Jupiter's Halo: Unbroken

by A P Heath

  It was a business-like environment, but pleasant still. The background noise generated by her busy staff was better than the silence that ruled any time spent with her husband.

  Her Excellency Arleese Semeon, Deorum Ambassador to the Ministry of Colonies, was not comfortable in the presence of peace and quiet.

  As a child growing up on the industrialised surface of Luna, she had learned the perils of her environment swiftly from a single incident. Her family was wealthy, not to the extremes of some, but enough to afford them a comfortable life in the upper elevations of one of the domestic towers that soared above the moon’s surface.

  Her life had been one of rigid schedule, grooming her for a

  future in exactly the sort of role she now fulfilled. The only respite had been provided by a childhood friend, her first friend and maybe the only real one she’d ever had.

  His name was Narlan. He was the son of a maintenance worker assigned to her level and although her father considered the friendship a potential tarnish on his daughter’s perfect upbringing, her mother had convinced him to let it continue. Narlan was fun to be around, especially for a young girl with an inquisitive mind and a penchant for pushing the constricting boundaries of her ordered life.

  Looking back now it occurred to her that Narlan may have dreamed of more than friendship in their future. They were of an age, that confusing age when the mind changes with the body and the way a boy might consider a girl changes subtly over time, its youthful innocence replaced with something altogether more tempting.

  It would never have been of course. She was younger than him, not developed in the same way and never thought of their relationship as anything more than one of innocent fun.

  Even then, she would muse, something that seemed so pure was tainted with the shadow of a man wanting something from me.

  Narlan knew of all the nooks and holes that the bodies of children could squirm into to see the tower from a perspective no other living soul had enjoyed since its construction had been completed.

  They got into spaces between floors, listened unseen to private conversations that echoed up to them through vents, even created the ‘tower ghost’ by whispering to people who thought themselves alone from their hidden, secret places. She had enjoyed it all immensely.

  On one occasion Narlan had spoken to her through a vent in her study room, he whispered of a chance to see something no one else on Luna got to see.

  He promised to show her Earth.

  “I can see the Earth!” She hissed into the grate above her head.

  It took a moment for his reply to reach her.

  She knew where he was, it was a spot he’d shown her early on

  in their explorations.

  Just above her head a circulation pipe ran along the length of the room, one of so many thousands that brought air into the tower and sent it where the inhabitants needed. The pipe itself was too small to admit even the tiniest of children, but at the edge of this room it joined with three others that fed the neighbouring rooms.

  At this junction there was a small chamber, only big enough to admit one of them at a time. From there, as long as you knew which pipe to speak into, a person could talk to the occupant of one of those rooms as clearly as if they were right beside them. There was a slight echo to his voice when it returned.

  “Not like this you haven’t Arls.”

  His pet name for her; the only person to ever develop such an affectation. Even her parents spoke to her with a certain formality, her mother to a lesser extent than her father admittedly, but even she would never shorten her daughter’s name.

  “I can look at the viewing pane and it’s right there Narlan.”

  She reasoned. It was true. Every pane on this side of the tower showed the orb of green, white and blue spinning in the blackness.

  It was a view that had always captivated her and she knew it so well she could see it in her mind’s eye so vividly she didn’t even need to glance at the pane.

  “What you see is just a picture.” He said, “It’s not the real thing.”

  She sighed, turning to take in the view as she did so.

  “You’re saying it’s not the real Earth I’m looking at?”

  Her tone was heavy with doubt and she heard him chuckle down the pipe.

  “Not quite…” He paused, she guessed to choose his words.

  In return for the adventures he took her on she had taken the time to educate him in the way one was supposed to speak.

  He was a quick learner, but the habits of a life before such lessons were hard to break and often he’d slip into the comfort of his colloquialisms without even realising it.

  She’d scolded him enough times now for him to be weary and often he’d pause to think through his sentences before speaking out loud. It made for endearing, if somewhat stinted conversation.

  “It’s difficult to explain, but the Earth you see is…well it’s just not quite enough.” He finished, but she knew he would have been searching for a better way to express himself.

  “It’s something I have to show you. Will you let me show you?”

  There was a hint of pleading in his voice. She was curious, she had to admit. Her curiosity had taken her to places and shown her things she hadn’t thought possible, each experience serving only to fuel that same curiosity further.

  Now he tempted her with Earth.

  Earth! A place told of in stories like some long forgotten mythical land, but still right there before her eyes. It was an enigma; a place of beauty and danger in equal measure and worse, a place she would never get to see up close with her own eyes. It was a tantalising dream, so close and at the same time always just beyond her reach.

  Now he was telling her she could see it like she’d never seen it before. That, somehow, what she saw now saw was not real, not enough. There was no way she could say know.

  “I have studies to finish.” She complained.

  It was a false argument. Her mind was already racing to put together a way for her to sneak out and join him. She turned over possibilities inside her head.

  “You can study afterwards. It won’t take long.”

  He knew she wanted to go with him. Knew her mind was already made up, but this process of his breaking down her mock rejections was one they were both used to.

  “I can’t just leave,” She countered, “I’ll be seen and sent back. I’ve got these studies and elocution and violin practice after. I simply cannot leave.” She added.

  For a moment Narlan didn’t reply and she worried she’d gone too far, forced him to give in.

  “It’ll be something you’ll never forget.” Was all he replied.

  That was enough. She knew where her tutors would be, knew

  where the servants and her parents would be. Getting out was never so much of an issue as getting back in unnoticed.

  “Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you at the den.”

  Ten minutes later they were already running down the halls of the tower. Hand in hand and laughing as they went, they barrelled past surprised inhabitants, leaving curses and angry words in their wake.

  Narlan led the way as they ran, pulling just in front of her and leading her down corridors and hallways that became ever more sparsely populated until they reached a bulkhead locked closed and striped in black and yellow.

  Panting and out of breath they leaned against it to gather themselves.

  “Why are we here?” Arleese asked.

  Narlan smiled and turned, pushing himself away from the door to stand upright. He pointed at the sealed door.

  “On the other side, they’re still building the new wing.” He panted. Arleese stood with him.

  “I know that!” She chided him, “And even if I didn’t the warning icons are pretty clear.”

  She scanned the door with her eyes and then turned them on him, wide and unbelieving.

  “You don’t mean to go in there do you?” Narlan laughed at her surprise.

  “
Of course! Why did you think I bought you here?”

  “’Brought’.” She corrected him automatically.

  “Sorry, brrrr-ought.” He replied accentuating the ‘r’ he’d dropped before.

  “The tower wall isn’t finished completely on the other side, that’s why they’ve got the bulkhead up.” He continued.

  “Yes,” Arleese cut him off, “Because otherwise the air would all be sucked out and we’d die.”

  She looked at him with her most tutor-like expression. “You understand that space is a vacuum yes?”

  Narlan laughed again and moved to the control panel set into the far side of the door. He flipped up the casing and started to enter a sequence of numbers and letters. The code to open the

  bulkhead she realised.

  Arleese moved to stop him, placing her hand on his wrist to pull his fingers from the panel.

  “Stop that!” She said, “I don’t want to get sucked out into space.

  Narlan shook her hand off and placed his reassuringly on her shoulder.

  “We’re not gonna get sucked into space.” He said.

  She repeated her look to signal her dislike of his sloppy language and he rolled his eyes.

  “Fine, we’re not going to get sucked into space. There’s an integrity field that covers all the gaps. It has to be in place or else these doors won’t even open.”

  “’Wouldn’t’” Arleese said quietly. Narlan returned her look and continued to tap at the panel.

  “It’s perfectly safe, it has to be so people can do their work up here. The bulkhead is really just a backup you know.”

  Arleese stepped away from him, tracing her hand across the cold metal of the doors. It was so cold, she remembered.

  Maybe she should have thought more of that at the time.

  The panel gave a chime to signify the entry code had been accepted.

  “Are you ready?” Narlan said.

  Arleese was still uneasy. He could see it in her face.

  “Fine,” he sighed, “If it makes you happier we’ll tie you in.”

  He walked across the corridor width, passing her to open another panel set into the wall. From within he drew out a thick cord. It was plaited carbon wire, she knew.

  A safety harness dangled from the end and without asking he slipped it over her shoulders and pulled the straps to her waist. After a few tugs and clicks it was in place and he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

  “There,” he said, a look of satisfaction on his face, “Now if something goes wrong you’ll be tugged right back inside the bulkhead. Safe as Luna.” He grinned at her.

  “Not that anything will, but if it makes my lady happy then I couldn’t possibly argue.”

  He effected an accent as he spoke. His mocking attempt at mirroring the way she and her family spoke. She shrugged off his hands and pushed him away.

  “It’s rude to make fun of your betters.” She said, not unkindly. Narlan seemed unabashed as he placed his hand back on the door panel.

  “Ready?” He said and without waiting for her answer he pressed the command to open the bulkhead. She would always remember the smile on his face as he spoke.

  She didn’t remember much of what had happened next.

  Something had gone wrong with the integrity field, they told her afterwards. It had failed, something that supposedly couldn’t happen. But still it had.

  There’d been a rushing wind as the bulkhead slid up and suddenly she was off her feet, flying through the piles of material in the unfinished wing.

  Within seconds she was outside the tower, still accelerating into the black of space. She remembered screaming, but the rush of air escaping around her was too loud to hear her own voice. She hadn’t seen Narlan. Maybe he’d managed to catch a spar or even the bulkhead, maybe he was still safe within the tower.

  Her shooting trajectory came to a sudden halt as the safety tether kicked in. She was jolted violently, her head snapping forwards as the cord pulled taut.

  All around her was nothing. No air, no light, no sound. Ahead of her was the brilliant colour of the Earth.

  It was so bright, brighter than ever it had looked through the viewing panes of her home. It turned against the black gulf of space. A perfect orb of green and blue swirled in white streaks.

  Narlan had been right. Her breath escaped her. The Earth was more beautiful, more vivid and vibrant than ever she could have imagined.

  How could something so perfect exist?

  How could something so mesmerizing be as dangerous as she’d been taught?

  She was cold, feeling the heat fleeing her body. Her tongue felt

  like it was fizzing as it dried in her mouth. Her fingers tingled

  with pain and her vision started to grey.

  She could feel the tether pulling at her, but the orb filling her world seemed to stay in place. She should be moving, being pulled back to the safety of the bulkhead and the warmth of the tower.

  Terror gripped her as the cold dug deep into her core. There was nothing to breathe, nothing to sustain her in the darkness that was drawing the life from her body. The Earth remained before her. Spinning slowly, mocking her with its majesty as she died.

  I am going to die out here alone in silence.

  The thought paralysed her mind, matching it to her dead limbs. She wanted to cry, to scream in fear. Her eyes were dry and no sound would issue from her mouth. There was nothing but cold and silence.

  Arleese felt her eyelids pulling closed. Her vision was all but gone. The light of the Earth fading to a dim blur. There was nothing left but the silence.

  The everlasting, unending, uncaring silence.

  Arleese had woken in her own bed. Her father was furious, her mother fretting over her as she opened her crusted eyes. There had been words.

  Arleese found what she had thought was a rigid routine, turned out to have been a world of freedom when compared to her life after the incident. There was no more sneaking out, no more adventures, no more friends. Narlan had not caught hold of the doors as they opened. Narlan had not been wearing a tether.

  That had been enough silence for Arleese Semeon.

  She looked across the office now to her husband. He lounged on a low couch against the far wall.

  As usual his hands held his personal multi-com, on which he would always find something more engrossing to focus on than his wife.

  His eyes were elsewhere now though. His gaze was fixed on a point across the office. Two points to be more accurate.

  Arleese followed the line of his sight, already knowing to

  where it would lead. To whom it would lead.

  Her name was Commie or Cammie or Cammile, something of that ilk anyway. She was a secretary, or assistant, a minor member of her staff to be sure. And she was beautiful. Not beautiful in the artists sense, but in the way that wherever she went men wanted to be with her.

  She doubted the girl had much to her. If she’d shown any decent level of competency Arleese would at least be certain of what her name was. That appeared to be part of her charm.

  Men didn’t necessarily need or even want intelligence in a girl like her. It was all too clear what men would want of her. Her husband was a man, just, and his lust for this girl was no less obvious than that of any other.

  He could at least pretend to hide it.

  It was not a bitter thought though. She knew that given the slightest chance her husband would slip between the legs of this voluptuous little temptress without even the slightest twinge of guilt or a moment’s thought for his lady wife.

  She was not hurt by such knowledge. Theirs had been a loveless union from the start. Her father had taken great pains to arrange it, for her husband’s family carried the status she would need where hers didn’t, and bearing children had been a duty, nothing more.

  Now the arrangement had run its useful course and they were stuck one with the other. Neither particularly hostile, but neither particularly fond of the relationship.


  She envied him the freedom to pursue such creatures as this. No doubt his chances of success would marginally be improved by his status, but still she doubted he was anything more to this girl than an old man whose stare made her uncomfortable. She’d certainly never seen the looks, any looks reciprocated.

  From between the busily shifting bodies of her staff came her aide, Johnston Halpax. He walked purposefully across the office space to where she sat, stopping short to stand a respectful distance from her. Arleese raised her eyebrows enquiringly.

  “Excellency, you have a visitor.” He said, his tone formal as always.

  Without needing to be told he carried on with further detail. “Arto Dilempian, the trade envoy begs your audience. He says he wishes to update you on negotiations with the Under-secretary.” He stood waiting in silence.

  Arleese drew in a breath, letting the possible directions the conversation would take flow through her mind. It was unlikely to be pleasing news.

  “Show him in Johnston,” she said after a moment’s further consideration.

  “I will speak with him in the private study.”

  Johnston nodded, turning it into a brief bow before walking away to direct Dilempian to the study.

  Arleese glanced back at her husband, still transfixed as he was on the object of his manly desire.

  Good hunting and good luck she thought, a shrivelled old bastard like you is going to need it.

  THIRTEEN

  The lights of the troop compartment dimmed to black, signalling the Peregrine was on final approach. Captain Lanad used his comm link to pull up an external view of their target.

  The blackness of space was painted onto the inside of his visor, before his left eye and within it he could see the silvery dot of GS-114.66.1-Delta slowly growing in size.

  They were still too far away to make out any detail, but the local sector was clear of other craft. If it hadn’t been the nav officer aboard would have notified him immediately.

  The distance to the station was decreasing rapidly as they hurtled through space and Lanad could already make out the shape of their target.