Page 25 of Guardian's Heart

"No." Her hand moved through her black hair, detangled a few knotted strands. "There is nothing there for me anymore." She didn't look too heartbroken over it. She was a strange creature.

"So, how long have you been a Space Guardian?"

"Over twenty years," I answered proudly.

"And before?"

She confused me. "What do you mean before?"

"Well, have you always wanted to be a Space Guardian since you were a kid? Or did you do something else before?"

I stared at her open-mouthed. These were easy questions. Just none I had ever been asked before. I tried to think back to when I was a kid, but a searing pain in my head stopped me, and I reached for the water to drink some.

"I was tasked to take any humans I can find to Astrionis," I repeated what I had already told her earlier instead of answering her.

She looked at me funny but didn't push her question. The idea of becoming a refugee didn't sit well with her. "As refugees, yes, you said so before."

I was glad to take this opportunity to fill her in more. "Not as refugees. Lord Protector Garth has mated with a human female, like the Emperor and other high-ranking Pandraxian officials. They are doing their best to establish a new life for your species."

"I take it the Pandraxians are some kind of big deal?"

"They control one of the most influential planet systems, yes." I nodded. "The Pandraxians are actually very complex. Like the Lord Protectors, they live on their planets like they used to thousands of years ago. No modern technology is allowed."

I loved the way her nose puckered up. "Tilling fields and stuff?"

I laughed, yeah, that didn't sound exciting to me either. "There are other things besides tilling fields. They manufacture most of the wares needed in the Pandraxian Empire. And they're the first ones to colonize it if the Empire decides to add a new planet."

"How does that make them complex?" She took another bite of meat, again filling my chest with pride that her food came from my hands. So much so, that I almost missed answering her question.

"Complex in so far that Pandrax, their main planet, is filled with cities and all the comforts modern life has to offer. They produce the more high-tech wares, train pilots and soldiers."

She blinked a few times. "So let me get this straight. One part of the Pandraxians lives like in the middle age, while the others fly through space?"

"Like I said, complex."

NOVA

That was one wayof putting it. Complex didn't even come close to explaining this race's way of life. How could one part live in medieval times while the other played Star Wars? "I don't get it."

"It’s complicated but actually kind of brilliant. Their empire is divided into two factions: the New Pandraxians, who are all about technology and expansion, and the Old Pandraxians, who stick to their traditions."

"That’s the part I don’t get. Why split like that? Isn’t it easier to just modernize everything?" I wanted to know.

"You’d think so, but modernization nearly destroyed them once. Thousands of years ago, their home world, Pandrax, became so overpopulated and polluted that they barely survived. Their cities were overcrowded, their air was poisoned, and their people were disconnected—from each other and their culture. Even their children didn’t want to learn real skills anymore. They just sat indoors, playing hologames or watching holomovies all day."

That sounded a lot like Earth, I mused. "So what happened?"

"After a near defeat by their enemy, the Moggadesh, their emperor at the time split the empire into five protectorates and told the lord protectors to rebuild their worlds. They limited population density, restored their lands, and went back to their old ways—farming, fighting with swords, hunting." A small giggle escaped me because of Zaarek's wistful expression.

My curiosity won out over my need to tease him, and I prodded, "And the New Pandraxians?"

"They make up the other half. They embraced technology and became the empire’s military and spacefaring arm. They protect the Old Pandraxians and keep the whole empire safe. It’s a symbiosis: the Old World provides food and resources, while the New World defends them."

That sounded… interesting and like a dangerous balancing act, kind of like the Amish on Earth… I wondered what happened to them. Well, probably the same as it did to the rest of humanity, but I had a hard time imagining how rough this would have been on them. They came from a much more sheltered world.

I knew there should have been a thousand other questions I should have been asking, but my curiosity was spiked. "So how do they balance the whole thing?"

Zaarek looked thoughtful. "I imagine it's not easy. Most likely with a lot of arguing and communication."

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