2199 Extinction
Saltu

“All the stores I’ve searched keep coming up empty. Does anyone else have eyes on them?” I ask after searching my third store.

“No. But I found daddy and his men. Apparently, they search a lot faster than we do.” Amancia’s voice says, coming through the CCD. “I’m going to go see how their search is going.”

“I haven’t found them either. But I’m about to go through my third restaurant. Hey! Watch it!” Amlican shouts.

“Sorry guys, some idiot ran into me. I don’t know, maybe they aren’t here. Wait!”

“What? Did someone run into you, again?” I ask stifling a laugh, as I walk a lap around the store.

“No! I found them. Or rather I found her!” Amlican shouts excitedly.

“Where are you?” I ask as I leave the store.

“It’s a little restaurant called Frengrens. I believe it was the one we were in when we first arrived here. There’s a small shop selling various creatures, just outside. Hurry up. I’m going in now, to talk with her.” Amlican says.

“I passed that place not too long ago. I’m on my way.” I say, rushing across the common area. In my hurry to get to them, I don’t pay attention to where I’m going, and I run full force into a female Talfarian and knock her to the ground.

“Excuse you!” she shouts at me.

“Sorry!” I shout, looking back at her while running. This is possibly the worst idea I’ve ever had because as soon as I turn around, I see the large cage sticking out. I attempt to stop, but it’s too late, I crash into it and flip over it. I land, hard, on my back. I seem to have landed on some sort of large plant, with orange flowers.

“Get off my flowers!” the shopkeeper shouts.

I roll over and jump to my feet. I quickly dust most of the orange pollen off my clothes and run into the restaurant. My eyes dart around the room, looking for mother and Amlican. Come, on! Where are they? I finally spot them, midway through the restaurant. They seem to be having a chat about something or another. I slow my pace, so I don’t freak her out, and head for them.

“You are the princess?” I ask when I approach. Fear fills her eyes when she sees me.

“Yes. I am Nova.”

“Good. Come with me. We need to get you out of here before Malum comes back.” I say, turning to walk away.

“It’s okay. She’s here to help you.” I hear Amlican saying.

I wait for them to catch up, before moving on. “Malum is a bad guy. He intends to murder you. I am here to make sure he doesn’t.”

“Why do you care? I thought your people hate my people,” she asks, quietly.

“Most of them do. But if Malum’s plan succeeds, not only will he murder you, but he will also annihilate my entire race. I can’t let that happen. I will get you as close to your planet as I can, and Amlican will see to it that you make it the rest of the way. Just promise me you will not marry Malum, for any reason.” I say.

“I promise,” she says.

“Astra! Over here.” Amancia says waving me over. She is standing in a large group of Copaie, right next to her father.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Nova says, backing up.

“Malum and Henric both said to stay away from the Copaie.”

Two of Soltig’s men step forward and each grabs one of Nova’s arms.

“Come with us. We will make sure Malum’s plan doesn’t succeed.” Soltig says.

They march her through the crowds and onto the elevator, with me following close behind. We ride the elevator down to the bottom, back to where Amlican and I started our journey. We walk the long narrow hallway, passing door after door, not stopping until we reach one with the number forty-two above it. Soltig runs his hand across the door, and it opens to reveal a large black ship.

“Soltig? I mean, sir? Can I ask where we are going?” I say nervously. I remember reading that the Copaie chain of command is all males and they demand respect, especially from their women. Unlike the Talfarian people, which is a Matriarchy, the Copaie are a patriarchal society. If I want to survive amongst my people, I better start respecting their traditions.

“Home. Where we belong.” He says before boarding the ship.

“What about Nova?” I ask and then I add, “sir.”

He turns and looks at me, grunts, and then answers, “She is coming as well. Now, no more questions. Go with Amancia and go to sleep. We will be home in the morning.” He waves me off and disappears into a room.

“Wait. No. Let me go. I am supposed to be meeting Henric and Addy.” Nova says, struggling with the guards. But it doesn’t do her any good, they don’t loosen their grip. All three of them disappear into another room.

“Come on,” Amancia says, pulling me towards another room. “She will be fine. Daddy won’t hurt her. He plans on negotiating for a few Talfarian-owned planets. That won’t work if the princess is dead.” She places her hand on a scanner and the door opens.

We step into the small room, and I see that it has nothing but an even smaller bathroom, two sets of bunk beds, and a small nightstand. I take the small communication device off my ear and place it on top of the nightstand. Then I collapse onto the nearest bed and fall asleep.

I wake up to Amancia shaking me. “What?” I ask, sleepily. I crack my eyes open and see Amancia bent over me.

“We made it. We are home,” she says, straightening up.

“Home?” I ask, fully opening my eyes and stretching. “You mean Saltu?” I jump out of bed. Saltu. The home of my people. I can’t wait to check it out. I follow Amancia off the ship, through the winding corridors of the station, and outside.

The first thing I think is how beautiful this place is. Trees that appear to be big enough to hide buildings in are everywhere. Their leaves form a shady canopy high above our heads. Where are all the buildings? All I see are trees. I follow Amancia through the dirt-lined streets, towards one of the large trees. It appears to be indistinguishable from every other tree in the forest. Or maybe the correct term is a jungle. Vines thicker than my entire body, grow with ever-reaching fingers around the tree. Multicolored flowers seem to spring up, haphazardly, throughout the vines. I can see small birds flitting from flower to flower, drinking some sort of nectar, and pollinating each flower.

“Amancia?” I call, looking around.

“Yes?” she asks, not even bothering to stop or turn around.

“Where are we? Where are all the Copaie? I thought you said we were on Saltu?”

“We are on Saltu. They are all inside.” She says, stopping in front of a large tree.

“What do you mean, inside? Where inside? I don’t even see any buildings.” I say, stopping beside her.

“Inside the trees.” She says, cryptically. She places her hand on the tree and I hear a faint beep, and then a door appears in the tree. It slides open and she disappears inside.

I take one last look around and then follow her in. Wow! She wasn’t kidding about it being inside! I knew the trees were huge, but I never imagined this. We are standing in a large room with a grey stone floor. I can see a large double staircase leading down and a smaller staircase leading up. Two tough looking Copaie stand guard at each staircase, and two more guards at the door we just came through.

Giant chandeliers, made from glass and some kind of shiny metal, hang from the ceiling. I look up, to check out the lights, and notice the beautifully painted ceiling. It appears to depict a market. Stalls line a street, with a variety of products, and everywhere I look I see Copaie. Copaie taking money in exchange for goods. Copaie paying for items. Copaie talking to each other. I’ve never seen so many of my people in my entire life, even if it’s only a painting.

“Come on. I’ll show you to the palace.” Amancia says, gently tugging on my arm.

I allow her to pull me towards the downwards double staircase, where she let’s go of me. The guards nod to us and step aside as we approach. I follow her as she leads me down the steps. We reach the bottom of the stairs, and I see two more guards, standing outside of another door. We walk towards the door, and Amancia once again places her hand on a scanner.

Once it beeps, the door opens up, to reveal an elevator. We climb aboard, and she pushes a button. I feel a jolt as we descend further down. We must be deep because my ears pop. The elevator jumps, again, I hear a ding, and then the doors slide open. It has to be a dream, but I know it isn’t. I hear the sounds of dozens of people talking all at once. What I saw above was just a small portion of the city, just an entryway. I step out of the elevator and just stare. My jaw drops in amazement.

The entire city lies underground, stretching for miles. I see the bustle of Copaie, rushing from destination to destination. Some just stand around chatting, and some scold small children. Storefronts line a shiny marbled street, strange small animals roam around, and flying creatures flit from tree to tree. I can see more children race back and forth chasing after a small blue ball. Grass! I can see lush yellow grass growing everywhere, small trees growing sporadically, and flowers of many colors as well.

I look up and see some sort of artificial sun lighting the entire place. I have always heard that Copaie were not as intelligent nor as technologically advanced as the Talfarians. Whoever started that rumor was an idiot. Not only are the Copaie technologically advanced, but they are also artistic as well. You would have to be, to make an entire underground city seem as though you were on the surface. Plus, the painting, I saw above, that thing took some serious talent. I couldn’t draw a Hundis if my life depended on it.

“You’ve never been here before, have you?” Amancia asks, turning and seeing the look of amazement on my face.

I manage to close my mouth and look at her. “No, I haven’t. I was raised on Talfar.”

“Well, then. Let me be the first to welcome you to Minerva, the capital city of Saltu. This is your home, your birthplace. The place of your people.” she says, spinning in a circle, with her arms spread wide, over her head.

“It’s beautiful,” I say, unable to stop looking around. “Is the entire city, underground? How far underground are we?”

“We are deep underground. Several miles. As for the entire city being underground, most of it is. Do you remember the staircase leading up? That’s the military barracks. There are dozens of them scattered throughout the jungle. The soldiers eat, sleep, and train both above ground and out in the jungle. Every single Copaie, from the age of ten, is required to do ten years of service. After that, they are free to live their life as they choose.” She explains.

“Ten-year-olds in the military? Wow. The Talfarian children are still receiving formal education at that point. I was still receiving an education at that point.”

“Copaie receive their basic education at home. That’s where they are taught the basic laws and how to interact with other Copaie. Once in the military, they learn how to fight and how to interact with other alien species. Come with me, I want you to meet a friend of mine.”

We walk past a variety of different shops, selling everything from food to gadgets. I don’t recognize most of what’s being sold. I suddenly replace myself full of longing, for the life, I never got to have. These Copaie, my own people, aren’t backward or simple-minded, they are as normal as the Talfarians. I could just stay here, forever. In a place where I wouldn’t be called a freak, or worse.

We stop outside a shop with a sign that says, Trossen. I think back to my study of the Copaie language, it means Comfort Food. I peer inside the glass storefront, trying to get an idea of what they sell. Instead, I replace tables lined with fancy fabric and odd-looking chairs. The tables are full of Copaie wearing equally fancy clothing. This must be some kind of fine dining restaurant.

“Come on, let’s go in,” Amancia says. “Maybe we can get you a cloth so you can clean your drool off the window.” She’s laughing when she says the last part so I’m sure she was kidding.

I pull myself off the window and use my shirt sleeve to wipe it off, just in case. Amancia opens the door, and I hear a chime go off somewhere inside. She steps through the door, and I follow her inside. My nose is greeted by a hundred different delectable scents, causing my mouth to instantly fill with saliva. A chair from a nearby empty table draws my attention. I walk over to it and run my hand over it. What I initially thought was an odd-looking chair, turns out to be a wooden chair with carved flowers and creatures. The carvings are on the back of the chair, and when I bend over, I realize they also run down the chair legs.

“My friend, he hand-carved every chair in this place. Check the legs of the table, he carved those as well.” Amancia says, from right beside me. I bend over and move the corner of the tablecloth for a better view. I run my hand down the leg of the table, realizing that it has been carved to match the chairs. Someone spent a lot of time doing this. Just wait until I tell everyone back home how amazing the Copaie planet is!

“Amancia, my darling! I have missed you! Where have you been? And how long are you staying? Are you finally ready for marriage? I won’t wait forever, you know.” A male Copaie says, walking over to us. He doesn’t wait for an answer but instead wraps her in his arms and kisses her passionately.

I straighten up and wait for them to stop. They continue to kiss as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist. I start to get embarrassed, as they seem to be drawing attention from a few nearby tables. I clear my throat, loudly and they pull apart.

“Yes. I forgot. I have someone I want you to meet. Viri, I want you to meet, Astra.” Amancia says, holding out her hand.

Viri scowls for a moment then grabs both Amancia and me by the arm and marches us through the restaurant to a back room, before letting us go. He shuts the door and then turns to face us. “Have you lost your mind? Time travel is still illegal. You will get yourselves killed!” He mumbles a few words that I don’t know the meaning of. “If she is truly, Astra….”

“She is. I did a blood test a few days ago.” Amancia interrupts.

“Why is she here? She must have come back for a reason. You can’t distract her from her mission. It must be important if she put her own life at risk.” He says.

“It is important. She’s here to kill Malum.” Amancia says.

Viri grunts in response. “Good. He is a plague to our people and to that of his own.”

“I hate to interrupt, but can I ask who this is? I’m assuming he is your lover?”

Amancia laughs and then says, “Yes, I guess you could call him that. Our passion often gets the best of us, and that’s how I found myself pregnant, much to my father’s dismay. He had a certain male in mind for me, the son of some important military commander. Anyhow, Astra, I like you to meet the owner of this restaurant, and your father.”

“In my defense, I’ve tried to marry her. But she won’t have any of it. Too much self-reliance.” Viri says.

“You got that right. I’m no male’s pawn.” She says. I can’t even begin to understand Amancia. One minute she seems like an average Copaie female, taking orders and bowing to the males. And the next she is independent and stubborn, not willing to marry and give up her freedom. I guess I am more like her than I thought. Although, if a nice male came along, and asked me to marry him, I just might say yes.