I grunted, reluctantly admitting that Xavix was right. “Hell, I don't belong out here.”
“You humans are a curious species,” he said. “Very paranoid and eager to fight. It's no wonder there have been so many wars in the history of your species.”
“Yeah well, we don't like to let ourselves be pushed around.”
“Clearly,” Xavix replied – the sarcasm in his word impossible to miss.
We sat in silence for a few moments. I was still stewing about what I'd seen – as well as trying to shut down the dark, foreboding feelings I was having. Maybe Xavix was right. Maybe I was being paranoid. But after seeing those Zhakans drag that man away – and I still didn't know if he was dead or just unconscious – I had some doubts. I thought that maybe my paranoia was actually justified.
“What do you think is happening out there?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Xavix replied.
“I thought Javis was supposed to be friendly to humans,” I said. “It sure doesn't feel like that. There's just something – odd – in the air out there.”
Xavix nodded. “I've been accessing every database I can think of ever since you mentioned feeling strangely about Javis,” he said. “The only thing I've been able to find is that that tourism on Javis has declined. Sharply.”
“Why is that?”
“I cannot say,” Xavix replied. “I do not know if it is related or not, but I have found some things written about Javis – ”
“What about?”
“Missing people,” he said. “It's nothing that has been confirmed or corroborated, mind you. But so far, I've found twenty different people who have written something about having a friend or loved one disappear while on vacation on Javis.”
“Twenty people?” I asked, the feeling of foreboding only deepening. “Just – disappeared.”
“It would seem so,” Xavix replied.
“What's been done about that?” I asked. “Has the Air Alliance or anybody looked into this?”
“The IIS has been looking into the reports that have been filed,” Xavix said. “But so far as I can tell, they've found nothing as of yet.”
“Twenty people don't just disappear,” I said. “Not without help.”
“I'm not sure what to say, Gem,” Xavix said. “The IIS has not found anything to substantiate the claims yet.”
“And they probably won't.”
Xavix and I turned to the mechanic who was wiping his hands on a rag. He looked back at the man in the dark uniform – who wasn't paying attention to us at the moment – and then turned back to us.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
The mechanic pitched his voice low so he wasn't overheard. “Humans are being kidnapped from Javis,” he said. “Sold into slavery and taken to distant systems – far outside IIS territory.”
“How do you know this?” I asked.
The mechanic shrugged. “You hear things.”
“What other things do you hear?” Xavix asked.
“That it's not safe for you here,” he said, looking directly at me. “And that you need to get on your ship and get out of here as soon as you possibly can.”
“Who's taking the humans?” I asked.
The mechanic sighed and took another look at the man in the dark uniform – who was still engaged in a conversation on his communications device and not paying any attention to us.
“Look, I can't say with absolute certainty – ”
“Then just speculate your ass off and let me deal with it,” I urged him.
“The way I hear it, there is a Zhakan crime syndicate,” he said. “They're the ones taking your people and selling them off.”
“But why is there such tension here on Javis?” Xavix asked.
“Because the crime syndicate slaughtered a lot of people when they seized power in our government,” he said. “And they only did it so they had a non-stop pipeline of humans to sell.”
“It looks like that pipeline is drying up,” I said. “Not a lot of humans out on the streets.”
“That happens when people start disappearing,” the mechanic replied. “To fill their place, the crime syndicate is taking Javins instead. They don't care. So long as they're turning a profit, they'll take anybody they can get their hands on.”
“And in the process, it creates a lot of resentment toward humans,” I said. “Who they feel should be the ones filling the orders for this trafficking ring.”
The mechanic nodded. “Exactly,” he said. “Though, Boygan and his syndicate are taking not just humans and Javins, but people from other worlds too – even fellow Zhakans.”
“But why are you telling us this?” Xavix asked. “Are you not Zhakan?”
The mechanic's eyes burned with anger. “Because not all of us are like them,” he said, his voice burning a dark anger. “Not all of us are like Boygan. Some of us hate who he is and what he stands for. And some of us are in as screwed a position as you, Gemma.”
I was taken aback a bit by the intensity of the man's voice. The heat in his words. That quiet ferocity in his voice told me that he was sincere and that I'd been wrong about my beliefs about Zhakans – they weren't all evil and they weren't all alike. I cleared my throat, a bit embarrassed about my ignorance and apparent bigotry. Just like humans, not all Zhakans could be painted with the same brush.
“I – I'm sorry,” I said. “I didn't know.”
The mechanic sighed. “It's not your fault,” he said. “Just know there are those of us who hate Boygan and his ilk – and want to see them gone every bit as much as you do. They control everything on Zhaka and make life a living hell for some of us.”
The idea that Boygan and his band of criminals was not only oppressing people on their home world, but running a massive, intergalactic trafficking ring made me sick to my stomach. The blood was boiling in my veins and a dark rage was settling over me. My first instinct was to walk over to the one in the dark uniform and throttle him.
“It will get you nowhere, Gem,” Xavix said. “He's not our biggest problem at the moment.”
I looked over at me metallic companion and cocked my head. “Can you read my mind or something?”
Xavix shook his head. “No, but having been with you as long as I have, I can analyze your behaviors and how certain stressors impact you,” he says. “I can then calculate your response to a given situation with a fair degree of accuracy. Which is made easier in your case, since your first response is often to punch somebody.”
The mechanic chuckled softly and I shot him a withering look – and when he looked away, turned my attention back to Xavix.
“That's not even close to being true,” I hissed.
“You have either punched somebody, something, or expressed a desire to in fifty-eight point seven percent – ”
I held up my hand. “Okay, fine. I get it. Shut it,” I said. “It doesn't matter. It doesn't help us.”
“And unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about this trafficking ring at the moment,” Xavix said. “Once we board the ship, we will be routed to 51 Nyota without any stops.”
I sighed. As if I needed the reminder that I had absolutely no control over what was happening.
“I understand you can't do anything about it right now,” the mechanic said. “But I – and others – still thought you should know what's happening out here. There aren't many who've stood up to Boygan the way you did – and lived to tell about it.”
I sighed and looked at the mechanic feeling entirely helpless – and utterly pissed off about it.
“Anyway,” the mechanic said. “Just thought you'd want to know. Your ship is done and you're ready to go.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I wish – it doesn't matter. Just thank you.”
He extended his hand and I looked at it for a moment before taking it, giving it a firm shake. “I hope that we will see each other again one day, Gemma.”
I wasn't sure why he looked at me like I was some hero or something �
�� because I wasn't. And in fact, in that moment, I felt like a piece of human garbage. I was helpless and powerless to do anything about my current situation. Or about this trafficking ring he'd brought to my attention – because he quite obviously wanted me to do something about it.
“I hope so too,” I said. “Under – different circumstances.”
The mechanic nodded. “Yes, under different circumstances.”
I looked over at the man in the dark uniform again. He was walking over to us – which, I took to mean it was time to go.
“Well then,” I said. “Until next time.”
The mechanic nodded and spoke quietly and quickly. “Once you are back in control of your mainframe again, have your droid plug into it and check out the improvements I made to your ship,” he said. “I have a feeling they'll come in handy.”
Lowering his head, the mechanic scurried away, still wiping his hands on his rag. The man in the dark uniform watched him go and then turned his eyes – all of them – onto me.
“What did that man say to you?” he asked.
I shrugged. “A lot of technical mumbo-jumbo about the repairs to the ship,” I said. “I'm not a mechanic so most of it went over my head anyway.”
The man looked me for a long moment and then a look of pure disdain crossed his face. He obviously didn't like me very much. Which was fine with me.
“It's time for you to go,” he said. “You're already far enough off schedule as it is.”
“Yeah, because that's my fault,” I snapped. “If I'd been able to control my ship, I wouldn't have hit the goddamn asteroid – ”
“Enough!” the man roared. “Get in your ship and go. Now.”
Casting one last, baleful look at the man, I motioned for Xavix to follow me up the ramp. A moment later, Theron scampered aboard, the hatch closing quickly behind him. Sitting down in the Captain's chair, I buckled in as theUmbra cycled through its pre-launch sequence on its own.
A few moments after that, we were airborne again, and on our way to 51 Nyota – and walking into God only knew what. Theron wisely chose to sequester himself in the ship's galley, well away from me. I had enough shit on my mind to deal with and he was the last person I wanted in my face.
Chapter Eight
It's a weird feeling – not being in control of your own ship. All I could do was sit back in my seat, stare at the view screen, and watch the universe flying by. Well – sit and brood, anyway. Brood about the fact that Boygan had my family and had gotten me out there – again. And brood about the fact that Theron, or Eron, or whatever his name really was, still occupied space on my ship without me knowing what his real agenda was.
“You're becoming quite the folk hero,” Xavix said from his position at the navigation console – not that he could actually do any navigating or anything.
“What are you talking about?”
“Theron, for one,” he replied. “He was inspired by your story.”
“Yeah, so he says,” I said. “We don't exactly know who he is or which team he's actually playing for.”
“Well, that Zhakan mechanic certainly thinks you're a hero,” he went on. “He all but begged for your help with Boygan and his people.”
“Yeah, well, I'm not a hero,” I said. “And not anything close to one, either.”
Xavix turned to me. “I believe Mr. Kysos would beg to differ,” he said. “You did, in fact, save his life.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, after taking on a job to kill him.”
Xavix shrugged – or at least, came as close as he could to it. “The situation changed,” he said. “And in the end, you did the right thing – which was to save his life.”
I rubbed my eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. “Yeah, at the cost of that son of a bitch taking my mom and my aunt.”
“A temporary situation,” Xavix assured me. “I know you'll get them back. You're very unconventional, I will say, but I have faith in you.”
My chuckle was wry and grim. “Thanks for that,” I said. “But I have no plan and no idea what we're walking into.”
“If there's one thing I've learned about you, Gemma, it's that you're resourceful,” he said.
“Yeah, well, it's not like I can do anything to help that mechanic anyway,” I said. “Why are you so concerned about it, anyway?”
“Because you are a person who prefers to do the right thing,” Xavix said. “It's an admirable quality in a person. And I saw how much learning about Boygan's trafficking ring upset you. I simply calculated the odds that you would do something about it.”
“There's nothing I can do about it, Xavix,” I said. “It's not my problem and I have bigger things to worry about right now – like saving my mom and my aunt. That's the only thing I give a damn about right now.”
“Right now,” he countered. “But after you do that – ”
“Enough,” I said, starting to grow irritated. “It's not going to happen, Xavix. After I save my mom and aunt, we're going to go home – back to Earth – and live out a quiet, peaceful existence. I'm not a hero and have no desire to be one. So, just get that thought out of that rusted out, tin bucket of a head of yours.”
“For somebody who doesn't seem to want to be a hero,” Xavix said, “you certainly seem quite conflicted about what the Zhakan mechanic told you.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Because I don't like the idea of people being sold like cattle,” I said softly. “I don't like it in the least.”
“Then perhaps – ”
“But like I told you, Xavix,” I snapped. “There's nothing I can do about it. It's not my problem. My only focus, the only thing that matters to me, is getting my mom and aunt back home safely. That's it. End of discussion.”
The droid looked at me for a long moment, perhaps processing everything I said. Eventually, he turned around and looked at the navigation console again without another word. And I sat there, feeling like an asshole. How could I not do something about people being abducted and sold into slavery?
Because my family was all that mattered. I had to figure out how to save my mother and my aunt and then get them back to Earth. And once we were back home, I had to find some way to make them disappear, keep them safe, and protect them from Boygan.
That was what I had to do. That was what I wasgoing to do. But as I sat there, staring at the vastness of space through the Umbra's view screen, that annoying little voice in the back of my mind started to speak again.
After you get your family to safety – what then?It asked me.Can you really sit back and do nothing knowing that people are being bought and sold like cattle? Can you really?
Could I really? As I sat there in my brooding silence, I knew I didn't have the answer to that question.
I looked over at Xavix who seemed to be ignoring me. His silence made me wonder if he was disappointed in me for not jumping at the opportunity to break up the trafficking ring and save lives. Or maybe I was just projecting my own feelings on to him. Maybe I was really disappointed in myself.
I leaned back in my seat and rubbed my eyes. This shitshow was getting even worse – and given the current situation, I didn't think that was possible.
Chapter Nine
“We are entering the Nyota system,” Xavix reported from his position at the navigation console.
I nodded and watched through the view screen as we entered a system filled with colorful nebula, planets with multiple sets of rings – and a whole bunch of asteroids. I started to feel a nervous energy that bordered on panic rising within me as I watched us heading toward a densely packed asteroid belt.
Without being able to control the ship, there was absolutely no way we would make through the belt in one piece. There were just too many pieces of space rock out there. If we kept on our present course, we'd go right into the teeth of that belt and start taking hits immediately.
“By my estimation, if we maintain our current heading and fly through the asteroid belt, the hull will be breached within five minute
s,” Xavix said. “The Umbra simply cannot withstand the beating it would take inside the belt.”
“Please tell me they didn't bring us all the way out here just to crash us into a damn asteroid belt?” I snapped. “They could have done that a lot closer to home.”
“Given the elaborate nature of this scheme, as well as what Mr. Boygan said, I don't – ”
The comms console crackled to life and Boygan's greasy voice slithered out of the speakers, cutting Xavix off mid-sentence. Just the sound of his voice was enough to set off the familiar flashes of hatred once again.
“Welcome to the Nyota system,” he said. “Due to the density of the asteroids within the system, you will be granted access to your navigation controls. Your robotic companion will no doubt be able to pick a way through the clusters and get you to your destination unscathed.”
“What do you want from me, Boygan?” I hissed.
“A little retribution, perhaps,” he said. “Or perhaps, I am giving you an opportunity to make good on a business arrangement you reneged on.”
“I swear to God, if you – ”
“Your idle threats bore me, Gemma,” Boygan said. “Let's not waste our time or breath on them. As I said, you have control of your ship once more. And you have one hour to get to 51 Nyota – which should be more than enough time to reach your destination. Let me remind you of the stakes. Should you fail to touch down on 51 Nyota within the hour, your lovely mother and aunt will pay the price. I can guarantee you that it will be an unpleasant, perhaps even excruciating experience for them. And you wouldn't want that to happen, now would you?
“Boygan, you son of a bitch, if you – ”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, Gemma,” he said, his tone dripping condescension. “What did I just say about threats? You have your orders. I will see you in an hour. Fly as if your mother's life depends upon it – because I assure you, it does.”
The comms console clicked off and I sat back in my seat, the dark anger in me rising dangerously higher – and yet, I had no way to vent it.
Treachery: Celestial Empires Book 2 Page 6