Sons of the Starfarers: Omnibus I-III

by Joe Vasicek

  “Then what is his life to thee?”

  Reva swallowed. “H-he’s my friend. I owe him my life. It’s a matter of honor.”

  “For honor’s sake, wouldst thou plead for him?”

  Was this another trap? Had Gulchina already decided what to do with him, so that nothing she said would have any effect? She remembered all too well the cruel way Gulchina’s men had tortured him, and his screams of pain still rang in her ears. How could such a brutal and heartless woman have any sense of honor?

  But as Reva looked into Gulchina’s icy-cold eyes, she knew that she couldn’t evade her questions any longer. The woman’s patience was running thin. Reva could see it in the slant of her eyebrows and the narrowness of her lips. Unless Reva gave her a straight answer, impatience would give way to wrath—an efficient wrath, cold and calculated.

  “Yes,” Reva answered. “Yes, I would.”

  Gulchina raised an eyebrow. “Knowest thou what I told him?”

  The question took Reva aback. “I-I don’t,” she admitted.

  “That so long as he tarrieth on my starship, my voice to him is the voice of an almighty god. The air that he breatheth, the food that he eateth, the water that he drinketh, and the space that he doth occupy is a gift from my hand. So is it the same with thee. Thou hast no right to life nor claim to sustenance beyond that which I doth give thee, even as he hath none. Understandeth thou this?”

  Reva frowned. “No, I don’t. What do you mean, we have no right to life? Doesn’t everyone have a right to life?”

  “Not in the Outworlds, child. And as thou hast heard, I am their very embodiment.”

  “I still don’t understand. How can you treat us as if—as if our lives are yours to take?”

  Gulchina’s eyes narrowed. For a terrible moment, Reva feared that she’d finally incurred her wrath. She shuddered a little as Gulchina rose to her feet, but the raven-haired woman only clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace.

  “In the Outworlds, child, life is no right. Thou of all people shouldst know this. Didst their ‘right to life’ save any of thy kin? Or didst it hasten their doom? No, child. Life in the Outworlds is a gift. My duty as captain is to mete out this gift for the good of the whole, not the good of the one. Understandest thou this?”

  “Yes,” Reva murmured, though inwardly she wanted to scream.

  “The void doth not love whom it spareth, nor doth it hate whom it taketh. There is no life between the stars that is not encircled on all sides by the gaping jaws of death. Yet just as no mortal mind canst comprehend the infinite blackness, so too can no mortal power make slaves of those who dwell therein.”

  Has this woman gone insane? Reva wondered. All this talk of life and death, of gods and judgment—it sounded like the rantings of a madwoman. Still, there was a cruel and insidious logic to it all. The more she understood it, the more it horrified her.

  “Are you saying that it’s hopeless for me to petition for mercy on behalf of my friend?”

  Gulchina stopped pacing and looked her in the eye. “I have told thee, on my ship I am like unto an almighty god. Thinkest thou to change my mind?”

  “I don’t know. I doubt anything I say can change your mind one way or the other. But you asked if I would petition for honor’s sake, and the answer to that is yes. Even if I can’t change your mind, I won’t abandon the debt I owe him.”

  Once again, a cold grin spread across Gulchina’s face. “And if thy petition is in vain?”

  Reva swallowed. “Then at least if I die with him, I’ll die with my self-respect.”

  Gulchina’s laughter roared in the tiny room, making Reva jump.

  “Thy kindred are dead, thy homeworld made desolate. Thou art a stranger in a strange place, and hast no place to rest thy weary head. Why shouldst thou live out thy life in darkness? Make thine abode here, and join thyself with us.”

  Chills shot down Reva’s back. To refuse would surely mean death, but to accept meant … Well, what did it mean?

  “What will you do to Isaac?” she asked, dodging the question once again.

  Gulchina shrugged. “If his life proves to be of value, I will let him live until it does not. Otherwise, he shall perish.”

  “Let me talk with him, then. I can—”

  “Thou forgetest thy station, child. I have offered thee life, but it is in my power to take that gift away as seemeth me good. Doth I make myself clear?”

  Gulchina’s icy gaze sent shivers down Reva’s spine. “Yes,” she whispered. “Very clear.”

  “Good. Then clothe thyself and make ready to assume thy post. Though thou hast been taught to embrace thy nakedness, thou must cover it if thou desirest a place among us.”

  “Of course,” Reva agreed. Gulchina input a command on her wrist console, and the server-bot returned, this time carrying a pile of roughly folded clothes. It set them at Reva’s feet, and she saw that they were her own, taken from the Medea. She stood up and quietly dressed while Gulchina watched.

  “Thou shalt be as one of us: Surrounded by death, but free from those who would enslave thee. And if thou fillest thy station well, more shall be added upon thy head.”

  What is she talking about? Reva wondered. Something told her that she would soon find out.

  * * * * *

  Isaac squinted as light suddenly dispelled the darkness, waking him from the restless half-sleep in which he’d dozed and searing his eyes. He moved to shield them with his hands, but his swollen wrists were still bound. The chill air of the airlock made him shiver, reminding him of his nakedness.

  On the other side of the transparent inner door, Gulchina marched into the cargo bay, flanked on either side by her guards. Isaac’s heart leaped—had she come to kill him? She palmed the access panel for the airlock, but instead of the door opening, the shackles did, releasing him. He fell in a heap to the hard metal floor, hugging his chest to warm himself from the cold.

  “Before I vent you into space, there are some questions I wish to ask,” Gulchina said. She held her wrist console to her mouth; apparently, a microphone in her device transmitted it to the speakers hidden in the airlock walls. “If I determine that your life has value, I may choose to let you live. If not, I will not hesitate to let you die.”

  Isaac swallowed. He believed her.

  “First, when you spoke with Captain Aslan at Gibeon, you claimed to be a star wanderer fleeing the war. Yet instead of proceeding to the Far Outworlds, as you told him, you came here to Ithaca. Why did you change your course?”

  How could she possibly know all that? Isaac wondered. Then he remembered the transmitter that Aslan had given him. He had held it casually in his hand all throughout their conversation, right up to the last moment. Was it secretly a recording device, then? But if the pirates had recorded him, then that meant they were doing more than just raiding—

  “Where is your tongue? Answer me!”

  “S-sorry,” Isaac stuttered. “I just—I changed my mind mid-course.”

  “Mid-course? According to my scouts, you headed straight for Ithaca without stopping at any other port after Gibeon. Clearly, you knew exactly where you were going from the beginning.”

  She’s not going to release me, Isaac realized. Whether I answer her questions or not, I’m as good as dead.

  Gulchina put her hands behind her back and gave him a cold stare. Her eyes seemed to bore right through him.

  “You have a curious sigil tattooed on your shoulder. Who gave it to you?”

  The question took him by surprise. Up until that moment, he’d forgotten about the henna tattoo that Reva had painted on him. It must have been one of the first things the pirates saw when they’d stripped him down.

  “The girl with the henna tattoos gave it to me.” What have you done with her?

  “Do you know what that sigil stands for?”

  There’s no sense lying about it, Isaac realized. He took a deep breath.

  “It’s the symbol for brother.”

  �
�That’s only partially correct. It stands for love—brotherly love. The girl has denied that you are lovers, but even if you were, that sigil could hardly represent any aspect of your relationship. So what is the meaning?”

  What’s her game? Is she jockeying for leverage to manipulate me?

  “I-I have a brother,” he admitted. “He’s dead, though, and she wanted to comfort me. She gave me that tattoo as a way to remember him.”

  Of course, Isaac didn’t know that Aaron was dead—in fact, he desperately hoped he wasn’t. But if Gulchina knew that, she’d be able to hold it against him. Her eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms. Clearly, his lie hadn’t completely convinced her.

  “Was your brother a soldier in the Resistance like you?”

  Isaac’s stomach fell. Had Gulchina discovered the jump beacon? He couldn’t let that device fall into their hands—what if they sold it to the Imperials? Chills shot up and down his arms, but he did his best to conceal his rising fears.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a star wanderer—”

  “You can cut the act, Isaac Deltana. I’ve read your ship’s logs and know all about your mission. It was an ingenious plan your superiors had to fly a jump beacon into enemy territory just ahead of your flotilla. Only by concentrating your forces could you have any hope of defeating the Imperials. I’ve heard a lot about this technology, and I’ve wanted to get my hands on it for some time. The Resistance guards the station beacons far too thoroughly for my men to steal one directly, but their agents are not guarded nearly so well. Now, thanks to you, I finally have what I came for.”

  Isaac’s eyes widened. No!

  “I see that we finally understand each other,” said Gulchina, her lips curling up in a sneer. “So now, let us end this useless charade. What sends an agent of the Resistance fleeing into the Shiloh Rift?”

  His heart sank, but he forced himself to meet her gaze. “Why should I tell you? Either way, you’re going to kill me.”

  “I haven’t decided that yet. The girl has pled for your life, and I’m of half a mind to humor her.”

  She has? He took a deep breath and shook his head.

  “Even if you let me live, there’s no way you’ll let me go.”

  “That is true. We cannot risk letting your superiors learn that their secret weapon has fallen into our hands. However, there is a possibility that I could let you join our crew. Reva has already agreed to join us.”

  The news hit Isaac like a meteor. For several moments, he didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth, but the words refused to come out.

  “She—she joined you?” he finally managed.

  “Yes. And if you wish to join with her, I suggest that you comply.”

  Is this the way out? Isaac wondered. If I go along with these pirates, will I find some way to salvage this mess? He thought of his brother—he had no way to know whether Aaron was alive, but if the Flotilla had pulled off a victory at Colkhia, there was a significant chance that he was. As for betraying the Resistance, there wasn’t much more that he could do to make things worse. The jump beacon technology had fallen into Gulchina’s hands, and nothing Isaac said or did could do anything to change that.

  I need to stay alive, he decided. I’m no good to Aaron if I’m dead.

  “All right. What do you want to know?”

  Gulchina placed her hands comfortably behind her back. “First, why did you come to the Shiloh Rift?”

  “I was sent to Colkhia in advance of the Flotilla, to set up the jump beacon for the attack. Before I could complete my mission, the jump beacon broke down. I assumed that the Imperials would crush the Flotilla and fled the system in order to keep the technology from falling into their hands. It seemed unlikely that they would focus any attention on the rift, so I headed there.”

  “Do you know how to repair the jump beacon?”

  “No. Our superiors kept us completely in the dark about the inner workings of the jump beacons, so that we couldn’t reveal it if we were caught and interrogated.”

  Gulchina narrowed her eyes, but nodded. “Is that why you lied to Captain Aslan? To keep the technology from falling into our hands?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you had any contact with the Resistance since Colkhia? Do they know or suspect where you are?”

  “Not as far as I know,” said Isaac. “I fled Colkhia before the Flotilla arrived, and went straight to Shiloh. And as for Ithaca, there aren’t any commanders there that I could have reported to.”

  “So as far as your superiors know, you’ve simply gone missing?”

  “That’s right.”

  A smile spread slowly across Gulchina’s face, one that sent chills down his spine. “That’s good,” she said. “Very good. Better than I could have expected.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “When I learned that the Pleiadians had developed a technology that would revolutionize faster-than-light space travel, I brought my fleet to the Shiloh Rift in order to obtain it. I had hoped to find some way to infiltrate the Resistance and steal this technology from within. Instead, you fell right into my trap, bringing the technology to me directly. Yes, this operation has gone far better than I could have hoped, and you, Isaac Deltana, have proven most useful.”

  Isaac’s mouth went dry. If only he had stayed at Colkhia long enough to confirm whether the Flotilla had won or lost! He’d thought his mission had been a failure, when really the only failure was letting the jump beacon fall into Gulchina’s hands.

  “One more question,” Gulchina said. “The girl, Reva. How did you meet her?”

  “My brother and I found her frozen in cryo on a derelict station at Nova Alnilam. We brought her to the New Pleiades to thaw her, but she was confiscated by the Imperials at Colkhia. When I returned there for my mission, I found her in an escape pod. That’s how she became a passenger on my ship.”

  “Interesting. So as far as you know, no one is looking for her, either?”

  Only my brother.

  “No,” he said, hanging his head.

  “Very well. Though that may seem hard to you now, it marks a great turn in your fortunes. If either of you had friends hunting for you, I would be forced to kill you, but because that is not the case, I am free to do with you as I like.”

  Isaac didn’t look up. He didn’t want to risk betraying himself with his eyes.

  “You will take on a new name,” said Gulchina. “Starting now, you will leave everything from your old life behind. You are mine now. Your life belongs to me. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” he whispered. “I understand.”

  The door hissed open, and something hit the floor by his face with a soft thud. He looked up and saw that it was a set of old clothes, dark and unmarked.

  “Dress yourself in these, and wait here for further orders. One of my men will be with you shortly.”

  “What about Reva? What are you going to do with her?”

  “The girl is no longer any of your concern. You will not ask about her again, nor speak with her without my express permission. Understand?”

  Isaac drew in a deep breath. “Yes.”

  “Then dress yourself and choose a new name.”

  With that, she turned and left. Isaac eased himself up and picked up the clothes she’d left him. The fabric was rough, but after hanging naked in the airlock for so long, he was grateful for anything.

  I just have to stay alive long enough for my brother to find me, he told himself. For Aaron’s sake, I have to keep going.

  Though whether Aaron was even still alive, Isaac had no idea.

  A Land Far Stranger

  Don’t show fear, Reva told herself as she followed Gulchina down the narrow, windowless corridor. It was easier now that she was considered one of the crew, but she still couldn’t help but feel like a lamb in a den of wolves. The men they passed were large and burly, with unkempt hair and eyes that burned like fire. They stared at her lustfully whenever Gulchina w
asn’t watching, to the point where Reva wondered if it made any difference to them whether she wore clothing or not.

  The door ahead of them hissed open slowly. Reva followed Gulchina inside, staying as close to her as she could manage without seeming clingy. The men in the room all turned to face her, making Reva wince a little. If Gulchina noticed her discomfort—and Reva didn’t doubt that she did—she flatly ignored it.

  The room was a command center of some kind. Reva could tell from the display screens strung up around the various stations and control panels. Wires ran in bundles along the edge of the wall, and welding marks showed that the chairs had been added later. Very little of the equipment seemed to be part of the original design—it was as if someone had completely gutted the ship and rebuilt it from the inside out. Then she noticed the long, narrow window toward the front, where all the chairs were facing, and realized that it wasn’t a control center at all. It was the bridge.

  Gulchina spoke a few short words to her men, and they returned to their seats. A couple of them glanced curiously at Reva, but in the presence of their captain, their discipline was iron-clad.

  “Why have you brought me here?’ Reva asked. Gulchina sat in a large chair in the center of the room, and the men resumed their stations.

  “In a moment, I shall tell thee,” said Gulchina. “Seat thyself.”

  She hit a command on the keypad at the end of her armrest, and a small second chair slid out from the side of hers. It came out almost a full meter, the back unfolding like a pendulum. Reva couldn’t help but admire the ingenious design.

  “All that thou seest was designed and built by my men,” Gulchina explained. “Even the very hull of this ship has been modified, though now is no time for a tour.”

  Reva took the hint and sat down. Gulchina made a short comment to her men in their own language, making them chuckle. It did not sound like the same language that Isaac spoke.

  For the next several moments, Gulchina issued commands, giving Reva a chance to observe. It was clear that each of the men had a different task, though what those tasks were exactly, she didn’t know. A few were easier than others to tease out, such as the helm, which she recognized by the flight stick in the center of the control board. Astrogation was also clear from the starmaps spread across that station’s many displays. But the others were more difficult, though from the intensity with which the men threw themselves at their jobs, it was clear that they were all important.