Wind Spindle Chapter 5

 

Eighteen-year-old Lady Jewel Isikirari unlocked her helmet and lifted it; the air in the abandoned underground station was breathable, but stunk like an unbalanced 02 mix and the familiar gunpowder smell of space dust. They had made it to Phobos, at least. After three anxious weeks as stowaways, and now hiding on this crumbling little moon, their trip was nearly over. They were only six thousand kilometers from the surface of Mars, her new home.

Her adviser Hank, a towering Kinlanian with broad shoulders, set his ow own helmet on the edge of an operation console coated in gray, powdery grime as his long, thick jet black braid snaked down his back. “I've seen this little moon in orbit my entire life,” he said. “Never thought I'd set foot on it.”He began to check the panel on the back of the Lady's suit.  

“I'm fine, Hank,” the Lady smiled.

“Just checking your panels. Begging your pardon,”  Hank had the most persuasive of masculine voices, a velvet baritone with a breathy edge. The Lady found it reassuring just now.

“You never have to beg my pardon, Hank. Thank you."

"Open the comm,” she said to her communications supervisor, Jomo, “I want to send a final thank you to the barge crew. They took great risks for us."

"I'm checking the encryption settings, My Lady," said Jomo, who had plugged his glass book into the old console and was typing away, "But...it looks like something ha-"

Light blasted open the world. The screens transmitted the blinding burst and then went black. The Lady dropped with a liquid grace to the floor and then sprang up, calling out the names of her crew.

“Hank! Akina! Jomo! Kotori! Jennifer!” They groped across the cramped room, breathless. “Answer if you are all right!” said the Lady, reaching out her hands. They each answered in affirmative, touching the tips of their trembling fingers to hers. They all half-expected the 34-kilometer-wide moon they had landed on, really no more than a ball of loosely consolidated rock, to be pulling apart beneath them.

“We're far enough under the surface to escape electronics damage,” Jennifer Tran was the first to speculate on their situation, “But we only have backup life support now for a few hours. If this was a gamma burst. I can't read the metrics," she shook her head, trying to clear her vision. "How did we not see this coming?”

“We can't know the Universe in Her entirety,” said young Lady Jewel, with the composure of a seasoned royal. She blinked rapidly, asking, “Can we make a drop on backup power?”

Jennifer then furtively punched a code on her wrist unit as she held it under the control board; she brought both hands up, glancing behind her.  The crew were all still half-blinded.

Jennifer's throbbing eyes raced back and forth beneath her eyelids as she pictured the math, the forces, the formulas. She squinted at her screens, finally able, just barely, to read. “No one will have found us anyway, My Lady. It looks like this was big enough to wipe out comm systems on both worlds.”

“Dumb luck.” Hank marveled.

"I've lost contact with the barge." Jomo took his seat once again. "It was headed back to the Earth path. "But-" he looked down at his glass, somber.

"Jomo?" said the Lady.

"Looks like an explosion on the barge. Just outside of orbit," he said, "There's debris in the final readouts, just before the burst. But it's already made the transition to bot pilot. It's on the industrial flight path."

"If this was a gamma burst-could that have triggered an explosion somehow?" said Hank.

"They were a security risk." said Jennifer.

The rest of the crew stared at her through a long, shimmering silence.

Hank said, "Explain yourself. Now."

"I wanted to help Her Ladyship-"

They waited. Jennifer turned in her chair to face them.

"You know about the surge in the shame trade. Child wives-"

"We were led to think," said Hank, "That you believed in the Bowl and the Three Sisters' vision. That never includes putting innocents in harm's way. Under Bowl law that is abuse of power. The most serious charge."

"They weren't innocents," said Jennifer. "The innocents, the expendable cargo, have jettisoned. They will make it to Luna for rehabilitation and retraining."

"There were-others?" said the Lady. “Was there abuse?  You knew and did not-“

Hank stepped between the Lady and Jennifer. Jennifer had to crane her neck back to look him in the eye. She swallowed.

"I-I," this was the first time they had seen Jennifer's confidence slip, "I thought it necessary action to protect the Lady."

"I bind you under Bowl law." said Hank. "Upon landing you will face charges. Until that time you will comply with Her Ladyship in every and all ways."

"I'm afraid you can't," Jennifer flashed her wrist screen displaying her true passport  to Hank. "I'm sorry. Interworld has granted me complete immunity. But I won't be any trouble for you. We have helped each other. When we land, we will part company. You will never see me again."

"You helped us get this far. And we could have helped them. We could have given them asylum in the Bowl. Why?" said the Lady.

"I do believe in the Bowl, My Lady," said Jennifer. "And I would protect you. But you could not help the cause I live for.”  

"Which you will not tell us about," said Hank, glowering.

"It's best." Jennifer said. "But, I do want you to know. I never suspected a gamma burst. They were destined for elimination anyway. The timing of it…seems to be karma." She smiled at them.

Lady Jewel stood quietly for a few moments, then said, “How long till we're closest to Hellas?”

“Five hours,” said Jomo. "But we will still be at least ten kilometers out, my Lady. I hadn't planned for this kind of anomaly."

"None of us could have, Jomo. So..." the Lady smiled, as if she were inviting them all for tea in a palace garden, "We will be walking through the desert, like spirit questers. Ought to appeal to the monks. And I am feeling quite spiritually grateful at this very moment.” She gave each of them a long look. “Prepare for the drop. I don't need to tell you, Jennifer, what would happen if-"

Jennifer looked at Hank, her eyes somber. "Correct, My Lady."