Minor
Qualin acclimated quickly to the sudden change. Moving from a cool to a hot location could be rough, but he kept his feet and I felt and watched as he adjusted the energy around himself to help the adjustment. To his credit, his face had remained calm the entire time.
Meanwhile, Galaxy was focusing on our guest, who was going through the usual freak-out upon realizing the situation. My brother had chosen quite the spot; I vaguely remembered doing some training in these lava fields after a hunt. Two or three years ago, maybe? He certainly wasn't playing.
"Where is this!?! Who are you people?! How did we get here?" Abujar spun in circles, taking in the area and clearly disturbed by the lava no more than a few yards away from him on any side.
"We came to ask you a few questions, since you decided to be hostile, I figured this would simplify things." Galaxy spoke in a low, serious tone, gesturing slightly as he spoke.
"Look, I'm just a business--"
"We know who you are and what you do." Galaxy gestured to Qualin. "Our new brother filled us in."
A smile tugged at my lips and I stole a glance at my partner. Qualin chuckled with a half grin on his face. He obviously liked being referred to as family, and was also amused by the confusion on Abujar's face as realization slowly dawned on him.
"Alright, I see how it is." Abujar chuckled nervously, trying to smile and seem amicable. "I'm sure he's told you then that I'm a reasonable man. Now, I'm sorry about before, but you must understand my concern given the circumstances."
"You tried to kill my partner, I don't care about the circumstances." I snapped almost reflexively at the nerve of him trying to brush off attacking Qualin.
"Hold on, I didn't try to kill him!" He looked towards Qualin as if expecting him to back him up. "I knew he could dodge that." He chuckled, "In fact, I figured if he was being held captive or something, the confusion would give him a chance to escape."
Qualin laughed. "As if you're capable of feeling concern for someone else. Especially a lowly slave like me."
"Now, that's not fair. I'm a business man, but I don't personally deal in the slave trade. not my style or interest."
"But you'll deal in kidnapping children." Galaxy cut in.
Abujar tried to look confused, but his nervousness was clearly cracking his veneer. "What kidnapping-"
"The crown prince of LaMihinnia. You sent Qualin's previous group to kidnap our friend. We already know you were the one who arranged it. We just want to know who's behind it. They're the ones we want, not you." Galaxy paused, his face a picture of calm. "So, give us the info we want, and we'll drop you off back were we found you, or close to it. refuse, lie, or be particularly difficult and," he spread his arms wide and glanced around, "We'll leave you right here while we continue the search on our own."
"Y-you can't just leave me here!"
"Yes, we can. And we will if you don't cooperate." Galaxy's expression turned cold as he stared at the visibly sweating man.
"And in case your situation isn't clear, " Shooter chimed in, "you may be able to jump your way across the stone islands to get out of the fields, but it's a long way. And there are no cities or any civilization on this planet. the air is pretty thin too. you'll start feeling that as soon as you move around."
"But this world isn't totally uninhabited." I smiled. "There's wildlife. Some that live in the lava, if I recall correctly."
"Yeah, but... they're not too friendly." Major added with feigned concern. "They'll probably just eat you if they get the chance."
"True, but that's just nature." Galaxy shrugged. "I brought us here for our safety, and I'm certainly not going to waste energy taking you back, unless you give me a good reason. Otherwise, you're on your own. Maybe you'll survive. Maybe you even have a way to get off this planet all by yourself." He shrugged. "But if you do want our help, then help us out."
"Alright. Alright." Abujar wiped sweat from his face, clearly shaking, his eyes darting around. "Look, my business runs on anonymity, but I can't exactly keep my business going if I'm stranded here or... dead! So, I don't know much, but I'll tell you what I know, in exchange, you'll take me back, right?"
"If we believe you. And it's actually helpful." Stardust answered nonchalantly as she hummed quietly while slowly wondering around. Shooter had started doing the same in the opposite direction.
It was partially to keep watch for predators; there really were some lurking in the lava. But it was also a good intimidation tactic; they moved like predators circling prey. Not that we ever actually killed people, but it didn't hurt to scare men like Abujar.
"Talk." Galaxy demanded, drawing Abujar's gaze away from our circling siblings.
"It was the Nehwalian rebels."
"What?" Qualin sounded genuinely surprised. "Nehwalians are a slave race. The idea of their kind being rebels, let alone orchestrating a kidnapping, is absurd."
"That's because news of the rebellion has been kept quiet, to keep other slaves from rising up." Abujar answered. It sucked not being able to read his mind, but there was no hint of deception yet.
"What rebellion? Qualin sounded curious but oddly skeptical.
I took a moment to scan his thoughts and saw images and impressions of a humanoid race known for extreme loyalty to their masters. It was supposedly bred into them. He'd only ever seen a few in person and interactions had been limited, but there was a hint of bitterness towards them. They seemed smaller and slight in build. Apparently they had special abilities. That plus their temperament made then highly valued as slaves. They were viewed and treated almost more like pets, or thoroughbred domesticated animals. They weren't made to wear collars like Qualin. They weren't beaten. In fact, scarring a Nehwalian was a crime.
If a Nehwalian misbehaved, it was considered a poor reflection on the master because Nehwalians are so well known for obedience and loyalty, misbehavior was more likely ordered by a master, or the result of extreme abuse. They were typically kept separate from other slave species that didn't have the same kind of training and 'breeding'.
it was clear that Qualin's bitterness came from a mix of jealousy that they were slaves but were treated much better. The idea of slaves being so loyal also bothered him. Slaves loyal to their masters were traitors to other slaves. Not that there seemed to be a strong comradery between the slaves Qualin knew, but these Nehwalians were clearly even less trusted.
"I know it sounds crazy, but there is a group of rebellious slaves trying to start a full on revolution to force the Ratarans to pass a law abolishing slavery in the system. Well, at least for their people." He gave Qualin a look of feigned sympathy before seeming to remember his precarious position and wiping the expression from his face.
Qualin scoffed. "And why would they try and kidnap a prince from a completely different system?"
Abujar shrugged slightly. "I wasn't part of their strategy planning, but from what I gathered, they're hoping to force the King of LaMihinnia to help them. Maybe they were planning on framing the Ratarans, or maybe they just thought they could trade the kid for weapons or other resources to help them win."
"I just checked with Romnoe." Galaxy said allowed. "He says they have received requests for aid from both the Ratarans and the Nehwalians. Apparently the rebel forces are doing better than expected."
"Wouldn't Romnoe and Callie help the people fighting for their freedom? They hate slavery." I asked curiously, also pressing the question into the minds of both Romnoe and Callie. Not surprisingly, Callie's response was a clear desire to help the fighting slaves. Romnoe also sided with them, but felt that logistically, the Rataran empire was too far away to send troops, and the Ratarans had sworn to declare war on anyone who sided with the Nehwalians. For the time being, it seemed, the Nehwalians were mostly just gathering more of their people, convincing them to leave their masters and join the cause for abolition. Casualties were at a minimum; so for now, they had decided not to get involved.
"Well, I'm all for a slave rebellion," Shooter commented, momentarily pausing his circling, "but if they resorted to kidnapping, we definitely need to have a word with whoever is leading the charge."
"Hmm." Galaxy hummed and nodded his head.
"One thing still doesn't add up, why would Murkoross be helping a bunch of rebellious slaves?" Qualin asked. A very good question.
"You know how this works. He didn't know who the job was for. That's my whole business. They made contact with me, I found someone to get the job done. And like I said, I don't have any investment in the slave trade, so what do I care? As long as the customer can pay, and they did."
"How? Slavery isn't exactly lucrative for the slaves." Qualin was clearly skeptical.
"Perhaps not. But I'm sure some of the masters they rebelled against were affluent. I'm not in the habit of asking clients how they obtained they're payment."
Qualin nodded. A few memories flashed of his past 'owners' and their wealth, as well as ideas of how he could have acquired it for himself, given the opportunity. A trusted slave could have had such an opportunity.
"Alright. How were the Nehwalians supposed to get Jaria?" Galaxy asked.
"Once he confirmed with me, I'd send the drop off coordinates. If you take me back to the station--"
"Just tell us where."
"It's a...secure location."
I scoffed. It didn't take mind reading to know he was just trying to get back to the station. I glanced off to where Stardust had just passed by. Yep. there was a fin. If we left him here, it wouldn't take long...
Galaxy calmly closed the distance between them, grabbing the man by the collar and dragging him to the edge of the lava and holding him up, his feet nearly dangling. Abujar was clearly scared, then immediately more terrified. He must have seen the large sail-like fin cutting through the lava as well.
"Stop wasting our time. Tell us where we need to go now, or we'll leave without you."
"Alright! I'm sorry, here!" he reached into a pocket in his vest and pulled out a small silver cylinder, no bigger than a pen. "I just figured you wouldn't be able to read it without a nav system!"
"Ugh. I hate tech." Galaxy groaned.
"I got it!" Shooter snatched the device and vanished. Qualin looked at me curiously.
'He went back to LaMihinnia to get it checked out.' I explained with a gentle purr in his mind. 'It'll only take a minute.'
He nodded and returned his steely gaze to Abujar, who was still struggling in Galaxy's grip. Qualin was handling all this pretty well, but I was suddenly struck with the desire take him somewhere with just the two of us...
'Focus.'
'Sorry.' I replied to Galaxy and sighed softly, but Qualin glanced at me from the corner of his eye, a smile tugging at his lips. He winked and I felt a playfulness nibble at my mind. He was already getting better at sharing feelings and sensations though the link. I pressed my mind against his in a loving caress before Shooter reappeared.
"Let's go." We all converged on him, Galaxy dragging a more cooperative Abujar. This time, Shooter led the jump, with a small detour.
First, we landed on a small island surrounded by water.
"It's fresh water, so you can drink it. there's some edible plants. nothing poisonous, no predators and mild weather. You'll be fine for a bit." Galaxy explained as he pushed Abujar towards the foliage.
"Wait a second, I told you what you wanted, you can't leave me here!"
"I still don't trust you, and this place should let you stay alive, but stranded so we can find you again. If your information turns out to be good, one of us will come back to get you once everything is sorted."
"We had a deal!"
"I said we'd take you back, or somewhere nearby. This is literally the closest planet to the station I could get to." Galaxy shrugged. "Consider it your punishment for being willing to help kidnap a child, as well as all the other crap you've done. Be grateful you're not rotting in a cell. This is only temporary... unless we forget about you," He smiled mischievously, "afterall, with that tech blocking our telepathy, we won't be able to hear you call for help." He gave the same look of feigned concern Abujar had given Qualin. "Oh well, at least were leaving you in a nice environment." He gave a dismissive shrug, smiled, and turned to the rest of us.
We all snickered and jumped together to our next destination. 'That's what he gets for being part of a plot to take our friend, and for shooting at you.' I crooned.
Qualin laughed and gripped me tighter as we fell out of the space between places and landed on another new planet.