Page 48 of Seven Oars
“It does have a sad ending. For the Tana-Tana.” She glanced again at the corpse.
She hoped the Striker had beheaded himbeforeskinning him.
“Father Zha-Ikkel ran a busy trade from this station,” he said evenly. “Drugs, weapons, and slaves. He lived longer than most in his business, and he wasn’t surprised to meet a violent end.”
At that point, Fincros stepped back, a wily actor who knew when to push and when to cut slack.
“You can move around the station,” he allowed, “but don’t mistake it for freedom. Outside of the Cargo Hold, you’re a nuisance. Expect my crew to treat you as such.”
Then he simply left, and the vacuum that formed in his place slowly filled with the grind of the station’s machines and the sounds of revelry emanating from the Habitat.
Sparing Rosamma no glance, Alyesha ran out of the Meat Locker.
Rosamma bolted after her like a sheep, pushing the heavy door closed to keep the contents within.
Her mind was so, so empty. She wavered as she ran on unsteady legs.
*****
At the Cargo Hold, they found Gro and Eze already back from their own exploratory mission.
Eze was lying down, with Gro and Anske bent over her, giving her water and making sure she was comfortable.
“What happened?” Rosamma dropped to her knees next to Gro.
“That motherfucking robot! It appeared out of nowhere and told us to go back, but who listens to robots?”
“Did it zap Eze?”
“Yeah, well. Eze tried to touch it, and it didn’t go over well. Take note, everybody! That thing is really dangerous.”
“Dangerous. Dangerous!” Daphne’s young voice rose over the conversation. “Like me! Dangerous!”
In the ensuing silence, all eyes went to Daphne, who paid them no attention, busy stacking and re-stacking used food cans.
Anske’s eyes narrowed. “What was Mara thinking, sneaking out of Meeus with such a child?”
“She probably did itbecauseof Daphne,” Gro said quietly. “You know what they do to the likes of her on Meeus. If the authorities deemed her dangerous, even to herself, she’d be in an institution, and Mara would’ve never seen her again.”
All the women regarded Daphne with pity, except for Alyesha, whose cold eyes telegraphed mistrust.
Eze groaned and sat up. “I’m better, thanks. No, I don’t want that.” She batted away the water straw Gro was shoving into her face.
“So what did y’all find out there?” Fawn asked, slouched against the dirty padded wall.
“Does anyone have anything to draw on?” Eze asked.
Gro quickly improvised by peeling off a label from an empty can and folding the sharp lid to form a point.
“There are three separate big compartments on the right side. I figure the right side mirrors the left. Is that what you saw?”
Alyesha and Rosamma nodded.
“Okay, so this space station is shaped like a capital A,” Eze continued. “We are at the bottom of the left leg, right here.” She traced the label with the sharp tip, making a crude map. “The passageway runs on the inside of each leg with rooms facing the outside. From bottom to top: the Cargo Hold, the Habitat, the Crew Quarters. That’s on the left. On the right, we have the Mechanical Room, the Service Block, and more Crew Quarters. The Command Center is at the tip.” Eze poked the top of the A for emphasis.
“What is that place with airlocks?” Rosamma asked.
“That’s the Bridge. It connects the two legs of our A. There are airlocks and everything else that has to do with the station access, like that trash chute.”
