Beth gave him a careful look, unsure just how much she should reveal. He really had invested a lot in the ideal of Valisk
and all it promised. “Jed, I know Gerald’s a bit flaky, but he told me something.”
“A
bit
flaky.”
“Jed! He said Kiera is actually called Marie, that she’s his daughter. He reckons that Valisk is no different to any other
place the possessed have taken over.”
“Crap,” he said angrily. “That’s total crap. Look, Beth. We know Kiera is a possessor, she’s never hidden that. But she’s
only borrowing that girl’s body. She said things like that won’t matter after Valisk leaves the universe. She can take on
her own form again.”
“Yes, but, Jed… His daughter.”
“Just a weird coincidence, that’s all. Mind, it explains why the old fart is so crazy.”
She nodded reluctantly. “Maybe. But then again it wouldn’t do any harm to start thinking the unthinkable, would it?”
He took hold of both her arms, just above the elbows. “We’ll be all right,” he said intently. “You’ve accessed Kiera’s recording
enough times. You know she’s telling us the truth. This is like wedding night nerves.”
She gave his hands a curious glance; normally she would have instantly shaken free from such a grip. But this flight was not
an ordinary time. “Yeah. Thanks, mate.” She gave him a timid smile.
Jed returned an equally uncertain flutter. He started to slowly lean forward, bringing his face down towards hers. Her lips
parted slightly. He closed his eyes. Then a finger was resting on his chin.
“Not here,” Beth said. “Not in a dunny.”
______
Beth actually let him hold her hand as they walked along the life support module’s central corridor. Somehow it didn’t seem
to matter so much now. Back on Koblat it would have meant everyone knowing: Beth and Jed, Jed and Beth. The boys would have
smiled and whooped and given Jed the thumbs up. “Well done mate. Scored with an ice maiden, nice one. So what does she look
like with her kit off? Are they big tits? Is she any good at it? Has she gone down on you yet?” While the girls would have
clustered round her and asked if he’d said he loved her. Does he devote enough time to you? Are you going to apply for an
apartment together?
It was a horrendous cycle spinning around her, a compendium of everything she hated about Koblat. The loss of any purpose
to life. Surrendering to the company and signing on as another of its cheaply produced multi-function biological tools. She
knew several girls on her corridor level who were grandmothers at twenty-eight.
Their weakness had given her the strength to strive for at least the hope of something more, to resist almost intolerable
peer pressure. Star of her education stream, exceptionally receptive to each didactic memory she received. Applying for every
college scholarship and exchange programme she could locate in the asteroid’s memory cores. Enduring the jeers and whispers.
But it had been hard hard hard. Then along came Kiera, who offered a way out from all that awful pressure. A life that was
different and kind. And Beth had believed, because Kiera was the same sort of age, and empowered, and taking control of her
own destiny. And because… it was easy. For the first time ever.
They stopped outside the cabin she’d been sharing with Gerald, and Jed kissed her before she could turn the handle. Not a
very good kiss, he almost missed her lips, and definitely no tongue like there was in all the low-rated blue sensevise recordings
she’d accessed. His anxious expression almost made her laugh, as if he was expecting her to deck him one. Which, she admitted,
she probably would have done three weeks ago if he’d come on fresh with her. She got the door open, and they stumbled inside,
not bothering with the lights. Jed kissed her again. A better attempt, this time. When he finished, she asked: “Will you think
of her?”
“Who?” he asked in confusion.
“You know, her, Kiera. Will you think of her when you’re doing it with me?”
“No!” Although there was enough of a quaver in his voice to reveal the truth. To her, if no one else. She knew him well enough,
growing up together for ten years. It was almost too close.
He had become—not obsessed, that wasn’t strong enough—captivated by Kiera and that exquisite beguiling beauty of hers. In
dismay Beth knew it wouldn’t be her face he saw when he closed his eyes in ecstasy, not her body he would feel below his fingers.
For some reason, despite the humiliation, she didn’t really care. After all, she had her own reasons for this. She twined
a forearm behind his head, and pulled him down to kiss her again. The lights came on. Beth gasped in surprise, and twisted
to look at the bunk, expecting to see Gerald there. It was empty, the blankets rumpled.
There was a melodic chime from the dresser, and the small mirror above it shimmered with colour. A man’s face appeared on
it; he was middle aged, with a Mediterranean complexion and a long chin which pulled his lips downwards, making him appear
permanently unhappy.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “But I think you’ll find what I have to say quite important.”
Jed had stiffened the second he appeared, quickly pulling his hands away from Beth. She tried not to show how annoyed she
was by that; she’d just made
the
decision—what did he have to be guilty about?
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Rocio Condra; I am the soul possessing this hellhawk.”
“Oh brother,” she murmured. Jed managed to blush even deeper.
“I was listening to your conversation in the washroom. I believe we can help each other.”
Beth smiled weakly. “If you’re powerful enough to do that, how can we possibly help you? You can do anything.”
“My energistic power gives me a great deal of influence over the local environment, I agree. But there are some things which
remain beyond me. Listening to you, for example, I had to use a bitek processor; there’s one in every section of the
Mindori
’s life support module.”
“If you’ve heard everything we’ve talked about, then you know about Gerald and Marie,” Beth said.
“Indeed. That is why I chose you to make my offer to. You already know everything is not what it seems.”
Jed peered at Rocio’s image. “What offer?”
“The end requirements haven’t yet been finalized. However, if all goes well, I expect I shall require you to perform some
physical tasks for me. Nothing too difficult. Just venture into a few places I obviously cannot reach.”
“Such as?”
“That is not yet apparent. We will have to advance this partnership one step at a time. As a gesture of goodwill, I am prepared
to impart some information to you. If, based on what you hear, you then wish to continue with this relationship, we can move
forward together.”
Beth gave Jed a puzzled glance, not surprised to find he was equally mystified. “Go on,” she said. “We’ll listen.”
“I am about to swallow into the New California system. We will probably dock at Monterey asteroid, the headquarters of the
Capone Organization.”
“No way!” Jed cried.
“There never was a new rendezvous, was there?” Beth asked, somehow unsurprised by the revelation.
“No,” Rocio said. “We did not dock at Valisk because it is no longer in this universe. There was a battle for control between
different factions of possessed inside. The victors subsequently removed it.”
Jed took a couple of paces backwards, and sank down onto the bunk. His face was fragile with dismay. “Gone?”
“I’m afraid so. And I am genuinely sorry. I know how much hope you had for your future there. Unfortunately, that hope was
extremely misplaced.”
“How?” Beth asked through clenched teeth.
“There never was any Deadnight, not really. Kiera Salter simply wanted fresh bodies to possess so that she could expand the
habitat’s population base. Had you disembarked there, you would have been tortured until you surrendered yourselves to possession.”
“Oh Jeeze,” Beth whispered. “And Monterey? What’s going to happen to us at Monterey?”
“Much the same, I expect. The Organization does retain professional non-possessed who have specialist fields of expertise.
Are you highly qualified in any subject?”
“Us?” Beth barked in consternation. “You’ve gotta be bloody joking, mate. The only thing we know how to do proper is mess
up. Every bloody time.” She was afraid she was going to start crying.
“I see,” Rocio said. “Well, in return for your help, I am prepared to hide you on board when we dock at Monterey.”
“What sort of help?” Jed asked.
Beth wheeled round to glare at him. “Does it bloody matter!
Ye s
we’ll help. As much as you want.”
Rocio’s image gave a dry smile. “As I said, my requirements will not be fully established until I have analysed the local
situation. It may be that I don’t require you to do anything. For the moment, I shall simply hold you in reserve.”
“Why?” Beth asked. “You’re part of them. You’re a possessor. What do you want us for?”
“Because I am not part of them. We are not all the same. I was being coerced into helping Kiera. Now I must find out what
has happened to the other hellhawks, and decide what to do next. In order to do that, I must keep every conceivable option
open. Having allies who are in no position to betray me will provide an excellent advantage.”
“All right,” Beth said. “What do we have to do?”
“I will swallow into the New California system in another thirty minutes. Even if Kiera and the other hellhawks have left
there, the passengers will have to be disembarked. For now, the pair of you must be hidden. I believe I have a place which
will put you outside the perception range of Choi-Ho and Maxim Payne.”
“What perception range?” Jed asked.
“All possessed are able to sense the thoughts of other people. The range varies between individuals, of course.”
“You mean they know what I’m thinking?” he hooted. “No. But they are aware of your presence, and with that your emotions.
However, such perception through solid matter is difficult; I believe the fluid in some of my tanks will shield you. We just
have to get you at the centre of a suitably large cluster.”
“There had better be room for five of us in this nest of yours,” Beth said sprightly.
“I only require two people.”
“Tough, mate. You get yourself a bargain package with us. Gerald and the girls come too.”
“I don’t need them.”
She gave his image a cold smile. “Must have been dead a long time, huh? To forget what it’s like to have other people, friends,
responsibilities. What? You think we’d leave them behind for Capone. A couple of kids? Come on!”
“The Organization is unlikely to possess the girls. They pride themselves in being altruistic and charitable.”
“Good for them. But it doesn’t make any difference. You get all five of us, or none at all.”
“That’s right,” Jed said, coming up to stand beside her. “Gari’s my sister. I’m not leaving her with Capone.”
Rocio sighed heavily. “Very well. But only those three. If you have a flock of second cousins on board, they will have to
take their chances with the Organization.”
“No second cousins. What do you want us to do?”
______
It took a lot of nerve to saunter idly into the
Mindori
’s main lounge with a bland expression on his face, knowing what he did. Jed felt he carried it off rather well; his visits
to the Blue Fountain in search of sympathetic starship crews had provided a good rehearsal for brazening out awkward moments.
There was a big press of Deadnight kids in the lounge, more than usual as the extended flight finally approached its end.
All of them gazing eagerly out of the big forward-looking window at the silver-on-black starfield.
Jed let his eyes flick round quickly, confirming Choi-Ho and Maxim Payne weren’t anywhere about. Rocio had assured him they
were both in their cabin, but he didn’t entirely trust everything the hellhawk’s soul said.
In this instance, Rocio hadn’t lied. The two possessed were nowhere to be seen. Jed walked confidently across the lounge to
one of the fitted cupboards on the far side. Its narrow slatted doors were made from rosewood, with small brass handles moulded
to resemble rose buds. As he put his hand round the cool metal, it turned to black plastic below his fingers. A narrow display
panel appeared briefly to one side, framing a block of grey alphanumerics which flickered too fast to be read. He waited until
he heard a discreet
click
then pulled gently. The door opened a fraction, and he moved closer, covering his actions.
Rocio had told him the bitek processor blocks were on the third shelf from the top. The thin gap allowed him to confirm the
slim rectangular units were waiting there. It was obviously some kind of general equipment storage cupboard; he could see
tool kits, and test blocks, and sensor modules, as well as several devices he couldn’t fathom at all. A rack on the fourth
shelf contained five compact laser pistols.
He froze.
It was probably Rocio’s final assessment of his suitability. If he could turn his back on the weapons he would be resolute
enough to be of use to the hellhawk. If he knew anything about this nebulous deal, whatever help Rocio wanted, it would not
be small, not when the exchange price was his own life. But a weapon would offer some security, however feeble. And Beth had
her nervejam stick.
Knowing his heated thoughts would be betraying his guilt to Rocio in a way no clandestine visual observation ever could, Jed
reached calmly for a pistol, then slid his hand smoothly up to one of the processor blocks. He tucked both of them neatly
into his inside jacket pocket, and shut the cupboard door again. The electronic lock vanished instantly beneath a slick ripple
of wood grain which lapped over it.
Walking back out of the lounge was the worst part. Some little part of Jed’s brain was yelling at him to warn them. All of
a sudden, he hated them. Sweetly trusting kids, their eyes happy and shining as they gawped out at the enchanting vista of
interstellar space. All that hope suffusing unseen, yet cloying, into the air as they waited for the window to reveal their
own special nirvana waiting for them at the end of the next wormhole.