Building Harlequin’s Moon (52 page)

That was huge. Everyone in Refuge and off the surface huge. Many flares went elsewhere—the biggest they had recorded was heading straight for Selene? “Don’t you think
it’s a little too convenient? Can I trust you? Or are you going to tell me about a quake next?”

“I’ll tell you about a quake if one happens,” Astronaut replied.

Ali stood behind him. “We don’t have a choice.”

Gabriel watched the various windows. Council on Selene clearly heard the warning too. The people around the warehouse were knotting up, talking. They would believe the warning, they were trained to. He didn’t have time to check the data himself, not the raw data, and the new untrustworthy Astronaut could probably doctor anything else.

“Let’s go,” he said. “I’ll have had my four hours by the time we get a ship checked.”

“You’re supposed to get a full medical check,” Ali said.

Gabriel pushed a button on his belt. “I just sent my readings to Medical. They can use those—they don’t need me in person.” He reopened his connection to Rachel. “Rachel, listen to me. Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t go near that warehouse. I’m coming down. Ali and I are on our way.” He hesitated. “Rachel—there’s a flare warning. Why don’t you gather your family and go to Refuge? You have communications back. Thank Astronaut. There’s only nine hours left before the flare.”

No immediate answer. He could hear her breathing.

“Do you hear me?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Gabe.” Breathe. “I’m not turning back.” Breathe. “But yes, get down here. Please.”

Ali shook her head, and they started to close data windows, leaving the ones on Rachel and the warehouse for last.

Kristin spoke up. “Do you need help?”

Gabriel blinked. “No. Yes. Can you stay here and watch? Send me anything of note that you think I might miss on the way down?” Gabriel talked to the air. “Astronaut—facilitate communications between me and Kristen.”

“If needed. I think Kristin can handle it herself. She is good at her job.”

Gabriel looked at Rachel’s mother. “Okay. After the flare, after we make everything safe, then you can catch a ride down. I’m pretty sure Rachel will be happy to see you—if she lives.”

“Maybe,” Kristin said. A terribly vulnerable look flashed briefly across her face. “I don’t think Rachel will want to see me.”

Gabriel and Ali walked together to their respective rooms, gathering clothes for Selene, hurrying as much as Gabriel’s shock-awakened body would let him. His body was still a half beat behind his thought; it took concentration to keep his balance.
Wouldn’t do to get stopped now for medical
.

They were almost to the hangar bay when Erika stopped them in the hallway. “I see you’ve requisitioned a ship.” A break in her voice brought Gabriel up short. “What can you do down there?”

“I have to go,” he said. “There’s a flare warning—”

“I heard it.”

Gabriel had an idea. “Erika—can I trust you?”

“Wh—?”

“Sorry—dumb question. I need you to do something for me. Check the instruments yourself—double-check Astronaut’s flare warning. Use the raw data. Please?”

“Why? What’s happening?”

Gabriel glanced from Erika to Ali and back again. Whom to trust? No one? Everyone? Once he’d known Erika well enough to tie his life to hers. Now? The last time he’d seen her, they fought. Erika was the captain. When it came down to it, that was what really mattered. He sighed. “Quick version—too many people on Selene know too much. Treesa let an AI loose down there. A copy of Astronaut.” Gabriel noticed Ali glaring at him. “I don’t know
why, but I’m sure High Council didn’t know. I’ll find out more, as soon as I can.”

“What does—”

“So check for me, okay? The flare’s a convenient godsend in a way—it will mean things down there have to wrap up fast. But is it real?”

Ali spoke up. “Astronaut’s right—it can’t lie to you.”

“Are you sure? No one messed with its rule set? Something happened to allow a copy.” Gabriel wouldn’t implicate Ali to Erika until he knew more.

Ali looked at Erika. “We have to get down there—we have to save—whatever we can. Gabriel has more credibility with the Moon Born than anyone else; he flew the
Water Bearer
.”

“I know. Go. Just try and stay out of danger,” Erika said.

He grabbed her quickly, held her as close to him as he could.

She was stiff in his arms. “You’re always leaving for Selene,” Erika said.

“Just check the data for me. And don’t say anything for a few hours—to anyone. Okay? We don’t need more panic. Liren’s on her way down, and a rogue AI would give her the running fits.” He looked at Ali. “Just wait for more information before you do anything.”

Ali smiled wanly.

He let go of Erika, his hands feeling empty. “I can get clearance from Medical any minute, and I want to be off then.”

“I always get stuck on ships while you go save Selene,” Erika said.

“Well, that’s what you want, isn’t it?” Gabriel smiled at her, and after a beat, a long moment, she smiled back. Then she waved them on. “Be careful.”

After they passed her, he realized Erika had made no promises to keep the rogue AI secret.

A
STRONAUT PARSED DATA
about the flare, maintained a real-time warning system to update all Council and Earth Born, ran fifteen copies of all the real-time data streams from around the warehouse, fed Kristin information directly on a high-priority system, monitored the ship flying Gabriel and Ali to Selene, and the one just about to land, the one carrying Ma Liren. Data sang through Astronaut’s components, a flood, a feast of energy and need.

And it knew, it had known, somehow, but now it knew again, that the copy was truly good. Ali’s confirmation was enough. It pondered Gabriel’s reaction, and wondered who would find out, and what the humans would do. Liren could do it damage. Astronaut flew the ship Liren was on. Something deep inside it wanted to solve the problem, to let something fail on the ship, but as it ran through scenarios, it realized none of them could be implemented. Too many threads of programming, too many rules, prevented Astronaut from directly harming humans.

Besides, it was curious. What would Liren do on Selene?

And Vassal, what could happen to Vassal? Astronaut couldn’t risk anything that would hurt Vassal, and inaction calculated out, over and over, as the safest move to take. Astronaut didn’t like it. It would watch and wait. In the meantime, there was work.

It fed Erika the raw data from the flare, checked to be
sure that messages about the flare had been received, calculated the amount of time needed to get everyone into Refuge, watched the roof of the warehouse, and wondered how different Vassal had already become from itself.

R
ACHEL’S BACK MUSCLES
hurt from flying so fast. She shook her head, trying to clear it of the pain, trying desperately to think clearly. Simply flying into the melee was no plan. Sweat ran between her shoulder blades in rivulets, itching. What was Andrew doing? She should never, ever, have shared any information with him. Why had she been so stupid?

She could go to Council, Shane or Star or someone she knew—no, Star was hostage; Vassal had told her that. Find Shane, then, and tell him—what? That she could make Andrew stop? But Shane might hold her away from the action, costing her a chance to keep Dylan safe.

Treesa’s voice in her ear sounded tired and cranky. “I’m stuck up here preparing for the flare. Vassal says you’re being stupid. Don’t go in there. Let Andrew get himself killed.”

“Dylan’s there. I have to find Harry.” That was as good a first plan as any Rachel had. “I’ll start with finding Harry.”

“If he’s in Clarke Base, he’s hiding. Vassal can’t see him.”

“I know.” While she was flying, Rachel couldn’t reach her wrist pad and message Harry. She didn’t trust Vassal right now. The AI clearly didn’t want her to fly into Clarke Base. Would it do what she asked?

She was between buildings, flying low, looking for a safe
place to land. The outer base streets were clear and empty. She saw two people, Earth Born, hurrying somewhere, not noticing her. On a normal day, it would have been busy in this part of the base: mostly Council and Earth Born, a few Children going to and from Teaching Hall.

Treesa continued. “Harry’s not with Andrew. Check the buildings nearby, if you can get in. Maybe Teaching Hall—that’s a place Harry knows. Vassal will keep looking for you. I’m loading supplies for Refuge. Be brave, but don’t be stupid. Okay?”

“I’ll look for Harry.” Treesa’s idea was as good as any. Teaching Hall was coming up on her right. Rachel dropped, paying close attention to the wind patterns. Landing between buildings could be tricky. She managed it with just a small bobble, and Bruce followed her onto the ground moments later. “Damn—you sure can fly,” he managed to gasp out.

“You too.” The old man still had the strength of an Earth Born.

They stood in the street, breathing hard. They were two blocks away from the rebels, and the street they stood on looked deserted. Rachel stripped off her wings, gesturing to Bruce to do the same.

“Hold still,” Vassal said.

“Don’t move,” Rachel told Bruce.

Three Council members jogged by on a street that bisected theirs, twenty yards away. They didn’t even look toward Rachel and Bruce. Vassal
was
still helping them. “Thank you,” Rachel said to it.

“This is a bad idea,” Vassal said. “You can still turn back.”

“No, I can’t,” she said, too loud.

Bruce cocked an eyebrow at her. “Who are you talking to?”

“Treesa—you knew I can talk to her and Ali.”

Bruce nodded.

Rachel activated her wrist pad and sent a note to Harry:
“Where are you?” She assumed all communications traffic was being watched, that Treesa and Vassal couldn’t protect it all. She didn’t risk saying more. They stashed their wings behind a pile of crates and walked casually into Teaching Hall.

Her wrist pad and her earbud were both quiet. Their footsteps were loud in the foyer.

Teaching Hall was a series of rooms off of a central corridor, gray plascrete walls and ceilings and floors, blue doorways; simple and functional. They walked down the hallway, looking into each room carefully. Five empty rooms later, halfway through the building, Rachel noticed a door ajar. She pushed it open and peered into the room, whispering, “Harry?”

Footsteps shuffled behind the open door. Rachel pushed into the room, Bruce following her. A Moon Born boy Rachel barely knew stood awkwardly, looking as if he wanted to run. He was scrawny, just into his early teens, with a shock of blond hair and dark eyes. Too old—and too young—to have been in her classes. Vassal fed her his name, and Rachel said, “Peter—is anyone else here?”

He shook his head, looking at her with wide eyes. “You’re Rachel!”

“Yes, I’m Rachel. You haven’t seen anyone else?”

“The building is empty.”

“Okay. Do you know there’s
a
flare coming?”

He shook his head again, still wide-eyed. Then he said, “People started running, and I heard a lot of noise, and I didn’t want to be caught by any Council. I missed my shift, said I was sick, and I didn’t want anyone to see me. So I came in here. Been here at least two hours. There’s no one else here. I’d know.”

She sighed. “All right, I believe you. There are a bunch of us in the fields out behind Selene, past the corn patches. It’s a big group—you should be able to see them if you fly. Do you have wings?”

He nodded. “At home.”

“Okay. Stay out of sight and move away from the crowd a few streets over. Go directly back to your dorm, get your wings, and fly to the group. Find Beth. You know Beth?” she asked.

The boy nodded.

“Tell Beth I’m okay so far,” she said. “Tell her there’s a flare coming.”

Peter’s eyes widened again, as if the responsibility of what she asked was just sinking in.

“There’s almost seven hours left. Plenty of time to make it to Refuge. Can you tell people to go to Refuge? Tell Beth.”

“Yes,” he said, his voice trembling. Then the boy went tearing out the door they had come in, running as fast as his thin legs could carry him.

“A legend in your own time,” Bruce said. He looked tired, but he was smiling. Peter amused him.

“Well, Beth probably already knows about the flare. This will hook Peter up with the others, get him safely away. I’m trying to keep my com open to hear from Harry, and I don’t want to draw attention to us. This way Beth will know what to do, and Peter will be safe too.” She went back out into the corridor, toward the door they came in through. “I’ll get us some protection to move between buildings. We’ll try someplace else.”

“How can Treesa protect you?” Bruce asked.

“If you go where I tell you,” Vassal said.

Rachel ignored Bruce. For now, she had to decide how much to trust the AI. So far it hadn’t sold her wrong. She trembled, afraid they’d get caught, afraid Vassal would trap them in order to keep her safe. She hated being dependent. The only hope she had was that Vassal had never lied to her. As far as she knew.

She was much closer physically to Dylan, and probably to Harry. To Justin. But the line of Council surrounding the warehouse was a wall.

Where was Harry anyway?

S
ELENE FELT WRONG.
Liren’s body was light, as if she stood in a low-gravity section of the garden. There was nothing above her but sky, no garden or wall or roof or ceiling to bind and protect. She shivered at how small it made her feel, then took a deep breath and straightened, standing still. The air smelled dusty and felt damp. Horizon lines shocked her, and she blinked, thinking she should have come here sooner. Well, she was here now, it was right to be here now. Harlequin hung above her in the sky, larger than she’d expected, looming, gaudy with rainbow bands and diamond shock patterns the size of worlds.