I studied him, trying to interpret its facial expressions. It seemed sad and a little angry. But whatever crime had landed it in a cage to be eaten by scavengers, its punishment didn’t seem fair.
Night blanketed the clearing, but I could still see thanks to my Martian propensity for night vision. I doubted these vrak creatures shared this particular gift of mine, and there were no artificial lights in this part of the clearing. The moon hadn’t yet reached its zenith either, so I had a small window while this area of the village would remain shrouded in darkness.
I slowly moved toward the cage, avoided the bones scattered in front of it, and squatted to face the imprisoned vrak. I paused for a moment as I considered what sign language the thing would understand. I was about to raise my hand and make a poor attempt at communicating when the vrak spoke.
“What are you doing here, stinky pink-skin?” Its voice was deep for its size and seemed to echo from its mouth in waves of sound. “Have you come to torment me?”
One part of my mind thought it comically convenient that the thing spoke Martian—just like in the cheap holovids. But the rest of my mind realized, somehow, that the words weren’t in Martian. They weren’t any language I’d ever heard before—but I still understood.
The Lakunae must have changed something in my mind, I realized in a flash. They dropped me on this planet with instinctive knowledge of the language and the names of the local wildlife. What the fuck?
Though I’d never spoken the language, I knew I could manage. It was time to find out why the vrak was in the cage. And if he’d seen other Martians, escape pods, or people just like me moving through this industrial village.
After that, if he deserved capital punishment, I’d give him a quick death; it was the least I could do.
If not, I had other plans for him.
Chapter Ten
I brought my face as close to the cage as I dared, wary in case the imprisoned vrak decided to reach out and scratch my eyes with a filthy, broken fingernail.
“I’m here to offer you an opportunity,” I whispered. “Are you willing to listen, or would you prefer a quick death? Of course, I could always leave you here for the birds.”
The vrak turned its head back and forth, regarding the hungry-looking feathered creatures. Disgust and open loathing flitted through its eyes. “I am willing to listen,” it whispered. “Did you come here to trade places with me?”
“Uh, no,” I said. “I can release you if you’ll do something for me.”
The vrak narrowed its eyes. “Something… like what?”
“Like be my guide. I suspect those who put you in this cage won’t be so friendly next time you meet. Am I right?”
“You are,” the vrak affirmed.
“But first,” I said, “what crime did you commit to get yourself sentenced to death?”
The vrak’s mouth worked for a moment as it made little clicking and sucking sounds. “Scribbled code. Called king’s guard a ‘poop-brain.’ Pressed some buttons. Not ashamed of it. Not a little ashamed. No, not ashamed.”
It seemed that the laws on this planet, or at least in the village I found myself in, were strict. It obviously wasn’t a Federation planet, or there would be observers present to stop things like torture, especially for such a minor crime.
“What’s your name?” I asked. “What are you called?”
“I am Skrew,” the vrak answered. “Of my kind, Skrew is a legend among the other males. Skrew is told he is the only one who has a screw loose somewhere. No others are like Skrew. They are jealous.”
Yeah, sure. I nodded, and the vrak looked me up and down. At least now I knew what served for a male among his people.
“Do you have the key?” Skrew whispered.
“No,” I said, “I’m going to try this first.”
The vrak watched with curious eyes as I slid my new ax into my belt and grasped one of the vertical bars furthest from the cage door hinge with both hands. I propped my right foot further out and tugged. The lock broke with a twang, nearly toppling me to my rear. They don’t make cages like they used to, I mused. Or nobody on this planet knows how to make anything durable. Or perhaps the “strength” that the Lakunae had mentioned had added something to my physical makeup. But without anything to measure myself against on this planet, it was difficult to tell.
Skrew stumbled from the cage, staring at the broken lock with tiny, wide eyes. “You are strong,” he said. “You are legend among your males?”
I shrugged. “I guess. Let’s go.”
“Wait!” Skrew hissed as he grabbed my forearm with two hands. “You saved Skrew’s life. You must trust Skrew. He would be dead by the birds who eat the guts if not for you. What is your name?”
“I’m Jacob,” I said, checking for any movement along the edge of the clearing. I thought about using my call sign, “Paladin”, but decided my real name might work better.
“Then this is for Jacob,” he whispered. The slow, solemn way he said it forced me to look.
In two of his hands, he held a cord that looked like it might be a wire from some kind of device. It was black and thin. The cord was threaded through something I didn’t recognize. It was about the size of my thumbnail and resembled a button—like the ones aboard a starship. It shimmered in the increasing brightness of the moonlight in a way that seemed familiar, though.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It is Skrew’s pass,” he whispered, laying it in my hand. “It is who Skrew is. It is all. Everything.” He gently curled my fingers around the small amulet. “Without
