Disclaimer: This story and all its characters are mine.

Note: This is another point of view of the story The Last Sol, this story is from the Elder’s point of view.

The Elder’s Promise

by A.J.Marks

The Elder tried to concentrate on what his collogue was talking about, but he was having a hard time today. His mind kept wondering off to him, the high supreme commander of the master’s defense force. He could still remember the day he found him.

They had tracked their evil inventions to a small world. Their inventions had attacked them, the intelligent life forms on the planet had almost been wiped out. The cities had all been destroyed, but this race had put up a large fight. This race was very large, they were twice as large as the Elder was

The Elder walked among the debris looking at the carnage that his race created and brought fourth to the universe. They needed something to fight it. He then noticed a body whose chest was still moving.

He went and crouched down next to the body. The alien had a gash on his head and in his arms he still cradled a female of his race. She had been shot through the chest and was dead.

“Can you help her stranger? Please?” He said.

“I’m afraid I cannot?” The Elder responded.  “However you might help us, if you want.”

The man looked at his dead wife then back up to the Elder and said, “I want to, they must pay.”

A couple of days later he and the Elder were walking down the corridor toward a room.  The Elder looked up to who would become the commander of their new defence army.

“I will not remember anything, right?”  He was almost pleading.

“Unfortunately, no”  The Elder replied.

“Good.”

The Elder looked at him a bit strangely, he thought he would have wanted to remember.

“I would like you to promise me something.”  He asked the Elder.

“If its in my power, i will grant it.”  The Elder said.

“Promise me that you will take me home to be buried by my wife, Jackie, and my child so i can be with them for all eternity in paradice.  Promise me that.”

“I will.”  The Elder vowed.

He became aware of a problem arising in the Council room.

“A Solian Command Ship is approaching us.” One said.

“They know that they are not allow here.” Another replied.

“We should activate the defense system.” The first one said.

They watched as the command ship approached. Then listened to the conversation between the Operator and the High Commander of the Solian forces. The Elder listened as the commander said he did not have time to wait, and he looked pale.

It’s time.

“He pushed a button that allowed him to talk to the operator.

“I will speak to him.” He told the operator.

The screen was replaced with the commander.

“Are you Ok?” The Elder asked him some concern. The healer said something but the Elder was not concerned with it, but the commander’s answer did.

“It does not matter, I am dying this time, and you owe me answers.”

The Elder looked at him and remember the day so long ago when he did promise answers. He looked down at the desk knowing that a friend was dying, and he knew he could not refuse the request.

“I will be aboard your ship shortly, and we will talk in your quarters.”

He signed off and ignored the looks he was getting from his peers.

“What are you doing?” One asked him.

“I am fulfilling a promise I made a lifetime ago, that’s what I am doing.” The Elder responded, and with that he left the council room.

Once on board he was taken to the commander’s quarters. This was one of the few times he had been on board a Solian Command Ship.

The Elder walked into the commander’s quarters and noticed he was sitting.

“Forgive me for not standing, but I am very weak right now.” He said to him.

“I can see that, and I do not think it really matters any more to you, I can see it in you eyes.” The elder said noticing his shallow breaths. ‘He will not last long’ he thought. “You have served us well, and you are right, we do owe you this answer. So what is your question?”

The Elder asked the question even though he knew what the question would be.

“I have been having dreams that seem so real.” He coughed a few times. “Pardon me, I wish to know if the dreams are real memories or just dreams. Sometimes right after I wake I feel like I am not whole, like something is missing.”

“Perhaps it is not something, but someone.” The Elder replied.

“Why do you say that?”

“Her name is Jackie, that is the female you dream of, and she was real.” The elder could still see him holding her when he first saw him, and the sad look on his face. “What you dream may not be real memories, but they are based on real memories. Your planet was attacked by our enemies, but your people were strong fighters. They only lacked technology to successfully defend their planet. We realized that your people needed help, but we are not fighters. We helped arm your people and soon we realized that your people were easy to clone. We allowed your people to become our warriors to help other races from our enemies.”

“So it isn’t a dream, where am I from?”

“In the restricted space of Quadrant 5. We will go there.”

The Elder left and went to the bridge. When he arrived on the bridge it went silent. There had never been an Elder on the bridge before.

“Set course for coordinates for 1823-2241-1823 at your highest speed.” The Elder ordered the bridge crew.

“But that’s a restricted area.” One of the crew told him.

“Set course and engage, I have it covered.” The Elder told them.

A short while later the Elder noticed that the commander had joined them on the bridge. The Elder knew that he would want to go down to the surface.

“I wish to go down to the surface.” He said.

“I thought that you would, I know where you will want to go.” The Elder replied.

The Elder directed the shuttle down toward a cemetery that he remembered. After they landed the Elder noticed the commander looking very week. ‘He is almost gone’ he thought sadly. He saw the commander waver and a couple of his soldiers coming to help him. The elder waved off the soldiers

They started walking down the cemetery. The Elder steered them toward the commander’s wife’s tombstone.

“You were the first and the last.” The Elder said.

“I don’t understand.” He said through labored breath.

“You were our first warrior, and you are the last warrior who is not a clone.” The commander’s face was slowly going white and continued. “Yes, you were born from your mother, and you married and had a child with Jackie, your female, your wife.”

He stopped walking in front of Jackie’s tombstone.

“Where&ldots;are&ldots;we?” The commander asked the Elder.

“In a cemetery, where the dead of your people are, were, buried. This is the headstone of your wife, she is buried here, and your son at her feet.” The Elder said while pointing at the gravesite.

The Elder watched as the once strong commander sank to his knees and slowly traced the name on the stone. The Elder noticed a tear make its way down the commander’s cheek as he looked into the Elder’s eyes.

“I remember.” The commander whispered. “I&ldots;remember.”

The Elder saw that the commander had passed away. The Elder motioned for a couple of the soldiers to come dig a grave. The Elder than reached into his pocket and read from a piece of paper.

“May your god watch over you in your death, may you be reunited with all of your loved one in paradise.” The Elder said.

As the Elder walked away he looked back at the fresh grave and said, “I fulfilled my promised, my friend, I brought you home.”

As he was about to walk away he thought he heard the wind whisper:

I remember.

He’s home.

The Elder smiled at what he thought he heard.

A short while later he was back in the council room with the other Elders.

“What were you doing?” One elder asked him.

“Fulfilling a promise I made a long time ago.”

“What do you mean?” One of the younger elders asked.

“Remember we started to clone the Solians as warriors but we forget that at one time they were a proud race. I was taking the last one home, we owed it to him.”

The End

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