Heart of the Nebula (13 page)

“
All the time. That’s the
game of politics, my friend. You’ve just got to grow a thick skin
and carry on.”

“
No, not like that,” he
said. “I mean, when you spend your life trying to save someone, and
they won’t accept it?”

“
Like your sister, Stella,”
said Lars. He put a hand on James’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard,
but you can’t beat yourself up for it. If the girl doesn’t want
your help, what can you do?”

“
I’ll help her anyways. She
doesn’t know what she’s throwing away.”

Lars sighed and shook his head. “James,
James—when are you going to learn that you can’t save
everybody?”

“
It’s not everybody I want
to save—it’s
her.
”

“
But why? What is she to
you?”

“
She’s a citizen of the
Colony,” said James, slamming his fist on the table, “and that
means I swore an oath to serve and protect her. I’m an officer in
the Corps, after all—I’m supposed to be a sheepdog.”

Lars gave him a puzzled look. “A
sheepdog?”

“
They used to have them in
the planetary agri-domes on Kardunash IV. Whenever they’d take the
sheep out to pasture—”

“
I know what a sheepdog is,
James. But what does that have to do with anything?”

“
It’s an analogy,” he
explained. “The universe is full of wolves and sheep—killers and
victims. But the killers can also turn around and protect the
victims, just like the sheepdogs protect the sheep from the wolves.
They’re the guardians of civilization, and when they fall,
everything else falls with them. I may be a killer, but I’m not a
wolf—not so long as I look after the sheep.”

Lars frowned. “So you’re saying that the
citizens of the Colony are like sheep, and you’re the benevolent
dictator that herds them around?”

“
No, no, no—I’m the one who
protects them.”

“
Sounds like the same thing
to me,” said Lars. “If you want to help this girl, I suggest you
take a more
laissez-faire
approach. Give her some space, and show that
you’re not trying to control her. She’ll come around
eventually.”

James nodded. “You’re right. I need to let
her own the decision.”

“
Exactly.”

Lars sat back and looked out the window.
Gaia Nova’s yellow-white sun shone dimly on the outer edge of the
system, but it still dominated the starfield. James glanced at the
old, battered station that was now the system node, surrounded by
scrap and debris from the remains of the sister stations. Once, the
complex had been a thriving center of commerce and trade. Now,
after the brutality of the Hameji conquests, it was a pale shadow
of its former self.

“
Just one more jump,” said
Lars, breaking his train of thought. “Are you going to meet with
your sister?”

“
If she’s there,” James
said softly.

Lars nodded and turned back to the window.
James stared long and hard at what had once been the holiest star
in all of human civilization—before the Hameji, that was. Before
the wolves.

* * * * *

Sara watched from the back
of the bridge as Captain Jarvis and the crew of the
Freedom Star
made
preparations for the final jump. Outside the main forward window,
the blinking red nav buoys crept ever closer. The Gaia Nova system
node was only about fifty light-hours from the system sun, close
enough that the star dominated the view without drowning out the
distant ones. The node itself lay out of view of the main window,
but she knew it was there, coordinating what little traffic still
flowed to the former seat of the New Gaian Empire.

“
Attention passengers and
crew,” Captain Jarvis spoke into the microphone for the ship-wide
loudspeaker. “We are about to make our final jump and should arrive
at Gaia Nova’s primary station in less than an hour. Please make
sure all your personal belongings are stowed securely, and seat
yourselves comfortably for sublight maneuvers.”

The familiar chime sounded from the nearest
speaker, indicating the coming jump. Sara took a deep breath and
tensed a little as the flashing nav buoys passed out of view.
Moments later, a tingling sensation began at her fingers and
traveled up her arms. Her stomach flipped and her vision began to
spin. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, tightly gripping
the armrests on her chair—and then, in an instant, the sensation
passed. They were through.

As Sara regained her bearings, the bridge
door hissed open behind her. She turned and glanced over her
shoulder in time to see James walk in, dressed in his olive-green
fatigues.

“
Good upshift, Captain,” he
said, saluting. “Everything’s going well, I trust?”

“
Quite well, Lieutenant,”
Captain Jarvis said coldly. “Can I help you?”

“
I actually thought I’d
join you on the bridge for the final docking maneuvers—if that
won’t be a problem, of course.”

Jarvis sighed. “No problem at all,
Lieutenant. No problem at all.” She motioned with her hand to the
seat next to Sara, which was folded up into the wall.

“
Hello,” said James as he
pulled down a seat beside her. “How are you doing?”

“
Very well,” said Sara,
smiling diplomatically. “And you?”

“
Not bad.”

He sat down and fastened himself securely,
just like the rest of the crew. Captain Jarvis picked up the
microphone.

“
Attention passengers,
we’re about to make a couple brief course corrections, each no
longer than thirty seconds. You may experience some mild
disorientation, however, so we ask that you remain seated for the
duration of maneuvers.”

The chime sounded again. Sara discreetly
reached down and activated Nina through her wrist console. She
glanced at the Lieutenant, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“
Good upshift, mistress,”
came Nina’s voice through her earpiece. “Do you need any
assistance?”

EXECUTE COMMHACK, she hastily typed.

“
Acknowledged,
mistress.”

As the AI silently went to work on the
ship’s main computer network, Sara’s stomach lurched ever so
slightly before the gravitic dampers kicked in. Out the forward
window, the moon dropped out of view, leaving nothing but
washed-out blackness.

“
How’s the stowaway?” she
asked James, breaking the awkward silence. It wasn’t the most
desirable of conversation topics, but considering the fact that
docking maneuvers were already underway, it was an expedient
one.

“
She’s… adjusting,” he
said, stumbling for words. “I think it’s going to take some time
before she cooperates with us, though.”

Out the forward window, the glowing arc of a
horizon swung into view, making Sara catch her breath. After
spending the last few days in the milky-white darkness of deep
space, the view was absolutely spectacular.

James whistled. “Would you look at
that?”

Sara had only been to Gaia Nova once, but
she had been too young to remember much of it. All she knew was
that the planet before her was nothing like the world she’d
visited. Giant craters pocked the rust-red surface like unsightly
scars, the largest basins filled with hardened lava flows. The few
major bodies of water were gray with ash, while enormous dust
storms covered large swaths of the surface. Here and there, she
caught the metallic glint of man-made structures, or what was left
of them: broken remnants of the magnificent arcologies that had
once graced more than half of the planet’s surface. Now, all that
remained were mangled and twisted ruins.

“
Coming into position,”
Captain Jarvis said as the opposite horizon dropped level to their
view. “Hold on.”

Sara glanced down at her wrist console. Nina
had successfully hacked through the admin firewall, and now brought
up a message prompt on her screen. Glancing over her shoulder to
make sure James wasn’t watching, she typed in a quick message:

To: Z. Nabat del. re: Colony K3 L5b request
meeting time and place; when and where?

She hit enter and glanced over James’s
shoulder at the holoscreen monitor on the other side of him. It
showed a series of astrogational transmissions between the outrider
and the station, but sure enough, her message was nowhere on the
screen.

“
Message sent,” said Nina.
“How else may I be of service?”

STAND BY.

“
Acknowledged. Standing
by.”

“
So this is what a slagged
world looks like after the dust settles,” James said, bringing her
back to the present. “It’s worse than I’d thought.”

“
I’ll thank you to cut the
idle chatter, Lieutenant,” snapped Captain Jarvis.

“
Transmission received,”
came Nina’s mechanical voice through Sara’s earpiece. “Would you
like me to read it to you?”

She discreetly reached for her console’s
keypad. DISPLAY ONLY.

“
Hey, what’s this?” said
James. “It looks like a transmission from the station.”

A cold chill ran down Sara’s back. Her
fingers froze over her wrist console.

Jarvis looked back at him and frowned.
“Bringing it up.”

No,
Sara thought.
Please
don’t—

“
It’s not from the station,
it’s from the Hameji,” said James. “Some commander by the name of
Jahan. It’s—” He stopped short, staring at the screen.

“
It’s what?” Jarvis
asked.

“
It’s addressed personally
to me.”

Sara hastily glanced back
down at her wrist console.
Meet at 1430
hours local time at the Goldenstar Cafe. Ask for Soner, and come
alone.

“
It’s an invitation to meet
with the Lady Sholpan,” James continued, his voice unusually soft.
“Fourteen hundred hours station time. That won’t conflict with any
of your meetings, I hope?”

“
No,” said Sara, taking a
deep breath to mask her relief. “That’s perfect.”

* * * * *

Kyla felt more than heard
the grind of docking equipment as the
Freedom Star
arrived at the station.
It came as a faint rumble through the bulkheads, barely noticeable
except to someone who knew what to listen for. She stood alert,
gripping the long handhold on the wall as the floor stopped tilting
and finally equalized.

This is it,
she thought to herself. Her heart beat a little
faster as she slung her bag over her shoulder. It would be tricky
to sneak out, but if she waited long enough—

The door hissed open, making her jump. James
stepped through, followed by the pale-faced ensign.

“
Going somewhere?” James
asked, motioning to the bag with his eyes. She dropped it to the
floor and stood up straight, meeting his gaze without
flinching.

“
I’ve come to let you know
that we’ve arrived at Primus Station,” he said. “We’re going to be
here for about five days, then we’ll head back to the Colony.
During that time, you’re free to make yourself comfortable on
the
Freedom Star
and—”

“
I want off.”

He sighed and shook his head. “We’ve been
over this before, Kyla. Now, if you behave yourself, I can help you
get off with a lighter sentence once we get back to the
Colony.”

Kyla clenched her fists. “No,” she said,
shaking her head. “I’m not going back.”

“
I’m afraid that’s your
only option.”

“
It’s for the best,” the
ensign added, looking rather sheepish.

Best for who?
Kyla thought to herself, her cheeks burning with
anger. She looked James in the eye, as if by sheer will to force
him to release her.

“
You’re free to move about
the ship,” James said. “Food, showers, entertainment systems—all of
the amenities are at your disposal.”

“
And what about when we get
back home?”

“
What are you running
from?” the ensign asked. “Why are you so determined to get
away?”

Before Kyla could answer, James stepped in
to her defense.

“
That’s none of our
business, Sterling. She doesn’t have to tell us if she doesn’t want
to.” He turned back to her. “I can’t make any guarantees when we
get back, but I’ll do my best to see that you’re treated
well.”

“
You don’t know what it’s
like,” she said, her voice low. “Child services, the
underworld…”

“
We’ll deal with that
later. In the meantime, so long as we’re at port, the airlock will
be secured at all times. Only an officer can open those doors, and
only from the bridge. If you try to get off of this ship, you will
fail.”

A lump rose in Kyla’s throat, making her
hands quiver. She tried to choke it down, but she felt as if she
were trapped against a wall with nowhere to run. Panic rose in her
chest, and she fought back the urge to lash out.

“
I’m sorry,” he said,
glancing at her over his shoulder. “But when this is all over,
you’ll thank me.”

The door hissed shut, and the footsteps
faded until she was left alone. With her cheeks burning and her
heart pounding, Kyla collapsed on the narrow bed and buried her
face in the pillow.