They sat there for a long time, Bain just holding her, Lina clinging to him, both of them practically vibrating with infectious happiness. The day that they’d be married was a long way off, but it would happen, she was sure of it.
“And now, my wonderful bride-to-be, I think we should go speak to the Captain about our travel arrangements.”
Lina giggled. He made it sound like they were on a luxury cruise or something, not practically prisoner on an alien spaceship. But it was a welcome change to the suspicion and anger that had plagued him only a day before. She much preferred the flippant, carefree Bain.
“Yes, I think you’re right.”
He pulled up the projector menu and pressed a sequence of buttons that led him to a communication interface.
Lina’s eyes went wide. “Well, look at you. Aren’t you a fast learner?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t have anything better to do while you were gone, and worrying about you didn’t seem productive.”
“No, I agree, this is much more useful.”
The projector connected the call and the face of a Fibbun guard appeared in ghostly greenish light. He grunted, looking between the two of them.
"We'd like to speak to the Captain," Bain said. He didn't seem to let the fact that she was currently sitting in his lap stop him from sounding entirely regal.
The Fibbun grunted to someone off screen and then the familiar face of Goblak appeared. It was surprising to Lina how quickly she'd learned to identify him when they'd all looked so similar at first. Maybe that was the difference of seeing them as allies rather than enemies.
He must have been holding the translator cube below him, because when he grunted, the cool detached voice said, "What is it?"
"Goblak, we want to talk to the Captain," she said, imparting the meaningfulness of that statement into the look she gave him. His forehead wrinkled inward, like his eyebrows were raised, though he didn't have any eyebrows. She wondered if some facial expressions were just universal.
"You've discussed what we talked about?"
She nodded. "Yes, the prince is sympathetic and would like to discuss how we move forward from here."
Goblak looked from Lina, to Bain, waiting for confirmation.
Bain nodded, his arms tightening around Lina's waist. "She's right. I'd also like the opportunity to apologize for my behavior."
"Alright," said the translator as Goblak grunted. Though his voice wasn't nearly as pleasant. "I'll take you to him."
The call ended, and Lina suddenly felt very nervous. Though the biggest hurdles were behind them, things could still go wrong. Bain could still change his mind. So could the Captain. If things went really wrong, they might start this whole war anew. How could she be sure they were doing the right thing?
She only realized she was chewing her nails when Bain's hand encircled her wrist and pulled her fingers away from her mouth. "Stop worrying," he said gently. "I was born to be a diplomat. I can handle this."
She gave him a sideways glance, arching a brow and he held up his hands defensively, laughing.
"I know, I know. I've made an ass out of myself already. But things were different. My intel was faulty. I thought they were going to hurt you."
"And you would have started a whole war because of it."
"Lina, darling, I would do that and so much more to protect you."
Though she was rolling her eyes at him, she couldn't help smiling. "Please don't ever start a war on my behalf."
"You have my word."
"I just don't want anything to go wrong... It seems like I'll never get back to Earth at this rate."
"We will," he reassured her. "We'll get to Earth, I'll meet your mom, she'll obviously love me, and then we'll live happily ever after."
She giggled, nudging him with her shoulder. "I think you missed a few crucial steps there somewhere."
He shrugged. "Minor obstacles."
"And what makes you so certain my mother will love you?"
Now it was his turn to give her that sideways look, one eyebrow arched with a devil-may-care lopsided grin that made her heart skip a beat. "Come on. What's not to love?"
She rolled her eyes. "You know you can be a bit full of yourself sometimes?"
His face morphed into a look of shock, but the smile glimmering in his eyes told Lina it wasn't real. "Only sometimes? I guess I'll have to step it up."
She groaned, dropping her head to his shoulder. "Please don't. I can hardly stand you the way it is."
They were both laughing when Goblak knocked on the door.
Lina shot to her feet, Bain standing more casually, on his own time, no one else's.
Goblak said nothing, and his hands were empty. No weapons, no translator. He was there to serve as a guide through the ship and nothing more, it seemed. No longer did they need guards and threats of violence. Soon, they'd all be friends.
As he led them through the ship, Lina spotted the evidence of her handiwork all around them. And she spotted some of the hallways which had been unusable, being cleaned out, a flurry of activity.
There was satisfaction there, seeing that she'd been able to help these people improve their quality of life. The same way she'd helped the Mabnoans. The same way she helped Mom — when she'd let her. It felt incredibly good to feel useful after a life of being too tiny to help much. And as excited as she was to get back to Earth, she was a little sad she wouldn't be able to help the Fibbuns more.
Goblak led them through familiar hallways, and Lina expected to be led back to what she now suspected were the Captain's quarters, but instead, Goblak took a different turn and led them to a room filled with a large circular table. It looked like precisely the kind of place where leaders would meet to discuss treaties, and trade agreements. It was also in much better shape than most of the rest of the ship. The doors didn't stick, the floors were even, there were no drips to be heard, no rattling of air. It was clean, silent, and featureless to the point of being a bit unsettling.
The one saving grace of the room was a huge window set in the ceiling, showing off the great expanse of space. Lina had gotten used to how empty and dark space was in their short trip before they were captured, and she didn't expect to see much other than black. But as they stepped further into the room, she couldn't help craning her neck up to look and her breath hitched in her throat. A nearby nebula stretched across the huge skylight, an ethereal cloud of green and pink, stars winking through it from beyond. She grabbed Bain's sleeve and tugged on it, too awed to find words.
He looked too. Lina tore her eyes away from the beautiful sight to look at him, her heart swelling with his look of wonder. He loved this just as much as she did. There was no way they could be expected to live confined on one planet the rest of their life. Neither one of them could handle that. And it didn't matter which planet it was — Mabnoa or Earth, both would be stifling after long. They'd have to find a way to get back to this. To see the wonders the Universe held in store for them.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the voice made Lina tense instantly, her whole body going rigid, her hand on Bain's arm tightening.
He sensed the shift in her, and looked down just in time to see Vessa stroll into the room with her head held high.
"Hello again, daughter," she said sweetly, smiling as if they'd never had animosity.
Lina clenched her jaw tight, her hands balling into fists at her side. "I told you not to call me that."
Bain's hand found hers and coaxed it out of its tense ball, lacing his fingers through hers and squeezing.
"Where is the Captain?" he asked.
"He's on his way," Vessa said. "I was hoping to arrive early to speak with my daughter... alone."
Lina started to open her mouth to refuse, but Bain saved her from having to.
"Anything you have to say to my future wife, you can say to me."
Vessa's eyes widened, but her smile only grew. "My congratulations." Then the smile faded, and she sat at the circular table, folding her hands. "I'm afraid we got off on the wrong foot," she said, looking directly at Lina.
"I'm not sure how we could have gotten off on any other considering you shot me into space when I was an infant."
Vessa nodded, her eyes sad. "You're right, of course. It was naive of me to think that you'd be overjoyed to see me. I had just hoped... I've dreamed of the day I'd see you again for many years. If I'd had any idea that you didn't wind up on Olinda..."
"But you never followed up," Lina spat, her heart hammering in her chest. She couldn't remember it, but just imagining that little baby, all alone, being sent into the unknown with no one to care for it made her so angry. Who did a thing like that?
"I didn't," Vessa admitted, her eyes cast downward. "I didn't have any reason to believe they'd even let me explain."
"And when the ceasefire was agreed to? When you were back on speaking terms with your home world and still chose to stay here? What's your excuse for that?" All this time, Lina had thought she didn't care. She'd thought her parents had a good reason to send her away, that there was some danger she couldn't understand. She'd made peace with never knowing them and never knowing their reasons. She never thought that finding out the truth would make her angrier than the mystery ever had.
Vessa opened her mouth, but then her jaw snapped shut. "You're right," she conceded. "I've made a lot of terrible choices in my life. None that I regret as much as giving you away. But I was terrified. I didn't know for sure that I was right about these people. I'd only been on board for a short time and it still could have all been a ruse. And I didn't have any help here. Your father had left me alone, Olinda shunned me... I didn't have the first clue how to care for a child on my own. We've always raised our children as a community, with the help of our elders... I was young and afraid, hardly older than you are now. It's no excuse for what I've done, but I hope you can understand..."
Lina started to say something, but Bain squeezed her hand again and she bit her tongue, instead taking a seat at the table. Maybe, when the anger wasn't burning so hot and bright right under the surface, she'd be able to think about what Vessa said. Put herself in those shoes. But not right now. Right now, all she could see was the woman who decided she wasn't worth keeping.
Bain sat next to her, his hand settling on her knee under the table, squeezing there too. His silent reminder that he was here with her, supporting her. She was glad he was there.
"Regardless of your... personal history, I believe we're here to discuss other matters," Bain said, tactful as ever.
Vessa looked up from her hands, her eyes shining bright with tears. "You're right, of course. Where are you from?"
Bain narrowed his eyes at her and Lina let her hand settle on his thigh under the table, giving him a squeeze of his own. "An isolated planet much like yourself."
Vessa's eyes went from dull and defeated to bright, sharp. "And still not sure enough of me to name it, I see."
"Not that a name would do you any good, really," Bain answered tartly. "But the name of our world is Mabnoa," he finished.
Vessa stroked her chin. "I've not heard of that world."
"As we intended it," Bain said coolly.
"Of course."
"Is the Captain planning on making an appearance any time soon, or was this merely a farce to force Lina to speak with you against her wishes?"
Lina tried to keep her emotions out of her expression, but even she was surprised with Bain's sharp tone. She knew it was for her benefit, because he cared about her and had promised to handle the interactions with Vessa, but even she winced a little at the sting in his voice.
"He's very busy," she answered, her own voice cool and barbed now. It seemed that Vessa finally understood there would be no camaraderie between them. "But he should be arriving any moment." She looked up from the table, and in the garbled language of the Fibbuns, said something to Goblak who still stood sentry by the door.
Goblak looked at a device in his hand and said something back.
Before anyone could ask what they were saying, the door Vessa had come through opened again and the Fibbun Captain arrived with a cadre of guards surrounding him. So much for not needing a show of strength.