Saturn arrived with a bowl of Nix’s special orange soup he affectionately called Leguma. Liam gestured for her to set it down. He handed her the glass bottle and ordered, “Take this and keep it elevated.”
Liam removed the bundled shirt from his hand and tossed it to the floor next to him. He quickly found a vein near the crook of Ju-Long’s elbow and did his best to hit it. A spurt of blood shot out of his arm and Liam cursed, holding pressure over it with his thumb and retracting the needle. Ju-Long’s arm was too red with blood to make out his veins. Liam let go and decided to make another attempt on the other arm.
“Take a deep breath,” Saturn said. “You’ve got this.”
Liam nodded and breathed out, carefully inserting the needle into Ju-Long’s arm. He took a strip of cloth from his shirt and lightly tied it around Ju-Long’s arm to keep the IV in place, and then wrapped up his other arm where he’d missed the vein, tightening it over the wound and soaking up the dripping blood.
Liam picked up the bowl of Leguma and picked out one of the Nerva plants. The long seaweed-like plant acted as a good spoon when folded in half. He scooped up a small amount of the orange broth and dripped it into Ju-Long’s mouth, several drops missing and trickling down his square chin.
“He’s not responding,” Saturn said, half to herself.
Liam checked Ju-Long’s pulse again. It was still weak, but getting stronger. Liam continued to drip the broth into Ju-Long’s mouth slowly until his mouth closed. The muscular Asian man shot bolt upright and gripped his neck, fingernails scratching at it. He breathed out a puff of air, unable to form words.
Liam smiled and turned to Saturn. “Where did you get this?”
“I don’t know, it was on Nix’s shelf.”
“You know he waters it down for us, right?”
Small tears formed around Ju-Long’s eyes and then poured down his face. He tried to speak several times before being able to breathe out, “Trying to kill me?”
•
Liam taped the glass IV to the wall next to Ju-Long’s bedroll and helped him into a comfortable position. Ju-Long winced as his back hit the mat.
“Do you remember what happened?” Liam asked. “Was anyone else down there with you?”
Ju-Long looked to the ceiling and closed his eyes. He replied, “There was you, and Saturn, and Astrid.”
“What happened with Astrid?”
“A gentleman never tells.”
“It’s a good thing you’re not a gentleman.”
Ju-Long looked disappointed and said, “Nothing happened. It was too hot in the engine room and I couldn’t leave, so she left.”
“This is important, I need you to remember. Did she say or do anything to you that seemed weird or off in some way?”
“She was just being her old charming self. You know her.”
Liam did know her, despite only meeting her days ago. That was the problem. He left Ju-Long to rest and moved to the door. He told his crewmate, “I’m going to lock you in, but if you need anything, use this intercom to communicate.”
Liam tossed Ju-Long a small earpiece. He caught it and inserted it carefully into his ear, grimacing and clutching his side when he finished. Liam exited the room and put his hand up to the square pad. The white pad turned red and he heard a distinct click from somewhere inside the door.
Ju-Long might not have been able to articulate it, but there was definitely something to Nix’s suspicions. For that matter, whatever vibe Saturn had gotten off her might have been accurate as well. All Liam knew for sure was that he had a number of questions to ask their Ansaran guest.
29
Liam and Saturn stood in a living quarters, hovering over a sleeping alien body. Liam raised up a bucket of cold water and splashed it over the top of the bed’s occupant, eliciting frightened screams. Saturn gripped her energy weapon tighter in her hand while Liam said, “You’ve got some explaining to do.”
Nix shook his head, sending flecks of water all around him. He gazed up at Liam bearing a look of confusion.
“I was sleeping,” Nix yelled.
“So is Ju-Long. It was all we could do to put him to bed after what happened.”
Water continued to drip from Nix’s face, his brown cloak soaked through to his scales. His eyes were marked with confusion, darting around the room, calculating.
“Ju-Long is hurt?”
Liam nodded and confirmed, “Almost died, possibly thanks to you.”
“What do you mean?”
Saturn chimed in, “Tell us everything about The Heiress.”
The Dinari’s golden eyes stretched wide and his mouth froze, slightly ajar. He said to himself, “Gods, what have I said?”
Liam picked Nix up by his soggy cloak and pressed him against the wall.
“I don’t have time for this. Is Astrid this Heiress person, or does she hold the same power?”
“The Caretaker of Taleris is Astrid’s uncle, meaning her father would be someone high ranking on Ansara. If not her, then maybe she’s The Heiress’ sister or cousin. I’ve only met the two Ansaran females, they keep them guarded.”
“Why?” Saturn asked. “Are they afraid of them?”
“Only a small percentage of Ansarans born are female, they prize them. It’s a result of tampering with their genetic structure. You saw Xara on Garuda’s moon. He was a monster.”
Liam released Nix’s shirt and eyed him coldly. He seethed, “This is exactly the kind of thing we need to know about before it escalates. When we get out of this, you’re going to tell me everything you know.”
Nix nodded meekly. He appeared genuinely ashamed to have withheld knowledge. Even if he had his reasons, they were part of the same crew. If they couldn’t trust one another, who could they trust? It was like working for Vesta Corporation all over again.
“We’re going to pay our Ansaran friend a visit.”
Nix’s face turned grave and nodded. He said, “Let me help. What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to be your normal, Ansaran-hating self. The gloves are coming off.”
Saturn shot him a surprised look that quickly turned into a smile. Liam had seen that look before, but not since their last protection job. She was turned on.
•
Saturn held her palm over the square scanner and the door to Liam’s quarters opened. She raised her energy weapon, a ball of energy pulsing between the crescent tips, Liam and Nix following suit. The room was empty.
“Shit,” Liam said. “Where is she?”
Saturn pressed a button on the side of her weapon and the energy dissipated harmlessly into the air. She turned to Liam and felt a rush of blood to her face. His cold blue eyes softened when they met hers and he brushed a long strand of blond hair away from his stony face.
“Should we split up?” Nix asked.
“No, that’s what she’d want,” Liam said. “It’s a small ship, we’ll take it room by room.”
Liam took off down the corridor with Nix, Saturn following him closely. When they reached the cargo bay they searched around each large yellow crate, careful to keep one another in eyesight. The place was empty.
The heat was unbearable now. The temperature in the cargo bay easily exceeded forty degrees Celsius. She tightened her sweaty grasp on her crescent-shaped weapon, fingers slipping until she added a second hand to maintain her grip.
Saturn heard the clanking she sometimes heard in the pipes that ran overhead along the corridor to the cockpit. She and Liam made eye contact and nodded to one another. Liam led the way down the curving passageway. Sweat poured down Saturn’s face and she tried to brush her hair behind her ears to keep it out of the way. The unruly mess wasn’t cooperating and she didn’t have time to fix it.
At the entrance to the kitchen Liam and Nix shot around the corner. Saturn, however, was looking straight ahead to the cockpit. There she saw Astrid in the pilot’s seat, messing with the controls. Saturn let out a low whistle, just loud enough to get the attention of the
other two. Liam and Nix popped back into the hallway and followed Saturn’s pointing finger to the cockpit.
Liam charged his energy weapon and stepped quietly toward the front of the ship. Saturn followed within a meter of Liam, catching a glimpse of the V formed by his back through his drenched shirt. She shook her head. She had to focus. But the heat. Her brain felt cooked through.
When Liam was within a few meters of the cockpit, Astrid turned her head to the side and said flatly, “We’re approaching Narra.”
Saturn and the others pointed their energy weapons at Astrid, who turned around, awestruck.
“What is this?” she demanded.
“Step away from the console.”
Astrid raised her hands out in front of her and got up out of the pilot’s seat. She looked ragged, with sweat pouring down her lightly scaled face and tired bags forming under her eyes. Astrid looked between her and Liam, notably avoiding eye contact with Nix. She asked, “Here I thought we were past this.”
Liam spoke in a harsh voice, “Tell me about The Heiress.”
“The Heiress to what?”
“To the Alliance.”
Recognition flooded Astrid’s features. Her eyes took on a slight glow that was even more pronounced in the low cockpit light. She nodded and said, “My eldest sister.”
Astrid took a step forward and looked at Nix, the glow in her eyes growing in intensity. Nix readjusted his grip on his weapon. Saturn eyed him cautiously. Something about him seemed ready to snap.
Astrid continued, “It’s exceedingly rare for a family to birth an Ansaran female, let alone two. It’s expected that the females keep having children until they have a girl to replace them. When I was young they called us miracles.”
“And now?” Liam asked.
“Dead weight,” Astrid spat. “My father could only choose one of us to inherit the alliance. My sister, being the eldest, earned that right. I was sent to Taleris to live with my uncle, should anything happen to my sister.”
“Isn’t that nice,” Nix seethed. “Let’s skip ahead to the part where you and your freak sister were engineered to kill.”
Astrid’s eyes widened, their glow squelched with her surprise. She said with a shaky voice, “What are you talking about?”
Nix moved quicker than Saturn had ever seen, even faster than when a fresh pot of Leguma was ready for consumption. He took hold of Astrid and grappled her to the grated metal floor, his energy weapon pulsing near her head and his other arm bearing down on her windpipe. He yelled, “Try to use your power against me, I dare you.”
Saturn looked between Nix and Liam. Normally Liam might have stopped it, remembering his misguided noble core. Now, he simply stood there, listening intently with his weapon pointed down at the Ansaran. Something had changed about him.
Astrid choked out sounds but was unable to form them into words. Nix loosened his grip just enough for her to say, “Whatever power you think I have, you’re wrong.”
“Why do your eyes glow?” Saturn asked.
Astrid’s eyes rolled back so that Saturn was in her sight. The glow pulsed angrily now. Astrid replied, “It happens when I feel strong emotions. I don’t know why.”
“Why did you try to kill Ju-Long?” Liam asked.
Astrid bore a look of confusion. “Ju-Long is hurt? Is he okay?”
Nix hit her face with the underside of his crescent-shaped weapon and repeated Liam’s question. A trickle of red blood fell down her high cheekbones. Astrid began to weep softly. Saturn noticed Liam’s weapon lower slightly. She knew he wouldn’t have the stomach for this sort of thing. Astrid was clearly lying but seeing a woman in distress went against everything Liam stood for.
The Ansaran didn’t say anything now, she only stared off out the cockpit’s window, watching the stars go by. Something tugged at Saturn’s stomach. She knew that look well. Saturn had drifted off just like that once before. Sights and sounds retreated to the back of her mind and she focused on a single point, waiting for an end that wouldn’t come.
Nix wound up for another swing but Liam and Saturn both stopped him, pulling him off of Astrid’s chest despite his violent protests.
“What are you doing?” Nix asked. “She’s playing you both. Her and her sister are freaks, designed for nothing more than to kill.”
“This isn’t the way,” Liam said. “Not like this.”
Nix was irate now, and screamed at the Ansaran, “I watched your sister kill three of my friends with a word. In the same breath she manipulated the Caretaker and gods know what else.”
Astrid began to sit up and, still clutching her bruised throat, said, “I haven’t seen my sister since I was six years old. Any power she has certainly skipped over me.”
Liam put a hand under Astrid’s arm and helped her up, his weapon still out and ready if needed. He asked her in a stern but gentler voice, “Have you ever heard of something like this before?”
Astrid avoided eye contact and rubbed at the geometric patterns along her graceful neck. She said, “I’d say they’d kill me if I told you, but we both know they aim to kill me anyway. The research facility on Narra once studied Ansaran genetics. We were having too few female children, a side effect of our genetic tampering. They thought to fix it by meddling in our genome even more.”
“What kind of tampering?” Saturn asked.
“It started with screening for defects and known disorders. Soon, it escalated into engineering strength and other desired features. At the end of the long war, my grandfather decided that our race should not be vulnerable to another prolonged conflict. They began to experiment, free of any safeguards. I don’t know what they created.”
Liam maintained his grip on her arm and asked, “Why were you really on Narra?”
“My uncle sent me. Ever since I was a child he treated me coldly, as detached a surrogate parent as any there ever was. He wanted me to see with my own eyes what an abomination I am.”
Nix growled, “As I said, engineered to kill. Can we kill her now?”
Liam held a hand up to quiet Nix and said, “Let her speak.”
Astrid hugged her body. Saturn could see this wasn’t easy for her. She’d just been attacked, she’d have no obligation to tell them anything. Still, the Ansaran continued with a shaky voice, “I found the facility deserted, but I was able to piece together what they were working on. I saw the cylindrical chambers, the laboratories, everything. And then I saw the records and I knew it was true. I was born out of one of those cold chambers, incubated until I could survive outside of it. Elayna, the so-called Heiress, was born of a similar chamber days before me.”
“Is that why you have this death wish?” Liam asked.
Astrid avoided the question and said, “I don’t know why we were created, but I’ve never seen this power you’ve spoken of. If they altered us in some way, it wasn’t in their records.”
“We can take you back there when this is over, maybe you’ll find something useful.”
“No,” Astrid said quickly. “It wouldn’t do any good anyway. I burned the labs. There won’t be any more abominations.”
“Convenient,” Nix said with his arms crossed. “All evidence to back up your story is gone.”
Astrid said calmly, “If I did have powers, you would be the only one I’d punish.”
Before Nix could form a retort, the cockpit was abuzz with warning lights. Saturn crossed the room to the main console and rested her energy weapon on top, bringing up the scans of the surrounding region. Narra was close, one of its moons within half a million kilometers. The Nightstalkers still trailed but they were slowly closing the distance. They meant to intercept them before they lost the advantage.
Saturn announced, “We’re less than fifteen minutes out from Narra’s closest moon. They’re gaining on us.”
Liam cursed and spat, “We’ll settle this later. Battle stations.”
30
Liam gripped Astrid’s shoulder and stared into her blue and green eyes, t
heir vertical slits growing wide as the glow faded. She didn’t fight his grasp, rather, she seemed too fascinated to notice. Liam told her, “If you want to live, get on a gun.”
Astrid hesitated a moment, and then nodded silently, brushing past Liam to the open chair behind the pilot’s seat. Liam noticed that Nix had immediately taken Ju-Long’s seat, where the controls for the main gun were located. He didn’t blame the Dinari. Astrid had a long way to go if she wanted to prove herself and knowing the truth about their ship was a long ways off.
Liam took his seat at the front of The Garuda and slipped his arm through the familiar copper circle, gripping the handle on the other side. The copper ring tightened snugly around his arm and he felt control of the ship at his fingertips. He altered course so they were pointed slightly off from Narra’s moon, but still well within its gravitational pull. Liam ran the calculations in his head several times, but numbers were never his strongest suit. Still, his plan was just crazy enough to work. If the Nightstalkers wanted a fair fight, they were going to have to look somewhere else.
“Saturn, what’s the temperature in the engine room?”
“Over seventy degrees Celsius, why?”
“It might get a little hotter.”
Nix chimed in, “There’s sensitive equipment in there. It’s hot enough as it is.”
“It’ll be temporary.”
“It’s not like we can vent the excess heat out here, this ship wasn’t designed that way.”
“Why wouldn’t the engineers come up with a solution for the heat?” Saturn asked. “It seems like a big oversight.”
“It’s never been a problem before he started driving. The coldness of space has done enough in the past to cool down the ship. This place is usually a meat locker.”
The Corsair Uprising Collection, Books 1-3 Page 31
