Regulated Planet, page 14
part #2 of Worlds Apart Series
Kerit snorted. Milandra glared at him. “Choked on something,” Kerit excused, and focused on the plate in front of him.
Tyris leaned back in his chair and laughed. “What’s really happening out there? Come on, Landy, be serious. You have no idea what’s going on out there for all the people who don’t run in your circles. You couldn’t even begin to understand what their life is like.”
Milandra flicked her hair over her shoulder with a smooth, practiced move. “I know enough to know it’s not my problem.” She looked at Tyris accusingly. “It’s not yours either, or it never used to be. Until you got stuck on that dingy planet.” She turned her accusing stare on Marlee.
Marlee stared back. She opened her mouth to speak, and Tyris rushed in to interrupt again. “Look, we don’t want to spend our dinner arguing, do we?” He looked at Marlee, hoping she’d take the hint. “How about we talk about something more pleasant instead.” His mind blank of anything at all pleasant to talk about, he looked over at Kerit, who had been quietly continuing to eat. “How’s the surfing going, Ker?”
Kerit stared at him in horror for a moment, then glanced at the others at the table, swallowed his mouthful of food, and launched into a story about waxing his board. As he rambled along about the three different layers, and how long it took, Milandra’s eyes glazed over, and Tyris heaved a sigh of relief. Crisis averted. For now.
As soon as she finished her last mouthful of food, Milandra announced, “Tyris and I have to go,” and stood up.
Tyris swallowed the last mouthful of steak, and wiped his mouth with his napkin. He stood up, and hesitated, loath to leave Marlee looking so forlorn. He glanced at Kerit, and inspiration struck. “Do you still go late night surfing, Ker?”
Kerit studied him for a moment, then shrugged. “Not since that shark thing. I like to be able to see them before they attack.” But his eyes were bright, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod. He got it.
“Come on, Tyris. I don’t want to be late,” Milandra said.
She’d missed the communication between him and his brother. He waved casually to Kerit and Marlee, “Stay and have desert, don’t rush on our behalf,” and followed Milandra out. Kerit would explain to Marlee.
The long drive to Milandra’s studio, standing around waiting while she re-arranged minor details on the set, and then driving home listening to her banal chatter almost drove him mad. But he managed to nod and smile at the right moments. He sighed with relief when she headed out to a club with some girlfriends. He didn’t think she was surprised when he turned down her invitation to join him.
He made himself wait, just in case she’d forgotten something and turned around. When he was sure she wasn’t going to return, he headed down to his car, and drove to a quiet stretch of beach where he and Kerit had gone when they’d snuck out past curfew as teenagers. Kerit had spent the late hours surfing, while Tyris had read flight manuals with a tiny book light.
He walked across the dunes into the biting wind. Not the best place to meet in this weather, but he hadn’t been able to think of any other way to let Kerit know without Milandra catching on. His eyes searched the dunes. Were they here? Surely Kerit had understood?
Then he saw them. Marlee huddled against Kerit’s side, and his brother had an arm around her. Jealousy stirred, until Marlee saw him, and jumped up and ran towards him, throwing herself into his arms. She burst into tears.
He held her tight, looking over her head to Kerit, standing under the lone streetlight, hands shoved into his pockets. “What happened?”
Between Marlee’s sobs, it all came out. The story of the young couple at Dr Benton’s clinic, the risks of them losing their baby, and the doctor’s news that she would never have another child. Tyris’s throat constricted, and he wanted to sit down next to her and cry too. It all seemed so hopeless. How was he going to find a way out of this mess for them?
They should have stayed on Zerris.
Chapter 10
“Looking forward to seeing your friends again?” Kerit asked Marlee, as he opened the door to the car.
Marlee nodded, though she found it hard to summon up much enthusiasm. She felt like she was just going through the motions, waiting for time to pass and things to be sorted out so that she and Tyris could finally be together. Some days she felt like it was never going to happen. But surely today, with the rest of the villagers arriving from Zerris, signalled some kind of progress? Soon Tyris had to get an answer on whether his ban would be removed or not.
“It’ll be over soon,” Kerit said, as though reading her thoughts.
Marlee gave him a grateful smile. “I know.” She took a deep breath, and slid into the front seat. Her father climbed in behind her. He was even quieter than she was. He must be feeling strange, knowing he would see his wife again after all these years. Marlee tried to ignore the fact that he would find out about Weiss too. She’d avoided mentioning her stepfather, using the excuse that it wasn’t her explanation to give.
“So, tell me about your friends,” Kerit said.
Marlee smiled at his attempt to divert her from worrying, and let herself be distracted, telling him about Jaimma, Beren, Jenka, and Rejan, and all her other friends. The conversation helped the drive pass quickly, and by the time they were pulling into the car park at the Space Force base, she was eager to see her friends again.
As they walked towards the main building, she slipped her hand into her fathers and squeezed, but didn’t offer any words of reassurance. What could she say? She had no idea how her mother would react to seeing him after thinking him dead all this time.
They ended up back in the same waiting room where she’d first met Milandra. And there she was again, talking to the camera crew she’d brought with her.
Tyris sprawled in a chair behind her, his face twisted in a scowl. Marlee’s heart wrenched at the sight. She wanted to cross the room and kiss away his frown, but she couldn’t.
As though he could sense her gaze, Tyris looked up. He hesitated, then rose and came across the room, not to her, but to thump Kerit on the back. “Hey, Ker, how’s it going?”
Kerit winked at his brother. “Better than you.”
Tyris gave a rough laugh. “Probably.” He turned to Marlee. “Hey.” His voice was soft, and his eyes showed her all the love he couldn’t voice. The tight band around her heart loosened a little and she smiled.
A door opened on the other side of the room.
“Is the camera rolling?” Milandra said.
“Hi, viewers. Again we’re here to bring you exclusive footage of the refugees arriving back on Urslat. “
Focusing on her friends, Marlee did her best to ignore the voice. She raced across to hug Jaimma.
“Look, pictures of our baby.” Jaimma held out the blurry ultrasound images.
Marlee smiled, and tried not be upset by Beren’s arm around her friend. Things were simple for them. They had each other, and now they could be together without any problems. Except Beren’s face wasn’t as excited as Jaimma’s. Then she remembered that the baby wasn’t his. How was he feeling?
The sound of baby Lianna screaming at the top of her lungs preceded Jenka and Rejan into the room. Milandra thrust a microphone in front of them and asked, “How does it feel to be here on Urslat?”
Rejan mumbled something, and put his arm around Jenka, ushering her into a corner.
Marlee wished she could make Milandra and her camera crew disappear. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Everyone should be happy and smiling, not looking like they wanted to find a hole and climb into it.
Of course, she’d felt the same way. Nothing on Urslat had been what she’d expected. How could it be, when she’d had no idea what to expect? “It gets better,” she assured Jenka. “Once you settle in.”
Jenka nodded. “I’m sure it will. Right now though, I just want somewhere quiet so I can feed Lianna, the nurse gave her a whole heap of immunisations and she needs some peace and quiet to calm down again.”
That she could do something about. She found a quiet corner of the room, and stood guard, ready to frown at Milandra if she even looked like coming in this direction. But Milandra stayed on the other side of the room, talking to Tyris. She could hear snippets of their conversation.
“Where are the adults? They’re all just kids,” she said.
Looking around the room, Marlee realised she was right. Although people were coming out a few at a time as their medical checks were finished, it was still only her generation. Beren was the oldest one here. Where were the council? Her mother? Nerris?
Where was Nelor?
Marlee searched the growing crowd, but couldn’t see his face anywhere. Or Brenda’s. Her heart began to thump. Was he okay? Had something happened to Brenda’s baby?
Her father looked up every time the door opened, but it wasn’t her mother. Nor Nelor. But there were still more people coming, so eventually the council would arrive, wouldn’t they? Perhaps they were talking with the general, organising the terms of the agreement for a new planet.
The door opened again, and there stood Nelor, holding Brenda’s hand. But far from looking happy, both of them looked near tears. Dr Benton was talking to them, but Marlee couldn’t hear what she was saying. She glanced back at Jenka, but Lianna still gulped greedily, and she didn’t want to leave them.
Tyris walked over and shook Nelor’s hand. “Good to see you again.” His voice carried enough for Marlee to hear. “Is there a problem?”
“Dr Benton said that she can save our baby, but the operation is going to cost a lot of money.” Nelor’s voice sounded strained. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to find a job, or if I can borrow the money from somewhere...”
Marlee’s heart constricted. She hadn’t even stopped to consider how much a major operation like that would cost. Surely they wouldn’t let a baby die simply from a lack of money?
Tyris clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” He turned to Dr Benton. “However much it costs, it doesn’t matter. Send the bill to me. And for anyone else who needs medical attention too.”
Brenda burst into tears and hugged Tyris. “Thank you so much.”
Nelor smiled, but the crease between his eyes didn’t disappear. “I’ll pay you back, I promise,” he said to Tyris.
Tyris shook his head. “Don’t even think about it. After all everyone on Zerris did to help me, I owe you all. This can’t even begin to pay back that debt, but it’s a start.”
Nelor still looked uncertain, but he stopped protesting. Dr Benton moved to one side where a small desk stood, and began filling in paperwork with them. Tyris walked over to Marlee, looking pleased with himself.
“Thank you,” Marlee said. “That was a wonderful thing to do.”
Tyris shrugged. “It’s just money. It doesn’t even begin to compare to the practical help you all gave me on Zerris. If you hadn’t been there, I would have died. I’m glad to have the chance to give something back.”
Marlee nodded. And took the moment to voice something else on her mind. “Where’s everyone else? The council? I would have thought they would be here by now?”
Tyris glanced around the room. No one else had come out since Nelor and Brenda. “Perhaps they’re still talking to General Harrington?”
“They didn’t come.”
Marlee turned around at Rejan’s words. “Didn’t come?” she echoed. “What do you mean?”
“They said they were going to stay behind on Zerris until the Colonies had a new planet ready for them. They didn’t trust them to honour the deal if they had access to the anysogen on Zerris, so they said they weren’t budging.”
As if summoned by their words, Marlee’s dad appeared beside her. “Yasmyn, is she here? Surely she didn’t stay behind too?”
Rejan stared at him. “She stayed behind on Zerris with the rest of the council. Why?”
Marlee turned to him to explain. “Mother’s part of the council, and since she thought they’d killed you to stop everyone finding out about the meteors, she hates the Colonies. I’m not surprised she didn’t come. I just wish we could let her know that you were here.”
“Never mind,” Tyris said. “I know it seems like a long time to wait, but the Colonies will find a planet soon, and Yasmyn will come then.”
“A planet? What do you mean?” A frown creased her father’s forehead.
“The elders have offered a deal to the Colonies—the anysogen in exchange for a planet of their own. One not part of the Colonies.”
Her father stared at her. “But there aren’t any planets.”
“What do you mean? Of course there are planets.” Marlee said. “There are thousands of them.”
“Of course there are planets,” her father said impatiently. “But there are none that are habitable and not already occupied by thousands, no, millions, of people. The Colonies are struggling with a population crisis, how did the council think that they would spare a whole planet for them?”
“There aren’t?” Even as she said it, Marlee realised what he said made sense. How could they have been so stupid as to believe that someone would find a planet for them?
Her father shook his head. “I worked for the Colonies, Marlee. One of my jobs was to look for any habitable planets. I know what’s out there, and believe me—anything not settled in some fashion is just not habitable.”
Tyris frowned, but he didn’t deny what her father said. Had he already known? “I wondered whether the Colonies were serious about looking for a planet for them,” he admitted. “I don’t know the planetary systems as well as you do, but I do understand about the population crisis.”
“How about at the edge of the settled areas?” Marlee asked, even though she could already guess the answer.
“Not even there. In fact, I have no idea how Zerris and Semala have been overlooked for so long. They’re more habitable than some of the planets that have been settled.”
“They thought Zerris had exploded and taken out the whole solar system,” Marlee said.
Her father frowned. “But none of the meteors were anywhere near Zerris? Why would they have thought that?”
Marlee became aware of the camera pointed at them and Milandra watching. She’d said too much. They all had. This wasn’t supposed to go public, and now she knew why. The government wouldn’t be happy if people found out that they’d offered a planet to her people, even if they couldn’t deliver on their promise.
“Milandra, stay out of it,” Tyris said. “They’re never going to let you show this.”
“Why are you always trying to stop me from getting somewhere, Tyris? You just can’t bear to think I might succeed, can you?” Milandra spat.
Her venom surprised Marlee, though Tyris didn’t even blink. “Don’t get me wrong, Landy. This footage should be shown. Everyone should know what the government is doing and how they’re covering this up. But I don’t think you’re going to risk having your show shut down to show it, are you?”
“They wouldn’t shut down my show,” Milandra denied. But she looked uncertain. Then she tossed her hair over her shoulder and said, “Anyway, even if I don’t show it now, the footage could be useful someday.”
Tyris just shook his head, the distaste on his face the first concrete evidence Marlee had seen of the rift between the two. She shouldn’t be happy about someone else’s marriage falling apart, but she couldn’t help it. Milandra didn’t deserve him.
Milandra’s attention swung back to the door, and the camera followed. There stood Weiss, talking to General Harrington. A sense of foreboding sent a shiver through Marlee. Rejan had said that the council remained behind on Zerris. Of course, out of all the council members, Weiss would be the one who had come.
“Thank you, Weiss, you’ve been most helpful. I’ll contact you shortly to arrange terms. For now, please enjoy the hospitality of the Space Force base. Rooms have been arranged for you and your family.”
“I appreciate it,” Weiss said.
As soon as the general left the room, she crossed the space between them. “What terms is he talking about?” she demanded.
Weiss ignored her question. “Marlee. Good. I hoped you’d be here. I’m assuming you have a house somewhere? I’m not too keen on staying in the onsite accommodation they’ve offered us, it’s normally reserved for soldiers, and we all know they don’t care about comfort at all.”
Her father bristled. “I beg your pardon?” he said to Weiss. “Why do you think she’d let you stay with her?”
Marlee’s face heated. “Father, don’t...” she said desperately to Weiss, then she broke off. This time, she was sure her face was on fire.
Her real father frowned. “What’s going on here?”
Marlee had no idea what to say. Why wasn’t her mother here to explain this?
Tyris stepped in and rescued her. “Weiss is Marlee’s stepfather, after a fashion,” he explained.
“Yasmyn remarried?” Her father’s voice sounded faint.
“Everyone did,” Marlee tried to explain. “If we hadn’t, our population would have died out by now. We needed to make babies, and quickly.”
“You mean you and Yasmyn have children together?” her father demanded of Weiss.
“Three strapping boys,” Weiss boasted, gesturing towards his sons on the other side of the room. “Although what it has to do with you is beyond me?”
Typical of Weiss to be boasting, even here. Well, she wasn’t going to let him. “Weiss, this is my father.”
Weiss stared at her for a few moments, then shook his head. “No, he can’t be. Your father’s dead.”
He sounded so certain, so sure. Marlee would have laughed—except there was nothing funny about the situation. “That was a lie. As you can see, he’s very much alive. And I’m sure mother will be so happy to see him.”
Weiss scowled. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Yasmyn walked out on me right after you left Zerris. Good riddance. She’s just as stupid as the rest of the council, agreeing to exchange the anysogen for a stupid planet. I don’t need her anymore. I’m sure I’ll have no trouble finding someone who wants to be with me once I’m rich.”
