The Starfarer

by Petra Landon

  “What do you intend to do with it?”

  “Hide someone until we can get her off this station” Zoran said evenly. He was confident that Pik would never reveal any information imparted to him in this conversation, even if the trader eventually chose to not get involved. Pik’s reputation as a facilitator and broker in all manner of business transactions was a result of his integrity in holding his tongue and his confidences.

  “Who will you hide her from?” the trader inquired.

  “The slavers.”

  Pik’s bushy eyebrows reacted with astonishment at this piece of information.

  “You intend to steal a female from the slavers?” he exclaimed.

  “Yes, and the less you know about it the better.”

  Pik hurried to agree with Zoran’s sentiments. The less he knew about the matter, the better he could deal with the fallout. “How soon do you need it?”

  “As soon as you can get it.”

  Pik mused on it for a few minutes, to name a price. He proceeded to bargain with the Hadari’Kor Captain until both parties were satisfied with the arrangement.

  “Remember, you will not give your permission for anyone to search the chamber” Zoran cautioned him.

  “I will not” Pik acknowledged. “I’ll ping you on the COM when the chamber is ready. Nice doing business with you, Captain.”

  “Likewise.”

  t

  Zoran stood indolently by the entrance to a game pavilion on the lowest ring of the Trade Sphere, his casual stance belied by the watchful look in his eyes. He waited for confirmation that his teams were in position. Their timing had to be almost perfect for this mission to succeed. The Ur’quay Captain was already in position, close by the slaver’s auction platform, disguised in the ubiquitous robe with hood pulled low.

  Their strategy was to sabotage the main power sub-system, cutting off all power to the station. That would disable all consoles and remote access, leaving station personnel no choice but to manually enable the redundant power sub-system. With main power down, all elevators and other mechanized walkways would also be rendered non-functional. It would greatly reduce the access routes to the back-up sub-system.

  “Team 2 in position” Jolar’s voice announced in his ear.

  Jolar and his team, parked strategically by the viable paths to the secondary power sub-system, would be responsible for hindering station personnel from reaching it. This would buy them some extra time, should they require it, before power was back online. The goal was to break out the Terran and be off the lowest ring before power was restored to the station.

  “Team 3 in position” Martuf announced.

  Martuf led the team in charge of sabotaging the main power sub-system.

  The two Captains comprised Team 1. Their job was to get Sila out of the slaver hold and off the lowest ring of the station, as Keeyor 9 sat in darkness. Other Hadari’Kor lay in wait to assist Team 1, scattered along their pre-determined route from the lowest ring to their intended destination. The chamber they had arranged to hide Sila in was on the seventh ring — six levels up from the lowest ring of the Trade Sphere.

  At Martuf’s words, Zoran ambled towards the auction platform, his hostile stare and aggressive mien clearing a path for him.

  “Team 3, go” he said curtly into his COM.

  An instant later, the station plunged abruptly into darkness. Zoran broke into a run, sliding the night vision gear perched on his head into place. There was an instant of hushed silence before the station erupted in cacophony. Zoran shoved people unceremoniously out of his way to arrive at the auction platform in a breathless run. The guard had moved instinctively to protect the doorway, the powerful torch on his wrist moving steadily as he used it to ensure that no one got past him into the hold beyond.

  The Star Captain stood close to the doorway with his back to the guard, waiting for Zoran to make his entry. As the mercenary ran into view, Zh’hir whirled around, quick as a cat, to grab the guard’s roving hand with a powerful fist and ensure the torch stayed directed away from him. Lifting the guard bodily off his feet, the Star Captain swung him into the milling, confused crowd with a mighty heave. The guard went sailing through the air with a yell, the light from his torch swinging wildly as his hands flailed. As he crashed down into the ground, the crowd instinctively converged to the beam of light tied to his arm. While the guard was still sailing through the air, the Ur’quay had slipped in though the doorway. Zoran shot a quick glance to ensure that the guard was in no position to return to his post any time soon before slipping in after his friend. His goal was to confirm that the power outage had taken care of the cage doors. If the cages were still locked, he’d need to assist the Star Captain in unlocking the one that held the girl — that would tack on a few precious minutes they might not have. Zoran tried a cage in the first chamber. To his relief, the door swung open at his touch. Satisfied, he slipped back out through the doorway to keep watch, confident that the Ur’quay warrior could handle the rest.

  The guard had managed to get back on his feet and was attempting to fight his way through the melee back to his post. The cacophony of shouts and frenzied screams all around added to the overall pandemonium of people shoving and trying to get themselves clear. Zoran plunged into the crowd to throw some indiscriminate punches. The guard went crashing down again as the mercenary used his foot to sweep him off his in a brutal move. That was enough to start a free-for-all, as people threw punches in retaliation. Soon, there was a minor stampede as some tried to get clear of the fighting and move to the sidelines, hampered by the complete darkness and chaos around them. Satisfied with his efforts, Zoran shoved his way clear to keep a watchful eye on the crowd while he strained to hear his earpiece. The racket all around him made it hard to hear and he could not afford to miss any communications from the teams or Zh’hir. After a tense few minutes, he was rewarded with the Star Captain’s even tones.

  “I have her. Coming out.”

  “You’re clear” Zoran told him.

  The guard had not yet succeeded in freeing himself from the crowd. The powerful torch on his wrist provided the only illumination in the pitch darkness, making him an easy target as people fought to use the light to clear themselves off the melee.

  Within seconds, the Ur’quay Captain strode out through the doorway with someone cradled against his big body. He looked ready for a fight, his head clear of the hood he was forced to wear on the station to disguise his identity. In his arms, Zoran caught a quick glimpse of tumbling bright hair and a scantily clad body wracked by occasional shivers. The Star Captain paused to clasp her closer, trying to impart the warmth of his body to her. Should have brought along a blanket, Zoran mused ruefully, as he plunged into the crowd, using his fists, shoulders and feet to ram people out of the way and clear a path for Zh’hir behind him. The Ur’quay male followed closely, using his massive torso to great advantage to shove away any stragglers, while protecting the girl in his arms. The two males fought their way to the stairs where two Hadari’Kor, with night vision gear on, awaited them. The mercs joined their Captain in clearing a path up the stairs.

  “Team 1 is clear” Zoran announced on the COM. “Team 1 requires a blanket for the girl. We’re on the stairs headed to Ring 2.”

  Moments later, the station lights blinked back into existence as abruptly as the station had gone dark. Pandemonium reigned all around them, though the stairs were relatively less crowded. They marched up the stairs, level by level, their numbers growing as more of Zoran’s mercs stationed by each ring joined the procession. The few on the stairs scurried to get out of the way of the Hadari’Kor marching up the levels with a strange-looking, massive male sporting a rust-colored braid in their midst. A blanket met them enroute from the fourth ring. Zoran snapped it open to tuck it over the shivering girl in the Star Captain’s arms. She moaned softly to snuggle into its warmth but did not come to. By the seventh level, they were a group of eighteen as they plunged into the main walkway. Crowds m
illed around here in confusion, while a few station personnel in their red and white uniforms attempted to restore order. Now, the Hadari’Kor moved in closer to strategically surround the Ur’quay Captain. While the taller male was not completely obscured from view, the fair burden in his arms was. Finally, they were in the narrow corridor that led to their destination. A merc held the door of the chamber forcibly open with his body.

  “The door sensors are not working properly yet” he murmured to Zoran as the two Captains entered the chamber.

  The room was small but furnished with a narrow bed, two chairs and an open archway that led to the bathing enclosure. Dr. Uish bustled forward to check on his new patient as the Star Captain laid her on the bed. The doctor’s medical case and a package of food, blankets and a few essentials for the girl was stacked to one side of the tiny cubicle.

  “Team 1 is in the chamber” Zoran stated into his communicator.

  “Team 2 is clear.”

  “Team 3 is clear.”

  “Station sensors not properly up yet. Be advised that station personnel are not allowing anyone off or on the station” Jolar informed them on the COM.

  “All teams, meet up at Pik’s. Stay clear of the chamber, unless you’re on the guard roster” Zoran directed.

  “Everyone is accounted for, Zoran?” the Star Captain, closely following the COM chatter, asked his Hadari’Kor counterpart.

  Zoran smiled. “Everyone is accounted for.”

  For the first time since Sila’s distress call, Zh’hir allowed himself to look pleased. “We have her” he said with immense satisfaction.

  Zoran agreed. “Now, we keep her safe until we can get her off this station.”

  “The patient is fine, except for a little dehydration and the chills” Dr. Uish directed at them. “She’s been given timed release drugs to keep her under. I can give her something to counteract its effects, but we should get the collar off and check for other implants while she’s out.”

  FIVE

  Sila’s eyes fluttered open, to poorly lit and unfamiliar surroundings. A thick blanket covered her, its warmth a far cry from the bone-chilling cold. Under the blanket, her questing palms felt a bed. She frowned, her puzzled gaze wandering the dark chamber to rest on two large silhouettes. Sila screamed, a hoarse sound from her parched throat, instinctively raising a hand to ward them off.

  There was an audible exclamation and soft light flooded the chamber to illuminate it.

  “Sseela” said a familiar voice in guttural tones.

  Sila wondered dazedly whether this was another dream. She had frequently dreamt of this particular voice calling out her name in his unique way. But those dreams had been on her world, in the cozy house she had lived in all her life. She was not on Terra Agri anymore. Keeyori traders had kidnapped her, forcibly wresting her away from everything familiar. Flashes of a cage filled her mind — cold and cramped. As did the bitter taste of terror and helplessness while she drifted in a cloud, struggling to stay aware.

  Before the memories could drown her, her inner voice piped up to remind Sila that she had dreamt of him in captivity too, his unique growly voice reassuring her in Alliance Standard while she wrestled with the fear and claustrophobia of the cage. Silly, she castigated herself hysterically. The First Commander had taught her to barricade her mind. Hadn’t he told her himself that the act of reading or projecting thoughts was considered a crime punishable by death on his world?

  “Sseela” the voice called to her again, with an undertone of concern. “You are safe.”

  From behind the hand that covered her eyes, Sila peeped through her fingers like a child. Her heart raced and anxiety clouded her mind, but with every ounce of her being, Sila willed it to be the First Commander.

  Please, please, please, O Goddess. Let it be him!

  As her eyes took in the two males watching her, they widened. Perhaps the Goddess had heard her prayers. Sila’s eyes glanced off a big, gray-skinned male with black hair and concerned dark eyes, to zero in on an even larger figure with bronze skin, pale stripes and hair the color of rust that hung in a braided rope down his back. The braid was shorter than the time on his starship but longer than the last time she had seen him.

  “Your hair” she whispered. “It grew back.”

  The exotic gold irises with the elliptical pupils softened, as a strangely tender expression flashed across his face, to replace the impassive one she remembered from before.

  “Yes, it did” he agreed.

  Joy filled her heart as the fog dissipated from her mind. The palm covering her eyes slipped away to leave her facing him.

  “First Commander” she remarked, her tone one of wonder. “You came for me.”

  Zh’hir stood rooted, the whispered words sending a spike of unfamiliar emotion through him. He wanted to shout aloud that of course he’d come for her. She had asked for his assistance, hadn’t she? He would always come for her, no matter what it entailed. But years of tradition, upbringing and his natural reticence held him silent.

  Immensely relieved, her fears allayed, Sila’s eyes fluttered shut.

  “I dreamt of you in the cage — urging me to not be afraid” she murmured, as she slid back into blessed slumber, reassured that she was in safe hands.

  Zoran shot a glance at the silent Ur’quay male whose unblinking eyes rested on the young female in the bed.

  “I’ll let Dr. Uish know that his patient has awakened.” He turned away tactfully to use his communicator.

  When Sila came to again, the room was better illuminated. Strategically placed lighting illuminated the shadowy corners of the chamber with diffused light. The effect was to make the tiny chamber appear more familiar and less threatening. But the walls, a nondescript brown, seemed to close in on her. With memories of her helplessness in the packed cage crowding her, Sila made haste to focus her attention on the soft murmurs by the door. Three males conversed in low voices, the seated one partially obscured by the two that loomed over him. The seat beside him was piled high with supplies. With the light falling on them, she recognized the First Commander and the big, gray-skinned male she remembered from before. They had their heads together while the seated male, also gray-skinned, seemed to offer his comments more sparingly.

  Snatches of memory assailed Sila in rapid succession. Being forcibly detained on the Keeyori ship while Elder Arturo was hauled away. Waking up in a cage; locked in like the others. Petrified and struggling to overcome the confusion and haze that held her in thrall; desperately attempting to call for help while her hoarse throat rendered her screams silent. Wracked by the cold and fighting to stay awake. Dreams where a familiar voice growled at her to hold on. Ensconced in arms that held her close while a crowd of screaming voices rushed at them. And finally, coming to in this chamber, panicked and disoriented, until the First Commander had reassured her.

  First Commander.

  She had been on the verge of losing it in the cage when his voice had echoed in her head, urging her to hold on. She had even dreamt of his rage at the thought of her encaged. In the dream, he had been curious about her collar, the heavy one around her neck that bit into her, she remembered. Sila lifted a hand to tentatively feel her neck. Nothing! The collar was gone. Had that been a part of her dream too, she wondered. No, the freezing conditions in the cage, she was sure, had been very real. She had vivid memories of her teeth chattering while she gazed bemusedly at the scraps of clothing on her.

  Clothes.

  The blanket slipped from her clutches as Sila realized, to her horror, that all she had on was a loose-fitting and strange-looking tunic. She gasped, lunging at the blanket to burrow under it. The echoes in the small chamber had the three males pause their discussion to turn to the huddled figure on the bed. The seated gray-skinned male stood up to unobtrusively exit the chamber and the First Commander took a few strides that brought him to the foot of the bed.

  Familiar gold eyes met her gaze. “How do you feel, Sseela?”

  “The
slavers?” Sila asked him, dazed by the quick flash of memories and attempting to sort the fantasy from reality.

  “We have you” he assured her, the guttural tones softening.

  “Terra Agri … my world? The slavers intended to …”

  “Everyone is safe on your world. Alliance ships are on patrol to make sure that Terra Agri is not threatened again.”

  It took a moment for Sila to process his words.

  Thank the Goddess. After three rotations of ignoring us, the Alliance has finally come through when it matters the most.

  Although incredibly relieved, Sila’s head buzzed with half-formed questions, aggravated by the incomplete snatches of memories that crowded it. As her convulsive grip on it slackened, the heavy blanket over her sagged. It recalled her to a more immediate concern.

  “My clothes, First Commander” she whispered, her eyes stark with a mix of embarrassment, confusion and concern.

  “You were cold, so Dr. Uish put you in a medic gown and tucked the blanket around you.” The unblinking gold eyes were reassuring as they met her gaze.

  “Dr. Uish” she repeated slowly.

  This time, it was the gray-skinned male who answered her. “He’s our medic. He also gave you something to counteract the drugs forced on you.”

  That explained the wooziness and her heavy head, Sila mused. Calmer now, she dragged herself slowly to sit up on the bed and rest against the headboard, making sure to keep the blanket tucked around her. Medic gown or not, Sila didn’t trust the strange-looking tunic to protect her modesty. To her dismay, even the small effort seemed to exhaust her.

  “You will have attire soon, Sseela” the Ur’quay male reiterated.

  Her anxiety alleviated, Sila’s eyes flashed a curious glance at the dark-haired male, dredging her woozy mind for gray-skinned races.