Wendy Frond

8/3/2019 Wendy Frond

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Wendy Frond

By Marlon Sean Hollis

Chapter One

The Airthan Federation was the center of interstellar civilization in the Asi

Universe. Airth, its home world, was the pivot upon which countless trillions of lives

revolved. It was a planet of magnificent natural vistas, towering skylines,

unmatched economic power and creative genius, and home to the most deviant

decadent delights. It was the planet of dreams.

Wendy Frond gazed absently at Airth City through the window of the

elevator as it slid down the side of the mammoth Tuxton Building. The setting sun

cast an orange hue over the city. She pushed back an errant red wisp of hair from

her face. The first few seconds of her favorite song, Do Her Right, entered her mind,

cutting through her thoughts. She sighed.

Connect, she said.

Wendy, Sarvis wants to see you, said a female voice, seemingly speaking

from within her mind. New plaintiffs have filed against Darton Corp.

Tiri, I havent even left the building yet, said Wendy. Im going home.


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What do you want to meto do? replied Tiri. What am I supposed to tell

Sarvis?

That Im getting a headache and I need to eat, said Wendy, peeved. Scratch

that. Youre supposed to be the best A.I. money can buy, think of something, or do I

need to call tech support to have you fixed?

After a pause, Tiri replied, No, ms.

Im going home. Disconnect call. Phone, hold all calls.

Apparently Tarmin, Havin, and Sarkin L.I.P. bought a too real artificial

intelligence, including the occasional human flakiness. Wendy knew Sarvis had a

tendency to hyperventilate about inconsequential matters. Their clients case was

pretty standard fare. A few fish turn up dead in a river near a Darton mine on some

outlying world, and then they use procedure and money to bottle the case up for

years. The plaintiffs usually run out of money. Some of them accepted the

companys initial offer, and were living happily or unhappily somewhere else.

Wendy tried not to care too much about the sad stories of plaintiffs, especially given

their usual clientele of mining companies, refineries, and power plants.

* *

The robotic waiter finally brought her dinner after thirty-minutes. Traffic

and people streamed past her table. She loved these small sidewalk eateries. It

made her feel connected to humanity again. She felt more alive, or maybe just a

little less dead. The savory aroma of her Seusan soup lifted to her nose. She stirred


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the milky white broth, and lifted up a fork full of thin, white noodles into her mouth.

She slurped the excess in and chewed slowly. It wasnt quite like her mothers soup,

but close enough. Soup was the only thing she had left of her past, of her family. She

tried to picture her fathers face.

Do Her Right interrupted her thoughts again.

Connect, said Wendy. Tiri, this better be good.

Sorry to bother you, said the A.I.

I thought these phone implants had good privacy modes, lamented Wendy.

They are effective against most privacy intrusions, said Tiri. She paused, I

overrode yours.

Wendy leaned back. What do you want?

Sarvis wants to know if you can come in tomorrow, saidTiri. I told him it

was your day off.

Im running in the 45K City run tomorrow, said Wendy. Bob knows the

case as well as I, better even.

Robert Koss will be out of town with his family, said Tiri.

You dont know that, said Wendy, adamantly. Ill tell you what you do

know. You couldnt get a hold of me. You couldnt get past my privacy setting. You


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did get a hold of that insufferable idiot Robert Koss instead and told him to be in

tomorrow.

But

Phone, disconnect.

Problems? asked a tall blonde man sitting down in the chair opposite her.

He was neat, early thirties, with closely cropped hair and a tan business suit.

Wendy sized up her new tablemate for a moment. Youre smaller in person,

she replied. Is it done?

I am transferring 160,000 credits to the account you specified as we speak,

said the man. The entire lifesavings of 60 families living near the Darton mine on

Corba.

Wendy reached into her purse, which was sitting on the table between them,

and pulled out a thin computer wafer. This is everything, she said, handing the

wafer to the man. Classified safety reports on the health hazards from the mines

effluent, internal Darton memos, and private communications between Darton and

the firm. Everything they need to win their case, or at least win a bigger settlement.

Thank you, said the man.

Wendy leaned forward. This doesnt come back to me, she said, sternly.

We have a story in place to explain how we received this information, said

the man. No one will find out that you gave us this.


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Wendy got up to leave.

Youre doing the right thing, said the man. He sounded more like someone

trying to reassure himself than her.

The right thing, she said, sardonically. Whats the right thing?


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Chapter Two

Dressed in her favorite sweats, the sky blue ones with the Peerton University

logo on the left thigh, and wearing running shoes, Wendy climbed the stairs to the

elevated maglev stop. The morning was bright and blue.

If she had timed it rightthen she wouldnt have to wait more than five-

minutes for the train. She walked over to the vending machine. Half-liter of water,

please, she said. The machines bio-ID system scanned her DNA, debited her

account, and dispensed a bottle of water. Twisting the cap off, she took a swig.

A few seconds later, she heard a deafening roar and blast behind her.

Something zinged past her head. A split second later a lot of heavier pieces, twisted

metal beams and huge concrete chunks, crashed down all around the platform. She

reflexively turned her head towards the source of the debris, as did everyone else.

Something had punched a gaping hole in the Truxton Building about a kilometer

away. Debris from the hole had flown out and rained over the city.

Something streaked down from the sky and exploded elsewhere in the city.

Another object dropped and exploded, then another and another, until it rained.

Instantly, all the citys digital signage flashed the emergency alert symbol as the

citys A.I. tookaction. April, as the artificial intelligence was affectionately, and

sometimes not so affectionately, called, began using animated arrows to guide

people either to designated shelter areas or to routes out of the city. Mournful

sirens wailed throughout the city.


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The arrows guided everyone off the maglev platform to the street. People

moved quickly. They were dazed and afraid, but not yet panicking. April gave them

some confidence that someone was in control, that someone was looking after them,

thatall they needed to do was follow the instructions of a machine theyve known

since birth and they would be okay. April ran everything in the city, even the

vending machines.

Before Wendy left the platform, a blinding light to her right appeared on the

western horizon. The flash, initially brighter than the sun, quickly dissipated and

she saw a giant fireball rise into the sky. Airth City was part of a megapolis that

stretched for hundreds of kilometers in either direction. She knew A.C.s nearest

sister city, Lux, was about 80 kilometers west.

As Wendy started to run down the stairs to the street, all the digital signage

winked out. Panicked cries rose from the people. A projectile exploded about

hundred meters down the street, vaporizing that section of the elevated platform

and everything and everyone below it. The shockwave knocked Wendy off her feet

and flew her back about two-meters. The people around her lay dazed on the street,

some bleeding from shrapnel wounds, many others dead. Wendy slowly got up, her

head pounding. A warm liquid trickled from her forehead and down her face. She

was bleeding. The projectiles just kept raining down. She looked around and saw

the entrance to the subway about ten meters to her left. She crawled her way to the

subway entrance, and descended into the darkness.


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Chapter Three

Over here! said a male voice.

The blinding light startled her out of her stupor. Several other cones of light

approached her out of the blackness.

Maam, are you okay? asked the same voice. Are you hurt?

Corporal, are you picking up anyone else alive on this street? said another

male voice.

No, sir, said younger sounding male voice over a radio speaker. This place

is a graveyard.

Alright, Gunny, grab her and letsget back topside to the transport, said the

second male voice.

Copy that, captain, said the first male voice.

The one called Gunny picked Wendy up off the floor and carried her out of

the subway into a scene from the underworld. Fires lit up the night sky, not one

building within a hundred meters remained standing, and only mountains of rubble

surrounded them. The few standing skyscrapers in the distance burned like

massive fiery pillars. She started to cough, and her eyes burned. The air was filled

with dust and smoke.

Gunny, and about five other men in military combat uniforms and gear, took

her to a clearing. One of them tossed a flare into the middle of the clearing.


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One of the men, a rugged looking man approached her as Gunny set her down

on her own two feet. Im Captain Hull, he said. You got a name?

Wendy Frond, she replied. She scanned his dirty face and then his uniform.

She saw ARMY on the left breastpocket of his uniform and an emblem with 30

INF DIV on his rightarm. What happened?

Before he could answer, a military transport appeared in the air. The two

engine pods on the wings rotated vertically from the horizontal, allowing the craft to

hover above and then land in the clearing. The rear of the aircraft opened and

lowered like a ramp underneath the long tail section. She noticed the word

Marines on the side. Gunny grabbed her and the men hustled aboard.

When the craft was airborne and level, Captain Hull handed her a headset.

She putit on. Can you hear me? he asked.

Yes, said Wendy.

The Endaran Empire attacked us this morning, he said. They caught us by

surprise. King Falorus and the royal family are dead, so is the Prime Minister and

his cabinet. Parliament is gone too.

Wendy vaguely remembered newscasts about tensions with the Endaran

Empire heating up. She didnt follow politics or foreign affairs much, except to the

extent she needed to serve her clients. Those lucky to be citizens of one of the core

worlds of the Airthan Federation lived comfortable lives isolated from the turmoil

and poverty of the majority of worlds outside.


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Captain Hull continued. The Star Fleet is gone; most of our ships were

destroyed in the first wave, along with Fleet Headquarters at Golan Base. Four

hours ago, about 200 ships, what was left of the fleet, attempted a counter attack in

the Golan System. We havent heard from them since. A Marine general has

established a forward operating base outside the City. Shes rallying all surviving

military units near Airth City there. There arent many of us, a few hundred. We

have some refugees too. The Endarans are jamming the freqs off-planet. Weve

been trying to cut through and see if there are any Star Fleet ships left to evacuate

us.

Wendy looked out the window at the charred, burning landscape and

shuddered. The whole world has ended, she said. My mother always said that

there would be a reckoning at the end of the world, that the god she worshipped, the

High King, would judge the wicked and reward the righteous at the end. Here we

areand there I go. Ive nothing left but to be judged.

I would think the wicked dont have a clue whats going on, they think they

are okay, said Captain Hull. Not only are you aware of a judgment, butyou sense

that you also deserve it. Thats not something the truly wicked will say about

themselves.


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Chapter Four

The transport touched down on a landing pad cleared from a surrounding

forest. Captain Hull helped her out. The base was little more than several dozen

camouflaged tents, about five landing pads, and a small fleet of civilian and military

vehicles in cleared out sections of the forest. Captain Hull led her to a tent with a

large blue circle on top. There was a pile of military boots and civilian shoes on the

right side of the entrance. Bins filled with civilian clothes and military uniforms sat

to the left.

Captain Hull led her inside. Doc,I got one here with a head wound, he said.

A four-wheeled, rotund robot spun around and observed her. The robot was

painted white with a blue circle on its equator. A flat-panel display attached to a

pole rising from the body appeared to be the machines face, presenting a round

solid blue circle inset with various white geometric symbols to represent facial

expressions. Four arms ejected from ports in its body, each arm seemed to have a

different function. One seemed to be outfitted with some kind of cylindrical probe,

another arm ended with a stainless steel claw, and the remaining two were

equipped with human looking hands. The robot reached out towards her, but

stopped short of touching her.

The wound is superficial, it said. Itsounded exactly like April. The robot

emoted a happy face on its display. I will have a medic patch her up. It looked at

Captain Hull. It wont take long.


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The mess tent is two tents in this direction, said Captain Hull, as he pointed

to his right. Ill meet up with you there when youre done.

Wendy nodded.

Thanks, Doc. Captain Hull exited the tent.

* *

About an hour later, Wendy sat in the near empty mess. Dinner ended a

while ago, but the mess staff agreed to give her a bowl of cold leftover ration-pack

stew, a mixture of various ration packs with some seasonings to make it palatable.

So intent on getting the brown paste down and keeping it down, Wendy didnt see

Captain Hull enter the mess. He and a boy sat down across the table from her.

She jumped in her seat at, their seemingly sudden appearance. Good god!

Sorry we startled you, said Captain Hull. Though his uniform remained

dirty, his hair was wet, combed, and his face cleaned up.

This is her? asked the boy.

Yes, said Captain Hull. Things are in place for you to finish your task here.

The boy looked to be about eleven or twelve years old. Pale with short black

hair, he smiled at her. Shes pretty. You didnt say she would be pretty.

I didnt know, said Captain Hull. She was marked only shortly after we

arrived.


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Still a kernel, yet so beautiful, said the boy. I cant wait to meet her in full

bloom.

Exasperated and alarmed, Wendy asked, What is going on here? Who are

you? She started getting a sinking feeling. Had she fallen in with a bunch of

crazies? Were crazy people all that were left of her people?

My apologies. My name is not Captain Hull. I am Peter, and this is my friend

and comrade, Thomas. We serve the High King.

Religious fanatics, said Wendy, resignedly. She sighed. Great.

Thomas opened the palm of his right hand and upon it a fifteen-centimeter

flame burst forth.

Wendy gaped at the flame. Youre angels? she asked.

Wendy watched the flame die.

He is, I am not, said Thomas. Im human.

My task was to safeguard you and get you off Airth to a relatively safe place,

said Peter.

Wendy looked at the boy. Ive seen this movie before. Youre job is to

protect me too? she asked.

No, said Thomas. My job is to blow up the world. Im a herald of woe.


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What are you saying? asked Wendy, angrily. You did this? You killed

billions of innocent people?

Thomas shook his head. He didnt appear remorseful, only sober. No, I

didnt kill billions of innocent people. I used the Endaran Empire because it had

been established for this day, to judge the Airthan civilization, to end it.

If we had found even one repentant person on Airth, we would not have

proceeded, said Peter in earnest. But no one listened. They ignored, scorned,

persecuted, or killed everyone we sent to warn them. No one loved the High King.

They all rebelled. They loved themselves. Now, they are almost gone.

Then what about me? Wendy cried. What about these people here? Why

are we so special to warrant living?

Thomas looked at Peter, who nodded. In twenty minutes, the people in this

camp will all be dead, said Thomas. He looked back at her. You will be the sole

survivor of the Airthan holocaust.

Quite frankly, you didnt deserve to live either, said Peter.

Then why am I here? she yelled. Im not religious.

Youve received mercy, said Peter. Redemption is not earned, it is a gift.


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Chapter Five

Wendy hurried out of the mess tent into the night air. Captain Hull/Peter

followed after her. We should start heading to the landing pads, he said. Theres

a shuttle with limited deep space range.

And go where, exactly? she asked, pensively.

Before he could answer she saw a crowd of people encircling four men who

carried on two poles a glass case containing a ninety-centimeter tall statute of a

nude woman wearing a crown. Even with her arms outstretch as though beckoning

all into her motherly embrace, she still possessed a regal air. Some of the people

around her genuflected, others bowed their heads in prayer, some chanted, some

sang.

Wendy left Peter and approached the cacophony of religious devotion and

stood at its outskirts. She thought that she should feel something, some spiritual

spark, and some kind of connection to the great beyond, which these people here

described to be a crowned nude woman.

You dont seemthe religious type, said an older female voice. Wendy

hadnt notice the approach of a mid-fifties woman in a camouflaged combat uniform,

her short graying black hair tied in a ponytail. She stood beside her and observed

the crowd. Im General Sola Tulton, commander ofwellwhats left.

Wendy Frond.


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They pray to Bitha for rescue, said Tulton. Im not religious myself. I trust

in things that are real, in my guns.

Wendy shook her head and said sarcastically, Theyhavent helped us much

now have they?

Tulton was silent for a moment. She sighed. No. I guess not, she replied

softly.

General, what if I told you that you need to evacuate everyone on this base

in less than fifteen minutes? asked Wendy. Thatit was going to be destroyed

really soon.

Tulton turned to face her, her face grim. I would askhow did you come by

this information?

Wendy paused. She thought, I learned it from a boy and an angel

masquerading as one of your officers. In fact, the boy is the one who is going to

execute it.

Its reasonable to assume the Endarans know, or soon will, about this base

and destroy it, said Wendy.

Tulton relaxed a bit. We have ways of detecting their approach to give us

enough time to evac.

Are these the same methods you used to detect the initial attack on our

fleet?


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We are doing everything possible, said Tulton, with a trace of irritation in

her voice.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her left arm and started pulling her away. It was

Peter. Wendy looked back and said, General, you better get down on your knees

and pray! Maybe the High King will hear you and spare you! Youre out of time!

Peter moved swiftly to the landing pads, and to the shuttle. He moved so

quickly that he nearly dragged her a few times as she struggled to maintain her

footing.

Thomas stood at the foot of the shuttles ramp, grimly watching her as Peter

pulled her up the ramp and into the shuttle.

The small cabin contained seats for seven passengers. After she had

strapped into the first seat, Peter exited the cockpit. Ive instructed the A.I. to take

you to your rendezvous, he said.

She felt reverberations through the seat, and heard the not so distant booms

of detonations. Several concussive waves buffeted the shuttle. Bombs were landing

in the base.

As Peter exited the shuttle, he said, Pilot, execute your instructions.

The shuttles engines roared to life, the ramp receded into the fuselage, and

the hatch closed and sealed itself. Ninety seconds later, the shuttle was in orbit.


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Chapter Six

The A.I. pilot told her that it had been three weeks since her escape from

Airth. Interestingly enough the pilot sounded just like April, the Citys A.I.

During the waking hours of her solitude, Wendy reflected on all that had

happened to her, and on her dreams. When asleep, vivid dreams spun into visions.

In her visions, she always stood in a great, ornate golden hall, about one kilometer in

length. The ceiling reached beyond her sight. There appeared to be no floor, for

below her was outer space. Underneath her feet spun myriads of galaxies, even

universes. Someone sat on a throne at the far end of the hall, and a rainbow arced

above the throne. Smoke and fire flowed from the throne, and thick clouds

descended. Lightning reached from the throne, and thunder echoed off the walls.

I am all that there is, said the one on throne. I have chosen you to be mine.

Wendy bowed. Yes, lord.

I am sending you two companions, Roland Derek and Allia Shurie, to be with

you on your journey forward. You three will be my witnesses to the world. From

you three I will grow my kingdom.

* *

One day, the radio crackled to life.


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This is the Airthan Fleet Ship Valorus, said a male voice. This is Admiral

Roland Derek of the Airthan Fleet Ship Valorus to the Airthan shuttle, please

respond.

A week ago, the pilot had instructed her on some basic ship functions, like

communications. Wendy sat in the pilots seat and pressed a series of virtual

buttons on the multi-touch dashboard.

Im here, she said, excitedly. My name is Wendy Frond.

Wendy, your shuttles transponder indicates that its from the 5th Airthan

Marines stationed on Airth, said Roland. We were beginning to lose hope that

anyone made it off Airth alive.

Im afraid there is no one else, said Wendy. I am the sole survivor from

Airth.

The radio hung silent for long moment. I see, said Roland.

Admiral, may I ask if you have someone named Allia Shurie aboard? asked

Wendy.

There was another long pause. Yes. We picked her up just before the

Endarans destroyed her home planet Basalyne. Do you know her?

She burst into laughter, and gushed tears of joy. Nonobut, I cant wait to

meet her, and you too, Admiral!


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Were ten minutesout from your position, said Roland. Well see you in a

little while.

Thank you, Admiral, said Wendy.

She began to realize that time meant nothing to her now. She had all eternity.

Her life and death had been swallowed up by the presence of the one on the throne.

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Wendy Frond