Broken (29 page)

 Broken watched, transfixed, as the agony and grief ebbed away from Monica’s face, to be replaced by the purest calm. Janeane caught her eye, and smiled a gentle, secret smile.

 
She is one of my people
, Broken thought in wondrous envy.
And her gift is peace.

"Thank you," said Monica, stepping back. She stood taller, no longer hunched in on herself, and seemed a dozen years younger than she had a moment before.

"And you," Janeane said, turning to Broken. "You’ve changed, too. I can see it."

Broken smiled and nodded, ever so slightly.

"What did you find?"

"Penny," she said softly. "It’s my name. I remembered." She looked at the ground. "I think I found other things, too, but I also lost so much…"

"I know," said Janeane. "I’m proud of both of you. The child… he looks the same. But he, too, is changed. As are we all, from day to day. Well. That ship is leaving." She gave them each a sheet of paper. "Around here, what I say goes. For now, anyway. Show that to the clerk. She’ll let you on."

"Will you come with us?" Monica asked.

 "I can’t. Not yet. But someday, I will. I promise you."

"When?"

Janeane smiled her secret little smile. "Keep an eye out for me," she said, voice warm and filled with rich promise. "By the sea."

[CHAPTER 29]

I
t worked just as Janeane had said. They got to the head of the line again, and showed the irritable clerk the piece of paper. Reading it, she smiled graciously and issued them boarding passes, instructing them to run to make the ship; they got to the ship just as boarding was ending.

They found berths easily—ships to the lesser colonies never filled up—and crowded next to the window to watch as the cavernous vessel strained and groaned, slowly lifting itself off the oceans of concrete that encased the Delmarva Peninsula, and thrusting up into the night sky. Monica held Ian tightly, and sat pressed back against the seat, eyes squeezed shut. Broken watched as the concrete receded, then was surrounded by water. The continent gradually revealed itself as they strove ever higher. Soon the curve of the Earth was visible, and, as the starship picked up speed, the blue-green sphere of the planet gradually fell away.

They left New York and the ruins of Union Tower behind. They left Yonkers and the remains of Monica’s family’s house. They left New Jersey and the whole of shattered, forgotten America, too.

Michael was down there. Had he been moved? Would they bury him? Or would he remain in that control room, eternal witness to his triumph, forever? It didn’t matter to him, not anymore.

 Had he seen it? Had he known what was coming? Probably, Broken reasoned. And what did that say?

Sky Ranger was still there. Broken ached for the man she’d lost, then so recently discovered anew. He would stay until he succeeded or died. He would almost certainly not succeed.

The ship groaned again, and Broken and Monica clutched Ian as they shuddered and sped off into hyperspace. The universe seemed to
shift—
and then nothing at all was visible out of the porthole. Earth was behind them; the colony world of Valen ahead.

* * *

The trip took more than two months. Broken and Monica spent the first few days locked in their tiny cabin, but soon, out of sheer boredom, they ventured out into the common areas of the ship.

 On the fifth day, they sat in a vast, curving lounge, away from the other passengers. Ian slept fitfully in Monica’s arms. She hadn’t let him out of her sight since they took off. From time to time, she broke the silence by singing nonsense songs to him. He didn’t seem to like them, and cried sometimes when she started to sing and bounce him awkwardly.

"Michael was so good with him," Monica said. "How did he do that?"

Michael hadn’t been good with Ian at all, Broken reflected. But there was no way to say that to Monica, whose face had lit up into a smile for the first time since Australia.

"Michael would have been a great father, don’t you think?" She sighed wistfully. "He really would have been."

Broken turned away. She couldn’t bring herself to think about Michael any longer. Ian gurgled in his sleep.

* * *

Doc administered the shot quickly, gracefully, and painlessly. "There. No problem. And we got it done before you had a chance to heal around it! Not an easy task, Silly-girl." His old nickname for her.

Silverwing rubbed her arm absently, watching the wound close up. "How long is this good for?"

"A year. You get another next June."

"Does everyone get one?"

Doc nodded. "Everyone in the Tower, from when you turn eleven. Just to be on the safe side. Didn’t they tell you about this in Health Studies?"

Sil shrugged. "Maybe."

"It’s to keep you from having a baby. You know how babies are made, right?"

She nodded soberly. There had been a video on the subject.

 "All right, then."

"What if I want to have a baby?" Silverwing asked. She hadn’t ever really considered having one, but maybe someday she would.

Doc shook his head. "You can’t. That’s the law. We aren’t allowed."

"Oh," Sil said. Her face fell. "Why?"

"Because," Doc said. "How’s that arm doing?"

"Fine," she said.

"Okay. I have other people to see, so get a move on. I’ll see you next week for a checkup, right?"

She nodded.

"All right, then. Off you go."

* * *

Sky Ranger would have been a horrible father, she realized. Broken sneaked a look at Ian, who had fallen back to sleep after an hour of nonstop wailing. She probably wouldn’t have been a great mother, either. But, as with so many things in her life, it would have been nice to have had the choice.

Michael, whose life seemed to run on rails, hadn’t really had choices, either. Or had he? He must have known what was going to happen to him, right? She didn’t say this to Monica, but kept it  to herself, guarding it like a jewel, holding it close to her heart.

He knew. He knew all his possibilities ended in a dark room with a man and a gun. But he went to Australia anyway.

* * *

 Monica and Broken spoke little of the past, but more of their hopes for the future.

 "Valen will have fewer Black Bands," Monica said. "Don’t you think? I heard some of the other passengers talking about that."

"Maybe," Broken said thoughtfully. "It would be nice."

"We can live there without being afraid. That’s why a lot of people are on this trip. To get away."

 "Mm," Broken murmured, smiling. "What do you want to do once you’re there?"

"I... don't know. Maybe go back to school? There are colleges on Valen, right?"

"I have no idea."

* * *

 Monica had heard of the Blues, a religious group who followed the wisdom of the prophet Valentino Altrera. He was the one for whom Valen had been named.

"I followed one prophet, I can follow another," Monica announced. "I want to at least go to the Great Temple in Arve."

 Broken agreed to this. Arve was Valen’s capital and only major city. They would land near there. Other than that, they were coming to realize they knew next to nothing about their destination

 "I’ve also heard they help people who need it," Monica said quietly. "Maybe they can help us, too."

 Both of them looked at Ian, snoozing in Monica’s arms. They still hadn’t talked about what they were going to do with him once they arrived.

 The future seemed much wilder and more unknowable than ever. Not for the first time, Broken wished she had Michael back, so he could explain it to her.

* * *

Ian grew a little bigger, and started crawling aggressively all over the ship. The other passengers got used to the sight of him, scooting along happily while either Monica or Broken chased him.

* * *

One day, Broken stopped Monica as she was going to take a shower.

"Monica," she said. "I want to be Penny from now on. Okay?"

Monica smiled. "Of course. Penny. I like that name. It’s very pretty."

Penny nodded thoughtfully. "It doesn’t suit me. But it’s
mine
."

* * *

They saw Valen for the first time as a small blue globe hanging tantalizingly in front of the forward viewport. Passengers yelled and cheered. Valen was like a blue beacon of freedom for all of them. Here, the heavy hand of Peltan’s Confederation would not be so keenly felt—at least not for a little while, yet. Penny didn’t need to see the future to know that it wouldn’t last.

 But for now, they were safe.

[CHAPTER 30]

T
he starship, to their surprise, did not land. Instead, they docked at an orbital station, where shuttles waited patiently to take them to Arve. It was explained that no one on Valen wanted to create a concrete sea like Delmarva. Penny and Monica, gazing on the pristine blue-white beauty of the planet below, had to agree.

A cheerful, talkative man ferried them down to the surface in his four-seater. On the way, he told them about his home in the hills outside Arve, and how glad he was he had come from Ohio to here.

"No comparison," he said several times. "No way. This place is great.  Some weird people, religious stuff, but mostly people leave each other be. You’ll see. It's great!"

They landed at a small spaceport outside the city. When Penny first stepped out of the spacecraft and onto Valen’s surface, she was surprised at how light she felt. The gravity here was a little less than Earth’s. She breathed in. The air smelled sweet, fresh. The sky was a somewhat different shade of blue, though. She’d have to get used to that.

 Arve was a motley collection of temporary-looking prefabricated structures mixed in with the occasional more permanent stone or brick building. The streets were laid out in an orderly grid, although many of the blocks were still entirely empty. The city was new and bright, and people seemed happy and optimistic wherever they went. Every once in a while, they encountered men and women dressed entirely in blue walking the streets, talking to people. The Blues, Penny guessed; the followers of Val Altrera.

They walked into the city, taking turns carrying Ian. They saw no Confederation military or Black Bands anywhere. They learned later that while some on Valen supported Peltan, the Reformist militia didn’t exist here. The Valenane thought them bizarre.

They made their way to a large temple in the western quarter of Arve, and knocked on a door set apart from the main entrance, without knowing why. An old man dressed in a blue robe opened it.

His face lit up when he saw Ian. "Well, little man!" he said. "Well!" He noticed Penny and Monica. "What can I do for you two?"
"We—" Penny began, but Monica cut her off.

"Sanctuary," she said. "Please."

The man nodded. "You are welcome. Just come from Earth?"

* * *

The keepers of the Blue Order, the ones who followed Val Altrera, took them in, as Monica had hoped. Many other immigrants had come to West Arve Temple, as well. The monks here took their duties seriously, and helped as many as they could.

 As time passed, they started seeing Black Bands and Reformist signs in the streets, sometimes, but still far, far fewer than at home. Here on Valen, Earth and its politics were very distant.

 Life at the temple took on a peaceful rhythm. They awoke with the men and woman of the Order at dawn, said a quick morning prayer of thanks and asked for strength and wisdom to complete the day’s tasks. Then Penny and Monica helped do chores like watering and ridding the gardens of the—strange purplish weeds that threatened the delicate Earth transplants— sweeping the wood and stone floors, and tending to the sick, infirm, and elderly refugees who stayed in the massive temple complex. Then lunch, and other chores or, if there was nothing else to do, time to explore what there was of the city.

 Penny found that she liked evenings best, though, when the entire temple community gathered to sing, chat, and pray. It was peaceful, and the monks made a point  of making everyone gathered there feel welcome. Even though Penny didn’t necessarily believe in all of the words the monks said, she still felt, for the first time in a long time, that she
belonged
somewhere.