“As we have said,” said Lufter, as she calmly walked into the glowing hexagonal pod ahead of them, “the lines between the cities of Xandar are powered by special long-term batteries usually located out on the tracks. Most of them should continue to work for the next year.”
As they follow the Chronicom in, little Tampi asks Duranna softly, “Are you sure you can drive it?”
“I can give her assistance if necessary,” Lufter says to her. Duranna’s glad for that. In theory, she knows everything she needs to. Back when her dad did his piloting training, he gave her thorough instructions and even let her sit in the simulation for half a minute or so. But neither of them thought she’d ever do this for real.
The first part’s simple: hit the button on the lever. As pod stars to whir and the open side slides shut, Luros says, “Can we lower the roof? This feels like that basement.”
It does. They don’t even know how long they hid in that basement, where one of the few members of the Nova Corps left alive hid the children of his dead colleagues, after they lost the battle. Five of them at first, the only people in the city who weren’t then murdered. Or so they thought, until after Ziita and Ufos suddenly crumbled like they’d been zapped by those ship-destroying bombs they’d had to ban. That was when Lufter freed them, looking so much like the Lufter who had taken the Forsaken People out of the caves in the storylore Duranna’s dad had told her.
Although they don’t know how long Lufter’s going to be willing to help them. She seems sure that about a quarter of Xandar’s population is still alive, and with their race spread throughout the galaxy, she might soon decide they’re not in danger of extinction and go back to just studying them. It seems so ridiculous and mean.
She’s asked Duranna a few questions about Krylorians, and the complications that come with being a Krylorian-Xandarian hybrid. Luros answere more than Duranna herself did, repeating whatever Duranna had mentioned in the basement. It was he who revealed to both the Chronicom and to Tampi that were she fully Krylorian, she’d be only weeks away from the age of majority.
That didn’t matter, her parents told Duranna. But now they’re both dead, and it feels like it does a lot.
After the easy task of lowering the roof comes the scary part. The panels are flashing all the lights, and Duranna fights back panic as she struggles to remember what they all do. First thing is just to get off the ground. She remembers her dad saying that. Put the gravlock up-blue squares furthest to the right, and when it’s at 70, pull the lever out.
The pod shudders as it rises. Tampi squeaks and clings tightly to Duranna, but she leaves her arms free. The tracks built underground do most of the steering once you put where you’re going in, but you always have to pay attention. Especially for other pods. And even if probably no one else is driving one on the tracks right now, Duranna knows some of them are programmed to go automatically, carrying things between cities, and probably noone’s shut those down.
Most pods have destinations programmed into them. The list typically displays automatically on the top screen, just above the green lights. The screen had the names of three cities. She has no idea which one to go to. She wishes Ufos was still here; then they’d know to go to Roxa, where his fellow Hurctarians had a big community.
Except probably they’re all dead too. “Do you think,” Duranna asks, her voice trembling, “anyone’s alive in any of these three cities?”
Lufter looks doubtful. “Thanos killed half of your planet’s population, and that he did not divide your own city’s population in half indicates he was aiming for efficiency. It is likely most of the planet’s survivors are on its far side. We may be traveling for days. But Ollsi is the city where we are most likely to obtain enough provisions for the three of you. Many companies that deal in non-perishable food have storage facilities there.” They raided a store for some food earlier, but most of what the capital has is spoiled.
Six hours away. At least it’s not longer; Duranna knows some routes take as much as ten. She can’t remember how to enter the destination in, but luckily this is a pod where touching it on the screen works.
When they start hurtling down the tracks, Tampi makes another whimper, and even though they all just went, Duranna’s afraid she’ll wet the both of them. But Luros murmurs a “Wow…” and she herself feels a little of that too.
Their ruined home quickly falls away behind them; they’re out on the grasslands, which are supposed to be a beautiful and soothing sight. And they still are somewhat, where it’s still green, but there are patches of brown here and there, where all the plants died, and when they pass one herd of upogs, their howls are strange and unsettling.
“You know,” Luros says softly, “I bet your dad would be really proud to see this, Duranna.”
She can see his smile, hear his voice saying, Good job, Duranna, you got it quicker than I did. Her hand grips the side of the pod as she struggles not to cry. She wishes so badly for him to be there to give her a hug. Just one more.