by Sara King
For long minutes, the woman led them through the polished stone hallways in silence. Instead of passing them off to the three waiting servants, she took them back to their cell herself. Each of the warriors stationed along the corridors came to attention as they passed, but other than for the clink of the warriors’ armor and the soft padding of their bare feet on smooth stone, the walk was conducted in silence.
When they reached the room—which was a cleverly-disguised cell, now that Ragnar was looking—the woman pushed aside the iron door and motioned them inside. As far as Ragnar could see, the only guards were the armored men standing in the outside hallways.
“We really need to get back to—” Paul began.
The woman cut him off with a dismissive gesture.
Ragnar’s brother opened his mouth again, then shut it when Morgan gave a slight shake of his head. Pressing his lips together, Paul followed their father into the cell. Ragnar was last inside. Behind him, the woman shut the door and locked it. She stood outside the bars for long moments afterward, watching them.
She turned to go, then paused and looked back. To Morgan, she said, “This friend of yours. What’s her name?”
“Athenais Owlborne,” Morgan replied.
The woman’s face became an even tighter mask. Without another word, she turned and departed.
The Flesh-Markets of Odan
“I don’t understand,” Athenais muttered, staring at the course Rabbit had plotted with confusion. “Why Odan? It’s filled with fleshtrading scum.”
“Exactly,” Rabbit said. “If you were Governor Black and you wanted to sell some shifters to the highest bidder, where would you send them?”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Athenais snorted. “Who’d buy shifters? That’s like raising a hawk in your chicken-coop.”
“You’d be surprised,” Colonel Howlen said. “When I was a Lieutenant Colonel on Fire, we spent a lot of time on Odan when we were looking for suzait. The markets were always filled with exotic flesh, be it alien, human, or animal. Rich patrons often send their servants out to collect items for their menageries, and no freak show is complete without a shifter or two. Of course, the expense is incredible, so only a very few people could afford shifters.”
“And two of them are sitting on this ship,” Rabbit muttered.
“Who else is there?” Fairy said. The little twit had cleaned up after her fiasco in the regen chamber, and Athenais was reasonably sure that she was still at the helm, because she doubted the suzait had the capacity to be so annoying.
“Marceau, for one,” Rabbit said, counting off his slender fingers. “Angus, of course, but he wouldn’t bother with shifters unless he thought it would bring Athenais, and I doubt he’ll want to have anything to do with her for awhile, thanks to you, Dallas.”
The airheaded little imbecile beamed.
“I must admit, that was some skillful flying,” Howlen added. “Knew you had to be good to survive the Erriatian Fleet, but Rabbit and I watched the onboard vid of that dogfight last night and it totally blew us away. Never seen anything like it in my four hundred and fifty years in the Corps.”
Oh brother, Athenais thought, rolling her eyes.
“Flying like that is very rare,” Rabbit agreed, sounding solemn. “You have a great gift, Dallas. Life has a purpose in mind for you, I’d wager my empire on it. Watching that vid… It was almost like I was seeing magic.”
Oh come on, Athenais thought, totally revolted. Obviously, Rabbit wanted something more from the little wench, to vomit up such blatantly manipulative compliments, but it still disgusted her that she had to listen to it.
“Someday,” Rabbit went on in a serious tone that almost made Athenais burst out laughing, “the Universe is going to come calling you, Dallas, and when it does, you’re going to realize there’s a reason why you, out of all the trillions of people out there, were given that gift. Nothing happens by accident. You have a purpose, girl, and with that purpose comes a deep obligation to your fellow man. I’d bet my humble life on it.”
That’s right, Athenais thought, amused. Lay it on thick for the little twit. Butter that baby up so we can slap her in the frying pan.
“So how do you do it?” Howlen asked, leaning forward in his chair with a rapt look. “My head is still spinning. That was just…spectacular. Utterly spectacular.”
So Howlen was in on the con. Interesting.
The oblivious fool scuffed her dainty boot against the floor and blushed. “Thanks. And, uh, I don’t really know how I do it, it’s just like I put my hands to the controls and—”
Athenais cleared her throat in irritation, unable to take the continuous stream of bullshit any longer. “Juno could afford it, if she’s still alive,” she said, “but nobody’s seen her since right after the Utopia formed.”
Rabbit frowned at her a moment, looking irritated, before he seemed to shake himself. “Juno? Wasn’t she with Psy Ops during the Wythe Rebellion?”
“Yeah, but they shut it down,” Athenais replied. “Haven’t heard from her after that. I figure she was pretty pissed that they kanked her baby. Prolly became a hermit somewhere. Either that or her ship went off course and slammed into a star. Anyway, she wouldn’t give a damn about shifters.”
“Psy Ops?” Fairy asked.
Athenais snorted. “It’s a long defunct government program. Like S.O., but nastier.”
Colonel Howlen gave her a sharp look, but said nothing.
“Humans had just discovered the oonti,” Rabbit agreed, “which were highly telepathic, so Marceau chartered a branch to investigate the possibility of breeding a psychic human.”
“Really?” Fairy asked. “What happened?”
“Rebels,” Athenais said. “They infiltrated the program during the First Utopian Wars and Marceau started getting really paranoid. Cut all the top-secret programs and had most of them executed. If she escaped, Juno probably scuttled off somewhere to lick her wounds. That program was her brainchild from the start.”
“She’s probably not pleased with you, then, come to think of it,” Rabbit commented.
Athenais snorted dismissively. “We picked sides and Juno picked the wrong one. I tried to talk sense into her, but it was like talking to a brick wall.”
“Imagine that,” Fairy said.
Rabbit winced and quickly said, “So who else could’ve bought ‘em?”
Athenais gave Fairy a dark look before she replied. “Well, if they’ve been bought yet, you can take your pick from the CEOs of big mining or salvaging companies. Then there’s crooked planetary governors. I’m sure a handful of them might be able to afford a few shifters. Maybe a couple of shipping tycoons.”
“The shifters could have had some of their friends buy them,” Howlen offered.
“No,” Athenais said. “Ragnar’s a royal. Gotta be, considering the way he kept getting past me when we first met. And he said Paul and Morgan were his brother and father. So they are the shifters who would go and buy other shifters from the meat markets.”
Colonel Howlen gave Athenais a hard glance. “They’re ishala?”
Athenais had forgotten that Howlen had been S.O. before signing on with Rabbit. She touched her pistol. “You realize that’s classified information, right, Colonel?”
Howlen’s face darkened further. “Are they the ones that escaped off of Penoi when their ship crashed back in 6869?”
Athenais wondered how the man could know that. It must’ve shown on her face, despite her efforts to cover up her surprise.
“Curse of the Father!” Howlen muttered. “How’d they escape?”
“Ragnar stowed away on my ship,” Athenais said reluctantly. “I don’t know about the rest of them. Why?”
“They almost ruined my career,” the colonel growled. “I was assigned to their colony on Wythe, but they fled before I could capture them. When I came back empty-handed, my command sent me out after Rats at the edge of First Quad. If I hadn’t done so well out there, I’d probably still be sea
rching gas giants for them.”
“So what were you doing on T-9?” Rabbit said. “We’re not exactly prime alien territory.”
Howlen’s face contorted in a snarl and he looked like he would not reply, but then said, “I was on Helius, investigating shifter colonies. I spent forty-six years chasing after them, finding plenty of evidence, but never any shifters. I suspect they had operatives in everything from the top government positions to the lowest snack-vendors. I’m pretty sure I even had a couple on my staff, but I couldn’t prove it. After awhile, my command got fed up. Helius was a cushy duty station and there were plenty of other colonels that wanted my spot. Most were probably whispering in admirals’ ears every chance they got. I did everything I could to find the shifters, but the year after I renewed my commission, my command sent me to T-9 as head of the S.O. Recruitment team there and gave my job to somebody else.”
Athenais frowned. “You mean you weren’t even on duty?”
“My duty is to uphold the One Species Charter,” Howlen snapped.
“Was,” Fairy commented.
“Was,” Howlen corrected himself, a bit deflated.
“Your replacement ever find those shifters?” Athenais asked.
The corner of Howlen’s mouth twitched. “Not that I know of.”
“Then they probably killed him and replaced him a long time ago,” Fairy said in that calm, unassuming voice of the suzait. “I was on Helius awhile. It was before you were there, but you’re right, the place was swarming with shifters.”
“That you or the worm speaking?” Howlen demanded.
Fairy smiled back.
“Any of those shifters know our three?” Athenais said, trying not to let the suzait’s voice unsettle her. So far, he hadn’t made any suspicious moves, but the thought of having that thing on her ship was making it hard to sleep at night, even with her door locked. After a long lifetime spanning over seven millennia, nineteen years was an eternity. After all, what parasite wouldn’t sell its disgusting little soul to have an immortal host?
“Maybe a couple,” Stuart responded calmly, “but even if you could get them to show themselves, Helius is not a very hospitable place. Not very mineral-rich, not much water, not much plant or animal life. They’re struggling to survive. I’m surprised they let you live for forty-six years, Colonel.”
Athenais saw Howlen’s hackles go up. “Nobody ‘let’ me live. It was my own wits that kept me out of trouble.”
“With several shifters on your staff? I don’t think so.”
“Listen here, worm…”
“Enough,” Rabbit interrupted. “There will be no fighting on my ship.”
“My ship,” Fairy corrected.
Rabbit glanced at Fairy and made a nod. “Her ship.”
Howlen got to his feet. “This is driving me crazy. Who’s in control, girl? Is it you or the worm?”
“Stop calling him a worm. He’s not a worm.”
“Maybe you didn’t get a good look at him when he crawled into your brain the other day.”
“Tommy,” Rabbit warned.
Howlen grunted and turned away from Fairy. “Anyway, I say I go planetside with the landing party. I’ve dealt with Odan before.”
“It’s you and Athenais, then,” Rabbit agreed. “Dallas and I will watch the ship.”
“I’m not going down there,” Athenais said.
Everyone turned to her.
“Why not?” Fairy asked.
“She doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to,” Rabbit said quickly. “It’s not important who goes, just that we get the information we need.”
“I say she goes,” Fairy said. “You too, Rabbit. I can watch the ship myself.”
“And give that worm a chance to take over and leave us stranded?” Howlen demanded. “No, Rabbit stays.”
Fairy snorted. “If I’d wanted to take the ship, I’da turned off the Gs and sent this thing into enough barrel-rolls to decorate the walls with your brains. You’re all going. That’s an order.”
“An order?” Athenais laughed. “You better mind who you’re talking to, you little tart.”
“It’s her ship,” Rabbit said.
“Not with my money, it isn’t,” Athenais snapped.
“I used my money,” Rabbit replied calmly. “And I’m giving Dallas Retribution, as payment for saving our lives.”
“Oh.”
“So get off,” Fairy snapped. “All of you.”
Athenais stared at the girl, utterly dumbfounded that her friend could have been stupid enough to give the ship to someone with the mentality of a retarded hamster. “Rabbit, you can’t be serious.”
Rabbit took Athenais by the arm and led her toward the air-lock. “Tommy, let’s go. The captain gave us an order.”
“You mean the worm gave us an order.”
Athenais yanked her arm out of Rabbit’s reach, scowling. “I’m not going down there.” She hated Odan. It had been in its filthy, crowded streets that she’d been sold as a permanent meat-suit to a suzait, and she wasn’t particularly interested in going back. Ever.
“What’s the matter?” Fairy mocked from the controls. “You scared, navigator?” Then she tapped her fingers to her open mouth. “Oh, wait, that’s right. I was gonna make you the cook.”
Athenais felt that rush of rage flowering in her gut, and her fists tightened into balls.
“Attie…” Rabbit warned.
“Let’s go,” Athenais growled, turning on heel. “I’ll buy my own ship planetside.”
“You better,” Fairy jeered. “That flat ass of yours’ll look like shit in a waitress’s uniform.”
Fingers itching for her Phoenix, Athenais instead led them all to the air-lock. She waited for clearance from the Odan hub, then hit the Open button on the control panel.
“Get ready,” Howlen said, taking a deep breath as they waited for the lock to equalize pressure with the spaceport.
As the doors slid open, a crush of dark-skinned Odaners pressed in on them with exotic animals and jewelry for sale. They shouted in a cacophony of uneven Standard that hurt the ears as they jockeyed to be heard. Men and women holding cages and bundles shoved at each other trying to reach the front, and one fool even accompanied a juvenile three-hundred-pound redcat with nothing but a leash and an electric goad.
“…mistress, only twenty credits. Finest feathers in…”
“…genuine Earthling rabbit, five credits apiece…”
“…live Derknian redcat, only three thousand credits…”
In her ear as he started pushing through the crowd, Howlen shouted, “…done this before. You just gotta put up with them until they get tired.”
Athenais nodded, then drew her Phoenix. In one swift motion, she blew the head off of the redcat, whose fangs were beginning to show in its irritation with the crowd. The wound sealed almost immediately, but the body still floundered and slashed at air, clearing a wide berth around it. Athenais went over and shoved the body over, nimbly avoiding the poison claws it whipped back and forth.
The hub went silent. A space cleared around Athenais and her friends, the vendors’ sales pitches caught dead in their throats.
In the silence, Athenais grabbed the stunned man still holding the frayed leash by the front of his shirt. Dragging him until they were eye-to-eye, Athenais said, “When your beast regenerates, take him to another hub. I see him again and I’ll aim for his neural center and then pop a shot off at your head, you understand?”
The man, who was looking at her like she’d grown fangs and a bushy tail, nodded numbly.
Athenais threw him roughly aside. “Listen up, the rest of you!” Athenais said. “We’re not here to buy tourists’ shit. We’ve come for the real deal. Anyone who tries to sell me anything I don’t think is worth three million credits will be shot. Do you understand?”
“What are you doing?!” Howlen hissed at her.
Athenais ignored him, panning her pistol across the silent crowd. “No one? Then get out of
my way.” She lowered her gun and started toward the shuttle and the Odaners quickly backed away. Rabbit and Howlen followed, and Fairy shut the door behind them.
Once they were on the shuttle, Howlen snarled, “That wasn’t the least bit inconspicuous! Those fools are gonna tell all their thieving, murdering kin that there’s three spacers onplanet with a few million credits.”
“Let them,” Athenais said.
Colonel Howlen opened his mouth to object and she raised an eyebrow, waiting.
“Oh,” he muttered.
“I do agree that you could have handled that more delicately, Attie,” Rabbit offered.
“Who asked you?” Athenais demanded, already in a bad mood from Fairy’s bullshit. “That redcat was gonna turn on that crowd eventually.”
There was a long silence as Rabbit and Tommy exchanged meaningful glances. Athenais frowned. “What? And don’t tell me you actually think he had that thing under control.”
“Derkne engineered a new breed of redcat four hundred years ago,” Rabbit said. “Totally domesticated.”
“With poison claws?” Athenais snorted.
“The compound they excrete is no longer toxic.”
Athenais felt her neck start to heat. She scowled at the seat in front of her. “Well, they should’ve made it a different color or something. Looks too much like the ones they used during the Water Rebellion.”
Colonel Howlen’s eyes lit up. “You fought in the Water Rebellion?”
She glanced at the prude. “Yeah. So?”
“Doing what?” His voice was a bit too sharp for her tastes.
Athenais smiled. “Why, shooting down Utopian ships, of course.”
Howlen’s face darkened. “You’re a damned traitor.”
Pleasantly, she said, “I’m sorry, was one of ‘em yours?”
Howlen bristled. “I spent four years in a Derknian prison camp because of you.”
Athenais shrugged. “There were other rebel pilots.”
“No,” Howlen snarled. “It was you.”
“Now you can’t know that,” Rabbit interrupted. “Attie, how many ships did you shoot down during the Rebellion?”
