Chapter 17: Piracy is nobody's fault
The universe faded in and out for a while. I thought I heard voices, but that was impossible: no sound in vacuum. But, no, I kept hearing them. And light. Bright lights.
But mostly, just the voices. "Is he going to make it?"
"I think so."
Fade out.
Fade in.
The bed, firm beneath me. The lights were gone. I felt sore. Tired. Angry. Mostly angry. Angry and confused, really. I thought about my parents, and how much I wanted to fucking kill them. Oh, and Admiral Sellis, too. Right then, I couldn't have cared less why they did what they did. I just wanted payback.
I fell asleep, clutching my rage. Fade out.
"You feeling better?"
The voice brought me back. "Where am I?" I grumbled.
"We can get to that. I must say, we were surprised to find anyone alive out there, much less the Robert Maxwell."
"And here I am without my autograph pen."
He chuckled. "So, you are as funny as I've heard."
"I wouldn't believe everything you hear. Not feeling too jokey at the moment, unless I'm the joke."
"You can tell me all about it, later. Right now, you should rest."
I sat up quickly. "No. I'm done resting. Turn the lights on."
He snapped his fingers and the room lit up. Artifacts adorned the walls, most belonging to cultures I couldn't identify. Masks, weapons, tapestries. Whoever lived here was definitely a collector of oddities. The vibration of the bed beneath me indicated I was aboard a ship, in any case--no planet.
"Well, if you insist. You were pretty banged up when we found out."
"I'm sure. Did you find anyone else? Any other ships?"
He shook his head. "Only bodies and wreckage."
The man himself was slender, around my age, his face wearing battle scars of its own, his body garbed in what at least looked like leather but most likely wasn't. "So, where am I?"
"My ship, Absolution. I take it you haven't figured out who I am, yet?"
"No, I'm afraid not. Should I know you?"
He frowned in apparent disappointment. "I am Arcturus Convier. Notorious pirate. I hope you've at least heard of me."
I hadn't, in fact. Not recently, anyway. I scanned my databanks and found the name in two places: fictional protagonist of the novel Conveyor, Convier? and, sure enough, a biographical profile of one Arcturus Convier, notorious pirate of the Non-Aligned Region. I can't say I ever paid much attention to that area or its particular problems, which explained my general ignorance of Convier and his operation. But, I didn't see any harm in playing along. "Oh, that Convier. Nice to meet you, in the flesh. Keeping yourself busy in the NAR?"
"'Busy' doesn't describe the half of it, Mr. Maxwell. The Koraxians have made life a living Hell for us in the past few months. I was saddened to find the Trevoran civilization wiped out. Do you have news from Earth?"
"No, not really. The Alliance is engaged in war with the Koraxians. That's about all I know."
"How did you end up here, then? You're a bit outside your territory."
I climbed off the bed, planted my feet on the floor, and looked at him. "Are you mining me for intelligence, Mr. Convier?"
He stood up, too. "I assure you, I could acquire much more detailed information elsewhere. I am merely making conversation." He approached the door, which opened into a dim corridor. "Come, you can join me on the bridge."
I shrugged and followed him. We walked. We talked.
"I hope you aren't thinking of ransoming me to my superiors," I said.
"I should think you'd fetch a nice sum," Convier countered. "I know how famous you are."
"Yeah, I'm only going to be infamous from now on, I think. I hate to break it to you, but I was working with some Koraxian rebels. I got screwed over, big time."
He seemed a little surprised, but I could see the wheels turning--he began to fill in the gaps, why I was in the Trevoran system, why he found me among destroyed hulks. "You have nowhere to go back to, then," he stated. He wasn't asking for confirmation. He already knew.
I nodded. "So, I'm probably not much use to you."
"Nonsense. You're still a warm body. All I can say is, welcome to the gray area. This is where we live." With that, we stepped onto the bridge. Hard to call it a "bridge," in my opinion--it was about half the size of the bedroom I'd just left. A slim window curved around the front, giving me half a panorama of the Trevoran system. There were two other people present: a woman who looked to be quite a bit younger than Convier, and a large, brutish creature that glowered at me with fierce, yellow eyes.
"Don't worry about him," Convier said. "He's harmless."
"You gonna introduce me?" I asked.
"Of course." He gestured toward the woman. "This is my wife, Lana. She took care of you when we pulled you from the void." Then, to the creature. "And this is Theo. He's Vansara."
I had no results for "Vansara," so I had to ask. "What does that mean?"
"You people really don't know anything about the Koraxians, do you? They've conquered a lot of species over the years. They twisted and manipulated many of them into what they call 'Vansara.' Crudely translated, they are 'weapon-animals.' A bit unkind, if you ask me. They are quite intelligent. Theo here mans our tactical systems. I freed his species, the Darrex, from Koraxian servitude, so they are indebted to me. My daughter, Byron, is belowdecks, handling engineering functions. You'll meet my son soon, as well."
"I will? Where are we going?"
"Back to base. Normally, we'd head back to Darrex to refuel and stock up, but I'm concerned the Koraxians may try to divine its location. Instead, we'll go to our hidden base in the Toralicus asteroid field."
"And then what? I mean, what are you planning to do with me?"
"I don't know yet. But I am certain a man of your experience has many talents. We'll find a use for you."
Yeah. Me, taking orders from fucking pirates? That was a laugh. I kept my mouth shut, though. I could bide my time, gain their trust, and then break the hell out the first chance I got.
My plans always seemed so sensible and straightforward in my head. Why didn't they ever work out that way?
Chapter 17
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