by G J Ogden
Talia rose, and her silent companions rose with her. Maria had almost forgotten they were even in the room. “Very well then, Maria Salus, Christopher Kurren,” Talia said as she waved a hand to the two rangers who had initially escorted them to the hall, and were now standing at the back of the room. They walked over. “The rangers will escort you back to Ethan’s house,” she added, looking directly at Maria. “We will talk to Summer and explain the situation. We’ll have them both meet you there, with some provisions.”
Maria bowed her head respectfully, “Thank you, Administrator Talia.” She rose and turned to face the rangers, who were stony-faced and unwelcoming. A soldier is a soldier, no matter where they are from, she thought. Kurren rose also, thanked Administrator Talia for her time, and turned to stand beside Maria. Then, with escort in tow, they began walking towards the exit of the council chambers.
Quietly, so that no-one else could hear, Kurren whispered, “The guy is our best chance. He may even want to come.”
“I don’t know,” Maria replied in hushed tones. “Before this I would have agreed, but he looked shaken. The woman laid into him hard.”
Kurren contemplated this for moment, and then said, with some hesitation, “You... you can help make him want to come with us, if you know what I mean? You know that he’s sweet on you.”
Maria felt the knot inside her stomach return. She wanted to punch Kurren in the eye, and were it not for their current location, she would have done.
Chapter 15
Maria and Kurren had been in the ranger’s house for only a few minutes when Ethan’s young nephew, Elijah, walked in. Ethan had not been there when they arrived, so while the other rangers stood guard outside, Maria and Kurren had quietly discussed their tactics, checked their toxicity levels – which were creeping steadily towards the amber, but still fine – and had taken another dose of meds.
“Hey, Ethan, are you in here?” Elijah shouted as he bustled in through a back door that neither Maria nor Kurren had spotted, since it was obscured with a curtain. The surprise entry startled them and made them jerk around to face the young boy. Equally, the shock of seeing two complete strangers in his uncle’s house drew Elijah up short. But he was not afraid. “Who are you?” he asked, filling the void with his inquisitive, confident voice. And then before either of them could answer: “Hey, you’re the ones from the crash, right? The people my uncle found?”
Maria looked at Kurren, hoping for him to take the lead – she wasn’t used to children – but he just shrugged, unhelpfully. Maria rolled her eyes and looked back at the boy. “That’s right,” she said, in a friendly tone, “so, Ethan is your uncle?”
“Uh-huh,” the boy replied, “I’m Elijah. Uncle Ethan told me a little bit about you already, before my mom said he should stop.” Kurren chuckled and Maria dug him in the side. “He said there was an older guy, a soldier I think,” Elijah then pointed at Kurren, “I guess that must be you,” Kurren didn’t have time to confirm the boy’s assumption before he added, “and a blonde-haired pretty lady.” Maria blushed. Kurren laughed out loud. Maria dug him in the ribs again. Blissfully unaware of the embarrassment he had just caused, Elijah continued talking. “So, why are you here? Are you from space? Ethan said you might be from space!” the boy blurted out with barely a breath between sentences. Maria had no time to even consider a response, before Elijah, unable to contain his excitement at meeting these mysterious travelers, asked a further question. “Are you angels?”
Maria was totally lost for words, and looked at Kurren, imploringly, for help. Kurren smiled at her, and then stepped out a little closer towards the boy. “No, we’re not angels,” he said, and then held out his hand towards him. “Commander Christopher Kurren, space soldier, at your service,” he said in his best military voice, but with a wry smile. Elijah didn’t really know what to do so he stuck out his hand too. Kurren took it and shook it vigorously, making Elijah jolt up and down. “Pleased to meet you, soldier, welcome to the space corps!” Kurren said enthusiastically as Elijah bobbed up and down, giggling.
Taking her cue from Kurren, Maria walked over and back-slapped Kurren. “At ease, Commander,” she said, mimicking Kurren’s faux military voice. “I’m Maria... I mean, space pilot Captain Maria Salus, or Sal to my fellow pilots,” she said nodding her head towards Elijah, and then saluting. Elijah let go of Kurren’s hand and returned the salute, clumsily, a huge grin on his face. Maria lowered the salute and smiled. Then she asked, “Hey, what did you mean just then, when you said, ‘are you angels’?”
“Oh, it’s what we call the flashes of light in the sky,” said Elijah, pointing up towards the ceiling of the house. “You can see them at night. Ethan told me they are guardian angels that watch over us to keep us safe from roamers and the Maddening. We’ve all got one, us survivors that is. Hey, I wonder if you’ve seen them?” Maria opened her mouth in an attempt to answer, but was lost for words. As it happened, it didn’t matter, because Elijah just carried on talking, ignoring his own question. “Mr. Boucher, he’s the scholar here, says it’s the only bit of history that’s worth knowing. Uncle Ethan doesn’t agree and calls Mr. Boucher an ‘ignorant old bastard’, whatever that means.” Kurren laughed and Maria rolled her eyes at him again. “Ethan likes to watch them at night,” Elijah went on, “the lights I mean. And so do I, when he lets me anyway.”
Kurren and Maria felt out-of-breath just listening to him. As he was talking, Elijah walked over to the kitchenette, opened a cupboard and took out a wooden box. Inside were some cookies. Elijah took one and held it in his mouth, and then held out the box towards them, inviting them to take one too. Maria took two and handed one to Kurren.
“Thank you, Elijah,” said Maria.
The boy said something, but it was just a muffled jumble of sounds because the cookie was still held between his teeth. Maria took a bite of the amber-colored cookie and was pleasantly surprised to find it was sweet and delicious. “My mom makes them, she’s the baker,” Elijah said proudly, having removed the cookie from his mouth. He then walked over to the table and sat down, remarkably at ease, considering he’d only met them moments ago.
“She’s great at her job, these are delicious,” Kurren said with his mouth half-full.
“So what are you doing here?” Elijah asked again. “Ethan said he wasn’t allowed to tell me, and Mom says I should mind my own business. So it must be important!”
His smile was infectious. Maria laughed and sat down at the table next to Elijah, nibbling a corner of the cookie. Elijah was looking at her expectantly. “If your uncle and mother said you shouldn’t know then we should respect their wishes,” Maria said, and Elijah’s face fell.
“But you look like a man who can handle super important, secret information,” Kurren said.
“I am! I am!” Elijah replied, unable to contain his excitement.
“Okay then, soldier,” Kurren continued. “We’re here for your help. Our home base, on the moon, way up there in space, is in trouble, and we think your uncle might be able to help us save it, and everyone living up there.”
“Kurren...” Maria said severely, giving her companion a dirty look.
Elijah didn’t know what to process first, the fact they were from space, or that there was a base on the moon, or that somehow Ethan was the key to saving it from whatever grizzly fate it was destined for. “Ethan will help you!” he said excitedly. “He’s a ranger, that’s what they do. Oh please let him!”
“Please let him what?” a voice came from the direction of the doorway. Startled, Kurren, Maria and Elijah all turned to see the figure of Summer standing just inside the room, hands on hips, her face scornful and wary. Elijah was about to say, ‘help the space soldiers to save their moon base,’ but Kurren was quicker to react and spoke before he had a chance to drop them in it.
“The young man here wants me to show him the vehicle we arrived in,” Kurren lied. “But I said the settlement administrators wouldn’t allow it.”
E
lijah closed his mouth, remembering what Kurren had said about the information being ‘super-secret’, and felt both sheepish for nearly revealing the secret, and slightly guilty at now being complicit in a lie to his aunt Summer.
“That right, Elijah?” Summer said looking at the boy, clearly still highly distrustful of Kurren.
Elijah committed to the lie, partly because he was afraid of being told off by Summer – or worse, his mom if Summer told her – but largely because now he really did want to see the vehicle that Kurren had just referred to. “Oh yeah, that was it,” said Elijah, casually. “Can I, Aunt Summer, please?”
Out of sight of Summer, Kurren winked at Elijah, and this made him feel slightly better, but still a little uneasy. Maria couldn’t help pick up on the fact that Elijah had called her, ‘Aunt Summer’. “So, are you and Ethan siblings?” Maria said to Summer, mostly to change the subject, but she was also genuinely interested in the answer. “It’s just that he called you Aunt Summer”.
Summer appeared to be annoyed at the question. “No, we’re just...” and she faltered for a moment, searching for the right word, or at least for the word she wanted to use with these strangers, “...just friends,” she said, cautiously. “We grew up together, not that it’s any of your concern.”
“Summer and Ethan grew up together with Mom, after Mom and Ethan’s parents died in a fire a long time ago,” revealed Elijah.
“Elijah!” Summer snapped.
“What, Aunt Summer? It’s true isn’t it?” Elijah said, unsure as to why Summer was so cross and angry, which was very unlike her, at least with him.
Summer took her hands off her hips and attempted to soften her tone. “Yes, it’s true, Elijah, but it’s also personal,” she said, “and we don’t know these people. You shouldn’t trust them.”
“They seem nice to me,” he replied, honestly.
Maria stood up, “I’m sorry; we didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“You’ve already caused plenty,” Summer said, managing to keep her seething rage under control, for the sake of Elijah. She did not want to alarm him. “Elijah, run home now and fetch your uncle, he’s over at your cabin.”
“Okay!” Elijah replied, chirpily, and he got down off the chair and ran out.
“Take care, soldier!” Kurren called as Elijah passed him, tossing a casual salute in his direction.
“Yes, Commander!” the boy replied, a wide smile on his face. He turned his head towards Kurren and returned a lazy salute, and seconds later he was out of the door.
When he was gone, the air in the room seemed to thicken and become suffocating. Summer bristled. She jabbed a finger aggressively towards Maria. “Stay away from him, do you understand me?” she demanded.
“Calm down, he walked in while we were here,” Maria replied, disliking her tone even less now. “What would you have wanted us to do, throw him out?” Maria had grown tired of Summer’s relentless hostility and now, away from the administrators, and any need to show restraint, she was close to her limit of patience.
Summer strutted over to Maria and stood tall, muscles tensed, barely half a meter away.
“Woah, hey, take it easy now you two!” said Kurren, holding both hands up, palms facing outwards, as if he was trying to placate an angry dog that was about to pounce. But neither woman was listening.
Summer jabbed her finger into Maria’s sternum. “I expect you to do what I tell you to do, got it?”
Maria snapped and slapped the hand away. It was like springing a trap. Summer swung first, but Maria blocked the punch and pushed away, giving herself room to strike. But Summer was fast, and came at her again, breaking through Maria’s guard enough to land a blow to her side. Maria shifted position and swung back with a forearm, which Summer ducked, but she failed to anticipate Maria’s follow-up, which struck her to the side of the head, knocking her off balance.
Maria’s fighting style was new to Summer, who had not anticipated her ability, but she wouldn’t make that mistake twice. Maria advanced, trying to follow up her advantage, but Summer moved aside and landed a swift kick to her side. Maria backed off, clasping a hand to her ribs, bracing them against the pain. Summer’s guard was still raised, her expression composed and serious. This was no spar. Summer was determined and Maria could see that she meant to do her real harm. She switched up a gear, and raised her guard in response. Both ignored Kurren’s repeated calls for them to stop.
Maria moved first, stepping in with a jab and then landing a right cross. Summer felt blood trickle from her mouth, but stayed focused and blocked the next attack, countering with a fast left hand, which stunned Maria. Summer moved in, grabbed Maria’s arm and then swung her using all her weight into the cabin wall. The whole building seemed to shake. Maria winced, and took another punch, before she could recover. Summer had the advantage now and tried to grab Maria, looking to choke her, but Maria slipped in a skillful knee to the kidneys, followed by an elbow that sent Summer reeling backwards, colliding with the table in the center of the room, knocking the cups and the box of amber cookies onto the floor. The cookies rolled away into the far corners of the room, like frightened mice scurrying from a predatory cat.
Summer looked winded, but also furious and feral. On the table there was a knife. Summer took it without hesitation, rage surging inside her like a volcano about to erupt. She was not used to being tested in a fight, and the fact that it was this woman who was testing her, this trouble-causer who had somehow wheedled her way into Ethan’s mind, made the taste of blood in her mouth all the more bitter.
Maria saw the knife in Summer’s hand and her face fell. A brawl was one thing, but adding a knife into the equation escalated this into a fight for survival, and one she knew she could easily lose. She looked desperately around the room for something she could use to defend against this weapon, but there was nothing. Summer’s eyes burned and adrenaline pumped through her veins. She stepped forward, knife angled with deadly intent and was about to lunge at Maria when a voice resonated through the room with a power equal to their fury. It was not Kurren – who was still looking on, helplessly – but Ethan.
“Stop!” he shouted again. Both women remained in fighting positions, guards raised, but both looked over at him. The blade in Summer’s hand glinted ominously. “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded to know, with a mixture of anger and exasperation. There was no immediate response as Ethan moved into the room and stood between them, facing Summer directly and focusing all his attention on her. She glowered back at him, angry that he had stepped in to defend this stranger again.
“Get out of my way, Ethan,” she growled.
“Summer, put the knife down,” Ethan insisted.
She didn’t move. “You take her side and we’re done,” she said, now even more furious at Ethan than at the other woman.
“What are you talking about?” said Ethan, stepping closer. Summer recoiled. “Give me the knife.”
Summer tried to run past him, but he caught her hand and, expertly, disarmed her. The blade flew across the room and then clanked and scraped across the stone floor. The violent noise seemed to wrestle Summer from her frenzy. She looked at him, still clearly filled with bile, but no longer with murderous intent.
“This is not the way,” Ethan said. “This isn’t you, either.”
Summer ignored his words, and shook his hand loose from hers. “She was talking to Elijah, Ethan,” Summer said, as if it was a crime. “Who knows what lies they’ve been feeding him. I don’t trust them, especially her,” she looked over towards Maria, who had lowered her guard, and had a hand again clasped to her bruised side.
“Elijah was here?” Ethan asked.
“He came in while we were waiting for you,” said Maria between labored breaths. Ethan turned his head slightly to see her, but not so much that he could not also still see Summer in his peripheral vision. “We were just talking,” Maria continued. The interruption was tactical. It was both an attempt to diffuse the situation a
nd also prevent Summer from telling her version of events first and setting Ethan against them.
Summer again tried to advance on Maria, but Ethan caught her and pushed her back. “You’re lying!” she raged, before trying to rush Maria for a second time. Ethan caught her again, but this time he held her tightly.
“Summer, I think you should go,” Ethan said, his voice firm.
Summer looked wounded and stared, imploringly, into Ethan’s eyes. “Ethan, there’s something they are not telling us,” she pleaded. “Why do you keep defending them? We’re a team, me and you; we always have been. What’s gotten into you?”
“I’m still on your team, Summer,” Ethan said, hurt by the accusation. “And I understand, I do.” He loosened his grip on her a little so it was less of a restraint and more of a reassuring embrace. Summer softened into it, her muscles relaxing slightly, and Ethan felt confident that she was now not likely to try to charge off and kill Maria. “Let me handle this, okay?” Ethan said holding her. “Go get some rest, and some food, maybe. Katie will sort you something.”
Summer shook her head. “You’re too close to this, Ethan,” she pushed away a little and looked into his eyes. “You want to believe them, but its blinding you to what really matters.”
She meant Ethan’s family, but really she was thinking of herself. She hated how Ethan had latched onto this pair, and especially to the woman.
“Summer, I don’t know what I believe anymore,” said Ethan, and the truth of this statement surprised even himself, “but I do know you’re tired and angry, and that’s a bad combination for you.”
Summer took a deep breath, and rubbed her aching jaw. Ethan’s admission of doubt was at least some comfort to her. Maybe she wasn’t losing him. Maybe the stranger’s revelations about the Fall had not given him the answers he’d hoped for or wanted. Maybe the truth was not worth him giving everything up. It gave her enough confidence to feel safer leaving him, at least for a short time.
