Stars Rise

XXXV. Nova's Morning part 1

A crowd gathered outside the boss's solarium on the patio, and when Nova saw it she got scared for the boss. It had been mere hours since the attempted assassination, after all.

The solarium was a greenhouse encased in invisible glass in a perfect dome on top of Potestas Tower proper, far enough below the floating penthouse to be out of its shadow in the winter; solar rays penetrated the space as the sun to the south traveled along its low altitude path. Outside on the patio, coniferous and deciduous trees grew, an arboretum in the snow, and this morning the small forest was crowded with Constellation employees gossiping worriedly instead of getting to work.

Soon Nova's footfalls and her heartbeat raced each other, but it was a matter of seconds before she saw Mr. Potestas coming, safe and sound, from the other side of the patio. The crowd drew his attention too.

"What is this?" he shouted. He wasn't hard with them very often and they had mixed reactions, some of them startled, frozen, others letting out a nervous laugh or half opening their mouths to be the one to answer him. Potestas made his way over and Nova approached from her side, and they saw what everyone was gathered around. The sundial. The sunlight cast against the gnomon in the center made a shadow a millimeter from hora tertia, but when she pulled out her father's old pocket watch it told her it was only prima. The murmurs behind her were frightened, and she could imagine their fear but didn't feel it herself.

Maybe because it was the least of her worries.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," said the boss, echoing her thoughts. "Or at least there's nothing we can do about it. So the sun is rising faster. I don't know how to make it stop, do you? Do any of you? Get back to work, please. I promise, if the world ends, you can stop. I won't hold anyone responsible for unfinished projects."

They broke up without argument or resentment, but Nova stayed with him. "What have we done this time?" she asked. Ilan didn't answer.

Everyone went back to work, and the solarium emptied out somewhat, but those remaining were important advisors and managers who treated the patio as a kind of hub, and while they didn't physically line themselves up to speak with him, a kind of mental pecking order was just perceivable by the way they positioned themselves spatially.

The first came to a halt next to Ilan at the same time Nova's assistant came for her. "There's a call for you, Aurelian Dasilva," said the woman. Nova held up a hand and listened instead to what Mr. Livius wanted from the boss.

"There's not enough personnel to take shifts guarding the prisoners, Boss, in addition to securing the whole building. I'll run out of staff by ..." he choked over some time telling jargon such as sunset, twilight or dusk, which would be meaningless today, and recovered with the time: "hora octava or so. The first set of interrogators are tired, they've gotten nothing."

"Nothing?" Nova asked. "I want to know exactly who hired the Cassuses, and there's no reason you shouldn't have that information already."

"Perhaps you should interrogate them yourself, Aurelian," said Livius.

"I might," said Nova, but Livius ignored her. Nova's assistant whispered in her ear just as the boss considered out loud sending his own son Stephen down to the holding cells to guard the prisoners for a few hours, but Nova lost all focus and interest when she heard the whisper, "It's Calo Gloriam, Nova."

Nova felt a flutter of nervousness which she managed to keep out of her eyes and her cheeks. Without excusing herself, she followed the aide back into the tower and into an office. The link was open over the desk. The door closed behind Nova, and she was left alone with him.

"Good morning, Aurelia Nova. Did you get the present I left for you?"

She ran a few steps to cross the office and beamed at Calo Gloriam on the other side of the link. "Yes, they're beautiful." The pearls at her throat had appeared in a box outside her door this morning.

"I'm glad you like them. I know you must be worried and bogged down with work; there must be a lot going on in Invernali right now. I hate to ask you this, but there's something I need help with. Come to Soliara as soon as you can get away. Sooner. Tell the boss there's something you need to take care of in the capital."

She nodded and smiled. "I think I can get away. I'll be right there." He didn't say goodbye, and the link closed. Nova thought she'd be able to come up with an excuse to tell the boss. In minutes she would be at the Gloriam residence in Soliara.