Still, she could have never gotten me documents at all, and I'd have been even more fucked that I was now.From Alet Trident, small mercies were basically grand gestures, and I was still grateful to have papers.Aside from my backpack, which was humiliatingly light, I had my wristband, loaded with every scrap of information I could cram onto it that might be helpful, and my swords.That was it: the material sum total of my little life.
I took in one deep breath and then set out down the hall to Trident's office.I hadn't said goodbye to anyone else – no one was up this early anyway, and I didn't think I could handle seeing pity in their eyes when I shared my (probably stupid, definitely foolhardy, maybesuicidal) plan – but I had pings scheduled that would show up in their inboxes once I was off-station.
Tridentwasup and already seated in her nest of whirling screens and flashing lights.Time never seemed to move in her office, or rather it was always moving; she was in a vortex of information and data, one that never slowed and soshecould never slow.Her eyestalks didn't even pivot to me as I entered, but I could see myself on a camera feed slowly rotating near chest height."It's done," she said, and one of her hands flicked in my direction.My wrist buzzed as the file arrived, and I pulled it up.
CONGRATULATIONS CONTESTANT SASHEN SOLAR, the note screamed in violent colours and undulating letters.As it flashed to life, a tinny trumpet sounded from my wrist.I slapped the mute button, grimacing.PLEASE REPORT TO THENAT-6 FOR ON-BOARDING NO LATER THAN STARDATE 3.191.8.19 (MAR STANDARD CALENDAR).THIS IS A BINDING LEGAL CONTRACT.And there was in fact a massive legal document attached, which I'd get around to reading eventually.
"Great," I said, quickly calculating how long I had to get to Thenat-6 before I was in violation of my shiny new contract.Fifteen days, give or take, and it would take most of that time to get there unless we burned through the Maelstrom, and there was no way I could afford that.All at once, a wave of anxiety surged upwards, and I found myself trying not to squirm before Trident as I made my… last impression?I wanted her to think of me as slightly less pathetic than I'd been the night before."Listen, I really am grateful that you didn't send me right back when you found me on your shuttle.Other people would have, and I've had ten good years here with you."
She snorted, a thin sound that whistled from her slit-like nostrils."It sounds like you are determined not to win.That is rather unlike the child who thought he had outwitted my security systems.That boy was cocksure.His arrogance got him far."
I stared at her, blinking."Wait, does that mean youknew–"
Of course she had.In what world did I imagine Alet Trident, who had her finger on the pulse ofeverything all of the time, didn't clue inthat a scrawny teenager had snuck onto her shuttle and hidden himself in a storage closet?
My mouth moved of its own accord, a grin tugging at my lips."See, youdolove me!"
"I do notloveyou."
"I think you might," I sighed."You don't have any spawn of your own, but you haveme.And you know I'm going to go off and win this stupid Tournament, and then I'll give you a palace."
One eyestalk tilted in my direction.Her mouth thinned."I do not want a palace," she said, voice reedy."Be gone.I will place many bets against you."
"But more of themonme," I insisted, turning and heading back for the door.
Behind me, I heard Trident's thin voice fluting out one final time."Iwouldtake the asteroid.Or perhaps the battle cruiser…"
With a laugh, I headed out from my little den and to the station beyond.I just needed to find my way to Thenat-6 and then, well, whatever came next would come next.For now, I was free.
My best bet at finding a ride was to head to the leisure courts near the launch bay.I hadn't been in ages and had to stop several times to consult a station map on my wrist.For someone who had left Seraphim to see the whole universe, I'd seen very little of it beyond Trident's den and my roster of clients.
I suppose I'd also seen a lot of aliens naked.All the universe in some surprising genitalia, and all that.
The leisure courts were buzzing with activity, which wasn't much of a surprise.Yellow Fin Station was a major trading centre for the eastern wing of Primus space, and sometimes we even had visitors from outside of the alliance.The station was also the launching point for cruises to the Gorelion Nebula, which was always popular when there were solar flares, and popular off-season when it was cheaper.With all of the people coming and going, therehadto be someone headed toward Thenat-6.If I could get to any part of the cluster, Icould absolutely find a hopper to take me to the orbit-locked moon where the Tournament would take place.With the Tournament only a few weeks away, there could even be personal cruisers headed there to set up for the duration, anchored within easy shuttle distance.My research had found that tickets sold out years in advance.
I mean, I wasn't sureI'dwant to spend my vacation time squeezed into an arena along thousands of other spectators, no matter how much the conglomerate touted the luxurious viewing areas, and I especially couldn't imagine wanting to watch people (sometimes) murder each other and (once, memorably) beat someone to death with their own severed limbs.Then again, I'd never had a vacation, so what did I know?
I wandered around for awhile, studying departure boards and stopping at a few displays where travellers posted notices about where they were headed and how much a berth might cost.Apparently luck wasn't on my side at the moment, because a cursory inspection didn't reveal anyone headed in the direction I needed.I swung through a few restaurants and bars, flashing my smile where it would be appreciated – smiling is considered an aggressive gesture in biryat culture, so I scrunched my forehead in the friendliest wince I could manage when I spoke with that particular server – and came up with nothing.
The day was passing me by, and it was going quickly.And the longer I went without a likely prospect for getting to this damned Tournament, the harder it was to shove down and ignore the slow simmer of dread at work in some unlucky twist of my small intestine.It was one thing to pack up everything I owned in a single bag and cheerily say goodbye to Alet Trident and the only home I'd known in my adult life; it was another to realize that even this paper-thin attempt at aplanmight fizzle out right now because I couldn't afford to book passage on a public vessel headed to the part of space I needed to get to.
The sounds of the leisure courts, which had been delightful when I'd first arrived, quickly became a cacophony as the traffic picked up, the solar winds coming off the nearby asteroid belt mellowing at this point in the day so that more vessels could dock and cast off.Ijabbed at a beverage machine, which ground out a sickly sound before dispensing a cup of a green, milky beverage that absolutely wasn't thesparkling waterI'd just paid for with my dwindling credits, and then I wove through a massive herd of malat shuffling in from one of the loading areas and grumbling about the displayed prices of adequate lodgings.I made it as far as a bench half-hidden beneath a spray of fake foliage before my knees just gave out on me, and I half-sat, half-fell onto the broad metal surface, green drink sloshing up over my hand and dripping all down my pants.
Great, justgreat.I was out of a job, out of a home, on the run from a religious cult that would scoop me up and torture me until my brain fell out (a brain falling out meant there was more room for the holy spirit, right?), and if I didn't find a way to Thenat-6, I'dalsobe in violation of a legally binding contract with a massive media conglomerate.And now my knees were damp and sticky and smelled like – I leaned over the edge of the paper cup and inhaled – wet brin.
The roar of the crowds around me fuzzed out as I stared down into the murky green sludge, and I did the math on my remaining credits.Could I afford a bunk here, close to the docks, so that I could pounce on any rumours of available seats?If I couldn't, did I have to circle back to Alet's den and beg for a bed there for the night – mine was already filled; she had a waiting list of prospective dancers – or maybe I could borrow more credits to cover a bed here?I didn't reallyknowanyone else I could ask.
I sat the cup down with a dull thud next to me and wiped my wet hand on my pants, which were already damp with green sludge, so what was a little extra?I tried to think of any clients I might be able to track down who had maybe let a little personal information slip and would be amenable to having me show up for favours.
It was a stupid idea.The only thing people slipped me was the tongue, or sometimes a hand, or other appendage, down my pants.No one liked sharing things like their home address or ship name as pillow talk, or sticky-couch talk, I guess.
I was in trouble.This was bad.The walls were metaphorically closing in, pretty impressive for a space as cavernous as the leisurecourts.I blinked up at the ceiling high above with its mirrored display of space beyond, the distant arc of the nebula spinning out in the depths of all that black.Ships winked as they came and went, the view framed by massive white girders, like a cage.Here I was, tucked away inside, when what I needed was to be outthere.
It was like being a kid again: trapped, powerless, suffocating.
But I wasn't a kid, and I couldn't let panic get me, no matter how hard my heart had started to lurch against my ribs or how tight my throat felt or how deep I had to breathe to feel any oxygen in my lungs at all.
Five.
