The Bright Black Sea (18 page)

'He only warned me that – for reasons he'd not say –
my parents might've been killed and that I might find myself a
target as well. He wanted me just to stay on Kimsai where I'd be
safe until he'd come for me. He'd not tell me anymore than that.
It'd have been nice if he had,' she said with a shrug. 'I suppose
he didn't want to encourage me to do anything on my own.'

'In any event, Jel and I came to several conclusions.
First, we came to believe that my mother is central to the mystery,
since kidnapping or assassinating her is a common thread in the
yarns. We believe it's either a political affair out of some moon
or drift planet because the revolutionaries often appear in the
tales as villains, or a primitive blood feud with political
overtones. Jel's certain my mother was the rightful ruler of a
drift world or a moon, and her eldest daughter would inherit her
title. In order to extinguish this line, the revolutionaries spent
decades tracking her down to kill her and her heirs as well. Jel
feels it's significant that my mother's eldest daughter, my sister
Olaeytha, should have been put out of reach for the better part of
three hundred years in the Outbound Survey. He believes Olaeytha
may know more, or at least, may have been told something of the
story before she left on her mission. He seems to recall a vague
notion of something going on before she left on the mission. I was
just a baby and he just a young boy so we can't say for
certain.'

'But that doesn't explain tonight. You may've been
incidental in the boat crash, but tonight, you were the target.
Your older sister would, if Jel's theory is right, be the rightful
heir, not you.'

'They may fear I'd return in my sister's place. If
you've invested a century tracking someone across the eight stars
you're not likely to let a little loose end like me dangling, are
you?'

'It's hard for me to imagine anyone, or any
organization going to such great length and expense to track down
someone so far removed from the events.'

'But, you see, they can't be sure of what I know. I
might know enough to be able to return to lead a counter revolution
or extract revenge, should it be a blood feud. They can hardly take
the chance that I don't know. And I may, indeed, have one
clue.'

'A clue as to what's going on?'

'I'm afraid it's not that definite.. Still, it
suggests that Jel is not wrong about my mother...'

'How so?'

'First, you have to understand that the Taoists
adepts of the Peaks and Valleys come from every planet, moon and
rock in the Nine Star Nebula, so that it's not too unlikely that
one of the adepts would be from the moon or drift world where all
this started. However, given the extent of the Peaks and Valleys
and the nature of the adepts, it'd be unlikely to cross orbits with
one. Yet, late one afternoon, six months ago, I was working in the
garden of Jel's hermitage when an old traveling master happened by.
He walked over to greet me and when I looked up he gave a sudden
start. He exclaimed something like “Ossera” before he quickly
regained his composure and restored his serene face. He introduced
himself as Floating Cloud Hermit. I, of course, invited him to
remain with us for the night since it was getting late. He
hesitated, but in the end, agreed to stay, and over our meal we
talked of this and that, Jel explaining to Floating Cloud how I
came to be on Kimsai. I, of course, knew his reaction to seeing me,
so I was able to follow Floating Cloud's subtle questions
concerning our parents and family history, which, as far as we
know, goes only back to Calissant where our parents recorded their
official entry into the Unity from the Drifts of Helgot. He stayed
the night, but as he left with the first light the next morning, he
gravely advised me to follow the Way and remain on Kimsai, so that
I might live out my appointed days in peace and harmony. It was a
subtle, but sincere warning. Jel, of course missed the import of
that comment, until I told him of my first encounter. I'm convinced
that he knew me. Or rather, not me, but of someone I reminded him
of. Likely my mother or even grandmother in their youth, for Uncle
Hawk remarked on several occasions how I looked so much like Mother
when she was my age. I believe at first sight, he saw my youthful
mother in me and called me Ossera, either her real name or her
title.'

'Then he'd know where your mother came from, and
presumably where those who would kill you come from too, given his
subtle warning! If you could find him and convince him to tell
you... '

'Exactly. But of course, it's not that simple.
Finding a wandering adept like the Floating Cloud Hermit in the
Peaks and Valleys is impossible unless he wishes to be found. And
when you consider that he had a chance to tell us, but instead,
sincerely advised me to stay, I doubt it's a practical option.
However, his appearance does provide two hints. First, like Uncle
Hawk, he advised me to simply stay hidden, which suggest that what
the Four Shipmates and now I are up against is something too
powerful to challenge. Secondly, he unintentionally gave me a hint
as to where to look, if I cared too...'

'Because you know where this Floating Cloud Hermit
originally came from?'

'Exactly. He is said to come from somewhere in the
Alantzia System, but no one seems to know more than that. He's been
on Kimsai for well over a century and a half, so that many of those
who may've known him in his early years are now very old or have
traveled on. Still, I believe I know where to look if I care to
ignore their advice. Really, something this uncivilized could have
only come out of either the deep drifts or the Alantzia. And it
seems to be something bigger than a drift feud.'

I sighed. Yes, of course it had to be the Alantzia
system – the farthest star, nestled deep in the drifts. Alantzia is
part of the Unity Charter, but as the most distant star in the
Nebula and surrounded by drifts, it is said that even its planets
wear that cloak lightly. One could imagine bloody revolutions or
blood feuds occurring on Alantzia system moons or likely as not, on
one if its planets as well. The Patrol keeps space mostly clear of
pirates and guarantees honest trade, but beyond that, it is said
that you're pretty much on your own, the planets very much like our
moons or even the drifts themselves. If the core of the Four
Shipmates' yarns revolve around some sort of political intrigue –
given the scope of them – the Alantzia system would be a far the
most likely place for revolution or feuds to occur other than a
drift planet or moon in the drifts.

'That sounds right – though all I know about Alantzia
comes from spaceer yarns and fiction,' I said, cautiously. 'Where
ever they comes from, they were too powerful to resist. And still
he'd not bring himself to tell you who or what to hide from. That
seems strange to me.'

'I imagine he kept it vague in order to prevent me
from running off and looking on my own. I don't actually need to
know who I'm hiding from. I just need to get lost. Deeper than they
did. I suspect that by not giving me anything specific to go by, he
hoped I'd have no choice. What he didn't know was how much Jel and
I would discover on our own.'

I carefully considered what I wanted to say next. She
was not asking for my advice and I had promised myself to give it
only when and if she asked. Here was a test.

'I see why you'd want to leave them with the
impression they killed you. Hopefully we can keep them in the dark
until after we sail and ideally, after we leave the system.' I said
as casually as I could.

'We've a good chance of that, if we're careful.
Neither of us are important people. I assure you that if two bodies
showed up murdered on the Yacht Club tarmac, one a casual member
and the other an off-world spaceer, they'd make sure it was hushed
up. Only the Guard would ever know about it. The assassin will have
no reason to suspect anything in the lack of information about our
fate. I've already transferred the
Lost Star
to the holding
company so my name no longer appears as owner. Finding my
connection to the ship would involve some deep digging which they'd
have no reason to do if I was dead. So yes, we've a good chance
staying dead. Still, we'll never know for certain, so we must never
assume they think I'm dead. Even so, if we can fool them only long
enough for the assassin to get off planet, we can continue with our
plans and get out of system before another attempt can be
made.'

'Right. And really, if you think about it, there's no
reason why we couldn't jump out of system right from Tiladore. If
we left without a cargo, there'd be no need to list a destination
which could be traced via the shipping intelligence posts. And with
the Tiladore charter we can afford to sail hollow and still be in
fair shape at the far end.'

'Something to consider,' she said, adding with a
faint smile, 'Though as owner, I'd rather have a cargo outbound.
We're going to need to show a profit no matter what we decide to
do.'

'I don't know how to alter log records or change
ship's names and registrations, but I suspect your Vyn and Tenry
with their Patrol experience can help us there. We could make a few
non-Guild voyages within the drifts together with a name change or
two and we'd put them years behind us once again. At the very
least, we'd be in a position to pursue our inquiry without having
to look back over our shoulder for quite a while.'

She said nothing, lost in thought, so I continued,
'There's no safer place in the Nebula than aboard the
Lost
Star
. There's not much that can harm a space ship even if they
identified us. We'll just have to be careful downside for a while
until we've had time to hide our tracks.'

'We don't know who's looking for me,' she said. 'or
how widespread their agents might be... It takes more than a name
change to hide a ship, especially one you've been tracking for
century. And, well, we know nothing about the drifts or who to
trust. I'll have to think about it. But not tonight. I seem to be
running out of whatever the medic unit gave me to revive me, so I
think I'll hook myself up again and see if I can get some rest. The
forward seats fold down into beds, blankets can be found in the
drawer under your settee...'

'Is there anything else I can do?' I asked. I could
see she was now getting tired and I could sense that the future was
not something she was prepared to think about, or at least talk to
me about just yet.

She shook her head
No.
'I'm just sore and
tired. A night's rest will fix me up.'

'Tallith.'

She looked across the narrow compartment at me.

'I, well I just want you to know, you're not facing
this alone. I know that I'm just a bit player, someone in the wrong
place at the wrong time, but they tried to kill me too. I've a
personal stake in this. I want to be a part of what you decide to
do,' I said, compelled by loyalty and concern, while at the same
time, regretting the necessity. Still I knew that if I didn't say
anything now, I'd regret it far more. 'Plus, I'm sure I speak for
the whole crew when I say, we'll stand by you and do what it takes
to keep you safe. I'm sure we can keep you safe.'

'Thank you, Wil. I appreciate your concern, but I've
not given any thought beyond playing dead until we sail. We'll have
time after we sail to consider what needs to be done...'

'I stand by what I said, Tallith. It's more than
concern. I'm in, like it or not. But as you say, we'll have plenty
of time to hammer out our plans, so if there's anything I can do
now, just order me about...'

01

Secondday 19 Firstspring

Wil Litang, Captain, Lost Star

Dear Captain Litang,

I regret I was unable to reach you before my
departure.

As you know, I dined with Captain Sylviar and my old
shipmates this evening. During the evening the possibility of
sailing as a guest aboard the Aurora to Sanre-tay came up. It
struck me as offering a priceless opportunity to get a jump on
securing outbound cargoes for the Lost Star. I accepted Captain
Sylviar's offer and with the Aurora sailing within hours I won't
have a chance to inform you of this in person.

Happily, I employ a captain I completely trust. I
believe I'm leaving nothing requiring an owner's authorization.
Feel free to make any operational decisions. Should any issue arise
that you feel is not within your scope, consult with Phylea Kardea
and follow her advice. If something serious should arise that
neither you nor Kardea feel comfortable dealing with, I can be
reached via Min & Co's associated agent, Vix Fange & Co,
upon my arrival in Sanre-tay

I'll await your arrival around the 4th week of
(Calissant) Secondspring.

Fair orbits,

Tallith Min

Her second message read,

Wil,

Sorry. Owner's prerogative. The chartered yacht Azure
Night left Calissant orbit for Sanre-tay early in the morning of
last Fifthday, (Primecentra time) shortly after its gig returned
from the Small Craft Field at Barque-nela, (four hours away from
Primecentra via lev-train). Port records show the same Azure Night
left Calissant orbit less than a day after a space boat crash over
the Trimeta Sea some 27 months ago.

The Aurora should arrive before or very soon after
the Azure Night. If you can find any further information on Azure
Night's travels and her charter before you leave, please forward it
to me. You can reach me via Vix. Thank you. See you in Sanre-tay
orbit.

Tallith

P.S. Can you stay angry for a month?

I stared at the messages glowing faintly on my
desktop and sighed. Owners can do as they damn well please. The
sooner you resign yourself to that fact and that you're employed to
humor their whims and shoulder the blame when those whims hit an
asteroid, the sooner you can find your comfort in drink.