The Society Ch. 07

"I'm the one causing chaos? You've got to be kidding me, really. Do I need to go down the list of things that have happened since I've been gone? Or are you tired of hearing about them? Because you'll certainly be hearing about them during our wonderful debate."

"I've been trying to actually help these people, and move things in the right direction. All you ever cared about was safety, order, order, order, and safety."

"And for good reason, you saw what was going on back there on Earth. You already know of the carnage, the war, the death. We needed more order to avoid that. And to think that, under your watchful blue eyes, you let one of those scum invade my space station! That girl could have threatened everything I built, and you don't even seem to care!"

It was difficult to hear Kodi mentioned by his father, in such an incendiary way. He had never even seen her, yet prosecuted her so forcefully, with so much conviction. Ethan shouldn't have been surprised, but it still took some effort to avoid showing his frustration on his face.

"Of course I care, that's why I was the one that handled it, while you were taking a nice long nap."

"Where is the girl, Ethan?"

"What are you talking about? She's dead, you know that. If you mean her ashes, they're spread across the cosmos like the others. You're the one that started that practice, you should know."

"I know what I did, smart ass. And I don't believe that bullshit story of yours. I never have, from the first day I heard it. Watch Jack do it, sure you'd do that, and act all tough like it doesn't bother you. But do it yourself? Unlikely."

"Well this was a special case, and it required a special handling of things."

"No."

"I took care of it, and now we can move on." It was getting hard to talk about Kodi in that way, but he needed to maintain this narrative.

"No, I don't believe it. I don't know where the girl is, or what scheme you've concocted, but in a few more days, I'll have all the power I need to find out."

"There's no scheme, no girl, and nothing to find out." Ethan said calmly, with a smoldering look in his eye, meant more as a warning than a simple response.

"If that's true, then you'll have nothing to worry about. Well, it looks like I've just about overstayed my welcome. I'll be seeing you in a few days, son. Until then." Marshall said as he stood up and walked towards the door, coughing while he exited.

"Sure, you might wanna get a look at that cough, old man. The people want to hear your opinions and answers, not your phlegm."

"Fuck off." Marshall angrily replied, barely getting his rebuttal through his clogged throat as he left.

***

Later on that night, after a long day, Ethan was finally heading back to his personal quarters, where he could relax and see Kodi again. After a long and unpredictable day, it felt like at least a little solace to be able to see her again and talk to her. He hoped she felt the same way. When he stepped out of the elevator, he noticed that she had climbed in the sedation pod herself this time, and apparently slept for several hours. When he first laid eyes on her, the pod was opened from the top, and she was sitting up, looking like she'd just woken up a few minutes ago.

"What are you doing, sleeping? Don't you know we got something to invent?" He jokingly greeted her.

"It's your fault, you wore me out. I couldn't get started on it in that condition." She replied, smiling and rubbing her eyes. He was starting to notice her beauty more often now, her smile had a calming effect on him.

"Well I thought you were the one that was so excited about the Phantom Link, and now you're sleeping on the job? This isn't the Kodi I know."

"Oh, I'll be ready when it's time." She replied as Ethan walked over and sat down next to her, taking off his suit jacket and setting it behind the chair.

"How'd you sleep? You have...any of those nightmares you were talking about?"

"It was okay, and yea, I actually did...They never seem to end."

"...I know what you mean." He said as he held his head down, before looking back up at her.

"Kodi, what do you want?"

Kodi was confused by his question, and her puzzled expression showed that, furrowing her brows.

"What, what do you mean?"

"I mean what do you want from here? From me? In general?"

"Well, I want the opportunity to invent something great, something new that can really help people. Something that can help the people on Earth, that saves lives."

"That's why you came up here originally right?"

"Yea, I just knew something needed to change, I needed to try something. It's just endless survival up there, and I wanted to end that cycle of pain, and lead Earth into a better future maybe..."

"Right, I understand. Anything else?"

"Well, I do really miss my best friend Asia. I don't even know how long I've actually been up there, but it feels like forever since I've seen her. I think about her pretty often, sometimes even have dreams about her."

"She means a lot to you."

"Yes, she means so much to me. She supported me when I came up here, even though she didn't agree with it. I worry about her, how she's doing down there. But escape from here seemed so difficult, and I just...I don't know, I lost hope for returning to Earth and seeing her again." Ethan noticed how much her disposition changed as she talked about her friend. He'd never seen her this sad, not even when she was first captured.

"Look, Kodi, I've been doing some thinking lately, about how I was before. I was terrible. Horrible, whatever word you can think of, I was it. Recently, I've met someone who's kind of put a mirror to my face and shown me how bad I can get. And I don't want to be that person anymore."

"You don't seem like that person anymore, I can see a difference. It was confusing at first, but I'm glad to see the man you are now."

"Thank you, but still, I'm so sorry for all that I put you through. With everything you'd been through already, I only made it worse, the pain, the trauma. I was just...trying to be someone that I was supposed to be, even though it wasn't who I truly was. And now that I see things more clearly, I want to change more. I want to fix things."

"But Ethan, you are changing. We're building a device that's not violent, not built for war or pain. It's going to heal those things, help people, and change lives for the better."

"Yea, but Kodi it's not enough. Look, what if I told you that I could send you back home? That I would, if that's what you wanted?"

Kodi looked astonished, and he could tell from the monitor that her heart rate had increased. He could hear that her breathing was heavier and faster as well.

"You would...do that?"

"If it's what you wanted."

Kodi sat back in the pod, and looked around for at least a whole minute. Ethan could tell that she was in a deeply ponderous state. He sat still, his icy blue gaze consistently aimed at her, awaiting her response.

After mulling it over, she finally came to a decision.

"Yes, I would want to go back to Earth. But I would want my drone back, in addition to some new supplies to help the people down there."

"Yes, of course, of course. I wouldn't let you leave here empty handed. I'd give you as much technology as you can handle, stuff that can really help your friends down there."

"That would be great Ethan. But wait, they're not just going to let me leave. How are you going to send me back?"

"I'm actually really familiar with the controls for the shuttles in the maintenance deck. I can easily ask to get into one, reprogram the route for Earth, wait until the place is cleared out, and then sneak you onto one. We can even use your drone, Koko, and its invisibility function to help."

"Wow, it seems like you've thought a lot about this. Umm, well if you're sure, I-I would like to go back. I wouldn't be able to see you anymore though, right?" Kodi said as they both looked at each other with saddened eyes. Even though it should have been a happier occasion, their surprising attachment to one another made it difficult.

"No, I don't think so...I know it's hard and sudden, but this is what you've wanted, right Kodi? I just want to do what's best for you, and what you want."

"Yea..."

"And look, we won't send you back until we finish the prototypes for the Phantom Link. That way, we'll still be able to test out its features, and maybe communicate."

"That's true, and if it works, it'll be able to help out people on Earth hopefully. Okay, it's for the best, I want to be sent back."

"Okay then, it's settled. We'll do it once the Phantom Link is finished."

Kodi just nodded in agreement, flashing a subtle smile towards Ethan. She might have been confused about leaving, but the thought of seeing Asia again got her excited.

"Alright, why don't you get some more rest, and we'll start building the prototypes in the morning."

"Okay, sounds good to me. Hopefully you can keep up." Kodi joked before laying back down and closing the pod.

Ethan walked back to his bed conflicted with many thoughts. He didn't want Kodi to leave, not when their connection was growing deeper and deeper by the day. He felt like he'd miss her the second he put her on that shuttle. But he knew it was the right thing to do. Besides the need to right his previous wrongs and give her the chance to help the people of Earth, he didn't want her around the Society right now. Marshall was too suspicious of about her still being alive, and things were changing too rapidly. One slip-up, and Kodi could be in grave danger. Marshall had a violent way of dealing with his problems, and Ethan couldn't stand to think of what would happen if his father got his hands on her. He needed to get her away from here, for good.