“Now, where were we? Of course, Rizrat! Does your mother still play?”
“Yeah, I think so. It’s been awhile since we spent much time together,” Neutrino continued scanning the area for anyone else, but still he saw no one. “She actually started getting into…”
“Finally!” Stalizza blurted out, her cheery disposition all but a memory. “I thought we’d never get rid of them!”
33. Promotion
“You wrote the note?” Neutrino asked.
“Of course I did,” Stalizza replied, “I couldn’t exactly sign it though. What if it got in the wrong hands? Darrignar would be very displeased if he knew I was talking to you behind his back. We must always be vigilant.” Neutrino looked carefully at her. She was shorter than Neutrino and plumper too. She may once have been attractive but now, she just looked matronly. She certainly didn’t look like the type to work behind the Master of the People’s back, but here she was, in a secret meeting with someone Darrignar positively disapproved of, and seemed to be very happy about it.
“Why did you want to meet with me?”
“You’ve done the entire system a great service Neutrino. I think you should know that. Darrignar and some of the others may not be too pleased, but even they realize what happened out there. They know that even our best battleship would probably not have survived. There are twelve members on the Senate, and though we may act as one, not all of us are in agreement with our great Master. That’s what makes our government so wonderful. I believe what you said about worse dangers out there, but you needn’t worry. We’ll take care of it.”
“How?” Did she mean a military form of ‘taking care of it’? For all her enlightenment, if she thought a military solution would work she was no better than Darrignar. The fact that they wouldn’t be able to defeat whatever was out there with their current weapons was something of which Neutrino was certain.
“Relax Neutrino. Trust us. Besides, you’ve got more important things to worry about. I shouldn’t really tell you this, I mean, it’s not official yet, but, you’ve been promoted.”
“Promoted?”
“It shouldn’t really be a surprise, you gave it to yourself after all,” she smiled and winked at him but he still didn’t understand. “How does it feel to be the first ever streamship captain?”
“Really? But that was just made up to try to get Captain Thrail behind us.”
“Not anymore. When the story breaks we’ll want you presented in the best light of course. It won’t do to say that a fourth time cadet was our hero. I shudder to think. No, you will be presented as the very first streamship captain. Smile Neutrino, you’re going to be famous.”
Famous?
“There’ll probably even be a parade in your honor,” she paused to let her words sink in, and though he tried, Neutrino couldn’t find anything to say in response. It was everything he had dreamed of, he wished he felt happier about it. “We would also like to put you into a position here at the Academy. We’ll be producing more streamships and we’ll need somebody to train Messengers to fly them.”
“And you want me?” Neutrino finally found his voice. I must be imagining things again.
“Of course we want you. You’re the only one with practical experience. We’ll also need you to train the others on travelling in a broken Slipstream. It’s going to take a while to repair all the damage that the Sun-entity has done.”
He could hardly believe what he was hearing. It hadn’t even been a week since he was near failing the Academy for a fourth time.
“So, can we count on you?” Stalizza asked. Neutrino considered it, but just briefly.
“I would be honored to be an instructor here,” he said, although he only half meant it. Being an instructor at the Academy was once an unthinkable dream, but now… his acceptance was more an act of politics than an actual desire. Neutrino didn’t think it was really an offer anyway; it was more like a rhetorical question for which there is only one acceptable answer. It didn’t seem wise to push his luck by refusing.
“Excellent! I’m sure there will be a formal announcement sometime soon. Now, I really must run. Goodbye, Captain Neutrino. I think we shall be seeing quite a bit of one another.” They had worked their way around to the street exit and Stalizza opened the door to a bustling street.
“Goodbye Mistress Stalizza. And thank you.” Neutrino shook her hand then watched as Stalizza walked away. He considered her words. It occurred to him that perhaps she had been sent. Maybe all of her concern about meeting secretly was just an act to convince him that she was on his side and not to worry. As likable as she was, he wasn’t sure he trusted her. On the other hand, maybe she was sincere, but even if Stalizza fancied herself a rogue Senate member, Neutrino wondered how radical she really was.
Neutrino headed in the opposite direction towards Slipstream Boulevard where plenty of busy people were passing by, either heading to lunch or back from it. Turning a corner, he spotted his friends, lounging on the front steps of the CSP. Lylia and Darwyth were deep in discussion while Mathius seemed to be happily sucking some pink liquid through a straw.
“Is that a Huja smoothie?” he asked. Lylia and Darwyth looked up from their conversation and Mathius nodded an affirmative. “Isn’t it a bit sour? I always thought the Huja smoothies were the worst.”
“It very terrible,” Mathius said with a smile, “But it make my tongue laugh. Feel strange.” Mathius stuck his tongue in and out of his mouth a few times, as if testing it out. Neutrino chuckled.
“All done then?” Darwyth asked. Neutrino nodded. “How about lunch then? I’m starving.”
“About that,” Neutrino said, “I talked to my mother when we landed, and she’s invited us all for lunch.”
“Did she now?” Darwyth inquired. “And does she know exactly who she’s invited over?” Neutrino shrugged noncommittally. “I see.”
Darwyth looked worried and like he might refuse, so Neutrino added, “I’d really like you to come over for lunch. And I think she would like it too.” Darwyth still looked uncertain, but he nodded and stood up, the others followed.
“Do you think we’ll actually be introduced this time?” Lylia asked with a small smile as she came to walk next to him. Neutrino just chuckled.
Finding a groove in the traffic, they entered the throng of people on Slipstream Boulevard. It was aptly named he thought, the way they had to integrate with the crowd reminded him of the Slipstream, and how he had to find the right rhythm in order to travel it, something which was no longer such a mystery.
With that thought, Neutrino’s mind returned to its foremost preoccupation: the Slipstream. What would the Senate do? They would have to slow down expansion for a while because of how much repair the existing Slipstream needed, but that wouldn’t last forever. Within a few years it would be business as usual and then what? The threat the Sun-entity had warned about was real, he was sure of it. But he was also sure the Senate didn’t agree. Neutrino longed to stop everyone he met and warn them, but he knew most people would be like the Senate and they wouldn’t believe, or wouldn’t want to believe him either. Before long the Senate really would find a way to get rid of him. As Stalizza suggested, he would have to be vigilant.
Consumed in thought and rising panic, Neutrino stopped dead in the middle of the street and let the pedestrians break around him like the sea against a rock. He felt Lylia and the others stop, confused by his actions, but he ignored them. He closed his eyes, turned his face to the sky and felt the sun’s warmth soothing upon his face. When his breathing calmed, he opened his eyes and looked at the orange ribbon glittering faintly in the shadow of the midday sun.
He knew what he had to do.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Slipstream Messenger! I’d love to hear what you think so please leave a review.
If you want to know what Neutrino plans to do next, keep your eyes open for the sequel Streamship Captain coming in early 2018!
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Daltea Francis, Slipstream Messenger (Neutrino Book 1)
Slipstream Messenger (Neutrino Book 1) Page 20