The Refugee (The Korvali Chronicles Book 1) (12 page)

I’m counting the hours until we reach Derovia.

Love,
 

C

As the number of days spent in space travel increases, the morale of one’s crew shall proportionately decrease.

– Commander Retan Ov’Raa, Space Corps, retired

When
Cornelia
set down on the surface of Derovia, Catherine felt palpable relief. At six months, this was their mission’s longest period of travel. Catherine read through the brief document Ov’Raa had sent, reminding them of the rules of conduct when on Derovia, none of which were remotely unreasonable. The document offered a few facts about Derovia:
 

• Derovia is one of 19 moons that orbit Suna, the ringed third planet of the Katara solar system.
  
• Derovia is the only moon of the 19 that sustains an atmosphere.
   
  
• Derovia’s population resides on its two continents: the northern, Ovlon, and the southern, Mellon. Due to its more favorable climate, Ovlon is the most densely populated.
   
  
• Those from Ovlon have the “Ov” prefix in their family names. Likewise, those from Mellon have the “Mel” prefix.
   
  
• The western coast of Ovlon, at the capital city of Ronia, will be the location of
  Cornelia
  ’s arrival and encampment.
   
  

Gaining entry to Derovia and landing at Ronia’s spaceport was an uncomplicated affair, as Derovian security measures were the most relaxed of the Alliance worlds. It didn’t hurt that a significant proportion of
Cornelia
’s crew was Derovian. In a matter of what seemed like minutes, the Captain had ordered them to recalibrate their contactors for a 25.6-hour day and cleared them to debark the ship. With permission to take three days leave, all but essential crew deserted the ship and scurried in various directions.
 

Catherine, Tom, and Snow couldn’t manage to agree on where to go first and ended up heading three different ways: Snow to Ronia to see live music, Tom (and a date) to hike up one of Ronia’s cliffs and enjoy libations at the summit, and Catherine to the beach with Anka.
 

Eshel would spend the morning aiding Dr. Vargas in the burial of his homeworlders, stored all those months in the ship’s cold chamber. Eshel had told Catherine about the sher memeshar, or rite of death, which required that they release the dead into the ocean. The bodies could not be released until showing early signs of decay; thus, a grumbling Vargas removed the bodies from the cold chamber several days before arrival at Derovia.
 

When Catherine debarked the ship with Anka, she was struck by two things: how bright the Katara sun seemed after living in artificial light conditions for so long, and how dense and humid the air was.
 

They boarded the crowded train heading north to the closest beach. The train, filled with din of chatty Derovians in brightly colored clothing, felt remarkably slow compared to those she was used to. They peered out the window at the stucco-like, multi-unit Ronian homes and the sunny, grassy hills in the distance. When they arrived at the beach, it was filled with people, most of whom were tourists. There were many humans, especially couples and families with young children.
 

“My God,” Anka commented in surprise. “Such wealth they must have to afford a family vacation on Derovia!”
 

Catherine nodded.
 

Catherine took off her shoes and felt the warm, pinkish sand on her feet as she looked out at the tranquil ocean, its blue so blue that it appeared almost surreal. The beach was peppered with odd looking trees: short and stout, with white-flowered foliage on branches that splayed out, providing the shade that Derovians enjoyed but someone as fair as Catherine required.

Anka pointed to a tree with no inhabitants. “Will that one work for you, whitey?”

Catherine smiled. As they sat down, Catherine spotted a man out in the water. He seemed familiar, until she realized the man was Eshel. He dove into the water and began to swim away. Eshel’s form was smooth and powerful, and his progress swift. She’d never seen anyone swim like that. Before much time passed, she could no longer see him.
 

Catherine and Anka went for a swim in the cool water. If breathing fresh air and absorbing real sunlight hadn’t felt sublime enough, swimming in the sea did the trick. She forgot any memory of having been ship bound so long.

Back at their tree, they pulled out the sandwiches they’d packed and began comparing notes about their CO.
 

“You like the weekly progress reports?” Anka said. “Zero eight hundred: centrifuged my samples. Zero nine hundred: took a pee and borrowed more equipment from Catherine.” They erupted in laughter.

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks they’re stupid,” Catherine said. “Does he give you boring assignments too?”

“No. That part hasn’t been bad. The old man’s been nice to me.”

“Really? He hates me.”

“Oh, yes! He told me he hates your red hair. And he doesn’t like your small boobs either.”

They laughed again at Anka’s jest.
 

“Is that Eshel?” Anka asked, squinting as she looked past Catherine.
 

Catherine turned and saw Eshel walking their way. Not having seen them, he sat down under a nearby tree. “I saw him go for a swim when we first got here.”
 

“He swam that entire time?” Anka said. She glanced at her contactor. “It’s been two hours! I suppose those webbed hands are good for something.”
 

“I’ll be back,” Catherine said, getting up. “I need to ask him a quick question.”

She approached Eshel’s tree. “Hey, Esh.”

“Catherine,” he replied.
 

“Tom told me to ask you if you want to hike up Danal Cliff tomorrow with us. He needs to make a reservation at the restaurant on top, which I’m told offers 360-degree views and good Derovian seafood. If you want to go, we’ll have to skip our training… or start earlier.”

“I will go, but I prefer to train first.”

“Okay. See you at zero eight hundred.”
 

When Catherine and Eshel boarded the train to Ronia, Eshel hunched over to avoid hitting his head. Too tall to stand fully upright, and with no available seats, Eshel found an unoccupied corner where he seated his lanky body on the floor. Just then, a Derovian man stood up in excitement, speaking spiritedly to them in his native language, and motioned to his seat. Eshel, eyebrows raised, spoke a single word in Derovian and took the seat. Catherine also thanked the man, and gave him a smile.
 

Other than the filled seats, the train wasn’t as crowded that day. This was fortunate, as Catherine had noticed that Eshel seemed to get uncomfortable when too many people stood near him. When their stop came, they got off and walked along a dirt path to the trailhead, where they would meet Tom and Snow. Both peered at the calm sea to the west, and Catherine could smell the faint sweet scent of the beach tree blooms.
 

As they neared the trailhead, the shrubs that lined their path grew larger and denser, obscuring their ocean view. Occasionally a small creature with patchy brown and white fur would scurry across the trail, startling Eshel and making Catherine laugh. Further along, Catherine heard rustling in some trees to their left. It sounded like a much larger creature, although she was under the impression that Ronia had no animals to fear. She looked past Eshel, half expecting another animal to emerge, wondering what it would be this time.
 

Suddenly, a large humanoid male appeared from behind the greenery and rapidly approached them. Before she could react, the man grabbed Eshel, wrapping his large arms around him to constrain him. Catherine went to strike the attacker, but found herself unable to move. Two large, dark arms had encircled her from behind.

They were Sunai.

Trapped by the Sunai’s strong grip, Catherine purposely let her body relax. It had the desired effect—her captor relaxed slightly and she was able to grab his hand and twist the fingers until at least two of them broke. He growled in pain, further loosening his grip. She delivered an elbow to his face and then turned and punched him in the throat. He began to wheeze—a loud rasping noise that she hadn’t expected—as he backed away from her, his hands on his throat.

Catherine went after Eshel’s assailant, who struggled to keep Eshel in his clutches.

“Stay back, nonaii,” the Sunai said in a thick guttural voice.

Nonaii. Woman
.

Catherine rapidly approached him, knowing he must choose between holding on to Eshel or protecting himself from her. He chose to keep Eshel, and Catherine punched him squarely in the eye, cracking his eyeshades and causing him to release Eshel, who broke free and backed away. She went to strike again, this time aiming for his throat. He managed to block part of her punch and then grabbed her ponytail and jerked it down.

Catherine felt a surge of anger spread through her at having her hair pulled. She delivered a kick to his abdominal region, disabling him for the time being. She whipped around to check for the other Sunai. He was gone.

She turned back toward her opponent, ready for any retaliation, until she heard a shout. Another male voice. Catherine hoped Eshel could run. She couldn’t take on more of them.

It was Tom and Snow.
 

Tom began to run. Catherine watched him run past her, confused, until she realized he was chasing Eshel’s fleeing attacker. After a short time, Tom returned, completely out of breath.
 

“Jesus,” he gasped. “That Sunai can run. Who knew someone that large could run so fast?”

“What the hell happened?” Snow asked her.
 

“They jumped us…. there were two of them… the other one ran away, too.” She looked over at Eshel, who stood aside. He looked pale. She began walking toward him, but something told her to leave him be, so she stopped. “Are you injured?”

“No.” He turned away from her.
 

Catherine turned back to Tom and Snow, who looked at her with questioning faces. She shrugged, perplexed.
 

Snow contacted the Derovian authorities. A short while later, two officers in orange uniforms arrived. Catherine, Tom, and Snow pulled their Space Corps IDs for the officers. The small, friendly officers listened patiently as Catherine told them what happened.

“They didn’t try to take our belongings or anything,” she told them. “I don’t know why they attacked us. Other than pulling my hair, they didn’t even retaliate when I hit them.”
 

“A Sunai male does not strike any female of any race, even if attacked,” one of the officers told them, his accent strong. “He will attempt to subdue the female with his great strength. But your skill made that difficult, Miss!”

“The attack was… how do you say… motivated by race, Miss Finnegan,” the other authority added. “Sunai gumiia males may want fight with otherworld males.” He looked over at Eshel, who still stood aside, but within earshot. “He is Korvali!” He glanced at the other authority with widened eyes. “How did this Korvali come to be on your Space Corps ship?”

“He’s a refugee,” she said.
 

“Does this Korvali need medic?”

“No. I think he’s just in shock.”

“Will this Korvali speak to us?”
 

“Yes. Just avoid touching him.”

“Of course, Miss.”

The two authorities walked toward Eshel, who turned to face them, handing them his ID. He towered over the two Derovian men, who looked up at him in awe. When Eshel answered all their questions in their native language, their awe turned to glee. After they finished, the authorities told Catherine they must report the incident to Captain Ferguson.
 

“We are most sorry for this very unfortunate incident. Our brothers, the Sunai, are good peoples, but some gumiia males may be… what is word… aggressive?” The authority smiled. “May we offer you transport to final destination, or back to spaceport?
 

“No thanks, officers,” Tom told them, gesturing toward the trailhead. “We’re hiking up Danal Cliff.”

“Oh, yes, you will most enjoy it!”

“I will not join you,” Eshel told them. “I would prefer to swim.”

“I recommend you no go alone, Eshel,” the authority said. “These Sunai may wait and attack again.”

“Exactly,” Tom said. “You need to stay with us. We’ll hike up, get you a few greenberry liqueurs, and you’ll forget all about this.”

Eshel shook his head. “These men cannot catch me in the water.”

The other authority smiled. “That is true, Eshel! The Sunai do not like water! You will be safe in water. We will transport you to beach.”

Tom sighed. “I’m only agreeing to this if you wait for us at the beach, and come back to the ship with us.”
 

“That is fine.” He looked at Catherine. “You will find me where you saw me yesterday.”
 

Eshel turned to the authorities, who escorted him down the path and out of sight.
 

The three of them resumed their journey to the trailhead and began the steep climb up Danal Cliff. Catherine realized her knuckles bled a little. The eyeshades must have cut her.
 

“I should’ve made him come with us,” Tom said, shaking his head. “I’m telling you, he can’t be doing stuff alone all the time. He’s a target. Did I not say he’d be a target?”
 

“He looked shook up, man,” Snow said. “Besides, you know how stubborn he is.”

“Yeah, wait until Ferguson finds out,” Tom said. “She’s gonna shit. I take it you didn’t have any weapons on you?” he asked Catherine.
 

“Uh, no, Tom. They’re illegal here, remember?”

Tom reached into the side pocket of his pants and retrieved a device made of black alloy. “Yup. I remember,” he said with a grin.
 

“Maybe you should give Eshel one of those,” Snow muttered.