New Light

by Ben Johnston

  “Were we going too fast? Did we pass it?”

  Anniya strolled out into the center of the large dirt clearing, then stood there under the starry sky, turning slowly as she scanned the treeline around the edge of the clearing. She stopped turning, grinned, then pointed

  “There it is, right there!”

  Spirit, now sitting at Anniya’s feet, no longer wearing the harness, looked up to see what she was pointing at. Above the treetops on the far side of the clearing, in the distance, he saw the crown of a great, tall tree against the stars, its massive upper branches spanning out above the forest.

  Anniya returned from the middle of the clearing, hiking over to retrieve her floatboard and the rope floating beside it. With her right hand, she grabbed the floating rope by the handle and twirled it around her forearm, winding it in out of the air. She placed her right foot onto the floatboard, the crystals beneath shining brighter as they pushed more weight against the ground, then, with her left foot, she gave a few kicks to coast her over to the other side of the clearing.

  When she reached the wall of dense overgrowth, while still in motion, she hopped off the board and stomped on its tail to kick it up in front of her where, in a single practised motion, she snatched the floatboard out of the air and slung it over her shoulder where it snapped securely to a hardpoint on her backpack.

  With both hands now free, she held them up to the dense wall of overgrowth and blazed forth green light from her palms. The plantlife glowed in sympathy, moving aside and pulling back in a rustling hush to form a tunnel-like corridor. With her hands out in front of her, she entered.

  As she moved away, down the corridor, deeper into the overgrowth, the entrance to the living tunnel began to close behind her. Soon, like a candle in a woven basket, only dim little patches of her light could be glimpsed through the crisscrossing branches and vines. Then, eventually, as she sank further away and more of the overgrowth closed behind her, even those last dim patches faded away.

  The wall of plant life stood motionless and silent amid the ringing jungle, the open dirt clearing dark and empty beneath the full moon.

  Chapter 4

  Inside its large white casing at the front gate of the Federation outpost, a motor grumbled to life, spitting out a short and rapid sputter of hot rainbow-colored flames in interesting patterns from its hexagonal exhaust matrix before humming into smooth operation. The motor revved-up and the outpost’s huge front gates made a deep subsonic rumble as they slid smoothly open, allowing the massive, hovering landship to float silently and brightly into the outpost. The big vehicle flooded its light onto the dark troops and buildings, casting long, passing, sunset shadows as it noiselessly breezed its way through the base before coming to a gentle stop in the central assembly area.

  The jetbikes came whining in behind this time, each pulling to a stop along one side of the landship. The bike’s repulsor carriages winked-out, leaving only the moon, a few red lights on the walls of nearby buildings, and the flood from the underside of the big vehicle to light the deeply-shadowed outpost. Then, after the jet engines had whined down and the front gate had rumbled closed, the big motor in its white casing wound-down to leave just the rattle and clatter of troop activity to punctuate the constant ringing of the jungle night .

  Jennifer climbed down the extended ladder exit on the side of the ship and jumped to the ground. The driver did the same on the other side. They met around the front, both standing on the blacktop of the assembly yard in the humid night, both bathed in the warm sunset of the landship’s repulsors.

  The driver looked around at the expansive yard. She pointed her opaque lenses out to the outpost’s surrounding fences. “Pretty blinding big outpost for being in the middle of nowhere, wouldn’t you say!”

  The far perimeter fences were solid, taller than most of the buildings, and matte black, with walkways along the tops.

  Jennifer nodded appreciatively. “This is practically a base!”

  A tall man with a heavy, almost muscular brow, a broad nose, and a thick black and white forest of a beard strolled out of the darkness to address them in a warm, strong voice. “It’s an outpost, not a base. At least, officially.”

  He smiled, his full mouth flashing big teeth at Jennifer.

  Jennifer’s eyes grew wide. “Ryan!” She jumped and gave the man a spontaneous hug. Releasing the big guy, she took a step back and held out her hands. “Surprise!”

  Watching through her glasses with an easy smile, the driver saluted. “Major Wilder, Sir.”

  Ryan turned and returned the driver’s salute. “Corporal Jones. Good to see you again.”

  The corporal nodded. “Yes, sir. Since you’re here.” She offered Ryan a small rectangular chip. “As stated on the transparency, PFA. Cargo ship Cutter is reporting in, unload initiated, scheduled to depart in three. We should be done well before sunrise, sir.”

  Ryan took the chip from the corporal and, holding it between his left thumb and forefinger, brought it up to his face. Instantly, the chip vanished and he held the bottom corner of a transparent, rectangular sheet. The see-through sheet Ryan now held was covered in silvery writing, each line of the flowing script followed by a small, neon ruby square, each bright crimson box filled-in with cobalt scrawlings or a checkmark. A form. Ryan’s eyes scanned over the report as he reached into his vest and withdrew a small, soft-bound portfolio.

  The sheet vanished, turning back into a chip pinched between his fingers. Using his free pinky and ring finger to open the zipper, he slid the chip into a soft slot within the portfolio. “Nicely done, Corporal Jones, as usual.” He zipped the booklet closed and placed it back inside his jacket. “So, how was the drive? We just cut that new road out of the jungle last night.”

  Jones smirked. “Drive was great, Sir. The company was a little boring.” She lifted her opaque glasses and winked at Jennifer. “Now, if you two kids would excuse me, I’ve got some more transparencies to tick-off before we kick-off.” The driver dropped her glasses down onto her nose and walked away backwards pointing at Jennifer. “Hey shiny girl, make sure you’re back here at zero six or we’re leaving without you. It doesn’t matter to me that you’re a torch. I don’t even care if you’ve got a request from the commander himself, I’m out. I’ve got a schedule to keep, and I’m never late.”

  Ryan raised a big smile in his thick beard. “Really, Jones? You’d ignore a request from me?” His heavy eyebrows dropped behind his opaque glasses.

  The driver smirked, raising her chin to Ryan before saluting then turning away.

  Ryan smiled and shook his head, then turned his opaque lenses to stare up at the big looming landship. “You’re amazing, you know that?” He dropped his gaze from the vehicle back to Jennifer. “You managed to swing a ride on a class A landship, just to come say hi.”

  Jennifer raised her eyebrows. “It wasn’t so hard. You know how the system works.” Her smile faltered. “But…”

  Ryan took off his glasses to reveal his bright, deep-set eyes, sparkling behind dark, heavy eyelids. “But you didn’t come here to say hi.”

  He tucked his glasses into his chest pocket, his friendly, solid face a mix of kind curves and strong angles. “Did you, Jen?” He gave her a knowing look.

  She looked away. “No, Ryan.

  “I came to say goodbye.”

  Ryan made the face of someone who had just lost a bet, then dropped his head. “That’s twice you’ve left me, now.” He tilted his head slightly, still holding his pained expression. “You realize that, right?” He glanced up at her, one thick eyebrow raised.

  Jennifer shot Ryan a hurt look. “That is not fair. I did not leave you the first time.”

  “We.” She poked a finger into his broad chest. “We left Vectus together. So don’t try to say I left you. I went to the Republic instead of following you here to the Federation. I kept up the fight, just...”

  She looked at her hands. “Just, not with light.”

  Ryan clenched his jaw.
“Jen, I’m sorry. I didn’t need to say that. I didn’t mean...”

  She turned away, cutting him off. “No, Ryan, I’m sorry. You’re right about this time. This time I will be leaving the fight.”

  She stared up at the looming landship and the stars above it. “And so this time I will be leaving you.”

  A clamour of booted footsteps pounded the blacktop and leaders shouted orders as troops from around the outpost streamed-in to stand in formation around the back of the landship, bathed in the light of the huge vehicle’s repulsors. The landship’s wide rear door cracked open from the top, hinging and lowering slowly down to the ground to function as a broad, thick ramp. Then, after the rear ramp hit the ground with a wide and deep thud, three more doors opened on each side of the big cargo vehicle, ramps from each of those lowering down to meet the blacktop with smaller, but still solid, thuds.

  Jennifer stood there next to the commander as the troops began to unload the landship, scattered troops still streaming in around them, like leaves on a river flowing around a rock. “I’m just not a fighter. Not really. Not by nature, Ryan.”

  He looked at her, outlined silver by the moonlight, a silhouette against the sunset flood of the looming landship. “But, Jen, you are a fighter.” He took a step towards her. “And we need fighters.”

  With glints of dim red from the loading bay lights in her short hair, Jennifer turned to look at Ryan with a story in her eyes.

  With a firm jaw, he shared the gaze. Then, with a long inhale and a slow exhale, he nodded. “The Vectans, when they take all you lightmakers as kids and forge you into fighters.”

  He squinted, his eyes two sparkling lines burning in the shadow of his great brow. “Such incredible, effective fighters. But...” He blinked and puffed out a dismissive sound.

  He patted her on the shoulder. “They made you into a good fighter, Jen. But you were not meant to be a fighter.” Then, with a warm smile, he gave her shoulder a firm squeeze. “So, when do you leave?”

  “My liner leaves in two days, but I have to catch a shuttle out of Naamu tomorrow.” Jennifer looked at the stars. “I’m going to the Union.”

  “The Union?” Ryan tilted his head and lowered his substantial brow.

  Jennifer raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Yes. The Union.”

  Ryan scratched his thick, curly beard, looking at her through relaxed eyes. “I’m not going to ask why, but I am going to ask how. I mean, between the Republic’s utter collapse and the Union absorbing all those worlds, the waiting line for Immigration into the Union must stretch between the galaxies.”

  Jennifer held up her hand, thumb to middle finger, and snapped. A small burst of sparks rained out from her hand, lighting her face and body as the sparks fell to the ground, curling and spinning off to fade away.

  She held out her hands, tilted at the wrist. “Ta-da.” She dropped her hands to her sides. “It works every time, Ryan.”

  Ryan’s thick, dark eyelids fell shut. “Even in the great Union, where everyone is supposedly equal.” He shook his head slowly.

  With a soft sigh, Jennifer nodded weakly. “Yes, Ryan. Just like everywhere else in the universe, even in the fair and equal Union, lightmakers are more equal than others.”

  Ryan gave a quick sigh, then hefted a smile and looked at Jennifer, warmth twinkling in his eyes. “Life’s not fair, but that’s lucky...” He pointed a finger at her and winked. “If you’re lucky.”

  Jennifer’s own smile rose at this, then sagged, a distant look growing in her eyes. “I don’t feel so lucky. Look. Ryan, I have to do this. I…”

  Ryan’s strong yet friendly voice interrupted her. “Jen. Let’s stop standing here justifying ourselves in the dark. I haven’t seen you in years, and chances are that we’ll never see each other again. I’ll tell you what.” He leaned in close to Jennifer. “And, uh, don’t tell anybody yet, they’ll find out a few hours after you guys leave, but we just got a whole pallet of chocsugar this morning. Chocsugar, Jen.”

  Jennifer’s eyebrows shot up. “Chocsugar? You got supplies from the Union!”

  Ryan chuckled. “Hey, I said keep it quiet, at least for now. That’s not all they gave us. But the Union still isn’t an official Federation ally, not yet. Not that I’ve heard of, officially, at least. So I haven’t reported this to HQ. I actually can’t.”

  Jennifer tilted her head. “You can’t? Why?”

  Ryan made a face like he was remembering an old debt. He glanced sidelong at Jennifer. “Because the Union delivered that stuff through a, uh, special and indirect channel.”

  Jennifer eyed him. “What does that mean?”

  Ryan pressed on her back again, hurrying her along. “All in good time, Jen. First I have to take care of something in the loading bay, then we’re going to get some food, then we can talk about the whole Union situation.”

  Chapter 5

  Several large fronds swung open, rays of green light streaming out as they parted, to reveal Anniya emerging from the jungle. Her hands dropped to her sides, the verdant light faded away, and she walked out onto the clearing covered in fallen leaves under the tall tree. As she walked across the soft ground, she stepped over snaking roots that, by the time she reached the base of the massive and straight trunk, had grown to become as thick as tree trunks themselves.

  She looked up, her mouth slightly open.

  Closing her mouth, Anniya turned, took a few steps away from the giant tree, then swiveled back to face the great trunk. She looked up once again, up to that soaring crown high above, the stars twinkling between its leaves and branches. Then, she closed her eyes, she crouched, and, for several silent seconds as the jungle rang around her, she did nothing else.

  Suddenly, in a blinding flash, Anniya was thrust upwards, a rustling whirlwind of dead leaves twisting up after her.

  The massive tree trunk climbed and climbed, rising well above the tops of the surrounding forest before spreading out into three broad and sturdy main boughs, each extending almost horizontally away from the others before forking and branching into smaller and smaller branches to form the leafy crown.

  Anniya came springing-up out of the darkness with the ease of someone stepping onto the top landing of a stairway. She landed, walking immediately, onto the widest of the three boughs. Following the branch’s forking, stepping over a few plants and flowers that had decided to live up here in a tree rather than down there on the ground, she strolled out into the crown.

  From where this tree stood on the rim, Anniya had a clear view out over the wide and flat rainforest valley. Far away, out in the very center of the forest, there was a dark patch. Compared to the entire forest, that small line was a relatively tiny, but distinct area of missing trees way out there.

  Anniya nodded. “There’s the outpost.”

  She squinted, staring intently out into the warm night, out across the top of the forest, out to that distant area in the middle of the valley. She released her squint and her eyelids drooped.

  Letting out a sigh, she looked down at the little glinty fox now at her feet. “The air’s all hazy and wavy out there. Can you tell me what’s going on at the outpost?”

  She looked down to Spirit, but he was gone. She tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed. “Spirit?”

  Spirit surprised Anniya by answering from a branch by her left ear. “The Federation troops are unloading high grade batteries, Anniya. Five thousand of them.”

  Her eyes went wide, her mouth growing into an open smile. “Five thousand yearlight cells! I thought they’d have a hundred, maybe. But five thousand?! Spirit!...” She looked left at the branch, but Spirit was no longer there. She looked down. Spirit was, again, sitting by her feet. “Do you know what that means?”

  The shiny orange fox looked up at her with his faintly glowing blue eyes. “More guards, probably.”

  Anniya’s eyelids drooped, her mouth a line. “No, Spirit. That is not what it means.” She paused, her eyes looking up under a low brow. “Or, actually. OK, yes. T
here will probably be more guards.”

  Her gaze fell on the shiny fox. “But!”

  Spirit looked up, head tilted.

  She held up one finger. “Because there are so many batteries, they probably won’t even notice if a couple are missing.”

  She held out her hands, smile beaming, eyes twinkling.

  Now it was Spirit’s eyelids that drooped.

  Anniya threw her hand weakly at Spirit. “Oh, perk up. This is going to be fun.”

  She reached over her shoulder and unfastened the floatboard from its mounting plate on her backpack. Pulling the board around she dropped it down onto the narrow branch, steadying its slippery push with her foot. She looked at the little fox. “Have a little optimism, Zippy!” Then, with her smile back at full beam, she pointed the board straight down and dropped off the branch.

  The instant she dropped off the branch of the great tree, diving out of the night sky towards the dark jungle floor, the fingers of Anniya’s right hand released their grip on the straps of the clear rope that was still wound around her forearm. As she accelerated towards the hard ground, the weightless rope unwound rapidly from around her forearm to trail behind her, whipping-out and flapping in the increasing wind. Spirit shot into the fluttering harness straps on the end of the rope, the straps transforming instantly into a vest.

  Spirit, his nose pointed straight at the ground, his legs tucked lazily beneath him, not a single shiny hair on his shimmering fur moving, not a spiral or sigil on his coat disturbed, dove past Anniya and her floatboard, falling faster. Spirit ahead of Anniya pierced the surface of the forest canopy.

  The branches flipped past them and the rushing air surged around them as the dark ground swung up to slap them and they shot towards a forceful meeting with it. Anniya kicked down on the floatboard’s tail, pulling the floatboard’s nose up to point horizontal. The board quivered as it pushed against her feet.