First Watch: A Watcher Bay Adventure (18 page)

Lifter

Neyve

The Earth spun miles below, a somewhat tarnished marble in the sky. Looking out through the inches-thick clear windowpanes of the Solix Sky Elevator, the glimpses of space were surreal. No sign of floods, famine, and imminent threat of nuclear war from this vantage point. Neyve Colgan shook her head, wondering how a group of uber-elite astronaut wanna-be's thought they could avoid the tragedies inherently caused by basic human nature by relocating to another planetary system.

For three days, Neyve had been pent up in this metal box on the move, which really messed with her sense of time. Despite the Solix Sky Elevator being one of the coolest pieces of technology out there, it could still bore the pants off any teenager. Melancholy already, her brain spun through topic after unanswerable topic. Like why Uncle Dugal, her only remaining family member, didn
’
t warn her. Before arranging for her passage up the elevator to the Nautilus-11 Space Station, he
’
d made this trip a number of times Working on cutting edge ship technology and frequent trips above the planet were simple perks of being a top engineer, she supposed.

Thinking of that presented the next question. Why bring her up now? She questioned the universe, fingering the aged pendant on its chain resting at the hollow of her throat. Why not two years ago? Mirco and I could still be together . . .

Soaring through the air, strong arms circled her waist, holding her tight, keeping her safe. Neyve distinctly remembered the sharp slap of high velocity winds tempered by soft lips kissing her neck. They careened through the sky in the power-para-glider, bodies pressed close, the constricting ground hundreds of feet away. Barely teens, living for the moment, loving for an eternity.

With effort she tried to wrench her mind away from the train of memories to nowhere. Yeah, not working so well.

What if Mirco never left?

What if she
’
d been able to go with him?

Memories of her lost love came with too many painful pieces of baggage, so she switched tracks.

What if mom and dad were still alive? The flood that swept away their hotel wasn
’
t the first environmental disaster to claim thousands of lives, nor would it be the last. The global downward spiral added a string of new tragedies every year. An inescapable situation for most.

But what if the opportunity to leave Earth actually existed for her?

Finally, a question worth thinking about.

On the whole her life circled a sucktacular drain, not fully flushed yet moving in the general direction. An all too common condition nowadays. Rationed food, mostly from a Nutrition Actualizer and totally tasteless, added nothing to a person
’
s daily experience. Palpable fear of the terrorist factions becoming their own governmental superpowers. You could practically countdown to when some psycho hit a button and blew everybody up. Yeah, there
’
s something to look forward to. At seventeen, Neyve knew she
’
d never see adulthood.

As one of the million suddenly parentless children worldwide, thanks to a parade of natural disasters and routine terrorist attacks, Neyve often heard how lucky she
’
d been as a toddler to be taken in by her uncle, one of the corp of engineers they called Reachers, The planet
’
s most prestigious group accessible to the non-elite, where skill determined membership
—
not birth. Yet Uncle D
’
s justifiable pride in his position covered a core of arrogance and secrecy.

Neyve could blame his furtive behavior for igniting her passively rebellious side. She didn
’
t like being left in the dark. Or maybe her basic nature propelled her toward any and all activities considered thrilling and brave, like high-speed parasailing, great white shark dives with nothing but a small re-breather and a bag of chum, or powerblade skating through Deathtrap Alley. Brave or stupid, she obviously didn
’
t need him or his secrets. Or so she told herself.

Especially since he was about to leave her too.

“
Gah!
”
Pushing off from the chair she
’
d been lounging in, she forced her body into motion. A change in scenery might help her get out of her own head before the carloads of what-ifs completely derailed her.

“
Sir, can you tell me our ETA?
”
Neyve asked the nearest adult, a dark-skinned man clothed in a red Reacher uniform and aviator cap. The ginormous man towered over her, at least a couple feet taller and easily twice her size. Hard to miss.

Starting, the man glanced down at her.
“
About two hours or so,
”
he said.
“
You can see there through the fenestella
”—
he pointed up through the porthole at the massive docking station looming large above them
—“
that we
’
ve just about made it to Solix Sky Station.
”

“
Oh, okay. Thank you.
”
A couple of hours. No problem.

Soon enough, she
’
d be taking the shuttle to the space station, actually stepping into a world previously only imagined. While surely worth waiting for, and incredibly exciting under different circumstances, she couldn
’
t escape reality. Soon enough, she
’
d be returning to an empty home on an unstable planet, with everyone she loved moving on with their own lives a wormhole away.

“
I don
’
t think I
’
ve seen you before,
”
the dark man said.
“
You
’
re not a Reacher
’
s child, are you?
”

“
Yes. Well, no.
”
Oh bugger. She
’
d been purposefully avoiding attention from Reachers or other personnel, her trip to the station not exactly on the up and up. Ask a simple question . . .
“
He
’
s my uncle, really. Dugal Colgan?
”

Neyve felt the heat in her cheeks give away her discomfort.

“
Ah, Colgan. Of course. He
’
s one of my most brilliant bio-engineers. He brought the biome labs online aboard the SS
Challenge
back in
’
92. His niece, you say? Why aren
’
t you already aboard the ship and in your cryo-bed?
”

“
I
’
m not going to New Eden. I guess Uncle D called me up to say a final goodbye or something. He didn
’
t tell me the details.
”

Technically true. Any theories of why he
’
d send for her now, though many and varied, rated as fiction. Still, Neyve couldn
’
t help but wonder why didn
’
t he do it two years ago. She and Mirco could have shared a proper goodbye instead of the lack of closure brought by a heart-shattering vid call.

“
Do you mind if I see your spacepass?
”

Bobshite, seriously? Neyve held her hand out so tall, dark and snoopy could see the credentials and ticket digitally printed on her wrist comm, a less fancy version than the UiComms the Reachers used but nicer than most in her neighborhood could afford. She hoped he didn
’
t notice the slight tremor she couldn
’
t quite control.

He scanned her screen.

Forename: Neyve

Surname: Colgan

Cleared: Solix LiftPort, Solix Sky Docking Station, Nautilus-11 Space Station

See? Same last name and legitimate spacepass. Can I go now?

Her mental pleas went unanswered, however, as he maintained his grip on her arm and scrolled down with his thumb.

Reason for Travel: 1-Day Bereavement Pass.

Unauthorized for Transport: SS Challenge.

“
Ah, I see. I understand you
’
ve lost a family member.
”

I did? Who else is left? Oh. Clarity. The bunk line her uncle used to get the pass. What could be such a big deal for him to risk deceiving everyone, especially those Reachers he revered, putting in peril a job he
’
d built his life around?

The Reacher closely scrutinized her face, waiting for a response.

Neyve nodded.
“
I suppose that
’
s why he
’
d like me to come up to see him. He
’
s my last relative,
”
she added, no intention of elaborating despite the man waiting expectantly.

“
I completely understand,
”
he finally caved. He probably hoped the offered beaming smile would put her at ease. If anything the squirrels in her stomach picked up their pace.
“
I
’
m sure Colgan will be glad to see you one last time. I
’
m sorry for your loss.
”

“
Thank you,
”
she replied, finally extricating herself from the uncomfortable conversation and heading for the opposite window. Neyve needed to put space between her and Mr. Too-Many-Questions.

The reinforced glass felt warm against her forehead as Neyve watched the Earth recede further and further away. Earth, ocean, and clouds all visible to her at this height, she thought she spotted the beginning of sunset a half a world away.

Adults were conversing behind her, their current topic somewhat racier than appropriate for the general public. Unintentionally eavesdropping, she half-listened to the conversation as it moved on to hushpuppies, catfish, Buenos Ares nightclubs, and moussaka, highlights of the things each crewmember would miss when boarding the Challenge to leave the Earth for the final time. Neyve sourly wondered if she might make her uncle
’
s list.

“
I
’
ve asked Kasen to disable the comms in the room.
”

The changed timbre and urgency of the woman
’
s words were enough to jolt Neyve out of her melancholy reverie.

“
What
’
s the news?
”
a male voice asked.

“
Tavian Hunt just sent me an encrypted message.
”

While Neyve didn
’
t know this person, like at all, the name elicited a pause from the voice replying.

“
Is the SS Challenge
’
s Cav Drive down?
”

Another pause.

“
Well, no, not yet. It will be soon,
”
the woman replied, her tone mixing trepidation and triumph in equal shares.
“
But that
’
s the good news.
”

Unable to fight her escalating curiosity, Neyve shifted her position slightly, the warmth on her forehead transferring to the back of her head. Grey eyes slit, her view somewhat obscured by long lashes and her black hair falling in a curtain to half-cover her abysmally pale face, she glanced sideways toward the speaker.

More Reachers. Their distinctive uniforms matched the gear hanging in her uncle
’
s closet. Correction: the clothes he
used to hang in his closet, before he packed them up for the last time.

“
Out with it, Vida,
”
the man attached to the voice prompted as the woman, Vida, exhaled raggedly.

“
Just start from the beginning.
”
The big dark-skinned man she
’
d spoken to earlier joined the crowd, silent as the night. Ninja skills? Nah. He didn
’
t strike Neyve as the kind of guy who got ignored.

“
Yes, better to start there. Yesterday Tav heard a rumor that Challenge Command has been bringing people up in the Tolux Sky Elevator lifters at a steady clip for about three weeks.
”

“
Did he say who they are? I
’
ve heard rumors about increased spacecraft activity between the Tolux Sky Elevator and Nautilus-11 in the last couple of weeks. I assumed it was Founder business. I wondered about it but
—”
Jumbo ninja man frowned.