Samira

Thea and the captain were on the couch making lovey eyes at each other, and Sora was at the bar pretending to make drinks. All the while we were sitting in the Aether without a destination. So, things were pretty much back to normal.

As far as we could tell, the captain’s plan had worked. The Skull Candy had left a few hours ago, and the Flaming Talon left immediately after we managed to fix their weapons. Which was thankfully easier than I expected. Mostly because their head of engineering was surprisingly competent, and partly because Sora had ignored half my instructions.

I was still annoyed at them for that, but it was probably for the best since I had to make all the repairs while relaying the captain’s orders to Jayne.

It would have been easier if they could have just spoken directly to each other, but the captain was busy coordinating with Sora to steal a shuttle and hide it in the Aether so that they could save the person who was planning on killing us.

I wasn’t entirely sold on the captain’s plan, but that wasn’t the worst part of our current situation. Not by a long shot. I had lost one of Thea's plates.

“I’ve already washed every dish on the ship,” I complained to Sora. “How much longer are we going to let them go at each other like this?”

“Just be patient. We don’t have anywhere to be and they’re still in the spicy new relationship phase.” Sora handed me a beer. “I’m not sure, but I think they used the ‘L’ word for the first time back on Drassun. Like, in the middle of the raid.”

“That can’t be.” I opened my beer and took a drink. “The captain has known she’s a lesbian for a while, and Thea is definitely bi. Besides, that was over a month ago.” I was never all that in tune with relationship stuff, but I knew that much at least.

“What? No, you adorable idiot,” Sora flicked my forehead way too hard. “Love, not lesbian. They told each other they’re in love, like right before we fought a djinn and almost died.”

“What do you mean ‘we’?” I rubbed my forehead. That had seriously hurt. “I seem to remember you fucking off to loot before the big fight even started. In fact, didn’t that half-naked blond trick you onto the bed right before trying to stab you?”

“Yeah, well, at least I can recognize when a cute guy is into me,” Sora smirked. “Whatever happened between you and blondie, anyway? Did you even get his ID?”

“You mean Jayne?” I asked. “Yeah, I got it. Otherwise, the captain’s plan never would’ve worked.”

“So?” Sora raised their eyebrows. “Are you two going to try for anything?”

“Of course not.” I scoffed and took another drink from my beer. “He’s a guy. Guys only ever want one thing, and that’s not something I’m interested in.”

“Okay, first of all that’s bullshit,” Sora rolled their eyes. “Whoever invented that line sucked at finding men, and was probably a shit lay anyway.”

“That’s rich coming from you.” I smiled. “Are you trying to say Jayne didn’t want to sleep with me?”

“What I’m trying to say is that there are plenty of men who aren’t interested in the sex part of a relationship,” Sora returned my smile. “And I’ve broken it off with more than a few of them.”

“And you think he was like that?” I asked.

“No idea.” Sora shrugged. “You’re the one who spent all day with him. If you couldn’t tell from that, then there’s only one way to find out.”

“Try to seduce him?” I cringed, and Sora’s eyes went wide.

“No! I meant you need to ask him. Use your damn words.” They laughed at me. “Is that what you think I do? Seduce every person who I meet and then just hope they’re into it?”

“Honestly, I never know with you.” I took another drink in order to hide my embarrassment.

“Are you two planning on hanging out at the bar all night?” Thea interrupted. “Bryce wants to talk about what we’re going to do next!”

“Okay, tell me this. Are you interested in a relationship with him?” Sora asked, while they held their middle finger over the bar at Thea. I nodded reluctantly, so they continued. “Then talk to him. Tell him your whole deal and that you’re interested. Worst case? You never have to see him again. Besides, I don’t think you sign up to become a navigator on a Legion capital ship because you have an overactive libido. There were only like eight living people on the Skull Candy.”

“Okay, so what now?” I asked. “I just send him a message saying ‘Hey, I had fun hanging out with you and it would be kind of cool if you wanted to do that again sometime. Oh, but also I think sex is gross. So, that's off the table.’ Is that what you want me to say?”

“Yes!” Sora shouted. “Send him literally that!”

“That’s stupid,” I argued. “He’s going to think I’m a weirdo.” They just stared back at me, saying nothing. “Shut up. I am not a weirdo.”

“Those were your words, not mine.” Sora smiled.

“Oh please,” I huffed. “You were thinking it really loudly.”

“I’m not sure that’s how thinking works,” Sora laughed. As if they were an expert on thinking. “Send him the message, see what he says. But, in the meantime, let’s go figure out what our fearless leader has planned.”

I sighed and pushed off the bar to follow Sora to the couches. I also sent Jayne that message.

He was probably still busy with the whole boss-being-dead thing, so I wasn’t expecting a reply anytime soon. But that was fine. I wasn’t exactly sure how interested I was in the first place.

“Softie, I thought you were bringing drinks?” Thea asked. “What were you even doing over there?”

“We were avoiding you two.” I sat down across from the lovely couple. “You’ve both been insufferable ever since Captain Ashaiya left.”

“Sami is right,” Sora agreed, as they joined me on the couch. “I mean, I’m usually all for PDA, but it’s just weird when you two do it.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” the captain laughed. “We do actually have a lot to discuss.”

“Sure, let’s start with what just happened,” Sora said. “Was letting your admiral friend go really the best idea? We probably should’ve just let blondie kill the asshole.”

“The way I figure it, he’ll be a pretty decent distraction.” The captain shrugged. “If he follows my instructions, then he’ll at least be a headache for EVI corp. And if he somehow succeeds, then that’s a problem we don't have to solve ourselves.”

“And if he just ignores you and fucks off?” I asked.

“Then he’ll at least keep Legion off our tail for a while,” the captain smiled. “I already sent an anonymous tip to their head office.”

“Good enough for me. But that just leaves the elephant in the room,” Sora added. “Thea, how in the hells did you escape from a goddess?”

“I think Kai might be an idiot.” The devil in question shrugged. “Or maybe she was just really busy. One of her celestials was there and mentioned that Kai and her wife hadn’t been around all that much.”

“I didn’t know Kai was married,” the captain said. “Of course, I don’t follow divine gossip all that closely.”

“Sora, did you know?” I asked. They were usually into that kind of stuff, and besides, Kai was their goddess. If anybody knew, then it’d have to be them.

“There were rumors she had a partner, but nothing confirmed,” Sora explained. “And certainly not anything about a wife.”

“Even a partner was news to me,” Thea shrugged. “But, I haven’t exactly been in the loop for the last 350 years.”

“Okay, so you snuck out while Kai was distracted?” The captain asked, and Thea shook her head.

“Apparently, she thought she was protecting me from whoever killed Esme,” Thea added. “She let me go if I promised to get Esme’s soul stone, and I said I’d contact her the moment I got my hands on it.”

Bryce sighed. “I’m definitely not giving it back to you then.”

“I think that’s for the best,” Thea laughed. “Kai probably isn’t watching us, but if she finds out later that I lied, then she’s going to be pissed.”

“And what exactly is Kai going to do when she finds out you’re tricking her?” I asked. "I can't imagine it's going to make her all that happy."

“I’d give equal odds for her to laugh it off or murder the shit out of you,” Sora said. “And I suspect what she chooses is going to depend entirely on whether or not her daughter is breathing when she finds out.”

“There’s another thing,” Thea added. “If Kai is supposedly so busy that she can’t even wait around to explain herself after a summoning, then how’d she find out about Esme in the first place? I mean, she hasn’t been dead for that long and her soul definitely didn't go to Kai's afterlife.”

“You think somebody told her?” The captain asked.

“Yeah, but probably not directly,” Thea answered. “Malvoch has to be behind this, and he never works directly, especially not if he’s manipulating gods. It’s like a game to him.”

“We got lucky that she’s probably on her honeymoon,” I added. “Otherwise, it would have taken her all of 10 seconds to figure out you were the one who killed Esme.”

“I don’t think that’s it.” Sora shook their head. “Kai is smart, and she's powerful, even for a god. You don't get to her level by being out smarted. Not by some random demon, and no offense, but definitely not by someone like Thea.”

“Fuck you Softie, I’m smart,” Thea crossed her arms. “And Malvoch isn’t just some rando. He’s the greatest spymaster in all the hells, and if he wanted to trick a god, then he’d trick a god.”

“What are you trying to say Sora?” The captain ignored Thea’s outburst, which earned her a scathing look from the devil. “You think Kai already knows that Thea killed Esme?”

“I don’t know what she knows, and that’s kind of my point,” Sora explained. “The only thing I do know is that the goddess is usually way more clever than people give her credit for, and we shouldn’t underestimate her.”

“I’ll keep that in mind then,” the captain sighed. “But I don’t think what Kai knows changes anything. At least, not right now. We still need to get Esme back, and that means we need to find Dr. Phaylex. What do we know about them?”

“Before that, we have one last thing to talk about,” Sora interrupted. “What’s the deal with the djinn? Why is she on our ship, and why is she still alive?”

“Djinn? What Djinn?” I felt my muscles tense and Sora moved closer to me. “Thea, tell me you didn’t bring a djinn onto my ship.”

“Your ship?” The captain asked. She seemed more entertained than offended, but my heart was racing and I was having trouble caring.

“Yes, my ship.” I growled. “I own just as much of it as any of you, and part of us agreeing to come along was that we’d have a say in who is allowed on board. This is me saying a djinn isn’t allowed on board.”

“Samira, you’re absolutely right,” the captain spoke calmly as she leaned forward. “If there’s somebody on this ship that you’re not comfortable with, then we’re going to get them off. But please, for my sake, let’s hear Thea out as to why she brought a djinn here. I’m sure she wouldn’t put us in danger for no reason.”

I was about to argue, but I felt Sora put their arm around me. So, instead, I just sighed.

“Okay, fine.” I leaned back into Sora and looked towards Thea. She had been suspiciously quiet on the subject. “Well, Thea? Why’d you bring somebody on board who is probably related to the woman who held me and Sora captive for our entire childhood, and who will definitely drag us back to her kicking and screaming at the first available opportunity?”

“I uh…” Thea mumbled something and the captain must have heard it because she turned to glare at her.

“Thea, you can’t be serious,” the captain complained. “You felt bad for her? That’s why you brought a djinn here?”

“Look, I couldn’t just leave Ithnaa trapped in Kai’s domain forever,” Thea explained frantically. “It was my fault she was there in the first place, and besides, she technically helped me escape.”

“How was her being trapped your fault?” I asked. “Or even if it was your fault, then how was it your problem?”

“Wait, Ithnaa?” The captain asked. “The syndicate lord that was in charge of New Eden’s sector? Was she actually the djinn trapped in that bottle you stole from Teolix? And you seriously opened it in Kai’s domain?”

“No, not at all.” Thea crossed her arms and pouted. “I didn’t steal anything. I paid for that bottle and then Teolix gave it to me after I kicked his ass." Then Thea shrugged. "But yeah, the rest is true.”

“How long was she trapped in that bottle?” Sora asked.

Thea shrugged. “I don’t know, at least a week…”

“A little over two years, but most of it was just a blur.” I froze as the djinn crested the stairs. “I only know that much because of the terminal in the room provided for me.”

The bald woman was wearing what looked like Bryce’s workout clothes. She had a very clear resemblance to Mother, albeit a lot younger.

“Relax,” the djinn sighed. “I’m not looking for a fight. Thanks for the water by the way, and the clothes are pretty comfortable, if a bit long.” The djinn lifted one of her arms to show that the sleeve covered most of her hand.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Bryce is a bit gangly,” Thea apologized. “I would’ve grabbed something else, but Sora would have charged me, and I don’t know where Sami hides her things.”

I hid all my stuff behind a floor panel near my bed in the engineering corridors. It was an old habit I had formed when I was younger. And apparently it paid off if Thea couldn’t find any of my clothes to give to a djinn.

“Hey! I am not gangly.” The captain pushed Thea lightly before addressing Ithnaa. “If you don’t want to fight, then what do you want?”

“Right now? Pain medication and some more water.” Ithnaa cringed. “After that, I’ll need a place to lie low while I figure out what my idiot brother did with my sector.”

“Well, our ship isn’t the place for it,” I said, and Ithnaa noticed me for the first time.

“You must be Samira, and that would make you Sora.” she smiled at the two of us. "It's nice to finally meet you."

“You said you were trapped in that bottle for 2 years, right?” Sora asked. “That means you were around while Teolix was hiding us.”

I spun to look at Sora. “But he wasn’t hiding us. He didn’t even know…”

And then I remembered. Teolix had sent a letter along with us to Lyscantra that explained who we were and where to collect our bounty, which meant he probably knew all along.

“He knew, because I knew,” Ithnaa explained. “I ordered him to hide you two from Mother.”

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

“I had a good reason.” The djinn cringed as she held her head. “And I’d be happy to explain it. After I get some water and something for this gods damned hangover.”