by Drew Avera
"Do you realize by time we get back to Earth we will have spent eighteen months in space and less than two weeks on the ground on either planet?" Laurel asked. There was a bit of sarcasm to her words, but she was about right. I wondered how that kind of space travel affected the mind. Being trapped on a tin can floating through space without feeling the sun on your face or the cool sea breeze passing over you did have a claustrophobic effect on me. I imagined it was the same for other people as well. I wasn't looking forward to being pent up for the next six months, especially considering why we were returning. I did have an idea to pass the time in a constructive way, though.
"Let's just hope we can use that time getting in shape and training for what is to come. We need to be in our prime if we are going to save Harris and destroy The Syndicate," I said. Both women looked at each other and back at me. "Our first day of training will begin tomorrow. I suggest you get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." In an odd way I had a strange craving to get back into training; to use the skills I learned against my enemies.
"We already know how to fight," Kara said as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
"I know," I said. "But I'm afraid what we are embarking on is so much more than what any of us has ever experienced before. We owe it to Harris to be ready."
Kara placed her hands on her in her pockets and nodded. "You're right," she said and Laurel agreed. I just wished I was as confident in myself as they were of me. I felt nervous and noticed I was grinding my teeth as a sensation of dread fell over me.
"I certainly hope so," I said before heading to my own stateroom for the launch. I didn't know why I was suddenly feeling skittish, but I hoped it would pass after we entered space. If it was preflight jitters then that was one thing, but if it was something else then I didn't know if I could handle it. I swallowed down my fear and tried to forget it. I needed to forget it if I was going to be able to do what was needed to save Harris. There was more than one life at stake; and a lifetime of happiness. That wasn't very reassuring.
Chapter 12
Six months later
Earth looked a lot like a giant blue ball as we passed around the moon. The sun shone through the atmosphere with a halo-like glow and I remembered back to the first time I laid eyes upon this planet. It was a time when my heart was bent on revenge, and I was desperate to save my own planet. It was before I met Harris and saw firsthand that corruption and greed could snare any victim with its talons, no matter how strong the prey was. It was the first time I had seen Kara happy since I was recruited into The Agency, too. It was funny how that worked out.
Now I felt the same as before, only the fate of two planets rested on my shoulders as I stood in anticipation of what was to come. We would land within forty-eight hours and that was when the unknown would happen. Will they be waiting for us? Will they attack, or will they wait for us to attack? Do we stand a chance at surviving this insane mission? And the worst question to enter my mind of late was this: was Harris still alive? I hated dwelling on that question, but it lingered like a bad smell.
"Captain Fillon has the coordinates for Faracon, based on the information provided by Ghon Abert. It's nice to know that The Syndicate has taken on secretary duties for the local government, is it not?" Gentry asked as he scratched at the scruff of beard he had been growing recently. His chin was mostly white, but shades of brown and red sprouted from the side of his face, moving up to his hairline. It was a different look, but a rugged look. One which Nila seemed to favor as she stroked the hair of his beard with her fingers. It was odd seeing him this way with another human being, but I knew it shouldn't be. Laurel and I had our own romantic relationship. I had the capacity to love; why shouldn't he?
"I wonder how long before they take over?" I asked. I imagined The Syndicate was like a virus feeding on its host until all that was left was the disease. Several generations under their control illustrated that better than any history book ever would.
It was rhetorical, but Gentry answered anyway. "We won't be giving them the opportunity. The only thing they will see is shallow graves by time we are done." There was no sense of humor or bravado in his voice; he was deadly serious. "I want this battle done and over. Too many years I've dreamed of this day." His knuckles whitened as he spoke and I could see the gears turning in his head as he contemplated our mission and what the future would be like.
I looked over at him as he gazed out the window, and his eyes were moistened by fresh tears. "What is the latest news from Mars?" I asked trying to steer the conversation away from whatever memories Gentry was having.
"According to Pontiff White, things are going well. The uranium enrichment project is going faster than anticipated, and the hydro-electrical plants are working at full capacity. Now it's just a matter of time before the nuclear power plants are back up and running." Gentry seemed to have kept himself abreast of all of the moving parts; both with the happenings of Mars and our mission to Earth. I wondered if this was part of his duties when he worked with The Agency. Of course, some people are born leaders.
"How is Pontiff White? I haven't seen him since he locked himself in his stateroom," I said.
Gentry scoffed. "He's a bitter old man and not liking the doctor's orders for him to not fight. In my opinion, he's a liability anyway and should have stayed home."
I narrowed my gaze at Gentry. His words were rather harsh towards the man who had once been married to his sister. Despite that, Gentry had a point. If Pontiff White joined us, we would be looking over our shoulders to ensure he was all right. It was bad enough I couldn't talk Kara and Laurel out of the fight, and they were fit and well trained. "I thought he was recovering well."
"He was, or is, but I don't want him to risk his life in this war. I told the doctor to order him to rest in hopes that he would listen. He's a good man, and Mars will need their leader back, regardless of what happens."
"You lied to him?" I asked.
Gentry made eye contact with me and winked. "I had to. The stubborn ass wouldn't take no for an answer."
Gentry made an excellent point. Pontiff White wasn't trained for this kind of action and our people needed a good leader. I thought about everything I knew about Pontiff White. It had been hard for me to trust him at first, but in the end, he provided a way for Kara and me to escape Mars and save ourselves. Had we never found a way to help, then he very surely could have condemned himself to death. There was a resilience to him that was admirable. He didn't know how to quit. How else could he serve thirty years in a position under his enemies in the hopes to one day bring them to their knees? There was strength there and I knew I wasn't the only one who recognized it.
"I know what you mean," I said. And I knew deep inside that doctor's orders were likely to be ignored, but I imagined Gentry knew that as well. "How long do you think he will listen to the doctor?" I asked.
Gentry exhaled a snort and peered at me. His eyes betrayed his rugged exterior. Inside he was practically beaming. "Until we step foot off the transport. Then he'll be right behind us."
Chapter 13
Planning was our best strategy and it seemed that each morning our plans were disassembled and put back together in order to make sure everyone was well informed on what was to happen. As it stood, I was to be released from the transport with Kara and Laurel while everyone else stayed on board. The plan was to dispatch the policemen, with Gentry leading them, twenty to thirty minutes later. It sounded like an excellent plan, except for the part where Kara and Laurel would be exposed with me to an attack. It was something I found simply unacceptable.
"Please, just let me go alone and follow the orders given to me," I said without trying to hide the panic in my voice. "They just want me and if they see that I am accompanied, it might warrant an attack. I'm not comfortable risking your lives so carelessly." It never hurt to start your argument with the truth. At least in this case.
"You're not risking our lives, Serus. We are the ones who love you
and want to ensure you survive this," Laurel said. "Can't you understand how much is at stake with you doing this?" Her voice was shaky, which was a departure from her usually well-collected demeanor. She had always been the more reserved one between us, but I could see the idea of my going it alone was getting to her.
I threw my arms up in the air in frustration. My nervous habit of gritting my teeth was starting up again, something I thought I had either outgrown or which had been programmed out by The Agency. I supposed it was just further indication that I was overcoming my past as a policeman in some way. That was both a relief and a bit scary, when I thought about it. "Yes, I do understand. The stakes are this: either Harris dies or we both die, but if you two come with me, then that risk is doubled, not lessened. It's a suicide mission." I had to convince them I was right about this. They were both stubborn to a fault and I didn't want this to be our downfall.
Both of them looked at me pitifully and I could see where my words had damaged their hearts in some way. Reality was a brutal thing, and saying it out loud only made it feel more imminent. There was nothing I could do about that. "Fine," Kara said. "We will agree to a ten minute stay and then we follow you." Her jaw was set like a fighter concentrating on the next strike. This had been her way when we were growing up, too, always calculating what she thought I was about to say in order to have a retort. It was an effective means to winning an argument. Still, she finally agreed to compromise. It wasn't much, but it was something.
I nodded, “Fine, but stay off the road and out of sight." Perhaps a little stealth would be a motivation for them to stick to our agreement.
They both agreed.
"Serus, we are ten minutes from entering the Earth's atmosphere. You all need to prepare for a rocky descent. The weather doesn't look very permissive this go around," Captain Fillon said as he leaned against the bulkhead. He was wearing one of the gauntlets on his own wrist and had agreed to protect the transport in case of a retreat. I highly doubted any of the men would run from a fight, but it was a precaution put in place at my insistence. I wanted to ensure Kara and Laurel would be protected. There were more than a few policemen who had agreed to keep an eye out in my stead and for that I was eternally grateful. It was a secret I didn't want to get around, though. Something like that could shake their confidence and I didn't want to do that, but insurance in their safety did a lot to increase my own confidence.
"Thank you, Captain," I said as I took a seat and strapped in. Kara and Laurel followed suit and before long we felt the initial turbulence. It felt just like before until we hit the weather pattern Captain Fillon had mentioned. The transport seemed to quake and creak as we fell from the sky. I knew it was a controlled descent, but the topsy-turvy sensation did little to comfort me. I looked out the window and could see a dark gray sky covering us like a blanket; flashes of light in the distance followed by rumbling did not go unnoticed. We continued to tousle about for several moments until the transport leveled itself out and slowed for recovery. I was glad to have skipped breakfast. We finally touched down after a while and it was a little harder than I had anticipated. The jolt sent a shock up my body and if not strapped in, I would have fallen from my seat. I imagined the ground cracked under the transport’s stanchions where the weight was bearing down. "Are you both all right?" I asked.
"I'm fine,"
"Me too,"
We had arrived, and now was the moment we had trained and planned for so long. I reached into my pocket and grabbed my gauntlet as the sound of rain pouring over us filled my ears. I placed the gauntlet over my wrist and clasped it shut, feeling the leads pierce my skin and find the nerves in my arm to control the device. The pain was brief, but you never really got used to it; you just understood the sensation would pass, and most policemen closed their eyes until it was over. I looked down at the shiny weapon and remembered how many had fallen before it. It had been my duty to carry out those deaths, just as it was my duty to do what was necessary to save Harris and take out The Syndicate. My mind then drifted to how many would soon follow in the steps of my past targets for what they had done. The Syndicate's reign would end, and with it, Faracon.
Chapter 14
I looked at the ranks of policemen as I walked through the cargo bay of the transport. Each of them was dressed in typical black uniforms with silver gauntlets wrapped around their wrists. Several of them looked disheveled compared to the regulatory haircuts and grooming standards of the past, but as freed men it was understandable that some would force themselves to rebel from the programming as drastically as they could. Despite how many people filled the cargo bay, I could hear each footstep fall on the steel deck under my boots. They policemen remained quiet, and I felt their eyes watching me as I approached the cargo bay door. Gentry stood waiting for me.
"Are you ready, Serus?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yes," I said with Kara and Laurel standing behind me to see me off.
"You might want to say your goodbyes now just in case," he said in a matter-of-fact sort of way.
I turned to look at Kara, my sister who had grown so strong over the past year and a half. I looked her in the eye and could see her fighting back tears. "I love you, and I'm proud of you," I said, taking her into my arms and hugging her. Letting go was hard to do, because I didn't know if I would live to see her again.
Next I took Laurel's hands in my own and held her close to me. "If we make it through this, I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise you that. I love you, Laurel."
"I love you too," she said before our lips touched. I could taste strawberries when my tongue touched my lips after our kiss. It was my favorite lip gloss she used when we first started dating in high school. I squeezed her hands in my own, desperately not wanting to let go.
"It's time," Gentry said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I looked over at him and nodded as the cargo bay door began opening and revealing the storm outside. My eyes were met with lightning flashes and a torrent of water pouring from the sky like it was being poured from a giant bucket. It was so dense I could smell the water in the air even from inside the transport. "Wish me luck," I said, turning away and walking down the decline at the cargo bay door.
I could hear them whisper behind me, "good luck," but I couldn't bring myself to turn around and face them. I had to do this, and stalling would only jeopardize the mission and Harris' life. I owed it to my friend to do all I could to save him.
Directly in front of me was the road leading to Faracon. The transport landed in a patch of land only five miles or so from the city. I just hoped the other transports had landed already, and that the policemen were ready to go. I had a sneaking suspicion I would need their help sooner than later.
My suspicion was confirmed after I walked the first mile. Right around the first bend was a group of Faracon soldiers, heavily armed and waiting. I resisted the desire to hold my chest and settle my beating heart. I didn't want to show any signs of distress. I needed to be strong.
One of the men stood out front and I soon recognized him to be Ghon Abert. As if things couldn't get any worse, the man who wanted me dead the most was part of my recovery crew. "Welcome back, Serus. I've been waiting for you."
I stopped on the road, the rain soaking me to the bone and weighing down my clothes. He stood there staring at me. "Where's Harris?" I asked. Both of us had to yell to be heard over the storm.
He chuckled with a hint of maniacal flare to it and spoke. “What makes you think he is still alive?"
My heart began beating so hard I thought it was going to explode. "Treston gave us his word Harris would not be harmed," I answered.
With a big smile Ghon replied, "Well, Treston isn't here now, is he?"
I was being setup, and I was too ignorant to see it coming. The Syndicate had taken control of Faracon and most likely replaced the entire government to rule over these people. Now Ghon Abert was in control of an army better trained and better armed than the policemen. I took a
deep breath and tried to settle my nerves. It was difficult to do, as shivers went down my spine both from the cold rain and from the lunacy of my situation, looking into the cold eyes of this heartless man. "Then I suppose an exchange is no longer necessary," I said as I balled up my fists.
Ghon eyed me and I could see him squint to try to make out the expression on my face from so far away. He was measuring me up, trying to determine if I was about to attack or not. "Perhaps an exchange won't be necessary. Either way, I was planning on killing you."
I stared at him and watched to see if he would lift the gauntlet attached to his wrist and fire at me or if he would have one of his soldiers do it. "Then what's the hold up?" I asked. It was slightly idiotic of me to challenge him out in the open like this, but those were the only words I could come up with.
"That's a good question," Ghon said with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked over to one of the soldiers standing next to him and said something I couldn't hear. The soldier seemed to agree with whatever it was Ghon had said and then he disappeared into the ranks of men behind him. "Are you going to come peacefully, or am I going to have to have my men scrape you off the ground with a shovel to take you back to Faracon?"
I bit down and gritted my teeth. He wanted me to act so he could kill me now, but he still hadn't come out and attacked yet. I didn't know why, but I was sure I was soon to find out.
Chapter 15
Ghon narrowed his eyes at me; testing my resolve. So many times I wanted to act out, but a part of me whispered in the back of my mind to hold off, to wait. I wasn't sure whether to trust that voice until I saw him. I could barely believe it. Harris was alive.