“There are other things we want to talk to you about, Trip,” Holly said. “Rescheduling the mission is one of them.”
“Yes, let’s go now. I need to be back in a few hours to make sure they fix the modulator,” Trip said.
Odeon turned and led the way out. They passed by cruisers larger than Trip’s. The sensation of being under the mammoth ships was sublime. Shadows fell across the small group as they strode across the hangar heading for the giant doors on the side closest to the city. Workers shouted and minicarts sped by carrying pilots. High-pitched clangs rang out across the vast area. Odors of grease and machine lubricants wafted across their path.
“This place. It has always been so comforting to me,” Trip observed. “But today, frustration consumes me.”
Odeon glanced to his side at the Centau. “Are you worried they won’t fix the Olavia Apollo?”
“It is silly of me. But yes. I worry every time they open her up. Today it is worse than normal.”
Holly took a breath in awe at the giant ship that was being towed into the hangar. It was black and red with a blunt hull and reflective, silvery windows on the front. The carts towing the ship pulled against chains attached to the wheeled platform that held the cruiser.
“A new model,” Trip said. “I didn’t expect to see one so soon.”
A minicart pulled up beside them. “Well if it isn’t Trip Taurus, the best pilot in the galaxy. Walking through the hangar like a blasted, goddamn commoner.”
Trip turned to the driver, a wide smile spreading slowly across her face. “You meant universe.”
“You’re right. I was being too generous. A smaller region is more accurate. I meant 6-moon region. No wait, just Kota.” The driver laughed. A female human, dressed in a master mechanic jumpsuit. She nodded her head at the empty seats on the cart. “Let me give you a lift. Where you guys headed?”
Trip answered, then introduced Holly and Odeon. “And this is Saanvi Chadda, who I wish was working on the Olavia Apollo. But instead, she is zipping around the hangar wasting her talents on being a shuttle driver.”
Saanvi laughed. “You were too late to get me, Trip. That beast there,” she glanced at the ship being towed into the hangar. “That’s my appointment for today.”
“Of course you have been chosen for that job. My core modulator would be intact if Saanvi was working it.”
“You can’t always have what you want, Trip. Now, get on before I can’t give you the lift I promised.”
They climbed aboard and Saanvi sped out of the hangar. Holly grabbed the edge of her seat, being tossed backwards slightly, and flexed her core against the force of the motion.
“The train station?” Saanvi shouted.
“Yes,” Trip answered from her seat beside the mechanic.
“Sorry I was booked and couldn’t take the Olavia,” Saanvi said. “You know I would have if I’d been free.”
“I do know that. As long as the issue gets fixed, everything will be fine.”
“If they don’t fix it, Trip, let me know. I’d be happy to check their work for you when it’s done.”
Saanvi took them along a designated path that skirted the landing areas. Evening had set in and the lights flickered along the runways where ships launched and around the circular pads where they landed. A breeze kicked against the side of Holly’s face and she leaned against Odeon where they sat behind Trip and Saanvi. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. A hundred yards away a ship was lowering to a landing pad, its thrusters firing in a staccato pattern as it touched down.
Soon they’d reached the perimeter of the yard and Saanvi pulled the minicart around and stopped parallel to the gates that led out of the moon-side space-dock.
“There you go,” Saanvi said.
“Thanks,” Holly said, jumping of the cart, with Odeon and Trip joining her.
Saanvi and Trip exchanged some banter and then said goodbye. The minicar zoomed away and the three of them left through the small opening in the fence next to the larger gate. They walked the five hundred yards to the train platform and waited, each of them absorbed in their own thoughts. The City of Jade Spires was visible as just a cluster of spire tops on the distant horizon. Ixion glowed down at them, bathing everything in an orange-yellow hue. Surrounding the train platform were other shops and four-story housing units meant to support the personnel that ran the hangar operations.
A train ride later and they switched to the Spireway, riding into the central area of the city. Soon they were pushing through the front doors of the Surge Club.
“I thought we were going to the headquarters?” Trip asked.
“This is the headquarters, Trip,” Odeon answered, holding the door until she’d entered, and then letting it go. “Follow Holly.”
Holly glanced over her shoulder. She hadn’t brought someone else to the Bird’s Nest since the first time she’d rounded up her crew. She wasn’t sure what to expect with Trip—plus, well, Trip was a Centau. Was she going to really disrupt the dynamic the team had? Trip was already friends with Darius. She’d worked with Shiro and Charly both. Basically the only one Trip didn’t know was Torden, who wasn’t officially part of the crew. But he did enough for them, they might as well begin to call him a crew member.
“Torden, this is the infamous pilot, Trip Taurus,” Holly said, walking up to the bar and slapping it in front of the Druiviin bartender.
Torden straightened from bending over and fiddling with something beneath the bar. He held a light blue cloth in his hands, which he ran across the bar. His bright eyes searched the Centau’s face, and then he smiled hesitantly. “Welcome, Trip. Normally drinks aren’t on the house, but today is a special occasion. What can I get for you?”
Trip approached the bar slowly, holding herself tall. She studied Torden and then, after a pause, gave him a slow grin. “Thank you, Torden. Just a three-fluted glass of Centau wine, if you have one.”
“Of course. Don’t let the others give you any shit. Even though Charly owns the place, I call the shots.”
“What the hell?” Charly said from the stairway leading up to the Bird’s Nest. “I leave you for five minutes, Tord, and you start spreading lies.”
Torden glanced over at her, and laughed. “You know it’s true, Charly.”
“Get upstairs, guys. We have a meeting to get through before the nightly guests start tramping in and I have to come out to babysit them because that’s what you have to do with guests that get plastered,” Charly said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder.
“Such a terrible job, Charly. You have my sympathy, dear friend.” Holly clapped Charly on the shoulder. She hesitated at the stairwell to the Bird’s Nest and looked back at Charly. “Shiro and Darius here already?”
“They’ve been upstairs for a while. Last I noticed they were trying to outsmart each other in a game of dice. As though it requires intellect.”
“That sounds like Darius. Not Shiro much. Get your drink and then come on up, Trip.” Holly hurried up the stairs with Odeon right behind her.
When she entered the Bird’s Nest, Darius and Shiro had their heads close together over the coffee table, which they’d pulled close to the armchairs. There was a pile of novas on the table. Darius was in the process of rolling when Holly walked in.
“Hey!” Holly said, startling Darius, and he dropped the dice and cussed.
Odeon chuckled quietly and went to sit down in his usual spot. He gently placed his Ousaba club on the rug at the base of the couch and tucked it under the piece of furniture a bit to get it out of the way. Then he reclined and watched the dice fall.
Both Darius and Shiro seemed to hold their breath as the dice settled. When they stopped, Shiro let out a loud laugh. Darius sat back and turned to glare at Holly.
Shiro finished laughing, whistled, and then began gathering up the pile of novas. “Well played, well played, Darius.”
“That was Drake’s fault.”
“Why would it matter? It’s a game
of chance. Unless . . . Oh, Darius, are you cheating?” Holly sat on the long sofa opposite from where the two gamblers sat.
“He was, Ms. Drake. But as you can see, it didn’t work out for him.”
“Because Drake interrupted.” Darius stood up and took off his blazer. He moved to his desk and put it over the back of the chair, then returned to his spot on the couch.
“I feel so bad. Interrupting a cheater.” Holly leaned back. “You guys remember that Trip is coming by today?”
“I did remember that, Ms. Drake. When shall we expect her?” Shiro smoothed the nova notes into a stack.
“She’s here now. Still downstairs. Torden is making her a drink.”
“A drink would be perfect. Is Torden taking orders?” Shiro asked.
“He may be.”
Shiro finished smoothing out the notes, folded them over, and placed the stack in his blazer pocket. He rose and grabbed his lion head cane off the table and headed downstairs.
“Hey, Shiro, snag me a cocktail while you’re at it? You owe me,” Darius said.
“Will do, chap,” Shiro called from the stairwell.
“Drake, I’ve been thinking,” Darius said, leaning back and crossing his legs. “Shiro got caught because he tried to trick the guards. Maybe we just need to have him deliver a shot with a sleeping draught or the like? Shiro distracts them, the guard turns away, Shiro jabs them in the neck with a tranquilizer. Then he loops the security footage. And the others steal the fuel canisters.”
“That could work,” Holly agreed, biting her lip. She’d been thinking of how to do the mission again if they went the same route. The problem was, security at that space-depot would be expecting them, or at least, know of them. How likely would it be for the crew to hop over to the same one and pull off the same trick? “We need to go to a different depot.”
“Guaranteed we’d need to,” Darius said.
Trip appeared at the entrance to the room, carrying a glass of wine. She paused and waited for Darius to notice her. He leaned forward and turned to see who Holly was looking at in the doorway. “Old friend,” he said, a grin stretching across his face. He rose and went to the Centau pilot and gave her a warm embrace and four besos.
“Darius,” Trip said, holding her wine glass away so that Darius didn’t bump it. “I’m finally worthy to come to the secret lair.”
Darius laughed. Holly shook her head and laughed softly. It was good to see a sense of humor in a Centau, even if it she didn’t make Holly laugh.
“Yeah, because you’ve saved our asses so many times now,” Darius said and gestured at the room. “This is it. Nothing special, but home for the team. The Bird’s Nest.”
“It’s very nest-like,” Trip said, nodding. Darius led her to the sofa and she sat down. He pushed the coffee table back to its normal spot in the center of the seating configuration and Trip put her glass down upon it. “Is this alright?”
“That’s what it’s for,” Darius said.
Shiro and Charly both appeared in the doorway. They laughed and conspired as they entered the room and sat down next to each other on the long couch. Shiro handed off a cocktail to Darius as he passed by. Holly exchanged a look with Odeon, and he grinned and nodded, while also flashing a quick look at Trip. He liked that they’d invited the Centau to the Nest.
Soon the team had hammered out more details about the potential next attempt to steal aether for powering the ship that they would use to rescue the children.
“The Olavia Apollo should be ready to fly again in a few days. If the shoddy mechanic I got stuck with doesn’t screw everything up,” Trip said. “My first choice, Saanvi, was booked with some new cruiser.”
“It’ll work out, Trip,” Darius said. He sipped his drink. “And we can’t go immediately anyway. So the wait will be fine. I’ve got to secure something to make sure Shiro doesn’t get caught again. The previous plan was too weak. We should have known better what we were doing. It’s just a smidgeon harder to scope out locations and gather intel on space shit.”
“What are you going to do this time for me, Darius?” Shiro asked. He tasted his cocktail and set it aside. Then began to use his cane like a pointer, pointing it at Darius like a teacher might when they called on a student.
“Get that ugly thing out of my face,” Darius said.
“Pardon? It’s not in your face,” Shiro said, grinning.
Darius scowled. He was still annoyed about losing his novas. “If it had been a real dice game, I would have won. You’d have no chance against me, Shiro.”
“But it is a game of chance, and so I do have a chance against you. Every time. Unless you are cheating, good chap.”
Darius growled, but said nothing more on the matter. “I’m thinking we get you a way to tranquilize the guards. Then loop the security footage.”
“Seems risky.” Shiro tapped his lips with the brass top of the lion head cane.
Charly laughed. “Riskier than what we were doing before? You got caught, Shir.”
“Anything is better than relying on the whims of bored security guards, I would think,” Odeon observed.
“I agree. Shiro, I’m going to side with Darius on this one.”
He blew out a sigh. “Fine, Ms. Drake. Fine.”
“So, Trip, you ready your ship. Let us know as soon as she’s able to fly. Darius, get the tranquilizers. The rest of you, be on stand by to head out as soon as Trip’s got the Olavia Apollo ready.”
“Will do. And thank you,” Trip said.
Holly hesitated. “For what?”
“For bringing me into the inner circle. The lair,” Trip said, grinning widely.
6
Holly hurried into the Surge Club. The wind pushed the door open behind her and she slammed it closed with one hand. It was a seasonal thing—strong winds in the morning and evening as the temperatures transitioned. This morning there was also an eclipse happening. With the cooler temperatures, the wind, and the half-light, there was something glum about the beginning of the day.
She moved into the club area and nodded at Torden who was behind the bar unpacking boxes of bottles, which he stacked on the shelves against the wall.
“Charly’s upstairs. She’s in a mood. You have been warned,” he said.
Holly stopped. “Oh. Well, thank you. For the warning.”
“Someone outbid her for an important government shindig.” Torden shook his head.
“That would bother her.”
“It bothers me. Though they are annoying—the self-important leaders—they bring in a lot of money.”
“Yes, I can see how that would be a nuisance.” She paused at the bar. “Oh, I wanted to say thanks for being cool to Trip, the Centau pilot, you remember? You made her feel welcome.”
“Of course.” He looked at her, for a moment, then asked, “Why wouldn’t I?
Holly cocked her head to one side. “She’s a Centau. You’re a Yasoan. Nothing is a given, I guess.”
His violet face brightened in understanding. “If a Centau is kind to me, I have no reason to not treat them well in return.”
Holly grinned him. “I like that about you. Well, I guess I’ll go upstairs and face the beast.”
“Watch yourself, Holly.”
She laughed at the look he gave her.
Up in the Bird’s Nest, Charly was leaning back in her chair, her boots up on the desk, and a v-screen propped on her knee. “Hey sugar,” she said when Holly entered.
“Charly, I heard someone stole your business.”
“Yeah, the bitches.”
“I didn’t realize there was anyone else attempting to get the hoity-toity Centau parties.”
“It’s good money. No one else’s club is as cool as mine. But some jerk started lusting after my gigs. I’m going to have to do something about it. Not sure what yet. I’m considering adding something new or remodeling.”
“Those would be big changes,” Holly said.
“What do you think about a cage on stage
? Where hot men or women dance half-nude as entertainment?” Charly put the v-screen on her desk and stretched her arms over her head as she sat up in her chair, taking her feet down.
Holly stared at her friend, pausing in pouring coffee beans into the grinder. It was too early for kasé. The strong, burned scent of coffee permeated the air as Holly punched the grind button. Charly laughed when she finished her stretch and saw the look on Holly’s face.
“Is that a no?” Charly asked.
“It’s not just a no, it’s a what in the name of hell would you be thinking to embark on that sort of transformation? You want to be the next Le Tissier’s? Her Sveldt Encounters?”
“You know it, girl,” Charly said.
“Well don’t do it. We’ve got a Le Tissier’s, not to mention about a hundred other clubs doing the same thing. Let’s get your place more classy and improve on the themes you’ve got here.”
“Or I could just sell it. And do something else?” Charly said.
Holly looked up from pouring water into the reservoir of the brewer. She put the empty container of water down. There were dark circles under Charly’s eyes. And they looked a bit puffy. “What’s going on, Char? You alright?”
“Didn’t Torden tell you?”
“Yeah, he told me. That someone outbid you. Some fancy schmancy shin-dig isn’t coming here. But the next one will.”
“I know. I’ll probably get the next one. But those have been paying the bills. Most of the club income has come from the big payments from hosting the Centau shit. Not getting the next one will be a dip in the club income.”
The coffee had been forgotten, for a moment. Holly remembered, glanced back at it, and hit the brew button, and turned to lean against the table. She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. “So . . . I thought you bought out the other partners.”
Charly threw her hands in the air. “I did. But I don’t own the club yet. It was bought with a loan from an investor. I owe an investor a monthly payment.” Charly strode out from behind her desk and went to the window to stare down at the club. Workers were meandering through the floor, weaving in between tables, chairs, and low tables, cleaning and arranging them.
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