Heritage Lost
Page 34
"It's ironic that you're the only one who can't sleep." She held him close; he, in turn, nestled his face into her good shoulder. His somewhat-vacant gaze suggested he'd reached a point where he was too tired to sleep. Whatever had passed between him and the older Oneiroi child had taken its toll.
Katya returned to the cockpit and sat with Sotiris. The gleam of the communicator on the console caught her eyes. It rested on top of the Sparrow's keycard.
The keycard offered an alternative. They could double back to Jordah. She bowed her head. Not viable, not in a stolen interceptor. Not . . . not with her current condition. Hers or Mina's. What other options were available? She'd tried to formulate other paths, only to find zero that were feasible. No money. Stolen, traceable vessel. "If you don't find that alternative way, call us . . . for Sotiris's sake." She leaned over the chair's armrest, facing the crew area. Mina remained asleep, so she grabbed the communicator.
Clearing her throat, she activated it. Static. Katya almost set it aside when a voice cut through the white noise.
"Strom."
Just one word, spoken knowingly and with confidence. She'd been expecting this call, for them to run out of rope.
Katya sat straighter. "I'm taking your offer. On two conditions: I remain Sotiris's guardian. I have a say in his medical care. The second . . . I need medical care for the girl who's been in my care."
"Agreed on both counts."
Exhaling, Katya steadied her breaths. "We have a hot ship; we'll need to ditch it, or we could end up like the Aletheia."
"Don't worry," Strom responded, her voice steadier than Katya felt. "We already have a ship en route; it's following the signal from the communicator. It started transmitting the moment you activated it. We'll get you out."
Katya closed her eyes, blindly setting the still-active communicator onto the console. She needed a stiff drink, something to dull the growing sense of dread. Except she needed to remain alert, wary. She needed to protect her own as she had always tried to do. She found some measure of comfort from Sotiris's weight against her chest, though when he shifted, she gritted her teeth, killing a moan.
Her stomach coiled, even as the pain ebbed. What had she done? Her hold on Sotiris tightened. An old Magistrate saying sprang to mind: "Let no ill come from this."
Minutes stretched together, then a ship broke out of FTL. It brought with it a path from which there'd be no return. After the other vessel had aligned with them, a connector tube stretched from it to their hatch. Standing, Katya approached the would-be opening, Sotiris in her arms. Mechanical sounds vibrated through the metal hull when the connector fixed itself to their ship. A pause.
Katya eyed the weapons locker but then jerked her attention back to the hatch at a knock. Edging her way to it, she opened it, stepping backward after two heavily armed men lumbered in. Her body went rigid, but they bypassed her heading to the cockpit. The damage Plasovern could do with an interceptor . . .
"What are you—" The questioned went unfinished after a chuckle diverted her attention to the open hatch.
Strom sauntered toward them, her red lips quirked. "Just look at you." The other woman eyed her bloody shirt, shaking her head like a disapproving schoolmarm. When she reached the opening, Strom stretched out her hand, the connector tube behind her endless. The same cocky smile from the bar formed on her lips when Katya took it.
"Welcome to the other side."
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Akakios Sarris: The Oneiroi captain of the Boreas, he will stop at nothing to rescue his nephew, Sotiris, for his deceased brother, Aymntas, and sister-in-law, Kallistrate.
Ambrosios Carras: The Oneiroi first lieutenant of the Boreas, he serves as its pilot and lead interrogator. He is the spouse of Chrysanthos.
Charis Velis: The Oneiroi commander of the Boreas, she is the second command after Akakios, prized for her levelheaded nature.
Chrysanthos Carras: The mechanic of the Oneiroi vessel Boreas, he holds the rank of master chief petty officer. He is Ambrosios's spouse.
Elpis Moros: The medical officer on the Oneiroi vessel Boreas, she holds the rank of lieutenant commander.
Faustus Cassius: Katya's adoptive father, who works as an archaeologist. He descends from a prominent Magistrate family, with his brother Pontius having a mysterious position within its government.
Hedda Strom: A woman of legend and myth, she is one of the several heads of Plasovern, known for her brutality in the struggle for planet sovereignty.
Jia: A doctor working on the mining station S4-G3.
Katya Cassius: The captain of The Maelstrom, she has had several Magistrate ground postings and is only a year into her first space-faring post.
Kyrillos Rallis: The second lieutenant on the Boreas, he oversees communications.
Kyros Anagnos: A member of the Oneiroi's ruling body, the Agoranomi, he has long been a supporter of the Sarris family, particularly Akakios's branch.
Mina: A sixteen-year-old Reznic girl, she is learning to be a pilot under Katya's tutelage.
Pelagia and Pelagius Tocci: Fraternal Oneiroi twins, they serve as ensigns on the Boreas.
Rein: A Reznic native, he pursues Magistrate citizenship through a military career.
Sotiris Sarris: A three-year-old Oneiroi child, he was born with a genetic mutation. Also goes by Aquila.
Usha: A Filitre, she is known for her drug empire, with there being speculation of Plasovern ties.
Valens Ulpius: A colonel, now deceased, who'd overseen day-to-day operations in a sector on Reznic. He and Katya were romantically involved.
Zahkar Kozlov: A freighter captain from Katya's homeworld, Mramor, he might have an interest in planet sovereignty.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A lifelong resident of northern Indiana, S.M. Wright is an author of speculative fiction with the occasional jaunt into historical fiction. She has been writing since grade school and harbors fond memories of her mother taking her to Young Authors Conferences, which further encouraged her to pursue writing. She has published two works of short fiction—Acceptance and A Long Way Down—before launching her ongoing Heritage Lost Series.
Wright is a staff writer for a local newspaper/magazine company, where she is also an editor for two of its publications. When not working or writing, she enjoys spending time with her clowder, geocaching, knitting, and reading.
Website: smwright.wordpress.com
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