by Jaleta Clegg
More time passed. The wind whined through the crack under the door. The heater put out waves of warm air that kept the cold outside. I stopped shivering and fell asleep, leaning against Mart.
The same woman brought us dinner. She carried in a large basket and went back to fetch a pot and dishes. "They can't decide what to do," she informed us with a grin. "They've been arguing all afternoon. Omar'll get tired soon and force another vote."
She stood over us while we ate. She didn't have any other news to share. The food was good, which I expected from my previous visit. She collected the dirty dishes and pounded on the door. It was unlocked and she left. A gust of wind blew in before they got the door shut again. It left a sprinkling of snowflakes on the dirt floor.
"It was spring last time I was here," I said. "It was a lot warmer."
"And the people were nicer?" Beryn asked.
"They haven't beaten us yet. That's nice enough for now. We're warm and not hungry."
"Querran's going to have a fit when she hears about this, though," Lowell said. "After I promised to keep them out of it as much as I could."
"I've never been locked up before," Marshal said. "That would be more adventure than I'm allowed."
"It isn't over yet," Lowell said.
"Because if it is," I said, "then we've lost and you won't admit that until you're dead and even then I think you'd keep arguing."
"The stakes are too high, Dace, I can't lose." Lowell wandered over to the heater and crouched down, studying its controls.
Even the card game couldn't hold interest after that. Beryn got into an argument with Marshal over the rules. Lydia told them they were both wrong and stalked over to sit by Paltronis. Lowell kept fiddling with the heater. Mart fell asleep. I dozed off, still leaning against him.
I dreamed his dream with him. He was running through a tangled jungle. It was dark and hot and muggy. Faceless strangers chased us as we ran. I was looking through Mart's eyes.
Someone shook me, grabbing my shoulder. It was gentle, a nudge more than a shake. I blinked open eyes that seemed glued shut. Lowell crouched next to me. Mart slipped into deeper sleep. I looked past Lowell's shoulder. The others were either asleep or pretending.
"Don't you ever sleep?" I grumbled.
"Do you ever sleep without whimpering?" he whispered in return. "Nightmares, again?" He knew how bad they could be. He'd woken me up from them more than once, especially after Xqtl.
"Mart's nightmares this time." I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"
"Late," Lowell answered as he sat back. "Either they like to argue all night or they couldn't make a decision yet. That's a good sign."
"Why?" I felt thick and stupid.
"The longer they argue, the less chance they'll turn us in."
"How can you stay an optimist, Lowell? No matter how bad things are, you keep insisting they could be worse."
"Because they could be worse. We could be hungry and cold."
"That's not what I meant."
"Because if I didn't believe in what I was doing, I couldn't do it anymore." It was more serious and more personal than anything I'd ever heard him say. "I do what I have to, I use people because it's the only way. And in the end, I have to convince myself it was worth it."
I was quiet. I leaned back against the wall, tucking my arms around myself to try to stay warm. The heater was putting out heat but the wind outside was sucking it away.
"I have to stop Roderick," Lowell continued. I wasn't sure if he was still talking to me or to himself. "Because if he wins, the Empire will crumble faster. I'm trying to hold it together." He shot a glance at me. "And you think I'm arrogant for trying, for assuming I can control the destiny of trillions of lives, hundreds of worlds."
"If anyone could, it would be you."
"Not by myself, never by myself." He leaned forward, chin on his knees.
It was silent in the hut. Outside the wind howled and moaned. The cold seeped in around the foundation and chilled me. Or maybe it was Lowell. I wasn't sure I wanted to be his confidant. I didn't want to know what he thought and felt. I didn't want to know what Mart dreamed and felt either. The fates didn't care. I had the hand life had dealt me and it was up to me to make what I could from it.
I just wished the deck of life hadn't been stacked so badly against me.
Chapter 35
"They're going to recognize us," Jasyn objected. Again. No one paid any attention. "We bought the ship here, they know us," she muttered. It wasn't going to change anything. They had to refuel. They had to have more information.
Scholar had dug his way through all of Lowell's files, every way he could think of, and accounted for every bit of data. The answers they wanted weren't there. Hints that added up to a nasty picture, but no proof. And no indication of where to go next. Jericho had been a dead end. So, it wasn't really going to matter if they were caught on Tebros or not.
The final alarm sounded. She had her hands poised over her controls, ready to key in a new course.
Clark leaned back in the pilot's chair. "Jerimon! Quit mooning over her and get up here. Now."
Jasyn caught Scholar's grin. Jerimon had been useless. He and Larella spent most of their time staring at each other. At least they weren't kissing all the time. Reeco and Doggo teased Jerimon mercilessly, until Jerimon blushed whenever one of them even looked at him.
"That's one good thing about all this," Clark said. "Dace will be overjoyed to know Jerimon won't even look at her now."
"They deserve each other," Jasyn said, glancing back into the lounge. "Jerimon," she called, "now."
He reluctantly let go of Larella's hand. "I'm coming."
Reeco whispered something to Doggo. Doggo snickered. Jerimon turned bright red. He turned his back on Reeco and marched into the cockpit.
"Children," he muttered as he took his seat.
Jasyn smacked him across the back of his head. "They're almost as old as you are, and I don't think you're acting much more mature."
The ship slid through transition into normal space. Jerimon didn't answer, he was too busy settling the ship. Jasyn pinpointed their position and gave him a course. Scholar was busy, his hands flying over the scanning controls. He reached over and punched several keys on Jasyn's board.
"Now you're flying the Rosa Mayweather," he announced. "Same specs but registered out of Newhaven."
"Any particular reason for the name?" Clark asked as he shut down the hyperdrive.
"Any of Lowell's people, the loyal ones anyway, who pick up on it and the planet registration will know we're in trouble. If there are any of them left to help us." Scholar typed quickly. "You've got a clear approach on vector seven two nine," he added.
Jasyn unclipped the headset and passed it over to Scholar. "You get to talk to ground control. They don't know you."
Scholar stared at it as if it were poison.
Clark reached back and snagged the headset. "I'll do it."
Scholar looked relieved and slightly embarrassed. "I have a phobia about coms. I much prefer a less personal contact." He gestured at her controls. "Are you through making sure we're where we're supposed to be?"
"Yes," she said frowning. "Why?"
"Move over," he said and nudged her.
She shifted away from the computer keypad. Scholar took over. Data flowed over the screen in a wave of colored light and words too rapid to read.
"Reeco," Scholar called. "Bring my pad up here, and the connection toggle."
Reeco brought the equipment. Scholar plugged the connector into a spot that Jasyn was sure wasn't a regular data port. Scholar knew what he was doing, no clouds of smoke appeared floating over the boards. He kept typing with one hand, fingers flying, while his other hand pulled up the ball of colored light and started twisting strands of light.
She looked at Clark. He was cool, composed as he talked to ground control. So far, no alarms, she thought. Scholar's deception was holding up. They had a course to the planet. Another hour and th
ey would be down on the surface. Maybe they could pull this off. And maybe she was getting too optimistic. She hated the letdown when things didn't work. She wouldn't let her hopes rise too far.
Scholar typed faster. The ball of light over his pad was an angry orange shot through with white and violent yellow. "Clark?"
"Take us in," Clark told Jerimon. He swiveled his chair around.
"Can you bypass the security wall?" Scholar asked.
Clark took over the keypad, typing rapidly. He asked a very technical question and got an even more technical answer. Jasyn was lost in the unknown terminology.
The screen flashed white.
"They pinged you," Scholar said. "Try a different router and a different back door."
The screen cleared and flowed with new data as Clark typed.
"What are you doing and why?" Jasyn asked.
"Breaking into the Patrol database," Scholar said. "And not leaving traces."
"Why?" Jasyn asked.
"I'm in," Clark announced. The screen cleared to solid blue with the Patrol shield blinking in one corner.
Scholar twisted lines of light, two or three with each finger of both hands. He tweaked a pale pink line and tugged a blue one. The whole ball collapsed into a stream that rose quickly and then sank into the pad.
"Break the connection," Scholar said.
Clark hit two keys. The blue screen disappeared. The normal navigation controls came back up.
"That was close," Scholar said. "They almost had us pegged."
"Why were we doing that?" Clark asked.
"Lowell sent us a message. It was buried in their data port. I had to get the file out. So I just took it all." Scholar picked up his pad and unplugged it from the control board. "It's only a week old. There's a chance he told us where to meet him."
"Then go find us the answer," Clark said.
"They're going to know it was a ship and we're about the only one out here," Jasyn objected. "You couldn't wait until we landed and steal it from a public terminal?"
"It's harder to trace out here," Scholar said. "And if it makes you feel better, Jasyn, it will take them days to track down the destination of the transfer. If they ever do. I sent the same packet of information to half the terminals on the planet. The library, the schools, utility companies, any address that came up on my first pass. If they start looking at ships, there are fifty of them with transponder codes that will show up on the transcript. By the time they narrow it to us, if they ever do, we'll be long gone."
She stared at Scholar, surprised and shocked by what he'd done in just a few moments. "I'm glad you're working with us."
"So is Lowell," Scholar said with a smile full of teeth. "He gave me the choice of working for him or going to a prison planet with no data access of any sort. It wasn't a hard decision."
"That was no choice at all," Jasyn said.
"Not when he offered to buy me any equipment I wanted, legal or not," Scholar said his grin spreading and showing even more teeth. "Give me half an hour and I'll have his message separated from the packet of official reports." He went into the lounge and set up his pad on the table. Senshi joined him, her hands deftly weaving light around his fingers.
"You're all a pack of criminals," Jerimon muttered. "They've completely corrupted you, Jasyn."
"You, too," she said to her brother. "Don't you dare start preaching at me about following rules."
"I wouldn't dare," Jerimon answered.
"You're enjoying this, admit it," Jasyn said, turning back to her controls.
"I wouldn't trade it for anything. At least this time, I'm working with you. No secrets," Jerimon said. "We're coming in on final approach," he added to Clark.
The landing went smoothly enough. Jasyn was sure someone would recognize the ship, though. She and Dace had lived here for a month refurbishing it. True, it had been two years ago, but surely someone would remember the Phoenix. Memories for old ships were apparently very short, no one sounded the alarm. They settled the ship into the berth, shutting down the engines.
"Who's handling the port authority?" Jasyn asked. The three of them looked at each other. The minute any of them were scanned for id the deception would fall apart.
"Doggo?" Clark suggested.
Jasyn shook her head. "He might be in the Patrol database because of Xqtl. How about Fitch? He's quiet and dependable."
"He looks like a kid," Jerimon objected. "No one would take him seriously."
"If he told them he was an apprentice they would," Clark said. "Do we have any uniforms in his size that aren't green?" The green shipsuits with the fiery logo on the sleeve were too distinctive.
"Dace hung on to those ugly gray ones," Jasyn said. "The baggy ones with grease stains. I tried to get her to throw them out but she wouldn't."
"Aren't you glad now she didn't?" Clark asked with a smile. "They should be about perfect."
The suit they dug out of Dace's closet fit Fitch as well as the baggy gray suits ever fit anyone. He looked the part, young and nervous about the responsibility but enough like a spacer to pass inspection.
Jasyn handed him a credit chip. "This should cover docking fees and fuel costs." She grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbled out a list for him. "Get more supplies for the galley, the frozen dinners. And get them to flush the tanks. Any questions?"
He took the list, reading it uncertainly. He looked over at Scholar who was up to his elbows in colored light.
"You'll do fine, Fitch," Scholar said.
"I'll go with him," Senshi offered.
"There's another suit," Clark said.
"Two apprentices on a ship this size?" Jasyn asked. She shrugged. It was night on Tebros, late night. Very few people would be out. The only places open at this hour were the port offices, minimal staff and services, and a few bars. Maybe no one would notice. "Come right back when you've got it taken care of. And don't let them overcharge you. At least not much."
Senshi grinned. "We won't," she said and darted away to change.
"Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to work?" Jasyn muttered.
The com sounded an incoming call. Clark looked back at it, frowning. "It's from another ship." He tapped a few keys, bringing up the other ship id. His frown changed to a grin. "Everett."
"He's here?" Jasyn asked, surprised. Everett was a very distant cousin, a friendly business rival, and a possible source of help. She answered the call. A trickle of unease kept her from using the video, she took the call audio only.
"Yes?"
"I thought I recognized your ship. Is everything all right?" He sounded suspicious.
"No names," Jasyn said quickly. "We're fine, for now. Although we could use your help. Can you meet me by the cargo bay doors in about ten minutes?"
"Yes," Everett said. She was sure he had a thousand questions for her.
"Good," she said and cut the connection.
"You really think someone is monitoring us?" Jerimon scoffed. "You're getting as paranoid as Dace."
"I don't want to take the chance," Jasyn said.
"What are you planning?" Clark asked her.
"Do we have any spare data cubes?" she asked. "Or cards for the reader?"
Clark caught on. "Good idea."
"Scholar?" She stepped into the lounge.
Scholar's hands continued to twist and stretch the strings of data floating above his pad. "Yes?" he said without looking away from the colored light.
"Can you copy the files Lowell gave you and add one that summarizes what we guessed?"
"And save them multiple times on any spare cubes or cards? Certainly." He tweaked several sets of light. The colors morphed and changed to deep blues and greens and one jagged streak of red. "I assume you want a format other people can read, such as plain text?" He didn't wait for her to answer. His fingers twisted through the light and the screen cleared, stretching into a floating disk. Text and flat images flowed across it.
Clark rummaged through bins and lockers and came u
p with a handful of data cubes. "I can sacrifice my music collection if you need me to. Is five enough?"
"I hope so," she said.
He handed them to Scholar. Scholar set them across his pad and tweaked the floating image. He scooped up the cubes and held them out to Jasyn. "All done."
"I just hope the rest of this is as easy," she said as she took the cubes. She looked at Clark. She needed his silent support. She hated using Everett, but she saw little choice. She didn't want Everett drawn into the mess, partly because she liked him and partly because she didn't want to owe him favors. Getting Family involved would make sure the information got where it needed to go, reached the right people no matter how high. Another level of security, she told herself. Another way to try to clear her name. Another way to try to bring Dace back safely.
The hatch slid open on night air that smelled of burnt plascrete and old oil. Dace loved that smell. She loved nights on planets where she could see stars and smell spaceships. What had happened to their dream? All they both wanted was a ship and enough trade to keep them financially solvent. Someday, they'd have it, she promised herself.
Clark was right behind her as she stepped out of the ship. He shut the hatch behind them, closing them out of the light. They kept to the shadows next to the ship, trying to look as if they were inspecting it, not as if they were sneaking and lurking. As long as no one recognized her, it was safe. She tried to convince herself of that and failed. She clutched the data cubes so tightly she felt the edges cutting into her palms. She made herself relax her grip.
They rounded the exhaust ports. The large cargo bay doors were closed. It was dark, the port lights didn't reach back here. Jasyn sat on the lip below the door. Clark sat near her. They waited.
"Why is this one of Dace's favorite hiding spots?" Clark asked.
"What?" She glanced at him. It was so dark all she caught was a gleam of reflected light in one eye.
"She sits back here, sometimes for hours. I was just wondering if you knew why she liked it so much."
"Because it's dark and no one else comes back here. You're trying to distract me."
