I turned to look at the young woman with him, almost thinking that it would be Els. That somehow Els had made it out alive after he had shot her, but it was not. It was a Human girl, a little older than I was. She was Asian with bobbed dark hair and perfect bangs. She had eyes so dark that they seemed to have no irises. She had not one curve on her. I did not recognize her. There was no reason I would. She smiled at me, and not knowing what to do, I nodded my head stiffly in return.
Brother Blue went directly up to the claims board and pulled out a data plug and plugged it in. Immediately the map changed, and a new map was overlaid onto every claim that had been made.
“Attention, people of the Yertina Feray. My assistant and I are here on behalf of the Imperium. It has come to our attention that Quint is once again a viable planet and worth our interest. Upon looking at the claims list of two hundred years ago, the map of Quint is being divided. I have been placed in charge of this endeavor.”
The bar exploded.
All the aliens looked to me. This was my place.
“We have a system,” I said. My voice sounded thin and pinched. Once again he was besting me and there was nothing that I could do. “You can’t come in here and make claims on staked claims.”
They had sent the Imperium here to mess with virtual claims. We were firmly on their radar now. It didn’t take any more than looking at how the Yertina Feray had blossomed in a few short months to see that there was real money to be made here. Of course Brother Blue was the one who came. He was the type of person who knew how to exploit something that was booming. I wondered if they were down on the planet doing anything to the prospectors on Quint. My thoughts flew to Reza, and I grew as worried for him as I was for us.
“Calm down. We are not here to mine the whole planet, but we are happy to lease you our spots. We are basing our claim on the old maps from when the planet yielded different substances.”
Brother Blue pointed to the map. The places where we all knew alin didn’t grow but where the lodes had been best for mining were all claimed by Major Species. Large tracts of the planet were claimed by the Per, the Brahar, the Loor, the Moldav, the Kao. The Dren Line was where the ores had poor yields and so those claims sported the names of many Minor Species, some names that were familiar to me, Hort and Nurlok, for instance, but many I’d never heard of: Freng, Volla, Gej, Ypsem. I wondered if they had never managed to grow their stellar colonies, gone extinct, or if the Imperium had made them go silent.
“No one has heard from the Gej for a long time,” I said. It was feared that they, with their peace-loving ways, had been the first to fall. We’d all heard that the Imperium had been razing planets with less than five colonies for resources. I had once tried to sign up for that kind of work. I shuddered at the thought now.
Brother Blue looked at me.
“So you are correct,” he said. Then he lifted up his datapad and the claim on the coveted Dren Line that once said Gej now said Earth.
He smiled at me.
“You see. I’m still helping Earth’s expansion,” he said to me.
I wanted to vomit.
“What about those other claims by Minor Species?” an alien with a gourd-like head asked.
“What does this mean for us?” a Nurlok behind me yelled.
“Those of you who have claims may all keep your claims as long as you pay a healthy fee for the privilege,” Brother Blue said. “And if you can’t, then your claim will be turned over to the Imperium. We’ll transport in some of our workers. And of course, anyone here is welcome to sign up for work with the Imperium.”
He went on to say that workers on a claim could only be of the same species, or non-Human, meaning that more than half the speculators would have to scramble to find or trade workers or their own kind to keep their claims.
I held my mouth shut. Because it dawned on me that Brother Blue claiming the Gej claim for Earth had actually protected Reza. He’d made a mistake. It lifted my spirits to see that Brother Blue could fumble in his mad grab for power. He would realize it later, but there was nothing he could do about it. He’d set the rules.
I scrambled back as the others surged forward, pressing in on Brother Blue. I hoped perhaps they would tear him to pieces. Before anything could happen, Tournour came in with his officers, who placed themselves strategically around the bar to keep the peace. The crowd was infuriated, and I was torn between wanting to lead the mob to tear Brother Blue apart and to find safety immediately. He still frightened me. I had soothed myself into thinking that I had let him go because I was waiting for the right moment to kill him. But the way I trembled made me think that I was still just as much of a coward now as I had been when I’d seen him over a year ago.
He still had a hold over me that I couldn’t shake.
I had to think. I couldn’t think with all of this action going on around me. But what could I do? What were my choices?
Tournour pushed his way over to the claims wall.
“Brother Blue,” he said.
“Ah, the constable is here. Let’s have calm,” Brother Blue said. “Constable Tournour, I’m here on behalf of the Imperium.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to meet your ship,” Tournour said. “I was told the Imperium delegation was arriving next week. I didn’t know that it would be you that they were sending.”
It was not often that I saw Tournour ruffled, but Brother Blue being here clearly was as much a surprise to him as it was to me.
“I thought it best not to give you time to clean up before I got here,” he said. “I like to see the mess. Much more informative.”
“We agreed that the Yertina Feray would be left alone,” Tournour said.
“I agreed, and I kept my end of the bargain. But things change,” Brother Blue said, “especially when wealth is involved.”
“We have it under control. I’ve been sending reports. We can handle our own affairs.”
“I know you say you have the Imperium’s best interests at heart. But, no,” Brother Blue said. “You don’t have it under control. The Yertina Feray has become too bustling a place now for a young Loor like you to handle. You need my help. Imperium help.”
He punched his datapad again. Imperium guards made up of all the Major Species entered the Tin Star Café and lined up along the walls. It reminded me of the quiet way we had been invaded when the Imperium had first taken over. Heckleck had gone into hiding when they arrived. But it was clear by the sheer numbers of guards that this was wholly different.
Tournour looked cuffed, collared, and leashed. He could not protect the station from the Imperium. His officers were outnumbered in the Tin Star. We’d been seen, and things once noticed don’t easily disappear again.
Brother Blue and Tournour looked at me. I tried to make myself as small as possible.
“It’s really a simple matter,” Brother Blue said. “These claimants are free to do what they want once they pay the appropriate fees to the Imperium. We’ll be setting up a proper claims office, and I’ll be here with my assistant to oversee it. Those who don’t have claims or lose their claims are welcome to work on Imperium-seized land. Loor with Loor. Per with Per, etc. We’re in control now.”
Then he showed a datapad that had the official Imperium order on it. It was clear that we would be scrutinized for compliance and that we would get away with no deviation from the law. Everything that Tournour had done to keep us on the edge of this regime vanished in an instant. Tournour, as a member of the Imperium, could not refuse. He nodded and entered his digital signature to mark that he’d received the order.
“Besides,” Brother Blue said, “we had a deal based on the fact that I thought you said the girl was dead. It seems that you lied. That will have to go into my report about you.”
“She was dead,” Tournour said. “You examined her yourself.”
Brother Blue sneered. What Tournour said was true. It was Brother Blue that had made the mistake.
My heart went out to Tour
nour. It was easy to forget that he was considered to be just a little older than I was. I wished that in this moment I had something that I could do to calm him down. This was the reason that he needed to be partnered with his own kind. What could I do? Nothing. My very existence was causing him even more trouble.
My blood boiled. How was it that Brother Blue was winning again? How could the galaxy be that unfair?
“I suppose she’s tougher than I thought,” Brother Blue said. “We’ll have to fix that immediately. Mark down a request for a trial order against this Human girl.”
“For what crime?” his assistant asked.
“For inciting a riot,” Brother Blue snapped at her.
His assistant looked at Brother Blue and hesitated for a moment before marking his wishes into a datapad. Then Brother Blue made a signal with his hand and all hell broke loose as the Imperium guards took their batons and hit those constables closest to them in the guts. Once Tournour’s officers were disabled, they moved forward in a line, methodically bashing people with their sticks. They seemed invincible.
Kitsch Rutsok and his goons pulled out their knives and then the hidden knives that others wore on them started coming out.
Trevor came awake and was menacing those around him. Cutting both Imperium members and my clients.
“Trevor, off!” I commanded. I had to say it twice before Trevor heard me. Chairs and tables were swung and knocked over as fights broke out in all corners of the Tin Star. Fists and other alien appendages were flying. The Imperium kept moving forward, dodging thrown bottles and uprooted stools.
Tournour pulled me by the elbow and led me away from the chaos to the safety behind my bar. The divide of the counter and the aliens made me snap back to my senses. I appreciated the restraint that Tournour had shown by not spraying me with his calming scent. I wanted to have my wits about me, and he knew that it bothered me when he did it without my consent.
“Are you all right?” He asked in a low tone as we crouched behind the bar.
“No,” I said. “I’m not.”
“Let me calm you down,” he said. “It will clear your head.”
“No,” I said. I wanted and needed my own Human adrenaline.
He reluctantly nodded. I wondered if it hurt him to withhold the scent.
“I have to go out there and stop this,” he said. “I have to go do my job, or I’ll be on trial next.”
I nodded and watched as he activated his riot field and threw himself into the fray.
It was over so quickly. The Imperium neutralized the situation. Kitsch Rutsok and his goons were being cuffed and led away. Customers looked dazed as they tried to pick their way through the broken furniture and the shattered glass to avoid arrest. I could see three of my customers dead on the café floor, one of them, the Hort I had been arguing with.
When I saw a chance, I bounded out of the door and ran to my quarters.
I was clearheaded enough to know that my time was limited. This was the moment to act. He was here, but I wasn’t ready like I thought I’d be. That’s the trouble with moments. They never come when you are ready.
There is never a right one.
There is only this one.
10
Later that night, Tournour came alone.
Tournour did not make a habit of entering my room uninvited. He shook me awake. It was unusual, but not something that I hadn’t expected to happen one day. Trevor perceived no threat as he knew Tournour as a friend. We both remained calm.
“We have to come up with a plan,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “Do you trust me?”
“I do,” I said.
“Then tell Trevor to power down and follow me outside.”
Everything would be all right. I turned to Trevor and issued the command.
I put on my shoes, pulled on a sweater, and followed Tournour outside. I could tell he was nervous by the way he carried himself.
Once outside, I was greeted by a flock of Tournour’s men, all with knives drawn and pointed at me. I was surrounded. I knew why he didn’t want Trevor with me. If Trevor had come, blood would have been spilt.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Three died at the riot you instigated at the Tin Star Café. You’re under arrest for murder.”
“No,” I screamed. I turned to his officers. “You were all there. You saw what happened.”
Each one of them stayed silent. Each one of them averted their various-looking alien eyes.
“I didn’t kill those men,” I said to Tournour.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself,” Tournour said. “I have to do my job so that the job can get done.”
His eyes were looking straight into mine. They were saying trust me.
It is very difficult to have faith when your arms are being cuffed behind your back. Tournour worked for the Imperium. He was following orders. Brother Blue’s orders. Tournour read me my rights according to the Imperium, which were no rights at all.
My confidence began to waver as I was marched through the station’s halls. It was a commotion like I’d never seen before. Everywhere, everyone had stepped out of their abodes to watch as I passed, but instead of making the usual noise, there was silence. There was no jeering. There was no shouting. There was no gesticulating. Everyone was quiet. They looked at me, catching my eye and I knew two things: Tournour must have arranged the commotion. They all knew that I was being arrested this evening, and they all knew that this was wrong. They might have been quiet, but they were on my side.
My heart went out to Tournour. He was forced to be a puppet in this charade. I both admired his dignity but hated that he didn’t fight back. More than that, I knew that he was scared for me.
“I’m scared, too,” I whispered.
He pushed me forward forcefully, and as he did, he released the scent. I breathed in the musty odor and immediately felt calm and clear in a way that had me hyper focused. I only wished that there were something I could do to calm Tournour down.
I was brought into the interrogation room to discover Brother Blue’s aide was there.
She stuck her hand out to me in a Human gesture to introduce herself. A handshake. As though she were my friend and not my enemy. I refused to touch her, and after a moment, she let her hand fall to her side. She may have been one of my species, but to me, she was an alien.
“I’m Myfanwy Yu,” she said. “I’ll be both your Human representative and also Imperium observer.”
“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” I asked.
“You are to have a counsel of your own species in order to ensure no speciesism.”
“I can choose any Human to observe?”
I would feel better if Reza were here. At least it wouldn’t be someone in Brother Blue’s pocket.
“There isn’t much of a pool of Humans to choose from,” she said.
“There is a Human on the planet,” I said.
“Yes. I heard that, but it’s too hard to get anyone back up here in a timely manner. Since Brother Blue has called against you, the task falls to me.”
Myfanwy Yu. I knew that name. How did I know it? Then it hit me. She was the girl that Caleb pined for. She had been an Imperium Youth like him and Reza, only while their ship was being sent to the false colonies and sabotaged before they got there, she had been sent to Bessen, to serve at the Human Embassy there. It made perfect sense that she was here. Perhaps this was to my advantage.
Hekcleck always said the only real wild card in any trade is love. You can never factor in for it.
Myfanwy adjusted herself in her seat to make herself comfortable. I leaned forward.
“We have a mutual friend,” I said. “Caleb Kamil.”
“Yes, I do know him,” she said. “But that won’t distract me from my task at hand.”
She didn’t even light up when I said his name. She did not twitch or show any hint of emotion. Could she really be the love of Caleb’s life?
Love was c
onfusing. But it was not indifferent. As still as I could keep my face, if someone asked me about Tournour or Reza some part of me would light up. I was trained to look for these kinds of little betrayals in aliens. I could only think that I had not enough practice with reading Human faces. Still I would try to pull on this thread and find her sympathy.
“He’s spoken of you to me,” I said.
“We were at the academy together,” she said, pushing at something on the datapad. “I barely knew him.”
That surprised me. Caleb spoke of her as though she were the love of his life. But there were all kinds of powerful ways to love someone, even unrequited. Even unnoticed. I waited for her to speak again. As I did when I was bargaining for the upper hand in barter. She waited a good long time before she spoke.
“For the record please state your full name,” she asked.
“Tula Bane,” I said.
“My information says that you came to outer space with the Children of Earth initiative. What planet were you headed for?”
“Beta Granade,” I said. “On the Prairie Rose.”
“That ship burned with all hands on deck.”
“Not with me,” I said.
“You survived the crash?” she asked, surprised.
“No,” I said. “I wasn’t on the ship.”
“Why not?”
“I’d been left here.”
“Why?”
I couldn’t tell her the truth. It wouldn’t help me right now to accuse Brother Blue.
“I don’t know.”
She made a note in her datapad.
“Why did you stay here? Why not try to join one of the other colonies?”
That startled me. I examined her face. She was being serious. Could she really not know that they were scams that Brother Blue had pulled? I was beginning to think that I was in a lot more danger than I thought.
“I couldn’t…” I was at a loss. “… reach them. I had no credits. The Imperium came, and I found it difficult to get off the station.”
“I understand that returning to Earth was not an option, but you didn’t try to join the Wanderers?”
I didn’t answer because it had never struck me as a real idea to join them. It was more like they were an abstract idea of how I could get to Brother Blue one day when I left here.
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