Destiny Abounds (Starlight Saga Book 1) (33 page)

Sirrah eyed her curiously, reaching for another garment. “Like weakness, you mean?”

“Something like that.” 286 shrugged. “Speaking of amusement, I’m gonna go see Merlo. She’s got to be missing me by now.” She turned toward the door, grinning back at Sirrah over her shoulder. “But just so you know, you don’t have me fooled. I’m smarter than anyone gives me credit for.”

As the door swished open and she stepped out, only her Kinetic-enhanced hearing caught the reply, snatching it from the air as the door snapped shut. “Yes, you are.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Recovery Effort

Merlo

It didn’t take long for the
Destiny
to hit high orbit and slingshot to the opposite side of Kepa’ohalei, especially with Merlo actually attempting to utilize the
Destiny’s
top speed. Sand, city, and desert shrank beneath them, then planetary features flitted past as Merlo went opposite the planet’s rotation and dropped back into the atmosphere over their destination, the whole trip taking barely an hour.

It was a fun ride for her, being an hour of directly active piloting, which was sadly a rarity. Prisoner 286 had come and sat with her during some of the less intensive parts, keeping her company, kicking her feet up on the control panel and generally just chatting. Merlo’s feelings on the situation with the Prisoner were mixed. On one hand, she really liked her company, not to mention being strongly attracted to her. On the other, the woman had nearly walked out of her life not even a full day ago, with nothing more than a wave and a grin. And then walked right back into it as if nothing had happened.

The situation had left Merlo unsure of how to react, so she just hadn’t. And while 286 had been there with her, she hadn’t really thought about it either, instead just enjoying her companionship and the way she made her feel. But if those feelings weren’t bothering her that much, maybe it didn’t really matter? Merlo reflected privately on how feelings were hard, and steadfastly avoided thinking about how 286 would probably be leaving again when they finished whatever it was they were supposed to be doing.

“We’ve got that cargo ship to our right, and I should be able to dock us once we’re past it.” Merlo spoke the words into empty air, hands busy on the solid controls of the
Destiny
.

As she’d expected, the com system came to life almost immediately. “Of course, Miss Merlo. Thank you for advising me. I’ll make the necessary preparations.” She didn’t know how he did it, but Mr. Leonard almost always seemed to be ready and waiting for the com. Maybe since he was always so eager to be helpful, he just sat around in the engine room with all the channels open or something.

Merlo had found that she actually liked the ever-present offer of company that he provided, even if he wasn’t there in the flesh. She’d grown fond of Mr. Leonard. He reminded her of someone from her childhood, though she couldn’t place a name or face to the vague memory. Over the com, she could just barely hear him humming some tune she couldn’t quite make out as they mutually left the channel open while they worked, in case of any need for quick communication.

Meanwhile, kilometers beneath them, a sprawling urban area slowly took form, resolving itself from the bland features of the land below and growing steadily more distinct as the
Destiny
descended. Se’char, the city beneath them, was nowhere near as busy with ship and transport traffic as Ba’neha had been. Even leaving Ba’neha had been time-consuming, with the huge number of visitors constantly coming and going.

Se’char, by contrast, was much quieter and less developed; it consisted mostly of a small, high tech central city hub with an extensive and well-maintained outlying residential area. After querying both the Exonet and Sirrah, Branwen had explained that the city was more or less built to serve the villas and vacation homes of wealthy off-worlders that enjoyed the perks of owning a vacation home on the planet most renowned for its distractions and entertainment.

“Thirty degrees out, about two minutes up.” Merlo quoted the numbers off the top of her head, before even checking the gauges displayed on the NADI in her peripheral vision. Notably, the ship’s hull was hotter than she’d expected from re-entry, but Mr. Leonard would have warned her if it was anything concerning, so it was more likely just something to do with the atmosphere or heat retention of the large, verdant world beneath them.

“No problems here, and the coordinating Se’char VIs have given us clearance to land. No worries, I’ve got you taken care of on my end, Miss Merlo.” Even though he wasn’t there to see it, Merlo grinned in response. Now she was acting like Branwen, grinning at the empty air when she spoke to him. “Shall I connect you with the rest of the ship to announce our impending landing?”

“Nah, I want to hold off on it for a moment.” She didn’t want to give Branwen too much time to prepare. The Captain had already stated her intentions to be among those who went out to investigate whatever it was that was going on, and Merlo fully intended to be down in the cargo hold waiting by the door for her. She’d be damned if she was going to let Branwen leave without her going along, too.

Especially after what happened the last time she’d left her alone. She couldn’t fail to protect her Captain again. She just couldn’t.

13.1
- Branwen

By the time Branwen had her gear on and made it to the cargo bay door, Merlo was waiting for her. As Mr. Leonard lowered the ramp for them to exit, she nodded to her pilot in approval. “You seem ready to depart.” Merlo nodded in affirmation. “Then come on.”

The girl seemed slightly surprised. “No argument? I didn’t know if you’d want me coming or not, Captain.”

Branwen snorted at her and flashed her the teeth of a smile. “Who else would I prefer at my back in case of trouble?” The Captain enjoyed and approved of the brief beaming expression on Merlo’s face before it was replaced with a more militant seriousness.

As they walked down the
Destiny’s
ramp and into the squat, rounded stardock, she watched Merlo toss a couple of looks over her shoulder at the ship. “Wait… are they not coming with us?”

Branwen tossed her head, sending her long braids dancing. “No, not yet. Since there may be trouble, I want Kala Sirrah to stay behind until I can assure her safety, or at least until I need her assistance.”

“Yeah, but what if we find more trouble than is good for just two of us?” Merlo gave her a long look as they descended to ground level and cast about for transit. Don Mateo’s home was a few span from here by the description, and Branwen didn’t intend to take transit right up to his door. “Wait. It’s that you don’t trust her, isn’t it? 286, I mean.”

“Well, now that you mention it,” Branwen made an indistinct noise in her throat. “Not so much.”

“May I ask why?”

“Of course.” They made their way outside to a crossroads to await the arrival of a transit vehicle. “She is a criminal, and if I understand what I read of her record, mentally unsound. She seems volatile, and is obviously dangerous. I would know. I have known many dangerous people in my lifetime.” She looked squarely over at Merlo. “But first and foremost, I do not know her well enough to offset any of those considerations yet.”

Merlo stared silently down at her suit-wrapped and armored feet for the couple of minutes until their transit vehicle arrived, a tall, multi-wheeled, multi-tiered metal construct that was nearly vacant of other passengers. They climbed on board, and the automated system navigating them picked up on the destination data ready in Branwen’s datapad and started them on the correct route. Or so Branwen hoped, anyway.

It was still another long, thoughtful moment after they started moving before Merlo spoke again. “You think I’m being stupid, don’t you?”

Branwen gave her a quiet laugh in response, prompting Merlo to look up from the floor again. “If you are a fool, then you are in good company, as we are all fools at one time or another.” She gave the young pilot a heartfelt smile. “Especially when it comes to those we care about; something you should trust me on. I have a lot of experience with that particular sort of foolishness.” Branwen shrugged away any lingering memories with good natured humor. “She seems to make you happy. That, at least, is something worth holding onto.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

They took the transit for several minutes of the journey there, then disembarked to walk the last mile or so. As Branwen explained to Merlo on the way, she’d rather be on her feet and take a bit longer than to give their presence away by being driven right up to their destination.

“So you’re expecting trouble, then, Captain?” Merlo asked the question as soon as their feet touched the tended, packed earth of the pathway that wound and rose lazily up toward the crown of a soft green rise, and the manor and grounds that rested upon it. The ground beneath them spoke to Branwen of frequent travel, but not so much that it overly deformed the ground. A few feet from them, the pathway rose on both sides of the road, a twinned rolling wave of green grass and fragrant, blooming flowers.

“It is better to expect it and be wrong than to be caught by surprise.” It felt wonderful to have her boots treading the earth once again, even if it wasn’t the familiar ground of Fade. She’d missed that feeling. “But yes, I do have a sense that something is amiss. Since hearing the whole story from Sirrah, my instinct has been telling me that danger awaits along this path.” Barely aware of it, her hand travelled down and instinctively checked her Skyblade, secure in its alloy holster.

“Then why are we doing this, Captain? I mean, I’m not saying we shouldn’t, or that I don’t want to, but it’s also not our business.”

Branwen had to fall silent a moment and consider the question. It was a good question, after all. “Perhaps because it is an old habit of mine, one which I am far too old to rid myself of now.” Merlo didn’t question her further on the matter, which was just as well. It wasn’t a complete answer, but it was the best she could conjure at the moment.

After walking in silence for a few more minutes, Merlo finally spoke again, broaching a different subject. “It’s so pretty here.” Branwen nodded her agreement, though she still prefered the landscapes of her homeworld, of course. “I can never get over how… breathtaking planetside can be, sometimes.”

“Do you still prefer living aboard the ships, though?”

“Oh, definitely. I mean, I can’t exactly fly a planet, now can I, Captain?” She grinned over at Branwen. “At least, not yet. They need to come out with some good guidance software for them first. Maybe Mr. Leonard could help me with that.” After eliciting a good chuckle from Branwen, she continued with a somewhat more subdued, wistful tone to her voice. “Sometimes I see all these planetscapes, and wonder what Arlesha was like. Before and after all the refugees, even.”

Branwen was surprised enough she missed a step, Merlo glancing over at her curiously. “Wait… So you are saying that you never saw Arlesha from the ground?”

“Nope. I mean, they told us about her, but I lived my life on the Starlance station.” She eyed Branwen as they continued walking and talking quietly. Branwen kept one hand on her sword and eyes ahead, scanning for danger as they went. “You seem surprised.”

Branwen nodded. “I would think that you would fight all the more boldly for your home if you knew it better.” She considered for a moment. “What was she like then, your Arlesha?”

Merlo just shrugged. “I dunno, Captain. Like I said, we never saw it.”

“But surely you saw it from your station in space?” Merlo just looked at her blankly. “Well, what about descriptions? Surely they explained what it used to be like.”

Merlo nodded. “Well, sure. It used to be all green and open with normal sized cities, I guess probably not so different from Altair or something. But then it got crowded and over-developed by all of the primitives—I mean refugees. Sorry Captain.”

Branwen nodded, casually conveying her lack of taken offense. “Hmm. But what was it like? Before or after. Surely there were better descriptions than that. And what about video feeds or pictures?”

Now it was Merlo’s turn to miss a step, and Branwen almost reached out a hand to catch her, thinking she stumbled. “Umm… Well, not so much. Not that I remember.” Branwen gave her a long, incredulous look, and she shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Honestly, we didn’t… Well, we didn’t study much stuff like history, or even current events. Things weren’t like they are here. We didn’t have a lot of free time, or anything. All of our studies, everything we did, was directed toward making us better at whichever role we had.” Her voice fell, but not so much Branwen couldn’t hear it. “For all the good it did us.”

Branwen shook her head, still incredulous. “It is not how I would have done it.”

“What do you mean, Captain?”

Branwen grunted and gestured widely, trying to evoke just how absurd she thought the idea was. “How can one fight the best for something they do not know? That they have not come to love as their own?”

“I think our instructors considered all of that stuff to be distractions.”

Branwen shook her head and grumbled lightly deep in her throat. “Well, they were wrong. That is not how one best motivates neither soldiers nor heroes.”

Merlo folded her arms tightly behind her back with what Branwen sensed was a lingering feeling of discomfort, or perhaps something deeper-seated. “I dunno, Captain. Maybe you’re right. It just was what it was, you know?”