Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

by Melisse Aires

  Even with the jewel sales, Sabralia worried about their finances. Life on the Hub was expensive. She researched ship sales. What if Kaistril’s brothers didn’t arrive as quickly as he thought they would?

  Kaistril continued to sleep heavily. Sabralia talked to him about the sale of the ship, but it had to be done soon, she thought, before their pursuers docked at the Hub. She placed an ad and then consulted Daveed for a safe place to meet potential buyers. Daveed and his wife had a small son. He ran the apartment complex while they saved money to immigrate to a world outside the war zone. Most of the apartment residents were sphere workers who needed affordable, safe housing. The ad brought in immediate responses. She chose to answer one that was politely worded, and made plans to meet at the Tea Room—a place Daveed strongly suggested.

  The Tea Room was reassuring. Sabralia deposited her hot tubes in a safe that locked to her thumbprint and took a table away from the windows.

  “I will be meeting someone. I am called Coloun,” she told one of the servers, who promised to escort the potential buyer to her table. When the server left, she looked around.

  The Tea Room had greenery and soothing colors of green, blue, and white. It served a wide range of beverages. She ordered a cup of spice tea and waited. Nerves made her stomach tight. She hoped this first meeting would bring a sale.

  The server returned, escorting a small thin woman with short dark hair and warm brown skin to Sabralia’s table. She wore a thick black quilted vest that fell below the knee and revealed wiry muscled bare arms.

  “I am Coloun. Please join me.”

  The woman nodded in a formal manner and ordered a cup of roasted Kaf. “I am Tulse Vittorine.”

  Sabralia took a sip from her spice and fumbled with her com. “I can beam the specs to you.”

  Tulse Vittorine studied the specs while Sabralia studied her. This was no sex worker or dancer, like the women of the harem. There was a scar on her arm and another on her eyebrow. She wore no ornamentation at all, or cosmetics. And she seemed to know a lot about ships, for she studied the specs for quite some time.

  “Has any work been done on it recently?” Tulse asked.

  “A tracer was successfully removed from under the hull.”

  “Is someone pursuing the ship? Is that why the trace was removed?”

  Sabralia hesitated. Many buyers would walk away if they knew Sirn’s men were following it. But she didn’t want to lie and put the buyer in danger.

  “The ship belonged to my husband. I received word he had been attacked by marauders and I fled here with a servant. I have not heard from my husband, so I assume the two ships that are following are not friends or colleagues. The ship is small but luxurious and in excellent shape.”

  “How far behind you were the pursuers?”

  “They will not dock here for at least thirty-six hours.”

  “A buyer would have to move the vessel and pay for redocking, plus remove insignia from the hull. And change the ship’s signature. All those are expensive procedures. Especially in a short amount of time.”

  “I would perhaps be willing to consider a counter offer, if I was assured that such procedures would indeed take place within thirty-six hours.”

  Tulse Vittorine tapped off the specs and stood. “I would like to see the ship.”

  “Of course. If you will follow my transport, I will give you a tour.”

  Sabralia was glad Kaistril had thought ahead, giving her a lock code for the ship’s system. “You are more than welcome to explore. The system is locked, but I will provide the unlock code at the time of sale.”

  “Of course.”

  While Tulse checked the coms and disappeared into the lower level, Sabralia drifted to the stateroom. So many memories of Kaistril. Tears stung her eyes. This is over, our short time together.

  Sabralia took a deep breath. Enough. She had a ship to sell.

  When Tulse came back to the main com, Sabralia was ready. “If you purchase this ship and redock it, and change the ship’s signature and hull insignia, I will give you a rebate of a hundred thousand credits upon proof of those actions.”

  Tulse agreed and they traveled to a credit station for the exchange. Afterwards, Sabralia beamed the unlock code to Tulse’s com after verification of the credit transfer came through. “She is all yours now,” she said when it was done. “Enjoy your ship.”

  Tulse Vittorine’s face split into a gleaming smile, showing a mouthful of strong white teeth. It transformed her into a beauty, and Sabralia suddenly realized that Tulse was really quite young. “I will contact you in a few hours when the changes have been made.”

  Sabralia nodded. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

  She traveled back to the apartment and rushed inside. Kaistril was asleep and did not respond to her greeting. The activity of leaving the ship had worn him out. Surely a day’s rest would give him more energy and alertness.

  Tulse Vittorine contacted Sabralia twelve hours later, waking her from sleep. She had the proof of changes. Sabralia saved the data, then verified it through the Hub system. Yes, there it was, docked on a spiral far from the original one, with a new com signature and title. The Tulse Pulse. Cute.

  Sabralia journeyed to a nearby credit station and transferred the required credit to Tulse. Her sense of relief was huge. The ship was moved and changed. Their pursuers would have a much harder time finding them, especially if Tulse left the Hub in a few days. The Hub required no record of their transaction, only Tulse and Sabralia knew of it.

  “So dangerous, Sabra,” Kaistril said when she told him about the sale.

  “I was cautious, Kaistril. And we might need the credits if your brothers are delayed somehow.”

  “The signature and hull insignia are changed?”

  “Yes. I double checked through the Hub system.” She showed him the proof and he was satisfied.

  “You did well, Sabra. This gives us a greater degree of safety. And it is good to be prepared in case my brothers don’t show up on time.”

  She knew he felt bad about being so helpless. “We’ll be fine now. We just need to wait.” Wait for you to get better, she wanted to say.

  Since they didn’t leave their small room, there was nothing to do but sleep, or watch the Hub com.

  “He seems honest,” Kaistril said of Daveed during one of his short alert periods.

  “I do think he is honest,” Sabralia agreed. “He lives next door with his wife and three small children. She does not speak Standard well, but we have exchanged greetings and a few words. They plan to emigrate to Yonder.”

  Yonder was a world newly opened for colonization, far out on the Rim, away from the war.

  Kaistril talked to Daveed and arranged for him to be a courier with a sale of more jewels. Daveed’s wife, Amira, confided that with the courier fee Kaistril paid, they nearly had enough for a colonization package. Amira invited her over daily while her young ones napped, for tea. She also taught Sabralia a type of lace making, something to while away the time while Kaistril slept.

  “It is so sad your husband so sick. Very sad. You see doctor?” Amira’s big brown eyes were full of concern.

  Sabralia brought up the idea of seeing a doctor to Kaistril, who was getting too thin and far too tired. He slept constantly except for brief moments, and when he did eat he just took a few bites, and then he’d be off to sleep again. “It’s not right, Kaistril. You should be feeling better, shouldn’t you?”

  “We’ll wait until my brothers get here. I trust their ship’s doctor more than I would trust a physician here. They might recognize that cyborg applications were on me, alert someone. No records, we can’t be found.”

  “Do you think someone is looking for us?”

  “Maybe for us. Maybe for the ship. They might know who we are. I have no way of knowing what kind of security might have been running at the Sirn’s spaceport…” His voice got weaker as he spoke. “There might be visuals.”

  Sabralia thought about
that. “If there were visuals, then they know you are a former cyborg, and they probably know about the failsafe.”

  One day, Daveed came to the door, his dark eyes huge. “Sabralia, there is some news you should know. Someone has been visiting different lodgings, asking for information. Two dark-haired Puregen men have been found dead…murdered.”

  “I see.” Her heart pounded in panic.

  “I thought you should know because your man is a dark-haired Puregen. Don’t open your door. And you should order security barriers for your door.” She did so, and Daveed installed them.

  “Good. Good… family will be here soon,” Kaistril said when he saw the security barriers, which strengthened the doorway locks and alerted them to any movement near their room. Daveed had promised to keep and eye out for trouble. The courtyard was secure, so Sabralia could still enjoy the balcony and visits with Amira.

  “How can they be here so soon? New Prague is two systems away.”

  “Yes. But secret…have a jump line.”

  A jump line, an anomaly that pulled a ship through space at speeds unachievable by space flight. Like a current running through space.

  “New Prague has a jump line?”

  “Yes. But it’s a secret. Or Sirn…”

  He didn’t need to finish. Sirn was acquiring jump lines wherever he could.

  Sabralia checked the com over and over for news of the murders. She knew she was acting strangely. Knowing someone was out there, perhaps looking for Kaistril, made her jittery, but exhausted. Nothing tasted good.

  Kaistril was in the small bed, bare from the waist up. He was sleeping, like always, and curled into himself. She missed the Kaistril she’d just started to know, and she missed the physical closeness she’d had with him as her cyborg. The days of warm baths, of arms holding her, stroking her as she fell to sleep, were gone. The memories of the heated passion they shared seemed almost like a dream now.

  Chapter Eight

  The message came three days later, just as Sabralia was beginning to feel desperate. Two more dark-haired men had been killed, their gruesome stories played constantly once the Hub news-view cast. She made sure the weapons were nearby at all times. Kaistril couldn’t defend himself, it was up to her.

  She replied to the message, “Kaistril is ill. I can get him to your ship. He can walk a short distance. There is a difficulty—someone may be searching for us. They have our descriptions. Several men matching Kaistril’s description have been killed in the past few days.”

  “Give me your location. We will come directly to your lodging for you. Be ready.” The message was signed as Commander Kyler. She woke Kaistril up and got him dressed to go.

  “Kyler is coming here to the lodging for us.”

  “Good, that will make it safer.”

  To her surprise, Kaistril called for Daveed to join them.

  When he did, Kaistril tapped an amount onto Daveed’s com and completed the transaction with his thumbprint. “Here. You have been very kind to my wife and myself. I hope you and your wife have the luck of the Star Gods in your new world.” Daveed stared at the com. “That is far more than I need.”

  “I know, but I thank you. Your family deserves to be off this Hub, somewhere safe. Where will you go?”

  “Yonder. Free land on that planet, good farmland on two continents with little mining. Mixed immigration and immigrant constitutions, too, to protect the colonists. A good place to raise a family.”

  Kaistril nodded. “If you should change your mind, come to New Prague. We are sparsely populated, with most of the population concentrated on the east coast of one continent. We have an open constitution, not Puregen.” He tapped his com

  “My personal contact.”

  “We will research New Prague,” Daveed said.

  “I wish you and your wife well,” Sabralia told him, tears pricking her eyes. Daveed and Amira were the closest people she’d had for friends in many years.

  “And I you.”

  Kaistril dozed while they waited, the bags packed and ready. The door alarm buzzed and the security screen showed a tall, dark-haired man. Sabralia shook Kaistril awake, then opened the door at Kaistril’s nod. The man resembled Kaistril, but his eyes were silver gray. And he was huge, a head taller than Kaistril, and wide, his shoulders grazing the doorway.

  “Kyler. Good you’re here, you monster.” Kaistril tried to stand, and Sabralia rushed to his side to help him.

  “What is wrong with him?” The man’s voice was sharp.

  “Failsafe,” Kaistril said. “She had to remove the implants.”

  “Implants?” Kyler skewered her with his eyes.

  “Cyborg implants,” Sabralia answered.

  “All on the com. Info.” Kaistril indicated the bag.

  Kyler snatched it. “Move out.”

  Other men were with him, dressed in black, form-fitting uniforms, with silver and red markings on their chests and shoulders. The men grabbed Kaistril by the arms and pulled him swiftly into a small transport. Sabralia followed, awkward with her thick cloak and bag.

  Everything happened so fast. While the transport maneuvered to the New Prague ship, Kyler barked orders into a com, to someone named Karvar. He uploaded Kaistril’s com. Sabralia sagged against her seat in relief. There was a medic on board, someone who could help Kaistril. Tears pricked her eyes. He was already asleep, several seats in front of her, slumped limply with his head against the wall. Medics greeted them in the docking bay. One was tall, with dark hair and thick lashes surrounding amber eyes. He wore focals. Another brother?

  “Take the woman to quarters on level four,” Kyler commanded. His silver eyes slid over her, making her feel cold. For some reason he didn’t like her, she could tell. “Run her through our system, Security One priority.”

  Two soldiers escorted her to a lift, and then down to a small room. They politely asked for her thumbprint and a retinal scan. “A meal will be brought in two hours,” one soldier said afterwards.

  “I want to be with Kaistril. Isn’t there somewhere I can wait, while he is examined?”

  “Commander Kyler will take care of his brother. It is best you stay here, out of the way.”

  Sabralia was left alone in a small room. The room was stark and chilly, and the narrow bunk was hard. It looked like a prison cell, with the hygenie right in the same room. On impulse she tried the door. She was locked in.

  Worrying about Kaistril made her feel sick. She wished someone would come with information. She found a common com and tried it. “This is Sabralia. I came with Kaistril. Can someone inform me what is happening? Is Kaistril all right?”

  She repeated the message several times before she got an anonymous response.

  “We will be leaping to Goldshawk Hub in thirty hours. Commander Kaistril is stabilized and recovering. He requires rest before we leap. Please follow the procedures broadcast prior to the jump to ensure your safety.”

  He was well. That was all that mattered. “May I see him before we jump?” There was a pause, then a reply. Sabralia would be summoned for a brief visit before the jump.

  Relieved, she ate the cold, unappetizing food, and bathed in a daze. Finally, she dozed for a while, until an announcement for the jump woke her.

  ***

  “She is from Coloun, in fourth sector. It is an agricultural world and supplies Sirn’s forces. She was married to Sirn in a treaty contract.” Karvar read the information to Kyler.

  “A treaty wife.”

  “Yes.”

  “Is she important enough for Sirn to come after? Because we have reports that they were being sought by Sirn’s forces,” Kyler said.

  “According to the woman, Sirn was overthrown recently, at his palace.”

  “Perhaps. But his forces are on the move again, so whether he is in charge, or his successor, they seem to have the same agenda.”

  “We should have insider news soon,” Karvar said. “They may be after the woman for some reason. Perhaps she has some knowledge
she shouldn’t have.”

  “Perhaps. Still, if there was a coupe, as she maintains, she might have been able to find some delicate information.” Kyler drummed his fingers on the com. “I will allow her to visit Kaistril, and while she is with him, I will have her belongings searched.”

  Karvar nodded. “Good.”

  “I am also making arrangements to get her off-ship. I am not taking her to New Prague. If she remains with Kaistril, she would have access to the entire Governing Body. Including Mother. She is too high a security risk.”

  “Do you think Kaistril wants her to come with us?” Karvar asked. “Kaistril has never been interested in keeping any woman around for long. As long as she is safe, he’ll be fine with it. We’ll send her back to Coloun.”

  Karvar nodded.

  “I’ll have two ensigns escort her to a ship that will take her to her homeworld.” Kyler checked info on the com. “There is a transport out in two days’ time. Meanwhile, she will remain in her quarters under watch.”

  Relief flooded through Sabralia. They were not trying to keep her away from Kaistril. Maybe she could stay with him now, instead of in that ugly room.

  Kaistril was stretched under a white coverlet in a medic room. He was asleep, but his coloring was good, and the hollows below his cheek bones were gone. The medic with the focals was in attendance. He looked remarkably like Kaistril, but with amber eyes under the lenses, and his hair was dark reddish brown, not black.

  “I am Karvar, Kaistril’s brother and physician.”

  “Oh. I did not know he had a second brother on this ship.”

  “Yes, Kyler is our brother also.”

  “Kaistril is going to be all right?”

  “Yes. We removed the implant inside his skull that fed the nanos, and we cleared all the nanos out of his bloodstream. He should wake in the next few hours.”

  “Wonderful. I was so worried.” She bent over the bed and stroked Kaistril’s corded hair. He looked so good, healthy. His color was fine, and there were no blue shadows under his crescent eyelashes. Sabralia continued stroking his hair and held his hand, speaking now and then of nothing important.