Free Gabriel's Ghost by Megan Sybil Baker Page A

Englarian holidays, full of chastisement, but a time of celebration and renewal. Glory-seeds, honeylace would be shared. A station full of mellow, happy eight-foot tall guards wasn’t a bad idea at all.
    Still, I wanted off Moabar Station. “Can we get another ship in that time?”
    “Of course.” A Sully-like smirk accompanied his words.
    “Is there somewhere I can stay until then?” I asked Drogue. “I don’t think my ID will pass a second scan. I’d prefer it if the M.O.C. and the stripers could forget they ever saw Sister Berri here.”
    “The wisdom of the stars blessed me with a different idea. If you’ll permit me?” Drogue motioned to Sully, who nodded, obviously curious. Ren sat forward on the bed.
    “The stripers, as you call our security force, would find it odd that Sister Berri Solaria not participate in Peyhar’s. You have been seen on station, as has Brother Ren Ackravaro. Your absence would cause remarkings. Your person, would not.”
    “Best place to hide is in full view,” Sully quipped.
    “Wait a minute.” I held up one hand. “I can talk the basic lingo. Praise the stars. Blessings of the hour. But I’ve never been to a Peyhar’s celebration and my Non-Human Cultures class was a long time ago. I’ll sweep out the Temple, fold prayer rugs, whatever. But I’m an obvious amateur—”
    “Virgin,” Sully put in.
    “And not a sacrificial one,” I snapped back. Damn him! He was baiting me again.
    “She has a point,” Ren said. I thought I began to see a pattern. Sully gets me riled and then Ren empathically reads me like a datascreen on max-download. Wonderful.
    I didn’t care that Ren knew I was afraid. I was hardly a virgin but my ignorance of the Englarians was wide and vast. I hated going in to something without the facts, unprepared. No details.
    Sully was disagreeing. “She’ll be functioning as an acolyte. Most of the focus will be on Drogue and Clement. She just has to put in a few appearances. If a ship gets here that we can use, we’ll just say we had the call to meditation.” He shrugged, shot a glance at Ren, who turned, almost as if he could feel Sully’s gaze on him.
    Megan Sybil Baker - 39
    “Brother Sudral sees well.” Drogue turned to me. “Formal festivities start tomorrow. I suggest we all get some rest. I can assure you the Temple is secure. I’ll provide you with some basic descriptives of the ceremonies, if you like, Captain Bergren.”
    “Please.”
    Ren stood. “You may have my quarters. They’re clean. The office has room for a cot which will serve me well.”
    “No, I can’t put you out.” My answer was automatic. Yet even as I declined his offer, I knew it was more than that. Of all of us, Ren was the least adapted to a human environment, the most in need of special accommodations. In spite of my suspicions, I had no desire to see him inconvenienced. I doubted the office had a bathtub.
    The Stolorth offered me a small smile. “The Temple has a baptismal pool, if that’s your concern.”
    Was I that easy to read? Obviously. “None of us can afford to be less than optimum right now.”
    “Then know that I would do nothing to jeopardize your safety, or my own.”
    Or Sully’s?
    It hit me. They didn’t trust me. That’s why Ren was here, to see if Chaz Bergren, former Imperial Fleet officer, would cooperate. As if I’d say no, let me stay on Moabar. It was just starting to get cozy down there.
    I had to get Ren alone. Surprisingly, that thought didn’t discomfort me as much as it should have. As it had even a few hours earlier. Amazing how three weeks on Moabar can suddenly make one more receptive to a wide range of ideas and experiences.
    “I’ll compromise,” I told him. “Bring the cot in here. I’ll use it. It’s probably more my size, anyway. Then you can have your own bed, and bath. It shouldn’t be for more than a day or two, at best. Unless you’d feel uncomfortable with me here?”
    I felt and heard, more than saw, Sully