Transformation Space (Sentients of Orion Book 4)

by Marianne de Pierres

  A small cheer rose.

  Trin found his spot in the cave and sank gratefully onto the brush bed, knowing he had been right to give the news of the water last.

  Djes followed him in with some berries and dried fish. As he ate, she tried to tend to his head wound, but he waved her away. He needed sleep first.

  * * *

  She woke him later by gripping his hand, her hot breath close to his ear. ‘Trin.’

  He rolled towards her, reaching to pull her closer.

  She resisted, speaking again. ‘Liesl’s made trouble while you’ve been resting. A group of them are leaving.’

  Trin struggled to sit up, his skin stinging and his head aching.

  Djes handed him a shell of water, which he swallowed quickly to ease his sore throat. The cave was dimmer than when he’d laid down to sleep, and he could see the pinprick lights in the night sky through the opening.

  ‘What’s happening?’ he asked her, to be sure.

  ‘Innis is back. He and Liesl have persuaded some to leave with them and find another part of the island.’

  ‘Juno?’

  ‘Innis says they became separated.’

  Fury coursed through Trin in an instant. ‘Is Cass Mulravey siding with him?’

  ‘No, not yet, but you should come now.’

  Trin used the wall to help him to his feet. He felt hot and dizzy and his tongue seemed swollen. A fever?

  ‘What is it?’ whispered Djes.

  He pushed away from the wall. ‘Nothing.’

  There was no one else in the cave. The whole group was outside, standing in a ragged circle.

  As he drew closer, a wave of nausea beset Trin. He turned his head and swallowed the vomit that rose up his throat.

  No one seemed to notice; they were too concerned with their argument.

  ‘You can’t take our food,’ said one of the Pablo miners.

  ‘We worked for it. We’re entitled to some,’ said Liesl. Trin could see Innis next to her, gaunt and belligerent and filthy. He held a spear in one hand and a club in the other.

  The ‘esque on his other side was one of theirs. Marrat was his name, Trin thought; he’d been a bullish type

  in earlier times. Now he was as lean and weak as the rest of them.

  Several of the women stood behind Liesl, including Tina Galiotto, his madre’s servant. Just under a third of their females—too many to lose.

  Kristo stood opposite Innis, with Cass Mulravey next to him.

  ‘There’s too few of us for this, Innis,’ said Kristo. ‘Use yer brains. We need each other to survive.’

  ‘I’m sick of being kicked around,’ Innis shot back.

  ‘Lennie.’ Cass used her pet name for him. ‘Where’ve you been?’

  ‘I’ve been thinkin’ and lookin’ around on my own. Not because I’ve bin told to do it. Crux, Kristo, ain’t you had enough? Or’ve you gone soft on aristos, like you did with that high and mighty bitch Mira Fedor? I shoulda stitched her up proper back in Ipo. Then she wouldn’t have gotten away and left the rest of us here to fr—’

  Kristo launched himself at Innis, taking him full in the chest. They fell together, tumbling into Marrat and the women behind him.

  Trin’s madre, Jilda, screamed, and suddenly everyone was moving—pushing, shoving or shouting.

  It’s been coming. The thought hit Trin’s consciousness as he stepped into the melee. Now we’ve stopped running.

  ‘Tivi! Joe!’ he bellowed. ‘Arrest Innis Mulravey.’

  Both men detached themselves from the melee and hastened into one of the caves. They reappeared within a few heartbeats, armed with spears and clubs of their own.

  Making weapons was a mistake. Another glancing thought. No, he thought again. This was coming.

  Someone knocked him forward to his knees. Josefia Genarro moaned and cursed in his ear, scrambling to get off him. Trin twisted and took her arm, helping them both up.

  Liesl stood, glaring at them, fists half-raised. She kicked out at Josefia, catching her in the thigh. Before Trin could intervene, Josefia threw herself at the taller woman in much the same way as Kristo had at Innis.

  Trin jerked his head around. Kristo had his hands around Innis’s throat. Marrat was kicking Kristo.

  Tivi and Joe ran across, shouting, readying their spears.

  Trin looked back. The korm had intervened, pinning Liesl to the ground at Djeserit’s instruction. Josefia was bleeding from the nose and mouth.

  Trin gazed between the groups, caught by indecision. Then Juno Genarro burst back into the clearing.

  ‘Principe! He tried to kill me! Innis tried to kill me.’ Blood smeared his robe and his face.

  Before Trin could respond, Tivi Scali’s voice rose above the rest. ‘Let go, Kristo,’ he bellowed. ‘Let go, so I can stick him.’

  Kristo let go of Innis’s throat and rolled away, but Innis responded by rolling after him, clawing at him.

  Tivi Scali raised the spear. ‘Let go of ‘im, you bastard,’ Tivi screamed.

  Cass Mulravey’s ragazzo bolted from behind his mother to throw himself across his uncle.

  ‘Tivi!’ roared Trin.

  But it was too late. The young carabinere brought the spear down in a two-handed stab.

  It pierced the child below his ribcage. Though the ragazzo never uttered a noise, Cass Mulravey’s scream pierced through every other sound.

  ‘Carol’ she cried. She broke away from where she knelt over Liesl and ran down.

  But the ragazzo lay limp across his tio, a thin bundle of bones with the life fading quickly from it.

  Cass felt for his pulse and gave a pained moan. She wrenched the spear out and threw it away, and then she gently lifted him from where he lay atop Innis.

  Silence fell over the group as they watched the distraught woman cradle her ‘bino. She rocked back and forth on her knees, willing life back into him.

  Tivi Scali fell down beside her and began sobbing apologies, but Cass didn’t seem to hear him. Nor did she notice Innis crawl to her side and stare dully at the thin body.

  A weight of despair and guilt settled on Trin. What had he set in motion by ordering them to make the spears? He should have dealt with Innis Mulravey differently, out of sight. Now what would happen?

  He glanced around at the faces. Several of the women had hastened to Cass Mulravey’s side, while others stood where they were, lit by the moon-glow. He saw tears or anger on their faces. Even Djes seemed lost, offering him neither counsel nor comfort.

  Then a noise wrenched all of their attention to the light-studded sky above—an AiV flying low over the mountainside.

  ‘Into the caves!’ called Trin.

  They all moved except Kristo, Cass Mulravey and Tivi Scali. Even Innis got shakily to his feet and staggered towards Liesl, who helped him inside.

  Trin slid down the rocks to the others. ‘We must get out of sight.’

  But none of them responded.

  The AiV sounded closer, circling back.

  Trin grabbed Tivi’s arm. ‘It was an accident, Carabinere. Tragic, but just so. We must shelter now.’

  Cass Mulravey stared at Tivi, ignoring Trin. She opened her mouth to speak but only an incoherent noise escaped.

  ‘Get beneath the bushes.’ Awkwardly, Trin grasped Cass Mulravey’s shoulders and tried to pull her down towards cover. The woman stumbled, almost dropping the ragazzo’s body.

  Tivi Scali reacted by diving forward to catch the child.

  Trin felt warm blood from the spear wound splatter across his face. Tivi and Cass were covered in it.

  Then a light shot down from the belly of the hovering AiV, capturing them, and the dead ‘bino, in its circle.

  JO-JO RASTEROVICH

  ‘Fuel cell’s low,’ said Randall. ‘We need to turn back.’

  ‘Just one sweep,’ Jo-Jo urged. ‘Otherwise the cell’s been wasted. We’ll have to come back again.’

  Their search had taken them north-east over scattered island
s, most of them flat and without vegetation. The most likely location turned out to be a largish tract of land at low tide that then diminished on the swell. They landed and explored it during the hour right after sunset. Though the island harboured no ‘esques, they stretched out in the sand to sleep for a few hours.

  Randall woke them well before light, and they continued on south to the other likely location. Just short of sunrise, Randall announced that they must turn back.

  ‘No,’ cried Jo-Jo, pointing out of his window. ‘There.’

  Randall grunted and held her line, taking them down lower.

  A surge of hope livened Jo-Jo’s tired body. This island was heavily vegetated and dominated by a small mountain.

  ‘Looks better’n the last one, Capo,’ remarked Catchut.

  ‘Hope so,’ said Randall. ‘Most like we’ll be stuck on here for ever. This cell’s probably not gonna get us back.’

  Jo-Jo saw them first: a scattered group of figures on the mountain crest, scrambling toward cave mouths.

  ‘There!’ He pointed again.

  ‘I’ll sweep back.’ Randall dragged her finger around the screen, and the AiV obediently circled. This time, though, she brought them in to hover just above the crest of the peak, spotlights blazing.

  Most of the figures had disappeared, leaving only a small group clustered together. One of them, a woman, huddled over the limp figure of a child. Three others, adult ‘esques, stared up at the AiV.

  ‘Looks like Cass Mulravey, Capo,’ said Catchut.

  ‘Think yer right, Cat. Don’t know the others.’

  ‘Bunch of skeletons, whoever they are.’

  ‘Who is she?’ asked Jo-Jo.

  ‘Friend of Fedor’s. They came into Ipo together. Tough woman. Not surprised she’s still alive.’

  A friend of Fedor’s. That knowledge somehow fanned Jo-Jo’s optimism. ‘Let’s land.’

  ‘Cat,’ said Randall, ‘you stay on board.’

  The light was approaching rapidly as Randall dropped the AiV onto a small cleared area just above Mulravey and the others. The vehicle thunked hard onto the uneven rock and teetered for a moment, as if it might topple.

  Jo-Jo let go of a breath when it settled.

  Unworried, Randall threw off her harness and slid the door back. ‘Lemme go first. She’ll know me.’

  She jumped down lightly, despite the hours cooped up in the AiV, and stepped nimbly down the hill. ‘Cass Mulravey.’

  Jo-Jo climbed more slowly out of the passenger side.

  He let his legs adjust to weight and movement before demanding anything from them. As he edged around the AiV to stand by Randall, he noticed something amiss. Blood. All over the woman and two of the men.

  A thin, crimson-skinned ‘esque with an aquiline nose that dominated his gaunt hawkish face stood up. ‘Who are you?’ he demanded.

  Randall ignored him. ‘Cass. Don’t you know me?’

  The woman slowly lifted her head. Her face was ravaged—dark brown and blistered with sun exposure—but her expression was the shocking thing: heartbroken and defeated. The child she held was dead.

  She licked her lips and whispered, ‘Rast Randall?’

  ‘What’s happened, Cass?’ asked Randall softly.

  ‘He’s... he’s...’ She couldn’t bring herself to say it.

  ‘I’m Principe Trinder Pellegrini. Who are you that you wear Pellegrini fellalos?’

  This time Randall directed her gaze to him. ‘So Franco’s pup did survive. Fedor was right.’

  ‘You know Baronessa Fedor?’

  Randall nodded to Jo-Jo, and back at Catchut in the AiV. ‘We all do. She’s the reason we’re here. She told us about you.’

  ‘Is she alive? Does she bring help?’

  ‘Can’t answer either of those questions. But maybe there’re some others I can.’

  The Principe glanced up into the sky. ‘Then we should talk inside the cave. Sunrise is close.’

  Randall gestured with her hand, indicating that she would follow him. She and Jo-Jo waited as they passed: Trin Pellegrini first, Cass, carrying her dead child, and then the two others who had been standing either side of her. The latter were still casting angry stares at each other.

  Jo-Jo tried to work out what had happened. The way Randall’s eyes were flickering around, she was too. She signalled for Catchut to follow them. The AiV would soon be too hot to stay inside without the engine to cool it.

  They were greeted at the entrance to the caves by a ragged group of ‘esques and one emaciated korm, who towered above them all.

  The survivors huddled as close as they could to the growing light, curious about the newcomers. As Jo-Jo cast his gaze around the semicircle, one of them stood out from them in both appearance and manner. She was slim without being thin, and her facial skin was tight as a mask, flattening her nose and eyes. Not attractive, and yet something about her seemed... significant.

  He knew he was right when Trin Pellegrini moved to stand close to her.

  The girl looked him and Randall over, then immediately left Trin’s side to go to the woman, Cass Mulravey, leading her away into the cave’s darkness. Some of the other women followed, and the circle closed again.

  ‘There was an accident,’ Pellegrini explained.

  Jo-Jo felt the weight of unsaid things in their tense manner; saw the complex mix of expressions on the watching faces. What had these people been through to survive?

  ‘Do you have water?’ asked Randall.

  ‘Of course.’ Trin nodded to one of the women. No one spoke until she returned with three shells of water.

  Jo-Jo drank quickly. The liquid smelted of fish, just like the cave itself. The air burned despite the cave’s shade, and he longed to be back in the sky, in the AiV’s cooler cockpit.

  ‘How did you find us?’ said Pellegrini finally.

  ‘Could take a while in the telling,’ said Randall. ‘Might be you want to sit down.’

  Pellegrini hesitated, then agreed. ‘We have a meal at this time. Before we sleep. Eat with us, and talk.’

  It was not an invitation.

  Randall nodded on behalf of all of them.

  The group shuffled around until they were all seated close enough to the cave mouth to see.

  ‘Not all of you have cooling robes. How can you stand it?’ Jo-Jo asked, thinking it was time he spoke.

  ‘If you keep out of the direct sun, it’s bearable after a period of adjustment. We manage better than visitors who don’t have our melatonin-rich skin,’ said Pellegrini. ‘Your name?’

  To his surprise, Randall didn’t jump in, but waited for him to answer.

  ‘I’m Josef Rasterovich. Not a survivor from this terrible invasion, but a new arrival.’

  A murmur went around the group which Pellegrini silenced with a word. The young Latino Principe spoke like a true leader.

  ‘Before I tell you more, OLOSS does know what happened here,’ Jo-Jo added.

  ‘Tell us how you got here,’ demanded Pellegrini.

  Jo-Jo glanced at Randall. She’d folded her arms and was leaning back against the rock wall. She seemed calm and attentive, but he knew she was cataloguing everything she could see. He had to give her time to gather information. Get the group members to reveal something about themselves.

  ‘We were hired to escort your Baronessa Fedor to a place called Rho Junction. She was trying to make a deal to get you people rescued. OLOSS didn’t want to do anything in a hurry, and she didn’t want to wait, so she was using other means. Shit happened, and we ended up stranded on an Extro craft—fuckin’ weird drum-shaped thing. Damn thing landed here a few days ago. We managed to get away. Found a flyer up on the mountain, and flew ourselves here. Fedor had said you’d head to the islands.’

  ‘And Mira?’ Pellegrini’s voice rose.

  ‘She got taken by Extros on Rho Junction.’

  ‘She is dead?’

  ‘No. At least we don’t believe so.’ He didn’t tell them about the biozoon signa
ture that they’d picked up with the com-cast or his feeling it was Fedor. Mira hadn’t said much directly to him, but he knew she didn’t hold Trin Pellegrini in high regard.

  ‘She tried to find us help?’ This came from Cass Mulravey. She and the girl Jo-Jo had noticed earlier had returned to the circle. Even in the dim light, Mulravey’s face was distorted with anguish, though her voice sounded steady. She stepped to the front and sat down. ‘I knew she wouldn’t leave Vito. Or us.’

  ‘Vito?’ Jo-Jo glanced between Mulravey and Pellegrini.

  ‘Her ‘bino,’ said Mulravey.

  ‘Not her own,’ corrected the young Principe. ‘An adopted ragazzo.’

  Randall made a slight jerking movement, as though someone had scraped a knife against her skin. Jo-Jo could just make out the tight outline of her jaw.

  ‘And you?’ Pellegrini asked Randall directly. ‘What were you doing on Araldis?’

  ‘Franco was expecting trouble. Brought us in to assess things.’ She made a dry sound. ‘Seems he left it too late.’

  ‘My papa hired mercenaries?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Are you saying he knew about the invasion? About the Saqr?’

  ‘Nope.’ She shook her head slowly. ‘But he knew something was wrong. Maybe some deals he’d done had come back on him.’

  The group fell silent as they digested this, particularly the young Principe, who seemed lost in thought for a few moments.

  ‘How did you get off Araldis during the invasion?’

  ‘Fedor. Someone gave her an AiV and sent her looking for your flagship.’ She stared straight at Pellegrini. Jo-Jo didn’t need to see her face clearly to read the hostility. ‘She picked us up on the way. We were caught in a firefight out in the desert, with the Saqr. She could have left us for dead. But she didn’t. That’s not her way.’

  ‘You sent her?’ burst out Mulravey. She spoke to all of them, but her face turned towards Trin. ‘She didn’t abandon us. You sent her.’

  ‘No,’ said Pellegrini, seeking the attention of the girl next to Mulravey. ‘Djes, that’s not how it was.’