The soft warm dream ended suddenly as a sensation of falling led to something hard hitting him from below. A coldness swept over him as he began vomiting a large quantity of liquid. He tried opening his eyes and quickly closed them again, as the sudden unfamiliar brightness blinded him.
This is the weirdest dream, he thought, as something warm and soft enveloped him.
‘I haven’t seen you throw up so much since the Apfelkorn incident in Mönchengladbach,’ said a familiar voice.
He realised he was kneeling on the ground and tried opening one eye just a crack this time. After blinking a few times, he was able to see his hands propping him up in a puddle of clear liquid.
‘Ed – can you stand?’ said the same voice.
‘I’m Ed!’ he exclaimed, the loudness of his voice surprising him.
‘Yes, you are and I’d like to get you out of all this water.’
He opened the other eye and squinted around him. He was in a small white room with a single chair and some sort of control panel recessed into one wall. Above him was a weird empty cylinder, lit with twinkling multi-coloured laser light.
His legs were a bit shaky, but with a little assistance he managed to stand and stagger across to the chair.
‘Welcome back, mate,’ said the voice he knew so well.
He looked up and stared.
‘You’re Andrew,’ he blurted.
‘Top marks, Einstein,’ said Andy, draping another warm dry towel around Ed’s shoulders. ‘What else can you remember?’
Ed thought hard and found everything a bit jumbled.
‘The Gabriel,’ he said, finally. ‘It’s damaged – and there’s something else important.’
He stared at the floor trying to remember what it was.
‘Triyl – Earth,’ he blurted and stood up suddenly, a panicky expression on his face. ‘Triyl’s going to destroy Earth.’
‘It’s okay,’ said Andy, putting his hands on Ed’s shoulders and sitting him down again. ‘Earth’s fine,’ he added. ‘Just.’
‘The – the Genok,’ said Ed. ‘I was with it.’
‘It didn’t detonate,’ said Andy. ‘Bache got there and tractored it and you out just in time.’
Ed nodded and thought about this for a few moments and looked around the room again.
‘I didn’t––’
‘No, I’m afraid you didn’t,’ said Andy. ‘You have something in common with Linda now.’
Ed glanced down at his right shin and found the scar he got falling off a wall when he was a kid had gone.
‘The new improved you,’ Andy said, squatting down and staring into Ed’s eyes. ‘Linda’s told me you’ll find everything a bit weird for a while and not to try and force it.’
‘Right, okay,’ said Ed, glancing around again. ‘Are we on the Gabriel?’
‘No,’ Andy replied. ‘We’re on Paradeisos, in one of the original Theo birthing chambers. We came here in the Arena. It’s still in orbit above.’
‘How long was I – you know?’
‘Just over two weeks,’ said Andy. ‘When Bache returned with your body, the Gabriel was still in vacuum for the hull regrowth. Phil organised this with Prota. He’s still here, you know.’
‘Who, Prota?’
‘No, Bache,’ said Andy. ‘He was very upset when he brought you back. He, of course, didn’t know anything about our krypti memory chips and the Theo rebirth thing. You should have seen the look on his face when Linda told him she had died too in the Messier galaxy.’
Ed nodded, wrapped the towels tightly around him and stood.
‘Is there somewhere I can get a shower and some clothes?’
Andy held his arm out to steady Ed as they made their way towards the door. Ed stopped suddenly and looked at Andy.
‘Did Triyl escape?’ he asked.
Andy smiled and shook his head.
‘Cleo gave Bache the anti-cloak stuff before he left. When they tractored you out of Earth’s gravity well, they detected Triyl’s ship, disabled it and tractored that aboard as well.’
‘So, he’s in custody?’
‘Uh, huh. The list of his crimes is as long as your arm.’
‘Was he the last one?’ Ed asked, as they carried on out into the corridor.
‘It would be good to think so,’ said Andy. ‘But no one knows where they originally came from, so there could be a whole galaxy full of ’em somewhere.’
Andy paused for a second and turned to face Ed.
‘Tell me – did you tie two of his guards to a shelf?’
Ed smiled for the first time.
‘Yeah, I did.’
Andy opened another door and led Ed inside. It was a bathroom with a pile of clothes Ed recognised on a chair in the corner.
‘Cleo brought them from the Gabriel,’ said Andy, noticing him glance at them. ‘I’ll give you some privacy now and wait outside.’
Ed took his time showering and enjoyed the warm water. A change from the laser showers they had on the ship. He shaved, dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. He thought his short hair made him look thug-like and promised himself to get in the autonurse and lengthen it as soon as he could.
When he opened the door, Andy was sitting on the floor in the corridor, reading from a tablet.
‘All good?’ he asked, as Ed appeared.
He nodded.
‘Are the others down here?’ he asked.
‘No, they’re all still up on the Arena. Conor got the Conclave to let them have a little more freedom within the cylinder. Did you know they’ve got a beach resort for recreation about fifty kilometres from the accommodation?’
‘Sounds like the perfect place for some rest and recuperation,’ said Ed, as he walked slowly but unaided towards the exit. As he emerged into the sunlight, he stopped and enjoyed the warmth on his face and took a deep breath of the clean fresh air. He looked up and was surprised the protective dome over the city wasn’t visible. Reading his mind, Andy explained that the GDA had seeded some of its enzymes into the upper atmosphere to disperse the last of the radiation so the energy domes were now redundant.
He also noticed noise and traffic and people that had been so absent on their previous visit here a couple of years ago. It was pleasing to him to think that the Theos were finally emerging in large numbers from the dark underground cities they’d been forced to occupy for so long.
Andy hailed one of the blue auto taxis that took them speedily out to the edge of the city and a small space port where, much to Ed’s delight, sat the Cartella.
‘Now there’s a sight for sore eyes,’ he said, hurrying across to the opening airlock as fast as his wobbly legs would allow. ‘Cleo, are you here?’
She materialised and he hugged her tightly.
‘Welcome back, boss,’ she said, with damp eyes.
Ed kissed her on the forehead and wiped a tear away as it ran down her cheek.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘And well done giving Bache the anti-cloak thing. Triyl would have probably escaped otherwise.’
‘Oh good,’ she said. ‘I was afraid you might dock my wages for doing that.’
The Cartella lifted off as soon as they were seated and slowly picked up speed to avoid any unnecessary sonic booms. Ed could see the Arena as soon as they reached the upper atmosphere. It sat in a stationary orbit directly above the city.
‘Different hangar,’ said Andy, as they entered a smaller tunnel than before.
Once through the airlock at the far end, Cleo turned the ship ninety degrees and lowered the landing struts. What Ed saw through the front window made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
‘Oh shit,’ he mumbled.
The hangar floor was crowded; dozens of people seated in neat rows, two squads of soldiers standing to attention, their dress uniforms gleaming in the bright lights; a band playing, children waving GDA flags and even a huge banner saying “Welcome Home Edward.”
He turned to stare at Andy.
‘Did you know about this?’ he grumbled.
‘Absolutely not,’ replied Andy, retrieving a GDA flag from his pocket and waving it.
‘Bloody liar,’ Ed griped. ‘There are presidents out there and I’m in a tee shirt.’
‘You’d have known something was up if we’d brought you a suit,’ said Cleo. ‘And one more thing, Pol has been almost inconsolable about you. Make sure you pay her plenty of attention.’
Ed stood as the Cartella settled and the soft music from the band permeated the cockpit as the airlock doors cracked open. He pulled his tee shirt down and took a deep breath.
‘I need a fucking holiday,’ he whined, as he stepped out to a rousing cheer from the crowds.
‘Smile, you miserable twat,’ said Andy, poking Ed in the back.
‘Can I have a holiday too?’ he heard Cleo mutter as he adopted his best grin and approached the throng.