Starship Amrita

Chapter VII - Fragile Future, Ominous Past

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Tavian found himself startled to wakefulness by the repeated intrusive sound. He sat bolt upright and looked around. A big blue planet was out the window.

Strange, the club's storage room doesn't normally have a planet in it.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

He shook his head, his mind swirling about, trying to piece together where he was and what he was doing. Amrita. He was on the Amrita. It all came back to him in a moment.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

He looked towards the door, becoming aware he was hearing a doorbell. He rose to sit on the side of the bed, rubbing his eyes. His clothes from yesterday lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, where he'd thrown them before collapsing into bed. Still naked, he strolled over to the panel by the door, pressing the intercom button.

"Just give me a moment, I'll be out—"

Only he hadn't pressed the intercom. He'd opened the door. Outside stood Nova, some sort of package in her arms. She blinked a few moments, then grinned.

"I thought you might need some fresh clothes... and... um... I guess I was right," she said. She looked down. "Mmm, not bad."

"Sorry..." muttered Tavian, grabbing the bundle from her and hitting the button to close the door.

Muffled through the door he heard Nova saying, "I'll see you later. Probably less of you, though." Shortly after he heard the sounds of another doorbell ringing across the hall.

Tavian headed for the shower, cracking his neck as he walked. He examined his reflection briefly. His hair was messy, but that was normal. He looked properly rested at least. Come to think of it, he didn't know how long he'd slept for. He stepped into the shower and turned on the water, relishing the feeling, washing away the sweat and grime of the mad few days they'd just been through.

He wasn't quite sure what the future held now, but that was nothing new. Planet after planet, that'd been the way since he left home twenty years ago. He'd find gigs, expand his repertoire, move on. He never put down roots anywhere. He'd find out what the Amrita's next destination was and make his way that far, provided it was far enough away to avoid any of the trouble he'd found himself in on Shangxia.

That had all been a little inconvenient. He didn't own much, but apart from his mandolin – which he never parted with – everything else he owned had been left behind in that storage room behind the club on Shangxia. Frustratingly he'd also paid his rent for the space in advance to Mr Wu, the club's miserly owner, who had no doubt disposed or sold his things by now. The Governor's men had probably turned up at Mr Wu's by now, assuming they'd worked out that was where Tavian had met Mingxia. Tavian was certain Wu would sell him out in a heartbeat.

Oh well, thought Tavian, Such is life.

He still wondered why Apollo and crew had helped them and been so accommodating. Tavian wasn't used to people sticking their necks out for him. While everyone here seemed genuine, he still couldn't quite come to terms with the idea that people might just help strangers for the sake of it. There was something Apollo wasn't telling them; he was sure of that. His inclination was that it probably had more to do with Mu than himself – he was no one special.

Mu on the other hand. Mu was special. An Imperial princess, a Starseer...

And a beauty.