Andromeda Day and the Black Hole

by Charlie Jackson

  “I don’t need it now,” Andi explained, lisping slightly. She removed it, placed it in her bag, and left it with Jarl.

  She watched as Clios spent a few moments saying goodbye to her compatriots. The Ruvalian captain put her arms around Jarl. They stood together for a moment, wrapped in their embrace, and then kissed passionately, their affection for each other so intimate to Andi that she averted her gaze, blushing a little. They spoke for a while after that, he stroking her hair as she whispered softly to him. Andi heard him try to protest at something she said, but she silenced him by putting a finger across his lips, then kissing him again. Andi watched his hands clench into fists as she finally strode away, and wondered what Clios had said.

  Jarl finally looked over at her. His green eyes burned with anger and resentment at Clios’s departure.

  “You must be very angry with me for taking her away,” Andi said softly.

  He sighed and shook his head. “Clios makes up her own mind,” he said, somewhat grudgingly. “Nobody can make her do anything she doesn’t want to do. And she knows as well as I that our time here is limited. It will not be long before the Hoshaens root us out, and finish us once and for all. Our only chance will be for her to recover the Golden Star.”

  “Still, you don’t want to let her go.” Andi frowned. “Will you not come with us?”

  “She has asked me to stay and hold out for as long as I can. And I will respect her wishes.” He smiled at her. “Look after each other.” Then he turned away and disappeared into the forest to deal with his own grief.

  Andi sighed, looking over her shoulder and seeing that Clios had already set off for the eastern fringes of the wood, and jogged behind her to catch her up, realizing that there weren’t going to be any long goodbyes. Together they began to head for the fallen Ruvalian city.

  They walked through the trees quickly and quietly. Andi looked across at her comrade, feeling strange at the thought that they looked very similar. “Are we to say that we are related?” she asked softly, stepping over a fallen branch.

  “Yes, we shall say we are sisters.”

  “How old are you, Clios?”

  “Eighteen summers.”

  Eighteen—not that much older than herself, Andi thought. “I saw you kiss Jarl,” she said, hoping that she wasn’t intruding. It was dark in the woods, and Andi could not see Clios’s face.

  “He is my carlar.” she explained. The word was unfamiliar to Andi but she guessed that it meant ‘betrothed’. “Before the war, we were promised to each other. But then the Hoshaens came and put an end to any wedding that might have taken place.”

  “Will you marry when the war is over?” Andi asked.

  Clios looked across at her. “Maybe.” She smiled sadly, and Andi read defeat in her eyes. Clios did not think that the Ruvalians would take back their lands, she realized. She did not think that they would make it back from the prison. That was why Jarl had got angry.

  They walked in silence for a while. Then Clios said: “Do you have a betrothed on your home planet?”

  “No. We can’t go back to Earth or Deneb will be put in prison.” Andi blushed. “I’ve never had a boyfriend, either on Earth or on board the Antiquarian. Once they find out that I have a computer brain, boys somehow seem to go off me.”

  Clios frowned. “But you are a bright and beautiful young woman, regardless of the computer in your head. Any young man would be lucky to have you.”

  “That’s what I always tell myself, but sometimes it doesn’t ring true.”

  The Ruvalian was about to answer when she dropped to her knees suddenly as they came to the edge of the wood and Andi did the same, only yards from her. “I heard something,” Clios whispered.

  “Yes, you did,” came a silky voice from behind them, and Andi felt the cold metal of a rifle touch her neck.

  Chapter Five

  Andi spun around, but froze on the spot as she saw the figure standing before her. Taller even than Deneb, who was the tallest man that Andi knew, he towered above her in the darkness, maybe six feet eight of bulging muscle. His green skin was of a darker, dirtier hue than that of the Ruvalians, and his hair was a greenish-black and thick, grown long and plaited to hang down between his huge shoulders. His eyes were vivid and bright as emeralds.

  “Hoshaens,” Clios spat as another figure appeared from the trees in front of them.

  “Yes, little Ruvalians,” the enemy said with a sinister smile. His language was similar enough to Ruvalian that the clip could pick it up. The rifle lifted to point at Andi’s face. “How nice to meet you.”

  Andi swallowed, fear turning her mouth dry as paper. Clios moved towards her and, behind her back, Andi felt her clasp her hand. She watched Clios lift her chin and stare defiantly at their captors. “What are you going to do with us?”

  The first Hoshaen studied them thoughtfully. “An interesting question.” His voice was low and raspy, as if his throat was made of sandpaper. “We have several options.” His rifle lifted until the tip touched Andi’s chin, and he ran the cold metal up her jawbone to her ear. She could not contain a shiver of fright at the feel of the weapon touching her face. To her shame, he laughed softly at her fear, enjoying his control of her emotions.

  The second Hoshaen came out of the shadows. “We should take them to the command center,” he said tersely. “Sphere will want to interrogate them.” He started to remove the weapons from Clios’s belt.

  The rifle caressed Andi’s hairline, and then dropped. “You are right,” the first Hoshaen said reluctantly. “But it is not as much fun.” He gestured to Clios. “You take this one to Sphere—she is older, she might know something of the Ruvalian plans. I’ll bring this one along… later.”

  At the mention of the Hoshaen general, Clios’s hand gripped Andi’s so tightly that she nearly cried out. However, she took some comfort from the fact that Clios was determined not to be parted from her. “We are sisters,” Clios said firmly. “We must stay together.”

  The second Hoshaen nodded. “Sphere will want to see both of you.” He glared at the first guard. “You stay here and keep watch on the perimeter. I’ll take them both back.” He prodded them in front of him.

  Clios cast a glance over her shoulder as they walked. Andi followed her gaze, relieved to see that the first Hoshaen had remained behind, prowling the edge of the forest. She looked at the second guard, who now walked silently behind them, his large frame bending occasionally under low branches. He, too, was tall and well-muscled, his thick, black-green hair intricately braided to fall between his shoulders.

  “Thank you,” Andi said softly, relieved that the aggressive guard had remained behind.

  He said nothing, grunting something unintelligible, but he stopped prodding them with his rifle, and merely gestured to them which way to go.

  Clios still gripped her hand. Andi felt comforted that they were together. Who knew what might have happened to her, had she stumbled onto the first guard alone?

  They came to the edge of the forest and, across the fields in the dim light of the two Thoume moons, Andi saw the faint outline of the Ruvalian city walls. She gave Clios’s hand a little squeeze, and Clios squeezed back. They crossed the field of yellowcorn, which was now waist high and ready for harvesting, although Andi doubted that this year would see it sheathed and lying in bales ready for the barns. The city wall was heavily patrolled by Hoshaen guards, who opened the door as they approached to allow them entry into the city interior.

  Their own guard accompanied them through and led them down the street that Andi recognized as the one she had first walked along when she and Deneb entered the city. How long ago that seemed now. As they passed the demolished houses, she let her mind wander, thinking about her father and wondering how he was faring in the depths of the Black Hole. Was he still alive? She liked to think that she would know if he was dead, that there was some part of her deep inside that would be able to tell if he was no longer alive, but she couldn’t be sure of that. What
if she made it all the way to the prison, only to find that he had been killed on the day he arrived there? The thought upset her too much, however, and so she turned her attention instead to their journey through the city, trying to put Deneb to the back of her mind. He was still alive. He was. And she was going to rescue him.

  She noticed as they walked that the Hoshaens had cleared the roads of the rubble and detritus that had fallen there throughout the war. Heavy Hoshaen vehicles now trundled through the streets: large machines built of metal with four retractable legs that looked a bit like Earth turtles. The ground was covered with black ash and there was a sickly sweet smell in the air, and the sky was tinged with red, although the sun had not yet risen. Andi guessed that they were burning down all the buildings in the area, putting their stamp on the Ruvalian territory.

  Clios—as much as it was possible with her bright skin—had grown pale at the sight of the enemy in her city. Andi tried to imagine how she would feel if invaders came onto the Antiquarian. She tried to think of enemies handling and breaking the objects in the museum, sleeping in her quarters, taking over the bridge. Her stomach muscles clenched and churned with sickness, and she realized that this was how Clios must be feeling.

  They came to the end of the street and turned to enter the large town square, and here Clios stopped in her tracks, breathing in deeply, her hand leaving Andi’s to come up to cover her mouth. Andi, too, stopped and stared at the sight before them.

  The Hoshaens had moved all the Ruvalian dead into one big pile in the middle of the square, and set fire to them. The green skin of the arms and legs that Andi could see had turned black, and the fire leaped over the emerald hair and clothing, enjoying its meal.

  That was the sickly sweet smell in the air. The smell of burning flesh.

  Clios turned to one side and promptly vomited onto the ground. Andi felt like doing the same, but she swallowed hard to keep it down, realizing that Clios needed her now. She stroked the girl’s hair and put her cool hands on the back of her neck, then gave her the water bottle from her belt to rinse her mouth out. When she finally stood, Andi turned Clios around to face her. “Don’t look,” she said firmly. “Don’t look at them, Clios. Look at me.”

  “We didn’t have time to bury them.” Clios’s voice was almost inaudible. “It is part of our religion, Andi—they will not pass onto the Hlayodon unless they are returned to the ground.” She didn’t elaborate, but Andi guessed that it was their form of Heaven.

  “Ssh,” she said as the Hoshaen prompted them to walk forward to the main Hall. She stroked Clios’s hair, putting her arm around her and making sure that the other girl was turned away from the sight of the burning bodies. “All good people pass on to their afterlife, Clios. All civilizations have their rituals and beliefs, but when it comes down to it, you can’t change the fact that when we die, we all pass onto better things.”

  Clios gave a small smile and touched Andi’s face gently. “You are wise for all your youth,” she said softly. A tear left her eye and ran down her face to her mouth. “I hope you are right.”

  “Here,” said the Hoshaen as they reached the base of the steps. He reached out a hand to stop them from climbing up. For a moment he seemed lost for words, then, to their surprise, he said, “I’m sorry.”

  Clios’s eyes burned, a hint of her former passion returning. “It’s a bit late for that,” she snapped.

  “I know. I’m still sorry.”

  Andi met his gaze. He was actually very young, probably not much older than herself. He seemed genuinely ashamed that they had had to see what the Hoshaen had done to the city, and the bodies. It made her think as they continued to climb the steps to the Hall. It was so easy to think of an enemy as just a faceless evil where there were no individuals and where everyone acted as one. It was a naïve assumption, just a way to make war understandable, that it was right against wrong, good against bad. But it wasn’t as simple as that.

  At the top of the steps they passed under the huge columns and into the hall, and here Andi saw that it had changed little, only this time Hoshaens surrounded the table, large, broad-shouldered figures, all with their distinctive black-green hair plaited intricately.

  “Are there any females here?” Andi asked Clios softly, realizing that she had made the assumption, as she had with the Ruvalian, that they were all males.

  Clios nodded. “Those with the braids pinned up are the females.”

  Andi stared in surprise at the figures that Clios had indicated. Apart from the way the hair was braided, there was no difference in build between the males and females. It felt very strange to her, because she came from a civilization where the two sexes were very distinctive. Although there was more equality for women now on Earth than there had ever been, there was still no doubt that the men felt some need to protect them. That was obviously not the case here, she thought, seeing some of the injuries that the Hoshaen women had received: a lost limb, deep wounds, facial scars. She remembered the way that Jarl had said goodbye to Clios—he hadn’t begged her not to go, or demanded that he go in her place. She wondered how she would feel if Deneb acted like that, if he treated her as if she were a boy, encouraging her to go on missions with him, to stand up for herself. There was a certain sense of freedom, she thought, a liberation at being treated so equal. And yet, would she miss his protection? His need to look after her?

  Their guard prompted them to walk forward and they proceeded across the hall, stopping just a few meters from the central table. Here one of the figures detached himself from the others and came over to see them.

  “We found them wandering through the forest,” the guard said. “They are sisters.”

  The new Hoshaen male nodded, and Andi heard Clios give a little gasp from beside her. He was as tall as the others, and as broad, his black uniform clinging tightly to his powerful arms and legs. He wore a gold ribbon in one of his braids, however, and Andi thought that this could mean he was their leader. He also wore a chain around his neck, and on the end was a large, dark piece of Indigo Quartz.

  “I am Sphere,” he said, looking them up and down. “What are your names?”

  “I am Clios,” said Clios, lifting her chin. “And this is Andi.”

  Sphere studied them carefully. Andi could feel her legs quivering, and tried to concentrate on studying him in return. His eyes, she noticed, were bright green like the Hoshaen guard’s, much brighter than Clios’s. His features were strong and well defined, his nose broad and long, the planes of his face flat and hard. He had a small, fresh scar on his cheek. She thought that he was probably regarded as quite handsome amongst the Hoshaens, although then she thought that maybe she wasn’t the best judge of that, considering what the women were like! She bit her lip, trying to quell the hysterical laughter that bubbled in her throat.

  “Where are you from?” he asked. His voice was hypnotically deep.

  “We escaped when you first broke through the walls of the city,” Clios said. Her voice held all of the animosity that she felt. “We fled into the forest. We have lived there for several days, and then your men found us.”

  Sphere studied her carefully. Andi sensed that he didn’t believe her. His eyes had narrowed, and he seemed to be thinking about how he could make her admit the truth. To Andi’s surprise, the other girl suddenly dropped her gaze and stared at the floor. It was such a submissive gesture that it made Andi frown.

  Then she remembered. Of course, Sphere could read minds. The thought made her metal heart leap in her chest. She watched him study Clios carefully.

  “There is a lot of hate in you,” he observed. “And it is all directed at me. Tell me, what have I done to earn this accolade?”

  Clios looked up then, her full gaze open to him, her eyes blazing.

  “Oh,” he said softly. “I see.” He seemed to find her anger amusing, and Andi saw that there was no regret on his features at the thought that he had killed her parents. He was a psychopath, a cold-hearted killer.

&nbs
p; Seemingly bored with Clios, Sphere turned his gaze onto Andi. There was no point in looking away, and she tried to meet his eyes boldly, ignoring the churning in her stomach that gave her true feelings away.

  His emerald eyes scrutinized her so carefully that Andi was suddenly sure he could tell she wasn’t really a Ruvalian. She shivered, unable to tear her gaze away from his. She could almost feel his mind probing her thoughts. To her horror the image of her father jumped into her head, and she had the sudden thought that maybe this Hoshaen had seen Deneb, perhaps had even interrogated him. She tried to brush the image away, afraid that he would realize Deneb was her father.

  To her surprise, however, instead of nodding in acknowledgement as he read her thoughts, he merely looked puzzled. He came a little closer to her, and his hand touched her softly under the chin, bringing her head up so that she looked directly into his eyes. He couldn’t read her, she thought suddenly. He couldn’t read her thoughts.

  “You are a strange one,” he said eventually. “You are blank as a white sheet to me. What is your secret?”

  “Maybe I have nothing to hide,” she said as boldly as she could.

  His hand was still touching her skin. It slid under her hair, bringing her even closer to him. For an absurd moment she thought he was going to kiss her. She fascinated him, she realized. He’d never met anyone before that he couldn’t read.

  “Sir? There is rifle fire from the edge of the woods.”

  Sphere continued to stare at her for a moment. Then his hand dropped, and he turned impatiently to the guard who stood at his side. “Get the forces mobilized, and quickly.”

  He beckoned to another guard. “Take them to the Praxim,” he instructed him. “They can go to the Hole at first light.” His eyes brushed across Clios, then lingered on Andi. “You intrigue me,” he said to both of them. “I haven’t finished with you yet. I will come to see you in the Hole.” And then he turned away.