CHAPTER 20
They landed the plane in the gloom of twilight, and the others disembarked into a stiff arctic gale. Lucy stayed on the plane to rest her legs a little longer. She was bone-tired, and her stomach was crying out in hunger. Then again, the others weren't looking so spring-fresh themselves. She watched them scurry about the launch site through the windscreen, clutching their jackets against the bitter cold as they prepped the rocket for flight. They cast deeper and deeper shadows as night fell beyond the glare of Orus' flood lights.
She'd get up soon. At the very least, she'd get up before Robi Dalkis came back to walk the plane over to the docking scaffold.
Hux would have chewed her out for being idle and aloof. He'd have reminded her how important it was to maintain her rapport with the crew.
Damn him. She hated that a part of her actually missed the bastard. It made her feel disgusted with herself.
Lucy watched as they hoisted the cargo container up inside the docking scaffold, and she knew the airplane would be next. She would gather her strength and disembark, momentarily. She just needed a couple seconds to rest her eyes.
She let her eyes fall shut, only to jolt awake when her head began to dip.
Something was up outside the jet. All the others had stopped what they were doing, and they were all staring at…
/ What is that?
Profile match: subject Charo 98.6%
/ Huh?
Her sleepy mind struggled to make sense of the large blot of shadow looming in the middle of the landing site, directly in front of the plane. Then the towering figure turned in place, and Charo's bright silver eyes found hers.
Lucy rubbed her cheek to assure herself she was conscious, then stumbled from her seat and made her way to the exit.
"Lucy," said Charo, just as she opened the door, and the first gale of arctic wind hit her like a slap in the face, wiping away her last shreds of drowsiness.
His voice was different. It didn't come from everywhere at once, like it had in the temple. But it still had a deep and powerful resonance that Lucy could feel right down in her gut. "There you are. I've been waiting for you."
She approached him in short, stilted steps. "Charo." She gave an awkward bow, trying her best to show an appropriate level of respect without appearing obsequious. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Charo gave her a somewhat patronizing smile. "I told you I was on my way, did I not?"
Lucy nodded. She looked around at the others, who were staring up at Charo in awe and fear. Dr. Haxle took a few cautious steps closer. "Stay back!" she said, putting out her hand to warn him back.
"They can't hear us," said Charo. Now that he mentioned it, she didn't hear anything the others were saying, either. Even at that moment, Haxle's his lips were moving, his eyes darting nervously between her and Charo, and yet, all Lucy heard was the wind in her ears.
"They can clearly see us, though," said Lucy. "See you, I mean."
"I've no reason to hide," said Charo, "but I'd rather we speak in private."
Lucy nodded and studied the towering figure carefully. He looked perfectly solid, but he'd appeared that way in the temple, too. For the umpteenth time this mission, she wished she still had her tricorder. She just had to know. Lucy approached the giant where he stood, reached up, and touched his arm through his silky black tunic. It was firm and feverishly warm. In fact, standing this close to him, his aura was so strong it dispelled the all-pervasive arctic chill.
She stepped back until she could see his face without craning her neck. He looked mildly bemused and slightly affronted. Lucy supposed he wasn't accustomed to being touched.
"Sorry. Just checking."
"Yes, I am really here this time."
"So… are you here to cart me off, then?" said Lucy. "Is there a jail for people like me, or…"
"No, Lucy. That is not my place."
"Then what? Will you just kill me right here, in front of everyone?"
His brow furrowed, and he slowly shook his head. "That… is not my place, either. I serve the dead, yes, but I do not serve death; not unless I must. But I have seen into your heart, Lucy Kang. You have earned favor in my sight."
"Oh!" Lucy's eyebrows leapt up. She really hadn't expected that. "Thanks." She didn't know what else to say. "I mean…" she couldn't help but laugh a little at her own awkwardness, "I'm honored. Thank you."
He accepted her gratitude with a tilt of his chin. "Now please, Lucy. Allow me to show you my gratitude. I will free you of this Delurididug curse which you carry."
"You mean my implants?"
He nodded. "Grant me access to your artificial aspect, and I will see you rid of it once and for all."
She shook her head. "I need it," she said. "I can't survive here without the implants. The radiation alone, I mean…"
Charo sighed, and his hot breath stirred Lucy's hair against the whipping wind. "Yes, that is likely true. Only, must you cling to this wretched existence so stubbornly? Is it truly worth the cost? You may believe you've escaped the Delurididug's trap, Lucy Kang, but so long as you have their hooks in your flesh, you will be snared again! You do not know the Delurididug as we do. You don't know what the centuries ahead of you will be like! You are so, so very young."
The thought of living for centuries gave Lucy a peculiar sense of vertigo. She shook her head to dispel it. "I won't keep these things that long. I'm not trying to live forever. But I refuse to die fifty thousand light years from my people, my family! I won't do it, Charo. I'm going home."
Charo took a deep, cleansing breath and bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Very well. I do hope you complete your journey. But heed my warning, Lucy Kang. The gods are aware of your presence here. We will be keeping a closer eye on you than you may think. And not all of my family will look on your intrusion in our realm so kindly as I."
"Thanks for the heads up," said Lucy.
He inclined his head in acknowledgment, then turned away.
"Charo, wait!" said Lucy, and he glanced back. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her again. "What… Forgive me, but what are you, really?"
Charo smiled. "Are you not satisfied that I am the scion of a dark star? You want a detailed scientific accounting of my origins and my internal mechanisms; something you can fit into your tidy concept of reality. Is that it?"
"I'd settle for animal, vegetable, or mineral."
He shook his head. "I'm not something you could comprehend."
"Try me," said Lucy.
"Do not try me," said Charo. He held her gaze until she dropped it. "Goodbye, Lucy. Try to stay out of trouble." He turned and strode off into the night, vanishing utterly the moment he stepped beyond the gleam of the floodlights.
"He's gone," said Tressida.
It took Lucy a beat to realize she'd heard her say that. Charo's cone of silence had lifted.
"Aw, with our own two eyes we saw…"
"Yes, but who will believe it?" said Quidon.
Lucy felt someone's hand on her back. She glanced up and found Haxle standing beside her, his face etched in concern. "Are you alright?"
She nodded thoughtfully. "Ninety-nine percent." Seeing his nonplussed reaction, she clarified, "Charo. I'm ninety-nine percent certain it was him." She cracked a small smile.
Haxle sputtered briefly with unexpected laughter, before replying in a completely serious tone, "Well now, best we don't jump to conclusions."
Lucy gave him an incredulous glare, ready to argue what she'd assumed was a wholly settled point, until she spotted the twinkle in his eye. "Why, Dr. Haxle, did you just tell a joke?"
He flashed a smirk, and they laughed.
"Is that it, then?" said Haxle. He rested his hand on Lucy's shoulder unthinkingly. She found she didn't mind. "Are we in the clear?"
Lucy nodded. "You are."
Haxle's brow furrowed. "And you?"
She rolled her eyes. "How could I be? They know I'm here now."
His face fell. He drew a sharp breath, took his hand from her shoulder, and turned aside, clenching his fist.
Lucy leaned in front of him to recapture his gaze. "I'll be ok, though. Whatever happens, I'll be fine. Trust me."
He set his jaw and replied, "I'll help you."
"Good. I'll need your help smoothing things over with the crew of Hypereia. I don't know how they'll react."
Haxle considered. "I imagine they'll be happy to be freed of their contractual obligations, at the very least. With me backing you up, there shouldn't be a problem. But Lucy, I can do a hell of a lot more than that."
She shook her head. She didn't want to be anywhere near these people when another, less generous scion caught up with her. Anyone found helping her would be a target. "No, that's all I need. Once we reach a port where I can book another passage, I'll be fine on my own."
He tipped his chin skeptically. "You think so?"
She held his gaze. "I'm certain."
"Diuno's frigid teat!" Hectus swore, "It's shekking cold out here! Can we cut the chit chat already and finish the job before I freeze my damned ears off?"
Lucy looked around at the others. "Actually, there's one more thing I need to tell you."
When all their tired, wary eyes were fixed on her, Lucy went on. "When I was in the temple, Charo showed me… a whole host of people. He told me they were the colonists who died here during the war. He told me he'd brought them… well, you know how the story goes."
She didn't know quite how to put what she needed to say next. The others waited for her to find the words, intuiting that she still had more to say.
"Chamul was there, too."
The words had to sink in a moment before anyone reacted.
Robi Dalkis croaked. Tressida gasped.
"You're a shek-reeking liar!" spat Hectus. She cut him a hostile glare and watched as his reflexive vitriol dissolved into uncertainty. He shook his head. "You don't… you couldn't of…"
Lucy took out her mobile, found the messages Chamul had entrusted to her, and with a forceful swipe of her finger, she forwarded the one addressed to Hectus.
"He gave me these to pass on to you," she said. "I… honestly, I don't feel right telling you it was really him. You know, this is all very foreign to me, and I'm a skeptic by nature. But if you trust Charo, then maybe his word will be good enough for you. And even I have to admit, the resemblance is uncanny."
She went down the list forwarding the messages as she spoke. Nobody opened theirs. They stood staring at their mobiles in dumbfounded silence.
"How should we do this?" said Tressida. "Should we wait until we get back to the ship and open them with the others? Or…"
"I'll be in the plane," said Hectus. "See what the old preener has to say for himself." Clutching his mobile so tight it looked like it could snap, he climbed the short steps into the cabin of the Orus and locked the door behind him.
"Ok, I guess we're doing this now," said Tressida.
"Real quick, though," said Lucy. "Is there anything to eat?"
The others traded glances. "Lucy, when was the last time you had any food?" said Haxle.
"Uh…" She scratched the back of her neck. "I found some mushrooms in a cave this morning…"
"Aw, for the love of…" warbled Dalkis.
"All the food is packed in the cargo container," said Quidon. They looked up at the large crate, docked securely all the way at the top of the scaffold.
Lucy winced. "All of it?"
"Don't forget the rations," said Robi Dalkis.
"Rations?" Lucy echoed hopefully.
"There are some emergency rations in the cargo hold of the Idri. But they hardly count as food," said Haxle.
Lucy shook her head. "Honestly, at this point, I'd consider eating shoe leather. Let me at 'em."
He gave her an odd look. The sense that he was seeing her in a new, less flattering light loomed larger in the back of her mind. But then he flashed a wry smile. "By all means. Though if you'd prefer, I believe I have a spare pair of boots in the cockpit."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Har har."
-o-o-o-
As the others sought out quiet corners to receive their messages from Chamul, Lucy sat on the lowest rung of the ladder up to the airlock of the Idri, huddled against the bitter cold, gnawing on a ration bar just marginally preferable to shoe leather. It had the texture of hard caramel and all the flavor of plain flour and vegetable shortening. Her belly welcomed it like manna from heaven.
After a few minutes, the airlock of the Idri opened and Tressida leaned out. "Come on up," she said. "We're done."
Lucy looked down at the nutrient bar in her hand. It was her third one, but her stomach still cried for more. She stuck it between her teeth, stood and grasped the rickety rail of the utility ladder with both hands, and commenced to trudge up the steep steps to the airlock, leaning heavily on her left arm and favoring her right leg with every step.
Now that she had some food in her belly, Lucy was hopeful her hand and leg would regain their strength, but the rest of her body was still fading quickly. She was profoundly exhausted, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Tressida waited for her at the top of the ladder, favoring her with a compassionate smile the whole way up.
When she topped the steps, Tressida patted her on the back and headed through the airlock first. Lucy pulled the outer door shut behind her and followed Tressida inside.
The cargo hold of the Idri felt cozy and inviting compared to the windswept plain, in spite of being essentially just an empty steel drum. She offered thanks to the cosmos for the creation of climate control.
There were just a couple stowage bins in the cargo hold for people to sit on, and enough floor space for a few people to mill about. Tressida went back to the bin that Ziali was sitting on and snuggled in next to him, resting her head on his shoulder as he couched his arm behind her back. After more than two days of non-stop terror and striving, the two of them seemed remarkably at ease.
Lucy settled down on the floor just beside the airlock. She looked up at the sealed hatch to the crew cabin. The others would still be up there, reviewing their messages or reflecting on their contents.
Lucy gnawed on her emergency ration.
"Well, this trip has been a doozy," said Tressida.
Ziali nodded, smiling ruefully. "Well put. I'd say it even puts Schellax Core in the dust."
Tressida winced. "Oof. I thought we'd agreed never to speak of Schellax Core."
He smirked. "The ban is lifted. We now have a new expedition never to speak of."
"Except, you know Robi Dalkis won't shut up about it for the rest of our natural lives."
Ziali nodded. "That is a conundrum."
Lucy finished her ration bar and wished she had another. Or at least some water to wash it down. She was sure there would be a bottle around here somewhere, but finding it would require getting back to her feet. It was a non-starter.
After a quiet beat, Tressida started laughing softly. "Remember when Lucy climbed out over that chasm?"
"How could I forget?" Ziali said with half a chuckle.
The hatch up to the crew cabin popped open, and Quidon climbed down the ladder from above.
"Dr. Haxle was wigging out," said Tressida. She gave Lucy a mirthful look, and Lucy responded with a sleepy smile.
"We all 'wigged out' when she jumped," said Ziali.
Tressida's eyes went wide with the memory. "Oh gods. I almost died. I swear my heart stopped."
"Your scream, it shook the st'lagtites!" said Robi Dalkis, who was climbing through the hatch after Quidon. "Aw, you could have caused a cave in!"
"It wasn't that loud, shut up," said Tressida. "Right?" She looked to Ziali for support. When he didn't react, she waved her hand in front of his face.
Ziali pretended to snap out of a daze. "Sorry, what?" No one was convinced. Tressida punched his shoulder, and he cringed with pain.
"Sorry, sorry!"
He gave her a sly smile to show he wasn't really hurt, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, whatever."
The moment she looked away, he was wincing again.
Quidon stood next to Ziali and leaned back against the bulkhead. Robi Dalkis went straight to Tressida's side. He flopped himself down on the deck and dropped his head in her lap.
The lizard met her nonplussed expression with a look of playful innocence so perfect it had to be a ruse. "Pfft." The laugh escaped between her teeth, and she rubbed her knuckles against the dome of his scaly head. He bore the noogie unflinchingly.
"We never did get the chance to discuss that incident, did we?" said Haxle. He was the last one through the hatch.
Lucy dismissed the notion with a backhanded wave.
"What were you going to say?" said Tressida, "Don't go jumping off any more cliffs? By this point, I think we just have to accept that she knows what she's doing."
"Oh, always," said Lucy, nodding without lifting her head off the wall. "Totally. All the time. Yep."
"Why am I not reassured?" said Quidon.
There was room enough between Robi Dalkis' sprawled legs and the place where Lucy was sitting for Haxle to join them, but instead he sat on another stowage bin across the hold.
"I'll bet that wasn't even in the top three dangerous stunts Lucy pulled," said Tressida.
"Like running off to slay the monsters while the rest of us were hiding in a hole in the ground?" said Ziali.
"Or grasping Charo by the sleeve," said Robi Dalkis.
"Now that took guts," said Tressida. "I half expected him to smite you on the spot!"
Lucy shrugged. "I guess he went easy on me since I didn't know any better." She didn't add that that was probably the least of her trespasses in Charo's book.
"Honestly, it's wild how ziplining over a subterranean chasm was like the least crazy thing we did yesterday," said Tressida.
"It's wild that that happened only yesterday," said Ziali. "It feels like a lifetime ago."
Lucy's mobile chirped. She checked the device and saw she'd received a message from Hectus.
"Come outside. I got something to say."
She looked at the screen in dismay for a long moment. She did not want to go back out there. She didn't want to move a single centimeter. She debated putting the device away and pretending she hadn't noticed. Then she considered how to say "no" as tactfully as possible. Then she pulled her legs under her and climbed the wall back to her feet.
"What's wrong?" said Haxle.
Lucy shook her head. "I'm just going to get some fresh air."
The others traded confused glances. "There's a toilet alcove in the crew cabin, if-"
"No, it's not that. I'll be back in a second. Carry on."
She let herself out through the airlock and spotted Hectus standing in front of the plane, silhouetted by its blinding floodlights. He stood stock-still as she made her way carefully down the utility ladder, and he said nothing as she approached him, circling around until she could see him without squinting into the glare. He regarded her silently, his expression unreadable.
"Well?" said Lucy.
"Chamul…" He stopped, took a breath, and started again. "Chamul said I should talk to you."
Lucy arched an eyebrow. "Ok."
"I don't know what good it'll do. But Chamul was an optimist, always willing to give folks the benefit of the doubt." He looked at her expectantly, but she didn't know what to say to that. A moment later, he went on. "You were no exception, either. He could be unbearably naive."
Lucy nodded just to acknowledge she was listening. The wind had picked up since they'd landed. Her ears were numb, and she could feel her nose was starting to run.
"He told me to go easy on you. You believe that?"
She shrugged and broke her silence. "He said he knew you would hate me. He said you hated everything he liked."
Hectus let out a harsh bark of laughter, followed by a strangled cough. It sounded excruciating. "That's Chamul, alright." He coughed again and wiped his eye with his wrist. "I'm so glad he's ok."
Lucy didn't know what to say, so she just kept her mouth shut. She was eyeing the ladder back to the warmth and comfort of the Idri.
"Why didn't you let me die?"
The question caught her off guard. It wasn't said with Hectus' customary bitterness or vitriol; only sorrow bordering on despair.
"I'm sorry," said Lucy.
He shook his head. "I could be where he is now."
Against her better judgment, she said, "Maybe, but you'd be dead."
He shook his head again. "You don't get it."
She thought maybe she did. "Listen… I'm sorry for giving you that enzyme. I know it was… a violation. But it doesn't make your life not worth-"
"It's not that!" said Hectus. "Hell, if Charo could let you off like he did, I guess the gods won't begrudge me a little extracelestial medicine, either."
He sighed. "You know, I've been with this expedition from the start. We left Immaksu Starbase with eighteen hands, all eager for the hunt. Back then, every word out of Haxle's mouth was about promising leads and lucrative prospects. But none of that has panned out. I don't know how much the blame belongs to unrealistic expectations or how much belongs to rotten luck, but it's been all downhill since the start. I tell you, I would have left this expedition months ago, if Chamul hadn't come aboard.
"You see, where I saw pampered Haloites not knowing when to give up a fool's errand, he saw determined explorers refusing to abandon a dream. And while I groused over the inevitable end, that fool only ever lived for the moment. And he was just as bullheaded in his way of thinking as I am in mine.
"He drove me absolutely nuts. But more than that, Lucy? He set my heart on fire!" Hectus clutched his torn shirt over his heart and beat his chest. "Do you understand me?"
Lucy nodded, finally getting the picture. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."
Hectus flashed a mocking smile. "What, you think a man my age can't fall in love?"
She shook her head. "I just missed it. No one said anything."
"No one knows. Chamul didn't want to tell anyone. He comes from a… a conservative household."
"I see."
"So I gotta keep all this shek to myself, because if his mother ever learned about his alien lover, for her it'd be like killing him all over again. Now listen, Chamul loved me, and I am not ashamed! But, family is family. You see?"
It was a lot to take in. Lucy didn't know how she should react. "Yeah. Sounds… tough."
Hectus gave her a skeptical look. "Hell, you could at least pretend to care."
Lucy winced. "I-"
"Standing there with that blank look. I'm sorry, was my heartfelt confession boring for you?"
"No! I sympathize completely, I'm just… I don't know, I have trouble with… feelings. Sorry."
"Since when? You're always saying the right thing! I figured you'd at least put on a convincing act like you do for everyone else!"
"I can't! I'm done acting. From now on, what you see is what you get."
Hectus gave an incredulous grunt. "Yeah, we'll see."
"Yes, you will," said Lucy.
Hectus gave her a long, wary look. "You know that everything I just told you is a secret, right? If you spill even a-"
"Of course," said Lucy. "I would never."
"Chamul told me I could trust you. I sure hope he was right."
"I do too," she said.
When he didn't reply, she glanced back toward the rocket. "Can we go inside, now?"
Hectus looked up at the Idri with apprehension in his wide, round eyes. "You go on."
She turned and took a few steps towards the ship, but she stopped and looked back. He stood rooted to the spot, his open jacket whipping around him in the wind, revealing his tattered shirt, and beneath that, his pale flesh, peppered with blue-green bruises. His fists were balled up at his sides, his eyes gazing into nothingness. She couldn't leave him like that.
"Come on," she said.
He gave her a torn look and shook his head. She reached out a hand, beckoning.
"I can't," he said. She walked back, took his elbow, and gently tugged.
"Leave it!" he snapped, yanking his arm away. He was visibly trembling. His eyes were pleading, tears running hot down his cheeks.
She shook her head. "Hectus…"
He choked back a sob, and she opened her arms and wrapped him in a hug. He stood motionless, gently sobbing, arms still stiff by his sides.
After a couple minutes of quiet sobbing, he gave a mighty sniff and cleared his throat. "Alright, fine. You win. Let's go inside." His voice was thick with tears.
Lucy released him, and he quickly wiped his face on his sleeve.
She made her way up the rickety utility ladder and back into the ship, Hectus close behind her.
"...but Chamul stood up and belted, 'Glory, every fighting man…'" Haxle sang the melody under his breath and broke off, chuckling softly to himself.
"Who hoists a Refflik battle flag!" Robi Dalkis picked up the melody as Lucy went and settled herself on the floor, resting her back against the bulkhead and her head against the bin that Dr. Haxle was sitting on.
"To wipe his rearguard proudly!" Hectus and Robi Dalkis finished the lyric together. Hectus used his boot to shove Dalkis' sprawled legs out of his way and settled in beside him.
"Yes, well, Chamul hardly got the first line out before one of the legionnaires wound up and socked him," said Haxle.
Hectus laughed. "I remember that! He had a shiner the rest of the eight-turn!"
Haxle nodded. "And while the legionnaires were distracted with him and Quidon acting intoxicated, I was able to slip off with the data chips."
Tressida laughed. "I could just see you playing drunk, Quidon."
Quidon smiled. "I think I did alright. Chamul's the one who sold it, though."
They were quiet for a moment.
"What about you, Z?" said Tressida. "Do you have a good Chamul story?"
Ziali thought for a moment, and as he started speaking, Lucy's eyes fell shut.
-o-o-o-
"Lucy, it's time to head up."
She heard the words but didn't understand them. She wished they would leave her alone.
"Wake up, Lucy," said Dr. Haxle. "Your crash couch awaits."
Lucy groaned. "Do we have to launch tonight?" Her voice was completely fried.
Haxle laughed under his breath. "No, Lucy. We're not taking off tonight after all. We'll get some sleep and head home before breakfast. Come on, get up."
Lucy nuzzled her head into her shoulder, too sleepy to seriously consider complying with his request.
"Here, I'll help you." He took her by her left wrist and tried to pull her to her feet.
"No," Lucy whined, tugging ineffectually against his grip. She still hadn't opened her eyes.
He stopped pulling on her arm, but kept a gentle grip on her wrist. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh and said, "Alright, here we go." He knelt down in front of her and pulled her onto his back.
"Hold on tight," he said, and Lucy clung to his back as he rose to his feet, content to rest her cheek on his warm shoulder as he lumbered his way up the ladder, through the crew compartment, and up to her seat, just below the copilot's. He lowered her gently onto the couch and started fussing with her safety harness.
When she was all strapped in, he brushed the hair out of her face and patted her arm with casual affection.
"Goodnight, Earth girl," he said softly, and Lucy drifted off to visions of home.
The End
-o-o-o-
AFTERWORD
Well, gentle reader, it's been a long road, getting from there to here. Thank you for sticking with this story all the way to the conclusion! If you've enjoyed it, please, consider leaving a review letting me know what you liked, and what I could improve on going forward. I'd like to give a special shout-out to the user KingKong, whose reviews on each chapter have given me ample encouragement. It's nice to know there are readers who are engaged with my work.
Now to begin work on the fifth episode in my on-going series, which will center on the adventures of Owen Vance, on the run from the Po Lafimas in the company of a mysterious woman of suspicious intent, striving to find a way to protect himself from the radiation of the Argus Cluster for long enough to complete his seemingly hopeless mission. Once I have a complete rough draft, I'll begin polishing up the chapters and posting them week by week as usual. It will be a few months at least, but it'll happen eventually. You just gotta have faith… faith of the heart.