Tiera's Earth (Andromeda 9 Book 1)
Page 31
“If you don’t already live there, you’ll need to move to Earth’s capital,” Leon told her as they walked toward the WG station’s entrance. He nodded at Ferrer, who was staying behind, before continuing, “I’d rather not have to order special wormholes for you every day.”
“Earth’s capital?” Tiera asked blankly.
“Yes.” Leon frowned. “I know there are warring nations on your planet, but surely there must be a capital?”
Tiera tried to think of anything on Earth that even resembled a world capital as they walked toward a section of the station she had never seen before. “Not exactly,” she finally answered.
He looked appalled. “Are there no organizations or alliances between Earth’s nations?”
“Of course there are!” Now Tiera was beginning to feel offended. “There’s the United Nations, the European Union, the—”
“Well, where do they meet?”
Tiera opened her mouth, then closed it. I’m about to decide the capital of planet Earth. She knew the UN headquarters was in Manhattan, but what would other countries think of a US world capital? And do I really want to move to New York?
“Tiera?”
“Fine, it’s Manhattan!” Tiera finally decided. “The UN meets in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, North America, Earth.”
“Alright.” Leon looked straight ahead. They were walking away from the terminals that connected Faroa to the seven other planets under Origin rule, and toward a surprisingly unremarkable doorway. “And Tiera?”
“Yes?” Tiera grunted—she was trying to shift the weight of the large box in her arms without setting it down.
“Don’t think we’re done with our interviews just because you’re going back home. We still don’t know what Kert Yematoro did to your mind.”
“Right,” Tiera said, just as they reached the door. As Leon set his boxes down and reached forward to open it, Tiera realized that he still referred to her by just her first name—he hadn’t reverted to addressing her formally by her full name. Maybe he doesn’t hate me for all this. For some reason, Tiera’s box felt a little bit lighter at that thought.
Before the door could scan Leon’s palm print, Leon hesitated, pulling his hand away. “There’s one thing I forgot to mention,” he said, turning around to face Tiera as he did so. “I’ve been instructed to tell you to lie about your involvement with Earth’s . . . rescue.”
“What? What do you mean?” Tiera let her box slide from her arms, its sturdy fabric making a soft thud as it hit the hard floor.
“I mean . . . ” Leon sighed. “Origin doesn’t want your planet’s first impression of them to be a bad one. They don’t want anyone to know that they weren’t going to intervene in Earth’s—well—destruction.” He winced at the word. “It’s for the best.”
“Then what am I supposed to say?” Tiera could feel herself getting angry. “How do they want me to explain what happened?”
“You can relate your involvement in Earth’s rescue, of course,” Leon said quickly. “Just make it seem like you had Origin’s approval.”
For a moment Tiera couldn’t translate her feelings into words—it was like something within her was threatening to burst. Finally, she asked, “And what if I don’t?”
“Tiera, please—”
“No! What if I don’t?” Tiera glared at Leon, who looked more uncomfortable than she’d ever seen him. “What are they going to if I tell the truth?”
“We haven’t seen a war in Andromeda for millions of years, Tiera,” Leon began softly, looking at the floor as he spoke, “but that doesn’t mean we aren’t prepared for one. I’ve seen the old military records—all we’d need to do is implement them.” Leon looked up sharply, making direct eye contact with Tiera. “If you tell the truth this will not be a peaceful transition of power. If you tell the truth, Earth’s rescue will have been in vain.”
Tiera opened and closed her mouth, but both her words and her anger had failed her—they had been replaced by the shock of Leon’s threat. They’re supposed to be peaceful. Violence is supposed to be against the law. Now, more than ever, Tiera realized just how much Origin’s higher-ups might work outside of the law. Wordlessly, Tiera picked her box up from the floor, and Leon turned around to open the door before doing the same.
Tiera and Leon stepped into a small room, its walls lined with the artistic shapes of technical equipment—and Tiera noticed a familiar-looking hatch door on the opposite wall. Two WG station employees stood as they entered, and Leon walked over to talk to them, setting Tiera’s boxes down on his way. After a moment, he called Tiera over.
As she approached, one of the employees activated the smart glass panel set into the wall, typed in some coordinates, and by the time Tiera got there a model of the Earth was on prominent display.
“Where is your home?” Leon asked, and with that simple question Tiera became extremely aware of her own heartbeat. The employee made the display zoom in as Tiera pointed at North America, then the Great Salt Lake. As she tried to find her parents’ house in the snowy town of Daybreak, she was surprised at how much detail they were able to show—she saw a cat crossing a street for goodness’ sake! But everything else was fairly still as she searched the unmarked streets of the sleepy, moon-lit town.
“There.”
The minutes dragged by as she waited for the workers to finalize everything, and Tiera’s shock at Leon’s threat gave way to her excitement to return home as she watched them. Soon enough Tiera was pushing her boxes through the open hatch of the wormhole generator and onto the snowy driveway of her parents’ house. Finally she stepped through, her footsteps crunching in the fresh snow, and the frigid air of a Rocky Mountain winter bit through her thin coat faster than any Faroan chill ever could.
The wormhole closed behind her, and Tiera looked around at the homes of her parents’ neighbors, decked with wreaths and twinkling softly with Christmas lights. The contrasting appearance of her parents’ house spoke far more of their grief than anything they could ever tell her, bare and dark except for a small tangle of string lights sitting on the windowsill of the living room, as if her mother had tried to decorate but then couldn’t bear it.
Tiera smiled and closed her eyes, listening to the whisper of wind-blown flurries as they glided across the snow.
It’s not lost.
She made her way to the front door, and knocked.
About the Author
Ethan T. Marston was raised in Illinois, but spent a good chunk of his life in Utah as well—he even returned to Utah to study writing and nutritional science at BYU. While there, he became very involved in the LDS LGBT+ community, he emerged from the depths of the closet, and (to his surprise) he met his wife, Allie. He and Allie are currently raising their daughter and trying to decide what the heck to do with their lives somewhere in Montana. Ethan enjoys taking pretty pictures of nature, being social, petting dogs, and writing fiction. You can learn more about his books at ethantmarston.com .
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
> Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
About the Author