Wandering Storm

by Steven Anderson

  “No, I left my coat in the car and the sun will keep me warm enough. I hope.”

  “What did your father say when he saw you?”

  I bit my lower lip. “I made him cry.”

  “Well, that’s what daughters do, especially on their wedding day.”

  Father Ryczek greeted Mom first when we got back to the parking area; I think to get it out of the way. I had noticed them avoiding each other at the party.

  “Father, you’re looking well. It’s a great honor that you chose to leave your Mission to be here with us.”

  “God’s Mission, as I think I’ve reminded you more than once,” he corrected her, smiling. It was a warm smile and looked genuine, but I wasn’t sure. “Your family has come to see me so often that I thought it was about time I returned the favor.”

  She nodded and let Dad take over. I think the two of them would have been happy standing there in the dirt parking area talking for hours about who knows what. Another car arrived, letting off hikers who stared at us as they passed. Sam saved me.

  “Shall we head on up, then?”

  Father Ryczek chuckled. “Ah, the impatience of youth. Forgivable, given the circumstances, I think.”

  Dad wasn’t smiling. In his mind, I had stopped aging somewhere around fourteen. I was having trouble reading his emotions, but I’m sure he would have been happier if he could have kept himself from thinking about what Sam and I were going to do later. He took my arm and started walking me up the trail, Mom and Winona ahead of us and Sam following with Father Ryczek.

  Winn was the first to notice the sharp whine of thrusters passing close overhead.

  She pointed. “Transformable.” We watched it swing wide and line up to land in the parking area, road wheels deploying from its belly as it converted from flight mode. “Don’t see too many of those, at least not among people who enjoy hiking in the mud and snow. And there are no registration numbers on the bottom or lower skirts like there are supposed to be.”

  She glanced at me, then at Mom.

  “Ms. Weldon…”

  “It’s almost two hundred meters. I don’t think we can make the boulder field before they land.” She was looking around, trying to find options.

  Father Ryczek started back toward the parking area walking slowly. He called to her over his shoulder. “I’ll buy you some time. Go quickly. I’ll try to find out what they want, nothing probably, but I think you should run.”

  Sam shoved me hard to get me moving and then ran behind me, shielding me with his body. Dad was doing the same thing with Winona twenty meters to my right, while Mom angled to my left, pulling a long-barreled pistol from her coat as she ran and holding it in front of her. She had come to my wedding armed?

  I paused and glanced back when we reached the boulders. Father Ryczek was talking to four men with drawn pistols and a woman with a long rifle. They had made him kneel in the dirt and had cuffed his hands behind his back. So much for ‘probably nothing’. I ducked behind the rocks and found a tiny gap where I could still peek down slope. Sam was right next to me, and Winn and Dad a couple of meters away. Dad was armed too, and so was Winona. Had everyone come to my wedding armed?

  Mom crawled over to me and spoke softly. “Which of you is the better shot?” She had a pistol in her hand, the barrel maybe ten centimeters long.

  “With that?” Sam was shaking his head. “And I have my own.” He removed a pistol from its holster beneath his shoulder. It was long-barreled, just like Mom’s.

  “I’ll take it,” I told her. “I hit twenty-nine out of thirty at twenty meters during our last meet at the Academy.”

  Mom pressed it into my hand. “Don’t let this be the thirtieth.”

  I nodded and dropped the magazine out. It had Mom’s usual load. The first three cartridges were slugs and the remainder had the blue tips of plasma rounds, designed to do maximum damage to soft tissue. I clicked the magazine back in. “Plasma rounds are illegal, you know.”

  “Really?” Mom tried to act innocent, but that look doesn’t work for her.

  “Who are these guys?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Don’t fire until I do. They don’t know we’re armed and I want to keep it that way until it’s too late for them.”

  “What about the one with Father Ryczek? Can you hit her from here? This thing is worthless beyond twenty-five meters.”

  She shook her head. “No, too risky at this range with her that close to him. We’ll think of something. Let’s find out who they are first.”

  She glanced over at Dad and made some kind of sign to him. He nodded and stood up while I watched through the small gap between the rocks.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” Dad yelled down to them. They were still about seventy-five meters away, moving slowly and spread out in line abreast, coming up the clearing at us. The two in the center stopped while the other two kept coming, flanking our position. It reminded me of the sand table exercises we’d done in class, learning small group tactics.

  “Union Internal Security. We have some questions we’d like you to answer.”

  Dad glanced at Mom and she gestured for him to continue.

  “We have children here with us. Put your weapons down and we can talk.”

  “I’m not a child,” I whispered.

  “Hush. I need to hear this.” Mom had her eyes closed, concentrating.

  “Well, we have some questions for them too. You come on down from there. I’m getting tired of shouting.”

  “Give us a moment.” Dad ducked back down and crawled over to us. “What are you hearing?”

  “South African descent I think, ancestors from the Transvaal. What planet would that be? Or he could be a mercenary. Let me find out.”

  She peeked over the rocks and shouted at him. “Is jy ‘n Vark slaaf of ‘n soldaat?”

  The man Dad had talked to spat on the ground and raised his pistol. Mom ducked just in time and shards of rock spattered around us as the bullet ricocheted. She looked up at Dad, her eyes bright and a dangerous smile on her lips. “Nope, not a mercenary. I don’t remember being anywhere with a large Boer population. You haven’t been traveling without telling me about it again, have you?”

  Dad shook his head, trying to act innocent, a look that works pretty well for him. “I haven’t been anywhere since October, and you’re the one that recruited me for that one.”

  She sighed, her forehead wrinkling in concentration.

  “Does it matter?” I interrupted. “We’re being flanked. We need to pull back.”

  She grinned at me. “Good girl, you’ve been listening in class. Don’t worry; we’ll take them out before that happens. Boers…”

  Sam had been silent through all this, now something finally clicked for him. “Oh, shit.” He pulled his display pad out of his pocket and unrolled it. “It’s me they’re after, and if they know I’m here, then the whole crew of the Esprit Vengeur is in danger.”

  He tapped for a few seconds then looked at me. I could feel his fear. “I’m being jammed. Hannah, we need to resolve this now. I’ve got to warn Captain Bouvet and get word to our team. They’re scattered all over the planet on leave. These guys are working to a kill list and I’m sure my name isn’t the only one on it.”

  “Samuel?” Winona crawled over closer and placed a hand on his cheek. Her eyes were large and her expression was soft, like she was already sorry for what she was about to say. “You’ve already gone through that one way door, haven’t you.”

  I saw him exchange glances with my mom and I hated both of them right then, and I knew both of them could feel it.

  “MD, I can explain.”

  I looked at him and he was blocking me completely. I felt nothing. “Don’t bother. She recruited you and you obeyed, that’s all the explanation I need.” I looked down at myself, too angry to
cry. I brushed some of the dirt off my hem. “I’ve already ruined my dress and there are more important things to worry about right now than us, like rescuing Father Ryczek.”

  I could still see him there in the parking area. The woman with the rifle was now about fifty meters up from him, looking at us through the sight.

  Hannah ignored me. “OK, I’ll take the one on our right flank, Ted, you take the left. Winona and Sam take the two in front of us. Mala Dusa, hit anything we miss and keep an eye on the woman. Take her out if you can. Otherwise, we’ll deal with her after the others are dead. They’re wearing body armor so place your shots accordingly, understand?”

  Everyone nodded and she counted down from three. The man Mom had talked to, the man whose ancestors had left the Transvaal generations ago hoping for a new life on a new planet, was the first to die. Winona’s shot struck him below his left eye and carried away most of his face and the back of his head. His companions were all dead a fraction of a second later, except for the woman with the rifle who was standing frozen in place a hundred-fifty meters away. Sam fired at her, sending dirt flying near her foot. She turned and started running back toward the parking area.

  “See that, Mala Dusa? That’s what a coward looks like. She could have kept us pinned in these rocks forever and picked us off one by one if she’d had any courage.” Mom tipped her head at me. “Did you shoot?”

  “No.”

  The woman had her rifle slung over her back and she was too close to Father Ryczek for us to try to stop her. She slowed to a walk when she got next to him, pulled a pistol from her waist, and shot him in the head as she passed. She didn’t even look back afterward. I watched, not able to breathe, as he toppled over face first into the dirt.

  “Damn it, Mala Dusa.” Mom fired, but she was down to plasma rounds now, even less accurate than slugs, and so was everyone else. Sam managed to clip the woman just as she entered the transformable, and I heard her scream as it tore her left arm apart. The rest of the rounds splattered harmlessly against the metal composite of the little ship’s hull after she managed to get the door closed.

  I ran as fast as I could down the slope, listening to the thrusters spooling up. The transformable jumped unsteadily into the air, the nose pointed straight at me as it lifted. I ducked down, sliding in wet grass and mud as I rolled over onto my back. It came right over me and I fired the three slugs into where I knew the fuel tanks were nestled between the road wheels. Green mist poured out. I waited for it to pass me and then fired the rest of the magazine as quickly as I could pull the trigger. It was satisfying the way the hot plasma rounds ignited the fuel with a solid wump, pitching the ship’s nose forward. I could feel the heat on the bare skin of my face and shoulders. She tried to correct, but the initial blast had carried away some of the control surfaces and she was almost completely inverted by the time she hit the rocks of the boulder field and the rest of the fuel exploded.

  I was still lying on my back, my hands over my head holding the pistol, my chin high looking behind me at the flames. Mom knelt and took the now empty gun from my hands.

  Sam knelt next to her. “She’s the one you should recruit.”

  “I know. I was afraid it would look like nepotism. That and you have to get her really, really pissed first to get this kind of result.”

  “Like on Bodens Gate, just before they shot her?”

  “Yes, like on Bodens Gate. Brave girl.”

  I turned to look at her, my arms still over my head. “I was saving the slugs in case they tried to leave, that’s why I didn’t shoot before. I knew the plasma rounds would be worthless against the kind of metal composites they use in that class of transformable. Our only chance would be to punch holes in the fuel tanks first and then light off the vapor with plasma. The tanks are always located ventrally to keep the center of gravity low.”

  Winona was there with me too. She kissed me. “Brave engineer.”

  “Oh, Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t think she’d kill him. There was no reason to kill him. It’s my fault he was here at all. I don’t understand why–”

  I felt like I was going to cry and I stopped talking to try to hold it back. Sam put his arms around me. “Let’s get you up out of that wet grass. You must be freezing.”

  I didn’t move. “Maybe. I don’t know.” He started to pick me up. “You’re going to get all muddy,” I warned him.

  “That’s OK, I’ve been muddy before.”

  “No, don’t carry me. I need to walk. And I’m still mad at you.”

  I let him take my hand while we made our way down to the parking area. Dad was there. He had taken off his coat and placed it over Father Ryczek’s body and he had his head bowed, praying for him. I put my hand on his shoulder and we prayed and cried together for several minutes. I could feel hot anguish in him that matched my own.

  Sam spoke softly to me when I was finished. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  “I know. I know that there are things you can’t tell me, but don’t ever block your emotions from me again, I can’t stand that, it’s like when you’re on the other side of a DSH and my soul is cut in half. And don’t lie to me, not even for her.” I glanced at my mom. “We can work on the rest of it, but those are absolutes, understand?”

  He was looking at me and I could feel all of him, wide open. All the love was there, all the dedication, and the overpowering need to be with me. I swayed for a moment, my eyes closed, feeling happily lost to everything else as Sam washed through my brain.

  “Better,” I mumbled. “OK. I forgive you and I think I may still want to marry you. You can hold me now. Please. Please hold me.”

  After a moment, I asked him, “Did you reach your Captain?”

  He nodded. “I think we lost six before the word reached everyone.”

  A shiver ran through me, thinking how close we had come to suffering seven losses, plus collateral damage. “Out of how many?”

  “I can’t tell you. I probably shouldn’t have told you about the six.”

  “But you knew them?”

  “Yeah, I knew them.”

  I was still resting with my head on his shoulder when I felt something warm wrap around me. Dad had brought my coat. “It’s going to get all muddy now too.” I tried to smile at him.

  “That’s OK. It’ll give Sharlot something else to complain about. I’d like you, Sam, and Winona to take the car and get back home. Hannah and I will keep the site here secure until the authorities arrive. If you’re here they’ll want to ask you questions, like why you’re wearing a wedding dress.”

  I looked down at myself. “I don’t think anyone would recognize it as that anymore.”

  He smiled at me before turning to Sam. “And I imagine you have somewhere you need to be.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ve been recalled. There’ll be a car waiting for me at your house by the time we get there.”

  “I thought as much.”

  I was too numb to respond. “We came so close,” I whispered, maybe to Sam, maybe just to myself.

  The three of us walked away and Winona realized what I was going to do even before I did. Her eyes had gone huge staring at me. “Duse, you’ve got to be kidding. We almost died, you’re covered in mud, your dress is ripped in a dozen places, and you’re not going to see each other for who knows how long…oh.” She stopped and looked at Sam, feeling his emotions too. “Oh. Um, in that case I’m staying here with your folks, if you don’t mind. Please, please wait until you’re like at least fifty meters away before you get started, OK?”

  “No promises. It’s only thirty minutes home.” I took hold of Sam’s hand, grabbing him hard and pulling him the rest of the way.

  “Tell the car to go out around Sunset Crater on the way home to make sure you aren’t being followed. That should add at least twenty minutes to the trip.” She touc
hed Sam’s cheek and his eyes were having trouble focusing on her. “Samuel, you be gentle with my Mala Dusa. Oh.” Her face scrunched up and she turned to look at me. “Oh, wow. Mala Dusa, you be gentle with my Samuel.” She put her hand on her forehead, wincing. “Wow, OK, yeah, I’ve got to get farther away from you.”

  “Uh huh.” That was the best I could do to answer her. Sam was kissing me and it was hard to breathe even though his mouth was nowhere near mine. The car door must have closed behind us as we tumbled into the backseat, but I didn’t hear it.

  Sam was nibbling on my ear while I tried to locate and undo all the buttons on his shirt with my eyes closed. “MD, are you sure about this? We’re not really married yet, and we’d kind of agreed to wait for that.”

  “We are married.” I nuzzled my nose against his, kissing his face. “There are no doubts any more. I’m going to love you and be with you as long as we’re both alive. Being with you is my only possible future, OK? Just you, as much of you as I can get, for as long as I can have it. God knows my heart, and that’s all that matters.” I had my hands on his bare chest, feeling his heart pounding.

  Those blue eyes were looking into mine and his hands were exploring my body, setting off warm tingles everywhere he touched. “Being with you is all that matters to me. There’s no way I could ever not love you. We’re one soul, two bodies. You’re right, we are married and I want to be with you for as long as I can, as much as I can, and in every way that I can. I am your husband. I think I have been for a long time now.”

  “And I’m your wife. Glad that’s settled.”

  After a few minutes with his mouth on mine, he asked, “MD, how does this dress come off?”

  “Well, there’re some things that have to be untied and then it’s supposed to come off over my head, but that’s kind of hard to do in the back of the car. I guess you could just pull it up a bit or maybe…”

  He grabbed the fabric where it was already torn and pulled, ripping the dress from top to bottom and leaving me basically naked lying on my back across the seat. I gasped, looking down at myself, panting. “Or, yeah, that works too. Maybe better. Definitely better. And look, the dress kept most of the mud off my skin, except for some right there. See?”