Heritage Lost

by S M Wright

  The computer beeped behind her with its measly selection of four clinics, but they couldn't wait a minute longer. Katya fretted that pressure might be building against the toddler's skull.

  "We need to be prepared to leave Rein, sooner rather than later."

  Mina swallowed, her hands diving into her hoodie's pocket. "I think that'd be best." She crossed the space to scan the results, changing the subject. "Not many selections."

  "No, there aren't." Katya placed the water bottle by the plate and then selected a clinic on a station that orbited a gas planet. The station catered to miners and those passing through. Perfect. "S4-G3. That's the one. We'll have to backtrack some, but we should be able to keep a low profile."

  "That's really on the edge of Magistrate space."

  "Another plus." Katya entered the new coordinates and initiated the jump after making the call for RMPs. "We'll be there in a matter of hours."

  Aquila remained unresponsive for the trip. While not out of the norm, it and his head wound put her on edge. Was there swelling? Would there be permanent damage? Katya held him close to her chest, humming to soothe him. She directed Mina to monitor the communications system.

  After three hours passed, the FTL drive ceased the jump. In that span of time, Rein had done nothing to impede them or dissuade Katya from her course of action; however, she doubted he’d sat twiddling his thumbs.

  Mina jumped to action on her console. "We're coming up on increased traffic. Looks like mining frigates leaving Derget."

  "Keep an eye on them." Katya slowed their speed.

  The station dispatched coordinates to an incoming lane, which Katya entered. Besides the outgoing frigates, very little traffic operated around the station. On her own screen, Katya noticed the majority of traffic was going to and from Derget.

  "They're requesting to know our business on the station."

  "Tell them we have a medical emergency and are in need of the station's doctor."

  "We've been granted permission to proceed."

  Katya kept their speed at impulse, following the mapped lane. The station sent over additional instructions that included their docking assignment, Port 3 on Cluster 4—the nearest availability to the on-station medical clinic. She activated their intercom. "Rein, we're approaching the station. I feel it'd be best if you stayed on board." Acid leaked through her voice on the last bit, hopefully serving as a deterrent against anything he had concocted, though she doubted it.

  "You're going to leave him alone on the ship?" Mina whispered after Katya closed the connection. Then, "You're not leaving him alone with me on the ship, are you?"

  "You're coming with me, and I'm locking the controls, including communications. He's not moving this ship or talking to anyone. I'd rather him be on a locked ship than out in the station doing whatever he has in his mind to do." Katya activated the thrusters while she lined their vessel up with their designated port. "We'll get your weapon on the station once Aquila's patched up."

  Mina frowned, her lower lip sticking out more than normal. "And when he's fixed up, what are we going to do? What if he does it again? We . . . we don't know anything about him."

  Katya pinched the interior of her mouth between her teeth. Their ignorance would prove catastrophic, and she could tell Mina nothing because she, too, had no idea what to say, what to do. Running her tongue against her teeth, Katya debated.

  "There might be someone who can be of help." Katya attached the Minerva to the station. "He's not too far from here, and I wouldn't be surprised if he knew something about the Oneiroi. He's been contracted by the Magistrate for many projects." She activated the lock command on all the ship's systems, sealing it with passcode that Rein shouldn't be able to break.

  Mina stood as Katya did. "Who is he?"

  "My father."

  Katya allowed for no further discussion, scooping up Aquila and leaving the cockpit for the station proper. She only popped into her quarters to grab funds and her holster. She slid her service pistol into the latter before heading to the connector tube. Rein stood beside it, his arms dangling at his side. They were prone, at ease yet ready for action. She tightened her grip around the young Oneiroi child as she approached him, her left hand sliding within reach of her weapon.

  "I'm not changing my mind, so save your breath." She reached for the control panel, but Rein seized the moment, his hand ensnaring her wrist.

  "I hope you know what you're doing."

  "I'm doing the right thing." She pressed forward, her fingers hitting the door panel despite Rein's grip. "Keep the ship in one piece while Mina and I are gone."

  "You're taking the gir—"

  "I'm coming!" Mina ran down the corridor toward them while zipping up a warmer jacket.

  "I hope to be back sooner rather than later." Katya stepped into the connector tube, Mina close behind.

  Once the door closed behind them and they entered the station's decontamination room, Mina whistled. "I didn't expect him to let us leave so easily."

  Katya agreed, even if she didn't voice it. Rein did not cave. It was one of the reasons she'd accepted him onto the ship in the first place. That, and he'd shown calm under pressure, even disabling a bomb in less than ideal conditions. Shutting her eyes as the decontaminant sprayed over them, she almost relished the cooling mist that dissipated as quickly as it touched her exposed skin. In her arms, Aquila sneezed. They had arrived at an impasse, one Rein was as aware of as she was. Fates and lady luck, don't let him be proven right by this visit. The doors slid open with a harsh hiss. Mina exited first, in a hurry to leave the small room, but she jolted to a stop as soon as she crossed the threshold.

  An older man, with a balding head and wearing a Magistrate uniform, waited for them. He'd probably staved off retirement by coming to the S4-G3 post. Despite his age and the fact Aquila's eyes remained veiled, Katya's adrenaline flowed.

  The Magistrate soldier straightened as he turned to greet them. "What do we have here?" he asked in craggily voice.

  "My crew was forced to use creative maneuvers. My son, however, was in our quarters and fell into a bulkhead," Katya replied.

  "Poor kid." The man leaned forward, and she mentally begged Aquila not to wake. He brushed his hand against the bandage on the boy's head. "How old is he?"

  "Three." It was the closest she had been able to guess. "The medical clinic—where is it?"

  The Magistrate official inclined his head and gestured to the narrow metal hallway. "Follow me. I'll get you there. No worries, mother."

  The hallway had many offshoots, several of which curved to match the station's circular structure. Each was as narrow as the one they travelled down, which only allowed two regular-sized humanoids, or maybe three smaller life-forms, to walk down it. As a mining station, comfort took a backseat to efficiency. The merchant and cafeteria side of the station were likely less compact, as priorities switched. Having worked on ships' inner workings, Katya had developed an immunity to cramped spaces.

  "I didn't realize the Magistrate had much of a presence out here," Katya said, keeping her tone conversational.

  "Not much of one, but the Delgat Mining Association of Parfor requested a small presence."

  Katya resisted the urge to ask how small. But with such an old soldier on guard, it couldn't be massive. The Magistrate had decided against wasting manpower on the station, sending enough to appease the mining association. Sure, the gases harvested from the planet were a staple, but Helium-3 wasn’t rare. Delgat also had a unique situation where the Parfor people had staked claim to a planet, receiving a high percentage of the profits from their mining venture. The Magistrate government saw little to gain, especially when they had gems like Vorspor and Tramor, which were farther from the Medzeci Empire.

  Their guide turned down one of the curved hallways; it expanded as they went. Katya speculated they were a quarter of the way around the station before they entered a grand opening. It hosted a few odd shops, many offering mining equipment, plus a few o
dds and ends, while another shop offered weaponry. There were also a couple of eateries that had attracted people passing through, if not the Parfor miners.

  "Doc Jia's this way. He's a legit doctor unlike some you'll find out here practicing medicine," the Magistrate soldier said, giving special inflection to the last word. "Just through here." He waved them toward an open door but did not follow them in. "He'll take care of your boy." He dipped his head in what amounted to a shallow bow. "Don't fret, mother."

  As the man left, another person cleared his throat. A man with silver hair leaned over a gurney, glasses hanging from the end of his nose. Despite his hair, Katya placed him at no more than middle-aged. Doctor Jia propped up his glasses prior to pushing away from the makeshift bed. "What do we have here?"

  "A head injury . . . he hit a bulkhead. I sanitized the wound and applied zerna."

  The doctor removed the bandage from Aquila's head. "No adverse affects to the zerna . . . good, good. Very good." He tilted Aquila's head at different angles. "It's already closing it. Was he climbing somewhere high?" His face remained a void, but something in his eyes put Katya on guard. There was a wrong answer to this question. He hopped over to a small wheeled cart filled with medical supplies, the most-stocked aspect of the clinic.

  "He might have been," Katya said. "He was alone in our quarters at the time. I was at the helm."

  "Hmm." He rummaged about, grabbing something before returning. Katya’s breath snagged in her throat when the doctor gently lifted Aquila's eyelids to check his eyes with a small penlight. "The external wound's no longer a concern, but I'll need to run tests to check what's happening on the inside. In the meantime . . . I would recommend being honest with me." He unsnapped the bindings of Aquila's shirt and took one of the boy's flimsy arms into hand. "This child undoubtedly experiences severe difficulty sustaining his own body weight with his legs, let alone being able to pull himself up using his arms. His body is in a complete state of muscular atrophy."

  Jia's fingers skimmed Aquila's shoulder where a large purplish, black bruise had formed. He then examined another along his ribcage. Katya winced. Rein had thrown the boy hard, harder than his weak body could weather.

  "One of my crew members threw him."

  He bobbed his head. "The atrophy? Cruelty or disorder?" He laid Aquila out on a gurney near a large machine and then covered him with a shimmery blanket.

  "Disorder."

  "And it has progressively worsened?"

  Mina took in a sharp intake of air, and Katya prodded the girl toward the door. "It has."

  The doctor straightened his glasses as he flipped a switch; the machine hummed, coming online. After inputting a few commands, he wheeled the gurney into the machine’s opening. "I can patch him up," Jia said, not even lifting his head, "but you would do well to see that detrimental forces are removed."

  "I'm working on it."

  "Good." Swiveling on the balls of his feet, he tinkered with the machine. "As for his other condition, the disorder . . . that, I can't even begin to treat." He paused. "I won't say what he is."

  A tremor passed along Katya's jaw. He knew, and they were beholden to him. Aquila needed this man. Her mind raced but struggled to form any helpful option.

  "No, that would make this too messy and draw unwanted attention to my little operation here. The last thing I need is for more like him to come digging." Jia shook his head and pressed more commands into the machine, printing out what appeared to be a report. "No, I don't care how you came by your 'son.'"

  Katya cleared the distance between her and the doctor, her hand brushing against the service pistol fastened to her hip. "What do you want?" She pronounced each word with an edge. Jia still did not face her. "I won't ask you a second time."

  "I'm a doctor." Jia pulled the gurney with Aquila from the machine. "I want to heal my patient. Beyond that motivation, I want nothing. As I said, I won't say what he is, making him no different than any other humanoid creature that walks, crawls, or is thrown through my door." He grabbed the printout from the machine.

  He flapped the test results in front of her face. "The fall was perhaps worse for him compared to another humanoid child; then again, there appears to have been a lot of force behind it."

  "He'd trapped me," Katya whispered. She inclined her head, thoughts of snow rising from the murky corners of her mind, along with a dead ship. A brief spike of pain reemerged, but she refused to lift her hands in a feeble attempt to relieve it.

  "I can patch him up in a matter of a few hours. I might not have the supplies that medical stations and centers have, but I can easily repair a concussion and stem internal bleeding." He prepped the necessary instruments. "Then you should depart. You never know who has had run-ins with them."

  She knew that all too well. Grabbing a wheeled office chair, she settled in it while the doctor worked on her youngest fosterling, attaching an IV unit to him as well. Fatigue hit her as the adrenaline rush from the past few hours vanished. She felt as if she hadn't slept in weeks. Wherever Aquila had taken her, it had been anything but restful.

  "Katya!" Mina called from the doorway, forgetting her new name. "Please don't fall asleep again."

  She chuckled. "That's a steep task to ask." Resting her head against the chair's headrest, she added, "I feel like I just took a physical fitness exam and had to run from the academy to Mount Albus."

  Mina gave the mall outside the clinic one more glance before coming to stand next to her. "Maybe we could go ahead and get my"—she glanced at the doctor—"present. Then we can just leave after the doctor's done." Energy buzzed through the girl's frame as she kept leaning toward the door. Apparently, she'd had a change of heart on the matter.

  Across the way, Jia injected a needle into Aquila before placing a neural device to boy's forehead that was designed to lessen swelling around the brain and repair damage. To the boy's side, Jia had already fastened an IHBR pad to treat the injury there. All in all, it would take time to complete both processes. They could leave and be back in that time. But the Magistrate official could return, or the doctor could stab them in the back. The scenarios ran rampant in her head. Waiting for the procedures to conclude came with its own downside: They would have Aquila with them while they visited the store, and he could be recognized for what he was. She didn't want a repeat of Gilga, not when they had once again covered their tracks.

  "Let's get it done."

  Jia's concentration on his work did not break when Katya exited with Mina. As they walked across the large open space that separated the clinic from the merchant district, Katya tracked what occurred behind her.

  "Aeliana," Katya said pointedly, causing Mina to blush, realizing her previous mistake, "when we enter the shop, keep your eyes open. If anyone enters the clinic or leaves it, we need to know."

  The teenager gave a curt nod as Katya opened the door, causing a chime to sound. The weaponry store was empty minus one being who sat in a tall chair, her small legs and feet propped on the counter while she smoked a large hor'roo. In all, the proprietress stood no more than four feet.

  "Welcome to the Twisted Entry Wound." She withdrew her pipe from her mouth. "I have a wide variety of armaments perfect for surviving in the Fringe. All are perfectly legal, even the eviscerator and the assassin models. If you carry the right credentials, of course." She slid her feet off the smooth metal surface and instead rested her elbows on it as she leaned toward them. Her white teeth, with particularly pointed canines, gleamed against her ebony skin. "Let me guess, you're looking to purchase protection for the young lady." She pointed to Katya's weapon. "Ah! A Preserver, the weapon that holds together the Republic. A good, trustworthy, and sleek AVI design. Older, though. A MP-12 or -13? Ah, 13. I can tell by the notch. Military issue with the Magistrate stamp. It's not bad, but there are better. Perhaps a weapon for the young one and an upgrade for yourself?"

  The proprietress jumped from her seat, vanishing behind the counter. She reappeared climbing a ladder, which she u
sed to pluck an assortment of pistols from well-organized shelves. She hopped down, once again dropping from sight. A scraping noise followed as she dragged a stool over to the counter, where she piled the weapons. She gathered more, despite Katya's attempts to stop her, until twelve lined the surface.

  "For the girl, I recommend this." She pushed forward a small silver shock gun. "There's no way to mess up. Just point, shoot, and the bastard's rolling on the ground. Simple. Perfect for an untried beginner. Or I have—"

  "Umm, Miss—"

  "How incredibly rude of me! My name is Aylin. Now this beauty is a Meynor design . . ." She provided a detailed description of each weapon—drowning Katya's interjections—and why they suited Mina and Katya despite only having known them for a few minutes. "Of course, I have more makers and models, though some are quite expensive."

  "I think you were right," Katya said before the woman could resume her pitch. "The stun—" Her com chirped. "Aeliana, stay put."

  Katya stepped out of the shop before activating the com. Rein's voice was on the other end. "How much longer? I want to get out of here."

  "Everything should be taken care of in another hour or two." Katya brushed her angled bangs to the side; she remained unsold on the cut, but Mina gushed about how well it suited her.

  Across the way, no action occurred at the clinic. Excellent.

  "Leave him at the med clinic." Rein cut out and then, "What will you do if he does it again?"

  Katya ended the connection and returned to the counter. "We'll take the shock gun, and while I appreciate your recommendations, I'm partial to my own weapon. It's served me well over the years."

  "Ah yes, a trusty sidearm is not replaced easily." She began to pack the shock gun, but Katya stopped her. Not knowing Rein's mood, it'd be prudent for Mina to carry it. "Ah," Aylin said. "Young lady would like to carry it. No memory beats purchasing your first personal weapon. Mine was a Leshung knife. I gutted a Darion with that knife. Lost it on Perses's moon, and to this day, I miss it. Sliced through anything." She rested her hands on the weapon. "This beauty costs 500 dinari. Now how will you be paying?"