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Sequence 1 Merge 1, Reversal Gralgiran, Kelsirian Gralgiran hurried through the ship. Why? He demanded. What had he done to deserve this kind of Meddling? Blaming the gods was easier than noticing the poor state of his ship. His failure at taking care of it. Was the reactor failing really them Meddling in his life, or him failing his Engineer by not being able to provide enough printer base for Alix to make the parts he needed to maintain it. How often had his friend begged for supplies, and all Gralgiran had been able to do was show him the accounts. Supplies cost, and he barely had any money. Trading wasn’t Gralgiran’s strength. He’d trained to be a hunter. Had been good at it. Had graduated with his namesakes smiling down on him He’d been ready for the Line. To prove himself further to them and, in time, become an Alpha. The Leadership dismantling the Hunters destroyed his plans. “The Line still waits for you,” the military representative had announced to the confused hunters. “But not under fictions that did nothing for us. Join us and you will experience glory.” Glory? Gralgiran had almost replied in disgust. Hunters didn’t fight for glory. They fought for their gods. The idea the Leadership thought he’d join those denying them was sickening. He left before the representative was done with her pitch. He wasn’t alone. He quickly found work on a ship. Not a hunter ship, as those had been either retired or assimilated. But a merchant one; The Brave Traveler. Merchants needed security, and a hunter of his caliber excelled at that job. And he realized the Meddling that had happened when the captain told him how he’d gotten such a large ship. It was one of the decommissioned hunter ship. It had been called the Viper’s Bane, then. A ship Gralgiran knew. A ship that was part of Hunter history when he trained. It had held the Line often. It’s Alphas standing before Kelser’s enemies, ready to die so their people lived. He’d often imagined himself on that ship, under such an Alpha. Standing proud, willing to walk into the Forest so long as it was while protecting his people. If the ship had still been active, he would have sought it out. And here he was, serving on it. By then, he was in charge of security. Then, he inherited the ship. The attack had been vicious. Halans, who’d formed a larger pack of different clans. Almost more interested in destroying them than stealing, it had felt like. They won, barely. But not without casualty. Not without Gralgiran failing his captain. And his responsibility became owning the ship, looking to its crew’s safety. The gods had to be laughing. Gralgiran had gotten what he’d dreamed, twice, in the worse way possible. With a ship, he’d decided to do the work gods had tasked him with, protecting the Line. Keeping his people safe. Reaching out to a few of the people he’d known from the academy let him find hunter after hunter that had been made useless by the Leadership ans offered positions on his crew. Unfortunately, all of them didn’t make his work easier. The gods sent him on hunts, and he was victorious more than not. But the military didn’t look kindly on those acting without their approval. Halan, they called him. And the spoils of his victories became unlawful thefts. So, he took what he could from his victory to maintain his ship and what his Quartermaster could resell, and did the best he could to act as a merchant the rest of the time by dealing with Federation Stations outside his people’s territory. He smelled the damage to Engineering before reaching it, and it smelled bad. Flesh and fur as well as burned material. It was crowded, technicians, medic, and hunters moving injured people away from the reactor. The one advantage to his crew was that nearly every position was filled by a hunter, so they knew what to do. “Thur,” he called at the male carrying an injured technician, “where’s Alix?” He nodded toward the wall where medics were looking after injured. His friend was already on a medical bed, and the orange didn’t inspire confident. “How is he?” “Not now,” the Doctor working on him said. “I need to—” “Do you want him treated, Alpha? Or your questions answered? I can’t do both.” He stepped away. Seeing half his friend’s body burned was sickening. He was supposed to keep him, all of them, safe. Alix wasn’t a hunter. He shouldn’t have had to suffer. “Gral,” Thur said, taking his arm. “There’s nothing you can do here. We have the reactor shutdown. The medics are looking after the injured. You’ll just get in the way.” “I have to do something,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have allowed this to happen.” “This isn’t your fault.” “I should have gotten him the supplies he needs.” His friend smirked. “With what money? It’s been two years since the gods gave us a hunt.” “Have you heard anything?” Thur shook his head. “She’s being quiet. I don’t know why.” “Like we know anything they want,” he said bitterly. “Gral, you need to find us a station. The backup isn’t going to last. Alix barely let any material go to it.” “The anti-matter?” “That’s not a problem. The backup barely uses any compared to the reactor.” “How am I going to pay them?” “That’s going to have to be after we’re there. If we stay in space, the Line will be our end.” He nodded, hated that he had to be reminded of his rank, his responsibility. * * * * * Gralgiran sat in the empty concourse, bottle of alcohol in his hand. He soaked in the silence that was proof of what had been stolen from this ship. Families should be here. Enough to be a small city. His hunters’s loved ones. Instead, it was empty. He couldn’t risk their lives so carelessly, so his hunters had to leave them behind. There had been arguments. A few had joined as crew. Hunters rarely came from meek families. He took a swig and enjoyed the burn. The bottle was swiped by the male dropping next to him. “Don’t be greedy. I worked hard to get us a few bottles.” He took a long swallow and gasped. “Really? You had to open the spiced wine?” “I wasn’t planning on sharing,” Gralgiran said, placing an arm over his friend’s shoulders. “How bad is it, Xen?” “Horrible, you shouldn’t drink this stuff. It’s going to ruin you for the more subtle flavors.” Gralgiran laughed, then laughed harder. He rubbed muzzle with the male. “Thanks.” Xen licked the side. “It’s why you keep me around, to entertain you. As for how the supplies are doing, tell me we heading somewhere I’ll be able to trade and we’ll be fine.” “How good is your Earther?” “How are we heading to one of their station?” “Remember us nearly getting destroyed by that Military ship?” “The one that blew a hole in deck three and four?” “Yeah, that one. Lost it in that asteroid field when we detonated one against its hull. We got out of it in the disputed territory, and the plan was to remain here until we reached Hershtaron Doras Sima. But we’re close to the Earther border, and there’s one of theirs much closer.” “They’ve agreed to let us dock?” “I hope they will.” Xen stared at him, ears folded back. “Gral, tell me you aren’t counting on me fucking my namesake so he’ll Meddle. You know it doesn’t work like that.” “I’m counting on them not being the closed people the stories say they are. They’re out here too. They have to understand we all need to help each other.” “And you’re thinking that if we’re close to them, they’ll feel obligated?” Gralgiran took a long swallow. “Something like that.” “Well, my Earther’s passable, but I should probably see if Leiha can put more of it in my head.” He grinned. “While I put more of me into her.” “That isn’t how it works,” Toom said, sitting on Gralgiran’s other side. “She needs to be able to focus, and you fucking her isn’t going to let that happen. I should know.” He grabbed the bottle. “It’s the spicy wine,” Xen warned. “Oh, I’m not drinking it. I’m making sure he doesn’t drink anymore.” Gralgiran rolled his eyes. “I haven’t drunk that much.” “But you, sitting here, alone, doesn’t lead to moderation.” He draped himself over Gralgiran, grinning, as he pawed the seat between him and Xen. “You missed the target by a whole leg,” his friend said, pointing to his groin. “It’s here.” “Not what I’m groping for. Got it.” He straightened and put the cap on the bottle before putting it on the ground. “Now we can make sure he doesn’t fall into the pit of moroseness.” Toom climbed onto Gralgiran’s lap, hands firmly on his crotch. “This isn’t a Leisure area, Toom,” he warned. His friend smirked. “Who’s going to complain? Him?” he nodded to the naked Xen. “There are rules,” he insisted. Xen nuzzled his ear, whispering. “Don’t worry, I know the perfect bribe to keep the captain from punishing us.” He took Gralgiran’s hand and closed in around his erection. Gralgiran might have drank more than he’d thought because he decided to throw the rules out and let his friends fuck him until exhaustion took them. * * * * * “Status?” he asked on entering the bridge. Half the stations weren’t functioning, with crew gathering around the others. “The backup is holding up,” one of the beta said. “But engineering wants me to remind you that it’s only a question of time before it fails.” “Comms, how’s the transmission array?” “Depowered on account of not being vital.” He contacted engineering. “This is the captain. I need comms active. I have to contact the Earther station if we’re going to get repairs.” “I—it was deactivated after the reactor failed.” “I’m aware. I need it reactivated.” “I don’t have the rank.” “I do.” He sighed. “The captain is ordering you to give the array power.” “Yes, Captain.” The hesitation did not inspire confidence. He tapped a name on his tablet. “Yes?” the male didn’t sound awake, and Gralgiran mentally cursed himself for not checking if Thur would on his sleep shift. Too late now. “Thur. Why isn’t there someone with Rank in engineering for this shift? I had to order a technician to power up the comm array.” The beta curse. “Cancel that order.” “Thur, I—” “You don’t want to stress the backup, Gral. I’ll head there and make sure it’s done safely. As for why there’s no one with rank, the shifts have been in shambles since the accident. Too many injured to run engineering at full crew. I’ve had people from Repair and Maintenance help, but they don’t have the right training to assume rank. I’ll figure something out. Just let me deal with this.” Gralgiran called Engineer, and the technician sounded relieved not to have to do the work. Three hours later, the lights dimmed. “Comm has power,” Thur said. “I’ve locked the concourse and turned life support off there. Be quick, the array is the kind of drain on power that means I’ll have to lower life support elsewhere to make sure the backup copes.” “I’ll be as quick as I can, but it’ll depend on the Earthers.” He nodded to Comms. “Established, on screen.” The female who appeared stood straight and work clothing that reminded Gralgiran of what the military wore. “This is the Einstein Research Station. Be warned that we are a military station and passage is controlled. Please state the reason for contacting us.” “I am Captain Gralgiran sel Helrarvnir,” he said in what he hoped was proper Earther. The only practice he’d had had been with Leiha and the others she’d taught it to. It was never the same as when a native speaker spoke it. “My ship, the Brave Traveler, has suffered a reactor malfunction that has rendered it inoperative and injured my Engineer. I am asking for assistance. If you refuse us, we may end up stranded between here and the next station.” “I understand, Captain Gral….” She cut the mangled rest before she made it past what had sounding his first name. “I’m sorry, your name is…not something I can pronounce. I hope you’ll be fine if I call you Gral. I can manage that.” “No, it’s—” he swallowed his pride, his ears folding back. He couldn’t antagonize them. “Yes, it’s fine.” “Alright. Let me check with my commanding officer.” The screen shifted to lines moving randomly and music. “Interesting way to let us know the communication is still active,” the bridge beta said. Hopefully, it would last too long. He expected a lot of the life support could be cut and have the crew congregate to smaller area, but how long until the crowding become a problem in itself? She appeared. “I’m transferring you,” she said before he could speak. The man who appeared was also seated and wore a similar uniform to hers. “Captain,” he stated curtly. “You understand that this is restricted space. Einstein is an anti-matter research station, not a trading post.” “I—How may I address you?” “I’m Commander Neil Jackson. I’m aware of your name, as well as Kelsirian preference for the use of full rank and name when speaking with strangers. So I hope you’ll understand if I only use your rank so I don’t have to resort to your short name since I can’t pronounce it fully.” Gralgiran was surprised the male knew that much about his people. He expected those in charge of shepherding the Earthers within the Federation would know equivalent details, but for a station commander to know that much? And to respect him that much? “Thank you. And I understand. If I thought we could reach a station in Kelsirian space, we’d be heading there, but the beta I have in charge while the Engineer is incapacitated doesn’t believe we’ll make it.” The male nodded. “Our sensor show you’re leaking a bunch of stuff indicating your reactor isn’t doing well. You’ll forgive me if I can’t give you the particle names. I just run the place. I let the researchers deal with those words.” Gralgiran chuckled. “I understand. When the Engineer starts explaining how things work there, it’s a struggle to remain awake.” “I can let you dock, and I’ll have one of my best engineer take a look at your reactor. If it can be repaired, he’ll make it happen. If not…. We’ll deal with that if it happens. But I have to warn you. I can’t give your crew free access to the station. I’ll assign you a dock on level nine. It’s not used at the moment, and they can go where they want along the dock, but if they try to get deeper, I’ll have them arrested.” “I understand, and if my ship can connect to the station power, we won’t need to leave.” “I’ll have the engineers looking into if it’s compatible, and the one I assign to your repairs meets you at the dock. He’ll let you know what can be arranged. Einstein out.” The screen went blank, and Gralgiran found he could breathe again.