Taken to Serve

TAKEN TO SERVE

By Victoria Reginold

It all happened so quickly. One minute life was normal. Katra had only just made it home from work, tossing her satchel on the kitchen table in her small apartment and wiggling out of her work heels.

Then the sirens began blaring. With shocking speed, the world she knew disintegrated into chaos, throwing the whole of the city into panic. Her suit jacket half off, she ran to the window but turned back when the view panel on the wall of her apartment’s living room wall flashed to life, echoing the annoying blaring of the sirens sounding all across the land. What was happening!?

“Attention, all Valodians,” an automated female voice rang out of the screen with strange, automated calmness. “The home world of Valodos is under attack.”

Katra gasped in alarm, standing beside her sofa, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“All residents are hereby ordered to remain in place”. The monotone voice continued. “Repeat: all residents are to remain in place. All public transit is hereby halted. All residents must stay tunes as further instructions are to follow.”

The screen transitioned into what Katra assumed to be some kind of calming pattern of swirling colored screen saver. It was not calming! Her mind was racing a hundred miles a minute. After standing there for a long minute in shocked stupor, she realized she needed to move.

Heart beating in her chest, she quickly changed into more comfortable attire and prepared herself a simple dinner with one eye on the living room screen. At least she had made it home before all hell broke loose! Her hands trembled as she sat on her comfortable sofa to eat. Katra couldn’t help but worry about her colleagues who might have been caught at work. Would they make it home?

Her foot tapped the carpet with anxiety. What had happened? Was this it? Was this what they all had feared? Hoped would never happen, even as interplanetary negotiations had continued in a stream of never-resolved summits, while fighting skirmishes bubbled up all over the planet? Valodos was her home, and she loved it.

Of course she kept up with the news. The ever-present stories of impending doom had become easy to dismiss as journalistic drama over the last year and a half. Valadon was divided into many different sectors, and one or more of them were always in turmoil with another. It seemed commonplace, and nothing ever really came of the conflicts over tariffs and territory except long negotiations that she hardly ever heard the results of. It never truly affected her life. Until now.

Katra had resided in the capitol city of Valodon for several years now. The huge modern metropolis was her home, this small apartment her haven. It was a drastic change from where she started from, but even as she moved into the metropolis of Valodon, Katra never forgot her humble beginnings.

Just a farmgirl from the Valo Valley, she was an only child to kind and loving parents. She had been born late in their lives, becoming a blessing her parents were grateful for. Maybe that’s why they loved her so richly and encouraged her to follow her dreams.

Katra had a good childhood, being naturally curious and bright. She did well in school, with her quick mind and observational talent.

She had barely reached puberty when her marks in school caught the attention of the Regional Council. She was awarded a rare opportunity to study in one of the nearby cities. At fourteen, Katra had left her family and was educated in a accelerated educational campus in a city a few hours from her childhood home, where she studied Valodian law and history. Upon graduation from the program four years later, she received accolades and recommendations to various agencies. Her young age led to several moves within the governmental agency that hired her, but she gained valuable insight into the inner workings of the huge machine of government.

Katra found that her greatest sense of achievement came from helping others. Social Services was her favorite position, and after biding her time, she finally secured a position as Administrative Assistant to the Director of Domestic Affairs, Saul Dorcer. Soon her organization skills were recognized by the director as his tangle of challenges and tasks became more bearable under her hand. He took notice, and just a year ago had assigned her to oversee the Domestic Aid division. With that position came a daily ride to and from work at the Capitol building, and this quaint apartment.

Katra was grateful. She transitioned easily into her added responsibilities and was well received in the division. She was happy. Her parents and family, the whole village really, were proud. Katra wanted to serve, meet the needs of people in all the regions of Valodos. The satisfaction of her position somehow helped her feel more worthy of the fortunes she had been granted. How many women in their early twenties got to live in their own quarters in the capitol?

The world of Valodon was not all peaceful. The upheaval had begun in the outer areas, in the distant desert areas and beyond the great waters. News of it trickled in shortly after Katra took her position here. Then it slowly spread; sectors squabbling with one another over resources and rules. In a year’s time, sides were drawn and the cancer of unrest began to spread further. Corruption rose, as some of the leaders of these sectors began precuring assets and promises from other planets with whom Valodos traded, in order to assert their domination over other sectors whose ideas did not run alongside their own.

For the most part, the capitol city had remained neutral, shielded from these seemingly petty rivalries by their oversight function and structured lifestyle. It may have proved naive however, to assume these disagreements would resolve themselves.

They did not.

As planetary tension grew, the voices of hatred and malcontent spilled over into every region, finally oozing into the very capital itself. Factions came with their leadership teams, demanding to be heard by the Planetary Council. Gradually, the city Katra had grown to love began to devolve into a cauldron of disorder and violence. In the Domestic Affairs division, their work multiplied exponentially as needs rose across the region.

And now it had come to this? Who was behind this attack? Katra wondered. There were murmurings that even governments from other planets had taken an interest in the feud-torn Valodos, hungry for any and all assets the little planet might offer if conquered.

Katra knew this was most likely true; she had paid attention in Valodian history classes. Throughout the centuries, history seemed to repeat a horrible pattern. Societies were overtaken when weakened by internal strife, then forced into servitude to the conquering force. Her heart lurched as the flare of panic swept over her. Is this what was happening now?

She could hear it now, loud booming sounds coming from the heart of the city. Katia rose and peered out the window of her apartment. She gasped in surprise as flashes of white and orange bloomed in the distance. It was night now, allowing her to see the lighted crafts zooming across the dark sky, zigzagging in her field of view. Valodian ships? No. The shape was wrong and these craft were flying lower than she had ever seen before.

Were they being taken over? Invaded? Panic threatened to seize her, and Katra thought of her family, far away in the valley where they had lived for generations. What would be their fate? Her fate? Pushing away her empty plate, she suddenly wished she hadn’t eaten.

Just then the viewscreen flashed to life once again in the living room. Jerking the covering back over the window, Katra sprinted back to the sofa as an image took shape on the screen. Her hand rose to her chest unconsciously, her mouth open in shock. On the screen was the Valodian Senior Council, all its members seated at a long narrow table, all five of the distinguished men in formal uniform attire. They were surrounded by warriors, of another kind.

The warriors guarding the Valodian men were much larger, huge men dressed in strange uniforms. Their features were hard, their bodies tan and muscular. The weapons in their hands looked formidable, long metal rifle-like weapons, which were trained on the council members. The Chief Councilman spoke.

“My fellow Valodians,” he said, “for those who are unaware, I am Haro Spelman, Chief Magistrate of all Valodos.”

Katra recognized his face; he had been appointed several years before.

“It is with a heavy heart that I now address you. Our planet has been breached, and our defenses disabled. It is reported that every sector of our world has been overtaken. We are now under siege by the planet Kalderon. The soldiers you see behind me represent the planet of Kalderon, which lies at the edge of our system. They now exert their authority upon us, and we are negotiating terms of our surrender.”

Surrender? Did she heart him correctly?

He paused then, a weary expression crossing his face. “I urge you, my brethren. Remain in place for your safety until more details may be given about the state of our affairs. Soldiers like these you see here will be posted around the globe, in each area of inhabitation. Do not interfere with them. I repeat, do not interfere, for your safety. You will be given instructions when the time comes.”

The Chief Magistrate paused again, this time consulting a page on the desk before him. “The Kalderon administration urges you to comply with directions given without resistance, for the smoothest possible transition of power.” He looked at the camera after reading the statement. “My solomn oath is to negotiate the best possible outcome of the circumstances for the betterment of all of Valodos. I give you my oath.”

Katra watched in shock as the image faded on the screen, replaced by the swirling colors. The worst nightmare she could imagine had happened.