Broken Read online

  "You’re in shock," said the thin man. "Say the word. Give up this ridiculous quest of yours. Medical attention is just a call away. In less than an hour, the best doctors and cyberneticists on the planet will be fashioning a new pair of hands for you. What do you say? Come on, Michael. My son. Don’t die for stubbornness’ sake."

  * * *

  Broken surged upward towards consciousness. She vaguely remembered something from last time (whatever that was), that she had to be careful, that she mustn’t make a sound. She opened her eyes carefully, just a crack, to a dreadful sight. Michael lay on the ground, and his hands—

  She had once grabbed hold of the high electric fence surrounding Union Tower… her hands had been badly burned. She hadn’t gone near the fence again, even though her hands had healed themselves quickly enough. Michael’s hands wouldn’t heal.

  He made sounds, indistinguishable noises…

  "Union Tower," he said.

  "Say nothing of that! Not if you value your life!" The thin man aimed his pistol at Michael’s legs again. "I’m warning you."

  Michael dissolved into tears. The thin man was still talking, but Broken didn’t hear a word.

  What about Union Tower? Why did Union Tower matter? Why did the thin man care so much about it? Why couldn’t Michael mention it?

  At that moment, the door slid open.

  * * *

  Michael held his breath. He had never seen this before. He had no idea what to do. The thin man glared at him, finger ready on the trigger. All he could see was that the thin man was… terrified. He would still have no chance to speak before dying. It would be for nothing. He squeezed his eyes shut.

  Bravery…

  He prayed for courage.

  * * *

  Broken saw Sky Ranger drift through the door and take in what was going on. He cocked his head, but said nothing. How like him.

  Michael wanted her to say something. She could see it in his eyes.

  * * *

  Broken was awake. Michael saw her staring steadily at him.

  Speak, he willed her.

  * * *

  "Union Tower," said Broken.

  The thin man wheeled, surprised, and trained his weapon on Broken.

  * * *

  Joe stood before him. He smiled.

  "Do what you have to do," he said.

  Michael fought through the pain, pushing himself upright on the stumps of his hands. His mouth formed the words.

  "He destroyed Union Tower! The thin man destroyed—"

  * * *

  "Shut up!" cried the thin man.

  He turned back to Michael. The pistol stopped its deadly arc right in front of Michael’s face.

  Joe beckoned.

  He glanced at Broken.

  She flew.

  He was content.

  * * *

  The thin man pulled the trigger. Light surged into Michael’s head, and his body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

  [CHAPTER 27]

  The thin man turned on Broken.

  "You!" he roared, aiming at her. "I’ll kill you again and again!"

  She tried to move, but found her arms and legs wouldn’t work.

  Michael…

  A black and white flash passed in front of her.

  "What was that about the Tower?" said Sky Ranger to the thin man. "What happened? Why did you shoot that boy?"

  The thin man sighed in agitated annoyance. "Look, Sky Ranger, better you hear from me. Well, the truth is, it’s been destroyed. By, uh, terrorists. With rocket missiles. I’m sorry—"

  "Lies," croaked Broken. "He did it. I heard." In fact, she dimly remembered the thin man saying so. Sometimes hearing came back early.

  "I don’t believe you!" cried Sky Ranger, slapping the pistol from the thin man’s grip in his rage and nearly knocking him to the ground. "I don’t believe you!"

  He stormed over to a screen and set it to a news channel.

  "—from New York. The Union Tower fell just a few hours ago, Jeb, and it looks like it was the result of sabotage from within. Several members of the Union are suspected to have been aligned with the UNP rebels, and this may have led to—"

  "My people..." Sky Ranger moaned, the color draining from his face. "My people!"

  The huge man roared, and smashed a giant, white-knuckled fist into the screen. The thin man tried to edge away.

  "You see? She's lying to you! We didn’t do it. The terrorists did! Sky Ranger, get ahold of yourself! Now! I command you!"

  Sky Ranger knelt in front of Broken. "Sil…"

  "Little Hawk. Please believe me," she said. Every word was a struggle. But life flowed back into her, and she grew stronger. "Believe me. He killed Michael. He killed him so he couldn’t tell you…"

  "I don’t understand…"

  "You’re on the wrong side," she whispered. "Crim... Crim was right. And because of that… we’re the only members of the Union left alive." With a tremendous effort, she jerked her head towards the thin man. "He did it."

  "You!" Sky Ranger advanced on him. "You lured me here. You wanted me away from my people! I could have saved so many of them—! Women and children, innocents!" Tears of anger and despair ran down his cheeks. "You—!"

  "Sky Ranger!" snapped the thin man briskly. "I said it was terrorists, not us! Who are you going to believe, me or some lunatic? You don’t even know her anymore!"

  "Don’t trust him, Sky," Broken said. "He killed Michael to shut him up."

  "That was—he was going to—Sky Ranger, stop! This is a breach of—guards!"

  “I trusted you! I had assurances from the highest levels that my people would be looked after!” cried Sky Ranger.He let loose a wail of pure grief and fury, and advanced on the thin man..

  A flock of guards ran into the room. Sky Ranger, magnificent and terrible in his full wrath, tore them to shreds before Broken’s weary eyes. His movements were a blur of black uniform and flying blood. She hadn’t seen him this angry since Crimson Cadet died.

  "Stop at once!" shrieked the thin man. "Please!"

  He picked up his pistol and fired it at Sky Ranger. The white-hot bolts barely singed him. He was on the thin man in a flash, lifting him off the ground by both arms.

  "Tell me," he growled, "Did you do it? Don’t lie. I might let you live."

  Broken found she could move her arms. She tried to pull herself up.

  "Okay!" cried the thin man. "All right, we did! We had to! It was for the good of the world that Extrahumans not exist! Please, you must understand, we did what we had to do! What if one of you went rogue? Look at your own power! You can’t be trusted, not forever, so you had to be destroyed!"

  "Extrahumans are dangerous?" asked Sky Ranger, voice suddenly calm.

  "Yes," confirmed the thin man.

  "They should be eliminated."

  "Yes," said the thin man, breathing again. "I’m glad you finally understand."

  "You’re an Extrahuman, too," said Sky Ranger calmly. He held the thin man by the shoulders and, with a quick, neat motion, ripped him in half. The thin man's final shriek echoed through the room.

  Sky Ranger collapsed onto the hard, cold, concrete floor and sobbed hysterically.

  * * *

  Monica waited in the cramped cell she had been shoved into, crying softly. They’d never let her go, not now. What was happening? What had happened to the others? She thought of Wayne, Parker, Banner, and Kent… they had died without knowing what had hit them. Would they go to heaven? Did it even matter anymore? God seemed impossibly far from this place.

  Where was Broken? Where was Michael? And what about poor Ian? What would become of them now?

  A whoosh of air. Sky Ranger alighted next to the cell. She turned away in disgust. "Go away," she snapped.

  "Monica," said a familiar voice. Broken. Sky Ranger carried her in his arms.

  "Oh, Broken," said Monica. "You didn’t…?"

  "No," Broken murmured. In her arms was Ian, asleep. Next to him were three blood-
stained tickets.

  "Let’s go to Valen," she said.

  [CHAPTER 28]

  The sun streamed down on Penny’s shoulders as she relaxed in an outdoor café not far from the Temple. She thumbed through the papers Sky Ranger had transmitted, then pushed them aside with a sigh.

  Sky Ranger had stayed on Earth, even though she had implored him to come with them. What was left for him there? But he just shook his head and kissed her goodbye, his ice-blue eyes heavy. It was very like him.

  * * *

  He had flown them back to their hopper after they found Monica and Ian. Broken had held tightly to the baby as they careened over the endless scrubby flatlands of South Australia. Monica wept. Broken hadn’t actually told her Michael was dead. She didn’t need to. His absence spoke volumes.

  When they landed outside the commercial complex, military and Black Band hoppers and fighters were circling overhead. Broken and Monica sprinted for the safety of their waiting hopper while Sky Ranger turned to face the oncoming attackers.

  "Come with us!" cried Broken. "Sky!"

  He turned to her, his handsome face a mix of fury, desperation, and sorrow. "Go ahead, Sil. Take the kid to Valen. Make a better future."

  She ran to him. Silverwing and Silverwyng ran to him. Broken ran to him. Penny ran to him.

  "No," she sobbed. "No! Not you, too!"

  He looked at her. He really looked at her, perhaps for the first time.

  "Oh, Sil… I’m sorry. I’m sorry about… about everything. I only wanted our people to be safe... and now. .. I'm sorry. About me. About you, and about us… I need to go make it up to everyone who’s gone." His eyes hardened, gleaming intently, something firm fixed behind them. "I’ll fight them. But it won’t matter." He deflated. "I’ll fight, and eventually they’ll get me."

  Suddenly he brightened again. He smiled at Ian, who was squirming in Monica’s arms. "But at least I had a hand in the future. Go on. Go. You’re the last of the Union. You have to get away."

  "I loved you so much," she cried.

  "I know. I'm sorry." He slipped a small disc into her hand. "Put this on the side of the ship. They won’t be able to see you. I use one, too."

  She did as she was told. He turned back to face the circling hoppers.

  "Come with us!" she begged again, desperate to convince him, not to lose him when they'd come so far.

  He shook his head silently.

  The attackers were getting closer. His lips met hers… and then he was soaring up into the sky. "Goodbye!" he called.

  "Come on, Broken," Monica said, gently steering her into the hopper. "I’m going to try to drive this thing."

  Monica clumsily lifted the ship off the ground, and guided it jerkily into the air. Silverwing—Silverwyng—Broken stared out the window, heartbroken, as Sky Ranger sped away to do battle with their pursuers.

  Monica hit the thrusters, and the hopper surged forward. Ian screamed, and Broken buried her face in her hands.

  * * *

  They said little on the long flight home. Monica stayed at the pilot’s station, keeping the ship low over the endless sea.

  The interior of the hopper seemed impossibly huge and empty, compared to the ride down. So many empty chairs... Monica could see them all, as if they were still sitting there. Michael's was the worst; she expected to see him every time she glanced at it.

  About halfway to North America, she broke her silence.

  "Why did Sky Ranger help us?" she asked. "I don’t understand. I thought he was one of them."

  "He was an Extrahuman first," Broken said sadly. "He really is a good man. He... I think he just wanted what was best for our people."

  Our people. Monica had never heard her refer to Extrahumans that way before.

  The hopper skimmed over the surface of the ocean as they chased the night across the planet. Only hours, now.

  "Broken," she whispered. "Were you there… when… when Michael died?"

  Broken nodded. "I was."

  "Did you—did you see?"

  She nodded again, ever so slightly.

  Monica turned to Broken. Her face was lined with tears. "Did—he say anything?"

  Broken shook her head. "He didn’t have time to say anything."

  Monica nodded to herself, turning away. "Okay. I understand." She started to shake violently. "Oh! Oh, damn him! Oh…" She burst into tears. "It was noble, wasn’t it? That stupid—! I know him…"

  Broken put a hand on her shoulder. "He died very well," she said softly. "He turned Sky Ranger against them. He knew about Union Tower, that the Reformists did it. He… he saved everything. We’d still be there if not for him. I’d be in the hands of the Science Ministry, you’d be… well, I don’t know. Prison, probably, if not dead."

  Monica nodded, still miserable. "I’d rather have him back!" She clung to Broken, burying her face in the woman's blood-stained cloak.

  "I’d rather be dead!" she wailed. "No one’s left! Everyone’s gone!"

  Broken held her. "I know. For me, too. Everyone’s gone…" And finally, she couldn’t hold her own tears in anymore.

  The Tower was gone. All of her people. Lucky. Doc. Crim. Now Sky Ranger… and Michael. So many holes had been torn in her heart, and they ached. Finally, she ached.

  They wept together for hours as the little ship sped towards the great spaceport clinging to the edge of North America.

  * * *

  “Don't you go anywhere,” Monica murmured as dawn broke.

  Broken hugged her. “Don't worry. I think I'm permanent,” she said.

  * * *

  They landed outside the approaches to Delmarva Spaceport, where Black Band-guarded trains sped emigrants to waiting interstellar ships. Broken, Monica, and Ian got on the train with no trouble; all they had to do was show their tickets to the guards.

  "I wonder what will happen to the hopper?" Monica mused as the train lurched forward. "I wonder… did Wayne and Banner and the others, did they really die?"

  "Yes," Broken said. "They did."

  "Oh." Monica sighed. "I had been hoping I’d imagined it." She giggled, low and convulsively. "I imagine lots of things."

  Broken grabbed her. "Stay with me," she commanded. "Monica. Stay with me. Don’t go to that place."

  Monica somehow found her control, and lay with her head in Broken's lap, silent, until the train finally pulled up outside the huge terminal complex.

  * * *

  They stood in line for hours while government men, many of them former CA employees, checked documents, records, and tickets. Their tickets got them through most checkpoints, but when asked to produce official identification, Monica shrugged and shook her head.

  "We lost it. In New York," she said. "Our house…" She looked like she might start crying again.

  "I’m sorry," said the older woman in harsh, clipped tones. "I can’t let you board without it. Regulations."

  Such a small thing. How could they have forgotten?

  "Please," said Broken quietly. "Please, we need to leave."

  The old woman eyed them suspiciously. "And why would that be? Hm?"

  They stood stock-still for a few seconds.

  "Please," was all Monica could say. She was crying again. "Please!"

  The old woman pursed her lips and shook her head. "You’re holding up the line."

  "You don’t understand!" cried Monica. Ian wailed. The old woman heaved a long-suffering sigh and motioned to two large men, who advanced on them.

  "All right, all right," Broken said, herding Monica away. "Sorry."

  They slumped, devastated, in a small waiting area near the boarding gates. The next ship for Valen was leaving in an hour. There wouldn’t be another for six days. The government would find them… they’d be caught, it was all for nothing.

  "It can’t end like this," Monica stammered. "It can’t! Michael died so we could get away!"

  Broken shook her head, looking around at the other would-be passengers. Would any of them take a baby?
She had his ticket.

  Probably not. She sighed. Ian still didn’t have any identification. How would he get aboard? Maybe they wouldn’t care if everyone else had ID. She had to try.

  She stood and walked to a likely looking woman with a kind face. "Excuse me," she said. "But this baby needs to get to Valen. We can’t go. Please. Would you take him?" She handed the woman his ticket. "He should go to a nice family. Please."

  The woman turned away. "I’m sorry," she said. "I can’t."

  Broken tried again and again, to no avail. Monica got up and tried people in other lines.

  "I can’t."

  "No, I won’t."

  "Go away! That’s illegal!"

  No one wanted to speak with them. No one wanted Ian. No one wanted trouble.

  A woman in a smart government uniform came up to Broken. "You need to come with me," she said. She already had Monica in tow. "Both of you. We’ve been monitoring you."

  This was the end. They followed, sick at heart. They had failed.

  I’m sorry, Broken thought. Sky Ranger, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fail you. Michael… Michael… you believed in us, but it looks like you were wrong. I should have known better. I’m sorry…

  What a terrible ending, defeated by bureaucratic minutiae.

  * * *

  The woman led them into a room marked "SECURITY." Behind a large desk, surrounded by monitors, sat Janeane.

  Monica’s jaw dropped as the slender, dark-skinned woman rose gracefully from her chair. She wore a magnificent blue Colonization Authority uniform, in the style of the vanishing old Confederation.

  "Good afternoon, ladies," she said. She smiled at the other woman. "You can go." The official saluted and left. They were alone. Janeane raised a finger and pressed a button. "Okay. No one is monitoring."

  "Janeane," breathed Monica, and threw herself into her arms. Janeane held her tight.

  "Well. It’s been a while. I thought you’d never make it."

  "We did. We’re here… God! I thought you’d… I thought you were… I’m so happy to see you!"

  "And I you." She regarded her soberly. "I’m glad you got away. You got my note?"

  Monica nodded. "Yes. Thank you. You saved my life."

  Janeane laughed. "If only the others had read theirs! It figures." She shook her head. Then she looked from one to the other. "Broken, it’s good to see you, too. Is Michael…?"