Heart of the Nebula (23 page)

“
Guilty, your honor,” said
Lars.

Kyla’s heart leaped into
her throat.
What are you doing?
she wanted to scream. Her head spun from all that
was happening—all she wanted was to escape, but trapped in her cell
with nowhere to hide, that was impossible.

“
Your honor, may I make a
statement for the record?” James asked.

The judge frowned. “You may proceed,
Commander McCoy, but please keep your remarks brief.”

“
I will,
your honor. As the head of security for the diplomatic mission that
chartered the
Freedom Star,
I wish to state that the prisoner never posed a
threat to us or the other passengers, nor do I believe that she
intended to cause any material damage. After we apprehended her,
she was both cooperative and non-violent. Based on this, I believe
that the prisoner deserves a mitigated sentence.”

“
Duly noted, Commander.
However, your statement contradicts the testimony of Captain
Jarvis, which I cannot ignore.”

Kyla’s stomach
sank.
There’s no way this is going to
work.
She felt torn between the need to
lash out and the desire to curl up until all of this went
away.

“
Your honor,” said Lars,
“surely the prisoner’s young age should be taken into account. Is
issuing a full sentence really the best way to rehabilitate
her?”

“
I’m inclined to agree with
you, Citizen Stewart, except that she has no legal guardian. Child
services is already overburdened, and if I let her go, she will
have to—”

“
That’s not true, your
honor,” James interjected. “I have filed an application for legal
guardianship of the prisoner. With your permission, I’d like to
request a stay until the application has been
processed.”

The judge raised a gray eyebrow. “Is that
so, Commander? You seem to have taken an unusual interest in the
prisoner.”

“
Is that against the
law?”

“
No, it is not.” He sighed.
“Very well. The prisoner is hereby sentenced to one hundred and
fifty hours of community service, with a temporary stay granting
custody to the Commander until his application has been processed.
The prisoner will be released as soon as you come to pick her up.
This court is adjourned.”

The screen flashed and went blank, leaving
Kyla alone. Only then did she realize that her hands were shaking
and her forehead was covered in sweat. Still, it had worked—she
wasn’t going to child services. She fell to her knees and let the
tears stream silently out.

I just want a chance to
start over,
she’d said on the
Freedom Star.
Well, now
she had it. And just like Lars had said, how she used it was up to
her.

But she would never be truly free so long as
she was under James’s debt.

* * * * *

“
Hey, thanks for the help,”
James said as he boarded the tram for the penitentiary with Lars.
“I owe you.”

“
Don’t mention it,” said
Lars. “It’s a very noble thing you’ve done. It’s good to know that
at least some good came from the conference.”

More than you know,
James thought as the tram took off. He reached up
and took hold of the bar over the seats. Most of them were empty,
but he always preferred to stand; men of action never sat still
longer than they had to.

“
Is something the matter,
James?” Lars asked. “You seem a bit troubled.”

James laughed. “Troubled? What makes you say
that?”

Lars looked at him funny for a second, then
shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. I just haven’t
been myself since the failure of the conference.”

“
Hey, it wasn’t a total
failure. You just said so yourself.”

The tram slowed down for a scheduled stop.
The doors slid open, and a handful of other passengers got off. No
one climbed on.

“
You didn’t happen to find
out anything about the patrician’s daughter, did you?” Lars asked.
“There’s been a lot of unusual political activity lately. I think
it may be connected with her involvement in the
mission.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Well, several of the
centralist-aligned interest groups are starting to make what looks
like preparations for a major PR campaign. The patrician has been a
lot more withdrawn lately, too. Rumor has it that he’s about to
launch some sort of initiative.”

“
Yeah?”

“
Yeah. Whatever it is, it
looks like it’s going to be big. The equalitarian watchdog groups
are already gearing themselves up for a fight.”

James frowned. “Why?”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
If they don’t know
anything about it, why are they so eager to fight it?”

“
Because the patrician is
behind this,” Lars answered, his eyes lighting up with passion.
“It’s the elite, the top one percent, the guys who secretly pull
all of the levers of power around this place. Or do you expect us
all to fall into lockstep with everything he says?”

“
No, but—look, why do you
always have to oppose him? Isn’t he right some of the
time?”

Lars grinned. “You’re not much into
politics, are you? It’s all just part of the game.”

James shook his head as the tram began to
slow for the next stop. “It’s not a game if lives are on the
line.”

“
On the contrary, James. A
strong opposition is necessary for the preservation of liberty. By
providing an alternative to the patrician and his policies, we
offer the people a range of political options. You can’t have
freedom without choice, my friend.”

“
But you don’t even know
what he’s up to yet!”

“
And do you?”

James drew a sharp breath just as the doors
slid open. The few remaining people in the tram car got off,
leaving them alone.

“
You’ve been up to
something, James, haven’t you? You seem… changed
somehow.”

“
In what way? What are you
talking about?”

Lars shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t mean to
be rude. But you’re my friend. I hope that we never let any secrets
come between us.”

His words made James
cringe.
Should I tell him?
It wasn’t like the patrician’s plans would be
secret much longer—or that Lars would never find out about his own
involvement. But if he did tell Lars, he would risk destroying
everything that Sara and the patrician were working for. He
couldn’t do that—not when it represented the last real hope for
survival that the Colony still possessed.

“
I hope
so, too,” he said softly.
More than
you know.

Chapter 12

Kyla glanced nervously over her shoulder as
she followed James down the dimly lit corridor. Drab rows of
identical doors lined the walls, but there was no garbage, no mold
growing on the bulkheads, no smell of urine in the air. This was
not the lower decks where she’d lived for so long. This was the
upper decks, where she absolutely didn’t belong.

“
My parents are excited to
meet you,” James said, breaking the nervous silence that all but
enveloped them. “It’s been a while since they’ve had any children
at home, so I think they’re looking forward to having you move
in.”

Kyla said nothing.

At length, they stopped at one of the doors.
James entered the code on the keypad and palmed it open. The smell
of something delicious wafted out from inside.

“
After you,” James said,
motioning for Kyla to enter.

She folded her arms tightly across her chest
and stepped inside. Immediately, she was struck by how homey the
place felt. A shaggy carpet covered the floors, with knitted covers
for the couch pillows and homemade needlework hangings on the
walls. She relaxed as she realized that this was not a rich home,
but someplace much more humble and cozy. The apartment was clean
and well-kept, but the couches were worn, the carpets old and
faded.

It’s like the apartment
where mother and I used to live,
she
thought to herself. A lump rose in her throat—one that she quickly
forced down.

“
Hello there, dear!” said a
short middle-aged woman with graying hair and a dimpled smile. She
gave Kyla a warm embrace. “Welcome to our home.”

“
Hello,” said a tall,
broad-shouldered man with a balding head and squarish face. “You
must be Kyla.” He extended his hand, which was clearly large enough
to crush Kyla’s own. Thankfully, he was gentle with her as they
shook.

“
Kyla,” said James, “this
is my mother, Jessica, and my father, Adam.”

“
Come in, come in!” said
the middle-aged woman, urging them into the kitchen. “You’re just
in time—the casserole came out of the oven not a minute
ago.”

Kyla followed the others into the
apartment’s cozy kitchen. The floors were made of ceramic tiles
with a repeating floral pattern, and the short wall-folding table
had a colorful tablecloth thrown over it, with a beautiful lace
centerpiece. As they seated themselves around the table, Jessica
pulled out the casserole dish with a pair of oven mitts and set it
on the table.

“
Mom,” said James, “you
have a serving bot that can bring the food out.”

“
Yes, dear, but we don’t
need it for something as small as this. Better to conserve energy
for those who need it more.”

James rolled his eyes, but his mother seemed
just as stubborn as he was—though a good deal sweeter, Kyla had to
admit.

Something feels weird
about this place,
she thought to herself,
glancing tentatively about the room.
What
is it?
It wasn’t that there was something
wrong exactly, but it did make her feel uneasy in a way that she
didn’t understand.

James’s father pulled out four plates from
one of the cupboard wall compartments and set them down, while
James retrieved the glasses and eating utensils. He filled the
glasses with water from a dispenser unit set inside the wall.

“
Ice?” he asked.

It took Kyla a moment to realize he was
talking to her. “No, thanks,” she said softly.

“
Now, let’s say grace,”
said James’s mother after sitting down. She bowed her head and took
Adam’s and Kyla’s hands in her own. James took Kyla’s other hand,
and Adam took his, so that their arms formed a circle around the
table.

“
Our Lord of Many Worlds,”
James’s father began. “We thank thee for this bounty that thou hast
provided for us this day, and ask that thou wilt bless it to
nourish and strengthen our bodies. We also thank thee for our
guest, Kyla, and pray that thy blessings will be upon her. Please
help her to feel safe and welcome in our home, and for us to know
how we can best take care of her needs. Amen.”

Safe,
Kyla realized.
That’s why this place
feels so weird.
For the first time in as
long as she could remember, she felt
safe.
It was as if she had stepped
into some sort of sanctuary.

“
So Kyla,” said Jessica as
her husband served the food. “Tell us about yourself.”

Kyla drew a sharp breath and glanced around
the table. The others were all looking expectantly at her, which of
course made her mind go blank.

“
Um, I’m
sixteen…”

“
Standard years or local?”
Adam asked.

What’s the difference?

“
Standard, of course,” said
James. “She’s not a child.”

“
It was worth asking,” Adam
muttered as he handed Kyla a plate full of casserole.

Kyla had never had food like this before.
She poked at it a bit with her knife, testing it to see what it was
made of. The top was brown and crispy, but the insides were gooey.
There were freeze-dried beans sitting in some sort of gravy, with
chunks that looked like synthetic meat. It smelled good, though, so
she took a forkful and shoveled it into her mouth.

“
Did you grow up here on
the Colony?” Jessica asked.

“
Yesh,” Kyla said between
bites.

“
Where did you live before
you came here?” Adam asked.

Kyla forced down her food and took a drink
of the water to wash it down. “Nowhere,” she said, wiping her mouth
with the back of her hand.

Adam frowned. “Nowhere?”

“
Dear,” said Jessica,
giving him a sharp look. She turned back to Kyla, and her face
softened considerably.

“
James has told us all
about you, dear, and we’re happy to let you stay with us. Did you
know that we used to have a daughter?”

Kyla perked up. “No.”

“
We did,” Jessica
continued. “She was our second-oldest, just a little older than
James. When she was your age, she signed up with another merchanter
family as an apprentice astrogator. She always was very
bright.”

“
Where is she?”

Jessica’s face darkened, and she looked
away.

“
When the Hameji came, they
took her away,” said James. “She’s one of them now, the wife
of—”

“
James!” his father said
sharply. The kitchen fell suddenly silent.