by Clara Woods
“Mmh. What do you plan to do once this is over?”
Lenah shrugged. She’d been spending a lot of time on the same question. She couldn’t imagine going back to her old life right now. Besides, her father might not even take her back in after she’d disgraced the family name like she had. Stealing a smuggling ship? Bad enough. Enjoying the lowly job of flying it herself? Even worse.
“Maybe I’ll stay right here. Pay those smugglers for the ship, get it painted, rename it, and start hauling cargo.”
“You want to become a smuggler?” Persia asked.
“Of course not. Legitimate cargo. I never figured I’d end up with a ship. Well, us, really. After all, we obtained it together. You’re welcome to stay. Or I’d pay you out with my share of the money we make from the stone.”
Persia stared outside for a few moments. “I don’t know yet. I’ll think about it. Maybe flying this old thing fully loaded with some cargo doesn’t sound too bad. Let’s face it, you’ll need some muscle to protect you.”
“Are you saying that’s you, or are you inviting our cyborg smuggler to become part of the business?” Lenah asked.
“Oh, I was definitely talking about myself.”
The cyborg smuggler chose that moment to appear in the hatch. With his enhanced hearing, Lenah was pretty certain he’d heard that last part of the conversation, but he didn’t say anything. Lenah still felt guilty. She’d come to think of him as Cassius, and wasn’t proud to be caught calling him a cyborg or a smuggler after he’d spent so much time and effort training her.
“Doctor Lund and Uz have deciphered the coordinates.”
“Great,” Lenah answered. “I can’t wait to get going. Sitting still in open space makes me nervous.”
He held out a meal bar’s wrapping with some coordinates scribbled on it. Lenah took it, studying the numbers while Persia grabbed the stone again to heat it up.
“Maybe we can fly a short distance away?” Persia asked. “I don’t want to get totally blinded by that light again.”
Lenah agreed and steered them away from the 0, 0, 0 coordinates.
“Are they sure about those coordinates?” she asked Cassius, turning to look at him while her hands guided the ship forward.
He nodded. “They seemed pretty certain.”
“Why? What is it?” Persia asked.
“It’s just that this is really far away. As in ‘outside of the UPL’s space’ far away.”
“Um, Lenah?” Persia’s tone sounded fearful. “Someone’s coming.”
A colorful bubble had started to appear in the area they’d vacated. A ship was coming out of a warp bubble.
“Shit. Persia, how’s that stone coming along?”
“Any second.”
Lenah accelerated the Star Rambler away as fast as possible. Anything was better than hanging out here and waiting for a visit. If she was certain of one thing, it was that this wasn’t a friendly visit. Those kinds of coincidences simply didn’t exist, not if you were at the fringes of UPL space, millions of klicks away from anything else. No way was this ship here by chance. How had they found them, though?
Finally, the computer picked up the warp waves from the stone. Lenah entered in the new coordinates, but instead of the familiar bright lights starting to form around them, the computer blinked with an error message. Then an alarm started blaring.
“They’re jamming us,” Cassius said.
“How?”
“They have a mage.”
28 Rubies and Mages
Cassius didn’t hesitate. He turned around and made it to the outer hatch at record speed. Lenah turned on the camera in the cargo hold, as well as the outer ones. Then she raised the shields. Only now did she realize that the other ship, a modern C45 cargo cruiser, had thrown a hailing beam at them. She’d raised the shields just in time to keep them from being successful.
On closer inspection, Lenah noticed that this was no normal C45 cruiser. It had been equipped with at least one laser cannon, and a torpedo launcher in the front. They were in firing range already, and she wondered why they hadn’t started shooting when the comm button blinked with an incoming message. Frowning, Lenah opened the connection. She also put on the speakers in the cargo hold, so the others could hear what was going on. “Hello, this is the captain of the Star Rambler. True to our name, we’re only rambling around the fringes of the galaxy, minding our own business. There’s no reason to hail us.”
“Greetings, Captain of the Star Rambler.” The deep voice said the word ‘captain’ in a mocking tone, and Lenah asked herself if it was because they knew her real identity or because she didn’t sound like a real captain – at least, not in the true sense of having passed flying school. Maybe it was both.
“Lower your shield and prepare to be boarded. You are in possession of an artifact that doesn’t belong to you.”
“Are we?” Lenah asked, trying to gain time. Everyone else had gone down to the cargo hold, and she could see Cassius handing out weapons, even to Doctor Lund. “That’s interesting…I didn’t catch your name. Who are you?”
“I didn’t say my name,” the voice answered. “I repeat, lower your shields. Otherwise we’ll have to use less amiable tactics to gain access to your ship.”
So much for gaining time by distracting them. Lenah considered her options. The other ship had already come into close range, and she saw a landing tube coming toward the Star Rambler’s outer hatch. She had a better look at their weapons now, too. What she saw wasn’t good. Laser cannons, launchers, and e-cannons were sticking out of its hull like uneven teeth. It might make the ship look ugly, but the weapons themselves seemed latest tech. Much better than what she had, with two laser cannons in front and no working laser in the back.
At such close proximity, the other ship was almost guaranteed to blow them to pieces before they could do more than put a dent in its hull. Somehow, they were also jamming the warp bubble transmitter, which meant that the Star Rambler couldn’t run either. Persia had left the stone with Lenah to keep it warmed up and ready. She was holding it in her hand, but what could it do here? No, their only hope was overcoming the crew of the C45 cruiser in direct combat, then getting out.
She opened the communication again. “That won’t be necessary. We don’t have anything to hide. You can come check for yourself.”
She saw Persia and the doctor give shocked looks toward the camera in the cargo hold, but Cassius nodded and grabbed his gun and knife with more determination. Either he was itching for a fight, or he’d come to the same conclusion as Lenah. She thought it was the latter.
“Very well, ‘Captain’ of the Star Rambler. Drop your shield. We’ll be boarding soon.”
Lenah didn’t answer. Instead, she moved her trembling hand to lower the shields. Once done, she didn’t wait around. She bolted toward her cabin. After spending a lot of time in the past ten days pacing up and down the tiny space and thinking about her father, she’d noticed a few missing screws at the bottom of one wall. Some fumbling around had revealed a small compartment. But instead of pirate riches, all she’d found was a rusty old key. She reached her cabin just as she felt the slight shudder of the boarding tube attaching to their cargo hatch. Fumbling with the small opening, she shoved the stone inside and closed the wall panel. She’d only found this place after hours of pacing around. The stone should be reasonably safe from someone trying to search the whole ship in a rush.
Taking one last look, she sprinted back out of her cabin and down the corridor, into the cargo hold. Thank the stars the ship was small, and it took her only a few seconds. Cassius turned around with a questioning look, but before he could ask where she’d been, they heard commotion outside their hatch. A long hiss sounded, and she assumed it was the airlock on the other side. Lenah pulled the laser pistol she’d started to wear in her belt and hit the open button. Better not risk having their hatch damaged if they still wanted to get away from here. More damage to the hull didn’t seem the best choice.
The hatch
opened, revealing a group of three soldiers with their guns drawn, followed by a second row of people in civilian clothes, and finally more armed soldiers in the back. As they stepped into the Rambler’s small cargo hold, Lenah tried to identify the uniforms the soldiers wore, but concluded they must not be part of any official army, corporate or otherwise.
The armed men fanned out, surrounding them until their group was dwarfed in the middle of them.
“Drop your weapons,” said the same deep voice that had spoken to them over the comm. It belonged to a middle-aged man with brown hair hanging in his eyes. He was wearing a corporate black suit, which was unusual for the captain of an armed cargo ship. To Lenah, he seemed vaguely familiar.
Next to him stood a beefy military type who sported an enhanced arm similar to Cassius’. The trio was completed by a young man who wore a jacket and ring proclaiming him to be a member of the Intergalactic Union of Mages: no doubt the culprit who was jamming their escape through the warp bubble.
After a slight hesitation, Cassius started to lower his laser gun and knife to the floor. Everyone else, including Lenah, followed his example. She eyed Cassius, trying to decipher if he was giving up this easily or if this was part of his plan, but his face didn’t give anything away. If she didn’t know better, he looked like he didn’t care.
“Good. Now that we’re on even terms,” the man in the black suit smirked, “please hand over the stone.”
Lenah snorted, drawing his attention.
“Did I say something funny, Captain? Or should I say, Miss Callo?” That brought her snort to a stop, though she managed a shrug.
“It’s just that there’s no stone on this ship, apart from maybe some small asteroid bits stuck somewhere in the hull. And it’s Captain Callo.” She supposed if they knew who she was anyway, there was no need to hide her real name. Once Lenah got a chance, she should really get some contact lenses and dye her hair – not that her dark brown hair and chocolate-colored eyes were anything she didn’t share with billions of others in the galaxy, though she almost flinched under the piercing stare from Uz, right next to her.
“Funny,” the suited man said, but didn’t seem amused. “Then tell me, how exactly were you creating a warp bubble before? As far as I can see, your magical creature has been relieved of its magic.” He casually waved a hand toward Uz, and Lenah noticed that a ring adorned one of his fingers, with a large ruby sticking out of it. It was one of Old Earth’s treasures, and unique to that time. Very few planets had been discovered to have the gem. That ring might be worth as much as a small spaceship.
The ring triggered Lenah’s memory. This man was her father’s assistant when she was a child, and she’d always liked the look of that ring. But he’d been fired years ago, and she had never seen him again.
None of that mattered though, because he’d exposed the flaw in her hasty plan. How could she have forgotten that detail about needing a mage again?
“That’s not true. Of course we have a mage,” Uz said from next to Lenah. Was she trying to tell them she could still cast warp bubbles despite her cut antennas?
“Her,” Uz continued, pointing one long finger at Lenah.
Lenah stared at her, unsure where Uz was going with this. Or was she so mad at Lenah that this was her idea of revenge?
“Lenah Callo? A mage?” The suited man laughed.
Gathering her wits, Lenah decided that she might as well go with Uz’s suggestion. She might not have an ounce of warp magic, but what if she could make them believe that she did? Three people at once would be tough, so she’d concentrate on the leader first.
Finding his aura was easy. Using her skills seemed to get easier again with each day’s passing, and Lenah suggested that he remember her as a child, moving things around by the power of her mind just like a mage would do. His brows furrowed, but he stopped laughing, and his gaze turned thoughtful.
“I guess it could be…” He trailed off. A hiss sounded from the mage, who was staring at Lenah intently, his golden eyes searching. Could he sense her using her abilities? She’d suspected they didn’t work on everyone, such as her father, but that was different than being able to detect it. Like Uz, did he also think she was ancient?
“Interesting. I’d love to have a conversation with her later.” The cold voice of the mage gave her shivers, and fully broke the link she’d maintained on the leader’s mind. At least Lenah now knew for sure that her abilities were still working, but that mage had freaked her out. Did he know something? She decided that she didn’t want to find out, sure that his definition of a ‘conversation’ was quite different from hers.
The suited man quickly seemed to recover from her influence, and now his eyes glinted in anger at her. He nodded absently at his mage, never breaking eye contact with Lenah. “It doesn’t matter what you are. Give us the stone, and we’ll bring you back to your father in one piece.”
“And if I don’t?” Lenah asked.
“If you don’t, your father didn’t specify in what state he wanted you back.”
“Hah.”
“Does that mean you admit to having the stone?”
“No, it doesn’t, Mr. Hawk,” she said, hoping to throw him off. She might have been young, but she knew her father had fired this man. “I know you haven’t worked for my father in a long time. There’s no way I’m coming with you.”
“Ah, but you’ve been misinformed all this time. I never left Starwide Research, I just went on to pursue more important tasks than being Mr. Callo’s shadow.”
That took Lenah aback. Could that be true?
“I’ll only ask nicely one more time. Hand over the stone.”
Lenah almost remarked that that hadn’t been a question, but decided to hold her tongue. So did the others.
Cassius had followed the conversation with the same stony expression he’d had before, and she wondered what he thought of her now that he knew her background. He didn’t seem to like people from the families, but at least he wasn’t freely offering these people the stone. That might be because they were also of the families, and no better than her. She was most worried about Uz, though. The Cassidian hated Starwide Research, and Lenah knew her hatred was absolutely justified.
When no one spoke, Mr. Hawk motioned for the three soldiers in the back to move forward. “Let’s play it the hard way, then. Search the ship. Every corner, every hole.” He motioned to one of the other guards. “Search them. Start with that one.”
He meant Persia. While the bulky man stepped up to her, Lenah caught Cassius’ eye. He was staring at her deeply, but she wasn’t sure if it was in accusation, or to let her know that he was about to attack. She stood a little bit straighter in case it was the latter, ready to jump into action as soon as he did. Now seemed as good a time as any, especially with three of the guards gone. They were loudly clanking around in the cabins, and she sighed inwardly at having to clean up the mess from a break-in for the second time in only a few days.
If they came out of this alive.
Then she saw Cassius move, and fast.
He dove for the other cyborg with blurring speed and threw him into the wall. Then he ran toward the mage, landing a blow to his temple before the cyborg had recovered and come back. Lenah reacted as well. She took up position, like she’d been practicing with Cassius. Mr. Hawk was standing closest to her, and she noticed his hand slipping into the inner pocket of his jacket as if reaching for a weapon. There was no way she could get to her own weapon, which was still on the floor, and fire before him, so she’d better take care of this part of the problem with her other talents. She was already familiar with his aura, and didn’t have a hard time finding it. She sent the feeling of fierce burning when touching his weapon’s handle into his mind. To her satisfaction, he started scurrying around, tapping his jacket as if it were on fire.
Finally, he pulled it off and threw it across the cargo hold. It landed with a loud clang, indicating that his weapon was still in there. Unfortunately, she wasn�
�t able to fight and influence someone at the same time, so she let go of his mind and concentrated on taking a fighting stance. Her opponent wasn’t much bigger than her, and he was definitely no cyborg, so she came at him with a lot of motivation. He also still seemed to be recovering from the stupidity of throwing away his weapon, and his reaction came late.
Her first blow connected hard with his groin. That hadn’t been part of Cassius’ lessons, but she figured it was the quick and dirty way to get rid of a male adversary. Next, she kicked him in the chest like Cassius had shown her. Mr. Hawk pulled up his arm in defense at the last moment, and Lenah heard a crack when something in his wrist broke. Hissing in pain, his good hand went down to his belt and she saw that he had a knife there. Just in time, she was able to kick him again, and this time he went down. Once he was on the ground, she kicked until he wasn’t moving any longer. Then she dove for her laser gun on the floor.
Assessing the situation around her, she saw that Cassius and the other cyborg were locked in a power match. Their enhanced arms were crunching metal against metal, and their human muscles were bulging in the grips they had on each other. Persia and Uz had finished off the guard who’d been searching Persia, and were facing the remaining guards.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lenah noticed the mage moving from where he’d dropped on the floor after Cassius hit him. Through the open hallway, the three guards were running back in, their guns at the ready.
“Cover!” Lenah yelled, and shot up to grab Doctor Lund. He didn’t seem to know how to engage in the fight, and stood in the middle of the room, looking around frantically. They dove for one of the few stacks of crates that filled the cargo hold. Holding no more than dusty clothes, the thin metal boxes wouldn’t protect them from much, but it was better than nothing, and would serve at the very least as a visual barrier. Laser shots started lighting up the small hold.
Once she was sure the doctor had landed well, Lenah craned her neck to get an overview of the fight. All three guards were crouching inside the hallway. Persia and Uz had taken partial cover next to the small metal staircase leading down to Engineering. Persia was trying to fire at the guards while Uz had turned around, wide-eyed. Following her gaze, Lenah detected what was happening. The mage was getting up, with his outstretched hand pointing toward Persia and Uz. Without thinking, Lenah reacted. She changed the aim of her gun from the guards toward the mage, and fired, but her laser didn’t hit him. Instead, it collided with an invisible border around the man, momentarily blurring his outline. Then it shot right back from where it had come. Vacating her spot in a desperate motion, Lenah felt the beam burn through the cloth of her jacket, but no pain followed.
