cliffs. The drones can’t go in there.” Walker said with disappointment.

How strange. Noa always wondered why the drones could never go into the cliffs or caverns here. There was plenty of room, they just always seemed to lose the signal or fall to the ground.

“Only way for us to find out what made those marks is to do a search.”

The strong Icelandic accent of Gunnarsson, who oversaw expeditions to explore the different sectors of Aerod, boomed over the voices of the others. Harper would have to make the final call on whether to go into the rocks, but he was always leery of sending soldiers into caverns.

“We don’t go where the light doesn’t touch; you know that Gunnar.”

Walker interjected, “Harper, we know the risk. But if we don’t figure out what made those marks, someone could get attacked on patrol.”

Noa could tell her brother remained hesitant by the pause. He wasn’t a man driven by fear, so there had to be a reason he was stubborn on the issue.

Khomo added, “My friend, we must act quickly. The diplomatic convoys will be dispatched from Talon in a week.”

“Alright. Gunnar, map it out for us. Ryu, I want heat scans conducted before we go in.”

The men agreed and shuffled quickly out of the room. When Harper noticed Noa standing against the wall watching them, he quickly walked in the opposite direction to avoid her.

Running after him, she called out, “Harp-”

“NO.”

“But, c’mon! I can help-”

“I said no!”

Before she could say anything else, she was met with the slamming of a door. Slumping her shoulders in defeat, Noa turned around.

The first expedition to Aerod had resulted in the successful discovery of a breathable climate and flourishing plant life. When the plants had mysteriously died in a shockingly fast amount of time, military envoys were dispatched to research and rebuild what was once there. It also resulted in a new base, leaving nothing of the old one except the dilapidated watch tower and office rooms filled with junk. When Noa wanted somewhere to think, she would sit in the top control room and look out the giant windows.

“Why won’t he just let me help? He knows I can see in the dark.” Noa furrowed her brow. “It doesn’t make any sense...”

A little stuffed bear stared back at her while she vented in frustration.

“I’m smart! And I know I could help.” Tilting her head back, she exhaled, “Ugh!”

The ground began to vibrate in a low rumble, disrupting her thoughts and making her sit up in alarm. Looking out the windows, she could see some of the soldiers running around in a panic. Grabbing the little bear, she stuffed it in her jacket and zipped it up before turning to the stairs.

“Noa! Noa, are you here?!”

Racing down the stairs, Noa met the concerned face of Li, who oversaw all weapons training at the base. He was also the best cook, and first person Noa ran to when she wasn’t feeling well.

“I’m okay! Is it another quake?”

“Yes, yes! We must remain calm. Everything will be alright.”

His words always brought comfort to Noa, especially when she felt bad. As if on cue, the quake disappeared, and everything was calm again.

“See! What did I tell you, uh? Why are you out here alone? It’s not safe!”

Nodding obediently, Noa walked with the older man to base.

“Is something wrong? No need to worry! I make you food, uh?”

Sitting on top of a barrel, Noa giggled while watching Li prepare a bowl of piping hot food. She didn’t know how he did it, but somehow Li could make the drab ingredients sent from Talon taste delicious. She especially loved how he loudly sang off-key while doing so.

“You laugh, but this is how I get the creative juices flowing!”

“Is that how you make the bad food taste good?”

Passing her a bowl and sitting across from her to eat, he shook his head. “The food is not bad! The people here know nothing of food!” He proudly pointed to himself. “I have skills.”

Laughing at his dramatic expressions, Noa replied, “Yes, you do.”

“Now tell me, what is the matter? Why were you angry?”

Noa shrugged.

“No, you tell Li. I made you food, now you tell me what is wrong.”

“I wasn’t angry,” she sighed. “I’m just frustrated because Harper won’t let me help them on the expedition tomorrow, but I know I can help.”

Li looked at her curiously. “How can you help?”

“I can see in the dark. And I can hear things from far away. I could even hear everything through the walls when everyone was watching the drones.”

Noa could tell that Li thought carefully about the things she shared. She couldn’t tell if he thought she was crazy like Harper, but he didn’t seem surprised by it, only concerned.

“Then you should go.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. You can help us on the mission.”

“But Harper-”

“I make no promises! But I will talk to the others. You eat your food.”

Nodding back in surprise, Noa couldn’t believe she might be allowed to go. She hoped she wouldn’t get in trouble later, or that Li wouldn’t change his mind, considering how quiet he was while she cleaned up after the meal. For now, though, she was excited at the thought of being taken on a real mission.

The rest of the day was strange to Noa, there was a foreign smell in the air that drifted in with a cool breeze. No one else seemed to notice it, but it set her on edge enough to find Ryu.

“What exactly do you want me to look for?”

Staring at Ryu’s confused face, Noa wasn’t sure how to answer. “I don’t know. Something just seems odd. Can’t you smell that weird scent in the air?”

The man shook his head.

“Oh. Well, I just thought it was weird. Not something I’ve ever smelled before.”

Noa could feel anxiety building up inside as she thought of how Harper would fuss over her taking up Ryu’s time with her overactive imagination. Before she could say anything, Ryu reached out to squeeze her hand.

“Noa. I believe you. I will run some tests.”

“But you said you can’t smell anything-”

“It won’t hurt to run a test.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Noa smiled. “Ok. Thank you.”

The next morning was different than the usual training for the unit, as they were preparing a military truck to drive out to the cliffs. While they ran back and forth loading the equipment and putting on protective gear, Noa watched quietly from the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Her legs swung over the side while she sat staring down. The bright lights of the base were the only form of light in the dark hour before the stars had risen.

“Walker thought you might be up here moping after Harper said no to you going.”

Looking up at the face of Griffin, Noa pouted her lips in irritation. “I’m not moping.”

“You look like you’re moping.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“Cheer up! Li got Harper to agree to let you watch from the control room with yours truly! It’s better than going on a mission, because you get to see everything in a climate-controlled room!”

Trying not to laugh at Griffin’s cheerful demeanor, when she knew very well he was a man reliant on at least 2 cups of coffee in order to speak in more than grunts at this hour of the morning.

“Come on then! To the surveillance room we go!”

Standing begrudgingly to her feet to follow the man, she asked dryly, “So how many cups of coffee have you had already?”

“Hardly any! Just 5.”

Noa’s laughter was short lived when she glanced over to see Harper jump into the truck with the others and speed out through the large gate. When she sat beside Griffin, she was fascinated at the array of camera angles he could see the group in.

“Am I really allowed to be in here?”

“That’s what Harper said.”

“I thought no one was supposed to be looking at the surveillance equipment without clearance from Talon.”

Griffin paused thoughtfully while his fingers speedily typed commands on the keyboard. “Yeah, well...there are a lot of things we don’t tell Talon.”

“Like what?”

“Shhh - we’re up and running with audio. I need to hear what they’re saying.”

Noa watched in silence as the unit sped across the darkness towards the cliffs, while the stars slowly began rising into the sky to provide much needed daylight. She could see all the cameras switch on to each member of the group, allowing Griffin a full view of their surroundings. Once the truck stopped outside the coordinates left by the drone, they quickly jumped out to survey the site.

Harper bellowed out, “I need a heat scan, Ryu.”

“Setting it up now.”

Watching Ryu quickly take a gadget that shot out red lights for a heat scan of any life forms, Noa saw Griffin pull up the collected data.

“Alright guys, looks like the scan is all clear from the tower. You’re safe to enter.” Griffin stated.

Daylight filled the entire area by this time, allowing the group to see the drag marks more clearly.

Harper ordered, “Gunnar, take it slow!”

Gunnar nodded and held his weapon out to enter the shadows in the crevices of the cliffside, followed by Walker, Li, and Macawi. Harper remained outside the truck with Khomo and Ryu to continue scans and wait in case they needed another way out of the cavern.

Looking at the rocky cavern through the camera, Noa watched intensely while the men went further inside, following the tracks on the ground. When they stopped abruptly at the end of the path, all they could see was blackness ahead.

“Hey guys, I’m not picking up any visual on the path in front of you. Does the cavern drop ahead?” Griffin asked.

Gunnar replied, “We will have to shoot the flares.”

Griffin nodded. “Copy that.”

Two lights shot across the screen and descended a good distance away from the unit, falling down a deep cavern in front of them.

The hairs on the back of Noa’s neck stood up. “Rustling. I can hear rustling in there. Can you hear it?”

Griffin shook his head at Noa’s question, but he grew concerned when he saw her intense eyes.

“Guys, can you hear anything around you? Any sign of life down there?”

Walker answered, “We can’t hear anything here, all we can see is a lot of dirt mounds down below.”

Harper interjected, “Ryu isn’t picking up anything from the scans. Can you see a carcass anywhere?”

“Negative.” Walker replied.

“We’ll do a quick descent to see if there’s anything down there.” Gunnar added.

Harper’s voice sounded cautious over the speaker. “You have 3 minutes. I do not want you down there for more than that. Wrap this up, boys.”

Walker chuckled, “No argument from me. This place is creepy.”

Noa watched while they descended lower in the cavern and felt something was very wrong. There was something off about it, but she couldn’t think why. When they walked to one of the dirt mounds, Macawi knelt to inspect a stick.

Walker asked, “What is it?”

Noa stood abruptly while staring at the screen intensely. “Bones. Those aren’t dirt mounds. Those are bones.” Looking at the horrified face of Griffin, she continued, “Tell them to run.”

“What-”

Ripping the microphone out of his hand, Noa yelled, “Those are bones! Get out now!”

The entire unit froze at the chilling realization the mounds they stood on were bones. Crackling sounds started coming from deeper within the cavern, while they slowly backed to the entrance.

“Griffin! Do you see anything from the cameras? Can Noa see anything there?!” Harper yelled.

Distracted by the sudden activity on the scans, Griffin whipped around to ask Noa and saw the empty chair and open door. “Noa!” Turning back to the screens, he saw lines moving to the unit. “There’s activity down there, moving quickly towards you!”

Harper ordered, “Pull out!”

The sound of Griffin screaming for her rang in her ears as she sprinted out of the room and across the courtyard. She felt her muscles charged with adrenaline while she ran faster than she had ever done before. Her feet barely felt like they were touching the ground, as she cut through the distance between her and the cliffs.

How was she doing this? Was it her imagination?

She could see the truck come into view while she watched Khomo and Ryu run towards the cavern. Her ears began to pick up the voices of the others shouting and opening fire at whatever was chasing them. She charged into the blackness in time to see the others running to her, while an unseen creature could be heard close behind.

Khomo looked over to see her and shouted, “Noa! Don’t go in there!”

She couldn’t stop. The only people she knew as family were in there, so that’s exactly where she was going.

Walker’s voice grew louder shouting for Li, who sounded like he was in trouble. When Noa burst through the entrance into the lower cavern, she could see everything in front of her. Gunnar and the others had opened fire on the creature that had grabbed Li by the ankle to pull him further into the cavern.

Anger welled up inside Noa while she screamed into the treacherous cavern. “NO!” The sound echoed so loudly, the rocky ceiling began to crack and crumble to the floor. Li was released from the creature and raced to the safety of the others.

Gunnar shouted, “Go, go, go!”

The men fled out of the cavern, with Walker snatching Noa up with one arm and carrying her out. Quakes had begun to rumble across the ground until they reached the truck, where they eerily stopped. As the truck sped across the open distance to the base, they all looked out to see a deep track in the ground going toward the cavern.

It must have been left by the creatures, Noa thought. They would have to be on alert now at the base, knowing something was out there hunting.

The looks on everyone’s faces was alarm over what had happened, and uncertainty of how to explain it to the commanding officers at Talon. Talking continued between Harper and Griffin over the radio, while the others stared behind them at the barren land.

Noa’s eyes began to droop heavily, with the curious feeling of exhaustion flooding over her body. Her eyes closed before they could reach the base, with everything going black.

Slowly cracking her eyes open, Noa woke to find herself alone in the infirmary. The daylight was so bright, she had to blink to adjust to it. Sitting up caused a machine beside her bed to make a beeping noise, which she now noticed was hooked to her arm. When she heard voices outside the window beside her, she sat up straighter to see if she could spot what was going on.

“You’re awake.”

Turning back around quickly, she looked up at Harper’s concerned eyes. “Did I pass out?”

“More like, fell into a deep sleep.”

“Oh.” Her brow furrowed in thought. “I don’t know why...”

“Noa, can you tell me what happened before you went to the cavern? Do you remember?”

“Well, I was watching the screens with Griffin and I heard something moving in there. Then I saw the bones and knew everyone was in trouble, so I ran to help. When that thing grabbed Li, I just got so mad. I couldn’t let anyone get hurt.”

Harper nodded his head and stared at the floor for a moment.

“Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble?”

Sitting on the bed and putting his hand over hers, Harper answered, “No. You did nothing wrong. I just want to keep you safe.”

Noa leaned over to hug her brother. “I know. I can protect you too.”

“I brought you something to keep you company.”

Leaning back to look up at him, Noa smiled when she saw her brother pull out the little stuffed bear.

“I’m surprised you still keep it.”

“Of course, I keep it!”

Harper smiled at her before he was interrupted by a soldier needing a word with him in the hallway.

“It’s my favorite gift...”

Noa held the small bear in her hands and smiled at the memory of when all the men had gifted it to her as a child. They had smuggled it in from a trader, just to give her something from Earth for her birthday. Li had made a cake, while Walker and Macawi had made ridiculous paper hats to wear. Gunnar had hoisted Noa onto his shoulders to watch the makeshift fireworks display created by Khomo and Ryu, while Griffin sang the loudest version of a birthday song she had ever heard. She had never laughed so hard in her life. When Harper presented their gift of the little bear, she smiled so hard, her face hurt.

“Hey, I’ve been called back to the surveillance room. You going to be alright?”

Noa nodded back reassuringly.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

Harper reached out to tussle her hair affectionately, while all she could do was scrunch her face in protest.

“Try to stay out of trouble!”

After he hurried out of the room, Noa glanced down at her bear before hearing voices loudly coming down the hall. She didn’t have to wait long before the door burst open by Walker, followed by Gunnar, Macawi, and Ryu.

Walker joked, “Are you gonna sleep all day in here?”

“I don’t know, they have me hooked up to these machines-”

“I’ll take those!” Ryu interrupted, while pulling the wires off her arm.

When the machines starting beeping loudly in protest, the men exchanged worried glances.

“Whoa, mate! Don’t make it look like she flatlined!”

“Why don’t you try to do this then!”

The heart monitor made a loud beep to alarm the medics, while the men attempted to turn it off.

Walker shouted, “She’s not dead! No need to worry!”

After some humorous convincing, they were able to get assistance from the medics to release her from the monitors.

Noa looked cautiously at the group, “I don’t know if I’m allowed to leave...”

Smiling widely, Walker answered, “We’re here to break you out.”

“Are you sure-”

“Course, I’m sure! That’s why we brought Gunnar! The young lads here are terrified of him!”

Slapping the tall man, Walker laughed, “There’s a rumor going around that he throws people out windows when he’s angry.”

Gunnar frowned. “I do not throw people out windows. Who spreads this rumor?”

“I do! Comes in handy!” Walker grinned.

“But this is not true-”

Macawi inserted, “There is also a rumor that he hates most people.”

“That one is true.”

Noa giggled as they hurried to usher her out of the observation unit to meet the others in the courtyard. Her smile fell when she saw the deep frowns of Harper and Griffin walking out of the surveillance room alongside other soldiers. “Did something happen?”

The sound of the call for attention rang out to summon all the soldiers in the base, which drew concerned glances between the group.

“Noa, stay behind the red lines.” Khomo ordered quietly.

Quietly obliging, she hurried to stand in the shaded area under the balcony, behind a faded red line painted on the ground. She never knew why it mattered, but she always had to stand there whenever the soldiers met for orders. After the drones from Talon completed their flyover, the soldiers were dispersed, and she was able to carry on as usual.

Harper’s authoritative voice boomed across the courtyard. “Our orders have changed. The diplomatic convoy has been postponed. Talon has information of rebels entering airspace to land on Aerod. Our mission is to find if they are hostile and neutralize any threats. All soldiers called for a search team will depart at zero five hundred hours.”

The dismissal of the meeting left the soldiers rushing to check the monitor rings worn on their wrists, where the Talon instructed which soldiers would be sent in a unit. Noa quietly walked out to the men to see which of them were being sent.

Walker stated, “Not me.”

“Me either.” Khomo replied.

Ryu said, “Nothing.”

Li shook his head, while Gunnar stared at his monitor ring in confusion. “I don’t understand. Why would they not want us to go?”

“I’m going in the second unit.” Macawi said with a frown. “I’m designated as a Scout.”

Walker looked up at the surveillance room angrily. “This doesn’t make any sense. We should be going together. Talon knows something-”

“Those were my orders.” Harper interrupted from behind.

The group turned to him in surprise. Before any of them could object, he continued, “This is a fully droned mission. And while we’re out there scouting for rebels, more drones will be patrolling the entire base, inside and out.”

Noa searched their faces for the reason why they were suddenly silent but couldn’t seem to figure it out.

Harper looked at them seriously. “The rebels are not from earth, so their heat signatures are different. Because of that, the drones will be scanning everyone for any unusual heat patterns, where they have been cleared to eliminate any foreign life form on site.”

Gunnar nodded in thought. “Understood.”

“Good. Macawi will be my eyes and ears, the rest of you know what to do.” When they nodded, Harper turned to Noa. “You do everything they say, when they say. You don’t follow me; you don’t move an inch without their permission. You understand?”

Blinking back in surprise to his harsh tone, Noa could only nod.

“Griffin will get you everything you need. Drones will arrive an hour prior to departure.”

At that, Harper left quickly to prepare the rest of the mission, leaving Noa completely bewildered.

Walker came up behind Noa and mussed her hair affectionately. “Cheer up, runt. You get to hang out with your favorite people!”

Forcing a smile, Noa tried not to appear too bothered by it, knowing Walker was doing his best to lighten the mood. But something seemed peculiar about the entire situation, she just didn’t know what.

The evening came quietly, with the bright stars of daylight fading slowly to make way for the brilliant night sky filled with twinkling stars from the galaxy beyond. As the soldiers were busy talking and eating in the mess hall, Noa silently made her way up to the balcony. Lightly tapping on Harper’s door, she waited until she heard his voice calling her to enter.

“You should be eating with everyone.”

Sitting on his bed to look up at him rifling through his bag, she replied, “So should you.”

“Not hungry.”

“Me neither.”

Rubbing his eyes in exhaustion, he sighed and looked at her sadly. “I didn’t mean to be hard earlier. I just have a lot on my plate.”

“It’s ok. If I can help, will you tell me?”

His face softened when he looked at her. “Yeah. I will.” When his hand found a small box at the bottom of the bag, he opened it and pulled out a small necklace. “I wanted to give this to you for your birthday, but I thought you might want it early this year.”

The pendant was a black circle that felt smooth in her hands, held by a soft leather cord.

“I had Macawi make it from the black rock. Thought you might like something unique.”

Noa couldn’t help but smile as he helped put it over her head. “I love it, thank you.”

When she stood to embrace him before leaving, he held her a little tighter than usual. Starting to feel nervous of his behavior, Noa asked, “Harper? You’re not going to leave me, are you?”

His voice was quiet when he answered, “I’ll never leave you.” Pushing her away, he smiled and added, “Now go and get your stuff! Walker said Khomo is doing a story night, so you get to stay with the crew. Just this once.”

Excitement filled Noa as she rushed out the door to grab her things. Story nights were a rarity on base, and something that remained a well-kept secret among the troops. The knowledge that it would be highly restricted by Talon leaders meant that it was done in secret, only on special occasions.

The stars twinkled high above, creating a stunning backdrop to Khomo’s figure in front of the small bonfire. The only positive thing about the blackened sand was that it hid any sign of the charred remnants, which allowed the soldiers to hold scattered bonfires across the courtyard. Noa sat on the ground beside the others, enraptured in the story only Khomo could share with such charisma. Everyone loved to hear his voice booming over the sound of crackling fire, describing the beauty and danger of his safari adventures. They laughed and cheered with him when he announced victory over crocodiles or poachers, until it sadly came to the end of his story.

“Alright! Now, let’s make sure the bonfires are gone! We don’t want a lovely reprimand from our friends in the sky!” Walker joked, to the groan of many soldiers.

Khomo put his hand on Noa’s shoulder and smiled. “We have a fun surprise for you! Come along.”

Walking past the others into the mess hall and back into the many kitchen rooms, Noa followed Khomo to see Li, who was pouring hot tea into a cup.

“Ah! Here you are! I thought your tea would get cold before you got here!” Passing Noa a steaming cup, he waved Khomo off and ushered Noa to sit down. “Hurry now, drink it before it cools.”

Once she had finished, Li took the empty cup and passed her an insulated cup in its place. “This one is for when you get cold later.”

“Oh, I don’t usually get cold-”

“Take it! You follow my instructions!”

As soon as she wrapped her hand around the cup, Khomo returned to usher her through a maze of hallways until they reached an exit outside.

“I’ve never seen that exit before. Why are we outside?”

“We don’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”

Noa looked ahead curiously and noticed the abandoned control tower of the old base she normally ran to when she wanted to get away. “Why are we going to the old tower?”

“Come, and I will tell you.”

She tried to return the smile Khomo attempted to reassure her with, but she felt very confused, and very tired. Climbing to the top of the stairs with the aid of a light ring, she stopped beside him in the familiar control room.

“This is the surprise! You get to stay here for the night.”

“But...why would I want to do that?”

“So, you can watch the units leave at daybreak. This is the best view to see it without being noticed by the drones!”

Noa grinned back in surprise. “Oh! I didn’t think of that!”

“We have already set a mat for you over there, and we will each take a shift to make sure you are not alone. But there is one thing you must do.”

“What it is?”

“There is a short time before the troops leave when we must all appear in the courtyard. You must stay inside the old base and remain hidden from sight until we tell you it is safe. Do you understand?”

“I’ll try-”

“No. You must do this, Noa. It is very important. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

Khomo squeezed her arm and smiled widely. “Good! This will be fun for you; do you not think so? I will leave this light ring here until you get to sleep and then I will take it, so no one sees it missing. And there are extra blankets there for when you get cold.”

“I don’t usually get-” The door thudded softly after the man had quickly departed from the room. “-cold.”

Standing alone and uncertain, Noa looked around and set her cup on the table before spreading out blankets on the mat. “Why is everyone so weird...”

Ordinarily, she would be unable to fall asleep easily, but her eyes felt so heavy she could barely stay awake. Slipping into a deep sleep, she was unaware when any of the men checked on her throughout the night.

The sound of shouting pierced through the silence and startled Noa awake. When she sat up, she ached all over and felt absolutely freezing! Her body shivered with such intensity that she struggled to reach for the blankets Khomo had shown her earlier. Even when she put every single blanket around her, she couldn’t feel warmth.

“What’s wrong with me...”

Remembering the hot tea Li had made her, she stumbled to grab it. The glass gauges on the control panels began to vibrate loudly as drones came closer to the tower. She scrambled to dive under the desks, away from the windows. Wishing she had been faster to reach the cup, she shook violently under the desk waiting for the drones to move away, but they seemed to hover just outside the large windows.

“C’mon...move on...” she muttered to herself.

Red beams appeared from the top of the ceiling, slowly sweeping across the room to scan for any heat patterns. Her eyes grew wide in panic. “Oh no, the tea.” Just as she moved her hand out to reach toward the top of the desk, the cup exploded from the showering of bullets through the window. Recoiling and throwing herself to the ground, she paused when the bullets stopped long enough to hear shouting from outside.

“RUN, NOA!”

Clawing her way out from under the desk, she sprinted to the door and flew into the hall with all her might. The sound of the drones hummed behind her while she fled down the stairs, trying to find somewhere to hide. Khomo’s voice echoed in her mind, warning her not to leave the tower. In desperation, she opened the door to a random floor and ran down the hall to an abandoned room, where she hid behind some of the junk piles.

“What do I do...what do I do...” she whispered.

When the humming of the drones faded down the hall, she breathed a sigh of relief and slowly stood to look over the junk. The red targets of a large drone stared at the junk pile beside her, while she jumped down in terror. The ceiling lit up with lights as the drone began a scan of the room, sending her into a frenzy of crawling on her knees to escape through the door. Going behind the drone and out the door, she had just made it out when she was grabbed and pushed against the wall.

“Be still.”

Noa stared at Khomo’s back while he stood motionless in front of her. He had pushed her back and covered her completely from view, standing tall to face the drones.

“Khomo-”

“You must remain calm and be still.”

The deafening hum of the drones returned to the spot where they stood and began to scan Khomo’s heat signature. Noa’s heart pounded in her chest as she tried to close her eyes and calm herself. When the scan was completed, the drones left just as quickly as they had come.

“They’ve gone!” Li shouted down the hall, while he and Walker ran to meet them.

Khomo stepped away from Noa, which sent her collapsing to the ground.

“Are you hit?!” Khomo yelled in alarm.

“I’m so cold...”

Li ordered, “Quickly, she must have the antidote!”

The words rang in her ears as she felt herself being carried away from the tower.

The exit door Khomo had taken Noa through the night before was opened quickly to usher her to the hidden rooms behind the kitchen. Noa could only watch numbly as they laid her on a small cot to administer a shot in her arm. Her entire body felt like it was turning to ice inside until the antidote they had spoken of began to work the warmth back.

A look of relief came across Li’s face when he saw the color coming back in her face. “There, now you must be feeling a little better. It will take a few more hours for the calming effect to completely wear off.”

“What did you do to me?”

Walker began, “Noa, we did it to protect you-”

“I almost died from those drones! How can you say you were trying to protect me?!”

Khomo stated firmly, “You would have died without it.”

“No, you could have taken me somewhere else to hide from the drones. I could have just stayed in my room the whole time-”

Walker shook his head. “They searched every part of the building.”

“I could have hidden underground in a bunker somewhere-”

“There are none in a close distance.” Khomo disputed.

“I could-”

“Your heat signature is different from ours, Noa! There is nowhere you can go to hide from the drones finding that out.” Walker blurted out.

Noa blinked in confusion. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

Khomo and Li looked at Walker angrily.

“What does that mean? Khomo? Li? Why is my heat signature different? Somebody say something!”

Walker said firmly. “She has to know at some point. It’s too dangerous to hide anymore.”

“Is something wrong with me?”

“No!” Khomo’s eyes glared at Walker to be silent, before softening to look back at her. “There is nothing wrong with you, my child. You are exactly as you should be.”

“Is it because I grew up here?”

Khomo answered quickly, “Yes. So, you must be careful. Your body is normally much hotter than ours, which is why Li gave you something to cool you down. It was supposed to be just long enough for the drones to think you were one of us. The antidote was in the other cup, but we didn’t know they would find you before you could take it. I’m very sorry.”

Something seemed strange to Noa, especially when Walker left quickly at Khomo’s answer. Instead of questioning it further, Noa kept the matter to herself, and decided to ask Harper what was going on as soon as he returned.

Li interjected, “We should move to another place soon. Griffin said the drones would be doing another sweep of the base shortly, before they dispersed to monitor the perimeter.”

“Come on. We will go to see the others. They have been following the rotation of the drones to find a safe place for you.” Khomo answered.

Rushing out the door, they moved to find the other men before another drone returned.

In the surveillance room, Griffin stood to show them on the maps where he was monitoring any activity of the drones, while Gunnar looked carefully at the progress of the deployed troops. Noa stood quietly while they discussed what to do next, when an out of breath Ryu burst through the door with papers in his hands.

“Look! Look at this!”

Griffin reached out to take them, with Walker and Gunnar looking over his shoulder to see.

Ryu began, “These are the reports from my scans right before we went to the cavern. Noa said something smelled odd, so I did an air quality check. Then I thought I should do a soil sample as well, just to be sure.”

Griffin said slowly, “What does it mean?”

“The air and soil from the caverns were slightly different than what we have here. The toxins restraining soil growth is catastrophically high in the cavern.” Ryu’s eyes lit up with excitement as he continued, “And the air has more pollutants than anywhere else I’ve examined on Aerod. It’s revolutionary to our research!”

Gunnar replied, “But how does that help us?”

“It’s something I am still researching! But I think there may be something else here that we’re missing, something that acts as a toxin to the plant life. Maybe something that controls the toxins to stunt the plant life on the entire planet.”

“You think those creatures down there could somehow affect the plant life?” Walker asked skeptically.

Ryu nodded with certainty. “They are a part of the puzzle.”

Griffin pointed at Noa with fascination. “You could smell them?”

Ryu interrupted, “Yes! The northern breeze must have allowed you to smell the difference in the air!”

The men looked down at her curiously, as she stared back in astonishment.

Even though Khomo said there was nothing wrong with her, Noa felt like something was changing in her that she couldn’t explain. The more things happened, the less comfortable she felt in her own skin.

Rapid beeping came from some of the monitors on the control desk, sending Griffin whirling around on his chair to check the screens.

“Are the droids coming back?” Li asked.

“No...no... it’s coming from the deployed units. Looks like there is a lot of activity that just started happening around their location.”

“Did they find the rebels?” Walker pressed.

“Trying to get the audio right now.”

The sound of shouting and guns firing crackled over the speakers, along with orders to launch an attack. The group listened in with concern over the battle that was too far away for them to see.

Griffin spoke into the frequency, “Is there an order for backup? Base is standing by.”

A loud explosion on the other end of the frequency created dead silence over the speaker.

“I repeat - is there an order for backup?” Griffin’s face grew more worried at the silence. “Has the threat been neutralized?”

Walker looked up grimly, “Gunnar, it’s your call.”

Gunnar nodded. “Sound the alarm.”

Griffin obliged by hitting the alarm, sending troops running to grab gear and jump on trucks.

A shockwave of sound interrupted the alarm and paused everyone in their tracks. A voice echoed across the speakers into every room of the base, something that had never occurred before.

“This is Commander Vernis speaking, directly from the Talon. You are to stand down. The gates will remain closed, and all personnel must remain on base, until further notice. Anyone who does not comply will be demoted and deported from Aerod. I repeat – stand down!”

The men stood in shock, while Noa began to feel panic rising inside of her over the safety of her brother and friend. Glancing at the others, she saw they were just as bewildered and wondering why Talon would restrict them in saving the soldiers.

Walker looked at Griffin, “What’s going on?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Gunnar immediately jumped in front of Griffin to page the Talon command center. “This is Major Gunnarsson from the Aerod command post. Colonel Harper needs reinforcements. Please lift the order -”

“Negative, Major. You will stand down.”

“Colonel Harper is under attack!”

“The mission has been compromised. Five drones have been destroyed. We have released countermeasures. Stand by for updates.”

Khomo covered his mouth in disbelief, with Noa looking back in fear.

“What are the countermeasures? Does that mean they sent someone to help defend them from the rebels?” she asked rapidly.

Griffin stared at the floor quietly. “That means they launched missiles.”

“On the rebels?”

“On the entire area.”

Noa swallowed hard, wrapping her head around the gravity of his words. “Why would they do anything to harm their own soldiers?”

“We don’t know.” Walker answered grimly.

Turning around slowly to leave the room, Noa couldn’t shake the looks of their ashen faces, knowing everyone sent on the mission was possibly injured or worse. She couldn’t let herself believe her brother was dead, it was impossible that he would ever leave her. He had promised he never would. Surely, he had thought of some clever plan to escape from the missiles just in time. She was certain she would see him enter the gates with Macawi and the others, victorious and eager to share the story of how they had pulled it off. Gazing out toward the gate, she felt numb.

“Noa?”

She turned her head to see Li’s concerned face staring back.

“Do I have to hide from the drones again?”

“We don’t know if there are any left. Griffin believes six were dispatched, but five were confirmed as destroyed. The last one was most likely destroyed too.”

She looked back at him hopelessly. “What can we do, Li?”

“We must wait. And pray.”

Noa nodded and resigned to waiting in front of the gate for permission to search for the missing soldiers. She wasn’t alone, for the entire base waited in anticipation in the courtyard.

The night sky brought more frustration over the constraints of the Talon leaders, as the speakers remained silent. Bonfires were lit across the courtyard with the hope that survivors would see from a distance and make their way closer to the base.

Noa sat glumly with the others. Listening to the crackling of the fire, Noa stared down in thought, until she picked up a familiar scent. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she jumped from her spot on the ground. “Someone’s coming!”

The men leapt to their feet around her. Before they could speak, Griffin burst out of the control room and shouted across the courtyard. “Radar is picking up something approaching!

”

Walker shouted, “Can you tell what it is?!”

“No! It’s going slow, could be injured!”

Gunnar ran to stand directly in front of the gate. “Open the gate!”

Ryu ran to stand beside him, “Will the Talon-”

“We open the gate!”

Soldiers moved quickly to stand with weapons ready, in case the rebels approached, while medics stood ready to administer aid if needed.

“Can anyone see anything?” Khomo’s voice echoed out.

Shouts rang out to answer with a negative on visual.

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness, the light of the base gradually shining down on their silhouette.

“Macawi!” Ryu shouted, while sprinting to his friend.

The other men darted after him, with medics in tow, happy to see he had survived. Noa grabbed his hand as he was laid on a stretcher and carried to the medical unit.

“Is Harper behind you? Is he alright?” she asked eagerly.

“Noa.” His dirt covered face looked at her in sadness. “I’m so sorry. I tried.”

“What are you saying-”

Walker interrupted, “Are there other survivors?”

Macawi closed his eyes in pain and quietly answered, “No. They’re all gone.”

Noa shook her head and trembled violently. “No. He’s not gone. He’s not. We just need to find him.”

She tried to charge towards the gate while it was closing shut but Khomo grabbed her and held her back.

“Stop it! Let me go! We just need to find him!” Her eyes filled with tears while she fought to break free from his grasp. “Open the gate! I can find him!”

The ground began to rumble underneath their feet, causing soldiers to run around in panic.

Khomo refused to release her from his arms while she sobbed, until she slowly gave up and dropped to her knees. “He’s gone. I’m sorry.”

When the rumbling faded away, he gently helped her stand and guided her into the medical unit behind the others.

Walker met them outside the room where Macawi was placed for treatment and prevented them from going inside. “They said he needs rest. Better to speak to him in the morning.”

Daylight couldn’t come soon enough for Noa, who found it impossible to sleep. Even with Khomo dozing off in the chair beside her window, she found no comfort. Eyes red from crying, she hugged her little bear and thought of how she should have gone with the unit. She could have saved them all. Could have saved him. She was all alone now. What would she do now that her only family was gone? She had only ever known Black Rock, leaving it terrified her. She was lost in her thoughts when light flooded through the window and woke Khomo.

“Did you sleep?”

“No.” Her voice was just a whisper, her throat sore.

“Let’s find the others.”

The coolness of the air helped opened Noa’s swollen eyes and felt good on her face. The bonfires had been left in the courtyard. They never left them when Harper was here. The stars were still rising in the sky when she sat down beside the others around the fire.

Li quickly placed a bowl of hot food in her hands. “Here! You eat this!”

Khomo had found a blanket to drape around her shoulders while she forced herself to take a bite.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Griffin fussed at Macawi, who was hobbling towards them.

“I hate hospitals. They always remind me of death.”

“You need time to recover-” Griffin began.

“I can recover better outside. I need fresh air.”

Noa watched him sit down with great effort by the fire, sending Li running to grab another bowl of food. A silence hung between the group as they stared at the rising stars.

Ryu asked quietly, “What will they do to honor them? The Talon, I mean.”

Gunnar answered. “They will collect their remains and scatter them with the stars. Military send off. I will request memorials to be made here.”

Walker looked up thoughtfully. “Do you think they’ll send a replacement or withdraw the research?”

Clenching his jaw, Gunnar shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Li nodded while gazing at the stars. “He should have the send-off of a king.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Noa looked at him curiously. “How would you do that here?”

Standing to his feet, Li placed his hands on his hips and paced back and forth in thought. “Mmm. I would go to the highest rock peak, just beyond the base over there, and I would bow in respect. Then I would launch fireworks. He loved to watch them.”

Noa thought it sounded like a fitting tribute to Harper, something that would’ve made him smile.

“How do you bow?”

“Ah! I will show you the proper way!”

Lifting his arms to shoulder height, he pulled them straight out in front of him and put one hand over his other fist, bowing dramatically with his face towards the ground.

Noa nodded respectfully at her dear friend and hugged the blanket close around her.

Macawi nodded in approval. “We all have different traditions of how to show respect to great people. But I like your way.” Looking into the fire, he continued, “If I could go back...I would have done this for my wife and son.”

Glancing over in surprise, Noa replied, “I didn’t know you had a wife and son.”

“Yes. They were a source of happiness to me. My reason for coming to this place.”

Walker inserted, “My little brother was mine. Practically raised him.” Laughing to himself, he added, “Little punk most of the time, but we got on.”

“My daughter was mine. Her mother left early on, so it was just the two of us. She wanted to explore the galaxy.” Ryu smiled sadly.

Griffin said, “My wife was pregnant with a little girl. She wanted to name her Lucy.” He looked at his food as though he had lost his appetite, before adding, “I always wonder what she would have looked like.”

“I had two sons with my wife. They were very smart. Much smarter than me.” Gunnar fondly reminisced.

Khomo stated, “We had five.” When everyone looked at him in surprise, he smiled proudly. “We always wanted a large family. And...my wife was the most beautiful woman.” The group laughed along with him until the sadness of their memories quieted them once more.

Li sighed deeply. “I had a daughter. Everyone told me it was better to have sons to carry on the legacy, but I think they were wrong. She wanted to be a chef when she grew up. I should have told her how proud I was of her.”

“And Harper had a sister-” Walker started to say, before ending the sentence abruptly.

Noa looked at him with confusion. “I’m his sister.”

“Yeah. Yeah, right.”

“Is-”

“There’s someone outside the gate!” The soldier’s voice rang throughout the courtyard, alerting everyone to open the gate with the hope of more survivors.

“Maybe there are others who made it out of the fight.” Walker stated with excitement.

When the gate creaked open, they stood at the entrance waiting for an update from Griffin, who had raced up to the surveillance room. The landscape showed no one in sight, only the black rock and sand for miles until the jagged cliffs began.

“Does anyone see them?” Walker asked.

No one saw a rock out of place, creating confusion of what the soldier had seen, even though he swore the person was there a second ago. While they shouted for an update from the control tower, Noa saw them. A lone figure peered back at them from the cliffs, almost unnoticeable among the rocks.

“There! On the rocks, there’s someone standing there.”

The men squinted to see, but the distance was too great without view finders to magnify the rocky terrain. It was only when they provided some, they could see where she pointed.

Macawi said gravely, “That’s not one of us...”

“One of the rebels?” Ryu asked in wonder.

The sighting was short-lived, as the mysterious person vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

Walker began, “They looked-”

“Like me.” When the men dropped their view finders to look at Noa, her jaw was set with determination. “What are you not telling me?”

Sitting on a pile of equipment in a secluded part of the courtyard, Noa waited for one of the men to speak. It must be bad if they wouldn’t discuss it within earshot of the other soldiers. The men looked uneasy of who should do the talking until Khomo stepped forward to address her question.

“Twenty years ago, a large meteor hit Earth and caused destruction to much of the water. The damage became more serious as more water was contaminated by it, killing wildlife and innocent people. Because of that, nations united in exploring other options for human habitation and resettlement. Volunteers were asked for missions to the furthest planets from Earth that showed similar atmospheres, Aerod being one of them. Our families were killed in the wars between governments over remaining resources. We were volunteers for research here, to train other exploration units and to develop natural resources to one day bring people here.”

“How did I come to be here?” Noa questioned.

“This planet had the water and life necessary for resettlement, but it was already occupied. A small group welcomed us to live here, they recognized they were slowly dying out and needed help. Before we could learn more from them, another species hunted them down and killed all but one in this region. You.”

“I’m not...human?”

“You are an Aerodite. You have special abilities we don’t fully understand-”

“I can see in the dark.”

Ryu interjected, “You can also hear and see for many miles.”

Khomo nodded before adding, “And you can shake the ground when you are angry.”

“That’s why I have to stay calm...”

“Yes.” Khomo answered.

Thoughts began to swirl in Noa’s mind of all the times she had felt the ground quake when she was upset and how they had always cautioned her to control her emotions. “But why did you tell me I was Harper’s sister?”

Khomo replied, “Because you were, in a way. You were a baby when we found you. To us, you were the families we lost. We could not save them, but we could save you.”

Choking back tears, Noa was left speechless. Everything she thought she knew was gone. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her and she couldn’t breathe. Slowly standing up, she dropped the blanket and walked back toward the balcony to retreat to her room.

Khomo said, “Noa-”

“I need to think.”

The bedroom Noa had always known as her own space seemed so foreign to her now, even though she had grown up in it. Pictures of Ryu’s artwork were pinned to the walls, making an otherwise drabby space look colorful. She touched the necklace around her neck, thinking of Harper’s last words to her. The alarm began going off loudly, interrupting her thoughts. Racing outside the door, Noa stood looking out at chaos in the courtyard.

“Noa! Stay up there!” Walker shouted, while running towards the gate with a large weapon.

Soldiers lined up beside Walker behind the closed gate with weapons pointed, while other soldiers continued running to get into position.

Noa sprinted to the end of the balcony to a rickety ladder scaling to the roof, where she scrambled to the top for a better view beyond the gate. What she saw dropped her stomach. Something was speeding quickly to the base, something under the dirt that created a long trail behind it. From what Noa could see, there were three trails heading straight for them. Pausing to think, she remembered what Khomo had said.

“Another species hunted them down...” she muttered to herself. “They’re from the cavern.” Her eyes locked on the creatures racing to them. “Think, Noa, THINK.” Pacing quickly back and forth, she noticed the unusual rock formation a good distance from the base, where many boulders were clumped at the top of a cliff. Pursing her lips together, she ran back to the ladder.

When her feet hit the ground of the balcony, she began shouting, “Griffin! Griffin!”

As soon as she spotted him darting out of the surveillance room below, she yelled, “Get everyone inside! They’re under the ground!”

“Noa, you need to stay up there!”

“No! Listen to me! Get everyone above ground and launch a missile when I signal!”

“What?!”

But his words were ignored as Noa ran swiftly down to the kitchens and through the maze of hallways leading to the exit Khomo had shown her before, to the land between the old base remnants and the new. Spotting the movements of the creatures, she clenched her fists in anger and felt rage surging through her veins. The ground began to quake under her feet as she sprinted out to meet the creatures.

The alarm continued to blare in the background, along with the sound of the large missile launcher moving to face the rock formation she ran to. The ground felt loose on her feet, the same way it had when she ran to help in the cavern. Noa could feel her body push to a speed even greater than before, this time she felt more control over her actions and less panic of what was happening to her.

“C’mon!”

The ground grumbled louder with her shout, sending the creatures shooting off in different directions while she sped between them. The sound of her feet running attracted them to follow her beneath the ground, away from the base. She hoped Griffin could see her as she raised her arm high to point to the rock formation, which she was fast approaching. Sensing the creatures gaining on her, she pushed forward and held onto the small lead ahead of them until she finally reached the rocks. Turning her head slightly, she heard the launch of the missile behind her and felt the creatures jumping out from the ground to catch her.

“Aaahh!!”

The explosion of the missile created an avalanche of boulders she barely escaped from while she turned sharply and ran away. The creatures were crushed at once by the black rocks, unable to flee under the ground fast enough.

Stopping to survey the damage, Noa smiled with accomplishment that she had finally been able to help this time. Movement caught her eye from a distance, revealing a cluster of people watching her silently the whole time. Feeling uneasy, she began to jog back to base.

“Noa!”

Reaching the base, Noa smiled at the warm embrace of Macawi, who happily greeted her at the opened gate.

Turning to walk through the courtyard, Khomo ran up and held her face gently in his hands with concern. “Are you injured?”

“No, I’m ok.”

The others ran up to check her for injuries until another soldier notified them that leaders from Talon were paging them immediately. Gunnar, Khomo and Walker ran to speak to them, while Noa walked across the courtyard with the others.

“Why are they looking at me like that?” Noa asked.

The soldiers on base were staring at Noa with expressions of uncertainty, making her feel very out of place.

Macawi answered, “They are afraid of what they don’t understand. Don’t take it to heart.”

Noa nodded in reply but felt like a sideshow from the stares.

Ryu looked at Noa in curiosity. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to run some scans over you in the lab.”

“Yeah, ok.”

Li waved them on, “You go ahead! I will bring you something to eat!”

Daylight shined through the windows of the lab, making the dusty air more noticeable to Noa, who sat in a rickety chair, opposite Macawi. The lab was merely the term Ryu used to describe the long rectangular room filled with books and bottles used for experimenting soil samples collected from various locations of Black Rock.

“They still won’t give you the new lab room?” Noa asked, while opening an old leather book.

Ryu shut the book and carefully placed it back on the shelf. “They did give it to me. I just don’t like it. Too new.”

Smiling to herself, Noa could see why he preferred this room, the light was better, and it felt warmer than the sterile rooms normally found on base.

“Plus, there is no room for my books. I need them all for my research. No, this place is much better.”

“Ah. Well, did you find anything helpful in your tests?”

Ryu’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Yes! I took samples of the ground around the cavern where we first found those creatures and found they contained minerals that were triggering the blackness of the soil. The toxicity of their bodies was killing the vegetation and causing the land to die. I believe once I take soil samples after the creatures died, we will see the improvement needed in the soil to restore it back to its original state.”

“That means people can be brought here to escape!

“Yes! If we can see the growth in the soil, this could be the breakthrough we need! Many people from Earth will be saved.”

Noa paused for a moment and tilted her head to listen, sensing a strangely familiar sound from outside.

“What is it?” Macawi asked.

“I don’t know. Something outside, but I can’t tell how close it is. I feel like I’ve heard it before.”

Macawi jumped out of his chair to investigate. “I’ll check outside.”

Ryu stood cautiously after Macawi left the room and disappeared around the building. His eyes watched Noa intently as she slowly moved to the door, listening to the strange sound, wishing she could place the familiarity of it.

“I know I’ve heard that before.”

Taking one step outside the doorway to scan the open area outside, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand. “Can’t be-” A click sound came from her left, where she turned to look straight in the red lights of a giant drone. The machine was badly damaged from the missiles launched from Talon, which must have been why the humming sound was off.

Before she could move, she was shoved hard back into the room, where she fell backward to the floor. The sound of the drone opening fire was stopped by another weapon destroying it on the spot, allowing Ryu and Noa to run out of the door.

Noa spotted Macawi running up with his weapon drawn, having seen the drone from behind and shooting it down. Hearing a groan, Noa looked to the right and saw Li slumped on the ground beside the door.

“Li!”

Helping him sit up, she saw that he’d been hit multiple times before Macawi was able to make it to the drone. “Hurry! Get him to the medic unit!”

Grabbing her hand and shaking his head, he replied, “No.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! We have to take you there you now!”

“Noa.” His eyes looked resigned to accept what was happening, while he struggled to swallow.

“Li-”

“Listen to me. I cannot go any further.”

Tears ran down Noa’s face as she looked at Li’s loving face, struggling to understand why this was happening again. “You got hurt because of me.”

“No. I lived a full life...because of you.” Touching the side of her face, he added, “I finally get to tell my daughter how proud I am of her. And how much I love her.”

Noa whispered, “Love you too.”

Closing his eyes, he passed away while Khomo and the others ran up to them in panic. The group stood in silence at the sight of their dear friend.

The tragic death of one of their soldiers by Talon’s own drone was a sobering blow to the commanders, who retracted all restrictions in and out of the base. Harper and the other fallen soldiers were immediately brought back for an honorable burial among the stars.

Noa stood watching the perfect formations of soldiers saluting as lights were launched into the air by cannons. Her gaze wondered across the open land to the cliffs once more, to the figures standing watch. Even from far away, she could tell they were like her. The number of them seemed to be growing every time they appeared, which was strange to her.

When the soldiers were dismissed, Walker and the others lingered beside Noa, who they noticed was looking toward the cliffs.

“You see more of them, don’t you?” Walker asked.

Noa glanced at him and nodded.

“Well. Might be good to see what they want. Aerod is a big planet, you could have family-”

“I do have family. I’m standing beside them.”

“You know what I mean, runt.”

Noa furrowed her brow and turned around to walk away. “I’m not ready.”

Inside the safety of her room, Noa laid back on her bed, clutching her little bear. She wished things could go back to the way they were before Harper was sent out to find the rebels, back to when everyone she loved was safe. She missed the bossy tone of his voice and how he always made her feel protected. She missed Li instructing her how to hold chopsticks properly and correcting her posture when she was learning a new combat technique. She didn’t want things to change, but knew they would want her to keep going, whatever that meant. The weight of the world felt suffocating on her shoulders and all she could do was fall asleep from exhaustion.

Daylight poured through her window and hit her right in the eyes, prodding her to wake from a deep sleep. Descending from the balcony to the courtyard, she was surprised to see the gate was already open. Then again, it was already daylight, so the others may have done morning exercises without her. One of the military vehicles drove in the gate and pulled up quickly in front of her, with an enthusiastic Ryu hopping out of the back.

“Look, Noa! Look at this!”

Moving to glance at his outstretched hand, she saw black dirt mixed with sprouts of green.

“What is it?”

“Grass! It’s starting to sprout on the other side of the cliffs!”

Looking at him in shock, Noa laughed with excitement.

“There is life here. You did it.”

Shaking her head, she answered, “I wasn’t the only one to kill those creatures.”

“Talon sent back confirmation of the renewed soil. But it wasn’t just the creatures being killed, it was also the seismic activity from the earthquakes. The rock was loosened and crushed to allow growth.”

“What?”

“None of us realized why the ground changed after the death of the Aerodites, but now we know. I believe your people are the reason this planet flourished.”

Reaching out to take a piece of grass out of his hand, she asked, “But why didn’t any of these people watching from the cliffs stop the creatures earlier? Why did they allow the black rock to cover everything?”

“I may be able to answer that.”

Noa looked over to see Gunnar walking with the others to meet them.

“We spoke with them, near the cliffs,” he stated.

“You met them? What did they say? Why are they here now?”

Gunnar replied, “There are many more of them, all over the planet. They have been hiding from the creatures, who have hunted them. The quakes attract them, so they have had to keep to the rocks for safety.”

“How did they find us here?”

“They could feel the vibrations every time you caused a quake. They finally had the courage to travel the full distance here to find you.”

Noa looked down in thought. “So, what happens now?”

“Now the Talon will equip them, and you will lead them to hunt and eliminate any more creatures.” Khomo stated firmly.

“What? Me? I’m not a soldier.”

Khomo looked at her seriously. “Noa, we have trained you your whole life. You must step out and lead now.”

Unsure of what to say, she could only blink in reply until she thought of the many people in need of their help, here and on Earth. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Khomo smiled and held out his arm to pull her towards the gate. “We have much to do.”

The days that followed were a blur to Noa, fully immersed in working alongside her old family and new, to prepare plans of exploration and restoration to the planet. Convoys from Talon visited regularly after discovering the renewed vegetation. Additional workers were sent to monitor growth and plan communities to support the people who would be brought here from Earth, while she continued to train her people to fight and control the quakes for loosening the rock.

When the giant shuttles once again landed outside the base, Noa thought more workers would be brought to assist in the agricultural units, like before. Instead, only a handful of soldiers exited the vessel in search of Gunnar. Her curiosity peaked, she watched as they met with not only Gunnar, but Khomo and the others in a closed-door meeting. She was unable to remain waiting for them when she was called over to begin a training exercise, but before long, she was quickly summoned by a soldier.

Her eyes scanned the room to see that Gunnar, Khomo, Walker, Ryu, Griffin, and Macawi were waiting quietly inside. “What’s going on? Something wrong?”

Gunnar responded, “We have been called by Talon commanders to lead the rescue missions to Earth.”

Noa smiled, “That’s great! When do we leave?” The looks on their faces seemed downcast at the question, which she realized could only mean one thing. “I’m not going, am I?”

“You are the only one who can lead the missions across Aerod.” Khomo replied.

“I understand. When do you leave?”

Gunnar answered, “Tomorrow morning, same time they’re sending out a team with you.”

Nodding, Noa thought of the timelines for each mission and felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach.

“When will we see each other again?”

Gunnar looked down and shook his head grimly. “It could be a while.”

“Oh.” When she saw how unhappy they looked, Noa tried her best to assure them she’d be fine. “It’s ok, really. I’ll be here when you get back.”

Khomo gave a small smile before squeezing her shoulder and leaving the room, with everyone trailing behind him. They didn’t say anything, but Noa knew them well enough to know when they were putting on a brave face.

The evening was spent around the bonfires watching Macawi and Khomo take turns with amazing stories of their adventurous days on Earth among the beautiful wildlife of their homelands. Soldiers laughed beside their Aerodite friends, listening and marveling at the stories while the daylight slipped quietly away, and darkness covered the sky.

Noa hugged her knees to her chest as she looked around at the faces of these men she had known her whole life. Without anyone noticing, she slipped away from the group. There was one thing left for her to do before morning.

The light of day pierced across the beautiful cliffs, now dusted with blades of green springing through the rock. The base was a buzz of activity as all the teams were completing their checklists before departing on separate missions.

Noa could see the men walking slowly past the shuttles to gaze outside the gate at the landscape they had known for so many years. When she walked out to them, they turned to greet her.

“I noticed your friends over there. Looks like they want to do a bit of a run before takeoff, eh?” Walker joked.

“Yeah. Well, little run never hurt, right?” she teased, making him laugh.

When he reached out to embrace her, she fought to hold back tears.

“Make them keep up with you, runt. Stay safe.”

“I will. Be careful.”

Stepping away to turn to Ryu, she reached out to take the military badge he held out.

“Talon approved you as an official member of the force.”

Her fingers ran over the name on it in surprise. “Noa Li Harper.”

“I figured you would like that.”

“I do.” Tears started to trickle down her cheek when she hugged him. “I wish they were here.”

Ryu smiled, “They will always be with you.”

Turning to Gunnar, she smiled as he gently wiped away her tears.

“You are stronger than you know. Don’t overthink things or doubt yourself, understand?”

She nodded before he pulled her in for a bear hug.

Griffin smiled at her when she stepped in front of him. “Try not to boss the new techs around too much, they’re already afraid of their own shadows. I don’t mind if you remind them how much better I am, though.”

Noa laughed, “With pleasure.”

Macawi motioned for her to hold out her arm when she turned to him. When she did so, he placed a leather cuff on her wrist and motioned for her other arm. “I made you these. To remember where you came from.”

The beautifully made cuffs had each of their names etched into them, four on each cuff. Her eyes lit up when she saw each of the names looking back at her.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she embraced him.

The last one was Khomo, who held back his emotions until she ran to hug him tightly.

When he pushed her back to look at her, he smiled proudly. “It has been an honor to raise you and see who you have become. Never forget the things we have taught you.”

“I won’t forget. I promise.”

The group of Aerodites walked out of the gate to stand waiting for Noa in silence. Khomo noticed them and nodded in approval.

“You will do great things, Noa. You are free to be who you were made to be. Free to be with your family.”

Noa laughed through the tears, “I’ve always had a family. Always will.”

Grinning back at her, he motioned out to the land and said, “Your family wants to see you run free. Go!”

She stepped back to look at them all one last time before she turned around and darted across the open land, with the Aerodites running closely behind. She aimed for the largest peak of the cliffs and pushed herself to race as fast as her legs would go. The land flew under her feet as memories of her life flooded into view. Of the times Gunnar carried her around on his shoulders, and when Griffin read her stories with different voices for each character. The times Walker would teach her how to prank the others with buckets wired over a doorway, and the times Macawi taught her to fight in combat, even when she was too small to hold a weapon. The times Ryu would teach her about rocks and make her scavenger hunts, and the times Harper would hold her when she fell or got hurt. The memories filled her heart of how loved she always was, and how these men had changed her life.

On the highest point of the cliffs, she stood out to see the envoys slowly rising from the ground inside the base. When the shuttles flew slowly over the land, the full-length window covers were opened on the sides to look at the view before launching into space. When Noa saw their faces, she held her arms straight out and then pulled them together to hold her fist, the way Li had shown her. Tears streamed down her face as she bowed her head towards them. Lifting her head back up, she leaned back and shouted with all her might to shake the ground. The other Aerodites joined her, causing the black rock to loosen and collapse, exposing a gush of water that crashed onto the ground below. Noa smiled at the vessel as the window panels closed and launched high into space.

The missions on Aerod continued, with Noa at the helm, and the united success of Talon and the Aerodites. The ground flourished and many community structures began construction in anticipation of the people from Earth. Sometimes Noa would hear a mention of how the men were doing from a commander or soldier who happened to cross their paths. She didn’t know where they were right now, but she smiled when a commander mentioned the eccentric group of soldiers who always ate together at a table with three empty chairs and a little stuffed bear. Every time she felt the necklace Harper had given her and the cuffs on her wrist, she felt a sense of gratitude and love. To everyone else, these men were just soldiers. But to her, they were kings.