The wind had picked up while he was inside, creating a full-scale dust storm.
Grayson was glad the environmental suit had a small scan suite as he carried Lana down the hillside and sprinted across the rocky landscape, or he would have been lost in the rock-strewn terrain. So many questions swirled in his mind about what Kylie had told him. If it was all true, if Lana had been transporting advance nanotech, had the Silstrand Alliance known about it?
Stupid question. Of course, they knew about it. That’s why General Samuel was so desperate, even willing to make a deal with a group of illegal junkers to get access to the right people. Grayson had just been stupid enough not to ask any questions. Just to follow orders. So he said ‘yes, sir’ and went in to rescue Lana, thinking she was nothing more than a damsel in distress.
The Silstrand Space Force sent him in blind. Samuel, someone he had worked under for years, had let it happen. Maybe he was even the one pulling the strings. That he cared for his daughter at all was now more than a little dubious. Maybe all Samuel and Silstrand cared for was this tech and what it could do for their soldiers and warships.
Through the swirling dust, Grayson finally spotted the Dauntless, hovering low, half-hidden behind a rock outcropping. “We’re almost there, Lana.”
She moaned in his arms, her voice coming through the suit’s comms. For now, that was enough for him.
They ran into the airlock, and Grayson punched the control to cycle it. The moment the inner lock door began to open, he pulled his helmet off and Lana’s, too. Her skin had gone pasty white, and his augmented vision could see that she had a high fever. “Hang in there, Lana.” He carried her out into the passageway and almost ran into Winter.
“What the hell? Where the hell is Kylie?”
Grayson pushed past him. “Lana’s hurt. Injured bad. We need to treat her wounds.”
“Where’s Kylie?” Winter grabbed Grayson’s arm.
He nearly snapped. “She’s on her way. Circle around, keep an eye out for her signal. Pick her up the moment you see her leave that damn facility. If you’re not going to help me save Lana, get the hell out of my way.”
Winter blew out a worried breath. “Easy, man. Easy. Yeah, I’ll help you. Rogers, you catch all that?”
Grayson might’ve smiled under different circumstances. He carried Lana into the ship’s medbay. He looked around at the ancient equipment and half-stocked cabinets as he laid Lana down on the table. With what they had here—with what was inside Lana…was there even hope?
Winter helped him get Lana started on an IV drip. When he tried to unseal her suit, she swatted him away. “You can’t…touch me.”
“Lana,” Grayson whispered. “If I don’t get this off and find a way to close the wound, you’re going to…. We can’t lose you.”
“I can’t control it. I don’t know how. It’s too strong.” Lana’s chest heaved. “I can barely breathe and keep it in check at the same time. I don’t know what will happen if you try to operate on me.”
“We could sedate her. That might make whatever’s happening a little easier,” Winter said.
“Do it.”
“That’s what they kept doing. Sedating me. I thought they were trying to hurt me, but I think they were just protecting themselves from me.” Lana laughed at the foolish notion. “I really wish I was home.”
Winter added something to the IV drip, and Grayson bent over to whisper in her ear. “We’re getting you there. I promise. Bet your puppy really misses you.”
She laughed. “He’s all grown up and old now, Gray.” Her head tilted to the side as she drifted off to sleep. Grayson relaxed, wiping his face.
Winter raised himself up to his full height and stared Grayson down. “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”
Grayson peeled off his gloves and slammed his fist into the wall as he bowed his head, taking deep breaths.
“Yo, Grayson. I’m not done talking to you!” Winter yelled.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” Grayson said, rage filling his voice. “Isn’t that obvious to you? All I know is, she was shot. We have to stop the bleeding but to do so, might be dangerous for both of us.”
“That wound’s a mess…but I don’t see any foreign objects, it’s just bleeding from everywhere. What if we cauterize the wound? Seal it up? Will that buy us some time?”
Sure, but it could also make them very dead if Lana reacted badly and lashed out at them. “Let’s do it, but hurry before I change my mind.”
Winter opened up a cabinet to get the necessary equipment, and Grayson busied himself gathering gauze and ointments. He had no idea if this was going to work, but if he had to go to the General and tell him his daughter was dead…
Would he even care? What was important, Lana or the tech?
Grayson glanced up at Winter as they prepared to save Lana’s life.
Winter’s sleeves were rolled up, and he held a medical laser. “Ready?”
“As I’m ever going to be.”
CAPTAIN ON DECK
STELLAR DATE: 08.46.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Near the Unyielding Lance, Perseverance
REGION: Scattered Disk, Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
The ATV bounced across the uneven terrain, and Kylie twisted around, firing wildly with her rifle. She didn’t know why she bothered. There was no way she’d hit her pursuers. It was nearly pitch black and a storm had kicked up, with the high winds blowing sand everywhere, the enemy wouldn’t even hear the shots.
She was just wasting ammo.
Kylie pushed the ATV to its limits, straining to see through the storm, looking for any sign that she was going the right way.
Marge said.
She approached the area she hoped the ship was in and stopped the ATV, peering through the blowing dust and sand for any sign of it. Nothing was visible, and nothing showed up on her suit’s limited scan.
Her armor picked up a series of snaps, and it took her a moment to understand she was being shot at. She couldn’t see who was doing the shooting, but dove behind the ATV on what she hoped was the safe side.
She caught a brief IR bloom and fired her rifle’s kinetic round in its direction. The shot was punctuated by a blinding flash of light, and for a moment, she wondered if she had hit something explosive.
Another lightning strike lit up the area around her, and Kylie saw a dozen figures closing in on her. She fired at one, and then anot
her, but by then the light was gone and she doubted her shots hit anything.
The enemy was still shooing, and the incoming weapons fire was tearing her ATV apart. In a minute, it wouldn’t offer any more cover at all—or its batteries would explode. She was getting ready for her last stand when suddenly the sound of an autocannon tore through the darkness.
Floodlights lit up the terrain around her, and Kylie saw several motionless figures on the ground. She didn’t look for the rest as she ran for the ship’s waiting airlock and dove inside. The outer door hadn’t even finished closing when she felt the ship pull up and boost hard.
She tore off her helmet as soon as the pressure equalized and tossed it and the duffle on the ground as she dashed down the passageway.
The feeling was mutual, and she wanted to take a moment to enjoy it, but Kylie had other things on her mind.
Kylie turned down a side-passage and entered the medbay, where Grayson was standing by the bed. Lana lay unmoving on top of the sheets. Her rapid breathing hinted at continued distress. “We did what we could,” Grayson said mournfully. “We sedated her so we could get through the procedure. She should be fine.”
“I’m sensing a big butt.”
“She’s not stabilizing. It’s nothing we’ve done, and I don’t think it’s from being shot either. What’s happening to her body…it’s put a lot of stress on her. There might not be anything we can do other than to get her help. Help that the Dauntless just isn’t equipped for.”
Kylie knew what he was getting at. “But Silstrand can help her? You want us to take her there instead of trade her for Nadine?”
“That was always the plan, Kylie.”
“Your plan.” She said bitterly. “I don’t have a plan because I was roped into this from the very start.”
“Kylie…” Grayson sighed.
“If I knew that Lana was kidnapped for more than her good looks, if I knew she was carrying dangerous tech, do you think I would’ve let Nadine walk into Maverick’s den with me? You think I would’ve gone?”
“I didn’t know. I swear it.”
Kylie tore her eyes away from him because she didn’t know if she could trust his words. She should’ve been able to. He just risked life and limb to save her and Lana. She saw the look on his face when Lana’s steel skin turn back to flesh, but she still couldn’t be sure that he wasn’t pulling one over on her.
It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?
“How can you expect me to believe Samuel didn’t know? He went through a lot of trouble to get us to go on this mission for you.”
“I don’t know,” Grayson’s tone was morose. “All I know is, I wasn’t informed. I can’t speak to the knowledge he has, Kylie.”
“If he didn’t tell you, then we’re really screwed, Grayson.” Kylie shook her head. “If the Silstrand Alliance knew, and let’s say for a moment they did, what would they do with it? What happens to Lana?”
Grayson thought it over, switching from one foot to another. “They use the nano to improve their weapons, ships, tech. All of it. They find a way to manufacture more and then…they wipe out the GFF and secure ourselves against Scipio.”
Kylie fell silent. “So, it’s been about war from the very beginning.”
“It’s also about not letting this nanotech falling into the wrong hands. Whoever has it will have a leg up. If the GFF were to use that tech, they’d take over. They wouldn’t be happy any longer in just Gedri. They’d branch out. Who knows who could stop them.”
Funny, Grayson sounded a lot like someone who knew about the nanotech to begin with. “You sure you know nothing of this?”
“I didn’t know Lana had it. I didn’t even know it was lost, but it’s been rumored that S&H Defensive got their hands on advanced nano awhile back. They’ve been studying it and figuring out how to use it for years in a locked-down facility. No one even knows where it is.”
“Clearly, someone does, because it got out, Gray. It got out and got stuck inside Lana. Now we’re right in the middle of it, and we have a girl on my ship who might be dying.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Grayson’s voice rose in volume and pitch. “I’ve known Lana since she was less than ten years old. You think I want to watch this happen to her?”
Kylie’s mouth snapped shut. Grayson did really care for this girl. “S&H Defensive, will they be looking for it?”
Grayson nodded. “They will. Silstrand. The GFF, and any group that hears a rumor about what we might be carrying will come looking for it.”
Great, so they had a giant target painted on their backs. It was so much more than what Kylie had bargained for. “And Silstrand can remove it? From her blood?”
“I don’t know, but we won’t know until we get there,” Grayson said quietly.
“I need to get Nadine back. You know that.”
“Your desire to only rescue your girlfriend is childish and selfish. We’re talking about tech that could change the balance of power across the entire alliance and beyond. Maybe every system there is.”
Kylie narrowed her eyes. “You’re the one who put me in the middle of all this!”
“And here I thought we were making progress with each other,” Grayson shook his head. “Seems you still only care about yourself, Kylie.”
“That’s not fair.” Kylie’s nostril flared. “It isn’t like that, so you stop looking at me like that, Grayson, or I swear to God….”
“Lock me in my quarters, then. Lock me in my quarters and arrange a swap. But Lana might be dead before you get there. And if she isn’t, you’re giving what’s inside of her to the highest bidder. With luck, it’s just the GFF and not someone who will do things a lot worse. A whole lot worse.”
“You think this is easy for me? You think I want to make this choice?” Kylie wanted to scream. She wanted to throw things. She couldn’t imagine being in a worse situation than the one she was stuck in now. Having to choose between the woman she loved and a stupid college kid who made the wrong choices in life—and now could change the balance of power forever.
“I’ve told you before that if we get Lana home, the SSF will have your back. We’ll get Nadine.”
“That was before I knew about the nano Lana was carrying. If the SSF kept that from us, who knows what else they’re keeping. And you can’t give assurances if they don’t trust you, either.” Kylie pointed her finger at him.
Grayson sighed. “Kylie—”
“Don’t. You can’t explain so don’t make excuses for them.” Kylie left the room feeling utterly defeated and worse than when she had entered. Still, she hadn’t made up her mind. She didn’t know what was the right thing to do.
What would Nadine want? What would Nadine say to her if she could? Kylie wished she was there. Instead, she was going to have to settle for second best.
* * * * *
Kylie changed out of her armor and back into her regular clothes, then walked to the galley and sat down at the table with a long sigh.
Kylie had no idea.
She made a pot of coffee, and a few minutes later, Winter and Rogers joined her. They downed a several cups of the string brew as she filled them in with every detail she had. The longer she went on, the greener Rogers looked, but Winter seemed to take it all in stride.
“I don’t see the proble
m. We need Nadine back,” Winter said with a shrug.
“And if Lana dies before or after the trade?” Kylie asked.
“I’m more worried about the tech she has inside of her,” Rogers said. “I know that makes me sound like a horrible person.”
“That’s because you are a horrible person,” Winter said.
“But if someone real bad gets hold of that tech…” Rogers shook his head. “It’s game over, man. Not just for Silstrand. Maybe for all of us. We can’t just have that happen.”
Kylie held her breath and sighed. “I was afraid you might say something like that.”
Rogers winked at her. “If you asked me, then you must be prepared for what I had to say, you know? You must’ve wanted someone to tell you that.”
Maybe she did. “We can’t just leave Nadine.”
“We send a communication to the bounty hunter. We tell him that we have the information he needs. Your AI collected information, right?”
Kylie nodded.
“Okay,” Rogers went on, “we send the data. Arrange a meet up with him. He doesn’t need to know we rescued her. Meanwhile, we drop her and Grayson off with Silstrand Space Force. They get their girl, we get our letter of marquee, and everything goes back to business as usual.”
Kylie considered it. The bounty hunter was probably close by, but with the storm raging on Perseverance, there was no way he could know what happened down there. It just might work.
“You’re making a lot of assumptions,” Winter said and took a sip of his coffee. “A lot of assumptions.”
“That’s what we do. It’s worked out pretty well so far, don’t you think?”
Winter shook his head. “I nearly got Nadine killed when I pulled my little stunt with Grayson, and you were all over me. I don’t see how what you’re suggesting is any different.”
“Winter—” Kylie started, but Winter wasn’t ready to be shut down just yet.
“You rode me for it. Hard. I felt guilty. You even got me to play nice with your ex. Now you’ve seen this girl, and you feel bad for her? What about Nadine? You just going to trade her in for this new model?”
Close Proximity - An Aeon14 Space Opera Adventure (Perilous Alliance) Page 26
