“Vorta~? Voooorta~! Vorta Volkala!!” A voice rang out from across the table where she sat. Her mind snapped to reality, and she met the eyes of the one who called to her. It was her longtime friend and colleague, Tolani.
“Yes?” replied the Sellian in question, Vorta.
“Did you even hear what I said~?” Her tonal inflections gave Vorta a sense of frustration. Her friend spoke in a floaty manner that made it seem like she was talking to an infant. She knew Tolani did so unironically and that was just her natural speech pattern.
Both sat in a large room that was dedicated for the consumption and disposal of food in a wing of the War Council Chambers. Both served as clerks at the reception desks and had seen all manner of individuals enter and leave.
“No… sorry, I was just thinking…” Vorta replied, her answer seeming unsatisfied to her friend.
“Well, like I was saying! Something big is going on and some of the guards won't tell me! No matter how much I put out!”
“Are they supposed to tell you?” Vorta replied, taking a bite out of a sandwich she had made from home.
“Well… no, but I’m cute! How could they not tell me? Is there something on my face?”
“Tola, you can only get away with your appearance for so long before you finally meet someone who won’t take to your advances. But you never learn,” Vorta shook her head dismissively, irking Tolani.
“No way!” she said, as if in shock, “Is my head dress not in style??” Tolani replied, clearing missing the mark and pointing to her silver headdress ornament, with the central piece in the form of an elaborate star with an emerald colored jewel placed in the center,
“You think if I keep pulling them aside, they’ll tell me??”
After several bouts of invalidation towards her colleague and friend, Vorta returned to work. She sat at her desk that faced the main entrances. There were large planes of glass that gave a wide arc of view beyond the compound walls and to the surrounding buildings that towered over it beyond the street. However, her view was overtaken by the constant view of soldiers lifting and moving pieces of military equipment from a truck that had entered at the gate. From what some of the troops had told her, amid their attempts to court her, was that they were reinforcing much of the walls and windows with bags of dirt laid on top of each other. Supposedly to stop oncoming rounds from enemy weapons and shrapnel.
Other than that, all she could really think about was her slowly diminishing view. What was once a sight of birds, flowers and sky was now reduced to olive colored bags of leaking dirt that stained the glass at around the average height of the troopers.
‘At least I still have the sky…’ she thought to herself.
She would continue her work, managing some paperwork, or directing higher appointed officials on where they needed to go and who was awaiting them. As of late, there were more military personnel than there were political. Some would be escorted by their band of guards, much of whom donned the same outfit as those of the main army, but had differently colored suits of armor.
That was how their army was divided; those who are the general force, and those who make up privatized bands, much like the late War Chief-Commander Brallo. Of all the Chiefs she had met in her work, he was the one she adored the most. Kind, strong, and most notably, tall. When news came of his demise, she was crestfallen, and had taken a couple of days out of work to mourn. As word had it, they were unable to provide a body and so it was a closed casket funeral after the Campaign Fleet had returned, with much fewer ships than before. It wasn’t official, but word was starting to get around that she and Brallo were an item. Something she was hoping to come to pass when they got back.
Now, she did her work in quiet efficiency, letting the time pass each day as more and more reinforcements were added to the building. When she would enter through the main gate each morning, there would always be another automated turret, tent, or band of troops within the perimeter, and she would continue her work at her desk indefinitely.
More time would pass since the troops stopped adding the Chamber’s defenses, and during that time they would take what time they had to speak to either her or Tolani. Vorta would deny their advances and Tolani would disappear with them only to come back disheveled. However, as of late, she had been seeing Tolani with Councilman Polas as he would go about his business. From what she had seen, he wasn’t bothered by it, but rather feigned annoyance at her presence but kept her with him until they were out of sight. Vorta lost count of how many her friend has been with in the last several weeks and stopped counting after the twentieth occasion.
During one morning, after she had set up her space, she would eavesdrop on two guards nearby having a conversation that she was barely able to make out. She would slowly and quietly slide her chair closer to them until she could make out full sentences.
“Did you hear? Apparently, they began evacuations on the outskirt towns,” spoke one individual
“Really? Don’t you think it’s a bit early for that?” spoke the other. The other shrugged, denying its confirmation. “I dunno, man. From what I've heard, the Terrans had already broken through Beladir and Dorn. Nothing left on Beladir and apparently the scientist coalition on Dorn were taken as prisoner.”
“Didn’t they have a defense system? I heard they could hold off the Chief-General’s fleet with those defenses. That doesn’t make sense to me how they got captured. Something isn’t right,” replied the other.
“You think that’s bad? Get this, the troops under Brallo were some of the finest Sellia had to offer, but all of ‘em got wiped out! Even Brallo himself!”
His fellow trooper was shocked at the revelation, “No way. The Brallo?”
“How did you not hear? They held a procession for the fallen soldiers of the Campaign Fleet got back. How did you not hear?”
The other raised his hands in defense, palms out, “I dunno! I was out with the wife at our kid’s tournament. Of course, I’m not gonna go.”
“Fine, but apparently, for a lot of ‘em, it was closed casket style. They couldn’t come back with the bodies,” replied the trooper and his retelling.
“You know who killed ‘em?” the other asked.
“You didn’t hear this from me,” he replied. He leaned in to try to lower his tone but spoke to where Vorta could barely make out what they said, “Apparently, they rained down from the sky in metal shaped like tears or rain drops. Crashed down and slaughtered his troops.”
The other was fearful and Vorta understood as well. Brallo was well known among the troopers and even among the civilians for his achievements as one of, if not, the best ground troop's commander of their time. If the enemy could effortlessly take out their best infantry commander, then they were a group to be rightfully feared. As they were about to continue their conversation, a guard came through the front doors and addressed the two.
“Jarlin, Urlo! Get back on patrol! Or Father’s help me, I’ll send you to guard the War Council's sanctum!”
“Y-yes War Chief!” sounded the two. “I ain’t trying to be food for those scaly freaks,” added Jarlin, nudging Urlo in the shoulder as they left with haste.
The war chief who remained stood by until the two cleared the entrance into the main courtyard until they were cleared of Vorta’s view. The war chief turned to Vorta with a menacing glare, but she knew to already have her head down as she loudly shuffled some papers and data pads, feigning actual work until he left.
She sighed and noticed that her desk was still empty, with Tolani no where in sight. Last she had seen, she left with Councilman Polas, just after work had started. It was near closing, and she had yet to see her and Polas leave from the inner sanctum wing. She wasn’t authorized to go back there, as she was instructed by the chief clerk several weeks ago.
Vorta had chalked it up to Tolani spending quality time with Polas, probably trying to guarantee some form of safety should the Terrans make it to their cradle world.
At the end of the day, she would leave for her home, with was only a five-minute walk to the front gate and was situated underground as an emergency bunker. She moved there shortly after the Campaign Fleet's return and had stayed there ever since. Vorta stayed late waiting for Tolani, but when she didn’t appear, she left. Hoping to see her tomorrow. However, as she slept, unbeknownst to Vorta, a battle waged in orbit and projectiles from the planet were sent into orbit, colliding with an enemy or missing their mark entirely.
Of course, she would be made aware as she would try to come in to work the next day, but to her surprise, she was denied access and turned away at the gate. All the while, the plumes of smoke and streaks of light rose from the horizon towards the sky. She would depart towards her home, where both she and Tolani lived. Vorta would remain in her shoddy bunker, awaiting the only other soul who lived in it. However, Tolani would never return…
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
… When Vorta awoke, she did so in a darkened chamber. The lights were off, and the room was darker than usual. There wasn’t a dim glow from her electronics that normally lit her room enough for her to traverse late into the night without a need to turn on the overhead lights. Instead, it was pitch black and Vorta found herself fumbling in the dark, looking for anything that could light her way.
Feeling around her mattress, she felt the rigid construction of a device that fit just a little larger than her small hands. As she lifted it, the screen blinded her momentarily once the device sensed its orientation to the user. A design made into the newer models for personal devices.
“AGH! Stupid thing…” She responded, following with a large sigh. With her eyes adjusted, she was able to view a warning that made itself on the screen of her device.
[ATTENTION! All Non-Essential Personnel And Civilians Are Ordered To Make Their Way To The Nearest Bunker For Safety. All Surface-Level Exposure Is Advised To Minimum Contact. This Message Will Repeat.]
Her eyes widened at the warning. It was one thing for her access to be revoked, but she didn’t think much of it at the time. In fact, the last few days leading up to now felt like a monotonous haze to Vorta. All commercial signals were cut in the earlier days of the Council Chambers being reinforced and since then, she stopped receiving any signals intended for the average civilian.
“So that’s why…” She muttered as she recalled her trip home. Empty roads, with only a handful of people making their way to the outskirts of the city. At least that’s the direction she thought they were heading, but it all made sense now. The city had all but evacuated.
Her head began to spin, first of confusion, next with worry, “Tola! Oh, by the Fathers!”
She closed the ongoing warning across her device, navigating to her contacts. She listed through names, many of whom she had fallen out of contact with, until she came to Tolani’s and tried to call it.
It rang for what felt like hours, only for Vorta to be met with a monotone artificial voice, “Sorry, the contact you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message at the tone…”
Vorta redialed her friend’s number numerous times, only to be met with the same message. Her worry skyrocketed at the uncertainty of her friend’s safety. As far as she’s concerned, her friend is missing, and she could only find blame with the one she was around in her final moments, Councilman Polas.
She cursed his name, just thinking about him. She only knew him as a man with a sly tongue, his words nothing but toxic lies and manipulation.
“That cursed… Vek’Ta!” She shouted, still resting atop her bed. Her stature defeated. She wanted to look for Tola, but ultimately decided against.
“First, they revoke my access… Then they might just shoot me if I show my face…”
She sighed once more at her dilemma, resting her body on her mattress and stared at the ceiling above. After resting for several moments, staring at her blacked ceiling, she mustered the strength to get up from her bed to the closest light switch. She maneuvered through the room with an ingrained mapping of the room until she reached the wall with the switch in question, flipping it to test its functionality.
“Damn…” She sounded with frustration, angrily flipping it up and down multiple times, to no avail. It was dead, and she searched for another option to lighten her day.
As she recalled, her living space was an early established bunker, but its intended use wasn’t needed after its construction, so it was put on sale by the granddaughter who found no use for it. It just so happened that Vorta was searching for a cheap place to call home and happened to meet the owner when she was buying lunch at a nearby restaurant. Many of the apartments in the city were too overpriced for her salary and she was single. So she didn't have gripes on where she lived, just as long as it was cheap, and the commute wasn’t terrible. Luckily for her, it was within her budget. It was already paid for, and Vorta and the owner made an agreement to have her pay in installments until the total price was paid off, discounted.
It was only after she started her job as a front desk clerk for the council that she met Tola, who was also in a bind searching for a place to stay. At the time, she was reserved and quiet, so she didn’t think much of it. After they got to know each other, Vorta grew to know her increasingly promiscuous nature, but Tola had already established herself as a roommate and as a friend to Vorta. Both of their families live out of the city, so they only really had each other. She reminisced of their early days as she continued searching for a more reliable light source.
She had seen Tola in her worst times and helped her through it, most times at her expense, but as far as she knew, Tolani was like a sister. So, her disappearance granted a heavy toll on her mind. She wanted to search for her but knew that it would be futile. She wandered her mind for any kind of opportunity to find her sister.
“Anything would do,” She thought to herself, sullenly.
She silently offered her mind to the next person who could grant her that peace of mind of Tolani’s safety. However, she could do nothing, and felt it in her heart that it would be best to wait. She didn’t know what to wait for or in what form it would come in, but she felt it best to trust her instincts. Vorta then departed her bunker of a living space, and made her way up a series of stairs.
There were windows on the plateaus of the stairways that let in the already filtered light from the overcast of clouds. The scene was gloomy in feel, and the low-hanging clouds added to the somber vibe exuded by the atmosphere. She had always felt comfortable with cloudy or rainy seasons and loved the feel of her home when she slept in.
When she was done reminiscing, she continued up the stairs until she reached a door at the top. Opening it revealed a flat surface, with pieces of equipment attached to the floor that made a low hum. They were the air conditioning units and heaters of the buildings, which were taller than her, by at least a foot.
She moved to the far side of the roof until she met the edge of the building, facing towards the west. A cool breeze coasted through the air, causing Vorta to shiver as she looked towards the horizon. In the distance, she noted a small hill just before a cliff face with smaller buildings that didn’t blend with the surrounding trees.
She knew it as a small retirement town and vocation homes for those who could afford it. By rail, it took roughly an hour, but by vehicle, it took nearly twice the time, since the route was covered by foothills and no one road was straight for any longer than a couple of hundred feet. As she stared far into the horizon, she would notice a moving spec that contrasted the sky behind it. It was singular and left as quickly as it arrived, making an exponential slope toward the sky until moving beyond her purview.
“Hm. Curious…” she thought to herself. By now, Vorta’s mental state had subsided and for now, she was free of worry. She made it a habit to find places where she could turn her brain off and not think, and recently, the roof of her building provided such a dwelling.
As far as she was concerned, all homes should have been evacuated. Seeing a lone ship in what would be the middle of nowhere piqued her interest. She was aware that her people are currently at war with a species never before seen, but she had her reservations;
‘Were they as barbaric as Polas claimed them to be?’ or ‘what was the real reason they declared war on these “Terrans”?’
Even as a clerk, she wasn’t privy to the workings of the inner sanctum that a sanctum clerk might know. Those clerks are sworn in secrecy to all that they see or hear. The councilman’s most trusted clerks, and a job she was trying to get, but to no avail.
Vorta waited atop the roof for what seemed like hours when she finally retired for the night. She was curious about the ship from over the horizon but ultimately let the thought pass. She returned to her bunker home, the lights still off from before as she never found a way to turn them back on. An object of her naïveté that slowly began to eat at her.
As she laid upon her bed, she thought to herself. ‘What am I to do? Do I make my way to a modern bunker? Would they even let her in or turn her away?’
Each though bugged her mind as she asked countless questions, with no one to answer. Instead, her eyes grew heavy, and her worry dissipated from her thoughts as sleep began to set in. She would worry about it tomorrow.
Vorta’s night began relatively peaceful. Her room was still pitch black, but now she took solace in it. However, her sleep was interrupted with a thunderous boom and a crack of the air. Enough to make her room shake intermittently. She shot up from her bed to the noises above, dressed herself with warm layers and made her way up to the roof. It was still night, but the occasional glows from the plasma cannons caught her eye.
When she opened the door to the roof, the night sky was assaulted by blue bolts of plasma that traveled from the ground into the sky; connecting with something she couldn’t see except for the unfortunate aftermath of what had been hit. Smaller flashes of lights could be seen exchanging from what she presumed to be ship-to-ship combat. A scene she would not think would happen within her lifetime. If not for her planet’s predicament, she would have thought this scene to be beautiful.
Vorta wandered the roof, moving from its edges, peering beyond to points of interest. In the direction of the Council Chambers, the lights operated normally, with searchlights moving along avenues of approach with the occasional patrol wandering the streets close to the compound.
However, when she turned to the west, she noticed a rise in activity unlike the inner city. The occasional pop and crack of the atmosphere could be heard in-between shots of the plasma cannons in the distance, followed by an occasional tracing of light from an unknown source. The sounds of combat still made its way to Vorta. Her curiosity grew, urging her to investigate. It went against her very own thoughts of self-preservation, but as she knew it, she didn’t have much to live for anyway. Thoughts of her friend, Tolani, already grew grim, thinking her to already be dead even if she didn’t have proof of either life or death. For now, she simply wished to satisfy her curiosity, even if it would cause her demise. Whatever the case, she didn’t mind it.
Vorta made her way into the building, first stopping by several unlocked rooms. She didn’t like going through others’ belongings, but she surmised that she would need sturdier, yet nimble clothing, along with food and any other gadgets she could use to help in her survival. The nearest shelter was within the largest part of the city, which was also a likely spot for an enemy invasion. The other safer option laid beyond the city, in the mountains to the north and north-west. If she knew she was going to be in her current predicament, perhaps she would have left earlier.
She knew that overthinking such a topic was counter-productive, and shifted her thoughts once more, this time, to her survival. A worn combat knife here, food there, and clothing to top it off. She scavenged what she could, opting for muted colors that blended with the urban environment and provided less noise during movement. However, even in her preparation, she still found herself in her darkened room, thinking to herself.
She had begun to have doubts, ‘Where can I go? Is Tola alive? Should I even step outside?’ she thought to herself.
From what information she gathered just from her roof, was that the invasion showed no signs of halting. Then the feeling of helplessness assaulted Vorta, causing her to find comfort in a fetal posture. With all the thinking and gathering of supplies she did earlier had left Vorta tired, unbeknownst to her. Soon, before she knew it, sleep had taken her.
As she slept, the cogs of war turned, encroaching further into the City of Artray. What was once an ounce of resistance on the western front, was now reduced to silence. With only the sounds of treads, tires, and boots to fill in the gaps of cannon fire.
The enemy was now at the gates, and still, Vorta slept.