by Eric Warren
She stood, smoothed out her uniform and made her way to the food dispenser in the office. She hit the program for a black coffee and twenty seconds later the small door opened to reveal the mug of black liquid, steaming.
Blohm had conferred with Sesster and they had agreed the engines needed a break otherwise they’d end up burning out. Which meant now instead of sitting still they were slowly drifting toward the center of whatever the hell this thing was. And they were still a few hours from using the spacewings, at least, according to Robeaux’s estimates from sickbay. And who knew if those were accurate or not. And Greene was intent on ensuring no harm come to the creature that may or may not be pulling them to their deaths. Which made sense; it was Coalition protocol after all, but still. Her stress level was through the roof. First because of the news about her father, and now because there was no way she’d get to see him. Even if she did it wouldn’t be a pleasant trip. They’d already lost a full day in this trap and even if they broke free in the next five minutes, the captain wouldn’t be able to justify another delay just for her.
Evie took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the coffee. It was a copy of an Earth brand, though she didn’t know which one. And it smelled pretty good, but nothing like the real thing. She pressed the mug to her lips, taking a brief sip and allowing the piping liquid to coat her tongue before traveling down her throat. It was hot enough that she’d feel it for the rest of the day but she didn’t care. At this moment she just needed…something.
Her comm beeped and she set the mug down, tapping the back of her hand. “Diazal.”
Rafnkell was on the other end. “He’s on his way up ma’am.”
Evie glanced at the clock on her display. “Already? Did he finish?”
“He says all nine are ready to go.”
“Thanks, Rafnkell. I owe you one.” She walked around the other side of her desk and took her chair again.
“Sure. I’d say you can repay me by nailing his ass to the wall but I already know you’re going to do that. Rafnkell out.” The comm went silent and Evie adjust everything on her desk so it was in the right position. She’d had enough of this antagonism over the past few days. It was time to set things right with Robe—Cas—so they could move forward. She wasn’t about to spend the next two seasons at each other’s throats.
Her door chimed and she leaned back, coffee in hand. “Come in.” The doors slid open to reveal Cas, hair disheveled and his uniform dirty. It looked as though he’d been rolling around in the dirt. There were deep bags under his eyes but he attempted a smile when he saw her. “Thanks for coming to see me. Take a seat.” She took another sip of coffee, trying to play it cool.
He took the only other seat in the room, leaning back as he did, looking around. She usually didn’t meet people in her office because it was technically part of her quarters and she liked her solitude. If she needed to meet with someone often enough she would just go to them instead, but this seemed like an occasion that called for him coming to her. This was her home turf. Somewhere she could retreat without being disturbed and because she could close off the bedroom it wasn’t as intimate as a visit to someone’s personal quarters.
His eyes fixated on the wall above her head and she knew without looking he was staring at her sword. The one she’d used to save his life back on D’jattan. The one she’d almost wanted to use on him for trying to run again. He looked as exhausted as she felt. But she wasn’t going to make the first move. Instead, Evie sat back and took another sip of coffee, her eyes never leaving him.
Cas reached for the Clastus Orb or her desk, which was object closest to him. “How did these not fall off during the vibration?”
“Commander,” she said curtly, causing him to retract his hand. “Do you have something to report?”
“Yeah. The uh—” He ran a hand down his face, wiping it on his pants. “The spacewings are ready. We think. Zenfor is doing some last-minute calculations. She was supposed to send you an update—”
“I got it.”
“Yeah. So we think everything should be ready. I just spent the last ten hours down there with them getting everything set up. But you already knew that.”
She did. She’d been keeping close tabs on him ever since he’d left sickbay. Because she’d already decided if he made one more infraction she was relieving him of duty, she didn’t care if it was harsh or not. But this man had been out of the Coalition for over seven years; wasn’t familiar with new rules and regulations and up until very recently, had professed a palpable distaste for the organization he now served. And in her eyes it had made him untrustworthy. At least when he’d been a criminal on the run she knew where he stood. But now it was as if all his allegiances were shifted and she didn’t know if she could trust him anymore. Which was funny, since she’d been the one who originally considered recommending to the admiral they reinstate him after his excellent performance in Sil space. She guessed it was true what they say: be careful what you wish for.
“You originally projected twelve hours. Yet you finished in ten. Does that mean you cut corners?” she asked, then took another sip.
“No. You know I wouldn’t do that. My estimates were conservative and I was able to motivate both Zenfor and the team to finish the work faster. I know we’re on a tight timetable here. Every hour we spend is an hour closer to the center of that…thing…and I don’t want to see what’s in there anymore than anyone else.”
Okay. He was trying, that was a good sign. He didn’t seem to be holding her dressing-down of him in sickbay against her. This felt more normal.
“By the way, I wanted to let you know the three pilots Rafnkell has out there doing shit-duty: Ryant, Grippen and Jann. All hard workers. I’m not sure what the Chief’s problem is but they did a great job. In case you wanted to, you know, note it or something.”
Evie set her mug down on the desk where it automatically mag-locked, along with everything else. “She chose them because they were the only three pilots who were willing to work with you. The other eight refused.”
“Oh,” Cas said, pulling back. “That makes sense.” That had injured him. He was in an odd place. He had authority over most of the crew, yet many of them hadn’t learned to accept him yet. And she suspected many wouldn’t get there, ever. Reputations were a difficult thing to alter, especially when they were as strong as his.
“I’ll make sure to let Chief Rafnkell know anyway,” Evie said, trying to extend an olive branch. She had to remind herself she’d brought him here so they could reset, not so she could hurl clandestine insults at him. They were making some progress, now if he would just apologize for his earlier behavior. That’s all it would take. She had told herself she wasn’t mad at him for not finishing the anti-grav adjustments in time for her to make the report to Greene, but in all honesty she couldn’t help herself. He’d potentially compromised the ship because of his selfish behavior. It didn’t matter that it turned out more work on the ships needed to be done. Evie should have been able to report to Greene in that moment they had a backup plan ready to execute. It had been his fault they weren’t ready.
But it had been hers as well. She should have been keeping a closer eye on him, making sure he followed his orders. She was used to doing that with ensigns and new crewman who transferred over, making sure they fit in with the rest of the crew. So why hadn’t she done it for him? Because he was a “Lieutenant Commander” now and she thought he should know better? Or had she not wanted to micromanage a friend? She’d trusted he could handle it, and it had turned out that trust had been misplaced.
“Was there anything else?” Cas said, rubbing the back of his neck. Something about the way he did it irked her all over again, as if he was impatient to leave. As if he had nothing else he needed to say.
“I don’t know. You tell me.” She picked up her mug again, her fingers on the handle releasing it from the table-lock.
He furrowed his brow. “I don’t think so. Everything else should be on schedul
e.”
“Nothing you want to say to me? Personally?” She was reaching her limit. Even this was more of a chance than she should give him.
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” he said with that trademark smirk. Did he think this was a joke?
“Never mind. We’re done. You’re dismissed.” She turned back to her monitor, hoping he would just leave.
He stood. “Evie, what’s going on? You’ve been acting strange ever since we left Eight. I don’t know if—”
“It’s you,” she said, turning back to him, doing her best to keep her temper in check. “You and this little crusade you’ve decided to embark on. You don’t fit in this world anymore, something that’s becoming more obvious by the day.”
“Is this because you feel like I’m intruding on your ‘perfect Coalition’?” he asked, sarcasm in his voice. “You don’t like the fact that someone who was ostracized can just come back in? Let me remind you it’s your system. I wasn’t the one who wrote the rules on Coalition—”
“Don’t you dare talk about rules to me. Not after all your professions of the Coalition being an evil empire bent on destroying the lives of its citizens.” She could barely hold her temper. If he didn’t leave right now, she was going to cold-cock him.
“I see. So it’s about pride. You don’t think someone like me should be in the Coalition. I’ve been too tainted.” He took a step back toward the door.
She stood. “I didn’t say that.”
“It’s easy enough to tell what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, I will stay out of your way. Why don’t I just report to Sesster from now on? It will make things easier on both of us.”
“Cas, that’s not—ugh. Fine. Whatever.” She placed her hands on her desk, hunching over it and rubbing her temples. A headache was coming on.
“Fine,” he said and the doors slid closed behind him.
She wanted to scream in frustration but found she didn’t have the energy.
24
An hour after his appointment with Evie and he’d had a chance to shower, Cas stepped back on to Tempest’s bridge. He hadn’t been looking forward to coming back up here for the operation as it meant he’d have to see Evie again but she wasn’t on the bridge yet. Maybe he could keep his head down as they monitored the situation.
She had said he didn’t fit in this world anymore. What had she meant? The Coalition itself? Or the chain of command? Or maybe all of it. He had to admit, knowing what he knew now, working for the Coalition was harder than he’d expected. He’d tried to put all the things they had done to him out of his mind, but it all just kept coming back, especially every time he saw one of his fellow officers joking or laughing. Because for each laugh there was an equal and opposite reaction somewhere else in the Coalition. Some poor soul working the mines of Kathora, struggling to breathe or someone else accused of a crime they didn’t commit. It was a completely different system than the one he’d left. No, the system was the same, but he was different. He’d just happened to see the other side of things. Something most people on this ship would never experience.
“Commander,” Greene said from the captain’s chair. “Are all the ships ready?”
“Yes, sir, we’re ready to give this a shot,” Cas replied.
“Take the specialist’s station with the consul. Coordinate with engineering to make sure this goes to plan. We don’t need any more surprises.”
Cas nodded, catching Blohm’s eye. She winked at him before turning back to the bridge engineering station. He made his way over to Zenfor, who had crammed her large frame into the small chair. It was almost comical.
“Are you…comfortable?” he asked.
Her knees were pressed up against the underside of the station. “Comfortable enough. I need to monitor the electromagnetic signatures so we can make adjustments if necessary. If something changes.” She rolled her shoulders.
“Do you think that’s a possibility?” he asked.
“I like to be prepared.”
Cas rounded the station and approached the wall with the backup viewscreen. He tapped the lower corner to gain permissions, then inputted his personal codes. “Access Weapons Lab data,” he said and the information she’d been working on appeared on the large screen. “This might be more comfortable.”
She worked her way out of the station, taking care not to hit anything. “Thank you,” she said, free of the small chair. “This will be easier.”
Cas took the specialist’s station instead. This way Zenfor was right behind him and he was looking almost directly at Blohm. It would make things easier if they needed to act quickly.
The hypervator doors opened again to reveal Evie, who marched past Cas and Zenfor up to her chair beside Greene. “Nice of you to join us, Commander,” Cas overheard Greene whisper. If Evie responded, he couldn’t tell what she said. “Let’s get started. Bay Two, are you ready down there?”
Rafnkell’s face appeared on the screen, her helmet obscuring her eyes. “As we’ll ever be, captain. If that puky engineer did his job right.”
The rest of the bridge crew chuckled, though Cas noticed Blohm didn’t laugh. Neither did Evie.
“Very well. Commander?” Greene said.
“Spacewing squad one, launch on my mark,” Evie said. “Three, two, mark!”
Cas watched the viewscreen as the first five ships shot out of Bay Two at incredible speed, plowing into the inky blackness before them. “Squad two, launch on my mark. Three, two, mark!”
Four more ships blasted out behind them, coming up in formation behind the initial five. The view switched to one of the outer sensors on the side of the ship, tracking all nine spacewings.
“Report,” Greene ordered.
“I’m not detecting any drag on our ships,” Rafnkell said. “Looks like they were right, whatever has Tempest isn’t going after us.”
Cas let out the breath he’d been holding. Up until he’d seen them flying free there had been the chance that as soon as the ships exited Bay Two they would have become as stuck as Tempest. Zenfor hadn’t thought that would be the case, and she’d been right.
Greene glanced over his shoulder at Cas. “Commander. Whenever you’re ready.”
Cas’s own display showed him the relative positions of all nine wings on a 3-D grid. “Spacewings, proceed to your pre-determined coordinates. Once you’re in position we’ll activate the system. Not a minute before. I want to make sure we get this right the first time.”
The acknowledgment came across his screen from all nine ships, even Rafnkell. Even if she didn’t like him, at least she was a professional. All the ships broke formation and took up different positions around Tempest. Zenfor said they should each be right in the path of all nine bands pulling the ship toward the center. They’d have to make small adjustments on the fly as Tempest was slowly moving, but it wasn’t a fast rate of speed and nothing they couldn’t handle. Cas took special note of where Ryant, Grippen, and Jann were positioned. Silently, he wished them luck.
“All ships are in position, sir,” Cas said. He glanced at Blohm who nodded then turned and looked back at Zenfor. “Everything okay?”
“Nothing’s changed,” the Sil replied.
“Proceed,” Greene said, his eyes glued to the screen.
“Spacewings, activate electromagnetic signatures now.” Cas held his breath.
“I can report one of the bands has dissipated,” Zenfor said.
“Confirmed,” Blohm said. “The rate at which we’re being pulled has slowed by a small margin.”
“Two strands,” Zenfor said. Cas turned in his seat to watch her screen. It was difficult to tell exactly what was happening as it was mostly Sil glyphs, but there was a graphic interface in the center representing nine solid lines. “Three are down.”
Just as Cas turned back to his station with a smile on his face the ship shook violently, almost throwing him from his chair.
“Report!” Greene yelled.
“We’re being drawn back in, sir,�
� Blohm said, holding on to her own station. Her eyes met Cas’s for a second before turning away. “Our speed toward the center is increasing.”
“Consul?” Greene asked. Cas turned to see Zenfor on the floor. He vaulted his station and helped her up, back to where she could tap on some controls on her screen.
“Another, larger strand has appeared in place of the three we disrupted,” she said, pulling away from him. The ship shook again. “A second strand has appeared. We need to reroute the spacewings.”
“On it.” Cas returned to his station. “Linkovich, Blackfield, Jann, move to new coordinates, sending them over now.”
“Confirmed,” the three pilots said at once.
“What’s the engine status?” Evie asked.
“Near our limits,” Blohm replied. She tapped her own comm. “Sesster, are you seeing what we’re seeing here?”
“He is, Commander,” Tyler’s voice replied on the other end. “We’re working on giving you more thrust.”
“We need to disrupt the rest of those things all at once,” Cas said. “Can we do it?”
Zenfor turned to him. “I don’t know. They all activated their signatures at the same time, they should have disrupted the bands at the same time. Not one at a time.” The ship shook again. “Another new band has a hold on us. The spacewings are having no effect on the new, larger bands. Only the smaller ones. Seven have been cut.”
“How do we cut these new ones?” Greene yelled.
“Grippen, Rafnkell, rendezvous at these coordinates,” Cas said, inputting directions for the same place. “Let’s see if two ships can’t disrupt a larger band.”
“They need new signatures, one moment.” Zenfor worked on her board quick, then hit the transmit button. “Chief, Captain, use the new signatures to disrupt this band.”
