The Far Horizon

by Patty Jansen

  Sure enough, out the door came another figure, dressed in a long robe, blue rimmed with gold. An elderly woman of imposing height, with long silver hair flowing over her shoulders.

  Cory gasped. He recognised her face from Erith's pictures: Joyelin Akhtari, the Union Secretary. The highest-ranking official in the Union.

  He scrambled to put the earphones back on, but there was no sound. What? Had the earphones chosen this precise moment to break down? He fiddled with the volume button, but then the voice of the reporter boomed in his ear, 'I'm speechless. I can't believe this, I just cannot believe this.' Cory cringed and turned the volume down. 'It's Chief Delegate Joyelin Pahini Akhtari. Viewers, watch this historic moment. The Union Secretary has come to Midway.'

  Cory's father wasn't a short man, but she towered over him by at least half ahead. Even on the screen, Cory could see surprise on his father's face. He remembered his father's frustration at the Union's refusal to send him the names of the delegates. He could now see why.

  Theariki's father looked even more shocked. He couldn't stop bowing.

  Cory pushed down the earphones to stifle the blaring reporter.

  He groaned. The Union Secretary. Fancy if something happened to her. All the Union members would pounce on Earth. There would be war.

  He had to stop it.

  He ran to the door and bashed it. 'Let me out. Please, let me out.'

  His fists made a racket on the door's plastic, but no one came.

  Then he heard it: a soft scrabbling, somewhere in the ceiling. He stared up at the air-conditioning vent. What? Had Joseph lost his rabbittooh again? The sound became louder until the scratches were accompanied by thumps, grunts and panting breaths.

  Cory peered up. 'Who is there?'

  A small voice answered, muffled in tight space. 'It's me.'

  'Who's me?'

  'Sunil. Can you see me?'

  Cory saw only darkness beyond the grate. 'Sunil? What on Earth are you doing in there?'

  'Letting you out. Can you reach the ceiling?'

  'Hang on.' Cory ran across the room to Miss Rosier's desk. The news now showed how the party had moved into the large auditorium, where they were exchanging gifts. Cory slammed the cover over the screen and pushed, and pulled and pushed Miss Rosier's desk into the corner. He climbed up, still couldn't reach, jumped back off, put a chair on the table and climbed on that.

  His face pressed against the grate, he peered into the darkness. 'I still can't see you.'

  'I can see you.' Yes, now Sunil spoke, Cory could see him, too. Or at least his teeth, white and ghost-like in the gloom.

  'The Union Secretary came with the Union people,' Sunil said.

  'I know. I saw it.'

  'You know that a lot of people at Midway don't like Union people?'

  Cory cringed. Sunil was too little to understand what all this was about. 'Listen, Sunil, I need to talk to someone. Where is Alma?'

  'In the entertainment room. Leon and Marnix came in and told us what Miss Rosier did to you. Rory knew where to find a crowbar and Leon and Marnix took the grate off. And Bianca's in the corridor to warn us if anyone comes. Come on Cory, stand back. I've got a hammer and I'm going to knock this grate out.'

  Cory jumped off the table.

  Sunil brought the hammer down with a bang that made the walls vibrate. The grate released a cloud of dust, but didn't budge.

  'Hang on, I'll help you.' Cory climbed back onto the table, slid his fingers through the holes and pulled. Sunil banged. Cory hung on the grate with his whole weight.

  It still didn't budge.

  Muffled voices sounded in the corridor outside.

  'Cory, can you hear me?' That was Alma.

  Cory jumped off the table and ran to the door. 'Alma, listen. The Terran League is planning to take the Aurelian and flee to New Taurus after they've sabotaged the conference. Tell my father.'

  'Hang on, Cory. We'll open the door.'

  'No, just go without me. We can't get the grate off. Just go, right?'

  'I'll get someone.' Footsteps ran off.

  The next ten minutes felt like an eternity. Cory and Sunil frantically tried to prise the grate from its position. It bent. Flakes of paint fell off, into Cory's eyes, but it still didn't budge.

  Then an enormous thud shook the room. The door rattled in its frame. Cory jumped off the desk and pushed himself against the wall, his eyes on the door which shuddered under repeated blows.

  'Who's that?'

  Thud.

  'Hey, what are you doing?'

  Another thud, far too loud to be made by a kid. The lock fell out of the door and crashed to the floor with a metallic clang. The door slid aside.

  And in stepped . . . Sullivan, holding a crowbar in one hand.

  Cory squeaked and pressed himself against the wall. Now he'd done it. The Terran League had found out what he knew and had come to deal with him.

  Play innocent. Sullivan would have heard every word he had spoken to President Gonzales— 'Sir, I can explain. I wasn't talking about you, I—'

  Sullivan silenced him with a gesture of the hand. 'Stop your drivel, and listen.'

  And then Cory saw to his surprise that the entire class of the Midway school had entered the room. A small form remained in the doorway. Theariki.

  Sullivan grabbed Cory by the arm and set him on a table. 'Right—these men, who are they?'

  Cory stared at him. 'Which . . . which men?'

  'The ones you saw trying to attack Sylvester.'

  But surely, he already knew them? 'They . . . they were labourers.' He cast desperate looks around, but met only Alma's eyes. She smiled and her mouth moved, 'It's all right.'

  What did she mean it was all right? It wasn't all right at all. Those men had mentioned Sullivan. Cory said, 'But . . . what about you? Aren't you . . . one of them?'

  Sullivan flicked him an annoyed look. 'One of them—what do you mean?'

  'A member of the Terran League?'

  Sullivan snorted. 'Yes. I am a member of the Terran League. Proud of it, too.' Cory shrank back at the thin finger pointed at him. 'That is why, young man, I will not have our organisation rolled through the mud. If certain individuals think it is all right to steal and murder in the name of the League, they are mistaken. Now, hurry up. Tell me what you know.'

  As quickly as he could, Cory related his story of what he had overheard while trying to catch Flopsy. Sullivan's eyes grew wider with every word he spoke.

  'The Aurelian?'

  Cory nodded.

  'The guy with the tattoos—that has to be Wagnell and his group. They said Sylvester has something to do with this plan?'

  Cory nodded again.

  Sullivan cursed. 'He has access to every part of the docks.' He crossed the room and with a slap of his hand, brought the screen on Miss Rosier's desk to life. A few touches of his hands navigated through the menu. 'Why doesn't this connect?'

  'Someone cut the connection, Sir.'

  'Someone?' Cold grey eyes fixed Cory's. 'I don't believe that. I bet there's always been a barrier on this link. You're supposed to be learning, not snooping around.' Sullivan's turned his attention to the screen. 'I should have known Alan Wagnell was behind this. He and Pauline and all the rest of them.'

  Cory whispered, 'Miss Rosier is a pilot.'

  Sullivan's nostrils flared. 'With no flight experience—if she puts as much as a scratch on that thing, I'll wring her neck.' He banged his fist on the table. 'Come on, why won't this connect?' He took the phone from his pocket and pressed a few numbers. 'Collins, I'm at the school. Can you give me security override on their communication?' He fiddled with the touchpad on Miss Rosier's desk. 'No . . . No . . . That doesn't work—what?' He glanced at Cory, who returned a smug smile. See, he was right. Someone had cut the link.

  Sullivan stuck his phone in his pocket. 'Come.' He strode into the corridor, gesturing at the other children. 'You, too.'

  It was a strange group that made its way through the dese
rted corridors of Midway station, up the staircase, into the official section. The smaller children had to run to keep up with Sullivan's pace. The corridors were deserted. Joseph assured Cory this was because everyone sat in the auditorium witnessing the start of the conference.

  All the way, Sullivan spoke on his phone, shouting directions at his staff.

  A security guard blocked the door to the auditorium. 'You can't use this entrance, Sir. The negotiations are in progress.'

  Sullivan gave the man a cold look. 'Who is your boss, Whitehead?'

  'Uhm—you are, Sir.'

  'All right—watch this.' He undid the latch. Both doors slid aside and Sullivan stepped into the room.

  A broad staircase led between the seats down to the auditorium floor, where Cory's father sat in the centre of a long table, facing the audience. The Earth delegates sat to the left and the Union delegates to his right, all dressed in blue. The silver hair of the Union Secretary stood out.

  Sullivan descended the stairs, beckoning for the children to follow.

  His father's face didn't show emotion, but Cory wasn't fooled.

  'Sullivan, what is the meaning of this?' His father's hand clasped the pocket of his jacket where Cory knew he kept an emergency beacon that would set off a station-wide alarm.

  Sullivan bowed. 'I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir, but this is an important matter.'

  'It had better be very important.'

  'It is, Sir. I want no one to leave this room until we have searched every inch of the docks, including the Union delegation's ship. Meanwhile, I have to talk to Alan Wagnell and Pauline Rosier.'

  His grey eyes scanned the audience. His security officers moved through the crowd. A muffled shout came from the top, where two uniformed men held Rocky, his arms behind his back. His voice echoed through the auditorium.

  'It's nothing to do with me. I'm not going with them.' He kicked at one of the men holding him.

  At least ten security officers ran up the stairs, clambering over the benches.

  People screamed and pushed into the aisles.

  Security officers ran onto the floor, forming a wall between the audience and the delegates. Four of the Union people jumped to their feet, surrounding the Union Secretary.

  On the stairs next to Cory, Sullivan screamed into his phone, 'Whitehead!'

  The response crackled. 'Wagnell and Rosier are not here, Sir.'

  Sullivan stared straight at Cory. His lips formed the words, the Aurelian.

  Chapter 24

  Sullivan went white in the face. He brought his phone to his ear, listened, cursed while his eyes scanned the panicking audience. He bellowed into his phone, 'Whitehead, find Chiu!'

  Cory remembered the Asian man who was master of the docks. Was he part of the plan, too?

  Sullivan now ran down the remaining steps to where the delegates still sat at the table. Harvey MacIntosh was shouting, 'No, no, not at all,' in response to someone.

  Theariki's father spoke to the Union Secretary, but Cory couldn't see much more of either of them than their heads because of the wall of uniformed security officers.

  Sullivan bowed before Cory's father, who was trying to calm a panicked member of staff while looking into the audience, no doubt for Erith. Now he focused on Sullivan, who gestured with both hands.

  Cory's father nodded, once. He fiddled with the microphone around his neck. A moment later, his voice came through the sound system in the room. 'Calm everyone, please!'

  The rumbling and shouting died down as people stopped and turned, most on the stairs on their way out of the auditorium. Cory spotted most of his classmates near the door. Alma held Sunil and Bianca's hands.

  Chief Delegate Akhtari's voice cut through the silence. She towered over the other Union delegates.

  Cory's father gestured at Delegate Ethvos. 'Please tell her that things are under control.'

  Theariki's father translated; Chief Delegate Akhtari replied in a sharp tone.

  'She says it doesn't look much like you're in control to her.'

  Cory's father closed his eyes briefly and took in a deep breath.

  Way up near the back wall, two men carried Rocky towards the door, unconscious.

  Cory scanned the room. Where was Erith?

  His father tapped the microphone. 'I adjourn this meeting while I and the delegates move to the small auditorium in the control room. All security staff will report to Sullivan. All other staff and their families are to return to their residential quarters and stay there until further notice. Anyone found in the corridors will be taken into custody. Emergency code three applies.' He switched off the system and gestured at Cory, who came down to the floor and squeezed himself against the tide of security staff running in the other direction, Sullivan in the lead. About ten guards remained around the table, several openly displaying guns.

  At the end of the table, a group of people on blue surrounded Theariki's father and the Union Secretary, eyes roving the fast-emptying hall. Chief Delegate Akhtari still argued; her voice was harsh. Theariki's father wiped sweat from his forehead.

  Cory ran to his father, who put an arm around his shoulder. 'You come with me. We must keep the Union Secretary safe.' Worry creased his face while he continued to look at the empty seats in the auditorium. 'Have you seen Erith?'

  Cory shook his head

  His father whirled around. 'Whitehead—where is my wife?'

  'Don't know, Sir. We need to get our guests out of here.'

  'You go. I need to find her.'

  'No, Sir, Sullivan insisted that we protect you.'

  'But—my wife—I can't . . .' The look in his father's face made Cory shiver. It was like a ghost of his mother's death passed over his father's face.

  The guard named Whitehead, a short stocky man, spoke softly. 'Sir—I insist.'

  Cory's father swallowed. 'Yes, the safety of our guests comes first.' He glanced towards the end of the table. 'That woman is going to give us enough trouble already. Go ahead, Whitehead. Take us to the control room.'

  The guards formed a solid wall of muscle around them as they left the auditorium through the side door. Cory's father clasped Cory's shoulders so hard it hurt. His face tense, he whispered, 'I know you don't understand, but I love her, Cory. I should never have taken her here. I'll never forgive myself if something happens . . .' Cory was embarrassed to see that his father's eyes glistened.

  'I understand.' Cory looked away. His eyes pricked, too.

  The lifts could not take the whole group at once, so they walked up the stairs, first a group of guards, then Cory and his father and Harvey MacIntosh, and then everyone else. No one spoke much. Cory's father kept looking around.

  A line of Union people walked directly behind them. Broad-shouldered types with dark, slanted eyes that ignored Cory and hair that glistened like the feathers on a peacock. The sound of Theariki's father's voice drifted from between them, though all Cory saw of him was the occasional glimpse of red hair. The Union Secretary replied in her sharp voice.

  At the top of the stairs, the guards in front stopped abruptly. 'Sir—wait! Someone has broken into the control room.'

  The security door, the one with no handle, the one that could only opened from the inside, stood open. A strip of twisted metal hung across the doorway and a ragged hole marked the place where the lock had been.

  A shout came from inside the room. 'The doctor! Someone get Doctor Savage, quick!'

  Inside the dimness of the control room, another security guard knelt next to a body on the floor: the Asian man who was a member of the Midway board.

  Harvey MacIntosh turned, his normally red face white, and asked no one in particular, 'That's Chiu, master of the docks, isn't it?'

  Before Cory could say that he thought so, there was a commotion amongst the throng of people lower on the stairs. A voice called, 'Excuse me, excuse please!' Alma's father pushed through, past Cory, into the control room.

  Someone behind him said, 'What is going on?' A woman's
voice, heavily accented.

  Cory whirled, meeting the eyes of Chief Delegate Akhtari, intense azure-blue eyes that seemed to look straight through him. Just a moment, then she turned to one of her delegates. Cory blew out a breath. Was he crazy or had she just spoken English?

  'Come.' Cory's father grabbed Cory's arm and continued into the control room. Behind them, the column of delegates shuffled into action.

  Alma's father sat on his knees next to Chiu who lay motionless on the floor, a trickle of blood over his forehead. Doctor Savage pressed his hands against the man's neck.

  Cory's father stopped. 'How is he?'

  Alma's father looked up; concern flitted in his eyes. 'Heartbeat is weak, Sir. Someone hit him hard over the head.' He had opened his case displaying a glittering array of instruments, most notably, a couple of frightful needles.

  Cory's stomach churned.

  His father bent down and asked in a low voice, 'Peter, when you came up here, did you see my wife?'

  Doctor Savage shook his head.

  Cory's father hid his face in his hands for a moment, then, at the sound of the penetrating voice of Chief Delegate Akhtari, straightened. He herded the group of delegates into a corner, between desks and blank computer screens. 'All delegates, proceed to the small auditorium, though that door over there. Find a seat and we shall continue our talks. Everyone else please stay here.'

  Harvey MacIntosh led the group into the auditorium, Chief Delegate Akhtari and her bodyguards following close behind.

  'You stay here with security, Cory. I don't think we can have any non-delegates in the room.' His father ruffled his hair. 'You'll be safe right here.'

  At that moment, a loud bang blasted from the other side of the room. People gasped and yelled, but the corner with the station's communication screens, where the sound had come from, was empty. It was on the screens that things were happening, elsewhere in the station—in the docks.