Landfall (The Reach, Book 2) (25 page)

“Outworlds?” she said.  “I don’t know what you mean.”

“The habitats that lie on the moons and planets throughout the solar system.”

“Oh.  Not much.”

“Well.  There is a complex network of communities within the Outworlds, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses.  My own Callisto, for example, is a hub for technological innovation.  Many of the great advances in science of recent years originated there.  Titan, on the other hand, has great mineral deposits and abundant livestock.  Enceladus is a great cultural hub.  They export some truly exquisite red wines.”

“Yeah, so what does this have to do with me?”

“The Outworlds each have their own political systems, their own ideals.  They’re all run very differently.  However, there is a desire amongst them to conduct trade, to buy and sell those various commodities that are specialised in each community.  In turn, all of this activity requires diplomats to wade through certain… disagreements that may arise during negotiations.  This is where our company has made its name.”

“You use psychers to bend people to your will.”

“That is a very crass way of stating our process, Ursie.”  Van Asch steepled his fingers before him as he considered.  “I would describe the company’s role more as
that of a mediator who assists opposing parties in finding a common ground.”

“But if the psycher involved in the negotiation is skilful enough, these ‘opposing parties’ wouldn’t even know they’ve been persuaded–”

“There are ethics involved in our work, Ursie,” van Asch said.  “All of this will be covered in your training.  The company’s goal is to spread understanding, not to manipulate every situation for our own ends.  You will come to understand that eventually.”

“So I’ll be some sort of diplomat?” Ursie said.  “It sounds so prestigious.”

“It is a great honour.  You are fortunate to have been chosen.”

Ursie shook her head.  “All of those years living on the street, I never thought I’d have a future like this.”  She couldn’t help but smile.  “I just figured I’d just go through life stealing what I could and hoping I wouldn’t get caught.”

Van Asch gave her a sympathetic grin.  “You never had any friends, did you, Ursie?” he said suddenly.

Ursie’s smile vanished.  “What?  Uh–”

“You always found it difficult to make friends.”  He was very still now, intent.  Behind those impenetrable sunglasses
, she pictured him staring at her with uncomfortable directness.

“I had one or two,” she said uncertainly.  She wasn’t sure if this was some kind of test, whether he wanted to see how well she could deal with interrogation or questions about her past, so she decided it would be best to answer truthfully.

“You never had any real friends,” van Asch went on, “and you know exactly why, don’t you?”

His voice was hard like granite, unsympathetic.  It made her feel very small and insignificant.

“Yes,” she said in a tiny voice.

“Tell me.”

She glanced away from him, over at the oval window.  Right at this moment she wouldn’t have cared if it had popped open and sucked her out into space.  Van Asch had backed her into a corner in which she was incredibly uncomfortable, vulnerable.  Unsure.  She didn’t want to answer his question.  She just wanted to disappear into a hole.

There were tears welling up behind her eyes.  She looked back at him, saw her own reflection in his sunglasses.

“Because I see too much.”

“You see everything, don’t you?” van Asch said evenly.  “You see every single corner of their minds.  Those people you meet.”

“Yes,” she said, biting her lip.

“You’re like an unwanted intruder who breaks into their houses, rifles through their closets, their underwear drawers.  You look through their family photos and through their garbage.  You even rummage through their fears and their dreams and their hopes, their most private places.  Don’t you.”  It was not a question.

Her voice was little more than a whisper.  “Yes.”

“You look through everything that is theirs because once you open that door, you can’t help yourself.  It just happens.”  He leaned forward.  “And how does that make you feel?”

“Ashamed.”  A tear trickled down her cheek.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t belong there.  I’ve already violated them before they’ve even opened their mouths to say hello.”

“But you can’t stop.  You can’t stop because it’s in your nature.  It’s part of who you are.”

“Yes.”

“And once you’ve violated them in this way you can barely look them in the face, let alone try to build any sort of relationship with them.”

“Please stop,” Ursie said quietly, wiping the tear away with the palm of her hand.  “Why are you punishing me like this?”

“I’m not punishing you, Ursie.  I’m telling you that I understand what you’ve been through.  In the place that we’re going to, there are many, many people who will understand you.  And with understanding comes help.”

She stopped.  “What do you mean?”

“We’re going to teach you how to control your power, Ursie.  You don’t have to be a victim of your own abilities.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt a twinge of exhilaration poking through the despair.

“How is that possible?”

Van Asch leaned back and smiled.  “That’s not a discussion for now.  It’s all ahead of you at the end of our journey.”

“But I–”

“You’ve been cooped up in here too long,” van Asch said, his voice altering to a somewhat more cheery tone.  “Why don’t you go and stretch your legs?  The walk will do you good.”

Ursie glanced at the door.  “I’m allowed to go?”

Van Asch shrugged.  “Of course.  You’re not a prisoner here.  You may come and go as you please.”

Ursie got up hesitantly.  “Uh, sure.  Okay.”

“Just remember what I told you and keep your abilities to yourself.  I know it must be difficult for you to do that, but it’s in your best interests.”

“Yeah, I’ve been trying hard.”

Van Asch slid a holophone across the table and began to play with it.

“Especially the Redmen,” he said distractedly, dragging his finger across the phone.  “They’re trained to detect psychers.  Best to stay away from them.”

“Okay.”  Ursie clasped the door handle and prepared to go outside, then turned back.  “Mr. van Asch?”

“Yes?” he said, looking up at her.

“Thank you for this opportunity.  I won’t let you down.”

He nodded and turned back to the phone.  “I know.”

Ursie took a deep breath to calm herself, then went outside.

24

Knile led Talia and Roman along the street as they closed in on the coordinates that he had memorised from the Skybreach tattoo.  There were plenty of folk shuffling along through the thoroughfare, a great throng of them providing the three companions with camouflage of sorts.  Knile kept his head low and tried to blend in as best he could, and the other two did the same, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention.  They made good time and, more importantly, did not spy Capper or any of his men in the vicinity.

“Are we there?” Roman said for possibly the tenth time in an hour.

“No.” Knile said.  “But it’s not far away now.”

“How far?”

Knile stopped and pulled both of them close, forming a huddle as the crowd moved around them.

“Listen, we have to talk about something,” he said.

“What is it?” Talia said.

“I want to set some ground rules about this whole Skybreach thing,” he said.  “I’m not just going to blunder into this place like a blind man walking over the edge of a cliff.”

“What do you suggest?” Roman said.

Knile held up one palm and began to tick items off on his fingers.

“First, I’m not going to wander into any abandoned warehouses.  I don’t want to end up in some secluded place that we can’t escape from if things go bad.”

“But they’re a secret organisation,” Roman said.  “I think there’s a good chance they’re going to be hiding somewhere.”

“Too bad.  If it looks dodgy, we walk away, and I don’t care how much you want this, Roman.  This isn’t our last shot.  We have other options if this doesn’t work out, so there’s no reason to put all of our eggs in one basket.”

“I agree,” Talia said.  “One hundred percent.”

Roman sighed.  “All right.”

“So,” Knile went on, “no underground passages.  No dead ends.  I’m going to need to talk to these people in a public place first.  If that doesn’t happen, we’re going to try our luck elsewhere.”

“Yeah.  Got it,” Roman said.

“Second, I want to have the final say on what we do.  If at any point I decide things aren’t working out, or if things feel wrong, I’m going to leave.  I don’t want to have a committee meeting when that happens.  You two follow, no questions asked.  Got it?”

They both nodded.

“Is that it?” Roman said.

“For now.  If anything else comes up I’ll let you know.  Now keep close.”  He glanced at the coordinates on his holophone.  “We’ve almost reached the place.”

They continued on for another few minutes up the street.  The neighbourhood was somewhat typical of Link, cluttered with dilapidated apartments that had seen many years without maintenance.  Traders were out on the streets peddling their wares from the back of their carts, and above, children peered out from behind closed windows as they watched the street below.

Talia felt exposed out here.  She wanted to be out of the public eye, away from the stares of desperate men and women who would be only too happy to point her pursuers in the right direction for a handful of creds.  So far there had been no sign of Capper or Crumb, but several times during the day she had imagined their faces peering down from the windows above with gleeful intent.  She had braced herself for them to appear at any moment, swooping down in superior numbers and taking the three of them by force.  She must have been clenching her jaw this whole time, because now the muscles in her neck ached with a persistent throb that made it hard to concentrate.

She clamped a hand onto the back of her neck and rubbed, squeezing her eyes shut and grimacing at the pain as her fingers dug into the muscles under her pony tail.

Suddenly she ran into something.

It was Knile.  She’d been keeping close behind him, near enough to almost brush against his back, and now she had blundered into him as he had come to a stop.

“What is it?” she gasped, looking about desperately and fearing the worst.

“Calm down,” Knile said.  “We’ve reached the perimeter of the first coordinates.”
“And?” Roman said eagerly.

“I think I’m seeing new coordinates on the tattoo,” Knile said.  “But I need somewhere darker to be sure.”  He shuffled through the crowd and made his way over to the edge of the street, where the pavement
was
drenched in the shadows of the apartments above.  He covered his forearm with his hand and peered down at the tattoo.  “Yes, I can see new coordinates.  There must be a transmitter nearby that’s sending out the right frequency to light them up.”

“What does it say?” Roman said.

“No secret invitation, just numbers.”  He began to tap on his holophone.  “There, I’ve plugged them in.  Looks like the final spot is…”  He trailed off.

“What?” Talia said.

“It’s just a few doors down.”

The three of them looked at each other with a mixture of dread and anticipation.  It was the kind of look they might have exchanged had they been standing on the edge of a bridge, preparing to take the plunge down into the icy depths of the river below. 
We’re this close.  Are we ready to go all the way?  Do we dare?

“Well, let’s check it out,” Roman enthused.

“All right,” Knile said.  He glanced at Talia.

“Yeah.  I’m in.”

Knile pointed.  “This way.”