Havoc by Ann Aguirre

Author:Ann Aguirre [Aguirre, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fiction
ISBN: 9780698139718
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2014-08-26T07:00:00+00:00

22

The Past Is Another Country

A day later, they were still mopping vomit off the floor and blood from the walls. Hell of a send-off. Ike might even approve. After Jael left the common room with Dred, the populace apparently ran amok, with the usual results and casualties. People were still sullen, nursing grievances that sprang out of nowhere. Or at least, it seemed that way to Jael.

Maybe it was more accurate to say that liquor gave men the courage to say shit they’d never otherwise admit. As a result, tensions were high today. A number of Queenslanders had only pretended to accept the admission of the aliens, intimidated by the example Dred made of the man who disagreed with her decision. Since nobody wanted to end up like that, their complaints had gone quiet, confined to whispers that stilled as soon as Jael approached.

Good thing they don’t know I can hear them from here.

“I can’t believe we have to share bunk space with those freaks,” a Queenslander was saying.

“They’re eating up our food,” someone else complained.

“If I’d known the Dread Queen was such a sympathizer, I’d have—”

“What?” Brahm stood behind the group, talons splayed.

At his back, there were a number of aliens from the Warren, some of whom Jael knew by name, like Ali. The rest he had no experience with, so he couldn’t be sure how quickly this situation would escalate. And he wasn’t sure of his role anyway. Maybe Dred would be pissed if he stepped in, like he held actual power.

But Cook solved the problem by hurling his knife. It thunked into the table where the xenophobes were sitting. The handle quivered as the man stalked over to retrieve the weapon. He paused for a few seconds in silence before picking it up. Not surprisingly, the malcontents found other places they needed to be. Satisfied, Cook went back to his pot.

“Sorry about that,” Jael said to Brahm.

The Ithtorian still gave him the creeps, but he knew better than to blame Brahm for the shit he’d gone through on Ithiss-Tor. It was a personal bias, one he was struggling with, and he didn’t intend to make a public issue of it. But the alien regarded him for a few seconds out of side-set eyes without speaking.

“You have a problem with me,” he said.

“Not like they do,” he answered, defensive.

The Ithtorian clicked out a laugh. “No, your issue is specific to my kind. I don’t notice it around the rest.” He turned to his companions and waved them away. Ali seemed most reluctant, but she eventually moved off, presumably so Brahm could speak to Jael in private.

Once they were alone, relatively speaking, Jael said, “It doesn’t matter. I won’t move on you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Brahm tilted his head, mandible moving in a way that Jael recognized as being a thoughtful gesture. He’d learned a lot about Bug body language during his long incarceration. He wished the cues didn’t make him want to pull Brahm’s head off.

“I’m not.

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