Page 92 of Veiled Vixen

CHAPTER TWENTY - TRAY

Prison Princess was on a long journey of her own. Canis had uploaded the gates required to take them to their target destination and was far more mature than his mere ten Akeelian years.

Tray had to admit, this kid kind of fascinated him. And they spent long hours while inside gates, talking about how he came to be the captain of a warship.

Obviously Tray knew how Canis got onto his ship. He was invited. But how this child ended up the leader of children warriors was quite another story.

“I knew,” Canis told him during the first gate journey. “I knew what she was up to. I wasn’t born in captivity like the other kids here were.”

“Where were you born?” Brigit asked. Because she too was enthralled with this kid’s tale.

“On Wayward Station.”

“Huh,” Tray muttered.

“Yeah, I know,” Canis said, looking up at the ceiling. Tray was still getting used to that. Being the all-powerful, all-knowing thing above. The AI with no body. “You came from there too. And they didn’t raise any more sons after you guys all left. Except for me.”

“What makes you so special?” Tray asked.

“I’m the new you, of course.”

Tray was confused. “What do you mean? The new me?”

“We’re brothers, Tray. I’m surprised you didn’t guess. We’re so much alike.”

Which made Tray laugh. “I don’t think we’re anything alike at all, actually. When I was ten I was not leading an Akeelian rebellion.”

“No. I didn’t mean it that way. I meant we were made the same. And one day, I guess I’ll stop being a boy and just be a mind. Like you guys.” Canis paused, then added, “Or maybe not.”

“You can choose then?” Brigit asked. Tray could tell that she was thinking about her own life. As was he.

Neither of them had been given a choice.

“I guess,” Canis answered. “I mean… they’re not in charge of me anymore.”

“Are any of the other kids on board like us?” Tray asked.

“No. They were all bred in the cages. I was different, like I said. Your father’s replacement raised me. I guess they all have this grand dream of being the one to pull it off.”

“Hold up,” Tray said. “My father’s replacement?”

“Oh, they killed him before I was ever born. My father told me all about it. You two were a cautionary tale. That’s why I had to go to the cages when I turned ten. They made strict rules about the change after you defected.”

He paused for Tray’s reaction. But Tray took too long to answer. His mind was tripping over these new details like a voice stuttering over too many vowels.

“Then what happened?” Brigit urged.

“After the cages?” Canis shrugged. “That was Lair Station. You Harem people came and liberated us.”

“Is that where we’re going?”

Canis had refused to give Tray and Brigit the entire gate path to their final destination. It was his insurance, he told them. Just in case they got any funny ideas about leaving him behind or bailing out on the mission.

Of course, Tray assumed that this destination was a very bad idea and that was why the kid was keeping that secret close. But pretty much Tray’s whole life up to this point was nothing but a long string of bad ideas. So it didn’t bother him much.

This was war, after all.

Risks were involved.