HAWK

CHAPTER FOUR: SELVA (3/7)

The girl was sitting on a storage box, looking at Kas with a goofy little face and not at all fazed by the best mean look the bounty hunter could muster.

And Kas was furious.

She had, after all, unknowingly kidnapped a young girl - a serious crime in most systems, including Chantos. And on top of that, it would seem the gifted young mechanic had illegally modified the X1 Kas was on her way to return. It could now at least talk, and who knew what else.

Kas half-limped towards Worm and tried the question for the third time.

'What are you doing on my ship?'

Once again, Worm just looked at her with that silly expression that may or may not have understood.

'Great,' Kas said, half to herself. 'I've kidnapped a deaf kid.'

'If I may,' came Hik's artificial voice, 'the girl is not deaf, but mute.'

'And how do you know that?'

'Her body language suggests understanding. Her throat also shows signs of past trauma, most likely from a convent.'

Kas looked back at Worm and suddenly felt ashamed.

'A convent?' she said quietly.

'It is only a deduction, but I would postulate that the girl is from a convent on Celadus. Celadus is--'

'Shut up,' Kas interrupted, and Hik did. The look on the girl's face had withered and saddened, apparently confirming Hik's theory. Kas knew all about Celadus but she'd never been there herself, and she didn't want to. It was a bare, harsh world on the far side of the Primi system where laws were infamously lax. The people there were about as pleasant as their environment, which was cold and derelict. But it was mostly known for the convents that covered its surface like blisters.

Convents were child factories, places where kids were raised to fulfil a specific purpose. There were convents for everything: soldiers, athletes, doctors... and apparently, there were also convents for mechanics. The reason they were called convents instead of factories was to get around the crude child cruelty laws imposed by the Federation. Because they did used to be called factories, but the factory that churned out child lawyers advised that by changing the names to 'convents' and by introducing a minor religious element into the mix, they would be free to continue their way of life. From time to time, however, some of the children would revolt against their masters and try to escape. None ever did, of course, and those who tried were severely punished. Or so the rumours went.

Kas felt a tug of sorrow as she looked into the girl's eyes and wondered what trauma had been inflicted on her.

'I've got to take you back,' she said finally. This time, the girl's small shoulders sagged and she looked down. Kas saw water swelling in her eyes. It was apparently contagious because, for the first time in years, Kas felt warmth spread through her face and loosen her tear ducts. She took a breath and fought it back.

'Listen... Worm,' - she hated saying that - 'I could get in a lot of trouble if someone finds you here. I've essentially kidnapped you. Do you know how serious that is?' The girl gave a very small nod. Clearly, she did understand. 'If I don't take you back, I'll be committing a major crime.'

Worm looked back up and held her hands in front of her. Kas looked at them and saw that she had begun making shapes.

'What are you doing?' Kas asked.

'It is sign language,' Hik said.

Kas looked from Hik to Worm and back to Hik. 'Can you understand her?'

'I understand all languages within the Federal systems.'

'So what's she saying?'

'She is saying that she does not want to go back. She is a slave on Chantos. They work her for many hours and do not feed her very well.'

Kas nodded her understanding, showing her sympathy while simultaneously hoping that Worm was exaggerating. Kas had been using and recommending Overhaul for years - it would be terrible to know that she'd been supporting child slavery all that time.

Kas took another breath and crouched to meet Worm's eye level, then offered the best solution she could come up with.

'I'll tell you what. I'm on my way to Selva - you know what Selva is?' The girl nodded. 'Good. Well, I'm going there to return the X1 unit you illegally modified - we'll come back to that later, by the way. Now Selva doesn't get many X1's returned to them, which means they're gonna be pretty happy to see me. It also means I might be able to use my new favour with them to persuade them to keep you there on the station. The Federation doesn't like slavery, and with your story, they might well take sympathy. Problem is, you're technically and legally someone's property. I can't guarantee that they won't send you straight back, you understand?' Worm nodded again, though she seemed a little more hopeful now. 'So would that be acceptable to you?' Worm then nodded enthusiastically and actually smiled. That made Kas smile, which in turn made Hik say:

'This is a very pleasing exchange.'

Kas looked at him and remembered her hatred for him. She would not trust an X1, even if it was under her command. She stood up, forcing herself to ignore the pain in her leg. She was getting ready to resume her interrogation of Hik when she was interrupted by the voice of the Calista.

'Alert. Ship incoming.'

'What ship?' Kas said, but before the Calista could reply, the answer came over the ship's tannoy in the form of a man's voice.

'Calista, this is flight lieutenant Astell of the C.A.P. Please decelerate your ship immediately and make it ready for boarding.'

Kas raised her left hand and combed her fingers through her hair.