Those who seek forgiveness will find it; those who give love will receive it.

-The Book of Ambu

Peace was again dawning on the planet of Ycerri after twenty-two years of interplanetary war, causing exceptional pain and suffering, some seventy-percent of its population had been lost to the war. The planet was in ruins. Few veterans returned from the cold moons and asteroid belts that had been the war’s front. One of the few to survive the entire conflict was High Commander Kine Ycer. His disgust for the Nian had made him ruthless, and his feats were legendary in the victory of Ycerri over the Nian.

When Kine set foot back on his home planet he barely recognized Cerri, the city he’d grown up in. Most of the inhabitants, including his parents, were killed during the first Nian invasion. The weapons used by the Nian were meant to kill the inhabitants while not destroying the land. The dead had been cleared out long ago, and the homes sealed up. The habitation quarters were a shell, and the unkempt plants encompassed most of the buildings. Kine returned to his family's house and found it in tact. The plants in the garden were still alive, and everything else was in place. Seeing the house again caused his forgotten grief to revisit him. It was the first time he allowed himself to feel the loss of his parent’s death.

As he entered his entry code to the house, it came to life. Mith, Kine's father, had been a manufacturer of power cells. When he built the house, he remembered him saying, "This house has enough power to last for as long as Ycerri has atmosphere to breathe!" Indeed the house's maintenance utilities began to do their job of cleaning and refreshing its systems, which had not functioned for nearly twenty-three years. Kine sat down in the living quarters, closed his eyes, injected himself with a sleeping agent, and slept for two days.

Kine's family had come from the religious order of the Ambu, the most respected of Ycerri’s religions. During the war, Kine's faith grew and he sought refuge in his belief. It was the very thing that helped him cope with the loss of his family, and countless soldiers who had come under his command. It was also the source of his strength against the apostate Nian, who held nothing sacred. He gathered strength in his meditations on the Ambu way of Divine Good. However, the war had brought him to question if anything was good, and to doubt his own heart as it had been consumed with hatred. The Ambu way taught that God did not take pleasure in the destruction of the enemy, but he had found a vengeful pleasure in it. He feared that he had become what he was fighting against.

As Kine slept, old memories of the war began clearing into his dreams, and suddenly the hurt of his lost love, Yeli, besieged him. Kine woke in the middle of the day in a cold sweet from the nightmare. While stretching from the long sleep, he surveyed the strange scene of the city from his hill top view. New Cerri was desolate, few people lived within its limits, but it had a beauty he was seeing for the first time. As he dressed he was hoping that a visit to the Ambu temple would help calm his thoughts and start him on a path of purification and redemption from the darkness that had encompassed him. Also, to do what he could not do for twenty-two years, say final prayers for his deceased parents.

Transcrafts were hard to come by, so he found his old single rider Air-Trans he used to run errands before the war; it proved operational after a few hours of repairs.

Kine arrived at the temple, instead of seeing the white dome, there lay a green canopy of field vine, which had completely covered the dome, and all but one of its seven entrances. As he entered, he heard the water of the natural springs; the forgotten familiarity of the sound comforted him. No one was in the wooden seats behind the altar, and the floor lay dingy from lack of proper care. Kine bowed his head and spread out his arms. "Life has lived; Life has gone, for my parents, Mith and Dolma. Life shall live again, here and in the hereafter, where we shall live again". Suddenly, behind him he heard "It shall be". Startled, Kine turned to see who was there. It was a young woman dressed in the blue and white robes of a minister. "It shall be", she repeated. He looked at her and properly responded "So it will". Curious, Kine spoke "Are you the only minister here?" She responded, "No, there is another, he just arrived" "Where is he?" He said. She looked at him peculiarly, "You are he". Kine's smile felt hard on his face, he could not remember the last time he had worn one. "So are all those who follow God", he said. She smiled and he looked at her. It was as if his strength failed him when he took in her arresting beauty. "I need to sit down", he said. "You are weak, let me help you", she rushed to his side and helped him sit on one of the wooden seats. Her touch was like a warm fire on his cold battle worn body; he relaxed and allowed her to help him. "My space legs are still with me… my body is still adjusting to the full pull of gravity, I tire easily these days". Her light yellow and green eyes lit up; "You are a Space Veteran?" "Yes", he replied. "There are very few", she said sadly while looking down at the knot in the delicate rope that held the robe around her waist. "My name is Kine Ycer." She looked up suddenly, "Kine Ycer, I've heard of you in the reports throughout the years! God has been gracious to you. The one who never lost a battle! If it weren't for you, we all… Ycerri may not have won the war!" He looked away and felt his body stiffen again. "We’ve paid a great price. We continue to pay", he said while gazing into the pool of water that surrounded the altar. She sat next to him; "My name is Lisi Ambi. I have lived here since I can remember. That is why my name is Ambi. When the minister named me he told me it means, "Saved one born of the Ambu". I was found in the mountains outside of Cerri a year after the war began. After Cerri was attacked, many people fled into the mountains away from the invading force. When the Nian landed they didn't get very far before the Ycerri forces stopped their initial attack and drove them into the mountains. They spent a year there before they retreated back into space. The Nian left a deadly bio-agent behind that wiped out many before it was contained. An Ambu Minister who came to help attend to the sick found me alone in one of the mountain townships where all but a few had died from the bio-agent. Soon after he returned with me, he too died. Over the years, the Ministers that lived here at the temple left one by one to go fight in the war. Finally, two years ago I was left here alone after the High Minister of Ambu died of old age. Now, I perform the rites everyday, and occasionally, the faithful come to perform their rites so I keep up the temple."

While Lisi was talking, he found it difficult to look at her. The sentiments she kindled in him were unexpected. After twenty-two years of war, her presence brought him a wakefulness of normality he’d long forgotten. He thought, "I can’t feel this way" He saw her looking at him in the reflection of the pool. He stumbled as he stood up. "Lisi, I should go now, I'll return again to help you here when my legs are strong enough for me to do so". He slowly walked to the Lift, melting from her gaze, as she followed him with a sad expression on her face. "Can't you stay a little longer? It's good to have a companion to talk to", she said while hugging her arms together. "I'm afraid my strength will not allow me to do so, I promise I'll return soon", his voice cracked as he sat on the lift and began to hover away. Leaving was the last thing he wanted to do, but her astonishing beauty was somehow distressing.

When Kine returned to his home, he was contacted by the New Cerri Health Bureau. He responded to the holographic image of a young woman. "High Commander Ycer, I am the doctor assigned to New Cerri. My name is Dr. Kesmi. Per your orders I have begun a bio-sampling and health assessment on the population. We’ve already discovered a few Nian infiltrators with children born here. What shall we do with them?" "Dr., you know the Nian Protocols, they, and their children, must be deported or executed… it’s their choice", he said harshly. "Of course commander… Also, I have been monitoring your health indicators… do you need any assistance?" "No, thank you Dr. Continue your work and report to me when you have a complete assessment of the population in New Cerri. Dr., you do understand that if we let any of the Nian stay here today, we’ll have millions trying to get here tomorrow? The Nian influence on our society and culture would be odious… did you know that they mate and have no commitment of pairing after they do so? A tragedy for the Children, most of them do not know their father" "Yes, Commander, I do understand". The image disappeared and Kine sat down to rest.

With the death of the Head Minister, and with no family or history, Lisi Ambi was alone. Although she grew up under the good care of the men and women ministers who lived at the temple, she missed having parents. Some of the temple Ministers had family of their own, and the ministers that were single seemed to be content just serving at the temple and taking care of her. As the war slowly took the ministers away, the only family she’d known had become casualties of it. The solitude of living at the temple gave her plenty of time to reflect on what her parents might have been like, and what it would be like to have a family of her own one day.

With everyone gone, a deep sadness had settled into her heart. In order to combat the depression, she kept herself busy by keeping the temple ready for anyone who would wander into the temple from time to time. Many weeks, sometimes months, the temple would be without a visitor, except for a few wild animals she’d have to defend the temple from.

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Stick with me through this story its my first crack at Sci-Fi. Constructive Criticism is always good.
For those who see it ; forgive the "was" and
the word sleep, the second sleep should read "rest". Didn't catch that in my last edit.

updated Jul 18, 2008 by Becktemba