An explosion sent vibrations throughout the building as Akeron held tightly onto Kelienne's body. The body had gotten cold, and the lights from her implants were gone. She was truly dead. He gently laid her body on the ground, stood, and moved toward the element.
The element that was worth more than their lives. Kelienne understood the risks, yet she took them anyway and maintained bravery until the very end. He reached into the box and pulled out the element — a dark dodecahedron object that shone and vibrated slightly as it came into contact with his tincture.
He hid the object as he heard the elevator sound, and turned, ready to protect the element, but it was Greiant. His elation was cut short when he saw Kelienne's lifeless body on the ground, causing him to cast a concerned look at Akeron, which he brushed off.
Greiant said. "We, uh, got help."
Reinforcements, who could it be? Perhaps a work of Kelienne, or was it Gonje? Another explosion rocked the building, and the wall behind Akeron cracked. He moved to Kelienne and carried her out through the secret entrance with Greiant following closely behind.
They found themselves in a corridor and walked through it to a stairway. Akeron began to sweat and grunt as he climbed the stairs. Leaving Kelienne behind would be against Orod custom of honoring the dead, but then, a dead Orod is worth as much as an alive one. Some people would find a use for her body, performing all forms of experiments in an effort to reveal the secrets of the Orod. He could not risk that chance either.
The stairway ended at a door that led them into a secret room in Hudun's office. He must have had less trust in the bandits for him to develop a secret entrance to the element. No matter, his story had ended there, alongside the bandits.
Akeron left the office and went into the compound, with dead bandits scattered all around and the ones that had been left alive being tied up by men dressed in brown armor, sporting the House Oran insignia on their chests. Behind them was a large military ship, parked right next to Kelienne's ship.
One of them walked toward Akeron. "You must be Akeron of Orod," he said, trying hard to ignore the body in his arms. "Lord So'lan had sent us to accompany you, my name is Kiri."
Akeron asked. "Where is he?"
"Back home," Kiri looked around. "Where is the young master?"
The real reason they came, Akeron thought. So'lan would not sleep well knowing his heir was going to enemy territories without sending extra help in any way he could.
He answered. "He's with Gonje in his ship, safe."
Kiri gestured at one of the soldiers to establish communication with Gonje's ship. "And Hudun?"
Akeron took a minute. "He's dead. Tell Lord So'lan I killed him as he requested."
Kiri stood, studying Akeron as though searching for something that wasn't there, like there was more to reveal.
"I'll deliver the message," he said.
The soldier sent to contact Gonje returned almost immediately. "The young master is unharmed. They're preparing to depart."
Kiri nodded. "Good."
He left them for Kelienne's ship, walked in, and placed her body on the floor. He took a seat at the pilot's seat and reached into his pocket for the element. He brought it closer to the light of the sunrise, basking in the beauty of how something so small could be worth so much. He placed it in a compartment, took a deep breath, then started the engine.
The entire ship vibrated heavily and lifted off the ground, hovering before taking off. The compound shrank beneath him as the ship climbed into the sky. He set the ship on the course to Ortin station and turned on the autopilot. The silence set in.
Kelienne's body remained where he left it, and he walked up to it to lie right beside her. Is this what peace is? Is she at peace? He thought in silence as he stared at her face. With a small stroke of his fingers, he cleaned her face of any dirt. He lay there, tired and stressed, and closed his eyes.
The memories of the time they had spent together overwhelmed him. He remembered when they met, years ago, even though they belonged to the same world, only separated by different ideologies. Then, he felt peace and what he might describe as love, and he considered being with her.
Akeron remembered her words.
"We can leave, get rid of our implants. I don't know how, but we'll find a way, there are hundreds more of us, they can continue the duty."
Often, he wondered what life would be. A distant planet, living a simple life as farmers, perhaps, maybe with kids. He felt for her, but not enough to ignore his duty to the Orod. Who else could do it, he thought. His thoughts rang deep as he fell asleep.
A while later, he woke up to what he could've sworn was Kelienne's voice. Her lifeless body was still there beside him, and his attention was called to the beeping from the ship. Ortin station, he had arrived. He took control of the ship and landed it, then cut off the engine.
Akeron took a minute, considering his next move now. His ship was still in the hands of So'lan. I can't go back there, he thought. He retrieved the element from the compartment and exited the ship for the bar, where he had met Kelienne earlier.
In the bar, he ordered two jugs of beer from the robot bartender and took his seat where he had sat before her. With a sip of the beer, he chuckled slightly. This is better than that fermented garbage served on Iofen.
Now that he had the element, he had to make a journey for Iofen to deliver the element as well as give Kelienne a proper burial. But first, he needed to take a moment for himself, to collect himself. Two years ago, he left Iofen to track the element, and he had acquired it now, albeit at a great cost.
"Goodbye, Kelienne," he said to himself, tapping his jug against the second one. "May the Star of Boehu light your path home."