“Where’s the pilot?” I ask.
Minns replies, “He’ll be out soon, after he’s done battening down the vessel. Where’s English?” She can tell from our faces that the news is grim. She takes a long look around and shakes her head. “What the hell happened around here?”
Etch steps out, stretching his long, grey arms. “Hello my friends. It appears that we missed a little excitement. We have much to talk about.”
“We got to see space. Ah, it were magnificent.” Samuel slaps his forehead. “Amy, you’d never believe how pretty earth is. Like a big ball of blue and white. The stars — they was so bright and so many.”
We settle down to tell our stories. Etch rubs his hard chin. “Hmmm. You were lucky that Fromer stormed Thresh. He can communicate with animals? Very interesting. Thresh is a coward and would be a terrible pilot.”
Ansam rips a piece of bread from a fresh loaf. “Fromer always comes in the knick of time. Did he save your arses too?”
“I am afraid we were on our own on the bottom of the ocean. Repairs took much longer than expected. The grubs did more damage to the hull than we thought.” Etch eats a roasted rabbit in a single bite. He hums in satisfaction. “Iggy’s children helped tremendously. I was able to spend time out there with my pressure suit but was far clumsier than they were with the detail work. A week ago we finally lifted off the sea bottom and saw the sweet sky after much too long. We rose into high orbit to test the repairs and to scan for your shuttle. The repairs held, but the shuttle was difficult to find. We knew the former location of the Raven and started there. We finally found the remains of your shuttle under a pool of mud and ice. There were scorched trees everywhere. We thought that you had perished. However, after some clearing of the brush, Iggy’s coordinates appeared. They were still legible and led us here.”
Gorian puts Ferris on Grey’s lap. “Etch, did you find any sign of the Raven in the neighborhood?” She looks up at the sky.
“No, I did not. It is very peculiar for a ship to become completely sentient to the point where it makes its own decisions. I am glad it eliminated Melat. However, its passage through space likely alerted both the Institute forces and the FRT resistance. If they haven’t come to earth, they will soon. The portal will tempt them both and further deepen their conflict.”
“Given that we might be meeting them soon, can you tell us more about the Institute and the FRT?” I ask.
Grey gives the baby back to Gorian. “Let me try to answer this. Centuries ago, when earth fell and became quarantined because of the mystery terrorist agent, a colony of mostly human scientists on mars rose to power. You see, mars was the closest habitable planet and used as an escape from the crowds and pollution here on earth. The scientists were studying how to make mars more suitable for life and looking for other planets to colonizing. Because of their knowledge, they held the key to colonizing new worlds and became very influential in relations among the intelligent species like those of Iggy and Etch. We call the government they created the Institute, which still rules the affairs of most planets in known space. My family can be traced back to these founder scientists and remains an important player in this administration.
“If your family’s so important, why were you stuck here?” Bets asks.
“As with the rest of our crew, we simply knew too much about the portal on planet C9 and that it may be possible on other planets. It didn’t help that my dad invented the goop that the entities in infraspace are using to invade our universe. My family couldn’t help me.”
“Or they didn’t try to hard.” Gorian snarls.
“So, are the FRT people the bad guys?” Bets asks.
“They started out as criminal gangs, plundering transports and setting up unauthorized colonies. We called them pirates. So, yes, they were the bad guys. Over the past decade, several disgruntled planetary governments joined them. They reached a critical mass over the past year and are seeking legitimacy. The war began as a few squabbles over minor territories but has escalated to a full conflict. If the FRT gains access to the portal at Yellow Stone and figure out how to use it, they can attack Institute installations and ships without warning. The tactical advantage and access to resources will tip the war in their favor.”
All of this means nothing to me. I have no stake in either side and can hardly comprehend entire worlds fighting over issues that seem silly. Space is so vast — it makes no sense what they are fighting over. To me, I see threats to my home from many directions. Thresh is immediate and so very personal. The eyeless, lifeless puppet-masters leading her from beyond the hellish lake at Yellow Stone are another enemy, made more frightening by their abstraction. The Institute and FRT have no business here and will find no sympathy — even if we all descended from the same ancestors.
Etch clears his throat and walks over to the Fuerst. He inspects the scars on its otherwise flawless hull.
“How’d the Fuerst handle her injuries?” I ask.
“You talk of my ship as if she is alive. Few people realize that these machines have intelligence.”
“I got to know the Raven well. Must be the pilot in my blood.”
“The Fuerst is angry and wants the blood of Thresh and the lifeless ones, beyond. We must get you to the portal at Yellow Stone immediately.”
“What’ll I do when I get there?”
“Rescue your daughter and save us all.”
“Sounds easy,” I say, patting the hull of the beautiful ship.
By late evening, Minns, Bets, Theo, and I join Etch in the Fuerst, leaving our companions at the lodge. Father and Samuel are busy repairing the damaged building. Iggy’s teaching his children how to re-engineer Sam’s systems. Grey and Gorian are discovering the first exhausting steps of shared parenthood. I hope to the gods I’ll see them all again. They are my family.
The Fuerst thrums to life and rises into the moist spring air.
Etch pokes his head out of the pilot house. “Amy, would you like to join me?”
“Absolutely.” I’m thrilled. I find Etch lounging in his chair, clearly content and happy in his element. The screen in the front of the room blazes with an image of the countryside — emerald trees, dark blue sky, and enormous pearly clouds. All the scars left on the ground by Thresh are obscured by the distance.
“Would you like to have a seat in my chair?”
“Really?”
“It is time for you to meet the Fuerst. I know you are close to the earth. The ship will give you a bird’s eye view of the world you hold so dear.”
“Nothing will come out of the chair and poke my hand?” I think of that awful experience on the Raven.
“No, that is a procedure used to travel between stars. Not necessary for ordinary flying. If you ever desire to travel between star systems, you will have to learn how to do that.”
I gingerly sit down and my mind opens wide. I can see the entire sky and the ground below from the vantage of the ship. It’s as if my eyes are everywhere at once. The Fuerst smiles at me. I speed the vessel, bank right, and descend toward the lodge. The forest’s trampled for miles around the building. Trees that should be healthy are brown and crusted with dried ooze. The Fuerst whispers to me, “What’s your desired course, Amy Marksman?”
I look over at Etch and he nods. “I have charted a rough route. Please take us to Yellow Stone.”