Chapter 6: Legacies
"After I pulled myself together, I left her and went into hiding," Sergeant continued. "For two weeks, I was able to stay hidden and keep you safe. In that time, I devised the only plan that would come to mind. And that plan was these RAB villages. Of course, they were difficult to start up and spread around, but we were able to get this far only two decades later," Sergeant explained.
"But what happened to me?" SJ urged.
Sergeant exhaled. "Blowhole sent a search party out for me because he wanted to be sure I was dead. I evaded him for quite some time, but I knew I couldn't outrun him for much longer. So . . . I had to give you up. I gave you to an old friend, someone I knew that I could trust and had survived the initial attack. I told him to get as far away from me as possible, and to keep you out of the clutches of Blowhole. I see I trusted the right person. I told him not to tell me where you were in case Blowhole caught me so I couldn't be made to reveal your location," Sergeant said, putting a flipper on SJ's shoulder. He chuckled. "Of course, I'm not sure why I didn't guess he'd bring you here."
"No, it's okay. I understand," SJ assured him, putting his flipper on top of his.
Sergeant smiled. "How did you end up here, anyway?" he asked with his brow furrowing.
"I escaped. I rigged an oil lamp to explode in the mine I worked at while everyone was at lunch. In the midst of the distraction, I bolted," SJ explained.
Sergeant grinned brighter and chuckled.
"You really are your father's son."
— § —
"So, what are we supposed to do, now?" SJ asked as he and Sergeant emerged from the tent. The situation from earlier had already been controlled and everything seemed calm. However, SJ's heart sank as he watched two RABs walk by carrying a stretcher covered with a blanket.
"We are going to start devising a plan of attack on Blowhole," Sergeant said as he headed through the village.
"Attack? But I thought our army wasn't large enough, yet. What makes now any different?" SJ inquired.
Sergeant sideways-glanced at him. "We have you, now," he said with a grin.
"Me? No! You can't possibly think that I'm the answer to all of our problems!" SJ argued.
Sergeant stopped abruptly and turned to him, gripping his shoulders. "Maybe not yet. But in time, you are going to be the one to bring Blowhole down once and for all," he said confidently, as if he could read the future.
"But I'm just one penguin!" SJ shot back, pushing his flippers away. "You've been doing this since Blowhole took power! Why can't you do it?"
"I am. With your help. And with the rest of the RABs around the world," Sergeant answered calmly. "You're not just one penguin, SJ. You are connected to everyone around the world because we all share one thing in common: an enemy. And that enemy is Blowhole. Even if you lead a rebellion and out-and-out fail, you will still give the world hope that one day, this will all be a memory. You're a symbol, SJ. Even if the rest of the world doesn't know it, yet."
"But I don't understand. Why me?" SJ asked. "What makes me so different from anyone else here?"
"You're the legacy of the greatest penguin that ever lived, that's what," Sergeant said with a smile.
"I don't know, Sergeant. I just don't think I'm cut out for this. I've only been here for a few weeks," SJ pointed out.
"Don't underestimate yourself. You are going to make your father proud, whether you succeed or not," Sergeant encouraged before turning and continuing through the RAB village.
SJ followed him without responding. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. He'd just met Sergeant and already, he expected him to be able to just conjure up an ingenious plan and save the world because he had his father's DNA coursing through his veins. How was he supposed to do that? He couldn't just waltz into Blowhole's lair and expect him to surrender. He couldn't waltz into his lair, period.
Suddenly, he remembered Bloom. He'd left her just before she'd gotten her transfusion. Without telling Sergeant, he turned abruptly to the right, heading toward the tent that she was in before he left.
When he pushed open the flaps, Einstein was watching the transfusion carefully. A needle protruded from a vein in Bloom's — who was still unconscious — flipper and a thin tube ran from it to Colonel Evans' flipper. His right shoulder was bound tightly and his other lacerations were tended to. He was holding a damp cloth to his swollen eye, but he almost seemed to not be there with the blank expression on his face. SJ glanced at Sly, who was standing next to the colonel. He concluded that he must've hypnotized him.
SJ entered fully and looked at Bloom, then to Einstein.
"Is she all right?" he asked the doctor. Einstein didn't dare look up from the line running from Evans to Bloom.
"Better, now that she's getting some blood. How did you know that Evans had her blood type?" he asked, making a note in his notepad.
"When I was working in Blowhole's village, and I was planning on escaping, I took in every detail. Each day I would take in something new and say it in my head over and over again. I didn't start finalizing my plan until I had everything memorized, including the details of all of Blowhole's sols in the area," SJ explained.
"Wow. That must have taken a long time," Einstein inquired.
"Seven years worth," SJ confirmed. "Speaking of time, how much longer is this transfusion going to be?"
"It'll be about another couple hours," Einstein answered.
SJ looked at Bloom and sighed. "Do you have any idea when she'll be conscious?" he asked.
"I can't say. It could be a few hours after the transfusion, it could be sometime tomorrow. It just depends," Einstein answered. SJ walked around to Bloom's side and gently took her flipper into his.
There wasn't a force on earth that would tear him from her until she awoke.
— § —
"Status."
No answer.
"Colonel Evans? What happened? Sound off! That's an order!"
Static.
"Damn . . ." Blowhole cursed under his breath. Why wasn't Evans answering his call? This was insubordination! Blowhole dialed Madagascar again.
"Wuthers speaking," a voice answered.
"Lieutenant Wuthers? Where the hell is Evans?!" Blowhole asked angrily.
"I don't know, sir! I've been trying to grab a signal on his radio for almost two hours!" Wuthers answered.
Blowhole breathed impatiently.
"Find him. I want information. Keep me posted. And find that penguin!" Blowhole ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Wuthers replied.
Blowhole disconnected the line.
— § —
Blowhole entered his quarters, where Hanne was waiting for him, admiring her picture on the far wall with General Hanne written on a plaque underneath.
"General Hanne? Care to tell me what you're doing in my quarters unauthorized?" he asked her sternly. Hanne turned upon hearing his voice.
"Emperor Blowhole, we need to talk," Hanne replied, her face falling into seriousness.
Blowhole allowed the panel to slide shut behind him, concealing he and Hanne in privacy.
"Well, what is it, Hanne?" he said, moving forward on his Segway until they were a few feet apart.
"It's about the facial recognition of that penguin. It came through," Hanne replied before pausing to watch Blowhole's reaction. "His file is blank," she continued.
"Blank? But my father ordered that everyone under his command be questioned, tested, and filed! How could this kind of mistake be allowed to happen?" Blowhole asked, his voice rising.
"That's what I asked myself. So, I did some deeper research. You'll never guess who this penguin is the spitting image of," Hanne said with her expression going cold.
Blowhole's brow furrowed. "Well?" he urged.
Hanne didn't answer verbally. Instead, she pulled a file off of his desk and handed it up to him. Blowhole snatched it and opened it up. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened as soon as they fell upon the picture in the file with the deceased penguins' name in capital, bold letters underneath.
Nothing was said for almost three minutes.
"I thought he was killed," Blowhole said slowly, finally breaking the silence.
"His father was. Apparently, the son still lives," Hanne said.
Blowhole slowly closed the file with his jaw tightening. "It could be a mistake. It could just be a coincidence that he resembles him," he suggested, though even he sounded doubtful.
"Do you really want to take that chance? If he finds out who he really is — if he hasn't already — who knows what the bastard will do?" Hanne pointed out.
Blowhole didn't meet her eye. "No. We're not taking that chance. He could ruin everything," he said quietly.
"Do you think one of those damned rebel groups found him? If they have, you can guarantee that he knows who he is by now. I told you we should have been trying harder to find them! If they give those peasant workers hope, then your reign is over," Hanne told him sternly.
"You think I don't know that?! I haven't been focused on putting resources toward finding them because there is no way their pathetic little army can stand up to mine! I don't care who's leading it! And besides, I was told not to worry about it – that an opportunity would present itself to deal with those groups in due time," Blowhole argued.
"So what if he loses against us? Just the bravery of standing up against you will instill a stronger disposition in the commoners. Then you'll have a full-out rebellion. Our army may outweigh the rebel army, but the commoner population strongly outweighs us. And once they realize that . . ." Hanne let the end of that sentence hang in the air for a moment. "Are you really going to risk everything on an expectation?" she shot back.
Blowhole opened his mouth to respond, but the reality of Hanne's words sunk in and he couldn't disagree with her, no matter how much he wanted to. He took a deep breath.
"You're right, Hanne. I just don't know how to deal with this when we don't even know where the hell he is," Blowhole told her. A moment later, his face lit up. "But I might know how to find out."
Hanne furrowed her brow. "Sir?"
"Just leave it to me, Hanne."
— § —
Night had fallen over Madagascar, and Einstein had finished the transfusion. Though, Bloom still lay unconscious, propped up on the cot by a large bundle of cloth that served as a pillow. Einstein had left to help other RABs that had been injured, occasionally checking in on her. SJ waited at her side, as he had been for the past several hours.
He stood by her side, leaning in close to her face, dabbing her forehead with a damp cloth every so often. She'd broken her fever a while ago, but he wanted to be sure it was kept down. Even though the slow rise and fall of her chest was enough to assure him that she hadn't crashed again, he still kept a constant check on her pulse. Putting his flipper to her jugular again, he assured himself that she was okay.
He looped her flipper in his and closed his eyes, sighing. He just hoped that his friend would be okay. His eyes snapped open when he heard a soft moan.
Bloom was coming to. The flipper that SJ was holding tightened around his as her face writhed in pain.
"Bloom?" SJ called softly, leaning in closer to her face and dabbing her forehead again. "Bloom, can you hear me?"
"Commander?" Bloom croaked.
"No — no, it's me, SJ," SJ replied. Bloom opened and closed her eyes a few times, letting them adjust to the soft light from the lantern.
"SJ, my stomach hurts," she said weakly.
"I know, Bloom. You had to have surgery, but you're going to be all right now," SJ assured her. "I'm going to be right back. Don't move."
He attempted to pull away, but Bloom tightened her grip on his flipper "Don't leave me," she requested weakly.
SJ leaned back in. "I'm going to be right back. I need to let Einstein know you're awake," he told her.
"Promise you'll come back?" Bloom asked.
SJ gazed back into her eyes. "I promise," he assured her. Bloom waited a moment before she finally loosened her grip on his flipper. SJ turned and emerged from the tent and scanned the base with his eyes and spotted Einstein a few tents away.
"Einstein," he called when he was in earshot. Einstein's ears perked up upon hearing his name and he turned.
"SJ, what is it?"
"It's Bloom. She's awake," SJ told him.
Einstein nodded. "I'll be there momentarily," he told him. SJ nodded and returned to Bloom as he promised.
"Einstein will be here in a minute, Bloom," SJ said.
Bloom smiled peacefully. "You came back," she slurred before taking a deep breath.
SJ gently put his flipper on the side of her face and she sighed at his touch.
"Of course I did, Bloom," he said softly. "I'll always come back."
— § —
Quote: "Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity." ~R. I. Fitzhenry