by Elin Wyn
I picked up my comm.
“Fen, open a rift to Glymna.”
“Yes, General.”
Within seconds, a shimmering portal of light appeared before us. Many of the humans backed away, covering their sensitive eyes.
“It’s all right everyone!” I announced. “It’s perfectly safe. This will take you to Glymna, where you will be able to recover in peace and safety.”
Still, none of the humans moved, even though the gates of Glymna were visible on the other side of the rift. There were people, including the city leaders, on the other side, as well.
I wracked my brain for anything that would help convince the humans to trust me.
“Vrehx.” I waved him over. “Go through with Dax and Tu’ver and tell the city officials that we have about five hundred newly cured humans who need immediate attention.”
The trio stepped through the rift. As I’d hoped, many of the newly cured humans saw them walk through and come out on the other side unharmed.
One young human male, less starved-looking than the rest, stepped forward and examined the rift. He looked back at the others once before stepping through.
I released the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Emboldened by the first human, others approached the rift and walked through. My crew and I helped those who couldn’t go through on their own. It took some time, but eventually, we got everyone out of the pen and into the safety of Glymna.
The first cure strike was a success.
12
Vidia
I paced the length of the docking bay, waiting for news.
“Vidia.” I didn’t realize Evie had walked over to me. She grabbed my shoulders, effectively stopping me from pacing any further. “You need to relax.”
“How can I, when I don’t know what’s happening?”
“We’ll know soon.”
“It’s taken too long,” I said. “Something must have gone wrong.”
“Or Rouhr has his hands full with several hundred traumatized humans,” Evie soothed. “Goodness, I can’t believe how on edge you are.”
“I can’t believe how on edge you aren’t.”
“I’m not on edge because I know we did our part well, and I trust the ground team to do their part well, too,” Evie explained.
“Rouhr hasn’t been out in the field in a while.” That stupid, gnawing tightness in my belly wouldn’t let go.
“You’re worrying about him more than I’m worrying about my own partner.” Evie laughed. “Have a little faith in him. There’s a reason he’s the general.”
I did have faith in him, though.
More than I’d ever had faith in anyone else.
At that moment, the comm I was still wearing crackled to life.
“Civilians have been escorted to Glymna,” Rouhr said in an official-sounding voice.
I looked at the comm. I was still on the main channel, not a private one.
“All the Xathi and remaining hybrids have been dealt with.” Before I could say anything, Rouhr clicked off.
“Did you hear that?” I asked Evie.
“No, I gave my comm back.”
“They’re in Glymna now.”
“Why don’t you sound happier about that?” Evie looked at me, one eyebrow raised.
“Because there are hundreds of traumatized people that need our help. I think we should get the cure pills.”
“Already packaged them up ahead of time.” Evie grinned. “And for the record, I think you’re tremendously happy that Rouhr’s okay, and you’re just too scared to show it.”
“What’s there to be scared of?” I rolled my eyes.
“Exactly.” Evie playfully poked my arm. “I’ll grab Leena if you want to get Fen to open a rift.”
I nodded, and Evie hurried away.
As I searched for Fen, I thought about what Evie had said. As ridiculous as it sounded, she might have had a point.
I was afraid for Rouhr while he was rescuing the cured people. That was reasonable. They were traumatized, there were so many variables anything could have happened.
But what I didn’t tell Evie was that the relief of knowing he was okay, the wonderful feeling that bloomed through my entire body, sparked a different sort of fear. An illogical one.
I found Fen nearby, discussing the mechanics of the Gateway with Amira.
“Sorry to interrupt. But could you open a rift to Glymna? Rouhr’s just brought the newly cured there.”
“Of course.” Fen nodded.
“Can I do it this time?” Amira asked with a hopeful expression.
Fen considered for a moment before nodding and passing the Gateway to Amira. She took a moment to marvel at the black sphere before pressing methodically on its surface.
“Leena and Evie will be coming along shortly,” I explained to Fen before stepping through the rift.
I found myself in the middle of the main city square. It was so crowded, I could barely move. The people around me were horrified by my sudden appearance.
“I’m so sorry,” I apologized to everyone at once. It was then that I took in their appearance.
They were all far too pale. Their eyes were slightly glazed, as if they were coming out of a trance, and they were all very thin.
These were the survivors.
“Don’t worry,” I said quickly. “I’m here to help.”
“Vidia,” one said in a raspy voice.
“Hannah?” I stepped closer to the girl who was the daughter of one of my secretaries.
She nodded and I opened my arms to embrace her, letting her decide if she wanted to be touched or not.
She walked into my arms and rested her cheek against my shoulder. I held her lightly. Her body was so weakened, I didn’t want to hurt her.
“Come with me,” I urged her when we broke apart. “Let’s see if we can bring some organization to this chaos.”
I winked at her, hoping her spark was still there. She managed to smile back and I let go of a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Together, we wove carefully through the crowd.
I was alarmed by how quiet it was. Most of the survivors stood in silence, waiting to be told what to do. I imagined most of them were in some form of shock.
Hannah and I made it to the center of the square, where city officials had set up a few tables. Rouhr was standing beside one of the tables, still wearing his holo-disguise and scrolling through a datapad with a confused look on his face.
“Rouhr!” I called out. His head snapped up and a smile spread across his face.
“I’m glad you’re here. I have no idea where to start. Who’s this?” He smiled at Hannah.
“This is Hannah. I knew her mother before all of this happened.”
Hannah nodded a greeting.
“I’m glad you’re with us, Hannah,” Rouhr said.
My heart did a little flutter every time he spoke. Dammit.
“Have the doctors started their examinations?”
“I have no idea. I can’t find anyone, and no one knows who I am.” He gestured to his disguised skin.
“Right.” I sighed. “Hannah? Do you think you can stay with my friend while I sort this out?”
Hannah nodded and took a step closer to Rouhr while I dove back into the crowd.
On the far side of the square, the doctors were gathered, looking as overwhelmed as Rouhr had.
“What’s the holdup?” I demanded.
“We…just don’t know where to begin,” the doctor closest to me said. “We’ve never really worked with trauma of this scale.”
Seriously? I bit back my words, and dug in.
With a disaster, the first thing was to get started. It usually didn’t matter where, just get started.
“Hello,” I said in a gentle voice to the nearest survivor. The man looked at me with wary eyes. “Would you like some help?”
“Medicine,” was all he said.
“The doctors have more of the medicine
that made you better,” I explained. “Come with me, and they’ll help you.”
The man stepped closer to me, and I handed him to the doctor.
Spacing the rest of the physicians in a line, I repeated the process until the survivors started to form lines of their own accord, then the doctors broke out of their analysis paralysis and began examinations.
I gestured to one of the doctors. “There you go. You’ve begun. The cure pills have been sent ahead by our team on the Aurora. Give everyone a single pill and monitor them closely. Dr. Parr and Dr. Dewitt will want to see your notes. When you’ve examined and treated them, send them to the center of the square. I’ll be there.”
The doctors nodded and got to work.
I made my way back to the tables at the center. On one of the tables was a map showing the areas that had been set up to take in the survivors.
“Rouhr.” I waved him over. “Comm your crew and tell them to start urging people towards the doctors on the west side of the square. Try to keep them in line, if possible.”
Rouhr nodded and sent a message through his comm.
“When the people are sent back here, we’ll try to record their information. If they can’t remember, we will send them to the shelters north of the square, so we can ask them later. If they can remember, we’ll send them to the shelters to the east. I’m going to tell the plan to the volunteers.”
The volunteers looked terrified. They weren’t expecting anything like this when they signed on to help.
Small, easy-to-repeat steps.
One ran to get two spools of colored cord, so that every volunteer would know which set of shelters each person should be directed to.
Half of the rest hurried to the tables to take names, start the tracking. The remainder stationed themselves where they could direct each group in the appropriate direction.
When I returned to Rouhr’s side, he looked thoroughly impressed.
“You make it look so easy,” he laughed. “It’s a different sort of battlefield, I suppose.”
“Years of practice,” I shrugged, though his praise lit a warm glow in my chest. “Let’s get Hannah in to see one of the doctors.”
I accompanied Hannah to a doctor and told her I’d be at the tables when she was done. She looked much less afraid than she had before.
“How long have you been doing things like this?” Rouhr gestured broadly to the square as we made our way back to the central tables.
I thought about it for a moment before speaking.
“My whole life, I suppose. My parents died when I was very young. I had no other family in Fraga or anywhere that I knew of, and I sure as hell didn’t want to get put into the city’s program for orphans. I spent most of my younger years doing odd jobs for food and shelter. Everyone in the poorer areas of Fraga knew who I was, became my family in a way. Despite my parents’ deaths, I still had a fairly good childhood.”
“I’m so sorry about your parents.” The genuine sympathy in his eyes made my heart flutter again.
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “As I grew older, I noticed more and more shady things about the city. As a little street rat, no one outside of the poor areas paid much attention to me. That worked to my advantage. I learned all Fraga’s secrets, how greedy and corrupt the city leaders were. One day, I realized the only way to defeat them was to beat them at their own game. I was elected mayor when I was twenty-seven. The youngest to ever be elected, all because the people in the poorer communities unanimously voted for me.”
“That’s incredible,” Rouhr said.
“It wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I had to make some difficult choices. Corruption takes a long time to undo. I don’t think it ever goes away completely once it’s been able to rot the insides of a city. But I was able to make positive changes. Everyone saw that, even the people who didn’t want me as mayor. We were on our way to becoming a truly united city until the Xathi attacked.”
“Oh.” Rouhr’s smile faded, his jaw tight. “From where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve managed to keep doing good despite the Xathi.”
“I try my best.” I shrugged. “I don’t think it’ll ever be enough.”
“It’s more than enough.” Rouhr rested a hand on my shoulder. I let myself lean into him.
We stayed like that for a while, an island of peace within the cacophony of war.
A war that had brought us together.
But what was I going to do about it?
13
Rouhr
Within a few hours, Glymna’s square was the picture of efficiency. Vidia worked tirelessly, moving from one task to the next without breaking her stride. I didn’t work side by side with her the entire time, but I tried to stay close to her as much as I could.
I’d been working with her in a professional manner for some time now. But as I worked alongside her here, I got to see more of Vidia, beyond the driven woman I already knew. She had a remarkable capacity for patience, kindness, and compassion.
When survivors became distressed when they couldn’t remember their names. or where they were from, she knew exactly how to soothe them.
As a general, I thought I was overly familiar with every aspect of war. I knew the destruction it brought all too well.
But this was a transition I’d never been present for. The slow progress from destruction to rebirth.
I was proud to have a hand in it.
Most of my men appeared to be enjoying themselves, as well. A few of them were helping the Glymna volunteers take names, but most of them were simply talking to the survivors.
I felt a sense of fatherly pride when I looked at them. They’d all come a long way. As strange as humans were, they were having a profound effect on my crew.
Now I had to return to the Aurora. There were reports to fill out and preparations for the next cure strike to make.
Vidia needed to stay in Glymna for a little while longer, and while I was hesitant to leave her, she insisted.
She was right, of course.
But I still made sure she had a comm.
A few of the crew asked to stay, to continue to assist with the resettlement efforts. I allowed everyone who wanted to stay and wasn’t needed for preparations for the next strike to stay behind.
“Fen,” I called through the comm.
“Yes, General?” she replied.
“We’re going back to the Aurora now,” I said. “Some are staying behind and will come through another rift later.”
“Noted,” Fen said.
A few moments later, a rift opened before me. My crew and I strode into the main common area of the Aurora, near my office. Fen was becoming remarkably good at directing rifts.
“Thank you, Fen,” I said into the comm.
“You’re welcome, General,” she replied before clicking her comm off.
“I have fantastic news.” Thribb appeared at my side.
I didn’t even hear him coming. He was getting too good at that.
“More fantastic than saving over five hundred lives?” I asked.
“What?” He blinked twice before his eyes widened with realization. “Oh! The humans. No, not quite as fantastic as saving all of those lives, but close.”
“What is it?” I asked.
I couldn’t remember the last time Thribb had been so excited about something.
The idea shouldn’t have filled me with dread, but it did.
“The hull will be fully sealed by sundown, and the engines, thrusters, and onboard environmental systems are almost fully repaired!” Thribb was practically giddy.
It was unsettling. He was talking louder than he usually did. I could tell my crew had overheard.
Most continued about their duties, cleaning and returning their gear and filling out today’s reports. Others, however, paused. They were clearly listening, waiting to see what other valuable bits of information Thribb would drop.
“How is that possible?” I asked. “Repairs on the internal systems weren’t
meant to start until after the hull was finished. That was your recommendation, at least.”
I specifically remembered Thribb compiling a list of repairs in order of highest priority to lowest. One repair couldn’t start until the previous one was completed and the remaining resources were recalculated.
“The engines and thrusters have an automated self-repairing system that started working the moment power was restored to the Aurora,” Thribb said excitedly.
“Is that so?” My brow furrowed. “Why hasn’t this been mentioned until now?”
“I wasn’t sure it would actually repair anything,” Thribb explained quickly. “I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up in case it didn’t work properly.”
“How convenient,” I replied.
“Isn’t it?” Thribb sounded so pleased. “Assuming everything goes as I want it to, I can run tests on the Aurora’s systems this evening. We could leave tomorrow if everything goes well!”
This was...interesting.
I wasn’t an engineer, but I’d served on enough ships to know that it took longer than a few hours to test the systems necessary for space travel. That was true, even if the ship wasn’t being repaired after a crash.
On an alien planet.
With minimal repair facilities.
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit premature?” An engineer that didn’t want to hedge his bets, talk about variables, made me nervous.
“We can finish the tests quickly enough,” Thribb insisted. “There’s no reason for further delay.”
The crew members weren’t even trying to hide their interest now. “Is that true, General?” Karzin asked. “We could leave tomorrow?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ve never heard of these automated repair systems until now. Naturally, I’ll have to discuss it with the Urai. I can’t simply take Thribb’s word that they’re safe.”
“But if they are safe, we’re leaving, right?” Rokul’s voice was calm, but the fiery look in his eyes didn’t escape my notice.
“We’ve already had this conversation.” Keeping my voice down and my temper under control was a struggle. “Am I hearing that some of my crew are willing to leave a job half done?”