I laughed. “Listen to you, getting all macho on me.”
Mark shrugged. “What can I say? I’m ready for this to end.”
Mark and I hugged one last time.
“Find them,” he said softly. “And find her.”
“I will.”
We pulled apart and he said, “Hey, how are you going to get to Cloral if the flumes are destroyed?” “I’ll find a way.”
Mark shrugged and turned toward his friends. If he had looked back at me a second later, he would have been surprised to see that I was no longer there. I had stepped off Third Earth…
And onto the deck of a burning barge on the territory of Cloral. It took me all of five seconds to realize that it was under attack.
Chapter 14
I was totally disoriented.
Fire and screaming and explosions that rock the deck hard enough to knock you off your feet will tend to do that. I thought it was broad daylight, but the sky was dark. That didn’t add up, until I realized I was surrounded by fire. It lit up the world so completely that it seemed like day. Whatever was happening on this barge, it wasn’t good. People ran for cover, desperate to get below, away from the firestorm.
It had been years since I’d been to Cloral. At the time, it wasn’t on fire, so it didn’t exactly seem familiar. What barge city was I on? Who was attacking? Who were the good guys and who were the bad guys?
I heard the whistling sound of an incoming missile. But from where? What was the target? Who was firing? I decided not to move, figuring I’d just as likely be running into the missile’s path as getting out of the way. I stood there, closed my eyes, and braced myself. A second later the one small building that wasn’t on fire exploded. The missile hit it dead-on, blowing out windows, shattering glass, and spewing flames from within. It was a good thing I hadn’t run for cover, because if I had, I probably would have gone into that building. Phew.
It was then that I got my head together enough to remember what Spader had said. He was the first of us to leave Solara and said he had gone to Grallion, and that it was on fire. Was this Grallion? Had I arrived at the same time as Spader? I ran along the deck, between two rows of burning buildings. I needed to get to someplace that would give me a view of the whole barge habitat.
I dodged several people who scrambled for protection. It was chaos. Nobody seemed to know where to go. When I got to the end of a long line of burning buildings, I found an observation tower that hadn’t been hit. I had to climb. Of course, if it was a target, I’d end up back in Solara. Do not pass Go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. But I had to take the chance. I sprinted up the stairs, taking two at a time until I got to a level high enough to allow me an overview of the habitat.
I was definitely on Grallion. Or a habitat much like it. Grallion was a floating farm. Spread out in front of me were acres and acres of farmland. Half of it was on fire. It was a nightmare. I saw several brave aquaneers and farmers using hoses to try and douse the flames. Buildings could always be rebuilt, but the farms on Grallion provided food for many thousands of people.
What was happening? Who could be doing this? When I left Cloral, the mythical lost city of Faar had recently risen from the depths of the ocean to become a center for academics and art. On Second Earth, Alexander Naymeer said that Faar was going to become the center for Ravinia on Cloral. Had that already happened? Did this attack have something to do with the Ravinians taking over Cloral?
Another whistling missile came rocketing in, landing square in the middle of the farm, spewing fire. Burning crops. This kind of weapon was something new to Cloral. When I had been here, they had destructive weapons, but the ammunition was compressed water. Those weapons were destructive, but they didn’t create fire. Whatever these weapons were, they were new. But how new?
When was I?
I turned to look in the direction the missile had come from to witness a frightening sight. The tower I was standing on wasn’t too far from one end of the giant barge. From here I could look out over the vast ocean that covered Cloral. The night was clear. The sky was loaded with stars…
And the sea was loaded with ships. War ships. Grallion was surrounded by a string of midsize ships armed with fixed, lethal guns. Of course I could only see a fraction of these ships from my vantage point, but it was clear that this was where the attack was coming from. The line of marauders was probably half a mile off the habitat, which was plenty close enough for their guns to do some damage. They looked like modern, fast vessels. As I watched, two of the big guns unloaded. The night air was pierced by the shrill whistle. Moments later two more explosions erupted on the farm below me.
What was the point? Were they trying to sink the habitat? I didn’t think so. The guns were doing some serious damage, but it didn’t seem as if they packed enough power to actually sink an entire floating habitat. I wondered if they were softening up the people to board and take over the barge. During the brief time that I’d been there, I hadn’t seen any fighting actually happening on board. If they were going to board the habitat, it hadn’t happened yet. Which meant one thing: Yet again, I was sent to the right place at the right time. Whatever this battle was about, it would probably play into the overall struggle for Halla.
I had to find Spader. I was about to start down from the tower when the sky lit up with a massive barrage from the guns. It had to have been coordinated, because it seemed as if every ship had unloaded at once. Over and over again, missiles screamed through the air and impacted on Grallion. It was so loud I thought my eardrums would burst. It suddenly felt like a really dumb thing to be on that tower. I scrambled to get down. All around me, bombs hit. The tower shook. I lost my balance and stumbled down the stairs. Another explosion erupted, and the tower started to go over. I was still ten feet from the deck and had to dive off the tower or I would have been crushed beneath it. I hit dirt, luckily, and rolled. The tower crashed down not far from my head. I was spinning through a world of light, dirt, and ear-shattering noise. All I could do was put my arms over my head, assume the fetal position, and hope that I’d survive the onslaught.
Suddenly it all stopped. Just like that. Done. The sound of the multiple explosions echoed over the ocean. It was replaced by the sounds of crying and of things burning. I heard the distant sound of people screaming out instructions to one another. I couldn’t make sense of anything, but it was pretty clear that they were scrambling to pick up the pieces and care for the wounded.
That sound was quickly replaced by another. An amplified voice boomed over the water. It was so loud I had no doubt that every last person on Grallion could hear it.
“People of Grallion,” the man’s voice boomed. “You are protecting individuals who are guilty of crimes against
Ravinia. Harboring fugitives is a capital offense for which the entire population of Grallion will be held responsible. If you do not release the fugitives to us, we will have no choice but to continue our attack with much more drastic consequences. We have the authority, and we will sink this habitat with all on board. There will be no survivors. The choice is yours.”
Ravinia. It was alive and active on Cloral. That pretty much told me who the good guys and the bad guys were. Question was, who were the fugitives they wanted so badly? Could it be the exiles? Even if it wasn’t, if somebody was an enemy of Ravinia, they were a friend of mine. I had to find them. I pulled myself to my feet. I was wobbly but not hurt. Knowing that the aquaneers ran the habitats, I knew I had to start by finding them. I hoped that Spader would be with them.
I ran toward the stern of the giant barge. As I got my wits back, I began to recognize some details about Grallion. The burning buildings where I had first arrived were the stores near the aquaneer living quarters. I was sorry to see that square in the middle, nearly gutted by flames, was Grolo’s. It was the tavern where Spader had first introduced me to the strange bitter-sweet drink called “sniggers.” People wearing the familiar, light-colored clothing of Cloral were doing all they could to put out the flames. It was no use. There would be no more sniggers flowing at Grolo’s. My heart went out to these people. I wanted to stop and help, but there was more than a lost tavern at stake.