“Aaron,” Yvonne calls, trotting after me. In the dark, I can’t see much of her when I glance back, just her heat signature. Her presence doesn’t calm me down, if anything, my throat gets tight.
“What?”
“Don’t what me. Slow down.”
Instead, I stop dead, and she actually bumps into my back. Probably didn’t feel great. Bat crawls back onto my shoulder as Yvonne gets in front of me, looking up. In the dark, I can barely see her eyes. Probably a good thing.
“He was being a jerk, don’t take it to heart.” Even she doesn’t sound convinced.
“He was being pretty nice, actually, considering his son showed up on his doorstep half blown up with a cyborg who looks like a murderer.”
“You’re not a murder.”
“How do you know?”
Her hands go on her hips, and I already know she isn’t taking me seriously. “Are you actually going to tell me you’ve killed people who weren’t trying to kill you?”
“How the hell would you know? You don’t know me that well.”
“Don’t take this out on me. And answer the question.”
At my silence, she mutters, “That’s what I thought. Now, back to what I was saying: he’s being a jerk, don’t listen to him.”
I continue to stare at her. Maybe if I’m quiet, she’ll give up. Not exactly holding out much hope given the past few weeks, but it’s worth a shot. I’m not even certain if I really want her to leave. I don’t, but I shouldn’t want that. I’m not sure what I want at all. But some time alone could never hurt. Talking to Bat might help. But this odd woman who used to piss me off and now does nothing but confuse me with how much I enjoy her company? Can’t do it. Not right now.
Her hand finds my arm, gently, and I don’t know what to do with it. “Aaron—”
“I’m just going to go for a walk. I want to think for a while.”
She’s quiet, and I think she might argue, but she nods her head and glances into the dark. “Come back in one piece. And not too long, I feel safer when you’re closer.”
My face turns hot despite my intentions. No one’s ever said that to me. It’s irrational, for sure. Even Bat hasn’t said so, but that’s only because we both know it to be true. I’m doubly lost on what to say, but don’t push her down when she kisses me on the cheek and trots back to the house. I sigh.
“She’s a weird human,” Bat mutters once she’s out of earshot.
“Tell me about it.”
“How’s the kissing?”
“None of your business.”
I consider returning to my ship, then take a few steps toward the trees, keeping an eye out for the heat signatures of anything large enough to be a human. Heading back into the still-open airlock, I press the comm button and stare at it for a while before shutting it back down. I can’t be calling up Audra. Not only because we’re supposed to be at odds in Captain’s eyes from the faked attack back on Amerov, but because getting in touch might trace us back to this planet. The last thing I want is Captain brought down on these people.
Bat says, “If it makes you feel better, I know what Audra would say about you being here: you’re a moron.”
I laugh humorlessly. Audra would call me a moron about most of my decisions these past months, but really, I struggle to regret much of it. I know I should, and I know the majority of it was dangerous at best, and straight-up idiotic at worst, but I have good people here with me. Some of the better humans I’ve met by a long shot.
When did it become so important to me to protect them?
Sealing the airlock, I head for my original path. I remember seeing some sort of canyon back this direction, maybe less than a mile through the trees. I won’t be able to see much. In fact, I’m going to have to focus so I don’t trip with my bad eyes, but just picking a destination feels better than walking in circles. And I don’t want to happen upon any neighbors.
There’s plenty of wildlife even at night, but nothing large enough to warrant caution. I never read the planet files on the wildlife—I should have, I’m letting myself get distracted too easily. This little side trip was a bad idea, I know already. I had a moment of thinking it might be alright, and I should’ve known better. I should return to what I should be doing, should be thinking about. Not the wavering niceness of Zane and Lalia’s parents.
First things first: we have to head to Zar. That’s the only concrete proof we can have—getting an impartial party to test my DNA without reporting it to anyone.
Second: I need to sit down with Yvonne and start quizzing her about Neyla Ve. I can’t come up with a plan to get the sisters back directly to their parents if I don’t know the lay of the land. Maybe if we chat about it long enough, one of us will have a half-decent idea.
Those are the two direct orders of business.
But since we’re here on-planet for the purpose of another place to let Zane rest up and heal before Zar…
“What do you think about filtering through some of the orphanages here?” I ask Bat.
He’s been quiet, letting me sort my thoughts, but I want to hear what he has to say. Of everyone, he has to understand what I’m mulling over the most.
His little talons pick at my damaged implant a bit, but it’s too dark for him to be messing with it. “How many are there?”
“Planet files said fifteen, that’s less than I expected, but I suppose this is a small planet.”
“That might take us a couple of days.”
I shrug. “We’re planning to stay here anyway. All I’d need to do is go in the front and ask whoever’s there to check the records from a few decades ago. No one’s likely to recognize me for my bounty. Zane can take some time to rest up, but we don’t actually have to be here.”
“I’m all for it,” he says, then pauses. “I suppose you’d rather be anywhere than here.”
“Agreeing was a mistake,” I mutter. Zane didn’t need to be here. In fact, he’s decently back on his feet as it is. I was just being weak. And it was stupid.
Maybe this time I’ll learn my damn lesson.
“Do you think they’ll mellow out?” Bat asks.
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter I guess. I thought they’d have the same reactions as Zane and La. They’ve proven no such thing, so I’m perfectly fine not interacting with them unless I have to.”
Bat’s quiet, and I wonder if he heard how much I’m trying to convince myself.
The forest floor is moss-coated, with plenty of fallen logs, but I make my way through without tripping, and come to a place where the trees break. In the dark, there’s not much to see. A vast gap of dark before the treed horizon picks up again. It must be a larger canyon than it seemed from flight. The sky is sprinkled with stars, the area not close enough to any city for light to block them out. A few planets I’m unfamiliar with hang in the distance, shades of white-gray and blue.
I breathe deeply and try to remember the feeling of first getting to fly again after Amerov. Of the welcome of wild, open space. The ability to go anywhere, see anything, even discover small moons no human’s yet set foot on. I haven’t done much of the latter, but everything seemed much simpler before I went chasing a bounty for two escaped Clock convicts.
We could still go anywhere. Bat and I could leave right now. Take off without any of them. They’d have no way to contact us, no way to track us down. Forget Yvonne’s bounty, all of it.
Or I could just take her and Anya back home, or back to any authority station where they’d get them home, even if Captain intervened. It isn’t my problem anymore, is it? None of these things are my problem.
I’m making them my problem, and I don’t even know if these humans would ever do a fraction of this much for me as I’m doing for them.
I try to remind myself of how much Zane and Lalia sacrificed to find me. But they’re doing that for the memory of a little brother they had. Not necessarily for me.
I’m sure certain no one would choose me in such a situation if it was just me. No history, no beliefs, just me.
Well, no one save Bat. I scratch his ears.
“You gonna tell me what you’re thinking?” he asks.
“A million things. What do you think?”
“The orphanage checking isn’t a bad idea.”
It isn’t. “We could just leave the planet.”
“With or without the princesses?”
I shrug. “Either or.”
“Hmm.” He sounds thoughtful rather than like he’s genuinely considering it. Of all of them, he’s certainly come to care for Zane and Anya. But Zane’s healed enough that shouldn’t be a consideration, and it’s not like Anya and Yvonne would ever be staying with us forever.
“If we do, we have to take the princesses. Too much not to get the money.”
“Probably right.”
“And though I’m not directly opposed to the idea, I think if we left Zane and Lalia here we would somehow, in a few months from now, run into two very pissed-off humans in some random spot and they would both attack you.”
It isn’t much of a threat, but I can imagine the siblings hunting us down if we left. They did in the first place, and though I found them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they just took back up the chase. Plus, I know enough of Bat to know this is his way of saying he doesn’t want to just leave the two humans. I knew he was getting attached, but this is more proof.
“I suppose we should probably think this through,” I admit.
“We have time. And I think when we go check out the orphanages we should bring the princesses. They’re too valuable to leave around.”
Good point. Yvonne did offer to do this with me.
“Plus, if there’s trouble within a hundred-mile radius, Yvonne will find it.”
I snort.
A light flashes from behind us, and I put my hand on my gun before seeing a familiar heat figure among the trees. Apparently, Lalia got out of her shower and realized we’d disappeared.
“Aaron?” she calls. “I know you’re out here. Yvonne said you went this direction.”
The flashlight isn’t doing much to illuminate us, but there’s no reason to keep hiding. “Over here.”
“Walk close enough to the cliff, will ya?” Lalia, says, picking her way over.
The light just barely illuminates her face, but I can tell she’s finally found a pair of clothes that haven’t been through a firefight. Grabbing my sleeve, she tugs on me until I let her drag me a few steps away. I wasn’t that close to the edge.
“Are you sulking out here?” she asks.
I scowl. “I’m allowed to walk.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The teasing tone drops. “Yvonne says my dad wasn’t too nice.”
I shrug.
“Sorry, he’ll come around, they’re both just stressed and I think we scared them showing up like this.”
I shrug again. Like I told Yvonne, they have every right not to like me.
“They’re kind people,” Lalia says.
My silence seems to be bugging her, so I say, “I believe you.”
She gives a long sigh, then hooks her arm through mine. I let her walk me back. I have no particular need to stay here.
“Did Zane lie about them wanting to meet me even before testing my DNA?”
She stops. “No. They’ve been pretty obvious about it to both of us. Like I said, they’re stressed, let them relax you’ll see what they’re like.”
I should probably let it drop, but I say. “Did you describe to them what I look like?”
There’s a significant silence. “Not really, I guess. I mean, they asked if you looked like Zane and we explained that you wouldn’t because of all your augmentations. We didn’t give a breakdown or anything.”
I don’t respond.
“Aaron, they’re not like that, I promise.”
I nearly say something biting, because she wasn’t watching Masyn lean away from me every time I twitched, but I just say, “Okay,” my tone dead.
She sighs, talking up the walk home, arm still looped in mine.
I should let her know the new plans. “Bat and I are going to check out the orphanages on this planet. If someone has records of me, we’re already on planet, it’ll be good to find it.”
I expect maybe an argument, but she shrugs and says, “If you want. Taking Yvonne and Anya with you?”
“Yes.”
Another nod. “Aaron, can you promise me you won’t take off into space?”
Can I? I suppose so. Somehow, it seems I owe them that much. And it’s difficult to be annoyed with any of them when they’re actually standing alongside me. I remember Zane saving my ass from that ForceZero number that shot me in the temple and sigh.
“Yes, I can promise you that.”
In the dark, I can still see her nod. “Thank you.”
“Aaron,” Yvonne calls, trotting after me. In the dark, I can’t see much of her when I glance back, just her heat signature. Her presence doesn’t calm me down, if anything, my throat gets tight.
“What?”
“Don’t what me. Slow down.”
Instead, I stop dead, and she actually bumps into my back. Probably didn’t feel great. Bat crawls back onto my shoulder as Yvonne gets in front of me, looking up. In the dark, I can barely see her eyes. Probably a good thing.
“He was being a jerk, don’t take it to heart.” Even she doesn’t sound convinced.
“He was being pretty nice, actually, considering his son showed up on his doorstep half blown up with a cyborg who looks like a murderer.”
“You’re not a murder.”
“How do you know?”
Her hands go on her hips, and I already know she isn’t taking me seriously. “Are you actually going to tell me you’ve killed people who weren’t trying to kill you?”
“How the hell would you know? You don’t know me that well.”
“Don’t take this out on me. And answer the question.”
At my silence, she mutters, “That’s what I thought. Now, back to what I was saying: he’s being a jerk, don’t listen to him.”
I continue to stare at her. Maybe if I’m quiet, she’ll give up. Not exactly holding out much hope given the past few weeks, but it’s worth a shot. I’m not even certain if I really want her to leave. I don’t, but I shouldn’t want that. I’m not sure what I want at all. But some time alone could never hurt. Talking to Bat might help. But this odd woman who used to piss me off and now does nothing but confuse me with how much I enjoy her company? Can’t do it. Not right now.
Her hand finds my arm, gently, and I don’t know what to do with it. “Aaron—”
“I’m just going to go for a walk. I want to think for a while.”
She’s quiet, and I think she might argue, but she nods her head and glances into the dark. “Come back in one piece. And not too long, I feel safer when you’re closer.”
My face turns hot despite my intentions. No one’s ever said that to me. It’s irrational, for sure. Even Bat hasn’t said so, but that’s only because we both know it to be true. I’m doubly lost on what to say, but don’t push her down when she kisses me on the cheek and trots back to the house. I sigh.
“She’s a weird human,” Bat mutters once she’s out of earshot.
“Tell me about it.”
“How’s the kissing?”
“None of your business.”
I consider returning to my ship, then take a few steps toward the trees, keeping an eye out for the heat signatures of anything large enough to be a human. Heading back into the still-open airlock, I press the comm button and stare at it for a while before shutting it back down. I can’t be calling up Audra. Not only because we’re supposed to be at odds in Captain’s eyes from the faked attack back on Amerov, but because getting in touch might trace us back to this planet. The last thing I want is Captain brought down on these people.
Bat says, “If it makes you feel better, I know what Audra would say about you being here: you’re a moron.”
I laugh humorlessly. Audra would call me a moron about most of my decisions these past months, but really, I struggle to regret much of it. I know I should, and I know the majority of it was dangerous at best, and straight-up idiotic at worst, but I have good people here with me. Some of the better humans I’ve met by a long shot.
When did it become so important to me to protect them?
Sealing the airlock, I head for my original path. I remember seeing some sort of canyon back this direction, maybe less than a mile through the trees. I won’t be able to see much. In fact, I’m going to have to focus so I don’t trip with my bad eyes, but just picking a destination feels better than walking in circles. And I don’t want to happen upon any neighbors.
There’s plenty of wildlife even at night, but nothing large enough to warrant caution. I never read the planet files on the wildlife—I should have, I’m letting myself get distracted too easily. This little side trip was a bad idea, I know already. I had a moment of thinking it might be alright, and I should’ve known better. I should return to what I should be doing, should be thinking about. Not the wavering niceness of Zane and Lalia’s parents.
First things first: we have to head to Zar. That’s the only concrete proof we can have—getting an impartial party to test my DNA without reporting it to anyone.
Second: I need to sit down with Yvonne and start quizzing her about Neyla Ve. I can’t come up with a plan to get the sisters back directly to their parents if I don’t know the lay of the land. Maybe if we chat about it long enough, one of us will have a half-decent idea.
Those are the two direct orders of business.
But since we’re here on-planet for the purpose of another place to let Zane rest up and heal before Zar…
“What do you think about filtering through some of the orphanages here?” I ask Bat.
He’s been quiet, letting me sort my thoughts, but I want to hear what he has to say. Of everyone, he has to understand what I’m mulling over the most.
His little talons pick at my damaged implant a bit, but it’s too dark for him to be messing with it. “How many are there?”
“Planet files said fifteen, that’s less than I expected, but I suppose this is a small planet.”
“That might take us a couple of days.”
I shrug. “We’re planning to stay here anyway. All I’d need to do is go in the front and ask whoever’s there to check the records from a few decades ago. No one’s likely to recognize me for my bounty. Zane can take some time to rest up, but we don’t actually have to be here.”
“I’m all for it,” he says, then pauses. “I suppose you’d rather be anywhere than here.”
“Agreeing was a mistake,” I mutter. Zane didn’t need to be here. In fact, he’s decently back on his feet as it is. I was just being weak. And it was stupid.
Maybe this time I’ll learn my damn lesson.
“Do you think they’ll mellow out?” Bat asks.
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter I guess. I thought they’d have the same reactions as Zane and La. They’ve proven no such thing, so I’m perfectly fine not interacting with them unless I have to.”
Bat’s quiet, and I wonder if he heard how much I’m trying to convince myself.
The forest floor is moss-coated, with plenty of fallen logs, but I make my way through without tripping, and come to a place where the trees break. In the dark, there’s not much to see. A vast gap of dark before the treed horizon picks up again. It must be a larger canyon than it seemed from flight. The sky is sprinkled with stars, the area not close enough to any city for light to block them out. A few planets I’m unfamiliar with hang in the distance, shades of white-gray and blue.
I breathe deeply and try to remember the feeling of first getting to fly again after Amerov. Of the welcome of wild, open space. The ability to go anywhere, see anything, even discover small moons no human’s yet set foot on. I haven’t done much of the latter, but everything seemed much simpler before I went chasing a bounty for two escaped Clock convicts.
We could still go anywhere. Bat and I could leave right now. Take off without any of them. They’d have no way to contact us, no way to track us down. Forget Yvonne’s bounty, all of it.
Or I could just take her and Anya back home, or back to any authority station where they’d get them home, even if Captain intervened. It isn’t my problem anymore, is it? None of these things are my problem.
I’m making them my problem, and I don’t even know if these humans would ever do a fraction of this much for me as I’m doing for them.
I try to remind myself of how much Zane and Lalia sacrificed to find me. But they’re doing that for the memory of a little brother they had. Not necessarily for me.
I’m sure certain no one would choose me in such a situation if it was just me. No history, no beliefs, just me.
Well, no one save Bat. I scratch his ears.
“You gonna tell me what you’re thinking?” he asks.
“A million things. What do you think?”
“The orphanage checking isn’t a bad idea.”
It isn’t. “We could just leave the planet.”
“With or without the princesses?”
I shrug. “Either or.”
“Hmm.” He sounds thoughtful rather than like he’s genuinely considering it. Of all of them, he’s certainly come to care for Zane and Anya. But Zane’s healed enough that shouldn’t be a consideration, and it’s not like Anya and Yvonne would ever be staying with us forever.
“If we do, we have to take the princesses. Too much not to get the money.”
“Probably right.”
“And though I’m not directly opposed to the idea, I think if we left Zane and Lalia here we would somehow, in a few months from now, run into two very pissed-off humans in some random spot and they would both attack you.”
It isn’t much of a threat, but I can imagine the siblings hunting us down if we left. They did in the first place, and though I found them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they just took back up the chase. Plus, I know enough of Bat to know this is his way of saying he doesn’t want to just leave the two humans. I knew he was getting attached, but this is more proof.
“I suppose we should probably think this through,” I admit.
“We have time. And I think when we go check out the orphanages we should bring the princesses. They’re too valuable to leave around.”
Good point. Yvonne did offer to do this with me.
“Plus, if there’s trouble within a hundred-mile radius, Yvonne will find it.”
I snort.
A light flashes from behind us, and I put my hand on my gun before seeing a familiar heat figure among the trees. Apparently, Lalia got out of her shower and realized we’d disappeared.
“Aaron?” she calls. “I know you’re out here. Yvonne said you went this direction.”
The flashlight isn’t doing much to illuminate us, but there’s no reason to keep hiding. “Over here.”
“Walk close enough to the cliff, will ya?” Lalia, says, picking her way over.
The light just barely illuminates her face, but I can tell she’s finally found a pair of clothes that haven’t been through a firefight. Grabbing my sleeve, she tugs on me until I let her drag me a few steps away. I wasn’t that close to the edge.
“Are you sulking out here?” she asks.
I scowl. “I’m allowed to walk.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The teasing tone drops. “Yvonne says my dad wasn’t too nice.”
I shrug.
“Sorry, he’ll come around, they’re both just stressed and I think we scared them showing up like this.”
I shrug again. Like I told Yvonne, they have every right not to like me.
“They’re kind people,” Lalia says.
My silence seems to be bugging her, so I say, “I believe you.”
She gives a long sigh, then hooks her arm through mine. I let her walk me back. I have no particular need to stay here.
“Did Zane lie about them wanting to meet me even before testing my DNA?”
She stops. “No. They’ve been pretty obvious about it to both of us. Like I said, they’re stressed, let them relax you’ll see what they’re like.”
I should probably let it drop, but I say. “Did you describe to them what I look like?”
There’s a significant silence. “Not really, I guess. I mean, they asked if you looked like Zane and we explained that you wouldn’t because of all your augmentations. We didn’t give a breakdown or anything.”
I don’t respond.
“Aaron, they’re not like that, I promise.”
I nearly say something biting, because she wasn’t watching Masyn lean away from me every time I twitched, but I just say, “Okay,” my tone dead.
She sighs, talking up the walk home, arm still looped in mine.
I should let her know the new plans. “Bat and I are going to check out the orphanages on this planet. If someone has records of me, we’re already on planet, it’ll be good to find it.”
I expect maybe an argument, but she shrugs and says, “If you want. Taking Yvonne and Anya with you?”
“Yes.”
Another nod. “Aaron, can you promise me you won’t take off into space?”
Can I? I suppose so. Somehow, it seems I owe them that much. And it’s difficult to be annoyed with any of them when they’re actually standing alongside me. I remember Zane saving my ass from that ForceZero number that shot me in the temple and sigh.
“Yes, I can promise you that.”
In the dark, I can still see her nod. “Thank you.”
