Interstellar Ruse

by Gregoire, Cil;

  “I slept a couple of hours on the sofa.”

  “Why didn’t you come to bed?”

  “I didn’t want to disturb your sleep. We have a busy day of planting ahead of us. And you are a busy mother; you needed to get some rest.”

  “What about you? You need rest too.”

  “I’m fine. The manuscript is moving along well and the garden is almost in. I’ll have plenty of time later to rest.”

  After a long leisurely breakfast, the Bradley family poured out of the house into the invitingly warm sunshine. The sunshine was subject to change as some dark scattered clouds were already moving in. “Perfect weather for planting,” Vince said.

  Vince and Maggie carried trays of plants from the greenhouse where they had spent their last night protected from the elements. “You want to help Mommy and Daddy plant the garden?” Maggie asked the children. The children responded with youthful enthusiasm. “And Leaf, you have to make sure Keiluk doesn’t tramp on the rows,” she reminded him. Training Keiluk how to behave in a garden was another ongoing project.

  “Don’t worry, Mom, Keiluk won’t step on the rows anymore, huh girl?” Keiluk gave a quick bark of reassurance and Leaf petted her behind the ears.

  “I’ll get a bucket of water to water the plants,” Vince said putting the tray down close to the plant’s new home.

  “We also need a trowel,” Maggie said guiding the young ones to help her carry out more trays and pots of plants from the greenhouse. Then once they were all set, Vince and Maggie showed the children how to trowel out a nest in the row for the plant’s new home. They carefully removed a little cabbage plant from its starter container and placed it in the garden soil enriched with composted chicken manure and kitchen scrapes. With colorful plastic cups the little ones watered the cabbage plant in and watched in fascination as the water seeped down into the dirt. Then Leaf pushed dirt over the roots and patted the soil down. One down and many more to go. It was still mostly sunny, although the sun had darted behind a cloud momentarily.

  Before they had completed a row, the children started to lose interest and drifted off to play. Maggie and Vince let them off the job; planting would go faster without them anyway. They wanted to finish before it started to rain. “Stay in the yard where we can see you,” Vince reminded them.

  To Rock and Crystal’s delight, Leaf picked up a Frisbee from where it lay on the lawn, right where he had stored it last, and tossed it for Keiluk to chase and catch. Keiluk ran, jumped, and caught the Frisbee, snatching it out of the air. The children cackled with glee.

  Vince and Maggie quickly got back to work, the sound of the children’s playful shouts reassuring in the background.

  “Do it again, Leaf!” Rock sang out.

  “Throw it higher,” Crystal begged.

  Leaf threw the Frisbee higher and further than before. Once again Keiluk performed a flawlessly spectacular catch. The game continued on with the kids joyfully running and shrieking after Keiluk. With each toss Leaf made, the children gradually moved away from the garden site. Maggie and Vince were aware of the sounds of the children playing, but were so engrossed in their work they failed to register over time the increasing distance between them.

  “Throw it again, Leaf,” Rock cried.

  Leaf glanced quickly toward the garden to make sure their parents weren’t watching and found them bent over their work with their backs toward them. “Okay; watch this,” he said. To impress Crystal and Rock, Leaf drew a little elemental energy from the natural abundance that surrounded them and sent the Frisbee sailing harder, higher, and further than ever before. It flew far and wide, curving in a wide arc downhill, finally landing on the edge of the creek. Keiluk made an astonishing dash for it, arriving at the landing spot in time to catch it. Leaf, Rock, and Crystal quickly ran down to join her.

  “She caught it,” Rock shouted with excited admiration.

  “Of course she did,” Leaf said, never doubting Keiluk’s magnificence.

  “Good, girl,” Crystal praised Keiluk, reaching for her to give her a hug. But before Crystal could put her little arms around Keiluk’s neck, her foot snagged on an exposed tree root causing her to lose her balance. Instantly Crystal went airborne, arms and legs flailing, as she splashed head first into the rushing creek, swollen from the spring melt.

  The cold water instantly took her breath away, paralyzing her as the rushing current carried her away.

  “Crystal…!” Rock cried out in a gasp ready to go in after her. Keiluk barked in alarm and jumped in. Leaf’s reaction was swift and immediate. In an instant he drew heavily on the elemental forces that surrounded them, teleported Crystal from the frigid waters and gently placed her limp body down on the bank of the creek.

  Leaf and Rock quickly dropped down beside her. Keiluk jumped out of the creek and shook off the water before joining them. Something was terribly wrong. Leaf had often heard stories told by Grumpy George and his buddy Jack Faulkner about how quick a man could die of hypothermia in Alaska’s frigid waters. Crystal was just a little girl.

  “Crystal,” Rock moaned unable to comprehend her lack of response. “Why isn’t she moving, Leaf?”

  Leaf reached out to his little sister; Crystal’s arm was cold to the touch, like touching an icicle. He probed deeper and all he could read was cold.

  “She’s cold; I’ll warm her up.” Leaf drew deeply on his energy reserves, first warming Crystal’s skin, then drying out her wet clothes and hair, and finally sending warmth deep into her core.

  “Crystal, wake up,” Rock pleaded.

  Keiluk barked again; this time with more urgent concern. Keiluk’s bark, far more distant than it should have been, drew Maggie and Vince’s attention. How did the kids get so far from the garden without them noticing? Moving in the direction of the sound, they quickly spotted the group down by the creek…exactly where they didn’t belong.

  “Leaf, Crystal, Rock…get back up here,” Maggie shouted down to them. “You know you don’t belong down there by yourselves.”

  At that moment Crystal began to move. Leaf continued to stream healing warmth into her body.

  “Now!” Vince shouted down for more emphasis when the children failed to get a quick move on.

  “We’re coming!” Rock shouted back just as Crystal opened her eyes. Keiluk barked again for good measure.

  It was then that Rahlys finally arrived for their daily gardening session. Her sudden appearance in the yard distracted Vince and Maggie’s attention momentarily, giving the children time to collect themselves.

  “Are you alright?” Leaf asked as Crystal sat up. Keiluk circled around them with exuberant relief.

  “I fell in the creek,” she said matter-of-factly. Leaf and Rock helped her to her feet.

  “Leaf had to warm you up,” Rock said his voice still trembling some.

  “And my clothes are dry,” she added, her young mind amazingly acute.

  “It’s best we don’t say anything to Mom and Dad,” Leaf conspired as they started back up the hill toward the garden. “They will just get upset.”

  That made sense.

  “Okay,” Rock and Crystal readily agreed.

  CHAPTER 10

  Aaia

  “Thank you for showing me around, Kiril. You are a wonderful guide,” Ilene said graciously.

  “It is my pleasure to serve. I am grateful I had this opportunity to be of service.” They had taken a detour through the orchards on the way back to her lodging. He handed her a succulent piece of red-violet fruit freshly plucked from the tree under which they stood.

  “Thank you,” Ilene said taking the fruit.

  “You use those words frequently,” Kiril noted.

  “Don’t you have a simple way to say ‘thank you?’” Ilene asked Kiril puzzled.

  Kiril struggled to find English words to explain. He was the one who was grateful … to serve. Expressing gratitude could never be rightfully achieved with the utterance of a single word, or even two … but the langua
ge escaped him.

  Ilene didn’t hear whatever elaboration Kiril struggled to add. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Quaylyn walking toward them a short distance away.

  Kiril followed her line of sight and understood immediately he had lost Ilene’s attention for now. Seeing Councilor Quaylyn reminded him that the councilor may be on Rojaire’s side, but Kiril was still not approved. Guiding Ilene around the Academy and surrounding community had proven to be a delightful distraction, but nothing would detour his adamant decision to join the colonists, not even Theon’s bewitching daughter.

  Ilene took a step toward Quaylyn extending her hands which he cupped in his own, greeting her with a warm smile. “Ilene, it’s such a pleasure to see you again. Welcome back to my world.”

  “Oh, Quaylyn, it’s so good to see you,” Ilene said exuberantly. Then, “sorry,” she added contritely, “Councilor Quaylyn, I should say.”

  Quaylyn’s glacier blue eyes twinkled warmly. “I will always be Quaylyn to you. I’m sorry I haven’t met with you sooner.”

  “I know you have been busy.”

  “If you would grace me with your company, I would hear news of the friends we share; Vince, Maggie, the children, your mother … and Rahlys.” Ilene noticed his voice softened when he spoke her name.

  Kiril fought against an unreasonable surge of jealousy … or was it envy? Ilene and Quaylyn’s friendship had been forged over years of acquaintance. Quaylyn had been to Earth twice, and Ilene and Quaylyn had both been on the mission to Lynnara to search for the expedition led by Sarus. Word had it that Quaylyn lost his heart to Sorceress Rahlys, but still Kiril couldn’t help being a little envious of the ease with which the new councilor and Ilene greeted one another.

  “I am free right now and would love to chat,” Ilene declared, ignoring Kiril.

  Then he realized Ilene and Quaylyn were staring at him. Kiril didn’t know what to say.

  Quaylyn solved the problem for him. “Greetings, Kiril, I’ll relieve you of your charge for a while. I promise to see her safely back to her lodging.”

  He had been dismissed.

  “Thank you,” Kiril said unexpectedly when no other response came to mind. Shocked by his own utterance, he ported away quickly in embarrassment.

  “You are having an impact on him already,” Quaylyn said after a moment of stunned silence, then made a suggestion where they could go to talk.

  “I would like to take you to a special place where we can be alone. Do you like beaches?”

  “I love beaches; especially warm ones.”

  “Hold on, and I’ll take us there.” No sooner than he touched her arm they were standing in a sparkling oasis.

  Ilene withheld a gasp of awe as her senses absorbed the new surroundings. Several misty waterfalls cascaded down rose, aqua, and creamy white stone into a tropical lagoon embraced by protective cliffs draped in the low colorful foliage. The waters of the lagoon gently licked the sand-painted beach, changing the patterns of swirling color.

  “Where are we?” Ilene asked.

  “Well, as you would say in Alaska, we are in the middle of nowhere,” Quaylyn said with a dimpled smile. They walked the beach to the soothing whispers of the waterfalls. “So how have you been?”

  “Great, but what you really want to ask is ‘How has Rahlys been?’”

  “Am I that easy to read?” Quaylyn asked bowing his head.

  “It’s your sweet outer demeanor,” Ilene laughed. Quaylyn cringed over her comment. Then Ilene spoke to him quietly.

  “Rahlys missed you terribly at first. For weeks she was despondent, then she buried herself in her painting. For the longest, she couldn’t bear to mention or hear your name. She has slowly returned to us. I spent some weekends with her over the winter, drawing her out. Here lately she has been visiting Vince and Maggie, helping with the garden and sketching scenes with the children.”

  Ilene paused to let him absorb her words at his own pace. For the longest they strolled silently side by side, each lost for a moment in his and her own thoughts.

  “Rahlys will always be the love of my heart,” Quaylyn said in heavy sadness long after Ilene expected a response. “Tell me about my good friends Vince and Maggie. I miss them greatly.”

  “They miss you, too,” Ilene reassured him. “Maggie has been gardening hardy and Vince is writing another action/adventure novel. Otherwise, the children keep them busy; you wouldn’t believe how big they have grown. Maggie and Vince have their hands full; especially now since Melinda left.” The news about Melinda startled him.

  “Melinda left her home with Maggie and Vince?” he asked with more concern than she expected. Quaylyn had sensed an inexplicable connection between Melinda and the essence of Droclum… a connection that could still spell trouble for the future, but spared Ilene his concerns.

  “Yes, she has returned to Southeast, Alaska, and is staying with her aunt in Ketchikan.”

  “And Jack Faulkner and your mother?” he asked changing the subject.

  Ilene sighed deeply. “Mother is probably brooding over my departure. She is so overly possessive of me,” Ilene sighed. “Fortunately, Jack is watching over her. He’s staying in Vince’s old bachelor pad in town and helping out at the gift shop. He seems to have a real crush on Mother, which is both cute and pathetic.”

  “Oh? Who is being overly possessive now?”

  “I didn’t mean it that way at all. Actually, I’m quite grateful that he is there. It’s just, really, at their age.” They had reached the foot of the nearest waterfall and paused to admire it.

  “There is something else I would like to discuss with you,” Quaylyn said. Ilene sensed an uneasiness and could easily guess what he was alluding to.

  “Does this have anything to do with Rojaire and Kaylya’s goal to colonize Lynnara?”

  “It does.”

  Ilene knew Rojaire and Kaylya were having a difficult time finding the minimum number of colonists required. What loomed largest in her heart and mind was the knowledge that Theon was somewhere on that island continent. More than anything she longed to see him. She could only hope that her father was still alive despite his prolonged longevity.

  Quaylyn gently turned Ilene to face him and held her hand in his, gazing earnestly into her eyes.

  “I want you to know the risk you take if you flee to Lynnara without the High Council’s consent.”

  Ilene stared at Quaylyn in return. Rojaire said Quaylyn had supported his petition at the council meeting. “What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.

  “I’m not trying to influence your actions,” Quaylyn explained quickly, “Only stating facts. If you cross the wishes of the majority of the council members, you will become a rogue in their eyes and may never see Earth and your mother again.”

  Ilene gasped at the dire warning.

  “So, you think Rojaire could manage transport to Lynnara without the High Council’s intervention?”

  “He’s managed it before.”

  “But Brakalar is dead,” she said, remembering his involvement. Captain Setas with her ferry was the only access. Could Captain Setas be bribed? Perhaps she sided with Rojaire and Kaylya philosophically. Ilene couldn’t help but wonder.

  Then Ilene was struck with an awful fear. “Will you inform the other councilors?”

  “I am not a threat to Rojaire,” Quaylyn reassured her. “What I really wanted to say is that if you ever need to call on me, I will do all I can to help you … in any situation.”

  After Ilene and Quaylyn departed company, she went straight to Kaylya to ask her a few questions. Ilene realized she had been so caught up in the excitement of being back on Aaia, she hadn’t paid much attention to the details of the colonization project other than to say she wanted to go. The visit with Quaylyn had opened concerns.

  “I had an interesting meeting with Councilor Quaylyn,” Ilene said.

  “So, that’s where you were; I tried to find you to call you to our meeting.”

  “How
much time does Rojaire have left to find twenty colonists?” Ilene asked her friend.

  “None,” Kaylya say solemnly shaking her head.

  “None?” Ilene whispered back startled. Her heart raced. Will I have to make a decision so soon?

  “Quaylyn said if….” But before Ilene could share her frightening concerns with Kaylya; Rojaire, Traevus, Thayla, and Kiril walked in carrying packs; a tense bunch to be sure. Ilene noticed Thayla wore a blade at her side and carried what looked like another weapon strapped onto the back of her pack. They gathered around Rojaire without saying a word. Are these all the colonists?

  “Drak is on his way,” Rojaire said.

  People here have an uncanny knack for answering unspoken questions, Ilene mused quietly to herself.

  Rojaire drew energy, enclosing them in what he hoped was a tight dome of concealment. “We have much to discuss,” he stated bluntly to those seated around the elegantly carved, gold-flecked stone table that graced Kaylya and Rojaire’s living quarters.

  “The time granted us by the High Council to find enough colonists for a charter has passed.” Rojaire’s voice was stern, but to Ilene’s surprise there was no sign of bitterness. “If you do not want to go against the wishes of the High Council, you should leave now.”

  Everyone looked at everyone else, but no one stood to leave. Ilene didn’t think her legs would support her if she were even to try. Will I ever see my mother again? Why is it always a case of having one parent at the expense of the other?

  Rojaire gave Kiril a hard stare, but did not order him to go.

  “When do we leave?” Traevus asked to break the silence.

  “As soon as Drak arrives.”

  “I don’t have my pack with me,” Ilene realized suddenly speaking up; she hadn’t known about the meeting ahead of time. It was obvious from Rojaire’s reaction that he didn’t want her to risk detection by going to get it.

  “I have an extra pack and some clothing more suitable for our climate than your own that will fit you,” Kaylya readily offered, solving the problem. “I think I can supply everything you will need.”