Drifter

Eli and Gami escorted the seven passengers to the cargo hold.

“Alright, we’re going to get to the bottom of this. I know that Azai didn’t do it because I was with her at the time.”

“You slept with her?” Gami, said, taken aback, “You really do have a death wish.”

Azai became more than a little animated, “I made sure that it was safe for him. I used the scanner and everything.”

What had happened suddenly dawned on Eli, “She wears that suit for our protection, not hers.”

“Exactly,” Gami said, “Her people are highly toxic to most other species. You’re very lucky.”

Eli shrugged. Azai’s posture told everyone that she was fuming, even if they couldn’t see her face.

“And I can vouch for Lukas,” Gami added.

Eli frowned, pointed to one of the clamp-lined spots where cargo containers could be secured, “You two over there, that’s the spot for the ones we’ve cleared,” then he turned to Gami, “Who else?”

“Babur. The monk. His order takes a vow against killing.”

“How do you know that he isn’t an imposter?” Eli asked.

“When I studied Bayhi they would make pilgrimages to the temple, which is a sacred site in many faiths. It would be nearly impossible to fake all of their mannerisms and practices.”

The short being in the robes spoke, his face and tone showing no signs of lying, “I can assure you, Captain, I didn’t kill Ka’darka.”

Gami looked at Eli, “They also take a vow to always tell the truth. A member of his order is totally honest, even if telling a lie could save lives.”

“Alright,” Eli gestured to where Azai and Lukas stood, “Join them.”

“Eibel was with me,” Skant declared.

Eibel chimed in, “That’s true.”

Eli smirked at the pair, “So, that must mean that if one of you did it, then the other one was in on it too.”

Skant balked, “You think that you can talk to us like that?”

“I do. It’s my ship, and I’ve got a gun. You understand the power of a firearm because you are a veteran.”

“Good catch!” Gami said enthusiastically, “The way he stands, the way that he moves with a sense of purpose. Why didn’t you mention it? You spent the whole night wooing Eibel, but you didn’t boast about being a soldier?”

He looked away, spoke in an uncomfortable tone, “I didn’t say anything because I’m a deserter. I wasn’t a commando or anything. I was just main line infantry. I didn’t do it.”

“Why did you desert?”

“I was a conscript in what was supposed to be a defense force. I was willing to do my time and fight if necessary. But they decided to pick a fight with a Vorak Liburna.”

Eli had heard of them before. The Vorak had been the Talgar’s warriors before they had switched to the terror drones. Now, they wandered around, the old spawning ships converted into homes for nomadic clans and warlords.

“You two,” Eli pointed at another cargo zone, “Over there. That’s for the ones that we aren’t sure about.”

The pair of big aliens complied.

Gami gestured toward Sateen, who was staring at the human, “Be careful, Eli. Askari have evolved to close the distance in a flash. And the majority of them are masters of melee combat.”

“Thanks for the advice. That brings it to you. The airlock could have been a ruse. There could still be blood residue on your arm blades. Or you could have used a knife to avoid that problem. Well, you got an alibi?”

She kept the second set of arms folded across her chest, which the tadvash interpreted as a defensive stance, “I’m innocent. I haven’t seen or heard of that guy before I boarded your ship.”

“Alright, go join the furballs,” he looked at Thracia, “And finally, there’s you.”

Thracia stood there, practically frozen in horror, like a textbook illustration of the nervous system of someone that has been frightened.

A hard edge in Eli’s voice, “You made damn sure that everyone knew that you were a computer programmer. That’s a nice cover, a nerd that couldn’t hurt a fly.”

“A computer tech could have tampered with the auto log, covered for someone else,” Gami added.

“True,” Eli said thoughtfully.

Resolve crept in, then it turned into a sudden rush, erasing the apprehension, “You people are crazy! Worst, then that, you are stupid! It was obviously Eibel.”

She gasped. Skant made a show out of being upset.

Eli pointed at Thracia with his chin, “Go on.”

“The victim worked for Quality Shipyards. She’s a member of a rival company. I’ve worked data security in that industry. I’ve heard things. Those two firms have placed assassination contracts on each other before.”

“That’s a wild rumor!” Eibel shouted, “My company hasn’t assassinated any one since it was a noble house.”

“You saw how scared he got when he realized that he shouldn’t have spoken. She killed him, probably thinks that she’ll get a promotion out of it.”

“You were the one who found him!” Eibel shouted, “Why were you in there?”

“I wanted to see if he wanted to get breakfast. I thought I could land a job with his corp. But you messed that up by killing him.”

She denied it. The argument burned out there. They went back to nervously looking at each other. Gami stood back, watching.

“Let’s see if any of you have a cover story that you haven’t fully memorized,” Eli said, picking up a tablet and accessing the passenger list. He proceeded to quiz the passengers on details, such as the spelling of their names and their dates of birth. They answered nervously, as if they were afraid that they would somehow mess it up.

That was when Eli noticed something odd. He double checked it, then turned toward Babur, “I think that you accidentally paid twice. When this is over with, I’ll make sure that you get a refun-”

The human’s words came to a halt when he realized what had happened. He drew his sidearm. Gami pointed her guns and the monk. The others gasped and took several steps back.

Babur’s mannerisms changed radically, so that he didn’t seem like the same individual, “You figured it out, congratulations,” he said, sounding less like a monk, and more like a hardened killer.

“Where are they hiding?” Gami demanded.