She waited. What would happen to Arcan? Would he realize that somebody must have set off the explosion? Would he still be alive? Would he have been able to free himself of the Dessites? Had she at least saved what remained of Arcan, on Valhai?
There was a long pause. The fragments of the Independence were still hurtling outwards, but the flash had dissipated, so there was really nothing much to see. Now the sky had darkened again, she was unable to see the whirling pieces of flotsam. Suddenly the whole visor clouded over, and she looked around her, sharply.
“Arcan? Is that you? Get us away from here as fast as you can, please. Take us to Kwaide. Now!”
There was no reply, but Diva had the vague impression that she had been listened to. She peered at the cloudy visor, trying to make outwhere she was, but could still see nothing.
Then the mists began to clear, and she gave a whoop of joy. They were docked on the Kwaide Orbital Station. They were safe.
Arcan appeared almost as soon as they were docked.
“Thank you, Diva. You may have saved my life. Although you very efficiently killed off the part of me above Pictoria.”
“I’m sorry. I was hoping that maybe that part of the orthogel might turn into more Arcan amorphs.”
“I’m afraid not. I have no impression of survival. But don’t be sorry. I am more than grateful for your efficiency. I am only slightly weakened, and now their link to me is broken.”
“Are you sure, Arcan? They didn’t somehow break through to Valhai?”
He shimmered. “I have been able to hold them back. But they are very persistent, and I am afraid that next time they find me, it will be impossible to resist. The wall is so very large, and thick. There are just so many of them. They are a very dangerous adversary.”
“We know.” She told him how the Dessites had overcome the avians and been able to stop them firing the missiles, how Grace had sacrificed herself.
Arcan darkened and swelled up alarmingly. “We have been very lucky. I would never have forgiven myself if I had been the cause of the annihilation of so many of my friends. I must be grateful to the Dessites for that, at least. What are we going to do now?”
“Well. I have to go back to Pictoria, and you must not.”
“But—”
“You can do nothing there. You only make things twice as difficult, Arcan, because we would all die to protect you. You simply must not put yourself at risk again! I forbid it!”
“And do you think that a transient may order the orthogel entity about?” Arcan grew in stature until he filled the gap between the station floor and ceiling.
Diva straightened her shoulders and lifted her head imperiously. “I do.”
Arcan deflated. “I suppose,” he said, changing colour again, “that you could be right. I would be unable to do very much to help you rid the planet of the Dessites.”
“You would only get in the way.”
“Then what can I do?”
“I am going to get some help, and then I want you to drop us back into the Pictoris system when I do. But not directly in orbit around Pictoria – the Dessites may be waiting for you there.”
“Do you remember the mistake I made when we first transported to the Pictoris system? When I dropped you all into the atmosphere of the gas giant?”
“Hard to forget that, Arcan.”
“I could drop you there, inside the top atmospheric cover, if we had another spaceship. Nobody would expect that.”
“Brilliant! Do you think you could ask the Sellites for another ship while I am sorting things out here on Kwaide?”
Arcan nodded. “I will borrow or buy one. Will you need anything else?”
Diva thought hard. “What we really need is something to temporarily block the non-locality in the area around Pictoria, and a way for you to escape from any traps the Dessites might set for you with that carbon nanographite stuff. Why don’t you put your immense intellect to work on that? If we could somehow do that, then all the rest would just go away.”
“Very well. I will try.” Arcan left a bracelet of orthogel around Diva’s wrist and disappeared. Diva gave a slow, long smile. Things weren’t good yet, but at least they had saved Arcan, which was the main thing. She turned to the hatch, and let herself out into the corridor of the Kwaide Orbital Station. There was a group of people waiting to greet her, first and foremost among them Samoso, who was in charge of the station when Ledin was away.
“Valhai Diva,” he gave a slight bow. “Did you know that you have dried blood all down your face?”
“Hi Samoso.” She raised her hands to touch his in the standard binary system greeting. “It’s nothing – just a scratch. Can you do something for me?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Send somebody to the surface and ask Grace’s mother to come up straight away, will you? Tell her Grace needs her help.”
“I will go myself.”
“N-o-o. Send somebody else. You need to stay here. Ledin is … that is … Ledin may be delayed.”
“Has something happened to him? Where is he?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”
Samoso frowned. “Are there security implications for Kwaide?”
“No. —At least, I don’t think so. Not exactly.” She squirmed. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Perhaps you should tell us what the problem is.”
“I … I don’t think I can do that. I’m sorry. —But can you make sure that the council knows Ledin has not just taken longer holidays?”
Samoso laughed. “Nobody who knows him would think that, but I will make sure everybody knows he is on a mission with you.” He walked quickly to one of the other members of station personnel and gave some rapid instructions. The man listened attentively, nodded once, and left. “There. I have put all that in hand. Now, how else can I help you?”
“I’m not quite sure yet. I need a detox shower first of all. Perhaps we could talk after that?”
Samoso grinned. “Whenever you like. I will hold myself at your disposal.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry I can’t be more explicit.”
“Is First Six involved?”
“First—? Oh, yes, he is.”
“Then it is not necessary to explain anything. Whatever you need, we shall give you.”
“Thank you.”
“Can you find your way to the detox showers?”
“Yes. I remember them clearly.”
Samoso laughed again. “You may be surprised. Ledin ordered more efficient showers to be installed. The new ones are individual, and much more thorough than the last ones that the Sellites invented.”
As Diva lathered herself in the shower, and washed the blood off, she was forced to admit that Samoso had been right. These showers were almost luxurious compared to the old ones. She let herself stand under the hot jets for a wonderful few moments, directing the hot stream of water onto the back of her neck and the top of her back. The feeling was wonderful, and she wished things had been different. It would have been nice to stand under the shower for a full hour, but she knew she couldn’t. There were far too many things to do for that.
ARCAN MATERIALIZED WITHOUT warning in front of Mandalon 50, and the bodyguards who always protected the young head of Valhai leapt into action.
“STOP!” instructed Mandalon, holding up his hand. “Can’t you see that it is Arcan? Let him pass! At once!”
The orthogel entity shimmered. There was nothing that these guards could do to stop him, had he intended any harm to their ruler. Still, he now knew firsthand what it was like to be overfaced and unable to retaliate. Arcan stopped considerately where he was, and waited for the guards to escort him over to the young Mandalon.
Mandalon stood up ceremoniously, and bowed. “How may I help you?”
“My space trader has been blown up.”
Mandalon blinked. “And …?” he said cautiously.
“I need another one. Immediately.”
“Another sp
ace trader. Right. Err …”
“Will you give me one, or do I have to pay for it?”
Mandalon sat down again. “What blew it up?” he asked.
“Nothing near here. You do not have to worry.”
“It wasn’t a fault in the design?”
“No. Diva tells me it was surprisingly hard to get rid of.”
Mandalon’s eyebrows now went even higher. “Diva blew it up?”
“Well, yes. She had to.”
Mandalon thought rapidly. “You see, although I would personally like to give you another one, I am not sure that the Valhai voters would take it as a good thing to do. And you might feel like blowing that one up too. Then where should we be? Even on Sell there is not an unlimited number of space traders available. One could be an accident. Two might be considered careless.”
“Then I shall buy it.” A thought occurred to Arcan. “Just a minute.” He withdrew his attention for a moment from the young boy in front of him, and sent his thoughts further out, rippling through Valhai, until they found who he was looking for. He reached out and brought that figure into the presence of Mandalon. Aracely stood there, blinking rather at the change in her position, but obviously aware of who had been responsible.
“Please excuse my appearance,” she said, inclining her head slightly in Mandalon’s direction. “I was in the middle of eating.”
“Have I got enough money for a space trader?” demanded Arcan.
Aracely’s mouth opened and then closed. “I suppose so,” she told him. “But—”
“Good. Then will you please organize the payment. Now, I am very sorry, but I have to go. It is pleasant to see both of you again.” With that, the orthogel entity vanished, leaving both Aracely and Mandalon staring after him.
Mandalon moved a few controls on the tridiscreen to his right. He looked carefully at the results and then nodded. “I can give him the one which is just off post-production trials. It was destined for the ore program, but I think the orthogel entity takes priority.”
“Thank you, Mandalon. What figure were you thinking?” Aracely was wishing that Grace were there. She had no idea what a fair price would be for a spaceship. It could set back the foundation years! But her job was to do as Arcan told her, so she swallowed and tried to look as if she knew what she were doing.
Luckily, it seemed that Mandalon had almost as little idea as she did. “We have only previously sold spaceships to Coriolis,” he told her with an uncertain tone. “ And those were second-hand. So … I am not quite sure of the correct procedure. We have no pricing structure for the orthogel entity.”
Aracely nodded. “What is the normal profit margin on Sell? For the ore, for example?”
That was easy. “Sixty percent.”
“Then I suggest a figure of forty percent for the orthogel entity. —As a gesture of goodwill, of course.”
“Fifty.”
“Very well, fifty. Over cost.”
Mandalon consulted his tridiscreen again, and then gave her the figure stated as the cost. With fifty percent added, it seemed astronomical to Aracely, but she knew that the foundation could just about cover it, so she nodded her head. She had to assume that Arcan would not have pulled her unceremoniously out of dinner unless it was pretty important. She sat down to draw up a binding contract.
BACK ON THE ORBITAL station on Kwaide, Diva was greeting Cimma. But the Sellite woman had not come alone. She was accompanied by the two young thieves that Six had saved on Coriolis, and also by Bennel, who hurried over to Diva’s side immediately.
“Lady Diva, thank Sacras I have found you!”
Diva looked confused. “Why? What has happened?”
“You disappeared. I have been trying to find you since then. Valhai Six entrusted your safety to me. I have failed him miserably.” The man hung his head.
Diva looked at the Coriolan with new respect. “You came all the way over to Kwaide to look for me?”
“I gave my word to Valhai Six. It was my duty.”
“And did my mother give you permission to abandon Coriolis?”
“N-not exactly.”
“Hmm. I thought not. Well, Bennel, I am sure Six will be pleased by your determination. It was not your fault that I disappeared – it was the orthogel entity, as I suppose you know.”
Bennel bowed. “Yes.”
“And I shall be leaving again shortly, so you must go back to Coriolis now. I release you from your duty.”
Bennel stiffened. “Begging your pardon, lady Diva, but only Valhai Six can release me from my duty. I shall accompany you wherever you go.”
Diva’s eyes flashed. “You will not!”
“I cannot go back. I deserted my post. You know the penalty for that.”
Diva pressed her lips together. She did. Public flogging followed by an unpleasant and messy death at the jaws of the Tattula cats. She still hadn’t succeeded in changing that law. She looked at the short and unprepossessing figure standing in front of her. The man looked up, his expression a mixture of pleading and dread, his shoulders frozen.
Diva relented. “Very well. You may come with me.”
The man relaxed his shoulders, and gave a brilliant smile, bowing almost to his knees. “Thank you, lady Diva. Thank you. You shall not regret it; I give you my word.”
Diva found herself grinning back; the great relief this man felt was infectious. She rather thought he might regret his insistence, when he saw where they were going, but she could hardly have left him to fend for himself – either on Kwaide or on Coriolis. The poor man must have used all his family’s savings just to get from one planet to the other.
Now she turned her attention to the two youngsters who were standing on either side of Cimma, looking on.
“But you two can’t come. You are far too young.”
Tallen glared at her, reminding her of a younger Six. “We also received a commission from Six, which we cannot break. Where Cimma goes, we go.”
“You are too young.”
“I will not allow you to go without us.” Tallen put his hand menacingly on the hilt of his sword, and his sister followed suit, nodding her head in agreement.
Diva gazed across at Cimma, totally at a loss what to say. Cimma’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and she walked over to Diva and raised her hands up to her in the traditional salute. They touched fingers lightly, and then the older woman gathered Diva to her, and gave her a warm hug. Diva found tears pricking behind her eyes, and was silent for a moment, willing them away. Cimma moved slightly back, but took her by the shoulders and examined her face intently.
“Something is very wrong. What is it?”
Diva looked towards the two youngsters. She didn’t really want to talk in front of them.
Cimma let her go, and turned to the others. “Would you leave us alone for a moment, please?”
Muttering, Tallen took a few steps back, and Bennel and Petra followed.
Cimma stood looking at Diva, her gaze steady, but a deep wrinkle across her forehead showed that she knew there was bad news to come.
Diva told her everything that had happened, and of the current situation on Pictoria. Cimma went gradually paler and paler, until her eyes were dark pools of anxiety on a white background.
“Then we must go and help them,” she said.
“You will come with me?”
“Of course. Are we leaving now?”
“As soon as Arcan can get us another ship.”
Cimma nodded. “I will talk to Samoso. Arcan may not have thought about provisions.”
“Wait, Cimma!” Diva called out as the Sellite woman made her way towards the bridge. “We should send these two children back down to Kwaide – they will only get in the way up here.”
Tallen grabbed his sister’s wrist, and dragged her forward. “We signed a blood oath to protect Maestra Cimma,” he said. “If we fail we are bound by Namuri clan law to terminate our existence.”
Diva muttered under her breath. This was not
going exactly as she had planned. What she needed was a small army, not a nursery school.
Cimma turned back and hesitated. “They could stay on the ship. They might be useful. You never know.”
Tallen nodded emphatically. “We can be very useful. You will see.”
Diva’s eyes traveled over the motley crew standing in front of her. She was probably taking them to their deaths, but it seemed that she had little choice. “Very well. But don’t get in the way. You have no idea just how far away you are going.”
“We don’t care. Our destiny is to protect Cimma and Six. We have eyes for nothing else. We must fulfill our oath.”
“Fine.” Diva almost ground her teeth together. “Then let’s prepare for the journey.”
“There is someone else we should take,” Cimma told her after consideration.
“Who?”
But Cimma shook her head mysteriously. “You will see. I will ask Arcan to pick him up on the way.”
Chapter 16
SIX AND LEDIN opened their eyes to find themselves in another strange place. They were floating in ortholiquid, but this time there was no shore they could wade to. They were in a deep well, surrounded all around and above by what looked like sheer rock. They moved their arms slowly, swimming to stay in one place in the ortholiquid, and looking up around them to see if there was a way out.
“Well, at least we don’t seem to have been followed,” said Six.
“True. All we have to do now is find a way out of here, and hope that we are not too far away from the shuttles. I have to get to Grace before they do her any harm.”
“Yes. Grace is our first priority. We can’t do much to help Arcan or Diva as things are at the moment. But we might be able to do something to rescue Grace.”
“Can you see a way out?”
Six peered upwards at the low ceiling of the cavern, which consisted of solid and overwhelming rock, hanging over them with only about a couple of hands of headroom with air. “This is an isolated pocket. I don’t see any escape. You?”
Ledin shook his head, and coughed. “Nope. And the quality of air in here is terrible. We have to find a way out, and quickly.”
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