Steven Harper - Dreamer

Kendi shook his head. “That I don’t know. It may be an old-fashioned mistake.”

“Maybe,” Sejal said dubiously. “So what do we do now?”

“Now we-”

“Kendi,” came Ben’s voice in his ear. “Kendi, are you there?”

Kendi held up a hand to Sejal. “I’m here,” he subvocalized. “What’s going on?”

“Trouble, ” Ben said. “You and Sejal are on a wanted list for the Unity guard.,”

“What? Shit!”

“Was there a raid on a hotel in the market?”

“Yeah. I almost got caught in it. Why?”

“One of the guards had a camera. Standard Unity procedure on a vice bust in case someone gets away-like you did. Your and Sejal’s pictures are on the nets. You’re wanted for unlawful solicitation, breaking and entering, malicious destruction of property, assault of a guard officer, and resisting arrest.”

“What’s going on?” Sejal asked. “Who are you talking to?”

“We’ve got to get moving,” Kendi said, rising and throwing a kesh on the table for the untouched drinks. “The Unity’s looking for us.”

Without a word, Sejal followed Kendi out of the restaurant. Kendi eeled through the crowd outside, trying to glance in all directions at once. Every muscle was taut with tension. The crowd, however, seemed content to ignore them. If anyone recognized them as fleeing felons, no one gave any indication. Kendi refused to relax. The general populace may not be up on the latest wanted pictures from the guard, but the guard itself was, and the guard would have ocular implants just like Kendi’s that would alert them if any wanted criminals passed through their line of sight.

“Where are we going?” Sejal asked.

“Kendi, what are you doing?” Ben asked almost simultaneously.

“I’m heading for the ship,” Kendi replied to them both.

“He what?” Ara screeched.

“He interfered in a Unity raid,” Ben replied calmly. “Kendi got Sejal out of there before they would have been arrested.”

“That idiot,” Ara fumed, nearly knocking her coffee cup off the console in her quarters. Ben stood in the doorway.

“Idiot?” Ben echoed, confused. “Kendi saved Sejal from the guard.”

“And caused us a hell of a lot of trouble.” Ara closed her eyes, trying to bring her temper under control. Once, just once, she wished Kendi would think before he acted.

“I don’t see how-”

“If the Unity had arrested Sejal,” Ara said in a level voice, “we could have bailed him out. Sejal would be grateful. Vidya would be grateful. Sejal would want to come with us. Everybody wins. Now they’re both wanted and we’re in up to our necks.”

“Well, in any case, he’s headed back here with Sejal.”

Ara bolted to her feet, and this time the coffee cup went crashing to the floor. “He’s what? Shit! Ben, get on the transmitter and tell him to stay the hell away. Go! Hurry!”

Ben fled. Ara rushed into the corridor behind him, pulling her purple trader’s tunic over her clothes as she went.

“Peggy-Sue,” Ara barked, “open intercom channel to Brother Pitr. Pitr, grab two sets of slave shackles and two brother’s robes. Meet me down at the main hatchway on the double! Move!”

“All right, Mother,” Pitr’s voice said. “But what-”

“Peggy-Sue,” Ara interrupted, “close channel and open intercom to Harenn Mashib. Harenn, emergency. Meet me down at the main hatchway with a medical kit, and I mean yesterday!”

“Obeying,” Harenn replied instantly.

“Peggy-Sue, close channel and open intercom to Ben Rymar.” Ara reached the lift, decided not to wait for it, and started down the ladder instead. Ceramic clanged beneath her hurried feet. “Ben, have you gotten hold of Kendi yet?”

“Yes, Mother. He and Sejal are in the spaceport. Kendi wants to know why-”

“Where’s the first place the guard will come looking for Kendi?” she snapped. “God, I can’t believe that boy’s stupidity today. Tell him to find someplace to hide. We’ll be there shortly. Peggy-Sue, close channel and open intercom to Jack Jameson. Jack, we’re going to have company pretty soon and they’re going to ask a lot of questions. I want you to keep your mouth shut. You don’t have any idea where Kendi is, or where I am.”

“But I don’t have any idea where Kendi-”

“Meanwhile, I want you, Gretchen, Ben, and Trish to get the ship ready for takeoff. You might only have a few seconds’ warning, so I want the bridge staffed at all times. Clear?”

“Clear. But-”

“Peggy-Sue, close channel.” Ara reached the bottom of the ladder and all but flew down to the main hatchway. On the way she met up with Harenn. Harenn’s veil was slightly askew, and she carried a briefcase-sized medical kit.

“What happens, Mother?” Harenn asked in a breathless voice.

Ara was about to explain when Pitr’s solid form hurried up, his arms piled with cloth.

“Slave shackles?” Ara asked.

“Under the robes,” Pitr replied.

Ara opened the hatchway. “Peggy-Sue, activate magnetic locks ship-wide and open them for no one but me or Brother Kendi.”

“Acknowledged,” the computer said.

Ara waved Pitr and Harenn through the hatch and shut it. A faint hum indicated the magnetic locks were active. The landing field, carefully gridded with precise yellow lines, stretched around them in all directions. Ships of varying shapes and sizes rested like giant insects, one to a square. Transports carrying fuel and cargo zipped over the aerogel asphalt. Overhead, the sun burned in a cloudless sky.

“Ben,” Ara sub-vocalized, “where’s Kendi hiding?”

In response, a red trail overlaid itself on her field of vision as Ben uploaded directions to her ocular implant.

“What happens, Mother?” Harenn demanded again. “We need to know.”

“It’s Kendi.” Ara said, and strode off along the trail. She explained with short, terse phrases as they went. Pitr whistled under his breath.

“Are any Unity guard coming now?” Harenn wanted to know.

“They’re demanding entrance at the ship,” Ben said. “They said Kendi and Sejal are wanted for assaulting an officer. That makes them high priority.”

“Stall,” Ara ordered. “Tell them the locks are malfunctioning.”

“Acknowledged.”

The red trail lead Ara into the spaceport proper, a large, flat building filled with customs offices, air traffic controls, and who-knew-what. The air inside was cool, and the volume of voices rose considerably when they entered. Ara followed the trail to a private restroom that offered showers as well as toilet facilities.

“Well, that’s one intelligent decision he made,” Ara muttered, and thumbed the chime.

“It’s occupied,” said a strange voice, and it took Ara a moment to recognize it as Sejal’s.

“Let us in,” Ara snapped. “Quick!”

The door slid open. Ara, Pitr, and Harenn ducked inside. Kendi and Sejal sat on narrow benches within. The cubicle was tiny, too small for five people, so Ara turned to Pitr.

“Wait outside and play guard,” she said. He set down his bundle of cloth and left.

“Ben told me what’s going on,” Kendi said. “And I don’t want a lecture, Mother. I’d do everything exactly the same way if I had to do it again, so don’t waste your breath shouting.”

“Who the hell are you?” Sejal broke in.

Ara drew herself up, trying to reign in her temper. “I’m Mother Adept Araceil of the Children of Irfan.”

“Okay,” Sejal grunted. “What’s that mean to me?”

“It means,” Harenn said, “that she can take you off this planet.”

“I’m not going anywhere if she-” Sejal pointed a finger at Ara “-gets Kendi in trouble.”

Kendi shot Ara a smug look, and it took all her willpower not to smack him. Later, she told herself. We’ll hash this out later.