Chapter 30
- Nora -
Again I’m astonished by Krix’vorr’s skill at directing the Beast’s fighting. And this fight was harder than the first one we were in. He was clearly struggling for a while when the Gzet started using grappling hooks, but then he adapted and used my suggestion immediately.
I put a hand on his shoulder as the Beast moves over to the wreck of the Gzet ship and softly bumps into it. “This could be important.”
“As you say, we must be close,” he replies and bends down to sniff my hair. “But how close? There’s a hundred stars they may have come from. If we were to search all of them, it would take many cycles. And many attacks from the Gzet.”
Still, I’m getting excited. We may be within days of finding Sophia, if everything works out. I’ll ask for a cabin for her, and some food, and some drink, and maybe I can get more of the wrap material…
Lucius and Sris return after about thirty minutes.
“Well?” Krix’vorr asks, hands on hips.
“The Gzet on those ships expected to be taken prisoner,” Sris says from up on the ceiling. “We told them we would leave them where they are if they would answer some questions. So they did.”
“They didn’t have much to say,” Lucius continues, hovering in mid-air.
“They were low-level crew only. But they had computers, and those computers knew more. We can now pinpoint the Gzet home sun quite accurately. I’m also using the route of the ships that attacked us to confirm it all.
That attack was a major mistake on their part. ”
“Sometimes an enemy will make mistakes,” Krix’vorr says with satisfaction. “It’s not something to rely on, but it’s fun when it happens. Anything else?”
“The Gzet are slave traders,” Sris says from the ceiling.
“And so the most important thing for them is to get customers to their slave auction. It appears that all their ships carry schedules and locations for those auctions as well as the lots being sold. The remaining crewmembers were eager for us to see those schedules, and they recommended we leave this part of space, because bids can be made from any part of the galaxy.”
Butterflies start taking off in my stomach. “And?”
“And one description caught my eye,” Lucius says. “I will quote from the auction announcement:
One alien female, round and soft, two legs and two arms, fur only on the head and a couple of other spots. Otherwise remarkably smooth. Species unknown. Temperament unruly, active and strong. Appears healthy and young, with small damage from recent spaceship crash.
To be sold on the 9th Epp on 44th of 23rd of 7776th. Price estimate: Extremely high
There’s an image attached. Shall I project it?”
“Yes!” I exclaim, barely able to contain my excitement. “Do it!”
It’s not a trivial decision - alien contact procedures are strict on what kind of technological capabilities Space Force shows to aliens.
But I’ve broken most of those directives already, including falling in love with Krix’vorr, so if the locusts now find out that our drones can project pictures, that’s not going to be a major problem.
Lucius projects an image on the uneven wall of the command chamber. It’s mostly red and green, but the outline could be a human female.
“I think the Gzet see in infrared a lot,” Lucius says. “To them, this is probably a perfectly good image. To you, it may be hard to make out. I’ll try to adjust it.”
The image changes and gets brighter until it’s obviously an Earth woman, bound and wearing a basically transparent sheet of fabric, staring defiantly right into the camera.
“Sophia!” I exclaim. “She’s alive!”
“And to be sold at auction in eighteen hours or so,” Lucius says. “I'm confident about that estimate. Their way of measuring time is logical enough.”
Krix’vorr looks thoughtful. “That’s Sophia? She’s similar to you. The smoothness is unmistakable.”
“Do you know what else she is?” I ask, feeling a white-hot anger at the Gzet.
“She’s a living being, a person, an officer in Space Force.
A friend. And now she’s been cataloged and tied up and kept in a cage to be sold.
” The horror of it makes me shiver and my hands clench to hard fists all by themselves.
“They’re going to sell her,” Lucius points out, turning off the projection. “Can you just… buy her?”
Krix’vorr peers down at me. “Do you have money?”
“No,” I admit, forcing myself to calm down. “But maybe you can lend me some?”
“Money?” he snorts. “We don’t use that. It’s far beneath us and we never keep it around. And paying the Gzet for anything at all would be treason.”
“Where will she be sold?” I ask. “We have to rescue her.”
“The procedure for Gzet auctions is well known,” Sris says.
“The lots are kept at the secret Gzet headquarters for safety, and the auction is conducted remotely. Special technology is used to place bids. The winner then has the lot delivered to a place of his choosing some time later. This is all done to disguise where the Gzet actually live.”
I think about it. “But we know where that planet is. We can go there and rescue her.”
“We’ll go there,” Krix’vorr rumbles slowly, “and assess– greetings, Inquisitor.” He looks past me.
Inquisitor Brax’tok is striding in, not looking happy. “What’s going on here, Chief Harrower? Why was I locked in my cabin?”
“We have won a battle,” Krix’vorr tells him.
“Against two Gzet ships, come to ward us off. We seem to be on the right track. Even now we’re moving away from the wreckage of one of their ships.
” He points to one of the Beast’s ‘eyes’, where the ruined ship can just be seen as it recedes into the distance.
“Why was I not informed?” the Inquisitor says, frowning. “Of course I noticed there was a battle on, but even when it was over, I was not let out.”
“The Beast loses interest in such minor issues when she’s in battle,” Krix’vorr tells him calmly.
“She has to focus entirely on winning. After the battle, she takes some time calming down and returning to her more peaceful duties. I will not apologize for her, Inquisitor. I think her priorities were correct.”
“As do I,” the Inquisitor agrees, calming down. “Winning a battle is clearly of the utmost importance. But my question was directed at you, Chief Harrower. Why was I not told you intended to enter a battle?”
Krix’vorr angles his head. “Would it have made any difference? There was nothing you could do, and your cabin is the safest place for you. I will remind you that this command chamber is off-limits to you.”
“Witnessing a battle from the command chamber might be of help in my mission,” Brax’tok says. “Undoubtedly the Queen would like to have an account of the battle from a neutral observer.”
Krix’vorr nods. “Then from now on, we shall always tell you when a battle is about to commence, Inquisitor. And I think you shall be allowed in here at any time.”
Brax’tok straightens and adjusts his sash. “Very well. Was there any intelligence gathered?”
“There was indeed,” Krix’vorr says. “We’re now very close to finding the Gzet homeworld. We think we have the location, and the only thing left now is to confirm that it is indeed there.”
The Inquisitor arches his eyebrows. “That was quick work, Chief Harrower. Plainly the Queen’s trust in you is well placed. Mostly, anyway.” He gives me a glance that makes me want to punch him. “How much damage did our ship sustain?”
Krix’vorr checks some controls. “The Beast suffered only superficial injuries, Inquisitor.”
“You seem very sure.”
Krix’vorr’s mouth tightens to an almost-smile. “Believe me, if she was in pain, she’d let us know.”
Brax’tok looks out the lens. “Why was one ship not destroyed?”
“It’s our way,” Krix’vorr says smoothly. “We leave a few survivors to tell others of their defeat. It damages morale in our enemies, and it makes them fear us more.”
“How certain are you of the planet’s location? Could it be a trap?”
“It could,” Krix’vorr admits. “So we’ll go there and see for ourselves. Carefully.”
“That would seem prudent. I’ll expect to be told when the suspected Gzet homeworld is close.” Brax’tok walks back out with great dignity.
The command chamber is very quiet for a moment.
Then Krix’vorr stirs. “Anything else?”
Lucius rises an inch. “That was it, Chief Harrower. We have the location of the Gzet planet, and we have the time of the auction where Sophia will be sold.”
“When can we be there?” I ask.
Lucius drops down to my eye level. “In a few hours at most, I think, going through the Soft Dark. If I may, Chief Harrower…” The drone adjusts one of the ‘eyes’ and zooms in on a distant pinpoint of light. “That should be their sun.”
I stare at the small pinpoint of light. That’s where Sophia is being kept captive, with no idea that I’m coming for her. “Let’s get there fast,” I say between clenched teeth.
Without a word, Krix’vorr turns his back to me and gets busy with the controls. I nearly lose my balance as the Beast speeds up.
“I’m glad we agree,” I mutter. Then I mentally prepare for the weirdness of going into the Soft Dark.
By Lucius’s clock it’s nearly seven hours before we approach the Gzet sun. When the Inquisitor comes in, we can see planets and even their moons.
Krix’vorr wants to approach from above, so the Beast soars high above the star and the planets in orbit around it.
“That’s a lot of traffic,” Lucius says, looking out the Beast’s biggest lens. “Spaceships everywhere, busy trade routes, several big space stations. This is an advanced system.”
“A slave trader hub,” Krix’vorr growls. “I will go as close as we can without risking that they see us.”
“That’s already a risk, sir,” Lucius says. “I spot several military ships that must be guarding this solar system.”
“Oh, the Beast can be nearly invisible when she chooses to,” Krix’vorr says and reaches out to gently punch the wall of the command chamber. “There are many advantages to having living spaceships.”