by T. M. Catron
RANCE WOKE to find a tiny finger stuck up her left nostril. On the verge of panic, she thought she was suffocating before she heard Henry’s contented trills next to her on the pillow. This time, she pushed him away instead of throwing him across the room. Henry fell off the bed with a soft thump and squeaked excitedly at her.
“You had that coming. Now get out. Go find Solaris and bug him.”
But then she remembered the door was closed. She dragged herself out of bed and opened it. The corridor was dark, the ship back on night cycle. How long had she been asleep?
“How did you get in here?” she asked Henry.
James happened to be passing on his nightly check of the ship’s instruments.
“I’m not in there, Captain,” he said with a smirk. “One of the rules, remember?”
“Oh shut up, James. And keep this thing out of my room. I swear he’s trying to kill me.”
James picked up Henry, who snuggled into the crook of his arm. “He was just trying to find a quiet place to sleep, weren’t you Henry? Bad Captain Rance isn’t very nice.”
“Everything quiet?”
“Perfect. No hiccups.”
Rance huffed, stepped back into her room, and shut the door. Then she locked it for good measure.
Despite her weariness, all traces of sleep had vanished. She tossed and turned, trying to erase the worry in her mind.
Rance told herself the uneasy feeling in her gut was just excitement. After the Streaker’s breakdown, Rance was attuned to every noise, every clunk, every distant clamor. All of them were normal, none of them made her feel better.
They hadn’t been on any real jobs in months, nor had she been to Prometheus in almost ten years. The anticipation was spilling over and making her nervous. That’s all it was. She needed to relax. They were on their way again, with a simple mission ahead of them.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being nervous,” Solaris told her the next day. “In fact, it shows you have some sense.”
“And you doubted me before?” she asked. They were both determinedly pretending like nothing had happened the day before. Solaris wisely didn’t repeat his concern, and Rance, although still affronted that he’d thought she would turn him in, realized he’d been under stress too. His fear was logical.
Maybe. They’d talk about it later. Right now, she just wanted a day of peace and quiet.
Solaris sat down across from her in the galley with two more cups of Harper’s tea. He had made this batch. He slid one cup across the table to Rance. The tea had been the crew’s supper since they left Ares, that and the dehydrated rations Abel had found stashed in a cupboard in his room. They were very old and barely enough to keep everyone from turning to cannibalism.
Rance took a sip of tea and grimaced.
“Not good?”
“Let’s just say it isn’t as good as Harper’s.” She took another sip anyway, then gagged. “Triton’s fingernail, what’d you put in this, Solaris?”
Solaris shrugged. “Extra leaves.”
“It tastes like mud.” She set the cup back down, pushing it away in disgust.
Solaris narrowed his eyes. “Have you ever tasted mud, your Ladyship?”
“None of that.”
Something grunted behind Solaris, and they both turned toward the empty pantry. Henry had climbed up the refrigerated storage units and was now dangling from a metal handle. His little arms reached for the next one. When he caught it, he swung across the units like he was swinging from branch to branch on a tree.
“So much for staying with Harper and Abel,” Rance said in irritation. She knew that wouldn’t last.
Solaris twitched his nose as if he were trying not to sneeze. But it seemed that if Henry stayed out of arm’s reach, Solaris was fine.
He turned away from the cappatter and leaned forward. “Meeting your old friend was a surprise, yesterday, huh?”
“He’s not really a friend, especially since he was going to turn me over to my father. Friends don’t do things like that.”
Okay, maybe they were going to talk about this today.
“Aren’t we friends, Solaris?”
Solaris raised an eyebrow, “Yes.”
“Then why’d you think I would betray you? I don’t leave my team behind, and I certainly don’t turn them over to the authorities. I expect the same from you. You wouldn’t, would you?”
Solaris looked alarmed. “Of course not. But would you turn over your friend if you knew they’d done something truly heinous?”
Rance’s interest piqued, and she forgot her foul mood. What had kind, good-natured Solaris done that he’d considered heinous?
“Like what?” she asked.
Solaris waved her away. “Nothing in particular, just asking.”
Rance didn’t quite believe him. “Why would you bring it up then? Honestly, Solaris, sometimes I really don’t get you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
They sat in awkward silence a moment, Rance looking at her tea and wishing it was more palatable, and wondering how they’d started quarreling again.
“So,” she said finally. “Ask me something then.”
“Huh?”
“A very intelligent question—huh,” Rance teased. She smiled, trying to ease the tension.
Solaris smiled back. “You don’t want me to start asking questions.”
Rance shrugged. There wasn’t much he could ask that would bother her.
“Okay, then,” he said, taking up the challenge. “I’m curious. And running into your friend Turkey yesterday made me wonder. What’s it like going from someone like Moira or Devri to Rance Cooper, daring smuggler and Captain extraordinaire?”
Rance crossed her arms and gave Solaris a shrewd look. His open, honest face was quirked into something between amusement and curiosity.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.”
Rance smirked. “I was never like Moira, so your question doesn’t apply. But the change isn’t something I think about much. I’m still Devri.”
“And Rance.”
“Yes, why?”
“No reason.” Solaris drummed his hands on the table and looked around the galley as if food would magically materialize on the shelves.
“Tell me.”
His eyes flicked back to hers. “It’s a personal question.”
“I assure you, everyone else on this ship knows my story. It’s not a secret. I’m surprised you haven’t asked sooner.”
“Alright, Captain, I’ll ask. You say you aren’t different, but we both know that’s wishful thinking. If anything, you’ve changed for the better. Now you know what hardship is.” Then he smiled and looked around. “Well, as hard as it is to own a beautiful ship and fly it wherever in the galaxy you please.”
“I don’t know anything about you, Solaris, not really. But I know that you know how hard it is to go from place to place, wondering if Unity is waiting to nab you at the first opportunity.”
He nodded. “I do.”
“Then why do you get to be all high and mighty?”
At her tone, a look of surprise crossed Solaris’ face. “I must have hit a little too close to home, huh? Look, Captain—Rance—”
“Captain,” she said a little too forcefully. He’d irritated her again, and she didn’t feel like indulging his attempt to be friendly.
“Captain. You told me to ask, so I did. I was merely trying to pin down how you felt about the shift from a life of privilege to a life of, well, less privileged. You’re hardly a beggar.”
“I never said I was.”
“Okay. But you blew it off like it was nothing. And I think it’s something.”
“Your thoughts are noted.”
In truth, Solaris had touched on a sensitive subject. Although Rance had opened herself up for questions, his astute approach had caught her off-guard.
“So you’re not going to answer the question?”
Rance sighed
and sagged her shoulders in defeat. “We all like to think we’re the same person, but in reality, even if my father called off the marriage and invited me back home to live as I pleased, I couldn’t do it.”
“And why does that irritate you?”
She looked at him shrewdly. “Those Wizard interrogation skills come in handy, don’t they?”
Solaris held up his hands. “Don’t answer, then.”
They sat again in awkward silence, Rance staring into her undrinkable tea and wishing it were vagrappes or lantess or even a hunk of stale bread. A lack of food had lowered her tolerance for personal questions, it seemed.
“Why can’t you magic us some food?” she asked after a bit.
Solaris sighed into his own tea and said, “Regretfully, it doesn’t work like that. Galaxy Wizards can’t make something from nothing.”
He took a long swig of tea and fought the urge to spew it back out. Rance almost laughed and then thought better of it. She didn’t want another argument. Solaris was just as hungry as she.
“I just want to get to Prometheus, find my friend, and get out,” she said after he’d managed to swallow the muddy liquid. “That hiccup yesterday with Unity was a freak occurrence. We shouldn’t have any more trouble.”
Solaris frowned. “Are you trying to convince yourself or me?”
“Both.”
“What’s the plan if we can’t contact Moira?”
“We’ll get in touch with her. She’s expecting us—I hope. Do you think I made the wrong choice in telling Turkey about the Caducean Drive?”
Solaris sighed and looked at his empty tea cup. “Maybe. You really don’t want to be Devri? And all the perks that go with it? It sounds like your family would welcome you with open arms. Is the situation that bad that you can’t go back?”
“You think I should submit to an arranged marriage?”
“Heh. No. But I wonder why you have had such a strong reaction. Most Nobles have arranged marriages. You would have grown up expecting it.”
“You’ve met Harrison McConnell.”
Solaris smirked. “I have.”
“I’m glad the prospect of me marrying him amuses one of us.”
Solaris looked up at her, his expression inscrutable. “I don’t think it’s amusing.”
“And I’m different from other Nobles, Solaris. I don’t care about wealth or power. I grew up expecting different things to happen to me.”
“Like meeting me,” he said, smiling.
“Are you fishing for a compliment?”
“I’m open to one, yes. After all, I did save you from Unity’s clutches yesterday.”
“Yes. Thank you.” Rance meant it.
Solaris held her gaze again and then said sincerely, “You’re welcome. I couldn’t have them running off with you.”
Henry swung back over the refrigerators, trilling excitedly. Fine hairs dislodged from the cappatter and floated down over the table. Rance watched them, glad for an excuse to look away from Solaris. He’d been so odd the last few days. One minute, he was pushing her buttons, irritating her. The next, he was serious, unreadable, and strangely pensive.
Rance put it down to starvation.
When she looked back at Solaris, the moment had passed. He stood, taking her cup with his own and putting them in the sanitizer. Then, he sneezed.
In truth, Rance didn’t have a plan for finding Moira if they couldn’t call her. But she had a general knowledge of the section of the city her friend would be in. Rance had always liked Prometheus, mainly because it was the opposite of Xanthes. Prometheus was second only to Triton in wealth and power and looked like it. It contained one of the most advanced and beautiful residential sections in the empire, with tall glass buildings and wide-open expanses of greenery.
With everything done, the crew sat around looking at one another, thinking about their roles and how to execute the plan. Rance’s stomach rumbled, and she thought the first thing she’d do before finding her friend would be to scrounge up some food. She wondered if she had anything onboard that she could bear to part with once they arrived, to buy something to eat. The Caducean Drive was out of the question. After mentioning it to Turkey and seeing his reaction, Rance vowed no one else would know they had the valuable drive onboard. Ever.
Finally, when she couldn’t stand waiting any longer, Rance went to the locker down in the cargo bay and began pulling out weapons and checking them again. Solaris came out of the galley and, seeing what she was doing, joined her.
“You really are worried, aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But if you think this is such a bad idea, why are we going there?”
“Number one, we need the money. Number two, we need to eat. Number three, I’m curious about what’s really going on, and Moira is an old friend.”
Amused, Solaris raised an eyebrow at her.
Rance shot him a look. “Those things are in no particular order, of course.”
Solaris’ stomach picked that time to rumble. Instead of laughing, Rance grew serious. She hoped she wasn’t leading her friends into a trap, but at this point, they couldn’t afford to pass up any opportunities. Until they could get back in sync with their regular contacts, she needed to find a way to take care of her crew and her ship.
“I’m sorry for the way I behaved on Ares, for getting mad about that boy,” he said suddenly. “I was out of line to suggest you’d be anybody other than who you are. And I should’ve just let him go. And I should also apologize for thinking you’d betray me to Unity. I crossed a line. Sometimes, I still feel like I work for Unity and the Wizards. I don’t have an excuse for any of it, really. But, well, I wanted you to know.”
“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Solaris,” Rance said, offering him a blaster.
He shook his head. “I have my weapon of choice,” he said, referring to his staff. “Let’s hope I don’t have to use it.”
They both knew the consequences if Solaris used his powers. As soon as someone reported a man with uncommon power and a staff, the Galaxy Wizards would be on their way.
Rance had only seen Solaris in action once, during the incident on Doxor 5. The way he’d tricked Turkey and his buddy to leave the Streaker was proof he had more tricks to use. She had a feeling Solaris was hiding some very impressive moves beneath his façade of swearing off violence. Suddenly, Rance felt bad about not accepting his apology.
“What did you really do as a Galaxy Wizard? To make them hunt you like they are?”
Solaris closed the locker door, using the moment to take his eyes away from her. “More than I care to tell you about.”
His voice was oddly tight like someone was squeezing his vocal cords.
“You know that just makes me more curious, right?”
Solaris looked back at her, his expression composed once again. “It’s more than my life’s worth to share those secrets with you or anybody for that matter.”
“But you don’t work for them anymore.”
“Right. Which is why it would be really smart of me to stay out of anything to do with the Wizards.”
“Are you still going to disguise the ship when we get to Prometheus?”
“Of course.”
“Just checking.”
Just then, an ear-splitting howl came from engineering.
“What in Triton’s name is that?” Solaris asked.
“That’s Tally!”
When they got to him, Tally was in a battle with Henry, who was sitting atop the Graeken’s ridge, tiny fangs dug into his head. Green drops of blood ran down Tally’s head and face.
“What happened?” Rance asked as she hurried over.
Tally spun around, grabbing hold of Henry and attempting to pull him off. But the creature had burrowed himself into Tally’s head like a tick attaches to a dog.
“Get him off!” Tally yelled.
Rance grabbed hold of Henry while Solaris grabbed the cappatter’s
arms. Henry took his fangs out of Tally and hissed, the white fangs green with Tally’s blood. Also, Henry had retractable claws, which he extended when Solaris tried to pry him off.
Finally, after getting scratched themselves, Rance and Solaris managed to get Henry away from Tally. The Graeken held his head and fumed.
“I found him in one of the engine housings! When I tried to get him out, he attacked!”
Solaris sneezed and quickly let go of Henry. The animal wrapped itself around Rance’s arms and hissed at Tally again. The little thing quivered in fear.
“You scared him, Tally,” she said.
“I scared him? Does anyone on this ship have any sense?” He looked from Rance to Solaris.
“I guess we know why someone was going to throw him in the river,” Solaris said. “Those things aren’t supposed to have fangs and claws. It’s a mutant.”
Rance shushed the furry creature in her hands and said, “We need a box for him to stay in when he’s not being watched.”
“We need a box, alright,” Tally said, dabbing his bleeding head with a rag. “For its burial.”
“I think you better have Harper look at your head,” Solaris told him, sneezing again.
With much grumbling and a lot of dirty looks at Henry, Tally allowed them to escort him across the hold to the med bay. Harper came out of the control room to dab Tally’s wounds with ointment. The ridge on his head was made of bone, so Henry’s claws hadn’t damaged anything more than Tally’s scales.
After seeing Harper was going to fix him up, Rance turned to go.
“Captain,” Tally said as Harper pulled out a scanner and did a quick full-body check for other injuries. “Can I have a word with you?”
Henry hopped out of Rance’s hands and rolled out of the med bay. “If it’s about Henry,” she said, “I agree he’s a pest.”
She ignored Harper’s hurt look.
“No, Captain, it’s not about Henry,” he said.
Harper finished by sealing Tally’s torn scales with a laser. The process took two minutes.
“All better?” she asked when she finished.
Tally reached up and touched the wounds. “Yes. As always—beautiful work. Is there anything you can’t do?”
Harper’s cheeks turned pink. “Plenty. And you’re making too much of it. Anyone can turn on this machine and follow the instructions.”
