Page 20 of Trusting Warik (Hissa Warrior #9)

Chapter 20

Nisha

Warik wasn’t exaggerating; he was very good at lying. First, he had Shift disable all the communication equipment except for one transmitter that faced away from Tulsin I. That made their outgoing messages poor quality.

They were lucky that the planet was one of the Diniki’s poorer colony planets because their ships were still being launched using old technology. That meant that even after they launched, they had to execute a long turn around to get to Assist.

“Find an image of a Diniki,” Warik ordered. “It’d be even better if you could find a vid capture where a Diniki isn’t moving much.”

Nisha was quick to go through Assist’s vid capture files until she found a recording of a Diniki working quietly at a display. “Found a vid capture.”

Warik moved from his spot to look over her shoulder. “Good, now can you make the vid darker?”

Nisha made a few quick adjustments. “Is that good?”

“Perfect,” Warik said. “Now put it into a loop that lasts at least a few minutes. Shift?”

“Yeah?” Shift’s voice came out of her display.

“Do you speak Diniki?”

Shift scoffed. “I speak all languages,” she bragged.

“I don’t need all languages, only Diniki. Can you sound like a native speaker?”

Shift hesitated to answer, and Nisha knew it was because Shift wasn’t sure. “I think so.”

“Give yourself a thick accent,” Nisha suggested. “The Diniki have a lot of colonies. I think the Minolic colony is the oldest. They have to have a different accent by now.”

“Let me consult the ship’s unibase,” Shift said.

Nisha looked up at Warik. “You’re going to play the loop and have Shift talk as if she’s Diniki, right?”

Warik nodded. “Hopefully it will be enough to convince them we don’t need help or an inspection.”

“What will they think when a Hissa gunship shows up?” she asked.

Warik thought about it for a moment, then answered, “Tell them that the Hissa are the ones financing this operation.”

Shift scoffed. “What do we do when they see through that very obvious lie?”

“Does it matter?” Warik answered with a smirk. “We’ll have a gunship by then with a warship closing fast. Our first task is to stall, so that means you need to speak convincing Diniki.”

“One of the crew is from there, and I found a transmission he sent to his family,” Shift responded with more confidence. “I’ll assume his name and speech pattern.”

“That’s good because they’ve demanded we respond three times now,” Nisha said, reading the repeated messages on her display.

“Nisha, on my mark, play the vid,” Warik said. “Shift, here is what I want you to say as the vid plays: We are stable and have been told not to accept any help. We’re waiting for the owners of the ship to arrive. They’ll be here soon.”

“But the Diniki in the vid isn’t talking,” Shift protested.

“Doesn’t matter,” Warik answered. “Between Nisha darkening the image and sending it through only one comms unit, the image should be severely degraded. Hopefully they’ll only make out the body of a Diniki and no details.”

“So it’s my job to convince them that everything’s fine,” Shift said. “Right, it all rests on me. I’ve got this.”

“You’re going to be great,” Nisha said. “Remember when you impersonated me and fooled Mom into thinking I was still home even though we were out watching the Hool Day parade? You were so good, she never found out.”

“That’s true!” Shift agreed, sounding more confident.

“Everyone ready?” Warik asked.

Nisha nodded her head and tapped on her display. The moment the vid started Shift spoke in rapid Diniki. A rough translation popped up on her display, and Warik leaned over to read it.

The response to Shift’s explanation wasn’t what they hoped for at all. “They’re saying we need to allow them to board. They need to verify the safety of our craft,” Shift said with obvious frustration.

“Tell them we don’t have a working bay,” Warik said.

The conversation continued with Warik finding different reasons to say no that sounded reasonable until you piled them all together. The Diniki ships were almost on them when Shift cried out with relief.

“The Hissa gunship is here!”

Nisha thought that would make Warik relax, but his expression only turned more grim.

“That’s good, right?” Nisha whispered.

“Not with the amount of pushback we’re getting,” Warik answered.

As if to prove Warik correct, the Diniki’s next demand was for the Hissa gunship to leave orbit or risk being fired on.

“This is bad,” Shift said.

“Really bad,” Nisha agreed.

The main room display flashed. “The Hissa gunship is requesting visual contact,” Shift explained.

“Accept,” Warik said.

An image on the screen revealed three Hissa warriors and one human female standing in the middle of them. All four spoke at once.

“If we have to go into battle, we’ll put ourselves between you and the Diniki ships,” one of the Hissa said.

“I need to talk to them! This can all be worked out,” the human woman said, looking frustrated and exasperated.

“We should put Nova in a biosuit and lock her in an escape pod in case the worst happens,” the warrior standing closest to Nova said.

“We need to strike them before they expect it,” the last warrior said. “It’s the only way to assure victory.”

“Quiet!” Warik roared, making all of them shut up. The woman looked surprised, and the three warriors stiffened and squared off facing Warik. “I’m Warik and this is Nisha.”

Nisha raised a hand and gave a little wave. “Hi! Sorry the situation is so ugly.”

The human woman smiled at them. “I’m Nova, this is Miran,” she said, pointing at the warrior who wanted to put Nova in a biosuit and lock her in the escape pod. “That’s Nerin,” she pointed to the one who wanted to put the gunship between them and the Diniki. Then she gestured to the Hissa furthest away from her. “And the violent one is Lazil. Don’t hold it against him, he’s had a tough couple of days.”

“Any troubles I’ve faced were created by you,” Lazil grumbled.

Nova ignored him and focused on Warik. “Which one of you was speaking Diniki? It was really good!”

Nisha spoke up before Warik could say anything. “It was me. Well, not me personally. It was a program I created. I fed all the vids I could of one of the Dinikis on the ship talking and it speaks whatever I enter.”

Nova wasn’t the only one who looked impressed. “That’s amazing! Here’s what I need you to say to them next. Gentle Sirs, I understand that you’re—”

“Don’t do that,” Warik snapped, reaching over to grab Nisha’s hands before she could pretend to enter Nova’s words.

She glared up at him. “Really? You could’ve simply said wait.”

He blinked, remembering that it was Shift and not Nisha’s program who talked to the Diniki. He let go of her as if she’d burned him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I won’t ever do that again.”

You better not! Shift said. Do something like that again, and I’ll make your life miserable! Cold showers, slow moving doors, and food that’s never the correct temperature.

Nisha almost giggled at Shift’s threats. It was hard, but she kept a straight face and was about to whisper some teasing words when loud, angry Diniki sounded through the speaker on her display.

He’s saying that if we don’t respond, they will be forced to take action, Shift explained.

At the same time, Nova translated the Diniki for everyone else, then spoke rapidly. “You guys need to listen to me. The Diniki are bribable, but you have to say it just the right way. If we aren’t delicate, the Diniki in charge of those warships would have to fire on us to make himself look good.”

“Even if there are Diniki on board?” Nisha asked, shocked. “I thought he’d simply board us.”

“Not anymore,” Nova said grimly. “By refusing all his requests, you’ve made him look weak. He needs to look strong, or he runs the risk of a political movement against him.”

“How do you know all this?” Warik asked. His cold mask was in place, and she could hear suspiciousness in his voice.

“Because I’ve spent my entire life entertaining a lot of different species,” she retorted. “No one is entertained if you accidentally insult them. The Diniki weren’t the hardest species we performed for, but they were high on the list.”

Nisha was intrigued. “When everything is calm and we’re safe, I want to hear your life story.”

“As long as alcohol is involved,” Nova agreed with a big grin.

“Ladies,” Miran said with a sigh. “Could we focus on the current problem?”

Nova turned to face Miran, arms crossed over her chest. “If you’d let me talk to them through Nisha’s program, I could!”

“She translated the Diniki’s response perfectly,” Nisha pointed out. “I think you should let her speak. If we can avoid anyone opening fire, we should!”

“I trust her,” Miran said. “She’s knowledgeable and quick thinking.”

Warik nodded his head once, and Nisha focused on Nova. “Go ahead, I’m ready.”

Nova gave Miran a fond smile before looking at Nisha and speaking rapidly. “Gentle Sirs, we must humbly request your patience. We’ve been very busy securing our cargo and staying in contact with the owners of this vessel. We’re fearful of reprisal for a situation created by the poor choices of our employers. We beg for your patience in this situation and to let us explain before taking any action.”

Nova paused to give Nisha time to type. She was typing up what Nova was saying but only to look busy as she listened to Shift translate Nova’s words into thickly accented Diniki.

“Your program is the best I’ve ever heard!” Nova murmured once Shift finished.

“Um, yeah, thanks,” Nisha said.

I’m the best! Shift said. Give me more, I’m ready!

“What should we say next?” Nisha asked.

Nova shook her head. “We need a response first.”

Only a few seconds after Nova spoke, the Diniki responded. Nova translated for everyone.

“He says we better have acceptable reasons for refusing help and inspection. That we have no excuse for our actions. Now that he’s listening, we need to apologize again and offer a bribe. How much can we bribe him? How many credits can we transfer right now?”

This ship has accounts we can access , Shift said, then gave them the amount available.

Warik repeated what Shift said and then added, “I also have access to an account that has almost as much.”

Nova looked pleased. “That should be enough. Here is what I want you to say next.”

It took nearly an hour of conversation between Nova and the Diniki before they transferred the credits to a “charity” account and the Diniki ships retreated with a warning to leave within the next day-night cycle or be boarded.

“They know we’re doing something here that’s on the edge of legal,” Nova explained. “If we’re still here in a day, then he’ll come back to take whoever is on board and turn them over to his superior in exchange for a promotion. It would be a bonus on top of the credits we gave him.”

“Ardent will be here way before then,” Warik assured everyone, then met Nova’s gaze. “Thank you.”

Nova waved off his gratitude. “I did it for Nisha, I like her. You can take your sour expression and visit an air lock with no biosuit.”

Nisha snorted. “He grows on you, I promise.”

“Like a mold?” Nova asked, making Nisha laugh.

Shift static-laughed in her ear. I like her!

“How can we help you until Ardent arrives?” Nerin asked.

“We could—” Warik started to say when Shift started shouting.

The kids need to be Decanted! Malk is panicking. All the vats are signaling at once!

“This isn’t great timing," Warik grumbled.

“What?” Miran asked.

Nisha pointed to her workstation display as if her knowledge came from there instead of Shift. “There are twenty-five grow vats on this ship, and they’re all ready to be Decanted. You guys need to figure out how to get onboard. We’re going to be very busy!”

Everyone on the gunship paled, including Nova.

“You want us to help Decant children?” Lazil asked, looking terrified.

Nova looked alarmed, but still managed to give Lazil a teasing grin. “You’re ready to go to war with an entire Diniki colony with only one gunship but a couple of kids are intimidating?”

“I’m not intimidated,” Lazil denied even as Miran and Nerin started chuckling.

Standing up, Nisha addressed everyone. “We don’t have much time,” she reminded them. “If you have stimulated drinks, bring them. We’re going to need them.”

***

Warik

When the Ardent arrived, help swarmed the grow room while others figured out how to tow Assist away from the Diniki colony planet. Exhausted, Nova leaned against a wall, then sank to the floor and might’ve been asleep before she slumped over.

Poor thing, Shift murmured as they watched Miran rush over to sweep Nova into his arms and carry her out of the room.

“Is she sick or injured?” one of the menders asked.

“I think she’s worn out,” Miran said. “Decanting is hard work and nerve wracking."

“Stay with her while she sleeps,” the mender ordered. “Contact one of us if she doesn’t wake or her cognition seems impaired.”

Miran nodded once before walking out the door. He didn’t look entirely steady so Warik was sure he’d be asleep moments after he secured Nova in a bed.

“We’ve all been working hard,” Nisha murmured. Warik was standing close and watched her sway a little. “The only one who hasn’t slowed down at all is Malk.”

That’s because he’s Hakmin and a young adult. Their endurance is legendary, Shift said as Malk rushed past them, talking rapidly to one of the Hissa.

“You don’t look well,” the mender said, frowning at Nisha. “You should rest also.”

He’s not wrong. Your vitals are a little off, Shift commented. Let the Hissa care for the children. We’ll come back after you’ve rested.

“Shift’s right,” Warik whispered in her ear. “You need to sleep for a while.”

“But I can’t leave without finishing Decanting all the kids,” Nisha said.

Wow, you really are tired, Shift murmured. We already Decanted them all. Now they need to do the second round of feeding and assessments. Don’t worry Nisha, I don’t need to sleep. I’ll be here monitoring everything. I’ll wake you if the Hissa can’t handle something.

“Nisha, you’re almost asleep right here,” Warik said gently.

Nisha blinked slowly several times, as if she was having a hard time focusing on him. “I don't want to sleep alone.”

Warik took her hand in his and started leading her away. He’d carry her, but he didn’t want to upset her while she was so fatigued. “I’ll stay at your side,” he promised.

“In the bed?” she clarified, following him out of the busy room.

“Yes, in the bed,” he agreed.

“Same advice,” the mender called out.

Warik waved at the mender but didn’t respond otherwise.

It seemed to take forever to get to their bunk room. Nisha fell into the bed without even removing her shoes. Warik pulled her shoes off, then his own. A wave of exhaustion hit him hard so he gave up taking anything else off either of them and stretched out next to her. She snuggled back against him with a contented sigh.

“You promised,” she whispered, “you wouldn’t leave me.”

“Yes,” he agreed. Why did he feel like he’d promised so much more than not leaving her while she slept?

Even more interesting was that her demand made him feel warm and comforted and not panicked.

No, now wasn’t the time to think of those things. Later, when things were calm and quiet again, he’d think about Nisha and plans.

It might not be the future he originally planned, but it would be a future with Nisha, and he’d finally realized that was what he wanted out of life.