Maybe we could pause our battle and talk about this? Jelena replied silently. She didn’t want to fight her own people, even if they were people she’d never met. I don’t know anything about a map.
No, it seems you don’t know anything about anything, the woman said, her grip tightening again.
The star cannon fired at one of the ships pursuing them. It clipped a wing, and the craft spiraled away from its formation.
Jelena was thankful Thor was still working up there, but that meant she shouldn’t distract him, shouldn’t call out to him for help defending against the woman’s mental attacks. Someone had to defend the Snapper.
Jelena mustered all of her energy and heaved at the woman’s invisible grip. She had to push the Starseer away. That asteroid now filled the entire screen. If the Snapper didn’t turn soon, they would crash.
The woman’s grip disappeared. Jelena sensed surprise from her, as if she hadn’t expected her to have the power to fight her off, but then another presence wrapped around her, smothering her. A man. He was joining forces with the woman, trying to make Jelena comply. Once again, her hand shifted toward the switch for the shields. She growled, trying to yank it back, but it was two against one now. Both of the Starseers were older, more experienced.
Erick grabbed her wrist, keeping her from reaching the switch. Good.
Jelena? What’s going on? He threw a worried glance at the asteroid, every nook and crater now visible on the forward screen.
She opened her mouth to ask for help, but one of the Starseers—the man?—changed his attack, abruptly doing more than trying to manipulate her. Pain stabbed her mind, as if he’d plunged a dagger into her brain.
She gasped, her body going so rigid that her spine felt like it would snap in half.
A third presence stormed into her mind as Erick reached for the controls to turn the Snapper. Thor lashed out at the man, coming to Jelena’s defense like a snarling guard dog.
She sensed a surge of pain from the unfamiliar Starseer, and his presence vanished. Even though it had only been a mental attack, Jelena imagined him wheeling away, his hand clasped to an artery gushing blood.
Prince Thorian, the woman said, irritation in her tone rather than pleasure at the recognition. You do not want to make an enemy of the Starseer community.
You do not want to make an enemy of me, he growled into her mind, then lashed out again, inflicting pain as he shoved her away.
The Starseer presences disappeared, and the hold around Jelena vanished. Every muscle in her body—and every part of her mind—went limp. She might have oozed out of her seat and into a puddle on the deck, but it was as if Thor stood next to her in NavCom, rather than up in the ship’s turret. He wrapped her with his supportive presence, keeping her upright and also channeling fresh energy into her. Energy and warmth and emotions—concern and apology. He regretted that he’d been focused on their attackers and had allowed her to be hurt.
It’s all right, she whispered into his mind.
I’ll kill them if they touch you again, he vowed savagely.
Don’t. She shivered at the words, at the fierce protectiveness coming from him along with the support. I think they’re representatives of the Starseer government.
I know who they are. They could have commed and spoken to us like normal people, not sprung at us like muggers in an alley.
Jelena forced her body to work again, to respond to the here and now. They could worry about the Starseers and the ramifications of their actions later. Erick was leaning over her and had managed to slow the ship. He was trying to turn them from their path toward the asteroid.
“I’ve got it,” she said, her voice raspy, and moved her shaking hands over the controls.
“You sure?”
The Snapper turned to follow the asteroid, its belly skimming over the dimples and crevasses below. She increased their speed again, aware of the ships still following them. Thor’s mental defense of her hadn’t changed the Snapper’s predicament.
She’d no sooner had the thought than one of the lead ships veered to the side. The one just behind it seemed to lock up. Shields dropped, and the two X-craft crashed into each other. They were close enough to the Snapper that the flash of light filled all the cameras, and Jelena sensed the pain of the pilots. The dying pilots.
She gulped. Was that you, Thor?
No.
She was relieved. She wanted to convince their pursuers to leave her alone until she could untangle the situation, and she didn’t want to kill anyone else. She also didn’t think Thor needed any more blood on his hands. She appreciated that he’d defended her, but she didn’t want him turning the Starseer community against him. He had enough enemies. He’d need allies going forward, not people who wanted him dead.
You don’t want me to try to reestablish the empire, but you care that I don’t make enemies who will thwart me in my attempts to do so? He sounded amused, but somewhat pleased also.
I care that you don’t make enemies who will kill you.
Ah. He still sounded pleased.
What a loon. Did he think she wouldn’t miss him if he died?
She could still feel his presence, as if he were beside her in NavCom, and he wrapped his protective warmth around her again, like a mental hug. Except it seemed more than mental. It was as if she could feel him lifting a hand to stroke her hair, his jaw brushing the side of her face, his lips grazing her cheek and sending a delightful shiver through her.
But then he drew back. She sensed sadness briefly—regret?—before he walled himself off, his presence and his warmth receding until he was back in the turret again, on the other side of the ship.
Jelena cleared her throat, not sure what to make of the moment. They still had a situation to handle, so she should wait until later to dwell on it.
Uhm, so if it wasn’t you, who did destroy those ships? Jelena glanced toward Erick, but he was working the blazers again, having apparently given up on manipulating fellow Starseers.
It was Brody, Thor told her. As I suspected, he’s powerful.
She looked over her shoulder to where Brody and Abelardus still stood. Abelardus’s eyes were closed as he concentrated, perhaps trying to get the other ships to leave. Brody’s eyes were also closed, but a smug, satisfied smile curved his lips.
Jelena turned her attention to piloting again. With the asteroids growing denser around them, she needed to pay attention. There were still three ships back there.
Ah, but no. The sensors showed them turning away. They flew out toward the edge of the asteroid field. Or were they heading to the mother ship that might still be out there?
I don’t sense one, Thor told her.
“They’ve realized, much belatedly, that we are stronger than they are,” Brody said. “Continue on to the first set of coordinates, Captain.” He sneered as he said her title, making it clear he didn’t think she merited such a rank. Too bad. She didn’t think he merited passage on her ship.
“Don’t you have a map?” Jelena asked. “Shouldn’t you know which coordinates are the right ones?”
His eyes narrowed at the word map. Maybe she shouldn’t have revealed that she knew such a thing existed. He was starting to seem like the sort of comic-book evil mastermind who would use the crew of a freighter to get a ride and then arrange for them to be killed afterward, so they couldn’t share what they’d seen.
“The map is for inside the asteroid,” he said.
“How’d you get it after five hundred years?”
Had Young-hee and other Starseer archaeologists already partaken in an expedition out here? Or had the map been discovered elsewhere?
“It took a long time for this particular message in a bottle to make its way home.” Brody met her eyes. “Continue to the first set of coordinates, Captain.”
Jelena considered ignoring the order—and calling in Masika and Thor to lock him in his cabin—but it might not be wise to be openly defiant. She wanted to talk to Thor and Erick before ope
nly rebelling against him. Especially since Thor kept saying he was powerful. She doubted that meant Brody could fight all of them combined, but then again, maybe it did. Especially since she wouldn’t want to hurt anyone, and she doubted Erick would. Thor might not care, but she didn’t want to be responsible for putting blood on his hands. So if all she wanted to do was lock up Brody until they could drop him off on a station somewhere, they would have to keep him subdued somehow for nearly a week. It wasn’t as if a Starseer couldn’t thwart a lock and escape from his cabin.
“Certainly,” Jelena said, turning back to the control console. “First set of coordinates, here we come.”
Brody nodded and walked out.
Abelardus turned to follow him, but Jelena stopped him with a, “Psst.”
How long have you known that man? she asked silently.
Not long. He’s Young-hee’s colleague.
How long has she known him?
I’m not sure. A year? Maybe more. There are about eight archaeologists who work in the Dacia Temple, researching our past and trying to find artifacts that were scattered to the suns when our people lost the Order Wars.
I just want to make sure he’s not the archaeologist who went rogue and who we’re supposedly trying to beat to this ship, Jelena thought.
Abelardus scoffed. Of course not. Young-hee wouldn’t have set this up if that were the case. They both work for the temple.
Then why does the government want to stop our mission? Aren’t they in the temple too?
Some elders are, yes, but some are in other temples too. As for the mission, maybe the archaeologists put it together without asking, and then the government found out after we’d already left. The left hand rarely knows what the right is doing, even in the Starseer world.
If so, that implies the government—or someone in it—doesn’t want that artifact discovered. Or they want to make sure to get it for themselves.
I suppose that’s possible.
If we continue forward, we’re acting against the will of your government. Is that what you want, Abelardus?
He clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at the asteroid field on the view screen. I want what’s best for my family. I have four daughters, you know. They’re lovely. But Young-hee is now pregnant with my first son. I want him to have advantages I never did.
Like a snazzy artifact to hang above the fireplace mantel?
Or to carry at his side into council meetings. You don’t understand the community, how important it is to have power. There are plans for the future. Only certain people are invited to join in with making them. Only certain people will be given the first opportunities.
I’m sure when he’s born, he’ll be glad to hear he gets an artifact to cuddle with in his crib. Jelena smiled, though his statement that she didn’t understand the community bothered her. It wasn’t as if it was her fault. She’d never been invited to understand the community.
They’re self-important asteroid kissers, Thor told her. You’re not missing anything.
Says someone else who’s on the outside, Jelena replied.
Better to be out here and be your own person than trying to be noticed by people who don’t matter.
Jelena glowered at the control panel. That wasn’t what she was doing. All right, it was, but only because she didn’t know the community at all yet and couldn’t help but think it would be nice to have some other Starseer friends, others who understood what it was like to be different. And what was wrong with being curious about something she’d never experienced?
Still, his words made her doubt herself. Was she like Alfie, barking and wagging her tail and hoping to be noticed by someone who might pat her on the head?
I apologize, Thor said. I didn’t mean to hurt you. But it’s hard to see you… Sorry, but you take for granted what you have. You have family and friends, Starseers and otherwise, who understand what it’s like to be different and who understand you. You are fortunate to have so many people who care about you. I… sense something.
Is it the fact that you’re lecturing me like Grandpa would?
No.
Oh, because I sense that.
He didn’t answer. Had she offended him? Or was he investigating what he sensed? More Starseers? The ship that had launched those fighters?
It’s not a ship.
What is it?
Perhaps the artifact we’re looking for.
The artifact I’m not sure we should be looking for?
Get out the list of coordinates and put them on a map for me. I’m coming down. I’ll see if I can match what I sense to one of the locations. There was excitement in his words, or maybe anticipation. Did he want a powerful artifact too? At one point, his father had wanted him to have the Staff of Lore so it might assist him in retaking the empire.
Jelena rubbed her face. She was no longer sure the Snapper should be a part of this expedition, but how could she turn back if half the people on the ship were determined the artifact should belong to them? And what would happen when they got to it? A single artifact that at least three people on her ship wanted. Three Starseers who might have the power to manipulate her, or do worse than that if she turned the ship around and didn’t take them to it.
Jelena tapped the comm button and closed the hatch. If Thor was on his way down, she wouldn’t have much time to compose a message. And it would take hours, if not days, before she got a response back, but it was time to get some answers. She opened the video to record a message to Young-hee.
Chapter 7
Jelena closed the hatch to NavCom after the last person she’d invited walked in, Masika. Erick, Austin, Thor, and Zhou were already inside, leaving little elbowroom in the compact space. Maybe she should have called her meeting in the mess hall, but she couldn’t leave the pilot’s seat for long while they were flying through asteroids. Indeed, she slid into it to adjust their course as soon as the hatch shut.
“I’ve invited you five here for a reason,” Jelena said.
“To show me those coordinates?” Thor raised an eyebrow, casting a pointed look at the others. Apparently, he hadn’t expected to find a powwow when he came down.
“Because I trust you,” Jelena said.
Zhou beamed a little. Masika, Austin, Erick, and Thor all looked at him like they thought he shouldn’t be in the trust circle. Too bad. She’d known him longer than Austin or Masika.
“Don’t you trust Dr. Ogiwara?” Austin asked.
“Probably,” Jelena said, though she hadn’t known Kiyoko for that long and wasn’t sure she was ready to share confidences with her. “But I don’t think any more people would fit in NavCom, so this is it for now.”
With the path ahead temporarily clear, Jelena murmured a command, and a holodisplay showing their section of the asteroid belt popped up. On the map, most of the asteroids appeared as brown rocks, but ten were bright blue, the ten from Brody’s list of coordinates. They weren’t that far apart, so it wouldn’t take long if they had to check all of them, but if Thor could direct them to the right one on the first try, that would be ideal. Assuming they were still going.
“I wanted to ask your opinions on whether we should actually take Abelardus and Brody to their destination,” Jelena said, “or if we should take them back to the station, refund their money, and drop them off. Let them find another way out here. If they can before the government catches up with them.”
“Government?” Masika asked.
“The Starseer government. It seems that’s who attacked us. Or at least, those Starseers were here at the behest of the government.”
“I didn’t know Starseers had a government,” Masika said.
“A council of elders and a few elected leaders at each of the main temples,” Thor said, “and then the temples work together most of the time.” Barely pausing, he turned to Jelena. “Why are you contemplating turning back? Just because you don’t want to irk the Starseers?” He peered into her eyes, probably reading her thoughts.
“That and I can’t help but wonder if retrieving this artifact, whatever it is, might not be a good thing. What if it’s like that Staff of Lore that Mom and Leonidas worked so hard to get rid of? What if it’s something that could be used for evil?”
“Most things can be used for evil if they’re wielded by someone intent on evil,” Thor said.
“Isn’t it better for us to get it than some strangers?” Masika asked. “I know I’m not evil.” She splayed a hand over her chest.
“Yeah, isn’t the ghost out of the grave?” Austin asked. “If not us, someone else, right? Lots of people know about this now, don’t they?”
“Maybe,” Jelena said, “but I’m not convinced we should be the ones to stir up this particular five-hundred-year-old ghost.”
“Do we have a choice?” Zhou asked. “Abelardus and Brody could team up and force you to take them to the right asteroid.”
“They could try,” Thor said coolly.
“If we’re this close, why not keep going and see what’s there?” Masika asked. “If we see some weird Starseer artifact that we can’t trust Starseers to have, then I’ll just outrun them, grab it first, and take it back to the ship—or break it over my knee.”
Jelena smiled bleakly. She doubted it would be that easy. Still, between her, Erick, and Thor, it was possible they could be a match for Abelardus and Brody if it came to a confrontation. Masika could shoot at them with more mundane means to keep them from concentrating fully.
But it was also possible that Brody was powerful enough to knock all of them on their asses and do what he wanted with the artifact. Thor seemed to respect his power, and Thor wasn’t afraid of anyone as far as she’d seen. If they matched up and had some epic battle against each other, that would leave Jelena and Erick to deal with Abelardus. He was older than they were and no doubt more experienced at fighting. Jelena was… well, she wouldn’t have any animal allies to call upon out here. She wasn’t going to fling Alfie into a fray.
“I want to see what’s in the asteroid,” Thor said. He looked at Jelena, but to his credit, he didn’t seem to be trying to manipulate her. It was more like he was casting a vote.
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