by Mark Henwick
The Xian shuttles landed, opened their doors and took anyone who wanted to come.
They brought them back to Newyan, to Kernow, to Quallis, to any planet on the borders of the Inner Worlds and Margin, any planet that was thriving and wanted more people.
And Zara, now formally Irana Aguirre-Tremayne, had pointed them to the wilds of the northern continent, and the high sierras beyond Cabezón. The result being that Berriaren and the Sierra Arija have returned to life. The northern continent has been ploughed and seeded. Newyan has over a million more citizens.
The miracle is that no one seems to be blaming Kat for it. Apart from the Ministro of the Bureau of the Environment, who wanted the Sierra Arija left untouched. Of course, the Bureau of the Environment has even more arguments with Zara about the seeding of Newyan’s oceans with Dowreth.
The Irana shrugged and quoted exigent circumstances. The Bureau are so upset with Zara, they’ve barely bothered Kat.
It helps that Zara is supported by Xian, who have saved the planet from famine, along with providing things like the new and vastly improved satellite that sits somewhere above her.
She shakes her head and sits back at her enormous desk with a sigh. There’s work to be done.
The door opens.
Kat looks up in annoyance. She’s told Ruslan to prevent people from entering unless they have appointments. He’s usually very good at that.
But this time, it’s Yion and Natalia. Ruslan wouldn’t prevent them from entering.
“Food,” Yion says, putting down a tray on her desk. “And some Harantza tea. Sit and eat and drink. Do not say you don’t have time.”
“You bully me,” Kat says, pulling the tray nearer.
“Someone has to,” Natalia says.
“It’s part of our duties,” Yion adds.
Kat smiles and takes a sip of tea. Her tasks would be far worse without Yion and Natalia’s help. Not just the sheer volume of administration, but the ability to delegate tasks to people she trusts.
They are a miracle, in more ways than one. The Kernow troops who saved their lives in the battle for the airfield at Cabezón didn’t think Natalia would survive, but the Xian doctors disagreed, and here she is, pale and determined and dedicated.
It was a close thing, and no one would have begrudged Yion and Natalia an extended recovery period. Yet here they are, her indefatigable assistants. Not to mention they’re also the poster couple for the promise of Newyan’s new social structures.
Yion Bey, head of the Founding Family Bey, a Name Among the Stars, and his wife, Natalia del Bosque, a name of no particular fame or privilege. Love across the social barriers. And they fought against the invasion. Add in their good looks, the life-threatening wounds, and the media has been all over them, even more than her.
“Thank you,” she says to them, meaning the food, meaning their ‘bullying’ of her, meaning everything.
“There’s something for you to watch as well,” Natalia says, switching on the large wall display.
Kat waves it away like an irritating insect. She can’t be bothered with the news reports.
Part of the foundation of the new accountability has been to encourage media companies to set up and compete. They’re incentivized to dig into the truth of every situation. They compete for the viewers’ attention. All of which is wonderful and exactly as planned, but few of the presenters are actually very good at their jobs yet and Kat finds many of them sound like little yapping dogs.
Natalia ignores that.
The display comes on, and Yion gives her a squeeze on her shoulder. Then Natalia gives her a hug and a kiss on the head, before they both leave.
What the nova?
The news scene on the display is immediately recognizable to her.
She drops her sandwich back onto the plate, and stands.
It’s the Plaza Mayor, in Cabezón. She’d know it anywhere. A huge crowd fills the plaza, and there’s definitely a fiesta atmosphere in the city of the sierras. The cameras pan from one side to the other. People fill the square up to the steps of the Serena library on the left and the temple on the right.
From that temple, and the temple across from her own office, the great bells ring out.
One o’clock.
It’s a signal to the people in the Plaza Mayor in Cabezón. A roar rises from the crowd. The announcer is trying to speak, but her words are lost in the noise. The cameras turn and focus on the middle of the square. There’s something there, tall and wide, covered by sheets.
People are tugging at the sheets, and the sound of cheering rises to a fever pitch as they begin to slip.
A statue emerges, and she’s suddenly back in the high sierras, kneeling beside the body of Commander Benat.
“They will build fine statues of you,” she murmurs, recalling her words. “There will be one in the Plaza Mayor in Cabezón, with your arm lifted, pointing up at the hills. It will tell the story of how you led Training Company Bravo, how raw cadets lured the mercenaries into the forests... how we killed them. How we died, so our planet could be free, so that everyone would know the truth of the Hajnal. Because we did our duty.”
He didn’t live to know what he truly accomplished, the Commander, and yet what he did was right, just as it’s right that there is one statue there to honor all of them from all the conflicts over Newyan.
It’s a good likeness of him, too.
In the middle of the plinth beneath, between solemn lists of the names of the dead, there is an inscription that the camera focuses on, its letters cut deep into the stone. It’s one of cousin Zara’s favorites, and Kat wishes she could be here for this moment.
Duty and honor.
Afterword
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