Chapter 3 – Passengers

The ship was dirty and filled with the distinct smell of sweat. Wherever Lenah looked, from the grimy floor to the smudged walls, it was in urgent need of a cleaning. It wasn’t a large ship, but had enough room to keep some goods and a crew of about half a dozen, not that she’d ever been on such an old ship before. Her father kept a fleet of the latest standard Smooth Cruisers, and this Galaxy Gate was at least fifty years old. But it should get her to Port Dumas, and help her shed some light into her father’s operations.

With a loud bang, the hatch closed behind her, leaving her encased in the grimy metal. Lenah whirled around, her heart pounding in her chest, only to find Persia looking around in disgust. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought, well, I don’t really know where to go.”

“To your hotel?” Lenah retorted, shaking her head. Then, when Persia didn’t answer, “You do have a hotel room, right?”

“Not really.” Persia shook her head. “I was supposed to stay with him.”

“The boyfriend who left you?”

A nod.

Lenah sighed. “Okay, you can come with me. I need to go run an errand, and I need you to stay out of my way for it, but once I make it back to the city, we’ll find you a – what was that?” Lenah had heard a faint moan from where she suspected the engine room was. “Did you hear that?”

“They wouldn’t have left someone behind, would they?” Persia, apparently eager for another fight, lifted her weapon.

Lenah had realized that same flaw in her plan. She’d simply supposed that everyone but the guards outside was at the party. What if they weren’t? Her gut feeling, however, told her that hadn’t sounded like another guard.

As quietly as they could, they made their way toward the noise. Down a short staircase and behind a door that was slightly ajar, a crowded engine room came into view. Persia went in first, hammer lifted, with Lenah in her wake. She almost walked into Persia, who’d stopped abruptly just one step into the room. The bad smell was even worse in here. Could engines stink of sweat?

Horror made Lenah’s heart thunder at what she saw. It was a multi-functional room, with cages constructed along two of the walls. Two of the semi-dark cells were occupied by crouching figures.

One of the prisoners was a thin man who looked to be in his late forties. His beard was unkempt and his clothes so greasy, they almost hid their good quality. A shiny necklace with an intricate symbol glittered off his collar, the only thing about him that looked well maintained.

The second cell was filled with a woman. She wasn’t facing them, so it was hard to tell her age, but the way her body was folded into the small space told of her imposing size.

Persia looked back at Lenah, and for the first time real worry was written all over her features. Lenah imagined her own face must show a similar expression. Was this the ship Kahoot and his gang had arrived on? Of all the ones occupying the parking lot, had she managed to steal his? But no, his men had been guarding those other ships. Besides, judging by their combat clothes, they weren’t short on money. A ship like this one seemed an odd choice for them.

Lenah cleared her throat, hoping to get a reaction from the prisoners.

The man did indeed look up from where he’d been staring at the floor. His eyes went big as he saw them.

“Hi there,” Lenah heard herself say by way of greeting. She had no clue how to properly greet prisoners, or what to do with them.

“Who are you?”

“Are you here to free us?” The woman finally turned around to face them. Seeing her face, Lenah realized why she’d been hiding before. She wasn’t a human, but a Cassidian, with the telltale pale yellowish skin and green eyes that made them look not quite human, though human enough to not seem totally alien.

However, there were only small knobs where this Cassidian’s antennas should have been. It left her looking…odd. Lenah hadn’t known that Cassidians, a magical race that had occupied this star system long before humans, could even survive without their antennas. Could she even call to the warp?

Her bright-green eyes were still holding Lenah’s gaze, a stubborn look in them. Challenge my appearance or get over it, they seemed to say.

“Who are you, and how did you get here?” Lenah wasn’t comfortable messing with the captives of criminals. For all she knew, these two could be locked in here because they were even worse than the owners of the ship, especially when they looked harmless. In the movies, those always were the worst psychopaths. Then again, life wasn’t like the movies, right? Not that Lenah knew a lot about the life of criminals.

“I’m Dr. Russell Lund,” the man said after a short hesitation, in which he seemed to consider them as Lenah had. “And that is Uzara Iwa-something. I apologize, but I can’t pronounce your last name.”

The Cassidian, Uzara, shot him an angry glare, but didn’t say anything. Was that anger for messing up her name, or for offering it to strangers?

“How we got here?” he repeated grimly. “We’re being brought from the galaxy’s core to that provincial hub planet, Astur.”

“Congratulations,” Persia said. When the doctor stared at her with a blank expression, she added, “You made it. To Astur.” She hiccupped.

“Brought here to do what?” Lenah narrowed her eyes at him, disliking his arrogance about her home planet. Astur might be far from the system’s leading planets, Arcadia or Galtaca, but in no way was it provincial. There were billions of people living across many big cities all over the planet. You could get all major forms of entertainment and all of the galaxy’s most exotic foods imported here, from Utaran snails to Hamaroot.

“Why would someone drag you all the way to Astur?” Lenah asked.

The doctor didn’t seem to notice her sarcasm. “We were both captured to become toys in an illegal laboratory operation. I’m a scientist, and was forced to conduct research there. And Uz, well…due to her unique condition, she was going to be used as research.”

“You can say it out loud. I’m cut, and I can’t allow myself to be sensitive about that,” Uzara said, but kept looking at Lenah and Persia.

Was that a challenge? Clearly the Cassidian was prepared, should they turn out to be enemies.

“Why should I believe that story? What kind of illegal laboratory?” Lenah asked. Her hands curled into fists, and she pressed her fingernails against her palms until it hurt. This couldn’t be happening. Was Uz the replacement lab subject? Astur was a populous planet; there could be all kinds of research labs.

Doctor Lund shrugged. “The smugglers weren’t particularly open about sharing information with us. We’re just the prisoners.”

“Are you implying there’s an illegal lab here on Astur?” Lenah huffed, forcing herself to unclench her hands. “That can’t be.”

The doctor looked at her blankly. “How would you know?”

“Oh, because she’s—” Persia started to respond, but Lenah quickly slapped her hand over the gladiator’s mouth.

“Stop giving away information,” she hissed. “We don’t know who we’re talking to. For all we know, these two could be worse than the pirates, or whoever’s ship this is.” In reality, while she meant her point, she didn’t want anyone to find out about her relation to a certain company running the planet’s most modern laboratories.

Persia’s eyes grew big at that, and she nodded. Lenah let go of her mouth. The message seemed to have gotten through.

Uzara, who’d been watching the interchange intensely, turned away, suddenly looking completely exhausted. “We have nothing else to offer. No proof. They took all our stuff when they locked us up in these cells.”

Lenah didn’t like the sadness in those words. They sounded honest, raw. This Cassidian, whose kind were regal creatures by nature, sounded as if she had nothing else left in her.

Lenah took a deep breath and looked at Persia. The Cassidian’s words seemed to have left a similar effect on her. Lenah gave Persia a nod, and she returned it.

“Okay, we’ll get you out,” Lenah said. She might be making a mistake, should these two turn out dangerous, but her gut was telling her otherwise. Besides, if their story had even one grain of truth, she wouldn’t be involved in any of it under any circumstances. Her job to use her abilities to get money from investors might not seem the most ethically correct, but at least she didn’t hurt anyone. In the end, the deals turned out beneficial for both parties. “Any idea how to open these cells?”

“There’s a control panel next to the doorway,” Doctor Lund said, pointing a dirty hand with overgrown fingernails at the door beside Lenah. “And thank you.”

Sure enough, she saw a black panel there with six buttons, one for each cell. Lenah opened the doors after finding the right control.

Almost faster than her eyes could follow, the Cassidian was out and standing in front of them. She was over a head taller than Lenah or Persia, but of typical size for a female of her race.

However, her stance still wasn’t friendly. A Cassidian willing to fight? Lenah had never heard they were even capable of violence. Ever since they’d welcomed humanity in this system, they hadn’t changed. They were strong warp users, able to facilitate life by its many applications. But unlike humanity, they were content to stick to their home planet, Cassidia, and teach their millennia-old philosophies to their younger generations. There seemed to be no gene for ruling or aggression in them. Maybe losing her vertex, the Cassidians’ sixth sense that let them access the warp and which was supposedly located in their antennas, would force this woman to explore alternative avenues, avenues commonly reserved for the more mundane physical races such as humans. As if to prove Lenah’s thoughts right, Persia lifted her hammer again, but Lenah put a hand on her arm to stop her. She herself might be known for being impulsive, but she wasn’t going to pick a fight after having made the decision to help. Instead, she lifted her arms, indicating she wasn’t going to be a danger.

“Feel free to go if you want to.” Lenah stepped aside and waved toward the door.

“Where are we?” The Cassidian sounded suspicious, and she didn’t relax her posture even one bit.

“At the Crescent Hills.”

They stared at her.

“The Highborne forest?”

More stares.

“Astura I – capital of Astur?”

That got a reaction. “Bloody stars, you were serious about that. That’s halfway across the galaxy from Arcadia.” Doctor Lund shook his head as he stumbled out of his own cell.

It was indeed. Lenah had gone several times on business trips with her father. Arcadia was where all the large corporations were located. It took several weeks for a ship to get there via warp bubble.

“How long were you in those cells?” Persia asked, softness in her voice. She sounded sober, as if the shock had cleared the alcohol from her blood.

“Wish I knew,” the man said. “Weeks, for sure. Uz was already here when I got caught.”

The Cassidian didn’t answer, but finally relaxed a little.

“Okay. I suppose you could come to Port Dumas with us,” Lenah offered. “That’s just a couple of hours away, and you’ll be able to get off-planet transport from there.”

The man turned to the Cassidian. “Uzara, what do you say?”

“Only if they prove we’ll indeed be able to get off. Starwide Research’s labs could be right here. Those smugglers haven’t stopped on any planet or space station in weeks, and this is the right planet already. We might as well be willingly walking right into the next stage of our captivity.”

Her words, and the loathing with which she said them, froze Lenah’s blood. Had she just said Starwide Research?

“What did you just say?” Lenah forced out, trying to sound curious, but struggling to even speak.

“It’s that company running the mage farms. Extracting warp essence from gifted people,” Doctor Lund said.

Lenah’s heart stuttered for a moment at hearing the confirmation. “Are you implying that an illegal lab’s related to the mage farms?” she got out, her voice sounding hoarse. “That’s…that sounds impossible,” she finished weakly, and turned away, fighting to get the shock that must be written all over her face under control.

Had she made a mistake by letting these two free? Their story sounded like a crazy lie, a lie that would hit no one harder than Lenah herself. Then again, why would someone play such a crazy prank? It all led to only one conclusion. She needed to get to Port Dumas tonight and meet the informant. There could be no more hesitation or doubt. She turned toward the group again, a new level of resolution giving her strength.

“We’re heading for a meeting in Port Dumas. In fact, we don’t have time to waste. We freed you, and you can leave now or believe us and come with us. It’s your choice. But make up your minds quickly.”

Lenah had chosen her authoritative business tone on purpose, and put some of her ability’s conviction skills into the words as she directed them toward the man. Instantly, her head exploded with another wave of dizziness. She had to lean on the grimy-paneled wall next to her for a few seconds before regaining control.

The man nodded at them, dirty strands of blond hair falling into his eyes with the movement. It looked in desperate need of a cut. “I’ll come with you.”

“Uzara?” Lenah directed her attention to the Cassidian.

“You really don’t belong to this scum?” The woman’s voice was almost pleading, and didn’t fit with her earlier aggressive posturing. She just looked exhausted now.

“If you’re referring to the friendly owners of this ship or the people entangled in illegal lab experimentation, then no.” Lenah hoped that was true. Was her father really involved in something of this scale? “We don’t belong to either of those. We’re just here to borrow a ride for the night. By the way, I’m Lenah.” She left out her last name on purpose. “This is Persia.”

The man, Doctor Lund, seemed to consider offering them his dirty hand, but then discarded the idea. Instead he said, “Shall we go to this Port Dumas? I could take a shuttle to” —he interrupted himself— “home from there.” Apparently he didn’t want to reveal where he was heading, not that it was any of Lenah’s business.

Everyone else was looking expectantly at Uz. After a few moments, she seemed to realize they were waiting for a statement from her. “Okay, yes,” she said, nodding slowly.

The movement brought Lenah’s attention back to those scars on her forehead where the antennas were supposed to be. How must Uz feel without them? Possibly comparable to being blind or deaf?

“Let’s go, then. I don’t want to spend one extra minute on this stinking ship.”

Everyone’s attention turned to Lenah, as if expecting her to make the first move. Great. Did they consider her their captain now? When offering transport, she hadn’t considered that she’d now have people breathing over her shoulder when she flew a ship for the first time. No, that wasn’t true, she told herself. It was simply her first time flying a real ship outside of a pilot simulation game. She’d spent countless hours playing the hacked simulations as a teenager. Getting her hands on the programs real pilots used in their education had cost her months of pocket money, and some serious hiding it from her father, but had been totally worth it. Ever since, she’d dreamed of real flying. Since those simulations were realistic, what she was about to do should be no different. Easy peasy. Still, she was tense.

Feigning relaxation, she climbed back up the stairs and through the cargo hold to where she suspected the cockpit was located. She found it quickly, walking down a short corridor and passing several doors, presumably cabins, on both sides. A quick peek behind each hatch revealed several dirty cabins, each with a bunk and a messy-looking common room that seemed to also function as the ship’s kitchen. The cockpit was smaller than on any ship she’d ever been on. Just two seats, one for the pilot and the other for a copilot, fit into the cramped space. All four walls were filled with screens and controls, some of which, she had no idea what their function was. They all looked archaic. Her gaze went to the large control area in front of the pilot’s seat, and she was relieved to find it somewhat familiar. At least she knew which buttons to press to get them away from this place.

She let herself slide into the seat. Everyone else had followed, and was crowding the narrow corridor behind her.

Lenah flicked her hand over the black main computer screen. Nothing happened. Once more she cursed her bad luck. This had all been set up on the other ship, the nice cruiser she was supposed to take. “Damn it.”

“What is it?” Persia asked from the hatch.

“The computer’s locked and only accessed with fingerprints. Without access, I can’t start the engine.”

“I can go back out and get one of those sleeping drunks.” Persia didn’t sound happy about it, but in their current situation they didn’t seem to have any other alternative. Just when Lenah was about to give Persia the affirmative, the Cassidian woman murmured something that sounded a lot like, “I can get into that computer.”

“What?” both Lenah and Persia said at the same time.

“I can get your prints into that computer,” the woman repeated, only the slightest notch louder.

And no wonder. Not that Lenah had met a lot of Cassidians in her 27 years of life, but never had she ever heard of one who wouldn’t crinkle her nose at human technology. Easy for them, as they could use their warp magic to practically teleport across the galaxy. That just wasn’t possible for humans. But a Cassidian who could hack into a human computer system was unheard of.

Maybe she was talking about some kind of magic she had, or she hadn’t realized Lenah was talking about the computer, and not some organic being of flesh and blood. Though she had said computer, hadn’t she?

“You can?” Lenah asked into the long silence.

The tall woman nodded and squeezed by Doctor Lund into the cockpit. Sitting down in the copilot’s seat, she started lifting off the control panel that covered the access port. After a few moments, and after the cloud of dust had settled, she exposed the cables. Judging by her nimble movements, she wasn’t doing this for the first time.

“I’ll go guard the hatch, Captain. Just yell if you need my help.”

Before she could correct Persia about calling her ‘captain,’ Lenah heard her retreating footsteps. At least Persia didn’t sound drunk any longer.

Meanwhile, Uz had removed the front panel and seemed to be looking for some specific cable. Her big hands were holding onto multiple strings of wire with surprising dexterity. Then she seemed to find what she needed. With a grunt, she held a large string of cables together and pressed the start button on the screen. Green text began rapidly scrolling. After tapping the screen a few more times, Uz looked up and motioned to Lenah. “You can try it now.”

Lenah inched closer and saw that the computer was indeed waiting for a new set of fingerprints to be entered. She rolled her finger several times across the screen, until no more lines were added. With a satisfying beep, they were accepted.

“That was amazing!” Lenah looked at Uz, who seemed highly pleased with herself. She didn’t know the proper way to thank a Cassidian, but remembered at the last moment that they didn’t like to be touched, and pulled back the hand that had been on its way to pat Uz on the shoulder. Maybe freeing these prisoners hadn’t been a mistake after all. She really hoped that was the case.

“Okay, everyone. We are ready for takeoff.”