Chapter 30
The two professors argued, talked and discussed for only a short time, but Blues anxiety made each minute feel like an hour. When it was finally over though, he was surprised at how good the news was.
"Alright then... you're free to go" Gran said distinctly when she returned.
"What... just like that?" Calla gasped.
"Yes" Gran nodded.
"After all we've been through, you just..."
"Never mind" Blue pulled at Calla's hand "Let's just get out of here."
"I'll be along presently" Professor Adisa said politely.
"You've said enough" Gran said tersely "you've got what you wanted so..."
"Please Professor Lindstrom, we will be on our way soon but I have a great need to ask you about a few important details."
Gran looked at Professor Adisa with suspicion, but reluctantly agreed to hear him out for now.
"You two; take the boy and the girl outside and release them" she ordered her guards.
This was not because Gran wanted to enact her agreement with Linton Adisa, but because she was not sure of what he would ask and there were some things she did not want her people to hear.
"Well... what is it?" she asked when they were alone.
"Ah... where to start" the Professor asked himself "I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to chat with some of the people who had been attempting to repel us, and when I asked why they felt so safe here, I was informed about a wonderful scanning radar you had installed at the top of this mountain. I was told it would inform you when a meteor was entering the atmosphere, thus giving everybody time to take shelter before the explosion."
It was clear to Professor Adisa that Gran was clearly uncomfortable with what he was saying.
"We both know that is not possible, don't we?" Linton continued "Based on the description of this radar provided to me, it sounds to me to be something more like a high band communications dish."
Again Gran made no reply, so Linton changed tack.
"After being released from my fifteen year self imposed exile in the underground Railgun Complex, the first thing I did was to travel to the Americas to look for answers. I believed it would be a long and arduous process involving much travel and searching but soon after I arrived in San Diego, I discovered my name was on a list of people who were to be arrested on sight and taken to Prime Governor Redding himself; of all the people it could have been, I ended up close to the man with all the answers."
Professor Adisa took careful note of Gran's complete lack of reaction to the mentioning of Redding's name.
"You were on that list too" he continued.
Again there was no reaction. Professor Adisa had not been able to study the list extensively, so he had no way of knowing if the name Phyllis Joyce Lindstrom was there or not, but it seemed to him that Gran had reason to believe it was.
"Before Redding died..."
"So he is dead" Gran interrupted "I had heard some news... but wasn't sure..."
"Oh yes, I was there when Sage shot him."
"That's what you get for trusting Sage" Gran smirked.
"True but this was an odd case, even for him" Linton explained "Redding had gone quite mad after learning about the unfortunate death of his grandson, and had ordered the execution of the entire Earth branch of the Deep Council... but I must get back on track. Before he died, Redding carelessly left me alone with his computer system and I was able to download quite a few files onto a memory stick. Unfortunately I have not yet had the chance to see what is in any of those files, but based on the fact that both you and Redding appear to be the only two people who do not fear the eventual destruction of Earth by one of the Sholf-4 meteors, I believe you can give me some kind of clue as to why that is and what is really happening here."
Gran walked a few steps further away from Linton as if the extra space would make her response easier to say. It was certainly clear to the Professor that she did not want to talk at all on this subject.
"Take your people and go" she finally replied.
"But Professor Lindstrom..."
"DON'T CALL ME THAT! You were identified and taken to Redding, so you should realise by now that some names are just too dangerous use flippantly."
Based on his own recent experiences, Professor Adisa could not help but agree with her.
"Alright... I understand Gran is the simple moniker you use these days. Can't you please give me some idea of..."
"I can't give you anything" Gran insisted "I... I'm frightened enough as it is. If anyone found out I..."
"Talked?" Linton asked when Gran hesitated.
"Just go... now! She stated and stormed off.
Now standing alone in the dimly lit tunnel, Professor Adisa sighed and wondered if he could have succeeded if he had been more understanding towards the frightened woman. Maybe he should have been firmer with her but in the end, he decided I the whole endeavour had been nothing but a lost cause from the start. He was sure she did not need to be so fearful, but it was very clear that Professor Phyllis Lindstrom had well and truly been broken.
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When Blue and Calla finally arrived at the entrance of the tunnel system, they were surprised to see Emerson and Doom waiting for them. While she was still in the shadow of the tunnel, Calla removed her hand from Blue's and quickly pulled the hood of her jacket back over her head.
"Calla, you don't have to..."
"Please... I'll show them, I promise" she pleaded to Blue.
He smiled, nodded and taking her hand again, led the nervous girl outside.
"Hey Squirt, good to see you again" Doom smiled.
She move forward in greeting but Calla held up her arm.
"Before you do... there's something I um need to... listen, please don't over react."
Calla could see the concern in their eyes turn into shock when she pulled back her hood to reveal the scaring. This was only the second time she had been forced to do this and the thought of having to repeat the act over and over again filled her with dread.
"Oh Calla!" Doom knelt down to hug her young friend "What happened?"
Calla felt another hand on her shoulder and looked up to see her brother smiling with his usual 'it'll be okay' look in his eyes.
"I'll... I'll tell you about it later" she said to them.
"Umm... about that..." Doom began "come over here; we need to talk with you."
Emerson and Doom took Calla aside to a bench on the side of one of the outer buildings. Blue wondered what they had to talk about, but decided it would be best to give them privacy if they desired it.
"Calla... Doom and I have come to decision... and I'm sorry but you may not like it" Emerson began.
"I don't like it already" she replied.
"Ya see Squirt, we've been travelling a long time and we were looking forward to getting back to Sumatra and settling down... and getting married" Doom revealed.
"That's wonderful news" Calla sighed with relief "I can't believe you thought I wouldn't like..."
"Wait Calla, there's more" Emerson stoped his sister.
"Yes... your brother and I recently discovered... that... we're going to have a baby" Doom continued.
"More good news" Calla beamed.
"And that's why, with Sage still at the Railgun Complex and Blue planning to look for the home of the dragons... Doom and I have decided... to stay here."
A look of shear horror fell over Calla's face; she must have been dreaming and this must be one of the worst nightmares she'd ever had.
"WHAT THE HELL..." she cried out.
"Hey come on Squirt, keep your voice down" Doom tried to calm her friend "Emerson and I have several reasons for doing this..."
"Are you kidding me? I can't think of any reason why..."
"Well if you'll just shut up for a minute, we'll tell you" Emerson insisted.
Doom could not help but feel sorry for Calla. She didn't know how the girl had gotten her disfiguring injury, but coping with it while having to deal with a new loss must have been unbearable for her.
"Sweetie you have to get this straight in your head; the official reasons we are staying are to provide a stable home for our child instead of an uncertain life onboard a ship, and as a kind of swap for you and Abby."
"No... no... you can't give up your freedom for me..."
"We're not Calla" Emerson interrupted "While what we said is kinda true, the real reason is the Professor would like us to keep an eye out here and see if we can learn anything about what Gran knows about..."
"SCREW HIM; YOU DON'T HAVE TO..."
"Calla please" Doom squeezed the girls hands "Professor Adisa did not ask us to do this, we volunteered when we all heard what Abby told him."
"Yeah the Professor knew something was up as soon as he heard the name Phyllis Lindstrom" Emerson continued "And when the people we'd captured said they would pursue us all the way back to the east coast, Doom and I put two and two together and came up with this plan to get them off our backs, and hopefully learn something useful."
"The Professor said he would insist we be allowed to go back to the ship for our gear and while we're there, we're gonna get one of the satellite communication systems so we can keep in touch" Doom hoped this news would soften the blow.
"Gran's not gonna like that; if she catches you..."
"Oh we won't keep it a secret" Emerson grinned "We'll tell her it is so the Professor can warn us if Sage leaves Sumatra and sets out for the Americas. I think she'll like the opportunity to get an early warning."
"So... you're gonna be... spies?"
"Yup, and we're also going to sow a few seeds of doubt in the peoples mind about if this is the best place to be" Doom winked "Something you don't know is ever since you got back to Earth, a lot more action has been going on in space. It's not only Doctor Spencer's people who are actively constructing space habitats; when you get out of here, ask the Professor about the O'Neil Cylinders."
"They're building one of them inside the asteroid 16 Psyche" Calla shrugged "I know because I was there."
"Ah but there are two more being built you do not know about yet" Emerson smirked.
Calla sat back and thought for a moment; so much had happened and she was having a hard time keeping up with it all.
"There's one more thing" Doom looked seriously into Calla's eyes "Nobody knows about what we're doing except you and the Professor; you can't tell anyone."
Calla normally liked to be the keeper of secrets; it made her feel important to know what others didn't, but this time she felt she just couldn't.
"No... I can't keep this from Abby and Blue" she insisted "we've been through so much together and we've come to rely on each other. If I start lying to them..."
"Well make sure they know the gravity of the situation" Emerson said firmly.
"Are you kidding? We've been in space together; we all know about gravity."
"I'm serious Calla."
"Yeah sorry... it was a straight line I just couldn't pass up. Don't worry though, I have trusted them with my life and they have not let me down; I'll be sure they know how important this is."
"What about Mom and Dad?" Emerson asked.
"Oh I can lie to them, no worries" Calla waved off their concern.
"You really are an evil little gremlin" Doom smirked.
"Seriously though, I think it would be best is Mom and Dad thought we were here just to settle down and start a family" Emerson added.
"Okay" Calla agreed.
"Now what happened?" Doom asked "How did you get... this injury?"
Calla suddenly felt her stomach turn upside down. If Emerson and Doom knew Gran was to blame for her burn scar, would they be able to put the knowledge aside and fit in? What they were doing in this place was important and it would not be easy. She didn't want to lie to them, but she decided it would be better if they didn't know everything.
"I err... had an accident while cooking... a big pot of soup when it was my turn in the kitchen. You know me, I'd love to be able to blame someone else, but I just have to face up to the fact that I can be a little too impatient sometimes. If I hadn't tried to move the pot on my own, I wouldn't have live with this."
Doom and Emerson looked at each other. Neither of them knew why, but Calla's story just didn't seem right. In the end though, they decided to take her at her word for now. They returned to Blue who was still wondering what they had been discussing. Some of Calla's outbursts had been both confusing and a little disturbing but he figured if she needed to tell him what was going on, she would tell him in her own time.
"Hey, we're getting out of here" Calla smiled "Why are you looking so... blue?"
"Oh I wondered how long I would take you to make that joke" Blue groaned.
"Well I figure it's safe for me to make fun of you now" she said taking his hand "After all... you love me."
"Ah... but for how long?" Blue hinted as they walked towards the gate.
"Face it bright boy; I got you hooked."
Blue had to admit to himself she was right, but he didn't have to admit it to Calla quite yet. They were leaving and they were leaving together, and that was all that mattered for now.
End of Act Two
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High everyone and welcome to the start of my 'Steven Universe style' hiatus.
With this part of the story done I'm gonna take a few weeks to just concentrate on the third act and not do any re-writes. Ten chapters are done but with the story slowly creeping towards the end, I would like to have a complete outline done before I go on with publishing. I thought of doing this after Christmas but I decided it would be cruel to take such a break in the middle of Act 2 with Calla and Abigail still trapped.
Special thanks to Vin in Italy (I think), the mysterious Guest from Florida, and Draco38 from (I assume) somewhere on Earth. I appreciate the notes you have dropped and the encouragement they have given me.
Back with more before too long,
Marty (the bus driving, Ukulele playing amateur writer.)