by Joe Vasicek
“You’re seriously not going to tell me what this is about?” When neither of them answered, he smirked and shook his head. “What is this, some kind of kidnapping?”
Isaac looked up at their father, but still, he remained silent. Come on, Dad, he wanted to say. When are you going to tell him? It wasn’t fair to drop a decision like this on Aaron so abruptly, even if the secrecy was necessary. God knew their mother would do all she could to stop them if she knew about it. But Aaron was right—this was starting to resemble a kidnapping.
They stepped out onto the wide rimside corridor and headed off toward the Medea without a word. The docks and terminals were bustling as usual, filled with traffic from all over the Oriana Cluster. They all passed in a blur, though, barely more than a random jumble of languages and colors to Isaac. The diverse array of starfarers on the station was unlike anything he’d experienced back home, but that wasn’t the only reason he couldn’t focus.
“We’re going to the Medea, aren’t we?” Aaron asked, breaking the heavy silence between them. Still, their father didn’t answer.
“I said, are we going to the Medea?”
He has to know, Isaac thought, taking a deep breath. We shouldn’t keep it from him any longer.
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s where we’re going.”
“Why?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there,” their father said abruptly. Isaac nearly objected, but decided instead to back down. As much as he wanted to come out and tell Aaron everything, the last thing they needed right then was a fight.
They walked in silence through the bustling crowd until they came to a nondescript airlock door, in a section designated for long-term docking. Their father palmed it open, and they stepped into the sterile, recycled air of the old family starship.
“Hey, what’s with all the stuff in here?” Aaron asked, noticing the pile of carefully folded clothes and the vacuum packed food in one of the open wall compartments. “Is someone getting ready to go?”
“Yes,” said Isaac as the door hissed shut behind them. “We both are.”
Aaron gave him a funny look, then smiled as if the whole thing were a big joke. “Nuh-uh.”
“He’s right,” said their father. “I brought you here to see you both off. Coming here in secret was the only way to get past your mother.”
“Wait—both of us?”
“That’s right.”
Aaron’s face fell. He looked at Isaac, then back at their father.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was the only way to make sure that you didn’t go tell Mom,” said Isaac. “I mean, the only way to make sure she wouldn’t find out and stop us.”
“It’s your choice, of course, whether to stay or go,” said their father.
Aaron was starting to panic. His eyes were wide, and a sickeningly sober expression crossed his face.
“My choice? Wait, what about my things? My clothes, my—”
“I already brought them on board,” said Isaac. “The important things, anyway. They’re stowed in the footlocker under the bunks.”
His brother frowned in anger and disbelief. “You mean you went through my things without asking me?”
“That’s not important,” said their father, stepping between them. “Look, boys—look at me.”
He placed his hands on their shoulders and looked them each in the eye. A somber silence fell over them. Isaac bit his lip and did his best to ignore the numbness in his legs. This was the moment he’d spent his young life preparing for, the moment when he finally took his father’s ship and said goodbye.
“I know this isn’t easy for either of you,” their father began. “It certainly wasn’t easy for me when I was your age. It’s a vast and lonely universe out there, full of dangers and risk. Once you leave, you’ll probably never see us again.”
“Then why are you sending us out?” Aaron asked, his voice shaky.
“Because it’s the only way to give you both a chance at a better future. You remember how hard it was to leave Megiddo Station, don’t you? How much we had to sacrifice just to get here? Well, the prospects around here aren’t going to get any better. If you’re going to build a future for yourselves, you’ll have to do it the same way I did—by seeking your fortunes across the stars.”
Isaac swallowed and nodded. For Aaron, though, it was too much to handle. He pushed their father away and turned to face the bulkhead, burying his face in his hands.
“I can’t believe this is happening. You want me to leave everything behind? Just go and never see you or Mom or Mariya ever again?”
“You won’t be leaving everything,” Isaac tried to reassure him. “Whatever happens, we’ll be in it together. We’ll still have each other.”
“Yeah. Right.”
“Like I said, the choice is yours,” said their father. “If you want to stay, you can take back your things and return to the apartment. I’m not going to force you.”
“But Aaron, do you really want to?”
The words left Isaac’s mouth before he could hardly think about it. If Aaron decided not to go, that would leave him entirely alone out there, and even though he’d been steeling himself for this moment his entire life, now that it was there, he realized he was terrified of going it alone.
Aaron turned and wiped his face with the back of his hand. “You’re going for sure, then?”
“Of course. Dad was younger than me when he left, wasn’t he?”
“But you’re the oldest. It’s expected of you.”
“Perhaps,” said their father. “That’s the tradition, but there’s nothing to say that the both of you can’t go together. The traditions exist to bring new blood to the remotest settlements and keep the Outworlds strong. There’s space on the Medea for both of you, so as long as you can get along with each other and work together, I don’t see anything wrong with sending you both out.”
Aaron nodded. He took a long breath, and his eyes began to clear.
“Think of it as an adventure,” Isaac told him. “You don’t want to spend the rest of your life at Alpha Oriana, do you? Ten standard years from now, what are you going to regret more?”
“I don’t know,” Aaron muttered. “It’s just so heavy …”
“You’ve got to make a decision one way or another. This isn’t the sort of thing to let drift away.”
“Am I really never going to see you again?” he asked, looking back at their father.
“Only God knows,” he said softly. “But you probably won’t.”
“And Mom? Mariya?”
He shook his head.
“But, but how can I leave them without saying goodbye?”
“We can record a message and send it to them over the planetnet before we jump out,” said Isaac.
“I can’t say goodbye in person?”
“Your mother will do everything to stop you if you do. Trust me. It’s better this way.”
But that doesn’t make it easy.
“Is the cargo hold full?” Isaac asked.
“Yes,” said their father, sighing a little. “I had it loaded this morning. The inventory should be in the computer.”
“Great. Where’s the best place to sell electronics?”
“Damned if I know, son. It’s been almost twenty standard years since my last trade run. Just keep your ears open and check the prices wherever you go, and you’ll be fine.”
“This is really happening, isn’t it?” Aaron asked. He wasn’t as shocked or emotional as before, though his gaze was distant and he looked a bit dazed.
“Only if you want it to,” Isaac said softly. Please don’t let me do this alone.
For a soul-wracking moment, Aaron said nothing. It seemed in that moment as if their future tottered on the point of a blade and could fall to either side. But then, to Isaac’s immense relief, he nodded.
“Right. You’re leaving now?”
“As soon as I can. Are you coming?”
“I�
��m coming,” said Aaron, his voice low but firm.
Isaac smiled and slapped him on the back. “Then welcome aboard, brother.”
The memory played out in Isaac’s mind as clearly as if it were only yesterday. He stared up at the underside of his brother’s bunk, his heart hammering in his chest, and wondered if Aaron regretted his decision. Everything he’d said about Isaac controlling him and making all of his decisions for him—it stung, but only because Isaac knew he was right.
But what if he puts himself in danger? Isaac thought. What if he gets himself killed?
His own words came back to him. Whatever happens, we’ll be in it together. We’ll still have each other.
He clenched his fist and sat up. “Aaron? You there?”
“Yeah?”
“Got a moment?”
His brother didn’t answer, but considering that they were alone in deep space with nothing to do until the jump drive recharged, the question was moot.
He rose to his feet and walked into the cockpit, taking a deep breath as he did so. Aaron stared straight ahead, pretending like he didn’t notice him.
“Hey,” he said, taking a seat in the pilot’s chair. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Oh yeah?”
Isaac nodded. “Yeah. What you said is right. I can be a bit too controlling sometimes, and for that, I’m sorry.”
“I’m still going to go get her back. You’re not going to change my mind on that.”
“I know I’m not.”
Aaron cocked his head and frowned. “What do you mean, ‘you know’?”
“I mean it’s your choice, and you’re free to make it. If you really want to join Argo and fight in this war, I’m not going to try to stand in your way.”
“But … ?”
“But what?”
“There’s always a ‘but,’” said Aaron. “Come on, what’s the catch? Just a minute ago, you were dead-set on keeping me out of this. Now you’re suddenly okay with it?”
“There’s no catch,” Isaac said softly. “It’s just, wherever you go, I want to go, too. We’re brothers. We shouldn’t let anything come between us. If that means joining up with Argo and the rebellion here in the New Pleiades, then so be it.”
“You really mean that?”
“Of course I do.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes. “What if I don’t want you to come with me? What if I want to strike out on my own?”
“That’s fine, totally fine. If you want to leave the Medea, you have my full support. But that doesn’t mean we have to part ways forever, does it?”
For a gut-wrenching moment, Aaron hesitated. But then, to Isaac’s immense relief, he shook his head.
“No, I guess it doesn’t.”
“When we set out on this starship, we said that we’d stick together. Our home is gone, our friends and family have been scattered. The only thing we have left is each other.”
Aaron nodded slowly. “You’re right.”
“I know I’ve been hard on you in the past, and I’m sorry. I’ll let you do more on your own now, take more responsibility, even strike out on your own, if that’s what you want. I’ll do my best to let you make your own decisions, because I’m not the only one who should be running things. It’s about the both of us.”
“Brothers.”
Isaac smiled. “Yeah. Brothers.”
As if by unspoken agreement, they stood up and gave each other a hug. Isaac held on a little longer than his brother, but it was clear that whatever else had been said, they were going to stick together.
“You know, she’s in the same situation that we are,” Aaron said.
“Who?”
“The henna girl. No home, no family. She’s lost everyone she’s ever known. The thing is, where we have each other, she’s totally alone.”
Isaac took a deep breath. “You really want to get her back, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Well, I don’t know if it’s possible—I seriously doubt that it is—but if you really want to rescue her, I’ve got your back.”
Aaron smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, man. That means a lot to me.”
And I’m not going to let you get yourself killed doing it, Isaac added silently. But his brother didn’t need to hear that—not now. Not yet.
“All right, then. Let’s set a course for that recruiting post.”
“Yeah. Let’s do it!”
With that, they took their seats again in the cockpit of their father’s starship, bound as brothers to the very last.
Book II: Comrades in Hope
Premonitions
Aaron ran through the cargo bay, the assault rifle hot in his hands. Sweat ran down his forehead, mingling with his matted hair. He brushed a strand out of his eyes and took cover behind a crate.
The bay was silent, but that didn’t mean he was alone—or that he was safe.
His hands shook, and the gun seemed ready to slip from his hands. He was running out of time. Not much longer and the place would be swarming with Gaian Imperial soldiers. They knew he was here, and they wouldn’t let him leave with his life. Even now, they were on their way to kill him—or worse, the girl that he’d come for.
I’ve got to find her, he told himself as he made a dash for the opposite wall. I can’t leave this place without her. The girl in the cryotank, the one he’d found at the derelict space station at Nova Alnilam. He and his brother Isaac had voyaged from star to star, looking for someone with the technology to wake her. Then, at Colkhia, the Imperials had seized her as contraband. Well, he was here to take her back. But time was running out, and if he didn’t find her soon—
He rounded the corner and saw the cryotank sitting on a lift. There was no mistaking it, with the smooth glass face and the roughly welded joints. He could even make out the profile of the girl’s face inside, outlined against the light gray wall of the cargo hold.
He started to run towards her, but his legs refused to comply. It was as if he were stuck up to his waist in a thick, syrupy sludge. With gargantuan effort, he put one foot in front of the other.
“I’m coming!” he screamed.
As he advanced, he saw something move in the cryotank, as if the girl had already started to thaw. He reached out for her, and the bond holding him back slowly gave way. With a staggering lurch, he dropped his assault rifle and broke free.
She was quite possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. Her long, black hair cascaded around her naked shoulders, her dark lips and soft brown skin a stark contrast to the jagged machinery around them. Her whole body was covered with intricate henna tattoos that turned her into a work of art. The gorgeous fractal pattern all but mesmerized him as he traced it across the curves of her slender body.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” he whispered.
A green gas filled the interior of the cryotank, and her body began to spasm. He drew back in shock, as if he were witnessing a statue come suddenly to life. After countless ages of cold sleep, she coughed and gasped for breath, her chest rising as her lungs filled with air. Her eyes flew open and met his, sending chills up and down his spine.
In that instant, something terrible happened. Her skin yellowed and began to sag. Her cheeks pulled back, exposing teeth that were old and rotten. Her chest and stomach sagged, revealing the lines of her ribs, and her fingers contorted into unnatural shapes. A hole opened up in her chest like a tear in a worn fabric, revealing blackened flesh and dry, brittle bones. Before Aaron’s eyes, her body disintegrated as death claimed her, the weight of all the years she’d slept come back to pay their debt.
“No!” Aaron screamed. He frantically slammed his fists against the glass, but he was too late. Her lifeless corpse had decayed beyond all recognition.
Heavy footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned just in time to see a whole platoon of Imperial soldiers come into view. Before he could react, they opened fire. The muzzle flashes from their rifles lit up the dimly
lit cargo hold like a hundred tiny novas, and the bullets shredded through him like a meteoric rain. Blood—his blood—splattered in all directions. He opened his mouth to scream, but a bright light filled his vision as his head exploded with pain.
“Aaron! Aaron, are you all right?”
He opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the familiar bulkhead over his bunk on the Medea. A sharp pain split his forehead where a bruise was just beginning to form. His bed sheets and boxers were soaked with sweat, his heart pounding in his chest like an overworked jump drive. He took a deep breath and groaned.
“What—what happened?”
The light in the cabin switched on, momentarily blinding him. “Sounds like you were having a nightmare,” said Isaac, his brother.
Aaron groaned and covered his eyes until they adjusted to the light. Slowly, he eased off the bunk and stepped over to the table set into the recess in the opposite wall.
“It was so real this time,” he said as he slipped into his seat. “I saw her, Isaac. She—she died before my eyes.”
“Who?”
“The henna girl.”
Isaac draped a blanket over his shoulders just as he began to shiver. “Here, let me get some healant for your forehead. Looks pretty nasty.”
“What do you think it means?”
“What?”
“The dream,” said Aaron. “It’s got to mean something. A dream can’t be this real and not mean something.”
“It doesn’t mean anything. You’re just delirious right now.”
“No, I’m not!”
“It’s okay, calm down. I didn’t mean anything by it. Now hold still while I apply the cream.”
Isaac knelt down in front of him and rubbed the healant on Aaron’s bruise with his index finger. It stung at first, but cooled down quickly, stopping the pain. Aaron imagined little healing ice crystals running through his skin, freezing him into cryo like the henna girl. He shivered as his sweat turned cold and pulled the blanket a little tighter.
“Are we going to find her, Isaac?”
“We’ll do our best.”