Janbi gave a small shout of celebration and shoved the key home. Mira felt a familiar vibration through the floor: the cargo ramp closing and the outer doors sealing. She also saw flashes of light out the shuttle’s forward windows and wondered how many more of her people were dying while she was relatively safe inside.
"Let’s go, Janbi. We’re wasting time. Is there anything else we need to know?"
"Is there a code for the bay doors?"
JTN-B34256-O inclined her head to Mira, who cleared her throat. So many bodies packed into the pilot’s compartment was making the air a bit ripe.
"Input ‘Harlan 4-9-3-8-Alpha-7-7’ on the green buttons under the small monitor by your left hand. But first you’ll want to . . ."
Janbi’s hands moved faster than she thought possible, and the shuttle lurched to life before she could finish her thought. There was another flash of light outside, and JTN-B34256-O stepped over to a side window, looked outside, and tightened her jaw. Something that might have been an emotion flashed across her face, but she moved forward to sit in the copilot’s chair without another word.
It was clear that Janbi had never flown a shuttle. Mira had been about to tell him that he needed to engage the force barrier before opening the launch bay doors, but he didn’t give her the time and just released the doors without a second thought. Now everything not secured to the decking was being sucked outside, along with what was left of the Valiant’s air.
Including us.
Mira felt waves of nausea as the shuttle’s grav field dipped in and out of the flight deck’s. Janbi had turned everything on at once, instead of waiting until the shuttle was clear of the bay doors.
As the shuttle raced towards the slowly widening doors, she felt a scream building in her throat, but none of the Colonials seemed concerned with the very real danger facing them. If anything, they seemed a bit bored, as if spaceflight were no more dangerous than sitting around talking in a well-lit room.
Who are you people? Do you have any idea of what can go wrong out here?
Just when she thought the shuttle was going to smash into the slowly opening doors, Janbi spun the ship on its side and they sailed through with centimeters to spare. But instead of making for open space, for some reason he swung around to follow the hull.
One of the equipment crates floating out in front of them got caught between the shuttle and Valiant. The shearing sound of metal against metal echoed throughout the cabin, and Mira wondered if it might not have been better to get shot in the head after all than to get killed by a joyriding gennie.
Even the tall gennie with the cuts on her face seemed unconcerned by the wild motions of the shuttle. Her blood-caked blonde hair gave her face a savage beauty, but she looked no more troubled than when she was blasting her way into the room while her partner took a full volley to the chest.
Mira turned and looked at the captain, whose unconscious face seemed younger than his normally stern expression. With the restraints effectively welding them to the bulkhead, the two SDF officers were probably safer than the gennies in the event of a collision. But at the speed Janbi was pushing the shuttle, she wondered if any of them would live long enough for it to matter.
Just my luck. First he flies a rock into my ship, now he’s going to fly us into a rock. And for this, I escaped execution for treason?
If siding with Captain Martin over Captain Kołodziejski hadn’t already sunk her career, collaborating with the Colonials certainly would. She took some small comfort in having made it this far in the first place, but it was only a matter of time before her luck ran out.
The gray monster standing closest to her seemed to stand a little taller, and Mira stared up into its broad face. It was smiling, and it seemed to be looking at something in the passage. From where she was secured Mira couldn’t see what it was, until an even more horrifying creature crawled in on hands and knees to stare at her with four beady black eyes set into a round orange face.
Then the nose of the shuttle dipped, and Mira heard the blare of a collision warning. Then she was slammed back against the bulkhead as a herd of elephants landed on her chest. Even the orange monster grabbed at the bulkhead for support, and Mira saw its fingers dig furrows into an alloy that could survive a drop from orbit unscathed.
Impossibly, the creature pulled against the g-forces pressing Mira back, until its massive head loomed over her. Its tiny mouth opened, and a cloud of white mist came out of it and settled on her face. The whatever it was brought up its other hand until the fingers just brushed against her skin.
There was a fluttering sensation inside Mira’s head, and then the pain in her chest went away. An unfamiliar woman’s voice spoke to her from no direction in particular, and she felt a sensation of warmth wash over her.
~It is going to be alright. We are with you now. Do not worry.~
Mira screamed, and the world came crashing down around her. Thousands of images flooded her brain, and she could feel each one digging in and nestling alongside one of her memories. An image of a sunlit park came to mind. She and Debbi McAllister were walking home from school, whispering about the new boy in class and whether or not he was worth talking to. Then the scene twisted around to include the sight of a woman lying in a hospital bed, reaching out broken fingers to a little girl’s face.
The universe exploded a second time, and another lifetime of memories came rushing into her. Over and over again she watched other people’s lives in reverse, unsure of where Mira Harlan began or ended.
She saw herself meet the Builders for the first time, with Marta’s memories fresh in her mind as she left the trauma center. The touch of their thoughts was like kissing a cloud, and she heard music in her soul that made her bones cry. She saw a smiling, dark-skinned boy, and kissed him on the cheek before turning away to hide her tears. Her heart broke, and she felt the pain and confusion in Harren’s mind as the second impact tore him away from her and snapped his neck.
From somewhere far away, she smelled something sharp and acidic, and heard JTN-B34256-O shouting.
"What’s wrong with her? What did you do?"
The deck pitched wildly, then all motion in the cabin stopped as the crushing thrust ended, and the lights dimmed to half-strength. The shuttle’s grav shut down, but that was the least of Mira’s problems.
Her body felt strange, as if it didn’t belong to her anymore. Her skin itched all over, and the hurricane inside her head kept spinning. A dozen half-heard voices reminded her of how to make it slow down, if only for a little while. She could feel sweat beading on her forehead, with nowhere to go and no outside force to tell it what to do.
Artemus bent down, and two strong hands released the restraints holding her to the wall. Mira floated up from the floor, guided by the Delta’s gentle touch. She felt the Builder’s eyes still on her, and turned back to look at it. Its tiny mouth closed, and the memory of a smile appeared in her mind. Then its attention shifted, and a rainbow of warning sent her attention away from it and through Janbi’s eyes to the tactical display.
Mira’s head felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer, but somehow she could see through the boy’s eyes as if they were her own. He was too busy working the controls to pay conscious attention, but the part of his mind that was always scanning and cataloging everything around him still worked just fine. The red danger of the debris field was well behind them, but five green triangles moved rapidly through it on an intercept course.
Outside the shuttle’s forward window, a beautiful blue and white planet hung against a star-studded sky. Mira sensed the words forming in Janbi’s mind right before he said them aloud, and felt elation from Katra, Jantine, Crassus and Artemus as they heard them.
"We made it everybody. Welcome to Earth."
Jantine
YOU JERK. YOU STOLE MY LINE.
Jantine was staring at the Earther woman when the shuttle’s wild flight came to a halt, but after JonB’s announcement she turned and watched as the big blue pla
net swung into view. Despite everything that had happened, seeing it she finally had some hope that they’d live to see another day. A real sunrise, on a real planet. The planet—the only one that mattered.
Earth was humanity’s home, and though they’d exiled the mods centuries ago, just to make it this far was still a dream come true.
Then a white hot knife of pain stabbed into her brain, and she couldn’t get her helmet off fast enough. She pressed her hands tight against her ears, but nothing stopped the searing agony.
~Oh shit!~
The pain was momentary, and after blinking away tears Jantine recognized the voice in her head as that of the Earther.
But that’s not possible . . .
"You idiot! Take evasive maneuvers! There’s a Geyser spread closing in on us!"
Jantine turned her head to look at the shouting prisoner. She was floating free from her restraints and held in place by one of Artemus’s hands. The Omega was still hovering in the corridor, and Jantine wished she had a support Gamma present so she could get an answer to her earlier question, or maybe tell her how the Earther was now able to talk inside her head.
The Omega. It did something to her, but what? And more importantly, why?
"Oh, those?" JonB hadn’t seen the Omega’s actions, and his smug tones were as annoying as ever. "Don’t worry, I took care of them."
"What the hell are you talking about?" said the Earther. "You’re just a kid, do you even have a clue about what’s happening? We are all. Going. To die, if you don’t get us away from here!"
The prisoner twisted around in Artemus’s grasp, and the Delta dealt with the problem by simply letting go and stepping back. Free from the stabilizing influence of Artemus’s personal gravity field, she spun around an internal axis for a moment until small jets fired from her hands and feet. She rocketed forward to the control console just ahead of the Delta’s grasping hands and pulled a very surprised JonB out of his chair with one hand while grabbing the edge of the console with the other.
"Missiles. Missiles! If I don’t get us out of . . ."
The woman’s voice trailed off as she stared at something on the small holographic readout in front of her. She’d been about to press a button with her free hand when the look of panic on her face was replaced with one of astonishment.
Light flashed in the corner of Jantine’s vision, but she didn’t shift her focus from the woman, who made no move to resist as Artemus stepped forward and shoved her down into the pilot’s chair. If she noticed Jantine, Katra, and Crassus pointing pulsers at her, she gave no sign.
JonB cleared his throat and took a tentative step forward.
"Like I was saying, I took care of them. We got some excellent scans of your missiles when you were firing them at the cargo slug. Malik’s data feed recorded their maximum acceleration, targeting systems, and destructive capability."
Careful, JonB. Don’t overplay your hand.
"Those, ‘Geysers,’ was it?" he said.
The woman in the pilot’s seat nodded dumbly.
He continued: "The Geysers use a combination of mass detectors, microwave laser targeting, and ion sniffers, right? All I had to do was find a fragment in the debris field about the same size as us, dump some fuel, and lead them to it. This shuttle has fairly good sensor capabilities. It was easy."
JonB leaned forward until he was a few handspans away from the seated Earther.
"And I’m not a kid. I’m nearly fourteen."
Just then, the shuttle shifted again, and Jantine felt a deep vibration. The Earther’s face went back to panic in a flash, and when it did the pain in Jantine’s head was back. It was a gnawing, sinking feeling, and even though she knew the room wasn’t spinning, she dropped her weapon and used both hands to grip the edges of her chair.
JonB’s reaction was more evident; he grabbed his head with both hands and sank moaning to the floor. Katra was slapping the sides of her face, trailing lines of blood as her fingers moved back and forth. Even Artemus was affected, the normally stoic Delta’s lips flattening into a tight grimace.
~nononono just a bunch of kids we’re all going to die what the hell am I going to do have to get out get away get free let me go Let Me Go LET ME GO!~
Jantine shut her eyes tight and tried to force the words out of her head. She had enough anxiety of her own without an outside voice adding more troubles to her plate. She focused on her heartbeat, trying to reduce the universe to one sound she knew better than anything.
She heard a soft thump, and then the hiss of escaping air. Fearing the worst she opened her eyes and grabbed for the pulser floating in front of her. The pilot’s chair was empty, and Jantine swung her arm to the left trying to cover the prisoner’s escape path.
She’d almost forgotten about the Omega at entrance to the room, but it was as good as a wall in stopping the Earther’s trajectory. Two big hands came up and caressed the sides of the woman’s head, and as she stopped struggling Jantine felt the fear and doubt leave her mind as suddenly as they’d arrived.
Katra was already in motion, weaponless but no less deadly. Her hands were up and formed into claws, and the look on her face was pure rage. Artemus tried to intercept her, but he and Crassus both appeared to be having difficulty coordinating all six limbs. Jantine didn’t know how to react to anything she was seeing but decided that firing her weapon was definitely the wrong call. She couldn’t stop the Gamma’s snarling attack, and, in any event, part of her wondered if it was even the right thing to do.
She can’t be. It’s just not possible . . .
Just as Katra was reaching to tear the unresisting Earther from the Omega’s grasp, a massive orange hand let go of the woman’s head and made a fist. Katra’s breath left her in an explosive, bloody cough as the punch landed. She fell into a gasping heap, then toppled over onto the deck.
Jantine and JonB reached her at the same time, both desperate to help but not knowing what to do. Jarl said she’d survive her injuries, but that was before she’d suffered even more damage to an already compromised system. Jantine had felt the strength in that hand herself, had seen how terrible it could be when set to destruction. If the Omega had killed Katra, turned on one of its own in favor of the Earther, who would be next?
Katra let out an almost inaudible wheeze, and tiny bubbles of blood formed on her lips. JonB looked up from her at Jantine, and started shaking his head.
Jantine was on her feet and two steps toward the Omega before she realized what she was doing. But the big fist was gone, and the Omega was turning away from her to press its back against the bloody corridor wall. It still filled most of the available space, but there was enough room for Carlton to shove past shouting "Make room. Make room!"
Jantine felt him brush by her, still not believing her eyes. The Omega was staring at her as if nothing had happened, seemingly unconcerned with the Gamma dying on the deck.
"What do you want?" Jantine shouted. "Damn you, tell me what you want!"
"They’re sorry. They didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I’m sorry too, for what it’s worth."
Jantine added hearing to the list of senses betraying her. The answer to her question was clear and calm, and coming from the mouth of the human woman.
"It’s Carlton, right? Katra’s left lung collapsed in the fighting, and her breastbone is cracked and pressing in on the other one. You need to re-inflate—"
"Shut up, Earther. I know what I have to do!"
The anger and pain in Carlton’s voice combined with a wet tearing sound as he stripped away Katra’s encounter suit. Jantine heard JonB gasp, and she used every bit of her will to keep her eyes on the Omega, instead of turning to watch.
This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. The humans on that ship were virus-free . . .
The human woman winced, shaking her head as if trying to dislodge something in her ear. She then raised a gauntleted hand and pointed at the Omega, who was slowly edging back down the corrido
r.
"I don’t know how this is happening, but he—I guess it’s he—wants you to know that none of this is your fault. The—look, is it okay if I just use my own words? She’s smart, she’ll understand. No, I don’t think your way is better. What just happened was wrong, and you know it. Now let me do this, my way."
The impossibility of the situation was overwhelming, and Jantine sat down on the floor and took her head in her hands. Though she didn’t want to, she could see the human woman’s booted feet sink three centimeters to the floor and settle into place. There was a humming sound, and then the knees of the hardsuit bent until she was kneeling in front of her. The look of compassion on the woman’s face was too much to take in, and Jantine closed her eyes and wished the world away.
It’s not real. This is a dream. A horrible nightmare. Everyone is still alive, none of this is real. Wake up, wake up Wake up!
"I know you’re afraid; I am too. This day just keeps getting crazier and crazier. An hour ago I was a junior officer wondering why in the worlds my captain was hiding out a few light minutes above the ecliptic. Then I was second in command of a dying starship, and then minutes later I was running for my life from my own crew to save the life of someone I’ve never even met."
She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, but what Jantine objected to most was the warm feeling inside her head that accompanied them. She opened her eyes and saw the woman’s strange face hovering in front of her.
Her expression was a mixture of concern and amusement, and there was something different about her eyes that Jantine couldn’t quite place. They still had the same hardness about them Jantine had seen earlier, but they were a deeper brown somehow, and the corners were turned up in a way that made her think of home. Her cheeks were flushed, and sweat was beading up on her face.
It wasn’t until she formed her lips into a lopsided smile that Jantine decided to punch her in the nose. There was a sharp crack, and when the first spots of blood began pooling under her gauntleted hand, Jantine stood and turned away.
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