Cosmic Cabaret

by SFR Shooting Stars

  She jumped from the bed and surveyed the room. She was alone, but he was on his ship somewhere. She needed a weapon, but the flat, smooth cabinet doors wouldn’t open for her. The platform bed consisted of nothing more than a smooth, molded frame attached seamlessly to the floor and one wall. The mattress was thick, huge and unwieldly, the blankets soft and useless unless she planned to suffocate the guy to death.

  Even though the pullover shirt she wore fell to her knees, she felt naked under its tent-like folds. Still, she worked nearly naked all the time, so she put her vulnerable state out of her mind and, giving up the search for a weapon, exited the cabin. She was a little surprised that the door opened immediately for her when she waved her hand over the key pad. Apparently, her captor didn’t fear her, being under the impression that because she was small, she was harmless. That’s what the males on her home world had thought about her too, much to their eventual regret. She smiled at how she’d gotten in a few good hits during the shower and on the way to the med bay.

  The ship was larger than she’d anticipated. She wandered for a while before she found the flight deck and her captor. The exploration took her through several empty cabins, a generous-sized dining area lined with multiple food replicators—again with all the furniture and machines seamlessly attached to the walls or floors—and a communal shower and bathroom facility. She remembered that the cargo bay had been fairly large too, almost as if the ship was designed to transport goods or people. Surely at least a dozen people could travel for some weeks on the ship.

  As she explored, she mulled over her options, as limited as they appeared. She needed to partner with Razer, not fight him. She didn’t know where they were. She couldn’t physically overpower her huge captor, and, at the moment, she had no weapon. She needed to bide her time, gather some information—like find out what exactly had Razer done before fleeing Quantum, and how screwed was she regarding her job and her freedom. He’d saved her from the ship’s guards and then healed her wounds. Would he give her back her bracelet and her credits?

  The codes on the replicator machines were unfamiliar. She punched a button with a symbol she thought might represent water. A paper napkin dropped into the serving tray. She frowned and pushed another button and out tumbled a fork.

  What were the chances she could be exonerated if she were implicated? Club video would show her having dinner with Razer just before he stole her things, then apparently impersonated her. Even if she could convince other people, namely her boss, of her innocence, what were the chances that Razer would take over their minds and turn them against her.

  One option was dangerously appealing. What if she never went back to Quantum? Could she find another way to earn the credits her family needed? Would Razer help her out of guilt? Out of a sense of obligation? Or out of a desire to be with her. He’d taken her when he could have left her behind. Could his intentions be trusted?

  She was certain he was telepathic. Poor Max. Was he still under the delusion that Razer was her and she was whomever he’d been fooled into believing. Ooh. She narrowed her eyes. When she got her revenge, it would be a doozy.

  She found Razer manning the flight screen when she entered.

  “Sleeping Beauty awakes from her long sleep?” he turned, a rolled meat sandwich in one hand and a cup of what looked and smelled like the calming salicent tea in the other. Ayanna’s stomach took that moment to growl loudly. It’d been 24 cycles since she’d eaten, easily.

  He didn’t even look like he suffered any pain from being shot by Quantum guards. His upbeat demeanor sparked her temper again. She swallowed and dialed down her glare.

  Razer chuckled, gesturing towards a counter behind her where other food choices were set out. “Tea machine is to the left.”

  He popped the last of his meat roll into his mouth and drained his tea, tossing the recyclable container into a waste receptacle located between the two primary seats. When she’d entered, his body had tensed, as if he anticipated an attack. Had he cleared his hands in case he needed them to defend himself? That thought pleased her.

  Ignoring his question, Ayanna wandered to the food counter and considered the options, as she wondered about his reference to Sleeping Beauty. Did he mean the Earth fairy tale character, or did he just use the phrase casually as a compliment? Could he know she was half-Earthling? She chose a meat roll for its simplicity and the long-term energy it provided. She’d need to be in top condition both physically and mentally to get out of this predicament. She ordered the uplifting, energizing reviculating tea for the same reason, then settled into the co-pilot seat and demolished the food and drink quickly. Like Razer, she wanted her hands free.

  “First you stole my credits and my identity, then you stole who knows what from my boss, and now you’ve stolen me. I’m guessing you’re a thief by profession.”

  “More of a Robin Hood.”

  “A what?” Another Earth reference? Why did this guy know so much about a distance planet reportedly only accessible only through the hidden walking gates interspersed on remote planets in Alliance territory? He was definitely not from Earth with those huge horns.

  “Robin Hood. An Earth hero who stole from the rich to help the poor. Your parents never told you these stories when you were a child?”

  Ayanna couldn’t keep the frown from her face. How much could a Kadisian know about Earth and its fairy tales? Why would he think she was Earthling? Unless he owned Earthling slaves. Her heritage, her mother’s Earth-birth, a carefully guarded secret within her family because all Earthlings who were transported to the Q’Tran galaxy were brought for the sole purpose of enslavement and could not be free. Earthlings had no protective rights anywhere in the Alliance that she knew of, and even the descendants of those smuggled from the distant planet were considered game for the taking by anyone strong enough to do it. Certainly, the Alliance didn’t stop it.

  She needed to proceed carefully here. If Razer knew she was part Earthling, she was in even more danger than she thought. She could suffer her mother’s fate. Razer could lock her up, sell her, pimp her out. No one would care. No one would try to stop him either. She kept her voice level and calm, striving for a demeanor of confidence.

  “As an Ozanian, I wouldn’t know much about some mysterious Earth hero, except for rumors that its people are coveted as slaves.” Particularly sex slaves, but she didn’t say that out loud. Thinking of sex made her think of having sex. With Razer. Some deep part of her psyche warmed to the idea of getting intimate with the Kadisian, even if he was one of the deadly KhaRya psychics. She must have a secret death wish but all she could think about for the moment was sitting in his lap at the club and then being pressed against him in the escape pod. Both times, he’d held her firmly against him. Her body warmed up instantly to the idea of being restrained by him. Damn, but she was pathetic. She squirmed in her seat, pressing her thighs together over the unfamiliar sensation low in her groin.

  Razer shot her a questioning glance, his eyes trailing down over the huge shirt to linger on her bare legs. Her feet didn’t reach the floor. She folded and tucked them up under her butt, using the volume of the shirt to cover herself completely.

  Razer groaned before looking away out through the window to the universe. Stars sparkled so they must have exited hyperspace.

  “Well, Robin Hood was a good guy. I can recount the story sometime, if you like.”

  Ayanna snorted. “I have to say that so far, you’re not striking me as a good guy. Am I supposed to be this rich person you’re stealing from to help the poor? If you’ve accessed my credits, you’ll see that I’m nowhere near rich. If your intentions are good, you’ll return my bracelet—and my credits—to me immediately.”

  “I wasn’t stealing from you, specifically. But are you rich?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him and he grinned good-naturedly.

  “So, about your access bracelet. I couldn’t keep that on board my ship, since it can be tracked anywhere in the galaxy.”


  “What?! That was my only access to every credit I had to my name! I need that money! I need that bracelet!”

  Razer shrugged. “Like you said, wasn’t much in the account.”

  Ayanna clenched her fists against her thighs and took a calming breath. “I need that money, even if it wasn’t much. It’s critically important.”

  “No need to worry. I transferred your credits into safe keeping before spacing the bracelet.”

  “You did? Where is it?”

  “Money’s temporarily under one of my aliases, but I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.”

  “I need it now.” Her voice came out sounding a bit screechy. “I have to send someone some of it. It’s a matter of life or death.”

  “Ayanna, the account was about to be wiped by Quantum financial security team anyway. They had a digital bead on it, and so I emptied the account with seconds to spare. I saved your credits.” He paused. “A thank you would be nice.”

  Was the high-handed swindler going to save her job too? Ayanna swallowed down her anger and took an extra deep breath. “Okay. Set up a new account and give it back to me.”

  “We’re on our way to Crannor. When we get there, we’ll get it all straightened out.”

  “And exactly when will we reach Crannor?”

  “In 40 galactic cycles. I’m taking an understandably circuitous route, considering we’re probably a hot commodity right now.”

  Ayanna chewed her lip. It took weeks for credits to transfer to Luxia sometimes. “I can’t wait 40 cycles. I need to make the transfer immediately. In fact, I need to log into DUCIN to check for a message. Then, I need to get back to Quantum as soon as possible or I’m going to lose my job permanently.”

  Razer swiped his flight screen, setting it on autopilot, headed to Crannor through at least one partial long range flight pattern, from what she could read from her seat. Ayanna wanted to scream, but she pasted an innocent expression on her face. He slowly turned to her, his face set in a look of deep regret.

  “Ayanna. You’ll stay away from the computers on board and you’ll definitely stay away from DUCIN.” His face was so hard, serious.

  “What did you do back there?” She whispered. There was no way a simple kidnapping and the theft of a single access bracelet would require them to either run away across the entire galaxy, or to visit the exclusive, politically independent banking planet Crannor in person. She didn’t even have her Alliance ID with her, so planetary officials would never let her even step foot off Razer’s ship and onto the highly guarded planet.

  “You know much about your bosses’ vault?”

  Ayanna’s eyes widened in worry. The owner of the club reportedly held the majority of her multi-billions in the form of physical jewels in a safe at the back of the club where the treasure was kept under the protection of attentive armed guards at all times, and using the most advanced security technology in the system. She didn’t have access to the office. She remembered her heavy pack, bursting at the seams.

  “Let’s just say, the vault doesn’t need protection anymore.”

  Ten

  Well. That shut her up.

  Razer studied Ayanna as she gazed at the pilot view screen displaying the beautiful swath of star systems on the edge of Star Zone Two, the corner of the galaxy where the Q’Tran Alliance planets Crannor, Vania and Illysia circled the giant star serving as their shared sun. From this distance, the planets looked like large stars themselves. The ship was two galactic cycles away from Crannor in open space. He’d exited the wormhole through a shipping jump gate a while back and had no intention of continuing their journey through hyperspace until the jewels were secured in their private vault on Crannor. The ship was safer out here, lost in the vast expanse of darkness, than it would be traveling through and exiting the Crannor gate. The last thing they needed was Ayanna attracting attention over the dark net. He sighed.

  “What are you so keyed up to get on DUCIN?”

  “I need to send someone credits.”

  “You owe someone money?”

  “No. It’s…” She seemed to debate how much she wanted to share. “I promise you it’s a life and death situation.”

  Her account was pathetically low on credits, considering what she must get paid as a top dancer on the exclusive luxury liner. Is that where all her income went?

  “Surely, whoever it is can wait a few more cycles?”

  She shook her head.

  “Tell me, Ayanna. What is it?”

  If Ayanna insisted her need to transfer credits was critical, was her life in jeopardy? If so, he’d kill anyone threatening to hurt her. Was she paying a ransom for someone important to her? If so, he’d kill anyone threatening to hurt someone she loved. Unless it was a lover. Then…hell, he didn’t know what he’d do. And why the rush? Forty cycles shouldn’t make much difference for most people waiting on funds.

  The galaxy was a huge place. Information, credits, products, nothing arrived quickly or on time. Both the physical and digital highways were jammed and in constant use. The phrase “galactic time” was a joke that meant anytime in the near or distant future. Most people expected to wait on timelines, on due dates.

  “Okay. My father is dying and I pay the black market prices for the drugs that ease his suffering.”

  Pain meds were surprisingly difficult to get in some places like Huldra—the Ozanian government parceled out food and medical supplies to the colony at subsistent levels in order to control any rebellious behavior. It has the ironic consequence of feeding Huldran’s desire to rebel.

  “It won’t do your father any good for you to get picked up by the Alliance for using the DUCIN from a single, private ship.”

  “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have kidnapped me from Quantum!”

  “You pulled me into the escape capsule.”

  “You shoved me into the capsule and then got shot. I couldn’t just leave you there.” Her voice pitched up at the end.

  “Why not?” Most of his acquaintances would have left him behind, every man for himself and all.

  “Just…I needed my bracelet and credits and you had them.”

  Razer hid a smile, pleased. She couldn’t have been convinced at the time, during that melee, that she was considered a potential accomplice.

  “If you say so.”

  “I say so.”

  Okay. Stash the jewels and credits from the heist in their account, and get credits wired to Ayanna’s father. These tasks were within his abilities. He wanted to do more than protect her; he wanted to help her. A year or two ago, he’d have left her behind to sort out her innocence on her own. Being welcomed into Kugen’s and Galen’s world had changed him. He cared about other people now that they cared about him.

  He felt curious too about Ayanna’s reaction when he’d referenced the Earth legends of Robin Hood and Sleeping Beauty. She’d seemed surprised that he knew the characters and the stories. She seemed to know the names, and the most likely reason had to be because she was, in fact, either from Earth, or descended from Earthlings. He already suspected her ancestry since he couldn’t read or manipulate her mind. She looked somewhat Ozanian—her violet eyes a rare color found only among the Ozanian species, so it was possible that she was a mix of the two races. People from Ozan shared many characteristics with the Earthlings he’d met.

  “How do you know about Robin Hood and Sleeping Beauty?”

  Razer knew of the Robin Hood story from the bedtime stories Trina told her and Galen’s daughters. Earthlings apparently had a rich story-telling tradition and Trina could recount more stories than he could imagine. On top of that, Kugen’s wife, also from Earth, had crossed into Alliance territory carrying digital copies of millions of stories. Together, the two were developing a translation program to convert the stories into the twelve primary languages of the Alliance, believing that if species across the Alliance came to love the Earth stories, they’d realize that Earthlings were too special a species to relegate to slavery.
Their goal to stop the enslavement of Earthlings was a multi-pronged approach.

  “Who says I know about them?” she huffed, crossing her arms.

  “Apparently, you don’t,” he replied, humoring her. He’d get details later.

  More pressing, it seemed, was the problem of Ayanna using DUCIN to send and receive communications. She probably did it on the FaithBook channel, an underground spiritual and religious dark net that operated outside the Alliance’s control. By nature, that underground communication system was unreliable and dangerous, the majority of the users criminals, rebels and pirates, despite its once holy purpose. If the Alliance caught someone using it now, they were often arrested and killed without trial. It bothered Razer that Ayanna might be taking risks with her life.

  The Alliance long ago declared the network dangerous, convinced that under the surface’s spiritual face, rebel groups sent coded messages with the intent to take down the Alliance. They weren’t wrong. But Razer didn’t believe for a moment that Ayanna played a role in any serious political or illegal business.

  Of course, Razer knew many good people who used the network, including his family. It was the best option to send a private message or transfer secret credits if one were trying to elude the collective galaxy governing eyes. Something he was intimately familiar with doing since his brother’s wife Steph managed and wrote code for a section of the FaithBook program. But he stayed off the network when he was isolated out on his own. Alliance secret agents tracked logins, and accessing the network from anything but a planetary network café or a large traveling ship like Quantum was too high a risk.

  He swiveled Ayanna’s chair around and crouch before her. Her eyes looked a bit wild and unfocused.

  “Tell me why you’re freaking out.”

  She finally looked at him in disbelief. “Tell you why I’m freaking out? You. You’re why I’m freaking out!”

  “Now, Ayanna. I’m not hurting you—“