by T. M. Catron
Rance rolled her eyes. Her hair, still partially braided when she’d fallen asleep, was now sticking out like a tangled nest. She unbraided it and smoothed it as best she could before twisting it together once more, finishing as she left the room.
Chapter Eight
Instead of going back outside, Moira led them down into the tower’s basement. Rance tried not to think about going underground again. The panic from the day before set in quickly this time, and she took deep, calming breaths before following Moira out of the elevator. Solaris, Abel, Tania, and Sonya walked behind.
There were more residences here, small living spaces that held no more than a bunk, a galley kitchen, and a bathroom. The doors, stacked on top of one another in neat rows, resembled beehives.
“How do people get up there?” Abel asked, looking at the doors.
Moira pointed. “They have moving platforms.” Small hoverboards moved up and down the walls like floating discs.
The thought of using a hoverboard to reach an underground home every night didn’t sound like much fun. What if Rance accidentally stepped out the front door, and one wouldn’t be there to catch her fall?
“They’re for assistants or extra servants when we have guests,” Moira said. “Or anyone else who wants to live in this section of the city. We’re going to use the private corridors reserved for nobility. My husband uses them often when he wants to travel quickly. Normally, we’d ride a transport. But they won’t be running now.”
They walked down a hallway to another elevator. This one took them down five more levels, opening onto a well-lit corridor as wide as the streets above. The underground tunnel stretched up two stories and looked like a nighttime, above-ground street. On the second level, darkened windows overlooked vendors’ stands and screens showing the invasion above.
It was crowded with people.
Nobles, servants, aliens. Wandering, sitting, standing. A few moved through like they had a destination in mind. Most huddled in small groups, whispering and watching the screens. A few noticed the group stepping off the elevator. Moira pulled a veil over her face.
“So this is where everyone went to,” Rance said with a sinking heart. How would they get through all of this without being stopped? For once, she wished she was dressed as a noblewoman instead of a ship’s captain. Their navy flight suits stood out amongst the traditional, elaborate garb of Prometheus’ nobility.
Although nobility filled the halls with fine clothing, they still stank. The press of bodies, cooped up without much air flow and limited bathrooms, created a hot, sweaty odor of too many people pressed into a small space.
Underlying all of it was the scent of fear. Most people avoided eye contact with their group. Few people spoke. Rance couldn’t believe they were all just hiding. But then she realized that with so many ships destroyed, they didn’t have a choice. The survivors could only hide and pray for mercy if the pirates found them.
Hiding may have been fine for all of them, but Rance had no intention of being caged like an animal.
The tunnels here were better maintained. The ceilings were higher, and lights filled every corner. It didn’t feel like being underground. Rance was grateful. The situation was stressful enough without adding her claustrophobia into the mix.
They passed door after door, family after family. Rance avoided eye contact, not wishing to draw any more attention to themselves than necessary. But she often felt the stares on her back as they passed.
As they made their way to the corridor leading under the river, the crowds thinned.
“This comes up right in the Senate building,” Moira said. “The offices, anyway, not the meeting hall.”
“That’s near the Star Streaker,” Solaris said.
“Roote,” Moira asked, “what are you carrying?”
“Just a stick I picked up.” Although with a staff in hand he increased the possibility of being recognized as a Wizard, Solaris had kept it out as they walked, preferring to be on guard and armed to losing precious seconds in a fight.
Moira looked at him shrewdly, her eyebrows furrowing together beneath her veil. “I saw a man with one of those once. He came to my home with my husband.”
If Solaris was surprised by this, he didn’t let it show. Rance, however, had a harder time hiding her shock. A Galaxy Wizard had visited Moira’s husband? What was he doing with them? Did it have something to do with his disappearance?
“It’s my weapon of choice,” Solaris conceded. “Although I’d rather not have to use it.”
He nodded to the crowd ahead blocking the wide underground street. The atmosphere was tense.
“At least no one is fighting,” Rance said.
“Yet,” Solaris said. “Right now, they are like tinder waiting for a spark. It won’t take much to set them on fire.”
He moved ahead of the group, followed by Rance, Moira, Tania, and Sonya. Abel brought up the rear.
As Solaris moved through the crowd, it subconsciously parted for him, creating a path through. Not for the first time, Rance wished he would teach her that trick.
The group avoided eye contact with everybody. Rance shuddered to think what would happen if this crowd thought there was a ship left on Prometheus. Her crew would never make it out. She began watching the doors, looking for exits, just in case. If the crowd swarmed them, they’d need a quick escape. The only problem was knowing if a door led to a side passage or a dead end. Rance dropped back to walk beside Moira.
“Do you know another route, if we need it?” she whispered.
“I know a couple, but I’ve really only ever used this one.”
“Are they easy to get to?”
“Yes. Several of these side passages take you to other underground streets. It’s laid out on a grid.”
Rance wished the other tunnels they’d used had been laid out on a grid. But then, service tunnels were always different. They passed one of the passages Moira had described. An alley, leading out to another well-lit thoroughfare. She nudged Solaris, who took note.
After that, Rance kept her eyes peeled. Above them, the ground occasionally shook, as if the pirates were bombing the city. Every time a roll of thunder pealed over the street, the crowd ducked. The group moved faster. The Star Streaker was hidden, not impervious. If they didn’t hurry, they might not have a ship to return to.
Rance’s heart pounded in her throat, and the urgency of their situation grew with each shudder of the ceiling above. Then, one particularly violent shake felt like an earthquake, and the lights flickered. A few people screamed. More families began moving about. A few followed Rance’s group. She tried not to glance back at them. They were probably just using the same route to get out. But she couldn’t help but wonder if they were following because they wanted to see where Rance and her crew were going.
They had just passed another alley when a familiar woman stepped out from around the corner. She wore cream-colored robes and a jewel-encrusted headpiece. She locked eyes with Rance, and then her gaze slid back to Moira. Rance groaned as recognition flashed in the woman’s eyes.
“Moira?” she asked.
Rance and Moira stopped walking. Sensing trouble, Solaris kept his back to Moira and watched the crowd. Rance did the same, keeping Moira and the woman in her peripheral vision. In addition to watching the crowd, she had another reason for not making eye contact with the woman.
Rance knew Lady Lysa. The woman was from Xanthes, had dined in her father’s home. She was also responsible for pressuring Rance’s father, Davos, to arrange Rance’s marriage to Harrison McConnell.
“Hello, Lysa,” Moira said.
“I thought you’d left Prometheus with your husband?” Lysa asked.
She looked at Moira’s company, sweeping her eyes up and down Solaris’ flight suit. Her gaze slid over Rance, then Tania. “And you’ve got your servants with you, I see.”
“I couldn’t leave them behind. You know how indispensable they are to me, Lysa. I can’t even go into hiding without them.” Moir
a smiled, but it looked forced.
“And this flight crew?”
“Friends.”
Rance prayed Moira didn’t mention her real name. Even now, she didn’t want Davos to find out she’d been on Prometheus. If she escaped the pirates, Lysa would report straight to him.
“If I didn’t know you were helpless without your husband, I would think you were planning to fly away.”
Moira’s face blushed so red Rance could see the color beneath her veil. “I am not helpless without my husband. And we aren’t flying anywhere. It’s hard to do that without a ship. Now, if you’ll pardon us, we’re going to find a quiet hallway away from this infernal crowd.”
Lysa nodded. The group moved on, faster than before. But when Rance glanced back, Lysa was following close behind Abel.
Rance nudged Solaris again and whispered, “We’ve got a problem.”
“She’s following?”
“Yes.”
Moira had looked back too, and seeing Lysa, stopped to confront her.
Rance grabbed her arm. “No, keep moving.”
Moira obeyed, and they turned once again, walking faster. Rance began to scan the area, looking for a side street to run down if they needed to. But Lysa was following too closely for them to make an easy getaway.
The crowd noticed the group, watching with interest as they flashed by. As Solaris picked up the pace, Lysa fell behind.
“Wait!” she called.
More curious eyes, more piercing stares.
Rance sped up, moving up to Solaris’ elbow. Behind her, Moira stumbled, and Tania steadied her.
“This is going to get bad,” Rance said. “Get us out of here.”
Solaris nodded. “Yes, Captain.”
He turned aside so quickly he almost ran her over. They darted down a side alley.
But Lysa wasn’t going to get lost so easily. “You have a ship!” she yelled at their backs.
“No,” Rance whispered, hoping no one had heard Lysa.
But the crowd had heard her. One by one, nobles and servants looked at the group running down the alley. And then, as one, they followed. Lysa put on a burst of speed and caught up to them. Abel grabbed her arm and shoved her back.
She fought him, kicking and scratching. It didn’t do any good against his armor, but it drew even more attention. Behind, the crowd grew closer.
“Moira!” Lysa called. “You can’t leave us here! Take me with you!”
Moira turned.
Rance grabbed her arm. “No! Keep moving!”
“We can’t take anybody with us,” Moira whined. “I’m sorry!”
Rance groaned.
“Let’s get out of here,” Solaris said through gritted teeth. He grabbed Moira’s left arm, Rance grabbed her right, and they marched her down the alley. Abel had released Lysa, but the woman followed. So did the growing crowd.
Lysa fell in with the followers, making sure they heard her loud and clear. “They have a ship! They’re going to leave us here to die!”
Moira burst into tears, dragging her feet and forcing Rance and Solaris to pull her along.
“Keep it together, Moira,” Rance hissed. “We can’t do anything for them. We don’t have room. Do you want to stay here and die with them? Huh?”—she shook her friend—“Sacrifice yourself for the people that turned a blind eye when your husband disappeared?”
Those were the wrong words. Moira moaned loudly and tried to turn around.
Solaris pulled Moira close. “So help me, Your Ladyship, we will drag you out of here if we have to. We came to this stinking planet to save you, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Moira tried to pull away from him, but his grip on her arm remained firm.
“But if you endanger my friends any more than you already have,” he continued. “I’ll leave you here to deal with the pirates that are this minute occupying the city. Is that clear?”
Rance wanted to argue with him, but she couldn’t. She felt the same way. And that Solaris valued her and Abel’s lives enough to say so made her heart swell with pride, despite her growing anxiety about the crowd.
And then they came to the end of the alley.
Another group had gathered, blocking their exit. Drawn by the noise of the crowd behind, they looked curiously at the six people running away from an increasingly angry mob.
They were trapped. To the left, one door read Stairs. Without thinking, Rance steered her charge for it, hoping it wasn’t locked.
The crowds, sensing their prey was about to get away, charged. Rance didn’t even have time to wonder what they’d do if they caught them. She waved her hand over the sensor at the door, and it swung open. The group fell through the doorway as one, jostling each other into a dark, narrow entryway. Solaris turned and locked the door behind them with a tap of his staff.
The structure shuddered with the onslaught above, and the stairs groaned. On reflex, everyone looked up the dark stairway.
Outside the door, someone screamed.
“Tania!” Sonya yelled in answer.
Rance looked around—Tania wasn’t there. She’d been shut out.
Moira began crying afresh, and Sonya whimpered like a lost child.
“Everybody PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER!” Rance yelled.
Startled, they stopped crying long enough to look at her.
Rance dropped her bag on the floor and then unholstered her blaster. Abel already had one in each hand.
“Stay here,” Rance commanded Moira. “We’ll be back in five minutes.”
Moira grabbed Rance’s sleeve, pinching her arm hard. “Don’t go out there!”
Sonya grabbed Moira. “We can’t leave Tania!”
“Let go of me, servant!”
“Enough,” Solaris said. With one hand, he separated the women. Then he nodded to Rance. “Count of three. One, two, three.”
He tapped the door again, and it burst inward—the crowd had been pressing against it. Surprised, the people closest pulled out of the doorway. With the door open, Rance saw the desperation and malice in their eyes. This crowd was terrified—they would kill all of them before they realized what they were doing.
Abel pushed his way out the door, and when the blood-crazed crowd saw his weapons pointed at their faces, they halted. From somewhere to the right, Tania shrieked again.
“Give us the girl,” Abel said. “Now.”
“Take us with you!” someone screamed. Lysa had disappeared.
When they didn’t back off, Abel leveled his blaster at the man standing closest. The man’s eyes grew wide.
“I am asking nicely,” Abel said.
But the rest of the crowd, indifferent to what happened to the man, began shouting. The din bounced off the close walls and into the stairwell.
Rance scanned the crazed mob, looking for Tania. They needed to find her before something worse happened. The earth rumbled again, this time so violently Rance grabbed the door frame to keep from being thrown off her feet.
But instead of fading away, the trembling grew more brutal. Rance’s teeth chattered so much she had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from breaking them all off. The alleyway ceiling began to crumble, and the mob scattered, screaming.
Then the alley exploded in a flash of light. People flew backward, smacking against walls and crumpling on top of one another. The pressure forced Rance backward, but the middle of the alley had sustained the worst of the blast.
At first, Rance thought Solaris had attacked the mob like he had the soldiers on Doxor 5. But he stood next to her, blocking the doorway behind Abel.
She looked up. The explosion had come from the ceiling where sparks rained down on the alley below. Whole chunks of the ceiling had collapsed, causing something above to explode and ignite.
Fire licked down through a great hole. Below, people moaned and began getting to their feet. A few lay still, but Rance ran past them, looking for Tania.
She had been held farther away, out of the line of the blast. At
the disturbance, the crowd had let her loose. Rance jumped over two bodies and grabbed her hand.
“You okay?”
Tania nodded, and Rance pulled her along, trying not to look at who or what they were stepping over.
The ceiling groaned and shifted, like the supports above would give way at any moment. A blaring alarm sounded, and soon the place was buzzing with drones and androids sent to assess the problem and put out the fire.
But everyone could see that the alley was going to collapse. The mob had scattered, leaving the way clear for Rance and Tania. They ran through the door to the stairwell, and Abel closed it behind. Solaris sealed it for good measure.
Sonya grabbed Tania and held her tight while glaring daggers at Moira. The noblewoman had the sense to look embarrassed and avoided everyone else’s gaze. She sank down against the wall and put her head on her knees.
Everyone took a moment to breathe. The stairwell shook again, but Rance sat down on the third step and looked at Solaris.
“What are they doing up there?”
“Sounds like they’re attacking the residential district now,” Solaris said, looking up the stairwell with a frown. “Although I have no idea why. You’d think they’d attack something more strategic, like the Unity base or the Senate building.
“It is a symbol of extravagance, boss,” Abel said. He may have been a hulk, but Abel could be surprisingly astute when it suited him. “That is why they’re attacking it.”
“Better that than the Senate building,” Rance said. “We left the Star Streaker not too far away from it.”
“That is my home!” Moira said suddenly. She raised her head, and her red-rimmed, puffy eyes made her look older and more destitute.
“Was your home,” Solaris said. He’d lost all patience with her, it seemed.
“Where to from here?” Rance asked, standing and dusting off her hands. “We still need to go under the river, correct? We haven’t done that yet?”
Moira shook her head.
“So we are back to the tunnels,” Abel said. “Come on. I’ll lead the way.”
He helped Tania to her feet, and they walked up the flight of stairs, which emptied them out into a service tunnel. They had to choose left or right. Rance had completely lost her sense of direction, and when she called upon her NNR to show her a map, all she got was static in her ZOD. It would have picked that moment to glitch out. They still had Abel’s HUD, so he took point and led them to the service network. They headed down a corridor, and then descended two flights of narrow, metal stairs to end in another service tunnel.