by Lisa Eskra
"Why didn't it last?"
Both of them glanced up at the waiter, who placed the steaming food down in front of Magnius. The waiter turned to Nadine but she shook her head to indicate she wasn't hungry. As soon as he left, Magnius picked up his fork and knife and continued their conversation. "Her mom was kidnapped and repeatedly mind raped by a psion. I didn't learn about it until after we were married, and by then it was too late to tell her. Finding out that I was a psion like she did was a betrayal of the worst kind. But why am I telling all this to the woman with the fairy tale romance?"
"Because I'm the only one you can tell it to, and I'm not going to judge you. And you're hoping I might just let you in on one of my visions."
He gave her a harsh stare as he chewed a mouthful of food. "When we were on the street hiding from Tiyuri, how did both of us stay unseen?"
"I used you to augment my powers," she said. "I'm not strong enough to be able to fool Tiyuri for both of us."
"What do you mean augment your powers?"
"Strong telepaths can assist one another to pull off feats they wouldn't be able to do by themselves. Why do you think Aliane has someone like Zingeri as a consort? Because she actually loves him? Hardly."
I didn't know telepaths could do that, he thought. It made him feel like even more of a dunce. His telekinetic skills seemed inferior in every way to the vast repertoire of a telepath. Curse my fucking luck.
"Please don't think that, Magnius," she whispered. "You're the most unique psion I've ever met. Telepathy doesn't scare me, even from someone as powerful as Aliane because I know what to expect. But you? I don't know entirely what you're capable of, but I'm perceptive enough to know I should fear it."
"You think I can do more than move crates around a warehouse?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Once you refine your powers, yes. Much more."
Though her words piqued his curiosity, he forced himself to change the subject. "So can I expect to be sitting alone in my quarters for most of this trip since I'm not a distinguished VIP?"
Nadine sighed as she relaxed back into her seat. "More or less. You won't be in the cargo hold, don't worry about that. Once we get to Xur, you'll be able to join in on the festivities. In the end I think you'll be happy you came on this trip."
"See that in one of your visions?" he quipped.
The second lady smiled, her even teeth reflecting a uniform shade of whiteness. "I've arranged for you to bring your hoverbike. I understand you don't go anywhere without it even if you might catch your death on it one day."
"You'd tell me if you saw that…right?"
She twisted her lips. "Yes." But there was obviously more swirling in her mind than that one brief word. Was he reading too much into her expression?
"Maybe I should leave it here then."
Nadine put her hand on his arm. "It's on the ship. Worry less." As soon as the words left her lips, she stood and smoothed out her vibrant dress. "I'll see you on board in one hour."
Gathering his thoughts on the present, he nodded toward her. "I'll be there." With that, she strode away and left his mind swimming in mixed emotions.
One thing was certain—he wouldn't, under any conditions, ride his hoverbike unless he could absolutely not help himself. He had far too many regrets in life, and he didn't want that to be his last.
***
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
Amii and Xander crawled through access conduit 12F on the starboard side of the Schenectady. The conduits of space-faring vehicles weren't as easy to access as designers purported them to be. Jumbles of large cables often obstructed their path, and as they quickly discovered, not all areas were passable. Modifications over the years had been documented and forgotten about, corrected only when they became a nuisance to mechanics.
They'd been aboard for four days sneaking and hiding in the most remote areas of the ship. Their supply of rations had almost run out so they ventured toward the ship's mess hall to obtain more. Xander was the only one who'd seen the ship's layout on a schematic before they'd boarded at Icelandia Station. But Amii thought they should've reached the cafeteria by now. "We must've gotten off-track after that last detour we had to take," she said.
"I think you're right," Xander said as the two of them approached junction 78 epsilon. He sat down in the small room the conduit crossroads created. "Lateral conduit alpha tango should move us back over where we want to be. Why don't you scout ahead and see if the path is clear."
She nodded and crawled through the hatch toward the port side of the ship. While the lateral conduits were generally clear of random clutter, they made up the ventilation system on the ship. The Schenectady maintained a crisp temperature of 20 Celsius, and the conduits themselves felt colder than that, magnifying any sounds they made passing through. With every room occupied for the voyage to Xur, it would be that much more difficult to escape detection.
The only saving grace happened to be the hour. Most people lay sleeping in their bunks for the night. Amii peered through the slats in the grating when she passed over their rooms with caution. In doing so she'd seen some intimate acts over the past several days that gave her pause. In days prior she'd watched with a sense of curious longing, but this time she didn't spend any time spying.
She knew the situation would soon become dire if they did not find more food and water before morning. Xander would never tell her outright that he was famished, but his stomach rumbled even while he slept. She, on the other hand, was too on-edge to sleep. She ran on adrenaline, and once their ordeal passed, she'd need to sleep for a week to recover.
The light from a room ahead radiated into the ventilation shaft. She approached with caution and scanned the room for signs of life. A man in a maroon blazer tossed a comtab onto a couch and stretched out with his arms behind his head. She saw little more than the top of his graying head and his gaudy footwear. Just when she was about to move on, she spotted his ring. The glint of its red gemstone stopped her over the grate as she did a double take.
Magnius Zoleki.
She'd thought about him far too much in the course of the past month for a man she held no more than the briefest of conversations with. His personality intrigued her. He was the last person she expected to run across en route to Xur, though his law background fit the qualifications of most political figures throughout Astra. And perhaps provided reason enough for a psionic assassin to chase him.
The grate beneath her suddenly shifted beneath her knees. She eyed the buckling clasps holding it in place. If I move across slowly, I should be okay, she thought. When she inched her left hand forward, the panel collapsed under the strain of her weight, and she plummeted headfirst into the room below with a deafening crash.
She grimaced at the force of the impact before pulling herself up. Although she was shaken, she suffered no injury from the fall. The moment he saw her, Magnius leapt off the couch. She blinked her eyes several times to confirm it was really him.
"Amii?" He seemed too shocked to say anything more.
She brushed herself off. "What are you doing here, Magnius?"
He furrowed his brow and collected his thoughts. "Why did you crash through my ceiling? And what are you wearing? I didn't think you were an officer in the fleet."
"I'm not, actually." She picked up the metal grates on the floor and slid them back into place above her. Telling the truth might backfire, but bluffing would be far more risky. "Xander and I are on the run."
"From the AC?"
She shrugged when she fished the last partition back into its slot. "Sort of."
"Dammit!" He smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "This is bad. If they find you here, all of us are going to wind up in the brig." When he glanced back at her, he frowned. "Do you have any other clothes? It's a felony to impersonate an officer, and I don't think you need to add to what I'm sure is a colorful criminal record."
Amii glanced down at the disheveled uniform and shook her head.
> He stared at her body with such focused thought his gaze went through her. "Take them off. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't come to see what that noise was."
"Not the best pick-up line, I suppose, but it'll do." She sat on the bed and removed her boots. "You never answered my question. What are you doing here?"
He politely averted his eyes and turned away from her. "Nadine asked me to come, and she's the sort of woman you just don't say no to even when she doesn't explain things."
"Nadine is here?" Amii's face brightened as she removed her pants. "She'd probably turn over me and Xander to the authorities."
"I don't think so. Nadine is a believer in second chances. I never thought a telepath could be a good person, but she is. She had no reason to help me, but she did. She saved my life." For a moment he seemed to forget she'd been undressing and almost turned around to watch her slip out of her shirt. "Uh, why don't you get into bed…"
He waited until she slid under the covers and wrapped the sheets around her before his eyes met hers. He sat down next to her on the bed and rubbed his forehead. She wasn't quite sure why he seemed so anxious. He took off his blazer and began to unbutton his black shirt.
Magnius stared at her blond tress. "Mess up your hair or something."
"Wouldn't it be easier if we had sex and let everything get messed up in the process?"
He stared at her sternly. "I'm married, Amii." His features softened after he ran his hands through his hair. "Well, we're separated, actually."
"Would it help if I told you it wouldn't mean anything?"
His scalding eyes chastened her. "No. It wouldn't."
She combed her fingers through her hair, catching on a rogue tangle before fiddling her way through. "What do you do back in Astra?"
"I own a fishery on Fantasti."
"So you catch fish."
"No, I don't catch fish."
"Isn't that what people do at a fishery?"
He rolled his eyes. "I hire people who go out and catch fish. I manage the business. I make the big decisions. And when things go wrong, I take the blame."
"That sounds fairly dull," she said.
"Well, people need food and not all of us can traipse around Astra committing every crime in the book and getting away with it. Xander Adams is unstable and should've been locked up a long time ago. A brilliant man who's insane is still insane. I hope the President sticks him in Caldos Minor where he belongs."
She hauled off and slapped him, a response sparked by the allusion to what that said about her. That she must be crazy in some way to go along with Xander. That she too belonged at Caldos Minor. "Don't ever insult him that way. You are nothing compared to him."
Magnius' scowl seethed. "Fine. I'll call security and let them figure out what to do with the two of you."
"Like hell you will. I'll tie you up and stick you in the closet for the rest of the trip if I have to."
He grabbed her by the wrist. "You wouldn't dare." A faint jade glow obscured his ghoulish eyes.
Amii wrested her arm from his grasp. "I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be."
She climbed out of the bed and headed toward her rumpled pile of clothes. "I've had enough of this. I thought someone who's also on the run would sympathize, but I guess I was wrong."
He lunged for her hand to stop her from trying to leave, but she spun and evaded him. When he stumbled forward, she curled her fingers into a fist and threw a straight punch at his face that knocked him off his feet onto the ground in a daze. She didn't think; she reacted. In her wildest dreams she hadn't counted on being able to handle herself in a fistfight. She knew the right way to make a fist, to throw from the hip, and to twist her forearm into it. Instinct took over.
While he recovered from the blow, Amii wrapped her arm around his neck and forced him to get back in his feet. He could hardly breathe through the crook of her elbow, and she dug her left hand deep into his kidney to keep him pinned in her arms. Despite the fact he cried out in pain, she couldn't stop. She and Xander faced a life-or-death situation, and there was no way in Astra she'd let Magnius bring them both to ruin.
Just as she got ready to knock him out and leave him in an unconscious heap on the floor, the door chime rang and startled her. Magnius used the distraction to free himself. He swung his foot around and swept her legs out from underneath her, sending her crashing onto the carpet next to him. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her to her feet.
She gazed into his eerie eyes, the whites of which were entirely emerald. "Magnius," she gasped, "stop. Please."
He took a step toward her, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips against hers. The gesture took her by surprise, causing her to lose her footing, and the two of them stumbled backward onto the bed. Despite their tumultuous fall, he kissed her as though it was the only thing keeping him from causing her serious harm.
The ring of the door sounded again. Her eyes shot open, and she saw her reflection in his. Her heart began to race when he ignored it and continued to kiss her intensely. Was he stupid or did he have some kind of a plan? But she couldn't force herself to turn away to ask. His desire swept her away in an unbridled tidal wave of lust, forcing her to hold onto him for dear life. As her eyes once again drifted closed, she noticed he smelled the same way his jacket had; the earthy fragrance felt seductive now, and she'd never again be able to smell it and not think of this moment.
In a matter of seconds, the door opened. A security officer had overridden the lock and forced entry. The two of them glanced over at a lieutenant, who straightened when he noticed Magnius on top of Amii's mostly naked body with her legs wrapped around him.
Magnius furrowed his brow in irritation. "I really thought the crew of the Schenectady had more manners than this because I don't remember asking for anyone to come join us."
"Someone reported hearing a loud crash," the young man said in his own timid defense. "Do you recall hearing anything?"
"Yeah, that was us," Magnius said with false modesty. "Was it the old lady next door who said something? Because she looks like she's never had sex her whole life. Next time, instead of intruding on someone, you might want to give them a call on the ship's intercom system. I trust we won't be bothered again."
"Of course not. My apologies." And in embarrassment, he retreated and closed the door.
Amii sighed. Part of her had been worried that he'd do anything to get rid of her. Regrettably, when she'd fallen into his room, she'd involved him as a co-conspirator whether the allegation was true or not. While the reality of the situation was unfortunate, she felt as though fate had offered a helping hand when she needed it most.
Magnius turned back toward her and for a long time said nothing. His long dark lashes framed his expressive eyes, which looked hazel in the bright lights. She thought she should say something but could not come up with anything meaningful or relevant. Instead, she stared at his rough features and longed for what had passed.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She shook her head as she gazed up at him. "Nothing. I'm just a little surprised, that's all."
"Because I didn't turn you over to them? Well, maybe you can repay the favor one day." The occasional chain shift in the sound of his vowels gave him an accent she couldn't place. She wished he would keep talking. About anything, the words didn't matter. "I know how it feels to be running from someone and not because of Tiyuri. I ran away from home a long time ago. Not because of my parents, they were fine. I disappointed them all, and now one of them is trying to kill me."
Amii wasn't sure what he was trying to tell her, but she could empathize with him. "Thank you."
He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw before swallowing and rolling off the bed. "I'm going to call Nadine. I'm sure she'll know what to do."
Before activating his implant, he tossed her some of his clothes from across the room. The cotton shirt and pants would do until she could find Xander and retrieve her old clothing. When she stood and turned a
round to dress, she closed her eyes and held the shirt to her nose. It smelled just like him. When she put it on, she felt like he was right there next to her. She couldn't help wishing he were.
"Amii…Amii!"
She recognized the rasping voice from the grating above her. "Xander," she called up to him and slipped her shoes back on. "Be extremely careful. Those panels are not secure."
"I know. I heard you fall."
Her heart jumped a beat, and she wondered if he'd been watching the two of them the entire time. Being his daughter made it more than a tad bit weird. She tried not to give it another thought as she glanced over at Magnius, who talked to his implant in the corner. "Nadine, I know it's late and I'm sorry for waking you and everything, but there's kind of a situation that needs your immediate attention here."
She looked back up at the ceiling. "Why don't you wait up there until we get things squared away. I don't think it will take long."
Magnius turned back around and winced while he rubbed his jaw. "I can't believe you hit me."
"I can't believe you let me."
His eyes glanced up at the vent where she'd been talking to Xander. "Where did she learn to fight like that?"
"What makes you think I know?"
"Look, Xander. Do not take me for a fool. Keep whatever secrets you have to, but the only person you're short-changing in the end is Amii. If you had a shred of respect for her, you'd stop lying to her."
No response came from above. Magnius shook his head and sunk into a chair at the table, where he buried himself behind a comtab. Amii headed over to the far corner and leaned against the wall. She rested her head against the cold metal hull that had been painted to look like a normal room and tried not to worry.
