"Galactic Protectors"

Amelia Langton was supposed to be starting her senior year the following morning morning. She was not looking forward to it. Her friends were already excitedly talking about where they would be applying for college next year. Higher education was ok, Amelia supposed, for some anyways. But she had bigger dreams, plans that couldn’t be achieved through a bunch of boring old classes with some droning professor more interested in retirement than teaching. She yearned to travel, to see the world, to have adventures, to make a difference. At eighteen, her life seemed to be going by so slowly. She was champing at the bit to get started this second, not eons from now. If she had known what was coming for her, though, she might not have been quite so quick to scoff at a pedestrian life.

***

What the heck is that, Amelia thought groggily as she was pulled rather unwillingly from a dream involving flying over a scorched, barren tundra with a flamboyantly dressed, blond woman. A loud rumbling was coming from outside her bedroom window. At first, she thought she was imagining it. Perhaps I’m not really awake, but still dreaming. Like those dreams I have where every time I think I wake up, I find I’m still in a dream. She tried to wake herself, but the rumbling just got louder. It sounded like the dull crash of waves endlessly cresting over sand before receding. Since she couldn’t escape it, she accepted that she must be awake and opened her eyes to investigate. 

            Amelia blinked twice at the strange person standing in her bedroom, unable to believe her eyes. She pinched herself, hard, sure that she was in fact still dreaming. Ow! Ok, that hurt. So does that mean there really is a stranger in my bedroom? She glanced at the clock. And at 3:00am. What is going on? Is this an elaborate back to school prank? Should I scream or just let this play out?

            At the foot of her bed stood a short woman, maybe all of five feet, with messy blond hair cascading to her waist. She was oddly dressed, in tight leather leggings in a brilliant purple shade, shimmering in the dim light as though they had been dipped in a glitter bath. Her flowing orange tunic, the color of a ripe peach, was belted tightly at the waist with a neon green belt. Perched on her head was an old-fashioned pirate hat, with brightly colored plumes sticking out all over at odd angles. It was a disastrous combination, truly painful to gaze upon without getting an instant headache from the dizzying array. Kind of like brain freeze.

            Her sleepy brain still trying to process what was going on, Amelia looked towards the window, where something was still making an awful racket. She felt her eyes going wide and her breath backing up in her chest. Was that a freaking pirate ship? Torn between jumping out of bed to run over to the window for a closer look and wanting to close her eyes out of concern for the state of her mental health, Amelia looked back at the woman, still standing in the middle of the room, an enigmatic smile playing about her lips. The last few moments of her dream replayed in her head as she realized that the woman looked exactly like the woman in her dream. Clearly, I’ve lost my mind, Amelia thought, as she opened her mouth to yell for her parents. She was officially freaked out now.

            “Amelia. You must come with me now. There isn’t much time.”

            What the fuck? 

            “I don’t know who you are, but I’m not going anywhere with you. If you don’t leave immediately, I’m screaming. And calling the cops,” Amelia responded, thankful her voice didn’t quaver. Never show fear.

            The woman looked confused. “Of course you know me. I’ve been calling out to you across the universe for some time now.”

            It was at that moment that the recurring dream she had been having all year came flooding back to her. Traveling from planet to planet on a gigantic flying ship. Battling strange forces of beings, many who looked like they were half human, half robot. Fantastic weapons that shot out rays instead of bullets. And through it all, she stood side by side with this woman. 

            Recognition coursed through her body, causing her to leap excitedly out of bed. She didn’t know where this woman wanted to take her, but at the moment, it sounded like a much better option that the drudgery of school waiting for her the next day. Without giving it too much thought, Amelia said, “Ok, let me change and pack, and I’ll come with you.”

            “There’s no time for that,” the woman replied. “We have to leave now before the winds change direction. I have plenty of supplies on the ship, just come as you are.”

            Amelia hesitated for the briefest of moments, then straightened her shoulders and strode towards the window. “All right, let’s do this.” And without a backward glance, Amelia boarded the pirate ship hovering outside her window and shot off into the unknown.

*** 

            It had been almost a full year since Amelia had left with Shira. In that time, she had seen all sorts of mindboggling things. So many planets, so many new species. Technology that was the stuff of science fiction. What she had thought was a pirate ship was in reality an air ship, complete with a cloaking device and a powerful warp engine. On her utility belt, she had two ray guns and a selection of bombs that could do everything from immobilizing all living creatures within a ten-foot radius to creating a thick, grey smoke screen. Her wristwatch not only told her the time and date, but it also told her where she was located at any given time and served as a communicator and transport device. It also acted as a form of handcuffs, preventing her from leaving Shira. 

            It turned out that Shira was part of a group of people, the Protectors, from a distant planet who tasked themselves with maintaining peace throughout the worlds. Whenever there was a threat to that peace, the Protectors would mobilize and rush off to wherever they were needed. But the Protectors did not serve the people. Maintaining peace at any cost was their only purpose. The Protector’s mandate had been passed down for over one hundred years, after an intergalactic war had left the galaxy broken and bleeding. In that time, the galaxy had rebuilt itself into an oligarchy, with small powerful alliances controlling the economic system, the flow of wealth, and intergalactic politics. And in the name of peace, the Protectors were always there, propping up this unjust, repressive system time after time. 

            Amelia was miserable. When she first went with Shira, she was so excited, thinking this was the answer to her prayer. Once onboard the airship, Shira explained the history of the Protectors and why she had come for Amelia. 

            “Let me tell you a story,” Shira began. “One hundred and fifty years ago, the galaxy was at peace. We were a bright, happy society, thriving, until a group of malcontents initiated a series of terrorist attacks. They sought to destroy our way of life and establish a new world order in its place. My group, the Protectors, formed in opposition to this threat. We eventually suppressed the uprisings, but not without a vast amount of destruction and loss of life.”

            “Now, we continue our mission to protect what we saved, so that something so terrible will never happen again. That’s why I’ve come for you. During the early days of the war, we sent your great grandfather to another galaxy, to protect our most important invention—the power source for our most powerful weapons. But he never returned. We’ve been searching for him for decades and just recently stumbled across his trail. We found out that he enclosed the power source in a piece of jewelry that was passed down to his children. That bracelet you’re wearing, in fact.”

            Amelia looked down at her wrist dubiously. The family heirloom, given to her by her mother when she turned sixteen, looked like an ordinary piece of jewelry, with five light green stones that she thought were peridot linked together on a thin silver chain. The whole story seemed a little far-fetched, but as she was at this moment on an airship, she supposed she should accept it.

            “Wow,” Amelia responded. “That’s a lot to take in. But why do you need me? Couldn’t you have just taken the bracelet?”

            “No,” Shira replied as she pointed at Amelia. “It only works in conjunction with your DNA. Making you essential to our mission. And we need those weapons more than ever. Our enemies are gaining strength every day and we don’t know how much longer we will be able to protect the peace.”

            This filled Amelia with a sense of purpose. To think, I could have been going to boring old school tomorrow. This is way more awesome. And it looks like I’m the only one who can save the galaxy.

            But, as she found out in the past year, the story Shira told her wasn’t entirely true. Laros, her great grandfather, had actually been a member of the rebel group, which had stolen the power source. He had absconded with it to keep it out of the hands of the Protectors, who weren’t quite as altruistic as Shira had led Amelia to believe. The world they had been protecting was one of repression, violence, and little freedom—the same type of world they were still trying to sustain. When Amelia had learned this, she had asked Shira to take her back to Earth. But Shira wouldn’t let her go and she became a prisoner of the Protectors. They would bring her out only in times of battle, ensuring that her watch was tethered to Shira to prevent her from escaping. The rest of the time they kept her locked up on the airship.

One week ago, the Protectors had received an alert that a group of workers had started rebelling. Shira and Amelia had been on Clotius, a small planet in the Vontas system, for more than a week. Clotius, a mostly barren world with a few heavily populated urban centers, was a key member of the Transgalactic Industrial Alliance, or TIA, that produced over fifty percent of the Alliance’s weapons. The TIA had significant influence in this sector of the galaxy. For the wealthiest and most powerful people, it was a godsend, allowing them to maintain their important positions with minimal effort. 

The population of Clotius was greatly distorted. Most of the people who lived there worked in the weapons factories, toiling away day after day in oppressive heat. Their pay was minimal, as most of it went to the outrageous room and board fees charged by ElectroTech, the conglomerate that in practice owned Clotius. The workers, given only enough food and water to maintain their stamina, had little in their lives except endless work. They worked fourteen-hour days, leaving little time for entertainment, should entertainment ever be provided. It was a bleak existence. Older workers, workers with injuries or disabilities, or those who caused problems, were shipped off. Ostensibly to a care facility, but they were never seen or heard from again. 

Now, Amelia and Shira were right smack in the middle of a battle for their lives, dodging rebel laser beams and bombs. They stood back-to-back, swords out, the sunlight glinting off golden blades. These weren’t just any swords, however. Not only did they slash and cut, but they also shot out electromagnetic pulses that incapacitate anyone and everything in a two-mile radius. Each one had a taser-like setting that could be used to shock someone up to twenty feet away. At the press of a concealed button, poison tipped spikes could be discharged from the sword and slam into an enemy with unerring accuracy. This realm was technologically superior to earth in every way.

The intense heat of Clotius caused sweat to drip into Amelia’s eyes as she fought halfheartedly, not even sure if she wanted to stay alive. What was the point? I’m exhausted and I’m never getting home. I hate these people and what they’re doing in the name of peace.

As thoughts of death and the relief it would bring swirled in Amelia’s mind, she heard the loud whistling of another bomb. She stared dumbfounded as it landed two feet away from her, before exploding in a nova of blinding white light. Knocked off her feet, she could only stare at the people who were moving toward her before everything went dark.

***

Amelia slowly opened her eyes, finding herself lying on a cot in a dim room full of people talking in whispers. Confused, she took in her surroundings. Noticing Amelia was awake, a middle aged purple haired woman in a tight black jumpsuit riddled with tears, came over to check her pulse, her pupils. As she did so, Amelia began to recall what had happened. She sat up quickly, smacking her head on a low hanging light, as she pushed the woman’s hands away and scrambled back.

“Who are you? What is going on? Why am I here?” Amelia squeaked out, rubbing her sore head while her eyes darted around in fear.

“It’s ok,” the woman responded soothingly. “We’re here to save you. Just stay calm and still. The bomb we set off doesn’t cause permanent damage, but it can still give you a bad case of temporary side effects. Let me check you out and I’ll explain.”

“My name is Camella. We are part of a galactic resistance network, trying to stop the Protectors and bring freedom to the galaxy. One of our agents found out about you after he infiltrated the Protectors. We’ve been trying to rescue you for six months. That’s one of the reasons we started bombing the weapons factories. We knew it would draw Shira out, and with her, you.” 

“And actually, I’m your cousin,” Camella said, turning her wrist to show off a bracelet identical to Amelia’s. “Shira lied to you. There were two power sources, your great grandfather took one and his brother, my grandfather, took the other.”

Amelia just gaped at her for a moment. It was more than her tired and injured mind could handle. Was it true? Was she finally free of Shira? And to find family, out here in the distant galaxy. Could her life get any stranger?

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Camella continued. “Just rest now. Once you’re feeling better, we’ll get you home, if that’s what you want.”

“I want to go home more than anything. I thought I wanted adventure, to see the world, but the last year has been just awful. But won’t Shira just turn around and come back for me?” Amelia shivered at the thought.

“No, we’ve got a plan in place to conceal you. The Protectors will never be able to find you.”

“Then yes, send me home. Right now, please. I feel fine.” As if to prove the truth in her statement, both to herself and Camella, Amelia sat up and hopped off the table. Her head swam for a minute before the world righted itself and she became steadier.

“See,” she said to Camella, “I’m fine.”

“Well, all your vitals check out, so I guess we can go ahead and send you now. Come with me.”

Camella led Amelia over to a sphere large enough for a human to enter. “Just a few more things. First, if you ever need to contact us, use this sword,” Camella said, as she handed the golden sword over to Amelia. “We can also use this to contact you. And you know, if you ever want to come back for a visit, learn more about your family history, just reach out to me. You just need to tap the sword’s hilt three times with your right hand and say my name.”

“I wish I could stay and get to know you,” Amelia responded. “But right now, I just want to go home and go to school.” Laughing a bit, she continued, “Wow, that’s something I never thought I’d hear myself say.”

“Alright then, just step into the sphere. Take care of yourself, cousin. I’m sure we’ll meet again someday.”

With that, Camella activated the device. Amelia closed her eyes to block out the neon blue light pulsing from the sides.

***

Amelia was surprised when she opened her eyes. If I’m being honest, I didn’t think that was going to work. But as she looked slowly around her room, she could see that nothing had changed. It was as if she’d never been gone. Glancing down at her watch, the old normal one she had worn before being kidnapped by Shira, she saw that the date was September 1, 2023. Wait, what? That’s the day I left. It should say 2024, not 2023. Did any of that even happen? Or was it all just an incredibly realistic dream.

It was then that she noticed the golden sword laying on top of her desk. As she stared at it, it began to glow, faintly at first, then brighter. She trembled as a tinny voice came out of it. “Amelia. Amelia, are you there? We need your help.”

***