Wolf Boy, Chapter 12, Part I

All Panfilo’s people—he avoided referring to them as courtiers directly in his thoughts but the idea was there—got together to arrange his departure from the ship.

When the ship docked at Earth Space Station, Pan and Kaiden disembarked through the supplies passage hook-up. They wore EVA suits and debouched in a service area near the shuttles. From there, personnel got them quickly on-board a shuttle holding mostly station crew who paid them no attention.

Pan had said farewell to Quin and Allec on the ship. They approved Pan’s decision to speak to Will. They planned to meet up in a few weeks’ time. They didn’t seem dismayed by Pan and Kaiden’s decision to travel without an escort.

Quin had spent nearly half his life on Mars. Allec had never been to Earth. On the planet and the station, teenagers held jobs. They traveled between hubs and tiers and from the station to the planet by themselves. Quin and Allec were used to “young people” who acted on their own.

So Pan assumed until he spotted the same man and woman on the train to Northumbria as he’d seen on the shuttle from New LaGuardia. The two carried no luggage, unlike Kaiden who swung the bag he and Pan shared over one shoulder. The woman and man were tall and svelte and moved without making eye contact with passengers or with each other.

Kaiden spotted the "other" bodyguards on the caravan to Bamburgh Castle.

“Not exactly the type of people who worship saints,” he said.

Maybe. Maybe not. Pan wasn’t sure what constituted such a type. Pan had met Francesca Paraclete eight years earlier when she came to Mars with her Congregation to investigate a citizen up for sainthood. Francesca was a woman of medium height with dark hair that she wore in a bob, not a hair out of place. She had a kind of aristocratic face and a remote aura. A woman to emulate if one had to, for example, face down a queen. She was more likely to be a saint than to worship one.

But maybe Francesca prayed earnestly to a dozen saints. Beliefs were personal things, like the thoughts about princehood and leadership that Pan kept to himself.

Which didn’t mean Kaiden didn’t have a point. The svelte man and woman didn’t match the other passengers on the caravan, the ones who obviously worshiped at least one saint. A group of three in the corner were discussing scriptures. A few others were holding reliquaries and ampullae, bottles for holy liquids. One was reciting a story about Saint Margaret of the Northern Seas.

Saint Margaret had been recently canonized (because of Francesca and her Congregation) and the first official pilgrimage from Bamburgh Castle to Runcorn Abbey started that week. Since the journey crossed several kingdoms, the pilgrims had pre-approved travel arrangements.

Not that getting around the British kingdoms was difficult due to scores of treaties and agreements. But some caravans and hostelries demanded check-ins. Those on the official pilgrimage would be escorted the entire way, with detours to important related sites.

Sites relating to Saint Bettelin, the saint with the wolf child, were nearer Runcorn Abbey. But Francesca and her people, including Will, were currently at Bamburgh Castle to attend the pilgrimage’s send off.

(“Kick start,” Rhys called it.

“Launch,” said Lider.)

Kaiden eyed the svelte man and woman. “Not assassins, I guess.”

“Figure I’d be dead by now if they were.”

“Give me some credit.”

“They’re probably armed.”

Kaiden scowled. He’d asked for weapons but carrying even an old-fashioned handgun would involve delays at checkpoints. Which meant the man and the woman weren’t only security—they were official, sanctioned security. A mirror to the pilgrims: armed people with a purpose.

Pan found he didn’t mind having an armed escort and leaned back to watch greenery pass.

Wolf Boy, Chapter 11, Part II

All parts from the costume box.
Pan and Kaiden found Lider questioning a group of youngsters about games on board. Miles was one of the youngsters and gave Pan and Kaiden a cheeky wave.

Lider said, “The ship has an extensive library.”

“Some of the dance games are okay.”

“Charades are better.”

“I’ll tell the captain to keep the costume box,” Lider said.  

The kids chorused agreement and departed.

“Charades and amateur theatrics,” Kaiden said.

“Only for passengers under the age of twelve,” Lider said. “Unless for religious purposes.”

The light on the observation deck was dimmer than in the corridors. Lider appeared more corporeal, a man near Kaiden’s height with what Allec called an Elvin look. Pan could make out the wide mouth and steady gaze. 

He still couldn’t read Lider’s expression, how serious Lider was with his “religious purposes” quip. Pan guessed that Lider could be entirely sincere and acerbic at the same time. Allec maintained that Lider was more spiritual than Rhys, which meant he upheld beliefs in numerous doctrines. Cubi, everyone said, were good at juggling seeming contradictions.

I need an honest Cubus right now.

Pan said, “You and Rhys are investigating something to do with the Moon, something Junad told you about me.”

“Rumors. An investigation requires leads. I’m not sure these count.”

Not an answer.

“That’s sounds totally evasive,” Kaiden muttered.

Pan had good reasons to keep Kaiden around, and Lider smiled. Pan clearly saw the lips tip upwards.

Lider said, “Francesca’s Cubus—”

“Arysllwr,” Pan said.

“Yes. Will. He thinks a connection may exist between you and a medieval saint.”

Kaiden whistled. Pan nodded. A connection may exist between you and a medieval saint sounded like one of his mother’s tales. A prince from ages past. It implied a lot for things that most Anthros wouldn’t accept.

Silence fell, and Pan became aware that he hadn’t reacted to Lier’s announcement, not with a casual whistle or a protest or an exclamation. He slued his eyes towards Lider’s ghost face.

Expressionless. Maybe. The eyes seemed sharper, more critical than Pan remembered from previous encounters. Lider as fully human would make as unnerving an impression as he did as a Cubus.

Another role model for me.

Lider said, “Maybe someone mentioned the medieval association to you?”

“No—at least—I never heard about a saint. Raine and Ruella thought I was something—anachronistic. Not their word. Unnatural.”

Lider’s brows drew together. “You never mentioned they criticized you.”

“Thought I should keep it to myself.”

Lider muttered, “You and Will think alike.”

“How long has Will thought I had a medieval connection?”

“Too long without telling anyone. Cubi have rules, some acknowledged, some not. How much they tell, how much they admit, how much they remember is a toss-up.”

“Allec says you’ve been around over two-hundred years.”

“I have. Unlike a human, I can access a specific memory intact. No confabulation. Like a human, I don’t think of the past until circumstances raise that a memory to the surface. And, like a human, what I remember doesn’t guarantee factual accuracy. My memories, like everyone’s memories, merely capture what happened at a particular time and place. The same is true for Will.”

“So you think he was right not to mention what he noticed about me. Until now.”

“Honestly? No, Panfilo, I don’t. I think Cubi keep too many secrets. They need to decide whether or not they are part of Earth’s sentient community, to stop straddling the fence. But it’s difficult to corral beings who can hide from detection.”

Rhys said, “Francesca is good at the corralling bit.”

He settled on the bench beside Lider, hands in pockets. He was wearing his priestly garb, which Pan thought made him look less like a religious leader and more like a pirate from the old films Allec liked to watch.

Lider laughed. “Yeah. But only because Will wants her good opinion.” 

Pan said, “Does he think I’m a clone of that saint? Or a descendent?”

“He doesn’t know. Nobody does. Junad made claims. Rhys and I will track down the source of those claims. But there’s no signpost here. We don’t know where we might end up.”

“I could talk to Will through Francesca. When we reach Earth.”

“Your safety—” Rhys said.

“Kaiden will go with me.”

Kaiden turned from the observation deck’s long window and said, “Yup.”

Pan added, “And I’ll wear a disguise.”

A sweatshirt with a hoodie. He could wrap his tail around his waist. Don sunglasses.

Lider muttered, “More costumes. Was making Todd an anathema to the captain and crew revenge for you? Or for Allec?”

“Todd has hurt a lot of people.”

Lider huffed, but Rhys said, “Perhaps next time, you should warn Kaiden not to look so jaunty when you outmaneuver an enemy.”

Yes, next time, we will have to dispose of our enemies more subtly.

Wolf Boy, Chapter 11, Part I

Allec wanted to institute ancient dueling practices and challenge Todd to single combat

“He won’t be allowed back on Mars,” Quin said. “For Todd, that’s plenty punishment.”

“He’ll ping-pong between new victims: two churches, two statelets, two Moon companies.”

“The last could put him in greater hot water. But maybe he’ll behave better if he isn’t faced with a provocative game of charades three months into a nine-month voyage.”

Allec was too busy fuming to hear Quin’s implicit rebuke. “Todd never behaved well on Mars. He looks for ways to get offended.”

“As opposed to having those ways shoved in his face,” Quin said and gave Pan a steady frown.

So Quin guessed that Pan and Kaiden had deliberately baited Todd. For all his outspokenness, Allec was far more innocent than his husband. Pan wondered if that innocence was the result of Allec’s short life. As Trading Master, Quin had greater experience handling people with agendas.

Allec’s preferred approach to political bullshit was to snipe. Quin took a longer view.

Political know-how 101: Flexibility is the goal. All approaches have their gains.

Quin gave Pan one more glare, then shrugged.

He said, “I’m more concerned with Todd’s friends showing up on the Earth Space Station.”

“They won’t be the only group,” Allec said.

“The captain is discussing possible disembarkation scenarios with Rhys.”

“Earth Station shuttles don’t fly directly to Reforested Greenland,” Allec said and turned to Pan, who sat on the cabin’s couch. “Are you planning to head there immediately?” 

“I don’t want to go without you,” Pan said.

He didn’t want to arrive at Queen Artia’s court without his—

Entourage?

—family and Kaiden, his—

Knight?

—friend. And he wanted to wait for Rhys and Lider to complete their investigation. He wanted to have answers, to approach the queen—

From a position of strength?

—without looking like an idiot.

“Of course, we’ll go with you,” Allec said. 

Quin frowned, arms folded, hooded eyes on the cabin floor. Pan could guess why. Lider’s first life extension took place on the HG Wells during his voyage to Mars. He was in a coma for several months.

The latest procedure would hopefully extend Allec’s life at least another ten years. Researchers and doctors speculated Allec would be under for about a week.  

Quin wanted to remove Allec to the facility as soon as the ship docked. The procedure was being funded by a pro-clone society run by an acquaintance of Allec’s, a loud reformer type who had supported Allec undergoing the first procedure. (Reformers like Todd thought Allec should have been “allowed to die naturally”). But loud opinions didn’t equal good science. Dr. Tomas was in contact with the society. Quin still wanted to check it out.

“We can wait. Return to Mars on the Lovecraft,” Allec said when Quin mentioned the time frame.

Digory
“Digory wants to return on the HG Wells.”

Now that the Space Program ran two ships, each spent more time at each station for repairs and to allow travelers to return within the month rather than wait for the next ship. Digory wanted to get home, to die on Mars and be buried there.

Allec grunted acknowledgment. Digory was his mentor, one of the first Mars’s citizens to fully accept him. He met Digory on the same voyage he met Quin. Pan become Allec’s ward four years later. Pan figured Digory came first.

“There’s never enough time,” he heard Allec say ruefully to Quin as Pan left the cabin.

Kaiden was waiting, back against the corridor wall, ankles crossed. He straightened when he saw Pan and cocked his head.

He said, “You hear about Todd being banned from space travel?”

“Yeah.”

“Bet Allec is thrilled. You know Todd assaulted him that first voyage.”

Pan had heard the stories. “Bet Allec said something to piss him off.”

Like father-figure, like son.  

Kaiden said, “Where are we going?” as Pan loped to the right.

“To find Rhys. Any ideas where he might be?”

“Lider is collecting complaints.”

All passengers accepted jobs during the nine-month voyage. Lider was assigned to talk to crew and colonists about cabin conditions, laundry malfunctions, toiletry needs. He could do it alone, so long as he kept to general areas, such as the mess hall and the observation deck. Wherever Lider was, Rhys eventually showed up. Pan chose the observation deck.

Wolf Boy, Chapter 10, Part II

Allec snarled, “You can’t stop yourself from attacking those who don’t agree with you, can you, Todd?”

Todd hollered, “Do you even care what your ward was doing?”

A man and a woman stood behind Todd. Rhys recognized them as guests at the recent station symposium—the type that attended lectures on “The Distinctive Religious Purpose of Interspecies Interactionals Against Hegemonic Outcomes.” They nodded at Todd’s declamations and looked truculent.

Kylie, Nathan’s partner, a visible Cubus, stood in the space between the parties, her back to the window. She looked irritated, her mouth a tight line.

“What did Panfilo and Kaiden actually do?” she said as Nathan, Rhys, and Lider entered. “I want behaviors, Todd, not a bunch of exhortations.”

Todd always looked offended. If possible, he looked more offended at having his philosophical outrage reduced to proselytizing.

The woman behind Todd began, “When a human pretends to be an Anthros, that sends a demeaning message—”

Todd said quickly—he’d learned on prior voyages to answer the actual questions posed to him by officers—“Panfilo’s fundamentalist goon was wearing a jackal head.”

Rhys noted that a wooden head of Anubis—dark and sleek with gold-tipped ears—sat under Kaiden’s chair.

“He was chasing a child in a leopard costume. A human child.”

“Miles was having fun,” Panfilo said mildly.

“That isn’t the point. Animal against animal is offensive—as if Anthros are savages.”

Rhys joined Kyrie and Nathan while Lider lingered beside Allec. Rhys could see Panfilo now—the violet eyes, half shut; the tail wrapped over his and Kaiden’s shoulders. Panfilo could look blank yet alert.

He said, still in that mild tone, “Kaiden scared off the leopard, then protected me.”

The man behind Todd scoffed, and Todd said, “You’re reveling in your status on this ship, aren’t you, Panfilo? As if you’re the offended party.”

“He is,” Quin said in his deep voice.

Allec snapped, “Posing as an arbiter of righteousness, Todd, doesn’t give you good taste.”

“Good taste? You know what was happening here? Appropriation. Not to mention, Panfilo re-enacting the encounter on the station, his adopted role as a—ah—ah—”

Todd couldn’t bring himself to say “assassination target,” to admit that Panfilo had been aggressed against.

He was forestalled in any case. Jack, a canid-like Anthros on the HG Wells crew, entered the mess hall trailed by curious co-workers. Nathan opened his mouth—perhaps to order the onlookers out—then shrugged. A few headed to the counter to help Digory. Jack strode to join the group followed by another crewmember, Leo.

“Oh, Todd,” Leo said. “What’s pissing you off now?”

“A disgusting performance of animals attacking animals. I’m sure Jack resents such tackiness.” Todd smirked at Allec.

Lider muttered something in Allec’s ear. Allec grimaced but kept silent.

“Animals in the wild kill animals,” Jack said. “Are you denying animal nature, Todd? Anthros nature? Or conflating non-sentience with sentience?”

The man behind Todd reddened. The woman looked mulish.

Todd bristled. “When Anthros practice these rituals, such behavior is acceptable. When humans take on personas outside their culture—”

“Yeah, what were you guys doing?” Leo said to Kaiden and Panfilo.

Kaiden said, “We were re-enacting Anubis defending Osiris against Set who took the form of a leopard. My religious beliefs, which Todd is mocking.”

Todd stuttered. The woman looked uneasy.

Kaiden continued blithely, “Todd tried to stop us by catching hold of Panfilo’s tail.”

Jack growled. Leo shook his head. Panfilo continued to look blank. Todd blustered until Nathan held up a hand.

He said, “Enough. You’ve been warned, Todd, that violence against sentient beings is not allowed on this ship, however offended you feel about something. You are, once again, confined to your cabin.”

So Rhys didn’t need to be there. He spoke to various people anyway. He provided context for Nathan’s decision to Todd’s supporters, Sidney and Brook. They were entirely undesirous of following Todd’s example and muttered apologies.

Rhys then diverted crewmembers’ attention to Digory’s meal (Allec had gone into the galley to help, still hyped but grinning). He conferred with Nathan about adding his witness statement to Nathan’s report while Lider spoke to Kylie.

“The HG Wells is going to ban Todd from further travel,” Lider told Rhys in the corridor. “The Lovecraft will likely follow suit. Which means Mars won’t have to put up with him again. Or the Mars Space Station.”

“What did you say to Allec?”

“Told him to let Todd contradict himself. He always does.”

“Yeah.”

“Leo says you look sexy in your unofficial clothes.”

Rhys laughed. He and Lider’s hands brushed. Rhys felt the sensation, could almost repeat it, almost clasp Lider’s hand.

He said nothing though he saw Lider flushed, despite the overhead lights. Lider also said nothing.

He said instead, “I think Todd was harassing Panfilo before the incident today—you know the way he corners people with his need to express himself.”

“Another pastor searching for a Congregation.”

“Without the hard work and sacrifice.”

“I never felt particularly beleaguered by my choice.”

“But you worked for it. And were acknowledged. And agreed to go to Mars,” Lider said. “Besides, you don’t hide your intent.”

“No.” Rhys considered, aware of Lider’s hand, that near-touch.

He said instead, “Kaiden and Panfilo planned what happened here.”

“Oh, yeah,” Lider said. “They did.”

Wolf Boy, Chapter 10, Part I

“I think Dr. Toma knew Pan was an Anthros,” Rhys told Lider. “The bloodwork she did back then was cursory—a check for the standard infections—but it would still have contained telltale markers.”

Lider nodded without looking round.

“She’s going to run a full battery of tests, including ones that can sometimes spot a clone. She pointed out that the Moon usually injected markers as a way to track clones but that part of the procedure could be bypassed.”

“And Pan was probably born, not grown like Allec.”

“Yeah. Anthros don’t usually allow geographic or ancestry DNA testing, and Dr. Toma has agreed not to share whatever information she discovers—except with Pan and with us, of course.”

Silence. Rhys crossed the cabin to hang up his cassock at the end of the bed. On the station, he wore dungarees when he worked in the infirmary. His religious role was as much about location—the chapel on the main tier, the confessional—as his vestments. On-board ship, he carried his role with him and wore what Lider called “full priest regalia”

Lider said, “I spoke to Kylie. She remembers Panfilo and the Alands from that first voyage but not more than about anyone else. The paperwork was in order. She doublechecked her records when the news story about Panfilo came out. The Alands were planning to bring a child with them, but the adoption fell through. Panfilo took that child’s place. Samantha Aland renamed him when they reached Mars.”

“She was trying to be a good mom to an Anthros.”

“She was a decent person. So is Gregory in his way.” Lider paused. “Kylie opened the door to the cabin for me.”

The last line was bitter. Rhys settled beside Lider on the small couch. Lider’s hands were clasped between his knees, his head bent forward.

There had been a moment the night before when their hands touched, actually touched, skin to skin. They stared at each other, smiles readying. Lider reached for Rhys as he had a thousand times in dreams.

And then, nothing.

No, not exactly nothing. A shiver across the spine like crossing a low forcefield, one built to keep out dust but not humans.

Not enough. Not what they wanted. Lider had wept in frustration, which shouldn’t have been possible, and Rhys couldn’t comfort him, could only ache.

He hadn’t known he could hurt so much for another’s disappointment. His own disappointment, his own endurance, he could manage. Lider’s pain and outrage broke his heart.

Lider said shakily, “I’m so not good at this patience stuff.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t apologize. Stan told you it would be difficult.”

“I was cocky, absolutely sure that all my years watching humans, the extra years with you, would make this process easy. Difficult enough that I could give others advice—I know what you’re going through. I went through it too—not so difficult I want to punch walls.”

“You are handling it, Lider. You’re here. You’re talking to me. We’re both handling it.”

Lider sighed and leaned back. Solid surfaces held him, more than before, which Rhys didn’t point out. Small steps did matter, but neither he nor Lider were particularly enamored with the minutiae of “three steps forward-two steps back.” Both of them preferred all or nothing.

If only fate didn’t tease us—

They played a game of chess with Rhys moving Lider’s pieces (pawn e4 to e5) while Lider wandered about the cabin. It was how they had played before so it didn’t feel like a concession.

Played chess. Organized case notes. Discussed Father Malcolm’s assignments. Father Malcolm was tentatively in charge on the station while Rhys was away, but he was under strict instructions to trade off Mass with Father Hadaka, who would come to the station if needed.

They went to bed, Lider stretching out beside Rhys. Rhys woke several times, sure that he felt Lider’s length against his side. He drifted off.

He woke fully to pounding at the door. Nathan, Captain Maxwell’s second in command, stood on the other side.

“Allec’s kid is in trouble,” he said.

Rhys didn’t pull on his cassock. He padded after Nathan in dungarees and a knit sweater, Lider at his side.

Nathan didn’t head to the captain’s office but to the mess hall. They could hear shouting before they crossed the threshold, and Nathan grimaced.

Beyond the counter between the galley and the mess hall, Digory was prepping for next meal, but his eyes were focused on the group near the eating area’s long window, more people than would fit in the captain’s office. Arms folded, face set, Quin stood over the seated Kaiden and Panfilo. Allec stood beside him, quivering with fury as he shouted at—

Rhys sighed.

—Todd Avide, who was waving his hands and shouting in return.

Wolf Boy, Chapter 9, Part II

Pan and Kaiden reached the counter. Allec was wearing a tall chef’s hat, mostly to get people chatting and laughing.

“Hey, Juniper, we’ve got lava cakes today,” he said to the woman in front of Pan and Kaiden. “Still your favorites?”

“You bet. You know I expect a real chef to use authentic chocolate sauce.”

“Only for you.”

Allec grinned at Pan and Kaiden. He dished out plates of mac & cheese and added extra hotdog slices.

“You two scrub down the infirmary?”

“Yeah,” Kaiden said, and Pan said, “Dr. Toma told us we weren’t total losers.”

Dr. Toma
Actually, Dr. Toma said, Looks fine, which from Dr. Toma was praise of the highest order.

“Monseigneur Rhys was there,” Pan added. “He double-checks medications but I think he was also checking my medical records from the trip to Mars. But my parents, the Alands, they didn’t send me in for a full examination, just the regular blood draws to test for infections.”

Allec gave him a skeptical look. Dr. Toma likely guessed from the blood that Pan wasn’t human. And she hadn’t said anything. The ship lived by its own rules. It carried out specific mandates but nothing more, nothing that adhered to a particular political objective. The ship didn’t care who lived on Mars. It carried folks there.

Allec might be outspoken. He protected his friends, the people he determined as being on his side. And he adored Dr. Toma, who helped him with his first life-extension procedure. He wouldn’t question Pan in public about Dr. Toma’s knowledge.

“Don’t forget to hydrate,” he told Pan and Kaiden and turned to the next diner.

Pan and Kaiden collected drinks and carried their meal to a table near the long outside window. A few diners flicked glances at Pan. They knew who he was and what had happened to him on the station. They knew Rhys and Lider were the ship. But the captain didn’t want fuss and most people respected her decisions.

People like Todd rated their outrage above everything else, including getting through a nine-month voyage without cabin fever or brawls.

“Maybe we should do something about Todd,” Pan said as they sat.

Kaiden peered at him from under longish bleached bangs. “Punish-him like?”

“Do you honestly believe in all that Amunite stuff?”

Kaiden lowered his eyes, dug into his mac & cheese. “Some of it. The ancient Egyptian community stuff, ceremonies for the dead. And the animal stuff too. Gods with jackal and cat heads. Judges with owl beaks.”

“Gods in the image of Anthros?”

“I think Anthros visited Earth long before they returned for good. I guess it’s not my place to give an opinion—”

“Why not?”

“Okay. But I know that nobody really knows when Anthros arrived on Earth. I know that. I believe Anthros came to Earth to share their natures with humans. Protection. Comfort. Devotion. Lessons on the harshness of nature. Not the philosophical crap Todd doles out.”

He stopped, head still lowered. His eyes rose, fastened on Pan’s face.

He said, “On the ship to Mars—I don’t know if you remember—I was twelve, almost thirteen. You were four. Monseigneur Rhys solved a case for our group. Canon Lider was with him, only he was invisible back then. Our foundress referred to Lider as an akh, one who has successfully completed the journey to the afterlife.”

Pan vaguely remembered the unsettled feeling on the ship, and he was told later that Rhys and Lider investigated. Lider never mentioned the akh business. Of course, Lider refuted any attempt to turn him into an angel or some such spiritual whatever.

He said, “Lider is nearly corporeal.”

“I know. His journey went in the other direction—or she was right, and his journey brought him back around to the mortal world, a type of resurrection.”

“Lider wouldn’t agree.”

“I know. I know. It’s all faith, right? No proof. No empirical evidence. A story that makes sense to a person. Myth.”

“People want to be more than myth,” Pan said without heat. He wouldn’t mind being myth.

Kaiden smiled then, easily, cheerfully, the wide parted lips lifting the cheeks to set the eyes glimmering.

“I’m not thinking about what’s good for you,” he admitted. “I’m thinking about what I need to believe in, what I should follow.”

“You want to follow me?”

“Yes,” Kaiden said.

Wolf Boy, Chapter 9, Part I

Nobody tried to assassinate Pan on the ship.

Not directly.

Todd Avide was returning to Earth. Again. He was what Allec called “a revolving door citizen.” He came to Mars, stayed awhile, upset life in various bubbles, spread rumors and dissension, announced he couldn’t bear the “deadness” of Mars, and left. Within less than a year, he was on another ship.

Todd, it turned out, was pro-Junad, whatever that meant. He thought that people were treating Junad unfairly when they locked him up (so he wouldn’t try to kill Pan again). He thought that people didn’t respect Junad’s beliefs. He thought that humans were forcing Anthros to assimilate to something or other against their will.

He would have set up a vigil outside Junad’s cabin but Captain Maxwell didn’t allow “acting out” on her ship, which was “not a democracy but an autocracy.” Her words.

Political know-how 101: never apologize for your authority.

Todd resorted to badgering Pan. “If you didn’t offend Anthros standards by rejecting your kind, you wouldn’t have been attacked.” 

They were two weeks into the voyage. Pan was on his way to eat second meal. He noted that Todd confronted him outside the mess hall. Digory was resting this meal, so Allec was in charge of the galley. Allec loathed Todd, and Allec publicly verbally eviscerated people he loathed. (Most people didn’t appreciate that most of the time, Allec was restrained.)

Allec and Quin probably scared Todd, which explained the “rejecting your kind” remark. Todd likely wouldn’t mind if Pan was cared for by humans like Todd.

Todd scolded, "You act like that Cubus who appropriated Anthros identity." 

Kaiden leaned over Pan’s shoulder and gave Todd a candid smile.  

“You’re going to hell,” he said, and Todd reared back, his face contorted in shock.

He stammered, “You’re one of those fundamentalist types,” which was ironic or hypocritical or just stupid since Todd was the one accusing Pan of violating a set of fundamental “standards.”

Kaiden didn’t attack Todd’s lack of logic. He said, “I believe in gods that protect the innocent and punish the guilty.”

“Panfilo has denied his true nature—”

“I’m an Amunite,” Kaiden said. “Lapsed. But our religious beliefs say Panfilo’s true mission right here right now is an Anthros among humans. Which makes you the blasphemer. And you’re damned.”

He smiled cheerfully at Todd, who appeared out of his depth in a religious conversation that actually involved belief  rather a bunch of terms Todd could manipulate.

Todd muttered, “Close-minded freaks” and edged away. Pan gave Kaiden an appreciative nod.

Kaiden had become a companion. They shared a cabin since space on the ship was limited. The ship was carrying not only workers and colonists returning to Earth but attendees and speakers from the latest conference, the ones that stayed past the other ship’s departure.

Kaiden took his bodyguard duties seriously. Possibly the most cheerful guy on the ship, he had a way of hunching when people entered Pan’s space. And he was willing to call out anyone he thought might be disrespecting Pan. My bulldog.  

“The guy is an asshole,” Kaiden said as they entered the mess hall and got in line at the counter.

“This was his third time on Mars, right?”

“Yeah. The first time, he really messed up Baqil’s life, got him spouting off all this garbage about Mars forcing religion on people and taking advantage of their work and secretly planning to expatriate the Amunites. Baqil’s family had converted to Norse Christianity by then—a lot of hubs took us in when the sect disbanded. But that Todd guy really scared him. Not for any good reason. I think Todd likes making people miserable, dragging them down to his level, I guess.”

Pan nodded. He remembered hearing that Baqil had sent hate mail to people—not digital messages but actual physical letters. Rhys and Lider investigated, removed Todd from the picture, and resolved the family crisis. Baqil was married now and managed one of the algae farms. Baqil turned out okay.