by James Garvey
Minns grabs Bets shoulder excitedly. "You all will love this place. I visited it a few years ago before I was assigned to a dismal place called the Platform in deep space."
"But there be no people here." Theo counters.
"Better yet Theo. The whole place is automated. We can enjoy it even without people."
We jump into a small cart that Minns calls a car. The entire city is encased by a very thin roof that's nearly invisible and maintained by something Minns calls a generator. If the generator were to break, all the air would leave and we would suffocate. I find it odd that people would build a big bubble to live in when there's a whole world with plenty of air not far away. Minns also says that we would weigh less here if it weren't for the generator. This makes no sense to me. It apparently has to do with the size of the moon. It's small and pulls on us less than earth.
The car weaves between the buildings, which break the rich, black sky into orderly sections of stars. Minns turns us toward an expansive building reaching far into the distance. "Most of this building is underground. Amy, you're going to dig this."
We descend into a tunnel and drive in subdued light. After a time, the tunnel opens onto a massive, hilly landscape with bright sunshine. We could be in a meadow on earth rather on the surface of the moon.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"It's a park - for recreation. People come here to enjoy nature, relax."
This seems so strange to me. Earth is so vast and untamed. Yet, these people need to turn to a subterranean basement to interact with living things. I'm sad that they were evicted from their home. "Where's the sunlight coming from? We're on the dark side of the moon, right?"
"It's a huge reactor. Actually, it works on the same principal as the sun but smaller, of course. Let's explore a bit. Etch will be calling us back soon."
Bets and Minns vanish over a small hill in a grove of trees, which look like live oaks. Theo and I are left alone, standing in awkward silence. This is the first time the two of us have been alone since I kissed him in the lodge. "Amy, it's fine if you want to walk on your own."
"No, Theo. Let's talk. We need to clear things between us."
We walk the opposite direction from our companions toward a placid, turquoise lake. I throw a stick from a strange willow tree in the water, watching it ripple away.
He takes off his boots and wades in. "We've been looking up here at the moon our whole lives, wondering what those lights were. Now we know. Gods, how things have changed."
"Theo, about that night at the lodge. I was confused. Then Wenn came back and he changed. I don't know what I want anymore."
"Sprouter, you were right about us. We can't be running behind Wenn's back. He's my brother."
"So, you don't feel the same way?"
"Wenn's had a hard time, but that doesn't mean we can ignore him. He's out there looking for Eliza right now."
"Theo, Wenn's trying to save his honor. His pride's more important to him than she - or me for that matter."
"You're not being fair. That Fromer fellow's pretty convincing. Wenn had to do what needed to be done." He steps out of the water and wiggles his toes in the unnaturally perfect blades of grass.
"Fromer’s manipulating all of this. We're following some script he has written for us. I don't believe for a minute that father and Wenn leaving us had anything to do with our safety. Fromer needed them to arm the villagers at Yellow Stone in preparation for a battle. I'm afraid we're going to be at the center of it all."
"Amy, have some faith that a higher purpose's behind this. It'll all work out. I promise."
I want to believe him, but I've seen and felt too much. I've dabbled in the realm of gods and found that they are as flawed and vulnerable as we are. Theo plops down next to me, very close. I swear that I can feel his pulse vibrating through the air. His hand brushes against my knee and my breath catches in my throat. All my doubt and worry channel into something warm, fluid, and so very hungry. I'm kissing him and pushing him into the soft grass. His breath, his skin, his sweat is so real in this artificial place. I submerge myself in him – briefly escaping this reality and finding my way back to the garden of my youth.
After we’ve landed back firmly on the ground, we lounge in the grass. Theo runs his fingers through my hair. "Things, they've changed now, haven't they?"
I smile effortlessly. "Yes, Theo. For the first time in a very long while, I feel hopeful."
Our peace is short-lived. We hear scuffling in the distance and Bets shouts to us, "Stay down."
We turn to see Minns and Bets crouched behind a mossy oak tree, with an ominous grey, metallic orb floating above them. My thought turns to Troll. Minns and Etch were wrong. We are not alone in Farmington - the artificial ones who think remain around us, watching and wondering. The pilot within me reaches out. I feel Etch in the Fuerst. And I know he senses me as well. I send one word: danger.
Three more orbs appear from a garden of vines with bright yellow blooms. Another group of orbs approaches purposefully toward us from the lake.
"What the hell are these things?" Bets exclaims, more annoyed than frightened.
Minns sighs with frustration rather than fear. "The FRT left these drones to look for stragglers or squatters. We've been tagged. There's no sense in running. They'll stick to us like stink on a skunk."
I laugh. What I would give to smell one of my stubborn black and white friends right now.
Theo's less amused. "Do these things carry weapons?"
Minns stands up. "Only defensive. If we were to try to disable a drone, it'd give you a nasty shock. The FRT has been alerted and ships are assuredly on their way."
I see a faint image of Etch or perhaps Fromer in my mind. It says, "Whack them." I think this is strange and then I imagine swatting an annoying fly. Three of the drones drop into the lake.
"What on mars?" Minns asks.
I start swatting away in my mind and the drones drop - like flies. "Let's run," Bets shouts.
We're speeding in the car toward the Fuerst through the city streets when two FRT vessels descend between two arched buildings, heading directly at us. For some reason, I know these are short-distance cruisers, built for speed and agility. They’ll overcome us easily. "Turn left and then right," I yell to Minns. She hesitates for a moment and then complies, our heads nearly snapping off their necks. We descend into another tunnel, which descends deep below the surface. The voice in my head says, "Find the elevator. Rise to the roof top."
Minns stops the car at my urging. We're in a spacious storage facility, full of boxes and dusty vehicles. The only light comes from our car. "Where to now, Amy?" Theo asks.
"We're to find something called an elevator. Minns, do you know what that is?"
“Yup. There are signs leading to one straight ahead.”
I turn to hear voices and see flashes of yellow light down the passageway from which we just emerged. "Let's hustle. They’ll be here in a minute." Minns gestures for us to follow her.
We enter a door marked with the words: air lock. I'm surprised that I can read them, although I'm unsure of their meaning. Minns searches the wall for something. "Look for a metal box full of buttons."
"Is this it?" Bets asks.
"Good job my sweet," Minns exclaims. With the flip of a lever, white light washes over us. She hits a red button on the door and it whines. "Stand back and watch the fun. The entire city is sectioned into air-tight compartments, in case the atmospheric containment field over us fails.” Minns looks at our blank faces. “You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you? Anyway, here we go. Our pursuers are going to experience some pain. We're safe in this control room."
The light turns red and a Troll-like voice says, "Air purge from storage compartment imminent. Take cover." Four FRT soldiers arrive just as the air is sucked out of the space with a hiss. They fall to their knees, holding their ears and their throats. Within a minute, they've collapsed. Strange plastic bubbles grow around their heads.
"Those thing
s on their heads are emergency breathing devices. Their suits will automatically recover them," Minns remarks. "However, they'll need some serious medical treatment for pressure sickness. We won’t be worrying about them anytime soon. Let's look for our lift."
We find the elevator in no time and ascend. At the top of the building, we gaze in dismay through a window at the scene before us. Five enormous Fuerst-like ships hover over the city, gleaming in the sun rising at the moon’s horizon. If Etch tries to launch, he'll be pummeled.
“Those are definitely pirate, I mean, FRT ships.” Minns groans.
The roof of the room is a clear, glass-like substance, with a ladder leading to its surface. Beyond the ships I can see the sky in its glory. I think of Wenn and Eliza far away. Deep inside, I know they haven’t connected yet. I fear they’re both lost.
On earth spinning below us, Thresh moves deliberately toward the portal at Yellow Stone. I have no idea what I’m going to do if we make it there. All I want is my daughter back and to go home. Or do I? I’ve seen so many horrors and wonders recently. The universe has opened itself to me. And this thing called technology is complicated. Just like people, it seems to have captured the struggle between good and evil – something that the plants and soil in my garden never cared much about.
Theo puts his hand on my shoulder and I fall back into his arms. I glance at Bets. She seems unconcerned. Theo sighs, “So is this it for us? Etch’s damned if he rises into those ships.”
“Oh, don’t be so negative Theo.” Minns smacks his shoulder. “We should hold tight. Etch is a clever man. Even if he doesn’t make it, we’ve got an entire city at our disposal. We’ll just have to be discrete. It’s only a matter of time before the Institute forces regain control of this sector.”
“So why were you hiding on earth from the Institute if you’re so confident that they’ll welcome us?” I ask.
Minns groans. “Well, that’s a valid point. I suppose it all depends on what happens with the portal. If they try to hide it and protect it, then we’re going to know some stuff that’s pretty inconvenient for them. However, I think the box is opened don’t you? Every pilot throughout the fleet probably knows of its existence by now.”
“What are pilots going to think of this thing?” I ask no one in particular.
“What do you mean?” Minns is interested in my thoughts. Here I am a product of a world devoid of machines and space travel, and yet I’m quickly slipping into the other world, where technology dominates and too often placates the people it’s supposed to serve.
“I think the pilots will see the portal on earth as a blessing and a threat. From what I understand of it, it’s a doorway to other parts of space. It could make their jobs obsolete. On the other hand, it has endless possibilities for exploration. If pilots experience what I’ve experienced on earth through the portal’s effects, then they can travel to places that no one’s even dreamed of yet. Even places beyond space – where the others are from.”
Bets is perplexed. “Marksman, you’re saying that earth could become a place where pilots gather to explore all this?” She raises her hand to the glorious star-lit sky. “Like a monastery?”
“Yes, and they can explore what lies beyond the door – whatever that is - and teach us what they learn. Or the portal at Yellow Stone could become a bustling port for space ships moving through the doorway it makes to other worlds. But I fear it would ruin the nature around it. Earth may return to the mess of its past. The crazy part is, I think the reason the portal opened up is because the people, the technology, on earth went away. The earth healed and the doorway appeared.”
We watch the ships hover silently above the city. One of the ships suddenly bursts in flames as the building shudders, knocking us all back on our butts.
“That didn’t come from the surface.” Minns points to the sky.
A second blast concusses the air as the silhouette of another massive ship blacks out the stars overhead. I recognize it as my friend, the Raven.
The Fuerst rises from the cityscape and fires at the ships from below. Within moments, all five are charred and burning. Three leave orbit, one hangs vertically in the artificial moon air, and the fifth crashes into a nearby building with a sickening crunch. Flames burst forth and the ship and building are joined in fire and smoke.
The Fuerst approaches our building and hovers above us. The door opens and we climb into the ship. “Welcome friends,” Etch exclaims jubilantly. “We must go. More FRT dogs will be here soon.”
“To where?” Bets asks.
“Yellow Stone.”
The Fuerst flanked by the Raven rises above the city and the moon shrinks. And then I see earth for the first time. It is absolutely breathtaking in its dizzying variations of white, green, brown, and blue. I know that I must place it in my care at any cost.
As we descend toward the planet, I crouch down next to Etch in his pilot’s chair. “Thank you.”
“For what, my dear one?”
“You helped my knock out the drones.”
He looks confused – or at least that’s my interpretation of the expression on his insect face. He tilts his head. “Drones? I provided you with directions to the tower telepathically. But I did not tell you about how to defeat the drones.”
“Then who was that talking in my head?”
“Mysteries never cease Amy Marksman. This makes the fight worth fighting do you not think?”
CHAPTER 17: YELLOW STONE
The Fuerst skims through the air. The Raven trails behind us like a puppy following an older dog through the yard. The sky’s clear and the mountains extend forever. We glide past a sharp, snow-dusted mountain peak.
“There it is.” Etch is eating something that looks like an enormous pickled spider.
Below us stretches a huge, orange-yellow lake, tendrils of steam rising from tiny, angry white caps. It’s impossible for me to gauge its size from our perch in the sky. The lake’s encircled by a wall of crumbled rock, as if it is tucked away in a giant pie crust.
“The lake is in the crater of a recent magma bubble. Look closer Amy.”
Etch drops the Fuerst lower and I can now see the waves and steam clearly. Between the humps of swirling water and sea foam, I see something else, difficult to process, but very real. There are stars in the bottom of the lake.
“A good pilot will be able to navigate the waves and find passage to many places.” Etch grins. “It is something to behold is it not?”
“How to navigate it, though? It seems so complex.”
Etch points to his head and then points to my forehead. “You know you can do it Amy Marksman. This is what you were born to do.”
The Fuerst and Raven proceed to the north bank of the great lake. On the edge is a large village with lumbering stone walls. At turrets along the walls, men and women with a mix of leather armor and Institute-issue clothes point at us. They carry swords and staffs – no rifles or other weapons are apparent. There’s no telling how long the Phobos has been in contact with them. But obviously some trade has occurred. I hope that they don’t have stronger weapons at their disposal.
Etch lands the Fuerst at a cozy clearing on the edge of the walled town. The Raven sets down nearby. A group of villagers approaches the ships as we climb down. I recognize one of the men in the lead – Wenn. He’s smiling and waving at us. I look at Theo nervously, while Theo rushes forward and embraces his friend as if nothing happened between him and me.
“Well, I’m thankful to see you.” Wenn hugs me tightly. “We were afraid that you were FRT ships. Captain Leo warned us that they’d come and destroy us. They want the portal – the lake - to themselves.”
Etch and Minns introduce themselves as we walk toward the city’s main gate. An odd looking metal fence with a yellowish hue surrounds the entire stoned edifice.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Fromer had us build it. It keeps the things from the fog from getting into the town. We use the same material in our weapo
ns. He pats his scabbard. So far, the fence seems to work for the town. No more ghouls or ghosts roaming the streets at night. The open coast - well that’s another story.” His face goes dark, briefly revealing the Wenn we saw at the lodge. “No one travels alone out there during the night. You won’t come back, alive that is.”
“Eliza?” I gaze at him hopefully.
His face falls into darkness again. “No. We need to talk. But first, let’s get you comfortable and safe. Did you all see Leo?”
We exchange worried glances. Etch speaks. “Leo tells us to give you his best. We are in command for now until Institute reinforcements arrive.”
Wenn nods in approval.
Yellow Stone is a city built for battle. An inner wooden wall protects the tiny houses. Strange weapons that Wenn calls catapults face the outer cobbled walls. The smell of grilling meat permeates the sulfuric stench wafting off the lake. I wrinkle my nose. “You get used to the smell,” Wenn laughs.
We settle into our modest dwelling near the central city square. A life-sized, bronzed statue of Fromer stands among newly blossomed daisies and black-eyed wildflowers. I groan in disbelief. Etch chuckles.
Wenn has arranged a feast for us. Etch eats heartily, while the rest of us pick at our meal. Theo sets down a mug of grape wine and wipes purple froth from his mouth. “Wenn, you must tell us how you arrived here.”
“I expected you to ask. I thought I’d better get a few pints in me before telling my story. The day after leaving camp, I knew I’d made a mistake. I’m man enough to admit it. I slipped down the hill and picked up Thresh’s trail. Not such a hard task given how sloppy she and her beasts be. The weather got worse and I thought I’d surely perish from exposure. However, I managed to find a small empty town, where I hunkered down and waited out the storm.”
I rise and pour him another glass from a cask. He touches my rear – not so subtly. This time, Theo notices.
“Thanks Amy, my dear. Once the snow cleared, I started tracking again. Figured the weather would slow the woman as much as me. Sure enough, I picked up a fresh trail fairly quickly. Then, I found the village. Twas awful, it was.” His eyes grow vacant.