99 days until arrival

0 days until arrival

"Stupid singing." I grumbled as I walked up Songhai's ramp. "Always god damn singing. It's like some slave folk music." I pulled at my sore muscles as I waited in the airlock. The phrase winter wrap up had become synonymic with pulling a plow for two hours. Granted I enjoyed helping but my back was killing me.

Hopfully Vinyl could make me feel better. Even if she was still sick she was nice to be around.

I stepped into the ship, something was wrong. Something was really wrong. "Songhai?" After a few seconds of nothing I started running through the ship. "Shit shit shit!"

I should have brought my gun. There was no doubt in my mind whoever was here was looking for me and I walked right into it! I got soft, let my guard down. "Fucking fuck!" I screamed to myself as I hurried to my room.

I was cut off by a stiff arm clotheslining me and knocking me to the floor. As soon as I popped my eyes back open I was face to face with the barrel of a gun. "Do not move." A bring blue glow started lighting up the dim room as three men kept me pinned.

I was yanked upright abruptly and forced against a wall. "Under Caledonian order you are under arrest for desertion." The voice was metallic, curt, and horribly quick. I felt a zip tie fly around my hands as I was searched.

"God damn it, what did you do with them!?" I yelled as they held me against the wall.

A cold voice broke the rustling of my clothes. "Ryan Hannik, one count of espionage, one count of treason, one count of desertion. Can you guess which we're here about?"

I knew this voice. So this was them again. "Clive...I thought you said we were clean!" I swung my body around just in time to catch a punch to the stomach by one of the soldiers. I looked up at Clive, his white hair unmistakable.

"Whoa, Twenty, ease up." I was picked back up as the soldiers held me upright. "Hmm, they are a little bit too eager." Clive pulled a knife from his harness. He shoved the soldiers off and cut my bindings. "Ryan, how has my favorite Jew boy been?"

"Better than you ya tattooed freaks!" I snapped as I rubbed my wrists.

Clive shook his head. "Still not tattoos. Also my men have been a bit untrue to you. You're not under arrest right now, you're being detained."

"Oh how cheery...." I muttered as the soldiers walked to Clive's side. "So this is it then? I'm done?"

Clive cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you think that? I mean yes, you're running is done. But we take care of our agents." I cringed as he spoke. "Do your little...friends, know?"

"No, and where are they!?"

Clive turned around. "Seven, bring them in!"

One of the soldiers hurried off, quickly returning with my friends. "Ryan!" Vinyl ran over and wrapped her hooves around my neck. "Who are these people!?"

"Don't worry, I've-"

"Calondonian military." Clive cut me off. "Ryan here helped us smuggle some weapons a long time ago. He tried to run before we could properly thank him for his service."

I hugged my girlfriend as Lyra ran over. "Ryan?" Lyra looked worried as she walked over.

I set Vinyl down and turned away from them. "It's a long story."

Clive gave a rough cough. "Yes well long story short, Ryan Hannik is a turncoat. A true Cale at heart." I turned around to face them. They didn't look disgusted, which meant they had no idea what it meant. "Ryan, explain it to them. I'll be in your galley when you're ready to discuss your extradition."

I was left alone with the mares and a single soldier. "Vinyl, Lyra, I uh...I did a bad thing...."

"They offered me a way out. So...I took it. I never knew what they were moving but when I found out...I just...I ran." I rubbed the back of my head as I finished talking.

Lyra frowned at me. "What's gonna happen?"

I frowned hard as I leaned against a wall and pointed towards the soldier. He looked up at me before nodding. "Ryan is going to be placed under our protection, his possessions will be confiscated, and you will be released." he finished talking and leaned back down.

"Yeah...that." I looked to my friends, they looked a little worried but still not disguested.

Vinyl stared at me a long time before turning away. "Ryan, I'm going home." She turned towards the exit. "You be there when you're done alright?"

I smiled hard she sauntered out. "Aw...how...not cute." The soldier cut in. "I mean she's a horse...you've been fucking a horse, but that was...nice. In a humanist kinda of way."

"I didn't ask you-"

"Yeah well you fuck horses, you don't get to say shit to me!"

I just stared at him. I couldn't see his face through his uniform but I felt like I should say something about his marks. "Tattooed freaks."

He just crossed his arms. "Nice...really grown up-"

"Will you both shut up!" Lyra yelled as she stormed over to the soldier. "Take that stupid thing off your face!"

"What!? No!" Before the soldier could say anything Lyra pulled his mask off. "How the fuck!?"

Lyra took a step back before dropping his mask. "Oh...wow...you're uh, you...really pretty...."

The soldier cringed as he pulled his mask back on. "We all look like this." he grunted angrily as he fixed his mask.

Lyra looked at me. "Yeah...they all have those weird lines on their faces. Some cultural thing, something about Celts or something."

Lyra swung her head back towards the soldier and walked over. "Take the mask off."

"No!"

Lyra leaned against his chest and looked straight up at him, fluttering her eyes and cooing, "Please, for me?"

The soldier looked at her for a moment before looking up at me. "This is bullshit...." He pulled his mask off and set it on his belt. "Happy?"

Lyra stared at him. "Hey follow me."

"What, no!"

"Oh go with her." Clive walked back in. "I need to talk with Mr Hannik so you go ahead."

"Sir...is that an order?" he asked, almost worried.

Clive turned around and looked the soldier dead in the eyes. "You are out of unifrom, consider this your punishment until further notice. You are to guard this mare with your life, and do anything she asks. Refusal will be punishable with summary execution."

"Are you shitting me?" he asked as Lyra started tugging at his hand. "Sir? Sir? Sir!?" he petered out as Clive lead me through the hall.

"So what did she want with him?" Clive asked with a laugh.

"Nothing wholesome. So what's next?"

"Straight to the point. I like that. What happens next is you hand over the body, we set you up with a new life as a Cale, and you stay exiled on this planet for a few years until we come up with a body to give to the Mirans."

"The body...the body!? You were after the fucking body!?" I snapped at him.

Clive just brushed me off. "Well we were looking for you, but this just presented too good an opportunity to pass up."

I thought back to the body in my storage. "They know I have him, they've been on their way for a while!"

Clive shook his head. "They won't be getting here any time soon. Trespassing could be misconstrued as an act of war and with all that's been going on I'm doubtful they'd try to sneak past. Especially with an informant." Clive jostled my shoulder. I felt low, these people, they weren't bad. No worse than Mirans but something about this didn't sit well. "We'll still turn the body over so calm down. We're just going to trade for it. Right to this sector for the body of a cultural savior seems fair right?"

I gave a deep sigh. "So what...I'm one of you now?"

Clive frowned. "Well it's either you try to make a new life or you face trial, and let me tell you something, an auxiliary like you won't last long in court for treason."

"Then I don't have much of a choice here...do I have-"

"Yes, you're going to have the marks put on you."

I rubbed the back of my neck at the prospect. "Okay then...so what exactly is it anyways?"

Clive scratched his chin. "Normally it grows from birth, but for you we'll just have to guide it. It's skin pigmentation not ink so it will...hurt...just a little."

"Great." I grumbled.

"Oh calm down. As a Cale you'll have free reign in our lands, which might I add, contains this planet." Clive gave a wide, knowing, smile. "And from what I can tell you've made yourself quite at home here. I don't see a reason you can't stay." Clive squeezed my shoulder before walking off. "Oh and one last thing." He spun on his heel. "Thank you for your cooperation, and praise the Mother." I scratched my head. "No really...praise the Mother. Don't tell anyone you're Jewish."

"Ah...gottcha." He flicked his fingers off of his temple at me and wandered off. Maybe this wasn't so bad.

I started walking through my ship somberly. Only cut off as the soldier from before skulked out of Lyra's room, wiping his fingers on his pants. "Goddess damn it all."

I walked over to him. "She make you-" I made a lewd gesture with my fingers.

He just looked at the floor. "I don't want to talk about it...." He skulked off deeper into the ship.

I just laughed and leaned against the wall. Well, at least now I can stop running. "I wonder if they'll make me bleach my hair too...." I ran my fingers through my hair as I walked outside and into the fresh air. I looked up, a large warship was now clearly visible in high orbit. "Man...I really hope not."