by J. Naomi Ay
I watched him prance around from the safety of the kitchen. "Must we kill all the masters to make everyone free?" I asked.
"Of course." Dov shot an arrow at the door to our tiny flat. "We will slay them as they have slain our people. We will pay them back for what they have done to us."
"Is there no other way? What about the people who aren't either a master or slave? Will they be killed because they are simply in the way? Why can we not just go on as this? I am content now in this life. I am happy to bake my tarts and live with you."
"We must fight for our brothers and all the members of our tribe." Dov looked at me with a hint of anger in his eyes. Perhaps, I was still too stupid to understand the truth. "I am going to go back to the forest. There is another meeting of Brothers of the Resistance tonight. Will you stay, or will you come with me?"
"I have baking to do." I shrugged and turned away. I was tired and did not wish to hear any more talk.
"We'll get married tomorrow, June," Dov said as he stood by the door with his coat. "Then we shall leave together to fly to the Empire."
"Alright," I agreed and took my tarts from the oven. I packed them up so he might share them with the Brothers.
In the morning, we went to the People's Registrar Office and showed them our false papers. They handed us a new one that said we had been wed. They gave us a passport to travel. Now, we were allowed to go to the moon to celebrate our marriage in another place.
"I'm just going to run to the forest one last time." Dov put on his coat. "I'll be back in an hour or less. I've got to pass a message to the General, to tell him that you and I will be in Cascadia soon. While I'm gone, take these coins and sew them into the lining of your own coat. Put them in your shoes and in the hem of your skirt." Dov kissed me goodbye and slipped outside the door.
While he was out, I sewed up my coins. Afterward, I sat on my sofa and waited until he returned.
One hour passed and then added twenty minutes. Two hours came and then thirty minutes more. I began to grow anxious and scared, afraid that I had been left behind.
When three hours went by without seeing Dov, I grabbed my bag and headed into the forest myself. I ran past the Dark City and onto the trail. It was day time still and no one was about except for forest animals and the ghosts that lived in the shadows. I followed the path that came upon the vale that was next to the crystal blue lake, and it was there I saw the brothers lying in a circle.
"Dov," I called and ran to find my husband.
The Brothers of the Resistance were all dead, each one killed by a single shot to the head. My husband lay askew, next to the old man who had called for volunteers, the bullet hole that pierced his skull lined in black.
Now, I ran from this place without a second glance. I used a precious coin to catch a trolley. It stopped on every corner, but I kept my head down and would not look in anyone's face as we slowly made our way to the spaceport across the town.
"Where is your husband?" the transportation security agent demanded. "It says on your passport you are traveling two persons together."
Reaching inside my shoe, I took out two more coins. "I'm traveling without him." I placed the coins in her hand. "I've decided I'd rather go alone."
"I understand." She smirked and with a rubber stamp, she pressed my passport and sent me on my way. She told me to have a good trip and that the moon was lovely this time of year.
In less than two hours, I was on the moon. I went into a bar to find a freighter captain. I smiled at each of the men as they drank their beer. When one smiled back, I crossed my legs and pulled up my skirt.
"Where ye going, lassie?" He gazed at my knees.
"To Cascadia," I replied, "in the quickest way."
"I can take ye to Talas. That's where I am headed. From there, ye can buy a ticket to wherever next ye want to go. I'll need ten coins from ye just to sneak ye on board."
"Here's five now." I held out my hand. "I'll pay you the rest when we get inside the Empire."
"How do I know ye got any more?" He craned his head trying to see what was beneath my shirt.
"You'll have to trust me," I replied and slowly crossed my legs again. "It's your choice. You can take it or leave me here."
"Alright then. Why don't ye come along?"
Two weeks later, I was above Talas at an orbiting spaceport that was teeming with travelers and planes. It smelled of all sort of delicacies, foods I didn’t know, and every one of them looked tantalizing and delicious. There were many things to buy in the shops, things I had never seen or knew what they were for. I was here in the Empire, and now I was completely free. I must use my freedom wisely. I must help the people of my tribe to be the same. I would go to Cascadia and find the General.
Chapter 3
Shelly
"Tim? Tim!" Where was that man? I swear, I spent half my life these days searching the backyard for my husband.
I had checked the shed, the greenhouse, the pool house and finally the gazebo that overlooked the Red Mountains. That's where I found him. He was sitting on the wood bench gazing out as swathes of dark purple and orange crisscrossed the seemingly endless sky. The mountains were cast in brilliant blood red shadows as the moon of Rozari rose like a giant gold ball.
It was a balmy seventy degrees after a warm ninety degree day, my idea of perfection, as I was desert born and bred. In another month or six weeks at the most, the nights would cool, and we'd be lucky to peak out around fifty during the day. We still owned our little house in Takira-hahr not far from the former Spaceforce landbase that Tim once commanded. Our granddaughter Gwen now lived there with her family, two darling little girls and her husband, Boris who worked at SdK in Kalika-hahr.
Jimmy had left SdK for a government office several years ago and lived alone in a condo high-rise in downtown Sirika-hahr, the Capitol City. I didn't worry about him as he enjoyed his swinging bachelor lifestyle as well as the privilege and prestige of being a Lord Earl of the Realm.
"Tim? What are you doing out here at this time of night? I have dinner ready. We’re having meatloaf, just like you requested."
"Shelly?"
"Yes Tim, it's me." I took his hand and instead of urging him to his feet, sat down by his side.
"Are the boys home from school yet?"
The boys. I didn't answer just squeezed his hand for a moment and choked back the lump in my throat.
"How did Larry do on his math test?" Tim demanded gruffly. "Did he screw up again? Is that what you aren't telling me, Shelly?"
"No, sweetheart," I replied, my voice strained though I was certain he didn't notice. "Everything's fine. Larry graduated many years ago, remember?" I ran my hand across Tim's snow white crew cut recalling how thick and bristly it had been, how soft and thin it was now.
Tim's eyes had shifted to the hills, to the far away wisps of clouds or the memories that were equally distant. His pupils seemed to shrink inward, a sign that he was leaving me again. Each time he left, he stayed away longer. Each time he returned he brought less of himself back.
"Dinner?" I offered again and tugged lightly on his hand.
Compliantly, he rose to his feet and let me guide him back through the gardens, down the gentle slope of the hill and to the spreading adobe ranch we had built only a dozen years ago.
Back then it had seemed the world was our proverbial oyster. We had all the money we could ever imagine, our health and our family. Back then I imagined everyone gathering on our patio for barbecues every weekend, holidays in front of a roaring fireplace, a Christmas tree two stories tall. I never imagined Tim, Admiral Tim, my strong and sturdy, unstoppable husband of more than fifty years being anything other than what he was, my rock, and foundation.
"Shelly," he said now sitting at the table, the tiny kitchen nook large enough for just him and me. "I don't like this, Shelly." He set down his fork while I waited. Was it the meatloaf or something more?
"Would you like an egg instead? I can fry you one quickly."
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nbsp; "No, Shelly," he said louder, his voice a ghostly echo from the past. "I don't like being like this."
"What do you mean? Are you cold? Shall I fetch your sweater?"
"No, Shelly, no!" He grew frustrated and impatient, slamming down his fork so that it clattered against his plate. "Listen to me, Shelly and make me a promise. Do it now before I say more."
"Promise what?" I snatched the dish and cutlery from his grasp before he slammed them together again and broke my good china.
"Just do it."
"No. I won't promise anything without knowing what it's about." I put the dishes in the washer as emphatically as he had pounded them with his fork. "Don't start this with me again, Tim. You know I won't do it."
He glared at me, his pupils large and focused. I took comfort in this. When he was angry he was almost all the way here. Then, he shook his head, and the light in his eyes died as he drifted inward to another time and place.
"Come, sweetie." I fed him a few spoons of his pudding dessert as I would a child and then led him to the sofa where he sat and watched the vid until he fell asleep.
"How's Dad doing?" Thad asked when he rang me a few hours later.
Tim had gone off to bed finding the bedroom door himself and managing his pajamas and toothbrush with only slight assistance from me.
"The same."
"Always the same," Thad responded. "I guess that's better than the alternative."
"Better would be a better alternative," I snapped though Thad wasn't to blame. "There must be some new treatment we can try. There must be something else we can do."
"We've been through this, Mom," Thad sighed. "I don't want to rehash it again. You know, Dad doesn't want to go in for more tests. He said last time he was totally done with this."
"He's not in his right mind..."
"He was when he made that decision," Thad insisted. "Let him have his dignity, Mom. Frankly, that's the last thing he's got left."
I hated when Thad said this. He had no idea what we were going through. Flitting off across the galaxy practically every week, as he served on the SdK Board of Directors, and held a post on the Imperial Finance Board, Thad was at the peak of his life. Who was he to judge us, to make decisions for us when we saw him once every six months? I'd sooner listen to Gwen or Jimmy, who at least came to visit every other Saturday.
"Can you just ask?" I prompted.
"Who? You know I've already spoken to our top neurologists."
"Ask HIM."
"No."
"Please!"
"No. I can't and even if I could, I won't."
"Maybe he knows of another treatment," I begged. "I can't let him go until I've exhausted every possibility."
"No," Thad said again and made to hang up on me. "You saw what happened to Taner and Caroline. If he wanted to save Dad, he would have already done it."
"I'll call Katie."
Thad knew it was an idle threat. Over the last few years, I'd exchanged only a handful of emails with the Empress and the last few had sounded like form letters written by her staff. Lost in the thousands, if not millions of correspondence she received daily, my plaintive little cry for help would most likely be overlooked.
"Go ahead." Thad shrugged. "Good luck with that. Sorry, but I seriously need to sign off now, Mom. I've got a meeting starting in five minutes."
"If you came and saw him, you'd think differently."
I hung up. Thad could be so obstinate. All this nobility business had gone straight to his head. I knew what he was doing to Gina even if she pretended she was oblivious to it.
Thad thought only of himself these days, big fancy Duke de Kalika-hahr, too special to have any time to spare with his wife or parents.
I was going to help Tim. I was going to get him better even Thad didn't think it was possible. I would get a message through to Katie, and she would make it all happen. She thought the world of Tim. Maybe she would come here, or Tim and I could go there. If she saw what condition Tim was in, maybe just maybe she could convince HIM to help.
"Shelly!" Tim yelled from the bedroom.
I raced across the house wondering if he had fallen out of bed again or had perhaps just woken up disoriented. It was the recent memories, this past decade that seemed to trouble Tim the most.
"Who are you?" he growled when I approached his bedside. He was sitting up, his eyes wildly scrolling from side to side as he tried to remember this room.
"I'm Shelly. Come on, Tim. You remember me."
"You're an ugly old woman. You're not my wife. Where is my wife, Shelly?"
"She's out shopping," I replied as tears filled my eyes. It was no use arguing with him. He would never believe that I was me. "I'm here to help you until she comes back. I'll fix your pillow so you can lay down again. Come Admiral, I'll cover you up."
"Where am I?" he murmured already drifting off again.
"Spacebase 41. You're at the hotel. Your conference starts tomorrow at 0900, so you need to sleep well tonight."
"Is my adjunct here? Tell her, I want to meet for breakfast before the first seminar. I want to discuss the presentation she's making in the afternoon."
"I'll tell her," I wept. "Katie de Kudisha, right?"
"Commander de Kudisha," he barked. "That gal will be a ship captain in no time, mark my words."
"I'll ring her right now." I shut the door softly behind me.
"And tell my wife I'll call her tomorrow after my meetings. And remind her to check Larry's homework."
"I will."
I listened at the door until I could hear Tim's steady snores, and then I crept back to my room and lay down alone on my bed. Tomorrow, I would start calling or emailing, and if I had to I'd go there myself.
If Thad wouldn't help me, I'd find some else who would. I wracked my brain and tried to remember who I knew that would have access to Katie. Not Janet and Jerry, they were too far removed. I didn't know Luci and Berkan very well. I knew Taner from the old days at SdK Rozari, but he had retired.
My vid rang just then and Jimmy appeared in the view.
"Hey Gramma," he called. "How's it shaking, Old Girl?"
"It's shaking." I smiled and made an effort to put on my best face when I realized that indeed I knew someone with connections. "Do you ever talk to Steven these days, Jimmy?" I asked as my heart pounded in my chest.
"Sure Gram. Once in a while, the Princeling and I even meet up for a beer. Shall I pass on your best wishes or give him a box of your fresh baked chocolate chews?"
"Tell him, I need to speak to his mom as soon as possible. It's about Grandpa Tim. Have him deliver the message to her. Will you do that, darling?"
"Anything for you, my singularly favorite mother of my dad. I'll text him right away."
"How soon will he respond?"
"Hard to say. It depends where he is in space. Unfortunately, a mere earl doesn't rate as high as the Emperor or his mom. Of course, the Mrs. gets top priority so I'll try Hannah if I don't hear back."
"Thank you, sweetheart."
I signed off and tucked myself into bed. I had a plan now, and with it, I had hope. I didn't know if the Emperor would do anything. I didn't think he even cared about us anymore, but it was worth a shot. I wouldn't give up on Tim just yet, not while I had the power to try.
Chapter 4
Jerry
"So how long have you been having migraines?" I asked the Beckwad.
Her two heads exchanged glances. One frowned and pursed her lips. The other gazed out the windows and started humming what sounded like Tchaikovsky's fourth symphony in F Minor.
"Ok." I looked down at my tablet concluding that it was something more than headaches that had brought her/them into my clinic today. "So, have you had any other symptoms, sore throats, coughs, stomach pains, anything?"
Tchaikovsky started the second movement while the frowner's eyes filled with tears.
"I want a baby," she said softly, cautiously glancing at her other head. "But she doesn't."
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bsp; "Ok," I said again and typed a note into my tablet. Baby. I figured that would explain it all. I kept my fingers dancing across the virtual keyboard so they would think I was noting other pertinent facts while I composed my thoughts. I didn't type anything relevant, just the words to an ancient Beatles song. "So are you really having migraines or was that just an excuse to come see me?" Love love me do. You know I love you. I'll always be true.
"I'm having migraines," the humming head snapped, glaring at her cohabitant. "Every time she starts in about a baby, my head feels like it's going to split."
"Mhm," I murmured. I nodded my one head slowly and studied them while my fingers typed. So plea-ee-ee-se love me do.
"Can you give her something that will make her urge or need or whatever go away?"
"Well…" I started to say but then Head One interrupted.
"Can't you give her something? She's the one that's got something wrong. Reproducing is normal, natural. Maybe her hormones are messed up."
"Um…" I tried again. "Honestly, Ladies, I'm no expert on Beckwads, but it's always been my understanding that you share the same circulatory system."
"So you're saying what?" Head Two demanded.
"I'm saying," I glanced down at my tablet and read through the song lyrics as if they were detailed notes. "I'm saying that anything hormonal going on in one of you, is also going on in the other. The problem is not hormonal, it's mental."
Head One burst into a fresh round of tears. Head Two rolled her eyes and started humming Tchaikovsky again, although this time it sounded more like the 1812 Overture.
"I'm not leaving," Head One wept.
"Well, neither am I," Head Two snapped and then knocked her other head soundly.
"Ow!" The first one screamed and butted the second head.
"Hey, stop this!" I jumped up and held the two heads apart noting the large red hematoma that was already forming on Head One's left temple. "I seriously think you need to see a specialist, someone who is more familiar with your physiology than me. I'm sure the issue can be resolved easily. Neither of you will have to be removed."
