The Amelioration Expedition. Chapter 34

How many stars would you give this book?10 – Best
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 – Worst

Marlin met the shuttle when Reyse and Gezant arrived. Rianne stepped out of the shuttle first and then Reyse, holding Gezant. Marlin ran to Reyse and he handed Gezant to her. He took her by the arm and walked her away from the shuttle.

"Let them handle this."

"But our lawyers and…"

"They will have their day in our courts, but let Donte and his troops do what they need to do until then. Donte could have killed one of them, but he didn't. He risked his life to save the leader. He's as concerned about the colonists learning to handle this as we are."

He was right, of course. She hung her head. "He had every reason to let me suffer my fate alone, but instead he risked his life to save me. I still don't know why he did that – maybe he was saving Gezant."

Reyse frowned. "Why would you think he wanted you to die?"

She lifted her head and looked at him in surprise. "I never thought he wanted me to die. It's just that I intentionally tortured him from the day I met him until…I don't know. Maybe I never stopped."

Reyse stopped and stared down at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I blamed him for killing my grandfather and for the separation of my parents. I told him he was an animal." She shook her head and looked down again. "I'm ashamed of the way I treated him. He wanted Gezant and I told him he could have her – then I changed my mind."

Reyse was silent and when she looked up to see his reaction, he was rubbing his jaw and watching her. He probably wanted to ask about Gezant's father, but was concerned about alienating her. He had the right to know…and she wanted to tell him.

"I didn't want her at first because she was…a product of rape."

Reyse gasped. "Who?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm not going back."

"He should be punished. You can't let him get away with it."

She sighed. "Maybe you're right, but I don't want to be a victim again in court."

He shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me – or your father? Didn't you think we would be there for you?" He groaned. "Ah Marlin, you've been through so much, and look what you have achieved. You're amazing." He hesitated. "I still love you, Marlin. I treated you badly and I regret that."

"You were right about me. I had a lot of time to think about it when I was trapped in that cavern."

"With Donte."

She tipped her head to the side and studied his face, unsure how he meant that. He had no reason to feel jealous, and if he knew the extent of their relationship, it might comfort him.

"I kissed him once, but it wasn't like I kiss you. I love him, but not in the same way that I love you."

He frowned. "Why did you kiss him?"

"I thought we were going to die."

He studied her face for a moment before nodding. "I think I understand." He took her arm and they resumed walking to the station. "I'm sorry for what you went through – and that you were alone. I wanted to be with you." He gazed into her eyes. "I've asked before, but… Will you marry me?"

The question was sudden and unexpected, and yet welcome. She wasn't going to turn down this opportunity. She looked up at him and smiled. "I was afraid I would never again have the opportunity to say yes to that question."

His eyes lit up with a smile. "I packed an engagement ring…just in case."

"Just in case I said yes?"

He shook his head and sobered. "Just in case you were still alive. When I left, you were still missing. That was before I started having the dreams. Were you trying to contact me?"

She caught her breath and put a hand to her mouth. "I actually reached you?"

He nodded. "And Donte reached Rianne. Love truly conquers all, doesn't it?" Reyse looked around and spotted Donte with his troops, securing the new captives, Gerk still at his side, holding the spear, as if that would keep them all in line.

Reyse turned his attention to Marlin.

"I'd like to talk to one of them. Could you translate for me?"

"Sure." She followed him to one of the captives and knelt beside him after Reyse did.

Reyse looked at her. "Ask him why they attacked us."

She thought about it a few minutes. There was no exact translation. The primate looked from one of them to the other. He looked frightened. First, she told him they wouldn't harm him, and then asked why they attacked the station."

When he replied, Marlin looked at Reyse. "He said that their leader told them to."

Reyse gave her a wry smile. "Maybe we need to talk to the leader."

"Good luck with that."

"You don't want to talk to him?"

She drew a deep breath. "The last time I saw him, he looked at me like…I didn't like it."

He stood and took Gezant from her arms. "Well, I understand if you don't want to, but right now he's not in a position to do you any harm."

She shrugged and walked with him to where the leader was bound. Donte and one of his troops were discussing what they would do with the captives when Marlin and Reyse joined them.

Reyse glanced at the leader and spoke to Donte. "I'd like to ask him some questions. He looked at Marlin. "With Marlin's help." His gaze finally rested on Donte. It wasn't necessary for him to ask Donte's permission, but he was being typically diplomatic.

Donte glanced at Marlin and returned his attention to Reyse. "I hope you have more luck than we have had."

Reyse looked at the primate. "Is he frightened?"

Donte shrugged. "He has every reason to be."

"Why is that?"

Donte smiled. "He's uncooperative and belligerent. He isn't making any friends." His gaze directed their attention to Gerk, still holding the spear in a threatening way.

Reyse lifted his brows and let out a heavy sigh. "What are you going to do with them? You can't leave them tied to the fence all the time. Didn't you say there was a lion lurking earlier?"

"I haven't sensed it since we returned. Maybe it was the one that tried to attack us. He looked at the trooper he had been talking to. "We could take them back to the Lyra for the night, or we could put them in cages in the barn. We were talking about building a detention area."

Reyse nodded and looked at Marlin. "I think that's an excellent idea – the detention area. We will eventually need one." He looked at Donte. "Do you have a place to keep them on the Lyra?"

Donte nodded and looked at Marlin. "Is that what you want us to do?"

Marlin liked the idea of taking them to the Lyra. It might take some of the arrogance out of their leader if he realized how advanced their technology was. She looked at Reyse. "I think taking them to the Lyra would be more comfortable for them and make the colonists feel safer."

When Donte tapped his medallion and began talking to the commander of the Lyra about preparing for captives, the primate leader studied him. Marlin had the feeling he was in awe of Donte.

The leader looked at Marlin and asked if Donte was their leader. She told Reyse what he asked.

"Tell him we have many leaders. Donte is only one of them." He hesitated. "And tell him that we will all decide how he and his men will be punished."

Donte smiled at Marlin and turned to his trooper. They walked away, Donte giving him instructions on which shuttles to use and how many captives and men in each. Gerk remained, his attention still on the leader.

Marlin translated Reyse's information to the primate leader as best she could. He didn't respond. She wasn't certain he understood, but she thought he probably did. It would be interesting to see how he acted when they finished the detention area and brought them back.

Reyse nodded at Gerk. "He was beside Donte all the way. I imagine he'd like to face the leader in court."

Marlin was glad to turn the captives over to their new judicial system. Donte had once told her he hoped she never learned what it was like to lose a child. She had lost Gezant for a short period of time and, for the first time, realized how Donte must have felt when her grandfather took his son.

Her grandfather knew the Mascots were superior beings in many ways, but he viewed them as a threat. She had viewed the primates as inferior beings, but also viewed them as a threat. Getting to know Gerk and Donte had complicated her perception of what was and was not human. Both were kind, courageous and intelligent. One could say that much about a good dog. Being civilized certainly didn't define humanity either. Many people who were human were certainly not civil.

When she spoke to Dr. Oriana about the primates, Dr. Oriana told her that the Yora were actually more evolved and that was why they thought it was permissible to make the lesser primates slaves.

"What are you trying to say? The more advanced we become, the less civilized we are?"

Dr. Oriana shook her head. "No, but there is hierarchy in animal life. The more intelligent are at the top. To a degree, any animal life less intelligent becomes subservient."

Marlin lifted her chin. "We are less intelligent than Mascots, but more intelligent than the primates. I'm not subservient to Donte and Gerk isn't subservient to me. We're all friends."

Dr. Oriana gave her a level look. "Don't tell me it never crossed your mind that the Mascots could defeat us."

"If they wanted to, I suppose – maybe, but…"

"Because they're more intelligent," Dr. Oriana interrupted. "We know they are a higher life form because they are more intelligent. The colonists on Purlieu accepted that and allowed them to rule, even though they outnumbered them."

Marlin shook her head. "No, they accepted it because Fontalo dictated it. We aren't going to do that."

"You aren't going to let the Mascots rule you, but are you going to let the Yora continue to cause problems for the others?"

Marlin stared at her. "Even you agreed that we shouldn't get involved in their culture."

"No, I said the expedition team shouldn't get involved. We don't have to live here. The colonists will have to be involved."

"So you think that because we are the most intelligent, we should dominate?"

Dr. Oriana gave her a tolerant smile. "I'm saying that if you want peace here on Opus, you'll have to fight for it – or have the Mascots do it for you."

Dr. Oriana's words stayed with Marlin long after the doctor left on the Spero. Marlin had wanted the colonists to function independent of Purlieu and its Mascots. It was still her goal, but she now realized it was unrealistic to expect the colonists to come directly from a civilized planet to a primitive environment and automatically adjust. They had stood by in stunned silence, not lifting a hand to help Rianne fight off the primates. They were accustomed to having police and military handle aggression. The people of Purlieu had learned to work together and defend themselves, but they had hundreds of years to adapt. The crisis with the primates and the organized assistance of Donte and his troops had made it clear that the colonists needed their help. Donte had known it all along, but she had refused to listen to him – not because he was a Mascot and not because he was the man who killed her grandfather – but because he was from a more primitive planet. She had thought Purlieu could learn from Oriel, but the truth was, they could all learn from each other.

Another weakness that the attack by the Yora had revealed was the need for weapons. On Oriel, a gun was a luxury that most people were denied. Law enforcement and the few with permits were allowed to own them. Laser weapons had been banned for decades. On Opus, with no military or viable law enforcement, they would have been overrun by the Yora had it not been for Donte's troops. How did they manage to overlook something so vital? They had been thinking of a planet with no life except that which they brought. Again, Purlieu had foreseen the need and insisted that Donte carry a laser weapon secretly. Had it not been for Purlieu, their expedition would have been only that. The colonists would have had to build everything when they arrived. That was feasible, of course, but they would have been scattered and vulnerable to the Yora. In fact, they wouldn't have known about the existence of any of the primates until it was too late.

Purlieu was a true ally of Oriel. It could have been so different if they had wanted the planet of Opus. Fontalo had created a superior human that could have annihilated them. Was that why they decided to get rid of them? Were they afraid of their own creation because it was more intelligent? Had Fontalo failed to realize their creation was also more peaceful?

When Gezant had been captured, Marlin didn't care what happened to the Yora. Donte had no reason to care what happened to the primates or the colonists. They had been shocked when he authorized deadly force, yet even though they had captured Donte's mate, he wasn't ready to kill them. She had been brought up in a society that believed their needs came first. Donte had grown up in a society where a Mascot was expected to guide and protect. The Mascots had been a good example for the people of Purlieu. Could they be the same for the Opus natives? It had already happened with Gerk.

On Oriel, the developmentally challenged people were protected and cared for. Would the colonists show the same compassion for the Opus natives? When Fontalo abandoned Purlieu, they had been left with no structured legal system – no monetary system. They had not seen the need for those things. Did that make their planet more primitive? Was it more primitive because they didn't have personal cars and electronics? Instead of bringing Oriel to Opus, should they have studied and emulated Purlieu?

Marlin had thought of Purlieu as being primitive because they lacked the technology on Oriel. In fact, Purlieu had done something Oriel had been unable to do. They had managed to progress without polluting Purlieu. Donte's troops had managed to prevail in primitive conditions. They were content without television, cell phones and cars. If they were going to keep Opus like they found it, there would have to be a lot of adjustments. The Opus natives might not be as intelligent as the colonists from Oriel, but they hadn't ruined their planet, either.

There was a limit to what Marlin could do on her own, but she was going do her best to make Opus a peaceful and clean environment. She could do that by example and by getting involved in the government of the colony. The colonists had already selected their leaders, but there was always the future. It wasn't going to be easy, but she hoped everyone on Opus would eventually be as free and peaceful as Purlieu – and that Opus would remain pristine. They had a fresh start. What they did with it was up to them.

****

Thank you for reading my book. Please take a moment to sign my guest book and/or take the poll. If you enjoyed this book, please make others aware of it by reviewing it at your favorite retailer.

The next book in the Spaceship Lyra Logs is "The Genesis Project."

Research and rescue spaceship Lyra responds to a distress signal from planet Arcane and discovers a planet in dire need of assistance. As Supreme Commander, Donte is willing to risk his life to assist, but he has no idea what it will cost all of them.

Find out more about this and other books at LindaR's Library.