The Planetsider

by G J Ogden

  “There will be more coming,” Diana said, handing Ethan the metal bar. “Here, perhaps you’ll be more useful with this.”

  Ethan took it and handed her back the pistol. “How long until you’re done?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, perhaps another ten minutes,” she said. “Our response force won’t get here in time, not with the docking ring on emergency lock-down. The doors are automatically sealed in case of a hull breach and it will take them perhaps twenty minutes to override. You will have to buy me more time, Ethan!”

  Ethan gripped the bar. It felt familiar and comforting, like he was fighting on his terms, finally. He moved over to the door, and glanced outside. Two more soldiers were approaching. “Be ready,” he said to Diana. She nodded and tried to take as much cover as possible, while still working on the console.

  Ethan closed his eyes and listened to the footsteps approaching, gauging their speed and distance. They would not be expecting a melee, and would not be expecting someone to be standing so close behind the door. That would give him the early advantage, or at least that's what he hoped. When they were almost on him, he took a deep breath, opened his eyes and swung hard, striking the first soldier cleanly in the throat, crushing the windpipe instantly. The second reacted more quickly and skilfully dodged Ethan’s follow-up. It raised its weapon but Ethan smashed it from the soldier’s grip, sending it to the floor in shattered pieces. Ethan stepped to the side and lunged, but the soldier deftly evaded the move and delivered a hard kick to Ethan's ribs, knocking him backward. A second kick from the soldier forced Ethan to drop the bar. Pressing the advantage the solider attacked again, but Ethan blocked it, and landed a hard punch to the side. The soldier groaned and stumbled backwards, rebounding off the dark glass wall. Ethan landed a swift follow-up to the head sending the soldier down, its face mask falling off as its helmeted head hit the floor with a sharp clunk. Dazed, the soldier scrambled forward and pulled a pistol from the belt of its fallen companion. Ethan froze as the barrel was raised towards his head. The soldier moved forward, weapon outstretched. A sliver of light from the open doorway illuminated its face and Ethan's heart almost stopped beating.

  “Sal?” Maria Salus said nothing, but kept the weapon aimed at Ethan’s head.

  “Ethan?” said Maria, astonished to see Ethan standing in front of her. “Is it really you?”

  Ethan dropped his guard and stood looking at her, overwhelmed by a cocktail of emotions: a nauseating pain at the confirmation of Maria’s lies; furious anger at the crimes she was now committing; all mixed with an instinctive, bitter-sweet joy at seeing her again, alive and well. He shook his head. “It was all a lie,” he said despairingly, still struggling to believe it could be true. “Everything you told me... us... it was all lies.”

  Maria's mouth hung slightly open, as if trying to speak. Her face appeared pale, drained of blood. The weapon in her hand trembled uncontrollably.

  “Ethan, what are you doing? Stop her!” shouted Diana from across the room. She was aiming the pistol towards Maria, but Ethan was standing between them, preventing a clean shot.

  Maria instinctively shifted her aim in the direction of Diana’s voice, but her hand was still shaking, and she could not take her eyes of Ethan.

  Ethan did not hear Diana’s cries. He could no longer hear the gunfire, the screams, or the sirens; everything but Maria had been blocked out. “You lied to me,” he said, the words still sounding alien and unbelievable.

  Maria stared back at him, an almost stupefied look on her face. She lowered the weapon to her side, but still no words came. Ethan had thought a lot about what he might say to Maria, if they ever met again, but in truth, he had never expected to. Now that she was here, these rational thoughts and questions were simply overshadowed by the anger that was swelling inside him. “You lied to me!” He was shouting now, willing Maria to respond, to offer a defence or at least an explanation. Even another lie would be better than silence. Maria looked deeply uncomfortable and confused. The weapon remained at her side, but her other hand was now clasped over her mouth, while her eyes stared blankly back at him. “Say something!” Ethan continued, now closing the gap between them. “Another lie, I don't care, but say something!”

  Ethan’s advance jolted Maria into action. She stepped back, raising the weapon again. “Keep back, Ethan, please!” she urged, her voice shaky and unsure.

  But Ethan was not afraid and would not be pushed away. “I gave up everything for you,” he said, continuing to advance towards Maria. “You told me you would die!”

  “Ethan, please…” said Maria, on the verge of tears.

  “You used me,” he said ignoring her pleas. “I love you, Sal. And you just used me.”

  “Ethan stop, please!” implored Maria again. She dropped the weapon to the floor and clasped both hands to her face, trying to force back tears that were now freely flowing down her cheeks.

  “You made me fall in love with you, and then you used me,” said Ethan again, now almost face to face with Maria. Saying the words out loud suddenly made them more real, and more terrible. He fought back tears of his own. “And for what, Sal?” he continued, voice shaking. “So you can murder these people. Is that it? Is that all this was for? Is that all I was to you?” He fell to his knees and begged her. “Tell me I’m wrong, please!”

  Diana rushed out from behind the console and aimed the pistol at Maria, but neither Maria nor Ethan reacted to her, remaining fixed on each other.

  “It wasn’t all lies, Ethan,” Maria sobbed. “I tried to tell you. Before the attack, before I got hurt. I tried to tell you that this was real, that we were real, don't you remember?”

  Ethan laughed. “What, that you love me too?” he said. “You expect me to believe that, after all you’ve done?”

  Maria wiped her face with the backs of her hands, and used all of her military discipline to compose herself. “Yes, I lied,” she said, more calmly. “Our mission was to retrieve a Planetsider, and convince him or her to believe in our cause, so we could retrieve the ship and put an end to this war.”

  “I told you, Ethan,” said Diana, bitterly. “They are all the same, and they will never change! We don’t have time for this; we have to destroy that ship, before they take it and kill us all!”

  Maria glanced at Diana contemptuously, but then returned her attention to Ethan. “So yes, I used you. I used you because that was my mission,” she said, her emotions now more under control. “But I swear to you now that not everything was a lie,” Ethan laughed again and shook his head, refusing to hear her. “Ethan, it’s the truth!” said Maria, almost shouting. “My feelings for you are real. That wasn't part of the plan. And my parents were killed, just as I described to you, by a GPS attack,” And then she looked again at Diana and added with venom, “Killed by these people who claim to be so innocent!”

  “Ethan, that was a long time ago,” Diana cut in. “I want to end this stupid war, they only want to kill us!”

  Maria continued to glare at Diana, anger swelling in her gut, “You are not blameless!” she shouted. “It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t your order, or even that it was your ignorant, idiot father’s order that killed them, we’ve both done terrible things.”

  “My father was as stupid as your pompous idiot, Archer,” said Diana, savagely.

  “That doesn’t excuse what he did,” said Maria, with matching venom.

  “I don’t make excuses for him!” Diana hit back. “It’s because of what he did - who he was - that I’m trying to change things, for the better. I am not my father, but you people, you just want to continue down the same path, making the same foolish mistakes, again and again.”

  “Both sides are to blame for continuing this war,” countered Maria.

  “In the past, yes. But this is now, and I want to end it, without any more killing,” asserted Diana, “and we still can. The question is, what do you want, Captain Salus?”

  “I want an end to this too!” said Maria, despera
tely. “But we've no reason to trust you, just as you have no reason to trust us. For all I know, you want that ship to blow up the moon base!”

  “That’s Archer talking!” Diana replied, scornfully. “His paranoia, ignorance and hatred pollutes and blinds you. I have tried to reason with him, tried to make him see that we can end this peacefully, but he will not listen. He does not want to!”

  Maria appeared to be taken aback at this last statement. “You two are in contact?”

  “Yes,” said Diana firmly, lowering her weapon. “Clearly, there is much he doesn’t trust you to know. He has twisted your mind, made you believe there is no other option but war, no choice but to destroy your enemy. Well here I stand, Captain Salus. What do you see?”

  Maria’s eyes remained locked on Diana’s, probing for any hint of a lie, any suggestion of deceit, but there was none. From Diana she felt a purity of purpose that she had once felt too, but the Planetsider mission, and the web of lies it had required her to weave, had eroded her conviction. And now, with Ethan again standing before her, alongside the woman who was supposed to be her enemy, she felt the last of this conviction crumble to nothing. Everything she had believed was now called into question.

  “Say I believe you,” Maria said, cautiously, “say I want to help you end this... what happens next?”

  Diana’s eyes lit up and she was about to respond, but Ethan spoke first, catching both of them by surprise.

  “Send me back to the planet,” he said, calmly. Diana and Maria both looked at him, confused.

  “Send me back, alone,” he continued, “then you will have to settle your differences without resorting to mass murder. Without that ship, you'll have no choice.”

  Diana raced across to Ethan. “No, let me come with you, please!” she begged.

  Ethan, reached out and held her shoulders. “You will only bring the war down to the planet,” he said. “Your people need you here. They need your compassion, and your foolish dreams.”

  “It’s true,” said Maria. “Archer will never stop pursuing you. Even on the planet. He'll follow you down there if he has to.”

  Diana backed away from Ethan shaking her head. “No, please, I have had enough of fighting.”

  “They need your strength, Diana,” said Ethan. “You can find a way to end this war, peacefully. And then perhaps one day you can come home.” He looked over to Maria. “You can all come home.”

  Maria stared into Ethan’s soft brown eyes and smiled, and in that moment he recognised once again the Maria Salus that he had fallen in love with.

  The sound of gunfire from the lower level sharply focused all their attention. As it died away they stood, silently, listening for an indication of approaching soldiers.

  “I will help you,” said Maria, breaking the silence.

  “How?” asked Ethan.

  “I will help you take the ship back to the planet. I will help send you home.” Diana looked at Ethan, and then at Maria, and there was silent agreement.

  “We have very little time,” said Diana. “Can you get him onto the ship?”

  “Yes,” said Maria, resolutely.

  “Then go,” said Diana. “I will upload the program from here and try to get you as close as I can.”

  Ethan didn’t understand. “As close as you can to what?” he asked.

  “To your settlement, of course,” said Diana. “To your home.” Diana turned to Maria and handed her the weapon. Maria looked surprised to be offered it so freely, but took it from her, checked it and reloaded it with a magazine from her webbing. “Good luck,” Diana said.

  “To both of us,” replied Maria. She turned to Ethan. “Are you ready?”

  Ethan reached down and picked up the metal bar from the floor. “I’m ready.”

  Maria looked again at Diana. “Perhaps one day, we'll meet on better terms.”

  Diana smiled. “I did not expect such foolish dreams from the UEC.”

  Maria glanced at Ethan. “I've had some help in that regard.”

  Diana then turned to Ethan and said, “Till we meet again, Planetsider.”

  “Till we meet again,” he repeated, warmly, and they shook hands.

  Maria made her way to the doorway and crept outside, checking the walkway. “Clear,” she said, and Ethan closed in behind. “The ship is docked in quadrant two,” said Maria. “We have to get down those stairs, and across to the umbilical airlock, there.” She pointed to a circular, dark red doorway on the lower level. “There’s a second airlock at the other end of the tunnel,” she continued. “I get you inside, close the hatch, and your friend up there does the rest. Understood?”

  Ethan nodded, “Let’s go.”

  Maria stepped outside, staying as low as possible, and Ethan followed. There was still fighting on the lower level, and Ethan could see that some soldiers were also working room-to-room on the opposite side of the upper level. They reached the stairs and descended carefully. At the bottom, Maria held up her arm, hand clenched into a fist. Ethan stopped.

  “There are two at the dock controls,” she whispered to him. “Their mission is to bypass the launch controls.”

  “What do we do?” asked Ethan.

  “I’ll walk you over to them at gunpoint and tell them you’re my prisoner,” Maria said, confidently.

  “I wish I hadn’t asked,” Ethan replied.

  Maria smiled again, and looked into his eyes. “I missed you,” she said, softly.

  “Sal, let’s not do this now,” said Ethan, looking away.

  “We won’t have another chance,” said Maria. “I didn’t know you were still alive. They told me you were killed.”

  “Your friends are skilful liars,” said Ethan, “as are you.”

  Maria turned away. She thought about saying more, but Ethan was right, now was not the time. “When I tell you, step out in front of me,” she said. “And look scared, look like you’ve been roughed up or something.”

  “I’ll do my part,” said Ethan.

  Maria waited for a few seconds and then said, “Go!”

  Ethan stood up and stepped in front of Maria, holding the metal bar behind his back. He felt the barrel of the pistol between his shoulders, pressing him forward, and started walking towards the soldiers. His heart started to race as they noticed their approach, and raised their weapons at him. Then they noticed Maria.

  “Captain, sorry, I didn’t see you,” said the lead solider.

  “Prisoner,” she said. “It’s the Planetsider. Take him back there and bind him, ready for transport to the base”.

  “Yes sir,” the solider replied, smartly. He took something from his belt and advanced towards Ethan. Ethan waited until the solider was in range and then swung the bar solidly into his ribcage. He fell heavily to his knees, and Ethan struck him again in the head, knocking him out. At the same time Maria raised her weapon and shot the second solider in the chest twice. It was over in seconds.

  Maria looked around to see if their actions had drawn any attention. And then, from across the other side of the deck, she saw Major Kurren looking directly at them, weapon still held at the low-ready position. There was a pause of only a fraction of a second, though to Maria it felt like hours, before she saw him raise the weapon and charge towards them. “Let’s move!” she said, pushing Ethan roughly towards the doorway. The panel turned green almost as soon as they reached it, and the door slid open. “Your friend is still alive, it seems,” said Maria. “Come on!” They ran through the door, which closed automatically behind them, just as bullets ricocheted off it with piercing, metallic chimes. Moments later, Kurren reached the door and hammered on it with his fist. “Cutting team, on me, now!” he shouted, enraged, and soldiers responded instantly, rallying on his position. One unloaded and ignited a cutting torch and started immediately to slice through the metal hinges that held the door in place. Kurren impatiently watched on, his eyes burning hotter than the flame of the torch.

  Ethan and Maria ran down the curved, umbilical tunnel
that led to the warship. At the end of the tunnel was the hatch into the ship, which was closed. “Come on, come on!” said Maria, impatiently. Then she heard the thunderous hiss of the cutting torch, reverberating through the tunnel, and she knew time was short. Maria aimed her weapon down the tunnel and took a few steps towards the door that led back into the docking quadrant. She could see metal melting and dripping onto the deck. “They’re cutting through!” said Maria, alarmed.

  At that moment, the second umbilical hatch hissed and opened outwards, followed by the ship’s docking hatch, which swung inward. “Quickly, inside!” shouted Maria. Ethan almost fell through the opening. He recognised the huge central cavity of the vessel, and knew where to go. He ran up ahead, to the control area at the front of the vessel, with Maria close behind.

  A light was flashing on one of the panels. Maria walked over and flipped a switch nearby. A distant-sounding voice filled the cabin.

  “This is Diana. Is Ethan on board?”

  Maria responded. “Confirmed. Is the nav package loaded?”

  “Yes. Select ‘Nav Package, Planetside One’. The ship will do the rest.”

  “Understood, selecting ‘Nav Package, Planetside One’ now,” Maria handled the controls swiftly and expertly. The ship began to vibrate as the engine power started to increase. “It’s done,” said Maria. “The ship is ready to launch.”

  The comlink crackled back on. There was shouting in the background. “Good luck, Planetside One,” said Diana, and then the sound of gunfire crackled sharply through the cabin speakers, and the comlink went dead.