The Great Escape Chapter 22, Part 4 of 8

The Great Escape
Chapter 22, Part 4 of 8

They kissed once more. Wildchild brushed her hand through her mother's tightly curled hair, which now had grey streaks starting above the temples and in strands on her forehead.

Galatea smiled and led her daughter over to the high table to sit with Solange, saying as they walked:

"Let's find out what Gloria has requested you to do, Samothea. I hope it's a risky and difficult job, something to show off your skills."

Before the Cloner Fair, Hazel had given the Wildchild the burden of deciding which tribe they should live in together. The Wildchild chose the Woodlanders. Hazel said goodbye to the Farmer tribe, and the girls shared Wildchild's horse for the ride to Cloner City. They stayed in the Woodlanders' tents at the Cloner Fair. Their fellow tribe members had been overjoyed to welcome them back, and the woman most pleased to see the girls return was Mirselene.

Unfortunately, her joy at their return was short-lived. It was almost the last day of the Fair when Wildchild told her of Gloria's request for a secretary to the Advisory Council on Celetaris. This request couldn't be refused, but Mirselene agreed to Hazel's request to accompany Wildchild, taking the spare seat on the shuttlecraft, only after two conditions she insisted on were met.

The first condition was that the Woodlanders' Petticoat, a hard-working, friendly woman much liked by the tribe, would not be one of those rotated this time.

The second condition was that the girls would bring home a long shopping list of tools and electronic goods shielded adequately from the X-rays. The tribe talked about the backpack full of luxuries that Yael had sent back to Robyn after her first week on Celetaris.

The Woodlanders' Petticoat agreed to stay with the tribe, and Wildchild memorized the shopping list. But the girls kept a secret: they didn't reveal the whole plan for their visit to Celetaris.

When Robyn Bradford landed her shuttlecraft on Celetaris, it was met by many members of the Project Team. Danielle was there with Yael. She wanted to thank the crew for their courage and dedication. Eva Welwyn was there. She tried to report on her anthropological research. A representative of the medical team was there. He eagerly awaited Jane Bradford's medical results. Best of all, however, were the families of the returning Petticoats. They all waited on the other side of the hygiene lab.

Hazel and Wildchild were the first through hygiene. They stood on the platform in the sunshine, enjoying the fantastic scene. There was a spacecraft, an aircraft, jetcars, hovercars, hover trains, and a thousand people milling about. They were enchanted and didn't know where to look first.

Then Yael sprinted up the platform and launched herself at the girls, holding them in a stifling hug.

"God! I've missed you two!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "So much has happened! Annela's been cured but now she's horny the whole time. Ezra shaved off his beard. Danielle is teaching me physics. Ezra gave me a bow and arrows, but I'm not allowed to shoot at anything living, not even a Whitehawk. Gloria has her hotel room and studies Law Day and night. I made friends with Mr. Fanshaw, who's a hundred and twelve years old. Freya plays with Mr. Fanshaw's dog, Charlie, daily in the park. Ezra's Mum and Dad were here, but they've gone home. It's a shame you missed them. Nathan's sweet and Mariota’s feisty. You'd love her. And I have a bloke. He's called Ryan. That's what we call male bedmates here. 'Blokes. He's at the medical university in Ocean City. You can try him out if you want. You can compare him to Ezra. What else? Oh, yes."

Wildchild grabbed Yael by the cheeks and pulled their faces together, mouth to mouth in a long and passionate kiss.

When Wildchild released her, Yael exclaimed:

"What was that for?"

"To stop your jabbering," Wildchild said.

Yael laughed, then she asked with a coy smile:

"Doesn't Hazel also want to stop my jabbering?"

"You bet I do!" Hazel said, pulling Yael to her.

Hazel gave Yael a deep and slightly damp kiss, tongue-tips brushing, their sweet young bodies pressed firmly together. The sensual kiss lasted much longer than Wildchild's. Yael wrapped her arms around Hazel's neck. After a couple of minutes, the Wildchild put her hands on their shoulders and pulled the girls apart, saying:

"That's enough."

Yael turned to Wildchild and gazed into her eyes, searching for a spark of jealousy for which she would tease her friend for ages, but Wildchild calmly met her gaze and revealed nothing but the deep and enduring love she felt for the girl she called 'sister'.

With a happy laugh, Yael threw her arms around Hazel and Wildchild again in an ecstatic hug, exclaiming:

"I love you girls!"

"Come on," she said, turning around. "I'll take you to meet everyone."

Taking the middle place, Yael held the other girls by their waists. They linked their arms around her back and set off. For fun, Yael walked as models do, stepping one foot in front of the other, swinging her hips. After a few steps, the other girls copied her, swaying their hips in rhythm, cotton dresses swishing as they stepped gaily through beams of golden sunlight that shone through the rafters onto the platform.

"Hey, Yael!" a voice behind them shouted. "Yael Eloise's daughter Woodlander!"

All three girls looked around, their hair billowing as they turned.

"Give us a smile!" he requested.

It was the same videographer who had filmed Yael dancing in the rain. He recognized her as if she had run up the platform and had been filming all this time. Now, his video camera captured the image of three gorgeous girls—one with straight blonde hair, one with wavy blonde hair, and one with curly black hair, tall, thin, fit, and beautiful—smiling happily, bathed in a glow of light, as if the sun-God had dropped molten gold on them.

"Who's that?" asked Wildchild.

"He's a news reporter," said Yael. "I'm not supposed to talk to him. Danielle's orders. It's to do with sex, which is a shame. He seems nice."

At the end of the platform, the girls met Danielle. Meeting her was exactly the joy they anticipated. Even Wildchild, who is usually an avoider of hugs, hugged her.

They took a jetcar home and, on the way, Wildchild asked:

"Where is Ezra, Annela, and the others?"

"Annela and Ezra are at the medical center," Danielle said. "My husband, Roger, and Madam Gloria are looking after Freya at our apartment. We haven't told Freya that you're coming. We want it to be a surprise."

It certainly was a surprise. When the door opened, Freya, who had played with Charlie-dog that morning, was kneeling on a chair, setting the table for lunch. Danielle came in, followed by Yael and two more people she recognized.

Her eyes popped out like a cartoon character.

"Wildchild!" she screamed, bouncing up and down. "Hazel!"

She bounded over the furniture and launched herself at Wildchild, who bent to scoop the crazy girl into her arms.

"Hello, Pudding," Wildchild said, holding Freya tightly. "Pleased to see you?"

"Am I?"

Freya wrapped her arms around Wildchild's neck and kissed her face.

"Spare some love for Hazel," Wildchild said.

"Hazel!" Freya shrieked, jumped from Wildchild's arms into Hazel's, and kissed all over her face.

"I'm so happy," Freya said at last.

"Don't say it!" Annela and Danielle cried in unison.

"Yael!" Annela said, in the nearest her sweet voice could approach admonishment. "I thought you explained to Freya what that word meant."

"I meant to," Yael admitted with a guilty laugh, "but I chickened out."

Before lunch, Gloria and Wildchild quickly had a private chat in the spare bedroom. Wildchild sent Gloria messages from Solange and the Advisory Council. Gloria explained to Wildchild a little more about her duties as secretary, beginning with memorizing all the laws and precedents that Gloria had researched while on Celetaris.

When the women returned, a lively party was happening in the sitting room, with Yael and Freya telling Hazel all they had done so far on Celetaris.

With Wildchild back, there was precisely the teasing fun one would expect when four women and a child from Samothea were gathered. Gay laughter met Annela and Ezra when they arrived at the apartment's front door.

It went quiet momentarily as the Wildchild greeted Annela and congratulated her on her recovery. She hugged Annela firmly and kissed her in the Woodlander style. Annela held Wildchild at arm's length to admire the girl's beauty and exclaim about how tall she had grown.

Annela remembered Hazel, and they also kissed because Hazel was now a Woodlander. Then the girls said hello to Ezra. There was a moment's quiet hesitation, a pause in the reading of minds, then an embrace for each of the girls that Danielle found surprisingly passionate. She was pleased that the girls adored her brother, but unsure how intimate their relationship was.

The depth of affection was apparent, however, in the happy smile on Hazel's lovely face and the unexpected purity on Wildchild's face when she offered up her forehead to Ezra for her special kiss.

Lunch was brought; a lively meal followed by a dispute about the washing up.

"See, I told you!" Yael told the Wildchild, "You must beg to do chores here."

Yael continued chatting happily, telling her friends about the symphony concert, eating chocolate poison to Samotheans, her friend Kelly, and her boyfriend Ryan, and going clothes-shopping with Mariota.

"It's a shame she's gone home," Yael repeated, "because Mariota would have loved to dress you two."

"She certainly would," Danielle said, looking at the stunning girls. "She would also have said: 'If you are typical of the women of Samothea, then every girl in the galaxy will want to go there to
learn your beauty secrets."

"Why not?" Annela said.

"Why not what, Annela?" Gloria asked.

"Why not invite girls to stay on Samothea? Not for our beauty secrets, but for our healthy lives: to learn how to fare for themselves and work hard."

"Like the Juniors," Wildchild added, finishing Annela's thought.

"Exactly! The 'Samothean Juniors'," Annela said. "We can teach the girls discipline and self-reliance; how to live off the land; how to hunt; and how to enjoy simple things. It would be a good experience for young girls and boys as well, I don't doubt - to learn practical skills and become confident."

"It's a good idea," Gloria agreed. "They should be younger than eighteen, to avoid the complications of sexual activity. Or they could come for a year between high school and university. They would stay a few months with all the tribes in turn."

"Or for just the summer," Yael suggested. Kelly went to summer camp last year. Maybe she could go to Samothea this year."

Annela's idea was discussed all afternoon. Roger and Danielle gave their advice on finance, logistics, and marketing.

"I'm sure the Samothean Juniors will be a great success," Danielle said, impressed by their enthusiasm.

"It will be with Annela in charge and these girls involved," Gloria avowed, "Hazel and Wildchild were two of the best Juniors I ever had."

"I'm sorry, Madam, but we can't help run the Samothean Juniors," Wildchild said.

"We have other plans," Hazel confirmed.

"What other plans?" Gloria asked.

"We want Ezra to teach us how to become Prospectors."

"What do you want?" Ezra asked.

"We want to be Planetary Prospectors, like you," the Wildchild explained. "When the court case is over and things have settled down on Samothea, Hazel and I want to do what you and Brad do: jump around the galaxy, discovering new planets to colonize and having adventures."
Ezra thought about it for a few seconds.

"There will be a lot of training," he said. "You'll need to learn how to fly a spacecraft. It will be useful to have technical skills as well. Better yet, a degree in science."

"You're not encouraging them, Ezra?" Danielle exclaimed. "Why don't you tell them how risky the prospecting life is?"

"I think they know that, Sis. That's exactly what appeals to them."

"But you're right," he added, responding to Danielle's look. "There are more dangers in being a prospect than in most other professions. It won't hurt to be thoroughly apprised of the problems."

The girls smiled at this. Danger and exciting adventure were precisely what they wanted.

Nothing Ezra said would put them off. More likely, it would increase the appeal of being a prospector. Wildchild winked at Ezra, knowing he understood her completely, but she changed the subject to save him from Danielle's admonishments.

"Danielle," the Wildchild said. "While we're here, can we buy air suits? The Petticoats taught us how to fly them."

"I'm happy to give you air suits," Danielle said.

"We want to pay for them," Hazel insisted, "though we've got no money."

"So how?" Danielle started.

"Yael told us she earns money modelling," Hazel explained. "We thought we could get modelling jobs, too."

"You certainly have the looks for it, but it's not easy to find modelling work," Danielle said gently. "Also, Yael's occasional ten pounds for a few photographs won't bring in near enough money for an air suit."

"Could they model for Outdoor Trends and get paid in air suits?" Roger asked.

That was such a good idea that Danielle immediately called the CEO of Outdoor Trends, the production partner for her air suit business, which sold the air suits on Celetaris and the outworld colonies.

She was gone for twenty minutes and had good and bad news when she returned.

"The bad news is that Outdoor Trends is closing down its manufacturing operation for the air suits on Celetaris," Danielle said. "The good news is why. They sold the license to make air suits in the outworld colonies to the Nakatani Corporation, which currently makes the suits under license on Earth."

"Why didn't they tell you this until now?" Roger wondered.

"They did. Weeks ago. It's my fault. I've not been reading the messages from Outdoor Trends.

So long as the dividends came in, I barely took any notice."

Roger gave her a look.

"Yes, I know, darling," Danielle confessed. "Stephen Oakeshott would say I've been out of business too long and have lost touch."

"So, is the Nakatani air suit much better?" Ezra asked.

"Yes. They'll easily outsold the locally produced models on cosmetic details alone. Ours are grey. The new suits come in many colors, from stylish black to luminous pink, with every cuttlefish shade in between."

Again, Roger studied her closely to see if she was serious.


To be continued