FALAHA'S JOURNEY: A Spacegirl's Account in Three Movements

Episode #25

"Are you sure about this, Aona?" I watched as she put on her battle suit.

"Absolutely. This is what I usually do." She tied her hair up. "I'm going to borrow the Eater males for a little talk. You should return to Avila and the bloodless guy. My sisters will aid you both with accommodating your mom. They have already descended into the Chamber and are waiting for you."

When I left the locker room, I had this weird, nagging feeling that continued to bother me all the way back. What was it she wanted to discuss in private with Uncle and Eyuran? The only thing I knew was that I should trust this feeling. I had better watch over them both. Right, Falaighnn? Besides, this was what Grandfather asked me to do before he passed away. He was probably the first to notice what kind of soma I had, since his only daughter also had the same.

What is the Eater, really? I wanted to do some research on it, but I had to keep it a secret from Quennah and everyone else in the kennar. The only way to find out was to ask the Medan. If he knew anything about it, that is, but he seemed to know a lot about the Danna.

While Orewen and my cousin were away from the infirmary, I walked in on Baro standing near Mom. He didn't notice my presence, so I hid myself and observed. The Medan stood quietly for some time, looking at her. He touched her copper hair, caressed her pale face gently and then bowed down and kissed her on the lips.

I slid to the floor, sealing my mouth with my palm. No way! If Father saw this, he would kill him on the spot.

Baro, you idiot!

I didn't want to think what else he might have been doing to Mom when no one had been watching. Just as I was about to reveal myself, I heard Orewen's rough voice, "Do that again and you'll get your own body bag." He was standing in the doorway of the infirmary, arms crossed over his chest.

Unwillingly, the Medan obeyed, but passing by Orewen, he mumbled, "I hate spicy food."

When Baro stepped out of the infirmary to wait for me in the hallway, Orewen approached my hiding place and said, "I'm sorry, Falaha. This will not happen again."

I got out.

"The food—that's an obvious lie, Uncle," was the only thing I could say to him.

Both silent, Baro and I transported Mom on an emergency hoversled. She was dressed in a pressure suit and put into an incubator with a self-sufficient life support system.

Mom, we're going to pick up Father. I will return for you soon.

"Baro," I began in a low voice when we entered the Command Center's elevator and its doors closed.

"Hmm?" was the response. He didn't even look at me. Clearly something was on his mind, so he was a little detached from things around him at the moment.

"I have a question."

"I'm all ears, rjgnis."

"The Eater—what is it?"

After a few seconds of cold silence the Medan turned his face and stared at me with great surprise.

"It's weird to hear that coming from a Danna. These are things you are supposed to know well, even at your age—unless you are an idealist, precisely following the Ancestor's fairy tale." He looked at me with pity. "The guy's long dead, you know. Even if you turn the whole Universe upside down, you won't find him anywhere. It is meaningless." Baro smirked. "The Eater is your weapon against the Hunter ships. A 'single-shot' weapon in most cases, but still very effective." It was the saddest smirking face I have ever seen, as my whole world was slowly turning black. "Your treasured 'life' is no longer a treasure when it can be sacrificed to save more. Or, considering its current value, maybe it is? As soon as you people found a way to dispose of what you deemed to be unfitting and dangerous individuals 'justifiably', you went for it. Some Eater bearers probably are ready to devote their lives to save others; still, I doubt any of them really want to die. Yet you people look down on us for doing the same thing, using lives in our strategy when we tried to turn this ship around..."

Everything was black and sticky; the air, the elevator's closed space, the noises, Mom's body, and Baro's distorted face moving closer and his mouth voicelessly calling my name.

I blinked.

"Is that so?" The colors and noises were here again. "I will definitely survive long enough to see you change your mind, at least about some of us."

"The 'Safety Zone' and the suddenly empty power cells—it's the kid, isn't it? And the big dad guy too. I understand now why I haven't seen them come here, even to collect your mom's body from the Command Center, asking my people to do it instead. It wasn't the traumas. They would have disrupted the Core power supply, killing this ship dead."