A New Divide (Science Fiction) (19 page)

              Just then Virgil's airship dropped in front of us. He rotated the thruster engines, and his airship hovered just above the water. I jumped to my feet, turned around to my father.

              I was insulted by his remark. A "condition." I do not have a "condition." I am evolved. The sand stirred in a mild tornado behind us from the powerful thrusters of Virgil's airship. I had to yell over the mighty thrusters, in an effort to finally confront my father.

              "A condition! Are you kidding me? I don't even feel human!"

              He slowly climbed to his feet, and a look of concern washed over his face. "Not human! You punched me in the face, expressed your emotions, and you showed humility in front of billions of people yesterday at the games! Collin, you are more human than anyone I know! You are just the result of when evolution decides to take a leap forward!"

              "AH! You and your stupid leaps!"

              The sky was now completely covered by the rapidly spreading storm cloud. I began to feel a light drizzle of rain fall upon my face. The thunder rolled in, and crashed in a melody: it played with the restless waves that clashed with the rocky shores around us. It was like nature had created a symphony, and was playing it out in an incredible presentation.

              I yelled back at my father over the roar of the airship's thrusters.

              "You never answered my question!"

              "What are you talking about, Collin!"

              "Why did you come back!"

              "I already told you, Collin!"

              "What are YOU talking about, dad!"

              "I left because you needed to become your own man! Now you need guidance. Please let me help you one last time! I’ve learned from the mistakes you haven’t had the chance to make yet!" The airship landed, and the furious pelting of dust and sand, being tossed up by the thruster engines, had finally ceased. Virgil opened the latch and walked up behind me. By that time, the wind had picked up, and the seemingly mild storm had turned into a typhoon. The rain that gently brushed my face, now was well on its way to knocking me to my feet. Virgil stood beside and turned me towards the ship.

              "What the hell are y'all doin' out here!"

              "Felt like looking into the eye of the storm, old friend!" my father said.

              "Where is Mark?" I asked as I covered my face from the brutal winds that were flinging sand in every which direction.

              "The Alexandria. Let's go, kid!" I walked through the side of Virgil's airship and made my way to the passenger's seat. I sat down and stared through the windshield and I saw Virgil call over to my father.

              "Well, John, what's it going to be!"

              "What do you mean?" my father asked obliviously.

              "Man, you are just as clueless as your kid. Get in the airship, John!" My father began to walk towards Virgil, looking confused, and rubbing the back of his head. Virgil mounted the step-up platform, when my father called out to him.

              "Your commander is okay with this?" my father asked.

              "Get in, partner, my commander is expecting you!"

***

[--]

-The Alexandria-

              The Alexandria rested high above the city of Arcadia, just below the planet's exosphere. Mark was staring at the turbulent storm out the massive window on the bridge. The cloud now completely covered a large portion of the city, and this occurrence was making it increasingly difficult for the Alexandria to leave Arcadia's spaceport. This gave the Good Commander time to think about the events he had set in motion.

              Mark had told his closest generals, along with Virgil, that he had been feeling very nervous about this great expedition. Mark began to wonder if his intentions for this great expedition were changing to become a more militaristic campaign. Just a reflection of Arcoh the Eminent.

              He was now charged with the deed of removing Arcoh from his throne, an enemy that had been silent since the purge, other than the theft of the gravity cannon. Mark could not see any other way of uniting Eden, without ending his reign of terror and oppression. This plan of his to create the union of Eden was in jeopardy, especially with the thought of a possible Salaran spy within his own ranks.

              Over the next several days he began to grow increasingly more cautious, and suspicious of his officers, and Admiral Victoria Andrews was at the top of his list of suspicious subjects. When she walked into the bridge, Mark glanced over his shoulder in caution. He feared his suspicions for his first admiral were correct, and what terrible damage she could cause with her security clearance.

              "Where is everyone, sir?" Victoria inquired as she entered the bridge.

              "On break. Where have you been, Admiral Andrews?"

              "Apologies, sir. I had some personal effects to attend to."

              "Never took you for the personal type, Victoria."

              "There are a lot of things you do not know. I prefer to keep to myself. You know this, sir."

              There was a short silence between the two of them. Then Mark chuckled softly, and turned to his fleet admiral, wearing a faint smile. "You don't have to explain yourself, Admiral. We were just curious. It's a city like no other; I'd be having fun at my own expense if I could ever spare the time."

              She smiled at our Good Commander and joined him at his stare out into the furious storm. "I am supposed to inform you, sir; the Arcadians have finally cleared a path through their outer-planetary platforms. We can leave to join a third of our fleet on Rayden at any time."

              "Very well, Admiral. Our fleet has rested long enough. The show must go on."

              "Yes, sir." She quickly walked to the main intercom terminal that ran throughout the ship, and she spoke in the hologram. "Attention. All crew members need to be in their stations, and ready within thirty minutes. Our light jump to the Outlander capitol will begin, as soon as we have left Gannon's gravity well."

***

             
I frantically searched
the Alexandria for Helena, as Victoria's commands blared over the intercom. Soldiers were in a frenzy, scurrying around the hallways, making their way to their stations, as the ship's jump to light speed would soon begin.

              We had arrived late, just before the Alexandria left Gannon's gravity well, and I quickly distanced myself from my father. I didn't want to speak with anyone but Helena. I needed to seek her out, so maybe she could shed some light on yet another life-altering moment I had encountered. I needed her to comfort my heart, with her kindness, and her being.

              I finally made my way to the medical deck, and I found her questioning an older officer who was receiving his annual genome injection. She was scrolling through the display on her holoband, and she seemed very focused on her work.

              "Helena! Helena!" I called out to her as I made my way through the crowded bay; she was ignoring my calls. She wore a lab coat over her usual attire, and she had been absorbed by the chaos that coursed throughout the medical bay.

              "So, Mr. Gustavo, I see this is your 252nd injection," she said to the officer on the medical table. "That's correct, ma'am."

              "How is your state of mind? Do you feel obligated to continue receiving injections for the next fifty years?" I stepped through the transparent door, and rested my hand on her shoulder.

              "Ah, there you are. I thought I would never find you in this chaotic mess." As I said this, she replied without turning her head towards me. I immediately sensed that something was off, especially the way she replied unemotionally towards me.

              "Please, sir, I will assist you in a moment. I would appreciate it if I could work uninterrupted for a moment." I withdrew my hand in shock by her reply. I rubbed my hand across my face, and backed through the transparent door into the passing crowds. I pressed my back up against to the wall of the corridor, outside the room; I saw her peak over her shoulder, with a gloomy look on her face as she continued her interview.

              "Ma'am?" the soldier asked.

              "Apologies, sir. Continue."

              "I do plan on receiving the annual injections. And I find myself feeling a state of mental discomfort recently."

              "Depression, thoughts of suicide?"

              "No, ma'am, nothing of that nature. It may take a while to explain."

              "Well, sir, if you could fill out this form, we can further assess your current mental condition and go from there." She handed him a holographic clipboard, and he began filling out the form by answering the questionnaire. She began anxiously tapping her kneecaps and she glanced back at me for a split second. The officer looked at her as she made her nervous displacements. She noticed his stare, and stood up from her hovering chair.

              "Can you excuse me for a moment?" she asked as she stood by the door.

              "Take your time, miss."

              She turned around and walked out of the room, straight towards me, with her head down. She walked right up to me, and I placed my hands gently on her arms. I smiled and looked down upon her.

              "I am in desperate need of a psychiatric evaluation, ma'am," I said softly so only she could hear. She gave a faint smile, and I leaned my forehead against hers, closed my eyes, and gently pulled her in close.

              "I'm so glad I found you, Helena. It's been a very hard day."
She lightly backed away, and we stared strangely at each other. Our eyes became teary, and I saw her lip started to quiver. She still avoided my stare with her head down.

              "Helena, what's going on?" I asked.

              "I can't help you right now." I took my hand and stroked her hair away from her face.

              "Helena, I need you. Please tell me why you're so upset."

              She finally looked up towards me; I saw a single tear, streaming down her soft cheek. "I can't get close to you," she replied. I backed up and my eyes began to swell, along with my heart. "I'm so sorry, Collin. I don't have a choice." She almost began to cry as I slowly started to walk away.

              "We always have a choice. Okay, I'll, uh, see you around, I guess," I said as I hid my face so she could not see my tears. She began to silently cry, very subtly stretching her arm out to me as I walked down the hall.

              I felt so confused and lost. What did I do? Worst of all, I really did feel alone for the first time since the purge began. In Eden, nobody ever wants to feel alone.

***

[>Jonathan King<]

-The Bridge-

              Virgil and my father had made their way to the Alexandria's command center. By the time they arrived in the command center, the Alexandria had already made the jump to light speed. Mark looked over to them, as they made their way to the main console in the center; my father was absolutely fascinated by the elegance of the Alexandria. He looked around, and began touching everything like an idiot. Victoria ran up to him from the projection sphere as he touched interfaces and my father instantly became an annoyance amongst the crew.

              "Oh my, what does this thingy do?" he said, as he pushed a technician aside from her touch-screen projection. "Sir, please this is my station, I would appreciate it—"

              "Pipe down, son, I'm not going to hurt anything."

              "I'm a woman."

              "Whatever."

              The bridge technician pushed him away from the monitor when an alert started to sound. "Imbecile! You almost launched our entire missile salvo!"

              "Ooh, maybe I should keep my hands to myself," he said as Victoria lingered behind him. "Yes, you should! Virgil, who is this idiot you brought onto my bridge!" she shouted in outrage.

              "Admiral, he's—"

              "Oh wow, Virgil, please," my father said as he fixated his eyes upon Victoria.

              "I retract my previous statement. I would love to lay my hands on you." He took his hand and extended it to Victoria as a wide smile emerged on his face. "The name is Jonathan King, miss, the pleasure is mine, but it could be all yours, when you take me to your quarters tonight."

              She gave him a fake smile and shook his hand. My father went to release the handshake, but Victoria pulled him in with an overwhelming tug, and head butted him. This knocked my father onto the floor, hard, where he held his head and laughed while experiencing the pain. He looked up at her—she was wiping away the blood that spilled from her cut forehead.