Trailblazer

by Michelle Diener

  Tally angled the runner toward the bigger warship and they were dwarfed by it, a tiny nothing beside its immense presence.

  Tally moved around the back of the ship and then up the side, until eventually they hovered over the warship's roof.

  The comms unit squeaked at them, and then poured out a torrent of Caruson. The warship began to move.

  “I don't speak your language.” Tally waited for the ship to move under them until their runner was in the middle and then landed, engaging the magnetic clips. “But I've got six of those incendiary bombs onboard, so if that runner you launched fires on me, this warship will burn.”

  Ben could see the runner out of the window, and didn't need the scanner to know it went into reverse.

  “You will die, too.” The Caruson who spoke sounded cautious.

  “I expected to die a number of times today already,” Tally said. “I'd rather not risk it again now, but if I do, I'll enjoy the irony of taking you with me with your own weapons.”

  “You cannot work the bombs,” the Caruson said, his tone confident.

  “Inert, Impact, Timer.” Ben spoke each word carefully. “Easy enough to figure out.”

  There was silence. “So what is the plan? Why are you clamped to our ship?”

  “I want you to douse the fire you started at your mine. Save whoever is not yet dead, and stop the burning.”

  “We cannot do that.”

  “You mean you won't do that. I don't believe you don't have something to douse the flames when you want to.”

  The comms unit cut off.

  “They're talking among themselves.” Ben leaned over and kissed her.

  She sat, eyes huge in her face, circles under her eyes, her cheeks paler than they should be, quietly making demands like the head of an army.

  She got up, stiff and jerky, as if every muscle hurt, and settled back down on his lap, leaning back to rest her head on his shoulder, and put her mouth against his neck.

  He rested his cheek on the top of her head. Held her close.

  She felt so delicate in his arms. He knew it was an illusion, she was the strongest person he knew, and yet he would do whatever he had to to protect her. Even while she was out-bluffing the captain of a Caruson warship.

  He kissed her hair and felt her smile against his skin.

  He hadn't seen her smile since before he'd been shot and captured by Vrk.

  “What will you do when we've doused the flame?” The voice was back.

  “I'll leave, and drop the bombs on the moon, rather than on your roof.”

  “You could leave the bombs on the roof, inert.”

  “Or I could leave the bombs on the roof, with the timer set.” Her voice was sharp.

  “We're not leaving you with these bombs.” Ben added his voice to hers.

  “We have more,” the voice was almost amused.

  “Still.” Tally had become tense in his arms, and Ben started to really hate the Caruson on the other end of the comms unit. “You're not getting these ones back.”

  “We could shoot you as you move away.” The suggestion sounded mild.

  “I'm guessing six of these bombs are enough that if I'm close to your ship, you won't do that.”

  “And if we don't douse?”

  He could feel Tally force herself to relax in an act of will.

  “Then, I do leave the bombs behind on a timer.”

  “You won't get far, we'll shoot you.”

  “Maybe,” Tally said. “Or maybe you'll use every available runner to try and deactivate the bombs.”

  A sigh. “A runner is leaving now to douse the fire.”

  Ben glanced at the scanner, saw a runner was flying down.

  “How do we know if they're telling the truth?” Tally suddenly sat up on his lap. “We can't see down to the mine from here. I don't think the Galaha would be able to, either?” She looked at him, and he shook his head.

  “I don't think so.”

  “So we have to trust them.” She forced herself to lean back against him.

  He didn't like it any more than she did.

  “Or simply insist on proof, until the Galaha's backup arrives.”

  She nodded, but he could still feel the tension in her.

  Then suddenly the runner's warning light began to flash.

  They both leaned forward.

  All around them, ships were appearing.

  VSC ships.

  “We would like to open a new negotiation.” The smarmy had been completely wiped from the Caruson's voice.

  “We're listening.” Ben could guess what it was.

  “We'll douse the flame, and allow you to unclip and move away, if both our ships can leave without harm. No shots have been fired here, after all.”

  Not at the Galaha, Ben thought. But that wasn't true on the planet below. He didn't say it though.

  They knew well enough.

  “We'll need proof you've put the fire out completely.” Tally climbed off his lap, went to look out the window. There were eight new VSC warships all around them.

  One looked Raxian, and Ben thought he saw Tally do a double take at the sight of it.

  “You can ask one of your ships to check that we've done what we've promised.”

  “One moment.” Ben flipped through to the channel Reskit had contacted him on before. “They want a deal.”

  “What deal?” Reskit sounded reluctant.

  “They put out the incendiary fire they started on Veltos, which we don't think we can easily do, and they don't fire on Tally and me when we lift off their roof and fly to the Galaha, and they get to run away.”

  “They want us to let them go?” Reskit didn't sound as if he was going to go for it.

  “What are you going to do with them anyway? Take them prisoner?” Tally asked him. “We've got prisoners down below already, as well as some Caruson who've turned themselves over to us. We've got information on what they were mining, how they use the mineral they were stealing, and their promise to stop the fire.” She paused. “Can you send a runner to check they are doing that?”

  “Riva makes a good point.” Ben recognized the voice of Captain Harris. “We'll also have footage of them taking off as fast as they can go. Which is the kind of image I'm happy to spread around the galaxy.”

  “We need to talk to VSC headquarters.” Reskit sounded grudging.

  They waited, the minutes ticking by, until Harris came back on. “It's agreed. And the fire at the mine site is out. Their runner is coming back now.”

  Ben found the Caruson channel again. “It's a deal.”

  “As soon as our runner is back, we'll let you know, and you can disengage.” There was not even pretend congeniality in the Caruson's voice anymore.

  The wait wasn't long. Tally settled back in the pilot's chair and unclamped from the warship's roof.

  As soon as they were clear, the warship moved away from the moon and then seemed to disappear, it moved so fast.

  Tally steered the runner toward the moon. Leaned over the comms unit. “Is there anything on the moon, or is it dead?”

  “It's dead.” Harris sounded surprised. “Why do you ask?”

  “Just wanted to make sure.”

  They were already over the small, barren rock, and she walked to the back.

  He didn't tell her she didn't need to do it. That the VSC wouldn't use something like this. There was something driving her. A compulsion.

  “Do you think the little helpers come from a place where something like this was used?” he asked as he crouched beside her in the back.

  She lifted her gaze from setting the timers. “I think . . . yes.” She heaved a sigh. “Don't ask me not to do this.”

  He shook his head. “I won't.”

  She gave a single nod, held his gaze.

  “Will you drop them out for me. I need to get us higher, just in case they explode on impact.”

  “Yes.” He took out the first one, set it into the drop hatch compartment.

/>   “Thank you.” She looked like she wanted to say more, but then she gave another nod and stepped onto the bridge.

  He felt them lift higher, heard the squeak of the comms unit which Tally ignored.

  “Ready,” she called.

  He dropped them, one by one.

  They didn't explode, and he came through to join her when they were all gone.

  She turned the runner around and headed for the Galaha, not looking back, and then a bright light illuminated everything around them.

  She smiled, and there was a world of satisfaction on her face. “It's done.”

  Chapter 44

  A small, sleek VSC runner entered the Galaha's launch bay ahead of them.

  Tally landed away from it, still bad enough at it to worry she'd hit something.

  When they rocked to a stop, she saw Soo and Lenny walk out the back of the runner that had preceded them, and she unclipped from her chair and was out the door as fast as the little helpers could take her.

  Ben followed at a slower pace, but he wasn't far behind her.

  “Soo!”

  They turned, and she slowed down, worried by the look on their faces.

  “Frangi?” She almost couldn't say the word, her throat was so tight.

  Soo rubbed at her eyes, and then hooked an arm around Tally and pulled her close. “They don't know. They think they got her in time. Linn Fraser is with her. He sent down a high speed mobile medbay as soon as the rest of the fleet arrived.”

  She nodded, then gave a gurgling laugh as Lenny put his massive arms around the both of them.

  “I'm so glad you're all right.”

  “So how was the Trail?” Lenny straightened, and Tally saw he was looking over her shoulder.

  “Eventful.” Ben slid an arm around her shoulder, and she thought of the soldiers he'd had to kill to keep Soo and Lenny safe.

  She put an arm around his waist and squeezed.

  Lenny was watching them, and he gave an imperceptible nod. “No one came after us.”

  Soo disentangled herself. “Which is hard to believe.”

  “They were stopped,” Ben said. “That's all that's important.”

  They all stood in silence for a moment.

  “Captain Guthrie.” The call came from the doors into the launch bay.

  Reskit and Veniur stood waiting. Ben sighed.

  “I have to be debriefed. I'll find you.” He nuzzled her temple and then made his way across to his commander.

  “What now?” Tally asked them.

  “By the looks of you, food, shower, sleep.”

  Tally nodded. She felt lightheaded now they were safe, now that she could relax.

  The last thing she'd eaten were those two bars after she'd rescued Ben. Since then, she'd been to Veltos's mine twice, the Galaha twice, and even the moon.

  She felt the world tilt a little, and Lenny's arm come around one side, Soo's around the other, and she forced herself straight.

  She'd managed to eat almost all of her meal when they came for her in the dining room.

  Harris and her own commanding officer, Hopl.

  He cleared his throat at the sight of her. “Seems like there was a little more excitement on the Trail for you than Dr. Vetna had planned.”

  She tried to smile at his attempt at humor. “Yes, Commander.”

  “We need to talk to you, Riva. Have you had enough to eat?”

  She nodded, stood, and glanced across at Soo and Lenny, who looked worried for her.

  She gave them what she hoped was a reassuring smile and followed Harris and Hopl out, feeling a new wave of exhaustion break over her.

  Hopl stood to one side of a doorway of a small lounge so she could enter before him and he pursed his lips in concern.

  “Not a lot of sleep, Riva?”

  “No, Commander. Very little, unfortunately.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.

  “We'll try to make it quick.”

  Harris flicked a glance at him, but he didn't acknowledge her.

  Tally took a few steps into the room, and then lowered herself into a deep armchair before being given permission to sit, realized her error, and then decided she was too tired to care.

  “You stole a runner from my launch bay.” Harris stood behind the armchair opposite her, hands gripping the back.

  “I took back the runner I'd brought to you. You didn't own it, as far as I'm aware.” Tally closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again, trying to keep sharp.

  Harris said nothing for a beat, her gaze on Hopl, but her commanding officer shrugged. “Don't look at me like that, Captain. Is Riva correct?”

  “That runner surrendered to my ship. So no, she is not. And she also failed to mention that she could fly it. I'd like to know how that came about.”

  Tally lifted her hands. “I'm Raxian Expeditionary Force, Captain Harris.”

  Harris barked out a laugh, looked at Hopl again in disbelief.

  “She is Raxian Expeditionary Force,” Hopl agreed.

  “And you're saying you train your people to fly Caruson runners?” Harris turned on Hopl, expression fierce.

  Tally felt a lurch of fear at what he would say in response.

  “Captain, what my training did or did not entail is surely not the reason for this debrief. I'll make it easy. I was told, directly to my face, by you, that I was neither trusted, nor considered an asset in any way.

  “Shortly thereafter, I saw an opportunity that was extremely time sensitive, which involved taking the runner. Knowing that my suggestion would be met with rejection, I acted independently, as a member of an allied, but separate, military force.

  “As it happened, by doing so, I saved two of Captain Guthrie's team from being burned alive by the incendiary bomb at the mine, and was able to keep the Caruson warships distracted for long enough for your backup to arrive. So I would say that my decision more than paid off.

  “As I said at the time, I do not answer to you, I answer to Commander Hopl, and as a member of the Raxian Expeditionary Force, I have been trained to use my own initiative when unable to contact my commanding officer.” She ruined her dignified, reasoned answer by ending on a huge yawn.

  “You find this an acceptable answer?” Harris lifted a brow at Hopl.

  “Did you tell her you didn't trust her, and didn't think she would be needed?” Hopl countered.

  Tally thought he looked even grimmer than usual, and realized it was probably more to do with the disrespect shown to Raxia than to her personally.

  “She was unknown to me, and she had just negotiated aid for the Caruson.”

  “They were injured,” Tally protested. “That is core to the Military Alliance Accord, isn't it?”

  Harris waved that away. “Why did the Caruson really put you on that runner?”

  She frowned. Why were they back to this?

  “As I've already said, I was told by Irwin that they wanted to question me about the ghost ship.”

  Hopl looked at her sharply. “Did you tell them anything?”

  She shook her head. “The warship where I assumed I was to be questioned was more concerned with getting away from their own people before they were ordered to kill them, than speaking to me. I never even made it onboard.”

  Hopl relaxed a little, and Harris seemed to get a little more tense.

  “What's on that ghost ship you're so worried she'll talk about?” Harris asked.

  Hopl turned to face her. “Is this about Riva taking the runner, and saving your people, or is it about Arkhor being worried that we aren't giving them everything we know about the ghost ship?” There was steel in Hopl's voice.

  “It seems the Caruson were pretty desperate to get hold of her, and we can't understand why, given what you told us you found in there.”

  Hopl's eyes narrowed and he turned to Tally. “You're dismissed, Officer. Get some sleep.” He turned back to Harris as if daring her to try to override him, but she did nothing but watch Tally leave, lips in a ti
ght line.

  Tally tried to pretend it was just exhaustion making her hold onto the wall as she walked to her assigned quarters, rather than relief.

  They didn't care about her piloting the runner. It somehow hadn't been given much weight.

  This was about the Arkhorans being put out they hadn't found the ghost ship themselves, and being sure something big was being kept from them. She hadn't realized telling them the Caruso wanted to question her about it would be what stood out to them, but it suited her just fine.

  Hopl would be happy to play 'who's got more power' with Harris.

  And good luck to them both.

  * * *

  She woke to a tapping on the door, and simply stared at it for a while from the bed.

  She thought she was sharing with Soo, but it looked like no one had slept on the second bed.

  “Tally, are you all right?”

  Ben.

  She did feel all right, she realized as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, walked to the door and opened it.

  Ben slumped against the doorjamb. “You're alive.”

  She grinned. Better than all right. “I am.” She stepped back, covering her mouth as she yawned, and then threw herself back down on her bed, patted the place next to her.

  He carefully fitted himself beside her, booted feet hanging off the end, and drew her in close.

  “What's happening? Are we declaring war with the Caruso?” She had gone to bed wondering about it, and she couldn't see another option.

  “I think so.” Ben worked his arm under her, to pull her close. “I don't think it's official yet, but at the least, they'll be considered a hostile force.”

  She remembered the incendiaries, and gave a nod. “At least.”

  They lay quietly for a moment, and then she turned in his arms to face him on her side. “Your commanders think Raxia is keeping big secrets about the ghost ship from them.”

  “I gather.” He turned solemn eyes to her. “They wanted me to tell them what I'd learned from you.”

  She went still, but she didn't believe he would betray her. “What did you tell them?”

  “I told them what you told all of us that night around the fire.” He brushed a lock of her hair off her face.

  “I'm assuming those facts weren't new to them?”