by Drew Avera
Laurel took a deep breath and answered. "No, I don't, but we have to try."
Chapter 19
It was settled then. Kara, Laurel and I would make the trek back to Mars, if we were able to secure a ride on a transport back. Laurel was more than certain Captain Fillon would be willing to take us. Now it was a fight against time for us to make it back.
"I would love to go with you," Harris said. It was the first thing he had said this morning after we had decided to leave the day before.
"What about your people? You're their leader, don't you think after what we've done, Midican will need you in case of retaliation?" I asked.
His lips tightened as he stood stoic and silent.
"Serus has a point," Gena said. "They have a responsibility to their people and so do you."
Harris made an agitated groan and stepped out of the kitchen area. I watched Kara follow him before I spoke. "Thank you for your help the other night. How is Ben holding up?" I asked.
"He's recovering well. The Serum wore off and I needed to give him a sedative, but I think he'll be able to walk on it in a few days. Ben is a strong man. He's also very proud, so I don't see him being laid up for too long." She smiled as she brought a cup of coffee to her lips. I could read the adoration in her eyes. Gena was a strong woman and seemed to be a very compatible person for Ben.
"I imagine you're right," I said, before our conversation was interrupted with the sound of Kara and Harris arguing in the hallway. I could tell they were trying to control the volume of their voices through tight lips, but the forced words had enough bite to them to cut through the wall for us to hear. I stared at the empty wall, glaring at where I thought Harris was standing, urging him to back off at least a little. Kara's tone did little to disarm him though.
Gena lowered the cup to the table and chuckled. "He is quite smitten by her," she said with a smile.
"I think you're right," I replied. There was no doubt in my mind they liked each other, but the recent arguing was growing tiresome and I wondered how much more their young relationship could take.
"Don't sound so defeated," Laurel said. "Kara is old enough to make her own decisions."
"I know that," I said, leaning back in my chair. "By the sounds of it, someone isn't caring for her decision at the moment."
Laurel smiled at my comment, probably reflecting back on past arguments we shared before I was recruited into The Agency. It felt like such a long time, but it was only seven years ago when I received the news. My life was turned upside down; both of my parents were dead, Kara was left alone, and my relationship with Laurel was put to an end. I carried enough hatred into my training to have fueled one of the nuclear reactors feeding the artificial atmosphere. The only thing to calm me down was the programming. It turned my drive against me and I became their puppet. I became a killer.
"Harris is a lot like you, Serus," Gena said, snapping me out of my thoughts about my dark past. "He is a strong leader, but he tends to question himself a lot. I think Kara sees a lot of you in him. You shouldn't feel threatened by it."
What was this? I felt like I was being lectured by two women who thought I didn't understand how Kara felt. I imagined it was a lot like I felt for Laurel. Love had a crazy way of breaking down barriers. I had proof of that by overcoming the programming performed on me by The Agency. I could barely feel the pull of its effect anymore. Not that I missed it. "I'm not threatened by it," I said.
"Ha! Keep telling yourself that," Laurel snapped. She and Gena were both grinning ear to ear and Gena almost spilled her coffee before setting the cup on the table.
Maybe she was right. Maybe I was threatened by Harris, but the truth was that I did want Kara to be happy. And I knew that in order for her to be so, she had to make her own decisions. Based on the argument I heard in the hallway, it was time Harris learned that, too, if he wanted to have a future with her.
Chapter 20
Kara walked back into the kitchen, eyes moist and face flushed. I noticed something in that moment. She was conflicted in much the same way I was by the programming. She was torn between what the heart wanted and what was the most logical thing to do. I wondered if perhaps the struggle was worse than anything I had to endure. The programming used to control me and settle me down when I felt conflicted, but Kara had to bear the good and the bad with her decisions.
"Are you all right?" Laurel asked.
Their relationship was growing more sisterly as time went on and she felt more comfortable confronting Kara than I did. It was hard to determine what was to blame for that. She was my sister and I should be more emotionally vested in her feelings. Still, something inside of me screamed to bite my tongue or else I would make things worse. I struggled to obey that little voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a misunderstanding," she said. She moved over to the table to sit across from me, holding her head in her hands. She looked exhausted and it was no wonder why.
"Look, Kara."
"No," she cut me off. "I don't want to hear it. Let's just do what we've set up to do and go find a transport home," Kara said.
I nodded silently as I looked over at Laurel, blushing as I did so. I could see she had at least a little resentment towards me and how I had handled things with her and Harris when they first met. I wanted to tell her I was over that and wanted to see her happy, but I knew she didn't want to deal with any of that now. Who knew when she would be ready to discuss it again?
"Captain Fillon should still be at the transport we came in on. They were given orders to stand by in case the area was hostile," Laurel said. "The crew should be standing by as well ,and prepping for emergency evacuation, should the need arise."
"Well, things are hostile and it's only going to get worse with members of The Syndicate mingling with Harris' uncle in Faracon," I said. It was nerve racking to think about what would happen once we left, but we owed it to the people back home to try and save our planet. We could always come back and fight if we needed to. I just hoped it never came to that.
"We should get going," Kara said, as she grudgingly stood up from the table. She pulled a few loose strands of hair out of her face and wiped away what looked like tears. She was putting on a brave face, but one that wore its hurt on the outside.
"Do you want to wait for Harris?" Gena asked, breaking her silence since Kara entered the room. She still held the half-empty coffee mug in her cupped hands just high enough to keep it from touching the hardwood table.
"No, he said his piece. I think it's best to go ahead and start our return trip. Can you lead us back, Gena?" Kara replied.
"Of course. Just let me check on Ben before we go." Gena stood up from the table and placed the coffee cup down. The gentle contact of the porcelain against the wood hardly made a sound. She walked out of the kitchen and I could see Harris' shadow against the wall before the door closed on itself. He had been there listening to us, but Kara didn't see him. Laurel gripped my hand tightly in her own letting me know she saw the same thing I did.
"All right then," Kara said, as she walked in the opposite direction to go outside. I could hear her mumbling something under her breath, but I didn't think I wanted to know what it was. The kitchen was left in an awkward silence as Laurel and I sat there. Harris was on one side of the door and I could see Kara stretching her legs in the morning sun just outside the window. They both needed their space, but it was a shame to leave things the way they were.
"Should we say something?" Laurel whispered.
I turned to look at her and noticed a small tear forming in the corner of her eye. I brushed it away with my finger and just smiled, not knowing what to say, but knowing what needed to be done. It was a hard choice for anyone to make, but Kara had done it. We had to go to Mars and try to save the population of an entire world. I just didn't want it to tear her heart out in the process.
Chapter 21
"How long do you suspect the return trip will be?" Gena asked as she stepped over a small stream. The small
rush of cool water reflected the sunlight enough to be blinding to look at.
"I'm not sure, but I imagine at least six months," Kara replied. She was polite, but kept the conversation short.
"Do you think you can save your home?" Gena asked. She was really putting in the effort to keep Kara talking. Her tone was neutral and soothing in my opinion, but I didn't know if Kara would be receptive of it.
"I think we can if we get there in time. It would be easier without such a long trip. Maybe we will luck out and establish contact after we launch." Kara ran her hand through her hair and wiped sweat from her brow. The walk through the woods was a challenge, but the easier walk on the open road left us susceptible to an attack. We didn't have time to thwart an enemy when so many lives were at stake back home.
The conversation stalled after that, and we just followed Gena until the woods opened up into a clearing, and we could see the transport we had ridden in on. Under a bright yellow sun, the transport looked enormous. The metal exterior wasn't all the same color and I could tell that it must have been very old for the paint to be so discolored. Maybe the particles in space had worn some of it away. The most shocking thing I noticed was the globe shaped insignia which read "Property of The Syndicate." The transports were part of a privately owned corporation, which of course had its ties with The Syndicate, but hardly ever did you see tagging like this. I kept my mouth shut about it as we continued walking towards it.
The cargo door was down and we saw some of the crewmen standing outside. The transport provided pretty good shade as we stepped underneath it. "We are looking for Captain Fillon," I said.
The men looked up and one of them spoke. "He's in his cabin, sir. If you'll excuse me, I'll go and get him." He jogged up the cargo door and left us alone with his friend.
"Have you gentlemen been busy since we landed?" Laurel asked.
"No. It's almost been a vacation, actually," he said. "My name is Keif."
He extended his hand for a handshake, which I took. He had a firm grip and it reminded me of the first time I shook Harris' hand. Keif's face was smooth and his hair was slicked back. The gray coverall he was wearing had very little residue on it from maintaining the transport, which made me wonder if the vacation he had mentioned was actually true.
"How can I help you, Serus?" A voice caught my attention.
I looked up and there Captain Fillon stood with a smile on his face. His hand rested on the handrail on the cargo bay door as he looked down at us. There was a wide smile on his face, and like the rest of the men, he seemed happy to see us.
"We need a ride back to Mars," Kara said before I had the chance to.
If I didn't know what she was going through, I would have thought she sounded rude. I hoped Captain Fillon didn't take it that way. There was a small moment of silence as Keif and Captain Fillon looked at each other with widened eyes and the slightest hint of a smile.
"We're going back? Excellent," he said. "When do we leave?"
I exhaled the air from my lungs I had been holding in waiting for a response. I was relieved to find him so receptive to a return trip. To do so would be disobeying orders from The Syndicate, something no citizen took lightly back home. But things were different now. The world as we knew it was over and if we wanted to save our home, then we needed to act against the norm.
"How soon can you have us airborne?" Kara asked.
Captain Fillon smiled. "Now we're talking. Keif, get a crew together to perform preflight checks. We're leaving this rock behind and going home." He walked down the cargo bay door and stood in front of Kara. "Give my men an hour, and we can launch."
Chapter 22
"So, you want us to take you back based on a theory you might be able to save the atmosphere?" One of the men asked. He was an older captain, with gray hair and just a few strands of red hair in his beard. He stepped closer to the center of the room, and I noticed he had a limp. "We were told there was nothing that could be done, and here you are, trying to send us back with a half-cocked idea relying on centuries-old technology. This is a fool's errand. I'm sorry to those of you with families back on Mars, but based on what The Syndicate has told us, there is nothing to go back to."
"It's a bit more than a theory, Captain," Kara said. "I'm a scientist who has worked on the atmospheric technology before. I know some chemists and physicists back home who are brilliant and together we can save our home. We just need to be able to get there in order to do anything to help."
"That sounds nice, young lady, it really does, but we would be taking a huge risk by going back. What if your calculations were wrong and the planet is already dead? We wouldn't survive reentry to refuel and come back. The risk isn't worth it," he said.
"Wait a minute, Cullen. It's not fair to just turn our backs. The Syndicate brought us here without our families, and you mean to tell me you would refuse to go back for them? What Ms. Blackwell is saying is that if the atmosphere cannot be repaired, we would then rescue as many citizens as possible. We could potentially bring thousands of refugees back with us. You don't think it's worth the risk in order to save our loved ones?"
Captain Cullen stood there with his arms crossed, and I could see tears begin to trickle down his face. His breathing was heavy and his eyes shot to each person standing in the room, reading our expressions to see how committed we were to our cause. "I'm sorry. You're right. I do want to save my family. I'm just scared of what we might find," he said. Captain Cullen's shoulders began to shake as he pushed down sobs before turning away from us.
Laurel placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Kara is brilliant; she will find a way to save them all. I know it." Captain Cullen didn't respond, but I could hear a long exhale from him as he tried to compose himself. I imagined he was more than a little embarrassed by his reaction. He was emotional and stressed out, much like most of the people in this room.
Kara turned to me and I could see by the look in her eyes she was worried. "Laurel is right," I said. "But we don't have time to waste arguing about it. We need to start our return trip now. Are you with us or not?" I asked. Each captain nodded their heads in agreement.
Captain Cullen turned to face us finally and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Yes, Mr. Blackwell. I believe I'm with you," he said. A relieved smile stretched across his lips and his eyes showed more than an ounce of hope. I extended my hand to him to shake and he took it in a firm grip. His hand was still moist from wiping away his tears, but I didn't mind.
Captain Fillon rose from his seat. "You heard the man. Let’s prepare for launch!"
Chapter 23
We stood outside as final preparations were made for the launch. It was already past noon, and Captain Fillon had assured us we would be taking off by mid-afternoon. We sat quietly and watched the crewmen perform a preflight inspection on the transport when we heard a voice.
"Kara!" It was a man's voice.
We looked over to see Harris jogging in our direction. His shirt was soaked with sweat, as if he had run the whole way from Midican. His eyes were staring straight at Kara as he approached.
"What's he doing here?" Kara asked to no one in particular. She placed her hands on her hips and stood watching him.
"Maybe he felt bad for how things ended before we left," Laurel said.
I could feel the palms of my hands sweat under the heat and the anxiety of the imminent argument which was likely to happen. I knew Kara; she had already said her piece. I didn't imagine she wanted to repeat herself now.
"Kara, I just wanted to apologize. I know you want to help save your home and it’s very selfless of you to risk danger for other people. I was just scared of losing you and didn't know how to handle it. When the talk of returning to Mars started, I was just reacting out of fear and not thinking clearly. I'm sorry." Harris spoke very quickly and I could see he was out of breath from running the whole way. Still, he choked down air between sentences and stood facing Kara with an intense gaze.
Kara stood and
eyed him, measuring him up, I assumed. A long time passed before she finally spoke and I thought Harris might fall over exhausted before she broke her silence.
"You know, I don't tolerate selfishness in a relationship. I had my heart broken by the way Serus was changed after The Agency got hold of him. He went from a loving brother who was protective to become a distant, almost robotic person. I knew it wasn't his fault; whatever they had done to him had caused the change. That put a wedge between us for a long time and I'm still healing from it. I like the protector I see in you, Harris, but I don't want to be made to feel ashamed because I want to do the right thing. I've learned a lot about myself over the last year, and I refuse to sit idly by when I can be an instrument for positive change. Can you understand that?" she asked.
Harris stood there in front of Kara, and I could only imagine what he was thinking. I felt the sting of her words even though they weren't directed at me.
"I do, now. I'm sorry. It won't happen again," he said. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and it wasn't hard to imagine his legs were groaning and cramping from his run.
Kara smiled. "It better not," she said before throwing herself into his arms and kissing him. The kiss lasted longer than I was comfortable watching, and I turned away, blushing. I noticed a snicker coming from Gena. Both Gena and Laurel made faces at me mockingly and I felt embarrassed, which was never a good feeling.
"Well, I hate to interrupt a little romance, but this transport is about to be airborne," Captain Fillon said from above us. I looked up to see him leaning over the chain linked railing along the cargo bay door. "Last call for Mars, ladies and gentlemen." Captain Fillon left us to say our goodbyes just as quickly as he had arrived.
"I guess this is it," Harris said.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Kara replied, as she pulled away slowly.