Renegades, page 35
“So, are you ready?” Jerrick asked.
“No, but do it anyway. I would sit here all day delaying it if I could. You have to understand, I never thought I would find myself in a position like this. I don’t know what to do.”
“No one in this position has all the answers, Bec. Just make the best decisions you can and lean on those who are supporting you. Especially me.”
Becca nodded and pointed to the intercom on the control panel of the bridge. Jerrick flipped the switch to transmit.
“Attention, please. This is Jerrick Yunis, pilot and second in command. There is a good deal of news that we need to share with you. First, Lance 10 was compromised before we escaped.” Jerrick paused and took a deep breath. “Command took control of the Lance and returned it to Orris. The fate of those on board is unknown, but they will not be joining us.
“There is more major news. Ander Wex, former Ambassador of Nations on Orris and the Commander of this vessel, has been removed from his position. The full series of events that led to his removal are detailed and complex, and we will disclose everything tonight in the theater. We will meet as an entire population tonight, at 21:00. I ask that everyone attend. Our future begins tonight, and I want everyone in attendance, so there is no confusion about our path. As for the control of the Lance, I naturally moved into the role of interim Commander, but I now relinquish the seat to someone more qualified. Becca Rose is your new leader, and she is very deserving of the position. Becca grew up on this very Lance. She knows it better than anyone. She graduated from the Lance 5 Academy with a degree in nuclear physics, and she has been a student of Dr. Clairbaugh’s since arriving on Orris. So, ah, I will give Becca the mic now.” Jerrick handed the handset to Becca.
“Thank you, Jerrick. My name is Becca Rose, and I have assumed control of Lance 5. We will be faced with some challenges in the very near future, and countless challenges in the distant. I have every confidence in us, in you, to rise to the occasion.
“Our goal is to reach Aila, to build a new world. That has not changed, but our course will. Lance 5 has taken considerable damage, and we will need all hands on deck to repair it. Immediately after the meeting in the theater, Jerrick and I will be in the rec center; that’s the building between the library and the blue textile building. We want anyone with mechanical knowledge and anyone with any level of physics knowledge to meet us there. While I can’t hope for anyone in a pool so small to be learned in nuclear physics, if you’re out there, please come.
“I’m afraid we have already taken powerful blows since leaving Orris. Challenges that will take all of us to overcome. But if I would trust anyone to take these challenges head-on, it would be you. It would be the renegades. You have already proven yourselves to be capable and resilient in the face of unfavorable odds.
“Over the next few days, we will meet with several specialized groups, and we will also meet as a complete group, with everyone in attendance. There are only about a thousand of us, so we can easily meet together in the theater. We will make further announcements as new information becomes available. Commander Becca Rose, out.”
Jerrick grinned at her as she handed the handset back to him. Becca frowned.
“I know it’s your new moniker, but you weren’t introduced to me as Becca Rose. I don’t remember the name, but I know it wasn’t Rose.”
“It’s Potaglia. But that is the last time the name will be spoken on this ship. That name belongs back on Orris, with Garrett and my parents and the legacy of my great-great grandparents. I’m Becca Rose, I’m my own person, and I’ll create my own legacy.”
“I believe you will,” he said, still smiling. “Come on, we have to get ready for the meeting.”
2
Becca gripped the inside of Jerrick’s elbow with one hand and pulled him down gently so she could whisper to him. They stood just offstage behind the curtain. “I’m nervous,” she whispered, even though there was no one within earshot.
Jerrick smiled and nodded. “I understand. It’s the first time you will address them in person, face to face. Every time after this will be easier, but this needs to happen. We need to establish the hierarchy. You are the commander, and they are the citizens. Once they accept that, it will be much easier. But Becca, they’ll never accept it if you don’t. Speak with confidence. Instruct them. Don’t ask them for permission.” Becca closed her eyes and nodded. Jerrick kissed her temple. “You got this.”
She stepped out from behind the curtain and walked up to the podium. The crowd was about thirty-five across in the front row, and as many deep. The theater could easily hold the full thousand people, but it was near to capacity. No one was sitting, and no one applauded. The chatter silenced as she walked crossed the stage.
Becca grasped the podium and took a deep breath. The space was well lit but there was no electronic amplification, and she prepared to project her voice. “Renegades, I am Becca Rose, Commander of…”
“Where’s the Ambassador?” a male voice yelled from within the crowd. Murmurs of agreement followed his question.
“The Ambassador, Ander, has been removed from his command. One of the reasons we’re having this meet…”
“I don’t know who you are, lady, and I think everyone wants to hear from the Ambassador. He is the commander of this ship, not you, or anyone else.” Jerrick stepped out from behind the curtain, taking three loud steps into full view of the crowd. Becca raised one hand in his direction, signaling that he should not intervene. “Oh!” the agitator continued, “You and your boyfriend decided to kidnap the Ambassador and take over the ship? Well, I got news for you, lady, we’re…”
Becca slammed her fist on the podium. The jarring sound echoed throughout the auditorium. Stepping out from behind it and to the edge of the stage, she crouched and jumped down, then walked through the assembly directly to the loudmouthed objector. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, staring into his eyes as she spoke.
“That,” she pointed behind her, “Is Jerrick Yunis. He is the pilot of Lance 5, and I suggest you show him some respect. He is the reason you are still breathing.” The man was thin and a few inches shorter than Becca. He was probably twenty years her senior and had a receding hairline of red, greasy hair. The lips on his round face had grown tight and silent.
Becca turned and walked back to the stage but leaned on it instead of climbing back up. She breathed for several seconds, enjoying the silence, and understanding that it meant she had their attention. She turned to face them again. “We all had our reasons…”
Interrupted again, someone from far back in the crowd yelled out, asking her to speak up. She smiled. She took another deep breath. “We all had our reasons to leave our lives behind and join this effort. The reasons were likely as different as the people we have here. Some left because of a family situation, some because of their community, and a lot of you left because of your frustration with the government. Maybe some of you left because you just wanted to experience life on a planet. Experience natural life, the way we were all meant to.”
She paced slowly, back and forth as she spoke. “None of us left to torment people. To destroy families. To enslave… except one of us. Ander. For those of you who don’t know, Ander Wex, or the ‘Ambassador’ as you may think of him, did just that. Before we left Orris, Ander and one accomplice kidnapped, drugged, and packed two-hundred young girls into crates like they were bricks, or boxes, or sacks of flour. He wrecked their lives, destroyed their dreams and plans for the future. He devastated their families, irreparably. I think of the fathers whose lives revolved around protecting their young children, and the heartbreak and failure they must feel. I expect most of them will never recover.
“We cannot solve this; there is no cure. Even if we wanted to return to Orris and surrender on our knees, we could not. We are stuck in the Milky Way galaxy, for better or worse, for the rest of our lives. Aila is very, very far away. We have an enormous amount of work ahead of us if we hope to get there, and unfortunately, this group of girls will be accompanying us.
“We have no laws in our society yet. Before he was removed from his position, Ander was the premier authority in all matters, so we have no governing body to create laws, enforce them, or judge offenders. What we do have is a common set of natural laws, widely agreed upon. You cannot murder, you cannot steal, you cannot assault another person. Until clear laws are written, there will be one universal law: you must cause no harm. Anyone can bring a case against another for review, and we will agree as a group to the resolution, or at least the majority will. As for Ander, he is currently locked up, and he will stay locked up until we decide what to do with him.
“This meeting is over. We will reconvene tomorrow night at the same time, in the same place. I expect everyone to be in attendance. If you are not, your vote will not be counted for any of the measures we discuss. Thank you.”
3
Immediately after the meeting in the theater, they met with a much smaller group, as planned, in the rec center. While the second meeting went smoothly, it was less fruitful than Becca had hoped. Of the seventeen attendees, sixteen were mechanics and the last was a physics student. No one had any knowledge of nuclear power.
“It’s on me, then,” Becca said. She and Jerrick sat in the empty rec center after the meeting. “If Reggie doesn’t snap out of it, it’s on me. I have no help here.”
“How long before we have to stop the Lance? Before we have to make repairs?”
“Reggie said five days. That was this morning. So, four days now, I guess. But we can’t make repairs until we’re in a system. That will take even longer.”
“Ok, so then we meet with everyone tomorrow. We’re going to have to lay it all out for them, in detail. Most of them won’t understand you, but we’re only interested in the ones who do. Maybe we can drum up some talent that was too lazy or shy to show up tonight.”
Becca nodded, considering the idea, when she saw Jerrick look up at something behind her. She turned to find a teen girl half hidden behind the main doorway to the rec center. She stood and turned fully toward the girl. “Hello? Are you here to talk to us?”
The girl stepped out from behind the door slowly, looking at the two through dark brown bangs. Her hands were knotted in a ball in front of her stomach, her posture slumped forward. She shivered, and her jaw clenched. She wore only a gray smock that hung well below her knees. Her hair was combed and clean, stopping just above her shoulders, but otherwise she looked like a vagrant.
Jerrick beckoned to her. “Come here, sit with us. What do you have to talk to us about?”
After hesitating for another few seconds, the girl finally walked toward the commanding officers of the vessel and sat at one of the three empty chairs at their table.
“What’s your name?” Becca asked.
The girl looked up and smiled at Becca. “Corrine. I’m sorry, I was too scared to go to the big meeting.”
“That’s okay, Corrine. Such a pretty name! Why did you want to talk to us?” Becca smiled, trying to make the young girl feel as comfortable as possible.
“Well, I don’t know if I can help you, but I’m a savant, and I’m also Terrelian.”
Jerrick sat back hard in his chair. Becca understood what a savant was, but she had never heard of a Terrelian. She looked at Jerrick, who stared at the newcomer intently.
“Do your parents know you’re here?” Jerrick asked.
Corrine looked down at her knees and shook her head. “My parents were on the other ship. We boarded on the fueling pod, but when the announcement came that the ships were leaving, my parents were still upstairs in the control center. I got my little brother up the ramp into Lance 5, but when I finally saw my parents come out of the stairwell, they ran and boarded Lance 10. I yelled, but they couldn’t hear me.”
Becca closed her eyes and let her face fall into her hands. Jerrick took a deep breath. “Corrine, do you know what it means that your parents were on Lance 10? Do you understand?”
Tears formed in Corrine’s eyes, and Jerrick knew she understood perfectly. “Yes,” she said before breaking down completely.
Becca took her in her arms and let her cry into her shoulder. “Where’s your brother?” Becca asked, while stroking her hair.
The young girl worked to get herself under control and wiped at her eyes. “In… in the library. That’s where we were hiding. I planned to stay there until we could make some friends. I didn’t know what else to do until I heard your announcement.”
“And here we are?” Jerrick asked.
Corrine nodded.
“Okay, Corrine. What is your brother’s name?”
“Clive.”
“Why don’t you get your brother and your belongings and come back here? We’ll wait for you.”
Becca nodded, grateful that Jerrick was handling the odd situation. When the young girl was gone, she shifted in her seat. “What is a Terrelian? When she said that, you seemed to squirm.”
“Terrelians are an interesting group. Their planet was called Paquel, so I don’t know where their name comes from, but they are uniquely immune to heavy doses of radiation.”
“How heavy?”
“Well, you and I can tolerate about a hundred rads. After that, we’ll start showing symptoms of radiation poisoning. Terrelians can handle four or five thousand rads and be fine with it. I really don’t know what their limit is.”
“So, they can go into the reactor with a lot less risk than the rest of us?”
“Yeah, exactly. They would still need radiation suits, but if there was a problem, they would be much more capable of handling it than we would.”
Becca nodded and smiled. “What are you planning to do with them?”
Jerrick shrugged. “There are four officer suites. One is empty. They can have it. Do you object?”
Becca smiled and shook her head. “No. By all means.”
4
The following morning, Becca walked onto the bridge, hoping to see Reggie drinking coffee and studying schematics as she rounded the corner into the lounge. He was not there, but his wife was. Becca smiled at Petra and wished her a good morning while she made her way to the coffee station. Once her morning drink was brewing, she turned to her friend.
“Has he come back to us yet?”
Petra shook her head. “No. I got him into bed, and he lay there for over an hour before he started snoring, but he hasn’t said anything yet. Not to me, anyway.”
“But he talked? To who?”
“I don’t know. He woke me up in the middle of the night, shouting. He was shouting at someone, but the words were gibberish. He was still asleep.”
“That’s odd.”
Petra spun the cup on the table two complete times while staring at the liquid inside that she had barely touched. “They’re going to vote to kill him. Do you already know that?” she asked, changing the subject.
Becca lifted her cup off the dispenser and carried it to the table. “I don’t know that,” she said as she sat. “They could vote to keep him locked up.”
“They won’t, Becca. These people aren’t cut from that cloth. Maybe if they didn’t really understand what he did, but once they see the bodies today, they will have no mercy. They will want to see him hanged.”
“They will see. They will know. I’m going to see to that myself. But it may work to our advantage if we decide to keep him around. I need to talk to Jerrick about it. Honestly, I need to talk to Ander about it, too.”
“Why would you need to talk to Ander?”
“If anyone knows what he’s good for, it’s him. He’ll make the best argument for keeping him here that anyone could. And the more I think about it, the more I realize I don’t want to start my time as the commander of this ship with a public execution.”
5
Becca found Jerrick on the steps of the old electrolysis building with Todd ten minutes after she left Petra. The two men were speaking inaudibly, and Todd was pointing to the building’s second story. When Becca approached, they turned to her and smiled.
“Good morning,” Jerrick said. “We’re preparing to move the girls in.”
Becca nodded and looked up at the building, then to Todd. “Would you give us a few minutes?”
Todd smiled. “Sure. I’m going to see if I can find a few volunteers to help,” he said, and walked back in the direction Becca had come from.
“We have to decide what we’re going to do with him. Keep him, or let him go,” Becca said once Todd was out of earshot.
