Page 66 of The Last Hunt
“I don’t think you can so easily clean the sands of Tellamar from your boots,” Ronan says. Maeve doesn’t know how to respond, so she nods to him and moves to close the landing deck of the Archer.
The second the doors close on the ship, a wave of claustrophobia hits Maeve. There are people covering every square inch of the floor of her small ship. There are people in the brig along the bench, on the floor, in the area behind the captain’s chair, and in Maeve’s room people line every wall. Everyone is dressed in worn clothes, and most only carry a small satchel or pack with minimal belongings. The group of six teenagers have jammed themselves into the alcove between the kitchenette and the brig. A long legged blonde girl with a fierce scowl sits in front of the group like she’s their protector. She looks a little older than the others, and she sits straight backed. Maeve spots a croi crystal cuff around the girl’s right ear. She feels a kinship with this girl, like she’s looking at a younger version of herself. She can see the clear anger in her eyes and in her body language. Maeve knows if the girl isn’t careful, that anger will turn destructive. Whether that destructiveness will be directed inside or outside of her, only time will tell.
Maeve’s stomach boils with anger at the thought that the mining corps were going to use these children as slaves. She scans their faces, solemn and quiet as though they’d been through hell to get here and they’re not sure that they’ll actually escape. Maeve knows some of how they feel.
Aethon picks his way carefully up to the front of the Archer, sitting down in the co-captain’s chair as Maeve sits in her seat. The refugees are silent as Maeve, Aethon, and the AIs go through their take-off checklist. Maintaining the mirror-cloak’s integrity through the atmosphere and away from Tellamari space is going to be key.
“Don’t you worry!” TAI says in Tellamari. “We’ll have you safe and sound in a jiffy!” The idiom doesn’t quite translate, but it doesn’t seem to matter. A few people respond with murmured ‘thank yous’ to the AI.
They take off, the only sounds now the Archer’s engines purring gently. A few people gasp or whimper as the angle of the ship shifts and the artificial gravity starts to kick in. Maeve feels the weight of these people sitting behind her like an anvil on her shoulders. This is perhaps the most important job she’s ever done. These are living, innocent people who are counting on her. People from her home. She could have easily been one of them if her life had gone just a little bit differently.
Soon they’re weaving back through the drones, TAI and CAL keeping abreast of the flight path. Maeve watches every drone with unwavering focus. No Ro’Shar ships cross their path on the way out. The mirror-cloak holds perfectly. For once, everything goes according to plan. Maeve supposes that she was due for a bit of luck after the last few weeks. As they break through the last of the drones and accelerate in the direction of the nearest jump-point, she lets out a shaky breath. Aethon looks back at her with a grim smile.
“Maeve Bladesbearer.” Ronan’s voice is full of emotion and she turns over her shoulder to make eye contact with him. There are tears streaming down his face. Maeve scans the faces of the other refugees. Many of them are crying as well. Most with clear relief, but the expression on Ronan’s face seems more complicated.
“Yir, vai’an?”Maeve replies, using the most respectful honorific she remembers. Yes, sir?
“Let us look upon our home once more,” Ronan requests in Tellamari. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again.”
An unexpected lump rises in Maeve’s throat. She turns back around and wraps her hand around the joystick. Aethon turns to her as she starts to move the Archer, a clear question in his eyes.
“He wants to see the planet one more time,” she explains.
Aethon nods slowly and watches as Maeve maneuvers the ship around. In a second, the planet is visible through the viewscreen. Golden Tellamar. Her emotions are tangled and she stares at the planet, her jaw tight.
“Rai’alla, chrissah,” Ronan says, his voice steady. Goodbye, precious.
A few people echo him. But then Maeve hears a female voice huff out an incredulous laugh. She turns over her shoulder to see the blonde teenage girl staring out the viewscreen at the planet with venom in her gaze.
“Y’charit, Tellamar,” the girl hisses, low and angry. Fuck you, Tellamar.
That effectively shuts the rest of the people up and Maeve bites her lip, her nostalgia for her home planet fading as she watches the girl glare at her as if she’s daring Maeve to say something. Maeve just inclines her head and turns back, whipping the Archer around and accelerating in the direction of the nearest jump point again.
Ten long hours later, they arrive at the drop point given to them by Sylar. Maeve and Aethon land the Archer in bay six on January Starbase which orbits the planet Hyvari. Hyvari is welcoming and wealthy - a rare combination - and Bell Sylar found lodging and job opportunities for the Tellamari refugees here. After confirming the veracity of the Hyvari people waiting for them in the bay, Maeve lowers the landing deck and lets the Tellamari disembark. The blonde teenage girl gives Maeve a hard look as she walks down onto the metal floor of the bay and Maeve holds up a hand to stop her. The girl pauses and crosses her arms.
“Your name?” Maeve asks in Standard.
The girl raises her chin. “Kara Victor.”
Maeve senses Aethon behind her, but he remains silent, helping the last of the people down from the Archer.
“How old are you?” Maeve asks. She’s careful to maintain a respectful distance from Kara. Maeve remembers how threatened she felt by others’ proximity when she first left Tellamar. Cautiousness is conditioned.
“Nineteen,” Kara replies, her brow furrowing. “Why?”
Old enough. Maeve reaches into an inner pocket of her jacket and pulls out a black card. One side is emblazoned with the crest of the Guild of Two Roses. The other has Maeve’s information, as well as the address and subspace number for Two Roses Headquarters on Brix-9. She holds it out to Kara who takes it with a frown.
“If you need some direction,” Maeve says.
Kara scowls, but tucks the card in her pocket. “I’m fine.”
“If you want to learn how to defend yourself and others, then,” Maeve says, undeterred.
Kara’s eyes narrow, but she nods before turning around and following the other Tellamari refugees without another word.
Aethon walks down and speaks with one of Bell Sylar’s Hyvari contacts before returning to the Archer.
“They’ve confirmed to Sylar that we’ve completed the job,” Aethon tells Maeve as they both walk back inside the ship and close the landing deck. “Sylar will be sending us the access codes for the hyper-jump point soon. We should check on Daik’s location and then start to head toward the hyper-jump point - we can be there in twelve hours.”