Downtime (31 page)

“Civilian
Arria Jinn requests entrance,” the comm said in a soft whisper.

“Let
her in,” Jason said, equally softly. He looked at the entranceway in curiosity.
Arria never came to his rooms.

She
stepped in, glancing first at the bed.

“She’s
sleeping,” he said. “We won’t disturb her as long as we’re quiet. She can take
rest at will. Always could.”

Arria
looked doubtful, but she said nothing. She came over to the desk where Jason
was sitting and placed a vial of amber on the desk. “Your elixir. You’ll have
to sign for it.” She handed him the bill-of-fare plate.

He
hesitated. He wasn’t certain he wanted the elixir. Calla had been gone for two
years, aging only months in the process, being on the right side of the
Timekeeper’s spiral for a change. It cut down the gap that she could never
quite put aside. He wasn’t sure he wanted to increase it again. But he pressed
his thumb against the plate anyhow, because he didn’t want to explain anything
to Arria.

“You’ll
be able to go back to the Hub soon,” he said to her.

“And
you?” she said, her rainwater eyes resting easily on him.

He
shoved the vial of elixir into the drawer of his desk. “I don’t know yet.” He
really did not. Calla might be hailed as a hero, or condemned as a traitor more
detestable than Mahdi himself. He would be forced to protect himself from
merely living in the shadow of her glory in the first case, and want to protect
her in the second. He knew that he probably was not capable of succeeding in
either. It was very odd to realize that he hoped that the siege would go on for
a long time. He realized that Arria was looking at him strangely. “Trying to
read my mind again?”

She
blushed, took the bill-of-fare from his hand, and left the room. Jason shook
his head as the door slid shut behind her. He knew that she had not been
especially happy these last two years, and that he was in part responsible. But
he couldn’t help believing that he would just make things worse for her, and
for himself, he admitted, if he encouraged her love. With Calla back, he knew
he had made the right decision.

“Jason?”

“Calla,
you’re awake.”

“Jason,
take the elixir.”

“No,”
he said. “I don’t need it.”

Calla
swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Take it, Jason. Take it or I will.”

“You
can’t.”

“I
know. But if you don’t, I will anyway.”

“That’s
melodramatic blackmail,” he said.

“I
know. But your not taking it is kind of sick, too. Please take it. I’m too
young to die.”

“Too
mean to die,” he said, reaching into the desk for the vial. He stared at it a
moment, then tossed it to her. She caught it deftly, got up and went over to
the desk and set it down.

“You’ll
take it when you’re ready,” she said.

He
caught her around the waist and pulled her down to his lap, wanting to hold her
for a while and to feel her arms around him. But it was not to be.

“Timekeeper’s
hell,” she said, leaping to her feet to lean over the desk and stare through
the window at the scene spreading below them in the staging area. A full
platoon of Praetorian troopers had already poured from the tunnel to Red Rocks,
lasers cutting down the rangers before they could draw their weapons.

“There’s
no way . . .” Jason started to say, but obviously there was. And
just as obvious was that Red Rocks must have fallen already. He grabbed his
holster and slung it over his shoulder, tossed Calla’s to her. “Open,” he
shouted to the door. He peered out cautiously; there was no one except Arria
far down the hall.

“The
alarm doesn’t work,” Calla said coming up behind him. “Can we get out?”

Arria
had turned just as Jason was about to shout. She hadn’t gotten as far as the
balcony, couldn’t have seen what was going on below, but now she was running in
fear. She stopped at a door and pounded a few times, and in a moment Marmion
was following her down the hall.

“We’re
done for,” Marmion said, already breathless. “We can’t get out from up here.”

“The
sewers,” Jason said. “They’re big enough to crawl in.”

“Lead
the way,” Marmion said.

Jason
started running down the hall, calling to Arria as he went. “Is there anyone
else up here?”

“No,”
she said, half wailing. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. I should have
known.” She seemed terrified, and Jason wondered what kind of thoughts she
might be picking up now.

There
were guardsmen coming into the corridor now, but Marmion and Calla were quick
to shoot and the guardsmen were ducking back. By this time the attackers must
have realized how successful they had been, and they would risk little for a
few odd stragglers when they had hundreds dead or secure below. They stayed
back long enough for Jason to open the vent in the back of a storage room. “It’s
about fifteen meters down,” Jason said. “Then a long crawl.”

“How
long?” Calla said.

“A
few kilometers.”

She
shook her head as if to indicate that she couldn’t make it, but said simply, “I’ll
go last.”

Marmion
was already in the hole, climbing down the ladder rungs. Arria followed, and
Jason followed her. He didn’t go far until he saw that Calla was coming, too.
He wouldn’t leave her behind.

Below,
the sewer wasn’t even crawl-space high. They scraped their backs and heads on
the rough-carved ceiling, and their hands and legs quickly became numb with
cold.

“They’ll
be waiting for us at the other end,” Marmion said.

“There’s
a natural cave where the rock turns to limestone,” Jason said. “The opening is
up. We can get out through there. They won’t know about it. It’s not in any of
the surveys.”

“How
far?” Marmion said. “And does anyone have a lamp?”

“Half
a klick,” Jason said, “and we can use our handguns on low, if we have to.”

“If
we can stay out of each other’s way, you mean. Third degree burns kill just as
thoroughly as char-holes.”

“We’ll
just have to be careful until you come up with a better idea,” Jason said. “Calla,
are you all right?”

“I’m
fine.”

“She
has hurt her knee,” Arria said. “She thinks it must be bleeding.”

Jason
cursed. It couldn’t be an arterial wound or she would have collapsed by now,
but the exposure to the filth in the sewers might be just as deadly for Calla.
He reached forward and patted Arria’s rump to let her know he appreciated the
information.

They
crawled, seemingly forever, and Jason was beginning to think they had passed
the cave opening without detecting it. “Keep your back arched, Marmion,” he
said.

“No
skin left on it now,” the engineer said.

“There
should be a breeze,” Jason said. “The cave breathes, and we should feel a
breeze.”

“Then
why do you want me to keep my back up?”

“Because
it’s a shallow breather. We’ll be going through some dead pockets . . .
if we can find it.”

Jason
bumped into Arria as she slowed down. “I feel it,” she said. “I can feel a bit
of breeze.”

“Yes,”
Marmion said. “I’ve found it. Hold up a second while I take a look.”

He
heard Marmion’s boots scrape against the rock, and saw light come streaming
down from the hole. In reality, the glow of the handgun on very low power didn’t
give off as much light as a candle, but it seemed very bright in comparison to
the absolute blackness.

“Be
careful coming up,” Marmion said. “It’s steep and I haven’t much room to
maneuver the gun. Don’t get in the beam.”

“Better
hurry,” Calla said. “I hear water. I think they’re flooding the sewer.”

Arria
scrambled up quickly and Jason followed, then turned to give Calla a hand
should she need it. But she raised herself through the small opening with her
arms and got to her feet on her own. He took her hand anyhow and felt her
squeeze his reassuringly. “That was the easy part,” he said softly. “Now we
climb.” He felt Calla tighten up and he pulled her close. “It’s the only way.
You can do it, Calla. We’ll let Arria lead.”

“I’ve
done some rock climbing in my time,” Marmion said. “Comes with the job.”

“Arria’s
done more; she’s the best. We’ll put Calla between us.” He knew that if he
could see her face, it would be hateful. Not for him nor even what he was doing
for her, but for herself, because even in this she wanted to be on her own. But
that same self-loathing would keep her climbing, and climbing carefully so that
neither he nor Marmion would have to risk themselves on her behalf. A fall here
probably wouldn’t kill them in itself, but there’d be no rescue team to tend a
broken bone. “Take it easy, Arria,” he said.

“I
will. Give me your gun, will you?”

He
handed it over, and Arria started out. Marmion helped to light her way for a
while with his gun, being careful to keep the beam off Arria. Jason started
climbing, and then the water came. It gushed up from the crack to the sewer
like a geyser, forcing Calla and Marmion onto the wall with him. They climbed steadily
for a few minutes until they were clear of the new water. If they used the
entire reservoir, Jason knew they could keep it coming for a few hours, enough
to make a little lake beneath them. He didn’t know whether to be grateful that it
might be enough to break a fall, for that much would also be quite enough to
drown in.

Arria
had to pick a new route three times before she topped the wall, but she was the
only one who retraced her steps. Jason simply didn’t follow until he could see
that Arria had found another secure perch for Calla to rest on. It took several
hours, and his own arms and legs were tired when they finally reached the top.
Calla’s limbs were trembling. But at least now it was more walking than
climbing, and Jason put his arm around Calla so she could lean on him when she
stumbled.

***

Night had fallen when they reached the mouth of the cave.

Moonlight
was streaming in and lighting the canyon below like a little sun. The four of
them stood at the entrance for a while, looking down the rock- and shrub-strewn
slope until one of Mahdi’s flyers, moving slowly and flying low, came into
view, searchlight illuminating the canyon even more. They stepped back into the
cave’s recesses.

“Now
what,” said Marmion. “If we go down there, they’re sure to catch us.”

“We
can go around,” Arria said, “Stay on the ledges . . .” But then
she looked at Jason and pressed her lips together. He had been thinking exactly
that, but was already dismissing the plan because he wasn’t sure Calla could go
any further.

“They’re
not likely to find us here,” Calla said. “We won’t leave until we know where we’re
going and why.” She moved back to an outcropping of rock and sat. Her breeches
were torn, her knees bloodied.

“I’m
all for going anywhere that’s far,” Marmion said anxiously. “It’s a big planet.
If we go far enough and quickly enough, we can get by until the Decemvirate or
council sends another fleet.”

Calla
shook her head. “It could be months . . . or years. I can’t tell
you which. And when they come, who knows what will happen. Mahdi has control of
the very last elixir facility. They’ll be tired of war, cautious, and the war
will break down. That leads to diplomacy.”

“That’s
good, isn’t it,” Marmion said, crouching next to Calla. “That’s what should
have been done in the first place, and perhaps there wouldn’t have been a war
at all.”

“I
don’t think anyone, not the Decemvirate nor council nor a single individual
world, would have negotiated with Mahdi when this began,” Jason said. “Even if
they realized as Calla and I did that his personality and experience were such
that a show of force was as natural to him as breathing, they wouldn’t have
believed he had sufficient strength and the ability to apply that strength to
the extent that he could end up ruling all the known worlds. But their biggest
failing was in not accepting the predictions from the Decemvirate on how the
worlds would behave if war did occur. That’s what Mahdi took advantage of. He
knew they would fight one another; the Decemvirate wouldn’t be that far off. He
chose force because peace wouldn’t have worked. And in a way, maybe we should
thank him. It might have been a much longer war if the worlds were left simply
to fight each other.”

“And
I should thank Mahdi for trying to steal the prize while they were fighting
because then the worlds had nothing left to fight about?” For a moment, Marmion
had an astonished look on his face that made Jason wince. “Perhaps I should
curse Calla for intervening, too, for if she had not, the war might have been
over.”

“Curse
me when I’m finished, Marmion,” Calla said, her eyes flashing like lightning in
the moonlight.

Marmion
laughed, then was grave again. “Never, Calla. I’m just glad to hear you’re not
finished. I don’t want to live in a galaxy ruled by Mahdi’s hand. Now, what’s
your plan?”

Jason
looked at Calla to find her eyes on him. “He’s not even Dovian,” she said
simply.

“Of
course I’m not,” Marmion said, looking slightly ruffled. “You know that.”

Jason
ignored him. “What’s your plan?” he asked Calla softly.

She
stood up and moved more fully into the moonlight, looking into the canyon,
studying it. Then she turned to face them. “You and Marmion must go to the Jinn
mine. There are explosives in the chest . . . at least, there
were.”

Arria
nodded. “They’re still there.”

“While
you’re gone, Arria and I will work our way over the top of this ridge, then
down to the terrace lake. When you return, one of us will meet you at the Amber
Forest and guide you back by the least guarded route we find. When the moon has
waxed sufficiently, we’ll swim out to the caisson in the lake, plant the
explosives, and destroy Red Rocks.”