and my chestpack. Shove my feet into my old army boots. Familiar. And perfectly uncomfortable.
Then I notice that the bed begins to rattle beneath my folded sweater. I pick up my sweater, looking up to the ceiling, where the light begins to sway.
I gasp, clutching my temples. My head roils, as if it will explode. A thousand screaming voices accost me, all at once, and I can’t make out a single word they are saying.
Stop.
Slow down.
I can’t understand.
I wonder if it is an earthquake. It sounds and feels like the Tracks when a train is close.
“Tima,” I say. “Something’s happening.”
“I know.”
I am turning to look for her when she pulls me roughly, and we squeeze under the small table in the room.
The now-familiar blue glow begins to grow around us, sheltering us.
Tima, taking care of me—like she always does.
That’s when the walls cave in.
That’s when the screaming comes from outside me.
That’s when the sirens begin to wail.
GENERAL EMBASSY DISPATCH: EASTASIA SUBSTATION
MARKED URGENT
MARKED EYES ONLY
Internal Investigative Subcommittee IIS211B
RE: The Incident at SEA Colonies
Note: Contact Jasmine3k, Virt. Hybrid Human 39261.SEA, Laboratory Assistant to Dr. E. Yang, for future commentary, as necessary.
HAL2040==> FORTIS
07/06/2046
PERSES Scans/Cargo ctd.
//comlog begin;
HAL: A brief update on my research and analysis—please read following notes at your leisure:;
As the asteroid PERSES approaches, more detailed analysis has revealed what appears to be additional cargo. Nonmilitary, it would seem. Possibly biological.;
Unfortunately, cargo containers are shielded (similar to NULL), preventing all attempts to discern contents.;
One may infer, however, that shielding may indicate biological materials, or highly sensitive electronics?;
No additional data in my scans of PERSES’s exposed systems sheds light on the cargo. But perhaps what little NULL has revealed about his objectives can point us in the right direction?;
As for NULL, who must know more than he is willing to tell, I assume any direct reference and instructions regarding delicate cargo to be part of his protected core, and therefore inaccessible by any means available at my disposal.;
//comlog end;
12
IDYLLS’ END
“Head down. Keep moving. Stay to the side, by the wall.” Tima barks out orders and I do as she says, automatically. Tima doesn’t fall apart. She’s been preparing for a moment like this—for moments like these—all her life.
Still, she clutches Brutus to her chest like a stuffed animal.
An earthquake? Is that what this is?
We thread our way through the mad crush of Belters filling the halls, heading instinctively toward the barracks, where the boys have been sleeping. By the time we push through the doorway to the room, I see that the long rows of beds are empty. So are the weapons lockers.
That’s the first time we realize it might not be a disaster that is bringing down the walls, but a battle. You don’t need weapons in an earthquake.
The guns are gone because people have taken them.
The soldiers are gone because somebody is attacking.
Sympas , I think. Sympas , I hope. Terrible, but still human. The other possibility is too horrific to think about.
Then I feel Ro’s hand on my arm, heaving, as if he has been running every corridor of the Idylls to find me, which he probably has. “Dol,” he says, panting. “And T. There you are.”
Lucas is just steps behind him. His arm encircles my waist and he pulls me so quickly and so firmly that my feet almost don’t have time to touch the ground.
He is past talking, but I see the grim set of his eyes, and I can feel his pulse where my hand wraps around his neck. I can read every hammering beat of his heart.
Nothing is going to happen to you, Dol. Not ever. I promise.
Then I realize it may be Lucas I’m feeling, but those words are coming from somewhere else.
Someone.
It’s Ro. I hear him reaching out to me, desperately,
Then I notice that the bed begins to rattle beneath my folded sweater. I pick up my sweater, looking up to the ceiling, where the light begins to sway.
I gasp, clutching my temples. My head roils, as if it will explode. A thousand screaming voices accost me, all at once, and I can’t make out a single word they are saying.
Stop.
Slow down.
I can’t understand.
I wonder if it is an earthquake. It sounds and feels like the Tracks when a train is close.
“Tima,” I say. “Something’s happening.”
“I know.”
I am turning to look for her when she pulls me roughly, and we squeeze under the small table in the room.
The now-familiar blue glow begins to grow around us, sheltering us.
Tima, taking care of me—like she always does.
That’s when the walls cave in.
That’s when the screaming comes from outside me.
That’s when the sirens begin to wail.
GENERAL EMBASSY DISPATCH: EASTASIA SUBSTATION
MARKED URGENT
MARKED EYES ONLY
Internal Investigative Subcommittee IIS211B
RE: The Incident at SEA Colonies
Note: Contact Jasmine3k, Virt. Hybrid Human 39261.SEA, Laboratory Assistant to Dr. E. Yang, for future commentary, as necessary.
HAL2040==> FORTIS
07/06/2046
PERSES Scans/Cargo ctd.
//comlog begin;
HAL: A brief update on my research and analysis—please read following notes at your leisure:;
As the asteroid PERSES approaches, more detailed analysis has revealed what appears to be additional cargo. Nonmilitary, it would seem. Possibly biological.;
Unfortunately, cargo containers are shielded (similar to NULL), preventing all attempts to discern contents.;
One may infer, however, that shielding may indicate biological materials, or highly sensitive electronics?;
No additional data in my scans of PERSES’s exposed systems sheds light on the cargo. But perhaps what little NULL has revealed about his objectives can point us in the right direction?;
As for NULL, who must know more than he is willing to tell, I assume any direct reference and instructions regarding delicate cargo to be part of his protected core, and therefore inaccessible by any means available at my disposal.;
//comlog end;
12
IDYLLS’ END
“Head down. Keep moving. Stay to the side, by the wall.” Tima barks out orders and I do as she says, automatically. Tima doesn’t fall apart. She’s been preparing for a moment like this—for moments like these—all her life.
Still, she clutches Brutus to her chest like a stuffed animal.
An earthquake? Is that what this is?
We thread our way through the mad crush of Belters filling the halls, heading instinctively toward the barracks, where the boys have been sleeping. By the time we push through the doorway to the room, I see that the long rows of beds are empty. So are the weapons lockers.
That’s the first time we realize it might not be a disaster that is bringing down the walls, but a battle. You don’t need weapons in an earthquake.
The guns are gone because people have taken them.
The soldiers are gone because somebody is attacking.
Sympas , I think. Sympas , I hope. Terrible, but still human. The other possibility is too horrific to think about.
Then I feel Ro’s hand on my arm, heaving, as if he has been running every corridor of the Idylls to find me, which he probably has. “Dol,” he says, panting. “And T. There you are.”
Lucas is just steps behind him. His arm encircles my waist and he pulls me so quickly and so firmly that my feet almost don’t have time to touch the ground.
He is past talking, but I see the grim set of his eyes, and I can feel his pulse where my hand wraps around his neck. I can read every hammering beat of his heart.
Nothing is going to happen to you, Dol. Not ever. I promise.
Then I realize it may be Lucas I’m feeling, but those words are coming from somewhere else.
Someone.
It’s Ro. I hear him reaching out to me, desperately,
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