Joyride Chapter 2

On a cloudless afternoon Luna meditated near the reflecting pool in her Uncle Sempres’ garden. She sat motionless, taking in all the various stimuli her mind had to offer. The warm air and lush landscape of her home planet were a welcome change after weeks in the frigid wilderness. The reflecting pool was a great circle, lined by tall, slim trees with thin yellow leaves and orange flowers. A stone path led from Sempres’ house to a small island at the center of the pool, where a great, spreading tree stretched over the pond.

The face of the mother feline shone brightly in Luna’s consciousness. She gazed into the enormous cat’s narrowed blue eyes and felt herself become tense as she pictured the snow-flecked fur standing up on the back of the beast’s neck. She brought to mind the sound of the roar and the way it startled the marauder goon into stumbling and falling in the snow.

Like all Spira, Luna practiced meditation every day. She paid close attention to her emotions, and tried to identify them as they arose in her mind. Fear and wonder at the natural beauty of the captive feline mother. Anger at the marauders for their lack of regard for living things. Pride for having brought them to justice. All perfectly reasonable emotions, given the circumstances. Then crept in her secret desire to play with the cubs, accompanied by a slight pang of guilt, and the knowledge that that was out of the question.

Luna smiled and opened her eyes. Looking up she saw the twin moons rising over the woods behind the pond. Her favorite was the smaller, blue one with the rings. Luna’s memories of her parents were sparse. She could not be sure if she actually remembered them, or if her memories were from seeing images of them holding her when she was little. One of the few memories she felt sure of was watching the moons rise, her father holding her in his arms as she reached towards them. And the sound of her mother saying the names of the moons, and laughing as Luna tried to pronounce them. Then the question she had turned over in her mind many times returned. Why had they left her when she was so young?

The sound of footsteps approaching startled Luna. She turned to see her Uncle Sempres standing behind her.

“Will you walk with me, Luna?” He motioned for her to join him on the path.

As they walked past a vegetable garden, towards the forest, Luna considered asking her Uncle what the purpose of their walk was, but thought better of it. He would tell her in his own time.

“Councilor Karuna tells me of your exceptional performance on your last assignment. Indeed, all of the council members are impressed with you of late” Sempres began.

“I am grateful for the council’s trust in me,” Luna replied.

Karuna, as the head of the military, was responsible for the safety of the Spira civilization, and of the less developed worlds in Spira controlled space. Luna was tasked with apprehending poachers and marauders who would bespoil the pristine wilderness with their presence – a job at which she excelled. She felt a great deal of compassion for the creatures who would otherwise be hunted or imprisoned.

“You have earned the trust of the council, and not just because your uncle is one of them” Sempres said with a wink. “Karuna says your devotion to protecting the vulnerable shines through your work. She has given you difficult assignments of late, and you have risen to the occasion.” He smiled, but Luna could sense a feeling of unease within him. Her uncle was usually the picture of quiet confidence – what could be bothering him?

Once they entered the forest, Uncle Sempres behaved in a most unusual way. He started to speak, then paused staring into the distance, as if the thoughts he wanted to express had eluded him. Tempted as Luna was to try to press him for more, she knew he would not appreciate being rushed. She focused on the forest around them, steadied her breathing, and waited. At last he began.

“Luna, what do you know of our ancestral home world?” he asked.

“I know it was destroyed in a war, eons ago.” She replied. “And that our civilization was far less advanced than we are now. Only a few of us survived the war to rebuild our civilization on other worlds. Though, I do not remember learning of who attacked us or why.”

“It is not well known among our people, but we Spira are not as we have always been.” He pulled a leaf from one of the low branches on a flowering tree, and studied it. “The truth is, we were not attacked. The war that nearly wiped out our people was one we waged against ourselves.”

He kept walking, but failed to notice that Luna had stopped. When he turned back he saw her standing still, bewilderment on her face, her mouth agape.

“How is this possible, Uncle?”

“Eons ago, our people were governed by their emotions. They were warlike, as are many of the species we study now. There were killings, thefts, deceits of every kind, fear, and anger ran rampant among our people.”

“But regard for others’ wellbeing is central to our culture!” She said, in disbelief. “It is our foundational belief that we should pay close attention to the urges for violence and deceit and jealousy. That we should not let these unavoidable and temporary feelings lure us into harming our fellow creatures. Spira civilization is founded on the principles of peace and altruism!”

Sempres shook his head. “No, my dear niece. What you know of the Spira is what became of the few of our ancestors that survived.” He could see his answer had little effect on Luna’s growing discomfort.

“As we developed the principles we live by, our remote past gradually faded from common knowledge. The Council of Elders did not believe benefit would come from requiring this to be taught in schools. I argued against this thinking, because I believed understanding our past could be a safeguard against repeating it. But, the Council voted it down, believing us far removed from our past.”

“Why are you telling me this, now?” Her brows knitted into a slight frown.”

“Councilor Karuna has another assignment for you – one that requires the utmost discretion. It is a member of our own species. The Council requires the subject to be brought back to our home world to answer for his actions to the Inquisitor.”

“You mean to have me detain a Spira? But, why? I am a protector of wildlife – I have never been in a military conflict. I would not know where to begin, Uncle. Surely, you must choose someone else with more experience.”

“The Council has chosen you, because you are the essence of loyalty to our values and way of life. And your devotion to duty is well known among the Elders.”

Luna suspected what Sempres meant, but could not say, was that the Council had chosen her because there was no higher level officer they could persuade to do this task. Once the Council reached a decision, there was no way out.

Luna closed her eyes and opened her awareness to the influx of emotions she felt in reaction to what she had just learned. First, fear. A rogue Spira would be a far more dangerous adversary than any Luna had ever faced. Then suspicion. Why the secrecy? Why was she being tasked with apprehending this rogue agent, when she had never done anything like this? And finally, curiosity. At last she spoke.

“Uncle, what does this have to do with our ancient home world? Why did you mention that before telling me of this new assignment?”

“The planet where you must go is unlike most planets under our protection. There lives a civilization of intelligent beings called humans, who are not so very different from the ancient Spira. Like our ancestors, these humans mastered destructive technology before they mastered their emotions. You must bring back a Spira who lives among these humans.”

Sempres paused and took a deep breath to process his own emotions.

“It troubles me to have to speak with you about these things,” he continued, “but circumstances have left me no choice. Your target is my childhood friend and fellow council member, Veshano. He has been away from our world for a great many years, studying these humans and their planet, which they call Earth” Sempres cast his gaze to the ground and did not speak for some time.

“Earth...?” Luna said. “Where my parents went missing?”