by Petra Landon
The RimWorlder turned to Kidani, watching the tableau in stunned silence, like the rest of her crewmates.
“A tumbler of water for our guest” he directed.
The undertone in the lilting voice as he called her a guest had Novi cursing silently. She had not failed to discern the subtle threat in the even tones.
YanTeo, watch over me please.
Kidani roused herself at the Captain’s request. “Right away, Cap’n.”
As she hurried out of the chamber, a ship-wide alarm flickered on — a loud clanging that echoed off the walls of Cruiser Control.
The shrill clamor served to unfreeze the stupefied crew and they turned to their respective consoles. Except Ryfkin Soren, who did not take his watchful gaze off Novi.
“Intruder alarm, Cap’n” announced a lilting male RimWorlder voice.
Thank YanTeo.
A relieved Novi let out her breath to slump on the floor. The locket had come through again. Without it, she could never travel the stars without raising uncomfortable questions Novi had no answers for.
“How many?” the Captain inquired.
“Just the one.”
“Do a full sweep of the Cruiser, Yukon. If she has any friends, I want to know” Soren directed, just as Kidani hurried in with a tumbler and a bottle of water.
“Thank you” he said, taking the tumbler from her, to lean down towards the girl at his feet.
Somewhat theatrically, Novi raised herself to extend her hand for the tumbler. With a practiced flick of his wrist, he upended the contents squarely on her.
Water splashed into her face, to leave her gasping. But it was the soft chuckle from someone in the room that had Novi confront the Captain furiously.
“Zeuf curse you” sputtered an outraged Novi. Water dripped down her hair and face, to clump her lashes and sting her eyes.
He clicked his tongue in response. “Language” he admonished dispassionately, earning another watery glare from her.
“More water?” Soren inquired solicitously, as an indignant Novi swiped at her face ineffectually.
Beside him, Kidani turned away to hide her smile.
That does it.
Novi pushed off the floor and attempted to untangle herself from the blanket that bound her.
“Not so fast” said the lilting RimWorlder voice from high above her. “Who the feck are you?”
“Language.” Novi imitated him with a semblance of calmness, seething inside at the gall of the man.
Unexpected humor danced in the silver eyes, but busy trying to extricate herself, Novi failed to note it.
“My Cruiser, my rules” he countered. “If you object to them, don’t accept an invitation I didn’t extend.”
Novi shot him a mutinous look, to renew her struggles with the stubborn blanket.
“Let’s try this again” he drawled. “This time, we keep it simple. I ask questions and you provide answers.”
“But keep in mind.” There was an undertone of warning in the detached tones she could not fail to catch. “If your answers don’t satisfy me, you’ll get the RenWelder stowaway treatment.”
Novi’s struggles ceased abruptly.
What’s the RenWelder stowaway treatment?
Novi let go of the blanket to sit up with some difficulty. This sounded ominous. She glanced up into the silver eyes. They were calm and assessing, all trace of astonishment banished. Her sense of indignation gave way to trepidation again and Novi reminded herself to tread warily.
“What the feck are you doing on my ship?” he demanded.
“I …umm … boarded it by mistake” she admitted.
“A mistake!” He frowned. “Why didn’t you leave when you realized you were on the wrong craft?”
Novi took a silent breath. “The Cruiser took off before I could.”
He cocked his head, not bothering to hide his skepticism. “Quite a coincidence! You board my Cruiser in error at the exact moment it takes off. You need a better story, little burumha.”
Unsure what a burumha was, Novi suspected that it was an insult.
“Novi.” She lifted her chin to face him head on, a difficult feat considering their respective positions. “My name is Novi.”
A dark eyebrow arched lazily. The sardonic expression made him appear even more like the marauding buccaneer the Guild accused him to be. Faltering at the sight, Novi nevertheless tried to mask her reaction from the RimWorlder.
“Novi” he drawled out the name, the lilting cadences of his home world pronounced. “I might be a mere RenWelder, but that’s not a name I’ve ever heard in the Invun Welds.”
He asked the InnerWorlder beside him. “Have you, Kidani?”
“No, Cap’n.” She shook her head solemnly, to second him.
Novi grit her teeth. How had she missed this character flaw while observing the leader of the Five Year War for two days aboard his Cruiser, she wondered. And worshiping him from afar, reminded the treacherous voice in her head.
“It’s Novia Dozanti, if you must know” she responded with as much bravado as she could muster.
“I must, little burumha” he reiterated amicably. “This might seem foreign to you, but I’m a man who insists on knowing all his guests, even the unwanted ones.”
Novi fought to keep both her seething emotions and her growing alarm from the silver eyes that wandered lazily over her face.
“So …” He stretched out an arm insouciantly, drawing Novi’s eyes to the broad shoulders that strained against the plain shirt he wore. “Where did you make the mistake of boarding my Cruiser, Novia Dozanti?”
Safe enough question.
“Idriko.”
This time, he looked startled. “The mining outpost” he muttered, shooting a glance at Jerik.
Novi’s answer seemed to jostle the InnerWorlder’s memory. Jerik, staring at her with a puzzled air, exclaimed. “I remember you! You were on the shuttle to the Star Portico.”
Novi ignored him to keep her wary eyes on the Captain. The most dangerous of all the crew was the Renegade facing her. This was the man she must convince, she knew. “I was to get on a shuttle to Merinyiko from the Portico. Instead, I boarded this one” Novi said.
“There were no personnel at the entryway to stop me” she amended defensively.
“Ryf” Commander Jeryn interjected, cutting Novi short. “The system confirms only one intruder.”
“Did you scan the maintenance duct, Zin?” he asked his deputy.
“Every accessible inch” she assured him.
“I’m telling the truth” Novi insisted. “And I can prove it. My tablet has the ticket to Merinyiko from Idriko, dated two days ago.”
Her remark drew Soren’s attention back to her. “If it was a simple mistake, why hide?”
Novi took a deep breath. This is where things got tricky. Sticking as close to the truth as she could, she attempted to offer an explanation he might accept.
“At first, I didn’t realize I was on the wrong ship” she said slowly. “It didn’t look like any shuttle I’d been on but there was no one around to ask. Then, I saw the Yedigrul.”
She shot him a look. The silver eyes watched her unblinkingly.
“I panicked and hid” Novi confessed sheepishly. “When I finally gathered up my courage, it was too late.”
The silver eyes narrowed. “You recognize the Yedigrul?” His voice was soft.
“I know what it signifies” Novi acknowledged quietly.
For a moment, he stared down at her. Novi suspected that her explanation had nonplussed him in some way. In a weird way, it relieved her. But before she could relax, his eyes swung to the gaping access hatch over his head.
“Have you been hiding in the duct all this while?” he demanded.
Novi nodded, mutely this time.
Suspicion flashed across his face and Novi rushed to explain. “This is a DragonFly-design Star Cruiser. I crewed on a smaller Fly cargo-hauler a few years ago. When I panicked, I ran to the Space
Bay — I knew the Bay had an access hatch to the maintenance duct.”
Soren turned to a silent Kidani watching the enfolding scene. “Have your sources verify she’s who she claims to be.”
Kidani met his eyes. “I’ll get on it, Cap’n” she promised him. Kidani understood what had the Captain concerned.
Fighting to stave off full-blown panic, Novi volunteered a little more. “I planned to disembark at the next Portico or Vestibule” she explained in a small voice.
The RimWorlder Captain’s eyes flashed to her. “You were spying on us, Novia Dozanti” he stated. Though his voice remained unchanged, there was a subtle hardening of the silver eyes that had Novi swallowing.
“I was terrified” she confessed, her eyes meeting his for a split second before looking away. “To find myself on a Cruiser with Renegades. I thought if I listened in, I’d know where you planned to dock next, so I could leave.”
For a moment, Soren said nothing.
“You heard me with Vedino?” he asked.
Reluctant to admit this but also loath to prevaricate and be caught out in a lie, Novi had little choice but to confirm it. She’d been right above the Command Seat, as her precipitous entrance into the chamber had demonstrated. He must know that his console had been in her direct line of sight.
“Cap’n” Kali chimed in unexpectedly. “If we’re to make Zubiko Ethera by sun up, we must get moving.”
The Captain nodded.
“Put her in the hold, Jerik” he directed. “Kidani, make sure her needs are met. I’ll deal with her after Zubiko Ethera.”
“You’ll have the background info by then, Cap’n” the flame-haired girl assured him.
Soren shot another assessing glance at the girl on the floor, before turning to face the Vista Screen. “Let’s get a move on. RenWelder Ring protocol, as before” he directed.
It was Kidani who helped Novi untangle herself from the blanket. When Novi stumbled to her feet, Jerik came forward to escort her. As the two turned to exit the room, the Captain sniffed the air delicately.
“For TziGaros’ sake, get her acquainted with a shower.”
His words served to revive a somewhat cowed and subdued Novi.
“You try hiding in the duct for two days” she shot at him, her eyes spitting fire.
Silver eyes flashed in amusement and the sensuous lips quivered to hide a smile. He exchanged a look with the Commander, who arched an eyebrow at him.
“Burumha” he murmured after the receding figure, as the InnerWorlders exited Cruiser Control.
To Novi’s immense relief, the hold was a makeshift cell, converted from a personal chamber. Bars and an electronically sealed gate isolated most of the room, including the bathroom, into a cell. Inside, Novi was glad to discover that the facilities were adequate. The usually garrulous Jerik proved an unusually taciturn jailor. Having ushered an unprotesting Novi into the cell, he showed Kidani how to work the electronic gate, before making himself scarce. It was Kidani who handed her fresh toiletries, clean towels, sheets and a blanket through the bars, as well as the bottle of water in her hand.
“I’ll bring you the evening meal in a couple of hours” the flame-haired InnerWorlder assured the prisoner.
Once left to herself, Novi glanced around her cell. Her heart still pounded with blind terror. It could be much worse, she reminded herself. Jerik had enabled heating for the chamber before he disappeared. The cell was clean, with a functioning bathroom. She’d have a bed to sleep on tonight and a hot meal, by the sound of it. As well as a shower to feel clean again. As a stowaway in the duct, she’d been reluctant to run the risk of a bath in the unoccupied chamber she’d used for her needs.
After a hot shower that felt like sheer bliss, Novi slipped under the blanket. She could tell the exact moment they were clear of the Badlands, by the change in vibrations as the Cruiser picked up speed to race to Zubiko Ethera. They would sail through the night. While a part of Novi missed observing the Cruiser crew, disquiet about her situation shoved all other thoughts aside. Curling up on the bed, she waited patiently, wondering at the quirk of fate that had brought her to this ship.
The stowaway
A few hours later, Kidani brought her the evening meal and a famished Novi fell ravenously on the food. She hadn’t eaten a hot meal in days, and the flame-haired InnerWorlder was a fantastic cook. The few hours of introspection had allowed Novi to calm the worst of her fears. She reminded herself that she had a day until the Captain decided her fate. Her anxiety a little alleviated, a clean, well-fed and exhausted Novi succumbed to the lure of a warm bed to sleep like a baby.
It was a good thing that Novi no longer had access to private conversations aboard the Cruiser. For if she’d overheard the Captain and his deputy, she might not have slumbered as peacefully as she did.
“Zin” the Captain said over the Hailer. “Need a word with you.”
The Commander glanced around Cruiser Control. They were sailing on a skeletal crew, with Jerik in the Pilot Seat. They’d rotate shifts during the night, to arrive at Zubiko Ethera ready for the convoy job.
“On my way, Ryf” she responded.
They were making good time, well on their way to the nearest Star Portal. The crew were experienced and she knew Cruiser Control was in good hands.
She made her way to the Captain’s quarters and he did not beat around the bush.
“Any idea how she got on Ilar’s Justice without raising an alarm?” he asked.
“I’ve been looking over the Cruiser’s logs at the Star Portico by Idriko.”
He knew she had. Security aboard the Cruiser fell under Zin’s purview. And she took such matters very seriously. If the stowaway’s presence amidst them had exposed any flaws, it was their security procedures. That an unarmed slip of a girl had boarded the Cruiser to spy on them for two days, without anyone the wiser, was a wake-up call for them.
“And?” he arched an eyebrow, gesturing her to a chair.
“There’s no log of her, Ryf” the Commander explained. “The last log at the Portico is Jerik boarding the Cruiser.”
He frowned. “How’s that possible?”
“I’ve been thinking about it” she said slowly. “And the only way I can explain it is if she happened to board during the small window when the Cruiser was undocking from the Portico.”
“How so?”
“When we dock at a Portico, or the more sophisticated Vestibules that simulate docking ports, the Cruiser’s operating system switches modes.”
This, he knew. “The Cruiser starts drawing power from the station, not our reserves” he remarked. “Hence, the system switches modes to accommodate that.”
“Yes” she confirmed. “Since most stations limit how much power a docked craft may draw, the Cruiser System switches from operation mode to dock mode. In this mode, the ship provides scaled down operations and minimal functions.”
“Because, when docked, a ship doesn’t need most systems to be up and running” he chimed in. Though no engineer, Soren had spent most of his life on starcraft and knew his ship tech.
“Correct. Now normally, when a craft docks at a Portico, it lets the station deal with all the formalities of boarding and disembarkation of passengers and cargo. The service is included in the fee charged by Porticos and makes it easier for the vessel which otherwise must hire additional personnel to check credentials and do security” the Commander continued. “But in our case, we always ask the station to disable security checks for our gate, so we can handle all cargo and crew internally.”
This had been something they’d agreed to in the early days, to make it harder for the Coalition to track them. Given that the Guild ran a major chunk of Star Porticos on the Inner Worlds, it was imperative that the Coalition’s opportunities to spy on them be limited where possible.
“I remember, Zin” he affirmed. “As part of our docking procedures, we enable the Cruiser’s Automated Portico System to deal with such security checks.”
“It’s configured to allow only authorized IDs to board the Cruiser” Zin explained. “There’s no check on disembarkation, of course, but every entry and exit from the ship is logged with a timestamp.”
Soren stared at her. “She’s not on the authorized list of personnel, Zin. The system should have raised an alarm when she came aboard.”
“Yes, Ryf” the Commander agreed with him. “Unless, she boarded during the small window when the Cruiser System was transitioning from dock mode back to operation mode. That transition is part of the undocking procedures. It might explain why no alarm was raised and neither was anything logged about her.”
He looked taken aback by the explanation.
“When does the Cruiser System switch from dock mode to operation?” he asked.
“When we receive the go ahead to undock from a station, the Cruiser’s computer switches to full operations” she answered.
“While still physically connected to the Portico?” he persisted.
“Yes. The computer must be in operation mode before it can sever the ship’s connections to a station, since that requires navigation and other systems to be online.”
“How long does such a transition take, Zin?”
“It depends on the station’s software and how quickly it releases our docking port. But a few seconds at most. No longer than that.”
He looked thoughtful. “Hmm, you believe she slipped in during this brief window while we transitioned to full operations?”
“It’s possible, Ryf” she admitted. “Frankly, it’s the only plausible explanation I have, given that the Automated Portico System was enabled and functioning during our time at Idriko’s Portico. I checked — there was no malfunction, and the system never went offline while we were docked.”
“Hadis of a coincidence, Zin” he warned bluntly.
“I agree. But there’s an even bigger mystery to explain.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“Intrusion alert is enabled in operation mode” Zin countered. “Once we left the Portico, the system should have raised an alarm. She’s not on the crew manifest.”