Earth Star

  ‘You can sit inside my fighter, Jarra,’ said Drago. ‘You can run the pre-flights and take her up on hovers, but I’m not giving you the portal codes, so you aren’t taking her into orbit.’

  When we reached the lead fighter with the gold flashes on its side, Drago tapped his wrist. I hadn’t even been able to see a line in the ebony beauty of the ship, but now the whole side unfolded and I eagerly climbed in. Drago squeezed in beside me, and gave a tormenting grin back at Fian before he closed the cockpit on us.

  ‘I’m afraid it’s a tight fit for two.’

  I was staring at the controls. ‘Hovers. Flight. Attack grid. Oh zan!’

  Drago laughed. ‘You’re killing my ego here, Jarra. I’m being outclassed on sex appeal by my own fighter.’

  ‘What?’ I asked. ‘Sorry, I was looking at the attack grid.’

  He sighed. ‘Never mind.’

  ‘Can I run the pre-flights now?’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  I triggered the pre-flights, the screens ran through the system checks, and the attack grid holos flickered into life around me in the final sequence.

  ‘Amaz!’ My eyes widened, and the holo grid echoed their movements as I looked to left and right. Bright red circles focused to target first the portal ahead of me, and then Fian, who was standing to one side of the group of fighters. I hastily turned my eyes away from him.

  ‘I can’t shoot by accident?’

  ‘No,’ said Drago. ‘You haven’t confirmed firing sequence, and anyway safeties automatically engage when you’re on the ground. You’d have to deliberately override.’

  ‘Good,’ I said breathlessly. ‘I’d hate to shoot up the place by mistake.’

  I spent five more glorious minutes playing with the attack grid, and then ended pre-flight checks.

  ‘Hovers now?’

  ‘If you want,’ said Drago. ‘Watch it though. She’s not going to respond like a standard aircraft.’

  I nodded, checked the hover controls were the same as the ones I’d seen before, and engaged lifts. The fighter lifted smoothly upwards, but when I tried moving forward I pulled a face.

  ‘She’s very sluggish.’

  ‘Flies like a rock in atmosphere.’ Drago sounded amused. ‘This isn’t what she’s designed for. She comes to life out in space. Sorry you can’t try that.’

  ‘Not as sorry as I am.’ I carefully landed the fighter again. ‘Thanks Drago, that was very special for me. I appreciate it.’

  I hit the cockpit release and climbed out. Drago followed me, and Fian came hurrying over to join us. I waited until he was standing next to me before I turned to frown at Drago.

  ‘Now, Drago, I think it’s time you stopped using me to make Marlise jealous.’ I saw his forehead wrinkle. ‘And don’t try to lie your way out of this, because you can’t.’

  Drago pulled a rueful face. ‘How did you find out?’

  ‘I knew Marlise didn’t approve of you paying attention to a kid like me, so at first I thought she was deliberately appearing whenever you were flirting with me. Then I realized it was actually the other way around. We’d be having a perfectly sensible conversation until Marlise walked into the room, but then you’d suddenly start paying me compliments and kissing my hand.’

  He groaned. ‘How long have you known?’

  ‘A few days.’

  Fian joined in the conversation. ‘Jarra wanted to see your fighter before she yelled at you.’

  Drago laughed. ‘You’ve been playing me along, using me, Jarra.’

  ‘You started it, Drago.’

  ‘I was a desperate man,’ said Drago. ‘Marlise is my deputy, so Military regulations put me at a huge disadvantage. I can’t so much as kiss her without a legal contract. When she warned me not to flirt with Jarra, I thought that …’

  ‘I don’t care what’s going on between you and Captain Weldon,’ interrupted Fian. ‘I just want you to stay away from Jarra.’

  ‘You’ve no need to worry,’ said Drago. ‘I’d never have flirted with her if there was the remotest risk of her falling for me. It’s perfectly obvious from the way Jarra looks at you that she isn’t interested in me or anyone else.’

  He grinned and saluted. ‘Major Jarra Tell Morrath, you have my Military Oath that I will behave towards you with perfect propriety in future. I formally request a truce.’

  I glanced at Fian.

  ‘All right,’ he agreed. ‘On condition I get to hit Drago at least once. I know exactly where I’m going to hit him as well!’

  11

  The day the Military first detected the sphere was officially designated Day Zero. We were now on Day Twelve, and the threat assessment from Commander Mason Leveque ticked up a little higher with each failed attempt to contact the sphere. It was now an ominous 74 per cent.

  I normally slept solidly through every night, but now I would wake in the early hours, lie listening to Fian’s quiet breathing, and thank the deity that I wasn’t Colonel Torrek. I could only begin to imagine the strain of being in command of something like this, and the temptation to end the suspense by ordering an attack. Day after day, the Colonel remained an example of calm, confident and patient leadership. Respect!

  Today, I was distracted from thoughts of aliens by something purely personal. I’d made a promise, and it was time to honour it. Fian and I stood at the desk in the parcel room, giving handprints to acknowledge the receipt of two tiny boxes. The young lieutenant behind the desk looked amused by Fian’s totally powered expression.

  ‘Something important, sir?’ he asked.

  ‘Our rings,’ said Fian, pride and joy just bubbling out of him.

  I bravely smiled. We’d got our rings, and somehow I was going to force myself to put mine on my finger. Fian was so happy about this that I couldn’t let him down.

  ‘Congratulations and mutual joy,’ said the lieutenant.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Fian, and he turned to kiss me.

  ‘Chimera shred you,’ said a voice from behind us. ‘Isn’t it enough to have sex with the ape in private, must you kiss the thing in public as well?’

  Fian whirled to face the owner of the voice. ‘Shut your mouth!’

  ‘I outrank you, Captain,’ said the voice. ‘You’ll moderate your tone, and address me as “sir”.’

  I’d been standing there like a nardle, utterly shocked by the unexpected attack. Now I forced myself to turn around and saw an unknown man in a Major’s uniform. He outranked Fian, and the poor lieutenant behind the desk certainly couldn’t do anything, so it was up to me. I tried to match the quiet dignity of Professor Chan.

  ‘I’m sure you don’t realize how disrespectful your comments were to a fellow officer.’

  ‘Just let me flatten him,’ said Fian.

  This was a nice idea in theory, but the exo Major was a bulky man, with the advantage of a dozen years in age and Military training in unarmed combat. I could imagine what would happen if Fian tried to hit him, and it wasn’t a nice picture.

  ‘Apes don’t deserve respect,’ said the Major. ‘Get out of here, and don’t make the mistake of kissing humans in public again.’

  ‘I’m your equal in rank so you can’t give me orders.’

  He shook his head. ‘I earned my rank, throwback. I wasn’t just tossed it out of favouritism. I’ve been a Major for three years so I have seniority.’

  The dignified diplomatic approach had just given the Major the chance to point out I had no real right to the insignia on my sleeve, and I wasn’t sure what to do next. I considered what chance Fian and I would have in a combined physical attack. I’d done some civilian unarmed combat training, but that …

  The sound of a cheerful voice made everyone turn and look towards the door.

  ‘I think you’ll find I’m the most senior officer present,’ said Drago Tell Dramis. ‘Jarra, Fian, you can leave me to handle this.’

  ‘It’s none of your business, Drago,’ said the Major.

  ‘Don’t address me by my first name,
Major Maven,’ said Drago. ‘I’m speaking to you formally in my capacity as Commander Stone’s deputy and your senior officer in the chain of command.’

  ‘All right, Major Tell Dramis, sir! You’re my current chain of command, but my opinion of apes isn’t a command concern. I’m entitled to think what I like.’

  ‘Entirely wrong.’ Drago tapped the lookup on his left forearm. ‘Nia, it’s Drago. Code black in the parcel room. It seems Major Maven objects to Captain Eklund Twoing with one of the Handicapped.’

  ‘On my way.’ Nia Stone’s brisk voice was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

  Major Maven was looking far less confident now. ‘What’s going on?’

  Drago grinned. ‘You’ll soon find out.’

  I’d dragged Fian back to the doorway of the room, to make sure he didn’t try hitting Maven, but there was no way either of us were going to leave. It was less than two minutes before we had to scamper out of the way to allow Commander Stone into the room. She spoke instantly.

  ‘Major Maven, you are relieved from command of Attack shift 6. A detachment from Military Security will escort you to your quarters to pack your things. You will then transfer to Military Base 43 Lima in Kappa sector, and remain there until further notice.’

  Major Maven obviously didn’t believe this. ‘Because I called Major Tell Morrath an ape? I know she’s the Colonel’s pet, but this is ridiculous.’

  I didn’t believe this either. ‘This really isn’t necessary, Commander Stone. I can cope with the odd insult, and you need an Attack shift leader more than you need me.’

  Nia Stone shook her head. ‘Major Tell Morrath, the last thing that I or humanity need is Major Maven sitting in a fighter with his weapons aimed at the sphere. If he can’t control his prejudice against a Handicapped member of his own species, how can we trust him in a position where he can start a war with an alien race?’

  ‘Oh.’ I was utterly grazzed. ‘Yes. Yes, I see that.’

  I had to dodge out of the way again at this point, because Military Security had arrived to remove Major Maven. Their highest rank was a Captain, but the Major wasn’t fool enough to argue seniority with people who’d answer him politely while physically dragging him away.

  ‘I’m afraid we’ve been using you to hunt for security risks in the Attack team, Jarra,’ continued Nia Stone. ‘My apologies, but the stakes here are very high. I didn’t explain what was going on, because I hoped and believed the men and women under my command were all clean and there would be no problems. I deeply regret I was wrong.’

  I suddenly had a whole new understanding of the situation. Colonel Torrek had wanted to call in someone Handicapped to test his officers for prejudice, and he’d naturally thought of me. He’d known my grandmother, met me at her Honour Ceremony, and again after the Solar 5 crash. I was probably the only one of the Handicapped he personally knew and I was ideal for the job he needed me to do. If he made me Military, then any bigots wouldn’t just be furious at an ape parading around the base wearing a uniform, they’d have to constantly suffer seeing the Artemis medal on the throwback’s shoulder as well. To add the final touch of offensiveness, I even had a norm boyfriend.

  All Colonel Torrek had to do was find a plausible excuse for the Alien Contact programme to call me and Fian in. We were studying pre-history, so he’d used the History team as a reason. It was a bit surprising, to say the least, that he’d call in a couple of Foundation course students alongside highly renowned experts. A few people would probably raise their eyebrows and comment on him playing favourites because of his feelings for my grandmother, but only Stone and Leveque were in a position to actually ask the Colonel what the chaos he thought he was doing, and they both knew exactly what was going on.

  As it turned out, both Fian and I had made some useful contributions, which probably limited the speculation about us. From the point of view of the Military, calling us in had been a great success. From my own point of view, I’d been cold-bloodedly used, set up to be a target for the prejudiced, and I should be furious but …

  Nia Stone was right. The stakes here were far too high for me to start whining about hurt feelings.

  ‘My home planet and everyone I care about are at risk here,’ I said. ‘I’ll do anything it takes to keep them safe. Anything at all.’

  ‘Thank you. I very much appreciate you taking this so well.’ Nia Stone turned to Drago. ‘No other signs of trouble?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’ve been watching Jarra like a hawk, and not a whisper until now, but we must consider the rest of shift 6 as suspect. Even if they weren’t originally prejudiced, they may have been influenced by Maven’s views.’

  Nia Stone nodded. ‘Because of their schedule, they’ve had little contact with Jarra. I’ll fix that by swapping shift 6 over with shift 3.’

  Drago turned to grin at Fian. ‘Please kiss Jarra in front of them as soon as possible. We were counting on your relationship triggering revealing reactions from any bigots, but we hadn’t allowed for you being Deltan. The pair of you have been so restrained in public that I had to flirt with Jarra myself to try and stir things up.’

  There was a shocked gasp from Fian.

  ‘Which leaves us needing a replacement team leader,’ said Nia Stone. ‘I can fill in there myself for a day or two.’

  ‘I’m shift 2 leader,’ said Drago. ‘If you’re moving them to shift 3, I could stay out there as leader for a double shift.’

  Stone shook her head. ‘Too many tiring hours in an impact suit, Drago. We need everyone out there to be fully alert.’

  I glanced at Fian and we headed back to our quarters. I broke the silence as we entered Dome 9. ‘You’re very quiet.’

  ‘I was thinking about … You don’t mind what they did? They set you up to be insulted.’

  ‘Given the reason, it would be childish to resent it. I meant what I said. I’d do anything to stop someone like Maven deliberately shooting at the sphere. A few insults don’t matter. I’ve heard plenty of them.’

  I hesitated on the brink of telling Fian about Petra, but decided this wasn’t the right time. It was bad enough that Major Maven had tried to spoil Fian’s pleasure in getting our rings, without souring things further by discussing Petra.

  ‘Well,’ said Fian, ‘if it really doesn’t bother you … Do you believe what Drago just said about the flirting?’

  I shook my head. ‘Not a word. Drago’s the finest liar in the Military.’

  Fian startled me with a sudden laugh. ‘Jarra, do you realize we’ve been ordered to kiss each other in public? My parents would be horrified, but failing to obey Alien Contact programme is a crime against humanity so … I told you the Colonel recruited me because I was your boyfriend, and I was right!’

  He was helpless with laughter now, and I couldn’t help joining in. Eventually, we reached our room and Fian pulled himself together enough to unwrap his small box.

  ‘Now, we exchange rings!’

  I watched him nervously. ‘I hope you like them.’

  ‘I told you, I’m happy with whatever rings you want.’ He opened his box and frowned at the contents. ‘This is a ring?’

  ‘It’s flowgold,’ I explained. ‘It moulds to your finger when you wear it, so it’s perfectly safe under an impact suit. When it hasn’t got anything to mould to, it doesn’t look much like anything.’

  Fian doubtfully picked up the lump of flowgold, and waited while I unwrapped an equally crumpled golden blob. We solemnly exchanged rings. There was no point at all in this, since they were completely identical, but Fian was keen on the idea and I didn’t want to spoil his fun.

  ‘So … how do we put them on?’ asked Fian.

  ‘It’s supposed to be a bit like putting on an impact suit. Roll it smoothly down the finger.’ I prodded mine. ‘Of course, first you have to find the hole.’

  ‘There is a hole?’ asked Fian.

  ‘Somewhere,’ I said. ‘Ah.’

  I’d succeeded in getting my ring
on the tip of my finger. It felt creepy, and the memory of my poor lost little finger came flooding back. My replacement little finger was itching madly in panic.

  ‘I suppose this gets easier with practice,’ said Fian, still trying to find a hole in his ring. ‘It must … Zan, I did it!’

  He rubbed his ring downwards until it was on the base of his finger. It gradually smoothed itself out, turning into a convincing ring shape. He examined it closely, and looked questioningly at me.

  ‘Jarra, there are no markings on this. Have I got it on properly?’

  I’d been staring uneasily at the gold blob at the tip of my finger, but now I looked up, hot with embarrassment.

  ‘Well, I thought that was better than getting specific Twoing rings. Keon and Issette can buy new ones with end-date markings for each Twoing contract, because ordinary gold and diamonds are cheap to make, but flowgold isn’t, and markings are expensive because they have to imprint them in the …’

  I realized I was babbling and broke off. ‘Anyway, I thought you’d like it that way.’

  ‘Jarra, I love it! No end-date markings, that’s … That’s zan, Jarra.’

  ‘Keon and Issette are planning a full year Twoing contract next. We could do the same.’

  Fian grinned at me. ‘We can do whatever you like. The rings have no end-date markings, so I know …’

  I looked at his face, and knew I had to get over my nardle fear and put my ring on properly. I forced myself to smooth the evil thing down my finger, and watched it flow properly into shape. I gave it a nervous prod and saw how it flexed with my skin. It was weird. There’d never been a recorded accident involving a flowgold ring, and I couldn’t even feel I was wearing it, but I was still tensely waiting for it to bite off my finger.

  ‘What now?’ I asked. ‘You want to call your parents and show them?’

  ‘Yes, but later.’ He gave me a huge grin. ‘I have something else in mind first.’

  12

  The huge tropical bird dome of Zoo Europe is one of my favourite places. The birds flying among the trees like airborne jewels, the wildness of the plants, and the moist earth scent of the place is totally amaz. Eden Dig Site was surrounded by genuine rainforest, but I couldn’t walk among those trees without an impact suit to protect me from danger. The fabric would block me from touching the leaves, and the air system would cut me off from the smells. I’d never be able to experience it like this.