by Jaleta Clegg
"Wait," she said. "Tayvis is still out there."
"Too late," she was told. "We can't wait any longer."
She dragged herself to her feet and up near the cockpit. She could see the station on the main screen.
"Time," she whispered to herself.
The station looked normal as they poured on the speed. Other ships were running just as hard. She watched two more blast away, the emergency release pins exploding into brief balls of fire around the ships.
It started in the center. A plume of white gas shot into space. Yellow fire roiled out from beneath it. The fire spread, shattering the fingers of the station. She stared, unable to look away, as the station silently shattered. The flames burned, huge fireballs that quickly faded into nothing as the oxygen ran out. All that was left was an expanding swirl of glittering shards.
"Brace for incoming debris," the scan tech shouted.
The screen flared white as their shields strained to deflect the rain of metal. Paltronis closed her eyes, clutching the wall to keep from collapsing.
"You're hurt," the captain said behind her.
Her shoulder burned. Her armor was singed in a dozen places. She turned blindly away from the screen. Tayvis had been behind her. Tayvis had gone up with the station.
She limped after the captain into the ship's small medical bay.
"We got most of the ships," he told her. "Good work."
She shook her head as she unsnapped her armor. "We were supposed to take it, not blow it up. We couldn't." She dropped the battered pieces to the floor. "How many died?"
He shook his head. "I don't know yet."
"It has to be worth it." She felt hollow inside. She sat on the bunk and let the captain bandage her shoulder.
Chapter 54
"Lady Candyce wishes you to join her." Georges showed no emotion. He stood in the doorway, waiting for me.
A full day had passed since Jasyn had shown up at the door. I'd been locked in my rooms for the entire time. Georges had brought food once, this morning. I'd seen or heard nothing of anyone else. I stood and shook out my skirt.
Georges sniffed and turned away. I followed him through the mansion. What was the point in fighting anymore? No one believed in me, no one knew the truth. And no one ever would.
He took me to the garden room. Lady Candyce waited at a delicate white table. It was set for an afternoon tea. I crossed the room, silent as a ghost, to sit at the table with her.
"You look pale, Zeresthina. Are you well?"
"Do you care?"
She smiled, a socially correct smile that did nothing to hide the dislike in her eyes. "I received a message from Vance this morning. He's expected back within two days. He can't wait to see you."
I twisted the ring on my finger. "Have you told him or are you waiting until he's back here?"
"Told him what?" Lady Candyce had the gall to act surprised.
"How utterly unsuitable I am. I'm surprised you haven't listed all of my shortcomings, physically and socially."
She paused to pour two cups of tea. She set one in front of me. "I've thought the matter over. Perhaps I was too hasty in judging you."
I didn't believe her. "Why did you lock me in my room?"
She looked away, at the plants growing nearby. "Georges did it for your own protection. You were so distraught he was afraid you'd hurt yourself."
"Why do you keep me isolated?"
"You aren't," she said with a false laugh. "I'm protecting your privacy. The media would swarm you if I didn't." She paused artfully, posing for me. "You haven't touched your tea, Zeresthina. Perhaps you'll feel better after you've had something to eat."
I stared at the cup of steaming liquid. Layers on layers, how was I supposed to know what move to make in the game? I lifted the cup and sipped the tea. It was sweet and warm. There was an aftertaste of spices that lingered, almost bitter on my tongue.
"It's a special blend," Lady Candyce said. "I have it imported. A new shipment just arrived yesterday. It's taking a lot longer than it used to, having special items shipped in."
I didn't even try to tell her there was a war, that her special items should have been far down the list. It wouldn't have done any good. She lived in her own world, deliberately choosing to ignore the real one around her. Let her. I'd wait until Vance came back. I'd talk to him then and decide if the marriage was real or not. I sipped the tea.
"You're very quiet," Lady Candyce said.
I waited for her to say something more. I'd learned to keep my mouth shut.
"I think I almost prefer the white lilies for your wedding. What do you think?"
"You'll have whatever you want, despite what I say."
"But it's your wedding." She smiled and reached to pat my hand.
It was too much for me. I put the cup carefully back in the saucer. I was afraid I'd shatter the delicate china in my anger.
"Don't patronize me, I'm not stupid."
"I realize that. As I said, I've changed my mind. Perhaps Vance chose more wisely than I believed. With a bit more work, you would be presentable."
"What about the rest?" I couldn't help the hurt in my voice. "What about your future grandchildren?"
"We'll deal with that later.."
"I don't want to become a younger version of you." I pushed myself away from the table.
"You can't walk away from this. You are too deeply involved."
"I can walk away anytime I want." I turned my back on her and stalked to the door. I shoved my way into the hall. Georges was nowhere in sight.
I needed to think. Something had changed and I didn't know what. I headed out into the gardens.
Falada wasn't on the bench. I kept going through the garden. My stomach cramped. I rubbed my belly, leaning on a tree. It subsided after a moment. I walked on, into the flowers.
The cramping started again as I crossed a wide expanse of grass. I made it to the wall on the far side and had to sit down. Falada appeared out of tangled bushes and jumped up beside me. I stroked his back and waited for the cramping to stop.
Things seemed to settle after a moment. I stayed on the wall, petting the cat.
"I'm confused, Falada," I said. "Now she's being nice to me and I can't figure out why."
The cat merely purred.
The hedge behind me crackled. Falada stopped purring, craning his neck around to stare into the bushes. He relaxed after a moment. Jeden stepped out of the bushes, but he stayed in their shade, hidden from the house.
"You should leave," he said. "You're in danger."
"I have been all along."
He shook his head. "They know who you really are. They know you tried to access her files."
"Who?"
"You have to go now."
"Why are you warning me?" I was suddenly suspicious of the gardener who knew too much.
"Falada's collar has a bug planted on it. I've heard everything you said to the cat. I know why you're really here."
"Who do you work for?"
"It doesn't matter. You have to leave now. Before it's too late." He held out his hand to me. He had two data cubes in it. "Everything you need is here. I've been gathering the information for several months. Names, dates, recordings of their secret meetings, everything."
"Why are you giving it to me?" I stood slowly, eying the datacubes as if they were poison.
"Because you work for the Patrol. They'll listen to you."
"Who do you work for?"
"The same people who pay Olin. Now, please, Dace, go." He pushed the datacubes into my hand and folded my fingers over them. "The flitter is ready. I've disabled the autopilot. There's a recall function. If you turn the autopilot on, they can pull you right back."
"I don't know how to fly a flitter."
"You're a pilot, you can figure it out." He took my arm and pulled me after him into a narrow path behind the hedge.
He hurried me down the path and into parts of the garden I hadn't seen. There were gardening sheds an
d tools, all the items needed to keep the gardens looking beautiful. He took me up to a wooden gate set in a high wall of plascrete. He eased the gate open and peered through.
"It's still clear. Go to the shed on the end. The flitter has the keys in it. One last warning, Dace. Don't trust Leighton. He's in on it." He pushed me through the gate.
I clenched my fist around the datacubes. My head was spinning. I felt as if the world had slipped sideways when I wasn't looking.
"Go!" Jeden whispered through the gate.
I hesitated only a moment. Freedom or a life of this kind of intrigue? The choice was easy to make. I stuffed the datacubes into the front of my dress and ran for the shed.
The flitter was inside. I climbed in and shut the door.
I sat and stared at the control panels. I could fly a ship across the galaxy, but this was different. The controls weren't even remotely the same.
I took a deep breath, ignoring the rumbling in my middle. I had flown an alien ship. I had flown a shuttle, once, for about five minutes during a training session at the Academy. I could fly this.
I found the starter button and pushed it. The flitter hummed to life. There was a stick with buttons and knobs on it. I pushed it forward. The flitter leapt into the courtyard, moving too fast.
Georges gave me a startled look as I yanked back on the stick. The flitter jumped up into the air.
I was headed right for the side of the house. I yanked the stick around. The flitter swerved in a gut wrenching spiral. I pushed it up, jamming a button by mistake. The flitter roared as it zoomed straight into the sky. The house dwindled below me to a small green square in the desert.
An alarm began to beep. I pushed buttons at random until the flitter finally stopped climbing. It started to fall instead. The alarm beeped more insistently.
"Please activate autopilot," a voice announced.
I ignored it. I pushed the stick around until I figured out how to send the flitter forward and stop the falling. Half the alarms shut up.
"Autopilot engaging in five seconds," the voice warned me.
I shoved the stick farther, trying to get more speed out of the flitter. I lurched downwards instead. I pulled back. My stomach dropped as the flitter rose abruptly into the sky, making a large circle. I saw the mansion again. I also saw the other flitter rising to chase me. The pilot knew how to fly. He was closing on me. I shoved the stick to the side. The flitter slid through air.
I pushed the stick halfway forward. The flitter hummed onto a straight course towards the far horizon, the one I hoped hid the space port.
The flitter shook as a loud thump sounded over my head. It headed down in a fast spiral. I wrestled the controls until it straightened out again. I caught a glimpse of the other flitter hanging over me. It came down, straight for me. The pilot was trying to knock me out of the sky.
I shoved the stick around, sending the flitter on a crazy course. I pushed buttons at random. The landing gear dropped. My speed cut in half. I pushed the button again, hoping it would retract the gear. It worked. The flitter leapt forward again, picking up speed.
The other flitter hung over me, attempting to knock me out of the sky. I kept evading him, sometimes by inches.
"Warning," the flitter voice interrupted me. "Autopilot malfunction. Please land immediately."
"Not on your life," I muttered. I could almost taste freedom.
My stomach lurched. The cramping returned. I hunched over the controls. Something was very wrong with me. My vision blurred. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear it.
I was headed down at a steep angle, straight for a spire of red rock. I swerved at the last moment. The cramps faded. I concentrated on flying. The other flitter dropped behind, letting me go.
I should have been suspicious, I was just relieved. I was sweating, a cold shaking sweat that left me drained and ill.
I kept pushing the flitter, ignoring the warning voice demanding I land. I had to keep squinting to keep my eyes focused. My vision was blurry. The cramps let up after a while.
The towers of the port city were in view, bathed in the late afternoon sun. I saw the Patrol logo on the side of one tower near the space port. I turned the flitter towards it. I had one last report to make before I washed my hands of the Patrol for good. Jasyn was waiting for me down there, somewhere. That thought kept me going. She had to be there, waiting for me. If she had left, I would curl up and die. I couldn't face the thought of her leaving me.
I fumbled through the buttons until I found the one that lowered the landing gear. And then I realized I had no idea how to slow the flitter. I punched buttons frantically as the building loomed closer. I pushed the stick forward, dropping as much altitude as I could. I hit the cutoff for the engines. The voice spoke its warnings. The flitter dropped like a stone.
It bounced heavily on the plascrete street in front of the Patrol building. It bounced twice more. The landing gear collapsed. The whole flitter hit the plascrete with a thump that shook me loose. I slammed forward into the control panel, bruising myself. I kicked the door open and crawled out.
A circle of shocked onlookers surrounded me. They kept their distance from the flitter. A tendril of smoke rose lazily from the engine. I didn't care, as long as they didn't try to stop me. I staggered free of the wreckage and into the Patrol building.
I ignored the guards and the secretaries. I walked to the far hall, the one that led into the back offices. I had to find someone to report to.
My head was spinning again, my stomach cramping up.
"You can't go back there," a secretary protested. I was vaguely aware of her summoning the guards.
"I work for the Patrol," I said.
They must have thought I was crazy. I wore an evening gown, now streaked with soot and torn. I didn't care what I looked like. I was focused on giving my final report. My stomach clenched in a new set of spasms. I had to lean on the wall.
"You can't go back there," the secretary repeated, right next to me.
I pushed her away and staggered along the wall.
"You'll be put under arrest," one of the guards warned me.
"My name," I said, clenching my teeth to keep from vomiting, "is Dace. Admiral Dace. I have to see…" I stopped, doubling over as the cramping grew worse. I was barely aware of whispering behind me.
"Is she really Admiral Dace?"
"But she retired."
"She's one of the Thousand."
"Why is she here?"
The spasm passed. I pushed myself upright. I was sweating again. I shook with cold. Every muscle ached.
"You need help," the secretary said. She took my arm. I shook her off.
"I have to report." It came out as a moan.
"Commander Leighton wants her in his office," a new voice said crisply.
This time I couldn't fight the hands that helped me away from the wall. The secretary walked me back to a lift.
"I'll take her from here," the new voice said.
I blinked at him. The spasms settled. I could walk by myself again. The man took my arm and hustled me into the lift before I could object.
Some warning tried to be heard above the clamoring in my head. I leaned against the wall and tried to remember.
"That was quite the landing," the man said. "I'm surprised you can walk."
"I don't fly flitters."
"Obviously. We'll send you over to the medics after Commander Leighton talks to you."
The lift door slid open. The hall outside was dim and quiet. The man took my arm and walked me down the hall. He opened a door and waved me inside.
Commander Leighton stood up from his desk. "We were beginning to think you'd forgotten your deal."
Leighton closed the door behind me. I heard him turn the lock. Jeden's warning sounded clearly in my head. Leighton was involved. I turned quickly.
"I see you figured out more than I expected you to. I'll take whatever evidence you have." He held out his hand.
I backed slowly away
from him. I wasn't going to leave his office alive, unless I thought up something fast. He unholstered his blaster and made a show of checking the charge.
"We can do this easy or hard." He leveled the blaster at my head. "Give me your evidence."
"I don't have any," I said, trying to buy time. "I came to tell you the deal was off."
"And I received word when you left the mansion. You know too much, Dace. Give me the evidence and I'll make it painless for you."
"I never found anything," I said, stepping closer to him.
"Stop right there. You think I'm going to underestimate you? Lady Candyce might have, but I won't make that mistake." He waved me back with the blaster.
I stepped backwards, raising my hands in surrender. "What excuse are you going to use, Leighton? That I tried to shoot you with your own gun?"
"That story would work. You aren't exactly stable, mentally. Everyone knows it."
I felt the cramps again. I bit my lip, and tried to keep the room in focus.
"I don't think I need to shoot you just yet," Leighton said. "Candyce assured me you wouldn't be a problem. Kidikis poison acts fairly quickly. The dose she gave you is more than adequate to kill you. It is quite painful, as I'm sure you're already aware."
I sat in his chair, clutching my belly. The cramps were strong. This time I couldn't keep from vomiting. There was blood in it. My head swam, my eyes blurred until I couldn't see.
"Another hour and you won't be anyone's problem ever again."
"Why?" I croaked through the pain.
"You were inconvenient for her and for the rest of us. I don't know how you do it. You're such a bumbling fool, but I know your real history. I gave the poison to Lady Candyce yesterday. She promised me you would be taken care of. I was hoping she would do it quietly, out in the desert somewhere. But, as usual, she underestimated you. I never thought you'd get so far in a flitter. The autopilot should have come on."
"I disabled it." I sweated, cold drops of agony running down my back and face.
"You couldn't have. Who's helping you?"
"I'm an engineer. Or didn't you read that far back?" I threw up again, this time not caring that it splattered across his desk. I saw the door to his office easing open behind him.
