Fallen Empire: Starseers Part 6

"Because it's theirs, and they may want it back?"

"If I'm right about its origins, it's been centuries since it was in their hands, but possibly, yes."

Alisa unfastened her harness and stood, though she took a few minutes to lock down her controls so n.o.body else could fly the s.h.i.+p. Maybe it didn't matter when these people could think the power on and off, but there was no reason to make it easy for someone to steal the Nomad-or tinker with her.

"I'm going to grab a few more weapons from my quarters," Leonidas said. "Wait for me before following the Sta.r.s.eer."

"More?" Alisa eyed the rifle slung over his shoulder, the blazer pistols at his hips, and she knew he had a lot more weapons built into his combat armor. He had removed his helmet since returning from the White Dragon s.h.i.+p, but he still wore everything else.

"More," he said firmly, and strode toward his cabin.

Alisa finished locking down the s.h.i.+p, taking a moment to touch the stuffed spider hanging over the co-pilot's seat. Her mother had always touched it for luck before takeoff and landing. Alisa had found that silly and superst.i.tious, but she touched it now and thought about how Jelena had never seen it. Once, Alisa had resented the freighter and never expected to see it again. Somehow, the last couple of months had changed her perspective, and she hoped that she got a chance to share it with Jelena. The s.h.i.+p and the spider. a.s.suming a Sta.r.s.eer in training wasn't too sophisticated for stuffed toys. Her musings turned uncomfortable as she imagined Jelena speaking into her mind, and maybe even reading her thoughts, the way Abelardus had.

"Alisa?" Leonidas asked from the corridor, his voice m.u.f.fled slightly by the helmet that he once again wore. Whatever he expected from the temple, it wasn't someone greeting him with open arms.

Alisa strode out to join him. She had Sta.r.s.eers to question. This was not the time to delay.

"Nice grenade launcher," she said, noting the largest of the weapons he had added to his panoply. "If they don't tell me where they took my daughter, maybe you can blow up one of their pretty spired towers."

Leonidas's eyebrows rose behind his faceplate.

"That's the kind of thing a gentleman does for a lady. And if you don't consider me a lady, then that's also the kind of thing a good pa.s.senger does for his pilot."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said as they headed for the exit.

Alisa did not see the robed woman skulking in the cargo hold, but Yumi was at the pen, cooing to her chickens as she refilled their water dish. Alejandro stood next to the ramp, grimacing as the birds squawked enthusiastically, sending feathers flying. They seemed particularly jubilant. Maybe they were making up for their subdued hour spent in the mists.

Someone had opened the hatch already and lowered the ramp. Thankfully, eerie mist was not seeping into the s.h.i.+p this time. Had Abelardus already gone out to meet with his people? Alisa did not see him.

Alejandro turned toward Leonidas as he and Alisa approached, looking a touch relieved. Alisa wagered that wasn't the expression most people wore when they saw a cyborg in combat armor striding toward them while carrying a grenade launcher. Alejandro probably hoped to hide behind him out there.

"Leonidas has agreed to blow up a tower for me," Alisa said. "If you say nice things to him, he may blow one up for you too. To facilitate cooperation from the Sta.r.s.eers."

Alejandro frowned at her attempt at humor. "I don't think you can strong-arm these people."

"But can you strong-grenade them?"

"You're an eccentric woman, Captain."

"And yet you keep flying places with me. Is it possible you're not the most normal soul yourself?"

"No."

Beck appeared on the walkway and jogged down the stairs. He wore three jackets and a fluffy fur cap that looked like it might have been forgotten in a remote corner of the Nomad by a pa.s.senger decades earlier. He was not in his combat armor, carrying only his knife and a pair of blazer pistols. He looked at Leonidas in his gleaming red suit and seemed surprised.

"We dressing up for a fight?" Beck asked.

"I'm hoping that won't be necessary," Alisa said.

Leonidas rested his hand on his grenade launcher and said nothing.

"Maybe the mech just wants to stay warm." Beck eyed the open hatch, then rubbed his arms through his multiple layers of sleeves. "It's cold enough to breed polar fangcats out there."

"What?" Alejandro asked.

"You haven't heard that expression?"

"Polar fangcats only mate at temperatures of negative fifty degrees and below," Yumi said, finis.h.i.+ng with her chickens and walking over to join them. "It's believed it's because of the length of their gestation period. Mating in the dead of winter ensures their babies will be born in the warmth of summer, when the temperature averages negative twenty. That's in the south pole though. The north pole is balmy in comparison."

"Balmy. Sure." Beck rubbed his sleeves and eyed Leonidas's armor again. Climate-controlled armor.

Yumi headed down the ramp, waving to someone. Was the female Sta.r.s.eer waiting for her?

A clang came from engineering, and Alisa called, "Mica, are you going to join us for this friendly meeting with interesting people?"

"You don't pay me enough to deal with Sta.r.s.eers," Mica called back.

"I did get you that new tank."

"You got that for yourself. It's your s.h.i.+p."

"Are you sure? You're the one who cuddles with it."

Perhaps talking about their distaste for Sta.r.s.eers wasn't a good idea with the hatch open. Alisa could not see anyone from her position-the ramp led down to a landing pad that appeared to be made from variegated gla.s.s tiles-but she heard voices murmuring to each other. Yumi had already gone off to the side.

Alejandro sighed, either at the magnitude of what he was about to do or at the silly conversation. "Let's go, Leonidas."

He started down the ramp, but he paused to look back and make sure Leonidas was following before going far.

"Such a brave man," Alisa muttered. "Beck, unless you're itching to see if any of the Sta.r.s.eers keep fangcats for pets, why don't you stay here and keep an eye on Mica and the s.h.i.+p?"

"Can I do that with the hatch closed and the heat on, Captain?"

"Yes. In fact, I'd prefer the hatch to be closed. If anyone tries to get on the s.h.i.+p, let me know about it."

"Yes, ma'am." He gave her a brief salute before sticking his hands under his armpits.

Alisa hurried to catch up with Leonidas and Alejandro and followed them down, pulling her jacket tight since the air was every bit as chilly as one would expect from the north pole.

The people who she had heard talking came into view. Six tall, fit men in Sta.r.s.eer robes stood in a row to the side of the ramp, each one holding one of those black staffs, the b.u.t.ts resting on the ground. Other Sta.r.s.eers that Alisa had seen in person or on vids had worn the black robes in such a way that they fully obscured their bodies, usually with the hoods up. The hoods were down on these men, and the robes were open in front, revealing fitted gray or white vests that showed off muscular chests. Alisa had always imagined the Sta.r.s.eers as crazy old men who relied upon their minds for everything and did not bother lifting so much as a pen with their fingers, so seeing people who clearly exercised surprised her. They weren't as thickly muscled as a cyborg, but they definitely looked like warriors rather than scholars. More than warriors, she realized, as they scrutinized her, Alejandro, and Leonidas-especially Leonidas. Guards. These people looked like they were here to deal with trouble if it arose.

Abelardus stood slightly to the side of the group, his robe also open to display a similar tight vest and muscular torso. Was he the leader of the squad? He looked a little older than the others, in his thirties perhaps, instead of his twenties like the younger warriors.

Off to the side, Yumi stood with another Sta.r.s.eer, this one still wearing a hood.

"Have you come to deliver that artifact to its rightful home?" one of the young warriors asked, looking at Alejandro. Maybe they weren't the mind readers the stories said they were. If he knew what was in Alejandro's thoughts, he would know the answer.

The warrior frowned up and down Alejandro's body-not impressed by the monk's robe and pendant? The Sta.r.s.eers were reputed to be followers of the suns, like most in the system these days, but they had their own variation on the religion and might not be respectful of what Alejandro's robe represented. Or maybe they could see into his mind and knew what Alisa suspected, that the robe was no more than a costume for him, a way to keep people from molesting him while he was on his quest. It hadn't worked that well so far.

"I have come in the hope that your people can help me research it," Alejandro said, measuring his words carefully. "My understanding is that it may lead to a useful tool that could help return the system to a time of peace."

Abelardus snorted. "Perhaps in the way that the invention of the atomic bomb brought peace to Old Earth for a time."

Alisa's Old Earth history was rusty, and she did not quite understand the statement, but she did get the hint that her suspicions might have been correct, that Alejandro sought a weapon, something that could be used to his people's advantage. She scowled at him, though neither he nor Leonidas was paying attention to her. Neither were the Sta.r.s.eers. Aside from the one who had addressed Alejandro, the warriors were all glaring blazer bolts at Leonidas. He hadn't said a word yet, nor had he pointed a weapon at them, but tension seemed to crackle in the air between them.

Alisa hopped off the side of the ramp. She would help Leonidas if she could, but she didn't want to be lumped in with Alejandro and his quest, especially if these people thought the orb should belong to them. Besides, she had a quest of her own. While the men glared at each other, she sidled over to Yumi, hoping that her Sta.r.s.eer might be someone with whom Alisa could start a dialogue.

"A tool is only as good or evil as the man who wields it," Alejandro said before Alisa could speak.

"Says the man smithing a sword," Abelardus responded.

"I do not seek to wield that sword myself, nor do I expect you to go out of your way to do me any favors. All I ask is to be allowed to use your library to do some research. I will gladly pay a fee or compensate you in a fair manner for the time you let me access it."

"The answers you seek aren't in the library. Others have sought them before."

"I may have insights that they did not."

The young warrior who had spoken before, a pale-skinned man with brown hair pulled back in a bun, stirred again and looked at Abelardus. "He doesn't seriously think we're going to let him keep the Toriphant, does he? How did he even get it? We've had an eye out for it for two hundred years."

Alejandro s.h.i.+fted uneasily. Leonidas remained still, like a boulder unmoved by the power of the river flowing around it. Abelardus watched both men and did not respond to his colleague, not out loud.

Abruptly, the warrior strode forward, lifting a hand as if to grab Alejandro's satchel. At the same time, he glared at Leonidas, twitching a finger in his direction. Alisa was not sure what he intended to happen, but Leonidas lunged forward so fast she barely registered it. One instant, he was standing at Alejandro's side. The next, he had wrapped his gauntleted hand around the Sta.r.s.eer's throat.

Abelardus took a step forward. He did not do anything else that Alisa could see, but both the Sta.r.s.eer and Leonidas were hurled from the ramp, flying ten feet in the air before landing.

The blow was probably meant to knock the men free of each other, but Leonidas kept hold of his captive, twisting in the air to land on his feet, his hand still wrapped around the Sta.r.s.eer's throat, the other gripping his arm to hold him upright too. They came down in such a way that the Sta.r.s.eer's body was between Leonidas and the other warriors, all of whom had also surged forward, lifting their staffs as if they meant to charge in and pummel him.

Alisa found her Etcher in her hand, but she did not aim it at anyone. She didn't even remember grabbing it, but she kept it down, firmly reminding herself that this wasn't her fight. Besides, what could she do that Leonidas could not? Further, the Sta.r.s.eer woman next to Yumi was looking at her and had probably noticed the gun in her hand.

"Erick," Abelardus said with a sigh, "if you're going to launch a mental attack on a cyborg, you have to be faster than that. Especially if you're doing it with one who seems like he's had experience fighting our people before." Abelardus's eyes narrowed as he frowned at Leonidas.

Leonidas stood frozen in his position, neither letting the Sta.r.s.eer go, nor applying pressure to hurt him. Alisa knew full well that he could have crushed the man's throat.

The man with the hand around his throat rasped a, "Sorry. But if these arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.ds think they're going to fly into our temple and make demands for help researching an artifact that their people stole from ours... that's preposterous. I don't care if that one is a monk with a leashed cyborg at his disposal."

Behind him, Leonidas's knees flexed, almost as if they were in danger of buckling from some attack. He grimaced in pain, the expression just visible through his faceplate. But instead of falling, it was the Sta.r.s.eer, Erick, who cried out, making a wheezing noise and reaching for his throat. Leonidas straightened and growled something in the man's ear.

"Yumi," Alisa whispered. "Is there any chance you have any influence here and can do something?"

Yumi glanced at the Sta.r.s.eer woman and shrugged. "I don't have any influence, no."

"Is this your mother?" Alisa looked at the woman. Maybe she had influence.

With her face hidden, who knew what she was thinking, but the woman twitched in surprise. Then she turned and walked away. Er, maybe Alisa should not have blurted that question. She stopped at a control panel on a wall next to double doors that led from the landing pad into the temple.

"She's made it clear that while she doesn't mind seeing me," Yumi said quietly, her tone morose, "it was foolish of me to come here and that I won't be welcomed. None of us will."

"I'm getting that impression." Alisa eyed the warriors, all still in fighting stances and facing Leonidas, but n.o.body advancing farther while he held their man.

"Usually, a Sta.r.s.eer can use a mental attack to force someone to leave them alone," Yumi whispered, like a game commentator explaining a sport to a viewer who had never seen it played before. "They can even stop your heart or cause a blockage that leads to a heart attack. But cyborgs react so quickly that if they're close, they can kill a Sta.r.s.eer before he's able to put together a mental attack. Also, Sta.r.s.eers are still human, and if they're nervous or feel threatened, they have trouble focusing enough to put together attacks and defenses. From afar, it's different. If the cyborg is far enough away that there isn't risk of reprisal, then he's just like any other human facing a Sta.r.s.eer, as vulnerable as any other human."

"So, Leonidas needs to be careful just walking around the temple here?" Alisa asked. "In case someone has a grudge?"

"Very careful."

a.s.suming he got out of the next thirty seconds.

Chapter 6.

Alisa walked slowly toward the Sta.r.s.eers, not knowing what she meant to do, only that someone had to break the stalemate before Leonidas ended up killing that man to protect himself. If that happened, she had no doubt that Alejandro wouldn't get to do his research and she wouldn't find out what had happened to her daughter. They would be lucky if they weren't all killed. Since the Sta.r.s.eers had no problem with cras.h.i.+ng people's s.h.i.+ps, she doubted they worried overmuch about morality when it came to disposing of plain old humans.

"h.e.l.lo, everyone," she announced with a cheery wave. "I'm Captain Alisa Marchenko. These two are my pa.s.sengers. I know they look thuggish, especially the cyborg there, but they're both reasonable men. n.o.body wants any trouble here, and I'm sure we can all agree that Leonidas is practicing excellent restraint by not harming his captive, given that he's now been attacked twice. Or was it three times? My boring old non-cyborg and non-magical eyes have a hard time seeing what's going on."

Abelardus was the only one who glanced her way, and it was a brief glance. Leonidas happened to be facing her, and she thought his eyebrows twitched at the word thuggish, but his concentration remained focused on the squad of Sta.r.s.eers facing him.

"Is there perhaps someone in a position of authority that we could talk to?" Alisa pressed on. "I have a few questions I need to ask, and I'm also on the lookout for cargo to haul in case you want to s.h.i.+p anything to another planet, moon, or s.p.a.ce station. Or perhaps you're looking to have some cargo delivered? Do you ever have the urge for a hot cup of coffee? A delicious bar of chocolate? Perhaps some fresh fruit? I can't imagine you can grow much at this lat.i.tude."

"Is that woman trying to sell us something?" one of the warriors muttered.

Alisa beamed him a smile. "Just offering my services as a freighter captain. Given the unfriendliness of your mists out there, I don't imagine you see freighters often."

"Usually just smashed against the rocks," another muttered.

Alisa was beginning to see why her ancestors had fought so hard to ensure the Sta.r.s.eers failed in their bid to rule the entire system.

"Stand down," Abelardus told his warriors.

The staffs slowly lowered, but the icy glares remained locked on Leonidas. After a moment, he released his captive. Erick stumbled but quickly straightened and strode away, his chin up. He wore a sneer and did not acknowledge that the red marks on his neck must have hurt. Alisa wondered if Leonidas wore any similar bruises on his insides anywhere.

"We'll go see Lady Naidoo," Abelardus said. "Unless Lady Ji-yoon has something to say."

The aloof woman Yumi had identified as her mother walked back over, finally pus.h.i.+ng her hood back as she did so. She had long black hair with a few strands of gray in it and a round face physically similar to Yumi's, though it shared little of Yumi's curiosity or cheerfulness. Not that Yumi looked that cheerful now. She watched her mother's approach with wariness.

"I do not," Ji-yoon said, her dark gaze sweeping over Alisa and her crew, lingering on Alejandro's satchel. Not surprisingly, Alejandro protected it with his arm.

The group of warriors turned toward the doorway Alisa had noticed earlier. They strode together in a line, apparently expecting their visitors to follow. Ji-yoon murmured something to Yumi, and they walked after the men. Alisa waited for Leonidas and fell in at his side, opposite of Alejandro. She was surprised none of the Sta.r.s.eers took up the rear so they could keep an eye on their visitors. If Alisa saw a spot in the temple that looked like it might house kidnapped children, she would veer off without hesitating.

Leonidas touched her back briefly as they headed for the door. Alisa looked up at him, not sure if it had been an accidental touch or if it was a sign that he appreciated that she had intervened. It wasn't as if she had done much. He nodded down at her.

"The Sta.r.s.eers don't seem to like cyborgs much," she said, taking the nod as an invitation to chitchat. He probably had not meant it that way.