Tanager's Fledglings (The Tanager Book 1)

by Cedar Sanderson

  He set course for the station he would dock with, and went to bed.

  Chapter 15: The Dark Station

  Jem knew how to find the station. To the best of his knowledge, very few did. There had to be some - with no planet to supply from, the station was reliant on traders for certain supplies. They did have spectacular gardens, he’d seen them. He and Walter had supplied them with livestock, too. When Jem did his nightly ritual of looking out the porthole, the station twinkled in the port like another star, which it wasn’t. Stars in space didn’t twinkle. Manmade lights on a rotating station, those blinked and flashed in accordance with motion. It orbited a gas giant at a distance which allowed them to use it for fuel and light, since this system’s sun was too far away to use.

  He immediately started communicating with them, using a long, complex code. He didn’t know what their defenses were, and didn’t want to find out. Walter had respected them, that was enough for Jem. Every stop, a new code was generated and loaded for him. Several minutes later, he got the confirmation code, and relaxed a little. He also received a packet of highly compressed data transmission. Mail call. He returned with his own packet, mail that had been entrusted to the Tanager at her other stops. The mail for the station with no star was never a large packet, so this didn’t take long.

  Jem reviewed headings quickly. As he expected, most of it was market data. Some was still marked for Walter, which made him frown. He’d sent messages to all their trade partners on his death, but apparently, they hadn’t made it here yet. There was no mail for Moskvin. He would have been shocked if there had been. With Moskvin sleeping, Jem sat in the bridge reviewing the data from the commodities market, to see if anything could be done with his limited stock. He planned to buy here, a small stock of jewelry and handmade goods. They would sell well at Tianjin, and he would reserve some for Altair, another wealthy stop which always bought the novelties he’d bring in from distant locations. Some of the messages addressed to Walter concerned commissions that had been put in place during their last visit here. Jem worked on those first, sending messages to them arranging for them to deliver goods to the Tanager.

  He was deep in thought, scrolling through data, when Moskvin cleared his throat behind him. Jem jumped and swung around to glare at the other man. The dog, who had been lying behind his chair, stood up, stretching. “You could knock.”

  “You could shut the door, er, hatch.” Moskvin looked at the screens. “Don’t worry, it’s gibberish to me. Do I get to know the name of this place?”

  Jem shook his head. “Not mine to tell.”

  He wasn’t sure he needed to keep it a secret from Moskvin, but he didn’t like the other man that much, and there was what Mac had told him about Moskvin.

  “So, what, you’re going to lock me in my cabin?” Moskvin folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the hatch coaming.

  “No. Just ask that you please stay in the main part of the ship. We will only be here a day, unless there is something unusual happening and I have no indication of that right now. I don’t leave the ship, even.” Jem didn’t think it was pertinent to mention that he had, indeed, visited on the station, but only twice.

  “Well, that’s efficient.” Moskvin stood up and rolled his shoulders, dropping his arms. “I guess I’ll go back to my reading then.”

  “What do you know about gardens?” Jem asked him. He’d been switching off cooking duties with Moskvin, which had been good. But Moskvin hadn’t indicated any interest in harvesting.

  “Not a lot. Do you sell veg to these people?”

  Jem eyed him. The man never stopped probing. “No. I was thinking that the greens need harvest and I don’t have time. But I’ll do it after we leave here if you don’t know what they look like.”

  “Sorry, kid. I’m tryin’ to be helpful.” Moskvin turned away, then stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “This place. Are they goin’ t’ be mad when they find out you have a passenger?”

  Jem shook his head. “They will only come as far in as the receiving hold. That’s procedure for the Tanager almost everywhere.”

  “Oh.” Moskvin walked slowly off down the corridor and Jem went back to his analysis. Now, that was interesting.

  Jem sent a message to a potential buyer, then a handful more, before shutting down the screen and stretching. The hours had flown by while he was working, and the dog had gotten bored. Probably gone to see if Moskvin would play with him, the furry traitor. In good spirits, Jem headed for the galley to find food. He found Moskvin there, and the dog.

  “Captain Raznick.” Jem froze at Moskvin’s tone and the look on his face. “We need to talk.”

  Jem sat across the table from Moskvin. “What is wrong?”

  “You’ve been here before, right?”

  “That’s correct.” Jem was pretty sure he’d said that, or implied it, but maybe he hadn’t.

  “And, ah, the people seemed normal?” Other than the hesitation in his voice, Jem couldn’t read anything from Moskvin’s face, which was still for a change. He hadn’t realized how animated the other man was until he stopped doing that.

  “Well.” Jem hesitated himself. He’d always know that this place was special, and it really wasn’t his secret to betray.

  “You need to tell me.” Moskvin pushed. His voice was nearly toneless.

  Jem straightened. “It is not mine to tell.”

  “You said that before. I put it to you that talking about it might be for the good of all humanity.”

  Jem crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the other man. He’d had about enough of Moskvin’s constant probing. “You think this station poses a threat?”

  “It might.” Moskvin rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward.

  “Just because they choose not to be part of the government network you are part of.” Jem started to get up, wanting some space before he lost his temper.

  “Sit down. No. I don’t care about planets and stations that aren’t confederated. I’m worried about an alien invasion.”

  Jem started to laugh, then felt his amusement die. Moskvin was dead serious, and Jem didn’t think the man was crazy. Annoying, yes, but not a conspiracy nut.

  “Will you take my word that the people on this station are all human?”

  Moskvin gazed up at him, his face smooth and calm. Somehow it made his words more chilling. “No. There are aliens that don’t look human, but they aren’t the threat. The one that is, turns humans into walking puppets.”

  Jem sat back down. “I think I read that book. From old Earth.”

  “I don’t want to. I’d rather not add to my nightmares.” Moskvin uncrossed his arms and rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward. “Look. I know you are just trying to protect your clients. But I’m laying all my cards on the table, and I need for you to trust me.”

  “Not sure I can.” Jem shot back. He wasn’t sure if he could take Moskvin at his word. “You’ve been trying to trick me, or fool me, or just plain play games with me since you stalked me through the market before we even met.”

  Moskvin looked surprised. “You picked me up back there?”

  Jem nodded. “With that ridiculous yellow shirt, it wasn’t hard to keep an eye on you once I fingered you following behind me.”

  “That’s my lucky shirt!” Moskvin looked chagrined, and then broke into a smile. “I think you may have something to teach me. I’ll teach you how to identify an alien, you teach me how to blend in a crowd better when I’m tailing.”

  Jem shrugged. “Not sure I can teach that. But I’ll take you up on being a sparring partner.”

  Moskvin lifted an eyebrow. “That’s not a bad idea. I’m getting fat and happy eating so well on the Tanager. Deal. Now, are you going to trust me?”

  “I’m not telling you where we are, or the name of the station, and I won’t let you off the ship.” Jem wasn’t planning to budge.

  “I guessed not.” Moskvin didn’t look upset. “So we’ll have a conversa
tion about what you’re going to do, then.”

  “Why am I doing this?” Jem still wasn’t happy. “And just how invasive is it?”

  “Not at all. You’re going to carry a sniffer, about the size of your palm. It doesn’t have to be carried in your hand, you could put it in a shirt pocket.”

  “And what does it do?”

  “Picks up short range electromagnetic pulses. We think that’s how they communicate. The working theory is that they are like nanoparticles or something like it.”

  “So small they can’t be seen.” Jem raised his eyebrows. “And they’re a threat?”

  “Viruses and bacteria are small enough to be invisible to the naked eye.” Moskvin pointed out, his tone even. Jem wondered how many times he’d explained this.

  “Look, I understand being worried about an epidemic that could be carried to other places.” Jem shrugged. “But calling it an alien invasion? Bacteria can talk to each other, I know that, they just aren’t capable of strategic planning.”

  “Point. The aliens seem to be. I realize you’re dubious, and understand it. I would be, too, if my boss hadn’t shown me a few things.” Moskvin stood up and stretched. “How long until we’re there and I’m confined to the cabin?”

  “A few hours. And you don’t have to be confined to your cabin.” Jem decided not to pursue the alien thing for now. Later, he was going to ask more questions. Like who Moskvin’s boss really was.

  “Cabin, galley, and garden?” Moskvin gave him a lopsided smile. “Oh, that’s much better, thank you Captain Raznick.”

  Jem went into the galley. Now, he was ravenous. He was going to have to keep an eye on Moskvin while he was trading, he wouldn’t put it past the agent to try and slip out of the ship and take a look around. Jem figured he was responsible for the actions of his passengers. As he ate his sandwich while standing at the counter, he contemplated the ethics of knocking Moskvin out for the duration of their stop. Reluctantly, he decided it would just lead to more trouble.

  Moskvin wasn’t in the dining area, so he headed for the bridge, checked on the comms, and finding nothing pressing, went to take a nap. Ship’s time and station time were out of sync, and Jem was finding after Flinders that his sleep schedule was off. He woke to knocking at his cabin door.

  Rolling out of bed and nearly stepping on the sleeping dog, Jem slapped the hatch button. “What?”

  “Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep.” Moskvin certainly didn’t look sorry. He looked smug. Jem wondered if the man had hacked the bridge lock.

  “I needed to be up anyway, we dock soon. But what do you need?”

  “I think there’s a reason you don’t carry passengers often.” Moskvin smirked at him.

  Jem settled for running his fingers through his hair rather than punching the other man’s face. He didn’t ask again. Moskvin was obviously not going to give it up until he was ready. He turned and whistled for the pup, who staggered to his feet and wobbled in his direction. This brought a smile to his face despite his frustration. The dog was bone lazy.

  “I want to give you the detector,” Moskvin announced. “And show you how to use it.”

  “Yes.” Jem closed his cabin hatch. He’d been a lot more careful about closing and locking doors since Flinders. They may have meant well, but his spaces felt violated.

  Moskvin handed him a small black box. As he’d said, it was slender and light enough to tuck into a pocket and not show. Jem turned it over in his hands, then lifted it to his nose.

  “Hey!” Moskvin reached out, and Jem let him snatch it back. He’d caught the faint tang of ozone already.

  “You called it a sniffer.” Jem started to say.

  Moskvin interrupted him. “I didn’t mean you were supposed to smell it!”

  “I realize that.” Jem looked at the older man for a long moment. He’d discovered that the other man wasn’t as clever as he thought he was, and that he was serious about being afraid of aliens. Jem knew he had to make a decision about trusting Moskvin.

  “You helped, on Flinders, when you didn’t have to.”

  Moskvin nodded, taking the abrupt subject change in stride. “I couldn’t stand there and twiddle my thumbs until another ship came along. Frankly, I didn’t think you’d take me on.”

  “I almost didn’t.” Jem was blunt. He kept talking, not trying to assess Moskvin’s reaction. “I don’t like you much, but you helped there. So I felt I could trust you to behave yourself in transit.”

  “And not try to frame you for smuggling?” Moskvin shrugged. “It was a bad ploy, but you wouldn’t believe how many ships crewmen I’d tripped up that way. You’re a rara avis, kid.”

  “But now, you want me to take an active transmitter onto this station, where I have an obligation to confidentiality.”

  “Not onto the station. You said you weren’t leaving the ship.”

  “But you’re planning on listening in. And you never answer me directly. I can’t trust you. If I could, I’d throw you in a stasis box until we got to Tianjin.” Jem folded his arms over his chest and realized that he was a little taller than Moskvin. Or the other man had shrunk.

  “Listening in won’t reveal anything.” Moskvin pointed out. “And you can’t throw me in stasis. Then you won’t get paid.”

  “Getting paid isn’t everything. You really had me going with that alien act.” Jem shot Moskvin a disgusted look and turned away to go to the bridge. “I don’t have time for this.”

  “I wasn’t playing with you about the aliens. I just didn’t want to scare you.” Moskvin was following on his heels. Jem palmed the door lock with unnecessary force and gritted his teeth as Moskvin walked right onto the bridge. “The truth is, there’s no way to tell them apart from humans. Have you ever read stories about shapeshifters? You mentioned puppets, and that’s close...”

  Jem sat at the board and picked up his headset. “Stop. I need to dock us safely, and you’re not helping. Go away.”

  He ignored Moskvin, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the other man retreat only as far as the hatch, where he leaned a shoulder against it. Jem hunched his shoulder against the weight of the gaze on his back, and focused on the docking procedure. Here, it was mostly manual. The dark station was too small to need tugs, and sometimes too broken to even have extensible docking clamps. Bringing the bulk of the Tanager in, slowly enough not to leave a dent, was a matter of timing and delicacy. Jem sometimes wished he could feel the momentum, and fly by the seat of his pants, rather than the cold numbers on the screen in front of him.

  Finally, he sat back and rolled his shoulders, then neck, loosening the tense muscles there. He’d forgotten about Moskvin’s presence until the other man spoke. Jem jumped.

  “Please take the box. It’s not just a communicator.”

  Jem turned. Moskvin was uncharacteristically solemn. “You really believe this.”

  “I do. You don’t want to know more, you really don’t.”

  “You’re wrong there. I do want to know all about it. And when I’m done here, you’re going to start talking.”

  “Is that a threat?” Moskvin’s smirk hovered at the corners of his mouth again.

  Jem refused to be drawn. “It might be. Now, out of my bridge.”

  “Aye, Cap’n Raznick.” Moskvin gave him a half-bow, backed up, and held out the black box. Jem took it without breaking stride, the hatch closing behind him, and tucked it in his pocket as he headed down to the hold.

  Chapter 16: Trials and Suspicion

  Jem stood by the outer hatch, waiting. When the screen lit up with a soft buzz, he could see the face of the man who served as customs officer here, although his job was probably not so formal as that. Not here, where the population was tiny, and ships in were rare. Jem palmed the hatch, knowing that the tension he was feeling had more to do with Moskvin and his ludicrous accusations.

  “Greetings.” Jem returned the other man’s gesture of palms pressed together in front of his face and a small inclination of the
head. He was sure there was some significance in the amount of head-tilt, it mirrored closely some Old Earth customs, but he’d never gotten around to asking one of the station inhabitants.

  “We see you and are glad.” The other finished the formula and then relaxed into a smile. “You are late!”

  The smile and tone took any sting from his words. Jem took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult. “I have sad news for you. I sent a message, but see that it has not yet arrived.”

  The stationer shook his head. “Sadly, we have not seen a ship in months.”

  “Walter has passed away.” Jem felt awkward saying it. It seemed such a soft phrase for the end of his... father. Father-figure. Jem was still coming to grips with what he’d learned at Flinders.

  The man’s head and shoulders drooped. “Ah. We feared this, when the Tanager was delayed. Please accept my deepest sympathies for your loss.”

  “I, er, thank you.”

  “And I am sorry, but I must withdraw and speak to the Committee. This news has great ramifications for our community.”

  Jem blinked. This, he hadn’t expected. “I have appointments to meet with Ahmed and Lyria.”

  “They will postpone. We will comm once a decision has been made.”

  “What decision?” Jem asked, feeling his stomach sinking.

  “Whether we shall continue to trade with the Tanager. Do not worry so, young man. You are a known quantity; you have walked among us. But it is a tradition to renew the contract if there is a change of owner.”

  “There isn’t, really. I captain, but the half owner is still Peter, Walter’s brother. I...” Jem trailed off. He didn’t know how to explain the rest of it, that Walter had owned the other half that would presumably fall now to Peter. And this was undoubtedly part of the trial run Walter had set up for him, with the terms of his will, to see whether Jem would keep his captaincy.