Starship Amrita

Chapter VIII - Heist Committee

Chapter VIII – Heist Committee

Tavian walked into the common room and found he was almost the last one – only Nova was missing. In a voluminous armchair sat Ostara, one leg elegantly folded over the other. On the arm rest was Apollo, his tail twitching slowly. Standing just behind the chair was a short girl with white hair and intense red eyes, wearing a dark robe and an over-sized witch's hat.

Seraphina, I guess.

Harry was not so much sitting in a chair as he was draped over one, with one of his legs hanging over the arm rest. He was wearing a white suit that left his ankles bear, with a salmon pink shirt and matching pocket square. He had a pair of brown leather brogues on. A marked contrast was Kal, dressed as he always was, sitting in the next chair, straight-backed and alert.

Opposite them was Mu, staring off into the distance.

"Well, that's almost—" began Apollo, but was interrupted when the door opened and Nova came rushing in.

She tripped, immediately sprang back to her feet. "I'm fine. I'm here. Nobody panic."

Realising there were no empty chairs in the circle she pushed one across the room loudly and wedged it in between Tavian and Mu. "Hi guys," she said with a smile, dropping into the chair.

"Everyone is here then," said Apollo. "Ostara?"

Ostara smiled, her gaze sweeping the group, seemingly making eye contact with each of them along the way. "I think most of you are aware by now that we are stuck in port. All outbound interstellar traffic has been frozen. We believe the order came down from the Resonance Bureau, though it was published by the Governor's Office. We are fairly confident that they are after Mukushen, though Tavian may or may not be a secondary target for them. Right now, we need to put our heads together and work out a few contingencies based on what we think is going to happen next."

Tavian leant forward to see Mu past Nova. "Not turning yourself in anymore?" he asked.

"The Captain has convinced me to stay," said Mu, quietly.

"That's great," said Tavian, "Because—well, obviously I'm happy for you and all. But also, I don't know if you realised this, but I'm pretty sure they know we were together, and if you turn yourself in, it probably won't be much of a leap to find me. And I can't go to prison – I'm much to pretty. Although, I'd be more likely to be put down like a dog in a windowless room by some henchman of a corrupt politician."

"Your concern means the world to me," said Mu.

"People do say that it's my caring nature that they most love about me," said Tavian.

Ostara smiled. "If we could perhaps attend to the topic at hand."

Nova leant forward. "I say we make a run for it. Blast our way out, if necessary. I can guarantee the Amrita's weapons systems are up to it, and she can outrun any junk the authorities have got floating around here."

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, Nova, but the Amrita spends a lot of time in Imperial space and in Imperial ports. It would be best if we could defuse the whole fugitive situation instead of exacerbating it," said Ostara.

Kal spoke up. "Are we one hundred percent on that?" he asked. "Because I was on board with Nova's plan."

"Ostara's right," said Apollo. "Whatever we do, it should be with the aim of decreasing the amount of surveillance on us and increasing our freedom of movement."