Chapter 14CamilaBerus

Chapter 14

Camila

Cami hated being right.

Rehden did not just leave and cut his losses. He knew he couldn't come after Cami directly since he'd never be able to prove she was his due to the chip in her thigh. The crew had mentioned that when they'd forced him out of the hangar, daring him to make a big fuss over it. So Rehden had gone after Ulrek and his crew instead, ratting them out to the authorities in New Rhea and alerting the bounty hunter networks as well.

He was actually willing to risk his own capture just to get back at them. At her.

But there was no Ulrek of the Revenge in port. The Revenge didn't technically exist anymore. They'd officially docked as the New Horizon . Rehden hadn't known that.

The bounty hunter channels, having experienced far too many false alarms of Ulrek sightings in the area, largely ignored the "tip". The authorities, however, came calling. Ulrek and Tuhror were on the bridge right now, on a comm with the port master.

Cami sat ramrod straight as she watched both sides of the call being played on the screen in the common room. Most of the crew was gathered around her doing the same.

Except it wasn't Ulrek and Tuhror on the screen, but two Tallean males she'd never seen before. That was some convincing disguise. Ulrek looked much older, still good-looking, a total silver fox in fact, but with a much less predatory edge. Even his voice sounded different.

Tuhror didn't look quite like himself either. He looked younger. But he bore enough resemblance to Ulrek's disguise that the two passed as an aging sire and adult offspring. They wore uniforms with New Horizon emblazoned on the front.

"You must understand, Captain Uzzar, that we must take such allegations seriously. Especially when they come from so high up," said the gaudily dressed port master on the screen. "Our relationship with the Dominion has been rocky at best, and we are worried about accidentally harboring a fugitive in our ports."

Apparently, Rehden had friends in high places in the outer planets. Or, if not actual friends, people who owed him favors. They didn't know it was Rehden who'd made the claims, of course. But who else could it be? He was the only one who knew the Revenge was in port. Everyone here knew the ship as the New Horizon , and Captain Uzzar, Ulrek's alter ego here on the planet, was well-known too.

"Of course," said Ulrek smoothly. "It's not the first time someone has mistaken us for a fugitive vessel. Have you told the council my ship often gets mistaken for Ulrek's because of all the humans on board?"

His face looked so natural as he spoke that Camila decided this disguise must actually be a filter of some kind.

Roxy leaned in close and whispered. "The port master actually knows the truth. He's putting on a show since official comms are recorded."

Interesting. No wonder the crew didn't look worried.

"Yes, yes," the port master tutted. "That's what I tried to tell them. We went through this the last time someone mistook your humans for his humans. But they're insisting on sending someone down to the hangar to search your ship. They said they were tipped off by someone reliable from Aton Station."

Camila perked up. Where had she heard that name before?

Ulrek-Uzzar spread his hands. "I see. Well, if it can't be helped, I will prepare my ship to be boarded."

They ended the call, and a minute later, Ulrek joined them in the common room. To Cami's surprise, he still looked like Captain Uzzar. It hadn't been a filter at all. The disguise looked just as convincing in person as it had on video.

She stood gawking at the captain, her mouth hanging open until he turned to look right at her. Cami snapped her jaw shut and lowered her eyes to her feet, his powerful presence triggering a remnant of her training. Then, remembering she didn't need to do that here, she found the courage to meet his gaze. Cami found it a little easier now that he looked like Captain Uzzar and not the captain that had once graced Dominion placards throughout the inner planets.

"I'm sorry this is causing so much trouble," Cami blurted out. She felt horrible that these people were getting punished just for trying to help her. "I didn't know Rehden had anyone helping him here."

To her surprise, Ulrek-Uzzar didn't look the least bit angry. He almost looked amused. "We have allies here too. This will give us a chance to test their loyalty. Like the port master: he just essentially warned us that someone is coming to check the ship and that we'd be covertly grounded for the time being. He's giving us time to make the ship presentable."

"Yeah," Delaney said. "They know us here. We make them a pretty penny when we are in port. They're not going to bite the hand that feeds them."

"Does the name Aton Station mean anything to you?" Ulrek asked.

Cami nodded. "Yes. I want to say that's where the buyer for the stolen weapons was from, but I'm not sure."

"So he did steal the arms shipment." Ulrek-Uzzar looked pensive. "And now Neyala at Aton Station has it."

"That name sounds familiar too. A Tallean woman," Cami said. "I heard her talking through the comms with Rehden. He was on his way to meet her. "

Tuhror, also still in disguise, huffed out a breath. "Neyala has it in for you, Captain. She lost two partners of convenience because of you."

"Jotah was not my fault," Ulrek replied crisply. "I let him go, even when he tried to sell me out to the Dominion after twenty years of friendship. It was Kean and Zharor who took care of him. And as for Gritarr… He had it coming." Ulrek pressed his lips into a thin line. "He didn't mention you, Cami, but I don't doubt whoever is coming will be searching for you."

Cami knew he was right.

"Berus," Ulrek turned to the giant male. "Take Cami in one of the transports. Pick up our order from the medical depot, then head out into the wilderness. Keep a low profile. It may be a few days before they stop watching our ship. We will come for you when it is safe." Ulrek turned to the rest of the crew. "Everyone else, you know the drill. I want this ship transformed into the New Horizon in half a galactic hour."

Berus

They left the ship almost immediately. The planet's second sun was large and bright in the sky and the first was small and to the side. It was the equivalent of just past midday on the planet. Plenty of time to travel before night fell.

Cami was on high alert the entire trip to the medical depot, scanning the port city from the safety of the transport. As they turned into the busy part of town, where the medical supply depot was located, he instructed her to stay low and away from the darkened windows to avoid detection.

He went into the depot alone to collect the order. After packing everything tightly and carefully into the external storage, Berus returned to the passenger compartment of the transport to see Cami fiddling with the collar around her neck. For her safety, they'd given her the collar Roxy sometimes wore when she went out with the crew to places considered dangerous for lone, unattached females, especially human ones.

Berus had worried about Cami's reaction to it, but she'd understood it was for her safety and hadn't minded at all.

"I guess we are off to the wilderness now?"

"Not yet," Berus said. "I know I'm supposed to take you straight out there, but those slippers on your feet are so worn that I'm sure I'd be able to see right through the sole if I looked."

Camila lifted up a tiny foot, pointing and flexing it. "Yeah, they've seen better days."

"If anything happens, you won't be able to run in those. They have no tread and no support. You could twist your ankle again, especially out in the wilderness."

"I thought you guys said the New Rhea wilderness was pretty tame."

"It is, compared to Reka 5 or Vosthea. But Rehden or the bounty hunters from before might still come looking for us." Berus didn't want to worry her, so he added, "It probably won't happen, but it's best we are prepared."

Additionally, she was only wearing one of his shirts, belted at the waist. It was the start of the wet season in this part of the planet, and the nights got cold. Berus didn't mind keeping her warm with his body heat, but he also felt he should get her a jacket and a pair of sturdier shoes more suitable for the wilderness.

Getting clothes for her wasn't the only thing he'd planned, but he was worried about her reaction to the second thing, so he didn't mention it yet.

Since Cami was currently playing the part of Berus's slave, they went to a shop catering to owners wanting to spoil their favorite pet. Unlike Reka 5, New Rhea still recognized ownership of intelligent life forms.

Berus brought out the leash. "I'm very sorry, but I think it's best if you wear this."

"That's okay. I don't mind." Cami looked genuine. "Really. I can play this role well. I've done it for years, and with you, it's no hardship at all."

Did that mean she wouldn't mind when he had the chip changed later to show him as her owner?

"You might play this role better than me, then. I've never actually owned anyone before; I've only ever pretended when I had to protect Roxy in dangerous places."

"Can I ask why Ulrek and Tuhror need to wear disguises when they go out here, and you don't?"

"First and foremost, because I look very different from the only image that the Dominion has of me."

"Really?"

Berus dug into his pocket for his comm and showed Cami the posting for his bounty.

"That's you?"

"Yes. It was taken when I first joined the military."

The male that looked back at them from the screen was scrawny, almost gaunt-looking. He'd been starving.

Cami leaned in close, giving Berus another whiff of her delectable scent. "Wow! No wonder. I wouldn't have recognized you at all."

"Yes. Also, my name is very common, and the secondary designation, my home region, is also very common. There are many Talleans known as ‘Berus from the Southern Mountains of Tal' floating around the galaxy. We were able to find an ID code of a male who passed recently in a transport accident. His widow and children were desperate for credits. We bought the ID number from her in exchange for enough credits to feed her family for a year."

"That's convenient for you, and lucky for her."

"Yes." Berus ran a hand through his hair, unsure if he should share the next part, but decided to anyway. "I kept in touch with the female. Her two young male offspring reminded me of my brothers and me when we were young. I send her some credits after every big mission. It's only a few credits now and again, and doesn't buy much out here, but it goes a long way in the rundown port where we found them."

Berus eyed Cami anxiously. He wasn't sure how she'd react to him sending another female credits. Some would never consider a male who was providing for another female and her offsprings, no matter how small the amount or the situation.

"That's actually very kind of you. I'm not sure how she'd feel emotionally about receiving credits from her late husband's name, but I guess it's better than going hungry."

Berus frowned. "I never thought of it that way." Could he be causing the female anguish every single time he did it? "I just know that growing up, it was difficult fighting for every scrap of food. The mountains of Tal are beautiful, but the poor struggle right next to where the rich vacation."

Cami tilted her head, her look curious. "Wait. Do you mean the Southern Mountains by the Sea?"

"Yes. Do you know them?"

"I was there about two galactic years ago! Back when I was Uctarr's only human slave. It's so beautiful, the unbuilt parts anyway. Tal is so crowded, but I love that they preserve some parts of the mountains. But I guess that's only because it's not cost-effective to build there, and there's nothing valuable to mine."

Now, it was Berus's turn to look at her wide-eyed. She'd been there in the last few years? "Tell me, they didn't raze the smallest peak to make room for a landing pad, did they?"

Cami's face fell. "They did. I'm sorry. That was where we landed. They built a new resort there."

Berus's shoulders sagged to hear of the destruction of his childhood home. "I am not surprised. I didn't have many good memories growing up there, but the beauty of the landscape has stayed with me."

"It can continue to do so. In here." She leaned over and tapped his temple. "And here." She tapped his chest.

Before she could move her hand away, he took it in his and kept it there at his chest. Did she know how much her words meant to him?

The transport came to a stop. They'd arrived.