Part 30 (1/2)

”Silver bird?” Soz took a breath. ”You mean a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p?”

”I think so.”

”What was the picture?”

”Big black tomjolt.”

No. She bit back her cry of protest. To Vitar, who had never seen a Eubian puma, the Trader insignia would look like a tomjolt. She groaned as another contraction hit her.

”Hoshma?” Lisi said. ”Is the baby coming?”

”I think so.”

The children found blankets and spread them under her. She braced herself against the wall as the labor progressed and tried not to cry out, though the pain was worse than with any of the other births. Maybe knowing what waited at the end made this one harder, turning her anguish into physical pain. The children huddled in the dark, silent while she struggled not to scream.

And when the child finally came, helped by Lisi, Soz's node answered the question she had never asked. Dead. Her baby was dead.

They wrapped the tiny body in a blanket. Lisi used soap and gauze from the medkit to clean her mother while Soz lay in a crumpled heap, exhausted, her heart aching, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s full of milk her baby would never need. She keened to herself, arms wrapped around her body as if she held an infant.

Somewhere a baby wailed and Soz wept for the ghost sound.

”Here, Hoshma.” Lisi put a fussing bundle in her arms. The baby cried again and Soz held him close. Lifting her s.h.i.+rt, she put him to her breast and he suckled heartily, squirming to get comfortable. She knew a newborn could never be so adept, but it didn't matter. She hugged him and a bit of the grief in her heart receded.

She must have slept. When she woke, del-Kelric was drowsing in her arms, finished with his nursing. ”Sweet Kelli,” she murmured. ”Thank you.”

”Mother?” Jai asked. ”Are you all right?”

She sat up slowly, aching and tired. ”Yes.”

”I'm hungry,” Vitar said.

Soz rubbed her neck. ”There's food down here.”

”We ate it all,” Lisi said.

Uneasy, Soz said, ”There should be supplies for many weeks.”

”The quasis field cut through the cache,” Jai told her.

”There's still water,” Lisi said. ”Would you like some?”

”Yes.” Soz wet her lips, suddenly aware of her thirst.

Rustles came from the dark. Then Lisi put a canteen in her hands and Soz drank, the warm liquid running down her throat like a benediction.

”I want to go home,” Vitar said. ”Dead baby scares me.”

”It's all right,” Soz soothed. ”The baby went into the sky. She's happy there.” In her mind, she thought: Node, how long have we been down here?

Fifty-six hours. Her node answered in the same manner she had addressed it, a normal-speed mode, which she perceived as words rather than accelerated abstract sounds and numbers.

So long? Estimate outside temperature, a.s.suming heatbar sterilization fifty-six hours ago.

Normal temperature, it thought. However, I suggest waiting twenty more hours, to ensure meteorological effects have stabilized and hostile forces have left orbit.

Soz grimaced. We have no way to ensure either.

This is true. But based on my data of ESComm operations, the probability the vessels will have left orbit rises to 85 percent in another twenty hours. It will also be morning by then.

Do we have enough air to last?

Yes. EcoComp is recycling it. I recommend rationing the water.

”Mother?” Jai asked. ”Can we leave?”

”Not yet.” She took a breath. ”Try to sleep. We have to stay here a lot longer.”

”No!” Vitar's voice broke. ”I don't want to! We have to put the baby in the ground or ghosts will come.”

”It's all right,” Soz murmured. ”Come keep me company, Vitar. Ghosts are scared of your hoshma.”

A scrabbling sound came from the darkness. Then Vitar was at her side, hugging her as if he feared she would disappear.

None of them slept well. Vitar cried, so softly Soz barely heard. Del-Kelric fussed, only quieting when she nursed him. Both Lisi and Jai were silent. For a while they tried telling stories, but their voices trailed off into the darkness.

When it finally came time to leave, Soz spoke to them all, trying to infuse her voice with a confidence she didn't feel. ”As soon as I collapse the quasis field, the dirt around us will fall, if there is any left. Don't be scared. It won't be enough to bury us.” Quietly she added, ”When we get out, don't expect to see the house. Everything will be gone.”

”Gone?” Lisi asked. ”Why?”

”Heat,” Soz said. ”I think the rumbling we heard was something called heatbar sterilization. A s.h.i.+p in orbit uses a wide-beam laser to burn the region under attack.”

”We didn't burn,” Lisi said.

”The only way heat could come in here is through the quasis s.h.i.+eld,” Soz said. ”The molecules within the field can't change state, so heat can't flow in.” Flow seemed such a mild word for what she feared had taken place.

”Then why did we feel the shaking?” Jai asked.

Soz grimaced. ”The ground can throw around the bubble. It just can't change the bubble itself.”

”Why did the bad people want to burn our house?” Vitar asked.

Soz s.h.i.+fted him in her arms, relieved to hear him using more normal sentences. ”They didn't know we were here,” she lied.

”Yes, they did.” Jai's voice was hard. ”They tried to kill us.”

”Jai, don't,” Lisi said.

”Why? You heard what Vitar said. He was describing ESComm soldiers. They took Father away and tried to get rid of us.”