by Ryan Kirk
“But what if they had encountered a level of technology equal to their own? It’s hard to answer such a question, but we have to imagine the era of colonization would have looked much different.
“I propose that we give Tev’s people our level of technology. Fleet wants them to pilot the exosuits? Fine. Let’s train them to be the best exosuit pilots the galaxy has seen. Then they have the strength to negotiate a better deal with Fleet.”
There was silence around the table as everyone considered Kindra’s argument, weighing it against their own beliefs and plans. Derreck made the logical leaps first. “At some point in time, your plan means that we might need to choose sides.”
“Possibly. I still hold out hope that Fleet will be wise and we won’t have to. But yes, if the conflict goes so far, I would ask us to choose a side, and to fight against Fleet.”
Derreck looked to Tev. “What would your people think? Would they adopt our technology to protect themselves?”
Tev’s answer was certain. “We don’t always welcome new ways. But if this is a matter of survival, and given enough time, I will convince them. I have no doubt we will adopt your technology.”
Derreck nodded and scanned the rest of the room. “This has to be unanimous. I don’t think I need to underline the consequences of this decision.”
Surprisingly, it was Alston who spoke first. “The way I see it, we’re just following Fleet’s orders.” He smiled at his own joke.
Eleta looked carefully at Tev and at Kindra. “It’s the right thing to do. I’m in, too.”
Derreck grinned. “So be it. As planned, we’ll load up the Vigilance with every remaining exosuit and start training Tev’s people. Then we’ll wait and see how Fleet responds. If the worst should happen, we can use Vigilance for orbital defense, but we can all hope it never goes that far. But we will protect Tev’s people and his planet.”
The meeting disbanded, and Kindra felt proud. Proud of her service, proud of her actions, and proud to be part of the crew of the Vigilance. Tev’s people would be protected, and Fleet would do right by them. She chose to believe in that future.
Tev stood on the observation deck of the Vigilance. Off in the distance, a large dot grew slowly as they approached his home planet. He fought the urge to scratch the itch of the cast his arm was in. Kindra had tried to explain their technology to him, but all he needed to know was that if he left it on, his arm would be healed.
There hadn’t been any combat since the jump that Tev lived through. They hadn’t seen any more signs of Hellbringer, even though they hadn’t destroyed it. Derreck told Tev they thought that perhaps they had killed too many of the rebel ship’s pilots. They knew it was still out there, but it was in hiding for now. Destiny patrolled the jump points, waiting for a sign of the rebellion ship.
On board the Vigilance were all but four of the exosuits Destiny had brought along. The suits were a symbol of the transition coming to Tev’s people, whether they desired it or not. Tev’s clan, and all the others, were about to be thrown into the future.
Tev didn’t care about any of that. There would be a time where it would become his focus, but not yet. He could only think about the jump. Kindra, of course, had been obsessed by what had happened. Few people ever kept their sanity through a jump, and to her knowledge, never before had it happened when a full biology lab had been so close at hand. Kindra had run him through more tests than he had thought possible. He had been poked and scanned more times than he ever wanted.
Kindra had been fascinated, and she had told him about some of her theories, but Tev didn’t pay attention. His mind was in other places.
The soft hiss of the door announced someone’s entrance, and Tev could tell from the steady footsteps that it was Derreck.
“Kindra told me you’d been up here for hours.”
Tev looked over at Derreck. If there was anyone on this ship who would understand him, it would be the captain. But he wasn’t sure what he had seen was something he should share.
Together they looked at the planet as it approached. It had been years of travel, and Tev wondered what was in store for him when they returned.
Derreck seemed to read his thoughts. “Are you nervous?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve done a lot for us, Tev. I don’t know what will happen when we land, but I want you to know that you always have a home here, no matter what.”
Tev nodded his appreciation, but that wasn’t what he was concerned about, and Derreck seemed to pick up on it.
After a long time, Derreck spoke. “It changes you.”
Tev knew Derreck was speaking about living through a jump. Kindra had told him that Derreck had lived through one earlier. He nodded.
“When it happened to me, I thought my soul had been torn from my body. I’m not spiritual, but I didn’t have any other language to describe it. I don’t know how you came through as well as you did, but I know I came through different. It was as though I was stripped of everything. There was no place to hide. I could only be me, and nothing else.”
Derreck paused and looked at Tev. “Does that make sense?”
Tev nodded. He understood how Derreck felt, and he saw Derreck’s shoulders lift, as though a burden had been lifted from them.
“Do you want to talk about what you saw?”
A part of Tev wanted nothing more. He wanted to share his vision with someone, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Not today.”
Derreck nodded. He was about to turn around, but Tev softly put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Was it real? What I saw?”
Derreck shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’ve explored a lot of space, and every day I learn about just how little I am sure of. What’s real is what we say is real.”
Tev took a deep breath. It was hard to find balance, out here in the black. But he had a clan who would help light the way.
After everything that had happened, landing back on his home planet seemed almost anticlimactic. There was no danger, no combat or risks necessary. The Vigilance landed in the same place it had landed two years ago, and after the required safety checks, Tev almost ran out of the ship to touch feet on his home planet again.
It all came crashing back to him. The sights, the sounds, and the smells. It was the smells he missed the most. The fresh scent of the trees, a hint of moisture in the air hinting at a storm that had just passed. He stripped off the moccasins he wore around the ship, digging his toes into the soft dirt.
They had spoken at length of what to do upon arrival, and although it pained Tev, they had decided it was best to wait for the people to come to them. Derreck had burned long and hard on reentry, and so anybody should have been able to see them come in. It would take them some time to come to the ship, but Tev estimated it would be no more than four or five days before they received a visitor.
For the first time in years, Tev made fire on his own and sat around it, surrounded by a new clan. He was surprised to find that even here, back home, his thoughts had changed. Kindra, Derreck, Eleta, and Alston were now his clan. He wasn’t sure if that meant his first clan wasn’t his anymore, but he didn’t dwell on negative thoughts. It was good to be back.
That night Tev cooked food from the ship over the fire for them. The evening was, as all things had been in his life recently, a strange mixture. The food of the aliens over the fire of home. They ate and spoke, Vigilance’s sensors watching over them.
As the sun set, the rest of the crew retreated to the ship to sleep for the night. Tev went back in with them, but he went to his bunk and pulled out his old kit. He always kept his knives sharp, but so much else had been unused since he left. He took it all back out and made camp, watching the stars that made up Lys spin lazily over his head.
After five days, Tev started to get anxious. The rest of the crew were running experiments, their time filled with activity, but Tev had none of that. He had covered the surrounding ground time and time again. Derreck had suggested he wear his suit,
mostly patched up from the battle wounds, but Tev refused. Not here, not when his people could come out of the woods at any time.
That night, Tev sat around the fire alone, whittling sticks. Off in the woods upwind and in front of him, he heard a twig snap, and his senses instantly became alert. He didn’t react, forcing himself to whittle as though nothing had happened. He sniffed the air, and there they were, careless.
It was too easy. It was a trap. Tev stood up and pulled a small pistol from his waistband, finding the target he knew would be there about fifteen paces behind him. It was Xan, as deadly and graceful as ever.
Out of the woods a voice called to him, a voice Tev had worried he would never hear again. “I told you that he wouldn’t let himself get soft.” It was Neera.
Tev didn’t dare take his eyes off Xan. The hunter smiled and laughed. “I guess you’re right, again.”
Certain that he wasn’t in any danger, Tev put the gun back in his waistband.
He turned around to see Neera step out of the trees. She was two years older, but she was still beautiful. Holding her hand was a small boy, who looked unmistakably like her. Tev squinted. Not just her. Her and Xan. His heart sank, his dreams of her waiting for him dashed for good. But he forced a smile on his face. He wouldn’t let sorrow ruin this reunion.
Neera returned his smile. “Welcome home, Tev.”
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