End Of The Sylca

 I would prefer to be optimistic. 

I did not want to say it was the end of the world…But it was. 

I could see the dark sky above and the stars that we’d be hurtling at very soon. Our Sovereign, Callista, was determined to get everyone out alive. She acted immediately to the distress call from the superunit and now we were getting out of there. It was a weird feeling to be abandoning one's home. My thoughts were jumbled when the ship whirred–a sign that takeoff was about to begin.

Launch in 3…2…

Earlier that week:

I stood in the washroom, pulling at my skin tight bodysuit–which covered neck to ankle but left the right shoulder and arm exposed–and fixing the feathers in my black hair. I wanted to be presentable in front of the Sovereign for she was thinking about putting me in her personal guard. I was skilled with a ring blade and though I was shorter than the average six foot Sylca, I could beat up any man. She appreciated that.

I checked that my shoulder was properly inked with nothing smeared and flashed my sharp canines in the mirror. With the blood red feylen feathers and my ring blade in my belt I looked just like one of the Sovereigns guards. 

Walking down the whitewashed hall, I passed black and silver haired Sylca. They all looked older than me. Way more confident, more experienced. Some of them, I guessed, were twenty five times my age.

I stepped into the command center where I watched the Sovereign give orders. She glanced at me, narrowed her eyes and marched over. She was towering over me and I forced myself to hold her white eyes and not cower.

“Hephzia.” She said in almost a whisper. Her eyes raked over me. We had never met in person and one look would tell her if I was enough. “You are in.” Her voice grew to a shout. “Ditza! Find someone to show this girl protocol.”

A woman scurried over. She opened her mouth to speak but an alarm beeped red over the main communicator. I knew enough to understand that something important was about to happen.

The Sovereign glided over and pressed her hand to a flat palm scanner. An image of the superunit personnel popped up above a map of the city.

“What is it, Torian?” 

The man on the screen, silver haired and crazed looking, started to bumble his apologies for interrupting. “I just need a moment to explain the situation.” He finished.

“Go on.” The Sovereign said, flicking her fingers impatiently.

“We have just discovered that a red star within 50 light years of our planet has started to dim drastically and mini shockwaves have appeared over the surface. We do not know how long it has been going on which means we are in serious trouble.”

“It is more than a situation!” Said a Sylca in the background of the screen. “It is a disaster!”

“What does this mean for us?” Asked the Sovereign.

“Well, the star will explode and we are in range for it to wipe everything out.” The silver haired man dabbed at his glistening forehead with a white cloth. “We have weeks, maybe days before the destruction reaches us but…We…we will not survive unless we evacuate.”

Alarmed cries filled the room and my face was frozen in shock. I watched the Sovereign and she appeared calm and composed. She stared at Torian, the superunit personnel, for a long moment before gazing thoughtfully at the map of the city.

Her eyes flicked up again. “We must evacuate as soon as possible. Send out the communication to everyone. Have them gather what they can, bring only what is needed, and head for the hangar. We will lift off when every last Sylca is on board. Move!”

The Sylca in the room busied themselves with the Sovereigns orders. I was broken from my paralyzed state when she looked right at me. She headed in my direction so I straightened up.

“Hephzia!”

“At your command.” I said stiffly.

“Follow me and don’t leave my side.” She strode out of the room and I followed on her heels. I wanted to ask where we were going but now did not seem like the best time.

We walked down the hall and then pushed into another room, this one smaller. Screens covered an entire wall and Sylca men and women were watching the screens and talking into speakers.

The Sovereign’s eyes bounced from screen to screen and I wondered if she was searching for something. I studied them myself. Most showed views of the city and Sylca panicking already. I was still trying to keep my own anxiety down. I would think about this later when I was alone. Right now was not a time to feel.

“This will run more smoothly if the streets are not blocked.” The Sovereign said to me. “Have my personal guard help direct the traffic and pack all the supplies in the storage container in the bottom of the ship.”

I turned to go.

“Wait, one more thing. You are in charge of rations, Hephzia. No one is to try and hide supplies or keep them for themselves. Everyone contributes so if you have to use force, well, so be it.”

I nodded at her and ran from the room, determined to fulfill this task. Only when I was at the end of the hall did I realize that I had no idea where the Sovereign’s personal guard was at. 

I couldn’t go back now. So I kept moving. In my haste, I ran into a Sylca with sleek black hair and an inked shoulder exposed. He had the look of a personal guard.

“Are you part of the Sovereign's guard?” I asked, catching my breath.

“Yes.” He said in a deep voice.

“Perfect.” My thoughts were scrambled and I frantically tried to remember my orders to relay. “She needs traffic packed and supplies directed.” Wait no. That was not it. “I mean, um…”

“You must be new.”

I nodded, a little embarrassed. 

He smiled. “I think I know what you are saying. I will take it from here.”

I kept my head low, humiliated with that whole exchange. Once he left, I scampered off to do my job.

I only had to beat up one man a little older than me because he had stuffed his jumpsuit with snack foods and smuggled expensive medicines in his shoes. He tried to walk right past me and thought that I was stupid enough not to notice!

Too bad. I really gave it to him.

The Sovereign’s guard from earlier came to inform me of my duties for the rest of the week. It passed slowly and I could practically smell the tension in the air. Every day was the same–Sylca boarding the ship, packing supplies in the storage container, me harassing those who thought they were sneaky.

The day of takeoff finally arrived and I was ready for it. The Sovereign and her personal guards were the final ones aboard the massive ship. We went to the head of the ship where a window showed the universe we lived in.

“Take your seats.” The Sovereign advised.

I sat and put the double strap across my chest. Children were whispering to parents and on every face was worry and sadness at having to leave.

Over the speakers the automated voice began the countdown. Launch in 3…2…1

The engine roared in my ears, deafening me and the force pushed me back into my seat. It was impossible to move. I watched out the large window as we moved swiftly away from our home planet. 

A flash of hot white light was blinding and the Sylca cried out at the sudden explosion. It was gone just as fast as it came and with it, our home. I breathed out slowly, wondering if I was really still alive. 

Yes, I thought. Not dead. Yet. In utter silence we moved miles and miles away from the explosion.

I looked to the Sovereign, hoping she had any clue as to what we were going to do now. Her face was a mask of calm as always. The ship slowed to a stop at her orders then she unbuckled and moved to stand in front of the Sylca.

“We very nearly made it away from the supernova.” She sucked in a breath. “I know that many of you wonder where we will go. I will be honest. I am unsure at the moment but do not be alarmed. Our superunit personnel are working nonstop to find the Sylca a new place to settle. We must be grateful. Not one perished in the explosion.” 

With nothing left to say, she sat down. Hesitantly, Sylca talked among themselves again. It turned to a quiet chatter. I tried to tune it out and get some sleep. It could be a long time before we found a new home.

National Air & Space Museum: Washington DC, United States

The two astronomers watched the sky. One had predicted a supernova that happened hundreds of years ago because the light took a while to travel so far. So they watched for it. One was bored, thinking how much of a waste this was. The other hoped to be the one to witness something incredible.

It was over in seconds. The flash was there one moment and the next it was gone. Less than two seconds.

“Whoa!” One said to the other. “Did you see that?”

The two of them watched through their telescopes intently.

“I told you it’d happen.”

Before the other could form a comeback his eye snagged on some dark object in the sky. It was still very far away but as he looked closer through the telescope, he could tell that it was some sort of spacecraft. He stumbled backwards.

“Are you alright?” The other astronomer asked.

“We don’t know of any spaceships on a mission right now, do we?”

“No.”

“Then where in the universe did that come from?”