Wild Sun

by Ehsan Ahmad

  “What did Erras say?”

  “That he would discuss it with us. When the freighter next returns, we can pass on our decision, perhaps even suggest a day and time.”

  The siren signaling the end of the break sounded.

  Trantis glanced along the tunnel; Cerrin knew he was working some distance away.

  “You should go.”

  “Sadi will be in touch.”

  As he jogged away, Cerrin walked back to the others. She wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about what she’d heard. It was both reassuring and exciting to know others were on their side, but there were now a lot of individuals who knew about what they were planning. The risks grew with every passing day. She wasn’t sure they could afford to wait for anything or anyone. When they finally broke through, she wanted to be gone the next day.

  Even though there was no sign of a guard, the other three in her crew were already up and working: collecting small chunks of aronium ore spilled when a malfunctioning loader ploughed into the tunnel wall. They had already filled two containers.

  One of the women watched Cerrin pick up her shovel. “I remember when you never had a friend in this place, girl. Now, whenever I see you, you’re talking to someone.”

  Cerrin shrugged. “Maybe I’ve just accepted that I’m stuck here. Maybe I just want to make the most of it.”

  She could not decipher the meaning behind the woman’s smile. “Maybe.”

  24

  Sonus awoke to the sound of shouting.

  “Guards coming down! Inspection! Inspection!”

  He pushed his blankets aside and rolled off his bed. Outside his dwelling, others were already up and passing the message on. Sonus pulled on his boots and overalls, then stood there, unsure what to do.

  He looked at the container. Inside—close to the bottom—were the various components of the weapon. He had dismantled it after the second test, which he’d carried out the previous night. By carefully inspecting the power cells that had not detonated, he reckoned he’d made some progress in identifying those that would: there had been only two misfires out of five this time. Also secreted in the container was the data-pad. He’d considered other hiding places outside his dwelling, but that risked bringing suspicion on others, something he was not prepared to do.

  After all he had planned, all he had achieved, the thought of discovery was almost beyond comprehension. As the Vitaari shouted their orders, he went to stand in the passageway. Not much was being said, but the fear within the caverns was as palpable as the cold. Opposite him was a family of three, mother and father each with a hand upon the shoulders of their teenage son.

  The Vitaari were taking each dwelling in turn, pushing the workers aside and rifling through their things. Sonus watched men, women, and children staying close together and out of the guards’ way. Guns strapped to their backs, the Vitaari flipped over beds and furniture and emptied containers onto the floor. One of them came across a stash of food packs. As the man in possession was not one of those assigned to distribute them, he was sent to the cavern entrance.

  By the time they reached Sonus, he knew he was dependent on fortune. Though they were making a big show, the Vitaari were not conducting the search in a methodical way. Some were actually examining what they’d found; others were simply making a mess. He could hear an officer giving more orders, but he was out of sight.

  “Move,” said the first guard to reach him. Holding up his hands, Sonus hurried out of his way. The Vitaari was the one known as Faraway, the one teased by the others. A well aimed kick sent Sonus’s bed spinning into the wall. Faraway used his boot to sort through the selection of water barrels and wooden scaffolding he found underneath. It wasn’t long before the cylindrical container caught his eye. He wrenched off the top and inspected the contents.

  “What’s this?”

  “Sir, I do work up in the maintenance yard, also some repairs down here. I am permitted to keep all of that.”

  Faraway turned off his translator and called across to the guard who had just arrived at the dwelling opposite. The second Vitaari glanced at Sonus and nodded. Tapping one hand against the other, Faraway peered down at Sonus, then made his decision. The container hit the ground with a heavy slap, spilling its contents across the floor. Sonus had no light on, so Faraway activated the flashlight affixed to his wrist and ran the yellow beam over the plastic and metal parts. He again used his boot to move the objects around.

  Sonus tried to slow his breathing and forced himself back into the dwelling, to see what the Vitaari was looking at.

  The guard bent over and picked something up. He shone the light on it. “What’s this?”

  He was holding a relay coupling, the three prongs of which could look rather dangerous to an untrained eye. When he heard what it was, Faraway turned it over and examined it, then dropped it. Sonus watched the yellow beam pass over the box in which he kept the power cells, then the trigger mechanism, then the barrel. The light skirted the edge of the data-pad, which was face up, the display screen quite clear. Faraway moved the light past it to the wall, then began to move it back—straight toward the data-pad.

  Sonus stepped forward and pretended to trip, inadvertently landing on the Vitaari’s foot.

  “Sorry, I—”

  The next thing he knew, he was hanging in the air. Faraway had grabbed a handful of his overalls and lifted him off the floor with one hand. Sonus shut his eyes as the flashlight was shone straight in his eyes.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Sorry. I fell.”

  The guard dropped him. Sonus’s left foot came down on a component and twisted under him. He cried out as landed on something hard and angular. He wasn’t surprised to hear the low rumble that constituted Vitaari laughter.

  “So weak.” Faraway stepped over him. “Tidy up.”

  Sonus waited until he was sure he was safe, then got to his feet. His ankle ached a little, but worse was the pain in his side. He found that the sharp edge had torn through his overalls. He reached inside them and found blood. The wound was tender but not deep.

  “You all right?” asked his neighbor.

  He nodded. It had been a small price to pay.

  Other than the man with the stash of food and a woman who possessed some casks of liquid the Vitaari couldn’t identify, no one else attracted suspicion. The officer gave a last check of the caverns, then ordered the guards out. After they’d left, the talk was of what might happen to the unfortunate pair. In times past, Sonus might have acted on their behalf, but he could not afford to draw any more attention to himself.

  Though the pain in his side was getting worse, he turned on a lamp and got to work. He had most of the components—including all the essential ones—back in the container when Arkus appeared.

  “Can I help?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “They pretty much left me alone,” said Arkus, “because they see me every day, I suppose.”

  “That didn’t help me.”

  “They can be very unpredictable. I thought this might be coming though.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’ve heard about this important visitor? I reckon that explains the inspection—must be the first one in months.”

  “I heard about it. Not long to go, I believe.”

  “Twelve days. Some man ranked higher than the Administrator and even the Count—known as a viceroy. Apparently, he’s responsible for many different groups of planets. What they call systems.” Arkus shook his head. “I must admit, it’s all beyond me.”

  “And he’s coming here—to Fourteen?”

  “Yes. I suppose they’re being careful because they can’t risk anything going wrong—anything happening to him.”

  “Twelve days, you say?”

  “That’s what I heard.”

  Cerrin’s foot was already on the ladder when a hand touched her shoulder. She turned to find Dukas’s pale, spherical
face staring at her.

  “Can I talk to you?”

  Around them, the silent, exhausted workers were still coming in through the door of Block A.

  Cerrin pointed at Kannalin’s empty compartment; he and a few other men had been kept back by the Vitaari to help the night shift with something. She pushed his blankets up to the other end and moved inside. Dukas did the same; clearly, he was also keen to ensure their conversation was not overheard.

  “What is it?”

  “Perhaps you would like to tell me what’s going on?”

  She kept her expression neutral. “What is going on?”

  “A number of people have come to me with concerns. About you and a few others leaving the block at night, about a lot of whispering and secret meetings. They all seemed fairly sure you are involved. You and Sadi.”

  Cerrin shrugged. “I am friends with her, yes.”

  Dukas rubbed a finger across his chin. “If our people are noticing, it’s only a matter of time before the Vitaari notice. And what then?”

  “Wish I could help. But I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.” Cerrin gestured at her face. “You think I want another scar like this? You think I’m going to risk more trouble for myself?”

  “I knew you wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  “Nothing to tell.”

  “It’s one thing to take risks yourself, Cerrin. Quite another to put others at risk. I hope you’ve considered that.” He pointed toward the door, where the last of the workers were coming in. “Something’s going on. Some important visitor. The Vitaari are unsettled. Now would not be a good time to upset them.”

  She shrugged again. “Thanks for the advice. Are we finished?”

  The inspection came just before lights out. Cerrin was watering her plants when she heard noise from below. She crawled to the edge of the compartment and looked down. Six Vitaari were ordering everyone out. The laborers were not slow to obey.

  Cerrin moved aside to let the sisters past. Her first thought was relief that the inspection hadn’t come later; they were due to carry out the second night of work on the new tunnel. Then she thought about what the Vitaari might find. All the tools and other equipment were kept within the tunnel. Some of the conspirators—herself included—had the dirty overalls, but these could be explained away if necessary. As long as no one had made a mistake, there was nothing else to incriminate them.

  “You—come down.”

  She quickly put her boots on and did so. As she reached the door, one of the guards shouted.

  “That’s the third time. Come here now!”

  She turned back and realized it was Stripe. The Vitaari bent over a compartment and reached inside. Suddenly, a man came flying out and landed heavily on the floor. He rolled over, groaning. Cerrin had seen such things many times before; despite all of the years dealing with the natives, the Vitaari did not understand how fragile their bodies were. As if they even cared.

  “Get up,” snapped Stripe, looming over him.

  Cerrin looked at the dazed figure on the floor. It was a Palanian; she didn’t know his name.

  Stripe reached down and grabbed the man’s arm. As he tried to lift him, the man kicked out, catching the Vitaari on the leg. Stripe immediately pulled out his jolt-rod, placed it against the man’s forehead, and fired. Cerrin saw the flash of blue light and the man fall back to the floor. Wisps of smoke drifted up from his skull. His body spasmed once, then went still.

  Teeth grinding, fists clenched, she only just stopped herself from moving.

  Another guard close by turned around. “Out.”

  She took a breath and obeyed, and soon found herself among the rest of the shift gathered outside the door.

  “Who is it?”

  “Poor Serisus.”

  “His leg—he was slow because of his leg.”

  “I think he said something.”

  “What happened?”

  Cerrin kept quiet and pushed her way to the back of the group.

  Not long afterward, one of the guards dragged Serisus out and dumped his prone body on the ground. He pointed at two men and ordered them to carry him to the infirmary.

  The rest of them stood in silence while the Vitaari searched the compartments. Many hadn’t had time to dress properly; one of them was Yarni. Cerrin knelt down and wrapped her arms around her to keep her warm.

  “They won’t find anything, will they?” whispered the girl.

  “There’s nothing to find.”

  Stripe was the last out, just behind a guard clutching two handfuls of plants. Cerrin knew a few others kept them, too; they had not been specifically forbidden from doing so.

  “You can’t have these in there,” said Stripe. “For all we know, you could be making narcotics—or poisons. No plants. And there are dirty clothes everywhere. That’s why you have two sets—so you can wash them. You have water and cleaner in the latrine. Anything dirty, you wash it. I know you’d prefer to live like animals, but you should have learned by now. Get back inside and get tidied up. We’ll give you another half-hour of lights.”

  Stripe stalked away but then stopped. “And remember—when a guard gives you an order, you do it the first time. Otherwise, you might end up with a little headache like your slow friend. Sleep well.”

  As he strode away with the others, Cerrin heard a familiar voice in her ear.

  “Want to go ahead tonight?” asked Sadi.

  “Yes.”

  “Agreed.”

  On her way back to the block, Cerrin received speculative looks from Kannalin, his cousin, and Erras. She nodded to all of them.

  Sonus reckoned his luck had run out. It was evident from the state of the warehouse and the preparations being made on the landing strip that the freighter was due in. But he had not been given any work by Kadessis, and the com-cell had remained silent since he’d returned to the mine two days earlier.

  Angrily jabbing the point of the juddering drill into a wall of rock, he considered his limited options. Of course, he could just walk straight up to the surface. The guards wouldn’t question it; he had done so many times before. But once up there? Did he dare cross the compound and try to meet with Nomora? If he was seen by Kadessis or questioned by the guards, the excuse of making the trade would not be sufficient to keep him out of trouble. He would also expose the Lovirr. Another alternative was to approach the guards and ask to make the trade. But this again would bring scrutiny. Yet in either case, the risk might be worthwhile; he had made a significant change to his plans—Nomora and the other “friends” needed to know.

  When the siren for morning break sounded, he dropped his drill and pulled off his gloves. While the other workers sat down and drank, he walked toward the main shaft, indecision tearing at him. He was close to the elevator when he stopped. What if they were discovered? If the Vitaari interrogated Nomora, he might give up the whole network. Was he even entitled to take such a risk?

  Light bloomed up ahead—the elevator doors opening. A small figure walked out, spied Sonus and walked toward him.

  “There you are.” Wearing his sleeveless jacket as usual, Arkus held up the small sack in his hand.

  “They let you come down?”

  “They did—one of the more pleasant guards was on duty. I had to give him a handful of the apples, but here’s the rest. Nomora said he gave the figurines to his family for one of their festivals.”

  Sonus took the sack from him. “Thank you.”

  “I better get back up there.”

  “Wait. Is…”

  “What is it?”

  “Is the freighter leaving soon?”

  “Within the hour, I should say.”

  “If I… had a message for Nomora. Would you be able to pass it on? Perhaps he might need the sack returned?”

  “I suppose he might. He didn’t say he did.”

  “You could do it without the Vitaari… interfering?”

 
; “Probably.”

  “I could write it down.”

  Arkus scratched his arm and glanced back at the elevator. “This message…”

  Sonus told himself he had to do it. He had to contact Nomora now, and he had no choice but to use this man. “It’s… well…”

  “If I didn’t know if it was in the sack, I wouldn’t read it, right?”

  Sonus gripped his arm. “It’s important. Very imp—”

  “I’m not going to read it, so I don’t need to know.”

  Sonus let go of him. “Thank you.”

  “Just be quick. Do you have something to write with?”

  “Yes. But nothing to write on.”

  Arkus reached inside his overalls and pulled out a corner of paper. Sonus took it from him, then retrieved his pen and started writing. He supposed a code would have been preferable, but nothing had been agreed. Arkus looked away.

  The message contained only three sentences.

  Will attack here in twelve days and try to kill the Viceroy. If I survive, will head north to Mine Three. Tell them.

  25

  “Up and about already? I’m impressed.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Troop Lieutenant Triantaa was sitting on a chair with a data-pad on his lap, neck still heavily bandaged. Lined up to his right on metal pallets were five combat shells. Most of the troop and a few engineers were gathered around them, checking and re-checking the innumerable parts and systems. Even though there were still seven days until the Viceroy’s visit, Vellerik wanted to make sure they were ready. He hadn’t chosen who would accompany him yet, so most of the men were doing their best to put themselves in contention. It would be a long day in the shells, and the previous training sessions had focused solely on stamina tests. Having participated in some himself, Vellerik now realized just how badly he had let himself go. His legs still ached.