Chasing the Stars (12 page)

‘So now you know the truth about us and why we can’t return to Earth,’ said Nathan. ‘What happens now?’

This had been a rollercoaster of a day and it wasn’t finished yet. Vee now knew the truth about all of us. Her words ‘normal people’ still rang in my ears.

But then she’d kissed me.

Was that purely for Erica’s benefit? I mean, it’d been me she kissed, not Mike. Was that because I’d been closer to her at the time? Or was there more to it than that, like her being the North Pole to my South? From the moment I saw her, I felt strangely drawn to her, I admit it, and I had no idea why. I mean, I barely knew her.

‘What happens now, Vee?’ I asked again.

Vee shook her head. She sat back down. ‘I need to think.’

‘What’s to think about?’ asked Erica. ‘Either you’re gonna help us or you’re gonna tell the Authority where to find us.’

‘I need to think,’ Vee repeated.

My heart sank. Had I made a colossal mistake, hitting Vee with the truth so soon? God, I hoped not. It’s just that I didn’t want any lies between us. The fact was, she was our one and only chance to get out from under once and for all. If she dumped us at a neutral space dock she might as well just dump us back on Callisto. We had no more credits to pay for the trip to Mendela Prime, so it was guaranteed that sooner rather than later we would be betrayed for the bounty the Authority were bound to have put on our heads. The Authority would appear weak if it became known that some of us had escaped and made it to Mendela Prime. They’d never stand for that.

Unlike most, I wasn’t born a drone so I’d experienced life from both sides. I knew which side I preferred. Those on the inside, who had a lot, had no clue what life was like for those of us who had nothing, and what’s more, they didn’t want to have a clue either. The Authority used us as cannon fodder in their conflicts, as test subjects to experiment on, as cheap, expendable labour. We were more plentiful and cheaper to produce than the robots who were prized by those on the inside as status symbols. Plus we drones served as a perfect way to keep those on the inside in line. We were a constant reminder of how far they could fall.

Vee’s gaze was thoughtful as she studied me. Had she heard and understood anything I’d said after I’d admitted to being a drone? Drones, to those on the inside like her, were synonymous with the very worst criminals and scum-sucking lowlifes. Hell, I’d thought like her once. If I ruled the world I’d make it compulsory for those on the inside to swap places with a drone for a week. Just one week. Most of them wouldn’t last one day if they had to survive the kind of existence that we did. But there were some lines that didn’t get crossed, or if they did it was via a one-way ticket. I’d met a number of people who’d been demoted to drones. I couldn’t remember hearing of a single drone who’d managed to buy their way out of their drone status.

‘What happened to the captain who dumped you on Barros 5?’ asked Vee, as we all sat down again.

Not one of the questions I’d been expecting.

‘No idea,’ I replied. ‘He’s probably fleecing more credits off desperate people and dumping them God knows where in the galaxy the very first chance he gets.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘Stefan Jersecky. He’s captain of a rustbucket called the
Galileo
,’ said Anjuli.

‘Why d’you want to know?’ frowned Erica. ‘He’s long gone by now.’

‘He needs to be reported to the Authority. He needs to be stopped,’ said Vee. ‘He’s profiting from the misery of others and not even giving them what they pay for. At least I can try to stop him. I can send a sub-space message back to Earth and report him.’

I grabbed her arm. ‘No, you mustn’t.’

Vee pulled away from me immediately. ‘Why not?’

‘Because Stefan knows the names of most of the ships that will help drones escape for a price. If he goes down, he’ll make sure he’s not alone,’ I replied.

Vee frowned. ‘It’s not right.’

‘Welcome to life as a drone,’ I replied.

‘If I do drop you off at the first neutral starbase, what will you do then?’ asked Vee.

Erica opened her mouth to speak but I got in first.

‘We’ll just have to hope that we can hitch a ride on a transport heading for Mendela Prime before the Authority send a ship to round us up and take us back to Callisto or, worse still, Earth.’

‘But if you’re not chipped, then how will the Authority find you?’ asked Vee.

Jeez! She really was clueless.

‘You really think that you can put us all off at a starbase without anyone getting suspicious?’ Erica said with scorn.

‘We have no credentials and no credits,’ said Mike.

‘And the Authority will pay any amount to get us back and make an example of us, if for no other reason than to prove that no one can escape from one of their mining colonies,’ I added.

‘What if I were to speak to the Authority on your behalf?’

I took a deep breath before continuing. ‘Vee, we can’t go back to Earth. Don’t you get it? I know my mum has done nothing to endear herself to you but she was the one who planned and fought to get us off that hellhole Callisto. There’s nothing for us back there. We’ve been designated drones, and as far as the Authority are concerned, that’s all we’re good for. Back in Earth’s solar system, we have nothing. No prospects, no future and worst of all, no hope. That’s not living, that’s just being alive.’

How could I make her understand? How do you explain hell to someone who only knows it as a word and a concept?

‘Commander Linedecker wanted something better for all us drones,’ said Anjuli. ‘Mendela Prime is big enough and well enough protected so that the Authority can never find us, assuming they would expend the time and money to try and bring us back from that far away.’

‘Isn’t there anywhere closer and safer that you could go?’ Vee asked. ‘I mean, this part of the quadrant really is the butt end of the galaxy. There are plenty of habitable planets between here and Earth’s solar system.’

‘None that want us,’ I replied. ‘Other worlds agree we have a problem but they want us to take our problem elsewhere. Most that we travelled to before we got dumped on Barros 5 refused us sanctuary and some worlds even threatened to shoot us down if we attempted to land. Believe me, after months of travelling on a filthy, cramped transport, we were almost glad to take our chances on Barros 5 if we couldn’t make it to Mendela Prime. And for a short while it seemed ideal, until the Mazon became aware of our presence.’

‘What’s waiting for you on Mendela Prime?’ asked Vee.

I looked her in the eye. ‘A new life. A new beginning. Freedom. Somewhere where our lives matter.’

Hope.

‘You’ve never been there before?’

I shook my head. ‘But everyone on Callisto knows about Mendela Prime. It’s the only place in the galaxy that’s safe for us drones.’

Vee and I watched each other. I think she’d finally heard me. She didn’t like what I had to say but she didn’t dismiss it either.

Silence.

Vee stood up with a sigh. ‘Time for me to get back to the bridge.’

I stood up too. I placed a hand on her arm. ‘I’m sorry for inflicting our troubles on you when you’ve got more than enough of your own, but we really do need your help.’

Vee pulled away from my touch, the second time she’d done so. If she thought she was being subtle about it, she was wrong.

And it hurt.

Kissing me to prove a point to Erica was one thing. Having me touch her rather than the other way around was obviously something else entirely. Was she still angry with all of us because Mum had tried to commandeer her ship or just so disgusted by my status in particular that even my hand on her arm had her flinching away? If it was the latter, how did I deal with that? The
last
thing I wanted was for her to despise me.

But what else could I expect?

Please don’t touch me.

Nathan’s touch was doing funny things to me, burning into my skin and reminding me of everything I’d missed over the last three years. In the years I’d been alone, sometimes I’d close my eyes and touch myself, stroke myself, pinch myself or claw at my skin just so that I could
feel
and pretend the touch came from someone, anyone else.

‘Sorry,’ said Nathan, his hand dropping to his side.

‘It’s OK.’ I forced a smile. ‘Thank you for telling me the truth.’ I headed for the door.

‘Vee, I’d like to I stay here and make the acquaintance of your plants?’ asked Mike.

OK . . . that was kinda weird but I wasn’t about to argue with him. ‘Help yourself.’

‘I’m going to my quarters. Nathan was a fool to tell you about us.’ Erica stalked out of the room and marched on ahead. I watched her walk down the corridor, quite frankly glad to see the back of her. A little of her went a very long way.

Nathan and Anjuli fell into step beside me.

‘I don’t mean to be pushy, but what will you do now?’ asked Anjuli.

‘I’m not sure. My head is still buzzing,’ I admitted. ‘All I’ve dreamt about during the last three years is getting home to Earth but I see now that home for me is the opposite for all of you.’

‘It must be overwhelming to suddenly have all of us on your ship after so many years of just you and your brother,’ said Anjuli.

Gratefully, I smiled at her. At least someone understood. ‘It is a bit of a shock to hear other voices apart from Aidan’s – and my own.’

‘I need to get something from my quarters,’ said Anjuli. ‘But I’ll join you on the bridge afterwards if that’s all right? I want to learn all about how this ship operates.’

‘Is that where you’ve been assigned?’

Anjuli nodded, her face beaming.

‘Then that’s fine.’

Anjuli turned and headed in the opposite direction, leaving Nathan and I alone. I needed to say something before the silence between us grew too awkward.

‘Nathan, thank you for telling me the truth. And I really am sorry for the way I reacted when you . . . when I . . .’

‘Don’t worry about it. I’ve never spoken of our life on Callisto to anyone else outside of our group before,’ Nathan admitted. ‘Non-drones tend to look down on us and assume the worst about us without a single question being asked or answered.’

‘I’m not looking down on you,’ I rushed to convince him.

Pause.

‘I know,’ said Nathan.

‘You do?’

‘Yeah, I do.’ Nathan replied softly.

I could quite easily grow to love that voice of his.

Vee, get a grip!

‘You OK?’ frowned Nathan, his hand back on my arm.

I stepped away from him. ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I just have a lot to think about. If you’ll excuse me, I really do need to head back,’ I said. ‘It’s my shift and Aidan will give me grief if I’m late.’

I made for the turbo-lift, trying to make it look as nonchalant as possible. I didn’t want Nathan to think that I was running away, though that was precisely what I was doing.

I had to jog to catch up with Vee. Jeez! She was practically sprinting away from me now. Was my presence really that unwelcome? ‘So what will you be doing on the bridge?’

‘It’s my watch, so I’ll be . . . watching!’ said Vee.

‘Good answer! Want some company?’ I asked in my best casual voice.