“But how will we get off the train?” Cheeky asked. “When it reaches the platform, it won’t take too long for Station Security to realize that we were on the train along with these three.”
As Cheeky spoke, Sera touched each of the three men on the neck. It looked like she was ensuring that they were still alive, but with someone like Sera, it was impossible to know for sure.
As Helen spoke, the maglev train car’s doors opened, and Sera calmly leapt off the train and onto the tracks.
“C’mon, Cheeky,” Sera called up. “Next train is just a minute behind this one.”
Cheeky took a deep breath and jumped out of the train, noting that their car was all alone; the rest of the train was long gone. Once they were clear, the doors closed, and the car soundlessly drifted off down the track.
Over the next fifteen minutes, Sera led Cheeky through a series of maintenance tunnels that she had no idea even existed, until they came out onto the outer dock’s long arch, only thirty meters from Sabrina’s berth.
The ship’s main hatch was open, and a dark-haired man leaned against the bulkhead at the entrance. It was hard to tell from this distance, but his eyes appeared closed and his posture was the very picture of calm repose.
Sera strode confidently across the docks, appearing as though she hadn’t a care in the world. Cheeky tried to emulate the captain, knowing from the vids that the best way to avoid being caught was to not look guilty.
When they reached the man, he cracked an eye, and spoke in what Cheeky could only describe as a bass-y whisper.
“Have fun out there?”
Sera smiled and tossed her head, causing her hair to fan out around her. “Always, Flaherty. Picked up our new pilot, too.”
“See that,” Flaherty replied as Sera walked past him.
Cheeky offered her hand. “Hi, I’m Cheeky.”
Flaherty’s hand slipped into hers, and he gave one firm shake. “That a name or an attribute?”
“Both,” Cheeky grinned.
The man had no reaction to her smile. In one fluid movement, he pulled away from the bulkhead and began following Sera into the ship. The action reminded Cheeky of a snake uncoiling before it began to pursue its prey.
She followed behind with the distinct feeling that Flaherty was one of the most dangerous individuals she had ever met.
“C’mon, Cheeky. I’ll show you to your quarters, and then to the bridge. Helen has already filed the departure paperwork, and we’re twenty minutes from pulling away.”
As they walked through the ship, it was obvious to Cheeky that it had indeed once been a pleasure yacht—and a large one, at that. The ship was just over two-hundred meters from stem to stern, but with a six-meter overhead on the main deck, it could haul more cargo than one would expect at first glance.
Flaherty disappeared down a side passage, and Sera took a ladder up to what she called the ‘crew deck’, which turned out to be largely unchanged from when the ship had been a yacht. When Cheeky saw the size of her quarters—complete with her own personal san and water shower—she was speechless with joy.
“Benefits of being a smuggler,” Sera winked. “We don’t have to be all utilitarian all the time.”
Cheeky didn’t care if Captain Sera was a hardcore badass who could take down the likes of Chur and the station’s security like they were children; she was getting a hug.
“Thank you!” she exclaimed, and wrapped her arms around Sera. “You have no idea what this means to me. I won’t let you down.”
Sera chuckled and returned the embrace. “Cheeky, I know you’re going to fit in well here. Sabrina needs someone like you, and I can already tell that you’re going to be the heart of this ship.”
“I thought I was the heart of the ship,” a disembodied voice said through the ship’s address system.
Sera smiled and stepped back from Cheeky. “Cheeky, meet Sabrina. Sabrina, this is Cheeky, our new pilot.”
“Now she’s the heart and the pilot?” Sabrina asked. “What am I?”
Cheeky smiled nervously. “Hi, Sabrina. I really don’t want to take anything from you; I’m just here to help.”
“Take it easy, Sabs,” Sera said. “We’ve been over this. You know why we need another pilot. Besides. I have a suspicion that you and Cheeky are kindred spirits.”
“See?” Sera said. “Fitting right in. Let me show you the bridge.”
Five minutes later, Cheeky was settled into the pilot’s seat. It was at the front of the bridge, set half a meter lower than the rest of the deck so as not to obscure the view of the large holodisplay at the fore. While the space was small, the equipment was in good condition; Cheeky Linked seamlessly with the ship’s flight control systems.
“So, where are we going, Captain?” Cheeky asked.
Stars, it feels good to ask that once more.
“Well,” Sera mused from her command chair. “I have half a mind to find your old captain, Henshaw, and pay him a visit.”
Cheeky twisted in her chair. “What? Seriously? Why would you do that?”
“Well, you said he has your stuff, right? Besides, I know who he works for. I bet he’s in Gedri right now, or that someone there will know where he is.”
“We went through Gedri a few times while I was on the Endless Sea,” Cheeky replied. “That’s forty light years from here, though.”
Sera leaned back in her chair and smiled. “Perfect. We’ll have time to get to know one another. I think we’ll make a few stops along the way, too. We still need a few more crew on this ship.”
“It’s only you and Flaherty on a ship this size?” Cheeky asked, wondering if there was anything romantic between the two. She hadn’t gotten that impression earlier.
“Well, not anymore,” Sera said with a wink.
Cheeky turned back toward her console with a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. She found herself liking Sera a lot. The woman was hiding things, to be sure, but somehow she still seemed genuine—like she could be trusted.
Who knows…maybe this can be a real home?
THE END
— — —
Want to read more by M. D. Cooper?
Want to read more about Cheeky’s adventures on Sabrina? Dive into Destiny Lost, and see how a small ship gets caught up in a huge adventure.
About the Author
Malorie Cooper likes to think of herself as a dreamer and a wanderer, yet her feet are firmly grounded in reality.
A twenty-year software development veteran, Malorie eventually climbed the ladder to the position of software architect and CTO, where she gained a wealth of experience managing complex systems and large groups of people.
Her experiences there translated well into the realm of science fiction, and when her novels took off, she was primed and ready to make the jump into a career as a full-time author.
A ‘maker’ from an early age, Malorie loves to craft things, from furniture, to cosplay costumes, to a well-spun tale, she can’t help but to create new things every day.
A rare extrovert writer, she loves to hang out with readers, and people in general. If you meet her
at a convention, she just might be rocking a catsuit, cosplaying one of her own characters, or maybe her latest favorite from Overwatch!
She shares her home with a brilliant young girl, her wonderful wife (who also writes), a cat that chirps at birds, a never-ending list of things she would like to build, and ideas…
Find out what’s coming next at www.aeon14.com!
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MAKING OF A RENEGADE
by Oscar Andrews
Destined to be one of the Federation's top covert negotiators, Captain Jack Klingerman has a history that has remained codeword classified.
When his father is taken by the Federation, Jack's life is set on a collision course with danger and betrayal: his very physiology being the reason he becomes coveted for military research.
Military research that is set to kill him...
Jack, still a child and under the care of a mother whose alliance lies with the authoritative government and her military employer, has to find a way to escape.
Before he is killed.
He just needs to survive long enough to become the renegade agent who would go on to save untold civilizations from war, and prove to be the Federation’s biggest accomplishment — and greatest mistake.
Making of a Renegade (this story) is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
This story Copyright © 2019 Oscar Andrews
Oscar Andrews supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this story without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the story (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
First US edition, 2019
Version 1.01.01
Empire Rising (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are copyright © 2019 by Oscar Andrews.
Chapter One
In the living room of a comfortable but ordinary house on the planet T3, a bright-eyed and curious youngster stared in wonder at the known galaxy. Thousands of twinkling stars and misty nebulae hovered in the space in front of him — a holographic map. Out of all those star systems, less than two dozen had been explored and colonized. The Federation was big, but it was nothing compared to the galaxy itself. He shuffled closer and found T3, the third planet in the Sol system and the original home of all humanity. It looked so small, it was hard to believe he really lived there.
Hypnotized, he reached out a finger, touched one of the stars on the map, and text popped up: New Atlantia, along with the date of settlement and other facts about the colony. The boy smiled, delighted to think that there were other planets out there with people living on them.
Will I ever see those distant worlds? he wondered wistfully.
It wasn’t impossible. Both his parents worked for the Federation, and if he did well in school, he could do the same. He could go out to the far-flung settlements himself, see what life was like on New Atlantia! And all the other systems.
Excitement welled in his chest, making it difficult to catch his breath.
It was a happy idea. A furious voice pulled him out of his half-formed fantasy. “JUST SHUT UP, DIANE!”
His father was yelling again. Jack’s heart sank, his excitement slowly turning to anxiety. He hated it when his parents fought. The map now forgotten, he focused his thoughts on how sturdy their house was. The safest house on the block. That’s what the real estate agent had told his mother. It felt good to be safe, even if the man had really been talking about radiation from the sky and not his father’s angry shouting.
He knew all about the radiation. His teacher had told them: the magnetic poles of the planet were about to flip, so it was sometimes dangerous to play outside. Daddy didn’t believe it, though. He dismissed it as a lie and that the real estate people just wanted them to pay more for special walls and a special roof. He was glad Mommy had won that fight because otherwise, they wouldn’t live in the safest house.
He didn’t understand why his father hadn’t wanted them to buy the safest house in the first place. He was confused by half the things his father said or did. It just seemed like he was always mad.
Jack listened carefully to what was happening. His father was quieter now, but still just as angry. “Why did you interrupt me? WHY? Can’t you see that I’m working?”
His mother’s reply was calm and cool, like almost everything about her. “I didn’t see that at first, but as soon as I realized it, I stopped talking. Really, Paul. There’s no reason for you to act this way.”
“No reason for me to act this way? YOU’RE TALKING RIGHT NOW!”
Jack heard a beep, and a voice cut in over his parent’s argument.
“Everything okay there, Klingerman? We need your help!”
It was his father’s work, calling him on the holo system. When he answered the call, his voice was much calmer, although still icy. “Everything’s fine. What’s the current status?”
“The whole network’s down, it’s the biggest clusterfuck we’ve ever seen. The miners are drifting. If we don’t get them some guidance within the next few minutes, at least one of those ships is going to hit an asteroid.”
His father replied, “They could just as easily hit each other. Shit. Okay, send me everything.”
Jack didn’t understand everything they talked about, but he knew it was something to do with asteroid miners. He placed two fingers on the Sol System on his holo map and spread them apart to zoom in. The asteroid belt between T4 and T5 showed up as dust, reflecting faintly in the light from Sol. Somewhere in that dust cloud, people were in danger.
Daddy was saving them. Or at least trying to save them.
That was a good kind of job, to save people who were in danger. When he was a grown up, he wanted to have a job like Daddy’s. He listened in as his father worked.
Five holograms popped up at once — charts, schematics, and lists of numbers. There were other voices on the call and no way for Jack to tell one from another.
“Did you get it all, Klingerman?”
“I got it. Miller, figure out the security situation. It could be an attack, and I don’t want us back online till I know for sure. Williams, check the status of the backup versions. We should have automatically reverted to the most recent one and I don’t know why we haven't. Biskarret, I need you on the codes. I’ll look over the schematics.”
The man who answered sounded scared and irritated. “Check the codes, Klingerman? What the hell are you on about?”
His father was irritated, too. “What am I on about? What are you on about, you jumped-up half-wit? Narrow them down! Narrow down the list of codes to the most likely possibilities!”
“Do you have any idea how many of them there are? We don’t have any time for that!”
“Listen to me carefully, Biskarret.” His father’s voice was calm, but it was the calm of someone who was trying not to yell. This kind of calm scared Jack more than actual yelling. “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll come into work myself for the sole purpose of punching all your goddamn teeth out. Do you understand me? People are going to die if we don’t get back online!”
Biskarret was suddenly silent. Although Jack was frightened, he was also impressed. His Daddy was saving people, telling all sorts of people what to do, and they were doing it.
Grown-up life was usually boring, but this situation wasn’t boring at all. People were talking excitedly and all at once, and Daddy was reading four or five holo screens at the same time. He was s
tudying a schematic and giving people instructions. People had stopped calling him Klingerman and started calling him “sir.” They were saying things like “Yes, sir,” and, “What should I do next, sir?”
He looks very busy, Jack observed, getting up from his map. I’m going to ask if he needs help. His Mommy caught him as he went by and clamped her hand down over his mouth. She whispered urgently in his ear, “Don’t interrupt Daddy! Daddy’s very busy!”
Now that he was closer, he could see the holograms — people sitting at desks, staring nervously at their screens or typing something very fast.
“Come on Biskarret, where are you?” his father demanded, “You’ve got the degree, don’t tell me you were just padding your resume! I need those codes!”
Another person replied, not Biskarret but a woman. “The Atlantic is now on a collision course with XT456. Repeat, the Atlantic…”
Biskarret finally answered, “I’ve got the six most likely codes. Stand by to receive.”
“Standing by,” confirmed Daddy, who seemed to have lost his interest in saying mean things to Biskarret.
“It could be any of the following: YBG-567, YBG-568, QSR-934, QSP-5649…”
Daddy yelled again, although this time he didn’t sound angry. “That’s the one! QSP-5649 will allow us to manually reset! Biskarret, you’re a lifesaver! Transmitting simultaneously to all channels.”
There were cheers from some of the holograms, followed by an intense silence. Jack’s mother still had one hand pressed tightly over his mouth while the other hand held him back from running to his father. He wiggled and squirmed, but he couldn’t escape her.
The woman cut in again. “Collision between the Atlantic and XT456 in sixty seconds. Fifty-nine… fifty-eight…”
Daddy’s fingers gripped the chair so hard Jack worried he might break one of the arms off. His eyes looked wild, and he just kept staring at the holo screens. His wife and child could just as easily not have been there at all, because he took no notice of them.
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