Chapter 31: Diversion
**As the kids sleep peacefully in the
cradle of space, the orange light of a Gorlockan morning streams
through the open window of Lady Jaya’s private quarters. The rays
wash over her, bathing her slumbering form in a warm glow. She shifts
in her sleep, then suddenly opens her eyes. Yawning slightly, she
sits up and stretches. After a moment there is a loud knock on the
door, and she snaps to attention. Throwing her feet over the side of
the bed, she quickly rises**
LADY JAYA: One moment!
**She draws the strings on her dressing gown a little tighter before opening the door. The young male Gorlock on the other side stands to attention, clapping a hand to his shoulder in a gesture of respect**
LADY JAYA: (rubbing her head) This had better be good, corporal.
CORPORAL: I am sorry to disturb you in your private quarters, Lady Jaya, but I have a rather unusual circumstance to report.
LADY JAYA: Proceed…
CORPORAL: Milady, it seems that for the last hour or so, there has been a young girl standing outside who claims to have vital information for you. Normally I would not listen to such a small child, but her story was quite extraordinary…
**The corporal pauses when he notices the intent expression on Lady Jaya’s face. She leans against the doorframe, brows furrowed**
LADY JAYA: What sort of information did she say she has, corporal?
CORPORAL: (nervously) Information, apparently, on the defection of Aurora, Nav Aksha’at, and…April.
**Lady Jaya whirls around and grabs her overcoat from its peg on the wall. Swiftly wrapping it around herself, she slips on a pair of shoes and steps into the hall**
LADY JAYA: Take me to her.
CORPORAL: (even more nervously) In…in your…night clothes, milady?
LADY JAYA: NOW.
**Flushing in embarrassment, he salutes sharply and quickly obeys. A few minutes later Lady Jaya steps out into the courtyard in the center of the capitol building. She briskly crosses the mossy stone tiles to where a pair of burly Gorlock guards is waiting**
LADY JAYA: Where is the girl?
NAKKI: Here I am, Lady Jaya!
**Nakki pushes one of the guards aside and brashly rushes forward, grinning from ear to ear**
NAKKI: Lady Jaya, I…
LADY JAYA: (snapping) Who are you?
**Nakki forces a falsely sweet, subservient expression**
NAKKI: Nakki Dee-aye-AH, Bilka’s daughter from the lake encampment, your ladyship. I have very important information for you!
LADY JAYA: (dryly) So I hear. Well, what is it? Speak, and be quick about it.
NAKKI: Last night, my sister Wenna and I left camp along with the other villagers to hunt down a rogue wild boar that had been sighted in the jungle. My pathetic sister was afraid to hunt the beast, and so she snuck away and went back to our tent. I followed her to teach her a lesson, but when I got back to camp, I found that it was not empty! Aurora and April – and the Samarkandi and those weird little aliens – were there, and they were planning treasonous things!
**Lady Jaya leans forward, her expression earnest**
LADY JAYA: What kinds of things?
**Nakki recounts the details of Aurora’s plan with astonishing accuracy for someone so young, pausing to embellish the tale with her own bravery. All the while, Lady Jaya listens intently**
NAKKI: When I confronted them, April's fiancée – you know, the cyborg – caught me. I tried to escape by biting his hand, but it was made of metal…
**She opens her mouth and indicates a chipped incisor and bloodied gums**
NAKKI: Aurora wanted to burn my tongue to silence me, but that other human woman and the little aliens stopped her. In the end, one of the aliens – the one with the strange brown arrangement sitting atop his head – said he could erase my memories.
**She frowns as she continues recounting her story**
NAKKI: He made me look at a blinking screen on the front of some sort of robotic animal. I fell asleep…but when I woke up this morning I remembered everything. The mind wipe did not work!
LADY JAYA: Were there any other witnesses to this?
NAKKI: (scornfully) My weak-minded sister was there, but when she woke up she told me that she could not remember anything that happened last night. Her memories were taken, but mine were not. All that I have told you is true, I swear it!
LADY JAYA: I believe you.
**She straightens and shouts to the guards in the vicinity**
LADY JAYA: Men! Someone find General Nor and Tartune and instruct them to organize a search for April and Aurora. If they cannot be found within the hour, I want the high council to assemble immediately. Put a lock on all air traffic until then, understand? I don’t want anyone leaving or entering our airspace unauthorized. Get to it!
**The guards scramble, and she turns back to Nakki**
LADY JAYA: You shall be rewarded for this. What do you want?
NAKKI: Advance my rank, Lady Jaya. I know I am young, but I hope to be a General someday.
LADY JAYA: Done. Now go back to your camp and await further orders. Your mother and sister are probably wondering where you are.
NAKKI: (smiling cruelly) I doubt it. My sister is probably hiding in her bed crying, knowing her…
**Nakki’s statement couldn’t be farther from the truth, however. At that very same
moment, Wenna is sneaking furtively into a small circle of huts on the outskirts of Nuku. Slipping past a couple of Gorlocks roasting food over the central fire, she stealthily creeps toward the far end of the circle. After one more quick glance behind her, she reaches her target destination: Lee’s tent. She dashes in to find Lee bare-chested, carefully trimming the hair on his head to regulation length**
WENNA: Lee!
**Lee looks up, startled, scissors still raised in one hand. He gapes at her, mouth half open, as a wisp of hair floats gently down to the floor. Panting, the tiny Gorlock closes the tent flap behind her and rushes over to him, wide purple eyes pleading**
LEE: Um…can I help you?
**She tugs on his arm, tears threatening to spill over her long lashes. His brows knit together at her distress, and he kneels down and takes her hand**
LEE: What is the matter? You look unwell. Do you need help?
WENNA: I am sorry. I did not know who else to turn to! I am sorry! Please!
LEE: (gently) Shh, it is OK. Slow down.
**Nodding slowly, she sniffles and wipes her eyes**
LEE: (frowning in thought) …I remember you. You are Bilka’s daughter, right? What is your name?
WENNA: My name is Wenna Dee-aye-AH. I am sorry. I am not crying. I WILL be strong.
LEE: Do not worry. Even Gorlocks cry sometimes, right? I will not tell anyone.
WENNA: Promise?
LEE: I promise. Now you must tell me what brings you here. Are you in trouble?
WENNA: Not me! It is April!
**His jaw muscles tighten for a second, but other than that he gives no indication of the terrible sinking feeling that sweeps over him. He forces himself to smile reassuringly and urge her on gently**
LEE: April? April is in trouble?
WENNA: And Aurora! And that strange metal man! I know you’re friends with April, and you always seemed so nice. You never yelled at me or hit me when I was sad or acted weak. Please, you have to help!
**Lee shifts position and looks into her face**
LEE: April is the most important person in the world to me. Please tell me exactly what has happened.
**Wenna manages to tumble out the story**
WENNA: I do not understand what Aurora was saying when she talked about an “antidote”. I do not pay attention to what is going on with the war, so I do not know why it was so bad. But I DO know that my sister Nakki thought that it was treason. Aurora said that they were all as good as dead if anyone found out. They tried to wipe our memories, but I guess it did not work. I lied to Nakki and told her that I could not remember anything so that she would not suspect me…so that I could come and find you. Lee…Nakki has told Aurora’s plan to Lady Jaya!
**Wenna bites her lip to keep herself from crying**
WENNA: If Lady Jaya and the High Council find out that Aurora and April are gone, something bad will happen to them! I am sure of it! Please, that pretty human lady who let me sit on her lap is with them! I do not want her to die! Please, you have to help!
LEE: Shh, you did the right thing by coming here. But you must remain calm. I will think of a plan. Do not worry, I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to them. I just need to think…
**He straightens, then begins pacing up and down inside the tent, purple eyes intense and focused. Wenna gazes up at him anxiously, wringing her tiny hands together. After a moment he stops and looks down at her**
LEE: How long ago did Nakki speak to Lady Jaya? Do you know?
WENNA: I…I do not know. But I came to find you as soon as Nakki went to see her. That was less than an hour ago.
LEE: All right. Then we still have some time. April and the others probably took Nav’s ship, since the council would notice if the Desperado was missing. Nav was scheduled to leave this morning anyway. That means that Lady Jaya is not yet sure of whether April and Aurora are actually gone. She will likely send out search parties and attempt to locate them. Our main priority should be buying Aurora and April as much time as possible.
WENNA: What do you mean?
LEE: I have no doubt that Lady Jaya will eventually confirm that they have indeed left the planet. We need to buy them some time to get to their destination and carry out their plan. If we can give them a few hours head start, that might be enough. If we do not stall the search, the Council will very soon dispatch ships to stop them. In that case, even if April and the others successfully carried out their mission, the enemy ships would be waiting for them when they tried to leave the Dictator’s planet. We cannot allow that to happen.
WENNA: What should we do?
**He considers for a moment**
LEE: We will need a strategy. Firstly, we must distract the searchers with false information. I will make sure that each search party receives conflicting reports about locations where someone has recently “seen” April or Aurora. While they are investigating these false sightings, we must create a diversion…something that will command a lot of attention and manpower. Hmm…perhaps I can cut the harnesses on Tolly and the other warthogs? If they get loose in one of the settlements, it will take several hours to round them up again…. I am sure other opportunities for sabotage will present themselves as well. We will have to improvise in order to keep the troops disorganized and undecided for as long as possible.
WENNA: Will that really work?
**He taps a finger to his lips**
LEE: Yes, for a while. But it will not solve the whole problem. As I said, eventually Lady Jaya will learn the truth. Our second objective, therefore, should be to clear April’s name.
WENNA: What do you mean?
LEE: Lady Jaya has always distrusted Aurora. We can use this to our advantage. We must convince Lady Jaya and the others that Aurora somehow forced or tricked April into doing this. That should not be too difficult, since I have no doubt that this is what Lady Jaya wants to believe anyway.
WENNA: So you mean…Aurora would take all the blame? But that is unfair!
LEE: Please, try to understand. By defying the Council’s authority, Aurora has sealed her own fate. There is no way Aurora could ever come back to Planet Gorlock now…chances are she will be made a wanted criminal by the Council. She has next to no chance of coming out of this without being labeled as a traitor. April, however, should not have to face a life of exile because of Aurora’s change of plans. We must make sure that April is not blamed for this so that when the time comes, she can come home. I cannot abide the thought of her being forever shunned by her own people.
WENNA: But April was not tricked! I saw the whole thing!
LEE: I will provide proof that she was. I will write a “note” left behind by April explaining the “dire circumstances” that forced her into following Aurora’s plan. Creating a forgery will not be difficult. I know April’s handwriting better than she does – I used to help her with her writing lessons as a child. Besides, Gorlock forensics are very poor…they will not even check for fingerprints. They will simply ask someone close to her – perhaps her father – for confirmation that it was indeed written by April. He will certainly not know the difference.
**He pauses to think once more**
LEE: However, if I am to testify as to April’s innocence, we must be very careful to make sure that I cannot be connected to the sabotage of the search effort. I cannot be seen acting in any way that is suspicious. This means I will need your help to carry out this plan. Will be able to handle it?
**Shouts emanate from outside the tent, followed by the noisy footfalls of a dozen or so Gorlock guards. Lee and Wenna cast a sideways glance at the flap of the door, imagining the ranks of the search party as they line up against them, like the pieces on a chess board. Wenna meets Lee’s gaze**
WENNA: (with conviction) Yes Lee. You can count on me. I will not let you down, I promise.
LEE: Good. Let’s get to work.