Aleatra pointed at Sara. “She is—”
“No,” Sara snapped. “I’m really not.”
“You cannot just leave the republic.”
“Like you’re gonna stop her,” Hela said.
Aleatra bristled at the remark but remained quiet.
Tooize looked at Tai. “Are you going to do a deal?”
“I was coming to that,” Tai said. “It might be helpful if you took that cannon out of their faces.”
“Fair point.” Tooize and Lofreal backed away from the Markesians.
Tai holstered his revolver and slapped his hands together. “Okay. We need a tow, and we’d quite like to stay inside here where it’s nice and warm and full of air. So.” He rubbed at his jaw. “One rather small ship. Nine people. Not really too far to go. I’d say you do this as a favor as you’ve got to go to Haven anyway. Nothing else out here for you to do.”
Chitaan stepped forward and towered over Tai. The Markesian’s thick armored forehead tipped low, and his compound eyes focused on him. “And what do we get in return for this favor, human?” The words came low and fast, the mandibles expertly orating each syllable.
Tai grinned up at the Markesian overlord. “I introduce you to my mother and Commander Haggard. My word carries far in Haven. I’m a great ally to have.”
Hela stifled a laugh behind her hand. Tai shot her daggers.
“You want to bring these to Haven?” Sara said, her eyes bulging with disbelief. “After everything they’ve done? You really have lost it with this one, Tai.”
Turning to face Sara, Tai held out his arms. “Sorry, sister, but there ain’t no other choice, is there? Besides, I think their story holds water. I don’t see them destroying the stasis units floating out there. How about we take them on their word for now and see what happens? Either way, you need to get back to Haven to arrange transport to the Venture, unless you’re happy with leaving Bookworm there all by his lonesome.”
Sara sighed and looked from Chitaan to Catheraine. She seemed to settle down slightly. Catheraine’s body language was beseeching, if anything. Fearsome mandibles aside, if Tai’s instincts were anything to go by, he would say she was trying to project a sense of friendliness.
As though picking up on his thoughts, Sara backed off, nodding. “Fine,” she said. “We’ll deal with this on Haven.” Regarding Aleatra, Sara pointed at his chest, making him step back. “But you… you will face justice for what you’ve done. One way or another, I’ll make sure of it.”
“Well, there goes your Crown Membership,” Hela said.
Chitaan reached out one of his arms to Sara, extending his chitinous fingers, the sharp claws of which were retracted. “Please,” he said, his hissing tone taking on a calm aspect. “Come with us. We’ll give you food and water and show you the plans, show you why we had to do what we did.”
“Yes,” Catheraine said. “We’ll show you the plans, the location of the rest of your species. We don’t intend you harm. Once we might have done during the early skirmishes, but the Markesian Empire fractured. The other half are separate from us. We’ve been waging our own war on our own species. For every one you have lost, we have lost ten.”
“It’s true,” Aleatra added. “Whether you like it or not, the facts are the facts.”
“Fine,” Sara said. “Show us. But while we’re heading to Haven, the less time I spend in his company, the better.” She jabbed a finger at Aleatra.
“Very well,” Chitaan said.
He turned his back along with his sister-mate and the Crowner, and headed off down the white corridor. To turn their back like that on a kronac wielding a cannon was either brave or foolish, Tai couldn’t decide which, but whichever it was, he found himself respecting them for it.
As they followed them through the ship, Kina comforted Sara while Hela kept her weapon held across her chest, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. The kronacs remained directly behind the Markesians.
“That’s a rivalry waiting to happen,” Tai said to Tooize.
The kronac shrugged his massive shoulders, ruffling his feathers. “Only if they make it one. What do you think of this place?”
“Impressive. Expensive. Valuable,” Tai said as he admired the high level of engineering that had clearly gone into the ship’s design. Unlike the Venture with its impossible AI-designed space-saving interior, this was all about simplicity. Clean, smooth surfaces everywhere looked like they were coated in some kind of white ceramic.
Even the other Markesians they passed wore clean-looking robes.
Tai noticed that there appeared to be a number of subspecies among them. Whereas the two overlords matched the color of the ship’s interior with their bone-white chitin, he noticed there were others colored a deep red and others an almost impossibly dark but matte black.
Chitaan led them into a large oval room. A pair of seats dominated the space in the middle, and in a ring around them were a dozen pod-like stations containing smaller Markesians. These were the matte black ones and apparently of a different caste based on their role within the ship.
At the front of the bridge were a series of tall but narrow screens. Various data flowed vertically using a strange symbolic script. In one of the screens, Tai noticed what looked like a representation of a star system. It had two moons, a sun and half a dozen planets of mixed sizes.
Chitaan was explaining to the others what they were looking at, but Tai was distracted by Tooize tugging on his sleeve. Tai turned to the kronac. “What is it?”
“I want to ask you a favor.”
“A deal? What you after now? Some more credits for that herby stuff you drink?”
“No, nothing like that. I want to offer Sara the gift of all language. She saved my life; she has earned the honor.”
“Okay, big fella, and you want me to do what?”
“Be the translator during the offering.”
“Sure thing, buddy. As soon as we reach Haven, we’ll—”
“No,” Tooize said. “Now. I don’t trust this, and if anything were to happen, I’d like Sara to know.”
Tai looked over at the group as they were being led closer to the vertical screens. Sara was remonstrating with Aleatra as he furiously pointed at one of the planets. She must have gone too far, as the Crowner slapped her across the face, sending her collapsing to the ground.
DeLaney stepped away as the Hentians moved in to help her.
Hela pointed her gun at Aleatra, and simultaneously, the pods opened, and soon the entire bridge was turning into a standoff.
“Oh, for freck’s sake,” Tai said, bringing the Napier up and aiming at a group of Markesians armed with pistols that resembled the ship with a swept-back wing. They too looked chitinous and dangerous.
Chapter Fifteen
Sara got to her feet and rubbed the pain away from her cheek. She scowled at Aleatra. Every cell in her body wanted her to take her revenge and strike him. But as her fury dissipated, she noticed the tense atmosphere on the bridge and the fact that everyone apart from her, the Hentians and DeLaney, were armed. Even Aleatra wore a small wrist-blaster beneath his robes, its barrel pointing at her chest.
“Everyone needs to calm the hell down,” Tai said, his Napier pointing at a group of smaller Markesians. “We don’t have to do any of this. Sara, what’s the issue?”
The words choked in her throat. She looked up at the vertical screen again and focused on one, the smallest planet. Aleatra had told her that was the location of their remaining people, the new home of the Crown—or what was left of it.
“He got upset I wouldn’t join his little gang,” Sara said.
“You’re a republican,” Aleatra said, pointing at her, then to the others. “You’re all republicans. You owe us a debt of service. You will help us return.”
Sara shook her head. “For someone who’s supposed to be in charge, you’re not very bright, are you? Let me explain two things again to you. One: we do not give a felk’s ass about the Crown. Two: we cannot
leave here. There is no way out. Your new planet could be the greatest thing in the entire universe, but we’re all stuck here. Nothing electronic works properly here.”
Chitaan stepped into the middle of the room. He held his four arms out, palms up. “Please, everyone, lower your weapons. This is not necessary.” He turned to Sara, his compound eyes glistening in the white light. “What do you mean nothing works properly—our ship seems fully operational.”
“Try your hyperdrives,” Hela said. “You’re stuck here whether you want to be or not.”
The other Markesians lowered their weapons as Catheraine approached one of the two seats in the middle of the bridge. A small upright console in the same ceramic material was affixed to a thin metallic column. She manipulated the console and looked up to the vertical screens.
Sara also looked up, waiting for what, she didn’t know, but it seemed from the Markesian’s body language that they were soon realizing that they were indeed trapped.
Catheraine nodded to Chitaan. Her mandibles made a frantic clicking sound.
“You’re right,” Catheraine said and to the others, specifically to Aleatra, “She’s right. Our hyperdrive systems are offline. We only have local systems.”
“And that,” Tai added, his Napier long-barrel pointing to the floor but his finger still resting on the trigger guard, “is rather interesting. All systems should have degraded by now. Everything in Hollow Space eventually breaks down, but it seems your technology has some form of resistance.”
“Great,” Aleatra said, stepping back away from Sara. “Chitaan, what do you propose we do now?”
The great Markesian seemed to do their equivalent of a shrug. Sara took the opportunity and approached the overlord. “Overlord Markesia, please allow me to suggest a course of action that will benefit us all.”
Catheraine took her position next to Chitaan and leaned forward. Sara had to fight the repulsion that bubbled up inside. Although, grudgingly, she could see some logic in their actions, the fact that she lost so many of her fellow colonists still hurt. It didn’t help that the Markesians were just so… alien to humans. Though she realized that was her problem and essentially racist. Something she and her anti-Crowners had long stood against, wanting an inclusive government of all races and not just Crowner humans.
“Go on,” Catheraine said in their weird hissing, clicking language.
“It seems, for whatever reason, your ships are able to navigate within Hollow Space and your systems are fully functioning. Despite what you did to our people, I would personally see to it that you’re all found a place within Haven if you recover the stasis units. With your ships out here now, you could manage that within a few hours. Consider it a goodwill gesture to us, and I will advocate for you on Haven. As will Tai Cauder.”
Kina gave her a wink and a smile of admiration. Tai scowled at her, but she just scowled back and gave him the best ‘just hear me out’ look.
“We’ll do it,” Aleatra said, speaking before Chitaan had a chance to answer. “But those in the stasis units will join us; they are members of the Crown, after all.”
“He’s right,” DeLaney added, finally finding his voice. It didn’t surprise Sara that he was speaking up now, when he had a chance to ingratiate himself with Aleatra. “They are Crown citizens.”
“No,” Sara said. “When they’re taken out of stasis, they’ll have the choice. They’ll be told the facts and allowed to make their own decision. And there’s nothing you can do about that here, Aleatra. You have no power here. You’re the same as us: you’re starting out at the bottom. What you make of your situation here is up to you, but you and you”—Sara pointed to the Markesians—“have no prior standing.”
“That’s my girl,” Tai said. “But about this help. It’s true what Sara says. I will advocate for you, but at a price.”
The two overlords turned to Tai. “What do you want, human?”
Tai placed the gun on his back and ran his hand across the seats on the bridge. “This ship.”
“Absolutely not!” Chitaan’s mandibles bristled.
“This is our flagship. It’s our home,” Catheraine added.
“Fine, then,” Tai said. “I guess you’ll just have to find your own way in Haven. And trust me, that’s no easy thing. Have a guess how many Markesians there are on the station?” Neither responded. “The answer is none. That’s how tough it is if you don’t know your way around.”
Sara noticed Aleatra blanch at that and become a little pale. He was looking at his Markesian allies as though he was waiting for them to give in. She could tell he was now feeling threatened.
“Um, Chitaan,” Aleatra said. “Perhaps we could broker a similar deal?”
“Oh, so you want to cooperate now,” Sara said. “Funny how quickly you changed your mind on that. I guess self-preservation is more powerful than the motivation to keep your citizens safe.”
Aleatra ignored her and clenched his jaw before adding, “What if you offered them one of the scuttlers? We could spare one if it gave us some good standing at the station.”
Chitaan and Catheraine stared at each other, communicating something between them. Catheraine turned to face Tai and bowed her head. “Aleatra is right. As for goodwill, we will indeed rescue the stasis units, and in return for your help with getting us settled until we can find a way out, we will provide you with one of our scuttler ships.”
She manipulated the console, and one of the vertical screens showed one of these scuttler ships on the port side. They made up the bulk of their dozen-strong fleet. They looked about the size of the Mary-May.
Sara considered the fact their systems were still working. If they could indeed take one off the Markesian’s hands, they’d be able to analyze their tech and reverse-engineer the reason for them still working. Perhaps they could use the tech on the Venture, maybe even as a way of getting out of Hollow Space in the future.
“I think it’s a good deal,” Sara said to Tai. “I’m sure Miriam would be pleased. And think about it. If the Markesians are going to collect the stasis units currently Out of Sight, that’s less work and risk for you.”
“Also less cash,” Tai said. “I can’t charge their collection to my mother if someone else is doing the job.”
“For frick’s sake, Tai, can’t you for once just do the right thing?” Sara couldn’t help the outburst, frustrated with Tai’s constant lookout for profit and angle. “You’re getting a scuttler out of it. That’s got to be worth way more than Miriam would pay you for the collection of the stasis units.”
Tooize, who had remained quiet throughout all this and hadn’t really taken his eye off Sara for the entire time, tapped Tai on the shoulder with one of his huge hands. He leaned closer and whispered something, whistling his strange language. Tai closed his eyes briefly and nodded.
“Fine,” Tai said. “We’ll accept the deal, with one condition.”
“Always the conditions,” Sara said. “Now what?”
“When we reach Haven, you go with Tooize. He wants to honor you with the gift of language for saving his life. I’d highly suggest you do not say no. It would be as bad an insult as one could give a kronac. And it’s not something newcomers ever get offered.”
“I don’t understand,” Sara said.
Kina put her hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “I’d take it. It’s truly an honor.”
Trusting her friend but not fully understanding, Sara agreed. “Okay, I accept.”
DeLaney looked confused. “What’s happened exactly?”
“Yes, restate the deal,” Aleatra said, “before we all agree.”
Sara ignored him and addressed the two Markesian overlords. “In return for you collecting the stasis units and bringing them to the dock and providing us with one of your scuttler ships, Tai and myself will advocate for you and arrange accommodation for your people. Trust me, you will need it. We’ve only been here for half a cycle and we’re already in it up to our necks.”
“We’ll agree,” Catheraine said, “with one extra condition of our own.”
“What is it?”
“That we meet with the leader of Haven as soon as we’ve arrived.”
“Sure thing,” Tai said, knowing there was no such thing, but they weren’t to know that. “Haggard and Sap will be more than intrigued to meet with you.”
“Let’s get this done,” Hela said, stifling a laugh. “I’m tired of all this.”
With a round of handshakes, Sara avoiding Aleatra, they had all agreed, and Chitaan ordered his fleet to gather the stasis units while the flagship and one of the scuttlers headed for the station.
***
The Markesian flagship eased into the dock, and Tai led them all off. Haggard, Sap, and of course, Miriam were already present and waiting. Hela broke off and rejoined Miriam, whispering into her ear, no doubt giving her the lowdown of the situation.
The Red Cauder cast her gaze to Tai. “Is all this right? You’ve outsourced the stasis collection for one of those.” Miriam pointed a gloved finger to the scuttler as it docked. Its weird, shifting hull glittered under the dock’s floodlights.
Just like the flagship with its interlocking exoskeleton hull, it resembled a small scorpion. Sara had a hard time reconciling that she had struck a deal with the Markesians and was now, for all intents and purposes, allied with them. The ship still looked like her enemy and made her want to fight them still.
“Yeah, that’s our new little runabout,” Tai said. “Commander Haggard, I’m advocating for the Markesians and President Aleatra. I trust you’ll see them right with accommodation and have them registered as third-class citizens.”
Sap bristled his leaves and excreted a series of chits. Tai took them and marked them with his stem-seal. The Drift created new ones for Sara and Chitaan. “Mark the chits,” he said. “And this will be entered into the Book of Trades.”
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