[scifan] plantation - books one to three

by Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons

have no idea where to start looking. The teams have all been assigned a specific section of the station while I just want to be everywhere at the same time.

  I run into a group of fighters. Five of them with five loaded guns.

  “Any news?” I ask. “It’s my son and sister who are missing.” I don’t know why I say that. They

  know who I am. Everybody knows.

  “Sorry, nothing yet,” the one in charge responds.

  It crosses my mind that Tobi and Pip could be off the station already. Maybe the empress sent

  her teleporting beams to get them out of our reach. Then all this would be pointless. And my

  punishment complete.

  I reach the crossroads that connect the four sectors and cannot decide which direction to take. I

  am out of breath. I try to hold on to the idea that if the empress has my son and sister, it is because she wants me. She will contact me for an exchange. Which I will be happy this time to give her.

  A pair of teenagers run by me toward Sector Four. Then another group of fighters does the same.

  I try to pull myself back together and follow the crowd. I run on the moving walkway as fast as I can, something that is strictly prohibited. I push people away, blindly putting one foot in front of the other.

  I reach Sector Four and head for the main square. The square is full of people, civilians, fighters

  and medics. I try to get through the crowd but it’s hard, everybody wants to get to the front.

  I keep pushing and shoving when a hand grabs me.

  “I was going to call you,” Joshua says. “Come this way.”

  I follow him obediently, not sure where he’s taking me. He opens a door and we enter an office.

  “Pip and Tobi are fine,” he says. “They have been taken to the hospital wing to be examined by

  the medics but they seemed to be unharmed.”

  “What happened?” I say just barely able to process the good news.

  “It was one of us,” he says sadly. “His name is Gabe. One of our fighters. Highly trained and

  greatly ambitious. I don’t have the details but it seems that he decided to work for the other side.

  Bribery, is my guess. Maybe extortion. Maybe overzealousness. I don’t know yet. I don’t know when

  it started. He will be interrogated.”

  “How did you find him?”

  “We didn’t. Damian did. He found the kidnapper in the hangar moments before he took off in a

  space pod with Tobi. He had already tied Pip down and hidden her in a supply closet.”

  I walk to the door but Joshua stops me.

  “I have to go see them,” I say.

  “No, wait, Freya. I know that Damian is Tobi’s father. The kidnapper, he had a magnetic knife

  on him. When Damian grabbed him and threw him to the ground, Gabe managed to throw that knife at

  him.”

  “Where did it hit?” I say.

  “His chest.”

  Everything goes black. “He’s not dead?” I say. I know what magnetic knives can do. They’re

  bad enough if they hit a leg or an arm, it almost always means amputation, but his chest? A regular

  person would have died in an instant.

  “He’s not dead,” Joshua says. “Not yet. He kept fighting Gabe until he knocked him out. Then he

  took Tobi out of the pod and called security before collapsing. And that’s all I know.”

  “We’re wasting time,” I say. “I have to heal him.”

  “Heal him? I’ve never seen anybody lose that much blood and come back,” he says.

  I smile at him and put my hand on his. “Have some faith,” I say and go out the door. Finn would

  be proud of me. I take out the receptor and create a single sizzling energy line that I cast above the crowd. Gradually, they turn to look at me curiously.

  “Out of my way,” I say and the crowd divides in two separate groups so I can walk through.

  I reach the square and find Damian in a pool of blood. I run and kneel down next to him. My

  shoes and pants get soaked in his blood. The medics have been trying to stop the bleeding with

  pressure and coagulating foams but that’s not possible. Not with the magnetic knife stuck in his chest.

  Any attempt to pull it out or even move him in any way will kill him for sure.

  “Freya,” he says.

  “Shush, don’t talk. I have a lot of work to do,” I scold him. His face and hair are covered in

  blood. There’s blood everywhere. “Please, move back,” I tell the two medics. They look at each

  other but can’t make up their minds.

  “Do as she says,” Joshua orders them and they back off.

  “How close to the heart is it?” I say.

  “Missed it by an inch,” one of the medics says.

  That’s good, I think and close my eyes to focus for a moment but I feel Damian’s hand reaching out for mine. I take it and hold it gently.

  “I saved him,” he says.

  “I know you did. Now shut up.”

  My whole being concentrates on one point. That knife has got to come out without causing any

  further harm. I turn on the receptor’s white energy field. I guide it over Damian’s chest and bathe the magnetic knife in it. I fight against the molecules that fix the knife tightly to the bones like the tentacles of an octopus. The white light spreads over the knife until it starts sparkling. Millions of tiny sparks travel up to the ceiling and then fall down like silver confetti. They all come together around the knife and fuse with it.

  Damian makes a sigh as if a weight has been lifted off of him.

  I turn to the medics. “You can pull the knife out,” I say. “Then I will close the wound.”

  They look at me hypnotized. They no longer doubt my words. They place clean gauzes around

  the wound drenched in coagulating foams and local analgesics. As soon as the knife is out, I send a

  rainbow of light down the gash in Damian’s chest. It works its magic gradually until the skin mends

  over and goes from red to a bright pink.

  I sit down and try to catch my breath. I feel arms around me. Zoe and Tilly and Scout. My vision

  is blurred and my heart is racing but unlike the night when I healed Rabbit, I remain conscious and

  breathing.

  The medics hurry to take Damian away to the hospital wing. He will need a blood transfusion,

  they tell me. He smiles at me as they’re carting him away and puts his hand on his heart to say thank

  you.

  “You should go to the hospital, too,” Zoe says but I realize I can’t go to that place now that Doc

  is gone. I won’t be able to for a long time. I can’t bring myself to cross that doorstep even when my

  own child is there.

  *

  THEY ASK ME IF I WANT to interrogate Gabe myself and I refuse. They tell me that he

  contacted Plantation-15 on his own initiative, initially to inform them about me and then to inform

  them about Tobi, and all I do is shrug my shoulders. They tell me that he has been found guilty of

  treason and will be executed and it doesn’t make any difference to me either way. The Empress

  knows about my child. The harm is done. I will have to spend every waking moment protecting him.

  That’s all that matters. But when they ask if I want to be present at the execution, I say yes.

  It’s not something I would have anticipated for myself but it’s too late to take it back. A lot is

  expected of me now and I can’t keep letting people down.

  There are very few witnesses in the small room where Gabe will be read his charges and given

  a small portion of a concoction that will put him to sleep before claiming his life.

  The only Saviors present besides me are Finn and Damian. I don’t know if they’re here because
r />   they have been invited or because they wanted to offer me some kind of support.

  There are two rows of seats and I choose to sit in the back. Damian and Finn sit on either side of

  me. The commander is wheeled in and placed in the center of the front row along with the judge and

  two members of the military council.

  I see Gabe for the first time when two guards bring him in. I am shocked at how young he is, not

  much older than Damian and Finn, and how healthy he looks. He has been treated well despite his

  betrayal.

  They have him sit on a chair on the small stage in front of us and the judge reads him a long list

  with all his transgressions. Treason, kidnapping, spying, endangering lives. But when the vial with the deadly concoction is brought in, the commander raises his hand.

  He turns to look at me. “It seems only fair to ask you if you would want to be the one to execute

  the prisoner.”

  My jaw drops to the floor at his words. “What do you mean?” I say.

  “I mean that he tried to steal your child and give him to your enemies. You might want to end his

  life yourself. In whatever way you see fit.”

  I consider this for a moment and then I shake my head.

  “Are you sure?” he insists. “It might feel good to answer his offense.”

  I search inside of me for the right words. “Yes, it would feel good,” I say. “Which is why I

  won’t do it. I can’t start wanting to take lives. This is not the kind of mother I want for my son.”

  Damian gets up. He has lost some weight and there are dark circles under his eyes. “I am the

  boy’s father,” he says. “I will kill the prisoner gladly.”

  I grab his arm. “Sit down, Damian,” I say. “I know this man almost killed you and took our son,

  but no one is going to die here today. The cycle of death has got to stop sometime. I choose today.

  That’s what I wish, Commander. That we start a world without executions.”

  “This is absurd,” the judge says. “We have laws thousands of years old. Treason is the ultimate

  crime.”

  The commander turns to the members of the military council. “What does the council rule?” he

  asks.

  The two whisper something to each other. Then the older one stands up. “We think that Freya is

  the path to the future. We should follow her there.”

  “There you go then,” Commander Eldritch says. “I don’t know if life in prison is a better option

  for a young man but it will be as you desire.”

  Finn squeezes my hand. I knew he would be pleased with my decision and maybe he counted on

  me to make it before I even knew I would. I guess my thirst for vengeance is over. My real work

  starts now. I want to build.

  *

  FINN SITS WITH TOBI and me on the carpet in my room. Pip has made toys out of cloth for the

  baby. Finn and I have played with him for so long that he’s finally given up and fallen asleep.

  “If only I could pass out just like that,” Finn says.

  “You actually do,” I say.

  “That’s not true,” he protests. “I don’t even remember the last time I was able to doze off in the

  middle of the day.”

  “Ah, try yesterday. Right after you and Rabbit came back from training.”

  “How could you even know that, Tick? Does anything escape you?”

  “I know of a little rabbit that talks as fast as he runs,” I say.

  “Sounds about right.”

  “He also told me you have a date tomorrow.”

  Finn laughs. “I can’t hide a damn thing from you,” he says. “You have too many spies.” Then he

  looks at me seriously. “I will have to be honest with her.”

  “Why don’t you get honest with me and give me a preview of what you will say?”

  He pinches the top of my hand and I let a cry out.

  “Shush, you’ll wake the baby,” he says.

  “Just tell me what you will tell her,” I insist.

  “That’s none of your business,” he says.

  “You know what? You’re a bit too young for her. She’ll dump you eventually.”

  “I’m glad to see you’re in a playful mood.”

  I reach over and kiss him on the cheek. “Nothing lasts,” I say. “That’s the lesson I’ve learned.

  I’m going to be grateful for every moment I spend with those I love.”

  He puts his head in my lap. I can’t resist. I lean over his ear. “It’s payback time,” I whisper and

  start tickling him. He didn’t see it coming. He tries to push me away but I keep coming back until we

  hear a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” I say laughing but when Damian walks in, I realize that I hadn’t taken that possibility

  into consideration.

  Finn sits up and I instinctively rub my sleeping baby’s back.

  “I’m sorry for the interruption,” Damian says. “But since you’re both here, I might as well say it.

  I want to thank you both for your patience with me. Freya, you saved my life. Twice. I think that

  makes us even. And Finn, I’ve mocked you about it before, but it’s true. You have been there for

  Freya and Tobi and I hope you will continue to do so. They need you even if they don’t know it. Take

  good care of them.”

  Finn is speechless.

  “Why do you say this now?” I say. “Are you going anywhere?”

  “No plans to. I mean, I don’t know what I’m going to do but my whereabouts has nothing to do

  with what I said.”

  “Why did you say it then?” I insist.

  “Because it’s the right thing to do and you are my friends,” he says and I think Finn will fall to

  the ground in shock.

  “Thanks, Damian,” I say awkwardly. “You’re our friend, too. Right, Finn?”

  “Right. Yes, of course,” Finn says lamely.

  “Good to know,” Damian says before he nods and hurries away.

  20

  It’s late at night when I arrive at the underground base. I’ve come straight from Spring Town,

  our newly founded community to house the children of Plantation-8. There’s another community next

  to it for the Dark Legion but no name has been given to it yet.

  Joshua and Kroll have come with me. We’ve been in talks with the rebel Sliman about the

  necessity to shut down the base. It’s too risky to keep it going for everyone involved but especially

  the rebels.

  “You can come with us or stay at the plantations if you don’t want to turn into fugitives,” I tell

  Malzod. “It’s up to you. We have enough Omicron 5 now to keep you going for a while. We will soon

  be able to produce more. But the base could have been compromised. The best thing to do would be

  to destroy it.”

  “We can rebuild elsewhere,” Malzod says in the end. “With Wudak and Gritu gone there’s not

  much point keeping this place anyway. It was their will that kept it going.”

  “It’s the best thing to do under the circumstances,” Joshua says.

  Malzod steals a glance at Kroll who sits away from us, the whole time studying our every

  movement.

  “What will you do with him?” he says. “He gets extremely restless when you’re away.”

  “You don’t like him, do you?” I say with a smile.

  “Like him? He pounded my teeth in while he was sedated. You don’t like a beast like that. At

  best, you learn to ignore their presence.”

  “I’ll tell him to respect you and stay out of your way,” I offer. “Would that help?”

  Malzod shrugs his shoulders. “It
is yet to be seen,” he says.

  I swear Malzod has said more words in a single day today than he has in all the time that I’ve

  known him.

  “There is one more thing,” he says. “You have a promise to keep.”

  When his eyes become grave, I know immediately what he means.

  *

  ZOLKON STRUGGLES TO HIS FEET and steps to the bars of his cage. “I am surprised to see

  you again,” he says with respect. He looks thinner and weaker than the last time I saw him. It’s as if parts of him are closing down one at a time preparing for the final end.

  I step aside so he can see Kroll who’s waiting for me in the back.

  “Ah, the invincible beast,” Zolkon says rubbing his hands together. An attempt to laugh is

  immediately interrupted by pain. “I wish I could tell you I believed in you,” he says when he

  recovers. “But I deemed your kindness too great of a weakness to overcome.”

  “Kindness is not a weakness,” I say.

  Zolkon’s eyes grab onto mine. There is sweetness there, like a hopeful boy. “Did you come to

  fulfill your promise?” he says in a whisper.

  Malzod appears from the shadows. I watch Zolkon’s fearful eyes while death approaches him.

  “Not him,” he says. “You have to be the one to do it, girl. You have to liberate me. Nobody

  else.”

  Malzod nods and steps back in respect to some Sliman code I don’t understand. Kroll and

  Malzod turn around to give us privacy. I know I have to do what I came here to do.

  I reach for the receptor.

  Zolkon’s eyes beam with excitement when he sees it in my hand. “There’s my beauty, the OS-1456,” he says. “Never thought I’d see it again.”

  I raise the sensory receptor and create a small energy field. It caresses the lock on the cell until

  the door pops open.

  “I’ve decided to free you,” I say. “You’ve paid enough for your crimes. Learn from your

  mistakes and make wiser choices in the future.”

  Zolkon stares at me, for once unable to say anything.

  “The way I see it, you have two options,” I go on. “You can either try and get back with the

  aliens, try to convince them you’re still loyal to them and beg for an acceptable place with the Sliman officers. Or you can join us and start all over. You can find redemption and regain what they stole

  from you as a young boy. You can build from there. It’s your choice.”