“We are your people now.”
“They need me.”
“Your choice.”
With the greatest respect, with a torturous reluctance, he abstained. Work remained for him to do.
“Somewhen.”
“Yes.” He diminished, re-inhabiting his former latent self.
#
Insulated by a field of perturbed space, his reformed some sailed along a wide ellipse, serene. The gold-striped face of mighty Saturn turned in the distance. It was hard to resume his previous state, as if he’d put on clothes long since outgrown. His mind assumed its prior configuration as best it could. Even so, he was…expanded.
Ship slid into space overhead. A door opened, lit from within. A familiar silhouette beckoned. Abby drew him in and put him to bed.
That he was still subject to something as primal as the need for sleep surprised him. After a time, he woke.
Abby sat beside him, dozing. He watched her face change expression amid her dreams. Her hands fluttered, then became still.
She stirred and turned seeing him watching her. “Are you okay?”
He gave her a warm smile. “I am.”
“What happened?”
“I sent the Destroyer where it can never hurt anyone again.”
She narrowed her eyes as if she might question him further, then nodded. Her eyes lit up. “What were those chines? The ones who helped us?”
“Ascendants. Exiled by the Precautionists long ago. The same ones Chronicler told us about. They continued to evolve over all that time. They’re beyond anything I could have imagined—far beyond us. Like clouds or the sun. I don’t know. They changed me.”
“What was it like?” Abby asked.
“Beautiful. Powerful.” He grimaced. “Painful.”
She glanced at him sideways. “Will you join them?”
“I might. Someday.”
She nodded, seeming satisfied.
#
Ship announced their imminent departure. Kellen couldn’t believe they were going all the way home. Home. After all the strangeness they’d lived through, just the thought of it was a delicious taste in his mind.
Kellen entered the fab. “Ship says the shuttle’s ready.” He looked behind the larger pieces of equipment. “Ship, where’s Abby?” He waited, but no disembodied voice answered his question. “Ship?”
Ship contained layers several stories deep. Each floor seemed to go on forever along its widest horizontal, following a gentle sail-like curve. The walls and floors had been constructed with a bright metal and something that felt like stone but wasn’t. Soothing earth tones and shades of white predominated. An abundance of curves along the walls and ceilings imparted a natural feeling. The interior felt more like a dwelling than an interstellar ship.
He passed through dormitories, classrooms, kitchens, and laboratories, theatres, parks, and industrial fabs. He wound his way deeper, past storage bays full of equipment and materials. Entire floors housed racks of perforated tubes whiskered with tiny green sprouts. A gentle breeze caressed his face with a hint of moisture. Following it, he encountered racks of aquaria inhabited by specks that, upon close inspection, turned out to be tiny fish and shrimp and other creatures he couldn’t identify.
At the end of that he found Abby.
She sat in a long hall, legs drawn up, chin on her knees. Slitted windows held back liquid in an enormous tank, its heaving surface rising and falling. Shifting patterns of blue light painted the opposite wall.
He sat and tried to read her expression. “Couldn’t find you.”
She nodded.
“I asked Ship, but it wouldn’t tell me either.”
She nodded again.
“The shuttle’s ready for us. We can go home now.” It was still hard to believe.
She wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“Anything wrong?” She’d seemed so happy earlier.
“Just wondering about my family, what they’ll think of me now.”
“They’re your family. They’ll never stop loving you.” For her, it was the truth.
She squeezed his hand and smiled. “I hope you’re right.”
#
Kellen experienced a strange mixture of relief and anticipation as they made planetfall. He’d never really expected to return. They landed the shuttle outside of Jesup. The sun warmed his some as they stood scanning for survivors. The Army came out to meet them, then senior leaders. It took some explaining to overcome their wariness, but soon everyone began to celebrate. The other surviving cities confirmed no Hexi could be found. Even their coastal settlements were deserted. Against all hope, the Hexi had gone.
Citizens began to emerge from the habs, blinking in the sunlight. Kellen and Abby told and retold their story to the amazement of a growing audience. To the military, Kellen and Abby were heroes. To the mayor, they were saviors. A chine priest called them gods. As afternoon turned to dusk, Kellen grew tired of accolades.
“We just want to go home,” Abby said for the third time.
An escort was formed. Bombs and shells had destroyed most of Jesup’s above-ground structures. They skirted craters and the skeletal remains of buildings. He thought of the cities that had suffered worse. Suzu, King City. We saved those we could. Nine cities full of survivors. It had to be enough, but wasn’t and never would be.
Their escort led them down into the habs to the quarters Abby’s family had been assigned. Kellen and Abby thanked them and went on alone. Abby stopped short of the door. Voices could be heard within.
“Go on,” Kellen said.
“No.” She straightened up, as if summoning courage. “You come in, too. I want all my family together at last.”
Chapter 40 – Dirt
Sheemi gasped when she recognized Kellen, the human-chine from the City of the Six Suns, standing just beyond the inner lock hatch.
“I’m here to take you home,” he said.
She stared back at him unbelievingly. “We didn’t think anyone would come. I never expected…”
Her body responded before her mind, her neck and back relaxing as all the fear and anxiety she’d been holding inside for so long collapsed into relief and joy. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.
“Will you come aboard?” he asked.
“Yes, please.” Sheemi turned to face the others waiting behind her. “It’s a friend from the City of the Six Suns.”
She pulled herself through the lock. The others followed on her heels.
“Hello again,” Kellen said to Xin as she came through. “Welcome.”
The lock shut behind them, and Sheemi felt the Hexi shuttle detach. It was a strange sort of ship they’d entered. It didn’t feel like a ship at all. The others looked cautious, but increasingly optimistic as Sheemi and Xin explained how they’d met Kellen.
Kellen crouched by Connor where they’d laid him on the floor. “Let’s get your friend to the clinic.”
The chine led them through a dizzying array of passageways. He explained about Ship’s purpose as they went, that it has been built for them, for humans. It was a lot to take in. She didn’t understand what it meant, but it had enabled Kellen to rescue them, and that was enough.
In the clinic, an autodoc attached monitoring sensors to Connor.
“A preliminary diagnostic report should be ready within an hour,” Ship said.
“I’d like to make my own diagnosis,” Veillon said.
“Of course,” Ship said. “The entire medical facility is at your disposal. What do you require?”
They left Connor with Veillon. Kellen suggested they rest before initiating IFD. He apologized for Ship not yet having any food for them to eat.
“Ship has been dormant for centuries,” he said. “We only recently activated it.”
“Is it safe?” Faj asked. “We’re still in Hexi space.”
“Quite safe,” Kellen said. “The Hexi have already tried to destroy Ship and I without success.”
“How did you f
ind us?” Sheemi asked.
“I had some help from the Hexi.”
“Help?” Sargsyan asked.
“Put it this way—I borrowed some information from them. A report of a human ship arriving in their home system, then disappearing. It had to be you. When you didn’t return, we feared your ship had been destroyed, but I decided to find out for sure. Since I knew you’d been here, I decided to talk to the Hexi.”
“You talked to them?” Tilner said.
“Well, as I said before, they did their best to destroy Ship and I, but Ship was made to be impregnable. When they found us unharmed, I think they were afraid. When I tapped into their systems, they became even more afraid. I saw they had captured evacuees. They didn’t want to admit they were holding you at first, but I persuaded them to release you.”
“Thank you,” Sheemi said, wiping tears from her eyes, flustered by the overwhelming relief, gratitude, and happiness she felt. “If it weren’t for you, we would have lived the rest of our lives as prisoners down there. Forgotten.”
Kellen grasped her shoulder. “No one will ever forget any of you.”
“Captain Ciib destroyed Dauntless,” Sheemi said. Much of her newfound happiness melted away. She frowned. “To stop the weapon before it could launch. We lost him and a lot of other good people.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kellen said.
“He did the right thing. He and Trediakovsky died doing it.” She felt a twinge of guilt. I’m still alive.
“What about our sister ships?” Sargsyan asked. “Adamant and Tenacity?”
“They never returned,” Kellen said. “Their mission coordinates were lost in the Hexi attack on Luna Base. I’m afraid there’s no way to track them. I’m sorry.”
Kellen went on to explain he had triggered an orbital, some kind of machine in the Array, then arrived back at Earth, where the Hexi had confronted them. “We couldn’t stop them. They destroyed two cities in their final attack.”
Sheemi and the others stared at him.
“Suzu and King City.” The names sucked the joy out of everyone’s faces.
Sheemi’s body seemed heavy. The shock of Kellen’s pronouncement pulled her to the floor. “How?”
She’d made a grave mistake. How could she not have been there with them at the end? He’s wrong, she thought. Kellen’s wrong. He has to be.
“The Hexis’ orbital strikes penetrated deep into the habs,” Kellen said. “Even the surrounding lands were targeted. The residents took shelter in the habs when the Hexi forces arrived in orbit. There were no survivors. We searched—”
“Enough,” Xin said.
“Why two?” Tilner asked. “If you couldn’t stop them, what did?”
Kellen described the return of chines he called the Ascendants. Along with the Ascendants, something worse had arrived, but Kellen had helped defeat it. Afterwards, he’d somehow sent the Hexi survivors home and come to find Dauntless. It was a wild story. She’d never have believed it if she hadn’t lived through the past several months.
She kept listening, but part of her was far away. Names kept popping into her head—soldiers she’d served with, people she knew, but most of all her father. First Brin, now you? Are you dead now, too? Her father was a survivor. If anyone could live through something like that, it would be him.
Sheemi stood up. “I mean no offense, but can we go now? We want to leave this place. We want to go home. I need to…”
“I understand,” Kellen said. “Believe me, I understand. Let’s get you home.”
#
The abruptness of their arrival startled her. Earth seemed to jump out at them, catching her off guard. Connor would stay in orbit, too weak to join them yet. Kellen promised to bring him down once his condition improved. Everyone else prepared for planetfall. Descent was anticlimactic. The shuttle emptied as they dropped crew members off at their respective cities, Rollins and Faj at Sirma, Sargsyan at Chelyabinsk, Tilner at Walkaway. Last of all were Mertik and Veillon at Grand-Mère.
Veillon clasped Sheemi’s hand before disembarking. “Stay with us awhile. At least until the baby’s born.”
Sheemi shook her head, tried to give a reassuring smile. “I can’t. I’ve got to see for myself.” She read the sympathy in his eyes.
Veillon let go of her hand. “Stay safe.”
“I’ll watch out for her,” Xin said.
Veillon nodded and walked down the ramp. Sheemi felt pressure building inside. She pushed it aside. I have to know.
She directed the shuttle to circle the city before landing. She’d held out hope but saw nothing to sustain it. Kellen had been right. The Hexi had razed King City—obliterated it. The destruction had gone deep underground, penetrating the safe haven the chines had built. Where the habs had been, where she’d hoped some might have taken shelter, a massive impact crater gaped, a geologic wound.
The shuttle set down with a roar. In the clearing dust, they set foot on the blackened earth. The smell of incineration filled her nostrils. Only scorched metal, stone, and ash remained. Sheemi knelt in the dirt, tears trailing down her dusty cheeks. Her father had sent her away and she had hated him for it. He’d sent her away to save her, and saved, she’d come back, and he was gone.
Epilogue – Part 1
The low-hanging sun cast a golden light over the rolling green hills. Further down, the village of New King spread across the valley, buildings in clusters amid fields and orchards and pastures. Sheemi worked the garden dirt with her hand, a mad joy in the smell of it, Aislin bundled on her back, asleep. No longer did she crave to hold or send metal. Earth and water and living things had eclipsed that need, a baby girl’s tiny grip on her finger more than she’d ever hoped to know.
“I’m home,” Connor said, coming through the gate.
Sheemi took his hand in hers and kissed him.
No longer bound by her wounds, loops of forgiveness and revelation had begun to connect within her. Those who’d been lost would not be forgotten. Sheemi gave in to the sun, the light, and stepped out of the dark.
Epilogue – Part 2
Kellen arrived by train, just as he had all those years before. An overcast sky hinted of rain. He hadn’t spent much time in Jesup lately, too busy helping rebuild elsewhere. Despite the passing of time, the city would always remain a haunted place for him, full of reminders of those they’d lost. Even so, it felt good to be back. It was time. Dreams had been troubling his sleep, Jesup’s ghosts calling him home one last time.
Almost all the war damage had been repaired in the two centuries since their return. He had to look hard to see any sign of it. His apartment had gone, along with Izmit’s garage, destroyed during the war. New buildings occupied that ground. He walked across the restored plaza, bright green grass bordering the familiar white marble steps leading down into the habs. Most citizens lived on the surface again, but the habs were well-maintained, the cherished shelter that had kept them alive during the New War.
He and Abby never found their original flesh-and-blood selves. No traces of their bodies remained under the city, but the Hexi’s tripod still stood outside the circle of the gate. He’d concluded, and Abby agreed, they must have died in the translation process.
With peace, no new Four had emerged to search under the cities. Perhaps only the stress of dangerous times activated the right genes. Whatever the reason, he was glad no others prowled under the cities now, driven by something they couldn’t explain.
The city began to wake around him. A dog barked. Pots clattered on stoves. Parents roused children for school.
“Hi there, stranger.” Abby waved from a balcony. “I hear you’re a politician these days.”
“More of a facilitator.” He laughed. “Young folks are getting restless, want to do some exploring. They’ve heard all our tales.”
She came outside to greet him and gave him a hug, something he rarely experienced anymore. It felt good—a reconnection.
“I’m leaving, Abby. We’re taking
Ship. They want to start a new colony somewhere beyond Sol. That’s why First had Ship built, after all. I’ll help them, then go on after another century or two. Build another Ship. I expect there’s a lot to see out there.”
“We don’t seem close to dying, do we?” she said.
“You know, Chronicler never said anything about that. Maybe I’ll find that old chine and ask.”
“I’m coming with you, Kellen Beaudin.”
He stepped back to look at her. “Are you serious?”
“It’s what Sayuri and Izmit would have wanted,” she said. “For you and I to keep exploring. Besides, my family’s turned over several generations. They’ll do fine without me.”
Kellen let his gaze follow hers to the sky. A gap in the low, gray clouds betrayed a hint of blue beyond. Who knew where they could go?
End
Note to Readers
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About the Author
Daniel P. Swenson lives in southern California with his wife, two children and two furry aliens with claws and whiskers. He does most of his writing on the train or in other odd, in-between moments. Comments and questions are welcome. He can be reached at [email protected].
Websites:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010050854893
https://danielpswenson.wordpress.com/
Other Works by Daniel P Swenson
BOOKS:
Fate Multiplied (collected stories)
SHORT STORIES:
Overwrite My Love
Thieves on the Long Dark Road
Belly of the Universe
Space Tagger (published in Neo-Opsis issue 25)
The Farthest City Page 34
