She wanted to point out that while they might be considered children to Mazdaar and probably to Dana, out here in the Preserve she and Grey lived as adults. Whether they wanted to or not, they’d grown up fast.
Turning around to watch Trif munching on the dried cactus stems she’d gathered, Rin realized that even though Dana was older than Grey, she was a girl who’d lost her parents too. Rin could hope that someday she might be reunited with her family again, but Dana would never have that.
“We had each other,” Rin said.
“If you can make it in the Preserve on your own, you’ll get through this.”
“I hope so.”
Dana started to turn away, but Rin reached for her arm. “Can I ask you a question?”
Some of Dana’s stony exterior remained, but she nodded.
“Your mother—when she found out you defected, what did she do?”
Dana blinked and jerked her eyes to the right. Maybe it was an old habit from being connected, but it made Rin wish she hadn’t asked. How long ago had it happened?
“She put a price on my head,” Dana said and then turned around and walked down the ramp.
* * *
Chapter 21
Grey tensed as the ship decelerated, her face still throbbing. “Prepare to move!”
The soldiers gripped their stocky blueflares. They looked like they were capable of burning through walls. Or through a person. She didn’t realize she was barely breathing until the outline of the cargo door appeared in front of them. Grey exhaled, trying to calm herself. Touchdown came seconds later, a jolt to her feet. The drone assigned to her tightened its vice-like hold.
“Do not resist,” it spoke matter-of-factly.
The door slipped upward on a silent track, and Grey gawked at her first look at Jupiter. A rush of warm, dusty air swirled around them, and for a moment all the humans froze in awe, glancing from the sky to the ground and back. The drones stared straight ahead.
The soil looked like colored marble—shades of yellow, red, and blue swirled together in a kaleidoscope of dust. Strange, twisted trees with iridescent leaves hulked in the distance. Beyond them were mountains unlike any she’d ever seen. With pointed, vertical rock formations, they looked like a row of massive medieval castles all stretching toward the heavens.
“Move out!”
As one, the Mazdaar army poured from the cosmoship. She labored to keep up while craning to see the sky. Far above the mountains, where on Earth you would expect to see blue, a roiling sea of red and orange clouds writhed and twisted.
“Holy cow,” someone muttered.
The skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Grey heard the words in her mother’s calm voice, and she could almost see Mom’s face and the way she’d stare at a desert sunset with a young Grey at her side. Mom had always loved sunsets.
The drone shoved Grey in the back, shaking away the memory. She focused on keeping her feet moving. Before them stood a massive domed building, very much like something they’d see on Earth. The soldiers rushed toward it, forcing Grey along with them.
***
Rin stood in the silo’s galley and took in everything she’d be leaving behind. Stepping over to the counter, she touched the glass carafe. Even though Grey hated it herself, every morning she heated up water for Rin’s cactus tea.
Rin closed her eyes. This was her home. All she’d ever known. What if Mom and Dad came back for her and she wasn’t here? And Grey . . . somehow she might free herself from Mazdaar’s grip, and then what? Rin knew she’d come here looking for her if she could.
She could leave a note of some kind, but what would she write? Dear Grey, I’m on Jupiter looking for you.
“You coming?”
Rin spun towards Dana’s bossy voice.
“It’s just . . .”
Dana looked around the room, taking in the kitchen. “I left everything behind too.”
It did help to know someone understood. And at least Tram and Trif were coming.
“If you’re worried about Grey coming back . . .”
Nodding, she took one last look, picturing Grey at the cooling box holding out those strawberries with that silly smile Rin missed so much.
“They won’t let her,” Dana said. “Not if I know my mother.”
Before Rin could respond, an explosive boom! rocked the room. Dust floated down from the ceiling, and the lights flickered.
“What was that?” Rin steadied herself against the counter.
Another thunderous jolt shook the floor. Something creaked right above their heads. That wasn’t a support girder, was it?
Dana grabbed her by the arm. “Come on!”
Another blast took out the lights.
“What’s happening?” The generator should’ve started up immediately.
“Now, Rin!” Dana pulled her into the corridor and down to the silo’s lower levels. They felt their way down the stairs and through her father’s workshop.
“Bombs,” Dana huffed.
“What?”
“They found us.”
“But the . . . will we still—”
“Hurry!”
By the time Rin and Dana made it into the cavern where Tevah smoldered, smoke poured from vents in the ship’s sides. Its tethers lay in gnarled, metallic heaps, never to be used again. The loading ramp was still down, but by the frantic gestures of the two crew members waiting in the doorway—she couldn’t hear a word they said over the engines—Rin guessed she and Dana were the last to board. Energy coursed through her limbs as she and Dana ran up onto the captain’s bridge.
“Commander,” Dana huffed with a salute as they entered.
“Buckle up, girls. This won’t be smooth.”
Mrs. March, now dressed in a black flight suit with the Yien Dynasty’s emblem on her sleeve, sat in the largest of the seats, her back to them. Maggie and Kildare sat on either side of her, working controls of their own.
“All panels go?” Mrs. March said.
“Go,” Kildare responded.
“Main hatch is closed,” Maggie said, and Rin noticed a small light in front of her turn from red to green.
Rin quickly dropped herself into a jump seat against the wall. Dana took the one beside her. They were the only civilians allowed on the captain’s bridge. Rin still couldn’t get over the fact that her mother could’ve been the pilot in Mrs. March’s seat.
Clearly the commander of the entire operation, Rin watched as Mrs. March rushed through a complicated preflight check list, barking at her crew and using words Rin couldn’t pronounce.
A muted explosion from somewhere above them shook the cosmoship. Could they still take off? Had anything been damaged?
“Our biggest risk now is those fighter jets outside,” Mrs. March muttered.
“Are they after us?” Rin asked.
Dana rolled her eyes. “No, they’re out there sightseeing.”
A rumble crescendoed under Rin’s feet. She hadn’t ever pictured this ship actually taking off. How could they possibly make it out without damaging Tevah?
“Disable shields,” Mrs. March said.
The rumble became a roar, and Rin grabbed the noise reducers hanging beside her. She was going to Jupiter. How crazy was that? Had Grey traveled on a ship like this?
“Shields disabled,” Maggie responded. Her auburn mane was now tamed with a colorful rag tied around her head.
“Open the roof.”
Kildare flipped something on the panel, and several yellow lights blinked on. “Roof open.”
“Power at fifty percent,” Maggie said.
Leaning toward Rin, Dana had to yell to be heard above the engines or whatever force propelled a ship like this. “This is the most dangerous point. The shields have to be disabled for liftoff.”
Rin gripped both armrests.
A screen lit up in front of Kildare, showing what appeared to be a live map of the nearby zones. Several blinking lights dotted the screen.
&n
bsp; Rin pictured the ground opening up above them, ready to spew Tevah from the underground silo. She felt the ship begin to rise. At first slowly, but within seconds the momentum pushed her down into her seat. Dana gave her a thumbs-up, and she returned it.
A huge windshield materialized in front of Mrs. March and the others, giving them a wide-angle view of the terrain. Rin gasped. They were already soaring above the ridge, so high the massive boulders where she and Grey had hid only yesterday looked like marbles, then like grains of sand. Suddenly, the force of the engines seemed to change. Instead of traveling vertically, the ship now shot across the sky horizontally, like a traditional plane, but at such a high altitude that the sky was dark above them.
“Pretty awesome, huh?” Dana beamed.
Rin was trying not to be sick from the sudden G forces. “How many times have you flown like this?”
“Dozens! I love it.”
Rin could barely hear Mrs. March, but she tuned into her voice.
“Shields up?”
“Shields activated,” Kildare responded.
“Any movement?”
Maggie scanned her screens. “Not yet.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” Mrs. March said.
Leaning back into her seat, Rin tried to close her eyes, but she couldn’t peel her gaze from the view. They were miles above the clouds, but she could still see the patchwork landscape beneath. At this tremendous speed, they were well beyond the Preserve by now.
“Missile lock-on detected,” Maggie said as calmly as she’d announced the power levels, and Rin peeked at Dana. The young woman’s forehead wrinkled.
“Time?” Mrs. March’s profile showed no more concern than Maggie’s, but Rin could hear the tension in her voice.
“Thirty,” Maggie replied.
That couldn’t be good. “A missile’s thirty minutes away?”
Shaking her head, Dana watched Mrs. March. “Thirty seconds.”
Rin strained to see signs of something deadly out the window, but all she saw was the ground racing below. Was she going to die before she got a chance to help Grey?
“Twenty,” Maggie said.
“Prepare for evasion maneuver.” Mrs. March’s hands hovered over two levers.
“Fifteen.”
Rin could feel the speed jamming against her back.
Her eyes focused on the screens, Maggie kept tapping at a panel, and Rin thought she saw a point of light traveling across it.
“Ten,” Maggie said.
Kildare gave a nod. “Power, one hundred percent.”
“Five.”
“Okay, gang.” Mrs. March raised her voice. “Hang on!”
Maggie counted off with her fingers the remaining seconds. As she reached one, Rin puked. She could barely turn her head against the sudden impulsion pressing her body.
Rin was so dizzy she could not tell which end was up or down anymore. Commander March spiraled them into a vertical climb, and she thought she saw Dana curl up her nose in disgust as the contents of Rin’s stomach now stuck to her flight suit. Still they climbed. Which way was up?
Maggie eyed her screen. “Missile averted.”
“Sorry, girls!” Mrs. March said, continuing their climb.
Just when Rin thought she would pass out, the ship seemed to right itself and she let out her breath.
“You thought that was bad,” Dana said. “Just wait until we reach Tunguska.”
Rin groaned.
* * *
Chapter 22
Grey lost sight of the Jupiter landscape once inside the dome. For how many centuries had mankind assumed this planet was only gases and couldn’t support life? Yet here she was standing on its surface, still alive and breathing oxygenated air. Mrs. March was right.
The Mazdaar soldiers herded Grey into a vast, warehouse-like room, depositing her in a cell with no light. She could barely see anything through the slit in the door. The squadrons fell into formation, and the bear-built man she’d seen give orders aboard Genesis addressed them.
“Attention!”
All uniforms saluted. “Yes, Major, sir!”
Their shouts bounced off the metallic walls. How long had this building been here? She’d noticed the exterior doors had old-fashioned locks and keys instead of scanners.
“You have been hand-selected for this mission,” the major bellowed in a gravelly voice.
Grey stood on tiptoes to see. Why were so many military on this flight in the first place? General Yurkutz couldn’t be here just to escort her. What danger could be on Jupiter that military was required?
“I have assigned some of you to guard the prisoners; the rest will receive assignments shortly.”
Grey’s legs suddenly felt shaky.
Prisoners?
“We will bring them in, assign them to cells, and assess their viability.”
She tried to look around the room. That’s when she noticed that lining the entire perimeter were other cells, some large enough to hold several people.
A sick feeling gripped her when more soldiers marched in from the cosmoship, this time herding the passengers she’d seen in the lounge. The people who’d cheered for their great adventure now looked like frightened antelope.
She saw the love-struck couple who’d been pawing each other now clinging together in fear. Paul was there too, his eyes darting around.
When Grey saw Dr. Lenoir and Tessa in the group, a cry came to her lips. They were being paraded in here like animals. She knew why she was there, but what could this kind couple possibly have done to invoke the wrath of Mazdaar?
The guards crowded the people into a confused huddle in the middle of the room.
“What’s going on?” someone shouted. “Where are we?”
Major came forward, a grin plastered on his face. “Welcome to Jupiter!”
A guy Grey had seen earlier hanging out at the bar pushed to the front of the group. “We demand to know what the blazes you’re doing with us!”
“Ah,” Major said, raising his hand. “A reasonable question.” He snapped his fingers, and two soldiers dragged a struggling man forward.
They flung him to the floor, and Grey flinched. His hands were tied behind his back with shock restraints. That’s when she recognized him as the pilot, Captain Hertzog, Dr. Lenoir’s son-in-law.
“How dare you,” Hertzog said, raising his eyes to the major towering over him. “What authority allows you to treat us like this?”
“Mine,” a female voice came from the entrance, and Grey watched General Yurkutz, her ever-present drones shadowing her, march across the cement floor toward the man. Her ubiquitous green uniform cape flowed behind her like smoke.
Climbing to his feet, Hertzog stood in front of her. Sweat dripped down his temple, but he still managed to face the general with defiance. Grey wanted to close her eyes at what it was going to provoke.
“If you think you can defy me,” Yurkutz said. “You are terribly wrong.”
Hertzog braced. “I am a Mazdaar pilot, and my orders were to fly my ship to Jupiter. I did not agree to imprison these people.”
“Well then, sir, you will be an example to all.”
General Yurkutz reached into her coat and pulled out a silver object that was shaped like a gun only with a thicker muzzle.
Grey instantly recognized it as an MI pistol. Its charging buzz rang through the room as the general raised it to Hertzog’s chest. Grey turned away just as she fired.
The sudden electronic blast reverberated against the walls, quickly followed by a thud. Grey forced herself to look out again. The captain had fallen. Was there any chance it had only been a stun shot?
“No!” someone wailed, and she was almost sure it was Tessa.
Horror and panic spread across the prisoners in a wave. Some screamed; others seemed paralyzed. Yurkutz slowly lowered the MI, its quick succession of electronic beeps telling all that it was recharging. Grey didn’t have to look twice to know Hertzog was dead.
“Per
haps now all of you will understand,” she said.
A man shoved through the crowd like he was going to make a rush for the general, but two of his companions held him back.
“You killed him!”
Yurkutz slipped the weapon back under her coat. “And I will do the same to anyone else who defies us. We will make this very clear. You are now on the planet Jupiter, and you will die here. How quickly that happens is up to you.”
Grey searched the crowd for Dr. Lenoir.
“But where is the settlement we came for?”
With a laugh, Yurkutz waved toward the dome’s roof. “This is all the settlement you will know.”
Grey remembered again the conversation she’d had with Mrs. March about this evil woman. Were they all going to be killed?
With another wave of her hand, the general ordered the soldiers to disperse the crowd. A few resisters had to be immobilized with derma-rays, and that kept the rest in line. Grey sunk to the floor of her cell, leaning against the wall.
She jumped to her feet again when the door burst open, and two prisoners were shoved into the cell with her.
Dr. Lenoir and Tessa! The door clanged shut behind them.
Grey rushed over and embraced them both. Then Tessa fell to the floor sobbing. Her husband knelt down beside her, stroking her hair. Grey stood helplessly, her heart breaking for them. She didn’t try to comfort them. Anything she said right now would sound stupid. Instead, she let them grieve together, and Grey slid back down on the floor once again. She looked at her hands and realized the raw sores on her wrists had begun to heal, thanks to the medicine they’d given her.
The cries of the other prisoners soon quieted down as everyone was probably sitting in cells like this one, contemplating their fate. It didn’t make sense. Grey thought she knew why she was here, but why had they imprisoned everyone else?
Soon the Lenoirs composed themselves and turned toward her.
“What happened?” Grey asked.
“They forced us out of the ship and brought us here.”
“No explanation?”
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