The Elite

After the War

log: [failed]

"IRENE! Irene, Irene!" Kashyy is screaming. I spot a fleck of golden hair among the wreckage. "There. I think she's there," I gasp. We're both panting, but we manage to pull her out of the broken scraps of metal that were once our ship. We were meant to come here to rescue one of the remaining Elite. The war ruined us. We were once the galaxy's power. Yet now we stand here, barely holding onto the facade of that power.

A flash of light pulls me from my thoughts. Kashyy's magic. I envy her power. I was never blessed with a unique gift. Kashyy is desperately trying to heal Irene. To fix any broken bones, any bleeding, but her efforts are in vain. The Elite's magic is failing. We try to hide it. To keep seeming powerful, but our eyes are fading...

"It's not working." Kashyy drives her fist into the earth, her fist finding a stone. Cracks start to spread from the point of impact

"Is she... gone?"

Kashyy looks back up at me, with the gold eyes we all share streaming with tears. "Look," she chokes out. Irene's eyes... a deep green. Not gold. Her power has left her. Sensing her passing. Gone to find someone else, I hope.

"We came here to bring back an Elite, Irvin. Not lose one!" She punches the same stone. This time it shatters.

"Hey, hey. It's alright. We– we can head into town." I take Kashyy's shoulders. Calm down. If you're calm, they're calm. "We'll try to make contact with Norith. Figure out what dump of a planet we're on, and head home. We can still try to find Nadia. That's still something."

"We still lost Irene," Kashyy snaps and yanks away from me. "Lost one, found one. That's net-zero."

"For all we know, Nadia still has all her powers. Irene's were fading."

"Irene still mattered." She snaps but doesn't meet my eyes.

I said the wrong thing. Like I always manage to do. But I should have known. Irene was everything to Kashyy. "I'm sorry, okay? I said the wrong thing. But we can still get something from this mission."

We're surrounded by a large expanse of flat land. It could have once been farmland, but years of war have destroyed it. Even a small, undeveloped planet could be pulled into a war. Even for just the natural resources, new planets can be fought for. Ironically, destroying the same thing that had been fought over. The land is spotted with craters and ditches and make-shift tents that were never taken down. Whether this was from them being abandoned or the occupants dying, we'll never know. Despite all of this, there's still life. Stone walls rise from the once green grass. They're battered and worn, but you can still hear faint chatter from within them. Two armored guards stand to the sides of the entrance.

"Names?" One of them asks without looking up. They have rough Common, heavily accented with something I can't recognize.

"Irvin and Kashyy."

The guard looks up and his eyes widen. There's a small exchange in a language I don't know.

"I'm sorry. We can't let you in." He looks nervous.

"Sorry, what?" He's got to be kidding us. "We're Elite."

"Sir, that's part of the reason–."

"Akrym." A new voice chimes out. A figure clothed in simple clothes saunters towards the gate and leans against a nearby lamp post. "Let them in. We can be friends." Slowly, they come out of the shadow. Their black hair's pulled back in a simple bun. They have the clothes of any other commoner. Loose grey-brown pants and well-worn plain shirt. There are only two odd things. A well-crafted jacket and... their eyes. They're gold. An Elite? Maybe even Nadia.

The guards don't move immediately, but the girl gives them a stare and they back off. She doesn't look like much but certainly seems to have their earned respect.

"Come on." She gestures towards the town.

I exchange a glance with Kashyy, before jogging to catch up to the girl.

"Well," She says, turning on a heel to face us, raising her arms up, "Welcome to Dartile!"

"Dartile? Isn't that a mining planet?" I ask. We're going at a slow pace, but I feel like something's off. Something about her's familiar

"Why do you think this place looks like this?" She askes, raising an eyebrow.

Kashyy's eyebrows knit before jumping in, "Well thank you for welcoming us. My name is Kashyy, this is Irvin."

She lets outs out a small laugh. "Well, my name is..." She pauses for a second, "Ren."

"Really? I knew someone with a similar name."

"Huh."

We're getting off track. We came here for a reason. "Excuse me, Ren. Do you know anyone by the name of Nadia?"

"Nadia... I can't seem to remember anyone by that name passing through."

I still don't get it. She looks like someone. Someone familiar. Kashyy and Ren's chatter continues in the background.

"So you're looking for an Elite?"

"Yes. We are... you are one, right..?"

She lets out a laugh. "My, how could you tell? And yes. I suppose I am. Never bothered to join, though"

"Isn't it required?"

She pauses as her brows furrow. "I don't know. They never took notice of me in that way."

So Ren's an Elite. Ren, Ren, Ren. She looks like someone. Syet. And then it clicks. "Sorry, do you know anyone named Draconaqois?"

She stops dead in her tracks. Looks like I hit a nerve. She pauses before confirming, "Dranconaqois?"

"Yes, do you know them?"

Kashyy's looking at me with wide eyes. Really? Her eyes seem to say.

"I... I knew them. But they're not here anymore." She says, her voice drifting to regret as my eyes dart to her hand brushing against the knife hanging from her belt.