Chapter 42 #2
“Oh, he says.” Ryker paced while Zavir followed, using two hands to pat him on the back.
“In short, we stumbled on something big,” said Roys. “Ms. Layne was captured, along with two smaller political rivals to The Company.”
“And The Company will have the militia come down on all our asses, in one way or the other,” I finished, feeling sick and it had nothing to do with my injury.
“Yeah, it’s trouble.”
“We are open to fixing those troubles,” an unfamiliar voice emerged.
A stranger entered the room wearing one of the science team’s uniforms. She was a tall, elegant human with fair white features and long dark brown hair.
Anyone could see she had been raised among the elite, seeming to glide rather than walk.
“Lucky.” She nodded toward me, and her voice carried a smooth and unfamiliar accent. “I heard a lot about you in such a short time, and I wish to thank you for helping to get us all out of there alive.”
“I don’t know if you need to thank me. Admittedly, your rescue was an accident,” I said with more gruel in my mouth. Roys rubbed my back, trying to stifle a smile.
“Regardless, I appreciate your efforts and would like to reward them, all of you, considering what might transpire.” Kayleigh had her hands clasped at her waist in a fruitless attempt to hide her shaking. The experience frightened her, and no one would blame her for that.
“I do not know the individual who hired these pirates. One moment I was journeying to see a friend, and the next my ship was attacked. Everyone…” She shut her eyes and took a calming breath.
“I was the only one taken alive, and those pirates kept me locked up. However, I overheard them from time to time. I will not share that information with you because the less you know, the better, but I also believe The Company was involved. Unfortunately, I do not know if they will spare all of you. We had time to speak, and those at The Company will assume I talked, but there may be a way to keep all of you safe.”
“I’m sorry to be the downer here, but there is no way out,” Ryker said with his hands in his hair.
“We are utterly fucked from every angle. Even if we don’t know shit, we’re stuck in the militia and no doubt this,” he waved his finger at Kayleigh, “is going to start a war with The Alliance. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but a few years from now? Yeah, and we will be the ones getting ourselves blown to bits. Not to say we didn’t always have that risk, but we will be on the front lines if only as an excuse to get rid of loose ends. ”
“You do not need to fear that at all, Ryker. Your mothers always planned to get you out after this tour,” Kayleigh said with a slight smile that had Ryker jumping in the air.
“Ha! I fucking knew they wouldn’t make me stay.” But he pointed at us. “Still, that doesn’t leave them in less trouble.”
“Which is why I plan to get all of you out of the militia entirely,” said Kayleigh, earning a wide-eyed look from everyone in the room.
“Go on,” Arana whispered.
“The pirates have been locked up. They don’t know what has happened here, and their vessel has a phenomenal cloaking device system.
I suggest we concoct a story. The pirates attacked.
Their vessel was destroyed along with anyone who wishes to depart.
In reality, you use that vessel to travel to Alliance territory.
Once you are there, my mother will get all the paperwork necessary for your stay, and the militia cannot intervene. ”
“What about you?” asked Iylene.
“People must know what happened. We’ll fire the beacon in a day or so, and all who remain, including myself, will collaborate on the story.
You’ll be free. Even if, by some chance, the militia learns of your whereabouts, they cannot travel into Alliance territory or take our citizens, which all of you will be. ”
They weren’t allowed to travel into Alliance territory without starting a war, but if one was already started, nothing would stop them. Still… if the others had anything to say, I did not hear them. The world went quiet as the possibility of a future I never expected unfurled in my mind.
“We could have… homes there?” I asked.
Somehow, through the ruckus, Kayleigh heard me. “You will, homes, healthcare, safety, all of it. There are seventeen planets in the Alliance, and any of them will be open to your relocation.”
A house. A real house. Not some metal box reeking of sweat and sewer, but a place that would be ours.
Roys and I could have our own bedroom and fill up the space with whatever the fuck we wanted.
More than clothes and essentials, we could have useless knickknacks.
Oh, and a pet! I always wanted a cat or a dog or a bird; I didn’t care.
I never had a home. Just fucked up little boxes the universe shoved me in, each of them draining my life in one form or the other. But now, we could have a real home. A place entirely our own.
“Your families are welcome too. They may not be able to immediately join you, but their relocation can be worked out. I understand this is a lot to take in. We have time to consider our options, so let me know what you think.” Kayleigh bowed her head and departed.
“The Alliance,” Lilea whispered, awestruck. “Do you think we could really…?”
“Yes, absolutely yes,” Ryker replied from between Zavir and Maddy.
He had the guts to lock arms with both of them and ignored Maddy’s glare.
“I’ve been to Donova and, trust me, any shit we hear about The Alliance being a dump is wrong.
They’re advanced. They give a shit, and Ambassador Layne will take care of you. ”
“What about our families? She said we could work something out, but how do we know? And won’t the militia become suspicious if they all packed up and left for The Alliance?” Arana asked.
“Unlikely,” Zavir replied, while crossing a set of his arms. “Upon the death of a military member, our families will receive benefits, but a home isn’t one of them.
They’re given compensation and kicked out of the military bases.
After that, they’re only numbers on a spreadsheet.
Besides, your girlfriends wouldn’t receive any of those benefits, Arana, so they would be better off joining you. ”
Arana rubbed the back of her neck. “You’re not wrong.”
Maddy looked at me and saw what the others didn’t. “Why don’t we take this chat outside? Lucky needs to finish eating.”
The others realized I hadn’t touched my food. I wasn’t sure I could. The shock of it all left my stomach reeling. I could leave. For once, I could chart my own course without fear. There were opportunities, a chance to change my life forever, to have more of a life than survival…
“Ah, shit, sorry. We’ll be outside if you need us.” Arana squeezed my shoulder.
She and the others left, except Roys. He hadn’t moved, utterly frozen beside me, his hand having fallen limp at his side. Was he thinking as I was? Did he envision a future for us or…
“I can’t risk Malwin,” he said, panting.
Sweat formed on his brow, and a shaking hand rested over his mouth to muffle his words.
“There’s no guarantee our families will join us, and even if the Alliance agreed, they may not survive the journey.
If Corporate gets even a whiff of this, we… it’s too risky.”
“But Ryker isn’t wrong about a war either.
” I caught his hand, relieved that he interlocked our fingers.
I didn’t always make the best decisions, but this time I knew—I just knew we had to do this.
“We both know that military families are sought after. They go for the kids and hope they’ll take on the mantle after their parents.
Malwin is young, but he won’t stay that way, and The Alliance, Roys, think about it. ”
“I am.” He collapsed on the bedside. His shoulders rose and fell with his rapid breathing. “He would have a better life there, more than I could ever give him here. Dinah, too, would jump at the opportunity, but there’s no guarantee—”
“There never is,” I interjected. “Even with you working here, the militia can kick you whenever they like, especially after this shit, and use it as an excuse not to pay your family anything. They could send you off to the deadliest planets, waiting for one to clean up the mess for them, and then Malwin won’t have you to protect him. ”
I hated saying that. Roys shook, and I used the little energy I had to press my shoulder against his back. His shivers echoed through me, and I kissed his neck. Nothing could calm him, but I wasn’t trying to scare him. This was merely our reality, but we could change that.
“Roys, this is the opportunity of a fucking lifetime. You said you wanted the coward back. Well, I’m here, so let’s run.
Let’s get a house with a garden and a swing set and a cat that likes to nap in the windowsills.
Can you imagine that? A home, a real one, where we can…
I don’t know, learn to bake or some shit and Malwin can play in the backyard. ”
Roys chuckled, and I could hear his concern, all his worries, the weight of this decision piercing him.
I held firm to him and waited, listening to his labored breaths slowing until he said, “I want to get a house with you, Ethin, and a garden and build a swing set and have a cat or two and grow old together.”
“I don’t know. I may run off with a younger, hotter man by then,” I teased.
“Who's to say I wouldn’t run off first?”
“Try to and see what happens.”
“So you are the jealous type,” he teased with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Only if you give me a reason to be so,” I rested my head on his shoulder. “Will you run away with me, Roys?”
He turned to face me, settling a hand under my chin. “I would love to run away with you.”
He smiled, so did I, and we sealed our fate with a kiss.