Heart of the Colossus_A Steampunk Space Opera Adventure

by Nicole Grotepas

  “Shit,” she cussed.

  The guard was calling for them to stop.

  “Wait, Shiro, the key. You still have it?”

  “It’s right here,” he said, holding it up.

  “Use it.”

  “Alright. Where?”

  Holly looked around, searching for a release.

  “There, she said, pointing to the button she’d just pressed. Whatever the guard had done, it had triggered some kind of aether-shield over the button. There was a keyhole next to it. Shiro shoved the key into it. From her peripheral vision, she saw that the guard was gaining on them. He’d been joined by three more guards, all of them looking rather disheveled and hungry for vengeance.

  “It worked,” Shiro said, slapping the button. The hatch to the airlock opened. The guards shouted and began firing their own weapons at them. Shiro jumped into the airlock, then Charly. Odeon waited for Holly, “Go!” She shouted at him.

  “You first, Holly,” Odeon insisted.

  “Sometimes you’re really infuriating, you know that?” She leapt in and took hold of his arm, pulling him after her. They ran up the tunnel and into the Olavia Apollo just as the guards clamored at the hatch of the airlock.

  “Go, Trip, go!” Holly roared as she turned inside the ship and slammed her palm onto the hatch panel. It shut, sealing out the sounds of the guards.

  TWO

  “LOOK, guys, I’m just wondering how much longer that little boy, Jasper, is going to have to wait for us to do what I said we’re going to do.”

  Darius was leaning back in his desk chair, his feet propped up on the table where the kasé machine was. His fingers were interlaced behind his head and the suede elbow patches on his jacket were pointed at Holly. Holly stood in front of the windows looking over the club. Odeon was on the sofa with his back to Holly as he worked on some kind of drum, tightening the skin or something. Shiro hadn’t come in since they’d gotten back from the failed fuel-canister theft.

  “That’s right, Drake. I’m glad we’re talking about this right now. Because you said it to the kid. Which, if you’d asked me about a timeline then, I’d have given you one. It might be a while, I would have said. And I would have advised you to not overpromise anything to poor orphan children trapped on an orbital base under the thumb of an evil organization.”

  “I should have asked you, you’re right Darius,” Holly admitted, with a sigh. “He caught me off guard.” Leaving Jasper had been hard. She’d truly been unprepared to run into an awake child that she couldn’t take with. What if all of them had woken up as she searched for Charm, the Druiviin they’d gone to rescue? It wouldn’t have taken many kids to have turned that whole process into something borderline ridiculous and impossible. Getting Charm out worked. Restoring relationships between Meg and Gabe and Charm’s parents, Aetion and Tyro, had been rather difficult so far.

  “Ah Drake, you know I’m not mad at you about it. I feel the strain of this on us as well. And now, with the fuel muck up, where are we? No where. Back to square one.”

  Odeon slapped the drum, startling Holly. She caught Darius’s jump at the sudden sound as well. “It wasn’t meant to be,” Odeon said.

  “What?” Darius asked, giving Holly a look as though to say oh great, now we’re going to get some crazy Druiviin bullshit.

  Holly turned back to watching Charly mingle out on the club floor with a crowd of Centau dignitaries. It was always fascinating to watch the politics in action. Not just politics alone, race relations. It was always more than running Kota and the 6-moon system. There were Druiviin present as well. And then Charly, one of the only humans, who had somehow endeared herself and her club to the wealthy government leaders of the City of Jade Spires.

  Odeon continued. “Another way will open up, Darius. We’re on the side of good in this one. If it was right, the Universe would have given us the chance to get the fuel. We would have walked away with the fuel canisters loaded into our cargo bay. The issue of Shiro getting caught would not have happened.”

  Darius scoffed. “Excuse me if I doubt your assessment, Odeon. The Universe? Who is the Universe that It cares about whether or not we succeed or fail? It doesn’t.”

  Holly glanced back at Odeon. He didn’t pause in his work on his drum. “There is a balance in it. When the balance gets tilted, the Universe corrects itself. That can take a long time. Or it can happen quickly. Hundreds of children being taken from their homes and forced into labor is an off-balance event. The Universe is trying to fix it. With us.”

  “I hate to burst your bubble, Odeon, but you’re one hundred percent wrong.”

  Odeon said nothing. He kept working, and slapped his drum again. Holly knew nothing about drums, but she thought the tone sounded different. She looked back out at the party below. Charly was dressed in an elegant cream gown that showed off her lean, yet muscular bare arms. She moved from small conversing party to party, a light touch here or there, a big grin, politely listening for a moment, maybe two, then she moved on.

  “And because you are wrong, Odeon, I’m going to plan a better way to get the fuel. Because this is the only plan that’s going to work—Shiro’s friend’s Really Big Ship can carry as many children as the freak show Shadow Coalition has on the base. We just have to fuel it. And I ain’t got fifty million novas hanging around to spend on fuel for a rescue mission.”

  Holly laughed. “Nobody does. Ever.”

  “Right. No one. But it’s a good way for the Centau to keep everyone else out of the fuel hauling business.”

  “It’s not working though,” Holly said absently. They’d been over this topic before. Right after they got back from the base orbiting Ixion and discovered that the children the SC was taking were being used to fly the small hydrantium mining ships.

  “Not at all. Well, I mean, it did. Until the SC decided they could make a killing mining and refining their own hydrantium.”

  “They’re also stealing it, though, I think,” Holly muttered.

  “Maybe our mistake was trying to get the fuel with Trip’s ship,” Darius said. He stood up and walked to the the kasé brewer. Holly heard him behind her, fiddling with the machinery. There was the sound of the dried seed pods being ground up and soon the odor of brewing kasé filled the room. “Maybe we need to use Shiro’s buddy’s ship. Only that’s a lot harder to get away in, speeding off, if that’s what we have to do.” Holly listened vaguely. She sensed that Darius was talking himself through it anyway.

  Besides, using the bigger ship seemed unwise and she knew he’d likely come to that conclusion as well. She listened to Darius talking about it and continued to watch the politicking below her. As she watched, she started. She’d spotted a familiar face. Dave’s. He was one of the few humans at the party. She opened her mouth to tell Darius and Odeon that she knew someone at Charly’s party, then remembered that no one should know who Dave was. Except her. So she bit her lip instead, and ignored that she knew someone down below who was currently getting the royal treatment as a member of the political high society.

  Darius continued to ruminate aloud about which ship would be best for getting the fuel. Odeon chimed in that Trip’s was going to be no-fly for a few days as it received an engine overhaul, which was the main reason they’d decided to snag the fuel before they had Shiro’s friend’s ship in the first place.

  Holly watched Dave take a drink from a passing server, sip it, and then cringe slightly. It was some sort of sweet cocktail, she could tell that much from the Bird’s Nest. There was a spear with slices of pineapple on it. Dave excused himself from the small group he’d been conversing with, and as he strolled toward the bar beneath the window where she stood, he glanced up at the window and grinned faintly, as though he could see her. But she knew he couldn’t because the glass was cloudy. He was just being clever.

  Wasn’t he? Did he know that the Bird’s Nest was above the bar? Did he know that the Surge Club was the home of her crew’s HQ?

  Was there anything Dave didn�
��t know or at least have a way to find out the things that he didn’t know?

  Dave spoke to Torden and soon Charly’s Druiviin bartender was pouring Dave a tumbler of bourbon. Good choice, Holly thought.

  He sat down on a stool and sipped his drink, spinning on the stool to watch the crowd.

  THREE

  LATER that evening, Holly stood in her kitchen next to Meg and chopped vegetables for stir fry. Gabe sat on a stool across from the cutting board and sipped a bottle of a red imperial ale. Lucy laughed loudly from the living room. Gabe looked over his shoulder at his daughter where she sat on the couch with her friend Charm, giggling and whispering like they were conspiring. After much bargaining and convincing, Charm’s parents had agreed to let their daughter out of their sight for a few hours.

  “They got back a few days ago,” Gabe said in a soft voice as he turned back to face Meg and Holly.

  Holly glanced at him—they. He meant Charm’s parents, Tyro and Aetion. They’d just returned to Kota with Charm. A day after Holly had gotten back from the Ixion base with their daughter, they’d taken off for Itzcap for a series of healing and therapeutic singing ceremonies. Holly looked across the room at Charm. Her silver hair had been shaved entirely off but had returned in a fine silver stubble across her violet skull. The subtle smile on her face and brightness in her eyes suggested that the time on Itzcap had been helpful. Charm caught Holly’s look and her smile grew slightly. Holly flashed the little girl an encouraging grin. Holly still didn’t know the extent of what had happened to her, but letting her thoughts head in that direction ignited a small fire of vengeance in her belly. She would make the Shadow Coalition pay.

  “And they let you take her away from them?” Holly asked, returning her attention to the potato-like tubers from Yaso on the cutting board. Meg’s knife made soft staccato sounds as it sliced through a cabbage on the spare bamboo board.

  “They shaved their heads too,” Gabe muttered.

  Holly exchanged a look with Meg. “They did.” Her sister confirmed. It meant they were reborn. Starting new. Holly supposed that when you lived for almost two hundred and fifty human years, finding ways to simulate rebirth became important.

  “Have they changed?” Holly asked.

  Meg shook her head. “Not much. That I can tell, anyway. It took a lot of convincing. They seem to think that the only person Charm’s disappearance effected was them. But it really did a number on Lucy.”

  Gabe nodded and sighed. He swirled the dark ale in the bottle. “We might need to take her to Itzcap for some of her own healing garbage.”

  “Gabe.” Meg said.

  He laughed. “What?”

  “Garbage? Really?”

  He shrugged. “Just my opinion.”

  “You need some healing shit,” Meg told him, tossing a strand of cabbage at him. He laughed and knocked it away, using the bottle like a shield.

  Holly finished chopping her vegetables. Then she pulled the plates off the slabs of tofu that had been draining and began slicing the knife cleanly through them in a grid pattern. Meg went to the stove and began heating the oil in the wok.

  “Well, sometimes I need a reality check. Not everything is death and danger and horrible people doing horrible things. So I’m glad you guys could come by and bring Charm. I’m happy to see her doing well.” She cast a glance at the two girls on the couch again. They were playing hand games with chants. Seeing it made Holly miss her days teaching. She felt a pang stab through her, but ignored it. There was always something to long for in the past, even though it had been a dark place for so many years.

  Gabe cleared his throat and Holly caught him exchanging a look with Meg.

  “Uh oh. I know that sound. And that look. What’s going on?” Holly put down her knife and folded her arms. She leaned back against the counter.

  “There’s another reason we wanted to meet with you tonight.”

  “You don’t say?” Holly teased. “Besides the warning that mom is coming back to Kota? She’s finally giving up on Joppa and dad?”

  “Yes, that was important,” Meg admitted.

  Before Gabe or Meg could explain further, the front door opened and Odeon strolled in. He used his Ousaba staff as a walking stick. His hair was getting longer and hung down nearly to his shoulders. Charm shouted with glee when she saw him and ran to greet him.

  “I didn’t know Odeon was coming,” Meg said from beside Holly.

  “He’s got unlimited access to my condo. So he comes and goes as he pleases. He’s like a cat.”

  “A bit insulting, isn’t that?” Gabe joked. “How would you feel if I said you were like my cat?”

  “Oh, did I say he was my cat? I didn’t mean my anything. The man does whatever he wants. And I observe from a distance, enjoying it. When he chooses to be with me, I enjoy it even more.”

  Gabe grinned and sipped his drink. “I bet there are plenty of guys who would love to be your cat anyway, kiddo.”

  “Gabe, really.” Meg said, her voice dripping disdain.

  “Meg just hates it that I’m her cat,” Gabe stood up and sauntered over to Odeon.

  Meg sighed, then laughed and rolled her eyes as though exasperated. “Please. The last thing I need is a pet. Let alone a cat. Snobby. Elitist.”

  “Hello Gabe,” Odeon said, finishing his bows with Charm. Then he gave her a big hug, lifting her feet off the ground and twirling her around. Holly caught herself grinning widely. Odeon put her down, and the two girls ran back to their spot on the couch. Odeon strolled over to Gabe’s side. He slapped Odeon on the shoulder, but Odeon moved in for a more traditional beso-greeting, delivering the detective a kiss on each cheek.

  “Can I grab you a drink?” Gabe offered as he recovered from the greeting.

  “A drink. Yes. Please,” Odeon said, following Gabe into the kitchen area. “Hello, Meg.”

  “Good to see you, Odeon. Are you staying for dinner?” Meg asked. Odeon gave her a beso and Meg laughed awkwardly. They still weren’t quite used to Odeon’s un-self-conscious approach.

  “Holly,” Odeon said, standing beside her where she was finishing up the tofu.

  “Hey Odeon,” Holly said. “Did you know that Gabe and Meg were going to be here tonight?”

  “You’d mentioned it. So I came to see them,” he said plainly. “And you.”

  “Of course, me. Two hours ago at Surge wasn’t enough.”

  “It never is, Holly Drake,” Odeon said.

  Gabe handed Odeon a bottle of beer he pulled from the fridge.

  “Make yourself at home, Gabe,” Holly said.

  “You know you never need to ask, kiddo. What are you having?”

  Holly hesitated. She’d begun to wonder if she was relying too much on drinking, and with all the inter-moon travel, there were times that she really needed it. Like medicine. Otherwise she had to lean too heavily on Odeon’s singing to calm her. But this was a social occasion. “Just a standard ale. Whatever I have in there, Gabe. Thanks.”

  The chopped tofu on the flat of her blade slipped into the hot oil with a hiss. She slid the knife under the remainder and transferred the rest of it into the wok. She left the knife on the cutting board and grabbed the handle of the wok and shook it to toss the tofu in the oil. Gabe passed her the open bottle of ale and she sipped it while she cooked. She turned away from the stove and moved to the island counter.

  “Gabe. You were about to tell me the real reason you and Meg wanted to come by tonight.”

  “That. Right. Yes.” Gabe took a long drink of his ale. When he finished he glanced at his ex-wife. There was a glimmer in his eyes. “Er, Meg? You want to take this one?”

  Meg shook her head. “It’s not that crazy, Holly. We’ve narrowed down who the mole is. Moles are. The traitors. We have a couple people we think it is. And we’re low on manpower. Plus they know me and Gabe. So we wondered if there was someone on your team that could put in some hours tailing one of them.” Meg turned to check on the tofu and then lifted the c
utting board over the wok and dumped in half the vegetables.

  “That’s it? Have someone on my crew follow your dirty cops?”

  Gabe tilted his head as though embarrassed that he was asking for something. “Still, we hate to ask for a favor.”

  “You hate to,” Meg said. “Gabe thinks it’s a sign of weakness to ask for help.”

  “And Meg has never had a problem asking for help,” Gabe pointed out, his tone laced with sarcasm.

  Holly cleared her throat. “Get a room. And not one of mine, thanks.”

  “That’s always been one of my favorite human expressions,” Odeon said. So far he hadn’t touched his beer.

  “Odeon, did you want some wine?” Holly asked, noticing his untouched beer.

  “I couldn’t ask you to spoil this perfectly good beer for me,” Odeon said, his gaze landing on the beer. He’d been avoiding it like a dead fish.

  “It won’t be spoiled. I’m sure Gabe will be happy to finish it off.”

  “Not really finishing it, when he hasn’t even started it.” Gabe laughed and leaned across the table to snag Odeon’s unwanted beer.

  “Meg, you got the stir fry?”

  “Wouldn’t be very much of a sister if I didn’t,” Meg said. Checking the wok again. They’d grown up cooking together, especially when they were older and their parents worked so many hours. They’d learned to split up the duties and tag-team meal preparation. If they hadn’t learned some basic healthy dishes like the stir-fry, they would have been stuck eating toast and jam for their entire lives.

  Holly went to the buffet and opened a cabinet. She withdrew a bottle of Centau wine. “Sorry, Odeon. I’m out of Druiviin wines.”

  “I’ll take whatever you have.”

  “So,” Holly began, drilling the corkscrew into the wine top. “If catching the traitors on your squad requires a tail, then I can ask my team if any of them would be willing to spend time following the moles. I’m not sure if any of them will want to. Jace might. But I know the others won’t. They’re too busy.” She pulled on the cork until it popped. Then she took a glass down from the shelf where it hung upside down from the stem, and poured the dark blue wine.