CHAPTER 2

Clayton grabbed the wrist at his throat and slipped between the woman’s saber and the wall. He started making for the door, dragging the woman behind him. He said, “We have to g–” He was cut off when the woman’s foot slammed right into his gut, pushing all the air right out of him. Another kick came to the back of his knee, knocking him down to the ground.

While he was on his hands and knees trying to catch his breath, the woman pulled away from him, saying, “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She went in the other direction, grabbing the remaining weapons from her table, including the lead pipe that Clayton had dropped on the ground after he used it. Once all her weapons were strapped to her person, she grabbed a dull-colored cloak, and threw it over herself. As she walked over to the window, she sarcastically hissed, “Give my regards to August.” With that, she leapt out the window and was gone.

Clayton heard shouting and shooting immediately after the woman disappeared. He ignored the pain in his stomach and bounded up to the window to look out. The moment that he stuck his head out, however, he snapped it back inside to avoid the musket balls that had just been fired at him. He leaned against the wall, catching his breath. So much was happening faster than he could take it in. The Navy was the last thing he wanted to deal with, but if he didn’t get out there, he would lose sight of his only chance to save his family. He took another deep breath before making another move to crawl out the window.

He was surprised when he didn’t hear anymore musket shots. What he heard instead was a cacophonous chorus of tortured screams, coughing, and crying. He looked to see that there were six men in Navy uniforms sprawled out all over the cobblestone streets. Some of them were clutching at their eyes while they screamed in pain. Others were grabbing at their necks or chests as they threw up blood onto the street. Everyone who remained lay on the ground, unconscious or very nearly so. All of the soldiers looked like their skins were shriveling up and burning off of their bodies. Clayton couldn’t imagine what could’ve possibly done so much damage instantaneously, but he assumed it had something to do with the pale pink dust that was settling around the soldiers. He didn’t spend too much time on the subject, however, since he had something bigger to worry about.

Clayton was nowhere near as agile as the woman, whose hooded figure was bounding across the rooftops of Rigel with incredible ease. Clayton had to move carefully to get to the inn’s rooftop, and the moment he got there, he stepped a molding section of the thatch. The roof broke beneath his weight, and he fell through. The hole that was made wasn’t big enough to completely fit Clayton, however, so he only fell in up to his waist. The top half of his body was still out in the open while his legs were flailing around inside the room.

The situation only got worse when Clayton felt arms wrap around his legs. A muffled voice came from inside the room saying, “Oh, no you don’t!” Clayton didn’t know who was trying to grab him, but he knew that they couldn’t have been on his side. He tried to kick the person off of him, but the person had too strong of a grasp on him.

Clayton and his attacker spent many long moments fighting one another. The attacked tried to pull Clayton into the room by his feet while Clayton tried to break the grapple the man had over him. Both endeavors failed until Clayton’s own movements backfired on him; his hands pushed into the roof, trying to pull him up out of the hole, but all they really did was make the hole bigger. In fact, they made it big enough for him to fall through completely and crash down onto his attacker.

Clayton took less damage since his attacker cushioned his fall, so he got his bearings long before the other man. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees to look down at the man below him. The moment he saw the uniform of a Navy Captain, Clayton didn’t take any more time to get a better look at him. He just jumped up and went back to the window.

After the bad experience with the roof, Clayton decided to swallow his fear and go down instead of up. He jumped out the window, thankful that the inn was only two stories tall. He went sideways rather than feet first to avoid getting any sprained, twisted, or broken ankles. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Blue Lion – or the woman, for that matter – with a bum foot. He was willing to take a broken rib instead.

Luckily, none of ribs did break when he impacted with the cobblestones. He was, however, going to wake up with a nasty bruise on his side the next morning. As painful as the fall had been, Clayton knew he didn’t have time to sit back and catch his breath. He darted into the nearest alleyway and hunkered down, hoping that the Navy Captain would think he ran down one of the main streets. Instead, the Captain ran around to his men who were sprawled on the ground, still screaming in pain and coughing up blood.

Clayton took advantage of the opportunity to sneak through the streets towards the direction that he saw the woman head in before she disappeared from his sight.

When he thought he was far enough away to feel temporarily safe, Clayton started searching the town as thoroughly as he could. It was starting to become difficult since the rest of the town was starting to wake, and Clayton no longer had his protection in Captain Brownsea. Moreover, he had no idea where to start looking for the woman once she was gone. Right when Clayton was ready to give up and admit disappointed defeat, he noticed medium sized, elongated blood drops spotting the streets. He remembered the wound that the Captain had opened up on the woman’s side, and that she never got a chance to clean the wound or even stop the bleeding with anything but her hand. Trying to be as subtle as he could, Clayton followed the blood drops to the rocky shore of Rigel. The terrain was difficult for Clayton to climb across, but he endured until he came to what he assumed was the woman’s final destination.

The cave was so small that, from a distance, it would’ve been easily overlooked. That was probably why the woman went there; she could so easily hide whatever she had tied to the rocks and was keeping under a muddy, dirty sheet. As telling as the setting was, the woman was nowhere to be found, and that was the only thing that matter to Clayton.

Clayton froze when he felt something cold press into his back, coupled with the clicking sounds of a pistol’s safety mechanism being turned off. “Boy, you have got the biggest death wish I’ve ever seen.” The woman was still fuming, though Clayton could’ve guessed that without having to hear her talk.

Not knowing what else to do, he raised his empty, open hands up by his head, trying to show that he meant her no harm. “I swear to you, Miss; I had no idea the Captain was going to attack you. If I did, I would’ve come alone.”

“Why should I believe you?” “... I suppose my word of honor isn’t going work?” The woman scoffed. “Don’t be cheeky. Honor doesn’t mean a damn thing, out here or in Miessa... It is Miessa, isn’t it?”

“Uh, yes. You have a good ear, Miss.” “Compliments and manners aren’t gonna save your ass. Now, you still haven’t answered my question; why should I believe you?”

“... You know what I asked for... Don’t you want to know why?”

“I don’t much give a shit. If August sent you like I know he did, he probably gave you that line to get my attention.”

Clayton was starting to realize that if he was going to convince this woman that he meant her no harm, he was going to have to take a risk. He started to slowly turn around until he could look the woman dead in the eye. That’s where he tried to look anyways since he didn’t feel comfortable looking down the barrel of the gun, nor did he feel comfortable looking below the woman’s neck since she had stripped from waist up to just her chemise. “You’re correct that Captain Herring did send me, but not because I work for him or knew that he had given Captain Brownsea the order to attack you on sight. He sent me to you, and by conjunction, the Blue Lion because he said he couldn’t help me himself.” The woman furrowed her eyebrows, but didn’t act. “... Prince Barnaby Oldfield is responsible for the death of my father... and I wish to see him brought to the justice that I know no one will ever believe he deserves.”

Clayton’s statement made the woman’s face soften, but only to the unreadable point. She looked him straight in the eye and didn’t look away once. Clayton felt like she was trying to read his mind just by looking into his eyes. After a very long and silent stare down, the woman clicked the pistol’s safety back on and lowered the gun. She slipped the pistol into a holster on her belt and walked away from Clayton. She walked over to a rock, over which was draped her cloak, vest, and corset, along with some clean, freshly cut bandages. She took up the corset and fastened it in the front, though the loose laces kept the garment from doing the job it was intended for. The woman proceeded to lace up her corset by herself. “Do you need any–”

“No.” The answer was assertive and harsh, but she proved that she didn’t need any help; she managed to tighten and tie her own corset by herself, though she did wince as the corset tightened around her now-bandaged wound. She even did it faster than Clayton thought was possible. That had to mean that this woman had to learn how to tie her corset by herself because she had been alone for some time. It made Clayton wonder why the Blue Lion wasn’t with her to help.

Once she tied off the laces, the woman got her vest back on, slightly groaning when she had to stretch the side that had been cut. When she grabbed the cloak and rolled it into a bundle, Clayton noticed that while the outside fabric was dull and course, the inside fabric seemed very fine and well-kept. It added more confusion and mystery to this woman who had revealed nothing about herself... not even her name when Clayton thought about it.

“Miss, may I ask your name?” The look that the woman gave Clayton made him feel like he had just asked the worst possible question. “Whatever for?” Clayton got the feeling that if he didn’t answer her correctly, she would probably kill him on the spot.

The problem was that Clayton wasn’t completely sure what the correct answer was to this woman. This made things a little nerve-wracking for him because this woman didn’t exactly embody the virtue of patience. “... Well, I can’t call you Mr. Blue Lion’s Mistress now can I?” He tried to laugh at his statement because maybe it would soften the woman up. She never even cracked a smile, however.

“... Catherine.” The fact that she even answered him surprised Clayton. “Oh... Catherine...?” “Just Catherine.” “... Right. Catherine...” Clayton stuck his hand out, offering to shake the woman’s. After a moment of the woman not accepting his offer, he was about to pull away when she took the offered hand. Her hand-shake was weak and limp, but Clayton knew that she probably could crush his hand. When the woman pulled away, Clayton asked, “... So... when do we leave?”

Catherine gave Clayton another unreadable, unnerving looking. “We are not leaving at all. I am leaving immediately.”

Clayton started to slightly panic since, without Captain Brownsea, he had no way to get to Miessa without Catherine. She was his only chance to get home. “But I have to come with you!”

Catherine gave a cynical look. “Oh, your life absolutely depends on me babysitting you? You really shouldn’t have placed you bets on that, kid.”

Clayton took a deep breath, trying to keep patience with this woman who was starting to get annoyingly abrasive. “I wasn’t planning on going with you, but considering that my ticket back to Miessa is currently incapacitated and probably not on my side anymore, you’re my only other option.”

Without even looking at him, Catherine shrugged her soldiers. “Sounds like you’re up the Shitty Way without a life line.” The response briefly made Clayton consider leaving her and looking for help somewhere else so that he didn’t have to deal with the woman’s belittling attitude. The only thing that stopped him was his conscience reminding him that he was in a dangerous part of that Galaxy with only two people

who understand the place, and would most likely protect him from the rougher individuals in town as well as the Navy that was probably still looking for him.

“If I can present a reason why you should let me go with you, will you let me?” There was no way that Clayton could go up against this woman physically, as she had proven earlier. The only chance he had was to appeal to her logic and convince her that he could be more of an asset than a burden to her.

Giving an annoyed but defeated sigh, Catherine lazily turned around to look at the boy, dropped the bundled up cloak, and crossed her arms over her chest. “You have one chance and ten seconds. Go.”

If Clayton hadn’t already had his argument at the ready, he probably would’ve panicked and wasted what little time he had. “You’re going to need a plan to get past Captain Herring and Alnilam’s thick wall of security. I can be the person who gets you through.”

The only sign Catherine gave that showed she was remotely interested in what Clayton was offering was her left eyebrow rising up her forehead. “... Go on.”

“Obviously I’m not the first person that Captain Herring has sent to look for you. What happened to the others?”

“Oh, I invited them to a tea-party followed by and evening at the theatre. What do you think happened to them?”

“Well, if I had to assume, I’m sure you told them to jump into the Black Hole before displaying your... skills... but you left them alive?” Clayton was fighting so hard to remain respectful towards this woman who was dangerous but was also difficult to respect.

“That’s the long version, but yes I did ‘display my skills’ and yes, as far as I know, I left them all alive. What does this have to do with the plan that you claim to have?”

“Well, the Captain specifically instructed me to return to Alnilam with something; either you or specific information about your location. I’m working under the assumption that the others who preceded me were told to do the same. I believe that’s how the Captain knew that you were, at least, in Rigel, even though he didn’t have a specific location.”

Catherine’s eyes cast down to the ground as she thought about what Clayton was saying. “... Makes sense. So what do you have in mind?”

“The Captain is, most likely, expecting me to return with only information and Captain Brownsea. If I appear without you or Captain Brownsea, I can tell him that you attacked the both of us and that you were gone when I regained consciousness, leaving Cpatain Brownsea in far worse shape than I am in. That could get me through Alnilam without much trouble, and, by conjunction, you.” The woman didn’t say anything to object to Clayton’s plan, prompting him to take a chance and reach out his hand. “Do we have an arrangement?”

Catherine flashed her eyes between Clayton’s face and his extended hand. With a heavy sigh, she mumbled under her breath, “I must be outta my mind.” With great ferocity and strength, Catherine slapped her arm into Clayton’s hand, gripping and shaking his forearm rather than just his hand. The gesture caught Clayton somewhat by surprise as he had only ever seen sailors shake hands in such a way. “You just got yourself a ride back to Miessa, kid.”

Clayton held his sigh of relief until the Catherine had released his arm and turned her back to him. Catherine threw the muddy sheet off of the mass that it was covering. Clayton’s jaw practically unhinged when he saw that Catherine was hiding a SkyCraft StarGlyder; a machine that Clayton had heard much about but had never seen with his own eyes. Up until that day, Clayton was under the presumption that such machines were widely considered as luxuries, meant only for Upper-Class “adventurers” who wasted the machines by simply flying around to show off to anyone who didn’t have one.

“Close your mouth kid; if you suck in anymore dust, a planet will start forming in your lungs.” As Clayton awkwardly took Catherine’s advice, she leapt onto the StarGlyder, opening a small compartment at the front of the SkyCraft. She shoved the wrapped up cloak in and took out two sets of googles; one set was of very fine quality with acid green lenses while the other set had been heavily used at one time or another, and had plain, clear lenses. Catherine tossed the heavily used goggles to Clayton, saying, “They might be a little tight, but they’re the only other set I’ve got. They’ll be better than having an eyeful of star dust. You got anyway to tie your hair back?”

“Oh, uh, no. No, I don’t. The thought didn’t even occur to me.” Clayton looked down at the goggles in his hands and wondered what this woman could’ve seen to cause such heavy damage; the leather straps were chipped and cracked and the lenses hadn’t been cleaned in years. The only thing that brought him out of his thoughts about the goggles was the length of leather that landed in his hands on top of the goggles.

“See what you can do with that. A long head of hair full of star dust is about as bad as an eyeful of star dust.” Without another word, Catherine set to work, setting up two life lines with two lengths of strong rope and two carabiners. In the meantime, Clayton set to his work, hastily tying his long, curly hair back, and loosening the goggles as much as he could before slipping them on.

Once the lifelines had been secured to the StarGlyder, Catherine tossed one of the carabiners to Clayton, who fumbled and nearly dropped it. “Find somewhere sturdy to hook yourself up.” Clayton was about to ask if she had any suggestions, but decided to figure it out for himself when he saw her begin to her hook herself up by that utility belt strapped around her waist and right thigh.

Once Clayton’s life line was hastily and clumsily hooked up to his worn out belt, Catherine leapt onto the StarGlyder again and took her place at the seat right behind the two-handed helm. She looked back and jested, “What’re you waiting for, kid? An invitation?” Clayton was unsure of himself as the SkyCraft looked far less sturdy and still than the two ships he had sailed on in the last three days. He tried to gingerly tip- toe his way on, but Catherine lost her patience, grabbed him by his jacket, and yanked him on board, making the SkyCraft sway a bit.

Catherine didn’t even wait for Clayton to get straight and comfortable in his seat behind her before pushing a heavy iron key into the machine. With a single turn and a click, the machine revved to life beneath them. Pulling her goggles down over her eyes, all Catherine said was, “Secure your pants, kid.” With that, she pulled the lever connected to the helm’s right handle and shot out of the cave. Clayton cried out as he wrapped his arms around Catherin’s waist, closing his protected eyes as the fresh partners sped away from Rigel in the direction of Miessa.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3