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Their private, quiet grief starkly contrasted with the broader planet’s shared and recent mourning. Days before, a public funeral service had taken place in the vast halls of Dunia’s Parliament House. It had begun with a procession of the coffin from his home that lay on a floating open flyer. Three hundred military guard members, including the Sable Riders, had been included in the procession through the streets of New Malindi. They’d marched to Dunia’s soaring Parliament House, where just over 500 foreign and local dignitaries and guests had assembled to farewell their former leader.
Armed guards and military personnel had been deployed throughout the capital to ensure peace. At the same time, millions tuned in from all over Dunia to watch the live holo stream of the service screened across homes, streets and parks. It had been a majestic send-off for a well-loved leader, led by a eulogy their new Prime and her sister read out. The media had reported how calm the two sisters had been, and their elegance and composure had been praised for days across all networks.
Only after the public had said their goodbyes had Selene and Sheba felt free to put their father to rest privately.
That said, they couldn’t bring themselves to reread the eulogy today, so they’d requested the clergy to take on the gut-wrenching task.
‘May he rest in peace,’ the cleric said, his words rising above the wind.
The heartfelt tribute ended.
The two sisters, who’d said what they’d needed to publicly over the last few days, bowed their heads.
A clutch of drones, attached to the coffin with thick steel ropes, lifted the coffin into the air. Away from the bridge and towards the cliff’s edge. Kei’Lano had always loved the ocean, and it was only fitting that he was laid to rest within its endless, liquid majesty.
The coffin hovered briefly before the drones lowered it into the churning spray of the waiting whirlpool. Their clamps released, and the coffin fell. It floated briefly before the powerful eddy sucked it inside itself, claimed by the sea. The mourners stood silent, watching the waves crash against the cliff below. It was a beautiful, fitting tribute to a life well-lived.
Above, thousands of Dunia’s colourful birds wheeled in the air, keening in a fond farewell. Then, they flitted between the clouds, joined by a silver feathered gyrfalcon that also paid its respects by dancing in the wind.
The funeral attendees watched silently as the coffin vanished, and Dunia took back one of her own into the depths of her massive watery core.
As they turned to leave, Kei’Lano’s friends and family took comfort in the fact that their father, colleague, friend and mentor was now at peace, surrounded by the beauty of the natural world. They would never forget him, and the memories of the good times they’d shared would stay with them forever.
King Auban, Rhesus
‘We have news.’
The handsome golden-haired King of the Rhesian Realm of Nations looked up from a report on his comm tab. He watched as his closest advisor shuffled into his office. The man looked somewhat shaken.
‘What news?’
‘About The Technocracy. Their fleet - over fifty ships in all - is no more. They were wiped out in an attack. In an uninhabited part of the System.’
‘What do you mean wiped out?’
‘Decimated. Gone. No trace has been found of their fleet. We have a long-range satellite drone in that sector. Although all we can see is from a distance, the telemetry it picked up showed that a Technocracy ship arrived at a certain position. They proceeded to attack a medical vessel in the area. Unprovoked, might I add. Days later, some other party arrived, presumably to aid the medical vessel. More Technocracy ships jumped to the same position, and within minutes, all fifty crat ships exploded in a great fireball. One so great it seemed like the stars were on fire.’
‘And who destroyed the crats’ ships?’
‘We’re not sure, but we also detected the signatures of several ships in the area simultaneously. They were of Edenite bearing.’
‘You think the Edenites did this?’
His advisor shrugged.
The King was sceptical. ‘You’re saying that ships from Eden II were responsible? I don’t believe it for a moment.’
‘Your Highness, I beg to differ. The Sable Group has been working secretly on their ship-building technology for many years. Who knows what they’ve been up to.’
‘I respect The Sable Group, and Kainan Sable is a good friend to us. He’s a retired soldier, now a businessman. To my knowledge, he and his Group are more interested in making major schills and enlarging their bank accounts than waging war. At least, that’s my estimation.’
The other man in the room didn’t look quite so convinced. ‘Regardless, we need to find out exactly who did this. The repercussions could be disastrous for us if we don’t have the intel.’
‘Then do it,’ the King ordered. ‘We need to know if there’s another force out there, that’s more powerful than The Technocracy.’
‘Yes, Your Highness.’
The advisor bowed and backed swiftly out of the royal rooms.
