Author: Robert Wagner
Category: Other
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Herra approached him. "First time being locked up, Zayan?" She wanted to sit next to him but was pretty sure she wouldn't fit. She settled for leaning awkwardly against the chair.
"No," he said, looking up at her. "I was rounded up several times each year when the city would want to look like it was doing something to clean up streets. I never mind. I knew that night I would have a meal. Sometimes it was rougher than others. Depend who in cell with you."
"Oh. I just noticed you looked down. Why?" Herra said.
"I am just frustrated. I don't want to question you. I don't want to be kicked off your crew."
"I hear a but coming..."
Zayan shifted around in his chair. A small smile flickered and was gone. "You are right. I have to ask anyway. Are you so loyal to Earth that you can't sell the information we've collected to the Ishalan? I can tell you Earth never did anything for me."
"You think I should make a deal."
"I can't think why you shouldn't."
Herra was taken aback by Zayan's sudden change in demeanor. "What's that comment about Earth supposed to mean? You can question me, that's fine. I'm not really a Commander. You're not going to get court-martialed or sent to the brig for questioning me. I'm your employer and that does mean there could be consequences to what you say or do. I'll let you now I don't let people get away with making blind judgments about me. Do you think I look down on you because I'm from Earth? Do you think I'm not giving the Ishalan what they want out of blind loyalty?"
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend." Zayan dropped his eyes for just one moment. He looked back up at Herra, still with a scowl but also with puzzlement. "I just couldn't think of any other reason you wouldn't trade the information for full repair of your ship plus substantial credits. They wanted it so bad they threatened to kill us. Instead we could be making a fortune."
Herra couldn't help but bark out a laugh. "Now you sound like Virgil there." That made the smile return to Zayan's face for a moment. "First let me say that I will look out for Earth's interest only right under my own. It is my home. Plus, if I went back and sold all we learned to Earth and then they somehow found out I also gave it to the Ishalan without any of the government's permission, do you know what would happen? My reputation and business being ruined would be the best outcome."
She paused, so Zayan could follow what she was saying. "The other thing to consider is the fact that they did threaten to kill us over what we know. I don't respond well to be threatened. I've learned you give into threats and intimidation, give your attackers what they want, then they go ahead and give you what they promised anyway. You've given up your leverage."
She paused yet again, this time for speculation. What could be going on with the Ishalan here? Who were these aliens and why would they attack wyrms and wormholes?
"Yet when we came aboard the space station, they acted like it wasn't a big deal, them trying to kill us. With me, heading right for one of their towns, maybe it's because they are alien but that seems mighty peculiar to me. I mean, maybe they didn't know it was a weapon but I still have my pistol on me."
"It's because they are scared," Chen chimed in.
Herra turned to her. "If there is some new aliens out there attacking Ishalan forces, then why haven't we heard about it before now?"
"You know they're isolationist by nature. They've proved that from first contact on. I don't know if that star chart in the conference room was for our benefit or they just didn't think about hiding it, we are unexpected guests." Chen smiled at Herra, crinkling up her petite nose. "From what I inspected while you were talking, there were four Ishalan systems marked on it we know nothing about. Two that that were color coded orange and two colored red."
"What do you think that means?" Zayan asked, leaning forward, elbows on knees.
"Running the calculation in my head I extrapolate that all the systems on that map are beyond any exploration that humans have done. They are all on the other side of the Ishalan space sectors that buffer against Earth ones."
"So the Ishalan are being attacked by those aliens we ran into and are going to take the brunt of it?" Herra asked.
"Exactly. I believe the red color signifies the systems they've lost. Orange is where they're engaged in conflict. Think about what the Earth's governments would do if they were in battle with an alien species they knew little about. Then they came across a lone ship they believe held possible vital information."
"Earth on one side. Unknown hostile alien on the other. Ishala, the creamy white center. That's the part everyone eats first." Herra said, more to herself than to the other two. The thought of food made her stomach growl. She looked at the plates again and realized she wasn't that hungry yet.
"Excuse me?" Chen asked.
"Oh nothing. Just my brain. You know how it likes to go random."
Herra sat down on the edge of one of the beds. She could feel the cold stone under her butt. She thought it might be better to put the mattress on the floor than to try to sleep on that.
Her brain chattered at light speed. What Chen brought up was a possibility Herra didn't want to consider. She was a simple explorer. She didn't want a decision that carried the weight of two galactic civilizations on her. That was for people above her pay grade. She just wanted to go out into the galazy and see the sights. Discover thing unknown. Guess I should be careful what I wish for there. I've discovered something unknown alright.
If what Chen was hypothesizing turned out correct, then they could be looking at the first ever intergalactic war. She didn't know what that would look like, other than horrific and terrifying. The Ishalan, whose weapons and shield technology was decades behind Earths, could be looking at the slaughter of their civilization.
Chen came and sat down beside her. "You have that look Commander."
"I do. Which one?"
"The one where you are wrestling with what to do next. I don't think you realize how many times you have that look on your face. It has to be many if I've noticed it." They both chuckled together. "Anything I can do to help?"
It wasn't like Chen to offer to help. Maybe that was because Herra didn't often ask for it. Herra chuckled again.
"Thanks for the observation and the offer. If either one of you have suggest about how we can get out of here, I'm up for hearing them. I'm ready to get back out to space."
She scowled at Zayan and held up her index finger. His mouth snapped shut.
"Except that one, Zayan. Maybe if I get desperate enough I'll gamble on telling the Ishalan at least part of what we've found out." Hoping that it never gets back to Earth that I did so, she didn't add. If it turned out that lots of Ishalan could died because of the information she withheld...she didn't know if she could live with that guilt though.
Chen yawned. "I'm so tired I think even the stone slab will be comfortable. It will be interesting to see how my body feels in the morning." She headed off towards one.
Sleep felt like it would be a long time coming for Herra. She would need rest if she was going to deal well with Kohora the next day. As if her thoughts summoned him the door opened and in walked Kohora, all alone.
Kohora took two steps in and paused. The door whooshed shut behind him. He stood with hands clasped behind his back. His face looked what she imagined hers did. He gazed at each of them in turn.
"I wish that our first meeting could have went differently," he started. "What I've had to do today unpleasant. It's not the Ishala way. I was following orders you see."
"Ah. That old line," Zayan said. Not in anger but more like resignment. "I've heard that many times. Right before being locked up, right before the beatings, right before being denied food, clothes, and shelter."
If Kohora looked ashamed, Herra couldn't tell. He didn't drop his head or his eyes. He continued to just stand there.
"Alright, Zayan. That's enough," she said. She started as if the Ishalan had just come in through the door. "Hello Kohora. I'm surprised to see you so early." She took two steps
towards him. He didn't move a muscle. "Usually I've had a full night in the brig before the jailer came back. I'm getting the feeling things have changed now, those orders you were talking about."
"Do you know what your human friends on your ship did?" Kohora asked without answering her question. "Stunned two of my officers and threw them off onto the landing pad. They're severely hurt and had to be rushed to medical."
Herra was close enough to Kohora that he had to start looking up to her. He retained his relaxed, casual pose. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "My guess is my crew had good reason. They wouldn't have attacked your people without cause."Herra guessed that was Virgil's work. She felt strangely proud of him.
"You're right, they did. Again orders from my superiors. Ones I argued against and strongly disagreed with."
Kohora brought his hands out from behind his back. Instinctively Herra dipped for her weapon. Before drawing it she stopped, seeing what the Ishalan had in his hands. Shackles.
"Who are those for?" Chen asked, her voice going even higher in pitch than normal.
"Me," Kohora replied.
Herra raised her eyebrows. Kohora handed her the shackles. Stepping back, he raised his hands, holding them out and together.
"My superiors are unhappy with my progress. They are ordering me to employ more...persuasive measures to get what we need out of you. I'm simple not going to do that. I also don't want to be stripped of my command and imprisoned. They need me, the fools."
Herra looked at the shackles like a plasma grenade that someone set to detonate. "What do these have to do with your orders?" She motioned with the restraints.
"While you've been in this room I've only been able to come up with two alternatives to our situation. Either I start using the most drastic of measures to get what they want out of you and your crew. Or you take me with you back to Earth. There you can tell your governments what you have learned about the aliens at the same time as well as me. If I want to come back to my people with the information and be listened to, it will have to look like I was your prisoner."
"There is always the option we give you what you want and you let us go." Herra was actually considering this, now that she learned the situation was so dire. She was not willing to have her crew tortured.
Kohora's grin was wicked. "I factored that in but thought it was an unlikely outcome. Besides, I've now been informed that you will never be let go. You have been deemed our enemies by Command. That was before your friends little trick."
Herra's gut felt as if she just pulled maximum g's. Her heartbeat jumped to near light speed. She was believing more in Chen's assessment of the situation than ever. What the Ishalans were facing must be bleak.
"So it really is that bad for your worlds?" she asked, genuinely concerned.
Kohora's demeanor became gruffer. "I can't comment on that. Like you have people to answer to, so do I, Commander. We are not a violent people. I wouldn't treat the greys the way my superiors want me to treat you. I can't allow this to happen, so this is the only way I see to move forward. To help both of our species, because we won't be stopping the aliens and they will be coming for you after we fall."
Herra shivered at that.
"How did do you know you can trust us? We get out into space and I could just wormhole my ship to wherever I like and dump you off on some uninhabited world."
"My people have a saying." Kohora looked up at her, locking eyes. "What the waves wash on shore can be trash or treasure. Until you pick it up, you can never know. That is all I can say."
Thinking it over took Herra about as much time as jumping through a wormhole. "Doesn't sound like much of a choice to me. Welcome aboard." Herra snapped the shackles around Kohora's wrists. "You want to lead the way or should I?"
The station seemed quiet. Herra had no idea what the day and night cycle was here but it looked like Kohora had picked a down time. The light tubes running along the walls dimmed. The only sounds was the clicking of their boots, their hushed breaths, and the rubbing joints of their suits. Behind all that, the humming of the life sustaining systems of the station itself.
Herra led the way, with Kohora right behind her, whispering directions to her. Zayan and Chen stood in back, each off to one side of Kohora. "A left, a right and then the docking bay with your ship will be straight from there. At this time only one guard should be posted. He will be the one to tell the rest you have kidnapped me."
Herra nodded slightly and marched on. She kept her right hand hovering over her blaster pistol. She didn't want to use it, only threaten the guard with it. She wished she could call Virgil and warn him about the plan. It would be nice to not have him overreact and to prep the ship for takeoff. Kohora shot that down, saying someone would be listening in. Once on board the Dauntless, threatens to harm him would get them out of the space station he assured her.
The group turned the last corner and straight ahead, sure enough, was one guard. He stood against the triangular doors. To his credit he stood at attention and pointed his weapon at them almost immediately.
"Marshal Kohora," sputtered the guard. "I wasn't aware you were bringing the prisoners down here."
"They are our guests." Kohora said, hiding his bonds at the moment.
"This is unexpected. The human's ship is on lock down, after what happened. By the Grand Marshal's command. I don't know how I can help you." The guard didn't speak English nearly as well as Kohora. About every third word Herra was guessing what he said.
Kohora shrugged and raised his arms."I don't think you can help me. I went to reason with the humans but you know how they are."
Herra took this as her cue. She pulled her pistol and pointed it at Kohora. Kohora raised his hands, showing off the shackles. "Don't worry about helping him. You need to be helping me. First thing, open that door."
The guard didn't react for several heartbeats. Surprisingly he dropped his square rod weapon and went right to the door controls. "Savages," he spit out as he moved away from the opening doors. He looked at Herra with hatred.
"Yeah, us violent humans. You stay over there." Herra waved him on with the blaster. "Close the door behind us. You tell your officers they need to let us leave here or you'll have to find a new Marshal."
The Ishalan guard made some kind of sound behind his helmet. Herra took it as he was pissed off. He did what he was asked though and the doors opened. They all went through as one, Herra and Kohora spinning around as soon as they were on the other side. The Ishalan guard was talking into some sort of device. Herra watched the door close with a final clunk. Without delay Herra and her crew boarded Dauntless.
Virgil came out of his cabin yawning, his sandy brown hair spikey. "If you are intruders, I'm warning you. The automated ship defenses will be activated in ten-Herra?"
"That's me. We need to prep the ship to go, now. Get changed and get on deck."
To his credit Virgil snapped awake fast. "Wait...what?" Kohora passed by him. "Is that a Ishalan? What's going on? I thought you were their guests?"
Herra stopped and half turned. "He's our guest now. They booted us out. You know how my table manners are. In fact, once we're underway, Kohora here will be using your quarters."
Kohora gave Virgil a toothy grin. "I forgive you for almost electrifying my two men, by the way."
"Don't just stand there mouth agape. We need to fly and fly fast. I'll tell you about it once you get your ass up front." Herra smiled, laughing on the inside. It wasn't often she got to stick it back to Virgil.
Sanford came out of the hallway to his office and into the common room. "Is everything okay-" He came to a complete stop when he saw Kohora.
Kohora became like a statue as well. Both beings narrowed their eyes at each other. Kohora's hair bristled along his head and something similar to a growl emanated deep within his chest. Herra saw Sanford flustered like never before. His face was pale.
"I wish I could have been warned," he said in a tight, low voice.
Without anoth
er word he turned and left. Kohora watched him go, hunched over, as if he was holding himself back. His hair drooped limply down. Herra thought things were going south real fast and they hadn't even left the dock yet.
"I don't know what that was about but it's not going to be a problem, is it?" Herra asked tentatively.
Kohora smoothed down his fur and his clothes from head to toe. When he stood back up he was as composed as before. "It is fine. I will say Commander, you are full of surprises. Even though it could possibly help my people, I'm wanting that our paths had never crossed."
That was a backhanded of saying yes. Herra shrugged. "Not the first I've heard someone say something similar." She pointed behind Kohora at Virgil. "He'll show you his quarters and how to use the comm, in case I need you for our daring escape. I better get up front or it won't seem so daring when we're blown up. Virgil meet me in the flight cabin when your done."
Herra settled herself in to her seat, almost sighing with pleasure. She patted the console. The flight controls were smooth, the worn patterns comforting to her fingertips. It was only then she realized she had almost lost her ship. She wanted to get out of here before that still happened. She put on the headset and opened a Ishalan channel supplied to her by Kohora.
"This is the Dauntless. We are leaving with Marshal Kohora. Release us from the tractor beam and give us passage out of the system. Or else." That sounded cheesy but it was the first thing that came to her mind.
Her viewscreen remained blank but a voice shouted into her ear. "You return Kohora immediately or we will boarded you and kill all of your crew." The computer translation didn't take any of the venom out of the Ishalan's voice.
"One other Ishalan boards my ship and Kohora will end up with two extra holes in his head. An entrance and an exit wound." Herra tried to put as much menace as she could into her empty threat. It must have worked as Virgil gave her a sideways look of surprise as he settled into his seat.