Look, we had a conference about it, the other senior crew and I, under the Captain.’
‘A conference?’
‘Obviously we couldn’t consult with New New York, given the lightspeed lag. But we do have standing orders. Policies. If the numbers of the colonists fall due to wastage, and they
have done, we are expected to make up the numbers by impressing members of the crew. This particular group needs more women. And, genetically speaking, you come from a group that is as remote from
the rest as any on Earth—’
‘I’m an Aboriginal woman,’ she said, almost softly. ‘That’s why you’re doing this. Lex, have you any idea how I had to
fight
to build my career from
a background like that, to get on that damn ship? And now, after all that, you’re going to dispose of me here, all because of what I am. An Aborigine, a woman.’
‘I’m sure with your practical skills, your training, you’ll be a fine addition to this pioneering group . . .’
Yuri saw John Synge, Harry Thorne, Onizuka exchanging glances. The Peacekeepers tensed. Yuri, sensing trouble coming, stood himself, grabbed Lemmy’s arm and pulled him behind his back.
‘Let’s get them,’ Onizuka said, quite calmly. ‘Let’s get off this fucking dump.’ And he picked up a rock and charged.
Of course they had no chance. The charging men were felled in the first salvo of anaesthetic darts. McGregor himself took out Mardina immediately; she dropped to the ground in her smart
astronaut uniform. Matt Speith ran away. Abbey Brandenstein, cuffed, in the dirt, just laughed.
Then it looked as if Mattock was going to go for the women. When he raised a riot stick to Pearl Hanks, Lemmy yelled, ‘No!’, pulled away from Yuri, and ran forward.
And Yuri followed.
The two Peacekeepers seemed to have been waiting for him to give them an excuse. They charged straight at Yuri.
Mattock was on him first, slamming him to the ground with a punch to the throat before Yuri had the chance to raise an arm to defend himself. ‘You’re the future of mankind, you
little shit,’ Mattock snarled. And he kicked Yuri in the head.
The ColU, administering simple medicine to the injured members of the group, brought Yuri round before the shuttle took off.
Then Yuri sat with Lemmy and the others, including Mardina Jones, silent, clearly furious. They watched as the bird screamed back down the trail it had laid down across the dry lake bed and
lifted effortlessly into the air.
And then, as the undercarriage raised, something fell out of the port wing. It tumbled like a rag, buffeted by the shuttle’s slipstream, before falling to the ground and lying limp.
Lemmy got up and looked hastily around the group, counting heads. ‘Who’s missing? Jenny. That was Jenny Amsler, stowing away in the wing. Stupid bitch.’
‘And then there were ten.’ Lemmy laughed, nervous, but nobody joined in.
The shuttle turned its nose upwards and screamed up into the static light show that was the sky of Proxima c.
CHAPTER 14
2155
‘T his is Angelia 5941. This voice message, which is expressed in non-technical language and contains personal comments as well as summaries
of scientific and technological achievements, is intended for public release, and accompanies a more technical download.
‘Good morning, to Dr Kalinski, and to Bob and Monica and all my ground crew, and of course to Stef, my half-sister. I have calculated it will be dome-morning in the operations room in
Yeats when this message reaches you, in nearly six days’ time.
‘Sixteen days after launch I am in an excellent state of health, and all subsystems are operating nominally.
‘I have now completed my cruise through the outer reaches of the solar system. Strictly speaking I entered interstellar space about a day after the microwave beam cut-off at the end of
acceleration. At that point I passed through the heliopause, the boundary where the thin wind that blows between the stars
‘A conference?’
‘Obviously we couldn’t consult with New New York, given the lightspeed lag. But we do have standing orders. Policies. If the numbers of the colonists fall due to wastage, and they
have done, we are expected to make up the numbers by impressing members of the crew. This particular group needs more women. And, genetically speaking, you come from a group that is as remote from
the rest as any on Earth—’
‘I’m an Aboriginal woman,’ she said, almost softly. ‘That’s why you’re doing this. Lex, have you any idea how I had to
fight
to build my career from
a background like that, to get on that damn ship? And now, after all that, you’re going to dispose of me here, all because of what I am. An Aborigine, a woman.’
‘I’m sure with your practical skills, your training, you’ll be a fine addition to this pioneering group . . .’
Yuri saw John Synge, Harry Thorne, Onizuka exchanging glances. The Peacekeepers tensed. Yuri, sensing trouble coming, stood himself, grabbed Lemmy’s arm and pulled him behind his back.
‘Let’s get them,’ Onizuka said, quite calmly. ‘Let’s get off this fucking dump.’ And he picked up a rock and charged.
Of course they had no chance. The charging men were felled in the first salvo of anaesthetic darts. McGregor himself took out Mardina immediately; she dropped to the ground in her smart
astronaut uniform. Matt Speith ran away. Abbey Brandenstein, cuffed, in the dirt, just laughed.
Then it looked as if Mattock was going to go for the women. When he raised a riot stick to Pearl Hanks, Lemmy yelled, ‘No!’, pulled away from Yuri, and ran forward.
And Yuri followed.
The two Peacekeepers seemed to have been waiting for him to give them an excuse. They charged straight at Yuri.
Mattock was on him first, slamming him to the ground with a punch to the throat before Yuri had the chance to raise an arm to defend himself. ‘You’re the future of mankind, you
little shit,’ Mattock snarled. And he kicked Yuri in the head.
The ColU, administering simple medicine to the injured members of the group, brought Yuri round before the shuttle took off.
Then Yuri sat with Lemmy and the others, including Mardina Jones, silent, clearly furious. They watched as the bird screamed back down the trail it had laid down across the dry lake bed and
lifted effortlessly into the air.
And then, as the undercarriage raised, something fell out of the port wing. It tumbled like a rag, buffeted by the shuttle’s slipstream, before falling to the ground and lying limp.
Lemmy got up and looked hastily around the group, counting heads. ‘Who’s missing? Jenny. That was Jenny Amsler, stowing away in the wing. Stupid bitch.’
‘And then there were ten.’ Lemmy laughed, nervous, but nobody joined in.
The shuttle turned its nose upwards and screamed up into the static light show that was the sky of Proxima c.
CHAPTER 14
2155
‘T his is Angelia 5941. This voice message, which is expressed in non-technical language and contains personal comments as well as summaries
of scientific and technological achievements, is intended for public release, and accompanies a more technical download.
‘Good morning, to Dr Kalinski, and to Bob and Monica and all my ground crew, and of course to Stef, my half-sister. I have calculated it will be dome-morning in the operations room in
Yeats when this message reaches you, in nearly six days’ time.
‘Sixteen days after launch I am in an excellent state of health, and all subsystems are operating nominally.
‘I have now completed my cruise through the outer reaches of the solar system. Strictly speaking I entered interstellar space about a day after the microwave beam cut-off at the end of
acceleration. At that point I passed through the heliopause, the boundary where the thin wind that blows between the stars
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