An Indecent Proposal

by Jaleta Clegg

  "Then shut up and find something else to do," Clark said.

  "We've got less than an hour before we downshift," Jasyn said.

  "I am very well aware of that," Clark said. Something clanked out of sight under the controls. "Hand me a nut driver, the smaller one."

  Jasyn leaned down and fished the driver he wanted out of the scattered pile of tools near his feet. She put it in the greasy hand that was held out for it.

  "Adaba!" Louie declared from his cage behind the cockpit.

  "Does anyone have any idea what that means?" Twyla asked. She leaned over the cage and made faces at Louie. He giggled.

  "At least someone is happy about this," Beryn muttered.

  "We offered to let you off on Kyrie," Jasyn said.

  "And miss out on all the fun? Never."

  "Then shut up and go play cards or something."

  "Ginni and Twyla cheat," Beryn said.

  "He doesn't have anything left worth playing for anyway," Ginni added. "So tell me again why this is so hard to do. Isn't it just replacing the chip?"

  Clark didn't answer. Jasyn swiveled her chair and explained to Ginni.

  "It isn't replacing the chip," she said. "It's making sure you don't screw up any of the anti-tampering guards built into the system. If they scan the ship and it doesn't check out right, they'll assume we're either pirates or flying a stolen ship. Either way, we're in trouble."

  "And we can't fly in as the Phoenix Rising because everyone knows who we are," Ginni said.

  "And we know someone doesn't like us." Darus leaned against the doorframe.

  "Probably because we're associated with Dace," Clark said. "And right now we could use her. I think that might do it." He squirmed back out from under the controls. "Run the com check for me, Jasyn."

  Jasyn leaned forward and pushed three buttons. The ship's com beeped. "We now register as the MaySue Marie, out of Hemmiston. I hope you didn't pay much for the chip."

  "It isn't any good?"

  "No," Jasyn said, pulling a face. "The chip checks out fine, within the weight and cargo classifications of our ship. It's just the name. MaySue Marie? At least it isn't Twinkle."

  "Twinkle?" Clark asked as he leaned over the computer keypad. He typed rapidly for a long moment. "Good. I don't think I screwed anything up. We should check out as legitimate." He picked up tools. "You've got me curious, Jasyn. Who would name a ship Twinkle?"

  "It's Dace's story, really," Jasyn said. "That's the ship she was flying when she and Jerimon came looking for me. According to them, the entire cabin space was about the size of our cockpit. It was a courier for Belliff, front for the Targon Syndicate."

  "She was working for the Targon Syndicate?" Darus asked.

  "She didn't know it," Jasyn said. "She and Jerimon were running from them, the Patrol and the Sessimoniss. It gets complicated."

  "That, my dear, is an understatement," Clark said.

  "Is she ever involved in anything that isn't illegal, dangerous, or complicated?" Ginni asked.

  No one bothered to answer.

  "We've got less than twenty minutes until we find out if the beacon works or not," Jasyn said.

  "Where are we landing this time?" Beryn asked.

  "Shangrila," Jasyn answered. "An exclusive planet reserved for those with enough money and breeding to be considered high society."

  "Shangrila suffers from a lack of water and arable land. I looked it up last night," Ginni admitted when they all turned to look at her.

  "Dace is there," Darus said. He flexed his hands.

  "This time we aren't leaving without her," Jasyn promised him.

  "If the beacon works and we don't end up in jail waiting for her to bail us out," Clark added.

  "Think positive," Twyla told her brother. "Remember the mystic energies the Gypsies told us us about?"

  "Don't mock it," Jasyn said. "Anything that might help."

  "You want help with those?" Darus asked Clark.

  Clark handed off tools to Darus. The two of them headed for the engine room.

  "Ten minutes," Jasyn called after them.

  "I'll take Louie," Ginni offered.

  "I'll take pilot, until Clark comes back," Twyla said. She slid into the pilot's seat.

  "I'll take the com," Beryn offered. He took the seat across from Jasyn. It was quiet in the cockpit for a long moment as they checked the equipment.

  "How's Paltronis doing?" Twyla asked Beryn.

  He shrugged. "I haven't heard from her for a while. Considering Lowell's in hiding, and she's probably with him, I'm not worried."

  "Maybe you should be," Jasyn said.

  "Cici can take care of herself."

  "If Lowell doesn't take care of her first."

  "She wants to quit the Patrol, but they aren't letting anyone quit. Would you offer her a job on the ship if she did?"

  "Doing what? Shooting people or just beating them up when they don't pay their bills?" Jasyn flipped switches on her controls. "She's welcome on board, Beryn, but she'll have to shift cargo. Or scrub the decks. Come to think of it, she can scrub the bathrooms. I wouldn't mind giving that chore up."

  "You make me and Ginni do it," Twyla said.

  "And you make me do it when I lose at cards," Beryn said. "Which means I've got bathroom duty for the next month."

  "I warned you not to bet on a double comet," Jasyn said.

  "It's because you women all cheat."

  "That's why you really want Paltronis on board," Twyla said with a grin. "You think she'll intimidate the rest of us into behaving."

  "She and Dace are the ones who taught me how to cheat," Jasyn said. She gave Beryn a brilliant smile. "I don't think you should count on her protecting you."

  Beryn leaned back with his own smile. "I don't think you should underestimate my charm and powers of persuasion."

  "Don't fool yourself, Beryn," Clark said as he joined them. "Paltronis just feels sorry for you."

  "That's what you think."

  The reentry alarm beeped. Clark traded seats with Twyla and shut it off. The ship shuddered as it slid back into normal space. The turbulence was heavy as they dropped speed. Several alarms went off. Lights on the controls flickered to warning yellows and reds.

  "Darus!" Clark shouted into his headset as he fought the controls.

  "Got it," Darus's voice squawked out of the com. "Too long of a jump. We're losing some pressure in the main valves. Pull back on the sublights."

  Twyla and Clark worked over the controls. The ship gave a last long shudder. The sublight engines whined down to a barely felt vibration. The lights flickered back to green.

  "We're low on fuel," Twyla announced. "We've got enough to make the planet, but not much more."

  "Then let's hope they have good facilities," Jasyn said.

  "I've got a beacon," Beryn said.

  "Engines are holding," Darus said over the com, "even that membrane we couldn't replace at Videria is holding."

  "We'll keep it as slow as we can," Clark said to Darus.

  "Shangrila Control," Beryn said into the long range com, "this is the MaySue Marie requesting permission to land."

  They waited tensely for an answer. The next few minutes would determine whether they spent time in prison or not. If the beacon was compromised, they didn't have the fuel to run.

  "MaySue Marie, this is Shangrila Control." The signal was thick with static. Shangrila's sun was an active one. The rest of the signal was lost in noise.

  "Shangrila Control, please repeat," Beryn said.

  "Cleared for landing," the voice said after another burst of static. "Bay four nine seven. Follow beacon reading six eight point three zero five. Please confirm."

  "Clearance confirmed," Beryn said. He repeated the numbers.

  "Affirmative."

  Beryn switched the com to standby.

  "I've got the beacon reading," Twyla said.

  "Watch the stabilizer ports," Darus said over the internal com.

  "Will do,"
Clark answered.

  Jasyn sat in her chair, watching information roll across her screen. Her stomach was in knots. Dace was down there, closer than she'd been in a long time. Finally, Jasyn would get answers. Finally, she would know the truth. Dace wouldn't hide that from her.

  "What are we doing when we get there?" Twyla asked as the planet loomed in the viewscreen. "How are we going to find Dace?"

  "Look for fires," Beryn said. He flinched away from Jasyn. "She's good at setting them."

  "We can't all go traipsing out to look for her," Clark said. "Give me fifteen minutes with the datanet. There's only one logical place she'd be."

  "With Vance," Jasyn said.

  "Garvin gave us everything he had," Clark said. "We at least know what names to search for. There's only half a dozen places she could be."

  "Don't say it, Beryn," Jasyn threatened.

  Beryn was wise enough to keep his mouth shut.

  They dropped through the atmosphere of the planet. Fire flared briefly across the viewscreen before fading to a blue sky. Puffy white clouds floated serenely around them.

  The surface of the planet was mostly barren, red rock and scrubby plants. The space port glittered, a modern anomaly in the landscape. The ocean, what there was of one, was just beyond, a sparkling expanse of deep blue water too salty to support much life.

  Clark let Twyla shut the ship down. He took his wife's place in front of the ship's computer and rapidly typed on the keypad. Images and text flowed across the screen in front of him.

  "They don't keep much out in the public files," he said.

  "What can I do?" Jasyn asked.

  "Deal with port authority," Twyla answered. "They're on their way."

  Jasyn looked up at the viewscreen. An official looking vehicle sped towards them. She hoped their deception was working.

  She opened the hatch. Fresh air blew into the ship. It smelled of overheated plascrete and oil, familiar smells at any spaceport. She leaned against the doorframe, watching the vehicle approach.

  It stopped just short of the boarding ramp. Two men emerged, one carrying a clipboard. They came up the ramp towards her.

  "You are the captain?" the man without the clipboard asked.

  She nodded.

  "Please state your business here." The other man held his clipboard out towards her.

  "We've got a full cargo hold," Jasyn answered. "Commissioned by Blackwater Holding." She took the clipboard and scrawled an illegible signature across it. "We need refueling services, the standard package."

  The man took his clipboard back. The other man eyed her disdainfully.

  "Your ship has low priority," he said.

  "We can pay your prices," Jasyn said. "After the cargo is delivered."

  "We'll verify your story with the company in question," the man said. The two of them turned back to their vehicle.

  Jasyn stayed where she was, in the open hatch, watching them drive away.

  "That was very suspicious of them," Beryn said behind her. "I suggest we get our hands on the latest news feeds and find out why."

  "You'll get more truth at a bar." She turned impatiently back into the ship. "I don't like it here. It feels wrong."

  "What if she isn't here?" Ginni asked.

  "She's here," Jasyn said. "She has to be."

  "So let's find her, grab her, and run," Beryn said.

  "We can't until we get more fuel," Jasyn replied.

  "Good thing our cargo is legitimate," Beryn answered.

  "It can't be that easy," Clark said.

  "What?" Jasyn demanded, all her attention focused on the cockpit now. She crossed the lounge quickly to lean on the back of Clark's chair.

  "I've got the address for Vance's mother, where Dace is supposedly staying until the wedding," he answered. "It's an hour's flight from here."

  "Print it," Jasyn ordered him.

  "Jasyn," he said, "We can't all go running in there. What are you going to do? Get out the blasters and kidnap her? We have to keep a low profile."

  "I know," she said sharply. "I just want to talk to her, to see if she's all right."

  "I can't find any indication of trouble in any of the files I've accessed," he answered. "She's staying with Vance's mother, and as far as I can tell, she's planning a wedding. Nothing more. Jasyn, maybe this was all some big misunderstanding."

  "I'm not leaving until I talk to her."

  "Then rent a flitter," Clark said. "Do you want me to go with you?"

  "I'll go," Darus offered.

  "We'll get the ship ready to leave," Clark said, accepting Darus' offer. "We may be running in a hurry."

  "It's going to cost us to bribe them enough to give us fuel," Beryn said.

  "Whatever it takes," Jasyn said. "I don't like this world."

  "It gives me the shivers," Ginni said quietly.

  "Then let's do what we came here to do," Beryn said.

  Clark handed Jasyn a com unit. "If I don't hear from you by dark, I will come out there with all the blasters we've got."

  She took the com and slid it into her pocket. Darus followed her out the hatch. Clark watched them leave.

  "Are you worried?" Twyla asked.

  "Always," Clark answered.

  Louie woke up and began to cry. Ginni picked him up from his cage behind the cockpit.

  "Let's do what we can to make sure they have somewhere to come back to," Clark said. "Beryn, get over to the offices and get us fuel, whatever you can. I'll contact Blackwater to come and get their cargo."

  "What do you want me to do?" Twyla asked.

  "Go shopping," Clark answered. "We're a bit low on supplies and we should find a cargo to haul."

  "And I can listen for rumors?"

  "The blond hair charms them into talking."

  Ginni handed Louie to Clark. "I'm going with her."

  Clark studied her a long moment before nodding. "Stay out of trouble, if you can."

  He held his son and watched as the three of them left the ship.

  "I can almost smell the trouble," he said.

  "Adaba," Louie answered.

  * * *

  The hot desert air blasted them as soon as they opened the door of the flitter. Jasyn stepped out, eyeing the artificially green garden surrounding the main entrance of the huge mansion. The trees and flowers drooped in the heat. Darus leaned back, studying the front of the mansion.

  "A bit ostentatious," he said. "Think we should just go up and knock or do you think we're better off sneaking in?"

  She didn't bother to answer. She climbed the steps to the deep front porch. The front door was huge, a double set of carved doors reaching almost ten feet. Jasyn raised her fist and tapped timidly at the door. The sound was barely perceptible. She wiped her hands down her leg and tried again, this time hitting the wood more forcefully.

  The dull thumping died away quickly. There was no sign it had been heard. The garden wilted silently in the desert heat.

  "Maybe they aren't home," Darus said.

  "Then I'm going to sit here until they get home," Jasyn said. "I'm not leaving until I see her."

  Darus nodded, turning away from her to study the garden. Heat shimmered up from the ground around the flitter.

  Jasyn pounded on the door again, letting her frustration out.

  The door swung silently open. Jasyn stopped, her hand raised. She stared at the woman who had opened the door.

  She was slender, her hair and clothing perfect. Her face was still as a mask, almost unfamiliar. Only the eyes betrayed her. They were blank and empty at first. They slowly widened in recognition.

  "Jasyn," she whispered. She lifted her hand towards Jasyn, taking half a step forward.

  She stopped abruptly, the mask back in place. She moved gracefully back into the shadows of the house. Jasyn stepped forward. The door was blocked by an older man in black and white livery.

  "The delivery entrance is to the rear," he said pompously.

  "We aren't here to make a delivery
," Jasyn said. She tried to see past him, into the shadows. The elegant woman was Dace, but a Dace so changed she barely recognized her.

  "Then you are trespassing," the man said. "You will leave immediately or I will call in the authorities."

  The door closed in her face.

  "Wait." Jasyn raised her arm to hammer on the door.

  "It isn't any use," Darus said. He took her arm, pulling her away from the door.

  "But that was Dace."

  Darus just shook his head. "She doesn't want to see us." Every line in his face showed defeat. "She really has changed, Jasyn. Didn't you see it?"

  "I want to talk to her." Jasyn shook off Darus' hand and turned back to the door.

  "Let her call us," Darus said. He grabbed her hand before she could knock. "She knows we're here now. Let it be her choice."

  "What if she's in trouble and can't?" Jasyn said.

  "Did she look like she was in trouble?" Darus said.

  Jasyn slowly lowered her hand. "You're right."

  "Let's go back to the ship." Darus pulled her away from the door.

  They got back into the flitter. It rose into the air, away from the spot of artificial greenery in the desert. Jasyn slumped into her seat in defeat. They'd come so far and for nothing. Dace would never come back to the Phoenix, not now.

  "I never thought she could look so good," Darus said. His voice was cracked and strained with emotion. "No grease under her nails and her hair combed."

  "It isn't her anymore," Jasyn said. "Paltronis was right. She has changed."

  Darus reached across the space between them and squeezed her hand.

  "I should take her off the ship's registry," Jasyn said.

  Darus squeezed her hand again then let go. They spent the rest of the flight staring out the windows, lost in their own private miseries.

  Chapter 52

  "Trash," Georges said dismissively as he shut the door.

  "They are my family," I said, trying without success to keep the quiver out of my voice.

  "Gutter trash," Georges said.

  I moved past him, reaching for the door. Jasyn and Darus were here. I couldn't let them leave. I'd seen the questions in their eyes. I couldn't let them believe this was what I had become. Georges clamped his hand on my arm, stopping me.

  "They are unsuitable companions for someone of your station."