Speaking of big planets, Kane wondered how they were going to find Necktie Fleece and capture him without earning permanent neckties of their own. Any man with the strength and skill to use a piece of wire to strangle a pirate lord was no one to underestimate. “How do we take him?”
“My soldiers are on the way,” Cassia said. “General Jordan is tracking Fleece’s ship. It’s a passenger craft called the Origin. We’ll know exactly when and where he lands, and as soon as his ship touches down, my troops will be there to hobble the landing gear and thrusters. Then we’ll take him someplace secure for questioning and see if our hunch is right. With any luck, I’ll have a cure to take back to Eturia, and the pirate lords can stop sleeping with one eye open.”
“Two birds, one stone,” Doran said. “Nice plan.”
Kane agreed. He would die before saying so, but he had to admit this whole trip would be a bust without Jordan and his technical team.
“Hey, Kane,” Renny called over the intercom. “There’s an incoming transmission for you. Some guy who calls himself a badger.”
“That’s Norton, a friend of mine,” he called back. He stuffed in one more bite of porridge as he stood from the table, then shouted with one cheek full, “Tell him I’m on my way.”
He jogged up the stairs to the bridge, but by the time he reached the com center, the transmission had dropped. He was about to ping Badger back when Renny spoke to him from the pilothouse. “He couldn’t wait. He asked me to deliver a message.”
“What’d he say?”
“Come sit down.”
Kane’s stomach dipped. Everyone knew sit down was code for bad news. His mind raced with possibilities until it landed on the most likely outcome. “It’s my mom, isn’t it? Something happened to her.”
“Come—”
“Don’t make me sit down. Just say it.”
But of course Renny didn’t do that. First he set the autopilot; then he took the time to walk to the com center and settle a hand on Kane’s shoulder. “She took a turn for the worse. She hasn’t held anything down all week. Your friend doesn’t think she’ll last the night.” Renny’s eyes shone with so much sympathy it weakened Kane’s knees. “He wants you to know so you can call home and talk to her before…”
“Before it’s too late.” Kane reached out to steady himself on the wall. Maybe he should’ve listened and sat down, because now his limbs seemed to have disconnected from his torso. “But she was okay when I talked to her the other day.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Kane nodded at the blur of dials and knobs. “Can you set the frequency?”
“Of course.” Renny entered the code and delivered one final pat on the shoulder. “I’ll give you some privacy. If you need me, just say the word. I’ll be right downstairs.”
Renny left the bridge, and it suddenly occurred to Kane that he wasn’t ready for this. He wanted to stop the call—it was happening too fast—but he couldn’t remember how to operate the equipment. He felt a sick sensation of spinning, as though he’d climbed aboard a carnival ride and couldn’t get off.
The transmission connected, and a man’s rough voice answered. Kane recognized it as the farmer’s. The man sounded like he’d been crying, and that made Kane’s throat squeeze.
“I want to talk to Rena. Tell her it’s Ka—” He cut off and said instead, “Tell her it’s Doodlebug.”
Sometime later, he sat alone on the bottom bunk of the quarters he shared with Renny, slouched over with his head in his hands and staring blankly at the floor. He pulled in a breath and let it go. That was all he could do. His mind was as empty as a broken barrel. It seemed he should be crying or hurting or at least feeling guilty for leaving his mother behind, but more than anything, he felt numb.
His mom would be dead before morning.
He couldn’t absorb it.
Cassia knocked on the door in three soft raps. He knew it was her because she always delivered two taps with a long rest before the third. He also knew he wouldn’t have to tell her to come in. Her knocks were more of a warning than a request.
He didn’t look up when she stepped inside, or when she shut the door and sat next to him on the cot. He felt the mattress sink and then the heat of her arm pressed against his. They sat that way for a while, just leaning on each other, until she dug in her pocket for something and held it in his line of vision. It was the prayer necklace he’d bought for her.
“I was thinking,” she said, and brushed a thumb over the blue stone pendant. “I’ve had this necklace for months and I never really used it.” She linked an arm through his. “Want to help me break it in?”
He watched her caress the marbled gem. He had never used a prayer stone, either. He wasn’t religious. He’d only visited the temple when his mother had made him go, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d chanted a requiem. But despite that, he opened his palm and let Cassia sandwich the stone between their hands. Somehow, this felt like the right thing to do.