The Distance Between

by Blair Cousins

  “So, me and my rag are thinking that maybe sleep needs to come first?”

  Both girls sighed, but he was right. They were no good to the mission if they were tired. They left Odie’s shop and headed towards Odie’s house. It was gorgeous at night. Stars littered the sky, fully visible in the absence of light pollution. Ester watched the perfect sky and wondered how it could look so breathtaking knowing miles away the nation state of Ans-on was being battered to its knees.

  “So where are you from?” Wildgrass looked at Pisces as he reached in front of her to open the screen door.

  “Labadora.”

  “I know that,” Wildgrass said as he looked through the kitchen. Pisces’ look was guarded as Ester followed close behind. “Okay, okay, I won’t pry.

  Pisces bit her lip. “FurQuill. FurQuill was the name of my tribe.”

  “Was?” Wildgrass offered them some water. Pisces turned it down, but Ester raised her hand.

  “I’m sorry.” Wildgrass handed a glass to Ester.

  “Do not be.” Pisces sharpened her look.

  “Okay.” Wildgrass raised his hands. “But I get it, seen it, lived through the aftermath. It’s not fun watching the people you love slip through your fingers.”

  There was something in Wildgrass’ eyes that made Ester second guess why she was here. Wildgrass and Pisces were both highly trained fighters and there was no doubt that they had seen a lot of battles. She knew she would be expected to fight as a ranger, but looking back on her own grim past would she be able to do something this time around?

  “What about you?” Wildgrass’ words cut through Ester’s thoughts. “What’s your story?”

  “Orphaned,” Ester said mechanically, as if she had been prompted like a robot.

  Wildgrass stopped. “Orphaned?”

  Ester shrugged. She was used to the look of pity in people’s eyes, but when she looked up she was met with a warm smile.

  “All my kids were orphans,” Wildgrass said as he lead the way.

  Ester chuckled. “You starting a collection?”

  Wildgrass laughed as he opened a door and flicked on the light to a guest room. “No, but that’s not a bad idea. There’s too much suffering in the world not to reach out and help.” He smiled. “Odie only has one guest room, so are ya’ll okay with sharing?”

  Ester and Pisces looked at each other and nodded.

  “Cool, shower’s through there. There’s towels and stuff too. We wake at dawn.” Wildgrass stood in the frame as Pisces headed to the bathroom.

  “How do you do it?” Ester managed to get out before Wildgrass could leave.

  “Hmm?” Wildgrass stopped.

  “How did you do it all?”

  “It was my job,” he shrugged.

  Ester stared for a few seconds. “But being a ranger is more than a job. It’s a life’s calling.”

  “Is that what they’re telling you kids in academy? Look kid, the planet is always going to be in peril, no matter how many times you save it. This master plan, this life’s purpose is all a load of crap. You can’t stop the world from being destroyed, all you can do is hold onto the things that you love and fight like hell until you breathe your last breath.”

  Ester sat on the bed with a disappointed look on her face. Wildgrass was expecting this. She was still young.

  “Whatever happens tomorrow, don’t forget what you’re fighting to protect. As long as you remember that your heart will never stray.” He closed the door.

  Ester smiled a little and took a deep breath. She didn’t want tomorrow to come, but she hoped she had the strength to make it. Pisces opened the door to the bathroom and walked over to the bed. Ester looked at Pisces and was shocked to see that fur covered her entire body. Pisces scratched at her undergarments and looked up to find Ester staring at her.

  “What?”

  “There’s so much fur…” Ester mused before she could stop herself.

  Pisces examined her body. “I am confused.”

  “Oh no, I don’t mean anything is wrong with it, it’s just I’ve never see so much of it. On someone, I mean.”

  “Surely this is no different than your animals.”

  “I know, it’s just cool.”

  Pisces stared at Ester for a minute then her expression warmed. Cool, she thought. That was not a word associated with Labadorans by foreigners. She opened her bag and pulled out her sleeping bag.

  “Pisces, I’m not going to let you sleep on the hard-ass floor.”

  Pisces stopped as Ester flipped the sheets over. “I’m going to get changed. You hop in.”

  “I am fine with sleeping on the floor.”

  “Nope,” Ester said in passing. “This could be our last night, and besides, I don’t mind.”

  Pisces watched Ester close the bathroom door. When had she allowed her guard to drop this low? She came to Rean for one thing and one thing only, to stop Torzork, but she hadn’t expected to find someone who treated her like a normal intelligent being. So much of the stigma that Labadorans were ruthless savages still remained. And yet, she was standing in her true form being offered a place to sleep by someone she barely knew. Pisces looked at the bed; she wondered if this could be foreshadowing for her people and the people of Rean. Peace was at the forefront of her mind, and if everything went according to plan tomorrow, she may actually live to see it come true.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The next day at sunrise, Ester was awoken from her sleep by the chatter coming from outside. She turned over in bed, half expecting to run into Pisces, but she barely noticed no one was there. Just as she was about to drift back to sleep she heard the loud roar of an engine and nearly fell off the bed. She stumbled to her feet and looked around. The room was empty, but the voices outside were getting louder. Outside Wildgrass and Odie were shouting and jumping up and down next to an old ranger’s cargo ship. She stared in shock, mostly because she couldn’t believe they got that relic to run. Ester hurried to get dressed and ran downstairs meeting everyone in the kitchen.

  “Good morning.” A beautiful tall blond woman said over a steaming hot stove.

  Ester forced a smile as she tried to pull the stray strands of hair into a ponytail. She had seen that woman in a picture; she must be Odie’s wife. Everyone, with the exception of Wildgrass and Odie, were in the kitchen, making Ester feel a little embarrassed for waking up later than everyone else. She took a seat next to Pisces, who of course looked alert and ready to go. Wildgrass opened the screen door and entered followed by Odie.

  “Okay, gang,” Wildgrass called everyone around the table. “I know this plan is super short notice, but hey, it could be worse.”

  “Worse?” Odie smirked.

  “Well, I mean at least we get a nice warm breakfast before we all get blown to shit.”

  Wildgrass placed a mini projector on the table and pulled up the map of the ships supplied by Pisces.

  “This is the map of all the ships. Luckily for me the other two ships are much smaller, meaning as Pisces said before, the meat is in the main one. Our plan is simple: distract and infiltrate. Odie will fly me to the closest small ship, I’ll off load and do my thing, while Pisces and Ester sneak on. We good?”

  Wildgrass looked around the table. Pisces nodded with assurance, but Ester not so much. She understandably was nervous, but she wasn’t going to back out. Odie got up and walked over to the counter. He picked up a box and sat it on the kitchen table.

  “Here, Ester, these are for you.” Odie pulled out a pair of thick black and gray gloves. “I’m sorry that you’ve been thrown into this. I can’t imagine what it feels like to have this be your first mission, but I hope theses gloves will give you a leg up.”

  He handed them to Ester. The material was thick, but the gloves were lightweight. In the center and on each of the five finger tips were round black circles. They were all connected to each other by a thin dark gray wire.

  “They work just like a CuCore. They have a copper core which harnesse
s your natural conductivity and amplifies it into a pretty nasty shock.”

  Ester looked at them in amazement as Odie showed her how to turn them on and use them.

  “And for you, Pisces, I modified this pocket gun into a stun gun. You won’t have to worry about reloading it, but it packs a punch. One shot from this and your enemies won’t be getting up anytime soon.”

  “Thank you.” Pisces took the gun and placed in her utility belt.

  “No problem,” Odie said. “Oh! I forgot, in case things get a little overwhelming, I found these mini shields in the shop. Now they aren’t super fancy, but they’ll offer some protection from gunfire. They work in burst, so you can use them five minutes at a time, but they need a few minutes to recharge. Sorry I couldn‘t get you guys better models, but I hope these help. You wear them as rings on your thumb. To activate, squeeze the band, by clenching your fist.” Odie handed them the rings.

  “Thanks, Odie,” Wildgrass said.

  “Anytime, old friend.” Odie patted Wildgrass on the shoulder.

  “Hey, don’t be giving me that old guy shit, we’re coming back from this, all of us.” He looked around the table. This was a hairball mess of a plan, but Wildgrass wasn’t prepared to sign their death warrants just yet.

  “Wildgrass!” Taxes snapped his fingers as he listened to the message from his connections at ranger academy over the phone. “The shields won’t last much longer. Ya’ll need to go now.”

  Wildgrass nodded. He stopped at the door and looked back at Taxes. His husband was near tears, and he could see the cracking flood gates behind his eyes. “No kisses.”

  “I know,” Taxes stuttered.

  “This isn’t goodbye.”

  “Get out of here before I bet your ass,” Taxes turned and pretended to be talking on the phone.

  Wildgrass stole a glance of his husband one last time. They were going to make it back, just like he did a million times before. On the way out, Wildgrass passed Odie. He was saying goodbye to his family as well. Seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces really hit home at how long it had been since he had to go away like this.

  “Hey, Wildgrass,” Odie shouted as he ran towards the plane. “You almost forgot your CuCore.”

  Ester and Pisces looked at the long scratched up bent copper rod Odie was waving. It looked like a piece of scrap metal.

  “What’s that?” Ester asked.

  “My stick.” Wildgrass hopped aboard.

  Odie chuckled at Ester’s confused face. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s a copper core used in most CuCores. Usually they’re found inside of the weapon, but Wildgrass over there always winds up metaling the casing. So he just uses the core as his weapon.”

  Ester stood in shock then rushed to catch up with everyone. Everyone loaded onto the plane. It was packed from top to bottom as if they were going on a week’s long trip. Ester and Pisces struggled to find a place to sit as the engines started to turn on. Outside, the others watched the ship take off. Ester looked outside the window at the people she barely knew; she wished she could have met everyone under better circumstances. Odie and Wildgrass sat in the cockpit as the ship roared to life.

  “Attention, everyone. Pray, chant, do what you have to do, we’ll be in Ans-on in five hours. Buckle up because this ship’s not your standard issue,” Wildgrass announced over the intercom.

  Ester and Pisces buckled themselves in next to each other as the ship began to take off.

  “You ready?” Ester turned to Pisces.

  “I am always ready,” Pisces responded, but Ester only laughed.

  The ship rattled as it took off. There was no turning back now. Ester’s stomach was in knots as the ship flew through the sky. She ran through the plan over and over again, and each time it felt more and more unreal. Why was she so stressed out? Had she not gotten kicked out of ranger academy she would be on assignment in Ans-on right now. This is what she wanted, to save lives, to help people, but this had burst her bubble. The reality of going into battle terrified her now.

  “Calm yourself.” Pisces placed her hand on top of Esters. “We will be successful.”

  “But how do you know?” Ester started to panic.

  “I believe.” Pisces placed her hand to her chest. “Over the course of our fight, we have experienced many losses, our hope had been reduced to a flicker, but our leader never lost sight of the dream of a better life for Labadora. Even in our defeat on our home world, Jordain still forged a plan and that is the reason we are all here today. Because of his hope, because he believed we are closer than ever to seeing a future of peace.”

  Ester smiled a little. Pisces was right. Lots of people have worked hard to stop this nightmare from happening. People that weren’t even her species were fighting to save her world. She needed to be brave, she wanted to be brave, even if she was terrified out of her mind.

  “Here.” Pisces took off her wristband. “On this wristband is the device I used to change my appearance. Loaded within its settings is the uniform worn by Tozork’s elite. With this you will be unidentifiable.”

  “Thanks, but what about you?”

  “I will be fine. I am Labadoran, so a disguise will do me little good, but it is important that they do not know a Reanian is on board. General Tozork believes he is invincible, even to the Unity Reform. He will think the intruders are Labadoran, thus less threatening.”

  “Gosh, he sure leaves a lot up to chance.”

  “With his weapon, he has no reason to fear chance,” Pisces quipped.

  ***

  The turbulence woke Ester from her short nap. They were right over Ans-on now, and the sky was crowded with ranger ships. She heard Odie over the intercom relaying the bare bones of the plan. Ester was ready to go, but her heart was racing. She still couldn’t believe she was here and a small part of her wished she was back home safe in the fields of Adum-la. She took several deep breaths and rubbed the lump where her necklace was. Mother, father, brother, if you can hear me, please give me the strength to overcome this. She shut her eyes tight.

  “Hey.”

  Ester jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Wildgrass, in a light and dark gray ride suit, one that combat rangers wore, holding his large bent copper rod.

  “You ready?”

  Ester nodded, but it wasn’t convincing anyone.

  “It’s okay if you want to sit this one out.” Wildgrass had no seriousness in his voice. He was almost smiling, which made Ester flash a cocky grin.

  “Yeah? And let you guys have all the fun.”

  Wildgrass laughed. “Okay kid, your funeral.”

  The intercom crackled on. “Okay everyone, we got a little backup and will be running in an arrow formation over the target ship. Our support is running flares, but we have to be on our game. Shields go down over Ans-on in thirty minutes, and I’m sure that’s what our enemy is waiting for,” Odie chimed off.

  Ester nodded and looked for Pisces who was standing in the back of the plane with her eyes closed and hands clasped together. The cabin flashed red, which startled Ester. Wildgrass turned to her and smiled.

  “I’m going out first.” He stood by the bay door.

  “With what?” Ester walked over to him. He didn’t even have a hover pack on.

  “Stand back. Wait for me to make contact before you jump.”

  “Jump?” Ester looked back at Pisces, who was ready and signaled Ester to put on her dive mask.

  Ester looked back at Wildgrass, then the flashing lights turned green and the bay doors opened, flooding the plane with wind.

  “Wildgrass: clear! Amplifiers launching in five, four, three, two, one.”

  Wildgrass jumped from the plane as the air blew like a wind storm around the cabin. Ester stuck her head out and watched through the cover of smoke bombs as his figure disappeared in the clouds. Shortly after, large metal balls fell from the back of the plane. Ester watched them drop into the clouds like acorns in the snow. Nothing happened for a long
while as she scanned the horizon. Pisces joined her, and they both looked for Wildgrass then at each other.

  Then suddenly from below, a shock waved rattled the ship.

  Ester and Pisces held on for dear life as the clouds below them turned dark gray. Bolts of lightning mixed with the clouds in an electrifying storm. The last of the smoke bombs cleared and a shadowed figure in a tiny ball of green made contact with one of the secondary ships causing an explosion that nearly knocked the ship off course. Ester shielded her eyes with her arm. She gasped. This was the raw power of Rean’s strongest warrior. She peeked over her arm and saw nothing but black smoke. Then the sounds of explosions came from the state below. The shields were going down early than expected. Pisces grabbed Ester’s arm. It was time. Ester adjusted her dive mask and turned on her wristband as she stood next to Pisces inside the frame of the bay door.

  The intercom crackled on. “Give me a second, ladies. I’m flying you to the target now. Turn your hover packs on.” Ester and Pisces did as they were told.

  “Getting into position now.”

  The ship tilted hard causing the women to wedge their feet into the frame to keep from slipping out. “Target in position. Five, four, three, two, one.”

  Pisces turned on the sensory disruptor balls and grabbed Ester’s hand. They exchanged glances with a nod then jumped. Ester felt weightless for a few seconds, all of her worries disappeared as the instinct to survive took over. She gripped Pisces’ hand as her suit powered on and gave them the ability to glide towards the main ship.

  There was nothing in her wildest imagination she could compare to the size of this gigantic ship. It shadowed the city like a boot over an anthill. The two hovered down through the smoke and explosions. It was hard to see, but the ship had a thin grayish force field around it. Ester’s breath hitched as she watched the balls Pisces had in her hands explode against it. Ester thought for sure they would crash and burn up upon contact, but as they fell closer to it, a small dark aura formed around them forming a mini shield. Pisces pulled Ester closer as they made contact with the shield. They stuck to it like soap bubbles. Their bodies lay on the shield, protected only by the thin dark layer from the balls. Within seconds, the aura melted a hole into the ship’s shields, dissolving them away into nothing, creating a small opening. Ester and Pisces watched the hole expand as they stood crouched against the black aura waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump. The black aura flickered. This was all the space it could create as it fought against the ship’s powerful shields. Pisces looked to Ester and pulled her close as the two slipped through the hole. Ester gasped and looked up. They were just in time too, because the tiny hole they had jumped through closed up right behind them.