Captain Rydian of the Human Galactic Unit

Chapter 7

I stepped off the bus and looked around. The Capital was amazing. Everything was bright and bustling. The place was full of klitons of every color, even colors I didn't know klitons could be. Everyone wore beautiful clothes and colors and walked around with bags and fancy purses or they sat under large umbrellas in front of fancy restaurants.

It wasn't really a city like on Earth though. There were no tall buildings or noisy highways. In fact, there were brick paths, small and quiet roads to drive on, large plazas full of smells, colors, and small vendors, and even streams through the whole view.

I looked over everything in wonder, "Wow."

Orville smiled as he stepped off the bus after me, "Welcome to the Capital, Rydian."

Vern stepped off next, followed by Lillian, "First time, Ry?" He always called me that.

I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the incredible view, "Yeah, first time. It's actually really amazing."

Mimi hopped out, "You should see Lady Lavender's mansion! It's incredible!"

Eden smiled, once again licking one of those candy sticks, "Not as incredible as she is." Lillian nodded in agreement. Tin and Cate stood with her, looking bored as ever.

Professor Nick spoke once everyone was out of the bus, "Welcome, everyone, to the Capital. The biggest city on Klicta and the oldest place of civilization. It was in this city that the first Sirs and Ladies were chosen." I figured the Sir was the king.

Professor Nick continued, "Now, let us begin today's lesson with..."

"I've always believed the best way to learn was to explore." We all turned and I gasped.

There stood the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had long, wavy red hair that shone in the sunlight, vibrant red skin that was spotless and delicate, and eyes like big ruby stones. She was much taller than everyone else, even Professor Nick, or anyone else I know in all honesty, and wore a long, slender red dress that reached the ground. She smiled a remarkably stunning smile, "Sorry if I'm interrupting class, Professor."

Professor Nick smiled up at her, "Not at all, madam." He turned to us, "Class, meet Lady Lavender." Everyone bowed, so I did the same.

She looked over us with a kind smile, "Welcome to the Capital, students." Her voice was so soft and delicate that it sounded almost like music.

Eden smiled up at her, her eyes sparkling happily, "Thank you, Lady Lavender. It's truly an honor to meet you, madam."

Lady Lavender gave her a beautiful smile, "Thank you, Eden." Eden beamed to hear her say her name.

I was surprised as I whispered to Orville, "How did she know Eden's name?"

Orville looked a little worried, "All Sirs and Ladies know the names of all klitons."

I gulped, "What about someone who isn't a kliton?" Thus the reason behind Orville's worry.

Of course, to my fear, Lady Lavender turned to me. I felt panicked, but did my best to stay calm. She only gave me a kind smile, "I can see you're new here too. I hope you are enjoying your visit so far, Rydian."

I felt a desire to sigh, relieved, but smiled, "Thank you, Lady Lavender, I am. Though, I must say none of it compares to you. You're the most beautiful kliton I've ever laid eyes on."

She giggled, which even that sounded beautiful, "Well, thank you, Rydian. That's very kind."

Then she turned to Professor Nick, "Like I said before, the best way to learn is to explore. Perhaps the students would better like it if they could go around the city and learn at their own pace."

Professor Nick smiled as he stroked his short beard, "I think that would be a wonderful idea. What do you say, class?" Everyone was in on that. I certainly liked the sound of it. Who knows what there was to see in the Capital?

Professor Nick chuckled at the obvious excitement, even from Tin and Cate, "Well then, go on ahead, but I want you all back by tenth dot to head home. Anyone later will be found and escorted back by enforcers. I promise you, it will be an embarrassing experience, so don't be late." Everyone understood and ran off their own ways. I headed off with Orville and Mimi.

We walked down the brick path, looking at all the sights. I took pictures using a camera Cleo lent me. It was certainly better than trying to take secret pictures with my camera device. I did keep my pen recorder in my pocket, just in case I came across anything useful.

We stopped by a couple different places. Mimi knew the Capital well from many previous visits with her mom, so she gave us the grand tour. We even tried new foods at some of the vendors who offered them free since we were students visiting. Of course, I found myself nearly choked to death by the fiery power of some of them. Luckily, I used the excuse that I had a sensitive mouth and everyone believed it. I really had to thank Cleo for telling me about all the different handicaps and differences that were possible for klitons.

It was about fifth dot when Orville and I walked out of the restrooms. I swear, I never wanted to go into a public kliton bathroom ever again! Let's just say, they do not go to the bathroom like humans. I was so grateful they had such good stalls, because it would have been very obvious I wasn't kliton with how, and where from, I went to the bathroom. I really felt like puking after that.

I then noticed Vern. He was about to walk into the women's bathroom, so I spoke up, "Hey, Vern!"

He turned to us, clearly not noticing a thing, "Oh, hey."

I pointed at the sign, "You do know that's the female restroom, right?"

He looked away, looking a bit embarrassed, "Oh, right. My bad." He cleared his throat, "I'll, uh, just wait. I'm sure it's full anyways."

I was about to tell him it wasn't, but Orville cut in, "Sure, Vern. Come on, Rydian, we're gonna be late." I was confused. Late for what? But I let him grab my wrist and pull me along.

Once we turned the corner, I spoke up, "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

He sighed and turned back to me, "Vern's real name is Veranda."

I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped, thought it over a few moments, then gasped, "Are you serious!?"

He nodded, "Vern is a girl."

My jaw actually dropped, "A girl!? Vern!?" I scratched my head, "But why? I've been talking to her like a him all along and she never stopped me."

He looked at the passing klitons going about their lives, "You may have noticed part of why it's so easy to think she's a boy."

I thought about it. What made it so easy to think she was a he? I looked at a passing kliton girl and realized it. Orville noticed, "She matured flat-chested, yes. She's always been self-conscious about it and constantly bullied. So, she did what any embarrassed Adolescent would do; hide it. She started dressing like a boy and letting everyone think she was one."

I could only scoff, "Well that's just ridiculous. Being flat-chested is no reason to throw away your own identity. That isn't what makes her Veranda. I bet she'd look beautiful even without it."

"Really?"

We turned to see Vern. He... She watched us. I turned to her, "Of course, really. You'd be a very pretty girl if you'd stop letting others bully you into thinking otherwise."

Then I thought of something, "I know a wom... uh, kliton from my hometown. She actually had hers removed. She was sick and it was the only way to really help her. She was a gorgeous kliton in her day, so it broke her... florence to have to go through with it. But, it was that sacrifice that led her to meet the kliton who would become her husband. They now live happily together with several ki... children. She even models, proving that you can be beautiful just as you are."

Orville and Vern looked amazed by my story, which was actually true. Especially Vern. Her eyes sparkled as she watched me, "She really did all that, Rydian?"

I crossed my arms, "Would I lie to you? With pretty eyes like yours, you could be as pretty as Lady Lavender."

She smiled, blushing a deep purple, "I don't know that I would be as pretty as her." Yeah, Vern was definitely a girl with that smile and soft look in her eyes.

I smirked as I nudged her, "Nope, you'd be prettier." She blushed even deeper. I smiled at her, "Tell you what? I bet I could get Mimi to help you bring it out. If you're willing to try, of course."

She nodded, a new fire of hope in her eyes, "I would like that."

I took her hand and led her along, "Then let's go find Mimi. I think she just started shopping for new clothes. Maybe she can find something new for you to try." With that, the three of us headed off.

About a dot later, I was sitting in the plaza, watching birds lick up crumbs on the ground. Yeah, it was pretty creepy. Orville had gone off to check out a museum nearby while Mimi had gone with Vern to buy a treat called livity after a little more shopping. I didn't know what livity was, but from how she described it, it sounded a lot like icecream mixed with chunks of fruit. Though, I figured it was very spicy, since Mimi was practically addicted to spicy foods.

I was a little surprised when Lillian sat down next to me with a sweet smile, "Hi, Rydian."

I smiled back, "Hi. Having fun?"

She watched the birds as she spoke, "I suppose. It's very beautiful here, so I enjoy sightseeing when I visit."

I smiled and looked at klitons walking by, "I agree. So many colors, sounds, and smells. It's relaxing and bright."

Just then, I heard someone call Lillian. She smiled as she stood up, "That must be Cate and Eden. They want me to try something here. I'll see you later, ok? Maybe we could take a walk together before we leave. There's a very pretty spot on the edge of town you might like."

I smiled up at her, "Sure. I look forward to it." She smiled back and hurried off.

Once she was gone, I looked up at the sky. Klicta really was a nice planet. Maybe the Commander had it wrong. It really wasn't so dangerous and terrible like she made it sound. I felt confident that if Earth tried to ally with Klicta, it would be better for everyone.

Then someone sat down next to me. I looked to see a brown kliton girl. She had to have been Mature because she looked older than me by maybe a couple years. Her ears proved I was right. She had dark brown skin, big reddish-brown eyes, and short lighter brown hair that flipped at the ends. She also had a scar vertically down over her left eye and marks on her cheek like an animal had scratched her years ago.

She grinned at me, looking tough in her sleeveless outfit and torn jeans, "Hey there."

I looked her over, trying to figure out if I met this girl before or not. I was pretty confident I hadn't, so I spoke a bit hesitantly, "Uh, hey. Can I help you?"

She smirked as she leaned back on the bench, "Nope. Though, I doubt you want to help anyone." I was sorely confused by this girl. Though, something about her made me nervous.

After a few seconds, she finally spoke again, "They call me Hilary. I'm what you'd call an assassin. I take out threats to the Capital when Enforcers can't or won't." Now that really had me worried.

She gave me a mean grin, "The question now is, which are you? There are no documents on a brown kliton by the name of Rydian. In fact, it's not even a name from what I checked." Her grin became chilling, "But that doesn't necessarily make you a threat, does it? No, but I'm sure if I checked you, I'd find a good enough reason to think so."

She made my heart skip a beat when she pulled out a knife and ran a finger along it, "It's so hard being an assassin sometimes, Rydian. Always gotta make such a mess. Gotta follow rules. Though, luckily one thing does make it easier."

The grin she gave me was both evil and insane, like something from a freaky halloween movie, "Being an assassin, no one will know anything at all." By that point, I'd heard enough.

I took off running.

She laughed, watching me go, "That's what I thought!" Without a second thought, she gave chase.

As I ran, I passed Mimi with Vern. She saw me and was surprised, "Rydian?" Then her face went pale when she saw Hilary, "Oh no." I didn't stop or even slow down to say anything. I just kept running. I was so glad I was fast at that moment.

I tore through the city, slipping past people as quickly as I could. Every time I'd look back, Hilary was shoving her way through after me, not missing a beat. I knew I was in trouble, but what could I do?

I then noticed Eden up ahead with Professor Nick. I yelled ahead to them, "Professor!!"

They then looked my way and Professor Nick was surprised, "Rydian? What's wrong?"

I stopped next to him, panting heavily, "...Sh...she's tr...trying to... to kill me..."

I gasped when she shoved her way through another crowd. Eden was shocked, "Oh Klicta, it's Hilary." Seems a lot of klitons knew who she was, and clearly I wasn't the only one who saw her as bad news.

Professor Nick looked serious, "What is the meaning of this, Ms. Hilary?"

She smirked as she walked over, acting casual, "Just handling some official business, Professor. Please stay out of it."

I stepped back, worried she'd pounce me or something, but Professor Nick stepped between her and myself. I was actually a little surprised he was standing up for me. It immediately reminded me of what Lillian had said about him and his relationship with his students.

Hilary only scoffed, "You do know I can knock you down without any trouble and be in the right, don't you? I am an Enforcer, after all. Of sorts." I easily noticed the last bit was added in, even if she was a bit quieter when saying it.

Professor Nick spoke without taking his eyes off her, "Eden, go get the Enforcers." She nodded and quickly ran off.

Hilary looked annoyed, not happy with the change of events at all, "I really don't need this. I have a job to do, whether you or the little enforcers agree with it or not."

Professor Nick sighed, still staying between us, "So this isn't official business. This is you taking matters into your own hands, as usual. You have no right to lay a finger on Rydian. He's done nothing wrong."

She smirked with a clever look, "Not yet, but his kind has a reputation among klitons to be a threat."

Professor Nick looked confused, luckily not seeing my worry from behind him, "His kind? What does that mean?"

Then we heard the sirens coming. Hilary groaned angrily, knowing she was running out of time, "That does it." She held out her knife and I immediately knew what she was about to do with it.

Next thing I knew, my arm was suddenly in pain. I was in front of Hilary while her knife cut my arm. I had shoved Professor Nick out of the way. He hit the ground, hitting his head off the bricks as I was knocked aside by Hilary. I got to my feet as I held my arm, which was now bleeding.

She saw my blood and grinned, "Red blood. That should prove my point." I had a pretty good idea that klitons, or at least brown klitons, didn't have red blood.

I could hear the sirens getting closer, meaning more klitons coming, and I was still bleeding red blood. Hilary looked towards where the sirens were coming from, clearly satisfied with the situation to show the enforcers. I couldn't let that happen.

Suddenly, I snatched the knife from her and ran for it. She was surprised, but only for a moment. She growled and ran after me just as the hover cars with sirens and flashing lights drove out from around the corner.

I ran right out of the city and into the woods. I kept running as fast as I could, ignoring the pain in my arm. I was surprised to find a steep slope going down a few feet to a river bed with slow moving water. Ahead of me was a bridge with low walls that crossed over to the other side. I ran for the bridge just as Hilary came crashing through the bushes, looking absolutely furious.

I ran as fast as I could until I reached the middle, where I quickly tossed the knife. I couldn't leave any evidence that could help her expose me. Though, that may have cost me.

I turned to run, but my arm was grabbed from behind, causing me to stop and turn back. Though, I was immediately met by a fist to my face. I'd never been punched before, so it was quite a shocking moment. I was completely dazed and could barely stand on my own two feet.

She grabbed me by the front of my shirt with one hand and pulled me forward, then got the other hand around my neck. I grabbed her hand to keep it from choking me, but she still had a dangerous grip.

She glared at me, making her eyes seem fiery red, "You are quite the little pain, aren't you?"

I managed words through her grip, "What do you want from me? How did you even know?"

That creepy little grin slid onto her face, "I'm a clever kliton, believe it or not. I can see things no one else can. Most klitons think I'm crazy for it, but I'll prove them wrong one day." She quickly glanced at the river, then back at me, "For now, I'm going to do what is best for all of Klicta. They'll call me a hero one day for this."

She let go of my throat and punched me again, but this time she shoved me over the wall of the bridge, sending me falling into the river below. I was submerged before I even had a chance to take a breath, so I was immediately in trouble as I sank. I'd been in danger a few times before, but I never was this helpless. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. I felt my lungs ache for air as I tried to move, but I couldn't tell which way was up or down from how dazed I still was.

Though, I was surprised when I felt a hand grab me and pull me up. I couldn't tell who it was, but I was grateful, especially when I broke the surface and gasped for air. I coughed and choked as I was helped out of the river.

I turned and saw, through the wet hair now hanging in my face, Orville. He was soaked through too as he pulled his loose hair back from his face. He looked me over, clearly worried about me, "Are you ok, Rydian?"

I nodded as I continued to try to catch my breath, "Yeah. I should be alright. Thanks."

He smiled, relieved, "Must be nice knowing you've got a friend looking out for you, huh?" It certainly seemed to turn out that way, so I simply nodded, still pretty worn out after everything.

Orville then noticed my bleeding arm, "Uh oh. Brown klitons don't have red blood. Not even red klitons have red blood. There is no handicap or physical problem that could ever cause that." Then he noticed my red neckerchief. He took it off and quickly tied it around my arm. Thanks to it being red, no one could really tell I was bleeding red if it showed later.

It was just in time, because one of the Enforcers hurried over at that moment. He was a black kliton man with dark grey hair in a spiked style, a grey goatee, and a pair of black glasses. He spoke once he reached us, "You boys alright?"

Orville smiled at the enforcer, "Yeah, he's ok. Just a cut and a bump on the head. Nothing serious."

The man looked relieved, "Good to hear."

The second Enforcer, a green kliton who reminded me a lot of Doctor Aggy, sighed as he turned to the black kliton enforcer, "No sign of Hilary."

I felt worry. She was still out there. The green enforcer must have noticed, "Don't worry. We won't let up that easily. I'll make sure of that. "

The black enforcer smiled, "We'll keep looking for her. She's not off the hook yet, I promise you. Enforcers Mart and Steven are on the case, right Steven?"

The green kliton sighed as the black enforcer nudged him with a grin, "Sure, sir."

I nodded, "Well, thanks." The enforcers smiled and hurried off to keep looking for Hilary.

I sighed and finally brushed my hair from the part of my face that hurt most, "Ok, how bad is it?"

Orville looked at me and gasped sharply, "Oh Klicta, your face!"

I could guess what it was he saw, "Black and blue around my eye?"

He nodded, still shocked by the appearance, "What did she do to you?"

I groaned as I gently touched my face, which was incredibly tender, "That's what it looks like when a human is bruised; it turns black and blue. Sometimes green."

Orville sighed as he stood up and looked back towards the city, "This isn't going to look good on the bus, Rydian. Klitons don't turn black and blue."

I figured as much, "I just need to hide it." I stood up and searched my pockets, "Good thing I brought this, just in case. It should help, just until I get back." I pulled out a pair of large shades and I put them on, "Good?"

Orville shrugged, "I guess, though it won't last all the way until we leave. We need to get you out of here."

I couldn't agree more, "Yeah. Maybe I can get Professor Nick to let me go home early. I did get attacked after all. It would only be expected, right?"

Orville nodded, "Sounds good to me. I'll go with you, just in case the bus driver or someone else becomes a problem."

I sighed as we headed back, "Alright. Let's get out of here." I could only hope nothing like that ever happened again.

What I didn't know was that my troubles were only beginning.

I walked into the house later that day with a sigh, "I'm back. I have had a miserable day. Seems we've got a new problem to be worried about."

Alphonse and Vanessa were in the living room. They actually both looked upset. Even more so when I arrived.

I didn't like how it was looking, "What's going on now?"

Vanessa spoke softly, "We got word from Earth. A message."

I was surprised, "A message? What about the shuttle?" They looked even more upset.

You know that feeling in your gut that tells you that something is really bad? That was one of those times for me. I almost didn't want to know, but..., "Show me the message."

Vanessa disappeared and the video played. It was First General Terron on screen. She looked solemn as she spoke, "Captain Rydian, I am sincerely sorry to say that rescue will be impossible."

One sentence and I already felt like I was hit with a ton of bricks, "What?"

She continued, being nothing more than a recording, "Because of the level of danger on the Planet Klicta, it has been decided that a rescue would only cause more danger to Earth. I am sorry, Captain Rydian."

The next words seemed to echo in my mind, "You are terminated."

I was dead silent. Everything around me seemed to disappear. I couldn't believe what I had just heard, "...term ... terminated ...?" I just couldn't grasp it.

Alphonse and Vanessa were silent as the video disappeared. I barely managed words, "We've been abandoned. We're trapped here on Klicta. For good."