Earth Flight
‘Our class went to the unveiling,’ said Amalie. ‘At the top, the plaque lists the Military officers. Below that the civilians from Earth, then those from Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Mine is the last name on the list, and the only name from Epsilon. When Krath and I visited my family last month, I was shocked by the way people …’
Her face twisted as if she was trying not to cry. ‘I’m famous, Jarra. Not just on my home planet, but on every world in Epsilon sector. We’re a low population frontier sector. Only a handful of our first generation of children are studying history or in the Military, so I’m the only one with the chance to do this. I represented Epsilon during the contact with the alien sphere, and I have to join the Fortuna teams so Epsilon remains part of some of the biggest events in human history.’
I pulled a face and nodded. After being the symbol of the Handicapped and of Earth, I understood the pressure Amalie was feeling.
‘Jarra, I’m feeling horribly guilty about the grades,’ Amalie continued.
‘What? Why?’
‘Playdon’s message to me said I’m top of the class, but I know that’s only because you were in a tank for months. It isn’t fair.’
I was startled. When I first joined this course, I’d been obsessed with being the top of the class, proving I was better at everything than my norm classmates, but that seemed so trivial now.
‘Amalie, I came to this class with a big advantage over everyone else and especially you. I was an Earth girl who’d studied history and worked on the dig sites for years. You’d had patchy schooling in Epsilon sector, and you’d never even set foot on a dig site. You’ve caught up with the theory, you were tag leader for team 1 for months while I was away, and you’ve more than earned your place at the top of the class.’
‘But …’
I shook my head. ‘There’s no need for you to feel bad about it, because I think it’s wonderful.’
I finally turned to Krath, and he immediately started chatting. ‘I think going to Fortuna is a great chance. We’ll be civilian advisers, so we won’t just get our degrees without paying fees, the Military will actually be paying us! How much do they pay civilian advisers, Jarra?’
I shook my head. ‘I’ve no idea.’
‘It probably won’t be as much as a Commander or a Major,’ said Krath. ‘How much does a Commander get?’
‘I’ve no idea about that either,’ I said. ‘I’ve been a civilian on a Military scholarship, then a Major, then a Commander, then a civilian, then a Commander again, then on reduced pay in Military prison, and then a Commander again. Military Payroll is still desperately trying to sort it out.’
‘In prison?’ Dalmora sounded shocked.
I noticed Raven’s embarrassed face, and wished I hadn’t mentioned Military prison. Fortunately, Krath was staying firmly on the subject of money. ‘Fian must know what he gets paid.’
Fian grinned at him. ‘Fian does know, but Fian isn’t going to tell you.’
‘But …’ Krath’s lookup chimed and he broke off. ‘It’s my nuking dad, messaging me about an interview.’
‘He surely can’t still be hoping that Jarra and I will appear on his nardle vid channel,’ said Fian.
‘No,’ said Krath. ‘This time he wants to interview me!’
40
It was Wallam-Crane day 2789, and I was at the Earth Olympic Arena in Earth Europe for a medal ceremony. I’d taken part in one here before, when I was awarded the Artemis medal, and this ceremony had the same massive audience and hovering vid bees. Even the layout in the arena was identical; the podium in the centre, with the Military seated on one side of it and the civilians on the other.
Some things were different though. Fian and I were wearing uniforms and sitting with the Military, there were security fields guarding the arena, and the General Marshal himself stood at the podium to award the special commemorative medal for all those who’d played a part in contacting the alien sphere and in finding Fortuna.
The other thing that was different this time was the darkness outside the lights of the arena. The ceremony was being held late in the evening, because it was timed to finish just before midnight Green Time, when Earth would officially join Alpha sector.
Fian and I were the first to be called up for the Fortuna medal. The spotlights hit us as we stood, and we walked to the podium with a storm cloud of hovering vid bees surrounding us. I could see the huge arena screens showing close-ups of our faces, and knew the images would be echoed across every newzie channel in every sector.
I wondered what the news presenters were saying about how I looked, and deliberately tilted my head back to let them get a good view. Fian and I were happy with it, and if anyone else didn’t like it then they could nuke off.
The General Marshal gave us our medals, showing the red, green and blue twisted ribbons of light that had signalled the alien probe and led us to Fortuna’s moon. We saluted and turned, but it was two long minutes before the wall of vid bees would part to let us through and back to our seats.
Everyone else was going up to get their medals now, so I settled back in my chair to enjoy spotting familiar faces among the crowd. General Torrek, Colonel Stone, Colonel Leveque, Drago and Marlise among the Military. Civilian advisers were next, including Keon of course. It was too dark to see the figures in the audience, but I knew Issette would be out there going totally wild with excitement.
The ordinary civilians followed, including the dig teams who’d helped find the artefact. I applauded like crazy for the little group of Playdon, Dalmora, Amalie and Krath, and then again as Rono led up Cassandra 2.
After that, it was time for some individuals to get special medals. I knew Fian and I were getting something, but Fian wasn’t very interested in medals and I didn’t care what they gave me. I already had the golden sunburst of the Artemis on my shoulder, and no other medal could ever matter much compared to that. I was far more interested in the medals being awarded to General Riak Torrek, to Mason Leveque, to Nia Stone, and, with the arena flags dipped in salute, to the absent, murdered, Rayne Tar Cameron.
I knew Fian and I were next when the arena screens started showing the familiar vid sequence of us sending the signal to the alien sphere. That was followed by another sequence of the Fortuna defence shield shutting down. When that finished, there was an expectant hush around the arena.
‘The Pallas Athena,’ said the General Marshal. ‘Commander Jarra Tell Morrath and Major Fian Eklund.’
The what? I heard a startled gasp from Fian, which confused me even more. I’d never heard of the Pallas Athena medal, so how would Fian know about it?
We stood up again and went up to the podium. I got the new medal pinned to my shoulder, squinted down at it, but couldn’t see it well enough to get any clues. I couldn’t investigate further, because it was time to salute, and then Fian headed back to the seats by himself and the General Marshal stepped down from the podium.
A sick feeling of nerves hit me, but I clenched my fists and forced myself to step up to the empty podium. There is a medal that has its own traditions. It’s always presented last at any medal ceremony, and there are some very special rules about who should present it.
I waited for the audience to quieten down, before saying two words that brought everyone in the arena to their feet. ‘The Artemis.’
I had mixed feelings at this moment. Raven would get the Artemis, but not today. Because of the classified nature of many of their assignments, Military Security officers weren’t presented with their medals until they left active duty.
I was sad that Raven wouldn’t get the Artemis today, but glad that someone else would. Around me, the arena screens showed the vid coverage from months ago that had been classified code black until this moment. I heard shocked gasps from the audience as they saw the alien sphere fire its meteor defence and accidentally catch Drago’s fighter. That was drowned out by the magnified voices of General Torrek taking the base to war status and giving the kill order,
and then Drago desperately shouting.
‘Incoming fighters stay back, stay back! Remain at the portals. Do not engage! Do not engage!’
The sequence finished with Drago’s battered fighter coming through the portal to crash land back at base. I finally said the name that everyone was waiting for.
‘Commander Drago Tell Dramis.’
Drago came forward, looking oddly surprised. Only the General Marshal, General Torrek, Fian, myself, and a stray Captain in charge of the vid sequences officially knew about this in advance, but Drago should have guessed it would happen when he wasn’t called up for an individual medal earlier. The fact the chimera weren’t extinct was still a closely guarded secret, so publicly Drago was getting the Artemis for stopping us destroying the alien sphere, but he’d also gone down to Fortuna’s moon knowing the chimera might be there waiting for him.
Well, Drago should have guessed this would happen, but he obviously hadn’t. There was a dazed look in his eyes, and his air of boundless self-confidence was missing for once. I smiled as I pinned the medal to his shoulder, and whispered in his ear.
‘You deserve this far more than I did. I couldn’t have landed on that moon.’
He shook his head. ‘And I couldn’t have faced that operation. No one can say you haven’t earned the Artemis by now, Jarra.’
We both turned to salute the General Marshal and the ranks of the Military, they returned the salute, and the ceremony was over. Drago and I went back to our seats, and everyone in the arena and in the audience relaxed, but no one was leaving. The arena screens were black now, just showing the time counting down slowly to midnight.
I remembered the medal mystery, turned to Fian, and saw he was still looking as grazzed as Drago had been earlier. ‘Fian, what’s the Pallas Athena?’
He stared at me. ‘You don’t know?’
I shook my head. ‘My grandmother had a lot of medals, but not that one.’
‘Last year, there was a major discovery by two researchers at University Mextli who were working in the same area as my father. It really put his nose out of joint when they won the Nobel. One of the two researchers was Military, so he didn’t actually get the Nobel. Military officers are awarded the Pallas Athena medal instead.’
I blinked, and squinted down at the new medal on my shoulder. ‘You mean that’s the Military version of the … But … Why?’
‘The Pallas Athena is for an outstanding contribution to human knowledge. I suppose the General Marshal felt that getting an alien probe to communicate with us, and gaining access to a ruined alien civilization, counts as that. You certainly earned it. I’m not so sure about me, but I’m not complaining.’
He paused and gave a shaky laugh. ‘My father’s in the audience.’
I glanced across at the nearest bank of the audience. Somewhere among the shadowy figures were our friends, Fian’s mother, Candace, my history teacher, the man who’d taught me to fly, and the two kids from Home E161/8822. I hadn’t known Fian’s father was there too. ‘You gave him an arena ticket? You’re friends with him again?’
Fian shook his head. ‘Leveque gave him the ticket, not me. My father admitted he arranged for that Deltan law firm to get the court orders, and he only helped us later because the Apprentices wanted access to the alien world. We still disagree on just about everything, even the protection of humanity laws. I think there should be some flexibility about them, but my father still thinks they should be completely ignored.’
He paused. ‘I wonder what he thought when he saw me get the Pallas Athena. I hope he remembered all the times he told me studying history was a betrayal of our family tradition, and I was a disappointing failure who …’
He broke off because spotlights had flashed on, showing figures walking out into the arena. The members of the main board of Hospital Earth led the way, followed by Aadi Quilla Amarion, First Speaker of Alpha sector, and her honour guard of four Adonis Knights in full scarlet and gold regalia.
They took their positions in the centre of the arena, and the ground beneath them moved upwards so they stood on a raised stage. The Aadi of Alpha sector stepped forward, holding something long and slender that shone silver in the spotlights.
‘The symbolic torch of Alpha sector represents our guardianship of the flame of human civilization. Centuries have passed since it was last presented to a new world.’
She paused. ‘I am here today not to give that torch, but to return it to the world that lit the flame, to the birthplace of civilization, to the home of humanity, to Earth.’
The president of the board of Hospital Earth stepped forward to join her, and there was a hostile murmur from the crowd around the arena. He waited for the crowd to quieten down before he spoke.
‘Today the role of Hospital Earth changes, as Earth becomes part of Alpha sector and gains representation in Parliament of Planets. It is no longer appropriate for me to act on behalf of Earth. The symbol of Alpha sector should be handed to a citizen of this planet.’
He turned to face me. ‘The symbol of Alpha sector will be received by someone who is not just an Earth girl, but the Earth girl. Jarra Tell Morrath.’
Spotlights shone on me as I sat there, frozen with shock. The crowd were applauding madly, but I literally couldn’t move. Fian had to stand up, tug me to my feet, and push me towards the stage. I could see my own grazzed face looking at me from the arena screens, as one of the Adonis Knights came to meet me. It was a second before I recognized the resplendent figure with the ceremonial sword at his hip.
‘Please take off your jacket, Jarra,’ Raven whispered.
I was confused for a moment, then understood. I was representing Earth here, not the Military. I slipped off my jacket, revealing my sleeveless tunic, and Raven shepherded me up onto the stage, where I joined the Aadi of Alpha sector in a blaze of light. The arena screens were showing the countdown to midnight. There were only a few seconds to go now, and suddenly the crowd was yelling as if it was a Year Day party.
‘Ten! Nine! Eight!’
Aadi Quilla Amarion lifted her arm to hold the silver torch high above her head. The crowd were still chanting numbers as a flame leapt up from the torch. The spotlights went dark, and now the arena screens all showed giant close-ups of that flame.
‘Three! Two! One!’
The crowd shouted the last numbers, and the Aadi lowered the torch and held it towards me. I took it with nervous fingers, terrified I’d wreck the historic moment by dropping it. There were deafening cheers as I held the torch up in one hand. Earth was part of Alpha sector now!
I saw my image on the arena screens, and realized the real reason I’d been asked to do this wearing a sleeveless tunic. The screens only showed my head and upstretched arm, and in the pitch-dark arena those shone almost as brightly as the torch I was holding.
The screens held that image for a full minute, then fireworks shot upwards, filling the sky above the arena with a glorious rain of blue and silver, the colours of Earth seen from space. Fian came out of the darkness to put his arm round me, and we looked up at the sky as the fireworks above us were echoed by more displays in the distance.
For the past day, the Transits of every continent had been stretched to capacity as most of the population of Earth portalled to Earth Europe to be in the Green Time zone at midnight. There were crowds gathered in every shopping square, public place, and on the hillsides around the Spirit of Man monument. This was the biggest celebration Earth had ever known.
I felt the warmth of Fian’s laughter against my cheek. On Year Day 2790, the two of us would leave Earth to help search the ruins of the alien world, seeking the answers humanity needed. I could escape from the newzies and the people who wanted to kill me, stop acting the Military officer, and return to being what I’d always been at heart. An archaeologist.
I’d dreamed of the stars, and now I was going to them, but I would be back one day. I’d return to the glowing ruins of Eden, the dark caverns of Ark, the breathtaking views of t
he Roof of the World, and the mad defiance of the California Land Raft. Earth was no longer my prison, but Earth would always be my home.
My name is Jarra Tell Morrath, and you only have to look at me to know I am the Earth girl.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Janet Edwards lives in England. As a child, she read everything she could get her hands on, including a huge amount of science fiction and fantasy. She studied Maths at Oxford, and went on to suffer years of writing unbearably complicated technical documents before deciding to write something that was fun for a change. She has a husband, a son, a lot of books, and an aversion to housework.
Visit Janet at her website: www.janetedwards.com
Or on Twitter: @janetedwardsSF
ALSO BY JANET EDWARDS
Earth Girl
Earth Star
Copyright
HarperVoyager
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
77–85 Fulham Palace Road
Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by HarperVoyager 2014
Copyright © Janet Edwards 2014
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014
Cover photographs © The Natural History Museum/Alamy (comets). Pictorial Press/Alamy (sun). Alan Graf/Alamy (mountains).
Shutterstock.com (all other images).
Janet Edwards asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.