Requiem (17 page)

He handed her a
towel and she dried off her face and hands. She started to dry off
her suit but realised it was no longer wet. Sear took the towel and
tossed it into a receptacle in the wall.

'We're going to
make our way down to the docking bay and take the shuttle down to
Saranture,' he said. 'I know this all happening a bit fast but once
we arrive you'll be able to relax a bit. At least for a few days
anyway.'

Sear guided
Seline towards the lift and down to the dock where they boarded the
same planetary ship that had bought them aboard the cruiser.

Sear led her to
one of the chairs near the front of the cockpit. One of the Yurrick
was already seated. Female. Therin. The one whom Seline had been
interrogated by when she first arrived on the cruiser. Therin was
too preoccupied with several holographic display screens to bother
about who was seated behind her. Seline tried to spot Therin's face
in the cockpit window but the glass offered no reflection. Sear
directed Seline to sit down. She did so, all the while, occupied
with pushing the remnants of the foul taste of the breathing fluid
around her mouth. She was strapped into the chair. Small lights and
switches covered the section of wall and ceiling around the
cockpit. She resisted the urge to reach out and flick them at
random.

'Comfortable?'
asked Sear.

She looked up
at him and grunted something between yes and no.

'We'll be on
the surface in around twenty minutes,' he said and walked out of
sight into the darkness of the ship behind her. Seline was still
worming her tongue beneath her lips when she noticed another of the
female Yurrick seated in the co-pilot's chair across from Therin.
Athene was staring back at Seline, a look of growing... Seline
wanted to say disapproval but that didn't seem quite right.

Seline stared
at the back of Therin's headrest until she was certain that Athene
was no longer looking at her. She glanced to her right to an empty
seat. She tried to turn in her seat but the headrest wouldn't allow
her to see anything further back.

She could see
the side of Athene's face. Her eyes were large, reflective screens,
darker than Sear's. Her skin, a dark shade of blue, almost purple
with small scales patterned across it. There was a small shift in
Athene's eye before a sudden jolt rocked the ship. Seline watched
out the cockpit window as one half of the floor of the dock shifted
backwards with their small ship still attached. The apparent
calmness of the pilots told her that this was supposed to be
happening.

The platform
was now resting on the top of the cruiser with their ship still
firmly attached. The force from the motion of the cruiser was
pushing Seline back into her seat. Still a comfortable 1G.

There was the
sound and vibration of hinges sliding away. The ship detached from
the cruiser with another jolt and hung separate, above it for a
moment before pulling away towards the moon.

They descended
into the arch of the moon's atmosphere and with it came Seline's
first site of Darinus, holding itself aloft and with it the puppet
strings of this and a hundred other moons. Standing watch over
every conceivable horizon, its dominion was absolute yet calming
and oddly comforting. Thick, dark bands exaggerated its bloated
circumference.

The entire ship
rattled around her as it passed through the atmosphere. Shades of
red and orange clung to the outer hull, obscuring the view from the
windows. Some heat still managed to force its way through the
heavily reinforced glass. Seline wanted to hold out her hand to it
but the force of their entry speed held her firmly in place,
plastered against the cushions of the chair.

The heat
dissipated as the ship dove into the thick blanket of clouds and
circled towards the surface of Saranture. They finally broke
through the envelope of mist to reveal a city, laid out beneath
them on a flat grass plain of a shallow valley. Everything radiated
from a central point in bold, deliberate formality. In dark,
concentric rings the city expanded outward like ripples across the
planet's skin. Thick lines of road and maglev tracks ran, like
spokes of a wheel, between the structures, feeding into every
avenue and lane with intricate purpose.

It didn't take
long before there was another jolt as the ship connected with the
magnetic locks on the landing. There was the idle flicking of
switches and quiet shuffling. Eventually Therin unbuckled herself,
stood, and walked past Seline. The other crew members finished
their landing procedures and began to file down the hall towards
the loading ramp. Seline found her bag and followed them out.

Clean air. It
was the first thing she noticed. How long had it been since she'd
breathed in something clean? Something that didn't feel like it was
caking itself on the inside of her lungs like a thick smattering of
tar? She ambled, feeling the coldness circulating inside her chest.
The sky was falling. A warm, gentle rain, bathing the city in a
sultry hue. It had been so long since she had felt the rain. Before
her, stretched out in coordinated sequence, everything breathed and
sighed beneath its caress. She felt close to the sky. She wanted to
reach up and touch it.

Sear was
standing a few feet from the ramp. He was talking quietly to one of
the cleaning drones about to enter the ship. He sent it on its way
and motioned for Seline to follow him across the landing. The
ground was firm but soft under her feet. They descended a wide
flight of stairs down from the landing.

They walked
beneath a clear glass awning with Sear in front and Athene
following a few paces behind. Seline was staring up through the
awning. The clouds stared down at her through the thousands of tiny
pools breaking on the clear ceiling. They walked towards a small
passenger vessel. A cart aboard a suspended, magnetic strip. It
resembled the maglev transports She'd seen in the Corporate Zones
on Earth.

'Where are we
exactly?' Seline asked.

'This is Ondur.
It is one of Saranture's proto-cities.'

'And what's
that supposed to mean?'

'The city was
built from scratch about fifteen years ago. It's essentially a
trial run for a more systematic style of city planning. You
probably already saw the layout of the city when you came in.
Everything was built outward from the centralised intelligence at
the city's centre. The large spokes and rings you could see from
above the city are effectively the boundaries between the different
industrial, residential, and recreational zones – among
others.'

'So why are you
taking me here?' asked Seline.

'This is shore
leave for the crew. And most of them take residency here. This is
also as safe a place as we have for someone in your position.'

Seline watched
small carts tracking between the walls of the surrounding
buildings. Some of which stood like pillars of slanted glass from
the ground below.

'Where am I
going exactly?' Seline asked.

'The shuttle
will take you to your temporary accommodation,' said Sear.

'You mean a
prison?'

'More like
quarantine. More importantly; it's secure.'

'Quarantine? Is
that really necessary? It's not like I'm an actual criminal or have
some kind of disease.'

'The bounty on
your head would seem to suggest otherwise,' said Athene.

Seline couldn't
tell if it was a joke or not. She said nothing.

'It's not so
much that you're a threat to us,' said Sear, 'but rather that
NeoCorp is a threat to
you
.'

'How long will
I be held in 'quarantine' for, then?'

'It won't be
for long. No more than a few days.'

'And then?'

'And then I'll
be able to tell you more.'

'And what will
you be doing?'

They had
reached the taxi stand. Sear turned to face Seline.

'I will be
helping to begin preparations for my next assignment.'

'We'll also be
making a decision on what exactly we're going to do with you,' said
Athene.

'There will be
someone waiting for you when you arrive,' said Sear. 'They'll show
you where to go.'

The cart was
open. There were two small bench seats inside on either side of the
door. 'What about Belameir?' she asked.

'He is safe,'
said Sear.

'How do I know
that?'

'He will be
arriving on Saranture in a day or two.' He paused. 'Just trust me a
little bit longer, Seline.'

Seline held
onto the strap of her bag and stepped into the cart. She sat down
and sank into the red lacquered seats.

Athene looked
back at the ship.

'Is this just
'see you later' or 'goodbye'?' Seline asked Sear.

'The only
Yurrick word that properly translates to 'goodbye' is the same word
we use for 'death'.'

'… So, see you
later?'

He nodded and
the door slid closed. She looked out the window towards the city.
The cart accelerated away from the platform. She could see Sear and
Athene step into another cart that sped off in the opposite
direction.

The small cab
rode silently along the suspended bridge, heading straight towards
a large, white spire rising directly from the centre of the city.
Seline stared at the tower. The entire city possessed a faint glow
from the back-splash of the falling rain.

Seline rose
from her seat and looked out the window to the city below. She
could see more of the forest and a series of small lakes. Her face
was almost resting on the glass when the maglev turned sharply to
the right. The momentum forced Seline against the window. Her face
met the glass pane with a thud. She swore to herself and pulled
away, falling back into the seat, rubbing her forehead.

The cart had
pulled next to one of the buildings. It locked into one of the
vertical tracks and climbed up toward the sky. It came to a stop at
the very top of the building. Seline noticed smudges on the glass
from where her face had hit the window. The door slid away to the
side. She stepped out. A drone was waiting for her. A small,
hovering sphere with a blue, blinking light for a face.

'This way,
Seline,' it chimed.

Seline followed
along the landing and through a glass doorway into a modern looking
apartment. The lounge was encircled by a large wall of glass that
looked out upon the city. The thick, white carpeted floor stepped
up into a slightly smaller kitchen area of dark blue marble
tiles.

Seline looked
down at her bare feet. She dried them by rubbing them on her pant
legs then walked inside.

'What is this
building?' she asked.

'It is a secure
facility for temporarily housing off-world goods and persons. We
are on the top floor: short term accommodation. Wireless exonet
access is available. You can access it via the terminal on the wall
or through your own portable device. Any off-world communication
will be monitored and screened appropriately. Your movements will
also be strictly limited to the designated areas.'

'Which
are?'

'For now: this
level of this building.'

'How long will
I be here for?'

'I don't have
that information but I don't expect it will be long.'

Seline followed
the drone through the back of the kitchen area and into a small
hallway.

'Your sleeping
quarters are at the far end of the hall on the right. The shower
and toilet are through the door directly opposite.'

'What's the
door at the end of the hall?'

'You do not
have access to that section.'

'But what's in
there?'

The drone
ignored the question and continued the tour. 'The room next to
yours is your guardian's quarters.'

'My
guardian?'

'Yes.'

'Who's my
guardian?'

'I do not
know.'

'Do you know
when I'll get to see Belameir?'

'No.'

The drone moved
back into the lounge area and turned to face her. 'I've shown you
everything you need to see. Do you have any questions relating to
your accommodation? I will answer what I can.'

She looked out
the giant windows at the city below. 'No. I'm fine,' she
muttered.

The drone
turned and left through the door without further inquisition.

She watched the
droplets of water meander down the window pane. Each speck of water
reflected a miniature image of the city, trapping it like a snow
globe a million times over. She walked to the door that the drone
had just left from. It opened. She put her hand out and felt the
rain. She looked at the edge of the landing. A small, raised edge
and a metre high glass pane was all that would separate her from
thirty seconds of free fall. She stepped back and let the doors
close. She looked aimlessly around the room. It was sparse. A clean
version of a hotel.

She found a
glass in one of the cupboards. She held it under one of the nozzles
and let it fill with water before taking it with her into the
bedroom.

She felt around
in her bag until her fingers found the shape of the blackbox. She
thought for a moment, let go of the blackbox and dropped the bag in
the middle of the floor. She kicked it under the bed and sat on the
edge of the bed and sunk into the foam underlay. It quietly hissed
beneath her.

The bed itself
was barely risen off the floor. There was a small bedside table. It
looked naked. She placed the glass of water on it without drinking
anything. She noticed a closet built into the wall hid behind a
thin sliding partition. She stood up and approached the door. She
ran her fingers across the darker fibres patterned on the thin
paper surface. It felt like cheap velvet upon some sort of rice
paper. She slid the partition open. Empty. There was a small shelf
running just above her head but there was nothing on it.