by Juno Wells
Vrix's eyebrow rose as he looked down at her from his superior height, and his silver eyes flashed. Vaant sucked in a breath as Isla squeaked, and Griggs wondered if she'd maybe gone a little too far. Provoking the Xaravian wasn't the smartest thing she did on a daily basis, but it sure was fun.
Instead, Vrix turned a pale blue color and his scales rattled. "If you say so."
It was Vaant's turn to look stumped, and Griggs floundered for something to say. Before she could come back with a smart reply, Vrix leaned and poked her in the chest right back. "But I'm not going to let you do anything stupid or endanger yourself without reason, so just expect that I might be insubordinate every now and then."
The look in his eyes again revealed she might be biting off more than she could chew. Griggs resisted the urge to rub her sternum where his finger practically dented her bones, and instead raised her chin in as haughty a pose as she could manage. "Fine. Get ready to leave."
Then she got the hell out of there before he could say or do anything to change her mind.
Vrix
Vrix watched her leave, a little bemused at the tough security officer's quick exit, but he composed himself into indifference when he caught Isla watching him.
"Be careful, Vrix." She shook her head.
He was really starting to dislike people warning him about what he planned to do and telling him to be careful. But since Vaant still stood there, he couldn't really tell Isla what he was thinking. Getting short with another warrior's mate was a fast road to a slow death. So he folded his arms over his chest as he looked at her. "We will take every care to make sure the woman is retrieved safely and—"
"That's not what I mean and you know it." Isla's blue eyes flashed at him in irritation, a signal Vrix learned well over the last few weeks since meeting the Earther women. "I meant you better be careful with Griggs."
"We will be fine," he said. Patience was a virtue he did not possess in abundance, and so far Vaant's mate tested his limits in almost every conversation. The only Earther he didn't mind listening to for hours on end was Griggs.
Isla's eyes narrowed. "Look, you. She acts tough, but she's got some soft spots, and if you hurt her, she'll never forgive you. She'll never get over it. Believe me. She hasn't had an easy life, and she's successful despite everything this universe has thrown at her. So you might think this is a game, or some short-term diversion for your own amusement, but if she starts to trust you and you violate that trust, it will be devastating for her. Don't play a game, asshole, or you'll have me to answer to. Understood?"
Normally Vrix would have laughed off the threat and continued on with whatever was going on between he and Griggs. The Earther women weren't any sort of a danger to him, even Griggs on her best day, but from the look on Isla's face as she scowled at him, he believed her. She'd find a way to punish him, and probably enlist Vaant's help as well, though the captain looked resigned rather than eager.
He took a deep breath and put his right fist over where his hearts beat and his left hand on the hilt of his warrior's dagger, offering a solemn oath. "I give you my word I will not hurt or upset her."
Isla poked him in the chest, and he wondered where those Earther women learned that. Maybe at that damn academy they kept talking about. "And you better bring her back alive. Both of them."
She scowled at him until Vrix heaved a sigh and once more touched his dagger. "I swear. I'll bring them back alive."
"Good," Isla said, though her voice wavered a bit as if she recognized he could only do so much, and her security officer friend in particular had a knack for running straight into danger. She nodded to them both and hustled out the door to help Griggs prep for the mission.
Which left Vrix looking at Vaant, trying to figure out what the hell those Earther women were thinking. Vaant shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he stared around Vrix's quarters, and he took his time before he spoke.
"Well, you're definitely going to need the emergency beacons, extra weapons, enough supplies for at least a week, most of the money we've got, and the list of the traders we worked with last time. That'll at least get you in the door most places. Hopefully you can trade on our status of being condemned and pursued by the Alliance to get some help. No one on Caihiri likes the Alliance, and they'll do anything to fuck over the Fleet."
Vrix retrieved his favorite gear bag from one of the cupboards and searched for more of his traditional Xarav clothes, so he could blend in with the various barbarian crowds on Caihiri. "I just wish we had that transporter working. I get the feeling that we'll need the ability to zap right out of a dangerous situation, since I don't trust Griggs not to piss off everyone she comes across."
"I'll have Frrar and Rowan look into it," Vaant said, handing Vrix a stash of daggers and stunners and other weapons he could hide in his looser Xarav robes. "With the additional oomph from the Heisenberg, we might be able to make it work."
The transporter was one of those failed technologies they bought up in the underground markets, hoping to get it working so they didn't have to use the transfer arm between ships or the escape pods, but every test they'd done with the transporter ended up with things inside out or torn to shreds. They still had the equipment, but abandoned it to deal with later. Vrix pondered the likelihood of any of them surviving the transporter, regardless of what the brilliant engineers could do with it, and shook his head. "I don't know if it's worth the risk."
"Take the tracker anyway," Vaant said. "I'll have Frrar look at it before you leave. That way we can at least try it if you need a last-ditch chance to survive something."
"If we're going to die anyway, why not." Vrix snorted. "It's not like you're going to bury me. Just wrap up whatever's left and shoot me into a star."
Vaant slapped his shoulder and headed for the door. "You'd better come back alive, or I'll be forced to demote you. This ship needs you."
Vrix just shook his head and concentrated on packing for a mission that seemed doomed from the start. "Just don't tell Isla or Griggs about the transporter. I don't want her to know what's happening if I have the hit the button, and I want at least a slim chance of getting her to cooperate so we can survive."
"Not a problem, but we'll have to keep Rowan out of it until you're on the ground. I'll have Frrar take a look now and get back with you on the details." Vaant headed out, and the doors whooshed shut behind him.
Vrix searched for a good book to take with him, since he'd learned that missions like this one were usually three parts boredom and one part terror. As much fun as it would be teasing Griggs or wooing her, that wouldn't take up all of his time. Although he could come up with plenty of ways they could spend those down hours together. Vrix smiled as he stuffed clothes into the bag. Maybe by the end of the mission she'd be ready for a trip back to Xarav to watch the suns set.
Griggs
Griggs dug through her clothes for something acceptable to wear down on Caihiri, hoping she'd be able to blend in among the crowds. Unfortunately, there wasn't much information available on her notepad about Caihiri, other than the Fleet warning for all officers to avoid the planet at all costs. She didn't even have good maps to navigate by, and she sure as hell didn't want to have to ask Vrix for his expertise in anything.
She barely looked up as Isla appeared in her room and helped roll and sort through the clothes and other items Griggs piled up near her gear bag. They'd been in similar situations before, when one or both of them headed out on a dangerous mission, and they packed together. Griggs wouldn't have admitted it, but Isla's presence helped steady her nerves. It was always easier to be braver when someone else was around. But she didn't miss that Isla's hands shook as she folded the clothes around a few weapons, and Griggs couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she wouldn't come back from this mission.
She didn't need those gloomy thoughts, not at the beginning. Heading into danger with an optimistic mindset wasn't a good idea either, since she'd jinx the mission, but she didn't just want to assu
me it would fail from the outset. Griggs rubbed her temples, debating whether she should say something to Isla, but paused as the door chimed again.
Griggs braced herself for one of the Xaravians trying to talk her out of going to the surface, but instead Jessalyn poked her head in. "Hey. Mind if I join you?"
Isla gestured for her to enter, and Griggs frowned as she studied Jess's uneasy expression. She didn't quite meet Griggs's gaze, and Griggs immediately braced herself for a lecture. "I'm still going. It doesn't matter what you say about Caihiri and its culture or the dangers or whatever. It's Heidi. I'm going. We don't leave friends behind."
"No, it's not that. I'm glad you're helping Heidi. I'd go with you, but..." Jess took a deep breath and refused to look at either of them. "I can't really go back to Caihiri."
Isla's eyebrow rose. "I didn't think you'd ever been to Caihiri."
"I know." Jess went to the small control panel near the door and entered a code sequence that Griggs had never seen, even as the senior security officer. She opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but her teeth clicked together as Jess waved her to silence. After a few seconds, a deep humming started, followed by a whoosh of white noise and static that covered every other sound—even the hum of the ship.
Jess glanced around, checking the room, then nodded. "Okay. Now we can talk."
"What is that? What did you do?" Griggs went to the panel and squinted at the codes, though they appeared completely scrambled.
"It's kind of hard to explain." Jess glanced at them both, squared her shoulders, and took a deep breath. "I'm not exactly a cultural attaché."
"What does 'not exactly' mean?" Isla asked.
A tightness constricted Griggs's chest as she got an inkling of what Jess might have meant. She just didn't want to believe one of her friends could betray them all so deeply and for so long. She folded her arms over her chest and waited.
"It's a job to cover my real work," Jess said. "As an intelligence officer."
"You've got to be shitting me," Isla said. "You are not. That's ridiculous."
"I am," Jess said. She leaned against the wall and shook her head. "I've wanted to say something for a long time, but I didn't know how you would react. I was on the Argo to meet informants at a handful of planets, to gather information to feed to the Alliance to facilitate the political and military strategies. When all of this happened... I didn't want you all to think I was some sort of informant and kick me off the ship."
"So you've been lying to us this whole time." Griggs's voice came out flat and cold as she tried to contain her temper. She didn't have much time for people who weren't up-front about their mission and their motivations. She didn't want to deal with bullshit. "Why should we believe you now?"
Jess's lips compressed in a thin line. "I was sworn to secrecy, above and beyond what any Fleet officer is required to swear. After we escaped the Argo and were declared traitors... Well, there's a bounty on my head because of what I know. I didn't know if I could trust the Xaravians not to ship me off to the Fleet so they could cash in."
"Now that is ridiculous," Isla said, scowling. "They wouldn't betray you just for money, even—"
"Even for enough unmarked currency to buy three Newton-class battleships?" Jess didn't look proud, just broken and a little afraid. Griggs didn't think any of the rest of them had much in the way of a bounty for their capture, and she didn't want the burden that Jess clearly carried. The cultural attaché pulled a few scraps of paper from her pocket and offered them to Griggs. "Look, I know my time is short. I can't survive this very long—there will be bounty hunters all over this galaxy once they get a hint that the Galaxos and the Heisenberg are around, and it's only a matter of time until one of them gets me. Dead or alive, and unfortunately I prefer dead. That way they can't torture me for information on the rest of you. But before that happens, I want to repay you both for all the friendship and trust you gave me. It's rare in my world, and very much appreciated."
Isla cleared her throat a few times as she blinked and dabbed at her eyes. "Come on, Jess. Now that we know the problem, we can work on a solution."
"There isn't one, hon. I'm sorry." Jess hugged herself and nodded at the paper. "I had a few contacts on Caihiri for when we needed to find information. They have a high price, and I don't know about their loyalty, so they should be a last resort if you run out of leads on Heidi. They're both really expensive, but they owe me a few favors since they're still alive and the Alliance hasn't tried to arrest them in a while." She tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Griggs stared at the paper, trying to read through a haze of confusion and a little bit of grief. They had to find a way to save Jess, too. Griggs meant what she said—she didn't leave friends behind. "So I send a transmission to these numbers, and one of these clowns will pick up?"
"Yes," Jess said. "Then say the phrase under the number you dialed. They should answer with the second phrase. If they don't, hang up and don't contact them again. It's only if they answer with the second phrase that you can know it's safe. On the back of the paper are the meeting locations; just give them a date and time to meet, then show up at that location. They're both Takxi traders, and they'll be wearing red ceremonial robes. You'll recognize them, and to make sure, use the first phrase again"
"That's a lot to remember," Isla said, a little dubious. "What if they don't want to help us?"
"They're on retainer," Jess said. "And Tyluk don't like unresolved debts. If they're able, they'll help. Unless someone pays them more to betray us, in which case we're all fucked."
Griggs stared at her, wondering how the hell anyone could live with that kind of job and work with people like that, but Jess only offered a tight smile. "Good luck."
She disappeared out the door, tapping at the panel until it cleared, and then all the noise of the ship came rattling back around them. Griggs looked at Isla, speechless, and tried to figure out what to say.
Isla held up her hands. "One problem at a time, right?"
"Right." Griggs folded the paper carefully and tucked it into her exo-bra so no one would find it without a serious search. "I don't even know what to do about that."
"Figure out what you can from those leads, I guess. Maybe they'll know something about how much the Alliance wants her gone." Isla shook her head. "Einstein above. Three Newton-class ships? That's how much they'll pay to make her disappear? She must know a lot of fishy stuff."
Griggs frowned at the door where Jess had disappeared. "I wonder if she knew about all the tech theft and exploitation the Alliance was up to. Do you think she was gathering that kind of information?"
"It's possible." Isla hefted the gear back and didn't look at her. "But I don't want to think about it right now. I just…do you think we ought to tell Vaant and the others? This is their ship, and if she's such a target... Do you think they deserve to know?"
"I think she trusted us with that information because she felt like she could, but Jess clearly isn't comfortable with even us knowing. I don't think she'll stick around if the rest of the crew knows." Griggs rubbed her jaw and reached for her surface boots, debating whether to take a fancier pair of slippers just in case. In case of what, she didn't really know, but what the hell. She never got to wear them on the ship. "Maybe we wait on that. She'll feel like even more of a target on her own ship."
Isla sat on the lower bunk and swung her legs as she watched Griggs struggle with the boots. "We don't want that. But how are you going to explain the leads to Vrix? You can't just pull them out of your bra like magic."
"Well, I could," Griggs said, shooting her a sideways look. "I think he'd be distracted enough not to really notice."
Isla snorted. "On that note—be careful. And since I'm not going to stick around to see you plummet head-first into danger once again, have a good trip. Be smart and safe. Come back to us."
Griggs's sinuses burned and she couldn't look at Isla, so instead she fussed with the already-tied laces of her boots. "Right.
Thanks. I'll see you soon."
That had always been their habit—never say goodbye. Partings were never goodbye, just "see you later." Isla slipped out the door as Griggs cleared her throat, and when she stood in her room alone, she wondered how the hell they were going to make this work.
Vrix
Vrix waited in the docking bay near the escape pods from the Galaxos, with only his bag for company. The Xaravians didn't believe in saying goodbye before a mission or a battle, so the others had just walked away after offering him food for the journey. At least Frrar handed him the locator for the transporter he promised to both fix and test many times before Vrix would need to use it. Vrix wasn't so certain after seeing the engineer's face and the questionable repairs to the locator. It would definitely be the option of last resort. Vrix just hoped it didn't come to that.
Griggs appeared a short time later, wearing surface clothes for the first time that he could remember, and carrying a small travel bag. She still looked like a Fleet officer, despite her efforts to look like a civilian, and Vrix hid a smile and a hint of concern that she'd draw too much attention on Caihiri. He calculated the odds that he could leave Griggs behind, but from the look on her face, they weren't good. Something was bothering her, more than just her friend being gone. Something else had changed.
But Griggs just hit the button for the airlock to the pod and climbed in, throwing her bag in the corner as she sat near the controls. Vrix followed and sealed the door, then took the seat next to her so he could message up to the bridge. "Preparing for departure."
