This is part of an ongoing writing challenge in which I base a short story or snippet off of a piece of art found somewhere on the web. Usually it kicks in my world building muse. None of the art belongs to me and I will do my best to provide artist credit when I can. For my fellow writers, if you’d like to join, feel free to post links to your own stories. If writing isn’t your thing, what do you think?
Artist credit: Didier Graffet
The Mission of the Tetrad God
“We’re taking fire, Captain.”
Captain Evers flashed an irritated glare at the monitors displaying the pinprick impacts against the ship’s hull. Their shields were holding, not that they wouldn’t given the Native’s inferior weapons. They still had more than four hours until they reached their assigned destination deep within the ancient stonewalls of the Ingenu region.
“What is your point, Rogers?”
“The Natives are firing on us, Ma’am. We should do something before they take us down.”
“Rogers, the hysterics are unnecessary given the little impact they are making on the shield. Also, what would you have us do? We are on a goodwill mission. Firing on them sends the wrong message.”
Rogers slouched in his chair, turning away to watch the Natives below via the lower portholes. The man was new to the cause, and overzealous in their task to spread the God of Four’s message.
There were those within the Tetrad that wanted to force the Four’s teaching on those who know nothing of their God. Everything they wanted to do involved force and a brutality counter to their Lord’s grace.
Captain Evers turned to Rogers, summoning the male out of his angry muttering.
“Go grab the orders from my desk, Rogers.”
Rogers did as he was told, albeit with shuffled steps in the direction of the rear of the ship. When he returned, his features were creased as he continued to read the orders she’d been given by the High Lord of Radia, the capital of Tetra.
“Lord Fain ordered a peaceful interaction?” Rogers asked.
“Yes. Hard to believe considering how he rules Radia, but those are his orders and we are to obey them.”
“What of the Empress? How does she feel about this?”
Captain Evers snorted. “She is the mother of the nation. Lord Fain has given commands dictated by her. She is the only one he will follow.” She waved towards the small desk off to the side of the bridge. “Now that you understand our mission, set the orders aside and go back to your post.”
Just as Rogers obeyed, the ship rocked as a powerful blast hit port side.
Captain raced for the monitor to check the shields as another blast rocked the ship.
“Status on port side shield,” she shouted.
“Sixty-four percent, Captain.”
“Incoming on starboard,” her second mate stated. “Where did they get cannons?”
Captain Evers pushed aside her lieutenant and grabbed the wheel, narrowly managing to steer away from an incoming blast.
She grabbed the relay microphone and barked orders to the other ships in the fleet to scatter to the predetermined safe zones. After ensuring the safety of the other ships, Captain Evers ordered her troops to their stations.
“May the God of Four be with us on this day,” she said before turning back to her post and attempting to avoid the cannon fire as she made a hasty retreat to their assigned safe zone.
“Captain!”
Evers turned towards the voice only to be blinded by an unearthly light.
***
Captain Evers came awake to the sound of muffled sounds of pain and murmured prayers from her soldiers. She wiped at her bleeding head and tried to rise to the seated position.
Rogers rushed to her side and eased her back down. “Steady, Captain.”
She smiled up at him. “Is this where you patch me up and state that you warned me?”
He bit back a laugh. “I could, but I fear the Four God has already shown you the truth of his feelings regarding this mission.”
“Tell me, Rogers, what has come of the others? Who must we mourn?”
“Honestly, Captain, you saved us all. Sure, many have had more than their share of injuries, but you managed to set us down pretty smoothly considering the circumstances.”
Captain Evers frowned. “What of the other crews?”
“Unfortunately, our communicator is broken and Lieutenant Wade’s hands are badly burned.”
Captain Evers cursed, but quickly whispered a prayer of forgiveness to the God of Four. “Tell me someone knows how to repair the systems?”
“I’m sorry, Captain. Even if we did, there isn’t much to salvage. Whatever hit us nearly destroyed our electrical systems. The rough landing finished the job.”
“God preserve us,” she said, trying to keep the despair out of her voice.
After taking a final moment to compose herself, Captain Evers shoved to her feet and made her way towards her crew. She needed to work with the uninjured to secure their location and protect them in the event of an attack. Whoever held the power of the mystical force that shot them from the sky wouldn’t likely leave them in peace for much longer.
“Come on, Rogers. We are here for the Tetrad God and right now, we have more than enough work to do.”
© Kelsey Jordan
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