by Petra Landon
This time, the smile was more pronounced.
“Then, little Terran, we must try and make your dreams come true.” Zh’hir’s voice held a sliver of amusement.
And just like that, it was less awkward between them. They contemplated each other, more at ease now.
“The Juntafeyore is on its way to Terra Agri 5” he announced.
Sila straightened, taken aback by the news.
“The representative whose daughter you pretended to be — he’s the one you confided your secret to?” he asked.
“Elder Arturo” she offered slowly. “He was a friend of my father’s and has always been very kind to me.”
“He is influential on your world, this Elder Arturo?”
“He sits on the Council of Elders. They govern all matters on Terra Agri” she confirmed, with a puzzled air.
“I would like to ask him if they will trade their crops with us instead of offering them on the Trade Exchange.”
Sila had a vague memory of the Star Captain discussing something similar during her time on the Henia.
“Trade with the Ur’quay, Star Captain?” she inquired cautiously, feeling her way.
“Yes, the Ur’quay would like to barter for Terra Agri’s crops. Though your people will believe that their trading partner is the Alliance. It is not yet time for the Ur’quay to reveal our presence in Sector Araloka.”
Sila looked thoughtful. This must be an Ur’quay priority, she guessed. On the Henia, he had indicated that his world faced a shortage of food.
“I’ll help you in any way I can, Star Captain” she assured him. The Terrans would be happy to barter with anyone who kept their side of the bargain. The Star Captain, she knew, would keep whatever promises he made. And she would vouch for his word — the Star Captain’s word was one thing in the world she was very sure of. Though there were limits to her influence with the Terrans now, Sila knew that she still had Elder Arturo’s ear.
He inclined his head, a response to her offer. Zh’hir was confident of reaching an agreement with the Terrans. The Alliance had agreed to pay whatever price they asked in barter — Commander Kerovac considered it a bargain in exchange for Ur’quay warriors. But an agreement was only the tip of the iceberg.
“I’m hopeful that we will come to agreement, Sseela. But the challenges of transporting Terran crops to Ur’Qia will be compounded by the need to hide the Ur’quay’s involvement in the transaction.”
Confused about the need for secrecy, Sila said nothing. Even on an agrarian planet like hers, far from the frontlines of the war, the Ur’quay name was synonymous with glory and achievement. And unlike her time on the Henia when they had been determined to fly under the radar, the Ur’quay had clearly opened lines of communication with the Alliance. She didn’t know why the Ur’quay had returned after centuries away, but the curious secrecy puzzled her. Why hide when Sector Araloka had already bestowed the legendary warriors with mythical status, she wondered.
“Once a broad agreement is in place, I would like you to handle the logistics, Sseela.”
Sila’s eyes opened wide, flabbergasted by the offer.
“Officially, you will be the Terran trade representative to the Alliance” he continued. “In reality, you will work with the Ur’quay.”
Gobsmacked, Sila remained speechless. This was a tall order — the responsibility to alleviate scarcity on a faraway world reeling from it.
“This job does not require you to reside on Terra Agri 5” he reiterated, watching her. “Your people should have no issues with you as a remote liaison.”
“No, Star Captain, I don’t think they will” a reeling Sila assured him.
Her head whirled with questions, even as a sense of warmth and pleasure blossomed in her. This was his attempt to offer her a future. She had lost everything and he was helping to pave her way. His vehement assertion after her admission of pariah status on Terra Agri should have alerted her, Sila reminded herself. Short as their history had been, throughout her interactions with him, he had been resourceful, generous and considerate. A male of his word, and solidly dependable in times of distress. Safe now, Sila could even look back at her extrication from the slavers and the space station with appreciation and awe, untinged by fear or uncertainty. Not only had he rescued her from a precarious position, he had also brought along allies who more than made up for the Star Captain’s lack of local knowledge. But more than anything, his generous offer spoke of the Star Captain’s trust and confidence in her.
He cocked his head to study her. “Is the work satisfactory?”
Sila roused herself. “Yes, yes” she stammered, inordinately grateful for the opportunity. Without the Terrans to back her, she had been expecting a tough slog. She had no marketable skills, except that of a gatherer. Here was the Star Captain offering her a path forward and no mere jobbing opportunity, but the prospect of an important responsibility.
“I’ve no experience, Star Captain.” Sila met the gold eyes, determined to be candid. “There might be a learning curve.”
“I expect that” he said confidently, a touch of reassurance in his voice. “You won’t be going in blind, Sseela. An Alliance operations expert will assist you through the process. And Ur’quay starships will transport the crops. All parties to the trade will need time to get it right — your people, my people and the Alliance.”
As his words sank in, Sila wondered about it. The Ur’quay’s relationship with the Alliance was strange and curious.
“You represent the Terrans on the trade negotiations but once we reach an agreement, you’ll work for the Ur’quay” he explained.
Something fluttered in her chest, a mix of excitement and anticipation. Sila tamped it down fiercely.
“Who will I work with from the Ur’quay, Star Captain?”
“Me” he said quietly.
This time, she did not tamp down on her emotions. Clearly, he did not intend to be a stranger again. Her new future was already looking up, she mused happily. An interesting and challenging job, and a continuing acquaintance with the alien who fascinated her on so many levels.
“Will I live here on this ship?” she asked him, the tone of her voice indicating that she didn’t expect his answer to be affirmative.
“No” he shook his head, amusement coloring his response. “This is a warship that carries a mercenary army. It would not be a suitable home for you.”
“Then, your starship …?” she asked haltingly.
The Star Captain’s gaze sharpened on her, his eyes searching her face for a clue to an unknown query he had not voiced.
“You will reside on an Alliance station. Like others on the station, you’ll be an Alliance employee, but with one difference. You will work with the Ur’quay. For obvious reasons, the Henia cannot dock there but I’ll be available on the communicator.”
“An Alliance station” Sila exclaimed in astonishment. It was one thing for him to pretend to be Alliance with the Council of Elders on her provincial planet, it was quite another for her to waltz onto an Alliance station under that guise.
“What I reveal to you now you must share with no one, Sseela” the Star Captain warned her.
Sila nodded mutely. It would be no hard task to live up to. She knew how to keep confidences close to her chest. Her very survival had always depended upon it.
“The Ur’quay have an agreement with the Alliance. They have requested us to keep the pact a secret until they’re ready to announce it. For now, only a few Hadari’Kor and some of Commander Kerovac’s personal staff are privy to it.”
Sila stared at him, an undecipherable expression on her face. For the first time in their acquaintance, Zh’hir was stumped, unable to make an educated guess about what she thought.
“You plan to fight for them against the Ketaari Empire” she whispered.
“In return for certain resources from the Alliance, yes” he acknowledged evenly.
“This is why Alliance ships were able to get to Terra Agri so quic
kly. I did wonder about it” Sila said slowly. It all made sense now. Her SOS to him had precipitated those ships. At the back of her mind lurked the suspicion that the Alliance had only dispatched their ships to keep up appearances with their new and important ally. Had the message about the slavers come from a different source, they might have balked at sending in their ships to rout the invaders.
Sila held her tongue, despite her curiosity and qualms. The agreement between the Alliance and the Ur’quay made her vaguely uneasy and yet, she could not quite put her finger on the reason. Perhaps, her opinion of the Alliance colored her perception of it. She hoped the Ur’quay would not pay a price for it, much like her world had. Sila reminded herself that the Ur’quay would not be easy pickings for anyone. Unlike the Terrans.
“Thank you for the opportunity, Star Captain” she said soberly. “You will not regret it.”
I won’t fail you.
“I know I won’t.”
t
Sila made her way to the vast dining chamber, drawn by a combination of hunger pangs and boredom. An array of Food Synthesizers located below a huge display screen met her eyes. Beside the Synthesizers sat a basket brimming with tablets. Commander Jolar had explained that the tablets could be used to order meals. A limited selection of real food was also available but Sila was keen to try a synthesized meal for the first time in her life.
“Sila! Sila Gatherer” a voice called to her as she attempted to work the tablet.
It was Belur, one of the Hadari’Kor who had helped guard her on Keeyor 9.
“Belur” she sighed in relief. “Thank the Goddess! I’ve been attempting to operate this. Could you show me, please?”
“Of course” he said promptly. “Come, sit with me and I’ll show you.”
Belur walked her through the tablet’s operations. The menu surprised Sila. While the selection was mostly Hadari’Kor cuisine, the Synthesizers did offer a variety of dishes from other worlds. Belur explained that Hadari food was generally spicier than that from the twin world of Kor, though a lot of dishes were common to both planets. Sila chose a medium spicy dish heavy with vegetables for her first attempt at synthesized food and watched Belur transmit the selections to the Synthesizers. When her order was ready, the large display screen would indicate which synthesizer to pick it up from. Since the screen displayed information in the Hadari’Kor alphabet, Belur showed her how to use the tablet to translate the screen contents into Alliance Standard in real time.
In the early days, Belur had been one of the more taciturn of her Hadari’Kor guards. That was saying something for the Hadari’Kor as a race seemed laconic and reticent to Sila. They had that quality in common with the Star Captain. Sila had surmised, with some amusement, that this shared pithiness was probably the primary reason for his affinity to the Hadari’Kor. That, and the similarities of their respective professions.
After long hours guarding Sila, Belur had eventually unbent enough to offer her the occasional conversation. Gradually, he and his fellow mercenaries had shared tales from a nomadic life lived across the sector on worlds with exotic names. To the girl who thirsted for adventure, their way of life seemed utterly different and fascinating. Sila had lapped up the tales and enjoyed the time spent with her new Hadari’Kor acquaintances, even as she chaffed at the lack of solitude. The mercenaries, in turn, had gradually warmed up to the young Terran who listened to their stories with wide eyes and innocent enjoyment. They respected her quiet dignity and resilience after a traumatic experience. Many of the mercs had been involved in the operation to rescue her and were aware of the state the Ur’quay Captain had smuggled her out of the slaver’s hold in — drugged, sick, and shivering in the inadequate clothes the slavers had forced on her.
With her concerns for the future mitigated by the Star Captain’s offer, a relieved Sila laughed easily in the company of her new friends, enjoying their light-hearted banter and her first taste of synthesized food. She was enjoying a particularly funny tale her table was being regaled with, when her eyes tangled with a familiar exotic gaze. Across the width of the chamber, the gold eyes seared her with an intensity that caused her heart to lurch uncomfortably. The laughter died on Sila’s lips. Confused, she directed a tentative smile at him, hesitating at his unusually reined-in expression, something she’d never been a recipient of before. Inclining his head to acknowledge her, he turned away to his companion. Zoran Hadari-Begur-Kor shot her an unfathomable glance as he led the Ur’quay Captain to an unoccupied table. Nonplussed and a little rattled, Sila glanced hastily around her table; her companions seemed to have missed the little byplay.
Zoran took in the drawn expression on his companion’s face as they seated themselves.
He attempted a casual inquiry, his eyes on the heaping plate before him. “Anything troubling you?”
“Just working through something” the Ur’quay male said cryptically.
Zoran attacked his meal with gusto.
“Do you need me to front for you with the Terrans?” he inquired.
The Star Captain shook his head. “No, I’ll be fine. Only one Terran representative is scheduled to meet with me. From what Sseela tells me about her world, he’s unlikely to have an audience to gossip with about the mysterious alien from the Alliance he once met won a Hadari’Kor ship.”
The Alliance ships guarding Terra Agri 5 had been informed that a Hadari’Kor ship, on Commander Kerovac’s business, would make a pit stop over the planet to meet with a Terran Elder. Zoran was determined to ensure that no one caught a glimpse of the Ur’quay warrior aboard his starship. More than ever, he was confident that Commander Kerovac’s gamble with the Ur’quay would pay off. To him, this elevated the need for secrecy.
The Divine knew that he was in a hurry to bring the Budh-Ketaari Empire to its knees, Zoran mused. And the sooner the better! It had only been a few short weeks, but a coalition with the Budheya rebels was starting to look like a real possibility. A rebellion on Budheyasta would improve the Alliance’s chances against the Ketaari. All the pieces were slowly falling into place. But more than ever, it was imperative that they keep their heads down, execute on the rest of the plan and take care to not screw up what had already been set in motion.
“Come to a decision yet?” he inquired, his voice deceptively casual.
The Star Captain glanced up from glowering at the table. “About what?”
The Hadari’Kor, like others in Sector Araloka, had grown up on a steady diet of stories about the legendary Ur’quay. And Zoran, like everyone else, had been influenced by the tales. He admired and respected the Ur’quay warrior. But more importantly, he had come to regard the Star Captain as a friend. Zh’hir was fearless, smart, loyal and straightforward. He could also on occasion display a wicked sense of humor. Though they came from opposites corners of the galaxy, Zoran felt a kindred spirit in the Ur’quay male. Now, as he guessed at what ailed his friend, the mercenary wondered if he could help in some way.
“The experiment.” Zoran chewed enthusiastically. “Shall we give it a go?”
His companion merely arched his eyebrow, even as a general air of grim patience hung about him.
Zoran grinned, taking pity on his emotionally overwrought friend. “Intermingling our crews” he explained.
“Hmm.”
Zoran chewed some more and waited patiently for the Ur’quay Captain to explain his laconic utterance.
“We should give it a go” Zh’hir said eventually. “It’ll benefit both your mercenaries and my warriors.”
“Agreed, though perhaps, after our next run to Budheyasta?”
“Absolutely” his companion concurred.
They were slated for Budheyasta in six days time, to transport the first contingent of Budheya rebels to the new Alliance Training Facility. This first group of Budheya, leaders of the larger resistance cells, would be guests of the facility while they hammered out an agreement with the Alliance and Hadari’Kor.
Zoran directed a significant look at
the lack of food before the Ur’quay Captain. “We should hash out the logistics for a mixed crew, Zh’hir. I can see that we’ll need to equip the Henia with Food Synthesizers. We can’t have you starving my mercenaries. It would be an inauspicious start.”
Despite his companion’s light-hearted quip, the Star Captain’s expression sobered. A flash of memory smote him — Sila’s lifeless body on the hard floor of the holding cell. The Hadari’Kor mercs would prove much tougher than a frightened Terran, kidnapped off her world and thrust onto an alien starship. But the truth could not be denied — the Ur’quay were alien to Sector Araloka. Zh’hir reminded himself grimly that he must never forget that, even as he attempted to shed the weight of the Ur’quay’s past.
“What?” Zoran inquired, the expression on the Ur’quay Captain’s face sobering him.
“On the Henia, we almost killed Sseela in our ignorance. We will not make that mistake again.”
Zoran contemplated his companion for a long moment.
“Allow me to offer you a piece of advice, my friend” he said quietly. “Life is too short and uncertain to have regrets. If you want something, go after it.”
The Star Captain’s exotic eyes flashed to him. For a moment, he said nothing. “I wish it were that simple” he said heavily.
“It could be” Zoran countered. “When you met her six months ago, the very notion was too crazy to contemplate. But everything is different now. Your circumstances have changed. Your very alienness in her sector is being washed away a little every day. You’ve made a friend in me, and I don’t make friends easily. My mercs cannot sing enough of your praises. We’re even talking of experimenting with a mixed crew of Ur’quay and Hadari’Kor on both our ships. I don’t see why you cannot pursue a relationship with someone from our corner of space.”
The Ur’quay Captain gazed broodingly down at the table. But not before casting a fleeting glance over Zoran’s shoulder. The brief glimpse of longing and despondency spurred Zoran on.