Heavy, stone blocks emerge from the water—which appears black in the early light of dawn provided by the overhead cavern lights—like majestic ships. The blocks are separated by thin canals, which run horizontally and vertically throughout the subchapter, intersecting like streets on a grid. Arcing stone bridges connect the stone blocks, on which the city is built. Compared to some of the towering buildings in other Moon Realm subchapters, the houses and buildings are built relatively low, rising two or three stories at the most. There is one exception, however, the massive dome in the city center, standing out like a beacon and dwarfing the other structures. They say you can see the subchapter 1 dome from anywhere in the city. It’s code named the Big House—and is the site of the peace summit.
“At least they left us this,” Ben says. My head jerks to look at him—I didn’t realize he’d come up beside me. At the question in my eyes, he says, “It’s the only subchapter the star dwellers didn’t bomb. It’s like they planned for us to meet here, almost wanted us to.”
An eerie blast of cold air rushes through the enormous cavern and I shiver, both from the wind and from Ben’s words. They don’t give me comfort, not after everything that has happened.
We leave the edge of the city and tramp across the first bridge. On the other side a long thin boat is waiting. It might hold six or seven people—certainly not five hundred Resistance soldiers.
Ben shouts orders to a few of the soldiers behind us. Evidently they’ll be taking the route on foot, through the city. We, on the other hand, are getting a lift. “Hop in,” Ben says.
Roc gives Elsey a hand and helps her into the gondola. “Thank you, kind sir,” she says, grinning.
“Be careful not to rock the boat, my dear lady,” Roc mimics with his nose in the air, making Elsey giggle.
I follow my friends, sitting in front of them. The boat is so thin only one person can sit in each row. Ben and Jinny follow, and Ram stands in the center position, carrying an extraordinarily long stick, which he promptly uses to push off from the depths below. We shoot forward and I watch his technique as he shoves the staff hard into the water in front of us, lifting his body slightly to gain leverage before propelling us forward. He repeats this again and again, moving us swiftly toward our destination.
While the rest of the group are forced to twist and turn and cross dozens of bridges, we sail straight under them, reaching the city center in about ten minutes. Although I’ve seen what the locals simply call “the Dome” a half-dozen times before, I’m still not prepared for it as it looms up in front of us. The curved platelets that make up its exterior are a thin, shiny metal that manage to reflect even the dim light afforded to the subchapter, making the Dome appear bright and sparkling. From our vantage point in the canal, the result is dazzling, and I shield my eyes slightly with one hand.
We dock at a short platform and disembark, and strangely the gleam of the Dome dulls more and more the closer we get. The five or six sets of steps up to the entrance vanish beneath our feet in a blur. It’s like just the sight of the Dome has given us a boost of energy, making our steps quick and light.
The inside of the Dome is just what you would expect from the outside. The massive stone roof curls upwards above us, reaches its apex, and then wraps back down, forming a semicircle that reminds me of half an orange, like my mom used to cut off the trees for Roc and me when we were little. Rows of steps wrap around the edges of the Dome, starting at the top and working their way down to the circular podium in the center. The space could easily seat fifty thousand people.
But today, there will be few. The forty-two moon dweller VPs; the leaders of the Resistance, like Ben and Jinny and Jonas and Maia and Ram; then there’s me and Roc and Elsey and hopefully Adele and Tawni and Adele’s mom—Anna, I remember—all surrounded by a few hundred Resistance soldiers providing protection for the whole event.
Already the VPs are milling around the center, shaking hands, talking and laughing as if this is just like any other gathering of Moon Realm leadership. You would never guess that the conclusion of the meeting could thrust the Realm into civil war, or worse.
As I’m still taking it all in, the Resistance soldiers arrive, pouring through the various entrances along the sides. They must have run to have made it here so fast.
“C’mon,” Ben says, tugging me at the elbow. “We should get out of the way.”
I resist, jerking my arm away. “But what about Adele? We need to be here when she arrives.”
Ben looks at me with understanding eyes. “We will be here. Just below, in the private chambers. My men all know to send them down the moment they get here.”
I look at Roc and he shrugs. “Okay,” I say, moving to follow Ben.
We descend the steps as if we’re going to join the VPs in the center platform, but then cut through an entrance to the seating area, tunneling beneath them. I know from my previous visits that there are dozens of rooms beneath the seats, where less public meetings are held amongst the politicians. It’s dark, even though the lights are on, and I’m reminded of one of the more mundane reasons we’re doing all this: My father refuses to provide adequate power to the lower Realms.
Not far down the hallway I can hear the murmur of soft voices. Soft orange light spills out into the tunnel. We make for the room—Ben enters first. “Vice President Morgan,” he says.
“Hello, Ben,” I hear her say.
We enter the space and I’m surprised to find a well-lit room with plush couches running along all four walls. There are only a handful of other people occupying them, including Morgan. I recognize them as a few of the other VPs who support the Resistance. They stare at us, hovering against the wall.
“Do you mind if my daughter joins us?” Ben asks politely.
“Of course,” Morgan says. “I understand that you’ll want to keep her close by your side during a time such as this.”
“Thank you.”
“Have a seat, everyone. We were just discussing the peace summit. Tristan, I’m glad to see you’re here.”
“I’m glad to be here,” I hear my voice say automatically, but I’m not really thinking about my words. I’m thinking about how Ben is keeping Elsey close to him. He thinks something bad could happen. I’ve got to find Adele.
We sit down across from the other VPs and perpendicular to Morgan. “What’s the situation?” Ben asks. “Do you have a sense of where the majority lies?”
Morgan shakes her head, but not because the answer is no. “We’re still stuck at eighteen, Ben. Unless something changes drastically today, we’re not going to get a majority for the cause.”
Ben frowns, stares at the ceiling for a moment. I shift awkwardly in my chair. “Here’s what we have to do. I’ll speak to as many of the opposing VPs individually before the summit, see if I can sway them; I still have a few friends in high places,” he says, winking at me. “Then we will start the conference with a speech from Tristan to do the right thing, to support an honorable cause, that sort of thing.”
“But they haven’t listened to me before,” I blurt out. “Why now?” At that moment I feel a familiar buzzing along my scalp, and I gasp, but no one seems to notice.
“It’s a one-two punch. They trust me a hell of a lot more than you, so if I set them up for your speech, it might change their reaction. If we’re lucky we might grab the majority right from under their noses.” Yeah, we’d have to get pretty lucky, I think, massaging my head as it continues to tingle.
“I don’t know…” Morgan murmurs.
Before she can continue her thought, the door bursts open and Ram barges in. “I’m very sorry to interrupt,” he says, “but they’re here.”