Chapter 23
Myrum
Lorse never stopped talking. How did Myrum remember Lorse’s clinking medals but entirely forget the Ossiso’s constant chatter?
From the moment he’d entered the dining room to sit with Lorse, the male hadn’t stopped talking.
How did he manage to eat and talk at the same time?
Did he even breathe? Really, Lorse should be studied.
When Lorse was finally finished with his elaborate meal, they’d walked to the bay. Now they were on a shuttle down to the planet's surface.
At no point did Lorse stop talking.
“The planet isn’t fit for colonization yet,” Lorse said.
The same two guards from when Lorse picked him up on Steady were on the shuttle, piloting them down to the planet's surface. “The terraforming is still equalizing, but it is safe enough for short visits. I know it’s not perfect, but it will do for our purposes.”
Myrum couldn’t wait to be on solid land with a wide open sky above him. Although he couldn’t touch or hold Amina, at least she’d be at his side.
“I look forward to viewing it,” Myrum said.
“It’s not particularly beautiful yet,” Lorse said, then made an aggravated sound.
“It’s unfortunate that the Bureau of Planet Colonization demands the release of bugs and small animals.
I know it’s necessary for the development of the plants, but it’s still annoying.
If I was in control, I'd find some way to do it all without a single bug or rodent.”
Amina was in the seat next to his, sitting quietly, her eyes fixed on a nearby display showing the planet below.
“Bugs can be troublesome,” Myrum agreed when Lorse stared at him for a micromark.
“Yes, exactly,” Lorse said, then continued on a tirade about all the things the Council of Souls should do differently.
“I tell my parent, Jishorn, to put forth these suggestions all the time,” Lorse said. “I think I might see about entering the Council of Souls after selling this planet. I have a lot to contribute directly instead of having to go through my parent.”
That was as good an opportunity as he might get. “You would make an excellent member of the Council of Souls,” Myrum said. “You have such incredible wisdom to share.”
Lorse gave him a pleased look. “Yes, I do.”
“Considering your vast knowledge, I hope you’ll share some insight with me,” Myrum said.
“What is that?” Lorse asked, leaning forward with eagerness.
Although he wasn’t looking directly at Amina, he could feel her tense up. This was it. He sent a silent prayer to the ancestors for help and success before speaking.
“I’d like to understand why the Ossiso would want to be colonized by the Talin Empire.” Myrum said, trying hard to sound innocent. “Most species don’t want that, but occasionally some find it easier to be controlled by us.”
Lorse violently drew back. “Why would you ask such a thing? Of course we don’t want to be colonized by the Talin Empire!”
Myrum sounded an apologetic rumble. “I regret my misunderstanding if I thought incorrectly. But what else was I to assume when your government invited the Talin military into your territory?”
“They are there to help us against the Annexers,” Lorse snapped. “It has nothing to do with abasing ourselves to your empire.”
“I’m corrected,” Myrum said. “Thank you. Please, tell me more about your plans for this planet.”
As he hoped, Lorse ignored the question and pursued the topic of Talin military intervention.
“Why would you think accepting your military’s help means we have any interest in being subservient to the Talin Empire?”
“Oh… well,” Myrum said as if he was reluctant to answer. “It’s nothing.”
“Tell me,” Lorse demanded, slapping the table sharply. “Right now!”
Myrum pretended to be conflicted. “I shouldn’t. I’ve only ever heard rumors. They're probably not true.”
Lorse banged the table again. “What rumors?”
“Will you promise not to tell anyone what I say?” Myrum asked.
“Fine,” Lorse said in a tone that clearly said his agreement was worth nothing. “What did you hear?”
“The empire expects your internal conflict to be far worse than initially believed. They are only sending a portion of our military, so after both sides have exhausted their resources it will be easy to take over the Ossiso Civilization of Souls with our military might. When you talked about the Council of Souls I assumed they must be a part of that so as not to lose to the Annexers. You did mention the shaded forces are proving harder to defeat than expected.”
Lorse sucked in a harsh breath. “No, that’s not possible.”
“I’m sure it’s not,” Myrum agreed. “I’m probably mistaken.”
Lorse went quiet for a moment, his hand gripping the edge of the table tight enough for Myrum to hear a crack.
“Lorse, are you upset with me?” Myrum asked.
“No, of course not,” Lorse said, summoning a gentle expression even as he turned to face the front of the shuttle to yell at the guards. “Can a comm be opened to the outpost from the planet?”
One of them turned their seat around. “Yes, Planetary Expansionist Lorse. It would only be good for sending data packets.”
“That’s fine,” Lorse said. “Be prepared to record a data packet the moment we land.”
“That will be soon, Planetary Expansionist Lorse.”
“Good,” Lorse snapped. He looked over to where two attendants were standing at the back with Gis next to them. “Fetch me some nipka!”
Myrum glanced over at Amina. She flashed him a triumphant smile then ducked her head back down. He allowed himself a moment of pride. He’d done it! He’d managed to plant false information that might cause the Ossiso to refuse Talin help.
The next question was how to extract themselves.
Lorse basically kicked Myrum off the shuttle and remained behind. Gis and Amina were quick to follow him, the shuttle hatch snapping shut the moment they were clear.
Gis spoke up. “We should walk over to the entertainment area. It might take a while for Lorse to figure out how to tell Jishorn what he learned without making it sound insulting.”
Myrum and Amina walked side by side with Gis. Small creatures skittered among the brush surrounding them. Most of the planet was covered in bushes. Some of them were as tall as Myrum, but there weren’t any trees yet.
“Your leadership seems good at taking offense," Amina said.
“Clears are supposed to be above reproach,” Gis said. “They are supposed to be the most wise, noble, and intelligent of all Ossisos. It makes them sensitive to criticism.”
They walked a recently cut path until they got to a temporary platform set up with a smaller version of the dining table up on the outpost.
“They set this up early this morning,” Gis explained. “There’re some drinks here.”
He sat on the edge of the platform and opened a crate. He handed canisters to each of them. Myrum accepted his but didn’t drink. Amina cracked hers open and sipped.
“Oh yes, more intle tea!” she said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this stuff.”
Gis gave her a pleased look. “Hisha will be happy to hear that. She fretted a great deal after she was forced to serve you that slop.”
“Slop?” Myrum asked.
“It was nothing,” she said. “Having Lorse in our room was way worse. We need to figure out how to keep him out of there and how to get away.”
“Yes,” Gis said. He cast them both a worried look. “I’m not sure how we’re going to achieve that. I’ve been talking to the staff, and they can get Amina free, but Myrum will be much harder.”
“I’m not leaving without Myrum,” Amina said. There was no anger in her tone or expression, only absolute determination. “That’s not up for debate.”
“I commend your loyalty, but that makes everything more difficult,” Gis said with a little sigh. Myrum ignored the Ossiso and grabbed Amina up and held her tight in his arms.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
“True,” she said with a chuckle. “But that’s okay.”
“You should put her down,” Gis said. “We won’t know they’re approaching until they come around that bend of tall bushes. I wouldn’t want Lorse to see you being affectionate to Amina. He’s petty.”
Myrum reluctantly put Amina down. She didn’t look happy about it either but shrugged and leaned a hip against the platform.
“Lorse wasn’t kidding; there are a lot of bugs here,” she said, waving a hand at one of the bugs flying lazily around her body in random patterns.
“I have a device that drives them away,” Gis said. “But I’d rather not activate it until Lorse gets here. It can cause the smaller animals pain.”
Amina made a face. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. I can handle a few bugs. It’s not as bad as the port on Shorshut. The place has swarms so thick they make the air around you turn black.” She gave an exaggerated shudder. “You have to wear a mask or you can’t breathe.”
“That sounds…” Myrum’s words trailed off.
“Myrum?” Amina took a step closer, but Myrum let out a startled rattle, making her jump a little.
“Ruby!” he exclaimed as the little lizard emerged from the inside of Amina’s robe and scurried up to perch on top of her head. She flicked out her tongue so rapidly he couldn’t follow it, only watching as little black dots disappeared from the air into her mouth.
Amina let out a huff, rolling her eyes up as if she could see the lizard perched on her head. “Have you been hiding in my robe this entire time? You naughty lizard!”
“I’m sure she didn’t understand what she was doing,” Myrum said.
“No, I think she’s an adorably sneaky lizard,” Amina said. “She did this on purpose.”
“You might be correct,” Myrum said, reassessing Ruby’s previous actions. “This is the second time she’s hidden herself to keep from being left behind. At least this time she didn’t end up half starved.”
Amina’s eyes went wide. “Half starved?”
“When I found her in my bedroll, she was barely alive. It took several rotations before she could eat without help.”
She started to nod then seemed to remember she had Ruby on her head and stopped. “That explains why you were so frantic to find bug-pucks on Polkor.”