by Dan Moren
Ripping off a notorious gangster sure doesn’t seem like a great idea if you want to live to a ripe old age.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Tapper, who had retrieved the data spike from the console, and pocketed it. “But you better pack up your stuff, because you definitely can’t stay here. And the next people who find you aren’t going to be as understanding as we are. Christ, don’t you even know whose ship this is?” He shook his head.
They made it to the base of the entry ramp, each of them carrying one of Mal’s bags, before Eli realized that the skiff bay was strangely quiet for a place where people traditionally worked on noisy machinery.
It didn’t take long to figure out why.
The maintenance crews that had been on shift when they’d come in had vanished. Four people stood in a loose array opposite the bottom of the ramp. Eli recognized the pair that had braced Mal outside the bar the night they’d met. The other two didn’t look familiar but Eli swore he caught their eyes widen as they met his, as if they recognized him somehow.
“You again,” spat the freckled woman – Cavanaugh, Eli somehow recalled Mal saying. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Bloody hell,” Tapper muttered, one of Mal’s overflowing bags occupying both hands. “You try to do something nice.”
“This must be our lucky day,” said one of the others, a man with a white scar running through his brown eyebrow. “Three birds, one stone.”
“You know these assholes?” said Cavanaugh.
“By reputation only,” said the scarred man. “But it’s nice to finally make their acquaintance.”
Who the fuck are these guys?
“Oh, hey, Cavanaugh. Romero. How are you guys doing today?” Mal said, bright eyes darting between the two, their voice doing absolutely nothing to conceal their nervousness.
Cavanaugh’s teeth bared. “I told you you’d be doing this job, Maldonado. One way or another.”
“OK, OK,” said Mal, trying to put up their hands, despite the bag cradled there. “It’s fine. I’ll do it. Just, you can let them go, OK?”
“Not going to happen,” said the other new addition, a woman with short, curly brown hair. “They’ll be coming with us.” She reached back and produced a pistol, holding it loosely at her side.
“You don’t want to do anything for them, kid,” said Tapper. “Those two are Illyrican agents, and trust me: they’re not about to let you walk away after they’re done with you.”
“Wait, what?” said Eli, looking back and forth between Tapper and the other two.
“Unless I miss my guess, Handsome over there is the one who took a nap in the ladies’ room,” said Tapper, nodding to the scarred man, who scowled in return. “Anyway, yeah, none of us are going anywhere with you.”
“I don’t recall offering you a choice,” said the brown-haired woman.
“That’s fine. Here’s one for you: walk away now, and you can skip that embarrassing talk with your boss about how you blew this.”
The cocksure tone of Tapper’s voice had all of Eli’s muscles tensing.
“I don’t think the cavalry is about to ride to your rescue,” said the scarred man. “So put down the bags and we’ll all walk out of here real quiet like.” Tapper looked back at Mal and Eli, then shrugged. “You heard him, boys. Turn and burn.”
Turn and… oh no.
As the sergeant laid down the duffel bag he was carrying, Eli saw him surreptitiously tap his sleeve. A thrumming coursed through the deck plates and up into Eli’s boots – almost unnoticeable at first, but as it grew louder, Eli saw the Illyrican agent who was holding the gun frown.
The weapon barrel rose towards them. “What did you…?”
And then the skiff’s engines fired.
Had he been asked his opinion on this plan, Eli would have strongly advised against starting the main engine sequence while in an enclosed space like a hangar. For one thing, the engines weren’t particularly efficient while in atmosphere. For another, they made a hell of a noise.
Then again, that might have been the point.
The skiff lurched drunkenly forward, with just enough time for Eli to let the armful of bags topple out of his hands as he hugged the ramp’s hydraulic strut. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Tapper and Mal doing the same.
Straining against its umbilical connections, the skiff bucked like an amusement park ride, jumping up in the air a foot or two before slamming back down to the deck. The vibrations sent Cavanaugh, Romero, and the Illyrican agents sprawling.
And then, as suddenly as the engines had fired up, they whimpered to a stop, flaming out. The skiff dropped to the deck with a crunch, its landing struts creaking under the sudden weight.
Eli staggered off the ramp, legs wobbling. “Holy shit, was that a terrible idea.”
“Worked, didn’t it?” said Tapper, surprisingly upright as he helped Mal off the ramp. “Get moving.” The sergeant glanced over his shoulder at the Illyrican agents, who were also getting to their feet. “Go!”
Without any further need for encouragement, Eli stumbled at the best speed he could manage towards the hangar’s door, ignoring the shouts in his wake. A shot pinged off the bulkhead to one side, but the Illyricans’ aim was clearly still shaky.
The door slid open at their approach, and Eli bolted out, followed closely by Tapper and Mal. The tech darted to the control panel beside the door, fingers flying over the screen as several green icons blinked to red. Klaxons blared to life around them and amber lights began to flash around the door’s frame. With a look of satisfaction, Mal slapped a large red control and the door slammed shut, just ahead of another shot from the Illyricans’ weapon. The alarms cut off abruptly, though the warning lights continued blinking.
Mal heaved a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall. “That was too close.”
“What did you do?” said Tapper, eyeing the panel.
“I convinced the system there was a hull breach in the hangar. That triggered the emergency decompression protocols. It’ll slow them down, but only until the damage control team shows up and lets them out.”
“So we should make ourselves scarce,” said Tapper. “Come on.”
Summoning their best nonchalance, the three sidled away from the door, making their way into the ship’s lower levels until they were sure they weren’t being followed.
“What did those guys want from you anyway?” said Eli, when they were well away from the hangar.
“Uh, well, not officially being part of the crew has its challenges,” said Mal, scratching at their scalp with a slight hint of embarrassment. “Cavanaugh and Romero figured out that I’d been manipulating the systems. They said they wouldn’t tell ship security about me as long as I did a few jobs for them; those other two hired them to get access to the ship’s systems.”
“So you’re what, a sub-contractor?” said Tapper.
“Sort of?”
The sergeant shook his head. “Yeah, well, that job definitely wasn’t going to come with any benefits beyond death and dismemberment.”
Mal’s face took on a decidedly greenish hue. “So, what do those guys have against you, anyway? You just got here!”
“Let’s just say we’ve got some history and leave it at that.”
But the tech was on a roll. “And did you install a data spike in that skiff? Why’d you do that? What is going on?” Their breath was starting to come in quick, short puffs.
Tapper put a reassuring hand on Mal’s shoulder. “You know, I’m betting you didn’t get a single good night’s sleep in that skiff cockpit. Seems like you could use a rest. Come on, we’ll let you borrow our bunk.”
That seemed to console Mal a bit, and a few minutes later, the tech was securely ensconced in Tapper’s bunk, which the sergeant had cleaned off. All the adrenaline seemed to have ebbed out of their system, and they were snoring less than a minute after their head hit the pillow.
Tapper and Eli stepped into the hallway, the sergeant closing the d
oor behind them.
“You really think dragging Mal into our mess is helping them out?” Eli said.
“The kid’ll be all right. Better than where they’d be when the Illyricans start tying up their loose ends. And hey, it might even slow them down a little.”
“Yeah, well, now we’ve got a new problem. Our exit plan just went up in smoke, and there’s no way we’ll get back into the skiff bays with both the Illyricans and White Star on high alert.”
“That’s the job, Brody. Roll with the punches.”
Roll with the punches?! That’s the best he can do? Eli opened his mouth to object, but Tapper had started off down the corridor, leaving Eli little alternative but to jog after him.
“So, now what?”
“Now we go secure the airlock for the EVA, like the boss asked us. And you start thinking about a new way to get us the hell off this ship.”
CHAPTER 20
One of the benefits of being the owner of a ship the size of the Queen Amina, Addy discovered, was having your own private lift tube. Xi led her out of the dining room and Addy, her head still a little fuzzy from the drinks, just barely remembered to grab the purse on the back of her chair. But the right side of Xi’s face – the part she still needed to capture – faced away from Addy, and she hadn’t figured out how to maneuver into a better position.
So close.
A panel in the wall, indistinguishable from those around it, slid aside at Xi’s approach and they stepped into the lift tube. Unlike the rest of Xi’s quarters, this was more utilitarian than ornate, with stark metal paneling. Elegant and sleek, but no frills.
There were also a decided lack of controls. Instead, Xi pressed something on one of the bangles on her wrist and the door slid closed behind them. The lift tube drifted into motion, though the ride was so subtle Addy had trouble figuring out which way they were going.
“You know I was born on Trinity?”
Addy blinked at the non-sequitur. “The Commonwealth colony?”
Xi’s nose wrinkled. “The Commonwealth wasn’t formed until later, and we certainly didn’t see ourselves as its colonists. My parents were amongst the first generation of settlers; when they arrived, it was a habitable world only by the slimmest of definitions.
“My mother was an agricultural engineer, developing strains of common crops that could survive the harsh environment. She was very good at her job, but Trinity proved a tough nut to crack. Towering dust storms in the summer, ferocious blizzards in the winter. Underground pests that liked to eat all the roots and tubers. Every time one problem was solved, it seemed as though three more reared their heads.
“My father was an astronomer who studied quasars. She was looking down, he was looking up.” Her smile, wistful at first, twisted with an injection of sadness. “Neither of them were particularly political. When the Illyricans invaded Earth, it seemed so far away – we thought we’d be insulated. But then the Earthers fell back to Terra Nova, a short wormhole jump away from us, and Trinity was conscripted into the Commonwealth.
“I was fifteen. At first it didn’t mean much: new flags, a small garrison. We never even saw any fighting. But the Commonwealth still insisted on everybody ‘doing their part’ for the war effort. So my mother started working even longer hours, trying to raise crop yields. My father was drafted into some military research program. They left me to take care of myself, which I was perfectly capable of doing.”
Xi stared at the wall, lost in thought. “There was nothing anyone could have done to predict the freak dust storm that killed my mother. Didn’t stop my father from blaming himself. He drank himself to death within a year. Then I really was on my own.”
There was a pause, the first real opening for any sort of interjection. “I’m so sorry,” said Addy.
Reaching down, Xi squeezed her hand, flashing a smile at the same time. “Thank you. It was a long time ago. I didn’t know much of anything at that age, but I knew I didn’t want to be there anymore. So I took what little money they had left – they were not the best about saving for the future; we all think we have more time left than we do – and headed for the stars.”
The lift slowed to a stop, the doors opening into a large, dark room.
Great. Addy tried to keep her breathing under control. If Xi was going to off her for some reason, she could have done it back in her apartment, and nobody would have been the wiser. This whole ship was hers, no need to be picky. Still, at least there wasn’t plastic sheeting on the floor.
Their footsteps echoed through the space and when the lift door closed behind them, they were in near total darkness. When they came to a stop, the only sensation Addy could detect was Xi’s hand, warm, on her arm.
“I was determined to make my own way,” said Xi. “The money ran out by the time I reached Jericho Station, and I realized I’d need more, because what I wanted, more than anything, was to not live under someone else’s thumb. I wanted the galaxy at my fingertips.”
There was a flare of light from another of Xi’s bracelets, followed by a loud groan of hydraulics as the ceiling split along its length. Massive shutters tessellated open, revealing a tapestry of stars.
Addy’s eyes had adjusted to the pitch blackness of the room, making the scattering of stars all the more stunning. It wasn’t just a projection: something about it was too… imperfect. Some shone brightly, while others were little more than faint spots seen out of the corner of her eyes. Her hand reached out of its own accord; they seemed so close, it was almost as if she could pluck one from the void.
“It’s the largest transparent aluminum lattice ever installed on a ship,” said Xi. “Cost a fortune. Just a thin layer of material between us and the vacuum of space.”
Holy shit. Addy clenched her fists as the vertigo began to kick in and the stars spun in her vision. Her knees buckled and she started to waver.
Strong hands caught her. “Hey. Hey. It’s OK. Look at me. Down here.”
With an effort, Addy forced her eyes down to meet Xi’s. The brown eyes were soft, sympathetic. “You’re OK. Everything’s all right.” Xi smiled and pressed her hands against Addy’s cheeks. “Just breathe.”
Addy closed her eyes, took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out through her mouth, trying to quell the bass drum pounding in her chest. There was the sound of machinery once again and when Addy opened her eyes she saw that the shutters above had closed. Soft lighting had flooded the room, revealing an assortment of couches and lounge chairs, all angled to provide unobstructed views of the ceiling.
“I realize it can be a little intense,” said Xi, withdrawing her hands from Addy’s cheeks, which felt unaccountably cool and lonely in their absence. “I’m sorry for springing it on you like that.”
“It’s fine,” said Addy, taking a seat on a couch. “Amazing, but also a little… terrifying.” Getting that word out required pushing it past a large lump in her throat, and she felt her cheeks burning once again. It’s not the same thing as scared. It’s not.
“I understand,” said Xi, sitting next to her. “I come in here sometimes because it reminds me of how small and alone I felt when I first left home. But now, well,” she jangled the bracelet on her arm, “now it’s at the touch of my finger. The universe at my beck and call.” Xi’s mouth set in a firm line, and those brown eyes hardened into ironwood. “And how did I accomplish it? Hard work. Perseverance. Force of will. I wanted it. So I took it.” Xi reached over and pressed Addy’s hand between her palms. “It doesn’t matter where you come from. It’s all there for the taking.”
Addy’s heartbeat was running like quicksilver. What is happening here? In the corner of her eye, a lone green dot blinked suddenly – with Xi’s face turned towards her, the biometric scan was complete.“I see a lot of me in you,” said Xi, and her tone was a mixture of hope and sadness. “The galaxy has let you down, hasn’t it? It’s hard to find a place where you fit in, and nobody ever seems willing to give you a break. Some days – most days – it
feels like everybody’s against you. I know that feeling. And this is your opportunity.”
“What do you mean?”
Xi smiled. “I want to give you a break. I could use somebody like you. Fearless, confident. Somebody who knows that sometimes rules get in the way of doing what’s necessary.”
Is that me? She flushed at Xi’s description. It sounded like someone else entirely. A better version of her, not the short-fused and lonely version that she saw in the mirror every day.
“I think you could be a valuable addition to my organization,” Xi continued.
“I… I can?” Addy’s head spun, though not from the vertigo of the star field this time. Left was right, up was down. The green dot continued to blink, insistent. She held her head between her hands and fought back the urge to burst into tears. That wouldn’t be very confident or very fearless.
“Absolutely,” said Xi, squeezing Addy’s hand tightly. “You have so much potential, just waiting to be tapped. I think we could do great things together. The galaxy would never see us coming. The Queen Amina is just one part of my operation. I have contacts in every system: Commonwealth, Imperium, independent. There’s no place I don’t do business, no one I don’t do business with. You could be a part of that, and with it, the rewards are… well, endless.” She looked up at the ceiling again. “You deserve all this.”
Addy swallowed. The mission, Addy – the mission. Kovalic, Taylor, Tapper, Brody were all depending on her. But that was a small voice in her head, droned out by the blood rushing in her ears. “What could I possibly do for you?”
“Let’s start small. Just one little thing to begin. To prove you’re the person I believe you can be. Do you think you can do that?”
Maybe the air mix in the room was off and there was just too much oxygen, but Addy found herself nodding, lightheaded. “OK.”
Xi broke into another of those brilliant smiles, and reached out to take Addy’s hand, squeezing it. “Excellent. I’m so glad to hear that, Adelaide.”
