Starfinder

GOVERNMENT MEN

OLD AGE WAS TO BLAME for Leroux’s death. Moth didn’t need Dr. Trik to tell him that. The years had piled onto Leroux’s back until he simply couldn’t bear them any longer. And it wasn’t a shock to Moth either. Instead, it felt like there was a great hole inside him. He had sat at the edge of Leroux’s bed for a time, watching his lifeless face before fetching the doctor. Mostly he wanted to thank Leroux.

By the time Dr. Trik had finished, the whole building knew what had happened. Mrs. Jilla arrived with her cat in her arms, instantly concerned about Moth. Moth had expected the old lady to dissolve into tears but she did not. She was strong for him instead, insisting he come back to her own apartment while Dr. Trik and his helpers took away Leroux’s body.

“That’s nothing you should see,” she told Moth, taking his hand. Other neighbors, some of whom had been at Moth’s party the night before, nodded in agreement, urging Moth to go.

Lady Esme was in her usual spot on the balcony, sulking in her nest. The bird barely acknowledged Moth as he left with Mrs. Jilla. She seemed lost in the same fog that had engulfed Moth himself, a haze of disbelief and loneliness. Up in Mrs. Jilla’s apartment, Moth let the kindly lady feed him and speak gently about the cycles of life and death, but the food had no taste and the words were meaningless to him. He was afraid to go back to Leroux’s apartment until the old knight’s body was removed. Where would he go now that Leroux was dead? He couldn’t pay for the apartment himself. He had no family and no savings either, just the meager wages he made at the aerodrome.

Overwhelmed, he closed his eyes and lay on her sofa, not realizing how tired he was until he awoke two hours later. Eager to see what was happening back at home, he thanked Mrs. Jilla, promised he would return soon, and headed down the flights of outdoor stairs toward home.

As he reached the tiny landing outside Leroux’s apartment he noticed the door swinging open on its hinges.

“Dr. Trik?” he called “You here?”

Moth took one step inside the apartment and gasped. A handful of men in dark suits swarmed through the place. With crowbars and axes they had opened the walls and ceiling, cut into the floor and the furniture, and overturned Moth’s books and papers, tossing them everywhere. Noticing Moth in the doorway, they stopped and turned on him.

“What’re you doing?” Moth cried.

The man nearest to Moth lowered his axe, looking like a well-dressed thug. For a moment he stared, unsure what to do. “You live here?” he asked.

“Yeah, I live here. Who are you?” Moth demanded.

The other men drew closer. The first man put up a hand to stop them. “Don’t,” he directed. Then he called out, “Governor? The kid’s back.”

Moth thought of running, then of screaming for help. The door to the balcony was wide open. Lady Esme was gone. Moth backed up a single step, but froze when he saw a man emerge from Leroux’s bedroom. Unlike the others, this was a man he knew.

Governor Rendor was unmistakable with his salt and pepper beard and stately attire. The towering figure had to stoop to get through the bedroom door, then rose up high like a cobra when he saw Moth.

“Good day, boy,” he pronounced.

Moth was dumbstruck. “What…?”

“Don’t be alarmed,” said Fiona’s grandfather. He glided casually across the debris-strewn floor toward Moth. “Your friend Leroux is dead. This apartment belongs to the government now.”

“But my things…” sputtered Moth.

“Confiscated. For now.”

Moth glanced nervously around the room, trying to make sense of what was happening. “Where’s Leroux? Did Dr. Trik take him?”

The Governor replied, “He’ll be buried like an Eldrin Knight. I’ll see to that myself. Your friend Leroux was a great man. People forget what the Eldrin Knights did for this country. Now…” He squatted down to get closer to Moth. “Can you tell me where the bird is?”

“Bird?” asked Moth. “What bird?”

Rendor’s smile was as tight as a bowstring. “It would be a help if you told me.”

“A help for who? What are you doing here? What are you looking for?”

“The bird, boy. Where is she?”

Moth inched toward the door. Governor Rendor’s men closed in to stop him.

“No,” Rendor snapped at them. “Leave him.” He once again towered over Moth. “I suppose I have Fiona to thank for making you afraid of me. Are you afraid of me, boy? You needn’t be. If you help me find the kestrel I’ll reward you.”

“What do you want with her?”

“Enough questions. Just help me find her.”

“You won’t find her in the floorboards,” Moth snarled. “And you have no right to take my stuff.”

The Governor examined him closely, as if trying to decipher a puzzle. Finally he turned away. “Get back to work,” he told his men.

“No!”

Moth rushed at Rendor, but a henchman snagged his arm. The Governor shook his head. “Let him go.”

Afraid, confused, Moth watched helplessly as the others went back to searching the apartment. Then, sure he’d be in danger if he stayed, he turned and bolted from the apartment, his feet clattering down the staircase as he raced away.

Governor Rendor went to the doorway, watching Moth speed down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, the boy ran along the street, disappearing quickly around a corner. The man who had taken Moth’s arm stood next to the Governor, wondering what to do.

“I could go after him,” he suggested.

Rendor thought for a moment. All he had seen on the boy’s face was shock. No concealment, no obscurity. Just surprise.

“Let him go,” said Rendor finally. “He doesn’t know anything.”

As his man rejoined the others, Rendor leaned against the door, sure that Leroux had been true to his word. Leroux had talked about the Reach but hadn’t whispered a word about the Starfinder, not even to young Moth. Rendor was sure of it. He glanced into the ramshackle room. The Starfinder was his now. All he had to do was find it.