“We cannot change the past, and we cannot perceive the future. We must live in the present and grasp the opportunities that come our way with both hands. As the great 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne once said, ‘Take joy in the present, because everything else is beyond your grasp’.”
Kit leaned across to Martinez, who was standing beside her, and whispered, “I told you he would slip a Montaigne quote in! You owe me a watch-keeping shift!”
“Damn!” whispered Martinez in reply. “I thought he’d exhausted his Montaigne quotes!”
Keo continued, “The couples who are about to be married have chosen the present over the past. They have chosen to embrace love, instead of sorrow. They have chosen joy over regret. And, by pledging themselves to each other, they represent the dawn of a new life and the hope of a better future for us all.”
Some of the colonists broke into spontaneous applause, punctuated with whistles.
“I will now call each of the couples forward to stand before you and make their vows.”
A murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd.
“Zac Perryman and Jasmine Bellini.”
The crowd cheered and applauded as Zac and Jaz walked forward. As the couple took their place at the front, Zac whispered to Jaz, “I didn’t even know your last name!”
She looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes and said, “That’s OK. You’re about to discover a whole lot more of me in a couple of hours.”
Keo called out another couple, “Latraia Geronis and Tye Walter.” More cheers and applause erupted, along with several squeals of delighted surprise from some of their friends.
“Paul Oppedisano and Jenny Marie ...”
“Andrew Moriarty and Catherine Sinclair ...”
“Glenn Bowler and Jane Healey ...”
Keo continued his marital roll call amidst almost continuous cheers and whistles from the crowd, until there were 14 couples standing hand in hand under the flowered arch.
“These couples,” he continued, “will pledge their commitment to each other, before us as a community and, I believe, before their Creator. We don’t need priests and cathedrals. We don’t need registries and bureaucratic departments. All that is needed is for two people to pledge their undying loyalty to each other. They will do that now, in their own words.”
Each of the couples in turn spoke brief vows to each other. As each couple concluded their vows, Keo stepped forward and placed a floral necklace around each of their necks and handed them a cup of nectar. The nectar had been produced with Regina’s help. She had found a shrub with heart-shaped purple berries growing prolifically on the western edge of one of the fields. Analysis revealed that the juice from the berries contained high levels of tryptophan and a mild psychotropic enzyme, both of which could boost the brain’s pleasure chemicals, oxytocin and serotonin. The juice itself had a sweet, tangy flavour, and Keo and Regina had christened the fruit ‘passion berries’. After each successive couple said their vows, Keo handed them a cup of passion berry nectar. The couple then served each other a hefty gulp of the nectar and kissed while the juice was still on their lips, cheered on by the enthusiastic crowd of well-wishers.
Once all 14 couples had completed the ritual, Keo stepped forward once more and said, “We are not finished yet! There is one more couple to be married today. Prisha Naroo, please step forward.”
There were murmurs of excitement as Prisha stepped forward, but also puzzled expressions. Who was she marrying? Why had Keo not called her partner forward as well? Keo did not leave them guessing for long. He walked over to Prisha, placed a floral necklace around her neck and his own, then held both her hands, gazing lovingly into her eyes. There were squeals of delight from many, including Zac and Jaz, who’d had absolutely no clue of the romance blossoming between their two friends.
“Prisha, I pledge to love and care for you with all my heart, body and soul, and be faithful to you alone until we are separated by death.”
“Keo, I pledge to love and care for you with all my heart, body and soul, and be faithful to you alone until we are separated by death.”
They each took a hearty gulp from a nearby cup and then embraced in a long, lingering kiss, amid wolf whistles and cheers from the crowd.
Keo then faced the crowd with a huge smile and a thin dribble of nectar running down his chin. He opened his arms wide and made a final pronouncement. “Friends, 15 new families stand before you. Their marriages are sacred. Let no one seek to undermine their love, break their bonds, or come between them in any way. Now, let us celebrate!”
The crowd erupted into cheers and whoops once more, and people came forward to surround and congratulate the happy couples. Melody was bouncing around Jaz and Zac like a jack-in-the-box, hugging them both and talking at a million miles an hour. “Do you like the floral necklaces? I made them myself! And I chose those yellow flowers especially for you, Jaz, because I know you like them, except I couldn’t find enough of the little white ones with the red centres which would have really looked great but I found the blue ones in the sand dunes so I thought they would look good too and are you and Zac going to sleep in the same room all the time now, because if you do I promise I won’t listen to you smooching too much, and maybe we could go on a camping trip together now that we’re a family and I promise I won’t be any trouble, and I’ll be able to make you breakfast in bed every morning ...”
“There you are, kiddo!” said Kit, coming to Jaz and Zac’s rescue. “I need you to help me take some of the food down to the amphitheatre. You can catch up with Jaz and Zac later.” She winked at Zac and Jaz, and took hold of Melody’s hand, leading her off while she was still talking at lightspeed.
The crowds began walking back towards the settlement, where trestle tables of food and drink had been assembled at the bottom of the amphitheatre.
Zac and Jaz walked back alongside Prisha and Keo, and after expressing their own amazement and joy for their friends, Zac asked the obvious question.
“How long have you guys had a thing? We had no idea!”
“I knew from the moment I met her on board Genesis,” said Keo. “Her name means ‘gift of God’, so it was meant to be.”
Zac asked, “Yes, but when did you actually ... you know ... start to show affection?”
“Yesterday afternoon,” answered Prisha with a smirk. “It was the passion berry nectar that did it. Keo asked me to sample some with him ...”
“... at the beach,” said Keo with a crafty wink.
“... and I guess we might have overindulged a little ...”
“We should not be skimpy with God’s gifts!” interjected Keo again.
“ ... and one thing led to another ...”
“It was a beautiful sunset, my friends...”
“... and before we knew it, we were in each other’s arms ...”
“I couldn’t help it! Her beauty overpowered me!”
“He’s a very persuasive man.”
“She’s a very irresistible woman!”
The four of them laughed together and walked back to the settlement to enjoy the celebration.
Apart from the obvious joy of the weddings, the evening’s festivities were a welcome relief from the intensity of the last few days. As the setting sun cast a magnificent pink and apricot hue across the darkening sky, the colonists laughed and ate and drank, and in the midst of it all, their sense of community solidified. It was as if they had finally come to believe that this was their new home—a place of new beginnings.
As the evening wore on, the newlyweds retired to newly erected zip-huts, set a little apart from the other huts but still within the settlement’s boundaries. Melody would be bunking with Kit for the next few nights. Zac and Jaz walked hand in hand towards their hut, their heads buzzing from several cups of passion berry juice. After all the excitement and talk of the last couple of hours, it was a relief to finally be alone. They entered their hut, zipped the door closed, and then stood facing
each other. Zac’s head was spinning a little, and his heart was beating like a machine gun, but he didn’t want to rush things.
“So, Bellini, eh? You don’t look Italian. With that red hair and freckles, and that cute button nose, I would have sworn you were Irish.”
“My father was Irish, and my mother was Italian. Dad died when I was very young, and my mother always kept her maiden name. She was a very independent woman with a strong Italian family heritage. The Bellinis trace their roots back centuries, to royal blood. When I was born, she wanted her daughter to have the same surname.”
“So, who do you take after? Your mother or your father?”
“I’ve got my dad’s red hair and freckles, and my mother’s fiery nature.”
“Fiery, eh? What have I gotten myself in for?”
Jaz responded by lifting her simple tunic over her head and dropping it to the ground, standing entirely naked before him. Zac gazed at her in wonder, and she looked boldly into his eyes, saying, “Italians are renowned for being very fiery, passionate people, Zac.”
She reached behind her head and undid a couple of ribbons that were holding up her hair and then shook her head, her long red hair cascading around her shoulders in a riotous mess. She took a step towards him, saying, “And when I say passionate, I mean very passionate. I hope that’s OK with you.”
Zac nodded, completely mesmerised. “That’s ... just fine with me.”
She reached out and began undoing his belt. “I hope you didn’t drink too much of that passion nectar, my darling,” she said. “Because us Italian girls get very upset if we don’t get what we want.”
“Um ... I think I’ll be able to manage.”
And he did. Several times, in fact.
49
Nova Day 11
The fourth day after the weddings dawned in much the same way that all other days on Nova had begun. The first crescent of the rising sun cast multicoloured rays across a deep blue, cloudless sky, and the hoomie birds vociferously announced the commencement of another day of activity. The colonists emerged from their zip-huts to be greeted by a world still glistening from the overnight tropical showers, and the camp slowly came to life as tea was brewed and morning chores attended to. The honeymooners had been excused from all duties for the previous three days and had enjoyed as much privacy as was possible in a cramped campsite, with people deliberately leaving them alone and simply greeting them with smiles and nods if they passed them.
Meanwhile, the establishment of the settlement was progressing at satisfying pace. The two bearded, tractor-driving brothers, Wally and Willy (as the latter was now affectionately being called) had taken only one day to clear a “road” through the dense bushland from the western edge of the ag-fields to the base of the hills. At the same time, Martinez and Boyd had flown the tree-felling team to the top of the hill, which had been named Red Gum Hill because of the proliferation of trees that resembled the huge red gums from the Australian bush. A sizeable campsite had been established there, and the crew had begun clearing the trees around the drop box. By the time the tractors broke through to the base of the hill in the late afternoon, there were already half a dozen trees felled, trimmed and cut into manageable sections, ready for transport back to Grizzle’s workshop. For the next two days, Wally transported felled tree sections back to the settlement while Willy dedicated himself to ploughing the various ag-fields, ready for planting. Regina’s enthusiastic team of apprentice farmers was also hard at work; some sowing the fields with seeds for winter crops, others harvesting the potatoes and rice that were growing wild in some fields, and a third group working at developing a sustainable fruit orchard. Various fruit trees had been discovered in clusters around the outskirts of the ag-fields. Most of the trees appeared to be ancient, bearing only small quantities of wizened fruit, but the seeds of the fruit, if nurtured and planted properly, would one day provide the colony with a plentiful orchard.
Kit was sitting at the campfire outside her hut, drinking a cup of tea with Grizzle and Regina, when Melody emerged, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“Morning, sleepy head,” Kit said.
“Hi, aunty Kit,” she replied, yawning and stretching her arms wide.
Grizzle took a sip from his cup and said, “It’s a wonder you’ve got any teeth left in that head of yours, Possum, the way you grind them in your sleep.”
“At least I don’t snore,” she replied, cheekily.
“What are you insinuating, young lady?”
“She’s right, Grizzle,” said Kit. “The first night I heard you, I thought someone was doing some moonlight chain sawing.”
“That’s just the sound of my incredible brain working overtime while I’m asleep,” he replied.
“Well, the cogs badly need oiling,” said Regina.
Further discussion of Grizzle’s nocturnal emanations was cut short by the unexpected arrival of a shuttle. It touched down on the central concourse, its engines waking any colonists who were still asleep. The engines were still winding down when Martinez emerged from the shuttle door, yelling, “Help! We need medical help here! We’ve got a serious injury!”
Boyd and another man emerged from the shuttle carrying a makeshift stretcher with a blood-soaked victim. Ben Miller, the chief medical officer, arrived on the scene almost immediately and rushed the victim to the med-hut, while issuing instructions to fetch Jaz. Less than a minute later, Jaz and Zac ran into the med-hut just as Martinez was explaining what had happened.
“His name is Tye Sanford. He got up before dawn at Red Gum Hill campsite to relieve himself in the woods. He was attacked by howlers. We heard his screams. Boyd got there pretty quickly and saw the howlers mauling him. There were three of them. He scared them off and managed to kill one with his rifle.”
Ben and Jaz cut away Tye’s clothing and were confronted with deep lacerations to both arms, his left leg and his torso.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” said Ben. “The femoral artery and brachial arteries are both severed. Whoever applied the tourniquets saved his life—but only just. He could still die. He needs major surgery and we don’t have the facility here for that. Plus, he needs litres of nano-blood, which we don’t have. It’s something that was overlooked.”
Zac said, “Let’s get him back into the shuttle. We’re going to have to take him to Settlement City.”
Lance, who had arrived while Ben was speaking, said, “I’ll contact Michael Gates and let him know you’re coming. They can have the operating theatre prepped and ready to go by the time you get there.”
The team sprang into action, and five minutes later the shuttle was airborne. Kit and Zac piloted the shuttle while Ben, Jaz, Martinez and Boyd cared for Tye in the cabin, fighting to keep him alive. Forty minutes later, the shuttle crossed the coast of Southland and Zac activated the comms again.
“Settlement City, this is Shuttle 1, do you read?”
“Roger, Zac. How’s the patient?”
“Not good. He’s crashed twice and is barely hanging on. We’ve just crossed the coast and are five minutes from you. Over.”
“Yeh, about that ...” said Michael warily.
“What?” asked Zac.
There was a lengthy pause, prompting Zac to ask, “Michael, are you there?”
After a further delay, Michael’s voice came over the comms. “Dr Wisecroft has indicated that he will need to clarify some issues before admitting your patient to our medical facilities.”
“What?!!” exclaimed Kit.
“What’s there to clarify, Michael?” asked Zac, with growing anger. “We have a dying patient and you have the facilities to save him. It’s all pretty clear, isn’t it?”
“I’m just the messenger, Zac.”
“Put Wisecroft on now!” insisted Zac.
“He’s not available at the moment. He says he’ll meet you when you land.”
Zac switched off the comms and swivelled in his seat. “Did you guys catch all that back there?”
&n
bsp; “We sure did!” responded Martinez. “I’ve got a fully loaded pistol in my holster with a bullet with Wisecroft’s name etched into it!”
“Don’t kill him outright,” said Kit. “Try to nick an artery so he bleeds out slowly.”
A few minutes later the shuttle touched down, a bare 20 metres from Genesis. As the team carried the unconscious Tye out of the shuttle, they saw that all the access doors on Genesis were closed. Wisecroft was standing on the hard-packed earth outside the nearest closed access door, flanked by two security personnel armed with rifles. Kit, Zac and Martinez stood side by side, with Ben and Boyd carrying the stretcher behind them and Jaz standing to the side, monitoring Tye.
“What’s your game, Wisecroft?” asked Zac. “A man’s life is in danger here.”
“I can see that, and I am terribly concerned for his welfare.”
“Then let us in.”
“Certainly. Just as soon as we formalise his immigration status.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am referring to our previously agreed terms of settlement. Only permanent residents of Settlement City may access its medical facilities.”
“We made no such agreement!”
“Those were my clearly stated terms when we agreed to part company. I did warn you that your pitiful village would be unable to adequately care for its misguided residents. Unfortunately, it’s come to a head sooner than I anticipated.”
Kit spoke up. “You can’t be serious! This man is dying! Are you prepared to let him die?”
“Yes I am—for the greater good.”
“What?!” exclaimed Kit. “You’re insane!”
“On the contrary, Ms Tyler, I am the sanest person in this current conversation. I am the only one who can see that allowing you unfettered access to this facility will only perpetuate the miserable existence of your ill-fated settlement. If this poor man has to die in order to end your rebellion, so be it.”
“You’re a monster, Wisecroft!” growled Martinez, unholstering her pistol and aiming it at the centre of his chest.
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