by Makansi, K.
“Hi,” I manage.
“Vale.”
Silence, and a jolt of unease courses between us like a lit fuse.
“Didn’t know you had a thing for the wayfaring tendencies of your parents,” Kenzie jokes, breaking the tension.
“Or for the agrarian paradise of Farm life. What the hell are you doing here?” Soren demands, though I notice he’s glaring at me instead of her, as though her unapproved adventures were somehow my fault.
Maybe they are, I think, and a thrill runs through me that maybe something I did or something I said inspired her to action, but I quiet the thought before it gains traction. Nothing she does is because of you, Vale.
Remy narrows her eyes at Soren, and opens her mouth as though about to deliver a rebuke. But she stops mid-breath, and instead turns to Bear.
“We’re doing exactly what Remy said in her letter,” Bear says. “We’re making change. We’re telling the truth.”
“And how, exactly, have you been doing that?” Soren asks.
“By starting a revolution,” she says with a smile. It feels as if the first time I’ve seen her really smile, since the last time I held her hand at the Academy. It’s different, somehow—more mature, of course, but something else, too. There’s definitely something different about her, now. She’s standing taller, seems more confident, more centered. She has a sense of purpose.
“We broke into the Dietician’s lab and fucked with their formulas,” Bear says.
“You what?” Eli demands, eyes wide.
“So that’s why all the questions about my mom’s work,” Kenzie says, nodding with approval.
“It was time for drastic measures.” Remy’s tone is now serious. Her voice takes on the kind of gravity and deliberation that her father has when he speaks to a group. “After Thermopylae, we saw how vulnerable the Resistance is. Corine,” here again she meets my eyes, though only for a second before I drop mine, “could destroy us all in a heartbeat if she knew where all our bases are. But even Corine can’t stop a true revolution. Bear and I realized that if we took the fight to the Farms and eventually to the factory towns and spread the word of the intellectual and biological oppression the OAC represents, we could make it impossible to destroy the movement even if they take out each and every one of us. Even if they destroy the Resistance. If the people, and I mean more than just defectors from the capital, know the truth, there will always be hope, even if all of us are gone.”
There’s a heartbeat of silence before Firestone, always the one willing to say what no one else will, speaks up. “How’s that going for ya?”
“It’s a slow start, of course,” Remy admits. “The message has been hard to communicate. There’s not a lot of openness, or people asking questions. But we expected that.”
“Even Remy’s drawings, which she made plenty of before we left Normandy, weren’t getting much notice. We’ve salted them around the Farm where folks can find them, but not too many are interested,” Bear says, almost sadly. “Mostly they like her pictures and want her to draw for them. It’s hard to get people to wake up, ya see. Took me a while, too, when I was one of them. No shame in admitting it. With Remy’s art, it’s like that time Soren came to play piano for us. It’s nice, but afterward no one really remembered exactly why it was nice or even what it sounded like. There was a glimmer of wonder in the moment, but then it faded …” Bear trails off and everyone waits. “... It’s not easy to make connections or even listen to your own thoughts and emotions when you’re not yourself. Ya know?”
It hits me that in that short speech, Bear has captured more about the challenges facing the Resistance and the reason why what they’re doing is important than anything I’ve heard since leaving Okaria. I’ve heard Soren play. There’s no way anyone can be unmoved by his music. The fact that Bear and the other workers thought it was “nice” but could not say why or even remember it after the notes faded away hits home like a punch in the gut. My breath hitches, and I feel Remy glance over at me. I push back the emotion with a resolute swallow. How did I not understand? It’s horrific enough to attribute my parents’ crimes to a murderous thirst for political power, but seeing it through Bear’s eyes, seeing that what they’re really doing is taking away the individual’s ability to know and experience beauty, to experience life, stops me cold.
“Tell us about the Dietician’s lab and the formulas,” Kenzie is saying. “What did you do?”
“We replaced all the MealPak additives with sugar water.” Remy beams at us.
There’s another silence, though this one stretches on, unbroken, as we all stare at Remy and Bear, stunned.
“That’s genius,” Kenzie breathes, finally. “Why didn’t the Director think of that before?”
Soren shakes his head as if he can’t believe what he’s just heard. “Because the Resistance has never risked full-out war before, that’s why.”
“All Bear and I did was open up the conversation, and, hopefully, enable the conversation to continue. We’re getting an early start on the inevitable, because we need more people to join the cause. We can’t do this on our own and the people on the Farms or in the factory towns can’t help us take the next steps if they can’t consider their actions—or the consequences of their actions.”
“But we’re not ready to take the next steps,” Soren says. “We’re not positioned to—”
“Positioned?” Remy interrupts, her voice hard. “They forced us into this position when they attacked Thermopylae, when they killed my mom, when they killed the others in cold blood, when they were going to kill the other members of Team Blue—including my father—before the Outsiders intervened, when they outed us to the public as terrorists, when they accused Miah of being Vale’s kidnapper and put a price on his head. What the hell, Soren? What else do they need to do before we take them seriously? Before we realize that when they say they’re going to hunt us down and destroy us, they mean it? If we stay at our bases and do nothing—”
“We’re not planning on doing nothing!” Soren’s voice is raised now. “Did you forget about the plans to steal the seed printer? To infiltrate the food chain?”
“No, I didn’t forget those plans. By all means, go back and steal the printer. By the time we’ve got seeds planted, by the time we’re ready to harvest, by the time we’re ready to start introducing untainted food into the food supply, perhaps we’ll have more people on our side—”
“More people to do what?” Soren shouts.
“Soren—” Jahnu, ever the peacemaker, tries to interrupt, but Remy is having none of it.
“More people to carry on,” she says with vehemence. “If we don’t recruit more people to our cause, sooner or later they’ll hunt us down and the Resistance will be gone. They’ll find each of our outposts and destroy them just like they destroyed Thermopylae and Waterloo, they’ll destroy our entire movement, and what will we have accomplished?” She looks around. “Nothing, that’s what! What the hell have we been waiting for? We may not have risked all out war before, but that hasn’t stopped them. So let’s risk it. Let’s put in all on the line. What else do we have to lose?”
The girl before us is determined, brave, awe-inspiring, and I’m so fucking proud of her, it’s all I can do to stop myself from striding across the space separating us, wrapping her in my arms, and kissing her until neither one of us can breathe. Beside me, Soren shakes his head again and sighs heavily. He runs his fingers through his hair and looks around at the rest of us. “You all agree with her?”
Remy stares at us, arms across her chest, poised in her balanced fighter’s stance. She is defiant, composed, and waiting for someone else to echo Soren, to say this wasn’t a good idea, or you should have checked with the Director first, or you’re going to get us all killed. But now there’s no trace of either challenge or judgment. All I see is camaraderie and determination. Even a little bit of eagerness. And pride. I catch Miah watching me, watching my reaction. He knows, as we all do, that Remy has changed the game. There’s
no going back now, and for some reason, I am, for the first time, proud to be standing here, truly proud to be a member of this group.
One by one we go around the group.
Eli first: “I’m all in, Little Bird!”
Jahnu and Kenzie, holding hands, nod and Kenzie speaks for both of them. “We’re with you.”
“What have I got to lose? I’ve got a price on my head, so might as well make them pay it, right?” Miah says, all bravado.
“This is one crazy crew, here,” Firestone says with a laugh. “I just wish it was my fuckin’ idea.”
They all turn to me, waiting. I nod, not trusting my voice.
Soren sighs and shakes his head as if we’re completely out of our minds. And maybe we are. “Well, okay then,” he says. “Game on. Here we go.”
Eli puts his arm around Remy and gives her shoulders a rough squeeze. “I guess I should radio Normandy and let them know we’ve found you two troublemakers. Oh, and not to expect us for dinner anytime soon.”
16 - VALE
Spring 8, Sector Annum 106, 17h24
Gregorian Calendar: March 27
We spent the rest of the day setting up camp, hearing the details of Remy and Bear’s mission up to this point and filling them in on what we’d learned while searching for them.
Late in the afternoon, Jahnu, Kenzie, and I set out to put into practice the trapping skills the wayfarer girl had taught us in the hopes we’d have something fresh to eat over the next few days. As we headed back to camp, we heard rustling in the undergrowth and my first thought was that we’d been discovered. My second thought, as per usual, was utter dread at being questioned by Aulion in front of my parents. My third thought was, shit! That’s a mean boar headed straight for Kenzie. I whipped out my Bolt, jammed the setting to KILL, and fired. But it was already dead by the time I got off my shot. Jahnu and Kenzie had both seen it and fired at the same time. The hairy thing was practically already roasted, smoke rising from its inert body. The smell of burning hair and skin filled the air.
“Bacon!” Kenzie whooped.
“I thought you were a gonner,” I said, wiping my forehead.
She looked down at the carcass, poked at it, and turned it over with her booted foot. “Nah, it’s kinda scrawny.”
“Scrawny or not, it’s fresh meat, protein we probably all need,” I said.
“Who is going to skin and dress this baby for dinner?” she asked.
“We’re bringing home the bacon,” Jahnu quipped, “so I volunteer Miah and Firestone.”
“Hah, Firestone, maybe,” I laughed. “But Miah? I don’t think so.”
“About time he learned to live off the land,” Kenzie said. “It may be scrawny, but I don’t want to carry it back.” She looked from Jahnu to me, and we both shrugged and shook our heads. “Okay, we’ve got to figure out how to move the damn thing.”
We created a makeshift sled and dragged the boar back to camp, Firestone stepped up and volunteered to do the honors and to show all of us how to skin and dress the meat. Eli and Bear dug a hole, fashioned a spit, and the boar roasted over the fire through the evening while we talked about what comes next.
After a well-earned meal and a few brews that Firestone had secretly stowed without telling anyone, we hunkered down for the night and, for the first time in a long time, I slept peacefully knowing that Remy was just on the other side of the fire pit.
Now, evening is upon us again and the sun is dipping behind the trees as we prepare to make our next move. Remy and Bear told us that Rose, one of Bear’s old friends on the Farm, had set up a clandestine meeting with a few of the more spirited workers, including some of Bear’s old friends and a few new transfers from other parts of the Sector. We decided, in the interest of secrecy, to split up and only have a few of us attend the meeting.
After much discussion and some serious dissension, Eli declared, and we all finally agreed, that Remy, Bear, Eli, and I would go to the meeting. Soren, Kenzie, and Jahnu would accompany us as far as the Farm perimeter, but wait outside in case something goes drastically wrong and we need help getting out. Miah would man the airship in case an emergency evac is necessary, and Firestone would guard the little cave Remy and Bear had found and used as a back-up hideout. Earlier in the day, Eli hiked up with them to pack their other camp and drive the car back to the cave, backing it in carefully for easy getaway.
Ducking out of the cave to refill my water supply at a nearby spring, I slow as I hear voices, low but clear, a little ways through the trees. As I get closer, I can hear Soren and Eli arguing. I stop moving, staring through a thicket of bushes, beyond which I can just see Soren pacing and Eli leaning up against a tree, striking his usual confident pose.
“I still don’t get it. Why does Vale go in while I stay on the perimeter?” Soren seethes. “How is that smarmy son of a bitch gonna convince anyone to join the Resistance?”
“Your grudge is blinding you,” Eli says. “Vale’s a known quantity. Plus, he’s got charisma. You’ve seen him on the Sector broadcasts. There’s a reason they called him the ‘golden boy’ when the Orleáns took over. Okaria loves him, and the Farm workers will be jolted into reality when they realize he hasn’t been kidnapped after all, that he’s on our side.”
“Are you so sure he’s really on our side?”
“Soren, wake up. He’s our ace in the hole.”
“More like asshole.”
Eli straightens and walks forward. Soren stops pacing. They’re standing nearly toe-to-toe.
“Look, whatever problem you have with Vale is clouding your judgment. I know you guys have a history. Both of you liking Remy complicates things, but if you don’t get your shit together and get over it, I’ll make Kenzie my second.”
“Too late for that,” Soren spits. “The Director already gave your command away, remember? Seems more like you’re Vale’s second.”
I think Eli’s about to throw a punch, but I slip away, before they can start pummeling each other. I have no desire to get in the middle of a fight between two men whose trust I’m still trying to earn. I head on down to the spring, refill my waterskin, and jog back up to the cave, trying to forget everything I just heard.
Jahnu and Kenzie are sitting together at the entrance, hand-in-hand, as the sun sets through the trees. Just inside, Remy and Bear are wrapping loaves of bread, dried fruit and meat, honey-oat bars, and chocolate in cloth and loading it all into sacks.
“Can I help?” I ask, stepping up behind Remy. She straightens and glances back at me with a trace of a smile.
“Thanks, but we’re almost done.”
I nod and glance around the cave, looking for some way to make myself useful, for something to say.
“So,” Remy asks finally, “you never did tell us how long it took before you all discovered we were gone?”
Jahnu looks over his shoulder at me. “Ask him. He was the one who set off the alarm.”
“You?” she asks, raising a curious eyebrow.
I sound a bit like a frog when I speak. “Couldn’t sleep and thought I might find you awake, too. But you were nowhere to be found.”
“Oh,” is all she says. A silence blooms to fill the cavern around us.
“We hadn’t talked since—” I manage, at the same time Remy starts.
“I thought my dad would find the note….” She stops talking and looks away, frowning.
I feel Jahnu and Kenzie looking at us, see Bear swivel slightly to glance at Remy out of the corner of his eye, and then, thankfully, Miah strides up from wherever he’d been and rubs his hands together.
“I’m hungry. Got anything good?”
“How about a boar sandwich?”
“I’m already bored of boar,” Miah pokes her as if he’d made the funniest joke ever. Remy rolls her eyes and gives him a handful of dried fruits which he starts eating with relish, eyes rolled into the back of his head.
“Ohhhh … this is good,” he moans. “Better than candy.”
I shake
my head at his antics, but I’m still impressed at the variety. Strawberry, prunes, figs, apricots, even mango. Eli told me Rhinehouse’s hydroponic greenhouse produced an incredible bounty of fruits and vegetables, but it’s still hard to understand how he did it. Just thinking about it makes my stomach growl.
“Got any to spare?” I ask, and watch as Remy digs into a sack and then drops a handful of fruit into my hand, her fingertips fluttering over my palm.
Now, in the deepening twilight, Bear leads the way down a steep hill to a slit in the perimeter fence of Round Barn. I’m nervous. It’s extremely risky for us to go into the Farm, although Bear was quick to reassure us that the Enforcers don’t do much in the way of perimeter guard work. And we are all wearing heat-cloaking gear, which should hide our signals from any patrolling drones. It would be much riskier, if not impossible, for the Farm workers to leave the property, unless we were able to smuggle in new clothes for them to wear that aren’t equipped with the tracking devices woven into the fibers of their current uniforms. So we’re meeting them at the same creekside spot that Remy and Bear apparently met his old friends the first time, a secluded little niche on a hill a kilometer or so away from the worker residences.
And, apparently, we’re bringing a lot of food.
“The whole idea is to get them off their MealPak diets as quickly as possible,” Remy explained, as she handed me and Eli each two loaded sacks of food. “The more untainted food we can give them, the better. We don’t really know how long it will take for the sugar water replacements to take effect.”
“Where did you guys get all this?” Eli asked.
“Normandy,” Remy said, nonchalantly. “This was supposed to be our food for the next week. But since you guys showed up, there’s plenty to go ’round, right?”
Eli and I glanced at each other, neither of us bothering to correct her: we did not, in fact, bring plenty of food to go around. We had expected to pick her and Bear up today and take them back to Normandy, and get on with the LOTUS mission. But, with our prized roasted boar now socked away in the cave, I figure we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
