Wisdom in the Dark

Chapter 21 - Myra

Relief washed over Myra as the egg-shaped Wodniki shuttle settled onto the Pyc Village tarmac. She felt like she had been holding her breath for the two whole wake periods it took for Jan and the Wodniki to arrive. The whole time she had wondered when the next attack would come. The other Families on Callisto must have caught wind of the Kotik attack. Now Myra’s fears lessened, especially as three Wodniki Sylphs landed in a rough triangle before the shuttle. No one will mess with us now.

Jak stood next to Myra in the open, doorless entrance of the Pyc Village dome. After their talk in the hut two wake periods before Jak seemed to have turned things around and was every inch the Patriarch Myra and Pyc Village needed. His temperament was level, and he was decisive. Jak had thrown himself into leading and helping the Pyc Family clean up and repair the parts of their village they could. He had made time for Myra each night, though their time together was still more platonic and they wore clothes in bed together.

That last part gnawed at Myra as she stood next to Jak, his strong, warm body mere inches away from her. She couldn’t lie and say she hadn’t thought about it. They were married, after all, she continued to remind herself. And the village needed new children. Who better to start rebuilding the Pyc Family with the first newborn child in over a cycle? Myra’s mind wandered back to her conversation with Jak two wake periods before. She even told Jak nothing was bringing Vlad back, and that it was just the two of them. Acting on that fact had been the challenge.

Myra pushed the thoughts roiling in her mind aside as one side of the egg-shaped shuttle folded open into a ramp to reveal Jan Wodniki and four armed Wodniki men and women. Jan decided to bring additional militia to help secure Pyc Village in the event there was another attack with both Sylphs and infantry.

At first Jan trudged down the shuttle ramp, his retinue close behind him. As Jan’s feet hit the tarmac his pace increased to a fast jog toward Jak and Myra.

“It’s good to see you father,” Jak said as Jan wrapped him in a bear hug.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Jan said, holding on to his son a moment longer before he released his grip and turned to Myra. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Myra was engulfed in Jan’s hug as she replied. “Thank you, dear Father.”

Jan released Myra and motioned toward his retinue and the shuttle. “I brought eighty men and women from the Wodniki Family to help with repairs, construction, and technical issues. We will help protect Pyc Village while rebuilding it.”

“We are grateful for the Wodniki’s help,” Myra said.

As Myra and Jak spoke with Jan, the Wodniki Jan brought with him began to spill out of the shuttle to make their way over the cracked, pitted tarmac into Pyc Village. Some of the Wodniki carried tool kits, others pushed and guided carts with heavier tools and equipment on them. Eight Wodniki men and women carried heavy weapons, adding to the armed retinue which followed Jan. The three Wodniki Sylph pilots walked their machines around Pyc Village at some unheard command patrol and guard the village.

Myra breathed another sigh of relief. We’re going to be alright.

Members of the Pyc Village walked out to meet their Wodniki counterparts to guide them to what dwellings were available, and to begin work, per Myra’s instructions prior to the Wodniki arrival.

Oguz and Durko approached Jak, Myra and Jan as the Pyc and Wodniki masses moved from the tarmac into the village proper.

“It’ll be good to finally have some skilled technicians,” Oguz said as he watched the Wodniki flow into Pyc Village.

“Did many die in the attack?” Jan asked.

“No,” Oguz replied. “Just hard to teach these kids these days, you know?”

It wouldn’t be so hard if you actually taught them instead of berating them, Myra thought.

“Well, our people can help train your boys and girls,” Jan replied.

“We’re happy for the help,” Oguz replied.

“While I’m glad for the added defense, we have another issue to discuss,” Durko chimed in. “When do we pay the Kotik back in kind?”

Myra was about to say something when Jak spoke up. “We have a village to rebuild and people to heal. The Kotik will get their just rewards, in time.”

Again, Jak was the strong, stable hand Myra needed, and his words and tone seemed to lift more of the stress off her shoulders.

“While I understand the need to rebuild, I agree with your militia commander,” Jan said. “Allow this to go unanswered too long and other villages will get wind about it. They’ll smell blood in the water and could attack.”

“That’s party why you’re here,” Myra said.

“True, but we can’t stay forever,” Jan replied. “The Wodniki contingent and I will have to return to Ganymede soon. We have our own local problems to deal with.”

“Other villages attacking?” Jak asked.

“No attacks, yet, but a few villages have sortied dangerously close to our territory.”

The weight of the stress on Myra’s shoulders seemed to return. The relative safety she currently felt wouldn’t last forever. Soon Pyc Village would be back down to three Sylphs and only roughly two hundred people left, and many of them were elderly or still young.

What will become of us? Myra wondered.

“Let’s worry about that when the time comes,” Jak intervened. “For now, let’s focus on the task at hand.”

Try as she might, though, Myra’s only focus was on the impending doom she saw for her people once the Wodniki left.