Rebellion in the Shadows

Several hours later, stiff-legged and hungry, we finished the simulation. The space shuttle had parachuted back to our planet successfully. The suit had tried to simulate the force of impact, but really it had only managed to give me a kink in my neck. Zarleque was quiet while we peeled off the suits.

“That was fun. Weird but fun,” I said. He nodded, his face still white.

“Talaya something is bugging me,” he said. He was half bent over unlacing part of his boot. He hadn’t looked at me while he was speaking as if to conceal our conversation. Many others had already finished their simulation and left the room. We were one of the last groups.

“It’s probably the same thing that’s bugging me,” I said. Master Guardian watched us both from the front. He locked eyes with me and waved off a person that was trying to talk to him. I stepped closer to Zarleque and turned my back to Master Guardian.

“No, not that. I mean, yes, that was startling, but something else I noticed. All the other simulators had “simulation” in transparent lettering at the top of the middle screen but ours didn’t.” He pointed to the screen next to us.

I stopped undressing and looked at the other screens. The few that I could see still had “simulation” across the top, every single one, except ours.

“How else would we have seen video like that? We could move the camera, and it was realistic. We didn’t fly a simulation. I think we just piloted a real spaceship,” he whispered. Even though I had thought the same thing, it felt wrong to talk about it.

“Why would they lie? What could they gain from us flying a real space mission today? And how? Last I knew, remote piloting only worked up to like 5,000 miles.” Zarleque hadn’t really heard my question. His focus was trained on something over my shoulder. I snapped around to four men with strange uniforms walking towards us.

The initials “FFP” were displayed on their collars like some sort of badge. Each one of the men held a weapon, a long black staff with two metal prongs on the end. A bright blue current zapped between the prongs. Each one of the soldiers held the staff with the tip pointed to the ceiling and wore a grim expression.

“Zarleque, the Master Guardian requests a meeting,” the tallest of the men said. Zarleque seemed to recognize him, but his face didn’t relax. It remained as bloodless and worried as before.

“Sure Rotowey, just let me finish getting my flight suit off.” He kept untying his boots. Rotowey’s mustache twitched in irritation.

“Negative, we are leaving now. You will wait for him in his reaffirmation room.” He grabbed Zarleque by the arm and yanked up the much larger man.

“Alright, I’m coming,” he said and yanked his arm back. One of the other soldiers poked Zarleque with their weapon and he dropped to the ground with a shout. When he looked back up, his eyes burned with anger. He took three deep breaths through his clenched teeth but stood without being asked. I had jumped back from the scene when Zarleque fell. One thing was certain, I did not want to be touched by whatever the hell that thing was.

“Let’s go,” Rotowey said. His tight uniform stretched against the movement of pulling on Zarleque’s arm, his thick muscles barely fit into the shirt. Rotowey’s nails dug into the flesh on Zarleque’s bicep until his skin was ghost white around the grip.

Zarleque was led out of the room that way with half his flight suit still hanging off his waist. I was left alone next to the simulator, mouth hung open and eyes transfixed on the door through which they’d disappeared.

Master Guardian’s voice made me jump.

“Talaya, let’s not get upset over nothing. Zarleque will be fine.” He walked around the simulator hands joined behind his back as casually as if he were choosing which shirt to wear on his day off.

“I wish I could still fly. You know I was a Reconist too?” Of course, I knew that. Sidarc was here for something else. There were several “FFP” men blocking anyone from coming inside the large room. Notawa peeked in before they shoved her back. It was just me and Master Guardian. The alarm on my calcumat blared: high heart rate. I swiped the warning away.

“It’s an important job. We fly around the world delivering food and medicine. Helping families visit each other. Making sure people are safe. Keeping the peace. Some may argue it’s the most important job on the planet.”

“Master Guardian is the most important job in the world,” I said.

“Is it?” He smirked at me, a terrible, condescending little smile that had me livid.

“Did you need something? I’m late for dinner,” I said continuing to unzip my space sim-suit.

“You will wait,” he spat back, his voice sharp. This wasn’t a chitchat. He had something important to say, and, for some reason, I knew I wasn’t going to like it. An item caught his attention on the ground, and he knelt to retrieve it. Whatever he found went to his lips where he blew the dust off it. Footsteps echoed through the room, each one a stab to my eardrums. I didn’t want him next to me, but his lazy stride brought him nearer with every step.

“I learned so many important things during my time as a Reconist. How to fly, obviously.” He laughed at his own joke. “How to take orders. Respect.” He glared after saying that one.

“But the most important thing? I learned to keep my mouth shut and mind my own business.” He was right in front of me now. I lowered my eyes. He ignored my look and kept talking, “Funny things happen when you don’t. Dangerous things.” His fingers held up what he had grabbed off the floor: my Elite Flyers pin. He bit the backing off and spat it out over his shoulder. My breath was shallow as he took one final step closer to me.

He stuck the pin into my shirt. It went straight through the thin fabric and into my flesh. I didn’t blink or register the sting at all. He pushed it farther into my skin with a smile. His thumb shook with the effort. A single drop of blood oozed around the pin and onto my shirt. This wasn’t going to work the way he wanted. If he expected me to flinch, we would be here all day.

“Do we understand each other?” he asked.

“You are telling me to mind my own business or what? Something bad will happen to me?” He dropped his hand. My chest started throbbing. Without his thumb holding it in, the bloody pin fell to the ground. Our eyes stayed locked, his amused, mine considerably less so.

“Yes, ‘or what?’ You tell me. Talaya, tell me what you think I am capable of.” He tilted his head to one side, waiting for my answer. This was all an attempt to intimidate me. Only, I wasn’t afraid. I was pissed. This was a game and I was done playing. Zarleque was just a pawn, a tactic used to scare me into submission. Something in my head screamed at me to go along with it, apologize and promise to keep my mouth shut.

My scowl grew, my two green eyes stared straight into his.

“I know what you’re not capable of: minding your own business,” I said. My stare remained even. I tried to convey as much hatred as possible through my eyes. His smile vanished for a second. When it came back, he shook his head. Without saying anything else to me, he turned away and started towards the door. To no one in particular, he said, “That is disappointing.”

I stood next to my simulator, unsure about what had just happened. Notawa ran up to me as soon as the guards let her.

“Don’t ask. Notawa,” I said as we left.

Halfway to the cafeteria, I changed direction. Zarleque’s room. I had to make sure he was OK.

“Zar?!” My fist pounded against his door, but not a peep came from inside. Two men stared at me as they walked past.

“What?!” I didn’t care how crazy I sounded: people needed to mind their own business. They hurried away. Notawa was standing back, timidly watching me lose my mind.

“Talaya, you need to eat before they close the cafeteria,” she said.

I turned my attention to her. “Where is he?” I asked her.

She stuttered, eyes shifting before she said, “I’m not sure. He had a meeting with Master Guardian. He is probably still there.”

“We both know that’s not true,” I said. More people were coming down the hall, I stepped closer to her and lowered my voice. “You have to know something Notawa. You’re a Privy Master.”

“Talaya, I don’t know anything, and, even if I did, I couldn’t tell you because it’s against policy. You would know if you actually paid attention when you studied with me. Now, please come eat. You will feel better after a meal. You don’t want to cause a scene here, trust me,” she said, looking down the hall.

“You don’t know what I want. Go eat if you’re so worried about it. I’m waiting here.” I crossed my arms and stood next to his name plate.

“You’re wasting your time,” she said. “Find me later. We need to keep on with your studying.”

“Enough with the studying. If you knew what I just saw, you wouldn’t be worried about it.” She took a step away from me.

“Talaya, you don’t know what you are saying. Please, just come to dinner.” She was begging now.

“Leave me alone.” I turned away from her.

“You don’t want to see what happens if you ignore him.” She had whispered it, but my eyes shot open wide. The look on her face made that more threatening than anything Master Guardian had said.. My resolve wavered for a second.

“No,” I said. She gave up and left me standing alone at his door. After a half hour, I sat down in the hallway with my head resting in my hand.

It was only a few minutes later when two feet stopped in front of me. “Waiting for someone?” Arwago was standing with his hands in his pockets looking down at me.

“Yes,” I said. I wasn’t in the mood for a talk, but he sat down next to me.

“You know my first week here, I was all turned around. It’s so different than the regular units,” he said. He pulled a bag out from his pocket and ripped it open.

“Apple chip?” He tilted it towards me. I waved the bag away.

“Are you ever not eating?” I asked, irritated at the distraction.

“I like snacks. It’s not a crime. I hardly ever get to the cafeteria these days,” he said.

“You aren’t missing much.” He crunched another chip. It was the only sound for a few minutes. “Have you read that book I gave you?” he asked.

“What book?” Then caught myself. “Oh yes! Um, not yet. It’s been kind of busy.”

“Read it, trust me. You want to, especially the ending.” He stood up but stopped half way to lean over me.

“Chin up, Talaya. Don’t let him know he’s getting to you,” he said softly right into my ear.

After he left, I waited another hour before I gave up. Forget about eating in the cafeteria or studying with Notawa, I was done with that place. My anger was replaced by loneliness and there was only one person I wanted to see. All the comm to my dad said was, ‘Home for the weekend.’ A few days away from the rules and complications would do me well.

Most of my clothes and possessions were still at my house. The scherlot in my room would be fine without me for a few days. In only ninety-five minutes, I could be at home in my easy chair talking to my dad. I wasn’t allowed to take my assigned drone for personal travel, so I had to order a ride on my calcumat. Requesting one was simple. A little application could call it to my location in minutes.

The alert that my drone was arriving came and I started towards the nearest landing pad. Another alert flashed: The drone was going to leave if I didn’t arrive within two minutes. If I missed that ride, it could be hours before another came, and I wanted to hang out with my dad before he went to sleep for the night. My walk turned into a jog until I smacked into someone around the next curve.

“Damn, watch it!” he said as he picked himself up off the floor. My head jerked back when I recognized him.

“Kirtis? What the hell are you doing here?”

“I’m going to my room what does it look like?” he said between gasps. From the looks of it, he had been jogging for a while. His hair was freshly buzzed, and he had acquired a tan. I looked over him.

“What’s with the new uniform?”

“None of your damn business.” He was already walking away from me. It was the same FFP uniform that Rotowey had been wearing.

“Always a pleasure!” I said to him, adding, “You big idiot,” under my breath. He said something along the same lines as he hurried away.

The uniform clicked; the Flying Force Police. It was something a fellow Technician had said when I was first at basic training. I thought it had been a ridiculous rumor that a division like that existed. Strange stories about a secret police force never held any merit with me. After my experience with Master Guardian and Zarleque tonight, it made sense, and it was unsettling. My father’s hesitation to trust the Flying Force didn’t seem as paranoid now and it was the first thing I planned on asking him about.

The tiny, pilotless drone was still waiting on the landing pad. Without a pilot it would take twice as long to get there and be bumpy as hell.

On board, I slunk into my seat. It was stiff and smelled like burla pee. The overhead light flashed red. Payment. I let out an irritated huff but scanned my calcumat against the little tablet on the wall of the drone.

Six credits a mile and 884 miles.

There was something about riding on a drone that relaxed me. When I wasn’t flying, that relaxation turned into naps nine times out of ten. This was no different and I slept most of the ride home.

Three hours later, the drone dropped me off. I lived in a home surrounded by others of the same size and design. When humans first arrived on the planet, they used cars to get around until they were outlawed. Many older cities still had the streets that were used as pathways for them, but it had interrupted natural life too much. Electric drones, and jet fueled aircrafts were all that we needed to get around the globe. Some people had small electric hover scooters and little carts but for the most part, people walked if they were close enough, and order rides if they weren’t.

Boulder 105W was a small town. Only one grocery store, a small landing pad, and twenty-seven houses. My father, Dutom, oversaw the community garden for a small weekly payment. Outside of the circle of houses, was a lake and a thick forest where my dad used to take me to track animals or forage for edible plants.

There was still no response to the comm I had sent my dad. He was probably outside playing with his burla or maybe had gone to sleep early. I sent another quick comm that told him I was there. It was better not to just walk in and catch him off guard. He often fell asleep in his underwear on the couch with his burla curled up next to him. That was something I didn’t need to see. The drone landed on the pad and a few residents came outside to see who I was. One of them waved and came to meet me.

“Talaya! How’s it at space training? You all find any aliens yet?” I laughed. Suttah was Whyla’s great aunt, and one of our closest family friends.

“Not quite, Suttah, sorry. If I do, you’ll be the first to know!” I said with a wink. Being there had already put me in a good mood. The crisp mountain air wrapped around me and smelled like home.

“Won’t be surprised. Every time we lose an eggplant, I try and tell ’em. Everyone thinks Suttah is nuts, but I know the truth!” Suttah was nuts. She was old enough to be my grandmother, but she was still spry as a woman half her age. Her wispy white hair was always tied back in a tight bun. Never in a million years could I have guessed her age, which the last time I had asked, was 114. She hardly seemed older than my father. She was determined to talk, and her hustled footsteps sounded right behind me.

“Weird thing ’bout that big craft though.”

“What big craft?” I asked, only half paying attention.

“That big ol’ Fly Force thing. Tried to land that monster on our tiny pad. I scared ‘em off though. They’ll think twice before comin’ back here!” She shook her fist into the air at the nonexistent plane.

It clicked. I looked at Suttah, my eyebrows scrunched together on my forehead.

“That is strange,” I said. Up the hill, the porchlight was turned on at my house.

“We thought it was you, it had the space logo on the side.” There was no reason for a Flying Force Space Academy aircraft to be there. I had only told Notawa I was coming home. Something was wrong.

“Crap, I have to go Suttah. Thanks for the info!” I said over my shoulder as I sprinted towards the house. When I got there, I faced the scanner to the alarm panel outside. It beeped and I threw open the door. A small animal ran to greet me; Dad’s burla.

“Dad?!” I yelled, ignoring the furry creature. No answer. His room, the living, my room, the kitchen— All empty.

Tomma, his burla, followed me from room to room, humming his little hungry noise. His presence wasn’t good. My dad took Tomma everywhere he went.

Another look at my wrist but all I saw was still no comm from him. We went out the front door together, me and the small four-legged creature. It couldn’t hurt to check the lake too.

It only took a few minutes to walk down to the lake. When I got there, the water looked still and clear. Tomma watched as I walked around frantic, and his forked tail twitched. That was the only indication that he registered my emotions. In the dark water, a scherlot chased a fish but nothing was out of the ordinary. Even though he was perfectly capable of walking, I picked Tomma up. There was nothing there and nothing at home. I started the short walk towards the house, when Suttah came running down the path. Tomma clawed my arm at the commotion and jumped out of my arms, leaving deep punctures in my skin.

“Suttah! Slow down!” I said to her. She was going to break a hip.

“Talaya! Some people from the Space Academy are at your house!”

“Shit.” I grabbed her tiny shoulders. “Have you seen my dad?” She was panting and shook her head.

“Not since this afternoon.” I looked up to the house. Someone stood on the porch and waved at me. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was the peppy wave of one very happy mentor. Notawa.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her when I got to the porch.

“Master Guardian requested that you spend this time studying back at the FFSA,” she said, ignoring my scowl.

“I am not leaving until I find my dad.”

“Why don’t you just send him a comm?”

“You think I didn’t already? He isn’t here Notawa, I’ve looked everywhere, and he isn’t answering my messages.” She followed me back into my house.

“Don’t panic. Why don’t you check the logs while I look around?” Maybe I just wasn’t used to being stared at like that, but her expression was out of place.

She checked each room again while I looked through the alarm system. The entry-exit log was mysteriously absent for an entire six minutes, four hours before I arrived. Right after my conversation with Sidarc. I touched at the tiny scab on my chest where he had shoved the pin into my skin.

That wasn’t a coincidence.

“His calcumat is probably malfunctioning. He’s just at the store or something, You can call him from the drone.” She tugged at my uniform sleeve.

“Worst comes to worst you can have a Privy Master look up his location back at the Academy,” she said.

“Notawa, something is wrong. I can feel it.” I was desperate for her to believe me. She looked into my eyes. Hers were bloodshot and sunken, rimmed by splotchy skin, as if she had spent these few hours crying.

“He’s fine Talaya. Why wouldn’t he be?” Visions of FFP soldiers grabbing my father and dragging him out of the house popped into my head. If that was the case, wouldn’t the house be a mess? And my dad, he wouldn’t go down easily. Not with anyone from the Flying Force but me, and even then, he would probably throw a fit.

“We can check with a Privy Master?” I asked.

“I know the perfect person,” she said. We started towards the door when I thought about Tomma. He always hid in the same spot. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck from under the nightstand in my dad’s room and carried him out the door. Somehow, I knew no one would be there to take care of him for a while. When I walked out, a single overturned glass on the floor caught my attention.

No. No one would be back for a long time.