"Yes. Everything."

Thirty minutes later. . . .

The shuttle slams into place. They have arrived.

Still trapped in the cramped shaft, Rayn hears Tyran storm out. Someone’s in trouble. She tries to wriggle her way out and down. She’s stuck. When she was little that older girl who sucked her own hair -- what had she been, cousin? Neighbor? -- had usually been there to pull her out of these kind of jams. Then later Kindra. Now she was alone.

Miss an Installment

For the full story of Rayn, start with this handy guide to past installments:    More Stories Rayn: Episode Seven - On the Dark Side of the Moon Rayn: Episode Six - On the Bright Side of the Moon Rayn: Episode Five - Buried, Live Rayn: Episode Four - Underworld Chit-Chat Episode One: Arayna

Episode Two: Din of Iniquity Episode Three: La Musique de Guerre Episode Four: Underworld Chit-Chat

Episode Five: Buried, Live Episode Six: On the Bright Side of the Moon Episode Seven: On theDark Side of the Moon

With a violent push and grunt, she finally works her way free. She drops down and sneaks into the Council’s orbital headquarters.

Inside, there are few people and thankfully few guards. Almost everyone who’s anyone is down on the lunar surface. She tiptoes along. Slowly. And in awe. Crystal, marble, with everything that had been destroyed back home she didn’t think such resplendence still existed anywhere. Nice.

Footsteps stomp towards her. Using her favorite street skill she picks the lock to a maintenance entry and works her way inside the walls with the machinery. A close fit. Little air. Lots of heat. But the footsteps march by. She creeps through the walls, away from the engine and thruster noise, towards the heart of the station. All the while trying to breathe, to not let the walls close in on her, to not pass out and die. To forget claustrophobia and focus on and remember outer space, open, vast, all around her. She keeps moving. Finally she hears yelling. She silently climbs her way up into a vent, almost slipping on her sweaty palms. There below she sees Tyran and Shi circling. Tyran pounds his fists.

"What have you done?"

"What I tried to convince both father and you to do long ago."

"You? Why the hell should we listen?"

"To me? Because you always have! Since father’s mind slipped, every idea either of you had has grown from a seed I planted!"

"You! But I--"

"You’re a good soldier Tyran, and a good leader. People like you, follow you. I needed that during the war. I still do. But to govern an entire people, plan and manipulate their destiny? No. I can’t take the chance anymore that everything won’t be done right."

"Your way?"

"The way it must be."

"But why this?"

"You’d fought so long to stop the war you wouldn’t agree to any plan where the rebel leaders weren’t destroyed and the Highs declared victorious. We don’t need martyrs, old soldiers, or the rest of the old Council getting in the way. What we need is peace."

"By killing everyone?"

"It also crushes the last of their spirit. An empty tragedy with no witnesses, no answers. Then they’ll have nowhere to look but up, here, to us."

He towers over her, trying to intimidate her. She smiles.

"They saw you. You did your part. You’re safe now. Wait. Watch. See that I’m right."

So that’s what it’s like having siblings. Rayn backs up and drops into the nearest empty chamber. Onar’s bedroom.

Tyran has left. Shi paces alone through the communications room. An alarm flashes on the console. Someone is in their father’s chamber.

On her way out, something catches Rayn’s eye.

Shi watches her on the monitor about to signal security.

On a bureau with electro-candles, set up like an altar, are dozens of pictures all containing the same imposing auburn-haired beauty that Rayn recognizes.

"Mother!"

Shi’s finger stops cold over the security button. "Her mother? Mala? Impossible!"

Rayn is breathless. She fingers the pictures obviously placed here, with love? What does this mean? She picks open the bureau to find letters and a journal. Her mother’s journal. She also finds the second disk of crime scene photos from the day her family was murdered.

Instead of calling security, Shi sends a Servicer.

Sight of the clock jars Rayn back to the moment. Time’s running out. She grabs the letters, disk and journal, puts them in her jacket, and runs out. She trips over the squat multi-limbed robot Servicer that darts in front of her, unaware that one of its arms had pricked her purposely for a drop of blood.

Shi orders the Servicer to do a scan. Waiting for it, beads of sweat form on her forehead. The five minute countdown to sabotage no longer seems that important.

"Faster! Confirm the DNA!"

Rayn knocks out a guard and takes his weapon. She then slips behind Tyran and follows him into the Tomorrow Room. She surprises him, corners him.

"The lasers set to go off at the peace talks, what’s the detonation frequency?"

Defiant silence. No time for this. Only minutes left.

She moves to one of the giant frozen metal tanks. He darts to block her but she charges the weapon. She looks in and sees the genetic material stored for Tyran/Onar’s clones.

"I see. All right then. Tell me the magic numbers or--"

She fires destroying one of the tanks.

Tyran screams, "No!"

"Come on." She blasts another one.

"This whole thing wasn’t even your idea." She fires again. To Tyran it’s like each shot is killing him. But she is to far away to jump.

"Three lives down. You’re in charge here aren’t you? Or is it your little sister?" His face burns crimson. "Then take your power back!"

She fires again. This time he tries to grab her but she leaps away and shoots nicking his arm. She aims right between his eyes.

"Hundreds of civilians and soldiers are down there! So are my friends. I kept them alive through three years of war. I’m not losing them now!" Please!

He doesn’t budge. So Rayn sets the weapon to laser spray. One shot would destroy every pod in the Tomorrow Room.

"Make a decision, Council boy. Last chance." She plucks at the trigger.

"Wait!" Purple with rage, he spits out the frequency.

She turns on her communicator and tries to call it down to Rozar. Static! Only seconds left.

"Communications are jammed. Clear them!"

Slowly Tyran flips a wall control. The channel’s clear. She calls it down. Did he hear me? Did they detonate?

No time to tell. A guard walks in.

"Sir, an urgent message from your sister. . . ."

With the distraction, Tyran pounces. She kicks him off hard in the stomach. But he grabs the weapon.

She runs. Long hallway. Locked doors. No place to go. Tyran stands at the door and aims.

"Little brack! I owe you four deaths!"

He shoots. Toying with her. Blasting around her. Barraged by fire she trips and slides across the floor. He aims his last shot.

"Stop!" Shi jumps between them. "You can’t! You don’t understand!"

"I don’t care! I want her dead!" Tyran shoves his sister violently out of the way. He aims again.

"No! The first plan! It’s her! She’s the key!"

Weapons fire.

Tyran’s shot just scathes Rayn’s side, deflected as he fell, shot at the same time in the knee by a desperate Shi.

Tyran looks up at his sister, stunned. She’s panting, almost fevered, but still more alive than he had ever seen her. She turns to the guards and in her still tiny voice, "She must be taken! Alive!"

The guards looks for a second at Tyran who gives a weak nod. They head after her.

Below on the moon’s surface, Rozar did receive the message in time. He blocked the lasers but in the process overloaded a few causing a dozen little explosions. Panic ensued. He jumped on a table calming people, ushering them out, and taking the opportunity to throw in a speech about fear being the enemy and this is why the talks must proceed. Myles was so worried looking for Rayn that he lost all hold and thought of Kindra in the scramble.

Meanwhile Rayn makes it to the lunar hook’s elevator before they can stop her. She kicks out the hatch lock and auto-controls, jumps in the elevator, and lets it drop, praying that she can brake it to a safe landing when the time comes.

Shi stands outside the doors to her father’s chamber, whispering, preparing to explain herself.

"Since before the war, we’ve been the only ones who knew the true danger to our people and our world. The only ones who could do something about it. And now our best hope has been returned to us. The Tri-Senate the talks will form doesn’t matter. I know what to do. Trust me."

Nervous, she hesitates and sucks on the ends of her hair.

One day later…

A warrant goes out for Rayn’s capture. Not as a suspect but a witness to the attempted sabotage. No harm to come to her.

She had read the journal and the letters. She knew the truth now, at least part of it, about herself and her family, about that day, about what the snake had been. Some of it she believed, some of it she still refused to. But she understood why Tyran’s sister had saved her. And she knew that once the truth was out, there would be a price on her head like no other. She was the key. She had to go. Alone.

She had given Kindra a note to give to Myles.

Now for Roz.

"Why do you have to go? The Tri-Senate has been agreed to. Peacekeepers will be installed to keep order while they rebuild. C’mon. We work well together. Losing wars, saving lives."

She almost smiles.

His voice deepens, "You understand me. I need you."

"I can’t. And I can’t explain. You’ll understand soon enough."

He reaches forward and brushes the long side of her hair back. She pulls away but he moves closer. He looks at the dagger tattoo on her neck. He sees the scar within. He touches it and doesn’t draw away.

She wants to run. Instead, she takes a deep breath. This time she reaches forward, grabs him and kisses him. They embrace, holding tight, until she breaks away.

"Where will you go?!"

She looks back for just a second and he realizes.

She doesn’t know.

Next week - Episode 9: Where Everybody Knows Your Name