The two men walked past, Abelardus smiling affably and giving her a pat on the shoulder as he went. Alfie started after them, but paused to look back at Zhou. When he didn’t start walking right away, she barked. Jelena shared an image of her escorting Zhou into the ship so the dog would know she would handle the “herding” on her own. Alfie considered that a moment, reluctant to give up her job, but then wagged his tail agreeably and ran after Abelardus and Brody.
When are you going to tell them that there are only two available cabins on the ship, and that two of them will have to share? Thor asked.
Actually, I was planning on asking Austin to share with Erick. We wouldn’t want our special guests to feel cramped.
You don’t think Austin will keep his brother up all night by tinkering with his ghostometer?
If he does, Erick will deserve it. Jelena decided this wasn’t the time to share her suspicion that a younger Erick had been the reason an even younger Austin had come to believe in ghosts.
Zhou stopped in front of Jelena as the two Starseers disappeared into the ship.
“I’m not with them,” he said, as if he worried she would think that. “Leonidas wanted me to come along to help you. I’ve already done some preliminary research, and even though archaeology isn’t even close to a subject I’m familiar with, I’ve compiled data in a spreadsheet with some guesses as to what kind of artifact they might be after. I hope to share it with you later.” He lifted his eyebrows hopefully, then looked at Thor, but didn’t seem to know what to say to him.
Jelena tried to decide if Thor was standing close to her and brooding, as Erick had accused him of doing, but he was on the opposite side of the airlock tube, his back to it as he faced them. Erick, Jelena was fairly certain, had as much of an imagination as his little brother.
“I’d appreciate that, Zhou,” Jelena said. “I’m curious about what they’re after, and I know Mom and Leonidas had reservations about this.”
“About them most likely.” Zhou crinkled his nose.
“How long have you been with them?” Jelena didn’t know when the group had arrived at the station and wondered if they’d met up long enough ago for him to have gleaned useful information.
“Uhm.” Zhou consulted his earstar with a murmured command. “Almost twelve minutes.”
“An eternity,” Jelena said.
He grinned. “It seemed like it.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Thor said. He looked back and forth between them, this time without the narrowed eyes, then added, “I’ll make sure they find their cramped cabins.”
“Their palatial cabins,” Jelena corrected.
“Is the one by the lav still being used as your craft room?”
“I cleaned it up yesterday. I’ve heard not everyone likes a home with wax droplets, felt scraps, and glitter all over the place.”
“Impossible to imagine.”
“Isn’t it, though?”
Thor walked into the tube after the Starseers. Making a conscious choice to leave her alone with Zhou? Jelena wasn’t sure what to make of that, or if she should make anything of it. Maybe Erick would be disappointed to find out Thor didn’t care one way or another if she’d dated someone they were taking aboard. She decided she shouldn’t find that disappointing.
Chapter 5
Jelena left NavCom with the autopilot flying, the course decidedly vague. Right now, she was taking the Snapper out to the edge of the Rebus side of the system, past the last planet to where the rubble that made up the Trajean Asteroid Belt floated in a lazy, tilted orbit. A sys-net entry had informed her that it took X-8736, the largest asteroid in the belt and the one Abelardus had instructed her to fly toward, over a thousand Perun standard years to complete its annual journey around all three suns.
X-8736 was one of a couple dozen asteroids embedded with tracking markers to help ships with navigation. Not that many people had business out this far, but numerous automated mining ships visited the area. And of course, pirates, smugglers, and fugitives made their homes among the floating rubble.
Since X-8736 was well known, Jelena doubted it was their final destination. She kept waiting for Abelardus to come to her with an alteration to their course. If he wasn’t going to come to her, she would go to him.
Bangs and booms came from Erick’s cabin, so before heading off to find Abelardus, she paused to peek inside. It sounded like a battle was going on in there. Since Erick and Austin hadn’t been enthused about the cabin reassignment that made them roommates, she wanted to make sure they weren’t hurling each other into the bulkheads.
She found Erick leaning back in the chair at his desk and Austin sprawled on the lower bunk while a massive holodisplay of stars and planets floated in the air around them, the bulkheads seeming to disappear under the illusion. They wore lightweight headsets clipped to their earstars that presumably showed them even more since Erick’s hands were waving in the air in front of him, as if he were piloting a ship through a treacherous canyon at top speed. Austin waved his hand now and then in a repetitive motion.
A boom echoed from speakers in the desk, and Erick jerked in the chair, his hands moving rapidly to redirect his virtual ship.
“Are you two bonding as brothers and roommates?” Jelena asked when it grew quieter again.
“I need to finish up some quests before we get so far out that I can’t get sys-net access,” Erick said. “I had Austin make a character to join me in the fun.”
“All I’m doing is sitting behind you and healing you and fixing the ship,” Austin grumbled. “You didn’t say I’d be your slave.”
“You need to level up some, and then you can do some quests on your own. Or heal me more effectively. Look, there’s smoke coming out of the auxiliary stabilizer. Patch that, will you?”
Austin’s next grumble was under his breath.
“I take it this play means that everything is one hundred percent in engineering?” Jelena asked. “All the snagor hair has been removed from the equipment?”
“The engines are fabulous,” Erick said. “And we cleaned the consoles until they sparkled. Check for yourself.”
“We did that?” Austin asked. “Dr. Ogiwara was the one in there competing with the floor-mopping robot.”
“Ssh, you’re not supposed to tell the captain that.”
“Maybe I’d keep your secrets if you’d let me do something fun. Can I fly for a while?”
“This is an Interceptor 8-80. You have to be Level 75 to even put gas in the tank. Besides, you got to fly for real on Fourseas, and that cactus field is going to be centuries in recovering.”
“It wasn’t that bad.”
Jelena left them to their arguing. So long as engineering was squared away and they were bonding instead of fighting, she didn’t mind the game playing.
She almost ran into Masika as she returned to the corridor. Dried paint splattered the backs of her hands and marked one cheek, but she wasn’t carrying a can with her this time. Instead, she carried a towel and wore exercise togs.
“Captain,” she said, and Jelena briefly allowed herself to appreciate the title, especially considering Masika had started out calling her “thief.” Masika looked in all directions at the intersection before continuing. “Can I punch our passengers or will that make trouble for the business?”
“What did Abelardus do?” Jelena turned toward the cargo hold, but she walked slowly, sensing that Abelardus was back there, along with Thor, using the little corner the crew had claimed for a gym.
“Not him. The other one.”
“Brody?” Jelena couldn’t imagine Zhou doing anything to stir Masika’s ire. The last she’d seen him, he’d been in his cabin, preparing data to share with her.
“That’s the one,” Masika growled as they walked.
“Business aspects aside, punching Starseers isn’t generally regarded as safe.”
“I don’t care if it’s safe if it feels good.”
“What did he do?”
??
?He’s a pest.” Masika clenched her jaw.
Jelena frowned, certain that had been an understatement. She could sense agitation rolling off Masika even without trying to read her thoughts. But how could Brody have gotten on anyone’s bad side so quickly? It hadn’t even been three days since they’d left Dalaran 5.
“Ideally, we shouldn’t pummel our passengers.”
“Ideally?” Masika’s eyes closed to slits. “Things don’t always go ideally, especially on this ship.”
“That’s true.”
“Is that permission for pummeling?”
“Uhm.” Jelena realized she should be careful here—and explicit. Masika could kill a man with a punch. True, a Starseer should be better at defending himself than the average person, but she didn’t think Brody was the type to spend a lot of time in a sparring ring. “Just keep the violence subtle and non-permanent. He’s a paying passenger and is probably a critical part of Abelardus’s plan.”
“Hm.” Judging by her expression, Masika was now contemplating non-permanent ways to harm people.
A loud clack sounded. Jelena rounded a stack of supply crates and flinched when something black flapped toward her. Toward her feet.
A man in a Starseer robe tumbled ass over head, and she had to jump aside to avoid being bowled over. Her first thought was that Brody had irked someone else, but as the rolling form came to a stop on his back, long braids flung out on the deck around his head like flower petals, she recognized Abelardus.
He groaned and looked up at her, his eyes struggling to focus.
“Well, I figured someone on the ship would be hurling people against bulkheads today,” Jelena commented, lifting her gaze.
Thor stood shirtless and barefoot on the mats set up in the gym area, his fists loose at his sides. Abelardus’s Starseer staff lay on the deck between them. Abelardus groaned again.
“If you came to demand he tell us where we’re going,” Thor said, “now would be a good time to put a boot on his chest and do so.”
“I don’t have a boot.” Jelena looked down at her fringed shirt, lavender stretch pants, and most pointedly at her rainbow-colored gym shoes. “Will these do?”
“No,” Masika said, eyeing the shoes with distaste.
“You’ll have to use both feet,” Thor said. “And put your whole weight on top of them.”
“Her whole weight isn’t exactly bone-crushing.”
“It takes less than thirty pounds of pressure to break a man’s sternum.”
“Let’s pretend it’s not alarming that you know that,” Jelena said while crouching and offering Abelardus a hand.
He’d recovered during the conversation and ignored her hand, rolling to his feet without help. He moved stiffly, however, as he walked over to retrieve his staff.
“Which one of you instigated the sparring match? Assuming that’s what it was.” Jelena lifted her eyebrows. “Was it?”
“Yes,” they said at the same time.
Rather quickly, Jelena thought.
“I asked Prince Thorian about his training,” Abelardus said, rubbing his ribs. There was also a bruise darkening his cheek.
“I showed him what I’ve learned.” Thor smiled tightly, and Jelena noticed his lower lip was puffy.
“And here I was worried about your violence,” Jelena murmured to Masika.
“There’s no need to stand on my chest with boots or rainbows,” Abelardus said. “I’ll happily tell you where we’re going.”
“And why,” Jelena said.
Abelardus lifted his brows.
“My mom didn’t mention specifics.”
“That’s because I didn’t give her specifics. Mostly because I didn’t have them. Brody is the one who was working directly with Young-hee everyday. He has the details.”
Masika growled the way Alfie did when suspicious strangers were approaching.
Abelardus smoothed his robe, then dug into an inside pocket and pulled out a netdisc. “If we’re getting close, I can send the list of coordinates to you.”
“List?” Jelena asked.
“We know the area we’re searching, but not which asteroid specifically.” Abelardus pointed toward the cabins. “As for details on the mission, you’d need to talk to Brody. Maybe he’ll be willing to tell you a little more. I’m not sure. He’s been tight-lipped. Most of what I know came via Young-hee.”
“How is she? She didn’t mind you taking off on an adventure while she’s home pregnant?”
“Oh, this was her idea. Oddly, she doesn’t appreciate how helpful I am when she’s pregnant. She seems to find me exasperating.”
How shocking, Thor commented into Jelena’s mind.
Ssh.
“And let’s be honest here. She’s much more fun to be around during the baby-creation part of the process. And then again about a year after the birth.” Abelardus grinned. “No, I’m joking. She’s a good woman, and she does appreciate my delightful helpfulness. Most days. But she said the expedition couldn’t be delayed until after the birth. Something happened, and there’s not much time. Did your mother mention that?”
“That there may be competition? Yes.”
“Apparently, some of her colleagues proved disreputable and want the artifact on that ship for themselves.”
Thor snorted. He wants the artifact for himself too.
Abelardus? Or Brody?
“Ship?” Jelena asked. “I don’t think Mom mentioned a ship.”
“The artifact is believed to be on an old Kirian ship,” Abelardus said. “That’s all I know.”
Abelardus, Thor replied silently. I haven’t spent any time digging through Brody’s head yet.
Maybe it’s time to do that. “Let’s go chat with your, ah, reputable colleague, shall we?” Jelena asked.
Masika growled again.
“Of course,” Abelardus said and led the way toward the guest cabins.
He didn’t bother knocking on the hatch, simply shoving it open. Soft instrumental music played inside what had been Jelena’s crafts room a few days earlier. Brody sat at the desk, his legs propped up on the bed and a physical book open in his lap. A glass of red wine rested on the desk at his elbow. They didn’t have wine aboard the Snapper, nor did she recognize that glass. The big globe-shaped container had been designed for the beverage. Was that what their archaeologist had brought along instead of equipment?
“What’s all this?” Brody murmured, eyeing the squad tramping into his cabin.
Masika and Thor had come along with Jelena and Abelardus, and the space grew cramped.
“The captain would like some details about the mission,” Abelardus said.
“Did you not give her the locations?”
“Of course I did.” Abelardus pulled up the holodisplay on his netdisc, tapped at the air, and a soft ding sounded. “Now.”
“Then she should have sufficient details, no? This pedestrian ship was only hired to transport us, correct?” Brody flicked a scrap off the desk and looked at Jelena dismissively.
Apparently, she’d missed a few spots. Maybe she should have asked Kiyoko to help her clean.
Brody’s gaze shifted to Masika and grew sharper, dipping briefly to her chest before he looked into her eyes.
Masika crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him.
He took a sip of his wine without looking away.
I can’t read him, Thor said into Jelena’s mind.
What? He’s human, isn’t he?
Yes, but definitely a Starseer. A powerful one, I believe.
But you have back doors into people’s minds, right? Even when they’re protected? Can you read Abelardus’s thoughts?
Yes.
“It might not be a bad idea to let them know what we’ll be dealing with,” Abelardus said. “They could be useful if we run into problems. I wouldn’t mind a few more details, either.”
“You’ve been told enough,” Brody said. “Young-hee was extremely open with you. As for these children being usefu
l…” He sniffed in Thor’s direction. “I find that unlikely.”
“Well, that didn’t take long,” Jelena said.
“What?” Brody and Abelardus asked.
“For me to see why Masika wants to punch him.”
Abelardus snorted.
Brody only smiled and took another sip. “Does she now.”
“Brody,” Abelardus said. “There’s no reason to be so secretive about this. It’s not like we’re going after Alcyone’s old Staff of Lore.” His expression grew wistful, and he rubbed his hand over his own staff, a simple focus tool similar to the ones Grandpa had made for Erick and Jelena.
“The artifact has great value,” Brody said. “And once we find it, you may soon agree that secrecy is of the utmost importance, especially from those who are not a part of the order.” He turned that dismissive gaze on Jelena and Thor again, not bothering to include Masika in his look this time. No, he was making it clear that he considered them pariah Starseers, people not to be trusted.
Jelena felt her cheeks warm even though the opinion of this self-important fool shouldn’t have mattered to her. It wasn’t as if she’d been trained in chasadski ways. Of course, Brody might have had more respect for her if she had been. The chasadski were dangerous. According to Grandpa, Thor had been taught some of their tactics. That usually bothered her, but right now, she found herself wishing he’d respond to the man’s insults by hurling him against a bulkhead—or at least dumping that wine all over his robe.
Brody met her eyes, his lip curling, as if he considered her the lowest of the lows. By the suns, she hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts through the guard she kept around her mind. That was a chasadski trick. Someone from the normal Starseer community wouldn’t know it, would he?
“When we reach the right asteroid,” Brody said, “Abelardus and I will go into it alone.”
“For a romantic dinner for two?” Jelena asked.
Neither responded to the comment.
“Into it?” Thor asked, perhaps a more pertinent question.
“We believe the appropriate asteroid will welcome us into her bosom, as it once did our ancestors.”
“They couldn’t have been that welcomed,” Abelardus said. “They never made it home.”