Prologue: Guardian Rises

Prologue: Guardian Rises

Guard ran as fast as his Xuhelion legs would allow him while searching for Reader. Heat rose up from the ground as his home baked under its dying sun. Every breath was a struggle in the thick air. 

No one was even making a pretense of pleasantry. All remaining in the capital city were either planning to board the exploration vessel Guardian or were making their final goodbyes to those evacuating. 

Peacekeeper was already settled into the craft with his mates while mentally begging his brother to hurry. 

Guard loved his blood brother---but Reader was the brother of his heart and he could not leave him behind.

"Have you witnessed Reader board? Is Reader on Guardian or still in Records?"

Pausing to sweep her eyes over him, Searcher responded to his mental query with concern coloring her inner voice and furrowing her brow, "Reader has not boarded Guardian. Does he have a passage pass? All berths have been claimed."

"Reader is sharing my berth," Guard clarified quickly, eyes sweeping the crowd once more before returning to Searcher, "I must go for him. He has forgotten the time. Hold level 9 for us?"

Searcher nodded her assent with the slow precision Autens were known for and Guard was grateful his status had earned him a place on one of the highest decks. Someone whose passage was being secured on hope or chance alone would have no luck asking for the security doors to be held for them. 

All lower decks had to be secured first in order to fire the warp coil during launch preparation. 

Time was not on Guard's side as he raced through the streets, choking on every blistering breath and stumbling as his body felt heavier and heavier with each step. He could have chosen a lighter form to make running easier except there was no time to shift. There was no time for anything except this final push towards escape. 

Once Guardian rose, the vast ship would have to clear the debris field around their world. Their scientists knew the consequences of the launch. Debris around the planet would be disturbed by the passage of the ship; some flotsam and jetsam would inevitably collide with the dying sun. It would be those collisions which would trigger their sun to collapse in on itself in a final act of defiance, taking their world with it in a fire too hot to measure.

Guard yelped in pain as he slapped his hand on the recognition plate meant to screen those who desired access to Records. His hand would have begun blistering if he hadn't been wearing the sturdy form of a Xuhelion. 

The towering home to all the knowledge their people had amassed glimmered courtesy of the heat radiating from it. Guard wondered if the building would begin to melt soon. Would their capital dissolve as the heat rose? Would the heat have time to burn the people or would the sun's supernova snuff them all out at once?

"Reader!"

Guard knew his inner voice was loud enough to echo throughout all of Records. He didn't waste the energy or the breath in his body to bellow for his friend aloud. Every moment he wasted locating Reader was another moment in which neither of them were safe. 

They had to board before their level was sealed shut. 

"Reader!"

Guard fought against his form's thick fingers to try to navigate the terminal which showed the location of every living entity in Records. Xuhelion were known for their stamina in battle, not for their dexterity. If he only had a little more time...

"Guard?" 

Reader was far enough into Records for his voice to be a whisper in Guard's mind. Focusing on him allowed Guard to determine he was still on the floor with the most sacred of texts---and he had been reading as usual. No sense of urgency existed in his voice. 

"Why are you still in the Ancients? Guardian leaves soon. All the lower decks are sealed. Why---"

Reader interrupted Guard to say, "I have no space on the vessel. I asked for none."

Guard stopped himself from snapping by focusing on the feelings of sadness and shame lurking at the edges of Reader's mind voice. He knew it was pointless to protest Reader had a space due to the position he held and his family's status as one of the founding families of the Zen. 

"Your family is not boarding? None of you?"

Reader did not reply though Guard knew the lack of a response was all the reply he needed.

Records would remain on Zon to die with Zon. 

None of the founding families were held in the same regard as Records. Their honor was above reproach. They were deserving of the respect shown to them, too. Guard had learned manners, wisdom, and kindness from the keepers of the Records. His own family was known for its physicality while Reader's kin were far more enlightened.

"Why?"

"You know why. We cannot leave our blood behind. There are reasons why we are entrusted with the words of the ages. Records will be kept by us until our bloodline dies. There is no place for Records on Guardian. All who leave here are leaving their heritage behind. I am what they wish to forget losing. I would help no one by boarding."

Guard sank to the floor beside the personnel terminal. He let his cheek rest against the stand, the metal blessedly cool against his overheated skin.

Reader was staying behind. To die. Reader was going to die.

"Will you come here to me? I can't summon the lift."

All the upper floors of Records were sealed to anyone not of the bloodline. Guard would not be able to be with Reader unless Reader came for him. He felt his heart rate slowing as he came to terms with waiting on his friend to come for him. 

Peacekeeper would ensure their bloodline survived. Guard had no mates, no offspring, no significant contribution to recolonization which only he could offer.

Guard realized he could die in Records without regrets so long as Reader was by his side.

"Come to me. I want to be with you."

Reader asked, "Why? Guardian rises soon. Your place is secured aboard. You have no time to spend with me."

"All I have is time for you."

"What are you saying? Are you ill? Do you need me to help you to board?"

"I'm saying where you are is where I will be. If you are to stay, I am to stay."

"No! Records is not your home. Records is not your blood. Guardian needs to take the best of us to ensure the survival of our people!"

"You are the best of us. It will be my honor to stay with you."

Silence was the only response Guard received, but he could feel Reader moving. His friend was coming to him. Records had no windows. The tower was insulated enough to protect them from the ship's rise. How long would they have with each other before the end? Minutes? Hours? 

Guard was breathing evenly when the nearest lift opened to release a running Ormali. The small, thin species had excellent senses and all the dexterity Guard lost in a Xuhelion form. 

He did not have to reach out with his mind to recognize Reader. 

Reader could wear any face and Guard would always know him.

A fine-boned hand gripped his wrist too tight for comfort, jerking at him to try to get him on his feet.

"What are you doing? Guardian rises! I can hear the launch klaxon. You have to go!"

"Not without you."

"You'll die here."

"I'll die with you."

No more protests reached out to Guard. He was tugged harder than ever and allowed Reader to pull him to his feet. 

Time was running out for them. 

"Run with me."

"No."

"If you run, you can still board!"

"If I run, you run?"

"Yes!"

"If I board, you board?"

Guard squared his stance to avoid being tugged into movement. He would not go if Reader would not go. They were closer than blood. Death with Reader would be better than a lifetime of living without him.

"If I board, you board?" Guard asked again, insistent on getting an answer, "I will not leave you."

Reader nodded once in assent and Guard surprised his friend by leaning down to set his shoulder against the other's torso, lifting him off his feet as he began to run. 

Ormali were fleet of foot, but the capital was burning and throngs of Zen clogged the streets leading to Guardian. Their best chance to make the rise would be if Guard pushed through the crowd to gain access to the open boarding bay doors. Each step took them closer to the ship, farther from Records, and closer to a new life.

They were not meant to die here.

Guard wasn't sure where the thought came from, but he knew it to be true.

They were going to live.

"We have minutes remaining, Guard. Move fast or get caught on the wrong side of the deck doors."

Guard nodded his understanding to Searcher. He raced through the boarding bay to the lifts. Level 9 seemed a whole galaxy away from them as the lift doors opened. 

Reader struggled against his hold and Guard tightened his grip.

"We are on Level 9. You'll share my berth. Stop struggling. It's easier for me to carry you than to have you running out of sync with me."

Neither of them needed Guard to say it was easier to ensure Reader kept his word when he was being carried. 

The launch warning increased in volume until Guard felt his ears beginning to bleed. He sprinted through the lift doors to get to the open berth with his assignment flashing on its panel. 

Thrusting Reader inside, Guard squeezed his larger form into the space with his friend and brother of his heart. They faced one another in the tight chamber; Security lashes extended to go over their torsos, holding them stable on opposite sides of the berth. A space between them was left empty as each berth on the level was designed for three travelers. 

Guard spared a thought for who would be left behind who could have used the spare space yet all he could focus his attention on was Reader. 

"Will we be aware of the launch? I thought stasis gas was to---"

Gas flooded the chamber, silencing Reader. Guard had traveled from their home on many occasions. He had not considered how his friend would feel at taking his own first journey off-world. 

"Breathe deep. Sleep. We will wake when we've reached safety."

None of their people knew where safety could be found. They were all pinning their hopes on Guardian to save them. The ship would voyage until a planet with suitable attributes came into range and then it would slow to wake the exploration teams on the levels even higher than the one Guard shared with Reader. 

So much would need to be done---but he and Reader were not the ones meant to do it. 

."Thank you."

Reader blinked slowly, asking, "For what?"

"For choosing to live with me."

"I'd rather choose to live for you than let you die for me."

Guard tried to smile only to fall under the weight of the stasis gas. 

They would wake when it was time. He had no doubt their voyage would be successful. 

Everything worked out for the best as long as he had Reader by his side. The two of them would do right by their people. He had no idea how the other Zen would respond to Reader as the representative of Records among them. 

But.

They were going to live.

Death would not take them on the surface of their world. All other struggles could be overcome. 

They were going to live.