The Planetsider Trilogy

by G J Ogden

  “It’s an attack!” said Maria, urgently. “The raids have started again, I need to go and help!” She pushed off from Ethan and began to run down the street in the direction of the explosion.

  “Sal, wait! Where are you going?” Ethan shouted after her, his ears still ringing from the blast.

  Maria slowed and turned back towards him. “I’ve got to help, Ethan, I’m a pilot,” she called back. “Go inside, they’re expecting you. You have to stay safe!” And then she turned again and started running.

  “Wait!” Ethan called after her, but it was no use, she was already too far ahead.

  Another explosion rocked the base, this one a little farther off, and in the direction that Maria was running. Ethan saw her stumble and fall, tumbling down the street, before he too was knocked off his feet again. He got up, rubbing bruises on his elbows and shoulders, and looked for her. “Sal!” he shouted, but there was no answer. He could see her, climbing back to her feet. She looked back and motioned with her arms, pointing towards the building, and then she set off again, running away from him.

  Ethan looked at the building to his side. There were people inside, shouting for him to come in, to shelter, but Ethan ignored their cries. Instead he ran, legs and arms pumping, desperately trying to catch up with Maria. If she got herself killed, this was all meaningless. It would all have been for nothing. The surroundings became a blur as Ethan accelerated, heart pounding in his chest. The floor shook again as another explosion erupted further ahead, and he had to fight to stay upright. Far beyond the perimeter of the dome he could see objects moving in the darkness. The shapes were similar to the crashed spacecraft that Ethan and the other rangers had found, a world away below them. He saw that Maria had stopped at a gate to a large compound and he ran up beside her. His body was shaking from a combination of adrenalin and exertion.

  “Ethan, what are you doing?!” Maria shouted over the roar of more ships leaving the dome and entering into the blackness above them. “You have to get to safety!”

  “Not without you, Sal,” said Ethan, the words a struggle as he gasped to regain his breath.

  “I have to get out there, Ethan, I’m trained for this, they need me,” said Maria.

  “Others can do that, Sal. I need you with me, I can’t do this without you.”

  Maria turned and started working on the panel again. “We don’t have time for this,” she said. “There might not be anything left to save if we don’t stop this assault.”

  A searing beam of light blazed overhead and Ethan saw one of the spacecraft silently erupt into flame and spiral away from the base in a chaotic, almost hypnotic pattern. The gate opened and Maria stepped through. Ethan put a foot into the threshold and gave Maria a determined look. She knew he would not do as she asked.

  She let out a cry of frustration and then said, “Okay, come on, I can find you shelter inside.”

  She ran through the door and Ethan followed her onto a large open strip, which seemed to jut out beyond the main domed habitat. The overall design looked similar to the hangar of the space port on the planet, but many times larger. On the strip were sitting six angular, aggressive-looking spacecraft, the same shape as those that he’d seen moving rapidly in the darkness outside. In front of each was a large metal door, beyond which was a short corridor that poked out into the blackness beyond, like silvery fingers.

  Maria surveyed the surroundings as Ethan caught up with her. He was about to speak, but Maria knew what he was going to say and headed him off. “I’m still going out there, Ethan.”

  “Sal, if you get killed out there…”

  “I won’t,” she said with conviction. “I’ve landed on a planet, and I’ve flown back to the base. No-one has ever done anything like that before. I think you can trust my piloting abilities. I think you can trust me.”

  Ethan was silent for a moment. “I do trust you, Sal,” he said, “but, if I remember correctly, you crashed on the planet.” Though not actually meant as a joke, Ethan couldn’t help but choke back a laugh.

  Maria scowled. “You’re as bad as Kurren!”

  A man dressed in thick coveralls ran up to Maria, holding a helmet and some kind of harness. “Captain, take number five, it’s already fueled and ready, sir,” he said urgently, pointing to the spacecraft closest to them. Maria took the items and nodded at the man, who promptly ran off. They were briefly illuminated by more beams of light flashing overhead. It reminded Ethan of the lights in the night sky back on the planet, only far more intense.

  Maria pointed towards a building at the base of the open strip they were standing on. “Go into that building. It’s the pilot’s ready room. You’ll be safe,” she said. Ethan opened his mouth, but Maria again headed him off. “No buts, Ethan!” she said, forcefully. “Go, now. I’ll be back soon.”

  “If you get killed, I’m going to be really annoyed,” Ethan said, admitting defeat.

  Maria smiled. “That will make two of us. Now go.” Ethan nodded, and started to run towards the building. Then he heard Maria call his name, and he stopped suddenly and turned back to face her. Shouting over the commotion of ships taking off, she called out, “If anything happens, Ethan, remember that I do care for you,” Maria called out. She was smiling softly, but her eyes betrayed a sense of melancholy. “That our connection is real, do you understand?”

  Ethan nodded reactively, but in truth was confused. He also didn’t like Maria’s fatalistic tone, which shook his confidence in her assertions that she would return safely. He was about to shout back, but Maria had already turned and was running at full speed to the spacecraft, poised ominously on the deck, so instead he stood and watched, feeling helpless. Flashes again illuminated them, reflecting off the smooth surface with an intense reddish hue. Two more explosions, more distant this time, reverberated through the base. Outside Ethan could see the spacecraft moving through the blackness – visible only through the glow of their engines and the bright beams of light that erupted from one towards another – and then vanishing off into the distance.

  Maria arrived beside her ship and hurriedly put on the harness and helmet. She was about to climb the ladder to the cockpit, but something made her stop and look back. Seeing Ethan still standing on the pad, watching, she lifted a hand and waved. Light danced around them and then the spacecraft on the deck next to Maria’s exploded into flames.

  The shock wave hit Ethan moments later, knocking him cleanly off his feet. He landed on the deck, several meters from where he had been standing, stunned both from the blow and the blinding flash of light from the fireball that had utterly consumed the ship. Dazed and disorientated, he scrambled back to his feet and tried to see Maria, but there was just a white haze. He struggled to stay standing, an intense ringing in his ears causing his balance to falter. He pressed his eyes shut and clasped his hands to his temples, shaking his head, trying to clear the fog. “Sal!” he yelled, desperate to find her “Sal!”

  A smog of black smoke covered the area where the six angular craft had stood. Ethan ran towards it, instinctively, but was unable to balance and stumbled and fell, grazing knees and elbows with each futile attempt. Voices were shouting behind him, but he forced himself up and on towards the black cloud. The smoke was thick and tasted bitter. It stung his eyes and made them stream with dirty, gray tears.

  “Where are you?” he coughed into the darkness.

  Covering his mouth with his sleeve he pushed on through the dense, smothering fog. Then he saw her, lying on the ground, blown clear of her own ship, which had shielded her from the worst of the explosion, but was itself now on fire. Terror gripped him, but he forced himself on, still stumbling every other step until he was at her side. With all the strength left in him he managed to pull her up and draped her arm over his shoulder. His legs burned, and his throat felt like he had swallowed thorns. He could see outlines of objects moving through the smoke and fought on towards them, forcing his eyes to stay open, despite the searing black smoke that burned like acid. H
e drove on until the fog cleared and then he collapsed to the smooth, hard deck, Maria falling as a dead weight on top of him. He again heard urgent voices shouting. Above him, a gaping hole in the dome had been sealed by a black web of fibers that had shot out from nearby cross-sections. He coughed violently and felt a bitter mucous in his mouth, which he tried to spit out. It oozed down the side of his face, and he wanted to wipe it away, but couldn’t move his arms. The voices grew more distant in his ringing ears, and his vision darkened. He coughed violently, tasting the thick, bitter mucous again, and tried to focus on Maria, but he couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead.

  Chapter 20

  Ethan opened his eyes and bright light flooded in, making his eyes sting and his head throb. Everything was a blur of white and gray and his throat felt as dry as tree bark. And there was still a distant ringing in his ears, like the sound of the wind chimes hanging from his sister’s porch, heard from outside the walls, from the old tree on the mound where he would gaze up at the lights and wonder. A blurry, white face stood above him.

  “Elijah?” he rasped groggily.

  “Ethan, can you hear me”? he heard a voice say, dimly. Then he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. “Ethan, if you can hear me, say something,” said the same voice, closer now.

  “Sir, if you wait a few moments the stimulant should bring him around,” said a different voice, also not recognizable.

  He felt the fog in his head begin to lift and instead of a white blur he could now discern shapes in front of him. He blinked a few times and looked up again, and the two shapes resolved into faces. One was Governor Archer and the other was a middle-aged woman, serious-looking, with piercing blue eyes and dark blonde hair.

  “You’re not Elijah,” said Ethan, and instantly regretted it, realizing how stupidly obvious that was. Then panic flooded into his gut. “Wait, Sal! Where is Sal?” He tried to sit up, but a stabbing pain in his chest fought him back down. He coughed roughly and his throat stung. He tried to speak again, but gagged with the taste of bitter mucus.

  “Please, you must rest,” said the serious woman. “We’re still processing your blood. You are going to be fine, but you must let the medicines do their work.”

  “Where is Sal? Captain Salus, I mean, where is she?” pleaded Ethan again, ignoring the woman and again trying to sit up, with the same lack of success. He slumped back down, and exhaled a painful, exhausted breath. “Captain Maria Salus,” he asked again, weakly. “Tell me, is she okay?”

  “Ethan, this is Governor Archer, can you hear me?”

  “I can hear you,” said Ethan, frustrated that his one simple question had still not been answered. “Where is she? Please, I must know!”

  Archer placed a hand on Ethan’s chest, with just enough pressure to keep him from trying to sit up again. “Easy there,” he said, in a comforting tone. Ethan wasn’t able to see, but he was sure Archer was wearing his usual, easy smile as he said this. “You saved her life,” Archer continued. “Your brave – some might say reckless – rescue attempt was a success. You dragged her out in time, but…”

  “But what?” interrupted Ethan, panicking again. He struggled against Archer’s hold, feeling himself getting stronger. Seeing this, the woman also now joined in the effort of keeping him lying flat.

  “You must lie still,” the woman said, sternly. “Captain Salus is in a serious condition, but she is stable.” Ethan relaxed a little. Stable at least meant she wasn’t at immediate risk of dying. As he relaxed he became more aware of his own body again, and that he was already feeling more able. He looked over to the table beside him and saw an injector, presumably the source of the sharp pain he felt earlier. Whatever had been in it was doing a good job of reviving him.

  “If you’ll remain calm, Ethan, I will adjust the bed so you are sitting more upright,” said the woman. “But you must agree to remain calm and restful. High stress will inhibit the work of the medicines I gave you.”

  Ethan nodded. The woman ducked out of view and then the bed began to tilt upright accompanied by a mechanical-sounding whir. When he was at about forty-five degrees it stopped and the woman reappeared next to Archer, who Ethan could see was now wearing the same utilitarian style of uniform as Maria. The woman on the other hand was dressed in a white, short-sleeved shirt and pants. She had a badge pinned to her left breast pocket, which read, ‘Angela Salus, Consultant’.

  Ethan’s eyes widened. “Are you…”

  “Yes, Maria is my sister,” the woman said, anticipating the question. “So believe me when I tell you that her care and wellbeing are of utmost importance.”

  “Of course, yes, I’m sorry,” Ethan said, feeling embarrassed.

  “Nothing to apologize for, Ethan,” said Archer smoothly. “I’m aware that you and Captain Salus have formed a bond, which is not surprising considering your shared ordeals.”

  Now it was the doctor’s eyes that widened slightly. Ethan felt suddenly exposed and tried his best not to look at her. This wasn’t how he’d imagined meeting a relative of Maria’s, not that he’d even considered that as a possibility. After Maria had told him about the death of her parents, Ethan had assumed that Maria had no surviving family members. He wondered what else he didn’t know about her, and realized he knew barely anything at all. He tried to clear his mind and it was then he remembered interrupting Archer.

  “You were about to say ‘but’,” Ethan said to Archer.

  “Excuse me?” replied Archer, confused.

  “Earlier, before I interrupted you, you said I dragged her out in time, ‘but’. “What is the ‘but’?”

  Archer nodded and took a deep, thoughtful breath. “Ah, yes,” he said. “Well, perhaps Doctor Salus can explain.” Ethan eyed Archer suspiciously, wondering why he had deferred responsibility to his companion, and shifted his gaze towards her. The doctor did not look happy at being directed to respond; if anything, Ethan thought, she looked angry.

  “I shall put it plainly,” said Angela Salus. “Maria’s injuries I can treat, but her exposure to the fumes after the explosion was severe. Your robust constitution protects you from more than just orrum exposure, it seems, but Maria is not so fortunate. I am unable to purge the toxins fully from her blood.”

  “But I thought you said she was stable?” Ethan said, feeling the panic begin to surge again.

  Angela was quick to clarify. “She is, for now, but in order for her to recover I need a far more potent anti-toxin. Fortunately, Governor Archer has just informed me that you are here to recover the very equipment I need to synthesize such a serum. A happy coincidence.”

  Ethan slumped back into his bed, but continued to look at Doctor Salus, who did not appear happy, despite what she had said. “Do you mean the equipment on the stranded ship?”

  Angela Salus nodded. “Yes.”

  Ethan felt on the verge of losing his composure again. He hated how they danced around subjects, never speaking plainly. “How long does she have?” he asked, addressing Angela specifically.

  “Seventy-two hours.” The reply was clinical, matter-of-fact, almost cold. Ethan couldn’t understand her lack of emotion. Ever since their arrival these people had talked about their impending doom with the sort of emotional detachment he had only seen in roamers. Ethan had felt like a raw nerve for so long he couldn’t remember feeling any other way, existing in a persistently heightened state, trying to process everything that had confronted him. Had it not been for Maria, he likely would have snapped.

  Ethan squeezed his hands together, flexing and stretching his fingers. Then he wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing tightly, trying to measure the level of his own strength. He continued to feel stronger and more clear-headed. He brought his hands again back into a clasp and looked resolutely at Archer. “When can we be ready to go?”

  Archer smiled, but this time it was not the practiced, easy smile that Ethan was wearily tired of seeing, but something more natural, as if Archer respected Ethan’s boldness and willingne
ss to jump into action. “Major Kurren will have everything prepared in just less than six hours,” he said. “We will need to give you some basic training too, but we can fit that into the time. I suggest we go as soon as everything is ready!” he added, enthusiastically, but the Doctor’s reaction was less so.

  “That is too soon,” said Angela. “He needs more rest and more treatments to fully recover.”

  “There is no time, doctor,” Archer shot back, just as firm. “They are already re-grouping for another attack.”

  “How do you know that?” said Ethan. “Why are they being so aggressive now?” Archer considered the question, and exchanged tense looks with the doctor, as if they knew something and were weighing up whether or not to tell Ethan. “If you know something, tell me!” snapped Ethan, unable to hide his agitation any longer.

  “They know we have a planetsider,” Archer replied without further hesitation.

  “What?”

  “They know we recovered a planetsider. They know why. And they intend to prevent us from succeeding with our plan.”

  There was a chilling silence in the room. And then Ethan understood. The realization sent a shiver down his spine and turned his stomach into knots. “They intend to destroy the ship?” he said.

  “Yes,” replied Archer, calmly.

  “But, how do they know?” said Ethan.

  “We’re not entirely sure,” Archer admitted. “They may have intercepted some communications. Or they could have hacked into our systems. We’re checking every possibility. But the assault was not random, it was also for reconnaissance, and we believe they have now detected the location of the ship, and will be coming for it, at any cost.”