The Dekmár Roads: The Factions of Natorna

Chapter 12: Family Bond

        Conharsa was hard on Krefrena. The first day she got there, she collapsed soon after she got off the ship. Tuanaver rushed over and picked her off the ground and helped her to and from their transport to their new home. There was significantly more gravity and a thicker atmosphere than she was used to. The air she breathed seemed to push hard on her lungs and made it hard to breathe. At times she found herself gasping for air. Her husband, Tuanaver, did not have nearly as much difficulty as she did. He was not used to traveling from planet to planet, but he was fit from hard manual labor on the farm. Machines could only do so much, sometimes a farmer had to use their bare hands to get things done. The labor that Krefrena did took a different kind of ability. She had to take care of the kids and house and run to the market to buy or sell items. Krefrena was stuck in bed for a good part of a week.

        The children, on the other hand, had things different. Krefrena had argued endlessly when Tuanaver tried explaining it to her. She thought it was not just that they had to undergo such vile treatment. Tuanaver understood where she was coming from but also was aware of the planet's composition. Adults would be able to make do and adapt to the new environment, children, nevertheless, would not be able to. They were too small and feeble. The medical staff ensured that the children would be safe in their care and Tuanaver was content. It took Krefrena being on Conharsa, to understand why the children needed such treatment.

        The medical staff had flown a jump ship over to Cearfer's in flight and brought with them the equipment they needed. The children were placed in a type of hibernation pod that slowly acclimated them to a new environment. That way they would be able to adapt to Conharsa's biology and not quickly perish. The only big drawback was the length of time they would have to be in there. It would be about month till they would be able to be released.

        Krefrena was sitting up in bed. She felt like she had enough energy to get up out of her bed. She looked over to the next room through the open door and saw the four pods that contained her children. Her husband walked into the room coming in from outside. He noticed a few tears running down her pale face. She told turned her head and saw him. She said, "I know why they are in there. I just wish it weren't the case. They are so young. They need to live their lives and be children. Not be stuck on ice forever."

        "I know my sweet." replied Tuanaver. "It will be okay. This is so they can live here with us. It won't be forever. They only have a few more weeks left, and we can see their little faces unobstructed, spry as ever."

        The Farmer helped his wife out of bed, and she carefully walked to the dining table. She was a little shaky but was capable this time. When she sat down, he grabbed some food from the cooler, heating it up, he served her and sat down. He watched her eat uninterrupted. When she had finished, he told her the news he heard, "I just came from the city. I ran into Cearfer there. He apologized for leaving so quickly after he dropped us off. He was called back. The Council Leader wanted to talk to him about some things. While you rested, the world kept spinning. Events happened, some terrible and others less so. As of now, we are expecting some visitors staying for an extended period of time."

        "Why? What happened?"

        "I guess I'll start at the beginning. You know the orbital base above Beonaiha exploded?"

        "I think I heard about that before we got here. Is that why we are getting, who? Soldiers?"

        "It probably is part of it I am sure but yes. A few Lascarta should be here later today. Not sure how many but we need to find somewhere to put them while they are here."

        "Wonderful." Krefrena said without even trying to hide her sarcastic tone.

        "There is more, though." Tuanaver continued, "They found a survivor on the base from the explosion somehow. Don't have much information but they are endeavoring to find out more from him. I am eager myself how that was possible. The blast also affected Mortlana on Katlena and Nahvenea on Natena. Those two cities had significant damage. The blast from Beonaiha caused some reaction that caused some facilities to explode."

        Krefrena's mouth became agape with her shock. "Oh my." She said and then her mouth returned to the opened position for a few moments more. Tuanaver proceeded with what he was saying, "Now comes to the worst part. What Cearfer just told me, there was a massive fire on Glecta. He did not say where, but I hope it was not by our old farm. But, evidently, a lot of crops got caught up in the raging fire."

        Krefrena knew at once that the fire was deliberate. She may not have known all it takes to run a farm or cared to. She let that to her husband. Although, he did tell her pretty much everything. One of which was that they had a very good fire control system in place on Glecta. Other planets, such as Katlena, always seemed to have issues with them. She screamed out, "Who would do such a thing! Don't they know how important it is that people get food? We would starve without it!"

        "My dear. I think that was the idea. Whoever did this wanted to make us suffer. It is one thing entirely to attack us directly soldiers to soldiers, but it is extremely cowardly to attack our food source. They wanted to kill us off with little amount of effort possible."

        Krefrena responded slowly as what happened began to crush her as if a great weight was dropped on her shoulders, a weight she struggled to bare. "Why? Why would they hate us so much?"

       "I can't answer that."

        Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Krefrena said quickly, "You could at least answer that?"

        A small smile crept over his face as he replied, "Humor won't fix the problem."

        "No. But I rather feel better then dwelling on the troubles we have found ourselves in any way I can. I just found it kind of ironic timing more than anything."

       Tuanaver opened the door and only one Lascart was waiting. It was Laoenfer. He greeted Tuanaver with a wave and glanced at his wife before saying, "I see you two are doing alright. Especially you, ma'am. I am glad that you are able to get out of bed now. Was worried when I saw you fall getting off of the ship." She gave him a smile.

        He continued saying as he looking at both of them but predominantly at Tuanaver. "The plans have changed. No Lascarta are coming here. Instead, you all are to come into the city where you can be more easily protected. The fires on Glecta had a good deal to the change of plans. Cearfer and the Council Leader were discussing this, and it appears that Cearfer had changed his mind. It was his idea that you all move...again. He was afraid for your lives for you. He understands it would cause an extra hardship on you by having to commute with an armored convoy to the farm the days that you do, but your lives are more important. He really is a good person. I am glad I was assigned to him. You don't need to pack that much. Just what you need to bring with you tonight. We will have people come to grab the things you want. I have a loader for your children. We will bring them now so no worries."

        The farmer and his wife grabbed what they needed for the night and went to supervise Laoenfer using the loader for their kids. It was not that they did not trust him to put the pods containing their children on the transport, but they were theirs and they were not going to exhaust any effort to make sure they stay safe. After everyone was in, they made their way to the main city on Conharsa where they expected to meet the new crew to defend them. The soldiers were just being assigned and gathered when Laoenfer had left.