by E. M. Haeger
"Lena." Henry lurched after me. I could hear him thudding down the hall as I broke into a run. He could run, but he couldn't stop me. He wouldn't.
Maybe I never really knew him at all. I was foolish, I realized. Foolish to trust him so easily, foolish to think he'd be any different.
I turned blindly around the corners. I knew the direction of the loading dock. Knew the way by heart by now, except this wasn't it. I was in a darkly lit space, large like the docking area, but void of ships. Wrong turn.
I pivoted to get my bearings and came face to face with a seven-foot Etrallian. This one wasn't Henry.
He growled something at me, clawed hand gesturing harshly. I checked my comm device, made sure it was on.
"I'm sorry," I said. "What was that?"
The Etrallian roared. There were no words.
"I know, this is restricted. Sorry, I'm a little turned around." Why was I even trying to explain? He clearly didn't have a comm device. Or if he did, he wasn't interested in using it.
The Etrallian advanced on me, antenna waving, claws extended. I backed into the wall, hard, all the air rushing out of me. I couldn't get around.
He snarled again, drawing the weapon on his hip. A louder snarl came from the doorway. My attacker charged. Electricity whirred from his stun gun, the bright glare was all I could see before Henry stepped in front of me.
I braced for the blow, but instead of a hundred volts of fire coursing through my veins, all I could feel was the weight of Henry pressed against me. I was pinned, trapped. But it was better than being stunned. Or worse, killed.
Henry ripped the weapon from my attacker and bellowed something in the ancient tongue. I didn't need a translation to know it was a curse.
"She's lost," he switched back to Etrallian. "We're going now." He reached for my wrist, but I brushed him off.
These were not my people. These people wanted me dead.
Temples throbbing, I pushed away from the one Etrallian I'd dared to call friend. Henry's voice echoed in my head as I made for the loading dock. The whole way there, he called my name. The whole way, I could think of nothing but getting back to Earth.
MARS
The hangar deck wasn't empty when we arrived the next day. Galentide, Curran, and the whole Council were there to receive us.
Our small team accompanied the President and the General along with a sizable force of U.S. military. Just enough to get our point across. And just enough to keep us safe should it come to that.
I'd known something was wrong the moment Lena threw her arms around me. Granted we'd grown close over the months we'd spent working together, but this was something altogether different. This was a desperate embrace, the kind you gave someone before a long goodbye or maybe after you'd lost them.
Turns out, I had been lost. For a few seconds, that is. When Gillis explained his experiment to her and she hadn't been able to find me in the lab, Lena had assumed the worst. I imagined it must have been a great relief to find me in the loading dock, carrying equipment into our pod.
Before she'd even explained what was going on, she'd made the officer in charge fly us out of the ship. We were halfway down to Earth when she broke the news and then I had to hear it again as she reported to the Committee. It was enough to make me want to never set foot upon an Etrallian ship again. As usual, the only problem was the politics.
We had no way of knowing if Galentide had condoned Gillis's little experiment. No way of knowing how many Etrallians supported such drastic measures.
Not to mention we hadn't finished our work. Finding a way to create clean drinking water for humanity trumped all else. But how far were we willing to go to reach that goal? How many more would have to die?
Luckily those decisions weren't up to me. The Committee had chosen for us. Too far was too far. The Etrallia had crossed a line and we had to respond. For the good of humanity, we had to act.
So, that's how I ended up standing in a line with the others, watching Galentide frown upon our people as the President calmly explained the situation.
"We consider this to be a direct attack." Her voice echoed in the large space, but it only enhanced her words. "On behalf of the Committee of Earth, I must inform you that we've decided to withdraw from this alliance. All scientific and diplomatic operations are hereby suspended."
Galentide made a sound of dissent, a deep rumbling growl that shook his chest.
"You have forty-eight hours to evacuate this airspace."
The Etrallians were impassive. I glanced around. Lena's eyes were fixed on Henry's, traces of guilt coloring her expression. Perhaps she hadn't thought it would come to this. Maybe she thought we could still work something out, find a way to build our own converter and save the people of Earth. I knew it was probably hopeless. Without the help of the people who'd built such a thing, the technology was beyond us. We needed all the help we could get and the Etrallia weren't likely to help us now.
"Set your coordinates beyond this galaxy," said the President. "Any Etrallian ship caught within a league of Earth's atmosphere will be subject to immediate removal."
More like, immediate destruction.
"Clock's ticking," said the General, gruffly.
We turned back for the pods and a wave of sadness washed over me. Unlike Lena, I hadn't befriended an Etrallian, but I'd grown used to the idea of them. I'd grown accustomed to the way they spoke, the way they moved. I'd even grown to admire the ingenious minds of their scientists and engineers. I could imagine the great civilization they'd come from and I was sad to realize we'd never be exposed to all that knowledge. We wouldn't be able to save our people and we wouldn't be able to advance. A decade from now, we'd still be scrabbling fruitlessly in the dark for answers.
We were either saving ourselves or making the greatest mistake of our lives.
LENA
I thought it was over. We were leaving, but there was still equipment and belongings we had to load onto the pods and that's how it happened, I guess. That's how Henry managed to get a moment alone with me and that's how an Etrallian blaster gun ended up in my hands.
I was helping haul some of the smaller crates onto our ship--stuff we couldn't afford to leave behind. When I returned to the hallway for one last crate, Henry was there.
He said nothing at first, probably afraid I'd sound the alarm. But as long as he wasn't obstructing me, I didn't have a problem.
"How are you?"
Such a normal question and for a moment I was tempted to throw it back at him.
"How do you think?"
He shook his head in aggravation. "There's no time," he said. "I need to say what I need to say."
I didn't reply, consenting silently.
"This is a mistake," he hissed, wringing his hands together. "You can't withdraw from the alliance now."
He was right. It would mean the end of everything we'd worked for, the end of all the shared knowledge and technology. "It wasn't my choice to make. I had to report what I saw."
This seemed to sober him.
He hung his head. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to see that."
I could still see the bodies, hanging lifeless in the darkness. Last night, I'd barely slept.
"It was happening under our noses," Henry said. "Galentide didn't know."
I stared. "What about Curran?"
"Curran is furious. He thinks Gillis has just cost us our only opportunity for survival. The problem is there are others..."
"Others?" I prompted.
For the first time since I'd met him, Henry actually looked nervous. I could see him contemplating whether or not to tell me, but I guess our friendship won out. "Others feel that maybe what Gillis did is not so bad...that maybe it's what we have to do."
Oh god. "I'm sorry, too, Henry. I really am. What Gillis is doing is wrong, but it's not your people's fault that they're afraid. We should have given you ocean access. It wasn't all that much to ask."
"That's in the past." Tentatively, Henry
clasped my arm. "Listen, Lena. I didn't come to say goodbye." He reached into his bulky vest. "I came to give you this."
A jolt of recognition sent my brain scrambling. He was holding an Etrallian blaster.
"War is coming."
A shiver raced up my spine. He pressed the cold metal of the blaster into my hand. It was heavier than I expected and I felt absurdly inadequate as I held it. "I don't know anything about guns," I admitted.
Henry turned my wrist. "This is how you rev it." He pointed out a little blue button. "And this," he pointed to the trigger. "This is how you shoot."
Right. Simple. Only I had no idea what I was supposed to be shooting.
Etrallians? Humans? The Vanlith?
"There's more," he said. I thought he meant there was more to the gun, but then he knocked a hand against the wall.
"What do you mean?"
Quickly, he glanced around. Then he dropped to his knees and began prying back a piece of paneling from the side of the corridor.
I stared as he pulled a bulging sack from behind the panel, then replaced it as quickly as he'd disassembled it.
He was giving me weapons.
No, I corrected myself. He was giving us weapons.
I met his eyes, not entirely believing this was what he wanted. "Your people will not approve," I told him.
"My people are..." he thought for a moment, "...damn foolz."
I raised an eyebrow.
"As your people say."
I laughed suddenly. He had picked up a few things, after all. I was almost sad when the gravity of the situation returned and I realized I was clutching a sack of blasters while talking to my Etrallian friend who wanted us to use them on his people.
"This will not end well," he said gravely. "For any of us."
I couldn't disagree.
"Be safe, Lena Cordell of Earth." Henry bowed his head.
I returned the gesture. "Be safe, Henry of the Etrallia."
He gave me one last glance and then disappeared around the corridor, leaving me with nothing more than an incriminating sack. I hurried back to our pod, catching curious glances from my colleagues as I heaved the load of weapons into the hull. Surprisingly, Rhine hadn't noticed I was gone.
"Get onboard," he shouted above the hum of the engine. "We've got two more crates and then we're out of this joint." He jabbed a thumb toward the adjacent ship. It was a large Etrallian flier and sure enough, there were two crates sitting under it.
"I can grab one," I yelled.
Without waiting for a response, I jogged the several yards down the bay and into the line of parked fliers. I bent and wrap my fingers around the edges of the crate and that's when I felt someone's eyes upon me.
I turned and saw the outline of a huge Etrallian before a blow to my back upended my balance. The breath rushed out of me as I hit the hard metal of the floor. I sucked in air and tried to scream. Something slapped over my mouth, cool and hard. It tasted foul like gasoline. Or maybe it was alcohol, I couldn't be sure. I fell asleep trying to place the odor.
6
Disorder
MARS
Lena was gone. And we had a direct order to evacuate.
In that moment, I didn't envy Rhine the burdens of leadership. He had a decision to make and one that could alter the course of our relationship with the Etrallia. What was he going to do? Sacrifice one to save the many?
Probably.
It made the most sense, most of the time. Unfortunately, Lena was an asset we couldn't afford to lose. The connection she'd built with the Etrallia made her valuable.
It also made her dangerous.
"She knows too much."
The Major's eyes were dark.
Your call.
I didn't need to say it. Rhine was not an unintelligent man.
"Everyone, back to the ship. Lieutenant, you're in charge."
"Sir?"
"That's right, Lieutenant. Get them home." The Major reached for the gun in his belt.
I'll admit I didn't see it coming. A hero complex was the last thing I expected the stony, rule-abiding Major to have.
I guess extenuating circumstances can make fools of us all. Risking yourself and your mission for a single civilian was some serious action movie stuff. We were officially in enemy territory. You didn't attempt such a feat unless you were suicidal or madly in love, and the Major was neither.
"That means you." The Major beckoned back toward the loading dock.
I was still staring, trying to make sense of it all. The others promptly disappeared around the corridor.
"Gladwyn," Rhine barked.
"Major," I said calmly. "Do you know how to find her?"
"I know enough."
He was brashly confident, mind already made up. But I remembered the weeks we had spent learning to navigate the warren of hallways that made up the research area of the ship. Etrallia floor plans weren't intuitive in any sense of the word--and we'd be delving into unfamiliar territory.
"I can help you."
God help me. I said those words.
The Major shoved his extra revolver at me. "You're about to miss your ride." He cocked his head toward our pod.
"I know."
Rhine didn't wait for me to ponder my precious life. He took off running.
Christ.
I stuffed the revolver under my belt, hoping I wouldn't have to use it. Of all the crazy things we'd done so far, this was going to be the craziest.
LENA
When they shoved me through the door and into the next room, I wasn't sure what to expect.
It wasn't this.
It wasn't six Etrallian guards, all heavily armed like my captors and it certainly wasn't him, standing there across the room, staring at me as if he'd seen a ghost. As if he was surprised to see me.
"Henry." My voice sounded strangled and shrill to my own ears. I wanted to kick myself. Keep it together, Lena. I opened my mouth to try again, but Commander Zubeida drowned me out.
"Throw her in the airlock with the others," he bellowed.
The hands on my arms squeezed tighter than I thought possible. I didn't cry out again, I only sought Henry's eyes amid the buzzing that had suddenly erupted in my ears. I couldn't think, could barely move my feet as the guards half dragged me across the floor.
Henry clenched his jaw but stood his ground, an immutable statue at his post.
Was this what it had come to? Was this really how it ended?
Henry.
The doors slid open with a whisper. First I saw Mars and then I recognized the others. My team.
The guards drew their stun sticks but there was no need. My colleagues weren't trying to escape. They stood stunned. Already too shocked to flee. I saw the fear in their eyes before I hit the ground, hard. I collapsed onto my knees, the cold metal the only firm thing left on this ship.
When the airlock slid shut, I heard the pop. This was it. This room was contained, separate from the airflow of the ship. All they had to do now was hit the release on the exterior hatch and we were as good as space dust. I forced myself away from the window of stars outside.
This wasn't over yet.
"Henry!" I didn't scream so much as bark his name. I roared it as loud as I could until I was sure I might collapse again. They were all watching us through the small window but there was only one Etrallian I needed to reach. I banged my fists against the metal.
"Lena." Mars eased my bruised hands off the door. "Jesus, save some air for the rest of us, will you?"
My chest heaved and I tried desperately to calm myself.
"He wouldn't. He can't." My mind raced. Where had I gone wrong? What had I missed? Henry was our friend. Our ally. He wouldn't do something like this. He was pro-alliance, had always been pro-alliance.
"He's standing with them," said Mars gently. "There's nothing we can do now."
I looked back at the interior. Henry was standing by the console, watching me silently. And he still had his comm device in.
/> "Lena."
I brushed off Mars's protests and yelled even louder than before, praying that the airlock wasn't completely soundproof.
"Henry, I know you can hear me. I know you can understand." I took a deep breath and realized I had no idea what I was doing. What could I say that would make any difference? Even if Henry wanted to save us, how could he in a room full of anti-alliance fanatics bent on killing us?
"Henry, please." Even across the room and through the plexiglass his eyes were the same sea green I had come to know. He was in there somewhere and I couldn't die without trying to find my way back to him.
"Henry, if you can hear me, I need you to know. I'm still committed to the alliance. Even after everything. Even after this." I gestured to the people behind me, huddled like rats awaiting their fate. "I'm committed to it because I believe in it. It's what I've always believed in and if I must die, I'll die believing in it, too. But please, if there's anything you can do to stop this, you have to try."
Please, I begged with my eyes.
"I know you believe in this just as much as I do, maybe more. You can help make it possible. The alliance isn't dead yet."
"Now." Zubeida's voice boomed on the other side and I was relieved to find that I could hear him through the door. That relief quickly turned into a wave of nausea as I realized he was speaking to Henry.
The console.
Henry was the one stationed in front of the controls.
My colleagues were shifting in agitation now. Someone was crying.
The initial shock wave broke with the sound of the Commander's order. The realization that our lives were about to be snuffed out like candle flames stirred a primal survival instinct. Everyone rushed for the door, clawing to get past each other even though there was nowhere to go.
"Henry!" I banged on the door with the rest of them. "Henry, please." I banged until my fists were slick and I couldn't feel my hands anymore.
"You're better than this," I screamed. "You're more." My voice cracked, throat hoarse from yelling.