Playing God(145)

“What?” The word burst out of Lareet.

Arron took one of the deep breaths that seemed to steady him. “The Sisters-Chosen-to-Lead have known about your plan for at least a year. They set things up so Bioverse would take care of you for them. It's worked beautifully, don't you think?”

Murmurs and panting flicked Lareet's ears in a dozen different directions. She felt the heat rising in her blood and lifted her eyes to see Umat. Her sister stood as still as stone, her face smooth, tight, and shining with pure rage.

Lareet looked back down at the table. The globe had grown into the double-lens shape of a city-ship.

“Lareet, Umat, we don't have much time. We're going to hit in—” Again they heard the background voice. A woman's voice, Lareet decided. “Fifty-six minutes,” Arron went on. “We know you have to code every move in by hand. But if you move soon, Captain Esmaraude can give you some shortcuts. We can still all get through this. You don't have to kill me unless you really want to. You don't have to kill each other at all.”

Lareet stared at Umat. She felt a cold, leaching panic steal into her bones. “Sister…” she breathed.

“He's playing on your blood, Lareet,” said Umat heatedly. Lareet felt the answering warmth of anger stir in her. It came from all around. Anger at the Sisters-Chosen-to-Lead, at Arron and his allies, this captain and commander, and always, always, always at the devna who drove them all to this. “I will get you and your children safely away.”

“I heard that, Umat!” cried Arron. “Hear me! Even if you launched the shuttles right now, they would not get far enough away to avoid getting hit by the debris from the collision. Everybody's going to die, Umat. Everybody.”

The noise of panting grew louder. Every mouth was open. Every ear pressed flat against their owner's scalp. Fear wrapped around Lareet now, mixing with the anger until her vision blurred. She laid one hand on her pouch and the other on the cool surface of the comm station and tried to steady herself.

“What's the point!” demanded Arron from the speakers. “Mother Night! It's not going to work! All that's going to happen is you will prove you can't think past your hatred!”

“Shut that off!” shouted Umat.

One of the dayisen touched the key that shut the speaker off.

Silence fell, except for the echoing noise of sisters panting and trying to get it under control. Fear and anger whirled on all sides. Lareet pressed her hand against her pouch as if she could feel her microscopic daughters in her womb. Her children, begotten at Umat's urging, as much her sister's as hers. Conceived to seal their bond and bring mem out of their quarrel. Her daughters, Umat's daughters.

Arron's anguished voice rang around her head.

Everybody's going to die. Everybody.

Lareet did not realize she'd crossed the deck until she laid her hand on Umat's shoulder.

“It is over, Sister,” she said softly. “We gambled, and we lost.”

“No!” Umat grabbed her hand and squeezed it until Lareet's skin bunched in protest She held her sister, eyes and ears and heart “No. They are bluffing. They are Human. They do not have the passion to die for a cause!”

“Sister, they are there!” Lareet wrenched both ears toward the table. “They are sitting right in our path and not moving!” She laid her hand over Lareet's hand and went on more softly. “They mean it, Sister, with whatever emotion drives their frozen hearts. Do you really believe Scholar Arron would lie to us?”

Umat's ears waved wildly. “We have sworn to die for the safety of our children.”

Lareet held her tighter. She could feel the confusion at her back. She could almost smell it, strong and sharp over the scent of rot and death drifting through the tunnel from the city. “Our oath was sworn when there was a reason for it, Sister. Now, there would be no point to your death.”

Umat's skin struggled as if it meant to crawl off her body. She flicked her gaze around the bridge. Lareet's gaze followed. The sisters clustered together in groups, sharing strength, sharing fear and anger, and trying without success to lessen their confusion. Lareet and Umat had caught them all in their conflict. Lareet felt it It strengthened and scared her at the same time.

“And if we live, what then?” said Umat, her voice high and tight “How long would we live for? Will the Sisters-Chosen-to-Lead leave us alive?”

“You could come with me to the colonies.” Lareet laid her sister's hand on her belly guard. “You could come with us.”

“NO!” Umat clamped her free hand on Lareet's shoulder and shook her. “I will not let you do this, Sister! If we turn away now, the devna and their Humans win!”