Ruby stared at the private bubbles, lost in thought.
“But you’ll be invited to them. I wanted you to have context.”
“How do you know I’ll get invited?”
“You already have been.”
They floated silently over the agribubbles, high enough to look out at the homes of people with power Ruby was having trouble imagining. “What do you want from that? Why?”
Satyana shook her head. “To start with, I want you to meet some people. Naveen has made you attractive to the common people of the station, but to get true safety, you need to meet people who may give you what I did, only at a higher level.”
Ruby thought a moment. “You gave me a place to play, but you’re like Naveen. More credit went to you than to us.”
Satyana gave her a long look. “We’re driven by that. By credit. All of us. But don’t see us as that shallow. I want some of the same things you do.”
“What things?”
“More fairness.”
Ruby ate the blue square, slowly. This one was sublime; as different from what they had been fed during quarantine as the Fire was from the Deep. Even though it tasted good, food didn’t calm her stomach as much as she expected it to.
Satyana squinted at her. “That’s not enough for lunch.”
“I know. I’m not hungry.”
“You look queasy. Should I take you home?”
“No.” When would she have another chance to see the station from near-space? Ix had filled the map table with images on the way in, but this was much more intimate.
Satyana’s face had grown worried. “It wouldn’t do to have something happen to you when we’re way out here. The Honey is too small for a decent medikit.
“I’m all right.”
“Take a good look at those bubbles. You’ll meet people that most residents of the Deep don’t even know exist. You may be invited to their houses. This is nearly impossible, but for you it’s happening without effort.”
Promising Satyana anything felt wrong. “I can think about it. My first focus needs to be on my people, on getting us established.”
“This will help you. If you get more popular, you’ll earn more credit.”
Ruby stared at the huge bubbles, only part of the station. She couldn’t imagine the power it took to build them, or the technology. All of the control that the greens and the reds had wielded now seemed small. The petty authority that she and Joel had now, which was more like thankless work than being a captain and his lover, seemed even smaller. She wished Onor were here. His fascination with power could be useful.
The view still made her think of the Brawl.
She took a sip of water, remembering how so many people had told her less than the truth. She hadn’t caught Naveen in lies yet, and Naveen trusted Satyana. “Can you tell me who you want me to meet?”
Satyana looked like she had expected more, but she responded with grace. “No. But I will see that you meet them.”
Ruby didn’t like the secrecy. She stared at the huge bubbles of life in front of them and pursed her lips. Perhaps she could use some of her influence more directly. “Do you have any work that some of my people can do? Paid work?”
“Will that help persuade you to help me?”
“It will earn my gratitude. We need ways to learn how to survive here.”
Satyana sat silently at the controls, looking out over the habitat bubbles. “You really do want to save everyone, don’t you? Thousands of people?”
“Of course I do. I’m responsible for them.”
“You’ll break your heart.”
Maybe it was already broken in this mystifying and difficult place.
“I’ll take you back. Belt in.”
Ruby’s stomach argued with her and she felt cramped as she strapped back in, the lower strap across her waist compressing her belly. It took a half an hour of steady flying to return to the Star Bear.
On the other side of the airlock, KJ, Dayn, and Ani stood against the wall, looking as though they hadn’t been worried.
Dayn raised an eyebrow at her. “Didn’t you promise Joel you wouldn’t run away without one of us?”
Satyana shook her head as if bemused, and then lied smoothly. “The ship was too small for three.” She glanced at Ruby. “I’ll release you to your keepers. Next time you call home, have someone pick three men and three women to send over here to work.”
Not enough. “Can I send forty?”
Satyana stopped and gave her a cool, measured look. “Twenty. For two weeks. Then we’ll evaluate. They’ll have to be excellent, and they’ll have to start at half-wages until they’re trained. Remember, this is a business.”
How could she forget? “Thank you.”
“You can’t go off with people by yourself,” KJ echoed Dayn as soon as Satyana was out of earshot. “If she’d stolen you, we would have never found you.”
KJ’s voice sounded smooth like always, calm to the core. Nevertheless, Ruby sensed tension. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“I’ll have to tell Joel.”
“Why?”
“Because I work for him.”
Ruby’s feet felt heavy and thick after all that sitting. She leaned against the wall. “Don’t you work for both of us? Didn’t you hear I just got us twenty jobs?”
“That’s a good thing,” KJ said. “But if anything happens to you, I may not be able to go home. I’m here in Joel’s stead to watch over you.”
“And I’m an adult.” Words were getting hard to get out and she slumped over.
“Are you okay?” Ani asked.
“Just give me a minute.”
“Catch her,” Dayn said.
Then there were arms around her, and the world spun inside her head and her belly and she felt herself being lifted.
Onor, SueAnne, Joel, and Allen sat around the bar table where they had met the strangers the night before. Once more, the bar was closed, the scent of cleaner in the air stronger than the leftover traces of food and spilled alcohol. The table in front of them held only simple breads and water, a sign that Joel was in warrior mode.
Joel was almost always above still, but Onor wished for more than water. It might be a long conversation.
Joel spoke first. “I didn’t invite anyone else because rumors that we’ve been taken advantage of could be dangerous.” He looked from one to another of them, his face serious.
Onor frowned. Ruby would have played it by sharing it with everyone. But when it was his turn, he said, “Okay.”
“All right,” Joel sat back. “What do you think of this claim?”
“Can we verify it?” Allen asked. “There could be real danger in taking Koren on.”
SueAnne spoke next. “Someone’s got to actually spend time learning how we would even talk about this. The couple last night implied that Koren is breaking laws, but who would we appeal to, and why would they listen to us? I can figure out some of that from here on my slate, and after that, maybe I can head to the Exchange and see what else I can find. I’ve developed a few contacts there.”
“Thanks.” Joel glanced at Onor.
“I think these people are right. Remember, I didn’t like her from day one. Naveen didn’t either. But I also don’t like what they wouldn’t tell us. They have their own goals. How do we know they’ll protect us?”
Joel gave him an approving look before going all serious again. “We don’t. And we must be very careful what we say to whom. Koren could have spies here.”
“Like the whispering women?” Allen asked.
Joel laughed. “Irritations with no teeth. But strangers come in here. If one side of this argument found us, the other side could do so as well.”
“True,” Allen said. “I’ll watch out for that. Bars are the best place in the world to hear about things.”
Joel grunted at that.
Onor spoke up. “I have an idea about verification.”
“Tell me.”
“Use Haric
. He’s an old hand at mingling, he’s looking for jobs out there, and was before these people found us so it won’t look like he’s doing anything new. No one will think we gave him anything important to do. He’s too young.”
Joel frowned.
“He wants to do something that matters,” Onor said. “He would also recognize some of the cargo. He was a cargo rat.”
SueAnne looked at Joel. “We can’t do without you or Onor. Allen is best used here. So you do need help, and Haric is about the most earnest boy I’ve ever met. I think he can do this, and that he’d be happy about the chance to help.”
Onor addressed SueAnne. “He’ll need some credit.”
“And you don’t have any hidden here from the bar?”
Allen stiffened, but Onor saw her point. “That’ll keep it off the official books.”
SueAnne stared Allen down until he nodded.
“It might be dangerous,” Joel said.
“I know.” If anything happened to Haric, Ruby might scratch his eyes out.
Ruby opened her eyes and blinked to focus. She remembered waking a few times before, but she couldn’t remember any conversations, or that she stayed awake for very long at all. This time, Ani and Jali were sitting at a table in her room, playing a game that required them to slide their slates back and forth between each other. “You still don’t think it was poison?” Ani whispered.
“She’s looked steadily worse since we left the Fire.”
“I think she’s sick of this place,” Ani noted. “I certainly am.”
Ruby pushed herself to sit up. Her lips and sinuses were so dry it hurt to breathe and her head ached. “Is there water?”
Jali looked up, dropping the slate onto the table. “On your bed stand.” She stood up and handed Ruby the glass. “How do you feel?”
Her stomach still hurt, somewhere deep inside. But she couldn’t say anything about that; it was too important to be strong. They all needed this tour. “When is the dinner?”
“What dinner?” Ani asked. “The one last night?”
Oh. “I slept that long?”
“We made excuses for you. Min and Naveen and few others went. They said the food was fabulous.”
“What did you tell people?”
“That you were too tired from the concert, and that you’d perhaps had a bad reaction to some food.”
“Naveen appears to have gotten Min drunk. That’s about the only thing we heard that’s worth reporting.”
“Is Min okay?”
“She’s sleeping it off.”
Food. She should be hungry. The water helped. Maybe after she drank some more water, she’d be hungry. “I’m sorry. Not food, I hardly ate anything, and Satyana ate what I ate.”
Jali laughed. “Don’t be sorry for wearing yourself out. You’re doing it for us.” Her brows furrowed. “Maybe you should sleep some more.”
Ruby stood up, tested her strength, shook her head. “I want to clean up, and eat.”
Ani said, “Maybe we should bring one of our doctors over.”
Jali stood next to Ruby, encourage Ruby to drape an arm over her shoulder. “I’ll ask KJ about it.”
“No,” Ruby said. “I’ll be fine. I’m sure I just wore myself out. I haven’t really stopped since we got here. Maybe since the robot spiders. That’s got to be it.”
An hour, a shower, and a few pieces of bread later she did feel better. “There. Maybe you can buy me a day’s time to keep resting? I have some songs I need to write.”
Ani laughed. “Maybe you do feel better.”
Onor lay beside Marcelle, one hand on her swelling stomach and the other propping his head up. She looked exhausted. He’d tried to get her to do less, but she’d simply looked at him with a “who would do this better?” look and he’d known not to press his luck.
“Are all of the children all right today?”
“Yes. We let two go home, in fact. But there’s three women in with something strange. They’re exhausted, I think. The worst is one of Lya’s whispering women. She came in, claimed she was exhausted, and then passed out. Luckily she was sitting on the bed when she fell over. Lya made sure someone sat with her the whole time. When it was Lya’s turn to watch over her, I visited with her. She looks so haunted still. Her hands shook. It was really weird. I asked her if she knew what was wrong and she told me no, she doesn’t. She babbled about Ruby making sure they all stay locked up in here so they can’t go out and about. It’s as if just being stuck in Ash is killing her.”
“Could they be working too hard?”
“Sure. Maybe I’ll pass out next. Get one or two days of sleep in.”
“Don’t you dare. Pass out. You could do the sleeping bit, though. You could use it.”
“You’re not exactly well-rested.”
He didn’t answer that. “How is school going?”
“I overheard a group of the teenagers talking about figuring out how to go find their fortunes on a spaceship.”
Onor chewed on his lower lip. “They need to make their fortunes doing something.”
Marcelle rolled over to face him. “They need to help support us all.”
“Ruby told me once that her biggest fear is that we won’t all stay together. That the people of the Fire will scatter and get absorbed. I remember her face when she said it—she was fierce.”
“What did you tell her?” Marcelle asked.
“That for now, she’s right. If we want everyone to survive, we have to work together. But in the long run? If we learn enough to get along here, we’ll go off into the Deep or off on other ships. We’ll mix up with the people here.”
“Yeah.” Marcelle didn’t sound happy. “The hard part is getting the kids to know the difference between now and in the future. It will really hurt if we lose all of the teens.”
“Are they studying hard?”
“As hard as we were when Ruby demanded we learn how to pass Ix’s mythical test to get us into the other levels.”
“I’ll talk to Joel about it if I can.”
Marcelle looked dubious. “Aren’t you guarding him?”
“Sure. Today we went over the books with SueAnne. Then we met with Haric to get him ready to go out into the world and search for bits of our cargo. But I wasn’t alone with Joel once, and the meeting with SueAnne had five people in it. I stood against a wall and listened.”
“How does Joel look?”
“Like he’s missing half of himself. Like he’s distracted. Sometimes. Other times he’s focused as hell.”
Marcelle touched Onor’s cheek. “He is missing half of himself.”
Onor winced.
Marcelle put a finger over his lips. “You are too, I can see it. You miss her.”
“I’m worried about her.”
“Of course you are. We all are. But it’s working, right? People are paying to see her? The last time I saw SueAnne she actually had a smile on her face.”
Onor nodded. “SueAnne still talks in time. She said Ruby gained us all two weeks in one concert. But the next one’s not for two days and it’s been two days, so we’ll have lost almost a week of that before she sings again. She can’t do this forever.”
“I know.”
The community had enough days of credit to get through the rest of the pregnancy. Marcelle would give birth in two months. But if they all ended up in the Brawl, the Deep would take the baby. They’d take all of the children.
Every day, he managed to go about his tasks and to keep learning, but under his determination there was always an uneasy fear, and below the fear, a sense of being unmoored.
He rubbed his fingers lightly along the soft skin of Marcelle’s cheek and tucked a stray dark curl behind her ear.
Her stomach bounced against him. He whispered. “Kicking?”
“Kicking.”
He sat up so that he could put both of his hands on her tummy. He held them still there for a long time, waiting for another kick.
Marcelle watched him with w
ide, soft eyes peering up from a face that had grown thinner with her pregnancy. “If you wait long enough, it will kick again.”
“Does it hurt?”
“It tells me the baby is alive. It reminds me why I have to keep going.”
“It helps me, too. Not just the kicks. The baby at all. It keeps me going.”
The ends of her mouth quirked up. “Really? Are you happy about it?”
No. He wished they hadn’t created such a fragile thing right now. “I’m scared for it. I want to make sure we give it a future. It keeps me working to understand this place, to try and find out how to get back some of what is ours. It gives me something more to care about.”
“More?”
“More than you. More than all of us.” The look on her face made him realize he needed to say more. “I want us all to be safe. I love you.”
As if it agreed with him, the baby kicked.
Dayn walked in front of Naveen and Ruby, looking left and right, alert. He had taken on a shepherding role since the tour began. From time to time he looked back at Ruby, as if making sure she was still there. He was so serious it made her feel warm and a bit odd; Dayn had been her watcher since she was essentially Fox’s captive years ago. KJ walked on her other side. Ani, Jali, and Min all followed close behind. She felt surrounded, enclosed. Almost suffocated.
Naveen put a hand on her arm. “This will be the best after-concert party ever. You’ll be amazed. The man who put it on for you—Gunnar Ellensson—owns the biggest cargo operation between here and Mammot.”
“What do they take back and forth?” She remembered the game. “Mammot doesn’t have as much as Lym.”
“There are precious metals which are more easily mined than made.”
“I thought your invisible machines could do anything.”
“They can. Some things they do better than nature. Others, not so much. Remember, we can live on food squares, but we thrive with real food.”
“Where are we going?”
Now Naveen grinned even wider. “The party is in one of the secret bubbles.”
The Diamond Deep Page 30