Page 61 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
“Let’s do it,” I whispered.
We took off with a mild jolt and then raced over the white sand, black rocks, and finally blue water. Then I heard a loud pop and a whiff of ozone.
“Uh...” said Tiny as the chair shook over the waves.
“We’re slowing down.Whyare we doing that?” I screamed. “You said this was fine.”
I knew he was working on the problem; one advantage of a computer mind. “We’ve been pushing it hard through the alleys, we used power to alter its shape, and there are extra people.” Most sims couldn’t convey shame, but he could. “I’ve failed you.”
“Use the reserves.”
“There are none. The ‘vehicle’ has a finite amount of power.”
As if on cue the chair shook and lowered closer to the water.
Several ideas came and then swam away. “Wait! Doyouhave some to spare?”
He said nothing for a few seconds while Nate shouted from behind and the chair tilted back. “Guys? I can feel the water on my feet. I can hop off.” Instead of answering Tiny jumped to the armrest and a thick grey wire grew from his hand.
“Don’t jump,” I screamed. “How long–”
Again the chair lurched while we skipped over the waves.
“Can we slow down?”
Tiny said nothing except moan.
If we could, we didn’t. I assumed if we could, Tiny would have done it. The chair flew over the waves and then against the purple force field around the barge. For a second it was like we were against thin stretchy rubber. With a soft pop, we burst through and swiveled from one end of the barge to another while the chair bounced against crates. From behind Nate squeezed his arms around my chest while our spin slowed.
I took a second to mentally check myself and my unborn child. So far nothing seemed off.
Tiny looked up as he lay down. His expression was blank. “That drained most of my power. I’m at ten percent, and those are the emergency reserves. It’ll take time to–”
His eyes shut, and I hugged him close to me while the barge floated to its destination. It’s something I knew before but out here in the near endless blue, it was easy to forget just how much of a water planet Augo was. The only break was the long eel-like creatures under the waves. All bigger than the barges but all thankfully stood clear.
It was a full hour before Tiny opened his eyes again. “Twenty percent. He said. Solar energy sucks.”
“Then rest,” I said.
“I can’t. I’ve calculated our speed, position, and trajectory. This barge is going to Matros’ Kingdom.”
Nate’s head jerked up.
“You won’t be in danger from Balo, but Nate won’t be protected. He’s–”
“–going into the kingdom of the two people who want to kill him and have the physical and political power to do it.” I finished.
***
Chapter Thirty-Three
CAAN
Making things up as you go, works most of the time but notalways. We had plans on how to get on the barge, but the power issue kept us from getting off early. White, lumpy sims like we saw back on our beach surrounded us. Most times, they were silent in their work, but not now.
Six sims spoke in unison. “Remain where you are. Failure to comply will result in red orb usage.” I frowned. Those were nasty devices if the shooter was full of meanness. At best they were restraints. At worst, they’d slam through flesh and bone with enough force to spray the walls red.
Nate had his shaky hands out to the side and looked at the tall, stone castle in the distance while the water lapped against the barge. His lips thinned, and his chest went in and out with every quiver. “Peter’s kingdom. The man I attacked all those years ago. Oh boy… never thought I’d be here.”
