Chapter Five

The group stayed close together as they finally stepped through the arch into the compound. There was a tremendous sense of relief as they all made their way out of the open desert and into the defensive surroundings of the high stone wall around the compound, but Maxim could still feel the hesitation and nervousness that kept them close together, as if it drew them together out of the camaraderie that came from the hours that they had just spent crossing the planet, as though that experience had created a link that strengthened them and made them unwilling to step out of it even now that they knew that they were in the most safety that they could be on Penthos.

Though long and exhausting, the walk from the ship to the compound had been uneventful. They hadn’t seen or heard any signs of the hybrid army, or of the Valdicians. Maxim wanted this to be encouraging, but in truth it was only more disturbing. They hadn’t been brought to Penthos for no reason. They hadn’t been redirected here just to sit and wait in the desert. Ryan had told them that there would be a war, that they were going to have to fight for their lives and for their futures against the living weapons that he created. It didn’t make sense that after only one battle the army seemed to have fallen back and disappeared into the edges of the planet. Maxim knew that they were still there. They weren’t hesitating. They were waiting, preparing, and calculating the next move that they were going to make. This made them even more of a threat. Part of Maxim had hoped that this war would be brief, that it would blaze with the intensity of the hatred that he felt for Ryan and that that would ensure it would burn out quickly. Now it seemed that this wouldn’t be the case. The conflict would linger on, dragging them further into mental and physical exhaustion. He knew that it was up to him to stay strong and not to allow this to wear him down. That was what Ryan wanted, and he wouldn’t give it to him. If Ryan wanted him and his brother, he was going to have to go through hell to get them.

After a few moments, others from within the compound started streaming out of the buildings and coming toward the group. As they approached, the group loosened and some of the people broke off to rush toward them. Maxim watched as those from Uoria reunited, Ty sweeping Samira up into his arms and Eden running toward Pyra with Lysander cradled in her arms. Some of the women gathered around the Meldor, waiting as the warriors helped those who had ridden the animal to get down from his back. Once they were down, the group helped them toward the building that they had established as their infirmary so that they could check their condition and bring Ciyrs and Elianna in to provide any healing or other care that they might require to help them recover from the journey.

The others were directed toward the fire that was kept burning so that they could get something to eat. Watching them dissipate and hearing the mixture of excitement and relief that was chipping away at the fear that had been defining them was emphasizing how much he missed Ivy. All around him people were coming together, finding refuge and comfort in each other, but all he could think about was how much he wished that she was waiting there for him, her arms open for him to rest into and her soft mouth waiting with a kiss for him. Maxim knew that he had been the one to encourage her to leave Penthos on the ship and return to Uoria. She had been hesitant, not wanting to leave him, but he had insisted, not wanting anything to happen that could put their little one at risk. He had to keep reminding himself of that, telling himself that he had been the one to make the choice and that it was the right decision. She was safer on Uoria than she would be on Penthos, and he was less distracted than he would have been if she was there. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t fully convince himself of that. He was already so distracted just thinking about how much he missed her.

Knowing that it would do him no good to continue dwelling on his thoughts of her, Maxim forced himself to return his attention to the situation with Frederick. It simply didn’t make any sense. He had been there when Pyra put the pilot into the containment unit. He had examined the room himself. He knew that there was no way for the door to be opened from the inside and that there was nothing within the room that would have allowed Frederick to hide so that he could escape after they opened the door. Somehow, he had simply disappeared during the night and was now somewhere, uncontrolled, continuing on with whatever he had been trying to do before the women had caught him. Maxim still didn’t know what to think about what they had told him they witnessed with the pilot in Jacob and Phaedra’s bedroom. He couldn’t think of any excuse that would explain away why the man would be digging through the belongings of two people he didn’t even know, and yet Maxim also hadn’t been able to forget the look in Frederick’s eyes when he tried to explain himself. There was desperation there. It wasn’t something that Maxim would have expected to see in the expression of someone who was being purely deceitful or who was trying to hurt those who he had been pretending to help. If he had put himself in the position of being asked to join the crew as pilot specifically for the purpose of hurting them, however, it would not be beyond his efforts to masquerade as being helpful and to continue on with mock fear and horror at the thought that he had been uncovered and his efforts derailed.

Maxim didn’t know what to think. He knew that he couldn’t just pretend that this hadn’t happened. He had to go back to the ship and do a more thorough investigation to see if he could find Frederick, or at least get a better understanding of what might had happened to him, but he knew that he couldn’t go alone. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Avery walking toward the building that they had established as their headquarters and he knew that he was the person he should bring with him. Together they might be able to figure out what had happened.

Maxim jogged toward Avery, calling his name. The pilot stopped and turned toward him, looking at him slightly quizzically.

“Is there something that I could do for you, Maxim?” he asked.

“I need your help,” he said.

“What is it?”

Maxim quickly explained what happened with Frederick, giving him as much information as he could without taking up too much time. When he finished, Avery was looking at him with an expression that was uncertain, as if he didn’t fully understand why Maxim had approached him.

“Why would you want me to go back with you?” he asked. “I wasn’t on the ship with them.”

“I know,” Maxim said, “but you are the one among us who would be most familiar with the ships. Even though you weren’t on that specific one, you know the human ships like none of the rest of us do.”

“I am familiar with the ship that I piloted,” he said. “The one that the rest of the group brought from Earth is different. It’s newer, more complex technology that I haven’t learned completely yet. If I see it, though, I might be able to figure some of it out. I can at least give you some insight into its structure and some of the hidden features. I don’t know how helpful it will be, but I will do my best to give you any answers that I can.”

“Now that those who were in the ship have come here, it should be easier to do a more thorough investigation of the entire ship. I want to know everything that I can about it. How it’s laid out, the emergency protocols and features, anything that he might have been able to use to escape the containment unit.”

“I don’t know how much about that I’ll be able to help you with,” Avery admitted. “Those containment units were specifically designed to prevent any opportunity for escape. That is the whole point. They were made for the most dangerous and threatening of people that crews could encounter, from those who go rogue within the ship itself to criminals they might encounter during their mission.”

“But there has to be a way,” Maxim said. “Frederick got out, and that means that there is something about that ship that allowed him to. We have to find it. We have no idea who this man is and what he was doing, or where he might have gone after he escaped. Wherever he went, we could be in serious danger until we find him.”

“Or he might be.”

Avery’s words made Maxim pause.

“What do you mean?”

“You assume that he escaped and that he is planning on doing something that is threatening to our group. What if what he was saying was true, and that the danger wasn’t coming from him, but someone else on the ship? You said that the door to the containment unit couldn’t open from the inside, so he couldn’t let himself out of the unit, but that doesn’t mean that he escaped. What if someone opened the door and took him out? He could be the one who’s at risk.”

Maxim had never even considered the possibility and now he felt even greater unease. If they knew that Frederick was among the threats that they were facing, they could go after him aggressively. Not knowing, however, meant that they had to be both defensive and protective, aggressive and cautious. It put them in a strange and uncomfortable position.

“We need to go back as soon as we can,” Maxim said.

Avery nodded.

“We’ll leave in the morning.”

Maxim dreaded the thought of having to cross the desert again so soon. He dreaded the idea of facing the heat and the blazing sun, of pushing his body through the demands again, but there was also a sense of fulfillment in the knowledge that he was doing this. He felt like he was finally at a point in his life when he was doing what he was always meant to do. Though the Mikana were known for being fast, kind, and beautiful, they had always been willing to walk into battle when called. They might not be a fearsome warrior race like the Denynso, but they were strong and capable, especially those with roots in the Order. His kind had faced hardship before and had prevailed. Now it was his turn.

His whole life Maxim had felt sheltered and guarded. Though he had served in the army it had never felt that he was doing enough. His service, indeed all of the activities of the army he served, felt largely ceremonial, as if they were there for the ritual and for the visual representation of protection rather than any true defensive or war efforts. Now he was actually doing something that mattered. He was finally standing up and following the footsteps that he had always been denied.

As Avery walked into the headquarters, Maxim turned around. He knew that now was the time when he needed to talk to Aegeus. His father deserved to not only know everything that was happening, but also have the opportunity to be invested in it and to fight the way that he had been waiting to for years.