She interrupted. “Look, Protectorate—”
“—Lanar,” I corrected. Two could play that game.
Jahelia turned to look at me and I met her eyes. “All right. Lanar. I’m not very good at this. I like you. I could tell you that I kissed you for luck or on a whim or because I thought we might both be dead in the next five minutes. The truth is, I kissed you because I wanted to.” She smiled, almost—shyly? “Your sister will tell you I’m sort of impulsive.”
I swallowed. “Well, I’m glad you did. Because I didn’t know it until it happened, but I wanted you to, too.”
“I still want to,” she said, but before I could say anything else, she held up a hand. “But we have a problem. You’re Protectorate. Through and through. I’m—not.” She laughed. “Most decidedly not.”
I waited a minute. “Are you sure about that?”
Jahelia fixed me with a stare. “What do you mean?”
“You helped Sedmamin. You—”
“For a price. He said he’d pay me well.”
I ignored that and went on. “You offered to help Luta when you didn’t have to. Numerous times. You see a thing that needs doing, and you do it. You can’t tell me you always stop to consider what’s in it for you.”
“I always did,” she said, tucking her chin rebelliously. She was silent for a moment. “Maybe I’ve changed—a bit—lately.”
“But?”
“But. I’ve got a past. I’m not sure what I want to do with the future. I don’t know what happens tomorrow. It seems like it would be . . . difficult.”
I reached over and put my hand over hers, where it lay in her lap. A thin white scar traced across the back. I thought I’d like to ask her how she’d gotten it. “I agree.” She looked at me, almost startled. “It might be difficult. But at least neither one of us will out-age the other. That’s the one ‘difficult’ I’ve never been able to get away from.”
She pulled her hand away. “That’s the only reason you like me? Because I’m not going to get old before you?”
I grinned. “No. I just figured if I could make you mad, it would be a sign that you really do like me.”
Jahelia glared at me for the space of a few heartbeats, then grinned back. “Well, I guess that was talking. Is it time to fight again?”
“No. It’s time for this.” And I kissed her.
EPILOGUE – Luta
Six Months Later
THE TANE IKAI slipped quietly through the wormhole into OS-G5V-03, the system we now more properly called Kelia Rrane, in translation from the Relidae language. A giant cloud of interstellar dust greeted us as we emerged into the system. Tinted scarlet by the scattering of light across its constituent particles and suspended against the black of space like an otherworldly painting, it reminded me of the entirely different circumstances under which I’d first seen it. Then I’d been ill, and we’d been lost and trying desperately to sneak back to Nearspace past hostile aliens. I would have worried then that deadly Chron ships waited in the shadows where thick pockets of dust at the cloud’s core blocked the light entirely, creating smudges of dark secrecy. Now I could merely appreciate its stunning beauty. The system’s star, yellow as Earth’s own sun, burned steadily in the distance.
“Laying in coordinates for Tabalo,” Maja said from the navigation console. Her fingers ticked over the board without hesitation and she spoke with a quiet efficiency and confidence that had grown under Yuskeya’s tutelage over the past half year. Her blonde hair had been gathered into a tidy knot at the base of her neck and she wore what we jokingly called her official-unofficial ship’s uniform—a transform t-shirt she’d set to match the dark blue of the Tane Ikai’s shipsuits, and dark bio-weave pants. She said it made her truly feel like part of the crew, which was amusing since the rest of us (apart from Viss) rarely wore shipsuits. But I thought I understood. It was an outward manifestation that she finally felt she fit in, here on the ship.
Maja and Yuskeya now shared the navigation console in easy cooperation. Yuskeya had put her newfound free time to good use, updating the Tane Ikai’s medical bay and carrying out the various Protectorate liaison tasks my brother set her. To say nothing of lending Viss a hand with his never-ending upgrades and overhauls. She actually seemed to enjoy it.
“Will you see Cerevare while we’re on Tabalo?” Maja asked. The Lobor historian remained a happy go-between on the Relidae planet, kept busy as diplomatic and trade relations among the Nearspace denizens, the Corvids, and the Relidae Chron continued to grow in scope.
I chuckled. “Maybe, if she has time. But we won’t be on Tabalo for long. We’re picking up supplies to drop at their orbital and a shipment of fryse for FarView.” I’d sampled the deep amber “wine” the Relidae produced when I’d been a guest on Tabalo, and many in Nearspace seemed to enjoy it as much as I had. It was in high demand on stations and planets all around Nearspace.
“I’m going to see her,” Rei said from the pilot’s board. “We set up a lunch date when I made my vacation plans.”
Baden snorted. “I guess Gerazan will be glad of the break.”
Rei cast a mock-affronted glance over her shoulder at him. “He’s joining us, if you must know. And don’t forget, this whole vacation thing was his idea.”
We’d be leaving Rei on Tabalo for three weeks. Lieutenant Gerazan Soto had been assigned to a Protectorate detail stationed in the capital city to work on expanding ease of communications between ourselves and the Relidae, and had invited her to join him for a vacation. Soto had a background in xenolinguistics as well as cryptography, which made him an excellent candidate for working with our new alien allies. I knew Rei was excited at the prospect of spending some time with Soto when we weren’t lost, being chased, under attack, or trying to prevent a war. We’d muddle along without her all right—plenty of us could serve on the pilot’s board when necessary. But I knew I was going to miss her.
“Incoming message for you, Captain,” Baden said from the communications console. He swung his head around to toss a grin at me. “It’s the Admiral, calling from the Cheswick. They’re in-system, so it’s realtime. Want to take it in your quarters?”
“No, put it on here,” I said, angling my screen so I could see the video feed. My brother’s smiling face appeared, and I recognized the view wall of his private quarters behind him. He wore a pale blue t-shirt, so I knew he must be off-duty. “Lanar! I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hola, Luta. Just doing a ‘diplomat swap’ on Tabalo, and I have a standing order for the bridge to let me know any time you come up on the long-range. Thought we’d have time for a chat.”
I had to smile. Lanar looked good. The peace talks with the Pitromae Chron, after a tense and difficult start, were now reportedly going well. As the looming spectre of war dissipated, my brother looked lighter, more relaxed. Now that the threat had lessened I realized just how heavily it had weighed on him.
“I hear the peace negotiations are still on track,” I said.
Lanar nodded. “Slow but sure. I think the dangling carrot of Mother’s research is working better than any stick. The Pitromae definitely do not want to be left out when the nanobioscavs go into production. Particularly if the Relidae are going to benefit from them.”
“She’s completely immersed in the process. I stopped off at Kiando a couple of weeks ago but she was on Damyadi Station for another meeting with Schulyer. Gusain said she’d only been home one week out of the previous four.”
“The last time I saw her, I asked what kind of a timeline they were working on to get all the approvals to put the nanobioscavs into wide production. She just muttered something unrepeatable about bureaucracy and idiots and changed the subject.” Although his tone was light, Lanar looked bleak for an instant.
I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong, but over the link, I heard a door open on Lanar’s end. He looked up, away from the screen, and smiled, then dropped his gaze back to me. Whatever had been in his eyes was gone.
“I think she got too used to operating outside the system,” I said, not knowing who’d just entered. “She has to relearn some cooperative skills for working with other people.”
“Are you talking about me? I think I’ve become plenty cooperative.” Jahelia Sord leaned over Lanar’s shoulder and poked her head into the camera range. She’d dyed her hair again, and blonde curls tumbled around her face. Her grin betrayed the perennial streak of wickedness I knew she’d never lose. “You know what I was like when you met me.”
“Believe me, I shudder to think about it. However, I wasn’t talking about you this time, Sord,” I assured her. “I know you’ve become the soul of cooperation.”
“You should,” she said, sticking out her tongue impudently at me before dropping a quick kiss on Lanar’s cheek and moving out of the camera’s field of view.
I stifled a smile so Lanar wouldn’t catch me grinning. I knew that Jahelia Sord had done as I’d asked and allowed Mother to test and upgrade Jahelia’s nanobioscavengers. Not immediately, of course—that wouldn’t be Jahelia’s way—but in the end, she’d agreed to the procedures. Once Mother gave her the all-clear, and the threat level in Nearspace had dropped as peace talks started in earnest, Jahelia had worked some kind of magic and convinced Lanar to take a long-overdue vacation. They’d spent an entire month cruising aimlessly around Nearspace in Jahelia’s little ship, Shadow’s Eclipse, and had failed to discover anything about each other that they couldn’t live with. I was a little surprised to see Jahelia on the Cheswick, but I decided not to question it. They both looked happy, so that was all I needed to know.
“You’re keeping busy?” Lanar asked. “And staying out of trouble?”
“Are you talking to me, or Jahelia?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “I already know what Jahelia’s doing.”
“He likes to think so,” Jahelia called from wherever she’d disappeared to.
“Yes, I am,” I assured him. “Both. Lots of new trade opportunities, particularly for us, since we’re already familiar with some of the Corvid and Relidae systems.”
“And no uptick in piracy to speak of,” Hirin said from behind me, making me jump. Intent on the screen, I hadn’t noticed him come onto the bridge.
Lanar narrowed his eyes. “No increase, or none to speak of?”
I shook my head. “We haven't seen any,” I said. “Hirin’s just teasing you. I honestly can’t remember when I felt so relaxed and safe, inside Nearspace or in Corvid or Relidae space.”
Hirin tapped lightly on my temple. “That’s largely in here,” he said.
I shrugged. “Maybe. It’s a long time since all we had to worry about was cargo dropdowns, fuel levels, and whether we had enough cinnamon pano and caff to last us until the next supply stop.”
“Let’s make a plan to get together soon,” Lanar said. “Maybe sometime next month we can catch up with Mother and Gusain for dinner.”
“I should see if Karro and Aliande are free,” I said. “Maybe even the kids, too. I could skip out to Earth and bring them along.” I half-smiled. “We’d better start messaging Mother now to have a hope of catching her, but sure. That would be great.” After working so closely with Lanar in our attempts to prevent a second Chron war, I’d realized that it was worth the effort to stay in closer touch and meet up more often. Nearspace was immense, but it took only a bit of planning to get together. It seemed that he felt the same way.
“Gis la revido, then, little sister,” he said with a grin. “Stay safe and I’ll see you again soon.”
“See you soon, little brother,” I said with emphasis. “Tell Jahelia I said goodbye for now.” We closed the link.
Hirin handed me a steaming mug of caff he’d brought from the galley, then pulled a skimchair over to sit next to me.
“Why are you frowning into your caff? Isn’t it hot enough?”
I shook my head and smiled at him. “It’s great. I just thought—maybe Lanar had something on his mind, when we were talking about Mother. But he didn’t say.”
Hirin sipped from his own mug. “Lanar always has something on his mind. Comes from being an Admiral in the Protectorate, you know. And now he has Jahelia there, too. It wouldn’t be strange for him to be a little preoccupied.” He tilted his head so that I’d be forced to meet the blue-grey eyes I knew so well. They were compassionate and honest as always, and held the ever-present hint of mischief. “Things are good, Luta. Don’t go looking for trouble.”
I shook myself a little and took another sip of caff. “You’re right. I’m not. It’s just . . . old habits, I guess. Like I told Lanar, this is the best I’ve felt in a long time. Trade is good, we’re all safe and happy. Things are . . . peaceful.”
Hirin chuckled. “Maybe too peaceful? The old trade route grind too tame for you now? You’re longing for excitement and danger?”
I punched him lightly on the arm, being very careful not to spill anything from either of our mugs. “No thanks, old man. I’ve got plenty of excitement just trying to keep you out of trouble.”
Hirin raised his mug. “I’ll drink to that. Now, where are we going to have dinner on Tabalo? The last time we were here, Den-Aldar told me about this little place on the outskirts of the city . . .”
I leaned back in my skimchair and sipped caff, letting Hirin make our dinner plans. In the distance ahead, the alien planet was merely another bright speck against the velvet of space, beckoning us forward. Forward, I thought. After a long time of searching for and being haunted by the past, it seemed we were all finally moving in a new direction. That had to be a good thing. I reached out and squeezed Hirin’s hand.
The Tane Ikai sped silently toward the planet, cradling and protecting us, bringing us with her to whatever the future held.
THE END
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Author Biography
Sherry D. Ramsey is a speculative fiction writer, editor, publisher, creativity addict and self-confessed Internet geek. When she’s not writing, she makes jewellery, gardens, hones her creative procrastination skills on social media, and consumes far more coffee and chocolate than is likely good for her.
Her other books include two more in the Nearspace series from Tyche Books, One’s Aspect to the Sun and Dark Beneath the Moon; the middle grade fantasy The Seventh Crow; The Murder Prophet; and two collections of short stories. With her partners at Third Person Press, she has co-edited six anthologies of regional short fiction and a novel. A member of the Writer’s Federation of Nova Scotia Writer’s Council, Sherry is also a past Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer of SF Canada.
Sherry lives in Nova Scotia with her husband, children, and dogs. You can visit her online at www.sherrydramsey.com, find her on Facebook, and keep up with her much more pithy musings and visual life on Twitter and Instagram @sdramsey.
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Table of Contents
Nearspace Trilogy
One's Aspect to the Sun
PART ONE Earthside
Chapter One Welcomes Warm and Cold
Chapter Two Family Ties and Knotty Situations
Chapter Three Shortcuts and Long Moments
Chapter Four Secrets Lost and Found
Chapter Five Dark as Space and Twice as Dangerous
Chapter Six Brother in Arms
Chapter Seven Dead Assailants and Other Mortalities
Chapter Eight Pinholes, Wormholes, and Holes of the Heart
PART TWO NEARSPACE
Chapter Nine Bodies, Minds, and Other Well-Kept Secrets
Chapter Ten Various Items Stolen and
Recovered
Chapter Eleven Revelations and Risk
Chapter Twelve Piracy and Other Questionable Pastimes
Chapter Thirteen Face to Face With Certain Unreality
Chapter Fourteen Schrödinger's Cat Is Alive and Well and Living Under an Assumed Name
Chapter Fifteen Lost and Found and Lost Again
Chapter Sixteen Sounds in the Vacuum
Chapter Seventeen Souvenirs and Circles
Chapter Eighteen Hunters, Hunting, and Prey Both Dead and Alive
Chapter Nineteen Gambles, Mysteries, and Playing the Odds
Chapter Twenty To Those Who Wait
Chapter Twenty-One Brotherly Love
Chapter Twenty-Two The Company of Enemies
Chapter Twenty-Three The Company of Friends
Chapter Twenty-Four One's Aspect to the Sun
Acknowledgements
Dark Beneath the Moon
Prologue – Jahelia
Chapter 1 – Luta Homecoming Delayed
Chapter 2 – Luta Cats in a Blanket
Chapter 3 – Luta Moving Targets
Chapter 4 – Jahelia Hunter and Prey
Chapter 5 – Luta Pavlovian Responses and Other Intriguing Behaviours
Chapter 6 – Luta The Past Throws a Long Shadow
Chapter 7 – Jahelia Cat and Mouse
Chapter 8 – Luta Take a Deep Breath and Jump
Chapter 9 – Luta Of Unusual Moons and Unexpected Visitors
Chapter 10 – Luta Out of the Black
Chapter 11 – Jahelia Curiosity as a Dangerous Pastime
Nearspace Trilogy Page 107
