When Jason had used up his energy, he went directly into the shower. I had just finished my work when he came back out and crawled into bed, next to where I was sitting on top of the covers. He wrapped his arm around my hips and asked, "Are you coming to bed?" His voice was muffled as he spoke into my hip closest to him.
"I would love to, but I think we should figure out where we are heading and get off of this rock first. New Ireland is a lovely rock but we need to get a move on." I couldn't help smiling as he burrowed further under the covers as I talked.
"What do you have buzzing around in that mind of yours?” was his even more muffled reply.
"I want to visit the J's. I was with them when William's distress call from Talia reached me. I left everything at the J's station in their storage, except one prototype for the EMP shield generator. I want to get the other EMP shield finished and give it to the Coalition. It won't be long before someone follows them, no matter how far they run."
"So I will get to meet the J's, the dynamic duo?" He asked, finally poking his head out from under the blankets.
"If you can promise to be nice, you will." I said giving him the best stern-look I could with his damp hair standing on end from being buried under the covers. "They are sweet and trustworthy, but they tend to rub people the wrong way sometimes."
"They are geniuses in their own right. Just like Aria, I think I can handle whatever they throw at me." He said confidently.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Remember, Jon's sister looks out for them. Most of the time Quinn is just smoothing things over with their customers; but if she thinks they are being made fun of, or looked down upon, you had better beware. She can get pretty scary when she thinks that it's necessary." I warned him. “She has guarded their secrets all these years, so well that you and I are the only ones that know a fraction of them.”
"Well then, get us on our way. I don't know if I can get to sleep without my wife next to me." He teased. I gave him a brief kiss and headed out the door, wagering with myself on if he would be snoring when I got back. I lowered the lights on the chance that he would be.
After making one last check that we were all ready and the ship was secure, I cleared our departure with the dock master and lifted off. The signature sound of our Banshee’s engine braking atmo was suddenly silenced by the blackness of space.
After setting our heading I turned the helm over to Peter, said goodnight to the rest of the crew, and headed to bed. When our bedroom door opened I was greeted by the sound of Jason's exhausted snoring. I quietly made myself ready for bed and climbed in next to him. He woke just long enough to pull me into his arms and quickly fell back to sleep.
.....
I was woken by a vid call that had been marked as urgent, sent directly to me. It was from Patrice the captain of the Coalition ship. I pulled it up on the bedroom vid screen, after putting on one of Jason's discarded shirts for modesty sake and making sure he was fully covered.
Patrice wore a concerned expression on her face as she greeted me, "I'm sorry that I have to bother you folks again so soon after what you all just did for us, but we have some new warrants that just came up and the bounties are in the direction that you were heading. We have a ship that is carrying three runaway slaves and a runaway human. They are currently being pursued by someone else but I felt that the property would get delivered safer if a bounty hunter of your folk’s caliber handled it rather than an unknown person. We don't have info on which person onboard the tail might be after. I'm sending you the coordinates now."
"We should be able to reach the bounties within an hour from where we are now. What is the size of the ship they are fleeing in?" I asked, understanding the need to play along in case our transmission was overheard. I started scanning for anything out of the ordinary embedded within the transmission.
"I will be sending that intel to you as well." Patrice responded.
"Is there's a history of violence with any of the bounties?" I asked when I found a faint echo on our transmission, indicating that someone else could be listening in.
"All of the known history should be in the secure transfer I'm sending you. Thank you for handling this. It's good to know that such a high value bounty is in such capable hands.” Patrice stated.
"We will contact you about delivery once we have them in custody." I said cutting off the transmission before any more of our information could be tampered with.
Jason was sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "It looks like we get to play the bad guys to be the heroes. Anti-heroes, that's a nice change." He said with his still sleep-deepened voice. "Let’s get everyone moving. It looks like we have four new passengers coming on board."
"It’s good that the docking master found a use for the isolation ship; we will have room for this new group's ship in the cargo hold if the specs are accurate." I ran through all of the specs to confirm this operation would run as smoothly as all of our others.
The Latitude in Route to the Coalition -Day 356- Damian
Our transport had never felt so small before. Kendric had assured me that Bree wasn't a threat. Even Natasha had made it clear that she wasn't to be left behind. I still didn't like it. She was different. Different usually caused damage in my experience. She seemed to sense my discomfort and tried to stay out of my way. Unfortunately, it seemed that Kendric felt the need to keep her company.
He was the gifted one, so I had always tried to protect him. I wanted to protect him now from this Norm. We only knew what she told us, and what Kendric sensed. But if he was becoming intrigued by this Norm he may miss some signs of danger. I also knew it would be counterproductive to say anything at this point. The ship was too small to keep anyone separate.
Instead I focused on piloting us to the rendezvous point. We were out about two days from Wyatt when I noticed a ship trailing our path. I made a course change and waited to see if they followed. When they did, I sent a secure vid to Patrice. The last thing we needed was to bring trouble to the Coalition.
"It could very well be someone trying to collect Natasha and the bounty on her." Patrice agreed. "I know of some bounty hunters nearby who would help us. They don't hold with slavery. Almost had my head when they thought Surry was my slave." She chuckled. "If they collect you first the others will have to honor that."
"And if they don't have honor?” I asked.
"The Waylay and its crew are well equipped." She replied. "Stay on your current heading. I'll contact you when it's arranged."
I didn't look forward to telling the others about the change of plans. And what if Bree was the reason we were being followed? Natasha had told me about how they got off the ship they were stowaways on. It seemed that Bree would be seen on security recordings, not Natasha. And Patrice was going to trust us to bounty hunters? Although the mine we escaped from went out of business after losing its’ slaves, I didn't doubt that there would be a price for Kendric and I somewhere. I wanted to remain at the helm and keep this all to myself, but this ship was too small to keep anything secret for long.
Natasha apparently heard the vid. She sat down in the co-pilot seat, took a deep breath and said, "I'll go back. I never wanted to cause trouble. "
"Go back to being a slave! Do you miss the beatings and degradation?" I said angrily. How could anyone willingly go back to anything like what I had experienced?
"It was never like that for me. Yes, there was degradation and loneliness. But my Master never beat me." She said.
"Well then our experiences have been very different up to this point. Do you really think you will continue to avoid beatings or worse after running?" I demanded.
"Yes. He likes to parade me around as proof of the superiority of his Hybrids. I am a marketing tool." Natasha hesitated a moment before quietly adding, “And I also provide an ego boost for him. It's not every Norm who can father a half Hybrid child."
It felt like I had received a physical blow. Nothing had gone as expected since Kendric and I had landed on Wyatt. A
fter a long silence, I quietly said, “It doesn't matter whether you are willing to go back or not. You can't go back and help a slaver; you are no longer able to be a part of that without being as guilty as the slavers. That is over now. Patrice has a plan. We will follow it. We should let Kendric and Bree know what to expect."
The Latitude in Route to the Bounty Hunter Ship -Day 356- Natasha Hastings
Damian went to go get Kendric and Bree. I felt sick. While I wasn't to be turned over, any hope of belonging that I previously had now seemed shattered. Damian viewed me differently now, and he was obviously uncomfortable with Bree. I didn't expect any better reactions with a retelling of my background.
When they returned, Damian pulled up the vid screen showing the other ship, "We are being followed. We can only guess at their intent. I contacted Patrice, and she has a plan. Another ship, unaffiliated with the Coalition will rendezvous with us. They will claim us as their bounty and protect us from whoever is tracking us."
He didn't mention anything about me, or what I told him. I was grateful, but also apprehensive. I knew Kendric had an ability to sense the minds of others. He would no doubt get the truth quickly. I decided I would talk to Bree privately. Of everyone I had met, she was the only one who simply accepted me as a person. The only time she commented on my appearance was to say I was lovely, and that she knew that it could bring unwelcome attention. Perhaps it helped that she didn't know about Hybrids before, and so much was new to her. But I hoped that she would continue to see me as ‘Natasha,’ fellow stowaway, and not anything else.
"Bree, can we talk for a bit?" I asked as I got up and took her arm.
"Of course, this is rather unsettling, isn't it?" She replied.
As we made ourselves comfortable sitting on the bed in the small sleeping area, I took a good look at her. There were dark smudges under her eyes, and she looked exhausted. "This hasn't been the adventure you imagined, has it?" I asked.
"Truthfully, all I thought of was getting away. I was already being given small assignments at the Haven. Usually some sort of tasks others didn't want to do. The people involved in my life on Fell terrified me. This is just unsettling, nothing like the Haven had been," She said with a brave smile.
"Well, it is probably my fault you are unsettled. This pursuer could very well be hunting me." I admitted.
"I won't blame you for running any more than I blame myself. You were a slave. At least I could have hope of earning enough to get away legally. That would never be an option for you." She stated defiantly.
"But you don't know what my life was really like." I paused to see if she would object. But she just reached out and held my hand. So I continued, "I am not a full Hybrid. My mother was a slave on the planet of Paradiso, the world I told you about. My father is the slave owner." Again I stopped, but I continued again when Bree just gave my hand a small squeeze. "He has a large collection of Hybrids that have been put into what he calls his 'breeding program'. He tests everyone's genetics and tells them who to have children with. They aren't people to him, just livestock. It was through the routine testing he found out about me. I was eight when he took me away from my mother. I don't even know if she is still alive. From then on, I became a marketing tool for him. ‘His Hybrids were superior because they were close enough to humans to produce half breeds.’ Someone smuggled me Patrice's contact information. That was when I decided to leave. I didn't want to help him sell more slaves."
Bree hugged me. Without saying anything she showed me she understood, and the tears I never allowed myself to cry spilled over.
The Latitude in Route to the Bounty Hunter Ship -Day 356- Damian
I watched as Natasha led Bree to the sleeping area, and tried to remain calm. There were few situations I could imagine liking less. We were being followed, probably because of a spoiled half breed who had gotten tired of helping her father promote slavery, who insisted on keeping a Norm as her close companion... a Norm that was distracting my brother. To make matters worse, we were being handed over to a bounty hunter for our protection! The anger was building, but the ship was too small even to pace.
Kendric took the chair Natasha had vacated. "Patrice wouldn't trust our safety to just anyone." He said.
"I know that! It doesn't make it any easier to accept this situation." I was so exasperated, I put the ship on autopilot and tried to pace. The three steps back and forth, allowed by the room in the cockpit didn't really help.
"No, but that isn't the main problem. Is it?" Kendric said in what I called his 'therapy voice'.
"We are risking our lives to help a Norm and a half breed we know nothing about! For all we know they deserve to be handed over." I knew it wasn't a fair assessment, but I said it anyway.
"True, but we risk ourselves for Hybrids we know nothing about too. A couple we found out did need to be removed from decent people. We didn't regret those missions." He reminded me.
"You know I hate it when you use logic." I said, trying to hold onto the justification of my anger. It wasn't working. Kendric knew me too well. He knew how to help me lift some of the gloom from my dark spells. "You don't fight fair." I complained.
"My big brother taught me to fight to win." He replied with a grin. There was a beep from the console and he added, "It looks like I won in the nick of time. Tell Patrice, ‘thank you.’" And he left me to answer the call.
"It's all arranged,” Patrice said as soon as she appeared on the vid screen. "The Waylay should get to you within the hour. Try to keep your distance until then."
"Thank you," I said remembering Kendric's words. She gave me a nod and signed off.
The Latitude in Route to the Waylay -Day 356- Kendric
Damian's anger had been diffused for the time being. But I knew it would be just under the surface. If things didn't go well it would boil up again. I left him to take Patrice's call. Hopefully it was good news.
I headed to the small eating area. Though I wasn't hungry, I thought everyone else would need some privacy. As I sipped a cup of my favorite tea, I reviewed the events of the last two days. It was hard to believe it had only been two days. First I thought of Damian and his reaction to Bree. He had been ready to strand her on Wyatt. I had hoped that trusting Patrice and helping the Coalition would dull his anger and prejudice, but it hadn't. His response to Natasha highlighted that. She was accepted and forgiven, whatever her past, until he knew she was a half breed. Then she was suddenly a villain, not the victim. Eventually, I hoped Damian would see that Natasha was the same person we took on board, and that it was his view that was skewed. I resolved to be on the lookout for ways to help him overcome his prejudice.
Natasha must have a lot of buried feelings, considering her heritage. But buried was the right term. To read her I would have had to concentrate solely on her and even then it would take time. I had hoped that she would open up to Bree. Bree wouldn't care about Natasha's parentage as much as her actions. I believed Natasha would find acceptance from Bree, even if she didn't from anyone else.
Then there was Bree. I had glimpses of what she had seen of Fell's underworld. She knew there was evil in the known universe, but she didn't expect to find it everywhere she looked. Instead, she chose to focus on the good she could find. The more I found out about her, the more I liked her. Much of the time I spent with her was in answering questions. She wanted to know what skills would be most useful to develop. Did each planet in the thirteen colonized sectors of the known universe really have unique foods and cultures? How hard was it to learn to pilot a ship like the Latitude? How many kinds of Hybrids are there? Why did some people think other sentient beings could be bought and sold? She wanted to know everything, all at once.
I was roused from my musings by Damian saying the Waylay had arrived. He went back to the helm, so I went to tell Bree and Natasha.
Natasha had red rimmed eyes that showed she had been crying, while Bree sat quietly holding her hand. It was obvious that Natasha had bared her soul, and Bree still supported
her. Suddenly, I felt proud of Bree for being the friend I had expected her to be.
"The ship is here. We should prepare to disembark. Is there anything you want from this ship?" I asked.
"We had nothing when we boarded." Natasha replied.
Bree just smiled and looked tired. "Are you okay, Bree?" I asked.
"Is there such a thing as space sickness? Because I haven't felt the same since I've been out here." Bree said.
"Maybe they'll have a med suite on the Waylay and can check you over. The only space illnesses I've heard of are a fear of empty space, or something like motion sickness planet side. Neither seems to fit though." I replied. I wasn't a doctor, but knew she didn't look well.
The sound of our ship docking caught everyone's attention. Damian entered a few moments later. "Shall we go meet our hosts?" he suggested.
The Waylay Great Room -Day 356- Jason Singer
We all congregated around the table in the mess, coffee was a must for most of us, after being awakened midway through our night cycle. Ell briefed us all on the situation. She pulled up the files on the three slaves and gave us a brief description of the human.
"I think the best option is to give them the choice of staying in the vault or going into cryo until we know what the score is with the ship that is tailing them." I summarized. "Willow I want you to keep Echo in your quarters until you get the all clear."
The small transport ship entered our docking bay and easily set down behind the Peregrine. It was a light transport, not meant for journeys farther than one sector. I was surprised that they had evaded pursuit for so long, but the ship following them had closed the gap with its superior speed. I felt more strongly that we were going to have some kind of confrontation with their tail.
Alpha Dawn: Book one of the Teragene Chronicles Page 14