She frowned but nodded. She rummaged in her beauty case, offering a pill. He took it and gulped it down, muttering a thank you. Fortunately it was immediately effective and the rest of the night passed in a blink.
***
They were headed for the spaceport when screams from an alley caught their attention. Yash cringed at the sound of the male voice – both anguished and angry – shouting maybe for help or maybe to curse his attackers in the local language, and Birgit knitted her eyebrows. They reached the alley and saw four gang members holding down a young man who was fighting fiercely to avoid being stripped.
"Not another corrective rape," Birgit muttered as Yash opened and closed his hands, wondering if he could help the poor young man with slanted eyes. He'd never been in a fist fight, though.
"Can we do something?" he asked, wrinkling his brow.
She glanced at him, then pulled out her gun and shot towards the sky. The sound immediately got the four thugs' attention.
"What do you want, woman?" one of them demanded, scowling at her.
"Sorry to interrupt, guys, but I don't think what you're doing is nice. Why are you trying to ruin that pretty face anyway?"
"It's none of your business and saving him would be a waste of your time since he wouldn't be able to please you if he tried," another spat with contempt.
They were distracted enough that their victim managed to free himself, shove the closest away and nimbly jump to his feet to run and hide behind Yash, who was taller than him. Yash felt a warm breath on his neck and didn't move.
"Ah, great, let your man enjoy him, he'll love it!" The gangsters got to their feet and moved towards Birgit who still held her gun. She pointed it at them and they stopped. "That useless piece of shit will bring you only trouble!" they warned.
"I can handle men," she replied. "Would you like me to drop him on Sylvania when I go home?"
The thugs glanced at each other and smirked. "Absolutely, my lady," they said with mocking bows.
"Good." She put her gun away. "See you, then."
She grabbed the young man's arm and dragged him along, followed by Yash.
"Thank you, ma'am." The almond-eyed young man was still disheveled and breathless. "I sure hope you're not taking me to Sylvania for real."
"Nah, it would be a waste," she replied. "For both of you. Friport is my next stop." She shoved him inside the land shuttle that went to the spaceport and waited until Yash was inside too to join them.
"My name is Ryo," the young man said. He had long raven hair tied in a ponytail – a little skewed on the side at the moment, so he quickly redid it. "Thank you for saving me." He bowed and looked expectantly at Yash.
"I'm Birgit and this is Yash. Seems like this trip keeps putting young men in my path who need to get away from their home planet... and who are not willing to repay me." She smiled at Yash who blushed.
"I can try," he grumbled, lowering his eyes.
"And I don't want your body, if it's such a trauma for you," she replied. "I was only saying that suddenly I seem to meet only men who have been or were about to be raped – when I thought men couldn't be raped."
"Oh yes, we can!" Ryo nodded repeatedly. "Especially by other men!"
"Yash was raped by a woman. He's Ypsilantian."
"Oh." Ryo stared at Yash with open admiration. "I thought I had it bad!"
"Same sex love isn't appreciated on Xi-kong?" Birgit asked as they reached the spaceport.
"Are you kidding?" Ryo snorted. "Women are so mistreated here that a man who likes being under another man – turning himself into a woman – is worse than... I don't know. I can't really compare, since I don't know how other planets think. I'm most definitely sick of my people, though, so I'm very grateful for the opportunity of leaving this shitty world."
"You're welcome." Birgit led them to the starship with an amused smile on her lips.
Yash still felt Ryo's eyes on him and his natural shyness made him feel even more uncomfortable than he wanted to. He'd been stalked by women all his life, he wasn't used to lust in a young man's eyes. He knew he wasn't ugly, but hadn't dealt with a gay man before. He wasn't even sure if there were any on his home planet.
Birgit's starship left Xi-kong with two extras.
"I'll have to buy a new starship," she muttered as she checked on her computer for the location of Friport, the Wandering Planet of adventurers and rogues. "Unless I can drop both of you on Friport and leave you to your own devices."
"I'd love to stay with you and be trained by you," Yash said.
"Trained to do what?" Ryo asked.
"Mercenary. Yash is an athlete, but he needs to learn to fight in a different way to make it as a mercenary."
"I can teach you too," Ryo enthused. "If you'd like to learn our martial arts..."
"You're not so good," Birgit teased. "Considering how we found you."
"Well, you take on four guys at the same time and then we can talk about it," he replied. "What were you doing on Xi-kong anyway?"
She told him, and he looked impressed. "Strange you weren't invited by other dons," he commented. "I'm sure Takaue Boss would have loved to watch you fight."
"I haven't had the pleasure. Which family does he run?"
"Can you read our tattoos?" Ryo took off his shirt and half-turned to show the serpentine dragon coiling on his back. The tail of the other dragon on his left arm reached the side of his neck. Yash stared amazed at the colorful skin paintings and wondered about their meanings.
"No," Birgit snapped. "Cover yourself, you shameless young man, and answer my question!"
Ryo chuckled. "Takaue Boss runs the Hanashima family," he said, pulling the shirt back on.
"And which family do you work for?"
"Hanashima."
"How come?"
Ryo shrugged. "I'm his wretched son. But even if I prefer my own sex, I'm good with martial arts. Those four bastards were just jealous because I'm an enforcer for my father. They said I didn't deserve it – I'm not good, I have the position only because I'm Takaue Boss's son."
Birgit scoffed. "You guys are weird. I wouldn't live on Xi-kong not even if they paid me a fortune."
"And you shouldn't since you're a woman," Ryo assured. "You were invited as a curio, but probably wouldn't have been allowed to stay – unless some don wanted you in his bed."
"Which wouldn't sit well with me. I'm Sylvanian after all." She chuckled and he smiled.
"But you'd like to have us in your bed to repay our passage?" he asked.
She glanced at both young men. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind a threesome, but not here and not now. Besides, I don't think Yash is up for it yet."
"That's why I'd like to stay with you, so I can eventually repay you for your kindness," Yash said stiffly.
She grinned. "We'll see, Yash. I'm in no hurry. Don't worry. Relax. We'll get to Friport and go from there."
***
"So, what's your name?" the woman asked. She had golden skin, a small tic and close-cropped wavy bronze hair. She stared at Yash with her hands ready to type. The small office was filled with the smell of her deodorant.
"Yashvardhan Samara," he answered. He could feel Ryo's and Birgit's eyes on him as the woman typed quickly and waited. The windowless room felt stifled and the walls seemed to be pressing around him. He didn't like the Wandering Planet known as Friport so far. It wasn't a real planet and everything was underground. The woman's office was inside a five-story building under a fake sky.
"Mm." Again she looked at him. "You're really in trouble, Yashvardhan."
"He ran away from his home planet, much like Ryo, what's the problem?" Birgit asked.
Ryo's duplicate ID had gone quite smoothly. His data had been confirmed quickly and the new card printed and handed to Ryo without a comment from the Friport analyst who was in charge of issuing new IDs. Ryo fit on Friport with his long hair and his mob tattoos, but Yash stood out as the good-boy-next-door lost in a bad neighborhood.
"He's wanted
for murder." The woman lay back on her chair and looked at Birgit. "I can issue him the new ID, but he won't get very far with that name. No legal job at least. Would you like to forge a new ID? I can scramble his microchip, but it costs a lot more." She stared at Yash, waiting. She sounded relieved to discover he wasn't a good guy in spite of his angel face.
Yash's heart was thundering in his chest since the first sentence. Murder? He hadn't killed Jamika, had he? She was just unconscious... or maybe he'd shoved her too hard? His mind was blank and he had no idea what to do now. If he was really a murderer, maybe he should just go home. They'd throw him in prison, but he wouldn't have to marry Jamika. No, wait, there was the death penalty for murder, he'd never pull off the self-defense bit.
"Do it." Birgit slapped her credit card on the employee's table. "New name, Yasha Man-killer."
"What?" he looked at her, puzzled.
"Sounds perfect for a mercenary," Birgit replied with a shrug. "We can discuss it later."
Yash gulped, eyes wide in fear. He wanted to ask what had happened to Jamika but didn't dare. Maybe Birgit could lend him her tablet, or they could check on the meganet or...
"You two are becoming really expensive," Birgit grumbled as they headed back for the hotel. "If I were Wegan, I'd tie you to me with a slave contract!"
"I will happily work for you to repay you," Ryo said cheerfully. Birgit playfully tugged his ponytail. "Ouch. Not if you pull my hair off, though!"
Yash said nothing, still too shocked at the thought that he was wanted for murder. Going back was out of the question, unless he wanted to die young – which matched his suicidal thoughts, but since he'd met Birgit, he felt he owed her and therefore shouldn't die until he'd paid his debt.
He didn't have to ask. As soon as they were in the suite they'd booked, Birgit pulled out her tablet and searched for his name on the meganet, frowning at the results.
"Is your bride-to-be's name Jamika?" she asked. Yash nodded, unable to speak. "Apparently she died for lack of medical intervention. They found her passed out, she had hit her head. If doctors had been called immediately, she'd have probably survived. But she lay there long enough to die without coming back to her senses. Did you say you hit her?"
"I-I think so..." Yash stammered. "I wanted her to get away from me! I didn't mean to kill her!"
Birgit sighed. "Unfortunately you did kill her. Might have been an accident, a desperate gesture from someone who'd had enough of abuse, but you're still a murderer."
Yash exhaled and stared at his feet. His nightmare was getting worse every day. "Maybe I should have killed myself," he muttered as tears rose to his eyes. "I should have banged my head on the wall until I died!"
"Oh, shut up!" Birgit snapped. "You're out of that hellhole and in the right place to start a new life. You had no intention of going back to Ypsilanti anyway. Just put it behind you and move on."
"But I'm wanted by the Galaxy Police!" Yash whined. "And if they catch me, I'll get a death sentence!"
"They won't catch you," Ryo said, determined. "We will protect you."
"Besides, if they do catch you, you won't have to marry an abusive woman, will you?" Birgit added. "But Ryo is right, we won't let anything happen to you."
Yash sniffled and dried his tears. "Thanks," he whispered. He had enough anguish to deal with. He couldn't also worry about the Galaxy Police.
Ryo put one arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry, Yash, you're with friends. We'll help you become Yasha Man-killer, the most fearsome mercenary that ever was!"
"Just imagine – an Ypsilantian man trained by a gay and a woman," Birgit added.
He looked at her, startled, and got the joke. Ypsilantian men were the meekest of the galaxy and being trained by a gay and a woman meant he'd never ever be the most fearsome mercenary that ever was.
Ryo chuckled. Birgit smiled. Yash tried not to laugh, but soon all three burst out laughing.
"Thank you, guys," Yash said, relieved. "You are right, I need to put it behind and move on..."
Except it wasn't the easiest thing. He still had nightmares about Jamika, especially now that he knew she was dead. He still had anxiety attacks and sleep troubles. He stiffened every time someone touched him – even inadvertently or with no purpose other than a friendly pat.
Training with Birgit and Ryo helped, though. Both taught him relaxing exercises and fighting techniques. Often he was too tired from the physical exertions to dream or stay awake at night. Birgit bought both of them guns, and they shot at targets in Friport's shooting range, learning the basics of firearms.
"I don't think I can kill in cold blood," Yash admitted, even if he had a good eye and was a better shot than Ryo.
"Me neither," Ryo added with a grimace. "What else can we do to earn our living and repay our good coach for her hospitality and training?"
"I was hoping to keep doing sports." Yash sighed. "But since I'm a wanted man, I guess I'll have to find something less public... How are your trading skills?"
"Awful," Birgit replied, disgusted. "I can sell my skills, but not goods."
"I'm a mob boss son! I'm good at extortions, not sales!" Ryo added with a wink.
Yash smiled and shook his head. "We can't stay on Friport forever, though, can we? I miss a real planet."
"You're an open air guy, aren't you?" Ryo asked. Yash nodded. "Yeah, I hear you, this underground city is boring after some time. I wouldn't want to live on AC for the rest of my life."
No matter how advanced it was, Friport was a starship, albeit as big as a world. It had underground towns and different levels, but none with fresh air. It wandered in space, it didn't orbit around any sun.
"Let's get back to the Star Nations," Birgit said. "I'm sure we'll find something."
***
Ryo and Yash found two jobs as automatic factory security on Alahairo. Since they didn't have family, they both took the night shift. Birgit helped them find a cozy apartment with two small bedrooms then decided to leave. She wasn't too keen on security jobs and had been hired for counseling on Serenaide, so she bade her "boys" good-bye.
"We will reimburse your expenses as soon as we get our first salary," Yash promised.
"Don't worry about that, sweety," she replied, caressing his cheek. "Try to settle and forget your nightmares. I'll see you in a few months or in a few years – I'm sure you'll be a wonderful young man."
"I might always have trouble getting intimate with anyone," he said with a weak smile. "But you certainly have a special place in my heart."
"Ryo, take care of him," Birgit told the almond-eyed young man who promptly nodded with a grin. He was three months older than Yash, and even if he was shorter and preferred men, he was more aggressive than the Ypsilantian.
Birgit left with her starship, and Ryo and Yash started their new work. Sort of boring, checking cameras all night, but they kept each other company.
They slept during the day and lazily talked of their childhoods in two very different cultures – one that put men over women and the other that put women over men, but both seemingly using marriage to determine gender roles and hierarchies. Xi-kong and Ypsilanti seemed to be the last two planets of the Star Nations with such differences – the rest had more or less gender equality.
Yash knew Ryo wanted to know more about what had happened to him, but he couldn't talk about it yet. He could feel Ryo's interest, no, admiration, no, growing adoration for him, but since Ryo kept his lust in check, Yash didn't protest. He almost felt as if he were back home, talking to Shahid about his worries – way back when it was mostly the championships or the challenges of athletic life, while now it was relationships with other people of both sexes, relatives or strangers.
And then one morning – almost a month since Yash's escape from Ypsilanti – as they left the factory to go home and sleep after their shift, they were stopped by a tall man in the black uniform of the Galaxy Police. Yash's heart jumped in his throat at the sight and he froze as the man came forward with a ser
ious look on his face. Ryo cursed under his breath.
"Yashvardhan Samara?" the policeman asked with a quiet, husky voice. He didn't look threatening, but Yash was on the verge of panic.
"Yasha Man-killer," Ryo promptly corrected aggressively. The ponytail had turned into a braid he hid in his shirt under the security company uniform, since Ryo refused to cut his hair short.
"Please, Ryo Hanashima, I'm not here for you," the man chided. "Your father would love to have you back, so stay out of this."
"Where the hell are you from, man?" Ryo protested, obviously upset at having been identified.
"Commander Kiril Suhail. I'm looking for Yashvardhan Samara. I've talked to Birgit Gisela, since I looked for all the ships that left the night and the morning after Jamika Ananda was killed. Birgit said she'd left you both on Friport, but when I saw Ryo using his account on Alahairo, I came to check if you were still together."
Yash remembered to close his mouth and gulped. "You're here to arrest me for murder?" he asked with a shaky voice.
"I need to talk to you," the commander answered. "I'm sure it was an accident. Although both your family and hers insist that you're a dangerous murderer."
"Him? Pshaw!" Ryo scoffed. "He wouldn't hurt a fly! And that's why they abused him – and nobody took his side!"
"Ypsiliantian society is a little screwed, much like Xi-kong," the policeman said, glaring at Ryo.
"Oh, and what do you know about it?" Ryo challenged.
"My mother is Xi-kongian and my father is Ypsilantian." That explained his slightly slanted eyes and exotic looks. "They connected on the meganet, ran away from their families and met on Alahairo, where they got married and lived happily ever after. I'm their only offspring." The commander looked at Yash again. "Listen, I know what you're going through. Although by Ypsilantian traditions you shouldn't have rebelled, I'm sure with a good lawyer you can have a lenient punishment. Will you tell me exactly what happened?"
Star Minds Interregnum Page 6