emerged
from above, peering down into the cavern.
“Need a hand, sister?”
came the deep voice of her brother of the South.
Enoke had
arrived.
Chapter XI –
Underlying Secrets
“What am I?” Lanaru
asked himself aloud.
Sitting on the edge of
his bed, he peered across the single room of his dwelling into the
mirror that rested opposite to him. Even the physical proof in the
form of his taller and stronger figure coupled with his shining
dark green armor was no longer enough to justify who he was, or
what he had become.
“Who’s sick idea of a joke was it to hand out these Pendants
and leave us like this?” the Mara muttered to himself, clutching
the jagged glowing stone that still hung around his neck, resting
on his chest plate.
He stood up, eyeing a
pair of pilot’s goggles that were laying on his floor and kicking
them across the room in frustration.
“I
mean, what were they thinking? ‘Hey, let’s give them great hero
powers and stunning hero looks, and not give them any idea of how
to use them or what to do! Let’s make a total joke of them in front
of the new Tavar; let’s make the new
Veha
the laughing stock of the entire Zor
population!’”
At that, there came a
knock on Lanaru’s door. He jumped in surprise, taking deep breaths
in an effort to calm himself down once more.
“What now?” he wondered
aloud, walking towards the door. “I suppose that’ll be the others
running helplessly back here, as if I’m doing any
better-”
Still flustered, Lanaru
pulled the door open, but froze upon seeing a pair of Hub Zor at
his doorstep, accompanied by a pair of Sirens positioned close
behind them.
“Hey,” Lanaru greeted
them casually, attempting to stay calm. “How’s it
going?”
The Zor to his left
sneered. “You’re the one that they call Lanaru, are you not?” he
asked.
“The one and only,” he
replied, trying to maintain confidence in who he was. “Veha Lanaru,
if this hero’s attire does not speak for itself,” he added with a
nervous chuckle. “How can I help you?”
Neither of the guards
appeared to be at all amused.
“ Well, if the events that took place three days prior in the
Hub are of any indication, I believe it would be needless to say
that you don’t exactly fit that title,” the guard on the left
corrected him. “You are, however, deserving of a new occupation
here in Af’Mara,
engineer,
” he
stated.
“A new occupation?”
Lanaru questioned, surprised. “But why?”
“Paradius Authority’s
command,” the other guard replied simply. “You have been
re-assigned amongst many others to weapon production. You should
not find yourself lost along your way, however; you will be located
in the cellar beneath Aircraft Hangar C.”
Lanaru paused for a
moment to process what was being said. He has worked in Hangar C
for nearly his entire career as an Engineer, working on engineering
aircraft technologies to propel Paradius further into the new age
of technological discoveries. The Hangar was just about everything
he had ever known, and yet he had never been aware of any sort of
cellar beneath its floors.
“Now, if you would be
so kind as to come with us, we shall escort you,” stated the first
figure.
At first, Lanaru
hesitated, feeling flustered at the thought of being demoted to a
task as simple as weapon production after working with aircraft for
so many years. And, what was more, he was supposed to be a Veha
now! Why should he submit and abandon what he still believed –
albeit deep down – to be his new duty Paradius?
Finally, however, he
spoke. “All right,” Lanaru answered simply.
The journey through the
familiar streets of Af’Mara City had a different vibe about it
since Lanaru had last headed to work several days prior. The city –
the only one outside of the Hub at that – was shockingly quiet all
around him; absent were the almost constant sounds and sights of
people hustling about and of flying aircraft in testing or the
latest
from above, peering down into the cavern.
“Need a hand, sister?”
came the deep voice of her brother of the South.
Enoke had
arrived.
Chapter XI –
Underlying Secrets
“What am I?” Lanaru
asked himself aloud.
Sitting on the edge of
his bed, he peered across the single room of his dwelling into the
mirror that rested opposite to him. Even the physical proof in the
form of his taller and stronger figure coupled with his shining
dark green armor was no longer enough to justify who he was, or
what he had become.
“Who’s sick idea of a joke was it to hand out these Pendants
and leave us like this?” the Mara muttered to himself, clutching
the jagged glowing stone that still hung around his neck, resting
on his chest plate.
He stood up, eyeing a
pair of pilot’s goggles that were laying on his floor and kicking
them across the room in frustration.
“I
mean, what were they thinking? ‘Hey, let’s give them great hero
powers and stunning hero looks, and not give them any idea of how
to use them or what to do! Let’s make a total joke of them in front
of the new Tavar; let’s make the new
Veha
the laughing stock of the entire Zor
population!’”
At that, there came a
knock on Lanaru’s door. He jumped in surprise, taking deep breaths
in an effort to calm himself down once more.
“What now?” he wondered
aloud, walking towards the door. “I suppose that’ll be the others
running helplessly back here, as if I’m doing any
better-”
Still flustered, Lanaru
pulled the door open, but froze upon seeing a pair of Hub Zor at
his doorstep, accompanied by a pair of Sirens positioned close
behind them.
“Hey,” Lanaru greeted
them casually, attempting to stay calm. “How’s it
going?”
The Zor to his left
sneered. “You’re the one that they call Lanaru, are you not?” he
asked.
“The one and only,” he
replied, trying to maintain confidence in who he was. “Veha Lanaru,
if this hero’s attire does not speak for itself,” he added with a
nervous chuckle. “How can I help you?”
Neither of the guards
appeared to be at all amused.
“ Well, if the events that took place three days prior in the
Hub are of any indication, I believe it would be needless to say
that you don’t exactly fit that title,” the guard on the left
corrected him. “You are, however, deserving of a new occupation
here in Af’Mara,
engineer,
” he
stated.
“A new occupation?”
Lanaru questioned, surprised. “But why?”
“Paradius Authority’s
command,” the other guard replied simply. “You have been
re-assigned amongst many others to weapon production. You should
not find yourself lost along your way, however; you will be located
in the cellar beneath Aircraft Hangar C.”
Lanaru paused for a
moment to process what was being said. He has worked in Hangar C
for nearly his entire career as an Engineer, working on engineering
aircraft technologies to propel Paradius further into the new age
of technological discoveries. The Hangar was just about everything
he had ever known, and yet he had never been aware of any sort of
cellar beneath its floors.
“Now, if you would be
so kind as to come with us, we shall escort you,” stated the first
figure.
At first, Lanaru
hesitated, feeling flustered at the thought of being demoted to a
task as simple as weapon production after working with aircraft for
so many years. And, what was more, he was supposed to be a Veha
now! Why should he submit and abandon what he still believed –
albeit deep down – to be his new duty Paradius?
Finally, however, he
spoke. “All right,” Lanaru answered simply.
The journey through the
familiar streets of Af’Mara City had a different vibe about it
since Lanaru had last headed to work several days prior. The city –
the only one outside of the Hub at that – was shockingly quiet all
around him; absent were the almost constant sounds and sights of
people hustling about and of flying aircraft in testing or the
latest
Similar Books
