Chapter 7
Trove
Of all the parts of Trove’s new life, he was sure that their association with the peacekeepers was perhaps the strangest.
Trove stood along with the rest of the crew in the bridge – his brothers, his sisters, and Chee – all of them looking up at the holo of Captain Ikvar who was looking at them with a subtle twitch of his upper eye.
Like Trove, Ikvar was a domini, though he was much older, his skin having taken on a hint of the grayish cast his kind got with age that rendered their camouflage imperfect.
That meant his white and gold uniform was just a bit brighter than the gray of his skin.
Unlike most domini who preferred their hair long, his was shorn short, especially on the sides.
His left eye also had an odd, metallic shine telling Trove that it was a cybernetic replacement.
Captain Ikvar had, through diligence and determination, managed to track down their old names after meeting them. The ones with numerous crimes associated with them. The ones that they tried to leave behind but could never fully sever.
Garnet and Goldie had come to them through illegal means – though, funnily enough, through no fault of their own.
Ikvar had wanted to make sure that the human females, stolen from their home planet, nearly sold as pleasure slaves, and collared by mind control devices – though Ikvar did not know about that part – weren’t in any danger with them.
He knew their new names were fake, though he hadn’t actually arrested them for it.
And then, when he figured out their real identities, he had allowed them to remain free. He wanted to see, he said, if Rik-Vane denizens could be redeemed.
Tanin gave him reports sometimes. He kept him updated on their goings on. It was part of the deal that let them remain free males. And this, the first check in after leaving the sandy planet, was causing a vein to pop in the older male’s head.
The only communication relay that reached that distant planet had been totally locked down by Alred before he had been taken away from it many years ago.
Alred hadn’t been able to reach out to it and unblock it until they had been away from the planet, and he hadn’t done so until they finished combing the debris field.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that could be recovered.
Trove’s liquor collection was completely gone, meaning he’d have to start all over.
His clothes were lost, he couldn’t find any part of his room in the field.
Most everything was too destroyed to use, though they had done their best to reclaim as much as they could.
Both from their broken ship, and the much larger ship they had taken out with them.
Though, that one had been far more broken than theirs.
Trove had been in the safe room, so he didn’t see how badly damaged either one was until he jumped from the Vainglory in his envirosuit to pick through the wreckage.
Only after all that was done did Tanin comm the good captain to let him know that they were alive, they were going to get back to work, and they had a guest on their ship.
Chee was not a crew member, but the sight of yet another human among their number was what was making Ikvar near apoplectic as he looked them all over.
“Another human,” he stressed, annoyed.
“This one is here legally,” Tanin said easily.
“I was here legally too,” Grace protested.
Ikvar, ignoring them, looked over at Chee. She was standing on the far side of the room, away from Trove. Trying to put as much distance between them as she could.
He hated it.
“Female, what is your name?”
“Chee,” she said. “I’m registered.”
“Who is your sponsor?”
“His name is Hyde.”
“What is his full name, and your full name?”
Chee shook her head. “He only told me Hyde.”
“Your full and complete name then.”
Chee hesitated, catching Trove’s attention. He couldn’t help but cock his head curiously. Why was she so reticent about giving her full name? Her face was turning red as she mumbled something.
“Speak up, female,” Ikvar barked, and Trove couldn’t stop himself from growling. He did not appreciate another snapping at her that way.
But it was a soft sound, almost unheard. Especially when, face burning, Chee shouted-
“Chastity Miracle Whittaker!”
Trove didn’t understand the reaction. Until Garnet, unable to help herself, smothered a laugh. And earned a glare from Chee in turn.
“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled, crossing her arms. “Yuk it up.”
“Is there a problem?” Trove asked, looking at Grace who was beside Sway, both of them near him. And though Grace wasn’t laughing, there was a clear glint of humor in her eyes.
And he realized why when Grace helpfully translated the human words into Standard. Chee’s names were words, and not at all subtle ones either. She was embarrassed about her name. And her face was darker red than her hair as Ikvar looked for her registration.
“Chastity Miracle?” Garnet finally asked, looking at her funny.
“Shut it,” Chee grumbled.
“How did you get Chee from Chastity?”
Chee let out a short breath. “Chee isn’t short for Chastity, it’s short for… Cheese.”
Garnet couldn’t stop herself anymore – she and Haven broke at the same time, both of them howling with laughter. Having a great laugh at Chee’s name. And after another translation from Grace, he understood that joke too.
“I couldn’t say Chastity when I was a toddler,” Chee mumbled. “It came out sounding more like Cheet-y. Which turned into Cheesy. Which turned into Cheese. And now I go by Chee. Okay? Go ahead. Laugh all you want.”
“Were you a miracle baby or something?” Goldie asked, doing the best of the females to keep her face under control.
“I was, in fact,” she declared, holding her head up proudly. Trove didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone so stubbornly beautiful. “And I was named after my grandmother. It’s an honorable name, thank you.”
“If you say so, Cheesy,” Garnet snickered.
Trove was so busy looking between the females, listening to their conversation, that he almost missed the way Ikvar suddenly froze in place.
So completely still that, for a moment, Trove thought that maybe he had actually frozen, their connection broken or stuttered.
But for his eyes going wide, the metallic one twitching and flickering as it tried to focus on what he was reading.
Whatever he saw when he searched up Chee’s registration caused a big reaction in him.
The others were focused on the females as well, and Ikvar was quick to gather himself, so it went largely unnoticed. By everyone except the captain whose gaze narrowed as he also caught Ikvar’s strange movements.
The peacekeeper cleared his throat, claiming everyone’s attention again, and when he spoke, he was acting completely like his normal, annoyed self.
“Very well,” he said. “It looks like all your datawork is in order, Chastity Miracle Whittaker.”
Chee made a face. “You can just call me Chee, please.”
“Your sponsor has hired the Humble Delivery service and you’re riding along with them while you complete a job for Hyde. All of that is properly documented and registered.”
She nodded along, but Trove couldn’t help but be confused. Nothing Captain Ikvar was saying was wrong, but it was so oddly… specific. Like he was stating something for her approval or agreement with whatever he had found.
Chee seemed completely unaffected. Did she not know whatever Ikvar had found, or did she know and she was just really good at hiding it?
“You’re all clear then.” Ikvar looked back at Tanin. “As requested, I’ll put in the registration for this new ship of yours. Everything will be in order by the time you get to the next space station. If there’s a problem, comm me back.”
“Thank you for your assistance as always, captain,” Tanin said, but there was still a tight suspicion in his gaze. He definitely noticed what Trove had. But he didn't bring it up either.
Without any fanfare or farewell, Ikvar cut the feed.
The moment he was gone, Alred popped his light form up next to Tanin.
He was the only member of their crew that they kept hidden from Ikvar, but that didn't mean he wasn’t witnessing the conversation.
And from the look he and Tanin shared, he had also noticed his strangeness.
The others were all leaving to go about their business – Ikvar had demanded to see them all to make sure everyone was still present and accounted for.
The females were heading off together, Chee among their number, still grumbling about the name that they were tittering at.
Trove watched them go, coming to stand beside Tanin and Alred, sharing the same look with them.
“So, what was that about?” He asked without preamble.
Neither male needed him to specify what he meant.
“He didn't react to either Chee or Hyde’s name,” Alred said thoughtfully, stroking his chin, tail slowly whipping behind him. “But whatever he found on his system certainly gave him pause.”
Tanin crossed his arms. “What would make a captain of a peacekeeper vessel like that freeze? What could be so surprising that he would be struck dumb, even temporarily?”
“Alred, did you find any trace of this Hyde guy?” Trove asked, knowing full well that Alred would have immediately tried to find both Chee and Hyde once he’d unblocked the communication relay and had access to the subnet again.
Alred, however, shook his head. “There are many people named Hyde throughout the Coalition. It’s not a particularly common name, but it’s not uncommon either, and it’s so easy to make that multiple species and languages have their own version of it.
I couldn’t find Chee, but I can find Chastity Miracle Whittaker, and from what I see of the public record of her registration, there’s nothing untoward at all.
She’s a sponsor case, about two tendays off her planet, nearly three now, and, yes, Hyde is her registered sponsor.
But that’s it. Just Hyde. No other names – no last names, first names, second, third names, aliases, identification numbers, species. Nothing. Just… Hyde.”
Tanin frowned. They’d played sponsor to both Garnet and Goldie when they first found them, so Tanin knew what was required to be done for that.
Trove had seen him do it. Tanin was the only one of them without a second name.
He still used his birth name because, despite all the crimes he definitely committed on Rik-Vane, he didn't actually have any associated with him.
And his entire birth name, his bio signature, everything about him had to be on that registration. In case something happened, Tanin was wholly responsible for the females he sponsored, and therefore Tanin had to be known in every way possible.
But Hyde was just… Hyde.
Who exactly was this male?