“It doesn’t look so good,” said Esai, with a grimace. “One of the drives has been shot away, and the others are seriously damaged. Computers and laser weapons are functional, and the hull and steering systems are intact.”
“Is it possible to repair one of the drives so that we can get out of here?”
“Probably, we might be able to do it, but it’s going to take at least a day.”
“OK, then, there’s nothing else to do but get on with it immediately. Those who aren’t needed for that work will stand guard. The Olegians can’t be too far away, especially when we’re so close to the front now.”
Allur and Kark had talked over their plans for the future and realized that they should probably start thinking about leaving. But considering that Kark would probably end up back on the front and Allur back in captivity, since he had a slave symbol tattooed on one of his underarms, they didn’t see any need to rush. They rose early and ate a solid breakfast, consisting of canned meat and vegetables, which they rounded off with a couple of cups of lazzo. When they went out, the sky was a hazy blue and a soft breeze carried with it the fragrance of the field of roses and the surrounding meadows, which were also in full bloom. When the sun’s intensity increased towards mid-day, the air, which had earlier been rather cool, became oppressively warm, so that they became sweaty. They had just milked the cow and were standing out in the yard with the pail, when the sky suddenly filled with flaming lightning flashes from battleships, so that they hurried into the house for shelter. When they ventured a careful look out one of the windows, to their surprise they saw how one of the ships, which appeared to be Sidian, crashed into one of the fields of roses a few kilometres away. The fighting was hard, with losses on both sides, but when it eventually became quiet and the only sound was the whisper of the wind, they went off to the crash site to see if they could be of any help. As they approached the ship, they could see what appeared to be the Sidian emblem on its sides, but nonetheless waited before approaching, uncertain of the welcome they might receive from the crew.
Esai was just calibrating the altimeter when a warning light indicated that strangers were approaching.
“Looks like we have visitors,” he said to Shay. “It’s probably just some curious locals. Should I order them to leave?”
“No! Let’s see what kind of customers they are, first. There’s no reason not to have a chat with them and, if possible, see if there’s any way we might lend a helping hand.”
“But isn’t against regulations to converse with or allow civilians on board during an on-going battle operation?”
“Take a break, Esai. It’s not enough to have just your heart and mind in the right place. Sometimes one also actually has to show it, so this time the regulations can wait. These people come from around here, as well, and maybe have valuable information that we can make use of.”
“Of course. You’re the boss,” he said, and prepared to go out, together with Caver, to meet the visitors.
CHAPTER 4
Allur and Kark were lying low in some dense bushes and were just going to come out of hiding when they heard a click and found themselves staring into the nozzles of a couple of laser pistols.
“Would you mind following along with us, please?” asked Caver.
“Do we have any choice?” responded Kark.
“No, hardly.”
“Why the polite question, then?”
“Nobody’s ever died from a little politeness. On the contrary, it’s one of the reasons we have a civilization at all. So, come along, this way, then,” he said, and pointed with his hand towards the ship.
“Welcome on board,” said Shay when they were standing in front of him. Please excuse our somewhat brusque welcome, but before we know who to trust, we feel it’s best to be on the safe side.”
“We understand completely,” said Kark, looking around curiously. It wasn’t the first time she’d found herself on a battleship, which was why she recognized much of the technical equipment.
“Alright, then, can you tell us who we’re dealing with and what has caused your interest in us?”
“Of course,” they answered, briefly, but without missing anything important, neither from their backgrounds nor what they’d been through.
When they’d finished speaking, Shay, who’d been deeply impressed by hearing their life stories, invited them to return to the relative security of Oboe with them, to which they happily agreed. In addition to his general sense of sympathy, he was amazed by the unusual couple who, against all odds and in these special circumstances, had found each other on this abandoned farm. Kark was a gunner in one of the harder units in the army and should thus be pretty tough, but she had nevertheless adopted a humane attitude to Allur, who was on the lowest rung of the social ladder, which he appreciated greatly. When it came to Allur, though, there was something about him that didn’t fit with his personality, nor with his low position. He was certainly both modest and humble, and had the sad demeanour that usually came with having served under the yoke, but, at the same time, he held his head high and radiated both strength and dignity.
Much of the day had passed when Ixter and Caver, dirty and tired, came up from the engine room.
“Who are they?” they asked in surprise when they saw the strangers.
“I’ll explain later,” said Shay. “First tell me how it went for you.”
“Not bad,” said, Ixter, smiling, and drying his oil-spotted hands with a rag. “The aft drive works, sort of, but with our entire computer system down, we’ll have to fly it manually as far as instrument flying goes.”
“You’ve done a fantastic job and to be honest I actually thought that if we were ever going to see Oboe again it was going to be by returning by foot.”
After introducing Kark and Allur, they took their places and said a quiet prayer that everything would work. Two failed attempts later, the drive started, luckily, whereupon they lifted off, shaking and vibrating, up and away from the sea of red roses.
“Alright, now the worst is behind us,” said Shay, pleased, as he pulled carefully on the fuel regulator, so that the Olina, with a dull roar, followed by rattling and squeaking, decided to move itself forward.
At first, their flight, if not entirely perfect, proceeded rather satisfactorily, so they reached a reasonable altitude and a speed that would get them home soon. After a while, though, Shay’s sense of satisfaction began to shift to disappointment, as he noticed that the Weber pressure was sinking steadily and the intaxometer moved in the wrong direction. A dull grinding sound from the drive also indicated that they were losing power, which became more apparent as the quilt-work scenery of forests and fields below them began to appear closer. One alternative was to try to save themselves by using parachutes, which he rejected, since he didn’t want to sacrifice his ship now that they were so close to their base. From being a completely workable possibility, with the loss in altitude it was quickly becoming an increasingly risky matter, which is why he decided, finally, that it was either make it or break it. Eventually, the drive’s sounds were approaching a deafening roar, and the entire ship continued to shake and vibrate, with the damaged drive shrouded in smoke.
In a cold sweat and with white knuckles, he stared at the instrument panel, clenching the steering stick intently. “She had better hold the whole way,” he muttered, resigned.
The sun had gone down behind the mountains, and in the early evening the city’s grey tones shifted into a glitter of points of light that, like fireflies, covered the entire valley. It was at least 25 degrees outside and the prevailing west wind brought with it the smell of sun-warmed grass from the broad surrounding meadows that were now in the green of early summer. Its inhabitants prepared anxiously for the uncertainties of the coming day, while in the flight centre the entire command, given the long time that had elapsed without any signs of life, assumed that the entire unit had been lost. Their eyes thus widened in surprise when, at dusk, they captured a crackling signal
that indicated that a ship had been identified.
When the Olina finally touched down, badly damaged and its drives smoking, all available personnel stood in readiness out beside the runway, with everything from fire extinguishers to medical personnel, in case any problems arose. Happily, the landing went well, and when the dazed crew and two passengers left the ship, they were met by euphoric cheers that never seemed to stop. During a solid meal in the mess, they later had to repeat for their colleagues, again and again, the story of what they’d been through. The initial elation they’d all felt from having survived was eventually replaced, as the evening proceeded, with a growing fatigue. In truth, it had been a demanding day for them, so that they now were forced to claim their due. Just when they thought they could leave for home, however, they were disappointed to receive the order to remain at the air base, due to the situation that prevailed. Exhausted as they were, it wasn’t long after arriving at their lodgings at the base that they crept into their beds and fell asleep.
Never before, in Oboe’s more than thousand-year history, had the imperial family fled the city, and with the increasing rumble from the front, there was a growing desperation. Many began to believe that the end was near; at the defence installations, the city guard’s ground troops were preparing for a heroic battle. Alarms and rumbling were heard everywhere throughout the streets and alleyways, while crowds milled around not knowing whether to escape or seek shelter.
Shay was happily completely unaware of all this when, after eating breakfast and dressing in fresh new clothes, he left for headquarters. It was a beautiful morning, and the sun’s rays had just begun to caress the surrounding rooftops, where swallows swept through the air in their constant hunt for insects. At the staff building’s gate, guarded by two heavily-armed guards, he was asked to show his ID-papers, even though they recognized him. Military procedures never ceased to amaze him. With routines established in the distant past, they were so often completely illogical. Stepping into the air force commander’s room, he found him sitting tiredly at his desk, and it seemed as if he’d aged at least ten years since he’d last seen him.
“Have a seat,” he said, and waved towards a leather-clad chair. “I’m sorry that the mission failed, but nonetheless want to congratulate you for managing to bring back such a heavily-damaged ship.”
“Thank you, sir, but it was almost entirely due to my talented flight engineer, Ixter Trafor,” he replied.
“Ixter, yes, he would have been really good officer if it hadn’t been for that woman, Gurl, from Tyrus, who got in the way of his career.”
“Gail,” corrected Shay.
“Right. By the way, how did you happen to have passengers with you?”
“We wanted to see if we could gain any intelligence about the enemy. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to return them before we were forced to leave in such a hurry.”
“I see,” he chuckled. “And now that you’ve been at the front, and gathered intelligence from the local population, maybe then you can tell me when you think the Olegians are going to attack Oboe?”
“It’s hard to say, but perhaps in a week or two.”
“No, that’s not my assessment. I’m afraid we’ll have them here any time at all.”
“Is it so bad?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” he answered. “According to the reports I’ve seen, it looks anything but promising. We don’t have much left to throw at them now, since the front has fallen, and the emperor has left, taking with him the bulk of the fleet, for that God-forsaken colony on Urduk. Who would have believed it, only a few years ago? It would have been as silly a thought as thinking that one could walk on water, or that the prophet, Metanus, would return to Loria. We are living in a really remarkable time.” When Shay nodded in agreement, he went over to the drinks cabinet and poured them each a tumbler of Berruda.
“We may need this,” he said and downed his glass in one shot.
“And what’s going to happen with our ship now?” wondered Shay, after a moment’s silence.
“Your ship, yes, which is the only one of our once proud armada remaining,” the commander said, with a dry laugh. “If it manages to be made battle worthy before the Olegians arrive, you have permission to make one last heroic contribution.”
“Yes, I suppose so,” replied Shay, and continued miserably, “What should we do with the two passengers we had with us? Should we release them?”
“Fine, but first we need to let them stay here for a couple of days so that the intelligence unit can have a chance to interrogate them and see if they have anything worthwhile to say. There’s lots of people here who have left the front, but not so many of them have been in its immediate proximity, especially not recently.”
“Right, it is of course a bit unusual to have travelled super-express with the city guard,” said Shay, “And the question is whether it might ever happen again.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
After a quick run-through of the Olina’s condition, and of the general situation, they didn’t think there was much left that they could do for the moment, so they shook hands, and Shay left.
“I guess you want to know what the chief of the air force had to say?” Shay asked when, a little while later, he had returned to his crew, who were sitting and waiting for him in the mess.
“Yeah, why not?” replied Esai, with a feigned lack of interest. “Planning a counterattack, perhaps?”
“No, there was no question of that, since the entire front has broken up, and there aren’t any fresh troops to set in. All leave has now been recalled and like all other units we’re supposed to prepare for the Olegians’ attack, which can happen any time at all.”
“Is that right? And what can we oppose it with?” wondered Caver.
“Not much, I’m afraid, which means that our chances to strike back at them are as good as non-existent. We might be able to hit them with a slap on the wrist or two, but that’s all.”
“Always so optimistic,” said Ixter, laconically.
“Just realistic, and I think that’s what’s needed at this point.”
“So, you mean we should just sit here and wait for the end of the world?”
“I’m not sure if it’s as bad as that, but since we’ve all sworn loyalty it’s just as well we accept our fate.”
“And how’s it going with the Olina?” asked Esai?
“The maintenance unit is putting in new drives as we speak, and should be finished soon, although the weapons systems will probably take a couple more days to repair.”
“So long?” asked Caver.
“Yes, the damage is pretty extensive,” he barely managed to say, before a powerful explosion knocked out the lighting and sent large pieces of the ceiling crashing down over them.
Terrified, they threw themselves onto the floor and tried to cover their heads with their hands. A few moments later, they heard several more explosions, so they stood up and, after a nervous wait, they heard the air-raid sirens sounding all-clear.
“What was all that about, now?” asked Caver.
“It was probably just a minor attack by a few Olegian ships, testing our defences before launching their main attack,” said Shay.
“In that case they must have been surprised and overjoyed to have found the golden goose in its nest, wing-clipped and not even able to honk,” said Ixter.
“What do we now?” asked Caver.
“No idea. The question is whether there’s anything at all we can do,” sighed Shay, heavily. When he saw their wandering glances he regretted saying it, though. As their commander, it was his duty to instil courage in his crew, and try to solve the problems that arose, instead of just giving up in resignation.
“I just mean that there’s not much more we can do just now than wait.”
“In that case, I request that in the meanwhile I try to find my wife,” said Ixter.
“How will that go? You know of course that it’s your duty to remain here and that all
leave has been cancelled.”
“When Gail and I married, I promised her that we would live together and that I would look after her, which in my mind is an obligation that is at least as important,” he replied, obstinately.
After discussing it for a while, Shay gave up, reasoning that he didn’t have any right to pronounce judgement on him. A person who doesn’t follow his or her conscience is betraying the meaning of their own lives, which is why they must be allowed to do what they think is right, regardless of what it leads to. Also, rules are made according to what is usually best to do, but if it contradicts one’s own reason, then one must have the right, and even the obligation, to question it.
“OK, get on with it, then, but be back here in two hours, and remember that if you should happen to be arrested, I don’t know anything about what you’re up to.”
“Understood,” said Ixter, rushing out of the room.
Outside the main entrance to the airbase, chaos ruled, with not a single hydrogen taxi in sight, so he decided to run up the street in the direction of the city centre. Thank God, there weren’t any more explosions, and the buildings seemed for the most part undamaged, which meant that the attack had only been a preliminary skirmish, just as Shay had guessed. The closer he came to the city centre the more crowded it became. The state-controlled propaganda had been effective, however, for even though the streets were crowded, there didn’t seem to be any sense of panic yet. To avoid concern, the inhabitants had to be kept in a state of ignorance for as long as possible, he thought, grimly, and when the truth finally dawned on them it would be too late. After crossing Grotsky Square, he turned into Lirvana Street, which was graced with luscious zaprifol trees with pink, fragrant blossoms and eventually, after taking a shortcut through narrow Hoddax lane, to Farvo Street, where their apartment was. After sprinting up the stairs, he pounded anxiously on the door, and had just begun to dig through his pockets for the key when he heard a scraping sound coming from inside.
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