The morning light from the Sun trees towering above the clouds of the star planet below poured into the room. Jaktu felt the first warmth on his face and his breathing quickened as he began to wake. He pushed the wings of Muta off him, then thought better of it as the chill that still hung in the air struck him. It would take another hour before the Sun Trees warmed the air to a comfortable temperature. He snuggled back under the wing of the Sun Bird. “Warmer, Muta, it’s cold.” The bird increased its golden glow to provide the warmth requested. A voice broke through the pleasant silence. “Prince Jaktu, the Great Tree has lifted the night.” “Go away, it’s cold,” the muffled voice of Prince Jaktu replied. “Muta, perch!” ordered the voice. The Sun Bird pushed off gently with the tips of its wings and rose into the air. In the light gravity and thin air of the mesosphere, the bird needed little effort to achieve flight. The bird’s wings rippled as if it were gliding through the ocean. A living tree branch sprouting from the room’s main support served as the bird’s perch. It settled on the branch, twisting its head around to search for ripe Sun Seeds to feed on. “I’ll have your head for this,” Jaktu shouted at the tall thin man looking down on him. “I would need the ability to grow fifty heads a day to keep up with your demands for my head,” the man replied. Jaktu glared at the man for a moment, then pulled his feet under him and pushed off from the mattress of Sun Bird feathers arranged on the wooden floor. He sailed through the air in the direction of Muta and landed on the same branch. The bird wrapped a wing around the young prince and offered him a Sun Seed held between its beaks. “You think that makes up for abandoning me to the freezing cold, I could have died.” The bird shook its wings and left the Sun Seed hanging in the air. Jaktu grabbed it and popped it into his mouth. “Okay, I forgive you,” said Jaktu. “The Great Tree lifted the freeze an hour ago, it is warm enough,” the man below Jaktu and the bird replied. “Is breakfast ready?” asked Jaktu. “You must give thanks to The Great Tree first,” the man replied. “Which one?” The man, dressed in the traditional robes of an Imperial House administrator, looked up at the boy and frowned. “The one you sleep in.” “Can we move to Tar’rathian instead, I don’t like Dex?” asked Jaktu. The man’s eyes widened and his head whipped back and forth. “Silence, if anyone were to hear such sacrilege to your God, you would be cast into the darkness beyond.” “You mean outer space?” said Jaktu. The man shook himself, not much unlike the way Muta shook herself when she ate a bitter seed. “What has gotten into you today? You’ve been listening to the witches, haven’t you? There is no such thing as ‘outer space’, only the dark ocean beyond in which the Gods banish the wicked.” “Yeah, whatever.” Jaktu flipped up and over Muta, landing neatly on her back. “Let’s go, Muta.” Muta pushed off from the perch and sailed across the room. Jaktu gripped the top of her wings where they attached to her body. That was the signal Muta knew well. She beat her wings once and they shot out of the room to the open air beyond at a wonderfully dizzying speed. Muta lifted into the air beyond Dex’rathian’s canopy until they were nearly at the place where the air ended. Jaktu let go of the Sun Bird and spread his arms out. The bird dropped out from under him as he arced across the sky. Muta twisted and flew in circles around Jaktu, then pumped her wings and shot ahead to enjoy an unburdened flight. Most people would never let their Sun Bird fly without them, instead, they would keep the harness tight so the bird could never abandon them. Jaktu had no such fear. He had been the first thing Muta had seen when she was hatched, and he had frequently let her fly free, and she always returned for the treat he would give her. If the bird were to abandon him now, he would eventually fall to the Sunth Sea below and drown. Muta came under him and lifted on the currents until they were one again. Jaktu hugged his precious Sun Bird and let the warmth of the love he felt for her flow between them. Muta banked around and headed back towards The Great Tree. “Ah, do we have to, I don’t want to see that rotted weed that calls himself a God.” Muta flipped over and pulled away. Jaktu laughed as he fell. “Okay, okay, you win.” The bird returned and Jaktu wrapped his arms around the wondrous bird. Muta dived for The Great Dex Tree. Jaktu closed his eyes and enjoyed the exhilarating sensation of speed as the wind raced past him. All too soon the ride was over and they glided into the Imperial Court. Jaktu rolled off Muta and landed lightly on the floor. “It’s about time, you drooling imbecile,” the God Dex’rathian shouted at Jaktu. “While you were flying around on that filthy creature, a thief has insulted my endless generosity.” Jaktu walked through the crowd of simpering supplicants gathered to beg favors from Dex’rathian, or any of the Ruk royalty that was gathered. Jaktu ignored their attempts to speak to him and approached the wavering translucent figure of the tree God. Dex’rathian held his hand out to Jaktu. Jaktu took the hand and looked at the ring he was being offered. It was expected that he would kneel and kiss the ring. Jaktu did not kneel, but bent slightly at the waist and pretended to inspect the ring. “Oh, that’s lovely, did you have it polished?” Jaktu dropped the hand and turned away to a boy two guards were holding on his knees. The boy’s arms were stretched out over a chopping block. Jaktu felt a sharp stab of pain in his head. He shook his head to clear it and looked down at the boy. “What did you steal?” asked Jaktu. The boy looked up at the Prince, but showed no fear in his eyes. “He stole bread from the kitchens,” Dex’rathian screeched behind him. Jaktu glanced back at the Tree God from the corner of his eyes, then back to the boy. “I know you, don’t I, you work in the kitchens?” said Jaktu. “Yes, my name’s Lucuth,” said the boy. Jaktu felt another stab of pain in his head. “Surely you get enough to eat, why did you steal bread?” “People are hungry,” replied Lucuth. Jaktu shook his head again, something felt wrong. “The punishment for stealing is to have your arms cut off. Why would you risk such a thing to feed peasants?” Lucuth’s jaw set in fierce determination, or defiance, maybe both. “If not me, then who?” The stabbing pain in Jaktu’s head became like an incessant warning alarm. Jaktu stared at the boy for a long moment. Dex’rathian continued screeching at Jaktu, ordering him to perform the punishment. The air around Lucuth twisted and the fabric of reality ripped like a cloth stretched too tight. A clarity of thought broke through and Jaktu drew his sword. “AYA, WAKE MR. BUCKLES! LUCA IS UNDER A PSIONIC ATTACK, DEFEND HIM!” Jack spun around to point his sword at Dex’rathian. A giant wolf entered the reality and leaped at the false god with snarling bared teeth. Dex’rathian eyes widened and he disappeared just as the wolf’s jaws clamped down where he had been. Jack spun back around and swung his sword at the two guards. They also disappeared in a cloud of smoke. “Your name is Luca, put up your psionic defenses.” The illusion tore and ripped away. Jack bolted upright in his bunk aboard the survey ship. His eyes blazed with the flames of anger. Whoever Dex’rathian was, he’d tried to get Jack to kill Luca. *** Captain Dagas paced back and forth in front of the fire. “You keep looking at your watch,” noted Major Marsh. “Is there something I should be concerned about?” “We’ll know soon enough,” replied Captain Dagas as Tan returned to the campfire. “Is the mountain lion gone?” “We had a nice chat, I think he’ll wander off now,” said Tan, then his eyes narrowed. “Something’s wrong?” Captain Dagas sighed. “I wanted to talk with you first, but it all happened too quickly.” “Tell me now, brother,” said Tan. “I am both Captain and Chief of the Boat at this moment in time, but I was under pressure to promote one of the Senior Master Chiefs to Chief of the Boat, which meant I would have lost the prerogative to choose the heir to the Chief of the Boat position. I had to act fast.” Tan nodded. “I understand that the senior positions of your Fleet are often hereditary.” “I chose Jack and Luca as my heirs, but they had to be tested first to receive the Council of Captains and Fleet Admiral’s approval.” Captain Dagas looked up at the trees. “Tausenth, I know you’re there, you might as well come out.” The wavering shape of an older man appeared. “Tan, you may remember Commander Tausenth?” “Yes, we met when I first arrived at Sunth City,” said Tan. Commander Tausenth nodded. “I am monitoring the test and transmitting it to the Council, and Jack is doing well. He was given a pet Sun Bird.” Tausenth waved a hand. “It is a metaphor. The bird represents the new RS-40. Jack is proving that he can love something more than himself.” Tan smiled. “I know he can, I’ve always known it. And Luca?” “Luca is truly exceptional,” said Tausenth. “Neither boy knows who they are, but their personalities have shown through. Luca risked a comfortable life to feed the less fortunate, and now faces execution for his demonstration of compassion, yet he shows no regret or fear.” Tan’s chest puffed out just a little. “That’s my Luca.” “Jack is to be the executioner,” said Tausenth. Tan’s expression fell into one of serious concern. Tausenth held up a finger. “Hold… I’ve never seen this before. Jack’s mind is stronger than Dex’rathian, and Dex’rathian is the strongest of all the Sunth. Jack has broken through the illusion and drawn his sword… he’s attacking Dex’rathian… Dex’rathian has fled.” Tan grinned. “That’s Jack, even without his memories he knew his brother.” “It is over,” said Tausenth. “No one has ever passed the test in less than three days, your boys completed the test in seventeen minutes. But, the Council is still not convinced, many are saying the boys are foreigners and should never be in a senior leadership position. I’m sorry, the boys will never have enough votes to be confirmed as candidates.” “Just hold on, don’t dismiss my boys so quickly,” said Tan. “Tell the Council to wait a moment, I think we’re missing something.” “I am transmitting this meeting to them, they are watching, and will listen to what you say,” replied Tausenth. “The bird you put with Jack, is it real, did it exist on your world?” asked Tan. Captain Dagas nodded. “Yes it did. Everyone had a Sun Bird, you couldn’t survive without one, or you’d freeze at night. It had feathers of gold and yellow, and deep reds, and some had blue and purple feathers. Unfortunately, they became extinct, but by then we had the technology to survive without them.” Tan shook his head. “The Sun Bird sounds a lot like a bird on my world called the Phoenix. It’s very common and many people have them as pets. They’re one of those strange mysteries that defy any scientific explanation where they came from. They only appeared on my planet in the last two-hundred years. There’s some conspiracy theories that say a spaceship crashed and they found giants aboard that were killed in the crash, but there was also a bird that survived and escaped into the wild. There's rumors that sometimes at the end of their lives they burst into flames and burn to ashes, and from those ashes a new Phoenix rises. I don't know that it's true, maybe it's just a metafor also.” Captain Dagas looked at Commander Tausenth. “The first fleet?” “There was another Ruk Fleet?” asked Tan. “Yes, much smaller than ours, they left long before the Sun Bird was extinct,” replied Captain Dagas. Tan locked eyes with Commander Tausenth and the Council of Captains. “Gentleman, you told me that the Captain is the ship. There was a metaphor in the test you gave the boys, but I don’t think it’s the metaphor you think it is. From the ashes of the RS-40 will come a thing not of steel and iron, though you will build that in time. What must rise first is the Captain from those ashes – the Phoenix, and that Phoenix is Jack.” Commander Tausenth raised a hand. “The Council is voting.” Tausenth paused while the vote was tallied. “It is done. Jack is the first Captain candidate to receive a unanimous vote from the council, and the Fleet Admiral has approved the recommendation. Jack will build and launch the new RS-40 as its Captain, with Luca as Chief of the Boat.” “I imagine that it will be a few years until then?” said Tan. “Jack will be thirty when the new RS-40 is finished. It will be an interesting eighteen years,” replied Tausenth. “I think under Jack’s leadership, we will know a golden age of exploration and discovery.” The sound of the airlock opening on the survey ship, followed by the banging of the side hatch opening on the Cargo Barge drew the men’s attention. Jack, wearing only his boxer shorts, left the ship so fast he never touched the water. Mr. Buckles was the first out of the Cargo Barge, followed by Luca, also in only his boxer shorts. The three ran into the trees shouting and snarling.” “You tried to get me to kill my brother, there’s no place you can hide, I’ll find you!” shouted Jack. “I’m going to cut your arms off and see how you like it!” shouted Luca. Captain Dagas looked at Tan. “I expected that from Jack, but not Luca.” Tan sat down on a log. “Luca isn’t that much different than you, brother. Your temper smolders deep for a while before it finally shows itself.” “Maybe we should go get them,” suggested Captain Dagas. Tan shook his head and checked to see if any stew was left in the pot. “Naw, it’s cold out here and they’re both barefoot and in their boxers, they’ll come back soon enough on their own. Let them run off some energy.” *** This ends Book One of Jack and the Lamp Post. Let me know if you're intested in more stories of Jack and Luca,