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Episode 47: Homecoming
"This way." Royster motioned for the rest of the group to follow him. "I see more tracks."
"You sure you're not just taking us on some weird safari?" Clemens piped up from the back of the group.
"Be quiet." Jefferson Hardy elbowed the man walking next to him.
"Hey!" Clemens protested, rubbing his offended side, "Just asking."
"No, they were definitely here." Royster replied, ignoring, for once, the teasing Clemens liked to hand out. "You can see those strange footprints in a few patches of dirt. Then there's the crushed grass and ground cover and the broken branches on several of the bushes. And –"
"Just, keep moving, Royster. You can explain later after we've found them." Wildstar cut in.
"Oh, okay. Yeah. Sure." Royster replied. "Uh…" he swept his head lamp over the ground in front of him over and over, then repeated his earlier admonition, "This way."
The group trailed the short science officer closely, all of them making sure to keep at least one or two other party members in sight at all times. The last thing any of them wanted was for more of them to get lost in this jungle, especially in the dark.
The group trekked on and on through the undergrowth as it grabbed at their suits and tried to rip holes in the thick fabric. They stopped a few times for Royster to get his bearings again, then they set out once more, always following the strange tracks.
Several miles later, Royster stopped abruptly, staring into the darkness ahead.
"What're you doing, nerd?" Clemens protested again, "There's nobody here –"
"Shhh!" Royster hissed into the radio so loudly that everyone had the urge to clap their hands over their ears.
They all fell silent, Clemens included, when Royster shut off his headlamp and motioned for them all to do the same.
The group obeyed and all lights winked out, leaving them all standing in the middle of a pitch black jungle.
Wildstar looked around, trying to see something – anything at all.
They all waited in silence for a full minute before Royster whispered into the radio, "Something's out there."
"What?" Wildstar asked.
"Not sure." Royster replied, "But it's big, whatever it is. My sensors caught something for a second, then whatever it was, it disappeared, but I just checked my logs. That thing was it was at least eight feet long. And it was fast."
Wildstar thought for a moment, then asked, "Which way did it go?"
"Left." Royster replied, still whispering.
"Then we should go right." Clemens voice broke in again, "We can't get stuck out here fending off some jungle monster and getting ourselves killed before we find our people."
Wildstar was about to agree when Royster said, "B- but we c-can't go right." He stopped, then started again, "I caught something else on my s-sensors."
"What?" Wildstar asked again.
"There's something else out here." He stopped and didn't continue for a full ten seconds. "B-before I turned my lamp off, I saw huge t-tracks going off to the right. Like – like a big cat or something."
The group was silent, all wondering what they'd gotten themselves into this time.
Finally, Wildstar spoke. "Which way do the tracks we're following go?"
"Straight ahead." Royster replied, his stutter subsiding a bit.
"Alright, so let's get through this area as quietly as we can and make sure we don't draw the attention of whatever's out here. No one turn your lamps back on until Royster says so. In the meantime, we'll do a roll call. After that, everyone find the person nearest you and link your suit's tethers together. That way we won't lose anyone in the dark."
A host of affirmations came over the radio and Wildstar started calling out names. Each one was met with a reply of "Here."
Derek breathed a sigh of relief. At least they hadn't lost anyone so far. He didn't intend to lose any of them, but if he did, he didn't want it to be to something so stupid as getting lost in the dark.
Soon everyone was tethered together and Wildstar gave Royster the lead again.
"Okay, everybody move slowly." The science officer cautioned. "And don't trip over anything."
Grunts of agreement came over the comm and they all started out again.
A bare thirty seconds later they all stopped dead in their tracks as every HUD went wild.
"What's g-going on?!" Royster squeaked in terror as his helmet visor suddenly lit up like a desert at noon and the gauge that showed outside noises maxed out entirely.
"It's very loud and very bright!" Sandor called out over the expressions of pain coming from the rest of the group. "Close your eyes and wait for your visors to darken so you can see again."
The wails subsided as the light dimmed, then vanished.
"What was that?" Clemens asked.
"I'm picking up a weak signal from off to the left." Sandor said. "It's almost identical to IQ-9's beacon."
"Maybe it's them!" Conroy exclaimed from somewhere mid-pack.
"Why would they be so far away from the trail?" Henderson put in, adding to the conversation for the first time since they'd landed.
"Don't know, but if the signal you're getting is that close to IQ-9's, we have to check it out." Wildstar said, "Take the lead, Sandor."
The XO took over for Royster and started out into the darkness, making sure of every step before he took it.
The night was so thick around them that it was hard to see the ground right in front of them. After the blast of light it was even harder since their eyes had to readjust to the darkness.
All of them wondered what they would find at the end of this short journey. Was this a trap? Were their missing crew-members really just a short ways away?
No one spoke as they forged on through the darkness, but the weight of the situation had begun to settle on them all.
The sheer mass of the animal almost crushed Nova as she toppled to the ground. The noise assaulting them disappeared just as quickly as it had come and she felt like her ears would never stop ringing.
Her eyes, which she realized had been plastered shut, pried themselves open only to be met by a brilliant light. She snapped her eyes shut again, waiting for the burning radiance to disappear again.
Snarls and yelps from the giant cats forced her to open her eyes once more.
As soon as she did, she regretted it.
Not three inches from her nose was the gaping maw of a dead cat. Its razor-like teeth glinted in the dissipating light. It's dull, now life-less eyes seemed to stare at her.
Why was the cat dead? Had the noise somehow killed it?
She shook her head, deciding that was ridiculous and that she would worry about what killed the thing once she'd gotten out from under it.
She struggled to get free of the dead cat. The carcase was so heavy that she could barely move the thing, even putting all her strength into it.
"Help!" she called out, hoping that Wen or IQ would come to her aid.
She heard terrible sounds in the darkness all around her.
The two other cats growled and hissed, then one of them let out a roar as it attacked one of her friends – which one she wasn't sure, but she prayed that, whichever one it was, that he didn't get caught in those merciless claws.
She heard Wen let loose a battle-cry and she winced at the sound of his spear sinking into one of the beasts.
The cat shrieked in pain, then went silent.
The sound of the third cat snarling was abruptly cut off by the last sound in the world Nova expected to hear – laser fire.
There was a loud thump as the body of the third cat hit the ground and ten head lamps suddenly blazed to life, illuminating most of the area.
"Help!" Nova called out again, hoping that, this time, someone would hear her.
She pushed on the carcass once again, trying to get some of the pressure off of her chest so she could breathe better. She was starting to feel the weight of the dead cat. It was easily several hundred pounds, and even with all the adrenaline running through her, she still couldn't budge it even an inch.
"Nova?!"
She heard Wildstar calling her name from somewhere near where she'd heard the third cat go down. She couldn't see him with all of the lamps shining in her eyes, but she was sure it was him. His voice was unmistakable.
"Derek! Over here!" she called out as loudly as she could, trying to pry one arm free so she could let him know exactly where she was.
A few seconds later she felt the cat being lifted off of her. Then came the relief of being able to breathe properly again.
She started to get up.
Wildstar reached out a hand to pull her to her feet. She gladly took it, happier to see him than she would care to admit.
"How – how did you find us?" Nova asked, noting that Derek had flipped open is helmet's visor so that he could hear her.
"Turns out IQ-9 still had his tracking beacon turned on." Derek replied. "We just couldn't pick it up until we were really close to you. We followed your tracks from that old wreck back there."
Nova struggled to see which way he was pointing.
She shielded her eyes from the light of his and two others' headlamps.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Those aren't our tracks. We were captured by the people who live here – the Zögii." She pointed towards Wen who was now standing just outside the circle of light. "One of them helped us escape. His name is Wen."
Derek turned to the tribesman and said, "Thank you."
Wen looked back at him, puzzled.
"Oh! He can't understand you." She explained, then turned to Wen herself and conveyed Wildstar's sentiments. The Zögii nodded and said something Wildstar couldn't understand.
Nova turned back to Derek and said, "He told me to tell you that you are welcome, but that we must get out of here before any more predators come because of the cat's blood. He knows a safe path from here to the Seagull."
"How are you talking to him?" Derek asked.
Nova pointed to her forehead, "Some kind of translator they gave me back at the hive."
"Hive?" Wildstar asked, completely confused.
"I'll tell you everything once we're back aboard ship." She replied, "But we have to leave this place right now. I know too well what can happen when these things smell blood." She held out her red-smeared hands, then looked back at the cat her crewmates had dragged off of her.
She was amazed to see that the spear she'd been holding had impaled the cat right through its heart. It was dead before it hit her.
"Come on!" Nova motioned for Derek to follow her. "We have to go."
She looked around, trying to find Daniel.
She saw him, still in IQ-9's bulky arms, but he was wide awake now, a look of terror on his face.
She looked around at the rest of the group who'd come for them, noting them all and silently thanking God that they had so many friends who would be willing to come out here to rescue them.
Nova started towards Wen who was motioning frantically towards Wildstar's headlamp.
"Turn off the lights." Nova translated for her crew-mates. "They'll only draw the attention of more animals. Wen knows the way. He'll get us there."
Some of the rescue party looked at her skeptically, especially Clemens, but Nova assured them all that the tribesman had gotten them this far and he could get them the rest of the way back.
Reluctantly, the group obeyed and all lights were instantly snuffed out.
"This way." Wen called to Nova after they'd all had a chance to let their eyes adjust to the darkness again.
Nova translated for the rest of the group and followed Wen as closely as she could, glancing back every once in a while to make sure that she hadn't lost the rest of the group.
They trekked on for two more hours before they finally reached their destination.
Nova sighed in relief when she saw the outline of the Seagull in the pre-dawn darkness.
She felt like she'd been run through an old-fashioned clothes wringer. She was so tired she felt like she could climb into the survey ship's cargo hold and go right to sleep on the cold floor. She was dirty, bloodied, and battered, but she was alive and arguably none-the-worse for wear.
She staggered towards the ship and would have fallen if it hadn't been for Wildstar catching her.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked as he helped her stand up straight again.
"Yeah, just… exhausted." She replied quietly, then continued towards the survey ship. "We need to get Rowland to the med bay. He was beaten back at the hive. He would be worse off than he is if it hadn't been for Wen." She motioned towards the tribesman who was standing several feet away staring at the Seagull in open admiration. "He patched up Daniel as well as he could before he helped us escape."
"And what does he want in exchange for helping you out?" Derek asked, eying the man suspiciously.
"Nothing I wouldn't have given him anyway." Nova replied cryptically before leaving Wildstar and walking over to Wen.
"Here." She said to the Zögii, holding out a small silver device. "I don't have another way to leave you a copy of the Book I promised you, so take this."
Wen looked at Nova strangely, but took the device.
Nova reached out and touched the thing, causing it to light up.
Words, thousands of precious words filled the air in front of Wen, but he couldn't read them.
The tribesman looked at the display, sadness filling his eyes, "I… don't know what they say…" he said quietly.
"Oh!" Nova exclaimed, "I'm sorry. Here." She adjusted the language setting. "This won't be exactly the same as your language, but I think you'll be able to read it decently enough."
The tribesman's face instantly lit up as he read aloud the first line of the Book. "'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.'" There, he stopped, overwhelmed. "Thank you!" Without warning he threw his olive-skinned arms around her and hugged her as though she were an old and dear friend. "I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for giving me this."
"You don't have to thank me." Nova said, "Just read it."
Wen let her go and, tears in his eyes, he smiled brighter than Nova had ever seen a man smile. "I will read it. And I will show it to the rest of my people too. If this Book is what you've said it is, then we may finally know the truth of our origin. We are indebted to you." Wen bowed before the woman, "I hope one day we may meet again."
"I hope so too, Wen." Nova said, pulling the Zögii back up to his feet.
She turned to go, then another thought came to her. "That device won't just let you read that Book." She said, "If you ever need us, you can use it to send us a message. The signal is weak, so we won't be able to hear it if we're too far away, but if we're nearby, we'll hear it."
"Thank you." Wen nodded, "I will remember." The tribesman looked around at the rescue party who were all standing several feet away, watching the exchange, "I know you came to find food. There is a place on the other side of the planet where you can hunt or gather food without any more interference from my people. We do not go there because it is very hard to get to, but with your ship, I have no doubt that you could get there easily. There is a valley settled in the mountains near a great lake. There you will find enough food to feed as many people as you have with you."
"Thank you, Wen." Nova said, holding out a hand for the tribesman to take.
Wen took the offered hand and squeezed it in a gesture of comradeship.
"We will take only what we need, then we'll be on our way." Nova said. "I'm glad we met you, Wen Yi Khan. May God go with you."
"And may you have a safe journey… my friend." The tribesman replied, letting go of Nova's hand.
"Good-bye, Wen." Nova said quietly, stepping away from the man, a twinge of sadness in her heart that she would have to leave this man so soon after meeting him. She'd only known him for a couple of days, but in that time she'd helped him care for her crew-mate, followed him through a maze of underground tunnels, fought by his side, and given him the answer to his people's deepest question. She felt like he was one of her fellow crewmen now and it was harder than she'd thought it would be to leave him behind.
She forced herself to go, looking back at Wen several times as she followed the rest of her crew-mates towards the survey ship.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stepped onboard the Seagull. Half of the rescue team boarded with her, along with IQ-9 and Daniel.
She didn't remember sitting in the co-pilot's seat, but as the survey ship rose, she could barely make out the form of Wen getting smaller and smaller until she couldn't see him anymore.
The rest of the flight was a blur.
Somehow whoever was piloting the Seagull – Clemens, she thought – got the ship back to the Argo. A little while later the pilots returned, docking in their assigned bays.
Nova didn't remember going back to her room, but she was sure that Feria probably had a hand in taking her. She was vaguely aware that the ship had moved, but that was all.
Sometime later she woke up to someone shaking her arm.
"Hey! Wake up, sleepy-head." Feria's voice coaxed Nova out of a sound sleep. "You've been out for almost twenty-four hours."
"What?" Nova asked groggily, then she realized what her friend had said, "Oh no! My duty shift!" she tried to sit up, but the sudden movement made her dizzy and she fell back down on the bed.
"Don't worry about that. Miki's covering it. She said she owed you one." Feria reassured Nova. "I just woke you up to let you know that your friend – that 'Wen' guy – gave us great info. Our stores are fuller than they were when we left Earth. Not sure what half of it is, but IQ and some of the science team says it's safe to eat. Royster says that most of it tastes better with ketchup."
Nova gave her old friend a tired smile, "Good. I'm glad." Then she turned to a more serious subject, "How's Daniel?"
"Ah, he'll be okay. Doc Sane says that whatever your Wen friend did, it helped a lot. Doc put Rowland on a lot of bed-rest and some meds, but other than that, he came out okay. He was pretty shaken up about the whole thing for a few hours, but he calmed down when we told him everyone was okay and that we'd been able to get all that food." Feria patted Nova on the shoulder. "Now get back to sleep. Captain and the Doc said you earned as much sleep as you need."
"Thanks, Feria." Nova replied. "Tell Conroy and the rest of the pilots thanks for me."
"I will." Feria said, then left her friend's room.
Nova was just about to fall back into dreamless slumber when she heard the sound of a communicator buzzing for attention.
She opened her eyes and looked around. Maybe Feria had dropped her comm device while she'd been in the room.
Then she noticed the new unit on the tiny shelf set into the wall next to her.
"Oh! A new one already?" she thought as she picked up the device. She looked at it quizzically, wondering who would be calling her. Then she realized that it was a text-only message.
She opened the note, but couldn't read it. She adjusted the language setting and the words started to melt into something she could understand.
The sentences were rough and broken, and the translation wasn't very good, but she could make out the meaning of it. It was a small piece of one of the Psalms of King David.
"O LORD, my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever."
It was signed, "Wen – true son of Earth. May I one day stand upon her shores and breathe her air, as my ancestors once did."
Nova closed the note and held the tiny device close to her heart. "Yes, Wen. I hope you will one day do just that."
Episode 48: Best Laid Traps
"Like Princess Astra, you say?" Emma looked back at Dara with unbelieving eyes, "I thought she was on Iscandar."
"I did too." Dara replied, as she ate what passed for breakfast aboard the Cobel. Ever since she'd come back from her encounter with the Eratites, she and Emma had been sharing breakfast. The younger girl always took in Dara's words so eagerly that it made her want to tell Emma more about that strange episode and about herself in general. Though she was always careful not to reveal her true identity, or the fact that she'd stolen Melda Dietz's face in an effort to find her lost daughter.
Emma shook her head and picked up what looked like a piece of bread slathered with some kind of jelly, but Dara knew it tasted nothing like either of the two. Emma made a sour face and set the food down on her plate again before continuing. "Why would Princess Astra be way out here?"
"She said she wasn't Astra." Dara said, "I already told you that. She said her name was 'Nova,' or something."
Emma took a gulp of water to wash down the awful aftertaste of her "food." "Maybe she was lying – to keep you from knowing it was really her."
"I don't think so." Dara shook her head, "I'm pretty sure she was telling the truth."
"How do you know?" Emma pried.
"I don't know, I just think she was. There was something about her." Dara replied as she picked at her own food, eating a small bite here and there, then washing it down with a healthy dose of coffee. "And she saved me from that crazy guy who tried to kill me."
"I'm pretty sure that's something the Princess would have done. I'm still not convinced it wasn't her." Emma looked around the mess hall clandestinely, then leaned forward and whispered, "After all, how did the Eratites get all that technology they're using? Clearly it isn't theirs. Our scouts didn't see anything on their planet that would have indicated that kind of thing."
"You're saying that Princess Astra went out on her own and gave it to them?" Dara replied, her voice low. Just as she said it, the strange things she'd found in Melda's quarters came to mind and a chill ran through her. What if Melda knew this all along? What if she was supposed to help in some way? Was this "Nova" woman really who she'd said she was? Doubt began to gnaw at her the more she thought about it.
"I'm saying it would make sense." Emma replied, looking around again to make sure no one was listening to them. "Even if that woman was telling the truth, maybe the Princess is aboard that ship somewhere and this 'Nova' person is a double for her."
Dara sighed, "Well, whether she is the Princess or not, she was kind to me, and so were most of the others. Even the one who tried to kill me decided he didn't really hate me that much. They didn't seem so awful. Why are we trying to kill them?"
Emma looked down at her plate, then replied slowly, "We need someplace to go, Melda. Where are we going to move our people to? Without Erats, there's nowhere to go."
"I'm sure we could find some place." Dara replied, trying to lift her friend's spirits just a bit, "Surely there's somewhere we could go. Maybe the Leader could ask Queen Starsha if she could take in some of our people? After all, Iscandar isn't populated anymore."
Emma shook her head, "It's not that easy. We can't all go to Iscandar. There isn't enough room. Their landmass is a tiny fraction of what we would need."
"I know, but maybe the colony worlds could take the rest of us." Dara added.
"But that's not a permanent solution." Emma protested, "We need somewhere that we can all go – a place we can stay and claim as ours – not someone else's backyard. We can't just wander like nomads through the universe." She stood up, her voice rising. "And what about people like my sister and her family? She has two kids, and she just had a baby! She can't be expected to just sit in temporary housing wondering whether or not her children are going to eat that day. We can't live like that!"
Dara stared dumbfounded at Emma whose fiery eyes were now boring into Dara's.
"Sorry, I just…" Dara didn't know what else to say, then she noticed all the other faces staring at them from around the mess hall. "I think you need to calm down for a minute."
Emma noted her friend's wandering eyes and followed Dara's gaze. Seeing that she'd drawn too much attention, the younger girl gave an embarrassed nod to the onlookers, then sat back down, head low. "I just don't want my family to have to go through something like that…"
"I get it." Dara replied, "I wouldn't want my… family… to have to experience that either." At the mention of family, images of her own daughter Constance came to her. What if she'd had to make the decision the Leader… her brother… had had to make? Hearing Emma's view had given her a new perspective on her brother's plight. Maybe he hadn't made the best decision, but if she were in his place, would she have done any differently? "Let's get going. I don't think I can eat any more of this stuff."
Emma nodded slowly and picked up her plate. The two women dumped the rest of their food into the recycler then left the mess hall.
Celestella couldn't believe her ears. "Princess Astra?" She asked, astonished.
"Yes, Councilor." Dommel Lysis' second-in-command replied, "We received word from the spy Colonel Gantz assigned to watch Melda Dietz. "Apparently there is a woman aboard the Eratite ship who very well could be the Iscandari princess."
"Does General Lysis know about this?" Celestella asked.
"He does." The man replied, "He asked me to bring it to you, since he is quite busy. And he felt that the Leader would not be as… objective in this matter since it could potentially involve an Iscandarian."
"Yes, he was right to bring it to me. This could be a… troublesome twist of fate." Celestella looked from the man before her to the blue planet floating in the sky above the palace. "Hmm…" Celestella tapped her finger absently on the table in front of her. Then a thought came to her, "You have Frakken and his men with you, do you not?"
"We do, Councilor."
"I will send you my instructions within the hour. Once you've received them, I expect you to begin executing my orders immediately. Is that understood?"
"Of course." The man bowed, "We will do exactly as you ask."
"Very good." With that, Celestella ended the conversation and the General's executive officer disappeared.
"What an interesting turn of events." Miezella thought, "The Princess of Iscandar on board the Eratite ship…" A vengeful smile began to spread across her grey face, "I may be forbidden to interfere with you, oh Queen," Celestella looked upward towards the planet framed by the near window, "But your sister is still fair game. Let us see how well you like it when your family is taken from you."
Within fifteen minutes the Jirelian had her orders ready to send to Balan. It wasn't hard to figure out what she wanted to do. She'd thought about such a possibility before, but she'd always assumed the second Iscandari woman to be… well, on Iscandar, beyond her reach. Now that there was the possibility that she wasn't…
Miezella sent her instructions. Immediately a wave of giddy elation flowed over her. It wouldn't be long before she received word from Lysis's forces.
"What will you do, Astra? What will you say when I make you call off your sister? How will you stop me from tearing your meddling sibling's plans limb from limb? Your God won't be able to stop me once I have you within my grasp." Celestella laughed at the thought. If she could get Astra, she would have the means to win this war between her Master and this pitiful Iscandari Queen.
She sat smiling to herself for a long time, glaring with evil glee at the blue world she so hated. "I will win, Starsha of Iscandar." She spat the despised name, "I will win."
Hours passed this way with Miezella content to meditate on her coming victory. She would have stayed there all night, but an incoming call interrupted her revelry.
"Yes." Celestella answered the call, rather annoyed at being interrupted. "What is it?"
"We've found some rebels." The voice of one of her Purge soldiers sent another thrill through Miezella, and her irritation disappeared.
"Good. Round them up and get them on a transport." Celestella replied, "I have just the place for them."
"Where, Councilor?" the soldier asked.
"Leptopoda." Miezella replied, "The warden is a friend of mine and I know he won't let them escape once they're there."
"The prison world?" the soldier asked, a strange look on his face. "But they're not violent – at least, not in the way most of the criminals on Leptopoda are."
"Are you questioning my decision?" Celestella asked, letting an edge cut into her voice.
"No – no, Councilor. They will be sent to Leptopoda. Am I to assume that any others we find are to meet the same fate?"
"Yes." Celestella replied, "And I don't want to hear any more about it. I don't care who they are or what their political standing may be. If they're rebels, or rebel sympathizers, they'll be relegated to Leptopoda – without exception."
"Yes, Councilor." The soldier bowed and ended the transmission.
"What a day." Miezella thought, "They will all fall at the Master's feet. One way or another." She smirked, "The rebels will have to learn that their efforts are in vain. Once enough of them have been culled, the rest will fall into line."
With that, Celestella once again sat in contented silence, letting her mind wander to what she would do with Astra and the rebels once she had them.
Street after dark street flew by as Elisa fled the burning, wrecked building. Everything had gone according to plan, until the soldiers appeared. She'd helped set the explosives carefully and she'd made sure that everyone was out of the building before they'd blown it.
The small supply depot wasn't anything too important. This move was more about making a statement to the government than about really damaging the military's supply line.
She'd had second thoughts more than once during the whole affair. Memories of all the times she'd followed her husband and the Leader into battle during their own uprising against the Usurper ran through her mind. Now… she felt like she was betraying them both.
It was too late to go back now.
The soldiers had spotted three of her people and two of them were already cuffed and in the soldier's custody. She couldn't let the other one fall into their hands too.
She looked back over her shoulder to make sure the other man was still following her. He was there, sweat rolling down his terrified face. He was breathing hard as he ran, but he was keeping pace with her decently.
Elisa abruptly turned a corner, leading her fellow rebel into another part of the city, one with which she was more familiar.
Right before they reached their destination, Elisa stopped, putting out an arm to catch the rebel behind her so that he wouldn't tumble out into the street. The alley they were in was narrow and pitch black.
Elisa slowly peeked out into the street. If the soldiers figured out where they were headed, they were done for.
The woman looked first one way, then the other, then pulled her head back into the alley and whispered to her comrade, "We lost them. You should be able to get back home without any trouble now. I don't think they got a good look at you."
The rebel nodded, thankful for her intervention.
Slowly, he slipped out of the alley and started walking nonchalantly down the street, like he'd just gone out for an evening stroll.
Elisa sighed in relief. At least she'd helped someone get away. She'd lost two tonight. Others had been caught too. She'd heard from several other group leaders that the soldiers had found them. One group had never checked in at all and Elisa was sure that they'd all been caught.
She peeked out into the street again. Deciding she'd waited long enough, she slipped out and headed home.
Once she'd locked the front door behind her, she headed up to her bedroom. With a sigh she sank down onto the bed. Her stomach roiled and she fought the urge to throw up again.
Her com buzzed. She froze. Had security discovered what she was doing? She grabbed for the device.
"Alishya? I wasn't expecting to hear from you yet." Elisa exclaimed.
"I wasn't going to call you until morning, but then I couldn't help myself." The doctor replied, an odd twinkle in her eye.
"So what's wrong with me?" Elisa asked, "It would be nice to know if I can stop this constant sick feeling." She sighed and rubbed her upset stomach.
"You're fine, my friend." Alishya replied, a smile spreading across her face, "More than fine, in fact."
Elisa looked at the other woman puzzled, "I don't understand."
Alishya laughed, then said, "You're pregnant, Elisa." Then added, "About two to three weeks, I would say."
Elisa stared at her physician for a long moment, eyes wide in disbelief, "But – but – " she stuttered, "You're saying this is morning sickness? But I didn't have it with my son –"
Alishya shook her head, "That doesn't mean you won't have it with this baby. Especially if it isn't a boy."
Elisa slowly ventured, "Is… it a boy?"
"I don't know yet." Alishya replied, "I can find out in a few weeks though. Come back to me then and we'll know one way or the other."
"Alright…" Elisa replied, still stunned by the news, "Th – thank you… I'll be back in a few weeks."
"Good. I will see you then." Alishya signed off and the physician's face disappeared, leaving in its wake a strange feeling of hope that Elisa hadn't had in a long time.
She pocketed the communicator and looked around the room, noting the items Dommel left behind. Some of his clothes were still here and she had the overwhelming urge to go and bury her face in them. A moment later, with her face in one of Dommel's old shirts, she cried with happiness at the thought that she might once again have a child of her own – something she had wanted for a long time.
Then the thought came to her: How could she get the news to her husband? She didn't even know where he was. Perhaps she would have to wait until he came home.
She decided she would surprise him upon his return. After all, he had waited for this just as long as her, and she wanted him to experience this joy with her, not on some world light-years away.
Thoughts of the rebels rose in her mind. What would she do about her new appointment now?
She looked down at herself, noting her still-flat abdomen. Placing a protective hand over her yet-to-be-born son or daughter, she determined she would do what she had to in order to protect her child. She believed with all her heart that fighting the Eratites was wrong and that it would cost more lives than it would save.
She would go ahead with her plans to help Dietz, and she would do it for all of Gamilon. But now, she would also do it for her child.
Elisa stepped out of her husband's closet and laid down on the bed. Before she knew it, she was asleep. She slept so soundly that she almost didn't hear the pounding on her door just before dawn.
"Mistress!" the call rang out, cutting through the closed bedroom door like it was paper. "Soldiers!"
Elisa jolted awake. What were soldiers doing here at this hour? She was certain she hadn't been seen last night, and the other man she'd led away wouldn't have betrayed her, had he been caught.
She jumped out of bed and threw on whatever was at hand – which ended up being the blue-grey dress she usually wore to council meetings.
"Mistress!" the servant's voice rang out again as more pounding sounded from downstairs.
"Answer the door!" Elisa called to the woman.
After having hurriedly finished dressing, Elisa flew downstairs.
"What in the name of –" Elisa was stopped short by rough hands seizing her arms. "What's going on?!" she demanded.
"By the order of Councilor Miezella Celestella, I'm placing you under arrest for suspicion of treason." The leader of the soldiers, now standing in Elisa's entryway, pointed outside, then said to the one holding her, "Take her away."
"What 'treason'?" Elisa continued to insist, "I've done nothing!"
"Rebels were seen entering your property late last night," the head soldier replied. "Why would they come here if they didn't think you would harbor them?"
Elisa's head swirled. At least she hadn't been seen at the supply depot. But what rebels was this man talking about? Then it came to her. Members of some of the other groups must have sought safety after their own groups were apprehended. Some of them hadn't been careful enough to stay out of sight.
She fought off a groan of frustration.
"Where are you taking me?" Elisa asked. If she knew where she was going, at least she might be able to find a way to escape.
"You'll find out soon enough," the head soldier replied. "Get her in the car."
Elisa was unceremoniously stuffed into the backseat of the waiting vehicle. As it drove away she didn't bother to look back. She knew she wouldn't be going back home any time soon.
Captain Avatar stared down at the capsule housing the Iscandari Princess's body.
He hadn't come here since before the Argo's launching ceremony. Most of the crew didn't even know that the woman's body was on board. He was sure that it wouldn't make much of a difference to most of them, but he wanted to make sure that the body wasn't disturbed before they reached Iscandar.
"We owe you so much, Queen Starsha," he thought as he looked into the peaceful face of the woman lying dead inside this transparent coffin. "I'm sorry we have to bring back your sister like this."
Avatar looked away from the dead woman. Even now, it was like she was still here. He knew that wasn't the case. Her soul had long ago departed, but the sense of someone watching over them remained. Likely that was the result of her sister, Starsha's intervention several times since they'd left Earth.
It had been several days since Miss Forrester and Rowland's misadventure. Since then, they'd made two warps.
Avatar found a chair and sat. They were behind schedule. Delay after delay had forced them to wait longer than they'd anticipated. "If only you had an answer to that problem too, Queen Starsha." The captain thought absently.
Avatar's comm unit chirped for his attention. He fished out the thing and answered it.
"Captain, we're almost ready for another warp, but Sandor says there's something wrong with the instruments." Said Wildstar.
"I'll be on the bridge momentarily." Avatar replied, then pocketed the device again.
He sighed. Would there never be a moment to rest on this long journey?
He started to stand up, but as he did pain shot through his side and he grasped at his old wound, holding it and gritting his teeth until the pain subsided.
"Lord, bring us through. Even if I don't live to see the day we return to Earth, make sure they do." The old man prayed as the faces of so many of his young crew came to mind.
He let go of his side and slowly left the Iscandarian's impromptu tomb, throwing one last look at the coffin as he went.
The door sealed behind him and he locked it with a code that only he and his XO knew.
With that, he turned his weary feet towards the bridge, wondering what they'd wandered into this time.