by J. A. James
"Turn yourself in, now," the Guard said. His tone was clipped and authoritative.
Griesen stared back at him, his eyes narrowing. He ignored the order.
"What if I don't?" He looked quickly at the countdown. They had less than a minute left before landing.
"You have committed treason by disobeying Ithes. You will submit yourself voluntarily or you will be brought in.”
"I have done no such thing,” he said. He had been lied to on so many levels – and he wasn’t going to just give in now.
“There is a high price for treason. Even for a naive student, it will not be tolerated. You’ve lost your chance.” The tone was abrupt and final.
The words hurled at Griesen stung. How quickly he had turned into the enemy.
The screen went blank.
"Sir, they are readying their weapons," the computer said.
"Okay," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. The guard was just doing his job. Could he be so surprised that already the tables were turned completely against him?
"Sir, they are readying their weapons," the computer repeated.
"Okay," he said shakily. "It’s time to go.”
"Their weapons have locked on us." And indeed, he saw that they were patterning a triangular formation around him on the right, left and in front. He tightened his hands on the console, rapidly glancing over the dash.
The countdown clock had forty seconds remaining until they reached their destination. Then a realization hit him - they couldn't risk firing at him yet - they were potentially detectable by the Humans on Gaia with their shields lowered.
I can outmanoeuvre them, he thought quickly. Scanning the sightline, he saw multiple comets and asteroids of varying sizes. The largest one was roughly four times the size of their shuttle.
"Let's play hide and seek, shall we?" he murmured. He had always excelled at navigating. He grabbed ahold of the throttle and palmed his right hand on the accelerator pad in front of him.
"Manual control override.” He needed to do this without computer guidance. A computer-aided escape would only follow preset guidance rules set by Ithes - and would contain none of the surprise manoeuvres he needed in order to successfully escape.
The comet was three hundred metres away. The shuttles suddenly moved in a tighter formation around him. They think they’re bringing me in. Think again.
He accelerated the shuttle, flying directly towards the comet. At a hundred feet away, a shuttle alarm started going off, with a yellow light flooding the cabin.
OBJECT DIRECTLY AHEAD. WARNING. AVERT IMMEDIATELY.
He ignored the rapid beeping.
Ninety feet away. He saw the shuttle in front of him move directly upwards, exactly what he wanted.
"Let's go," he said, and pulled the throttle back at full speed. The shuttle shot up, and then spun upside down three times before it dove a thousand feet under the comet. The beeping stopped.
He rammed the accelerator full-throttle. Now there was a direct sightline to his destination. The clock registered at fifteen seconds.
He looked at the 4D screen that was tracking the shuttles in pursuit - perfect. The armed shuttle in front of him had lost time manoeuvring away from the comet, and now he only had two hot on his tail.
Ten seconds.
They were arming their shuttles, bright red spots beginning to glow on the screen again.
"Sir, the shuttles are re-arming."
“Not surprised,” he mumbled.
“Cover, cover…need some cover…!” he scanned the asteroids splayed in front of him. There were several he could duck around for cover.
A huge bolt of energy suddenly hit the shuttle. He cursed as a huge flash momentarily blinded him, and he gasped at the impact as the aircraft shuddered.
He steadied his hands on the throttle, and shoved it to the right, just missing the asteroid by a hair. The asteroid was now directly behind him, and he pushed towards his target destination.
He felt a white light shoot right by him, towards his right. They had missed him by a fraction as well.
"How much impact did we sustain?" he yelled.
"Shields are at 65 per cent."
One more hit and the shuttle would barely be able to maintain its cover on Gaia once they entered their atmosphere. They could possibly lose their shields entirely once they exited their dimension.
Three seconds.
He saw the bright white band that surrounded Gaia and kept his eyes locked on his destination.
Come on.
His mouth was dry; they were entering the atmosphere at full-speed. He calculated his entry point. He would try and enter in with as little friction as possible.
He spotted the next shot that came from the shuttle on the left, now significantly farther behind him than before. He quickly pulled his throttle to the right, but his move was a fraction too slow.
The shuttle shuddered again, but the hit was off-centre, unlike the first one. The left wing flashed on the 4D screen. Shields were down to 45 per cent.
"We're going in, wing or no wing," he said. His mouth was dry. So much for a graceful landing.
He ran his hands over several of the navigation screens, his fingers typing frantically, making mechanical compensations for the left wing now badly damaged while the shuttle continued its descent.
His vision was suddenly permeated with blindingly white clouds. They were thick, bulging in every direction as the aircraft cut through them in endless layers.
They could be waiting for me to land, he realized. He would be running into a trap if he had to land and then run for cover.
"Computer - turn on the shields full-power at these coordinates," he instructed. He rapidly moved his fingers over the controls. He decided - he was going to do a jump hovering above the city skyline.
He sprang up from his chair, stumbling slightly as the shuttle continued its rapid descent. He steadied himself, and ran to mid-shuttle to suit up, strapping on his necessary gear. Helmet. Coordinate devices. He grabbed the satchel he’d filled back at the artillery room, along with provisions.
His plan was to make it through the next few minutes. Given that, everything else seemed like gravy.
"Approaching skyline - one minute," the computer said.
Griesen stood with his feet in the small outlined X in the middle of the shuttle. He was going to base jump down to Earth. He quickly looked around the shuttle. If it was to be found, he was certain that Ithes would rip it apart to find any detail about his last coordinates. It was the last thing he needed.
His heart hammered in his chest. He placed his hand on a plastic-covered casing, lifting the lid with a clockwise twist. He pushed the bright red detonation button.
A red light began to flare throughout the cabin. Then it hit him - he was going to detonate the shuttle – the only vehicle back to the only home he had ever known.
The shuttle detonation sequence was beginning. He would have ten seconds to jump.
Ten. Nine. Eight. The shuttle was counting down, her voice showing no signs of emotion. Machines. Impermeable and unemotional even towards their own demise.
He blinked. Would he ever find contact with his kind again?
Wait. He looked at his feet, and then realized - his Orb. He had left it on top of the navigational controls. He ran for it, spotting it wobbling precariously on the dash. He had almost forgotten. His adopted orb. He needed it.
Two.
Praggt. Praggt, he swore to himself. So late, so late...
He scattered backwards towards the X with the orb in his hand, with a desperation he never knew he had.
I don't want to die. I want answers.
One.
Onesecondonesecondonesecondonesecond. He placed his feet back on the X and frantically drew the sequence to open the door beneath his feet.
Open. NOW. Open. NOW. The aircraft imploded, and he felt the searing heat as
burn through his suit. The pressure and impact exploded, pushing him forward.
But mercifully, the door had opened – he saw the swath of deep blue water, and the cityscape not far off.
The last thing he saw was a red burst of flame, and the rush of the pressure of oxygen entering his lungs before his vision went black.
CHAPTER 12
His head felt like anvils had hit him. He woke up with a start, sweating heavily. His mouth felt like he’d swallowed a wad of cotton, still stuck to his tongue.
A voice, female, quickly came to soothe him. "Be still," he heard. "You were in a bad accident. You still have a lot of tubes in you.”
Tubes? He struggled to sit upright. He felt her arms push his arms down firmly.
"No, sir," she said. "Please – it is vital to stay still."
His eyes flicked open and he saw himself looking at a young nurse with brown chestnut hair tied up into a ponytail. Wide eyes. Blue uniform. I’m in a hospital, he realized. His eyes darted wildly in the room before resting fully on her again. How long had he been here? He had detected a kindness in her voice though, thank goodness. His senses told him that she was alright; that she wasn’t one of them. She had a human aura surrounding her.
Savannah - her nametag stated. He felt immediate relief - no matter how long he had been here, they must have not found him yet.
“You likely - can’t talk yet,” she said. “I’ve been monitoring you for the past two days. You were wheeled in… with no identification.”
Two days! he thought, his heart racing slightly.
She looked at him, her brows furrowed.
“Do you remember… an explosion?” she asked him. She seemed curious, asking him in a way that indicated he seemed fragile.
Was he hurt? he wondered. He realized he couldn’t move much. His body was covered with bandages.
He nodded yes to her. She wouldn’t hurt me. She had every chance over the past two days.
“A woman claimed she saw and heard an explosion, and then you washed up on shore. She was an off-duty paramedic, so she brought you in. But as for the wreckage…” she paused.
So he had come into the hospital under the radar - he felt further relief at the news. He blinked rapidly at her, willing her to go on.
“She insisted she saw something falling from the sky, and it certainly had not been a helicopter. A fiery ball from hell, was what she’d called it.” As she spoke, she looked at the monitors, reaching over, adjusting some of the lines running from it and into him. She pressed a button on the screen. “Well, whatever it was, they can’t find any piece of it.”
I’m here. On Gaia. His suit must have rendered his biological functions operational - how much did they know about him? From what it seemed, everything looked normal - as far as he could tell, he was every bit as human as he could be.
Savanna glanced over at him. “You’ve been unconscious for the past two days. It’s good to see you starting to recover.”
"Two days?" he gasped out, as the words fell garbled, disappearing into the sterilized air of the hospital room. He felt completely at odds with his body, as if he was using it for the first time. It hit him - he was.
She jumped back at hearing him speak, issuing a sudden laugh that filled his ears. He winced, unaccustomed to the sudden sharp quality of the sound.
“Yes.” She stared at him. "Two days. You were covered in third-degree burns and we haven't been able to contact your next of kin yet. Do you have someone we could contact?"
Griesen closed his eyes for a moment, and a choking sound came out of his lungs.
He heard her leave briefly, and a sound of running water. She came back with a paper cup, placing it in his outstretched hands.
"Thank you," he uttered to her. His hands shook as he poured the water out of the miniature cup and into his cupped right palm. Oh - wait.
He felt her stare at him as the water pooled onto his sheets. I’m not an Acruvae anymore. I have to drink it like a human, not absorb it through my hands!
“So-sorry,” he coughed out. She shook her head and got up quickly again, grabbing the cup to refill it.
This time, he gulped it down. Properly. There was a certain strangeness as he felt the liquid course through his mouth and through his body cavity. Water was a vital life force. He felt it run through him, subtly re-energizing his now-human body.
"Can I ... help you with contacting someone?" she asked again.
He waited a moment before replying. He cleared his throat. "I have no one." That was true.
“Do you remember your name?”
Griesen's mind was whirring. He had to get out of here. He had to get his suit. Where was it? He forced his sudden train of thoughts to slow down. Easy, take it easy... she would help him. He felt good about her. She had a sincerity that couldn’t be faked.
“Eric,” he said quickly. “Eric Edwards.” Hopefully that was generic enough.
He placed the dixie cup tentatively on the dresser on his left. "Where are my things?” he asked her. He calibrated his voice so it sounded like an innocent question.
She looked confused for a moment. "Your...things?" she asked. “Ah. You mean your clothing.” She nodded. "I can go get them for you after you have stabilized. But it will still be a few days. We always sterilize the clothes - "
"No!" he interrupted her then, his voice panicky. “Did you?”
She stopped mid-sentence, confused about his sudden anxiety.
"Don't worry," she said. "Everything is still there. We tried to search for your ID but couldn't find any -"
"Look," he interrupted her. "I really appreciate you doing all this, but I really need – my clothes. My things, right now." He looked at her pleadingly. "I need something in it right now. Can you please help me with this?"
He needed to escape. He needed to go - as long as everything was still there...
Savanna looked at him again. "I’d be more than happy to help you get your things, but just so you know, you cannot leave the room as you are still covered in third degree -" she emphasized the word - "burns."
She continued. "The doctor will be in this afternoon to check in on you."
“Burns,” he said aloud. He felt confused. “I am - where am I burned?”
“The morphine is stopping you from feeling any pain.” She nodded towards the monitor and tubes she had adjusted minutes ago. “Your legs, your chest and back suffered incredibly severe burns.”
Morphine. So that was why he felt so light-headed… and without pain, he realized. He had narrowly escaped the vessel. He was lucky to get out alive and this far without detection.
She paused for a moment. We don't know how you survived, or what kind of accident you had, but the police will also be in this afternoon as soon as I notify them that you're conscious."
The police. The police. Those words became a threat to him. No. He had to remain as undercover as possible. Undetectable.
He had to play the game. Don't be an idiot, his inner voice chided him. You're human now. Play to her emotive side. You need your things.
"Okay... " he let the word hang in the air for a moment. "That's not a problem. I'll be glad to talk to them. Can you help me get my things though?" he looked at her with pleading eyes. "I would be really, very grateful."
She hesitated only for a moment before relenting. "Well, fine. Let me get them for you now. We didn’t have time to process anything. Honestly… it’s been a long week around here." Then she turned and walked out towards the hall.
Griesen breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the intergalactic manhunt for him, perhaps there were still some lucky stars aligning in his favor. "Thank you," he called out to her retreating figure.
Now the room was empty. He closed his eyes for a moment, and forced himself to think. Two days, and he hadn’t been found yet. What he needed was enough time to get to Halva and help her bridge if it were possible, and from there, uncover what he could find out of his parents…
He gingerly lifted the neck of his gown, and he saw the white gauze covering his torso and upper legs. She was right
- he felt no pain.
But I’m human.
And fully so. The suit he had on right before the explosion had interfaced in time - he had transformed into human form. It had been a success before the shuttle had exploded. Given his burns, the suit would likely also have suffered heat damage. Would the Institute think he was dead? Was he safer than he thought? He wasn’t willing to lean on that assumption, though. From what he’d experienced of Ithes, he would turn over every inch of Gaia to verify that he was in fact dead and not alive.
He heard the door open and the nurse walked in again.
She placed the sack of items on the table beside him.
"Here you go," she said. “The cleaners were extremely backed up, so they weren’t able to get to washing anything of yours yet, but given you really wanted them…” She crinkled her nose. “They might smell from the smoke damage. So you’ve been warned.”
A huge wave of relief flooded over him. He leaned over and began untying it quickly, looking inside.
His suit was still intact, he thought with relief. The helmet. Everything was there. He fumbled around inside, unzipping a pocket, looking for the Orb - and there it was...! Then he looked up at her, and saw her staring at him with disbelief.
His face registered confusion as he looked back at her. What was it? Then he realized. He was moving far too quickly for a patient who had second and third degree burns. Even with morphine.
Praggt. He couldn't blow his cover, not even with her...to anyone.
He coughed for a moment, trying to think of a way to relieve the awkwardness of the situation. "Thank you for this. Would you mind...giving me a moment?" he asked her.
She nodded at him, continuing to look at him carefully.
“Okay,” she said quietly, and slipped out the door. He stood stock still until it closed entirely behind her. Then he jumped up from the bed and pulled off his hospital gown, ripping off the bandages off quickly. He winced at the sight of the raw, angry burns that ran like a red maze along his chest and down his legs. The wounds were still sticky and dark shades of red and a bruised yellow green, smelling of pus and something sharply medicinal.