by M. D. Cooper
The woman’s appearance led Erin to conclude that she must be from Troy’s art world. Her hair was a work of art in itself; it circled her head like a halo and pulsed purple and green. She was wearing a painfully bright orange jumpsuit that fit her like a second skin except that it flared out widely from her knees downward. Erin wondered how she could walk. The most remarkable aspect of the artist’s clothing was the two holes cut in the fabric in the area of her chest, perfectly exposing her small breasts.
“Is that suit the latest fashion on Troy?” Martin asked Erin, his gaze naturally drawn to the most eye-catching aspect of the costume.
“I don’t think that’s the latest fashion anywhere.”
She left Jude with Martin and took the elevator to the third floor. When she opened the roof hatch, she almost didn’t recognize Tanis. She was wearing a gorgeous, long, red dress that shimmered in the evening light. Joe stood beside her looking dazzling in his dress uniform.
“Thanks for coming,” said Erin as they stepped down the stairs. “This means so much to Isa. And not only because your presence has turned this into the event of the year in Troy’s social calendar—Isa really wants all her friends here too.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Tanis replied. “I’ve been doing my best not to strangle politicians all day, and Joe’s been dealing with the planetary militia—such as it is. We’re curious to see what Isa’s been doing. She used to talk about her ideas when she would come over to the lakehouse, but I don’t think I ever really understood what she meant.”
“Come and see,” said Erin. As they walked to the elevator, she continued, “Isa invited a couple of reporters who’ll probably want to speak to you, but we kept the rest at bay.”
“We saw the drones on the roof,” said Joe.
“They can talk to me all they want, but I’m not going to discuss anything except Isa’s work,” said Tanis. “If they want a scoop on the state of the Trojan government, they can go pound sand.”
They stepped off the elevator at the first floor.
“What is the state of the Trojan government?” Erin asked.
“It’s a mess,” said Tanis. “I’m glad I decided to come here and see for myself what is happening. I can’t understand what’s gotten into them. Pride in your planet is fine, but if they think Troy can make it alone in the system, they’re a bunch of idiots. We all have to work together.”
“Did you have any luck persuading them of that?” Erin asked.
“I think I made some headway,” said Tanis. “I’m meeting Independence Party leaders tomorrow and speaking to some business leaders. But if they do decide to secede, there isn’t a lot I can do about it—the original charter did have a lot of leeway for disparate settlements; maybe they’ll have to learn from their own mistakes. At least the Troy Independence Party won’t have a chance at government until the next election in four years. They’re the ones who will definitely secede if they get in. With luck, your station will be booming by then, and off-planet commerce will pick up.”
The room was soon buzzing, as more guests arrived and the drinks and food were passed around. The music had a catchy beat, and some people began to dance. Martin was playing with Jude, and Isa was chatting with Tanis and Joe and some of the Trojan dignitaries. Meanwhile, Isa’s artist friend had attracted a circle of admirers and seemed to be holding court as if the artworks were hers and not Isa’s. Aside from the painfully obvious upstaging attempt by the strange woman, the party seemed to be going well.
Erin sought out Linch and MacCarthy. She found Linch spinning on his heel, his gaze sweeping the gallery.
“This place is amazing,” he said. “When you invited us to this event, I thought I would come along to be polite, you know? I mean, I thought it would be something to do. I wasn’t expecting this.”
Erin hadn’t taken much notice of how Isa had transformed the space. Linch’s words caused her to really look at the gallery for the first time. He was right. Through a combination of plain 2D images, vids, holos, and 3D artwork, Isa had created a captivating, breathtaking display.
Erin’s heart swelled with pride that she was married to such a talented artist. “Isa’s created something really special, hasn’t she? But what you’re seeing isn’t actually what this place is about; it’s only an introduction to the real experience.”
“Sounds cool,” said Linch. “If this is just a taste of what your wife can do, I’d love to see what the main course is like.”
“Yeah, me too,” said Erin. “I was her test subject for some of her experimental work, which was awesome, but she’s refined her technique since then. She was saying that she might run some sessions for guests later, depending on how the evening goes.”
Martin arrived with Jude, and Erin introduced him to Linch, who said, “We already met. At the door.”
“Ah, yeah. Sorry about that,” said Martin.
“No problem. I could see you were having problems with gate crashers.”
“Great,” Martin said, “I appreciate your understanding, because I wanted to ask if you could do your boss a favor and look after her son for a while so she can dance?”
“Hey, who said anything about dancing?” Erin protested.
“Sure,” replied Linch, grinning as he took Jude from Martin. “C’mon, little buddy, let’s go look at some pictures.”
Martin took Erin’s hand and led her out to an open space near some other dancers.
“You look great in that dress,” he told her, taking her other hand as they moved with the music.
“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”
Martin leaned forward and whispered in Erin’s ear, but at the same time, the music hit a crescendo, and she didn’t catch what he said.
“What was that?”
Martin repeated his suggestion over the Link.
Erin shrieked and giggled. “I don’t think that’s physically possible.”
“Maybe not, but it would be fun to try.”
They danced some more, but both found themselves looking at Jude, who was holding Linch’s hand and gazing open-mouthed at the images Isa had created.
“He’ll probably get bored soon,” said Martin.
“Yeah,” said Erin. “Or tired.”
“I’ll take him home if that happens. I don’t mind leaving early. But don’t you think it’s a pity Jude doesn’t have any brothers or sisters to play with? We wouldn’t have to keep him occupied. I think he’ll feel lonely when he’s older.”
“Martin, you know this family isn’t one of your seeding sites, right?”
“Of course I do. But we are a family, and families have children. Unless you want Jude to grow up as an only child?”
“OK, I hear what you’re saying, but Isa has only just started her business, and a lot of the time she was working, she had Jude with her. That couldn’t have been easy. I don’t think it’s fair to expect her to carry another baby right now. And….”
Martin gave Erin a look that caused her to stop dancing.
“Don’t even think about it,” she told him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t imagine myself waddling around a station like an overweight duck. Anyway, didn’t you mention something about male seahorses? Do they carry their young instead of the females?”
“They do,” Martin replied. “Still….”
He paused.
“Lindsey’s just arrived with Margot and Pietr. I’ll go and let them in.”
* * * * *
After a while, Erin grew tired of talking to the gathered throng, so she found Isa and asked if she could experience one of her installations.
“I’d love it if you would,” Isa replied. “I’ve tested them myself, but it would be great to get a second opinion from someone I can trust to tell me the truth. Do you want to select one from the menu? Oh, by the way, I asked Tanis and Joe if they’re still OK to
babysit Jude if we want to go to Athens in the next few months, and they said they would be happy to. We should arrange dates with them soon.”
“Great. Now we only have to persuade Martin to agree.”
“I’ll start working on him later.”
Erin looked up the list of installations. Isa had created experiences based around places on Carthage, Tyre, and Troy. Erin was tempted by the tunnel in Mount Athos on Tyre and the musical pillars on the same planet.
“I notice you don’t have one based on the Crystal Cave.”
“Ugh, no,” Isa said. “I couldn’t bring myself to do that, though you can see I did include the Golden Cavern.”
“Hmmm,” said Erin. “I think I’ll try The Scamander.”
“Really?” Isa asked. “I thought you would go for something farther from home.”
“I can see the river and the plain from the Messene,” Erin explained. “But I’ve never managed to find the time to visit them. This will be a nice alternative.”
“Right,” said Isa. “The supporting artifacts are on the upper mezzanine, or you could hang around here to do it.”
“No, I’ll go upstairs to be out of everyone’s way.”
The upper mezzanine was empty. Below, on the first floor, Erin could see the tops of the heads of the crowd moving and mingling, some bobbing in time to the music. Everything was going well. In another two or three hours, it would be over and everyone would go home. Erin was happy the night had turned out to be a fantastic success.
Erin sat in one of the cushioned chairs that lined the walls. Moving and still images and holos of the Scamander river valley surrounded her. Erin focused on one vid of the river rushing over boulders and closed her eyes.
The installation kicked in. Instantly, she was in the spot where Isa had recorded the vid. The sounds, scents, and feel of the air in the scene rushed in on her. The effect was sudden and real and created such an impact that Erin jerked and opened her eyes.
She was back on the upper mezzanine of the gallery. The hum of the party floated up from below.
Closing her eyes once more, Erin relaxed into the sim. It was pleasant to be transported away to the fresh, natural scene after the hubbub of the social gathering.
She was standing on the Plain of Scamander, next to the river of the same name. A strong wind was blowing, turning the long grass of the plain into a stormy ocean ruffled with waves. Along with the rush of the wind, the babble of the river dashing over the rocks filled the air. Canaan Prime was low in the sky, and sunset colors were building on the horizon, glancing off the lower edges of the clouds.
Erin wondered when Isa had recorded this moment. It was a beautiful scene, and she wished she had been there to share it with her.
Then Isa’s special added effects started to filter into the experience. The rocks in the river began to coruscate in subtle shades of color, and the river turned into a sheet of mobile silver. The water looked like mercury and reflected the deepening hues of the setting sun. The noise of the wind subtly transformed into the quiet song of a thousand voices, and rather than pushing into Erin, the breeze felt like it was blowing through her.
Erin hadn’t been aware she was smelling the earthy, grassy scent of the plain until it blended into the sounds she was hearing, and in the same way, she found she could smell the noises. The sights she was seeing became sensations on her skin. She found herself dissolving into the scene as if she were a part of the landscape, or perhaps even united with the planet, the system, and the stars beyond.
Erin let herself sink into the experience. She forgot she was at Isa’s opening event, that she had a space station to build, and almost everything that she associated with being herself. The Scamander had entered her psyche.
Suddenly, the scene felt like it was shaking, and a thundering sound shook her out of her reverie.
Erin’s eyes flew open, settling on the roof hatch that was hanging down and swinging wildly. It had been blown open. The air was hazy. On her left, she could see armored legs and booted feet running down the stairs. Erin half rose to her feet just as a soldier stepped onto the mezzanine and lifted his weapon. A pulse round hit her square in the chest.
The blast flung Erin from her seat and she crumpled to the floor, struggling to breathe.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
STELLAR DATE: 05.11.8941 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Isa’s gallery, Heliopolis, Ithaca
REGION: Troy, New Canaan System
Between gasps, Erin rose onto her elbows, trying to make sense of what was going on. A few seconds prior, she’d been in the middle of a thrilling sensory and spiritual experience, and then she’d been rudely flung back into reality.
Armored feet were running past not far from her head, headed to the staircase that led to the other mezzanine, soldiers firing downward at the partygoers as they ran.
Dozens of concussive pulses thumped out, reverberating around Erin’s skull, increasing her confusion. They were followed by shouts and cries from the partygoers, mixed in with the sounds of breaking glass and falling gallery displays.
What the hell is going on? Is Troy being attacked? How has the Transcend passed through all our outer defenses without anyone spotting it?
It occurred to her that these might be Trojan separatists, trying to kidnap Tanis as part of their plan to secede. She wondered where they’d acquired the armor and weapons to pull the assault, then remembered the equipment caches that had been set up on each planet.
Dammit.
Erin’s heart froze. Not only were Isa and Martin down on the first floor where the soldiers were headed, Jude was there too.
Knowing that stealth was her only option now, she slumped back down, lying still and trying to avoid attracting attention from the remainder of the platoon that was moving past.
They have to be here for Tanis—why would they bother taking an art gallery?
Despite the governor being the most obvious target, Erin wasn’t too concerned about Tanis or Joe. Those two were well able to defend themselves. Isa and Martin, on the other hand, weren’t armed, and with protecting Jude being their primary concern, they wouldn’t fight back either.
The tramp of boots past Erin’s head finally ended, and she glanced around to see that the mezzanine was empty. The hatch the attackers had busted open hung at a crazy angle, and she could see the clear, starlit sky through it.
It would be easy to escape onto the roof and leave in the shuttle, if the attackers hadn’t destroyed it. But there was no way she was leaving without her spouses and son.
Erin crawled to the edge of the floor and peered between the railings. Pulse fire continued to resonate through the space. On one side of the main floor, she could see that the strange, orange-clad woman was on the floor having some kind of fit, while a soldier dispassionately stood over her. Other groups were being held at gunpoint and marched toward the front entrance, which stood open.
For a moment, Erin clung to the hope that Martin and Isa had left with Jude, but then she spotted them standing toward the rear of the space. Her spouses formed two corners of a triangle; Martin had Jude in his arms, and Isa was at his side. A soldier formed the triangle’s third point. He was swinging the barrel of his rifle between the two adults.
The concussive blasts from the pulse rifles had lessened, and Jude’s terrified wail was reaching a crescendo, echoing throughout the gallery.
That sound caused unbridled rage to rise in Erin’s chest.
Other than the man covering the twitching orange woman, the soldier covering her family was the only one she could see from her vantage. There was still fighting going on somewhere below—likely Tanis and Joe making a stand.
That pair didn’t go anywhere unarmed. Maybe they would succeed in defeating the attackers, despite being heavily outnumbered…. Though Erin wasn’t prepared to leave the safety of her family to chance.
Deciding on a course of action, she slowly rose and ran to the stairs that crossed to the other mezzanine. She probably wouldn’t get far along it without being noticed, but she didn’t have to go far to carry out her plan.
Erin took another look at the soldier who was threatening her family. Do I rush and hope for the best, or take careful aim?
If she missed, she would seriously hurt herself and fail at rescuing the people she loved. A surprise strike had the greatest chance of success, even though it meant a higher risk of discovery.
No time to come up with something else….
Erin began to creep down the stairs, hoping no one would look up. Martin, Isa, and the soldier guarding them had moved closer to the center of the room, but were not yet, unfortunately, in exactly the right spot. She would have to judge the angle correctly.
Being an engineer paid off in so many ways.
“Hey!”
Someone had seen her. A soldier that had been out of view before was gesturing toward her from the lower level. She’d run out of time. Erin dashed down the final steps, leapt onto the banister rail, and, after taking a split second to judge her angle, jumped.
She’d barely had enough time to confirm that she’d gauged correctly before she hit her target—who’d just turned to look in her direction.
Her reinforced skeletal structure and the mods for her space-borne work added considerable weight to Erin’s diminutive body, so when her feet smashed into the shoulders and back of the soldier, the man lost his balance and toppled.
Even as she hit the floor and rolled to her feet, she didn’t take her eyes off the man’s weapon, which he now held with only one hand while struggling back to his feet.
She didn’t waste a moment, lunging at him and dropping her nano onto the weapon as she wrested it from the attacker’s hands. By some miracle, she managed to prise it from his grip.
