The Twilights: The Basics of Secrets

Chapter 13

Azura

The Spora system's color were a combination of greens and oranges. It had multiple swirls in it; spreading far in the empty space. The planet, Hegaro, was the same color as the system that held it, but also had visible white spots from the clouds below. The terrain was entirely made of meadows with rolling hills and long rivers. At first, the land below looked healthy and untouched, but in the middle of all the fresh green, there were spots of black and infertile patches of brown. It brought the otherwise happy glow nothing but hollowness.

"What's that?" I asked Jay, pointing out the sterile spots.

"That's the Zarion Empire; coming to peaceful places like this and uprooting them. Uses all this free land for factories or whatever purposes they see fit."

I've seen the Empire moving into new spaces and wiping out what was once there. On Sugloria, there are several Empire stations, but the climate and poor ship space of the planet has caused the Empire to leave it alone mostly. The residency of the Empire hasn't escaped me, but my life has been so secluded thus far, it's strange to see the Empire's real effects on the galaxy.

Jay guided the ship over the hills. Below, we passed by villages and farms. The people below looked small, even smaller than normal from up high. What little knowledge I did have of the universe kicked in and I was able to recall that Hegaro is the home world of batros. Batros are exactly like humans, but they have shorter limbs and torsos. They're typically an easy-going species, but when pushed, they won't hold back. I've come across the occasional batros pilot or pirate, and they aren't afraid to throw the first punch.

Out of nowhere, a giant grey mass was planted in front of one of the rivers. On one side, water built up like an ocean, and on the opposite, the water barely made it up to the knee. Some of the large amounts of the water was released through pipes to the other side, providing a small and manageable amount of water. To the left of the mini river was a fairly large village. Jay flew over that village and over the ridge looking below. Behind giant rock formations over the ridge, I caught the glare of the metal hull of Brie's ship, The Spirit.

Gently, Jay sat our ship also out of sight next to the larger one. Brie was standing outside the ship, in the shade of the rocks, with some other batros I didn't recognize, Tor, Russ, and Livia. Jay departed and went to join them.

Brie hugged Jay at the sight of him and gave me a smile of delight when she saw me.

"They part of your crew?" One of the batros asked. None of the batros exceeded five feet tall; the one who spoke probably barely reached that margin. He had shaggy black hair with a face full of scars. The two-other male batros looked like twins; both had orange hair that were pulled into braids that ran down their backs. They also shared matching orange beards that also had braids in them. The female of the group had short brown hair and was very beautiful. Her clothes fit her nicely to show off every little inch of body she had. They all stood in a circle next to Tor, while the crew members of The Spirit stood on the other side of a hologram map.

"They are." Brie said. "And we should go ahead and fill them in on what we have so far. They can contribute to helping evacuating the city."

"What's the problem?" Jay asked as he scanned over the map.

"The defector woke up when we made it to the planet. He said the coordinates he has are for areas the Zarion are planning on clearing out to use for ship relocation. He has several coordinates located in the Spora system. The Zarion are going to clear out this area to store some of their new prototypes." Brie explained.