Once Upon a Saturn Moon

by Edward Antrobus

  Marsil

  For hundreds of Saarkaaks living in the ruins of the capital city of Saar, today was just an ordinary day. From almost the beginning of the day, Marsil knew that it was not going to be ordinary. For her, the day started bad and got worse at it progressed.

  Marsil brushed her long orange hair. The tresses were her one rebellion against the masculine image that army life required of her. Shorter hair would have been easier to manage but hard living while leading her soldiers into numerous battles against the Barakaaks had stacked muscle onto her tall frame. This is a waste of time. Who am I trying to impress? Lun, such as herself, had no prospects for love.

  Her brush snapped midway through her grooming. She swore to herself. Her hair was a complete mess. This was no way for Graaf to see her. Without meaning to, she blushed at the thought of the distinguished scientist. Thoughts of how he would perceive her did no good. It wasn't as if they could form a relationship.

  Graaf didn't make it any easier on her. He was a kind and gentle man and handsome for a man approaching fifty. He had denied it but Marsil was sure that he had written the recommendation that had gotten her promotion to general. The way he always smiled at her and had a kind word to say; she could almost believe that he wished for a relationship as well. But he wouldn't do that; to mate a Lun was a death sentence, after all. She really didn't know what to make of him. By his age, he should have already mated, but in the nearly fifteen years that Marsil had known him, Graaf had never so much as dated.

  Pining for Graaf wasn't helping her mood. She had had this conversation in her mind too many times. Why can't I get over him and live the life that I can have? Maybe I should... She stopped herself from continuing that line of thought. The consequences of that action were too drastic. Spilling her secret, revealing the identity of her father, could put everyone at risk. Jeef had led their people for a long time, but this could cause a revolution. With the war still raging, such a move would allow the Barakaaks to gain the upper hand. Her happiness wasn't worth that. And if something happened to Graaf, well, she just couldn't live with herself.

  She forced herself to calm as she dressed in her Army uniform. All she had left were her morning prayers and then it would be time to leave for work. As she buttoned her blouse, she walked over to the shrine she had built in her nook.

  Marsil scowled; her statue of Bara was lying on the floor. She leaned down to pick it up. Thankfully, it was intact. Kis needed to be more careful. As if bidden, her nook-mate stepped behind her.

  "Barakaak." Kis hissed the word as she looked down at the kneeling woman. "You're such a traitor to your people. You should defect. I'd love the chance to shoot you as you tried to escape."

  Religion wasn't officially banned among the Saarkaaks. But as Kis and a string of previous nook-mates had shown, it wasn't exactly tolerated either.

  Marsil picked herself up from the floor. She needed to keep her calm. If she let her anger get a hold of her, she was going to get in trouble again. If that happened, Jeef would demote her.

  She took a deep breath. "Oh stop that. I'm not one of those mindless drones. One can believe in faith and reason."

  "Keep telling yourself that," Kis snapped. "Anyone who believes that some invisible goddess is going to help us, is delusional."

  "Bara is not invisible. She is all around us, in the ground beneath our feet and the cavern above us. I don't know why I put up with you. If you refuse to treat my belongings with care and respect, I'm going to put in a transfer request."

  "We both know you aren't going to do that. If you were, you would have done it already. You won't find anyone else as tolerant as me."

  Marsil snorted at Kis's definition of "tolerant." The three years they had been sharing a nook had been a never-ending stream of taunts and passive-aggressive abuse. But still, she was right. Marsil wouldn't find another nook-mate as understanding of her faith. Her last nook-mate had trashed her shrine while she was away fighting the Barakaaks. Looking closely at the small statue still in her hands, she could see the lines where she'd glued the figure back together.

  "That still doesn't give you the right to mess with my stuff. Just leave it and me alone or you'll find yourself reassigned to the janitorial staff or something else nasty."

  Kis backed off in a huff. It wasn't the first time they had had this argument. Sadly, it probably wouldn't be the last.

  Marsil shook her head to clear her thoughts. Worship to Bara demanded her full concentration. Head bowed towards the shrine, Marsil began her prayers, which included the standard thanksgivings for life and home, and pleas for an end of the war, but also for the defeat of her enemies and the return of warmth and air to the surface. At the end, she beseeched the goddess for an answer to the great question that ruled her life. Why did my father abandon me?

  To Marsil, being abandoned was even worse than being orphaned. Dying in defense of their people against the Barakaaks was honorable. Falling to the plague released by those zealots was unavoidable. But to abandon your own blood? Marsil held the man in contempt.

  Marsil was a Lun because her parents were unknown. To the world, she was an orphan with no connections to her past. Destined to live a life alone. Her parents were probably killed in the war shortly after her birth. There were many Luns in her generation. The early days of the war had been brutal and deadly. Then came the plague. The Saarkaaks died by the thousands. The survivors were so overwhelmed with disposing of the dead and trying to rebuild while continuing the war effort that it was impossible to keep track of where all the orphaned children came from. Over two thirds of the children born within ten years of the bombing of the Temple were orphans. Nearly a quarter of those were Luns.

  It was within this class of people that Marsil had been raised. It was only by accident that she had discovered that her father was still alive. It had started with one of Graaf's projects, restoring old surveillance feeds destroyed in the war. Marsil had helped because she wanted to be able to catch Barakaaks trying to sneak into the city. It turned out that much of the old footage had been archived. A lot had been lost but when she found the feed showing the orphanage that raised her, she figured she had a chance to reclaim her ancestry and shed her Lun status. A chance to finally be with Graaf. She stole the tape and brought it back to her nook to review in private.

  Sure enough, she found herself staring at the screen as her infant form was placed at the door of the orphanage. She couldn't have been more than a day or two old at the time. The video clearly showed the man who left her behind. Marsil had found her father. And she knew who he was.

  She was tempted to delete it. This information could destroy their society. Her finger hovered over the button. She couldn't bring herself to destroy the one link to her past. That had been three years ago.

  Her morning supplications done, she straightened her uniform jacket and left for work. The tunnels in this section of the city were quiet. Marsil had chosen this area because it was sparsely populated. Officially, she had selected this quarter because it was closer to the Temple and the Barakaaks. It was only right for the General of the Army to be standing between their enemy and the people she had sworn to protect. The reality was that she preferred the peace and quiet that this area afforded. The fact people avoided it because of its proximity to their enemy's lair simply provided her with a convenient excuse.

  Too soon, she turned towards the city center where the government lay. These days everybody seemed to have a government job. Even the aquaponics farmers worked for the government. Everybody who didn't have a job that physically required them to be somewhere else in the city made their offices in the government complexes. War destroyed several of the buildings, but there were still plenty of nooks available to their depleted numbers. As much as Marsil frowned on speaking ill of the dead, she was glad she had not been born in an earlier age when even more people crowded the tunnels and caverns that made up the capitol.

  Marsil sped up her already brisk pace. Once she got into her o
ffice, she could escape the crush of people. She was one of the few people on all of Bara with a private office. While her class as a Lun had decided a military life for her, she had fought her way into a leadership role precisely for the solitude it offered. Too bad it didn't allow her to break from tradition and take a personal nook for herself without having to share it with a steady stream of nook-mates who didn't understand her devotion.

  As she slipped into her office, Marsil let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps it was for the best that she had been abandoned. The path that would have been laid out to her as her father's daughter would have been unbearable to the introverted woman.

  These thoughts were pushed from her head when she read her morning briefing. This was not good. Jeef wasn't going to be happy.

  "Your majesty, a craft landed on the far side late yesterday," Marsil reported to the king. She grasped her hands together behind her back, her knuckles white. Reporting to the king was always fraught with tension, but bad news such as this always made things worse. She had no clue how the ruler would respond. "Unlike the last lander they sent, this one appears to carry humans. We were unable to determine what weaponry they bought with them."

  Jeef's nostrils flared. He was silent. That wasn't a good sign. "Whatever happened to ‘the humans haven't explored past the asteroid belt?' I'm disappointed in you, Marsil. You should have caught this before they landed. Explain to me why I shouldn't have you replaced."

  Marsil gulped. Her rank was the one thing she liked about her life. Without it, she might as well have thrown herself to the surface. "Sire, our observational capabilities are still limited. I can only spare so many men to stare at the sky. It's been a low priority."

  Jeef scowled from behind his desk. "Well, apparently you should have made it a higher priority. I sense that old jackal, Vaamick, behind this. Unless you are even more incompetent than I'm beginning to believe, the humans shouldn't have the technology to travel this far. We need more information."

  It was time to start their old argument. "We could try to slip a spy into the Barakaak's camp to get an idea of their plan. With a man inside, we would have a better idea of—"

  "No!" Jeef interrupted. "We are not having this discussion again. You need to know your role. Or I will find someone who will. You may observe from the outside only. Find out what Vaamick is planning and if the humans are working with him or if they are just in a new way of blind exploration. You are dismissed."

  Marsil saluted and left without saying another word. She couldn't understand the king's reluctance to take actual steps to end the war. Jeef had attacked the Temple without any provocation but since then had only authorized minor skirmishes and recently, none at all. She had hoped that this new development would be the impetus to finally beat back the scourge of her generation. But instead, the king seemed to squander every opportunity and lead their people into ruin.

  She was still stewing when she reached the offices of the Chief Science Officer. Graaf had all kinds of gadgets that he was always testing out. He might have something to help "observe" the humans and the Barakaaks.

  Graaf was waiting for her when she reached his office. His greying hair still had signs of its original blue. It was a shame the grey was crowding out the blue because it had matched his eyes perfectly. Still, Marsil supposed it helped him appear more distinguished. He was tall. Tall enough that he had to stoop in some of the smaller tunnels around Saar. As usual, he was smiling. Her heart fluttered for a moment, but then she remembered their chances of a future together and she returned his smile with a scowl.

  "What is wrong, Marsil?" His voice was full of concern. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her inside before shutting the door. He was the only one Marsil would tolerate to touch her.

  "What isn't wrong? Everything is going wrong today!" The stress of dealing with Kis, Jeef and her emotions for Graaf was getting the better of her. She expected him to step back but instead he simply stood there with his hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to finish her outburst. "I'm sorry. This hasn't been a good day."

  "More trouble with Kis? Please tell me you didn't put her in the infirmary like you did to Losil." There was still the concern, but now it was mixed with mirth.

  Marsil rolled her eyes. "Oh Bara. That was eight years ago. I'm never going to live that down, am I? Besides, I didn't even do anything to her." This brought a snort from Graaf. "Okay, I lost my temper and yelled at her. But I never touched her. She backed away from me and tripped over that chair." Marsil took a deep breath and continued. "But yes, Kis and I got into another argument today. I can't tell if she is deliberately trying to provoke me or if she is just too stupid to know I might have a breaking point."

  Graaf nodded. "Kis is young yet. She did just finish her schooling when she was assigned to your nook."

  "I wish she would grow up somewhere else. But she isn't really the problem. I've had more nook-mates than anyone on Bara. I just want to live alone. Is that too much to ask?"

  Graaf put his hand on hers. "You just haven't met the right one, my dear. My current nook-mate is getting married. You could always move in with me," his eyes twinkled.

  Marsil gasped as she leaned away from him, breaking the skin-to-skin contact. "Graaf! That would be a huge scandal. People would think we were mated!" She was shocked at his words but secretly she wanted nothing more. But he couldn't actually be suggesting that. That was unthinkable. If only she could convince herself that.

  As long as he was pushing the boundaries of propriety, she decided to go for broke and ask him the question that had been bothering her so much.

  "Why are you still living with a nook-mate? You should have settled down by now."

  For once, Graaf's ever-present smile waned. "I've had my eye on a beautiful woman for quite some time. I believe she shares my affection but has never said anything about it. I dare not ask because she is unavailable."

  Marsil had been hopeful at his response at first. If he was pining for another woman maybe she could move on. But his answer was so open ended that he could still be talking about her. She let out a hopeful, "Do I know her?"

  "Yes. Yes, you do know her." Marsil started to interrupt but Graaf beat her to it. "No, I'm not going to say who it is. Maybe one day, but I'm not ready to reveal my great secret just yet. Have patience."

  Marsil decided it was best to change the subject. "I read your report on the human ship that landed yesterday. Jeef isn't happy."

  "I hope he doesn't plan to shoot the messenger!" Graaf joked. He seemed as eager as Marsil to talk about something else.

  "Well, he was pretty upset, but I think he's more likely to have me shot than you. I've been ordered to find out more, but of course I'm not allowed to go anywhere near it. Do you have anything that can help?"

  "Well, I have been working on repairing the old satellites. After the Barakaaks shot them out of the sky, we've been nearly blind to what is happening on the surface. The ones we were able to recover were in pretty bad shape and I don't think my predecessor really thought they were a priority. It's been a lot of work, but I believe I should have one ready to launch in a few days. We could use it to at least get a visual view of what the humans are doing and figure out if they brought any of those weapons the humans are so known for."

  Alvin

  "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." Alvin's voice was monotone. It was tough but he managed to keep a straight face as he recited the historic words. With that important task complete, he scratched the coppery stubble growing on his chin. His green eyes stared off into the distance, not seeing anything. This was an important day, not just for him but for all of humanity. Despite his joking around, he was still in awe that he had been selected for the mission. When he had chosen exobiology for his thesis topic, he had never guessed that life on other planets would be found in his lifetime, let alone in their own solar system.

  Luckily, his fiancée kept him grounded.

  "Alvin, if you say that tomorrow,
I will 'accidentally' delete your footage." Sandra threw a pillow at him. He dodged it and stuck out his tongue with a grin. "I mean it. Besides, you won't even be the first person to step foot on Titan. Captain O'Brien will get the honor."

  Alvin sighed. Is she ever going to get over that shyness and formality? He loved nearly everything about the petite African-American geologist, from her long braids that barely fit in her helmet to her bright mind and wry sense of humor. But she could be timid to the point of aggravation. It had taken him four tries to get her to agree to go on a date, not because she wasn't interested in him but because she simply didn't believe that he could be interested in her.

  "Sandra, we've been cooped up in this tin can with Tom and Lana for seven months. I think we can call him by his first name when we aren't on duty. Besides, Lana may have started as my thesis advisor, but she is like family at this point."

  "I know. But unlike a certain Irish rogue I know, I was raised with manners. I was raised a Southern lady."

  Alvin laughed. "Girl, you are from South Philly, not the South! I'm well aware of your over-blown manners. Remember when you called me ‘Dr. Smith' on our first date?"

  "Hey!" Sandra huffed. She acted offended, but they had played this game enough times before for Alvin to know it was just an act. "Just because your manners are completely lacking doesn't mean mine are over-blown. You're never going to let me live that down, are you? I was so nervous that night. I was just a grad student. I never thought I'd have one of the lecturing professors hit on me! Besides, you weren't exactly Mr. Suave at that restaurant either."

  Now it was Alvin's turn to act offended. "That waiter hit me in the back while I was sipping my wine. I am the epitome of class and sophistication. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

  "Puh-lease. The only time Alvin Smith and class belong in the same sentence is when you are talking about school!"

  "And yet, here I am, engaged to a classy broad like you." Alvin smiled as she rolled her eyes at his choice of words. "Speaking of school, have you finished your report for that elementary school? What was it, Sally Ride?"