by Sam Coulson
Lati led us through a secret back exit that led to a long passageway that emerged behind a factory two blocks away from the Par’eth. Loid and I didn’t speak much as we glided along the moving sidewalks on the empty streets. Our journey back to our room at Talash Hall was quiet; though our return to our room was not.
“I thought you were going to be gone all night,” Ju-lin had been pacing so much that there was a clearly worn path on the soft carpet. “I mean really, how many of the locals did you end up pumping for information? Did you find anything out? Did you see those guys who were following us? Were you followed back here?”
“Ease up Twiggy, take a breath,” Loid said as he walked in and flopped himself down on a pillow.
Ju-lin was silent for several seconds, waiting with expectant eyes for Loid to continue.
“Well!?” She held her hands up.
Loid looked up at her blankly.
“Joof is dead,” I said. “The other Noonan, the one who met us at the market, is saying we killed her.”
“What?! Now you’re wanted for murder?” Ju-lin began pacing again.
“Nobody’s wanted for murder,” Loid said. “The little Noonan from the shop thinks we did it, but there’s no proof or records. Thankfully, the Celestrials don’t tend to jump on hearsay.”
“Besides, she got locked up after she shot at us.” I added. “So that’s the least of our worries at the moment.”
“Good, at least you aren’t wanted. We do not have time to deal with that,” Ju-lin answered. “Wait, she shot at you?”
“She smuggled a laser into the Par’eth to try to ghost me, it happens.” Loid shrugged casually as he grabbed some small red fruits off of the table. “But you’re only half right, nobody is wanted for murder. But you’re wanted: there’s a contract out on your life.”
“What?!”
“I were you, I’d keep it down,” Loid took another bite.
“Why do they have a contract out on my life? For what? How do they even know who I am? Who the hell are they?”
“Not sure, not sure, not sure, and not sure” Loid answered, annunciating each time with a nod.
“We think it could be MineWorks,” I volunteered.
“But we’re not sure,” Loid said, his mouth full of fruit.
“Why would MineWorks want me dead?”
We were silent.
“Well, what do you know?!”
“We know who attacked the colony,” I offered.
Ju-lin turned to me expectantly.
And so it went through the night, Loid and I recounted everything that had happened over the evening. Loid’s contact, Tolo shooting at us, and our conversation with the Matron. Eventually, Ju-lin stopped pacing and sat down. We talked through everything well into the night. We all agreed that meeting with the Matron the next day was our best chance for finding out what was behind the Collegiate’s attack.
As we talked, I couldn’t help but think we were missing something important. We didn’t know how the Draugari fit into the equation. Though Loid insisted that the Draugari attack on the Celestials must have been a crime of opportunity, the Draugari’s shifting memories in my head told me differently. Though I was beginning to trust Loid, I wasn’t about to let him in on that secret.
When we finally went to sleep late that night, we had yet to solve the question of how we were going to get Ju-lin across town without her being recognized. We had breakfast delivered the next morning, and were trying to come up with a way to smuggle her across the city when Ju-lin’s bedroom door finally opened, and we saw that she had already taken care of it.
Her shoulder-length chestnut-brown hair was gone, in its place was a haphazard mess of deep blue hair that fell to her jawline. Her unassuming clothes were replaced with skin-tight black pants and matching long-sleeved, high-necked shirt that had a speckled line of silver along the sleeves. Her belt had a large silver clasp and she wore her plasma torch on her hip.
“What?” She said as Loid and I stared at her dumbly.
“No-nothing,” I stammered and looked away, though I quickly looked back, stealing another glance at her soft curves.
Loid didn’t bother looking away as he gave her a very long up-and-down.
“Enough gawking,” she said as she stepped forward and grabbed a fruit from the tray.
“You should be passable,” Loid said, nonchalantly turning back to his breakfast. “Though put on some eye shadow. The Celestrials spent the last few million years of evolution just looking at each other. Since none of them have hair, and their facial structures tend to be more similar, they tend to recognize each other by focusing on the eyes. A little extra color will be distracting enough that they won't recognize you from your pictures.”
Ju-lin gave Loid a scalding look before turning to me.
“Eli, what do you see?” She asked as turned her hips slightly to offer me a profile view of her feminine shape and tilted her head slightly to the side and smiled at me.
“I—well—” I stammered as my face flushed red.
“Fair point,” Loid laughed. “If everyone is looking at you they won’t be looking for you.”
“Exactly,” Ju-lin said with a sly smile.
“I’m serious about the eye shadow though,” Loid said as he turned toward me. “Oh, here. I had room service bring up some gear for you as well, the whole ‘lost colonist’ thing doesn’t do much for you.”
He tossed me a sealed package that was on the bottom of the room service cart. It was a pair of folded thick grey pants and a dark green shirt made of a thin interwoven fabric.
“I don’t know how fashionable it is, but at least you won’t look like an out of work mechanic,” Loid said.
By midday we were all ready to go, but still had several hours to wait. Though I had assumed that Ju-lin would want to go outside and explore the city instead of sit around, I found that she was eerily content to stay in our room. The knowledge that there were hired killers after her had an unexpected calming effect. We spent most of the afternoon in silence, reading the local news and chatting idly about unimportant things.
After the slow hours passed, Loid finally checked the small computer on his wrist and indicated that it was time to go. Quietly and quickly we gathered our belongings and left. After checking out at the front desk, we took to the streets to the Matron’s landing bay.
Ju-lin got more than a few looks as we crossed the city, but I noticed that the eyes that followed her tended to be more appreciative than suspicious, and none seemed to notice Loid and myself. The sun was beginning to set into dusk by the time we reached the XG landing pads. The landing area was larger and nicer than where we had set down Tons-o-Fun. When we reached the main gate an armed guard checked us against his manifest, which identified us as Loid Burns and guests. After thoroughly checking Loid’s identification against his computer system, the guard waved us through the gates and gave us directions to landing pad nine.
As we passed the sign for landing pad seven I noticed that Loid’s hands were tapping on the butt of his holstered pistol.
“You look nervous,” I said quietly. “Are you sure we can trust the Matron?”
“I’m not worried about her,” Loid answered. “If I can’t trust her, I can’t trust anyone.”
“Then what?” I asked.
“It’s quiet, too quiet,” he answered. “Her disguise was good, but not that good. Have you noticed anyone following us?”
“No,” I answered.
“Neither have I,” he replied, the fine lines on his forehead were clearly pronounced.
“Isn’t that good?” I asked.
“Maybe,” he answered absently as he nodded ahead to the landing pad. “Here we are.”
“Loid!” the Matron was standing out in front of landing pad XG-9. She was wearing a long purple cloak with a flipped collar and a dark yellow fringe. “Right on time.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Loid smiled and looked over at the landing pad. “That thing yours?”
I looked over to see a large vessel, nearly the size of Alonzo’s Starchaser. The ship was a deep cobalt color with golden specks in the finish. The base of the ship was two large, angular fuselages with ovular windowed cabin mounted directly between them. As with most Celestrial ships I had seen, there were no exterior-mounted weapons, though I saw the outlines of several hatches along the surfaces that I was sure would pull back to reveal weapons. On the far sides of each of the fuselages there were bulges that looked like they could be turrets. The center cabin had four levels of windows, state cabins most likely. A boarding ramp was extended from the bottom of the cabin. Two armed guards stood at the base.
“One of the perks of being a Matron,” she responded. “I have access to some of the finer things. It belongs to a friend of mine. He lets me use it on occasion.”
“Perks? I should say so,” Loid answered as he slowly looked over the ship from bow to stern.
“She’s a custom-built pleasure yacht made at one of my people’s shipyards,” the Matron said. “You like?”
“Celestrial shipyards,” Loid said absently. “Someday you’ll have to take me into the interior worlds and give me a tour.”
“Ah, Eti’katc’kahn,” She gave a harsh laugh. “You are a friend to the Celestrial, but even you would be burnt down if you came anywhere near our core worlds. We are a private people.”
“Someday,” Loid unleashed his most disarming smile. “For now we have business. Did you find anything?”
“Yes, more than I had expected,” she answered as she turned to me. “But let’s not talk here. Eli, it’s good to see you again.”
I took her hand and took it and kissed it lightly as Loid had instructed.
She smiled gracefully.
“And you must be the young lady,” the Matron smiled and turned. “I love your hair, that’s one thing that our Earthborn cousins have that I envy. You can do so much with it. Now, if you will join me, let’s talk inside.”
Ju-lin beamed a smile as the Matron put her arm around her and began walking toward the ship.
Loid and I followed them. Something made me uneasy, but I couldn’t figure out what. I looked over at Loid. He was calm and relaxed as he studied the ship. I shook off the thought and tried to relax as we walked past the guards and up the ramp. At the entrance the Matron paused and gestured for me to come forward.
“Eli, Ju-lin, youth and beauty first,” the Matron nodded forward.
Glowing with the complement, Ju-lin stepped into the ship. I smiled and followed her, I had just passed over the threshold when the echo of the Matron’s words caught in my head. She had called her Ju-lin. We had never said her name.
Before I could turn around I heard the sliding as the exterior door slid shut behind me, locking us in darkness.
Ju-lin realizing the trap, spun and drew her plasma torch, and aimed it at the door. I barely had time to jump aside before she pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.
“Dammit, they must have some kind of dampening field,” Ju-lin hissed as she threw the plasma torch clattering into the darkness. “They’re jamming all electronics in here, it’s useless.”
“Loid!” I called pounding on the door.
“Loid! Get us out of here! What did you do!” Ju-lin’s voice as shrill and urgent.
I pounded my fists on the blast doors and yelled, but there wasn’t even an echo of sound. The steel was too thick.
“Can you find the handle?” Ju-lin asked in the darkness.
“I don’t know if I can even find the door,” I said as I felt along the sheer sides of the hold. “It’s too dark.”
There was a low rumble from somewhere below, the ship’s engines were engaging.
“Where are they taking us?” Ju-lin’s voice was a whisper.
There was a click above us and a humming sound as the ceiling began to glow, dimly illuminating the hold.
As our eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that we were in a large cargo area. A few paces away was a staircase that led up to a sealed door, most likely to the state cabins above. There were several empty alcoves, most likely designed to hold passenger’s luggage. On the far end of the hold was a row of four empty jump-seats mounted against the bulkhead.
I turned back to look at the entrance, it was sealed. The control console next to it was deactivated and non-responsive.
“Dammit,” I cursed.
“Eli,” Ju-lin whispered.
I turned and saw her staring at something at the far side of the hold, I hadn’t noticed it at first in the dim light, but above the jump-seats there was a large, four-pointed silver star.
Chapter 23.
Just weeks before we had been in the lower caste. I had stood against the side of the bulkhead with lowered eyes as our proven warriors passed. But today, the untried or unproven stood aside for me.
My strides were long, my steps purposeful. I turned a corner and climbed up through an access hatch that had once been an airlock, but now served as a connection between the many ships that my clan had fused together to create our home. I turned down another passage and approached the Chieftains door. The two warriors guarding the door: the Chief’s sons. They nodded and let me pass.
The inside of his cabin was large. It had once been the command deck for a large Domari cruiser, now it was the Chief’s grand hall. My bravado faded as I was humbled by the trophies on his wall. There were dozens of skulls mounted in a line, most were from humans of every shape and size, and two other creatures I did not know. I saw weapons hung on the walls, broken swords, and a large plasma rifle that had been hewn in half. There was a large cage built into the wall on one corner. I heard a low grown and heard the rustle of chains.
“Lor’ten,” the Chief entered the room from the far side.
I bowed my head and waited quietly for him to speak.
“It was not long ago that you knelt by the bladestones to receive your honor and give me your pledge. And now you stand before me once again. You have done well, you have earned honor, and now your clan has need of you.”
It is difficult to gauge the passing of time when you are sealed inside the cargo bay of a traveling starship. Ju-lin and I talked, sat, and waited, as the dull hum of the engines droned. We were hungry and tired. Though the heat of the engines staved off the freeze of deep space, the cargo hold was not climate controlled. The chill in the air grew as the hours passed, and we huddled together for warmth. We were both exhausted, and lost in our own thoughts. Eventually, Ju-lin leaned against my shoulder and slept.
The only thing that marked the passing of time was the vertigo that we felt as we fluxed. The sensation had made my stomach flip when I was in the cabin of Tons-o-Fun, but it was much worse in the enclosed cavern of the ship’s hold.
When she awoke, we talked. She told me about her life growing up, and I told her about my memories and the different lives that I remembered. I had thought she would be disturbed by the notion that I could recall a full life lived, of the wife and family that I had had before the terraforming, of the strange faces and intense feelings that haunt my dreams. But if she was bothered, she didn’t let it show.
She asked thoughtful questions about my memories that helped me stitch the patterns of my past together. She told me about that her mother, who was a pilot herself. She had died when Ju-lin was young during the Draugari invasion of Alpha Centauri. Ju-lin talked about how she learned to live with loss. The anger, the fear, the loneliness.
It was strange for me, but there, captive in the dim, chilly hold of the Collegiate’s ship, with the four-pointed star Vasudeva on the wall above us, I felt warmer and happier than I could remember. I held Ju-lin close for comfort as well as warmth, and for the first time, I didn’t feel alone.
We had gone through six fluxes, and countless hours in the dark before there was a jarring series of metallic clanks against the hull and the engines went silent.
“We’re docked,” Ju-lin said, raising her head. I had thought she was asleep.
>
“With a ship?” I asked.
“More likely a station,” she answered. “Those sounds were magnetic clamps holding the ship in place.”
“Right,” I shivered involuntarily.
“Eli,” she said. “Do you think they know what you are?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” I answered.
“What do they want from us?”
It wasn’t the first time on the flight we had asked ourselves that question. Her tone wasn’t fearful or nervous. It was calculating.
“It must be just about the colony then,” she said. “Something about the symbols.”
“How do they even know we saw them?” I asked.
“Maybe Loid told them?”
“Loid didn’t know much.”
“He knew enough,” she answered. “And now he’s going to be rich enough, I’m sure they paid him well for the information.”
I didn’t reply. My mind raced through everything that the Matron had told us about the Collegiate. They were a group of historians. Historians who abduct. I thought of Joof. Historians who kill. None of it added up.
Another series of popping sounds reverberated through the ship. The control panel by the door we had entered through came to life, and as we scrambled to our feet, the door swung open and flooded the hold with light.
We squinted our eyes and tried to adjust to the brightness, six shadows separated themselves and entered the hold. All were Celestrial. All were armed. Though the six were not wearing any p uniform, I saw small silver stars pinned to their lapels. The Collegiate
“What do you want from us?” Ju-lin was on her feet, walking toward the nearest guard.
The guards all stood motionless and silent.
“What?” Ju-lin stopped a few paces away from the guards. “Oh I get it, you’re all just grunts right? No authority? Well then, who’s in charge? Hm? How far into Skins space did you take us? Further than any other Earthborn has ever been I’d bet. What are you going to do? Torture us? Do you even know what you are doing?”
One of the guards stepped forward, whipping Ju-lin across the face with his pistol and sending her tumbling backwards. I took a few steps to catch her, three of the other guards stepped forward with rifles aimed squarely at my chest.