“Nothing good is going to come of this, Corvash,” Kamak said.

“I have to know,” Corey insisted. The idea that there was another human out here in the stars was concerning enough, and Corey had sneaking suspicions that the other human was likely someone he knew.

‘You already know,” Tooley said. “It’s Morrakesh. He’s snatched the worst asshole he can find off your planet and put him here to get a rise out of you.”

“And considering our location, probably a murderous kind of rise,” Kamak said. “That’s the play. He knew Paga For might be the closest thing we had to a safe haven, so Morrakesh put someone you want to kill here. You try and shoot them, and either get yourself killed or blacklisted from Paga For. No more safety.”

It was infuriating how right Kamak was, but Corey would never admit it out loud.

“I know! I know,” Corey said. He’d been at this long enough to recognize a ploy when he saw it. “But I can’t- I’m not going to be able to sleep at night until I know who it is.”

“We’ve already overstayed our welcome here,” Kamak said. “Just imagine the worst person it could possibly be, and then move on.”

“I can’t,” Corey said. “I can’t. If it’s who I think it is-”

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” Kamak snapped. “You learn who it is, you’ll just feel bad in a different way, because you’re not going to be able to do a damn thing about it. We’re not playing right into Morrakesh’s hands. Not again.”

“Just this once, can we just fucking leave?” Tooley asked. “I’m genuinely kind of sorry this is getting to you so bad, Corey, but please, stars, can we just walk away from a problem? Just this once?”

“We’ve charged headlong into every little thing we’ve seen so far, why are we running away from the only thing in the universe that matters to me?”

“Because it’s fucking dumb, Corey,” Kamak said. “We have literally nothing to gain but you getting pissed off.”

Corey clenched his fists so tight he could feel his fingernails cutting into his palms. Doprel sensed the rising tension and stepped in to mediate.

“There might be more to it than just the bait,” Doprel said. “Even if it’s just in the little details. Come on, Kamak, we might have just made a big breakthrough because To Vo smelled something funny.”

Something she had been briefly applauded for, before lying face down on the couch to groan herself into a coma. She was still recovering from Thoth’s overpowering miasma.

“There might be some value to checking things out, at least. Never know what you’ll find.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, not you, Corey,” Doprel said. “You’re definitely not going. Kamak’s right about that, at least.”

Though he rolled his eyes, Corey accepted that. In spite of the burning rage in his gut, he still had enough common sense to know a trap when he saw one. He knew if he kept his cool he’d at least get answers, if not total satisfaction.

“Big man might be on to something,” Kamak admitted. “Nobody’s going anywhere yet, but...well, nobody’s going anywhere yet, but in a different way. Tooley, you stay by the cockpit, but keep us grounded for a bit. I need to think.”

Kamak headed into his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

“And I need a drink.”

----------------------------------------

“Do you think they all look like Corey, or are there more varieties?”

“According to Corey, humans, like many other species, come in a variety of colors,” Farsus said.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The two had been dispatched to seek out this other human, then observe and report. Since Farsus and To Vo had managed to walk through without incident, Kamak felt comfortable enough to travel Paga For at least once. Having Thoth on their side didn’t hurt either. The Worm wasn’t in charge of Paga For, but his words carried weight. People would be much less likely to cause problems with him on the case. Kamak had even briefly contemplated stopping off to see Ghul, though he had ultimately decided that would be more trouble than it was worth in several ways.

Still, Kamak kept a hand near his gun, and he kept a distance from the supposed location of the other human. They were here to do a long range observation, not a face to face interrogation. Kamak wasn’t about to take that kind of risk. He leaned on a building some distance away from the place Thoth had tipped them off to.

“So. You think this is actually the worst case scenario?”

“I have no reason to doubt Morrakesh would do anything less,” Farsus said. “I will be shocked if we are not faced with a member of Corey’s family soon.”

As part of preparing Kamak and Farsus for this scouting mission, Corey had reluctantly let slip a few personal details, mostly focused on who he expected to find out here in the dirt of Paga For. The absolute worst case scenario, according to Corey, would be his father. Exactly why he was the worst case, Corey refused to say. On the matter of his second worst case target, his uncle, Corey had been only slightly more forthcoming. He had grunted “He made my mom’s life hell” and left it at that. Kamak found it very hard to sympathize with Corey’s trauma when he refused to actually say what he was traumatized about.

A stranger stumbled past, and Kamak kept a careful eye on the until they were out of stabbing range. He wasn’t comfortable out here, and he was getting even less comfortable by the second.

“Farsus, settle a thorny ethical dilemma with me,” Kamak said. “Let’s assume the worst. Corey’s dad, and whatever the hell kind of baggage comes with him, is out here on this street corner doing whatever the fuck it is humans do.”

“We assume as such, and then?”

“And then what the fuck do we do with that information?” Kamak said. “We tell Corvash, there’s a non-zero chance he storms out of the ship with a gun and gets himself killed. Rest of us too, probably.”

“Ah. You are suggesting it might be beneficial to lie to our crewmate.”

“Lying is a possibility,” Kamak said. “We could also just not tell him until after we take off. Can’t storm off with a gun when you’re in deep space.”

“A far less deceptive proposition,” Farsus said. “I’d go with that.”

“Noted. Make sure to lock the door to the cockpit when we get back, just in case.”

Farsus nodded, and the conversation was dropped. Kamak dragged his heel through the dirt for a few seconds, and then checked the time.

“This human doesn’t show up soon, we’re getting out of here,” Kamak said. The info Thoth had given them said the human showed up around here at around this time, but the square was dusty and empty still. “We need to get a move on.”

“A moment longer,” Farsus said. “We know the value of patience.”

“I know the value of getting the fuck out of town, too,” Kamak said. “But yeah. Few more drops. That’s it.”

Though they had to undergo the painful ordeal of making small talk, their patience was rewarded. A single emaciated human, wearing tattered clothes and a dusty shawl across his shoulders, stumbled into the square. He held his dry, cracked hands aloft and started shouting to anyone who would listen. Very few beyond Kamak and Farsus took any time to heed his words.

“Well. That’s not the worst case.”

“Barely.”

Though he appeared half starved and beaten down, it was undoubtedly Corey’s uncle Richard taking to the street corner to shout nonsense at passersby. Even if Corey hadn’t described him in detail, the two might have been able to guess the relation. The resemblance was obvious even from a distance.

“So now we get to have a fun talk with Corvash,” Kamak said. He turned around to get ready to leave, but Farsus grabbed him by the collar.

“Wait. Listen to him.”

Kamak reluctantly stopped to listen. His initial impression had been that Richard had nothing to say worth listening to, and he was proven right.

“Fear the fires that are to come! Prepare your soul for absolution, your final days approach!”

“Sounds like pretty typical cult stuff,” Kamak said.

“Perhaps,” Farsus said. Across the square, Richard continued to shout.

“A death from beyond is coming! All you know will die in fire and war!”

“Yep, pretty sure I’ve heard this same schlock coming from two dozen other drunken idiots,” Kamak said.

“Hold a moment longer,” Farsus said. “I thought I heard him mention something more specific.”

“The Great Wheel turns towards your death!”

“That,” Farsus said. “What is this concept, ‘The Great Wheel’?”

“Fuck if I know,” Kamak shrugged. “Crazy people love making up ominous sounding stuff. The Divine This, The Unholy Whatever. I once killed a bounty who’d disemboweled three people in the name of The Sacrosanct Testicle.”

“Horrifying. But I believe you are correct. We should be on our way.”

“Tooley, get the engines warmed up,” Kamak said. He had pulled out his communicator before Farsus had even finished talking.

“Way ahead of you. Get the fuck back here so we can finally leave.”

Though he wasted no time in turning towards the Hermit and walking away, Kamak did spare one last look at Corey’s uncle Richard. His hand briefly flicked past his gun, but only briefly.