The Shadow of Eudaimonia

Chapter 3: A Quiet Life

"You shouldn't have stopped me." Wren said while she and Erik ascended back into the Dazzer.

Erik folded his arms across his chest. "And let you do what Wren? Massacre all of them?"

"Hey, you told me to diffuse this war. The war will certainly end if we kill all of them, right?"

"This is not something to joke about."

"Did I tell you I was joking? As we speak, thousands of people are dying, Erik. What's wrong with just killing 50 or 70 people to save the million others?"

"And then what? Do you think these people wouldn't kill each other for the Obelisk? The government is here to guide the people. Even though they're greedy or evil to the core, at the very least they symbolize order. Killing them off will let the people do anything they want. It will be more chaotic. And even so, killing the leaders of this planet can cause an interplanetary war. They might retaliate against your planet."

Wren thought of it and reconsidered. As Veross, Erik was the best tactician in the entire Universe. But even without using his Obelisk, Erik was already brilliant. He was a lot better in planning things especially under duress compared to Wren. Smarter too. A true leader. Maybe that's even why she fell in love with him. If only there was no law prohibiting Obelisks to have an intimate relationship with each other, she might have proposed to him years ago. That's why a part of Wren was looking forward to the Transference Ceremony where they will finally pass on their Obelisks and obligations to the next generation. After their term, she only wanted a quiet life with Erik.

"Well what's your plan then?" she asked, already expecting a good answer.

"We must meet the leader of this civil war."

Wren raised her eyebrows. "And how are we going to do that?"

"By going directly to the crossfire of course," Erik cheekily smiled. He waited for Wren to take her seat before he set the coordinate. With a push of a button, the Dazzer, hovering around 120 meters in the sky, hummed loudly as it vibrated the sub particles nearby by 10 billion oscillations per second, folding the fabric of space itself in the process. Wren and Erik, buckled to their seat, nodded at each other as the Dazzer whirred and began to propel south-westward. Wren blinked for a quarter of a second and when she opened her eyes, they were now already hovering above the city of Cassius, the capital of west Kepler. The 15-meter ship travelled so fast that it created a burst of bright white photonic boom.

Below, Wren could already observe the effects of the war. Bombs were fired continuously from both sides. Wren thought it sounded just like fireworks only that hundreds of people were decimated in each explosion. She couldn't hear the screams yet her heart felt pain from just the thought that all of this suffering was caused by greed. If only there was a way, she thought, a way to stop everything.

"Are you—" before Erik could finish, the Dazzer shook wildly and went off balanced! A loud beeping sound alerted them that they had just been hit. At this altitude, it probably had been a laser. The Dazzer began to drop to the ground at a tremendous speed, spinning uncontrollably at the same time. Wren felt her guts twisting upside down as if her soul was leaving her body.

"Hold on!" Erik screamed. A luminous blue light glimmered in his eyes. "I need to borrow your Obelisk Wren! Let's Bridge!" Wren agreed. She unbuckled herself which made her float in the air. Erik did the same and tried to grab Wren's arm. But Wren's vision became dark and blurry. She's gonna pass out. But she can't. Not yet. With her best effort, she stretched her hand as much as she could. No matter what, she needed to touch Erik. Not any moment now they will fall to the ground.

And they did. The Dazzer exploded on impact.