Chapter 17
Amina
She wasn’t usually a liar, but the ship was making her one. She’d told Myrum they wouldn’t be very busy on the trip to Lorse’s outpost, but then the electrical on the port side decided to have problems. It took days and three crew members to track down the issue.
Myrum was at her side at all times. As he’d promised, he was really good at handing her tools and even helped her come up with some new cuss words.
“...not even the brains granted to a rock buried deep in a mountain that never sees snow,” she repeated, enjoying the nonsense of it. “That one is my new favorite one.”
“What does that even mean?” Desur asked as they put away tools.
“That whoever designed what you’re working on is very dumb,” Myrum explained, helping Desur lift a tracer bot onto its storage bracket on the wall. The bot clicked into place, and Desur let out a long sigh.
“I’m tired,” he muttered. “When we get back to our home station, do you think we could talk Helmen into having a maintenance crew to do a full overhaul?”
“I’m already planning to schedule it,” Helmen said from the door. “You all did great work; thank you.”
Amina gave Helmen a grateful smile, Desur glowed from the praise, and Teshor grumbled something under her breath.
“You have a most excellent crew,” Gis said.
They all jumped a little in surprise, except for Myrum. Amina hated the way Gis could be in a place, standing right there, and you didn’t notice him. It was disconcerting! No one should be able to fade into the background like that.
“Damn it, Gis,” Teshor said, her tone much less severe than her words. “You need to make more noise or something when you’re hanging out with us.”
Gis flinched slightly but tried to cover it up with a little bow. “I’m sorry. I’ve been trained my entire life to be inconspicuous. It’s a difficult habit to break.”
Teshor softened. “Hey, no, I didn’t mean to be harsh. That was mean of me. Forget I said anything. You be whatever you're comfortable with.”
For the first two days, Gis had been reserved and quiet. Yesterday he’d started interacting more, especially with Teshor.
As if worried her words would undo all his progress, Teshor stepped up next to the Ossiso. “Let’s go get some tea. I want to try it your way again. I think I might like the extra spice.”
Gis perked up at her words. “I’d like that. Thank you, Teshor.”
The two walked off, chatting about tea.
“Gis spent the night in Teshor’s cabin last night,” Desur commented.
Myrum had moved to stand next to Amina. She felt him tense at Desur’s comment.
“She was intimate with Gis?”
Desur waggled his ears in a shrug. “Probably not.”
Amina chuckled. “I know they didn’t because her cabin is right next to mine.”
Myrum sounded a questioning rumble. “What does that have to do with knowing if they were intimate?"
“When Ugarians have sex, you know,” Helmen said with a snort of laughter. “We’re loud and energetic. Not even the sturdy walls on this ship would muffle all the sounds.”
Myrum sounded an amused rumble. “Oh, I see.”
“I bet Teshor’s seeing if Gis might be a good match for her marriage,” Helmen said.
“What does that mean?” Myrum asked,
“Ugarian marriages are always open to adding another matriarch or husband,” Helmen explained.
“Right now, Teshor’s marriage has an equal number of males to females, three and three.
They’d like to add two more males, but the current trend is to add one non-Ugarian male.
Gis is the fourth male she’s interviewed in the last year. ”
“Fifth,” Desur corrected her. “But I think she likes him the most. I hope this works out. I don’t want to send Gis back to the Ossiso. They’re so mean!”
“We can’t save everyone,” Helmen reminded him.
Desur’s expression clearly said he thought that statement was stupid, but he kept his mouth shut. He left, probably to join Teshor and Gis for tea.
Helmen turned her attention on Myrum. “I need to speak to you.”
“Of course,” Myrum said.
“And me,” Amina said.
“You can be included,” Helmen agreed. “But most of what I need to talk about will be regarding Myrum getting on and off the ship. The outpost won’t let us dock, so we’re going to have to shuttle. That involves bay-shuttle safety protocol.”
“I’m going with him, so I guess it’s a good thing I know all about that,” Amina said.
She wasn’t surprised when Helmen tensed. “No.”
Amina lifted her chin. “Yes.”
“No!” Myrum said, a note of fear in his voice. “This assignment isn’t supposed to be dangerous, but anything could happen. Remember our encounter on the pleasure ship? You need to stay here. If anything goes wrong, all of you can leave without me.”
“What encounter on the pleasure ship?” Helmen asked.
They both ignored the captain.
“I’m going with you. We can leave Ruby behind, but I’m not letting you face that outpost without me. The guy you’re meeting is one of the ones that saved you, right? That could trigger all kinds of feelings and impulses. If I’m there, I can help ground you. I can also act as backup.”
Myrum shook his head. “The only way they’d let you on the outpost was if you were another Talin or my pet.”
Amina hadn’t thought of that. She’d grown up loved and adored by her Ugarian family, so despite all the prejudice she faced on some stations, she forgot it mattered that she was human sometimes.
“Fine, then I’ll pretend I’m your pet,” she answered.
“You’d have to wear a collar,” he said.
She grinned up at him. “I think we both know I won’t have a problem with something around my throat.”
Helmen made a slight choking sound. “I don’t want to know what that comment means.
” Then she pulled in a deep breath. “Amina, I don’t want you going with Myrum.
It’s harder to rescue two individuals than one.
If he’s by himself, we could do a shoot-and-grab or a run-by pickup; if there’re two of you, many of our options for an emergency grab are gone. ”
“That’s true,” Amina agreed. “But if I’m with him our options expand to other escape methods because I know how to break into systems and operate a shuttle. You have to admit I have a lot of valuable skills.”
“Your skill set isn’t worth putting you in danger,” Helmen said. Amina could tell her captain was going to refuse her request, and without Myrum to back her up, she had to resort to playing dirty.
“I don’t care if you give me a direct order,” she warned Helmen. “I’m going. Even if that means I have to launch in an escape pod or even crawl out an airlock in a sealed suit. You could try to stop me, but we both know how that will go.”
In a show of temper, Helmen smacked a nearby wall with her palm. “Amina, just this once, I need you to do as I order.”
“I’ve served with you for almost six years," Amina shot back. “And I’ve always done as you asked when we’ve been on assignment, even when it pissed me off. If I’m standing up to you now, that means it’s important.”
Helmen glared at her. “I’m sorry, I think we might not have heard you correctly. Did you say you always followed orders? What about all the times you went off on your own on space stations?”
“I said I always followed orders on assignment,” Amina reminded her, keeping a tenuous hold on her temper. She reminded herself that Helmen was acting this way out of fear for her, not malice. “Shopping at stations or outposts doesn't count.”
“I don’t think you should come either,” Myrum said.
Amina let go of his hand and faced the two of them. “I. Am. Going.”
Helmen threw her hands up. “I wish you weren’t so stubborn.”
“I know.” Amina turned her attention to Myrum. “You know I’m more capable than I look. If I pretend to be your pet, then they’ll underestimate me even more.”
Myrum looked at Helmen. “Can you lock her in a room?”
“I wish that would work,” Helmen said.
“Maybe drug her and lock her in a room?” Myrum suggested.
Helmen snorted. “That wouldn’t work either, although it’s tempting.”
“I’m standing right here,” Amina reminded them. She wasn’t truly annoyed because she could tell both of them were going to give in to her.
“Can you leave for a moment, Myrum?” Helmen asked. “I need to speak to Amina alone.”
Myrum looked at her, not moving. Amina gave him a little nod. “It’s fine. I’ll meet you in the galley. I’m sure everyone is already there getting the evening meal ready.”
There was a moment of hesitation before Myrum finally sounded a rumble of agreement and left. Amina faced Helmen and waited.
Helmen hesitated a moment. Her expression went from determined to uncomfortable.
“What?” Amina pressed. “Spit it out.”
“The Ossiso who owns the outpost and planet we’re going to is named Lorse,” Helmen started.
“We know his name is Lorse; what does that matter?” Amina asked, then it clicked what she’d said. “Wait, one guy owns an outpost and a planet?”
“That’s one of the reasons I started doing a little research.
Tik’s UniBase had nothing, but the pleasure ship’s UniBase had a lot of details.
That’s how I know Lorse owns two planets and three stations, including Tik.
The thing you need to know is that Lorse is powerful, not only because he has money but also high political connections.
My concern is that Lorse might want to keep Myrum. ”
Amina blinked. “What?”
“Lorse has already reached out by long-distance comms with an offer,” Helmen said.
Amina got a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Offer?”
“He’s willing to give me enough wealth that I could buy another ship if I wanted.”
“What would you need to do for it?”
Helmen’s answer was simple. “Leave Myrum behind.”
Anger hit Amina so fast she swayed a little. “Is that why you didn’t want me to go? You were planning to abandon Myrum?”
The last few words were a shout that Helmen didn’t react to. The captain knew about her temper and brushed it off.
“What kind of Ugarian do you take me for? Of course I don’t plan to do that,” Helmen said, sounding tired.
“But why did Lorse try to buy me off to begin with? Does he want to make Myrum disappear? Is there a grudge or a political maneuver going on that Myrum’s people don’t know about?
” Helmen paused then continued. “I’m not insulting Myrum, but he doesn’t strike me as a politician, ambassador, or intelligence officer. ”
Amina finally understood. “You think Myrum was sent on a suicide mission?”
“Unknowingly,” Helmen said. “I think it’s more accurate to say that he’s a sacrifice to Lorse.”
Amina thought about what she knew about his past. There were gaps after he was rescued. Maybe she should ask him about it.
“We need to be ready to do drastic things,” Helmen said.
“I agree,” Amina said, giving Helmen an understanding nod. “We might have to protect Myrum from himself as well as some plot.”