by Nathan Jones
“Iglis,” he said through gritted teeth, holding his composure by the fingertips.
“Iglis,” the administrator agreed. “Looks as if you were right after all, Admiral.” He touched a finger to his forehead in mocking salute. “I'll be in touch with details about the beacon once we're done with our investigation. Best of luck on your hunt for one light cruiser. I'm sure you're up to the challenge.”
Jeres vanished from his display, but Granoss continued to stare at where he'd been, fists clenched.
Maybe it was time to broach the idea of honor duels to Movement leadership again. He could think of nothing he wanted more at the moment than to face off against that smug little bureaucrat, then burn away his smirk with a cauterizer.
* * * * *
As it turned out, Barix wasn't completely wrong about how Elyssa took the news that Aiden had let the scientists go.
Ali insisted on keeping them on sensor blackout for several more days, as she led them far away from the planet-eating mining ship and its attendant stations. Aiden had the feeling that was a pointless precaution, since after processing that system's planets the three colossal platforms would simply jump to another system to repeat the process.
And given the efficiency the Caretaker AIs displayed, probably sooner than anyone expected.
The first stop Aiden ordered was to change the Last Stand's profile and IFF transponder again. And speaking of Caretakers, their own new and improved AI proved far more adept at the task than she had been. Which made him feel fairly confident that their ship's new false ID would pass muster the next time it was needed.
Maybe her betrayal wasn't all downsides.
He had to admit, now that she was out of her disguise and back to her flawlessly beautiful self whenever he saw her, it was becoming harder and harder to remember she wasn't the faithful companion he'd come to trust and, yes, perhaps even love since acquiring her.
He was certainly having a hard time forgetting how desirable she was, to the point where being around her was becoming a real distraction. After all, she still firmly insisted she was his companion, and was becoming more and more visibly antsy at her inability to meet his needs when his needs obviously needed to be met.
It was almost a relief to reach the nearest allnet node. This visit wasn't nearly as exciting as the last one, since instead of destroying the automated platform's defenses and hacking its systems, they simply connected to the allnet and sent out a ping to draw Elyssa's attention.
The method they used to contact her wasn't anywhere close to as dramatic as at Recluse, since Aiden didn't particularly want to go into this confrontation with the facilitator any angrier than she likely already was. But Ali assured him that even though it was far more subtle, it would still be something Elyssa's people would notice and respond to.
Although even the Caretaker seemed surprised by how quickly they got a reply; it was only a few minutes later that the facilitator pinged them back, requesting a call.
Ostensibly, that sort of communication over the allnet couldn't pose a security risk to his ship, or at least nothing Ali couldn't handle. Even so, he waited for the beautiful woman to give him a nod of confirmation before he nodded back, signaling for her to put their erstwhile employer on.
Once again, Elyssa's plain features dominated his main display. Although this time it looked as if she was seated behind a large hardwood desk in an elegantly decorated office; an allnet simulation, or was that really where she worked? Would she give them even such basic information about her, now that she no longer had full confidence they were trustworthy?
Either way, she looked decidedly displeased to see him. “Thorne,” she said coldly. “The fact that you're out there in the middle of nowhere rather than at the rendezvous point is pretty telling, but hope springs eternal. Please reassure me that you have the scientists I sent you to retrieve, and this is all just a misunderstanding. This can still end with you getting paid and us going our separate ways, no harm done.”
“I'm afraid it can't,” Aiden replied, keeping his tone as light and friendly as he could. “We've already delivered our passengers safely back to HumanAssist Enterprises, where they belong.”
Elyssa's eyes sharpened. “Exactly how? I've scoured the allnet looking for clues, and as far as I can tell there is no remaining HAE facility for them to safely return to.”
Blast, he just kept inadvertently giving her useful information. Well, it wasn't very likely she'd be able to solve the mystery of the HAE world eater and colossal refinery and shipyard. Not even if she somehow managed to capture his ship and scour his computers, torture his crew, and try to trace his route after Recluse.
Ali had been too thorough for that.
“Be that as it may, I'm afraid it's the truth,” Aiden replied, trying to appear casual as he leaned back in his chair. “Normally I'd keep the advance payment, for the trouble I went through keeping up my end of the deal, only to have you break yours with a hidden condition you knew I'd never keep. But in the interest of keeping things amicable, I'm willing to return it to you.”
The stern woman had been shaking her head sadly throughout his speech. “Oh Aiden, Aiden,” she said with a sigh. “You made the wrong choice.”
He'd been afraid that would be her response. No help for it now but to keep on the path he'd chosen. “I'd say that was you. You knew who I am, what I'd do, and you still thought you could try to strong-arm me into doing this job for you.”
Elyssa sighed again. “The scientists, then. What the void were they thinking, turning down my offer just to go hide in a doomed HAE facility? I assume you presented the situation to them?”
Even though he was trying to win the facilitator over, he couldn't help but curl his lip at that. “Oh, I did my best to sell them on your offer of a gilded cage. They just found a better one.” A gilded cage, that is, not an offer. And may it be all they hoped for.
“Well, they'll likely come to regret that,” his old crew member said grimly. “But I suppose they're no longer a concern of ours, eh? Which just leaves blowing your ship to the void for crossing me.”
Well, that was blunt. “You really want to go there, Elyssa? Whatever you might be capable of on the allnet, the real universe is a far different place. A place where my name rings very loud.”
It was her turn to curl her lip in contempt. “And once again, you display that I know far more about you than you know about me, Thorne. Do you have any idea what sort of resources I can bring to bear against you?”
Anything to rival an entire Deek task force? he thought in grim amusement. I'm afraid you'll have to stand in line to get at me.
Not that he was about to admit that his situation was that precarious. “I've been living under an enormous bounty for most of a decade,” he replied, putting steel in the quiet words. “You want to throw your hat in the ring, you'll discover those resources you have are going to be wasted, same as all the others who've come at me. You really want to commit to that sort of fight, those losses, when I'm offering to give you back what you paid me and call it done?”
Elyssa's eyes narrowed dangerously. “You have any idea how much it cost to find out about the HAE scientists being captured, trace them to that ERI facility, and compromise its defenses?” she demanded. “Your fee was a drop in the bucket, and I was expecting a huge return on investment. That's what you cost me, and I'm going to take that cost out of your ship's hull and your miserable pirate hide, Thorne.”
“You'll try,” Aiden said, tone still ice. “That's the thing about a fight . . . everyone's eager to start one, right up until they do and then realize they're going to lose. Then suddenly they don't want to fight anymore, at which point it's too late.”
Elyssa gave him a contemptuous smile. “You telling me I should be afraid to go after you? I haven't gotten where I am today by backing down from a fight when someone spits in my face. I know your reputation, but I also know your ship. I know you. You, however, have no idea just who you made an enemy of wh
en you broke a deal with me.”
She leaned forward ominously, staring daggers at him through the display. “But you're about to find out.”
“This isn't necessary,” Aiden pressed. “Why throw away our past and resort to something that will cost us both in the end? There has to be some other solution.”
The facilitator shook her head, once again full of grim resolve. “I didn't make the universe the way it is. Worked as hard as I knew how to change it, truth be told. Of course I don't have to tell you that.” She gave him a hard smile. “But we failed, didn't we? The universe is the way it is and we have to live in it, little as we may like that fact. And in this universe, the only way this ends is with me blowing you to the void for your betrayal.”
“Maybe we can't change the universe,” Aiden agreed. “But we can change ourselves. That's the one variable humanity has control of.” He gave the severe woman a sad look. “Shame you choose to be completely powerless instead.”
Elyssa's lips thinned. “I'll mourn your death, Thorne. I owe you that much.” Her image winked off the display.
Aiden bit back a sigh, turning to his crew. “Let's get out of here.”
“I've got a rift jump calculated,” Ali said. “We can go now.”
“Speaking of “now”, what exactly are we doing here?” Barix demanded, scowling. “You've somehow succeeded in burning us in this galaxy, even though we just arrived. So, what? We going to spend another few months flying on to the next nearest one? Assuming our old friend's influence doesn't extend that far.”
Belix nodded, looking equally furious. “I didn't sign on for your war, oh glorious Captain. I signed on for chits. We aren't getting rich while running from one enemy after another.”
“Oh, shut up!” Aiden snapped, frayed temper finally unraveling. “We just made a fortune off our dealings with HAE, more than we'd get from half a dozen prizes. If that's not enough, you're welcome to jump ship and swim through vacuum to that allnet node. Or void, hop off on the next station we visit. It won't change the fact that you've got bounties on your own heads, arguably even bigger than mine if the Ishivi are still after your genetic material. But go ahead and see how being on your own treats you.”
The elfin woman stood from her station, expression darkening dangerously. Before she could speak, however, Ali stood as well and grabbed Aiden's shoulder. “I have intel on Elyssa that may be useful, at least concerning her reach in this galaxy,” the Caretaker said. “It's sensitive information, but I feel justified in offering it under the current circumstances.”
She gently but firmly pulled him from his own seat and towards the door. “If you'd jump us to our next destination, gunner, I'll go debrief the Captain on our options.”
Aiden didn't want to go, but he had a feeling if he stayed he was just going to make the situation worse. Although he almost changed his mind when Belix shouted at his back. “Yeah, run off with your robotic drive piston shaft, Captain! Saves me from having to liquify your DNA like I should've done years ago!”
Okay, the situation was worse than he'd thought. Of course, the Ishivi threatened to scramble people's DNA on a regular basis, so he didn't take the threat too seriously.
Once Ali had him back in his quarters, he whirled on her. “So you knew useful information about Elyssa that you didn't bother to tell me until now?”
The Caretaker ignored the accusation, expression oddly resolved. “My love, you're on edge. You weren't as diplomatic as you could've been with Elyssa, and now you're even more tense after your confrontation. Especially since even though she betrayed you, you still feel guilty about failing her. That's hitting you harder than you'll admit, enough that you're now lashing out at your crew in a way you normally wouldn't.”
She rested a hand on his chest in a clear gesture of invitation. “You need an emotional release, and there's one I always know works.”
In spite of everything, Aiden couldn't help but laugh. “Wait, so when you said you wanted to debrief me, that was innuendo?”
Ali smiled crookedly. “I know things have been strained between us, but I want to be there for you like I have been. Especially when you so obviously need me.”
For a moment he was torn. But she was right that his confrontation with Elyssa had hit him harder than he'd realized. That, on top of his self-imposed isolation after distancing himself from his companion, left him feeling just low enough for his resolve to weaken.
It probably wouldn't make him feel any better about himself, but right now he had a hard time caring. “This won't change anything between us, you realize,” he muttered, giving in.
The beautiful woman gave him a sad look. “Until I can regain your trust, my love, at least it's something.” She pulled him into a warm embrace and pressed her body against his, a familiar, welcoming sensation he'd missed more than he'd thought. And he'd thought he missed it an awful lot.
Aiden leaned down towards her upturned face and pressed his lips to hers, allowing himself to be pulled along as she backed toward his bed.
* * * * *
Another day, another pointless errand for ERI.
Dalar wasn't sure he minded, considering the alternative was returning to Admiral Granoss's task force to fruitlessly chase a lone pirate vessel; he'd already endured enough humiliation under the man's command, he wasn't eager to get back to it.
In fact, it was nice to see other people enduring humiliation for a change; in spite of being top secret, word through the grapevine had reached his ears about those ERI android peddlers losing the precious scientists the Vindicator had special delivered to them. Not only that, but their security had been such a joke that the attackers had used their own robots against them.
Perverse as it was to take joy in the suffering of his own allies, he'd take what he could get at the moment. Especially when every failure that trashed the reputation of someone else put that much more distance from his own, bringing him that much closer to being able to earn his way back to his former glory.
It certainly helped when golden opportunities dropped right into his lap out of the blue.
Although at first it didn't feel like one. In fact, Dalar had to bite back a groan at the sight of Elyssa Ennos on the display in his tiny crew cabin, contacting him in the middle of the night with a priority communication.
Just what he needed, another homely woman making his life miserable.
Still, the facilitator was the sort who could be very generous to her friends. Or, as he'd observed in the past, someone who could arrange to make even Fleet officers, or crewmen now, disappear if she was properly motivated.
So he swallowed his irritation at being woken up, plastered a smile across his face, and did his best to be at his most charming. “Miss Ennos! To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
Ennos gave him a cool look, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. “Dalar. My condolences on your recent fall from grace.”
He did his best to keep his smile from becoming a grimace. “Granoss needed a scapegoat, and I was the closest senior officer to the event.”
“Most unjust,” she murmured, with such a subtle hint of possible sarcasm that he couldn't help but wonder how much she knew.
Probably everything, knowing her. Dalar hurriedly changed the subject. “But I wouldn't want to waste your time, precious as it is, with my own woes. What can I do for you?”
The severe woman favored him with a rare smile, which didn't do much to improve her plain features. “Actually, Dalar, this time it's something I can do for you. I have information that can help point you towards vengeance against Aiden Thorne and the Last Stand. Information which, perhaps, might put you back in the good graces of your superiors.”
Well, that was certainly interesting. Although this “favor” was probably to her benefit in some way. Or in the obvious way. “Gunning for the giant bounty on his head, Miss Ennos?”
She smirked. “I've worked with the Movement before, Dalar. I know how collecting a bounty from your peopl
e would likely go.” She shook her head. “No, this is a good faith gesture. One which, perhaps, you can repay once you're back on course on your meteoric rise up the Deconstructionist ranks.”
Interesting. The facilitator likely had her own reasons to remove the pirate ship, and was using the Movement to do the job for her. “Feeding valuable information would certainly help my cause,” he agreed dourly. “But if I want to get back all that I lost, I'd need to be personally involved in hunting down Thorne. Which would be a bit difficult, since I'm currently stuck in Iglis galaxy running errands for ERI.”
Ennos's smile widened, becoming cruel enough to raise his hackles. Although thankfully it didn't seem to be directed at him. “Then it's your lucky day, Dalar, because the Vindicator is the only ship in your task force that's anywhere near the Last Stand. Redemption, and revenge, is only a few dozen paltry lightyears away.”
Two minutes later, after hastily making himself presentable, Dalar stood in front of the door to the captain's quarters and pressed the intercom buzzer. He had to bite back a surge of resentment at presenting himself to the new occupant of his previous room, as if he was some sort of supplicant.
He obviously wasn't the only one who found the visit galling. It took a full five minutes for Bresac to open the door, although it didn't look as if he'd woken her; her uniform was crisp, not a hair out of place, and while her homely features were drawn with weariness she didn't look groggy.
The scowl plastered across that ugly mug seemed especially alert. “This had better be good, Crewman Dalar.”
Well, this was a bad start. But if there was one thing he knew how to do, it was finish in top form. As ladies the universe over could attest. He gave the new captain a crisp salute, posture perfect. “Forgive the interruption, Captain. I've just received solid intel about the whereabouts of the Last Stand.”
