by Elin Wyn
He slipped an arm around Ardelle, who snuggled into him. “Never thought your friend was up for sharing, babe.” He winked lewdly at Zayda, and my fists clenched.
Zayda’s voice could have frozen the entire farm level. “I’m not.”
Ardelle poked the gang leader in the side. “And neither am I, jerk.”
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and shrugged. “I know. But never hurts to double-check these things, right?”
“Anyway, what are you two looking for?” He waved towards the cluster of chairs, then sat himself, pulling Ardelle into his lap. “As much as I think you’d be an asset to the Skulls, you don’t have the vibe of someone who’s much of a joiner.”
I nodded. “I appreciate it. I think,” the memory was hazy, but the feeling was solid, “I already have a team.”
“But that’s not what we’re here about,” Zayda steered the conversation back with laser focus. “What do you know about previous attempts to get off Minor?”
“You can’t,” Ardelle breathed, face pale. “There’s no way. And, if you try, they come…”
My jaw tightened. “Let me guess. The black ghosts?”
Zayda
Ardelle nodded, looked from Mack to me. “I know it’s not what you’re used to, but you can make a decent life up here. Once you get the system figured, it’s not that different from anywhere else.” She bit her lip, pleaded with me to understand. “Home is where you make it, right?”
Void, I wished it could be that simple. Instead I reached for her hand. “You’ve been a good friend, and I’m glad you’re happy, even here. But I have unfinished business back on Orem. And,” I closed my eyes, leaning back in the chair, as if the weight of the station pushed me into the deck, “I’m pretty sure the ghosts are coming for me anyway. Soon.”
“No!” Ardelle’s denial was flat, unaccepting. “They can’t. You haven’t done anything!”
“It’s alright, babe.” Jado stroked her hair.
She spun in his lap, eyes full of fury. “How can you say that?”
“Because we’re going to get her out of here. Just need to figure out how.”
“Fine.” She settled back down, but her stiff spine told me she’d been badly frightened.
“I’m sorry, Ardelle. I didn’t mean to drag you into this. I just didn’t know where else to turn for information.”
“Silly. We’re friends. What else would you do?”
“Alright,” Jado said, eyes focused on nothing. “First issue is the cuffs. As long as you’re wearing that, they’ll know where you are anyway.”
“Not really an issue.” The relief to finally be telling someone, anyone, a small fragment of the truth eased some of the weight on my chest. “Tell you what. As payment for helping, I’ll get you the codes to operate them, and the tools you’ll need to use on them.”
“See,” Jado turned to Mack, who still didn’t look entirely happy we were here. “Teamwork gets you everywhere.”
“Next, transport. You don’t want to go with the ghosts, which seems reasonable. But the only other ship that comes here is the rotation shuttle. Every three days, needed or not.”
“That what I came up on?” Mack asked.
Jado looked between the two of us, startled. “You don’t even remember getting on? They messed you up, man.”
Ardelle filled Mack in. “It’s pretty efficient, really. Drop off the prisoners, unload whatever supplies there are, then vent the atmosphere.” She grimaced. “Not like there's ever much more than those damn meal packs. We could use some real maintenance. This place is gonna fall out of the sky sooner or later.”
“When it’s empty, me and the boys fill it back up with the harvest from the farm,” Jado added. “Atmosphere gets turned off again, and it heads back down to the station. Entire thing’s on automatic. Which means there’s no one to bribe for the trip, pick up a passenger or two.”
Mack frowned. “Don't the plants need oxygen for the trip back?”
Ardelle shook her head. “Nope, the farms are the reason the air quality is pretty decent up here. Our air scrubbers haven’t been at full capacity since no one knows when.” She swung a foot loosely in his direction. “Haven’t spent much time around green things, have you?”
Mack glanced my way, rubbed his jaw. “Not until this morning, really.”
“Plants take in CO2, put back out oxygen. But it wouldn't be enough to keep someone alive for the trip down, you know.”
“How long is the trip, do you think?” In the time I’d been on Orem, I’d barely heard about Minor, never really thought about it.
“Our orbit isn’t that far out,” Jado answered. “The return trip likely takes under an hour. Once we figure out how to hide you from whoever’s doing the unloading on the station, all you have to do is survive the trip without breathing.”
Mack started to say something, and I had an instant of fear that he'd remembered something about his unusual biology. I didn’t know all of his capabilities, and I hated hiding things from our new allies, but that was one wild card I wasn’t ready to have out on the table yet.
I talked over him quickly. “I've got a plan for that, actually. It should work, but I might need a little help getting some things out of the clinic.”
Jado cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll trust you to look after your own breathing, then.”
A pang of guilt struck me. “What about repercussions up here? If we escape, what are they going to do to anybody who helped us?”
Jado grinned, and I could see he’d already thought of a way to turn this to his advantage. “You'll need to leave your cuffs up here anyway, we can play a fine game of hide and seek. No reason for them to know you're off-station.”
“Besides,” Ardelle chimed in, “what are they gonna do? Stop feeding us? If we can take the cuffs off, why would we ever send another leaf or sprout down to them?” ”
“I think we've just kicked off a rebellion,” I said slowly. It was a crappy system, and, honestly, I was perfectly happy to be part of the end of it.
“You got it, honey,” Jado winked. “And you're looking at the new king and queen of Minor.”
Ardelle poked him. “Idiot,” she muttered, but she didn’t look that upset with him.
“What about the ghosts, whatever they really are? They come and go when they want,” Mack added. “They've got to have some controls over Minor, or at least access to the landing bay. Who else does? The governor? Who on Orem can control the basic functions of the satellite? You’ve got to assume they’ve got some fail safes and booby traps in place.”
Jado tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, eyes narrowed, planning. “Couple years ago, we brought in a genius geek to the Skulls. No fighter, and a crappy attitude, but I figured she'd be a useful investment someday. Her cuff is super restricted access, she’s never been in anywhere near the primary systems of this place. Once she's able to do anything she needs, go anywhere with the right overrides? I'm betting she can make this place a fortress.”
“It’s your people,” Mack looked at Ardelle, and we both knew what he was thinking. Jado would be risking everyone on the bet that his genius could control the satellite faster than whoever was trying to take it back from Orem. “Your bet.”
“She can do it,” Ardelle said with a tone of finality. “Besides, if there really is a chance we can get out of these cuffs, control our own schedule like adults, and not be treated like slave labor? It’s worth the risk.”
“I thought you were trying to convince me it wasn’t so bad here,” I teased, but she just stuck her tongue out.
“That was before I knew we had a chance,” she countered.
“Every three days,” I thought aloud. “Thirty-six hours…”
Ardelle finished for me. “And then it's show time.”
“I can get some of the guys to modify a set of the racks, make a space for you two to hide.” He looked over at Mack’s bulk. “It’s not going to be comfortable, man.”
“N
othing about this place has been. Why start now?” Mack deadpanned. “I wouldn’t mind giving you a hand with that.”
“I think Mack and I need to make things as routine as possible, head to our assigned jobs, pretend everything is perfectly normal.”
“What? No.” I could feel Mack’s aggravation. “I don't think we should risk it. If we know they're coming, why should we make it easy for them, keep you in plain sight?”
“I’m siding with your man on this one, honey.” Jado shook his head, then winced. “Ow!”
“Listen to her first,” Ardelle insisted. “Zayda always has a plan.”
“We know the ghosts only come at night, right?” Jado nodded, but Mack didn’t move, kept his eyes fixed on me. “So we only need to hide at night. Act normal during the day, then disappear. It’s just for two nights. That shouldn’t set off any alerts, people get locked out of the dorms pretty often.”
“They could already be on the way.” Mack’s voice was flat, but I could feel the frustration creeping in around the edges.
“We can’t do anything about that,” I waited. He was smart. He’d get it.
“Fine. We stick together at night. I walk you to the clinic tomorrow, I pick you up.” His eyes pleaded with me. “I know you can handle yourself. But give me this, Zayda.”
“You can stay here tonight,” Ardelle bounced up, bustled around the room. “Right, my king?”
Jado laughed. “I’ll get a couple guys to stay by the door.”
“You wouldn’t mind if I talked to them, too, would you?” Mack rose to his feet. “I’d like to see what sort of access there is to the area.”
I watched the two of them wander out to the chaos of the Down Low. Unlikely allies, but, really, how much did I know about either of them?
Ardelle moved to the chair next to me, reached for my hand. All of the bouncy bubbly was gone now, concern wrinkling her forehead.
“Now that they're gone, I need you to tell me honestly, Zayda. Does that man have some sort of hold on you? Is there something else going on?” Her eyes searched mine. “You're always so closed off, so vigilant. He's only been here for a day and already you're willing to put your life in his hands.” Her fingers squeezed mine tightly. “Do you trust that man?”
Every shred of my training screamed ‘no’. No one could be trusted. Let no one close to you. Every bit of my ego, bruised and betrayed, came out of the dark corners of my mind to rebuild the walls. No no no no.
I don't know why I whispered. “I do.”
Mack
Before we headed back out into the noise and commotion of the nightclub, I stopped. Jado cast a wondering look over his shoulder. “What's up?”
“Thank you for what you're doing for us. I know it’s a risk for you.”
He laughed. “Man, you're handing me a kingdom.” He lightly socked me in the shoulder. “I may not have always made the smartest decisions, but I'm no idiot.” He headed back through the curtains. “Besides, my babe would feed me my own balls if I didn't help Zayda.”
Jado picked four of his guys, broad and burly, with the flat look of killers in their eyes.
“Nobody but me or Ardelle gets through to the back room, period. You keep this guy and Zayda safe, you're going to like the reward.”
His grin was wolfish, almost familiar. Certainty struck me. I'd known someone else who gave orders in that easy, confident way. Maybe once we were out of this place I'd find him.
“Talk to you tomorrow,” Jado said as Ardelle slipped out from the back room.
“Jado honey, would you go on for just a bit. I need just a couple words with our new friend here,” she purred.
The minute they were out of sight, her easy smile fled and sparks flared in her eyes.
“Don't you hurt her,” she hissed, her finger prodding my chest as if to punctuate each word. “I'm not fussy about what people did before they got here, that's pretty obvious. But you take care of her. Or so help me I will find a way to get to you, and you’ll regret it.”
At any other moment it would've been funny, the sight of her threatening me. But right now we were talking about matters of life and death.
More importantly, we were talking about Zayda.
“If I hurt her, or allow her to be hurt, I'll let you.” It was the only possible answer. And the truth.
“Good.” She turned and marched away. I watched her catch up to Jado, snuggle into him as his arm wrapped around her.
I shifted the flimsy curtain behind me, wishing for something a hell of a lot sturdier. Three or four layers of permasteel would be nice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the guards Jado had set take their positions.
But I’d still rather have the permasteel.
Zayda still sat in her chair, playing with a long strip of fabric, weaving it back and forth between her fingers.
I dropped onto the floor beside her and she jumped as if she'd been lost in thought. Tension wrapped around her, tight as any binding.
“What's wrong?”
“Other than we’re planning to break out of the prison that isn't designed to ever let anyone go unless they’re hustled off in the middle of the night by ghosts? And that I might have just put the one true friend I've made up here in terrible danger?” She threw up her hands. “Nothing, why do you ask?”
I rubbed her arm with light strokes. Her muscles were taut under the skin, as if tied into knots.
“I think your friend is tougher than you realize. And she'd be hurt if you didn't let her help.”
A small puff of laughter met my words, just a little, but it was enough to make me wonder what it would sound like, what it would take to make her laugh for real.
“You’re probably right.” Her face sobered again. “But we need to talk.”
Her eyes went back to the little piece of fabric. She folded and unfolded it in tiny pleats between her fingers.
“Let's assume everything goes to plan. We survive the shuttle trip, they unload us somewhere on Orem, and we get out of the warehouse with nobody noticing.” She pulled the fabric tight. “Then what?”
“What do you mean?”
“What do we do after we reach the station,” she spoke slowly, as if trying to work through a problem, lay the issue clear.
“Once we’re back on Orem, there's a,” she paused, and once again I wondered how much she wasn't telling me. “There's a package I need to pick up. And then I need to take it somewhere. Alone.”
I sat back on my heels and rubbed the back of my neck. Her tension was contagious. What would I do when I got back to Orem? If I could go anywhere, do anything...
“There's a place I need to go,” the words spilled out of me before I realized they were on my tongue.
Zayda sat up straight, grabbed my hand. “Does that mean you remembered something, do you know what happened?
“No, it's just a feeling. There's someplace I need to go.” I could almost see myself at the controls of a ship, plotting in a course for… I shook my head. I couldn't remember anything further, it wouldn't come. But as soon as I had the chance, I was going to figure that out.
“So, sounds like we’re in agreement.” Resignation tinged Zayda's voice. “Once we get back to the station, we’ll go our separate ways.”
She headed to the privacy booth behind the screened-off bed.
“The bed certainly looks large enough for both of us. I'm not going to think about what Jado and Ardelle get up to in here.”
“Good idea,” I called after her, but my mind was far away.
Go our separate ways.
The leaden words sunk into my gut. I had assumed we would stay together after we made it to Orem. No reason for it. Maybe it was just because Zayda had been a part of my new life since waking up. It was hard to imagine going on to something else without her.
I stood up, shaking myself out of the melancholic mood. And that was stupid. Obviously, I'd had a life before her. And she’d had a life before me. We both would be fine.
Even
if I hated it.
By the time I came out of the privacy booth, she had stripped out of her outer layers and curled onto the far side of the bed.
“I still really don't want to know the details, but, I promise you, this is much more comfortable than the deck floor we were on last night. Come on in.”
I folded my shirt and draped it carefully over the back of one of the chairs before climbing into the bed.
She was right, this was better than the deck, hell, it was even better than the bunk in the dorm.
In the dorm. Oh, hell.
“Gozer,” I muttered.
“What?” came the sleepy reply.
“Gozer, a chemhead, but in his own way he tried to be kind to me. He found a bunk in the dorms for me last night. I said I'd be back, and I haven’t given him a second thought since.”
“See if you can find him tomorrow at mess, easy peasy.” She reached across the expanse of bed that separated us to rest her hand on my shoulder. “Tell him you got a better offer.”
“Good plan.”
She rolled over, her back to me. “Good night, Mack.”
Zayda’s touch still burned on my skin, her presence in the bed was almost unbearable. I remembered how she’d felt in my arms, the smell of her neck, the groans she’d made when I tasted her.
And through will alone I stayed perfectly still. “Good night, Zayda.”
The dream began as it always did.
A blank room, walls of gray dimly lit from no source I could see. I lay on my back with my arms and legs outstretched, strapped down, immovable.
I had to get out. I had to get out. I had to get out. The refrain beat in my mind louder than my own heartbeat.
If I didn't, they'd be back. And, no matter how much I fought them, one day, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day I would tell them what I knew.
The door slid open and I stopped straining against the bands. Too late.
As the tools powered up, I forced my mind blank, refused to hear their questions.
Where did they go? How do we find them? What message will call them all back?