It had been more than five Berion Cycles since the Thomas Bowden had been able to rest her engines. Five full cycles since they had stopped moving at nearly full speed with the engines near melting.
"How long will it take to do the damned repairs?"
"Sixteen cycles."
"Sixteen?!"
"I can't repair anything that's hot enough to melt my face off. We have to cool down before I can even -start- repairing the damage. And then, it'll take me a few cycles to do that. And that's even if I have all the parts I need Bowden!" The engineer's form lost its shape for just a split moment, before regaining their composure.
"We haven't been able to shake the damn ship for more than ten in the past [week]." The stress was beginning to show on the usually somber captain's face plates, his mandibles clicked together when he paused and the secondary arms he often kept folded under the ugly coat he always wore were shifting, flexing, and grasping at each other.
"Captain, the crew is exhausted. The ship desperately needs repair. And you're going to molt if you get any more stressed. We NEED to rest."
"I know." He insisted, snapping his mandibles more sharply than he'd intended. Making the engineer startle briefly. Apologetically, he ran a hand across the chitinous plates along his head. "I know…" He said more gently. "I'll buy us as much time as I can."
------------
"Five cycles at nearly full speed. Their engines should be near capacity at that point. That model's only build for short bursts, not extended run." The helmsman declared back toward the captain. "Should we close in Sir?"
"Not yet, if they're still willing to run at that speed, they aren't finished yet. Fall back, let them catch their breath for a bit. We have time yet, and they're running out of it. When was their last stop?"
"Three docyces ago. They stopped at the Balda'roon station, we picked up pursuit within ten cycles."
"Not enough time for a resupply and repair, but enough for a refuel then."
"Yes Sir. Confirmed with the Dock Supervisor they fully fueled, but couldn't complete repairs."
"That's fine. Where's the nearest gate."
"At current speed, they'll be within the Agralex gate in another…" He trailed off briefly, tapping something into the display. "Eight cycles. If their engines are modified."
"It's The Bowden, Helmsman Jakar. That ship is modified." Captain Hasser stated matter-of-factly. "Drop back, give them some space, and alert the crew to rest up. We'll pick back up in three cycles."
"They'll be able to put a fair distance between us at that timing, Sir."
"It's fine. This is a marathon, not a sprint." The Helmsman looked confused at the phrase. "It's an old saying from Terra." Hasser explained. "It means we're built for endurance."
----------
"They've dropped back again." Fakeer announced from her display. "Falling back… I think they've stopped."
"Don't buy into it. Keep going. Put as much distance between us as possible. How far away is Agralax?"
"Eight more cycles, Captain." She warbled.
"We can't gate in this condition, we'd arrive at the other side with no engines at all!" Tyran's form lost it's composure and for a moment looked as though they would simply turn into a multi-hued puddle.
"Easy… easy. I know that. But there's a repair base three cycles toward Havalik from there. If we get enough distance, we can stop there and try to get some of these repairs done."
Tyran quivered in place, then made an affirmative gesture. "Understood." They slid back to Engineering.
Fakeer focused on her console. "Captain…" She kept her shoulders squared, watching the indicator of their pursuing ship get further away. "Who, exactly, is chasing us and why?"
"I wish I knew. Could be anyone from any number of systems." His purple and indigo plates shifted into what was almost a prideful expression, if it hadn't been so weary. "It happens when you're a notorious band of pirates."
"We aren't pirates, sir." Fakeer tried to smile, but exhaustion had robbed her of the genuine ability. "We're Outlaws…? Well we're not pirates."
Bowden chuckled, an odd sort of sound from the man. "I believe that means I'm right, Fakeer." He jested. His tone softened. "Just hold on a bit longer. We'll get some rest as soon as we can."
"I wish I could believe that, Captain."
-------------
"It's not even a military ship! It has no military or mercenary insignia! Captain WHO DID YOU PISS OFF?!" Kitani's voice turned upwardly shrill in her frustration, the vibrant comb of feathers along the back of her head flared in agitation. "It's huge, it's fast, it's expensive and it hasn't stopped chasing us for a decta! A DECTA CAPTAIN!" Again her voice went just this side of shrill, making Bowden's mandibles twitch in a grimace.
"Hell if I know, Kitani. If I knew, I'd be more willing to stop, let them catch up, and talk to them. But It seems ill-advised when you can't find anything out about it and you can't stop long enough to figure it out. "And easy on the tone, Kit." He tried to laugh it off, but even he was feeling the effects of the constant pursuit by now.
The feathered helms made a disgruntled noise in her throat and turned back to her console, ruffled. "Fakeer's course is still the best, engines are still too hot to do… well pretty much anything. And Tyran says if we don't cool them down we'll lose them anyway, even with the modifications. They sounded pretty mad too."
Bowden picked at a loose bit of chiton at his jaw idly and flicked it away.
"Yeah, they usually are. We're what? A cycle away from the base?""We're a cycle away from Agrilax Gate."
"And our friends?"
"Not on screen, but our long-range is still out, so they could be anywhere as far as we'd know. We're all but blind."
"That's fine. Keep heading toward Havalik, straight on, you'll know the base when you see it."
"If you say so…"
He's been awake for far, far too many cycles. Everyone had been on high alert since they noticed their tail two systems ago. Bowden himself had been awake at -least- three docyce. And if he slept at all it hadn't been more than three or four cycles at best.
Fakeer had brought up that his decision making skills may be in question. She knew the Agralax system, even Kitani knew it fairly well. And there was no base they knew of anywhere even close to where Bowden was directing them.
Flying blind with no long range communication or sensors, engines running so hot they were ready to melt, a powder keg of exhausted shipmates from across a dozen planetary systems being led by a captain who hadn't slept…
Kitani and Fakeer were worried about a mutiny.
Or worse.
"Bring up a sensor reading?" Bowden's voice sounded haggard, the tones shifting between irritation and something Kitani couldn't quite identify.
"Sure…" She obliged, showing a display screen of the system, the rings of Agrilax visible only barely, while the giant, distant form of Havalik loomed, encircled by it's moons and trapped objects. Agrilax might host the most life in the system, but Havalik was much more impressive.
"Perfect. Send a distress signal, pulse it twice." Kitani looked at him in confusion, the man's eyes were focused on the display, but there was a hard-to-pin emotion in his body language. Anxiety? Anticipation? Desperation? Worry.
Kitani opened the short range communication relay and sent out two quick distress signals.
The air on the Pilot's deck was thick. Kitani realized it only when her chest hurt that she'd held her breath, mimicking the large Captain who's eyes were locked on the visual display.
"There!" His smaller, secondary arms thrust forward, as if he could grasp at the display itself, his large hands locked tightly on the back of Kitani's console seat. "Thank fuck."
She didn't see anything at first, just the massive gas giant and it's numerous moons. But as if breaking away from the flock, one of the smaller objects seemed to be moving away from the field of moons and asteroids.
"Thank fuck…" The captain breathed out a long, low held breath. "They're still there. Had me worried for a minute."
"Cap… tain?" Kitani couldn't quite believe it. But sure enough, a massive colony-sized station had hidden itself among the gas giant's orbiting children and it seemed to be responding to the distress signal.
"Signal them again, then head for that station, Kitani. I've got good news for the crew."
She quickly signaled the distress call twice more, and watched as the response flew out of the base in the form of a dozen small tow ships.
Bowden grabbed the ship's all alert. Putting on his Captain face and voice, despite looking so haggard.
"Congrats everyone. We're home for a while. We're ten cycles ahead of our new friends and about to hit up an old friend. Aqua, report to the top deck. Everyone else, breathe a bit, and stand down. We're getting a tow in. Tyran, get a list of everything you need. Everyone else, be ready to disembark in… one and a half cycles."
With the message sent, inner ship comms lit up as crew started talking almost all at once. Bowden collapsed back into his console with an exhausted sigh.
"That would have been embarrassing if they'd been collected."
"Captain… where exactly are we?"
----------------
It was populated with thousands and thousands of robots. Repair robots, scrapped together droids, cleaner bots, welding robos, builders, every type one could imagine. Even massive mining robotics on sledges, and all of it looked like it was pieced together by children.
An artificial colony of artificial lifeforms from around the galaxy. Outmodes, scrap, thrown away, and any other form of abused mechanical life form, all joined together in a base where they could exist on their own.
When the ship docked they were greeted by an unskinned escort droid. Her shiny metal exterior, while patched in places, was well taken care of. It was the same for almost every occupant the crew passed.
"Welcome to Bow's Den. I'm Tomi."
Aqua spun on the purple captain. "-Really- Bowden?"
He shrugged innocently. "In my defense, I didn't name it."
"I did." Claimed the bot, matter-of-factly. "I thought it was clever."
All four of Bowden's arms pointed toward the shiny former escort droid. "See? I'm innocent."
Without missing a beat she responded. "That's untrue. But welcome to the Den all the same. Now, what have you done to the ship, Bowden?"
"He's been running her ragged!" Tyran's multi-coloured amorphous form wiggled out of the ship and right toward the shiny robot. Shifting their shape around until they solidified four legs to walk on and a torso to hold the portable display out. "We've been running at nearly full speed for a hundred cycles and she needs to rest"
"It hasn't been a hundred cycles." Bowden huffed under his breath. "…yet."
Tyran ignored him, and was escorted away by Tomi, ranting about how abused the ship was by 'the purple beast' while Tomi shot accusatory glances back at the four-armed captain.
He ignored them, looking over the mismatch of crew that had managed to file out of the ship. Raising his voice to be heard over the muddled din of twenty or so crewmembers, he addressed them. Though now he didn't bother to hide the tiredness in his voice, as it was written in every aspect of his hulking frame; that was, for once, free of the overlarge coat he usually wore.
"Alright You!" The crew fell into respectful quiet, around them the mechanical sounds of bots crawling over, under, and around the bedraggled ship turned into background clanging. "We aren't that far ahead of our new friends. A few cycles of rest, recuperation, and repair is all we can afford right now. So, here's what we know. They are persistent. They have our ship flagged, and they aren't mercs, military, or merchants." He paused, then barked. "Fakeer."
The short bark of her name grabbed the attention of the black and red half of the piloting team. She produced a light display, throwing up a visual scan of the offending ship while he continued.
"It's high end; almost twice our size, and carries no identifying insignia on its hull. We couldn't get enough signal to decode its ID broadcast because the bastards focus targeted our long-range array after we pegged them for tailing us. At least two of the crew are Terran or at least of Terran-descent… Aqua caught an image of them just after they made her at the refueling station."
The image of the ship was replaced with an eyeframe shot of a male and female dressed in sleek official-looking uniforms.
"For once in my life, I have no fucking clue who these people are. The ship's unknown, and while I've done a -whole- lot of things worthy of being chased across five systems without pause; I usually remember the people I did it to. Which means…" His weary eyes traveled over the beleaguered cast of his crew. "This particular skeleton has escaped from one of your closets. Start thinking back and figure out who you pissed off in your past lives. Because we're done running. Literally. We can't run anymore. We have maybe twelve cycles before they catch up to us and that's only if they make a wrong turn at Agrilax and head for Vermi instead of Havalik. Which I doubt they're gonna do."
Exhaustion settled over his shoulders, dropping his head and making the powerful captain look his not unimpressive age. It was a surprising show of weakness that most of the crew had never seen. Aqua stepped up to his side, taking his large hand in her own supportingly as a good second should.
"Look, no one's on this crew and in this ship because we're Lilly white and Simon pure. If any of you recognize these assholes, speak up. If not to me, tell Aqua. I don't care what or who it was; I don't care when or what you did. But I need to know what I'm up against, so we can stand shoulder to shoulder and either run to the edge of the galaxy or start pulling arms out of sockets. And I'm fucking tired," He waved a hand over the crew as a whole. "…we all are."
Faces turned toward faces, each crewmember looking from one to the other for a hint of recognition among them. No one spoke up, but a silent agreement fell between them all that the situation was bad.
"Now that we're all aware of how sufficiently fucked we are. Go stretch your legs and figure out who the fuck is on our ass. Ask the bots for directions." He grumbled lowly. "I'm gonna go hit the damn spa." The lumbering form of the captain turned and picked his way past clamours of bots, followed by Aqua until he waved her off, leaving her to return to the crew.
A small compliment of robots approached, offering to lead the way to the barracks so the crew could rest and talk. Several voices speculated with one another over who they may have angered. And before long a betting pool opened up on who's fault it was.
Despite the grumbling between them, an unspoken solidarity remained. The crew of the Thomas Bowden was a family. Like siblings in a nest, they could fight each other. And now and then had damn near killed one another in various fights over various reasons.
If they wanted to kick the ass of a deserving crewmate? They'd do so. But some stranger threatening their beloved sibling? Twenty plus crewmates from a dozen planetary systems and a four-armed Gaarth captain would be happy to show them the nearest supernova.
---------------------
Sure enough, tacking on some speed caught the trailing ship to the planetary gate. Cassian Hassen eyed the display.
"So… Havalik or Vermi?"
"Sir?"
"Do you think they aimed for Havalik? Or perhaps Vermi?"
"The Havalik orbital cloud is closer right now. Vermi's currently in it's elliptical peak on the other side of the system." The helmsman offered.
"Head for the gas giant then."
"Sir, why did you let them get such a long head start? Isn't there a chance they'll have repaired their ship by now?"
"Undoubtedly. I'm counting on their long range communications array to be functional by now. But I don't care if they have the best mechanics this side of the spiral, their engine damage won't be repaired."
"Sir?"
"If I'm right, what we want will be waiting for us. Send a communication to the Bowden as soon as we're in range of her long range array. If I'm right, you'll get an affirmative as soon as you send it."
"Yes Sir." Jakar remained confused, but trusted the Captain's orders. It was his ship after all. And he'd been right about everything up to now.
The long range comms picked up the larger ship only a few moments before the communication request came in. Nev just happened to be at the controls, calibrating the engines with Tyran when it came through. He send the request right back to the ship.
Everyone had gotten at least six cycles of rest, most had been working on various repair, cleaning, or research. And Bowden, refreshed after a full nine had a chat with a few potential targets among the crew. He'd also put more than a few credits in the pool, his chits were on Del having pissed off some Terran high house.
Del, to his credit, wasn't positive it wasn't his fault.
The situation was still bothering Bowden, however, as something still didn't add up. That was when Mariele approached him.
"Captain?" The quiet voice interrupted his throughts, the return comms signal had already gone through, and he was brushing off the signature coat. It took him longer than he would have admitted to realize where the quiet, unassuming voice came from.
Mariele rarely spoke. In fact, he could barely recall a time he'd heard more than a hundred words from her in the entire pont she'd been on the ship.
"Mari." He answered shortly, then looked at her. She was frightened.
No, she was terrified. His plates knitted together and he bent down to be just a bit closer to eye level. "What happened?"
"I think it's my fault." Came the quiet, afraid response.
Well, that got all of his neurons. He raised a hand, signaling to Nev with a snap. A wordless signal to get his second in command on deck -now-.
"Mariele… what makes you think they're targeting you?" The old captain's brain was firing left, right and centre trying to place where they'd picked the blue-skinned Terranform. Some off spiral supply station? She'd been some stowaway on a cargo ship…
"Captain." The short response came from his right side.
"Aqua, Mariele seems to think our new friends may be her old friends. Thoughts?"
By this point the blue-skinned and crystal eyed former stowaway looked as though she was going to shake herself to pieces on the main deck. Aquatani looked her over, smiled gently and seemed to regard her for several drops.
"It may be possible, Captain. But the pool is still in Del's favour." The weak attempt at humour made Bowden stand just a tick stiffer.
"Get everyone on board. Nev, finish those calibrations while we're idle, disengage from the base and send them on their way." Things were lining up in Bowden's mind. He turned, a little sharper than he intended to, toward the terrified form of the ship's assistant medic.
"I'll say again, whatever happened, I don't care about specifics. That's a past life. However." He bent his overly large frame, seemingly larger now that he'd put the ugly brown coat back on. "You're shaking worse than a leaf in a devil wind, Mariele. I won't ask but one question. Did you tell Aqua?"
His second looked to him, Mariele looked shocked and, somehow, more frightened. Which told him everything he needed. He nodded shortly. "That's all I need. Aqua, I expect a full report -later-." He emphasized, then stood back to his full height. A hand went down on the innership comms console.
"All crew, get your asses back on the Bowden. Now."
The false asteroid was floating away not even a cycle later, lost to the orbital cloud field and cloaked among the debris by the time the larger ship came into the ship's visual range. She was scuffed, tired, and old. But she was patiently waiting. So when the short range comms pinged with an open request, Bowden was ready to answer.
On the screen a half dozen Terrans were poised at various positions. All slicked hair, multi-coloured private industry uniforms, and uninterested expressions. A sharp contrast to the distinctly inTerran crew consisting of: a purple, four-armed Gaarth captain; a skinny brown six-armed Klaxon navigation; a Terran-shaped android with blue covering and short white hair; and a pair of avian-like crewmembers in black/red and white.
Neither crew looked particularly happy, though both captains wore vaguely acceptable neutral expressions.
"Greetings to you Polaris. Have we finished our game of tag?" Captain Hasser smirked. "Bit of engine trouble caused a slowdown, I suspect?" He allowed a smug twitch of his lip. "I have business with you Bowden, concerning a rather dangerous cargo you're carrying."
"We're not a cargo ship, and you're being a bit rude, Captain. Seeing as you know me and mine, but didn't introduce yourself and your blind ship."
The Terran seemed briefly insulted, or surprised. "Right. I did get a bit ahead of myself. My most sincere apologies, you must understand. Tales of your ship and crew do spread to the far systems from one arm to the next." He gave a short bow at the waist, the bare minimum of Captain-to-Captain respect. "I'm Cassian Hasser, Captain of the Startear. We'll speak more in person, Captain Bowden. I really am quite honoured to meet you face-to-face."
He didn't allow a response, cutting the communication even as the smaller ship shook from the impact of tow cables.
Bowden made a rude grunt in his throat before hitting the innership comms.
"Crew, lock down in bunks. Essential crew to the top deck. We're being boarded."
---------------------
"Welcome aboard. Captain Cassian." Bowden didn't hide his displeasure at the Terran man's actions. But neither was he hostile. It was simply the proud demeanor of a leader who didn't appreciate the invasion of another.
Cassian, on the other hand showed and gave off no air of ill will. Only the apparent unearned superiourity of most Terran high races
"I've no fight with you, Captain Bowden. Just the opposite. I've grown up hearing the tales of you, your ship, and your crew. It's inspired countless others to take up a helm into the stars."
"So you ran us into the dirt for nearly four docyce because of… admiration? Most just send a card. Some send explosives." Bowden gave his mimic of a Terran smile. His mandibles never -quite- getting the shape right, so it came across as nearly threatening.
"Not at all." Cassian looked upward at the (In)famous captain. "But you're carrying an Atlemarian." He stated simply with finality.
Bowden stopped briefly. That statement threw him. "Do I look like the kind of man who would put myself, my crew, and every port I've ever been to in that kind of danger? There's no Atlemarians on this ship."
If Bowden ever dealt in positives. This was the one thing even he knew.
Atlemaria was a plagued world. Quarantined for generations now with the only surviving populations being deformed by plague scars. An interstellar prion disease that had ravaged three star systems before being contained via extreme measures. He'd seen the pain and suffering the Atlemarian disease had caused, the lives it had ripped down.
"Terrifying. Isn't it?" Cassian's voice broke through Bowden's moment of thought. The Gaarth's eyes landed on, and narrowed at, the Terran Captain.
"Not really. Since there's no such passenger on this ship. I keep extremely precise manifests, you're welcome to look them over." He shot back shortly. His secondary arms, folded under the ugly brown coat began to open. Aqua moved a half step closer to him, discreetly pressing her elbow into his hip.
"I'll have a look. But while I inspect the manifest, my crew will search her out." A gloved hand lifted, sending two lines of Terran crew strode across the barrier and began making their way to the crew decks with an uncomfortable familiarity. "It won't take long, I assure you." That smug tone infuriated Bowden more than anything. More than the everlasting case, the stress, and the capture. Just that Terran smugness that he hated -so- much.
Bowden's mandibles clicked slightly. He lifted a hand toward Fakeer, who delivered the manifest log in a tense handoff to the man.
"Who, precisely are you with? If you don't mind my asking. If the situation was this important, why go through all…" He motioned glibly with one large purple hand, eyeing the bold man.
"I'm a privately interested party. We're researching the disease itself in search of a cure."
"There is no cure. They've sought one for six generations and-"
"Not yet. There isn't." Cassian interrupted. "But there is hope for one. Specifically in the 'Marian you've been unwittingly trafficking."
"And I'm telling you I've never picked anyone up from that arm of th-." Bowden was growing annoyed, his hand balled tightly and resting on the back of his console.
A high-pitched, terrified yelp broke through his defense and he turned sharply.
Bowden wasn't the only one to respond in defense of the terrified noise his medical assistant had made. He heard the distinct sound of four barrack doors open, and had to bark out a sharp "Quarters!" before Mariele's 'siblings' came out. The last thing he needed was a pissed off Deloth male trying to rip the arms off a dozen Terrans.
He straightened up, as if he'd suddenly had a quasar steel rod implanted in his back. The doors slid shut. One. Two. Three.
He turned to Aqua sharply. Who stalked, stiffly and straight, down the barracks.
Four.
Slowly he turned toward Cassian. Who, even if only briefly, seemed to realize -something- had been averted. Though he maintained the façade of being correct in his actions.
Bowden carefully cleared his throat, Mariele was escorted to the ship-to-ship barrier by three Terrans who stood around her. He could see her. Unhurt, but shaking.
He turned pointedly toward Hesser. "You seem to have mistaken my Glaxian medical assistant for your missing 'Marian plague victim, Captain. Considering her state of. A-hem, dress when we found her discarded with the rotten cargo, I can assure you, personally, she has no Atlemarian disease scars, or signs of ever having been to any affected planet in the Aquallous Arm."
He squared his shoulders, rolling the tightened muscle down and discreetly shifting the tension down his smaller support arms, still folded tightly under the oversized coat. He tried to relax his expression, attempting to play off the mistake as some kind of joke.
"Though I can see how, to a high Terran eyes, Glaxian and Atlemarians could look alike. I would suggest you release our medical assistant back into our care, since you're clearly mistaken." There was an edge to his tone. An edge that in the past had turned such smug men of multiple races into jelly-kneed apologists. A tone that promised the dislocation of several important body parts.
A tone that did not fuck around.
And it fell flat on the Terran man. Who eyed Bowden, then casually passed the manifest log forward, holding it out as simply as if he had merely borrowed a tissue. "This is why we didn't simply attack you. To give her time to come to her senses. To realize who we were. To inform -you- of the truth, and do the right thing. A shame that the selfish creature has allowed you to live so ignorantly on your own ship, Captain Bowden. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you. But this woman…"
Cassian reached blindly toward Mariele, snatching her wrist and pulled her forward, holding her up until her limbs were stretched out and she was balanced on her toes alone. He thrust her forward. "Has lied to you since day. One. Had we attacked, you would have defended her to your own last life. And no one should die for the lies of another. We tracked her after she escaped the quarantine zone on a supply crate. It took nearly a full urt to find out she had hidden away on -your- ship." He frowns sourly. "A ship that is so well known, so well protected, and so infamous that attacking without retaliation would be impossible. Sneaking aboard would be suicide. And simply requesting you turn her over would be fruitless."
Bowden's body tensed. Had Aqua not returned and firmly lay a hand on his arm to physically remind him of what was at risk, he would have lunged forward and begun relieving the Terran m an of his digits.
"Tell him." Cassian hissed. "Are you an Atlemarian?"
Mariele flinched, tears welled in her crystal clear eyes, her head nodded silently, tension leaving her body as a quiet sob caught in her chest.
"My… name… is J'mari L'emuin… n-not Mariele J'nai." The small voice managed to hiccup out the name. Aquatani's hand gripped to Bowden's forearm in silent affirmation.
Bowden's shoulders remained tense, even as he inhaled slowly.
Cassian lowered the tiny woman until she was flat on her feet, shifting his grip to her shoulder.
"Why?" It was all Bowden could manage. A single word that held a dozen questions. Both for the Terran, and his formerly trusted crewmate.
"Why… doesn't she have scars? Why hasn't anyone ever gotten sick, if she's been exposed to infection? Why did she flee the quarantine zone?" Cassian eyed the massive Gaarth with the self-assurance born of having answers. Why did she come to your ship of all the ships she could have escaped to?"
Bowden nodded mutely, his face plates knitted so tightly across his expression they very nearly formed a mask.
"She's immune." Cassian said shortly, simply. Just as if it were the answer to every question Bowden could ever have.
"Fucking impossible." Bowden snapped.
"It's true. One of -four- born on the entire planet. Different areas, different families, the exact same immunity. Total protein destruction. Not built immunity. Not an adapted immunity. Neither learned nor medical. Born immune, it can't even incubate in their blood. The rarest blood in the known universe."
An emotion passed over Bowden. The expression on Cassian's face was changed. His tone only barely masked the excitement he felt, and just barely, a motion that would never have been noticed by another, he squeezed Mariele's wrist.
"And she ran to the Star Farer himself. The one man in the entire universe who would never question her lie, who would allow her to join without an ounce of hesitation. The one ship in all the arms that she felt could protect her secret. Polaris-class, the most well known ship for nine galaxies, feared by another fifteen. Thomas Bowden and her Captain of the same name."
Conceit oozed from the man as he explained. The self-same superiourity that made Bowden want to rip his smug little arms from their snug little sockets. Self-assured that he had all the answers and could lourde it over everyone on the main deck.
"Over an urt I looked for her. I chose the least violent and safest way to retrieve her. This precious 'Marian child that holds within her the possible cure for the worst disease in the entire universe. Everyone's heard the stories of what you went through facing the disease when your crewmates fell to it. Had you been infected you'd've been locked on the planet with them."
Bowden remained still. If he was breathing, even Aqua couldn't be sure. To break him free of the apparent spell, she squeezed his tightly coiled arm.
The squeeze made him inhale sharply. Deep blue eyes focusing suddenly, intently, intensely, on the other captain standing before him, delicate fingers laced around the even more delicate wrist of his medical assistant. He'd heard enough. Tension rolled out of his shoulders and down his back, making his shoulders droop in defeat. His head fell forward and his hands unclenched. Inch by inch, tension and anger rolled away from his posture.
When he spoke the Gaarth's voice was as calm as it ever was and nearly emotionless. His eyes focused on his crewmate. He neither raised it in anger, nor lowered it in intimidation. His words were soft, unjudgemental, and seeking only the reassurance of truth.
"Is what he said true?"
Mariele/J'mari held back the sobs that wanted to wrack her body. She bite back on the tip of her tongue to return his calm that was as deep as any sea. She quivered in the firm hold Hasser had on her shoulder and wrist.
The truth was the only thing she had left. It had been laid out succinctly before everyone. There was more, but the fingers digging subtly into her flesh wouldn't allow more to be said.
"Yes."
Aqua squeezed Bowden's arm once again. He still didn't look up. He didn't speak another word for a long time; nor did it seem he expected anyone to break the silence between those on the tired old ship's deck.
His shoulders remained limp, and a hand that seemed to move with the weight of a star on it pulled through the fog of his decision and lay atop the comforting and reassuring hand on his arm.
"I can't risk the Atlemarian Prion being released on my ship. Immune or not, Atlemarian children cannot be welcomed on this craft. Thank you Captain Cassian for telling me honestly and without malice or desire about the danger to my crew. I wish you luck in your search for a cure."
Mariele's expression fell. She'd betrayed the trust of her captain. Of course he wouldn't defend her. Her voice failed. Words she desperately wanted to shout toward Bowden died in her chest as she saw his defeated shoulders. She betrayed her captain…
Her body lost its will, legs losing the strength to hold her up. Cassian swept her into his arms. Had he been a bit more noble, and a bit less haughty, it would have been a sweet motion.
As he spoke, Cassian gestured with his chin for his crew to leave the ancient Captain's ship. The air had grown so thick Cassian had briefly considered if it could actually storm in such a confined space.
"Thank you, Captain. The sacrifice you make today shall fuel the world of tomorrow." Captain Hasser swept the smaller woman's form through the connection and back toward his own ship. Within just a couple of moments, the connection was pulled away and the languishing ship was free to float in space as it was. While the larger ship slowly began to turn around. Within a few ionfel it had charted a new course and flung itself into space; leaving behind the Thomas Bowden and her somber crew.
They waited. The ship sat silent and still. Subtly, quietly, the computer system chirped away in calculations. When the ship was well out of sensor range, a flurry of activity stirred in her belly. "They're clear. All scans confirm Star Tear is out of range, left nothing behind." Kitani's voice was the first to cut through the thick silence.
Below, the amorphous Engineer called up. "Engines calibrated."
"Ten… nine… eight…" Bowden's rumbling voice counted down from where his head remained bowed in somber contemplation. "Seven… six…" His head raised up, the expression determined, newly refreshed, and… excited.
"Six… five… four…" Now as he counted down, he began moving around the flight deck.
At the helm, Nev's six limbs dances over consoles, controlling four panels' worth of information effortlessly. While Fakeer and Kitani moved to the barracks deck with a renewed vigor, as if their tail feathers had been lit aflame.
"Three… two…" Aqua was counting as well, moving with the speed and efficiency of a madwoman on a mission.
The barracks were filled with heavily armed crewmates. Ready to go to war for their beloved crew member.
Bowden's eyes told of the rage he had broiled down, concentrated into his gut so tightly he could feel his insides roiling against each other as if they would burst any moment.
As the engines whirred into a new life, the ship rumbled with a renewed purpose. Gunner seats sat empty, but enticing.
With the new information Bowden had his decision. He would be going to the ends of the universe.
But before they could pick up the wayward crewmate, there were a few stops they needed to make. Engines hot, the ship took off through the Orbital field.
It had been more than five full Berion Cycles since the Thomas Bowden had been able to rest her engines. Five full cycles since they had stopped moving at nearly full speed with the engines near melting.
"How long will it take to do the damned repairs?"
"Sixteen cycles."
"Sixteen?!"
"I can't repair anything that's hot enough to melt my face off. We have to cool down before I can even -start- repairing the damage. And then, it'll take me a few cycles to do that. And that's even if I have all the parts I need Bowden!" The engineer's form lost its shape for just a split moment, before regaining their composure.
"We haven't been able to shake the damn ship for more than ten in the past decta." The stress was beginning to show on the usually somber captain's face plates, his mandibles clicked together when he paused and the secondary arms he often kept folded under the ugly coat he always wore were shifting, flexing, and grasping at each other.
"Captain, the crew is exhausted. The ship desperately needs repair. And you're going to molt if you get any more stressed. We NEED to rest."
"I know." He insisted, snapping his mandibles more sharply than he'd intended. Making the engineer startle briefly. Apologetically, he ran a hand across the chitinous plates along his head. "I know…" He said more gently. "I'll buy us as much time as I can."
------------
"Five cycles at nearly full speed. Their engines should be near capacity at that point. That model's only build for short bursts, not extended run." The helmsman declared back toward the captain. "Should we close in Sir?"
"Not yet, if they're still willing to run at that speed, they aren't finished yet. Fall back, let them catch their breath for a bit. We have time yet, and they're running out of it. When was their last stop?"
"Three docyces ago. They stopped at the Balda'roon station, we picked up pursuit within ten cycles."
"Not enough time for a resupply and repair, but enough for a refuel then."
"Yes Sir. Confirmed with the Dock Supervisor they fully fueled, but couldn't complete repairs."
"That's fine. Where's the nearest gate."
"At current speed, they'll be within the Agralex gate in another…" He trailed off briefly, tapping something into the display. "Eight cycles. If their engines are modified."
"It's The Bowden, Helmsman Jakar. That ship is modified." Captain Hasser stated matter-of-factly. "Drop back, give them some space, and alert the crew to rest up. We'll pick back up in three cycles."
"They'll be able to put a fair distance between us at that timing, Sir."
"It's fine. This is a marathon, not a sprint." The Helmsman looked confused at the phrase. "It's an old saying from Terra." Hasser explained. "It means we're built for endurance."
----------
"They've dropped back again." Fakeer announced from her display. "Falling back… I think they've stopped."
"Don't buy into it. Keep going. Put as much distance between us as possible. How far away is Agralax?"
"Eight more cycles, Captain." She warbled.
"We can't gate in this condition, we'd arrive at the other side with no engines at all!" Tyran's form lost it's composure and for a moment looked as though they would simply turn into a multi-hued puddle.
"Easy… easy. I know that. But there's a repair base three cycles toward Havalik from there. If we get enough distance, we can stop there and try to get some of these repairs done."
Tyran quivered in place, then made an affirmative gesture. "Understood." They slid back to Engineering.
Fakeer focused on her console. "Captain…" She kept her shoulders squared, watching the indicator of their pursuing ship get further away. "Who, exactly, is chasing us and why?"
"I wish I knew. Could be anyone from any number of systems." His purple and indigo plates shifted into what was could have been a prideful expression, if it hadn't been so weary. "It happens when you're a notorious band of pirates."
"We aren't pirates, sir." Fakeer tilted her head up in an amused motion, but exhaustion had robbed her of the genuine expression. "We're Outlaws…? Well we're not pirates."
Bowden chuckled, an odd sort of sound from the man. "I believe that means I'm right, Fakeer." He jested. His tone softened. "Just hold on a bit longer. We'll get some rest as soon as we can."
Silence hung for a thick second between the pair on the bridge before being broken.
"I wish I could believe that, Captain."
-------------
"It's not even a military ship! It has no military or mercenary insignia! Captain WHO DID YOU PISS OFF?!" Kitani's voice turned upwardly shrill in her frustration, the vibrant comb of feathers along the back of her head flared in agitation. "It's huge, it's fast, it's expensive and it hasn't stopped chasing us for over a decta! A DECTA CAPTAIN!" Again her voice went just this side of shrill, making Bowden's mandibles twitch in a grimace.
"Hell if I know, Kitani. If I knew, I'd be more willing to stop, let them catch up, and talk to them. But It seems ill-advised when you can't find anything out about it and you can't stop long enough to figure it out. "And easy on the tone, Kit." He tried to laugh it off, but even he was feeling the effects of the constant pursuit by now.
The feathered helms pilot made a disgruntled noise in her throat and turned back to her console, ruffled. "Fakeer's course is still the best, engines are still too hot to do… well pretty much anything. And Tyran says if we don't cool them down we'll lose them anyway, even with the modifications. They sounded pretty mad too."
Bowden picked at a loose bit of chiton at his jaw idly and flicked it away.
"Yeah, they usually are. We're what? A cycle away from the base?""We're a cycle away from Agrilax Gate."
"And our friends?"
"Not on screen, but our long-range is still out, so they could be anywhere as far as we'd know. We're all but blind."
"That's fine. Keep heading toward Havalik, straight on, you'll know the base when you see it."
"If you say so…"
He's been awake for far, far too many cycles. Everyone had been on high alert since they noticed their tail two systems ago. Bowden himself had been awake at -least- three docyce. And if he slept at all it hadn't been more than three or four cycles at best.
Fakeer had brought up that his decision making skills may be in question. She knew the Agralax system, even Kitani knew it fairly well. And there was no base they knew of anywhere even close to where Bowden was directing them.
Flying blind with no long range communication or sensors, engines running so hot they were ready to melt, a powder keg of exhausted shipmates from across a dozen planetary systems being led by a captain who hadn't slept…
Kitani and Fakeer were worried about a mutiny.
Or worse.
"Bring up a sensor reading?" Bowden's voice sounded haggard, the tones shifting between irritation and something Kitani couldn't quite identify.
"Sure…" She obliged, showing a display screen of the system, the rings of Agrilax visible only barely, while the giant, distant form of Havalik loomed, encircled by it's moons and trapped objects. Agrilax might host the most life in the system, but Havalik was much more impressive.
"Perfect. Send a distress signal, pulse it twice." Kitani looked at him in confusion, the man's eyes were focused on the display, but there was a hard-to-pin emotion in his body language. Anxiety?
Anticipation?
Desperation?
Worry.
Kitani opened the short range communication relay and sent out two quick distress signals.
The air on the Pilot's deck was thick. Kitani realized it only when her chest hurt that she'd held her breath, mimicking the large Captain who's eyes were locked on the visual display.
"There!" His smaller, secondary arms thrust forward, as if he could grasp at the display itself, his large hands locked tightly on the back of Kitani's console seat. "Thank fuck."
She didn't see anything at first, just the massive gas giant and it's numerous moons. But as if breaking away from the flock, one of the smaller objects seemed to be moving away from the field of moons and asteroids.
"Thank fuck…" The captain breathed out a long, low held breath. "They're still there. Had me worried for a minute."
"Cap… tain?" Kitani couldn't quite believe it. But sure enough, a massive colony-sized station had hidden itself among the gas giant's orbiting children and it seemed to be responding to the distress signal.
"Signal them again, then head for that station, Kitani. I've got good news for the crew."
She quickly signaled the distress call twice more, and watched as the response flew out of the base in the form of a dozen small tow ships.
Bowden grabbed the ship's all alert. Putting on his Captain face and voice, despite looking so haggard.
"Congrats everyone. We're home for a while. We're ten cycles ahead of our new friends and about to hit up an old friend. Aqua, report to the top deck. Everyone else, breathe a bit, and stand down. We're getting a tow in. Tyran, get a list of everything you need. Everyone else, be ready to disembark in… one and a half cycles."
With the message sent, inner ship comms lit up as crew started talking almost all at once. Bowden collapsed back into his console with an exhausted sigh.
"Damn. That would have been embarrassing if they'd been collected."
"Captain… where exactly are we?"
----------------
It was populated with thousands and thousands of robots. Repair robots, scrapped together droids, cleaner bots, welding robos, builders, every type one could imagine. Even massive mining robotics on sledges, and all of it looked like it was pieced together by children.
An artificial colony of artificial lifeforms from around the galaxy. Outmodes, scrap, thrown away, and any other form of abused mechanical life form, all joined together in a base where they could exist on their own.
When the ship docked they were greeted by an unskinned escort droid. Her shiny metal exterior, while patched in places, was well taken care of. It was the same for almost every occupant the crew passed.
"Welcome to Bow's Den. I'm Tomi."
Aquatani spun on the purple captain. "-Really- Bowden?"
He shrugged innocently. "In my defense, I didn't name it."
"I did." Claimed the bot, matter-of-factly. "I thought it was clever."
All four of Bowden's arms pointed toward the shiny former escort droid. "See? I'm innocent."
Without missing a beat she responded. "That's untrue. But welcome to the Den all the same." She peered past him at the sleek exterior of the aged G'aarth ship. And her tone dropped almost imperceptivity. " Now, what have you done to the ship, Bowden?"
"He's been running her ragged!" Tyran's multi-coloured amorphous form wiggled out of the ship and right toward the shiny robot. Shifting their shape around until they solidified four legs to walk on and a torso to hold the portable display out. "We've been running at nearly full speed for a hundred cycles and she needs to rest"
"It hasn't been a hundred cycles." Bowden huffed under his breath. "…yet."
Tyran ignored him, and was escorted away by Tomi, ranting about how abused the ship was by 'the purple beast' while Tomi shot accusatory glances back at the four-armed captain.
He ignored them, looking over the mismatch of crew that had managed to file out of the ship. Raising his voice to be heard over the muddled din of twenty or so crewmembers, he addressed them. Though now he didn't bother to hide the tiredness in his voice, as it was written in every aspect of his hulking frame; that was, for once, free of the overlarge coat he usually wore.
"Alright You!" The crew fell into respectful quiet, around them the mechanical sounds of bots crawling over, under, and around the bedraggled ship turned into background clanging. "We aren't that far ahead of our new friends. A few cycles of rest, recuperation, and repair is all we can afford right now. So, here's what we know. They are persistent. They have our ship flagged, and they aren't mercs, military, or merchants." He paused, then barked. "Fakeer."
The short bark of her name grabbed the attention of the black and red half of the piloting team. She produced a light display, throwing up a visual scan of the offending ship while he continued.
"It's high end; almost twice our size, and carries no identifying insignia on its hull. We couldn't get enough signal to decode its ID broadcast because the bastards focus targeted our long-range array after we pegged them for tailing us. At least two of the crew are Terran or at least of Terran-descent… Aqua caught an image of them just after they made her at the refueling station."
The image of the ship was replaced with an eyeframe shot of a male and female dressed in sleek official-looking uniforms.
"For once in my life, I have no fucking clue who these people are. The ship's unknown, and while I've done a -whole- lot of things worthy of being chased across five systems without pause; I usually remember the people I did it to. Which means…" His weary eyes traveled over the beleaguered cast of his crew. "This particular skeleton has escaped from one of your closets. Start thinking back and figure out who you pissed off in your past lives. Because we're done running. Literally. We can't run anymore. We have maybe twelve cycles before they catch up to us and that's only if they make a wrong turn at Agrilax and head for Vermi instead of Havalik. Which I doubt they're gonna do."
Exhaustion settled over his shoulders, dropping his head and making the powerful captain look his not unimpressive age. It was a surprising show of weakness that most of the crew had never seen. Aquatani stepped up to his side, taking his large hand in her own supportingly as a good second should.
"Look, no one's on this crew and in this ship because we're Lilly white and Simon pure. If any of you recognize these assholes, speak up. If not to me, tell Aqua. I don't care what or who it was; I don't care when or what you did. But I need to know what I'm up against, so we can stand shoulder to shoulder and either run to the edge of the galaxy or start pulling arms out of sockets. And I'm fucking tired," He waved a hand over the crew as a whole. "…we all are."
Faces turned toward faces, each crewmember looking from one to the other for a hint of recognition among them. No one spoke up, but a silent agreement fell between them all that the situation was bad.
"Now that we're all aware of how sufficiently fucked we are. Go stretch your legs and figure out who the fuck is on our ass. Ask the bots for directions." He grumbled lowly. "I'm gonna go hit the damn spa." The lumbering form of the captain turned and picked his way past clamours of bots, followed by Aqua until he waved her off, leaving her to return to the crew.
A small compliment of robots approached, offering to lead the way to the barracks so the crew could rest and talk. Several voices speculated with one another over who they may have angered. And before long a betting pool opened up on who's fault it was.
Despite the grumbling between them, an unspoken solidarity remained. The crew of the Thomas Bowden was a family. Like siblings in a nest, they could fight each other. And now and then had damn near killed one another in various fights over various reasons.
If they wanted to kick the ass of a deserving crewmate? They'd do so. But some stranger threatening their beloved sibling? Twenty plus crewmates from a dozen planetary systems and a four-armed Gaarth captain would be happy to show them the nearest supernova.
---------------------
Sure enough, tacking on some speed caught the trailing ship to the planetary gate. Cassian Hassen eyed the display.
"So… Havalik or Vermi?"
"Sir?"
"Do you think they aimed for Havalik? Or perhaps Vermi?"
"The Havalik orbital cloud is closer right now. Vermi's currently in it's elliptical peak on the other side of the system." The helmsman offered.
"Head for the gas giant then."
"Sir, why did you let them get such a long head start? Isn't there a chance they'll have repaired their ship by now?"
"Undoubtedly. I'm counting on their long range communications array to be functional by now. But I don't care if they have the best mechanics this side of the spiral, their engine damage won't be repaired."
"Sir?"
"If I'm right, what we want will be waiting for us. Send a communication to the Bowden as soon as we're in range of her long range array. If I'm right, you'll get an affirmative as soon as you send it."
"Yes Sir." Jakar remained confused, but trusted the Captain's orders. It was his ship after all. And he'd been right about everything up to now.
-----------
The long range comms picked up the larger ship only a few moments before the communication request came in. Nev just happened to be at the controls, calibrating the engines with Tyran when it came through. He send the request right back to the ship.
Everyone had gotten at least six cycles of rest, most had been working on various repair, cleaning, or research. And Bowden, refreshed after a full nine had a chat with a few potential targets among the crew. He'd also put more than a few credits in the pool, his chits were on Del having pissed off some Terran high house.
Del, to his credit, wasn't positive it wasn't his fault.
The situation was still bothering Bowden, however, as something still didn't add up. That was when Mariele approached him.
"Captain?" The quiet voice interrupted his thoughts, the return comms signal had already gone through, and he was brushing off the signature coat. It took him longer than he would have admitted to realize where the quiet, unassuming voice came from.
Mariele rarely spoke. In fact, he could barely recall a time he'd heard more than a hundred words from her in the entire pont she'd been on the ship.
"Mari." He answered shortly, then looked at her. She was frightened.
No, she was terrified. His plates knitted together and he bent down to be just a bit closer to eye level. "What happened?"
"I think it's my fault." Came the quiet, terrified response.
Well, that got all of his neurons firing. He raised a hand, signaling to Nev with a snap. A wordless signal to get his second in command on deck -now-.
"Mariele… what makes you think they're targeting you?" The old captain's brain was firing left, right and centre trying to place where they'd picked the blue-skinned Terranform. Some off spiral supply station? She'd been some stowaway on a cargo ship…
"Captain." The short response came from his right side.
"Aqua, Mariele seems to think our new friends may be her old friends. Thoughts?"
By this point the blue-skinned and crystal eyed former stowaway looked as though she was going to shake herself to pieces on the main deck. Aquatani looked her over, smiled gently and seemed to regard her for several drops.
"It may be possible, Captain. But the pool is still in Del's favour." The weak attempt at humour made Bowden stand just a tick stiffer.
"Get everyone on board. Nev, finish those calibrations while we're idle, disengage from the base and send them on their way." Things were lining up in Bowden's mind. He turned, a little sharper than he intended to, toward the terrified form of the ship's assistant medic.
"I'll say again, whatever happened, I don't care about specifics. That's a past life. However." He bent his overly large frame, seemingly larger now that he'd put the ugly brown coat back on. "You're shaking worse than a leaf in a devil wind, Mariele. I won't ask but one question. Did you tell Aqua?"
His second looked to him, Mariele looked shocked and, somehow, more frightened. Which told him everything he needed. He nodded shortly. "That's all I need. Aqua, I expect a full report -later-." He emphasized, then stood back to his full height. A hand went down on the innership comms console.
"All crew, get your asses back on the Bowden. Now."
The false asteroid was floating away not even a cycle later, lost to the orbital cloud field and cloaked among the debris by the time the larger ship came into the ship's visual range. She was scuffed, tired, and old. But she was patiently waiting. So when the short range comms pinged with an open request, Bowden was ready to answer.
On the screen a half dozen Terrans were poised at various positions. All slicked hair, multi-coloured private industry uniforms, and uninterested expressions. A sharp contrast to the distinctly inTerran crew consisting of: a purple, four-armed Gaarth captain; a skinny brown six-armed Klaxon navigation; a Terran-shaped android with blue covering and short white hair; and a pair of avian-like crewmembers in black/red and white.
Neither crew looked particularly happy, though both captains wore vaguely acceptable neutral expressions.
"Greetings to you Polaris. Have we finished our game of tag?" Captain Hasser smirked. "Bit of engine trouble caused a slowdown, I suspect?" He allowed a smug twitch of his lip. "I have business with you Bowden, concerning a rather dangerous cargo you're carrying."
"We're not a cargo ship, and you're being a bit rude, Captain. Seeing as you know me and mine, but didn't introduce yourself and your blind ship."
The Terran seemed briefly insulted, or surprised. "Right. I did get a bit ahead of myself. My most sincere apologies, you must understand. Tales of your ship and crew do spread to the far systems from one arm to the next." He gave a short bow at the waist, the bare minimum of Captain-to-Captain respect. "I'm Cassian Hasser, Captain of the Startear. We'll speak more in person, Captain Bowden. I really am quite honoured to meet you face-to-face."
He didn't allow a response, cutting the communication even as the smaller ship shook from the impact of tow cables.
Bowden made a rude grunt in his throat before hitting the innership comms.
"Crew, lock down in bunks. Essential crew to the top deck. We're being boarded."
---------------------
"Welcome aboard. Captain Cassian." Bowden didn't hide his displeasure at the Terran man's actions. But neither was he hostile. It was simply the proud demeanor of a leader who didn't appreciate the invasion of another.
Cassian, on the other hand showed and gave off no air of ill will. Only the apparent unearned superiourity of most Terran high races
"I've no fight with you, Captain Bowden. Just the opposite. I've grown up hearing the tales of you, your ship, and your crew. It's inspired countless others to take up a helm into the stars."
"So you ran us into the dirt for nearly four docyce because of… admiration? Most just send a card. Some send explosives." Bowden gave his mimic of a Terran smile. His mandibles never -quite- getting the shape right, so it came across as nearly threatening.
"Not at all." Cassian looked upward at the (In)famous captain. "But you're carrying an Atlemarian." He stated simply with finality.
Bowden stopped briefly. That statement threw him. "Do I look like the kind of man who would put myself, my crew, and every port I've ever been to in that kind of danger? There's no Atlemarians on this ship."
If Bowden ever dealt in positives. This was the one thing even he knew.
Atlemaria was a plagued world. Quarantined for generations now with the only surviving populations being deformed by plague scars. An interstellar prion disease that had ravaged three star systems before being contained via extreme measures. He'd seen the pain and suffering the Atlemarian disease had caused, the lives it had ripped down.
"Terrifying. Isn't it?" Cassian's voice broke through Bowden's moment of thought. The Gaarth's eyes landed on, and narrowed at, the Terran Captain.
"Not really. Since there's no such passenger on this ship. I keep extremely precise manifests, you're welcome to look them over." He shot back shortly. His secondary arms, folded under the ugly brown coat began to open. Aqua moved a half step closer to him, discreetly pressing her elbow into his hip.
"I'll have a look. But while I inspect the manifest, my crew will search her out." A gloved hand lifted, sending two lines of Terran crew strode across the barrier and began making their way to the crew decks with an uncomfortable familiarity. "It won't take long, I assure you." That smug tone infuriated Bowden more than anything. More than the everlasting chase, the stress, and the capture. Just that High Terran smugness that he hated -so- much.
Bowden's mandibles clicked slightly. He lifted a hand toward Fakeer, who delivered the manifest log in a tense handoff to the man.
"Who, precisely are you with? If you don't mind my asking. If the situation was this important, why go through all…" He motioned glibly with one large purple hand, eyeing the bold man.
"I'm a privately interested party. We're researching the disease itself in search of a cure."
"There is no cure. They've sought one for six generations and-"
"Not yet. There isn't." Cassian interrupted. "But there is hope for one. Specifically in the 'Marian you've been unwittingly trafficking."
"And I'm telling you I've never picked anyone up from that arm of th-." Bowden was growing annoyed, his hand balled tightly and resting on the back of his console.
A high-pitched, terrified yelp broke through his defense and he turned sharply.
Bowden wasn't the only one to respond in defense of the terrified noise his medical assistant had made. He heard the distinct sound of four barrack doors open, and had to bark out a sharp "Quarters!" before Mariele's 'siblings' came out. The last thing he needed was a pissed off Deloth male trying to rip the arms off a dozen Terrans.
He straightened up, as if he'd suddenly had a quasar steel rod implanted in his back. The doors slid shut. One. Two. Three.
He turned to Aqua sharply. Who stalked, stiffly and straight, down the barracks.
Four.
Slowly he turned toward Cassian. Who, even if only briefly, seemed to realize -something- had been averted. Though he maintained the façade of being correct in his actions.
Bowden carefully cleared his throat, Mariele was escorted to the ship-to-ship barrier by three Terrans who stood around her. He could see her. Unhurt, but shaking.
He turned pointedly toward Hesser. "You seem to have mistaken my Glaxian medical assistant for your missing 'Marian plague victim, Captain. Considering her state of. A-hem, dress when we found her discarded with the rotten cargo, I can assure you, personally, she has no Atlemarian disease scars, or signs of ever having been to any affected planet in the Aquallous Arm."
He squared his shoulders, rolling the tightened muscle down and discreetly shifting the tension down his smaller support arms, still folded tightly under the oversized coat. He tried to relax his expression, attempting to play off the mistake as some kind of joke.
"Though I can see how, to a high Terran eyes, Glaxian and Atlemarians could look alike. I would suggest you release our medical assistant back into our care, since you're clearly mistaken." There was an edge to his tone. An edge that in the past had turned such smug men of multiple races into jelly-kneed apologists. A tone that promised the dislocation of several important body parts.
A tone that did not fuck around.
And it fell flat on the Terran man. Who eyed Bowden, then casually passed the manifest log forward, holding it out as simply as if he had merely borrowed a tissue. "This is why we didn't simply attack you. To give her time to come to her senses. To realize who we were. To inform -you- of the truth, and do the right thing. A shame that the selfish creature has allowed you to live so ignorantly on your own ship, Captain Bowden. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you. But this woman…"
Cassian reached blindly toward Mariele, snatching her wrist and pulled her forward, holding her up until her limbs were stretched out and she was balanced on her toes alone. He thrust her forward. "Has lied to you since day. One. Had we attacked, you would have defended her to your own last life. And no one should die for the lies of another. We tracked her after she escaped the quarantine zone on a supply crate. It took nearly a full urt to find out she had hidden away on -your- ship." He frowns sourly. "A ship that is so well known, so well protected, and so infamous that attacking without retaliation would be impossible. Sneaking aboard would be suicide. And simply requesting you turn her over would be fruitless."
Bowden's body tensed. Had Aqua not returned and firmly lay a hand on his arm to physically remind him of what was at risk, he would have lunged forward and begun relieving the Terran man of his digits.
"Tell him." Cassian hissed. "Are you an Atlemarian?"
Mariele flinched, tears welled in her crystal clear eyes, her head nodded silently, tension leaving her body as a quiet sob caught in her chest.
"My… name… is J'mari L'emuin… n-not Mariele J'nai." The small voice managed to hiccup out the name. Aquatani's hand gripped to Bowden's forearm in silent affirmation.
Bowden's shoulders remained tense, even as he inhaled slowly.
Cassian lowered the tiny woman until she was flat on her feet, shifting his grip to her shoulder.
"Why?" It was all Bowden could manage. A single word that held a dozen questions. Both for the Terran, and his formerly trusted crewmate.
"Why… doesn't she have scars? Why hasn't anyone ever gotten sick, if she's been exposed to infection? Why did she flee the quarantine zone?" Cassian eyed the massive Gaarth with the self-assurance born of having answers. Why did she come to your ship of all the ships she could have escaped to?"
Bowden nodded mutely, his face plates knitted so tightly across his expression they very nearly formed a mask.
"She's immune." Cassian said shortly, simply. Just as if it were the answer to every question Bowden could ever have.
"Fucking impossible." Bowden snapped.
"It's true. One of -four- born on the entire planet. Different areas, different families, the exact same immunity. Total protein destruction. Not built immunity. Not an adapted immunity. Neither learned nor medical. Born immune, it can't even incubate in their blood. The rarest blood in the known universe."
An emotion passed over Bowden. The expression on Cassian's face was changed. His tone only barely masked the excitement he felt, and just barely, a motion that would never have been noticed by another, he squeezed Mariele's wrist.
"And she ran to the Star Farer himself. The one man in the entire universe who would never question her lie, who would allow her to join without an ounce of hesitation. The one ship in all the arms that she felt could protect her secret. Polaris-class, the most well known ship for nine galaxies, feared by another fifteen. Thomas Bowden and her Captain of the same name."
Conceit oozed from the man as he explained. The self-same superiourity that made Bowden want to rip his smug little arms from their snug little sockets. Self-assured that he had all the answers and could lourde it over everyone on the main deck.
"Over an urt I looked for her. I chose the least violent and safest way to retrieve her. This precious 'Marian child that holds within her the possible cure for the worst disease in the entire universe. Everyone's heard the stories of what you went through facing the disease when your crewmates fell to it. Had you been infected you'd've been locked on the planet with them."
Bowden remained still. If he was breathing, even Aqua couldn't be sure. To break him free of the apparent spell, she squeezed his tightly coiled arm.
The squeeze made him inhale sharply. Deep blue eyes focusing suddenly, intently, intensely, on the other captain standing before him, delicate fingers laced around the even more delicate wrist of his medical assistant. He'd heard enough. Tension rolled out of his shoulders and down his back, making his shoulders droop in apparent defeat. His head fell forward and his hands unclenched. Inch by inch, tension and broiling anger rolled away from his posture.
When he spoke- the Gaarth's voice was as calm as it ever was and nearly emotionless. His eyes focused on his crewmate. He neither raised it in anger, nor lowered it in intimidation. His words were soft, unjudgemental, and seeking only the reassurance of truth.
"Is what he said true?"
Mariele/J'mari held back the sobs that wanted to wrack her body. She bit back on the tip of her tongue to return his calm that was as deep as any sea. She quivered in the firm hold Hasser had on her shoulder and wrist.
The truth was the only thing she had left. It had been laid out succinctly before everyone. There was more, but the fingers digging subtly into her flesh wouldn't allow more to be said.
"Yes."
Aqua squeezed Bowden's arm once again. He still didn't look up. He didn't speak another word for a long time; nor did it seem he expected anyone to break the silence between those on the tired old ship's deck.
His shoulders remained limp, and a hand that seemed to move with the weight of a star on it pulled through the fog of his decision and lay atop the comforting and reassuring hand on his arm.
"I can't risk the Atlemarian Prion being released on my ship. Immune or not, Atlemarian children cannot be welcomed on this craft. Thank you Captain Cassian for telling me honestly and without malice or desire about the danger to my crew. I wish you luck in your search for a cure."
Mariele's expression fell. She'd betrayed the trust of her captain. Of course he wouldn't defend her. Her voice failed. Words she desperately wanted to shout toward Bowden died in her chest as she saw his defeated shoulders. She betrayed her captain…
Her body lost its will, legs losing the strength to hold her up. Cassian swept her into his arms. Had he been a bit more noble, and a bit less haughty, it would have been a sweet motion.
As he spoke, Cassian gestured with his chin for his crew to leave the ancient Captain's ship. The air had grown so thick Cassian had briefly considered if it could actually storm in such a confined space.
"Thank you, Captain. The sacrifice you make today shall fuel the world of tomorrow." Captain Hasser swept the smaller woman's form through the connection and back toward his own ship. Within just a couple of moments, the connection was pulled away and the languishing ship was free to float in space as it was. While the larger ship slowly began to turn around. Within a few ticks it had charted a new course and flung itself into space; leaving behind the Thomas Bowden and her somber crew.
They waited. The ship sat silent and still. Subtly, quietly, the computer system chirped away in calculations. When the ship was well out of sensor range, a flurry of activity stirred in her belly. "They're clear. All scans confirm Star Tear is out of range, left nothing behind." Kitani's voice was the first to cut through the thick silence.
Below, the amorphous Engineer called up. "Engines calibrated."
"Ten…" Bowden's rumbling voice was sharp, clear, and echoed down from where his head remained bowed in somber contemplation.
All around the deck crew boiled from quarters and to their stations in a frantic and unified front.
"Nine…" Clatters from various storerooms rose up as the engines began to warm up. "Eight."
No one asked what he was counting down. They knew.
"Seven… six…" His head raised up, the expression determined, newly refreshed, and… excited.Around him, crewmembers of all types geared up, some smirking. Some somber.
"Six… five… four…" Now as he counted down, he began moving around the flight deck.
At the helm, Nev's six limbs dances over consoles, controlling four panels' worth of information effortlessly. While Fakeer and Kitani moved to the barracks deck with a renewed vigor, as if their tail feathers had been lit aflame.
"Three… two…" Aqua was counting as well, moving with the speed and efficiency of a madwoman on a mission as she struck panels with light touches and sent off messages on the long range communications.
The barracks were filled with heavily armed crewmates. Ready to go to war for their beloved crew member. Ten seconds of a head start were more than some got, and more than others deserved.
Bowden's eyes told of the rage he had broiled down, concentrated into his gut so tightly he could feel his insides roiling against each other as if they would burst any moment.
As the engines whirred into a new life, the ship rumbled with a renewed purpose. Gunner seats sat empty, but enticing.
With the new information Bowden had his decision. He would be going to the ends of the universe.
But before they could pick up the wayward crewmate, there were a few stops they needed to make. Engines hot, the ship took off through the Orbital field.
