Hard Luck Hermit

The blizzard was still roaring over the mountaintops, but Tooley didn’t fly through with any finesse this time. She barreled straight up as fast as the ship would allow, and her passengers held on tight as the Wanderer rattled in the turbulence. It was an uncomfortable ride, but a short one, and soon they breached the atmosphere and were back to cruising through empty space.

“Where are we headed, boys?” Tooley said. “I don’t really give a fuck about anyone off this ship, so I don’t have anybody I’m really worried about right now.”

“We need to get to Tannis,” Kamak said. “I need to warn Vatan and Catay.”

“Kamak,” Doprel began. “Catay said you shouldn’t-”

“I know what she fucking said, Doprel,” Kamak snapped. His former pilot had banned Kamak from any contact with her or her daughter, a moratorium she had maintained, and he had respected, even after saving the universe. “I think Catay will make an exception for saving her ass from a bloodthirsty psychopath.”

“Could we just contact them?” Corey suggested. “Or send someone to guard them?”

“I don’t have their contact info anymore,” Kamak said. He’d deleted it a long time ago, thinking that relationship was over permanently. “And if we send someone else we’re dealing with a bunch of bureaucratic shitheads and incompetent council guards who’ve never been in a fight a day in their lives.”

“But-”

“There’s no ‘but’s’, Corvash, we’re going to Tannis,” Kamak said.

“And what about To Vo?”

“What about her?”

“If somebody wants to target people close to us, she’s the obvious choice,” Corey said. “She was right there with us in the middle of all that Morrakesh horseshit, remember?”

“I remember,” Kamak said. “But she’s on Centerpoint, and she’s the Council’s fluffy little mascot now. They’ll have her protected by actually competent people.”

“She’s got a baby, Kamak,” Corey said.

“And she’ll have as many guards as she needs to protect the little furball,” Kamak said. “Vatan and Catay live in the middle of nowhere, nobody’s watching their backs. They’re vulnerable. Centerpoint is too far of a detour for one person.”

“And what about two?” Farsus said.

“Come on, not you too,” Kamak grunted.

“Corey and I were recently involved in a publicized event with the Human ambassador, Yìhán,” Farsus said. “Given the media attention, and Yìhán’s own link to Corey’s species, she is also a likely target.”

“And she is, again, very well-protected,” Kamak said.

“Be that as it may, I believe it behooves us to cover our bases,” Farsus said. “Guarding potential targets ourselves would show we are aware of our killer’s methodology and intent, force them to change their approach.”

“To Vo and Yìhán are both on Centerpoint, and that isn’t that far out of the way,” Doprel said. “We can drop Corey and Farsus off, and I’ll go with you to Tannis for some extra muscle. And to make sure you and Tooley don’t kill each other on the way over.”

“Wait, am I flying him? Why the fuck am I going all that way?”

“Catay saved you from getting stabbed to death by Khem,” Doprel said.

“Shit. Fine, I’ll help save her.”

“Speaking of Khem, should we try and-”

Corey stopped himself mid-sentence as he remembered who he was talking about. Khem was larger, stronger, and tougher than Doprel, and he’d fought off an entire Horuk army using nothing but throwing spears.

“Never mind,” Corey said. “I’ll just send him a heads up.”

“And if we leave him alone, maybe the killer will try to go after him and get themselves speared,” Kamak said. “Wouldn’t that be nice.”

“We’d never be that lucky,” Doprel sighed.

***

“Got your gun, got your knife, got your stupid laser sword,” Tooley said. “You look ready to go.”

“Mostly,” Corey said.

“What’s mostly? You need another, bigger gun?”

Corey stepped closer and grabbed Tooley around the waist. She gave him a gentle but very firm headbutt.

“You know I hate this sappy crap.”

“Well kiss me anyway,” Corey said. She did, then immediately slipped out of his grasp. “I’m just feeling a little sappy. This is going to be pretty much the first time we’ve been apart for more than a few swaps since we met.”

“Hopefully the break won’t be enough time for either of us to realize we’ve trapped ourselves in a codependent nightmare of a toxic relationship,” Tooley said.

“Tools, come on.”

“I’m kidding,” Tooley said. “Mostly. We got some issues, champ.”

Corey cringed, but nodded in agreement.

“Speaking of issues, don’t go getting a taste for the domestic bliss of married life while you’re rooming with To Vo, because that ain’t my style,” Tooley said.

“I’ll avoid the temptation,” Corey said. “The baby crying alone should be enough to scare me off.”

“Good,” Tooley said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Now get the fuck off my ship before Kamak starts yelling at us.”

Corey picked up his bag and headed down the exit ramp. Farsus was already waiting, coordinating the last few details with Kamak and Doprel before they parted.

“You two finally done screwing each other? Good. Let’s get a move on,” Kamak said. He stomped back up the boarding ramp and headed for the cockpit. Tooley waved goodbye to Corey and then headed back as well. Doprel stayed behind just long enough to hand Corey a brand new datapad.

“Here. Took the liberty of setting up brand new comm lines for all of us,” Doprel said. “They’re freshly encoded, so we should be able to use them a few times before the killer—or anyone else—finds a way to listen in. Save it for emergencies.”

“Got it. See you around, Doprel,” Corey said. “Don’t let Kamak and Tooley kill each other.”

“Even I might not be strong enough for that,” Doprel said, before lumbering back up the ramp. The boarding ramp drew up behind him, the bay doors slammed shut, and the Wild Card Wanderer took off -without Corey or Farsus aboard. Corey watched it until the glowing engine trail disappeared among the bright stars surrounding Centerpoint. It felt like watching home take off and fly away.

“It’s going to feel really god damn weird not hanging out with you guys,” Corey said.

“Apologies if I do not share the sentiment,” Farsus said. “I have only known you a very small portion of my life, after all.”

“You’re not that much older than me,” Corey said.

“And yet I have been on many planets and many ships, among many people,” Farsus said. “Your existence has been more...focused. This brief interlude will be good for you, Corvash.”

Farsus gave Corey a firm pat on the shoulder, and then grabbed him tight to turn him around and walk into the heart of Centerpoint.