Andromeda Day and the Black Hole by Charlie Jackson Read Free Book Online

stilted Ruvalian.
    The captain lifted his chin. “On our
planet, the women fight alongside the men. They are brave and have obtained
many of our country’s highest honors.”
    Deneb stared at the green figure, realization
suddenly dawning. “You are woman!” he declared with his usual subtlety.
    Andi added quickly, “He didn’t mean that as
an insult. It is just that you seem so… competent.”
    The female Ruvalian captain smiled. “I
understand. I know off-worlders cannot tell the difference between our males
and females.”
    Andi looked around the table. Not only were
the Ruvalians dressed alike—their faces were all hairless, their bodies slim
and straight, with no hints of womanly curves. She could not tell which of them
were men and which were women. “Why don’t you distinguish between yourselves?”
she asked curiously, adding hastily, “I don’t mean that as an insult.”
    The captain nodded. “During times of peace
women do sometimes dress differently to men. But now we are at war. It makes no
difference whether we are male and female. None of us wants his or her land to
fall to the Hoshaens. We all fight.”
    Andi nodded back. She felt a strange
admiration for the confident and courageous captain.
    The captain sighed. She seemed to have come
to terms with the fact that the two travelers were not a threat. “My name is
Clios,” she said.
    “I am Andi, and this is my father, Deneb.”
    Clios nodded her head. She looked over her
shoulder at the battle plans. “You can see that we are in much trouble. The
Hoshaens press against our walls like a disease threatening to break out. They
will soon overrun us.” Her eyes narrowed. “Sphere will stop at nothing to set
foot inside this Hall.”
    Deneb frowned. “Sphere?”
    “He is a general in the Hoshaen army.”
    Andi was shocked at the hate that glowed
suddenly in Clios’s eyes. She sensed a deeper emotion behind Clios’s words than
mere despise for an enemy. “What did he do to you?” she asked gently.
    Clios turned a surprised gaze on her, and
then smiled ruefully. “You have sharp eyes. Yes, we do have a history. Sphere
was in charge of the raiding party on my home village, eight summers ago. He
killed everyone in the village—everyone but me.” The deep furrow between her
eyes indicated the emotional pain he had put her through. “I managed to find a
hiding place in a yellowcorn store. I watched him massacre my people through a
crack in the wall. He killed my mother and father before my eyes, and there was
nothing I could do about it.” She bit her lip. The memory was obviously still
painful for her.
    “You say he is a general in the army. Is he
well respected?”
    “He is greatly feared, even by his own
people, because of his cruelty. But they will never eject him from the army
because of his talent.”
    “His talent?” Deneb asked.
    “The Indigo Quartz,” Clios explained,
touching the pendant at her throat. “Have you heard of it?”
    “Yes, a little. The Plions said that it
increases a person’s mental power.”
    “Yes, something like that. Well, Sphere has
the natural ability to read people’s minds. And he wears a large piece of pure
Quartz, which enhances this ability. You see, although in Ruvalian lands the
Quartz runs near the surface and is easily accessible, it is less pure here
than the veins which run deep in Hoshaen territory. Hoshaen crystal is
extremely expensive, but also very powerful. Sphere’s gift is invaluable, for
of course if he interrogates prisoners he can immediately find out what they
know.”
    Andi shivered. The thought of this man
probing her mind to find out her deepest secrets and fears made her mouth go
dry. “Can nothing be done?” she asked, feeling desperate for both the captain
and her people.
    Clios shrugged. “Most of our people have
given up all hope of ever winning the war. Once the Hoshaens took the Golden
Star, the battle for us was lost.”
    “The Golden Star?” Deneb asked.
    Clios