The Soldiers of Halla (14 page)

“It's incredible. I know it all, Mark. Everything. And I found my family.”

“Really!” he exclaimed. “Where are they?”

“They're safe, but I don't want to explain it now. You've got enough to worry about.”

“I'm happy for you, Bobby,” he said with total sincerity. “I know what it's like to lose your family.”

“I know you do,” I said. There was nothing more to add, so I stood and took a deep breath. “I'll be back as soon as I can.”

“Better not be another five years,” Mark cautioned.

“I don't think that'll happen. This is where I need to be. This time. I may not be gone very long at all.”

“However long it takes, we'll be ready. We've been ready for a while.”

“For what?”

“To bring down that conclave. That's what we're going to do, isn't it?”

I laughed. “Listen to you, getting all macho on me.”

Mark shrugged. “What can I say? I'm ready for this to end.”

Mark and I hugged one last time.

“Find them,” he said softly. “And find her.”

“I will.”

We pulled apart and he said, “Hey, how are you going to get to Cloral if the flumes are destroyed?”

“I'll find a way.”

Mark shrugged and turned toward his friends. If he had looked back at me a second later, he would have been surprised to see that I was no longer there. I had stepped off Third Earth….

And onto the deck of a burning barge on the territory of Cloral. It took me all of five seconds to realize that it was under attack.

I
was totally disoriented.

Fire and screaming and explosions that rock the deck hard enough to knock you off your feet will tend to do that. I thought it was broad daylight, but the sky was dark. That didn't add up, until I realized I was surrounded by fire. It lit up the world so completely that it seemed like day. Whatever was happening on this barge, it wasn't good. People ran for cover, desperate to get below, away from the firestorm.

It had been years since I'd been to Cloral. At the time, it wasn't on fire, so it didn't exactly seem familiar. What barge city was I on? Who was attacking? Who were the good guys and who were the bad guys?

I heard the whistling sound of an incoming missile. But from where? What was the target? Who was firing? I decided not to move, figuring I'd just as likely be running into the missile's path as getting out of the way. I stood there, closed my eyes, and braced myself. A second later the one small building that wasn't on fire exploded. The missile hit it dead-on, blowing out windows, shattering glass, and spewing flames from within. It was a good thing I hadn't
run for cover, because if I had, I probably would have gone into that building. Phew.

It was then that I got my head together enough to remember what Spader had said. He was the first of us to leave Solara and said he had gone to Grallion, and that it was on fire. Was this Grallion? Had I arrived at the same time as Spader? I ran along the deck, between two rows of burning buildings. I needed to get to someplace that would give me a view of the whole barge habitat.

I dodged several people who scrambled for protection. It was chaos. Nobody seemed to know where to go. When I got to the end of a long line of burning buildings, I found an observation tower that hadn't been hit. I had to climb. Of course, if it was a target, I'd end up back in Solara. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. But I had to take the chance. I sprinted up the stairs, taking two at a time until I got to a level high enough to allow me an overview of the habitat.

I was definitely on Grallion. Or a habitat much like it. Grallion was a floating farm. Spread out in front of me were acres and acres of farmland. Half of it was on fire. It was a nightmare. I saw several brave aquaneers and farmers using hoses to try and douse the flames. Buildings could always be rebuilt, but the farms on Grallion provided food for many thousands of people.

What was happening? Who could be doing this? When I left Cloral, the mythical lost city of Faar had recently risen from the depths of the ocean to become a center for academics and art. On Second Earth, Alexander Naymeer said that Faar was going to become the center for Ravinia on Cloral. Had that already happened? Did this attack have something to do with the Ravinians taking over Cloral?

Another whistling missile came rocketing in, landing square in the middle of the farm, spewing fire. Burning crops. This kind of weapon was something new to Cloral. When I had been here, they had destructive weapons, but the ammunition was compressed water. Those weapons were destructive, but they didn't create fire. Whatever these weapons were, they were new. But how new?

When was I?

I turned to look in the direction the missile had come from to witness a frightening sight. The tower I was standing on wasn't too far from one end of the giant barge. From here I could look out over the vast ocean that covered Cloral. The night was clear. The sky was loaded with stars….

And the sea was loaded with ships. War ships. Grallion was surrounded by a string of midsize ships armed with fixed, lethal guns. Of course I could only see a fraction of these ships from my vantage point, but it was clear that this was where the attack was coming from. The line of marauders was probably half a mile off the habitat, which was plenty close enough for their guns to do some damage. They looked like modern, fast vessels. As I watched, two of the big guns unloaded. The night air was pierced by the shrill whistle. Moments later two more explosions erupted on the farm below me.

What was the point? Were they trying to sink the habitat? I didn't think so. The guns were doing some serious damage, but it didn't seem as if they packed enough power to actually sink an entire floating habitat. I wondered if they were softening up the people to board and take over the barge. During the brief time that I'd been there, I hadn't seen any fighting actually happening on board. If they were going to board the habitat, it hadn't happened yet. Which
meant one thing: Yet again, I was sent to the right place at the right time. Whatever this battle was about, it would probably play into the overall struggle for Halla.

I had to find Spader. I was about to start down from the tower when the sky lit up with a massive barrage from the guns. It had to have been coordinated, because it seemed as if every ship had unloaded at once. Over and over again, missiles screamed through the air and impacted on Grallion. It was so loud I thought my eardrums would burst. It suddenly felt like a really dumb thing to be on that tower. I scrambled to get down. All around me, bombs hit. The tower shook. I lost my balance and stumbled down the stairs. Another explosion erupted, and the tower started to go over. I was still ten feet from the deck and had to dive off the tower or I would have been crushed beneath it. I hit dirt, luckily, and rolled. The tower crashed down not far from my head. I was spinning through a world of light, dirt, and ear-shattering noise. All I could do was put my arms over my head, assume the fetal position, and hope that I'd survive the onslaught.

Suddenly it all stopped. Just like that. Done. The sound of the multiple explosions echoed over the ocean. It was replaced by the sounds of crying and of things burning. I heard the distant sound of people screaming out instructions to one another. I couldn't make sense of anything, but it was pretty clear that they were scrambling to pick up the pieces and care for the wounded.

That sound was quickly replaced by another. An amplified voice boomed over the water. It was so loud I had no doubt that every last person on Grallion could hear it.

“People of Grallion,” the man's voice boomed. “You are protecting individuals who are guilty of crimes against
Ravinia. Harboring fugitives is a capital offense for which the entire population of Grallion will be held responsible. If you do not release the fugitives to us, we will have no choice but to continue our attack with much more drastic consequences. We have the authority, and we will sink this habitat with all on board. There will be no survivors. The choice is yours.”

Ravinia. It was alive and active on Cloral. That pretty much told me who the good guys and the bad guys were. Question was, who were the fugitives they wanted so badly? Could it be the exiles? Even if it wasn't, if somebody was an enemy of Ravinia, they were a friend of mine. I had to find them. I pulled myself to my feet. I was wobbly but not hurt. Knowing that the aquaneers ran the habitats, I knew I had to start by finding them. I hoped that Spader would be with them.

I ran toward the stern of the giant barge. As I got my wits back, I began to recognize some details about Grallion. The burning buildings where I had first arrived were the stores near the aquaneer living quarters. I was sorry to see that square in the middle, nearly gutted by flames, was Grolo's. It was the tavern where Spader had first introduced me to the strange bitter-sweet drink called “sniggers.” People wearing the familiar, light-colored clothing of Cloral were doing all they could to put out the flames. It was no use. There would be no more sniggers flowing at Grolo's. My heart went out to these people. I wanted to stop and help, but there was more than a lost tavern at stake.

My goal was to get to the aquaneer station at the stern of the barge, belowdecks. That was where the defense of Grallion would be plotted. I would have bet anything that Spader was there. My route was guided by memory. I soon
found a hatch that led below, climbed down the stairs, ran along narrow catwalks, and finally found myself in the large, four-story bay in the stern where the aquaneers docked their skimmers and speeders. The stern of the giant habitat opened out to the sea. Several levels below me I saw dozens of skimmers tied up, bobbing on the water. Looking out onto the ocean, I saw the shadows of the gunboats. They floated like ominous predators, silently waiting to spring on their prey. Two levels up from the water, and one level below me, a ring of aquaneers had gathered. They all wore the black, formfitting swimskins that were the uniforms of the sailors who piloted and protected the habitats. Spader was nowhere in sight, but I was relieved to see someone else I recognized.

Wu Yenza, the chief aquaneer, was in the center of the action. Yenza looked pretty much the same as I remembered her. Her dark hair was cut very short and practical. Her eyes were focused and intense. She wasn't that tall, but she was still a physical force. She was the boss. Maybe best of all, she was Spader's acolyte. She knew about Halla and Saint Dane. She understood the larger context of this battle.

Unfortunately for her, she was in the middle of an attack, and it wasn't coming from the Ravinian gunboats out on the sea.

“Give them up!” a tall, angry aquaneer shouted at Yenza. “You can't sacrifice the safety of Grallion to protect strangers.”

“It doesn't matter if they're strangers, they aren't traitors. They're victims,” Yenza countered.

“So what?” a woman aquaneer shouted. “Our job is to protect Grallion. How can you justify risking the lives of so many to protect so few?”

“It's not just about those few,” Yenza lectured. “It's about what Ravinia has done to Cloral. Do you think we're better off now that they dictate our every move? Who's to say if these people are guilty of anything other than being an enemy of Ravinia?”

“What if they're killers?” the woman aquaneer asked.

Yenza countered, “And what if their only crime is to have opinions that differ from the Conclave of Ravinia? Do you want to be the judge? If we give them up to the raiders, you'll also be their executioner. Is that what we've come to?”

Raiders. I remembered those guys. They were pirates that attacked random ships. They definitely didn't have the kind of firepower or organization that those gunships displayed. Was it possible that the raiders had become the muscle of Ravinia on Cloral?

Yenza continued, “We are at a turning point here. I know you people. I know what values you have. You don't agree with what Ravinia is turning us into any more than I do. If we give up those poor people now, who knows where it will end?”

“Who are they anyway?” another aquaneer asked. “Where did they come from? I spoke with them, and they couldn't answer the simplest questions about their own habitats. They're hiding something.”

The hair went up on the back of my neck. Things were coming clear. I had a feeling I knew who they were, and why they didn't know much about Cloral. And why the Ravinians wanted them so badly.

“Does it matter where they come from?” Yenza asked. “I believe they are victims, and if we give them up, we're giving in to Ravinia. Who knows where that will lead us?”

I knew. I'd seen it on other territories.

The aquaneers were uncertain. Sure, Yenza was convincing. Her words rang true. I wanted to back her up and tell them all about how Ravinia destroyed Earth. But I didn't think that would have been cool.

“So then what do we do?” the tall aquaneer asked, softening. “We're a farming habitat. We don't have the muscle to repel an armada of raiders.”

The woman added, “They've already knocked out many of our defenses, and people are scrambling to put out fires all over the habitat.”

The man added, “Do you feel so strongly that you're willing to let Grallion die to make a statement against Ravinia?”

Tough question. I really wanted to hear Yenza's answer. Her response was odd. She looked at her watch. The other aquaneers were just as confused as I was.

“Soon it won't matter,” she replied.

The aquaneers looked at one another, not sure of what she meant.

Yenza continued, “Before the raiders began their attack, I loaded the fugitives into a hauler submarine and sent them off the habitat. By now they should have cleared the blockade. They're gone.”

The aquaneers erupted in anger. “How could you do that?” “It wasn't your decision alone.” “You have sentenced us all to death.”

The woman aquaneer didn't argue. She ran to the edge of the platform and looked down to the level below. “Go!” she commanded.

Instantly a skimmer came to life. An aquaneer was aboard, powering up.

Yenza ran to the woman aquaneer. “Who is that? What's happening?”

“You have just saved Grallion,” the woman replied, smug.

“What do you mean?” Yenza demanded to know.

“All they want is the fugitives,” the woman explained. “They have no issue with Grallion, unless of course, the Conclave of Ravinia decides to punish us for harboring them. Once the raiders find out about the hauler, they'll leave Grallion alone and hunt the fugitives down.”

Yenza stared the woman down. “You're a Ravinian.”

The woman lifted up her right sleeve. Tattooed on her arm was a green star. The mark of Ravinia. “There are more of us here than you know.”

Yenza wound up and slugged the woman square in the jaw. It was awesome. The woman fell backward, both feet up in the air. It was almost comical. Almost. The aquaneer on the skimmer pulled away from the dock, headed out to sea. Headed for the raiders to tell them where to find the fugitives.

The exiles.

I had no doubt that they were some of the exiles we were charged to find and protect. The aquaneer had to be stopped, which meant I had to come out from hiding. I slid down the ladder, too fast for safety. My goal was to get a skimmer and chase the guy down before he got to the raiders. Yenza had the same idea. She left the other aquaneers, some of whom were probably Ravinians, and climbed down toward the dock level. We hit the bottom level at the same time. She heard my feet hit the deck and turned in surprise. When she saw me, her eyes went wide.