you did anything wrong at all!”
[“You waste your words, construct. Captain Liao has asked that I treat you as any member of her crew, and I shall, but in my mind you will always be just another machine.”]
With that, Saara gave Liao a curt nod and departed. Ben looked as though he might leap after the Toralii and tear her to pieces with his claws, but Liao sat in her chair and gestured for him to sit as well.
She was concerned by his behaviour, but she needed Saara and the construct to work together. Human history was full of examples of people working together who would otherwise be at each others’ throats. “Let it go, Ben.”
“But—”
“She has so many years of Telvan thinking behind her, opinions shaped from birth that are very hard to change. Humans may not know everything about the galaxy, but we know this–cultural attitudes have a way of sticking around for longer than they’re welcome. Saara means well, and I know her heart is strong and her moral compass well-aligned, but this is one area where she is wrong.”
Ben slowly returned his gaze to Liao, bobbing his head with a whir-click of his articulators. “I know, but that doesn’t make what she said any less hurtful, and now she gets to just walk away. That’s hardly fair.”
Liao felt for him, but she didn’t have a way of displaying it without compromising the emotionless wall she had to project as the ship’s captain.
She leaned forward. “Want to know something else Humans learned over the years?”
“Mmm?”
Despite herself, Liao felt a sad smile tug at the corners of her mouth and she folded her arms. “Life isn’t fair.”
Ben chuckled, a thin, raspy noise coming from the thin slit that functioned as his speaker. “I know thatmuch.”
“I understand you’re angry about being left on the planet, but I’ve recently had a loss, too. Before we arrived here, Captain James Grégoire, a Human man I—” she hesitated, “have strong feelings for, disappeared during a battle between the Toralii Alliance and humanity’s fleet. His ship collided with the Toralii who came to attack us and, in a great flash, both vessels disappeared.”
Her voice saddened. “Most believe him to be dead, but I hold out hope that he still breathes—somewhere.”
Ben reached out gently with a freshly painted claw, resting it on Liao’s knee. His British accent softened a little. “A collision between spaceships is pretty rough business, my friend.Yep. Not good at all. Ships travel at such high speeds and just aren’t built to take that kind of punishment. Nor are the fleshy little meatbags inside. Still, if he’s gone, it would have been quick.”
That didn’t make Liao feel any better, but she forced herself to smile. “I suppose it would have.”
Ben nodded, his optics turning to look up at Liao. “Trust me, it’s better than ending up at Cenar. Brr. That place gives me chills.” The robot’s metal framework shuddered slightly, but Liao barely noticed it.
She fixed him with a curious stare.
“Cenar?”
“Yeah, Cenar. The giant prison fortress the Alliance throw their undesirables into, never to be heard from again. Cenar means The Howling Wind, and it’s basically this massive metal structure floating out in the void between solar systems–impossible to find without coordinates–and they defend it with all manner of vicious things: worldshatter devices, energy cannon batteries, mines, ships, fighters, you name it. The Toralii take their prisoners there, and they very rarely leave. Those that dosurvive, well, let’s just say they don’t recall the place as being particularly pleasant. As in, a lot of torture happens there. A lot. Heh. That’s basically the point of it all. Terrible place.”
Liao reached out a hand, resting it on Ben’s claw. “You’re saying that if the Toralii ship did jump away, and James did survive the collision, then he’d be at this fortress?”
“He’s either there, or being transported
[“You waste your words, construct. Captain Liao has asked that I treat you as any member of her crew, and I shall, but in my mind you will always be just another machine.”]
With that, Saara gave Liao a curt nod and departed. Ben looked as though he might leap after the Toralii and tear her to pieces with his claws, but Liao sat in her chair and gestured for him to sit as well.
She was concerned by his behaviour, but she needed Saara and the construct to work together. Human history was full of examples of people working together who would otherwise be at each others’ throats. “Let it go, Ben.”
“But—”
“She has so many years of Telvan thinking behind her, opinions shaped from birth that are very hard to change. Humans may not know everything about the galaxy, but we know this–cultural attitudes have a way of sticking around for longer than they’re welcome. Saara means well, and I know her heart is strong and her moral compass well-aligned, but this is one area where she is wrong.”
Ben slowly returned his gaze to Liao, bobbing his head with a whir-click of his articulators. “I know, but that doesn’t make what she said any less hurtful, and now she gets to just walk away. That’s hardly fair.”
Liao felt for him, but she didn’t have a way of displaying it without compromising the emotionless wall she had to project as the ship’s captain.
She leaned forward. “Want to know something else Humans learned over the years?”
“Mmm?”
Despite herself, Liao felt a sad smile tug at the corners of her mouth and she folded her arms. “Life isn’t fair.”
Ben chuckled, a thin, raspy noise coming from the thin slit that functioned as his speaker. “I know thatmuch.”
“I understand you’re angry about being left on the planet, but I’ve recently had a loss, too. Before we arrived here, Captain James Grégoire, a Human man I—” she hesitated, “have strong feelings for, disappeared during a battle between the Toralii Alliance and humanity’s fleet. His ship collided with the Toralii who came to attack us and, in a great flash, both vessels disappeared.”
Her voice saddened. “Most believe him to be dead, but I hold out hope that he still breathes—somewhere.”
Ben reached out gently with a freshly painted claw, resting it on Liao’s knee. His British accent softened a little. “A collision between spaceships is pretty rough business, my friend.Yep. Not good at all. Ships travel at such high speeds and just aren’t built to take that kind of punishment. Nor are the fleshy little meatbags inside. Still, if he’s gone, it would have been quick.”
That didn’t make Liao feel any better, but she forced herself to smile. “I suppose it would have.”
Ben nodded, his optics turning to look up at Liao. “Trust me, it’s better than ending up at Cenar. Brr. That place gives me chills.” The robot’s metal framework shuddered slightly, but Liao barely noticed it.
She fixed him with a curious stare.
“Cenar?”
“Yeah, Cenar. The giant prison fortress the Alliance throw their undesirables into, never to be heard from again. Cenar means The Howling Wind, and it’s basically this massive metal structure floating out in the void between solar systems–impossible to find without coordinates–and they defend it with all manner of vicious things: worldshatter devices, energy cannon batteries, mines, ships, fighters, you name it. The Toralii take their prisoners there, and they very rarely leave. Those that dosurvive, well, let’s just say they don’t recall the place as being particularly pleasant. As in, a lot of torture happens there. A lot. Heh. That’s basically the point of it all. Terrible place.”
Liao reached out a hand, resting it on Ben’s claw. “You’re saying that if the Toralii ship did jump away, and James did survive the collision, then he’d be at this fortress?”
“He’s either there, or being transported
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