Gorgoroth (Haladras #2)

NINE

"What do you mean?" said Skylar. "We have to take her back. She can't come with us to Gorgoroth."

Grüny checked a few readouts on his control panel, then returned his focus straight ahead, out into the endless night of space. Skylar wondered if Grüny needed to be at the control so much during such times. He knew the ship boasted auto-pilot systems. Grüny used these while they slept. Only if they the ship's radars detected potential collision courses with foreign bodies would Grüny actually need to intervene. But the hyperdrive system pre-calculated their route to avoid such collision. At such speeds, steering around an obstacle was not an option. Perhaps the old captain simply enjoyed the solitude or feeling in control of the ship.

So many things in life feel out of our control.

A thought struck Skylar in that moment. After all he had been through with Grüny, he realized that he didn't know much about this man's personal life—his past. Did the old captain have a family, or once have a family? It was hard for Skylar to imagine Grüny having children, or even being married. At the same time, how sad to think of someone having no family. Grüny was always flying from one planet to the next. If he has a family, thought Skylar, he probably never sees them.

"You're right," said Grüny, bringing Skylar's thoughts back to the issue of Kendyl. "But I ain't taking her to Gorgoroth."

"Where then?"

"Oon Vunda. She can take a passenger vessel from there back to some planet in the empire—likely not Haladras. This trip is already long. I'm not interested in lengthening by an extra two weeks so we can take back that stowaway. She got herself into this, she can get herself out."

"A passenger vessel from a rogue planet? That doesn't sound safe, Grüny. You yourself said it's a death wish to hire a ship from Oon Vunda. The captains can't be trusted. I can't let Kendyl be exposed to such risks. Even if she did bring this on her own head, I feel responsible for getting her back home safely. And I'm going to do all in my power to see to that."

Skylar's voice had risen as he spoke so that he found himself nearly shouting at Grüny.

"Now don't get yourself worked up. Them passenger vessel are as safe as any. Ship operators would lose money faster than a drunken gambler if all his passengers started disappearing. Most passengers have someone—a family member, friend, business partner, fellow thief—waiting for them on the other side. She'll be fine."

"I don't know," replied Skylar, shaking his head. "It doesn't sound too safe to me. What kind of people take passage on such vessels? You yourself said that the planet is just a mob of thieves, murders, and scoundrels."

"Not everyone's a thief. Some poor wives and children, following a no-good husband. Others are mothers who come to visit a son or daughter who's run afoul of the law and fled the empire. Some are just—more or less—honest merchants hoping to strike it rich selling Ahlderion goods for a steep profit. The ships have hired guards, too. Just in case a there's any trouble during the journey."

"I don't know..." said Skylar, looking away and growing pensive. The thought of abandoning Kendyl on Oon Vunda—a rogue planet—terrified him. He felt almost the same way when Krom had ordered them to abandon Grim at Dura Cragis. But this felt even worse. Anything could happen to her. A young, attractive girl traveling alone among a horde of ruffians...he clenched his fists.

If anyone tries to touch her...

"She'll need a disguise," said Skylar, at last. "Something to make her look less...feminine. Maybe an old, tattered frock, dirt on her cheeks, and a hood. I want her to have a blaster, too. In case something happens."

"Fine," replied Grüny. "Dress her up like an old man, for all I care."

Skylar stood up and stepped toward the rear of the cockpit.