Four days on the Phenyx, and I’m about to lose my mind.
While the ship is nice and accommodates a certain type of lifestyle—wealthy—there are only so many games of Nax a person can play, even if the dice are made of expensive aurtanium. I’m getting anxious as the trip seems to be taking longer than Hike estimated.
I’ve just finished my workout at the posh gym that looks like it never sees visitors. I’m sweat-drenched and hungry but also curious. Hike estimated we’d be at the Narvara Belt by ship time 2200 hours, and yet, as I walk along the outer passway, I can’t see the trail of asteroids that make up the belt. I know I’m on the correct side of the ship, and it should be in view, but…
I slow, a planet-sized weight settling in the pit of my stomach. Hike pointed out the course just the day before on a sio-screen at the helm. It showed the Phenyx’s placement, lovely little dots tracing the course we’d already taken and where we were heading, but…these stars aren’t right.
My helmet could calculate exactly where we are, but it’s back on Hexalia. I grind my teeth. Yeah, I’m still mad about that. At least I have the info disc back, and that’s what matters.
Right?
The passway is quiet, and I form a plan. I just need to get to a computer access port.
One whiff of myself, and I alter my trajectory from the onboard library to our quarters for a quick clean-up. Talie told me earlier that she planned to spend the morning on the star deck reading, so I’ll find a computer port to hack, then get to her. But first I need to smell better than this.
The ship’s cleaning port is efficient if not a little indulgent with warm air to dry the bio-clean spray, but minutes later, I’m in a new black onesuit and durable boots, compliments of Hike’s commissary. Running fingers through my hair—it’s getting long now—I shrug and head for the door.
My passenger bracelet—also made of aurtanium—sits warm against my wrist, and it’s the first time I consider perhaps it’s not just for ship-wide access as Hike said but also something else. Like location tracking.
I might be paranoid, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts. I back-track and take the bracelet off, leaving it on the table, then slip out into the hallway. I should be digitally invisible now.
We’ve only seen one other passenger, Brownus, who claims to be a traveling clean-vac salesman, and then another staff member named Eben. She’s in charge of guest relations, so she brings our meals and gets anything we need. She’s a quiet girl, fairly pretty, but we haven’t talked.
I memorized the layout of the Phenyx not long after we boarded, and I know I’ll find an access port at the end of this hall that leads to the ship’s crawl space. The hall remains empty as I reach the port, and a few seconds later, the hatch is open, and I’m shimmying my way to the library.
The pull to reach Talie is strong, but first I need to make sure this isn’t all in my head. A few diagnostics, and I’ll know our true location.
I’ve wondered if somehow Hike found out who Talie is. It’s not as if she hasn’t been publicized as the Soaring Starress, but has he seen those adverts? Or is it possible Jas added her to my warrant? The thought makes a cold sweat break out over my forehead despite the chill of the duct.
The library hatch appears before me, and I pause, taking in the wiring outside the door. I pop a thin blue wire out and carefully disconnect it. I’ve just disassembled the camera for the library, isolating this room from the ship-wide monitoring system. Hopefully the sec-system won’t recognize the alteration immediately.
A soft click, and I’ve got the hatch open. I lower myself, and my biceps burn after the overly intense workout I did earlier. My new boots thud to the duraplast floor, and I grimace. They weren’t crafted for stealth.
I spin in a slow circle. There are viewports for media, a corner with several datapads loaded with a full and extensive library of books, and couches and chairs artfully placed. The viewport shutters are closed, making the space feel like an interior room, but I know one press of a button would bring them down, making the room like its own star deck.
I think that’s why Talie spends so much time here when she’s not on the actual star deck or with me in the gym when I drag—er, convince—her to come with me. Though our sparring hasn’t been the same since I told her how I feel.
Her lack of an answer is…intriguing. But there are too many things at stake for me to focus much energy on that.
I press the button to lower the shutters and am met with a host of unfamiliar stars. No sign of the Narvara Belt. Time to go to work.
Since Jas took my suit and my datapad, I was forced to buy one before we left Hexalia. I hate that I had to leave mine behind, but it’ll fry itself before he’ll be able to get past the encryption. The new one has its own advantages since I opted for a more expensive model, but I can only hope I added on the right attachments.
I rush to a media port and pry open its access panel. I’m met by a jumble of circuits and wires. I pull out an inner cable on my new datapad and plug it in, waiting as the pad connects. After a few workarounds to get past ship security, I initiate an orientation program. The processing dots appear one after another until a full line forms and a star map appears. We are nowhere near the Navara Belt. In fact, we’re a lot closer to the Outlier Rim than I’d expected.
An icy spike of fear shoots through me. Nothing good comes of entering the Outlier Rim. It’s the perfect location for shady deals and illegal activity unobserved by the Xerus Trade Convention, or XTC. Hike was obviously hiding this.
I have to get to Talie. I don’t know if it’s just my own paranoia or if I can sense danger, but we need to make a plan. Now.
I check and see we’re nearing 2200 hours. Though we won’t be at the belt yet, the time may indicate something else is scheduled to happen.
Heart pounding, I yank my cord free. In the hall, I take a right and race to the trav-tube that will take me two floors up to the star deck and Talie. For the millionth time, I wish I’d thought to buy us untraceable comms while on Hexalia. The only way to contact her now is a ship comm, and that would be easily hacked.
The lift takes its sweet time, and I will it faster until the doors open. Brownus and two other men are standing at the door to the star deck, Talie facing them. The sight makes my hands fist before I even register what I’m seeing. Each man carries a blast rifle, which is pointed right at her.
“Get away from her.” My voice is a dark snarl.
“Ah, Rex. There you are.” Brownus turns to look at me, his frail salesman façade gone.
I calculate the distance between me and the two guards. Their rifles are pointed at me now, and the probability I could reach them before getting shot is low. But not impossible.
My gaze flickers to Talie. I will her to read my mind. Don’t intervene. If it’s possible these men don’t know who she is—that they’re holding her at gunpoint for any other reason—she can’t jeopardize that.
Her brow furrows.
“Trilla. Don’t.”
Brownus frowns, shooting her a quick look before he turns back to me. “Come now, Rex. You can’t imagine an escape. Not from my men.” He assesses Talie, and he must dismiss her as a non-threat. Maybe he doesn’t know who she is. “Surrender, and it’ll go much better for you both.”
“Sorry, but surrender isn’t in my nature.” I commit to my move as the last word passes my lips. I duck the first shot. It goes wide by a good margin, and I roll up close to the second man’s feet. Sweeping my leg out, I catch him off balance, which sends him into the first man.
I’m planning my next strike when another rifle slides into view.
“Don’t. Move.” Brownus holds the rifle steady aimed at my forehead. Where was he hiding it?
“Ren—” I hear the tension in Talie’s voice even as she calls me the wrong name.
I allow a small shake of my head, and I know she understands.
“Come now. This is sweet and all, but I’m a businessman.” Brownus cocks an eyebrow.
He moves the rifle to my chest and fires.