Evening light fell over the university buildings.

Camellia led the way to Halfmoon. She looked ahead and saw their ship, still parked in the university lot. Though they needed to walk a bit farther, Camellia keyed the remote and opened Halfmoon’s hatch. She watched the cargo bay lower. Its lights flared, beckoning them onward in the fading light.

The light was for Camellia’s friends. She didn’t need it. The air grew cool, and Camellia grew strong. The night welcomed her, but she couldn’t stay.

Camellia sighed. She enjoyed space travel. As long as they stayed away from a star, her dhampir abilities never left her. When they did stray close to a star, Camellia felt its influence, sudden and sometimes devastating to any mugs or glassware she might be holding.

She liked space travel, but she had to admit, she liked the day-night cycle of a planet more. Come evening, Camellia relished the familiar and gradual return of her abilities. Come morning, she accepted the dimming of her senses and the peace it could bring.

Even better, their recent travels showed Camellia that every planet had its own flavor of light and dark. She could feel the subtle differences in day and night, dawn and twilight. It was like being a part of the planet, in a big if subtle way.

As they reached the open hatch, Camellia listened to the conversation behind her.

“No one wants to ride with me in Mountaineer?” Benham asked for the third time.

“I have to fly Halfmoon. I mean Eva could do it, but the ship is old. We need her in engineering. We never know what’s going to leak or spark or explode.” Meladee walked up the ramp to Halfmoon

Alim also set foot on the ramp. Then, suddenly he stopped. “Is this ship safe to fly?”

Benham jammed his hands in his pockets and waited at the bottom of Halfmoon’s ramp. “Now, Alim. You have to be on board to prepare them for the meeting. Remember. You insisted they need preparation. We want them to have the best chance of acquiring aid. Right?”

“Right.” Alim took a reluctant step up the ramp.

Camellia walked past him. “It’s safe. We fixed the hull leaks, and there are no more monstrous stowaways.”

Alim followed Camellia. He almost caught up and tried to walk by her side.

Eva also hurried and pushed past Camellia. “I stay in Engineering and monitor the ship constantly,” she told Alim.

“Does it warrant that?” Alim perched on the edge of the hatchway, at the threshold between ramp and cargo bay. He let Camellia pull ahead.

Eva smiled a little. “I think so.”

“Eva,” Camellia warned. She turned to Alim. “We’ll be fine.” She gently took his elbow and pulled him inside.

Benham waved from the bottom of their ramp. “Have a great time. I’ll just be all alone on Mountaineer, with no one to talk to. But, hey, at least everything is in working order and not...how old did you say this ship was?”

Meladee grinned. “Some parts are three thousand, right Camellia?”

Camellia shushed her and pulled Alim towards the ladder.

With a final wave and a wink, Meladee closed the ramp to Halfmoon.

Camellia silently wished the planet farewell and wondered how the next one’d day-night cycle would feel.

In Halfmoon’s lounge, Camellia took a seat and listened.

Alim spoke, “In three days, we’ll meet with fifty members of the Syndicate for Sentient Aid. They gave us a morning audience, which I think is a good sign that they take Iruedim’s problem seriously.”

Eva and Meladee also took seats in the lounge. Both looked eager to return to Engineering and Halfmoon’s cockpit. Eva kept glancing at her alarm system, and Meladee stared openly at the passage that led to their helm.

Alim just looked patient. He adjusted his glasses. Camellia had yet to see him without them, at least in real life. Her peak into his mind had given her a fuzzy view of his eyes.

Alim continued, “Okay, let’s do this fast and get Eva back to Engineering. Eva will present first and give the background on Iruedim’s monsters. I’ll need you to write something up, and I’ll check it over for you. Remember to stress how the monsters don’t belong on your planet.”

Eva nodded.

“After Eva speaks, I’ll explain the research. When I’ve done my part, I want one of you to say something in closing. Maybe you, Camellia?” Alim regarded Camellia with his covered eyes.

“Me? Why me?” Camellia saw no reason for herself to speak. She looked at Eva and almost suggested that Eva do the closing as well.

“I’m already speaking,” Eva said. Her stony gaze suggested she felt equally pained by the idea.

“Right.” Alim nodded. “Plus, we need someone to appeal to their pathos.”

“You want them to pity us?” Camellia put her hand over her heart.

“That’s definitely your department.” Meladee gestured to Camellia. “You’re good at that whole inspire pity thing.” Meladee leaned back and kicked her feet up on the lounge’s crescent table.

“Exactly,” Alim said, with enthusiasm.

Camellia took the joke with a lack of humor and huffed. She scooted herself away from the others.

Alim seemed to realize what he’d just said. His mouth dropped open; he caught himself. “Not pity.” He shook his head with fervor. “We don’t want them to pity you. We want them to feel compassion. I think you’d do the best job of that. We need you to make them feel the urgency of the situation.”

Camellia gaped at Alim. She gestured to Meladee. “I think that Meladee could make a compelling case. She’s terrified of the creatures.”

Meladee’s feet dropped from the table, and she sat up. “Whoa, Whoa. I have no experience talking to large groups of people, and I think my fear isn’t nearly as sell-able as your tears.” Meladee waved dismissively towards Camellia.

Again, Camellia huffed. She looked away from them all and shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was speak about Iruedim’s troubles and put on an emotional show for a crowd of strangers. She looked Alim in the eyes – well, glasses – and said, “I really prefer not to speak in front of large crowds of strange authorities.”

“You’re an anthropologist. You should be used to this kind of thing.” Alim put a hand on Camellia’s shoulder.

She stiffened but let his hand stay. “On Iruedim, anthropology is person to person. We introduce ourselves to small communities and work our way up to the larger group. When we have to talk to governments or representatives, there usually aren’t fifty of them, and...I...I’ve always let the elders do the talking.” Camellia shifted and tried to lean away from Alim. “My teacher, Cernunnos, used to speak most often for me.”

“You don’t speak to the people you study?” Alim removed his hand.

Camellia shook her head. “I do, but I usually don’t introduce myself to people of authority. The most intimidating people I’ve spoken to, without introduction, have been a couple of queens and one priestess.”

“What about speaking in front of the other anthropologists?” Alim gestured to Camellia’s nearby files. “What about when you detail your research? Don’t you have academic gatherings?”

“Well, first of all, we know each other, and second, we don’t show our research to large groups. It’s hard to gather several of us in one place.” Camellia placed her hands in her lap and looked down. “I don’t speak up as much as I should.” Camellia remembered her most recent attendance at an AAH meeting. She had made a fool of herself in front a of a large group of anthropologists and historians. Worse, she had made a fool of herself in front of Adalhard.

Alim sighed. “What about when you talk to groups from other disciplines?”

“We leave that to the AAH’s chair, Adal…” Camellia stopped before she said his name. She could think it, why not say it? Just say his name, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Camellia glanced up and saw Meladee’s narrowed and watchful eyes.

Again, Camellia averted her gaze. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Camellia, you can do this. I’ll help. Write up something about your situation, try to focus on the future. Tell them what you want to avoid,” Alim said.

An alarm beeped. The conversation halted.

Eva rose from her chair. “Nothing serious,” she said, as she looked at her small tablet. “I’ll fix the problem and write my speech.” She nodded goodbye.

“Speech?” Camellia worried aloud.

“What do you think is wrong with the ship?” Alim asked. He watched Eva go.

Meladee smirked. “I’ve got no idea, but she generally runs faster when its bad. Hey, Alim you work in here. I have to go to the cockpit. Come on, Camellia. I’ll help you get started.” Meladee jumped up from her seat.

“I could…” Alim began.

Meladee waved her hand and shook her head. “No, no. Let me. I can add some of my thoughts. Maybe, she won’t feel so nervous if it isn’t all up to her.” Meladee grabbed Camellia’s arm and pulled her to the cockpit, leaving Alim alone in the lounge.

Meladee steered Camellia inside and closed the cockpit door behind them. The thick door swung shut, with Meladee’s effort. Then, Meladee dropped into her chair, and Camellia sank into the copilot station.

“I’d better get this over with.” Camellia put her head in her hand and laid pen to paper.

She thought about what she would like to avoid. She didn’t want to be a priestess of Ah’nee’thit or Ul’thetos. She didn’t want Groaza to look like Lurren, buried beneath mountains of flesh. She didn’t want Lurren to look like Lurren. Most of all, she wanted to protect Iruedim and its people. Camellia scratched down her ideas.

A few minutes later, Meladee added some ideas, along the same train of thought. Camellia’s nervousness faded to the background, and she focused on the task. While Camellia arranged their ideas into coherent sentences, Meladee watched and waited.

“Hey,” Meladee piped up.

Camellia raised her head. “Did you think of something else I should add?”

“Adalhard.”

Camellia started. “What?”

“Don’t put in him your speech,” Meladee warned. Then, she reconsidered. “Unless you really want to. What I’m trying to say is...you like Adalhard. He’s the guy.”

Camellia’s heart beat faster, and she straightened in her seat. “How did you…?”

“You’re kind of obvious about it. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.” Meladee looked at Camellia’s face and probably her blush. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna see him again, and then, you can get him.”

Camellia put a hand to her face, wondering just how pink she’d gone. “I can’t get Adalhard.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t.” Camellia looked down at her paper and resumed her composition. She prayed Meladee would drop the subject.

Meladee drew breath, but a communication alert beeped from her console.

Camellia relaxed as Meladee hit her com button.

Benham’s voice came over the com. “We might have a problem. Big warship ahead,” he warned. “They want us to stop. In fact, it’s going to be compulsory. They’ve set up a checkpoint.”

A text warning flashed across Meladee’s screen. “I can’t read this,” she said to Camellia.

Camellia’s heart resumed its fast pace, and she scrambled to translate the message. Before she finished, another message, this one from the Halfmoon, warned of their changing course as they were drawn to the checkpoint.

Meladee asked, “What should we do?”

Benham’s voice came over the com. “Nothing. We let them stop us. Seems they’re looking for pirates. After they see we aren’t pirates, we should be on our way.” His voice crackled over the ship to ship communications. “Just let the course corrector array do its work. After that, follow me.”

Meladee deactivated the com. “Is that what the message says? Does it say they’re looking for pirates.”

“Seems to be.” Camellia stared at the Ganden words. “Pirates in sector…” She shrugged. “Prepare to stop at checkpoint.” Camellia looked up from the screen. “I missed a sentence, but I assume it has to do with the course corrector array. I wonder how that works.”

The Halfmoon stopped, and the space they had sped through came into focus. Individual stars became pinpricks once again. Just ahead, drifted Benham’s Mountaineer.

“Follow me,” Benham instructed. “That thing looks new, so don’t scratch their hull. They wouldn’t like that.”

Camellia gaped at the giant warship.

From bow to stern, the ship gleamed. Lights along the outside illuminated the hull’s deep blue. If not for the lights, the ship would blend with the darkness. In addition to the soft running lights, bright series of lights pulsed along the ship’s underside, guiding the Mountaineer and Halfmoon to open doors.

Beside the ship, drifted the course corrector array. Tall and cylindrical, it rotated in place. Tendrils streamed from the top, spreading in all directions, and sparks coursed end to end along thin wires.

“Towards the docking bay,” Benham directed.

Meladee eased after Benham, shaking a bit as she worked the controls. “This sucks. It’s like having the captain of the guard ask to see what’s in your purse.”

“Very.” Camellia stared through the window, giving her attention in equal parts to the warship and the course corrector array.

She had been impressed by the cruise ship, Galactic Enchanter, but something about the warship seemed more imposing. While the Enchanter gave the impression of a city afloat, the warship seemed more like a predator, floating through the calm of space.

Eva called, “That ship is quite armed. I scanned them, until it looked too suspicious. They’re scanning us now. Unfortunately, I didn’t scan the course corrector, but it looks very interesting.”

Meladee didn’t answer. She focused on the flying. Camellia didn’t know what to say, so she too remained silent. Camellia watched, and Meladee drifted into the bay.

Meladee hit all the right buttons and pulled the right levers, but her hands shook. As Meladee eased the ship inside, Camellia peered through the windshield. Lights beamed from above, and Meladee aimed for a spot next to Mountaineer. Yellow lines on a grey floor denoted the space she should fill. Meladee set the ship on the ground and shut down. She took her shaking hands from the controls.

“You did very well,” Camellia congratulated, with more than a hint of nerves. She heard the thin sound of her own voice and almost wished she hadn’t tried to comfort Meladee.

“Meet me at Halfmoon’s hatchway.” Benham’s voice fizzed from the com.

Alim entered the cockpit and asked, “What’s going on?”

Camellia and Meladee both jumped.

“God, don’t do that,” Meladee said. “We got stopped by the coppers.” She got up. “Come on.”

Alim glanced a question at Camellia.

Camellia also stood. She spared Alim a worried look. “It’s a warship. They want to see if we’re pirates.”

Alim nodded, with a stiff frown.

They filed out, and Benham waited at the bottom of Halfmoon’s hatch. Behind him, two guards stood at attention, and a small crew held equipment, ready to search the ships.

Camellia walked close to Benham, probably too close. She stood against his side and watched as Eva and Meladee did the same. Meladee even grabbed his arm. Alim joined them and looked at the women. From the look on his face, Camellia deduced that he wondered why none of the women cozied up to him.

“They just want to check our ships. They’re checking everyone along this root. Then we can go.” Benham smiled tightly.

A man called to Benham and pointed at Halfmoon. He spoke in a language other than Ganden.

Benham called back. When he again faced his companions, his eyes widened. He held up his hands. “Whoa. Calm down. He just said that your ship is interesting.”

“Why doesn’t he speak in Ganden?” Meladee half-asked, half-complained.

Benham shrugged.

“I would like to return the compliment,” Eva said, gazing in the man’s direction. “Specifically for their array. How does that work?”

“I couldn’t begin to tell you. That’s a military secret.”

Meladee gasped. “I just got an idea for how to paint Halfmoon. It might prevent us from ever getting stopped again.”

Everyone looked at her.

“Really? I’d like to know that secret,” Benham said.

Before Meladee could share her artistic vision, a woman from the warship strolled over. The dark-haired woman introduced herself as Beatrix Castles, thankfully in Ganden. Castles called to the group and gestured for them to line up. Benham hesitated, and his companions followed his lead. Castles was about to repeat her question, but finally, the group complied. They stood in a neat row and waited for a pair of intimidating men to search them. The men swept wands around each person, starting with Benham and Alim. When the wands got to Camellia, she remained still. The wands click-click-clicked as they traveled over her person. The men moved on, checking Meladee and finally Eva. The wands beeped.

“The rest of you are clear. Miss, are you armed?” Castles asked.

“I’m synthetic.” Eva stared straight into the woman’s eyes.

“Synthetic.” The woman looked her up and down.

“I’m a robot,” Eva said.

“I know. I heard you the first time. We just don’t see many with such advanced craftsmanship.”

Eva glared.

Castles opened a small case. “I’ll just need all of you to place a hand on this pad. You first, Miss robot.”

Eva placed her hand on the pad. Nothing seemed to happen.

“Now, we’ll check your friends.” Castles brought her pad down the line.

When Castles reached Camellia, Camellia placed her hand on the pad. It felt smooth and light traveled over the surface, warming her hand. Nothing more happened, and Castles continued, ending with Alim and Benham.

“None of you are in the database. As soon as your ships are finished, you’ll be free to go.”

Benham and Alim both seemed uncomfortable, but while Benham’s discomfort faded, Alim’s escalated.

He’s lavender skin flushed. “Does that device keep a record of our fingerprints or palms?”

Castles nearly groaned. “Not this again. If you’re concerned about your privacy, you’ll need to take it up with your representative. I’m just following orders.”

Alim scowled.

Benham looked at his feet, avoiding the others’ eyes.

“Please wait here.” Castles pointed to a place nearby their ships, marked by a red circle.

The five companions crowded into it.

Meladee elbowed Alim. “Sorry, it’s tight in this tiny circle.”

“Yeah.” Alim crossed his arms and huffed. “It’s very typical of the Finial to create things with no regard for personal differences.”

At that tidbit of information, Camellia perked up and looked at Alim, with questioning eyes. He didn’t catch her signals.

As expected… Camellia wanted to know more about the Finial’s disregard, but perhaps, in a Finial ship was not the place for it.

Benham stood at the circle’s center, eyeing the military personnel. “It’s not that bad. Now, let’s just stand here and say nothing until this is over.” His optimistic words did not match his expression.

Camellia caught Meladee’s eyes, narrowed with suspicion.

Meladee shrugged as if to say I don’t know what’s up with him.

A couple of minutes passed, and a man walked by.

“Excuse me,” Eva said. “Must we stand directly inside the circle?”

The man looked down; then back up. “Oh, looks a bit tight. Sorry, you do have to stand inside, but let me make it a bit bigger.” The man tapped his tablet and widened the circle.

The man walked away, out of hearing.

Camellia leaned close to Alim and whispered, “That was nice of him. And, he certainly showed a regard for our personal situation.”

Alim made a non-committal noise, and Camellia let it be.

“Do you think they can trap us in here if they find something in our ships?” Meladee asked, wandering to the edge.

“Yes,” Eva and Benham both answered.

Benham sighed. “That’s exactly what it’s for.”

“Man, you were so relaxed about this whole ordeal. What’s wrong?” Meladee strolled back to the center of the circle and stopped at Benham’s side.

He gave her a sidelong glance and didn’t answer.

Camellia shot a longing look at Halfmoon. She wanted to be on their way – their official, sanctioned by the Syndicate for Sentient Aid – way. It was the most official travel Camellia had done in months.

Camellia looked down at her speech. She held the paper and peered at the disorganized words. “I wonder when they’ll be done. I need to work on this.”

“Let me see how it’s coming.” Alim looked over her shoulder. He entered her space.

Camellia stiffened. Before, when she wanted to talk, he ignored her signals. Now, he came into her space and ignored her wishes again. Camellia wanted to growl, but she didn’t. She suspected that Alim needed clear words. Annoyed, Camellia didn’t bother to say what she thought. She would just live with it.

An alarm blared. Red lights strobed. The hangar personnel abandoned their positions, and everyone ran.

“That’s our third alarm today,” Eva said. “Who would wager that they’ve found some pirates?”

Castles returned. “Come with me. I need to take you somewhere secure.”

“Can’t we just leave on our ships?” Meladee asked.

“There are forty pirate vessels outside. You can’t leave till they’re gone.”

“Forty!” Camellia looked to Benham.

“They’re probably much smaller than this ship.” He stared at the closed hangar door that would lead to their freedom, with a frown on his face.

Under his breath, Alim added, “Whatever ship we’re on. We still don’t know its name.”

Camellia realized he was right. Why shouldn’t they have a right to know their whereabouts?