by S. E. Weir
Trillet huddled on the deck, shaking and trembling. “Can’t! Can’t! Can’t! No! No! No! We’re all going to die! We’ve got to leave now!”
The captain looked at him suspiciously. “What brought this on? What do you know that I don’t? Is it the ship on the scanner?” He paused and looked closer. “Who are they?”
Trillet’s eyes widened, and he stopped rocking. Why didn’t the captain know? Everyone knew. Everyone had to know. They were too big. They were too strong. He should have just stayed in hell.
“The Empire.”
Etheric Empire, QBS Stark
“Skaines?”
Link and Maxim moved quickly toward the screens. “Bring up the scans, would you, Stark?”
Phina quietly got up and followed, and the screen was visible between the two men when the scanner zoomed in to the wide and scrappy-looking ship below. She could make out figures moving, but they looked like dots milling around an arid vista, with a handful of bigger dots herding a group of smaller light and dark dots.
“Are they abducting children?”
Alina gasped behind her.
Link’s eyes flicked to hers, but he had placed a lid firmly on his emotions, so nothing showed on his face. He looked back at the screen with focus and calculation. “Stark, can you determine how many Skaines are involved?”
“If we didn’t have the best scanners in the galaxy, the answer would be no. Because we do, I can tell you there are two on the bridge of the ship, another three in the cargo area, and six milling about outside, likely gathering the Aurians to board the ship.”
“So, eleven fighters to our five. Take us down, Stark.”
Nothing happened, then Stark spoke. “Are you certain? You know the risks.”
It took a moment, but Phina realized Stark was reminding Link that he carried a Gate drive that could never fall into enemy hands. Even friendly hands would be ill-advised.
“And if it looks like the worst possible outcome will happen, you know what to do.”
The ship moved even as Stark continued speaking. “By the way, there are thirteen fighters.”
Maxim leaned closer to the screen, squinting to see better. “You said there were eleven Skaines.”
“Yes, eleven Skaines and two Shrillexians.”
Link and Maxim turned to each other and exchanged something of significance Phina didn’t grasp. After the moment passed, they quickly moved toward the back of the ship.
“Let’s go, everyone! Combatants, get your gear. We’re the Aurians’ only shot at not living in slavery or dying here on this barren planet. Non-combatants, you all stay on the ship and get everything ready to help the Aurians as well as any wounded. Braeden, I realize it’s not your job to fight, but if you feel so inclined, we would appreciate the help.”
Phina hurried after and passed them when they stopped in their rooms to gear up. She had her knives in their sheaths, and that was all she needed. As she walked, she re-plaited her braid to make sure her hair stayed out of her face and zipped up her jacket. She frowned then checked the temperature outside and zipped it back down. She fingered her belt to make sure the small speaker was attached so she could communicate with the Aurians if needed. By the time she reached the cargo bay doors, she was all set.
“No. You’re staying on the ship.”
Her back stiffened, then she whirled to glare at her mentor. “What do you mean, I’m staying on the ship? We’re outnumbered more than two to one!”
Link strode toward her, dark, expressionless, and focused without any hint of Greyson’s arrogance, Ian’s suave affability, or Stan’s sleazy cleverness. This Link felt like a complete stranger, one she didn’t know how to handle or respond to.
“Did you forget that you can’t run or fight?”
Phina hardened her voice. “I can run, and I can fight. You need me!”
The cargo bay door began to open as the ship touched down, vibrations flowing under her feet. Link moved past Phina, turning to speak while the others stepped up with their armor and weapons, waiting and only partially pretending to ignore their confrontation.
“If you fight, you could die!” Desperation flashed in his eyes.
She stiffened and firmed her jaw. “If I don’t fight, there’s a good chance all of you will die! I could die anyway, even if I don’t go! At least this way, I can help save you and the Aurians!”
That sparked a reaction in the others, who paused to stare at her. All except Braeden, who stood near her and briefly clasped her shoulder in support. The cargo bay door finished opening and hot, dry, dusty air gusted into the hold. Link waved them forward as he stepped toward Phina, ending up a little too close to feel comfortable.
“You will remain on board the ship, Phina. That’s an order, a command, or whatever the bloody hell you have to consider it for you to stay here!”
Dismissing her after a final unreadable look, he went down the ramp to catch up with their little group—him, Maxim, Ryan, Braeden, and Drk-vaen. Realizing there were two Yollins in front of her instead of one, Phina frowned. Alina walked up to stand next to her.
“Drk’s been teaching Sis’tael how to fight, so she insisted on helping. She’s going to stay behind him and cover his back since Yollins are vulnerable there.”
Great. Her barely trained friend was allowed to fight, and she was stuck on the sidelines.
“Phina, what did you mean when you said you could die even if you don’t go?”
Chapter Sixteen
Etheric Empire, Planet Lyriem, QBS Stark
What felt like sparks of lightning danced up Phina’s spine as she stiffened at Alina’s question. Awesome, just the conversation she didn’t want to have at a time when she really couldn’t talk about it. Her eyes remained on the fighting group, which had jogged some distance toward the Skaine spaceship, the large village of buildings to one side, and the group of people milling around in the dust and dirt between.
“I can’t talk about it right now. I have to go help.”
Phina didn’t make it halfway down the ramp before Alina called out again, her voice sounding panicked.
“Phina! What did you mean that you could die? You have to tell me!”
She turned to look up at her best friend sadly. “All the changes in my body. I don’t know why they are happening, but ADAM said it’s overloading my system. The more active I am, the faster I could burn out.”
Alina reached out as if to pull Phina back, horror on her face. “Then don’t go!”
Doctor Keelson walked up to stand next to Alina, her eyes grave. “Phina, you know it’s a risk.”
She nodded, glancing at the group in the distance. Stars, she needed to go. The Aurians were going to get stuck in the crossfire because no one would tell them what was happening. She turned back to meet the faces of the three women, Addison having come forward as well.
“I know it’s a risk, just as I know that if I don’t go, someone will die. Someone I could have saved. What if it is Maxim, Alina?” Phina pleaded before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t trade their life for mine. I have to go. I love you, Alina! Phinalina forever.”
Tearing herself away from the sadness in the older women’s faces and the tears in Alina’s eyes, Phina ran, using every ounce of muscle and speed her body could give her.
Stark heard and saw all, just like his father ADAM, especially everything that happened on his ship and in the surrounding areas. He knew exactly what had caused the meeting concerning the changes in Genius Girl’s body and the possible repercussions. He understood the restrictions that had been placed on her until they got back to the station.
It made sense. It was logical and practical.
It would keep her alive.
He had heard whispers from some of the crew in past trips and this one, wondering about Stark and whether he was an EI or an AI. He dismissed those discussions as irrelevant. He just existed as himself. He understood why some might think he was an AI, but what they failed to see was the
logic underlying his actions.
His avatar had always been similar to the superhero he had been patterned after—an affable and joking outside with a logical and calculating core. The humans didn’t see the intricate IF-THEN statements his father ADAM had included in his programming. They didn’t know he observed everyone around him to determine how to achieve the best practical outcome for the goal and the functionality of the group. They couldn’t understand how many hours he had practiced until his mannerisms were human-like. There was a logical reason behind everything he did, even if the outcome was solely a change in the emotional atmosphere.
In that directive lay the difference in his programming versus other EIs’. Stark always weighed the variables, especially the emotional ones, since humans relied on their emotions in their decision-making process. Rather than confusing him, he took it as a challenge to create a matrix with which he could predict how the humans would respond. It satisfied his desire to create logical reasoning out of intangible subjectivity, but what he’d failed to recognize was the awakening spark of awareness within himself.
Curiosity.
When Stark observed the altercation between Genius Girl and his primary passenger Greyson Wells concerning her involvement in the fight, he layered his deductions into his matrix. He had predicted a seventy percent chance she would stay behind on the ship, a twenty percent chance she would follow but remain far enough back that it wouldn’t have made a difference either in the outcome of the fight or her body’s reserves. The remaining ten percent had been divided between Genius Girl punching the man in the face before they agreed she should go, a few even more unlikely scenarios, and the outcome that eventually occurred.
Genius Girl had chosen the outcome he had predicted had only a two percent chance and posed a very real risk to her life on the possibility that she could save someone else’s.
It fascinated him.
It also made him question everything he thought he knew about human behavior.
When she ran out of the cargo hold after the fighters, the question zinging through his consciousness was why. Why would she risk so much on the chance she could make a difference? The smallest chance?
Not long after she left the ship, she pinged him through her implant. “Stark or ADAM, whoever is listening, open a channel between you both and all of us on the ground, please.”
“Of course, Genius Girl. Channel open.”
“Phina, what the hell? I told you to stay on the ship!” Greyson Wells sounded angry. Of course. She had defied his order. It was logical.
“And as I told you, I can’t keep myself safe and watch any of you die. You all are my friends. You all are my family. I’m coming, so get over it.”
That was not logical. Stark ran through the variables again. No, still not logical.
Braeden had recently gotten an implant of his own, albeit reluctantly, so he could respond as well. “I have to admit we could use help. It’s difficult trying to fight these Skaines while avoiding the Aurians. They believe we are attacking their saviors.”
“I’ll try to do something about that. In the meantime, you keep my family safe. Incoming.”
Stark ran through his recordings of the team since they’d arrived on his ship. It only took seconds. He slowed down at the point where Phina burst out in laughter in the dining room with no precipitating event and reviewed the actions surrounding her laughter. There was nothing obvious, and yet, as he zoomed in closer to her face and tracked her eyes around the table as she watched her companions, she saw something Stark did not.
Not accepting the idea, he expanded his review to all events on and off the ship, even those happening currently and being relayed back through the drones he had sent out. Perhaps if he watched Genius Girl in action, he would better understand her choice.
Pulling out her knives as she came within feet of the first group of fighters, Phina found a Skaine with his back toward her, eagerly moving toward one of her friends. Her chosen family.
No.
Not one of her family would die today. She wouldn’t lose anyone like she had her parents. Not even if she died instead.
Dragging out one more dash of speed, she sprang up, gaining greater height than she’d expected, but she used every bit of it. She brought her knives up and crossed them as she landed on the Skaine’s back and pulled the blades to either side. The head tipped forward but she remained on the body as it fell, revealing a blood-spattered Ryan blinking at her with awe and astonishment as she straightened.
“Holy shit!”
“Sorry, but it’s Phina. I believe we’ve met.”
He gave a halfhearted smile at her mild joking. “You know, I really don’t think we have.”
That made Phina uneasy, so she shrugged and hopped off the Skaine, smacking Ryan’s arm with her elbow as she passed him. “Come on, we need to help.”
She took in the scene with disbelief. She remembered what Braeden had said, but she hadn’t believed him until now. The Aurians were getting in the way of her family as they tried to move closer to the Skaines. Some pulled on arms and others on clothing or ankles. Meanwhile, the Skaines kept moving toward the ship.
“Stark, I think the Skaines are trying to cut and run. Is there any way to breach their system to shut it down so they can’t leave?”
“Of course, Genius Girl. Already done.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
As she continued to stare, Phina realized the Aurians were all small. None of them was taller than five feet, and most were half a foot shorter. They all had long hair that, while tangled and dirty, had a sheen to it. A number of them had black hair, while the rest had hair so white there seemed to be no pigment in it. The Aurians’ skin was a blue so deep that in the shade, it would appear to be navy. In the bright sun, the color was difficult to describe since all the Aurians were dirty with clothes so threadbare they were little more than rags. The sounds coming from them all had the same mesmerizing effect it’d had through the speaker, causing everyone to slow down. Unfortunately, with all the sounds together, she couldn’t understand what they were saying.
Shaking herself out of the haze, Phina made sure the translation speaker was on and functional as she moved forward and spoke as loudly as possible.
“Everyone, please calm down. We have brought food, medicine, and supplies to help you. Our intention is not to harm you in any way but to help you. However, these…people taking you on their ship are intending to harm you and use you as slaves.”
An Aurian near her was staring with concern and puzzlement at the mass of their people and Skaines that were trying to keep Phina’s friend’s away. After Phina spoke, she—for she realized that though the Aurians’ facial features leaned toward androgynous, surrounding long tubes that swayed and twitched instead of noses, this Aurian was voluptuous, or would have been if she hadn’t been starved.
“You can speak to us!”
“Yes.”
The Aurian’s eyes sparkled. Literally. Light reflecting out of the female’s eyes caused them to glow. The iridescence transformed her strange looks into an eerie beauty. “No one has ever been able to speak to us.”
Phina shrugged. “Yes, well, it was complicated to learn. I spent a few weeks trying to understand what you were telling us and the last week trying to figure out how to speak to you. It took some time.”
“Thank you. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to be heard and understood.”
“You’re welcome.”
The female’s head tilted in thought. “I have a question, though, if I may ask.”
“Of course.”
“What are slaves?”
Phina heard both through her ears and her implant, causing a dissonance they would need to adjust. How do you describe a slave to someone who had no concept of the condition? Still, she fumbled through an explanation.
“Slaves are people taken by others to become property. They lose the freedom to make their own decisions and are broken by pain or capti
vity until they obey their masters without question. Some slaves become servants to take care of houses, or perform heavy labor like farming or mining, while others are forced to have sex with whoever pays their master money. Those aliens are called Skaines, and they do not treat their slaves well unless they will get a lot of money for them.”
Since Phina and Addison had only had a limited time to test the translation programs, Phina couldn’t be certain how much of her explanation the Aurian understood. However, she must have understood enough since the longer Phina spoke, the more agitated the female became. The tentacles or tubes of various lengths that draped down her face moved back and forth, and her white hair began to emit a soft glow, rippling in a wind Phina didn’t feel. Her violet eyes shone brighter, looking like precious amethyst jewels. Though short, the female had changed from being a gentle beauty to downright scary.
Gorgeous, but scary.
“And you, stranger? What would you have of us?” The Aurian’s voice was deeper and a little hollow.
Phina straightened, her eyes flashing determination. “I want only to save you from starvation and death. I saw your message that your children were dying and starving. I had to come to help. That’s all we want.”
Deep eyes stared up into hers before the Aurian nodded. “I will trust you, salandria. I can only do this once.”
Phina nodded solemnly. “I will not betray your trust.”
Turning, the Aurian blasted out a noise that brought everyone but Braeden and Phina to their knees, clutching their heads, and even the two telepaths had difficulty remaining upright. After the initial onslaught, the sounds gentled into what passed for words. By the time she’d finished and the noise had died down, the Aurians had withdrawn to the town, leaving everyone else to pick themselves up.
“Wow.” Phina shook her head as she looked around.
“It is the su’adan.” The female turned back to Phina, now weary, her features reflecting her previous calm beauty. Another of the Aurians came to her side to support her. “Thank you. We would have been lost if you hadn’t come. While we avoid violence as a rule, we recognize when predators must be stopped. Do what you must. Thank you for being protectors on our behalf.”
