Reading the Wind (Silver Ship) (30 page)

Approval touched his green eyes. “Perhaps, if I were much younger, I would fall in love with that answer.”

She dropped her eyes. “Can we park my skimmer here while we are gone?”

“Sure. I’ll move the extra skimmers into the hangar after you leave.” He made a little bow. “Would you like to see your chariot?”

Induan nodded, and Marcus turned toward the hangar. Then Alicia pointed behind us. Another skimmer, one I didn’t recognize, heading our way. This one must be my father.

It was.

I felt strangely neutral, with only small butterflies in my stomach as he climbed out. He stopped, as if waiting for something.

It took me three breaths, but I nodded hello. His eyes showed me that wasn’t what he wanted, but it was all I had to give.

Marcus frowned at us both as if lost in thought. He looked at my father and said, “Someone needs to wait here for Jenna. Can you do that?”

My father nodded, all the light gone from his eyes.

Marcus said, “Follow me,” and the rest of us did.

The big green building was plain and utilitarian, with high windows that didn’t encourage looking in or out. We stood by the door. I jumped when it demanded, “Identity please,” in a high feminine voice.

“Marcus.” A bar of light played across his face. The door clicked. Marcus pushed on a spot on the wall in front of him, and the door slid open as silently as skimmer doors and the doors of the
New Making
. Inside, I saw an interior wall, and between the door and the wall, a wide, blank corridor that went both directions. He stepped inside, heading to the right.

We followed, me behind him, Alicia and Induan after me. My soft boots made little scraping sounds, Alicia’s sport-shoe-clad feet made almost inaudible taps, and Induan made no noise at all.

Marcus opened another silently sliding doorway, and lights flooded a tall rounded room. I stood, gaping.

Creator
.

Her silver skin glowed in the lights. Her lines were all curves, like the organic curves of calf muscles in a runner’s legs. I drew in a sharp breath at her beauty. Tall and thin, she seemed coiled on her haunches, ready to spring.

Other than
Creator
, the room was empty except for a neat stack of supplies just inside the door.

I already knew
Creator
inside and out, but only from simulations and diagrams. I needed to touch her. I walked up and placed my palm
and splayed fingers gently against her sleek side, feeling the cool silver of her skin. I loosened my shields, just a bit, and a spark of connectivity flowed almost immediately between me and the ship, as if either I or the coat I wore attracted her. Ship’s chatter—status, commands, and the movement of parts and robots—filled my being.

My father would pilot her out of the system, so I would have to wait to truly merge with her, but touching her helped me know she was real. I let go of her reluctantly, feeling an immediate pang of separation.

Her door opened to Marcus’s command and the four of us went in.
Creator
gleamed, every surface perfect. She smelled of metal and oil, of fresh water and green growing things. Marcus glanced at me. “Can you show Alicia and Induan around while I run diagnostics?”

“Sure,” I said, gesturing for the girls to follow me. I turned around to ask Induan if she had even been inside a space ship. Alicia grinned up at me with a slightly self-satisfied smirk, and Induan was nowhere to be seen.

A flash of movement caught my eye. Induan, waving at me, a slip of silver against the silver corridor. Her hair, skin, and even her clothes now matched the silver ship instead of the white surface outside. “Wow,” I exclaimed. “One of your mods?”

She nodded, smiling, showing me that her teeth remained as white as the rest of her had been. Alicia stepped past me, probably curious about the ship. Induan’s skills undoubtedly didn’t surprise her.

I shook my head. “Is that automatic, or do you have to tell it to do that?”

“I can turn it on or off, but if it’s on, it’s automatic.” She demonstrated by becoming suddenly normal—with soft blond hair, pale skin, and normal-blue eyes. None of her beauty faded with the loss of the exotic colors.

“So what about the clothes?”

“The receptors in my skin talk to receptors in the clothes. But only special clothes.”

Alicia was wearing the same outfit. I turned around to find my dark-haired pale girl had turned a bright silver. I blew out a long whistle. “How?”

“Some mods don’t take too long. Jenna let me and Bryan each pick one we thought we could use on Fremont.”

I didn’t get to do that! “What did Bryan pick?”

Alicia turned off her silver. “I better not tell on him,” she said. She leaned in and gave me a kiss, her lips soft and sweet.

We resumed our exploration of the ship with no further surprises, except the lush beauty of the pocket garden that showed Marcus’s unique touch: the tomatoes glowed bright red.

After about a half an hour, the three of us trooped into the control room. Marcus sat still, a blissful look on his face. After a moment, he shook himself loose from the ship, still smiling. “She’s fine. She’ll get you there. Jenna should be here any minute—she just messaged me.” He glanced at Alicia. “Do you know your way around enough to load the boxes outside into the hold?”

She glanced at Induan. “Want to help?”

The chameleon girl grinned. Marcus gave them a few more specific instructions, and we went back outside, arriving just as Jenna’s skimmer landed.

Marcus started toward it at a light jog. I raced a bit to catch him. By the time we reached it, four people had climbed out: Jenna, Bryan, Tiala, and a woman I’d never seen before in my life, but whom I knew, deep in my bones, was from Islas. Maybe it was the cut of her nearly uniformlike light blue tunic and straight-legged pants, or her short dark hair, or something subtle about her features. She fit the profile I’d been studying. An Islas expatriot?

Whatever she was, Marcus walked right up to her and folded her briefly in his arms. “Dianne.”

When they separated, Dianne had a bright glow on her face. She cast her wide, dark eyes down for a moment before she looked back up at him. “Of course I came. I hope that I will be able to help.”

“I’ve no doubt of that.” He turned to us. “Joseph, I’d like you to meet Dianne Kiron. Consider her my contribution to this trip. My best addition, if you will, besides your transportation.” He sounded quite proud of himself.

I extended a hand to her. “You are from the Islas Autocracy?” I asked.

Her eyes rounded and her mouth made a little “o.” “Marcus said that you are smart.” She hesitated, searching my face as if trying to decide whether or not to trust me. She gave a tiny nod. “Yes. Marcus
suggested you may need someone who understands the Star Mercenaries on this trip.”

“We might.” How had she fit into Islan society? Was she a Star Mercenary, a scribe, a merchant, an artist or what?

Marcus glanced at Jenna. “There’s no one else, is there?”

She shook her head, her voice slightly bitter. “I asked some old friends and they are all doing other things. So yes, let’s get going.”

Bryan spoke up. “Then who is that?”

We all looked up together. Another skimmer. Marcus frowned. “Port Authority.” His jaw tightened and his green eyes grew cold. “They have no jurisdiction here—this is a private port that doesn’t use any of the government spaceports. We have the trip cleared.”

Regardless, the skimmer kept coming. It was easily three times as big as any of ours on the ground. My skin crawled.

Marcus said, “Go, Joseph. It will be okay. I’ll take care of this.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “Take everyone except your dad. Help Alicia and Induan get the last boxes loaded.”

Jenna glanced at the incoming Port Authority and then at our skimmers. “Wait—the last of our supplies. Take what’s in my skimmer.” She strode quickly there, opened the top and the side doors, and began lifting boxes carefully from between and under the seats, handing one to each of us. Dianne’s was small, and fit in the crook of her arm. Mine was heavy, and I started right off with it, wanting to make it inside as soon as possible.

We’d left the doors open. I walked in, set my box down, and stood by the door. Dianne passed me first, her eyes rising to meet mine for just a moment. Something like worry or fright touched them, and she nodded at me, nearly deferential. It felt strange to have a grown woman look at me that way. What had Marcus told her about me?

Jenna followed, her face set, her eyes on Dianne in front of her. Tiala followed Jenna, looking naked without her bird, Bell. This was the first time I’d seen the two sisters close to each other since Jenna’s miraculous healing, and their similarity made me smile. No wonder I’d mistaken Jenna for Tiala. Bryan walked easily along the rear, the only one carrying a larger box than mine. He smiled at me. “We’re going home.”

I nodded. “We sure are.” I glanced back at the pile of skimmers
outside, where the Port Authority’s big skimmer was just landing. “We are,” I whispered.

He stopped, looking over his shoulder at the Authority, too. “No matter what.”

I clapped him on the back, suddenly realizing that he was no longer playing big brother, but just brother. Maybe he thought I could protect myself these days. I looked for some sign of the mod he had chosen. He didn’t look any different. But then, I hadn’t noticed anything different about Alicia. I jerked my head down-corridor. “Go on. I’ll catch up.”

He went.

I made sure the box I’d set down wasn’t visible through the door, then flattened myself against the wall, peering around quickly to get a good look.

Lukas walked up to Marcus and extended a hand. Uniformed Port Authority people were climbing out of the skimmer, seven so far, and more coming. I peeled my head back, slowly, trying not to draw attention. This would be a great time for a chameleon mod. Except Induan had been pretty visible against the white surfaces out here, and both girls had been three-dimensional etchings against the silver surfaces of the ship. Now, if we were in the Lace Forest at home …

I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. That meant no one was yelling at anyone, which was probably good. I should do what Marcus told me to, and get us ready. The scene outside the door pulled at me—I needed to know what was happening.

What if we had to take off?

In spite of everything he’d done, I didn’t want to leave my father behind. Sweat beaded my forehead. I picked up my box, and raced as fast as I could to the ship.

I stood in the rounded ship’s bay, panting. The pile of boxes being loaded had shrunk to ten or twelve. Bryan was heading down the ramp, empty-handed, coming for a fresh load. I shoved the heavy box at him, sighing with relief as he took it, grabbed two lighter ones, then a third, and the two of us headed back in. “I don’t like this,” I said.

“Did you learn anything?”

I shook my head. “I can’t hear them. But it’s Lukas, the same creep that met us off the ship. How fast can we finish this?”

“Depends on how well you want the cargo strapped down.”

Good question.
Creator
maintained gravity all the time, and unlike
New Making
, it kept the same gravity over the whole ship. My father and I could control that for the first part of our flight, and we’d have time to recheck cargo before our first turn. “Doesn’t have to be perfect.”

“Good.”

As we climbed into the ship, Induan and Alicia eeled past us, going down the narrow ramp. Alicia put a hand on my back, stopping me. “What’s happening out there? Who is that woman? Who else is here?” Induan stood behind her, head cocked, an intent look on her face.

“I don’t know,” I repeated. “The woman’s name is Dianne. Jenna brought her, but Marcus picked her. You never met her?”

Alicia shook her head. “Where’s your father and Marcus? Jenna is acting all mysterious and telling us to load the cargo fast.”

“The Port Authority is here,” I whispered.

Both girls’ eyes rounded, and Induan immediately faded to the background, a chaotic shift from normal to part silver from the ship and part off-white to match the hangar walls. I bit back a laugh at the unintended consequences. “So yes, let’s get her loaded as fast as we can.” I frowned at them, arching an eyebrow, trying to be like Marcus.

Alicia looked ready to burst out laughing. “We can get most of it in one more load.” With that, they turned around, Induan still oddly striped and Alicia still normal.

I’d probably be in a lot of trouble once Alicia started turning that chameleon mod on casually.

I stared at their backs for a moment, then turned and hurried to catch up with Bryan.

Inside, Tiala and Jenna took the boxes from our arms and stacked them. Jenna easily lifted the one I’d just gratefully foisted on Bryan. I comforted myself by thinking she didn’t have to carry it far. The little hold was nearly full. We started to turn to go back for more, but Jenna barked, “Joseph! Go to the Command Room. Just in case.”

Just in case the other pilot never got in here. I swallowed and nodded. “Do you know what’s happening out there?”

“No. But you might if you got into the Command Room.”

Duh. And I’d been trying to listen outside. Of course the ship would be connected to the spaceport and to its surroundings. There were cameras. “Where is Dianne?”

“In the Command Room. Alicia and Induan are right here.” She glanced around. “Maybe. Hell, I don’t know. You worry about getting us ready to fly.”

“I’ll get the last of the boxes,” Bryan said, already partway out the door.

I raced to the Command Room. Like in the
New Making
,
Creator’s
Command Room nestled near the center of the ship, next to a galley. Four comfortable pilot-style chairs with thrust-straps sat at attention around a square silver table. In one of them, Dianne sat so still she might as well have been a statue.

I sat down opposite her.

She lifted her head, her eyes warm and soft. “Please bring up the screens.”

I closed my eyes and opened to
Creator
. It opened back—reporting out, as if eager to have a human to talk to.
Creator
’s AI was fully integrated, just
Creator
herself, unlike Starteller who rode in
New Making
but could have been separated. Merging with
Creator
, feeling her thrum through my bones, hearing the ship’s reports like thoughts inside my own head—it was like running where the
New Making
had been crawling. Or perhaps Marcus’s training had taught me more than I knew.