I don't like stations. Have I mentioned that before? Everything echoes oddly through the circles and corridors. Unlike a ship, the sounds in the open bay area bounced and circled, and I could not make out one voice from the other or what they said.
Cold, too. Some of it was in my brain because I knew what a thin layer of metal between me and the vast, deadly universe beyond. It was no less delicate than that on the ship and certainly better than what we had on the fighter -- but the ship and the fighter could move. Tying yourself to a gravity well and hoping for the best seemed suicidal to me.
We had shepherded the fighter off into the hands of the local repair crew and said we'd be back soon.
"The Captain wants us to sit on it," I said with a roll of my eyes. The woman in charge, Befly, gave a nod of understanding. We had only made a couple of stops here since I joined the Belgium, and I didn't think she meant anything specifically against Dundas. Probably a lot of ship's captains didn't trust station crew. I had to worry a bit myself.
However, Befly had redeemed herself by asking good questions and by not glaring at Lisel. So she stood on the good side of the line.
As we walked away, I wondered If she would be one of the few who survived if the three of us didn't do ... something.
"We're expendable," Krisin said to my left. I glanced at him, surprised by the words and the look of consternation on his face. "That's why she sent us out."
"We have always been expendable," Lisel replied. He sounded calm. "We are a fighter crew, Krisin. We get sent out to fight the weres, and it's a surprise whenever we make it back."
"True," he agreed with a sigh.
"But there is a reason why she sent us and not another crew," Lisel added. "And it's because we do come back, and we have faced more than a few strange situations and figured them out. We might be expendable, but we're not sacrificial."
I looked at him with a quick grin. "Yes, you're right. Krisin, you're going to have to start scanning for abnormalities in the station communications."
"You're joking, right?" he said with a lifted eyebrow. "Stations aren't like ships. It's chaotic out there. Different groups, different ships --"
"Well, you better get to work then."
He sighed and pulled up his comp. I moved to his side so that Lisel and I could keep him from tripping over things or running into people. We were getting enough glares as it was. I wondered if it was more than just the usual glares for people in ship uniforms. Was there a feeling of distrust in the air? Did they know about the other stations now? What news had the other ships brought and let loose?
Oh, there was a troubling thought. We might look like the problem itself, having come in quiet as we did.
I almost suggested we go back to the ship, but ... maybe I'm just stubborn. That might have been the reason that Dundas sent us out, too. I hated to give up.
And I would drag my two crew with me.
Lisel stopped a hand on Krisin's shoulder to stop him. He frowned.
"Catchin here," he said. "And from the scent, they have been here for a while. I think the Captain doesn't realize it or she would have said. Wouldn't she?"
"I think so," I said. "But ... maybe the captain feared what you would do to save your own people."
He snarled, his lips drawn back to show the edge of his pointed incisors. It was not a look I often saw in him. That was anger and distrust.
"Lisel," Krisin said with a tap on his arm. "She most likely didn't know. I don't even see reference to them on the lines, Lisel. What would they be doing here? Are they from one of the ships?"
"I'll find out," he said. He almost turned away and then stopped. "But not now. You're right. I do tend to act without thought where my people are concerned."
"And this is not a good situation," I added. We began walking again before we drew any more attention. "Let's see if we can find the market and get a few things off the Captain's list. That gives us the best chance of finding information. Maybe we'll see some Catchins there, too."
"Yes," Lisel agreed and looked calmer again.
Dayer had a surprisingly large market area, spread over two inner sections. I stopped at the entrance with a moment of surprise, but the guards must have been used to it and just waved us through.
"They're the station on the line from inner and outer areas," Krisin explained. He put his pocket comp away and walked carefully around the displays and booths. "They always have gotten a lot of trade goods. I was here a couple of years ago, and I've wanted to come back."
I only nodded. Looking at all the people here bothered me again. Run! Go! I wanted them all to escape to somewhere else and be safe. Looking at the women and even a few children made me ill.
Who were the rebels? Where would we find the trouble?
Lisel pulled us off down a small passage between several cloth-covered displays. The way was narrow and then opened --
Catchins looked up, nodding at Lisel and then looking shocked at the two humans he brought with him. I heard a spattering of hisses and growls, and Lisel answered in the same odd language.
"We can go wait back at the end of the corridor," I offered. That drew a lot of worried stares.
"We crew together," Lisel said, looking around the area. "You can trust them. And me. Something is going on. Tell me what you know."...
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