by G J Ogden
“So what you’re saying is that this toxic radiation cloud is going to hit the base again?” Ethan speculated.
“Yes, Ethan, precisely,” Archer confirmed. “Sadly, chance is no longer on our side and in less than thirty rotations, it will hit the base again, and we no longer have the means to alter its path. Our only hope is to synthesize a new serum, a more powerful serum that can protect us, as your natural immunity protects you, planetside.”
Ethan thought for a moment, processing all this new information. It still didn’t add up. “But why do you need me?” he said, the frustration evident in his voice. “You could have just brought back some of my blood. What use am I to you?”
“Because we don’t have the medical tools needed to create the new serum…” Archer began, but Ethan cut him off.
“But how does that involve me?!” Ethan shouted, interrupting Archer and banging his fists on the table in frustration. The display in the center hummed off, pitching the room into a soft darkness, illuminated only by a light running around the edge of the ceiling. It was dim enough that Ethan didn’t notice Major Kurren instinctively reach for his weapon, or Maria unseen behind Ethan’s back, hold up her hand to have him stand down. Ethan was too embroiled in his own emotions. He had given up his life and his family to be here, and all he was getting was a history lesson and no real answers.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Maria. “Ethan, I know this is a lot to take in, but please stay calm,” she said softly. “We’re only trying to give you the full picture, to help you understand the seriousness of the situation and how we arrived at this point.”
“Sal, I think I understood the seriousness of the situation when I had myself blasted into space with you,” he said, sarcastically.
Maria looked at Archer, who nodded gently. She sat down next to Ethan. “Remember, back on the planet, I told you that we needed your help to get something we needed?”
Ethan tried to think back that night in his cabin, when Maria said she would die if Ethan didn’t help him. “Yes, vaguely, it seems like so long ago now,” he said, recalling their conversation.
“Our only hope is to rescue a ship that was damaged during the original attack on the refinery,” Maria said. “On that ship is the equipment we need to create the new serum, one that will protect everyone once the cloud impacts the base.”
Ethan again thought back to the initial briefing on the planet, and remembered this large ship, and how it had spiraled away from the base, fire licking at its hull. “And this is what you need my help to recover?” he said, and then hearing his own words, he was painfully aware of how ridiculous this sounded. How could he help to recover a space ship?
“Yes,” Maria said. “The ship was disabled and its control systems were damaged. But more importantly, it drifted onto the dark side of the moon, where the impacts from the debris cloud were most heavily concentrated. No-one here can survive that level of toxicity, Ethan. None of us can get even close to the ship. But you can.”
“You need me to rescue a space ship?” Ethan said, and the words sounded no less ridiculous a second time. “You do realize that I’m not a space ship pilot…?”
“That’s where Captain Salus and Major Kurren come in,” said Archer. Still the easy smile. “Captain Salus will pilot another vessel to take you as close as possible, using a high dose of our existing medications to ensure no critical exposure. And then you will get into an EV suit and Kurren will help you to pilot it onto the ship.”
“An EV what?” said Ethan.
“Extra-Vehicular,” said Maria. “A special suit that means you can go out into space.”
“Out into space?!” Ethan protested, but Maria smiled at him and said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing compared to what you’ve already been through.”
Ethan remained unconvinced, but before he could protest further, Archer cut back in. “Once inside the ship, Major Kurren will talk you through manually jump-starting the ship’s systems with an override control spike that we will give you, initiating the ship’s emergency backups and installing a mobile transponder to allow him to remote pilot the ship back to the base, where we will decontaminate it and recover the vital medical equipment we need. It’s very simple.”
Ethan didn’t understand any of what Archer and Maria had just said, but they certainly sounded confident that the task wasn’t difficult. Nevertheless, Ethan had not anticipated that this would be the reason they had brought him here. He had assumed a simple medical procedure, not an ‘extra-vehicular’ journey into space. He sat in the huge, black chair, his drawn white face starkly contrasting against it.
Archer, seeing that Ethan was struggling to process the information, filled the awkward silence with more, smoothly delivered words. “With this equipment and your blood, we will be saved, Ethan,” he said, in a mildly more upbeat tone. “The difficulty is not the task, but the fact that no-one on this station could survive even a minute inside that ship. In fact, even with our current medications we would be unconscious before even making it inside. Believe me, we’ve tried.”
Quick to dispel the notion that anyone was sent on a suicide mission, Maria hastily added, “The governor means that we’ve had people volunteer…”
“Quite…” said Archer, seemingly grateful for the interjection. “But you, Ethan, with the additional benefit of our medications, could be inside for hours with no adverse effects whatsoever.”
Maria jumped in again. “Only someone born on the planet, born with a genetic resistance to the toxic effects of the radiation, can survive,” she said. “Within your own blood is the key to our survival. But we don’t just need your blood, we need you too, Ethan.”
Ethan looked at Maria for a moment and let the words ‘we need you too, Ethan’ repeat in his head. He couldn’t help wonder whether, had he not volunteered willingly, they would have tried bringing him – or someone else – by force. He chose not to be blunt once more and question Archer about this, but it added another weight to the scale of doubts that were building inside him.
“If you can help us to recover the ship soon, we’ll still have time to synthesize the new serum and protect everyone on the base,” Maria went on. “You’ll have literally saved us all.”
Ethan’s mind was still a blur. Between the technical terms he didn’t understand, and the simple facts he did understand, such as their suggestion that he would venture out into space itself, he was struggling to process the situation. Life had very rapidly become unreal. He considered for a moment if this could all be a dream, but if it was then he was sure that any one of the many terrifying events of the last few days would have shook him violently from his sleep.
Everyone in the curved glass structure was silent, conscious that Ethan was processing a lot of information. Eventually, it was Archer who again broke the silence. “Well, Ethan, this is a lot to take in, on top of what was already a considerable amount to deal with,” he said smoothly, but with genuine feeling. “You’ve gone from a local ranger of a small settlement to confronting the descendants of your space-faring ancestors on a technologically-advanced base on the moon. And then to be told only you can save them. If I were you, I wouldn’t believe it either!” The last sentence was rounded off with a sort of stuffy guffaw of laughter.
Ethan nodded his head. “This is pretty unbelievable,” he agreed. “It feels like a dream.”
“Perhaps some time to reflect is in order,” said Archer. “Major Kurren will prepare the mission, and tomorrow, if you agree, we will guide you through what needs to be done. For the rest of today and tonight though, get some rest and give yourself some time to adjust.”
“I’ll take you to your quarters, Ethan,” said Maria, looking at him, expectantly.
Another question surfaced in Ethan’s head, but he decided not to ask it. He felt out of control, and this was making him anxious. He had no real idea what was going on, but was uncontrollably swept up in it now, like a twig sweeping down a fast-flowing river. He realized
then how much his own feelings had changed, and how foolish he must have seemed to his friends in the settlement, who put up with his regular pining for ‘the truth’ and ‘to know what really happened’. The truth was ugly and unsatisfactory. There was no great mystery to unravel, just the usual story of people fighting over one thing or another.
Ethan could not deny that the UEC had suffered, but Archer’s claims that they and the planetside civilization were alike didn’t ring true. These people were nothing like the planetsiders. The war between the UEC and GPS had cost almost everything, and it still threatened to destroy one or both of them. Neither side had evolved beyond what they were generations ago. But down on the planet, they had rebuilt, and through struggle and common purpose they had created a new civilization, with the settlements living in peace with one another. Only the Maddening remained to threaten that peace, and yet even this was a by-product of these two warring factions. Ethan realized now that he didn’t care who started it, or who was right or wrong. It didn’t change what had happened on the planet, and what was still happening today. Though now distant and detached from the world below, their deadly influence lingered on.
He remembered how he had looked up at the flashes in the sky and seen guardians and protectors, and how the death of his family had driven him to question his beliefs and want to know more; to know the truth. Well, his wish had come true, and what a fool he had been. He had walked away from his sister and nephew, and from people who cared for him and loved him. Summer had warned him, but he would not listen. Administrator Talia was right, Ethan realized. It was better to forget these people, forget the past and move on without them. And if it wasn’t for Maria, he would. Uncertainties now lingered around her, uncertainties that would have to be dealt with, but not now. Not yet. She was still the reason he was here. Strip away everything else and there was still Maria, and Ethan’s promise that he would help to save her.
“Okay, captain,” he said, emphasizing ‘captain’ a little too much, as if to tease her. He pushed himself out of the cavernous black chair and stood beside her. “I could do with some time to reflect I think.”
Maria smiled at him, and then nodded in the direction of Archer. She put her hand to the small of his back, as if to usher him gently back to the elevator, and they moved together out of the room and away from the two men standing at the head of the table.
“You’re doing us a great service, Ethan,” Archer announced levelly to their backs as Ethan and Maria approached the archway leading to the elevator. And as Ethan glanced back to acknowledge the governor’s statement, he saw on his face the same, easy smile.
Chapter 19
They walked back out into the hustle and bustle of the base’s neatly laid out, clean streets and Ethan followed Maria as she led them past blocks of buildings of varying sizes and configurations, all built from the same dark, glassy-looking material. Ethan paid no attention to where he was going, and neither of them spoke as they walked. Ethan observed the other people on the streets and noticed that most appeared to be dressed in uniforms similar to Maria’s.
“Is everyone here part of the UEC military?” he asked the back of Maria’s head.
Maria briefly turned her head towards him and smiled. “We’re not the military,” she said, and then looked ahead again and continued walking.
“You all certainly dress and act like you are,” said Ethan.
Maria stopped opposite a door into the building they had been walking alongside; one of the larger and grander looking of those they had passed by. “We’re here,” she said.
“If you’re not in the military then why is your governor called a ‘general’, and why are you Captain Maria Salus?” Ethan pressed. “Almost everyone I’ve seen dresses like you.”
Maria’s smile faded. “What are you getting at, Ethan?” she asked, agitated by the continual questions. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Ethan looked at her wide-eyed, and almost laughed. “What’s going on in my head?” he said, amazed at the question. “I feel like I’m in a dream, Maria. This place, the things you’ve told me, it’s just so unreal. I came here to help you. I didn’t expect… any of this.”
Maria reflected for a moment. “I know it must be overwhelming,” she said. “But you must have known things would be different here.” She paused again and then added; “But that’s not what’s really bugging you, is it?”
Ethan’s wide-eyed expression remained, but was modified now by a wry smile. “You are getting to know me, aren’t you?” he said. Maria just winked in reply. “Or maybe it’s your secret military training allowing you to read my emotions,” Ethan added, teasing again.
“That’s not funny,” said Maria, seriously. “So, come on, out with it. What’s really bothering you?”
Ethan bounced the question around his mind for a moment. The question he had wanted to ask Archer, but hadn’t for fear of what he might say. And although Maria had been acting a little differently since returning, away from Archer or any other observer, he still felt he could trust her.
“What if I say no?” he said after a tense pause of a few seconds.
“No to going inside this building?” said Maria, jovially. “I guess you can sleep on the streets if you want.”
“I’m serious, Sal,” Ethan replied. “So far, everyone has assumed that because I’m here, I’m game for whatever you need me to do, including jumping out into space. I just want to know, what if I did say no? What if I say to Archer, I want to be sent back home?”
Maria’s face fell, and suddenly she looked older, more serious. “Ethan, this isn’t a game.”
“I know that Sal, I just want to know what he’d do,” Ethan said. “I came here because of you. You, Maria Salus, not the UEC. I didn’t really think about what would happen when I got here.”
“I know that,” said Maria, looking and sounding concerned and also a little uncomfortable, as if she felt embarrassed. “But you did come, so it’s only natural to assume you will do what’s needed. Am I wrong, Ethan? I don’t understand what you’re telling me.”
Ethan threw his arms out to his side. “I don’t know how to explain it!” he said, frustrated by his own ability to clearly define the doubts and questions that were swimming around his head. “I don’t trust him, Sal,” Ethan then admitted. “I wish I’d never learned about the UEC and GPS. I just didn’t want you to die, and that’s all I was focusing on.”
“Archer has been far nicer to you than your Administrator Talia was to us,” said Maria, concentrating in on Ethan’s mistrust of Archer.
“He’s nice while he thinks I’m helping,” replied Ethan. “But if I say no, what will he do? Force me, coerce me somehow, threaten you to get to me? It’s obvious he can tell we’re…” he thought carefully about his next word, and chose caution over valor, “...friends.”
Maria raised an eyebrow at this and pressed her hands to her hips. “Friends?” she said, sounding insulted.
Ethan’s cheeks flushed and he looked away. “You know what I mean, Sal. I’m not good at this stuff.”
Maria closed her eyes momentarily and when she opened them again, she was calmer. She moved closer and took hold of Ethan’s hands, squeezing gently. Ethan looked back into her eyes. “I know what you mean,” she said, and she held his hands for a second longer and then let go again. “Look, the truth is that no-one has even considered the possibility that you’d say no,” she added, starting to worry that Ethan’s doubt was real and not merely hypothetical. “Do you want to say no?”
Ethan shook his head gently. “No, I want to help,” he said. “I just wish it was simpler. I just want to help you. Everything else makes me, I don’t know, uneasy.”
Maria grabbed him by the waist and pulled him closer. “Then forget about everything else, and just focus on me,” she said, sounding like the Maria from the planet. “You came here for me, I know that, and I’m thankful of that. I know what it meant for you to leave. And so I’m here for you now
.”
“And what about after?” Ethan replied, nervously. It was another question that he was afraid to ask for fear of the reply.
“After what, Ethan?” asked Maria, looking at him quizzically.
“After you make this new serum and everyone up here is safe, and you all go on living your lives. Then what happens?”
Maria shrugged. “If you still want to return to the planet, we’ll find a way to…”
“I don’t mean about me, Sal,” Ethan interrupted. “I mean what happens about us?” He was almost physically shaking as he spoke the words.
Maria looked down and was silent for a moment. Ethan felt her grip on his waist tighten. “Do… you want there to be an ‘us’?” she asked, softly, still looking down.
Ethan lifted her chin so their eyes were level. “Yes,” he said, though the nervous energy surging through his veins made his words sound strained. “At least, I think so? Don’t you?”
A pulse of energy swept through them, shaking the ground and causing the windows of the nearby building to shatter violently outwards, assaulting them with jagged fragments of the opaque material. They grabbed each other instinctively and ducked away from the blast, covering their heads, but the force of the pulse knocked them to the floor. The vibrations subsided and they helped each other to stand, shaking fragments from their hair and clothes. Save for a few grazes and minor cuts, they had escaped serious injury. Maria was first to look in the direction of the explosion. A fireball had erupted outside the base, beyond the protective dome, but still clearly visible from where they stood. Liquid fire poured into the blackness outside as reverberations from the unseen cause of the detonation throbbed throughout the base.
