Ari choked on air, horrified at the notion that Orin could even think he would ever consider using him in such a despicable manner.
“No. Of course not. You are my pilot and my—my friend. And you deserve nothing less than my respect. I would never ask such a thing of you; I can assure you. I did not assume your debt with the intention of requiring anything of you in return.”
The fire dimmed in Orin, jaw relaxing slightly but hands still curled up tight.
Ari smoothed his own hands over his harness, gripping the strap across his hips as he continued. “However. In regards to the possibility of repayment, I…well… The truth is that there is a very good chance we shall never cross paths again after I find my brother. I have no manner of determining whether I will be able to find my way back through the dark after you and I have parted ways. If that is indeed the case, then I beg you to consider it a gift, from a friend who wishes you well. I find that I cannot bear the thought of you being forced to live on the run from such deplorable scoundrels and ruffians when I could have prevented it.”
Orin’s fingers unclenched to drift idly over the controls as he swiveled to face the view screen. “Like I said, you’ll get your credits soon as I’m able. Never know, maybe I’ll find you when you cross back over the Verge. Buy you a drink back in that saloon where we first met. The one that had you twitching like you was itching for a bath just from touching the door. Walking in pretty as a picture in your fancy clothes like you never had dirt under your fingernails in all your life. I swear, I never seen a head of hair I wanted to ruffle more.”
Orin’s dimples made a full appearance as he flashed his charming smile, something so melancholy hiding in his face Ari had to look away, swallowing against a lump in his throat.
“Yes, I suppose that would be a very favorable outcome, indeed. I would be pleased to meet you on this side of the Verge, if I am ever afforded the opportunity to do so.”
Orin’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he stole another glance at Ari before returning to his numbers.
Ari continued, voice barely held above a whisper, prodded by a twisting pain in his chest. “Do you know, when I first saw you waiting there in that filthy saloon, I nearly turned tail and gave it all up for a bad job? You were so big and…and so very handsome and worldly and just everything I thought I could never have, right there in front of me. It required every ounce of my courage just to sit at your table, much less ask for your help. I believe I will live the rest of my life grateful for that moment of courage and all it has brought to me, grateful for your assistance and your companionship.”
They shared a precious selection of silent moments, each one falling between them like a handful of diamonds slipping from Ari’s shaking fingers onto the metal floor.
Ari was the first to break away, nodding once decisively as he faced the shimmering wall of the Verge through the view screen. He had never been so close. Those born on the interior ring of Core worlds rarely got a chance to venture beyond the colonies lining the barrier.
“Well, time to dip into that courage once again. Nothing for it now but to press forward. Just think, soon you will be approaching the barrier of the Verge from the other side in your very own ship. And I, should the stars choose to shine, will have my brother safe within my arms. Everything we ever wanted, the both of us, could be just on the other side of this jump.”
Orin summoned up another smile, but this one blurred around the edges, water gathering across Ari’s vision at an unsuitable rate for such a happy occasion.
“I got Delilah fixed on the exit point,” Orin said, “ready to jump when you are, professor.”
Ari observed with frayed nerves as Orin steered them toward the swirling translucent veil of the Verge at a reasonable speed, neither fast nor slow enough to be particularly noticeable to any passing ships.
Ari stiffened his posture as Orin checked over his numbers, thick fingers moving across the flight controls steadily.
He studied Orin’s face, resolutely turned toward the view screen, brow furrowed with concentration.
Ari took a deep breath as he beheld the interior wall of the enormous force field, the glimmering brightness nearly blinding as they drew closer and closer. “Is that—is that it? You just enter the right numbers and we can get through?”
Orin quirked his lips to the side, glancing at Ari briefly before checking his numbers again. “Told you, sweetheart. You get your numbers right and you can go anywhere. Even beyond the Verge.”
Ari gripped his armrests tightly as the barrier of the Verge loomed bright and huge and distressingly solid before them.
Tilting his head toward Ari, Orin practically vibrated with excitement as his hands gripped the flight controls. “You ready for this?”
Ari nodded, swallowing his fear as he closed his eyes and thought of Theo’s beloved laugh, the unattractive snorting sound he made when something was so irresistibly amusing that he lost all control. That humble sound bolstered Ari’s courage beyond what he ever thought possible.
“Yes. Let’s do it,” he said.
Orin whooped as the ship suddenly dropped and turned, dorsal fin skimming along the Verge with a harsh electric buzz that set Ari’s teeth on edge until, suddenly, they were through.
Ari opened his eyes to stare at the shimmering swirl of the external dome, nothing but the expanse of the deep dark at their back.
“That’s my girl, Delilah! Yes, ma’am!” Orin cheered and patted the dash as Ari wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to contain the full-body shudder at the overwhelming expanse of the dark pressing in from all sides.
Orin quieted down, and Ari turned to features tight with concern.
“You alright, sweetheart?”
Ari nodded, straightening his posture as he dropped his hands into his lap. “Yes. You did an exemplary job. I could not have asked for a better pilot.”
“Not much further to go now.” Orin reached out to Ari and squeezed his hand gently. “Just a little trip through the deep dark to get to the Restricted Sector, maybe a few days more at the outside. Let’s go fetch your boy.”
Ari squeezed back gratefully before Orin returned to the controls, where the pilot turned the ship away from the exterior wall of the Verge and increased their speed, the dark closing in around them.
Chapter Nineteen
Forty-eight hours. Two full cycles in the dark, poring over every clue at Ari’s disposal until it felt like the walls of his laboratory were closing in around him.
Tantalum. Tattoos. Hangul.
Strung together, they wove a pathetically open net with which to catch his brother, the holes between each meager piece of information so large Orin could have steered Delilah right through them.
To make matters worse, Ari had awoken that morning to an empty bunk, Orin having crammed himself back into the maintenance hatch to repair some malfunction in the accelerator which, for now, kept them plodding through the dark at an excruciating pace.
Today was not the day Ari wished to spend on anxious contemplation of all the information he didn’t have and all the myriad ways things could go wrong.
Today of all days, he should be thinking only of his brother, but instead, he yearned for some distraction from his spiraling anxiety.
He popped up from where he had been resting dejectedly against his workbench at the sound of the maintenance hatch slamming shut, hinges squealing in protest.