by Day Leitao
The hours passed slowly. Too slowly. An eternity in a night. Or night cycle. Dess got up, even though in theory they were far from the earliest hours in the morning. He stopped by Marcus’s room and hesitated. If he woke up his friend, this would become real. A real decision. Not that he had properly decided anything.
His knuckles were hitting the door before he had completely accepted that this was a good idea.
After a long while and more and more urgent banging Marcus came to the door, eyes half closed. “What?”
“I couldn't sleep.”
His friend’s eyes got even more closed. “And… you want company in misery?”
“A bit worse than that. I want to go to Mainland. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to, but I thought I should ask.”
Marcus stared at him for a moment. “Why?”
Dess sighed. “It’s… hard to explain. But I’m thinking…” Was he thinking? He’d better do it alone. “I’ll get in trouble. Just help me leave.”
“We don’t have a ship anymore, you know that.”
“I’ll just take one.”
Marcus looked awake now. “Trouble for sure.”
“Just help me. Open the gate. Monitor things for me.”
His friend was quiet for a long time, then said, “I’ll get dressed. But you’d better explain it on the way.”
“I will.”
What was Dess even going to explain? He was almost regretting having woken up his friend. He shouldn’t get involved in that. But someone had to monitor the entry gate in the civil port and make sure he would be allowed back in. Maybe he could do it on his own. Perhaps Dess was going insane. Except… What was sanity?
There was nobody on the streets despite the daylight, when they walked to the civil port.
Marcus stared at him. “So… basically you’re saying that if you don’t go to Mainland you’ll have a heart attack?”
His friend made it sound quite silly, but it wasn’t. “That’s what it feels like.”
“And you’re sure you shouldn’t head to the hospital instead?”
“I’m not sure of anything, Marcus. Everything is dark and strange and suffocating.”
“We’re facing the sun,” Marcus said. “You shouldn’t say it’s dark.”
Dess had a small laugh.
Marcus then asked, “So you’re considering illegal, unauthorized takeoff. We could have issues with the military port, though.”
“You think they’ll shoot me or something?”
“Who knows?” Marcus stopped. “We could talk to Sylvia. See if with her contacts…”
“You do it,” Dess interrupted. “After I’m gone. I’ve wasted too much time.”
“Nobody’s dying! We just need to make sure they authorize your departure.”
Dess snorted. “That could take a day, two. I don’t have that time.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Because of your impending heart attack.”
“Precisely.”
“How long do you think we have?” Christina wasn’t annoyed, angry, or anything anymore, just asking a question that had become normal to them. They’d passed the point of blaming each other or trying to find new solutions. The biggest issue now was how thirsty they were.
Saytera checked the display. “Air quality is still at acceptable levels. Everything else is working…”
“It’s going to be dehydration, then.” Christina closed her eyes.
“Still a day or two for that to kick in,” Larissa said.
“It’s just,” Christina said, “we need to plan for when we’ll take the plunge. I mean… I don’t even think the Lunars are getting our transmissions.”
Saytera understood her friend’s apprehension. She sometimes thought the same thing, but there was only one thing they could do. “We wait. Tomorrow evening, if nothing happens, we land.”
Larissa laughed. “Land. Love your optimism.”
“At least we can still laugh.” Saytera shrugged.
But they were silent and quiet after that. Being so thirsty, talking wasn’t comfortable. This was definitely a ship for short distances, without air filtration or pee filtration. It should have a small water tank, but unfortunately, it was empty. No food supplies either. Saytera’s stomach had growled in the beginning. Now the feral beast inside her had gone tired and quiet, lying down and waiting. At least she and her friends were keeping their cool. A situation like this could cause everyone to go on each other’s throats. But it would only make things worse. Saytera focused on Dess. That wasn’t hard at all. She hoped that he could hear her through the dust of space. It would be a pity to die without kissing him. Assuming he wanted to kiss her. Saytera chose to assume it, and have at least one good thought lighting up the hope in her heart.
It had taken longer than Dess would have liked. The model he picked, a T-3 was quite small, but very maneuverable, which could be helpful if he had to dodge some anti-air cannons. The tricky thing had been inspecting it, replenishing fuel and supplies, and making sure all its parts were functioning well.
Then he had the communications from the central tower, forbidding him to leave, to which he just said he’d been authorized by commander Serra. By the time they woke her up and realized he’d lied, he’d be long gone.
Now he was on a strange ship, going to Mainland, without a clear goal, based on a very, very loose hunch about something going wrong. He couldn’t even imagine what it could be, or even what he was going to do. Perhaps the best plans were the simplest ones.
He decided to land near her base, go there, and knock on the door. Knock. How come they had never considered it? Nothing identified him as a Lunar, and he could hide his pistols. If it was just about a question, he didn’t think they’d refuse answering. And he knew what he wanted to ask. “Where’s Saytera?”
It was all he needed an answer for. And maybe he’d be proven insane if she showed up to greet him. Dess would like that. Insanity was better than learning that his vague fears were right.
He was going to approach Mainland by its east side, hoping to catch a storm. The planet was now turning away from the moon, which would increase the distance. Being alone wasn’t good. Dess sighed. Everything about what he was doing was illogical and brash. He’d never considered himself any of that. He was rather thoughtful, calm, and yet…
There he was, ready to descend. He scanned the clouds near the continent. Not many. The feeling he felt now was physical pain, as if someone were really tying a knot around his heart. It just felt wrong. Nothing was making sense. Dess leaned back and tried to think, if ever he was still able to do that. He was still far from the planet, and then decided to scan the skies above the continent. There were a few artificial satellites, most deactivated since the war. And then there was something else, deemed unknown by his system. A ship, maybe.
Mainland hadn’t been in space in years. There wasn’t much point. The lunars also had their defenses and would shoot any approaching ship. The system gate had been shut, so there was no way to escape their solar system. Who would do something so dangerous? And why? But then, they were close enough to the planet that they wouldn’t face the Lunars’ forces. Some recognition mission? It didn’t make much sense.
Perhaps Dess should just ignore that ship. He had come all the way here because of his unease about Saytera, and there was no way she was there. But then, who knew? Perhaps his decision to come hadn’t been about her. The ship was very close to Citarella or even right above it. Could it be some form of bait?
It was reckless and stupid, but he just wanted to check. It looked like a civil model. It wouldn’t shoot him. He didn’t think the ground cannons could reach that height. It could cause a diplomatic incident. No. Again, too high. If Mainland were to complain about Lunars ships, they would have complained a long time ago.
Dess turned into that direction and approached. It was indeed a very small transporter, an L2. Why would it be just left there, above the planet, going nowhere?
&n
bsp; When he was close enough, he opened the communications channel.
“Dess Starspark, from Sapphirlune,” he almost said Sapphirlune defence, when he remembered that he should present himself as being unrelated to any military activity. “Are you in need of help?”
No answer.
He tried another frequency. “Contacting the Mainland L2 vehicle. Anybody hear me?”
That was very odd. Anyone on that ship should be wondering at someone coming that close to them. Unless… They could be dead. He maneuvered his ship to face it, see if he could catch anything through its front viewer.
Dess caught his breath. Was he hallucinating? That didn’t make any sense. Saytera was there, beside a girl with dark hair. They both had eyes closed as if asleep—or unconscious.
That was her. What was she doing there?
He tried to connect again. “Dess here. Can you hear me?”
No answer. So odd. Were they unconscious? He again felt that knot on his chest. There was no EVA suit on this ship. He wouldn’t be able to come near them. But then, she opened her eyes. Surprise, disbelief, then a smile. Dess smiled, too. The knot untied on his chest as their eyes locked. He’d found her.
She shook the other girl then pressed a button and said something. He pointed to his ears and shook his head, trying to tell her that the communication was not working. These girls were stranded there. He knew it. How it had happened was a mystery, but they needed help. There wasn’t much he could do with the small ship he was in and he couldn’t come knocking on their door. One alternative would be to go back and seek help, returning with a large ship, except that they could refuse him. They’d probably refuse.
If he had a cable, and if he could throw it in such a way that it would attach to the L2, he could tow them. Back to the moon. No way he could face a storm with another ship so close to him. He looked at Saytera. She gesticulated something, but he couldn’t understand and shrugged. She shrugged, too. If he took them to Sapphirlune… what could happen? They’d be detained. He could try to make sure they were not harmed.
Another girl popped up her head and looked. They looked tired and had faint smiles. If the ship had really been stranded, they could be without food. Perhaps even without water. Going to Sapphirlune was a better option than remaining there.
A crazy idea hit him. He could perhaps push the ship. He maneuvered behind it, then, very slowly, touched it. It moved. Dess would need to be careful not to cause a major impact. It was moving.
Going around the planet took a couple of hours, but once he could path a straight line to the moon, they moved fast enough that they reached the outskirts of the dome in about four hours. This would be the tricky part. No, not so tricky. He could push the ship through the tunnel and the gate. Once inside, the ship could be left floating with the antigravity on, then they could perhaps fix it or use other means to help it land. He hoped that it made sense.
There was another hard part; getting authorization to land.
He contacted the civil port. “Dess speaking. Authorization to enter?”
“Starspark.” The voice was icy. Commander Serra. “Your entry is required at the military port. And what is it you have with you?”
“Mainland prisoners. They can’t communicate.” He hated saying that, but it was the only way they’d allow them to enter.
“On a spaceship. We are absolutely not allowed to seize a Mainland spaceship.”
“They were stranded,” Dess said. “There was no way for me to provide them help.”
“Abandon the ship, lest we face diplomatic consequences.”
“And let them die?” Dess was furious. “How is that more acceptable?”
There was a brief murmur over the radio. “Just a moment, Starspark.”
The radio was silenced. Dess waited agonizing minutes, until it went back on. “Authorization to enter the port. How is the Mainlander spaceship going to land?”
“I was pushing it. I can push it to the port.”
Silence. After many seconds, she said, “Proceed.”
His fears were released in a great exhale. This was getting complicated. Pushing the ship through the tunnel was complicated, too. Eventually, the last gate was opened and he was floating on the Military port.
There were people at the observatory. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, so he maneuvered to match his door with the L2’s. It opened. Saytera was there and Dess jumped on their ship.
Seeing her, but in these circumstances, was agony and elation. He touched her face. “How are you?”
Saytera had a small smile. “Very thirsty.”
Dess nodded, then noticed her two friends and pulled back his hand. “We’ll get you what you need.”
She looked at him with her beautiful eyes. “How come you couldn’t hear us?”
“I think your communications are off.”
“But then…” Saytera bit her lip. “You heard our call.”
He wasn’t sure how to explain it. Maybe, if he had time, alone with Saytera, he’d tell her what happened. Dess shrugged. “Coincidence, I think. Do you think you can jump on my ship? To land?”
She nodded. “Yes. Listen, we have important information. Secrets about the Mainland government. It will interest your people.”
Dess was taken aback. “That’s why you were trying to come here?”
“We were just on the run.”
He was running his hand through her hair. “What happened?”
Saytera closed her eyes.
“Not complicated,” the tall girl with the bushy black approached them. “They found out we found out their secrets.”
Dess pulled back his hand and nodded. “Fine. I guess you need medical attention now. You can share what you know once you’re all feeling better. Shall we jump?”
He went first, then stood a step away from the door to extend his hand if necessary, but it wasn’t. Saytera and her two friends jumped well. He then landed.
As he stepped out, and before he even noticed who was in the port, had a pair of arms around him. Nadia’s. He didn’t want to hurt her, but this was not the time.
She whispered, “Don’t ruin this. I’m saving your ass.”
“Whatever.”
“So thankful.”
He didn’t completely push her, just looked back to see what was happening. Three soldiers had guns pointed at the girls. Commander Serra and Leader Aziz were there. Dess said, “They need medical attention. They also came to share confidential information from Mainland. They’re our allies.”
“This is just precaution,” commander Serra said. “We’ll get them to the infirmary, then we’ll discuss the information they have.”
“I’m going with them,” Dess said.
Marcus approached Dess “Stay with Nadia. I’ll try to check on them.”
Nadia was then pulling him away from the port.
Dess stopped. “Nadia, I need to—”
She had a firm grip on his arm. “Come with me.”
“Mr. Starspark,” a deep voice called him.
Dess looked.
It was Mr. Tarell, Nadia’s father and owner of Staralloy. He continued, “I need a minute with you.”
“Now?”
“Right now.” His voice was ice.
This was a terrible time, but there wasn’t much he could do. “Of course.”
Dess was taken to an office in the port building itself. The man sat behind an empty desk and gestured for Dess to take a chair. Dess couldn’t help but hate him, hate the fact that he was so powerful, hate that he was in the place his father and mother should have been, hate to feel so powerless and small, and now hate him even more for making him abandon Saytera.
The man had a hard stare.
Dess kept his face calm. “How can I help you?”
Tarel smiled. “How? How indeed.” He leaned over on his desk. “Do not humiliate my daughter.”
“I don’t mean to do so.”
The man leaned back and laughed. “Is th
at so? Funny, I thought you were pushing her away. Now let me be very clear. Dess, you’re a vermin who does not deserve to enter my family. That said, it’s not up to you to reject a Tarel. Is that understood?”
“Very clearly.”
The man scoffed. “Indeed. I’ll make it slightly clearer, in case you get, uh… let’s say… confused. We have three hostages from Mainland here.”
Dess clenched his fist under the desk. “They came to help us. They have information about their planet.”
“Very well. That’s great. I see you’re concerned about their well being.”
Dess had a queasy feeling in his stomach and hoped he was perhaps misunderstanding the man. “We’re Lunars. We treat our enemies decently. We treat our allies even more decently.”
“Absolutely. Absolutely. Never meant to deny that. It’s just that…” He got up and walked behind Dess, putting his hand on his shoulder. “We’re not perfect. Accidents sometimes happen.”
Dess turned. “Accidents? Are you threatening murder?”
The man frowned. “What a fascinating assumption. Of course not. I’m just saying that I don’t want to see my daughter humiliated. I’m also saying it would be sad if an accident happened to our visitors. You’re the one implying any connection.”
“I’m not dumb, Mr. Tarel. I know very well what you’re saying.”
He shrugged. “That is your point of view, and I’m not on a mission to change it, Starspark.”
Dess scoffed. “Of course. You’re mentioning two unrelated events for no reason.”
“Careful, boy. Accidents happen to our recruits, too. Not sure why you’re laughing. But of course the events are completely unrelated. We wouldn’t want to think there was any relation between you dismissing my daughter and any of those girls, right? We wouldn’t want anyone to think that, either, right?”
Dess was almost shaking. “You think your daughter would like that? You think she wants anyone pretending to like her? You think it’s not humiliating?”
“Oh, no, I would hate for her to learn about this. That’s the stuff that can cause accidents, you know? As long as she doesn’t know, and as long as nobody sees her being scorned, I frankly don’t care. I hope we’re understood here. Not a word to anyone. Accidents don’t always cause death. People… can get hurt, right? I’m not implying it will happen and we’ll assure nothing like this happens, of course. So will you, right?”
