The Acolytes of Crane (Theodore Crane, #1)(58)

‘Just Mariah,’ I said, with my head bowed down, and my body slouched.

All the other teenagers—even Mariah once again—conveyed shock at the news. They couldn’t cry; it was too unreal for them. But there was no doubting the chagrin on their faces. They were also still not fully recovered from their sudden departure from Earth. It would take several weeks for them to adapt to the new reality, if ever.

‘It is okay, bud. I am here for you. We all are,’ Liam said, and the others comforted me as well.

‘What are Urilians?’ Dan asked.

Zane continued, and said, ‘Urilians are basically anyone who opposes the Dacturons under my rule. This war is between the Urilian resistance and the Dacturons. You are here, because you willingly accepted this fate. If for any reason saving the lives of billions isn’t a cause you are interested in pursuing, then I will send you back to Earth. This mission isn’t for anyone who has doubts of what they are capable of doing. Your doubts might certainly lead to the deaths of others. Every decision you make from here to the end of this conflict will have an effect on the outcome.’

‘Why did you guys let this happen? I mean, Ted’s grandparents are dead. I mean, I don’t know what happened, or who did it, but it sounds like something real bad happened. Couldn’t you have stopped that?’ Liam asked angrily. I stood spellbound, wanting the answers even more badly than Liam did.

‘Liam, my power is finite. You might have been told that I was infinitely powerful and can destroy anyone or anything that isn’t in line with my law. It is true that I have strength, but my power has limitations,’ he said.

‘You can say that again, dude,’ Lincoln growled. ‘You definitely have more power than we do, yet Ted has lost everything that was important to him.’

Zane turned to Lincoln and said, ‘I understand. I am angry too at what I could not prevent. Join me. If you don’t have anything to fight for, you do now. The deaths of Theodore’s grandparents will not be in vain.’

He looked around the room to let his remarks sink in. Satisfied, he said, ‘You will refer to me as Zane. You may not call me Lord, or dude. I am only an Omnian with the ability to do miraculous things, so please spare me any worship. You will train diligently, as I have schooled Bromels for hundreds of years. The Bromels are the brilliant angelic beings that were vital in your escape to the Uriel.’

Dan brightened up, ‘Yeah, those things were super rad!’

‘I can see your attention spans are in short supply, so I will try to move it along. We will use technology unfamiliar to your world. Make no mistake, the enemy wants us dead. We must respond with the correct measures. War is hell, so you may find us training with motives and tactics that may lie below your base instincts. You, in fact, may from time to time experience doubt,’ Zane said. He seemed troubled. ‘But you must have faith in me and know that because you have sacrificed for me, I will sacrifice for you. War isn’t forgiving, loving, or humane. War is disgusting. It is something I am not proud of, but we are cornered more now than ever.’

He pointed to outside, to the crystal clear dome where we could see stars twinkling. ‘Right now, outside of the confines of this ship, wait ten Dacturon destroyers. They don’t advance nor withdraw, so we have to figure out what they’re up to. Undefined purpose, however, does not erase their ability to raid this ship. Although it would be improbable that they would succeed in boarding us, it isn’t impossible.’

‘So we are trapped on this ship, with a threat outside?’ Liam asked.

Zane answered, ‘Yes. Remember, the evil of the enemy is limitless. They are not hobbled by niceties, nor are they gentlemen of war. They are willing to do anything, with no regard to what is just. In contrast, your actions will need to be within the highest attention to morals and integrity. You will listen to Theodore and accept his orders, because that is his gift. His ability lies in his understanding of leadership.’

He gazed at us. ‘Any questions? It’s important that you clear up everything, right now. That is mandatory even before we can start.’

Lincoln cleared his throat. I knew he would be the first to ask.

‘Just two words,’ he said. “Why Earth?’

Zane had a puzzled look. ‘You mean why Earth is involved, or—’

Lincoln’s face was red from excitement. ‘Why are you recruiting from Earth? Why are you guys all pissing each other off on Earth?’

Zane nodded his head knowingly. ‘Excellent question.’

Mariah spoke us, her eyes flashing. ‘Yeah! I know what Linc means. We’re just a quiet, technologically backward planet.’ She looked around in awe. ‘You guys are so much more advanced than us. What possible use can we puny humans be to you?’

Zane stared at her approvingly. ‘You are very clever.’

‘Thanks.’ She glanced at Lincoln. ‘So is he.’

‘The short answer is… you humans are unique. In one very important way. It’s true you don’t have the technology. You’re very weak in terms of physical strength. Almost laughable.’

‘Hey, watch it!’ Dan snarled.

‘But one thing sets you out. You have consistently been proven to be the most … adaptable.’ He paced the room. ‘Other inter-planetary species are bigger, stronger. They’re more intelligent. More advanced. But… you humans are the most adept at strategizing, at surviving.’