Aurora (The Exodus Trilogy) (20 page)

“Listen up! We know little of the future, and tomorrow might change everything. But we know this: they will try to subdue us all, and in fact, they have been trying since before we came to this planet. But whatever the future holds, tonight we truly are free. It’s a freedom born from your effort, from your determination, from your pursuit of happiness. So tonight we shall feast, to celebrate that freedom.” He smiled broadly as the crowd cheered again, drowning out his voice. It was all coming together. Whatever might come, today would be remembered as the day when the people of Aurora decided to overcome their hardships and take control of their own future.

MARIA SOLIS

It was past midnight, and still people were partying back in the Stronghold. Maria had left the feast to go out by herself to think. Kenneth would be a good leader, and she considered him a friend as well. She felt like she was finally vested in the revolution. She’d been confused for so long, and having been thrust into the middle of it by accident, she had never really chosen a side. She hadn’t been convinced that there was no way to make it work for everyone. She had known George Havelar since she was just a little girl, and she’d always liked “Uncle George” back then. After coming to Aurora, she’d gradually come to understand that things were more complicated, and then suddenly everything happened too fast to take in. After being forced out of Port Hammer, she’d grown angry though. And what had happened on the Trickler was too horrible to comprehend. That had been the final tipping point for her.

She still didn’t believe her father could have done what they said. She realized he’d been working for the wrong side, just like so many others, but that didn’t make him a war criminal. Granted, he’d been there when Admiral Hamilton and his people were massacred, but there had to be some explanation. Her father was a good man, and all he’d wanted was a peaceful resolution. He’d even come to negotiate before all hell broke loose. Hearing that he had been captured had frightened her at first, especially when Ben and the others demanded that he be hanged. After speaking to him though, and hearing his explanation, some of the pieces had fallen into place. The massacre had been Havelar’s doing, not her father’s. It was that soldier, Henry Carroll, who’d been there, and ordered the use of that dreadful weapon. Tina had been a friend of Carroll’s, back in Selection, and they had gone out to found Port Hammer together. That was probably why Tina Hammer had been so angry after talking to her father. She didn’t know what to make of it, but she’d been confident that he’d soon be set free. And then, for some odd reason, he’d escaped, and the rumors were that he’d threatened to kill a girl, and forced her to let him out of the cabin. No one had seen him since, and she was terrified that something might have happened to him.

“Where are you, Daddy?” she whispered, looking up at the stars. There was no answer, only the faint sounds of laughter and singing from the party. She sighed.

The sky was clear, and thousands of stars lit up the night. Rotane was high tonight, bathing the landscape in the familiar greenish hue. She looked to the northwest, just above the horizon. Geena had shown her an invisible point just between the visible stars, and told her that was where they had come from. Somewhere out there, the sun still rose every morning, and set every evening. Earth. Was there anyone left to see the sun rise and fall each day? They never talked about it anymore, because they would never know. But Maria thought about it often. There were so many questions, and she knew she would never find the answers she wanted. What had happened to those left behind? Had anyone survived? Had Earth turned into a dead planet?

Suddenly, a shooting star appeared on the western sky. A meteorite? No, it was too close. The object disappeared behind a ridge a couple of kilometers west of the Stronghold. The light was still there, above the treetops, and then she felt the ground tremble. The light changed to a deeper hue, not moving anymore.

Maria’s jaw dropped. Something had… landed, she thought. And it wasn’t one of Havelar’s shuttles, that much she knew. She had to blink to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. When she opened her eyes, the light was still there, a deep orange hue above the trees, just a few kilometers away. As crazy as it seemed, something had landed.

She ran back toward the others and immediately saw the party hadn’t stopped the rest of them from seeing the phenomenon too. People were speaking loudly, and already they had all sorts of theories and possible explanations, from aliens to an attack from Fort Andrews. Through the commotion, she heard Tina Hammer bark commands: secure the inner perimeter and form up a team to protect those going to see what had happened. It looked completely disorganized though, and Maria looked at Kenneth, who was standing there looking just as confused as everyone else. Curiosity got the better of her though, and soon she was running through the woods, along with a hundred others, toward the mysterious light.

Almost half an hour later, Maria reached a clearing, and as she stepped out of the woods, she saw the spaceship. Looking closer, it appeared to be a small shuttle, not unlike their own. The design made it apparent though, that this was not one of the shuttles from the Exodus. Also, the low humming sound coming from the shuttle was completely different from the engines on their own shuttles. It sounded almost like a high-voltage electric fence. More people caught up to where she stood, and they all stopped by the edge of the clearing, waiting for what would happen next. Some were armed, but she got a feeling there would be no need of weapons. She looked around at the others and saw anticipation, fear, and uncertainty. She saw Tina standing close, staring intently at the shuttle, with Thomas Dunn right next to her. She met Thomas’s eyes, and he smiled uncertainly. She wanted nothing more than to go and stand by him at that moment. She had almost worked up the courage to go, when the shuttle let out a hissing sound and drew her attention.

On the side, a hatch opened slowly, letting out steam, covering whatever was inside. A few seconds later though, a helmeted figure about her height appeared in the opening.

“It looks like… it looks human,” someone said. A golden visor made it impossible to see inside the helmet, but everything about the way the figure moved, exiting the hatch and climbing down the retractable steps, looked human. The figure moved toward where she was standing, and stopped about ten meters away.

“It is human!” another one shouted from somewhere behind her. Then she noticed a patch on the left arm of its suit. It felt vaguely familiar. She looked closer, and although she couldn’t tell what it was, she was certain she’d seen it before. She’d seen it back on Earth. That would mean… Her reasoning was interrupted by someone shouting from her left somewhere.

“Guys! Look, it’s a flag!” A flash of recognition hit her. Of course, that was it. The Indian flag. It might be modified, as it didn’t quite look the same as she remembered, but she was confident it had to be some version of the Indian flag. She felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes. Everyone had taken for granted that they were the only ones who had made it off Earth in time. They had been wrong all along, and here, right in front of them, was the proof.

Now the golden visor slid up, revealing a dark, smiling face of a young man inside the protective glass. He kept his helmet on though, and as he spoke, the metallic voice of the helmet speaker sounded in perfect English, with the distinct accent of India.

“Greetings! My name is Rajiv Singh of the Indira Federation, and I am delighted to see that you arrived safely here, on your beautiful new homeworld.”

Chapter 14

TINA HAMMER

Tina poured their visitors another cup of tea, which seemed to please the Indian guest immensely.

“It’s been too long since I had a decent cup of tea,” he said. Rajiv Singh had turned out to be a likable fellow, and Tina was more than curious to hear his story. So far, it had mostly been polite phrases, and, of course, the shared joy of meeting a human being from Earth. The implications were obvious: the Exodus hadn’t been the only starship to successfully escape Earth back in 2084. She noticed Kenneth stirring, obviously impatient to gain some real knowledge as to what had happened. Thomas, always the joker, looked more at ease, waiting for the Indian to speak.

“We have a great Darjeeling on Dehlia, but the manufacturers have taken on the bad habit of blending it with a native plant, which leaves it with a just a hint of decent tea, but nothing like the real thing. To make more money, you see,” he explained. Tina nodded politely, while Kenneth looked like he was about to burst with curiosity. It was Thomas who finally managed to break through the niceties, when he asked how many the Indians had managed to save. Rajiv Singh grew solemn, as if wondering where to start.

“Yes, we managed to save a few, although fewer than we hoped for…” He paused, and started to tell the story of the Indian starship program.

“We, or I should say they, started the program about the same time as you did. Early on, it was decided that it would be a well-guarded secret, although rumors spread fast. It soon became clear that India couldn’t do it all by itself. So the Indian government went into negotiations with the Japanese, the Koreans, and a mixed group of private investors. And the close ties to the British secured their cooperation as well. I guess the British played several horses, which turned out to be a smart move.” He smiled briefly, while Tina, Kenneth, and Thomas sat waiting for him to continue.

“In the end, the coalition sent three starships, totaling around two thousand two hundred people.” He paused and sipped from his cup before he set it aside and continued.

“One of the ships had an accident en route, which damaged their magnetic sail. They are probably still floating out there somewhere, and we can only assume they are lost forever. It is one of the mysteries of our civilization, even today…” Rajiv Singh stopped himself, as if he’d said something wrong, and Tina wondered what it was. He just shook his head lightly and went on.

“I believe my words raise a lot of questions, but don’t worry, you will have all the answers you seek, and perhaps everything will be clearer to you as the story of my people is told.” He smiled, seeming almost proud.

“Well, where was I… Yes, the remaining ships… The two ships that remained reached their destination without further incident, with some fifteen hundred passengers. Our ships used similar technology to yours, but managed to bump up the speed even more. Some might say by accident. You see, we had several candidate destinations, and the final decision was made by the captain of the first ship, the ISS Mahatma Gandhi, several years into the journey. First of all, we never ruled out Alpha Centauri, being the closest star to the Sun, even though it didn’t seem the most likely candidate. So we went there first, to see if we could make a new home on one of the stone planets there. It took us twenty-two years, managing about the same speed as you did at the time.” The Aurorans nodded their mutual understanding. The discovery of Nemesis, the dead twin star to the sun, had increased the possible speed from 10 to almost 35 percent of light speed. They had all heard the concepts and the theory, and in the end they had lived it, although most of them were in deep cryo sleep by the time they passed the newly discovered star. Tina was puzzled by something though; Rajiv had said the Indian starships managed to bump up speed even more. She didn’t have to wait for an explanation though, as Rajiv went on to tell his story.

“When we approached the system, it became apparent that the planets there were unsuitable for human habitation. So we moved on, but not before using the gravitational pull of Alpha Centauri A to increase velocity even more. Since you had gone in a direct route from Nemesis to the Cancri system, you never passed close enough to draw upon the gravity well of Alpha Centauri. Our ships, however, got close enough to gain an immense pull that cut the rest of our journey time in more than half. We arrived at Dehlia in 2143, exactly sixty years after leaving Earth orbit.

“But… But that would make you…” Tina said, dumbfounded. Rajiv Singh nodded, smiling.

“Yes, that is correct. I was born on Dehlia, fourth planet out from Helios B, our primary star, 16.2 light years away from Aurora. My parents are also native Dehlians, as are my grandparents. My great grandparents came on the ships from Earth more than a hundred years ago.” Tina was stunned. First of all, that would mean that the population of Dehlia was probably somewhere above ten thousand by now, possibly closer to fifteen or even twenty. Second, it meant that Dehlia was an established society. And the most amazing thing of all, as evidenced by Rajiv Singh’s being here, Dehlia had already moved past the all eggs-in-one-basket situation. He seemed to understand their surprise, and laughed softly.

“Yes, it has got to be a lot to take in. Well, the story of our homeworld wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t tell you that we had our rough patches back in the first decades. There was even a period of violence, which would have destroyed us all if we hadn’t found a way to work together. Remember, it wasn’t just Indians that landed on Dehlia, but also Japanese, Koreans, British, and even a few from other countries. And although most were upper class or middle class, there were serious disagreements on what kind of society Dehlia should be. But in the end, we managed to find a way through, as former enemies formed powerful friendships. Dehlia slowly rebuilt, and became better for its common experiences.” Tina noticed Kenneth nodding, and again she felt both relieved and confident that they had chosen the right person to be their leader.

“We are now a harmonious, democratic planetary society, and about the time my parents were born, Dehlia started expanding its reach. Now, the Indira Federation consists of Dehlia, by far the largest, and then three smaller colonies in the Helios B system, which are slowly becoming more and more self-sufficient. I even learned of our latest addition to the Federation, while en route to Aurora. Less than ten years old now, a colony of six hundred men and women in the neighboring Porthio system, almost four light years out from Dehlia itself has been established.” That made Thomas burst into laughter, earning a confused look from the Indian.