Trident
1538 Words
Nate
Two days on the Justine passed slowly. Nate noticed that Cassielle did not visited them. Few adults talked about Gideon. Every time his name was spoken up, the room would go quiet and someone would change the subject. Harold and Kat would sit in long periods of silence when this happened. Both nights they were aboard the Justine, Harold woke Nate with his nightmares. All Nate could do was hold his cousin while the sobs escaped. Eventually the sobs would die down and Harold would refuse to go back to sleep. Instead, he and Nate would sit out on the couches, talking and reading until the others were awake. As well as having their own private washroom, each sleeping quarters also had a small bookshelf that held five to ten tablets. For some reason, the only books Nate could find were from Earth. Didn’t they have literature on Trident?
The family had access to what they referred to as news. Every now and then the screen would turn on and either a woman or man would appear and make another announcement. They spoke in a foreign language, and Nate thought he caught familiar words. Once, during an announcement, Cassielle’s picture flashed on the screen. He wished at that moment he understood what they were saying.
Each day at dinner, Kevin would be escorted from their quarters to spend time with Cassielle, always returning late in the evening. When approached, Kevin simply stated he was getting to know his wife all over again. He would always say this with a sly smile. Nate shuttered to think of the implications. He, like many children, never wanted to think of his parents like that.
On the morning of their third day on the Justine, the ship finally arrived at Trident. They woke to find the ship orbiting a beautiful planet. The silvery clouds covered parts of the land mass and the blues of its oceans reminded Nate of Earth from space.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Cassielle asked. They all jumped.
She had entered the space quietly. Cassielle finally relented and allowed her attendants to dress her for their arrival. She wore floor length black pearl robes with silver embroidered wheat stalks among flames along the hemlines. A large intricately designed sun had been embroidered on her back. A braid wound around her hairline, decorated with black gems and white flowers. A large hair pin shaped like a wheat stalk encrusted with black and red gems had been set to the right side of her head. Her attendants accompanied her.
“We really aren’t that close to the planet. The Justine is too big and threatens the gravitational pull on the planet. That is a projection of the planet from one of our satellites. You will need to dress for our arrival. They will assist you,” Cassielle said motioning to her attendants.
One by one, each of her family members were dressed in similar outfits. The men were dressed in a black pearl vest over a long-sleeved off-white shirt, black slacks, and calf boots. The women had a similar outfit except their vests were long sleeveless tunics that went down mid-thigh. The children were given simple off-white tunics, black pants, and black shoes.
“You look like a dressed-up gorilla,” he commented squaring his shoulders and looking at Harold.
“Nathan,” Rose scolded.
Kevin and Justin chuckled at the comment.
Nate and Kevin were given white pants and boots. While Kevin had been dressed in a vest like the other men of their group, Nate wore a high collared, black pearl jacket that reached mid-thigh. Nate suspected their outfits signified their position within the family. Why else would he be dressed so similarly to his mother while everyone else wore more simple outfits?
The embroidery featured on each jacket, vest, and tunic was different and detailed something different. Nate’s jacket featured four pointed stars that gathered into constellations in various points. Kevin’s jacket featured the familiar scene of wheat, but no flames. Nate didn’t have time to study any of the other’s vests or tunics. A large, embroidered sun had been the only thing that remained constant on the back of everyone’s outfit.
Nate avoided his mother’s glances. Kevin stood by her side and spoke with her. They glanced his direction occasionally and he turned away. Only Harold knew about the argument, but Nate was sure the other suspect something happened.
The last thing everyone received had been an ear plug.
“This is a translator plug. Wear it at all times until you learn the language,” Cassielle said helping Kevin put his in. “Please stay together. We are expected to make an appearance, but no one is to talk with anyone outside the group,”
Everyone shuffled nervously. Nate glanced to his mother.
“I have already warned High Council that we need to avoid the public so our arrival and departure in the capital city Mandreva will be very brief. No waving or any hand gestures either,” Cassielle cautioned.
They loaded onto the elevator together and descended directly to the docking bay. There, the Admiral met the family and escorted them to a waiting shuttle. The docking bay had been filled with multiple shuttles of different sizes. They loaded onto the largest shuttle in the room. No one else, aside from the soldiers assigned to their group were there. The shuttle left the bay and traveled to the planet.
It took a total of one hour to travel from the Justine to the planet surface, or so said the clock on the far wall of the shuttle. Everyone sat or stood nervously as they approached the planet. Even Xander remained very still in his mother’s grasp. They shuttle shook slightly as they entered the planet’s atmosphere and approached a very large city.
They landed in front of a large building with a gleaming white dome that Cassielle called The Kalli’s Seat. Three different towers connected in a U-shape. Each tower stood over twenty-five stories tall. The dome sat lower to the ground, in the middle of the towers, with steps leading from a courtyard to the opening of the building.
Thousands of citizens from all over Trident came to see their arrival. Cassielle led the way off the shuttle. Nate and Keven followed her, followed by the rest of the family. Cassielle walked down and kneeled before High Council who called her to her feet. High Council also wore pearly black robes that flashed in the morning sun when she motioned to the assembled crowd. Nate immediately noticed the embroidery on High Council’s robes were distinctly different than theirs. For starters, she didn’t have the sun on her back. Instead, the back of her robes had a large, weeping willow style tree, the vines going beyond the base of the tree and tangling together as they stretched to the hemline.
In unison, the crowd saluted Cassielle. She may have been through this many times, but Nate could feel the discomfort growing in his family behind him. She quickly turned and exited the stage, followed by her family.
They went through a tunnel and exited into a private courtyard where a white shuttle waited. They could hear the cheers from the crowd as they watched the family from the broadcast screens. Cassielle indicated the family should enter the shuttle, then she walked on last. The accompanying guards remained in the private courtyard. With how little room they actually had in the shuttle, Nate would have been surprised if the guards would have been able to find room at all.
The shuttle took off and stayed close to the planet’s surface. Nate looked out the window as they rose. The Kalli’s Seat was surrounded by multistoried buildings, creating a large courtyard appearance with the white dome in the middle. Sky bridges connected to The Kalli’s Seat on two different levels with three separate buildings. From what he could see, every single building that surrounded the government headquarters were also connected by sky bridged every twelve or so floors. The building closest to The Kalli’s Seat seemed to have the highest security. Black, military looking shuttles sat parked on the top, and he could see armed guards as they walked back and forth. This building had been included with the courtyard, with other multistoried buildings surrounding it. Something about the base of each building gave Nate the impression the government headquarters had been sectioned off in the middle of the city.
The shuttle flew west of the city and soon came to a palatial estate. It was U-shaped building with the arms extending the backside. Nate saw a white staircase in the front with a large pond on the eastern side. A stone path could be seen circling the estate. Farmland stretched south of the building with patches of purple and green trees to the north. There were several landing pads on each end of the estate. The shuttle landed on the closest pad to a back entrance on the west side of the estate. Cassielle exited first.
“Welcome to the Kalli Farm Estate,” she said as the others walked off the shuttle.
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