First Mom and Dad. Now her sister. How had they found Grey? They’d always made sure they weren’t followed, taking every precaution possible. Grey wasn’t stupid. She knew how to evade Mazdaar. They’d been doing it successfully for five years.
Huddled in the pine needles beside the zorses, Rin hadn’t moved for hours. She was alone. Hunger nonexistent. Thirst nowhere to be found. The image of the catchship swallowing Grey up like an evil monster kept replaying in her mind.
She didn’t know for sure how long she stayed in the pen, but when the entrance siren sounded, Rin frantically scrambled to her feet, brushing off the needles sticking to her canvas pants. Tram’s and Trif’s ears twitched toward the speaker in the ceiling above them.
For one moment, she thought it was Grey back with some wild story about how she’d escaped, and it hit her all over again that her sister was gone. She’d seen the insignia on the ship. Grey might never be back.
Rin dashed frantically through the door that led down to the living level. It automatically locked behind her. She closed herself into the silo’s small control room and stared up at the security screens.
The entrance sensor only sounded if someone came within six feet of the door. Occasionally, a wild animal would set it off in the middle of the night, but Rin wasn’t thinking animals now. Not after what happened to Grey.
Her forehead grew damp as she studied the video feed from the front entrance. A person—or was it a drone?—stood outside, face hidden from view by a dark hood. Rin mentally flipped through their emergency protocol. They had packs ready and waiting to grab. She might even have time to turn Tram and Trif loose in the escape tunnel.
Please. Not now. She couldn’t do this without Grey.
Suddenly, the intruder turned toward the camera, retracting her hood. Her white hair and weathered face immediately came into view.
“It’s me, Rin,” Mrs. March said, looking up at the camera. “I’m alone, and no one followed me.”
Rin quickly pressed her thumb onto the unlock sensor and rushed back up the stairs. When Mrs. March came down the ramp and met Rin at the second security door, Rin began to weep.
She could barely speak but managed to say, “They took Grey.”
Wrapping her in a hug, Mrs. March patted her on the back as the door closed.
“I know. That’s why I’m here, child.”
“But how . . .” Rin gently broke the embrace, drying her tears with her sleeve. She only ended up smearing dirt across her cheeks.
“There’s not a lot of time, but I’ll explain what I can.” Mrs. March led her toward the living level. “Is the cloaking shield still active?”
Rin nodded. Dad had invented a system years ago that hid their position from radar and heat sensors. Somehow he’d discovered how to duplicate the same frequency the surrounding rocks emitted, and once transmitted over the silo, any scanner would register their location as a pile of rocks.
As they passed the control room, Mrs. March gestured toward the screens. “May I?”
“I just checked them.”
Studying the screens, her neighbor’s hands flew across the controls. Rin watched in amazement as she maneuvered each camera to present a 360-degree view of their surroundings. Her eyes darting from screen to screen, Mrs. March pointed at the view up on the bluff, halting the camera’s movement with a quick jab of a button.
“There.”
“What?”
“See that speck in the sky?”
Rin squinted. “Maybe.”
“They’re already searching.” Mrs. March kept her eyes on the screen. “That’s an advanced Mazdaar military catchship like the one that took Grey. I was hoping we had more time.”
Rin crossed her arms, bewildered. “What’s going on?”
Mrs. March switched all the cameras back to their normal angles with familiarity and came to stand in front of her. She rested her hands on Rin’s shoulders. “We have a lot to talk about.”
***
Back in her cell, Grey closed her eyes and the vivid hologram of her parents sprang to her mind. She and Rin had only one photographic image of them. Taken on their wedding day, she’d always wished for something more recent to jog her memory as to how they’d looked when she was growing up. The hologram General Yurkutz showed her was exactly what Mom and Dad looked like the day they didn’t come home. Did she dare hope they could still be alive?
She shook her head and examined her wrists. The shock cuffs had left deeper, angrier lines than before. As frightened as she was, Grey was relieved that it was her in this cell and not Rin. She would never have been able to forgive herself if her little sister had been taken. She only hoped Rin would have the strength to go on if she didn’t get back.
And the more Grey thought about it, the more she realized that was probably what would happen. They wouldn’t take a prisoner all the way to Mazdaar City if they intended to release them anytime soon.
When her cell door finally opened, Grey jumped up. Expecting a stoic drone, she was shocked when Jet stepped into the cell.
“Please, help me, Jet,” she pleaded.
“I will do everything I can.” The door shut behind him.
“Why am I here? What are they—”
He held up his hand. “Grey, we have exactly thirty seconds before my block on their devices expires. I have little time to explain, but know this—I did not betray you.” He pointed at her wrists. “Be brave, and please trust me.”
She nodded, trying not to cry. She didn’t dare utter Rin’s name, but she wanted to beg him to look after her sister and Mrs. March.
“I haven’t been forthright, but that was to protect you.” Jet stared straight into her eyes and held her hand in both of his. Only a few inches taller than she, somehow she felt he could take down a man twice his size. It was rumored he had advanced belts in just about every kind of martial arts.
“You didn’t turn me in?”
“I did not.”
“They think my parents are alive. Could they be?”
Jet blinked and glanced upward, and she knew her chance for any answer was gone.
“They will hold a council later today. Your punishment will be decided there.”
All Grey could do was nod and watch Jet turn and leave the cell, his coat flapping behind him.
***
“Your parents weren’t able to tell you many things,” Mrs. March said.
They sat at the triangular table Rin and Grey had eaten breakfast on only this morning. Rin took a deep breath and studied their friend who seemed to be full of surprises.
“Do you know where they took Grey?”
“My suspicion is Mazdaar City, but we will know for sure soon.”
Rin’s heart sunk. Mazdaar City was known for its harsh treatment of prisoners. She rested her head on her arms, overcome by what this meant for her sister.
“Listen to me.” Mrs. March reached across the table and stroked her hair.
Rin lifted her head. “What are they doing to her?”
“As long as they think she has information, she’ll be okay.”
“Information about what?”
Mrs. March sighed. “What do you know about Jupiter, child?”
Oh, great. Now Mrs. March really was sounding crazy.
“It’s the key to all of this.”
“Jupiter?”
“I told Grey a few things when she visited today, but not everything. I’d intended to explain everything to you both.”
“I don’t know anything about Jupiter.”
“I thought not. Your parents didn’t want to involve either of you until you were older.”
She eyed the old woman. “What are you talking about?”
Rising from her chair, Mrs. March looked down at her with concern. “Jupiter is habitable; that’s the first thing you should know.”
“But the atmosphere is—”
“Unbreathable.” Mrs. March gestured in the air. “I know. That’s exactly what Mazdaar wa
nts you to believe. But they’ve changed that now. It’s all over the zones that Jupiter is habitable. Right now, Rin, it’s important you understand that beneath the swirling clouds and Jupiter winds, a world more majestic than this one exists. In the right hands, this discovery would’ve been the greatest our world has ever known. In the wrong hands, it’s devastating to our entire race, and that’s what we’re looking at right now.”
Rin stared at the plastic tabletop, wondering if she’d made a mistake in letting Mrs. March inside. Yet the spark in Mrs. March’s eyes and the earnestness of her voice didn’t seem like that of a demented old lady. And if it hadn’t been for Mrs. March these past few years, she wasn’t sure they would’ve survived.
“What does this have to do with Grey?”
Mrs. March crouched down beside her, knees creaking. “Believe me when I say we don’t have much time.” Mrs. March went to the door leading down to the silo’s lower levels. She pressed her thumb to the reader, and it opened for her.
Rin’s mouth gaped. “How did—”
“There are things you don’t know about me too,” Mrs. March said.
* * *
Chapter 9
They kept Grey in restraints while she waited outside the Council chamber, flanked again by two drones. These wore crisp, military dress whites with green sashes and belts. Fear swirled in her, and Jet’s appearance in her cell had only confused her more. Was he really a friend?
She stared at the huge, wooden double doors of the chamber. Snakes and gargoyles were carved into the wood, all writhing around the Mazdaar star with the triple spiral at its center. Large and ornate, looking totally out of place in this otherwise sterile facility, they seemed to broadcast the importance of the room beyond.
General Yurkutz would be in there.
When the doors finally parted, they swung outward in the ancient style rather than sliding sideways into a pocket in the wall. Two men ushered her and the guards inside.
Grey’s eyes were immediately drawn to the glass ceiling thirty feet above them. She stared up at the puffy clouds floating smoothly across a dark blue expanse. She’d do just about anything to be enjoying that view with Rin up on the ridge right now.
The drone on her right shoved her toward a row of benches in the middle of the room. These faced a platform where seven sleek, white ergonomic chairs waited for their occupants.
Several other people in restraints were already seated on the benches. A bald man with a scar running down his cheek peered her way. She was the only girl in the room.
The drones ordered her to sit. She did, staring down at her wrists. At least they’d bound her hands in front this time, but the cords still pinched mercilessly.
The High Council strode in from the opposite side of the room. Grey had read that each member had been chosen personally by the Chancellor and represented each of the seven sectors of Mazdaar society: military, agriculture, banking, police, religion, medicine, and politics. Evangeline Yurkutz represented the military branch.
Grey had only ever seen holograms of the four men and three women who made up the High Council, including Yurkutz. They had authority to change law and condemn the guilty and innocent alike, and they looked even more imposing here in the flesh. Their burgundy robes flowed like flags as they walked. All of them appeared frozen at the age of forty.
Grey didn’t see Jet anywhere.
“Let it be stated Council is now in session,” a booming voice announced from invisible speakers that made it sound like the words came from every direction.
A Councilman with a scrawny goatee who was sitting next to General Yurkutz cleared his throat, glaring down at the prisoners. His eyes were the color of his robe, a deep, unnatural maroon.
“We will begin with the case of Matthew Salinas. Please rise, Mr. Salinas.”
The prisoner with the bald head stood. His hands were bound with thicker wire than hers. He started to speak. “Please, your Honor, I would like to—”
Before the man could finish his sentence, his face contorted in pain. He gritted his teeth and let out a growl that sounded like the badger Grey had disturbed on her walk home last week. She realized he was being shocked.
“You will speak only when asked, Mr. Salinas.”
The man nodded, his face shiny with sweat. Several of the other prisoners murmured to each other but were quickly silenced by their drone guards.
“We have reviewed your case in depth, so we will not waste anyone’s time with meaningless rhetoric. We will ask you one question, Mr. Salinas.”
The current was still coursing through the prisoner’s body. Grey couldn’t watch the man struggle against the pain. She turned away. General Yurkutz was actually smiling as she watched the man suffer.
Only when the man sunk to his chair doubled over did the shock release. Were they making him an example to the rest of the prisoners?
Grey carefully watched a Council member with long, blonde hair seated at the center of the table. Her eyes kept darting back and forth without focusing, the typical nystagmus of the connected. What kind of mind-to-mind communication was happening between these people? Were the briefs and evidence sheets stored in their Dots, ready to be called up to their minds?
“Did you,” the blonde woman finally asked, “or did you not participate in the protest at the Chancellor’s coronation?”
Slowly standing to his feet again, Mr. Salinas squared his shoulders. His jaw muscle twitched.
“Lady Kern asked you a question,” General Yurkutz said.
“Speak,” the Council member with the goatee demanded.
Mr. Salinas swayed for a moment then caught himself. “I would do it again.”
Inwardly, Grey winced for the man.
“That is all we need to know,” Lady Kern said, and each Council member nodded.
Staring straight ahead, Yurkutz seemed to be reading something within her cranial field of vision. Grey was having trouble following these strange procedures. Where were the advocates for the prisoners? Had their arguments already been presented?
“Our ruling is unanimously guilty.” The general scowled down at the prisoner. “Punishment is death, to be executed publicly tomorrow.”
A gasp came from a prisoner sitting behind Grey. She could only watch Mr. Salinas be half carried, half dragged out of the room.
“The case of Grey Alexander is called.” Lady Kern’s authoritative voice made Grey’s legs instantly weak.
“Please rise, Miss Alexander.”
***
Rin usually avoided Dad’s workshop. The few times she’d been down here in the past five years had made her cry, remembering how much he loved spending time fiddling with his tools and gadgets.
Grey was the one who snuck in here on a regular basis. She’d usually come down when she thought Rin was sleeping, like she had the other night. Rin wondered if it helped Grey hang on to the hope that their parents might still be alive.
“I would imagine your father didn’t tell you much about his work,” Mrs. March said.
She went from surface to surface in the workshop, surveying what Tanner Alexander had left behind.
“I never asked him,” Rin said. “Grey’s the curious one.”
Mrs. March smiled. “I’ve always loved that about her. And your tender heart is what makes you special, Rin.”
“You said we don’t have much time?” Rin held her arms around her body as if warding off a cold wind. “I’m not a child. I want to know what’s going on.”
Mrs. March came closer and stared down at her. Her take-charge presence was reassuring.
“If they took Grey to Mazdaar City, how can we possibly help her?” Rin asked.
“I have people there already watching for her. In fact . . .” Mrs. March pulled a copper medallion necklace out from under her tunic. The disconnected had to rely on external controllers to do a fraction of what the Dots did for the connected. Mrs. March pressed the medallion, and a tiny holographic image appeared in front of her.
Rin’s mouth gaped when she saw it was Jet.
“What is he—”
Mrs. March shushed her. “Just give me a minute.” She studied the image. “Any news?”
“They took her to the High Council,” Jet said.
“Then it’s as we suspected.”
“Her case is being called now. Have you activated Tevah?”
“Working on it.”
“Must go.”
Jet’s image disappeared.
Mrs. March rushed over to the wall with the hidden panel that led to the one room in the silo Rin had only visited twice. Her thumbprint caused the panel to slide open for them, and Rin didn’t bother asking anymore how Mrs. March had access to the home that was supposed to be coded only for her family.
“Jet will do what he can for Grey, but in the meantime, you and I have work to do.”
Rin had to jog to keep up with the old woman. “But how can Jet possibly help Grey?”
Mrs. March didn’t answer. Catching up, Rin grabbed Mrs. March by the shirtsleeve in the darkness of the corridor. Lit only by the dim solar lamps, the hair sticking out from her head gave her a mad-scientist look.
Mrs. March glanced down at Rin’s hand on her sleeve, but Rin didn’t release her. “This is my home, and she’s my sister. I need to know what’s going on.”
The woman’s face softened. “I’d forgotten how determined an Alexander can be. You’re right. You do deserve answers, Rin. I don’t have all of them, but I will give you what I have. But can we continue moving?”
She let Mrs. March go, and their footsteps echoed off the corridor walls as they hurried. Rin stepped over a puddle that had formed in the corner.
“Years ago, I contracted your parents,” Mrs. March said.
“You did? For what?”
“To develop Operation Noah in this region.”
Rin rubbed her eyes. “I have no idea what that means.”
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