by Daniel Gibbs
Piotr's face lost color and expression.
Pavel looked up at hearing the answer, astonished.
"What happened, Father?" Piotr asked in a barely restrained tone.
"They found his body in his home. He'd been tied down and shot, shot like a beast!" Nikolai declared.
"Do they know who yet?" Piotr's tone of voice made clear his interest. Vasily may have been an alien, but he had a kind soul; moreover, he was a brother in Christ, a true believer. His death would be punished.
"The authorities believe it a professional attack. Someone wanted him silenced. But they will not investigate further. You know how they are about our converts!" Nikolai's voice betrayed his pain. He was known to care deeply for those whose souls he tended to. "I have a secret convert in the police force. I asked him to continue, but he can't. They are ordered not to. He believes it was a Calnin lordling or perhaps one of the priests of Tashin who killed our poor Vasily."
Pavel knew his brother’s facial expressions as if they were a language unto their own. Right now, suspicion was painted across his face. "Perhaps, Father. Have you heard anything about the woman we asked Vasily to help?"
"No. I am afraid not."
"Please, Father, inquire about her with your sources. We'll do the same with ours," said Piotr. "And please, pray for my soul with Vasily's."
"Of course. Why are you worried, my son?"
"Because I may have helped cause his death, Father, and if so," Piotr showed tears as he shook his head. "I will atone. However I can."
There was a brief silence on the other end. "I see. You meant well, Piotr. God understands that."
Nikolai gave his standard farewell benediction, and the channel closed. Pavel drew in a breath and felt sick to his stomach. Vasily's heart was good and kind. Slavery hadn't broken it like so many others.
"Lupa. Something about her felt off," Piotr was saying.
"Or the League found out about her. They would have agents in place to hear things," Pavel pointed out. He gave his brother a sympathetic look. "Either way, we will find out what's going on."
"That we will, brother." Piotr reached for the intercom key. "Semyon, make our course for Harron, best speed."
"Yes, Captain!" came the response.
27
A lift brought Henry and a half dozen other people from the docking arms down into the station proper. He could feel the slight shift as they went from the graviton-generated artificial gravity of the docking arms to the centrifugal gravity of the O'Neill cylinder. The gravlift came to a stop at what passed for a customs station. Scanners checked him for dangerous firearms—weapons that could potentially pierce the hull—and cleared him to go through. His charged particle pistol was not so capable. It was why he'd bought the Danfield-Colt CP-2520 in the first place, given the number of space habitats and stations their work took them to.
Past the customs station, Henry followed the directions to head to the Quetta District. It was one of the mostly residential living areas on the station and where Linh's fetch tech lived. Going there required a transport car ride, with another open view of the station's interior. Magella's light filled the interior, a combination of gardens and farmland, and blocks of residential housing.
The first stop warned Humans not to get off without atmospheric helmets. They were in the Matrinad District, which sustained its internal atmosphere at Matrinad standard. It could nearly drown a Human being inside of five minutes. One female Matrinad stepped off the lift, and none arrived.
After a couple more stops in commercial areas, the car arrived in Quetta. Henry stepped out of the car and followed the path out of the station and into the district proper. If not for the sight of the interior of the station, the community looked as if it would fit in with the poor sections of half a dozen planets he'd been to. He consulted the information from Linh again and started walking down the street.
As he followed the way to his destination, Henry watched the residents of the district go about their lives. From what he'd heard, some were war refugees, others fugitives from one world or another. The majority were from worlds settled by those who'd left the Indian subcontinent back in the Exodus, mixed with peoples from Sumatra and Malaya. Many of the men were bearded, and the women tended to have head shawls, although only a few veiled their faces. Few of the locals paid him much mind. The brown jacket he wore and the rest of his clothing was the kind a lot of independent spacers tended to wear off-ship, after all. And spacers were nothing new for these people.
A residential block building six stories tall proved his destination. He went through the opening foyer, went past a lift that looked either broken or about to break, and took the stairs up three floors. Once there, a minute's trip through the halls found the door number he was looking for. He touched the door chime and waited patiently.
And then not so patiently.
Finally, after a few minutes, he was ready to hit the chime again. Just as he went to the door, it opened. A man with a brown complexion and thinning, whitening dark hair appeared at the door. He seemed to be favoring one leg. "It is prayer time," he scolded.
"My apologies, I didn't hear," Henry replied. "Linh Khánh sent me."
"Over my niece, I suppose. Are you new to the repair yards? I haven't seen you around."
Before he could finish asking the question, a young woman bounded up to the doorway. Henry guessed she was between sixteen and twenty years of age. She shared the man's complexion and hair color—but obviously with no gray or white in it—and had a clear family resemblance. She wore plain clothes of blue and white coloring while her hair went down to her neck. Given she was making no move to pull a hijab on, Henry assumed she was not the observant type. She seemed more curious than anything. "Who are you and what have you to… oh, wait!" She gave Henry a close look, and her eyes widened a little. "You're the Captain of the Shadow Wolf."
"James Henry, and yes," he said. "Chief Khánh called ahead about me?"
"Well, yes, but I remembered you anyway," said the girl. "Your ship was one of the first she installed a fusion drive on. I saw your picture while I was studying the installation."
The uncle made a disapproving sound. "Samina, you should introduce yourself and invite him in before pestering him with your hobbies."
For a moment, Henry thought the girl would fire back a retort, but she caught herself while glancing toward the older man. "Yes, Uncle, of course." She looked back at Henry. "My name is Samina Khan, and this is my uncle Ali. Please, come and have a seat."
"Thank you."
The two led him into their living quarters. Henry noted that Uncle Ali limped badly and trailed behind his niece. He briefly wondered what kind of injury it was, and if it was treatable.
The living area amounted to a big living area and kitchen space with two small bedrooms on opposite ends of the room. Their furnishings were second or even thirdhand. One was a recovered chair from a ship, given its structure. Samina took that while her uncle took a fairly comfortable-looking recliner. Another one, of fabric covering, was left for Henry to take.
"Tea?" Ali asked. "I still have a little chai left."
"Thank you, but no." Having heard more of their accent, Henry finally placed it. "You're from Jinnah?" he asked.
They nodded. "We were."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I was already out of the CDF when I heard about it. You were among the lucky ones to get out before the League's fleet cut off all escape?"
"I brought my ship in to evacuate my family and as many as I could," Ali said. His expression turned dour. "All we had left was the ship. My niece grew up on it." He gave her a knowing look. "Which explains her infatuation with machines."
Henry nodded. "A spacer family, then."
Pain showed in their eyes. Samina went silent, leaving it to her uncle to answer. "We were, for a time. Then a pirate attack caught us one jump away from here," Ali explained. "The ship was a wreck, but we managed a jump. Samina and I were the only survivors. Since then, we have l
ived here, doing what we must to survive."
Henry caught a tear forming in the girl's eyes before she wiped it away. He sighed. "Your family's been through a lot," he said. He didn't say what was on his mind, that they were living what might happen to any independent trader who lost their ship to accident or violence: trapped where they were rescued, unable to go anywhere else.
"Chief Khánh's message said you had an offer to make to me," Samina said.
"Yes. Well," He nodded. "My ship's not a loss, but we took some severe damage against Tash'vakal raiders, and it's going to drain my finances to fix it with station labor. Khánh thought you might be interested in signing on as an Engineer's Mate to help with the repairs and my costs."
Judging by the bright smile that leapt to her face, Samina liked hearing it, but she seemed to find a snag immediately. "I'm too young to join their crews, I know… wait, when you say 'Engineer's Mate,' do you mean… you want me to hire onto your crew?"
"I do," Henry said. "If we can work it out."
For a moment, he thought the young woman would burst. She fought back a squeal of joy.
Ali gave Henry a dark look. "You come to my home and try to take my niece away from me? To risk the last family I have left in the world?"
Henry wondered if the uncle was indeed that opposed. It might still swing her. "I came to give her the choice," he said.
"I… I want to talk to my Uncle first," Samina said. "To discuss it with him."
"Fair enough. I can wait outside if you'd like."
"If you are going to disturb my day, do more than that," Ali Khan said glumly. "Two buildings spinwise of my home is a café. They make excellent nihari."
Henry got the hint and stood. He held back the sigh until he was out of the apartment.
As soon as the spacer captain was gone, Ali turned to Samina. "I cannot stop you. Allah knows I would if I could."
"Would you, Uncle? I could finally earn money, real money. You could go back to living on a planet as you've wanted for so long."
"Not for this cost," Ali insisted. "Not at risking your life, Samina. Your parents would come back from Paradise to strangle me if I got you in trouble."
"I'm an adult now," she insisted. "I'll have to go somewhere dangerous, eventually. The dock teams' jobs are dangerous too."
"I know, and that is why I didn't want you taking that work either." Ali sighed. "But there is no other work. Nothing but charity from the district."
Samina leaned forward and took her uncle's hands. "I know you want what's best for me Uncle. If you truly believe I should tell Captain Henry no, I'll do so." As she spoke, it was clear she wouldn't be entirely happy about it, but she did mean it. She’d listen to him. "My parents would be angry at me if I disobeyed you like that, after all."
Ali gave her a knowing look. "Ah, look at what manipulations I have to put up with! From my brother's daughter even. God help me, I'm putty in your expert hands." He chuckled, and made it easy for her to giggle lowly. "Samina, I'm an old cripple who worries a lot for my brother's beloved daughter. But I won't lie to you and claim this may not end up in something better. Captain Henry… I have heard some of the captains I still know speak of him. He pays his crew well, listens to them, shows them loyalty, and what he asks for in return is no less than what I asked of my crew. As independent captains go, he is the best you can do. Certainly better than the pirates."
"Then I have your blessing, Uncle Ali?"
He nodded. "You do, child." He freed one hand from hers to put it to her shoulder. This quickly turned into a strong embrace. Each was the only thing the other had left in the world, in terms of family.
Indeed, Samina felt a brief surge of doubt. Could she leave her uncle behind and go into space without him? Without his guidance? There was so much she wanted to see, and so much to do. It was a chance to work with the machines that fascinated her so. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do it, which only made the feeling she was abandoning her uncle all the stronger.
"I will be fine, Samina," he assured her. "You’re not abandoning me. This is what Allah means for you."
"You believe that, Uncle?" she said while sniffling.
"I do," he assured her.
Hearing him say that lifted a burden from Samina's soul. "I'll call and write whenever I can," she promised.
”I will do the same."
With all of that said, Samina was able to push away the lingering doubt, the part of many people who saw change coming and feared it, whether or not it was voluntary. This was an opportunity she yearned for, and she wouldn't let that sentiment get in her way. Not with her uncle supporting her in it.
When Henry returned with the nihari and an assortment of curried dishes, he found Samina was already piling bags. "Captain, I hope you'll have me," she said.
She was satisfied with his smile and nod. "Welcome to the crew, Miss Khan."
Henry returned from the Quetta District to find the others waiting. Tia stepped forward and showed him a small gray cone. "Linh's teams found a tracking device," she said.
Henry looked it over and frowned. "It wasn't inside the ship, was it?"
She shook her head. "They found it near the rear. It didn't cause any breakage on the hull, so the sensors didn't notice."
"Looking at it, I'd say it was delivered by gun," Felix added. "The CDF issues this stuff to special teams. Rounds loaded with micro-QET trackers."
"I doubt this fellow was working for the CDF."
Felix nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm sure some of the super wealthy megacorps have them as well. The League might too."
Henry balled a fist around the tracker. "We're not safe here," he said. "They know we're at Trinidad. We'd better get the repairs done ASAP."
"Tia says you were off to hire me an Engineer's Mate," Pieter said. "Any luck?"
"Yes. She'll be along soon. Still has to finish getting her things in order," Henry said. "Her name is Samina Khan, and you're either going to love her or hate her."
Pieter chuckled at that. "As long as she knows how to use an autospanner and the difference between a plasma manifold and a thrust controller."
"That won't be a problem, I think." Henry glanced back down at the object in his hand. "Okay, I need to make a call." The worried look he gave Felix said everything about the contents of it. "Tia, Pieter, send them where you need 'em."
"Right away." Tia nodded to him before turning to face the crew. "Alright, Vidia, Piper, I want you to deal with…"
Henry didn't bother listening to Tia's repair duty assignments. He was too busy in his own head, figuring out what he was going to say to Caetano. He went into his office and brought the office's computer systems up. A few key presses connected him to the communications relays built into Trinidad Station's systems. He sent the call out to Lusitania.
Vitorino was the first to reply to him. He appeared on the display screen wearing black tie, an elegant suit that probably cost as much as the average Lusitanian worker made in a year. "Captain Henry. I had expected you to be back shortly. Is everything all right?"
"We were ambushed," Henry explained. "We're repairing now at a space station." He wasn't about to mention being at Trinidad. Even if their pursuers had to know, that was something he wanted to keep quiet for the time being.
A small frown leapt onto Vitorino’s face. "I trust the damage was not too severe?"
"It was severe enough," Henry said. "I've got structural repairs to complete before I can risk a gravity well landing."
"Then you will be delayed further. I understand, although I admit to disappointment."
"Well, these things happen when I've got the people behind the attack chasing the witness to silence her," Henry said with a hint of irritation. He still considered revealing Miri's accusation of the League being responsible, but his instincts were holding him back. He had to play things close to the chest. "Whoever they are, they've got serious hardware support, and the pull to sic the Tash'vakal on us."
Vito
rino pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes. It was inconsiderate of me. You've done what you can, Captain. But I am very eager to consult with the witness in person. Please, get her to Lusitania as quickly as possible."
The call ended abruptly. Henry briefly wondered if Vitorino could read minds and knew he was thinking of asking for cash to help with his repair bills. He banished the thought and set up for another call.
After a couple of mid-level functionaries required waiting times, Henry found himself face to face with Cristina Caetano. She seemed rushed, somewhat, as if she were in a meeting or just out from one, and unlike Vitorino, she was wearing more functional business clothes. "Captain, I was expecting your return by now. What is your situation?"
Henry repeated the news of the ambush and the need to stop for repairs. To her credit, Caetano did not protest the occurrence. "It is good that you fought the raiders off," she said when he was done. "The Tash'vakal have long been a nuisance."
"I'm pretty sure they were hired by whoever is behind the attacks."
"Possibly. It does raise questions given recent reports."
Henry furrowed his brow. "What reports?"
"That is not your concern, Captain," Caetano said sternly. "Now, I would like to speak to the survivor. I cannot get an official statement until she is planetside, of course, but I would like to know where her statement will lead."
Given the leverage Caetano had, Henry decided not to be coy. Even if he didn't like her hiding things from him. "I'll call her in." He reached for the intercom control at the right end of his desk. "Ms. Lupa, please report to my office."
Caetano said nothing during the interim. Henry noticed she would sometimes glance away, and he suspected she was typing something. He said nothing as well and waited patiently.
After about a minute, the door slid open. Miri stepped in. "You asked to see me, Captain Henry?"
On the screen, Caetano returned her attention to him while Henry called her over. Once she could see the screen, and the recorders could see her and show her to Caetano, he said, "Karla Lupa, this is Cristina Caetano, Minister of Defense for the Republic of Lusitania."