The End Result... (Chapter 13 - Preparation)

[dragondream]

The End Result

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Chapter 13 – Preparation

The sun rose gently across the clear sky, painting the sky bright with red like blood. It was the next day and the storm had completely cleared away, leaving only a soft, pleasant smell in the air and a sky as clear as a well cut diamond. The breeze was calm and the winds were forgiving to the landscape. A perfect day for battle...

Robert’s eyelids opened slowly to the new and bright day. He sat up and looked around, only to see Keldak, Cantalle and Saria still fast asleep. Quietly moving forwards, Robert snuck out the door to examine the now clear scenery. The sun, so bright and red, made Robert feel as if he had landed on another planet. For the first time, a huge colony of houses could be see sloping downwards from where he was standing to as far as the eye could see. A whole colony of Old Ones, he thought. A colony of a race the rest of the universe thought was long extinct. Quiet as the whisper of the wind that day, Keldak appeared next to him, looking out onto the colony.

“For thousands of years,” Keldak said. “We have lived in secret from the machines and from the other races. We are a peace loving race, believing in knowledge and wisdom, but the rest of the universe is bloodthirsty and hungry for power and domination.”

“You cannot live like this forever,” Robert argued. “When the Xenon find you, they will kill you.”

“It does not feel good, does it? Knowing that you have created something that has killed and will kill billions of innocent people is not something pleasant.”

“No, it doesn’t. This is why I am determined to fight back and destroy the Xenon.”

Keldak snorted disapprovingly. “Fight all you like. You cannot defeat them, just as we never won against the machines.”

“But the gun,” said Robert desperately. “What about the gun? Would it not work against the Xenon?”

“Nobody has ever found the super weapon you are talking about. Its location is unknown and its capabilities more so.”

Robert stared down at the ice in despair. “At least help me save my friends.”

“That much I will do for you,” Keldak said sympathetically. “I will rally up a few of the men of the colony and we will begin marching in two hours.”

With that Keldak headed off into the colony and Robert entered the cottage. Saria was still lying unconscious in her chair and Robert walked over to where she was sitting. He gazed at her for a while and then gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand. Her eyes fluttered slowly open, looking straight into Robert’s eyes.

“Wh... wh... what happened?” she asked bewildered then looked around. “Where are we?”

“You had a bit of an accident in the snow,” Robert answered her. “You’ve been unconscious for almost a day now. We’re in the cottage of an alien we met along the way.”

“Where are the others?”

Robert’s eyes stared down at the floor. “At this point, I have no idea what’s happened to them.”

Saria’s face changed to the expression of disappointment and concern. Robert reached out his hand to hold Saria’s.

“Keldak, the alien I met, is going to assemble a group of warriors to go in to rescue the rest of the group if they are in danger. So, don’t worry about them. They’re going to be fine.”

“So, these aliens you met. What race are they?”

Robert smiled. “You are never going to believe it. They are the original Old Ones.”

“What? No, that can’t be true,” Saria said excitedly. “How? They were supposed be long extinct.”

“Nope, they are very alive. In fact, there is a whole colony of them just outside this cottage. Just don’t mention the Sohnen to them.”

Saria attempted to rise from her seat, but Robert stopped her. “Uh-uh. Relax for a while. You’ve been unconscious, remember?”

Saria eased back into her seat and sighed deeply. At that same moment, Cantalle awoke from her sleep and looked around.

“Ahh, I see the Miss has awakened from her sleep,” Cantalle said as she walked to Saria.

“Yes, I’m awake,” Saria responded smilingly.

“How are you feeling?” Cantalle asked out of concern as she felt Saria’ head to check her temperature.

“Not too bad, considering the injury and the icy blizzard I went through yesterday.”

“And your knee?” Robert asked. “Still a lot of pain?”

“No,” Saria said reassuringly. “Most of the pain has disappeared now.”

“Good,” said Cantalle. “Now, just take it easy for a couple hours and I will go and prepare a meal for you.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Are you crazy Terry? You’re going to blow up the ceiling with sixteen packs of dynamite?!”

“Well, Mr. Smith. Were you planning on climbing up there and plucking them one by one?” Terry taunted sarcastically. “We have to blow up the cavern to get the crystals.”

“But what about the map? What about the ancient alien stones?”

“You’ve got a picture of the map and those crystals are worth more to us than those darn rocks,” argued Terry furiously.

“Robert is the Commander of this expedition, so you do not make the decisions,” Harold shouted angrily. “He would have wanted us to properly document this cavern before blowing it up.”

“I was put second-in-command and Robert is nowhere to be seen. Our people are starving aboard the Savior and we do not have time to play archaeologist. Now, take several steps back to be clear of the explosion so you do not get hurt.”

Harold stepped backwards in rage, but he knew Terry was right about needing those crystals. The blast from the explosives sent a shockwave through the air and Harold was pushed back against the side of the tunnel from the force. The entire ceiling of rock and crystal came tumbling down and the entrance to the cavern disappeared out of sight, blocking out the light that had lighted the tunnel completely. Terry switched on his torch and pulled out his mining equipment, ordering everyone else to do the same. Soon, everyone was heavily chopping away at the rock, excavating the now buried crystals.

[Technojerk36]

Cantalle awake from her sleep and looked around.

Awake is present tense, the correct word would be awoke.

I can't wait for the next chapter.

[dragondream]

Most grammatical errors and typos are now fixed.

[dragondream]

The next chapter is going to be a big one... and I don't just mean size.

[Technojerk36]

Sweet, can't wait.