Auric

by Leslie Chase

  Donovan’s face darkened. He didn’t like being contradicted, especially when Zaren was offering him what he wanted: a chance to carry on as planned.

  McKenzie looked dubiously between the captain and the screen, and for once he was on my side. “We don’t know anything about these aliens, sir. Maybe we should check them out before we assume—”

  “Nonsense.” The captain’s voice was firm, though he looked anything but certain. “They’re in pursuit of a dangerous criminal, and we owe it to the galactic community to assist them. Fortunately we’ve already taken the fugitive into custody.”

  Before either of us could object, he switched back to Galtrade and addressed the alien on screen.

  “Captain Zaren, I am Captain Donovan, commanding the Wandering Star,” he said, reeling off a memorized phrase. As he started to improvise, his words became less certain. “We have your, ah, vresin? Yes. In our ship.”

  I winced at the sharp, merciless grin that spread across the alien’s face. The ships on the screen were already starting to converge on our location. They’d started to accelerate towards the Wandering Star even before Captain Donovan confirmed that Auric was aboard.

  Either they were sure we’d picked him up, or we’d been their destination from the start. I didn’t like that thought.

  “Good, good,” Zaren said. “You will keep him? Until we arrive.”

  “Of course,” Captain Donovan said, apparently oblivious to the danger. Just proud to be of service in a way that cost him nothing at all.

  The alien turned and hissed something over his shoulder, switching from Galtrade to a language I didn’t know. I looked at Mr. Mews, hoping that he could at least identify the language, but no. The holographic cat looked as mystified as I was.

  Before we could respond, the screen went blank. Donovan sat back in his chair, looking pleased with himself. “Capital. Now we can get rid of the troublemaker and be on our way as planned. How long till they arrive, McKenzie?”

  The navigator looked torn between hope that the captain was right and fear that we were welcoming a disaster in. “The closest ship will be here in… thirty-four minutes, Captain.”

  “Good, good. Enough time for me to get a fresh uniform on,” Donovan said, then looked at me. “Tamara, you’d better make sure the deck can take a ship landing on it.”

  “Captain, the drones—”

  “Make sure they’re doing it right,” he snapped, interrupting me. “I want you to check on them. Go.”

  You mean you want me out of your way. I didn’t have much choice though; it was clear he wouldn’t listen. McKenzie looked almost sympathetic when I turned to him, but he didn’t speak up. Fat chance he’d back me against the captain.

  Turning on my heel, I marched off the bridge and tried to think of anything I could do to protect the colonists from the disaster I felt descending on us. Thirty-four minutes wasn’t long enough to do much, but it was all the time I had.

  6

  Auric

  I prowled around the small room, struggling to keep my emotions under control. The Silver Band might arrive at any time, and I had to be free when they got here.

  I’d waited as long as my patience would allow. Longer than was safe. But still the humans kept me locked up in this tiny space filled with primitive medical equipment. This room was more comfortable than a cell, but just as secure. I cursed the ill luck that had brought me down hard enough to lose consciousness.

  “Open the door,” I shouted, hoping that the sound would carry through the door. I had to get the humans to understand the danger they were in or this would all be for nothing. My flight from the Silver Band, the risks I’d taken overloading the engine to get here ahead of them. All of it.

  There is no point in recriminations. The voice was that of my father, patient and firm. You acted with honor, which is all that matters. The rest is up to fate.

  It was exactly what he’d have said if he was alive and with me. Infuriating advice that made me want to punch his ghost. What use was acting with honor if it helped no one? If the Silver Band attacked these humans, killed or enslaved them, what good had I done?

  You’ve done your best. Damn it, I could still hear him. Better to die doing the right thing than to prosper doing wrong.

  That had been his philosophy in life, and even in death he wouldn’t shut up about it.

  “Very well, Father,” I said aloud, and sighed. “But better still to live doing right.”

  His memory had no answer to that, and I smiled sadly. I might grouse about the advice he gave me, but it was nice to hear his voice again. Even if it was just my memory of him.

  “Time to get to work.” I hammered my fist on the door, hoping one of the humans would respond. They had to listen. I refused to accept failure.

  It took longer than I’d hoped to get a response, but eventually the screen lit up again.

  “Quiet,” a human snapped in accented Galtrade. She consulted a hologram at her wrist, frowned, and carefully pronounced another word. “Working.”

  It was the blonde human female, not the dark-haired beauty I’d hoped to see again. But at least someone was speaking to me. Perhaps she’d even listen.

  “Let me out,” I demanded. “You are in great danger.”

  I kept my language as simple as possible, but the confusion on her face told me that wasn’t enough. I growled to myself, trying to hide my anger. Who would go to space not knowing Galtrade?

  That was unfair, I knew. The humans were new to space, and the odds of their ship bumping into anyone on this journey were slim. They should have been safe without knowing the language of space.

  “Danger,” I tried again, keeping my frustration in check and speaking slowly. The hologram at her wrist translated for her and I hoped that she would listen. “Big danger. Open door?”

  She snapped something in her own language, glaring at me, and following it with a single word of Galtrade. “Quiet.”

  That was one word she knew well. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very helpful.

  The screen went dark again, and I howled in frustration. My instincts told me that time was running out, and I had no way to save the foolish humans from their complacency. It might already be too late.

  I hammered on the door again, but there was no answer. Whatever the human outside was doing, she wasn’t going to listen. Not that I had any hope of convincing her across the language barrier, anyway.

  Red hot rage filled me, a wave of helpless fury. Zaren would be here soon, and then everything would be over, for me and for the humans. My rebellion would have achieved nothing aside from salving my conscience.

  No. I would not let that happen. If I couldn’t save all the humans, I would at least save Tamara, the beautiful engineer. There had to be a way out of this trap. Turning my attention to the rest of the room, I searched for one.

  Nothing. The air vents were far too small for anyone to climb through. The food hatch too. This was some kind of isolation chamber, designed to keep me away from the rest of the humans’ ship. A good plan in a lot of ways — if I’d been an enemy, this would have made an excellent prison.

  I tore up the flooring, pulled panels from the wall, levered a length of metal from the bed frame and used it as a club. It didn’t leave so much as a scratch on the wall. Panting, I backed away and sat amongst the wreckage of the room, trying to think of something I could do.

  If nothing else, I could be ready for Zaren. When he opened the door, I’d be waiting with this crude club in hand. I might be doomed, but I could take him with me.

  As though that thought had summoned him, the door slid open. I bounced to my feet instantly, crude weapon swinging up.

  And stopped, frozen in place. It wasn’t my nemesis standing there, or one of his soldiers. Instead, I was face to face with Tamara, her piercing green eyes wide in shock as I loomed over her.

  I stepped back, dropping my improvised weapon and showing my empty hands. I could have pushed past her, freed myself — but she
’d come here for a reason. Better to find out what it was.

  She stayed still as a statue for a moment, only her eyes moving, darting around. Looking at the chaos I’d unleashed on the room. Her jaw tensed, her weight shifted, and I knew she was tempted to turn, run, slam the door again and leave me. I couldn’t blame her. Surrounded by the wreckage of the room, I must look like an unhinged killer to her.

  But she mastered her fear, pushing it down and taking a step into the room. The door slid shut behind her, locking her in with me.

  What in the Starless Void was she doing? She was safe in my presence but she couldn’t be sure of that. As far as she knew, I could be a deadly danger.

  The human female was no fool. She knew she’d put herself in my hands, and I could see the fear in her pale face. In the way she shifted from foot to foot, ready to run though there was nowhere to go.

  I sat down, the only thing I could think of to make myself less threatening. The small room didn’t give us much space, and there was nowhere she could stand that would be out of my reach.

  Now that there was nothing between us but air, I ached to reach out and touch her, take her. I restrained myself with difficulty. This wasn’t the place, and there was no time. If the Silver Band wasn’t here yet, they would arrive soon.

  My body’s demands would have to wait until she was safe.

  “You must release me,” I said, keeping my tone soft and unthreatening. “You are in great danger.”

  “Are you a fugitive?” she asked in return. I shook my head instinctively, then thought about it for a moment.

  “Perhaps,” I allowed, trying to work out how to explain my situation. Zaren would have declared me one by now.

  If the humans had heard of that, it meant he was in system. Starless Void.

  “Zaren is here?” I asked. “How long before he docks?”

  Too much, too fast. I’d lost her. The confusion on her face made it clear she wasn’t following my words. But a flash of recognition at the name ‘Zaren’ confirmed that he’d spoken with the humans.

  I gathered myself, leaned forward and met her eyes. I had to convince her, and quickly, or we were all doomed. It might already be too late.

  “We must leave. Zaren is the danger.” Better. Tamara understood, but that didn’t mean she’d believe me.

  7

  Tamara

  The alien warrior looked at me, practically vibrating with urgency. But was that because we were all in danger, or just him?

  His body language told me a lot more than his words did. The tension in his shoulders, the way his eyes kept flicking to the door and back. The alien warrior was afraid, but something made me certain it wasn’t for himself.

  For me, perhaps, and the rest of the crew of the Wandering Star? I couldn’t tell.

  There was something else in his expression, something I didn’t want to look at too closely. A hunger I didn’t have time to consider now. It would only distract me if I let myself think about it, and about his perfect washboard abs, and… Crap. Focus, Tamara!

  I needed to get more out of him, but the language barrier didn’t make it easy. Okay, there were ways to work around that. I called up Mr. Mews, the hologram appearing on my wrist and hissing at Auric. The alien frowned at my companion but didn’t say anything.

  “Right, Mr. Mews, you’re going to have to help translate,” I said, hoping that the cat could handle that. He still had access to the Galtrade database, but that wasn’t the same as speaking the language. That would have made things too simple.

  Auric spoke again, too fast for me. Mr. Mews slowed it down, replacing some of the words with English, and left me to fill in the rest. Not great, but a start.

  How long before Zaren… something. I sighed, pushed a hand through my hair, and guessed. Arrives or docks or something like that, it had to be. At this speed the conversation would take forever, and we didn’t have much time.

  “Not long,” I answered. That much was easy. My next questions not so much. “Why is he chasing you? Are you in trouble?”

  I needed Mr. Mews’ help translating that, and it took a frustratingly long time to get the point across. Auric growled, pacing to and fro in the tiny room. At last I got my questions into a form he understood.

  “Not chasing me,” he answered through the translation. “Coming here for you. I arrived first, to warn you.”

  I blinked. “Us? What do they want with us?”

  “They want all this.” His sweeping gesture took in the whole of the Wandering Star. “So much wealth. Resources. Zaren will steal it all.”

  My jaw tightened and I swallowed nervously. Reminding myself that I had no reason to trust his word over Zaren’s, I tried to work out who to believe.

  “Why?” I asked, hoping more information would help. Auric shrugged.

  “Power. Power and strength in our…” He broke into language that I didn’t follow and Mr. Mews was no help. Auric snarled, frustration showing, and punched the wall.

  “Very big fight?” he tried. “Lost many ships. No planets.”

  I saw the desperation in his body language. The hope that I’d understand, the fear that I wouldn’t. He trembled with frustration and I did my best to follow what he was telling me.

  “So you’re at war,” I said in English. He wouldn’t understand, but saying it out loud helped me think it through. “And it’s costing you a lot. Lots of ships blown up. You need resources? Oh.”

  I thought about our cargo holds. Full of all the supplies a colony would need, enough to last thousands of people for years. Animals in suspended animation, seeds. Fuel and machinery. “You want our supplies. No, not you. Your people?”

  Auric nodded, encouraging me. Did he understand? No, my words meant nothing to him. But he wanted me to figure it out. I bit my lip.

  “Fine. So you came ahead to warn us because… why?” Maybe with Mr. Mews’ help I could have asked him that, but it would take time. If I understood what Auric said, the Wandering Star was in deadly danger. He’d taken the risk to come and warn us, his reasons didn’t matter.

  I reached out to take his hand, squeezing it gently. His powerful eyes met mine and I shivered at the sense of connection between us. The last bit of doubt faded as I remembered Zaren’s shark-like smile.

  What’s the worst that can happen if I trust him? We jump early, lose a couple of weeks recharging and getting back on course. Auric escapes whatever justice is chasing him. I’ll be in the shit, obviously, but all Donovan can do is chew me out. I sighed. No, if he gave me a bad enough evaluation that Arcadia wouldn’t take me. They’d send me back to Earth. I could live with that if I had to.

  Or he could call it mutiny and space me. Yeah, that didn’t sound great.

  But the alternative was unthinkable. If Zaren and the other aliens attacked and seized the Wandering Star, there was no telling what would happen to us. Or to the thousands of colonists in cold storage. The only options there were bad — either we’d have no value to the attackers, in which case they’d dump us into space to die. Or we would have value. As slaves, maybe, or food.

  I pictured Zaren’s smile, those sharp teeth, and shuddered. Surely his people wouldn’t eat humans?

  It doesn’t matter, I told myself. Either we’ll die or we’ll live as slaves, and that’s not something I can let happen.

  “Okay,” I said in Galtrade. “I believe you. But I cannot move the ship on my own.”

  It had to be possible to jump early or there wouldn’t be warnings against it. I just didn’t know how. I might be able to override the engine’s safety features, but someone else had to fly the ship.

  Donovan had made it clear he wouldn’t do it. McKenzie might be more dubious about the incoming ships, but enough to disobey the captain? I doubted it.

  “I am pilot,” Auric said as though he’d read my mind. An irrational panic flooded through me — was he psychic? If so, did that mean he saw what I thought when I looked at him?

  Great, Tamara. Way to focus on wha
t matters. Anyway, he didn’t need to read my mind. Auric knew I was an engineer, and he could put two and two together. If I needed help, it would be from someone who could fly the ship.

  He couldn’t see the images that leaped into my mind every time I looked at his muscular body. The thoughts of him sweeping me into his arms, pulling me to him, his lips on mine… God damn it, Tamara, focus!

  “I will get ship ready,” I said, shaking off those fantasies and hoping he’d understand what I meant. He nodded. “But we can’t go. Not until we are sure.”

  I guess I’m doing this. Crap. I wasn’t exactly comfortable with the idea of committing mutiny, but the alternative was even worse. I was fairly confident that Captain Donovan wouldn’t space me for it, anyway. Lock me up till we reached Arcadia? Sure.

  Maybe, if I was lucky, I’d be locked up with Auric.

  Annoyed at myself, I tried to focus. Auric didn’t make it easy. He was gorgeous, with a body to stop anyone from thinking straight. Worse, he knew how good he looked — there was no self-consciousness to him as he caught me looking.

  Face flushed, I pried my gaze away. We needed to get out of here, and thinking about jumping him was a distraction I couldn’t afford.

  The sickbay was still empty, thank god. Dr. Orson had only stepped out to get some food, and we had to be gone before she came back. Auric cast a longing glance at his weapons as we passed them, but I shook my head and pushed him past. No way was I arming him. Releasing him from his prison was enough of a risk.

  He could have brushed me aside and taken the weapons. Now that I’d let him out of his makeshift cell I had no way to control him. For a moment I worried that I’d made a terrible mistake but Auric let me push him away from the weapons and out into the corridor.

  From my wrist, Mr. Mews trilled a message alert. I cursed under my breath and looked at it. Not good news — the first alien ship was nearly here, and the captain wanted to know if the deck was safe to land on.