The DrearGyre

place?” Syll asked, shaking her head and smiling. Her piloting skills were rusty but at least she knew the craft generally. Kari had almost crashed trying to fly it.

  “Miners know it. My parents spoke of it every now and then.”

  “Your parents?”

  “Yes, you know they were miners right?”

  Syll nodded. “I do.”

  “We didn’t get a long so well. You know that?”

  Syll nodded again.

  “This isn’t fair. You know everything about me and I know almost nothing about you.”

  “That is exactly the way it should be,” said Syll.

  Kari shook her head. “There are so many stories and lies and dreams and nightmares about The DrearGyre that it is almost mythic. At least among miners. One thing for sure. It’s really dangerous. Watch those asteroids on the starboard side. Really strange stuff goes on inside of it. Radiation spikes all over the place. And this stuff.”

  A faint energy field, like fog, made visual navigating through the debris field difficult. Kari pointed out some smaller asteroids in their path. The spread wings helped maximize the deflector to offset the fact it was hardly working at all. But at least the dust and the smaller particles would not damage the ship.

  “I see them. Why do people come here then?”

  “Riches is my guess. Did you see that giant ore ship leaving?”

  “Something that immense would be difficult to miss. I confess I have never seen such a vessel. It might even have been Romulan.”

  “Ships that size stay out of The DrearGyre proper. Too big. Too much danger in the nebula. They are filled by small feeder ships.” Kari pointed out some more hazards. “My parents and their friends were always going on about it. Who was going to go. Who had gone and never come back. Someone who’d struck it super rich. Some who’d made it out but came back damaged. Physically and mentally. And no, I’ve never been. From what I remember, that doesn’t matter since everything changes from day to day, even minute to minute.”

  “It is mostly mining colonies?”

  “Yes. And the people who support them. And those who want to make it very difficult to be found. And people who want to get rich finding them.”

  Syll chuckled. “Sounds most interesting. Whose jurisdiction?”

  “No one. Everyone. Most of the time no one cares too much. The ore is interesting. Just not interesting enough to the main players. Not for the cost of managing it. Have I mentioned how dangerous this place is, Syll?”

  “It is perfect. I believe though, we cannot just float around amongst these rocks.”

  “There’s a place somewhere in the middle my parents told me about,” she said as she continued to scan through the windows. “It’s called Hellsbitch.”

  “A charming name.”

  “Yes, delightful isn’t it? I think we’re going to have to just hunt for it.”

  Using the warp lanes when they could, they made slow progress into the center of The DrearGyre. Kari could remember no other details of the location. If it wasn’t quite so hazardous, they’d find The DrearGyre fascinating. Kari laughed as her knowledge on comets and nebulas and space dust slowly returned as she imparted it to the Romulan to help navigate. Valuable information indeed, Syll had smiled at her. Brown dwarves, rogue planets, comets, asteroids, debris had all collected here. The strange nebula itself acted as a very weak gravity well. Giant gas planets that dwarfed Jupiter and rings extending far greater than Saturn’s wandered with moons bigger than Earth. Some had colonies they could detect. After one particularly close brush with some fiery energy field, Syll said The DrearGyre would be the perfect hideout since no one would ever be so foolhardy to come in to just look for them. Stumbling across remains of wrecked ships on occasion helped maintain their concentration.

  “We are going to attract attention being in a Romulan craft,” Syll said.

  “I doubt it. If they’re paying attention to us they’re... dammit watch that rock... they’re going to end up splattered on the side of something.”

  Syll gasped jerking the ship around. “The hospitality of the good Captain Rhel is starting to appeal to me.”

  “There, there it is,” Kari said, pointing to a colony on a planetoid.

  “I hope you are right. I am not sure how much longer we can keep this up.”

  “Look. There’s some old mining pits over there.”

  “Where?” Syll searched the planetoid. “Pointing at an entire planet is not helpful.”

  “There, down, I mean right. See the pits? The big holes? Let’s go see if we can find some place to hide. They’re not too far from Hellsbitch.”

  “I see them, I think. Those are quite large.”

  They navigated slowly down to one of the enormous gouges where Syll spotted a cave. It was large enough to allow her to back the craft deep into the interior. They shut down as much of the ship as they could, then fell into bed exhausted.

  Syll awoke to find Kari gathering equipment. She moved around the cabin piling up food and clothes to fit into two backpacks. Some knives lay on the heaps of supplies.

  “Do not tell me the little bastard did not supply the ship with weapons,” she said.

  “Good morning. Or whatever it is. He did. All energy weapons. They either wouldn’t work or explode or do other bad things. The DrearGyre does not like energy weapons of any kind from what I’ve been told.”

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Gold pressed latinum if possible and anything we can safely sell for latinum.”

  “Kari.”

  “We’re going to need supplies. It’s going to cost us.”

  “Kari.”

  “I’m going to raid the emergency kit for breathers and real clothes. We’re going to have to hike into Hellsbitch from here.”

  “Kari!”

  “Yes, Miss... uh.. Syll?” She turned to face the Romulan. Then realized she stood in the Romulan pose of submission and tried to find some other way to stand.

  “Can you sit down please?”

  Kari came and sat next to her. “We can’t live here, Syll. It’s far too dangerous. Even with sensors going crazy, someone might still be able to find the ship. It’s much easier to find something this size than just us.”

  Syll took a deep breath. “There is a word you use. And I am concerned.”

  Kari looked at her. “What word?”

  “The word is we.”

  “Uhm, okay. What about it?”

  “Despite your warnings about The DrearGyre,” she said holding Kari’s hands, “staying with me is what is truly dangerous. We, or rather they, the Romulans, view you as a criminal but I doubt if they would expend resources to find you. But in their eyes, I am a traitor. I am Tal Shiar. I have assassinated the Beloved Nephew. And they now know that I am a perversion. Which though I am somewhat glad about, I also do not underestimate the zealots of Romulan purity. They are relentless. It is just a matter of time before Romulus concludes I am not in Federation space. Then they will start looking. For you to be safe, you should not be with me.”

  “You want to leave me?”

  “When we get to this Hellsbitch place, you should leave me.”

  “Why?”

  “Pay attention, Human!” She sighed as Kari flinched. “I am sorry, Kari. I apologize for my tone. I have no right to speak in such a manner to you. But please, listen. Try to understand everything I have just explained. These dangers which are too real are on top of everything I have already done to you.” Syll’s gaze remained steady. She wanted to turn aside. She wanted to run away. Far away. “I have done terrible things to you, Kari. I would have done terrible things to you regardless of the circumstances. I would have executed you then forgotten your existence if things had been even just slightly different. I would have gladly done it if it served Romulus. You may think that I saved your life. I did not. Think of those people that I killed on your ship. You must face the truth. I killed them because they were in the way. You should know, I have done much wo
rse. It was for a purpose. Romulan purpose. My intent was not the same as the Beloved Nephew’s. The effects, though, are indistinguishable. I performed my duties, my responsibilities, willingly. You must see me as who I am. You must see that I am the destroyer of everything you were. You must see me as your enemy.”

  The words had tumbled out of the Romulan faster and faster, until she gasped for breath.

  Kari’s face was blank.

  “I had a friend on the T’naarr. Probably my only friend. I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, Syll. He was very nice. He had many dreams. Such a good man. Older than me. His name was Thomas. Always laughing. A true friend which I badly needed. He had a great family. A nice place to live on Earth. A little house by some stream he said. He showed me photos. Trees and flowers. And a wife, a librarian I think, and a daughter. Always going on picnics he said. They probably mourned him for years. His daughter will never see him again. He will never see her grow up. She will never have him there for when her days are darkest nor when they are brightest.”

  “Kari, I am...,” Syll began until the Human put her fingers on her lips.

  “Our ship was investigating a small comet. Something that we had done so many times before. Dull. Mundane. He loved it. He loved comets he said. I don’t know why. The shuttle craft he was in was hit by a nano microburst meteor. Slipped right through the shields. Bad luck. But worst luck to hit his port nacelle. His craft exploded. We were able to transport what was left of him back to us. He did not live very long. He did tell me to not be sad. I wasn’t sad. I was mad. I was so mad that