by Erica Rue
It was midday when they landed, and after only a few minutes the square was packed with people, many holding plates of food. We must have interrupted their lunch, she thought as she parked the craft.
Brian opened the back of the shuttle and stepped outside, hands raised in surrender. “I’m not here to fight. I’m here to warn you all about the ships that flew overhead last night.”
Lithia followed his lead, saying nothing. She scanned the crowd for Victoria, but she wasn’t there.
“The ships that landed last night are full of the demons from the old stories,” he continued. “They’re actually aliens called Vens. The Icon destroyed one of the ships, but not the others. They are probably already on their way here now. I’ve come to unlock the Flyers so we can go to the Mountain Temple. We’ll be much safer there until we can come up with a plan to beat them.”
The crowd exchanged looks, and Lithia even heard a few laughs. What was wrong with these people?
A young man strode toward them from the main building, the Temple, as they called it. His hair was blond and short, and he was very skinny. He approached Brian and sighed, not the least bit worried about the dire news.
“Brian, you shouldn’t have come back so soon,” he said. “You know I’ll have to arrest you.”
“Nick? Where’s Victoria?”
“Those Flyers you offered to unlock? Victoria already did. She took them to one of the Aratian farms on the outskirts. We’ll have a feast tonight,” he said.
A few cheers erupted from the crowd. Lithia felt sick to her stomach. Victoria had unlocked the shuttles. Their only bargaining chip was gone.
“How?” she asked.
“Using the unlocked Flyer you crashed into the hangar, Melanie and the other techs figured out how to reset the others,” Nick said.
“Well, shit,” Lithia muttered under her breath. Without the shuttles, they would not be able to evacuate the Ficarans to the Mountain Base. “You all figured out how to fly them rather quickly.”
“We had directions for activating the AutoNav,” Nick replied.
“Awesome.” Lithia grimaced. She personally hated using autopilot functions, but the program would provide enough guidance for them to fly just fine, assuming standard conditions.
“Please come quietly, Brian,” Nick said, softly so that only they could hear.
“You don’t have to arrest me. I give you my word that I won’t try to escape.”
“Victoria would not take your word.”
“But you are not Victoria. You’re not blinded by your anger at the Aratians. Do you doubt that I want to help our people?”
Nick thought about this for a moment then nodded. “If you surrender your Flyer, I’ll just confine you to the main hall.”
Lithia bristled at this. “Brian, if they take our Flyer—” She clenched her fists at her sides. First, she’d been trapped on this planet when Dione and Zane decided to cannibalize the Calypso, and now she was stuck at this doomed settlement?
“It’s the only option right now,” he replied.
That wasn’t true. They could still leave, maybe even take a few people who wanted to join them. Brian was looking at her with pleading eyes, and it hit her. She had come to evacuate the Ficarans, but Brian had come to save them. He wouldn’t settle for rescuing a few, and she had agreed to help him.
“Fine,” she said.
Brian turned back to Nick. “Deal. I do have one more thing to offer that will come in handy. If I’m confined to the hall, will you send me the key militia organizers? I would like to train them in using the communicators I brought.”
This last part Brian said loud enough for the spectators who were nearby to hear, and Lithia watched the murmurs ripple through the crowd.
Nick glanced behind him and smiled, just barely. “Looks like I don’t have much of a choice now.”
He dispersed the onlookers, but one refused to leave. A beautiful girl with dark, wavy hair and blue eyes was arguing with Nick.
“No,” she was saying. “I’m going to talk to him first. Then I’ll move the Flyer.”
Nick sighed and gave up. “Five minutes,” he said.
The girl ran up and gave Brian a hug. “Brian, what the hell is going on? What were you talking about? Demons?”
“They’re here. The aliens Dione told us about. Everyone needs to know the truth.”
So Dione had met this girl already. Well, there was no time like the present.
“Hi,” she said, stepping forward. “I’m Lithia.”
“I’m Melanie,” the girl said.
Lithia looked her up and down, both annoyed and impressed. This girl had unlocked the Flyers using only the program template from Nate, the shuttle Lithia had crashed here just yesterday. The Flyers had been their bargaining chip, though.
Melanie crossed her arms and turned back to Brian. “Another one? What happened to Dione?”
“She has something she needs to do,” Brian said, avoiding Melanie’s eye contact.
“Uh-huh. I knew that girl was too smart to bother with you. Brian, about the Flyers… Victoria didn’t give me a choice. I tried to slow the work down, but there was nothing I could do.”
“It’s okay,” he replied.
“So what’s your plan?” she asked.
“I hand out these communicators,” Brian said, holding up the bag that Nick had failed to confiscate, “and tell everyone what I know about the Vens, then hope that Victoria sees reason. If she gets back soon, we’ll still have time to evacuate.”
“Evacuate? But this is home. We’ll defend it. The Aratians won’t even attack us here.”
“The Vens are nothing like the Aratians. What I’ve learned, what I’ve seen… I don’t think we can do this alone,” Brian said. “I need a favor. I need you to send Canto to the den.”
Melanie folded her arms. “Planning your escape after all?”
“No, for Dione. She needs transportation.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re sending Canto off with her? Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
“He’ll be in good hands. Like I said, there’s something she has to do.”
Melanie titled her her head and looked back at Lithia. “How’s your sick friend?”
“Bel? She’s doing much better. Thanks,” Lithia replied. Maybe Melanie was okay after all.
At that point, Nick began yelling at Melanie to take the shuttle. She rolled her eyes and stopped smiling.
“I’m coming! Fly it your own damn self if I’m moving too slow.” She turned back to them and said, “I’m with you, whatever you need. I’ll send Canto once I’m done.”
Nick escorted them inside the Temple to the main hall. Brian settled himself on a little bench with his bag of communicators. She watched as the first curious Ficaran came and went before she took a seat beside Brian. Waiting for Victoria reminded her of the times she had spent outside the headmaster’s office back at StellAcademy. There would be consequences. There always were.
***
The afternoon rolled by slowly. Groups of Ficarans showed up at regular intervals. Some wanted to hear about the demons. Brian told them, and he even explained, in detail, what they really were. As for whether or not people believed him, the odds were about fifty-fifty. It didn’t matter, though, because everyone heard the important parts, the vulnerabilities of the Vens and their tactics, at least what little they were able to share. One old man stopped by, spit in Brian’s face, then left without hearing anything he had to say. Luckily, most of the skeptics listened, even if it was just so they could scoff at him when he was done.
Lithia liked watching Brian explain the communicators to key Ficarans.While many of them were on the raid with Victoria, especially those in the militia, there remained those in charge of mundane tasks, like building management. Perhaps that was why the people he spoke to were so receptive. They weren’t used to power, to having a voice, yet here they were, receiving long-lost Artifacts, as they saw it.
He did s
ave a few for those he knew would return from the raid, like Victoria and Colm. Nick came back after a while to check in.
“Still here,” Brian said, “as promised.”
“Good,” Nick said. “Victoria should be back soon. I just wanted you to prepare yourself.”
“I appreciate it. Can I ask, did Victoria take all the guns?”
“No, she knew that this first raid would be a surprise, so there wouldn’t be much resistance. All of the handguns are still here. She did take most of the Flyers though, to bring back as many supplies and provisions as possible from the Hub.”
“Wow,” Brian said. “An Aratian Hub?”
“What’s that?” Lithia asked.
“The Aratians have a few large farms where everything goes for storage until it’s brought into the settlement itself.”
“Like warehouses where smaller distributors send everything so that it’s easy to transport?” Lithia said.
“Sounds about right,” Brian said.
“Don’t they need those supplies, though?”
“They’ve got far more than they need, and we’re on strict rationing. I doubt they’d even notice one Hub getting cleaned out,” Brian said, bitterness back in his voice. He seemed to realize and added lightly, “Nick wasn’t always so… lean.”
It was hard to believe, but Lithia knew things had been tough for the Ficarans. In fact, if she had been the one to unlock the shuttles, she might have just given them all to Victoria. Then again, she had some personal issues with Aratian leadership.
A boy, maybe thirteen or fourteen, came running up to Nick.
“Nick, the demons, they’re here! They’re in the woods.”
Lithia watched the color drain from Nick’s face. This man was not a leader. He was a place-holder. She exchanged a look with Brian and realized he knew it, too.
Brian put a firm hand on his shoulder. “Let me help.”
Nick’s eyes went wide. “Victoria will kill me.”
“Would you rather one of the Vens kill you? Please.”
Nick hesitated and bit his lower lip as he thought. “All right,” he decided at last. “Come on.”
Brian and Lithia followed him to the weapons depot. Some Ficarans were receiving guns and ammo, but there were not many weapons to begin with. Victoria had most of them. Brian received a handgun, and Lithia received nothing.
As soon as they stepped outside, they heard it, or rather felt it. The low growl of a hundred voices, trembling through their already shaking bodies. The Vens were here. They were all going to die.
Lithia’s heart was beating in her throat as she followed Brian to the crest of the wall. Melanie came running up, holding something familiar. Lithia’s stun rifle.
“Here, Lithia, I though you might want this.” It would be mostly useless, but Lithia thanked her all the same.
“And, just in case, take this, too.” Melanie handed her a long knife. She didn’t look forward to getting close enough to a Ven to use it, but it was better than nothing. She tested the edge, which was miserably dull, and hoped that the Vens would not get inside. She took that moment to regret not grabbing one of the machetes from the Calypso, and contemplated offering Melanie and Brian a ride out of there. They would never leave during an attack, though. This was their home. These people were family.
The growling rose into a horrible crescendo before cutting out completely. In the silence, the hairs on Lithia’s arms stood on end. Somehow the silence was more terrifying than the growling, even in the light of the afternoon.
There were watchtowers at regular intervals around the settlement, protected by a wall made of sturdy pre-fab material. Lithia guessed it came from the colonizer, or maybe even the station. The towers the Ficarans had built were within the walls, but they provided a vantage point. Their biggest pitfall was their size. They could fit five men comfortably, ten at a squeeze. Lithia hoped there were enough towers to protect the walls.
The growling picked up again, and, restlessly shifting her stun rifle to her right shoulder, Lithia wondered what the Vens were waiting for.
5. DIONE
Dione was tired of waiting for Canto. They had been at the den for an hour, and every minute was the difference between life and death for the professor. Had Brian forgotten about his promise to help? She had already put her manumed back on and synced it with Zane’s. All of the maps and info about Canto’s commands were there, she just had no maximute. She had given Zane the machete and the stolen pistol. She might be able to use a stun rifle in a pinch, but she was not interested in carrying the pistol.
At last she heard the familiar sound of a giant dog crashing through the trees. His golden fur gleamed in a pocket of sunlight just before he reached the hideout. She reached up to scratch him behind the ears, and he yawned back in appreciation, revealing his large teeth. Beautiful as he was, she knew he could turn deadly if provoked.
Canto also came bearing gifts. Dione peeked into the bags balanced on either side and found that, along with some food for Canto, Brian had sent some ammunition for the pistol. That was thoughtful.
“All right, Zane, you ready?” Dione asked.
“He’s huge.” Zane looked a little pale.
“Yep. Come on.”
Dione sang the mounting tune and swung herself up first, then waited for Zane to do the same. He hesitated.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You a cat person?”
“I don’t think I’m any kind of animal person.”
“You never had pets growing up?”
“Pets aren’t really standard on freighters, at least not for crew.”
That was news. She didn’t know his family had been crew on a freighter. “Oh, well, Canto is really smart. He’s not going to hurt you. Plus, he’s really soft.”
Zane grimaced, but climbed on.
“We’ll go slow at first, but I don’t want to waste time. Professor Oberon has already been out there all morning alone.” He was still alive. She wouldn’t leave him again.
“Okay,” Zane said. “Ready.”
Dione sang Canto into a trot, using his harness rather than her voice to direct him. Even with Canto, it would take them most of the day to get to the professor’s last-known coordinates. He couldn’t possibly be there still, but they didn’t have any other leads, at least until he sent them another message.
Zane was gripping her rather tightly, squeezing her ribs until they hurt. He kept sneezing, too, and with every sneeze, he involuntarily squeezed her harder. At least he didn’t talk a lot. A conversation would have been difficult at the speeds they were going. He had been quiet on the Calypso, and he remained so now. Or maybe he just didn’t want to talk to her. Things had been okay when they worked on integrating the charging matrix to power the Icon, but now that they were alone together, the silence was uncomfortable.
They still had a ways to go, but Dione needed a break. Her whole body was still sore from riding the machi two days ago, and she could feel the ache from riding Canto working its way into her legs. She sang Canto to a stop and let Zane get down first. His eyes looked a little red, and he sneezed again once he was back on the ground.
“Allergies?” Dione asked.
“I think it’s Canto. I’ve never been around dogs before.”
“Too bad that along with everything else, they didn’t breed him to be hypoallergenic. I think I have something that will help.” Dione rifled through her bag and produced a packet of pills. “Here. Take these. What was it like, growing up on a space freighter?”
“I got used to getting lost. Lots of places to hide in case the officers found you.”
“Were your parents officers?”
Zane laughed. “No, they were just regular crew, but they were the best at their jobs. Probably should have been officers. They were certainly more qualified.”
“So, how’d you end up at StellAcademy?”
“I overheard my parents talking about how it was always really annoying that some of the support systems
were poorly calibrated. It made their jobs a million times harder and made the systems less efficient, but their supervisor wouldn’t let them fix it. It was an easy fix, too.”
“But that’s stupid. Why would anyone refuse to fix something like that?”
“Because my parents were Level Two techs. Only Level Four techs were allowed to make these particular adjustments, and they never had the time. Anyway, while they were asleep, I sneaked out and made the adjustments. I was just finishing up when the First Officer found me. He thought I was tampering with the ship and took me to the captain.
“I explained the problem and told him I fixed it. After he figured out that the supervisor had refused the fix, he called the guy in. Woke him up and chewed him out. He moved him to another position so my parents wouldn’t have to fear retribution, and before he dismissed me, he handed me an application. He was a StellAcademy alum and was impressed that I was able to fix it, I guess. If there was any proof it didn’t take a Level Four tech, I was it.”
“And you got in. Did your parents stay on the ship?”
“No, the captain had them reassigned to work at the dock. I don’t think they enjoy it as much, but they’re doing it for me. I even got a little sister out of the deal.” He smiled, but seemed sad to remember her.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s not a lot of space allotted to crew on ships. A second child would have meant a pay cut, so they stopped with me. Now that they’re planetside, the restrictions are lifted.”
Dione tried not to imagine Zane’s worried parents or his sister. “We’ll get home.”
“I know. I’ve always wanted to study jump tech. Couldn’t ask for a better motivation than being stranded with no other way home.”
“So you and Lithia are going to build a jump drive?”
“Unless you’ve got a better idea.”
That was insane. Even though she had a newfound respect for Zane, she knew he couldn’t do it. She looked at him, ready to explain how impossible that idea was, but then she realized he already knew. It was a lie he was telling himself to feel better.
