Citadel: First Colony (21 page)

The crowd had gone silent, contemplating. It was pathetic, really, how everyone suddenly became somber about something so ridiculous. Penny couldn’t help herself, she laughed out loud. And because of that the tension broke and the rest of the crowd laughed as well.

For the briefest of moments, Penny saw an expression on Corey’s face that said he was angry with her. She worried that he might do something vulgar, like break up with her in front of everyone. But instead he said nothing.

Until later.

The argument was grand and loud, and involved a great deal of smashing things. Corey raged at her, screaming obscenities at her as she ducked and hid from the lamps that flew across the room. She had never faced fury before, had never thought anyone could dare to try to do her harm. But she was afraid now. She was scared for her life, because Corey wasn’t holding anything back. He wasn’t trying to laugh it off or smile or have sex with her or any of the things she’d grown accustomed to from men. He was trying to kill her.

“I’m so sorry!” she screamed, even though by this point she wasn’t even sure what she’d done wrong. All she knew was that she wanted him to stop. She wanted him to be nice and funny and sexy again. Throwing things, yelling, breaking everything in sight—she hadn’t signed on for this. She wanted the A-list parties and the envy of her friends. She wanted to show Daddy that she didn’t care what he said.

“
Bitch
!” he screamed at her. “You
humiliated
me!” He smashed another of the dwindling supply of lamps in the room. In a fury, he rushed forward, shoving aside the sofa that Penny was using as a barrier between the two of them. Instantly he had her pinned, slamming her into the wall of glass blocks that separated the room from the corridor.

Corey leaned in close, his face only inches from hers. His eyes were wide, and his nose flared. His mouth formed a snarl, and she could smell his breath, laced in alcohol. It was horrible. Wretched.

“Swear allegiance to Earth First,” he said, growling.

“What ... I ... ”

“
Swear it!
” he said, squeezing her throat with his hand.

“I ... I swear,” she croaked. “I swear!”

He held her for a moment more, staring at her. Then, slowly, he released her throat. He gave her a last push that sent her head bouncing off of the glass blocks. It hurt, but Penny was simply glad he had let go.

“I believe you,” Corey said. “You didn’t mean anything by what you did.” He seemed calm now, at peace. It was unnatural.

“In two days there is a Earth First rally on the California Shelf. You’re going with me.”

Penny was sobbing now, unable to keep herself from it as the fear and the pain took their toll. “Two days?” she asked, her voice going up in pitch. “But the luncheon ... ”

“I don’t care about your family’s idiotic luncheon!” Corey yelled. “It’s an excuse to bring together the rich and close-minded people who have robbed Earth of its greatest resource!”

Once again he pounced on her, but this time he merely smacked the glass blocks on either side of her head with his hands. Quietly he asked, “What is the Earth’s greatest resource?”

“P ... people,” Penny managed. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and she was prepared for him to attack her again.

Instead he reached out and gently stroked her cheek. “Yes,” he said quietly, tenderly. “People. You were listening,” he said profoundly. “I knew you were listening.”

Penny had gone from there as quickly as she could, and by the time she reached the family estate, she had decided to never see Corey again. He was
insane
! He had almost
hurt
her! The very notion of it suddenly caused her to seethe with anger. How dare he! How could he lay his hands on the heir to the Daunder fortune and holdings?

But he had dared. And the memory of it was still strong with her. With the memory came a fear that perhaps he might be able to get to her whether she wanted him to or not. She was on the social scene, after all. She went to the same parties he did. What would prevent him from reaching her?

And what about her reputation? Break-ups were nothing new, and nothing to be worried about. But if it ever got out that he had abused her? That kind of scandal would stick with her forever, and it would drive the questions of every reporter that ever talked to her for the rest of her life. She would become “the girl Corey beat up.” She would lose her identity. She would be nothing but a joke.

No, for the time being she had to stick things out with him. She would have to plan their break-up, orchestrate it in such a way that it was very public, very noticeable, and very scandalous. The scandal of the break-up had to outweigh the scandal of the abuse by far. But for now, she would have to suck it up and go with him to his ridiculous, useless rally. She would have to support his insane ideas of pulling back the human race and abandoning the colonies.

Daddy was livid. “Do you know what this luncheon
means
?”

The memory of the violence and anger was too recent, and Penny found herself becoming afraid at her father’s tone. Fear, though, was quickly replaced by fury. After all, her father had never laid a hand on her. He had never attempted to hurt her. He had never smashed a room full of furniture while screaming at her.

So, in anger, she retaliated. “This luncheon is just an excuse for your rich friends to push their agenda for ... for colonization!”

Daddy blinked, confused. “What?”

“Earth First says we should pull people back to Earth! People are our greatest resource, and you’re just sending them out into space!” She barely knew what she was saying. In her desperation, she had latched on to the only thing that had come to mind. Her memories of Corey’s tirade were the clearest thing, at present, and so they were the memories she drew upon. They were the only fuel she had to burn. And even as she said it all, she felt sick to her stomach.

“Little girl, what sort of insane drivel has that boyfriend of yours put in your head?”

“I’m going to that rally, Daddy. And you can’t stop me!”

He paused, then yelled, “Maybe I should strap you into a cryogenic pod and ship your ungrateful backside to a colony world somewhere! It would probably do you some good, considering all you seem to care about here is causing as big a scandal as possible!”

She blinked, unsure what to say. It had been an empty threat, she was sure, but somehow it had hit her hard. Would he really send her away? Was he really so disappointed with her that he would rather she be light years from him?

“Daddy ... ”

“If you are not at that luncheon, then I will personally put you on a starship for the furthest world I can find!” he yelled.

And that was the end of the argument.

Daddy stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Penny flung herself onto a sofa and cried, though whether it was because of her father’s fury or because of Corey’s attack she wasn’t entirely sure.

Regardless of how her father might feel about it, Penny knew that she simply had to go to this rally with Corey. It was important, for the moment, to let him know that she was “with him” on this. She would just slip in and make a few appearances, get her photo in a few hundred articles, and maybe make a comment or two about how precious a
resource
people were. It made her sick to think about it. She didn’t want to spend even one second in Corey’s company now. But she’d do it. And in a day or two, they’d be at some party, and she would accuse him of something outlandish, something so bizarre and strange that for a time, the press would have no choice but to hound him about it. Maybe she could claim he had sex with horses. He did own a private stable, which was pretty rare in this age, and was always the source of comments from Corey’s detractors.

The rally had gone over pretty much as she had thought. It was mostly a bunch of people standing on a platform yelling things to the crowd. There were signs that had slogans such as “STAY HERE! EARTH NEEDS YOU!” and “EARTH FIRST!” It was all meaningless to Penny. She was there to play a role.

But when the rally was done and she boarded Corey’s private shuttle she was relieved that he seemed to feel that the whole thing had been a success. He smiled and laughed, making jokes about things she didn’t quite understand. At times, he put his hands on her in places she no longer wished him to touch. She endured it. And finally, the shuttle settled on the pad near her home, and she left Corey sitting in the passenger bay, his idiotic smile still flashing. She couldn’t resist turning back, just before the door lowered. “Saddle up, cowboy,” she smiled, coy.

He didn’t get it, of course. Took it as some sort of sexual innuendo, she was sure. The door to the shuttle closed, and the craft lifted off as she stepped down the steps and took the limo back to the house.

When she arrived, her intention was to slip quietly up to her room. She took the kitchen entrance, passing by servants who were busily preparing meals. The back stairs were just outside the kitchen door, and it was her best chance to avoid her father.

“Penny!” her father shouted as she crested the stairs. He was in the hall near her room, carrying what appeared to be an empty suitcase. “Get your bags packed.”

Penny blinked. “Are ... are you serious?”

“Pack, Penny. We don’t have much time. We’re boarding a colony vessel that’s leaving in just a few hours!

Penny was taken aback by this. She was shocked, actually. Was he going through with his threat? Putting her on a ship to some distant world, simply because she had skipped a luncheon?

“Daddy, I’m sorry!” she said. “I ... you don’t understand, I had to ... ”

“Penny, dear, I do not have the time. I must corral your mother and get the two of you going. The luncheon kept me far longer than I had expected, and we simply must get going this instant!”

He rushed away, suitcase in hand. Penny felt a sudden wave of relief. This wasn’t some punishment. This was just one of her father’s crazy “adventures,” when he would uproot the three of them for a few weeks and carry them along on some business venture or pseudo-vacation.

He had done this sort of thing all her life. So why had she been so afraid that he was going to send her away? Maybe it was just some left over feeling from her experience with Corey. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

She went to her room and packed. She would only need a few things, actually. Her years of competing off world and climbing rock faces in far-off lands had taught her the value of traveling light. Besides, it gave her an excuse to buy more things wherever they went, didn’t it?

She paused for a moment when she caught her reflection in the mirror. There, on her neck, was a thick covering of make-up. She had blended it well, no one suspected a thing. But she knew what was under it. The bruises had shown up during the night, and they were purple and awful. They were small, though. Easy to miss. The make-up helped.

She thought about Corey and about the Earth First rally. What would all of them say if they knew she were boarding a starship and heading for some colony world? Well, she’d have to be sure to tell them about it. She opened a passive channel from her comm and sent time-delayed messages to everyone she knew, especially people who were known to be publicity whores. They would be there to see her off at the shuttle pad. And with them, would be hundreds of members of the press. Get that many of the rich and famous together in one place, and there are sure to be cameras.

As she hoisted her suitcase and made her way into the hall, she practiced the sound byte she would say before the shuttle doors closed. “Earth First is nothing but a bunch of imbeciles who are too afraid to fly!” And then she would pause, look into the lens of a camera, smile, and deliver the final blow. ”Saddle up, cowboy.”

That would do nicely.

––––––––

N
ow
here she was, desperate and alone
and frantically searching for her parents. With every pod they opened, there seemed to come a bitter disappointment and the confirmation of her fear. Was it possible, she asked herself over and over? Would they have fooled her like this? Would they have put her in stasis and then slipped quietly back to Earth on the shuttle?

Would they send her away?

She fought the urge to sob as another pod opened and some man who was not her father stumbled out. Thomas, the White Collar engineer who had been bossing her around for the past couple of days, came to her.

“Still no luck?” he asked quietly.

What did he expect? She would fawn all over him for giving her a hug while she was crying? Did he think she was in love with him or something? “No, I haven’t had any
luck
,” she snapped.

He held up his hands in surrender. “ok,” he said. “Penny, look, I know you’re worried about them. We have a lot of help now, though. I’m sure we’ll find them eventually. Why don’t you take a rest, ok?” He nodded to where the pods were being placed in rows. “Taggart has set up a place for people to get something to eat and drink.”

Penny blinked. “Taggart?” she asked.

Thomas nodded. “Yeah, you know him?”

“He ... ” she paused, unsure of what to say. “My father knows him. I think they were doing business together.”

“I see,” Thomas said. “Seems like a nice enough guy.”

For some reason, that felt like probing. She thought that maybe Thomas wasn’t being entirely truthful about how he felt about the man. “He’s very rich. The richest man in the colonies,” she said.

Thomas looked up and watched Taggart for a moment. Penny watched Thomas. Was he jealous of Taggart? Now that someone of real power and authority was here, was Mr. Thomas feeling left out?

She wanted to smile, but it didn’t seem that funny to her. She didn’t know Thomas that well and had only met him a few days ago. But she suddenly felt as if she knew he was bigger than that. He was, somehow,
beyond
the need to be in charge. It was the kind of realization that startled Penny less because it might be true and more because she, herself, had thought of it.