by neetha Napew
“I’ll rig the suit myself.” He looked thoughtful. “I might be able to fit some addition shielding, gain more time for you.”
“Let’s go.”
Xonea caught my arm and kept me back as Barrea hurried off. “I will go.”
I made a show of looking up and down his large body. “You’re too big. You need someone small, and fast.”
His fingers tightened. “You will be killed.”
I looked at his hand. “You’re making more bruises.”
His fingers fell away from me. “I hurt you even when I am trying to keep you from harm.”
“You’re a warrior,” I said. “Maybe you should start looking at some of the big, strong warrior women on this ship.” The despair in his eyes made me stop teasing him. “Look. What happened wasn’t your fault. Ktarka had us both pumped full of drugs.”
“That is over,” Xonea said. “Perhaps in time you will forgive me.”
“I already have, Captain.” I gave him a smile. “Now let me do this.”
“Senior Healer?” Barrea yelled.
Xonea nodded. I shouted back. “On my way!”
It took time to modify the Jorenian envirosuit, but at last I was enclosed in the bulky, heavily armored gear. Barrea dropped the helmet over my head as we approached the panel leading to the largest inspection portal.
“Testing audio relay,” I heard him say.
“Clear signal.” I turned and waved him off. “Go back to the monitoring station now. I’m going to open the panel.”
He nodded, then put a hand on my shoulder. “Gods of Luck be with you, Senior Healer.”
I put my thick glove over his fingers. “You’ll do just as well.”
Once Barrea was back behind the heavily shielded monitoring equipment, I keyed the panel to open. The dark plas faceplate cut most of the glare from the raw energy streaming just beyond.
“Entering access dome,” I said, and stepped through the panel. I activated the autonomous unit and was immediately enclosed in an oval ball of alloy. A maneuvering console appeared in front of me. Barrea had instructed me at length on how to use it. “Activating access sequence now.”
“Your suit’s levels are reading in the high tolerance range even now, Senior Healer,” Barrea said over the audio as the dome’s systems powered up. “You will have but three or four minutes before radiation absorption begins.”
“Okay. I’ll hurry.” I grabbed the control stick and eased it forward. “Entering power core.”
It was a sheer drop at first into the seething amber fuel, until I remembered Barrea’s instructions and maneuvered the dome to ride the power currents to the center. The dome dipped and shuddered as it was bombarded, then found the central stream and floated slowly upward.
“Senior Healer? Status?”
“Inside the core,” I replied, my voice soft with wonder. Raw fuel swirled and undulated around me, like a fountain of liquid gold. “Barrea, it’s beautiful in here.”
“Do you see them?”
That jolted me back to reality. I scanned the enormous, twenty-eight-level tall storage unit. “No readings at lower position. Going to ride up the stream now.”
I used the dome’s hull plates as resistance flaps and felt myself rising higher. I thought I saw something flicker toward the left of the dome. I scanned. Nothing appeared on my console.
“Radiation levels are now at maximum,” Barrea said.
The problem with radiation poisoning is you can’t feel it. “I’m okay, Barrea. Still rising. Halfway to top level.”
I spotted something there: two indistinct, shadowy figures. As the dome drew level with them, I saw the perfectly preserved figures of Darea and Fasala.
“Found them. The buffer pods are connected to the same transductor portal.” I peered through the golden power stream. “They’re breathing!”
“Use the grappler units,” Barrea said.
I jabbed a gloved finger at the keypad on the console and two large maintenance arms extended from the sides of the dome. The mechanical grapplers, or “hands,” opened and eased around the buffer pods.
“Here we go.” I was getting sick to my stomach. Not a good sign. “Retrieving Darea and Fasala.”
Carefully I eased the grapplers back. Fasala was unconscious, but I saw Darea staring at me, her eyes wide and frightened. Dried blood painted her throat with green streaks.
“Senior Healer,” Barrea said. He sounded really worried now.
“Got them. Returning to inspection portal. “
It was harder to get the dome’s controls to respond. The alloy that made up the small unit was beginning to degrade. I had maybe a minute, I decided as I shot up through the golden power stream. A docking clamp extended as I approached the open portal. With a final hard thrust of the control stick, I skimmed the dome over the falling fuel streams and bounced over to the clamp. We just made it.
The bubble of alloy around me began to undulate. I extended the grapplers until both Darea and Fasala’s pods were inside the portal. The bottom of the dome unexpectedly dissolved, and I yelled as I grabbed on to the console. My gloves were slipping as I punched at the melting unit.
“Barrea!” I shouted. “The dome is breaking up!”
“Try to climb out onto the docking clamp! I’ll pull you in from here!”
I didn’t climb as much as fall onto the docking clamp. Barrea closed it around me, and the boiling power around me pulled at my envirosuit.
“Hurry, Barrea!”
I swung up and into the inspection portal. With relief I saw the aperture close behind me. I fell to the deck, panting. Next to my helmet, Darea looked at me through the transparent capsule. She was crying. I put out a gloved hand, touching the surface of the pod. On the other side, Darea flattened her hand next to mine.
Thank you, she mouthed.
I managed to nod my head before I fell over.
Acute radiation poisoning was no picnic. I woke up in Medical to find myself bent over, vomiting into a basin held by Squilyp. His membranes were gentle but firm as he supported my head. Once the spasms passed, I peered at him.
“Will I live, do you think?” I asked.
“With my luck? Yes,” he said as he set the basin aside.
“Salo? Darea and Fasala?”
“All doing well.” The Omorr wiped my face and eased me back on the berth. “You, however, are a madwoman who needs to be forcibly detained and treated with extensive psych-therapy.”
“Love you too, Squid Lips.” I closed my eyes and fell asleep smiling.
Days passed while I slept and healed. Apart from exhaustion, extreme nausea, and one other annoying side effect, I recovered.
“At the energy absorption of one joule per kilogram,” Reever said, calculating the figures during his first visit, “you absorbed over two hundred fifty grey units.”
That was more than three times the amount of ionizing radiation that would normally kill a human being.
“I should glow in the dark, right?” I awkwardly rose to a sitting position. I still felt weak and disoriented. “Have you seen Darea and Fasala?” I was being kept in isolation until Squilyp decided I wasn’t a threat to my own recovery. Which might take several revolutions. Reever nodded. “How are they?”
“The child suffered a high dose of radiation, but Resident Squilyp’s bone-marrow transplant appears to be a success. Darea endured less exposure, but Ktarka’s attack caused her to suffer a severe concussion as well. The Omorr tells me he expects both to fully recover.”
“Salo?”
“He frequently wishes he had been present when Ktarka admitted to attacking his ClartDaughter and murdering the others,” Reever said. “He was most expansive. I was not aware a Jorenian warrior could use an enemy’s internal organs to-“
“They get pretty creative,” I agreed in a rush. “How was Barrea able to get Fasala and Darea out?”
“The betrothal stone pendant Ktarka gave to you was a receiver, tuned to the voice-activated tran
smitter imbedded in the one she possessed. She used it to artificially disrupt your brain waves as well as trigger the sonic beam.”
I wondered if she’d used it to signal the League, too. “How do you know all this?”
“We found her design schematics on the personal terminal in your quarters. Barrea was able to use the device to release Darea and Fasala.”
“Why were the schematics on my terminal?”
“She transferred them, just before attacking Darea. Perhaps she planned to switch the pendants, and have you blamed for the murders.”
“That bitch.”
Reever simply nodded.
“Well, it’s over.” I nestled back against my pillows. “I hope Xonea has done something to recognize Barrea’s efforts. The man saved all three of us.”
“After the rescue, the Captain made Barrea Senior Engineer.”
“Do you approve?” a deep voice asked, and we both turned to see Xonea standing at the door panel to my isolation room.
“Absolutely,” I said. “He’s more than earned it.”
Reever rose and looked from me to Xonea. “I will go now.”
“No, stay, Linguist Reever,” Xonea said. “I wanted to inform you we will be reaching the homeworld tomorrow.”
“Joren? Already?” My voice squeaked. “I couldn’t have slept that long!”
Xonea’s lips twitched. “You have. We have also risked taking a more direct route. The buffer was not designed to act as an energy storage unit; the ship requires a complete retrofitting.” He inspected me with casual interest. “Do you think you will feel well enough to join the sojourn team?”
“I’ll start getting dressed now,” I said.
Reever pushed me back on the berth. “We will see how her condition is tomorrow, Captain.”
“Keep me advised. Cherijo”-his eyes crinkled-“thank you. Salo will remain in your debt forever. As will our House.” He squinted at the one remaining side effect of my exposure. “I like the change. It gives you a... distinguished air.” He bowed and departed before I could throw anything at him.
My hand automatically went to the inch-wide, silver streak newly appeared in my black hair.
Reever studied me thoughtfully. “I did not think you were particularly vain about your appearance.”
“Shut up, Duncan.” I made a disgusted sound as I flopped back against my pillows. “I can’t believe this. I’m not even thirty yet!”
“The effects of the radiation could have been far worse,” Reever said. “Your hair might have fallen out completely.”
“Don’t try to make me feel better.” My fingers plucked at the edge of my berth linen. “That reminds me. Has Dhreen found a transport?”
He nodded. “I have also signaled the ruling Houses, as you requested. We can have the succession ceremony when we land tomorrow.”
I glared. “No one has screwed up and let it slip, have they?”
Reever smiled. “No one would dare.”
The Omorr reluctantly discharged me from Medical the next day.
“You are still very weak,” he said as he finished the last of the million scans he felt compelled to perform. “You must rest, or you’ll be right back here stuck in a berth again.”
I made a face. “Yes, Mommy.”
He sighed. “Go. Damage yourself again. I see my career being based on treatment of deranged Terrans with a multitude of self-inflicted injuries.”
I knew better. “Thanks, Squilyp.” I patted his cheek and hopped off my berth. “Did you hear the Captain’s announcement about the sojourn?”
“Yes. What I do not understand is why we must wear formal garments. Or why my presence is required, as you are determined to go yourself.”
“Darea, Easala, and Salo are being transported down to their homeworld facilities. Most of the crew is getting off so they can land the ship and have it repaired. Do you see yourself having much fun at the vessels docks?”
“No, but formal garments...” He winced. “They are not very flattering on me.”
“Stand next to me at the reception,” I advised him. “I look worse.”
Joren was the seventh planet in a single-star system. I expected it to be as big as Kevarzangia Two. It was bigger. I expected it to be as cultured and sophisticated as Terra. It was better. When the Sunlace transitioned and began to orbit above the planet, I stood at the viewport for a long time.
From space, it was a lovely, multicolored ball of rainbow pigments and thin cloud “rings.” Irregular dark patches marked the oceans that divided the land masses into distinct continents. One sea stretched from polar cap to polar cap. Kao’s family lived next to it, on the north shore of Marine Province.
Joren loomed like a giant next to the tiny Sunlace. Here was the place I’d heard so much about, and I began to get nervous about going down there.
“Sojourn team Alpha, report to launch bay immediately,” my display announced.
I was ready. I put on the stupid tentlike sojourn robes (for good reason, I reminded myself) and hoisted Jenner’s carrier from the deck. I took a peek through the grid.
Blue eyes stared back at me sullenly. I don’t want to go on a sojourn.
“I can’t leave you here,” I said. “We’re not coming back to the ship. The rest of our stuff will be transported down tomorrow.” I looked around my quarters. I had spent close to a year living here. In spite of all the terrible things that had happened, I was going to miss it.
Reever, Squilyp, and Xonea met me in the corridor. The Captain politely offered to carry Jenner for me. I turned my pet over to him with a sigh of relief.
“He needs to go on a diet,” I said as I huffed and puffed. I wasn’t feeling weak. Jenner was getting fat. That was all.
“Why are you taking the animal?” the Omorr asked me.
“The Jorenians have never seen a Terran cat before,” I replied. That much was true.
Dhreen piloted the launch down to the planet with his usual deftness. I found myself wedged between Adaola and Xonea, trying to ignore the plaintive yowls coming from my beleaguered pet.
“Marine Province is very beautiful during this cycle,” Adaola said.
“Prepare for final docking sequence,” Dhreen called back.
Squilyp looked uncomfortable and was more quiet than usual. Reever, sitting next to him, seemed content to stare at me. I avoided the now blue eyes. I hadn’t forgotten the time we almost didn’t make it back from a sojourn.
He’d held my hand as the mercenaries fired on our launch. What was it he said? Don’t worry, it will be quick. I had kissed him, before yanking a breather over his face.
The blue eyes darkened, and I knew he’d picked up my thoughts, remembering the same moments.
“Biodecon complete. Sojourn team may disembark.”
Dhreen’s announcement startled me out of my mesmerized stare. Reever got to his feet, looking very sophisticated in his formal black robe.
I got up and looked down. Nope. No difference. I still resembled a small tent with feet.
Xonea opened the hull doors, and we filed down the docking ramp into what surely had to be Heaven in terrestrial form.
The huge sky was a rose color, too dark to be pink, too pale to be red. The only red was the solar sphere passing from one horizon to the other. Straight lines of cloud marched in symmetrical columns around the scarlet sun. Clouds that were every color of the rainbow, and more.
“Welcome!” a chorus of voices called.
I glanced down from the amazing show overhead to see a large group of Jorenians waiting at the other end of the ramp. They were dressed in HouseClan Torin blue.
“Relatives?” I asked Xonea.
“Relatives,” he said. “The pair waving so energetically at you are my ClanParents.” Which made them Kao’s ClanParents. Mine, too, for that matter.
They were a handsome couple, and abandoned formality to race up the docking ramp with eager, open arms. Kao’s family squashed me in a sort of group hug between his ClanPare
nts and Xonea and Adaola. What choice did I have? I hugged them back. By the time they were done demonstrating their affection, my tent-robe was a little wrinkled.
“You are so tiny!” Adala, the ClanMother said. A handsome, sturdy woman, she looked too young to be the mother of three adults. She was right, too. I barely cleared her waistline.
“Such exquisite coloring,” Xonal, the ClanFather, said. He was even taller than Xonea and had nearly solid-purple hair. When he smiled, I saw Kao as he would never be-a mature man.
The couple addressed the rest of the sojourn team. “We welcome you all,” Adala said. Xonal beamed as he took Jenner’s case from my hand and carried it down the ramp for me.
“They know we’re not engaged anymore, right?” I muttered to Xonea.
An odd expression flickered over his features. “They know.”
Before I could get specifics on just what our ClanParents knew, we stepped down onto Jorenian soil.
The few simulations of this world I’d accessed on the ship paled next to the reality. Everything was sharper, clearer, more overwhelming. The stretch of purple sea flavored every breath with salt and moisture. Colors, from scarlet flowers to sapphire skins, shone deeply and vitally alive. Even the air seemed more like a deliberate caress than the usual mix of oxygenInitrogenIcarbon dioxideIheliumIwater vapor gases against my skin.
Here was my adopted world. Where the plants sang. Where huge families dwelled together in tight-knit, serene communities. Where the ruling Houses were as benevolent as they were wise.
So why was I itching to run back up that docking ramp and hide in the launch until it was time to go?
“Senior Healer?” Squilyp looked like I felt-ill and ready to leave. “Do you feel it?”
“The effects of the additional gravity,” Reever said. “Terra has 14.7 pounds per square inch, Omorr has 13.8 pounds psi. The Sunlace maintains pressures at exactly 14.3 pounds. The atmospheric pressure here is at least 16.7, two pounds over what you’re used to, Cherijo. More for you, Squilyp.”
“No wonder they’re so strong out in space. Walking around the ship must feel like floating to them.” I groaned as my ears popped. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Me first,” my Resident murmured. His gildrells were hardly moving when he spoke.
