Rook Winters - Weight of Ashes

“And you didn’t know anything about Clint’s own research?” Britt asked.

Bear asked, “How come the Others can’t just knock them out with one of their black hole weapons?”

“No,” Elle said, “he wasn’t allowed to talk about it and he wasn’t supposed to know about what I was doing.”

“The Wisp has the same technology as the other Qyntarak ships. And it’s a small ship, so it’s hard to detect. Space is a big place, even in our little corner of the solar system.”

“Before the Others came,” Britt said, “Clint was heavy into genetic engineering with a particular interest in increasing human resiliency—tolerance for broader temperature ranges, accelerated healing, and even limb regeneration. Do you know if he continued with that work at least?”

“Do you have access to rosters for other ships?” Bear asked. “Or information on the passengers?”

“I don’t know,” Elle said. “We didn’t talk about it. I wasn’t allowed to talk to the other kids about their experiments either. All I know is what involved me, which was trying to talk with the Others. I wasn’t very good at it.”

“The Wisp knows about the status of at least some people on most ships. There’s a network of Claimers but communication is sketchy so the data is sparse and infrequent. And only essential information is broadcast to Earth since every transmission risks compromising the Wisp ’s current position.”

“A child talking directly with Qyntarak? That must have been terrifying for you,” Britt said.

Bear pointed toward the ceiling with his finger. “My wife is up there. She’s been gone ten years and I have no idea if she’s even alive still. It’s why I help Britt smuggle antiviral medications. Just in case.”

“I grew up seeing them every week, so it was normal for me. But I couldn’t really talk with them. The doctor said my vocal chords, in theory, should be able to reproduce Qyntarak sounds better than most humans but, like I said, I wasn’t good at it. I was better at understanding them.”

“They separated you?” Ursula said. “That’s unusual, to separate a married couple.”

“I was working off planet at the time and they took the whole town at once. No one even told me. I came home to an empty house. Thieves had ransacked it. It took three weeks of yelling at paper pushers just to find out what happened.”

Court found it exhausting to follow both conversations and as much as he wanted to hear everything being said, he was relieved when Ursula announced that the copy of the data vault was complete.

“Time to go,” Britt said.

Ursula held up a hand. “Wait, a proximity alarm just tripped. Let me check what’s going on first… Oh shit. Two Qyntarak in full armor and a grav flyer parked on the lawn.”

“Qyntarak?” Court said. “You’re sure?”

Ursula gave him an irritated glare. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“They’re here for me,” Elle said. “I’ll give myself up. It doesn’t matter if they take me now. You have the data vault and a plan to get it where it needs to go.”

“No,” Court said, “there has to be another way.”

“The rest of you can stay hidden here. We can’t outrun them. We can’t fight them.”

“She’s right about that,” Ursula said.

“It won’t work,” Britt said. “If they only get Elle, they’ll come looking for Court, and probably the rest of us. I will not cower down here waiting for them to come knocking.”

“Do you have any other ideas?” Ursula said.

“I do,” Britt said. “First, we need to hide the original data vault and go check on Ainsley.”

Court was not enthusiastic about their plan but his opinion didn’t matter much at the moment. Britt hobbled up the stairs beside him and Elle followed behind them. His hands were cold and shaking.

According to Ursula’s surveillance system, there were at least six Qyntarak and one human. They were walking into their hands, or pincers, or whatever they were called, in order to buy time for Bear and the others hiding in the basement.

“Stop there,” a synthesized voice said as they crested the stairs. It sounded similar to the voice of the alien that had killed Dr. Donovan but not identical.

They raised their hands and stopped at the top of the stairs, Elle still partially obstructed behind Britt and Court.

All the Qyntarak wore armor with some parts of their bodies covered in a flexible material and the rest covered in layers of a dull black plating. The one who’d spoken had a gun-like weapon pointed at them. Further back, another held Maud, the university superintendent, with a stabbing tentacle pressed against her ribs. Two more Qyntarak moved toward Court, Elle, and Britt. Their heavy boots, four per alien, clanged on the old stone floor as they advanced with surprising speed for their size.

One of them jabbed Elle with its blunt pincer-like arm. Was arm the right word? Court wasn’t sure.

“You are human L37. This is the accurate reading of your appearance. Do you acknowledge?”

Its voice was high-pitched with a hint of a buzz, like a human trying to talk like a bee. Elle didn’t answer. The plan was for Britt to act as their negotiator. Court hoped that was a smart move.

“Who is in charge here?” Britt asked.

The Qyntarak roared, the sound muffled but audible through its body armor. The suit didn’t provide a translation of the noise.

“Insolent human, your speech was not requested. Recline in silence,” the bee said. It poked at Elle again. “You are human L37. Confirm the truth of this assertion.”

“I speak for her. And I demand to talk with your superior.”

Court was impressed by the steadiness of Britt’s voice. The Qyntarak struck her with the side of its long stabbing arm-tentacle thing. The slap wasn’t overly violent but harder than necessary for someone her age. Court’s body tensed.

From a distance, another Qyntarak made a snapping noise and its suit’s speaker said, “Laughing. Laughing.”

The laughing Qyntarak came closer and Court saw it was smaller than the others. It poked Court with its own tentacle-like appendage. Court felt like he was being prodded with a sharpened stick.

“You are upsetting the other human here,” the smaller alien said. Its synthesized voice was deeper with a trace of a whistle. “Look at how hot its face has become. Human Nora Barrett with the false name Britt, I am full of curiosity about why you are in the companionship of these two fugitives.”

How in the nacking hell do they know who Britt is?

“Are you in charge?” Britt asked.

It leaned in close to Britt. “Yes. And much wisdom it will be for you to answer my questions. We are not here to answer yours.”

“They came seeking sanctuary and wish only to be productive members of the economy. We have no quarrel with any being.”

“Human fool, this one is the property of Aldebaran. You are all three in possession of stolen property.”

“She is a human being and no one’s property.”

“A matter of semantics. She contains their property. We must return her to her caretakers.”

The smallest Qyntarak grabbed Elle’s arm with its pincer and pulled her toward itself. She gave a startled yelp, and without thinking, Court grabbed it.

“Let her go.”

“Court, no,” Britt shouted.

He wasn’t sticking to the plan but he couldn’t bear to have them drag her off like this. He wrenched on the Qyntarak’s tentacle with both hands. It was incredibly strong, like pulling on a tree. Something smashed into Court’s side and sent him staggering back. He lost his grip and then his footing when his heel slipped over the edge of the stairs. He fell back and tumbled down them, banging and bouncing too many times to count until he reached the landing where his head smashed against the floor or wall or maybe the railing, he wasn’t sure. The room went blurry.