Undersea (20 page)

New aisles and spaces were rearranged by a young math wiz research tech. Everyone got a little more space and it was easier to navigate. What had been sheer chaos was now starting to move toward some level of civilization. Ralla continued to be approached by people with useful skills, and kept a log on the faded wallpaper of who could do what. Throughout the day people would come to her with disputes or problems, most of which she resolved by shuffling people around. Two mornings after “the incident,” the mood began to lighten a little. No one was
happy
, of course, but Ralla felt they had stared down the wall of the crevasse and taken a step back.

Then she was taken.

It happened fast. Four soldiers came in, walked right up to her, and marched her out. There wasn’t enough time for anyone to register what had happened until she was already down the hall. She could hear shouts and commotion from the ballroom as the doors shut.

From the gentle curve of the hallway Ralla figured they were headed towards the bow. They took an elevator up a few floors before coming to a double door flanked by armed guards. The walls were plain white, the deckplates bare. This was a space built into the superstructure of the
Pop
itself, not a room on one of the ships-upon-a-ship. Ralla only knew of a few such spaces at the front of the
Uni:
the bridge, the command bunker, and a few small rooms that held comm equipment, computer mainframes, and such. In fact, across from the door they faced was the closed door of the
Pop
bridge. The door before them finally opened, and she couldn’t help but marvel at the lavishness of the space.

The room was easily six times the size of her father’s cabin. The floor was covered in thick cream carpeting. To her left was a seating area complete with soft fabric couches and a stone table, the wall behind covered in old books and various relics from the old world. To her right was a small bar with fancy blue and green colored lighting. The middle of the room held a long conference table made of what looked like wood. It was a little more than half the width of the room and could have easily held maybe 20 people, had there been that many chairs. There were only two.

Past the table there was a step up to a raised area at the back of the room. The left side held an enormous bed, the other side a pair of doors that led out to a balcony. She could see the lights and activity of the shipyard beyond.

Governor Herridki Oppai stepped from the balcony into the room. Ralla caught her breath and her escort gave her a nudge. Without thinking, she stepped in, and the door closed behind her.

Oppai stood silently, partially backlit from the bright lights of the shipyard. He wore a fitted dark green suit. His wavy hair was looser than when she had first seen it. There was something piercing about the way he looked at her, she felt, even from such a distance. Without taking his eyes off her, he made his way to the bar and starting making a drink.

“Can I fix you something?” His voice, even without amplification and a crowd, was still powerful. She shook her head no, but he poured them both a glass of wine anyway. Holding it in her hands, she watched him drink. For a moment, she considered pouring it out on the carpet.

“I’d prefer you didn’t,” he said, his smile broadening. She realized she had been focusing on the wine and looked up quizzically. “You look like you’re thinking about pouring it out on the carpet. I’d prefer you didn’t. It’s rather fantastic wine, and if you don’t want to drink it, I will. I also have a white, if you’d prefer.”

His smile was disturbingly disarming. She took a sip and was annoyed to find that he was right. She took another sip when he turned away.

“Would you please join me?” he said, motioning towards the table. She didn’t see him press any buttons but no sooner had he said it than a hidden door opened and two men carrying silver trays with bowls of soup and plates of food entered. The seats were facing each other across the narrow width of the table.

Oppai had already gotten around to the other side of the table when Ralla’s legs started moving. It was the food, she kept telling herself. He waited for her to sit, then seated himself. On the plate was rice, some vegetables she couldn’t identify, a roll, and a piece of something that looked like bird meat. It didn’t hold up to what she could have found in any restaurant in The Yard, but at that moment it smelled positively gourmet. A piece of the meat—actual meat! she thought—was halfway to her mouth, when her brain got the better of her. She put it down, much to Oppai’s disappointment.

“Governor Oppai, I would like to take this opportunity to insist you increase the rations to the hostages.”

Oppai let out a small laugh between bites.

“No.”

“The conditions are deplorable and unacceptable. I demand that you supply us with the food we need and return us to the nearest available dome.”

A flash of something flickered across Oppai’s face. Ralla couldn’t make out what it was, but it hinted at anger. His demeanor had changed, the smile had gone. He placed his fork next to his plate and slowly finished chewing.

“Ms. Gattley, your people are being given no less than what the people on this vessel are eating. Are you saying that your people should dine better than mine?”

“No, I’m...wait, what?”

“It is sadly typical of people like you to expect such luxuries, when the regular people do with so little.”

“Ummm...” she said, stabbing the fillet and holding it in the air.

“If I had known you were going to take my hospitality with such a lack of grace, I would not have invited you here.”

“Invited? Are you kidding? Two armed guards dragged me here.”

“Did they force you to drink my wine as well?

“That’s not... That’s not what happened. You’re trying to...”

“Tell me, Ms. Gattley, how long did you think we were going to allow the
Universalis
to monopolize and horde the few resources left on this planet?”

“What? Our facilities barely cover one hemisphere.”

“Are you sure of that? How many have you been to? How many have you seen on maps? How many were taken by force by soldiers from your ship?” Oppai had become visibly agitated, his face had flushed red. He pushed back from the table and stood. “Do you know who ordered innocent people killed on stations all across the hemisphere? Entire domes flooded, full of woman and children from the
Population
?”

Ralla said nothing, justifiably confused. Oppai seemed to change tactics.

“Your father, a great war hero, yes?”

“Yes,” she conceded hesitantly.

“Have you ever asked
him
how many he killed, and why? How many people did he force to flee as he took their homes and jobs, taking it all for the
Universalis
?”

“No, that’s not right. That’s not what happened.”

“How can you be sure? Who told you?"

"My father."

For a moment, it looked like Oppai smiled. It decayed hastily back to anger.

“Your Council has been systematically and surgically trying to eradicate the people of the
Population
for decades.”

“No, that’s not true!”

His anger turned into fury.

“We have tried war, and you crush us. We have tried peace, and you crush us. Well, no more. No more will we stand by and let you purge us from this world. Now we fight back. Not on your terms. Not on fair terms. You have taken fair and obliterated it. We will take back what is ours with the overwhelming force and might of the
Population
Fleet. And when we have taken what is ours, we will make you pay! Pay for every citizen of this great ship you have slaughtered. Then you will live by our rules. This world will be ours. Not yours. Not anymore. Not ever again!”

Oppai was near apoplectic, his whole body shaking. Ralla leaned back in shock. She looked around, but she was the only audience. Then, like a flushing out of a bay, the rage drained out of him, his face returned to its normal color, and he sat back down, as it nothing had happened.

“Good wine, yes?” he asked, taking a bite of the meat. Ralla couldn’t think anything else to say.

“Yes.”

“Sorry?”

“Yes,” she answered more forcefully. This time she definitely saw the hint of a smile cross his face. A hint it may have been, but it was still the most unreadable, most unsettling smile she had ever seen.

The next morning, Ralla had Dija and her helpers start planting the seeds of a plan among the people. It was simple, and word was spread by whispers. When the soldiers entered with the vat of food, a wave of silence washed over the room. It was eerie how quickly everyone hushed. As the soldiers made their way to the stand, Ralla stood up, and in almost perfect unison, so did everyone else who was able. The rustle of clothes and shuffling of feet were the only sounds. Everyone turned to watch the soldiers.

Ralla took a peek at the rest of the room, and even she found it creepy, everyone standing, watching in silence. The soldiers there to deliver the food did so with spooked haste and made for the nearest door with almost comical expediency. The guards near the door kept their hands on their rifles, eyes nervously darting from silent face to silent face without locking eyes with any of them. The eyes definitely looked back, though. Only a few minutes had passed, but it was clear from the rapidly increasing anxiety of the guards that to them it seemed much longer. Finally one of the guards freed his shaky left hand from the barrel of his rifle and banged his palm against the door, which subsequently slid open. Still facing the crowd, the two guards on that door stepped outside. The guards on the other door almost immediately did the same.

Everyone near her cracked smiles, and Ralla bounded over to the stand with the food, and rose her arms in triumph. There was thunderous applause.

That evening, four guards took her again. She tried fighting them this time, as did a few others, but all were met with the butt of a rifle to the head or a fist to the gut. It was clear they were headed to the Oppai’s cabin once again, and once again she saw no civilians, only soldiers.

After one of the guards pushed her out of the elevator, her temper flared, and she punched him—not in the face she was aiming for, but straight in the neck. The taller man staggered back into the elevator clutching his throat while the other three crowded around her menacingly, but no one touched her. She pushed one of them back, and from the way his eyes burned, not killing her was obviously a matter of some effort on his part.

They’re under orders not to hurt me, she realized. The thought was fascinating, though somewhat confusing. She held up her hands, and motioned for them to proceed. They kept a tight cluster around her for the rest of the walk to Oppai, but they didn’t make any further physical contact. By the time she entered the cabin, she was rather amused with herself.

The door slid shut, and she immediately went on the offensive.

“I demand to know what your plans are for the citizens you’re holding against their will.”

Oppai was pouring himself a drink and barely noticed that she had spoken. He wore a different fitted suit, light brown in color.

“Wine? I’m afraid we finished the one from last night. This one is, sadly, not quite as good.”

She said nothing, but glared at him. He poured her a glass anyway.

“Shall we sit? Can I call you Ralla?”

“Councilwoman Gattley will be fine.”

“Ralla is shorter. You may call me Herri.”

He moved from the bar to sit on one of the sofas, and motioned for her to do the same. He placed the wine intended for her on the table.

She begrudgingly obliged to the sofa, but let the wine sit. He lounged in silence, sipping his wine, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Are you going to answer my question?” she finally asked.

“Well, for the moment, you’re all fine and I don’t see much reason to change anything. It won’t be long before we’ve taken control of the
Uni.
After that we’ll undoubtedly have work for you to do.”

Ralla scowled at him.

“What else did you expect? Letting you go is not an option, and it’s not like I can have you swim home. I need the resources you and your people had, and the prisoners below impeded that effort. You should be thankful we just didn’t kill them all.”

“But that’s just it, why can’t you let us go? Why are you doing this? If you were doing so badly, why didn’t you ask for our help? We could have worked together.”

“My people feel that you would sooner kill us than help us.”

“They feel that way because
you
tell them to feel that way, with your pep rallies and propaganda.”

Herri looked puzzled for a moment. “How would you know that…?” but even as the words came out of his mouth, his eyes widened. “It was you. It was you who got onboard and stole our sub, wasn’t it? Do you know how long it took to clean up that mess?” There was no malice in his voice. If anything, he seemed amused. “I am impressed. You come across like this privileged Daddy’s girl. I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

Ralla said nothing.

“Well, it’s too late for that now,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Why? Why is it too late? We can contact the
Uni
right now. I can talk to the Council. We can stop all this tonight and start working together. There’s so few of us left.”

“For starters, you know that’s not true.”

“What’s not true?”

“You’d never be able to convince your Council to work with the people of this ship. There have been too many generations of hatred.”

“What are you talking about? Most people on my ship hadn’t even heard of the
Population
before you attacked our dome. I hadn’t thought of this ship since my grade school history classes. Even the people of my father’s generation that fought in the last war haven’t held a grudge.”

Oppai looked like he hadn’t expected this. He quickly recovered with another shrug.

“You don’t understand what it was like here barely a year ago. There were food riots at least once a week. Many of the cabins were so unsafe as to be uninhabitable. People were being murdered for their ration chits. What food we could grow, half would be stolen. A chunk of the other half would end up on the black market. We didn’t have the manpower to police the population, and the police we did have were corrupt. We were
this
close to complete anarchy.”