Kwaide (The Ammonite Galaxy Series, Book 2)

Last Chapter

Chapter 34

IT TOOK DAYS, but the battle of Kwaide was effectively over as soon as the shuttles were lost. The sycophant army was caught defending a zone of little strategic use to them. Not only that, but the rebel army had concentrated on extending its circle around the sycophant army, and had succeeded in cutting it off from any supplies from the south. The rebel army refrained from attack. They simply sat back and waited. 

Finally one of the Elders walked forward, waving a white flag. A huge cheer went up around the rebel forces, and representatives stepped forward eagerly to iron out the details of surrender. 

A WEEK LATER Grace touched down on the planet again. She stepped onto Kwaide, and looked over to the mess of twisted metal lying some metres to the south. There were some tired flowers in drooping bunches to mark the spots where Gerrant and Solian had fallen. She walked over to the flowers, and bent her head in tribute. Tears came to her eyes. She would never forget them, she promised herself. She almost felt she hated the planet.

She wondered if she could have predicted that the Y support would fail with two men in the fuel pipes. Probably. She felt a terrible sense of guilt. They were dead and she was alive. How did that work? Why?

"Grace." Ledin touched her arm, and brought her back to her senses. "They are waiting for you." He gestured to a hastily-erected stand to the north. It was already full of people, waiting for the three shuttles to come back to their planet.

"Sorry. Of course." Grace allowed herself to be led away, towards the tiered rows of seats. She saw her mother sitting in the front row, and suppressed the urge to run up to her and feel the warmth of a physical hug. She became aware suddenly that there was much applause, and that it appeared to be directed at her. 

"Are they applauding us?" she whispered to Ledin.

He shook his head. "They are applauding you," he said. "You are one of the heroes of New Kwaide."

Grace stared at him. "I am not!" she protested. 

Ledin lifted his eyes towards Lumina. "You cannot believe that!" he said. "You saved one of the shuttles, and blew up the other. That is exactly half of what caused the end of the war. Grace, surely you can see that?"

"I caused the death of Gerrant and Solian," she said. "What on Sacras is heroic about that?"

"You couldn't have known what would happen – people are actually less dense than fuel, so there was no way to predict it. They found a fault in that particular Y frame. How could you have foreseen that? Their sacrifice will always be remembered—" he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders and a sad smile, "—and so will yours, like it or not."

She sighed. "I don't see it like that."

He shook his head. "It doesn't really matter, it is how all the rest of New Kwaide sees it. You will always be a heroine to them. Why are you looking so sad?"

'Hey hero! Hey heroine!' she quoted slowly.

"What is that?"

"Nothing. Just remembering something that happened on Valhai. A long time ago, and a long way away."

Ledin looked concerned. "Are you all right, Grace?"

She brought her gaze back to the present with an effort and gave him one of her sweet smiles. "I am fine. Where are we supposed to sit?"

A young refugee, acutely aware of his own temporary consequence, escorted them to seats on the front row bench, some distance from Cimma. Grace made a little sign to her mother, and Cimma looked more than happy to see her again, holding both hands up slightly to welcome her. Grace raised her own hands, although the two women were not close enough for contact. It was enough. She felt comforted.