Requiem (21 page)

'Which
door?!'

'That one!'
said Belameir, pointing two doors down on the left side of the
wall.

Seline
instinctively went right. The door started to slide open. She
forced it to the side with her free hand.

Images from a
large screen at the front of the room switched between different
colours and shades of light, providing momentary glimpses of the
room. Another lecture hall, Seline guessed. Seline and Belameir
made their way up the stairs leading down one of the isles and
found a seat. The dark eyes of the Yurrick students, partially
illuminated by the enormous moving pictures, could have been
staring at them or any of a thousand things. Either way they didn't
move or openly object to the intrusion.

Seline and
Belameir remained as quiet as possible, breathing heavily and
slouching in their seats to avoid drawing any more attention.

'Why are we
running, exactly?' she whispered.

'Because if we
don't, they'll catch us.'

'No shit. I
mean... that place wasn't exactly on lock-down. They must have
known we were in there.'

'Are you
kidding me? They probably want to have us executed for learning
some kind of classified military secret.'

'I don't think
they really have a military.'

'That's what
they want you to think.'

'Where are we
anyway?'

'Must be
another lecture theatre.'

'Wonder what
class it is.'

Seline looked
up at the screen, unable to figure out what she was seeing. She
looked around the room. There must have been hundreds of seats.
Only about half of them looked occupied.

'I have an
idea,' whispered Belameir.

She knew the
tone. She rolled her eyes in the darkness. 'Here we go.'

'We hack into
the display screen and play a really obscene video, I mean
really
obscene.'

'What?
Why?'

'So everyone
leaves the room at once. That way we can blend into the crowd
completely undetected.'

'That's really
stupid. You know that?'

'So stupid it
might just work.' He opened the panel on his arm and began typing
on the keypad.

'Just how much
angel dust have you taken?'

'What was that
old video that Cynthia showed us? You know the one with the man
pulling open his-'

'Jesus. I'm not
sitting through that again.' Seline stood up and grabbed Belameir's
collar. 'Come on, there's a back door up here.'

'Yeah, that's
the name!
Back Door.
.. something.'

Belameir
continued to fiddle with the keypad. Just as they'd made their way
to the exit the screen changed. The gasping sounds of shock and
disgust from the audience was enough. Belameir was the only one
laughing when the door closed.

Seline looked
to her right. She could see the guard approaching through the
crowd. 'Wait!' he pleaded.

They began
running again.

Belameir ducked
into one of the open lifts. Seline slid to a stop on the tiled
floor, almost slipping over herself. She scrambled to her feet and
was pulled into the elevator by Belameir. The door shut just
managing to cut off the guard.

'How in the
hell does this thing work?' said Seline.

'Shit. I don't
know. Just press that button. It looks like it does something.'

Seline pressed
the button at the top of the panel. The lift immediately shot
upward. They both stared at the numbers, counting up.

'How tall is
this place?' said Belameir.

97. The doors
opened to an open sky and a wide flight of stairs that levelled off
at the top of two enclosing walls. They fought to get out of the
lift as the doors closed. The numbers displayed at the top of the
elevator began to count down. They looked at one another then
walked to the top of the stairs. They stood atop a level balcony
extending from the face of the building. Two Yurrick were standing
next to one another on the far side, leaning against the safety
rail. They glanced over their shoulders at Seline and Belameir
before returning to their discussion.

'The elevator
is the only way down,' said Belameir.

Seline agreed
and approached the rail at the edge of the balcony. The gas giant,
Darinus, dominated the sky, reaching up from the horizon beyond the
city and distant mountains. The city was spread out before that
giant, ponderous disk, towers reaching from the ground like fingers
trying to touch upon its lacquered surface. The yellow light of the
star shone around the edges of the gas giant. She could make out
some of the smaller moons dotting the sky like freckles.

Seline looked
down over the balcony. Ninety-seven stories of free fall stared
back up. There was a noise from the elevator. A pair of footsteps
ascending the stairs.

'I don't fancy
being locked in a Yurrick prison,' said Belameir. 'I heard it's
like some kind of twelve step program. They feed you tofu and
nutrient paste and convince you that you have mummy- daddy issues.
They probably make you memorise and recite encyclopaedias and the
periodic fucking table.'

Seline turned
to look back at the stairs.

'Seline,' came
a familiar voice. 'And you're Belameir I presume.'

Sear appeared
from the stairwell. The security guard followed.

'Don't come any
closer! I'll jump!' yelled Belameir.

Sear continued
to approach them.

'He's joking,'
Seline said to Sear.

'You don't need
to jump, Belameir,' said Sear.

'That's exactly
what you want me to believe isn't it?' He looked at Seline. 'So you
know this guy?'

Seline nodded.
'We can trust him.'

'You are not in
trouble,' said Sear. 'That's what Del here,' he gestured towards
the security guard, 'has been trying to tell you. That lecture you
just saw was made in a public forum. It was broadcast across the
entire moon.'

'So are you
telling me that everyone on Saranture knows about this thing?'
asked Seline.

'The knowledge
has been made public, yes. Once it was collected and verified there
was no reason for not informing the rest of the population. There
rarely ever is in such cases.'

'That's a
little hard to believe,' said Belameir with his hands still
clutching at the safety rail.

'It's
understandable for you to think that, but this is not Earth or
Yarfor Station and we are not NeoCorp.'

'So is this the
big secret you were keeping back on the cruiser? Is it the reason
you left Earth?' asked Seline.

'Yes.'

'If you were
going to make it public anyway, why not just tell me then?'

'I was trying
to keep things as simple as possible for you. You had enough things
to deal with at the time and in the state of mind that you were in,
I thought it best not to potentially make things worse. That being
said, this is headline news, at least within Yurrick media. Had you
accessed the exonet you would've found it quiet easily.'

Belameir moved
to speak again but Seline held her hand over his mouth. 'So you
left Earth to... what? Try and find out what's destroying these
stars?'

'Yes.'

Belameir licked
the palm of Seline's hand in protest. She pulled her hand away and
wiped it on his shirt.

'So you're
going to go to the Tryil Gate?' Seline asked.

'Yes. Our
priority is to find the missing scouts. Depending on how that goes
we may then aid them or try to track down the source of the missing
stars.'

'So what
happens to us?'

'Since I was
the one who decided to make your business that of the Yurrick, you
have effectively become my responsibility.'

'So should we
start calling you dad?'

Sear looked at
Belameir. 'If you wish.'

'So... what
happens to us?' Seline asked again.

'I have made
arrangements with Tialus to have you accompany our crew for the
indefinite future. You will have board upon our ship for as long as
required. That is, until the information on your blackbox is made
explicit to us. What happens after that will be considered when or
if the time comes.'

'So I'll be
part of your team?'

'To an extent.
Since you lack the same technical or specialised training as the
rest of the crew your role will be limited. With that being said,
you will be expected to carry your weight.'

'What about
Belameir?'

'After the
stunt he pulled in that classroom he's lucky we haven't thrown him
off this planet.'

'Hey! Seline
was part of that too, you know?'

'Yes, but she's
worth more than she costs. You on the other hand...'

'Oh come on! I
was only joking around. I knew Yurrick were stiff but you guys
really need to learn to take a joke.'

Still
unsmiling, Sear continued. 'You will have a choice of either
checking yourself into our drug rehabilitation clinics-'

'Hah!'

Sear remained
expressionless, '… or you can come with Seline. You will, however,
be expected to control yourself.'

'Jesus, this
place is giving me a headache. I can't tell if you're taking the
piss or genuinely don't understand the concept of humour.'

'He'll come
too,' said Seline. 'We'll behave.'

'You both
should know that you
do
still have the choice of leaving. At
this point your participation is entirely voluntary.'

'At this
point?'

'Yes. Where
we're going, returning home may not always be an option.'

'Well that
doesn't sound ominous at all,' chimed Belameir. 'When will we be
leaving?'

'Approximately
three hours. Once the ship has been prepped.'

'So where
exactly are we going?'

'Our first stop
will be Sceril. After we pick up the supplies and follow up on a
lead we will head through the Tryil Gate to begin our search for
the scout ship and its crew.'

'Do we need to
bring anything?'

'No. Food,
bedding, and clothing will be provided.'

Seline glanced
at Mercer, leaning against the wall behind Sear. He didn't seem to
notice her.

'If departure
is three hours away does that mean you're you going to lock us up
again?' Belameir asked.

'It's best you
stretch your legs and try enjoy the open air. It will take almost a
week to reach Sceril. I suggest visiting the Ruin Falls. They're
particularly nice this time of year, especially the moment just
before sunset but the choice is yours. Whatever you decide to do, a
message, with GPS co-ordinates to the docking station will be sent
when we're close to departing. Do you have any questions?'

'How do we get
to the Falls?' asked Seline.

'You can
download a map from the terminal over there.' He pointed to a
display panel on the wall.

'So we aren't
gonna have you as a personal guide then?' asked Belameir as he
blatantly nudged and winked at Seline.

'Not at the
moment. We will be seeing a lot of each other aboard the ship. I
would advise you to make the most of the solitude that can be found
here.'

'We both pretty
much grew up on space stations so it's not like it'll be anything
new,' said Belameir.

'A space
station and a military vessel are two different things,
Belameir.'

Belameir
cringed. 'Do you have to say my name like that?'

'Like
what?'

'With that
weird, double voice thing. Whenever I hear one of you guys speak it
sounds like there's another little person inside your throat
echoing your words – it's a bit creepy to be honest.'

'This
discomforts you, Belameir?'

'Agh, yes! Stop
that.'

'I'll keep it
in mind then.' He looked at Seline. 'I will see you in three hours
time.' He walked with Del back down the stairs to the lift. He took
a short glance at Seline before stepping in and closing its
doors.

'So what do you
wanna do?' asked Belameir.

'I want to see
the waterfall.'

'Ugh. Do you
have any idea how many waterfalls I've seen in my life?'

'I'm pretty
sure you haven't seen any.'

'I saw one –
once.'

'A vid doesn't
count.'

'It does and
once you've seen one you've seen them all.'

'Whatever. I'm
going. You can stay here and bitch all you want.' She began walking
towards the lift.

'I just don't
understand what's so interesting about water falling off a
hill.'

Seline ignored
him as she entered the lift.

'I could pour
water out of a cup and have the same experience, you know?'

She reached out
to press the button.

'You know that
your body is seventy percent water right? And you're falling over
all the time. So really, whenever you trip over yourself you're
basically seeing a waterfall anyway.'

She pressed the
button.

'Alright,
alright.' Belameir held his arm out to stop the door. 'Someone has
to keep an eye on you. Do you think they have any strip clubs down
there?'

'Time to go,
Sel' said Belameir. 'I'm sure there're some pictures of this place
on the exonet that you can look at.'

She stood back
from the railing and took one last mental image of the forest. Pale
beams of light filtered through the rich, almost transparent green
of the surrounding foliage. Thin, spindling branches reached out
overhead like hands, holding aloft their millions of tiny, ornate
leaves. The heat was stifling. She had to inhale as deep as
possible to keep her lungs satisfied. She pushed back the hair that
had stuck to her forehead and looked at the time.

She stepped
back and reluctantly followed Belameir back along the glass
footbridge beneath the low hanging canopy. After five minutes
walking they reached the platform at the end of the footbridge and
approached the empty maglev cart waiting at the taxi stand. They
climbed into the cart. The door sealed behind them. Seline glanced
out the window while Belameir programmed their destination into the
keypad. The structures of the ancient Yurrick city covered the
crest of the enormous basin that had been carved into the rock from
the thick torrents of the waterfall. The obsidian that the city had
been built from stood like black glass beneath the sun, reflecting
in scattered points of light between the strange translucency of
the forest.