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“That’s none of your business,” Quayl told her with a line of defense drawn across his face. He stood up to leave, it was late anyway according to the station’s clock. “I know there are things you want to know, but now is not the time.”
Gem crossed her arms and gave him a stare and defiance, not wanting to budge on the subject. “I don’t like secrets, but I keep them well.” She said, letting the air hang in silence for a moment to leave Quayl to make his own decisions.
He knew she wouldn’t give in. He sighed deeply and stared at the floor in one last thought about leaving for his room before succumbing to the peer pressure and the initial weight of his story. “It’s personal,” He reminded her. “But I’ll tell you anyway.”
“My planet was tiny, it hadn’t decided its name or flag yet, but the closest we got was Siskoway. It was a small colder planet on the outskirts of a star, the only inhabitable rock in that system. Its chief export was grass, that’s how podunk it was. Most of the land was terraced to support it. There was hardly enough fresh water to keep it all green. It was only my mother and I, my father was a rolling stone that had left as soon as he was met with responsibility, according to my mother. She was a deadbeat, she kept a few plants that often browned from a lack of care. I didn’t know how to take care of them, and I often over-watered them. I was the littlest and youngest kid in a population of about 300 people. My best friend, Nyhoh, was very good at caring for plants. He would steal clippings and saplings and keep them in a shed in the backyard of a house that was neglected and never occupied or owned. I took care of myself, and the older kids picked on me, ruffled my red hair, and often pushed me down because I was small. Nothing I ever said was ever listened to, not by other kids or adults alike. I studied hard and even retaught the material to Nyhoh. I was 14 when my mother passed from alcoholism, she rarely took care of herself. The whole planet felt sorry for me when she passed. Her funeral pyre burned for a long while, and the heat and smoke caused it to rain for the first time in years. I guess it was the one thing she did for the world. It was a tradition on Siskoway to give a death wish. When a loved one died, the people would try to fulfill a wish for the grieved party. My wish was for Nyhoh to be allowed to use the vacant house for his garden. He appreciated it. It became a kind of clubhouse for the kids. Nyhoh became the houseplant master, keeping them warm in the winter and well-watered during the summer. Ships were coming and going more often, the planet’s grass market was booming and Nyhoh was giving plants to the visitors. Then one day, Nyhoh and all his plants were gone. My friend went away and I was so angry. The older kids made fun of me about it and I got into fights. My teacher put me in boxing to channel my upset. When I was 17, a courier ship came, I got on, and apprenticed to be a mailman. I’ve been one for 20 years.” Quayl sighed.
Gem sat and stared blankly at him. “I just asked about the letter in your bonsai.”
“Sorry, I kinda backstory dumped.” Quayl felt a bit embarrassed. It was something he did indeed need to get off his chest.
Gem took a breath. “You feel betrayed by your friend.”
“I do,” Quayl admitted. “I don’t fully trust the crew, at least, well, I trust everybody more than I used to. We’ve been through stuff together and we work well as a team… to avoid death, I suppose.”
“Glad to hear you’re on board. So, what’s in the letter?”
Quayl stood and sighed. “That’s none of your business.”
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The crew was well-fed, rested, relaxed, and the Aerios were restored, stocked, and ready to go. Junne was standing at the docking port signing the paperwork for the repairs. Rob was carrying a container of updated tools and technical supplies aboard, and the same with Stevero but with medicines. Gem stood with Junne taking a last moment of standing on solid ground, or at least what she deemed as such. The last to board was Quayl, or so they thought.
Junne sat in his captain’s chair and asked the crew on the bridge. “Alright, everything is shiny and clean. Are we all aboard?” The crew looked around, and Gem noticed they were down one member.
“Where’s Hebu?” She asked.
Captain hit the intercom system for a ship-wide announcement. “Hebu? Are you somewhere on the ship? Sound off if you are.” He waited a moment for her to answer. “Hebu?”
“Rob, scan the ship for any life signs,” Gem asked, and Rob did so.
“Just us, only the bridge is showing life signs. She’s not on the ship. Did she say anything about staying behind?” The crew was silent, saying well enough that she hadn’t.
Gem was uneasy and shifted in her seat. “Perhaps we should find her. I don’t think we should leave her.”
Quayl shook his head. “Leave her.” He said, and it was more aggressive than he intended, this caught the attention of the crew.
Gem spoke again. “We shouldn’t leave her. She could provide us with valuable information about the Namina.”
Junne stood up. “Alright, let’s go get her.”
“No, let her be,” Quayl said again.
Gem put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. She knew better and was learning to read Quayl like a book. “What do you know? Did she talk to you? What are you not sharing? It could be important.”
Quayl sighed. “You’re not going to like it.”
Junne turned in his chair to face him. “We’re not leaving until you spill it.”
He was cornered and under pressure. He thought quickly about how to tell the truth in a way that wouldn’t greatly incriminate Hebu so they wouldn’t incriminate him in turn. He took a large and long deep breath. “Hebu is a defector, and traitor, and has committed treason against the Namina. She IS a Namina.” The silence that followed was enormous and gut-wrenching. “I’m sorry. She wanted to stay among the rubble of Lobora to pay for the pain she had caused. I told her if she wanted to truly pay her respects and earn her justice, she should continue to help us and our people to stop their attacks.”
The crew all looked to Gem. She had spent the most time with Hebu and they all knew. She looked stunned. “I didn’t know. She seemed so authentic, guilty of something, but also relieved. I thought she was just happy to have survived the Namina.”
Junne asked a question that was on everyone’s mind. “Is she trustworthy?”
Gem lowered her head, almost ashamed of what she knew the answer was. “She is.” She said.
Quayl provided more information in hopes it would ease the minds of the crew. “Namina actually means idiot in their language, The Namina are only drones and soldiers. Their race is called the Anguilla and is run by a system of elites that call the shots. The Namina are expected to sacrifice themselves for their higher-ups without question.”
Gem chimed in with her judgments. “If she is willing to confess that she is Namina, even to just one of us, she is trusting us with that knowledge. We should trust her. We should go find her.” The crew rose in their seats. Nobody argued with Gem and her instincts, so they went to retrieve their missing crew member.
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The crew had split up to cover more ground, looking at the food court, central areas, observation decks, and anywhere she might be. The station was a sizeable one capable of housing and employing over a thousand people, there were many places to look. They kept in contact with their Puuqpu communicators in case anyone had found her. Quayl thought to try the Hotel first.
“Pardon me,” Quayl asked the receptionist as she was mopping the floor. The lack of crew likely gave her many of the tasks to her. “Have you seen a… an Anguilla woman? Lots of loose robes and clothing, aqua colored, large round red eyes?”
“Oh yes, I have.” She said surprised someone was asking about her. “Anguilla, you say? That species isn’t in the compendium we have on the station. I ran her photo by security just to see if she was registered somewhere. These are war times, can’t be too cautious.” That last line sent a chill down his spine.
Quayl had to ask swiftly. “What room is she in? I’m a friend and we’re about to shove off, she’s a part of our crew.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Yes, of course, she’s in room…”
“Quayl?” Hebu had spoken out. She had entered the lobby on her way out for some food. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t you get the message?” He said urgently. “We’re casting off now, we gotta go.” He was tilting his head motioning and suggesting that they needed to make a quick getaway.
“Sure…” She got the hint.
There were footsteps behind them, and faster than they could turn to see, a group of six security agents descended upon them. They all had automatic weapons trained on her, and one of them yanked Quayl out of the line of fire. They were shouting for Hebu to get on the ground and put her hand behind her. She complied quietly and without resistance. If she wanted to, she could fry them all with a surge from her body. The security officers didn’t know that. They must have obtained imagery of a Namina from somewhere, most likely sourced from destroyed ships on the frontlines.
Quay jerked for her. “Let her go!” He cried out. “She’s harmless! Completely harmless!” One of the officers wasn’t as cool as the others and took the butt of his weapon, slammed it into her head, and forced her face into the hard tile below. She grunted and cried out in pain.
The officer made his motives known. “Your kind killed my family on Lobora, I will kill you and every last one of you!” He kicked her hard in the stomach and nobody restricted or disputed his aggression.
Quayl protested and the officer holding him back spoke factually to him. “Listen to me, you’re vastly outnumbered! It doesn’t matter if she’s your crewmate or best friend, there’s no stopping the hatred happening here. I don’t blame them, and I’m in their shoes as well, I’ve lost loved ones in this war. It’s not right but it’s right now.” Quayl halted his movements and looked into the officer’s eyes. Without a word, he was pleading with him not to make this more complicated than it needed to be. He was a kind officer, but even he had his place and limits. Quayl watched the main officers jerk Hebu from the floor and drag her slack body away by the elbows. She was limp and still had no intention of fighting. This showed Quayl, even more, how serious she was with her need for forgiveness.
“Everyone,” Quayl radioed over their the communicators. “Security has Hebu, she’s roughed up. There’s nothing we can do.” He heard an acknowledgement from everyone and the sorrow was heard in every voice.
Quayl sighed and had to admit that there was nothing he could do. But then, there was something shining left on the ground where she had been beaten. It caught his eye and he went to it. It was a divine letter. He flipped it over to read the recipient.
“Heather!?”
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Quayl went down to the holding cells. The cells saw nothing but those who committed disorderly conduct or the occasional drunkard on a weekend night, but now it held a dangerous lifeform. She could escape any time she wanted. Her electrical abilities were fierce and she could melt the iron bars from their bolts if she so chose. Still, she remained docile.
Quayl managed to use the little authority he had as a courier to talk to her. “I need to speak to the Namina, it’s urgent.” He told the guard. The officer was the same as the one who kicked her. “We can’t leave until she explains what she did to our ship.” It was a lie, but he needed to gain access to her. She had to explain why she had the letter he had written to Heather.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want your ship to explode on us. Head right in.” He said, then hit a button on the table’s control panel to unlock the main jail door. Quayl went in, and the door locked behind him. Hebu was held on the far end next to the video camera for a clear view for observation.
With her hands still handcuffed behind her back, she laid on the meager bench in the small cell large enough for four people if they squeezed in. She didn’t have the luxury of a spare room.
Quayl held up the letter near the bars so she could see. “This isn’t yours. Why did you take it?” He demanded. She Strained to sit upright, bruised from the abuse and confrontation.
“I felt like I could help deliver it.”
“You said she might not have been ready, is that true? What do you know about this?” Quayl was frustrated, felt violated, and betrayed that he trusted her. It would have been one thing to have blown up their ship, deliver them to a trap, or stolen all of their technology. But to swipe a divine letter to someone he cared deeply for, and in a split moment, felt a connection. He clenched his fists, spun around in an amazed torrent of emotions, and groaned loudly while flailing his hands. Quayl calmed himself and turned to Hebu to yell at her, but it wasn’t Hebu he saw.
Hebu was sitting in a meditative position, and from her, Heather had come out of her. Her soul was ethereal and ghostly, but something was wrong. Unlike the peaceful and stable spirits he had encountered before, Heather looked unhealthy. Her face was sunken and gaunt, her hair tangled, and her clothing only a tattered cloth. Most notably, there was a strange prismatic collar around her neck, and from it led a chain that traced back to Hebu’s heart. In all appearance, Heather was bound to Hebu.
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Quayl was stunned. “Heather.” He didn’t question her. “What’s happened to you?”
She began to cry hysterically. “I’m trapped. They trapped me! They put me in this body, this UGLY body, and expected me to fuel this drone. I’m so afraid she’ll turn me into an energy source and fire me out of a cannon. The others, others like me, they don’t come back from that…” She continued to cry, she wailed in despair and pleaded with the divine for mercy.
“Heather, how can we help you?” Quayl asked.
“I don’t know, what they’re doing is wrong. They must stop immediately! They are hurting everyone.” She began shivering, she had little energy to stand outside of the body she was collared and chained to. “They need our souls, the souls of all life in the galaxy. They wipe out whole planets and harvest their spirits, take them back to their churning machines, and forcefully inject us into a cloned body so it can live.” Quayl was stunned, his heart ached for her, remembered how she looked on Lobora, fresh-faced and innocent to the things yet to come.
He held up the letter in his hand. “I wrote you a letter. I’ve been thinking of you and wanted to write. There was some kind of connection, I felt it.”
“It was Namaste, I think. Our souls recognized each other. I’ve been thinking of you too. I believe we were meant to be together. But SHE stole that from us!” She turned to Hebu behind her. “I HATE YOU!” She yelled furiously in her face. If Heather was like this and was Hebu’s soul, no wonder she hated herself. No wonder she defected from the Namina.
Quayl let her have the letter, and she opened it. She took a moment to read it, and it delighted her. She loved reading about his travels and adventures.
“You’ve accomplished a lot and made some great friends.” She commented. “If anyone can make a difference, it’s you and your crew.”
Quayl nodded and sighed. “We’re trying.” He said.
“Have you visited Hermes yet?” She asked, and this surprised him.
“You know Hermes?”
Heather nodded. “He gave me my assignment. I had only collected a couple of nummus, I didn’t know what my abilities were going to be. He gave me the letter to give to you. He said to send you his way.”
“We saw him, he explained everything. As far as my abilities, I seemed to have become a crab person, I’m super strong and I have claws.” Quayl thought for a moment that it might weird her out. His confidence in it had proven itself, but it wasn’t every day that a man could turn himself into half of a crab. It wasn’t a graceful ability like wings or super smarts.
“That is so awesome!” She was joyous to hear it. “I do love a good strong man.” She smiled and even winked at him. “Maybe one day we can finally be together and you can show me?”
“I would like that.” He said. “I’m so sorry you died.”
Heather looked confused. “I don’t recall ever dying… what a weird day. I just kinda woke up like I had been dreaming.”
With sorrow painted on his face, he nodded. “I’m sorry, but you’re dead.”
“No, I’m not. I’m very much alive. Maybe just… differently living.” These were the words Quayl needed to hear. The comfort they provided was warm in his heart. He felt invigorated.
“I can bust you out, show you my crab side,” Quayl said. Heather reached out with her hand. In it was a nummus.
“Maybe this will help.” She said, and Quayl took it and felt stronger indeed. “Now, tear down these walls.” She smiled and Quayl summoned his crab arms. They were tougher and stronger than ever, and it impressed her.
Quayl examined the bars of the jail cell. They seemed to be plain iron bars that he could easily bend or detach. He positioned himself and nodded to Heather. It wasn’t her that he was busting out, but rather freeing Hebu. He gave her a nod and that spoke all. She took a deep breath and receded back into the monster that was her real cage. Hebu woke up.
“What has happened?” She asked.
“Busting you out.” He said and tightened his grip on the bars.
The door opened at the end of the cell block and in came the guard. He came up to the cell Quayl was about to open and punched the code into the keypad. The door to the cell opened. Both Hebu and Quayl didn’t understand.
“You’re both free to go.” The officer said. “I saw the whole thing between you and this one’s soul on the camera. It’s so indescribable what the Namina are doing. I can’t imagine being in her shoes, and she’s a lucky one to have freed herself from it. I don’t want to become a Namina myself.” Hebu came forward and the guard uncuffed her. “I’m sorry I hurt you.” He said.
“It’s understandable and forgivable. We heal fast.” She told him.
Quayl put his crab arms away. “We gotta go. I’ll radio ahead and make sure the captain will punch it as soon as we touch the Aerios.”
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Aboard the Aerios, the crew took time to rest and relax in the mess hall. Junne and Hebu were enjoying a game of Tabletop Nopes. Hebu was a very good opponent for Junne. She understood the game well and he needed the challenge. They were having fun. Rob was playing a card game with Stevero, using the contents of a package of cookies as the currency. So far, Stevero was dominating until the last hand. Rob had swept with a good bluff and cleaned house, but Stevero wanted some cookies anyway. Rob shared his earnings.
Quayl sat and felt very content. Gem was using a sized-up bottle of nail polish from the replicator to paint one of his crab claws. The red was striking on his carapace, and she enjoyed having something to occupy her time. Neither of them knew what would happen to the nail polish when he put the arms away. They suspected it would just flake off.
Gem cleared her throat. “So, you have something on your mind.” She pried. Quayl hadn’t disclosed that Heather’s soul was trapped inside Hebu. For that matter, Hebu didn’t know either. It was an out-of-body experience for her but that’s all she could remember. Once again, Quayl was charged with a secret, only this one wouldn’t so easily be understood. It wouldn’t change their goals or mission if they knew. He kept it to himself.
“That’s none of your business.” He said.