Andromeda Day and the Black Hole

by Charlie Jackson

  “It’s all right,” Andi said, getting to her feet and helping him up with a smile. “I know what it means.”

  *

  Larnx, Jarl, and Lydia, as well as the baby boy with the golden star on its cheek, were among the Ruvalians who gave Andi and Deneb a big send off as they climbed into the shuttles, Andi into the Concorde, Deneb into the Sparrowhawk, to head back to the Antiquarian. Andi waved to them through the window before lifting the shuttle into the air, turning it and following Deneb as he headed towards the sky.

  She looked back down at the ground, watching the Ruvalians grow smaller as the Concorde ascended. She could see their city, empty now of Hoshaens. They had fled when the army that had been hiding in the woods had received the news of the retrieval of the Golden Star, and had been enthused to such an extent that they had mounted a final attack on the enemy within their city. Many had died in the assault, but the Hoshaens had been driven back across the Great River, and the Ruvalians were now in their own town.

  Andi thought about the moment that she had seen the star-shaped birthmark on the cheek of the baby who had just left Lydia’s womb. Suddenly it had become clear to her. The child was the dead king’s only surviving heir, the last of the Ruvalian royal line, all of whom bore the distinctive birthmark somewhere on their body. The death of the baby would have meant that the link to their ancestors had been broken, something that had never happened in a thousand years of their history. However, the knowledge that the child had survived had given them something to fight for again.

  Andi had puzzled about the fact that she had not guessed that Lydia was pregnant. However, Jarl had explained to her that Ruvalian females’ bodies were slightly different to Earth women’s, their wombs set much deeper inside them, so that when pregnant the baby did not protrude as much as Andi was used to, and of course the loose prison clothing had hidden the slight bump that had existed.

  They had flown Lydia and the baby back to the Ruvalian front line in the Sparrowhawk that Deneb had reclaimed from the Hoshaens. Larnx had given Andi the baby to hold up to the troops to prove that it had survived. Andi had considered this a great honor and did so with pride.

  However, she had been aware that Deneb was uncharacteristically quiet as he watched her carry out the duty. He had said little to her since their escape from the prison. True, everything had turned a bit mad, and what with all the explaining to the Ruvalian captains about how they had shut down the prison, there hadn’t been much time to talk. Still, Andi wondered what Deneb was thinking, as she piloted the Concorde back towards the Antiquarian, finally lowering it through the cargo bay doors that she had scraped only days before. Was he angry with her? Well, she would soon find out.

  Andi glided the Concorde in behind the Sparrowhawk and shut down the controls. Ahead of her, she could see Jack, Caelum, Ioto, and Taurus waiting in the safety area as the bay doors finally closed. She sighed, knowing that she was in trouble, especially with Jack. Still, it was time to face the music.

  She stepped down from the shuttle, seeing Deneb doing the same further up the cargo bay. Before she could say anything, however, Jack came bursting out of the safety area, running up the cargo floor towards her, and enveloped her in the biggest, tightest embrace she had ever experienced.

  “Thank the heavens you’re all right,” he said, his voice muffled against her hair.

  “I’m fine,” she said, gently extricating herself from his grip. She caught his wrinkled, leathery hands in her own. “And I’m sorry for disobeying you and going off on my own.”

  He waved a hand in the air. “That’s all forgotten. And you did find him, didn’t you?” He walked over to Deneb, shaking his arm enthusiastically. “So good to see you again.”

  “Thanks.” Deneb and Andi embraced the others. Finally, however, Deneb pulled back. “Well you must excuse us for a while, gentlemen. We’re absolutely exhausted, and I think we both need to sleep for a week.”

  Laughing, they all made their way to the elevators. The rest of them went back to their posts, while Andi and Deneb caught an elevator up to their quarters.

  Andi watched the levels pass slowly. She smiled uncertainly at Deneb. “Beats the last time we were in an elevator?”

  “Just a bit.” He gave her a tired smile.

  She turned to him then, reaching out and taking his hand. Her own was still green, but a much less vibrant color now, and she had removed the strip of bark from her teeth. “I think we need to talk.”

  Deneb looked at her for a moment, leaning against the wall of the elevator. His gaze was unreadable. He studied her, his eyes passing over her face, her hair, her slim build, until she could stand it no longer.

  “Are you very angry with me, Dad?”

  For a second he said nothing. Then, as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open, he said, “No. I’m just thinking how much like your mother you are.”

  Andi’s breath caught in her throat. He walked forward, pulling her with him, and together they went down the corridor towards their quarters.

  “I’m puzzled,” he said, pausing outside his door and pressing his thumb to the pad. “And a little startled at the things that you’ve done over the past few days. But I’m not stupid. I know it’s got something to do with your improvements. I haven’t given it much thought before, that having a computer for a brain might make you different, smarter. It seems stupid now. I guess I didn’t want to think about it, to consider that I might have made things more difficult for you, just so I could keep you.”

  They went into his quarters. He reached out and stroked her hair, still a light apple green in color. “I suppose that’s why you’ve left the classes. Have the children made things awkward?”

  “In a way. They are uncomfortable with my enhanced abilities and they have made fun of me.” Andi frowned. “But Dad, I think the main problem was in myself. I was scared of what I had become. I didn’t want the improvements, and I didn’t know how to tell you, because you’d been through so much for me. I kept trying to pretend that it hadn’t happened.”

  She reached up and touched his face. “But now I know that I can make a difference. I can use my improvements to help people. And I’m going to go back to school. I don’t care what the others say. I’m proud of my abilities, and I’m going to use them.” That’s what the butterfly had symbolized. A resurrection, a rebirth. A new beginning.

  He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I’m very, very proud of you, Andromeda Day.”

  “And I’m very proud of you, Deneb Day.” Andi smiled.

  Just then, however, a movement out of the window caught her eye and she turned to see a large ship maneuvering beside the Antiquarian, shadowing them as they left Thoume’s orbit. “What’s that?”

  Deneb looked over. For a moment he said nothing. Then he sighed and looked back at her. “It’s the Ruvalians. They’re accompanying us out of the star system.”

  “Why?” she said, confused.

  “Because I asked them to. I asked Clios for an armed guard out of the system, the first day we landed on the planet.”

  Andi remembered the conversation he had had with the Ruvalian captain, the way he had pleaded. “I don’t understand. Why do you want a guard?”

  “Because we’re being followed, Andi. I’ve known for some time, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to worry you. But you seem so grown up now, I suppose you’ve earned the right to know.”

  “Who’s following us?” she asked in surprise.

  He looked sheepish. “Someone from Earth. You know how much money I stole, Andi. Well this guy… he wants his money back.”

  “I see,” she said in a small voice. She sighed and sat on the edge of his chair, staring out at the stars. “What an adventure. And all because we wanted a few artifacts for the museum.” The Ruvalians had given them a crate load of historical items they would be able to display on board. But still, she knew that that wouldn’t help their financial situation in the short term. “I’m sorry
that things didn’t turn out better Dad. But I’m sure we’ll manage.”

  Deneb grinned. “I’m working on it, Andi.” And, putting his hands into his pockets, he brought out two large handfuls of glittering Indigo Quartz crystals.

  Andi stared at him in shock. “Where did you get those? You didn’t…”

  Deneb shrugged. “Well, not from the Ruvalians, of course. I acquired them in the Black Hole, while you were talking to Clios.”

  “Of course,” she said, remembering him lagging behind in the mine. “Is it enough to pay this guy off?”

  “No… not yet.”

  She got the impression that he was about to add something else, but he closed his mouth and just smiled.

  She stood up and kissed him on the cheek. “Goodnight, Dad. And don’t worry. We’ll sort it out.”

  “Do you know, love, I’m beginning to realize that you might just be right.” He yawned. “I’m going to get drunk and sleep for a fortnight.”

  Laughing, she left his rooms and went up to her own quarters. Going into her bedroom, she flopped down onto the bed, fully clothed, and turned tiredly to look out of the window. She could see the stars wheeling in the sky as the ship turned, and then there was Thoume, the clouds white against its light blue-purple atmosphere.

  An image of Clios flashed into her mind. She had been puzzling about why the Ruvalian girl hadn’t told them that the Golden Star was actually a baby rather than an artifact. But as she lay there, she thought that she knew the answer. Deneb had told Clios that he was a collector, and Clio must have thought that the idea of a lost artifact would prove a stronger drive to him, and perhaps an easier goal than the retrieval of a person from the prison. She had manipulated them, Andi realized, but she didn’t blame her for it. Clios had been desperate, and she must have seen in Deneb and Andi a chance to finally free her people.

  A lump came into her throat as she thought about her friend falling over the barrier into the depths of the mine, buried forever in a watery grave. For the first time she let a tear fall and run down her cheek onto the pillow. But then she shook her head. She wouldn’t think about her like that. Clios wasn’t there now, anyway. She was somewhere else, not sick any more, but strong and beautiful, perhaps having discussions with Sagitta Day about Andi and Deneb, and the Golden Star.

  Her hand closed around the Indigo Quartz pendant, still lying within her clothes, that Jarl had said she could keep. Perhaps one day, she would be able to develop her psychic talents enough to talk to her again.

  Perhaps.

  Andi closed her eyes, and slept.

  ~ The End ~