“Motherfuckers,” I hissed.And then, a moment later, “But they shouldn’t know we’re here.We’re only here because –”
"Yes,” said Araxis, grim.“Either the Unbound has fed them information, although they aredirectlyat odds with one another, or –” He pulled the arc lance from his thigh, twisting the barrel hard as the segmented pieces unfolded the lance to its full length.
“Or thereisa spy,” I finished, sick.“Vivith was right.But – Araxis, you don't think...I mean, Vivith wouldn't –”
“Vivith would never work with Creche Naival, even indirectly, nor would Naival work with Vivith.But it does not matter, not now.What matters is eliminating the threat.”The camera tracked the abaya who wandered up one of the aisles, her head tilted as the ketaari strode out of the training room.
“All clear,” said the ketaari; they were wearing armour, hard and gleaming and expensive.Well-funded.Professional, maybe.“It looks like the lights are on upstairs, so odds are good he's on the upper decks.”
“Lots of places to hide, though,” called the brin from the farther edge of the hold.
“Lohuru, guard the exit," said the abaya to the brin."Slow Drift, you're with me.Take point.And stay alert, both of you.There's a nice bonus if you do this tidily."
The ketaari threaded through the alleys between containers and toward the stairs to the second level, the abaya following with her pistol drawn as the brin drifted back toward the doors to the cargo bay, falling into a rest position and looking for all the world bored.
Araxis opened up a series of menus in the display with one hand, holding his arc lance with the other."Sashen," he said, although he wasn't looking at me, "I am going to ask if you will consider waiting here while I deal with this."
"Alright, consider it considered."I drew my own lance, which felt foreign and heavy as it glittered in my hand, clicking it out to full length and running through a preliminary check, like Araxis had shown me at the range.Thank fuck I'd had a refresher before we left the station."The answer is no."
On the screen, I could track the progress the ketaari and abaya were making toward the second deck.Araxis was doingsomethingwith the complex internal systems of the ship, no doubt to help us, even though right now it mostly looked like he was pressing buttons while a couple of armed assailants got closer and closer to where we were.
"I will be able to maintain better concentration and focus if I know you're safe," Araxis countered, his stare darting to me before it went back to the screen where he continued to rifle through layers of sub-menus."And you will be safe if you stay here.If somethingwereto happen, an official representative of a creche would never harm a declared virra."
"And if something happened to you while I was tucked away safe and sound, I'd never forgive myself," I snapped.I checked the charge on the lance; I upped the output to a range that would drop a ketaari and might kill an abaya."I've done it once, Araxis.I nearly watched you die on those sands while I stuck on a shuttle,useless, and I thought it might actually kill me – so no, I'm not going to wait here.I'm going to have your back like I should."
He finished inputting whatever he was doing, flicking away the stream of complex abayan code that had been skimming beneath his fingertips.Some sort of sequence I couldn't read was glowing on the screen as he turned to me, eyes bright with emotion."And if anything happened to you because of my carelessness –" he started.
"Stop."Fury lit me up in a sizzle of electricity, and I stepped in close, fisting the front of his jumpsuit as I looked him in the eye."I'm with you all the way.I've worked forweeksto make sure I'm not a liability, not any more.Araxis, I candothis.You know I can do this.I'm – We're equal inall things."
He stared at me with wide, black eyes, pale as his chest heaved.And then he jerked his chin down."Yes, Sashen.I understand.Stay close, then.And here: you'll need this."He stepped over to a panel set into the outer wall, marked with a yellow sigil to indicate it held emergency gear.He tossed me a rebreather and, as I flipped the label to check it, I realized with a shock that it was calibrated for humans.I could get by with a brin rebreather, but with a closed system, having anything except the perfect mix was risky.How he'd managed togetone of these...
He hauled his own on, covering the lower half of his face, so that when he spoke, his voice was muffled, but I could almost hear the tiny smile anyway."Of course I obtained a biologically appropriate rebreather.You may thank your translator friend for the procurement.She was helpful."He moved close to check the seal after I pulled it on, his fingers efficient and precise.Once he was certain I was good, he paused, reaching to touch the skin just above the mask as he looked into my eyes."You understand that you are my greatest treasure.It does not translate well to Standard.It is more like you are the centre of all things for me.My navigational star.Please be careful, beloved."
I laid my hand on top of his, feeling the coolness of his skin, the gentleness of his touch."I promise," I said, chest tight in a way that had nothing to do with the filtered air I was now breathing."You have to promise too."
"Yes, I will be careful," he murmured, and then Araxis stepped away to initiate whatever sequence he'd prepped in the ship's systems and I heard something change in the air.Almost like a gentle whining, or a slow exhale.
"They won't notice at first," he said, voice buzzing behind his mask."But it should give us an advantage.Move slowly and quietly."
We slipped out of our room as the air around us seemed to shift subtly: it grew weightier, silkier, almost like we were moving through some sort of liquid.It wasn't the kind of thing you'd necessarily notice unless you were aware that something was up – and who knew if aliens would notice at all or if it was something uniquely human that made all of my instincts scream that there was danger.Araxis tapped his wristband and the lights in the hall around us cut out, leaving us cloaked in shadow.
I bit my lip inside of the rebreather, trailing after Araxis; he had his lance drawn and ready, as he moved with an almost military efficiency.Each movement was quick, graceful, practiced; it was like seeing him on the sands again, the embodied confidence of years of training and endless hours of practice.
What did I have?Some time at a questionable gym; a few hours at a range.
No, I thought, grim.I had actual blood on my hands.There was only one thing that scared me,reallyscared me, and it wasn't dying: I wouldn't notice once that had happened to me.But losing Araxis?Seeing some awful fucking creche try to take him down before he could undermine their political dealings?Unacceptable.Impossible.
Absolutely not allowed.
I gave my shoulders the tiniest roll, and let myself settle into a ready stance, willing the ragged and panicked edges of my thoughts to drift away until I was left with only focus and certainty.
I was going to kill these motherfuckers.I was going to keep Araxis safe.
I will admit, in hindsight, that the level of confidence I felt was maybe undermined by the fact that it was Araxis who was on point and also I'd never had to fight anyone who had guns before.But, you know, a little extra cockiness never hurt anyone.
We crept along the hallway on the top floor of the ship, all while the air around us grew more slippery and strange against my exposed skin.As we moved, the sound of voices on the second floor drifted up from the open stairwell.Araxis turned and looked at me, his face barely visible, no more than a white strip of skin punctuated by black eyes.He stepped to the top of the stairs, sinking into a low crouch.
Below, I could hear footsteps growing louder.I watched the line of Araxis's back as the abaya and ketaari drew nearer; I could barely make out the outline of his hand, the arc lance a shadow against the slice of light from below.
