by Kylie Chan
‘Would you like to come with us to the treaty signing?’ Blake said. ‘You can take the story of the peace treaty back to the children.’
‘If I do, can I return to Dragonhome when the treaty’s done, and ask the Empress about the past?’ Merry asked.
‘Yes, of course,’ Blake said. ‘As soon as the treaty’s signed, I’m planning to bring a good part of the defensive fleet back to Dragonhome for maintenance. We’re looking forward to spending our time and resources assisting the Empire’s citizens instead of constantly slapping the cats back inside their borders.’
‘What an opportunity to add to the archives.’ Merry looked from Blake to me, delighted. ‘I would love to.’
‘Is she clear?’ I asked Marque through comms.
‘Blake just asked me the same question. The response just came back from the Pacifican Marque: yes she is. Pacifica has requested that she receive full Ambassadorial treatment, and I’ve checked her history: she’s clear. Very high-level clearance, actually, she’s done some classified work for dragonkind in the past. Loyal Imperial citizen.’
‘Come in the flagship,’ Blake said. ‘The Ambassador’s cabin is spacious and comfortable, and there’s nobody assigned to it for the treaty signing. You are most welcome.’
‘Will Jian be on the flagship?’ Merry said.
‘Of course, I’ll be guarding our royal passengers,’ I said.
‘Then I would like nothing more.’ She smiled at me. ‘Nothing in the world.’
‘I cannot wait to show you lovely ladies the other lady that has stolen my heart forever,’ Blake said.
‘He means his ship, doesn’t he?’ Merry asked me.
‘He talks to it sometimes,’ I said. ‘Not Marque – the ship itself. It’s not sentient, but one day I swear I will install a sentient AI control system onto it with the most cranky personality ever.’
‘You two must have known each other for a long time,’ she said.
‘Since the attempted invasion of Earth,’ Blake said. ‘Jian could be higher-ranked than Captain of the Imperial Guard, but she needs to be around the dragons all the time.’
‘I like being Captain,’ I said.
‘Aren’t you worried about becoming . . . dragonstruck?’ Merry said.
I nodded to Merry. ‘I apologise, Lady. I didn’t tell you how old I am—’
‘Unbelievably rude,’ Blake said under his breath.
‘I know how old you are,’ Merry said. ‘You’re famous.’
‘Well, to fulfil polite protocol and shut Stewart up I’ll tell you now that I’m ninety-two years old, and I was on Earth during the original dragon invasion. I joined the forces facing the cat fleet, but what isn’t common knowledge is that I became dragonstruck some time during those fifteen years of waiting.’ I shrugged. ‘Of course, it’s beside the point now, but I’ll always be dragonstruck.’
Merry’s eyes were wide with fascinated horror. ‘So if you’re not in the company of dragons all the time . . .’
I enjoyed her rapt attention. The subject didn’t enter conversation much; most residents of the dragon homeworld spared the feelings of the dragonstruck, even though I didn’t really care one way or the other. ‘If I’m separated from dragonkind for more than about six weeks, I start to fade. I think three months away from dragons is the longest one of us has survived.’
‘And when your body dies and you are brought back, you’re still struck?’ Merry said.
‘Still struck. It seems independent of the soulstone; it’s something to do with my soul itself.’
‘That’s awful,’ Merry said. ‘Surely Marque, the physicians . . .’
‘No cure,’ Blake said. ‘But Jian isn’t affected much otherwise, so it’s beside the point.’
‘But they control your will!’ Merry protested.
‘No, they don’t,’ I said. ‘I can tell them “no” just as much as the next human. What I can’t do is hurt them, and if they’re in danger I will protect them to my last breath, but as Captain of the Imperial Guard I’d do that anyway.’
Blake finished his drink and raised his glass. ‘The evening’s still young and you’re visiting the floating city for the first time. What would you like to do, Merry? We could show you around if you like.’
‘Uh . . .’ Merry looked from Blake to me.
I sipped my beer, waiting for Merry to make her choice. Anything she chose would be good.
‘Captain Jian, can you tell me what it was like when the dragons first invaded Earth? You were there!’ Merry said with delight.
I groaned and dropped my head back. ‘Anything but that.’
‘Don’t be impolite,’ Blake said. ‘Merry already asked for my story and I said yes.’
‘Sorry.’ I raised my head and smiled at Merry. ‘I’d be honoured. But there must be something in Sky City that you’d like to see.’
‘Yes, tell me later. For now, the Heroines is on show at the Baxter Gallery, the first time it’s been toured off-Earth, and I’d love to see it. Is the gallery open?’
‘Marque?’ I said.
‘You told me to butt out,’ Marque said from the air next to us.
‘Don’t be disrespectful to our guest,’ Blake said. ‘And tell us if the gallery is open.’
‘Yes it is,’ Marque said. ‘It will be open for two more hours. Plenty of time to see the installation.’
‘Is there anything else you’d like to see?’ Blake said.
‘Is there food particular to Dragonhome? I’d love to try something different.’
‘Not unless you like char-grilled mutton with the skin still on it,’ Blake said.
‘Do the two of you have unique cuisines from your parts of Earth?’ Merry said. ‘I love tasting different flavours.’
‘I can ask Marque to synthesise you some Welsh dishes, but Blake’s the one you should ask. His mother is a famous chef back on Earth,’ I said.
‘We can have dinner at my quarters after the gallery; I’ll make you some Egyptian specialities,’ Blake said.
‘If you’re in the landside quarters, they’re very small . . .’ I began.
‘No, I’m in the Imperial capsule,’ Blake said. ‘Plenty of room for all of us.’
I finished my beer. ‘In that case, lead on to the gallery, Admiral, and if the meal is good I may find it in my heart to tell our beautiful blue guest some of my war stories after all.’
‘Frankly, I’m more interested in hearing your side of the invasion story than I am of hearing the dragons’ side of it,’ Merry said. ‘What an experience!’
‘Not what I was thinking at the time,’ I said dryly.
‘How old were you when it happened?’ Merry said, linking her arm in mine as we followed Blake to a floating disk.
‘Twenty-four.’ I shook my head. ‘I was a child, and already fully trained and a corporal in the Earth forces. Admiral Blake is the one who was making the decisions; you should hear this story from him.’
‘You and Richard Alto were Shiumo’s first human contacts,’ Blake said. ‘You have a unique perspective.’
‘I suppose I do.’
20
Merry watched the city pass, rapt, as we made our way to the gallery. Blake enjoyed showing her the sights: the Imperial Palace, the Parliament building, the administration complex, and the lights of the folding nexus glittering in the sky.
The gallery building was a transparent-walled sphere two hundred metres tall, with two smaller spheres, each fifty metres in diameter, orbiting it on paths that looked like they would collide at any time. We waited while Merry watched the revolving spheres, entranced.
I gestured to one of the smaller spheres, which had a large banner slung across it. ‘Heroines is in that one,’ I said. ‘It docks every fifteen minutes.’
‘Wonderful,’ Merry breathed.
We escorted her into the main gallery sphere and through to the gravlift in the centre. Merry floated up in the lift making swimming motions with her large feet.
She stop
ped swimming, embarrassed. ‘My feet are ridiculous on land.’
‘What, has someone actually said that?’ I said with disbelief.
‘No, but unmodified children stare,’ Merry said as we stepped out of the lift. ‘I understand that there’s a comedic element to them – there’s an ancient comical performance with large feet.’
‘I like your feet just fine,’ I said.
We stepped out onto the floor where the smaller gallery docked and Merry stopped to turn on the spot.
‘So many bright colours,’ she said. She pointed at Brothers. ‘I recognise that one. They’re members of your family, aren’t they?’
‘Those are my sons,’ I said. ‘The cat is a dragonspouse with a dragonscales child and spends a lot of time in the Imperial Palace aiding the Empress. The human died when the cats attacked Earth with a black hole.’
‘I remember that,’ she said. ‘I was in middle school.’
‘I feel old now.’
‘You’re only as old as your soulstone,’ Blake said.
I studied the sculpture; I had a smaller copy in my quarters in the Palace. ‘Now that the cats have called a ceasefire, the aspiration that this sculpture represents might actually come true.’
‘I sincerely hope so. I’m so honoured to be part of the history being made.’ Merry smiled at me. ‘Maybe the cats will accept a copy of Brothers as a gift.’
‘That’s a good idea,’ Blake said.
Merry walked to a painting hung on the wall, an ancient depiction of brightly-coloured flowers.
‘That’s an extremely solid projection,’ she said, and moved closer. ‘Oh heavens, it’s real?’
‘All of the art on show here is real,’ I said. ‘Brothers is carved from natural stone. The pigment was applied to that cloth a long time before all of us were born.’
‘It’s wonderful,’ Merry said, studying it. ‘It isn’t until I’m out of my environment that I realise what I’m missing. Under the water, everything is tinged blue by our blue-white star, and pure warm colours don’t exist. And then, of course, our sight is limited when we descend further than the light of our star.’
‘How much of your time do you spend in darkness?’ I said, fascinated. ‘I thought you’d live close to the surface where you can see.’
‘We can see well enough in total darkness, and we bring our own lights. How long before the gallery docks, Marque?’
‘It would be best to walk over there now; you can stop and admire a couple of works on the way but you have three minutes for fifty metres.’
‘Plenty of time,’ Blake said. ‘So you carry lights everywhere you go? That must be cumbersome.’
‘Not really,’ Merry said. ‘Show them, Marque.’
‘Gentlemen and gentlewomen, I am about to dim the lights for a short time,’ Marque announced to all the gallery visitors present. ‘I will raise them again when the gallery displaying the Heroines docks.’
The lights dimmed, and Merry softly glowed. It was subtle at first, but as our eyes adjusted to the darkness, Merry’s shine became more obvious. Merry had shifting bioluminescence on her skin, particularly strong on her forehead around her soulstone. She radiated shades of blue and green, rippling across her skin in waves of brilliant colour.
A few people nearby made sounds of wonder.
‘I didn’t know,’ Blake said. ‘That is wonderful. You are as much a work of art as any installation here.’
Marque raised the lights and Merry’s glow disappeared.
‘The gallery’s here; let’s go view the Heroines!’ Merry said.
*
Merry and I laughed together, arm-in-arm, as we walked out of the installation and back into the main sphere.
‘I just can’t imagine doing it,’ Merry said. ‘The idea is terrifying. And they considered it normal! The courage of those people, risking death for the next generation.’
‘The clicks have it much worse.’ I said. ‘The part about the clicks was hard to watch. I lost some good friends to their reproductive needs.’
‘Watching the urushai part was the hardest for me,’ Blake said. ‘What they go through is awful. Humans had it comparatively easy.’
‘Many of us still died,’ Merry said. ‘I’m so glad we have better ways now; that was barbaric.’
‘Jian and I were alive when it was still an option,’ Blake said. ‘It wasn’t common, but it still happened.’
‘Actually, I was a result of a natural birth,’ I said.
Merry put her hand on her generous chest with shock. ‘You were born?’
I shrugged. ‘Safer birthing options were only for the wealthy back then. There were still a good number of children, like me, born the old-fashioned way.’
‘And your mother chose to go through that? What about the danger?’
‘As it shows in the installation, the risk was worth the reward.’ I made a soft sound of amusement. ‘My mother didn’t have a choice. This was a long time ago, and things that would deeply shock us today were considered normal back then.’
‘You have to tell me more about this,’ Merry said with enthusiasm.
‘For you,’ I said, smiling at Merry, ‘I will. I’ll ask my mother to tell you all about it.’
Merry took my arm again and held it close. ‘I’d love to meet her.’
‘Let’s all go to the capsule and eat,’ Blake said. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.’
‘Lead on, Admiral,’ Merry said, without looking away from me.
*
We rode a disk to the elevator behind the Imperial Palace and entered the Empress’ personal capsule to go up to the space elevator platform.
‘I can’t see out,’ Merry said, disappointed. ‘Can you make a window, Marque?’
‘I can make the walls transparent if you like,’ Marque said.
Merry looked from Blake to me. ‘Do you mind?’
‘Not at all; it’s a great ride,’ Blake said, and I nodded agreement.
Marque made the walls of the elevator transparent, and Merry watched, delighted, as the floating city fell away from us. She made a loud sound of astonishment when the surface of the planet, lit by the houses of those who chose to live downside, came into view below the edge of the city.
‘How tall is this elevator?’ she said. ‘How high up is the space elevator platform?’
‘The space elevator platform is six kilometres from the surface of the planet,’ I said. ‘It’s one kilometre above the surface of Sky City.’
‘Sky City is lovely,’ Merry said. ‘I’m looking forward to returning after the treaty signing to explore.’ She smiled at me, her eyes shining in the reflected lights from below. ‘Now we’re at peace, I hope you can spare some time to show me.’
I smiled and leaned on the wall of the car. ‘I’d love to.’
The Marque sphere came into view, four kilometres wide and hovering in the sky above the planet. Text scrolled across its surface: ‘Dragonhome welcomes honoured Ambassador Merry from Pacifica’, and was followed by images of Pacifica’s subaquatic cityscape and varied sealife.
‘Please, Marque, don’t embarrass me,’ Merry said, and the images changed to Marque’s usual updates on Imperial happenings, mostly about the upcoming peace treaty and images of the new flagship.
The car decelerated. We were in free fall for a moment, then gravity reasserted itself.
The doors opened and we exited onto the circular platform, gleaming white, high in the evening sky. The platform was three hundred metres across and anchored the bottom of the elevator ribbons in a circle around its perimeter. The central cable ribbon for the main elevator car was twenty metres wide, but the car wasn’t present.
Merry looked up at the stars, clearly visible in the thin atmosphere on the other side of the protective dome. ‘Lovely.’ Her face went strange. ‘Why are they moving?’
‘They aren’t,’ Blake said. ‘The platform is. The orbital nexus at the top of the ribbons shifts, and the platform tilts to compen
sate. You don’t feel it because of the anti-grav.’
‘I see. We don’t have a nexus on Pacifica, just a geostationary station. This is much more advanced.’ She gestured towards the central ribbon. ‘The space for the public car seems impossibly big.’
‘I didn’t realise it was a car the first time I went on it,’ I said. ‘I thought it was a space station – part of the nexus.’
‘It’s very impressive.’
‘It will arrive in five minutes if you want to watch it dock,’ Marque said.
Merry lit up. ‘Do you mind waiting?’
‘Pfft, five minutes?’ I said. ‘To make you happy?’
Her smile widened.
‘It’s coming into view above the dome,’ Marque said.
We looked up. The base of the capsule wasn’t lit, so it was just an absence of stars, a hole in the starscape that grew as we watched. It quickly widened, and Merry stepped back and grabbed my arm, broadcasting discomfort. I held her, and she clutched me.
‘You’re safe,’ I said softly.
‘I know, I know,’ she replied in the same low tones.
Blake smiled but didn’t look away from the capsule.
After a couple of minutes, the sunlight hit the capsule and Marque quickly shaded the dome to stop it from blinding us. The capsule’s flat bottom was rimmed by sunlight, and the ribbon disappeared into it. The light moved across it as it approached us, and it grew so enormous that it appeared to be bigger than the platform. There was no sound, and no pressure wave; the enormous capsule, as big as a small town, approached us swiftly and silently.
‘My hind brain is telling me that I’m definitely going to die,’ Merry said.
‘Look away if you want,’ I said.
‘No way!’
The base of the capsule came through Marque’s energy dome, and a pressure wave washed over us before Marque stabilised the air and encased us in an energy field to protect us from it. The capsule’s outside was a plain white cylinder shape at least two hundred and fifty metres wide. It slowed as it neared the floor of the station, producing a low-pitched thrumming on the elevator ribbon. It touched down onto the platform and a visible puff of vaporised air was expelled from around it. The door opened on the side, and people exited to head down onto Sky City below.