New Suns 2 by Nisi Shawl

Author:Nisi Shawl
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Rebellion Publishing Ltd

Chosen

Saad Hossain

We’re the scum of the galaxy. I don’t know where we came from, some Milky Way place far away, a Garden of Eden where our relatives are still walking around like gods, who knows. Here in Celestial Fire we are the scum. We don’t even have a star system for god’s sake, not even a single planet to call our own. The best we can muster are a few floating asteroids, secret junkyards where we take apart our pathetic loot.

Everyone hates us. With good reason. Take me, for example. I’m just an engineer. I’d be the third ship’s officer if we followed the Chosen’s naval classifications, but of course we don’t, so I’ll just explain it like this: if the captain dies, and the gunner dies, then I’ll be in charge of the ship, god bless everyone.

Anyway, my point is that I’m no big shakes. I’ve never captained my own ship, nor held a share. Parents went down in an illegal mining accident when I was five, and an old aunt raised me till she died in a gunfight. I signed onto a pirate ship when I was twelve, apprenticed to the engine room, since I knew my way around a wrench.

I’ve been floating around space for forty-five years. I’d say I’ve already murdered several dozen souls, personally looted thirty-odd ships, and blown up my own ship three times. Yes. Three times. That’s the kind of engineer I am.

I really hope this won’t be explosion number four, because right now we’re getting chased by a Chosen fast frigate, our nemesis, who has been hounding us for the past three years.

The Chosen are the big shit around the Celestial Fire area, and as far as I’ve heard, they didn’t even used to have a navy until we got here. That’s right, an entire god-like species of giant squid morphs got their mothballed ships out of storage just to deal with us. That’s the kind of scum we are.

Celestial Fire is a pretty nice galaxy. It’s got a lot of mild-mannered stars and a lot of rocks with water. It’s near the center of the Universe, they say, full of wonderful, exotic stuff. The Chosen (that’s just their word for “people” in their language, it ain’t like they’re chosen by god or nothing) are huge squid-like motherfuckers who made underwater civilizations until they figured out how to hardwire their bodies for land, and then finally space. They’re arrogant assholes. They don’t need equipment to survive in vacuum, either. They just kind of squish up. They spread themselves out from their home system until they ran up against the Vox. The Vox are also badass. These guys kind of look like ostriches with hands. That’s right: welcome to the Ostrich vs. Squid show. The Vox and Chosen don’t really fight wars anymore but they sure as hell don’t like each other. There’s a lot of saber-rattling and slapping each other on the face with gloves type of shit going on.

As far as I know, that Milky Way place was kind of deserted.

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