15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Faelin

These stupid walkways surely weren’t made for someone my size. I curse internally as I squeeze through the tight passages and duck under pipes and thick wires, all the while trying to make as little noise as possible. This engineering walkway weaves and wends around the entire ship and whenever I inch a grate open to look into a corridor or room, I see guards armed to the teeth.

Me? I have Nala’s tiny stunner that’s going to run out of power in three or four hits. I nabbed a bag of emergency equipment from the UGC hovercraft before leaving, but it only contains first aid supplies and basic tools to make a shelter and purify water. Why anyone would need that on a space station is beyond me. It’s probably one of those stupid directives nobody dares to question.

I’m alone and practically unarmed, but that doesn’t deter me. If anything, it makes the mission more interesting. If only there wasn’t a little girl’s life on the line, I’d be enjoying myself. I just miss my hammer. And my custom-made body armor. Yes, those two things certainly would have made this easier for me.

My blood boils as I think of Nala’s daughter. Not because she didn’t tell me about her. That I understand. But I’m appalled by Drayth. Trafficking sentient beings is bad enough, but children? What kind of despicable assface does that?

Everything Nala did and said makes sense to me now. I don’t have children. Or relatives, for that matter, but I consider my team my family. If their lives were in danger, I’d be willing to do what Nala did and much, much worse.

Ellen. I roll the unfamiliar name on my tongue, wondering what she’s like. Fierce and stubborn like her mother, no doubt. Will she like me? I don’t have any experience with children and I’m a big guy. She’ll probably be scared of me. She must be pretty scared, even now.

I imagine the little girl is cowering in the corner of some filthy cell, crying and calling out for her mother. My heart aches at the mental image. I have to find her. So far, however, I’ve only found Drayth’s goons and an angry-looking Kah’Rakh female with rather ruffled feathers. She’s typing furiously on her datapad while talking to someone over comms about shipments and sorting through data chips. She’s probably Drayth’s assistant.

I haven’t seen any slaves or even other civilians besides the angry secretary. Is it possible that Ellen isn’t here? Could Drayth have already sold her, perhaps to someone on the station?

I quell my rising worries. Ellen is here and I’ll find her. I’ll keep her and Nala safe and happy. It’s that simple. I refuse to complicate my situation with what-ifs.

Finally, in one of the ship’s lower level corridors, I spot someone who doesn’t belong here. A Genixarian. Her clothes and overall behavior suggest she’s a servant. Or a slave. There’s no collar around her neck, but that means nothing. There are plenty of ways of controlling people that don’t involve slave collars, as in the situation with Nala and Ellen.

I climb through the narrow exit hatch and stretch out my arms and neck in the wide corridor, relishing the instant relief that stretching brings my aching bones. I love my job but crawling through the air vents and engineering walkways is not a fun part of it.

The Genixarian doesn’t notice me following her. Rounding the next corner, she disappears into a room. I stalk after her, listening for suspicious sounds. Thankfully, the guards are mostly concentrated in the upper section of the ship, no doubt to protect their precious master. This section seems deserted.

With the stunner in hand, I touch the door panel, planning to question the Genixarian about Ellen’s whereabouts. Standing in the doorway, I aim the stunner at the Genixarian but there’s no need to question her. Ellen is here, inside this room.

Neither of them has noticed me as they continue what seems to be a very heated discussion. Instead of crying and whimpering like I’d imagined just moments ago, Ellen’s glaring up at the Genixarian. “I don’t like it here. I want Mama,” she demands in a tone similar to the one Captain Zarkan uses to snap orders at us during combat. “And I’m hungry. Where’s Mama, Aunt Mu? I want her now,” she says, stomping her little foot on the floor, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her little tail swishing from side to side.

“Calm yourself, child,” the Genixarian chides. “You know Master Drayth doesn’t tolerate your outbursts, and your new master won’t either.”

The girl’s composure wavers a little. “I don’t like Master Drayth,” she grumbles defiantly, “and I don’t like you either. Or him,” she adds, pointing at me. “I want Mama.”

“Aunt Mu” turns abruptly and finally notices my presence. “Who are you? You’re not one of Master Drayth’s people. How did you get aboard this ship? I’m calling the guards.”

“No, you’re not,” I retort, waving Nala’s stunner in her direction. “Give me your comm and any other devices you have.”

“I don’t have a comm,” Mu responds. “And you are in huge trouble, hybrid. You don’t want to cross Master Drayth.”

I roll my eyes. “Master Drayth can suck my—” Eyeing the little girl, I pause to find some child-appropriate insult. I don’t have many of those. “Er…thumb. I don’t care what he thinks. I’m getting the girl out of here. You can come along too, if you wish.”

Mu considers it, then shakes her head. “No. I have a decent life here. The odds of a successful escape are too low to warrant an attempt. I won’t let you take the child, either. Master intends to sell her and—”

I pull the trigger on the stunner. I’ve heard enough about selling children to last me a lifetime.

A tiny gasp from behind me informs me that shooting people in front of children probably isn’t the best way to gain their trust. Now Ellen has retreated into a corner and is finally looking like the frightened little girl I’d imagined a moment ago, tears welling in her eyes.

Fuck. I’m an idiot. Nala will shoot me again when I tell her how I scared her little girl. This time, she’ll probably use a real gun.

“Hey,” I say softly. “It’s okay. I know it might not look like it, but I’m a friend.” I crouch in front of her to appear smaller. “I’m Faelin and I’m your mama’s friend. I came to take you to her.”

“Mama?” she whispers, then chews on her lower lip. “Is Mama here?”

“No, but she sent me to come and get you. She told me to find the prettiest little girl on the ship, wearing a beautiful pink dress and holding a doll.”

Ellen peeks at the bed. “Zuri is sleeping,” she says. I can see a tuft of fake hair sticking from beneath the blanket there. “She doesn’t like it here either. But she likes Aunt Mu. Did you hurt Aunt Mu?”

“No, of course not. Look.” I gather the slender Genixarian into my arms and set her on the bed next to the doll. “Aunt Mu is just sleeping, like Zuri. Tell me, Ellen, are there any other children on this ship?”

“Ship?”

Right, she probably doesn’t know she’s on a spaceship. I doubt Drayth or Mu spent time explaining it to her. Perhaps she doesn’t even understand the concept yet. I decide to change tactics. “Do you have any friends here? Someone you play with, someone nice? Other girls or boys?”

Frowning, Ellen shakes her head. “Just Zuri. And Mama. There are never nice people around the house. Mama tells me not to talk to anyone, that they’re all dangavous.”

“Dangerous,” I correct her absentmindedly. If she’s telling the truth, there are no other slaves around. That makes matters slightly easier. All I have to do now is to take her to the hangar, steal a shuttle, leave the ship, and wait for the Supernova to come and pick us up. Oh, and do all of that without anyone noticing us. A piece of a Karetelan pie.

“Alright, my lady,” I tease the girl, kneeling before her so that I don’t loom over her. “How about we go find your mama?”

“Yay!” she exclaims and rushes to collect her doll.