Steph Bennion - Hollow Moon

“Aliens, eh?” she mused. “Do you think they take charters?”

Ravana walked across the deserted arrivals lounge and paused by a window to gaze upon the neighbouring steel and glass dome of Newbrum city. Everywhere she looked inside the city’s protective shell she could see distant specks that were people: at the windows and balconies of the tower blocks, on the bustling walkways, in the vehicles plying the streets; all busy living their lives just like their ancestors on Earth had done for thousands of years. The main dome of Newbrum was no more than a kilometre wide and a fifth as much high and thus nowhere as big as the hollow moon, yet to Ravana it literally seethed with humanity. She found it hard to comprehend that so many people could live in such a small space.

The view across the coastal plains was something else. She had been to Ascension before, having previously accompanied her father on trading runs to the small community of Lan-Tlanto on the far side of the planet, so was used to seeing the bloated red sun hanging high in the sky. However, this was the first time she had set eyes upon the Tatrill Sea and the sight of so much water stretching to the horizon was awe-inspiring.

“Amazing,” murmured a voice behind her. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Ravana smiled. Ostara, a slender Chinese woman just a few years older than herself, stood nearby, looking at the same view with a similarly stunned expression. She liked Ostara a lot and had been pleasantly surprised when she had joined them on this trip. A random selection process had recently awarded Ostara the dubious position of head of security on the Dandridge Cole and other than an ongoing investigation into some stolen laboratory equipment, the kidnap of Raja Surya was her first real test in the role. Quirinus and Fenris, the other half of their contingent, sat uneasily at the other side of the arrivals lounge under the watchful eye of a silent security guard.

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, all four of them turned and saw two women enter the lounge, one of whom was accompanied by a boy and two girls of around Ravana’s age. Ravana guessed from her smart attire that the woman leading the group was in charge. Ostara stepped forward to greet her.

“Ostara Lee,” she said, holding out her hand with a hesitant yet calm confidence Ravana had not seen in her before. “Head of security on the Dandridge Cole .”

The woman took Ostara’s hand and shook it carefully. As Quirinus and Fenris came over, the woman’s smile faltered at the sight of the faded and old-fashioned flight suits the four visitors wore, all of which had a blank space at the shoulder where a space agency flag was usually displayed. Her companion and three young followers grinned nervously, perhaps out of relief that the four strangers from space were undeniably human.

“Administrator Verdandi, at your service,” the woman replied. She seemed relieved that Ostara at least was a natural speaker of English and not relying on the often-erratic wristpad translator. “Glad to see you made it down in one piece.”

“Thank you!” Ostara smiled. “This is Quirinus, pilot of the Platypus ,” she said, indicating the pilot, who nodded. “Ravana, his daughter,” she continued, putting a hand upon the girl’s shoulder, “and this is Fenris, chief of staff to Maharani Uma.”

“Hello,” chirped Ravana, giving a little wave. Behind her, Fenris grunted.

“We are honoured,” said Verdandi, eyeing Fenris coolly. “This is Rosanna Clymene, one of our gifted tutors here at Newbrum, along with some of her students.”

“Rosanna!” The gleeful murmur came from the pale slim girl at the tutor’s side. Ravana smiled, recognising her surprise upon realising that even teachers had first names.

“This is an unexpected pleasure!” exclaimed Miss Clymene, sounding both apprehensive and genuinely excited. “This is Bellona, Philyra and Endymion,” she added, introducing each in turn.

“Please, take a seat,” Verdandi said, indicating the nearby chairs. “I had arranged for us to use the security office, but an incident with the fire sprinklers has left it full of some wet and very angry people. However, as you can see we have the lounge to ourselves.”

“Thank you,” said Quirinus. Ravana’s father seemed pleasantly at ease, unlike Fenris who had taken on the appearance of a wallaby caught in an oncoming shuttle’s landing lights.

The window next to the seats looked through to the dome’s hangar and the berthed Platypus . Settling into her seat, Ravana watched as a spaceport technician started hammering at the jammed undercarriage, trying to free the stuck wheel. Inside the lounge, the security guard stood quietly by the door to the hangar, his hand resting upon the grip of his regulation stun gun. As the others took their seats, Ravana became aware that Bellona was staring at her in a most unsettling way and self-consciously pulled her hair across to hide her scar.

“We were very surprised to receive your message,” Verdandi told Ostara, once they were all settled. “We had no idea anyone still lived on the Dandridge Cole , though we have suspected for a while it was possibly in use by smugglers.”

Quirinus dropped his gaze. “We do need to fly supplies to the hollow moon from time to time,” he said. “I admit we rarely seek official clearance for flights to Ascension.”

“A few of my staff did recognise your ship,” Verdandi remarked. “Though they tell me the illegal spaceport at Lan-Tlanto is your more usual port of call.”

“Illegal?” Quirinus raised a surprised eyebrow. “‘Independent’ is a better word.”

“But that’s not why we are here,” interrupted Ostara.

“Indeed,” replied Verdandi. “Your news was disturbing, to say the least.”

“It is a tricky political situation,” said Fenris, breaking his silence. “I must ask all of you not to breathe a word of this to anyone. Should news of the kidnapping reach Yuanshi, it would only add fuel to the bitter fire of rebellion burning on the moon.”

“Who’s been kidnapped?” asked Philyra, curious.

“Don’t interrupt,” scolded Miss Clymene.

“It was the Raja,” Ravana told Philyra. “I saw it happen. He’s just a boy.”

“Raja Surya, heir to the old throne of Yuanshi,” Quirinus added. “He was taken from his home on the Dandridge Cole and we think he was brought here to Ascension.”

“We have little evidence to substantiate that,” Verdandi said cautiously.

“Quirinus and his colleagues tracked an unidentified spacecraft following a course to Ascension,” Fenris pointed out. “Alas, by the time we were ready to send a ship in pursuit it was too late.”

“I’m in charge of the investigation,” Ostara told her, then glared at Fenris, who rolled his eyes in an obvious display of contempt. “But my experience is limited.”

“So now you have decided to come to the proper authorities,” remarked Verdandi. “Which, I may say, you should have done long ago rather than hide away on the fringes. We have had a couple of security incidents recently,” she confirmed. “A stolen spacecraft, a mysterious explosion in the Eden Ravines; but I repeat there is precious little to suggest that the Raja is anywhere on Ascension.”

“The Ravines?” chirped Endymion. “Is this about the Nellie Chapman ?”

He gulped. Verdandi was staring at him with a look that could freeze a supernova.

“Endymion,” said Miss Clymene gently. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”

“Didn’t see nothing,” mumbled Endymion, suddenly reticent to say more.

“That’s a double negative,” Bellona pointed out. “And therefore not a lie.”