by Becky Black
"Thought I was going to be late!" Her face was flushed and her hair wild.
"You okay?" Jaff asked, raising his eyebrows. She wasn't usually this flustered.
"I was just in Dav's, having a late breakfast, and wow, you should have seen what happened!" She poured herself a cup of coffee, but didn't sit down, almost bounced on the balls of her feet. "There was a huge fight, and that Captain Bara was there and her people broke it up, and then she announced she's putting Dav's place under her protection and anyone causing trouble will answer to her next time she's on the station. It was crazy, Jaff, you should have seen it!"
Great, he thought, I practically live in that place and I miss something like this. Then he frowned at what she'd said.
"What does you mean, under her protection? It's under the protection of station security, like everywhere else."
Kiral made a pfft sound. "Oh they were useless! They didn't show up till it was all over."
"I think they've been busy," Jaff said. "One of the other crews said they've got a big section of the heavy cargo docks sealed off. Something about a freighter smuggling illegal weapons they've had a tip off about."
"So they were right there at the docks and they still couldn't get to Dav's for like twenty minutes!"
"The heavy cargo docks," Jaff said, but she wasn't listening. Heavy cargo was the lowest level of the docks, then two levels of light cargo and small courier ships, like the Friss, and finally passenger docking on the top, same level as Dav's. So a large number of the station's security team were in the docks, but three levels down and rather tied up from the sound of it.
"Well, at least now we know we can be safe in Dav's."
"Safe? Come on, there isn't that much trouble in there," Jaff said. "I mean it's rowdy, but not dangerous. There aren't many actual brawls." I'm turning into Chervaz, he thought, questioning everything.
"Well now there won't be any." Kiral drank some of her coffee. "She was amazing, the way she spoke. Oh and generous! She said anyone who'd been injured could use the sickbay on her ship, for free. And said people could use the sickbay for any medical stuff while the ship's at the station."
"What about Sheni's clinic?"
"She charges."
"Not very much."
Kiral shrugged. "Free beats that anytime."
"Nothing's free, Kiral." Jaff shook his head. The whole damn world needed to learn to be more cynical. "Nothing is free."
Chapter 13
Is this what it's like to be in a room with a lioness?
Chervaz watched as Bara wandered around the newspaper office, picking things up now and again and examining them with interest.
"Would you like some coffee, Captain?" Chervaz asked as she picked up a mug. He glanced at the marine at the top of the stairs. "Or your--um--crewman?"
"Oh, no thank you." She put the mug down again. "I already drink far too much of the stuff. I hope I'm not interrupting your work. You looked as if you were about to leave when I arrived."
He had been, on his way to the docks, where there seemed to be a lot of excitement about some ship that might be smuggling weapons. But when she'd walked into the room, he'd forgotten all about that and retreated back to his desk.
"I was," he said. "There's some kind of incident at the docks, but."
"Not worth your time." She shrugged. "They won't find anything."
"How do you know?"
She didn't answer, just walked across the room towards his desk. She took the eye, he thought. Nice looking. Her long hair was unusual even on women starship officers. It was hard not to watch her as she prowled around the room. But not just because of her looks; she compelled the attention, made everyone else background. Potential, he thought. She carried some kind of potential inside her. Coiled like a spring. Or perhaps… a fuse.
It felt hard to admit he was afraid of her. Not just of her bodyguard at the door, and not because he didn't believe he was stronger than her. But more because she looked as if she didn't need to overpower you. She would just wait until you went to sleep.
"May I sit?" She had her hand on the back of the chair opposite his at the desk and he stood up and gestured at the chair.
"Of course, please." She sat and he did too. A copy of the Chronicle lay on the desk and she picked it up and glanced over it.
"Your newspaper is very interesting, Mr Chervaz. An old idea revived."
"It seemed to be an idea that suited the circumstances. Captain, since you're here, I would very much like to get an interview with you."
She laughed. "Would people really be interested in what I have to say?"
"They are certainly interested in what you do." Chervaz moved a hand towards a panel on his desk.
"Oh I do hate the way my voice sounds on a recording, Mr Chervaz, don't you?"
His hand stopped and instead reached for a pen.
"I get used to mine," he said.
"So what do you think your readers want to hear about?" she asked. "Exciting space battles? Daring escapes?" Her smile indulged and patronised him and his readers.
"Is it true you gave away a lot of free goods last night?"
The smile flickered, just a little. "I had some goods I couldn't use. Why not give them to those in need?"
"Where were the goods obtained?" His heart hammered in his ears as his hand skipped across his notepad. He'd revived another old idea he'd found in a book and then tracked down the instructions for. Shorthand.
"Salvage." That was all he would get, he could see that.
"Some of the businesses on the station could suffer because you are giving away free goods that people would otherwise have bought from them."
"I just wanted to help people," Bara said, sitting back and crossing her legs. The lizard skin coat Maiga had told him about slid off her legs as she moved and Chervaz had to suppress a shiver. "I am worried you see, Mr Chervaz, about the situation of the humans on this station. The daily humiliations they suffer. We are proud people, warriors. It seems that even without killing us the aliens want to destroy that."
"I'm think that may be going too far. I mean, the Big Four alliance perhaps, but--"
"Alliance!" She laughed. "I can tell you that the so-called alliance is well on its way to breaking down again. They will soon be fighting each other in bloody and protracted wars that will make them long for the old days when we fought their wars for them. Quickly, efficiently, decisively."
Chervaz made a mental note to have Jaff install a button in the floor, so he could start recordings with his foot, unseen. Video preferably. Not getting this recorded was a crime. He could record her words in shorthand, but not the tone, the intensity behind them, the flush of her cheeks.
"It saddens me so much," she went on. "To see proud people reduced to menial jobs. Casual labour, dock work, factory work, maintenance."
"All honest work." Chervaz bit his lip at the tone, the snap in his voice. "And the Klaff have good labour protection laws and strict rules on working conditions and pay." She didn't seem to hear him though. Making a speech, he thought. Not taking questions at this time.
"I'm sure any abuses will be reported in your newspaper. I mean if anyone came to you to complain, if they felt they were being exploited."
"Of course, I'd investigate any such allegations thoroughly." Investigative journalist, he thought. Now that was a title to be proud of.
Bara glanced around the office and looked at the small stack of paper in the corner. "You seem to be running low on some supplies. Perhaps I could help you with a donation?"
"I don't take donations." The words came out fast.
"You take advertising though." She held up the Chronicle, showing the back page.
"Yes. People pay me and in return I include their advertisement."
"Ah." She nodded. "You think I'd want something in return for my donation. Some kind of… advertising."
"I simply said I don't take donations."
"I quite understand." She stood up. "Well, I should b
e going."
Damn, not yet, so much more to ask.
"Captain." He rose too. "I do have some other questions. I was interested in what happened to the previous captain of the Trebuchet." She froze. A strand of hair fell into her suddenly pale face.
"The captain died. In the fighting." Her voice was near to a whisper, yet it made him shrink back. Ah. We aren't going there. Not a healthy place. She brightened suddenly, switched the smile back on and held out her hand. Chervaz shook it.
"Thank you for showing me your operation, Mr Chervaz, very interesting. I hope we'll meet again soon."
"My door is always open."
But he started to wonder if perhaps he would invest in some extra sturdy locks.
~o~
Why did he have to ask about the captain? Why? She'd managed to keep that out of her mind for days now. And then he just smashed through the crust, to let it all bubble back up.
The dinner, in Dav's back room relaxed her though. Good food and good company. And how good to see the men laughing and enjoying some downtime. It helped, took her mind off it for a while. Took it away from that room. That night.
He shouldn't have let them take the guns. They'd all agreed.
"Spineless bastard."
Not her words. Alex. She didn't realise until that moment that Alex truly hated the captain. She didn't realise until that moment that she hated the captain. He let them rip out the ship's teeth. Might as well rip out her heart. And Bara's heart with it.
She kept a smile on during dinner, when they glanced at her for her approval of their jokes and banter. She watched Dav looking for that approval too, for the food and service. His kitchen must be hot, she thought, the man sweated so much all evening. The dinner met with her approval and earned him her smile.
But later, back on the ship, it became more difficult not to think about it. So close to it. And yet too afraid even to go near that room. Too afraid to walk that section, past the doors scarred with welds.
Why did he have to ask? They'd had such a nice talk, her and the newspaper man. He seemed a bit of a nervous sort, but a nice man. Quite handsome too. She smiled. He'd be eating out of her hand soon enough.
She strode into the shuttle bay. Morning--if that meant anything. It was traditional to follow a twenty four hour cycle on a ship and make the lighting dimmer during the ‘night'. Now the lights stayed bright all day and all night. Bara respected tradition of course. But she couldn't stand the night any more. She'd abolished it.
In the shuttle bay, six marines waited, duffle bags lying at their feet. A couple of crewmen prepped a shuttle and pilot stood by to ferry the marines over to Hollow Jimmy. The marines came to attention when she walked in.
"Good morning, men."
"Good morning, Captain," said the corporal, newly promoted to take charge of this assignment. All six saluted.
"At ease," she ordered. "I just wanted to give you some final instructions before you go." They'd had a briefing, on their assignment to protect Major Jax's brothel. But she had some parting words for them. "You have the details of the accommodation?"
"Yes, ma'am," the corporal said.
"Good. I know, it's less pleasant than what you're used to here, but I want you to make the best of it. Remember you are still soldiers. Set a good example to those around you. Keep your living area as if you expect me to drop in and inspect it at any moment." She smiled. "Perhaps I will." They laughed and she permitted that and then went on. "I could have rented you better quarters, but it's important to me that you live with the ordinary people, the newcomers especially. You are my eyes and ears on the station."
"We understand, Captain," the Corporal said.
"Good. One more thing. Remember, you represent me and the Trebuchet on that station. Behave accordingly. Don't harass Major Jax's girls, because she will report that to me when I return. Don't get drunk. Keep your uniforms clean and in good repair and always wear them when working. I'll be back in about a week to will check on your progress. Corporal, feel free to make adjustments to the shifts. You have latitude in this. Respond to conditions in the field and accommodate Major Jax's requirements."
"Yes ma'am."
She softened her tone, looking along the line at each man. "I know I can rely on all of you to make me proud, as you have so often before." She paused, letting that sink in, saw their chest swell, their backs straighten. Words had so much power. Did the newspaper man fully understand that?
Don't think of him, and his question. The captain died in the fighting. It says so right in the ship's log.
A crewman reported the shuttle was ready and the pilot aboard, completing the final pre-flight check.
"Proceed at your discretion, Corporal."
A final salute, and then Bara and the engineering crew cleared the bay, while the marines embarked. Bara stayed to watch the shuttle depart. The space doors opened to let it exit the bay into the crowded space around Hollow Jimmy. An ugly lump the station might be, but she looked at it with hungry eyes.
It held so much potential.
She opened a comms channel to the bridge.
"Begin preparations for departure. I want to leave as soon as the shuttle returns."
~o~
"I'm just saying," Maiga said, as they walked into Wixa's quarters. "That I'd prefer it if you told me before you went ahead and started trading the goods we've bought before we even get them back here."
"I got us a good deal, didn't I? And you'd gone to bed. I didn't want to wake you up."
Maiga dumped the bags and coats she was carrying and Wixa set down a large potted plant on a table.
"That's very considerate of you. But it was rather a surprise to wake up and find the hold full of sacks of coffee, when before I went to sleep it was full of cases of frozen beef."
"Okay, okay," Wixa said, going into the kitchen and taking a couple of coffee cups from their hooks. "I promise next time I'll consult you before I swap our cow for some beans." She grinned at Maiga's eye rolling response to this. "Come on and sit down while I make us a brew."
Maiga shrugged and flopped onto the sofa with a sigh. She wanted to stretch out on it. So tired. The bunks on the ship were okay for a night or two, but after a few days you started missing your own bed.
A scratching sound and then a small creak made her look up at the wall. She stared, as Glyph appeared, pushing through a hinged air vent, dropping onto a cabinet, and then climbed down, until it walked across the kitchen counter to Wixa.
"Oh, hello, you dirty stop out," Wixa said. Dirty was the word, dust and cobwebs clung to its fur. Wixa sighed and found a towel, wrapped the cat in it and rubbed the dirt of the vents off its fur. "What have you been doing?" She lifted Glyph up and looked into the cat's face. "What have you been up too, eh?" Her own face looked quite serious for a moment, Maiga thought, almost as if she expected an answer. Crazy cat owners. Real cats or fake ones, the owners were all as mad as each other.
"Why would he go out on his own?" Maiga asked. She'd learnt to say ‘he', ‘his' and ‘him', because Wixa looked quite offended when she said ‘it'.
"Exploring I suppose." Wixa brought Glyph over to a chair and found the lead to charge his battery.
"But why would he want to explore? It's not as if he's actually curious. Not really."
"Oh don't start all that up again," Wixa said, doing some eye rolling in her turn. "By the way, aren't you going to give Chervaz a call?"
"We've only been back two minutes."
"No sense in wasting time. Nice guy like that, who knows when you might find yourself with a rival."
"Oh, for… Okay, I'll call him when I get back to my quarters. You happy?"
"Ecstatic." She handed a coffee cup to Maiga and sat down on a sofa opposite.
"How does Glyph get out?" Maiga said. She looked up at the air vent. It swung into the room, so it could push that from the other side, but couldn't lift it from this side. Even if its artificial brain could work that out, it couldn't actually manage to
open it with paws.
"I'm not sure. Sometimes he gets out and I can't think how. I suspect he makes a remote connection with the computer systems to open the door."
"So what you're saying is, he opens the door with his mind."
"Yeah." Wixa giggled. "Something like that. I'll have to ask Jaff. He probably knows."
They sat with their coffee, just enjoying the quiet for a while. Not too much coffee, Maiga warned herself. Back home and right to bed after this. Check out in the morning what's been going on around here.
"Okay," Maiga said, glancing at her watch after a while. "I'd better go. I'll see you tomorrow and we'll look at the next job." They both stood up. Wixa picked the alien pot plant off the table.
"Don't forget your plant."
"Mine?"
"I bought it for you. I told you, remember?" Wixa said. She shook her head. "I swear, sometimes I think you don't listen to a word I say,"
"Can't imagine why you'd think that." Maiga looked at the plant, which consisted of a spiny bulbous gourd, with glossy purple things flopping from the top. She couldn't decide if they were leaves or petals, or tentacles. "If this thing explodes out with poisonous spores and kills me in the night I will come back and haunt you."
"Fair enough." Wixa handed over the plant. It was annoyingly heavy.
"How often do I water it?"
"Don't water it! Are you crazy?"
"Because water is what releases the poisonous spores?"
Wixa shook her head, grinning. "You are developing a sense of humour. I'm obviously a good influence on you. Just dig some kitchen scraps into the soil in the pot; you know peelings, even coffee grounds. That will do it."
"This thing is going to give me more trouble than Glyph gives you, isn't it?"
"Probably." Wixa admitted. "But when it blooms, you'll be glad I gave it to you, I promise."
"And when will that be?"
"Within five years, the dealer promised."
"Five years… Right… That soon, eh?" She felt as if she wanted to giggle. Must be even more tired than she thought.
"Well goodnight then. Thanks for the, um, lovely gift."
Somehow she managed to juggle her bag and coat and the plant and headed for the door. Damn, no hands free to press the panel to open it.
"Get the door for me," she called back to Wixa, who had sat down with a portable console, no doubt to log on to the station network and see what she'd missed while they were gone. Wixa quickly opened the door remotely from the console.
