by Troy Osgood
First there was a crowd of about fifty people off to the side alongside a dozen or so crates, adults and children. One of them was walking my way, bent against the storm.
Next was that the Storwo were short. They could only be five feet at the highest. Thin and a weird aqua coloring. Humanoid, with different shades of pastel colored hair and eyes.
As I looked out at the crowd behind the barriers, about a hundred and fifty of them, the last thing I noticed was that they weren’t rioting. At all. They were standing there calmly, as if the arrival of the Wind wasn’t their salvation but just a rare occurrence. In the crowd I saw looks of resignation and acceptance. But no anger.
Not what I expected.
The Storwo coming towards me looked official. Older, his bright hair a little less bright, dressed in somewhat cleanish and well tailored clothing. He carried a tablet of some kind that he held close to his chest out of the driving rain. He looked tired. Focused but tired, as if he was barely keeping it together.
“Captain Arek Lancer?” he asked, shouting to be heard over the storm.
“Yeah,” I replied pointing towards the open hatch of the ship. “Come in out of the rain.”
He followed me into the Wind, having a harder time stepping up and over the threshold then I did. Inside he used a hand to wipe the dripping water out of his eyes, looking over the empty hold.
“You did not empty your cargo hold on our accord,” he asked.
“Caught us at the right time,” I replied and winced. Not the best choice of words.
He gave a small smile, understanding.
“My name is Inhito, I am the local administrator in charge of the evacuation,” he looked down at his tablet, running a finger along the surface. He spoke excellent Tradelan, barely a trace of an accent. “We have you slated for fifty passengers and cargo to go to the refugee camp on Hoin.”
I nodded, doing the calculations in my head. Hoin was an independent system. Large planet, not a large population. A good place for refugees. I had wondered where all the Storwo were being scattered. Hoin was seven or so hops from here, eight or nine hours in between. Fifty-five to sixty-five hours total. I did a quick estimation of fuel and it would require a stop.
A long trip and a crowded hold. That was a lot of people to squeeze into that space.
“The cargo is foodstuffs as well as a limited number of documents on datachips and important cultural relics,” Inhito continued running down a checklist on his tablet. “Each passenger is allowed two bags for clothing and personal effects they are responsible for.”
I was working through the logistics, how much of the hold would be filled up with cargo versus people when Inhito continued by solving the problem before I could.
“Dock Control sent us the specs on your ship,” he said still running off the checklist. “We utilized the space as best we could. Your hold will be filled as will the adjacent Galley and Lounge. With your permission, of course, we would like to place three families in your spare quarters.”
The crowd still stood there calmly. The rain crashed down, the wind blew through the buildings. The soldiers, guns across their bodies, were there just for show. It took a second or two before what Inhito said to register.
“What? My spare quarters?”
“If you do not want them in there it is understandable,” he replied finally looking up from his tablet.
“No,” I said shaking my head. “It’s fine. But you said three?”
“You have a crew of two,” he said glancing back at the tablet to make sure he had the data right.
He should, I gave that information to Dock Control.
“Yes, but you said three families?”
“One of the cabins is set aside for a,” Inhito paused, trying to think of the right word. I could tell that he wasn’t happy having to do this.
“Nope,” I said before he got the chance. “The cabins are for families.”
“Very well Captain,” he said, suddenly a little happier.
I looked at the gathered group that would be my passengers, small clusters of them huddled together. A couple kids held by their parents. The crowds contained kids, not that many but still a couple. Their parents also held them close. Too many kids.
“How long does the planet have,” I asked looking up into the sky as if I could see the rogue asteroid already.
“Three days,” Inhito replied, tired and resignation in his voice.
“When is the next ship?”
“Next ship?”
“Yeah,” I said pointing up into the sky and then motioning at the Wind. “The next ship to get these people out of here?”
He glanced up at me quickly, a long look out the still open door at the crowd of people and back to the tablet, back to focusing on the task.
“We do not know.”
I knew that would be the answer. Whatever ships had responded, like we had, that was it. The last group. I focused on a young Storwo at the front of the crowd, his mother’s arms wrapped tight around him to protect him from the wind and rain and to provide comfort.
Would Kaylia mind? Of course she wouldn’t. She’d be pissed if she found out I didn’t offer.
“Find a fifth family,” I said pointing at the crowd.
Inhito looked up again with a genuine smile. The first break in his routine.
“I will,” he replied, almost bobbing with happiness. Just the thought of saving another family, saving more of his people, was enough. “They, we, will be most grateful.”
I nodded, wishing I could do more.
CHAPTER THREE
Kaylia found it amusing that there were a whole race of people shorter than she was.
When she stepped out of the Wind’s hold, following the lowering of the cargo ramp, she smiled and laughed as the Storwo used maglifters to bring the first crates onboard. That didn’t last long as she came to truly understand the gravity of the situation when she caught sight of the crowd standing there in the wind and rain and watching, knowing that it was not them that got to escape a dying planet.
She was all business after that. I had her direct the families to the bunks on the upper level well I helped load and stack the crates. There wasn’t much for me to do really. Inhito had already done up a quick layout on his tablet, using the crates to form barriers and make little areas so people had some privacy.
How many times had he done this the last few months?
The last of the families assigned to the bunks, those with the youngest and most children, boarded the ship, a lone mother with four children. She kept glancing over the heads of the crowd and into the city. The kids were all crying, hugging each other, as she led them deeper into the hold. Kaylia ran over and the kids were all attentive. They had never seen a Thesan before. She let them brush her fur, pull at her tail, all while laughing her silent laugh.
Nomad’s Wind was filling up quickly. All the designated cargo was on board and almost all of the designated Storwo. I wanted to give them some time to get situated, to see if there was any way we could fit more of their people onboard.
Three Storwo guards, armored and carrying weapons, stood at the bottom of the ramp. One of them, rank insignia on his shoulder, checked everyone’s identification before they boarded the ship. I wondered how people were selected.
The crowd still did not react, just stood there. I stood at the top of the ramp watching them, they watching me.
It was a steady stream of people now. Some kids, but only one or two with their parents, mostly middle aged adults. No elderly, which in a sad way made sense.
“Thank you Captain,” one of the women said, stopping in front of me and holding out her hand, which I took. She was average height for a Storwo, bright purple hair cut short and eyes that matched. Not pretty but not ugly, somewhat plain. Friendly smile.
I nodded and she continued into the hold and I watched the rest of the people file in. They carried oddly shaped bags, filled with clothes and family heirlooms, important documents and a
ll sorts of other things. In the past I’d seen some of the strangest things stuffed into a refugees bag. It was funny what some people found important. I didn’t understand it. I owned very little and most of it was packed away. If it was lost, I doubt I’d miss it.
“They hope there will be more ships,” a voice said next to me, her Tradelan accented.
A small Storwo woman had come up alongside me. A couple inches shorter than their average, which put her over a foot below my six foot height, she had bright purple hair and flashing green eyes in the light blue skin. A little older than me, but not much, she was a pretty woman. She wore green pants and boots, with a gray poncho.
“I hope so too,” I replied. “I have to be honest. I was expecting the crowd to riot.”
She was silent for a minute before replying, her tone sad.
“At first there was rioting. There was much destruction and death. Much looting. I hear the cities are still that bad but out here there was quickly acceptance.”
Her eyes constantly searched the crowd as well as back into the ship’s hold, like she was looking for something. Or someone.
“I am Dresla,” she said abruptly, turning back to look up at me. I revised my opinion, she was very pretty.
“Arek Lancer.”
“Thank you Captain,” Dresla said, turning and walking back into the ship.
I watched her go, a commotion at the bottom of the ramp catching my attention. The guards had shifted, loosening the grips on their weapons. The officer held his hand up, stopping a Storwo man. It looked like he had pushed ahead of the line, huffing like he was out of breath. He was fumbling around in his pockets, looking more tired and torn than the others, a wide brimmed hat hiding most of his face. Oddly, he only carried a single bag and a small one at that.
The man was frantically searching, looking for something in his pockets. He wasn’t finding what he wanted. Glancing down he realized he was carrying a bag and quickly searched it, pulling out a small and slim card. He presented that to the officer who stepped back, nodding to the guards. Quickly the man ran up the ramp, ignoring me, clutching the bag tight.
*****
“Captain, excuse me Captain.”
The line of Storwo continued up the Wind’s ramp. They moved quick enough, getting checked in at the bottom of the ramp and then up into the hold. Kaylia along with Inhito and it looked like Dresla were helping herd, for lack of a better word, the passengers and getting them organized. There was a lot of people, not much space left.
I looked behind me to see an elegantly dressed Storwo picking his way through the crowd. He moved through the line, not excusing himself. Inhito looked up, saw who it was, and looked away quickly. Not a good sign.
He was dressed in a suit. It didn’t look like a Terran suit, but it was definitely a suit. The Storwo equivalent. I hated wearing suits and I didn’t tend to like those that wore them on a regular basis, especially in a time like this. Water was dripping off the cuffs and pants but it was still neatly pressed, no wrinkles. I was kind of amazed that he had managed to keep it so clean and neat in this storm.
Not a single one of his bright green hairs was out of place.
“Captain Lancer,” he said coming to a stop in front of me.
“Yes,” I replied, curious what this guy could want. It was going to give me a headache, no matter what, that I knew. “What can I do for you?”
“I was supposed to get one of your ship’s cabins,” the Storwo said, his tone of voice indicating that he was shocked that it hadn’t happened. “I was told that you gave it to someone else?”
I really should have guessed. Everything about this Storwo screamed of his self-importance.
“No.”
He nodded, satisfied.
“Very well, I will inform them that they must vacate.”
He turned and started walking away. I let him get a couple steps before stopping him.
“No,” I said again. “I gave it to a family.”
“But,” he turned around, shocked and now a little angry. “That cabin was to be mine.”
“And you are?”
“I am City Administrator Cortl,” he replied actually puffing himself up.
“Well Administrator Cortl,” I started taking a couple steps towards him. I’m not the biggest guy around. Six foot, two hundred. Black hair and beard with some gray. But I’ve been told that I can be very intimidating when I wanted to be. Right now I really wanted to be. Stopping only a step or two away, I smiled down at him. “It’s my ship and I gave that cabin to one of the families.”
“But,” he stammered looking up at me, a little fear in his eyes. He tried to stand there looking important, he could feel all the other eyes on him, but he wasn’t doing a good job of it. Cortl seemed like the kind of guy that used his position to bully others. I didn’t like bullies.
“No buts. You find a spot in the hold here or you find a spot out there,” I said pointing behind me. “Your choice.”
Cortl tried to glare at me but couldn’t manage to do it. He seemed to shrink as I stood over him. Turning he scurried back into the hold.
I caught Dresla and Inhito both hiding smiles.
*****
“That is the last one,” the officer told me.
The rain pelted off the bottom of the open ramp, a tingy sound against the metal. The wind continued to push it sideways, the whole ramp wet, some getting inside the hold.
“Let me see what it looks like,” I told him as we both looked out at the crowd of desperate faces. There was longing and hope. They knew the last of the designated passengers was on board and they hoped there would be room. I wanted to make some. “I might be able to fit a couple more.”
The officer nodded, hopeful.
“Commander, Captain.”
We both turned to see Inhito leading a woman through the crowded hold, weaving around people and bags of belongings. The small woman was crying and I thought I recognized her. The mother with the four children. Inhito had his arm around her, both of them searching the faces that were all now turning to watch them. Kaylia was behind them, worried.
“It seems we are missing someone,” Inhito told us, checking his tablet. “Madam Certy’s husband is not on board.”
“I checked everyone’s cards,” the officer replied double checking the list he held. “Everyone was accounted for.”
“Did you check everywhere,” I asked Kaylia. “The storage rooms and airlock?”
I checked engineering as well.
“You’re sure he’s not here,” I asked looking down at the woman. She was crying harder now, looking out at the crowd, looking for the familiar face.
“Positive,” Inhito said and the woman nodded.
“But he’s checked off,” the commander said again, showing Inhito his own tablet.
Looking down at it, I could see the list of names. Sure enough, they were all cleared.
“Do you remember who checked in under that name,” I asked.
The Storwo shook his head. I didn’t blame him. I watched most of them enter and couldn’t tell who was who, let alone single one person out.
I glanced at Inhito. He was rapidly scrolling through the tablet, searching. The poor woman just stared out into the distance, looking into the buildings beyond the crowd.
Madam Certy mumbled something quietly in Storwoi, the native language. I didn’t understand a word.
“He went back to get some personal effects,” Inhito translated. “He should have been back already.”
I didn’t think it really registered with any of them what all this meant. Someone was on board using the husband’s card.
A rumble of thunder shook the Wind, causing everyone to shift and catch their balance. A young child started crying from somewhere in the ship.
I looked out past the buildings and could see a storm building. A big one. Lightning slammed into the water, sending up massive geysers. A wall of almost solid rain was coming our way. What we had now was nothing like tha
t storm coming. It was still a good distance out, which was good because we had a more immediate problem.
We had a stowaway.
CHAPTER FOUR
From a distance the city of Touryon had seemed bleak. Not just from the circumstances. It was all gray stone, blocky and drab. Up close as I ran through the city streets, it was still gray and all stone but there was nothing drab about it. There were designs carved into almost every surface. No straight lines to them, whorls and swirls, circles. Some formed pictures, others just random imagery.
The Storwo themselves were bright, skin and hair both, so they saw no need to decorate their city with colors. But they still decorated it.
I wanted to stop and study some of the art. It would soon be lost forever but we were out in the city for a reason.
The commander of the guard, Hunio, ran ahead of me. He knew his way around the city. I did not. It was an awkward run for me as I had to move slower to not outpace the shorter Storwo. My instinct was to go full tilt, as fast as I could. But I couldn’t. Hunio was going as fast as he could.
Luckily the city was nearly empty, most of the remaining citizens were either on the Wind or in the crowd that was now dispersing, going back to their homes to wait out the oncoming storm.
Two and three story buildings, close together, blocked my view of the ocean beyond so I couldn’t track the storm but I knew it was going to be a bad one. We could feel the thunder as it shook everything around us. The flashes of lightning were visible through the gaps. Lots of flashes.
The Wind needed to be in the sky now. The atmosphere was already going to be rough because of the storm front and the closer it got the worse it would be. Even though a spaceship like the Wind could travel to a planet’s surface, it was still ungainly and heavy. No real maneuverability. It was no starfighter.
But instead of leaving I was running through the city looking for a lost husband.
We heard a crack and a crash, the sound of glass breaking.