Page 109 of Exiles on Earth
Cold spreads from my midsection all the way down my limbs.
“Killed,” I finish for her.
THIRTY-SIX
ILIA
Only an archway separatesme from the starfield where El-len is, but it might as well be another planet.
The security checkpoint of a series of arches heaves with Gerverstocks passing in and out of it. Tired explorers lift their right forearms as they pass through the marked threshold for scanning, their scales a dull matt blue-black, and the ones heading out don’t look much more rested either. Parthiastocks watch closely on constant alert, one assigned to an archway, each with standard issue veralash whips and glowing blue betrillium manacles. A few other clone types pepper the crowd, some Pranastocks mostly, but a motley crew like mine is the exception rather than the norm.
Belora dropped me off before the main starfield checkpoint for females and their mates, and I immediately made my way underground to a Gerverstock station. Here, space farers leave Oloria for their new mission, or return after they’ve delivered their samples.
I sink back into the shadows, rubbing my thumb above the chip embedded in my right forearm. The crowd ignores me as just another Gerverstock, but lingering will draw attention. Theproblem is, I can’t see exactly where the chip readers are from here. Rushing will only get me captured, but the longer I’m trapped down here, the more likely it is El-len will leave Oloria before I can reach her. The memory of her tears burns into me. I need to think, not act.
More tired Gerverstocks pass me on the way to their gray barracks, but these ones do a double take.
“Ilia?”
I slowly turn to face them. It would be stupid to say I don’t recognize them, because we’re all physical copies. Their blue-green eyes study me carefully, and red ripples down my arms.
“Who wants to know?” I return quietly. If they alert the Parthiastocks in some way, I’ll be captured.
“The human female wants to know. El-len,” he says. The wonder in the way he says her name makes my scales shimmer, turning brighter. It’s how I felt when I first met her and admired her strength and fortitude.
Another says, “She said she loves you, she announced it to the whole world.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here, trying to reach her.”
“She approached us looking for you.”
I nearly grab the speaker. “She’s nearby?”
He points beyond the checkpoint. “She’s quartering the starfield in a hovercar, stopping at every gang of Gerverstocks.”
She’s searching for me. She hasn’t left yet.
The first glances at my forearm. “I’m assuming you can’t just walk through.”
“Correct. I’m marked for euthanization.”
They wince, an identical expression rippling through the gang of six in a wave.
“Drok na.” The first folds his arms, studying the checkpoint. “The only openings are guarded by Parthiastocks, and the scanners must be full body. It’s efficient, means we don’t have to slow down to have our chips scanned, but you won’t be able tohide your chip under a different one. Not that I even know where to get a second chip from.”
“Maybe run through. There’s no physical barrier,” another muses.
“He’ll set off all the alerts,” the first cautions. “The Parthiastocks will immediately arrest him.”
Red ripples up my arms. “If I activate the alerts, I can take a single Parthiastock. I spar with one all the time. But there’s eight Bases here.”
“Only Bases? What makes you think that?”
I sweep my gaze over the Parthiastocks again. “Apexes can look distant, like they’re focusing elsewhere. These are all concentrating on the flow back and forth across the checkpoint.”
They nod approvingly. “I didn’t know that. At least that means you won’t have to beware a psychic attack.”
“Correct.” I brace myself. My best odds are if I run, but they’re slim and getting slimmer.
