by G J Ogden
A smog of black smoke covered the area where the six angular craft had stood. Ethan ran towards it, instinctively, but was unable to balance and stumbled and fell, grazing knees and elbows with each futile attempt. Voices were shouting behind him, but he forced himself up and on towards the black cloud. The smoke was thick and tasted bitter. It stung his eyes and made them stream with dirty, grey tears.
“Where are you?” he coughed into the darkness.
Covering his mouth with his sleeve he pushed on through the dense, smothering fog. Then he saw her, lying on the ground, blown clear of her own ship, which had shielded her from the worst of the explosion, but was itself now on fire. Terror gripped him, but he forced himself on, still stumbling every other step until he was at her side. With all the strength left in him he managed to pull her up and draped her arm over his shoulder. His legs burned, and his throat felt like he had swallowed thorns. He could see outlines of objects moving through the smoke and fought on towards them, forcing his eyes to stay open, despite the searing black smoke that burned like acid. He drove on until the fog cleared and then he collapsed to the smooth, hard deck, Maria falling as a dead weight on top of him. He again heard urgent voices shouting. Above him, a gaping hole in the dome had been sealed by a black web of fibres that had shot out from nearby cross-sections. He coughed violently and felt a bitter mucous in his mouth, which he tried to spit out. It oozed down the side of his face, and he wanted to wipe it away, but couldn’t move his arms. The voices grew more distant in his ringing ears, and his vision darkened. He coughed violently, tasting the thick, bitter mucous again, and then passed out.
chapter 20
Ethan opened his eyes and bright light flooded in, making his eyes sting and his head throb. As his vision adjusted, he realised that his eyes were still stinging, so the brightness could not be the cause. Everything was a blur of white and grey and his throat felt as dry as tree bark. And there was still a distant ringing in his ears, like the sound of the wind chimes hanging from his sister’s porch, heard from outside the walls, from the old tree on the mound where he would gaze up at the lights and wonder. A blurry, white face stood above him.
“Elijah?” he rasped groggily.
“Ethan, can you hear me”? he heard a voice say, dimly. Then he felt a sharp pain in his arm. “Ethan, if you can hear me, say something,” said the same voice, closer now.
“Sir, if you wait a few moments the stimulant should bring him around,” said a different voice, also not recognisable.
He felt the fog in his head begin to lift and instead of a white blur he could now discern shapes in front of him. He blinked a few times and looked up again. Two faces were now clearly visible in front of him. One was Governor Archer and the other was a middle-aged woman, serious-looking, with piercing blue eyes and dark blonde hair.
“You’re not Elijah,” said Ethan, and instantly regretted it, realising how stupidly obvious that was. Then panic flooded into his gut. “Wait, Sal! Where is Sal?” He tried to sit up, but a stabbing pain in his chest fought him back down. He coughed roughly and his throat stung. He gagged with the taste of bitter mucus.
“Please, you must rest,” said the serious woman. “We’re still processing your blood. You are going to be fine, but you must let the medicines do their work.”
“Where is Sal? Captain Salus, I mean, where is she?” pleaded Ethan again, ignoring the woman and again trying to sit up, with the same lack of success. He slumped back down, and exhaled a painful, exhausted breath. “Captain Maria Salus,” he asked again, weakly. “Tell me, is she okay?”
“Ethan, this is Governor Archer, can you hear me?”
“I can hear you,” said Ethan, frustrated that his one simple question had still not been answered. “Where is she? Please, I must know!”
Archer placed a hand on Ethan’s chest, with just enough pressure to keep him from trying to sit up again. “Easy there,” he said, in a comforting tone. Ethan wasn’t able to see, but he was sure Archer was wearing his usual, easy smile as he said this. “You saved her life,” Archer continued. “Your brave – some might say reckless – rescue attempt was a success. You pulled her out in time, but…”
“But… what?” interrupted Ethan, panicking again. He struggled against Archer’s hold, feeling himself getting stronger. Seeing this, the woman also now joined in the effort of keeping him lying flat.
“You must lie still,” the woman said, sternly. “Captain Salus is in a serious condition, but she is stable.” Ethan relaxed a little. Stable at least meant she wasn’t at immediate risk. As he relaxed he became more aware of his own body again, and that he was already feeling more able. He looked over to the table beside him and saw a syringe, presumably the source of the sharp pain he felt earlier. Whatever had been in it was doing a good job of reviving him.
“If you’ll remain calm, Ethan, I will adjust the bed so you are sitting more upright,” said the woman. “But you must agree to remain calm and restful. High stress will increase your blood pressure and inhibit the work of the medicine I gave you.”
Ethan nodded. The woman ducked out of view and then the bed began to tilt upright accompanied by a mechanical-sounding whir. When he was at about forty-five degrees it stopped and the woman reappeared next to Archer, who was now wearing the same utilitarian style of uniform as Maria. The woman on the other hand was dressed in a white, short-sleeved shirt and trousers. She had an ID badge pinned to her left breast pocket, which read, ‘Angela Salus, Consultant’.
Ethan’s eyes widened. “Are you…”
“Yes, Maria is my sister,” the woman said, anticipating the question. “So believe me when I tell you, her care is my first priority.”
“Of course, yes, I’m sorry,” Ethan said, feeling embarrassed.
“Nothing to apologise for, Ethan,” said Archer smoothly. “I’m aware that you and Captain Salus have formed a bond, which is not surprising considering your shared ordeals.”
Now it was the Doctor’s eyes that widened slightly. Ethan felt suddenly exposed and tried his best not to look at her. This wasn’t how he’d imagined meeting a relative of Maria's, not that he'd even considered that as a possibility. After Maria had told him about the death of her parents, Ethan had assumed that Maria had no surviving family members. He wondered what else he didn’t know about her, and realised he knew barely anything at all. He tried to clear his mind and it was then he remembered interrupting Archer.
“You were about to say ‘but’,” Ethan said to Archer.
“Excuse me?” replied Archer, confused.
“Earlier, before I interrupted you, you said I pulled her out in time, ‘but’. “What is the ‘but’?”
Archer nodded, remembering, and took a deep, thoughtful breath. “Ah, yes,” he said. “Well, perhaps Doctor Salus can explain.” Ethan eyed Archer suspiciously, wondering why he had suddenly deferred responsibility to his companion, and shifted his gaze towards her.
“I shall put it plainly,” said Angela Salus. “Maria’s injuries I can treat, but her exposure to the fumes after the explosion was severe. Your apparently highly robust constitution protects you from more than just orrum exposure, it seems. Maria is not so lucky, and I am unable to purge the toxins fully from her blood.”
“But I thought you said she was stable?” Ethan said, feeling the panic begin to surge again.
Angela was quick to clarify. “She is, for now, but in order for her to remain that way I need a far more potent anti-toxin. Fortunately, Governor Archer has just informed me that you are here to recover the very equipment I need to synthesise such a serum. A happy coincidence.”
Ethan slumped back into his bed. “The device on the stranded ship?”
Angela Salus nodded. “Yes.”
Ethan felt on the verge of losing his composure again. He hated how they danced around subjects, never speaking plainly. “How long does she have?” he asked, addressing Angela specifically.
“Seventy-two hours.” The reply was clinical
, matter-of-fact, almost cold. Ethan couldn't understand her lack of emotion. Ever since their arrival these people had talked about their impending doom with the sort of emotional detachment he had only seen in Roamers. Ethan had felt like a raw nerve for so long he couldn't remember feeling any other way, existing in a persistently heightened state, trying to process everything that had confronted him. Had it not been for Maria, he likely would have snapped.
Ethan squeezed his hands together, flexing and stretching his fingers. Then he wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing tightly, trying to measure the level of his own strength. He continued to feel stronger and more clear-headed. He brought his hands again back into a clasp and looked resolutely at Archer. “When can we be ready to go?”
Archer smiled, but this time it was not the practised, easy smile that Ethan was wearily tired of seeing, but something more natural, as if Archer respected Ethan’s boldness and willingness to jump into action. “Kurren will have everything prepared in just less than six hours,” he said. “We will need to give you some basic instruction too, but we can fit that into the time. I suggest we go as soon as everything is ready!” he added, enthusiastically, but the Doctor’s reaction was less so.
“That is too soon,” said Angela. “He needs more rest and more treatments to fully recover.”
“There is no time, Doctor,” Archer shot back, just as firm. “They are already re-grouping for another attack.”
“How do you know that?” said Ethan. “Why are they being so aggressive now?” Archer considered the question, and exchanged tense looks with the Doctor, as if they knew something and were weighing up whether or not to tell Ethan. “If you know something, tell me!” snapped Ethan, unable to hide his agitation any longer.
“They know we have a Planetsider,” Archer replied without further hesitation.
“What?”
“They know we recovered a Planetsider. They know why. And they intend to prevent us from succeeding with our plan.”
There was a chilling silence in the room. And then Ethan understood. The realisation sent a shiver down his spine and turned his stomach into knots. “They intend to destroy the ship?” he said.
“Yes,” replied Archer, calmly.
“But, how do they know?” said Ethan.
“We're not entirely sure,” Archer admitted. “They may have intercepted some communications. Or they could have hacked into our systems. We're checking every possibility. But the assault was not random, it was also for reconnaissance, and we believe they have now detected the location of the ship, and will be coming for it, at any cost.”
Ethan swung his legs out of the bed and placed his feet on the floor, which was hard and cold, but he didn’t flinch. He fought himself upright, pushing back the pain that shot through his body like a thousand nettle stings. Angela Salus instinctively went to grab him, expecting him to fall, but Archer understood better, and remained still. Angela's hands caught Ethan’s arms, but instead of weakness, she felt strength. And when she looked into his eyes, she saw his resolve, and gingerly let go.
“Take me where I need to go,” Ethan said to Archer, staring intensely into the General's clever eyes.
“Of course…” Archer began, but Ethan had not finished.
“But first, please let me see Sal,” he said. “Let me see Maria, I need to see her.” Angela looked over at Archer, and he nodded.
“I will have someone bring you clothes and then, when you are ready, we will get started,” Archer said, and then turned to leave. After a few steps, he paused, and half-turned back. “You are a very brave man, young Planetsider,” he said. “She is lucky to have…” and then he hesitated for a moment, glancing across to Angela, before adding, “… a friend like you.” Ethan was grateful for Archer's discretion, but also encouraged by it. Archer's subtle acknowledgement that he understood Ethan and Maria to be more than just friends almost felt like it made them 'official'.
“What you are is a reckless, headstrong, impulsive fool,” Angela said sharply, once Archer was out of earshot. Ethan was quite taken aback, and despite himself, almost laughed. But then Angela smiled warmly and added, “Which is probably why my block-headed sister likes you.”
Ethan smiled back, relieved that Angela's anger was not genuine. She then led him through a door and into an adjoining room, similar in overall size and design to the one they had left. On the bed, laid flat, fed with tubes from a number of strange looking machines, each with differing patterns of flickering displays, blinking lights and mechanical noises, was Maria. Ethan felt his heart sink.
“Don’t worry,” said Angela, sensing his disquiet, “she is fine. Sedated, but fine.”
Ethan stood in the room and looked at her. The blinking lights and rhythmic noises were quite soothing, almost hypnotic, and he felt his anxiety and worry slowly ebb away. He noticed that Angela was standing beside the bed, gently holding Maria’s hand. He thought of his own sister and family, and realised how they must also be feeling now, not knowing whether Ethan was alive or dead, and was again racked with guilt. But there was no time for that now.
A man walked into the room holding a bundle of clothes and a pair of boots. “For you sir,” he said, politely, as he placed the items on a chair at the back of the room, “I’ll be waiting outside for you when you’re ready, sir,” he added and then left the room again.
“I’ll get you what you need to save her,” Ethan said calmly a few seconds later.
“I don’t know why, but I believe you will,” Angela replied. But then she said something that surprised him. “And then what will you do?”
Ethan leant over, closer to the unconscious face of Captain Maria Salus. She looked peaceful, he thought. Peaceful and beautiful. “I don’t know,” he replied, honestly.
Ethan didn’t see Angela smile, he only heard her words. “When you come back, you should ask her.”
“I’m afraid of what she’ll say,” said Ethan without thinking. And there it was, unveiled as much to himself as to Angela. He was afraid that after this was over, there would be no Ethan and Maria. That he had imagined her affection towards him, or read too much into it. And that he would be alone.
“We’re all just living one day to the next, Planetsider,” said Angela. “Whether it’s up here, or down on the planet, makes no difference. You just need to decide where it is you belong.”
Ethan straightened and turned to face Maria's sister. He could see the similarities now, in the shape of the mouth and the eyes, and the way their hair fell over their faces. “I’ve never really felt like I belonged anywhere,” he said, openly, “But I’m wondering now if, maybe, I belong with her.” And then his face betrayed a sense of concern, “I just don’t know if she thinks the same.”
Angela smiled again, and this time Ethan saw it. He was glad to see that it offered genuine warmth, perhaps even affection. The doctor shrugged and said, “Well, why don’t we start with you coming back here in one piece, and then let’s all of us find out together.”
chapter 21
Angela had wished Ethan luck and left the room to allow him to change into the clothes provided. This proved more of an effort than he anticipated, as he struggled to fasten the various straps and buckles. Satisfied that he had finally done everything correctly he went out to meet the man who was to take him back to Archer to start his preparations. His steps were awkward at first, but he soon felt his joints and muscles loosen, and the aches and pains ease. He was far from fully fit, but he was much stronger than he had been only an hour or so previously, and much stronger than he had expected to feel in such a short time. If they can do this for him then with the right equipment he was sure they could save Maria. And then he was truly in uncharted territory, probably for the first time in his life.
His sense of wonder, and what Summer called his 'obsessive curiosity', always meant that Ethan had something to chase after. Whether it was his desire to learn about the past, to uncover the mysteries of the lights in the night sky, or to charge
blindly into the unknown to investigate an alien object without a moment’s hesitation, Ethan had always been driven. It was what had kept him motivated and made him effective as a Ranger. But it was also what prevented him from living in the moment, like he could never do with Summer. Perhaps that’s why she was always so competitive with him, Ethan wondered, because by challenging him, she retained his interest, and he kept her in his sights, instead of dreaming of something always just out of reach. Now Maria was the ultimate mystery, the ultimate obsession. She was the very embodiment of the unknown, and so naturally Ethan would be drawn to her.
On top of his anxiety about Maria, Ethan was still tormented by conflicting emotions. There was his guilt for leaving his sister and Elijah, which had swelled from a small acorn in his belly and sprouted roots that tugged harder on his insides each passing day. And then the worry about Summer, and if she had survived, or if she had killed Kurren – Maria’s comrade and friend. His uneasiness about the moon base and the people on it, whose comfortable lives were an insult to the suffering and struggle of the Planetsiders. The injustice made him feel almost physically sick. And then there was Maria, the tempestuous, alluring stranger who had exploded into his life like a volcanic eruption and changed everything. She had revealed to him the truths he had desired since he was a boy, and at the same time shattered his fantasies about the past and his hopes for the future. It had been a rude awakening that had left him searching for purpose for the first time in his life. And so he had latched on to Maria, because of what she represented, and because it gave him a cause. Perhaps that was all there was to it. Perhaps once this was over, Ethan would again be left as barren and empty as the world below them.
He mulled these thoughts over and over in his mind as he walked, silently, alongside the man who was escorting him. Ultimately, such considerations were pointless, he realised, because he had no answers. All he could do was the same thing that had led him to this place – follow his gut. And his gut told him that he loved her. And it was enough for now, Ethan realised.
