Once Upon a Star

by Anthea Sharp

  “Cloned?” He felt the room spin on him. “I…I’m a clone. Where is my real body?”

  “Gone.” Abbē touched the screen of the player several times. “Once the process was successful, the original tissue is destroyed. You’re not you anymore. You, are a Bast.” He held out the player. “And it’s time to learn what happened after you died… and who arranged for you to be genetically modified.”

  “Not yet,” Jacopo moved close to Dante and took the player. “Focus you firsts. Dis isn’t a game, tomcat. Youse in dangers here. Youse needs training. Shows you just what a Bast can do, me.” She look at him sideways. “Needs new name. I choose.”

  “Go ahead,” Abbē said.

  “What?” Dante shook his head.

  “Jacopo found you. You are her kitten, so to speak. You belong to her clan, now. And you will learn it is a very powerful clan on her homeworld. She will choose you a new name.”

  The feline Bast circled him as the others made purring noises. Finally, she said, “Zatarra.”

  “Zatarra. Sounds… like a warrior.”

  She snickered. “It means driftwood. I find you adrift in a sea of dangers, me.”

  The smoke from Zebbie’s cigarette filled his nostrils again and having Jacopo so close….woke something. Something…wild.

  “What…what’s in that cigarette?”

  Jacopo grinned, her canines bared. “Catnip.” She put a hand to his chest. “I teach, youse do, you? And we’s starts now…”

  FOUR

  In the beginning, Dante assumed his training would last maybe a few days. And then maybe a week. A month. Six months passed and Dante learned to survive. Months became years. He learned to shoot, how to hunt, how to jump, how to sense… and he felt stronger than he’d ever felt in his human life.

  Strong. Powerful.

  Feral.

  They fought the Coats, and took their weapons.

  He and Zacopo became a team, along with Zebbie, Aki and Tara, with Abbē at their center. During this time, only one other male Neko appeared in the New, as they called it. He didn’t survive long. Aki had wanted him for her own. But he angered a troll the moment he appeared and it killed him.

  Jacopo taught him how to be a Bast. How to speak their language, customs, everything he would need to survive as a race he’d tried to understand for over a decade as a human. Things made sense to him now. The Basts’ love of nature. Their connection with their worlds. Their religious belief in the Three, the Givers of Birth, Life, and Death. And if the Goddesses looked down favorably, a rebirth into the life-stream once again.

  He also learned that male Bast were indeed fewer than the female population, a punishment given by the triple-goddess for their violent beginnings. The Bast had been conquerors for centuries before they were enlightened. Hundreds of thousands of males died, and those who were reborn no longer grew to the size of large trees, but equal to those of the many females. Females became the warriors, the fighters, the protectors, and when it was time to summon life, they picked their mate and settled together long enough to birth and ween. Rarely did they stay together since the males were so few.

  Male Bast were the politicians, the scientists, the caretakers of the worlds. The strongest were the leaders, and combat determined strength, and by their wits. Something Jacopo wanted Dante to be the best at.

  The reason was simple—revenge.

  Dante learned just how close Edmond Industries had worked with the owners of Chimera Adventures. Funding, it seemed, came from several charities set up by none other than Fernand Mondego, his former best friend, the new CEO of Edmond Industries, and the one who betrayed him. Jacopo learned that Dante’s progenitor, the one who sold him to Chimera, was Fernand himself. A convenient way to get rid of his only rival.

  Fernand had tried to pick up where Dante left off but hadn’t been successful in the five years since Dante’s alleged death. Talks were stalled and the Nine Worlds were running out of one of Carboni Crystals—the very one they needed from the Bast. The Bast knew they were in the prime seat for getting what they wanted—but they were also a hesitant race.

  Or so Jacopo condemned her own people.

  “Theys divide in middle,” she told him while they were out on patrol one night. “Theys wants forward motions but others in power, old tomcats with no understandings, wants nothing to do wif others.”

  “They have no experience with other races.”

  “None.”

  “They need a leader.”

  Jacopo kissed his forehead. “Theys do.”

  “And you think I’m that leader.”

  “No one knows youse not Bast. You smells like Bast, walks like Bast, talks like Bast—more learned Bast than me—”

  “I’m flattered, Jacopo, but there is one problem.” He returned her kissed, pressing his lips to hers. “We’re prisoners of Shadow Down.”

  All of that changed a few minutes later.

  A shuttle crashed in the estates outside of the New, the ruins. The Welcome Center sent out patrols, armed Coats to rescue any of their wealthy patrons who came to enjoy the hunting and fishing afforded for an ideal vacation on Chimera Adventures. Dante and his now rather large group got to the shuttle first. There were no survivors, and the shuttle itself was intact. It needed minor repairs that Abbē believed he could perform.

  Abbē could fly it and was able to maneuver it into a cave. But it wasn’t going to stay invisible for long. Dante was sure they were going to use every means necessary to retrieve the shuttle and prevent anyone from using it to escape the world.

  But that was just was they planned on doing. They had limited fuel, tanks stolen from the Welcome Center, and there were issues with the navigation system. Abbē deduced this is what caused the shuttle to crash in the first place. The only reason it was intact was due to having an excellent pilot.

  The damage would make it impossible for the shuttle to break orbit, so they would be trapped in a decaying one as the fuel ran out. And they would freeze to death. Or be shot down by the Coats.

  Abbē, Dante, Jacopo, and Zebbie boarded it, with orders to the others to wait and survive. Jacopo had always been certain the Bast were still monitoring this area of space. They had wanted the world destroyed. Obliterated. And had protested its purchase and reopening as a resort. Since the shuttle was short range and wouldn’t be able to break free of the planet’s orbit… they were counting on Jacopo’s certainty.

  They took off with no troubles and Abbē established an orbit around the planet. They broadcasted a Bast distress call on a frequency Abbē was sure wouldn’t be detected by the planet’s defenses. And as the hours stretched on, and the temperature dropped, the four of them huddled together.

  Dante was the last to succumb to sleep. The air was finally becoming too bad to breathe, and the others had become unconscious. This had been their only means of getting off world, of returning to…

  To what? His own life was gone. His name, dead. His best friend in charge of his company. And his fiancé…what had happened to Mercedes? With Jacopo in his arms, he looked out the frosting window as a silver ship descended from above and faced them.

  The Coats had found them at last. And this was the end.

  He saw flashes of light. Felt the ship rock and held on tight to Jacopo as the end came.

  It wasn’t his language. Not the one he’d been born to speak. But he understood it, even past the accents and cadence, he recognized it as the language of the Bast. It came in the darkness and brought with it warmth.

  “…prognosis is good. He is strong.”

  “This is good news.”

  He didn’t recognize the voices. Just the words. So when he opened his eyes, he didn’t know their blurred faces either. But they peered down at him with slitted pupils and worried expressions. Two females. Females as physicians? That seemed out of place to what Jacopo had told him.

  “Can you hear us?”

  He nodded to them. He felt the sheets beneath him, over him, and wanted
to bury himself in their softness against his skin. “Yes.”

  There was excitement over him and he watched them as they moved away.

  A male Bast approached, dressed in a white smock. His skin was tanned, his eyes green, black hair and ears. He was tall and slender. A lot like himself. “I am Physician Clemont. Do you have a name and clan?”

  Dante hesitated. He couldn’t say his real name. “Garris Clan, I am called Zatarra.”

  Clemont slowly nodded. “You have been adrift. It fits. You are in Malaise, the capital of M’lyn.”

  M’lyn. The Bast home-world.

  We did it…

  WE DID IT!

  “My…” he coughed. “My companions. Did they make it?”

  The expression on his face made Dante’s heart beat fast. A beeping noise from somewhere sped up.

  “I’m sorry, Zatarra. You and the two females survived. The human… did not.”

  Abbē was dead.

  His friend, his ally, and his constant source of knowledge. He pushed himself up in his bed and lifted his face to the ceiling and gave the mourning cry he’d often given with Jacopo when they lost one of their own battling the Coats.

  When he was finished, the others all bowed in reverence.

  “You give the highest honor to a human,” Clemont said. “I have not seen this done before.”

  “He was…he saved my life.”

  “According to the Chancellor, he saved many lives.”

  Dante ran his fingers through his hair. “Chancellor?”

  “Jacopo Garris. Your companion.”

  Companion. The Bast term for mate.

  “I did not know she was a Chancellor.”

  “Missing for ten years. She was believed dead. Ah, but there is time for you to learn, and debrief. Chancellor Garris has made arrangements for you to join her.”

  Dante was given time to bathe and dress. He liked the feel of the Bast clothing and admired its style. Loose, but not baggy, which made it easy to jump and pounce in. And there were convenient slits for tails. He was led with a contingent down the crystalline halls of the Bast capitol. He’d been here only once as Dante Edmond, upon their first round of talks to bring the Bast into the Nine Worlds. Back then he’d believed it was a good idea.

  Now…not at all.

  He was brought into a round room and told to stand before a half-sphere table. There were nine seats. Three to his left, three in front, and three to his right. Males and females, alternating in sex around the table. He recognized only one.

  Jacopo. She was seated to his right, second from the end. Light twinkled through the stained glass and crystals. Yellow points of light. Carboni Crystals.

  The very thing the Nine Worlds wanted most.

  He was addressed as Zatarra and told that Jacopo had told their story. Now they wanted to hear it from him. He and Jacopo had already rehearsed their story, so he repeated the words they had rehearsed. And when he was done, they all nodded in agreement.

  “As it was told, and second, it shall be written.”

  The two Bast at the head of the table, a male, and female, rose and addressed him. “I am Chancellor Semi,” the male said, “And this is Chancellor Olin. We thank you for bringing Chancellor Jacopo home to us, as well as providing us with the means to prove the Shadow Down is carrying on the genetic experiments and kidnapping of our people as they did before the Ruby War. This has given us the arguments we need in going forth with joining the Nine Worlds.”

  Chancellor Olin held up her hand. “We will compensate you with anything you wish, Zatarra. Chancellor Jacopo has petitioned your joining be recognized. In fact, that is all she has asked for in compensation.”

  He looked at Jacopo and smiled before he looked to Olin and Semi. “I appreciate your generosity. And because I have no past, I can not imagine a future without her. But as for what I would want separate from Jacopo,” he clasped his hands in front of him. “I would ask for a seat at the negotiating table with Edmond Industries.”

  There was a murmur throughout the room and he locked eyes with Jacopo. She nodded and stood, “Chancellors,” she said and waited until everyone was looking at her. “You have proof that the humans have betrayed us. But it is not all humans. Only a select few. I have witnessed Zatarra’s ability to negotiate first hand, with those genetic creatures still imprisoned on Shadow Down. I would pray you allow him a chance to show you the knowledge he has shown me.”

  There were a few nays in the group, but in the end, Dante was given a place at the table. He was then ushered into another room where he was assigned a home, fitted for clothing of state, and access to the vast Bast library. Then he was taken from meeting to meeting where he was asked to give his ideas on the negotiations, and the behaviors of humans.

  The mystery of Human Nature. Because you see, the Bast were a race who believed in honesty. To tell a lie was to commit a crime, punishable by banishment. And to not be part of a clan was to not be part of a family.

  He was exhausted by the time he took a look at his new home but delighted when he found Jacopo there and a meal on the table. He knew from the society that was his job, but it seemed Jacopo missed cooking in a real kitchen. And this was her home. Their home, since their union had been recognized.

  After dinner, they sat on top of the roof and watched the stars, much as they had while in the city of New.

  “What’s it thinking, you?” Jacopo said, reverting to standard speech and her usual accent.

  “About what?”

  “Seats to negotiate.” She put a hand on his arm. “Revenge is never easy, Zatarra. Is dangers full and wif heartbreak. Best to enjoy new life wif me.”

  He kissed her forehead. “And I will. But you know as well as I that the Bast cannot agree to human terms for the crystals because they don’t understand how humans think.”

  “You means how Fernando thinks.”

  He’d tried many times to teach her not to put the O at the end of his name, but tonight, it no longer mattered. He planned on facing his old friend, not as a human, but as a Bast, on the opposite side of the table. “Yes, Jacopo. There is a lot to do before the meeting in five days. I want to know all there is about what Fernand’s been up to, what he’s worth, what he’s done with the company, and what he intends to bring to the table. Will you help me?”

  As an answer, she jumped into his lap and kissed him. “Always, Zatarra. I am your woman.”

  FIVE

  Dante rubbed his eyes as he sat back from the screen. He’d been studying public, and private, records on Edmond Industries and had successfully kept his anger in check. In five years, the only thing Fernand had done as the head of the company was to alienate their allies and strengthen their competitors.

  Jacopo sat in one of the chairs of Dante’s new office as Dante paced.

  “He’s going to lose the company. He’s gambled away most of his personal assets and he’s borrowed heavily from the company’s coffers. Cementing a mining deal with the Bast is all that’s going to save his ass.”

  “Why’s youse so angry?” Jacopo sat forward. She looked nice, clothed in a traditional Bast uniform of state. “Wants hims to fail, you? Is all about destroying him.”

  Dante stopped his movement and looked at his lover. At his savior. At…his life. She had pulled him out of despair so often while they were imprisoned on Shadow Down. He leaned on her. He depended on her. And even now, her words struck a light inside of him.

  He smiled at her, aware of his fangs once again. “I spent so much of my life building that company into something that others could depend on. In a universe of corruption, Edmond Industries had been a shining light. A company that could be trusted to tell the truth and do an honest business.” He moved to his desk and stared at the paperwork. “But now I find he’d been doing all of these back yard dealings with disreputable people. We had funding from Chimera Securities…Jacopo, that’s the very company responsible for so many of your people’s deaths. They traded in capturing and selling
lives. And Fernand profited from it. All behind my back.”

  She stood and approached him. A delicate hand on his shoulder and a twinkle in her eye as she spoke her native tongue. “You did not know. You were innocent in what he was doing. And being that innocent, he tried to destroy you.”

  “He could have just killed me. Instead, he changed me.”

  “He wanted you obliterated, and sold.” She shook her head. “He must have really resented you.” Jacopo looked down at the desk. “You know what you have to do.”

  “I’ve been in contact with the Darwin Consortium. They’re willing.”

  “And they have already agreed to our terms.”

  “In a day, this will all be done. And still I can’t find Mercedes.”

  Jacopo stepped away. “Is it so important to find her?”

  He heard the fear in her voice and smiled. “I don’t want to find her to reunite with her, Jacopo. I have to know if she was part of his plan to get rid of me. If she was working with Fernand.”

  “And if you find she wasn’t?”

  There was something in her tone that caught Dante’s attention. He moved quickly in front of her and tucked a finger under her chin. “Jacopo…”

  Jacopo reached up and put her hands on the sides of his face. “Keep your focus. End this. And start living.”

  The place for the summit between the Nine Worlds and the Bast Empire was the world of Onyx. A natural world whose governing people refused to destroy its natural beauty and designed their cities around it. They were part of the Nine Worlds but had also kept their votes private.

  The fanfare of the Nine World Press crowded the entrance, all of them wanting to get a shot of the Bast’s new negotiating appointee, or at least a sound bite. No one had heard him speak, and that was by design. Dante knew voice print could be identified, and he didn’t know if his voice had also been changed during those months he’d gone through forced DNA alteration.