Chapter VII – Fragile Future, Ominous Past

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Tavian found himself startled to wakefulness by the repeated intrusive sound. He sat bolt upright and looked around. A big blue planet was out the window.

Strange, the club’s storage room doesn’t normally have a planet in it.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

He shook his head, his mind swirling about, trying to piece together where he was and what he was doing. Amrita. He was on the Amrita. It all came back to him in a moment.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

He looked towards the door, becoming aware he was hearing a doorbell. He rose to sit on the side of the bed, rubbing his eyes. His clothes from yesterday lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, where he’d thrown them before collapsing into bed. Still naked, he strolled over to the panel by the door, pressing the intercom button.

“Just give me a moment, I’ll be out—”

Only he hadn’t pressed the intercom. He’d opened the door. Outside stood Nova, some sort of package in her arms. She blinked a few moments, then grinned.

“I thought you might need some fresh clothes… and… um… I guess I was right,” she said. She looked down. “Mmm, not bad.”

“Sorry…” muttered Tavian, grabbing the bundle from her and hitting the button to close the door.

Muffled through the door he heard Nova saying, “I’ll see you later. Probably less of you, though.” Shortly after he heard the sounds of another doorbell ringing across the hall.

Tavian headed for the shower, cracking his neck as he walked. He examined his reflection briefly. His hair was messy, but that was normal. He looked properly rested at least. Come to think of it, he didn’t know how long he’d slept for. He stepped into the shower and turned on the water, relishing the feeling, washing away the sweat and grime of the mad few days they’d just been through.

He wasn’t quite sure what the future held now, but that was nothing new. Planet after planet, that’d been the way since he left home twenty years ago. He’d find gigs, expand his repertoire, move on. He never put down roots anywhere. He’d find out what the Amrita’s next destination was and make his way that far, provided it was far enough away to avoid any of the trouble he’d found himself in on Shangxia.

That had all been a little inconvenient. He didn’t own much, but apart from his mandolin – which he never parted with – everything else he owned had been left behind in that storage room behind the club on Shangxia. Frustratingly he’d also paid his rent for the space in advance to Mr Wu, the club’s miserly owner, who had no doubt disposed or sold his things by now. The Governor’s men had probably turned up at Mr Wu’s by now, assuming they’d worked out that was where Tavian had met Mingxia. Tavian was certain Wu would sell him out in a heartbeat.

Oh well, thought Tavian, Such is life.

He still wondered why Apollo and crew had helped them and been so accommodating. Tavian wasn’t used to people sticking their necks out for him. While everyone here seemed genuine, he still couldn’t quite come to terms with the idea that people might just help strangers for the sake of it. There was something Apollo wasn’t telling them; he was sure of that. His inclination was that it probably had more to do with Mu than himself – he was no one special.

Mu on the other hand. Mu was special. An Imperial princess, a Starseer…

And a beauty.

It must be demeaning for someone like that to find herself on the run with someone like him. Perhaps he should go easy on teasing her. But he struggled with that. The temptation would just not leave him alone. He decided he’d call her Mu at least. Not Princess. That would be a start.

He wondered what he would do in her situation. The logical answer was become an Empress. Be revered across countless worlds. Live a life of opulence and luxury. There were probably a hundred trillion girls across the Empire that dreamt of such a thing.

But he’d be lying if he picked that answer. He knew why Mu had done what she’d done. For a certain sort of person a sufficiently gilded cage might be consolation enough for clipped wings, but for himself – and he was sure, for Mu – it was intolerable.

What a thing! he thought, To rule a Cosmos, yet never experience it.

He closed his eyes and stared up into the stream of water, letting it run down his face. Stepping away he turned it off, stepped out, and towelled himself dry. Wrapping the towel around his waist he headed back to the bedroom, where he’d left the clothes Nova had handed him. He opened the package and found a handwritten note:

I chose these for you specially. Hope you like them, Pretty Boy.

* Harry

“Pretty boy…” murmured Tavian. Harry was the pretty boy! Tavian liked to think of himself as more ruggedly handsome.

Casting aside the note, he inspected what Harry had provided him. A long-sleeved, v-necked cotton shirt. A black waistcoat with ornate golden buttons. A pair of light brown slacks. Some sort of cloth belt that bordered on a cummerbund. A pair of pointy toed leather boots.

Tavian nodded appreciatively.

Not bad, Mr Pretty Boy, not bad.

As he was picking up the shirt to put it on, something fell out. He realised it was a razor, wrapped in another note.

Looking a bit hirsute there.

* H

“Hirsute? Who says…” muttered Tavian, but he rubbed his chin and cheeks and felt the prickle there. “Whatever,” he said and headed to bathroom again to tidy up.

Returning, he finished dressing and, satisfied with his appearance after he’d spent a little time artfully ruffling his hair, he headed out. As he stepped through the door to his room none other than Mu herself was coming down the hall. She was dressed as she had been last he saw her, minus the hoodie and shoes.

“Wow, Princess. You look truly awful,” he said. Ah, shit! I was s’posed to be nicer.

Mu looked at him with vacant eyes, great dark bags below them, creasing her usually perfect skin. “Thanks,” she said. There was a look on her face that suggested she might be about to offer some retort, but in the end, it appeared she couldn’t even be bothered.

Well now I feel bad. I wasn’t even kidding. She looks awful. “Didn’t you get any sleep?”

“A little. I had some dreams,” said Mu.

“About me?” he said and reprimanded himself. Stop it!

“I was a dolphin. Sun got eaten. Flower ate my friend.”

“Sounds like pretty normal stuff,” said Tavian. “Um, I think Nova left you some fresh clothes,” he said, pointing at a package sitting in front of her door.

“Thanks,” said Mu, bending to pick up the package.

“I was going to chase down some breakfast. Maybe some coffee could help you? Y’know, if you wanted to join me,” said Tavian.

“Coffee?” asked Mu.

“You don’t know what coffee is? Wow, you really have had a sheltered life. It’s like tea. I assume you know tea, right? That’s like a big deal in the Empire, yeah? Well, it’s like tea, but more… wakeful. It’ll wake you up.”

Mu still had a half-dazed expression. “Sounds good. I’m discovering a lot of new things. Did you know about videogames?”

Tavian gave her a puzzled expression. “I am aware of them as a concept. You been playing videogames all night? With who? Nova? She seems like a gamer. Oh, please tell me it’s not that Harry guy.”

Mu stared at him blankly a few moments, blinking slowly, saying nothing. “Um… we’ll talk over this coffee stuff. I’m going to freshen up.”

With that she hit the button on the panel to open the door and headed inside.

“Don’t fall asleep in the shower!” Tavian called after her.

A short while later they found themselves sitting at a table by a window in the Amrita’s mess. From the kitchen came the sounds of clanking, sizzling, and chopping as Harry set about making breakfast. Both Tavian and Mu had insisted that something simple was fine, but Harry seemingly ignored them. He made a pot of strong coffee for them, then set to work, promising a magical experience.

“So, you weren’t gaming with him,” said Tavian, sipping his coffee and pointing with his free hand to the kitchen. Black with five sugars, just how he liked it.

Mu was now wearing a light cotton dress, cropped jacket and simple black flats. Presently, she was inspecting her coffee like it was some strange artefact of a long-lost culture. “It smells kind of good and bad,” she said. “What were you saying?” She took a tiny, hesitant sip. “Oooh! Hot!”

“Who were you gaming with?”

“Seraphina.”

“Sera– who? Oh wait, wasn’t she the other crewmember who didn’t greet us? What’s she like?”

Mu was blowing repeatedly on her coffee. “She seems nice. Kind of weird, but nice.”

“Weird, how?”

“I think she might be a witch,” said Mu, braving another sip.

“A witch? Like, pointy hat and everything,” said Tavian, pointing at the top of his head where there was no hat.

“Pointy hat and everything,” said Mu. “Hrm… I think I like it. But also… not? But…”

“You’ll get used to it,” said Tavian.

“It’s not much like tea,” said Mu, “I don’t know why you said that. But I do feel more awake.”

Tavian grinned. “Well, that’s good, because while I’ve never specifically heard of anyone dying of sleep deprivation, you looked like you just might.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“I still need a lot of sleep,” said Mu. “I fell asleep in Seraphina’s lap last night. Kind of awkward, given I’d only just met her.”

“Happy to provide a lap pillow for you, if you need,” said Tavian.

“Urgh, every time I start to think you’re not terrible, you say something to remind me that you definitely are,” said Mu.

Tavian just laughed.

A thought seemed to occur to her and she looked out the window beside them. “Any idea why we’re still docked around Shangxia?”

Tavian shrugged. “So far this morning, I’ve only spoken to you and Harry. Oh, and Nova… but there wasn’t much, um, opportunity to chat then.”

Mu seemed to sense there was more to that story, but didn’t pry. Before they could keep talking Harry, wearing a white apron and chef’s hat, appeared carrying a large tray, which he set down on a table beside theirs. He placed plates with chopsticks and spoons down in front of them then returned to his tray. He began explaining what he was handing them each time he placed something down.

“Steamed white rice. Youtiao – you can dip them in the soy milk here. Sheng jian bao – fried to absolute perfection, if I do say so myself. I’ve got some tea eggs here, and some scallion pancakes. Tofu pudding with chili oil. Sticky rice rolls with shredded pork. Got some sweet and sour soup here. Oh, and some rice congee if you want something heartier. Try the tea eggs with that and maybe a bit of this pickled lotus root and cabbage here. A sprinkling of green onions too. And here’s some extra chili oil, oh, and my very own truffle soy sauce – had to hunt across three worlds to find those truffles. It pretty much makes anything you put it on an orgasmic experience.”

Tavian and Mu had been watching in stunned awe as these items were laid on the table before them, one after the other. Tavian turned to Harry when it appeared he was finally done.

“I was just expecting a piece of toast,” he said. “I’m suspicious though. Have we just been brought here to be fattened for the slaughter?”

Harry seemed to stare out the window into space. “I’ve pushed through many culinary frontiers, but human flesh is one I’m yet to reach,” he said.

Tavian looked at Mu. “I’m a good ninety percent sure that was a joke.”

Mu looked Harry’s way. “Here’s hoping.”

Harry now pulled up a chair at the end of their table and sat with his elbows resting on it, his chin in his hands. “How is it?”

Tavian was still surveying the array, deciding what to start with. He settled on ladling some hot and sour soup into a bowl, grabbing a scallion pancake alongside it. Mu meanwhile seemed to be having less trouble, loading her plate up with a wide assortment of items. Tavian tasted the soup.

“It’s good,” he said. Harry seemed unsatisfied with this response. “Could I trouble you for your thoughts, Princess?”

“Mu,” said Mu, through a full mouth. “Ip’s goob.”

“I’ll give you a moment,” said Harry, smiling obligingly.

“You got any idea why we’re still docked at the Orbital Ring?” asked Tavian.

“Oh yeah, about that. Ostara tells me Apollo wants to see everyone in the common room after you guys have had breakfast. There’s been some sort of complication.”

At those words Mu temporarily stopped stuffing her face, swallowed, and looked up, concern filling her eyes. “A complication?”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know the details. But Apollo hasn’t called us together urgently, so it can’t be anything too serious, right?”

“I guess so,” said Mu. Her chopsticks had been paused halfway to her mouth, holding a piece of lotus root. She was still looking concerned as the lotus root resumed its journey to her mouth.

The doors to the mess flew open at that point and the sound of loud, very bad singing filled the room. In walked Nova, bulky headphones over her ears. She was wearing a full body jumpsuit and had her goggles down over her eyes. They all turned to look at her. After a moment she seemed to become aware of this fact, lowering her headphones to hang around her neck and pushing her goggles up to the top of her head.

“Was I too loud?” she asked.

“Not at all,” said Harry.

“Ooh, Harry. Harry, my man. My darling. Light of my life. What are your thoughts on exactly what time it becomes acceptable to eat a hot dog? Asking for a friend.”

“Nova, I am not making you a hot dog. If Princess Mukushen—”

“Mu,” interrupted Mu.

“—and Mr What’s-His-Face here—”

“Tavian,” said Tavian.

“—are willing to share, you can have some of this food.”

Nova had reached the table and leant over, squinting her eyes at the collection of food. “Hrm… I see vegetables. Not really my vibe.”

“Heathen,” said Harry.

Nova pulled up a chair next to Harry. She unzipped her jumpsuit and pulled her arms out of the sleeves, allowing it to fall to her waist. Underneath she was wearing a crop top identical to one she had on yesterday.

“Ah, that’s better,” she said. “Been doing some maintenance. Calibrating the jump drive, and so forth. You wouldn’t believe how complicated everything is with this ship. It’s like nothing I’ve ever worked with before. Took some real getting used to at first. Big learning curve. But she’s my baby now.”

“Is that the delay?” asked Tavian.

Nova shook her head. “No. None of it was essential. I was just taking the opportunity while we were waiting here in dock. You heard about the meeting Apollo has called?”

“I told them,” said Harry.

“Do you know anything about it?” asked Mu, nervously.

Nova tilted her head to one side, seemingly thinking a moment. “I’ve got some idea. When Harry and I were out earlier getting you guys fresh clothes – looking nice, by the way – I spoke to someone who said they were out shopping to pass the time, because their ship to Jindao was stuck in dock. Seems like all interstellar traffic has been halted.”

Tavian looked over at Mu, who clearly shared his concern at this news.

Mu spoke. “That can’t be a coincidence. Stopping all traffic for the whole planet. They wouldn’t do that lightly. Think of the costs!”

“Yeah, I’m guessing there’s gonna be a lot of angry people,” said Harry.

Mu had placed her chopsticks down now and was drumming her fingers on the table. “It must be the Resonance Bureau. Local authorities wouldn’t dare. The agents must be here.”

“Agents?” asked Nova.

“Resonance Bureau enforcers. They’re hunting me. They won’t let anything get in their way,” explained Mu.

“We can handle them,” said Tavian, trying to sound confident.

“No, we can’t,” said Mu.

“Hey, you saw what happened at that spaceport back on the surface?”

“No, I’ve already told you: they’re not like those thugs or even the Governor’s guards. They’re out of our league.”

She paused a moment, clearly deep in thought.

“I should leave. If they’ve shut down traffic, they must be closing the net. No one here is safe.”

Harry leant forward and placed a hand on Mu’s shoulder. She didn’t pull away. “Apollo will decide what risks we take. But be warned, he doesn’t abandon people.”

Mu leapt to her feet, her eyes welling with tears, her hands clenched at her sides. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt for me.”

“Mu…” said Tavian, reaching her way, but this time she did pull away.

“No!” she snapped. “I’ve already killed people to get this far. It’s too much. No more. I’ll surrender to them.”

With that she stormed out of the mess.

“Should we… follow her?” asked Harry.

“She’s not getting off the ship without talking to Apollo,” said Nova.

Tavian stared at the door through which she’d left. “She just needs some sleep,” he said. “She’s had a rough few days.”

He hoped he was right.

Mu lay face down on the bed.

What am I going to do? she asked herself. Am I really going to surrender?

If only she could contact Bright Eyes. If only Tender Hand was here with her. She was so far from everything she knew, everyone she knew. In that moment she felt the overwhelming weight of her isolation. She felt alone. She felt every bit of the lightyears that separated her from home.

What have I done? she wondered.

In her mind’s eye she saw a great flower, its petals gradually opening.

Who am I to fight destiny?

The doorbell rung.

She looked up and then rose shakily to her feet, straightening her dress. She dabbed her eyes dry. She opened the door.

Apollo entered, brushing against her leg as he did so, his back arching up. Behind him was Seraphina, dressed just as she had been the previous night, witch’s hat and all.

Apollo had switched back to a red bowtie.

“You’ve had visions,” said Apollo, leaping elegantly onto her bed and settling into a loaf position, his tail curled around one side. “Seraphina has told me.”

Mu walked over to the desk and grabbed the chair, placing it facing the bed. She gestured towards it, looking Seraphina’s way. The girl shook her head and instead walked over to the rug in the centre of the room and sat down on the floor, her legs crossed. Mu shrugged and sat in the chair herself.

“I did,” she said, her voice and breathing shaky.

“Tell me about them,” said Apollo.

Mu looked Seraphina’s way. She gave a slight nod. “I was a dolphin, swimming in the sea. It was kind of fun.”

“Being a dolphin would be fun,” remarked Seraphina in an absent-minded tone.

“But then everything went crazy. The moon broke apart and then the whole planet and some giant monster ate the sun.”

At this Apollo’s ears pricked up, his fur bristling. It was only a moment, and then he resumed his relaxed posture. “Did you have any sense of where you might be?” asked Apollo.

Mu thought for a moment. “The star was called Pythia. I think it might have been an Awakened Star.”

Apollo appeared to consider this for a moment. “Are there any other key details you remember? Names, places, times, events…”

“There was an… ‘Orcalord’? Some sort of authority figure. And there was something called the Black Emissary of the Stars… it was with the Orcalord. I dunno, I don’t remember much more. Ah! The Orcalord said the Black Emissary was hope, or something like that. It didn’t seem very hopeful at the time. Everything went dark, the Beast ate the sun – Pythia – and that was the end of the dream. Does that… does any of that… make sense?”

Apollo stood and stretched his front legs before settling back down. “It does. What you saw actually happened. You saw it through the eyes of someone who has long been dead. But it wasn’t just a dream.”

“I’m a Starseer,” said Mu, “I Resonate with the Starfow, with Nara Enduri… to see the future. Not the past. The future.”

“Eeach Resonant Resonates with the Starflow differently,” said Apollo. “Not all Starseers, not all Resonants of Nara Enduri are the same. And sometimes the full scope of the power granted by the stars is not wholly apparent until someone of particular power comes along.”

“Like a Theophant?” asked Mu.

“Those who have experienced Theophany are in a category of their own,” said Apollo, “No, I’m talking about regular Resonants. There is a great and varied scope of Resonance, and I believe you are particularly attuned to the Starflow. Your power is not merely limited to the future and things yet to pass, but to all of time, forwards and backwards.”

Mu paused a moment. “I’ve never seen backwards before…”

“Haven’t you?” asked Apollo, blinking slowly in her direction. “Physicists say that mathematically, time is no different, forward or backwards. It’s symmetrical. The only thing that gives it its arrow is entropy. To a power such as yours, there’s no inherent reason that peering backwards should be any different to peering forwards.”

Seraphina spoke up. “On Hecate witches of the Oculus Coven practice Far-Scrying to peer both forward and back in time and see occulted events. Nara Eduri and the Witching Star are very different, but the Starfow is one and the same everywhere in the Cosmos. Your sight may work according to similar principles.”

“Indeed,” agreed Apollo.

“How do you know that these were real events—are you saying that a giant beast actually ate a star? How is that even possible?”

“The Cosmos is vast,” said Apollo. “It contains far more and far stranger things than most imagine.”

“But a beast that can eat a star… surely…” Even as she spoke Mu found herself deeply disturbed by the very thought of such a thing. In that moment she was brought back to the feeling she had during the dream, the feeling of profound wrongness. Even if such a thing did exist… it shouldn’t.

“The Starflow sent you that vision for a reason,” said Apollo. “Pythia, like Nara Enduri, was a star that grants prophecy.”

“Are you saying Nara Enduri is at risk?” asked Mu. “The Imperial fleets… they’re beyond number. Even a beast of that size would be no match for them. They could destroy whole star clusters if they wished.”

Apollo sighed, a strangely human sound coming from a cat. “I won’t pretend to know precisely what message was intended by that vision. But I do believe it was a warning. And that aligns with what I want to tell you.”

Mu had almost totally forgotten her other concerns; her mind was so absorbed in what Apollo was saying. “What’s that?” she asked.

“Some of the others have told me you intend to turn yourself in to the authorities,” said Apollo.

“I…” Mu began, but she felt less sure than she had before. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

“The universe isn’t cruel, but it isn’t necessarily benevolent either,” said Apollo. “People get hurt whatever path we take. For many it is sufficient to act with good intentions. But for those of us with the gift – or the curse – of foresight, that isn’t enough. If outcomes are foreseeable, then it is to them we should look, for ultimately, they will matter far more than our intentions. We must probe the myriad branching roads forward and find the outcome in which there is the least suffering and the most joy.”

Mu considered the black cat’s words a moment. Then it struck her, “Wait, you said ‘those of us’? You are a Starseer too?”

“Princess Mukushen,” said Apollo. “I led you here for a reason. You have a role to play. I would urge you trust me and do not turn yourself over to the Resonance Bureau.”

“If you want me to trust you… I don’t want to be rude… but surely… if you just tell me your plan, your purpose, maybe then—”

“The future is fragile. I can only reveal so much, lest the very knowledge of the future I seek cause it to shatter. Calm your mind, peer forward, satisfy yourself that you can trust me. Then we will discuss how we will evade the Resonance Bureau,” said Apollo, adding, “Without further bloodshed.”

At this, Seraphina stood and reached into her voluminous cloak. From it she pulled three sticks of incense. She raised her opposite hand, two fingers pointing up and a small flame appeared. She lit the incense and began to swirl it about. Smoke of many colours began to fill the room and Mu felt her mind begin to calm. Her heartbeat slowed.

She opened her eyes, but the room was gone.

She floated in the void of space.

Before her was an immense and burning ball of plasma.

She knew its many names.

The Seer Star; Shepherd of Destiny; Master of the Long Road to the End of All Things; the Inextinguishable Flame and Evershining Light; the Great One by whose mandate the Emperors of Aixingo ruled.

Nara Enduri.

As she floated there in the void, gazing down on the tempestuous surface of the star a great golden ray of light shot out and touched her heart.

Her eyes closed and she reopened them. She was lying on the bed. A pair of yellow eyes and a pair of red eyes gazed down at her.

Apollo was sitting on her chest, Seraphina standing by her side. The smell of incense still filled the room.

“I trust you,” said Mu.

“Excellent,” said Apollo, leaping from her chest to the floor. “Now if you’ll come with us to the common room, we have plans to make.”