Star Keepers: Aghri

Here's another set of scenes, all introducing the character Aghri from my book, Star Keepers.

AGHRI

by

Paul Adams

Aghri awoke to a flash of light just outside his hovel tree.

BOOM!

His eyes snapped open. Bright light glowed through the thin membrane of the tree surrounding him.

BOOM!

Another flash of light. The sounds of his people screaming and running penetrated the tree. Aghri dug his claws into the bark, the rubbery material separating easily beneath them. A blast of heat washed over him as he stuck his head out into the open air.

The jungle around him was awash with flame. Hundreds of trees burned. Several had been snapped in two and lay smoldering on the ground. Hovel trees were melting under the intense heat, dissolving into gummy, hissing lumps. A group of Witani ran past, none even glancing at Aghri as they rushed to save their families from the horror.

Aghri scrambled out of his tree, a wave of panic gripping him as he stared at the towering flames. In his religion, Vask was the god of fire, a cruel and vindictive god who often killed on a whim and sometimes wiped out entire forests at a time. The only reason the other gods allowed him to live was because of his flame’s restorative powers. In those horrible orange tendrils ravaging their way through Aghri’s home, he felt almost as if he could see Vask’s face in them, cackling with sadistic laughter.

“Aghri!”

A pair of long arms emerged from the darkness and wrapped themselves around Aghri, pulling him away from the flames. His mother held him close. She nuzzled him with her mouth, sniffing slightly. Her long, thin arms belied surprising strength, pressing him flat against her large, protruding belly.

Loosening her grip on Aghri, she gazed at him with her yellow eyes, wrinkled around the edges in a pattern that stretched down and around her snout. Beyond her, Aghri’s father stood with another young Witani nearly identical to Aghri. Aghri’s uncle Masqa stood nearby, watching the skies with a grim expression.

“What’s happening, A-Ma?” Aghri asked, looking up at his mother with concern.

“It’s going to be okay, Aghri,” she said. “It’s just . . .”

Unable to find words, she turned to her husband for help. Aghri’s father tore his gaze from the sky and looked at his wife and son. He stood over eight feet tall. His long and lanky arms dangled past his knees, ending in bony, clawed fingers. His thin neck stretched to almost a foot long, allowing him to gaze over the heads of other Witani around him.

“We’re being invaded, Aghri,” he said.

“Why?” Aghri asked. “Are the gods punishing us?”

Aghri’s uncle Masqa made a grumbling sound in his throat. Standing side-by-side, he and Aghri’s father were almost as identical as Aghri and his brother. Masqa’s body hair and tunic was a little more unkempt, though, and he lacked a few inches.

“Not likely,” Masqa said. He glanced at his brother. “These are Woraugenns.”

Aghri followed his gaze as he continued to stare into the sky. Hanging in the sky over the forest, six large metal objects hung in the air. They were greenish-gold in color and they seemed capable of holding themselves aloft like a bird. Bright red fire spewed from their faces, and wherever they hit, more fire appeared, accompanied by that same loud noise.

“What are they doing here, A-Pa?” Aghri’s brother asked.

“I don’t know, Sarbek,” his father replied. “But the United Worlds won’t stand for it. I need to get down to the consulate and call for help. Masqa, get Zhoka and the boys to the shelter.”

“Aye,” he said.

Aghri’s father knelt and pulled both of his sons toward him. “I need you to be brave and listen to your uncle. Take care of your mother and her eggling.”

“Yes, A-Pa,” they both said.

Their father got to his feet and faced his wife and brother. Placing his right hand on the left side of his stomach, he said, “Vanash carry you.”

In response, Masqa placed his right hand on his left shoulder. “Akaris protect you.”

He hurried away through the woods. Another flash of light illuminated the trees around the family, accompanied by another loud noise. “Come on,” Masqa said. He placed his hand on his sister-in-law’s shoulder. He pointed to a nearby hill. “The bunker’s on the other side of that ridge. We might make it if we run.”

The family took off up through the trees, using their clawed hands and feet to clamber through the trees with ease. Aghri stayed close to his brother, looking back at the orange flames behind them every few moments or so. “Don’t worry, Twig,” Sarbek said, patting Aghri on the arm. “Uncle Masqa says these guys are just big old snotlumps.”

Soon, the family were standing at the top of the hill, which went down a little then rose at a steady pace up to a high ridge. Aghri could see a domed metal structure just beyond. Behind them, they could see that almost their entire ravine was engulfed in flames. Thousands of trees were burning to ashes. All around them, Witani were running through the trees, trying to escape with their lives. The strange metal objects in the sky loomed over the flaming forest, observing their work like Vask’s personal angels of destruction.

Masqa cursed under his breath. “Even with Kiba getting word out, it will still take a day or so for any reinforcements to get here. The Woraugenns will have decimated half the planet by that point. How did this happen?”

Aghri and Sarbek looked at each other in fear. Their mother hunched over, her swollen belly weighing her down. Masqa let her rest on his shoulder. “What’s that?” Sarbek suddenly shouted.

Aghri and his family looked up to see a silvery object whisking through the sky toward the Woraugenn ships. This one seemed much smaller, with a sleeker, more triangular design to it. Bright, white lights flashed from the object’s nose, slamming into the nearest enemy object and making it shudder.

Masqa smiled. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “It’s a United Worlds ship. How did they get here so fast?” His eyes scanned the sky for more objects to appear, but none did.

“This one must have been in the area,” Aghri’s mother said, breathing slowly.

The sparkle that had appeared in Masqa’s eyes dimmed a little. “Yes,” he said, “Yes, that must be it. Which means we’re still in danger. Come on.”

The family ran again. All around them, red fire set their world ablaze, the loud noises they made sounding to Aghri like the giant feet of Vask stomping after him. They loped through the trees, watching as more fires sprang up in neighboring valleys all the way out to the horizon. They were about to crest the top of the ridge when Aghri’s mother caught her foot on a rock and stumbled.

“Are you okay, A-Ma?” Aghri asked, he and Sarbek rushing to her side.

“Yes, I’m alright,” she said. She stayed on her knees for a second, the Tears of Akaris dripping from her forehead. She clutched at her large belly, a strained expression on her face.

Uncle Masqa crouched beside her. “Can you go on, Zhoka?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, taking his hand and allowing him to help her up.

“Come on,” he said. “Hurry.”

They ran some more. Now the bunker stood out on the side of the opposing cliff. They just had to get to the other side, but no matter how far or how fast they seemed to go, the strange metal objects in the sky remained right behind them, bombarding the world with their red fire. The other object was still there, lighting up its foes with its white light, but it seemed to be having little effect. Suddenly Masqa stopped, tilting his head as if listening. Aghri and Sarbek listened too, picking up a faint whistling sound growing louder and louder. Aghri’s eyes widened.

“Move!” he shouted.

Something black and heavy slammed into the ridge, throwing us from our footings and down the hillside. Aghri rolled through the grass and trees, coming to a stop in a small ditch. Masqa landed beside him.

Masqa shook his head and rolled over. “Are you alright, Aghri?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Aghri said. He sat up out of the ditch and looked around. His mother and brother were a few yards away, Sarbek helping their mother to get up off the ground.

“A-Ma! Sa!” Aghri shouted, crawling up out of the ditch.

“No, wait, Aghri!” Masqa shouted, scrambling after his nephew. Aghri heard what he heard just a second too late. A second heavy object slammed into the ground right in front of him knocking him back with the sheer force of the crash. Masqa’s arms wrapped around him and they fell together in the torrent of rubble and earth. For a few seconds, everything went black.

When everything settled again, Aghri opened his eyes, his vision blurred by warm tears. No sound reached his pointed ears but a harsh ringing that echoed through his skull. After a few seconds, the ringing lessened and he could just barely hear the sound of his mother and brother calling my name.

Aghri tried to sit up and look toward them, but found himself pinned under the full weight of his uncle’s body. He could see his uncle’s face from where he was, his eyes closed and his breathing labored. Red, glistening scratches covered most of his face and his hair was full of dirt. Aghri did his best to shift out from under his uncle and saw his mother and brother scrambling around a big, black orb to reach him. Behind them, a pair of bright, green cracks in the orb’s side.

“A-Ma!” I shouted, desperately trying to shout through all the rubble. “Sa!”

The orb cracked open, bits of shell flying everywhere, thick, wet slime oozing from the hole. A pair of thick, green limbs appeared over the edge, followed by a grotesque, deformed head. The figure inside stretched upwards, reaching to a height taller than any Witani. The creature wore a thick carapace around its torso and the top of its head, while a pair of eyestalks ending in sickly yellow eyes sprouted up from a pair of holes in its makeshift helmet. Up above them, another creature had emerged from the first orb. The creature held out its right arm. From the center of what passed for a palm on the creature sprouted a long flat blade of the same material as the creature's carapace.

The creatures studied their surroundings for a moment. The closest gave Aghri and Masqa a passing glance where they lay on the ground. Deciding they were no threat, it turned on Aghri’s mother and Sarbek. It grabbed them one in each hand, throwing her to the ground roughly and demanding something in a language that seemed half-spittle and half-gibberish, holding his sword to their throats.

“Leave them alone,” Aghri shouted, fighting to get out from under Masqa.

The second creature placed his hand on Aghri’s shoulder just as he was making headway pulling him with a mighty yank out from under his uncle. Aghri struggled and fought, sinking his claws into his captor’s skin, but to no avail. The monster’s flesh seemed to be as jellylike and moldable as the bark of a hovel tree. The second he removed his claws, the skin simply grew back.

“Leave him alone!” Aghri’s mother demanded. “Why are you doing this?”

The first creature shouted something at her and struck her across the face with the back of its hand. The creature stood over his mother, shouting at her in its strange tongue. It raised its sword over its head.

“A-Ma!” Aghri shouted. He opened his mouth full of sharp teeth and bit into his captor’s arm. It tasted like rancid mucus. The monster growled, shouting at Aghri. Its other hand grabbed at Aghri’s ear and pulled at him, its claws digging into the flesh and making Aghri’s eyes well up.

 “No!” Sarbek shouted. He used the distraction Aghri had caused to break away from the monster and ram into the one holding Aghri, causing it to not only drop Aghri, but also tear away a good chunk of his ear. Aghri fell to the ground, hot blood running down the side of his head. He felt his mother at his side, scooping him up in her arms. Nearby his brother was attacking Aghri’s captor with everything he had, clawing and biting like a rabid animal. “Sa, stop!” Aghri’s mother yelled.

Aghri looked up at his mother in confusion, before noticing the other monster approaching Sarbek from behind. Before Sarbek could process his mother’s warning, the creature grabbed him by the nape of his neck and pulled him off its companion. The creature raised its sword. Aghri’s mother screamed as the blade cut right through his brother. Tears filled Aghri’s eyes and he cried out, a peal of anguish he felt more than heard through his ruined ear. Sarbek’s body fell to the ground in two pieces, not moving, blood pooling around him, his eyes open and staring blankly into space. Rage filled him and he struggled to get free of his mother’s arms, but she held on to him as tightly as possible. The pain in his ear forced him to collapse again. He stared up at the monsters with hatred, wanting nothing more than to make them suffer.

The creatures rounded on Aghri and his mother. They raised their swords in unison.

Two things happened at once. A bright flash lit up the world around them, while Masqa leapt over their heads and tackled one of the creatures. The other creature’s head exploded in a splatter of green goo. Its body fell to the ground, revealing a strange, new creature standing behind it. This creature stood shorter than any adult Witani Aghri had ever seen, but still a head taller than Aghri was now. This creature had a short neck, a flat face, and softer hair that draped around its shoulders in a wild, unkempt fashion. It had clear, blue eyes that seemed to dance in the firelight. The creature wore a strange, silvery uniform just like the ship in the sky above and it held a small object in its hand that glowed with the same white light being fired from the ship.

The creature moved with surprising grace for its awkward frame, pulling the monster off of Aghri’s uncle, despite being nearly half its size. The monster screeched and turned on its new opponent and raised its sword to stab him, but the new creature pulled a small trigger on the object in its hand, blasting the creature’s chest with white energy, leaving a gaping hole in its chest and armor. The creature gaped at its opponent for a second before toppling over next to its companion.

The new creature dropped its weapon to its side and turned to Aghri and his family. It bent and offered Masqa a hand, helping him up. It spoke something in a language Aghri didn’t understand, but to his surprise, Masqa replied in the same language. The creature then bent over Sarbek’s body, feeling his vitals, while Masqa helped Aghri and his mother to their feet. Aghri’s mother pulled away from her brother-in-law and flung herself onto her son’s body while Aghri clung to his uncle.

“Masqa,” Aghri started, but he couldn’t find any more words.

Masqa bent to look his nephew over. He tore off a patch of his tunic and pressed it against Aghri’s destroyed ear. “It’s going to be okay, Aghri,” he said gently. He gestured at the creature standing nearby. “This is a Human from the United Worlds. He’s here to help us. His name is Orion Kent.”

Aghri stared out the window in his quarters. An endless black carpet stretched out before him, dotted with thousands of tiny lights. In his youth, he knew them as the forest of the sky, watched over by the small bark-covered minions of Raka. Since then, he had learned that they were in fact giant spheres of burning gas so far away they can only be seen as little more than a shimmer.

Aghri reached out his hand as if to grasp them, but only met with the smooth, artificial surface that granted him the view while simultaneously barring him from it. Not without reason of course. Aghri had been instructed well on the dangers of the emptiness beyond the barrier. His long, clawed fingers traced the surface, the cold sending a tremble through his arm.

He took in a deep breath. The air in his quarters still carried the smell of the trees from which it was born, the soil into which it breathes life, and many of the wondrous smells Vanash permeates her domain with for the enjoyment of all. But all of that was mixed with the stale smell of the cold metal of the room’s walls and floor.

He turned away from the window. A small square desk protruded from the wall before him, displaying a set of wooden ovals printed with images of his family. His uncle Masqa smiled at him from one, his face lined with the scars the Woraugenn invaders left on his face years ago. Another displayed his mother, father, and little sister Legn standing in the midst of a forest of young trees that had been planted to replace those burnt down in the invasion. Finally, a third depicted Aghri and his brother Sarbek, laughing together and hanging from the branches of a Korlin tree. Aghri stared at the images and smiled sadly. He picked up the third image and brushed at his brother’s face. After a second or two, Aghri replaced the image on the desk.

He stripped off his silvery Star Keeper uniform, hanging it up on a hook above the desk. His blue insignia gleamed on its collar. Aghri slipped on his preferred article of clothing, a long, red tunic made of thick, furry material that hung down to his legs. He stretched and breathed comfortably, happy to be wearing the tunic once again.

Aghri turned away from his desk and faced the wall of vines that separated the small, clean desk space from the rest of the room. Aghri parted the vines with his hand and stepped through, enjoying a long, deep breath as he stepped into his garden. Once more the fragrances and aromas generously provided by Vanash graced his nostrils and a feeling of warmth and comfort flooded through him.

A world of vibrant colors crossing every corner of the spectrum met his eyes. Aghri walked forward through the forest of vegetation, allowing the vines to hang loosely behind him. All around him, plant life from all over the galaxy were arranged in shelves and pots and plots, adding their beauty and their life force to the artificial existence of the Arrowhead. Most of the plant life came from his home planet of Wakar, but he also had among his collections chi cha from Hentu, myral from Gatta, forget-me-nots from Earth, and fela from Uinde.

Aghri made his way around the room, caressing each flower and smelling those that smelled most sweet. The humid atmosphere that permeated the room kissed his skin and awoke the silent song of the Witani people within his heart. High above, a bright light glowed on the ceiling with the vibrancy of a mid-afternoon sun, bathing the room in tender, yellow light. Aghri stopped as he passed to press his hand against a thick, red tree. Red sap clung to his hand an inch thick as he pulled it away. Aghri held the substance to his nose and sniffed it, then rubbed it away on his furry tunic, the rough material cleansing it away with one swipe.

“Not quite yet,” he said.

He gathered a number of tools from one corner and started to tend to each plant, giving each one the attention it required. Most were given water, although one himmatel fornu had to be covered in a plastic bowl that continuously pumped nitrogen onto it for thirty-nine minutes every day. The dacin on the far end of the room required Aghri to cut it down every day, leaving behind only a tiny stump.

For some, Aghri had to turn up the soil that surrounded them, while for others he had to make a small incision in the bulbous pods that grew on them in order to let the milky-white fluid that had collected drain out. Hours passed and finally, Aghri slumped against his hovel tree in the middle of the room, breathing heavily and drenched in the tears of Akaris but wearing a wide smile on his face. He looked over all the plants in his care, some with thick fat leaves almost as wide as his own torso, some with oozing, thorn-covered tendrils, and some that occasionally made hushed chirping sounds.

He sat there for a minute, allowing their wonderful and happy life force to flow through him, content in the thought that they would be able to shine as brightly tomorrow as they had today. He placed his hand against the bark of the hovel tree behind him, relishing the contact with it.

After a few more minutes, Aghri shook himself from his reverie. He made his way over to a box in the middle of the room. Digging his claws into the soft shell made from the bark of his own hovel tree, He pulled it open to reveal five multicolored gemstones. Drawing them out, he arranged them in a pentagonal shape on the floor. Aghri sat in the center of the shape, facing the green gemstone.

“Aiket,” he said, placing one hand on the right side of his stomach, “Matron of the Earth, hear my prayer. I thank you for allowing my garden to flourish and grow, and for the recovery of thy world Wakar and its rebirth and renewal in the twelve years since the Woraugenn attack. I . . . ask thy forgiveness for my neglect of my birthworld and for failing to return there in the past six years. I promise to return someday and make my proper obeisance to thee.”

Removing his hand from his stomach, Aghri stood, turned, and sat facing the purple stone next to the green. He placed his hand on the opposite side of his stomach.

“Vanash, Warrior of the Air, hear my prayer. I thank thee for allowing me to have sojourned among the Star Keepers far from my home these many years. I ask for thy blessing as I now embark on this journey and pray that thou wilt watch over me and my fellow crewmembers on our journey, that we will be prospered in our undertakings. I promise to do my best to fulfill my duties aboard the vessel Arrowhead to the best of my abilities and for as long as I am able.”

Once again, Aghri stood and repositioned himself so that he now faced the blue gem, now placing his hand on his left shoulder.

“Akaris, Lady of the Sea, hear my prayer. I thank thee for thy protection of me, and of my family on Wakar, throughout my life. I ask thee to continue to provide protection and love to my mother and father and sister on Wakar, and to my uncle in all of his journeys. I promise to do all that I can to live by thy example and to use my position and calling to protect the lives of those who cannot defend themselves, even to the sacrificing of my own life.”

Once more he turned so that he now faced the white, translucent gem, placing his hand now upon his forehead.

“Raka, Lord of All, hear my prayer. I thank thee for thy diligent service to me and my people throughout my life and through all of history. I ask thee to continue to provide thy diligent service to the people on Wakar and to all people that reside within the United Worlds. I promise to dedicate my service aboard the Arrowhead to thee, and to do all I can to protect and serve the people of the United Worlds.”

Aghri removed his hand from his forehead and turned to look at the red gemstone to my left. His final prayer was to Vask, Master of Fire. He remained where he sat, staring into the rich red color of the stone, pondering what he might say. The longer Aghri stared, the more anger rose within his heart. Images raced through his mind, reminding him of that terrible night so many years ago. Images of his brother’s body severed in two against a backdrop of bright red flames. Finally, Aghri stood, collected the five gems, and placed them back inside their container.

Aghri sat back against his hovel tree, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply in order to calm himself. Once he felt at peace again, he sat quietly for a few more minutes. Eventually, he got up and made his way back over to the wall of vines surrounding his desk. Aghri pushed them aside and sat down on the floating platform that rose out of the floor as he passed. Toward the top of the table, a small, square socket was set into the surface. Aghri picked up the device laying on the windowsill nearby and set it into the socket. He gave the table a soft tap and its surface lit up, displaying various official memos and notices across its surface. His call to serve aboard the Arrowhead was still open from when he had read it prior to boarding. Aghri sat at the desk for maybe a half an hour or more, flipping absently through everything.

Once he had read just about everything twice, he tapped the surface again, putting everything away.  A small red light flashed in the bottom corner of the table, alerting him that he had messages. He tapped it and a list of file names spread across the table. Most of them were a random assortment of three names. The two topmost names glowed a slight green. The second of the two was the most frequent name on the list. He tapped it and his mother’s face appeared in the air over the table.

“Hi, Aghri,” she said. She looked a little thin and had large dark bags under her eyes, but she still bore the same spritely vigor that she always had. “I hope you’re doing well. Your uncle tells me you have been promoted. He says you’re the first officer of a ship now. Your father and I are so proud of you, honey. You should call us and we can celebrate. Or send us a message, if you’re too busy. We—um, your sister misses you. Your dad, too. Me too, I guess. We want to hear from you. I love you.”

Aghri’s mother’s image disappeared. He breathed, wiping his eyes. He tapped the Ubar word for “respond” next to my mother’s name. A green light lit up on the table and his own face reflected back at him. No answer. He’d have to leave a message. “Hi, Mom,” he said. “Um, I got your message. I’m here, aboard the Arrowhead.” He grabbed his uniform off of its hook and showed the blue insignia on it. “There you go. Commanding officer rank now. I’m . . . doing fine. My garden’s still growing well. I hope the grove’s regrowing well back home. I miss you guys. You, Legn, Dad . . .”

Aghri mouthed wordlessly, at a loss for anything else to say. He didn’t like to admit it, but Aghri felt as if he were drifting further and further from his heritage and his homeworld, despite how much he tried to cling to it by maintaining the garden in his quarters. After six years apart, his parents and sister might as well have been as alien to him as his human captain or the lenghu communications officer. “I’ll talk to you later, okay,” he said. He raised both hands above his head. “Bye.”

Aghri’s image disappeared, returning the screen to his messages page. His eyes drifted to the glowing message above his mother’s. The Witani letters spelled out the name Legn. He tapped the name.

The image of a small Witani girl appeared before him. She looked no older than he had been when the Woraugenns invaded. Her thin hair draped down around her face in single strands and her large aqua eyes bore a distinct resemblance to Aghri’s father. The girl wore an awkward smile as if addressing a stranger.

“Hi, Aghri,” she said. “It’s me, Legn. I guess you already knew that. A-Ma says you’re going on a ship soon. I think that’s really cool. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you what’s going on around here.” She held up a small hairy lizard with two legs and a long neck. “I taught Nka to bring me fruit from five different trees. Watch.”

She looked at her pet. “Nka, go get me some Za fruit. Go get Za fruit.”

The tiny lizard stared at her for a second, turning its head to the side. Then it dropped its gaze from her face and started nibbling at the skin on her palm.

“Ow, hey! Nka, stop that!” She put the lizard down and turned back to look at me. “Sorry,” she said. “I guess he’s not that trained yet. Um, did I show you the tree I planted last week?” She started walking a little bit, the image following her as she went. She bent down and the image showed a small bulbous tree that was almost spherical growing out of the ground. The tree looked almost identical to the one Aghri had just milked two hours ago. “It’s already got three leaves, see?” She pointed out the leaves that grew from a puckered knob on the top of the tree. “A-Pa says its growing really well. It’s probably going to be one of the biggest trees in the forest soon.”

She paused, trying to think of anything else to say. “I, um, guess that’s about it,” she said. “A-Ma misses you. She keeps talking about you all the time. I kind of miss you too. A little. But that’s okay. All the other kids are super jealous that my big brother’s a Star Keeper. So, yeah, I’m kind of popular around here. So, yeah. Um, I can’t think of anything else to say. Bye-bye.”

She raised both hands to the side of her face again as the image disappeared. Aghri sighed sadly, his finger hovering over the respond button. He tried to imagine trying to carry on an actual conversation with her, two virtual strangers saying “um” repeatedly across hundreds of lightyears of distance. Ultimately, Aghri dropped his finger. He swiped back to his contacts and instead selected the only family member with whom he could still carry on a conversation.

After a few moments, his uncle’s face appeared, the scars on his face matching the white insignia at his collar. His mouth spread into a toothy grin at the sight of his nephew, the destroyed skin pulling at his mouth and preventing it from stretch as far as it could. “Aghri,” Masqa said. “I was hoping to hear from you soon.”

Aghri smiled. “Hello, uncle. How’s headquarters life treating you?”

Masqa rubbed at his forehead. “Dreadfully boring,” he said. “All I’m expected to do all day is send other people out on exciting adventures. Admiral McLustiff says it’s a great honor and that I’ve earned it, but I don’t blame Orion for reapplying to active duty after only a year of this. What about you? How’s my old first officer doing for his first time as captain?”

“Gavin’s doing well, Uncle,” Aghri said. “He led our ship into combat today with almost as much grace as you would have.”

Masqa smiled. “Well, he did learn from the best, after all. What about you? Do you think you’ll do well as his first officer?”

“I hope so, Uncle,” Aghri said. “Gavin is a good man. This is a good crew. I think I’ll be able to do good out here.”

“That’s good. Have you talked to your family lately? My brother, Zhoka, Legn?”

Aghri bit the inside of his lip. “I . . . have, Uncle. A little.”

Masqa raised an eyebrow, the burned skin at his temple stretching with it. He studied Aghri’s eyes as if seeing the pain and feeling of separation his nephew felt whenever he thought about their family. He gave him an understanding smile. “We are doing good out here, Aghri. I know it’s hard to . . . to be apart from those we love, physically and spiritually, but we are doing good. If nothing else, I am proud of you, Aghri.”

Aghri nodded. “I know, Uncle.”

“Good luck out there.”

A small smile flitted across Aghri’s mouth. “And good luck to you back there,” he said.

His uncle raised both hands to either side of his head. Aghri repeated the gesture. Masqa’s image vanished, leaving Aghri staring at a blank screen.

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