Part Ten: And the Stars, like Diamonds

The core garden was lit up by the light of the stars, funneled in by the light pipes. The structures built into the core also had their lighting, and the effect was very much that of being outdoors at night. It was remarkable, and, in the borrowed peace of the station, beautiful.

The restaurants had many patrons, enjoying the evening, and the cool, artificial breeze flowing through the core, including an awkward couple, both apparently human.

Connor was nervous, on the verge of bolting. It took all of his willpower not to drop his fork, or his glass, or shake uncontrollably. He wasn't used to having dinner with a girl, other than Cat, and the pressure of a first date made it all the worse. He was quite sure that Suzee was dealing much better than himself.

He was, however, wrong.

"So, Connor," Suzee asked, hiding her own anxiety, "what are you going to do now, anyway?"

"Me? Well, um, I guess I'll just stick with you guys heading back to Sol. It's not as though I have anything for me in my own reality, let alone any way of getting back. Here, I at least have some friends. Back home, all I've got are ashes."

Suzee's expression dropped, and a look of pain crossed her face.

"But, Suzee, what about you? Are you going to try and find a way to get back to your home? I mean, you've still got your parents and sisters, right?"

"Yeah, but... After what happened, I don't know if I can go back. I mean, Koan seems to have the means to cross dimensions, wherever he is now. If he can find me, anywhere I go, what's the point?"

"Hey," Connor said, trying to be comforting, "you've got all of us. We'll find Koan, and bring him to justice, or deal with him somehow. If he's not lost already."

Suzee looked him in the eyes, a tear running down her cheek. She wanted to tell him everything, the dark fate she'd seen in Elmira's mind. But, she couldn't find the strength.

"I hope you're right."

Harlan and Catalina were at an arcade, near the Bazaar. Holographic games of every type and description, a discordant malaise of music, voices, and explosions, created an atmosphere of primal energy.

They loved it.

Harlan was going to let her win at any game they played, of course, but she proved to be a better opponent that he'd expected. She almost matched him for sheer talent in various starfighter hologames, and was outsmarting him in the fighting ones. She beat him a few times, about as many as he beat her.

But, he was just going easy on her, of course. At least, that's what he told himself.

Goddard and Davenport were having dinner at a different restaurant than Connor and Suzee, and in fact had no idea where most of the students were, or what they were doing.

"I'm awfully worried, though. We haven't heard from any of them for hours." Davenport said.

"Well, no news is good news, I suppose. Besides, they're responsible enough to handle themselves. They've proven that more than once."

"Yes, well, I would have said that about Radu yesterday. But now..."

"Don't worry about Radu. No charges were laid past the fine. He and Elmira are back on the Christa, confined for the rest of today. Everything's going fine."

"I hope you're right..."

"Don't worry about it. Just try and enjoy yourself. I know I am."

Thelma was puttering about the ship, performing minor maintenance, when the message came through.

It originated on the Anreus Free Spaceport. The signal carrier couldn't identify the caller, but that was simple enough to find out.

Thelma patched the message through, to her internal receiver.

"This is Reaver calling the Christa. I'd just like to inform you that we have two of your crew, an Uranusian and a Mercurian? If you want 'em back, I suggest you get Commander Seth Goddard to the Brick Wall bar in the Bazaar in half an hour. There, we'll discuss a little trade. And, if I see any other of your crew, I'll kill the hostages. Have a nice day."

The comm line shut off abruptly. Thelma understood the gravity of the situation, and tried to contact the Commander. There was no answer: His comlink was shut off.

"Oh, dear..."

Radu and Elmira were in the lounge, playing a game of Minbar chess. Radu couldn't win: Elmira seemed to guess his moves, before he'd even made them.

Radu, of course, was blind to the obvious here.

"So, Elmira, um... What do you think we should do tomorrow, back on the station?"

"Not get into any fights, I think."

They both laughed, but not for long. Thelma burst into the lounge, without quite her usual casual attitude.

"Thelma, what is it?"

"I... I... I cannot quite recall, Radu. But, I do know it was a life-or-death matter..."

"Life or death?"

"Yes. Rosie and Bova's, to be precise."

Harlan and Cat were heading to the docking bay, ready to return to the Christa for the night. While temporary quarters were available on-station, they had both managed to spend all of their money in one night.

They got to bay 17, where the starlings were docked, when Radu and Elmira almost ran them over trying to exit into the corridor.

"Whoa, whoa, wait." Harlan stopped them. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"We have to find Commander Goddard!" Radu said impatiently, "Bova and Rosie are being held by Reaver, who wants the Commander to come and get them."

Harlan didn't seem impressed.

"That makes no sense, but maybe I'm just too tired. Why would he capture them, just to give them back?"

"No," Radu was exasperated, "it's a trap to get Commander Goddard!"

"Oh, right." The concept took its time sinking in. "Oh! We have to get Commander Goddard!"

They rushed back into the station, beginning their desperate search for the commander.

Connor and Suzee were finished their dinner, and were taking a walk in the core garden. It was peaceful and quiet, with only the faint sounds of the distant open-air facilities, and the core tram above.

"Something's occurred to me," Connor mused aloud, "I've never just gone for a walk. Not in my entire life. I've lived in orbital stations, all of them maybe a tenth the size of this one, I've lived in dome colonies, I've lived aboard ships, I've lived at the Starcademy, and I always spent so much time in schools, catching up after moving, or just plain cooped up, that I've never, ever even had the chance to just go on a walk, to nowhere in particular, with no rush, no schedule, nothing to do but walk."

"You've never been on a planet that wasn't domed?"

"Well, I was on Yensid, but, well, that wasn't exactly a stress-free trip. I was born on Earth, but we moved when I was only two. My father was career military, and my mother was a doctor, so we got moved around a lot. It was just me, them, and Cat. My parents took her in when her parents died. They were friends, our parents, and so they did what they felt was right. So, we were raised like siblings."

"Yeah, I was pretty close to Cat too... Of course, everyone she was around thought I was imaginary, and everyone I knew thought she was imaginary..." She laughed quietly, "then we switched dimensions to save her life... And the rest is history..."

They reached a hedge maze, and went inside.

"Cat was always a balance for me." Connor said. "I'm not exactly the cheery, lighthearted sort, in case you hadn't noticed, but she kept me back from the edge. No matter what happened, she always managed to prevent me from being consumed by my own emotions. Without her, I'd be dead, that much I know. And I couldn't help her when she needed me most..."

They stopped, facing each other in the maze.

"Maybe. But, you saved other people. You saved me, from that giant spider, and from Koan. Without you, I'd be dead. And Cat had help, all the help she could need."

Connor found his eyes locked with Suzee's, losing sense of the world outside.

Uh-oh, he thought, panicking, what's happening... Time slowed to a crawl, and he was sure everyone on the station could hear his heart, which seemed to be trying to escape from his chest.

The two of them were moving closer together, eyes still locked, they were almost touching...

The sound of a blaster powering up cut through the moment. Their heads turned in the direction of the sound, where a figure stood, at the entrance to the hedge maze.

"Sorry to ruin your romantic interlude," a woman's throaty voice broke the relative silence, "but you two are going to have to come with me."

"Look: There's only ten minutes left, then Reaver's going to kill Rosie and Bova. We don't have the time to find Commander Goddard." Radu was explaining the situation to Harlan and Catalina. Every attempt to locate the commander or Miss Davenport had met with failure, and their friends were almost out of time.

They were just around the corner from the Brick Wall, a shady-looking bar, full of the sort of people Reaver would enjoy the company of, villains and scoundrels of every species and stripe.

"Well, we can't go in there: He'd recognize us as soon as he saw us." Harlan said. "Unless..." He looked at Cat and Elmira.

"What?" The girls asked, in unison.

"Reaver hasn't seen either of you with us, he'd have no reason to suspect you. You can watch him, and tail him back to his hideout, so we can rescue Rosie and Bova."

"Um, Harlan..." Radu said, realizing something, "Ubi is a telemorph: If he is in the bar, he could just teleport back to their hideout, and kill Bova and Rosie. If he isn't at the bar, Reaver could just contact him and tell him to kill them."

"Okay, so, what do we do?" Catalina asked.

"Nothing." Elmira responded.

"What?" The others asked, incredulously.

"There is nothing we can do. They were destined to die here. There is no changing destiny."

The woman was tall, taller than Connor. Her hair was curly and auburn, hanging down past her waist. Her large, green eyes were cold and hard, the eyes of a longtime soldier. She wore a loose one-piece coverall, olive drab in colour, with a web belt at the waist. Her blaster was military issue, though neither of her captives could determine which military.

"Who are you?" Suzee demanded.

"Me? The name's Silat. I'm a bounty hunter."

"What do you want from us?"

"Me? I don't want anything from you. The Spung are a different story entirely. You and your friends are on the top of their hit parade, and I'm getting two million credits for the lot of you, and I get to keep your ship. So, play nice: Where's the rest of your crew?"

Connor smiled, defiantly. Suzee gripped his hand, almost shocking him out of his poker face.

"Well?" Silat gestured threateningly with her blaster.

Connor kicked his leg out, striking without warning, landing his heel firmly against the bounty hunter's jaw. She fell, stunned, dropping her blaster, which Connor kicked into the hedge.

"Run!" He pushed Suzee along, into the maze.

Silat got up, and fished her blaster out of the hedge.

"Oh, I'm going to hurt him. Very badly."

She took off after them.

Reaver sat in the Brick Wall, at a corner table, by himself. He'd left Ubi to watch the captives, just in case their friends got any ideas, and found out where they were.

He surveyed the crowd, and still couldn't see Goddard.

"Blasted Stardog." Reaver said under his breath, "he's late. Well, if he's not here in two minutes, I'll..."

He felt a hand grab his blaster, pulling it from its holster.

"Hey..." He turned, and saw a young woman, human, with yellow hair streaked with blue, red, green and other colours. "Hello, gorgeous." He said sarcastically.

She smirked, arming the blaster.

"You know," she said, casually, "phased plasma burns are really nasty... They can do horrible permanent damage. Especially to the stomach." She pointed the blaster at his gut. "But, I'm not a very good shot. And, when I miss, I miss low..."

"Wh... What do you want?"

"You have a Mercurian and a Uranusian captive, right? I want them."

"Why?"

"That's not important. However, if you'd rather I shoot you..."

"No, no, no. Fine, I'll take you to them. Come on."

He led her out of the bar, where Harlan, Radu and Elmira joined them. Reaver's complaints were quickly silenced when Radu crushed his comlink. They moved through the Bazaar, towards an elevator.

"Where are we going?" Cat asked Reaver.

"To the maintenance sector. That's where my hideout is."

The elevator moved away from the core, and Cat had the strangest feeling that she wouldn't be coming back.

Goddard and Davenport got arrived at the docking bay, where the starlings were berthed. They moved towards their vessel, tired and wanting to turn in back on the Christa, and barely giving a cursory look to the other ships. However, something odd occurred to the commander.

"All the starlings are here." He said, a worried expression in his face.

"What?" Davenport asked, tiredly.

"All the starlings are here. But, that's only possible if..."

"Radu and Elmira must be aboard the station!" Davenport realized, shocked.

"Radu wouldn't deliberately defy an order. Not unless something was very wrong... We have to find out what that is." He switched his comlink back on, signaling Radu's device.

In the elevator, a quiet "beep" could be heard. To Radu, the sound was sudden and incredibly loud.

"What's that?" Reaver asked, a slight quiver in his voice.

"My comlink." The Andromedan replied. Radu picked the cylinder off of his belt, pressing down the listen/speak toggle. "Radu here."

"Mr. Radu," Goddard's authoritarian voice sounded tinny and small coming from the link, "would you care to explain why you left the Christa against my orders?"

Radu shut off the comlink.

Harlan and Cat looked at him strangely, not aware of what had happened to him in the Bazaar. Reaver, however, managed a nervous laugh.

"Taking off against orders, huh? A kid after my own heart."

Connor and Suzee were still running, hand in hand, through the hedge maze. They couldn't see the bounty hunter, but could hear her breathy voice taunting them every few minutes. She didn't sound close, but they certainly hadn't lost her, either.

The maze twisted and turned, the hedge walls a little over seven feet tall. They picked their path randomly when presented with an option, and hadn't yet needed to double back. Behind them, they could hear Silat getting closer.

"I can see you..." The bounty hunter's voice called out, entirely too close.

They turned another corner, stopping short.

It was a dead end.

Silat rounded the corner behind them.

"Gotcha." She leveled her blaster at them.

Reaver led them through dark, unfinished corridors in the maintenance levels. Cat still had the blaster against his head, ready to vapourize it if he made a wrong move. Harlan and Radu were on edge, ready to attack anyone who got in their way. Elmira walked with the assurance of someone who'd already seen all of this. She knew she was right, and she knew who would live, and who would die.

They reached a room, at the end of a side corridor. Reaver stepped forward, opening his mouth to call out, but Cat stopped him. They all proceeded into the room, with caution.

The room was fairly barren, devoid of any real furnishings except two chair, back to back in the middle of the room, where Rosie and Bova were tied up. Ubi was nowhere to be seen.

Harlan and Radu rushed forward to their captured crewmates, untying the metal fiber ropes. Cat looked around, scanning the room for traces of the other space pirate.

This was too easy. She didn't like it at all.

Connor squeezed Suzee's hand, and the sweat on both their palms indicated their fear. He looked over his shoulder, into her eyes. His expression said he didn't know what to do.

Suzee did.

The bounty hunter advanced, keeping her blaster trained on Connor. She obviously thought he was the more dangerous of the pair, barely glancing at Suzee.

"Now, just come along nicely, and I won't have to kill you. The contract didn't say they wanted all of you alive. Once I get the others off of those space pirates, I'll have enough of you alive for the Spung's purposes." She glanced over at Suzee. "What are you staring at, shorty?" She sneered.

Suzee's consciousness leapt the gap between them, putting her in Silat's mind. The bounty hunter had no resistance to her mind powers, and Suzee easily read her thoughts. She scanned some information about the hunter's mission, and then tweaked a few mental signals.

Silat found herself disassembling the blaster, ruining the mechanism in the process. Then, she sat down on the ground, passively.

"What the..." Connor thought aloud.

"I'm dealing with her." Suzee said, her voice strained, "some days it really pays off, being telepathic." She pulled out of Silat, leaving some commands running. "She won't stay like that forever. Come on."

The two of them set out to find their way out of the maze.

"Hey, Suzee?" Connor asked.

"Yeah?"

"You've never, y'know, read my mind, have you?"

Her only response was a mischievous half-smile.

Reaver had been left, bound and gagged, in his hideout. The kids moved thought the corridors, back towards the elevator. Cat still worried that they might encounter Ubi, but the elevator was only ten meters away, straight down the corridor.

"Come on, we have to get out of here..." Cat urged them all to hurry.

They entered the elevator, without incident, and began the ascent to the Bazaar.

Connor and Suzee re-entered the Bazaar. Getting their bearings, they asked for and received directions to the docking bays.

They were walking along, hurrying slightly, when they ran into the commander and Miss Davenport.

"Good thing we found you two." Goddard said, saying nothing of the fact that the Connor and Suzee were still holding hands.

"We were being chased by a bounty hunter," Connor said, "we barely got away. Why were you looking for us?"

"Rosie and Bova are in danger, they've been captured by space pirates, who are using them to get at me. Radu, Harlan, Cat and Elmira went to get them. We need to find them, and fast. There's a Spung Battlefleet on the way here, according to Thelma, and I doubt they're coming here for shore leave."

"Commander!" A voice shouted from behind them.

Harlan, Radu and the others ran up to them.

"We have to get out of here, before Reaver gets loose, and he and Ubi come after us." Cat said.

"Let's go." Goddard ended the conversation.

As the Christa left Anrean space, jumping to hyperspace, the crew all got the sense of a near miss. Goddard wondered how long they would be on the run from the Spung, from bounty hunters, and space pirates.

Elmira was lost in thought. Destiny had been avoided, fate countermanded. Rosie and Bova were alive, resting up in their respective beds. Anreus Free Spaceport hadn't been destroyed. And, judging from the way they were acting, Connor and Suzee did not hate each other. No, this was not in the plan at all.

Cat was quite happy, though. Her sense of doom had been wrong, and she was still alive, gloriously alive. Still, a small part of her asked, but for how long?

The end of Part Ten: And the Stars, Like Diamonds

Up next, Part Eleven: Even the Shadows Know Your Name...

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