Aurora (The Exodus Trilogy) (21 page)

“I’m sorry, I just… This is so great! In a hundred years, your people have built a well-functioning democracy, and expanded not just throughout your own star system, but beyond it as well. I’m just… stunned,” he said.

“What is your role in all this?” Kenneth suddenly said.

“I am an ambassador,” Rajiv answered, with a hint of pride in his voice.

“It is probably confusing to you Earthborn,” he continued.

“I’ve read a lot of Earth history, and I guess ambassadors back on Earth were a whole different lot… My role is unlike what you would be used to though. As an ambassador, I have a small starship complete with cryo cells and a shuttle, as you’ve already seen. The journey from Dehlia to Aurora took me almost twenty years, and it is my first mission outside the Helios B system. So I’ve had a lot of time to study, even though I slept through much of it,” he said, grinning.

“As an ambassador, I need to be a trained pilot. I have a decent level of technical skills, and I know several relevant languages.” Tina leaned forward, but he continued, leaving her to ponder what he had meant by “relevant languages.”

“I also speak on behalf of the Indira Federation, and basically I am here to help you in whatever manner I can.” Kenneth smiled, and thanked him.

“God knows we can use all the help we can get… I guess you’ve read all about what our country had turned into before we left Earth… Well, the governor and his people are trying to make Aurora into the very same, which is why we escaped to this sanctuary.” Rajiv went silent for a moment, and Tina wondered what he was holding back. Still, he was here, bringing news that humanity was alive and well in other parts of the universe. What could possibly be better? She meant to ask more about his mission, but Thomas beat her to it.

“So, Mr. Singh, can you, or will you help us in our struggle?” Rajiv waited for a moment, and Tina again got the feeling that he was being too careful with his choice of words.

“Yes, I am here to help,” he finally answered. “But not in the manner that you might hope. Aurora is, after all, your world, not ours. If there is one thing we have learned from the history of Earth, it is that everyone should be able to decide their own fate, to choose their own path, so to speak.” He gave them an encouraging smile, as if to tell them he felt their disappointment.

“You must resolve this yourselves, as we did, years ago. But I am here to tell our story, and it is one that I mean to tell your governor as well. I will show you a better way, and then the decision will be yours, to take my advice or not. Your choices will determine the way in which we will cooperate in the future,” he said. Tina nodded, as did Kenneth. They knew what he meant, and it was the only right way. Thomas didn’t seem too happy about it, but Tina knew he would understand as well, in time. This was their world, which made it their responsibility. Rajiv had brought them the best news they’d had since coming to Aurora, and yet, for all his wonderful tales, he had brought them no closer to resolving their internal conflicts.

After a long period of silence, Rajiv spoke again.

“We shall talk more later, but now I have to get back to the shuttle, to report back to Dehlia. There are, however, issues that need to be discussed. I believe that when you hear everything I have to tell you, you will find a way to make peace with your governor. Your future depends on it.” And with that, he rose to his feet and left out the door, leaving Tina, Kenneth and Thomas with more questions than answers.

MARIA SOLIS

Maria stood a hilltop above what had once been Port Hammer, staring out across the Trickler. The sunlight still glittered on the ice-covered river, but all around it the snow was melting, turning into slush. Spring was creeping up on them, and she wondered what that would mean to the war. After the attacks on the enemy patrols, in which her father had been captured, both sides seemed to be waiting for the other to make the next move. Now, perhaps that next move had been made, and she wondered whether that was such a smart move after all.

In the distance, she could see the smoke from Fort Andrews. The mission must have been a success. Thomas and his team had left two days ago, to blow up the warehouse where they made the poison gas. She could only imagine the damages, the dead workers who probably had no wish to be there in the first place. She wondered about her friends, those who had stayed behind when she had to flee with Geena and Kenneth. Tori, the embodiment of practicality, and Sophie, too entwined in the Havelar administration to see things from a different side, and Jeremiah... She missed the professor fiercely, her friend and mentor through so many years. Sadness was a feeling she knew well these days, and she felt it for all the victims of this conflict. It sometimes seemed the human tendency toward violence had no limits, even when struggling to do good.

Thomas was a good man. She had known that from the first time they met. But he had been, and sometimes still was, an enigma. There were so many unanswered questions, and he had been scheming and double scheming for so long, it seemed as if he sometimes struggled with telling truth from lies himself. But he had this streak of compassion, which she sometimes could only feel a hint of, that said that he cared. Deeply. She wondered if, when all this was over, there could be something to build from between them. It was nothing but a gut feeling, but she vowed to herself that once he came back, she would sit down and talk to him. Really talk, this time.

The war wasn’t her only reason to grieve. They had found her father a week ago, or rather what remained of him. They said he must have frozen to death, and then animals and time had taken their toll. She had been spared the sight, as Thomas had identified him instead. Ramon Solis had then been buried where they found him, deep in the woods beside a creek flowing through the Stronghold valley. She had visited his grave twice, laying down winter flowers and saying goodbye to the man who had fallen from the greatest heights to the deepest bottom. He was considered a war criminal by most, and without the trial, his name would forever be tarnished. It made no difference to her, as she would always love him no matter what, but she knew he would have wanted to prove his innocence. Yes, he had made a bad decision, standing by Havelar out of friendship, but she knew in her heart that he had told the truth; the massacre on the Trickler was someone else’s doing.

Rajiv Singh had been with them for more than a month now, and spent his time talking to people, answering all kinds of questions that they had, and sometimes sharing small snippets of knowledge that surprised everyone. There were times when he spent the entire evening with Kenneth and Tina, and Thomas would more often than not be in there with them. When they came out, their faces looked serious, but so far not a word had come out about what they were discussing. Still, Rajiv’s presence reminded her that there were more survivors out there who had gone through similar strife and come out of it better and wiser. The Indira Federation was proof of that, from everything she’d heard. His presence also reminded her of the questions she knew she’d never find answers to, such as what had happened to the ones left behind on Earth. Whenever she thought about that, she looked up at the sky, and every time she had to remind herself that there was nothing to see, even on a clear night. The sun was invisible to them, just as Earth was nothing but a memory now.

No, it was right here that they needed to create and build and discover, and make the choices of what kind of world this should be. This was where they needed to make their future, and Rajiv’s message had been that no one could make it for them. So, facing the smoke from Fort Andrews, she bit her lip. This was their world, and somehow they had to make it right. No one would save them, or come to their aid, and before there could be peace, they had to fight those who were trying to oppress them, whatever the cost.

All in all though, Rajiv Singh had given her hope. His description of the society they had created was an inspiring tale of the good that humans were capable of. The choice the Aurorans had been given was the same one the Dehlians had faced, so many years ago. It was only right that they should make that choice for themselves. Otherwise it wouldn’t be theirs, and an important lesson for all of them would never be learned. Aurora was their home now, for better or worse, and whatever the future held, the choices they made would make all the difference.

Epilogue

In the silence of the empty bridge, Shefania felt as if even her thoughts were loud. The Seedseeker was one of the largest ships ever built, designed specifically to search for signs of intelligent life throughout the galaxy, and so far it had served for more than two centuries, exploring more distant planets than any other ship built. The crew members were mostly asleep, as they had been for the past thirty-six years. Only the nav bots and tech drones had been there to witness their arrival in this system, where the ship’s on-board AI had sent them this time. Shefania, being the senior analyst on board, had been awakened early though, in order to catch up on all the data acquired. Now she struggled with finding the right words to begin her log entry. She knew the words mattered. Her words would make history. They would be analyzed and commemorated for generations. They would be recited by the elders and revered by the youngsters coming to learn at the great Life Dome back on Sanctuary.

If only she could be sure. She was absolutely certain they had finally found what they had been searching for throughout the generations preceding her. The data coming up from the reconnaissance drones disturbed her though. Something must have gone wrong at some point of their evolution, or they wouldn’t have been like this. She knew violence, and she had even witnessed the Awarghas wiping out an entire species in order to mine their homeworld, but this was different. It seemed they were able to kill their own in great numbers, something unheard of, even among the most warlike species of the Trident systems. This was true from what the drones had observed by the river skirmish, but even so, that hadn't been the end of it. The young ones had removed their facemasks, which seemed to have spurred a new development in them. She couldn't be sure yet, but it seemed they were evolving into something else entirely, beings that were even more prone to destruction that before. She knew she shouldn't be surprised though. The tendency to kill their own species was the real remarkable trait. Those who had “evolved” weren’t quite human anymore, so by natural law, it was to be expected that it would be easier for them to kill a human being.

Still, what worried her most wasn't the evolved youngsters. Thankfully, it seemed the others understood that removing the facemasks was dangerous, and so far, she hadn't observed any others going down that path. What did worry her were the traits displayed in the behavior of the ordinary humans. She had to assume the violent behavior and tendency to kill their own was an inherited trait, a fact that actually scared her more than anything. After all, if the trait had evolved in this population, it could evolve elsewhere too. So they had to be careful. In fact, if she wasn’t, the crew of the Seedseeker might bring something home with them, something that could threaten the entire species. And however great a discovery this might be, the danger it posed should not be underestimated. Sanctuary had to come first.

Still, by every account, they were kin. The first to be rediscovered. An amazingly small number, but she would learn the reason soon enough. The ships orbiting the planet seemed to be from yet another world, and her guess was that this planet was but a smaller outpost of a large empire. If they all had these violent traits, such an empire might endanger them all, so they would have to take precautions.

She noted their current coordinates and the date, and hesitated for a moment before she started her entry.

“Although the offspring found seem different in many ways from those of Sanctuary, the fact remains: the Seedseeker has discovered the first proof that at least one more starship managed to survive its journey, saving another strain of Lifebringer’s children.”

~

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Andreas Christensen is a Norwegian writer who writes primarily science fiction and fantasy.

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