Survival (Brant)

Sampson sighed. This paperwork is driving me crazy. Why do we have it anyway? He imagined that somewhere underneath their city there had to be a depository where all of this useless stuff was stored. He suspected it would probably be, enough to heat all the areas for many generations. That of course if they needed heat. Still theirs was one of the many cities hidden deep inside the desolation. So, heat was the last thing they needed. He looked up and saw one of the under-workers approaching, and paused. It was obvious she wanted to talk. "Yes?" "Sir, we just received word that Terra has gone silent, and since we are the closest, we need to try and reestablish contact with her." Another one, he thought. What's going on? Standing he sent the signal for the team's attention. "We have another city that has gone silent and we are the closest. Let's get to it and see if we can reestablish communications. I don't have to tell you how critical this is. On the board will be the emergency frequencies, and codes. Let's get to it!" Theirs is one of the many advanced cities hidden deep inside the desolation. An area where nobody should be, able to live and it is this reason they are, unknown to the outside world of the primitives. In comparison, their population is small, and as such, if they were ever, discovered it is, feared they would be, destroyed. Yet, there would be no reason for the primitives to enter the desolation. To them it is death, a place, where their gods and the spirits of the dead reside. A place to shun. So if not the primitives, what is it that's causing cities to go dark?

... “Susan, I need to have a conversation with Supervisor Shana, and no before you ask, this cannot wait.” Looking down at him she said, “Who are you to just barge in here? You do not have any right to demand anything, ah... let's see... underling supervisor Sampson. Do I have it right?” When she said these things it seemed as if she was attempting to get something out of her mouth such as a bad taste. Shaking his head he could tell that things were going from bad to worse. But what could he do? What he had was critical and they had been told that if another incident happened that he, or any of the under supervisors, had to go to their supervisors immediately and inform no one but them. He wasn't even supposed to inform the underworkers for the lead supervisors. It was to be for their eyes and ears only. Carefully holding his anger in control he gritted his teeth and said. “Yes, you have it right. I must see Lead Supervisor Shana now without delay.” “Without delay? What is it that could be so important from your minor position that could even require a minute of Supervisor Shana? Her time is always filled, so, if you please, make an appointment and come back later. You are interrupting my work and I for one will not allow you to interrupt hers. Now get out of here before I report you!” About this time Lead Supervisor Shana hearing the loud conversation in the outer office went to investigate. Catching the ending conversation from her underworker, and seeing one of the under supervisors from the communications section, she became curious. Underworker Susan catching the gaze of Sampson turned and saw Shana there and started apologizing for interrupting her work and that she had everything in control and this minor supervisor was just leaving. Why was he here? Then she saw that under supervisor Sampson was looking intently at her. She also knew that he had never liked her, so again why was he here? Looking directly at him Shana asked. “Under supervisor Sampson may I inquire, why are you here?” Now what, Sampson thought, the mandate had been specific. No one but his supervisor could hear what he had to say. Then he remembered that if there was a situation like this, that he could specify a color to let her know. Now if only he could remember the color. Blue! Blue was that color. “Ma'am, ah color it blue.” Was all he said. When he stated the color, she immediately paused. He had given her a code color that reflected an emergency of some kind and could be private and for her eyes and ears only. She then turned to her underworker and said, “Under Supervisor Sampson may enter.” She then turned around and went back inside of her office wondering now what could be so important for him to have used that code. She didn't have to wait long as he entered her office right behind her. “I don't have much time, what is it that is so important?” “Ma'am, do you have this room secured for silence? The directive said that before this information was to be given that all security features must be activated.” Sitting back down at her desk, she motioned him to a seat, and then pushed a few buttons. “Okay, I have activated the security. Again what is it that required you to use the code word?”

K'jor looked upon the mighty army that he alone commanded. In a sense if he is filled with pride he has the right. He is the first to create this great alliance; he is the first to discover the hidden lairs of sorcerers and magicians hidden deep inside of the desolation. And he and this army have been successful in rooting out and destroying many of these hidden lairs. Yet, all is not well. Yes they've increased their herds, their slaves, and their wealth, but the expected results have not arrived. It is this reason he believes there are still other lairs hidden deep inside the desolation. And until they are destroyed he, as well as the clans and tribes, will not see those expected results come to fruition. So the hunt continues . . . Hidden deep in the Sacred Mountains Saige stares out from the meeting room of the Alpha knowing that if they do not come up with a solution to these attacks that they, as a people, will no longer exist. However it happened, the primitives learned of their existence and have been seeking out their hidden cities and destroying them one-by-one. Now he and nine others – the remnant of a scout team – have been tasked with ending this undeclared war. Yes, only ten to turn the tide of death and destruction. Only ten who are to rescue the victims from the fallen cities. Only ten who must locate the valley where the primitives gather to prepare their campaigns. And only ten who must bring peace to this world. How can ten defeat the combined might of the primitive alliance? This is the question they are facing; knowing if they fail it is over. And that failure will lead to the survivors being forced into the herds and slavery, leading them to pain, suffering, misery, and death. And thusly the stage is set, leaving them desperate to solve these life-threatening issues . . . leaving them desperate to survive.

So few of them, just ten really, but their people, all of the remaining cities, were depending on what they did here at the Alpha. Could they, would they, come up with a solution in time, or would each city fall one at a time until they were no more? After all, this was a very valid question and one that needed to be asked - and once asked, answers found. When their ancestors had originally set up the cities it had never been from the idea of defense and support. The planned defense was the isolation and the hiding of the cities in the desolation where the primitives would not go. After all, there was no reason to go there, since nothing lived or could survive in the desolation. Again originally, their ancestors had expected to be rescued in short order, and so the type of defenses that they now needed were never considered, never planned, never built, and until the discovery of the cities by the primitives, never an issue. Looking through the large databases at the Alpha showed just how much knowledge they had lost or forgotten over time - time that could have been used to better defend. And with little to no travel between the cities, again to reduce the chance of being discovered, this had isolated them even further. In some ways Saige was surprised that the communications circuits had remained, but now was quite thankful that they had. Because it was the only way left to make contact, to alert, to warn. Had the circuits failed, then no city would have been aware of what had happened to their sister cities, and in the end all would have perished without a whimper, making the silence complete. In many ways it was funny how life was. Here in the midst of loss, destruction, and death, life continued to flourish. Since their time on the run, and with the discovery of the Alpha, children had been born. Yet, in the end would they too become no more, innocence destroyed, leaving all of them looking for a way out of this darkness that surrounded them? Would they avoid death, and find a way out, or would it be just a dream that had an unhappy ending? One thing for sure, they were desperate to survive.

The time of the clans and tribes is now ancient history. It is a time of growth, of villages, and farms with much of the lands tamed. There are centers for learning, and teams attempting to unravel the past. Yet much of what has taken place in those ancient times is, considered myth. Especially, the period of time, dealing with that first alliance, where K'jor brought together the warring clans and tribes to destroy a hidden enemy living deep in the desolation. Their cycles of the seasons, 1503 presently, as they track time, came from one of those mythological meetings between this first alliance and their gods. With what is, known presently this encounter is impossible, so it must be something their ancestors created, adding to the myth theory. Yet with this event being so deep in the past, even the valley where this supposedly took place has been lost to history. Into this present world a young baker and his mate begin to question the present version of their past. This comes about because of a gift. It is a written record of this world handed down through the generations of his family, and it counters much of what is, believed to be fact. They decide to search the lands, the places and locations spoken of in this massive record, and then compare it to the official version. This leads to conflict with the leaders of the learned who suspect that the young couple have a document and want it for themselves. And thusly, begins this adventure where one side wants what is known to remain as the official truth, and the other only seeking answers to the questions that lay before them.

Kal was satisfied with his life working in the family business, and being with his mate Jura. He had never understood why she had accepted his offer to be his mate but found that they worked well together. And if he hadn't received that gift from his favorite uncle they probably would have been happy to live out their lives in ignorance. He was a descendant of K'jor the warrior leader who had been responsible for the first alliance of the clans and tribes. Supposedly a direct descendant, but with what was known of that time Kal and Jura could never figure out how such could be proved. The world had been tamed since the time of the clans and tribes. The battles and wars of old were long in the past, and during those times the first great alliance was created, with K'jor responsible for making it happen. Even though, in later times, it disbanded, the seeds had been planted and the future that was their present could be traced back to that first alliance. Still modern history stated that much of what had happened during this period of their history was nothing more than myth. History was a subject he enjoyed in the learning centers, but this gift countered everything ever taught. This gift was a written history by the scribes, over time, coming from the K'jor clan. And as the two of them read what was there they found that most of what was considered myth by the ones, who had the knowledge, was in fact real – at least in the eyes of the writers. As they studied and copied the rather large tome Kal felt that they needed to find out which was right – the learned centers, the leaders of their history, or the writings? He presented carefully worded questions to one of his favorite learned – a mentor from his past – hoping to find answers, only to be frustrated by the response. And by posing these questions, and not knowing by doing so would lead the two of them into a larger intrigue for which they wanted no part, one so large that their very lives would be threatened. It opened them to a world they hadn't known existed. So what to do – continue, or just drop the whole thing? And if they did drop the whole thing would they be left alone? Yet, could they, in good conscious, allow this knowledge to die? He had been told too many times that it was the past that wrote their future. So would it be the true future or one that could lead their world to destruction? It was a question for which he had no answer.