Kwaide (The Ammonite Galaxy Series, Book 2)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19

THE MEETING WAS dispirited. The idea of trying to escape nuclear weapons was terrifying. They had no idea what to do to avoid the coming conflict. All the rebels had congregated around the conference centre, and similar meetings were being held in the other two camps.

“Maybe Arcan could spirit us all away somewhere else?” suggested Diva. She seemed absent, not her usual self.

Grace shook her head. “The Sellites can detect where we are from outer space,” she said. “Even if we move they will find out our new location. The only way to do it would be to separate into individual groups of two or three – and how could we organize that in time? There are thousands and thousands of refugees now.”

“Even if we could space everybody out, they would die anyway,” pointed out Six morosely. “We need the supplies from Coriolis to subsist even here – and other parts of the wastelands are even more hostile. Perhaps we should vote on whether to abandon the revolution. Many of the Kwaidians here may prefer to go back to their old lives.”

“If the Elders allowed them their old lives back.”

Cimma stood up. “You have no choice,” she said. “By all means take a vote on it, but I see no alternative but to continue the fight. You have all come too far now to go back to cowering in a dungeon or a conduit. You must fight!”

There was a general murmur of agreement. Ledin, the pilot – who was very highly considered by the rest of the refugees – stood up too.

“I think we should take a vote now. All those in favour of going back to being slaves, stand up!”

There was a long pause, as everybody looked around the rest of the participants. Nobody stood up.

“Then we fight,” determined Ledin, and sat down.

Applause broke out, and the atmosphere began to lighten. There were a few moments of low conversation, and then a long silence set in. Nobody knew how to do battle against nuclear weapons.

In the end it was Grace who stood up next.

“Sell hasn’t the capacity to send missiles directly here from Valhai. So they will have to bring them by spaceship. The only solution I can think of is to enlist Arcan’s help in destroying the nuclear warheads.”

Six gazed at her in admiration. “Brilliant!” he said. 

Grace shook her head. “It won’t be easy. Arcan can only move what he can ‘see’, which means that somebody has to find the spaceships, board them, detect the nuclear weapons and let Arcan know their location.”

Ledin pursed his lips. “That sounds very dangerous. Why can’t the orthogel entity simply blow the ships to smithereens?”

Grace shook her head again. “Arcan will not knowingly cause damage to any other sentient being, unless it is unavoidable. He would not help us if we asked him to kill for us.”

“Fair enough,” Ledin said. “Nobody could say that Arcan has not been a great help to New Kwaide! Who will undertake the mission?”

Grace looked around. “There is really very little choice,” she pointed out. “We will have to take our own spaceships, which means that Diva, Six and I are the logical choice. We all know how to pilot a ship, we all know Arcan, and we have all lived on Sell.”

“So have I!” Cimma stood up and lifted her chin proudly. “I will come too.”

“I think your place is here, Cimma,” Six told her. “The refugees will need you to lead the training program. But we will need you, Ledin, to stay on the orbital station. I think we should place a team up there from now on. We need to be able to defend the little that we have gained. If there are refugees on board they can call Arcan in an emergency.” He bent down and removed the circle of orthogel which he had been wearing around his ankle. Take this. I will show you how to call Arcan later.”