"Are you scared, sweetie?" Jamie's mom asked. "There's nothing to be scared about."
Jamie looked up at her. "I know," he said stoutly. "I'm not scared. But Savie is a bit nervous."
His mom reached down to pat the stuffed toy Jamie clutched. Savie had once born some resemblance to a slaver hound, but years of Jamie's love and devotion had worn off most of the fur and battered the stuffing until Savie was unidentifiable to anyone but him.
"Don't worry, Savie," Jamie's mom said. "Someone will be here soon to take us home."
"You hear that?" Jamie whispered. "Someone will be here soon. There's nothing to worry about, Savie. Everything's going to be fine."
He could tell from the sick cold feeling in his stomach that Savie wasn't reassured. Can't blame him, Jamie thought. If I didn't know better, I'd be scared. Looking around the cabin made him guess that maybe some of the grown-ups didn't know better either. A lot of them were really pale, and some were praying, and some were crying, too.
His watch told him it was already an hour past the time the passenger ship was supposed to arrive at the station in Torrinos where Gramma was going to meet them. Jamie hoped that Gramma would know there was nothing to worry about. She probably does. Gramma had been working on space ships since before Jamie was born. She'd know that, like Jamie's mom had told him, sometimes there's a little hiccup in the engines and the ship has to wait for someone to come and give it a jump start.
Then he remembered that his mom had said they were going to surprise Gramma for her birthday. So she won't know we're late, even. Jamie figured that was good Gramma wouldn't worry, even if Savie didn't like the idea that Gramma didn't know where they were, or that they might need help with the engine.
"Do we have to wait much longer?" Jamie asked. "I'm getting really hungry. And it's cold."
"Not much longer," his mom said with a funny kind of smile that Jamie hadn't seen before. "It'll be all over soon."
Soon for his mom didn't mean the same as it did to him and Savie, Jamie decided after he watched another half-an-hour tick past on his watch. He looked up to ask her again but as he did there was a loud noise from outside the cabin.
"What - ?" Jamie started to ask.
His mom grabbed him and held him tight, tight enough to hurt. "Quiet, Jamie, keep quiet now."
"But is that someone coming to help us?" he whispered. "Savie wants to know!"
Another loud noise, and this time the cabin shook a little bit at the same time. A man nearby screamed. Jamie's mom hung on to him, and he didn't mind, even if she was squishing Savie. Savie didn't mind either, as more noise and more banging and shaking and people screaming and crying made Savie and Jamie both think that maybe there might be something to worry about after all.
Maybe everything isn't going to be fine .
"Is someone shooting us, mom?" he asked.
"I love you very much, Jamie, more than anything, you know that don't you?" Gwen said.
Savie wanted Jamie to ask her Are we going to die? but Jamie didn't. He knew, even if Savie didn't, that some questions aren't the kind you want to have answered.
Suddenly the banging and shaking stopped. It took a minute for everyone to realise and for the noise of all the grown-ups crying and screaming and praying loud to die down. Then it was quiet for a little bit. Jamie was just opening his mouth to ask his mom what was going to happen next when there was a metallic crunching sound from just outside the cabin door.
"It's the Blooders! They're boarding!" a woman screamed.
"Blow the locks, blow the locks!" someone else yelled.
Jamie's mom hugged him and pressed his face against her shoulder but he wiggled around enough so he could look in the direction of the cabin door. Savie was too scared to look, because Jamie had told him all about the Blooders after some older kids at school had been talking about them, but Jamie figured that he might as well see what they looked like. He hadn't heard anywhere that the Blooders wouldn't take you unless you looked at them, after all.
The handle of the door started glowing, and then got really bright and just dropped off on to the floor, and the door flew open so fast it bounced against the wall. Jamie expected to see scary people in robes with knives through the door, like in the stories, but instead a tall man in power-armour stepped into the cabin.
"Everybody calm down," the man said. "We're marines off the Fortune's Smile and we're here to take you into the station. Come this way, nice and orderly."
Jamie's mom picked him up and hurried towards the door as everyone else started rushing forward as well. Savie got scared as the people pushed and shoved Jamie's mom, all of the trying to be first out the door.
A couple more marines came through the door and started trying to make people slow down. The man who'd spoken first reached into the crowd and grabbed hold of Jamie's mom and Jamie and Savie all together and hauled them out of the crush. Jamie wanted to thank him but before he could the marines hurried them through the door and along the same kind of flexible corridor they'd walked through to get on the ship in the first place, except this one was stuck on the wall where Jamie was sure there hadn't been a door before.
At the other end of it was a huge room, almost empty except for some boxes and cargo cans at one end, and some more people waiting for them, but wearing uniforms instead of power-armour. Jamie's mom carried him all the way across the room before she put him down and then she knelt down beside him, still hugging him tight. Jamie watched as all the rest of the people from the passenger ship came through the corridor, followed by the marines. The marines sealed up the door behind them and Jamie could see one of them talking even though there wasn't anybody near for him to talk to.
The room made the funny little jump and shimmy that meant it was on a ship and the ship was going into warp. Someone started cheering, and then everybody was, so Jamie joined in. It made so much noise that at first he didn't hear the woman speaking.
".... Roth's Fortune's Smile," she was saying in a voice that didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular, a calm, reassuring voice like the nurse at school when a kid got hurt playing, except with a funny kind of accent Jamie hadn't heard before. "I apologise for the quality of the accommodations, but it wont be for long. We're inbound to Torrinos IV Lai Dai Station, docking expected in less than five minutes. If you have injuries, please make yourself known to CMO Janianial, she's the one raising her hand right now."
Jamie looked and saw one of the people in uniform, a woman with dark, dark skin and long black hair, holding her hand up in the air. He stared at her, trying to decide if she was pretty or not. Then she smiled, a big smile that made her eyes squinch almost closed, and he decided that she wasn't pretty after all but that if he was sick, she was the doctor he'd like to have.
He was so busy staring at her that it wasn't until his mom let go of him and jumped to her feet to run across the room that Jamie realised that one of the other people in uniform was his Gramma.
The handle of the door started glowing, and then got really bright and just dropped off on to the floor, and the door flew open so fast it bounced against the wall. Jamie expected to see scary people in robes with knives through the door, like in the stories, but instead a tall man in power-armour stepped into the cabin.
"Everybody calm down," the man said. "We're marines off the Fortune's Smile and we're here to take you into the station. Come this way, nice and orderly."
Jamie's mom picked him up and hurried towards the door as everyone else started rushing forward as well. Savie got scared as the people pushed and shoved Jamie's mom, all of the trying to be first out the door.
A couple more marines came through the door and started trying to make people slow down. The man who'd spoken first reached into the crowd and grabbed hold of Jamie's mom and Jamie and Savie all together and hauled them out of the crush. Jamie wanted to thank him but before he could the marines hurried them through the door and along the same kind of flexible corridor they'd walked through to get on the ship in the first place, except this one was stuck on the wall where Jamie was sure there hadn't been a door before.
At the other end of it was a huge room, almost empty except for some boxes and cargo cans at one end, and some more people waiting for them, but wearing uniforms instead of power-armour. Jamie's mom carried him all the way across the room before she put him down and then she knelt down beside him, still hugging him tight. Jamie watched as all the rest of the people from the passenger ship came through the corridor, followed by the marines. The marines sealed up the door behind them and Jamie could see one of them talking even though there wasn't anybody near for him to talk to.
The room made the funny little jump and shimmy that meant it was on a ship and the ship was going into warp. Someone started cheering, and then everybody was, so Jamie joined in. It made so much noise that at first he didn't hear the woman speaking.
".... Roth's Fortune's Smile," she was saying in a voice that didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular, a calm, reassuring voice like the nurse at school when a kid got hurt playing, except with a funny kind of accent Jamie hadn't heard before. "I apologise for the quality of the accommodations, but it wont be for long. We're inbound to Torrinos IV Lai Dai Station, docking expected in less than five minutes. If you have injuries, please make yourself known to CMO Janianial, she's the one raising her hand right now."
Jamie looked and saw one of the people in uniform, a woman with dark, dark skin and long black hair, holding her hand up in the air. He stared at her, trying to decide if she was pretty or not. Then she smiled, a big smile that made her eyes squinch almost closed, and he decided that she wasn't pretty after all but that if he was sick, she was the doctor he'd like to have.
He was so busy staring at her that it wasn't until his mom let go of him and jumped to her feet to run across the room that Jamie realised that one of the other people in uniform was his Gramma.
Gramma grabbed hold of Jamie's mom almost as hard as Jamie's mom had held on to him when the loud noises had started on the passenger ship. Jamie ran over to them and Gramma reached out a hand and pulled him into the hug.
"What are you even doing in this system, Gwen?" Gramma asked.
Jamie's mom was smiling and crying at the same time. "I wanted to surprise you," she said. "Happy birthday! Surprise!"
Gramma gave the laugh she had that didn't make her face change expression at all, the one Jamie had tried to practice in the mirror but couldn't get right. "Surprise is right. Surprise for the Blooders, too. I've got to see to ship's business, hon, so you sit yourself down over there and wait, okay?"
Jamie's mom nodded and took him back over to the wall. They sat down on the cold metal floor together and waited. After a little while there was another set of metal clanging noises and people started cheering again even before the woman with the accent told them all that the ship was docked and secure.
Instead of going to get off the ship straight-away like Jamie had expected, everyone still stood around waiting. They were all looking at the big doors at the back of the room, so Jamie looked there too.
The doors whooshed open and another one of the people in uniform came through, a woman with her hair all wet like she'd just been swimming. The size of the doors made her look really small, and then Jamie realised as she walked up to Gramma that she was pretty small. He didn't think she looked all that old enough to be on a space-ship either, more like the girls in the most senior grade at school except without the make-up they wore. Her skin was darker than theirs was too, although not as dark as the not-pretty doctor.
Then Gramma and the woman turned to walk towards some of the people from the passenger ship and Jamie saw the glint of metal on the back of her neck, up high where it was mostly hidden by her hair. Then he remembered what Gramma had said in one of her mails about her new pilot. I've got shoes older than this one, she'd said.
"See that, Savie?" Jamie said. "She's a pilot."
The pilot and Gramma took a long time talking to all the other people before they finally turned and walked towards Jamie and his mom, while behind them the other passengers and the people in uniforms started filing out of the big doors.
"Pilot," Gramma said, "This is my daughter, Gwen, and my grand-son Jamie."
"I'm pleased to meet you both," the pilot said, and Jamie realised that the voice in the air with the accent had been her voice, except it had sounded more grown-up before, like a teacher almost.
"Thank you so much for what you did," Jamie's mom said, her voice sounding a bit funny. "Pilot Roth, we'll always - "
The pilot got a bit red in the face. "Please, you don't need to - " she interrupted. Jamie supposed that you were allowed to do rude things like interupt people if you were a pilot. "And please, call me Cia, even if I can't get Luisa to."
"Never called my captain by their first name, never will," Gramma said firmly. The pilot looked sideways at her with a twist of her mouth that made her look a lot like Jamie's mom did sometimes.
"Are you Gramma's pilot?" Jamie asked the pilot.
Jamie's mom made a shushing noise at him but the pilot crouched down in front of Jamie, so he could look right at her. Up close he thought she looked a lot like her voice sounded - pretty in a foreign kind of way, soft and quiet. "I am," she said. "I'm Cia. And you're Jamie, right? And who's this?"
"This is Savie," Jamie said. "He was scared before. But he isn't now."
"What are you even doing in this system, Gwen?" Gramma asked.
Jamie's mom was smiling and crying at the same time. "I wanted to surprise you," she said. "Happy birthday! Surprise!"
Gramma gave the laugh she had that didn't make her face change expression at all, the one Jamie had tried to practice in the mirror but couldn't get right. "Surprise is right. Surprise for the Blooders, too. I've got to see to ship's business, hon, so you sit yourself down over there and wait, okay?"
Jamie's mom nodded and took him back over to the wall. They sat down on the cold metal floor together and waited. After a little while there was another set of metal clanging noises and people started cheering again even before the woman with the accent told them all that the ship was docked and secure.
Instead of going to get off the ship straight-away like Jamie had expected, everyone still stood around waiting. They were all looking at the big doors at the back of the room, so Jamie looked there too.
The doors whooshed open and another one of the people in uniform came through, a woman with her hair all wet like she'd just been swimming. The size of the doors made her look really small, and then Jamie realised as she walked up to Gramma that she was pretty small. He didn't think she looked all that old enough to be on a space-ship either, more like the girls in the most senior grade at school except without the make-up they wore. Her skin was darker than theirs was too, although not as dark as the not-pretty doctor.
Then Gramma and the woman turned to walk towards some of the people from the passenger ship and Jamie saw the glint of metal on the back of her neck, up high where it was mostly hidden by her hair. Then he remembered what Gramma had said in one of her mails about her new pilot. I've got shoes older than this one, she'd said.
"See that, Savie?" Jamie said. "She's a pilot."
The pilot and Gramma took a long time talking to all the other people before they finally turned and walked towards Jamie and his mom, while behind them the other passengers and the people in uniforms started filing out of the big doors.
"Pilot," Gramma said, "This is my daughter, Gwen, and my grand-son Jamie."
"I'm pleased to meet you both," the pilot said, and Jamie realised that the voice in the air with the accent had been her voice, except it had sounded more grown-up before, like a teacher almost.
"Thank you so much for what you did," Jamie's mom said, her voice sounding a bit funny. "Pilot Roth, we'll always - "
The pilot got a bit red in the face. "Please, you don't need to - " she interrupted. Jamie supposed that you were allowed to do rude things like interupt people if you were a pilot. "And please, call me Cia, even if I can't get Luisa to."
"Never called my captain by their first name, never will," Gramma said firmly. The pilot looked sideways at her with a twist of her mouth that made her look a lot like Jamie's mom did sometimes.
"Are you Gramma's pilot?" Jamie asked the pilot.
Jamie's mom made a shushing noise at him but the pilot crouched down in front of Jamie, so he could look right at her. Up close he thought she looked a lot like her voice sounded - pretty in a foreign kind of way, soft and quiet. "I am," she said. "I'm Cia. And you're Jamie, right? And who's this?"
"This is Savie," Jamie said. "He was scared before. But he isn't now."
"Well, that's good," the pilot said gravely. "I'm glad he's not scared now."
"He gets scared of things a lot," Jamie confided. "He's silly that way."
The pilot smiled, and leaned closer. "Will you tell him a secret for me?" When Jamie nodded, the pilot whispered in his ear, "I get scared of things a lot, too."
Jamie stared at her, and she nodded solemnly. "It's true. Swear by Fortune - er, by my ancestors."
"Oh," Jamie said. He thought the pilot looked sadder than anyone ever right then, even though she was smiling at him. "Don't feel bad about that, Cia," he said impulsively. "I get scared of things too, even things that don't scare Savie. Like - sometimes I'm scared of the dark, and Savie has to tell me to be brave."
"Really?" the pilot said. "That's funny, Jamie, because when it's dark is when I get scared too."
Jamie looked down at Savie. He really didn't want to, but he knew it was the right thing to do. After all, the pilot had saved them, not just from having a broken engine but from the Blood Raiders too.
He took a deep breath and reluctantly held Savie out to the pilot. "Would you like Savie to stay with you? So you can be brave in the dark?"
The pilot took Savie gently in both hands. Jame watched, already sorry he'd said it. As the pilot looked at Savie Jamie realised just how old and worn and ugly Savie had got over the years. He felt his throat get hot and tight as he imagined how silly Savie must look to a pod-ship pilot.
The the pilot looked up at Jamie again and smiled, and Jamie realised that even if she was foreign-looking she was beautiful, more than even Ms Haistij who taught Art, almost as beautiful as Jamie's mom.
"Thank you, Jamie," the pilot said very seriously. "I bet he'd help me a lot. But I'm worried that I wouldn't have time to look after him when he got scared. And that wouldn't be any good, would it? Maybe you could take care of him for me until I really, really need him one day, okay?"
"Okay," Jamie said. "You can tell Gramma when that is, okay?"
The pilot nodded, and gave Savie back to Jamie carefully, as if Savie was the most valuable thing she'd ever touched, instead of just an old stuffed toy that had lost one ear and both eyes a long time ago. Then she held out her hand for Jamie to shake, just like he was a grown-up. "Deal," she said.
Jamie put his hand in hers. Her fingers were cool and soft, like a little baby's hand, and Jamie remembered what he'd heard, about pilots being born again in new, grown-up bodies every now and then. He wondered how often that had happened to thispilot, and if that was why her blue eyes were sad even when she was smiling.
He put that thought away to ask Gramma later as the grown-ups said goodbye to each other and Gramma herded Jamie and his mom toward the big doors out.
At the door, Jamie looked back to wave goodbye. The pilot looked very small in the big empty room. Jamie thought about her all the time Gramma was showing them the way through the corridors to leave the ship.
"Gramma," he asked as they walked down the big flexible corridor to the station itself, "How can one little girl like that run this whole ship?"
Gramma ran her fingers gently through Jamie's hair. "Pilots are bigger when they're in the pod, Jamie," she said. "When you're older, you'll understand more." She smiled down at him. "Now, do you and Savie want some ice-cream? And I think it's time for my birthday cake, don't you?"
Jamie nodded, the pilot's sad eyes and the scary noises on the passenger ship all fading in importance at the very real and present prospect of ice-cream and cake. "Can I have chocolate and strawberry? And Savie wants that, too."
"Today, sweetie," Jamie's mom said, "You and Savie can have whatever you want."
"He gets scared of things a lot," Jamie confided. "He's silly that way."
The pilot smiled, and leaned closer. "Will you tell him a secret for me?" When Jamie nodded, the pilot whispered in his ear, "I get scared of things a lot, too."
Jamie stared at her, and she nodded solemnly. "It's true. Swear by Fortune - er, by my ancestors."
"Oh," Jamie said. He thought the pilot looked sadder than anyone ever right then, even though she was smiling at him. "Don't feel bad about that, Cia," he said impulsively. "I get scared of things too, even things that don't scare Savie. Like - sometimes I'm scared of the dark, and Savie has to tell me to be brave."
"Really?" the pilot said. "That's funny, Jamie, because when it's dark is when I get scared too."
Jamie looked down at Savie. He really didn't want to, but he knew it was the right thing to do. After all, the pilot had saved them, not just from having a broken engine but from the Blood Raiders too.
He took a deep breath and reluctantly held Savie out to the pilot. "Would you like Savie to stay with you? So you can be brave in the dark?"
The pilot took Savie gently in both hands. Jame watched, already sorry he'd said it. As the pilot looked at Savie Jamie realised just how old and worn and ugly Savie had got over the years. He felt his throat get hot and tight as he imagined how silly Savie must look to a pod-ship pilot.
The the pilot looked up at Jamie again and smiled, and Jamie realised that even if she was foreign-looking she was beautiful, more than even Ms Haistij who taught Art, almost as beautiful as Jamie's mom.
"Thank you, Jamie," the pilot said very seriously. "I bet he'd help me a lot. But I'm worried that I wouldn't have time to look after him when he got scared. And that wouldn't be any good, would it? Maybe you could take care of him for me until I really, really need him one day, okay?"
"Okay," Jamie said. "You can tell Gramma when that is, okay?"
The pilot nodded, and gave Savie back to Jamie carefully, as if Savie was the most valuable thing she'd ever touched, instead of just an old stuffed toy that had lost one ear and both eyes a long time ago. Then she held out her hand for Jamie to shake, just like he was a grown-up. "Deal," she said.
Jamie put his hand in hers. Her fingers were cool and soft, like a little baby's hand, and Jamie remembered what he'd heard, about pilots being born again in new, grown-up bodies every now and then. He wondered how often that had happened to thispilot, and if that was why her blue eyes were sad even when she was smiling.
He put that thought away to ask Gramma later as the grown-ups said goodbye to each other and Gramma herded Jamie and his mom toward the big doors out.
At the door, Jamie looked back to wave goodbye. The pilot looked very small in the big empty room. Jamie thought about her all the time Gramma was showing them the way through the corridors to leave the ship.
"Gramma," he asked as they walked down the big flexible corridor to the station itself, "How can one little girl like that run this whole ship?"
Gramma ran her fingers gently through Jamie's hair. "Pilots are bigger when they're in the pod, Jamie," she said. "When you're older, you'll understand more." She smiled down at him. "Now, do you and Savie want some ice-cream? And I think it's time for my birthday cake, don't you?"
Jamie nodded, the pilot's sad eyes and the scary noises on the passenger ship all fading in importance at the very real and present prospect of ice-cream and cake. "Can I have chocolate and strawberry? And Savie wants that, too."
"Today, sweetie," Jamie's mom said, "You and Savie can have whatever you want."
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