Phoenix in Flames

by Jaleta Clegg

  "What are you proposing?" Lowell asked.

  "One quick shove and the whole thing topples," Will said.

  "And we move in to pick up the pieces and put it all back together," Roland said. "It avoids a messy war and years of struggling to rebuild."

  "And you get to dictate the new terms of governance?" Lowell asked.

  Roland shrugged. "We get to suggest and guide."

  "And your ships keep the peace and keep trade flowing," Lowell added. "It is beginning to make sense now. I wondered how you played into the picture."

  "We aren't planning to take over," Roland objected. "Every system that has joined us did so of their own free will. No one forced them into the Federation."

  "What about Trythia?" Lowell asked bluntly.

  "They were given a choice. They could join under our terms or they would be left cut off, confined to their own world and left to fight it out themselves. You were the one who destroyed their space flight capabilities." Roland's voice was flat, stating fact.

  "You saw what they did in the breeding pens?" Lowell asked. "And you still gave them a choice?"

  "The only slaves left on their planet are those who chose to stay as slaves," Will said. "We have thousands of advisors and colonists on their world, watching every move they make."

  "You were there," Lowell said, looking at Will. It was a guess on his part.

  "For almost a year," Will acknowledged. "Another two weeks and the Federation would have liberated us. Dace just moved faster."

  "That's where you got their medical techniques," Lowell said.

  "And that's what kept Dace alive. Without their equipment, she wouldn't have made it."

  "What kind of life does she have now?" Lowell demanded. "I've seen the medical reports on her."

  "Snooping again?"

  "Does it matter?"

  "Then you know they have a treatment that should cure her, given enough time."

  "It's experimental. The Trythians never used it on humans."

  "Except for Dace. As far as we know, she's the only one who's been able to access their computer systems. She's been under their medscans before." Will shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "We will do everything we can for her."

  "Because you're planning on using her," Lowell said angrily. "I won't be any part of this."

  "Please, Commander Lowell," Roland said, laying his hand on Lowell's shoulder. "Hear us out. Dace is critical to our plan."

  "What are you going to ask her to do?" Lowell objected. "She will never agree."

  "We need her to go to Linas-Drias, as Ambassador for the Federation. She has the contacts. She knows the people. We need her to figure out what is really going on."

  "You need her to shove the Empire into chaos, something she's very good at doing," Lowell said. "She'll never agree."

  "She's the only person we can send. She knows the Emperor's son. She knows the Speaker to the Council of Worlds."

  "She can bring back Scholar, if anyone can," Roland said.

  "I'm not going to ask her for you," Lowell said.

  "No, that's my job," Will said. "We want you to help plan this so she has a chance of succeeding. Look at the files, tell us what you think is really going on."

  "You are going to send her in alone."

  "No," Will answered again. "We'll send her in with whoever she wants to take. You can go if you like."

  "Without her help, the Empire will end in civil war." Roland held the picture, stroking the wooden frame with one hand. "It will take centuries to recover. The syndicates will rise to power. No one will be safe. This is our chance to remove the head. This is our chance to build a brighter future for everyone."

  "You can't wipe out crime, Roland," Will said. "We've been over this before. Many times."

  "We can still try," Roland answered. "We can push them back. Get several steps ahead instead of behind. Isn't that what you said?"

  "Why Dace?" Lowell asked.

  "As I said before, she knows the people at the top. And they know her."

  "And if she refuses?" Lowell asked.

  "Then we find another way," Roland said simply. "She's our best hope, not our only hope."

  "Look, Lowell," Will said, "we wouldn't ask her if we didn't feel it was necessary. Believe me when I say I don't want to involve her in anything more than helping Jasyn figure out trade regulations and keeping the Gypsies in line. But we can't. We need her."

  "She will go with Myrln's blessing," Roland said.

  "Let me look at those files," Lowell said. "And I'll tell you what I think. On one condition," he added.

  "What?" they both asked simultaneously.

  "That you tell me why she laughs about sticker bushes and Roland. That wasn't in her official report."

  Will laughed.

  Roland turned red. "You'll have to ask her about that," he said stiffly.

  "You tell me or no deal," Lowell said, standing up from the chair. "Tell you what, you buy me dinner tonight and tell me and I'll be happy to work with you."

  "Have you been taking lessons from Leon?" Will asked.

  "He isn't anywhere near my class," Lowell said, leaning over the desk. "Although he's pretty good. For a lawyer." He stood, heading for the door. "You know where to find me when you have an answer." He grinned and waved on his way out the door.

  "Cursed sticker bush story," Roland grumbled.

  Chapter 59

  I stood on a chair and tried not to squirm. I had yards of white lace draped around and over me. Three women, seamstresses originally from Dadilan, fussed with pins and scissors and silky fabric and more lace.

  "I think a bit more flounce back here," one of them said.

  "Pleats," another suggested before shaking her head.

  I rolled my eyes at Jasyn. She sat on a couch with Ginni and Twyla. They had their heads together over a different pile of fabric. I saw a lot of blue and green in the pile.

  "Don't be a baby, Dace," Jasyn said.

  "I have been standing here for hours," I complained.

  "We're almost done," Shedra said and poked me with a pin. She was the one in charge of my dress. She'd also been one of the girls from the village who'd helped me destroy the Patrol base on Dadilan.

  They were making me a wedding dress. I'd suggested to Tayvis that we just sneak up to Roland's office and get him to marry us quietly. After the mess of my engagement to Vance, I wanted nothing to do with weddings, not the formal fancy kind. He'd thought it was a good idea. Jasyn had stomped all over it, with the help of the rest of the crew. As matters stood, we were supposed to be married in five days in the main ballroom of the ship. Roland got wind of it and pulled out all the stops. He even gave Jasyn a reprieve from her Council duties until after the wedding. Tebros was only two days flight away. The ship was so huge it had to come in far outsystem and spend days slowing to orbital speed.

  I felt as if things had been pulled out of my control. Shedra had taken over my wedding dress. Jasyn had taken over the other dresses and flowers and everything else. I hadn't seen Tayvis since the night before.

  "I'm done," I announced, stepping off the chair. The fabric flounced around me, an enormous cloud of white. "I have to take my pills."

  "Hold still," Shedra ordered. She and the other two girls carefully pulled the half pinned dress off me. "We can sew what we have. You'll have to have another fitting tonight."

  "Whatever," I said, giving in with poor grace. I headed for the bathroom of Jasyn's suite. I was wearing a huge, fluffy petticoat. I shoved it through the door ahead and behind me into the bathroom.

  I shook out the pills I was supposed to take into my hand. Something the medics were doing was helping. I didn't have the tremors as badly. They were almost unnoticeable unless I was tired or stressed. They said the results of the other treatments were still too preliminary to tell if they were helping or not. I swallowed the pills then left the bathroom.

  Ginni was laughing about something. She held a scrap of pink satin to her chin.<
br />
  "Nice, but not the right color for this," Jasyn said. "Would you focus, please?"

  "I like that one," Twyla said, pointing at something in a fat book. "Maybe in the mint?"

  "Too pale," Jasyn said, shaking her head. "This one." She held up a piece of blue green fabric the color of ocean waves. It shimmered with several shades.

  I flopped into a chair, my petticoat billowing around me like a giant marshmallow.

  "That one, definitely," Ginni said. "I don't know about the dress, though. We ought to ask Paltronis before we decide."

  "We should let Deena help us, too," Twyla suggested. "She should be involved."

  "What about me?" I complained. "Shouldn't I be consulted? It's my wedding."

  "Did you ask me about mine?" Jasyn looked at me without pity. "You and Lowell planned it without even asking me."

  "Lady Rina took over. Lowell told me that once she got involved all he did was pay the bills." I fingered a wad of petticoat lace. "Do you regret it?"

  "Not a bit," she said. "Now be quiet and let us plan your wedding."

  "Who's paying for this?" I asked, more out of idle curiosity than anything else.

  "Roland. Now be quiet," Jasyn said.

  "He's cute," Ginni said.

  "He's nuts," Jasyn said. "But he is rather cute. I don't know if it's the weird haircut or that rag he wears all the time."

  "His grin," Twyla said.

  "Roland is paying for my wedding. That smells fishy. I have to talk to him." I hadn't seen him since that time I'd been half awake in the medunit. It was almost as if he were avoiding me.

  "You can't go in that," Jasyn said without looking.

  I stood up and fluffed the petticoat. "Who'd notice?"

  "Not with boots, Dace," Jasyn said. "Either the petticoat goes or the boots. You can't wear them together."

  "I am not wearing heels to my wedding," I objected.

  "You aren't wearing boots, either," Jasyn said.

  "You need the height, Dace," Twyla said. "Tayvis is over a foot taller than you."

  The door slid open. Clark came in, Louie squirming in his arms. Leon trailed behind him.

  "Am I interrupting? Nice dress, Dace, but it seems a little low cut for you."

  "Shut up, Clark," I said.

  "Cookie," Louie demanded.

  "Not until after dinner, monster," Jasyn said.

  "Speaking of which," Leon said, "there's a formal dinner tonight. You're all invited. Roland wants you at his table tonight."

  "Sounds boring," I said.

  "You aren't getting out of it, Dace," Leon said. "You're the guest of honor."

  "No," I said, leaning close to him. I got a whiff of his aftershave and leaned back, holding my nose.

  "But everyone is going to be there," Leon said. "Will and Roland and Lowell and Dariana Grace and half the bigwigs from Tebros. Oh, the Gypsy Council is going to be there."

  "Then I'm not going, either," Jasyn said.

  "If I have to go, you have to go," I said.

  "And we're all going to wear clan colors," Jasyn said.

  I wasn't the only one to look confused. Jasyn smiled slyly.

  "Is Everett going to be there?" Jasyn asked Leon.

  "I don't think he was invited," Leon hedged.

  "Then find him and invite him and tell him he'd better be wearing the right colors. And his crew." Jasyn swung her leg over the arm of the couch. "If I have to face the Council, I'm going to do it my way."

  "Have I told you lately I love it when you're devious?" Clark said, grinning at his wife.

  Ginni and Twyla were grinning now, too. Leon chuckled to himself.

  "Do you want to explain what's going on?" I asked.

  Jasyn quit grinning. "As of a month ago, Shellfinder is no longer officially recognized as a clan. The Council claims Lady Rina's adoptions were invalid. The clan died with her." She held up a warning finger. "And if you swear in front of Louie I will personally hurt you."

  Louie grinned. "Dammit!" he shrieked.

  I laughed. Jasyn threatened me with what could only be described as the evil eye. Clark scooped Louie up and carried him into the bathroom.

  "He is not going to grow up swearing like an engineer," Jasyn said.

  "Something wrong with it?" I asked as innocently as I could.

  "Don't even try it, Dace," Jasyn warned. "You are as bad as your father."

  "Really?" I couldn't help teasing her. It felt so normal. I needed to feel normal. I wanted to forget my future. Or lack of one.

  "Keep it up, Dace, and I'll—"

  "What? Make me wear a dress tonight?"

  "No. Wear your boots tonight." She stood up. "How many of those green suits did we buy, Ginni?" she asked.

  "If we raid everyone's closet, we could probably come up with at least twenty." Ginni cocked her head to one side, her curly hair framing her face. She looked a lot younger and a lot more innocent than she really was.

  "Make sure everyone on the crew wears one. Then find people to wear the extras. I think Doggo wouldn't mind." Jasyn grinned at Ginni who blushed red.

  "You and Doggo?" I stared at her in shock. "Ginni, you're crazy."

  She smiled, showing me a set of dimples I didn't know she had. "He's cute, really."

  "Especially in that flight suit," Twyla added.

  "I'll wear one," Leon offered. "And you've got three other Gypsy captains in port. They all support you, by the way."

  "If they didn't support me, you wouldn't have mentioned them," Jasyn said and rolled her eyes.

  "Are you going to wear that the rest of the day?" Jasyn asked me. "I could use your help. You're still the captain of the Phoenix." She turned to Twyla and Ginni. "You two can find everyone and get them in on this. I want them all in uniform and at the main ballroom by— When, Leon?"

  "It starts at six."

  "Then have them gather at six thirty. And Leon, tell whoever is in charge that we'll have at least twenty in our party."

  Leon's mouth flapped for a minute. "I don't think they were planning on more than eight."

  "Who do they want us to leave out?" Jasyn asked. "Was the invitation for the crew of the Phoenix Rising? Or was it for Shellfinder Clan?"

  "They didn't specify," Leon stammered.

  "Then tell them the Shellfinder Clan will be in attendance as requested. Let them figure out what that's going to mean." Jasyn looked around the room. "Let's move. We've got things to do before tonight."

  It took most of the afternoon to find the shipsuits and make sure they were clean and pressed and ready to wear. I ended up in charge of that. I insisted that Shedra and the other two help me when they weren't stitching down yards of white lace. Twyla and Ginni found people to wear them. Jasyn and Clark disappeared for most of the afternoon. The others began to gather in Jasyn's suite in the late afternoon. Tayvis was one of the last to show up. He came in with Everett and six other people I didn't know.

  The room was crowded. Ginni and Twyla were passing out the green suits. I snagged the one they had set out for Tayvis and crossed the room to him. He took my hand and tugged me out into the hall.

  "What is Jasyn planning?" he asked me.

  I shrugged. "Something that's going to embarrass the Gypsy Council, I suspect. Is that why you pulled me out here?"

  "No, this is why," he answered. He kissed me. I kissed him back.

  The door behind us opened. "Enough of that," Ginni said. "Jasyn says you need to hurry."

  I stepped away from him, blushing. He caught my hand and pulled me back. He kissed me again.

  "This way, Tayvis," Clark said, dragging him away. Beryn, Darus, and Everett went with them.

  "Go get changed, Dace," Ginni suggested.

  I went into Jasyn's room and changed there. It felt good to put on the green suit again. I fastened it up, then pulled on my boots. I was myself again. I walked back out into the main room of the suite.

  "You forgot these," Twyla said. She held out her hand and dropped glittering pins into
mine.

  I cupped them in my hand. Two pilot's comets and two sets of captain's bars, gold for merchant service. I swallowed back a lump in my throat. I was home. I fastened them onto my collar, making sure they were straight and even.

  "We're going to be late," Jasyn said as she breezed into the room. She brushed her hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ears. She shooed us out the door while giving instructions to the babysitter. Louie screeched after her until the door shut off his screams.

  There was a very large group in the hall waiting for us. All of them wore the green shipsuits with the flaming bird on the shoulder. Even Lowell. I'd have to ask Jasyn about that later. Right then she was hustling us all out to the main atrium of the ship. The main ballroom was forward. It wasn't too far too walk.

  We got a lot of attention from the people in the ship. Halfway to the ballroom, someone started cheering us. We walked the rest of the way as if we were on parade. People cheered around us. I heard my name, and Tayvis, and the others. And under it all was the name of our ship.

  "Have you been telling stories about us again?" I whispered to Lowell, edging closer to him as we walked.

  "Not lately," he answered. "I suspect it was Roland. Although it could have been one of your many loyal fans." He glanced back at Doggo.

  I shook my head and kept walking.

  We reached the main doors of the ballroom. The officious looking purser waiting there looked relieved. Until he started counting our group.

  "You're late," he said to Jasyn. "And we don't have space for this many."

  "I sent my aide to inform you," Jasyn said smoothly.

  "Hiya," Leon said, stepping out of a side hall and hurrying over to us. He was wearing a subdued suit in almost the right shade of green. His was shiny and had very thin yellow stripes running horizontally. He grinned at the purser. "I told you they were coming, didn't I?"

  The purser stammered for just a moment before his professional training took over. He turned away from us and opened the door. He didn't try to announce us.

  "You're the captain," Jasyn said, nudging me.

  "And you're the clan head," I answered. I grabbed her arm and we walked in together.