Give Up

by Michele deBes

Sometimes one has no choice but to give up. And the act of surrender is a liberating force, as strong as hope.

Daily contemplated her masters’ words as she crouched in the darkness, knee deep in the mud of her home world.

Across the sheen of pooling water, blue pin lights of com emissions moved in precise formations. Hanging below each one, ghost heat emissions of the stalkers glowed red. Slow, cautious, closing in between the tall slender skeletons of swamp pine, they stepped over the black hulks of their fallen comrades and edged closer.

Worn down slowly by their relentless pursuit, unable to power her weapons, she had been fighting for the last twenty minutes with her hands, ringing out her last reserves of energy like water from a rag. They would keep on throwing fighters at her until she could no longer move. It had become obvious that their tactics had changed. Someone else was in charge and they wanted her alive. It was little comfort as she slumped into the mud with a groan and let her failing cloaking device fade out, hanging her head in defeat.

Instantly all lights turned her way and the stalkers paused. The closest Fighters moved forward and she could now hear their strident com signals. Reaching out across the swamp she heard the soft suck of at least a hundred more boots.

Summoning her last ounce of courage she pushed herself to her feet. She stood swaying in the sudden bloom of light from above, slowly raising her arms to the side and up in the universal sign of surrender.

Daily felt the cold thud of their devises on her body, delivering a drug to her system. She tasted the chemical components and recognised the alien flavour. They had no effect on her, but she knew what the Fighters where expecting. Her eyes rolled up and slid shut as she relaxed all her muscles, and slowly folded into the mud. It was an easy deceit, she had finally reached the end of her endurance and could no longer stand. They were close enough for her to hear their voices in the chatter of their coms and she struggled to interpret the foreign language, but even that faculty required energy she no longer possessed. They moved her onto a flat surface and secured her with strapping.
She hardly noticed the flying craft descend near by, even though she had never seen one so close before. The ache of exhaustion settled into every bone of her body as she was transported into the craft.

She was vaguely aware of being stripped and cleaned by an efficient team of hands. They were careful not to release the restraints on her wrists and feet that secured her to the table. A blanket was laid over her and at she was left alone at last with the endless burble of their machines.

A trickle of nutrients played across her skin from the oxygen rich atmosphere. At least they knew that much and she was grateful. But it wouldn’t be enough, not for days, maybe weeks, if she ever recovered fully.

Now that the chase was finally over, she had to accept the reality of being a prisoner. Survive, learn and wait for an opportunity. But for now all she had to do was to maintain the healing trance.

A change in the com flow alerted her and she felt stimulants trickle into her wrist. They wanted her awake. A door opened and two people entered talking and she found she could follow most of what was being said. She kept her breathing slow and steady.

“We’ve stabilised her and reversed the tranquilliser. She will regain consciousness in a few minutes.”

“Thankyou Dr Johnson.” said Mathew. “I appreciate you dropping everything. I just don’t trust the military meds.”

“Quite alright, the case interests me.”

“She’s nothing but skin and bones.”

“A light covering of tough muscle over a semi supple skeleton to be more precise but definitely on the low end of the weight scale. She wouldn’t have lasted much longer. We must proceed carefully.” said the Dr Johnson.

“Quite humanoid.”

“Yes but their adherence to the their human gene type is only to the form, much of their internal systems are unique to this planet. Don’t let its appearance fool you, it is very much an alien in most ways.”

“She looks… young.”

“She is, on their scale, barely out of what we would understand as her teens. That is what is so fascinating. I believe this is the new generation of their evolutionary plan. She was born with the sum total of their knowledge and capabilities so far, and with new mods for the future. They seek out the child with the most promise and he or she becomes their master teacher who trains the teachers who spread the knowledge and the population is lifted to the next level.”

“So she is their teacher and warrior.” Mathew gazed down at the sunken cheeks and blue tinged eyelids “I can’t believe something this emaciated could survive, let alone fight. This is a disgrace.”

The doctor nodded. “I agree, she never should have been pushed this far. By her state I’d say she’s been surviving through dermal osmoses for a number of weeks now, feeding off nutrients straight from the atmosphere. She’ll gain weight quickly when we introduce solids. It’s an early evolutionary mod, very efficient on a planet as unstable as this… Don’t touch her.”

Mathews hand poised above her arm.

“Their skin is a very efficient transmitter of chemical messages and can quite possibly transmit a poison.”

“There’s so much we don’t know.” said Mathew, circling around her.

“Yes Sir. Just when we think we understand their capabilities, we find another adaptation, that makes them more dangerous. We’ll know much more when we begin testing. She should be coming round now.” said the doctor.

He snapped on a glove and carefully raised an eyelid to reveal a thin gold flecked iris around a large pupil of the deepest purple. An inner pupil was black and glossy.

“Remarkable.” said Mathew.

“Yes, they can see far beyond our visible spectrum.” He released her lid and the thin face winced and her eyes slowly opened. They focused as Mathew leaned in to her view.

“I am Mathew. You are safe now. There will be no more attacks on your person. Do you understand me?”

The strange eyes slid over his face.

“I follow your meaning?” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Mathew flashed a smile up at the doctor and looked back down, his face kindly and relaxed.

“I am here to look after you so, anything you need, you just ask.” He said.

The golden eyes shifted to the doctor but returned quickly to his.

“I am in need.” She said.

“Are you in any pain?” he asked.

The thin eyebrows crinkled as she pondered the question.

“I have found life is painful in one way or another.” she said slowly “Are you ever without pain?”

Mathew smiled remembering the three pills he’s taken to get out of his bunk that morning.

“They learn our language quickly but talk in riddles. Only controlled tests will…”

Mathew raised a hand to stop the doctor’s interruption. “I’d like some time alone with her if you consider her condition stable now, and that I am safe.”

“Yes of course sir, I believe so sir.”

“Good. You can return to the hospital. I’ll see you in say, two hours for a debriefing. Thankyou.”

“Yes Sir. ” The doctor turned and left.

“We have every modern form of pain control. We want you to be as comfortable as possible.”

She sighed and her eyes flicked away. They lied so easily. It was in their language, bold facts as transparent as water, easing around the truth in a dance of elaborate deceit upon deceit. Behind his soft flesh filled face she could see the integrator alert and eager.

“I will control my own pain.” She said at last.

“Fair enough. You led us on quite a chase. The rest of the hospital is full soldiers.”

“They will recover.” she said with what looked like a very human frown.

“Yes we know that now. It seems they just sleep it off and they all wake up smiling. I’d very much like to understand what happened to them” He said.
Her face remained drawn. “I can explain the process but it will be some time before you will understand.”

“Try me.” he said a little too quickly.

Her blue veins showed through the white skin, stretched over her light frame. A sudden flush of goose bumps raising a close silvery sheen of gossamer hair.
“The effort would tire me greatly.” She said.

Her eyes gazed upward, pupils squeezed to horizontal slits in the bright examination lights and her irises shone like two gold discs, alien and unreadable.

Mathew drew back. “I’m sorry. You just concentrate on getting better.”

“I am already getting better. Your air is delicious, thank you.”

He stepped back with a short laugh and began pacing slowly and deliberately around her.

“I’m glad… Let me talk to you for a while and you just listen and… breath. First of all I want to apologise for the regrettable condition you are in. I had no idea this was happening on this planet and it all stops now. The executives are being replaced as we speak. I have that authority. I will do my utmost to restore you to health and make up for the mistakes that were made here. Do you understand?”

“Your words are reassuring and yet, I remain your prisoner.” Her head turned to him, her eyes moist and blinking slowly, her face childlike beneath her tousled hair.

He stopped and moved close again.

“I’m truly sorry, but I have no idea of your capabilities and I am afraid I might trigger your fight mechanisms by accident. We must learn to trust each other.” He said gently.

Her fine eyebrows drew together. “How do you measure your trust that I may calibrate my own and we may reach an understanding?”

His wide face broke into a smile and he stepped back again. “This is remarkable.’ He muttered then became serious.

“To me trust is an absolute. When I know for sure that we can work together in safety. I will release you, release your whole planet. I am talking to someone in authority am I not.” he said carefully.

She sighed and her eyes softened as she shifted beneath the blanket. “Many people come to me to ask questions but I have no authority over them.”
“I am aware that we have you at a disadvantage.” He said. “And again I am sorry. You see I think I have an understanding of who you are. You are an evolutionary branch of the human gene that has quietly, and in the safety of remoteness, reached higher than the rest of us. You are a teacher, and the custodian of powers that are unique. If this is true, then it is my greatest wish that we can relate as equals, and share our knowledge. You can trust me.”
“Ah” she smiled properly, a very human smile. “I understand the need to share knowledge. But I have found no reason to trust you yet. Tell me, where are you and your kind on your evolutionary scale?”

He dropped his eyes then raised them. “Not far enough below you that we can still communicate and become friends. Please trust me. We must work together, help me understand you.”

“So lets avoid trust as we have not reached accordance on this issue. Let’s negotiate. Knowledge is the currency.” She said.

He straightened, surprised at her change of tone. “Well, yes.” He said.
“You have a question? And a reward you place on it’s answer.”

He was staring at her now as he patted his pockets. He pulled out a small blue and silver device. It was multi sided and obviously designed to fit in a smaller hand than his. He held it up in front of her face and her eyes locked on to it. Her Palmer.

“Tell me how this works and I will… offer you… ” he rubbed his chin.
She felt a brief connection with her Palmer, but she could not hold the signal in her weakened state. The effort drained her.

“It would take me months to bring you to the point of understanding, let alone utilising its’ functions.” She said. “And we would need a wide empty space, preferably a mountain meadow to train your body to power it. I cannot do this while I’m tied down.”

“You would train me how to use it?” he said. “Some how I imagined you would put on a great show of bravery and swear never to tell. Something else is going on here.”

“I am a teacher and your thirst for knowledge has brought you here. I would be honoured to instruct you. But only you. You must come with me now, alone.”
He laughed. “I don’t think so.”

“Those are my conditions. When you have learnt to use the Palmer, you can return to your people.”

“How about you teach me to use it in the safety of my private medical facility and I will release you when I am proficient.” He said.

Her eyes closed then opened and focused on him. “I am bargaining with my life and there is little of that left. My needs are different from what your medics understand and my survival is no longer a certainty. I am afraid. Help me escape Mathew Morgan, save my life and we will have the sharing that you long for.”

“And you’ll teach me to use the weapon?”

She smiled, nodding almost imperceptibly. “It is much more than a weapon, as you are much more than a fighter. That is your first lesson. To learn is to evolve and my knowledge is great. That is my offer. Are we in agreement?.”
He stepped back and began pacing, unable to think under the glare of her gold eyes.

“And you guarantee my safety? I mean, how will I evolve? It’s not a gene modification thing?” ”

“No, although you children could be improved. No, it is not my function. My students are safe with me. It is the strongest code I live by. The palmer will interface and adapt to your physiology and enhance your natural abilities. You will ask me questions.”

Mathew came back and leaned on the table. Their faces were close.

“You’ll be studying me. You could use that knowledge to overpower us.”

“You do have trust issues, don’t you. Perhaps we need to go there after all.” She said gently “But you tire me, Mathew. I am the weak one here.” She said. “Help me. Ask your questions and I will answer them.”

“And you are telling me the truth?” he asked.

She smiled and there was a generosity of spirit in there that he had not seen for a long time.

“I like you Mathew. I will enjoy teaching you. The answer is easy. I will reveal to you, what is revealed to me, everything I know, if you have that much time, and everything I hope for. I will answer your every question to the best of my knowledge. You will find your own truth in our journey.”

Mathew stepped back from the table, their eyes still locked and she saw a mixture of emotions playing across his wide face.

“I will take us to a neutral place and consider your proposal.” He said carefully and he stepped back and away.

She felt hatches closing, the engines powering on as he voiced commands.
He engaged the lifters and cleared the swamp, rose straight up away from the lights. The mass of men became a smudge in the vastness of the swamplands. They swung away as he banked and headed further out into the darkness, gaining more speed and altitude. They were soon cruising high above the clouds in the hard light of the huge moon.

He heard a noise behind him and spun around. She stood in the hatchway, wrapped in the blanket, her sinuous arms bare, long fingers poised as if savouring the taste of something sweet.

“Your engines produce so much power. I should have captured a flyer first. I am much revived” She said and stepped forward in slow elegant movements.
Mathew pushed himself back in his chair. The palmer he still held in his hand, was pulsing and sprinkled with lights.

She moved right up to him and he could smell her fragrance, like maple trees on a hot summer day. Her hand reached out and he shrunk back and offered up the Palmer.

“You can keep it now. A gift from your teacher. I can soon get another.” She said, as her hand gently pushed the palmer down and reached for his face.
“You’ll poison me.” He said, but felt himself relax. Her perfume sweetened as she leaned closer.

“It’s not poison. It is our celebratory elixir that we share when we want communication and good feelings. I believe you have alcohol and parties.”

A slender finger brushed across his cheek and she stood back regarding him calmly.

“Thankyou for saving me Mathew. You have already proved yourself to be a worthy student. You listened to me and summoned a small amount of trust and made a decision to give me time. I was able to use it wisely. I thank you for that.”

Mathew gazed up at her and slowly began to smile.

“Ok, I give up, lets party.” he said.

“Sometimes one has no choice but to give up. “Surrender and be liberated.” She said, shifting forward again and he raised a protective arm.

“Only no more touching for a while. I won’t be able to fly this ship.” He said.

“So where are we going? I need to program in a destination while I still can.”
She smiled as she eased into the chair beside him and looked out the window at the blanket of stars spinning past.

“A good question. I must ponder that one further. You are different from my usual students. I must proceed carefully. May I ask a question?” She turned back to him her eyes excited.

“Yes, please do.”

“How far can this thing go?”