Planerbound

by neetha Napew

  “She's an unhappy woman -- despite her success. She's searching for something -- for what you and Sukiko have.”

  “Are you searching, too?” He caressed her face with the backs of his fingers. “Andra, I'd like it if you'd find some Sudalese to love you. You're beautiful and a beautiful persona. I'm sure someone in Sudal would love and cherish you. You could have whomever you wanted.”

  “I have no desire to be a kept woman. You're wrong, Nyk. I can't have the one man I truly want.”

  “Don't you harbor bitterness for what Zander did? It wasn't just him -- our society had a social contract with you and it was abrogated.”

  “I don't, Nyk.”

  “How can you not? You were destined for glamour on a far-away world.”

  “I was destined for right here. No, Nyk -- I'm not bitter. What's done is done. The past is a rock.”

  “The past is a rock?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “It sits there, immutable. We can't change it -- so why dwell on it? I believe each of us has a choice -- to enjoy the beautiful gift of life, or to harbor resentment. I chose the former. I owe it to you.”

  “To me?”

  “When we first met, you told me might-have-beens don't count. You're right -- they don't. I meditated on the truth of it, and I decided then and there to keep the past in the past -- and to get on with enjoying what life offers. I am happy here, working at the sea research center. I'll be happy for a lifetime.”

  “Don't you wonder? If Destiny's hand had unfolded the universe in a slightly different order -- you might be in a palace on a colony planet right now, hosting a state party.”

  “Or, I might've been on the staff of that brothel on T-Delta. Remember, might-have-beens don't count. I had my taste of life as a chancellor's consort during our adventure on Lexal. It's not easy -- as you and I discovered.”

  “What happened on Lexal was hardly typical.”

  “I am happy, Nyk -- and I owe you thanks for introducing me to Sudal and to the beauty of the sea.”

  * * *

  “Are you headed to the university today?” Nyk asked as he sipped his morning tea.

  “No. They're still repairing the research platform -- and, installing a redundant inertial sink. I have some reports to finish -- I can do them here.”

  “I thought as long as I'm stuck here, I'd do some improvements around the house. I thought it would be nice to have a set of steps leading from the bluff to the beach -- so we don't need to climb down the rocks.”

  “I don't mind climbing the rocks,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I was going to use a cutter beam to carve steps into the rock that forms the bluff. It was something my dad wanted to do.”

  “Carve steps in solid rock with a cutter beam? That'll take ages.”

  “I have plenty of time.” Nyk dumped his cup and tray into the waste reprocessor and headed to the workshop in the house's lower level. He placed the cutter beam and a faceplate onto a levitating pallet, activated the antigrav fields and dragged it to the bluff. He pressed a control on the handle to switch off the antigrav and the pallet settled onto the ground.

  After donning the faceplate, Nyk picked up the cutter beam and switched it on. Grasping each handle he pressed both triggers and began cutting an outline into the rock. He looked up and saw Andra, standing on the second level. She waved at him and turned toward the center of the house.

  Nyk set down the cutter and picked up a length of polymer fiber cord. He placed the butt of the cutter on the ground and looped the cord over one handle and across one of the triggers. With his right wrist positioned over the instrument's muzzle he pressed the other trigger with his left hand and stepped on the cord.

  “Yaahh!” he screamed. “Yaahh!” He ran toward the house, cradling his right arm in his left.

  Andra came running toward him. “What happened? Nykkyo, what happened?”

  “I was setting down the cutter and it discharged.”

  “Let me see.” She held his arm. A deep, circular hole was burned into his wrist.

  “It hurts, it hurts!”

  “I'll call Internal Affairs. They'll send a skimmer to take you to the clinic.” She helped him into the house and bid him lie on an upholstered bench. “The skimmer will be here shortly,” she said.

  He looked up into her face. A grey fog filled the periphery of his vision and spread toward the center.

  * * *

  Nyk looked up at the ceiling of a treatment room. He saw a man in hospital garb standing over him and looking down. His right arm was numb. “You're in shock,” the medic said. “You'll be all right. It's a nasty burn -- how did you do it?”

  “I was using a cutter beam. I set it down and it went off.”

  “You nearly burned a hole clean through. We're putting a team together to patch you up. You may lose some mobility in that wrist, but you'll be all right. We're putting a neural inducer on your head. It'll induce deep anesthesia until the surgeons are finished. Do you understand?” Nyk nodded. “We're switching on the inducer now...”

  “Nykkyo?” He awoke to someone calling his name. Four pale-blue eyes looked down on him and slowly merged into a pair. “Nykkyo, are you all right?”

  His right arm was encased from his elbow to his hand in a metallic sleeve. He couldn't feel his fingers. “Andra.”

  “I'm Dr Vonn.” A figure spoke to him from the other side of the therapeutic pallet. “I'll give you the good news first -- you will recover. You will lose some range-of-motion in that wrist. The device on your arm is an osteo growth stimulator, to encourage the formation of new bone tissue. We had to remove your metacarpal bone and replace it with a prosthetic. The stimulator will ensure the natural bone will fuse with it.”

  “My metacarpal bone?”

  “We also repaired the tendons you severed, and we have some synthetic skin covering the entrance wound. You'll need to wear the stimulator for about ten days. We'll discharge you tomorrow, and you can return to have the stimulator removed.”

  * * *

  Andra poured some green tea for Nyk. He sat, his right arm in a sling and sipped it with his left hand. “Senta's wrong about you,” she said, “except for one thing. You are clumsy. She's right about that.”

  “Thanks.”

  She threw her arms around him. “It's one of your more endearing traits.” She kissed his cheek. “The research platform has been repaired. I promised I'd collect some more bioluminescence specimens. Maybe you'd like to join me.”

  “I don't see why not.”

  “I was planning on spending the night on the platform. You might want to pack a case.”

  Nyk climbed into the groundcar. Andra closed the house and directed the groundcar to the research building on the coast. The car pulled up to a shed.

  “I see the shuttlecar's still here,” he said. “I wonder how long it'll take the Agency to realize it's missing.”

  Andra led him to the skimmer and piloted it toward the research platform. Soon the craft was speeding over open sea.

  “It wasn't an accident,” he said. “It was intentional.”

  “What was?”

  “The cutter beam. I did it on purpose.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “To destroy my personal ID chip. I don't need one here -- I can't do anything or go anywhere.”

  “Nyk, I've never heard of someone doing that. Why?”

  “Now, I'm invisible to agency enforcers -- they'll never find me. I must find my way to Earth. I promised Suki this planet won't hold me, and I'll return to her or die trying.”

  “How will you get to Earth?”

  “I don't know. I'm still working on that one.”

  Andra set the skimmer onto the deck of the research platform. She led Nyk through the hatch to the lab. “This was all lost and had to be replaced. Tonight, when they come to the surface we'll collect our specimens.”

  * * *

  Nyk stood on the research platform deck with his arm around An
dra. Night had fallen -- the Floran sky dazzled with stars and illuminated the platform to full-moon brightness. He looked up and spotted a bright white star with four dimmer companions tracing a lopsided rectangle in the sky. He pointed. “There -- that's where my korlyta is. Out here the sky is even more dazzling than at the Residence. The stars look close enough to touch. I think I can even see Earth's sun -- or maybe it's my imagination.”

  Andra pointed toward the sea. “Look -- they're coming to the surface.” A patch on the surface was faintly glowing purple. Nyk held Andra with his left arm and watched as the glow intensified. Other patches appeared. “Let's collect samples.”

  “How?”

  “I'll show you. Come.” She led him below deck and to a bulkhead. Behind a door was an inflatable launch with a box at its center. She placed clear polymer sample containers into the launch. “Come on,” she said.

  “I'd better not. I don't want to risk getting this gadget wet.” He patted the device on his arm. “I'll watch from the top.”

  Andra secured a foam belt around her waist and climbed into the launch. A press of her hand against a control sent it from its slip into the open sea.

  Nyk climbed to the deck and watched. The sea was calm, yet it undulated in metre-high swells. Andra steered the boat to the center of a glowing patch. She attached a container to a pole, poked it into the water and drew in a sample. The boat moved over another bright spot and she retrieved another sample.

  She extended the pole, stood and leaned over the side of the boat. “Andra!” Nyk shouted. “Don't lean over so far -- you'll capsize the boat!”

  She retrieved the sample and waved to him. “One more...” she said and poked the pole deep into the water. A swell rose athwart her and flipped the boat over.

  “Andra!” Nyk yelled. He watched as she struggled in the water. Her flotation belt kept her from sinking, but she was head-down in the water. She righted her self and held onto the launch. Nyk saw her cough and retch as she regained her breath. “Andra! Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” she yelled. “But everything went to the bottom.”

  “Can you flip the boat over?”

  “I don't think so.” She started attempting to kick the launch toward the platform, but a current was carrying her from it.

  Nyk popped open the door to the skimmer. He sat behind the controls and powered it up. With his hand on the unistick he lifted it from the deck and toward Andra's location. The craft went into station-keeping above her.

  He stood by the open door. “Climb onto the boat. When a swell comes along it might lift you enough so I can reach you.” She clambered onto the launch and stood. Nyk lay on his stomach and reached down with his left arm. A swell lifted the launch. Andra grasped for his hand but couldn't hold on. Another swell and she was just out of reach.

  “I'll drop it a little lower.”

  “The antigrav fields are repelling the launch,” she shouted. “Next swell I'll try jumping.” Andra watched the sea. A swell built and lifted the launch. She jumped and Nyk grasped her forearm. He began pushing backward. She grasped the sill of the door.

  “Hang on!” Nyk shouted. He leaned, grabbed the floatation belt and hauled her into the craft.

  Andra removed the belt and sat behind the skimmer controls. “Watch the boat. I'm going to try to push it toward the platform with the antigrav fields.”

  He looked out the open door. “To the left. Good -- just a little more.” The boat approached its slip. Andra set the skimmer on the deck and rushed below. With a pole she snagged the launch and pulled it into the platform.

  “Help me flop it over.” Nyk lifted and the boat was right-side up.

  “I don't like the idea of you going out by yourself. You should always have a partner.”

  She smiled. “I always do -- partner. Come, let's get those samples.”

  “You're going back out?”

  “Of course -- that's why we're here.”

  “I have a better idea -- grab that long pole.”

  Nyk held the skimmer in station-keeping a fraction of a metre above the sea while Andra probed with the pole and retrieved buckets of dimly glowing water. “I never thought of collecting samples from a skimmer.” She retrieved another sample. “That should be good enough.” He directed the skimmer to the platform. “I didn't know you were qualified to pilot one of these.”

  “I'm not -- but, it's not much different than a shuttlecar.”

  “Does Senta know? If she did, maybe you two would get along better.”

  Nyk followed her to the lab where she dumped the samples into larger containers and topped them up with seawater. She passed her hand over the proximity pad to switch off the ambient lighting. The tanks lit up with a dull, purple glow.

  “I think that's enough research for one night,” Nyk said. “Don't you?” She nodded and fell against him as he embraced her. “Shall we check out the cabins?”

  “I'm the one with a better idea this time.” She led Nyk to a compartment, retrieved a rolled-up cushion, carried it to the deck and spread it out. Looking into Nyk's eyes she grasped the hem of his tunic and slipped it from his body. He removed hers and they lay beside each other.

  Nyk regarded her face. In the starlight her irises were fully dilated, making her eyes look oddly dark. “Andra -- you're such a beautiful woman.”

  “I'd rather you not say that.”

  “It's the truth. You are beautiful.”

  “I despise my beauty, Nyk.”

  “Why would you?”

  “My life has been defined by my looks. When I was little and would walk with my parents, people would stare at me. Of course, at Vebinad Academy, all the girls looked the same. I wish I had been born a naturida and led a normal life.”

  “You're leading a fairly normal one, now.”

  “I consider myself one of the fortunate few. But I can't walk the streets of Sudal without someone stopping to stare at me. I didn't ask to have this body, Nyk.”

  “Your features make no difference to how I feel for you.”

  “I know. It's one reason I so cherish our friendship. I've learned Florans will react in one of two ways upon seeing an ax'amfin -- admiration or revulsion. You're a member of the latter category.”

  “I'm a member no longer. I saw you as a symbol of a loathsome institution. Then, I met the persona living inside your body.”

  “That's exactly what I mean. You're the first person who wanted my friendship despite my appearance. Even Senta wanted me because of what I am -- not who. I know you're sincere. You saw me as a vile, abhorrent, disgusting creature...”

  “Well, I wouldn't go that far.” He stroked her cheek.

  “But, you liked me anyway -- and, now we're friends.”

  “Andra, your persona is even more beautiful than the body she lives in.”

  She smiled. “I don't mind hearing you say that.”

  Nyk stroked her face and gazed into her eyes. “Senta's right -- I could be happy here with you. Destiny demands something else of me.”

  “Believe me, Nyk, when I say I want you to return to Earth -- to your Earth woman. I have a dream. In it, I come to Earth to live with you and Sukiko as your sister lover. We'd live in a house and the three of us would sleep together in a big bed. I'd be an aunt to her child. It cannot be, I know.” She took his left hand and placed it upon her body. “Do you think Sukiko would begrudge me one night of pleasure with you before you return to her?”

  “Do you think I'll return to her so soon?”

  She nodded. “You must return and you shall. But tonight -- I'm desperate to feel your touch, Nyk. Do you think Sukiko would understand?”

  “Earth people have a different concept of fidelity.”

  “I know -- I learned some Earth ways when Zander had me there. Perhaps if we didn't actually...”

  “That's a rationalization. If we're intimate -- we're intimate. She is my life, Andra.”

  “She is your destiny. Nyk -- nothing about us threatens what you
and Sukiko share. True love is generous. One day she will understand our ways -- and, she will do so with her heart. Take some of the love we make tonight and share it with her -- let her keep it until I can hold her in my own arms again.” She guided his hand to her breast.

  * * *

  Nyk sat in the kitchen of the Residence sipping his breakfast tea. He heard the chirp of the doorscan. Senta approached from the lower level. “I see you've kept yourself out of trouble...” She spotted the gadget on his arm. “...What happened to you?”

  “Cutter-beam -- it was a freak accident.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I swear Nykkyo, you're a menace. Are you ready to return to Floran City?”

  “I can't. I must go to the clinic in two days to have this removed.”

  “I suppose leaving you a few more days in Andra's care won't hurt. To be honest, Nyk -- I've grown accustomed to sleeping alone.”

  “I can't imagine you ever sleeping alone. Andra will bring me to Floran City once I'm done with the doctors.”

  “There's no rush -- she can keep you as long as she can stand you. I'm going to the lab and then I'm taking the midday train. You will stay out of trouble, won't you?”

  “I promise.”

  Senta set a polymer box onto the table. “This was among the things Andra so kindly packed for me. It's not mine.”

  “I'll make sure she gets it.”

  * * *

  Andra walked through the front door. “How was your day?” Nyk asked her.

  “Nothing extraordinary.”

  “Senta came by on her way from T-Delta. She wanted me to go home with her, but I told her I had to stay until this comes off.” He held up his right arm. “She left a box on the table -- she said it was with her personal effects, but it's not hers.”

  Andra opened the box and withdrew an object. It was a cylinder, about as long as her palm was wide and twice as thick as her thumb. She turned the object over in her fingers. It was made of a silver-white metal that had developed a mottled grey patina. Nyk's eyes popped. “Let me see that,” he said. She handed it to him. He could see remnants of a label, attached with an adhesive. The lettering was in Roman characters. “Do you know what this is?” he asked.