by Kit Walker
Laela nods to Ysal.
Ysal grabs the collar of Kadar's armor and drags him over to the edge of the roof.
"What are you doing?" Kadar shouts.
Ysal holds him out at arm's length, pushing until Kadar's leaning back over empty space, his toes just barely touching the edge.
Asha isn't quite sure who to yell at and defaults to, "Laela, what the hell?"
"He's not a real Sentinel," Laela snarls. "He might be a dieni, but if he's a constable, then I'm Hierarch Octavia."
Kadar struggles in Ysal's grip. "Are youinsane?"
"Please do not use that word trivially." Ysal pushes him a little further over the edge. Kadar grabs onto Ysal's wrist with both hands, clinging for dear life.
"I saw your face when we found Covax," Laela continues. "You knew him. Were you working with him?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Laela," Ysal says. "I am still fairly weak. I cannot hold him up for much longer." Xir grip on Kadar's armor slips a little, and he falls about an inch before xe catches him again.
"Okay," Kadar yelps. "Okay! You're right! Just pull me up!"
Laela steps in closer. "What's that? I didn't hear you."
"I'm not a Sentinel!" Kadar screams.
Laela's hands clench at her sides, and her voice cracks a little when she says, "Did you poison Ysal?"
"No!" Kadar's gaze flits frantically between Laela, Ysal, Asha, and Vaz. "I didn't hurt anyone! Now please pull me up!"
•
"Was that really necessary?" Kadar complains. "I could've died."
Kadar wanted to talk to them somewhere private. Tia's suite doesn't exactly fit that description, so instead Laela led the way to the rooms that were officially assigned to Ysal and xir guests, before this whole disaster started. They're not far from Covax's rooms, and Asha decides not to contemplate what that means.
Vaz sits on the bed behind Kadar and pulls his coat collar out of the way to examine the marks the armor left on his skin. "You're fine," he says. "Just a little bruised."
Asha raises her hand. "I just want it on the record that dangling you off the tower was not my idea."
"Traitor," Laela mutters. She points at Kadar. "You. Talk. Who are you?"
"My real name doesn't matter," Kadar says. "I haven't used it in years. I'm a con artist. Covax was my partner."
"You're both the Revenant," Asha says. "It's a two-man con."
Kadar nods. "Covax grabs as much as he can, then I swoop in to 'catch' him and confiscate the stolen property as evidence. We've pulled it off dozens of times."
"So who killed Covax?"
"Your mysterious assassin, probably." Kadar drags his hands down his face. "Covax and I cut off all contact once I sent him the security codes. I don't know what happened after that."
"What about that camera bug you found?" Laela asks.
Kadar pulls the bug out of his pocket. "Covax has always been a little paranoid. I figured he'd have a camera in the room, but the hard drive is encrypted."
Laela sticks her hand out. "Give it here."
Reluctantly, Kadar hands the bug over.
Laela turns to Vaz. "I need to borrow your tablet."
"The last time you said that, you bricked it."
"By accident," Laela insists. "And I fixed it, didn't I? With improvements. Which I need, right now."
Vaz huffs, reaches into his bag, and hands her the tablet.
Laela sits on the bed, shoving Kadar and Vaz aside so she has enough space to work. After a few minutes, she says, "Got it."
Everyone crowds around to watch as Laela fast-forwards through the camera footage.
It's hours of basically nothing, interrupted occasionally when Covax comes back to deposit something he's stolen. Late in the evening, Covax returns to his room and stays there. Hours later, he moves to the door and opens it.
A hirovan pushes his way into Covax's room. He argues with Covax, briefly, before drawing a gun and putting a bullet through Covax's head. Then he pumps two more rounds into the life support system and tears the room apart until he finds a small vial.
"That is Itos," Ysal says.
Kadar squints at the screen. "What? No."
"Xe's right," Asha says. "That's definitely him."
"Ysal," Vaz says, concerned, "where is Tia right now?"
"Still asleep, I would imagine," Ysal says.
"In her suite?"
"Yes."
"The suite she shares with Itos?"
•
Asha bursts through the door of the suite and shouts, "Tia!"
Immediately, one of the bodyguards slams her into the wall.
"Sorry," says the guard, once he recognizes her. "Reflex."
"Ow," says Asha.
Tia emerges from her bedroom with a sheet wrapped around her shoulders. The feathers along one side of her face are smushed flat. "Asha?" She blinks owlishly. "What's all the yelling about?"
Ysal steps into the room, with Kadar on xir heels. "Tia, you are in danger." Xe stops and looks around the room. "Where is Itos?"
"Itos?" Tia rubs her eyes. "Just left. He's having breakfast with Hesek."
"I don't get it," Kadar says. "Itos had access to Tia all night. Why hasn't he made his move yet?"
Something clicks into place. "Because he wasn't trying to kill Tia," Asha says.
•
Asha and Kadar reach Hesek's room first. Kadar keys in the security override, and the door slides open.
Hesek stares at them with a pastry halfway to his beak. Across the table, Itos turns and glares.
"This is a private room," Itos says, annoyed.
"Oh, shut up." Asha points at the pastry in Hesek's hand. "And don't eat that!"
Hesek blinks at the pastry, puts it down, and looks up at Itos. "I knew it. I knew you were being too friendly."
Itos opens his beak, closes it, stands up so suddenly he knocks the chair over, and bolts out the door.
Kadar swears loudly and chases after him.
Asha looks at Hesek. "You okay here?"
Hesek shrugs.
Asha backs out of the room and spots Kadar halfway down the hall. "What are you doing?" Asha sprints to catch up with him. "He can't go anywhere!"
"He killed Covax!" Kadar shouts back.
Itos moves surprisingly fast on those little chicken legs, but Asha's right; there's nowhere he can go. They finally corner him in the ballroom.
Of course, that's when Itos pulls the gun on them.
It's a little handgun, easily concealed, but Asha's seen what it can do. "Okay!" She backs up a step, pulling Kadar with her. "Okay, everybody calm down."
Kadar, meanwhile, can't seem to decide between his own sense of self-preservation and his overwhelming need to break Itos' face. "Let mego."
"Stay back," Itos says, frantic. "You can't touch me. My wife—"
"Itos!"
Tia strides into the ballroom, puffed feathers and burning eyes transforming her into a tiny ball of indignant fury. Asha almost feels sorry for Itos.
"Tia," Itos stammers. "Let me explain—"
"Oh, you owe me that much," Tia says. "Do you have any idea how much damage you've caused?"
"I couldn't let you marry him!" Itos shouts back. "I did this for you! For the family!"
Tia stops next to Asha and holds out her hand. "Give me the gun."
Itos wavers, the gun trembling in his grip.
"Now, Itos."
Itos sighs, deflates a little, and hands it over.
•
Tia's guards drag Itos off to the security office, and Asha decides to celebrate by collapsing into bed and staying there for the foreseeable future.
She's awakened by a knock on the door. Asha checks the time on her comm. Late afternoon. She hasn't been asleep nearly long enough.
There's another knock. "Asha!" Laela says. "Tia wants to see us."
Asha groans and reluctantly rolls out of bed.
Tia at least has the manners to offer them all free food
once they get to her suite. "Itos confessed to me," she says. "After he failed to kill Hesek last night, he sabotaged the comm tower to buy himself enough time for a second attempt."
"And Covax?" Kadar asks.
"Your friend stole Itos' supply of cepidotoxin," Tia says. "Itos had a tracking chip installed in the vial. He followed the signal to Covax's room, and — well, you saw the rest."
"So why'd he do it?" Asha wonders aloud. "I'm inclined to say it was jealousy, but you already have another husband, and Itos hasn't tried to kill him. Has he?"
"No," Tia says patiently. "Hesek is an Ikmari, and Itos is a Cavaris. They're old enemies. Itos tried to talk me out of marrying Hesek months ago, but I shut him down." She pinches the skin above her beak. "At the time, I assumed that was the end of it. I was wrong."
"Okay, neat, mystery solved," Laela says. "What now?"
"The wedding's been delayed," Tia explains. "A member of my household attempted to murder the groom, and that's given the Ikmari family grounds to renegotiate the marriage. We'll be at this for months."
"When the new terms are set," Ysal reassures her, "I will happily attend the wedding."
"Thank you." Tia clasps her hands together. "Any chance I could hire you back, Ysal? My current security team clearly has a few blind spots."
"I appreciate the offer, but I must refuse." Ysal glances at Laela. "I am quite content where I am."
"Very well." Tia turns to Kadar. "Now. You."
Like a petulant child, Kadar says, "What did I do?"
"You impersonated a Sentinel! And you conspired to rob me, and my guests!"
"I helped catch the killer," Kadar fires back. "Doesn't that count for anything?"
"I'll include it in my statement." Tia crosses her arms. "I'm not going to lie to the police for you. They'll decide whether you deserve any leniency."
•
Onorine Colonial Security shows up the next morning to check on the communications outage, and — once Tia explains the situation — arrest Itos and Kadar.
Asha watches the scene unfold on the landing pad. Itos goes quietly, but Kadar complains and struggles and tries to negotiate the whole way to the security shuttle.
Once the cops are occupied with the witness statements, Asha wanders over to the open door of the shuttle, where they've cuffed Kadar to a seat and left him to wait.
Kadar spots her and nods. "I don't suppose there's a chance you could help me out here."
"Magic 8-ball says 'very doubtful,'" Asha replies.
"You're mad at me. Why are you mad at me?"
"Besides the fact that you lied to us?"
Kadar shrugs. "I lie to everyone. It's not personal."
"Okay, how about that thing where you're not a real Sentinel?"
Kadar looks confused. "That doesn't fall under the 'lying' category?"
"I need to talk to a Sentinel!" Asha snaps. "My planet's under quarantine. It could be overrun, or gone, and I have no way of knowing, and I hoped you—" She stops and scrubs a hand over her head. "Never mind. Not your problem. Bye."
"But—"
"Goodbye, Kadar."
•
"Do we really need to do inventory now?" Asha trails along behind Laela on her circuitous route through Wayfarer's cargo bay. "The ship was in lockup the whole time we were on Onorine."
"I need to be sure," Laela replies.
"Laela, I am 99% certain the valets didn't take anything. Even after you insulted them to their faces and didn't tip."
Laela stops in front of a stack of palladium crates and powers up her tablet. "Read out those I.D. numbers for me."
Asha sighs, approaches the crates, and stops. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Asha takes another step forward. There's a soft scuffle of a shoe on the floor, the rustle of clothing as someone struggles to breathe quietly. "I don't think we're alone in here."
"Shit," Laela hisses. "Stay here, I need to get to the armory—"
A familiar face peeks out from behind the crates. "Please don't do that."
"Kadar, what the fuck?" Asha snaps.
Laela, still contemplating the armory, says, "I thought he was arrested?"
"Please," Kadar scoffs. "I've escaped from worse."
"Laela, call Colonial Security."
"Fuck that, I'm throwing him out the airlock."
"Okay, wait, wait," Kadar says, increasingly frantic. "I can help you."
"With what?" Laela retorts. "Getting arrested for harboring a fugitive?"
"You." Kadar points at Asha. "You said your planet's under quarantine. I can get you the information you need."
"How?"
"I know people."
"Oh, he knows people," Laela drawls. "He's lying. Space him."
"You might never get a chance like this again," Kadar insists. "Think about it, Asha. Think very carefully."
Episode 4: Liberty
An incessant beeping noise invades Asha's pleasant, sleepy haze. Her comm is going off.
Asha struggles to emerge from the poofy marshmallow hell of the bed and paws blindly at the nightstand until she locates the evil little device. "What?"
"Good morning." Kadar's artificially cheerful tone sounds more strained than usual. "Where are you?"
"Uh." Asha sits up and squints around the one-room apartment. That's no help. "Hang on a second," she says, and gently prods the lump in the covers next to her.
There's a responding grunt.
"Where are we?" Asha asks.
"My apartment."
"I know. Where's that?"
The lump mumbles an address, which Asha relays to Kadar.
"Okay," Kadar says. "Put some pants on. We'll be there soon."
Instead, Asha burrows under the covers and goes back to sleep.
She's awoken an indeterminate amount of time later by a knock on the door. Asha groans, rolls out of bed, and yanks her clothes back on.
She opens the door to reveal Kadar and Vaz, waiting on the doorstep. If the rumpled clothes and bloodshot eyes are any indication, neither of them slept last night. Vaz has a livid black eye, and Kadar's nose looks like it might have been broken and reset sometime in the last few hours.
Asha stares at them. "What the hell happened to you guys?"
•
20 Hours Earlier
For someone who has so much difficulty moving around, Laela — who, as captain of the Wayfarer, is responsible for clearing all crew departures from the ship — is surprisingly difficult to sneak up on.
She sees Asha and Kadar coming, says, "Oh, fuck," turns on her heel, and starts walking in the opposite direction.
Asha jogs down the hall to catch up. "So—"
"No," Laela says.
"Would you at least let me ask first?"
"Whatever it is, it involves him." Laela jerks a thumb over her shoulder at Kadar. "The answer is 'no.'"
The door to the starboard observation deck opens as they pass. Ysal sai-Vysri steps out, with the ship's doctor, Vaz, on xir heels.
Laela stumbles to avoid the sudden obstacle. "What are you doing up here?"
Ysal looks pointedly at the sign above the door and says, "Observing."
"I've never seen Tacenda from orbit before," Vaz explains, a little bashfully. He notices Asha and Kadar and adds, "Is there a meeting I don't know about?"
"Too many people on this damn ship," Laela grumbles, and stalks off in the direction of the command deck.
Asha follows, dragging Kadar in her wake. "Laela, I promise you'll like this idea."
"No."
"It gets Kadar off the boat."
Laela pauses at the door to the command deck. "I'm listening."
Asha nudges Kadar. "Tell her the thing."
Reluctantly, Kadar says, "So you know that information leak from the Sentinel archives? About ten years ago?"
"I remember," Laela says. "Someone 'accidentally' dumped a bunch of files onto the public datanet, right? But they were all encrypted."
"'Were' being the operative word," Kadar says. "There's a collective that's been slowly decrypting the files for years now. I have a friend in that collective, and she lives on Tacenda."
Laela keys in the access code for the command deck; she started locking the door immediately after Asha convinced her to let Kadar stay aboard. "And once you've contacted that friend?"
"I stay on Tacenda, at least for the next few days," Kadar says. "You'll never see me again."
Laela carefully lowers herself into the piloting alcove and looks up at Asha. "Okay. Cleared."
"Also, I was hoping you and Ysal would come along," Asha says.
"I am afraid that is not possible," Ysal says from the doorway, where xe and Vaz are obviously and shamelessly eavesdropping. "Our clients will soon be arriving to collect their palladium shipment. Laela and I must stay with the ship until our business is concluded."
"I'll go with you," Vaz says. "I think I'm starting to get cabin fever."
"You mean Space Madness?" Asha says.
"Still not a real thing, no matter how many times you say it."
"Enjoy your shore leave," Ysal says, oddly plaintive, like a mother seeing her children off on their first day of school.
Asha gives Ysal a reassuring pat on the arm on her way out the door. "Oh, if I'm not back tonight, do you think you could feed my rat?"
"Of course," Ysal says.
•
Tacenda marks the border between the Protectorate's rugged outer worlds and its industrialized core. Most of the planet's surface is urbanized in the haphazard, labyrinthine way that suggests there was very little actual planning involved.
The buildings are so tall that they completely blot out the sun; the only remaining light at street level is artificial, thrown off by street lamps and garishly-colored signs and various flashing billboards. Hovercars speed overhead along precise, angular routes, and none of the pedestrians milling below seem to be worried about the possibility of a crash.
Kadar leads Asha and Vaz confidently through the cacophony of light and sound and bodies until they reach a narrow, sketchy-looking pub crammed between a residential building and what appears to be a low-budget theater of some kind. Kadar opens the door, and a wall of sound hits Asha like a cinder block to the face.
The pub's house music — if the word 'music' could be used to describe the sound of cicadas fucking, combined with a baseline that makes Asha's teeth rattle — has been turned up full blast. Asha taps Kadar on the shoulder. "Do we have to meet your friend here?" she shouts.