The Dark Between The Stars

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR
SHAREEN FITZKELLUM

Even on the isolated, tide-swirled planet of Kuivahr, they heard about the Shana Rei attacking Theroc. The black stain vomiting out of Golgen’s clouds had only been one of the first encounters with the creatures of darkness. Shareen was not looking forward to another one.

When a Kett Shipping vessel arrived to take a load of kirae to Ildira (including one special bottle designated for the Mage-Imperator himself), the pilot told about the massive shadow cloud that had appeared at Theroc. As the crates of kirae were loaded aboard his ship, the pilot seemed uneasy about going to Ildira as well. “Odd reports coming out of there, too—mass hysteria, mob violence. The Ildirans say it’s also the work of the Shana Rei.”

Shareen remembered the quicksilver form of the hydrogue that had appeared on the Golgen skymine with blackness welling up inside its body, and how the shadow itself had flooded through the clouds of the gas giant. “Sounds like we were lucky to get away from Golgen when we did.”

“We lost a whole skymine, by damn! I wouldn’t call that lucky,” Del Kellum said. “Except I’m lucky that you’re all here with me now.”

Her father added, “I have no interest in a galactic war. Done that already.”

While Toff devoted his days to racing around in mudskimmers, Shareen and Howard worked in the distillery. They had already made improvements to increase production and shorten the fermentation time, but otherwise they didn’t have specific job assignments yet—this wasn’t exactly the skymine work-study routine Howard had signed up for.

Shareen enjoyed his company, though, and he didn’t get tired of her ideas. Howard turned to her with a serious expression. “You have some very thought-provoking concepts.”

“Then why are you so quiet after I tell you about them? You don’t say that much.”

“Because I’m thinking about them. That’s what thought-provoking means.”

They sat together on the outside upper deck under the cloudy skies, dangling their legs several stories above the muddy water. Del came out to join them, letting Marius Denva and other line supervisors handle the operations.

“Thought I’d find you here.”

“Are we that predictable?” Shareen asked.

“No, I just looked everywhere else.” Del made a great effort easing himself down and adjusting his legs precariously close to the edge, but he seemed comfortable enough. He gazed out toward the horizon in silence, which was unusual for him. Shareen didn’t break the spell, and all three of them just sat thinking, listening.

Del finally spoke up. “I’ve seen enough of the Spiral Arm, operated facilities on half a dozen planets, served as Speaker for the Roamer clans. There’s so much out there… but for me, this distillery is just enough. There was a time when my Shareen and I had plans to operate skymines on different gas giants. We were going to invest in a luxury spaceliner that would take tourists to the most amazing places—and we’d charge them through the nose each step of the way. She and I even talked about what we’d do when we retired together.”

Shareen saw tears sparkling in his eyes, and when he took a deep breath she heard a slight hitch in his throat. “Even if we didn’t retire, I still thought we’d be together. Sometimes the universe rises up and bites you right in the butt.”

She had heard many stories about her grandfather’s lost love Shareen Pasternak. It sounded like a truly epic romance, and she wondered if Del had exaggerated a little, but she was glad he had those stories and those memories, anyway. Coming back to himself, he looked at his granddaughter and reached over to tousle her hair.

“You two deserve more than spending your best years here. You’re too important for this. I expect great things from you, Shareen.”

She didn’t know what to say to that, except to thank him.

Howard included himself as well. “We’ll do our best with the opportunities we have, sir.”

“That’s the problem right now—not many opportunities here. That has to change. I’ve already called in a few favors for you.” He drew a deep satisfied breath, then made quite a production of getting back to his feet. “I’ll have some news tonight at dinner—it’s a surprise.”

Shareen knew she was supposed to be excited, and she wondered what sort of odd scheme her grandfather had come up with.

Clan Kellum ate their meals family style, and Howard was considered an adopted member of the family. He sat next to Shareen as they shared whatever seafood stew or shellfish concoction the commissary sent over.

Patrick took care of feeding Rex, who played with his food and jabbered about each item. Toff talked about the adventures he’d had (which sounded like the same thing he did every day, but Shareen had long ago learned how to tune out her pesky brother).

Zhett served herself and passed the pot down to Howard, while Del took his place at the head of the table. The big man cleared his throat and called them to attention. “I want you to know I’ve figured out what’s best for my granddaughter.”

Zhett bit her tongue with a visible effort.

“She needs something more challenging than this distillery has to offer. At the Golgen skymine she could have met her potential, taken over a major clan business, but not here. It’s not grand enough for her. You know where she belongs?” Del looked over at Shareen.

“Do you want me to guess?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Shareen—and Howard, of course—belong at Fireheart Station!” He grinned into the sudden silence, waiting for the reaction.

Patrick ventured, “That’s where Kotto Okiah is working. There could be worse places. Unless she wants to go back to the private school on Earth?”

“No!” Shareen said quickly.

Del continued in a rush, not wanting anyone to steal his thunder. “I made arrangements. I’m going to escort Shareen, and Howard—if his parents agree—to Fireheart Station, make sure they arrive safely.” He turned to Zhett. “Meanwhile, my sweet, you and Marius Denva can handle the distillery operations.” He hooked his thumbs in his waistband and waited for someone to hand him a dish of food. “In fact, I may just stay at Fireheart for a while.”

Zhett remained skeptical. “You’re just handing your distillery over to us, Dad?”

Del sniffed. “You’re my daughter, and you lost your gainful employment when the Golgen skymine was destroyed. You can handle these operations better than I can.”

Patrick was too quick to agree. “Sounds like a good deal to me.” He intercepted Rex from throwing food on the deck.

“Good,” Del said. “It’s decided then.”

Shareen straightened in her chair. “Wait, nobody bothered to ask me.”

Her grandfather just rolled his eyes. “Oh? Are you telling me you don’t want to go to Fireheart Station?”

Shareen looked away, but not before she glimpsed the excitement on Howard’s face. “What I want is to be consulted beforehand.”

Del said, “All right, then I’m consulting you. You want to go to Fireheart Station?”

Shareen grinned as she imagined the giant glowing nebula, the processing stations, the huge experimental superconducting ring that Kotto Okiah was building, all the special films bathed in stellar radiation to be used in power blocks… and a thousand other innovative scientific projects that she hadn’t even heard of yet.

“Absolutely,” she said.

“Then you two better pack up. I’m ready to take you right away.”