by T. F. Grant
***
The Markesian flagship eased into the dock, and Tai led them all off. Haggard, Sap, and of course, Miriam were already present and waiting. Hela broke off and rejoined Miriam, whispering into her ear, no doubt giving her the lowdown of the situation.
The Red Cauder cast her gaze to Tai. “Is all this right? You’ve outsourced the stasis collection for one of those.” Miriam pointed a gloved finger to the scuttler as it docked. Its weird, shifting hull glittered under the dock’s floodlights.
Just like the flagship with its interlocking exoskeleton hull, it resembled a small scorpion. Sara had a hard time reconciling that she had struck a deal with the Markesians and was now, for all intents and purposes, allied with them. The ship still looked like her enemy and made her want to fight them still.
“Yeah, that’s our new little runabout,” Tai said. “Commander Haggard, I’m advocating for the Markesians and President Aleatra. I trust you’ll see them right with accommodation and have them registered as third-class citizens.”
Sap bristled his leaves and excreted a series of chits. Tai took them and marked them with his stem-seal. The Drift created new ones for Sara and Chitaan. “Mark the chits,” he said. “And this will be entered into the Book of Trades.”
Sara duly complied and explained to Chitaan how it worked. Despite being here for just a few hours, she no longer felt like a newbie. “She learns quickly,” Miriam said to Tai, pointing to Sara.
“She is right here,” Sara said. “And yes, I’m learning. Perhaps you won’t rip us off so easily from now on.”
“Rip off?” Miriam smirked in a faux expression of offense. “No, dear, your Mr. DeLaney just wasn’t sharp enough. There was no subterfuge here. And talking of our deal, I’ve sent out a pair of tugships to bring your sorry excuse of a ship into dock.”
“And that’s going on the debt, I take it,” Sara added.
“All necessary expenses, I assure you.”
While Haggard and Tai explained to Chitaan and Aleatra how things worked, Sara approached Miriam, feeling bolder now that she was making sense of things. Hela stood in her way. “Back up, bitch,” she said.
Sara skidded to a halt and leaned back as Hela pointed a shotgun at her chest. How quickly she changed! Kina joined Sara and eyed Hela. “Get that out of her face, Hela. You don’t want to escalate this.” Kina had her pistol in hand.
Hela scowled and stepped back.
“I just wanted to ask,” Sara said to Miriam. “What’s the debt up to now?”
“Sap?” Miriam asked.
The Drift shuffled over. Its leaves flickered in what looked like a series of logical counting movements. Eventually he excreted a pale leaf with a number imprinted upon its surface. Miriam snatched it from the Drift’s bushy limb and held it up to the light and nodded. “That’s spot on. There’s ten percent for contingencies to be added, but otherwise that’s the current total.” She handed it to Sara.
“Are you insane?” Sara said, throwing the chit back at Miriam. “We’ve been here a matter of hours. How can you justify that?”
“How much is it?” Margo asked as she and Murlowe left the flagship and joined Sara. DeLaney, Sara noticed, was following Aleatra around like a loyal dog.
“One hundred and fifteen thousand credits.”
“What?” Margo and Murlowe said simultaneously. “That seems a lot.”
“It is,” Miriam said. “But how else were you going to claim the Venture? Would you have preferred to start at the bottom with no possessions? You can always sell me the hulk and pay off the debt that way.”
“No chance,” Sara said. “You’ll get your money… one way or another.” She turned her back on the Red Cauder and approached Tai, who was in conversation with Chitaan. She noticed that Aleatra and DeLaney were standing out of the way, whispering to each other.
“Tai, what’s happening with the stasis units?”
Chitaan spoke first, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. “My people are bringing them in. They’ll be here shortly.”
“Don’t worry, Sara, I’ll have them transported to my lockup when they arrive. You’ll have to decide when you’re going to release the people inside. But until you do, I’ll keep them safe. For a cost.”
“Yeah, no shit. Add it to your mother’s account. There was another thing. Tooize wanted me to do this language thing. What exactly is it?”
“Oh, that. You’re gonna love it. It’s a huge honor. As far as I know, no newcomer has ever been offered such a privilege. The kronacs have these… how can I explain it… creatures that can give you an… erm… upgrade so you’ll be able to understand the kronacs and pretty much any language of any species on Haven.”
Tooize nodded as he approached. He gripped Sara with all four of his arms and cooed at her with is odd whistling voice.
“He wants you to go now,” Tai said. “He says it has to be done now as they won’t be ready for another hundred cycles. Better not disappoint him.”
Sara could feel the strength in the kronac’s arms. Despite their feathery covering, they were entirely savage-like in their brute strength. Sara shook a little within the creature’s grip. “Okay,” she said, smiling at Tooize. “Lead the way.”
Kina clapped Tooize on the shoulder. “I’ll come with you guys and translate as needed until the ritual. And besides, I hear levels minus-five to minus-twenty-one are hot after some trouble between the Blackmarks and the Iron Council.”
“Trouble, what kind?” Sara said.
“Nothing much,” Tai added. “Just a small civil war. It blows hot and cold now and then. You’ll be fine… hopefully.”
Sara swallowed as the big kronac turned her to face the door at the end of the dock. He said something short and sharp. Kina laughed as she checked her weapons. She handed Sara a pistol. “Keep sharp, girl, you’re entering the Greigar’s den.”
SIXTEEN
Tai’s gaze kept drifting to the scuttler parked on the dock plates. It looked like a sleeping insect. Black tiles covered its segmented hull. A glossy sheen reflected the lights of the dock in a shimmering haze. He let his gaze slip away, taking in the rest of the level.
Through the steam and the smoke, he saw other free-captains. Men and women who, like Tai, stayed away from clans and gangs, and walked the freelance line, trying to keep their balance. They were watching the newcomer Markesians, with their strange bodies and stranger ships—ships that seemed to resist the effects of Hollow Space.
Maybe the Markesian tech could get through the atmospheric barriers and get down to the surface of the planet, find out what lay hidden there. Stop thinking, Tai, his mind whispered to him. No good ever comes of that.
Tai tried to avoid reflection; he kept that part of himself strictly under control. It was the part of him responsible for taking increasingly extreme measures in order to pay off the debt he had with his mother.
It was also the part of him that only ever caused him problems.
He let his gaze drink in the shape of the scuttler again. His new ride. He’d have to find a name for her. A ship like that deserved a damn fine name. He grinned slowly. Damnfine it was, then.
Chitaan tilted his insect-like head to one side. “You will find us quarters,” he said, “and then the scuttler will be yours.”
Tai shrugged. “Not a problem, Chit. Dealing is what I do, and the Damnfine is a damned fine ship.”
“Great,” Scaroze whistled. “You’ve already named her.”
“Of course I have,” Tai said. “Go see to your people, Chit. I’ll see to your lodgings.”
“The name is Chitaan,” Chitaan said. “I am a thousand years old, and I prefer my name to be used correctly.”
“I’m twenty-six and rarely do what people prefer,” Tai replied.
“You are an obnoxious human,” Chitaan said.
“He’s an obnoxious being. Human doesn’t even come into it,” Scaroze whistled.
Chitaan did that head-tilting thing again. “Agreed,” he said,
walking away to the small group of Markesians clustered around the human traitor, Aleatra.
“He understood me,” Scaroze whistled. “How did he understand what I said?”
“There’s more to these Marky-bugs than we know,” Tai said.
“Maybe they are born with the Gift of Language,” Scaroze whistled.
“Maybe,” Tai said. Sara, Kina, and Tooize were at the far end of the dock, stepping through the doors that led down into the lower levels of the station. “Ever known someone to give the Gift to a newcomer like Sara before?”
“Never.” The feathers around Scaroze’s neck bristled. “Tooize must be losing his mind.”
“She did save him,” Tai said.
“After he had saved her,” Scaroze whistled. “One debt pays the other.” The kronac did that kronac thing of scratching his head with two of his hands while the other two scratched his stomach. A sign of nervousness. “Lofreal will not be pleased. Neither will our nest-kin.”
“What will they do?”
“Nothing. He is Tooize, so the tunes of discord will play quietly. But you must warn him, Tairon Cauder. For the all the debts you have owed each other, you must warn him. He dances on rotting branches.”
“His life, his game, his choice.”
“This is not a game.”
Tai nodded. “Okay, I’ll warn him, but he won’t listen.”
“But he will be warned, which is all we can hope for.”
“You could warn him.”
“I already have. But the more times he hears the tune, the more likely he is to listen to the melody.” Scaroze stood upright, towering over Tai, nearly seven foot from feet to head. Because of their normal crouched posture, kronacs looked shorter than they were. “I’ll see to getting the repairs on the Mary-May started.”
“Lot of damage in that explosion,” Tai said. “A lot of equipment will have to be junked.” He smiled slowly. “Just to be on the safe side, of course.”
“Such a shame,” Scaroze whistled. His head turned to and fro, scanning the deck.
“Yeah. Fit an auxiliary air tank while you’re at it.”
“I do hope that doesn’t find its way onto the bill for the Venture crew.”
“Perish the thought.”
“You are a cold, hard man, Tairon Cauder.” Scaroze dropped back to his more normal height. “Jaxa the fixer is over by the shops. I’ll make the deals.”
“Don’t let him cheat you. Let’s keep the bill as low as we can.”
“So we can add a little extra on the side.”
Tai bumped fists with the grinning kronac and watched him saunter away. Scaroze made good deals, almost as good as Tai’s.
What did Tooize see in Sara? It didn’t make any sense what that big galumphing kronac was doing for this newcomer human. She was bright, of course, bright as the edge of a knife, and capable too. She’d make a gang leader if she survived long enough to become comfortable with the role, but she was still a newcomer. She hadn’t even been on Haven for a cycle. And yet…
Kina fancied her. That was obvious. Hela had placed herself in Sara’s path, which meant she felt threatened by her. And Tooize broke a whole load of taboos to offer her language.
What was it about this newcomer that made Tai treat her like an equal? She was fresh meat, grist for the mill of Havenite scheming. She was a pawn, so why did he treat her like a knight? He shrugged. So long as she didn’t get in the way of his plans, then he would treat her fairly. Nobody could say any fairer than that.
He was pulled from his devious thoughts by the touch of a small hand on his arm. Tai turned and found himself looking into Margo’s calm blue eyes, which seemed to gleam with depths of hidden knowledge. His breath caught for a moment. How he wanted to touch that calm, to find peace, to slow down his tumbling thoughts.
Too much bloody time on his hands. He was better when he was acting, doing things, not standing around waiting for things to happen.
“Please,” Margo said. “We have a problem.”
Tai broke eye contact and let his onrushing mind swallow his empathy again. “Not my problem, sister.” Even he was surprised by the harshness of his tone.
“It’s about the deal,” Margo said. “About the Venture.”
“The deal’s in the Book of Trades. No backing out now.”
“Yes.” Margo bowed slightly. “We understand. But the president is laying claim to the Venture. DeLaney says the deal was made by him. Your mother says not. The Drift wishes you to speak.”
Tai sighed, avoided looking at Margo, and stalked across the deck to where his mother, Aleatra, and DeLaney clustered around Sweet-Sap-Rising.
“It is my seal on the deal.” DeLaney was shouting at Miriam. Which really was not smart.
“Found your balls in your president’s pocket, DeLaney?” Tai asked as a hello. “I’d put them back there, if I were you, before you manage to upset the Red Cauder.” He nodded to Miriam. “Mother.”
“Tairon.”
“The Venture belongs to the Crown,” Aleatra said. “As do the people in the stasis pods.”
The shouting brought Haggard sauntering across the deck with a couple of lawkeepers. They carried shock-sticks and wore their sidearms. Hela and two Cauder enforcers ambled toward Miriam with their hands empty and their weapons ready on their belts. Tai sighed happily. It was so relaxing being in the center of chaos.
“Oh, my dear president,” Miriam purred, making Aleatra’s title sound like a curse word, “this is so far outside your comfort zone. We do not jump when you snarl. We are not serfs to be commanded. We are the people of Hollow Space. We are free.”
Tai almost laughed at his mother’s declaiming, but he caught sight of her face. Did she actually mean this shit?
“The deal,” Miriam continued, “was made with the Venture crew as a group. This useless slug”—she gestured at DeLaney—“was just the one who unfortunately negotiated it for them. A child with brain damage could have done better, but the deal is in the Book of Trades, and therefore it remains.”
Tai nodded to Hela. She sneered at him and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. Tai nodded to Haggard. The lawkeeper captain frowned at him and let his hand fall to his holstered pistol. He had a very fast draw. Not quite as fast as Tai’s, but Tai really wouldn’t want to live on the difference.
“I am their captain,” DeLaney shouted into Miriam’s face. “I speak for them, and I cede the Venture to President Aleatra.”
Hela drifted sideways. Haggard shook his head. Sweet-Sap-Rising rustled his leaves but otherwise remained quiet.
Time to throw a grenade. “Captain.” Tai snorted. “You’re their captain? I don’t think so. Sara is in charge.”
“That peasant wench is a traitor,” Aleatra declared. “I will see her—” His voice choked off into a strangled gasp when the edge of Hela’s sword touched his throat.
Tai frowned. This Crowner shit was getting dangerously unpredictable.
“I don’t like you,” Hela said. “Say the word, Miriam. Please.”
“Calm now, Hela,” Miriam said. “There is plenty of time for that, if it is needed.”
Reluctantly, Hela lowered her sword, but she did not sheath it.
“I’ve been assaulted,” Aleatra spluttered. He touched his neck, and his fingers came away red with blood from the shallow cut. “Look.” He held his fingers out to Haggard. “You are the police. Do something.”
Haggard shrugged and stepped over to Hela. “Is that a new sword?”
“Yeah, it’s shorter, quicker to draw.”
“I noticed. Where’d you get it?”
“Up on deck twelve. There’s a new smith just set up a shop. She used to be apprenticed to Danail.”
“Ah, such a shame what happened to him.”
“He shouldn’t have tried to break a deal.”
“No,” Haggard switched his gaze to DeLaney, “he really shouldn’t.”
“This is outrageous,” Aleatra spluttered.
; “This is Hollow Space,” Tai replied. “You sent for me, Sap. What do you want?”
Sweet-Sap-Rising rustled his leaves. “Tairon Cauder, is this human named DeLaney leader of the hulk called the Venture?”
Tai smiled. “Oh, that. Nah. He took no part in the retaking of the ship from the scavengers.”
“I did,” DeLaney blustered.
“You were bloody useless,” Tai said. “You wept and vomited like a child and stood around like a broken doll when the shooting started.”
“He almost killed Kina.” Hela threw a conversational hand grenade of her own. “She told me he barely missed her head. He totally missed the vul he was aiming at, of course.”
Tai blinked slowly. “Is that so?” He stepped up to DeLaney.
“It was a mistake,” DeLaney said.
Tai stared into DeLaney’s eyes from the distance of a few inches. He could smell his fear and the nasty tang of old vomit. “It would’ve been the last mistake of your scrawny misbegotten life.” He turned to Sweet-Sap-Rising. “This fool is not the leader of the Venture crew. Sara has that dubious honor.”
“Why are you fighting this?” Aleatra asked Miriam. “We would give you the Venture to pay off the debt.”
Miriam frowned. Tai could almost see the calculations running through her mind in the creases on her forehead. The Venture was worth a small fortune—much more than the value of the debt. Miriam could decide to make DeLaney the holder of the note and shaft Sara. She had been very careful in how she phrased the contract. Making it with the group rather than the individual meant that simply killing DeLaney would not wipe out the debt.
Yes, shafting Sara was the wise choice, the shark’s choice. Tai felt sorry for Sara. She would be left back at ground zero with nothing but blood spilled to show for it.
Miriam’s forehead cleared. She smiled. Here it comes, Tai thought. Sorry Sara, it’s been good knowing you.
“The newcomer Sara is the leader of the group that owns the Venture,” Miriam said carefully.
Tai only just managed to keep a shit-eating grin on his face. What was she doing? She was removing her wiggle room from the note. She was making the trade all about Sara.
