Meadows of Heaven (13/23)
Chapter 13
Commander Brown called everyone together, pulling all the techs off their tasks, and even the scientists out of digging in the old colony to meet at base camp. Maggie had grumbled to Lieutenant Chikezie, both of them caught up in reading the diary logs of Harmony Ventura. Maggie had closed the screen down when Whitfield came to get them, blushing furiously at the erotic nature of the entry they were reading.
"Don't know what you ladies were looking at," Whitfield whistled. "But we've got an all-call. C'mon."
Maggie made a mental note to report the contents of the diary to the commander; the information they'd found was too valuable for the archaeological team not to know. She wondered if maybe she had found the basis for the entire society in the city. It was, after all, named after the girl.
Brown stood on an elevated platform, waiting as all the teams gathered around. "I know I could've done this via comm, but I wanted to look you all in the eye as I said it." At those ominous words, Maggie's stomach dropped, all thoughts of the diary out of her mind. "There's a Confed ship on its way out here."
Gasps and whispers sprang out among the crowd of soldiers and scientists. Maggie turned to Chikezie and mouthed "What?"
"The Mercury can take 'em!" Whitfield shouted from behind them and the rest of the crowd cried out with him.
Brown held out his hand for silence. "It's not gonna be that simple. Their commandant is talking about an old treaty, how they've got equal rights to explore out here. He asked for information sharing. So this is what we're gonna do. You're all gonna make scrubbed records to hand over. Give them enough to be interesting, but take out anything really important."
"What about the ship's logs?" Maggie shouted. They couldn't scrub all of those, there simply wasn't enough time, and they hadn't even gotten through them all yet.
"As far as they're concerned, Corporal, our tech won't talk to the ancient tech, got it?"
"Yes, sir," Maggie replied.
"Commander, what about the city?" Chikezie called out. "Why should they care about us when the energy readings for Harmony are through the roof?"
Brown took a deep breath and for the first time Maggie realized how tired he looked. She couldn't imagine being in command when a situation like this came up. "We're gonna have to let the citizens of Harmony take care of that."
And the whispers turned into shouts.
***
Jeff paced the length of the sitting room, his stomach in knots as he waited for Jensen to arrive. Should never have let him go, a smaller, darker part of his mind whispers. Without Jensen at his side, he felt unprepared, that guidance he had looked for this entire mission simply gone. Jensen wasn't safely in the infirmary this time, he was out there, in that huge city, with no protection at all.
He had to remind himself that Jensen was a fully trained soldier, that he'd had Jeff on the ground twice the one time they'd sparred together. Hell, Jensen had even been deep undercover in Confed territory. Jeff had no reason to think anything had happened to him. But the panic that had started in his chest at the captain's words hadn't faded, and Jeff knew he wouldn't be able to relax until Jensen showed up.
Jeff pulled out his comm, about to plug in Jensen's signal again, when he heard a sound outside on the balcony. The glass doors opened to reveal Jensen and Peter, both looking perfectly well. Jensen met his eyes, and then gestured over to Peter, rightfully concerned that they couldn't speak plainly in front of him. Wait a moment.
"Where's Misha?" Jeff asked.
"He stayed behind," Jensen said.
"Alone? Is that allowed?" Jeff wondered out loud.
The expression on Peter's face could kill puppies. "He is breaking rules." His shoulders sagged. "But there is nothing I can do about it. I don't even need to speak to Mistress Claudia, she'll see for herself soon enough."
Jeff frowned, confused, but at Jensen's shake of his head he knew he'd get the explanation later.
"What's happened?" Jensen asked, softly.
"There's a Confed ship on its way here." Screw it, Jeff thought, it wasn't worth throwing Peter out to tell Jensen this. "It'll be in orbit by tomorrow morning."
Jensen's eyes widened. "What?"
"The captain got a hail from a Commandant Coleman. There's some ancient obscure treaty, probably written around the time of the wormhole collapse, that promises joint relations in exploration of deep space."
"Long before the war," Jensen murmured. Although even the war wasn't without its agreements and accords that lasted up until one side or the other violated them. "So they want to see what we're so interested in."
"We've led them right here," Jeff burst out, slamming his fist against one hand.
"Peter." Jensen turned to the other sub. "Does this city have any defense weapons?"
It was a good call, Peter, in his former life, just might know exactly what Harmony was capable of. Peter blinked at him. "I don't . . . what's going on? I don't understand."
"Do you remember," Jensen started, eyes now only for Peter, "when I told you about my parents? How they were murdered by the Confederation in an act against civilian targets?"
Just when the hell had Jensen told Peter that? Jeff threw his mind back, remembering all the time Jensen had spent with the other sub in the guise of learning more about Harmony. He could feel the green-eyed monster rising again, and Jeff pushed the feeling down hard. He didn't own Jensen, not really, no matter that the man wore a collar belying that fact.
At Peter's nod, Jensen continued. "The ship on its way here belongs to the same faction that killed my parents. They're responsible for countless deaths; their society is based on slavery, true slavery. And I'm not sure the Mercury - our ship - could defeat them in a fair fight. Not without help."
Peter paled, and Jeff wondered if he'd understood a fraction of that. "You need to speak to my mother."
Jeff looked at Jensen, wondering if they could get in to see the queen without being summoned. Jensen nodded at him, squaring his shoulder back and looking ready for war. Well, it was time to bring that war here to Harmony. Jeff should have known he couldn't have escaped it for long.
***
"I don't understand," Queen Michelle said. They had interrupted her, not expecting company she sat straight in her armchair, her soft robe tied around her waist, her long blond hair free and tumbling down her shoulders in loose curls. Fredric knelt at her side, but he lacked his usual impeccable mien, dressed in worn sleep pants, his eyes kept drifting to where Peter stood behind Jeff and Jensen.
Jensen knew they had been allowed access to these private quarters without an appointment because of Peter, who had pushed past all the guards and called them all by name. He was grateful for the other sub's support, and part of him missed having Misha with them, Jensen had grown used to their little trio.
"These people who are coming," the queen continued, "they are your enemies. Not ours."
This, Jensen thought, this could ruin everything they'd worked for. Every action he and Jeff had taken, each painstaking decision, could be undone in this very moment, by the very forces Jensen had been fighting against his entire life. Damn it, he could not let them win.
"They won't simply attack you," Jeff said. He held himself straight, though Jensen imagined he could see a tremble in Jeff's fingers from where he knelt. Belatedly, he'd remembered Jeff had told him the Confed had killed his wife. Jensen couldn't imagine that, finding his person to love and then losing them so quickly. "They'll come and pretend to be your friends first."
"Like you did?" Michelle said, one eyebrow raised.
Jeff shook his head. "No. We are nothing like. . ." he took a breath, regaining his composure as he continued. "When you took my men, I accepted your challenge, I came back and I proved myself worthy. They would have smiled and then dropped a bomb on your city."
"I highly doubt that, Commander."
"I can't blame you, you've never had to deal with something like this," Jeff said, his voice now completely back under his control. "Jensen and I, we've both lost people we've loved to the Confed. I don't know anyone who hasn't."
"They killed my parents and my sister. And the only grandparents I'd ever known," Jensen spoke up in the silence after Jeff's comment. "They weren't soldiers, they were just unlucky enough to be on the station that the Confed destroyed to prove that they could. That no one in UP space was safe."
He still remembered the day that changed his life with vivid clarity. His parents and Meggie, young sweet Meggie, had gone to the lunar station to pick up Jared's grandparents, the only biological family Jared had had left. Jensen and Jared had been at school, called into assembly when the announcement was made. He'd torn his way through the other students, desperate to reach Jared, his little brother's eyes red with tears. Both of them had been orphaned in a moment.
"They killed my wife," Jeff whispered. Jensen pressed himself up against him, hoping to give whatever comfort he could. He wanted to take Jeff in his arms, stroke his hair, tell him that Jensen would take care of things now.
Jeff's voice grew stronger as he spoke. "You have no word for it here. My wife. Bound to me like one of your subs for a lifetime. It had been years after her planet had joined the UP - our side - instead of theirs. Years before the Confed took their revenge and killed them all."
Jensen drew himself to his feet, taking a moment to brush his fingers against Jeff's, hoping the older man would understand he couldn't offer more just now. "Please, Mistress. We proved ourselves to you once. Can you not trust us in this?"
Michelle drew herself to her feet and began to pace the sitting room, deep in thought. Jensen didn't envy her, the well-being of everyone in her city depended on her actions now.
"What do you suggest I do?" she asked, sounding more curious than anything. She had paused, staring at the tournabout board on the end table. The lioness figure made its way into her hands and Michelle rolled the tiny silver piece between her fingers.
"Does the city have any defenses? I know you can close the wall to outsiders, but is there anything to protect it from an attack from above? If you refuse the Confed entry, I'm afraid that would be their next step," Jeff said.
"You don't advocate negotiating with them first?"
"When the Confed takes over a planet," Jensen said, speaking from experience, having seen it more than once in the field. "They take the children first and sell them into slavery because they know the parents will agree to anything in order to get them back. Those are the people you would be negotiating with."
At Jensen's words, Fredric stood, and stared at Michelle. "My mistress," he said, his voice hoarse. "You must call on Harmony. You must."
Jensen had never seen Fredric speak so much in front of others. Even Peter seemed taken aback, his mouth opened as he inhaled sharply.
"Fredric, you know I need. . ."
Fredric tilted his head in Jensen and Jeff's direction. "Have they not proved themselves worthy? Do you not think he honors Harmony with his every breath, even if he doesn't truly understand? And he is the only one who truly understands the threat we face."
Jensen blinked, lost in the conversation. He hadn't felt this confused since his first day in the city, when he hadn't known how to act or speak. What could they possibly mean?
Michelle nodded at Fredric and turned. "Sub Jensen, will you come?"
"I, uh, what?" Jensen sputtered.
"It is said Harmony cannot refuse a petition from a worthy sub," Fredric spoke up.
"And you think. . ." Jensen trailed off. If this were what it took to ensure the safety of the city, he'd have to do it. He looked over at Jeff.
"I won't order you to," Jeff said softly.
Jensen knew he had to make this decision on his own, but how could he, when he didn't even know what they wanted of him? But how could he say no, if he was the only one who could do it? "You really think I'm worthy?" he asked Sub Fredric.
Fredric bowed in his direction. "Trust yourself," he said.
Well, with that ringing endorsement, Jensen turned to Michelle. "All right. I'll do it. Whatever it is."
She gave him a sad smile. "Follow me. Commander Morgan, you may wait here with Fredric. Make yourselves comfortable, this may take all night."
Jensen didn't exactly like the sound of that, he pictured himself on his knees, praying all night like some of the religious nuts in the Confed, certain an invisible being was listening to all their chanting and humming. He'd stopped believing in any sort of god when his family had died.
So he was surprised when after traveling down a small lift behind the queen's sitting room, they finally reached their destination, one that hadn't even been marked by a door. They stepped out into was looked to Jensen just like a damned control room.
Screens ringed the room, images of the city flickering to life as they entered. A single chair sat in the middle of the room, and Michelle moved to sit into it, placing her hands on the armrests. The material of the air shimmered and then her arms were covered to the elbow, attached to the chair like some sort of cyborg.
"The ruler of the city, be she queen or king," Michelle explained, "is the only one to know of this room. Only she may beg Harmony to directly intervene in our fate. But without a worthy sub present, Harmony may ignore any request, no matter how dire. She was a sub herself, you see." Michelle gave him a sad smile.
"What should I do?" Jensen asked.
"Kneel," she said. "If she accepts you, you will know."
This place is so strange, he thought, sinking carefully to his knees. He felt so weary, his entire body weighed down with the events of the long day. He had to keep it together, had to fight to stay alert long enough to complete his task. The lives of everyone in Harmony depended on it.
Jensen felt something around his legs, then as if he were sinking. Black spots appeared before his eyes and as he tumbled over, he wondered if it was his sacrifice that was demanded after all.
***
When Jensen opened his eyes, green surrounded him, and he sat up, realizing he was in the same grassy field where he had first dreamt of a girl named Harmony. Oh, he thought, how could he have been so stupid? She had tried reaching out to him first. He pushed himself to his feet and looked around, not seeing her.
Then, she faded in slowly, like an old 2D movie, sitting on a blanket, a bundle of flowers on her lap. Jensen crouched in front of her, not knowing what to say, if he should let her speak first.
"He used to bring me flowers," she said, braiding the stems together. "And I would make rope out of them, so he could bind me, tie me to my bed that night. Of course I could break free easily, but the trick was to not break the ropes, to not struggle. And sometimes that was more difficult than being under his whip. Do you understand?"
Jensen rested his wrists on his thighs. "I do." She spoke about submission, about giving yourself over to someone, having the strength to obey when all you wanted to do was struggle.
"When I lost my master, I thought I had lost the world. And then I gained another."
At first Jensen thought she had merely gained another master. Then the world around them shifted, the tall green grass of the meadow disappearing to make way for the same forest, only hidden beneath several feet of snow. He could see a figure struggling against the wind, though Jensen himself didn't feel the cold, didn't feel much of anything really. He could only watch as the figure stumbled to its knees, head dropping as the sound of muffled sobs touched his ears.
Somehow he'd shifted now, till he was right beside the figure and could see the young woman huddled inside a tattered old cloak. Her face was pale, lips blue-white, the tears freezing as they fell. Clearly she'd been out here for some time, and if she didn't find shelter soon, Jensen didn't know how long she could survive.
Then something shimmered before them both, a column of rippling metal like everything that made up the city. However, this column looked different from the towers and buildings Jensen had seen before. It was alien and yet more organic, looking more like a tree with rippling roots than anything else.
The girl, and only now did Jensen realize it was Harmony, reached out with one hand and touched the column. "It's you," she whispered, words slurred from the cold. "From my dreams."
Her fingers sunk into the glittering metal, and she pulled away for just a moment. Then, nodding to herself, the young Harmony stepped forward and became part of the column, the gold melting around her, molding and becoming something more.
Jensen blinked and they were back in the green meadow, all traces of snow and the past gone. He felt understanding was just out of his reach, that he should know why she'd shown him this, but Jensen couldn't put his finger on it just yet.
The Harmony that stood before him now shook her head, and then finally looked at him. Now he could see her truly, large blue eyes, red curls like a halo around her head, lips that were meant to beg. "You have a request for me?"
Jensen swallowed and wondered if he was up for this task. "But you should know," he blurted, realizing that Harmony was the city. She'd merged with it, become something more long ago. Everything in these walls, she must know of.
"I," she placed her hand on her chest, "Can't be everywhere, though my consciousness echoes throughout the city. I know what you need because I have been listening to you, Jensen."
He could feel the blush rising in his cheeks, even in a dream. "Oh," he said. "Then what will you do?"
"I will need your help, your knowledge of the way things work out there. How your technology differs from mine."
"You have it," Jensen offered, ready to answer any question she might ask.
"And then I will hide the city. Make it seem as if we simply were not here. I'd much rather that than bloodshed and murder, Jensen. Do you understand? Though I could defend myself like that, I won't."
Someone had to be the better person, he thought, half-hysterically. "Just keep everyone safe. Keep Jeff safe." And Peter and Misha and Claudia and little Colin and everyone whom Jensen had grown to care about during his time here.
"I accept your sacrifice," she murmured, reaching out with one hand to touch the side of his face.
And everything went black once more.
***
Jeff tried to sit, to wait like a patient man while the queen had taken Jensen away. Sub Fredric had even suggested a game of tournabout and offered Jeff some of that hot tye everyone always drank. He'd wished it had been whiskey instead. While Fredric and his son played the odd little board game, Jeff paced, not even noticing the details of the sitting room, too caught up in worrying what might be happening right that moment.
It felt like hours, and when he checked his comm he found it had been only one when the back door whispered open. "Commander Morgan, please, come," the queen cried, beckoning him.
Jeff leapt over the settee in his way and followed her, down the lift, to another room, where he found Jensen curled on his side, completely unconscious. He touched his finger to Jensen's neck, grateful to find a pulse, and that the other man was still breathing. "What the hell happened?"
"Harmony will help us," Michelle said. For the first time she'd lost that perfect mask, her voice frantic, her face stained with tears. "She will hide the city, so your Confed cannot find us. But she needs him to help."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jeff growled.
"Take him to the Healers'," she told him. "Harmony promised he will awaken when he is no longer needed."
Once again Jeff found himself scooping Jensen up into his arms. However, he never again wanted to feel an unresponsive Jensen, who merely flopped in his embrace instead of curling against him, his face nuzzling against Jeff's jaw, seeking out the stubble he loved so much. Jeff promised himself, if they got through this, Jensen would never have to suffer again.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Epilogue