“That sounds good,” Natalia said. “I could use a shower.”
“I can show you to the restrooms,” Fi said, walking toward the southern exit of the main hold. It sat directly behind Scout. “Come with me.”
Everyone dispersed, going off to their stations or whatever they did around here. Scout still didn’t totally know. It left only Nait, Naos and her in the room. Scout already felt Naos eyeing her before she looked over to confirm her suspicions. He looked incredibly uncomfortable.
Scout looked at Nait. “You could probably use a shower, too. I can smell you from here.”
Nait scoffed. “What?! No way, I always smell like a lily fiel—”
Scout glared. Nait looked back and forth between her and Naos, who nodded toward Scout. Realization dawned in Nait’s eyes and he pointed toward the exit that Fi and Natalia walked through. “Oh yeah, you know, I guess I could use a shower. The men’s room is right next to the women’s room, so I’ll just follo—”
“Go,” Scout said with a groaned.
“Have fun!” Nait said, standing and darting off.
Scout and Naos remained. She smirked at her old friend. The first friend that she ever made. Naos’ parents orphaned him, just like Scout’s and he ended up in training with her and Nait. Nait connected more with Jaskia, the fourth street orphan that Bettina found and Scout loved her, too. She always had a connection with Naos, though. Something that she couldn’t explain. They looked out for each other.
“So, how much did you puff out your chest when Sora and the cavalry showed up on your doorstep?”
Naos blinked. A blink that told all. “Uh, not at all. Why would I do that? They seem nice enough and I don’t have much muscle to puff out,” he said, patting his stomach. “Haven’t been training lately, you know.”
Scout’s smirk widened. “Yeah, Blondie, I don’t see any new muscle. Still figure you tried to show off when they walked in, though. You know, try and scare them away from Senator Valie. Probably wanted to make up after that intruder incident at the palace several weeks ago.”
Naos groaned. “Come on, that wasn’t my fault! His trap got me. How was I supposed to know that he dispatched a net above that window?”
Scout shook her head. “Yeah and I gave up chasing him to save your sorry butt. You probably wanted Nait to think that you’d learned your lesson, right? Now you’re all tough and will take on anybody?”
Naos blushed. Scout missed that familiar redness over the past few weeks and, as much as she wanted to give him crap for falling into the net, that remained as her last good memory at the palace. She lost all that when they got separated in the takeover two days later. “Well, we really don’t know these people,” he said with a shrug. “Had no idea what they were there to do.”
“Don’t worry, I bet that chest kept them in line. They were real fiends before that but look at them now. You changed them all.”
Scout leaned back, resting her hands on her stomach. She kept smirking while Naos shook his head. Whether they worked as royal guards or government fugitives, she still had the ability to agitate him. Good to know that some things stayed the same.
Naos leaned forward, sighing. The dimples on his cheek turned back to a normal color. “I’m glad to see you, Scout. I thought that maybe they had gotten to you. I don’t know about this place or these people, but I’m happy to be with you again.”
“Let’s not get too mushy,” Scout said, snorting. “I’m glad you’re okay, too. Nait and I have been talking about you and Jask ever since Etionapa. No word on Jask, but we got to you before Bettina did. That’s a win.”
When she saw Naos on Puntan, it helped break her Felicia’s spell. Scout didn’t want him to get a big head but when she saw him it reminded her of reality. The reality that this crew brought Naos back and they could leave together.
“Thanks for coming all that way to find me,” Naos said. He tilted his head, growing uncomfortable again. “I don’t know about all this, Scout. Fighting against Bettina seems hopeless and, like I said, we don’t even know these people. I don’t trust a random group of six people against a warrior and her army.”
“Neither do I, but Natalia seems to think we have a chance,” Scout said, sitting up straight.
“That’s because your new captain guy gave her a pep talk,” Naos said. He sat up straight, too. “I mean, who is he anyway? He has no idea what the Queen can do.”
“Bettina,” Scout said, gritting her teeth. This woman nearly had Naos killed. That didn’t sound like his queen. “Her name’s Bettina and whoever these people are, they’ve offered us more than anyone else in the nebula. She needs to pay, Naos. She played us, she wrecked our lives and I want to bring her to justice.”
Naos grimaced, rubbing his right eye. “I hate her, too, but how can you bring her to justice? How can we? She has more of an iron grip than she did when we served her.”
Scout thought back to her arguments with Sora. She felt like she sat on the other end now. “It’s better than running. You didn’t see me on Con. I didn’t look good.”
Naos chuckled. “Well, I doubt that,” he said. He blushed again, coughing. “I mean, well, anyway—”
She rolled her eyes. “Spit it out, Blondie.”
“We don’t have to run. We could just hide. We can find a backwater world that’s even more rural than Puntan and the four of us could go there,” Naos said, gesturing to the room around them. “The nebula is huge. There has to be somewhere and it’s better than being dead. Come on, Scout.”
Her joy at seeing him didn’t feel as strong. She saw Bettina raising her sword. She heard her ordering their deaths. Scout clenched her fists. “She hurt us. She hurt me. I trusted her and she broke that. I gave her my life. You gave her yours! Now, you just want to let her walk all over us?”
Naos held his hands up in a sign of surrender. “No, I just don’t like adventuring around with people that we don’t know and trying to start some revolu—”
Scout slammed her fist down on the couch. “I don’t want a revolution, Naos. I want to kill her.”
Naos frowned. “That’s dangerous, Scout, for more reasons than one. You know that.”
Maybe, but Scout felt that way. She felt that way every time she thought about the woman. She found it predictable that Naos argued with her like this. Their disagreements on strategy always got them into trouble while training and serving Bettina. “This is all we got and I’m going with it. It’s all that you have, too.”
Naos exhaled and sat back in his seat. He scratched his short, blonde hair. Scout did like to see that his hair hadn’t changed. “Yeah, I know. I just don’t like it.”
Scout stood and walked past his couch. “Well, Blondie, you never like anything, so not much new there.”
“Hey, that’s not true!” Naos said, chuckling. He stood and grabbed Scout’s hand as she tried to walk away. “Scout?”
Scout recoiled, making a face at him. She didn’t expect that. “Yeah?”
Naos gulped and smiled, trying to keep an appearance. “It really is good to talk to you and argue with you again. You know, Adli’s a pretty serene place, so maybe you, Nait and me could take a break from all this and grab something to eat while we’re there. I know a place or two. I think you’ve earned it.”
Scout laughed. Naos didn’t want to stick around Sora and this expedition. “Whatever you want, Blondie. You sure we won’t be swarmed by soldiers?”
Naos shook his head. “Not on Adli. I would’ve objected stronger if it was anywhere else.”
“I need to see whatever Natalia’s friend has for us,” Scout said, stepping toward another exit. “Not much time for fun and games.”
Especially not if this guy had something good to use against Bettina.
“I know, but Scout, please. Just to get away from all of this for a few minutes.”
Scout turned, nonchalantly waving her hand. “Whatever you want, Blondie.”
“Careful, I’ll hold you to that.”
/> Scout grinned. She had missed him.
Talek shoved another box aside, freeing some space in the storage room. Arguably the largest room in the ship, it held a variety of items used for ship maintenance, delivery jobs and emergencies. Talek didn’t know what they would bring on the ship next, so they needed all the extra room they could get.
“At the rate we’re bringing people to our cause, they will have to sleep in here,” Talek said, brushing the dust off his hands as he turned to Fi. She sat on a large cargo box.
“That makes it more imperative the supplies are in good shape,” Fi said, gesturing to the pile of boxes that sat behind her. Cargo surrounded Talek and Fi on all sides. She lifted a small pile of orange, rubber full-body suits. Each suit had a white, square box attached to its back. Jets hung at the bottom of the box. A row of helmets sat behind the suits. “Although these are not on our cargo list.”
Talek scratched his chin, looking at the suits. They looked like outfits designed for use with hazardous materials, but he’d never heard them mentioned before. “Hm, I don’t recognize them.”
Talek shoved another box out of the way, watching as the dust bubble appeared in front of his eyes. He waved it away. “All is good on my side.”
He heard the click of a comm and glanced back to see Fi holding one to her lips. “Sora, I’ve found a pile of orange suits that weren’t listed with our supplies. They have helmets and jetpacks. Thoughts?”
“Hmm,” Sora said, pausing. “They could be leftover from Felicia’s time on the ship. Most likely space suits to use for a quick escape or safety suits for mining. Let me come look at them.”
“No, I don’t believe that is necessary,” Fi said, glancing at Talek. Her face didn’t display emotion, but he rose an eyebrow. “Everything else is present. Talek and I can handle it.”
“Alright, if you’re sure. Thanks, Fi.”
Talek withheld a smirk as the comm deactivated. Fi didn’t say anything pointless. She had a reason for keeping the two of them alone.
He gestured to the rest of the cargo. “The ship itself hasn’t taken too much of a hit, so it’s not surprising that everything’s alright. Routine check.”
He rubbed his temples, trying to banish the impending headache. The events of the last several days exasperated him more than he would have originally expected. He did not feel physically tired, but mentally. The troubles on Con and Puntan stirred Talek’s inner being. Perhaps exposure to this darkness stimulated it.
He caught Fi poking a bruise on her arm. “All of your wounds alright?”
Fi scoffed. “I’ve seen much worse. That woman’s thugs grazed me, but nothing more. I would guess that more serious fights lie ahead.”
Indeed.
Fi flipped her hair back, crossing her arms as she looked at Talek. “And your wounds?”
Talek chuckled, hitting his armor. “A few shots got underneath my armor, but it took most of the damage. I didn’t sustain any real wounds. My tribe’s armor is serious business.”
“Not those wounds,” Fi said, clicking her tongue. “Your inner wounds, Talek Dano.”
Talek raised an eyebrow, pausing any movement. “I don’t understand your meaning.”
“You were preoccupied with something on Puntan. In fact, something has been on your mind since Con,” Fi said, pushing herself off the box and onto her feet. She put her hands on her hips. “You control it well and you hide it well, but your body language reveals it. As you walk, run and fight, there is a hint of unease.”
She noticed. Talek pulled his head back. Now he knew why she kept Sora away. This woman had more intuition than most mortals across the galaxy. She remained a mystery to him and he wanted to solve her. “You know the growing darkness concerns me. You heard my conversation with the weapons man.”
“That’s not enough to unsettle you. I know you well enough to know that. This is something more.”
Fi did more than just notice. It peaked her curiosity. Talek considered that an accomplishment. He stepped forward. “Fi, tell me something. Do you believe we can see everything in the nebula? Everything in this life?”
Fi’s eyebrow rose. “Now I don’t follow.”
Talek smiled. “This galaxy, the way it works. Do you think we can see all of it? Do you think there is a reality beyond this one? Beyond a monarchy and its consequences for people?”
Fi pursed her lips together. Thirty seconds passed and silence came over the room. Talek remained where he stood and so did she. He locked eyes with her. Fi had small, beautiful eyes. An intricacy within them that he had never seen in any other being. The black complemented her silver hair.
The color of the eyes drew him in. The blackness.
“If you are asking if I believe in spirits, a higher power or an afterlife, then no,” Fi said, lowering her voice. “We don’t have any strong indicators of anything beyond what we can see. This life takes precedence. It has enough trouble.”
Talek could not blame her for that belief, but he knew that belief could grow. Fi did not have ignorance. “When my parents were alive, they would have agreed with you. Most of my tribe would have.”
“Is that what troubles you, Talek? The question of supernatural elements?” Fi said, narrowing her eyes.
“No, not at all,” Talek said. He took another step forward. “The knowledge of them is what troubles me.”
He rubbed his temples again. No, he couldn’t dive in too deep into this. The results could cause a catastrophe for Fi, Sora and the rest of the crew. He wondered if he said too much and yet, he didn’t mind. He could keep this under control, and he enjoyed Fi’s curiosity.
However, the throbbing echoed. He felt it approaching. Talek couldn’t go too far down this path or it would overpower him.
“Whatever knowledge you have, I can tell that it troubles you. I trained to notice these idiosyncrasies in my prey,” Fi said. She looked him up and down. “You’re exuding these now.”
Talek smirked, trying to shove the throbbing away. “Am I your prey, Fi Kal?”
Fi smiled. The second time Talek had made her smile. Another accomplishment. “No. I grew tired of seeing people as prey. I want something deeper.”
Talek nodded. “Understandable. The life of a bounty hunter was consuming, I’m sure.”
Fi shrugged. “Perhaps. It paid bills but it became tiresome. However, if I had not been a bounty hunter, I would not be here, so it was not a waste.”
Talek scratched his chin. He felt the throbbing continue to fade as he listened. “Really? How so?”
“I was well-rooted in the realm of crime, drug lords and general scum. When you have as many contacts as I did, you hear rumors few other people can access,” Fi said, glancing around at the room. “I heard murmurs that a poor spacer faced down Felicia Malone herself and won, taking her ship as a prize. If that man could beat a nefarious crime lord, then perhaps he could help me escape my life.”
Talek inhaled. Fi contained more similarities to Talek than he had originally realized. He knew they both came here to retire, but it went deeper than that. She hunted this life. As he let out a deep breath, he realized he had forgotten about the headache. It vanished.
“Fi, your history seems as complicated as mine,” Talek said, laughing. He took another step forward. “That’s a feat.”
However, Talek worried that his past stayed on his trail. The headaches echoed that sentiment and yet none of that mattered right now.
Fi stepped forward as well. They stood centimeters apart. She made a faint, barely audible chuckle. Talek heard it, though. He had made this stoic woman laugh. “Apparently. You’re at ease now, I see.”
Talek reached forward and put his arms on her hips. She did not resist or seem offended. In fact, she didn’t give a reaction at all. Talek chose to take that as a positive sign, whether it held true or not. “Yes, I am.”
Fi placed her arms underneath his. Her black eyes zoomed in on Talek’s again. “Stay that way.”
8
The Killer passed through thin clouds and flew over the lush jungles of Adli. Trees and overgrown vegetation overran most of the planet. Sora couldn’t even see the ground. He only saw dense jungle and four white, stone walls in the center of it all. The capital city of Idil contained walls of moderate height, keeping out all of the wildlife and uncontrolled botany.
“Remind you of home?” Sora said, pressing a button to cool the thrusters and rolling back in his chair.
Chok’s teeth chattered. “No. Forests, not jungles and no big butts.”
One of these days, Sora would find out what that meant. He hoped it had a deeper meaning than how it sounded, but he doubted that.
Chok flipped one of the intercom switches. “Have landing clearance?”
“My body just logged information from the Killer with bodies at the main docking bays,” Kossk said, coming in clearly from the communications center. Sora heard his hiss over the speaker. “They request that our bodies land in Bay Six.”
“Our bodies and our butts.”
Sora turned to the cockpit entrance as Natalia entered. A welcome distraction from the current conversation. She wore a blue t-shirt and a red skirt. However, a green cloak covered most of her body. She half-smiled. “Quite a crew you have, Captain Trok.”
“Sora,” he said, fully smiling back. He gestured to the moving sky. “Are you sure it will be alright for us to be so open out there?”
Natalia nodded. “Like I said, the Queen does not have as much of a presence in daily life. Jet will not let anyone harm us.”
Sora found Natalia trustworthy. Her tone and her demeanor had a genuine, tender feel. Every statement she made sounded well-thought out and straightforward. Sora respected and admired that. He had experienced so many lies and vague statements, this was a welcome change.
“In that case, let’s get out there.”
Sora felt like the floor itself slowed down as the ship landed and the gravity of Adli fully hit the ship. He had grown accustomed to it, so it didn’t slow him down as he exited the cockpit, but he noticed it this time. The last two times the Killer had landed, chaos had unfolded. He didn’t know if he would feel the ship touch the ground again.
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