Those times were strange, dark and foreboding. Those who remember them, will never forget what happened. And history, word of mouth will never let them forget the suffering, the bloodshed, betrayal and deceit. But also the courage, sacrifice and bravery.

You see we couldn't forget. The memories were etched in our minds and hearts. Long after the fact, people still tell the stories, and remember the sacrifice of so many lives so that they could be free...




"Do you know what this is, Seto?" Henato asked with a smile. He leaned forward, holding a sapphire pendant which hung around his neck from a silver chain. It was a deep blue diamond cut perfectly with six sides. Within the core of the gem, an azure light seemed to glow and twinkle when held in shadow. It seemed to hold Seto spellbound as he gazed upon it's beauty.

He was a young boy with scruffy, light brown hair and piercing hazel eyes that radiated with youth and innocence. He wore a simple grey, short sleeved shirt with a thick blue tunic held in place by a length of brown cloth tied at the waist. His baggy pants were made of the same grey cloth his shirt was tailored from and tucked just below the knee into tightly bound leather boots.

He shook his head slowly, eyes fixed upon the sapphire charm.

Henato pinched his right cheek gently. "This is a very special stone, Seto. It has been in our family for many, many centuries. It is something our ancestors gave their lives to protect. Nothing is more sacred and valuable to the people of our tribe, Seto. Nothing," he said intently, removing the silver chain from around his neck slowly, with care and discipline. He held it out before young Seto, it's core shimmering as it dangled before him. "My father bestowed this precious pendant around my neck when I was just your age, and now I am bestowing it around yours."

Seto lowered his head as Henato gently placed the necklace around his neck. It was long for him, hanging around his abdomen, and yet it felt weightless! It could have been all in his childish imagination, but he felt as though a sense of empowerment fell over him. A sense of comfort and security.

Henato kneeled down before him, placing both hands on his shoulders. "You must never lose it, Seto. Protect it with your life, and never let anyone take it from you," Henato said gravely.

Seto nodded several times, paying close attention his father's words and cupped the mysterious sapphire gem in the palm of his hand...



*****



Edge blazed across the desert as the sun set beyond the horizon. It was getting dark now, and the air was cooling off. But heat still emanated off of the sand which had been heated by the sun's rays all day long. His hover bike, which had been driven flat out for more than a day now was beginning to overheat and die on him. The energy source was dwindling fast and wouldn't last more than a few minutes, then he would be on foot for the rest of the way. But he had made an unscheduled stop, visiting friends at a bedouin encampment to the south. He was headed for Odessa once again, but the detour had greatly slowed him down. He would now have to shoulder most of the journey on foot, if he couldn't 'procure' another means of travel along the way.

Meeting the girl had changed the plan entirely. It was suppose to be a smooth, in and out operation. Things fell apart fast when Sarovoc Ducrinus fought back, with a sword no less, and got the better of him. Edge had no choice but to retreat before being captured by security, tortured and executed. Running into that girl and her friend in the lower levels of Zenobia Prime was just a wild twist of fate. Another wrench thrown into an already botched operation. Now he was wanted for the attempted assassinated of the Emperor's brother, and that poor girl just got caught up in it all. Wrong place, wrong time. And what were the odds those kids would bomb Zenobia Prime on the same day, at the same time he planned Sarovoc's assassination?


The engine choked, sputtered and ground to a halt, crashing into the sand on a leftward angle. Edge was tossed into the sand, rolling to his knees. He shook the sand off and got to his feet, giving the failed bike a swift kick. It didn't even budge, and Edge plopped in the sand, leaning against it. He had miles to go, and nothing but his feet to take him.

He reached under his faded red bedouin scarf and beneath the collar of his black, short sleeved shirt and pulled a silver chain out from under the strap of his sword's sheath. It was a dazzling blue pendant.

He studied every familiar trait and memorized detail of the fine, exotic gem as he sat in the sand.

He tucked the necklace back under his shirt and stood up, trekking through the harsh desert toward Odessa.