Nimbus

by Jacey Bedford

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  KITTY

  AS SOON AS GARRICK HEARD KITTY KEELY was back from the dead, he knew two things. The first was that he had to confront her, the second that it would be the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his life.

  So he put it off for a few days. Tried to pretend everything was normal, but it didn’t stop his gut from churning. This was real. Kitty had been with him when he’d met the Nimbus, heard its voice. She would remember. There was something important that had been missing inside him since that day, something he needed to do. Or maybe something he needed to understand.

  At last he decided. He didn’t waste any more time thinking about it because he knew he’d chicken out if he did. He didn’t even talk to Mona about his decision. He simply called his two bodyguards and let them get him a tub cab to Blue Seven. He left them in the reception office with Tengue’s duty sergeant and two other gate guards, and passed through the barbican alone.

  Blue Seven was busy with people coming and going. The offices close to the entrance were manned, their occupants visible through the glass panels. In the distance, straight down the concourse, was the central dining area and kitchen. To his left the infirmary nestled between the offices and the main accommodation block, and to his right were a gymnasium, a cluster of workshops, and an equipment maintenance department.

  Gen Marling was walking her toddler along, bent over, holding the child’s hands in her own. Every few steps she lifted and swung the child, getting an excited giggle in return. Gen raised her head, smiled at him, and picked up the child who pointed at him excitedly. Garrick had never felt less like smiling, but he conjured one up from somewhere, hoping it looked genuine enough not to set the child crying.

  He met Ronan Wolfe on the threshold of the infirmary.

  “Hope you’re not in a rush to go somewhere, Doctor Wolfe. If possible, I’d like to see Kitty Keely.”

  Wolfe looked surprised, but he invited Garrick to follow him into the infirmary.

  “Her memory has gaps. Please don’t be surprised if she’s a bit vague. She’s been sedated because she’s dangerous, but we can’t keep her that way. Neither can we keep her in restraints, so she’s behind a clear glass-steel screen. Sound goes through in both directions, so you can talk to her as if there’s nothing between you.” Ronan gave him a long, level look. “Are you sure about this?”

  “I hope so.”

  “We’ll need to record everything. We’re looking for any clue about what happened to her.”

  “I understand.”

  “Do you want someone in there with you? You may find the experience stressful.”

  Ha! If only Doctor Wolfe knew. Garrick swallowed hard to try to clear the lump in his throat. He tried to keep his voice even and neutral. “Not especially. I’m sure you’ll be watching.”

  Damn, Wolfe was an Empath; he was bound to have picked up Garrick’s agitation.

  “Yes. I’ll be watching. Don’t worry. If you need anything, you only have to yell. Are you sure—”

  Garrick swallowed again. “Quite sure.”

  Kitty was sitting at a table with an interlocking puzzle in front of her. She didn’t look up when Garrick entered. “More questions?”

  “An apology.”

  At the sound of Garrick’s voice, her head jerked up and she sprang from the chair, knocking it backward and scattering puzzle pieces across the table and on to the floor.

  “You.” She ran forward and beat both fists on the clear screen—once, twice—as if she wanted to strike at Garrick.

  Garrick stepped back. He saw the screen shake slightly under the pounding, but when she dropped her arms to her sides, it resumed its original shape, neither dented nor scratched.

  “You remember me, then.”

  “Of course, I remember you. We were out there together, decoys. I was supposed to be taking you to surrender the station, but that wasn’t the real plan, was it? I never stood a chance of getting back home, did I?”

  “It was about fifty-fifty. If Benjamin hadn’t been able to fly Crossways through the Folds, you’d have been home free, and I’d have been in a jail cell—or possibly dead.” And that might have been better than being free and having the memories eating at his soul every single day since. “It was all about getting a ceasefire for long enough to give Benjamin a chance to get Crossways to safety. Getting lost in the Folds wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “But they came for you—Benjamin and Carlinni. They came for you and left me behind.”

  “That’s not how it happened.”

  “That’s what they say.” She heaped the emphasis on they and jerked her head at the recording eye on the wall. “They’re trying to twist my memories. Next you’ll be telling me it all happened over a year ago.”

  He shook his head. “It’s not my job to convince you of anything. Yes, it was over a year ago. You only have to look at the white in my hair to see that, but I want to talk about the black cloud. They’re calling it the Nimbus, as if by naming it they can make it more understandable.” He let out a laugh that was anything but mirthful. “I’ve been having nightmares ever since. That’s a lot of nightmares. Sometimes I wonder how much longer I can hold it all together.”

  He scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Do you remember when the whole thing began? You were trying to find the line to a jump gate. Any jump gate, you said. Then my breath started to cloud. I asked you to check life support, but you said everything was normal. Then you started to shiver. A terrible cold seeped from the rear of the shuttle. There was a darkness at head height, like a small black puff of cloud no bigger than an eyeball. It began to grow.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You do. You have to. It was you that heard it first.”

  “Heard what?”

  “You said it was singing to you.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence, and then Kitty burst out laughing.

  Garrick had been prepared for hysterics, or terror, or anger, but laughter diminished everything he’d gone through. He’d thought Kitty of all people would understand, would get where he was coming from. He’d shared the Nimbus’ song with Kitty, felt its call. How could she laugh?

  Something inside him swelled and broke into a thousand pieces. He ran out of the room, across reception, past a surprised med-tech. He bumped into Ronan as he reached the door to the concourse, but barely felt the jolt. He stumbled. The floor rushed up to meet him. For a moment, he saw the seam in the flooring. Something in his brain knew he was about to meet it percussively, but he couldn’t get his hands between him and the ground.

  Max was sitting at his desk, running some figures for the cost of outfitting the Howling Wolf when he heard the commotion outside. He abandoned his desk and went to the door, only to see a knot of people gathered around someone who’d fallen close to the infirmary entrance.

  Gen was there, kneeling to help. Letting curiosity get the better of him, he wandered over.

  Garrick was on the floor, fallen but neither conscious nor unconscious. He was having some kind of fit, and Gen was holding him almost steady while Ronan tried to position a hypospray for best effect. A burly med-tech added his weight. Ronan activated the spray, and Garrick went limp.

  “Are you okay?” Max offered a hand to Gen, but she didn’t need it.

  “I’m fine. Don’t interrupt your day for us. Come on, Liv.”

  She turned, but Liv was nowhere in sight.

  Gen gasped and reached for Max’s hand.

  How long had it been since Gen had reached for him voluntarily?

  “It’s all right.” Max felt his Finder’s connection to his daughter. “She’s not gone far. This way.”

  He didn’t let Gen’s hand drop from his own as he led the way into the infirmary, following a series of open doors until they came fac
e-to-face with Kitty Keely. She was kneeling in front of a clear panel with her right hand pressed to it. Liv stood on this side of the screen with her right hand pressed against the glass to Kitty’s.

  “Liv.” Gen snapped out her daughter’s name, but the child didn’t move. “Liv!”

  She pushed forward, but Max held on to her hand. “Wait. There’s something going on. Don’t wrench her out of it. You may do more harm than good.”

  “To hell with that!” Gen shook him off, but this time she approached more carefully. “Liv, sweetie, we mustn’t disturb the nice lady.”

  Olivia dropped her hand from the glass. “She’s not a nice lady. She wants to kill everyone. Dead.”

  “Did she tell you that?” Max asked. “Did she say she wanted to kill everyone on Crossways?”

  “No, silly. Not here. Everyone. All the people. Everywhere.” She turned to Gen. “She says she wants to go home.”

  “Home?”

  “To the funny black thing.”

  Max looked at Gen. “We need to tell Ronan and Ben. They’ll want to talk to Liv.”

  “Not now,” Gen said. “Ronan’s taking care of Garrick, and in case you hadn’t noticed, our daughter is a bit too young for all this.”

  Max tried to interpret Gen’s glowering look. Now what had he done?

  Chapter Forty

  RESEARCH

  CARA HAD TO SIDLE THROUGH SOLAR WIND’S flight deck now that Christa Beckham’s equipment filled up half the available space. Ben had had a couple of men help to haul it up the access tube, set it up, and strap it down in front of the pair of bucket seats that were for passengers.

  Maybe she should introduce Doctor Beckham to Dido Kennedy. If Dido had been able to make the jump engines small enough to retrofit, she could probably reduce Beckham’s equipment to the size of a suitcase.

  “I need to check it now and then check it again while we’re in realspace,” Beckham said. “Then see what we get in the Folds.” She bent to the equipment, made a slight adjustment, and looked up. “Do you think I’ll be able to see them?”

  Ben shrugged. “Did you test for an implant when you were in your teens?”

  “Of course, but no aptitude, I’m afraid.”

  “It still doesn’t mean anything. You might, or you might have to let your machines do your seeing for you.”

  “I would so much like—”

  “You might not,” Cara said. “There are some who can’t cope with what they see in the Folds.”

  “I know, I know, but still . . .”

  “Coming aboard.” Ronan’s voice sounded below. Within seconds, he emerged from the access tube followed by Jake. Ben was using this trip as an opportunity to drop Jake off to bring the Howling Wolf back through the Folds to Crossways now Yan and his crew had retrofitted the jump drive.

  With Ed Dobson and a small crew installed in engineering, they were ready for departure.

  Doctor Beckham glanced sideways at Ronan as he slid into the second bucket seat alongside her, carefully avoiding contact with the equipment. “Am I likely to need medical intervention, Doctor Wolfe?”

  “I certainly hope not.” Ronan smiled. “But I confess I’m curious, and in case everyone else is busy, I will be able to alert you to the presence of void dragons should you not be able to see them for yourself.”

  “Tactfully put, Doctor.”

  “And if you need me to do anything, please let me know.”

  “It’s hardly likely, but thanks for the offer. Don’t touch anything and we shall get on very well.”

  She pursed her mouth, but a small smile reached her eyes.

  “Oh, I’m happy to simply watch and learn,” Ronan said.

  Cara took the comms as usual while Jake slid into the systems station.

  “It seems like a small crew for so complex a ship,” Dr. Beckham said.

  “That’s the beauty of Solar Wind,” Ben said. “She’s streamlined in all her operations. If necessary, she can be flown single-handed, though I wouldn’t recommend it for extended flights.”

  “Is the ship armed?”

  “She is, but we’re not anticipating running into the kind of trouble that needs torpedoes.”

  One hundred klicks out from Crossways, Ben brought the jump drive online. “I doubt whether we’ll be visited by void dragons on this section of the journey, Doctor Beckham. It’s a very quick jump to Amarelo space to rendezvous with the Howling Wolf. Even so, please strap in. The effects of foldspace can be somewhat strange.”

  “Are you trying to make me nervous?”

  “Not at all. Just cautious, which is entirely the right way to approach foldspace.”

  “I did go through the Folds to reach Crossways in the first place, you know.”

  “On a regular passenger vessel?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s likely they put a mild sedative into the cabin air. It’s standard on commercial passenger ships and it saves people from freaking out should there be any so-called illusions.”

  Doctor Beckham’s mouth formed an “oh” shape.

  “Should I switch on the equipment now?”

  “No harm in letting it run,” Ben said as he connected with the jump drive, feeling Solar Wind from the inside. “Foldspace coming up in three . . . two . . . one.”

  • • •

  The flight deck lighting fails, but Cara looks over in the gloom and Ben doesn’t appear to need it. After a few seconds it flickers on again, but softer and more golden than before. She forms a mental gestalt with all the psi-techs on board, which is everyone except Doctor Beckham. Mustn’t forget Doctor Beckham. She’s all right with Ronan to steady her. At least, she’s not screaming, which is a good sign.

  An eerie rainbow of light begins somewhere above Ben and grows until all the colors merge and the flight deck is engulfed in pure white light.

  “Pretty col—” Doctor Beckham begins, but then has to screw up her eyes against the brightness. With one hand shading her eyes, she presses a couple of switches on the equipment. “Is there anything?”

  “No.” Cara, Ben, and Ronan answer at the same time. No void dragons. Not even a visit from the otter-kind.

  They pop out of the Folds, blinking at the sudden change of light.

  • • •

  “Was that it?” Doctor Beckham asked.

  “That was it,” Ben said, smiling a relieved kind of smile.

  “It was so—”

  “Quick?” Cara suggested.

  “We’ll stay longer on the return journey,” Ben said. “As long as it’s safe.”

  “Is safety an issue?” Doctor Beckham said.

  “It depends on what we see, or what we’re seen by.”

  Cara hailed Yan Gwenn.

  Howling Wolf sent out a launch to exchange Jake for Yan, who emerged on to the flight deck smiling. “Jake’s going to enjoy bringing that ship home,” he said. “It’s been a privilege to be her captain, even though it was only temporary.”

  Ben welcomed him with a wave. “Welcome to the real world, Acting Captain Gwenn. Now get your backside into the systems chair and let’s be away and leave Jake to play with his new toy for a while.”

  “Yessir!” Yan gave a very smart mock salute.

  Ben introduced Doctor Beckham and explained the purpose of her research trip. “Keep the time, Yan. We’ll stay as long as it’s safe.”

  “Mr. Dobson.” Ben used the mechanical comms as a courtesy to Doctor Beckham.

  “Yes, Boss.”

  “I want your engineers positioned as we agreed in case we get any unwelcome Nimbus-shaped visitors.”

  “On it, Boss.”

  “And while we’re in the Folds, I want everyone in gestalt. If there’s any danger, I want to know the instant it’s spotted.”

  Cara opened up links with Dob
son and the five engineers as they positioned themselves at strategic points.

  “Right. Doctor Beckham, please make the most of this. I don’t want to have to do it twice,” Ben said.

  This was the first time Ben had deliberately extended the time Solar Wind remained in foldspace since rescuing Garrick and losing Kitty Keely. Kara knew he had to be all kinds of nervous, but as usual he didn’t show it. He brought the jump engine on line.

  “Preparing for foldspace in three, two, one.”

  • • •

  Instead of the bright white light this time everything is misty for a while. The mist gradually clears from the deck plates upward until there’s only a layer of fluffy cloud lining the ceiling of the flight deck. It dissipates.

  “Everything all right, Doctor?” Ben asks. “Recording?”

  “Yes, audio and video and more besides. I have the baseline from the first journey to compare it to.”

  “One minute,” Yan calls.

  “That’s funny,” Doctor Beckham says. “My clock says two and a half minutes.”

  “Time is strange in the Folds,” Yan says. “One minute, thirty.”

  In the gestalt Cara feels Ben looking for the line to Crossways Station and Olyanda. He finds it, but lets Solar Wind coast.

  “Are we moving?” Doctor Beckham asks.

  “Yes . . . and no,” Ben says. “It’s relative. Movement, time, space, spacetime. You’re the theoretical physicist, Doctor.”

  “Two minutes,” Yan calls.

  “Yes, but this is a practical application of—”

  “They’re here,” Ronan says for Doctor Beckham’s benefit. “Otter-kind. Small and sleek, moving like otters in water.”

  Beckham checks her machines, but it’s obvious she can’t see them.

  “Where are they?”

  “Rolling around each other close to the ceiling. They look as though they’re playing. They buzzed Yan’s head.”

  “They did?” Yan looks up, but he can’t see them either.

  “Ah, here’s the big one,” Ronan says as the big void dragon noses through the bulkhead, the clawed strands on its prehensile beard waving as if there’s a breeze.