Flight

by J. A. Huss

  We pass through this one without incident and then we're in the interior passageways. The inner sanctum of what is Subjack's military command. I can tell because everyone in here has a proper uniform and a snappy attitude. There's none of that everyman soldier shit that we saw back in the outer tunnels, this is the business end.

  My heart begins to pound and I take a moment to check it. Tier squeezes my hand a little before letting go and moving up to the front of the group. Isten drifts back to me and smiles as we walk to a final door that is flanked with large sentrybots like the ones back in the Ramah tunnels. Gideon announces us and the doors open. I lean around Isten a little to get a peek, I can't help myself, and a few seconds later we move forward as a group into a war room. There's a long table and I watch Tier shake the hand of a man standing at the head of the table.

  A man who most certainly is not my father. I try and pull my eyes away from the hulking bearded man with wild shoulder-length hair and piercing blue eyes, but they're stuck on him. He's not wearing a uniform. In fact he looks far more road-warrior than I did earlier.

  He catches my eye and smiles.

  I don't smile back.

  Tier directs us to take our seats so we line up like we're at Lucan's crescent moon table, and then he walks to the back and stands on the other side of me and begins to speak. "Let me introduce the Aves 039. I'm Captain Raubtier of the Presidential Guard. We serve at Lucan's direct orders so when you speak to us, you speak to Lucan. At the top is Ashur, Executive Officer, when you speak to him, you speak to me. Next is Braun, Rikan, Mish, Arel, Isten, and Junco."

  Subjack stands. "Junco, it's good to see you again."

  I shrug at him. "You're not my father. Not even close." I look over to Tier. "He's not my father. That's not him."

  Tier stays silent.

  "OK, what am I missing now?"

  "Memories, Juncs." He shakes his head. "Later, OK? We're workin' now." He looks up at Subjack and nods.

  I sit there barely listening to the plans they're making. I rack my brain. It's not possible to just lose memories like that. It's not. I've dropped them off before, but I've picked them all back up since the morph. I don't have any missing memories, I have perfect recall, I have it all the way back from when I was a baby. I can pull up anything, anything, in a matter of minutes. Even ancient fucking Sumerian. How could I not recognize my own father? It makes no sense.

  The meeting goes on without me for whole stretches of time. I'm only brought back to the present when Isten or Tier shove me to pay attention. I search Isten's mind to bring myself back up to speed and I feel him smile from the inside as he opens up.

  The remaining Seven Siblings are being held in a global genetics containment facility called Runout, which is really a mountain town facility built in a valley out near the ski resorts in the MR. It's completely self-sustaining and paranoid to the extreme with aerial rocket launchers and a domed shield that is on twenty-four hours a day, except to allow entry of pre-planned secure deliveries. They have a full-sized army living on the outskirts and elite units that live on the inside.

  A hologram emerges from the war table and highlights the town as a small red dot on the 3D map, then it zooms in, the dot growing bigger and bigger with each incremental advancement. Finally we get a bird's view of the valley up close and each building is highlighted and explained. I log it all and tuck it down for later recall. The dot turns yellow and then concentrates in on a single building.

  "That's where we think they are." Subjack looks up and meets our eyes one person at a time. He lingers on mine for a fraction and then stops with Tier. "We have a mole and he's been reliable so far, but I can't make any guarantees. Everyone knows you're coming for them, we've been expecting you for months. We have to assume they know you're here now."

  "So if we can't fly in, what do ya propose?"

  I watch Subjack's face as it begins the initial stages of a large grin and something clicks inside me. I shake it off as he brightens. "The tunnels."

  I feel Isten groan just as Tier begins to shake his head. "What's in them? I'm not sure we're interested in fighting off yer mutants, to be quite honest. That's yer problem, not ours."

  The burly man grunts. "Bahhhh, you can't go wrong with the tunnels, Captain, it's a straight shot and no one would think you stupid enough to take them all the way up the mountain." He laughs. "It's perfect. And you'll have aerial cover, you can fly your little wings off, fight with whatever weapons you want to haul up there with you, and no one's ever going to know. Because no one in their right mind would go in there in the first place."

  Tier stands and smiles, then Ashur and the rest of us. "Your inspirational speech does not convince us, but we'll discuss it and let you know tonight what we plan on doing."

  "Discuss it? I thought you were the captain? Make a decision, boy."

  Oh shit. All our heads rotate from Tier to Subjack, but Tier shrugs it off. "We operate in our own way, and that means we make these decisions together or not at all." He waits to see if the giant will call him out again, but Subjack just grins. "We'll let you know tonight. Tomorrow we will proceed, regardless of whether or not we adopt this plan of yours."

  Tier waves Ashur out and the team follows.

  "Junco?"

  I turn back to the big man.

  "A word with you, please?"

  I shrug and sit back down.

  Tier turns to look back at me. "I'll be outside, OK?"

  I nod at Tier and sign as he leaves the room.

  And then I'm alone with the man who says he's my father.

  He leans his massive hulk of a body back into his chair. My father was big but not like this guy. "I've been locked down under this mountain for too long, so I'll just say it bluntly and save us some aggravation. I am your father, Junco. Not the one who made you, but the one who raised you. They replaced me with a clone when you were almost sixteen."

  I want to say so many things I don't even know where to start. Why? That's the obvious question, right? Then, how could you abandon me like that? You, of all people? The one who promised over and over again that I was loved. Did you think about me after you left? Was I just an experiment to you? But all these questions and hurt feelings get lost in my anger as I replay his flippant explanation. "Well, that explains why there were no more birthday weeks after fifteen."

  "Oh, I hadn't thought about that. I'm sorry you missed them."

  I snort. "Really? That never occurred to you? You took your daughter somewhere special once a year for her birthday and then one year they just stop. It never occurred to you that she might notice?"

  "I'm sorry for leaving, Junco–"

  "Who made me? I'm not really interested in you–" I have no idea what to call him, but I certainly won't call him Father. "– Subjack. You're not Commander Coot and I'm not Junco. So, we can move away from that bullshit right now. But I want to know who made me. Who made us?"

  "Gyr made you, Junco. He had the code when he came to Earth. That code was never out of the hands of the Avian, ever. They sent him here with it and he did exactly what they told him to do."

  "I don't believe that, but go on. Who told him what to do?"

  "Lucan, of course. The monster you work for now."

  I shake my head and sigh. "You don't even know Lucan, so spare me the insults. I'm not interested in your opinion of him, either. For what purpose?"

  "They need to fulfill the prophecy, make the Seven, take back the code so they can fix their bioengineering problems. You, Junco? You are the key they were missing. They can't make it work until they have the leader – and they couldn't make the leader without the other half of the genetics. They need the Seventh Sibling – the mixed one who will complete the prophecy. But they won't need you for long. They won't need any of you for long because they have no intention of letting you fulfill your destiny. None, Junco. They'll kill you all in the end, to prevent the retribution that's due."

  I stay still and force a polite smile. "OK, well, I'l
l keep it all in mind. Thanks."

  He stands and takes a step towards me, then hesitates and stops again. "If you're not Junco, then who are you?"

  I stare at him for a few seconds. "I'm the Snowbird. I'm the Seventh Sibling. I'm 039-9. Take your pick. But the one thing I'm not, Subjack, is the girl you left behind in the RR when you quit your job as my father. A few years might not seem like a long time when you compare it to the fifteen you spent with me before that. But a lot has happened in that time. More than you can ever imagine."

  He takes a few more steps towards me and I back away slightly, causing him to stop. "You can stay here, Junco. Stay with us. We don't need you for any ancient prophecy, you'd have a life with us. You could do anything you want with your life," he smiles, "anything you want. You want to stop killing? I've heard that's taken a toll on you. If you want to stop all that, just stay. Stay with us and settle into the person you always wished you were."

  "I'm not sure I believe that, but whether it's just plain cynicism or cryptic sixth sense, I have no idea. Anyway, no, thank you. I'm gonna take my chances with Lucan for now." I look away for a second and then look back at his face.

  "He's the devil, Junco. You know this, he's the antithesis of everything you've been taught. He is guilty of horrors. He was banned from Earth. This is his punishment cycle you're interfering with, not yours. Do you understand that? This isn't about the Seven Siblings. This is about that monster trying to get his revenge. He created all these myths and stories to confuse people. To keep them in the dark. This is about him and his interference in the matters of Men, not his race, not you, not Moju or the others. Not us here on Earth. It's all about Lucan saving his own ass."

  For some reason my mind drifts back to the day Lucan picked me up from Rache's hospital and took me to see Tier.

  "I'm sorry," Tier says.

  "You did everything right this time, Raubtier. There is nothing to forgive."

  I want to block it all out but I can't. I can only squeak out a few words of feigned indifference. "I don't care." My father's eyes search mine and I see a spark of fear in them. "I don't know what he really is, I'll give you that. But I don't know what I am either. So–"

  He nods but both his smile and his invitation are gone. "Take care on your mission tomorrow. They know you're coming and they want you too, Junco. She needs you just as much as the Avians do. The clones just aren't the same."

  My reaction is locked down before it starts, I don't know who he's talking about, but he doesn't get to unnerve me like that so I don't ask either. "I can take care of them, I'm sure."

  His reply, if he had one, never comes so I turn my back and walk out the door.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The door shuts behind me and I close my eyes and lean back into it to catch my breath.

  "Junco?"

  I put my hands up to cover my face and feel everything go hot. My chest heaves as I take in sporadic gasps of air and the tears pool up in my eyes. How much more of this can I take before I lose it completely?

  Tier and Isten move in close as Aren walks towards me, trying to get my attention.

  "Junco?"

  I stop the tears, wipe my eyes, and get myself together before looking back up. The rest of the 039 are gone. Aren stands to my right, while Isten and Tier are on my left. I walk towards Aren and throw my arms around his neck. A few locked-up sobs break free as Aren winds his arms under my wings and up my back, lifting me off my feet to give me a squeeze.

  "I never knew, Aren. I never knew that guy wasn't you." I feel the tears pressuring me to let them out, but I don't. If I do, I'll never get them back inside. "I'm so sorry."

  He sets me back down but doesn't let go of me. "Shit, Junco. Sometimes even I have a hard time knowing which guy is me." I push my face into his chest and we stay entwined together for a few more seconds. Isten is picking at my feelings but I don't have the energy to hide from him right now, so he feels what I feel. Protected. Safe.

  Aren lets me go and pushes me backwards a little so his eyes can take me in. "Holy shit, Junco. You take my breath away." His smile lights up his whole face and his dark blue eyes snap me back to all the days and nights we spent together as teenagers. Oh God. To be that girl again. Even with all the bad stuff that probably happened to me, to be that girl again. I'd give almost anything to go back.

  "Yeah, well, I guess I turned out OK." I look up at him. His hair is still a short sandy blond military cut and his features are much like the clone from the RR, but not exactly. My real Aren is more muscular, more confident in the ways he holds himself, and looks wise beyond his years.

  Isten is back in my head and suddenly my girlhood manners appear and I turn to include them. "Do you know Isten and Tier?"

  Aren is a complete gentleman and reaches to shake their hands. "Nice to finally meet you guys. I've heard a lot about what happened when you were here last, and I can only assume you've taken good care of her since you picked her up, so–" He stops and shrugs. "I'm thankful for that."

  My thoughts drift back to all the things that have happened since the last time we were on Earth and I feel Isten cringe. Not all of them were good. I wasn't always taken care of.

  Suddenly the silence becomes uncomfortable.

  "Junco," Tier takes control, "we have a mission to plan, so maybe we can meet up with people later?"

  My smile fades. I don't want to plan the mission. I want to pretend I'm back in cadets. Aren reads me like a book and interjects. "Just come eat with me Junco, OK? It'll only take a little while." He looks over to Tier and finishes, "Your mission can wait."

  I start to nod when Tier steps in front of me. "The mission cannot wait, Aren. We've got four days to complete it and then we're gone. So you can see we'll need every second to make that happen."

  Aren straightens his back a little at Tier's words and stares back at him with an even gaze. "Junco has all the time she wants, Tier. She's not obligated to return with you guys." His words are low and calm but also clear and commanding. "This is her home. She was raised here by Subjack himself. She was my best friend for three fucking years. So don't tell me she needs to push us aside and get on with planning your mission."

  Four years, I want to correct him. Four, not three.

  Tier's voice is in complete control but his eyes light up and do a wild green dance. "And then each and every one of ya left her to be beaten and mutilated. That's some fucking way of showing her she's important."

  Aren looks down at me, ignoring Tier. "Junco, I know it looks that way, but that wasn't how it was planned. We were discovered, both your father and I. We had to make them think the mission was over and leave or the whole thing would've been blown. I was just about to pull you, Junco. And then that clone went and had Charlie killed, you went off the fucking rails, and this guy appears and takes you off the goddamn planet."

  Tier shakes his head. "So ya know what her clone father did ta her then? And you left her there for months as she went insane with the trauma?"

  I put my hand up. "Tier, not now, OK? He doesn't know that part. Not now–"

  He doesn't take his eyes off Aren. "Oh, right fucking now is as good a time as any, Junco." He looks down at me then. "He's not gonna stand there and play high and mighty hero when he left ya, that's not how it works."

  "Aren couldn't possibly have known, Tier. He–"

  "I knew, Juncs." Aren looks down at me and my heart skips a beat. "I knew, but I had no idea that clone would" – his words drop off and he looks away and sighs – "kill it like that. Shit, abortion in the RR, how could I have predicted that one?" He's looking at Tier now. "How? It's the Rural Republic, for fuck's sake, the bastion of Right to Life."

  Tier's expression is pure hatred and anger and he doesn't even try to hide it. "The man was a clone, not her father." The words come out as a deep growl. "He had no morals or sense of local tradition. If ya didn't realize that, didn't think it through and understand that he'd never respect her rights before ya left her there, th
en yer too stupid to live."

  "All right, we can stand her all day and bicker about who was better to Junco," Aren's arm pushes Tier back, "but that's history now. What counts is the present. And in the present, Junco is home. She's with me for the first time in years and she's allowed to go have some fucking lunch. Don't tell me that the last six months she's spent with you means more than all the years she spent growing up with me. And she was pregnant with Charlie's baby, so she's got a lot of history here–"

  "Right, well, now she's pregnant with mine." Tier's lips form a snarl and I take a step back.

  Aren looks down at me. "Is this true?" His face is torn between anger and sadness.

  I swallow. "I don't know for sure, but–" I look up at him, then back to Tier. He's calm now and his snarl is gone but his eyes never leave Aren. "It's beginning to look that way, Aren."

  His eyes turn back up to Tier. "Well, congratulations, you found a way to make your own claim and make it strong, right?"

  My jaw tightens and my brow furrows as I think about his words. "What's that mean?"

  Aren laughs. "They knew you belonged with us, Junco. It's a strong bond, to have that on our side. And the only bond stronger than childhood friends and family is a child and family of your own." He looks down at me and his face softens. "He owns you now."

  I feel Isten cringe in my head and then hear Ashur's words: And they have a better claim, to be honest. They raised you. But that was before. Ashur doesn't know I'm pregnant.

  Isten puts his hands up and grabs his hair as he thinks it through with me. "Junco, that's not how it is, goddamn it. You can check for yourself. Do not do this to me again."

  I shake my head. "God, I can't stand any of you right now." I swallow and look up to Aren. "I really do want to go eat with you, Aren. So we will do that" – I look over to Tier – "after I finish with my team. OK?"

  Aren smiles down at me. "Yeah, OK. I'll come find you in a few hours."

  I nod and give him a hug before he leaves.

  Tier, Isten and I just stand there for a second and then I find some words. "Tier, if you breathe another fucking word about my health status to anyone I'll never forgive you. You don't blab about stuff like that when ya don't even know if it's true."