The Silver Ship and the Sea

by Brenda Cooper

  Akashi nodded.

  Paloma blew out a hard breath and blinked, then sighed. “Come on, eat. You’ll need your strength.”

  “Have you seen the others?” I asked.

  She shook her head, handing me a plate of steaming corn bread piled with applesauce.

  Akashi smiled at Paloma as he took his own plate. “I could smell the applesauce from outside the door.”

  She smiled tiredly. “Well, and it’s corn bread again. If we stay here another few days we’ll have to figure out how to reprovision. Eat.”

  I heard footsteps outside. Joseph, Kayleen, and Jenna rushed in. “We’ve got a problem,” Kayleen said. “Joseph did what Gianna asked. There’s a swarm of little meteors that are going to hit near here, here and Artistos, but it’s really worse than that; a big one is headed for the ocean near Islandia.” She slowed down to catch her breath. “It might make a wave big enough to swamp us, but he doesn’t know how to calculate that.”

  Islandia was almost half the world away.

  Paloma reached for her daughter, pulling Kayleen close. “Are they going to hit today?”

  Joseph shook his head.

  Paloma released Kayleen with a sigh and handed out plates to the rest of us. “So, everybody eat. We can decide what to do over breakfast.” I’d never heard her quite so forceful.

  Joseph’s and Kayleen’s news, on top of Alicia’s desertion, had withered my appetite to ash, but I took my plate to the table anyway. I moved next to Joseph and whispered, “Did you talk to Gianna?”

  “No, Jenna said I should talk to you first.” Only then did he blink and look around more closely. “Where’s Alicia?”

  I sighed heavily. “Gone. Fill your plate. Sit down. I’ll tell you.”

  He obeyed, quickly, sitting and looking at me expectantly, anger darkening his eyes and pulling his face taut. Within two minutes, all seven of us had wedged around the table meant for six. “Where’s Alicia?” Joseph demanded.

  Akashi glanced at me questioningly. I nodded at him, and a tiny strained smile crossed his face. My news. I cleared my throat. “Alicia took Ink, and a microwave gun, and”—I glanced at Jenna—“and a round silver ball from Jenna’s pile—and she left, heading toward the First Road.” Jenna’s face paled. Anger quickly chased the surprise from her face, and her mouth went tight and hard. So she hadn’t suggested it, or given Alicia permission.

  I stabbed at my corn bread, smashing it on the plate. “She left a half hour ago. Liam and I saw her leave, but by then she was too far away to catch on foot. My guess is she’s taking the First Road to Artistos to try to rescue Bryan.”

  “You should have watched her,” Jenna snapped.

  My face grew hot. “I know.” I glanced at Joseph, who looked confused. He probably didn’t even know he’d contributed by ignoring her in the ship.

  Akashi’s voice dripped disgust. “I could have watched, too. Liam and Chelo were out, and I knew it. Paloma and I were here, near her. We didn’t even know she’d gone until they told us.”

  Joseph asked, “Did she leave me a note?”

  “Not that we’ve found,” Paloma said. “Tell us about the meteors.”

  “A half hour?” Joseph said. “Can’t we catch her?”

  “I need you here,” Jenna snapped.

  Joseph glared at her, then glowered at the table, looking at no one.

  Liam looked at Jenna. “What was in that ball she took?”

  Jenna frowned, hesitating. She licked her lips and looked almost sheepish—a look I’d never seen her wear before. It looked ridiculous on her twisted face. “She could kill everything within twenty meters of where she throws it, and do serious harm within fifty. It’s meant to damage a crowd.”

  Paloma spoke up, her voice flat. “And every one of us old enough to have been in the war will recognize it.”

  “Whether she knows how to use it or not, she can scare people with it.”

  “They’ll shoot her,” Joseph said, his face pale. “We have to go after her.”

  Liam stood up, his plate untouched. His face was set. “I’ll go. Chelo can’t—and you shouldn’t, Joseph. We can’t lose you.”

  Joseph glared at Liam, and I was sure he was going to tell Liam no. Instead, he said, “I’m closing down the nets then, so they can’t see either of you coming.”

  “No,” I cried. “Wait. Think about it. We’re meeting them soon. With luck, they know nothing about Alicia or the skimmer, and with even more luck”—I looked pointedly at Joseph—“they think losing the nets yesterday was an anomaly. We need to talk, or we start a full-scale war. We’ll lose, all of us. They’ll kill us all, or we’ll have to all fly off, without Alicia, without Bryan, without Liam. We can’t do that. Besides, she can’t get to Artistos the long way before the meeting.”

  Liam tugged at his braid. “I should go now if I have any chance of catching her.”

  Akashi looked at his son, his face a mask of concern. “Liam—she may be committing suicide. You don’t have to do this. Stay with us, stay safe.” His eyes pleaded with Liam, although his hands and voice were steady. “They must have Bryan in a safe place, must be guarding him. They’ve probably set the perimeter bells to identify any of you coming in.”

  Jenna spoke, her voice slow and reluctant. “I can get you through the nets undetected. I’ll give you a frizzer.”

  Akashi instantly diverted his attention to her. “A what?”

  “I carry one. It makes me invisible to your data nets. Changes my signature. It’s small—you can keep it in your pocket. I brought one for each of us; they’re in the Burning Void.”

  I glared at her. Jenna gave up her secrets slowly, but she was offering them. Sooner would have been nice.

  Liam looked at Akashi. “I have to go. There’s still a chance to stop her, or if I can’t do that, to help her. I know Artistos better than she does; she never had the run of town like me. Bryan has to be in the hospital if he’s doing as badly as it sounds. It’s the only place they have good medical equipment.”

  I frowned. “But what if he needs care? We don’t know how badly they hurt him. Who says we can rescue him?”

  Jenna spoke up. “There are medical supplies and bots in the ship. I used them after…after I lost my arm. I lived in New Making for almost a year.”

  So that was how she survived. I pictured her sneaking alone down to the ship, which I knew was guarded then, stealing aboard, injured, hiding, and finally healing.

  I didn’t want Liam to go. But Alicia, wild and uncontained, was a clear danger to us as well as herself. “Okay—everyone. Here’s what I think we should do.”

  Liam continued to stand, watching his father’s face. Joseph glared at me, his eyes pleading. For what? To shut down the nets? To send him after Alicia, or Liam?

  Paloma and Kayleen, next to each other, held hands on the table. Akashi gazed at Liam. No one had taken even a bite of food.

  I swallowed, hard, wishing for time. “Liam, go now. Let Jenna take you to saddle Star, get the frizzer. Take an earset, so we can talk to you.” I dug in my pocket for the earset I’d used to call Artistos. “That means we’ll only have one, but it can’t be helped. Try to catch her, to stop her.” I glanced at Akashi. He looked back, neither agreeing with nor fighting me. “If she’s already done something stupid, don’t help her—stay safe. Your goal is to stop her. If you can do that, call us, then come back.”

  Joseph looked like he burned to say something, but he held his tongue.

  I continued. “We’ll know the outcome of the talks by the time you find her. We may need to help you two get Bryan if it all goes bad.” I caught Liam’s attention, pinned his eyes with mine. “Don’t get killed. Think of yourself as a scout, not a warrior. Find out what’s happening in Artistos for us.”

  Akashi’s face relaxed a little. He broke in. “Liam—do what you need to. But don’t save Alicia from herself if it puts you in danger. Do you understand?”

  Liam nodded, and stepped next to Akashi, putti
ng his hand on his father’s shoulder. “I’ll be careful.”

  Paloma stood, wincing, and started wrapping a piece of corn bread and some dried fruit.

  I held the earset out to Liam. “Be careful. If you can all three come home, if you can get Bryan safely, do it. I don’t think he’s in any danger—apparently he’s too hurt to threaten Artistos, and they have every reason to keep him alive. Do you understand? Stopping Alicia is more important than getting Bryan out. They’ll kill her if she threatens them; they won’t kill him if he stays put.” I paused. “I hope.”

  He stood across the table, looking down at me. His eyes flashed warmth, a hint of a secret smile just for me. “I understand.”

  Kayleen looked up at Liam. “Maybe…maybe you should find Tom. He might be able to help.”

  Liam nodded and started toward the door, but I realized what I’d forgotten. “Wait.” He stopped. “We meet with Nava and whoever she brings in a little over an hour.” I swung my gaze to Joseph. “Joseph—I don’t want you to mess with Artistos’s data nets for now. But you keep the other earset, stay in touch with Liam. If Liam needs the nets down, he can ask for it. But unless he or I ask for it, I want the nets up. In fact, I want you and Gianna to have a civil conversation about the meteors right after we eat. Be helpful. Let them know we’re being cooperative.”

  Joseph frowned, but he nodded slightly, his gaze on Liam. “Can Liam go now?”

  I swallowed. “I guess he’d better. But everyone else, stay here. Jenna can help him go.” I glanced at her, wondering briefly if she would do what I told her. Take my orders. She had held her silence since hearing about the ball.

  Her voice sounded torn and ragged, tired and worried. “I’d go, Liam, but I need to stay here and work on the New Making. It might be our only escape route, especially now.” She jerked her head toward the door and stood, her shoulders as straight as ever.

  I stepped toward her and reached out a hand, not quite touching her. “Jenna, can you give Liam enough frizzers for Bryan and Alicia?”

  “Yes.” She looked at Liam, not me. “Let’s go.”

  Liam leaned down and hugged Akashi, briefly, then smiled at Paloma and took the package of food she held out to him. He stepped over near me, leaned in, and kissed my cheek. His lips were warm. “Good luck,” he whispered.

  “Good luck to you, too,” I whispered back.

  And then Jenna and Liam were gone.

  I took my first bite of breakfast. The applesauce had already cooled, and the food tasted like sawdust. How could I have let her go? It was so stupid. I should be the one to go after her, but I had set up my own trap. At least people were listening to me. But was I being just as stupid all over again? How was talking going to help anyway?

  I swallowed a lump of cold bread and applesauce and looked around the table. It wasn’t wrong for me to make the choices. Paloma and Akashi were original colonists; they were not us, no matter that they loved us. I was older than Kayleen and Joseph, and I knew I thought things through better. Jenna—Jenna would fly us all away. She was…not us either. Not quite. Fremont wasn’t her home. I sighed heavily, and met Akashi’s eyes as he looked at me. “I’m sorry, so sorry for letting Alicia go.”

  He shook his head. “You can’t take responsibility for everyone’s choices. Only for your own.”

  I took a drink to wet my dry, scared mouth. “Joseph, tell me about the meteors.”

  “There are a bunch of small ones coming. Some big enough they’ll survive entry into the atmosphere, and fall around Jini, but it’s too soon to say where. Maybe here, maybe Artistos, maybe on the far side by Blaze.” He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes fixed on a cobweb, as if touching the data again. Only then did I notice he had left the coat in the ship. I reached into my pocket and took out my father’s headband, holding it out toward Joseph. He glanced at me, at the headband. “I don’t need it anymore. Jenna said I’m stronger than Dad was, stronger than anyone she’s met.”

  I shivered. I wanted my little brother, and he was well beyond me. I fingered the headband, toying with the idea of putting it on. But I couldn’t read the wind. I pocketed it.

  Paloma prompted Joseph, her face white. “So, what about the big meteor?”

  He screwed up his face, as if recalling a list of facts. “It’s…it’s less than a quarter the size of the one that made Little Lace Lake. It won’t come down anywhere near us. It could hit Islandia, but the trajectory suggests it will miss it, barely, and land in the ocean.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what happens after that. Does it make a tsunami? Does it just miss us, and we’re okay?” He drummed his fingers on his thigh. “It will make weather—storms or something. Surely it will do at least that.”

  “Gianna can help you figure that out,” Paloma said gently.

  Joseph nodded. “I already asked her.”

  “When will this happen?” Akashi asked.

  “We’ll go through the shower of smaller ones tonight. It should be over by dawn. The big one is just behind, maybe noon.”

  After my talk with Nava.

  Akashi held his earset out to Joseph. “Go on. Take Kayleen with you, set it up so she can hear, too.”

  Joseph shook his head. “I’ll just go in straight through the nets. I can show Gianna more that way, and Chelo can have the earset. Besides, aren’t you required to keep it?”

  Akashi left his hand open. “Take it, Joseph. Start your conversation with it. That will scare them less. Then maybe Gianna will let you show her more via the nets, and maybe she’ll hide what you’re doing. Go ahead and keep it—it’s the only way Liam can communicate with you.”

  I nodded. A good plan; Gianna had always been a friend, had been Therese’s friend, too. Her understudy in the science guild, which she now ran. I remembered many nights she’d joined us for dinner. She sounded glad to talk to me last night. It was possible she would keep secrets.

  Joseph reached a hand out for the earset, his eyes showing resentment, as if using something so mundane was a chore.

  25

  On the Grass Plains

  Paloma, Akashi, and I sat, mounted, looking across the flat plains to Artistos perched on the cliff above us. Joseph, Jenna, and Kayleen stood with us, Joseph next to Kayleen, watching Artistos thoughtfully, his face lined with worry and exhaustion. He had slept the least of all of us, except for Jenna.

  Jenna had been the first to spot movement down the cliff road ten minutes ago. A line of hebras snaked slowly down the switchbacked path.

  Joseph squinted into the morning sun and said, “I count five.”

  Five? Who? Nava, for sure. I’d be willing to bet on Tom and Hunter. There was only one way to find out.

  Joseph and Gianna had been talking, but they didn’t yet know what kind of damage the big asteroid would do. A day remained.

  There had been no word from Liam. But he wouldn’t call and risk alerting Artistos to Alicia’s intent before he knew anything.

  The headband shimmered in the sun against Kayleen’s dark unruly hair. I had passed it to her for safekeeping. She, after all, could use it.

  Jenna patted Stripes with her one hand and looked up at me, her slate-gray eye approving. “You are good, Chelo. Strong. You can do this. Buy us time, time to get the ship ready. Buy me a day. Your brother needs to rest, and there are still things I must teach him.”

  “I’ll do what I can.”

  “Don’t trust them,” she said.

  I led off, Paloma and Akashi following me, close in. The charred day-after-fire scent filled my nostrils, and made the hebras nervous. They picked their feet up high, and kept their ears forward.

  I had planned to bring Liam. I felt his absence, felt how I alone represented us all.

  Paloma spoke so softly I could barely make out her words. “It took so little time to come to such a pass. Before the earthquake, everything was fine, even getting better. For you, for Kayleen, for the whole colony. As if we were finally recovering from the damned war.”

  I lean
ed forward to pat Stripes’s long neck. “Maybe it will be all right.”

  “I hope so,” she said. “What will you do if it isn’t?” Her words seemed caught in her throat, as if they didn’t want to emerge and be heard. “Will you all fly away in the New Making if you can’t go back to Artistos? Will you take my daughter?”

  I turned in my saddle. Paloma rode straight and comfortably, as if she and Sand belonged together, as if she belonged exploring. She had chosen simple hemp pants and a hemp shirt, flowing and loose, and a thick hemp coat with small hand-carved djuri-horn buttons. Her clothes were rumpled from the saddlebags, but she looked clean and alert. She straightened her reins, over and over, but her face gave away no emotion. Akashi, next to her, wore leather, and he looked very much like Paloma; contained and calm. He, too, dressed simply, his only ornamentation the fringe of his leather coat, decorated with the tiny horn beads Mayah made for trade each year. He had chosen to ride with his stunner visible, the hand grip showing in the waistband of his pants. He could have covered it easily by closing the coat, so it was a conscious decision. He and Paloma both carried the little microwave guns, like me. Neither of them was visible. I took mine out of my pocket and pushed it into a hole in the saddle where I could reach it easily. Then I thought better of it, and pushed it back into my pocket.

  I couldn’t answer Paloma’s question. I asked her a different one. “Would you go with us if we went?”

  She looked startled, and then she smiled. She spoke slowly, her voice catching in her throat. “Only if Kayleen must. Artistos needs you, all of you.”

  “Thank you.” I turned back around, facing the coming conversation.

  When we were about halfway between the spaceport and the cliff, I pulled Stripes to a stop. A little patch of grass the fire had missed hung on, barely wilted, behind a large pile of stones. Paloma and Akashi stopped next to me, silent. The string of five hebras approached us from the Artistos side, close enough now for me to see the deep red of Nava’s hair. I squinted, looking for Tom. Hunter followed Nava, then three more behind her. Stile, Ken, and Ruth. No Tom. Ruth’s presence added to my unease.