Chapter 29: Black Errand

Away from its planet; a ship is seen hovering. It looks static in the great cosmos that surrounds it.

Silence is peaceful. It is what thrives in the black void of space.

Within this ship; two individuals are residing. Leah, and Kase. They're on their way to a planet quite different from there own.

Kase still sits on the passenger seat next to Leah. Watching the grand, glittering black sheet before him.

He turns to look at Leah, who's still listening to her music. Frowning with a smirk; he shakes his head, and looks away.

"Alright," Leah said, breaking the silence. Urging Kase to look at her. She takes the devices from her ears, and sits forward.

"Let's get going now." She starts flicking a few switches on the console.

Kase stares at her; his frown squints.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I thought we were already on our way?"

Leah chuckles.

"Covering a distance of several light-years, at this speed?" She looks at him with a grin.

"Unlikely."

She presses the last button. Only for Kase to see four blue beams of energy shooting out in front of the ship, which then collides with each other.

Kase stares at the sight of it with awe.

"Is this what I think it is?" He said, looking at her.

She smiles, looking ahead, and flicks another switch. The beams move out from each other, as they rip open a large swirling vortex.

Kase watches in awe. His face now illuminated by it.

"This is the first time I've seen a wormhole," he said, his mouth still open.

"I've only ever heard about them from friends of mine."

Leah chuckles, grabbing the controls

"You actually have other friends, besides me?" She said, flying the ship into the wormhole.

"Of course I do," he said, watching the streaks of light flying through on all sides around them.

"And there I thought, there was no hope." She said, staring ahead at the endless tunnel of light.

"How funny." He said, looking at her, arms crossed, with a frown.

Just then; the tunnel peels away. Only to show full view of a planet, with its star beaming its light upon its surface.

"There it is." Leah said, with a slight smile, and looks at Kase.

"What do you think?" She asked.

Kase twists his lips for a moment.

"Well... It's not much." He said, staring at it.

"Very brown. Large lakes of water, and no ocean to speak of."

"I didn't ask for a summary," she said, frowning at him, only to carry on staring ahead.

"But, yeah; it's not like our home."

"Indeed." Kase simply said, and looks ahead of himself.

"It's actually in a better state than planet Earth," she said, accelerating the ship towards Epra.

"Wow..." He said, looking at her, wide-eyed.

"Was it that bad?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"The seraphims definitely did their job." He said.

"Yes." Leah simply said, staring ahead at the closing-in planet.

Leah flies the ship in orbit.

"The coridinates seem to match." She turns to Kase for a moment.

"Switch your helmet on."

He looks at her with a frown.

"Why? Is the atmosphere not breathable?" His eyes narrow.

"To be couscous on the way down." She said, pressing her hair down into place with a clip, only to press the button on her armor, and a helmet forms around her head.

"Do it," Leah simply said, her voice transmited from the helmet's speaker.

Kase brings his hand near the side of his shoulder. Hesitantly; his finger edges towards the button. Only for him to press it, and his helmet forms around his head as well.

"Now, let's get to it then." Leah said, accelerating the ship above the surface of the planet. Only for her to slowly have it descend into the atmosphere.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Kase said, turning his head to her.

Leah, turns to him, and looks ahead once more.

"Ummm..." her voice trails off.

"Ummm!?" Kase raised his voice at her.

"You're starting to worry me now!"

Orange flames begin to surge around the windows, as the ship rattles violently.

"No! Don't worry!" Leah said out loud with a troubling voice.

"I think I can do it!"

"You think?" Kase said, looking at her.

"You don't sound so sure!"

"Just shut up, and let me focus, Kase!" She tightens her grip on the controls, trying her best to keep it steady.

They both watch as they descend into the thick clouds as streaks of flames move across the ship.

"Almost there!" She said out loud. Just then, the clouds peel back, and reveels a large town on dry land in the distance.

"There it is," she said. Only to flip a few more switches, and the ship stabilises.

"That town?"

"Yes."

--

Within the town itself; people of different species walk among themselves. Each individual doing their own specific duty. Some are seen transporting goods, while others are selling food at local markets.

The area within the town is surrounded by a thick fog of dust along the ground which gets blown to all directions from the ever present gusts of wind.

Two individuals are seen exchanging words with each other; a male and female. Just then, a loud sound of a ship is heard, urging the two to look up, with their hand shading their eyes. The light from the sun shines along their dark-blue skin; giving off a pearl-like hue. After them; a few heads in town, stop to look up as well.

--

The ship settles down on the landing pad, as the dust flee from it's belly. The engines power down, and the hatch opens up.

Leah, and Kase walks out from the ship, and step onto the smooth surface of the landing pad.

Leah stands for a moment, and looks around herself, as she gets familiar with her surroundings of the area.

"Alright," she said. The helmet deforms itself into her armor. She turns to Kase beside her.

"You don't need your helmet now." She losens her hair and ties it in a ponytail.

"Oh, of course," Kase said, pressing the button on his armor, and his helmet deforms itself as well.

Leah starts walking to the stairs leading down, with Kase following from behind.

"So what's our plan going to be?" Kase asked, walking down the stairs with her.

Leah slows her steps, and stares ahead at the buildings before her, on her way down.

"First, we'll go and talk to a few of the locals about finding that blacksmith." She said, and steps onto the elevator with him. Only to press the button on the small console, and the elevator starts descending.

"I sort of forgot where he was."

"Knowing who crafted those invaders' weapons will lead us somewhere. I hope," she watches as a large mountain gets hidden from view from the town's buildings.

"Do you have a reference at least?" Kase asked, narrowing his eyes.

"One of their weapons to show them?"

Leah's eyes widens, and just then; they reach ground level. She lets out a sigh, and holds her hand over her closed eyes.

"I'm such an idiot."

"What?" Kase said, frowning at her.

"I forgot to bring that sword with me." She said, shaking her head; still covering her face.

"I can't believe this." Her voice trails away.

"So, what now?" He asked, gesturing his hands out.

"We came here for nothing?"

She opens her eyes to look at him.

"It seems that way," she said, looking down for a moment. How could she be so careless to leave it behind. So focused on coming to Epra, the thought never came to her.

Just then, her eyes widen.

"Wait a minute," she said, taking a device from her pocket, and starts scrolling her finger on the screen.

Kase stands for a moment, watching her, only to train his eyes around the area.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking at her.

Leah twitches a smile while she scrolls through.

"We may be in luck," she said, her smile widening. Only to show him the screen with the picture of the sword itself.

"The blade is fully black?" He said, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Never seen one like that before."

"I have." She said, bringing the phone to herself.

"My first time coming to Epra, was with my brother." She starts walking into the town with him.

"So how did you come into contact with that specific weapon?" Kase asked, looking at her as they both pass a few people; their heads following their movement.

Leah turns her attention to him for a moment, and looks ahead once more.

"We did a delivery for one of the blacksmith's client-"

Within her mind's eye she looks a back on that day.

Two months earlier...

The loud noise of metals slam repeatedly along with the sizzling sound of water is heard.

Leah, and Aven stands infront of the blacksmith's workshop. Within the workshop, a robot is hitting a metal slab, which is glowing red-hot.

Leah watches it work on its assigned job. The young man behind the counter steps towards them, only to stop.

"I am sorry, sir." The young blacksmith said, an immaculate tone seeps through his words.

"I won't be able to provide a ring at this time."

"Why not?" Aven asked, his voice still heard among the noise.

"It's only a ring. I'm certain that it wouldn't take that long to make."

"Look; I have a big order to fill," the blacksmith said, taking a look at Leah for a moment and back at Aven.

"Priority of a ring, can't be more important than that."

Aven frowns at his words.

"You know who it is for, right?" He said, his one eyebrow slightly raises.

"I do not care who it is for," the blacksmith said with a frown.

"She has no influence over me."

Leah darts her eyes at Aven for a moment. She has not said one word since they both arrived at the blacksmith.

"Fine," Aven said, crossing his arms, with his attention drawn elsewhere.

"What could I do, for you to help me out?" He asked, looking at him.

The blacksmith looks down in thought for a moment. Just then; a sizzling sound urges him to look over his shoulder to watch the robot dipping the blade in water.

"Here's an idea." He said, looking at Aven, and Leah.

"Perhaps you can deliver these weapons to a client for me?"

Aven frowns with a narrowed look in his eyes.

"You refuse to make one simple ring..." he said, an irritated look on his face.

"And now you expect me to do your dirty work?"

"Don't get me wrong, sir," The blacksmith said, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket.

"I want you to know, that while you're on your way to my client. I'll be making that ring for you. By the time you're back, it will be done."

Aven lets out a sigh. He looks at Leah for a moment. Only to look at the blacksmith.

"Fine," He said, averting his eyes.

"I'll do it."

He looks around the blacksmith, and sees black swords lined up on the table.

"Are those the ones?" He asked.

The young man turns to the blades, and picks one of them up. He holds it horizontally as his eyes train across the blade.

Aven narrows his eyes at it.

"That doesn't look very special," he said, eyeing it.

"To the untrained eye, maybe." The blacksmith, looks at him.

"I made sure my calculations were precise." He lets out a chuckle.

"Watch." He presses the button on the handle, and the blade gets surrounded by electricity.

Leah widens her eyes at the sight of it, with the blue glow reaching her face.

"It can even fold." He said, folding the blade to the handle, only to fold it back to it's primary shape.

"Interesting." Aven said, letting on slight smile.

"Why make these? Aren't they too primitive?" He asked.

"I get paid to do my job, sir," the young blacksmith said.

"I don't ask my clients questions." He turns to the table, and places the weapon back on the table, and turns back to them.

"Fair enough." Aven said, crossing his arms.

"So who should I deliver these weapons to?"

"I'm thrilled to see you're interested," the young man said with smile.

"They're not too far from here-"

A few moments go by...

Both Aven, and Leah are seen walking along an area surrounded by sand. Leah is seen with an bag strapped to her back. Her eyes constantly fixed on the ground she treads.

"I think that's them," Aven said, urging Leah to look ahead of herself to see a group of six armored individuals standing in front of a large ship.

Leah takes the bag off her back, and holds it near her feet.

"They look as if they're from another system," she said, looking at him.

"It's because they are." Aven said, and calmly steps forward.

"Hold it right there," the one woman said, her face hiding behind her own helmet.

"Are the one to deliver?"

Aven stands, and trains his eyes across the group behind her. Three women, and two men.

"Yes we are," he said, turning to Leah, and signals for her to come forward with the bag.

"Show them."

Leah kneels down, and takes out one of the weapons. Urging the group to aim their weapons at her. She looks up at them, her eyes darting to each of them.

"You may proceed," the one man said among the group.

Leah stands herself up, and hands her the weapon.

The woman holds it by the handle. Her helmet deforms, showing her facial features, and her slightly darker complexion, with her hair colored blue, in a ponytail.

"I think she's from our planet." Leah whispered to Aven.

With one click, the blade folds out, urging her to widen her eyes.

"Wow." the woman said, waving the blade.

She looks over her shoulder.

"Do you think they will be happy with these?"

"I'm sure they will. As well as their captain." the one man said, among them.

"Good, good." She said, looking at Aven.

"We'll take them."

The one in the group walks past her, and takes the bag from Leah.

"Pleasure doing business with you," she said with a wink, and proceeds to the ship.

"I wonder who they are." Leah said, staring at them as the head into the ship.

"It doesn't matter," Aven said, turning around, and proceeds back.

"Let's go, Leah."

Leah turns away as the ship powers up, only for it to ascend off the ground, and flies off. Leah looks up, and stares at the ship as it flies further away.

A few moments go by...

Both Aven, and Leah in front of the workshop.

"As promised," the young man said, walking towards them, places a small metal box on the counter, and opens it. "There's your ring."

The ring is silver, and polished to a shine, with a marquise-shaped rhinestone embedded into it.

Aven picks up the ring, and rotates it, looking at every detail.

"Do you think the empress will like it?" He said, looking at Leah.

Leah smiles, and leans in to take a look.

"I'm sure she will," she said, and steps back.

"It was her exact request."

Aven looks at the blacksmith.

"Thank you," he said, placing the ring back in the box, and closes it.

"You did a superb job on it." He picks it up, and holds it close.

"By the way," Leah said, which draws his attention.

"Can you make me a sword?"

"Really?" Aven said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Leah, looks back at the blacksmith, ignoring Aven's protest.

"So can you?" She asked.

"Of course," the blacksmith said with a nod.

"Give me the currency, and I'll do it for you. Just give me an idea of how you'd like it to be."

"Alright," Leah said, with a smile of delight.

Back to the present day...

"That's all there is to say." Leah said, staring blankly ahead.

"Just to get a ring, we had to do a dumb job for that blacksmith." she looks at him.

Kase chuckles, looking away while shaking his head slightly.

"You, and your brother seem to meet strange people, don't you?"

Leah smiles with a slight chuckle, her eyes drawn to the floor.

"You can say that again." She looks up at him, only to proceed deeper into the town.

"It's best we find that blacksmith soon."

Kase starts following, and steps beside her.

"The sooner the better, I say." He said. Only for Leah to tap him with her elbow. He returns the favour, making her chuckle in response.