by Elin Wyn
“Alright,” I said, making my way toward them and raising my voice. “Spit it out. Why the hell is my brother in a jail cell?”
Iq’her
With a heavy sigh, I set down the tablet with my finished reports.
“Hello?” she called out again. “Can someone help me?”
I looked her up and down as I walked over. She was fairly tall for a human female. I could swear she was around six feet in height. I hadn’t remembered seeing anyone else close to that height outside of the Urai women. Her pale white skin was covered in light freckles, something that I found to actually be appealing. Her gray-blue eyes, combined with her vibrantly rich red hair that she had tied behind her head stood out. The brothers, if they had bothered to look up, would have been jealous of her hair color, their own red-orange hair still standing in spiked mohawks.
She was… interesting.
Attractive.
Alluring.
And that wasn’t want I needed to be thinking about right now
“Hello, ma’am. How can I help you?”
“Oh, so you’re deaf, too,” she snapped, her hands on her hips, sarcasm dripping like blood. “I’ve been asking for someone to explain what the hell is going on for quite a few minutes now.”
“That you have,” I agreed. “I apologize for not being able to meet you immediately. Our team is in the process of recording our reports, and the longer it takes for our reports to be written, the more likely mistakes will be made because we’ll start to remember things improperly or simply forget things altogether.”
“Let me guess.” She cocked her head to the side. “You’re going to ‘forget’ some of the stuff that happened and blame it on me, right?”
“No, ma’am,” I said. “You see, I’ve already completed my report. I write faster than my compatriots.”
“Good for you.” Scorn dripped from her words. Either she wasn’t happy with me or she just sounded like that naturally.
“Thank you.” Hoping her mood was only a response to the situation, I responded to the words, not the tone. “Now, how can I help you?”
“Why is my brother in a box?” she pointed to the closest of the plex holding cells.
The man inside was her brother?
This was the Stasia he’d been bellowing for to come and fix things?
I took a closer look and, after a moment to get past his drunkenness, his glaring, and radiating hatred, I could see the familial similarities.
Whoever the parents of these two were, they were most assuredly prouder of their daughter.
“Your brother was part of a group of almost twenty that were attacking a delivery truck. They damaged the truck and tried to steal the food that was in the truck that was meant for a nearby settlement,” I explained. As I spoke, she looked over at her brother in mortification.
“He did that?” she asked. I knew she wasn’t asking because she thought I was wrong, she was asking just to get clarification of something she was dreading was true.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“How ‘involved’ was he?”
“At the moment, I cannot divulge that information. It is something that needs to be dealt with if there is a trial.”
She stood there, standing sideways, her right shoulder pointed at me as she stared at her brother. I heard the disappointment in her voice, so I could imagine the disappointment on her face as she looked at him.
“I do apologize for…” I started.
Her brother interrupted me. “You better fuckin’ apologize, you bashtard,” he yelled out drunkenly. “You and your kind are shtealing food from us humans-es.” He slammed his fist against his cell wall. “I w-w-was just taking it back!”
“You idiot!” the woman yelled at him. “Why did you have to attack and damage the truck? You didn’t have to get violent with anyone. What if it had been human guards that had checked on the truck? Would you have attacked them?”
“Yep,” was his response. I could see that she hadn’t expected that answer. Her shoulders dropped momentarily, then I could see her arm start to shake a little as she clenched her hand into a fist.
She shook her head, stepped up to his cell, and said something to him that I didn’t quite make out.
“Shut up and get me the fuck out of here, dammit. We’re family,” he growled at her. Then he looked at me. “You hear that, you fuckin’ black and green alien shit? We’re family! Bet you don’t know what the hell that is.”
I shook my head as I rolled my eyes. I turned my attention to the woman as she turned her back on her brother and walked over to me.
“How much is his bail?”
I shrugged and turned to Karzin. He had heard the question, flashed me a number in sign and I shook my head as I turned back to her. I sincerely doubted that she would be able to afford her brother’s bail. She didn’t look like one that had an abundance of funds at her disposal.
She cut a striking figure, her height combined with a nice set of curves, long, strong legs, but all hidden by her plain clothing. No jewelry, no ornamentation or frills.
“Bail was set at thirty-five hundred credits.”
She nearly blew out my eardrums as she shrieked, “Thirty-five hundred?” She turned back to her brother. “What in the holy hell did you do?”
He shrugged, obviously not concerned with the results of his actions.
She turned back to me. “I can pay most of that, but not the entire amount.” While her words made the statement, her tone told me so much more. Whatever amount she was able to pay would wipe her out, and that was something she seemed to be a bit hesitant to do.
She must really have loved her brother to be able to put up with his skrell, and at that price.
“Well,” her brother started in, anger burning away the last of his drunkenness, “you’d be able to afford the whole thing if you wasn’t buying shit you don’t need.”
“You mean like our rent?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You can’t even hold down a damn job for longer than a few weeks.”
“And whose fault is that?” He sighed, then pointed at me. “It’s those bastards’. If they hadn’t come here with their damn bugs, mom and dad would still be alive. I wouldn’t have to be dealing with their death and how bad it makes me feel.” His tone changed from pure anger to wheedling as he looked at her. “Please, Stasia. I can’t stay here. You know I can’t handle tight spaces. I haven’t been able to think straight since mom and dad died. Come on, sis. Please.”
He actually looked sad and a bit remorseful.
Young. Weak.
He was good. I hoped that his sister, Stasia, wouldn’t fall for it.
She did.
“I can’t afford the entire amount, but can you please let me pay you what I have? I promise he won’t do anything stupid. Again,” she added, hesitantly.
I took a deep breath, looked back to Karzin for advice, who only shrugged, and then considered Stasia.
“What’s your full name?” I asked quietly.
“Don’t tell him!” her brother yelled.
Ignoring her brother, she told me. “My name is Stasia, Stasia Cole. Roddik is my younger brother. He’s… he’s trying.”
I nodded in acknowledgement. “Well, Stasia. It seems clear that you’re doing more than trying. If you can promise that your brother will behave and show up for his hearing, I’ll lower his bail by half. I don’t want you having to destroy your savings for this.”
Her eyes widened, and she looked to be on the verge of tears. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice rough.
I nodded. “You don’t need to thank me. Just make sure your brother stays out of trouble.” I ducked down a little bit, not far, to make sure she could look into my eyes. “You don’t deserve having to put up with this more than once.”
The look she gave me was one of grateful confusion. It was like she couldn’t figure me out. I couldn’t blame her.
This wasn’t like me at all.
Why I had chosen to lower the bai
l confused even me, but something about her suggested that she already had to deal with a lot of insanity.
My lowering her brother’s bail was at least something to help calm that.
What I wanted to do was keep her brother locked away, both for the safety of the city and to give her some peace.
Take her somewhere she could rest, to sleep until the tired, worried lines faded from around those striking eyes.
But I knew without asking she wouldn’t want that.
Even if it really would be the best thing for her.
Stasia paid the bail, and Roddik flashed me a smug smile as he strode out of the cell. “Your alien bullshit can’t hold me, fucker.” He looked like was going to spit at me, but she punched him in the shoulder before he could.
“Don’t do anything stupid, remember? I can’t bail you out again,” she snarled.
He looked at me, gave me what the humans considered a vulgar gesture with his middle finger, and sauntered out without so much as a ‘thank you’ to his sister.
When they were gone, Rokul looked at me, a quizzical look on his face. “Well, isn’t he a wonderful slice of Kinelyan pie?”
I merely nodded.
It was hard to say anything when my thoughts were filled with images of his sister and her fiery spirit.
Stasia
“Man, I’m exhausted.” Roddik threw himself on top of our sofa. The whole thing creaked under his weight and, for a moment, I thought the sofa would come crashing down.
Roddik didn’t seem to notice at all, kicking off his shoes lazily, leaving them abandoned on the floor, and then leaning back. Propping his feet up on top of our dingy coffee table, he then ran one hand through his hair and yawned.
“Of course, you’re exhausted,” I said. “You and that band of idiots were really busy today, huh? Breaking the law and getting into fights must have really tired you out.” I shook my head for a moment, barely believing I had to spell it out like this. “What the hell were you thinking, Roddik? Did you think it was a good idea to attack that truck, huh?”
“Someone has to do something,” he replied bitterly, now sitting up straight. “Aren’t you tired of living like this?” he continued, gesturing toward the mess that was our cramped living room. His personal belongings were strewn across the room, almost as if he had emptied his suitcase over the floor, and a dozen dirty plates were stacked on the coffee table.
Yeah, the apartment I was renting wasn’t a palace, but that wasn’t exactly my fault.
There was only one bedroom, mine, and I made it a point to keep everything there tidy and organized. Roddik had the sofa in the living room, but he was so damn messy that the whole place was in complete disarray all the freaking time.
“Are you kidding me?” I frowned. “We’re living like this because you’re the most disorganized person I’ve ever met.” With that, I started picking up his clothes from the floor, a laundry bag in my hand. There were a few empty bottles lying in one of the corners, and those just made me angrier. “Can’t you at least clean up after yourself? I’m not your freaking mom, Roddik.”
“I know you’re not her,” he whispered, his voice boiling with anger. That immediately made me regret my words. I had every right to be pissed at him, but to drag our parents into it…? No, that wasn't like me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“But you did,” he cut me short, jumping to his feet and heading toward the kitchen. I heard the food storage unit door opening, but then he slammed it shut a fraction of a second later. He was probably looking for beer, but I had emptied the fridge the night before. Roddik’s drinking was getting out of hand, and I wasn’t about to watch my brother drink himself to death.
“Listen, Roddik,” I continued as he returned to the room, doing my best to sound amiable. It was time to practice the honesty-slash-kindness combo Mr. Biher liked to preach. “Things can’t go on like this. I miss mom and dad just as much as you do...but we have to start working together. I need you to make an effort.”
“Yeah, why don’t you get off your high horse, Stasia?” he immediately shot back at me. “Maybe you’re the one who should be making an effort.”
“Me?” I laughed. By then, my amicable tone had already vanished. Screw kindness: I was more than ready to whoop his ass. “You must be freaking kidding me.”
“I’m not,” he hissed. “You talk about working together...so why didn’t you stand up for us? Or, better, why weren’t you there with us?”
“Now there’s a question I can answer,” I smiled sarcastically. “I wasn’t there with you and your stupid friends because I have a job. One which, by the way, is paying for this apartment. Or have you forgotten about that?”
“How could I?” He rolled his eyes. “You keep throwing that in my face whenever you have the chance. I don’t get you, sis, I really don’t. The whole city is on the verge of starvation, the aliens are bossing us around, and the only thing you seem to care about is your stupid little job. Can’t you see there’s more at stake right now?”
“That’s rich. You can’t even hold down a job, and now you want to make things right with the world?” This time, it was my turn to roll my eyes at him. And, oh, they rolled so damn much I was actually surprised they didn’t pop out of their sockets. “Why don’t you start with making things right in this living room, huh?”
“God, Stasia. Are you even listening? We have to focus right now.” He closed the distance between the two of us and laid one hand on my shoulder. “Okay, you’re right. We need to start working as a team. Now listen...I know you still have some savings, and that’s a start, but we need to figure out a way to get more money. We’re gonna need it to bail out the rest of the guys. Do you think Biher would loan you some money if you asked?”
That did it for me.
His words were the last straw.
“Are you out of your freaking mind?!” I cried out. “I’m killing myself here, working night and day so that I can keep a roof over our heads. Now you want us to go into debt so we can bail your friends out? I’m lucky I even managed to get you out! If it weren’t for that guy back at the station, you’d be rotting in there right now.”
“That guy,” he snorted, repeating my words in a deprecating tone. “You mean that alien? Are you siding with them over your own family now, is that what this is?”
“Are you even listening to yourself?” I tried to protest, but it was a fool’s errand. There was no arguing with Roddik whenever he was like this. “I’m not friends with them but, unlike you, I can admit whenever someone’s being kind to me. If you didn’t have your head stuck so far up your ass, maybe you’d see that.”
It was the oddest thing...Thinking about the alien made my heart flutter a bit. He was so tall, with a body that was built like it was made for combat. His eyes had a calculated, controlled alertness to them that made my skin tingle with the awareness of danger.
But when he spoke, he’d been nothing but compassionate. Kind. Understanding.
A woman could feel safe in those arms.
Roddik looked as if he was about to shout something as a reply, but I didn’t give him the time. I just turned around on my heels, grabbed my keys from the table, and bolted out of the apartment. I slammed the door behind me, probably more harshly than I had intended, and sucked in a deep breath.
“You’re driving me crazy, you idiot,” I whispered under my breath, completely at a loss on what to do. Roddik used to be this sweet little kid, but after our parents had died during the Xathi invasion...he simply wasn’t the same.
He couldn’t hold down a job, did nothing but drink the day away with his buddies, and now he had started acting out in a scary way.
What the hell was going through his head? I never thought he’d be as dumb as to go out and destroy a food delivery truck.
That wasn’t the Roddik I knew.
Breathing in and out slowly, I tried to calm myself. Hopefully, this would be just a phase and things would get better so
on enough. Roddik would see the light and start acting responsibly.
I had to believe that.
Climbing down the stairs of our apartment building, I fastened my jacket over my waiter’s uniform. No one was expecting me back at Biher’s today, not after I had left with that Valorni, but after paying for Roddik’s bail, I could use the extra shift.
There was nothing quite like work to keep my mind occupied.
From thoughts of my brother’s idiocy.
And the strong arms of the alien with the kind eyes.
Iq’her
At the removal of Roddik the drunken idiot, things should have gotten quieter without him there to instigate stupidity. That was nowhere near the case.
“Hey, ugly-ass alien guy! Why are you trying to take food away from us humans?”
I wasn’t sure which one had asked the question, and since the rest of the team was gone doing our actual duties, I was left to deal with these fools. I turned towards the cells and wondered for the fortieth time since we arrested these men, why we had decided to rebuild the Vengeance brig here in Nyheim.
Back on the ship, the detention cells were clear, so the offender would be embarrassed by their actions.
It worked, too.
We rarely ever used the brig. No one wanted to be the one locked up for everyone to see.
But these four idiots counted their time in the cells as a badge of honor, like it was something worth bragging about to the rest of their troop of malingerers.
Then, the one in cell three, a skinny one with a bad mustache, wearing shorts, and with vulgar tattoos covering both legs — although, the tattoo artist was talented... I never knew how a hairy, naked human woman would look until I saw his left calf — spoke up. “I’m talking to you, you alien bastard.”
“Really?” I snapped back. “I hadn’t noticed. I thought you were trying to hold a conversation with that ugly beast just under your right knee.”
He looked down at this leg, then snapped his head up at me, trying to bore a hole in my head with his eyes. “That’s my grandmother, you shit.”
