by Luigi Robles
“What about the military patrol?” Mama asked between shivers as they made their way to the nearest shelter.
“There are like four of them for the entire city,” Papa said. “That won’t do us any good. If there was a way we could call them over, maybe. But even then, they probably have their hands full with all this sacking going around.” Papa pointed to some homes with broken windows and opened doors. “We’ve got to hurry; it’s the only way.”
“Joan, honey,” Mama said. “The shelter is like an hour more from here. You think you’ll be OK?”
“Yes, Mama,” Joan said, even though she thought she might not be able to make it. She had never experienced that kind of cold, at least not for such a prolonged period.
It had to be well into the night by the time they reached the nearest shelter, but as soon as they got there, things weren’t looking good for them. The gates of the shelter were closed, and there was no one in sight to open them. The lights were also partially off inside the shelter.
“Look for some kind of doorbell or intercom,” Papa said as they walked up to the gate.
Joan saw a white button attached to a speaker plate next to the booth, where a guard would normally be sitting. “What about that one, Papa?” Joan said as she pointed towards the small white button.
“That’s the one,” Papa said as he walked hurriedly towards it. He pressed the button as soon as he was able to reach it.
The speaker began to emit a loud, ringing song right after Papa pressed the button. Hope began to make itself present in Joan. She imagined herself, Papa and Mama walking into the shelter, getting another set of warm blankets and maybe some hot soup.
“Admissions aren’t until ten am,” a voice behind the speaker said lazily. There was a click shortly after, followed by a dial tone.
Papa pressed the button once again and got even closer. The speaker rang a few more times, but it was clear that someone had picked up.
“Sir, sir, please don’t hang up,” Papa pleaded. “We’re a group of three, and we have a child with us. Please, just let us in the building. We don’t need anything else right now. Just let us in so we can bear the cold.”
“I’ve already told you,” the voice behind the speaker said. “Admissions aren’t until ten am. If you want to try to get in, then I suggest you come back at that time. But good luck with that; this shelter is well over its capacity.” There was a click once again, followed by a dial tone.
Papa sighed and pressed the white button once again. As soon as there was a sound on the other end, Papa began talking.
“Please just let my wife and daughter in,” Papa said.
Joan felt her eyes tearing up at the possibility that Papa would have to stay outside.
“Look, I already told you,” the voice behind the speaker said, this time with a clearly angered tone. “No one is going to go out there and open the doors for you. Go and try shelter B if you’d like. If not, see you at ten am.” This time there was no hanging up sound or dial tone, only a busy tone on the other side of the speaker.
Papa pounded on the wall. Mama got up behind him, trying to calm him down.
“It’s OK, it’s OK, it’s OK,” Mama said as she hugged Papa. “We’ll just try to go to the next one.”
They tried to make their way to the next shelter, but an hour of walking later, Papa and Mama decided to stop and rest.
“Honey,” Mama said. “We’ll stop here for a little while, maybe until the sun comes up and warms things a little. Papa needs to rest.”
They stopped near the wall of a building that partially shielded them from the cold air. It was as good a place as any considering the surroundings. To one side there was only an open field, and to the other there were empty locked-up buildings, few and far between. Joan didn’t even know if they were heading in the right direction.
“Are you alright, Papa?”
“Yes, honey, I just need to rest a little bit before we move on.”
Joan wondered if Papa had been injured in the scuffle with the intruder back in the house and they were just not telling her.
They held each other and tried to keep warm waiting for sunrise. Joan hugged her parents, attempting to keep them warm.
Her parents didn’t make it through that night. They died of hypothermia.
As much as it still hurt and probably always would, Joan knew well those were things of the past. She had to focus and be ready to put all of her accumulated experience into a single goal. She would take from humanity what was taken from her at a young age: hope.
“Sorry,” Joan whispered. “But I must remove all obstacles, and I must start with the largest one.”
7
Lost
The journey back to Earth from Doka was eerily quiet for Pycca and the rest of the flight crew. For the last nine-and-a-half hours, no one had been talking, and only half an hour remained before they reached Earth space and Sodenia would have to decelerate.
What everyone had witnessed was on par with the word extraordinary, but not in a good way, that much Pycca knew. The amount of power a single one of those machines had displayed was something she thought she would never see in her lifetime.
A single machine had disabled all of the flotilla’s weapons and the anti-air weapons of the Ochilenean capital. Pycca couldn’t begin wrapping her head around how they would combat such a threat. Only one thing had come to mind, and it was an obvious move—cut all incoming communications off permanently, and if not permanently, mechanically at the very least. She would submit her suggestion via the proper channel before she left the ship. She was planning on leaving Sodenia for a day or two as soon as she got back home, if they would allow it.
Aside from the Immortals, Pycca had many things weighing her down in her heart and mind. The way Fain had made her feel as he took a step towards the Immortal had left her shaken. To think that the man she was falling for could just throw in the towel at any second didn’t give her any confidence.
What the hell, Pycca, she thought. Is this really what you’re going to spend your time thinking about? A boy? I am so disappointed in you. As a matter of fact, I think I’m going to stop talking to you, at least until you realize just how much you are worth. Fain should be fighting for you. He shouldn’t be confused about what he wants. And that brings me to the second point. Is he still confused, or has he decided yet?
Pycca stared across the bridge towards Larissa. She too sat in her station, lost in thought. The only difference was that she was perfect. Everything about Larissa screamed perfection—her beauty, her posture, her dumb extra-cute new hairstyle and even her intelligence. Pycca sighed as she compared herself with the goddess across the bridge.
Just kill me now and let this all be over, she thought. I’m so tired of competing with impossible odds. She has every right in the world to be with Fain, if that’s what he wants.
Pycca felt her eyes beginning to water.
“This is your captain speaking,” Fain said, probably addressing the entire fleet. “We’ll be reaching Earth space in t-minus 90 seconds. Medical bays, please stand by.”
Pycca turned back to her station and tried to keep herself busy for the remainder of the trip. She decided not to add further fuel to the situation she was in. She wasn’t going to think about it.
Sodenia came out of faster-than-light travel, and stars as well as far-off planets began to materialize. They were only some 300,000 miles away from Earth, a ten-minute safety ride to Earth if Fain stepped on it.
Though it had been less than ten minutes, Pycca felt as if an entire half-hour had passed, if not more. She really didn’t want to be there anymore. She needed to breathe. But not Sodenia’s purified air; she wanted the air back on Earth.
“We’re back home,” Fain broadcasted. “Prepare all relevant data for a full report. This is your captain out.”
“Captain,” Pycca said as she stood up from her station. “Permission to be dismissed.”
Fain looked back at Pycca wit
h a clear frown on his face and simply nodded, granting her permission. Pycca then turned and began walking from the bridge.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” August asked as Pycca walked by him.
She didn’t answer and continued walking, exiting the bridge swiftly. She made her way to the only place on Sodenia where she could clear her mind. The levitation machine room near the helm of the ship was her preferred place to go when she needed to think.
As she walked into the machine room, her mind began to calm down. Pycca had helped rebuild the room straight out of ESAF engineering school. It had been her first and longest project on board the ship.
She let out a sigh as she picked one of the levitation machines to sit next to and lean on. She spent a few minutes trying to clear her mind, to feel like herself once again and to remind herself why she was there in the first place.
Her moment of relaxation was interrupted by three knocks on the door.
You have got to be kidding me, she thought.
“Pycca, can I come in?” Larissa’s muffled voice made it through the door.
Pycca banged the back of her head slightly on the levitation machine and sighed.
“Really, Kya? You just had to tell her where I was, didn’t you? I expected more from you.”
No response. There were only three more knocks on the door.
“Come in,” Pycca said, feeling her eyes roll to the back of her head.
The door opened and Larissa let herself in. She approached Pycca slowly.
“I saw you leave the bridge abruptly. I just came to check if everything was alright.”
Pycca’s less than polite tongue yearned to be unleashed. She wanted to shower Larissa in boiling hot words, but instead she said the politest thing that she could think of. “What a question to ask considering the situation we’re in.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m trying to keep it together, Pycca, but I can assure you that I’m also in distress.”
“So, you came here to complain about our job? Because if you did, I have better things to do.”
Pycca knew that she was being mean, but she also knew that there were a few lower levels of mean that Larissa wouldn’t be seeing today.
“I’ll be straightforward about it then,” Larissa said as she stiffened.
“Good, let’s have it.” Pycca got up to face Larissa.
“I came here to talk to you about Fain.”
“What about him?” Pycca felt her face and ears get warm at the mention of his name.
“Please don’t be coy. Everyone on this ship knowns. Better said, everyone in ESAF knows that you have a thing for him, and he has a thing for you. I was just the one idiot who didn’t notice it, because I was too busy noticing him.” Larissa blushed. “I just came to tell you that there’s nothing between us. If anything, there’s respect and a healthy friendship. Whatever Fain thought he felt for me, or I for him, got buried in the last few months. But you know it’s impossible to bury something that felt so real just like that. Things still linger. I just know he isn’t for me. He’s for you.”
Pycca didn’t say anything, although she liked what she was hearing.
“And I hope you know that you can count on me if you need someone to talk to about anything that doesn’t involve him. I’m here for you as well as the rest of the crew. Maybe someday I’ll find my someone, but until that day comes, I won’t worry about it.” Larissa smiled slightly.
Pycca nodded.
“I won’t begin to talk about what happened down on Doka,” Larissa continued. “I think you and Fain have a lot to talk about first. I just came to take myself out of the picture, so you can at least have one less thing to worry about.”
“Thank you,” Pycca said softly, and she felt a sense of calm wash over her body.
“I’ll just head back to the bridge. There’s a lot that we must unravel about our recent visit. But do remember what I told you.”
“I will. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be a little while longer. I just have to clear my head, then I’ll join the flight crew on the bridge.”
“Take your time,” Larissa said as she headed out of the levitation room. “I’m sure it will be a few hours before we have to submit a report. See you there.”
Pycca did nothing after Larissa left the room, she just sat back down on the floor near a levitation machine and leaned against it. She would only be a few minutes more.
“Well, that could have gone a lot worse,” Pycca murmured, at the same time trying to relax. “A lot worse.”
Once everyone in ESAF was aware of the situation, Sodenia and the rest of the fleet went into full patrol mode, working twenty-four-hour shifts while undergoing heavy modifications. Pycca had suggested either removing or modifying all receiving antennas on all of the ESAF ships to avoid an Immortal taking over. Truman had taken Pycca’s suggestions to heart on the recommendation of Kya.
Now instead of the ships having permanent radiating and receiving antennas that would convert the signals into their proper waves, they would have mechanical and fully dislodgeable receiving antennas. This meant that the outgoing and incoming signals wouldn’t be located in a single nodule; instead they would be separated into two, with the incoming side being able to completely shut down mechanically. It was a lot of work, but thanks to Kya’s Anvelins and Pycca’s engineer corps, they were able to retrofit all 1,634 antenna nodules in less than two weeks.
For Pycca, the task had been a breath of fresh air, as it allowed her to keep her mind busy and not think of Fain. But in the days that followed, once all the work was done, she couldn’t help but go back and think, and she hated it. She knew that she had to get off the ship.
Pycca was one of the first to leave after a three-week patrol. The truth was that she had a lot to resolve on her own, and continuously seeing and trying to avoid Fain wasn’t helping. Their encounter with the Immortals and Fain’s willingness to sacrifice his life in order to protect others, including herself, had shaken her to her core.
Fain didn’t contest her desire to leave; he simply nodded at the request. Though she hated the fact that she was leaving him up there with Larissa, she knew that this was something she needed to do. She wasn’t so much worried about the Immortals, or at least she didn’t think that they would be showing up anytime soon. For reasons unknown, the Immortals had stopped all attempts at communication via glitches. There was nothing on Earth, or on Doka or anywhere else the ISCO was in communication with.
So, what was he thinking? Pycca got lost in thought as she descended through the space elevator. It was way too easy for him to agree with that stupid machine. He could have died, and we would have gained nothing. The thought of Fain dying in order to protect them made her eyes watery. She wanted to stop her thoughts, but she found it to be impossible. It all kept washing over her. And then what about me? So, he dies, and then what about me? Just screw whatever I feel for him? Just let it all go, because that’s what heroes do? They all die in the end?
“Bullshit,” she said through gritted teeth and pounded on the glass.
“May I be of any assistance?” a disembodied voice said inside the elevator capsule.
“No,” Pycca managed.
“Very well. If I can be of any assistance, gently tap on the window or press the assistant button at your leisure.”
By Pycca’s estimate, she was around twenty minutes away from reaching the surface of Earth. One of the windows always displayed a map of the current location, but she didn’t bother to look.
Is this what I want for myself? Pycca returned to her thoughts. To love someone that will ultimately put everyone else before himself? I told him not to… And yet he didn’t hesitate to step towards the dumb machine. Are his feelings for me not strong enough? Doesn’t he care enough to feel the same way? I want to have a family, to be able to grow old with someone, to feel loved until my last breath. This isn’t fair. But then again, when is anything ever fair?
The universe doesn’t play by our
rules. That’s the lesson to be learned here, if being able to venture into space has taught us anything, Pycca decided.
Pycca knew that no matter what her thoughts were, her feelings towards Fain would remain the same. He made her feel whole again, special, and he made her matter. Fain was also the first person to make her feel normal again, to make her forget about the open doors to the galaxy, to make her feel like humanity would survive. And even in their darkest hours, those things were a constant.
“Stupid,” Pycca hissed as she pounded on the glass once again, but this time with her forehead. Though she didn’t know if she was calling Fain or herself stupid, or both.
“May I be of any assistance?”
She sighed.
“Play relaxing music.”
Classical music began playing softly inside the elevator. Pycca didn’t recognize it, though she suspected it was a fairly popular piece.
Other less stressful things began to make their way into Pycca’s train of thought. She didn’t want to go back to her parents’ at least for the first few days that she was back on Earth. She needed time to herself. But she also didn’t have a place to stay, a place she could call her own.
After losing their home, along with the city, during the first Acram attack, Pycca never really had a place she could call her own. As soon as ESAF was announced to the world, she enlisted and spent most of her days in the academy, training and learning everything she could. She would seldom take voluntary days off; weekends were non-existent for her. Only when it came time for her leave did she allow herself to rest and recharge. She spent the entirety of her leave in her parents’ new home in St. Paul, but she was never able to call that place home. It was nothing like the home she had grown up in.
She needed a place of her own. But she knew little of the world outside ESAF.
For a few seconds, Pycca entertained the idea of getting a small apartment somewhere in Neo LA, where she would be close to Fain. She began mentally listing the reasons why living in Neo LA would be a good idea. But she quickly dismissed it after she couldn’t think of more than two or three. Fain was the main reason she wanted to be there. She then ran a mental list of other places she’d like to live, but in the end, it was just impractical, and it all felt like a big commitment on her part. She decided that she would hold off from getting a place until she found a city or town she really loved.