by R. D. Hale
'Er, thanks, you're pretty strong, actually,' I mutter and Nelson smirks, making me immediately regret the comment.
'Come this way. The back door's usually open because this is a quiet village and they have nothing worth stealing anyways.'
Nelson and I head over the short grass and onto a path of small grey slabs which leads into a courtyard. I stare up at the temple which now seems so imposing, glorious even, standing way taller than the three-storey mansion. The white walls contain lines of orange bricks which guide my eyes to three pointed roofs. A bell tower rises from the central roof with a Samarian star at the top.
'Are you sure we won't get caught?' I whisper as Nelson pushes a hefty wooden door with fancy hinges. And I cringe because the village is so quiet, a passer-by might hear the creaking.
'Don't think so. It's normally empty at night,' Nelson says.
'Normally? This reminds me of the dumb things my brother does.' I point a suspicious finger at Nelson in the doorway. 'Oh no, you're not like him, are you? One Arturo is quite enough.'
'Dunno, never met him. What's he like?' Nelson shrugs.
'Arrogant, annoying, reckless. Thinks he knows everything but knows nothing.'
'The total opposite of me, then.' Nelson laughs and I breathe a sigh of relief. 'I really do know everything.'
Rolling my eyes, I follow Mr Know-It-All into the temple and he closes the creaky door, plunging us into darkness. Almost every object is hidden in shadow now, but moonlight is creeping through stained-glass windows which have gory images of the prophet's execution. The light paints patterns across indistinct surfaces like stretched and broken reflections. The voids between are unnerving and I cannot shake the feeling we are being watched.
'This place isn't haunted, is it? I know it's only like twenty years old, but it's cre–'
'Oh my Goddess, don't tell me you believe in ghosts.' Nelson sniggers as we walk between rows of cushioned benches.
'I don't believe in ghosts. I happen to know they're real. I've seen one with my own eyes. My friends and I did a ouiji board. The glass flew off the table and smashed into tiny little shards, then a ghost appeared right in front of us. It whispered something…'
'Ouija.'
'What?' I rest against the back of a wooden bench.
'It's ouija, not ouiji… So what did it whisper?' Nelson says.
'I don't know. I couldn't hear. It was quiet,' I say.
'So the ghost wanted to send you a message, but didn't bother letting you hear… Argh! What's that?' Nelson points to a pitch-dark corner of the temple and I jump, grabbing his shoulder as I glimpse a tall thing, possibly a candle stand. I hope.
'What's what? I-I can't see properly. What is it?' I whimper and Nelson laughs so I slap his surprisingly hard chest. 'Do that again and I'm going.'
'Don't worry, I'll keep you safe.' Nelson winks. 'Let's go upstairs.'
I follow Nelson onto a spiral staircase and I can barely see a thing, other than faint light way above our heads. It is noticeably colder here and the air is musty. The stairs are steep and climbing bare stone in the dark is dangerous, but I want to experience that view. I bet Murtyn village is even prettier from the bell tower.
'Better give me your hand to make sure you don't fall,' Nelson whispers and I wonder why we are still whispering inside an empty temple. Like who is going to hear us now?
'Okay, but you'd better not get any ideas.' I take Nelson's large, firm but gentle hand. 'By the way, I don't need you to keep me safe. I'm not that type of girl. I'm tougher than I seem.'
'I believe you,' Nelson says with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
'No, really, I am. Arturo got into a fight with two huge men once, and guess who jumped on one of their backs to save him? That's right, m… Whoa!' I slip on a step, wanting to die of embarrassment as Nelson helps me stand.
'So you beat up a huge guy to save Arturo?'
'Well, I didn't exactly beat him up. I was flung into a tree, but I got back up and was flung again, then Dynah saved us with her superpowers.'
'Wasn't it dumb fighting a huge guy when you had a telepath with you?' Nelson says as we continue up the stairs which are getting tighter and steeper.
'What? No, I was saving my brother, and I didn't know she had superpowers… This was the day we met her.'
'Oh, I suppose that was brave, then.'
At last, we reach the bell which has fancy patterns etched into its surface, and is simply huge. I mean her-uuuge. Like wider than my arm-span. Gripping the rail, I reach out to push the glistening brass lip of the bell which hardly budges. The damn thing must weigh at least one thousand tons.
'Must be so loud when it rings,' I mutter, realising that if it did budge, I would have alerted the entire village. Good job I could barely reach.
We turn on the hexagonal walkway and glassless arches in the walls act as viewing windows. Side-by-side, we stare out at Murtyn village and I experience the view Nelson was earlier describing. Channels of water form the shape of five stars, one inside the other, with oil lamps and windows glowing on the land between. Moonlight reflects off the water, making the stars twinkle like the real things, and the whole scene is quite beautiful. My own little faerie tale.
I can only pray we all live happily ever after…
I feel tipsy as we make small talk, laughing and joking like we have known each other years, and my earlier contempt keeps slipping from my mind. Nelson wraps an arm around my shoulders and shuffles against my body. My head is nestled below his chin as though it belongs, and he feels nice and warm, despite his lack of winter-wear, but that does not stop me saying: 'Get off!'
The nerve of this guy.
'I'm sorry, y–'
'You got any more gin?'
'Sure, you wan–'
'Give.' I hold out my palm until Nelson hands over the gin and I take three eye-watering gulps, returning a near-empty bottle. Nelson downs the rest of the gin, slotting the empty bottle into his pocket, and I return my gaze to the beautiful view. The other beautiful view…
Large cheekbones and a broad jaw with the tiniest amount of stubble and a slight overlap of the front teeth and a faint scar on the brow and funny-shaped ears that stick out at the middle, but not the top… That view…
'You do realise I'm too young for you,' I mutter, turning to one of the glassless windows. My eyes once again rest on the watery stars of Murtyn village to avoid staring too long, and I cannot believe he has already got me feeling something. I can only blame the alcohol.
'Who said I'm for you?' Nelson snaps.
'Who you kidding? The way you've–'
'How old is too young?'
'Fifteen years young.'
'When you sixteen?'
'Three weeks from now.'
'So there's only like a year and a bit between us.'
My back rests against the wall of the bell tower and Nelson places his hands either side of my hips. I grin as he leans forwards and I just want to melt, but I place my hand over his lips and push him away. Romance is hardly appropriate when my brother and friend are fighting bad guys in a frigging spacestation.
'I guess I'll just have to wait another three weeks… and think of a great present.'
I turn away from Nelson, smirking. He cannot know I am getting sucked in against my will. Not yet anyways. I picture life in a mansion nestled between watery stars and sigh as I look to the actual stars, feeling both apprehension and longing. It would be so nice to stay in a village like this. To live a quiet life with nice people, not having to struggle to survive. If only.
A New Star
'Aren't you supposed to be in mourning?' I say, thinking of Nelson's flirting which I absolutely did not encourage, or did I? Maybe my face said something different to my words, and betrayed the feelings I was meant to disguise.
Boys cannot help themselves, no matter the circumstances, but we did get drunk, and to be fair, Nelson has backed off slightly. He seems willing to persevere though, and I am unsure if I would be comfortable with contin
ued flirting, but equally unsure if I could resist.
'Eh?' Nelson crinkles his brow and I cannot believe I need to clarify, although I understand the desire to repress trauma.
'You lost friends today,' I say impatiently, needing to stop the fun and games and be respectful. The change in Nelson's face, from playful smirk to confused frown and then sorrowful frown confirms he has reached my page.
'I, er, only knew one of the dead. Jeremy. We didn't exactly see eye to eye, but I still feel bad he's gone, angry. There are seven confirmed casualties. Many more were taken captive.
'One of the main warehouses was caught unaware. The workers were held at gunpoint, ushered into transports out the front. The rest of us had time to collect our weapons and fight back. And we were better than they were, there's no doubt.'
'No offence, but you didn't seem better. I'd call that a crushing defeat.' I fold my arms, stepping back.
'If we'd taken them by surprise, there wouldn't have been a single man left… They had a huge advantage, yet we gave almost as good as we got. No-one was considering ambush because we were preparing for our own offensive. San Teria must've been tipped off. My guess is someone betrayed us.'
'Don't be surprised. Any one of your friends could be the next to betray you. People will do whatever aids their own survival… And the traitor's probably receiving a hero's welcome, right now. Sad thing is, he'll be assumed dead, and the Rebellion will remember him as a hero too.'
'Fuck, now I'm getting really angry, but at least most of us survived. That's the important thing,' Nelson says.
'The death toll will rise. The others said many were unaccounted for. And you were talking like revenge would be straightforward. That naivety is scary. Every revenge attempt will have casualties like this,' I say.
'And this is the harsh reality we knew we could face. All the guys I'm close to, made it out. As for the captives, they're big boys. They can survive prison for a few weeks. We'll get them out, no matter what. I don't think any of this will be easy, but I don't have a choice. I'm prepared to die, if need be.'
'I'm sorry to be so harsh on you. I just need some realism because this bravado has been excruciating. A million things are going through my head right now. This past week has been one brutal ride.'
'Which is why I was trying to keep your mind off things. We need to enjoy every little moment we can,' Nelson says without the earlier cockiness or the later anger, and now he just sounds nice, sensible.
'Okay, I shall try and enjoy this pleasant break from the unfolding hell with my new alcoholic friend.' I smirk, but my smirk is a hollow one. We will not be progressing things until we are sober and rational and everyone's relatively safe, which means probably never.
'Alcoholic, that's a bit of an–'
'You were fleeing for your life and your first thought was to grab your Tarlaxian gin!' I say and Nelson's cheek twitches, then his nostrils flare.
'What? No! I had it in my pocket. I was working.'
'You're not exactly doing yourself any favours here. Still, I'm in no position to judge.'
'Yup, the way you were gulping it down, it's like we're made for each other,' Nelson says, reverting to cockiness to hide the fact he was ruffled. Boys can never allow themselves to look weak, even when there is no need to look strong.
'Let's be clear, you and me, we're just friends, okay?' I say and Nelson curls his lips, clearly not accepting my words.
We stroll around the narrow walkway of the bell tower, peering through the arches, one-by-one, taking in the glorious countryside. I rest on a ledge as a shifting cloud reveals the two moons floating above the rolling hills. Taranath is large, round and golden. Mani is small, odd-shaped and dull. Tonight the pair appear close together, but their orbits are far apart, according to my brother.
'It's funny. They share the same sky and yet they couldn't be more different,' I murmur.
'You know, there's a rumour Mani was not always there, that it just appeared one night.' Nelson places his hand next to mine on the window ledge.
'Just appeared? How would a moon just appear?' I say.
'Some say aliens. Some say it was a passing asteroid. Sounds far-fetched, but who knows?' Nelson says.
'It's strange to think my brother and friends are up there, now. Well, unless they've succeeded and are on their way back to Eryx. That's plausible, right? I wish I could just, erm, I need to know for my own piece of mind…
'Jardine said the Rebellion are planning to blow Orbital City, but he can stop them, can't he? I mean once he tells them about Art–'
'The Rebellion never intentionally kill civilians, let alone their own. I'm sure they'll be monitoring the situation and will act accordingly.'
'But how do you blow up a city without killing civilians?' I say and my voice breaks.
'It's not like the self-destruct sequence will be instant and that place has escape pods. Like you said, they could've already suc… My goddess!' Nelson shrieks and I cover my aching eyes as a blinding light fills the sky, illuminating the entire landscape.
As I lower my forearm, my eyes adjust to see a huge, burning star which was not there a second ago. Brighter than Mani, its glow has changed the sky from black to navy as though sunset is approaching. I gasp, struggling to believe what has happened as the constellations blur.
'Look at the position – it's directly above Skye City!' Nelson points to the distant triple towers which are invisible apart from their window lights. Shooting stars rain from the huge, burning star, and then the Skye Elevator shaft glows and breaks into pieces. Tears pour from my eyes as fiery shards fall over Medio, and I thank the Goddess we were out of the city. How many innocent people?
'Oh my Goddess, Arturo and the others – what if they never made it in time?' I screech.
'Let's not panic. We'll notify the others and see if they have information.'
Nelson and I descend the dark, winding stairs, stumbling and grabbing the hand-rail. We hurry out of the temple and hurdle the wall I was earlier unsure I could climb. Running through the village, we cross a bridge over a star-shaped channel, pass the evergreen trees, and fly through the door of the mansion.
'Whoa, slow down. What's the hurry?' Jardine says as I almost bump into him in the lobby, wiping tears from my eyes.
'You need to see,' I say between heavy breaths. 'There was an explosion in the sky. We're pretty sure it was Orbital City. Why didn't you stop them?'
Jardine comes to the doorway and focuses on the new star located high above Skye City. It has expanded and is not burning quite so brightly, but still outshines all others, and shooting stars are still raining down. The sight is both spectacular and horrifying. And I cannot believe I am standing among the culprits. How could they do this? How could anyone vaporise an entire city… again?
'Looks like someone activated the self-destruct sequence ahead of schedule. Don't panic. The sequence was programmed to allow people time to get to escape pods. The chances are your brother and Dynah are fine.'
'But what about Myla? He wouldn't have left without her. I know he wouldn't.'
'If Myla really was up there, Arturo and Dynah are the two most qualified people to retrieve her, and they've had plenty of time. There's every chance she made it too. I'll contact central command.' Jardine taps his holowatch.
'Akari, central command.'
'There's been a complication. Arturo and Dynah headed to Orbital City to retrieve Myla. We think she was imprisoned there, however, Orbital City is no more.'
'Why did no-one tell me this was happening? We could have offered support.'
'Check your voicemail, Akari.' Jardine clenches his teeth. 'This was a last minute thing and those two were in no mood to reconsider. Anyways, a larger team would've attracted attention.'
'Damn it, Jardine, they're our two most valuable assets and you should've known our plans could change… We cannot afford to lose them like we lost Killow. We must locate them, urgently, assuming they escaped in time. If they return, notify
me immediately. We're going to be at war any day now and we need them back.'
Greater Good
During the night, I could not sleep due to the supernova burnt into my mind, the blazing spacestation which exploded too soon, and the gang were just as restless. We heard no news of Arturo, Dynah, and Myla, we received no explanation about the early detonation, and to make matters worse, Jardine explained Turbo and a cage-fighter called Anguson may have gone to assist them, breaking protocol. This Rebellion seems more shambolic by the second.
The gang sat in our fresh, comfy beds, talking about the rescue in Orbital City, speculating on how events could have played out, how the superhumans could have taken down the Elite Guard and reached an escape pod, and I swear, if one more person tells me how awesome my idiot brother is…
In the morning, we gather in the kitchen of the mansion where Jardine and Nyota are cooking breakfast. We sit around the cloth-covered table which has cutlery, mats, and glasses before each seat. As the frying pans hiss and crackle, Jardine brings a jug of orange juice, then sits at the table and speaks:
'So far, we've been unable to make contact, but that's understandable, given the team could've taken escape pods. It can take several hours to reach the surface and they could well be resting, following their exertions. Arturo and Dynah will be heavily drained from putting their abilities into action.
'I suspect the detonation was brought forwards because of fears an insider could've alerted San Teria, although this has not been confirmed by central command. This would obviously have been a reckless move – the kind people can make during desperate times. However, the intention of detonation was never loss of life and initial reports suggest ninety-eight percent of occupants evacuated. I'm willing to bet our friends were among them. Let's stay active today and keep our minds busy until we hear good news. And then we can celebrate.'
'And what about Medio?' I say, attracting all eyes. 'Those pieces were raining down…'
'The pieces of Orbital city that weren't immediately vaporised, would've burnt up in the atmosphere. Early reports confirm three fragments of the Skye Elevator crashed onto the inner-hub. As they are composed of lightweight metamaterials, the damage is not as severe as you may expect. Remember, this move will save far more lives than it has cost…