"You think that's automated?" Kaspar asks, clearly on the same page as me.
"You know what I think."
"Right. Ghosts." He smirks and plays with his blaster, pulling it out of the holster at his hip. "Ten credits if you let me go first."
I snort. Ten credits won't even buy a pack of carcinogels. "Keep your credits. I don't want to go first anyhow." I mean, if there ARE ghosts…
"Shut up. Both of you." Lord Straik sounds like an angry parent. "Or I'll leave you both behind."
Kaspar steps in front of me and I grunt acknowledgment. Go first. See if I care.
The portal clicks, then chimes a confirmation as it locks on to the Buoyant Star. Air rushes into the expanding tunnel walkway between the two ships, and I feel a rush of adrenaline. For better or for worse, we're about to get to the end of this crazy chase. We've lost our ship—temporarily—and we've teamed up with the enemy, but it'll all be worth it if there's something good on the other side. I imagine enough riches to buy a planet…not that I want one. I'm not entirely sure what I'd buy if I grew obscenely wealthy. I like spending time with my brothers on our ship. I don't care about the credits. I just don't want to be alone with my thoughts.
There's a positive, chirpy little chime from our ship, indicating that it's now safe to move forward. I turn to look behind me, and Lord Straik is wearing his cloak and dark clothing, because of course he is. He's flanked by six of his a'ani retinue, all of them armed and in body armor. They're ready to take on whatever we find on the ship, most likely by force.
Straik nods at me.
I turn forward and nudge Kaspar. "Let's go in."
My excitement builds as my brother takes the lead with me a step behind him. As we cross through the tunnel, I look out the window and see the enormous hull of the ship. The Buoyant Star is a cargo ship, like many that take to the outer lanes of the known galaxy, and so most of her hull is cargo space. The ship's sleek on top, not much bigger than The Darkened Eye, but latched on behind her, connected with cables and pulleys and a few strategic walkways, is an enormous cargo hold. It reminds me a bit of an iceberg, with a small tip and the bulky, dangerous underside.
I lean close to Kaspar as I walk. "Look at the size of that cargo hull. What do you think they were shipping?"
"Dunno," Kaspar murmurs back. "Better hope for our sake it's not livestock."
I make a face at that thought. I can just imagine going all this way to hunt down some lofty treasure…and finding nothing but a hold full of long-dead meat-stock. That'd be some luck. "Maybe it's weapons," I whisper back to Kaspar. "Isn't that what Mathiras thought it might be?"
He grunts, and I suspect we're both thinking of our brother, still on the bridge as the rest of us check out the mysterious ship. It has to be eating at Mathiras that he doesn't get to go on board with the rest of us. We talked everything over the night before, though, and it was agreed that if someone needed to step in and take control of things, it'd be Mathiras. Everyone likes and respects him.
They're a little terrified of me being in charge of anything. Same with Kaspar.
So Mathiras is on the bridge of The Darkened Eye and Lord Straik is at our back. A new idea occurs to me, and I lean forward to whisper to Kaspar again. "Do you trust him?"
"Who, Straik?" At my agreement, he snorts. "Of course not."
"Then why are we going in first?"
"What other choice do we have?" He grins over his shoulder at me. "Besides, you want to see what's on here as badly as I do."
He's not wrong. Curiosity is killing me.
We get to the end of the tunnel and into the staging room on the other side. We're now officially on the Buoyant Star, even if we're still breathing The Darkened Eye's oxygen. I peer around me curiously as the others file in behind us. Doesn't feel haunted so far. I glance over at Kaspar, but he's stationed himself at the door of the Star, waiting for the signal.
Lord Straik has his weapons put aside for the moment and his data pad is out. He holds it up