Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

Part 18 - Cages

"You're going on a marvelous adventure," said Ian.

"I guess so. But you're supposed to be here for my darkest hours. Is something going to go wrong?"

"No, but the sights you shall see, they will be upsetting ones, Lili. I am here."

"I'm glad. I can't do this without you."

And on the shuttle, because they were all sleeping cheek by jowl, José heard Lili say in her sleep, "I can't do this without you." He smiled and covered her feet with his blanket, as her own blanket had slipped a little.

=/\=

"Phnom Penh, dead ahead," José reported a few hours later, "I guess I should put on that uni, eh?"

"Yep," Lili agreed, "It's almost show time, General Torres."

One of the blankets was pressed into service as an impromptu dividing wall, with men on the right, and women on the left. There was otherwise no privacy on the Ikaaran shuttle.

José put on the unfamiliar uni as Hoshi and Lili also changed. Frank and Gary put on jackets that Sekar had made to match the time period, but otherwise they just wore what they had.

Hoshi and Lili took turns holding a little hand mirror for each other as they fixed their hair. Then Lili turned and ran a comb through José's remaining hair. "Thanks," he said.

"Well, I'm your wife, I guess. So I'd better start acting the part, and pretending to take care of you."

"You look good," he told her.

"Eh, I look like a rich, spoiled hausfrau," she complained. But it was true. Her clothing appeared more finely tailored but it was a little faded, as if it had been elegant once, but was out of style and could not be readily replaced. It was a little sky blue suit. She also had white flats and a matching frame purse. "Give me gloves and a pillbox hat and I could be Jackie Kennedy's long-lost descendant, I suppose."

"It's fine," José assured her.

She adjusted his nametag. "General Slocum, eh? Wasn't that a ship, or something?"

"I dunno," he mumbled, a little nervous, and then added, "uh, Mrs. Slocum."

"Egad, I rejected Chef the last time around, and I woulda rejected him again if he'd asked me out," Lili confided, "It just felt weird to be even thinking about going out with my boss."

"Does, um, does anyone feel, er, not so weird to you, Lili?"

She shook her head. "Not right now, no."

=/\=

The Ikaaran shuttle touched down on a small rice paddy outside Phnom Penh. The ground was spongy, but it held. They opened the hatch and got out. Kerna said, "If I see anyone coming, I will take off, and will return to the other side of your moon. Contact me if you do not see me."

"Right," Hoshi told her, "and thanks for doing this."

"It is a fascinating challenge. And while it is ill-advised for me to step outside, I am still the first of my species to see your planet so close. It is a great honor." She closed the hatch and the shuttle was completely invisible to the outside world.

"The city is over there," Frank pointed, after checking his PADD, "It's less than half a kilometer away."

"Let's go," Hoshi commanded.

=/\=

Phnom Penh in 2038 was bustling with activity. Unlike other Asian cities, it had not been bombed too extensively, although there were some ruined spots. The radiation levels were also fairly low. Compared to Lagos, Nigeria – which had been the first casualty of the Third World War, in 2026, when Colonel Green and his forces had dropped a stolen nuclear warhead on it – Phnom Penh was a virtual Garden of Eden.