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Chapter Fourty Six A
long stretch of children, dressed in vibrant and flamboyant colors, walking
alongside the many hand-crafted creatures and objects, all waving to the
cheering throngs of bystanders. Confetti and streamers fill the air as do the
shouts of the crowd, for this place is rapt with such a special joy for the
people, and especially the children of Chandrila. The Parade of Children is the
single biggest celebration for the Chandrillan peoples, and this year it seems
to be greater than any other. It has been twenty prosperous years since the last
time inner turmoil on the planet interrupted these festivities. Twenty years of
peace in the Provinces, twenty years of increased birthrates, twenty years of
rule under the kind and beautiful care of the Great Unifier, Ruler Elassi
Mehand. Her gentle but
steadfast attention to the well-being of her people has made her their greatest
treasure. They name their children after her, they praise her name before every
meal, and they listen with rapt attention whenever she speaks. Today is no
different… From the moment someone in the crowd catches their first glance of
this diminutive woman, the cheers go up in exultation of her presence. As she
makes her way along the parade route through Hanna City, she is greeted around
every turn to cries of joy. Though her age is beginning to show, she still walks
the route instead of sitting on one of the many beautiful creations brought
forth for this glorious day. At her side,
her youngest daughter Cherié Mehand, a well-respected scholar and something of
an enigma among her many adopted children. Cherié has never married and is
believed to be something of a mystic among the Chandrillan people. Though she
has never professed such a vocation, it has long been rumored to be true. She
is, however, terribly loyal and supportive of her mother, and is rarely found to
be far from Elassi during one of her many appearances. In her thirties, Cherié
is known to be exceptionally athletic and is rumored to be well versed in
various means of self defense. Her golden hair is kept well shorn and close
cropped, leaving her an almost impish aura, but it is merely an illusion.
Holding titles in several athletic endeavors, Cherié is a fierce competitor. Following close
behind Ruler Mehan is her ever faithful assistant, Shani Toraal. A position she
has held since their school girl days at the Chandrillan Academie of Academics.
Shani is never far from her dearest friend. And, though she too is beginning to
get up in years, she remains as youthful as the Ruler herself. Surrounding the
Ruler, from all ages and backgrounds are the many children of which this parade
is named. The Chandrillan people have long held children in high regard, and
with mortality rates being what they are on Chandrila, many of the children find
themselves without families at very young ages. It was Ruler Mehand who made the
adoption of these children so attractive to the populace of the planet. Before
her rule, many of them, when there was no other family to step in, would be
placed in group homes where they would live their lives until reaching
adulthood. Ruler Mehand felt that in a place where children were so cherished
and desired, that all children, regardless of bloodlines, should be given an
opportunity to feel that love. And so, she began to adopt many of these children
herself. The first being a ten year old girl who had petitioned the Ruler for
permission to attend a well-known academic facility, that had previously been
restricted to the children of nobles. So, as to allow this child immediate
access to that quality of education, Ruler Mehand simply adopted her. It was so
well received, and Ruler Mehand, who had been unable to conceive her own
children, began finding children all over the land to adopt. With her resources
she was able to take twelve children into her home and her heart in those first
few years. She and her husband found the joy they had so longed for in the
hearts of these children, that they continued to bring more children into their
home until his death shortly before the Great Upheaval during the Tralusan
Wasting Fever Epidemic, which claimed so many lives, even in her own family. The Great
Upheaval was a black spot on the history of Elassi’s rule, it was a time when
the ousted Provincial Nobles sought to takes from her the power that was given
to her by the people of Chandrila. They seized many family members of the Ruler
by force, no matter their age or station, and held them hostage in an effort to
force her from the head of the government she had installed in their stead. Many
people were killed in this action, and many of them were quite close to the
Ruler, but in the end, and with the help of an old friend, they were able to
thwart the insurgents attempts and restore order to the land. Many of the nobles
were expelled from Chandrila, and placed in permanent exile, never to return to
the beautiful vistas and cascading waters of this great planet. But today was
not a day to dwell in the darkness of the past. The people of Chandrila were
celebrating all the gifts that they had been given, and the greatest of those is
their children. Parading through the street with smiles and dances, the children
also celebrate their good fortune. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rounding the
corner to the entrance of the galley, Jae-Lee notices that it is not empty.
Seated at the small round table, her elbow resting on the table top with her
hand propping up her head and absenting stirring the cup of caf in front of her
is Xana. The sadness that is pouring off of her is palpable and it nearly breaks
Jae’s heart. He takes a deep
breath and then coughs a bit to make his presence known to Xana. Looking up from
her cup she gives him a forced smile. “Oh, I did not see you there, Jae.”
Starting to rise from her seat, “Would you like some caf? I mad-…” Jae
puts a hand on her shoulder and keeps her from standing. “I can get
it, you just have a seat…” He crosses to the counter and retrieves a cup
from the cabinet and brings it and the carafe to the table. He pours himself a
cup and then tops off Xana’s cup as well. “Just to warm it back up.” He
gives her a little bit of his lopsided grin. “Thank you,
Jae.” She again makes an attempt at a smile. “So, you’re
taking this thing pretty hard, huh?” He says as he takes the seat opposite
from her. “I guess
so… The Parade of Children should have already started by now… I remember
the ones they had when I was a little girl. My mother even let us march in the
parade one year.” The mournful look in her eyes is devastating. She inhales
sharply in an attempt to wash those memories away. “But Meesahran helped me to
put it into perspective a little bit.” “Oh yeah,
does your head still hurt, too?” Jae jokingly runs the back of his head and
winks at her when she looks up at him in surprise and then she smiles, for real
this time. “Sorry, sometimes the jokes are worse than others.” He takes her
hand into his as he speaks. “No, I should
be the one apologizing…” She puts her other hand over top of his, “Mooning
over this thing has not made me the best company as of late.” She lowers her
gaze as she speaks. “Haven’t
noticed…” Jae scoots around the table until he is seated right beside Xana.
And as he does, she leans her head down onto his shoulder. “Not at all.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From inside one
of the many storehouses on this end of Hanna City, a dark and solemn man sets
about his tasks. Loading the ammunition into the long range slug-rifle that he
acquired for just such occasions, he is readying himself for a difficult job.
Placing the rifle into the tripod, he checks the sites yet again, making certain
they are set for the proper distance. Next, he attaches the scope to the rifle.
Checking his calibrations against his datapad once more, he then verifies the
settings manually. As he stares through the optics he can perfectly make out the
center of the city, Triumph Plaza. That is the place. The people have
already gathered along the sides of the plaza, awaiting the procession’s
arrival at the conclusion of the Parade of Children. Making a few sweeps of the
plaza with his scope, Vic Orion prepares for the toughest assignment in his
career. He catches sight of the spotters, but with his masked position behind
the holo-board, no one will be able to pinpoint his location until it is far too
late, and that is just what he had planned on. The crowd
begins to get restless, and Vic knows that the procession is nearing the plaza.
He checks his chronometer once more, and then takes a slug from the bottle of
water sitting beside the tripod. He stretches his neck by rolling his head from
one shoulder to the next, flexes his fingers and hands, wipes the sweat away
from his brow with the back of his gloved hand and then takes his position
behind the slug-rifle. Now all he has
to do is wait for his moment. And the rest is his own problem… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rounding the
final corner of the parade route, the shouts and cheers from the thousands of
people lining the sides of Triumph Plaza greet Ruler Mehand and the rest of the
procession with such a fury that she is almost blown away by the display. Her
daughter takes hold of her mother’s arm, boosting her strength for the
procession’s final steps. They slowly make their way to the center of the
plaza, with all the pomp and circumstance that the people of Hanna City can
muster, the band strikes up and the plaza is filled with cheers, shouts of joy
and beautiful music. As they near
the center of the plaza, they also will be at the center of Hanna City itself.
The procession is now surrounded by all that Chandrila can offer it in support
and celebration. As Ruler Mehand begins her approach to the steps of the Great
Hall, she waves to the crowds of people and then in an instant she is fallen,
and soon those closest to her have fallen as well, and a wave of screams and
terror begin to make their way out from the center of the plaza, like ripples
upon the water. But soon they build and begin to crash like the mighty waves of
the planets oceans themselves. The whole plaza has become awash in their fear
and terror, as the screams reach outward into the city they can be heard from
every street and window, “The Great Unifier has been shot!”
Creator: PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
*SPECIAL NOTE: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the rest of the story will be written by PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
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