The Complete Razia Series, page 93
"Like the police?" Lyssa said. Like Jukin.
"Nah, the U-POL ain't doing nothing lately. No, they're hiding from other pirates, you know. See, piracy's nothing but a big game. People belong to webs and they hunt each other—do you understand?"
"Of course I do," Lyssa said. "I helped Tauron capture a pirate."
Lester chuckled. "Bah, never mind. Won't matter anyway. You'll be back on your home planet before two universal days."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Lyssa said, picking at the hem of her shirt. "That I'll be back home."
"Because you're…well, look at you. What are you, ten? Eleven?"
"Eleven," she mumbled.
"Barely even able to handle yourself," he said. "There ain't no way Tauron'd let you hang around."
Lyssa remembered that blond kid "hanging around" on the ship and shook her head. "I told you, Tauron said I was a good bounty hunter. I found Piazo for him."
"And how'd you do that, huh?"
"Like you said, piracy's a game," Lyssa said with a smile. "And it's fun."
Before she knew it, an orange speck in the distance grew to a desert planet. Lester's ship skimmed along the atmosphere, with nothing but shifting orange sands beneath them. They passed over several tall docking stations out in the far reaches of the city.
"Garbage dump's out here," Lester said. "And some of the cheap parking. Count yourself lucky you don't have to park out here."
She nodded and kept her eyes glued to the ground below as the garbage dump turned into a city. She grinned when Lester pointed to a tall docking station ahead and told her that was their destination. He easily flew the ship inside the gaping hole for the larger ships, landing in the center of the room.
Large robotic arms began to move in front of the ship, and the cabin rocked slightly. Lyssa followed Lester off of the ship, pausing to gape at the machinery pulling the cargo boxes off of their carriers. Lester had passed her to chat with the dock manager.
"Yeah, these are for Contestant," Lester said. "And be sure to keep a few for yourself, yeah?"
The dock manager nodded, and the two men laughed about something else.
A bright light caught Lyssa's eye, and she was drawn to a small window looking out into the city below.
"Wow."
She'd barely gotten a glimpse when Tauron stopped there before, but now she had a bird's eye view of the streets below. Most of the buildings nearby were low, less than ten stories. And most had cloth awnings that extended out into the streets.
"Did you have a plan to find your Tauron fellow?" Lester asked, coming to stand beside her.
She shrugged. "I was just gonna ask a bunch of people—"
"And that's a good way to get in trouble, girlie," Lester said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Word of advice: you don't belong here. So if you're gonna be here, you should keep your head down. At least until you can take care of yourself."
She furrowed her brow. She'd been doing that since she was a small child. Nights spent alone on a planet came to mind. "I can take care of myself."
"Oh boy," Lester breathed. "Okay, this is the one last bit of help Imma give you. If you're looking for a pirate, there's only one man you need to see."
***
Eyes wide, Lyssa drank in every piece of this desert planet. She'd never been to such a place before, with the tall buildings covered in orange dust and unsavory-looking men strolling down the street. She was an object of curiosity to them as well, as they kept craning their necks to look at her as they passed. Lester had been right; it was better for her to keep her head down. Most of these men could toss her over their shoulder without even breaking a sweat.
He'd given her an address and directions, but even so, it took her some time to get used to this planet. North-south streets received letters, east-west received numbers. This city, however, didn't even have names for half of its streets. To make matters worse, Lester had given her directions with bars for landmarks, some of which weren't even there anymore.
Eventually, after nearly an hour of walking and getting lost, she found the bar she was looking for. It sat at the bottom of a multi-story building, and all the windows were open to the dry desert air. Nervously, she scurried across the street.
The air inside the bar was only slightly less hot than outside. The fans on the ceiling circled lazily, doing nothing to stifle the temperature. Against the wall, there was a wood-topped bar, though there was no one at it. There was no one in the bar at all, save one gentleman with a curly brown beard in a booth in the back.
Her footsteps alerted the man to her presence and his eyes met hers. She froze, wishing she could wipe the look of terror off her face, but he simply surveyed her.
"You must be lost," he said, his voice a gentle tenor. It put her at ease somewhat.
"Are you John Harms?" she said, putting as much ferocity into her stance as she could.
A chuckle was her response. "I am. What do you need, sweetheart?"
"I'm looking for someone," she said, her voice echoing in the empty bar. "Tauron Ball."
He leaned forward, placing his head on his hands. "And why do you need to find him?"
She straightened her shoulders. "Because I want to join his crew."
The man's eyes shone in amusement, and he waved her over. She strode up to his booth, sliding onto the padded seat. She felt unimaginably small across from him. But he was warm and inviting, and offered her a glass of orange-tinted water. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until she started gulping it down.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Razia," she announced, wiping her mouth rudely. "My name is Razia."
"Do you have a last name?"
"N-no. Don't need one. I'm gonna be a pirate, you see—"
"Say no more, honey," Harms said. "Let me see if I can't find the man you're looking for." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his mini-computer. He pressed it to his ear and she waited. "Hey, Tauron? I got something here for you." He grinned at Lyssa. "Good, see you in a bit."
She smiled at the man, thanking this great bit of luck that she'd been able to find the right people to get her to Tauron.
"So, sweetie, tell me why you want to join Tauron's crew?" Harms asked.
"Because he told me I could be his bounty hunter," Lyssa said. It wasn't a total lie.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, I helped him capture Piazo the other day," Lyssa said, puffing out her chest with pride.
"Did you now?"
"I did," Lyssa said, as the robot refilled her water. She took another gulp and glanced up at Harms again. She wasn't uncomfortable under his gaze, but something about it told her he found her very amusing. "And he told me he hates bounty hunting, so I'm going to do that for him."
"Mm."
The smile he wore was a bit patronizing, and she scowled. "I'm not lying."
"I'm not saying you are," Harms replied. "Tauron's not a bounty hunter, you're right, and I'd wondered who'd helped him out. But you…" He looked out the door and took a long breath. "I just don't know if you're pirate material."
"Because I'm a girl?" Lyssa growled.
"That and you're, what, twelve?" Harms asked. "Thirteen?"
She didn't bother correcting him. "Tauron has a boy on his ship—"
"Sage?" Harms chuckled. "Sage is the cabin bit—boy. Cabin boy. He's there to keep the ship tidy."
"I can do that for a while," Lyssa said, tapping her fingernails on the glass. "Better than going back to the Academy."
"What Academy?" Harms asked.
"N-nothing," Lyssa replied, averting her eyes. She liked this man, but she didn't trust him. Not until she saw Tauron again.
"Ah, there he is," Harms said, glancing behind Lyssa. She spun and stood on her knees, grinning as Tauron walked into the bar.
When his gaze landed on her, his face twisted into a grimace. "Oh, son of a bitch. Not funny, Harms."
Harms hooted behind her. "Care to explain this, Tauron? Are you starting a fan club?"
"How in Leveman's Vortex did you get here?" Tauron said, marching over to Lyssa and yanking her out of the booth.
"I want to join your crew!" Lyssa said, hanging by his hand.
"And I told you, no way!" Tauron said, dragging her out of the bar. She tossed one final look back at Harms, who was smiling broadly, then back up at Tauron.
"But…but…" she said, screwing up her face.
"Don't even start that bullshit," Tauron said, releasing her in the middle of the street. "First of all, you're just a kid—"
"So's Sage!" Lyssa barked back.
"Sage sits on the ship and does nothing!" He pulled her close. "Second of all, your brother happens to be the captain of the U-POL forces responsible for arresting pirates."
"He's not my brother anymore. I don't want to be in that family."
"Leveman's," Tauron whimpered, standing upright. "I can appreciate that, and I wish you all the luck in trying to reinvent yourself. But you are not doing it on my ship." He looked around at her and threw his hands up. "How did you even get here?"
"I met a nice transporter on G-279 who agreed to take me here."
"On what condition? Leveman's, kid, you could've disappeared for good! Do you even know how dangerous that was?"
She shrugged.
"Ugh! C'mon," Tauron said, his vise grip back on her arm as he dragged her down the street.
***
"I'm not gonna say I told you so, but…" Wade drawled as Tauron and Lyssa appeared in the ramp of Tauron's ship. He did not look surprised to see her.
"Get sucked, Wade." Tauron grunted. "Do we have time to stop off on G-279?"
Wade shook his head. "Not if you want to hit that transport ship. Why not just leave the brat? She got herself here, she can get herself home."
"The problem is, I don't think I can get her to go home," Tauron said.
"Hey, I'm right here!" Lyssa barked at the two of them. "And you're right, I'm never going back there again. I want to join your crew!"
Wade burst out laughing, loud, barking guffaws that rebounded in the metal room. Beside her, Tauron growled and clenched his fists.
"Give 'em an inch, Tauron. What did I tell you?" Wade said, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'll get the ship ready to go. This is your problem to figure out, boss." His laughter could be heard echoing down from the staircase as he left them.
Lyssa beamed at Tauron. "What do you want me to do first, boss?"
"Never call me that, first of all," Tauron said with a grimace. "I have to do this job and then I am dropping you off at a transport station, do you understand?"
"I understand that I'll keep coming back."
Tauron groaned loudly. "You can't. I won't let you on my ship."
"You're gonna leave a defenseless child alone on a transport station?" Lyssa said, her eyes growing wide. "Something bad could happen to me."
"Tough shit," Tauron said, but she didn't hear any heat in it. After a beat, he paused and said, "Lyssa—"
"Razia," she replied. "My name is Razia now."
"Okay, whatever. I am trying very hard to keep you safe, all right? I'm sorry I kidnapped you." He closed his eyes and murmured, "Very sorry."
"It's okay!" Lyssa replied brightly. "I forgive you."
Tauron groaned. "The point is that I can't support another kid on my ship. I can barely feed these guys as it is—"
"But I can help! I can bounty hunt for you."
"While that would actually be kind of helpful, I can't allow you to stay here. It's just…" He straightened his shoulders and boomed loudly. "I'm the captain and what I say goes. After I finish this job, you are going back to school. And you'd better stay there, or else—"
"Or else what? You'll tell my mother?" Lyssa snapped.
Tauron opened his mouth and closed it.
"Or my brothers?" she continued, her voice rising an octave. "Tell anyone in that Academy. All they'll do is ignore me and ask where my father is."
"Is he around?" Tauron asked. "Can I get him to make you listen?"
Lyssa's face screwed up but she kept her tears at bay. She wasn't going to cry in front of Tauron again. "He's gone. I don't know where."
"But everyone thinks you do, huh?" Tauron replied, sitting down on a nearby box. "That's what that whole shit was about with your mom?"
Lyssa nodded. "They think I'm lying, but I'm not. I was his assistant for a few years, but I screwed up. Bad. He was so angry with me that he left the next morning without me."
"How long ago was that?"
"Three or four months." She swallowed and wrapped her arms around herself. "I was always lying for him, so everyone just assumes I'm still doing it. And they don't believe that you just let me go. They think he paid my ransom, so now they won't leave me alone. 'Where's your father, Lyssa?' 'Stop lying, Lyssa.'" She sniffed. "Nobody even asked if I was okay."
"That all sounds really shitty, but I can't let you stay here," Tauron said gently, pushing himself to stand. "But while you are here, you might as well make yourself useful." Her head lifted. "Go find Sage and help him with the chores. I think he's in the training room."
A bright smile broke out on her face and she hurried away before he changed his mind. She had a day, perhaps, to prove to Tauron that she could be useful, that she could stay. She'd start by doing everything he asked her to do, and then perhaps locating and finding a bounty for him. Then they'd have to take another detour back to the pirate planet, and she could find him more bounties and—
Cackling at her brilliant plan, she nearly skipped into the training room. Sage was on his hands and knees, scrubbing the black pads on the floor with vigor and cursing to himself. He stopped and turned to look at her, eyes wide when he registered who was staring at him.
"W-what are you doing here?" Sage said, dropping the bottle of cleaner.
"I'm joining the crew," Lyssa announced proudly.
Sage's face darkened. "No, you're not."
"Yeah, I am. Tauron just doesn't know it yet," Lyssa said, strolling up to Sage and picking up the filthy rag and bottle of cleaner. "My first job is to help you clean. Then, I'm gonna find some bounties for Tauron." She paused, wondering if it was a good idea to tell Sage her whole plan. Deciding discretion was better, she knelt on the floor and scrubbed the spot Sage had been working on.
"Uh…so you're supposed to help me clean, huh?" Sage said slowly.
"That's what I said."
"Okay then." She glanced at him; he was smirking about something. "You start in here. Wipe down all the mats, making sure to clean up all the blood, ("ew!") then pick up all the dirty clothes and rags and put them in the laundry down the hall. I assume you know how to do laundry, right?"
Lyssa shook her head. Sostas either had his done at the Manor or sent it out for washing at the Academy.
"Just dump them all in the washing machine and put soap in, it's pretty simple," Sage said with a huge roll of his eyes. He rattled off a list of things in this room then told her to clean all four rooms on the upper level. "Including Tauron's. He likes his room to be spotless. Sheets changed, clothes hung up."
"Got it."
"And then you'll clean my room too," Sage said, folding his arms over his chest.
"Ew, no."
"Tauron told you to help me, right?" Sage asked. "That's what I was supposed to do today."
"So what are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna…clean the bridge. That's right. I'm gonna go clean the bridge." Before she could question him, he scampered out the door.
Lyssa stared at the open door for a moment, uneasy with the list of things he'd given her. She was fairly sure he was going up to the bridge to screw around, leaving her to do all his work. But she was smarter than he was; if she did such a good job cleaning, perhaps Tauron would give her Sage's spot on his crew.
"Hah!" Lyssa said, tossing away the filthy rag and hunting down a clean one, or a cleaner one, anyway. She began with the towels and various sweatshirts, gathering each of the disgusting, moldy pieces and throwing them in a washing machine in the kitchen the next room over. She'd never done laundry before, so she dumped a cup of soap in the washer and pressed the 'on' button before returning to the training room. Her next target were the weights. She could only carry one at a time, and then when her arms became wobbly, she dragged them, huffing and puffing and sweating until they were back on their holsters.
She found cleaning supplies in the laundry room when she went to swap the towels into the dryer, and set to cleaning the black floor mats and mirrors. The gross smell was somewhere in the room, and eventually she found it: a half-drunk bottle of protein shake that had expired sometime in the last year. Swallowing her sickness, she threw it away and found the trash nearly overflowing with the same kind of material. She gathered the trash bags and carried them downstairs to the ramp where she found the compacter.
Satisfied that the training room was complete, she ventured to the bedroom level. Bypassing Sage's room, she started with Tauron's. It was large, much larger than Sage's room. A window sat over the bed, and she climbed up to watch the stars fly by for a moment. The bed itself was disheveled—sheets were thrown over the mattress, but not tucked in. The pillows were missing pillowcases, and she saw at least two plates buried in the covers.
The rest of the room was similarly disgusting. A built-in desk in the corner was covered in old dishes and bottles. His closet door was half off the hinge, and clothes were piled in the center of the floor. Lyssa began to gather all the clothes in her arms, since she couldn't quite place what was clean and what wasn't. But when she lifted the last piece, she saw a set of magazines on the floor.
The naked woman on the cover stared at Lyssa provocatively. Lyssa'd never seen an older woman naked; not at the Manor, not with Sostas, and sex ed classes at the Academy weren't for another two years. Lyssa stared at the curve of her breast, the way her hips tucked in the center, the thick bush of hair between her legs.
"Is that what I'm going to look like?" Lyssa asked.
"What in Leveman's is going on?" Tauron's voice broke her from her reverie. He stood in the doorway, his face a jumble of concern, worry, shock, and…anger.
