Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [165]
In the weeks since the massacre, she had grieved for her father, but at the moment she mostly felt empty and stunned. It would take a long time for her to absorb everything she had lived through. She played music in her borrowed quarters, losing herself for hours in the melodies that flowed from her fingers.
When an EDF soldier led her to the shuttle bay, Steinman was already there waiting. He looked disheveled and dusty, though he’d had ample opportunity to clean himself, shave, and put on fresh clothes. Orli suspected he was just one of those men who always looked rumpled, no matter what he wore or how well he groomed himself.
The old man brightened upon seeing her. “Hey, kid. Somebody on Earth thinks all colonists and refugees are interchangeable. They’re throwing us together with those Crenna folks and sending us off to another Klikiss world.”
“My dad always told me to appreciate any chance for a fresh start.”
“Corribus was the cream of the crop, though.” Steinman shook his head. “You can bet the new place won’t be as fine.”
Orli sat next to him, leaning against the wall. “As long as they send us someplace that doesn’t get destroyed again.” She put her chin in her hands and heaved a deep sigh. Inside her head, she heard her father’s voice chiding her: “Keep your spirits up, girl. Bounce from one place to another. You can’t see the stars when you’re staring down at your feet.”
One time, Jan Covitz had traced her lips with his finger. “See this? When you smile it makes a curve upward, like a cup. You can catch good luck that way. But when you frown”—he tugged her lips downward—“then all the good fortune just slides off and runs down your chin.”
Beside her, Steinman continued to chatter. “After all the efforts I’ve made to get away from big groups of people, my plan backfired on me.”
“A lot of things backfired on us. And for Captain Roberts, too. He tried to help us, and look at all the trouble he’s gotten into.” Orli glanced at the transport that would take them down to Earth. “How long until we leave?”
“We’re on a military schedule,” Steinman said with a shrug. “We go when they tell us to go, and we wait the rest of the time.”
“I need to say goodbye to Captain Roberts.” She trotted over to one of the EDF soldiers working in the launch bay and asked to see her friend.
“He’s in the brig, uh, ma’am,” the soldier said. “I don’t believe he’s allowed visitors. His military tribunal starts in a few hours.”
“It would be just for a minute. Can you check? I’m sure General Lanyan will make an exception.” Orli pestered the guard until he submitted a request, which was forwarded to someone else and then a third person before she was finally escorted down to the brig level.
“You only have ten minutes,” the guard said gruffly.
“I know. My shuttle leaves soon.”
A miserable-looking Captain Roberts sat on his bunk, while a large woman paced the room like a thundercloud on legs. Orli recognized Rlinda Kett, who had flown the Voracious Curiosity, taking Orli and her father from Dremen to the transportal hub.
“Of course I remember who you are, young lady,” Captain Kett said, returning Orli’s greeting with a chuckle. “Considering how things turned out, I wish I hadn’t taken you passengers to Rheindic Co. You’d have been better off staying on Dremen.”
Orli looked at Roberts’s hangdog face, his unkempt frizz of gray hair. “I’m sorry for getting you into so much trouble, Captain.”
“Nothing we can do about it, missy.” His voice sounded heavy and tired. “And I wouldn’t have changed my actions anyway. You’d think they’d show a little gratitude.”
“Can I help in any way? Maybe testify about what a good man you are? I could be a—what do they call it?—a character witness.”
“He’s a character, all right,” Rlinda said. “But this military tribunal