Chapter Ten: Liberation
They practically ran to Carro's workshop after that. "We need to get Nora out of here," Galen said for what was probably the tenth time.
Carro seemed on the verge of having a breakdown. "I don't know how we're going to do that, Galen!" she said, also for the tenth time. "The shuttle won't make it that far, and we don't have any other ships to get her all the way to Earth. Do you know how far away Earth is?"
"What good is all this if she's stuck here?" Galen demanded, gesturing to all the parts and pieces that were packed into the space in Carro's workshop.
"Hey," Carro said, stung. "It's not my fault. Every time something lands here, you tell me to take it apart, so I do. How was I supposed to know this would happen?"
"You knew we were going to have to send her home eventually!"
"She didn't even remember what part of Earth she was from until recently!" Carro countered. "This isn't my fault!"
"Stop it!" Nora shouted, getting between them and holding up her hands. She was already freaked out enough, and the two of them shouting at each other wasn't doing anything good for her nerves. "Will you two stop? Getting me out of here isn't the important thing."
"Yes, it is," Galen insisted. He looked down at Carro. "Isn't there anything we could do? We could send her to Llmyr."
"Do you really want to get him tangled up in this? And what if we all die?" Carro asked. "How's she going to get back to Earth then?"
"Being stuck with Llmyr is better than being dead along with us," Galen insisted.
Nora huffed. "Okay, I have an idea," she said, and they both turned to look at her. "How about you stop acting like I'm not here and let me have a say in what happens to me?"
"I'm just trying to—”
"I know what you're trying to do, Galen. But this is bigger than me. You shouldn't waste time arguing about this. You need to be preparing."
"She's right," Carro said softly.
"Preparing for what?" Galen demanded. "What are we going to do here?"
"What we always said we would do if they came. We have two options. We're either here to meet them when they arrive, or we go to the Shelter."
Nora had nearly forgotten about the Shelter. She'd been shown the building it was in when she'd first arrived, and she knew that the Amakari could survive in the tunnels under their moon for some time.
"I don't know which I hate more," Galen grumbled.
"I know you hate hiding," Carro said. "But if it saves us, then..."
"And what if they decide that they want this place for themselves while we're all under there?"
Carro snorted. "A scrap moon like this? What would they do with it?"
"Put their slaves to work?" Galen said.
"Alright, fair enough. You think we should fight then?"
"I think we should be prepared for anything."
So they tried to prepare. Carro couldn't give them an exact time or date that the Imperials would arrive, since it was hard to pinpoint those things from the other end, so they worked as quickly as they could.
Food and water, enough to last them for a while, was stored in the tunnels. Clothes and blankets and all manner of other things that they might need if they had to stay there for some time were added, until Ashera was satisfied that they could survive down there if they had to.
Galen and everyone else who wanted to fight spent time sparring and honing their skills. Nora figured that was at least a little bit to calm their nerves as well.
For her part, she did whatever people needed her to do. She packed things with Ashera and Donlan, she cooked, and she talked to people who wanted to talk to her for a distraction. It felt like this was where she belonged, even if it was going to end in doom.
"I'm sorry," Donlan said to her at one point while they were setting out food for the circle.
"For what?" Nora asked.
"That you have to be here for this. If there was any way to send you home, we would do it."
"I know," she said. "Galen already tried to make Carro pull a miracle out of nowhere to get me back. It's alright, though. I'm fine."
He looked at her for a long moment. "I hope that it doesn't come to violence and death," he said finally. "I know that we deal in that often, barbarians that we are, but I'd much rather be able to talk things through. I fear that there is no talking to the Grand Imperial, though. He will take our existence here as a slight to his leadership."
"He sounds delightful," Nora said dryly.
Donlan laughed. "He once had a dream for how to live in unity. I believed in that dream when I first heard of it. People working together and helping each other, making things better for everyone. Who wouldn't want that?"
"Sounds like that didn't last for very long."
"No," he agreed. "Power goes to the head and turns a man's dream into a nightmare for others."
"We have a saying like that on Earth," Nora told him. "'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'."
He nodded. "Yes. That sounds right. What could have been an amazing thing was turned into fear and control. One man's power running unchecked. I don't think there's anything left of the man who had that beautiful dream."
Donlan sounded sad.
"Did you know him?" Nora asked.
"Not well. I was almost an Imperial, did you know that?"
She shook her head.
"I had been nominated for the privilege, but it went to someone else from my planet. I have never been more grateful to have lost something. Ashera, I think, is the only one of us to have known him personally."
“Poor Ashera.”
Donlan cracked a smile. “Indeed.”
All the preparation in the world didn’t do much to make it any easier when the Imperials arrived. Galen wanted Nora to go to the Shelter to hide, but she insisted that she wanted to be there to see what happened.
The alarm went off, and their argument ceased, and then it was too late.
"Oh no."
There was nothing else to say on the matter, really, and Nora craned her head back to get a better look at the massive ship that was passing overhead. She knew by now what the green and white meant. She knew that something terrible was coming.
Galen was a few feet away, still, and when he watched the ship pass, the color drained from his face. "No," he echoed. "This...no. No. We should have had more warning."
Around them, people were coming out of their homes, looking around and then up, the sound of the ship drawing their attention. It was easy to see when they realized what was happening. For so long, these people had made their lives work outside of the Imperials' reach, and now the Imperials seemed to have come for them.
Galen rushed to Nora's side. "Get inside," he said, voice tight with concern.
"What's that going to do?" she asked.
"I don't know. Just do it, Nora! Please."
She wanted to argue. If he was going to face down the Imperials, then she wanted to be at his side, but logically she knew there was nothing she could do to help. She couldn't fight, and having a human presence there wouldn't do anything to help the situation, especially considering the fact that she was pretty sure she had somehow managed to escape Imperial clutches once before. Of course, there was no guarantee that she would be so lucky again.
"Fine," she said, and went to the house, ducking inside. Nora made sure to keep herself near a window so that she could see what was happening out there. If they were going to be attacked, then she wanted to have advanced notice.
Galen, for his part, was shaking. Internally, of course. Externally, he looked as unaffected as he always did, staring impassively as the ship moved to land.
A hand on his arm made him look down, and Cattilda was there, as white faced as he'd ever seen her. "What are we going to do?" she asked.
It wasn't like her to be so afraid, and Galen knew that she had a particularly good reason not to want to be dragged back to the Allied Planets. They didn't look kindly on murderers there (unless of course it was government sanctioned), and no one had been on Cattilda's side when she had killed her husband for what he'd done to her.
There was no legal precedent for a case like hers, and even though she'd presented her evidence and had witnesses to the event, the trial hadn't ended in her favor. And so she'd fled before they could go through with her sentencing, and found herself in need of a new home.
And now the Imperials were here, looking to taint that home with their vile 'allegiance' and all it stood for.
For all their preparations, none of them were ready for this.
It seemed like it took no time at all for the ship to land, kicking up enough dust that they all had to hide their eyes. In the chaos, some ran to the shelter. Others made the decision to stay. Galen stayed put.
Soon enough, the stairs unfolded from the ship in a wave, and it was clear to see that they sparkled and shone like they were made from pearl or some other precious material. For a moment, nothing more happened, and then footsteps echoed until the shape of a person could be seen coming down the stairs.
Someone in the assembled crowd gasped at the sight, and Nora could only imagine that they recognized the person. Of course, she didn't recognize them, but she had a bad feeling that just got worse with every step they took.
Whoever it was wore green robes that billowed around them. They had a high, flat forehead and aristocratic features that were almost human looking, except for the golden skin. Falls of dark hair tumbled over the person's shoulders, and their posture was ramrod straight as they descended.
Donlan stepped forward, clearly intending to represent the Amakari in this matter.
"What a perfect hovel," the person said, and the voice was deep and masculine sounding, which surprised Nora since the features were quite delicate. "So this is where the criminals and traitors come to hide." He glanced around, and the distaste was clear to see on his face. "For this you have spurned the Allegiance's good graces?"
"Your 'good graces' don't exist," someone snapped, and Nora held her breath.
The man turned his head slowly to look for the source of the voice. Before he could do anything, Ashera rushed forward. "Grand Imperial Osera," she said, head held high.
So that's who that was. It was apparent why people were so upset about his arrival now. Not only was someone from the Imperials there, but it was the top Imperial, the one they probably wanted to see the least.
"Ashera," the man said, pronouncing her name like it had more syllables than it did. The smile on his face didn't promise anything good. "So this is where you ended up. On a rock covered in trash in the middle of nowhere. How the mighty fall."
Ashera didn't seem to be fazed by his words. She looked him right in the eye. "This is an independent place," she said. "You have no right to be here."
"I have the right to go wherever I want," Osera said. "I am the Grand Imperial."
The way he said it made it clear that he was going to be clinging to that title until he died, and it was unclear when that would be because the man had an ageless quality to him that made it impossible to determine how old he was. He spoke like he carried the weight of years behind him, though, and Nora found herself terrified.
It was clear that Ashera wasn't afraid, though. She didn't back down from his tone or his words, instead countering with "That title only matters in the Allied Planets. Out here you are just another man to be dealt with like all the others who come here and think they have the right to infringe on our freedom."
"My dear Ashera," Osera said. "You do want to be careful. Threats are dangerous within the hearing of my pets." He clicked his tongue, and the ship seemed to shake for a moment before two creatures came bounding out of it.
Nora's breath caught in her throat.
She recognized what they were. One of them had been the one to grab her back on Earth. Now that she had her memories back, she didn't think she was ever going to forget what it had looked like.
The Imperials had been on Earth. The Imperials were the reason she was here on Alinsoth in the first place. Where had they been taking her, though? Surely they hadn't meant for her to end up here, of all places.
Galen had told her to stay put where she was, to make sure she was safe, but Nora had to know. She had to find out what they had wanted with her.
She stepped out of the doorway and made her way closer, passing people who clutched at her sleeves, trying to get her to go back inside.
"What are you doing?" someone hissed, and she turned to see Carro there, looking at her with wide eyes. "You don't want to catch his attention."
"Yes, I do," she said back and shook her arm free. "I need to know why he brought me here."
"What?" Carro gasped. "I thought you said it didn't have anything to do with the Imperials."
"I didn't think it did," Nora replied. "But one of those things he has with him is the thing that grabbed me on Earth that night. I need to know why."
"He'll kill you. Or worse, he'll take you back. You can't go up there."
But Nora was already moving away, pushing her way through the crowd to stand at Galen's side. He looked down at her and then blanched. "No," he said. "No. Go back."
"I can't," she said, and there wasn't really time to explain why. Osera was looking their way, and when his eyes fell on her, they widened.
"A human," he said. "So very far from home. How curious. I didn't know you were taking in vermin now."
Nora took a deep breath and drew herself up. "I believe you know why I'm here," she said.
A hush went through the Amakari, and Nora knew how that sounded coming from her, but it was too late to take it back now.
Osera arched an eyebrow. "I can't imagine what you mean. Why would I know anything about a human?"
"Because," Nora said hotly. "You sent your pets there to my planet and they're the reason why I'm here. They grabbed me. I don't know where they took me, but you did something, and I woke up here. I want to know why."
The Grand Imperial regarded her for a moment and then smiled. It was not a friendly smile at all. "You think to question me, human? As if anyone of your race and breed has ever been worthy to even look me in the eye. You should be groveling in the dirt where you belong, on your knees before your betters."
Nora set her face in an unimpressed mask. "Why did you bring me here?" she asked again.
The smile dropped, giving way to annoyance. "I did not bring you anywhere, you silly pest," he snapped. "You were meant to go to one of the work colonies, and your ship must have malfunctioned and left you stranded here. I suppose it would be for the best if I took you back to where you belong when I am done here."
Before Nora could say or do anything else, Galen was in front of her, hand on the hilt of his sword. "You won't touch her," he growled. "She belongs with us."
Osera rolled his eyes. "Then she can die with you for all I care. Humans are too much trouble to deal with at any rate. Do you know how many have died in the colonies? How many of them became ill or broken or some such thing? I will not waste more of my time with them."
On the one hand, that was a horrible thing for him to say, speaking of humans like they were just faulty merchandise that hadn't worked the way he wanted them to. But on the other, at least that seemed to mean that they were going to leave Earth alone. So that was one thing she didn't have to worry about.
"We are not dying here," Galen said, and he drew his sword, leveling it at Osera. "You've killed enough people already."
There was pain in his voice, and Nora knew he was thinking about his father. He'd never gotten closure about what had happened to him, but he had his suspicions.
Probably everyone there had known or loved someone who had been killed by the Imperials in their quest for unity and control, and more and more of the Amakari were drawing their weapons. Osera was just a man, after all, and against the might of the Amakari, he might finally fall.
He didn't look worried, though. He didn't even look bothered at all. In fact, Nora was pretty sure that the expression on his face was boredom.
That didn't bode well at all.
Osera clicked his tongue once more and from inside the ship came person after person, all clad in green and white and armed. They looked uniform and dangerous, and Nora was pretty sure that they were the army or whatever the equivalent was.
They kept coming and kept coming until the Amakari were practically surrounded. There were so many more of them than there were Amakari, and Nora's heart sank. This wasn't going to end well.
All things considered, Galen had been up against worse odds before. He'd been outnumbered in fights. He'd been injured in fights. He'd struggled to even hold his sword up and had somehow still managed to walk away.
But this was different.
This was a hundred or so of the Keepers of the Peace, ready and willing to destroy them on command. His father had been a Keeper, and Galen had seen them train and work and fight. He knew what they were capable of, and he knew that even if the Amakari had superior numbers, their victory wouldn't be guaranteed here.
For the first time in a long time, he felt afraid.
The Keepers simply stood there at attention, waiting for instructions. The Grand Imperial had them trained well, like leashed animals ready to strike on their master's command. And he had two Carnines ready to fight for him as well. Even at the height of their strength, Galen didn't think the Amakari stood much of a chance.
But what were their options here? Even if they wanted to surrender, Osera could never let them rejoin the Allied Planets, and Galen knew that people like Carro and Cattilda would rather die before they took that option anyway, considering all the Imperials had taken from them.
There was the possibility that they would be dragged back to the Allied Planets and made examples of. Used as reminders why it was unwise to defy Imperial leadership. Some of them would be put in public places of humiliation, some would go to the work colonies, some would be imprisoned, and some would probably die anyway.
If they fought, they would definitely all die, but wasn't that the best alternative here? It was better than ending up as some puppet, being manipulated to show people why crossing the Imperials was a bad idea.
They were warriors, barbarians, and if they had to go down, then they went down fighting.
Galen looked around, and even Donlan was drawing his weapon, which was a clear sign that the time for diplomacy was done. There was no reasoning with Grand Imperial Osera, and there would be no walking away from this.
All of them knew that. All of them except...
Nora.
She was still behind him, hands clenching in the back of his shirt. She hadn't asked for any of this, and she would die right along with them.
He sighed and turned to look at her. "I'm sorry."
When she looked up at him, her eyes were wide with fear. "What?"
"I'm sorry," Galen repeated.
"Don't say that! What does that mean?"
"It means that...we probably won't make it out of this." No use dancing around the point. He’d said as much before. "The Keepers of the Peace are specialized to put down people like us. They train for it and they do it all the time. It's why there aren't any revolutions in the Allied Planets. My father was one, remember?"
Nora nodded. "Yeah, but—”
Galen shook his head and cut her off. "No. There's too many of them and they're too strong. Best we can do is go down fighting. It's the Amakari way."
There was nowhere for Nora to hide at this point, but maybe she could make it to the shelter if Galen cleared a path for her. "Promise me," he said quickly, keeping his voice low.
"What?"
"Go to the Shelter. You'll be safe there for a while. Maybe forever, I don't know. Get Carro to go with you. She's the only one who can get you back home."
"But he's seen me now," Nora said. "And I can't leave you!"
"You have to. The fighting will be a distraction, but you'll have to move fast. Whatever you do, don't stop. Don't look back. Don't turn around. Just keep going until you get there. Promise me."
"Galen."
"Promise me."
There was indecision on her face, but Galen didn't stop pressing. He needed to know that she would be safe. That she wouldn't end up tangled in this anymore than she already was. His eyes were intent on her face as he waited, and finally, finally, she relented.
"Alright," she said.
"Thank you." Galen kissed her hard, pressing their bodies together for a brief moment. It was all he dared to risk. "Be safe. Live well," he said, and then turned back to the battle that was just waiting to begin.
"This is foolishness, you must know," The Grand Imperial said. "You cannot hope to win. You'll all be slaughtered. All you had to do was stay where you belonged, do what you were told. But you had to rebel, and now you will die. You will die, and your deaths will keep anyone else from trying to follow in your footsteps." He clicked his tongue one final time, and the Keepers moved into their battle stances.
Galen let his body take over. He had been in so many fights that he didn't even have to think about it anymore. His feet found the right stance, his arms lifted his sword, his shoulders squared themselves.
They were horribly outnumbered, but Galen lifted his head all the same. "Amakari!" he called out to his fellows. "Show them what freedom can do!"
The others cried out their agreement, stomping on the ground and sounding like there were more of them than there were. It wouldn't be quick, that was for sure. They would give them something to remember, and when people heard about what happened here, maybe they would take hope that resistance was possible. Maybe.
As soon as the fighting started, Galen refused to let himself look at Nora. He didn't want to draw attention to her, and he didn't want to think about her anymore. He couldn't afford the distraction now.
A Keeper rushed at him, blaster aimed for his head, and Galen cut him down, slashing right through him with his sword. Beside him, Phelon was doing the same, taking out two with one swing and knocking back another with a well placed boot to the chest.
He could hear Cattilda's weapon firing again and again, and knew that the gurgles that followed meant that her bolts were finding their targets.
But for every one they killed, it seemed there were three more to take their place. Galen didn't even know if this was all of them, or if there were more Keepers or beasts or whatever in the warship, waiting to rush them.
He couldn't think about that.
All he could do was fight.
Galen blocked attacks with the flat of his sword. He lunged with the point. Slashed with the edge. He punched someone who got too close, kicked out at another. When a sizzling hot blast grazed his arm, he barely winced and then dove back in, killing the person who'd shot it.
Again and again. Just keep moving. Just keep fighting.
When he did look, Nora and Carro were nowhere to be seen, and he let out a satisfied sigh. If they made it. If they were alright, then it would be enough. No matter what else happened.
Somewhere in the middle of it all, was Osera.
Galen could hear him shouting orders, demanding that the Keepers keep pushing, keep fighting. A Carnine launched into the fray, only to be knocked back by a bolt from Cattilda that pierced it right between the eyes.
Jonton moved in and finished the job, taking it out. Galen couldn't see where the other one was.
Four Keepers rushed him all at once, and he had to fight for his life. One very nearly took him out at the neck, but Galen managed to jump back and stab him before he could get any closer.
His heart pounded in his chest. It was hard to breathe. There was a red haze over everything, the heat of the battle pounding through him. If he was going to die, then he would die like the barbarian they said he was. Angry and fighting, taking others down with him.
Suddenly, though, a hush fell over everything, and then, "Stop! Stop!"
Osera's voice carried over the fighting, making everyone draw to a halt. They turned to where he was standing, far enough away that he wouldn't get blood on his robes. And there was...Ashera.
Galen's mouth fell open, and he couldn't tell if he'd died or was hallucinating or what.
Ashera was standing there, her blaster cocked and pressed to Osera's head. In the chaos of the fighting, no one had seen her move, and no one had been able to do anything.
One of the Keepers raised a rifle to shoot her, and she just stared back. "I know fifty different ways to kill him before you even pull that trigger," she said. "Or did you forget who I used to be?"
No one had. She'd been a doctor, someone who was meant to help people, but she'd also been called on by Osera himself to end people's lives as quickly as possible. It was clear from how pale Osera had gone that he remembered that as well.
"You will never get away with it," he said. "If you kill me, you will bring the wrath of the Allegiance down on this scrap heap."
"And you'll still be dead," Ashera said, and Galen had never heard her sound so cold. "You don't seem to get it, Osera. All we want is to be left alone. Everyone here has been wronged by you in one way or another. Some order you gave, some death you covered up, some justice you denied. We could spread that and make people doubt you, doubt the Allegiance. But we don't. We keep it to ourselves, and we survive as best we can, and all we ask for in return is to be left alone to live our lives. So yes, you could kill every last one us here, but I would kill you first, and everyone would find out why."
For a moment, it seemed like no one even dared to breathe on either side of the conflict. Then Osera swallowed. "How do I know you won't make this worse?"
"Because we could have done this at any time. We're not the only ones out there who hide from you and the Imperials. There are so many of us that we could have easily banded together and caused a stir. But we haven't, and we won't." She pressed the blaster harder against his temple. "We want. To be. Left. Alone."
Every eye was on Osera then. It was his call, and Galen relaxed because he knew what the Grand Imperial was going to do. The man valued his own life too much to throw it away on the likes of them.
"Fine," he said.
“Your word,” Ashera insisted. “That we will be left alone.”
Osera’s lip curled in a sneer. "You have my word. But if you step one toe out of line, then I will bring a wrath down on you the likes of which you have never seen before."
"You do that," Ashera said and pushed him away.
Still everyone waited.
Osera drew himself up, clicked his tongue, and everyone who was still alive got back into the ship.
And just like that, it was over. The ship took off, leaving them alone with a few dozen dead Keepers, their own injuries, and stunned silence.
The clean up took a while.
"Bury the bodies," Carro said. "They'll be good for the soil."
Galen rolled his eyes and went to get shovels.
Even though they had Osera's word that he wouldn't come back for them, Carro and Nora had agreed that it was probably best for her to go home.
"I'm just in the way here," she said. "I can't fight or anything like that, and it'll be nice to see my family again." She smiled at Carro, but Galen could see that it wavered slightly.
He didn't want her to leave, but he was done trying to tell her what to do. It was her choice, and he would stand by it.
Even if it meant he would be alone.