The Last Child

by Troy Osgood

  I didn’t look over but I could see Kaylia smiling again.

  I hit a couple of keys and a series of dots and lines appeared on the viewing window. The Wind had connected with the stations docking system and was being guided in towards the berth we had been assigned. I followed the directions on my screen, turning the ship. I kept it at an angle so Kaylia could see all the other ships already docked. There were large freighters, small cruisers, a couple in-system cruisers and even a couple of yachts.

  “This is the hard part,” I told her drawing her attention.

  The docking bay was an exterior connection, no hanger to fly into and no magbarrier. It was airlock only, meaning the ship had to connect directly to the exterior wall. Once there, the stations own gravity held it in place, but it took a bit of maneuvering to get the connection right.

  Bay 29 showed up, between a yacht, of a make and model I didn’t recognize, and a Yourikal Vessels Heavy Freighter. Using the thrusters I slowed the Wind and turned it around so it was facing away from the station. Kaylia stood up, trying to look out the view window to see the station.

  “Watch your screen,” I directed and turned on the vidcam at the rear of the ship.

  Her monitor at the co-pilots station now showed a view of the Wind’s rear and the rounded exterior of the station’s docking ring, black gasketing around the perimeter. She watched as a door slid open showing a square room and another door beyond. Out of the room a metal rectangle, the same size and shape of the space, extended out with a black rubber gasket around the edge. Magnetic couplers could be seen at the four corners. The circular ring extended as well, a second layer of connection in case the rectangular connecting tube couldn’t get a good seal.

  The tricky part was aligning the rear of the ship with the extended gangway, getting the couplers in the right spots so my rear hatch could still open and making sure the gasket fit tightly.

  Slowly, with controlled use of the thrusters, I backed the Wind up against the gangway. There was a loud bang and four sharp taps as the couplers engaged with the hull of my ship. Lights flashed green on my control panel and I knew we were lined up correctly.

  I turned off most of the power to the Wind and started to get out of the seat.

  “Let’s get the cargo unloaded, get paid and do some shopping.”

  Kaylia was down the hallway towards the stairs that led to the cargo hold before I was even fully out of the chair.

  *****

  We stood in the Wind’s cargo hold looking at the metal doors waiting on the signal from Dynuit Docking Control. Kaylia was impatient, she wanted to go and explore the station. She still wore my oversized coat and I’d given her a hat to hide her hair and ears. With the coat and hat, tail still hidden by the coveralls, she really didn’t look Thesan.

  Which was good.

  “The Dynuit are a tribal society,” I explained as we waited. “An old custom from their pre-space days was the exchange of gifts. One tribe visiting another would bring a gift and get a gift in return. They still do that today.”

  A green light flashed on the display and I hit the button. The doors slid to the side and revealed the gray colored interior of the gangway and two aliens, Nuits. They stood my height with a slight stooped posture. Their legs were short with a long body and very long arms. One was gray, the other more black. Both were bald and wore matching uniforms. Their eyes were dark pits of black, almost hidden in their flat faces. No noses, just two angled slits below the eyes.

  The one in back held a rifle of a manufacture I didn’t recognize. His eyes searched the hold of the ship behind me. The other held a datapad and looked more official, some chips of something on it’s uniform probably signifying rank.

  “Welcome to Dynuit Station,” the one in front said in heavily accented Tradelan looking at the datapad. “Your cargo has been cleared,” it said and looked up into my hold with a little bit of surprise.

  The three crates stood out as the only things in the hold.

  “Slow day,” I said.

  The Nuit made a gesture that I assumed was a shrug. It was a movement of the shoulders anyways. He could have been giving me their equivalent of the finger for all I knew.

  “Your cargo can be unloaded into the secure storage just outside the doors, Bay 29,” he said pointing behind him towards the rest of the docking bay. “We have dockhands available for a small fee.”

  “I’m good thanks.”

  The Nuit made the same gesture. The one with the weapon studied Kaylia and me. I didn’t like the attention he paid Kaylia but had to admit she looked a little suspicious in the oversized jacket and hat. He looked from her to me. I gave him a look that I hoped was just enough ‘back off, mind your own business’ but not aggressive and threatening enough to cause an issue.

  “As you wish,” the lead Nuit said and looked right at me. “Welcome to Dynuit Station.”

  “Thank you,” I replied, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a couple credchips that I placed into the Nuit’s open and waiting hand.

  He glanced at the chips, nodded, and turned. The other followed with one last glance at Kaylia and me.

  “Enjoy your stay.”

  The airlock door swished shut behind them.

  I turned to go get the maglifter when Kaylia tugged at my sleeve. I looked down at her hands and she moved them through a series of gestures.

  You bribed him?

  I laughed as I led her to where the maglifter was stored.

  “Remember how I said one tribe gave gifts to the other?”

  She nodded.

  “That was our gift.”

  Kaylia thought about it for a minute and then signed something in reply.

  What about their gift to us?

  “They let us land at their station.”

  She thought about it some more. Just another example of how sheltered I was finding her upbringing to be. I didn’t think Kaylia had learned much about the way the world really worked while living on Turesa.

  That is not how it should work.

  “No kiddo, it’s not,” I agreed. “Now come on. I’ll teach you to use the maglifter.”

  *****

  The gangway doors opened to a large space. Pushing the maglifter Kaylia stepped out and stopped, her head turning every which way. I smiled as I stepped up next to her. It was a common sight for me, but could see how it would be amazing for her.

  Bright metal with track lighting built in stretched in both directions for a good distance. The docking ring was so big that you could barely make out the curving at the far ends. Doors like the ones we had passed were spaced along the outer edge, each with large writing above them in a variety of languages from Tradelan and Nuit to more obscure but common ones. Different sizes. Some for cargo, sized like ours and bigger for larger freighters, and small personal doors. I saw Pierd, Tiat and even Dyer. The walls curved up, the top half of the ring, the bottom curve hidden by the floor we were on. Lines of light along the metal floor formed and controlled traffic patterns, directing people where to go.

  The ring itself was not that wide, about forty feet to the doors to the wall. Across from us was writing that matched that above our door. Our designated storage. Doors faced doors as the airlocks opened onto the travel ring and across from the corresponding storage rooms that took up most of the space inside the docking bay.

  There was so much incoming and outgoing shipping happening at this station, and similar, across the galaxy and between so many varied beings with different languages, monetary needs and morals that systems had been developed to handle it. You offloaded into a designated locker and got a code. Once payment had been made, you gave the code to the buyer and both parties inputted acknowledgment to the stations Dock Control. The shipper could no longer access the storage, only the person taking possession of the cargo. For outgoing it worked the same way just in reverse.

  It helped protect both parties and insured one got paid and the other got their product.

  There were wa
ys to cheat the system of course and there were still a lot of illegal and back alley deals, but the system helped a lot.

  It also sped up the process as the system could be set up to do automatic payments once all the cargo was scanned and put into the storage unit. Since each crate was scantagged, it worked pretty well and the cargo’s recipient didn’t ever need to physically meet with the freight hauler.

  A lot different then dealing with asteroids like CU145792 out in Deep Space.

  Once all three crates were in storage, I was technically free to leave the station. Normally I would have gone looking for another delivery but this time was different.

  I ended up taking the maglifter from Kaylia, she was spending too much time looking around.

  Couldn’t blame her.

  The ring was crowded.

  Beings of all shapes and sizes roamed the hall. It was an orderly chaos. Maglifters moved crates and other containers. Hovercrafts moved people from one end to the other. I stopped to let one pass and had to grab Kaylia by the collar and pull her along.

  Unloading the three crates with one maglifter and by myself, well keeping an eye on a young Thesan that was interested in everything, took a bit of time. Really the thing that took the longest was moving the crates across the ring through the crowds, having to stop for hovercrafts and larger maglifts. I should have hired one of the Nuit’s dockhands with their larger maglifts and could have had this done in one trip. I could have found a way to charge Lil.

  The last crate was put in the hold and the door was closed and locked. My wristcomm beeped almost immediately to let me know that I had received my pay. There was also a note with another job offer from Tesk Un Lil. I quickly scanned it. Would have been a good little job but it was the opposite direction from where I was going. I hit a couple buttons and declined the offer. I told him I was already booked, that way he would still use me in the future.

  “Come on kid,” I said tapping Kaylia on the shoulder. Her eyes had been following a family of Tusgars. “Let’s do some shopping.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  I led her down the ring towards the arm that connected it to the main station. Her eyes still looked everywhere. She was definitely sheltered. Probably here and the Oval on CU145792 were the only other places she had been, and on the asteroid she had been running and scared with no time to sightsee. I didn’t think Turesa was that big and probably didn’t get much traffic but it did get some. Some of these assorted beings shouldn’t have been new to her.

  But Kaylia was acting like everything was new.

  How sheltered had she been?

  We walked with the flow of people heading in towards the station. The path was lined with lights and painted, helping keep the traffic moving. Middle was reserved for small cargo with the edges made for walking. Right moved towards the station, left moved towards the docking bays from the station. Beneath us were the larger tunnels used for transporting bigger cargo. Efficient and easy to understand regardless of what planet you were from or what language you spoke. You walked in on one side and out the other.

  Space stations were all built relatively the same. It was an easy to duplicate design, could be retrofitted for most any type of species. And keeping it similar helped the people that went from station to station. Like me. There were differences obviously, like the armed Nuit standing at guard periodically, but they were close enough that someone visiting a new station could easily find their way.

  We turned with the traffic into the connecting arm and almost got run over as Kaylia stopped dead in her tracks.

  “Sorry,” I muttered to the beings behind us as I pulled her over to the side. Got lots of annoyed glances, I gave some back.

  Kaylia was looking up. I smiled, realizing what new wonder had got her attention. This one was worth pausing for. It was a beautiful and cool sight.

  The arm was about thirty feet in diameter, the floor was a moving walkway in two directions, but it was the walls that caught her attention. They were clear, made of polycarbonite, and you could see the stars. The station itself loomed over everything but it just added to the breathtaking sight. The large cylinder, millions of lights and windows, with the black of space and the bright spots of the stars behind it. The gas giant to the bottom, asteroids further out and ships moving around.

  A sight I’d seen so many times but standing there with Kaylia I was reminded of how amazing it really was.

  “Come on kid,” I said and nudged her onto the walkway.

  She stood at the edge and looked out at the vastness of space beyond. The walkway moved us along and she just watched space. I smiled. There was a naivete about Kaylia, complete innocence. I knew there was more to her story, but that could wait. For now, she could just enjoy the stars.

  We got to the other end quickly and reluctantly Kaylia followed me to the bank of lifts, one last look at the stars. There were over a dozen large ones, all speeding up to the various levels that made up the station. If I remembered right, the Dynuit station had ten levels in total, five above the docking arm and five below. Some of the ones above were living quarters for the stations inhabitants. The rest were mercantile and entertainment.

  Many people lived on the stations, some were born and died there; never setting foot on a planet. Weird.

  We entered one of the lifts along with over a dozen other beings, the door closing behind us, and I went to hit the button for the seventh floor. That was where the gambling hall and my favorite bars were. I caught myself in time and switched to the fifth floor. The shops.

  Had almost forgotten the kid was with me and we weren’t here for fun. We were here to get some clothes for her, some supplies and then leave.

  A couple seconds later and we stepped onto a floor I had never been on. I was just as overwhelmed as the kid had been. Shops lined the walls as well as the middle of the floor. Some back to back forming walkways between them So many stores. It was like a miniature city.

  There were a ton of beings too. Lots of young ones, kids. The signs were all bright, there was some kind of music playing and it was loud. So very loud. And annoying.

  I was already getting a headache.

  *****

  The next level we went to was more my speed. It wasn’t as loud, but it was still packed. At least it had ale.

  Level six was the restaurant level. After shopping for some clothes, we came to get some food. Kaylia was still wearing my oversized jacket and the hat. She liked it for some reason and refused to take it off. Which I was fine with. Probably still smart to hide her identity as much as possible. The overalls were gone and she had bought a decent outfit. Pants and boots, brown and black, with a short sleeve shirt. I’d had her buy a couple different outfits. It was a couple days journey to Turesa.

  Her tail was swishing back and forth, happy to be free probably.

  The food was good and I was able to relax for a bit.

  I hadn’t realized how much adrenaline I’d been running on. Even the downtime from the asteroid to here had been pretty hectic. I really hadn’t relaxed since I had met Kaylia. Once we got back on the Wind and heading for Turesa, I’d be amped up again.

  I watched the kid eat for a bit wondering when she had gone from being the Thesan girl to being the kid. Taking a drink of the ale I looked around the crowd. I had chosen a restaurant that had an open wall that overlooked the main walking area and a decent view of the lifts. Having Kaylia wasn’t affecting that habit of mine, I always wanted a view of the exits and where I could get the lay of the land.

  There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just beings of all kinds going about their business. No one seemed to be paying us any attention. Which was good.

  I kept my eye out for Thesans, but didn’t see any.

  The thought was to hand Kaylia off with them. She’d probably be better off with her own kind, right? But doing that just didn’t feel right. It felt like passing the buck, ditching the responsibility. She had chosen me, by accident sure, but she was now under my care. It mi
ght have started as an accident, but all my actions since was me choosing her.

  Finishing up her food, her hands flashed at me.

  Can we look around at the other levels?

  “Sorry kiddo, we need to head out,” I said standing up and looking around again. Always take another sweep before moving out. When you started to make a move, that’s when the calm around you started to shift as others reacted. Look to see who reacts to your movements. That was a holdover from my old Special Operations days. I’d never lost that habit because some of the jobs I took on were dangerous and I had my share of enemies.

  Kaylia stood and nodded, obviously disappointed. Probably realizing that once she was home on Turesa the chances of seeing a place like this again were slim.

  We stepped out of the restaurant and into the crowd. I kept one hand on her shoulder to help push her along, she was still wanting to look at everything, and the other laying lightly on my holstered blaster. We moved slowly towards the elevator, my eyes searching everyone in front of us.

  I should have been looking behind as well.

  We were maybe twenty feet away from the doors when I saw an alien step next to Kaylia and grab her arm. Before I could do anything I felt the tip of a blaster hard against my back. It had happened quickly and smoothly. Professionally.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” a rough and deep voice said quietly. “Follow them,” it added with a nudge of the gun.

  The being holding onto Kaylia looked over her shoulder at me. A female Garand, a little shorter than I was. Long silvery white hair, very pretty face with dark purple eyes and blue gray skin with horns a shade different coming from the sides of her head behind her large pointed ears. The horns curled back and down to her neck with the tips turning out. Four tendrils, two on each side, grew from below the horns and hung over her shoulders, the ends capped in a soft gray metal. She wore nondescript brown shirt and pants, her thick tail hanging down to her knees, banded in the same gray metal. I looked down at her legs, bent backwards at the knee and ending in what looked like a hoof. I looked back up into the pretty face with eyes that were cold, hard and unfriendly. Kaylia looked back at me, scared, and I just nodded trying to project reassurance even though I didn’t feel it.