Phoenix in Flames

by Jaleta Clegg

"I think we'll be going now," Manson said loudly. He shoved Herrison into the hatch. It slid closed.

  "That just leaves you," Paltronis said coldly to Sikura.

  "We might need a real medic where we're going," Clark said. "And he knows better than to try double crossing us. Don't you?" He slapped Sikura on the shoulder.

  "I didn't know, I swear to you, Paltronis," Sikura said.

  "Just believe him so we can get on with this," Clark told her.

  "I'm watching every move you make," Paltronis warned Sikura.

  "Why is the cargo hatch cycling?" Ginni asked.

  "Beryn and Darus," Clark said.

  "From the inside?" Ginni asked.

  "Ananda," Twyla spoke up. "She said she needed to get something." She scrambled to her feet, heading for the access hatch into the cargo holds.

  "Forget it, Twyla," Jasyn said. "She's probably long gone by now."

  "Another complication we don't need," Clark added.

  "Go find out how fast Darus and Beryn can have us ready to lift," Jasyn told Ginni. "The coordinates, Everett. And this time they'd better be the right ones."

  "I still think Will is right, Jasyn," Everett said. "You're better off staying out of this. They're planning a raid on the planet."

  "And Dace will get caught in the crossfire," Jasyn said.

  "Not with Will in charge," Everett said.

  "The coordinates, Everett," she said flatly.

  "I didn't think it would work but I had to try."

  "No more excuses. Give them to me. Now."

  Everett recited a set of numbers. Lowell grabbed a stylus and paper and wrote them down. He slid the paper in front of Jasyn. She looked at them and frowned.

  Clark took Louie from her and carried him into the nursery. Jasyn picked up the paper and went to her nav comp in the cockpit. Everett stayed in the chair, stroking the cat.

  "It isn't smart to antagonize her," Lowell said.

  "I'm very well aware of that," Everett said. "But this is a lot bigger than Dace. And it's going to get very dangerous very soon, judging from the orders Will was writing. The planet is a retreat for a lot of syndicate suppliers."

  "How does he know Dace is there?" Tayvis asked. "How certain is he?"

  "I don't know," Everett shrugged. "He's certain enough to send in troops. They have orders to watch for her. He had her picture attached to the orders."

  "But why does he want her?" Twyla asked.

  "Leverage over Jasyn most likely," Everett guessed.

  Tayvis shook his head. "Roland's involved."

  "How well does he know her?" Lowell asked Tayvis.

  "Who's Roland?" Sikura asked.

  "The president of the Federation," Lowell answered. "How well?" he asked Tayvis.

  "Ask him about sticker bushes," Tayvis said and almost smiled. "He knows her, and he likes her."

  "But we're still getting there first," Jasyn announced from the doorway of the cockpit. "Red dwarf star off the normal shipping lanes. The records show one planet that should be uninhabited."

  "She's there, Jasyn." Everett stood, dropping Ghost to the floor. The cat meowed in protest and stalked away.

  "Do we search the whole planet looking for her?" Twyla asked. "Because Ananda is going to have the syndicates after us. Linnea is going to have the Patrol after us as soon as she can make contact. We aren't going to have much time."

  "Can I see your paper?" Everett asked Jasyn.

  She handed him the paper with the coordinates written on it. He wrote another sequence of numbers under it.

  "Frequency codes," he explained. "It's the only information I have. That's supposedly the contact number for drug shipments. There's a woman living there."

  "Shomies Pardui," Lowell interrupted.

  "You already know?" Everett asked.

  "We guessed," Lowell said. "She's one of the ones who hates Dace more than the others. With her it's personal."

  "Then good luck," Everett said.

  "You aren't coming?" Jasyn asked.

  "After you threw me out of your clan?" Everett's look was teasing. "I'm headed back to Tebros to do what I can to hold things together until you get there."

  "And if I never arrive?" Jasyn asked.

  "Then things won't be any worse than they already are," Everett said.

  The hatch slid open. The wind gusted inside, cold and wet, pushing a man wearing a lime green raincoat and a wide yellow hat.

  "Sorry I didn't bother to knock," Leon said, "but it is pouring water out there if you haven't noticed. Everett, nice to see you."

  "I was just leaving," Everett said.

  The room was silent until Everett was out the hatch. The door slid shut again.

  "Did I miss something?" Leon asked. "I thought Everett was your one true friend."

  "So did I," Jasyn said. She sighed and sat at the table, studying the scrawled numbers on the paper.

  "Well," Leon said brightly and clapped his hands. "We've got a lot to get done. The shipment should be here in about ten minutes."

  "Shipment of what?" Jasyn asked.

  "Equipment," Leon said. "You're going to need it." He picked up her paper. "I see you have the coordinates. Good, that's one detail I don't have to worry about." He put the paper down and fished a data cube out of his pocket. "This should give you more information on the system. I stole everything I could find on it. The winds are going to be tricky. Are you still certified on a P387?" He looked at Clark expectantly.

  "What does a flitter have to do with anything?" Jasyn asked. She picked up the data cube, frowning at it.

  "The P387 is the only model that would fit in your hold," Leon said.

  "And why do I need a flitter in my hold?" Jasyn asked.

  Leon gusted out a sigh. "You want to get Dace back, don't you?"

  "Of course we do," Jasyn said, glancing around at the people in the lounge.

  "Then here's what you need to do," Leon said. "I've got it all figured." He beamed at her.

  "Leon, I think I love you," Jasyn said and grinned back.

  "Finally, something solid," Paltronis muttered as she moved closer.

  "Right," Leon said, clapping his hands together. "Let's get started."

  Chapter 49

  I sat on my square of floor and picked apart a strand of carpet fiber. It had been five days since Shomies' demonstration. She gave me the drug openly. I had little choice but to take it. She'd proven that to me. If I wanted to live, I took her drug. I hadn't figured out a way around it yet, but I was determined to find one and soon.

  I watched Rivian preparing dinner. Shomies was dining alone tonight. She still demanded perfection. He was busy with at least five different pots. Whatever it was, it smelled good. Like usual. I wondered if I'd get any tonight. Shomies had gone back to randomly throwing ration bars at me. Rivian tried to sneak me food most nights, after she went upstairs. If he was down in the morning before she was, I got breakfast, too.

  I wouldn't call what was between us friendship or anything close. It was a mutual commiseration more than anything. He wouldn't let me say what I really felt about Shomies. He craved her approval as much as he needed her drugs. I hated her. I hated what she'd done to me. And I thought she was just trying to bore me to death when she'd really been slipping me one of the most insidious drugs I'd never heard of. I felt normal, like my usual self, unless I missed a dose. If I went more than twenty four hours, everything started to break down. I'd had a taste of it and I didn't want to live through it again. Not if I had a choice.

  I threw the carpet fiber at the spot where I knew the controls for the collar were hidden. It was just out of reach. I would choke myself if I tried. I was stuck in an invisible prison with nasty consequences if I tried to escape. It wasn't boredom that was going to kill me, not now. Boredom was just going to drive me insane first.

  I heard Shomies on the stairs. I toyed with the idea of screaming obscenities at her. Last time I'd tried, she'd had Nione gag me and tie me up. She left me that way fo
r the rest of that day and the next night. It was painful. I kept my mouth shut.

  I settled for glaring at her. She kept her back to me, refusing to give me any hold at all. I'd seen the fear in her face the last time she'd looked me in the eye. She wasn't going to repeat that mistake. She pretended she was in control. The problem was she really was in control. I had nothing.

  The evening dragged on. Shomies ate at her usual leisurely pace. She summoned her dancing girls when she was done. They went to the far side of the room, as far from me as she could get and still be in the same room. Rivian puttered in the kitchen. They all ate dessert before heading back up the stairs. Rivian took his time cleaning in the kitchen. He seemed to be waiting for something.

  Nione and two of the scientists came out of the hidden door and went upstairs. Rivian watched them with a frustrated twist to his mouth. He shot a glance at me then went upstairs as well.

  I picked apart more of the carpet. I wasn't tired. I was frustrated and angry. Sleep was full of nightmares of choking and dying and pain. I avoided it if I could.

  Nione and the scientists came back downstairs. They went through their door. The lights dimmed and went out. I resigned myself to another long night.

  The lights came on in the kitchen. Rivian rummaged through several cupboards. He finally pulled out a bottle of red liquid and poured a generous glass. He went upstairs with it. He left the lights on.

  The kitchen gleamed in the dim light, an island of glass and chrome and black stone. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten since early that morning. I stared at the pool of light highlighting the counter and saw in my mind a chipped green counter that was much smaller. I could almost see Jasyn standing in front of the sink, a pan of cookies in one hand and a smile on her face. It hurt almost more than the drug withdrawal. I wanted to go home.

  "Are you all right?" Rivian's voice broke through my memory.

  I wiped a hand over my face, pretending not to notice the tears. "No," I said honestly. I left it at that.

  He stood near me, a glass of the red liquid in his hand. He sat on the carpet just to one side of my floor space and took a sip. "Want some?"

  I was tempted but I shook my head. Alcohol wasn't going to give me anything but a raging headache the next day.

  "You missed dinner," he said. "There might be something."

  "I'm not that hungry," I said. And I wasn't, not for his cooking. I wanted one of Jasyn's casseroles. Or one of Clark's soups. Or even Twyla's cooking. My stomach growled. I wrapped my arms around my middle.

  "She isn't that bad, really."

  "She doesn't want you dead in a very painful, prolonged manner."

  "Dace, she doesn't want you dead."

  "She does. She's afraid of me. Still."

  "You scare me, sometimes," he admitted.

  "Are you sure you don't want to help me get out of here? I'll take you with me, wherever you want to go."

  "And what about the drugs?"

  "We steal enough to get us through a few weeks. We find someone to make us more. Or find a way to get us off them permanently."

  He shook his head and took another swallow. "That's your dream, not mine."

  "And what's yours? To spend what's left of your life cooking and cleaning up after her?" I turned to look at him. He sat with his shoulder almost touching me. "She doesn't even look at you. She just orders you. That isn't any way to live, Rivian."

  "It's what I have," he said. He took another drink out of the glass.

  I watched him in silence. His hair was recently cut, the spikes were only an inch high. The sides of his head were shaved and painted with blue swirls of dots. His makeup was flaking off around his eyes. He turned his head to study me in return. He couldn't have been more than twenty five. His eyes looked at least a hundred years old. He'd replaced the stud in his bottom lip with a tiny gemstone. It caught the light and sparkled.

  He leaned towards me, closing the distance between us.

  "You don't want to do that," I whispered.

  "I've never kissed anyone before, not on my own," he admitted. "Only when I was paid."

  He studied my face for a moment longer, his face only inches from mine. He turned away and drained his glass.

  "Good night," he said.

  He got up and walked over to the kitchen. He put his glass near the sink. His movements were deliberate.

  He gave me one last searching look before heading up the stairs.

  The lights slowly dimmed. I sat in the dark, alone. I finally drifted off to sleep.

  I woke up what felt like only moments later. Rivian was over me, his hand over my mouth. I panicked at first. It was dark and he was just a shape in the darkness. He leaned close, turning my head to the faint light coming through the front windows. He waited until I recognized him before he let go.

  "What?" I whispered.

  "There's a raid, tonight," he said, his voice barely audible. "Lucas is coming. I just found out. He doesn't know Shomies monitors most of the com signals on the planet. He thinks his are scrambled."

  "What am I supposed to do about it?" I whispered back. "I'm stuck here. I can't even fight him. Not like this." I pulled on my collar and got a tingle of pain in response.

  He leaned close in the darkness. He licked his lips, picking his words.

  The lights came on upstairs. I could hear someone running above my head. The lights of the main floor came on just as suddenly. I squinted in the sudden brightness.

  "What are you plotting?" Shomies demanded.

  Rivian backed away from me. He stayed crouched low, almost on his knees.

  Shomies shot looks between me and Rivian. She focused her anger on him. "What are you up to? Whispering with her?"

  "It isn't like that," Rivian protested.

  "Shut up," she said coldly. She slapped him across the face. He sprawled on the floor. She didn't look at me before she turned and stormed away. "Nione!"

  "Rivian?" I asked when she was out of range. I crawled to the edge of my space.

  "She hit me," he said, like a small child. He sat up slowly, holding his cheek. He gave me a hollow look full of pain.

  I bit my tongue and didn't say I'd warned him. I reached across the carpet, ignoring the pain racing along my arm as I passed the invisible barrier. He looked at my hand and then at me. He took my hand, squeezing it before letting it go. He got up, his shoulders bowed. He went to his kitchen.

  Shomies, Nione, and her thugs came up from the basement. They were all armed, except Shomies. She stood with her hands on her massive hips and glared around the room. Nione and the thugs headed out through the door into the courtyard. The sound of flitters carried faintly on the humid night air along with the smell of something organic.

  "Lights," Shomies shouted. The room plunged into darkness.

  I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision. I heard gunfire outside. The flitters landed in the courtyard. At least one crashed. Flames lit up the courtyard with an angry glow. I couldn't see Shomies in the room.

  I looked at the square of carpet that hid the controls. I stood at the very edge of the carpet. My collar gave a warning squeeze. I swallowed hard. My stomach growled. If I fell just right…

  I could kill myself. I would choke before anyone noticed. I glanced at the hellish scene in the courtyard. People killed each other in the flaring dance of the flame's light.

  I didn't want to die, but it was better than this half life with Shomies. It was much preferable to being Luke's prisoner. I took a deep breath and let myself fall forward.

  Chapter 50

  "Are you sure about this, Leon?" Jasyn asked nervously.

  "We come in hot and fast," Leon answered. "They drop out of the cargo bay. It's the reason I got you a P387. The wings are designed to deploy in flight. You just have to get through the upper atmosphere. It won't fly in space."

  "It's dangerous," Jasyn said.

  "Landing is suicide," Leon countered. "Trying to maneuver this ship would be suicide. We
discussed this already. You all agreed it was the only way."

  "It doesn't mean I have to like it," Jasyn grumbled.

  "Jump in five," Ginni announced. She was sitting where Clark usually sat. Twyla was next to her, poised to shift the ship to the right coordinates as soon as they cleared the jump point.

  Lowell was in the scanning seat. He had the extra equipment Leon had brought plugged in and ready to go. Leon leaned over his chair, looking as relaxed as he possibly could in a suit whose colors induced nausea in most people.

  Jasyn glanced behind her into the lounge. Sikura and Paltronis had Louie. Paltronis gave her an unhappy look. She hated being left behind. They had no choice. The flitter was tiny, barely enough room for Clark and Tayvis. There was a small cargo space behind the seats that should be big enough for Dace. They'd argued who should go for hours on the flight to the unnamed system. Clark had to go. He was the only pilot who could fly the tiny shuttle. He was the best they had. Tayvis flatly refused to be left behind. He didn't care if he died, as long as he saw Dace again. She read it in his eyes. No one argued with him about the choice. Paltronis was still unhappy, even if she agreed.

  Darus and Beryn were farther back. Beryn stood watch in the engine room, ready to tweak the engine for more power. Darus was suited up in the cargo hold. They'd rigged atmosphere for long enough so Tayvis and Clark could get the flitter out. Someone had to be back there to open and close the door for them. Darus had volunteered. The atmosphere only had to hold for the flight to the planet.

  Jasyn flipped the com on. "Clark?" she asked and winced at the tremor in her voice.

  "We're set, Jasyn," he answered.

  "Jump," Ginni announced, cool and calm as if it were a normal flight.

  "Hang on," Jasyn said over the com.

  The ship trembled and shook as it roared through the transition to normal space. They were pushing it fast. Twyla had the sublights up and running almost before they were through.

  "Give me a course," Ginni demanded.

  Lowell was already running scans. Jasyn did what she could with the nav comp. It wasn't much use. The system wasn't in their databank.