by Carysa Locke
But the truth was, Mercy did not sense anything duplicitous in Casimir. She had, if anything, a good feeling about him. She might almost think it was a sense of the future, but prescience wasn’t normally a Talent she used.
She planned to ask Vashti as soon as they reached home.
Suddenly, Reaper was beside her. “Your turn.”
She gave him a puzzled frown. “My turn?”
“To fix that knee. I can see you favoring it. Also, you’re exhausted, and you haven’t eaten anything in approximately thirty hours. They have food packs, better than nutritional bars, which I know you hate. See to your injuries, eat something, and rest.”
“You’ve decided to trust them?” She looked past him to Casimir.
“Provisionally. We’ve reached an agreement. He’ll see us home in his ship, which can cover the distance in half the time, and then we’ll meet with the Core. He wants to put the Commonwealth back together, we want to stop Fareena. He needs Thirteen, and I would like my idiot brother back. Casimir placed a copy of Vera — Yelena? — whichever version of the AI, onto Thirteen’s ship. He’s going to use her to make contact with Treon.” He sighed. “You were right. He has the key we came here looking for. Thanks to him, we’ll know where Fareena is.” He glanced over his shoulder to where Casimir stood speaking with Sebastian. “If he betrays us, then I’ll drop him into the nearest star.”
She squeezed his good arm. “I’m sorry about Treon.”
“You don’t need to apologize for my brother’s mistakes.”
But from the brooding look on his face, she could tell Treon’s leaving bothered him.
It was while she was eating one of those food packs that Titus, Max, and Octavia joined them. Reaper greeted Titus, but Mercy gestured for both Max and Octavia to sit down.
She slid a datapad across to Max. “The memory on this is ten times the size of ours. On it is all of the data the Commonwealth has on Ascension War-era tech. You can thank Casimir and his men.”
Max craned his head to get a look at the soldiers milling around, clearly curious about the newcomers.
“It’s not full,” Mercy continued, and his gaze snapped back to her. She swallowed. He’d never looked more like a younger version of Cannon. His jaw had the beginnings of a dark scruff, patchy though it was, and the more he filled out, the more he looked like the pirate King. Cannon might not be related to her, but she was pretty sure he and Max actually were cousins. “You have Vera’s permission to take that into the archives, and she’ll show you the best schematics they have to fill out the remaining space. When we get home, you and Sebastian can study it together, because you’re going to be using that information to help us prepare.”
“Prepare? For what?”
“War,” she said starkly.
He goggled at her for a moment, until she gestured for him to go.
“Sebastian will go with you. He wants a chance to see the archives, too.”
Max jumped up so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet. “Uh, yes, Your Majesty — I mean Mercy. Thank you.”
He scurried off, clutching the datapad to his chest.
Mercy turned her attention to Octavia. The girl shrank in her seat like she was trying to disappear.
“I owe you an apology,” she said finally.
Octavia’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry. First, for how you were treated by men who should have known better. I’ll be speaking to them. They won’t be bothering you again. Second, you’ve been jerked around, first by Willem, then by me, and then by Fareena and her people. That ends now. I’m going to ask you a question, and I’d like you to think carefully before you reply.”
Octavia nodded, her expression wary.
“What do you want to do?”
“Me?” Octavia’s voice was a startled squeak.
“You. Do you want to go back to Veritas with Feria? Go home to the pirates with me? You don’t have to stay on Nemesis. You can go wherever you’d like, study whatever interests you, plan whatever future you desire.”
“I can?”
“You can. Keep in mind, the galaxy isn’t exactly at its most stable. I’d strongly prefer you somewhere safe, or as safe as we can make it. But the choice is yours. You don’t have to answer now.”
Octavia picked up a discarded napkin, fidgeting with its edge. “I already know what I want,” she said. Her voice was surprisingly firm for someone who wouldn’t meet Mercy’s eyes.
“You do? Tell me what it is. I’m excited to hear.”
Octavia took a breath, and dropped the napkin. She looked up at Mercy through dark eyelashes. “I want to train with Dem. He’s the best teleporter I’ve ever seen, and he trains the best dogs. I want that.”
Mercy couldn’t have been more surprised if Octavia said she wanted to stay here and make a home with the planet’s predators.
When she didn’t say anything right away, Octavia sat up straighter, lifting her chin. “I’m tired of people using me or pushing me around. I have a rare Talent that can take me places. Dem can make me a dog, and no one will ever push me around again.”
She looked nervous, but defiant at the same time. Like she expected Mercy to say no, but she was prepared to fight.
A slow smile spread across Mercy’s face. She imagined Dem training this young girl, imagined her confidence growing.
“I think that’s the best idea I have ever heard,” she said seriously.
“You do?”
“I do. I’ll talk to him when we get back.”
Octavia lit up from within. Her smile filled her whole face. “Thank you. Your Majesty.”
Mercy caught herself before she corrected her. Octavia had just acknowledged her as her Queen. The least she could do was accept graciously.
“You’re welcome. The pirates are lucky to have you.”
That was well done, granddaughter, Lilith said as Octavia got up from the table. Very well done, indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mercy watched as Doc finished examining Cannon inside the stasis pod. She chewed on her thumbnail, not usually a nervous habit of hers, but these were special circumstances. She remembered Vera’s concern that the margin was too close for Cannon to survive long enough to get treatment once the pod was opened.
She tried to read Doc’s body language, but she didn’t know him well enough. To her, he always looked irritated or displeased. She paced, while Reaper leaned still as a statue against the wall. Sebastian was meeting with the Core and updating them on everything that had happened. He’d wanted Mercy to go, but she refused to leave until she knew Cannon’s chances.
It was on the tip of her tongue to demand, Well? But Doc’s temper was easily provoked on a good day. She forced herself to be patient.
With a pop of sound, a miniature whirlwind appeared in the middle of the room. Tamari had grown in the last few months. At five, she insisted she was a big girl now and asserted her independence every chance she got. Today, she was wearing the cutest pair of red overalls over a white shirt with puff sleeves, covered in her favorite insect, ladybugs. Her hair was free of its usual pigtails, standing around her head in a halo of curls.
She was clearly agitated, crying “Cannon!” before Doc could so much as berate her, for once again teleporting into a place she was not supposed to be.
Tamari ignored all of the other adults in the room to float over the Cannon’s stasis pod. Mercy glanced at Reaper, but he just shrugged as if to say What can you do? Which, as far as Tama went, was a true statement. It was hard enough to control a precocious five-year-old. It was worse when that five-year-old could teleport anywhere on the ship.
“Tamari,” Mercy said gently.
The little girl turned big blue eyes swimming with tears towards her. Then she looked at Doc. “Fix him?” she asked, her bottom lip quivering.
“We are certainly going to do our best,” he said, with more gentleness than Mercy would have credited him with. Doc’s usual bedside manner tended more to yelli
ng and jabbing you with uncomfortable needles. But he had a soft spot for Tama.
He turned to Mercy. “I’m afraid Vera’s assessment is correct. I am not willing to risk Cannon’s life by trying to save him in the seconds following the stasis pod opening. Not without help.”
Tama, who clearly had big ears and was following the conversation well enough, looked up from where she leaned, both hands splayed against the stasis pod. “Auntie!” she said firmly.
“Yes,” Doc agreed. “Which is why I sent for Nayla as soon as you contacted me about Cannon’s condition. She should arrive soon.” He took a deep breath. “When she does, we will perform a tandem procedure to open Cannon’s pod and heal him. Hopefully, saving his life.”
There was nothing more to do but wait. Nayla had left some months ago to treat a patient on Kaiht, the Killer colony world. To everyone’s shock, she’d decided to stay, a decision that had put Doc into a terrible mood for weeks and made everyone avoid the infirmary like it was infected with plague.
It was a planet that seemed very far away now, but it wasn’t like Cannon’s condition could worsen.
Reluctantly, Mercy agreed to join the Core until Nayla arrived. “But call me as soon as she’s here. I want to be here.”
“Mercy,” Doc said with a shake of his head, “it’s always best for loved ones not to be present with procedures of this nature.”
“Call. Me.”
“As you wish.”
Doc seemed unusually subdued, she decided as she and Reaper left the infirmary. Usually, he would have yelled at her.
“He’s worried, too,” Reaper commented. “Everyone is. You can feel the mood throughout the ship.”
It was true. Everywhere they turned, pirates stood in groups of twos and threes, talking quietly, worried looks on their faces. It wasn’t just anxiety over the leadership of the pirates, either, but genuine worry. Mercy wondered if Cannon knew how respected and loved he was.
When they entered the doors to the Core meeting — otherwise known as the local bar aboard Nemesis, but with the tables pushed aside and a circle made of the room, so everyone could sit facing one another — it was already in progress. Usually, when Mercy walked into the middle of these meetings, there was a lot of yelling. Today, it was quiet and subdued. As soon as she entered the room, faces turned toward her, the same question on them.
She shook her head. “Doc isn’t willing to take risks. We’re waiting for Nayla.”
“A wise choice,” Vashti said. Others nodded.
Wick stood up, taking the floor as Mercy took her seat, Reaper on one side and Sebastian on the other. His sanctimonious face made Mercy want to punch something.
“We wish to talk of this Casimir you decided to trust with our secrets, our very location, without consulting this body.”
And, that was enough of that. “I don’t have to consult this body,” Mercy said, her voice mild. “I’m Queen.”
For a second, Wick was clearly taken aback. Even though Cannon had made it clear months ago that Mercy was, and always would be Queen, she hadn’t exactly thrown her weight around much in the time since. The only exception was her insistence on the mission to Arcadius V, but she’d waited to address the Core until she had Cannon, Reaper, Sebastian, Dem, and Treon on board. With the five of them beside her, they were a powerhouse the rest of the Core couldn’t hope to stand against.
Today, she didn’t care who stood beside her.
She hoped Reaper, Sebastian, and Dem were on her side, but if they weren’t, she was rolling forward with what she knew was right anyway.
“Cannon is in the infirmary, possibly dying—”
“That’s not relevant,” Mercy said, the words hard to force out past the knot of worry in her chest. “Cannon serves as King at my pleasure. I am Queen. I made the call. No one else.”
“Yes, but—”
Mercy stood up. “Let me be perfectly clear. I admit, I’m a little confused why this isn’t clear by now. We have one enemy. One. Her name is Fareena. She is a Talented Queen. She wants to rewrite the entire galaxy to fit her image for it, including claiming everyone here. She would destroy me, if she could, and make every single one of you bow down to her every command. Do you want that?” She circled the room with her gaze, meeting the eyes of each and every pirate. “I didn’t think so. Veritas is our ally. Casimir is not only our ally, but very likely our biggest weapon against Fareena. I will not tolerate a debate about whether or not to use that weapon. I made the call. It’s done. End of discussion.” She looked at Wick. “Move on.” She sat back down.
He hesitated. “Your Majesty—”
She drummed her fingers on the table. “Are you challenging me?”
You should remove him, Lilith said. He will only continue to be an obstacle.
Hush.
Wick spread his hands with a smarmy, conciliatory smile. “I only—”
“Yes or no.” She watched the smile bleed from his face. “Because if you’re not going to challenge me, I have a topic I would like to bring to the Core’s attention.”
“O—of course.” Wick sat down.
Mercy looked around the room, her gaze snagging first on Xavier, then on Wick. “It has come to my attention, that certain powerful pirate men have been abusing their positions. Using their power and authority to pressure young girls into a relationship, even after that young girl has expressed a desire to be left alone.”
A murmur ran through the room. Women and children were cherished in the pirate culture, protected. The accusation Mercy made was a severe one.
“I have spoken to the young woman in question, and corroborated her account with witnesses. I am certain in my facts, and I bring it up here only to say this: I am aware it is happening. The young woman in question doesn’t wish to bring formal charges. However, if it happens again in the future, to any young woman, I won’t wait for formal charges. I will exercise my authority as Queen to make a final judgment, and I will exact the most severe punishment allowed. That means you won’t just be stripped of your position. I will have you shoved out the nearest airlock. This is your only warning.”
Complete silence blanketed the room. Wick’s face had gone pale and Xavier looked like he was about to be sick.
“And just as a reminder, Sebastian is this ship. Nothing goes on that he can’t find out about. And he will be watching. I asked him to take this matter on personally, as a favor to me.” She smiled. “As my second consort, he was more than willing to comply.”
Mercy. Doc’s voice couldn’t have been a more welcome interruption. Having said her piece, Mercy was happy to have a reason to step away. Nayla has arrived.
On my way.
She stood up, and Reaper and Sebastian stood with her, a silent message to everyone here. “Meeting adjourned.”
Tamari asked if Mercy would hold her, and she was more than happy to do so. Her own anxiety was at a fever pitch, and she and the little girl comforted one another as they watched Doc and Nayla prepare. Reaper and Sebastian had both accompanied her.
Lilith, who Mercy might have actually welcomed some commentary from at this moment, was oddly silent.
“Cannon be okay,” Tama whispered. It wasn’t quite a question, but neither was it a statement.
“I hope so,” Mercy said. She wasn’t willing to risk lying to the little girl if Cannon didn’t make it.
“All right,” Doc said. He nodded at Nayla. “When you’re ready.”
The young woman took a deep breath, and at some hidden signal, Doc dropped the stasis field. The next few minutes were a scary mess of angrily beeping machines, a powerful explosion of Talent from Nayla so bright Mercy had to look away, and Doc muttering in his own language.
Finally, she felt the warm, empathic Talent that was Cannon’s mind go from a faint flutter, to something strong and steady.
Tamari let out a screech of joy, then immediately controlled it when Doc shushed her, ducking her head against Mercy.
“Cannon be okay!” she
said. This time it was a statement.
Tears ran down Mercy’s face. “Yes,” she agreed. “Cannon be okay.”
“Here,” Sebastian stepped forward and took Tama from her arms. He nodded to Cannon, still sleeping. He would be for a while. “Go sit with him.”
Reaper gave her hand a squeeze, then ducked out of the room. No doubt he was on his way to spread the word to someone else who could go and tell all of the waiting pirates. He wasn’t comfortable around strong emotion, and the ship was about to become steeped in it.
Mercy sat by Cannon, carefully taking his hand in hers.
Whatever else the future held, the pirates still had their King. And so did she.
Epilogue
Treon had never seen a fortress like this. It was like some castle built out of a history holo, but instead of ancient stone and moss covered walls, it was built of a shining black substance that looked like some kind of opaque glass. It glittered in the light, and he realized there were metallic flecks deep within it. Five spires rose above the battlements, one in each corner and the largest centered in the front, a tower that loomed over all who came here.
No trees, shrubbery or other plant life filled the landscape around it. It sat like a scar, the land mercilessly covered over with plasteel and mechstone. No visible weaponry lined its battlements, but it felt menacing nonetheless. This was a monument to power. Though beautiful in its way, and undoubtedly worth a fortune, it wasn’t meant to look pretty or showcase wealth. It was meant to convey a message: here lies strength; cross it at your peril.
He half expected to see a drawbridge and a moat, but it didn’t take the historical flair quite that far. Instead, a modern spaceport extended around it like the spokes of a wheel. The ship he and Thirteen had flown in on was docked in one of those spokes.
“Come.” Thirteen led him down the docking ramp and toward the castle.
