Stone in the Sky (31 page)

Just as I let my guard down to enjoy the lively debate around me, the door burst open. Every alien went for their weapon, and a heat rushed over the room as though there was going to be a riot. Or a war.

But it was not the Imperium.

It was Myfanwy and she was alone, but visibly upset.

“What is she doing here?” I asked Bitty.

Immediately I could feel the tension in the room rise and I worried that we were about to lose what traction we'd gained. Everyone in the room had been burned in some way by the Imperium and, more specifically, by Brother Blue. They had no great love for Myfanwy because of that.

“I don't know, but I know that she's a friend,” Bitty said to me loud enough that the gathered group could hear.

Myfanwy pushed her way through the crowd up to me.

“They've suspended Brother Blue from duty,” Myfanwy said.

“What happened?” I asked.

“The Imperium are blaming him for all kinds of abnormalities, from skimming currency from claims to undeclared export of a precious substance. To falsifying colonial paperwork,” Myfanwy said.

“All true,” I said.

“There's more,” she said. That was when I realized that her face was pale and she was shaking. “They know that there's a meeting. They thought Brother Blue was organizing a coup against them.”

She looked like she was at the end of her rope.

“They've razed Earth,” she said.

They razed Earth as they had Quint.

The aliens all erupted. Fear was everywhere. If they came for Earth, then they could come for any of us.

But instead of turning against each other, all the aliens started to make plans to protect our little world aboard the Yertina Feray by making agreements with each other.

I sank into a chair. I'd done it. I'd gotten the aliens to work together here. And clearly the Imperium was scared. It was a start.

But the price had been Earth.

 

48

It would be a very long time before anyone could go back to Earth.

The planet was devastated, but not destroyed. And while word had gotten to us that the casualties had been high, people had escaped.

But there is nothing more dangerous than a man who's lost everything. And Brother Blue had lost everything. I knew he wouldn't just simply fade away.

Announcements were posted everywhere. The day had come at long last. I would face him in the ring. I stepped onto the lift and felt as though I were going into the light of a bright sun after being in a black hole. The stands were up, and there was a crowd as I had never seen before.

There were Humans here. There were Humans, Human Wanderers, and refugees from Earth strolling around in the market. They were eating cakes and looking at objects and trading for what they could. And none of the aliens were flinching. They were here just like any other species. And they were a part of the Hocht. I had never seen that before.

I began to realize that I had really started something. They were bartering for supplies at the makeshift market. They were getting pots and pans and rugs and tools. They were trading for the things that you needed for life on a ship for the things that you needed for the life on a planet. My heart swelled.

Killick, Kuhn, Marxuach, Andra, Beta Granade,… Quint.

I felt eerily calm, like I had been waiting for this moment my whole life. This time I was not afraid. This time I was ready to fight my enemy.

But before I could get to the ring, Tournour grabbed me and pushed me up into the stands.

“Let me go,” I said.

“I won't let you fight,” he said.

“Why not?” I said. “I want to fight the Hocht. You can't stop me.”

“Sit,” he said. “I'm not stopping the Hocht. I'm stopping you.”

The announcer called the Hocht. He called the names.

“Bane and Blue!”

I tried to stand up, but Tournour held me down.

“Let go of me!”

“No,” he said.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the fight.

To my surprise, there were two people in the ring. Brother Blue, in a terry cloth sweat pants suit, an overgrown beard, and a crazed look in his eyes. And Bitty. Bitty in black, looking like a sleek weapon of hurt. I could see on her wrist the glint of gold from my bracelet. When she stepped into position, she looked like a wild cat, and the crowd cheered.

She had just as much a right to fight the Hocht as I did. Brother Blue had cost her much, too.

“No!” I yelled.

I didn't want her to fight my fight. I escaped from Tournour's hold and ran down to the ring. Tournour was on my heels.

Brother Blue began yelling that this was not the Hocht he signed up for. He yelled at Myfanwy to get things right. He yelled at the announcer. He yelled at the crowd.

“Are you here to fight a Bane?” Bitty asked Brother Blue.

“Yes,” he said.

“Am I a Bane?” Bitty asked.

“How would I know?” Brother Blue asked.

“I met you on the
Prairie Rose
when I was ten. You took my sister away, and you killed my mother. You took my life away. I have every right to fight you here.”

Brother Blue blanched. I saw as he took in her scars, knowing that she must be who she said she was. She was a Bane, and Bane he would fight.

Bitty and Brother Blue circled each other and began to fight and with every blow that Bitty landed, the crowd erupted. They cheered loudly and they clapped and hollered. They booed when Brother Blue escaped a blow or landed one.

I got to the side of the ring, and he saw me. And then he smiled a wicked smile and spat.

“You're like a tick, sticking to this place,” he said.

Then he pushed Bitty away with such force that she fell backward. Then he stuck his hand in and pulled something out from his waistband. Hochts were only to be fought with the body, no weapons were allowed, but I saw the knife flash as he lunged for me.

Suddenly, the impossible happened. Bitty was all at once in front of me and then crumpled to the floor. There was blood everywhere, and the blood was not mine.

“He stabbed her!” I shouted.

Bitty was clutching her side, holding the stab wound to staunch the blood. Brother Blue cursed and then dodged the arms that were trying to hold him and made a beeline for the Northmost wing.

“After him!” Tournour shouted to his officers, but he could not hold me back.

I bared my teeth like an animal and dove after Brother Blue. Tournour was close on my heels.

“You monster!” I shouted. I had my sister's blood on me. For all I knew, he'd killed her when he'd meant to kill me.

“Which way did he go?” Tournour shouted. Other officers had joined us now. He gave out quick instructions to do a search and sweep.

But I knew what hallway we were in. I knew where he was going. The docking bays.

“Let's split up,” I said. Tournour nodded and turned off to the left. I stopped at a public data console and sent a message to the Tin Star Café and had Kelmao send Trevor to the docking bay. Then I went forward and up.

 

49

I met Trevor as it exited the lift. And then I commanded it to follow me as I pushed forward down the docking bays to see where Brother Blue could be.

The next ship leaving was on Docking Bay 5, but I knew he wouldn't actually leave; he was just looking to hide out until he finished me.

There was only one docking bay that was empty. Docking Bay 12.

I entered.

It was dark.

“Come and get me,” I said to the empty hangar.

A second later he emerged from the anteroom.

*   *   *

He was sick. Wild.

But I had always been wilder.

Wild with grief.

Wild with revenge.

Wild with a desire for all of it to be over.

“I'm here for you,” I said.

“I'm going to get you this time,” he said. “There's no escaping.”

“You can't have me.”

I saw him as he approached. He had a knife in one hand and a two-shot pistol in the other. I stayed as still and calm as I could. I had one chance at this. He raised his two-shot gun.

“Trevor, go!” I shouted.

Trevor's security protocol came on and his knives began to whir.

Brother Blue laughed as he watched Trevor roll up to him.

In my rush to do something, I'd mistimed my plan. Trevor was too far away to do any harm. It was as though I'd wound up a toy. I cursed myself.

“This is your weapon?” he said, lifting up his gun, firing one shot, immediately disabling Trevor.

“You should have stayed with your friends, in your caf
é
, where you had protection,” he said. “Then again, they'd be no help for you this time.”

He shot again, this time aiming for me. I ducked behind Trevor just as the phase went by. He was out of phases, but he still had his knife. I had no other weapon except my fists.

“It's over,” I said, willing him to give up because that was now my only option for survival. “Your time is done.”

He laughed even harder, the sound echoing in the docking bay.

“I'll get off this station and I will reinvent myself,” he said. “That's what I do. But you will not survive another day.”

I heard as he knocked things over on his approach to where I crouched. The space between us narrowed. Twelve feet. Eight feet. Six Feet. I looked over at the door to see if I could make a sprint for it. He was experienced and I was not. But if I could make it out of the room, I might be able to lock him in and vent him out to space.

But I could tell it was too far.

Brother Blue was right. This time I would die in Docking Bay 12.

His steps were coming closer. He was taking his time because he knew he had me. He was relishing this. I cursed myself for not letting Tournour know where I was going.

I slid my arms around Trevor, preparing myself for my last breaths, when my hand caught on one of his panels. Then I remembered that even disabled, Trevor had one more trick up its sleeve. I could signal for self-destruct overload. I would have less than a minute to get away before I would be killed in a burst of electricity and metal.

“You almost had it right, Brother Blue,” I said, trying to distract him as I reached up and slid the panel open, pressing my thumb on the button for the few seconds to activate the sequence. The button glowed orange. Brother Blue, now close enough to use his knife, jabbed hard at my face. I ducked to the left to avoid the blow. The orange light began to flash as the countdown started.

“I accomplished what no one else would have,” Brother Blue shouted as he slashed the knife at me again. I dodged to the right. “I gave us the stars!”

I glanced at the door like someone had just walked in. As he followed my stare, I dove for the far side of the room, scrambling behind a crate. Trevor emitted a high piercing warning alarm, and I watched as Brother Blue tried to step back. But he was not quick enough. Sparks shot out of Trevor arcing toward anything that could conduct electricity, including Brother Blue who crackled and lit as he was surrounded by light.

He convulsed and his skin turned from pink to gray. His eyes bulged. His lips burst. His body swelled. Although where I hid was safe from the charge, I could feel the hairs rise on my body.

Brother Blue fell in a heap to the floor, a mess of charred, melted skin.

He was dead.

Smoke began pouring out of Trevor and its front panels fell off. Then it ran out of power and went dark. Trevor was gone. And losing Trevor felt like losing Caleb all over again.

It was over. It was over. I was done.

The door burst open, and Tournour was there.

“Tula!” he yelled rushing to me. His arms were around me. He released the scent, and while it calmed me, I could not stop crying. He whispered to me, his voice cooing. His arms were lifting me. I was safe.

 

50

There were things to be done.

A new station order began to rise. Aliens started to fill the halls again on the Yertina Feray. It was a place where there was a fresh start for all species. A place for everyone to be equal.

My other dream had also come true. Human colonies were being formed.

The Wanderers would settle the planets and prepare them for the arrival of any more Earth refugees.

In a way, it was everything that Brother Blue had envisioned. It was the sum of the reason why I'd ventured out into space in the first place.

When anyone asked about Brother Blue, Tournour and I said that we saw him board a ship. We knew he was dead, but to the Imperium, he was still out there, with his secrets.

After being stitched up, Bitty and Myfanwy were closer than ever, and I knew by the way that Myfanwy gently rubbed Bitty's back, or the way that they would whisper to each other, that something was growing between them. One day they would be more than friends. It made me feel better that the reason why Myfanwy had never cared for Caleb was a matter of attraction and not the fact that she had never seen what a good-hearted person he was.