The Defiant
Chapter Thirty Five

The next morning, I awoke and immediately descended to the cargo bay. Ideas had solidified inside my sleeping brain, and as soon as I regained consciousness, they bubbled to the forefront of my mind and forced me downdeck.

I heard voices emanating from the open cargo bay door as the lift doors slid open.

“And you really think we can trust them?” Ille’Raiji’s voice.

“Yes. They’re not working for the government. They’re children, for Esaie’s sake. They have secrets of their own. All they’re doing is taking us to Byth, no more, and out of the goodness of their hearts.” Rae’Baqo.

“And what choice do we have anyway?” said Wro’Baqo.

They fell silent, and I took that to be my cue to enter.

“Good morning, One,” Rae’Baqo said as I entered. All three of them straightened up on the blankets where they had been sitting.

“Good morning. May I sit?” I asked, gesturing to the empty blanket.

“Please,” Rae’Baqo said.

“Thank you. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” I asked, sitting down, legs crossed.

“Not at all. What would you like to know? More about Sorhna, perhaps?”

“Maybe at a later time. Do you know anything about the Aerzhu?” I asked, leaning forward eagerly, ready to have my questions answered. I wasn’t prepared for the response.

Wro’Baqo swore under his breath and made an odd gesture, tracing a circle over his right shoulder as if warding off evil. Ille’Reiji hissed sharply at Rae’Baqo,

“You said they didn’t know anything!”

“What is the meaning of this?” Rae’Baqo said angrily, bearing his needle-sharp teeth.

“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you. I only wish to know details. It is hard to get information about the Aerzhu. Knowledge about the organization is important to our...goal. I assure you, I am not trying to pry into your past or anything,” I backpedaled hurriedly.

“Yes. I am... sorry for my reaction. The Aerzhu is a taboo subject on Sorhna. It is one of the reasons we left.” Rae’Baqo turned to Ille’Reiji. “Perhaps you would like to continue? You know more than I.”

Ille’Reiji nodded tightly. “The Aerzhu, as you probably know if you are requesting information, is a rebel organization. There are dozens, like the Ju’rheia and the Brotherhood of Deliverance. Many of these are legitimate, building support through political means and the occasional peaceful strike or uprising. The Aerzhu, however, have no patience for diplomacy. They attempt to get humans to see their perspective by killing. They use guns and bombs, attack innocent civilians of both races.

“Aerzhu is an ancient Sedha word for what translates roughly to English as ‘freedom.’ But they have perverted the word, transformed it into something ugly. The police have been trying to root them out for years. Even saying the word on the streets is cause for an arrest. The Aerzhu recruit in the dark alleys of Sorhna. They steal children from their homes and turn their innocent desires for independence to a thirst for vengeance.

“Their motto is Aerzhu seria Easnaoi. Freedom or Fire. Essentially, if the government will not hear their demands, they feel justified to purge the planet. They have attacked major cities and suburbs all over the planet, killing millions. It is no longer safe to live in a large metropolitan area on Sorhna. The Sorhnan government is an unfair, racist institution that has crushed us for too long, but the Aerzhu is not the solution. If you have an opportunity to help them, do not take it,” he finished.

“I see,” I said, processing. I would have to tell the rest of the crew right away. We could not possibly go to Earth now…

But there was one more question I needed answered first.

“Thank you for telling me that. I have one more question.”

“Ask away. We owe you for transporting us to Byth.”

“Do you know what ieaheia means? I believe it’s in Sedhan.”

My hopes were dashed when the Sedha shook their heads.

“None of us speak Sedhan,” Wro’Baqo explained. “It is forbidden to teach it on Sorhna. We are all taught human languages in school. Only the very old know Sedhan now. I’m sorry.”

“That’s quite all right,” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I had been so close… “Thank you for all you’ve told me. I’ll be leaving now.”

They watched me go.

“So we’re going to Sorhna?” Four asked. It was an hour later, half of which I’d spent explaining what the Sedha had told me. We sat in a circle on the bridge.

“I can’t see any other choice. The Aerzhu can’t be given their leader back.”

“But we shouldn’t help the government, either. They’re evil,” said Five vehemently.

“Maybe when we turn him in, we can use our leverage to make some demands of the Sorhnan government,” I said doubtfully.

“Yeah, they’re totally going to take advice from a bunch of teenaged amnesiac criminals,” Three said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Maybe not. But we can’t give the Aerzhu this advantage, especially so close to the Human-Sedha Century Celebration. They’d slaughter everyone there!” I protested.

“Remind me what that is again?” Six said.

“It’s the anniversary of our first contact, one hundred years ago. It’s in December. The Aerzhu will almost certainly bomb it,” Four said. “So we clearly can’t give them their leader back at this critical moment.”

“Maybe it’s not the best decision, but we need to think of ourselves, too. If we don’t return the passenger to the Aerzhu, we’ll never get our memories back,” Five said.

“That… may not be entirely true,” Six began.

My head whipped around. “Six!” I hissed.

“One, I have to tell them.

“I overheard One and Seven talking a few weeks ago about a memory One had, a memory of knowing Seven before. And Seven had had a similar realization. They had started getting their memories back.”

Five sets of accusatory eyes locked onto me.

“That’s not the whole story,” I said desperately. “I had a dream, that’s all. I wasn’t sure it was a memory, and I didn’t want to get your hopes up for nothing. I wasn’t trying to hide anything, and I only hid it for the good of—”

“And how are we supposed to believe that?” Five cut in. “You mislead us. Your memories are coming back, and you didn’t think it important to tell the rest of us? That’s unforgivable.”

“She was just trying to protect the rest of you!” Seven said. “It was the right decision. We wanted to wait until the right time to tell you all, and since it will impact this decision, I guess this is the right time. I promise, there was no malevolence behind our decision to keep it secret.”

“So our memories will eventually come back!” Three crowed victoriously. “We have to go to Sorhna now. It’s our only option. We turn this guy in to the Sorhnan government, help them get information to destroy the Aerzhu, then join a peaceful rebellion organization to try to bring changes.”

“What do you mean, we ‘join a rebellion organization?’ This isn’t our problem!” Five protested.

“If we betray the Aerzhu, our memories are gone forever anyway. The least we can do is get payback. Maybe once they’re arrested we can even get them to return our memories. And why wouldn’t we try to help the Sedha after this? Is there anything else you have in mind for your life?” I said.

Five glared at me but said nothing, his left eye twitching.

“Or we do the opposite of that. We deliver the passenger to the Aerzhu, get our memories back the legitimate way, wait for them to destroy the terrible Sorhnan government, then go after the Aerzhu,” Eight proposed.

“And how many people would die if we did that?” Seven spit back. “This is the only way.”

I glared at Six. He shrugged at me.

Later that night, I stopped outside Five’s door at the sound of voices. I pressed my ear to the door.

“Hey, it’ll be fine. It’s…” Five’s voice lowered, and I couldn’t make out what he said after that. Curse these metal doors.

“We’re doing the wrong thing! Can’t they see the rescuing of the many is worth the loss of a few? We have to help the Aerzhu, help the Sedha! The crew is blinded by One, and her morality—” I could practically see the sarcasm. “We have to return to Earth. We have to free them—”

“Eight, these are people’s lives. Better to be oppressed than dead—”

“How do you know?” she cried, and I heard footsteps storming toward me. I whipped away from the door and took refuge in my own room as Eight thumped past down the hall, pursued by Five.