by Kate MacLeod
“Not alone,” Daisy said. “Help me up.”
“You can’t fight her again!” Scout said. “What if she hits you again?”
“I need to give Jun an opening,” Daisy said. Her words were coming more easily now, but she was nowhere near ready for a fight. “Please, Scout. She can’t take us.”
Scout bit her lip but saw no other choice. She slipped her arms around Daisy’s chest and helped her to her feet. Daisy’s enhanced body was incredibly heavy, and she didn’t seem to be taking any of her own weight. Scout’s legs trembled, and there was a moment when she was afraid they would buckle, and she would be crushed under Daisy’s collapsing body.
Then another pair of arms wrapped around her, helping her the last bit of the way.
Malcolm.
“You’re not going to get a better opening,” he said to Daisy.
Daisy nodded. Then she bent forward, focusing all of her energy, and sprinted toward Shi Jian.
Shi Jian had just been reaching out to close her hand over Jun’s throat. Jun, still holding her cheek, was just managing to look up at her but still seemed incapable of real movement.
But Shi Jian hesitated, looking back with only the barest turn of her head to see Daisy coming her way. The corner of her mouth curled up as she deemed Daisy no real threat.
But she turned her attention back to Jun just a fraction of a second too late. Jun had her by the wrist again, but this time, instead of pulling Shi Jian's arm straight out, she twisted it around behind Shi Jian's own back. One of Jun’s feet swept both of Shi Jian’s out from under her, and she fell with a shriek as Jun maintained the hold on her arm.
Daisy helped force Shi Jian to the ground, which seemed convenient for her because the moment they had her down, she rolled away to lie on her back looking up at the sky.
Jun climbed onto Shi Jian’s back, pulling something from her belt with the hand that wasn’t pinning her arm. She fired it into the back of Shi Jian’s neck. But it wasn’t any sort of sedative; it was an energy net that wrapped around Shi Jian’s entire body.
Like the cuffs the galactic marshals used, it tightened every time Shi Jian struggled. But she refused to stop struggling.
“Is that going to kill her?” Malcolm asked.
“Probably not,” Jun said, putting the tool back in her belt.
“Pity,” Malcolm said.
“Jun Tajaki, you are dead to me!” Mai yelled hoarsely. She was standing midway up the ramp of her shuttle, and the ramp was starting to ascend. “You’re dead to the whole family!”
“I always was!” Jun shouted back.
Mai reeled as if those words truly hurt her, but then her anger returned. “You just wait until Julius and Augustus hear about this. It doesn’t end here!”
Jun just gave her a wave good-bye. Then the ramp was closed, and the shuttle engines started to whine to life.
“That was something,” Emilie said as she and the Malini sisters walked over to where Scout was standing with Malcolm and Jun. The dogs followed along behind them, both running to Daisy to sniff and lick at her before flopping down beside her. Daisy raised one weak hand and rested it on Gert’s massive head, which was lying on her stomach.
“I’m sorry for what was done to you,” Jun said to Malcolm. “My family has been trying to modify my behavior since I was a toddler. I know how it feels to be driven by emotions that aren’t even yours. I should have fought harder, sooner. I just . . . couldn’t.”
Mai’s shuttle lifted off of the grass and shot up into the sky. As they all watched the last shining pinpoint of light from its fuselage fade into the blue, another pinpoint formed, growing larger until another shuttle settled down just where it had been on the grass.
This shuttle was nowhere near as lovely as the Months’. It looked only a shade newer than the vestige of Amatheon’s past that Scout and the rebels had flown in on.
“The governor,” Malcolm said, pointing at the seal of office before it disappeared from sight as the ramp lowered.
“I called them,” Joelle said, raising her chin as if waiting for her father’s temper to flare.
“Good call,” he said.
“We needed backup,” Joelle said. “I guess he got here a little too late.”
“It was still a good call,” Malcolm said. “We’re past due for a discussion.”
“Is there another ship up there?” Scout wondered, staring so hard up into the sky that her vision started to swim. “How did Shi Jian get here? And if she came with others, why aren’t they trying to rescue her?”
But no one had an answer.
27
Governor Tony Smith stepped out of the shuttle, accompanied by a phalanx of Planet Dweller soldiers and a woman in a rich red dress that Scout recognized at once.
“Rona,” Scout said. “I never thought I’d see you here.”
“Scout Shannon,” Rona said with a smile. “I am Bo Tajaki’s envoy to this world. I’ll be working with the governor and upper management in orbit to facilitate the changeover.”
“So the court case is done?” Emilie asked.
“Indeed. Bo Tajaki is now ward of your world. You will no longer be isolated from the rest of the galaxy,” she said.
“And the tensions here?” Geeta asked. “The war?”
“The governor and the upper management in orbit have already declared armistice. We just need to speak to one more person . . .”
“Me,” Malcolm said, stepping forward to extend a hand. “Malcolm Haley. I speak for the rebellion, such as it is.”
“Mr. Haley,” the governor said, shaking his hand. But the look on his face was grim, guarded. “We have much to discuss.”
“He didn’t kill your daughter,” Scout blurted out, startling them both.
“What?” the governor asked.
“Ruth. I was with her when she died,” Scout said. “I didn’t tell you before.”
“The compound she was in was collapsed with explosives,” the governor said. “Everyone inside was buried. The air was gone by the time my crew unearthed it. How did you survive?”
“I was the one who blew it up,” Scout said. “When I left, after the coronal ejection storm. Everyone else was dead, and I couldn’t dig that many graves, so I buried the whole compound. It felt like the right thing to do at the time. I didn’t realize I was burying a lot of evidence and creating confusion. I’m sorry.”
“But, how did Ruth die if it wasn’t in a cave-in?” he asked.
“Poison,” Scout said. “Small doses over long periods of time. You must have seen she was getting ill.”
“Yes, but she always just said she felt tired,” he said. “But how . . . Clementine.”
“Yes,” Scout said. “She wasn’t just a street kid that your daughter happened upon. She was sent to infiltrate your family. Although why she killed Ruth and not you, I don’t know.”
“But she was just a kid, barely even twelve.”
“There are more,” Scout said. “Planet Dweller and Space Farer kids both. Designed to infiltrate and assassinate because who suspects a kid, right?”
“Can this be true?” the governor said, looking to Malcolm, who just shrugged.
“I’m afraid it is,” Rona said. “Mr. Tajaki was told they were going to be employed as spies. When he learned the truth, he canceled the program.”
“Far too late,” Scout said.
“I can tell you all about it,” Daisy said. She tried to sit up, failed, then let Gert help pull her up. “I was trained as well. I escaped, but so far as I know, I was the only one.”
“And Bo Tajaki was behind this?” the governor asked, shooting Rona an accusing look.
“No,” Rona said, raising her hands in self-defense. Then she pointed to Shi Jian, still struggling against her ever-tightening bonds, although her movements were much smaller now. “It was her.”
“This is all very confusing,” the governor said.
“We can explain all of it,” Scout said. “Or as much as we k
now.” She didn’t even want to get into everything they still didn’t know about Shi Jian. “For now, you should take her into custody.”
“Not down here,” Rona advised. “Take her up to the ship in orbit. The facilities there are state of the art.”
“Yes, of course,” the governor said absently. Then he looked back to Malcolm.
“You didn’t kill my daughter,” he said.
“No,” Malcolm said. “I did rob a lot of your trains.”
The governor smirked. “They had my seal on them, but I had little use for most of that. My council members insisted on a level of opulence to state dinners that I found superfluous. I hope you all enjoyed it, anyway.”
“My father is going to need a few days before you start talks,” Joelle said, standing at her father’s elbow.
“What’s this?” the governor asked.
“He’s been under the influence of strong pharmaceuticals,” Joelle said. “The Months used them to control him, or at least to provoke him in directions they found convenient. We’re tapering him off. The last effects should be purged in ten days or so. Then you can negotiate with the real Malcolm Haley.”
Malcolm blinked and wiped at his eye, grumbling something about the chaff in the air.
“As long as you don’t continue plotting for violence, I can give you time,” the governor said.
Jun helped the soldiers load the bound Shi Jian onto a floating bed, explaining how to shut down the net when the time came.
“What about her?” the governor asked.
“Yes, what about her,” Malcolm agreed. “She’s a puzzle. I’m not sure how complicit she was in everything that happened here. In what was done to me.”
“She seems to be an ally now,” the governor said.
“Perhaps not to be trusted,” Malcolm said.
“She is a member of the Tajaki trade dynasty,” Rona said. “She must be treated as such.”
“What does that mean?” Scout asked.
Rona stroked her bottom lip as she gave that some thought. “She will be a guest of Mr. Tajaki on the ship in orbit. As he is not currently in residence, she can be given his quarters for her own use.”
Jun, having heard her name, had walked over. She gave a little nod as if she found Rona’s suggestion acceptable.
“She’ll be confined to those quarters, I trust?” the governor said. “She and her sister did a lot of dangerous, life-threatening meddling here, and I’m not prepared to take just her word that all of that was on her sister.”
“Of course not,” Rona said. “The head of the dynasty will be informed, and the family will take it from there.”
“Confined to quarters,” Jun said sadly.
“She also may be under the influence of behavior-changing drugs,” Daisy said.
“Our medical staff will look into that matter,” Rona promised.
“She needs a dog,” Scout said.
“Excuse me?” Rona blinked in surprise.
“A companion. To help in her recovery and to make the confinement tolerable,” Scout said.
“My brother has taken in strays from all over the capital,” Joelle said. “If you stop there before going up into orbit, she can take her pick.”
“Does she even deserve that? It sounds like a gift,” the governor said.
“It will help in her recovery,” Scout insisted. “She’s been through a lot. I think a lifetime’s worth. It will help.”
“We could use her on our side,” Daisy said. “Her sister isn’t going to just walk away from all this.”
“That’s likely true,” Rona said.
“Very well,” the governor said. “But she’ll be under guard every moment she’s on the ground. I don’t want someone like her running loose over my planet.”
Rona signaled for two of the soldiers to bring Jun on board the ship. Jun didn’t say a word, but the look of fond gratitude she gave Scout was more than enough.
“Now, what about you two?” the governor asked, and Scout realized he was talking to her and Daisy.
“What about us?” Scout asked, afraid that he was going to start blaming them for Clementine.
“You two have been tangled up in a lot of things that need to be untangled as we move forward, a united Amatheon surface and space. We could use you in the capital.”
“As in . . . you mean a job?” Scout asked.
“In the capital,” Daisy repeated almost wonderingly.
“Yes,” the governor said. “I have plenty of space in the governor’s palace, but if you’d be more comfortable with a place of your own, that can be provided as well.”
“As you well know, Mr. Tajaki will always supply you with anything you require,” Rona added.
Scout didn’t know what to say. She had never given a moment’s thought to what would happen next.
She realized with a start that she had never expected to make it to the other side of all this.
“I think I need some time,” she found herself saying.
“Of course,” the governor said. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be in touch.”
“Here,” Rona said, handing Scout a wrist communicator. “In case you need to get in touch with me, or the governor, or Mr. Tajaki. Or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Thanks,” Scout said, strapping it to her wrist. It was nice to have stuff again. Besides her hat.
“And you?” the governor asked Daisy.
Daisy was looking down at the grass between the feet she had crossed in front of her. She was leaning heavily on Gert, but the sturdy dog didn’t seem to mind or even really notice. Shadow was lying beside her, his nose on the bottom of her foot.
“I need time as well,” Daisy said at last, looking up at everyone standing around her. “But I would like a ride to the capital.”
“Certainly,” the governor said. “Shall we?”
“I just need a moment,” Daisy said. Malcolm extended his hands to help her to her feet, then to limp over to Scout.
“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?” Scout asked.
“Yeah,” Daisy said. “I need nutritive fluid, but Rona can get me some of that, I’m sure.”
“You’re going to the capital?”
“Yes,” Daisy said. “I want to see some places. The marketplace. The orphanage. My old home.”
“I understand,” Scout said.
“I’ll keep digging into Shi Jian’s background,” Emilie said. “Get Rona to give you a wrist communicator too. We should all stay in touch.”
“I will,” Daisy promised. Then she turned to Scout. “We should meet again, face to face, before either of us give Mr. Smith our decision.”
“I agree,” Scout said with relief. “Talk in a few days?”
“Yes. Take care of yourself,” Daisy said, giving Scout a weak hug.
“Get well,” Scout said. “Don’t push things.”
“Who, me?” Daisy said, then stepped away to follow Rona up the ramp.
Scout stood with Emilie, the Malini sisters, and Joelle as they watched the shuttle disappear up into the sky.
“Do you think he’s serious?” Scout asked the others, her eyes still on the pinpoint of light in the sky.
“About what?” Emilie asked.
“A job? In the capital?”
“Could be exciting,” Geeta said. “If you wanted to stay here, that is. Do you?”
“I don’t know,” Scout admitted, looking down at her dogs, who were once more snuffling through the grass in search of smaller forms of life. “What about you?”
“I don’t know either,” Geeta said, looking to her sister. “I think perhaps we’ll go back to Amatheon Orbiter 1 first and see where we stand there. If we still have jobs or are even welcome.”
“Of course you’ll be welcome,” Scout said. “If they don’t know yet what you’ve done for all of them, they will soon. Daisy and I will be sure of it.”
“I hope so,” Geeta said. “I liked my job.”
“Me too,�
�� Seeta said. “I don’t know how you can stand all this . . . nature.”
“Really?” Scout said, enjoying the prickling warmth of the sun on her arms, the oven-hot breezes that ruffled her sweat-dampened hair. “What about Galactic Central?”
“Very good for nature simulation,” Seeta said with a smile.
“I’m heading back there,” Emilie announced. “Next ship back, I’m on it.”
“The data hub of the galaxy,” Scout guessed.
“And I barely got to see it,” Emilie said. “Barely even scratched the surface of the material the Months would let me have access to. How much more is out there . . . it boggles.”
“Bo Tajaki would be glad to have you,” Scout said. “I bet researching Shi Jian would even be a paid position in his household. She duped him, longer and harder than she duped anyone else.”
“That she did,” Emilie said. “But no more.”
“We can take you back to the compound with us,” Malcolm said to the three Space Farers. “Tom Tom can take you back up into space.”
“Appreciate it,” Emilie said.
“And what about you?” he asked Scout.
She looked out over the prairie, then at her dogs chasing first some little animal and then each other around and around the flattened circle of grass.
She could just start walking. Pick a point on the horizon and head towards it. Call for a pickup with her wrist communicator whenever she liked.
Or . . .
“My rover,” she said to Arvid. “Is it still at your compound?”
Arvid nodded. “My niece Bente repaired the damage, made some small modifications. It runs better than ever.”
And, Scout was sure, her bike was still stowed in the luggage compartment.
“Take me to it,” Scout said, then whistled for her dogs to join her.
28
Unlike Daisy, there was nothing in particular that Scout wanted to see. She knew people who would be happy to see her, but no one she was as close to as she was to Daisy, Emilie, and the Malini sisters.
She wanted to think about the choice she was about to make, but she didn’t want to ask anyone’s advice about it. She just wanted to be alone, with her dogs, to think.
