Page 7 of Written in the Stars

MY TIME AMONG THE HUMANS,BY LADY DRIDSHAMA

The gang limped off, and I watched them go. I didn’t relax until they were out of sight.

“There,” I said, pivoting to face the human shopkeeper. “Your problem solved.”

To my surprise, she crossed her arms and glowered at me. “Solved? I don’t think so. Put off, sure, but they’ll be back.”

Despite myself, I glowered back. I hardly expected her to fall over herself in gratitude, but some recognition would be nice.

“Those punks? They’ll not dare. And if they do, I’ll send them packing again.”

“Maybe not those three, but they have friends. Didn’t you notice their armbands? And you might not have to worry about them, but I’ll still be here when you leave.”

I scowled. Had I miscalculated? I’d seen the trio enter the shop and followed them to make sure they didn’t do any harm. Catching them threatening both Megan and Nebula was enough reason to get involved, and dealing with them had seemed simple. But if they were part of a larger gang, then this might be a bigger problem than I’d realized.

“Who were they?” I asked. “And what did they want with Nebula?”

Megan paused, sighed, and sat down hard amongst the scattered books. “A new gang wanting protection money. Nebula attacked their leader to protect me, and that’s when you stepped in.”

With a sigh, she buried her head in her hands, hair falling forward to veil her face. “What the hell am I going to do now? They’re going to kill me.”

“They will have to come through me first,” I told her. A small, choked sound emerged from the curtain of hair.

“Thanks, but how long will you stay on Talbrek? You might scare them off while you’re on station, but you don’t look like you’ll be here long.”

I growled, frustration boiling over. “Why areyoustaying here? It is clearly not a healthy place for you.”

“Yeah, well, you should have told my crew that. They dumped me here when someone made them a decent offer for my cabin space.”

My world went red as rage burned through my veins. “Your crewabandonedyou? Here, in this gelf’s nest of a space station?”

I hoped I would meet them someday. I’d love to express my feelings to Megan’s captain directly—preferably through a fist to his face.

Megan’s lips twitched at that. “Yes, well, it wasn’t entirely their fault. Captain Freehold was short of cash and short of space, and there wasn’t enough life-support for meandthe Vedkin noble. The Vedkin made a better offer.”

“Do not make excuses for him,” I told her. “The captain is responsible for the safety of the crew. Abandoning you here was criminal.”

She dismissed that criticism with a shrug, gesturing around at the bookshop. “I’ve made it this far and found myself a nice niche. I enjoy thework,I get to see books from all over, and I’m saving up for a ticket home. It wasn’t supposed to be forever, but now you’ve turned up and made me a target for some new gang.”

I winced, working my fingers as I considered her point of view. If I’d done this to her…

Time for a shrug of my own. I’d done what I thought Megan needed. Perhaps it had been wrong, perhaps there were better ways, but there was no point in looking behind us. If I’d put her in trouble, I would get her out of it.

“If you do not wish to stay here, you need not. As you said, I won’t be here more than a few days, long enough to repair my ship. When I go, you will come with me.”

“Iwill,will I?” Megan glowered, hands on her hips, but I saw her shoulders relax, just a little. “Just pick up everything I own, get into your spaceship, and go… where?”

“Anywhere you wish, as long as it is not into the Empire. I am a free agent and can find work wherever we go. I can return you to your homeworld or we can explore regions neither of us have seen.”

Her eyes lit up at that, and I knew I’d said something right.

* * *

“How much?”

The four-armed engineer rubbed a wrench with a rag so filthy I didn’t know if he was trying to clean the tool or the cloth. “You heard me, fellow. Your ship needs a new hyperdrive, the one you’ve got is scrap metal. Plus, damaged scanners, lateral thrusters with maybe a day’s worth of use in ‘em before they give out. That’s not talking about the strain on the hull, thrust hard and she’ll shear in two. Might be better off selling her for scrap, honestly. I’d make you a fair offer.”

I winced. TheCry of Battlehad been my constant companion for years, far more loyal than any living being I’d shared a berth with. Now she lay in the dock, damaged to the point of no return, and my body shook as I restrained my urge to pick up the engineer and shake him until he fixed her.

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