Transformation Space - Marianne de Pierres [90]
‘And Mira?’ Pellegrini’s voice rose.
‘She got taken by Extros on Rho Junction.’
‘She is dead?’
‘No. At least we don’t believe so.’ He didn’t tell them about the biozoon signature that they’d picked up with the com-cast or his feeling it was Fedor. Mira hadn’t said much directly to him, but he knew she didn’t hold Trin Pellegrini in high regard.
‘She tried to find us help?’ This came from Cass Mulravey. She and the girl Jo-Jo had noticed earlier had returned to the circle. Even in the dim light, Mulravey’s face was distorted with anguish, though her voice sounded steady. She stepped to the front and sat down. ‘I knew she wouldn’t leave Vito. Or us.’
‘Vito?’ Jo-Jo glanced between Mulravey and Pellegrini.
‘Her ’bino,’ said Mulravey.
‘Not her own,’ corrected the young Principe. ‘An adopted ragazzo.’
Randall made a slight jerking movement, as though someone had scraped a knife against her skin. Jo-Jo could just make out the tight outline of her jaw.
‘And you?’ Pellegrini asked Randall directly. ‘What were you doing on Araldis?’
‘Franco was expecting trouble. Brought us in to assess things.’ She made a dry sound. ‘Seems he left it too late.’
‘My papa hired mercenaries?’
‘Yep.’
‘Are you saying he knew about the invasion? About the Saqr?’
‘Nope.’ She shook her head slowly. ‘But he knew something was wrong. Maybe some deals he’d done had come back on him.’
The group fell silent as they digested this, particularly the young Principe, who seemed lost in thought for a few moments.
‘How did you get off Araldis during the invasion?’
‘Fedor. Someone gave her an AiV and sent her looking for your flagship.’ She stared straight at Pellegrini. Jo-Jo didn’t need to see her face clearly to read the hostility. ‘She picked us up on the way. We were caught in a firefight out in the desert, with the Saqr. She could have left us for dead. But she didn’t. That’s not her way.’
‘You sent her!’ burst out Mulravey. She spoke to all of them, but her face turned towards Trin. ‘She didn’t abandon us. You sent her.’
‘No,’ said Pellegrini, seeking the attention of the girl next to Mulravey. ‘Djes, that’s not how it was.’
Jess? Jo-Jo’s mind threw out an anchor. That was what Bethany had called her daughter. He scrambled to remember the girl’s description and came up empty, other than the half-Miolaquan heritage. He wanted the girl to step closer to the light, so he could decide if the strangeness he’d noticed before fitted with being part fish.
‘It’s all she talked about, in fact,’ added Randall. ‘Finding a way to get back here to help you all.’
The survivors began to murmur among themselves again.
‘Quiet!’ Pellegrini ordered.
Jo-Jo clamped his lips together. The Principe applied his arrogant manner with ease, and mostly they seemed ready to accept it.
‘You’ve seen the lights in the night sky? Tell us what is happening. Is it OLOSS?’ the Principe asked.
Jo-Jo waited for Randall, but she didn’t say anything. After a moment, he spoke. ‘We got no way of really knowing, but we can guess. We think the Extros have made a move to invade the OLOSS worlds – the same way they did here.’
‘So we’re at war, like before. Does that mean there’ll be no help?’ said a woman from the back.
‘Can’t honestly answer that,’ said Jo-Jo.
Randall suddenly spoke up. ‘We flew over some-thin’ brewin’ near one of the mines. The Saqr are all over it. Mebbe we can learn somethin’ from there.’
‘You’re suggesting we go and spy on them?’ asked the girl, Djes.
‘Recon,’ said Randall. ‘Yeah. If OLOSS is at war with the Extros, then we need to do what we—’
‘We’re fortunate to be alive,’ interjected Pellegrini. ‘The toll to reach safety has been significant. We are not mercenaries. It would not serve us to antagonise our invaders; there are not enough of us to fight. I will not allow it.’ He ground out the last of his words with grim authority.
‘Seems mebbe the others might like a say