Blackthorn (Taurian Empire)

by Nate Johnson

  .o0o.

  Logan caught a brief wisp of lavender. Damn, it seemed wherever he went, there was always something reminding him of her.

  It had been two days since the incident with the Voltaire. Two days of lavender, and soft, gentle laughter from a distant compartment, and vivid dreams at night. It was king of thing that would surely make a man go mad. He had been out too long, he realized. They had better make it to Montlake soon, or he was going to go stir crazy.

  He noticed that the rest of the crew was having pretty much the same problem.

  Things had changed. Men were wearing clean uniforms. They cursed a lot less. And for some reason, everyone seemed to stand a little taller. Shave a little closer, and generally act as if they gave a damn.

  Logan stepped onto the mess deck to get a cup of coffee. It was long after the evening meal. Things were put away, and the ship was quiet.

  Soft laughter from the far corner caught his attention. Kaylee was playing cards with Jonesy, Peterson, and young Drake. His heart jumped at the sight of her laughing like that.

  Her head thrown back, a sparkle to her eyes. She reminded him of a horse galloping across the plains of New Kansas. Full of happiness and a joy of life.

  She paused and looked up. Catching him watching her. Their eyes locked for a moment across the room. Kaylee smiled and said, “Your friends are teaching me how to play poker.”

  He looked at the large stack of chips in front of her and shook his head. “Go easy on them. At least leave them enough to enjoy Montlake.”

  She laughed. For some reason, he was pretty sure that she knew exactly what she was doing and his friends didn’t stand a chance.

  “They are also telling me stories about you.” Her laughing eyes let him know that she was enjoying teasing him.

  Suddenly the world became very serious as he shot Jonesy a death stare.

  His friend simply grinned back and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t tell her about that night on Hotel Street on New Kansas.”

  Logan’s blood ran cold as he stared back at Jonesy. That was exactly what they were going to do, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop it without making it worse.

  “On second thought,” he said to Kaylee, “go ahead and take all their money. They’re too stupid to know what to do with it anyway.”

  She laughed and displayed her cards, winning another hand.

  Logan shook his head as he left the mess deck. One more day, he told himself. They would reach Montlake tomorrow, and life could get back to normal.

  .o0o.

  Logan stood at the rear of the bridge as the captain maneuvered the ship into dock. He didn’t really have a job for this evolution. He was just on standby in case anything broke.

  The captain made quick adjustments to the impulse engines and brought the vessel next to the pier. Two grappling arms extended and locked onto the Blackthorn. Securing her in place.

  “We have confirmed moorage,” Lieutenant Stevens said.

  “We have gravity sync,” said Peterson from his helmsman’s seat.

  “Secure engines, convert to shore power, set the import watch,” the captain said as he shut down his screens. “Lieutenant, I want the stores loaded and the fueling complete before any liberty parties go ashore.”

  “Aye, aye, Sir,” the lieutenant replied.

  Logan studied the screen above the lieutenant and thought about the upcoming liberty. The Higgs engines didn’t need refueling. But the impulse engines they used for steering did. And a tender did a lot of maneuvering. It’d take most of the day to get everything on board.

  They were moored in one of the smaller docks on Montlake. The same one they always used when they came here. Floating in air. A space ship really wasn’t meant for touching the ground. The structure couldn’t take the weight. So instead, a gravity neutral dock was used.

  The ship would rest here. The crew would rotate on liberty. A fourth of the twenty-eight-man crew always onboard to handle emergencies. Four days of rest and relaxation before they started the long trip home.

  Logan sent up a grateful prayer, he wouldn’t have duty tonight. He wasn’t scheduled until the last day. Three days to blow off steam.

  He thought briefly of the barmaid Laura. His mind immediately jumped to Kaylee. She would be gone soon, he realized. She would disappear into her world, and he would never see her again.

  “Come with me,” the captain said to him as he made his way off the bridge.

  What the hell? Logan wondered. Shocked and a little concerned. The captain had a scowl on his face that would have burned steel. He was not a happy man.

  He followed the captain to his cabin. Obviously, the captain would be returning to his quarters. Kaylee would no longer be needing them.

  The captain entered his stateroom and immediately sat behind his desk. The front room of his quarters was his office. A desk, screens, chairs. Although the captain spent most of his time on the bridge. His cabin was used for formal occasions. This was not a good sign, Logan thought.

  “Sit,” he said, indicating the chair across from his desk.

  Logan swallowed hard. This could not be good.

  The captain pulled up some information on his screen and studied it for a long moment. The scowl continued to get deeper and deeper.

  Logan held his tongue and waited. The captain would tell him what this was all about when he was ready.

  The click of the cabin door opening drew Logan’s attention. Kaylee stepped into the room. She was dressed once again in the clothes she wore when she fell into his arms. Soft shoes, natural cloth pants, and a blue cotton top. She looked like she was going for a walk in the Taurus gardens.

  His heart jumped at the soft smile she gave him.

  Almost immediately, Lieutenant Stevens and Chief Bowen followed her into the room.

  The captain indicated that Kaylee should take the seat next to him. And the other two should stand off to the side. Logan’s insides sank, this was so not good.

  Kaylee gracefully sat down and folded her hands in her lap.

  Logan frantically struggled to figure out what was going on but he kept coming up blank.

  The captain turned from studying his screen and shook his head.

  “I have received orders from the Embassy here on Montlake.” the captain said. “Although they are from the naval attaché, I don’t know if your father is aware of these orders. Or even if he is aware of your situation, Miss Williams,”

  Kaylee nodded.

  “It seems,” the captain continued, “that I am not to send a fully armed escort with you to the Embassy. That they are concerned that Montlake might take offense seeing armed Imperial Naval personnel marching through the streets. They actually used the term ‘Act of War’.”

  “But Sir ...” Logan started to say.

  The captain held up a hand, stopping him from continuing.

  “It goes on to say that I am to send Miss Williams to the Embassy immediately upon our arrival.” The captain paused for a long moment. Then continued, “I don’t know if someone is waiting for you. I don’t know why the embassy won’t send someone to meet you. None of it makes sense, and I don’t like it.”

  Kaylee nodded. “I understand captain. You have been most kind, and I will always be grateful for you and your crew.”

  The captain looked at her for a long moment then turned to the two men standing to the side.

  “I wanted you both here as witnesses,” he said to them. “My orders say that I am not to send an armed escort. But they do not say I cannot send an unarmed escort.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Chief Bowen said.

  “That’s where you come in, Miller,” the captain said with a smirk. “You will escort Miss Williams to the Embassy.”

  “Me?” Logan said. “Why me?”

  The captain smiled. “For several reasons. One, Miss Williams has informed me that she trusts you.”

  When had she told the captain that? And why? Logan wondered. He was surprised whe
n Kaylee’s cheeks grew pink. Her eyes focused down at her hands.

  “What is more,” the captain continued, giving him a death stare. “You are the only man I know who defeated two Imperial Marines in a fair fight.”

  Logan swallowed hard, he’d come close to being court-martialed for that incident. “They were drunk, Sir.”

  “Not that drunk, and they were still Marines. I realize they started it. But the important thing is that you finished it.”

  The captain stared at him with a hard scowl. Then said, “And finally. Because I said so.”

  Logan’s stomach dropped. That settled that.

  “Now then, Miss Williams. I believe if we dress you like a man. Or a boy ...”

  “Ha,” Logan scoffed.

  The captain raised one eyebrow, waiting for Logan to explain his outburst.

  Logan gathered himself. “Sir, not in this world or any other world, could anyone ever mistake her for a boy. Impossible. Not going to happen.”

  From the corner of his eye, he caught Kaylee shift uncomfortably, and her cheeks grow full crimson.

  “What would you suggest then Petty Officer Miller?” the captain said as he leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers and giving Logan a quizzical stare.

  Logan hesitated for a long moment as he desperately tried to come up with a plan.

  “The paint raft, Sir.”

  “Go on,” the captain said as he leaned forward.

  Logan swallowed hard. “If anyone is watching the ship, they will be watching the gangway for Kaylee, Miss Williams. If we use the paint raft on the far side of the ship. They will never see her leave. The ship will block their view.”

  Kaylee’s brow was creased as if she had difficulty understanding.

  Logan turned to her. “We use the raft to work on the other side of the ship. Fix sensors. Touch up paint. That kind of thing. We could get on board the raft, travel to the other side of the birth. To the far dock, up a ladder and out of the port in a few steps.”

  The captain nodded. Logan relaxed. At least he hadn’t shot the idea down immediately.

  Logan scrambled to finalize the sale. “We could dress her as a dock worker. Leather welding coat. Boots, welding helmet. That kind of thing. She’d still look like a girl. But a dockyard worker. Not an Ambassador’s daughter.”

  The captain slowly nodded. “It might work,” he said. “What do you think Miss Williams?”

  Kaylee studied the captain for a minute then looked at Logan for a long time.

  “If you think it is best. All I know is that it is imperative I get to my father.

  The captain smiled. “Very well then. Miller will escort you to the Embassy. And then return here, and we can get back to being a beacon tender.

  Logan’s insides turned over. Why did he think it wasn’t going to be that easy?

  Chapter Five

  Logan’s insides felt like they did after a three-day liberty pass. Like someone had dumped a bunch of rocks into his gut and then put him on a spin cycle.

  Jonesy stood at the hatch waiting for them. He smiled when he saw Kaylee dressed in her welding outfit.

  “You look like you know what you’re doing,” he said with a smile to Kaylee.

  “You on the other hand,” he said to Logan, “look like an idiot, but that’s normal for you.”

  “Open the damn hatch,” Logan said. The sooner they got this over with, the better.

  Jonesy laughed and said, “Here,” as he handed her a quiver filled with welding rods. “Wear this, I scrounged it from engineering. They will never miss it.

  Kaylee draped the quiver over her shoulder then glanced at Logan to make sure she didn’t look ridiculous.

  He simply nodded. He had to admit to himself it was a smart touch.

  “Thank you, Jonesy,” Kaylee said as she bent forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Logan almost laughed out loud at his friend's red cheeks. He filed the scene away to be used later in teasing Jonesy.

  “You ready?” he asked Kaylee.

  She looked at him for a long moment then said, “You don’t have to do this. I can go on my own. I really don’t think there will be any problems.”

  Logan laughed. “Yeah, because you’re only being chased by pirates and half the empire. Nothing to worry about.”

  “I’m serious. You don’t ...”

  “That’s okay Kaylee. Let’s do this.”

  She took a deep breath then nodded.

  He smiled at her reassuringly, patted her shoulder and said, “You really do look like a dockworker. A sexy as hell dockworker. But a dockworker.”

  She blushed then stepped out the hatch and onto the paint raft.

  Logan moved to follow her when Jonesy grabbed his arm.

  “If you let anything happen to her. I will kick your ass until next Sunday.”

  Logan laughed and nodded before he followed Kaylee out onto the raft. Once the hatch was closed, he glanced down at his watch and waited.

  It wasn’t long before the announcement came over the ship's 1MC.

  “Now, Liberty, Liberty. Liberty is granted to duty sections two, three and four.”

  Logan continued to look at his watch as he counted down the seconds.

  “Okay, now,” he said finally as he sent up a silent prayer that their plan would work. The guys had agreed to go ashore together with Jonesy in the middle of the group. As if they were trying to shield him. The young spacer had even agreed to shake his hips a little. Knowing him. He’d overdo it, but it couldn’t hurt.

  Logan turned and pulled the raft across to the other dock. Once he had it positioned below the ladder, he tied it off and said, “Ladies first.”

  Kaylee looked at him then back at the ship. He could tell that she was nervous, and maybe a little sad.

  “Why do I always have to go first?” she asked.

  He laughed. “So I can catch you if you fall. Besides, I like the view.”

  Her cheeks turned pink as she shook her head and began to climb the ladder.

  He had to admit to himself. It was a spectacular view. Even in rough jeans. Maybe even better because of the jeans.

  Once they reached the top, Logan glanced across at the other dock. The crew were making their way down the pier, joshing and laughing.

  He scanned the rest of the area. Two men were watching the crew rather closely. Their faces narrowed in concentration. His skin turned cold. These weren’t dockworkers. They looked like slime that came from Mortlake’s seedier part of town. The kind of guys who could be bought for a day at a time. Big, muscle bound. One of them had a nasty scar across his forehead. The other was missing two fingers on his left hand.

  Logan filed them away. He’d know them if he saw them again.

  So much for nothing happening. It was real. People really were after her. The thought sent a cold shiver down his back. This wasn’t some drill.

  “Come on,” he whispered as he grabbed Kaylee’s hand and pulled her towards the warehouse and its shadows. Once he had gotten them out of sight of the two men on the opposite pier, he relaxed a little.

  Kaylee looked at him strangely.

  “Two men were watching the ship. Probably waiting for you.”

  Her face turned white as she glanced over her shoulder. “Are you sure?”

  “Well, they weren’t the ladies auxiliary waiting to welcome us to their fine city.”

  Kaylee swallowed hard and nodded.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get this over with. It’s cutting into my liberty time.”

  She instantly pulled back on her hand. “I told you that you didn’t have to do this,” she said as she set her feet and stared him down.

  He laughed. “No, but the captain said otherwise. And he’s the one I listen to.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “Really Logan, I mean it. You don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Listen, Kaylee, this isn’t about
you. It isn’t about me, or the Blackthorn. It’s about men trying to divert the Empire. Trying to manipulate and intimidate the Empire. Ain’t going to happen. So don’t worry and let’s get a move on.”

  She hesitated for a moment as if considering his words then nodded and stepped out of the warehouse and into the dirty streets of Montlake.

  Logan glanced up at the afternoon sun and stopped for a moment to let the light sink into his skin. Two months bottled up in a tin can make the sunlight feel like a health inducing elixir. It was almost as if he could feel his skin turning out vitamin D by the ton.

  The smells and sounds of the city washed over him. Breaking through his daydreams. People rushed by, the smell of roasting meat from the food vendor down the street tugged at his stomach. A car whizzed by too fast. Hundreds of people hurrying to be somewhere else.

  The reality of their situation returned like a two-ton brick. He quickly scanned the crowd searching for anything out of place. Any threat or danger. But really, what was he looking for? he wondered.

  The buildings were built of tan stone. Most of them businesses catering to ships and their crews. A chandlery across the street sat between two bars. On the corner, a repair shop that specialized in high-end electronics. On the other corner, a massage parlor that he knew perfectly well was a front for a fence dealing in stolen goods. A step up from the whorehouse it used to be.

  “Which way?” she asked.

  Logan paused as he tried to get his bearings. The city was rather new, less than two dozen years since the planet had been discovered and the capital established here in this valley.

  Because it was new, it had attracted a wide range of characters from all over the galaxy. Men and women who hoped to strike it rich. People who didn’t mind bending or even ignoring rules.

  People who lived on the edge. It felt like home.

  “This way,” he said, pointing to their left. “The Embassy is on the other side of town. Close to the Capital building.”

  She nodded and looked around herself. Her eyes growing big. “Are we going to walk?” she asked.