Skye City: The Darkness of Emmilyn

Contact

Nelson and I locate the gang in the sleeping quarters because we could hear their gobs from the other end of the base. Rupert and Bex are struggling to get a word in edgeways as Scoop and Oscar squabble about who will be in charge when they become 'real soldiers'. And I do not think either has a clue about how this Rebellion actually works, or recalls how helpless they were during the siege at the farm or the raid on the base. They simply remember how Nelson and I enabled Rupert to save the day, and think that means they could be heroes too, but I would not trust them with a pair of scissors, let alone deadly weapons.

'I-I'm the smart one, Scoop, and I'm better at Samarian Soldier too, and you know it! I have the brain of a tac–'

'Ahem.' I interrupt the squabbling pair who are sitting on the floor, and Oscar turns to face me. 'You guys fancy a party?'

'P-party, hell yeah!' Oscar grins like he does not have a care in the world, and the others shrug, probably relieved by the interruption.

The gang leave the sleeping quarters and head into a recreation room with lots of spongy but dirty seats, old-fashioned speakers in the corners of the ceiling, and a green-topped table covered in balls and two poles. A couple of young lads are sitting quietly as moody rock music plays, and they look sick of their rebellious lives. Suddenly I am wondering whether it will be possible to pretend, even for one night, but I will give denial my best shot.

'What's that?' I point at the green-topped table as the lads take spongy seats, and Bex requests a song list at the holoscreen.

'It's a pool table. Come on, I'll show you how to play.'

Nelson takes a swig of gin, reaches into a rectangular hole at the end of the table, and removes a plastic triangle which he rests on the green fabric. He places the balls inside the triangle, then reaches into the hole to grab a few more balls. He fills the triangle then switches the balls around and carefully removes the triangle, returning it to the hole. The balls forming a triangle-shape are all red or yellow apart from a black ball in the middle. Nelson places the last ball, which is white, on a dot at the other end of the table.

'The rules are simple. We take turns striking this white ball. The aim is to knock the other balls into the pockets...' Nelson explains the rules of pool until my brain is a puddle on the floor. But whatever, I will play this game how I want to play. 'Okay, I'll let you break. Take a cue and rest it on your hand like this.'

As I follow Nelson's instruction, he wraps his large arms around me and steadies my shaky cue. But I am momentarily distracted as a nicer song plays on the holoscreen which is more upbeat, happier. This one surely cannot be Bex's choice.

'Just pull your hand back a few inches and then thrust it into the white ball, hard and steady.'

Nelson and I push the cue together, and I squeal as the white ball smashes into the other balls which fly around the table. A yellow ball falls into a hole in the corner which I think scores a point or something.

'You think you can take the next shot on your own?' Nelson says.

'What do I look like, an idiot?' I say, giving the white ball a good hard whack. It flies off the table and lands on the lap of one of the quiet lads. 'Sorry!'

Nelson places the white ball in the 'D', potting three red balls just to show off, then he misses and cheats by taking another shot. He misses again and helps with my next turn, but as he wraps his arms around me, I hear the door creaking open. The grin drops from my face as I turn to see Jardine crossing the recreation room, looking as serious as ever.

'We've received contact from Turbo.' Jardine wipes his brow and takes a deep breath as I break free of Nelson's arms. 'As suspected, he and Anguson mounted an unauthorised rescue mission after confirming the location of Myla. Only the Goddess knows how. They landed in Averley in an escape pod with Dynah. They were separated from Arturo and Myla during the evacuation. There's every chance they made it too, but they could've landed anywhere in the world. The moment we receive contact, we'll send someone to retrieve them.'