Page 28 of Claim
As his datpad beeped again, an insistent summons, she backed away.“Apex.”
That had always been his duty and distinction.Now it felt like a disappointment.He’d hurt her when he’d only wanted to keep his crew fed and flying.That had always been his gravest doubt: that as big as he was, he wouldn’t be enough.
The datpad directed them toward the core wall where a mover awaited them.The enclosed box whisked them up the wall and then across—aiming directly at the balcony where the vreign held court.
The door of the mover parted to reveal the crowd that had stood beside the Dastard during his welcome, plus more beings who hadn’t been visible from the floor below.
Beside Mag, Bram stiffened.“Apex…”
“I see them.”He didn’t need his orc or the datpad on his lower wrist to vibrate a warning.He recognized the ship ident on the group of three Sauronilans clustered near a beverage dispenser.The captain of thePratorimglared back.
He let Birg and Bram focus on their enemy while he concentrated on the Dastard.Who, it seemed, might also be an enemy.
The vreign of Luster Station was as tall as Mag himself, if not quite so solidly built.And he too had a cloak that disguised some of his shape; Mag wondered if June had chosen the pattern to preserve mystery in the same way.No one knew the Dastard’s species so it was surmised he was a genetic chimera or the hybrid offspring of some compatible species.Or perhaps not so compatible, considering there were no known others like him.Maybe Mag should tell him about the Intergalactic Dating Agency…
“Apex,” the Dastard said.“May I offer personal welcome to the Luster.I’ve been told yourDeepWanderhas brought some prizes of a unique nature for the auction.”
“We have,” Mag said.
“And that you’ve applied for a station berth with affiliate membership.”
“We have,” Mag repeated.
The vreign eyed him.“Not going to flatter me with how you’ve dreamed of joining the Luster?”
“Would that improve our chance of joining?”
The Dastard laughed a very Earther style laugh.“Probably!I am easily swayed by such performative foolishness.”
If Mag hadn’t learned to fine tune his alien interactions, he might’ve even believed the other male.Instead, he said, “I very much doubt that.”
The vreign’s amusement cut out abruptly, dying without even an echo.“And so?”
“So we’ve brought a cargo hold of valuable ore and the opulence of orc sung stones found nowhere else in the universe.Thatis what will sway someone who brought a dead ship to life as a sector-dominating station.”
The Dastard straightened.“You think you know me, apex?”
“Because I too hold a bubble of life against the cold and dark, and yet neither of us is so mighty that the void would be impressed.”
After a beat of silence and a steady look that made Mag wonder if the station vreign was contemplating him with some imperceptible sensory mechanism, either innate or technological, the Dastard huffed.“You confess to such vulnerability, and yet you come here with ignorant closed worlders at your side, bargaining with only a cargo hold of detritus and a few mysterious baubles of peculiar molecular composition?”
Returning the vreign’s silence for another moment, Mag admitted, “Vulnerable, perhaps, but since theDeepWanderhas come through both darkness and fire, our sung stones shine all the brighter for it.And our Earthers may be new to this life among the stars, but to us, they shine brightest of all.”
The Dastard’s gaze narrowed.“If they are worth so much, perhaps you might haggle with me, offering your females as collateral.”
Mag flared his carapace and closed it again with a thunderous crack.When the station security jumped forward a step, he bared his tusks.“We’ll barter and sell our mining, not our mates.”
After a tense moment, the vreign gestured nonchalantly at his guards who reluctantly retreated.“As you wish.Although I find it hard to believe the whispers about the charms you’ve brought—mineral or mate.”The vreign flicked a look at his second in command, a being encased in an exo-suit marked with several warning labels of corrosive and combustible compounds within.“We will see how your ore and your opulence rival the other offerings here.Meanwhile… Leani, what is the status of the apex’s grievance against thePratorim?”He twisted his mouth in a way Mag couldn’t decipher as amusement or menace.“She handles all my complaints and just breathes on the ones who fail to comply.”
The second stumped forward.“Under review,” she reported in a grating voice.“Preliminary assessment: both parties should work on their aim.Oh, and conveniently, refurbished plasma cannons and scopes are discounted with a refueling receipt.Today only.Some conditions may apply.”
Mag forced his antennae to relax.“So I have leave to shoot them where they stand?”
Matching his calmer stance, the Dastard laughed again.“No.Or not here and not at the moment anyway.What you do elsewhere means nothing to me.You have both indicated you seek a station berth, but right now, neither theDeepWandernor thePratorimare bound by—or protected by—the accords of the Luster.”
Mag grunted.“You would offer membership to and expect integrity from a ship that cozens thieves and attacks unarmed shuttles?”
The Dastard gestured dismissively.“I’ve had to do worse.As you noted, the void is all around us, after all.”
