by Elin Wyn
“We certainly will.” Valtic smiled. He actually smiled at a stranger. He reached for my hand as we left the inn.
Once we stepped into the city, his demeanor shifted back to the hardened soldier I’d grown familiar with.
But he still held my hand.
“I don’t think The Terror crew followed us to the inn,” Valtic said as he scanned the crowds. “But I don’t think we should walk directly back to the Rogue Star.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We could pretend to do some sightseeing,” Valtic suggested. “The more we walk around, the easier it will be for me to ascertain whether or not we’re being followed.”
“Or we could actually do some sightseeing. As horrible as this place is, it’s an architectural masterpiece.”
“You look at the sights. I’ll look for enemies. Deal?”
“Deal. Though if I see something amazing, I’m going to make you look at it,” I warned him.
“I can’t imagine anything amazing in this cesspool of a city,” Valtic grumbled.
“Those floating estates are breathtaking. Can you imagine living in a place like that?”
“If I lived in a place like that, it would mean I’d done something reprehensible to get there,” Valtic said dismissively.
“Or you can pretend you purchased the estate by completely legitimate means,” I prompted.
“What would the purpose of that be?”
“Fun, you big grump,” I playfully nudged his shoulder.
“What’s a grump?”
“It’s what you are.” I gave his hand a squeeze.
He returned the squeeze. “I sense you are jesting in some way.”
“I’m teasing you because you’re incredibly fun to tease,” I grinned.
“As long as you’re enjoying yourself, you can tease me to your heart’s content,” Valtic smiled down at me.
I laughed. “It’s no fun teasing you if you’re going to be so sweet about it.”
“Oh. Well, in that case,” Valtic pulled his expression down into a dramatic frown, “I dislike your jesting.”
“Much better,” I giggled.
Valtic and I strolled hand in hand through the city. I took great pleasure in craning my neck up to look at the floating estates above, though from my angle there wasn’t much to see. After about an hour of aimless strolling, Valtic felt satisfied that we weren’t being followed.
“It’s safe to return to the Rogue Star,” he announced. “Or did you want to purchase a ticket for an aerial tour of the floating estates?”
“You can do that?” I gasped.
“No,” Valtic chuckled. “I just wanted to see how excited you’d get.”
“Very funny,” I rolled my eyes.
We made our way back to the entryway of the port. As the Rogue Star came into view, I realized how much I’d missed the comfort and familiarity of the ship.
Other than our brief time on Dominion Outpost Nine, this had been the most time I’d spent off the Rogue Star since Captain Dejar and his crew rescued us. It felt like a home to me now in a way Persephone Station never had.
I couldn’t wait to see the other women. I missed them.
Even Shenna’s menagerie.
“I’ll take that drive to Captain Dejar right away,” Valtic said. “And you can go wash that dye off.”
I shrugged. “It hasn’t been on long enough to bother me. Not enough to delay finding out what we’ve brought home.”
Valtic entered an access code into the panel by the door and the door slid open. The cool, recycled air of the ship brushed against my cheeks like a greeting.
“I’m so glad to be home,” I sighed.
“And you still have no desire to fling yourself into danger?” Valtic asked.
“None.” I shook my head. “I’m happy to stay in the med bay for the rest of my life.”
“Good,” he grinned. “I won’t have to worry about you in there.”
We were greeted by Shein and human crewmembers as we walked through the ship. Everyone had questions for us. I hugged every Persephone woman I saw.
“You were gone for so long!” Shenna gasped when I embraced her. “We were up all night worried sick.”
“There were some complications,” I told her. “But, as you can see, we’re back safe and sound.”
“Did you find anything to nail the Dominion?” Maris asked.
“Possibly. We have to go to Captain Dejar first, but I’ll tell everyone everything at the next ladies’ dinner.”
“We should have one tonight,” Shenna suggested.
“I’d like that,” I smiled. Valtic took my hand once more and led me in the direction of Captain Dejar’s office.
His office door was open in preparation for our arrival. The captain, Aavat, Kovor, and Kalyn were all present. Kalyn crossed the room to embrace me.
“I was so worried something had happened to you,” she said to me before looking up at Valtic. “Both of you,” she added.
“I know,” I hugged her back. “But we all agreed it was safer this way. No direct route back to the Star, no comms. Just to be sure.”
“I still don’t have to like it,” she grumbled.
“Were you followed on your way back here?” Aavat asked.
“No,” Valtic replied. “I made sure of it. You'll need to send someone for the Skimmer.”
“We’re glad to see you back unharmed,” Captain Dejar said. “What did you find?”
Valtic pulled out his tablet, synched it to the Rogue Star’s computers, and then threw the route I had taken as tracked by my subdermal tracer up on the screen.
“That, plus the camera shots I took of the exterior while I was planting the micro-transponders, should give us a better idea of what that ship's true capabilities are,” Valtic said. “Not everything, but it's more.”
“What about the drive?”
I handed over the bracelet to Valtic, who easily pried open the gem-like casing to reveal the copied drive within. “Let’s find out.”
Dejar slid the chip into a tiny port on his console.
At first, all that appeared was a mess of unusual symbols, but after a moment it faded into characters I recognized. Shein. The AI must have started translating.
“That's....” Both Dejar and Aavat looked confused. “That's not right.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“There should be more. Lots more,” Dejar said, eyes fixed on the display.
I shook my head. “I waited until it beeped that it was done, I'm sure I did.”
Valtic’s broad hand rubbed soothing circles on my back. “Of course you did.”
Dejar looked up, frowning. “No, not that. It's just that—look at this here.” He displayed the files so I could see them almost projected over his desk.
“Here we have one folder with a single file in it.” He tapped at one section. “And here is the entire section of the drive formatted and reserved for navigational logs. But it's like…” he stopped, frowning.
Aavat grabbed the section and flipped through it, the whirring screen like static made tangible.
“It's like somebody copied over the navigation files, erasing them, over and over and over.”
“Why would you do that?” Valtic wondered. “You wouldn't have a record of where you had been, where you were going. That seems useful, for a navigator.”
“Qal doesn't seem to always need reference points,” Kalyn said slowly. “He's got any number of coordinates memorized.”
“But not all of them,” Dejar answered. “No pilot could.”
“Let's at least look at the file we can open,” I decided. “What's in there?”
It was one list.
The first thing I noticed was a column of symbols just like we'd found at the dock-master’s.
As usual, no repeating pattern that I could tell, just random.
“Hello, old friends,” Dejar poked one in the air. “One day we’ll know what you mean, but you just being
here means we’re on the right track.”
Five of them, I thought about it, then put it in the back of my brain to percolate.
“What's the next line?” I asked. I could read the Shein lettering, but still, the words didn't make sense to me.
“Names of worlds,” Aavat said grimly.
“Want to bet they're all recent additions to the Dominion?” Kalyn asked.
“We’ll check it, but no.” Aavat pointed out one line, then another. “Some of these I recognize. A few I’ve even been to.”
“Then,” Kalyn drew her finger down the final column. “What does this mean?”
After every world, no matter which of the five symbols preceded it, the same word bleakly marched down the screen.
Failed.
“This doesn't really help, does it?” I sagged against Valtic’s side. “It’s just one more mystery.”
“Of course, it does,” Kalyn insisted. “We have more information. We know some of these worlds have had women abducted from them. Maybe the other worlds, even the older, established ones, still had women taken.”
Dejar nodded. “I'll have the computer check against some of my previous research, but it wouldn't be unlikely.”
“And we know from the women we rescued at Katzul that they were held somewhere else first, before they were auctioned, right?” Kalyn pressed on.
“So where did they go?” I wondered. “And what sort of test did they fail?”
“I’ll have Qal go over the navigation log, see if he can pry anything out of that mess.” Aavat shook his head. “Anything else you found?”
“One strange thing.” I hesitated. “I'd never seen them before, but I think they had cryogenic pods on the bridge.”
The shock on Dejar and Aavat’s face echoed Valtic’s reaction when I had told him earlier.
“Five of them, opposite the navigator’s station,” I clarified.
“Nobody would do that to their navigator,” Aavat snapped. “It would be madness.”
“But they were there. And every one of those pods was occupied.”
Kalyn pushed away from the table and rose. “We have more pieces on the board, and that's what we wanted, right?” We all nodded.
“Then the mission was a success.” She narrowed her eyes. “You look exhausted, girl.”
It was funny, I was tired down to my bones. Especially with our interrupted sleep.
But I wouldn't have had it any other way.
“Is there anything else you need from us?” Valtic asked.
“No,” Captain Dejar replied. “You’ve both earned some rest. I’ll admit, I had my doubts, but you two have made a very unlikely team. I’m impressed with your work. Well done.”
“Thank you, Captain,” I murmured. Valtic nodded. As we left the captain’s office, I smiled to myself. Valtic and I were an unlikely pair, but I couldn’t imagine pairing up with anyone else.
Valtic
The next day I sat in Dejar’s office, discussing the possibilities of trying to get extra gear for the crew and extra weapons for the Rogue Star. If the crew of The Terror somehow managed to find us again, it would do us well to be better prepared.
“I agree with you, Valtic, I do. We just don’t have the finances for it,” Dejar responded.
“He’s right. I mean, where did you think we were going to get any new money from?” Aavat asked as he sat in the corner of the office.
I knew they were right. Without actual work coming in, our finances had to be dwindling quickly. With Lynna having to purchase medical supplies twice, and the girls’ need to be disguised whenever they went outside the ship, or when we had ‘guests’ aboard, that alone had to be a serious bite to our accounts. Add in food, fuel, and spare parts for the ship or the Skimmer, and it wouldn’t surprise me if things were getting dire.
“It’s getting to the point we might have to start rationing,” Aavat said, echoing my thoughts.
“I understand that, sirs. I was simply attempting to suggest that we could use the extra fire power. What if we went back to Zolla?”
Dejar shook his head quickly. “No. I looked into it already. The Dominion showed up for an ‘inspection’ after we were there. Zolla doesn’t want to see us again until either her funeral or the death of the Dominion, whichever comes first.”
Aavat let out a bark of laughter. “You know umbba well that woman used different language when she said it, too. Even I was surprised at the language she used.” If Aavat was shocked by language, especially as someone that was very colorful in his own usage, then Zolla had certainly said some things. Essentially, it meant that if we were spotted there, we would be shot, then turned in to the Dominion.
“Very well. My apologies for wasting your time, sir,” I said as I stood.
Dejar got to his feet, as well. “Not a waste, Valtic. Tell you what, try to research what we need, and we’ll see if we can find a way to get it.” I nodded and headed towards the door. As I reached to push the button, the door opened and Itair jumped back, startled.
“Oh. I didn’t know you were here,” he said, looking up at me. “Actually, it’s a good thing you’re here, though. I want you to be part of this conversation.” He pushed his way past me and into the office. “Captain, Commander. I would like to offer you a proposal.”
I stood at the door, a little confused as to if I should leave or stay. I looked at Aavat, who shrugged, then motioned for me to join them. Itair still stood in front of Dejar’s desk. “Well, come on. I said you should be part of this, as well. What’s the hesitation?”
With a small turn of my head, I stepped back into the office, the door sliding closed behind me. Itair turned back to a still standing Dejar, who looked a bit perplexed. “What kind of proposal?” he asked.
“Well,” Itair said as he sat down. Dejar motioned for Aavat and me to sit down, as well, as he took his seat behind his desk. Itair continued. “As you know, I am a very influential and extremely rich man.”
“Uh-huh,” Aavat cut in.
Itair went on as if uninterrupted. “And I have many connections that have served me very well over the years. I was the first to bring those beautiful wading pools to the floating community. I was the first to begin citywide broadcasts of my celebrations. I have significant influence and assets here in Katzul.”
“What’s your point?” Aavat asked. His facial cues showed that he was just as impatient with this rhetoric as I was.
“Well, my point,” Itair said slowly, “is that the invasion upon my home has shattered my comfortable life here. Someone, or ones, managed to get by my security and destroy my lovely toys and collections.”
“What if they didn’t get past your security?” I asked. “What if it was your security? Or, perhaps, they were paid to let it happen?”
Itair’s eyes were so bugged out when he snapped his head around to look at me, it was hard to feel bad for him. I had apparently said something that he hadn’t thought of. I struggled to keep my focus on him, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aavat doing his best to hold in his laughter at how scared Itair looked.
He shot back around to look at Dejar. “See what I mean? What if it was my own people? I don’t feel safe here anymore, Captain.”
“What are you proposing then, Itair?” the captain asked.
“Take me on.”
“What?” Dejar looked confused. I was, too. What did he mean? Take him on as a member of the crew? He was useless. Take him on as a passenger? He would be in the way.
Itair nodded. “Take me on. I’ll pay for your services.” That caught their attention. Aavat looked to Dejar, then back to Itair, then back to Dejar.
“How much?” I asked, surprising even myself that I had been the one to ask.
Itair looked over at me. “Whatever is needed to keep the ship operational.”
It was my turn to be bug-eyed, as well as the captain’s and commander’s. “You mean,” Aavat started.
Itair finished for him. “I’ll pay you to get me of
f Katzul and to take me someplace safe. Until we arrive there, I’ll cover the ship’s expenses. I highly doubt that you’ll be able to do much work right now, not with your concentration on this crusade of yours, and while I don’t share your zeal to stop it, I also don’t condone it.”
He rose from his chair, put his hands on the desk, and leaned forward. “What I am saying is that I will take my considerable fortune and I will hire you, your crew, and your ship, to not only take me away from here, but to protect me,” he flashed a look at me as he said that, “until we find a place that I find comfortable and suitable to my needs. Do we have a deal, Captain?”
“What if we say no?” Aavat asked.
Itair stood up straight. “Considering your current options, as criminals of the Dominion, enemies of Enclave, and a potential target to pirates thanks to the price on your heads…” he stopped and looked at each of us. Then, settling on Aavat, he smiled. “I don’t think you have much of a reason to say no. Do you?”
Dejar held up his hand to forestall Aavat’s inevitable outburst. “He has a point. Are you sure about this?” he asked Itair.
“Really, Captain?” Itair put his hands on his hips. “I’m offering you the best deal you’re going to get for a long time, and you’re questioning it? Should I talk to a different ship? I still have friends I know I can trust, you know.”
“I’m sure you do. Just one question before we decide,” Dejar said.
“Very well.”
“Why?” That was a valid question. It raised a good point as to why he wanted us to protect him and transport him away from here.
With a sideways nod, Itair smiled as he sat back down. He leaned back in the chair, placing his hands on his pudgy stomach. “You’ve proven yourselves very resourceful, and you seem to have a knack for getting into and out of places you shouldn’t be able to. Don’t think I don’t know it was you and one of your women that stole my little pet,” he smiled at Aavat.
Aavat’s face showed nothing, and that was apparently enough for Itair. “Don’t be angry my friend, I’m not. I wasn’t sure what to do with the little beast anyway, you simply made my life easier. Now,” he turned back to the captain, “will you take me on as a passenger?”
