Chariots of Heaven

  * * *

  Aeria watched the sensors, waiting for a beacon or a transmission from Kira’s holodisk, but nothing came. With a satisfied smile she decided that her plan had worked. There was some worry that the girl would have found a way to survive the fall, but clearly she hadn’t been so lucky. Turning to look at Kaya who was still sobbing, she said “Your sister wasn’t as strong as I thought; it seems she died after all.”

  But Kaya refused to give her the satisfaction. She shook her head, wiping her tears away and shouting, “You don’t know anything about her! She’s not dead!”

  Aeria scoffed and rolled her eyes. “If you say so, but the sensors don’t lie. She didn’t make it. But that’s the last thing you should be worried about. I was just going to kill you like I did her, but after her impassioned plea to keep you alive, I’ve decided to take you to the prison planet, Draco. We’ll find out what secrets the two of you have been keeping.”

  Kaya glared at her and with as much spite as she could muster, she spat at her, hitting her on the cheek. Aeria gritted her teeth and wiped the spit away. “So be it, I was going to leave you on the more hospitable side, but after that little indiscretion I’ve changed my mind. You’ll get to spend your final days in the abyss, with the rest of the ingrates.”

  “It doesn’t matter where you put me, Velion will find out what you’ve done and he’ll come for me,” Kaya retorted.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. After he finds out about your treason he won’t care what I’ve done with you. Now shut up, before I change my mind and flush you out the cargo bay too.”

  This time Kaya didn’t respond, knowing that pushing her luck wouldn’t be in her best interest. She didn’t care what Aeria said, they would figure out what happened and they would come for her. As for her sister, she couldn’t explain it but she somehow had an intense feeling that Kira was still alive. She didn’t know how that could be, given what just happened, but she knew it, more deeply than she had ever known anything before.

  Aeria, satisfied that Kaya wouldn’t give her any more trouble, turned back to the control consoles and worked with the navigation computer. Before inputting the jump coordinates she sent a short message to Thanatos, telling him to find Aithos on Earth and take him into custody for questioning. A few seconds later the ship jumped to subspace and was making its long journey to the prison planet Draco. As she sat back in her seat a strange feeling filled Aeria’s stomach and for the first time in as long as she could remember she felt guilt.

  Had she done the right thing? It had been necessary, hadn’t it? Velion and Pisus would have never taken the matter seriously, and together they would have doomed the kingdoms to fall right into the rebellion’s plan. She was the only one who understood the danger they were in; the only one who saw the humans for what they were, a threat. Pushing the thoughts away, Aeria tried to suppress the feeling. She wouldn’t allow her softer side to get the better of her, it was necessary and one day they would thank her for preserving their way of life.