Calla looked up at her, startled. “How could you possibly know that?” she asked.
“This station is smaller than it looks,” Erika said with a smile. “One of my friends works in a tavern not far from Karinvass’ shop. He was in there, buying rounds for the entire house not ten minutes after you left. She called to tell me all about it before you got home. If you had let us know you were trying to sell it, we probably could have sent you to a more reputable trader.”
Calla and Sarai exchanged startled looks. This wasn’t what they had expected.
“What we’re trying to tell you,” Mistress Bannings said quietly, “Is that if you’re hiding from someone, you’re not doing a very good job. We can help you. Now tell us what you plan to do with yourselves.”
Calla looked to Sarai for guidance, but the young mother simply shrugged her shoulders. Then Calla decided to take a chance and trust her instincts. Mistress Bannings and her daughter seemed like good people, and they really did need the help.
“Let’s just say we’re trying to rebuild our lives,” Calla said slowly. “We’re looking to move somewhere far away, and start a business.”
“What kind of business?” asked the elderly woman.
“I’d like to open a hostel,” Calla replied. “I have some experience in running one.”
Mistress Bannings nodded her approval of the idea.
“Running a hostel is a good trade for a woman on her own,” she said. “Do you have enough money to buy a hostel?”
“I think I might,” Calla said slowly.
“Good,” Mistress Bannings replied. “Now, how about location? Do you know where you want to go?”
“No,” Calla said slowly. “We haven’t decided yet.”
Erika and her mother exchanged knowing looks.
“My aunt, Lilith, has a hostel on Hector Prime,” Erika said after a brief pause. “It’s a lovely planet, an ecological preserve and wildlife sanctuary. There’s a great need for hostels, because so many students go there to study each year. The population is constantly changing, and it’s quite far from here. It might be a nice place for two women to build a new life for themselves.”
“Is it in Saurellian space?” Calla asked quickly.
“It’s actually in a neutral zone,” Mistress Bannings replied, one eyebrow raised questioningly at Calla.
“It’s not really of any value to the either the Saurellians or the empire. Neither side has taken the time or interest to garrison it. It’s under the political control of one of the trans-system universities, which has branches on both sides of the conflict. I doubt you’d run into any Saurellians there, if that’s a concern.”
“We need to talk about this privately,” Calla said. “I don’t know if that’s the right place for us or not.”
“Think about it,” Erika said. “You can learn more about the planet from the terminal in your room. It’s called Hector Prime. If you’re interested, let me know. We can help you arrange to travel in an inconspicuous way, and I know that Aunt Lilith would be willing to help you get settled when you arrive.”
“Thank you,” Calla said. “We’ll let you know.”
She and Sarai exchanged small talk with the women until they finished their food, then went up to the room.
“What do you think?” Sarai asked as soon as they were alone.
“I don’t think they mean us any harm,” Calla said slowly. “And I don’t feel like we have that many options. I can’t believe they heard about the ship so quickly. If they know all about it, who else will? I don’t think we’re safe here.”
“I agree,” Sarai said. “I don’t see how we can afford to stay here much longer, and I have no idea where to go if we don’t take their advice.”
“Let’s do it, then” Calla replied, closing her eyes. An image of Seth’s face came into her mind, and she ruthlessly pushed it away. “There’s no reason to stay here any longer than we have to. Let’s go tell Mistress Bannings that we’ll take her up on her offer.”
Chapter 12
“Do you want a food pack?” Bragan asked Seth, holding up one of the small plastic pouches. “This is the last sweetened one.”
Seth looked over at Bragan with amusement. The man seemed like such a child at times, although Seth knew he had survived terrible things. Despite his suffering, Bragan still took joy from something as silly as a sweetened food pack.
He had gotten to know Bragan pretty well over the past three weeks, and no longer worried that the former slave would turn against him. They were actually doing pretty well for themselves, although it was tedious to sit and wait for rescue in the small, portable pressure bubble Calla had left for them. Of course, they were grateful for the bubble, part of the ship’s emergency survival kit–otherwise they would have been forced to live in their pressure suits, not a pleasant prospect.
“Are you sure you’re a doctor?” Seth asked Bragan. “I thought those sweet packs were supposed to be unhealthy.”
Bragan swallowed his food, then grinned at him. “No, getting trapped on asteroids with no hope of rescue is unhealthy. Sweetened food packs are the least of our worries.” He cackled quietly at his own joke, then took another bite.
“You’re right about that,” Seth said, his mood darkening. Calla had promised she’d send for help, but in reality Seth knew she might not have. There certainly hadn’t been any sign of rescue so far. If he and Bragan died alone in the ruins of Bethesda base, no one could ever learn how the women had betrayed them. Of course, if Calla and Sarai had wanted the men dead, they could have killed them weeks ago. It was hard to know what Calla’s motivations were, Seth realized. For all he knew, she in love with Jess, and the two of them had coordinated the whole thing. The thought filled him with anger, and he scowled into the silence.
“Snap out of it,” Bragan said. He took another bite of his food, them wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “I’m tired of your moping. Either we’ll get out of this or we won’t, but pouting won’t make it any better.”
“I am not pouting,” Seth said coldly, glaring at the doctor.
“Really?” Bragan replied. “I wouldn’t bet on that. She did what she had to do, you know. I told her to do it. An escaped slave can’t afford to have feelings for a man like you. If she’d been smart, she would have killed us. She loved you too much for that, though.”