Cyprus

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  Cyprus ed the bighter around her shoulders as she shivered. Recli had demao cool the Terminus down to unfortable temperatures. She had argued at first, but her will to fight died when she caught the murderous glint in his eyes.

  How often did he fight the urge to spill her guts out onto the cold steel?

  She instinctively looked over her shoulder as she walked down the corridor. She half expected to see him lurking behind a er, e eyes glowing in the shadows. Another one of his demands- keep the lights down. Weren’t lizards cold blooded?

  Her tablet vibrated and she pulled it out from the satchel slung over her shoulder.

  “Granddad!” She excimed, holding up the pocket-sized hologram of Giantis' head, “It’s good to see you.”

  It really was. Seeing his wrinkled face brought a surprising but wele warmth to her heart.

  “Likewise, my dear” His eyes narrowed, “Are you okay? Is there an issue with the life support system?”

  She stepped into the bright lights of the flight deck, and the door automatically closed behind her. She was grateful for the f illumination, it made her feel safe.

  She smiled and waved away the ent, “Oh, uh, no everything is fine. I think there’s just an issue with the lights.”

  “And the b?”

  “Oh! You know what I think I might be ing down with something. I’m just feeling a little chilly.”

  Giantis frowned and studied her, “Cyprus, I’ve done a lot of thinking and perhaps I was too rash in my decision to send you out there.” He seemed tle for the words, “say the word and you e back I’ll reinstate your seat.”

  A part of her loo break down into tears and accept the offer. Anything to get away from Recli, anything to put distaween her and the Hokkonians. But she couldn’t, she started something and she would finish it. That was the Atik way.

  “I’m fine Grandad,” She said in a quiet voice, “It’s going to take some getting used to, but I think I make a real differeationed out here.”

  The old man gave her a sad smile and nodded, “Well if you ge your mind...”

  “You got it.”

  A cough to clear his throat, “well of course I’m not calling just to socialize, I wao inform you that a full crew has been hired and dispatched, along with a rept group of engineers. A tragedy that story is, I’m sorry you had to experiehat on your first day.”

  She khis was ing, but she was hoping it would still be a while. She couldn’t let anyone discover Recli.

  “Yeah it was certainly sad.” She shuddered at the mental image of the decapitated engineer.

  Giantis shook his head, “Suicide, and a Union service station of all pces!”

  Cyprus swallowed, “well it is quite lonely out here.”

  “Yes well, I ’t say we haven’t learned our lesson, there has been a plete overhaul to the crew shifts on all union stations. We won’t let this happen again.”

  “I’m gd to hear that Grandad, how long did you say it would be until the shuttle arrives with the new crew?”

  The hologram shook as the old man hacked a cough into his arm, “sorry, ahem, shouldn’t be more than a week.”

  A week? She had a week to find a way to get Recli off the station and onto somepce more perma. Maybe Giantis would have information on Relo.

  “Cyprus, did you hear me?”

  “What? Oh srandad, what were you saying?”

  “I said, I have a new assig for you if you’re up to it.”

  “Oh! Yes of course, what is it.”

  There was a faint scrape of metal from outside her door and she felt her heart qui. Was it Recli?

  “I would like for you to attend a meeting with the Hokkonians on Ordan. These meetings typically don’t involve union business. However, our treaty demands a third-party union representative when any natios with a civilization outside of our territory. I was going to send a cil member from Termi, but I figured you could use the experience.”

  Another faint creak, it was soft but it quied her heart rate heless. “Uh sure Grandad I do that.”

  He smiled, “It’s settled then, I’ll inform cil member Shlif of your involvement, and he’ll be in touch with the details.”

  “Okay that’s great. I have a question, what do you know of the Relocs?”

  Giantis raised his bushy eyebrows, “enough to pass a history test, what do you want to know?”

  “Are they still, you know, active?”

  The old man sighed, “their story is a sad one I’m afraid, the kind that doesn’t have a happy ending.”

  “Give me the short version.”

  He itched his he short versiohey were at one point a great civilization, ohat rivaled Hokku in terms of size and power. Their military however roportioiny, and when the civil war came… they didn’t stand a ce. Because of their location, Relo caught the brunt of Hokku’s crusade, and the p ractically decimated.”

  “But the Relocs are still alive, are they not?”

  Giantis nodded, “a few escaped, not many. By the time they knew what was happening, there was already a blockade surrounding the p. Only the personal cruisers were able to slip through.”

  “Okay but what about on the surface, there has to be Relocs alive there.”

  The old man peered at her, clearly hesitant to answer. “Why are you so ied in that pce.”

  She shrugged, “I just heard some rumors oh’altho, seemed iing.”

  Whether or not he believed the answer, Giantis seemed satisfied. “Yes, Relo and its inhabitants live on, though to what quality of life that is, I’m not sure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They have dedicated their lives to ‘the cause’. The cause being the destru of Hokku. They’re radicalists, they believe their whole purpose in life is to kill as many Hokkonians as possible.”

  So that’s why he didn’t want to tell me. Too simir to my own agenda.

  Cyprus licked her lips, “Do we have a tact there? If there’s aablished popution why hasn’t the union tried to- I don’t know, assimite them.”

  The old man picked at his wispy grey beard, “well the truth is that we’ve tried tless times. They simply have no desire to join us.”

  “I find that hard to believe, they must be hurting for resources, there’s so much we could offer them, we could evehem-“

  “No.” Giantis interrupted, “That is why they don’t wish to join, because our terms have always remaihe same, they must give up their fight.”

  “But-“

  “If Hokku discovered we allied with terrorists well,” He unleashed another body heaving cough into the crook of his elbow. “It would not end well.”

  Cyprus frowned, “well maybe I could try again, you’ve always said I lomatic prodigy.”

  The old maated “I’ll give you the information to our tact. I’m not sure if you’ll have better luck than your predecessors but perhaps you’ll figure something out we haven't.”

  She gave the old man a warm smile and thanked him. With a cough infused goodbye, he signed off and the holographic image winked out. She leaned ba her chair with an exhausted sigh. She hated lying to him, but she had no choice. Hokku had to fall, and if it meant breaking his trust than it was worth it. By the time he found out what she was doing, it would be too te to stop it.

  Besides, she needed a way to get Recli off of Terminus 14, any means possible.

  “That sounded promising,” Recli’s deep hissing voice came from behind her.

  Her heart leapt ihroat and she whirled around. He was standing in the room only a few feet behind her.

  “Recli! Uh yes, yeah it sounds good.” She said quickly, “I think we might have found a legitimate hideout for you.”

  The lizard grinned, “I was talking about your meeting.”

  “My meeting?” She furrowed her brow, “The oh the Ordanian.”

  “And the Hokkonian. That’s a valuable opportunity.”

  Cyprus nodded and the apprehension grew, “I suppose it is a pretty good opportunity, could give us insight into how the Hokkonians operate, on a political scale and a societal-“

  “There will be HWNDs there.” Recli said, cutting her off, “It’s an opportunity to get some.”

  Cyprus' stomach turo stone, “You want to steal their HWNDs? But it’s a union saned meeting, the momeack them the Ordanian will-“

  A guttural ugh ripped out Recli’s throat, “There will be no o alive to report.”

  She gave him a frantic shake of her head, “You don’t uand, the Ordanians are ing, they’ll be watg closely. They have spies everywhere.”

  Recli's grin vanished, but his fangs remained visible. “You ’t pass on this opportunity, human. This is our ce.”

  Cyprus raised her hands, “I uand, but we ’t just kill everyohere. The Hokkonians will know, and the Ordanians will raise the arm before we eve off the phis is not the way we do it.”

  “You think too mu favour of yover, little mammal. You said it yourself, they do not want to help us.”

  “Not yet!” Cyprus blurted out, “But I’ll vihem, if we do this right they won’t have a choice but to support it. But we need more time.”

  The massive lizard thought about her words with a tilt of his head. His overwhelming predatory aura threateo e her. She had to actively fight to maintain her wits.

  A chime interrupted them both and she turo see a notification fshing oablet. It was a message from her Grandad, the Relo tabsp;

  “Duty calls.” She hated the emotional warble in her voibsp;

  The shadari said nothing and turned away, the scraping of his talons oal floor echoed down the corridor. Once she was sure he was out of earshot she slumped in her chair and allowed the tears to flow freely.

  ***

  The cockpit of her personal cruiser felt crowded with Recli’s hulking figure behind her. Breathing was difficult, not because of custrophobia but because she couldn’t stop imaging Recli’s cws pierg the back of her chair and skeweriorso. She tly aware of every miniscule movement that he made, and deeply disturbed by his ability to remain still.

  “Still no tact.” Recli growled.

  She readjusted her grip on the trols and checked the sole for the thousandth time. The Relo tact respoo her message almost immediately and they po meet shortly after.

  It took them little over four hours to reach Relo, but their instrus were to wait for an escort ohey entered orbit. That had been an ho.

  “This is a waste of time, just nd.”

  “Their instrus were clear, if we wait just a little longer I’m sure they’ll be here. We have to do this properly if we want Relo as an ally.”

  Recli hissed and Cyprus half expected his massive fangs to pee her skull.

  “Who is that?”

  Cyprus gnced up at the viewport and narrowed her eyes at a small shape in the distahe fact that it had remained invisible to the le sers was not a good sign.

  The sole chimed with a request for unication. She motioned for Recli to remain hidden and accepted the transmission.

  The grey-skinned face of a Hokkonian appeared, his expression one of pure pt. “Greetings, Union cruiser, You’re speaking with ander Wraitharos, leader of HWND division four. What is your business here?”

  Oh great.

  Cyprus wiped salms on her legs and cleared her throat. “Good to meet you ander, my name is Cyprus Atik, captain of Terminus 14 and cil representative of the outer yers. We’re here on Union saned business.”

  The Hokkonian frowned, “What sort of business could the Union possibly have with terrorists?”

  Cyprus forced her voiairal, “I’m afraid that the nature of my business is my own. The Union does nnize Relo as a terrorist anization. We have several tacts who do not cim allegiao those you wage war with.”

  The captain scoffed, “A humanitarian mission then?”

  “Like I said ander, my business is my own.” She gave him a sweet smile.

  After a few seds of mutual gring, the Hokkonian snorted and shook his head, “Safe travels an, we’ll be sure to add our records of your arrival on Relo so we follow up and… ensure your success in your humanitarian aid. The Snty cares for the well being of all people within Dromedar.”

  With that he closed the unication and his face disappeared. The Hokkonian ships tinued with their patrol, flying a little too close as they shot past.

  “Should have shot them down.” Recli growled.

  For once Cyprus found herself agreeing with the alien.

  Another chime sounded and the face of the Relo tact appeared. He was reptilian like Recli, although his head was much smaller. He reminded her of the garden snakes she used to catch bae on Gasaan.

  “Greetings an.” He spoke with surprising sophistication, “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, we had to ensure your iions were pure and devoid of any Hokkonian influence.”

  “You were listening?”

  The reptile dipped his head with a look of disfort, “Again I apologize, we ever be too safe.”

  “I uand, uh…”

  “Geldhern, an. You call me Geld.”

  She smiled, “A pleasure to meet you Geld, I trust your eavesdropping proved we’re not allies with the Hokkonians?”

  The snake flicked out a forked tongue, “An escort is already on their way, we look forward to sitting down with you.”

  “Likewise.”

  Ohree Relo ships appeared through the atmosphere's veil of clouds. They slithered through the air like giant meical snakes, a crude imitation of the piloting biologicals. The snake-like ships were scuffed and covered in patches of various sizes. The vessels were certainly not in any dition to greet dignitaries from another nation.

  “Finally.” Recli said.

  She could feel his cws gripping the headrest of her chair. The faint tearing of fabric as he ripped into the cushion was all she could hear.

  Cyprus said nothing and followed the Relo escort down onto the sand filled p.