The Cycles of Revelation Series

Artifact of the Dawn: Maara’dahl (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)

Episode 55: Keryth explains who the Maara’dahl are and why they were trying to murder Ardyn and his people.

Putting his glass of water down, Keryth sat back and looked around the room, letting the meaning of Maara’dahl sink in before he continued. “After the war ended, the Leadership Conclave allowed the remaining Aria’asharra to live in peace. Many of them settled on a remote unpopulated island on Aria’naa and some built settlements on our colony worlds, away from the established colony settlements. Their leaders were the only ones who faced consequences for the war.”

“Some of our people weren’t happy about that, were they?” Takyra speculated.

“There were rumblings of discontent,” Keryth admitted. “Based on the historical records, most of the population was happy the war was over. However, there were small, but vocal groups within the Baaru’dak that had wanted to see all the Aria’asharra executed as war criminals.”

“That seems extreme,” Jevan said, wrapping a protective arm around Ardyn at the very notion.

“What our people didn’t realize at the time was that the discontent of these groups continued to fester from one generation to the next, as they slowly became radicalized,” Keryth explained. “Some two hundred years after the war, the Maara’dahl emerged. They’ve been bent on exterminating every pocket of Aria’asharra that remained. They almost succeeded, too. The Aria’asharra descendants on this world may be the largest population left.”

“Why did they find it necessary to murder the descendants of the Aria’asharra?” Aelrynd asked.

Keryth took a deep breath and stood, going to the window overlooking the valley for a moment. Turning back to face everyone, he lowered his ears. “The Maara’dahl believe all Aria’asharra are a devolved off-shoot of our species, and if their faction comes into contact with members of other factions, they will somehow infect the rest of the Athla’naa people, causing our people to devolve back into simple-minded animals.”

Ardyn leaned forward, his ears fully up and forward. “Our people have been here, cut off from Aria’naa for over twelve hundred years. How could we possibly infect anyone?”

Keryth was about to respond when Taeglyn chimed in. “Exactly! Most of our people are still wary of technology, and we aren’t advanced enough to be a threat to anyone on Aria’naa.”

“And if our people are no longer welcome on Baaru’nor,” Aelrynd added, looking at Tomas and Aron. “Then I think our people will happily resettle on Maal’dak Five. We wouldn’t want to infect anyone.”

Once again, Keryth tried to speak, but then Mathias held up his hands. “I don’t see why your people need to go anywhere. Do you Tomas?”

“It’s not up to us,” Tomas said with a shrug. “If you ask me, I see no harm in the Athla’naa staying, if they stop interfering with the progress of the Medellan population. However, the Grand Council of Ateria may have an opinion on that. It will depend on what the delegation that’s arriving next week recommends.”

“Well, I think our people need to stop shunning technology, once and for all,” Ardyn said.

“You’re right, of course,” Aelrynd agreed. “Our ancestors were foolish, and it’s time to rid ourselves of these notions. However, not all our people will adapt as easily as you have Ardyn. Your innate curiosity has served you well here.”

Jevan smirked when he saw Ardyn’s ears drop at the compliment. We’ve come a long way from that day when we knelt in judgement for daring to explore the Aria’una.

“Thank you, Elders,” Ardyn said. “I hope it continues to serve me well here. I… I don’t know if I can ever go back to the life I had before.”

“Well, before anyone makes any life-changing decisions,” Keryth interrupted as he sat back down and poured himself a glass of wah’roh. “We need to make sure this world remains safe. Denyra may be in custody and the immediate threat neutralized, but the Maara’dahl are not a small faction. They will be back in greater numbers, and they may be more direct in their approach next time.”

“What kind of direct approach?” Takyra asked.

“On the colony worlds where some of the Aria’asharra resettled, the Maara’dahl systematically destroyed them,” Keryth revealed. “They would amass a small fleet of ships and bombard all population centers, leaving behind nothing but rubble. By the time the Leadership Conclave knew what was happening, it was too late for them to mount a defense. You’re the only remnants of a colony to survive.”

“Why would they destroy entire colonies?” Aerys asked. “I thought you said the Aria’asharra built their settlements away from the main colony populations?”

“They did, but the Maara’dahl were convinced that the Aria’asharra had infected the entire colony with their beliefs and thought it was only a matter of time before they found a way back to Aria’naa to start more trouble,” Keryth replied. “The Leadership Conclave tried to protect the colonies after the first one fell, but the Maara’dahl found ways around the defensive blockades.”

It horrified Jevan to hear this, knowing that Ardyn had been in the clutches of such monstrous people. “Would they attack our people as well?”

Keryth nodded. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he admitted. “They were unusually lenient by not attacking the Rahn’naa or the Medellan villages outright. Perhaps knowing that the Baaru’dak had been in cryostasis all this time made them worth saving.”

“Denyra seemed disappointed that we would even ask for mercy for the descendants of the Aria’asharra,” Takyra said. “I think she had hoped to find an ally in us, but she was sorely mistaken.”

Tomas leaned forward. “What about our people in Ateria? They have had no contact with the Athla’naa. Would they be in danger of attack?”

“The Maara’dahl might leave your people alone, assuming they scan your life signs and realize there are no Athla’naa anywhere on your continent,” Keryth replied. “However, they might decide that all life on this planet is forfeit, now that Denyra failed to convince Takyra to join them in their cause.”

“If these Maara’dahl were determined to exterminate the Aria’asharra, why did it take them so long to search for this colony?” Tomas asked. “They’ve had over a thousand years, so why now?”

“When the ships that were sent to search for the Rahn’naa didn’t find any trace of the ship, the Leadership Conclave assumed that it was destroyed,” Keryth said. “There is a large nebula between this planetary system and ours. The nebula obscured our ability to see this solar system clearly, so our scientists overlooked it.”

Pouring herself another drink, Takyra flattened her ears as she had a realization. “They would never have known we were here if I hadn’t sent that subspace message. I alerted them to our presence.”

“So, it’s your fault we’re in this situation in the first place,” Aron said with a snarl.

“She couldn’t have known this would happen,” Tomas admonished his companion. “Remember, they’ve been asleep for over twelve hundred years.”

Aron made an indignant huff, but didn’t say anything further.

“What can we do to prepare?” Aerys asked. “Our forcefield is still operational. Would it be able to hold up against your current weapons?”

Turning to Aerys, Keryth replied. “If we had more time, I’d recommend implementing a planetary defense grid. As it is, the best we can do right now is assess your current defensive capabilities on the ground, while my star cruisers help to defend the rest of the planet from space.”

Jevan leaned forward with interest. “What does a planetary defense grid do?”

“They were only theoretical in my day, but the idea was to have a network of satellites in orbit around Aria’naa that could project a forcefield around the entire planet, along with being armed with weapons to repel any hostile spacecraft,” Takyra replied, turning to Keryth. “Is that what you’ve put in place?”

“That’s exactly right,” Keryth replied. “We’ve upgraded the technology a few times now. The first grid took decades to build, but we can now deploy one within a few months. Still not fast enough in this situation, but something to consider for the future.”

“This defense grid could protect all of Ateria and Vestos?” Tomas asked.

“Yes, it would surround your entire planet,” Keryth confirmed.

Aron looked at Tomas. “The Grand Council would be very interested in something like that.”

“Once we’ve finished bringing everyone back down to the surface and have secured the Pah’ora, I will assign some of my engineering technicians to assess your forcefield,” Keryth replied. “If they’re compatible, we could upgrade many of your systems to help withstand a direct attack. The fact most of your ship is buried underground also gives you some protective advantage.”

“How much time do you think we have?” Takyra asked.

“It depends on if the Pah’ora could send off a message before we blocked their communications,” Keryth replied. “It could be a matter of days or weeks, but they will come. More ships from Aria’naa are also on the way, but we don’t know how large of a force we’ll have to deal with yet.”

“You might want to call off that delegation until we have a better idea of what we’re dealing with,” Aerys said to Tomas and Aron.

Tomas sighed and shook his head. “It’s too late for that. When we spoke to them yesterday, they said the delegation was to take off early this morning. They are already well underway.”

“Fascinating,” Keryth exclaimed. “Your world has such a wide variety of technology. I’m sure there are some historians back on Aria’naa who would love to study your world sometime. First, I’d like to know how the people in cryostasis were awakened after all these centuries.”

“It all began when I found this key,” Ardyn said, pulling it out of his pocket.

Ardyn and Jevan had Keryth’s rapt attention as they related their story, with input from the others in the room. When they finished, the commander leaned back, his hands intertwined behind his head. “This is a more complicated situation than we originally thought. I’ll need to confer with the Leadership Conclave before we decide anything.”

Finally finding the courage, Ardyn asked Keryth. “Will you make our people leave this world?”

With a shake of his head, Keryth smiled with a small shrug. “It’s not really my call, but your people have lived here for so long, I don’t think it would be right to force you to leave. I think Takyra’s people are potentially more disruptive to this world. It’s more likely they would be ordered to relocate.”

Ardyn wasn’t sure how he felt about that, after having become accustomed to living on the Rahn’naa. Could I really go back to my old life, if given the chance?