Aerie gave a small smile to Alice, who seemed to be studying her. At the strange look on Alice’s face, Aerie took an uncomfortable step back.
She decided to focus her attention on her instructor instead. Olga’s dark eyes and bushy hair made Aerie wonder if she could have been Master Browning’s mother, had she been born in an earlier time.
“It’s no easy task, neither,” Olga remarked. She inclined her head in greeting. “So we got a new recruit, do we? Another refugee?”
“Yes,” Aerie spoke up. “Please call me Aerie. I’m here to learn how to clean today.”
“Cleaning is secondary,” Olga told her. “Caring for yourself and others is primary.”
While Aerie was momentarily confused at the lady’s comment, Emery stepped forward and instructed Olga on the timeline and other matters; Aerie barely listened, already figuring that Emery was warning Olga in some kind of manner or code what to expect from her as a former URS member.
Not even former, Aerie corrected herself. She was a reluctant recruit to the Perdition and her crew at best. An enemy, at worst.
An outsider, no question.
Alice sighed, nearly making Aerie glance over at her. There was a hardened gleam in her eyes, one that surprised Aerie.
Was it possible Alice didn’t like her?
Aerie wasn’t sure why Alice would have a problem with her; glancing at her, she was sure she’d never even seen Alice before.
It’s not like I am not used to it. Recalling how she would feel once other students found out she was St. Cloud’s charge, Aerie gave up.
She surveyed the surroundings; much of it seemed like an endless hallway, the same as the level where her room was located. But she had a feeling that these rooms were made for storage, more than people. Cleaning meant supplies, and sometimes machines, even in the URS.
Surely this can’t be that different from home, she thought.
“Don’t worry, Director, I’ll see to her care,” Olga said, jerking Aerie back to the situation at hand. “So, Aerie, was it? A bit of an unusual name.”
“My mother’s choice,” Aerie murmured.
Olga’s eyes twinkled in appreciation. “I can see why you joined with us. You’ve figured out there’s no one to love you down there, huh?”
“What?” Aerie sputtered. “Of course—” She put her hand over her mouth, hurriedly glancing at Alice. As far as she knows, I’m supposed to be here. “I mean, of course.”
Olga laughed, her broad figure radiating warmth. “You remind me a bit of my eldest daughter, Misha. She had some trouble adjusting after we defected too, even though her heart had defected before her brain realized it.”
“I’m not stupid,” Aerie objected.
Alice giggled from behind, making Aerie wish she’d been better about controlling herself.
“I didn’t mean it as an insult, hun. I was just saying that you’ll grow into this place just fine, even though it might take some time,” the lady replied. “Come, follow me and we’ll get you started, won’t we, Alice?”
Alice nodded dutifully. “Yes, Madame.”
“There’s a reason they start the other new refugees down here, you know.”
“What? Why is that?” Aerie asked, using two steps for each one Olga took.
“Well, me, for one.” Olga smiled. “I was born in the URS, up in the northern part of the UNA before it changed its name. My mama had come from the Old Federation, and we knew the signs quite well when it came to revolution.”
“Revolution is not always a bad thing,” Alice said from behind them.
“Yes, that is true, Alice,” Olga said as she pulled out a large key ring.
Aerie stared; she’d never seen so many keys at once. She was further surprised to see they were not digital keys, but keys that looked like museum relics from the Old Republic.
“But you have to agree revolution is not always good, either, because it usually means there are such polarized opponents that there is no way to handle conversations without violence or extreme measures.” After jiggling the lock, Olga opened the first door. “Let’s get a smock to cover your uniform before we begin, Aerie. It’d be a shame to get a pretty thing like you all messy.”
Shameful at how happy the woman’s compliment made her feel, Aerie took the coverlets Olga held out to her and handed one to Alice. It was followed by several other tools, including a few Aerie couldn’t identify. As she studied them in a state of half-dread and half-intrigue, she turned her attention to Olga. “How long have you been on the Perdition?”
“I was picked up shortly after they launched the ship,” Olga said, stacking up more items on a nearby cart. “Captain Chainsword used many of the trees from the mountains near my home.”
“Used?”
“Trees can carry large supplies of water,” Olga told her. “Some of the Redwoods were able to hold more than eleven hundred gallons at a time.”
Aerie thought of the Memory Tree. It had been close to eighty feet tall. Was water what Exton had been after, in addition to revenge?
“It doesn’t hurt that the ones we have here can be used in the air filtration systems aboard, too, so there’s always a pretty good supply of oxygen.”
“So … trees have their uses here in space?”
“Yes, indeed,” Olga told her. “Now, since you’re from the URS, tell me what experience you have.”
“I was a new grad,” Aerie murmured. “I didn’t have any work experience.”
“I know they always make you do something,” Olga said. “What did you do in your free time?”
“Uh … ”
“Did you train with the combat groups? Research studies?”
“If I wasn’t training, I mostly daydreamed. Sometimes I would sneak out,” Aerie admitted, her face turning red. I need to stop blushing so much. These people are obviously different from the URS. There’s no need to make them think I am lying.
“Frequently?”
If she had been home in the URS, she would have lied. But here, she decided to take Exton’s advice to heart, as much as she could; she didn’t see any point in making who she was into something else. It helped that the crew seemed to appreciate her faults on more than one occasion.
“Sometimes,” Aerie admitted. “I liked going outside, even though it wasn’t really allowed.”
“Then you should have some good cleaning experience,” Olga said. “You would have had to, or you would have been punished for disobeying orders.”
Aerie thought about the mud and the dirt she would have tracked home. Maybe that was how the General found out about my trips to the Memory Tree, she thought bitterly. I didn’t clean well enough. “I’ve cleaned my rooms before.”
“We’re not talking about organizing things in a certain way. We’re talking about making sure things are in the best condition possible for the people we love and watch out for.”
“What’s the difference?” Aerie snorted.
“The URS just wanted you to do things a certain way. Anyone can follow orders.”
She was surprised by how Olga seemed to echo her own thoughts.
“Aren’t Alice and I just following orders by getting training done?” Aerie glanced over at Alice, who had just come in from the opposite end of the hall. There was a surprised look on Alice’s face that made Aerie almost laugh. Has she really never challenged anything that Olga’s told her to do?
“I didn’t order you to do nothing yet, hun.” Olga grinned.
Alice spoke up as she finished tying her own cleaning smock. “Blind obedience and purposeful work are two different things.”
An unsettling feeling crept down Aerie’s back as her own arguments to the General popped into her mind. She suddenly wondered if Exton had managed to let his crew know of her uncertainties regarding the URS. She stiffened, taking another step away from Olga.
“We’re going to start with this level,” Olga told her, ignoring her sudden aversion. “We have ten levels on the ship to clean, and s
everal hallways inside each; of course, we don’t often clean the Captains’ rooms or the hangar. He told us not to worry about his own hellish chambers.” She laughed.
“He said that?” Aerie asked.
“He’s a good boy,” Olga said, almost as if she could read Aerie’s mind. “And a better captain. But I think he’s lonely.”
That surprised Aerie—the idea that the space pirate captain, the one she’d been taught to fear and hate, was lonely. “So you like him?”
“Well enough. I don’t see much of him during the day to day, of course. The Ecclesia is who’s really in charge, but the captain is still the leader. He gives us orders to protect us, and we well know it. He’s risked so much for us.”
“He has you on a ship floating around the earth,” Aerie pointed out. “I would say you’ve risked more.”
Alice cleared her throat. “Some of us,” she said, “would risk even more for him, too, for all he’s done for us.”
Aerie turned to face the girl. Alice’s bright blonde hair was long enough to cover her eyes as she turned away, but Aerie was sure, from the inflection in her voice, Alice had a great admiration for her captain.
Olga squinted at her cleaning, aging her ten years. “I would have nothing to risk my life on, if it weren’t for Captain and the Ecclesia.”
Aerie turned her attention back to Olga. “You’re part of the Ecclesia?”
“Have you heard of it?” Olga asked. She nodded to the last door at the end of the hall. “Here’s where we’ll start today.”
“The URS outlaws religion,” Aerie reminded her. “So, not really.”
“The Ecclesia was an underground movement at one time. They worship God as the Creator of all things, and perfect in love, power, and goodness. They didn’t believe government should tell people how or what to worship.”
“So they have a council that tells you what to believe and how to act?”
“You can’t order someone to love you,” Olga said, pulling out a cleaning tool. “But if you do love someone, there are good ways to demonstrate your love. The Ecclesia have kept their beliefs regarding that since the Old Republic fell, and their ancestors, even before that, for thousands of years.”
“Thousands of years?” It was hard for Aerie to imagine such a great expanse of time. The URS was not even a hundred years old.
“I’m sure that one of the elders would be happy to tell you the history if you’re interested. Father Dennis, the Reverend Thorne, and Brother Donald are the main leaders. They’re brothers, close to my husband’s age. We attend their services every week, if you’d like to join me.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll think about it,” Aerie said noncommittedly. She was already doubtful. How could a good god’s religion be in charge of holding the world hostage with nuclear arms?
Besides, sometimes there was danger in knowing the answers to questions. And not just danger, Aerie thought. There was also suffering, confusion, hatred, and fear.
That was part of the reason the State took care of things like that, Aerie recalled, feeling a sudden sense of appreciation.
“The best thing to do when it comes to cleaning is to start at the top. I work my way left to right, like I’m reading a book. Old language habit, but it works for cleaning. You start with the ceiling. Any stains, discoloration, or any damage has to be checked. Proper diagnosis matters. If you don’t know the cause of something, it’s unlikely you know the cure.”
Aerie nodded as Olga continued. Alice took to cleaning in different rooms. Aerie was glad for a small reprieve from her company; while Alice seemed agreeable enough, there was something disquieting about her presence.
“From the ceiling, check all devices; if you end up cleaning the bottom only to find a problem at the top, you’ll have to clean everything again. No sense in wasting time and energy on inefficiency.”
Aerie scanned the hallway. “I don’t see any marks.”
“You got to look closer,” Olga insisted. “Imperfections will try to hide, and not just in people. Behind fixtures, under shadows, even in plain sight. Check again. And then check again. Be sure before you move onto the walls. There’s nothing inefficient about using time to check to make sure you’re right.”
Aerie had a feeling Olga was going to be just as demanding as Master Browning had been.
Aerie soon realized that while she was every bit as demanding as she’d feared, Olga was still enjoyable. She liked to talk more than Master Browning did (unless he was shouting). As Aerie listened to Olga’s stories, she found the time slipping by quickly, with little effort.
Olga told her about growing up in the Western URS after the time of the Old Republic, and how she had found about the Perdition. Aerie could barely hear Olga tell her story over the loud vibrating of her Sprayvac, but she heard enough to giggle at the right time and ask questions.
She flicked the switch off and felt her ears tingle. “So, Olga,” she asked, “why did you think life up here was better?”
“Life up here is better,” Olga insisted. “We are here by choice and blessed opportunity, Aerie. You should know that.”
“I do,” she said, “but there’s just such a difference. It seems like a hard jump to make.”
“It’s hard for some people,” Olga agreed. “It’s hard to be open to trust people, and work with people, even those who are not at their best and a long time from it, if you know what I mean. But you can either have faith, or you can live in fear. And, hun, I was done living in fear.” Olga stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Wasn’t there something you were afraid of, that, in being here, you don’t feel a little silly about?”
“Like what?”
“Like the URS’s expectations, for one.” Olga threw her head back and laughed. “I used to be so afraid of not passing my physical courses that they would punish me by limiting my time with the younger kids.” Seeing Aerie’s confused look, she explained, “I always liked kids, wanted my own. But no one wanted me for a cohabiter, and a career in marriage without desire robbed me of all my dignity.” She made a face. “What little I had left at the time.”
“So you came here?”
“Yes, I did come here, and here’s where I met my husband. He works up in the bakery. You’ll probably meet him soon, as you go through the rest of your training. His name’s Sean.”
“And you’re happy?”
“Of course. I have six kids and a loving husband.” She laughed. “Working is the only way to get peace apart from them sometimes, but God knows I love them more than life itself.”
“So the Ecclesia are better masters than the State?” Aerie asked. “Because they believe in love, and they can get people to listen that way, rather than using fear?”
“It’s not so simple,” Olga said. “But you’ll see what I mean.” She took Aerie’s hand, rubbing her arm in a soothing manner, reminding Aerie of her own mother. “True love both casts out fear while still fearing the right things.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’ll see. If you’re looking,” Olga said, pointing to the ceiling. “If you’re paying attention, you’ll see what I mean.”
Aerie glanced up and grinned. “I suppose I should’ve guessed your instruction would work on more than one level.”
“Hun, if you can clean, you can do anything. Cleaning means exposing yourself to a problem, examining it, taking time with it, and working on it. Finding the best way to make things right. If cleaning isn’t a grand metaphor for love, I don’t know what is. Now, let me show you how to change the linens.”
♦15♦
Cleaning might have been a grand metaphor for love in Olga’s eyes, Aerie thought, but it was a lot of painstaking work. She felt her back aching as she made her way to her bed. After the ceilings had been scrubbed, the walls washed and sanitized, the beddings changed, the laundry collected, and the floor washed for one part of one level of the ship, she was surprised at how glad she was to see Emery.
Her fingers were raw and
slightly red, her nose numb, and Aerie was pretty sure wearing her hair down had been a mistake.
I’ll ask for a tie and pull it back tomorrow. The loose hair had fallen in her face several times while she was scrubbing, vacuuming, and changing out laundry.
But the cumbersome quality of her hair was nothing compared to the uncertainty of her observations. She’d been given enough glimpses around the Perdition to know some of its architecture, but it wasn’t just the ship that was turning out to be full of twists and turns, uncertainties and questions.
It was the people.
At one spot, a bunch of small children, no more than four years old, came rushing in, yelling and screaming and laughing at each other. Aerie stared at them, both appalled and envious at their disregard for proper decorum and etiquette.
All the way from Exton to Olga, to the children she’d passed in the hallways, from Tyler to Emery, from Olga’s other charges to the engineers and repairmen, and even the students she saw in the gymnasium—they were all so different, and they didn’t seem to mind.
They were alike in some areas, Aerie knew, but they didn’t let the differences bother them. They all agreed on the idea of survival, but that wasn’t their defining reason for living life. In fact, many of them seemed poised to give their lives over to death, in order to protect their way of life.
All my life the State had been the reason behind our survival. Our survival depended on the State, and the State made sure we survived.
How was it that the people on the Perdition had separated themselves and found something just as functional, if not better, than that?
This is not a game. The voice inside her head argued with her. Your father would be upset with you.
If he didn’t even want her to call him that, though, did it mean he could he really be a father?
Stop questioning these things.
Why? Because they don’t hold up to scrutiny?
They are still threatening the URS. They are still carrying nuclear weapons. These people have a good life, at the expense of others. And Captain Chainsword, no matter what you call him or how much you may think you like him, still killed your tree. He works with MENACE. He wants to destroy your way of life, and everything you’ve ever known and loved.