Among Stars

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"So, that's how we arrived here," Perez said and laid back in his chair.

Naina took a deep breath and held it in for a while, then blew it out and shook her head. "That's quite a story," she said. "So that's why you were needed. To get Sunstar here in the first place."

"I gathered as much," Perez said. "I never figured why they didn't finish the station outside though. It was pure madness to bring it here unfinished, now that I can think about it clearer." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "And to think people paid for that with their lives..." he said and let the sentence trail off in the distance.

"Are they all...?" Naina said quietly. "Am I too late?"

"Most of the crew is. Infinity's life support ran out years ago. I had to learn how to reroute power from the station to Infinity to keep the pods online. There was no chance to power all of them, and I had to make some very hard decisions that I'm going to regret for the rest of my life," he said sadly.

"How many...?" Naina said, not daring to finish.

"Twenty. Maybe twenty-five," Perez said, and his eyes glistened with tears that were trying to escape. "When Infinity first lost power three years ago, most of the pods died on the spot. The people inside never had a chance. Thankfully, it would have been painless for them. None of them suffered."

"Do you know which ones..." Naina asked gently.

"Not really. I haven't dared to go look. I've tried to keep as many of them running as possible. The station didn't have much automation enabled, so I had to stay awake myself. You arrived just in time. Sunstar has maybe a few months, maybe half a year left, and then she'll be drawn into the wavy colors and disappear forever," Perez almost whispered.

He straightened up slightly. "I know a couple that are still running, because I have made personally sure of that, for various reasons," he said.

"Dr. Kitten's pod is running. In case somebody would have gotten to us, she's the only one who can make the station run, as far as I know. She was the computer expert," Perez said, closing his eyes. "Dr. Oberz and Dr. Jamet's pods are online, as is Dr. Marco's pod. The rest of them, I don't know. Except Valera Mizuni's. That one I have kept online for... personal reasons," he said gently.

Naina let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank Ne'alla!" she exclaimed. "It's her I'm here for. I'm supposed to save her and bring her to the Empire," she said.

"Of course you would be," Perez said, opened his eyes and smiled. "If it was for someone, they would have sent for her. She is their leader, after all."

"Uh... no," Naina said and grinned nervously. "I wasn't sent by the Empire. Actually, I haven't been in Empire space for more than a decade. I was sent here by a weird seller in a Marauder space station called Boardhead. He said he was her adoptive father."

"Wngai'th Krii?" Perez said and his eyes flew wide open. "Why would Krii send anyone here, other than to get rid of her," he said and eyed Naina suspiciously.

"Huh?" Naina exclaimed. "He seemed to be very sad that his adoptive daughter was lef... oh wait, yeah. He said something that they didn't part ways very amicably," Naina said.

Perez chuckled. "That's one way to put it. In the same way the Di'gatha and the Empire have a slightly strained relationship. It was a miracle it didn't come to blows. Krii didn't approve of Valera's decision to develop the drive and her dedication to science. They separated like years ago and haven't talked ever since. She looks to me as a sort of replacement-father. And she is to me like a daughter I never had," Perez said.

Naina shook her head. "That sounds weird. Maybe he has changed his mind?" Naina offered. "He truly looked sad, like he was regretting something. Maybe he realized he was wrong or something. I can't know."

"Doesn't really matter," Perez said. "The important thing is that you're here, and you can take her with you. Doesn't really matter how much he paid for you, or whatever your deal is, as long as she's safe."

"Well, that was the plan alright... " Naina said and grinned nervously. "Until I almost fried my ship -- and myself by coming here. I'm guessing my hyperdrive and my modifications weren't enough. My ship won't go anywhere without extensive modifications and repairs. Not with people on board."

"And I might tell on my intelligence here, but I'm not even sure what I'm getting out of this," she said and chuckled. "The guy just said he'd give me 'everything he had' if I could take Dr. Mizuni back to Empire space."

"Everything?!" Perez exclaimed. "He said that? Really?"

Naina nodded at him, raising an eyebrow. Perez whistled. "He must have changed a lot during these years," he said, then cackled. "So did I though, so did I..." He paused for a few seconds, then continued, "He's good with his word though, never once lied, that man. You're in for a surprise, young woman. He owns... surprisingly much."

Naina raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "So... what are we talking about her? Like a butt load of money? A space ship? I have no idea," Naina said, shrugging.

"You've heard of Kalkren Engines, right? The shop that makes and sells the stupidly rare hyperdrives?," Perez said, smiling, and watched Naina's face.

Naina nodded at him. "Yees... and...?" she said.

"He's the owner. Or was, I guess. He developed the drive in the first place. Where did you think Valera got the spark for her research?" Perez said and smiled widely. "I guess you now own Kalkren."

"What?" Naina said and left her mouth open.

"I said what I said," Perez grinned. "Doesn't really matter if you can't escape, though. You said your ship is fried? We have another one here, but she's long since run out of juice, and we have no tech to recharge her inside this bubble thing. And I'm not sure you could even run her on your own. She's a weird ship in that she needs the entire crew. Was never fitted with a controller. Something about there not being a suitably advanced one..."

Naina smiled. "I think I might have a solution for that," she said and grinned widely. "Quera, can we transport you to another ship?" she asked.