Sondranos: The Narrative of Leon Bishop (30 page)

‘
You know, we
got a fine selection of books here. Some my own private stock,’ The
Captain called out. ‘You’re more than welcome to borrow one if you
need something to read. What’s your fancy?’

‘
I like
historical.’

‘
A man after
my own heart,’ the Captain said. ‘Door’s open. Anytime!’

I walked the length of the
ship, and the Captain’s words still rang in my ears. I would take
him up on his offer and pick up a novel about the founding of the
Munich colonies – since that was where the ship headed next. My
reasoning was that it would give me an idea of where to go on
vacation, although I’d also considered being a stow-away just to
get further away from Earth.

While/As I shuffled through the
compartments, showing my ID card given at the time of arrival and
my digital passport, I surveyed the pictures on the wall. Digitally
printed lines of text explained that the Korsikov had been making
the Sondranos run for less than five years, having taken over from
its sister ship. Every year, the travel time got shorter thanks to
more refined Aurichrome and engine stability.

By the time I reached the end
of that particular hallway – stopping long enough at the awards for
cruise service and pictures of the staff – I felt like I’d been
walking for an hour. It had only been ten minutes. At the end, a
man greeted me wearing a white uniform with the name of the ship
embroidered on the lapel.

‘
Welcome
sir,’ he said. ‘My name is Echols. I will be your steward for your
journey. May I tell you about the amenities in your room now, or
would you like to take a moment to settle?’

I said now
would be fine and he led me to my quarters talking about the
coolant system, the pressurized shower, and the dozens of other
trinkets I’d take for granted. He then displayed a charge sheet for
things I had no reason to purchase. He concluded by stopping at my
door and placing his hand on his chest. ‘I would like to welcome
you to the
Korsikov
. You are heading to a glorious place, Mr. Bishop. I would
gladly spend my vacation time there if I ever landed on a route
synonymous with the Sondranos flight schedule.’

‘
It seems a
lot of people would like to go there,’ I mumbled.

‘
Of course,
sir. Do you have any questions before I leave?’

‘
How is the
economy there?’

‘
I’m sorry,
sir?’

‘
Jobs. How
easy is it to find a job?’

‘
Depends on
what you know, sir,’ he said. ‘But Sondranos offers much in the way
of business. Family run shops, historical centres, data processing,
public service, anything you would find on Earth – except for
private sector. Those jobs are requisitioned through
International Aeronautics
’ Defense Fleet ships. They have pretty good weapons control
laws, so it’s not really an issue. Unless you like beating people
up. Then you can probably find a job as a bouncer, or something.’
He smiled and winked.

‘
Thank you,’
I said. I nodded politely, and he did the same. We left with
nothing more than ‘Have a good night.’

The room I’d spend the journey
in was a handicapped room. A large open space between the door and
bed left an empty spot where I could have rested maybe a dozen
suitcases. The bathroom was the same – large, no tub, and two steel
rods between the toilet and shower that could double as towel racks
when not being used as stands. As for the bed, the spread was
thick, and I contemplated calling the reception area for something
thinner. Once night came, I found it worked quite well if I put the
air conditioning unit on high.

There was always something to
investigate: channels offered on the video screen, movies listed in
the digital database; the near-to-constant stream of buffets on
deck seven; entertainment by the handful, from trivia to bingo; and
all of it was at my fingertips. I managed to convince myself at one
point that I was on a planned trip, having muttered aloud while
lying in bed, ‘Daniel would love this.’

This is what
I dreamed in our cell at the MacKinnon Commune, and when I woke, I
wanted nothing more than to be back on the
Korsikov
-even if it meant embracing
my ignorance, and placing higher importance on selfish
matters.

Kayt woke me
when Father
Corin slid the door open,
allowing the hinges to alert us to his presence. Annalise pulled
herself off the bed. She popped her neck. Her lips flattened, her
eyes fixed on a point ahead of her, and she even adjusted her shirt
in a way that brought out her chest. If I didn’t know any better, I
could have sworn she was getting ready for a job
interview.

“
The meal is
ready,” Father Corin said.

“
That’s
perfect,” I said. “What are we having?”

“
The feast
will prepare you for morning,” he said. “As such, we have prepared
potatoes and a dozen cuts of meats and cheeses. And a tart for
dessert. Davion helped in the preparation. His charge also informed
us that all you’d had to eat was on the road.”

His charge? That’s what Melanie
had become – I wondered if she was aware.

“
Show us the
way,” I shrugged.

Father Corin smiled. He stepped
out of the doorway and held out his hand. “If you will come, I
would be delighted to escort you to the dining hall.”

I let
Annalise and Kayt leave first. Kayt took Annalise’s hand and
clenched it tightly enough to make the skin blush. None of us made
eye contact. Father Corin stood by me as we left the way we’d come
in. Half a dozen more crates had been stacked along the hallway. I
looked behind and caught a glimpse of the gunshot damage on the
wall, over which someone had placed a
DO
NOT TOUCH
sign. As far as I knew, those
weapons relied on pulses of energy. Much like armour piercing
rounds, they could penetrate the covering of anyone’s armour by
collapsing the integrity of the plates while maintaining the force
of the propulsion. They would make good weapons against the
Belovores, provided they were used for that purpose. I had the
feeling, however, that their use was to support the Belovore
cause.

Coursing down
the hallway slowly, I made a mental list of what I needed to find
out. First was how many knew that Father Corin and Davion had
worked with the Belovores; second, how many people in the Commune
agreed with their deal, and who could be swayed into a non-support
role. The next task would be to find out what Father Corin expected
to do. With the
Cooper
landing, how could he imagine helping the Belovores before
everyone got killed? And in the meantime, how could I convince
Annalise that she couldn’t have known what Davion had been leading
us into.

A young lad, no more than
thirteen, opened the door to the outside. He couldn’t have known
what Father Corin had been planning, or had done – I refused to
entertain that idea. He’d been dressed in clean pressed robes that
hugged his body and bore the insignia of the MacKinnon Commune – a
thin stencilling of a large ‘M’ with a ‘K’ branching out of the
right-most leg. A circle surrounded it, and an upside down triangle
adorned the centre, placed behind the lettering. Annalise walked
through first, nodding her thanks to him, and Kayt and I followed.
I took in the fresh burst of air as it rushed through. The scent of
burning leaves and the smell of Blanc de Noirs returned. It hung
onto my sinuses, clinging longer than I wished.

Father Corin led us to the
banquet hall. Along the way, my mind played a ‘pick and choose’
game. See that woman over there? She knows, she helped. See that
man? Oblivious? Those two kids? Well, one knows, but the other one
with the sinister eyes is absolutely clueless. Doesn’t even know
where he lives, much less what a commune means. We kept silent and
looked forward. We said nothing, and didn’t veer from the path. I
was surprised Father Corin didn’t suspect anything.

We stopped outside, on the same
path which led us to the barracks before. Though the lights along
the roadside had changed – grown harder and stiffer through the
darkness – they were unmistakable. In threes, more Belovores that I
had ever seen clomped onto the grounds through the main gate. They
varied in height and colour, but all had the same bloodthirsty
glare in their eyes. They observed as they walked, their chelimbs
to their torso and large arms locked in position against their
sides. Some looked chipped, and their plates were raw around the
edges, but all seemed more than capable of continuing. My heart
dropped in my chest when I saw one missing a chelimb – I wondered
if it would recognize us.

Maybe someone else had damaged
that one? Hopefully someone else had. I, at least, had the comfort
of knowing that Chest-Plate, Vertebrae and Third were dead.
Chest-Plate definitely.

Davion had called the people of
the commune Forgiven earlier, and I could see why. A dozen Forgiven
watched as the Belovores continued to come, stopping near the edge
of the wall and bowing to their knees. Their hands held out, palms
first, as if to apologize for their existence. The Belovores gave
them no heed. The Forgiven bowed and refused to lift their heads
until all the Belovores had entered. I looked closely. I didn’t see
Davion.

Annalise continued walking
towards the hall with Father Corin, but Kayt staggered. I had to
catch her to keep her balanced. She hyperventilated softly. I moved
her to my other side, wrapped her arm in mine, and led her on,
making sure that every time she turned her head to the entrance, I
was there to distract.

Father Corin said. “You’ll have
time, later. I want you to meet the best of us. The one who will
usher us into a new age.”

“
Don’t they
all say that?” Kayt mumbled.

I glanced back again and tried
to count. More Forgiven rallied at the entrance to bow to the
Belovores as they poured into the compound. Some moved from the
front of their crowds to the back when the Belovores advanced. Even
though the monsters weren’t paying attention, some of the Forgiven
acted like they were only going along until they could figure out
what was going on.

Father Corin slowed us down
just before we got to the Keep. Alongside the door was a sign that
read Great Hall in raised cursive script. Annalise pushed her hair
back with a trembling hand and anger in her eyes. She took the
handle of the door. Father Corin did the same for the other door.
Kayt and I went through, taking in the scenery with part
admiration, part fear. The hall loomed above us. Crossbeams strung
cobwebs down from the rafters like strings of lights. Bulbs similar
to the ones along the courtyard jutted out from sconces on each
pillar. A dozen tables, all lined together towards the front of the
room, were empty. Bowls of fruit – some rotting, some half eaten,
and some fresh – had been placed sporadically on each table. For a
Keep, it didn’t meet the same expectations literature had always
pre-ordained.

At the front of the room was a
pulpit with a table beneath a long white cloth. Behind that stood
an empty throne taller than any of us. Our table had been set just
shy of the pulpit. Five placemats and large cups of water waited
for us. Melanie sat in one of the spots. She looked into her lap,
restraining herself from staring in our direction. She seemed
clean. Her hair had been combed back, and she had washed her face.
She’d even been given new clothes – robes, no doubt, from the
quartermaster of the Commune.

Kayt pressed her hand into mine
when she saw Melanie, her anger seething through the way she
gripped me without catching her own strength. Annalise followed
behind us.

Our footsteps echoed down the
hallway. It was like someone clapping slowly as we made our
shame-faced walk to be fed. None of the dishes had been served, so
it felt like we’d arrived early to our own party. Kayt sat next to
Melanie one the other side of the table at Father Corin’s urging,
and faced Annalise and I. We left the spot next to me open. We all
thought the same thing, looking at the empty spot. Either Davion
was meant to join us, or would do so soon enough.

“
Right,”
Father Corin clapped. “I can see that you are settling down, so I
will be right back. I must tell the kitchen that you are ready to
feast.”

He turned quickly, headed
towards the pulpit at the front of the Hall, and turned right. He
disappeared down a corridor, and a door swished shut out of sight.
Our eyes trained on Melanie. Kayt scooted a few inches away, and I
locked eyes on her until she looked up.

“
Be passive,”
Melanie said.

“
Is that you
speaking, or Davion?”

“
I have my
reasons,” Melanie said.

“
We all have
reasons. It doesn’t mean we side with the people who destroyed an
entire city,” I said.

“
Or killed
our friends,” Kayt added.

“
I’m not
responsible for any of that,” Melanie said. “You were there in the
Abbey, Leon. You listened when I told you I would do anything it
takes to find out what happened to my father. I’m doing
that.”

“
And how is
that going for you?” I asked.

She didn’t acknowledge the
disdain in my voice. “Had I not gone with Davion, and had he not
trusted me, I wouldn’t have gotten here. I wouldn’t have found out
what happened to my Dad and I certainly wouldn’t be able to cope
right now,” she said. “I was breaking down. None of you really
cared. Davion was the only one who talked to me and tried to help
me through it. You had your groups.”