Getaway
© 2021 by Walter Reimer


Anulka-Mei Balakrishnan was worried.

Not so much for the Confederacy; she had transmitted the report of her conversation with her Kashlanin counterpart. The Foreign Minister would be more than happy to pass the report on to the Lord Protector (hah!), and what his reaction might be was the reason she’d had no sleep over the past several days.

Still, when the call finally came, very early in the morning as time was reckoned on Downtime Station, it managed to startle the Dhole-Akita canine. Blinking in an attempt to get her eyes to focus, she unfolded her padd, managed to correctly identify herself (damned security protocols), and accepted the call.

“Anulka?” Hwillis Shumeng asked, the rabbit actually looking genuinely surprised and concerned. “You look awful. What’s going on over there?”

“’M waitin,’” she slurred.

“Waiting?”

The canine nodded. “F’r ‘ssassins.”

Hwillis blinked as she translated what her former lover and rival was saying. “Anulka – “

“Just get it over with so I can sleep!” the canine shouted.

There was a short silence, broken finally by Balakrishnan growling sulkily, “What?”

“You’re not going to die.”

“I’m not?” She actually sounded disappointed.

“No, you’re not,” the rabbit said patiently. “The Lord Protector’s recalling you to Terra – “

“Wants to do the job himself?”

Hwillis’ image looked as if she was fighting the urge to facepalm. “You were our envoy to Gwath ka-shlal for more than ten years, Anulka. He wants your input – “ She stopped as Balakrishnan raised a finger.

Astonishingly, the canine slapped herself and took several deep breaths. “All right. He wants me back on Terra. I’m here on the Imperial border. How does he expect me to get there?”

“I’ve sent one of our fast couriers,” the rabbit said, “and it should be there tomorrow morning, your time. It’ll be unarmed, so hopefully no one will shoot at it – too much, maybe. Look, Anulka, you need to get – Anulka?”

The canine had fallen asleep, her face pressed against the padd’s surface and giving Hwillis a look at her former lover’s face she hadn’t seen in years. Very up close and personal.

She still drooled in her sleep.

Hwillis Shumeng shook her head and switched the call to the Terran station’s commander to let him know to expect a courier.

And to have him advise the Kashlani.


***


The ocelot, Commander Garza, had answered the call himself. “We’re a little short of staff right now,” he’d said cheerfully to Hwillis when the image of Anulka’s sleeping face was replaced with his. After she had introduced herself and explained what was going on, his grin grew wider.

“Of course, Minister,” the commander said. “I’ll notify the Subadmiral immediately, as well as their envoy. I’m certain that they’ll be disappointed that Balakrishnan-jih is leaving.”

“Oh?” the rabbit asked, swiveling one ear.

The feline clasped his paws before him on his desk. “She’s made a great impression on all of us.”

I’ll bet, the rabbit thought. She knew just how much of an irritant Anulka could be. “Thank you, Commander. I’ll leave you alone now; I’m sure you’re very busy. Fair day,” and the screen went blank before he could return the greeting.

Garza tapped his claws on his desk as he slowly counted down from ten before looking across the desk. “You heard, of course.”

“Of course,” the subadmiral who commanded the Imperial side of the base said. “We shall, ernnh, ‘be on the look-out’ for the ship.” He seemed rather pleased at his use of the Terran figure of speech. His tail gestured. “Shall we resume?”

“Yes,” and the holographic chessboard and pieces reappeared so that the two officers could continue their game.


***


The ship’s name was a simple collection of letters and numbers; it wasn’t big enough or important enough to warrant a name. It had a nominal crew of twenty, but it only had fifteen aboard.

Space had been arranged for Balakrishnan and her two aides before the ship had left Terran orbit.

The antelope and raven were already aboard and headed for their shared quarters. The Dhole-Akita canine paused at the airlock and turned back to face Commander Garza. Balakrishnan looked like she’d finally had some decent sleep, if nothing else. She still looked tired, though.

“I would say that I enjoyed my stay on the station, Commander,” she said, and as she stepped across the threshold she added, “but I would be lying.”

For his part, Garza smiled graciously. “Ambassador, this place has been only improved by your departure,” and he closed the airlock door before she could frame a riposte.

The ship signaled its readiness to leave, and the station retracted its umbilicals. The courier gently moved away from Downtime Station, pivoted on its y-axis, and started moving toward the nearest inphase point.

A few minutes later, it vanished into hyperspace.