Valiance

PROLOGUE

Allow me to tell you how we got to Valiance. A quick history, if you don’t mind. After all, a bit of context goes a long way, does it not? Because I’m a historian, you might imagine how eager I am to share this with you.

Let me start with Earth.

Before exploring space, Earth’s people believed themselves to be the center of the universe. First, they sent people to their moon. Then, over a hundred years later, despite incredible advances in technology, they finally created a craft that could carry them to Mars. Because of their successful landing on the red planet, the humans of Earth gained motivation and inspiration to push their goals ever outward. Further and further from their sun, they moved to the edges of their solar system.

Five hundred years after the first lunar landing, humanity pushed itself beyond its solar system. While pushing outward, their never-ending struggles on Earth continued. No technology could suppress mankind’s worst inclinations or find solutions for overpopulation, pollution, or divisions.

When the settlements at the edge of the solar system pushed beyond Sol, enterprising settlers looked backward at Earth and pitied those still grounded there. The ones far from Earth disavowed all religious ideology. The further out they ventured, the farther they got from the roots of their existence.

There were no gods and no religions. There was only science and logic. They explored new systems, and created homes on rocks that should have been devoid of life—forcing their will and science on planets with gigantic structures that terraformed new homes among the stars.

Centuries passed. Time meant nothing to a species that simply devoured and manipulated space, solar systems, and planets as it justified its growth away from Earth.

Only the people of the Sol system clung to faith-based beliefs. Outside the home system, humanity cast all that aside. The rising socio-political wave that encouraged expansion had yet to find another planet like Earth. They had yet to find any original life beyond what they terraformed and forced into being.

Eventually, they determined they had no use for religion and made it a crime to observe faith of any kind. In a millennium among the stars only seen by powerful telescopes on Earth, the humans of space created new worlds and new lives. They created laws that left no room for religion, art, or creativity that might move away from science and technology—cold, hard, provable fact.

Almost two millennia into space, a small planet named Valiance, far across the Milky Way, was chosen to be terraformed. Seven huge spacecraft settled on the planet. Each ship began the terraforming process. Once the initial stages of terraforming were complete, the larger portions of the cryopreserved spacefarers were slowly awakened, and the ships-turned-terraforming machines were transformed to become Mega Structures. These, in turn, became cities and central points for planetary political seats of power. The Mega Structures were like the giant cities of Earth, though more contained. As with every terraformed planet seeded with humanity, people felt that inexplicable need to leave confined areas.

Rural settlements sprang up over the planet. These rural settlements bore a striking resemblance to Earth settlements at the turn into the industrial age. Life was simple. Life was hard. It brought out aspects of humanity that the original great travelers across the stars had hoped to eliminate.

Valiance became a focal point to this shift back to things long thought left behind in Sol and on Earth.

Transcript of Guest Speaker: Historian A. Swiets; 2nd Centennial Historians of the Outer Realms Conference

ONE

Patches of light and dark obscured my view of the world outside my window as the fog swirled darkly in lazy waves. Despite the familiar sight—it appeared every evening on Valiance and dissipated every morning—shivers ran up and down my spine. While I knew it was nothing to be afraid of, something about it unsettled me.

Lord, please guard this home, I prayed, even as the logical part of me scoffed at the urgent need to pray.

No sooner had I finished my brief prayer, then the fog shifted away from the edges of my home as though an invisible barrier stopped it. I gasped in surprise.

Still, I observed the fog and the wind that blew it in. It appeared no different from any fog I’d seen before—though maybe it was thicker, harder to see through.

Puzzled over my unease, I peered at the sky, and unable to tell the time of day by glancing upward, I turned toward the digital display and clock hanging over my kitchen cook space.

Goodness!

Casting a last furtive look at the fog, I turned my back on it, relying on faith to overcome my fear. I moved into the kitchen to prepare a simple dinner.

I took time to enjoy the simple meal of homemade bread, still warm, smeared with a protein jelly out of the rations sent to the town from Megida, the nearest Mega Structure.

The bread was crusty, but soft in the center, with a buttery taste thanks to the buttermilk I managed to get during a trade with a passing caravan. The protein jelly, on the other hand, was harder to enjoy.

Still, it was something to be thankful for. It was full of the nutrients my body needed; although it did nothing to enhance the bread. If anything, the bread helped cover the jelly’s bland, almost grassy, flavor.

After eating and clearing the table, I sat back down to continue reading the book I’d been pulled away from.

I gently turned the onion-skin pages, soaking up the long-forgotten words. Books called Bibles from the old world were rare. On Valiance, as on all other planets here in the outer reaches, Bibles were forbidden.

All religious books and teachings that had originated on Earth, the Bible especially, were considered vestiges of ancient religions humanity had long ago given up on in favor of science, technology, and psyscience.

I had searched for many years for a Bible kept among one of the Mega Structures. Finally, in the process of moving to Tera-Val, my first assignment after school at the Megida Medical Institute, and the settlement I call home, I got my hands on one. The man who acquired it for me made me swear to never reveal his part in my acquisition.

Owning any sort of religious media was a severe crime—in some areas of space, beyond Valiance, punishable by death. Yet death is a mercy compared to the most widely accepted form of punishment on Valiance.

God is our refuge and strength, I read out loud, but stopped as a strange scream rang out from somewhere outside the storage box, which I had converted into a home.

Immediately on my feet, I hurried back to the window and stared into the night. Unable to see anything but the whirling fog, I reached over and flipped a switch. The light outside my window cast a sudden bright glow, from which the fog seemed to jump away.

What the…? I whispered.

I flicked off the light and watched the fog inch closer to the house. Then I flipped the switch and watched as the light forced the fog back.

Another scream rang out from somewhere within the fog, sending more shivers down my spine.

I repeated the words I’d just read, God is our refuge…

I grabbed my heavy coat. Slipping it on, I frowned. Going out in the strange fog was crazy, but someone needed help, and I would not stand by and do nothing.

Light. I need light. The fog doesn’t like light.

I rushed into the tiny kitchen where I reached into a drawer and pulled out a heavy torch. Checking to make sure it still worked, I dawdled, switching it on and off, testing its brightness levels, and double checking the battery pack screwed on to the bottom. Once I was satisfied with its bright shine, I grabbed the satchel I used as my medical bag and hefted it to my shoulder. Adjusting the bag’s weight until it was comfortable yet secure, I opened the door and ventured into the night.

The fog shifted like a living thing. I pointed the beam of light ahead of me and watched the fog split, clearing a path before me.

My legs trembled in response to the strangeness, and I recited to myself, God is our refuge… What was the rest? God is our refuge… and… God is our refuge. Oh! God is our refuge and strength.

Before long, I’d passed beyond the edges of my small front yard and into the street that ran toward the center of Tera-Val.

People were shouting. I couldn’t see them, but their voices were raised in shock and fear. It sounded like they were looking for someone.

Oh, Lord, please help me help them.

I pointed the beam of light toward the voices and rushed to find their owners.

After what seemed like forever, I finally saw other torches flashing ahead of me. The fog cleared, revealing a group of fellow settlers.

The leader of the group, Harold, saw me and waved at me frantically.

Get out of the fog, Jena! Now! Hurry! he called.

I rushed forward. The urgency in Harold’s voice underscored the danger of being outside the safety of my home.

When I reached his side, I internalized a prayer of thanks for finding the group safely.

What’s going on? I asked Harold, whose face was white with apparent fear. As I glanced at the others, it was clear from their expressions that they were all equally afraid.

Harold backed up toward the others with his torch pointed out into the fog.

Shine your light into the fog, Jena, he said, and keep your back to the group.

I did as he asked but repeated my question. Harold. What’s going on? The fog…

Is not natural, said one of the other men.

I tried not to roll my eyes. Way to state the obvious, George, I thought, but looked at Harold, who said, The fog rolled in, and one kid is missing. We heard young Sammy screaming for help, but by the time we got to the edge of town, we were engulfed. We still haven’t found Sammy, and now…

Harold paused and looked at the others over his shoulder. I glanced backward too. There was George, the village electrician. Paula, one of the schoolteachers, stood beside him. Next to Paula stood Carisa, a shopkeeper, her face so pale she looked like she was about to pass out.

Between me and Carisa stood Torance, our head peacekeeper, who held out his torch with one hand, and his short shock wand with the other.

Worry surged in the pit of my stomach.

What have I gotten myself into.

Harold took a shuddering breath before he spoke again. When we got to the edge of town, Sammy was gone. So, we came back and gathered more people for a search, but we’re getting picked off.

I raised an eyebrow and shifted my attention to the fog that rose and fell in the beams of light. Why did it look like it was touching the beams, testing them?

Harold continued, terror in his voice, Jones, Aron, Martha, and Verick. They were with us at the edge of town.

Was Sammy the first scream I heard? I asked.

George said in an icy voice, Doubt it, we were on the other side of town.

Paula said, I think you probably heard Martha and then Verick. They both screamed, and then were gone. Just like that. We didn’t see it. They were just there, and then gone. But Jones and Aron—they just… They just disappeared in complete silence.

I swallowed hard. The verse I read earlier was hard to remember. I breathed deeply and willed my mind to clear. Unable to catch my breath, I prayed.

No one in town knew I was what was referred to as a Christian. I doubted anyone in Tera-Val would have any severe objections, but prejudices against religion were hard to overcome even so far away from the Mega Structures. So, I kept my faith to myself despite having seen clear evidence of God’s power.

Harold glanced sideways at me.

What are you doing out here anyway? he asked.

I diverted my gaze from the intensity of his stare.

Instead, I stared hard into the fog. I heard people screaming. I had to see if I could help.

George huffed behind me.

You’re this town’s only doctor. I never took you to be reckless, Dr. Lau, he said, chastising me as though I were a child. I bit back the response I really wanted to give him. After all, he and I were nearly the same age, mid-30’s. It irked me how often he felt the need to talk down to me.

Glancing back at George, I met his glare and held it. I’d not argue with him, but I would not allow him to get away with questioning my duties.

I’m a doctor, Mr. Polk, I said as calmly as I could. That means I’m sworn to offer my services where they are most needed. I’m not going to wait around in my home for someone to come fetch me when I already know somebody needs my skills.

George huffed again and turned his attention back to the fog rolling in front of him.

Paula squeaked and said, I think I saw something in the fog.

Everyone inched closer together, standing nearly shoulder to shoulder. The fog slithered around us like a snake, coiling on itself over and over, toward us, away from us.

Harold, we need to get everyone inside, I said. I saw him nod out of the corner of his eye.

I seem to have lost my bearings. Does anyone know where we are? he asked the group.

Torance replied, We’re by the school. I see the sign by the gate.

Very good, Harold said. Torance, you take the lead. We’ll follow you, keeping our lights on the fog. Paula, please tell me you have a key.

A sigh of relief escaped through my lips as Paula shook a bunch of keys, showing she had her keyring with her.

Harold stood shoulder to shoulder with me. Okay, Jena, you shine your light in that direction. I’ll shine mine over here. Everyone else shine along the edges of the walkway. Stay close to each other. No one turn off your torches until we are safely inside the building.

I shuffled backward, drawing courage from the gentle touch of Harold’s shoulder against mine. Step. Step.

Watching the fog. Listening as Torance clumped up the recycled metal steps to the door. Hearing Paula click the lock open. Cringing as the door squealed on its hinges in the strange silence of the looming fog.

Torance and Paula stepped inside, and I heard them assist Carisa and George inside. Then the lights from their torches shone all about me and Harold. I gasped when the added light forced the fog back as though it had been hit.

I looked at Harold.

Did you see that? I asked in a hushed voice.

He whispered back, George is right. It’s unnatural.

I nearly fell when my heel hit the first step.

Harold said, You go first. Keep your light on me, though.

I backed up the stairs, the rubber of my shoes squeaking with each step. Finally, I stepped into the doorway of the school.

Paula, are there front lights for those steps? I asked.

Paula said, Yes, but they aren’t working.

George groaned as he said, Don’t tell me the power is out. That makes no sense.

I recalled the Bible verse and recited it in my mind: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. I immediately followed it with a prayer, Lord, please turn on the lights. Help us banish this strange fog.

Paula flipped the switch again. Immediately, the front of the small school lit up with massive lights that flooded the narrow schoolyard up to the street. Instantly, the fog rolled back and upward like a tidal wave threatening to overwhelm the school.

We all stared up at the looming fog in shock. Harold stepped into the school’s front hall and slammed the door closed. I joined the others who’d gathered at the door and stared out, watching the fog. Then, I turned to Harold and Torance.

We need to tell everyone to stay inside until this weird fog rolls through.

George cleared his throat. He stepped toward us. I could tell he wanted to argue against my suggestion. I frowned. Why was he always so eager to argue with me?

Before George could interject, I asked Torance, You are the Peacekeeper. What do you think? Shouldn’t we warn people to stay inside?

Torance glanced at Harold, who gave his agreement. Beyond them, George clamped his mouth shut. His eyes were on me—an expression I could not decipher in them.

Paula moved toward the front office. The school can tap into the public announcement system. You can access the in-home intercoms just as you would for any emergency from your office at town hall.

While Torance and Paula disappeared into the office, I stood with the others. I felt a deep dread wash over me. At the same time, I realized that, twice in one day, my prayers had been instantly and incredibly answered.

I turned toward the wall lined with lockers for the kids and leaned my forehead against the cool metal of one.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you for providing us refuge and help.

Harold interrupted, Did you say something, Jena?

I straightened up and turned to him, I … Oh. I was just talking to myself… I know, crazy.

He rolled his eyes as he pointed out at the fog. Crazier than that?

TWO

The following morning, I held my breath as Torance opened the door. The fog was gone with the morning sun. A strange silence hung about the town. I waited till Torance had reached the bottom step and stood, hands on hips, staring up and down the wide street. Blinking rapidly as I stepped into the bright morning sun, I moved to the older man’s side.

Looking down the street toward my house, I saw people venturing out of their homes. Even from where I stood, I could see the hesitation in their steps. Some carried tasers. Others carried make-shift weapons: brooms, fire pokers, even cooking implements. If I hadn’t witnessed the strange events of the night for myself, I would have giggled at the absurdity of it all.

Torance glanced at me and said lowly, so no one else could hear him, I want to know how you made it all the way from your house to where we were without getting snatched up.

I grit my teeth but nodded.

A formal type of thing?

Torance shook his head. No.  But for now, we need to see if anyone beyond Sammy, Martha, Aron, Jones, and Verick is missing. Then we should send out a search party.

Harold stepped up behind us and interjected, Once we have accounted for everyone, let anyone who wants to join search parties meet at the town hall.

I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled lightly. He had not pressed me after nearly over-hearing my prayer, but I suspected he would seek me out to make sense of my comment. He was one of the few people in town I trusted, but I knew he would not take my declaration of faith as anything but a joke. At least at first. Then he was likely to scoff, or even ridicule me.

One thing I was certain of, he would not report me to the Mega Structures.

Looking past him, I noticed the others had left the school. Paula was locking the door behind us. She and Carisa still looked pale and shaken. It made me wonder: did I look as shell-shocked as they did?

I turned to address the group. I will stay at the clinic, but I’ll have two of my medics join the parties. The rest of my staff will remain with me. We’ll be available if anyone needs medical or mental assistance.

Scrutinizing each of them, I said, If any of you need to visit with me to get checked out, or to just talk about all this, my door is always open. And, as you go about town, please let everyone else know.

To my surprise, Torance, shuffled his feet as he sheepishly met my gaze. Dr. Lau, I might take you up on that. Later today.

Thankfully, no one reacted outwardly to his response, but I saw the surprise flash on George’s and Harold’s faces.

I nodded solemnly at Torance. Whenever you can come to the clinic, I’ll be available.

Torance smiled and began dividing the group into pairs to go door to door through town. He looked at me and said, I figure you and Harold will make your way to the center of town together. As you go, will you please check everyone on the main square?

I nodded in agreement before rushing to catch up to Harold, who was already walking toward the town hall. We hastened along in silence. I stared at the homes lining the street. Some people were outside, but most stood staring out from windows and open doorways.

Lord, please give them peace and rest their minds and hearts, I prayed internally.

I tried to make eye contact with anyone close enough as I passed but couldn’t bring myself to smile. The terror was plain on the people’s faces, and in the way they stood. Poised to run, tense, on edge.

Smiling at them seemed fake and insincere despite the hope I carried within me. Instead, I acknowledged them, praying they would feel my empathy and.

Finally, Harold and I reached the town square. We stood staring at the building in the center. I allowed myself a small smile. Everything appeared to be okay.

I always meant to ask you who drew up the plans for the settlement. The main town buildings at the square were really a remarkable idea.

Harold stood quietly, staring at the two-story building before us. I thought maybe he hadn’t been listening, so I began to repeat my question, but he responded distractedly, "When they offered me the opportunity to build and lead Tera-Val, I asked if I could be part of the infrastructure planning.

"I once saw a map of a town from the old world. It was the map of a town roughly the size of this one, in a place they called the Old West. The courthouse was built on a square like this, with four principal streets branching out according to the main points on the compass: north, south, east, and west.

Our own planning is a little different, but we are still a small town. However, we have laid the groundwork for the center of town to always be the most protected, a place for our citizens to gather. You think it wise?

I thought a moment before responding.

I do. I think it makes sense to have all the critical buildings together. Though I wish the school were a bit closer.

Harold said, I wanted that at first, but it occurred to me that as we grow, we’d have to build more schools scattered around town, anyway. In the future, those buildings will be reinforced to double as secure sanctuaries if need be.

I glanced at Harold. Sanctuaries. Do you think…?

Harold shrugged, "We are still relatively new to Valiance. We’ve been on planet for a little over a hundred years. It’s only been in the past twenty years that we’ve been branching away from the city structures.

There is entirely too much about our new home that we don’t know. That … fog … if that is what it was, for instance. To my knowledge, no other settlement has dealt with anything like it, and how it acted – almost sentient.

He looked at me, and I sensed a heaviness within him as he continued, Yes. I think we will need more than one sanctuary.

I sighed. As I considered the strange fog, I wanted to add my impression, but then thought better of it. We both needed to clear the square and prepare for our tasks in the aftermath of the unusual night.

I’ll go this way, and then we meet back up on the hall steps? I suggested.

Howard nodded. Good idea.

I watched him start off toward store fronts, all of which doubled as shopkeeper homes on the second stories. Then I turned toward the first shop along my path.

THREE

The search parties stood on the fake turf of the town hall front lawn. Everyone was quiet. If anyone spoke, it was in hushed tones. The bright light of the sun had done little to remove the fear and tension from the gathered people.

I sat on the bottom step of the entrance to the town hall, content to watch and listen. I knew most of the people milling about in front of me.

Most of us had been chosen from the same section of Megida, The Warrens. And being from The Warrens meant most of us had gone to the same schools, the same trade internships, and so on.

We may not have been neighbors or friends in Megida, but now, after living in our small town, we were all on a first name basis, only referring to rank and title when necessary.

I also noted faces I was less familiar with. Those would be the people sent to Tera-Val every five years to help shift population loads from the Mega Structures and add diversity to the settlements. Some were from other sections of Megida, but most were from other Mega Structures. Some from the other side of the planet. While I knew them all well enough to put a name to a face, the original settlers of Tera-Val held a unique kinship.

I scanned the crowd and looked for George. He and Carisa had not made it to the square yet, but that wasn’t alarming. They had the street on the far side of the square. If they cut across around the perimeter of the settlement, it would have taken them the longest to get to the square.

A slight commotion drew my attention. When Carisa came running to the gathered group I jumped to my feet.

Dr. Lau! Carisa called, and the entire group turned to look in my direction. I grabbed my medical bag, thankful I thought about bringing it with me. I dashed toward Carisa. Upon meeting her in the middle, I stopped and waited for her to catch her breath.

We have to go back. George… Carisa gasped, breathing hard as she pointed down the street she had come from. We found Sammy. Come. Come quickly.

Without waiting, I bolted down the road and left the square. I ran as fast as I could down the street until I saw George walking toward me, a child draped across his arms. Rushing up to him, I saw George’s expression, completely devoid of hope.

Stopping in front of him, forcing him to stop, I looked down at the little boy. I scanned his face while I reached into my bag for the medical recorder.

I adjusted