One time, along the trail, she noticed a coiling branch like a pig's tail, and it seemed unnatural to her. She approached and pulled it, and a wooden door swung open on the tree trunk. Inside she found packages of rice cakes, nuts, and lechon—crispy pig skin. A gift from the Kalayaan for hungry travelers. She ate two packages and left the rest.
On the third day from home, she was walking along a mountainside. At her left, the rainforest plunged down into a sea of mist. At her right, rocky slopes rose like a wall, draped with greenery. The path was narrow, and she nearly fell several times. The mist thickened, rose and fell, whispered around her feet like waves. The land was breathing.
The cry of a painted-moss owl pierced the forest. Maria froze and frowned. Owls only flew in the night, and it was noontime.
She stayed still for a long time, seeking the bird. But painted-moss owls had green, camouflaged feathers, appearing as mossy stones. If any were here, they remained well hidden. She shrugged and kept walking.
Another owl's cry.
In answer—a glimmerbird's song.
Leaves rustled behind her.
Maria spun around and gasped.
A figure leaped from the trees.
More figures burst from the rainforest and landed around her, blocking the path.
Maria's heart burst into a gallop. She spun from side to side, looking at the people.
They were slender, almost starving, wearing straw hats and ragged piña tunics made from pineapple leaves. Peasant clothes, yet she saw the bandannas around their arms.
Guerrillas.
And they raised rifles.
Maria raised her hands, heart thrashing. "I'm a friend of the Kalayaan!"
The men stared with cold, hard eyes, mouths like slits in leather.
"It's all right!" A tall man emerged from among the trees. "Comrades, she is Maria de la Cruz, my betrothed! It seems I have a little camp follower."
"Ernesto!" Maria cried, and tears leaped into her eyes.
She ran toward him, and he embraced her. And suddenly she was weeping. Suddenly all the tears she had kept inside spilled like a river. And she told him. What the Earthlings had done. How she had buried her parents. How a thousand little lights had guided her here.
Ernesto listened with hard eyes. His fists clenched. And when she spoke of everyone dying, of his family gone, Ernesto let out a howl that sent birds fleeing.
"Ernesto." Maria placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I—"
He grabbed her wrist. "Why are you here?"
"To join you," Maria said.
Ernesto laughed bitterly. "Join us? Back in the village, Maria, you objected to the war. Something about us being farmers and fishermen, not fighters. And now you come to beg and grovel?"
Maria glared at him. Across the trail, guerrillas muttered and lowered their eyes. Perhaps they feared Ernesto's wrath. Maria no longer feared anyone.
"That was before the Earthlings burned our village," she said. "Before they murdered our families. I was a rice farmer, yes. But now I'm a fighter. Now inside me burns a passion to kill the enemy."
Ernesto frowned at her, then laughed. A cruel laughter that did not reach his eyes.
"What do you know of fighting? When the fire rains. When men scream and die. When the forest burns, and your comrades die, and the fear sets in… will you turn and run? Or will you cower?"
"I saw all this already in San Luna. And I did not cower. I'm not afraid."
But that was a lie. She feared the planes that rumbled above. She feared the fire that burned the forests. She feared the fate of this living, breathing world.
But she no longer feared for her own life. And that made her strong.
She kept staring at Ernesto, chin raised. He stared back, his eyes boring, probing, seeking any sign of weakness.
"We do not fight like the putes," he said. "We do not drop bombs from the sky, nor lob rockets from afar. That is how cowards fight. We sneak through the forest. We come up close. We grab the enemy by the belt buckle. And we kill without hesitation. If I give you a gun, Maria who was once a rice farmer, can you pull the trigger? Can you kill a man?"
She took a step closer, so close they nearly touched.
"I will kill many," she said.
Ernesto smiled, revealing a golden tooth, and handed her a rifle.
Maria clutched it. It was nearly as long as she was tall. She was only a Bahayan, smaller than the mighty Earthlings, but with this gun, she felt ten times larger.
I will sneak through the forest, she told herself. So close I could grab them by the belt buckle. They killed my parents, and with this gun, I will kill them.
Chapter Fifteen
What Heroes Do
For days, the recruits suffered.
For days, they broke apart.
Before every dawn, they rose, marched, guarded their barracks. Tried to sneak in a few moments of sleep. Only for the electric whip to shock them. For the sergeant to kick them. For the torture to continue.
At nights, they cried. In stolen moments. Even the toughest of them shed tears into their pillows.
Ten thousand kilometers above earth. Trapped inside a rolling cylinder. Flesh inside a meat grinder. With blood, sweat, and tears, they tore apart.
They became less than human. And yet something more. Something greater.
They became soldiers.
And for several of these backbreaking, soul-shattering days, Etty ignored Jon.
She was still in his fireteam. She still joined him and George during exercises. But the little Israeli never made eye contact. If she had to say something, she spoke to George.
"Etty, can we talk?" Jon tried once in the mess hall.
But she looked away and ate her gruel in silence.
Great, Jon thought. I managed to make one friend in an entire army, then messed it right up.
For a week, the torture continued. Climbing walls. Crawling through mud. Push ups. Sit ups. Marching. Drilling. Always the sergeant shouting. A week of hell… and then a miracle.
A blessing from heaven.
Sunday came to Roma Station, and the platoon was given a day of rest.
Sergeant Lizzy herded them into room full of plastic seats and a projector.
"Sit your asses down!" Lizzy said. "Today you rest your bodies and nourish your minds."
She turned off the lights and struggled with the projector, cursing as a tape jammed.
"Got any horror flicks?" Etty said from her seat. "I like horror."
"Your life will be a horror flick if you're not careful, Ettinger," Lizzy snapped.
She finally got the projector working. A movie began to play on screen.
Jon was exhausted. He had barely slept all week, only an hour here and there. He could hardly see the movie. His eyes were drooping. Soon they were closed, and sleep crept up on him. Dreams tugged him, full of dark claws and twisting vines.
"Taylor!" Lizzy barked. "If you can't sit without sleeping, you'll watch standing."
Jon opened his eyes wide and sat upright in his chair. "I'm awake, Commander!"
Several other recruits, after a sleepless week, were falling asleep in their seats too. Lizzy cracked her whip, spraying sparks onto the crowd. Recruits yelped. A few had no choice but to stand, blistered feet and all, in a desperate attempt to remain awake.
Jon alternated between standing and sitting. Each was a sort of torture. Standing hurt every muscle in his injured body. Sitting meant falling asleep and Lizzy shocking him. He rose and sat, rose and sat.
As days of rest went, this wasn't much. But it beat the obstacle courses. It was as close to a lazy Sunday morning as he'd get in Roma Station.
A familiar face appeared on screen—a chiseled jaw, fake tan, bright blond hair, a brighter smile. The man wore a sky-blue battlesuit, the armored plates shaped like muscles, and he carried a shield painted as planet Earth.
"Well, golly, it's good to see you again! This is Ensign Earth, reporting for duty!" The actor gave a bris
k salute. "Welcome to another exciting installment of Why We Fight!"
"Boring!" Etty cried from the crowd.
"Ettinger!" Lizzy snapped.
On screen, Ensign Earth became solemn. "Last time we met, I told you about Bahay's history. How the Santelmos, evil aliens, kidnapped Filipinos three hundred years ago, transported them to a new planet, and bred them into monsters. But you might be wondering: How did the great Freedom War begin?"
"It's called the Colony War," Etty muttered, daring not speak louder lest Lizzy hear. "Only the fucking army calls it the Freedom War."
Ensign Earth walked along a moonlit beach, reflective. He looked up at the stars, then turned toward the camera.
"The stars. Beautiful, aren't they? It's hard to believe that only a few centuries ago, we couldn't reach them. We were trapped on Earth. But in the twenty-first century, brave astronauts began the Era of Exploration. Humanity established colonies on Mars, Titan, the asteroid belt, and finally…" Ensign Earth gestured with a wide sweep of his hand. "The stars. They're glorious, aren't they, folks?"
On the film, several stars grew larger and brighter. The names of colonies appeared above them.
Ensign Earth turned back toward the camera. "You are gazing upon the Human Commonwealth. An empire of humanity spreading across the stars. Our empire is young yet ambitious. Our species is fledgling yet curious. The Human Commonwealth is a civilization of righteousness, benevolence, and my favorite—goodness."
"Those all mean the same thing," Etty muttered, slouching in her seat, arms crossed.
"Ettinger, shut it!" Lizzy warned, glaring from beside the projector.
Ensign Earth gazed back at the stars. "But one of those human worlds is not part of the Human Commonwealth. One of those worlds is lost from our civilization. Bahay!"
The camera zoomed in, streaming by many stars, finally displaying a green and blue planet. Oceans covered most of Bahay, but thousands of islands dotted it, lush with rainforest.
"Behold Bahay!" said Ensign Earth, now speaking from off screen. "Far and alone in the darkness. Home to millions of humans. Millions of hostages! You see, evil is at work on this beautiful world. When Earth offered to accept Bahay into its empire, that evil turned us away. Who is this evil, you ask? Well, let me tell you! It's time to… meet our enemies."
A caption appeared on screen: MEET OUR ENEMIES
Jon glanced at his side. "Hey, Etty," he whispered. "Can we talk?"
She looked away. "Not now."
"Etty, I'm sorry, okay?" He leaned closer to her. "Can we—"
"Taylor, eyes on the film!" Lizzy snapped.
Reluctantly, Jon looked back at the movie.
"On Bahay, we heroes will face three enemies," said Ensign Earth. "First, the Red Cardinal. This devious evil-doer rules the Luminous Army, a rogue military that roams across North Bahay. See, our brave Earthling troops control the southern hemisphere of Bahay. But in the north, the wicked Red Cardinal rules with an iron fist."
The film showed the Luminous Army—rows of Bahayan soldiers marching, rifles in hand. They wore armored black uniforms, and helmets hid their heads, the visors red. The design seemed inspired by Earth's battlesuits. Perhaps the Bahayans had captured a few Earthling battlesuits, reverse engineered them, and changed the colors.
As the Luminous Army marched, they chanted, "Death to Earth, death to Earth!"
Maybe they were actors, or at least dubbed, given that few Bahayans spoke English.
Behind them loomed a cardinal in a crimson robe, his arms spread wide, tipped with claws. He oversaw his troops like Lucifer leading the hosts of hell.
An animation showed Ensign Earth punching the Red Cardinal in the face. A caption appeared on screen: KA-POW!
Scattered applause sounded from the audience.
"Etty, did I offend you somehow?" Jon whispered to her. "If so, I'm sorry."
"Shh!" Etty scowled at him. "I'm watching."
At least she looked at him. That was progress.
"The second enemy," Ensign Earth continued, "is the Kalayaan. These are Bahayan terrorists who live in the south. They hide in the jungle like animals, ready to leap onto brave Earth heroes. If you find yourself in the southern hemisphere, Kalayaan Kenny is your enemy!"
The video now showed an image of the Kalayaan guerrillas. They were skinny Bahayans in homespun tunics, wearing straw hats, but their eyes were hard, and they carried rifles and machetes.
They're the ones who killed my brother, Jon thought, and sudden hatred blazed through him. There are the bastards who took Paul.
He wanted to be on Bahay now. To face them. To kill them. To avenge his brother and all the other dead. The purity of his hatred surprised him. Jon did not consider himself an angry man, yet now his fury surged.
A few others in the crowd were cursing at the video now. They too had lost loved ones to the dreaded Kalayaan.
Ensign Earth continued. "Finally, meet your third enemy. The Santelmos. These aliens run the show on Bahay. You won't fight Santelmos on the field. They're too cowardly to fight. They arm, train, and indoctrinate the Bahayan terrorists. If you do come across a Santelmo, shoot to kill. It's what good heroes do."
The video showed orbs of light floating in a swamp. It was probably just a special effect. Actually seeing real Santelmos was rare. Their planet was a thousand light-years away from Earth, and even on Bahay, they were just advisers, not fighters.
The camera panned toward Ensign Earth's face, then zoomed in. The actor shed a tear. A pan flute played a mournful note.
"My heart yearns to free Bahay from evil. My spirit craves to welcome Bahay into the embrace of the Human Commonwealth. So long as evil thrives on Bahay, its people cannot be free." His lips tightened, and he wiped away his tear. "But heroes like you and me still fight. We will defeat evil, and we will liberate Bahay. The planet will join the grand Human Commonwealth, free and strong." Ensign Earth saluted. "For Earth!"
The flag of Earth appeared on screen. The planetary anthem began to play.
In the room, a few recruits stood up and began to sing too.
But not Etty.
Etty Ettinger leaped onto her chair and shouted, "This is such bullshit!"
Lizzy snarled. The sergeant seemed ready to shout, even shock Etty with her whip. But the planetary anthem was playing. Out of respect for the flag, Lizzy remained still.
"Seriously!" Etty continued, standing on her chair. "This is just propaganda bullshit! The Bahayans aren't terrorists. I know terrorists, okay? I've been fighting them all my life." Her eyes were suddenly damp. "The Bahayans deserve to be free. If they don't want to join our empire, why should we force them?"
Jon reeled toward her, fuming. Maybe Sergeant Lizzy dared not act while the anthem was playing, but Jon had no such reserves.
"What are you talking about, Etty?" he said. "The Kalayaan is a terrorist organization! They murder people!" His voice caught. "How dare you defend them?"
Etty gave a mirthless laugh. "Really, Jon? The Bahayans have been living in peace for centuries. We show up on their world with armies. We bomb their villages. We burn their rice paddies. And you don't expect them to fight back, to—"
"They murdered my brother!" Jon shouted.
"And we murdered millions of them!" Etty cried, tears in her eyes.
Suddenly they realized how quiet the room had become. Earth's anthem had ended. The movie was over.
Everyone was staring at them.
Including Sergeant Lizzy.
The sergeant approached them, eyes flaming, and raised her electric whip.
Chapter Sixteen
Fire in the Sky
They spent weeks traveling the Freedom Trail before Maria's first battle.
Life in the Kalayaan was hard. The past few weeks had felt longer than Maria's years of toiling in the rice paddies.
During the days, they marched. They climbed cliffs. They crawled through mud. Sometimes they met other guerrilla units, exchanged intelligence, and marched on. Un
its broke apart and came together, always shifting. Thousands of patriots were moving through the jungles.
Sometimes Maria saw fighters without limbs. Sometimes she saw child soldiers, some younger than ten. Sometimes she saw smoldering craters where villages had been, fields of desolation where rice had once grown.
And they kept moving south.
Before every dawn, Ernesto woke them, and they trained. They fought one another with wooden sticks, fists, and stones. They listened to Ernesto as he read the Kalayaan manifesto again and again—every morning like clockwork—vowing freedom for Bahay and destruction for Earth. They chanted with him. Freedom for Bahay! Freedom for Bahay!
Maria was used to early mornings and hard labor, but nothing like this. Her fingers bled from climbing, her feet from so much walking. Insects bit her. A snake once bit her too, and the wound swelled and ached even after Ernesto sucked out the poison.
Worst of all, perhaps, was the hunger. There wasn't much food in the Kalayaan. They sometimes came across a distinctive curling branch, marking a place of storage. They opened a hidden hatch on a tree trunk, and inside they found rations of rice and crispy lechon. More often they foraged and hunted. Usually they were just hungry. Even when there was food, Maria was given the smallest portions, sometimes nothing at all. The older fighters hoarded most of the food.
The signs of war were everywhere. Planes rumbled overhead, and the Kalayaan hid under ferns and roots, waiting for them to pass by. Earthling troops rode armored trucks along distant roads. Guns often rattled in the distance, and explosions rocked the world. Sometimes they saw plumes of smoke on the horizon. Sometimes they found bullets among the trees.
There were many young guerrillas, and many were female. But Maria was still an innocent. She had never fought a battle, and they mocked her, called her a soft Mindao girl. Maria had never been to Mindao, the great city in the south. But apparently, Mindao girls were worthy of mockery.
The Earthling (Soldiers of Earthrise Book 1) Page 12
