First Born Son

 Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Sol climbed to the top of the rise at the edge of the planet’s capital, Iraja, and stared up at the twin suns as they climbed into the sky.  The horizon turned red as concentric circles of yellow and orange mixed with the increasing blue of oncoming daylight.

My precious son!  My God, don’t forsake us now! 

Would his son ever experience the thrilling beauty of a sunrise as he had?  They had waited so long, praying to their god for a precious gift now they had to send him away — their Davi! 

Reaching the depot and timing in on the chrono, Sol greeted Aron, his coworker and lifelong friend.               

“Regallis,” Aron said, smiling.  It seemed so far away — one of the outer planets in the solar system.  “It’s perfect.  Good population, frequent tourists, fertile plants, peaceful, no pollution. Best of all, no slavery.”  Sol smiled at the thought. 

Sol clapped Aron on the shoulder, relieved.  “We knew we could count on you.”

The depot itself was a series of large hangars and variable-sized launch pads.  Its’ mechanics and technicians bore the responsibility for maintenance and repairs on both the Empire’s fleet starships and those of traders and others who happened to stop there. 

Making their way across the crowded hangar to their workstation, they ignored the constant hum of machinery, men raising their voices to be heard over it, the blasting of engines, the whir of tools combined with the smell of fuel and sweat. 

“My friend at the fuel depot has surplus fuel cells left over from military experiments,” Aron said.  “The military almost never asks for them, so we can have some for the courier.”

Sol beamed.  “What did I do to deserve a friend like you, Aron?” 

Aron shrugged.  “Some people are luckier than others, Sol.”  They laughed as they set to work on their assigned tasks.

Lord Xalivar’s decree had taken the planet by storm.  All first-born sons must be slaughtered for the gods.  The gods!  Gods our people don’t even believe in would dare to take away our son!   Sol and Luna had adored every moment since the birth of their son — a moment they had thought would never be.  What could they do to save their precious boy?  They’d decided two nights later.  Their son, Davi, would be sent to the stars. 

The next morning, Sol had begun modifying the courier craft.  Designed to carry supplies and papers between planets in the solar system, it wasn’t large enough even for a small child, but its’ FTL drive’s capabilities would cut travel time to no more than a week to anywhere in the solar system.

Sol knew Luna’s heart was breaking.  He couldn’t bare seeing the two people he loved most in all the stars in such suffering, but if they didn’t act, Davi would be sacrificed with the others.

~~~~~

“The LSP are landing and moving toward our neighborhoods,” their coworker said as he appeared beside Sol’s worktable. 

“We don’t have much time,” Sol said to Aron as their coworker hurried off, and they left the hulking barge to work on the courier. 

Aron tested the navigation system, while Sol checked the seals.  Less than thirty minutes later, they heard the first reports of methodical killings.  First-born males of all ages were being struck down as LSP squads moved from home to home. 

“I hope Luna heard the news,” Sol said, worried.

“I’m sure everyone on the planet knows about it by now,” Aron said as both did their best to hurry without making any mistakes.  “She’s probably on her way here already.”

The supervisor was upon them within the hour.  “There’s no courier on your worksheets.”  His gray jumpsuit was without a blemish or wrinkle, unlike theirs which were covered in grease and grit.  A native of the planet Italis, the supervisor’s stare might have been intimidating if Sol hadn’t already gotten used to his green-scaled skin and disproportionally large orange eyes.  He also had four arms, the lower two extending from either side of his large, round stomach, parallel to the arms which extended out of his shoulders above them.  An electronic translator on his belt translated his native language into the common used standard, the official language of the Empire.

“It’s the courier for Estrela Industries, Tran,” Aron said as he typed calculations into the navigation computer.  “They moved up the testing.  It’s for a top-secret program authorized by Lord Xalivar himself.” 

Tran mulled this over a moment, staring at them as if he could read their minds.  “It’s almost done — a few minor adjustments,” Sol said as he used a wrench to finish checking bolts on the courier’s hatch.

“Well, you can’t leave today without finishing your assignments,” Tran said, whirling and marching away. 

“If he goes to the manager—”

“He won’t.  He flinches at the mention of Xalivar’s name,” Aron reminded him.  They hurried back to work on the courier as Sol breathed a sigh of relief. 

A clerk in a red jumpsuit appeared, handing Aron some parts.  “They’ve started in your neighborhood.”

Sol and Aron exchanged a frightened glance as the coworker slipped away.  Sol’s heartbeat raced as his muscles tightened.  The communicator beeped.  Sol answered.  “Station sixty-five.”

“Your wife is in the lobby,” the autobot receptionist responded.  The line went dead. 

Sol turned to Aron:  “Get the pod to Test Pad Seventeen-A.  We’ll meet you there.”  Aron nodded as Sol hurried toward the lobby.

Luna was waiting for him, with Davi, wrapped in a blanket, rocking in her arms.  Like it had for fifteen years, her beauty took his breath away.  Sol had never understood what flaw of character had led her to choose to mate with him.  Yet somehow, she loved him.  And it had always amazed him. 

Davi began crying.  Sol hugged Luna joyfully, seeing the fear in her eyes.  “Come with me,” Sol said, grabbing her arm and steering her away from the desk where the four-armed autobot sat permanently affixed to the front desk before a huge communications console. 

As they neared the door, they heard a voice behind them.

“Is that a baby?”  It was Tran, who was frowning as he approached. 

“It’s our son,” Luna commented, then stopped, putting a hand over her mouth as Tran reached for a communicator. 

The clerk who’d delivered supplies to Sol and Aron earlier entered looking anxious.  “Tran, Station Thirty-Four has no fuel,” he said, distracting Tran.

“What do you mean they have no fuel?”  Sol heard Tran ask as he hurried Luna through the door almost at a run. 

Luna’s tears flowed as they raced across the noisy hangar past starships in various stages of repair toward the test pads.  They almost couldn’t hear Davi crying above the noise.  “I’m sorry...” Luna said.

“Let’s hope Aron’s got the courier ready,” Sol said as he tapped three numbers into a security door, and it rose into a cavity in the wall above them with a loud whooshing sound.  He ushered her down a dimly lit corridor. 

“I don’t know if I can let him go,” Luna said, as she had so many times before.

They stopped before a gray door marked seventeen-A and Sol entered another key code into the security pad.

As the door swung up, Sol and Luna rushed onto the test pad, where Aron had moved the courier and was busy double-checking its navigation system one last time.  Luna clutched Davi to her chest like she’d never let go. 

“Luna, we must hurry,” Sol said with sadness.  He knew the pain she must be feeling. 

“I’ve got the coordinates programmed.  And I borrowed fuel for the FTL drive from Station Thirty-Four,” Aron said.  Sol shot him a look.  “It should take them a while before they miss it.”

Sol shook his head in frustration as he climbed a small ladder and began examining the courier.  “Tran has already been alerted.  Why’d you do that?”

“There was no time to go anywhere else,” Aron said, his face registering alarm.

“Let’s get the engines prepped.  They don’t know where we’ve gone,” Sol said as they  both hurried about the final preparations.

Luna held Davi and cried.  “He’s going to Regallis, Luna.  Someone will give him a life we never could.” 

“How can this be happening?”  Luna said through tears.  “We’ve waited so long for a child!”

Sol embraced her, knowing his arms held his family for the last time.  “We have to have faith, Luna.  God will protect him.”  He reached for Davi.  Luna resisted for a moment, then kissed Davi’s forehead and surrendered. 

His infant son felt so light in his arms — soft and warm as Sol hugged him to his chest, hurrying up the ladder.  Placing Davi in the molded cushion he’d designed, he wrapped the safety straps around him, then put the life support pad in place and turned it on.  Everything was good to go. 

Luna rushed up the ladder beside him, removing her necklace and setting it beside their son — the family crest. 

As Sol reached for the hatch, he bent down to kiss Davi’s head.  “Always remember we love you,” he said before the hatch closed over him.

Sol clasped Luna’s hand and led her down the steps as Aron entered the launch code into the computer.  A few seconds later, the courier launched into the sky.  Sol wrapped his arms around Luna as she collapsed against him, sobbing.  Security forces arrived, surrounding them as they spotted Tran’s orange eyes peering in from the doorway. 

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~~~~~ <~
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