Memento Vivere, Fifteen

[keaalu]

     “Inda?”

     The medusi peered over the top of her holoviewer to find her wife with her head in her lap. “Lunete.” She smiled, tiredly. “What do you want now? As if I couldn’t guess.”

     Lunete smiled hopefully and hugged her legs. “Have you made a decision? Will you come with me to the galley tomorrow?”

     Kainda gave a patient little sigh. “To see this little spur you’re suddenly so enamoured with? What if he’s not even there? He’s down in basic accommodation; the drugs they use for hibernation can keep them asleep for days. I bet he’ll still be tucked up in his cabin, if we go down there.” She put the viewer to one side and leaned down a little closer. “You meet new people all the time. It’s what travelling means. What’s so special about this particular youngling?”

     “Well, he’s-…” Lunete actually hesitated, lips coming together in a confused pout. “I-… don’t really know how to describe him. He’s quiet. Seems… shy? Modest.” A little grin quirked at the corner of her mouth. “Handsome, of course. And he’s got these incredible blue eyes-”

     Kainda arched a suspicious eyebrow. “Blue eyes?”

     Lunete hesitated, suddenly unsure of herself. “…I know. A-and they look so strange-… I didn’t think there was such a thing? But they’re definitely blue.”

     “He could be wearing corrective lenses.” Kainda poked her in the nose. “On purpose, to get the attention of fluffy-headed fessine like you.”

     Lunete tilted her head to one side and averted her gaze, coyly. “Nooo, he doesn’t seem like the type to do that-”

     Kainda’s smile turned into an amused grin. “Come on, Lune. You’ve only known him a few days. How do you know it isn’t just the drugs he’s taking, making him seem like he’s so nice?”

     “Well if you’re not interested in meeting him, you should at least see the thing in the garage that he brought with him,” Lunete insisted, at last. “It’s this, this… amazing thing. It’s like a laima, but it’s a machine. And it’s huge.”

     A hint of something not entirely wholesome flashed through Kainda’s eyes. “A mechanical laima?”

     “And he’s an engineer, it’s why he brought it,” Lunete went on, obliviously, in a sing-song voice. “You said it’d be useful to have someone on staff who knew what they were doing, remember? That way we wouldn’t have had to leave Venture on Brume and travel by sleeper.”

     “Do you remember everything I say, and file it all away for later emotional blackmail?”

     Lunete heaved the galaxy’s biggest sigh. “You keep saying we need an engineer, and now I found one, you’re not interested,” she said, petulant, and exaggerated a big-lipped pout.

     “I was thinking more along the lines of, putting out a job advert and hiring someone based on their abilities, not on whether I think he’s attractive. Do you even know if he’s any good at the job?”

     Lunete let her chin rest on the medusi’s knees. “No. But-… the thing in the garage-…?”

     “All right. I get it. Shush. I’ll come with you. Maybe,” Kainda accepted, graciously. “After I’ve seen this… thing that’s got you so excited, that you said he brought with him, and reassured myself that you’re not away on another flight of fancy.” She kissed Lunete’s brow, and stroked her head, making her ringlets bounce. “Go to bed, little one. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

     Unsatisfied but not willing to argue further, Lunete leaned up and returned the kiss – a quick, disappointed little peck on the cheek – and slipped away to their sleeping quarters.

     Over on his own chair, Egils was keeping studiously quiet, and the medusi knew exactly what it meant. He was being polite, keeping his views to himself until she encouraged him to speak. Kainda sighed, quietly, wishing she didn’t always have to coax the truth out of him.

     She crossed the small living area, and sat next to him on the long, low sofa. “Talk to me.”

     “Why?” The spur concentrated on his page, although Kainda could tell from his tensed expression he’d stopped reading it. “You know what’s worrying me, and talking to you about it won’t change anything because your mind is made up.”

     She placed a hand on the sheet, right in his way. “My mind isn’t made up yet. I would like some help in making my decision, if you feel up to it – although if you’d rather sulk, well. Nothing I can do about that.”

     Egils finally set the news to one side with a sigh. “I just don’t like that you’re pandering to her-”

     “She’s met someone that she likes, and would like me to meet him, too. How’s that pandering to her?”

     “If we were talking about Grieta, you’d be telling her off for going to the galley and putting herself in danger! That meeting up with complete strangers is a terrible idea.”

     “Of course I would. Grieta’s pregnant-”

     “Precisely! She’s not completely incapacitated! And hasn’t lost her ability to recognise an unsafe situation.” Egils gave her a hard look. “You’re surely not putting our first child at risk because Lune’s getting all in a tizzy over a pretty face?”

     “I hardly think one naïve little lost spur constitutes a dangerous situation.”

     Egils folded his arms over his chest. “So, what is it then? Favouritism? Lunete is okay to go off and satisfy her curiosity because you do or don’t care about her more than Grieta?”

     “Oh don’t be ridiculous. The fact Lunete is driving me ever so slightly insane with her claims of being bored? Doesn’t mean I care about her less. Or… more? I don’t really get your point. I’m frankly relieved that she’s found something to do that’s using up a little of her energy – even if it means she’s found a new way to irritate me.” Kainda smiled, just a little. “Not feeling threatened, are you? You’ll always be my first.”

     Biting down on his irritation, Egils directed the conversation back to the point at hand. “We have no idea who this young spur really is. He could be anyone. Could be a criminal, even, and mercy knows we don’t need any more of them wheedling their way onto Venture’s crew. How long did it take to get the police off our back last time?”

     “Oh, pff. All that fuss, and over procedural issues, too.” Kainda flapped a dismissive hand.

     “Besides.” Egils raised his voice a fraction. “If he’s telling the truth that he’s come from Hesger? Who’s to say he’s not infected?

     “They wouldn’t let a blight offworld. It’s why the whole planet was quarantined.”

     “They might not intentionally let a blight escape.” Egils waved a finger to underline his point. “Stowaways still happen. I shouldn’t imagine they’re too careful checking the entire ship for unwanted passengers, since most people know there’s almost no-one there with enough brains to want to sneak aboard.”

     Kainda arched an eyebrow. “So he sneaked aboard, somehow, with a giant machine he stole from… I’m not sure who there even was on Hesger to steal from? And is now hiding from the authorities aboard a hibernaculum-”

     Egils put up his hands in a plea to be heard. “All right, I admit, it’s implausible. But what’s the alternative? Something definitely doesn’t add up here.” He shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about it since Lune first told us she’d met him. Now she’s mentioned that he brought something with him that’s… expensive, important? Dangerous? I don’t know. Certainly big, which kinda begs the question, how did he get it here in the first place? And yet, he’s still travelling on the cheapest possible ticket? There’s something he’s hiding. Maybe he stole it. Maybe he’s on the run from someone. Maybe he’s in trouble – maybe he is the trouble – and he’s trying not to draw attention to himself.”

     “Why is that all more likely than the idea he legitimately brought it from Hesger, with permission? And is travelling cheap because that was all he could afford, after paying to ship the thing to Brume?”

     “…and why’s he taking it to Brume? It’s hardly galaxy-renowned for being a hub of technological development.” Egils shook his head. “I hope you’re right and I’m over-thinking it. Just… please don’t put our family into danger.”

* * * * *
     Her family were already awake and waiting for her to get up when Lunete finally emerged from their bedroom, some time the next day, neatly dressed but still artfully tousled and sleepy-faced. “Good morning,” she said through a yawn, pushing up onto tiptoe and reaching her arms up above her head in a long, languorous stretch.

     “Ah, Lune.” Kainda smiled her best innocent smile. “Just the person. I was wondering when you were going to decide to show yourself.”

     Lunete paused with her arms still above her head, and gave her wife an anxious look that said have you been talking about me? “…what?”

     “Come on.” The medusi held out a hand to her. “I decided, I’m going to indulge you. We’re going to see this thing in the hold.”

     “Oh-! Really?” Lunete went uneasily to Kainda’s side, taking the proffered hand and folding both of hers around it. “But-… I-I meant, we could go see it when Blink is with us. To show us properly. He didn’t want me to touch it, it might be dangerous!”

     “Oh please.” Kainda rolled her eyes. “Do you believe the captain would have ever let him bring it aboard if it was going to be a danger to the crew? If it’s as big as you say, it’s not like he could smuggle it aboard in his hand luggage, so the crew must know about it.”

     Lunete fidgeted her feet on the spot. “I know that, but the captain might not have known, properly, he might not have told them everything. It doesn’t look that dangerous. I mean, apart from how big it is.”

     “So what’s the problem?” Kainda gestured her free hand towards the door, and took a step towards it.

     Lunete hung back, as though trying to anchor her in their room. “The fact it doesn’t look dangerous doesn’t mean it isn’t-!”

     “Well, we’ll soon find out, won’t we? Come on. You’re not normally such a softfoot. It’s not like we’re going to be doing anything more than looking.”

* * * * *
     Skydash heard them coming long before the door to the hold actually opened – ample time to get the ‘Stupid Automaton’ guise in place. After an inward groan and a tiny curse at her absent friend (and why in goodness name had she encouraged Blink to get to know this nosey femme?), she shuffled backwards into a stiff, formal position against the wall, set her arms tidily down at her sides, and deactivated her optics, resolutely facing the far wall.

     “I really think we should still wait for Blink.” Lunete’s voice was easy to recognise, as she came through the big doors on the mezzanine above. “Even if it’s not dangerous, he’ll be really insulted if he finds out we came down here to snoop on his property without his permission!”

     “Well, then we don’t tell him. How’s he gonna know?” A deeper, drawlier voice replied. “Besides, we might not see the kid again before we dock in Brume. I wanna good look at this thing before then, see if it’s worth making an effort to stay in contact with him.”

     In spite of her irritation at the laima’s behaviour, Skydash felt a bright flash of relief at the medusi’s comment – how’s he going to know. Blink would be more than glad to hear that her disguise was still working.

     Two sets of feet made their way off the small lift and onto the hold floor – a lighter, skittery step that Skydash assumed must be Lunete, and a heavier, bolder stride, belonging to someone that clearly had not the slightest unease about what they were doing.

     “I wonder what it’s for?” said the deeper voice – Kainda, Skydash assumed – coming all the way up to the holographic perimeter. “Display model only, huh? So it’s an experimental thing? Guess it makes sense he’d bring it off-world. Must be pretty hard to do research in a place like Hesger.”

     “I asked him about that when I came down here last time. He didn’t really explain it.”

     Skydash listened to the soft tread of laima feet, pacing just outside the perimeter fence.

     “So… he could have stolen it, you mean.”

     “He said not. I think he might have built it? And… maybe, I was wondering if he was taking it to a laboratory somewhere more central, to carry on with the research.”

     “Aw, come on Lune. You weren’t this gullible when we first met. A scrawny little spur who’s barely adult, who lived his entire life on plague world, no proper schooling or anything, and you think he built this?” The medusi laughed. “Must have made a pretty big impression for you to just swallow everything he says without question, like this.”

     Lunete’s voice took on a definite flavour of stubborn insult. “Blink said it was scientific. For analysing chemical samples and things.”

     Kainda snorted. “Sure. That’s why it’s built like a giant laima. No, this is some kind of wardrone, clearly. He’s stolen it from some abandoned science establishment, and is bringing it here to sell. With the kiravai getting all uppity about their borders again? I can’t say I blame him. This thing will make a fortune on the arms market.”

     “You said it yourself, the captain wouldn’t have let him bring a giant weapon aboard,” Lunete reminded, stubbornly.

     “Unless he’s been misled. Or paid off, maybe. It’d explain why Blink is travelling so cheaply – spent all his money paying the cap to keep quiet!” Kainda chuckled, darkly. “I’ll have to ask my friends in the crew if they have any gossip.”

     Boldly, Kainda stepped through the ribbon, coming so close that Skydash was convinced the laima was about to climb on her. She paused only a few microns away, as if seeing whether she dared to actually touch the behemoth – her proximity made a whole rash of sensors laminated into Skydash’s armour tingle, uncomfortably.

     Skydash allowed herself to ‘wake’, turned her head to look down at the medusi, and softly intoned, in as flat a voice as she could manage; “please move back outside the marked perimeter.”

     “Autonomous too, huh?” Kainda stared boldly up into the pale grey face, making no move to obey. “I wonder what else you understand?”

     A whole lot more than I’m ever going to tell you, Skydash thought, but kept her features impassive.

     “No answer for that, huh. Can’t say I’m surprised. You’re either a whole lot smarter than you look, or precisely as stupid.”

     After a second of internal debate on whether she could cook up a passable excuse for swatting the laima, and failing to find anything suitable, Skydash used the back of a flattened hand to gently push her back outside the area marked out by the hologram. “Please remain outside the marked perimeter. This is for your personal safety.”

     Kainda looked back up at her, curiously. “Interesting. Why would it be worried about my personal safety if it wasn’t dangerous?”

     Skydash could have kicked herself. Just play right into her hands, why don’t you, you stupid lump. It took more effort than she’d have liked to settle back in her previous ‘resting’ position.

     Lunete fidgeted her feet. “Maybe it’s just because it’s big, with lots of moving parts,” she suggested, hopefully. “It doesn’t want you getting your fingers trapped anywhere.”

     “…wouldn’t that be convenient.”

     At last, a combination of Skydash’s stubborn refusal to let her any closer and Lunete’s twittery anxiety persuaded Kainda that she wasn’t going to get anywhere today. Skydash listened until their departing footsteps had faded away completely before allowing herself to relax, ever so slightly.

     She pinged Blink’s cabin, but her friend was still asleep. She left her a message, instead, and hoped she’d spot it in time; call me when you wake up, Bit.

* * * * *
     The day and a half’s sleep didn’t improve Blink’s mood. If anything, it made it worse. The complicated mush of unease and desire was just as strong when she woke up as it had been before she’d gone to sleep, and the lingering sedatives made it difficult to distinguish between reality and the dark dreams that had stalked the edges of her consciousness. She held off going to the galley for as long as she could, but eventually her unhappy stomach forced her out of bed.

     As usual, nobody paid her any attention as she made a meagre selection from the canteen, and took a seat at the unpopular end of the galley. Routine, routine. Just another traveller, faceless among the throng. Blink propped her head on one hand, and used a peppery cracker to push the little selection of crisp fruits around her plate, unable to summon any kind of hunger in spite of her empty stomach. If she’d thought the sleeping aids were bad enough? Fretting just compounded it. She nibbled at the corner of the biscuit, trying to encourage her appetite.

     Hoping to take her mind off the darker thoughts stalking it, Blink tuned her translation earpiece to the frequency of the entertainments bay next door, and watched a few seconds of the gameshow playing, but could only stomach the garish colours and artificial laughter track for a few minutes before her brain started to hurt. She turned instead to face the wider galley, to watch other passengers doze at their tables.

     Gaze roving across the long buffet, she spotted someone familiar. With a strange hollow sensation that left her feeling like her stomach had done another backflip, she realised Lunete wasn’t alone this morning. A step or two away, a tall, imposing medusi with short, very black hair and chilly yellow eyes stood with her, just… watching, while Lunete made her selection of the tidbits on offer.

     The dry cracker Blink had just started to nibble suddenly felt like it had sucked all the moisture from the lining of her mouth. She struggled to keep up the nonchalant expression, watching her unwanted visitors cross the room.

     The medusi slid into the chair opposite, and smiled, trying to be friendly but looking more like a predator, sleek and dark and dangerous, sizing up its prey. “You must be Blink.”

     Blink just nodded. It felt like the blood had all drained away from her face, taking her ability to speak along with it. She swallowed the dry cracker with difficulty, trying not to cough.

     “I’m Kainda. My Lunete has been telling me all about you.”

     Sitting next to her wife, Lunete tried to offer her usual cheery smile, but it looked rather more forced, today. She quickly returned her attention to her plate, picking apart a sweet pastry to avoid having to meet Blink’s gaze. Blink wondered what had made her so uncomfortable.

     “You made quite the impression.” Kainda made no effort to hide the way her critical gaze travelled over all the parts she could see. It was hard to ignore the words that hung unspoken between them; even if I have no idea what she sees in you. “She’s hardly stopped talking about you.”

     Blink took a sip of water in a vain effort to clear the unease constricting her throat, and managed a small noise of acknowledgement.

     “So, Lune tells me you’re an engineer.”

     Blink finally found her voice. “Yes’m. Well, sort of. Mostly self-taught. I never got the opportunity to study formally, where I came from.” It wasn’t precisely a lie, but it made Blink feel twitchy. She knew that the less she had to invent on the fly (and the less she’d have to remember later), the better, and this was already starting to take the kind of detailed turn she’d wanted to avoid.

     “You were born on Hesger?”

     “Yes. In Kust, near the science institute. This is my first time offworld.”

     Kainda smiled. “That much was rather obvious.”

     Blink bristled at the insult. “Was there something you wanted?” She couldn’t find the energy to be less blunt, but the medusi didn’t seem to care, anyway.

     “I’d like to do you a deal. If my Lunete is correct, you’re going to Brume, and have no guaranteed place of residence after that.” Kainda laced her fingers, and propped her chin on them. “I can always find a place for a good engineer. Join my crew, and you’ll have somewhere to live and work for as long as you’re employed.”

     “I’m flattered by your interest, but that won’t be compatible with my plans.” Blink forced a flat smile. “I’m going to Brume because I’m looking for someone. If they’re not there, I’ll have to move on.”

     “Move on to where?”

     “Well that depends; I’m not sure, at the-”

     “Can you afford it?”

     “…moment-… beg pardon?”

     “Travel isn’t cheap, and you hail from a world with no money.” One shoulder came up in a deliberately casual shrug. “You’re already on the cheapest flight. How do you plan to finance yourself?”

     Blink’s expression hardened. “I don’t think that’s any of your business. Ma’am.”

     Matching Blink’s glare, Kainda’s smile grew frosty. “Please. I’m not interested in starting an argument with you. Just reminding you that my offer isn’t something you should turn your nose up at. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do to get by. You need money to finance your travel, I need someone who knows how to fix my yacht. I might even be able to give you passage on board, depending on where you’re going and whether you do a good job.” She took the least-dissected pastry from Lunete’s plate, and stood up. “At least think about it. I’d hate to see you come to grief because you’re, ah. Not so experienced in how the civilised galaxy works.” With a patronising ruffle of Lunete’s curls, Kainda turned to leave. “C’mon Lune.”

     Lunete fidgeted in her seat. “Give-…give me a moment?”

     Kainda put up her hands in mock despair, but left without further comment.

     Blink watched her, suspicious. “You’re not going with her?”

     Lunete cringed at the hostile tone of voice. “I wanted to say sorry. I only wanted her to meet you. I didn’t think she’d be so unkind.” She tried for a smile, but it turned into a grimace. “I hope we can still be friends. Maybe?”

     Blink didn’t smile back. “You’ll forgive me if I turn down your earlier invitation to visit your cabin.”

* * * * *
     After finishing eating, Blink made it back to her cabin without obviously being followed, but found herself doubting her convictions about her safety. She couldn’t help feeling like the long meandering route she took to get anywhere was just a huge waste of time. The medusi obviously had friends among the staff – how else would she have managed to turn up in the galley so conveniently soon after Blink herself had arrived for a meal? Someone must have tipped her off. But why? Did they suspect her after all?

     Blink stretched her arms up over her head, and slumped backwards into the door with a groan. If Kainda wanted to find her, she could apparently just ask a member of staff for her cabin number. So next time Blink emerged to use the bathing facilities, she might very well come face to face with the predator. Privacy? Huh.

     At last, after staring at it for several non-comprehending moments, she spotted the little blinking light on the comms terminal. Someone had left her a message, which she’d missed. Great. It was probably important, too. She leaned closer to it, and thumbed the display command.

     Call me when you wake up, Bit.

     Blink noted the timestamp – not even half a day after she’d returned to uncomfortable hibernation – and cursed, quietly. She settled on the small stool by the screen, and typed out a brief message. Hey Dash. Missed your message. Call me? I’ll be up, but might stay in my cabin for a bit. Sorry. Love you.

     Something wrong? The words flashed up onto the screen almost immediately, proving Skydash wasn’t as dormant as Blink had expected.

     Not precisely. Feel rough. Tired. Had a visitor at breakfast, too. Want to avoid bumping into her any more.

     Skydash’s response felt like cold fingers drawing a line up her back. Me too, yesterday. That fessine from the other day, and a bigger femme. Medusi? Kainda I think?

     Like a quiet serpent, the horrible cold sensation threw coils around Blink’s throat the more she read. Every time she thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.

     Bee? Skydash chased, gently. You all right?

     Blink managed to bully her fingers into co-operation. Was that your message? Suddenly things made sense. Kainda wasn’t interested in Blink, she was interested in Dash. Hence the random offer of a job, when she had no idea if Blink was even remotely capable. Keep Blink around, and you have constant access to the technology ‘he’ brought with him from Hesger.

     Pretty much? Why?

     Kainda offered me a job. No idea if I’m even capable of rewiring a plug, and she wants me as ship’s engineer. You think it’s you she’s after?

     Another of those pauses, after which Skydash’s words came through slowly, like she was weighing them very carefully. She said… I’d make a fortune on the galactic arm’s market. I agree she’s getting close to you because she wants to share in your profit.

     She thinks I’m going to try and sell you?

     I don’t know. I think she’d LIKE you to.

     Blink bit her lip, uneasily. She did ask me questions about how I was going to pay for my travel. Her fingers hovered over the touchpad. How ARE we going to afford it, Dash?

     You let me worry about that. You concentrate on keeping safe until we’ve found those creatures. I think Kainda’s going to be hot on our tailfins, from now on.

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