Dark Space - Marianne de Pierres [102]
‘Then make sure you understand what that might mean.’ Rast withdrew the rifle as Cass and Mesquite joined them, one on either side of Mira.
‘She is right,’ said Cass.
‘Si, mercenary,’ said Mesquite.
Rast eyed the three of them angrily. ‘Well, Mira Fedor, I got you your chance. Use it.’ Then, inexplicably, she laughed. She slapped her rifle into its magnetised sheath and strode off.
‘Sure of herself, that one,’ Mesquite said heavily. ‘And brutal with it. I wouldn’t like to sleep nights with her conscience.’
‘When you’ve seen . . . lived ... most things, then conscience fades,’ said Cass wearily, as if she knew from experience.
‘How will the men react to the killing?’ Mira turned to them, sick in her stomach from the blood and the tension.
Mesquite shrugged. ‘They’ll either accept what she said, or they’ll mutiny. Either way we still need to know how to protect ourselves.’
* * * *
They began rifle training the next night, Mira and ten young women, with Cass and Mesquite. One of the teachers was the wiry man who had spoken up for her. She knew she should thank him but the words would not come. Gratefulness had deserted her.
In a few days their class grew to thirty.
They also began a nightly women’s meeting, which Mesquite let them hold in her dorm.
‘We should plan for ourselves,’ Mesquite declared at the first meeting. ‘Prepare for the worst and not rely on the men to save us. Cass Mulravey, you have a barge than can carry many?’
‘The mercenary takes it to post her guards,’ replied Cass.
‘And between times?’
‘It sits in the parking bay. My brother and his friend live in it.’
‘Can they be persuaded to serve us when we need it?’
Cass nodded, keeping her gaze averted from Mira. Most knew that it was Cass Mulravey’s brother who had assaulted Mira Fedor.
‘Can he be trusted?’ asked Josefia Genarro.
‘He will do as I tell him,’ Cass said stiffly.
‘Will he truly Cass Mulravey?’ Josefia turned to Mesquite. ‘And what of our own men? They are likely to harm us before they fight the Saqr. It is unsafe to walk at night—there are too many of them without women and the fear of waiting makes them erratic.’
‘My man is not like that,’ argued Cass.
‘Then he is a rare one,’ muttered an older woman.
Mesquite let their argument run back and forth until the heat left it. Then she took control again. ‘Use your common sense and you will be safe. Stay away from the drunken ones, walk in groups. Mira Fedor knows the mercenary. She can seek help from her.’ Mesquite looked to Mira.
‘Why would Rast listen to me?’ But even as she said the words, Mira knew the answer. Rast had already demonstrated the attraction she felt.
Mesquite did not bother to contradict her. ‘If the Saqr come we must be ready. Collect your things from the dorms if there is time, then go to Mulravey’s barge in groups—in numbers we are stronger, more threatening. Group leaders?’
‘Mira Fedor,’ called Josefia Genarro. ‘She should be one.’
Mira gave Josefia a startled glance. She had not expected such a thing.
‘You, Mesquite,’ said another, older woman.
‘Cass Mulravey.’ Another.
Voices called more names until a vote was cast.
After the meeting dissolved, Mesquite moved among the women, answering their worries, calming them. When they had gone about their business, Mira followed her into the makeshift laundry that was lit only by a small solar torch.
Mesquite began to beat the dust from the clothes. The women’s underliners were heavily stained with red dirt now that there were no soaps or sterilisers left.
‘You share little about your past, Mesquite, but you think for everyone. Where are you from?’ Mira asked.
‘What might that mean, Baronessa?’
‘The way you speak, your appearance... is it possible that you have ties to the familia?’
In the torchlight Mesquite’s face was sombre. She stopped beating the clothes. ‘I have a feeling it is not long now, Mira. The Saqr will find a way to get to us soon, and the women will need you to get them through this. Cass Mulravey is strong,