‘No, undo,’ said Razjosh. He shouldn’t make this
decision on his own. He really must get some advice on exactly what to say to
Kaleem. That young man was going to have a lot on his plate. He must make sure
he did this right. ‘The Citadel of Elders, please.’
Razjosh held his breath as he waited for the communication
to open up. A young man’s face appeared on the screen. Razjosh’s heart sank.
Had he got to persuade this young upstart that he really needed to see the
Chief? Would this young pup even recognise who he was?
Razjosh sighed at his own lack of generosity. Some attitude
for a Peace Child. He waited for the young man to speak first.
‘Good day, Razjosh Elder, sir,’ said the youth. ‘How may I
help you?’
Of course he would be polite. Of course he would recognise
every Elder. That was what he had been trained to do. Why shouldn’t he do his
job well? They only had the best working at the Citadel.
Now, though, all of this seemed a little unreal. There they
were going through some absolute crisis. A Supercraft Excelsior of all things,
was rushing though space even faster than his own Supercraft towards Terrestra
and goodness knows what the Terrestrans would make of that or how they would
react, and here was this naïve but highly trained young man speaking quietly
and calmly and adhering to the very strict protocol used at the Citadel.
‘I would like to speak to the Chief,’ said Razjosh.
‘Security code?’ asked the young man.
‘Red,’ replied Razjosh, feeling his own heartbeat quicken.
The clerk did not blink. He disappeared from the screen and
Razjosh found himself looking straight at Chief Makisson, who seemed totally
unperturbed by the red security code.
It really is high time
someone else took over, thought Razjosh.
And Kaleem is the best there could be. But it was all so serious right now.
Not the best time at all to introduce new blood.
‘But it does sound as if the two of you have got somewhere,’
said Makisson after had listened to Razjosh’s report. ‘There does seem to be
some hope.’
How can he take it all so calmly? Thought Razjosh. What is
going to happen when that Supercraft Excelsior gets to Terrestra? ‘But don’t
you think he’s in danger now?’ he asked. ‘That we’re all in danger now?’
The Chief looked thoughtful for a few seconds.
‘Time to let him in, I think,’ said Chief Makisson.
‘Do you think he’s ready?’ asked Razjosh.
‘You tell me,’ replied Makisson.
Razjosh sensed the Chief Elder’s impatience. He sighed
inwardly. Kaleem was as ready as he was ever going to be – almost. There was
just a little more to do. But what were they exposing him to?
‘We’ll deal with the Zandrian Supercraft when we have to,’
said Makisson. ‘Do not concern yourself with that. Just worry about the boy.’
The screen went blank.
Worry about the boy! As if he wasn’t already. That young man
was doing well, but it was a lot to ask. Especially with his mother being so
ill. He had better get in touch with him, though, he supposed, and set
everything in motion. How was he going to tell him that he had got to work even
harder and that he was going to be moved away from what chance of friendship he
had?
It was a lonely job, being a Peace Child. That was one thing
that was certain. He now had to start dragging Kaleem further down into that
loneliness. Wearily, Razjosh pressed his communicator.
‘Kaleem Malkendy,’ he whispered. He waited for the screen to
open and show Kaleem’s normal cheerful if somewhat serious face. Nothing
happened. There were just a few hisses and crackles. The screen remained blank.
Odd, very odd, but perhaps just because of the distances involved. He left a message anyway in holoview, briefly
outlining as clearly as he could what had happened on Zandra. Once
communications opened again Kaleem could at least find out the real news. He
did feel uneasy, though.
He didn’t have time to worry about it for long. The
Supercraft’s speakers cut in.
‘Prepare for emergency take off,’ said the thin electronic
voice. ‘All passengers to safety take-off deck.’
Danielle bit her lip and went a shade greener.
Razjosh looked again at the blank screen. Then he cut the
communication and made his way to the take-off deck. He settled himself into
his seat and fastened the clips on the harness. Danielle sat down next to him.
He noticed how pale
she was and that she was trembling. But he had nothing more to offer her.
He closed his eyes. He felt the vibrations of the engines.
Any second now the blackout would come. The oblivion would be welcome. It would
be a temporary relief from all this. For it was all very bad and it was going
to get worse.
Zandra slipped away from them. It became a blur of brown and
green and soon they were looking down at a sphere of green light. There was a
jerk and a change in the engine note. Then came the blackness.
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