Starbounders by Adam Jay Epstein Page B

who was letting the baby vreek crawl up and down her arm.
    â€œSputnik, that tickles,” said Kaylee.
    â€œSputnik?” asked Zachary, his voice still scratchy and low. “You gave it a name?”
    â€œHe reminded me of the old Russian satellite, with those four little needles sticking out of his back.”
    Skold strode ahead of them, preoccupied with the indigo box with the infinity symbol on it that he had removed from the dreadnought. It made Zachary think of all those people back home who walked around with their noses buried in their cell phones. Then Skold pulled a thin wire from the artificial flesh of his right wrist and inserted it into a tiny hole on the side of the box.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Zachary asked, slightly sickened by the sight.
    â€œUploading the data from the ship’s starbox,” Skold replied.
    â€œ That’s the starbox?”
    Zachary had imagined the dreadnought’s heart and brain to be a giant supercomputer, not something smaller than an iPhone.
    â€œThere’s only one thing more valuable than parts,” Skold said. “Knowledge.”
    â€œWhat, do you have an internal hard drive or something?” Kaylee asked, pointing to the wire sticking out of Skold’s wrist.
    â€œThis shell comes with all kinds of perks,” Skold said. “I’ve got emergency oxygen tanks, a water filtration system, and I even sprang for all ten thousand channels of universal satellite TV. Although I have to admit, reception can be spotty.”
    â€œHow did you go from diplomat to outerverse felon?” Zachary asked.
    â€œFrom studying Earthlings,” Skold replied. “My kind—the people of Ota Stella—don’t know anything of thievery or crime. We have no personal belongings, and the welfare of one another is prized more than anything. But after many years of living among your species, seeing all of your greed and ambition, I recognized the wisdom of your ways.”
    â€œWhat was that?” Zachary asked.
    â€œThat taking and earning are not that different—both put money in your pocket. And that fast ships are fun.” Skold gave a sly grin. “You three have been asking an awful lot of questions. Now what about you?” He eyed Kaylee. “What’s with the piercings and colored hair? Daddy taking too many business trips to the outerverse? Need something to get his attention during his short stops home?”
    â€œYou don’t know anything about me,” Kaylee said. She walked ahead, clearly bothered.
    Skold turned to Ryic.
    â€œYou’re from Klenarog, right? That planet has some of the finest combatants and pilots in the known galaxies. Just never heard of them sending anyone to the IPDL. Don’t they have their own fleet? Couldn’t make the grade at home? So you got dumped at Indigo 8?”
    At first Zachary thought Skold’s provoking was off the mark, but he could tell by the way Ryic was avoiding eye contact that his taunts had touched a nerve.
    Finally Skold’s attention fell on Zachary.
    â€œI’m not sure about you, kid. But something tells me you’ve got a long way to go before that warp glove fits you.”
    The words cut deep for Zachary. What he wanted more than anything was to live up to his family’s legacy, but Skold was right.
    â€œYou gonna charge me for that brilliant insight?” Zachary challenged. He had no intention of letting Skold—or Kaylee or Ryic—see any weakness in him.
    â€œNo, the first hour is free,” Skold replied. “Come on, let’s pick up the pace.”
    If the fugitive’s goal had been to get them to quit asking questions, he’d succeeded. For a while the only thing that broke the silence was the sound of Sputnik cooing inside Kaylee’s pocket. Then Ryic spoke.
    â€œLook,” he said, pointing into the distance.
    Through the salt clouds they could spy a silver dot on the horizon reflecting