by Day Leitao
Marcus shook his head. “It’s insanity. But we’re trying to contact them.”
Indeed Nadia and Larissa were hard at work testing frequencies. After some time, a voice came through the speakers.
“This is Alpha leader Sam Sahoi. Who’s speaking?”
Of course it had to be Sam. Always Sam.
Nadia took the comm. “Sam, did you by any chance see the information we sent?”
A pause. “What information?”
“You didn’t get anything? What were you told we were doing here?”
A pause. “This is confidential.”
“Confidential my ass,” she said. “This base has a powerful canon defending it. You won’t all make it. You won’t be able to get to us. What are you trying to do?”
“We’re following orders.”
“You’re not mindless robots.”
Larissa then spoke in the comm. “Does your ship take encoded transmissions?”
“That’s confidential,” he replied.
Dess stepped forward and addressed the girls. “It does. You can send him everything we have, and he’ll be able to send it to his teammates. If he wants to.”
Nadia nodded, then spoke in the comm. “I’m sending you what we found. We need you to convince people to demand our government to work with Mainland to find a peaceful solution. We’re also trying to convince Mainland not to go into a deal with Heliumforge.”
“Sent,” Larissa said.
There was silence for a long period, then Sam said, “Do you have any proof that it’s true?”
Nadia spoke, “The only proof we have is that the Mainlander girls warned us that their planet wanted to destroy our shield and my parents ignored it and didn’t tell anyone. Please. I beseech you. Go back and tell more people about it.”
“We’d be disobeying direct orders. If you were to come with us, then it would be easier. We can all talk once we’re back in Sapphirlune.”
“We’re safe here and in neutral space. Once we go to a government-controlled place, they can threaten us and even kill some of us.”
Dess decided to approach the comm. “Sam, this is Dess. I know we don’t get along. But I also know you always wanted to be the best.” The exact reason why they had never gotten along. “And I know that you wanted to be the best to protect our city, our people, our moon. You had ideals. Our government, or at least a part of it, is not representing what we’ve always wanted to fight for. You can make a difference.”
“Shut up, you,” Sam replied.
That didn’t come out as expected.
“Sam, I trust you,” Nadia said. “Dess is right. You’ve always been the best of us. We need you. I need you,” she beseeched.
If Dess didn’t know better, he’d think she was flirting with him. Then, maybe she was.
There was a long silence, then he said. “We’ll go back, and we’ll try it. But remember it’s for you.”
“I won’t forget it,” she replied.
Nadia’s voice sounded as if she were alone with Sam, about to get intimate. The image triggered some awful memories. The communication was then interrupted.
Larissa seemed surprised. “Are you and him…”
“He’s a guy!” Nadia protested.
“She likes to play with guys,” Sylvia rolled her eyes. She then laughed. “Nadia, that’s evil. I need you,” she mimicked her friend.
Nadia shrugged. “What was I supposed to do? If I can give him some motivation, why not? He’ll thank me once he’s a hero and Sapphirlune is saved.”
“Do you think they’ll help us?” Saytera asked.
“Yeah,” Nadia nodded, sounding certain. “They’re good people. I wasn’t kidding when I said I trusted him.” She turned to Dess and Marcus. “I know you guys don’t like him, but it was some petty dispute in the academy. It’s time for all that to be over.”
Dess crossed his arms. “Trying to be the best at that academy was the stupidest waste of time in my life.”
Nadia pointed a finger at him. “You’re a good pilot, though. Quite handy.”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
Saytera then turned to Larissa. “Anything from Mainland?”
Her friend sighed.
“What if,” Saytera said. “Maybe… Do you think we could reach our former base? Get Kay?”
“Yes.” Larissa smiled. “Brilliant. I’m on it.” She then laughed. “I know how you got the idea!”
“Who’s Kay?” Dess asked Saytera, a slight pang of pointless jealousy in his chest.
She shuddered but so softly Dess doubted anyone else could have noticed. “A guy who was in our base. There was also another guy and a girl but they were pretty much…” She hesitated.
“Useless,” Larissa said. “But Kay’s all right.”
Saytera had never imagined that she’d be doing something important while doing pretty much nothing, as most of what they did was wait, and what she had to do now was wait for her friend to get to Kay or someone else to contact them. They ate those lunar bars for breakfast. The taste was still horrible, but she started to understand how people could eat them.
The previous night and its memories then came to her. Saytera had done something absolutely not related with saving her system. It wasn’t the way she’d expected it to be, and it happened much sooner than she expected, but still, it had been easy, natural, as if it had always been meant to be. Perhaps they had always been meant to be. It did make her wonder about destiny when she considered how they had been brought together. And it felt good to be together. Dess was so incredibly beautiful, and yet, what was most beautiful was his good heart.
Later in the day, Larissa found Kay. They had received the message. All the bases had seen it. There was a movement to depose the government and try to reach a deal. The communication off-planet was being cut, though. That was the reason they hadn’t received any response. Still, knowing that their plan had worked took a weight from Saytera’s chest. Now all they had to do was hope for its conclusion. Perhaps they could even go back to the planet, but being on this moon was strategic. Later they heard from the Lunar guy, Sam. There was something similar going on in Sapphirlune City. Perhaps they’d reach victory, and that was without any bloodshed.
Dess prepared dinner again and somehow transformed that powder in a stew. They all sat happy and relaxed, a huge difference from the previous night. After dinner, while others were cleaning, Dess called Saytera to a small office. He was serious and focused, so it was probably to talk about something.
“This was my father’s. I was looking at it. You know what his plan was?”
Saytera shook her head.
“To share. This wasn’t going to be a city, like Sapphirlune. His plan was to have more transports. Workers here would spend two weeks on land, then two weeks here, so that nobody would need to live away from nature. It makes sense, right?”
“For sure.” Then something came to her mind. “But then… He was looking into having workers in Mainland. So this was for the planet, too, in a way.”
Dess nodded. “Indeed. And the war started when my family was killed. Maybe because of it. This moon was never meant to create discord, war. His plan had been to unite our system. Ironic, right?”
“I’m sorry.”
He sat on a chair. “Did you notice we’re ignoring the black hole in the middle of the galaxy?”
Saytera wasn’t sure she understood.
Dess shook his head and chucked. “It’s a manner of saying. We’re ignoring the most important thing in all this stuff. We want to stop a war, right? And we’re sitting on the very reason for this war.”
“This moon.”
“Exactly. It sounds neat to tell Lunars and Mainlanders to reach an agreement, and yet, we aren’t proposing anything.”
“They need to find a solution.”
He got up and put his hands on his waist. “Do people come to solutions easily? Do people agree easily?”
Of course not. “No, but all we nee
d them to do is not buy that stupid shieldbreaker.”
“True. And then what?”
Saytera didn’t know and she understood what he meant by ignoring the black hole, as in ignoring the center of it all. But he was too certain to be just talking generalities. “What’s your suggestion?”
“We need to draft a plan for peace. If the plan is in place, all they have to do is agree. Or maybe adapt it, offer suggestions. But it’s at least a starting point. It’s much simpler. We need to draft a solution to this war.”
That made a lot of sense, but there was one thing that didn’t make sense. “Why are you telling me this? I mean, just me, not the others?”
“Because of this.” He pointed to the floor. “This is the key to everything, and do you know who owns it?”
“Nobody, at the moment.”
He shook his head. “It’s Staralloy. This base is Staralloy. The war is about the right to explore this moon, not about this particular unit. And it’s all equipped. Ready to go.”
There was something heavy in those words. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Dess sighed and sat down. “Claiming Staralloy and this base. It’s mine by right. But… you have to agree. It’s not going to be easy.”
“I’m in this with you. I want this system to find peace.”
“If I start this… I don’t know if I’ll be able to drop everything and go live with you on an island, Saytera.”
She laughed. “That was a worst case scenario. We didn’t really plan what we were going to do.”
“Exactly. I’m sure you can see the flaw in our lack of planning. I want to do something about this moon, this base, that company, but you have to agree.”
That made no sense. “Why wouldn’t I agree? And what would you do, then?”
He shrugged. “I could see if someone else could take the company. But we need a plan and a proposal.”
Saytera reached out and stroked his hair. “What do you want?”
33
Decisions
“I want to make a difference,” Dess said. “My family was killed so that this war could start. I want to make it right for them.” He looked determined.
“So you have your answer.”
He stared at her. “Yes. But what’s your answer?”
“I support you in whatever you choose.”
“Really?” He laughed. “What if I decided to destroy a city just to get more money?”
“That wouldn’t be you.”
“It’s about choosing our future. We need to think this through.”
Our future. That warmed her heart, but it wasn’t the most important thing then. “The moment we decided to fight, we decided to leave our own choices behind, right? It’s not about what I want for myself, but what’s right for our system. If we’d go so far as living as outcasts,” she laughed, “I don’t see why I would have a problem if you take Staralloy.”
“And that’s the difference. Being willing to run and hide is not as brave as stepping up and taking the responsibility for leading this.”
She understood his question, then. It would be a lot more work than just sitting in this base until Sapphirlune and Mainland reached an agreement. But it was also about doing their best, and if it was important for him, of course she’d supported it. “Step up, Dess. I trust you.”
“We’ll both have to step up.”
Saytera smiled. “I’ll be right there with you.”
Dess kissed her cheek then laughed. “We’ll get in so much trouble…”
“Kades Tahari.” Nadia was staring at Dess. “I’m glad you’re done playing Dess Starspark.
They were all looking at him, but Nadia’s reaction was the one Dess had been dreading, as she’d be the one to lose the most. “Listen, I don’t want to ruin your life or take anything away from you. This is—”
“It’s fine.” Nadia waved a hand. “I don’t really want any of that. And we need support. Convince people quickly. The lost son of the family killed to start this war is a lot more interesting than a rebellious daughter.”
Christina broke her normal silence. “I like rebellious daughter.”
Nadia laughed. “The rebellious daughter is here, too. We’re a group, right?”
Dess nodded. “Exactly. We’re together in this. The idea is just to claim ownership of Staralloy and draft a deal where both Mainland and Sapphirlune profit from the exploration of this moon.”
Marcus stood up. “I guess that means we’ll record another message.”
“We’d better.” Larissa nodded. “Then we can send it tonight.”
Dess held Saytera’s hand. Perhaps he was the one who was terrified. For so long he’d been hiding, blaming the world for the injustice he’d been living, or worse, blaming Mainland. Now that he had to come out and tell everyone who he really was, it was about fixing things, not blaming anyone, not feeling like a victim. No longer he’d follow orders, he’d try to win favors and appreciation, he’d try to follow a path that was not his. This time it was up to him to carve his future, to choose his path. There was freedom but also responsibility. And if he failed, there would be nobody to blame. That thought was terrifying.
When they were all in the communication room except for Marcus and Sylvia, waiting for them to prepare the message, Nadia opened a written communication and froze, a shocked look on her face.
“What is it?” Larissa asked.
“It’s Sam. They found out… my parents. They left the system.” There was so much fear and dread in her voice that one would think she was reporting the destruction of Sapphirlune.
Larissa frowned. “Isn’t everyone blocked from reaching the gate?”
Nadia shrugged and shook her head, looking as if she was trying not to cry. Dess knew what it was to lose his family, but this was very different.
He said, “Hey, they are probably afraid of what might happen to them. They probably bought their way out. I’m sure they’ll be all right.”
Dess didn’t really like the idea of Tarel escaping all this without consequences, but then, if they fixed everything, it wasn’t worthwhile to be focusing on revenge.
Nadia stared at them all, tears in her eyes. “Why are you all calm?”
Saytera approached her. “Were they the only ones who left?”
She shook her head. “No. More people from the government.”She glanced at Marcus. “Counselor Okonjo is still on Sapphirlune, though.”
Dess didn’t see the issue with people running away. “It just makes it easier for us to step in. Take control. Do it differently.”
Nadia frowned. “That’s what you think?”
Saytera looked at her. “So you think… they wouldn’t give up that easily?” She sighed and put her hand on her heart.
Dess closed his eyes. Of course. They could be planning something. Or maybe not. “Perhaps they’re just saving their own skins. Some people do that when they’re scared.”
Larissa leaned back and looked at her friend. “Do you know what they could be planning?”
Nadia sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe I am overreacting.”
Hopefully. And still. “Are people monitoring the gate? As long as nobody enters the system nothing can happen.”
“They are monitoring.” Nadia nodded.
“Do you guys still want to send the message tonight? Or do you want to wait?” Larissa asked.
Dess didn’t like the idea of waiting. “We can use this to our advantage. In a way, we won. Now all the Lunars need is to agree on new leadership. Mainlanders need to know they won’t be dealing with the same people. It makes a difference.”
Nadia sighed. “Let’s do it, then.” She got up. “I’ll go get our lazy late friends.”
Saytera was looking down, thoughtful and perhaps worried.
Dess approached her. “What is it?”
“Don’t know. Funny feeling. It might be nothing.”
Dess kissed her cheek. “It’s been some stressful days. And things are changing fast.
I’m sure there will be new challenges. Still, not destroying Sapphirlune city is an amazing start, right?”
Saytera smiled. “True. I know. And you… tons of responsibility. That must be it.”
The temperature in the base was reasonably comfortable but Saytera felt a chill in her bones. Perhaps it was just that they were heading for a conclusion, and maybe, like Dess had said, stepping up was harder than hiding. And would they have to step up! The message had been sent. Maybe this was what was bothering her: what would happen, what kind of response or reaction they would get.
Saytera washed but decided to go back to the communication room.
“I just want to check it,” she told Dess.
“I’ll come with you.”
Larissa and Nadia were there, too.
“Do you guys sleep here?” Dess asked.
Nadia kept looking at the terminal. “I couldn’t sleep.”
Saytera approached it. It didn’t look like they’d gotten anything new. “So no news?”
Nadia’s eyes didn’t move. “It always takes a while.”
Larissa looked at them. “If we get anything, it’s going to be tomorrow. I think we’d better sleep.” She shook the small transmitter. “I’ll keep this with me and wake you all up if something unusual and important happens.”
“Like now?” Nadia asked. “It’s voice. Sam.” She pressed a button. “We’re hearing you.”
“There’s something coming through the gate. We’re trying to contact them.”
Saytera felt a chill all over her body.
“Any idea who they are?” Nadia asked.
“Not yet, but we’ll keep you informed.”
They all looked at each other.
Larissa frowned. “Weird, right? For years those gates were sealed, now people just come and go…” She sighed. “Anyway, what do you think it is?”
Saytera had a sinking feeling.
Dess sat at another terminal. “We can check in our equipment. If we get their size and numbers, we’ll know. Sapphirlune will block most of our vision, but still.”
“What if…” Should Saytera voice her fear? It seemed almost stupid. Then maybe not. “What if they’re delivering what Mainland ordered?”