by A. B. Keuser
“You understand what actually happened now?” he asked as he moved to the straps.
She nodded. “I can’t believe I shot you… I’m just happy no one died because I was being an idiot.”
“What I can’t believe is that Dani shot Lyz. You must mean something real special to her. I mean. I figured that already… but Lyz, well, I never expected to see the day one of them turned on the other.”
“I was the one who turned on her. What I said…” Lyz said quietly as Si loosened the straps and she rubbed her wrists. “I don’t know how she’ll ever forgive me for that.”
“I think right now she’s having a harder time forgiving herself for shooting you, flak jacket or no.”
“She internalizes. Thinks things are always her fault….” Lyz closed her eyes.
“She dosed herself again.”
That pulled Lyz’s attention back to him, her fist balled and she jerked against the restraint. “I could hit her.”
“Don’t. If she hadn’t we might be space debris right now.” He ran down the full specifics of the attack for them and let them know they were out of the woods.
“I think I’m going to have to get some lessons from you if I ever really want to handle this ship like a pro.” Willy said.
“There will be time for that.”
Moving to the other side of the room, he brought Mariposa out of her sedative haze, waiting until she was fully aware before he brought Quince back. Mari sat on the edge of her bed and Si was pretty sure that was the only reason she didn’t go for his throat.
Her burns had healed—thanks to Obie’s facilities, but he had no doubt they would be tender for a long while yet.
“When we land, I’m letting you off the ship. I can’t guarantee your safety and I’m not going to keep you here so that Obie can kill you.”
They watched him with suspicion.
“I’ll believe that when my boots touch solid ground.” Quince took Mari’s hand and pulled her away from Si, as if he would hurt her.
He looked back at them, “The same safety protocols are on this door. I’m locking you in for safekeeping. Everything you’ll need is in here, and if you need Dani or I, just have Obie fetch us.”
“Osiris….” Lyz stopped him. “Take care of her. She and Willy are the only family I have left, and we’ve both seen what happens if I think one of them are threatened.”
He decided to not take that as a threat in its own right, and nodded. “See that Mopeña recovers swiftly. I don’t expect you to take a vacation.”
Willy smiled widely as Si left. Waiting for the medbay hatch to seal behind him, he let out a long sigh and walked to the lift. Dealing with an attack on the ship was one thing. He was good at that… he was trained for that. What he was about to face… he didn’t think anyone could be trained for.
His cabin door opened to a room in a state of disarray, he couldn’t tell if Yella had been looking for something, or had simply needed to destroy something.
He heard the shower running and stepped tentatively through the lav door. Curled up, hugging her knees against her chest, Yella rocked back and forth on the metal floor, her eyes closed against the water sluicing down her.
“I think it would be easier on a ship this size… with your original crew. You couldn’t have known them all… maybe you knew what face went with what name, but you couldn’t have known them.”
Sighing, he sat on the floor and leaned back against the cold metal cabinets.
“You’re right. I didn’t know them. Save for a handful… but it’s not easier. When people put their lives in your hands failing them is always painful. I didn’t need to know which ones were great at hoverball. I didn’t need to know which ones were trying to hide a relationship—though I could usually tell on that score. I didn’t need to know who was on this ship for fame and glory, who was here for revenge, or even who was here to get a paycheck to feed their family… every loss is etched into my memory.
“I could tell you all their names… and yes, that would give me a face. Knowing them makes it harder, but losing them is just as hard when you’ve already accepted that people die in wars. I still feel a pang when I look at Kiori. Now that I know I failed her before I even met her. Her brother is one of the many ghosts that haunt me.”
“And today… you and Lyz almost turned into ghosts to haunt me.”
“But we didn’t.” Si pressed his lips together to keep from scowling at her.
“And if she hadn’t been wearing that jacket, she’d be dead… and if I’d fired a second later, so would you.”
“That’s a lot of ifs that didn’t happen. Lyz is worried about you, but she’s got to take care of Willy.”
“And you’re worried about me, too.”
“It’s a perpetual state for me. Has been for a long time.” He ran a hand down her cheek. “I know you don’t want to feel, but you have to. Dosing yourself isn’t going to help anyone.”
“I know. Obie gave me a light dose, I can already feel it burning out of my system.” She held up her hand and he saw the tremors she couldn’t control.
Wrapping his hands around hers, he looked her in the eyes. “Yella, I’m never going to understand what happened to you and Lyz. But I will do everything I can to make sure you don’t have to suffer through any more.”
“Unless the Mandalls get to you first.”
“They’ll have a hard time killing me,” Si said.
“But they will try and they will put all their resources into it.”
“You’re forgetting something. The Mandalls already think I’m dead. They won’t be expecting me.”
“Everyone thinks you’re dead,” Yella said.
“But it’s not going to come back to bite everyone in the ass. They were the ones who took credit for my death, the Pääom will need a scapegoat.” He shut off the water and ran his hands up through her wet hair, kissing her lightly on the forehead.
“They’ll find out, and soon. Once we land on Kosz, you’re going to be recognized. I know how the Pääom works, they’ll try to convince people you’re a clone, not that anyone has that tech, or they’ll say you were a coward who froze yourself to save your own life.”
“I know what they’ll say,” he said, standing her up and toweling her off. “And that’s fine. I’m sure the Abolitionists will try to spin it another way… or maybe not. Maybe I’ll have to start my own brand of resistance. It will be tough, but you’re my ace in the hole.”
“Si, I can’t take down the Pääom on my own, that’s like telling a mouse it could tip me over.”
“You’re not alone in this anymore. Let me help you.” He saw the doubt in her eyes as they trailed to the bag on the floor. “Danielle, damnit. I love you. Let me shoulder part of this burden. I know people who can help us.”
“If they’re still alive… if they don’t want to sell you out even now.”
“After what the Pääom put them through…. they aren’t stupid enough to think they’ll get what was on offer. They can use the data in that tablet for what you want.”
“You’re asking me to start another war.”
“I’m asking you to help me find a way to save the next generations from redactions and terminations. You said before, this is bigger than you. Bigger than us. Think about everyone, everything you’ve lost. Now let’s do something to keep that from happening to anyone else.”
She nodded, her eyes searching his face before she closed them, sighing heavily and looking away. Her hands shook as she pulled the tablet from the bag.
“No one deserves what we went through.” She tapped in a few short commands and handed it to him. “This is how you make an empire crumble.”
He studied it. “That’s impossible.”
“It’s not. Between the camps, the war itself… and the raids, well, we were never told the real figures. Those in good standing had no reason to object… those who weren’t, and did object to the fractional numbers they gave us were slated for termination.�
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“Four billion people?”
“That’s the initial estimate,” She looked immeasurably sad as she nodded to the tablet. “Scroll down.”
“Holy mother…. sixty-two?”
“Sixty-two billion, four hundred and thirty-three million and change.” Danielle spoke the words reflexively. “I find it utterly tragic that I can’t remember the full number… as if after the first sixty-two billion they don’t matter as much.”
“They matter. They all matter. And we are going to make sure someone pays for this.” Si shook his head, and forcibly unclenched his fist. “The death toll isn’t the only thing in here that will hurt them.”
“Perhaps we’ll teach the rest of the galaxy why revenge is a bitter taste in our mouths.” She gave him a weak smile and turned to look out the viewport to the glowing stars beyond.
EIGHTEEN
Kosz was as bleak and desolate as she remembered. Stark concrete buildings rose up, blending into the dreary sky. The perpetually overcast sky was brighter than a clear day. Cloud cover merely diffused the light to the point that you wore sunglasses at all times… or you begged whatever god you clung to for mercy.
As she stepped out of the hatch, her boots scraping across the planet’s concrete husk, she pressed her shades further up her nose.
Dani helped Mari out of the hatch and caught the bag Quince threw at her. The force made her stumble backward.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, Cholla, but you can be sure the Mandalls will find out about it. And soon.”
“I didn’t want either of you to get hurt.” She turned to Mari and placed a bag of hard credits in her hand. “This should get you off planet. I wouldn’t want to stay here any longer than I had to, if I were you.”
The two women disappeared into the crowd without saying goodbye, and Dani looked out to the concrete with a scowl.
She’d been here once before and decided the trip was more than enough to keep her from ever returning. “Best laid plans…” she murmured under her breath.
“What’s that?” Si said as he stepped beside her and pulled the hatch closed.
“I just didn’t ever expect to be back here. This place tends to dredge up the worst in people.”
Si glanced around. “I can imagine why.”
She took another look at him. It was strange to see him in civvies, but wearing an Abolitionist uniform here—even where support was bound to be high—would undoubtedly get him shot, at the least, sooner than he was already likely to.
Plainclothes would not hide his height, nor his unfortunately identifiable face, not even the hooded sweater and dark lenses over his eyes could do that. They were better off than they would have been in the central planets. Kosz did not qualify for the Pääom facial recognition scanners.
“I’m amazed Obie is letting us get off. She’s such a protective mother hen.” Dani let Osiris lead the way. She’d been here more recently, but the city’s layout hadn’t changed since before she born. When it came to navigating the streets, they were on a level playing field.
“It isn’t strategically sound to meet with them on the ship. They could try to take her and then she’d kill them and we’d be completely on our own. Besides, no need to draw attention to Obie. I’ve been told where we’re meeting shouldn’t cause a stir. From the sound of it, I’d guess it’s a bar.”
“You’re definitely going to be noticed there.” She smiled and returned the wave of an old woman she’d met the last time she was here—the fruit stand still stood in the same spot. “A giant of a man and Cholla’s daughter walk into a bar. It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. And to be honest, the punch line sounds like death. Do they know you’re the one coming to them?”
“Obie strategically hid her ship designation and placed the transmit under Juan Conejo and with her name worn off from so long in the scrap yard, I don’t think anyone outside the Abolitionists will recognize her.”
“Clever.” She took a step forward and was wrenched back.
Osiris pulled her into the fruit stall quickly, hiding them both behind the draped cloth its owner used for shade and separation from the next stall.
“What happened?”
“Recognize anyone?” Si said, nodding past the curtain to where a Pääom official made his way through the crowd away from them. His rail thin physique and his gait, a slight limp on the left and a long stride with his right. He’d always reminded her of a worm.
“Vôner.” Yes, Official. Bile rose in her throat as her muscles tensed.
“And he has some friends.” Si nodded to the woman, placed a stack of credits in her hand and pulled Dani back out into the path.
“We’re lucky she didn’t cause a stir,” Dani said as she followed close behind him.
“She wouldn’t have. She’s part of the Pääom’s opposition—or she was when she was younger.”
“You knew her?”
“Not as well as I should have.” He pushed his way through the crowds and down a back alley. “I didn’t care too much for the actual political part of the war. I still don’t. I’m a strategist and while that translates well into politics… I’ve never had the stomach for it.”
“Of course not, politics can involve selling out your best assets for the hope of a positive return.”
“Glad we see eye to eye on that part,” Osiris said.
Ducking inside a back door, Osiris pulled her into the most crowded bar she’d ever seen in daylight hours. It stank of sweat and feet, and she did her best not to gag. They slipped through the gathered patrons—all eyes fixed on the Pääoma United game. The Roskakori Rejects were getting their collective asses handed to them, as was to be expected. Though no one in the bar wanted to give up the hope they could win.
“It’s a little poetic, isn’t it?” Dani asked as Si ushered her through a back door into an enclosed hallway. “That they watch a sporting event so symbolic of the status quo.”
“Art imitates life.”
Dani grimaced as she caught sight of a dart board with Si’s picture taped over the bullseye. “And I thought it was the other way around.”
“It’s both, actually.” Mr. Blue’s gun lowered to her temple, “It’s been a long while, Danielle. The Mandall boys finally chewed you up and spat you out, did they? Or did you come to your senses and run like we told you in the first place?” The portly man was grayer than she remembered, but then, not everyone had been in cryo.
“Mr. Blue, I recall meeting on friendlier terms last time, but then, I did refuse your… offers.”
“What’s with the new boyfriend? It’s a rather convincing face job he’s had done… but he’s the wrong age, dear heart.” Her eyes pulled to Sergeant Stapleton… probably not a sergeant anymore, given the state of things and the man standing silently next to him: Jordan Krace – the man with two first names. She opened her mouth to reply, but Si beat her to it.
“Not if I’ve been in a cryo tube for the last fifteen years.”
“That voice. . . holy mother of God. Is that really you, Osiris?” Jordan Krace stared at him incredulously, taking a step forward before catching himself.
Mr. Blue stepped back without lowering his gun. “He’s had a voice modulator done… probably from old sound clips.”
“What doc in their right mind would allow for that?” Stapleton snorted. “If it was true, they’d find proof and send you straight to the bowels of Hell.”
“You mean they’d send him here?” Jordan Krace had always had a morbid sense of humor—from what her father had told her.
Si laughed and Dani couldn’t tell if the sound was meant for Jordan Krace, or his following words. “This is what you’ve devolved to? Three old men in a back world bar, talking about what could have been over cigars and a bottle of goat piss?”
“To be fair, Miss Cholla did not divulge the…. gravity of what she was bringing to us.”
Jordan Krace nodded his agreement and turned to her with an expression that reminded her of
her grandfather. “You were smart about that too, dear. Would have brought almighty Hell down on us if you’d said he was alive and the message was intercepted.”
“I didn’t send you any message.”
Three faces went slack as they shifted to her. “Then how—”
“Oath Breaker did.”
“The ship is still intact?” Mr. Blue brightened so much, Dani considered putting her shades back on.
“She’s the reason I’m here… in my present youthful state.” Si moved to Dani’s side as he spoke.
She didn’t know why, but it helped things were going too smoothly. She’d expected it to take them an hour to convince them Si wasn’t a hoax, but the genuine article. Biting the inside of her cheek she tried not to laugh as she realized she was calculating their chances against three decrepit old men. Sure they were armed… but she’d dealt with armed attackers half their age.
“I told you we gave that damned AI too much leeway in her programming.” Stapleton was writing something quickly on a scrap of paper.
“Well, in her eyes, it was an easy choice… shoving Si in the meat locker and making herself disappear.”
“Especially when you were going to hand us both over like unwanted orphans.” Si didn’t miss his cue.
She’d spent the better half of her adult life putting down those who claimed he’d cut and run. It was only right he backed her up now.
Mr. Blue flinched at the accusation. “That wasn’t us, that was Spineless Heinrich. He took on that venture all on his own. It’s why he’s among their ranks and we’re all strapped to this godforsaken rock.”
“That’s precisely why I’m here.”
“You’re joking.” Stapleton looked at him as though he’d seen a second ghost. “The war is over. We lost.”
Jordan Krace leaned forward, studying his face. “The war is not over, the Pääom is still laying planets like this one to rest on the sacrificial altar of their so-called progress.”
He was on board, it seemed. At least he saw the merits of starting the second act of this war.
Mr. Blue sat heavily in the chair, a posture Dani recognized as him settling in for an argument. “War is a young man’s enterprise. We do not have the organization to take them down.”
