Twenty-seven billion people and aliens lived on the habitat under the watchful eye of the eccentric AI called the Qesak Mind. It was a world unto itself but was under the marginal control of the Twin Alliances, the major nation of the A4 Galaxy.

Five days ago, a shape changing member of the Renuea species snuck in with a rekka shipment, changed into a human form and then after discovery, back to her natural form. The Qesak Mind was confused. The Alliances were bitter enemies of the Renuea and offered a reward of 300 gold pieces for one of their lustrous pelts.

This Renuea was a female named Tekui of the Seshenu Clan. The Mind did not like killing anyone. It had been a protector of billions of lives for a very long time. It did not like Tekui but it did not want to see her skinned alive as the Alliances would do. So it let her stay in Kileq City, in a residence hotel while it thought about what to do with her.

Unfortunately, the Qesak Mind did not know Tekui of Seshenu very well.

Tekui lay on her room’s couch remembering the last time she mated with her long time male companion, Esekun. He was presently in the form of a Xeka, a race of skinny bipedal sentient bird aliens. He was off helping them rebuild after a comet impact on their world. Esekun would not be back for at least another three seasons.

Changing back into her natural form always brought on the urge to mate though she was forbidden from having cubs. It made her wonder if they would ever allow her to return to Ikleu. A thought occurred to her while laying there. There were hundreds of spacecrafts arriving and leaving the massive habitat every day. Tekui could fly most types of spacecraft due to her long experience as a spy.

If she could steal one and get to the Ikleu Defense Net before anyone could catch her, she would be at home and safe. She couldn’t change for a while due to the last couple of changes being so close together. It put a heavy strain on her body and system which rest and recovery could only ease.

Her eyesight was still poor, monochromatic and all gray. It was clearing all the time but the process was agonizingly slow. She hoped that it would recover before the next time Ambassador Celdan of the Ermenda came calling. She had never seen one or the Ambassador, who escorted her to her room yesterday, so she did not know what him or his people looked like.

With the poor vision, it would be an ordeal reading color-coded displays and trying to fly a ship simultaneously. She sat up and looked at the time. It was late afternoon, this side of the habitat about to pass into the dark as the bracelet-shaped orbital rotated at the rate of one revolution per 25 hours.

She could barely see in the daytime, almost nothing at night. She could do nothing until her full sight returned. Tekui got up and went to make herself something to eat.

The next morning, Tekui awoke to find that her vision had improved considerably. She could see in color again but far away things appeared a little blurry now. She got up and stretched. Happy to be complete again. She went to shower and while in the shower area, they posted a physical mail to her room via a discreet tube delivery system. It fell into a basket on the front room’s corner table.

Tekui dried off and went to make herself some milk tea when she noticed it, a large box marked with this room’s address, her name and had Alliances postage stickers on it. She frowned. There was no return address. She went to it and found it to be very heavy. She struggled to pick it up and carry it to the couch and used a claw to open it.

Inside was a plasmic gun, the formal red robes of her caste, a gold neck collar and her favorite earrings. Tekui frowned. This came from home but what made it so heavy? She checked the box for other things and found a note written in the glyph-like script of her people’s language.

It said:

Explorer Tekui,

We have sent you some invaluable help in getting off the Qesak Habitat. You may use it at your earliest convenience.

-Master Kerrechu.

Tekui frowned. She hated being called an explorer when she really was a spy. She took her finery out of the box and wondered if there was something else in the box.

There was a boneless mass of flesh on the bottom of the box. She turned it over to get this mass out and it started to change. She could tell by its smell that it was Renuea. It changed far faster than she could because it was already taking shape. Of course they didn’t have to grow new skin.

Within minutes, a golden furred Renuea male appeared. He wore the mark of Spaying on his chest, which was not good. They rarely spayed anyone anymore unless they did something really bad.

The spayed one growled as his bones popped into place. He sat up and looked at her with sad eyes that were a shade of dark amber. “You are Tekui?”

She nodded, afraid to touch him. Why was he spayed? “Yes, who in the worlds are you?”

The spayed one got to his unsteady feet. “I’m Explorer Edsaa of the Spayed.”

Tekui felt very uncomfortable around him. She backed away a little. “Why are you here?” He looked like a male, smelled like one so she would think of him as one.

Edsaa growled. “I’m here to save you.”

She scoffed. “I can’t imagine Master Kerrechu sending a Spayed to help me.”

“He did. You should be happy to see me.”

She growled negatively. “I don’t think so. A Spayed, here? What did you do to get them cut off?”

“It is none of your concern but if you must know, I chose to be spayed. Have you anything to eat here? I’m starving.”

Tekui was amused. She only had vegetarian foodstuffs. “You may find that there is no meat here.”

“Good. I don’t eat meat, myself. Can you help? I’m still changing here.”

She sighed and went to the kitchen area. How could this one help her?

The Qesak Mind noticed that someone had mailed another Renuea to Tekui’s hotel room. This troubled it. How could anyone mail a biological entity without attracting notice, especially on this habitat? It wanted to be rid of Tekui and was about to facilitate that when several alien ships came out of hyperspace in the far system.

It had never seen their kind before. Their ships bore strange markings and symbols and all looked like warships more potent than any in this part of the galaxy. Distracted, the Qesak Mind disregarded Tekui for the time being. It needed its full attention to watch these alien visitors very closely.

Tekui frowned as she sat at the kitchen table with Edsaa. “Why did you choose to spayed? I won’t tell anyone.”

Edsaa glared at her for a moment but returned to eating his spice medley. “I considered it unnecessary since I am forbidden from mating.”

She scoffed, unable to believe this one’s stupidity. “We aren’t forbidden from mating. Just procreating. Are you that stupid?”

“A female would never understand. Do not speak of this to me any more.”

She frowned again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. How do you plan to get us out of here?”

Edsaa crunched his food loudly. He swallowed before speaking. “We are going to steal a spacecraft.”

“It won’t be that easy.”

“Didn’t say it was.” He finished his meal and took a hearty drink of tea milk.

Tekui sighed. “Are you going to change? I can’t.”

“No. We will stay as we are. Renuea hands will more easily operate the craft we are stealing. There is a problem however.” He politely used a napkin to tidy up.

She growled. “What’s that?”

“This craft, it’s on the other side of the habitat. We will have to travel across 232 plates to get there if we head in the spinward direction, antispinward, the journey would be longer and more treacherous.”

Tekui scoffed. “This journey will be treacherous no matter which direction we set off in.”

Edsaa smiled. “You speak of the Qesak Mind? It is distracted by some new visitors. The timing of this is fortuitous.”

“I don’t agree. This Mind isn’t stupid. I mean. It can be everywhere at once here. We should ask the Ambassador for help.”

“What ambassador?”

“The Ermenda Ambassador, Celdan. He stays in a room on this level of the hotel. We should go see him before trying anything.”

Edsaa growled. “We aren’t helpless, Tekui.”

“I didn’t say we were. Maybe you should rest while I go see him.” She got up and went to collect her wearables.

The Spayed one merely growled.

Ambassador Celdan was nothing like Tekui imagined. He was tall and had brown hair all over him. He stood on three legs and had two thin arms rather like a human’s. Intelligent grey eyes considered her with a kind look as she came into his office. “Welcome, Tekui. You look wonderful. Have you recovered your sight?”

She nodded. “Yes, it’s almost perfect again.”

“Good. You will need it for this.” He got up and turned to a cabinet behind him. He opened it and withdrew a small clear folder with several cards inside. It was marked in the red script of his native language. Celdan gave it to her.

She frowned. “Um? What is this?”

“I have a ship I do not need. I’m giving it to you but getting it to will not be easy. It is on plate 53, which is in the grip of a brutal winter.”

“Winter? On a habitat?”

He bowed his head. “Yes, all environments are replicating actual planetary environments. I trust that you can fly a spacecraft?”

Tekui could not believe this. This craft was only five plates away. That was still a fair distance to travel. “I can just go home?”

“I believe you have a companion now?”

She scoffed derisively. “He’s not my companion. Just someone sent to help.”

Celdan smiled, revealing white, square teeth. “You will need his help. You should get started before the Qesak Mind notices what you are doing. The card I gave you, do you still have it?”

She bowed her head. “Yes.”

“You may use it to reach me wherever I may be. Please stay in contact. I would love to see you visit our home world sometime.” He smiled and retreated into his office.

Tekui looked at the folder in her hand. She could not believe this. She used her keeper to order a sweater cut to her Renuea sizes and hurried back to her room to find Edsaa bulking up his fur. “What are you doing, Edsaa?”

He growled. “We are going to go through a winter storm. I suggest you do the same.”

She growled back. “I’m not altering my fur for a simple winter trip. Hurry up. We are going to leave very soon. The Ambassador has given us a ship only five plates to spinward.” She collected her gun and gathered her keeper and glared at the Spayed one.

Edsaa scoffed. “You’ll be sorry.”

Tekui brandished her debit card. “That is why they make sweaters. I ordered one a few moments ago.” She adjusted her crimson robes and went to the gel screen to check the weather report.

She noticed that a tube train went through most of the really bad parts of the plates involved. It ended at the edge of a huge sea that covered nearly all of Plate 50. The only way across was a ship that went back and forth on a daily schedule. On the other side, the tube train continued with a different engine and cars. Tekui wondered if the ship was somehow part of the tube way system. She checked and saw that they could buy a single ticket that paid for a single tube train/surface ship ticket from Station 319 to Station 432, just six blocks from where they stored the spacecraft.

She purchased two tickets and looked at the Spayed one. Tekui knew that Master Kerrechu only sent him because he was expendable. She would not let him get killed. “Edsaa, stop bulking your fur. We are taking a train there. You want to bulk something? Bulk your claws.”

He looked down in shame. “I’m . . . without claws. Forbidden to grow them.”

Tekui snarled. “You did something? You can tell me. We are the only Renuea here. We are the same work caste. What you tell me remains with me.”

Edsaa sighed. “I had a cub, well, my mate did. They took them from me and they spayed me. My cub cannot change like me.”

She did not like this system at all. “Grow your claws. I know you cannot grow your . . . parts back but at least you can regain your claws. Please?”

Edsaa sighed and closed his eyes. “They will punish me if I’m caught with them.”

She growled. “I will speak for you. Master Kerrechu will listen to me. What did he expect by sending you to a dangerous place? Go on. I won’t take you if you don’t have claws.”

The Spayed one lowered his head. “You may want to get a towel or something. This will be messy.”

She sighed and went to get a large bowl and several towels. “I know this hurts. My last form did not have claws.” She placed the bowl in front of him and wrapped the towels around both his hands.

Edsaa frowned. “Why are you helping me? Before, you acted like I was an outcast not worthy of your attention.”

Tekui looked to see if any blood would drip on the carpet. “We are the same work caste and species. They punished you for something stupid.”

“You wouldn’t do it.”

She smiled. “My companion and I mate quite frequently when we are not away. He is away now. We just take care to avoid it because we both can change. Your mate could not change so she probably didn’t know or remember.”

Edsaa cringed. “Um, thank you.”

Tekui smiled. “If you need me, just call. I’m going to get my sweater.” She left the room and went down to the clothier on the 3rd floor. It was where she purchased her sweater.

Edsaa growled deeply. He cringed as the new claws pierced his fingertips, blood starting to soak the towels and drip into the bowl. He had not had claws in 32 seasons, back when they judged him to be Spayed.

He hoped that Master Kerrechu would listen to Tekui and that she would keep true to her word.

Tekui smiled as she unwrapped the sweater, thickly woven and very warm. It was the same dark yellow color as her fur. She hurried back to her room and found Edsaa at the kitchen sink, washing the blood off his hands.

“Tekui?,” he asked.

“Yes?” She put on her sweater.

“I’m ready once I clean my hands. What time do we have to arrive at the train?”

She checked her keeper. “In two and one half hours. Do you have any garments or weapons?”

“Of course. Still in the box, if you did not remove them.”

“I didn’t.” She went to the box and pulled out a gun identical to hers and an old brown cloak. She frowned when she saw the Spayed mark embroidered into it. She brought them to him. “Let’s go.”

Edsaa put on the cloak and slung the weapon under his left shoulder. He then followed her out of the room and to the elevator.

They were on the ground floor when Edsaa voiced concerns about the Qesak Mind. “What of the AI Mind that controls this habitat? Will it notice us leaving?”

Tekui collected their tickets from the hotel clerk and gave him his. “It hasn’t said anything yet. Should it, let me talk to it. It may try to send avatars or robots after us.” They went outside and down the street to the tube way station without incident.

The Qesak Mind had become embroiled in a conflict with the alien visitors. It seemed that they were enemies of the Cuaxa and the Alliances. It decided not to let them land on the habitat. They became angry and threatened to destroy the Mind.

It tried to call the warships to aid it but it seemed that the aliens destroyed them with a warship unlike anything the Mind had ever seen.

The aliens landed a small party on Plate 53, obviously trying to sneak in during a blizzard that covered most of the urban/industrial plate. The Mind dispatched policing robots to destroy them. It did not know they wielded high powered plasmic weaponry, a rarity in the A4 Galaxy. It never saw the Electromagnetic Beam Weapon that destroyed it without warning.

Edsaa froze as they crossed the terminal and the landing platform where the tube train waited. It was a maglev affair of white metal and lots of webbed glass in a tubular form. It had a short, bulky fusion engine and six cars, the quadruple occupancy 4th car reserved for the two Renueas.

Tekui nearly bumped into him, absorbed in studying the route on her keeper’s screen. “Hey! Edsaa? What’s the matter?”

The Spayed one, a thief by caste trade, looked at the floor. “The habitat just shuddered. It felt like a spring trap slamming a safety cage down on a wooden floor, that kind of shudder.”

She frowned and backed her ears, trying to concentrate. “I don’t feel anything.”

Edsaa shook his head. “Something’s happened. Let’s get on the train before we’re caught up in something.” He took her by the hand and pulled her quicker than she normally walked to the train car.

Tekui pulled her hand back. “Relax, Edsaa. If there was a problem, there would be alarms or something like them.”

They boarded the car, the door sliding shut behind them after they validated their tickets with the onboard computer. Edsaa sat in one seat and Tekui sat across from him.

She could see his appeal, even castrated as he was. He was one of those rare solid colored Renueas. It made her sad and angry to know that they punished him and not the female for the mating mistake. She planned to appeal for his restoration to his family clan and the regeneration of his male parts when they returned home.

He said nothing, occasionally checking his keeper or working his claws in and out as if getting used to them.

The train started moving and the ride was so smooth, if there were no windows, they would not know that it was moving. Tekui hoped that she could fly the Ermenda spacecraft gifted to them. There were few spacecrafts that she had ridden in that she could not fly. In fact, she knew how to fly, even if she had to be in her Av’rite-er form to do it. She wondered what forms Edsaa could take but asking that sort of question was impolite.

He looked up from his keeper. “You got here as a rekka?”

She frowned. “Yes. Why?”

Edsaa smiled for the first time since she had met him. “I was wondering what it’s like to be a non-sentient animal. I have never impersonated one.”

Tekui growled. “It’s not fun. How many forms do you know?”

“Seventeen, and that includes a Cuaxa form.”

She frowned. He had to be much older than her. “I only know six.”

“That’s not bad. There isn’t a great need for variety, I think. I spend most of my time as an Etanic Rat. It’s the most efficient form for thievery.”

She smiled, imagining him as a giant and intelligent rodent. “That’s interesting. I don’t have a dominant form. I love my Av’rite-er hawk form.”

Edsaa looked surprised. “You can take the form of a bird?”

She nodded. “Av’rite-er hawks are fiercely intelligent and technological. Almost as much as our people. I originally learned the form to help negotiate a treaty. I became an honorary member of the dominant tribes. I go back every 82 seasons for the Winter Festival.”

“Sounds fascinating. Mind if I nap a bit? I’m tired.”

She smiled. “Go ahead. I’ll wake you when we reach the sea.” She reclined in her seat and opened an entertainment program on her keeper.

Edsaa stretched out and lay on his back. He dozed off quickly.

Tekui had almost nodded off herself when the train started to slow perceptibly. It glided through a massive station as this part of the habitat passed into the shadow of the far side, night time. She collected her folder and keeper and reached out to shake Edsaa. She recoiled. How could she touch a Spayed one? It was forbidden on Ikleu. She growled to herself. He was Renuea and that was all that really mattered. She shook him gently. “Edsaa, wake up.”

He stretched and yawned before getting up. “I feel much better. Are we at the sea already?”

She nodded. “Yes. The train is almost stopped now.”

Edsaa went to the windows and sighed. He looked down sadly.

Tekui went to him. “What is wrong?”

“I grew up on the north shore of the Kenu Sea. Any sea brings back memories of a happier time.” He had been looking at the massive body of water that glittered calmly in the various lights of the station and other settlements. They could see neither side of the plate due to the immense size.

The train slid to a stop as locking mechanisms took hold of the maglev track. The tube car’s door hissed and popped open, sliding up, and over the car’s surface. Two new tickets appeared in the receiving basket of the computer. The computer informed them that the ship left in 15 minutes and that they should board through the port side passengers’ door. They were issued a small sitting room near the boat deck, with glass walls that afforded a fine view of the ship and sea.

They seemed to be only two of very few passengers. The others were business people or weary travelers, though aliens were hard to fathom sometimes. Tekui and Edsaa drew no attention from them, despite being furry. The walk to the boarding ramp and up to the sitting room was tiring and both collapsed into the comfortable chairs there.

The sitting room was upholstered with red carpet and had natural wooden walls, varnished and polished to a deep, pleasant color. The outer walls were clear and they could not see much due to the night conditions. Various lights on the ship and the faint glimmer of something in the low eastern sky, near the horizon.

Tekui watched it for a while as the ship withdrew its connections and started on its way. “Edsaa, do you have any kind of optics?”

He nodded, opening his keeper to withdraw a telescopic lens. He fiddled with it and plugged it into his keeper. “Let’s have a look at that.” He came to the clear wall and looked at the bright object. Edsaa frowned. “It’s a ship.”

Tekui peered through the lens and instantly frowned. “What is that? I’ve never seen one like that before.”

He shrugged. “Probably the aliens that are distracting the Mind. Strange that it has not noticed us, after traveling so afar.”

“Something must have happened to it.” She checked the weather report and frowned. The blizzard in Plate 53 had dissipated but heavy snow still fell. The ship’s course enjoyed beautiful conditions by pleasant contrast.

“Could this orbital habitat work without the Mind running it?”

She backed her ears at the unpleasant thought of the massive habitat coming apart. “I doubt that anyone would do anything to the Mind without some sort of back up plan.”

They settled back into their chairs and made use of the food dispensary set into one of the wooden walls.

As they were eating a vegetable medley, Tekui asked, “What’s the most valuable thing you have stolen?”

Edsaa smiled. “I’m working on it. Really, I’d say the Diamond of Kelam. The Masters sent me to steal it because its previous owner defaulted on an agreed payment. I’d say that it’s easily worth a billion gold pieces.”

That astonished her. “Did you steal it and got away?”

He nodded. “I’m skilled. They never even saw me.”

Tekui smiled. “That’s very interesting. Has your . . . what happened to you affected your work?”

Edsaa looked down. “Yes. In subtle ways.”

“I’m sorry. I will try to help you.”

“Why?”

“Because they wrongly pushed you into a bad choice.”

Edsaa smiled slightly. “I hope others see it that way.”

“They will, I promise.”

They continued eating, watching the local sun crest over the far side of the habitat, which was like a great line in the sky. The sun continued below the line, brightening everything into daytime again.

Hours later, the ship came to the far side station and the two Renueas debarked quickly to catch the train, much like the one they had taken before. The cold air grew colder as they progressed. Edsaa purchased a map program for their keepers as they walked through the station.

Their spacecraft was in a parking hangar on the topside of the habitat. They would have to walk six blocks through the snow, down a large causeway. It was in a semi-commercial district, hidden in a large facade that contained some sort of apothecary’s shop specializing in medicines for space travel related ailments.

Tekui noticed that there was a major entry gate near the storage area. It was not used in the local winter, the map said.

The train got underway just as smooth and silent as the other one. Edsaa was looking at a news report in the Cuaxa language and frowned severely. “There is some kind of police trouble on Plate 53. The Qesak Mind sent eight police robots to deal with a party of four aliens. Just 15 minutes ago, the robots lost contact with the Mind and have gone on auto-police mode.”

Tekui didn’t like the sound of that. She did not know the Cuaxa language so had to rely on him. “Who are the aliens?”

“It doesn’t know. This is just an artificial smart news program. It scours facts and writes reports about events as they happen.”

She got up and went over to sit beside him. She could not read the Cuaxa script scrolling across his keeper. “Will they come after us?”

Edsaa looked at her with a grim expression. “They follow the standard Alliances Police Code, which includes a whole chapter on us Renueas.”

She sighed. “I don’t understand. Outside the Alliances, we are respected and loved. Why do they hate us?”

He shook his head. “That is for philosophers and triumvirs to consider. We must stay low and if one of the robots accosts us, use the maximum setting on your weapon and aim for the chest. If they are carrying standard armor, it should shatter them.” He pulled his plasmic weapon out and adjusted it to the maximum.

Tekui did the same with hers, though she always kept it on a high setting. Snow started to fall on the clear ceiling of the tube way track. They looked up to see a cloudy, gray sky and snow increasing as the train sped deeper into Plate 51.

Plate 52's tube way track was largely underground as it was a residential plate. It became utterly dark every time the train passed through a tunnel and brightened to the snowy gray as the train emerged at the Plate 52-53 border.

The difference was dramatic. Something burned in the distance and the snow here was almost six feet deep. Two of the robots were twisted, smoking wreckage on the streets, kept clear by heated surfaces. The train was moving too fast for them to see what made the robots that way. It began to slow and came to an abrupt stop.

The computer informed them that something damaged a 1,230 foot section of the tube way track in the final one and a quarter mile into the station and the train could not continue. The door hissed open and they were greeted by very cold air, the smell of burning materials and the sounds of a battle.

Edsaa’s fur bristled as he got to his feet and looked at Tekui. “It’s only a few blocks more.”

Tekui growled in consternation. “We need to hurry. Let’s go.” They left the train car and found a door in the tube way’s side wall that led out to a snow-covered portico and sidewalk. They trudged through the snow and approached the street, where a waiting robotic taxi sat, its motors steaming in the bitter air.

Edsaa spoke with its control center in the Cuaxa language and turned to Tekui. “It can take us most of the way. There might be much trouble near the gate lock.”

They got into the passenger section, tightly scrunched together by the small seat. Tekui did not mind. She was growing to like the Spayed one. The groundcar powered up and took off down the bizarre snow free street. Great mounds of the white precipitation were piled on either side of the causeway.

The taxi sped to a junction and banked to the left before speeding up across a bridge over a frozen section of the habitat spanning river. It sped down a litter strewn road stopped across the street from their destination.

A female humanoid in a blue uniform lay bleeding in the street. Several deep gunshot wounds in her abdomen steamed in the bitter air.

Both Renueas hurried out of the groundcar and ran to her. Tekui knelt beside her and gasped when she saw the tail and claws and hooded ears of this one. She had never seen a humanoid like this. The female was dead, her injuries too severe to live through. That did not mean that Tekui could not learn her peoples’ form. She opened her right hand and put it palm down over the largest of the bloody wounds.

The blood was absorbed into her skin, her body learning a new genetic pattern, placing it on her changeable genetic palette. It took several months to fully build a changeable form this way. It would make this female’s people a form Tekui could take, though she had her own facial, body and other features.

Edsaa snarled. “What are you doing?”

Tekui was focused on her task and did not reply. This took at least a couple of minutes. Snow fell on them, making visibility poor.

Edsaa spun around, bringing his gun to bear on an approaching robot. He fired the gun and a bright yellow plasmic shot streaked out and slammed into the chest carapace of the robot. True to his supposition, the robot shattered as if it had exploded. It left a deafening boom that rattled the very air around the area. “Tekui! Hurry!”

Her body told her that it had enough to learn the new form. She withdrew her had and said a prayer for the dead female. She got up and nodded. “I’m learning this one’s form. It may become useful.”

Edsaa nodded. “Good. Let’s go.”

They hurried to the facade, where another destroyed robot smoldered as wreckage in the street. Edsaa checked the area with his keeper and nodded. He started toward the facade and time seemed to stop as a bright energy pulse typical of Cuaxa weapons slammed into his back, throwing him forward, off his feet. He fell heavily onto the street and did not move.

Tekui gasped in horror but her professionalism told her that killing a Renuea with a body shot was very hard. She hurried to him, finding him covered in his blood, which steamed in the bitter air. The shock of it had rendered him unconscious. She shifted her muscle density as quickly as she could and picked him up, heaving him up and over her left shoulder. The added weight of the Spayed one made it hard to walk but she managed a quick jog to the facade entrance.

The apothecary, an older Xeka male with dark feathers, screeched as he looked up from shoveling snow off his walkway. “Him bleeding?”

Tekui strained not to drop Edsaa as she turned to look at him. “Can you help him? He is shot.”

The Xeka screeched. “No help Renueas. I give you something to stop bleeding out of respect for life. Wait.” It scuttled into its shop and returned with an aid kit, giving it to Tekui. “Go, leave before Alliances soldier police see you.”

She snarled at it but continued to the ship lock door. She used a card from the folder to open it and found it to be pleasantly warm inside. She closed the door behind her and Edsaa groaned. Blood streamed down Tekui’s fur and sweater. She clung to him, afraid that she would drop him as she ascended the boarding ramp of the sleek, ovoid smooth-hulled ship.

She gently lay Edsaa on a sleeping bunk and saw that his body had already started to knit the injury closed. She opened the aid kit and sprayed a skin sealant on the bleeding wound.

Edsaa growled. “Ouch. That hurts.”

Tekui soothed him by gently scratching the side of his head. “Lay still and rest. I will get us out of here.”

He reached out with his claws. “I’m sorry.”

She patted his hand. “It’s all right. We’re almost free.” She hurried to the flight controls and smiled as she saw the controls in a familiar configuration. The screens were all in Trade Standard, a language she knew well. She checked and saw that she was cleared to leave by the automatic dock master.

The ship responded to her controls and an alarm blared. Lights flashed in the docking area and the outside lock door below the craft opened. A docking arm held fast to the spacecraft as it lowered outside the habitat’s underside surface.

The underside looked like a forbidding solid black wall transected by two tube way tracks and a lift car track, gleaming like rings around it. Automatic gravity took over once they were free of the habitat’s gravity field. She checked and established a course for Ikleu, some 76 light-years from here. She released the docking arm’s lock and the ship fell free of the habitat.

Tekui engaged the engines and raced for the system’s jump point for hyperspace. Once in range, she engaged the jump engines and the ship jumped into hyperspace.

To Be Continued: Thank you for Reading.

© 25 June 2004 Gregory Thompson. All reproduction is prohibited.