by G J Ogden
Ethan jumped on the opportunity to move things forward. “Okay, grab your gear and follow us back to the settlement,” he said. “If we hurry, we can make it back there in a few hours, just as dawn is breaking.”
Maria and Aster doubled back to collect some equipment that they had abandoned earlier in order to move faster and lighter towards the noises that turned out to be Ethan and Summer. Maria slung on a small backpack, wincing a little as the effort of rotating her shoulder caused a slight twinge of pain, but it was already easing off significantly thanks to their advanced medical technology; just one of the creature comforts she would soon have to learn to live without, she realized.
They were about to set off when a question that had been sitting at the front of Maria’s mind for the last few minutes could wait no longer.
“Hey, Ethan, I know it’s been a while,” she began nervously, attempting to ask the question casually, so as to hide its significance, “But, do you know what happened to Chris, my old partner?”
Ethan looked at Summer, inviting her to answer, since he himself had not been there to witness it. He hoped that Summer could manage to respond with some level of civility.
“I can’t tell you much, since I was unconscious for the most part,” Summer began. Her tone was matter-of-fact. “But I know he took me back to the settlement in that mechanical transport thing. Talia told me later that she offered to let him stay, but he said something about wanting to explore, and so we gave him some supplies and he left. No-one has seen him since.”
“Right, okay, thanks,” said Maria, trying to sound upbeat, but Ethan could see that she was masking bitter disappointment and sadness.
The new party then set off, back towards Forest Gate, Summer out in front, followed by Aster and Ethan and then Commander Maria Salus, several paces behind them all, her hands trembling imperceptibly in the darkness and a solitary tear rolling down her cheek.
Chapter 10
The trek back to the settlement had been uneventful and, apart from a few rest stops to take in water and two false alarms when Aster thought he saw something moving, no-one had spoken.
Ethan had chanced a look back at Maria three times during the journey; once, she caught him looking and returned a soft smile, but otherwise she appeared melancholy, and distantly lost in her own thoughts.
The journey had also given Ethan time to think and reflect on the magnitude of the task that faced them. It had been a day for enormous events and, after witnessing a hulking fragment of metal fall from space and bombard the city, Maria’s news hadn’t seemed as extraordinary as it would otherwise have been. Ethan could not yet fathom the full repercussions of Kurren’s actions, but the responsibility for the survival of all that remained of GPS now rested on their collective shoulders. If there was to be any future for the remnants of the GPS civilization, it would have to be planetside, because their home was gone. In many ways, it wasn’t dissimilar to what had happened after the Fall. Once the Maddening had taken hold and killed the adults or perverted them into the horrific creatures that seemed not to age or wither, all that remained were the children and adolescents, who had no choice but to fight for their lives. They had succeeded, under worse circumstances than these, so Ethan had to believe there was still hope.
They crested the summit of the final hill before the steady descent towards Forest Gate. The terrain in front of them sloped gently down to the plateau at the edge of the valley, where the settlement had developed over a span of decades, with a progressive series of new walls built wider and higher to accommodate the slowly expanding population, and create a veritable fortress inside which people could live in relative safety. Ethan loved looking at Forest Gate from this elevated viewpoint, especially at night, but this time he was not struck by the rustic beauty of the community, but by the fires raging brightly in the far distance, in the heart of the derelict city. The lower-rise buildings had been consumed by a vast, dirty smog leaving only the taller, broken towers visible, but the flames were still evident even from this distance. Ominously, this thicker smog was now seeping steadily outwards from the outskirts, like pus from an infected wound.
“I had no idea that the impact had caused such severe damage,” said Maria, stopping beside Ethan. “It must have been terrifying to witness.”
“I imagine it must have been similar to what the Firsts saw, more than a century ago,” said Ethan, “except for them, there would have been hundreds of burning objects falling through the sky. I tell myself that if they could survive that and move on then we can get past this too.”
“Keep moving,” said Summer, brushing past and deliberately knocking into Maria, without stopping or paying any attention to the grim spectacle in front of them.
They continued on, side-by-side but not talking, until they were within sight of the rangers guarding the wall.
“Put your weapons away,” Summer called out to the group as they approached the main gate of the settlement. It was just before morning, but still unusually dark; the column of dust from the impact site had expanded to create a dense haze that was scattering the light and casting a brownish murk over everything below. “We don’t want to alarm the rangers on the wall,” added Summer.
She went ahead and called out to let the guards know she was returning with Ethan and two others. A shout of acknowledgment came back from the silhouetted figure on the wall and the gate began to slowly grind open, just enough for them to squeeze through. The hinges again creaked under the strain, and the gates wobbled precariously. Summer wondered why no-one had yet been tasked with their repair, but supposed that they still had other concerns weighing them down.
They continued inside, Summer again in the lead, and entered the main settlement square, which was deserted and quiet, apart from four rangers who patrolled the walls. The gates creaked shut behind them and they stopped. The few eyes that there were observed the party with interest and suspicion, especially Maria and Aster. The eerie calm of the settlement was intensified by the flickering torches, hung on pillars that jutted up at intervals around the perimeter.
“Wait here,” said Ethan. “We’ll find Administrator Talia and tell her what you’ve told us. Then we can figure out what to do next.”
Maria nodded and watched as Summer and Ethan headed off together in the direction of the large building that she now recognized as the council chamber. She turned to Aster, who was gawping at the stone and wood-built structures inside the settlement, wide-eyed and mouth gaping slightly.
“Not quite what you expected?” asked Maria.
Aster practically snapped to attention. “Sorry sir, I’m just… trying to process things,” he said. “But, yes sir. I… don’t know what I expected, really.”
“It’s okay, Lieutenant, I felt the same way when I first saw it. You have to admire what they’ve built here, from nothing.”
Maria’s tone contained more warmth and familiarity than Aster had been used to from her, which seemed to relax him, but then Maria quickly switched back to a more formal one.
“Did we find any probes in the ships?”
“Yes, sir,” said Aster, promptly. “One of the GPS scavenger vessels was loaded with five scout probes, which can all be adapted to function in this atmosphere.”
“Good,” said Maria. “Get them airborne now. Set three to create a scanning perimeter, forming a triangle that encompasses this settlement and the city out there. Or what’s left of it, anyway.”
Aster flipped open his PVSM and started to enter the commands.
“Configure the other two to scan our landing site,” Maria continued, “and then have them sweep out, mapping the area.”
“What are we looking for around the landing site?” asked Aster.
Maria looked up towards the moon, which was barely visible through the haze. “We need a toxicity reading, and to monitor the levels regularly. The impact of the space station fragment has kicked up a nasty cloud of dust. It could intensify the toxicity levels and make this place ev
en more poisonous to us than it already was.”
When Aster didn’t immediately respond, she turned back to see him frozen, anxiously looking up at the haze-covered moon.
“Hey, keep it together, Lieutenant,” said Maria. “There are nearly three hundred scared kids back there whose world has just been torn apart, and like it or not, we’re all they have. Do you understand me?
“Yes sir, I understand.” Aster instinctively straightened to attention again, though his words were unsteady and he looked shaken.
Maria took a deep breath. Damn it, old man, where are you when I need you? I’m no good at this stuff. Aloud, she said “Look, I know it’s a lot to take in, but I know you can handle it. Raina trusted you, and that means I do too. I need you, okay?”
Aster nodded, and then said with much more assuredness, “Yes sir, you can count on me.”
“I know I can,” said Maria, “because those kids, they can’t even begin to process what just happened – I haven’t even processed it myself. But that has to come later; grieving has to come later. For now, they need to see our strength and they need to see that we are not afraid, even if we are.”
“Are you afraid, sir?” asked Aster.
The question caught Maria by surprise, but she answered candidly. “Are you kidding me? I’ve forgotten what it feels like not to be afraid!”
Aster smiled, awkwardly, “You don’t look afraid.”
Maria smiled. Her mind was flooded with memories of the last time she had stood in this courtyard, and the lies she had told to Ethan and Talia to get them to cooperate. “Let’s just say I’ve learned to hide my feelings well, and leave it at that.”
“Yes sir.”
Maria looked at the young lieutenant, standing to attention as if it was his first day at flight training again. He was wound so tight that she worried how much longer he could hold everything together, especially if – or more likely when – things got worse. “Another thing, Aster, ease off on the ‘yes sirs’; we’re not on parade. And try to relax, you look like you have a rifle stuck up your backside.”
“Sorry, sir…” Aster began and then immediately realized his mistake, “I mean, yes, I will. I’ll try.”
Maria left it at that. Ultimately, there was nothing she could do to help him come to terms with everything; she just had to hope he could handle the pressure.
“They’re back,” said Aster, pointing behind Maria.
Maria turned around to see Ethan, Summer and the diminutive frame of Administrator Talia approaching. She looked much as Maria had remembered her, but she moved more sluggishly, and when she got closer Maria could see the bags under her eyes and the tension gripping her thin muscles.
“We thought it best to speak out here,” said Ethan. “Many of the settlers have congregated in the council chamber for support. As you can imagine, there are a lot of scared people here.”
“That’s okay, it’s actually good to be out under open sky again,” said Maria, glancing up at the slowly brightening sky, or at least what she could see of it through the haze.
Talia watched Maria closely, squinting her eyes and pursing her lips. “Miss Salus,” she said, as if she had just deduced something of great significance. “I must admit, I never expected to see you again.”
“I actually always hoped we’d meet again,” said Maria, honestly. “Though under better circumstances than this.”
Talia’s eyes narrowed again. “Ethan has very briefly informed me of what you told him, and why you have returned to our settlement,” the old woman continued. And then in a manner that mirrored Summer’s accusatory tone, added “Assuming you are telling the truth this time, of course.”
“This time, you can see for yourself,” said Maria, gesturing towards the smoke rising in the distance.
Talia did not look and instead remained intensely focused on Maria’s eyes. “You see now why I was so wary of your arrival last time?” she said, her composure beginning to slip. “You see now why we fear the past? First you come with lies and prey upon on the idealistic and gullible amongst us…”
Ethan scowled and shook his head. He had expected to come under fire from Talia at some point, just not so bluntly, and so publicly. For someone who talked so much of forgetting about the past, Talia was more than happy to keep dredging it back up again.
“So, your endeavors at fostering peace have failed,” Talia continued, oblivious to Ethan’s reaction, “and now you have returned here looking for our assistance once more.” Talia took a pace forward; if she had been taller, Maria would have been able to feel the old woman’s breath on her face. “As you can see, Miss Salus, we have problems of our own. So tell me, why should I not just have the rangers cast you out right now?”
There was not even an attempt to disguise the threat, and Maria was under no illusion that Talia was sincere. Her gut instinct was to hit back at this pugnacious old woman, but during the years she had spent with Diana at the negotiating table dealing with politicians like the snake, Kuba, she had picked up some tricks of her own.
“There are nearly three hundred children beyond the edge of the forest,” Maria began, levelly. “Most have lost their families. All have lost their homes. All will die on this toxic planet, or become something much worse than death, unless I can do something to save them.” She paused to let those words sink in, and from the softening of Talia’s expression, she could tell that it had affected the old woman. “I know I have no right to come here, after what I did,” Maria continued, “and if you ask me to leave, I will. But, right now, you’re my only hope to save these children.”
Talia stepped back and looked away, but before she did, Maria could see that the fire had left her old eyes. Despite the hardships they had to endure, and the constant threat of danger that they faced from roamers, the settlers of Forest Gate were kind-hearted and noble. Maria felt the gut punch of guilt again. Though this time her cause was honorable, she had once again used her talents to manipulate these people into getting what she wanted.
“Very well, Miss Salus, we will help you if we can,” said Talia, still staring into the distance. “Though quite what assistance you think we can offer is beyond my comprehension.”
“I’m hoping you can help me to find a safe place to shelter,” said Maria.
Talia turned back to Maria, and from the look on her face, this had clearly not been the answer she was expecting.
“A safe shelter? Why would you ask me? You must have information from before the Fall; what could I possibly know that you do not?”
“Unfortunately, our information is also quite limited,” said Maria. “Before the refinery incident, or the Fall as you call it, all data archives were held in orbital vaults, which were accessed remotely using a vast network of transceivers built into the superstructure of the refinery itself.”
“So when the refinery was destroyed, you lost everything?” said Ethan.
“Not quite everything,” Maria clarified, “some information was stored locally, but only essential backups, operating manuals and procedures, confidential information, that sort of thing. However, access to the broad global network and our vast repository of knowledge was destroyed.”
“So what?” Summer chimed in, sounding and looking more and more impatient. “You think there’s some secret stash of information here that can help you find a shelter?” “Does Talia look like a library to you?”
Maria quickly studied Summer’s body language, and recognized the same signs of agitation that she had displayed the last time Maria talked about the Fall. She remembered how that meeting had ended badly, and hurried to the point. “In essence, yes. I’m hoping that Talia is that ‘stash of information’, as you put it.”
Talia’s eyes widened. “I think you overestimate my knowledge, Miss Salus, and my memory.”
“Perhaps, but hear me out anyway.” Maria quickened the pace of her words. “Before the Fall and the war, the UEC wasn’t just a mining company, and in the confidential archives on the mo
on base, there was mention of a project called, SSE, or Sub-Surface Expansion.”
“Sub-surface, as in under the ground?” said Ethan.
“Yes. The UEC was in the advanced stages of testing subterranean and sub-oceanic cities; it was a strategy to increase the population density of the megacities, without relying on outward expansion.” Maria turned to Aster. “Lieutenant, come here.”
Aster flinched; he had been quietly minding his own business up to this point. He edged up beside Maria, looking jittery, and Maria grabbed his arm and flipped open his PVSM.
“If I enter my command codes into your PVSM, I can probably access some of the encrypted data,” Maria said, tapping away on the panel. A few seconds later the familiar white light of the holo emitter began to beam the image of a city, buried deep beneath another city, in front of them. “The idea was to enable cities to expand kilometers below the surface, allowing for enormous growth, but without the need to expand the city limits. There was only limited data stored in the offline archives, but we know they were in the advanced testing phase in several locations, and one of them was in this region.”
“Sounds like a stupid idea,” said Summer, tightly crossing her arms around her chest. “Why not just build more on the surface, it’s not like you didn’t have the space out here.”
“It’s complicated,” Maria replied, looking embarrassed.
“It always is with you,” Summer cut back.
Maria let Summer’s quip slide and continued, “Over a period of hundreds of years, the way of life on the planet had evolved from a large number of towns and cities spread out over a vast area to being concentrated into megacities, like the one near here.”
“The one that’s burning from the hulk of space station you got blown up?” said Summer.
Maria was used to Summer’s provocations, but this comment riled her. She glowered at Summer for a second and then forced back the anger and focused on Talia, trying to ignore the red-haired ranger. “Some cities spanned hundreds of kilometers,” she continued. “But as the megacities grew and took over, there was a certain prestige attached to being located close to the center. And so there came a point where expanding further outwards was simply... undesirable.”
