Earth's Children
Summary: The parents of Harper tell their tale of life and love in Post-Commonwealth Earth.
Author: Luna Sealeaf
Rating: PG-13 (Just to be safe)
Disclaimer: Again, I do not own any Andromeda characters, so don't sue me, etc. I'm not making any profit, and since my total life savings accumulates to a whopping 27 (I got allowance! Yay!) bucks, there's really no point in suing me.
Archive: It didn't occur to me before, but if anyone wants to they can. (let me know though; please) I dunno where this fic would fit in though...
"Cause we are born innocent.
Believe me Adia; we are still innocent.
It's easy, we all falter.
But does it matter"
-Ancient Earth song (Sarah McLaughlin)
Episode Fifteen
When I walked into the house and saw my son unconscious by the floor at least a thousand different thoughts went through my head. When I heard Josephine scream all those thoughts disappeared. I had run into the kitchen to find her bleeding; Randal standing over her. A man I had counted as a friend. And then those thoughts were gone too, and all that was left was fury.
If it hadn't of been for Devin I would have killed Randal. Sometimes I'm still not sure why Devin held me back. He said it was for my own good, but I didn't understand. Oh sure, the intensity of the rage frightened me a little, but I didn't care all that much. If it helped me to protect my family then I wouldn't question it. The ends justify the means, after all.
A few months after this incident, well into fall, another famine began. It almost seemed to be some kind of punishment for my misjudgment. No one was really sure why the food suddenly became so scarce. There were many different rumors. Some said that the Nietzscheans were taking our shipments of food and sending them to one of their colonies that had been attacked by magog. Others said they were simply punishing us. And still others claimed that it was due to crop failures; no more, no less.
Of course it hardly mattered why there was no food. Seeing my wife and child, my niece and nephew, my sister and best friend all growing thinner than they should have been was one of the most painful things in my life. Orla, Devin, Josephine, and I all gave up most of our meals so that the children could eat. It still wasn't enough. Seamus and Brendan had been going through growth spurts and were always hungry, no matter how much we gave up. Caitlin –well, it was hard to tell with Caitlin. She never asked for more food, but she grew paler and thinner than was normal.
That winter was one of the hardest in memory. All around us people were starving to death. It's a miracle that we didn't as well, and it's mostly thanks to my sister and my wife that any of us survived. They stretched our stores of food so that we made it to spring, when new supplies finally reached the market. They came up with thousands of ways to make one person's ration feed an entire family. The two of them were geniuses, and Devin and I made sure to tell them so.
During the famine life had slowed. Houses, including ours, became silent as people struggled to conserver their energy. No one went to listen to music on Saturdays. Even the children talked quietly in the evenings instead of their usual play. Once spring came and we were all able to eat a full meal again, life quickly resumed its normal pace. Seamus and Brendan roamed the streets during the day (except for when we insisted they go to school, but as both were practically ten, there wasn't much that the people there could teach them.) and rough-housed in the evening, until one of us told them to be quiet and go to bed.
Sometimes Caitlin went with them, other times she stayed in the house and silently watched her mother and Josephine as they worked. Although she would smile at us and laugh when Devin or I made faces at her, Caitlin never communicated with us the way she seemed to do with her brother and cousin. Her parents tried questioning Brendan and Seamus, but they claimed to be unable to explain it.
"We just know what she means, and she knows what we mean." Brendan explained so unhelpfully one night.
But the fact that she couldn't talk to us didn't make her any less precious or loved. At seven she was the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen and one of my favorite pastimes was to make jewelry out of different odds and ends for her. We adults always treated her like a delicate fragile doll, but Brendan and Seamus didn't hesitate to drag her into their games, yell at her, and just generally act like she was a perfectly normal seven year old girl. Their attitude was probably healthier than ours, but what could we do? All of us knew how much more dangerous life would be for Caitlin than for the boys. At least she had them, and us, to protect her.
I remember that spring and the early summer in a series of different moments. There were the times when I was alone with Josephine and knew that the size of my love for her almost scared me, and there were the times when the four of us were together, talking and laughing, remembering old times. And there were, of course, the children. I loved playing with them. Most of my days were spent searching for food and supplies, usually accompanied by Devin, but at times I would simply stay home and follow the kids around. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed having kids around.
When I was young I had never considered myself much of a family man; I half-doubted that I would even ever get married. Now I sometimes would think of the child Josephine had lost and wish we had more children. Once I voiced these thoughts to Josephine and she scolded me for not being grateful at our good fortune.
"Good fortune? What good fortune?" I grumbled thinking of Siobhan and Declan, and their parents.
"We have Seamus. We have Devin and Orla. We have Brendan and Caitlin. We have each other." She said the words softly as though afraid that if they were spoken too loudly fate would hear and decide that perhaps we had too much good fortune.
"You're right. You're always right." I smiled and pulled her into my arms. She grinned up at me, dark eyes twinkling.
"Of course I am, and you'd better remember it!"
I often miss those days; back when the children were still young enough to be, for the most part, dependant on us. Once Brendan and Seamus were ten they liked to go out on their own, usually with their friend Isaac along. Caitlin was sometimes invited, but usually the boys wouldn't let her come. This led us to believe whatever they were doing was dangerous.
"I want you two home before dark this time," Josephine ordered as both boys pulled on jackets. Her arms were crossed and her face plainly told them that it would be futile to argue. Devin and I exchanged looks from our seats in the main room, just right of the door.
"Mind if your old man tags along?" Devin asked casually. Usually Brendan would smile and happily invite him along. Brendan enjoyed hanging out with his dad. This time, however, Brendan glanced at Seamus. Neither made any other gesture, but Brendan shook his head slowly at Devin.
"Nah, that's ok Dad. We're not going anywhere real interesting. And we'll be back real quick." Devin frowned but didn't say anything else. I sometimes couldn't help feeling that he spoiled his son too much. Brendan was a sweet boy; he rarely disobeyed his parents or got into trouble. My son on the other hand was a born troublemaker. Well, with the combined smarts of his mother and father, and my good looks, how could he not be? Actually, when I stopped to think about it, Seamus was just the way I was when I was young. Not that that was any excuse for him to disobey me.
"So where is this 'not real interesting' place?" I questioned as I stood up to face the boys. Seamus gave me one of his exasperated looks.
"Just down the street aways. We're gonna play some games with the kids from school."
I looked to Josephine but she just shrugged. There were friends of Brendan and Seamus' up the street; it was entirely possible that Seamus was telling the truth.
"Fine, I trust you." I said hoping the words might guilt Seamus into behaving. By his innocent smile and perfect words of reassurance, I doubted it had worked.
Still we had bigger problems to worry about than our way-ward son and nephew. The Nietzscheans had increased their slave raids. Sometimes there were random attacks at night, sometimes they would come and take people right off the street. Other times they came for a specific category of people. They always needed more slaves –either for themselves for so they could sell them off-planet. Nietzscheans were hardly the only people to buy slaves. Some people even said that there were humans, spacers of course, who bought cheap earth-slaves.
So my worries over my family's safety were justified. Luckily we remained, for a time at least, unaffected by these raids.
That fall we learned where Seamus and Brendan spent so much of their time. We were preparing for winter, the famine of last year fresh in our minds, when Seamus and Brendan came home late in the afternoon, excitement flushing their faces.
"Mom, Dad! Aunt Orla, I've got something to show you!" Seamus said breathlessly. Devin had gone out with Caitlin, so there was only the three of us to give worried looks.
Seamus motioned to Brendan who ran back outside the door to bring in a heavy-looking piece of metal. The boys obviously thought it was something to be proud of. Maybe it was; however, we didn't know what we were looking at.
"Seamus, please tell me that's not some sort of explosive that's going to blow up my house?" Josephine's voice was falsely sweet, as was the smile on her face. Seamus, not sure if she was joking or not, gave her a slightly confused grin.
"Of course not Mom," He said, still grinning.
"Well then you had better explain what it is and what it's doing in our home."
"I was about to!" He caught the glare on her face and instead turned to me. "Dad, you'll know what this is. It's one of those electric heaters! The kind the Nietzscheans use!"
If this had been meant to reassure us, it was definitely not working. Josephine, Orla, and I all said,
"A what?!" at approximately the same time.
"Did you steal it?" Orla asked, her face turning pale. Brendan and Seamus were both looking nervous and confused.
"No, no! I made it," Seamus explained. Josephine snorted and I myself couldn't hide a look of disbelief.
"From the spare parts in the junkyard. See, this one was broken, but Brendan helped me find the stuff it needs and I fixed it so it works now." Brendan nodded quickly in agreement.
"Seamus, do you know what the punishment is for taking parts from the Nietzscheans?" While I really wanted to ask him to show us that it worked, I knew he had to understand how dangerous what he claimed to have done was.
"Well, yeah, but no one caught me! And it's not like the Ubers need it anymore," he protested.
"That's not the point," Josephine said, raising her voice just a little.
"Seamus –how did you know how to fix it?" Orla's voice startled us all and we fell silent as we turned to look at her. Seamus gave a shrug in answer.
"I don't know; I just kinda...found what fit. And then it worked." I found myself thinking back to the night when I'd read him the flexi on the mechanical electronics, and how he had claimed to understand everything from it. I found myself feeling proud of him and was surprised that Josephine still looked angry. Usually I let her handle the discipline, etc. but this time I decided to have my say as well.
"Don't just stand there. Turn it on, let's see if it works." I interjected before his mother could say anything.
"Of course it works," Seamus said firmly; but he smiled as he said them and proudly turned the heater on. I stepped forward and put a hand close to it. After a few seconds I could tell that it really did work. Orla, and a slightly more reluctant Josephine, also put their hands forward. Orla and I were smiling with delight as we thought of how wonderful this would be in the middle of winter. Josephine just looked sad.
"Come here you two," I couldn't stop grinning and pulled both boys into a fierce hug. They allowed it for about a minute before pushing away.
"Wait til you show Devin and Caitlin," Orla said with a smile. As they went to find a place to put the heater, I gently took Josephine aside. Her eyes followed Seamus and were narrow with worry.
"What's wrong?" I asked her quietly. It was times like these that I became aware of how dirty I was. Strange, I know, but whenever I was trying to talk with Josephine I would suddenly realize how worn my shirt and pants were; how stiff my hair felt. She always looked beautiful of course, and normally I wouldn't care about how I looked; I guess I was just afraid that someday she'd find me too disgusting to touch.
"How can you even ask that Evan? What's wrong is that our son committed a crime that the Nietzscheans would kill him for if he was caught." The words were said quietly so that the others wouldn't hear them, but that didn't keep the fierceness out either.
"Josephine what makes you think that they wouldn't just as easily kill him or us for that matter, simply for walking down the street? Seamus didn't get caught and he won't get caught." I tried to sound sure of my words. It must have worked because instead of arguing she just smiled at me and held her hand to my cheek for a moment.
And so our son became a thief. A criminal. At least that's what the Nietzscheans would call him if they ever found out what he did. Josephine would still sometimes protest when he and Brendan set out to go to the junkyard. She claimed the germs would kill him if the Nietzscheans didn't. But she still allowed them to go and I never objected. Throughout that winter they'd come home with some little odd or end that made our lives a little bit easier.
During these cold months a few things happened. Nothing that really affected the rest of the family, mostly it was just me and Devin. I had started thinking about how we might get information about the Nietzscheans. Kind of a spy network, if you will. Just so we could be forewarned before a slave raid, or get any other important information. One day when Devin and I were at the market I started talking to him about it. A couple of our acquaintances started listening as I told them my idea. It was pretty simple and nothing to brag about. I just said that anyone who'd be willing to collect information anyway they knew how should be given extra food, clothing, or whatever they needed.
Those of us with families were probably not going to be active 'spies' but there were plenty of single men and women who would gladly fight against the Nietzscheans anyway they could. Slowly our little group began to grow until we had to hold meetings in one of the empty rooms of the tunnels. It was a silent rule that none of us get too close if it could be avoided. If a spy were caught they'd be killed instantly. Making friends was not the point; surviving as long as we could by banding together was. It was Devin who first started referring to himself as 'Lahey'. I became known simply as 'Harper' after that. It was a good idea of his; there was something about using a first name that became too personal. And titles like 'Miss' or 'Mr.' were a mouthful.
I remember one night, a few months after this had gotten started, someone knocked at the door. Orla and Josephine already knew about our little 'organization' and had agreed that it was a good idea. Still, they were worried about repercussions this might have on our family and so when we heard the knock all of us froze. Except Seamus. He got up from his seat on the floor and opened the door a crack before any of us could stop him.
"Who is it?" he asked quickly.
"Is Harper there? I have news for him." Seamus turned to look at me with confusion.
"It's for me son," I said quickly, jumping to my feet and going over to the door.
After the man had left I returned to my seat. Seamus was staring at me quizzically and finally asked,
"Why did he call you Harper?"
"Because it's my name."
"It's your last name," He pointed out.
"Well I'd rather have strangers call me by my last name than my first. You'll understand someday." I assured him since he still looked doubtful.
"Ok kids, time for bed." Orla announced and Seamus went upstairs with his cousins for the night.
In the end my brilliant idea did more harm than good. We'll never know exactly what went wrong; my guess is that a Nietzschean found out what we were up to and instead of killing us...
It all started one night after the children were put to sleep. It was early spring; a week or so before Brendan's birthday, and just a few days after Caitlin's. There was a meeting in the tunnels and Josephine and Orla had decided to come with us. Usually they stayed home, but occasionally they came along.
The meeting started off normally enough. The room was practically full; it was a square shaped room with just one main entrance and a few smaller tunnels connecting to other rooms. When someone spoke everyone else had to be absolutely silent or else the noises would echo off the walls and nothing could be heard. One of our spies was standing up and giving a report about what they had heard. The four of us were sitting up front, about in the center of the room in front of the entrance. As the speaker started to sit down a strange noise suddenly could be heard faintly.
Everyone fell silent as the noises grew louder. I looked at the others uneasily; something just felt wrong. People who had been sitting started to stand. The four of us were among them. Just as we were about to ask if we should leave, shots were fired. People started screaming and running, but there was no room to go anywhere.
The four of us were being pushed along in the mass of bodies and we found ourselves further from the entrance, which turned out to be a good thing as Nietzscheans filled the doorway. I gripped Josephine's hand tightly and Devin did the same to Orla.
"The smaller tunnels," I whispered, barely doing more than moving my mouth. The three of them nodded however, and as quickly as we could we started to the other side of the room. That's when the chaos broke out again. Dozens of Nietzschean guards spilled into the room but we didn't hear a barrage of gunshots. Instead the Nietzscheans were dragging people out of the room; sometimes knocking them out, others they simply pulled away. More came to take their place and suddenly I realized what they were doing.
They were taking us alive; either so they could publicly execute us later or, more likely, use us as slaves. Perhaps both. The point was that we had to leave as quickly as possible. It was not easy; people were swarming all around us. I was in front pushing through people, Josephine was behind me, Orla behind her, and Devin brought up the rear. All of us were linked by our hands so we wouldn't get separated in the crowds.
Just as I had reached the smaller tunnel entrance I heard Orla scream, followed by Josephine's shout of,
"Devin!"
I spun around to see, to my horror, Devin wrestling against a huge Nietzschean. He was holding him off pretty good, but I decided to go and help him. Almost as if he had read my thoughts Devin yelled loudly,
"Evan go! Get them out of here!" He was able to turn slightly and his eyes met mine. It nearly killed me to run, but he was right. If I tried to help him all of us would get caught. So I held Josephine's hand tighter, helped to pull Orla away, and practically shoved them both through the tunnel.
"Evan no, we have to help him!" Josephine screamed, but I ignored her. Every fiber in my being screamed that I was a coward; how could I leave my brother –for that's what he was- and my best friend behind like that? My only consolation was a line of names:
Josephine. Orla. Brendan. Seamus. Caitlin.
I repeated them over and over in my mind like a mantra, making sure neither my sister nor my wife stopped crawling through the tunnel. We were lucky that it led directly to the surface because I don't think any of us could have found our way out of the maze of tunnels that night. When we reached the surface Orla was pale and shaking, clutching her hands to her face. Josephine turned her fury on me, beating against my chest with her fists and demanding to know why I had left her brother behind.
"I was supposed to protect him!" She yelled. She repeated the words again, only softer, and soon collapsed against me, sobbing. Josephine had raised Devin; he was practically more like a son than a younger brother. I could only imagine what she was going through. And Orla...how could I even offer her comfort? If it had been Josephine, or even Orla herself, no force in the world could have stopped me from going to try and save her.
We stood there for a few minutes but I knew we had to get back to the house. The streets were not safe at the moment. I pulled the two of them along and tried to get my bearings of where we were. The walk home could have taken years for all that I knew. But somehow we did make it back to the house and we stumbled inside; glad for the light and the warmth it offered. I didn't know what to do...what should I do? For a few moments I paced along the floor but finally I sat down.
Josephine sat next to me and took my hands, her head bowed. Orla seemed better off than I expected her to be. When she offered me a cup of tea I looked at her in surprise.
"Would you rather have some whiskey?" She said quietly with a painful sort of smile. I took the tea and set it down so I could take her hands in my own.
"How are you so strong?" I wondered in amazement, looking at her hands as though they might hold the answer to my question. Again she gave me a painful smile, but her eyes were dry.
"I just know he's not dead. He won't die, and someday he'll come back to us. It may take years..." Her voice broke and she was silent. "But he'll come back. I know it. Just like Josephine knows things."
At the mention of her name Josephine raised her head slightly from my shoulder.
"Remember how you knew Seamus was going to live, even though he was so small?" Orla asked gently. Josephine stared at her with red eyes before nodding slowly.
"That's how I feel. Nothing can keep him from us. Not a million Nietzscheans or Magog or –or..." I stood up and took her in my arms, but she didn't cry. Josephine had stopped sobbing but she still looked stunned. I guess she was feeling about the way I had felt when I had found Liam dead. My throat choked up when I recalled that it had been Devin who had carried my brother's body away from the village so we could give him the respect he deserved.
The next morning we were faced with the difficult task of explaining Devin's disappearance to the children. Seamus and Brendan stared at us with stony faces. The worst part was that we couldn't even tell them if their father and uncle was alive or dead, because we didn't know. Orla of course, insisted that he was alive and would come home someday. None of us knew how to convey the news to Caitlin. I asked Seamus and Brendan if they could try explaining to her. I think somehow she finally understood something was wrong, even though the boys were too upset to explain it.
Devin being gone left a hole in our lives. Every morning I was reminded of his absence. Sometimes when I was feeling depressed I'd wonder...
In ten years, would there be any of us left?
Author's Note:
Sorry this took so long! I sort of had writer's block for awhile, and then the computer had to be shut down for a couple of days because of the non-stop thunderstorms. Also, if the lyrics in the beginning are incorrect, forgive me. I couldn't find the words so I had to listen to the song over and over trying to be sure those were the right lyrics. Ok, well I'll have the next chapter as soon as I can write it. Thanks for all the reviews of the last chapter!
-Luna Sealeaf