Alred glanced back up at Goldie. She was still standing there, clutching the edge of the railing. Staring down at him with something impossible to read on her face.
Part hope, part despair, part confusion, part heartbreak. A combination of emotions that looked painful and unconquerable.
Poor girl. It looked like she was just considering, for the first time, a possibility that she had never dared to imagine. She suddenly wanted something she’d never wanted before because she’d never allowed herself to yearn for it because itcouldn’tbe done. It was the sudden, aching need for an option you didn’t imagine but now couldn’t believe you’d never thought of before. And it was hitting her with all the force of the black itself, freezing her body and stealing the breath from her lungs.
Haven couldn’t help but smother a laugh as she continued digging through the top layer of the crate. There was a lot of good stuff in here. A lot of old and broken stuff. But her mind was going wild with the possibilities of what she could do with this.
And now that she was starting to get the reading imprints from Goldie, she’d be able to start reading schematics and designs. She’d be able to learn their math and technical skills beyond simply what she figured out and built for herself.
She wasn’t super proficient in reading Standard yet. Goldie was giving her the language imprint in stages, like she was ayoungling getting their reading lessons, because it was easier on her mind and she’d be more likely to retain the information. If Haven didn’t already speak Standard, she’d be able to get the spoken and written language in one big dump, but since she already spoke Standard, they had to be more careful. Trying to imprint knowledge she already had could very well make her lose both and she’d have to start all over again. So, teaching her reading was a slow, deliberate process.
But she was excited. Because learning to read meant she could expand her knowledge exponentially. It meant she could do more for Alred. Like the others, discussing and planning how they’d build him a body and what parts should be cybernetic and what parts should be biological. If he wanted a physical body, he could build one. Cybernetics could do that easily. But he’d still just be a technological being inside a robotic body. That’s not what he wanted. He wanted the squishy, biological parts. He wanted to be like them once again. But from a logical standpoint, saving money and energy and resources by using partially robotic parts just made sense. Haven was surprised she hadn’t thought of it before.
She shared a look with Vytln. Proud and pleased of his idea. He looked back at her, his gaze burning. Approval and desire making her shiver in delight.
She smiled back at him. Happy to help. Happy to make these plans with Alred. She was a member of the crew now, after all.
Oh.
The realization hit her hard.
She waspartof this crew now. She had a place she belonged and people she belonged with. Ones that didn’t get angry at her for breaking things down. Instead, they gave her what sheneeded so she could break down things safely. They accepted her. They liked her. And just how they were now focusing on Alred’s goal, debating how they could make it easier for him, they would do the same for her.
It was the first time in her life that Haven really understood the bonds of family. She loved her parents, of course, and she appreciated them for raising and caring for her. But they wouldn’t be able to do this for her. Give her this feeling of belonging.
Haven belonged. And it was better than she could have imagined.
Chapter 35
Vytln
Two team meetings within two tendays was a lot for them. At least these days. They used to have meetings daily back on Rik-Vane to make sure their plans were working well. Things had calmed down a lot since they escaped and were earning their credz honestly and, mostly, safely.
But they had a lot of planning to do now, so it was necessary.
The current job they were on their way to was a pretty standard one for them. They were transporting weapons for a private army. A lot of delivery companies wouldn’t transport weapons en masse like that, especially not explosive ones. But the job paid very well, and they were paying extra for expedited delivery, so off they went.
And while they were en route to pick up the cargo, they were gathering so they could go over everything. And it was a lot more than Vytln expected.
He sat with Haven, his arm around her shoulders as she curled into his side. Tanin and Alred stood at the front. Garnet was there as well, sitting on top of the cleaning robot she’d named Spot. And they all started breaking down everything.
And they started with his brother.
“This is Kldyn y Ntlm,” Tanin started, a holo recreation of Vytln’s brother appearing in the air. His expression was mostly blank, but even the holo couldn’t be free of the small smirk that was tucked into the corner of his mouth. “He’s Vytln’s former brother, current head of the Ntlm family. They are a criminal family on Nct’nl. Their credz are mainly gained through smuggling. Drugs and weapons, of course, but they mainly specialize in transporting resources that are carefully controlled across their own planet. Things we wouldn’t consider illegal, but is because of the fact that trading is so controlled on their planet. Under Kldyn’s leadership, they’ve expanded and now have a fleet of three delivery ships that work off planet as well. They’ve expanded into smuggling things in from off planet. They’re very wealthy and very well connected.”
“They’ve also continued tracking us,” Alred said. “The commander who hired us for this job does not have connections to him, but Grace and I have already fielded two job requests that are actually just him trying to get us into a position where he can attack us.”
Vytln huffed once, amused. His brother was predictable.
Tanin waved his hand and another holo appeared. It was a symbol this time, not a person. An upside down triangle with a line bisecting the top. It was simple, and familiar. Sorbet and Tebros had those marks carved into their arms. The two of them wore sleeveless shirts, but they did have one sleeve each, pulled up to cover their arms. Underneath the cloth, on their upper arms, he knew that mark was inscribed.
He didn’t ask about it. The twins were secretive and distant even to them. They were as loyal to Tanin as anyone else, buttheir pasts were secret to all but Tanin. Even now, Vytln didn’t expect an explanation for that mark. So he was surprised when, years after first seeing those scars, he actually got one.
“This is the symbol of an assassin group,” Tanin said simply. “They’re fully legal on their home planet only, and don’t have the right or legality to work anywhere else in the Coalition. That, of course, doesn’t actually stop them, and they will work anywhere for a price. They will also recruit their assassins from anywhere. Sorbet and Tebros, like many in their group, were taken as children and trained as assassins growing up.”
Vytln wasn’t the only one who glanced over at the twins. The two of them were standing in the corner, always with each other. They had dark blue scales and snow white hair, shaved on opposite sides of their head, the rest left long. Sorbet had a scar through the left side of his lips, while Tebros had burn scars covering the entirety of his right arm. You would never be able to mistake one for the other, like some avanava males. However, they considered themselves to be a single person.
Avanava males were always born as twins, and they had a deep connection that bonded them at the level of the soul – similar to that which bonded mates. Avanava males considered their personhood on a spectrum, with some males seeing themselves as two completely separate people, but some, like Sorbet and Tebros, seeing themselves as a single person in two bodies. Both were considered legitimate views on their home planet.
