Zekra

CHAPTER 7 — Zekra

The planet appeared first as a dot. Then as a smudge. Then as something that filled the entire window and that none of the three knew how to look at without stopping.

Purple.

With turquoise mists moving through the atmosphere like living currents, as if the planet breathed with its own rhythm. The lights of the settlements shone faintly from the surface like scattered embers in the darkness.

Marek had his face pressed to the glass.

"Sira."

"Tell me."

"Now it's another world."

Sira looked at him. Something in her expression softened slightly.

"Yes," she said. "Now it is."

Arlo slowed down with his usual concentration. His hands moved over the panel with a precision that contrasted with the permanent chaos of his lab.

"I'm going to look for a landing zone away from the main settlements," he said. "No point in landing right on top of people."

"Agreed," Sira said.

"And if they detect us before we land?" Marek said.

"Probably," Arlo said. "The ship has no camouflage systems. We arrive as what we are."

"And what are we?"

Arlo thought for a moment.

"Three kids in a square white ship," he said. "We hardly look like a threat."

"That could be an advantage or a problem," Sira said.

"Probably both," Arlo replied.

The ship descended.

They landed in an open field two kilometers from the nearest settlement.

The hatch opened.

The air of Zekra rushed in.

It was different from Earth's. Denser. With a smell that had no equivalent anywhere Marek knew. Something between mineral and vegetal. Like earth after rain but with an additional component he couldn't name.

They stepped out.

The ground was dark. Almost black. With low, very dark green vegetation that crunched slightly underfoot as if it had internal structure.

Marek looked at the purple sky. The turquoise mists passed slowly overhead.

"It's beautiful," he said quietly.

"It's strategically exposed," Sira said, looking at the horizon. "Open field in all directions. No visible cover within three hundred meters."

Marek looked at her.

"Can't you say it's beautiful first and strategically exposed second?"

"I can do both at the same time."

"They were waiting for us."

The voice came from behind.

The three turned.

Twenty meters away, standing among the dark vegetation with a stillness that suggested he had been there before they landed, stood a man.

Tall. Black skin. Intense yellow eyes scanning the three of them with an attention that was neither hostile nor warm. Gray armor with gold details catching the light of the purple sky with an elegance that contrasted with the open plain around him.

He held no weapon. He didn't need one. His presence alone occupied space in a way Marek instinctively recognized as that of someone who knows exactly how much each word weighs before saying it.

"We detected your ship two hours ago," the man said. "Since you entered the atmosphere."

Arlo muttered something quietly that was probably a mental note about camouflage systems for future versions of the ship.

"We're from Earth," Sira said with her usual calm. Not a step back. No change in tone. "We come in peace."

"I know," the man said. "If I didn't, you wouldn't be standing."

Silence.

"I am Zarpon," he said. "Ruler of Zekra."

He led them to the settlement.

Not harshly. Not overly kindly. With the efficiency of someone who has made a decision and executes it without needing to explain each step.

The zekrans came out of their structures to watch them pass. Humanoid figures with black skin and yellow eyes observing them with a curiosity they didn't try to hide. Some closer. Some from a distance. All in silence.

Marek looked at them as he walked. He had never seen non-humans before. Not in person. It was different from imagining it. More real. Simpler somehow. There was nothing frightening about the zekrans looking at them. Only the natural curiosity of people seeing something they hadn't seen before.

Zarpon spoke without turning.

"How old are you?"

"Ten," Sira said.

A pause.

"All three?"

"All three."

Zarpon processed that in silence.

"And you came alone?"

"Yes."

"From Earth."

"Yes."

Another pause.

"Do your families know you're here?"

"Yes," Sira said.

"And they accepted it?"

"With difficulty," Sira admitted. "But yes."

Zarpon didn't reply. But something in his posture shifted slightly. Almost imperceptibly. Like someone who has just received information they didn't expect.

---

Zarpon's palace was functional. Dark. With the black and gold architecture of Zekra but without excess. A place built to govern, not to impress.

Zarpon led them to a room with a large computer that glowed blue when activated. He sat before it. Looked at them.

"Speak," he said.

Sira spoke.

With her usual precision. The Kratar. The legend. The approximate coordinates. What they knew. What they didn't know. Without embellishment. Without omitting the parts where the plan had holes.

Zarpon listened without interrupting.

When Sira finished, the silence lasted longer than any of them expected.

Zarpon stared at the computer screen without really seeing it.

"Do you know what's in that cave?" he said finally.

"Trinita soldiers," Sira said. "And a chara warrior named Garpon guarding the artifact."

"Do you know what a chara warrior is?"

"Supernatural abilities," Sira said. "Crimson energy. Physically superior to any human."

"Superior to anything you've ever faced," Zarpon said. "It's not the same."

Marek looked at him.

"Why are you telling us this?"

Zarpon looked directly at him.

"Because if you're going into that cave," he said, "you need to know exactly what you're up against. Not a simplified version. Not what the legend says." He paused. "The real thing."

"Then tell us the real thing," Marek said.

Zarpon looked at the three of them one by one. With that attention of his. The one that registered more than it showed.

"Garpon," he said finally, "is not just strong. He's a warrior who turned his post into his identity. He's been guarding that artifact for years in a cave on a planet that isn't his. You don't do that without a reason that goes beyond an order." He paused. "A man who fights for his identity fights differently than one who fights for an order. More dangerous. More unpredictable when threatened."

Silence.

"And you?" Sira said. "Why are you telling us all this?"

Zarpon looked at her.

"Because you came all the way here from another planet at ten years old and didn't lie to me about anything," he said. "That deserves honesty in return."

A pause.

"But I can't help you."

"Why not?" Marek said.

Zarpon looked at the screen. On it, almost imperceptibly, an indicator blinked that Marek couldn't read but that Sira watched closely.

"Because Zekra is a colony of the Trinita Empire," Zarpon said, his voice not dramatic but carrying something heavy beneath. "And a colony that rebels against its empire doesn't survive alone."

The indicator on the screen blinked once more. Zarpon turned it off with a gesture.

"I'll give you information," he said. "Everything you need to know about the cave, the soldiers, Garpon." He paused. "The rest you'll have to do yourselves."

Marek looked at him. Thought of Joe. Of the farm. Of the promise.

"All right," he said.

Zarpon looked at them a moment longer. Then nodded. Once. With the specific weight of someone who has just made a small decision that he knows could become something much larger.

"Then let's begin," he said.

END OF CHAPTER 7