Voidhawk

by Halstead, Jason

  “What kind of things will she do?” Rosh asked, looking at the ring Bekka was only now taking off of her finger.

  “Anything,” Jenna said.

  Rosh raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. Kragor saw his look and shook his head slightly; signaling Rosh to stop whatever he was thinking because the dwarf knew it would not go over well.

  “Alright,” Dexter said with a tired voice. “Put her over the side, Rosh. Let’s be rid of her.”

  “Hold on, Captain,” Rosh said. “We could use her! With that ring she’ll do whatever we want.”

  “I’ll not have slaves aboard my ship,” Dexter growled.

  “Well, I didn’t mean it like that,” Rosh said. He looked about to the others hoping for help, but saw nothing. Then his eyes fell on Keshira, who was minding the rigging in spite of their commotion.

  “We’ve got Keshira!” Rosh said. “She’s not much different; she does whatever you tell her, ‘sept you ain’t got no ring.”

  Dexter’s eyes smoldered with rage at Rosh’s words. His fist clenched and he opened his mouth to speak but Bekka beat him to the punch.

  “Wait,” she said, stepping between them. She held up the ring for them all to see and spoke, “there is much of the ring’s magic in her, and there is some of her in the ring. What if we gave her the ring? Made her the Mistress of herself?”

  “She’s not for being in control of anything right now,” Dexter said, pointing at her. She hung limp from Rosh’s arms, seemingly unaware of the world around them.

  Bekka frowned and slipped the ring back on, then turned to face her. “Be yourself,” she commanded.

  The girl’s head perked up. She looked around and stiffened, staring into Rosh’s eyes.

  “Are you going to hurt anyone?” Bekka asked cautiously.

  The girl turned her head to behold the half-elf. She studied her for a long moment before her mouth opened. At first a garbled sound came from it, but it quickly changed into words that were not tortured. “I don’t... want to hurt anyone anymore.”

  “See, there you go!” Rosh said, startling her and making her look at him with trepidation.

  “You’re bleeding,” she said softly. “I made you bleed,” she continued, remembering that she had done it.

  “That’s a powerful thing,” Dexter said, staring at the ring Bekka held. “I don’t want her on my ship if that thing can be used against her. Can you destroy it?”

  Bekka shook her head. “Not yet, it has her essence bound up in it, I don’t know what it would do to her.”

  Dexter’s look indicated he was not terribly concerned about her fate. Jenna looked at her suspiciously as well. Finally Dexter shrugged. “Jenna, she came for you. What say you about this?”

  “Do you wish me harm?” Jenna asked her, stepping up to her. When she did not respond Jenna reached out and grabbed her chin, twisting her head so that she looked at her.

  “Girl!” She snapped. “Do you wish me harm still?”

  The girl’s eyes watered and her chin quivered for a moment. “I don’t want to hurt anyone ever again.”

  Jenna stared at her and then let her chin go. She walked away and found herself staring at Keshira, who had stopped working and was watching from afar. She opened her mouth but paused, staring at the construct. “Do what you will,” she said, then descended the staircase to the companionway before anyone could say more to her.

  Dexter watched her go, somewhat perplexed. He looked back at Rosh, who just shrugged. “Set her down, Rosh,” Dexter said.

  Rosh did so, and let her go so that she stood on the deck unrestrained. She stood still, tears running down her face.

  “Alright, see what you can do with her,” Dexter said. “If she can work she can stay, if she gets in the way…”

  Dexter let the alternative go unnamed. He turned to Kragor and sighed, then went to the stairs and threaded his way down them so that he could take over on the helm that Bekka had abandoned when she had sensed the situation unfolding.

  “Really? I can keep her?” Rosh asked, surprised.

  “She’s not a thing to be keeping,” Kragor said, smacking him on the arm. “You and Bekka see what you can do to settle her down. Bekka, you keep that ring with you until you know more about it. Don’t you be giving it to anyone.”

  * * * *

  Nearly two days passed with the ship unusually quiet. Bekka and Rosh spent time with Bailynn, or so the girl claimed her name was. Bekka and Rosh began calling her just Lynn., hoping to make her feel better.

  Rosh showed her the sails and the rigging, explaining as best he could how the magic of the ships helm somehow enabled the sails to catch the solar wind and sail through the void. Quiet and seemingly morose, she nevertheless drank in the lessons.

  Bekka spent time mostly watching and studying them, though occasionally she would correct Rosh when he misspoke on how the solar winds worked on the sails and how the helm could still control a ship even without them, though it was slow and cumbersome.

  Jenna avoided the trio at all times, leaving an area as soon as Lynn entered it. She reserved no special glances or looks towards her; she simply sought to be in another area whenever possible. Dexter was growing tired of how awkward the situation on his ship was becoming, and realized that since no one else seemed to be willing to deal with it, he had to do something.

  Jenna, Dexter, and Jodyne were sitting at the table in the galley eating dinner while Keshira and Kragor worked the sails. Rosh and Lynn entered the room, the large man leading the way and sitting down next to Jenna. That left only a seat next to Dexter for Lynn, who took it silently. Jenna immediately pushed her plate back and started to stand.

  “No, wait,” Dexter said, looking at her. She met his stare blankly, but remained seated.

  “This stops now. I need my crew able to work together,” he said, looking at her and glancing at the rest as well for added effect. “Working together means talking, not avoiding.”

  Jenna’s cheek twitched a little at his words, but other than that she showed no outward sign.

  Dexter scowled. “What is it? Sure, she tried to kill you. That would make my day go from bad to worse too, but it’s over. What’s got the splinter in your ass now?”

  Rosh snickered at Dexter’s question, then quieted down when he drew a glare from the man.

  Jenna glanced at Rosh but ignored Bailynn. “She is a constant reminder of what they do.”

  Dexter sensed that she wanted to say more, but for some reason she did not. He mused perhaps it was the lack of privacy that held her tongue. He nodded. “Alright. I can understand that. Now get over it; I’ll not have it on my ship.”

  Jenna’s eyes flared for a moment in surprise and hurt, but even more quickly her expression locked down again. “How long until our next port of call?”

  Dexter was surprised by the question. He glanced at Rosh and Jodyne then said, “a week or so, why?”

  Jenna nodded, having made a decision. “I will leave your service then,” she said, her eyes drilling into his intently. “Now may I be excused, Captain?”

  Dexter’s mouth parted in surprise. He caught himself and nodded, not knowing what else to say. He felt as though she had kicked him in the stomach.

  Jenna rose from the table and left the galley, heading directly for her cabin. Dexter turned to look at Rosh and Bailynn, and noticed how she was trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible next to him.

  “Can I have her cabin?” Rosh asked, and was promptly ignored.

  Dexter looked at Jodyne, who was watching him intently as well. “Well lad, are ya going to go after her?” she asked, her tone indicating he was a fool if he did not.

  He nodded, rising up, then turned back to Rosh, whose mouth was opened again to say something else. “No,” Dexter said, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t even be saying it.”

  Rosh shut his mouth slowly and grinned when he looked at Jodyne. She harrumphed and backhanded him on the arm, then went abo
ut collecting the abandoned dishes for cleaning. Rosh just sat there and looked at Bailynn, shrugging. “Aw stop that, what’re ya crying for?” he asked, seeing fresh tears sliding slowly down her cheeks.

  Bailynn remained quiet, withdrawing into herself.

  * * * *

  Not pausing as he had in the past, Dexter opened the door to Jenna’s room, hitting something halfway through the motion and pushing it out of the way. A girlish grunt preceded the sight of Jenna lying face first on her bunk, then scrambling around and rising back up with a furious expression on her face.

  Dexter’s chagrin did little to make her pause. “Don’t you knock?” She spat angrily.

  He did a double take, and even turned to look at the door before looking back at her. He opened his mouth to reply but she had already moved on.

  “Shut the door already,” she said.

  Off balance, Dexter shut the door and looked back at her, wondering how he could recapture some momentum.

  “Look, I just can’t do it. I know I owe you, and I promise I will find a way to pay you, but I can’t be here… with her.”

  Dexter kept his mouth shut and listened, realizing he might get more out of her this way. He nodded that he understood and waited for her to continue.

  “It reminds me… of them. Of the things they did. So damned sure of themselves; everything was fair as long as it involved no harm to the elves,” she spat out. She laughed harshly and said, “Or at least the right elves.”

  “Is that it?” Dexter asked softly. “Was…is she an elf?”

  Jenna looked at him, the fury gone from her eyes and sadness in its place. “No… they all looked like that.”

  “I thought you only knew of monsters and hounds and the like?” He pressed, stepping closer to her without realizing it.

  She nodded, sniffing in spite of herself. “Yes, but its elven magic and, its worse, they sacrificed the life of an elf for every one they made. They bound up the soul of the elf in the slayer and that causes them to adopt elven features. That…thing was human, but she’s been corrupted. She looks to be a waif only sixteen years old, but in truth she is probably closer to forty or fifty.”

  “Worst of all is she does not know this about herself, she only knows what they told her; what they wanted her to know.”

  Dexter nodded and found himself reaching out and touching her tenderly on the shoulder. She glanced at him and offered him a weak smile. “Dex… I can’t. I just can’t stay. Not with her having a part of me.”

  “Having a… what are you talking about?” Dexter asked, confused.

  “That is how she found me. How she always knows where I am,” Jenna explained. “They must have taken something from me, some hair perhaps. It, together with the ring, control her. She may not be driven to come after me, but there is a link between us that I cannot knowingly permit.”

  Dexter nodded, understanding her better. He had to admit he would have a hard time with such a thing himself, being the private person he was. Jenna slipped next to him, allowing him to hold her close in a supportive embrace. She buried her head against him and he felt her tears wetting his shirt.

  “I don’t want to leave… not the ship, not you, not any of them,” said her muffled voice. “There’s no other way around it.”

  “Are you hinting that I should kill her?” Dexter asked, suspecting he was being manipulated into being given an ultimatum.

  Jenna looked up sharply. She shook her head. “No, I am not. Damn you, human, you proved yourself better than me. Your example with Keshira has proven to me that she deserves a chance to live, or the chance to try to find a life.”

  Dexter smiled, happy to have made a difference.

  Jenna sighed and said, “I hate you sometimes, you know? But I’m going to miss you.”

  He felt a sadness within him but refused to pay attention to it. He just shrugged and said, “Still got a week till we end up someplace, lot can happen in a week.”

  Jenna leaned in and surprised him by pressing her lips to his. Once he overcame his shock he returned the kiss, even though he knew he should not. Jenna broke away and whispered, “Especially if I have my way.”

  She stepped away from Dexter and winked at him, which made the captain blush. She reached up untied the three separate ties holding her vest closed, one at a time. Dexter found himself staring, unable to pry his eyes away. His eyes found hers and she winked at him again, then let her vest slide off her shoulders to the floor.

  Dexter cleared his throat and reached for the door behind him. Fumbling with it, he opened it while trying not to stare at her athletic breasts. He failed miserably, but still managed to open the door behind him.

  “I, uh, need to go to…”

  “Captain,” Jenna said, stepping closer to him so that she was within arm’s reach. “We’ve had this discussion before. I don’t mind if you look.”

  She reached down and grabbed his free hand, lifting it up slowly. “This is how I dress in my quarters, though I’m only changing clothes at the moment. I want you to see me so you are accustomed to it. If you want to spend time with me in here, then you need to accept me like this.”

  She raised his hand higher and turned it so that it was his palm faced towards her. “Perhaps this will help you?” She mused, pressing her breast into his palm.

  Dexter gasped and opened his eyes wide in surprise. He felt her nipple harden against the skin of his palm, poking into it and urging him to caress it.

  “Does feeling my body make it easier to look upon it?” Jenna asked softly, her words and tone weaving a spell over him.

  Dexter shook his head and pulled his hand away. “It’s very nice – you are very nice,” Dexter corrected. “But you’re a member of my crew and that’s that.”

  Jenna shrugged, a smile on her face. She turned and stepped away from him, her hands busy in front of her so he could not see them. “Well then, Captain, I suspect a week will not be nearly long enough, and it will be a lifetime too long.”

  She bent forward and slid her breeches over her hips as she did so. As soon as Dexter saw her doing this he turned and rushed out the door. He knew that as much as he yearned to watch her show, he knew what would happen should he stay. As it was he was overdue to take over on the helm for Bekka. She could use all the time with Rosh and Bailynn that she could get.

  * * * *

  In his second attempt at the helm, Rosh found himself fascinated with the feeling of being so in tune with the Voidhawk. The ship felt like an extension of himself; because of it he was able to forget about his own body as he focused on the sails and the hull of the ship. It still took Dexter a couple of times of repeating an order to get the man to hear it.

  The gravity well of an obstacle caught him entirely off guard. The Voidhawk was dragged off the course they had set, making everyone shift and nearly lose their balance. Jodyne cursed as a skillet fell from a cupboard and glanced off her arm, promising Rosh a mouthful the next time she saw him.

  “What happened?” Rosh asked, looking around for Dexter, who had already rushed to the windows of the bridge.

  “That… rock?” Dexter asked, trailing off as he stared into the void. “It’s a tower or something, or what’s left of one. Looks like it was based on an asteroid but it’s been blown into mostly rubble.”

  “Huh?” Rosh asked, not understanding what the man meant.

  “You had us under full sail and we ran into the gravity field of those rocks, it pulled you out of it,” Dexter said. He hurried to the door to the bridge and opened it up, yelling for Bekka as he did so.

  Bekka was already heading towards the bridge; Dexter cut his yell short to spare the half-elf from damaged hearing. Lynn trailed behind her, obedient and quiet as ever.

  “Rosh, move,” Dexter said. “Let Bekka take us in.”

  Rosh got up from the chair and collapsed to the ground. Bailynn rushed forward, kneeling beside him and wrapping her arms around him to help him. Rosh looked up and shook his head, then chuck
led.

  “Still hard getting used to getting my own feet back,” he said. He glanced back at Bailynn and did a surprised double take. She had hardly spoken since they had calmed her down, or even done much more than follow them around and listen to them as they instructed her. Now here she was trying to help him out.

  Rosh grinned at her and slowly climbed to his feet. “Um, thanks,” he said, at a loss for words. To his greater surprise he saw a hint of a smile in her eyes as she looked up at him. Then her gaze dropped and she returned to behaving as she had before.

  “Rosh, on the deck, it looks abandoned but we should check it out,” Dexter said, holding the door open.

  Rosh nodded and started towards it. Then he grinned, “If it’s ruins, might be some treasure to be had!” He took the stairs up to the deck two at a time.

  Dexter shook his head and followed.

  Dexter and a fully armed Jenna gathered on the forecastle to watch the approach. The others worked the sails and rigging as Kragor called out orders to them. The Voidhawk closed rapidly with the broken up rubble, and soon passed into the surprisingly clean bubble of atmosphere that still surrounded the tower.

  “Kragor!” Dexter said as he turned and started towards the main deck. “You, Bekka, Keshira, Jodyne, and Bailynn stay with the ‘Hawk. Rosh and Jenna with me.”

  Kragor scowled at him as he walked past, causing Dexter to hesitate and then grin. “Sorry old friend, you’re just so good with the ship!” Dexter found himself glad that Kragor did not possess Jodyne’s talent, and tendency towards, throwing things. The look the dwarf gave him still left him worried the dwarf might ask his wife for some lessons.

  With the sails furled and Bekka concentrating on holding the ship on station, they slid down a rope to the rubble strewn surface of the asteroid that the tower used as a base. Weapons in hand, they approached the tower and studied it carefully. Only a little over twenty feet tall, it had once been much taller but the top had been knocked off of it.