LENA

 

The first day was bloody. That's all I knew from overhearing reports around the Base. Hundreds of fighter jets had deployed the second the military picked up the Etrallian fliers in the air. Henry had been right all along. We were at war.

The second day was worse than the first.

The third day, we beat them back. There were too many of us. As predicted, we had the numbers on our side.

The Etrallia could fight to the death if they wanted to, but they didn't seem so inclined. Based on what we'd seen aboard a single ship, they'd only deployed half their fighter pilots as it was. This only confirmed the suspicion I'd harbored since the day Zubeida and his cronies tried to murder us.

The Etrallia were now a split faction.

If Galentide had ordered the attack on Earth, the battle would have lasted much longer. It would have been a fight to the death, all resources utilized. Instead, we'd encountered some sort of rebellion, orchestrated by radicals.

It was like Henry said. Some people didn't think Gillis was in the wrong. Some people, like Zubeida, wanted us dead.

Based on this information, the General ordered the imprisonment of all captured Etrallia. They also took Henry. After the radicals were forced to surrender, a group of armed men came for him. I'd treated his wounds as best I could and I was certain that he would live. Still, I was looking forward to monitoring his recovery.

I even grabbed a gun when they arrived, but unlike an Etrallian blaster, I'd had no proper training. In the moment it took me to load and cock the thing, one of the soldiers disarmed me. It was Henry who tried to calm me, offering to go willingly to his cell.

All of that was about to change, though.

"Let me in."

I didn't need an invitation. I was a member of this task force, a resident of the Base the same as any of them, military garb be damned.

"Let me in, Charles. This is for the good of our people."

"How do you reckon that?" He watched me warily from his post, squinting in the glare of the guard tower lights.

The darkness made me bolder. I pushed past him experimentally. He didn't try to stop me, only followed, hand on his weapon. "You wouldn't use that on me, would you Rhine?"

The harsh light painted his face in a grimace. "Don't test me, Lena."

It wasn't enough to be inside the prison camp. I needed Rhine's help. He could tell me exactly where they were keeping Henry...if he was so inclined.

Rhine jumped down beside me, boots thumping the hard-packed earth. "How many other guards are here?"

"Only three." He studied me closely. "You better not be trying to do what I think you're doing."

"What do you think I'm doing?" I began to walk deeper into the camp.

Rhine grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the shadows. "This is insane, Lena. The war's over. We won. Now, don't go getting yourself arrested for no reason."

"Arrested?" Oh, I could handle some time in a cell. What they were planning to do to the Etrallia, however. That I couldn't abide. Not until every last card had been played. With Henry still alive, I could never accept that this was the end.

The prison camp stretched out before me in the darkness. "Where is he?" I turned back to Rhine.

He looked from me to the prison cells and back again. I could see how much it pained him to have to choose. He was a man of duty, of honor. But at the same time, his loyalty was undying. Which would it be tonight? Loyalty to country or loyalty to something more?

"I can tell you where he is."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"But so help me, Lena--"

"Relax, Charles. Let me handle this. You've already done your part." I looked him in the eye. "Thank you." I truly meant it. Without his help, I'd have to search through dozens of prison cells in the hopes of stumbling upon Henry and I only had so many hours before dawn.

"In the back. Third cell from the right. Go straight that way." He pointed down a long row of cells. "Stay away from the walls or you'll be spotted."

I gave him a grateful nod.

Henry was right where Rhine said he'd be, but there was nothing humane about his cell. He sat in the dirt, slumped against the bars like a caged animal. An immediate surge of distress shot up my throat. I pushed it back down.

"Henry," I whispered. His cell was on the edge of camp and there was only so much time before the nearest guard swept the perimeter.

"Henry."

Slowly, his dark form stirred. If they'd hurt him, I would make them pay. It was a miracle he was still alive after that blow to the chest. I pulled out the med kit I'd stuffed into my waistband.

"It's Lena," I whispered. "Come closer so I can check your wound."

At first, he didn't respond, only breathed heavily in and out, a loud, rasping noise that had me worried the blaster had pierced more than his shoulder.

"Henry," I pleaded. "There's no time, I--"

He stood. Slowly, he unfolded his limbs and pushed one eye against the slats. "Lena."

I held up the med-gel.

He blinked one large green eye as he took me in. "You shouldn't be here." Was that disapproval in his tone? Or exhaustion?

"Henry, you're not well." In these conditions, infection was a likely possibility. "Take this. You know what to do."

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Henry reached through the bars with one clawed finger and lifted the tube from my grasp. I watched as he spread the entirety of it across his chest. He came closer and I inspected the wound. It could use a clean bandage, but otherwise, it seemed to be healing properly.

"What are we doing here, Lena?"

The question should have surprised me, but it didn't. Still, the words stuck in my throat.

Henry nodded as if I'd answered him. "We're to be your prisoners."

"Yes," I said softly.

"We are a great people. A proud one."

"I know." I studied the muddy ground, forcing back tears.

"I wish things could have been different," he said quietly.

I met his gaze. "They never are."

I'd been disillusioned this whole time. Still, I wasn't ready to give up.

"We'll fight," he said.

"Henry," I chided. "You don't have the numbers." It may have been selfish, but I didn't want to lose him, not after everything. "It's over, Henry."

"Over," he repeated. "Surely, your General has plans for us."

"He means to keep you to man the purifier machine."

Henry laughed bitterly. "He'd make us slaves."

"I'm sorry," I breathed.

"And if we don't help you convert water?"

"Then, we'll all die," I said. "Which is why I need to get you out of here."

Henry didn't respond. He only watched me with those tired eyes. Had he given up?

"Your people are still alive, Henry. We may have taken prisoners, but the majority of your civilians are still alive and well up there. They need your help."

"They need water," Henry rumbled.

"Exactly."

"Look around, Lena." He gestured to the bars. "Your people have made up their minds. As have you it seems."

"No." I shook my head fiercely. "This isn't the end, Henry. There's still something you can do." I had his attention so I pushed on. "Gillis is responsible for murdering human beings. Gillis hatched the plans and Gillis took their lives. This whole thing was his idea and it's created the anti-alliance position."

"Yes. I told you, I wasn't aware until--"

"Right. And you said Galentide didn't sanction the experiment."

Henry squinted trying to make sense of what I was suggesting.

"Which means," I explained, "Gillis can still be stopped. Tried as a criminal even."

Henry thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Galentide won't allow it."

Oh god. How did I tell him? The news was still fresh in my own mind. It was what had driven me to such madness in the first place, tiptoeing across the compound in the dead of night.

"Henry," I began.

He straightened, the hesitation in my voice giving me away. I cursed myself silently.

"I'm sorry."

Henry pushed his head closer to the bars. "Say what you must, Lena."

I swallowed hard and met his eyes. "Galentide is dead. We received a message this morning."

For a moment he looked stunned. Then, rage replaced his normally calm features. Rage like I had never seen before. "The rebels," he spat. "The rebels killed him."

"I don't know." In truth, we had no idea.

"It's possible the coup is already over," I reasoned. "Zubeida and his guards could have seized complete control of the fleet. We've heard nothing. No transmissions, no signals, and now that all our people are evacuated..." I was rambling. He'd just been informed that his leader was dead. The only leader he'd ever known and I was rambling for no good reason. I bit my lip and stifled my words of condolence. 'I'm sorry' wasn't enough. Not anymore.

"They'll answer for what they've done," Henry said quietly. "I will make them."

"You can't fight without Curran. No one knows where he is."

My words had no effect. Henry wasn't listening anymore. He was planning and plotting his revenge.

He needed justice. Because in the end, we weren't so different.

He met my eyes. "You say you've come to free me, Lena of Earth?"

"I have."

He bowed his head. "And what do you ask in return?"

If I could have asked for anything, it would've been to turn back time. To go back to the beginning, to the first time we'd met. Maybe with what I knew now, things could have turned out differently. Then again, maybe not. Instead, I told Henry my plan, explained my last hope for his people and for mine. I turned the key I'd lifted off Rhine and released him from his cell.

"Curran must win," I told him.

"Curran." he agreed.

Maybe he would get there in time or maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he would find Zubeida upon the throne or maybe he'd arrive a hero, Curran's golden boy returned. That part wasn't up to me, but I could do this one small thing. I could give Henry one last chance to save his people and maybe ours, as well.