Paradise Blight

Chapter 14

A signal came, this time stronger and clearer, focused on a particular geographic area. As per their directive, the Legion constructed the first generation of the Swarm and released it. Now modified to be more efficient, more deadly, and more evolved, the Swarm attacked, cleansing land and sea. All by design.

[Mora]

I laid down across the seat with my head in Gan's lap, basking in his closeness. As I nestled into him and he placed a protective hand across my shoulder, a wonderful warmth spread through to the depths of my heart. Here, with Gan, I was safe and cared for.

I awoke in the darkness of night as the quad coasted to a stop, the electric motor whirring down to silence.

Gan sighed, "This is as far as we go for now. The power cells are drained. But I positioned us in the shuttle path, and hopefully, we can intercept it when it comes by."

He stepped out and opened his pack to retrieve the drone, explaining, "Bob is going to do some recon to make sure we were not followed."

And thus, Bob flew off into the night.

After cleaning our wounds and applying bandages, we cuddled together on the rear cargo bed of the quad, using his pack as a backrest. An old tarp shielded us from the cool night. Gan watched the drone controller screen in infrared mode as Bob retraced our path. Finding no pursuit, he nodded and recalled Bob.

I raised eyes to the now cloudless sky, where countless stars twinkled in the dark abyss like embers of life. Not to be outdone, Anteros spread its golden light from the east horizon.

So beautiful.

I kissed him on the cheek. "Gan, you risked yourself to rescue me — thank you. Logically, you should have just left me and gone for help."

Ban squeezed me closer. "That was never an option." After pausing, he asked, "What did they do to you?"

"After you went over the cliff, Amos hit me and knocked me out cold." I winced while rubbing the side of my face — probably marked with a bruise.

"When I came to, I was on the ground with my hands tied. They accused me of being a demon sent by Satan to destroy Zion, and that I caused the blight. I was to be purged by stone, by God's will, they said."

Gan curled his lip. "They pervert the will of God."

"I had given up hope, then I saw Bob," I said as a smile grew on my face. "And the bees, that was brilliant."

He grinned. "You know, they didn't even sting me. Turns out they are not so bad after all."

Gan broke our embrace as Bob buzzed in, then returned the drone to its case.

I snuggled into Gan as he sat back down beside me. "You, Bob, and the bees are my heroes."

He stroked my hair. "Hmm. Soooo... Who gets the girl at the end?"

"It just might be you," I cooed.

*****

In the morning, we flagged down the shuttle, as much to pick us up as to prevent it from going on to Zion. Besides some cargo, there was only one person aboard, who was quite shocked to find us.

Liz met us when we arrived back in Central City, then escorted us to the medical clinic, where we told her of our ordeal.

She shook her head. "I'm so sorry. This should never have happened."

Gan let out an airy breath. "How did this group get on the Ark Hope, anyway? I thought colonists had to pass psychological screening?"

Liz lowered her eyes and answered, "Politics. The standards were relaxed for the Watchers in order to get funding for the ark. And now we are paying for that compromise." She looked up again and firmed her lips. "Access to and from Zion is now restricted."

My voice cracked with emotion. "We lost Vic. And Moshe... He died trying to protect us."

Liz bowed her head. "There will be a memorial service to honor them. Moshe's husband is part of my staff and a friend. I must go now to break the news to him."

After parting with Liz, we made our way to the dining hall, arriving just before it closed for the night. We ate mostly in silence, the recent events weighing heavy on our minds.

Gan lifted his eyes to me. "I should go find a place to stay tonight."

I reached across the table and grasped his hand. "No. Stay with me at my apartment. Please."

Putting on that warm smile that first attracted me, he said, "I would like nothing more than that."

*****

The next morning, I met with Liz per her request. Sitting behind her desk with arms folded, she put on her Governor-in-charge persona. Also in attendance, seated across from Liz, was Director Sander and one of Liz's aides. I took the remaining empty chair.

The Director started, standing to make his point, "We need to keep a lid on this, Governor. Any kind of unrest may jeopardize the entire project."

Liz leaned back and sighed. "The lid is already off, Tom, and the public is already on edge. Now sit down." She turned to me. "Mora, many colonists are already down from the ark, and many more are coming. What can we tell them?"

After pausing in thought, I replied, "We have to tell them the truth. Unfortunately, we still know little about the blight. It is unlike anything we have ever seen. But for now, all we can advise is to watch and quarantine any areas it hits."

The Director huffed, throwing his head back and his hands up. "This is insane! The people will panic and we will look weak. And we don't even know if it will continue! Just issue a statement that it is under control."

Hot anger flared as I jumped up, glaring. "This is serious, Director, and it is not about your damned public perception. If the blight continues, and there is no indication it will stop, it could mean famine."

The Director jumped up as his face reddened, pointing an angry finger at me. Liz leaned forward and interjected before he could form words. "Enough!" she shouted.

A knock at the door interrupted the tension, and Gan stepped in. "I think you should see this Liz, err, Governor."

Gan took a seat and pulled out his viewer, then took the steps to link to the office view screen. An overhead image of a lush green forest along a seacoast came up. Just offshore, rich fields of seagrass and kelp were visible in the translucent water.

Gan continued, "I've been going through the satellite images to put a timeline on the blight occurrences, but something came up." He motioned toward the screen. "This is yesterday morning, to the east along the coast." He touched the viewer again. "And this is now."

The image sent tingles crawling down my spine — the blight had struck again. The same coastline appeared, but this time a vast swath of the forest laid in waste, stripped and blackened as if scorched, and offshore, the aquatic plants were brown and lifeless. Silence prevailed for a lingering moment, words failing.

Finally, I asked, "How big?"

"Just over a hundred square kilometers. Two orders of magnitude larger than before."

Liz leaned back again in her chair and let out a long, forlorn breath. "I will draft a public statement." Intense brown eyes turned to me. "Mora, I will need you to review it for accuracy. Solving the blight is your only priority now. Use any resource you need and get us some answers."

The Director muttered, "Liz, someone else would be better for this. Someone with more sensitivity to..."

The Governor switched her gaze to him, turning it into a glare. "No Tom. Mora is the best one for the task. And I expect you to give her your full cooperation. Do you understand?"

The Director grunted as he stood up, then stormed out. I stood to follow, but Liz called me back. "Mora, what is going on between you and the Director?"

Retaking my chair, I let out a long sigh. "Some time ago, after a project update meeting, he made an, umm, unwanted proposition to me and was reluctant to take no for an answer, not until I threatened to knee him in the balls. He didn't like it."

Liz put her hand to her mouth to cover a grin. "Part of me would have liked to see that. He can be such a pompous arse. But be careful, Mora. He has a lot of influence and a family legacy to protect, and he is right about the public perceptions — they do matter."