Tin Star (21 page)

“You can’t go home?”

“I thought I could when the Imperium came. My family situation had …
changed
. But I was wrong. I could not return. I didn’t believe in what they believed in anymore. But it was better to stay here than to be killed for speaking out for what I believed to be right. I’ve tried to ensure that the Yertina Feray remained uninteresting to the Imperium. I tried to make it difficult for the Imperium to communicate their wishes with us. Alas.”

I’d undermined Tournour’s sabotage of the Imperium by helping Reza to repair the communications array. He’d been trying to protect the station, protect his own, just as he’d said when he interfered with my going on a ship for hard labor. Tournour was not the Imperium’s man at all.

“So many things are wrong,” I said.

He put his hand on my shoulder. It was strange, Tournour touching me.

“Tell me what’s happening,” he said.

His eyes were tender as they looked at me, and they were filled with genuine concern. His antennae were folded toward me and even they looked sympathetic. I could trust him. Every bone in my body told me that I could trust Tournour.

“I need to make people seem as though they are dead,” I said.

“The Humans?”

He did not look shocked or surprised. He was matter of fact, as though he were trying to best troubleshoot how to be able to help me.

“Two of them,” I said. “But I can’t let the other one know.”

“What’s your plan?”

“Poison,” I said. “Once they are confirmed dead, I can revive them and get them off the station.”

“Clever,” he said.

“I think so,” I said. “But timing will be everything.”

“I’ll need to be the one to find the bodies and sign their death certificates,” he said.

I felt relieved. I was not alone.

“You do have those passes?” Tournour asked.

“I might.”

“Keep them handy,” he said. “I want to make sure that Heckleck’s gift to you doesn’t go to waste and that you have a way out of here.”

I nodded.

“This isn’t the first time that the Earth Imperium Alliance has wanted those Humans dead,” Tournour said.

“You mean because someone sabotaged their ship?”

“I don’t know about that,” Tournour said. “It was those Imperium representatives that were killed. The chatter was that they were assassins sent to kill any and all Humans on the Yertina Feray. But of course Heckleck would never let them kill all the Humans here.”

“So it’s true. Heckleck killed those aliens?”

“He saved you,” Tournour said. “But even I couldn’t interfere with the repercussions of that. The bounty on him was too high, and he was not quick enough to use the passes and get off the station. I had to turn the other way. I hope he understood. And I hope that by always helping you, he’ll forgive me from wherever he is.”

All the breath swooshed out of me, and I put my hand up on the wall to steady myself.

Everything was so much larger and more interconnected than I thought it was.

31

“I’ve been looking for you,” a voice said as I approached my bin.

It was Reza. He had been waiting for me. I knew that eventually he would come to me. Likely confused by my avoiding him. Everything about being Human worked in opposites.

“I’m right here,” I said. But I knew that wasn’t enough for him or for me.

“I saw you with Els,” he said.

“Yes, she’s my friend,” I lied.

I looked at Reza. He was pained. Was he jealous that I’d been spending time with Els? All the intricate feelings made everything that I needed to do so difficult.

I took his hands and I curled my fingers around his.

“I have a plan,” I said. “But you have to trust me. You have to trust that I know what I’m doing.”

I wondered if a Human could ever sort out his feelings. It seemed impossible to know oneself. Here was Reza, standing in front of me, looking sorry and sad, and suddenly I did not know how I felt. Every emotion seemed unknowable.

“Quickly, come inside,” I said. I didn’t want to take any chance that Els might see us.

“Els is going to kill you and Caleb,” I said. “And then she’s going to Bessen to join Brother Blue.”

“What?” he said.

“There are no Children of Earth colonies. That’s why your ship never made it. If you had, you’d know that Brother Blue was lying.”

“There are colonies,” Reza said. “We just have to integrate them with Earth.”

“No,” I said. “They are ghost towns.”

He scanned my face to see if I was making it up. He shook his head, then he cursed. I gave him a minute to sort it out in his head, to put the pieces together. Once he did, he would know it was the truth.

“Who knows?” he said. “Does Earth Gov know? This is just what I need to get them to listen to me and to unite instead of fighting among ourselves.”

“I can’t say,” I said. “Els has recruited me to help her, and I am going to.”

“You’re going to kill me?” he asked. He looked horrified.

“No, I could never do that. I’m going to make you look dead,” I said. “Once Els has what she wants, she’ll be gone. We’ll use the passes, and we’ll go back to Earth.”

“What it has come to seems so strange,” he said. “We fought so hard to survive, and now we’re all pitted against each other.”

“No,” I said. “Not Caleb. He’d work with you. He’s still your friend.”

“No. He’s stuck in an idea that negotiations will not do.”

“Why are you letting a difference of opinion come between you?” I said. “If you worked together, you could get so much more accomplished.”

“It’s not just politics. It’s the galaxy that has come between us,” he said.

“A galaxy is too big to get between people. Only small things can wedge themselves between friends.”

But galaxy was exactly what got in the way of most things; it was even getting in the way of my heart.

“You’ll give me the passes?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll come with me?” he asked.

“Yes. Yes. I’ll go with you,” I said.

I was surprised that I had lied to him. I had no intention of going back to Earth. My destination lay in the other direction. But I did not want him to hate me.

But it was true that I meant to go with him right now in this moment. With all of my heart, I meant that I would go with him despite my promises to the others. I was going to go straight to Caleb and offer him the same thing, and I would mean it that time, too.

I kissed Reza to reassure him of my intentions. If I spoke again, I would tell him that I was lying.

As I kissed him I could almost see me getting on a ship and trekking the months-long ride home to Earth. Just to be with Reza. But that was a path I could not take. Brother Blue was finally in my sights.

“But it’s a secret,” I said. “Els can’t know that you know. You have to play along.”

“Then I’ll let you kill me,” he said drawing me into his arms and sinking with me to the ground. “You have already slain me a thousand times.”

32

“Absolutely not,” Caleb said.

He was near the docks, looking at the manifests for ships due to arrive, and we had already spent half an hour arguing.

“You have to,” I said. “It’s the only way you’ll make it to the Outer Rim.”

“Alien poisons are tricky,” he said. “You might really kill me.”

“I won’t,” I said. I’d arranged it with the doctor. I used every favor I had to get her to administer a slow working poison that would hit exactly when I pretended to poison them in front of Els. I explained this to him for the fifth time.

“Things can go wrong,” he said.

“I have enough favors owed me to ensure that nothing will go wrong,” I said.

“And you’ll revive us, immediately afterwards,” he asked. “No funny business.”

“You’ll wake up and be on your way to the Outer Rim,” I said. “Ready to fight. Your way.”

“I’ll have to move Trevor down here so I can leave with him as soon as I wake up.”

“Trevor?” I asked.

“My robot.”

“Of course. That’s not a problem,” I said. “So he’s done?”

“As good as. I just want to make as quick a getaway as I can as soon as I wake up.”

“You will,” I said. “I promise.”

“And Reza?”

“He’ll go back to Earth,” I said.

“Does he know that you won’t go with him?”

“No,” I said. “Please don’t tell him.”

“We don’t talk anymore,” Caleb said. He looked wistful, as though he missed Reza and that no matter how he tried to couch it in his mind, a robot would not ever take the place of a friend.

He shook his head.

“You’re some girl, Tula Bane,” he said.

“I have to make Brother Blue pay.”

“Forget Brother Blue. He’ll do himself in. People like that always do. Come with me. A rebellion could use a girl like you.”

“I can’t,” I said.

“I know you think that you’ll go with Els and take care of whatever business you have with Brother Blue, but that is unrealistic. You’ll be dead. They’ll find you out, and they’ll kill you. And if I don’t like the idea of me fake dead, I definitely don’t like the idea of you really dead.”

“You can’t change my mind,” I said.

“I know I can’t. That’s what I like about you.”

I smiled.

“If you succeed, what will you do? Where will you go?”

“Why does it matter?” I asked.

“Because when I’m off on the Outer Rim with Trevor and who knows what kinds of aliens, I’d like to have something warm to think upon. I’d like to know where you’ll be so I can imagine that you are all right.”

“I suppose I would want to go planetside. Maybe somewhere that doesn’t cause so much trouble.”

“There is no such place,” Caleb said.

“Quint,” I said. “I’d go to Quint.”

“But there is nothing there,” Caleb said.

“There are flowers.”

“You alone and a planet full of flowers?” He laughed.

“Everywhere has something that’ll disappoint you. It’s just choosing a disappointment and having it be the most tolerable,” I said. “What about your girl, Myfanwy? The Outer Rim is far from where she is. Think of her.”

“It’s painful to think that she’ll still have to wait.”

“She’s waited a long time already.”

“Do me a favor,” he said.

“Sure,” I said. “But you’ll owe me one.”

“Tell her that I’m thinking of her,” he said. “Tell her that I can’t wait to see her again.”

“I will,” I said. “No charge for that one.”

He smiled.

“Will you meet me at the med bay when I tell you to?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Just don’t tell Reza. He wouldn’t understand why I can’t go to Earth with him.”

“My lips are sealed,” he said.

The plan was in motion.

33

A military disembarkment was an event. People flocked to the docking bay to see the pomp of it.

What I didn’t expect to see was Brother Blue walking off the ship with a full security detail.

Brother Blue.

When I saw him, it was like being punched in the gut. My hands started to tremble. It was a powerful feeling. It was pure hate and terror mixed all into one. I wanted to rush and fling myself at him in a fury, but instead, I ducked even lower behind a pole, not wanting to be seen. I could not take my eyes off of him.

He was there smiling and talking with Ven Dar, his mind clearly not on past events. He was stepping onto the same space station where he’d kicked me to near death and his footsteps were careless, as though he were dancing.

I couldn’t believe how ugly his face looked. I had remembered him as more handsome. I remembered his glow and his salt-and-pepper beard. I remembered his wide smile. But when I looked at him now, he did not glow. It was as though I could see the ugliness of his insides pouring out of him. He was grotesque in his finery.

He was escorted off the deck by Tournour. As soon as they were gone, I went straight to Els.

“Brother Blue is here,” I said.

“My wishes have been answered. It’s about time that they realized that I was not to be toyed with and passed off to a lower official. We’re almost there. We have them now.”

Els reached for my hand. I tried not to pull away.

It struck me that I was so far in deep with Els that if I showed how I really felt, she would kill me, too.

Every piece had to move perfectly. Every player had to be where I needed them to be.

They all trusted me. Now I had to trust myself. The plan was going to work.

First, Reza and Caleb made their way to the med bay where they got shot up with a dose of slow working poison, meaning that we had four hours before they would “die.”

Tournour would have to be in the right place to find their bodies.

Els would have to confirm that it was them. The effects of the drug would wear off in twelve hours. By then, hopefully Els and I would be off the station.

There was a freedom to knowing that the plan would go down that night.

This whole thing was costing me every favor I’d ever accrued. I had traded too much for a corner table in the entertainment lounge, but it was essential.

I had to be there early, earlier than Els, Reza, and Caleb in order to set things up.

I felt awkward in the flow of the fabrics that I was wearing. I preferred the pants with hidden pockets I usually wore, not this silky shift. I liked my vest because it kept my breasts from being in my way, and from being exposed like they were now. But Els wanted me to look more feminine, and I needed to do what she wanted. I was already getting looks from the aliens in the entertainment center, unaccustomed to seeing me dressed so flamboyantly.

Els arrived and complimented my dress. She was extra excited. She was flushed. I ordered food and a pitcher of jert juice.

Caleb and Reza were late. I wondered for a moment if something had gone wrong in the med bay. Or if one of the moving parts of the plan had failed. I couldn’t allow myself to think that.

But then they were there. They had arrived together, laughing and talking as though they were friends again, as though the fact that they knew they were on the same side against Els had united them. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Each of them seemed to give me a secret hello, one that told me that they thought our relationship was the more special. They were all right, but for different reasons.