“Of course.” Beck handed skewers to Alisa and Yumi, then waved one toward the guard. “Are you interested, sir? The food is free, but I accept tips.” He pointed to his cup, which held far more coins than it had when they had been on the space station. It was nearly full of whole tindark coins.
Perhaps noticing her surprise, Beck leaned close to Alisa and whispered, “This has been brilliant. The Starseers are flush with cash and have nothing to spend it on up here. I don’t think they pay taxes, either.”
Alisa snorted. “Are you going to pay taxes?”
“Of course, Captain. I’m a law-abiding Alliance citizen.”
“Uh huh. Feed our friend there, will you?” Alisa tilted her head toward the guard, hoping the man would not insist on following her into the ship. Holding her own skewer, Alisa started up the ramp with Yumi, taking a bite as she walked. She paused at the top. “Beck?”
“Yes?”
“This is even better than last time. Did you make any modifications to your spice blend?”
Beck’s lips twisted with distaste. “Yes.”
“Based on someone’s suggestion, perhaps?” She did not use Leonidas’s name, not wanting to mention him in front of the Starseers. The less they thought about him, the better.
“Yes,” Beck admitted, “but don’t tell him that, all right?”
“Maybe you should tell him. And invite him to be your permanent taster.”
Beck’s lips turned downward so deeply that the corners were in danger of falling off his chin.
As soon as they were in the ship and out of the guard’s line of sight, Alisa shooed Yumi toward her cabin. “Get what you need. I’m going to check on Mica. I’m sure we won’t have much time.”
The chickens squawked happily at their appearance, or maybe they were complaining that the hatch was open, with cold air flowing over their pen. At least the heat was on inside. The noisy chickens should lend credence to their story. Even so, Alisa kept her thoughts away from her intentions as much as possible, in case the guard was still monitoring them.
Yumi hustled up the stairs toward the passenger cabins. Alisa found Mica in engineering, though she had switched from working on things to sprawling on a cot in the corner and watching a vid on her netdisc. Or maybe she had been sleeping while it played in the background. The lights were dimmed, and she yawned impressively when Alisa walked in.
“Ship all fixed?” Alisa asked.
“I’ve got the shields regenerating themselves,” Mica said. “Beyond that, it was mostly cosmetic damage when we crashed.”
“When mental manipulation of our tools and our minds forced us to land abruptly,” Alisa corrected, refusing to add that incident to her record as a crash.
“Land abruptly? We skidded across the ice on our asses for a mile.”
“Either way, we ready to leave any time now?”
“Uh.” Mica slung her legs over the edge of the cot. “There’s nothing wrong with the ship that would keep us grounded. But…”
Alisa grimaced. She didn’t want to hear about a but. She wanted to drug Yumi’s mom, find out where her daughter was, and leave without further trouble. If Alejandro finished up his orb research and wanted a ride out of here, fine, but she wouldn’t be that upset if she had to part ways with him here.
“Follow me,” Mica said, yawning again. She padded out of engineering in her socks and led the way through the cargo hold and up the stairs, pausing to glower at the cold air coming in through the hatch.
“You do have a cabin with a bed in it,” Alisa commented.
“I like to keep an eye on the equipment, especially when odd things might happen.”
“Odd?”
Mica stepped into NavCom and prodded a monitor to life. The feed from one of the cameras on the undercarriage of the ship filled the display. Alisa had a view of the pier underneath them, a water line that someone must have allowed Mica to hook up, and—
“Uh, what is that?” She pointed at some kind of metal frame just visible on the side of the video pickup.
“Docking clamps. Two big ones holding us in place.”
A chill went through Alisa that had nothing to do with the polar air. She shouldn’t have been surprised after the way they had been invited to the temple, but it was alarming to see evidence that the Nomad was being held. Alisa had landed the ship fully on the pier. There was no safety reason for those clamps to be there.
“Naidoo said I could leave as soon as the ship is repaired,” Alisa said.
“You trust her?”
“Not really.”
“Comforting.”
What if the Nomad was being held as an assurance that Alejandro did not fly off with the orb? Maybe he would be allowed to research it but not to keep it.
Even if that was the reason for the clamps, it did nothing to cheer Alisa up. She had been contemplating leaving Alejandro behind, but she hated the idea of being forced into doing so. And what if Leonidas was part of that package? What if the Starseers had no intention of letting him go?
“I went out for a look earlier and didn’t see a manual release,” Mica said. “I didn’t even see anything that hinted of an electronic component. Maybe they manipulate the clamps with their minds.” She snorted. “I don’t know. Did you see a control room inside those doors?”
“No, but our tour has been limited.” Alisa thought of the monitor-filled throne room, but those displays had all been showing news feeds, not cameras of the temple or docking area. “Wandering around on your own isn’t encouraged. There’s a guard standing outside, waiting to take Yumi and me back to our guest quarters.”
“Guest quarters? At least they didn’t dump you in a dungeon cell.”
“If you don’t mind the cold, the rooms are fine.” Alisa shrugged. “The beds are cushy, and there are plenty of chairs and blankets, but a prison is a prison. You know how I hate to be trapped.”
Mica shared a nod and a knowing look with her. There was no need to mention how freedom had been an illusion in the empire and how that had chafed them both. They knew why they had signed up to fight.
“Me too,” Mica said.
“I don’t think we’re going to have to leave immediately,” Alisa said, thinking of Yumi’s breakfast date with her mother and Alejandro’s research, “but in the morning, why don’t you spend some more time contemplating those clamps and how to release them in case we need to leave in a hurry later on?”
“I’ve already contemplated them with a screwdriver and a laser knife. Further contemplation would likely involve explosives.”
“I’m not opposed to explosive contemplation, so long as it doesn’t harm the Nomad.”
“That would be the challenging part.”
“It’s a good thing my engineer enjoys challenges.”
Mica only scowled at her.
“I better head back out before that guard comes looking for me,” Alisa said. “Have there been any other problems?”
Mica glanced toward the corridor outside of NavCom. It was empty.
“Not big problems, but I went out to get some of Beck’s food earlier. He’s been chatting with the Starseers, making friends over chargrilled duck.”
“That’s a problem? I’m actually impressed if he’s making friends with those people. I’ve been looking for someone on the crew that has a diplomatic streak, since neither friends nor enemies appreciate my bluntness or my jokes.”
“I’m not sure he was being diplomatic when he was discussing your cyborg with them.”
Another chill went through Alisa as new concerns instantly popped into her mind.
“What do you mean?” she asked, though she could already make some guesses.
“I only heard a small portion of the conversation before they noticed me walking down the ramp. The Starseer man immediately stopped talking, and Beck looked guilty too. Beck had been explaining in detail the warrant out for Leonidas’s arrest.”
“I see.”
It was possible the Starse
er had come to extract information on Leonidas from the crew, perhaps using mind manipulation talents on Beck to do so, but it was also possible Beck had instigated the conversation. Back on Perun, he had tried to entice Alisa into helping him turn in Leonidas to collect the two-hundred-thousand-tindark reward. All she had done was point out the reasons why subduing a cyborg for a trip to the government seat on Arkadius, the place where the bounty originated, would be next to impossible for the two of them. Maybe Beck had realized that things would be easier now that they were actually on Arkadius. A Starseer ally could make it even more feasible.
“Turning Leonidas in for a bounty would be a poor way to reward him after he helped improve Beck’s recipe,” Alisa murmured.
Mica’s eyebrows rose.
“Freighter captain,” the guard called from the cargo hold. “Your chickens have been fed. It’s time to return to your quarters.” His words were not hostile, but his voice was cool. Maybe he had an inkling that he had been fooled.
“Comm me if Beck and his new buddies go off for a chat, will you, Mica?”
“Yes, but I might be distracted by my explosive contemplations.”
“Do your best.” Alisa patted her on the arm, then hurried to the cargo hold, not wanting to give the guard reason for further suspicion.
Yumi was already waiting, nothing but her purse draped over her shoulder, the same one she had worn on the way into the ship. Good. The guard surely would have questioned her if she had dragged her entire trunk’s worth of supplies into the temple. Yumi gave the slightest of nods when Alisa approached.
“I’m ready any time,” Alisa told the guard. “I was just checking with my engineer. It seems our ship acquired some unexpected attachments.”
The guard grunted and headed for the ramp.
“He’s a chatty fellow,” Alisa muttered to Yumi.
Yumi followed him, not responding. She fidgeted with a flap on her purse as she walked. Nervous about the idea of drugging her mother? That was understandable, and Alisa felt guilty for making the request, but she would not retract it. She wasn’t going to leave here without finding out where those men had taken her daughter.
Beck whistled cheerfully as they walked past him. Because people were enjoying his food, or because he was contemplating his two hundred thousand tindarks?
Alisa wanted to warn him not to do anything foolish—or greedy—but in addition to the guard, there were three Starseers in front of his grill now, enjoying skewers of meat. This wasn’t the place to bring up Leonidas. She shouldn’t even be thinking about him when these people could read minds. But she couldn’t resist saying something, making a quick attempt to persuade Beck not to do anything that he would regret—or that she would regret.
“I really like the new spice recipe,” Alisa said, meeting his eyes. “You’re a good cook, and I think that with someone’s help, you could become even more successful. I’m sure you’ll make it eventually and earn far more than two hundred thousand tindarks in the years to come.”
One of the diner’s eyes closed to slits at the specific mention of the money. That disturbed Alisa for more reasons than one. First, because that amount meant something to him—Beck likely had been out here discussing specifics. And second, because the man knew she was trying to dissuade Beck… and it seemed he did not like it.
Beck only scratched his head. “I’ll keep that in mind, Captain. Glad you like the food.”
As the guard led Alisa and Yumi away, Alisa vowed to comm Leonidas and warn him about this development as soon as she had some privacy. She knew he was already on guard, but he should know that Beck might have given the Starseers more information on him. She hated to put a further rift between Leonidas and Beck, but if Beck had volunteered that information without coercion, he was bringing this on himself.
“I always thought that my life would be simple after the war ended,” Alisa muttered to herself. “Apparently, pilots are delusional.”
Chapter 9
Four hours and a nap later, a different guard came to the guest quarters to collect Yumi. Yumi informed the man that she had invited Alisa along for the breakfast date. Alisa filled her mind with images of Leonidas’s naked chest again, hoping to dissuade the male guard from surfing in her thoughts. Instead of curling a lip in disgust, his eyes widened, and he smiled slightly. Maybe he found the idea of massaging muscular men attractive instead of repulsive. Either way, he did not object to Alisa’s presence, nor did he demand to search the purse that Yumi was once again fidgeting with.
Alisa shut the door to the guest quarters on the way out. Neither Leonidas nor Alejandro had been back since Abelardus had taken them to the library, but that was not surprising. Given his obsession with the orb, Alejandro might spend days researching without eating or sleeping. And since he had often been a soldier out in the field, Leonidas was probably experienced at spending days without eating and sleeping, too, with the added discomfort of drone bombers shells and artillery rounds sailing overhead.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Yumi whispered as they turned into a corridor they hadn’t been down before and the guard stopped to talk to another robed Starseer.
Everyone here seemed to be a Starseer, at least going by the robes. Alisa wondered what happened if children were born here and did not display talents. From her brief chat with Sylvia, she had received the impression that was more the norm than not.
“Just hope for scrambled eggs or porridge,” Alisa whispered back. “It ought to be easy to mix something into that. Or juice. Can your stuff dissolve in juice?”
Yumi nodded and wiped sweat from her brow.
“If you want, give it to me, and I’ll do it.” Alisa had no idea what the penalty was for trying to get a Starseer high, but since she had no relationship to Ji-yoon, she doubted she would be as nervous about it as Yumi.
Relief blossomed on Yumi’s face, and she dipped into her purse.
“Did you get any of that other concoction you mentioned?” Alisa murmured, standing in front of Yumi so the guard would not see what they were doing if he turned. Right now, he was busy talking to his buddy about the earthquake she’d heard about on the news the night before. She hoped they couldn’t talk to each other and mentally probe prisoners’ minds at the same time.
“Yes, but I don’t think we should use it,” Yumi whispered as she pressed a small sealed bag into Alisa’s palm. A couple tablespoons of a fine brownish gray powder were tucked inside. The color made it look about as appealing as takka, maybe less so.
“Why not?”
“If she’s not able to read us the way she usually would, she’ll know something is blocking her, and then she’ll wonder why we’re blocking her. She’ll think we have something to hide.”
“And that’s worse than thinking the wrong thing at the wrong moment and letting her know that we have something to hide?”
“Probably. I don’t think my mother is a strong telepath, so she may only read us briefly at the beginning. Unless we say something suspicious and she has reason to believe we’re lying, I doubt she’ll poke around in our thoughts.”
The guard swatted his friend on the back—actually, that was the butt—and turned back to his charges. Maybe he did prefer male massage partners.
“Let’s go, you two,” he said, with a yawn. Bored with his duty, was he?
A bored guard was preferable to an alert one. Alisa smiled agreeably, slid the packet of powder into her pocket, and followed him.
Soon, he led her and Yumi up a set of stairs and out onto a patio atop a tower. The crenellated half wall let them see in all directions, into the interior of the temple, to the docking area that held the Nomad and the other ships, and out toward the sea of ice a hundred feet below. The air was clear for a radius of a few hundred meters around the temple, but then the omnipresent gray mists started up on all sides, including overhead. Alisa thought she remembered glimpsing stars on their way in, but maybe they had been part of an illusion. The dense hazy gray mists block
ed out the sky. If a ship flew over the area, it would not be able to see down to the temple, nor, she wagered, would a satellite be able to get imagery of the temple.
“Uhh,” Yumi whispered, halting as soon as she stepped out the door.
A few tables with chairs were set up on the ice-block patio atop a rug, and a couple of hovering patio heaters hummed softly as they shed warmth on the area, but Alisa doubted it was the decor that made Yumi pause. She was staring at the only occupied table. Three people sat at it instead of the expected one: Ji-yoon, her gray-threaded black hair pulled back in a braid, and two younger women in their late teens or early twenties. They shared Ji-yoon’s almond-shaped eyes and black hair. In fact, as Alisa looked back and forth between them and Yumi, she decided they all shared a lot of features. Small noses and round faces, along with average to slender builds.
“Do you want me to stay or give you some privacy, Lady Ji-yoon?” the guard asked.
“We’ll be fine,” Ji-yoon said, though she did frown slightly at Alisa before waving to her daughter. “Please come join us, Yumi. And, ah, this is your captain, isn’t it?”
“Alisa Marchenko, ma’am,” Alisa said while doing her best not to think about the drugs in her pocket.
It seemed like a silly time to think of shirtless cyborgs, so she thought of the Nomad instead and of flying the craft away from the Starseer temple, of the freedom of soaring through space and perhaps testing her skills by sailing through an asteroid field or through the tricky interstellar gravity wells that made navigating at the center of the trinary system a challenge. Perhaps Ji-yoon would have similar memories that she found appealing.
“Yumi said that you’re a pilot too,” Alisa said, “and that you worked with the Alliance during the war. I was just twiddling my thumbs in my room, so I invited myself along to your breakfast. Hope you don’t mind.”