My father was quivering with rage. I had never seen him this angry before, and to be honest, I was scared. I had no idea what he was capable of.
"What have you done, Ethan?" he shouted as he took a step towards me. "All my efforts – weeks of negotiations and discussions – to find you a wife who could elevate your station, who could give you the motivation you need to make something of your life, and you throw it all away. And for what – to have dinner with her?" He pointed at Nanako, but did not even grace her with a glance.
Nanako stood and made her way unobtrusively around the far end of the table and came to stand beside me. I was thankful for her silent support, although she appeared as shaken by my father's naked aggression and hostility as I was.
"I know you meant well, Father, but why couldn't you have discussed it with me instead of springing Sienna King on me at the last possible moment? She knew all about me, but I was completely in the dark," I answered as strongly as I dared, which wasn’t particularly strongly at all.
"What's that got to do with it?" he bellowed. "I met your mother on our wedding day! You should have considered yourself lucky I agreed to the King's request to let the two of you meet before the wedding. Now go this very minute to the King's residence and apologise for your insulting behaviour and beg their forgiveness."
I did not want to deal with this today, I was sore and tired and just wanted to go home and sleep. "Look, Father, please don't think I don't appreciate the effort you put into all of this, but I don't want to marry Sienna King."
"What you want has nothing to do with it, Son. To marry a girl above your station like Sienna is an opportunity you will never get again – especially once word gets around about what you’ve done. Now off you go."
I didn’t move.
"I gave you an order, Son!" he yelled.
To defy my father on any issue, and especially on a major one like this, went against everything I had been taught, yet I still wouldn’t move.
"Now, Ethan!" he shouted furiously.
"Sorry, Father, I just can't do it," I practically whispered.
He lunged towards me and pulled back his hand to strike me across the face, but little Nanako, a head shorter than either one of us, suddenly jumped in front of me and dared him to strike her instead.
Father stood there, blinking and shaking uncontrollably, wanting to strike her, but unable to bring himself to do so.
"Get out of my home, you confounded nuisance of a girl!" he finally managed to say, his voice shaking with rage.
"What are you going to do if I refuse, Mr Jones – call the Custodians and ask them to throw me out?" she shot back vehemently.
I looked down at Nanako in surprise. Where had that burst of emotion come from? One thing was for sure, though, she had backbone. Far more than I had.
Father glowered at her for a moment, and then abruptly stormed from the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
Exhausted from standing too long, and from a confrontation that was going to come back and bite me, I slumped back into my chair.
Nanako pulled out a chair and sat beside me this time. "Are you okay, Ethan?"
"Jury’s out on that one," I replied.
My half-eaten roast dinner was before me, a victim of tonight's conflict.
Nanako picked up my fork and handed it to me. "Eat."
"Lost my appetite," I answered.
"Ethan, you need to get your strength back, so eat."
I stabbed a roast potato and lifted it to my mouth. "You too, little one," I said to Younger Sister, who was sitting there wide-eyed. She sheepishly began picking at her dinner.
My mother came over and sat across from us. "Son, of all the things to defy your father on, why did you have to choose this one?"
"I’m sorry Mother, but I won't marry that girl."
"Got too much of your father's stubbornness in you," she sighed in resignation, and then turned to Nanako "Thank you, young lady."
"For what?" Nanako asked gently.
"For the kindness you've shown my son this evening. Which was far more than his own family did, I am ashamed to say." With tears in her eyes, she turned to me. "Are you in pain?"
I nodded. Mother flicked her head at my older sister, who disappeared into the kitchen and returned with painkillers and a glass of water, which she dumped unceremoniously in front of me. I got the impression she agreed with Father, as usual.
I swallowed the tablets and tried to eat a dinner that had lost its appeal.
"Son, you two had better not be here when he returns," my mother said once I had eaten all I could manage.
"Yeah, I know," I agreed. I had seen enough conflict for one day, first with the Skel, then King, and now this evening's episode. The thought of having to walk home, however, was a most unpleasant one.
"I'll get Councillor Okada to give you a lift to your apartment. It's too far to walk in your condition," Nanako declared as she pulled out her Smartphone.
"In his car?" I asked incredulously.
She nodded as Councillor Okada answered the phone.
Looked like I was going home in style.
Councillor Okada drove me home (more like drove me around the corner) in his incredible black 4WD, complete with a touch screen navigation computer in the dashboard, air conditioning, and a host of other features I couldn’t even begin to guess at. We sure had nothing like this car in Newhome.
When we reached my flat, Councillor Okada bowed and made to leave, but I reached out a hand to stay him. “Councillor Okada, can you please come in, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”
Nanako was clearly disappointed we wouldn’t be alone, but translated my request nonetheless.
Inside the flat, the councillor and I sat at the kitchen table while Nanako dragged over my large footrest and knelt on it.
This was my first opportunity to speak with Councillor Okada since they had arrived. When I met him in the ruins I thought he was middle aged, but I misjudged his age, just as with Nanako. His hair was flecked with grey, so I guessed he was probably at least fifty.
Nanako made us all a cup of tea, and after engaging in some pleasantries, I began to share with Councillor Okada what was on my mind. Nanako translated quietly in the background. “The reason I wanted to talk to you, Councillor, is that one of the Skel who attacked us today had a working Smartphone that looked just like Nanako’s."
Nanako sprayed a mouthful of tea over the table in shock. Councillor Okada’s reaction was a little more controlled. “How do you know it was working?” he asked in Japanese, and just like before, I somehow understood what he said.
“The screen was lit up and covered with icons,” I replied. “I’m also pretty sure I heard him talking to someone with it.”
“That’s impossible," he declared adamantly.
"I brought it back with me.”
"Where is it? I must see it at once," he demanded, clearly alarmed.
“Sorry, I gave it to Lieutenant King."
The councillor looked crestfallen. “I really wish you had let me see it first, Ethan. I need to know what satellite service it is connected to."
“You could ask Lieutenant King to let you see it?” I suggested.
“Out of the question,” he replied, “that would reveal you have divulged this sensitive information to me, and that could land you in much trouble.”
I nodded, touched by his consideration for my well being. “Do you trade the phones to other towns?"
“Of course, the Smartphones are our most desired commodity. Every town we trade with has purchased them.”
“So the Skel must have stolen the phones from their victims,” I deduced. “Unless you trade with the Skel too, but you wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“Of course not. We shoot them on sight,” he replied indignantly. “But to answer your suggestion; stealing the phones cannot be the solution. The phones need to be constantly recharged.”
“And how is that done?”
“The recharger plugs into any electrical outlet,” he said, his forehead creased in deep thought. “And the Skel cannot have access to electricity, due to their nomadic lifestyle.”
“I think, Councillor Okada, that we have all massively underestimated the Skel. If they are recharging their stolen phones – and they must be – it means they have appropriated a source of electricity.”
"If you are correct, Ethan, this bodes ill for all Victorian towns. When I return to Hamamachi, I will request that a Ranger team be sent out to investigate this matter." To Nanako he added, "What a tragedy our most experienced Skel counter incursion team was lost a couple of years ago."
"Lost, how?" I asked.
"Four members of the team were killed and the fifth gravely wounded," he councillor replied.
"By Skel?" I asked, suddenly afraid. If Skel had wiped out Hamamachi's veteran Skel hunting team, what chance did anyone have?
"No, they were ambushed and shot. By whom, we do not know," he answered.
At this point eyes grew too heavy to keep open, and my head bobbed towards my chest.
I hadn't even realised I had fallen asleep until Nanako shook my right shoulder ever so gently. "Into bed with you, mister, you can't even keep your eyes open." I don't know how long I had been asleep in the chair. It was almost dark now and there was no sign of Councillor Okada.
I stumbled over to my welcoming bed, where Nanako helped me take off the sling and my shirt. I climbed under the covers and lay down.
"You did that on purpose," I said drowsily as my eyes sought her out.
She knelt on the floor and propped her elbows on the bed beside the pillow. "Did what on purpose?"
"Told everyone I had dinner with you last night so you could sabotage the proposed marriage." I stared into her dark rimmed dark-brown eyes.
"Maybe," she said, smiling mischievously.
I wanted to reply, to say ‘thank you,’ but oblivion reached out and sucked me down into its depths. But her sweet, round face was the last thing I saw.