Worldship Files: Cityships

by Erik Schubach

“I knew the danger, but I meant it. I had never witnessed something like that in my entire life, and I have seen things no other Human has. It is going to be a part of me for as long as I may live.” I replied.

  She smiled as if the wonder in my tone was novel, then assured me, “If it were any other time, she'd have put you in her debt for infinity. But as your mind and soul was laid bare before the soulfire of the magics in the artifacts, you can't be held accountable for your words.”

  I asked as I slid her robes off of one shoulder, exposing more of that unnaturally smooth, porcelain of her skin, “Can we not talk about your mother right now? I have more important things to be doing in the eight hours before I go off-world.” I kissed a trail of feather-light kisses down from her jaw to her collarbone and gave it a nip.

  She shuddered and moaned and then froze before calling out. “Wait outside.”

  I hesitated as I heard footsteps then the cycling of the door to my quarters. Her royal guards. Wait... “Where were they today while we were in Flight Control? Your mother's too?”

  She somehow slipped my skinsuit off in one motion, I suspected magic and tossed it on the pile of armor by the bed. Then kissed down my neck and... lower, she said, “They were there... shadowing us... in another vehicle. They waited... outside of the blast sphere... since it is the most secure place on the world. Now shush, I've work to do here.”

  She reached her target and I squeaked, “Yes ma'am.” I sighed as she pushed me back onto the bed with that impressive strength of hers and I sighed in surrender.

  Chapter 5 – In the End

  The morning came way too fast. When my eyes snapped open I realized the familiar warm chill of Rory's body snuggled up in front of me was missing. I blinked and sat up, then smiled at the delicate ice flowers sitting on her pillow. The ice butterflies flapping their wings were a nice touch. Her magic preventing the impossibly delicate-looking kinetic sculpture from melting.

  I fell out of bed when Graz chirped out from right beside my ear, “That one's a keeper, Knith. Leaving flowers after a wham bam thank you, ma'am.”

  I yanked the bedspread over me. “Graz!”

  She looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Whatcha doin'? It isn't like I don't have most of what you and my Mitzy do. Though how you get along without...”

  I pointed at her. “Stop right there. I don't know what extra goodies you have under the hood, and I don't need to know. Trisexual species are still a little mind-boggling for me.”

  She quipped, “Well I don't know how you get along without wings. It isn't like you don't have miles of skin back there, such a waste.”

  I pointed at the door. “Out! Take your brood with you.”

  “All right, all right. They're tanking up on sugared cereal since you and the Princess were in here making more little princesses all night, the kids are exhausted.”

  I dragged a hand down my face, mortified. Had they heard everything?

  Then just as she reached the door I prompted, “Did you get it?”

  She looked back and a big smile bloomed on her face, making her look almost angelic. “Yup! It took us a while to get it all here. Not like we can carry stuff like you Bigs can.”

  I told her, “You're the best.”

  She buzzed out with her chest puffed up in pride.

  Then I looked around as I stood, my embarrassment bleeding away. “Ok, now what.”

  I jumped when Mother said over the room's speakers, “Well first I suggest a shower after your, umm... activities. Then you'll have just thirty minutes to get to the Underhill before launch.”

  “What!?”

  She said, “I let you sleep in. I was about to wake you when you did on your own.”

  I dropped the bedspread and dashed to the sonic shower. “Fuck fuck fuck.”

  Mother sighed. “Don't be so dramatic.”

  “You don't be so dramatic!”

  “That doesn't make any sense, Knith.”

  I growled out, “If I'm late, President Yang will have my head!”

  Mother said in a patient tone, “I wouldn't let you be. I've got your back. There is already a transport outside waiting for you.”

  I relaxed a little. She always did have my back. Then she shared, “Princess Aurora wanted me to extend her apologies for slipping out while you were sleeping. Her mother called her back to Ha'Real.”

  Nodding I came out of the sonic shower and grabbed a fresh skinsuit and stepped behind my changing screen out of habit, even though Mother was all-seeing. A few seconds later I was hopping across the floor as I started slapping my armor and boots on. I scooped up my helmet and stepped into the main room.

  My sigh was epic as I witnessed cerealgeddon occurring. The kids were eating, building forts, and attacking each other with the sugared cereal. They were certainly awake now. I muttered, “Clean up the mess when you're done, kids.”

  They all zipped up to hover in front of my nose and saluted. Then zipped away, screaming as they engaged in battle again. Mitzy sighed in resignation, then waved to me from where she sat on a banana she was butchering with a tiny metal blade. My life is so weird.

  Noting the rucksack beside the door, I scooped it up, peeked inside, and smiled before slinging it over my shoulder.

  I slipped out and true to her word, my Tac-Bike was mag locked on the side of the walkway. I had been expecting one of those sleek Fae transports that were used almost exclusively up here in the A-Ring. But I truly enjoyed the exhilarating thrill of riding my Tac-Bike. I admit I got a rush out of nimbly weaving through traffic, buffeted by the artificial wind created by my slicing through the air.

  Mother said in a bright tone, “I hoped you'd appreciate the choice.”

  I nodded and assured her, “I certainly do.”

  Mounting my bike, and with a thought, I sent my visor snicking down into place, but not before a stream of dust shot into it. I muttered as I opened the visor again and said to the wing-flapping menace, “What are you doing, Graz? I'm going off-world, you need to...”

  She crossed her arms obstinately as she sat next to my ear. “Just protecting my interests. You're always putting yourself in danger, and if you kick the bucket, me and mine will have to find other lodgings.”

  I snorted. “Aw, you care.”

  “No, I don't. But for a Big, you're sort of ok.”

  “You're sort of ok too, but you can't come this time, so shoo.”

  “Make me, you big dumb null. And every moment you try makes you that much later for the mission.”

  Sighing, I informed her, “I hate you, you flying rat.” Then snicked my visor down and activated the bike, taking it off mag-lock. When we rocketed into traffic to head down ring at the spoke terminal, she made a satisfied sound then informed me, “Besides, I'm your backup.”

  “Lieutenant Keller is my backup.”

  “Yeah? And where is the big lug now?”

  Ah crap, I got sidetracked with the night's special activities and hadn't had a chance to tell Daniel about this. He was going to have to man the fort in the FABLE office while I was out. “Mother?”

  “I already briefed Lieutenant Keller last night while you were... umm...”

  Graz offered, “Doin' the ol' horizontal tango? Moaning the light fantastic? Making...”

  “Alright! I think she implied that you, moth winged pain in my ass.”

  “What? I'm just being helpful.”

  “It would be helpful if you spaced yourself.”

  Mother snapped out, “Children!”

  As we corkscrewed through the traffic lanes in the spoke, heading down to the Delta-Stack I regained my composure. “Thank you for that, Mother.” Then I hesitated and asked suspiciously, “You didn't use my voice again did you?”

  She said in an exact reproduction of my voice, “I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.”

  I complained, “You know I hate it when you do that because I look dense when someone says they spoke
with me and I never had the conversation.”

  She huffed. “If I told him or he just received a message, he'd have thought you just forgot about him again. Really Knith, he's been your partner for well over six months now.”

  Ok, that was embarrassing, I defended weakly, “I went through so many partners in the first couple years in the Brigade, after graduating the academy. Most got injured, or worse, reprimanded because of my... umm... particular style of law enforcement. Nobody has wanted to work with the 'crazy human with a death wish' after that. I've run solo for decades, and have the highest case closure record. It's just hard to remember I have a partner now.”

  Graz whispered to Mother, “It's her tiny brain, she can't remember more than two things at once. You'd think Bigs would have bigger brains.”

  I slapped my helmet hard, sending her tumbling back to get tangled in my hair. “I can hear you, Graz.”

  “I figured you were using all your limited brainpower to drive this...”

  Mother cleared her nonexistent throat. I had to grin, my personal Sprite had a ten-foot-tall personality in a five-inch frame, and I enjoyed our banter. Not that I'd tell her that.

  I glanced at the chronometer being projected in my peripheral by the helmet's systems and cussed under my breath, “Mother fairy humper.” Then said, “Hang on Graz,” just as she regained her place, dusting off her tiny pants.

  She grabbed my ear just in time and held on for dear life as I sent the command to the bike to start strobing the blue and amber Enforcer pursuit lights and slid into the emergency vehicle lane just above the street level vessels before kicking in the afterburners. She was screaming out in glee, “Yeehaa!” as she dangled from my ear like some sort of living earring as the acceleration pushed us both back.

  My smile must have matched hers as the world flashed past as I made up time. I would not be late for such a historic mission.

  It was still mind-boggling to me. Ships with more refugees from that dying planet we had all originated from. Earth is still just some abstract bedtime story told to kids in my mind. I mean, I knew logically that it existed, but the concept of Open-Air was such a departure from what we knew to be true on the world.

  Then I sobered. If it really all was true, then these people on the incoming ships were the descendants of some of the billions of souls that were left behind. Numbers like that boggled my imagination since we all are raised knowing there are twelve million people on the world. That number doesn't fluctuate much as we have to keep Equilibrium for the Leviathan's delicate bioverse to remain in balance, keeping us all alive until our own descendants arrive at our new home.

  I know Mother feels some sort of guilt that for all the people she saved from that dying world, she couldn't take them all. Billions were left behind, and their descendants will eventually just cease to be when the expanding sun scorches Earth's atmosphere one day. Another abstract I couldn't quite wrap my head around.

  We spun in the air as we whipped out of the spoke and into the emergency lanes above the rest of the traffic, and under the shipping lanes. I smiled and patted my bike. If I ever left the Brigade to pursue some other career, or if I ever retired, a mag-bike similar to my Tac-Bike would be my first purchase. Not a new one of course, even though I didn't buy anything over the years, nor really own very many things, and my Enforcer salary has just been compounding in the bank, I couldn't afford even a down payment on new mag-bike... we don't make that much chit in our line of work.

  Not many do from the lower rings, which is why most just use the free public transportation. I had never really given much thought to the division of classes onboard until I was forced to move up to the A-Ring for my new posting. It is like two different worlds. The farther down-ring you go, the less the people have.

  I shut down the pursuit lights, then inserted us into the street-level traffic. Even with the filters from my helmet, I caught hints of that pervasive smell of the D-Rings. The canal around the center of the ring was an algae bath that provided much of the oxygen for the level, which smelled like the small swamp and bog areas in sections of the B-Rings, and the smell mingled with the smoke from the smelting and extraction plants from the materials from the mines, to produce a uniquely sour odor. The bulk of the food production down here had to be done in enclosed domes.

  We slid up to the bulkhead entrance closest to the airlock ten levels deep in the J-Bulkhead corridors. Most Enforcers would just drive right into the wide bulkhead corridors with their lights flashing, so they didn't have to physically exert themselves by walking to their destination. I always thought that was rude to the people who lived and worked in the bulkhead spaces. Forcing them to move out of the way.

  So I just mag-locked the bike and sighed as I swung my legs down in the reduced gravity of the D-Ring as my visor slipped up and Graz flew out to sit on my shoulder. I looked at the graffiti-covered bulkhead walls which had been tagged with programmable smart-paint, then to the sooty looking factory town, before entering into the back corridors.

  The foot traffic moved aside, giving me a wide berth, something that always bothered me. I hated the us versus them attitudes. We were here to protect them and enforce the laws. They were always glad to see us in an emergency, but when a good percentage of humans are bound by law at one point or another and have to do labor in the ring or down in the mines, they didn't trust us.

  It was something I wished to discuss with the Fae, in my capacity as FABLE liaison. With their influence, maybe I could speak with someone in one of the cabinet positions who could spearhead community support programs within the Brigade to help alleviate some of that alienation feeling.

  I started to jog as the foot traffic eased up the deeper we went toward the Skin. I slid to a stop when a huge bear ambled out in front of us, from a multifamily dwelling unit. It turned its massive head toward us then backed off as its fur and skin seemed to writhe and pull in on itself, the bear shrinking and morphing into human form, leaving a muscular shifter woman, in all her naked glory, blinking at us as she backed into her doorway and closed the hatch.

  Blinking, I tried not to smile appreciatively. I've never dated a shifter before, but I could appreciate their beauty as they were all quite physically fit like this woman was, but they tended not to date outside the shifter community. Just as well, I'm so awkward when it comes to dating, she was out of my league, I still don't know how I managed to win Rory's heart since she was so far out of my league, I was a dot to her in the distance.

  Just as we turned into the J-Bulkhead corridor, I hesitated, seeing all sorts of official-looking vehicles virtually cutting off access to the airlock beyond. I shared a look with Graz. “Our crew for the mission.”

  She sighed.

  I grinned at the chronometer, I was two minutes early. We made our way through the flurry of activity and flashed my badge and ID to the Enforcers who were keeping the crowd of lookie-loos away behind Enforcer barriers. Then I balked and snicked my visor up with a thought, and mirrorizing the exterior as I saw a whole gaggle of news waves reporters and their hover-cams as they shouted out questions.

  Somehow, someone recognized me and there were a half dozen cameras in my face as reporters were shouting, “Lieutenant Shade! Why were you selected for this mission?” “Lieutenant Shade! What can you tell us about...”

  I tuned them out as I ducked under the barricades, and then the oddest thing happened. All of the cameras that were still in my face started sparking and fell to the deck. Like they had somehow overloaded. I gave an accusing glare to one of my internal helmet cameras, and Mother made an innocent sound.

  Once I was safe behind the barricades, I lowered my visor as I approached the airlock that led to the Underhill. A mistake because a blurry shape next to the controls reached out and grabbed the back of my neck in a vicelike grip and pulled me forward. The searing heat of the magic that seemed to infuse every cell of my body told me Titiana was kissing me, reinforcing her mark on me.

&
nbsp; She released me, and was in clear focus as she smirked, saying, “You thought you could just sneak off-world and let my mark fade?” She was terrifyingly beautiful in a way that makes someone want to run from the dangerous predator in her eyes.

  I growled as I wiped my mouth, feeling my lip burning with a fire that would never die as long as she kept reinforcing her mark, “Why do you and Mab have to do it with kisses? Can't you just do it in close proximity? Or just a handshake or something?”

  She chuckled. “Sealed with a kiss, dear one. All the best curses are.”

  Curses? “I thought it was just your mark.”

  Her smile grew and I wasn't sure if the Summer Queen was more terrifying than Queen Mab or not. She leered like she would be happy to just eat my soul and free will right there. Then she looked over my shoulder and smirked. I glanced back then groaned, more cameras were pointing our way as questions about the kiss were thrown around by the reporters while Titania seemed to preen and strike a pose for their cameras.

  She said through her teeth as she continued smiling, “If I find you are brokering any deals for the Winter Court with the Cityships, you'll adorn my throne room as a tree for the rest of our journey, dear one.”

  Then her smile was gone, and she was too in a thrum of unimaginable power, which caused the remaining cameras to burst apart and shower the deck with sparking wreckage. Her ability to teleport always made me uneasy.

  Graz squeaked out, her voice wavering in fear bit, “Sucks to be you.”

  “Yes. Yes, it does.”

  Then we cycled the inner airlock doors and headed in. Once we cycled the outer doors, we stepped into chaos in the Underhill. Techs and engineers were rushing every which way, loading supplies and checking systems. Residents and workers were being ushered off the ship by social workers to their temporary quarters on the world. Private security was coordinating with Brigade Enforcers who were handpicked by the President and Congress. And relief workers were being shown to vacated compartments for the estimated three-day journey to the oncoming ships.