by Seven Steps
“Welcome to Zenith. I am Dell Una, an Ambassador Liaison. Please present your ambassador.”
All eyes turned to Nadira. She’d been hunched over her hyper sleep chamber, pushing it back into its hiding spot in the floor.
“You’re up,” Eva whispered.
Leaving Eva to close the chamber, Nadira smoothed her dirty, white dress, and cleared her throat. She stepped into the space between Lex and Kiln’s chair.
What is it? She wondered.
“Hello your ... uh ... your grace,” she said.
I guess that’s gender neutral, she thought.
“My name is Nadira, and I’m afraid we do not have an ambassador.”
Dell Una’s smile faltered. “The rules are clear, Empress Nadira. The Magistrate sends an ambassador to each non-advanced civilization, and each advanced civilization sends an ambassador to see the Magistrate. Either way, an ambassador is required.”
Nadira looked back at Eva then again at Dell Una. “Your grace, we’ve come so far. If the Magistrate doesn’t help us, there will be nothing left of our world!”
Besides enforcers.
Dell Una squeezed its forehead down in a sort of frown and shifted in its seat. “Your ship is Venian, is it not? You’re from Venus, aren’t you?”
“We are, your grace,” Nadira said.
“Your Venian Ambassador is a woman named Marie,” Dell Una said. “You can discuss the matter with her.”
“Marie is dead, your grace,” Nadira said.
Dell Una put its hand up to its mouth, its eyes turning glossy.
Are those tears? Nadira wondered.
“No! Marie is ... and what of Maxwell?”
“Her servant?” Nadira asked.
“Her life mate,” Dell Una replied. “Where is Max?”
Life mate?
“Dead, too, your grace,” Nadira said.
Dell Una gasped and turned away from the camera, dabbing at all three eyes.
Definitely female, Nadira thought.
After taking a moment to compose herself, Dell Una faced them again.
“And the child?” Dell Una asked. “Marie’s birth? Where is she?”
Nadira took a step forward and placed a hand on her heart.
“Oh!” Dell Una’s frown turned up a bit. “Marie’s birth. We were there when you were born. You were the first child ever born on Zenith. Your parents were so proud.” Dell Una’s three eyes roamed over Nadira. She smiled. “Yes, you do look like your mother. Marie was highly favored, and so are you. The Magistrate will see you. I will send you the coordinates to the spaceport and will accompany you myself to the palace.”
Nadira’s spirits lifted as the screen went blank. The terminal lit as information was exchanged.
They would get help after all.
“Nadira,” Eva said. “Dell Una made it seem as if your mother and Maxwell were...together,” Eva said. “She called them your parents.”
“I don’t understand it,” Nadira said.
It doesn’t make sense. If my mother and Maxwell were together, why was she so hard on me and Kiln? Why didn’t she tell me? How did I not know?
“Maybe the Magistrate has some answers,” Eva said.
Nadira didn’t reply as the ship dove through the atmosphere. She couldn’t think about such matters now. An entire planet, two children, and a single ship full of women, were counting on them to send help. Without the Magistrate Embrya’s assistance, multitudes would die.
She’d have to wonder about her mother and Maxwell later.
Lavender tinted clouds thinned as they descended. Thick forest spread out to their left. On their right, a massive volcano puffed smoke. Near the volcano was a great ocean.
They flew to the left, over the purple foliage of the forest, until they came to a bustling spaceport. They touched down on an unoccupied landing pad, then maneuvered the ship into a crowded hanger.
Look at them all, Nadira thought.
Around the ship, ambassadors and their entourages were dressed in opulent frocks. Rich browns, bright oranges, and magnificent blues seemed to be the favorite colors. Male, female, and other genders that Nadira couldn’t identify scurried to and fro, finding their liaisons, gathering bags, and meeting old friends.
Nadira pushed the door release button, and the ship’s door descended, unfolding a short set of steps before them. Her eyes watered at the strong smell of rich perfumes, unfamiliar bodies, and fuel. She took a shallow breath and tried to block it all out.
Dell Una stood at the base of the steps. Barely five feet tall, she was shoeless and clothed in a silver, boxy sort of dress with a belt tied loosely around the waist. She fluttered her wings and flew directly into Nadira’s face, stopping nose to nose to more closely scrutinize her.
Dell Una never moved her mouth, but her voice rang clear in Nadira’s mind.
Marie’s birth.
Nadira gasped.
Is that her voice in my head? Nadira thought.
Yes, Nadira. I can hear you as you can hear me. The Zenithian narrowed all three eyes at her, still inspecting, still searching. I wasn’t sure at first, but now I am certain. It is you. I can smell your mother. Tell me, how did they die?
They were murdered by Arees’ enforcers.
Dell Una shook her head sadly.
Nadira felt Kiln’s presence behind her. He touched her back reassuringly. She sagged against him. Hearing her mother’s name was choking her, racing her heart. Her mother was gone, and yet, she was all around her. The thought set her head spinning, and she was sure that, if Kiln wasn’t holding her, she would have fallen apart. She took in a deep breath, calling his strength to her. Calling on the strength of her mother. She had to keep it together. They had to complete this mission. So many lives were counting on them.
Follow me. And please remove your shoes.
The Zenithian turned and made a path through the crowd.
Nadira leaned out of Kiln’s hold, removed her white slippers and tossed them back into the ship.
“What’s happening?” Eva asked.
“She’s taking us to the Magistrate,” Nadira said. “She wants us to take off our shoes.”
“And be barefoot?”
Nadira nodded, anxiously watching Dell Una move deeper into the crowd.
“They can hear our thoughts,” Nadira said. “We’ll have to be careful.”
“Was that what she was doing? Reading your mind?” Eva threw her shoes into the ship next to Nadira’s.
“Yes. Hurry!”
Nadira moved through the crowd of richly perfumed bodies, following the path that Dell Una had set.
CHAPTER 5
The Omni
Emon sat in her small office, her mind jumping between thoughts of death and thoughts of life.
What if Nadira and Eva never come back? Emon wondered. And if they do, will there be anything left for my crew on Venus? What will happen if Arees finds us?
A light knock was followed by a woman stepping into the frame of the doorway, clasping her hands behind her back and snapping her heels together.
Helena.
“You wanted to see me, Captain Emon?” Helena asked.
Emon nodded, waving at the woman to dispense with the pleasantries and step into the room. When death was so close, there was no time for formalities.
“Yes, Helena. Close the door,” Emon said.
Helena shut the door firmly behind her before stepping into the room. Emon allowed herself a moment to admire Helena’s platinum blonde hair, tinted dark blue at the ends. She had always considered Helena’s hair to be her best feature, the one thing other women on the ship envied. Envy was a powerful force. It made the more submissive women follow, and the more dominant women destroy. After taking account of the eighteen women left alive on the ship, Emon knew that the only dominant women left were her and Helena.
I’ll have to play this one very carefully. It’s an important thing to lead a woman into her final hours. Whether it’s done peacefully
or not is completely up to me. The last thing we need is a power struggle when we’re running out of oxygen.
A candle threw shadows around the small room, its light touching on full book shelves, pictures of smiling children, and a single comfortable looking chair. Emon sat behind a small wooden desk, and waved Helena to the chair.
“Helena,” Emon sighed. “I fear the worst is upon us. It’s been two days since we allowed the prisoners to escape and we’ve heard nothing.”
“Yes, Captain,” Helena said.
“What is the current status of the ship?”
“We are down to twenty five percent power. Life support is down to twenty three percent. The oxygen levels have been decreased, which should give us a few more hours at best. The remaining food has been rationed. There is enough for perhaps five days.”
“And the bodies?”
“They have all been set adrift, Captain.”
Emon sat back in her chair. The bodies would have raised their carbon dioxide levels as they decayed. They had to get rid of them.
What will we tell those women’s families? Emon wondered. That is, if their families are still alive.
“Captain?” Helena’s voice jogged Emon from her own mind.
“We must begin to prepare for the worst,” Emon said. “I am making you co-captain. You will have as much power as I do, and, if anything happens to me, you will carry out the directives that we agree upon today.”
“Yes, captain, er, Emon.”
Emon nodded.
It has begun.
“I propose,” Emon said, “that when life support levels become critical, every crew member be put into hyper sleep.”
Helena gasped. “For how long?”
“For as long as possible.”
“But if we go into hyper sleep on a dead ship, there will be nothing to wake us.”
“If no one comes back for us, it won’t matter,” Emon said.
“Are you sure that the prisoners won’t come back? Maybe they just need more time.”
“Unfortunately, Helena, time is a luxury we don’t have.” Emon picked up a photograph on her desk. It was of her and her daughter, Lily, in a forest in Beta Sector last year. Her daughter was sixteen years old then, training to be an arborist. She wondered if she was still alive.
Emon sighed again. “Do we agree on this plan?” Emon asked.
Helena shook her head, her eyes cloudy. “What other choice do we have?”
Nodding, Emon replaced the photograph on her desk. “Would you like to alert the crew or should I?”
“I will.”
Thank Venus.
It was hard enough knowing these women were going to die. Telling them that, if all went well, the method of their death would be a hyper sleep induced coma that would end with them freezing to death would have driven her over the edge.
Helena began to rise.
“Helena,” Emon said. “Do you have any children?”
Helena shook her head. “No, Captain. It was just my mother and I.”
“And you were from Zephta Sector, correct?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Any word on her?”
“No, Captain.” Helena’s eyes were wide in the dark. “There hasn’t been word from anyone.”
Emon nodded.
“I was sorry to hear about Princess Niadad,” Emon said. “And her daughter.”
“As were we.” Helena’s eyes dropped to the ground. Arees murdered both the leader of Zephta Sector, and the only living heir, in the span of days. Helena cleared her throat and looked back up at Emon. “But we can’t lose hope.”
“Hope,” Emon spat. “What reason do we have for hope?”
“The Hollow. There were women and men down there. They had weapons, enforcers. They could launch a counter attack.”
“Your hope is that a band of underground criminals launch a counter attack against thousands of enforcers?”
“It’s all I have,” Helena said. “What about you? What is your hope?”
“My hope?” Emon smirked. “I hope... I hope...” she picked up the photograph of her daughter, Lily, again. She hadn’t thought of hope since the enforcers attacked this ship. Was there even such a thing? They were going to die. What hope was there in that?
She closely examined her daughters deep brown eyes, her smooth brown hair, and her stocky build.
Just like her mother, Emon smiled. Birthing Lily was the one thing she’d done right. And yet, as she pondered her past and her future, her greatest joy was also her greatest regret.
If I ever get off this ship, I swear I will find you and make things right.
She tipped the picture so that Helena could see.
“I suppose,” Emon said, “that she is my hope.”
Helena smiled. “Then you have no greater reason to stay alive.”
CHAPTER 6
Zenith
Dell Una and the Venians stood in a clearing outside the space port.
The dense purple forest gently rustled in the breeze. Two suns gave warmth from above, one over their left shoulder and one over their right. Below them, soft, brilliant green grass cushioned each step. Shimmering, golden dust swirled in the air, carried on the breeze to some unknown place.
Dell Una’s thoughts rung clear in the Venians minds.
Wait here.
She stretched her wings and fluttered back inside the hanger.
Nadira took a deep breath, her mind full.
How could my mother lie to me about Maxwell? What else was my mother keeping from me?
She felt Kiln’s hand on her back.
“Are you okay, my Empress?” he asked.
She nodded.
Their eyes met, and he immediately frowned. He seemed to know all of her secrets in that moment, all of her fears. He didn’t say anything. Putting one arm around her shoulder, Kiln pulled her close, crushing her against his hard chest. She tipped her head up at him. His gaze captured hers.
You can talk to me, his eyes said.
I know, her eyes replied.
He kissed the side of her head just as Dell Una returned, riding astride a scaly, rotund beast. With its short neck, large snout, and six powerful legs, it seemed strangely out of place in this land of peace and serenity. A rickety, wooden cart was harnessed to its back.
“Where are my manners?” Dell Una said. “I didn’t introduce myself to the rest of you. You may call me Dell Una. And you are Eva.” She pointed to Eva. “Lex.” She pointed to Lex. “And Kiln.”
Eva, Lex and Kiln nodded in turn.
“Welcome to Zenith. I will take you to the Magistrate Embrya’s palace.”
The beast huffed at them, and Nadira placed a hand on Kiln’s chest. He wrapped her a little tighter in his arms.
“Another woman from Venus, a Czarina, came here shortly before you did,” Dell Una said. “She too was looking for the Magistrate without an ambassador.”
“Arees came here?” Eva asked.
“Yes. But we turned her away. We saw her lies, saw that she had evil in her heart. We can read thoughts, and hers were dark, full of even intent. Fortunately, I do not see such evil in you. Please.”
Dell Una waved them to the open air cart, where they made themselves comfortable on high-backed, yellow cushioned benches. A surprisingly clean, yellow rug covered the floor.
When they settled, Dell Una stood facing them, the beast already shifting with the added burden. She smiled and clasped both hands behind her back.
“What is this thing?” Eva asked.
“It is called a lunchunt,” Dell Una said.
“Is it dangerous?” Eva asked.
“Only if you are a blade of grass.”
Without warning, the lunchunt ambled forward, nearly throwing them from their seats as the cart rocked side to side with the beast’s heavy gait.
“Shouldn’t you be driving?” Eva asked, trying to keep herself upright in her seat.
Dell Una smiled. “It knows exactly where to go.�
��
They joined dozens of other carts on the wide, dirt road.
In the cart on her left, Nadira noticed a single creature with a long, black, tubular body, and four sets of legs spaced evenly from one end to the other. It wore no clothing, and it had no features that identified a face, although one end of it curved up as if it were looking out over the world. Its green-haired ambassador liaison talked merrily to the creature, even laughing here and there as if they were old friends.
To her right, another purple-haired ambassador sat cross-legged in its cart, its face solemn as it spoke with what seemed to be a small ball of light.
The Venians rode on in silence, following a babbling river that ran alongside the busy road. Giant yellow fish swam close to the surface, curiously surveying them as they passed. In the distance, proud snowcapped mountains sat hazy against the horizon.
Nadira turned back to Dell Una, only to see her face twisted to the side, mouth slack, pupils trembling.
“Dell Una, are you alright?”
The Zenithian snapped out of her stupor, looked at Nadira and smiled. “I was just ...” she frowned, searching for a word they could understand. “Listening.”
“Listening to what?” Nadira asked.
“To everything. Every thought, every idea, every sadness, and every joy. We can hear it all. That’s why we made you remove your shoes, so that Zenith can truly connect with you, and you with it.”
“But how?” Nadira asked.
“Through the dust. Once it flows through your body, it forms a bond with the planet. It’s only one way of course, which is why I can hear your thoughts, but you can’t hear each other’s. However, if you are a child of Embrya,” she sat up proudly, “you are gifted with the sight.” She pointed to her third eye. “If you have that, there are no limits.”
“You are Embrya’s child?” Eva asked.
“We are all Embrya’s children. She visions us, and we come to be. She’s a Forger, a creator, and we are her creation, as is Zenith.”
Dell turned back to the lunchunt and petted it gently behind the ears.
