by Mark Tufo
“Sir, the door is opening. The Colonel wanted me to warn you that we have very little time for any of your long goodbyes,” Reynolds said.
Frost gently took the letter from Mike’s outstretched hand into her mouth.
“Our prayers are with you,” Dee said as he nodded solemnly to the departing Rhodeeshians.
“They’re through,” Reynolds announced into the intercom.
“Buckle in—this is going to be close,” Tracy announced.
“Michael, I do not believe I have ever had a pleasant ride with your mate at the helm,” Dee said.
“She can hear you. Are you trying to get us killed?”
7
The Ogunquit
“Frost! Ferryn!” I exclaimed, running to meet them. “Are you alright?” I hugged them both. “What’s all over you?”
“We are surprisingly well.” Frost shook her body, much like a wet dog is apt to do, as she attempted to clear all the debris from her fur.
“Come,” Yondario said. We’d learned he was a young Genogerian diplomat, responsible for the care and treatment of any guests onboard the ship. “We have rooms where you may get yourself cleaned, find food and rest.”
“All of that sounds wonderful,” Frost replied. “This is for you and your sister.” Frost thrust out her snout for Winter to take the letter still firmly clutched in her mouth. I wasn’t thrilled when Frost and Ferryn were escorted somewhere else, but Frost told me everything would be all right, and I had to believe her.
My hands shook as I took it; the desire to open it up and read it immediately was almost too great for me, but first I had to get back to my sister, who was at this very moment getting a wound on her leg dressed. I quickly traversed the hallways back to the medical bay.
“Hey, Winter,” Cedar said as she sat on an oversized table. Serrot was hovering nervously nearby as two large Genogerians worked on the gash she had suffered.
“Does it hurt?” I asked. It was a nasty looking thing, five inches long and fairly deep.
“Nope. They gave me something and I can’t think about much besides clouds and chocolate. You look sad; please tell me nothing bad happened to any of them.” Cedar’s bottom lip popped out in a pouting manner.
“No, nothing like that. Frost and Ferryn are even now getting cleaned up. It’s just, we had family here, Cedar, and now they’re gone. We’ll never see them again…that makes me sad.”
“Good thing you have me, sis,” Cedar said, opening her arms wide. I found myself in the warm embrace of my sibling, much to the consternation of the Genogerian working on her.
“He left us a letter.” I held it up as I stepped back from her.
“Your wound will be incredibly itchy for the next hour. Do not scratch the wound or I will be forced to bind your hands up,” the Genogerian meddie told her. I don’t think he was going for humor; he looked and sounded completely serious. “I will be back in fifteen minutes. Leave it alone.”
“Leave what alone?” Cedar asked, a dopey smile upon her lips and glassy look in her eyes.
“Do you want me to wait to read this?” I asked her, though if anyone was itching to do something, it was me. Cedar looked like she could be attacked by a swarm of bees and wouldn’t have cared.
“Is she going to be all right?” Serrot asked, stroking Cedar’s forehead.
“I think it’s like the Cahol chips; it’ll wear off. I hope,” I added under my breath. I didn’t like the idea of my sister being perpetually loopy.
“Read the note, sis.” Cedar seemed to have a moment of clarity.
“You sure?” I asked.
“The meddie wasn’t kidding. If I could drag a cactus against my leg right now to satisfy this itch, I would. I need to think about something else.”
My hands shook as I ripped the envelope open. I cleared my throat and read. “My dearest Cedar and Winter, my hope was that we would have at least a few hours to sit and talk. But as they say, even the best laid plans have a way of going awry. I have no way of knowing if we had five minutes or five seconds or if this letter you hold now is all you will ever know of us. You need to know right from the beginning that Tracy and I love you both as if you were our own children. I’m sure the doubts within you are huge—you doubt us, you doubt your purpose, you doubt that it is possible to have a worthwhile outcome; we have felt these doubts as well. There’s so much Tracy and I want to tell you, but I’ve been warned by MJ that to do so could have dire consequences. Seems weird that people from the past have to be careful what they say to those from the future; it really seems like it should be the other way around.
“One of the hardest things we’ve had to do was to hide some of our technology from those that would come later. If not for Mad Jack, this wouldn’t have been possible. And neither would have been your rescue, which I’m assuming went well because you’re reading this. We know all about your past, another something you have doubts about. Just know that your mother and father loved you deeply. And don’t worry that Beth is part of your lineage; it matters little. Events happened around her that broke her down; unfortunately, she could not build herself back up to her full potential. She was flawed—well, she was Human. She did possess a single-mindedness that was strong and unique in its own way.”
“That’s one way of explaining her file.” Cedar stuck her tongue out and swirled her finger up around her temple as she rolled her eyes. “Crazy. It means she was crazy,” she explained to me to quell the confused look I wore upon my face.
“Now, I’m sure you’re asking why. Why did we have to hide things? I cannot go into detail—somewhat because it is important that you discover this on your own, but even more importantly, if I am captured or killed this letter might fall into enemy hands, and that would not do. Just know there was a reason for where we were and what we were doing. If you made it on to the ship we were trying to get you on, then these beings are your greatest allies; you can trust them implicitly. I know that especially for you, Winter, this will not come easily. Follow Cedar in this regard. We wish more than anything we could walk with you in what are going to be incredibly trying times, but you have each other, and it seems some decent friends you have made along the way. Good luck to all of you, and Godspeed. Tracy and I love you both dearly, always hold that thought deep within you.”
I turned the note over hoping there was more but knowing there wasn’t. He had said so much without saying anything at all, really. I felt a touch of sadness, but there was a fair degree of anger there as well. There was so much we needed to know that we knew nothing about…how could we possibly succeed?
“It’ll be alright, sis,” Cedar said in a sing-song voice.
“How can you know that?” I snapped back.
“Because the alternative is that it isn’t and I don’t accept that, silly. Now everyone needs to go. I’m tired.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Serrot told me as he grabbed a chair.
“If I start to snore you need to ignore me,” Cedar told him as she lay down, fluffed her pillow, closed her eyes and was immediately asleep.
“What are you doing?” Tallow asked. “I’ve seen that look in your eyes before, Win.”
“I’m going to demand some answers,” I told him, heading out the door.
“And if the scaly ones don’t want to give any?” Lendor interceded.
“I guess we’ll see.” I was in such a rush to head out to somewhere and get answers from someone I wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going. I slammed my head hard into the breastplate of a Genogerian.
“Come, I have more permanent quarters for you,” he said.
“I’m sick of being relegated to quarters. I want to see your leader.”
“You will, but not now.”
“I demand it!” I thrust my hands down by my side. The Genogerian seemed put out by my petulant demeanor.
“I do not believe you understand the complexity and fragility of our immediate situation. High Councilman Lodilin is currently talking to
the Commander of the Battle Class Ship Iron Sides. It seems strange that you have already forgotten the events that have so recently transpired, but since that seems to be the case, I will once again explain them to you. You were rescued from the Iron Sides by figures that are legendary among both our races. You were deposited here. They returned; the human ship suffered damage with the next rescue attempt and once again, a legendary race we thought long extinct is resurrected, and, once again, brought here. Humans and Genogerians share a long and rich history. In the beginning, we were mortal enemies, doing all in our power to destroy the other. Then we discovered who our true enemy was and aligned with humanity. This was one of the most prosperous times in either of our existences. For generations, we lived in peaceful harmony, but all things must pass. When war once again broke out upon the planet’s surface, even with our combined forces, we were losing, The only way to save what remained was to take the fight from the planet and into space. This was the beginning of the Happening, an event so cataclysmic it caused humanity to diverge from its natural evolutionary path. We have been fighting in space for so long, Earth has been forgotten by most.”
“But not by you.” I knew that to be the truth.
“Not by us, but we have not been able to go back. We have stayed in the alliance with man; we feign ignorance to what they have done. Always we maintain the hope that we can go back to Earth and right this great wrong.”
“We keep hearing about this ‘Happening,’ but no one is saying what it is exactly,” Tallow said.
“And you will not hear it from me,” he replied curtly. He seemed sorry that he’d even brought it up.
“What’s your name?” I asked. I wasn’t sure how familiar I wanted to get with him—with any of them—but for a reason I could not put my finger on, I felt more comfortable around the crocodile giants than around those on the other ship, and that thought, in and of itself, was disconcerting.
“For your tongue, it would be easier if you called me Porter,” he said.
“Porter, we really need to get back to Earth,” I told him. “We have friends there that need our help; there are Stryvers there. The pickets still exist; our new settlement has been destroyed. We can’t afford to be up here being shuttled back and forth from one ship to the other as guests of anyone.” I made sure to lay a heavy emphasis on guests.
“If we were to bring you back to your home planet, it is very likely that the Iron Sides would come back for you.”
“Why? What is it about them? Why are they so important?” Lendor asked. I gave him a sidelong glance. “I did not mean it like that,” he said to me. I smiled.
“I do not have the authority to discuss such matters. Now come; my orders were to escort you to more suitable quarters.” Porter turned away from us and was heading down the hallway. None of us followed. There was a loud chuffing sound as he blew air around the large jowls of his snout. He slowly turned. “You are not following me.”
“Nope.” I folded my arms across my chest. He was easily five or six times my size and I didn’t have a weapon; maybe I should not have felt quite as confident in mine or any of my party’s safety, but I had the distinct impression that they would do all in their power to keep us from harm, and whether it was acceptable or not, I was going to use what I hoped was that fact to our advantage.
“What gives?” Cedar shouldered past me. “You know I get real cranky when I get my sleep interrupted.” She stood on her tiptoes and looked Serrot in the face, even made her eyes go wide as she stared at him for a long uncomfortable moment. The poor guy had been quiet throughout and was going to take the blame, most likely because he hadn’t quelled the discussion.
“This is your sister’s fault.” He pointed.
“Winter, don’t make me wear your favorite white cardigan sweater and spill mustard all down the front of it. Even with bleach, that’s not coming out. You’d likely have to dye it black; it would never be the same.”
“Cedar, I understand about as much of that sentence as I do everything else going on around us,” I told her.
“Battle stations; prepare to buckle. Battle stations; prepare to buckle.” This was announced throughout the ship. Unlike on the Iron Sides, the announcement was much more subdued; even the lighting, which had flashed an angry red on the other ship, only pulsed a brighter white, rapidly, three times before returning to its normal state.
“Come; this is no time to be obstinate,” Porter said as he turned back to us.
“Who you calling obstinate?” Cedar yelled. She was dragging Serrot with her and following Porter, who had started to move.
“Whatever you choose to do, I am by your side,” Lendor said to me.
I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. I had made a stand and now was deciding if I should stick to it to the end. But to what end? If we were truly heading into battle, me standing in the middle of the walkway looking all irritable would accomplish little. We had to move to the side as Genogerians poured forth from whatever room or parts of the ship they had been in so that they could get to where they needed to be for whatever was to come.
“This is unprecedented.” Porter looked nervous, at least as much as I could tell from his mannerisms and minimal facial expression. “Winter, the events that are happening now can directly be attributed to you and your sister’s presence. It is imperative that you are moved to a safer portion of the ship, and I must get to my duty station quickly. Please,” he said.
I relented, if only to get out of the path of the giants flowing around me. They had done their best to avoid us, but we’d been sideswiped half a dozen times already, wouldn’t be long before we were trampled underfoot. We moved quickly; Porter was moving so fast it was difficult to keep up with his long strides. My legs were beginning to burn by the time we got to the appropriate door.
Porter made a hand signal and an opening appeared. “This is High Councilman Lodilin’s private chambers. I have not had much contact with humans, but I know enough to realize you are an inquisitive species. It would be best for all involved if you did not touch anything while you are in here. He waited until we’d all filed in before he followed. The room was much like the one we had vacated, though it was laden with decorations; there were frames upon the walls that displayed pictures that moved in brief, ten-second clips.
“Are these movies?” Cedar wondered as she went closer, her hand reaching toward one of them.
“I just spoke the words. Have they not had enough time to sink into your brain matter and be translated into action?” Porter asked.
“Sorry,” Cedar said sheepishly. “I’ve…we’ve never seen anything like this.”
Some of the pictures were of what we presumed was a younger Lodilin in some sort of prestigious ceremony; there were a bunch of those. There were also ones of Lodilin getting into a fighter or smiling atop a mountain and waving to us. Each one seemed to tell a story, and it was difficult to pull one’s gaze away from them.
Serrot had gone over to a high table where a stone roughly the size of his head glowed a bright golden color.
“I knew it was unwise to bring you here.” Porter was watching Serrot, whose hand had been moving involuntarily toward the stone. “If you lay your hands upon the Fendrical plant from Kilfario, it will be the last tangible thought you will possess for the next twenty-four hours.”
“What, that’s a plant?” Serrot asked, though he pulled back as if it was aflame.
“It is a powerful hallucinogenic that will transport your mind to realms that are beyond fantasy.”
“That does not seem extremely bad.” Lendor had moved closer.
“Ah, yes, but at a significant cost. If the being has not properly prepared themselves, it can be a quite um…an uncomfortable experience.”
“Why?” I asked.
“To begin, there is an immediate and explosive release of one’s entire bowel system.”
“Bowel mean what I think it means?” Serrot asked Cedar.
Cedar nodded. Serrot
backed up slowly, as if fearful that the vibrations from his footsteps might be enough to make the plant fall from its perch.
“Observe. Lodilin requests your presence here for this reason.” Porter stepped over to the far side of the room and pressed something that I could not see. The gray wall turned opaque and then illuminated. We were looking on the bridge. Lodilin was seated in the commander’s chair and was talking to Commander Breeson on a much larger screen in front of him. Breeson had flares of red crawling up his neck; even without the sound on it was clear he was angry. Porter touched something else and Breeson’s voice came through.
“…Don’t play the diplomatic immunity card with me, High Councilman. We were attacked. We’ve suffered casualties. My ship’s hull has been breached and cracked by a means we are not even aware of.”
“And that is why we are here, Commander, to assist you in any way possible,” Lodilin said calmly.
“You can assist me, High Councilman, by giving back what was illegally taken.”
“Taken? Are you suggesting that we somehow attacked you? Boarded your ship and stole something?”
“Lodilin, we have known each other a great many years. While we may not be considered friends, we have always been respectful of each other, so I am unsure as to why now you have deemed it necessary to insult my intelligence.”
“I have not, nor will I ever doubt your intelligence, Commander.”
“Do not talk to me in circles, Lodilin! The mere fact that you have met us out on a buckle is highly suspect. We were attacked by a technology that we cannot detect or track; what do you expect me to believe other than you had something to do with it?”
“First off, Commander Breeson,” Lodilin stood, the timbre of his voice taking on more depth and breadth as he spoke and moved closer to the screen, “my title to you is High Councilman Lodilin, a status I worked for decades to achieve through numerous battles across the cosmos and was elected to by a panel from all the allied races. I did not get to my present station because my father was a famed figure during the Staffington Campaign.”
