Page 20 of The Last Hunt
“How about if you give me this tip, I owe you a favor,” Aethon says, leaning back in his chair. “A small one.”
“A medium sized one,” Trapp replies, one brow arched.
“Fine,” Aethon says. “It’s a deal.”
“Excellent.” GEM’s voice is gleeful and Aethon hopes he hasn’t made a huge mistake.
“Agreed,” Trapp says. She leans forward. “I have an informant on Nova Halifax that had dealings with Daik Montrose two days ago.”
“Two days ago,” Aethon murmurs. “So he can’t be far from there now.”
Trapp nods. “Right. The farthest he could be is about a sector away - but my informant thought he was more likely to go into hiding.”
Aethon brings up a map of the system next to the call screen. He scans the map, and then his gaze falls on the Keidar Belt. He sighs. That’s got to be where Daik is hiding. It’s a good place to hide - there are lots of asteroid fields there with metallic and radioactive components that make tracking difficult.
“Thanks for the tip,” Aethon says, leaning back in his chair. “Any reason you gave me this info instead of someone else?”
Trapp raises a brow. “Who’s to say I didn’t give it to anyone else?” She grins. “Happy hunting, Trell.”
Aethon snorts as she ends the connection.
“Like AI, like captain,” CAL mutters. “Shall I plot a course to the Keidar Belt?”
Aethon runs a hand over his jaw as he considers. He’s confident in his own ability to capture Daik, but he doesn’t like the idea of going into the Keidar Belt without backup. Normally, he would partner up for this type of hunt. Even though Daik is less violent than a lot of the bounties Aethon pursues, he has a ship, money, and connections. He’s not a serial killer confined to a city or planet. And he’s likely hiding in a dangerous place. The Keidar Belt is known for ship disappearances. Aethon’s not sure if it’s the heavy metals in the area, or if there’s something more sinister happening there, but he doesn’t like the idea of going there alone. But what other choice does he have? Andromeda Trapp clearly isn’t interested in working with him, and Bladesbearer has already made her disdain for him clear. He supposes he could send a message to some of the other members of Two Roses, but by the time he links up with someone, it might be too late. He has to move now.
Aethon thinks back to Bladesbearer’s face when he’d offered to split the bounty with her. She’d looked furious at the thought of him shadowing her, but there’d been some fear there too. Aethon has seen Maeve angry and scared far more than he has ever wanted to - and unfortunately, he knows those expressions on her face all too well. Perhaps she really does need this bounty just as much as he does. He needs to know why. What’s driving her? And how desperate will it make her? What might she be willing to do?
“CAL,” Aethon says. “Plot us a course to the starbase. Find the Archer. Dock right next to them.”
“What?” CAL replies. “Captain Trell - we have information on the bounty now. We don’t need to shadow the Archer anymore. And besides, didn’t you want to hide from Captain Bladesbearer for as long as possible?”
Aethon shrugs, and rubs his hands up and down his thighs. “New plan. We’re going to work with Bladesbearer.”
CAL groans. “That’s the old plan and it didn’t work.”
“We gave up too easily,” Aethon says. “You said yourself I could have been more convincing.” He yanks the Menace out of orbit and watches the map as CAL quickly plots a course through the swarm of ships surrounding Omega Starbase. “And this time - we have leverage.”
Ships are everywhere as Aethon guides the Menace toward the station. Omega Starbase is five miles long, and shaped like a black and silver hourglass. Tiny, Needle-class ships whip through the traffic, while oversized luxury Yacht-class ships slide smoothly along, their chubby design ungainly. Bracken-class - like the Menace - are common, along with small, Ursa-class family ships. There’s a huge, Brimstone cruiser docked at the lowest port on the station, taking up about a half-mile of space. Brimstone Industries makes its money from mining on uninhabited planets - or at least, that’s what they claim to do. Growing up on Freehail, Aethon is aware of other - less savory - activities that Brimstone also engages in.
Freehail is on the outer rim of colonized space. Aethon has always thought it’s the most beautiful planet he’s ever seen - though he knows he’s biased. Freehail is a planet of dense, coniferous forests, snow-capped mountains, and gorgeous black sand beaches. Aethon’s childhood there was happy and peaceful. His brother Devan was only a year younger than him, and they were best friends. They were often mistaken for twins, both with dark, thick hair, and the same upswept, golden eyes as their father. Both were skinny and fast, and swam like the blue swishers that were common in the deeper waters off the coast. They spent their days fishing, building forts in the woods, and running around with a pack of kids from their town. Freehail was safe back then. Not primitive, but not as advanced as planets closer to the center of colonized space. They were mostly regarded as nowhere special.
Aethon’s father Nikair, was gregarious and outgoing. He loved to laugh and play pranks on his sons. Aethon and Devan learned quickly enough that if their father seemed to be chuckling for no obvious reason they could see, they’d better watch out. There might be a fish in one of their beds, or their toothpaste might be filled with soap. Nikair taught literature at the local university and he was one of the most beloved professors. He read to his sons every night and he had the ability to change his voice so well to inhabit the characters that sometimes Aethon forgot it was his father reading to them instead of the characters themselves.
Aethon’s mother was the opposite of her husband. Liadan Trell was a serious woman, somber, and fierce. She escaped from her home planet Tellamar by stowing away on a transport ship at the age of sixteen. She’d worked on freighters until one day the ship she was on made a stop at Freehail.
“The forest called to me,” Liadan told her sons. Her dark red hair had a streak of pure white in it, starting at her right temple. She gave them a rare smile. “And I knew I was home.”
“I thought it was me that called to you, love,” Nikair said from across the room. He winked at the boys. “I worked nights at the landing port back then while I was studying for my degree. Your mother walked off that freighter like a storm rolling in from the sea. And I -” He patted his chest. “- was like a blue swisher -” he made a motion with his hand like a fish swimming through water. “- rejoicing in the rain.”
“He helped unload the freighter,” Liadan said, unable to completely keep a smile off her face at their father’s dramatics.
“Sons,” Nikair said. “Listen closely. It’s important to use all of your best attributes when attracting a partner. So naturally, given my huge muscles, I had to show your mother how strong I was by unloading the freighter as quickly as I could.” He flexed a bicep as they all laughed. “I think it worked.”
“Despite what your father may tell you,” Liadan added, looking both Aethon and Devan in the eyes. “He had nothing to do with the reason why I stayed on Freehail.” She glanced over at her husband and raised one brow.
Nikair chuckled and came over to the table where they sat. He set his hand on the back of her neck and massaged gently. “Maybe the forest captured her heart first,” he said. “But boys - I was a close second.”
Their mother’s eyes softened and she pulled their father down for a kiss that made both Aethon and Devan roll their eyes.