Chapter 2
Han
Much like her Thisher, Filsin Station was owned and run by Ugarians. She even saw a few familiar faces as she fought to get off the fling. One of them saw her troubles and came to help.
“Ohhhh! Han!” Maslo said. He was quick to shove a couple of other Ugarians out of the way so she didn’t get pushed back into the fling.
Once the two of them were standing outside the flow of traffic, he snorted with amusement. “You’re so tiny no one can see you.”
Han rolled her eyes. “Like you’re so tall!” Although Maslo was much taller than her, he was only average height for an Ugarian male.
Maslo nudged her in retaliation. The “gentle” nudge sent her flying into a nearby safety bot. Her leg hit the bottom edge of the bot’s cage body, making her hiss in pain.
Maslo gasped in surprise and grabbed her. “Han, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
Even though her leg was throbbing, she patted Maslo’s arm reassuringly. “It’s fine. Help me get out of the fling bay and all’s forgiven.”
“Easily done!” Maslo said. “Follow me.”
Han hitched her bag a little higher on her shoulder and fell in step behind him. With him making way, they moved from the cramped area, through the bottleneck at the entrance, and finally to the open corridor beyond.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, she faced Maslo. “Thanks, big guy. That was really helpful.”
At her words, Maslo’s ears twitched a little with happiness. “I’m very big and strong compared to you,” he agreed. “Do you need an escort anywhere else?”
“I don’t need an escort,” she said, digging out her information square and tapping it until she found the bounty information Gilmo sent her. “Have you seen this Talin?”
Maslo looked at her square and waggled his ears, the Ugarian version of a shrug. “I’ve never seen that species before.”
“There’s one on this station, and if I can get him back to Gilmo, I might not have to hunt bounties anymore,” Han said.
She hoped Maslo would offer to access the station’s observation system, but instead the Ugarian’s ears moved outward and folded down.
It was usually a sign of displeasure or distress.
“I don’t think he’s a danger to you or anyone!” she rushed to say, in case he was scared of the bounty. “I promise I’ll subdue him and get him out of here quickly so there isn’t even a ruckus.”
“If you aren’t bounty hunting, will I ever see you again?” Maslo asked. “You’re always so much fun, and Eshua loves it when you visit.”
Eshua was his wife, and Han had accepted their hospitality numerous times when she’d needed to spend the night on Filsin.
Eshua had even asked Han to join their marriage.
Ugarians liked to have giant poly marriages, but with only the two of them so far, Eshua and Maslo didn’t think they could start having kids yet.
They’d taken her refusal with grace and made her promise to always visit when she was on the station. That was an easy promise to keep when she wasn’t chasing someone down.
“I’d never leave and not come back,” she assured him. “You and Eshua are like family. I also want you two to visit my family. They live on Inneeko.”
“I didn’t know that!” Maslo said, his ears popping back up. “Eshua has family there. We could see them and you.”
It was good to see Maslo’s ears back up. There was nothing sadder than an Ugarian with folded ears.
“Yes, we can visit there, and I’ll probably do trips back here,” she said. “My plan is to raise and train jinjoos.”
One of Maslo’s ears swung back and the other stayed focused on her. A clear sign of disgust. “Jinjoos? That’s nice for you.”
Han held back a laugh. You either loved jinjoos or hated them; there was no in between. She loved them and couldn’t wait to buy her first breeding pair.
Now that Maslo was reassured she wasn’t simply going to disappear on him, she held up the information square again. “So you haven’t seen him?”
“No, but I could look him up in the station’s register,” he offered.
It wasn’t as good as going into the observation system, but it was better than wandering around asking every Ugarian she knew if they’d seen him.
“That would be helpful!”
Maslo went to a nearby display that only station personnel could access and started tapping.
“There are three Talins on the station right now, and none of them match the name you have.”
“Did the three arrive together or separately?" she asked.
He tapped a few more times. “One arrived yesterday, and the other two got in today.”
Han silently cursed to herself. Talins were so rare in this sector that the odds of three Talins coincidentally being on the same station were astronomical. The first one had to be her bounty, and the other two were probably here to steal him!
“Quick, give the name the first Talin is going by and his ship’s docking location,” she demanded. Then she sheepishly added, “Please.”
Maslo snorted. “I’m sending it to you now.” Her information square pinged at the same time Maslo was blanking out the display.
He turned to face her. “You’ll be careful, right? These Talins look big and mean.”
She gave him a big, cheeky grin then remembered that, to an Ugarian, showing teeth was flirting. Knowing her as well as he did, Maslo only snort-laughed when she shut her lips abruptly.
“No bounty has taken me out yet, and I don’t plan on this guy being the first.” When he continued to look concerned, she patted her bag. "Don't worry, I’ve got all my tricks in here.”
“I always thought you were smart, then you told me your dream is to raise and train jinjoos, so I’m reconsidering that.”
Han barked out a laugh and ignored his comment. “Next time I’m here, I’ll visit for a few days.”
“I’ll tell Eshua,” Maslo said. “Try to contact us as soon as you know when you'll be back.”
“I will,” she said before rushing off to find her bounty’s ship.
The dock was a little crowded, with every slip occupied. It was easy enough to find the ship, but she didn’t see him anywhere. He was probably on board, which meant she needed to “knock” on his door.
She double checked her bag to make sure everything was stowed in their proper pockets and hiding spots. She’d just finished when she heard someone speaking right behind her.
“I told you it was a human!”
She was turning to face the voice when someone grabbed her jacket and hauled her into the air. Without thinking, she pulled her favorite jolter out from one of the front pockets of her bag and jabbed it into the arm holding her.
The stranger let out a bellow of pain and another sound that was like a swarm of angry hornets. The hand let go and she was dropped to her feet. Facing the new threat, she backed up at the same time as she fumbled for a second weapon.
Her assailant was holding his arm where the jolter had burned him. Normally she turned the jolter down before using it, but that’s what he got for grabbing her!
“I’ll teach you manners, human!” he shouted, the angry wasp sound still coming from him.
That’s when she realized this guy and the companion standing behind him must have been the two Talins Maslo said arrived together.
The one who’d grabbed her was a light yellow color and the one behind him was a gray color.
“I’m a free person,” she told them. It probably wouldn’t help, but she wasn’t too worried yet.
Filsin didn’t allow slavery, and they had a good security system.
As long as she could hold them off, there was little chance they’d be able to hurt her.
“You don’t have permission to touch me. Stay back or get burned again. ”
She held the jolter between them, making sure they focused on that weapon and not the one she had in her other hand.
“Leave her,” the gray Talin said. “We’ll achieve fame and wealth by bringing Zephrum back to the empire to face judgment.”
Zephrum was the name of her bounty. She was right, they were after him too! Damn it, this was inconvenient.
“But bringing a human back would bring us even more fame and wealth!” the one still making all the noise argued. “If it’s a female, we can breed her and sell the babies or trade them for favors.”
His gray friend wasn’t convinced. “If she is a citizen of this station, we could get in trouble, and we’re far from the empire. I don’t want to end up in some cell until our diplomatic corps can free us.”
Yellow guy scoffed. “We won’t get into trouble. She’s only a human; no one here will care if she disappeared.”
None of this sounded good. Han backed up until she was pressed against a nearby ship. Because she’d been sneaking around, they’d cornered her in a spot out of view of pedestrians. It was unlikely anyone would hear her call for help over all the sounds in the busy dock.
She wished she could say this was the first time someone tried to kidnap her, but it was at least the third time. Maybe the fourth if she included the time a few Leemrons tried to force her to join their cult.
In her experience, staying calm was the most important part of remaining un-abducted.
“If you try to take me to your ship, someone will see. Station agents will imprison both of you. I have a lot of friends here, and they’ll trust me over either of you.”
The second Talin took a step back and looked around, as if someone was going to show up right then. The yellow Talin had the opposite reaction, as if her words were a challenge instead of a warning.
He stepped closer.
She pulled her lips back and showed her teeth. “Touch me and I’ll hurt you so bad you’ll end up on the floor.”
Both the Talins made a sound that reminded her of glass marbles clinking around in a cloth bag.
The yellow one looked back at the gray one. “Bluster must work well with other species.”
“It probably works because no other species is as well trained as we are,” the gray one said.
The marbles clicking sound must be their version of laughter. It wasn’t flattering to be laughed at, but that usually came with being underestimated, which was always an advantage.