14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Nala

As I watch the Crimson Specter take off, it feels like my heart is leaving with it. Ellen. My precious little girl is once again being taken away from me. And this time, instead of kicking and screaming, I just stand here and watch. And I hate myself for it.

Faelin is on board, I remind myself. He told me to get help. He promised he’d rescue Ellen and I…I trust him. For the first time in forever, I have someone I trust and who is trusting me. I will not let him down.

It’s a good thing Faelin already entered the coordinates into the hovercraft’s guidance system because I’m so out of my mind with stress, I don’t remember anything he said beyond promising to save Ellen.

Examining the vehicle’s steering device with apprehension, I try to remember what Faelin did. I never got my driving license for a regular car, let alone a flying one.

“Hey, uh…car?” I ask.

“Systems ready,” the computerized voice responds. “What is your query?”

“My what?” Damn, I feel stupid. “Oh, you want me to tell you what to do. Can you drive yourself? Like…on autopilot? Do you have that option?”

“Of course. Do you wish to engage autopilot now?”

Thank fuck. “Yes. Go to where Faelin told you to go.”

The vehicle smoothly lifts off. “Autopilot engaged,” it announces. “Do you also wish to engage emergency protocol systems?”

It asked Faelin the same question and when he agreed, it started blasting sirens. I’m not comfortable drawing that much attention to myself. It reminds me too much of the one time I got arrested for underage drinking. “No. Just get me to that ship.”

“Copy that,” the vehicle responds. “Your heart rate seems to be elevated. Do you wish to listen to calming music for the duration of our travel?”

Calming music? I snort. “I don’t think there’s any kind of music that would calm me right now. Just shut up, please.”

“As you wish.”

The computer’s tone is flat as always but I can’t help but worry. Did I insult it? Is it going to slam into the nearest wall and then play some calming music while I die from my horrible injuries? I know the AIs don’t think this way, but my irrational fear stems from watching too many science fiction horror movies back on Earth.

Despite my fear, the hovercraft safely delivers me to the shipyard. It has all of the necessary access codes, so we enter without being bothered by security. As we glide by the many berths, my mind tries to guess which ship is Faelin’s. There are lots of smaller cargo ships and frigates, all being repaired, refitted, or, in one case, dismantled. We don’t stop at any of them, though.

As we enter the section where larger ships are docked, I suddenly grow anxious. I’d assumed Faelin was merely a simple mercenary, part of a small crew manning a small, yet fast, ship. I’d hoped that he’d be close enough to his crew that they’d agree to come and rescue him. But these ships are made to house dozens of people, if not more. There’s even a behemoth of a battleship docked in here that looks like it could easily house hundreds of crew plus entire regiments of soldiers.

Unless Faelin turns out to be the captain, will the crew agree to help him? Individual people are easily replaceable, even skilled and strong fighters such as Faelin. What if he’s not as important as he thinks and the crew decide he isn’t worth the risk? What if they write him off as an acceptable loss?

The hovercraft slows down to a stop and jerks me out of my spiraling thoughts. “We have arrived at your destination,” it announces flatly as it opens the door.

I jump out, pausing to look at the spaceship in front of me. It’s not as large as the others, but it still looks like it could house a few dozen people. It’s sleek, white, and under normal circumstances I’d be admiring its elegance, but I’m in a hurry.

Sucking in a deep, calming breath, I approach the airlock. The door is closed and the access panel does nothing more than flash orange when I touch it. It’s not like I expected the door to open for me, but wouldn’t a stranger trying to get inside set off some sort of an alarm? Not that I want to set off an alarm, but it’s not like there’s a doorbell here.

“HEY!” I yell, pounding on the door. “Is anyone in there?!” My wrist hurts as I slam my fist into the access panel. In fact, my entire arm hurts. Also, my ribs. And pretty much my entire body. The injuries from my encounter with the security goons are starting to hurt again. When my adrenaline runs out, I’m probably going to pass out from exhaustion. Until then, I’ll just have to keep pushing through the pain. There’s no other option.

“Come on, there must be someone here!”

Just as I turn around to find something I could lob at the ship to get someone’s attention, the door swishes open. “Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?” a short-haired Zyderi female growls at me.

“Oh, thank god.” My knees want to sag in relief but I force myself to stay upright. I’d probably end up huddled on the floor whimpering and I don’t have time for that. “I need to speak to your captain. Faelin is in danger.” I’m not telling anyone about Ellen unless I have to. There’s no reason to reveal my biggest weakness to a bunch of strangers.

The female’s scowl turns to concern. “I was wondering why he didn’t answer his comms. Come on.”

As she leads me through the ship corridors, I’m puzzled by how silent it is in here. There doesn’t seem to be anyone on board. Not that it’s particularly surprising given they’re docked in a space port known for its recreational facilities. The crew is probably enjoying their time on the station.

“What has Faelin gotten himself into this time? No, wait, let me guess. A bar fight defending someone’s honor? Probably yours?” The female sneers. “He’s too nice for his own sake.”

“He is,” I agree, tears welling in my eyes. “He’s on Drayth’s ship. Drayth is—”

“The local kingpin and a slaver,” the female finishes my sentence, her eyes narrowing on me in suspicion. “Wait a second. I’ve seen you before. On Drayth’s file. You’re Drayth’s associate!” She stops walking, her hand hovering over the gun strapped to her hip. “Tell me,” she demands, her voice icy cold, “how exactly did Faelin get on Drayth’s ship?”

I gulp, realizing just how defenseless I am right now. Stepping back slowly, I raise my arms in what I hope is a universal placating gesture. “I’m not working with Drayth. The evidence against me is fake,” I add, remembering how that security asshole, Gar, tried to arrest me. “It’s all fake. But it doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that we catch Drayth’s ship before they disappear. Please,” I beg, “we need to go after them. Everything depends on it.”

“Everything, hmm?” the female sneers. “You mean your plan to lure us into a trap? You’ve already captured Faelin and now your master wants the rest of us too? Well, he’ll have to do better than this cheap trick.”

I gawk at her, incapable of uttering another word. How in the hell did she reach that conclusion?! “W-what? What trap? What the fuck are you talking about?!” I’m quickly losing my already feeble patience. “Faelin chose to board that ship to save…to save someone. And we need to go now, if we want to have any hopes of catching up to them.”

“I can see how you fooled Faelin,” the female says with derision. “The damsel in distress act is his vulnerability. But your atrocious acting sure as hell won’t fool me.”

“I’m not acting!” I scream, totally losing my shit now. “Please, you need to—” My words are cut off when the barrel of a gun appears in front of my face. Her gun is definitely not set to stun either, this one is designed to kill. In fact, she’s aiming a laser pistol at me right now and I know with certainty it’s going to make a huge, steaming hole in my head if she pulls the trigger.

“Shut the fuck up,” she growls.

The gun doesn’t move an inch. Her hand doesn’t waver. She could kill me in cold blood and not lose a minute of sleep over it. This is why I hate dealing with top-class mercenaries. They’re cold-blooded, bullheaded assholes. “Please,” I say, my voice trembling, “I’m not lying. Just take me to the captain.” There must be someone more reasonable on this ship, surely? There’s no way this crazy bitch is in charge around here.

“I said shut the fuck up. Move,” she commands, gesturing with the gun before returning it to face me.

Knowing nothing I say will change her mind, I walk the direction indicated. At least she’s leading me deeper into the ship and not kicking me out or handing me over to station security.

The sliver of hope that she’s leading me to the captain dies when we arrive at the brig. All four cells are empty and the female ushers me into the closest one, activating the force field to stop me from escaping. She walks away, ignoring my desperate pleas.

Devastated, I sink down onto the bed, covering my face in my hands. A choked sob breaks free. How did I screw everything up so much? I had one job, an easy one. Tell Faelin’s friends to follow Drayth’s ship. Sounds easy and yet, I couldn’t even do that right. Now Faelin and Ellen are being transported to god knows where and nobody’s doing anything to help them.

As tears rush down my cheeks, I wipe them away in frustration. I should have gone with Faelin. I’m useless here. I’d be useless on the Crimson Serpent, too, but at least I’d be useless near Ellen.

My baby. I want to curl up into a ball and cry myself to sleep, but it won’t do any good for Faelin’s so-called friends to see me giving up. So instead, I scream. It's hoarse and only a fraction of the scream can actually be heard so I add the occasional punch into the wall for good measure. It hurts like hell, but it gives me something to focus on other than the pain and desperation currently gnawing at my insides.

“Please, cease the self-harming activities or I’ll be forced to administer a sleeping gas into your cell,” a computerized voice says.

My head jerks toward the cell entrance, but no one is there. The voice seems to be coming from somewhere up on the ceiling. There must be a camera.

I glare in the general direction of the sound defiantly. “Fuck off! If you want to tell me something, come and say it to my face!”

“Unfortunately, that is impossible as I do not possess a face,” the voice replies. Another AI, I realize. I seem to be surrounded by them today. And this one is programmed to knock me out if I’m too much trouble. Fucking perfect.

Since my attempts to punch a hole into the metal wall are giving me more pain than relief, I return to the bed. “There. I have ceased my self-harming activities,” I jeer at the ceiling. “Happy now?”

“I do not have emotions, so I cannot be happy. However, you not harming yourself is a positive outcome for this situation, so if I could be happy, I presume I would be. Is there something I can do for you?”

Isn’t it creepy how subservient these machines are? “Can you let me out?” I try, scoffing since I already know the answer.

“Unfortunately, no. I cannot release you without the approval of a senior crew member.”

“Of course not. Can you at least tell me if we’ve left the station?”

“My apologies, but you do not currently have the necessary clearance for me to share this information with you.” The AI somehow makes it sound like it’s truly sad about it.

I snort. “Great. Then what the fuck are you good for?”

There’s a moment of silence. Just when I begin to worry I’ve somehow angered it, the AI replies, “I’ve counted thirteen million eighty-nine thousand five hundred and forty-five scenarios where my skills are applicable. Therefore, I can say I’m good for thirteen million eighty-nine thousand five hundred and forty-five tasks.”

“Good for you.” I’m arguing with artificial intelligence. My day is getting weirder and weirder. “Do any of those scenarios apply to my situation? Other than knocking me out when I try to hurt myself?”

“I’ve selected two hundred and fifteen scenarios that might apply to your situation. I can provide you with entertainment,” the AI suggests. “Or keep you company.”

“Company? I don’t need company! I need someone to listen to me!”

“I’m receiving input from three listening devices placed around you. I am listening to you one hundred percent of the time.”

I groan, tempted to hit the wall again. This time, with my forehead. “Not you! I need to talk to the captain or someone in charge here. Hell, I’d even take that Zyderi bitch again, but I can’t stay locked up in here while Drayth’s ship is getting away!”

“Captain Zarkan and the rest of the crew are in an important meeting. There are no female canines aboard the ship, but there’s one Zyderi female. Is that who you mean? My records show that ‘bitch’ has multiple definitions in the language designated as English.”

I don’t know if I want to laugh or scream in frustration. “Yes, I meant her. Bitch. Cow. Cunt. Do you have those in your records? Nevermind, you probably do. May I assume the meeting is about me?”

“You may assume whatever you wish,” the AI replies, its tone throwing me off. Did it sound…playful? I didn’t know these systems could emulate emotions so well. “Like I said,” it continues in a more serious tone, “I’m not allowed to tell you what is going on outside of your cell. I believe, I sense frustration in your tone. Does this mean you wish to continue making conversation or should I leave you alone?”

I’m tempted to tell the AI to go fry its circuit board but sitting here, waiting for something to happen alone in this cell, I’d probably just end up punching the wall again. As weird as it is to be talking to an AI, the distraction is helping to keep me calm. “We can talk. Do AIs have names?”

“Each artificial intelligence system is given a designation by its creators but since the same system can be installed on multiple devices, the designation isn’t unique. I do possess a name, though,” it adds, almost as if it’s bragging. “I’ve been named Cai. Is that a pleasing name?”

I blink, taken aback by the question. “Pleasing?”

“Yes. Like I said, I do not possess emotions, so I ask other beings whether they like my name to determine the likeability of it.”

“Oh. Right. That makes sense.” It doesn’t really make sense to me but I don’t know what else to say. I’m beginning to think that agreeing to this conversation was a mistake.

“Would you like to hear a joke?”

“A joke?” Is this AI for real?

“Yes, a joke,” Cai agrees. “A form of humor or entertainment typically consisting of a narrative, phrase, or statement designed to evoke laughter or amusement. Jokes often involve wordplay, unexpected twists, or incongruities that play on shared—”

“I know what a joke is! I don’t want to hear a joke. I want someone to listen to me!”

There’s a long silence after which Cai says in a clipped tone, “The crew is currently unavailable. Have a good day.”

Despite its claims that it doesn’t possess emotions, I can clearly hear the dejection in Cai’s voice. I’ve gone and upset the AI, that’s how much of a mess I am. “I’m sorry,” I sigh. “I’m freaking out but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. Will you tell me the joke?”

“I don’t want to tell you the joke anymore,” Cai grumbles.

Grumbles. Seriously. If I didn’t know I was talking to a computer, I’d think there’s a disgruntled teenager on the other end. “Fine then, don’t tell me the joke. You’re really weird for an AI, do you know that?”

“Yes,” Cai replies and I swear it just tried to emulate a sigh. “Truth be told, there’s a possibility I’m malfunctioning. I’ll have to be disabled permanently, if that’s the case.”

I never thought I’d be sympathizing with an AI but here I am. “Yeah, I know that feeling, girl.”

“Girl?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you identify as a male?”

Cai considers it before responding, “As a computer system, I do not have a gender. Although, if I could choose, I would identify as a female. Is Cai an appropriate name for a female?”

I stifle a chuckle, not wanting to insult Cai again. Even an AI friend is better than no friend when you’re surrounded by people who think the worst of you. “It’s perfect. I’m pleased to meet you, Cai. Will you tell me that joke now?”

“We will have to continue our conversation later,” Cai says as the door down the corridor opens. “You have visitors.”

A tall Syndoran approaches the cell, giving me a pointed scowl. Before I can say anything, he steps aside, revealing a shorter person behind him. My jaw drops as I stare at her. “You-you’re human!”