The Planetsider Trilogy

by G J Ogden

  Summer’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you, space man,” she said bitterly. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you now?”

  Kurren didn’t have a chance to answer as the driver’s side door swung open and smashed into Summer’s face, knocking her flat on her back. The arrow sprang from the bow and screamed past Kurren’s face so close that he could feel the rush of air as it shot past his ear. Maria leaned out of the side of the cabin and looked at Summer, lying in the mud.

  “That felt good.”

  “Are you crazy? She damn near shot my head off!” Kurren exclaimed, recovering the rifle from the ground.

  “You’re welcome,” replied Maria, coolly and with an air of satisfaction. “Now let’s go.” Maria slid back to the passenger side and Kurren went to get in.

  “Wait.” It was a weak voice from the rear of the transport. “You can’t leave her like that,” Ethan croaked.

  “Kid, we don’t have time for this,” said Kurren.

  “If you... leave her... I stay,” Ethan said, struggling to form the words.

  More roamers were coming in through the opening, but now were being met by a re-grouped ranger force. Kurren knew that once the rangers had tackled the remaining roamers, they would turn their attentions to him and the transport. There was no time to spare. He swore under his breath and went over to where Summer lay, still out cold. He hoisted her up, grateful for the fact that she weighed considerably less than Ethan did, and slung her in the back with him. He was careful to remove her arrows, and her knife.

  “Buckle up...” he said to Ethan, before sliding back into the driver’s seat.

  In front of them the rangers were close to winning the fight, and several of them, supported by some of the braver settlers, were now hastily trying to patch up the hole in the wall. Kurren accelerated and slammed his palm onto the horn. The rangers and settlers scattered out of the way and stared in astonishment as the transport raced past them, smashing through the last cluster of roamers, some of them bouncing off the bodywork and falling into contorted heaps as the transport sped out of the settlement. Kurren checked his mirrors and saw that the rangers were dealing with the last of them. The settlement would be safe. Contented, he turned the vehicle in the direction of the city and floored the accelerator.

  “We did it, Sal!” Kurren said. “We’re on our way.”

  Maria smiled at him, and then looked back through the partition glass into the compartment at the rear. Ethan was crouched over Summer, calmly tending to her wounds. He caught Maria looking at him and found himself smiling back at her. A warmth flooded through his veins, and despite everything that had just happened, he felt relaxed and at ease.

  Chapter 17

  The journey back to the space port went without incident, much to everyone’s surprise and relief; they had done enough fighting for one day. Using the transport’s systems and something Kurren had referred to as an ident, they were able to enter the main hangar deck through a previously sealed – and therefore roamer-free – slip road. The bodies of the roamers they had fought previously were no longer there, and a chill ran down Ethan’s spine as he considered the possibilities of what might have happened to them. This time, though, the platform was quiet. Eerily quiet.

  Kurren stopped the transport just inside the main door to the hanger pod that housed the UEC shuttle they had located on their first visit and got out, telling everyone else to remain in the back until he gave the all clear. The weapon he had used with such proficiency during the settlement attack was at his side. He slowly made his way over to a control console on the wall opposite, weapon raised and constantly sweeping from side to side, checking for any signs of movement. Maria now also got out and, armed with her pistol, which Kurren had also recovered from the stash in the barn, climbed into the rear compartment of the transport to provide cover, if needed.

  Ethan had tended to Summer’s injuries during the journey, and also given her a mild sedative that Maria had passed through to him in the back compartment, so she was still out cold. There was a bandage covering her temple and left eye, which was bruised from the impact of the transport’s door slamming into her face. Ethan was still a little groggy, but had largely recovered. He also felt no pain, thanks to some remarkably potent painkiller meds that Maria had given him at the same time as the sedative for Summer, which made him feel slightly lighter than usual, as if he was walking on a quilt made of wool. He moved over to sit alongside Maria in the rear compartment. She was quietly surveying the room, keeping watch for any unusual movements and signs of danger. Neither of them spoke; it was so quiet that Ethan could hear the inhalation and exhalation cycle of Maria’s calm, rhythmic breathing. He watched her chest rise and fall in time with the sounds and, in his drugged state, became slightly mesmerized by it.

  “Ahem, eyes front, soldier,” Maria said, noticing that Ethan appeared to be staring at her breasts.

  Ethan blushed and sharply turned away, doing his best to look at nothing in particular. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t…” he stammered. “I was just noticing your breasting... I mean breathing!”

  Despite the tense situation, Maria couldn’t help but laugh and smile. “You must have hit your head harder than I thought!” she teased.

  Kurren’s voice boomed out of the darkness. “Hey, you two, I’m glad you’re having a nice time, but how about you save the chit-chat until I’m somewhere with less chance of being brutally murdered?”

  Ethan snuck another look at Maria and saw that she had returned to surveying the room, but was still smiling. Perhaps it was the drugs she’d given him, but he actually felt good.

  He looked around. The hangar was dark and cold and seemed as lifeless as the eyes of the roamers that had assaulted the settlement. It was strangely calming and Ethan found his mind wandering. His thoughts strayed to Elijah and Katie, and his good mood ebbed away. He knew both were safely barricaded in the bakery during the attack and he knew that the rangers had dealt with the threat of the roamers, but still he worried. He felt bad for not thinking about them at the time and for making sure they knew where he had gone, and during the journey to the space port he had reflected on his choice to come with Maria and Kurren, and was having doubts. Only the knowledge that Maria and all the people on the moon base would die without his help kept him from backing out. But still, he had chosen saving the life of a near-stranger over protecting the lives of his own family, and this troubled him deeply. He knew it was selfish, and he didn’t consider himself to be a selfish person. After all, he’d chosen to be a ranger, and to put his life in harm’s way for the sake of others. What could be more selfless than that? he thought. But despite being uncomfortable with his choices, he did not regret them. The thought of abandoning Maria to her death made him feel physically sick. No matter what was the rational course of action, he knew he couldn’t just walk away. But it was more than just noble sentiment that was driving his decision; he felt a connection to her and, perhaps, it even ran deeper than that.

  After what had happened between him and Summer, Ethan had learned to box away his personal feelings. It was easier that way, certainly when it came to Summer, because boxing his feelings also meant closing off his guilt and shame over their brief relationship. It was easier if she was just a friend, a colleague. But he did not want to box his feelings for Maria, despite the parallels with Summer. Maria made him feel good about himself, excited and free, yet at the same time also guilty because these feelings had turned his attention away from his sister and nephew. Was love so limited, he wondered? Could you not care deeply for a person without it stealing love away from someone else? And what of Summer, still lying unconscious in the back of the transport? In his concussed, confused condition at the time, it had made sense to bring her, to make sure she wasn’t left to the roamers. But now he wished he had left her behind in the settlement. He cared deeply for Summer, and as she lay prone and helpless in the mud, bleeding from the impact of the door, he had realized just how much she me
ant to him. Summer had always been stronger than him, and so she had never needed his protection, and he had never needed to worry about her, until that moment. In hindsight, she would have been better off on her own. Maybe him leaving would be good for her, Ethan considered. Perhaps it would allow her to bond with someone else, and maybe even fall in love.

  The more immediate question was what to do with her now. He couldn’t leave her in the spaceport, days travel from the settlement, alone and without proper provisions, but she wouldn’t come willingly to wherever it was he was going. Into space? he wondered. Is that where I’m really going? That seemed absurd to him now. But regardless of the destination, if it involved Ethan going with Maria and Kurren then Summer would fight and do everything in her power to prevent it, even if that meant killing Maria and Kurren, and perhaps even wounding Ethan. Or she’d get killed while trying. Neither option was good, neither choice acceptable.

  A low hum followed by a deep, throbbing vibration through the floor, powerful enough to shake the transport, roused him from his daydreams. The lights above them flicked on and Ethan had to shield his eyes from the sudden, intense brightness. As his eyes adjusted, he saw Kurren running back towards them.

  “Okay, power is back on, but I don’t know how long it will last,” said Kurren, slightly out of breath. “Let’s get on the other side of the door, before any visitors arrive,”

  Maria jumped over the side of the transport and helped Kurren to lift Summer down. Then both together, an arm slung over a shoulder each, they dragged Summer across the floor and over the threshold of the hangar door. Ethan followed, still feeling a little woolly-headed. When they were all through, Kurren went back for the transport, drove it just across the threshold and then jumped out to close the door, all the time keeping a steady eye out for any movement outside. After what felt like an eternity, the door finally thudded into the metal decking.

  “Okay!” Kurren said, chirpily. “No crazy people are getting in here, that’s for damn certain. Well, apart from the ones that are already in here, that is.” He chuckled at his own joke, but neither Ethan nor Maria appeared amused.

  “You’re sure there’s nothing else in here with us?” Maria asked, calmly, but with a seriousness that made Kurren’s response equally earnest.

  “Aside from maybe a few rats, there’s nothing here but us, Sal,” Kurren said, confidently. “Relax, we’re on the home stretch.”

  “I’ll relax when we’ve reached orbit,” Maria replied.

  “Where’s this ‘orbit’?” Ethan asked, unable to disguise his obvious concern.

  Kurren laughed. “You’ll see, kid,” he said, and winked. This did not help to put Ethan’s mind at ease.

  They moved down a long corridor that lead to the hangar pod and laid Summer down on a dusty couch in a room off to the side that was filled with equipment, none of which appeared to be working. Ethan smoothed the hair away from Summer’s face and looked at her. She looked peaceful.

  “What happens to her now?” he asked without looking up from her face. “How do we get her home?”

  Kurren and Maria looked at each other, unsure of whom Ethan was addressing, but Maria’s look told Kurren that he should do the explaining. “We can send her back to your settlement in the transport,” said Kurren, as if it was obvious.

  Ethan looked over his shoulder at him, eyebrow cocked. “She can’t control that thing,” he said.

  “She doesn’t have to, it can drive itself,” said Kurren. “I can just set it to a reciprocal course, back to where it started. Strap her in, and she’ll be home in no time.”

  “What if roamers try to stop it on route?” asked Ethan, sounding wary of this plan. “What if it meets some kind of... I don’t know... obstacle?”

  Maria stepped forward now. “Don’t worry, Ethan,” she said. “Kurren knows what he’s doing. We can make sure it gets back without incident, I promise.”

  Maria’s assurance helped, though Ethan was still distrustful of the contraption that had brought them here. It appeared to be the only way, though. “Can we set her off, before we leave?” he asked, standing back up and facing Maria. “So I know she’s safe. I need to know she’s safe, before I go with you.”

  Kurren looked over at Summer and rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. “We’ll have to keep her sedated,” he said, “because I doubt she’d go back willingly, at least not without you.” Ethan agreed with that assessment. “I can track the transport’s transponder from here, so we’ll know when it’s back,” Kurren added.

  Maria smiled. “It’ll be okay, really.”

  “Okay,” agreed Ethan. “So let’s do it; let’s get her home.”

  Kurren dumped his gear and jacket in the side room and then they all left with Summer still unconscious on the couch. Kurren went back down the corridor to the transport to begin making the modifications needed to auto-control it back to the settlement, while Ethan went with Maria, at her request, to help prepare the shuttle, by loading supplies and generally just doing what she asked him to do. The UEC shuttle loomed large in the middle of the hangar, and as they approached it Ethan began to wonder how such an enormous object could possibly get airborne.

  Maria and Kurren set to work, chatting to each other via some sort of voice relay that Maria called a ‘commlink’, using words that Ethan did not understand. He tried to keep busy by packing the remaining provisions, and scouting the hangar for anything else potentially useful, although he had no idea what was useful and what was not when it came to space travel. Eventually, Maria got out of the shuttle and asked Ethan to stand back against the wall with her. She manipulated some controls on a panel nearby and then Ethan watched in quiet astonishment as huge metal arms swung down from above them and maneuvered the UEC shuttle so that it was tilted upwards, as if it weighed no more than a small child. Part of the decking then rose up and attached to the sides of the hull, before the entire floor opened beneath it and the giant arms retracted. A hatch then hissed open, slowly, and Ethan guessed that was how they would get in. The noise that accompanied all this was near deafening and Ethan imagined that if the roamers didn’t know they were here before, they certainly would now. Hopefully the doors at the entry point to the launch bay were as solid as they looked.

  “Don’t worry, this is perfectly safe,” said Maria, smiling at Ethan. She was amused by his look of boyish wonder. “It’s going to be one hell of a ride, though.”

  “This whole experience so far has been one hell of a ride,” Ethan replied, honestly. Kurren appeared from across the other side of the hangar and attached a couple of large tubes to the rear section of the vessel, and then proceeded to check a nearby console that was blinking and flashing, with lines of text scrolling along a brightly illuminated screen. “It all seems so unreal,” Ethan mused, out loud.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, kid,” Kurren said, grinning down at the console. He was then quiet for a few moments as he concentrated on the text as it floated past. “We’re pretty much done here, Sal,” he eventually added, more loudly and more seriously. “Everything checks out, and it has enough fuel to reach the base. Air might be a little stale, but it’s breathable.”

  Maria nodded. “Okay then, let’s go.”

  “You... are going... nowhere.”

  They all turned around to see Summer standing in the doorway of the side room. She was holding a weapon, one of the smaller sidearms that Kurren and Maria wore. Ethan could still see the glint of a similar weapon tucked inside Maria’s belt, but Maria was looking over at Kurren, who had his hand where his weapon should be. His face told the story.

  “The jacket,” Maria said quietly, so that only Ethan could hear. “He left his jacket in the room.”

  Ethan understood. The weapon was not a relic, but fully working, and loaded. Ethan looked back towards Summer. She was aiming the weapon at Maria, her finger clasped around the trigger. Ethan began to panic. “Summer, wait...” he began, but he was sharply cut off.

  “No, Ethan!” she sh
outed back at him. “This has gone far enough. You’re coming back with me, or I kill her, right here, right now!” Her voice became more intense as she completed the sentence, and her grip on the weapon tightened.

  Maria looked scared. “The safety is off,” she whispered to Ethan, “If she pulls the trigger, she’ll kill me.”

  Ethan tried to fight the fear swelling in his gut, and tried to think. He looked at Summer, helplessly. “I won’t ask again, Ethan!” she said, fiercely. “Either you come with me, or she dies. The soldier can go back to where he came from in that... thing... alone for all I care.”

  Ethan started to walk towards her, but only managed two small steps before Summer fired the weapon. Ethan’s heart stopped. He looked back at Maria, desperately hoping she wasn’t hit. She was still standing, but her expression showed pure terror. Summer had aimed the weapon off to her side, but not by much, and not with any aptitude. She was too full of anger and adrenalin; missing was as much luck as judgment.

  Summer stepped two paces forward, her arm outstretched and rigid with tension, pointing the weapon directly at Maria’s chest. Her eyes were wild. “I figured out how this thing works after I confiscated and hid their gear, Ethan,” she warned. “It’s just like shooting a bow, and you know how well I shoot a bow. So do as I say, or the next one goes in her head.”

  Ethan stood, numb, not knowing what to do or what to say. Summer had killed roamers before, so she was not squeamish. But murder? Would she kill Maria if she was pushed to it? Ordinarily, no, he reasoned, but Summer had gone past her tipping point, and exhaustion, anger and fear mixed with a cocktail of meds had taken over.

  “What’s it to be Ethan?” Summer started again, “your family and your home, or her?” and then she practically screamed at him, “What’s it going to be!?”