Redemption Song Read online

  “You really are a unicorn, aren’t you?” Mel breathed. “Your hands, your fingers.” She walked closer to Kasumi. “Sometimes your hoodie moves as if something is sitting on top of your head.”

  “Nothing is sitting on my head,” Kasumi returned.

  “No, I don’t suppose anything is,” Mel murmured. “The way you move … I doubt your feet are anything like mine either.”

  “Germy claims anyone can do what you just did,” Kasumi replied. “I think humans are incredibly perceptive.”

  “Humans?” Mel chuckled. “Not even going to pretend otherwise, are you?” She stuck out a hand. “Hi, Kasumi. My name is Melanie Blunt.” She added, “Call me Mel.”

  Kasumi looked at the hand for a second and then grasped it. “Kasumi of the Rynn,” she replied. “Hello, Mel.” She pushed the hood back to reveal her face. Mel raised an eyebrow. Kasumi’s crest fluttered. “I love how you humans do that,” she chirped. “Tea?”

  Melanie smiled wryly. “I’d love some.”

  Mel watched as Kasumi chirped and twittered. “You don’t know how nice it is to not have to constantly look up when someone is talking,” came the translation.

  “Yes, I do,” Mel replied in amusement. “But I take your meaning,” she added. “So what you’re telling me is that Gramps saved your life, and you’ve been living with him ever since?” Kasumi nodded in agreement. “And that’s how long?”

  “About two Earth weeks,” Kasumi replied. “What I want to know is why Germy wanted you here.”

  Mel’s eyes widened. “He didn’t tell you?”

  “No,” replied Kasumi. “He just laughs and tells me he wants to tell both of us at the same time.” Her crest flattened slightly. “And he’s still too weak to teach me anything.”

  “Which, now that Mel’s here, we can do something about,” Jeremy said from the kitchen doorway.

  “Gramps!” exclaimed Mel. She jumped out of her chair and raced over to give the old man a hug. For a long moment, Mel and Jeremy remained in a tight embrace, and then Mel pushed away and looked at his face closely. “How are you really?”

  “Honestly, better than I’ve been in years,” he replied. “Still pee too often and my joints still snap.” He laughed. “For a moment, I was afraid Kasumi had rejuvenated me.”

  “If I take back my ship, we can …” began Kasumi.

  “No,” Jeremy replied firmly.

  “But …” objected Kasumi.

  “No,” Jeremy repeated. “I don’t mind an extra decade. Mei Lin has waited this long, she can wait another ten years or so.” He smiled. “But I don’t think it would be right for her to wait much longer than that.”

  Kasumi looked at Jeremy searchingly before she covered her eyes. “Forgive me,” she said. “I was being selfish and forgot about Mei Lin.”

  “Maybe you can sing for her tonight,” Jeremy replied in gentler tones. “I think she likes your singing.” He looked at Mel. “I think you’ll like Kasumi’s singing as well.” He sat down at the kitchen table. Kasumi got up and returned with a mug of tea that she had to carry with both hands. She placed the mug in front of Jeremy and returned to her own seat.

  “Now, as to why I called Mel here.” Jeremy took a sip of the tea. He smiled. “Perfect,” he said to Kasumi. “While I can train Kasumi, I’m too weak to actually spar with her.”

  “Spar?” Mel sat up straight. “You’re going to teach her Kung Fu?” she said in shock.

  “Mostly swordplay, but yes,” replied Jeremy. “Short explanation: Kasumi was captain of a trading ship, there was a mutiny, the only way she can get her ship back is to duel for it.” He smiled. “I’m going to train her, and you’re going to be her partner.”

  “Wait, what, huh?” Mel sputtered.

  “In return, Kasumi is going to take you with her when she goes,” Jeremy continued. Both Mel and Kasumi locked gazes on the old man. “Kasumi will bring you back in not less than five nor more than ten years afterward.”

  Kasumi turned to Mel to find the redhead looking back at her. A thought came to her. “Did Germy train you?” she asked. Mel nodded. “If you are willing, I will agree,” she said.

  “When I was a little girl,” Mel said almost to herself, “I had this dream. In the dream, I was walking through a forest and entered a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a unicorn.”

  A ball of light formed in front of Mel, and the shape of a horselike animal with a spiral horn appeared in the ball of light. “What a beautiful creature!” chirped Kasumi.

  “New trick, Kasumi?” Jeremy asked.

  “My Torque is now at 20 percent capacity, so I’ve enabled a few additional functions,” Kasumi replied. She turned to Mel. “What happened then?” she asked.

  Mel shook herself but continued to look at the three-dimensional image of a unicorn. “The one in my dream was pink,” she said. The image changed to pink. Mel giggled. “Thanks,” she said. “Anyway, in the dream, I walked up to the unicorn and asked for a ride.”

  “And then what happened?” Kasumi asked in rapt tones.

  “It’s amazing how realistic your translated voice is,” commented Mel. “What happened was that I woke up.”

  “She cried for two days,” Jeremy put in.

  “More like a week, Gramps,” Mel replied. “I just stopped crying during the day.” Mel sighed. “I told Gramps about my dream, and he said …”

  “‘One day I’ll find you a unicorn, and you will get to ride it.’” Jeremy finished.

  “Who’s telling the story here, Gramps?” mock-grumbled Mel. “He also promised that if he ever came across a unicorn, he’d tell me right away.”

  “But I also told her that I wasn’t sure what a unicorn really looked like.” He smiled. “After all, no one has actually seen one in a very long time, if ever.” His smile became a grin. “So if I found something I thought might be a unicorn, she’d come see whatever it was I was talking about and check it out herself.”

  “In twenty-something years, he’s sent me to ride a camel in the Mideast, hike through Nepal, live with the Inuit, and study with his grandmaster in southern China.” She looked at her grandfather. “I enjoyed every single one of them.” She smiled. The old man smiled back. Mel shrugged. “I never found a unicorn, but what I did find more than made up for it.”

  “That was the idea,” Jeremy replied in dry tones. It was his turn to shrug. “I missed a lot of Brandon’s growing up. I didn’t want to repeat that with you.”

  “Dad loves you, Gramps,” Mel said in soft tones.

  “I never doubted that,” Jeremy replied quietly. “But …” He shook his head. “Never mind that,” he grumbled. “Let’s talk about unicorns.”

  Mel looked at Kasumi. The little alien had been quietly observing the behavior of the two humans. Kasumi’s crest seemed to convey a sense of affectionate approval. “Captain of a ship, huh?”

  “Not a very big one,” Kasumi replied. “The smallest in my father’s fleet.”

  “Your father has a fleet of spaceships?” Mel asked. She whistled in admiration.

  Kasumi nodded. “Twenty-three ships,” she said. “Mostly freighters, five armed escorts, and …” She smiled wryly. “One scout explorer that my father acquired when a colleague lost his clan.”

  Mel nodded uncertainly. “I’m not sure you mean exactly what I think you mean, but I assume your ship is the scout explorer?” Kasumi’s crest rose slightly as she nodded. “How big is a scout explorer?

  Kasumi’s crest fluttered. “It can accommodate up to one hundred people, with twenty being crew,” she said. “In total there were seventy-four people on board when it left Nest.” Her crest drooped. “Seventy-one now.”

  “Nest?” Mel asked.

  “The Rynn home world is called Nest,” Kasumi explained.

  “Her father hired a professional duelist to run securit
y on her ship,” Jeremy offered.

  “The picture is getting clearer.” Mel sat back. “I’d go even if I never got back,” she said. “But why that particular deal?”

  “Think about it and get back to me,” Jeremy replied with a satisfied smile. “We start training tomorrow.”

  Kasumi covered her eyes. “Thank you, Germy,” she chirped.

  “Hey, you did that without the translator,” exclaimed Mel.

  “I speak some Earth words,” chirped Kasumi. “Learn more all time.” She smiled and chirped and twittered. “But this is a more efficient way of speaking,” came the translation.

  “Can you still drive a truck, Mel?” Jeremy asked.

  “Yeah, sure,” the redhead replied warily.

  “Grocery shopping,” Jeremy said. “We have enough for another month or so,” he said. “Kasumi eats next to nothing, but she still eats, so …” He shrugged. “I was actually thinking of taking Kasumi with me when I went for supplies.” He smiled wide. “But now, she’ll go with you.”

  Mel stared at her grandfather in shock, which slowly became understanding, which gave way to a sour expression. “Let me guess,” she said in disgust. “Training?”

  “Training,” agreed Jeremy. “Kasumi will learn how to pass as a human, and you will learn how to keep her from being discovered.”

  Without taking her eyes off her grandfather, Mel hissed out of the side of her mouth, “You may love my grandfather now, Kasumi, but you’re going to hate him once we start training.”

  “I will never hate Germy,” declared Kasumi.

  “You haven’t trained with him yet,” Mel hissed in dire tones. “And to Gramps, everything is training.” She turned to her grandfather. “It’s dangerous.”

  “So is regaining her ship,” Jeremy replied. “But more importantly, I fear Kasumi is developing an unrealistic impression of humans.”

  “Translation, she doesn’t hold them in the same contempt you do,” Mel replied. “Not that I totally blame you. Humans suck.” She turned to the alien. “Well, we do,” she said. “We’re a violent, selfish, and stupid species.”

  Kasumi’s crest flattened. “I have seen no evidence of any of those traits,” she chirped. The translator managed to make the statement sound unsure. “Germy has been nothing but patient and generous, and I think he’s extraordinarily intelligent.” The translator managed to convey defiance.

  “Germy, I mean Gramps—damn, you got me doing it,” Mel replied. “Gramps is as violent as they come,” she stated coldly. “Aren’t you, Gramps?”

  “I’ve had my moments,” agreed Jeremy.

  “What Gramps has, that most do not have, is discipline,” Mel continued. “He’s spent most of his life training in the martial arts. He’s learned how to control his worst instincts.”

  “So have you,” Jeremy shot back. “Why, it’s been years since you’ve kicked someone’s butt.”

  Mel grinned lopsidedly. “Year, not years,” she returned. “I had to put an idiot in his place last summer.” Her grin turned cold. “Broke his leg.”

  “Got off easy, did he?” Jeremy’s grin matched his granddaughter’s.

  “You know it, Gramps,” Mel replied. She waved a hand. “Okay, point made,” she conceded.

  Kasumi chirped and twittered. “I don’t understand you two,” she complained. “You both seem to be trying to convince me humans are dangerous.” Her crest rose to its highest level. “You don’t know how much I wish the Rynn were half as dangerous as you claim humans to be.” Kasumi stood and started pacing. “We’ve been exploring space for over two hundred of your years, and we have found three—” she raised a long fingered hand “—three technological species. You’re the fourth.” She went over to the stove and poured herself another cup of tea. She stared into the cup. “Two of them think Rynn are … food.”

  “And the third?” asked Mel.

  Kasumi’s crest flicked. “We don’t know; we hid from them,” she said. “And that’s the whole point,” she twittered angrily. “We’ve hidden from the Graz’to, and we avoid the Zaski and the Polig-Grug whenever possible,” she said. “And run when we can’t.” Kasumi looked down. “Yes, we duel, but only against each other.” Kasumi looked at Jeremy. “If Sun-Warmed Boulder had known how advanced humans were, he’d never have landed here.”

  “Interesting,” Jeremy murmured.

  “Humans may be violent, though I’ve not seen any proof of that,” Kasumi chirped. “You may even be selfish,” she added. “But you’ve treated me as a person, not as a meal.” She looked at Mel. “As for being stupid … ignorant, maybe, but spirits, I wish I was half as stupid as you claim to be.”

  “You’re right, Gramps,” Mel said. “We’re no saints, Kasumi,” she told the little alien. “We really are a violent species, but … never mind, let’s just figure out how we can make you pass as a human.”

  “Rynn really aren’t too different,” Jeremy commented.

  “Sure, if you ignore the crest, the cinnamon skin, and the weird feet,” Mel said in amused tones. “Not to mention the Voldemort nose.” She smiled. “It shouldn’t work, but damn, Rynn are cute.” Her smile widened when Kasumi chittered. “Well, you are.”

  “I think humans are very handsome,” Kasumi replied. “Even if you are giants.”

  “Never thought I’d ever be called that,” Mel said in an aside.

  “Humans are giants,” Kasumi repeated. “Nether the Graz’to, the Zaski, or the Polig-Grug are anywhere near as massive as a human.” Her crest flicked. “Well, not as massive as you,” she said to Jeremy. A globe appeared in front of Kasumi and an image formed. Both Jeremy and Mel reared back.

  “What the hell is that?” Mel asked in horror.

  “Polig-Grug,” Kasumi said in identification.

  “Shit, it looks like a cross between a roach and an alligator.” Mel shuddered. “Are those tentacles?” she said in complaint. “Ugh.”

  The image changed as they looked. Now Jeremy was standing next to the Polig-Grug. “Next to humans, the Polig-Grug are the largest technologically advanced beings we’ve encountered. As you can see, Jeremy is still much more massive.” The image changed. Standing next to Jeremy was what appeared at first to be a four-foot-tall mushroom.

  “Mushrooms are not supposed to have teeth,” Mel pointed out in a faint voice.

  “Zaski,” Kasumi said in identification. “They produce appendages at will, but most of the time, this is what they look like.” Her crest shivered. “A single Zaski consumed over 10 Rynn before it was destroyed.”

  “You realize we only have your word about these beings,” Jeremy commented quietly.

  Kasumi’s crest drooped. “I know,” she admitted. “I know you have no reason to trust anything I say,” she began, but stopped when Jeremy raised a quelling hand.

  “I also have no reason to believe you are lying to me either,” Jeremy said. “You could have let me die.”

  “I could just be selfish and be keeping you alive so I can survive,” Kasumi countered.

  “True,” Jeremy admitted. “But I doubt you’re that good an actress.” He smiled. “Or that your being marooned is part of some plot.”

  “Not to mention, you’re pretty damn easy to read,” Mel put in. “So, what about the third one, what did you call them?”

  “Graz’to,” Kasumi said in answer. The image changed.

  “Hey, they look a lot like Grays,” Mel said in recognition. The image showed a bipedal creature with a large hairless head, large black eyes, two slits where a nose would be, and a small slash for a mouth. “Humans have been seeing something like that for years,” Mel continued. “There have even been stories about people being abducted by them.”

  “They are an unknown when it comes to intent,” Kasumi replied. “As far as we can tell, they do not know of the Rynn.” Her crest flattened slightly. �
�We only know of them through intercepted messages and some artifacts we’ve found.” Her crest rose. “Regardless, we cannot take the chance.”

  “No, you can’t,” agreed Jeremy. “Just as you cannot take a chance with us.”

  “It might be too late, Gramps,” Mel said with a pensive expression on her face. “If the Grays are real, then there is a good chance they know a spaceship landed, and it wasn’t one of theirs.”

  Kasumi started chirping urgently. The chirps and twitters went on for several minutes. “Spirits watch over us,” Kasumi whispered. “The Graz’to are definitely here,” she reported. “And actively searching.”

  “They’re here,” sang Mel. She gave Kasumi an apologetic look. “Sorry, old movie,” she shrugged. “Nothing we can do about it.”

  “Can the Torque alert you if they’re close?” Jeremy asked.

  “Done,” Kasumi replied. “If a Graz’to ship is anywhere within a thousand pedin of here, I will be alerted.”

  “‘Pedin’?” Mel asked.

  Kasumi spread her hands apart. “That’s about a pedin.”

  “Huh,” grunted Jeremy. “About a foot and a half or so,” he mused. “So, about a quarter mile.” He rubbed his chin. “So if the Graz’to are our Grays, they’re going to be cautious and try not to bring attention to themselves.” He continued to rub his chin. “Kasumi has been here a couple weeks and they haven’t visited us yet.” He gave Kasumi a questioning look. “How are you detecting them?”

  “By their ships’ energy output,” Kasumi replied. “Which may explain why they haven’t found me,” she continued. “They would need to be well within that thousand-pedin radius in order to pick up my bio-signature.” She smiled. “And I can mask that.” Her smile became proud. “Which I’ve done.”

  “You’re assuming your technology is better than theirs,” Mel pointed out.

  “If they can penetrate my masking field, then they are more advanced than any of the known beings in this galaxy,” Kasumi replied. “In which case …”

  “In which case, you’re as good as captured, and there won’t be a damn thing we can do about it,” Jeremy finished. Kasumi nodded. “That doesn’t mean you’re safe,” Jeremy added. “They could also have a masking field.” He clasped his hands behind his back and looked downward. “We assume they do,” he said finally.