Reading the Wind (Silver Ship)

by Brenda Cooper

  Alicia and Bryan, already loose and standing, gathered around me. Alicia handed me a glass of water, her whole face shining with excitement. She leaned over and kissed me, right in front of Jenna and Bryan, then blushed and stepped back. My cheeks grew hot, too, and I smiled.

  Bryan handed me a chunk of waybread. They watched closely as I sipped the water and bit into the dry, nutty bread. Jenna mopped the sweat from my forehead with a cool, damp towel.

  “Marcus?” she asked. “Is he still here?”

  “I can’t feel him anymore. He stayed until we landed.”

  She pursed her lips. “I wish I knew why he was here at all. No matter now—we have work to do.” She glanced at Bryan and Alicia, both sweaty and in rumpled clothes. “You two—find some clean clothes. Brush your hair. Bryan, get the shirt I found for you yesterday.” She made a go-on gesture with her right hand. “Get ready. Try to look your best.”

  Neither of them complained; they just moved off to their appointed tasks, Bryan limping but holding his own weight better than he had that morning.

  Jenna reached her hand out, helping me stand.

  My knees buckled, and I collapsed to sit on the edge of the chair, breathing hard, my vision swimming. We must be feeling the planet’s natural gravity. I felt heavier than exhaustion alone could account for.

  Jenna frowned. “We’ll give you a few minutes.” She glanced up at the wall screens, now both blank. “Stay here. Alicia and Bryan can take you to clean up when they get back. Wear your captain’s coat when we leave. They’ll need to know who landed us.” She started toward the door and turned back. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Just … tired.” With the bone-deep tiredness, elation. “But we did it.”

  A smile broke through her frown, but just for a moment. “We did. Hurry. We’ve got a half-hour or so before the pad finishes cooling and gets prepared for us to disembark. I don’t want to be boarded—I told them we’d be outside soon.” She glanced down at her own clothes. “I have to change. Are you sure you’re okay until we get back?”

  “Yes.” My voice sounded small and tired. I tried again. “I’m okay.” Better.

  She left, and welcome silence surrounded me. My head filled the quiet with questions. What was out there? How much trouble could the Port Authority get us into? Me into? Heck, we’d landed well, we’d been safe. How much did they dislike Jenna? What about Marcus, who’d gone against their orders when he let us land? I stood again, my legs still shaky, and walked slowly to the sink, splashing cold water on my face to stop the questions I had no answers for.

  Alicia and Bryan showed up shortly, scrubbed and clean, Alicia’s hair a dark velvet halo around her face, her strange, violet eyes almost glittering with excitement. I wanted to watch her forever, to have her kiss me again.

  Surely there was no one so beautiful.

  She bounced on her feet, taking my hand, standing close enough for me to smell soap on her skin, faint but pleasant. She did kiss me again, a soft brush of her lips against my cheek. I leaned down to kiss her properly, surprising her so she made a soft “oh” sound before returning the kiss. I tore my eyes from her to look at Bryan, who had turned his face away from us. The dark blue shirt Jenna had found for him hung loosely on him, not hiding his size, but covering some of his injuries.

  The three of us went down to our quarters, where I pulled on a pair of my own pants and a shirt that had belonged to my father: deep blue and silky soft. My fingers shook as I did up the buttons. Alicia helped me roll up the slightly too-long sleeves, then stood back, a quirky smile on her face. “You look quite handsome.”

  Maybe. I didn’t feel handsome; I felt exhausted. I smiled back at her, pleased with her comment and glad she didn’t see how weak I felt. Bryan did. Even injured, his face still bruised and one leg still stiff when he moved, he reached a hand out to steady me. “Let’s go.”

  When would I get back? Jenna hadn’t said not to take anything, and I wanted my father’s journal. I stuck the data button in my pants pocket, and reached for my mother’s jewelry, tucking it safely away in a big pocket inside the captain’s coat before I shrugged the coat on. I could give the jewelry to Chelo someday.

  Back in the Command Room, we found Jenna pacing, dressed in bright green pants, black boots, and a loose gold shirt, the empty sleeve tucked inside. The outfit softened her, hiding both her scars and her strength. There was nothing to be done about her face, of course, but she’d trimmed up her hair and combed it in such a way that I saw more of the good side of her face than the bad. A bright blue beaded necklace hung down over her chest and matching earrings glittered below the short silver-streaked hair on either side of her face. She put a hand on the necklace. “My data access.” She shifted restlessly. “Let’s go.”

  Wait. What had I missed? “Did you hear from Tiala? Did the Port Authority say anything else?”

  “The Port Authority refused to let Tiala in. We’ll have to go to her. And no, no more messages from them. But there will be a greeting party.” As if we hadn’t heard it the first time, she cautioned us again. “Now remember, no one say anything unless I tell you to. Don’t let them separate us.”

  We followed her into the elevator. She’d never let us use it before, but maybe it was meant for when the ship was on the ground? Or maybe she didn’t want to muss her clothes? I choked down a sputtering laugh.

  We emerged from the elevator at the bottom level, standing close together just outside the closed door. Jenna turned and caught my eye. “No matter what anyone says, you did well.” She swept her gaze across us all. “And for now at least, you are all members of the Family of Exploration. No matter what condition the group is in, that keeps you with me. Do you understand?”

  We all nodded. Alicia took my hand and squeezed it, her fingers cool and dry. Bryan squared his shoulders, looking apprehensive. “Let’s get it over with,” he said.

  Jenna raised an eyebrow at me and turned to look at the door. I opened myself again to the data flows and commanded the New Making to open the door and extend the ramp.

  Silver’s Home hit me.

  Noisy, unfamiliar information poured into me, scraping along already-exhausted nerves, setting muscles twitching. The data demanded attention. A thousand—no, a million, or a million million conversations, an inescapable babble even stronger than I’d sensed connected to Marcus. What scared me then had clearly been filtered. Now, chaos threatened my ability to focus, to think; swirling connections between threads forming, falling, and reforming; status of a thousand things I didn’t recognize; information structures so complex they rose and fell like living things. I stumbled into Bryan, who grunted in pain and grabbed for me, unable to stop my fall. I clamped down, shutting out the noise, my head throbbing. As the pain began to recede, I found myself in a ball on the floor, my hands over my head.

  Time for ten breaths passed.

  I looked up. Through blurry vision, I made out Jenna staring down at me. She said, “I’m sorry. Are you okay? I should have known how this place would affect you.” She reached down for my hand, and Alicia took the other, one rough hand, one soft.

  I breathed, focusing on my roiling belly. No wonder their Wind Readers went crazy. “I’m okay. Just give me a minute.” My knees felt shakier than when I’d first stood up from my captain’s couch. Another deep breath. Wouldn’t it just be great to throw up all over Silver’s Home?

  Nice first impression.

  The ramp outside clicked down. I swallowed hard and straightened my shoulders.

  If I could land the ship, I could walk out of her in one piece.

  I kept myself closed off to data, empty, focused only on the here and now, on my breath, on standing firmly, shaking with the effort of such small things. I wished my voice sounded firmer as I asked, “Are we ready?”

  “Stay near him, you two,” Jenna said to Bryan and Alicia. “We’ll walk slowly.”

  We descended the ramp in small, slow steps, our heads high. A warm breeze dried the sw
eat from my face. I felt slightly heavier here than at home. Thankfully, not much.

  My eyes swept Li Spaceport. Tall gleaming buildings with rounded edges dominated the view. A few short squat windowless buildings sat closer to the ships. Two of the spaceships loomed nearly the size of the taller buildings, their hulls bristling with protuberances that could be for scientific studies or could be weapons. Something about the way they looked made me guess weapons.

  Most of the other ships were bigger than New Making.

  Between the landing pads, red flowers lined gently curving walkways. Beyond the spaceport, empty spaces, then more buildings in almost every direction, each one bigger than anything we had on Fremont. Bright blue skies dotted with pure white clouds. A larger sun than ours, gleaming on ships and on the city, highlighting bright metallic colors around the spaceport and softer lavender and blue and gold on the buildings in the distance.

  Air vehicles, mostly smaller than the Burning Void, traversed the sky in neat patterns. A bright bridge arched through the city in the distance, the glittering light making it seem to dance from building-top to building-top. Alicia gasped and Bryan’s hand went to my shoulder, gripping me tightly.

  Fremont’s tiny spaceport smelled like oil and heat and dust, but this smelled of flowers and fresh air. Clean.

  Such brightness everywhere felt almost as overwhelming as the flood of data. I focused on Jenna’s back, on my steps, on my balance and keeping the bread and water in my stomach where it belonged.

  Beyond the neat crisp lines of Jenna’s gold shirt, I spotted four people standing at the bottom, watching our descent. Two women. Two men. All four wore dazzling white shirts emblazoned on the front right sides with a silver rocket, fatter and squatter than New Making. Even with different hair colors, the four looked similar: high cheekbones, carefully swept hair cut so it fell loosely just above their shoulders, and tall slender builds.

  Maybe like Jenna would look if she were whole.

  To a one, they looked like Town Council in a formal meeting. Severe, watching us closely, particularly focusing on Jenna. The shortest female, a blonde, brought a hand to her mouth, pity flashing in her eyes. I disliked her instantly; Jenna didn’t need her pity, or anyone else’s.

  As we neared them, the tallest one, a red-haired man with white streaks running through his hair near each temple, put up a hand to signal us to stop. “Jenna King?” he questioned, his voice unsure.

  I’d never thought of Jenna with two names. She laughed, an undercurrent of nerves in her voice. “Yes. Returned from the planet Fremont with three members of our group left stranded.” She gestured at Bryan and Alicia. “Bryan Armstrong and Alicia Gupta.”

  After a moment of silence, she gestured at me. “And Pilot Joseph Lee.” I nodded as she said my name, following her lead and keeping my face neutral.

  He looked me up and down, as if stripping my captain’s coat from my body. His icy gaze made me want to squirm away, but I planted my feet and met his eyes until he broke contact and nodded at us. “Lukas Poul, Port Authority.” He inclined his head. “It appears Fremont did not treat you well, Jenna.” There was a slight emphasis on her name, and I wished I could see her face. “There is much the Port Authority wishes to talk to you about.”

  Jenna’s voice was cool and controlled. “It’s good to be home. We will be happy to follow you.” She looked at me and fingered the necklace. The ramp behind us rose. She shifted her gaze to Lukas. “We will, of course, allow the Authority to board after our cargo manifests have been reviewed, and I have been able to explain what we carry.” She gestured at Bryan’s cast. “There are other priorities. We need to get Bryan medical care soon.”

  Lukas glared at her. He didn’t introduce the other three, but said, “Follow me.” As he turned and we started after him, they followed us in a loose semicircle. Lukas Poul walked fast. I struggled to keep up, not wanting to find out what our three herders might do if I lagged.

  It was hard not to stop and gawk at the gleaming ships we passed.

  Lukas led us and our herders to a tall building near the center of the spaceport. We followed him into an elevator which went up to the fifty-sixth floor. He didn’t seem to give the elevator any specific commands, but it obeyed his will. But then, Jenna hadn’t done anything obvious to close the ship’s door, either.

  Lukas led us from the elevator to a large room with views of the bright ships and flower-lined paths spread below, so high we looked down on the smaller ships, including New Making. I squinted until I found it, standing still and silent and closed just like she had been on Fremont. People moved about below, so tiny they might have been children’s toys.

  The room’s layout echoed New Making’s Command Room, with walls for vid and for writing on, and a large silvery table. Except this room would barely fit inside the ship. Lukas stood at the head of the shiny table and gestured for us all to sit. He sat after we did, and the other man remained standing by the door. The dark-haired woman stood behind Lukas, hands clasped behind her back, pretending not to watch us. The blonde leaned casually against a wall, making no pretense.

  Jenna sat at Lukas’s right hand, and I sat next to her. Alicia and Bryan sat opposite us, far away across the big table.

  Jenna kept her eye on Lukas, so I did the same. He watched us both, his bright blue eyes neutral. His red hair looked even more striking in the artificial lighting, a flame where it touched the white shoulders of his shirt. His features were set neatly in the angular lines of his face, his skin perfect, his fingernails neatly trimmed. He appeared used to control. In contrast, Jenna’s bright outfit, which had appeared so full of authority and power on the ship, now looked too soft and highlighted her ravaged face. But her eye looked like it did when she hunted.

  Did Lukas even see her cool assessment of him?

  He broke the tense silence. “Jenna. If you would like to talk alone, there is a private room next door.”

  She leaned forward. “Anything the Authority has to say to me can be heard by any members of my affinity group.”

  Impatience sharpened the lines of his face, as it had when she closed the ship’s door behind us. But he plowed on. Perhaps with no choice? What power did Jenna have? “How did you come into possession of the New Making?” he asked.

  Jenna answered him calmly. “New Making is the property of the Family of Exploration; I am a senior board member. Our other ship, the Journey, should have returned already.”

  Lukas nodded. “Journey no longer belongs to the Family of Exploration.” He swallowed, hesitating for a fraction of a second. “And neither does New Making.”

  Alicia gasped, but Jenna held up her hand, her voice a notch lower than it had been. “Why?”

  As he leaned toward Jenna, the woman behind him stepped closer to his back. His voice sounded full in the big room. “Your group chose to forfeit her for debts incurred.”

  Jenna spoke quickly. “I need verification.”

  A stream of data floated in front of us all, numbers and words I couldn’t read. I didn’t dare reach for it; I didn’t want to pass out on the table. Jenna stared at the glowing figures for a long time, finally nodding. “Not forfeit; but held as collateral. Very well. We claim her contents, a combination of goods we brought with us to Fremont and did not use and scientific data from the planet.”

  I bit the inside of my mouth to keep myself from speaking. We needed the ship to get back to Fremont and get Chelo and Kayleen and Liam. New Making was my ship. I’d flown her here. If I hadn’t been able to do that, she wouldn’t belong to anybody; she’d be sitting silent and lonely on the Grass Plains of Fremont.

  Lukas looked sour. His jaw moved: a conversation with someone else not nearby. So he wasn’t a Wind Reader. After he finished, he cleared his throat and stood, some of the formality falling from him, but his voice, if anything, colder as he said, “I have been a lousy host. Would you like something to drink?”

  Jenna glanced at us, then sat back in her chair. “We are already
troubling you too much. Bryan needs care. I have been away from home a long time, and would like to see my family. I will return soon to begin unloading the ship.”

  Lukas smiled, a fake smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “I will trade you the ship and its contents for the right to bond your pilot to us for five years.”

  I stiffened, my hands turning to fists. Alicia shot out of her chair, leaning over the table toward Jenna. “No!”

  Jenna’s gaze flicked to Alicia just long enough to gesture at her to sit down, then returned to Lukas. “The contents are not yours to trade.” Her voice stayed even, almost imperious.

  “You will consider my offer?”

  All thoughts of being tired fled. I was not trade goods! I forced a deep belly breath, made my hands relax the fists his words had encouraged. Wiggled my fingers. Jenna wouldn’t trade me. Not for anything. She hadn’t protected us on Fremont to lose us now.

  Jenna shook her head. “I need to discuss this with the Family of Exploration. Surely you cannot expect me to make such a decision now?”

  Lukas inclined his head slightly.

  Jenna nodded back. “I’ll return as soon as I have enough information. I expect it will not be more than a few days.”

  Bless her. But she hadn’t exactly told him no. I did my best to glare at him; she’d given me no commands not to glare, just not to speak. Besides, she was looking at him and she couldn’t see my expression. Alicia looked like she was about to explode in nervous giggles and even Bryan raised an eyebrow at me.

  Lukas noticed. He laughed, his laughter puncturing my anger. “Jenna, your pilot has much to learn about our world.”

  She cast a disapproving look at me. “I intend to teach him.” She stood. “And now, we should go.”

  Lukas nodded coldly. “Ming will lead you out.”

  I stood, keeping my gaze straight in front of me, as cool as possible. Sweat trickled between my shoulder blades and ran slowly down my back.