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Authors: P. J. Haarsma
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couldn’t figure out when that line had been drawn. And where did that leave me? Ketheria had always been on
my
side. I felt more isolated than I had on the
Renaissance.
My problems with Max were not making any of this easier. How could I keep my promise to her now? Could I really take care of Ketheria if I was no longer part of her inner circle? The fact that I was being shut out of Ketheria’s life simply dumbfounded me. What if being the Tonat was the only way I could protect my sister? But if I became the Tonat, I was certain that I would lose Max, and I was not prepared to do that.
Sitting against the cold machine and feeling sorry for myself certainly wasn’t going to help me. I knew that much. I needed a plan. What could I use to my advantage? Well, I could move freely about the ring, while Space Jumpers had to stay in the shadows. Maybe there was some way to control this spontaneous jumping. I also had my arm. Its robotics had come in handy more than once. And there was my alliance with Vairocina. That relationship was very important to me. But best of all, I could get inside their precious central computer whenever I pleased.
My side
was looking pretty good. It was time to learn what they knew.
“Vairocina?” I said.
“Yes, JT?”
“Can you determine my location?”
“Yes. You’re in Murat. What are you doing there?”
“Long story. Do you know about the place where the Keepers do their charity work on Orbis 4?”
“I believe it’s called the Center for Relief and Assistance. It’s 3.7 kilometers from where you are now.”
“Great. Which way?” I asked, getting up.
“Up ring. It will be on your right near the center of the city but, JT, I would like to talk about the information you asked me to find.”
“Oh, sure, but can it wait, Vairocina? I need to talk with a Keeper right now. We’ll chat when I’m done.”
“Certainly.”
I may not have decided to be the Tonat yet, but I was certain I could garner valuable information while they tried to convince me. Drapling’s defenses were down. He wanted me to become the Tonat so bad, I could almost smell it on him. I was going to leverage his desire to get something from
me
to get what I wanted from
him:
information.
A large, scarred metallic orb drifted over me. Six bluish lights crawled along the orb’s surface and scanned the area around me.
Security?
The searchlights converged on the ship’s belly and focused on me for only a moment. The orb then rotated and drifted away. I figured Vairocina must have sent it, so I followed my makeshift escort.
Murat’s buildings grew taller as I marched toward its center. Instead of building out, Murat had built upward. I began to notice a larger, more modern city beneath the refuse. Skyscrapers fashioned in the images of those you might find on Orbis 1 poked through the city’s poorer framework. I followed a narrow canal of green silt, which seemed to flow in and out of the city, and stopped just inside the densest part of Murat. Next to me, a metal and glass pod cracked open and a gangly alien unfurled himself. I looked up and saw more pods mounted above that one, each attached to the same narrow beam that arched up and over my head. I could see more aliens lumbering inside the dull, well-worn pods. They were roughly the same size and shape as the nurture pods we had used on the
Renaissance.
In one capsule, I saw a female with two small children. I could not even imagine having to
live
inside one of those things.
I moved away from the pods and squinted through the mountains of oxidized metal framework that formed a forest of trading chambers and makeshift shelters. There was no sign of the Center for Relief and Assistance, so I kept moving.
“Vairocina? Can you tell if I’m close to the Center yet?”
There was a pause before she replied. “You need to walk about six hundred meters and you will find it on your left.”
“Thank you.”
As Vairocina predicted, the slanted glass structure
my
side. I felt more isolated than I had on the
Renaissance.
My problems with Max were not making any of this easier. How could I keep my promise to her now? Could I really take care of Ketheria if I was no longer part of her inner circle? The fact that I was being shut out of Ketheria’s life simply dumbfounded me. What if being the Tonat was the only way I could protect my sister? But if I became the Tonat, I was certain that I would lose Max, and I was not prepared to do that.
Sitting against the cold machine and feeling sorry for myself certainly wasn’t going to help me. I knew that much. I needed a plan. What could I use to my advantage? Well, I could move freely about the ring, while Space Jumpers had to stay in the shadows. Maybe there was some way to control this spontaneous jumping. I also had my arm. Its robotics had come in handy more than once. And there was my alliance with Vairocina. That relationship was very important to me. But best of all, I could get inside their precious central computer whenever I pleased.
My side
was looking pretty good. It was time to learn what they knew.
“Vairocina?” I said.
“Yes, JT?”
“Can you determine my location?”
“Yes. You’re in Murat. What are you doing there?”
“Long story. Do you know about the place where the Keepers do their charity work on Orbis 4?”
“I believe it’s called the Center for Relief and Assistance. It’s 3.7 kilometers from where you are now.”
“Great. Which way?” I asked, getting up.
“Up ring. It will be on your right near the center of the city but, JT, I would like to talk about the information you asked me to find.”
“Oh, sure, but can it wait, Vairocina? I need to talk with a Keeper right now. We’ll chat when I’m done.”
“Certainly.”
I may not have decided to be the Tonat yet, but I was certain I could garner valuable information while they tried to convince me. Drapling’s defenses were down. He wanted me to become the Tonat so bad, I could almost smell it on him. I was going to leverage his desire to get something from
me
to get what I wanted from
him:
information.
A large, scarred metallic orb drifted over me. Six bluish lights crawled along the orb’s surface and scanned the area around me.
Security?
The searchlights converged on the ship’s belly and focused on me for only a moment. The orb then rotated and drifted away. I figured Vairocina must have sent it, so I followed my makeshift escort.
Murat’s buildings grew taller as I marched toward its center. Instead of building out, Murat had built upward. I began to notice a larger, more modern city beneath the refuse. Skyscrapers fashioned in the images of those you might find on Orbis 1 poked through the city’s poorer framework. I followed a narrow canal of green silt, which seemed to flow in and out of the city, and stopped just inside the densest part of Murat. Next to me, a metal and glass pod cracked open and a gangly alien unfurled himself. I looked up and saw more pods mounted above that one, each attached to the same narrow beam that arched up and over my head. I could see more aliens lumbering inside the dull, well-worn pods. They were roughly the same size and shape as the nurture pods we had used on the
Renaissance.
In one capsule, I saw a female with two small children. I could not even imagine having to
live
inside one of those things.
I moved away from the pods and squinted through the mountains of oxidized metal framework that formed a forest of trading chambers and makeshift shelters. There was no sign of the Center for Relief and Assistance, so I kept moving.
“Vairocina? Can you tell if I’m close to the Center yet?”
There was a pause before she replied. “You need to walk about six hundred meters and you will find it on your left.”
“Thank you.”
As Vairocina predicted, the slanted glass structure
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