“That’s Novus?” Marlowe asks, awed.
It’s colossal. A rotating, cylindrical structure looming ahead. Dozens of docking pylons extend in a mockery of starbursts, illuminated brightly and bustling with activity. The outer surface of the station is covered with solar panels and thermal radiators, half in shadow and half gleaming in the sunlight. It’s gridded with energy shields and small defence turrets, making it a formidable sight. But in direct contradiction to this arethe numerous transparent biodomes which shimmer like gems, bursting with greenery.
We align with one of those docking arms and, once attached, the ship is shuttled along. Beau, in comms with a dock operator, follows instructions to ensure we easily proceed through the grav shift. Whilst they take care of that, the junction’s safety AI relays information through to the bridge that Kit broadcasts onto the rest of theMidas.
“...in the event of an emergency...”
My nerves rattle my teeth.
Docking at Novus is always the smoothest part—it’s everything else that can go to shit in an instant. By the time we’ve been assigned a bay and the ship is secured, everyone’s gathered in the main cargo area. We disembark together, taking the ramp down to the metallic, pocked surface of the arm. It looks as though a stiff breeze should send it flying into space, but it’s sturdier than it appears.
In the daylight, the air tastes faintly like dirt. More pylons stretch out to either side of us for miles. The people, when they’re not coming and going, are to the north.
Julian turns to me. “Where to?”
“You’ve never been to Novus before?”
It’s surprising because if the brothers only ever take small ships, those usually have to stop off and refuel at least once mid-journey. Novus is the biggest way station in the system. Perhaps the brothers stay onboard whilst the refuelling is being done.
“This way.” I take lead of the group. “We’ll go to the central hub. From there, you can decide what you want to do once you’ve seen all your options.”
We pile into a carriage on the maglev train that’s preparing to leave. It’s sleek and shiny, and Marlowe and Vee press their faces to the window as we shoot towards the hub. Wepass biodomes filled with forests and farms, public parks, and living art installations. Markets pop up on either side of the tracks, rising and falling until we approach a huge open space with towering ceilings and multilayered platforms. By now, the markets have trailed off, replaced with gleaming, expensive surfaces.
The train spills its passengers at a platform lined with benches and immediately disappears back the way it came. Advertisements rise everywhere, and as I lead the group into the central hub itself, I have to warn them to keep an eye out for the holo-ads with a tendency to pop up out of nowhere. It’s easy to get spooked and misstep right into a maglev.
Marlowe tugs on my arm, looking like she’s had too much caffeine. “Whatisthis?”
“Think of it like a really, really big airport.”
She shakes her head. “No, I’ve seen those. This is nothing like an airport.”
I muse. “Okay, it’s more of a hybrid: airport meets shopping centre meets town.”
“You’re no help.” She snorts, swatting my arm. “Is it crazy that I wish they didn’t have to leave?”
We glance behind to peer at Maximus and Liz, discussing the sights, and Julian, who walks very close to Devyaan. Maybe Marlowe has lowered one too many of my defences, but the brothers have grown on me. I wouldn’t be mad if they wanted to stay on to Red Horizon. I know Devyaan and Khrys certainly wouldn’t mind. I’m not sure if there was anything between Khrys and Maximus—Marlowe thought Khrys had wanted there to be—but she does a good job of appearing neutral.
The brothers and Liz don’t stay, though, and we say our final words at one of the dozen concierge booths in the Novus hub. It’s a quick and painless goodbye, but it’s hard to miss the disappointment on Devyaan’s face or the disquiet onMarlowe’s. Intentions are made to stay in contact, but we all know an empty promise when we hear one. I try not to think about the next time goodbyes will be said.
Marlowe, throwing an arm around Devyaan’s shoulder, kisses him on the cheek. “Wanna take your mind off it? I heard someone say there’s a zero-gravity sports arena, and it’s amateur night. I’m extremely bad at sports but I’ll happily cheer you on.”
“Julian likes sports.” Devyaan sighs, a touch dramatically.
I shoot him a sceptical stare, for no other reason than it’s still hard to believe Julian has a personality. Marlowe meets my look with a warning one of her own, and I keep my mouth shut. Apparently, she’s become adept at predicting when I’m about to say something less than diplomatic.
“Or,” she coos, “there’s a space casino. We can play some tables, join some games. I bet you’ve got a mean poker face hidden in there.”
A cold wave passes through me. Even now, talk of gambling sends that chill skittering over my bones. My father gave me few things, and this everlasting reaction is one of them.
“Cap? You alright?” Beau asks.
I wave them away, blanking my mind and my expression. Now, I figure, is a good time to split up. The crew know this isn’t a holiday and are expecting tasks. It’s only Marlowe and Vee I’ll need to convince to stay busy so I can slip away without a fuss.
“Khrys, source anything you need for the med bay. Can I also ask you to find a mechanic to give theMidasa tune-up whilst we’re docked? Beau, you oversee refuelling. Devyaan, you stock up on supplies and anything else you deem necessary. We also need more uniforms.”
Nods all around. When I turn to Marlowe, she looks expectant.
“There’s a lot to see in the hub, and we’ll all be busy for some time; why don’t you and Vee go exploring? Gryphon has an account for pretty much the whole station—you can get a lot of shopping done if there’s anything you need. Maybe some clothes that fit.” I spare a smile, glancing down at her rolled-up cuffs.
