Heritage Lost

by S M Wright

  "The real deal." Katya removed the necessary currency, setting the bills in front the proprietress on the counter.

  "My favorite." She scanned them for counterfeits and, once satisfied, presented the shock gun to Mina, along with its holster. She explained some of the finer points of its use, including its safety features and what each button did.

  "Conceal it," Katya said as Mina rotated the weapon in her hand. "It should never be seen until you have to use it."

  Mina nodded and checked the safety before tucking it and its small holster into an inner pocket of her jacket. "Understood."

  "Thank you," Katya said to the proprietress and then turned to part ways with the store.

  "Always happy to help. One must be protected these days," Aylin called after them. "May all your enemies fall before you, and you be without a scratch!"

  Katya waved at the woman as they continued their return to the clinic. The teen kept touching her pocket, checking that her newest purchase was still there. She almost told the teen to stop when a prickling sensation filled her head and silenced the merchant section of station. Then, it passed. Aquila. Apparently, he felt better. The headache rebounded with his better health. What would they do? Her throat tightened.

  "Do you think I can practice with my—"

  "We'll get you used to it." Katya smiled. "But you heard the lady: Just point and shoot. You can't miss."

  "I've fired weapons before." Mina puffed herself up.

  Katya raised her eyebrow. "On the ship, you said you hadn't."

  The girl shrugged, her face reddening, either because she'd been caught in a lie or an embarrassing memory had been dredged up.

  Katya almost pressed her, but they'd arrived back at the clinic.

  Doctor Jia sat in his chair, reading paperwork, which he laid on table when they entered. "The procedure went smoothly," he said. "I want him on the machines and IV longer to 'put him on better footing,' one might say. I expect him to be good to go within the hour. There shouldn't be any long-term damage to his mental faculties, but without knowing his full physiology, I can't say for sure."

  "Time will tell then." Katya exhaled and sat in the chair she had been using earlier. The list of unknowns was already long, so what was one more item added to it?

  Leaning back into her seat, she closed her eyes, jerking awake when something pressed against her skin, the doctor's hand. In his other, he held a needle adaptor to an IV unit. "You looked like you could also use more fluids yourself."

  "That's not necessary."

  Jia whistled, his white hair jostling from the force. "Make things easier on yourself, rather than continue to run yourself thin."

  Gritting her teeth, she caved. "Fine."

  She allowed herself to be pricked by the needle, which was then attached with medical tape. With further prompting, she laid down on a gurney and let the IV drip needed hydration into her veins. Her eyes once again drifted shut. There was nothing else to be done as she waited. She stretched out her toes, tapping them against air. Next, Pestor. Her stomach knotted. Would she be dragging her father into this for nothing, or would he be able to help them? As she contemplated their next move, she dozed off.

  "Hersilia!" Mina shook her.

  Sputtering, Katya jolted into a seated position, the world spinning at the sudden change in elevation. "I'm awake—I'm fine!" Mina's hands clutched her shoulders. "I have to sleep eventually, and that was a natural catnap. A needed catnap."

  "The procedure is complete," Jia said from where he removed his devices and the IV from Aquila. He then crossed the space between them to inspect her own, which was nearly empty. "I suppose that'll have to do. You've been here too long as it is." He detached it and applied gauze.

  With Mina's help, she slipped from the gurney.

  Lifting the sleeping boy, Jia brought him to Katya. "His brain activity is off the charts compared to when he was brought in, so I think it's safe to say he's on the mend."

  "Thank you." Katya accepted Aquila into her arms.

  Jia shrugged. "You might not be thanking me in the near future. The neural device seems to have stimulated his brain." He handed her the documents he'd been studying earlier. "His brain is truly amazing. I don't even know where to start." A new light, reminiscent of a mad scientist, glinted in his eyes.

  "And that's not your job." It exited her mouth snappishly, but the man had already begun dissecting Aquila in his mind. She could see that. "Thank you for what help you've given. I'll gladly pay for your services."

  "It's on the house."

  She narrowed her eyes at the man, but he took no note as he reorganized his tools.

  "Just like that?" she pressed.

  "My doors are always open to the less fortunate—money is inconsequential, especially when my services are paid through the mining association."

  "Very well then." Katya guided Mina to the door. "Thank you for your services."

  They were almost through the door when Jia said, "Don't give up hope. I may not be able to help on the matter, but there are others who can."

  Color drained from her face. "And who are these others?"

  "That doesn't matter," Jia said. "They'll find you eventually."

  "What have you done?" She gripped Aquila tighter to her body.

  "Nothing." Jia closed a case. "I didn't have to. They already knew."

  She stepped backward, her nails compressing against Mina's arm as she wrenched the girl from the clinic. The pair raced to the ship, Katya managing their pace to maintain some appearance of calm even as her heart fluttered in an off-sync cadence. Mina held her tongue the whole trip, blessedly. Before entering the decontamination chamber, Katya yanked her to the side.

  "Not a word to Rein about anything we did. All he needs to know is we got Aquila patched up. Do you understand?"

  "Who will find us?"

  "I don't know." No one good crossed her mind, but she wouldn't voice that. "Be prepared. Never leave your room without the stun gun. Keep it on you at all times. Understand?"

  Mina nodded, her hand resting against the spot that concealed the mentioned weapon.

  They proceed into the chamber and found Rein waiting for them as they boarded the Minerva. He stood, arms crossed in front of his chest, brewing for a fight. Katya was well beyond that.

  "He'll be fine, no thanks to you," she said as she shoved past him. "Prep to leave. We're heading for Pestor. I know someone on-world who might be able to help us with our unique problem."

  "Who?"

  "My father. He's familiar with a variety of races and planets, so it wouldn't be beyond reason that he'd have experience with the Oneiroi." Katya shifted Aquila in her arms, away from Rein. "He won't betray us, and Pestor is far enough removed from the Magistrate that we'll be able to come and go without drawing notice. It doesn't have a relay."

  Katya marched to her quarters, where she tucked Aquila into his bed. She then sealed herself in the cockpit, where she got them underway to her father and his latest archaeological study.

  CHAPTER TEN

  After three weeks, during which Katya and Rein maintained an awkward dance of avoidance, they found themselves orbiting Pestor. Its surface, while largely shades of brown, harbored splashes of green around its costal, river, and jungle regions. But of course her father's latest archeological study had set its base camp in the savanna region of Pestor. From the information her slate presented, that area would at least be more comfortable than some of the planets they'd been on . . . well, for most of them. Yet Aquila had to come this time. Her father would be tickled to see her with a child. A fond smile rooted itself on her face.

  She flipped on the communications and sought her father's signal; with it being mid-afternoon locally, he should be available. The screen blinked green once the signal had been found. Clearing her throat, she initiated the connection. A momentary pause, then: "This is Faustus Cassius."

  "Papa, this is Katya . . . I need your help."

  "I thought you were captai
ning The Maelstrom," her father said. If he was concerned, she couldn't tell over the speaker, one of the downsides of not having a visual image displaying facial expressions. But her father had long mastered the ability of retaining a monotone voice and guarded expression. Even when he'd received calls—no, especially when he'd received them—from Magistrate Central Police after her one older brother's drunken escapades, he displayed his masterful grasp of the art of disinterest.

  "It's a long story."

  "It's a good thing I enjoy a long story, no?" His line went silent until what resembled a sigh came through. "Land on the outskirts of the camp. I'll meet you there."

  Katya closed the connection and orchestrated their descent into the atmosphere. With no Magistrate outposts on Pestor, there were no specific protocols to follow. Just land. As for the locals, they were primitives who lived in the coastal and river areas. A few sects of them traveled through the savanna, but her father in one correspondence had stated they gave wide berth to the Magistrate archaeologists. Given the natives' lack of technology, the Magistrate had labeled the planet a preserve, allowing admittance only to scientists and scholars; of course, without an outpost or relay, policing unlawful incursions to the world proved impossible, so Pestor served as a halfway point for smugglers who hid in the jungles to the south.

  "You're sure he won't turn us in?" Mina asked from behind her. The teen had been so quiet, Katya had forgotten she'd snuck into the cockpit.

  Prepping the ACPS through the helm, Katya replied, "He took me in as a young child. I doubt he'd sell me out now after all that time and effort rearing me. He never did with Seneca, who's kind of a criminal—been in and out of prison. He struggles with substance abuse."

  "What's he like?"

  Katya pursed her lips. How best to describe her father? "He's extremely . . . passionate about his work. While we officially lived on Meracus Domus, he dragged us all over the galaxy with him. There was always something to be studied, to be dug up. And occasionally along the way, we would pick up brothers and sisters, though by the time I came into the fold, he was largely done picking up strays . . . just my youngest brother."

  Mina leaned closer. "Do you two get along?"

  "Oh yes." No hesitation came with the answer. "Of course, there's always some frustration there. He's incredibly intelligent, but he's extremely absentminded. As a teenager, and even now as an adult, that quirk drove me insane. He has a tendency to view people as a collection of their culture or as potential articles for academic journals rather than as individuals." Katya swallowed. "Despite those annoyances, we do care for each other, and I feel distance has helped."

  "Sometimes distance is good." Mina placed her back to her, obscuring her face. She did not expound on her statement, but Katya assumed it had to do with her own parents. The girl never said anything about them beyond telling her that they were gone, which could mean a variety of things on Reznic. She'd never pried for more information, knowing all too well some traumas needed entombed.

  They landed outside of camp as instructed, kicking up dirt and bits of grass in the process. In place, Katya launched the cool-down sequence and killed the engines before turning to the intercom: "Rein, we're here. Complete a routine check and conduct any repairs or maintenance work that needs done. We shouldn't run into trouble here, so be thorough."

  "How long do you estimate our stay will be?"

  "Knowing my father, half the day if not until tomorrow." Katya lurched to her feet. "I'll try to contain his propensity to ramble."

  "Don't bother. I've noticed a variance in the FTL. It'll take a while to work out."

  Rein killed the line. If only all their conversations were as productive. Once again, Katya locked the communications and navigation systems, only leaving open what Rein needed to work on the mechanical aspects of the ship.

  "You can stay here if you want," Katya said to Mina. "I want time to speak with my father alone."

  "I'll at least come to meet him." Mina leapt from her seat, a trace of excitement in her voice.

  "He is quite the character." With that, Katya went to retrieve Aquila from her quarters.

  She left her sweater draped over her chair, despite the cold temperature. Inside the bed, Aquila slept, blankets splayed around him. Crazy child. She carried him and the stuffed animal she'd taken from the Aletheia, which he held to his chest in a tight grip, over to the table. His hold on the animal never slackened, surprising her since he'd never interacted with the toy before unless either Mina or she had initiated it.

  "Come now. We've got somewhere to be," she whispered.

  She changed his diaper before putting him in lighter clothes, and once complete, they got underway: Aquila situated on her hip and a bag, containing the books from the Aletheia, dangling off her shoulder.

  Mina waited at the ramp. No Rein. She stiffened, the corners of her lips dipping. Only a fool would believe he had let the issue go. He was biding his time.

  As they disembarked, a person walking through the tall savanna grass greeted them, waving his hands. "Kat'ee!" the man called as he came closer. "Ah! My girl, it's been too—your hair! What has happened to it?" He rambled on even as he embraced her, giving her a good whiff of his strong cologne. The gesture proved short-lived when he met the lump attached to her side. "And who is this? You truly are starting to pick up my tendencies. Oh! And this young lady must be Mina." He engulfed Mina in his arms before releasing her. "My daughter has spoken very favorably of you."

  "I try." Mina bore a deep blush on her face.

  "She does well," Katya added before addressing her father's previous question. "And this is Aquila."

  "Where is your ship? This is a cargo vessel, not a Boita or even Magistrate—"

  "Let's speak somewhere more private." She shifted Aquila, distributing his weight to the other side.

  "Ah." Her father rested his hands on his hips. "We can return to my tent; the rest are out at the site. We've found evidence of a more advanced civilization having inhabited this planet at least four centuries ago. We're trying to determine if they originated from this planet or if they were passing through and left after a few generations. They are completely unrelated to the current inhabitants. Isn't it—"

  "Your tent will be fine." She gestured to Mina. "Mina will be heading back to the ship to give us time to talk in detail." Her father's gaze darkened at the last part. It'd become almost a family code for: "You're not going to like what I have to say."

  Mina didn't protest, leaving Katya and her father to walk to the archeologists' base camp. He prattled on about the dig and the potential new culture they'd discovered. All the while as he talked, his hands punctuated his words.

  "And if they did move on, it would be interesting to discover where their next home was," Faustus said. "We're already scouring the databases for similar uses of symbolism and design from the examples we've found. I imagine we'll find comparable cultures within a matter of weeks."

  "I'm excited for you." Katya repositioned Aquila, who was making her one arm tingle. "I'm sorry to interrupt your work, especially—well, let's just say you might regret answering your com."

  Faustus's face tightened, forming deep lines around his mouth and eyes. "No matter what situation you find yourself in, my Kat'ee, I doubt I will regret answering your coms to me." He lowered his head. "An interesting toy he has. He's obviously not yours, biologically, that is."

  "It's a part of the long story." Katya exhaled. "Trust me, by the end of my tale, all will be clear, and you'll want me off-world faster than a Marion bird flies south at the first sight of snow."

  Her father chuckled, resting his large hand on his rotund belly. "The more you keep building up this story of yours, the more interested I find myself to hear it."

  They fell quiet while the grass surrounding them bowed to the slight breeze. Gradually, they arrived at the mini-tent city. She and her siblings had lived in plenty of such campsites in the past. She'd adapted to the setting and transient lifestyle qui
ckly; it'd held familiarity. How, she could not remember. As a result of their moves, she'd seen more of the galaxy than most of her peers. The tents had been upgraded since their days of gallivanting. They now glistened as the sun hit them thanks to the increased level of tech woven into them.

  "Several Core universities are involved," Faustus said. "The world is seen as relatively safe and the dig is routine, so many signed on to provide their charges with real experience and perhaps gain the honor of hosting a few of the finds." He winked at the last part, a smile filling his face. "With luck, there'll be plenty to be hosted."

  He paused in front of one tent, which rose above the others surrounding it, and pressed several buttons, creating an opening. From it bounded a large Vergian hound. "Pollux! Down, down!" Her father grabbed the beast's collar and yanked him into the tent before he could jump on Katya and, by default, Aquila.

  Her dad had owned Pollux since the hound was a pup and they had been summering on Vergo. She had finished her officer exams and physical fitness requirements at that time. Katya smiled as the hound, on his hind legs, reached up and lapped her father's face with his enormous tongue. Time had turned that pup into a monster.

  The smile grew wider. In contrast, her father had not changed. The interior of the tent screamed comfort. Luxurious seating options, climate controls set to cooler temps, and what she could only imagine was a fully stocked refrigeration unit. This was roughing it in her father's mind. And she supposed, compared to their family home, it was.

  "Ah!" Her father slumped in one of his plush red chairs, a reproduction of their homeworld's Berretta era—he'd never bring the real ones to a dig. His fingers slid through Pollux's rust-colored fur. "Feels so good to be off my feet!"

  Smirking, Katya sank into the sofa before laying Aquila beside her on it, his head resting in her lap. "Maybe you should stay on your feet more often. You're getting rounder."

  "Baash." He batted his hand at her. "We're not going to talk about that. Let's talk about your little friend instead."

  She smoothed Aquila's hair; he twitched. "I'm no longer a Magistrate officer."