The Earth Dwellers

But I didn’t. All I did was ask the people…

It hits me. My words, they were a cry, a final plea for—

For Unity.

But I never expected…I didn’t think…it’s more and more and more than I could’ve ever hoped for. It shows that the sun dwellers are not my father, that they have minds that can think and make their own decisions and unite as one.

I stride toward General Aboud, stopping a few feet from him. “Aboud, you are under arrest for igniting a civil war in the Tri-Realms.”

The three soldiers step past me, grab Aboud by the arms, pull them firmly behind his back. He’s smart enough not to fight it. He knows when he’s been beaten, not by bullets or soldiers, but by hearts.

A young woman steps up to me as Aboud is being led away. Her eyes are pale blue and she has hair as red as a sky she’s never seen. “President Nailin,” she says.

“Yes?” I say.

“Do it,” she says, handing me a bullhorn.

I take it automatically, surprised, wondering what she means. But of course. I’m the leader. Someone needs to tell them what to do next. I look around, trying to find somewhere they’ll be able to see me.

“Here,” the young woman says, motioning to a wooden slab—a door, I realize, ornately carved and which probably cost a fortune for the sun dweller whose house it adorned, broken off its hinges and being carried through the crowd. A dozen people step forward to hold it up. Two of the drummers set down their instruments and offer me their hands to step into.

They lift me up onto the red door.

A hush falls over the crowd, except for a shout from somewhere near the tu

So many people. All looking up, all looking to me, all listening to what I’ll say.

What will I say exactly?

Of all people, it’s Roc who pops into my mind, his advice to speak from the heart hitting me in the gut.

I raise the bullhorn to my lips. “The citizens of the Tri-Realms have spoken!” I shout. A cheer rises up from the crowd, although even as I scan the people, I can see those wearing the black clothes aren’t smiling, aren’t cheering—many of them are shrinking back, toward the edges, as if they might run.

“Let me first address those who fought against us, who followed the orders of General Aboud and the other rogue generals. You will not be punished!” The cheering stops in shocked silence.

One of my own red-clad soldiers looks up at me. He’s carrying the body of a boy who looks far too young to be wearing a uniform. “They killed my brother,” he says.

I put the bullhorn down to speak directly to him. “I’m sorry,” I say, chasing away the swell of emotion that threatens to overcome me. “I can’t bring him back, but together we can honor him by forgiving the soldiers who were only following orders given to them by those who would destroy us all.”

Tears are ru

Turning back to address the crowd, I say, “We need every last one of us to unite if we’re to defeat the madness that’s sweeping across the surface of the earth. President Lecter seeks to control you, to keep you underground, as my father did, and as his father did before him, but we can’t let that happen. You all deserve the truth, and the choice to live where you want, whether it be deep underground or above, where the birds sing and the sun shines and the rain falls like water from heaven. Will you stand with me? Will you fight?”

There are cries of “Yes!” right away, but it’s only when I see some of the black-clothed soldiers raise their fists in the air that I know my words have hit home. Although the Tri-Realms might still be a splintered mess, the Capitol at least, is united.

I step down, the world around me darkening as the artificial sun turns off and the moon and stars blink on. Night has fallen over day two in the Tri-Realms.

~~~

The reports are coming in fast from all over the Sun Realm. Bands of citizens, pouring from their homes, singing, surrounding the army splinter groups. In most cases the renegade soldiers didn’t know what to do, who to shoot at. They allowed themselves to be disarmed. In some cases, however, the mutinous combatants opened fire on the i

A miracle like this doesn’t just happen without pla

The moon and star dweller soldiers are now spread out throughout the many chapters of the Sun Realm. Like the sun dweller army, they’re awaiting my orders.

It’s late; I’m tired. My shoulder’s bandaged, but it’s nothing compared to the many injured who will lose limbs or maybe worse. I drop the reports on the desk, sit back and sigh. Was today one major stroke of luck? Or did it just prove everything that Ben Rose believed in, that the Tri-Realms were always meant to be united?

Even as I’m chewing on the question, Roc comes in. I’ve had him ru

“Lowly messenger boy reporting for duty,” he says, raising a hand in salute. I roll my eyes, but laugh inwardly. Without fail, he’s been doing that every time he’s come back from carrying a message.

“That’s it for now,” I say. “What did the lead scientist say about the transporters?”

“He’s coming here,” Roc says. “Now.”

“Now?” It’s got to be three in the morning.

“He said he has something to tell you. Something important.”

I raise my eyebrows. “And he wouldn’t give you any details?” I ask.

“He said he couldn’t tell secrets to a lowly messenger boy,” Roc says, keeping a straight face.

“You know, not that long ago I left you in charge of the entire Tri-Realms.”

“How far I have fallen,” Roc says.

“You did abandon your post within just a few days.”

“To find your sorry as—”

There’s a knock on the side of the doorframe. A bald man steps in. “Sorry to interrupt,” he says. There are dark circles under his eyes.

“Dr. Kane,” I say. “Meet my best friend, Roc.”

The two shake hands. Roc says, “Lowly messenger boy will leave you to it. Goodnight.”

“Say hi to Tawni for me,” I say.

Roc leaves and Dr. Kane immediately moves to close the door behind him.

“Have a seat,” I say with a wave.

Or not. Dr. Kane remains standing.

“I think your father lied to you about something else,” he says.

“Shocking,” I say, wondering when I’ll really know everything that my father knew. Probably never. I think back to the message I had Roc take to Dr. Kane. I wanted to know how long it would take to transport ten thousand troops to the surface using the two small transporters we’ve got. What could he possibly have lied about? That they can only be used seven times before they self-destruct?

“Your message seemed to imply that you know of only two earth Cylinders.” Cylinders! That’s what they’re called. I knew there was a fancy name for them.

“Yes,” I say. “You’re saying there’s a third…Cylinder that my father didn’t tell me about?”

Dr. Kane laughs, his face lifting into a jovial expression that seems out of place on his usually serious face. “A third? No, not a third.”