Kiahuaeni had been with General Oaluoa Uye, seven years ago when they discovered the islands that now form Harmony and Tranquility province to the north of the Oan Isles.
The islands had been eerily spoken of, but no one knew if they truly existed. They had stumbled upon them by chance. A strange natural phenomenon called the Vortex, had made finding these islands difficult. There was a high level of static energy in a funnel in their general direction that affected electronics.
One day Kiahuaeni was training in the navy. She happened to be training aboard the patrol ship that the head of the armed forces, Oaluoa Uye was inspecting. They sailed the ship on a routine patrol of the Oan Isles northern waters. The instruments on the ship began behaving strangely. They gave false readings and eventually many of them stopped working. Luckily there was emergency power to control the emergency systems, which were on line.
They sailed blind and couldn’t contact the main base back home. They sailed for days. A storm came in. It was powerful and electric . It was as though the whole ocean were rising in epileptic convulsions. They were tossed and turned. The hull was pierced by submerged rocks. Water poured in and debris floated around. They tried to close the large gap. Kiahuaeni bravely rallied the troops and led them.
A large piece of metal made a huge laceration in her thigh. Her mind rang with pain. The ship was slowly filling with water. They were thrust upon dry land, cold, hungry, disheveled and in pain. The medics tended to her wounds and numbed her pain with morphine. They on the islands and made repairs to the ship.
They enjoyed the fish and sun and fought the flies. She had been injured so she stayed at the beech camp. Some soldiers and General Uye managed to explore the islands for a few days. When the ship was finally ready to go, the General made a strange request.
He asked them to swear to keep this place a secret. They were sworn to secrecy by the secret and ancient blood pact of the Amyositanian people who once ruled the Oan Isles thousands of years ago. They sailed away, back home.
The incident sharpened her mind and gave her new determination. Over seven years she rose through the military to the third highest rank in the military, that of Major.
Major Kiahuaeni Luawuye stood on the deck of the TOIS Torrent. She was looking at the islands she never thought she would see again. Construction was already underway to build a home for Oan colonists. It was called Harmony City. She would meet General Oaluoa Uye there, who had been banished to these new lands.
She met him at the dock. He had been waiting for her arrival. She walked onto the deck and saluted him.He reciprocated. They simultaneously broke the stoic ritual and ran toward each other like long lost father and daughter and embraced each other. They gleefully spoke and he led her to the car that would take them to the Harmony Islands Military Base.
The building was gigantic. It pierced the sky and housed the command centres of the local army, fleet and flight. It possessed incredible gadgets. He led her to the Command Room where a giant holographic projection of the islands hovered in the air. All sorts of people were manipulating various compinents of it, either adding, changing or removing information they had collected.
She was impressed by the shear scale of the operation and the effeciency with which it was conducted. She was led to her apartment. It was large and comfortable. She virtually sank into her goose feather pillows and silk bed linen. She washed up and prepared for dinner with the General and some soldiers and important guests.
She was a bit of a tomboy, so she didn’t like to dress up. She simply wore her ceremonial military jacket and a skirt. She walked tall and entered the Dining Hall with confidence. Extravagantly dressed men amd women conversed and enjoyed the hors d’oeuvres. She mingled with the eclectic crowd of politicians, businessmen, high ranking military officials and scientists.
The General stood on a pedestal an addressed the crowd. General Oaluoa Uye spoke, his formidable voice echoing across the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen”, he said, " I have called you for more than just a party. You are men and women who hold the political, economic, intellectual and cultural reins of the Oan Isles. I have identified you as the game changers and trend setters of our glorious nation. I know that we share divergent interests. Some of us want power, others want wealth, yet I want to make this country the greatest nation on Urth!"
The crowd rose to applause. He continued, “I want to give you an opportunity to make that happen. For a long time our nation has bowed to the whim of peace and modesty. Our potential remains unrealised and our goals remain unfulfilled. I say no more! Today we take back our proud and we bring prosperity to this nation”.
The crowd applauded again. Major Kiahuaeni had never heard him talk like this so she didn’t know where he was going with this. He continued, " We sail to Gondwana!"
She understood what he meant. He spoke again, “I need your help to take the Great Continent and Unexplored expanse of Gondwana. Untapped resources, unused space and dormant potential lay at our fingertips. Let us reign as Kings and Queens on this Urth the way that we were meant to. I may die before that dream is fulfilled. But I know that it lives in us”.
She looked into the greedy eyes of the wealthy and powerful. They milked this up. Dollar signs and diamond rings seemed to spew forth from the General’s lips. She didn’t truly understand what he wanted to do or how he aimed to achieve this.
He spoke, " We will bring back the Empire of Heaven. Let us drink and be merry for tomorrow we takr Gondwana!".
The crowd stood up to clap for him and he walked through them. He greeted everyone. He was walking toward Kiahuaeni.
He whispered into her ear, “Come with me. I have something to show you”…