Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
Make frenemies with the neighbors
I could cast very far with the new fishing equipment I’d purchased from a very confused-looking vendor in the Sector Siclo trading hub.
A huge, scarred mercenary was not her typical customer, it seemed.
Nevertheless, she gave me a fine deal on the rods, reels, hooks, and lures I was looking for.
It took me time to learn what the fish here were interested in biting, but that part was pretty fun, actually.
The skinny silver variety wanted nothing to do with lures and only wanted the soft creatures living inside shells, which I found by digging along the shoreline.
The round, blue ones with big teeth were happy to grab at my lures, but I had to change my line so they wouldn’t bite them right off.
Cooking them was yet another skill. The skinny silvers were tastier, but the blue ones had fewer bones. Then, there were small pink ones that could be roasted whole and eaten just like that, with a little salt and Gankran spice. Oh, they were good. Tedious to catch, though.
Since I had no one to consult regarding the desires of fish here, it was all trial and error. But that was what people did in retirement. I’d arrived on Podnos-9 five days ago, and I’d chosen this spot that same day.
Behind me, above the beach and the line of rocks, was a rise where the Andromeda sat on her landing gear.
I had decided to rebuild her from a ship into my home.
It made sense, since I could repurpose her materials and not change the inside layout.
She had everything I needed: rooms, cooking facilities, and a nutrient replicator in case I didn’t feel like cooking.
Her solar power cells provided more than enough energy to run the entire vessel as a home.
And she had been about as fortified as I could get her, so I’d sold off most of the weaponry before taking her down here.
I didn’t need a warship in my retired life.
I kept some weapons for myself, of course.
I also kept my smaller shuttle, which was enough of a vehicle if I needed something off-planet.
I hoped I wouldn’t, because already the thought of leaving this tranquil place gave me a headache.
I was very happy with my choice. There was sand beneath my bare feet.
I couldn’t remember the last time my feet had been bare.
I had to have been a youngling, and that would have been before the invasion and destruction of my home world.
So long ago now. The bottoms of my feet sank a little bit more into the sand with each gentle wave that broke on the soft, silver shore.
The water might have been cold, but each touch of it felt right.
I could get used to this. I already was.
No fish were tugging on my line, so I let my gaze wander over the beautiful view before me. Purple-blue ocean stretched as far as I could see. Rolling waves let out a constant, gentle sound, like the water itself was sighing.
Perhaps I needed to take up poetry as a hobby, as well.
But back to the Andromeda. I had done scans of the terrain.
Analysis of the rock and soil at the top of the rise showed that the location had never flooded.
It was the only free spot—the Runams had chosen the most ideal spot for their village many sun years ago—that was safe from a storm, and this planet did have storms. Although the ocean was mild most of the time, it seemed, based on the data, when the weather kicked up, it kicked up with a vengeance.
The Andromeda was tough enough to withstand a storm, but I just didn’t want to worry about it.
Plus, the view was almost absurdly perfect up there.
The only downside to my location was that it was not as far away from the Runam village as I wanted.
If I were to walk north, I’d reach it in about twenty minutes.
I had debated choosing a location farther away, but there was just no comparison to this one.
Here, I had both the view and safety from the storms, and this beautiful, soft, sandy beach that the locations farther to the south did not have.
All the locations to the north were inhabited by the Runams.
If I were a monster, I’d bully them out of there or kill them, but I was not a monster.
I figured we were far enough away from each other that I wouldn’t bother them and they wouldn’t bother me.
This beach and the area I had chosen had shown no sign of activity.
I wasn’t infringing on anyone’s space, and so they would have no reason to infringe on mine.
I lazily reeled in my line, checked the lure, and cast again.
I watched the silvery hook gleam in the sunlight before it plopped into the ocean and beneath the surface.
My chest felt lighter than I could ever remember it being.
Silli dug around in the sand not far away, his little snuffly nose rooting out this or that.
He was looking good. Now, with his wounds healed, some of his fur was beginning to grow back.
I let out a sigh of contentment. I could spend the rest of my life here. Happily. Alone.
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than a worrying hum sounded from behind me.
That had to be B2, my monitoring drone. Before coming here, it had functioned on my ship, but I had reprogrammed it with a new boundary set around the area I had chosen as my new home.
That didn’t make it any less irritating.
“Gilrox, sir,” the drone said in a flat, monotone voice. I had tried to choose the least annoying of all the vocal choices. There really wasn’t one.
“What is it, B2?” The drone made a humming sound behind me. It had six optical lenses on its hovering, spherical body, ensuring that nothing happened around it that it did not observe. “I wish to inform you that three life forms approach from the northwest. Two of them are armed.”
Well, that made me pause. “Armed with what?” I asked.
“Spears, sir.”
Spears? Well, that wasn’t worth reeling in my line for. “Inform them that they are trespassing and tell them to leave.”
“Yes, sir,” B2 replied and buzzed off.
I went about my fishing. Probably the Runams being nosy, come to see what was going on. I was not worried about them. Showing up at a mercenary’s home—retired or not—armed with nothing but spears, was a fine way to get themselves killed.
They were very lucky that I was done killing.
I thought nothing of the commotion going on back there.
It was probably Runams asking questions, and the drone explaining—probably far too politely—that they needed to go.
My hearing was enhanced by a sensory implant, so I did not miss the sound of footsteps hissing on the sand.
With a sigh that lacked all the contentment of my last one, I turned my head to see what I was going to have to deal with.
Instantly, I could tell that the males and their spears were not going to be my problem.
It was a Runam female, no taller than my shoulder, marching up to me with the expression of one ready for war, who was going to be the headache.
She wore the fine clothes of somebody who was in power, and she had the bearing of one, too.
Shoulders back, chin high, as if she were a ruler. Maybe she was. It didn’t matter to me.
She came to a stop beside me. “You need to leave,” she said by way of introduction. Rude. Although she did speak perfect quadrant dialect with only a slight accent. Surprising, considering how long these people must have been out here, isolated.
“Is that so?” I asked lazily, giving a little tug of my line. It felt as if something was nibbling.
“Yes, that is so,” she snapped back. “Get back in your ship and leave this planet—and us—in peace.”
“Why? You don’t own the entire planet.”
She did not like my response. “Because your kind brings nothing but trouble.” She moved directly in front of me and pointed a finger at the center of my chest. “I’m telling you, you cannot stay here.”
I reeled in my line slowly, secured the hook to the pole, and turned my gaze down to hers.
Up close, I could see fire sparking in the prettiest set of green-gold eyes I’d ever seen.
Long green hair that had gone dusty mostly at her temples and sprinkled in amongst long, thick, twisted coils, fell most of the way down her back.
Her skin was a lustrous gold with a flushed tinge on the tops of her cheekbones.
Her brows arched high over those eyes that threw flames at me.
The only thought that came to mind was: Interesting. “And what do you know of my kind?”
She sniffed and jutted her chin toward my bare arms and upper torso, where the tattoos denoting my mercenary guild membership were on full display.
I was surprised she recognized them for what they were.
It was good luck that I’d put on pants today, otherwise she would have gotten an eyeful.
“You’re a mercenary. Someone who kills for fun. ”
Right then and there, I saw the flash of fear.
It was the only one she had revealed so far, and I didn’t like seeing it cross her features.
For many sun years I’d been feared, and I was too tired to find that useful anymore.
I stuck the handle of my fishing rod into the sand and set my hands on my hips.
“I was a mercenary,” I explained. “I am retired. That life is behind me. You and your people have nothing to fear from me.”
She blinked once. “You expect me to believe you? Just take your word for it?”
“And furthermore,” I said, irked by something she had said earlier, “I never killed for fun and I never slaughtered innocents. I’m not going to start now.”
“Again, you expect me to take the word of a killer? One who was paid to kill.” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I don’t know which is worse. Killing for fun or killing for money.”
Silli had abandoned his ground adventures and came over to sniff the boot of one of the males who had arrived with this female.
They didn’t appear…incapable, exactly, but they were very clearly not warriors.
They were strong-enough looking, for Runams, but neither of them looked thrilled to be there.
The male nudged Silli away. It wasn’t a kick at all, and it certainly didn’t hurt the little creature, but Silli made a noise of displeasure and scampered over to me, looked up, and began chittering away in offense.
I reached down and drew him up to my shoulder, were he sat like a little sentinel—likely with far more of a bite than these two awkward-looking males who held spears they had surely never used.
“Killing for fun is much worse,” I replied sagely.
She waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter which is worse. I’m just saying, go somewhere else. It’s a huge planet. Find another location to retire to.”
The way she said retire indicated to me that she didn’t believe I was, in fact, retired.
Which was funny, because no self-respecting active mercenary would be caught standing on a beach, barefoot, catching fish—unless they were recovering from an injury.
As if she couldn’t look at me and see the gray hair, the scars, and the world-weariness etched onto features that looked not much older than her own.
“Look, I’m sorry, but this is where I’m staying. You don’t have to like it. You won’t even know I’m here. I just want to fish and live out my days in peace.”
“This is all that we want, too,” she said.
“Excellent,” I drawled. “So glad we see eye to eye on this matter.”
“Except we don’t.” The bite was back in her voice. I wasn’t sure it had ever left. “There can be no peace with a mercenary two clicks up the beach from us. Do you understand how hard it’s been for my people to find peace? I won’t let an interloper ruin everything we have built here.”
I ran a hand through my hair and scratched behind my broken horn. “Do you have a name?”
She looked surprised by the question, as if civility was not something a barbaric mercenary like myself would possess. “My name is Maive,” she replied. “And I don’t wish to know yours, because you won’t be here long enough for it to matter.”
I took—not even a step—a shift forward. Invading her space just a little bit.
Just enough to make my point, not enough to scare her.
If I wanted to scare her, she’d be running away screaming.
“My name is Gilrox,” I said quietly. “It’s nice to meet you, Maive.
I’m very sorry that my presence here has caused you distress.
” I held her gaze, taking particular delight in her struggle to hold mine.
She would not be the one to break eye contact.
But it was obvious how desperate she was to do so.
“However, I suggest you remember it, as I’ve chosen this spot for my new home and there is nothing you or your farmers with sticks can do to change that.”
“We’ll see about that.” Her chin rose up a notch. Her nostrils flared. “You cannot stay here.”
“Oh,” I said with a smile. “But I can.”