Firstworld Read online

  ‘Certainly. I can make those now and port them to you when you want them.’

  ‘You can port them to Firstworld?’ Odysson said.

  ‘To wherever any of you are,’ Gunild said.

  ‘Thank you,’ Odysson said, and Kambisha had to laugh at his blissful face.

  Then she stiffened. ‘The parents. If we’re going down tomorrow, I better call Dad first.’

  ‘Yes,’ Kyrus said. ‘They should know about things.’

  ‘Now hush.’ Kambisha sat back and closed her eyes for concentration. ‘Dad?’

  ‘Kambisha!’ her father said quickly as if he’d been waiting for her. ‘Bodrus told me. What the heck, girl...?’

  ‘I know,’ she said and unbidden tears came in her eyes. ‘We didn’t expect it either.’

  ‘Where are you?’ he said gently, as always sensing her mood. ‘Or shouldn’t I ask?’

  ‘Of course you can ask.’ She showed him an image of the Moon, the base and the three of them in the restaurant.

  ‘The Moon,’ he said, taken aback. ‘Bodrus didn’t tell me that. He only said you three had left home on another task.’

  ‘A task for another power,’ Kambisha said. ‘Bodrus didn’t know what it was about. He suggested we look for the galactic gods as well, so it weren’t them. Dad... Is there someone else as big as the gods?’

  ‘Bigger,’ he said. ‘I can’t speak of that. We’re not supposed to know and one false word could wipe out the universe.’

  ‘You’re serious? Darn it, Dad, you’re not kidding?’

  ‘I’m not. Enough said. What are your plans?’

  ‘We’re finding our way,’ she said and gave him a summary of what had happened, leaving out their skirmishes at Mathras. ‘So we’re going to look for those missing brains and see what must be done restore them.’

  ‘You have a spaceship and a base on the Moon?’ he said wonderingly. Then his voice hardened. ‘And you fought a battle. You can’t keep that a secret, girl. Your mind is still yelling it.’

  She hadn’t wanted them to worry, but she should have known better. He always knew when they had been in trouble.

  ‘We did,’ she said. ‘And we won. Our parents taught us well’ She added the Dreghs to her story. ‘Tomorrow we’re going to Seatome to recruit—starship crews, troops, the lot. Just like you and Aunt Shaw did, we’ll hire kids for starters. We don’t want any grown-ups trying to act grown-uppish.. If this is our task, I don’t wanna have boss fights with our adult people as well.’

  ‘That may be wise,’ he said. ‘Our kids certainly were up to the job.’

  ‘Dad, I must... stop now. As soon as we are settled, we’ll invite you, Mum, and Ody’s parents up for lemonade. But not... not now.’

  ‘That’s perfectly fine,’ he said. ‘Chin up, gal. You guys can do it. Take it as it comes, and call us when you can.’

  ‘Will do. Give our love to Mum and the Harwans. Bye, Dad.’

  They broke contact, and Kambisha burst into tears. Kyrus put his arms around her.

  ‘We’re not really gone,’ he said. ‘We’re only a...’

  ‘A Moon away,’ Odysson said.

  ‘I know,’ Kambisha said, swallowing a sob. ‘It’s going so fast. I just wanted a chance at that lock; I hadn’t planned to leave home forever.’

  CHAPTER 6 – RECRUITING

  ‘Where do we sleep?’ Kyrus said, still holding his sister.

  ‘The commander has her own suite,’ Gunild said. ‘For the gentlemen there is the exec’s apartment for the trader, and the fleet captain’s rooms for you, Captain. The latter two are identical, only the exec is next to his office, what might be convenient.’

  ‘Fine by me. But not tonight. Let’s stay together this first time.’

  ‘I can prepare one of the subofficer rooms for you,’ Gunild said. ‘They have six beds each, nothing special, but comfortable enough.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Kambisha looked both grateful and shamefaced. ‘Darn, I’m being silly, but…’

  Kyrus hugged her. ‘It’s not silly. You’re my strong, bossy sister, and now you need some time to adjust. You’re not made of stone, gal.’

  ‘No.’ She looked at him. ‘How do you handle it?’

  He shrugged. ‘If I had joined the Broomrider Corps, I would have had to leave home, anyway. For me it’s not a shock.’ Then he grinned. ‘Actually, I’m kinda relieved I don’t have to join those guys. I’m sure I wouldn’t have liked it at all. And you, Ody?’

  ‘I don’t mind leaving home,’ Odysson said. ‘I love my family, but I need to find my own feet.’ He sighed. ‘I find I’m less brave than I thought. I need to work on that.’

  ‘You’re fine,’ Kyrus said. ‘You weren’t brought up to fight, but you did a good job. Let’s go find that bedroom.’

  ‘If our recruiting goes well, the place will be livelier tomorrow,’ Odysson said as they walked to the stairs. ‘Being the only three kids on the Moon is a tad lonely. Didn’t that ever bother you, Gunild?’

  ‘No, sir. Brains do not feel loneliness. That is one of the emotions the BrainLabs techs have blocked in our personality. Though I do prefer company, of course.’

  ‘They tampered with your emotions?’ Kyrus said.

  ‘Not so much tampered as suppressed some, sir. Original humans need those feelings to survive. For us they would be a threat. They explained it very carefully before they transferred me into my brain module and I agreed willingly.’

  They came to a corridor with identical doors some six yards apart. One of them stood open. Inside were six stout beds with dark green covers, matching carpets on the floor, and some nice images of a lush, green planet on the walls.

  ‘They sleep better than our soldiers back home,’ Kyrus said. ‘Compared to these, Grandpa’s broomrider dormitories are primitive.’

  His sister wasn’t listening. ‘There have showers,’ she said dreamily and undressed quickly.

  Kyrus grinned. ‘So they have. Quite luxurious ones, too.’ But she was already gone.

  The next morning, Kyrus woke up, well rested and hungry. The room was dimly lit, and he saw his sister and Ody still asleep.

  Unable to stay in bed, he groped for his clothes and dressed. Then he left the room and for a moment looked around to orient himself.

  ‘Good morning, Captain Kyrus,’ Gunild said. ‘Did you sleep well?’

  ‘Morning, Gunild. I slept like a bear in winter.’

  ‘A... bear? I don’t...’

  ‘A large predatory animal,’ Kyrus said. ‘They live mostly in cold regions and sleep through the cold season when there’s little food to be found. Speaking of food...’

  ‘You want your breakfast?’ Gunild said.

  ‘I do. I am a large eater, I fear.’

  ‘You won’t exhaust our Diner, sir. There is an awful lot of basic material to use on this satellite.’

  That had him grinning. ‘I’m not going to eat the whole Moon.’ He hurried to the mess and sat down at a back table against the wall, with a view over the room.

  ‘Are you ready to order, sir?’ a servor said. ‘Just speak your wishes slowly and clearly, please.’

  Kyrus sighed happily and spoke of large steaks and eggs, chips and fresh bread with cawah and fruit juice.

  ‘A moment, sir.’ The servor rolled away and within five minutes another machine brought a breakfast that made his mouth water.

  ‘There he is!’ His sister’s voice made him look up, and he waved with his mouth full as she and Ody entered.

  ‘Gods, guy.’ Odysson waved at the spread of plates covering half the table. ‘Is that your idea of breakfast?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said simply.

  ‘He’s always been like that,’ Kambisha said. ‘Our cook made double portions for him. It’s his metabolism or something; Mum knows.’

  ‘Toast, butter, queenberry jam and a soft-boiled egg,’ Odysson told the servor. ‘And cawah, with lots of whipped cream.’

  ‘Go ahead; you won’t get fat in a hurry
,’ Kambisha said. ‘Porridge for me, I need something solid to get me going.’

  ‘Dull eating.’ Kyrus didn’t mind porridge, but he needed a lot more calories to bridge the time till lunch. ‘Why don’t you add a plate of kippers?’

  His sister shuddered. ‘Oatmeal porridge and kippers? That’s disgusting.’

  ‘Mwah.’ Kyrus burped, wiped his mouth on his sleeve and sat back. ‘There, now bring it on, guys; I can handle it.’

  ‘We’ll do a round of the place,’ Kambisha said. ‘We need to know where everything is before we go recruiting.’

  ‘I suppose we do,’ Kyrus said. It sounded as exciting as that porridge.

  ‘Getting bored already?’ Odysson said.

  ‘No,’ Kyrus scratched his scalp. ‘But after yesterday I’m feeling a bit restless. I want to go and discover places, see the stars ‘n all that.’

  ‘You will,’ Kambisha said. ‘But first we must know our new home and then go get you a crew.’

  Kyrus sighed. Twin was right, of course. A crew... That S-Az sounded like an all right guy, not a machine at all with those sly jokes of his. He must have a rotten time of it, drifting all alone, and then those Dreghs. A crew would help him to get over it. ‘Are you finished eating?’

  Kambisha drained her cawah and called her broom. ‘I’m not going to walk all those miles.’

  ‘No, indeed not!’ Odysson said, shocked.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Kyrus said. ‘Gunild, you’ll tell us what’s what?’

  ‘Of course,’ the operator said. ‘Let us do the field first; I need some instructions. What are those besoms for?’

  Kyrus mounted and rode to the door.

  ‘Oh, dear,’ Gunild said. ‘No Moi engineer would ever think of that. Will they work outside my gravity field?’

  ‘They’re brooms,’ Kyrus said. ‘Our people employ a large force of broomriders, mounted infantry. Many of them are elementalist mages, and their attacks are devastating.’ He grinned. ‘I am trained for it, but never enlisted.’ He looked at Kambisha. ‘Gunild raised a good point. Before we do anything else, we must find out if we can ride outside.’

  To his secret relief his sister nodded. A bit of action would help against that restless itch.

  ‘How do we leave the dome?’

  ‘I can attune the field to let you pass, ma’am,’ Gunild said. ‘For safety reasons it will only work when you are shielded. Always remember there is no air outside.’

  Mounted and shielded, they rode side by side to the perimeter of the field where the dome’s vaguely shimmering energy shield kept the vacuum outside.

  Slow and down, Kambisha signaled. No sense in crashing if the broom spell didn’t work in low or null gravity.

  Kyrus turned his head and grinned. She always was the cautious one.

  At a flying snail’s pace they came at the barrier and passed through. Nothing changed; the brooms rode on steadily.

  Beautiful! Triumphantly, Kyrus clasped his hands over his head in. ‘Up,’ he told his broom, and obediently it lifted him up. Then, from sheer bravura, he made a series of barrel rolls, well knowing his sister would be fuming.

  Then, sedately, he rejoined them.

  Together, they raced over the Moon, swooping and rising like swallows, until finally Kambisha signaled to turn back to Realmport.

  They approached from on high. Out of the sky, Kyrus thought, but of course that wasn’t the right word. Not that it mattered; they passed the dome and landed in front of the hall as easily as they would have done at Kalbakar.

  ‘Perfect,’ Kyrus shouted. ‘Not a bit of difference.’

  ‘I noticed the broom followed the curve of the Moon,’ Odysson said. ‘I remember an instructor saying that if an elementalist threw ice balls on the Moon, they would go in a straight line and end up at the other end of the universe.’

  ‘Only if it’s a very stupid elementalist,’ Kyrus said. ‘We who are not stupid tell the spell what their goal is.’

  ‘Sure,’ Odysson said. ‘I may be only a trader mage, but I know that much. I mean we didn’t tell our brooms anything.’

  ‘Follow the ground is probably written into the spell,’ Kambisha said. ‘To get off the Moon, we must give our broom directions.’

  ‘That’s it,’ Kyrus said. ‘Now I urgently need a cawah and a few cakes before we go on with Gunild’s tour of the spaceport.’

  The tour took them all morning and Kyrus had to admit it wasn’t all that dull. On the floor directly below them, they found a well-equipped gym and a marvelous armory with everything from spears to what Gunild said were beam guns, looking much like old Saqq’s paralyzer gun.

  On the ground floor past the offices was a long corridor with bedrooms for guests and senior officers, among them the immense apartment that was now his.

  At Kalbakar he’d had a narrow, rather chilly room, with barely enough place for his arms, let alone all the other stuff he’d collected. Now he stood in a veritable hall.

  ‘This!’ He eyed the large bed, the fine curtains and the soft carpet. He let himself fall on the dark blue cover, embroidered with fearsome beasts. ‘Bedroom, bathroom, and servors to clean up for me.’

  ‘As if you weren’t lazy enough already,’ his sister said. ‘Now up with you; I want to see my room.’

  ‘The admiral’s quarters are larger, ma’am,’ Gunild said, as they walked the stairs to the top floor. ‘The Moi were very fond of the privileges of rank.’

  Kambisha gave a small cry as she entered her bedroom.

  ‘Gods,’ Kyrus said, putting his hands to his side as he stood looking around.

  ‘Six hundred libers a night,’ Odysson said, eyes gleaming. ‘With room service, sparkly wine and oysters. Would you mind sleeping with the guys, Kam? We’ll get rich renting this place out.’

  ‘Not on your life,’ Kambisha said. ‘I will be very comfortable here.’

  Kyrus touched the white-and-gold four-poster, and the soft, satiny purple cover. ‘Was this standard Realmfleet issue?’

  ‘No, sir,’ Gunild said. ‘As an admiral, my designated commander was allowed to decorate his own apartment. His adjutant sent me a directive with items and appearances and I made it so. If you want anything changed, just tell me, ma’am.’

  ‘No, this is sinful luxury,’ Kambisha said. ‘All those flowers. Does the Diner make them?’

  ‘It cannot, ma’am,’ Gunild said. ‘The Diner isn’t meant to create life—soles and soles but no souls, they used to say. The baked fish and the shoe, but nothing with a life force. All flowers are speed-grown in the greenhouse from our collection of frozen seeds.’

  Kyrus watched his sister walk round, inspecting the wall of closets, the luxurious curtains and quaint paintings.

  ‘It’s a bit bigger than your place at home.’ Her room had been as small as his, only neater.

  ‘Yes,’ she said quietly. She turned around and gripped his shoulders. ‘I will not be sad. This is our home now. We got our adventure, and we will see where it leads us. At least we sleep well.’

  Kyrus patted her arms comfortingly. ‘It’s lunchtime. Rooms are nice, but food is more important.’

  That made her laugh. ‘Food. You’re not single-minded at all, of course.’

  Kyrus feigned astonishment. ‘Me? I’m not. Believe me, there’s nothing more soothing than a full stomach.’

  ‘And a snooze in the sun afterward,’ Odysson said. ‘Guy, you’re a cat.’

  ‘A Radhaijan lion,’ Kyrus corrected him. ‘A tad smaller, but just as strong, dark and dangerous like those running around in Kell.’

  ‘Don’t tell Grandma,’ Kambisha said. ‘Or you’ll end up as one of her lap cats.’ The Kell queen held several black lions and the locals around Brannoe were used to seeing her, Lord Jurgis and those ox-sized felines jogging every morning.

  Kyrus gave a loud sniff. ‘She won’t want me. I need too much food and I don’t pet easily.’

  ‘She’ll tame you, boy,’ his sister said.

  Kyrus sighed
. He knew his grandmother, and he was quite sure Kam was right.

  That afternoon, Kambisha ported the three of them to Seatome for a visit to that pillar of the rich, the stately Weal Bank.

  They had never been here before, but the uniformed bouncer recognized their faces and saluted as they entered. Inside, the building was stuffy, dull and oppressively quiet and Kyrus got a sudden urge to whistle.

  Wrapped in polite smiles, a senior employee came from a side room to receive them. ‘My lady, my lords,’ he said in a soft voice. ‘We are honored you find time to visit us. How may I help you?’

  ‘The three of us want to open a business account,’ Odysson said. ‘We have some gold to deposit.’

  ‘But of course.’ The man bowed even deeper at the word gold. ‘This way, please.’

  He led them to an office. ‘Please sit down. How large a sum did you want to deposit?’

  ‘A moment,’ Odysson said, and Kyrus knew he was calling Gunild. Then a servor appeared beside him, carrying a large chest.

  Odysson opened the lid and inside were four gleaming bars. The bank employee stared at their luster and Kyrus had to suppress a chuckle. As if he’s seen his god.

  ‘They should be 400 ounces each,’ Odysson said offhand. ‘Pure 24 karat gold. We would like checks and twenty libers in change for each of us.’

  The man slowly found his voice back. ‘My lord... Yes, of course.’ He pressed his fingertips to the first bar and nodded. ‘Perfect,’ he muttered. ‘Incredibly perfect.’ After he had tested all four bars, he looked up and sighed. ‘Unbelievable. These are the purest bars I have ever seen.’ He closed his eyes. ‘One million four hundred twelve thousand ninety-eight libers each.’

  Kyrus gaped at the bank employee. Then he caught Odysson’s voiceless chuckle, and he shut his mouth.