by M. D. Cooper
Malorie snorted as she walked to the skiff. “You’re just doling everything out, aren’t you?”
“Yup,” Katrina said brightly.
Juasa laughed and moved to the side of the skiff, as Stu helped Korin get the fab unit aboard.
Korin took control of the skiff and flew it back to its pad, and the group disembarked once more.
“So, Malorie. I assume you have suites aboard Rockhall, as well?” Katrina already knew where they were, but she wanted Malorie to lead the way.
“Yeah,” Malorie grunted. “This way.”
She led them through one of the doors, into the skin of the hollowed out asteroid, and down a long corridor to an intersection. She turned right, then left, and then took another right. The passage ended in a set of double doors that opened as they approached.
The group stepped into a large common area with doors leading off to other rooms. There was a bar on the right, complete with a Jeavons-model automaton, and a bubbling hot tub on the left. Ahead, a series of steps led down to a seating area. Starting on the far side of that area, a clear window rose up and arched overhead to meet the rock of the asteroid in a half-dome.
Outside the window lay the bustling space surrounding Persia, beyond which hung the planet: a blue-green jewel, drifting through the glittering darkness.
“I like a view of Persia when I’m up here,” Malorie said as everyone stopped to take in the sight.
“I can see that,” Katrina said.
She sent Lars into one of the bedrooms on the left, and then approached Malorie. “OK, I need you to summon the stationmaster’s deputy, as well as all the captains to an early-morning meeting. Say, 0800 station time.
“That’s just three hours,” Juasa said. “You sure you’ll be ready for that?”
“Ready how?” Malorie asked.
“Hush,” Katrina told the woman. “I can read your Link access, so only do as you’re told.”
Malorie’s shoulders drooped, and she sulked off to one of the sofas in the sunken seating area.
Katrina shook her head.
She didn’t reply, but turned to Juasa. “OK, let’s set up in the first room over there.”
“You got it,” Juasa said and directed Stu to follow her with the fabricator.
“What do you want me to do?” Korin asked.
“We have a few hours, you can catch some z’s if you want.”
Korin snorted. “Are you kidding? With all this shit going on?”
Sam interrupted.
Katrina clasped Korin on the shoulder. “I really must thank you for this. I hadn’t expected to find someone so trustworthy.”
Korin shrugged. “I like Juasa. You’re growing on me, too.”
“Ha!” Katrina said as she turned and walked toward the room where Juasa was setting up. “You’re a good liar, Korin.”
“I’ve heard that,” the man replied.
She passed Stu on the way out of the room, gave the man a curt nod, and then stepped inside and closed the door. She set Sam down on the floor.
“Aren’t you worried about leaving them all alone out there?” Juasa asked.
“A bit, but I can see everything they’re doing, and so can Sam.”
“Uh…try to start with something a bit more measured,” Katrina said.
“How do you just ‘gas them’?” Juasa asked as she placed a variety of components onto the room’s bed.
“Define ‘imperfect’,” Katrina directed.
“Isn’t that why they have the ability to vent rooms?” Juasa asked.
“I’ll be sure to ask Jace when he returns,” Katrina said.
She pulled her coat off and flipped it over a chair before unbuckling her gun belt and setting it on a vanity.
“OK,” Juasa said. “So I have an idea of what you have in mind, though it seems crazy.”
Katrina walked up to the items Juasa had placed on the bed and picked up a twenty-centimeter disk. “What’s this?”
“That’s the SC Batt for an external backup scan suite. That sucker’s going to become your main battery; we can mount it to your back, between your shoulders.” Juasa then bent over and picked up a number of small cylinders. “These are the best standard batts I have. I don’t have anything rated for internal use, so we’ll have to mount these down either side of your spine.”
Katrina chuckled. “I’m going to look like I have spikes running down my back.”
“Good thing you have the coat,” Juasa responded. “I can fab the sockets, but how are we going to route the power into your internal systems?”
“That’s what the conductor is for,” Katrina said. “I can feed it into my skin and route it to my body’s main power regulator.”
“Is it normal for people in your time to have this much tech in them?” Juasa asked with a frown. “I’ve seen less complex starships.”
Katrina thought back to Markus and the Noctus. “Yeah, for some it was; for others…not so much.”
Over the next ten minutes, Juasa fabricated mounts for the SC Batts, and Katrina fed the cabling into her armor-skin. Her nano used some of Juasa’s formation material to complete the connections and attach the battery mounts.
When they were all done, she turned her back to Juasa. “Power me up.”
“I look forward to when you look human again,” Juasa said as she seated the emitters into Katrina’s palms. “Though I’ll admit, from an engineering standpoint, you’re pretty damn hot.”
“Not into cyborg girls?” Katrina asked with a wink.
“As a rule? No. But I’ll make an exception for you.” Juasa set the disk battery into its mount and twisted it into place before attaching the ten smaller batteries.
Katrina felt a surge of energy in the non-organic parts of her body. The sensation was translated by her mods to make her feel more alert, like she’d just had a good night’s sleep, followed by an entire pot of coffee.
“Wow, I feel great!” Katrina exclaimed.
“You were right,” Juasa said as she stepped back. “You do look like you have a spiked spine. But honestly, it’s a bit of a mishmash.”
“Juasa’s monster,” Katrina said with a smile as she held her hand out and looked at the disc that now sat in the center of her palm.
“That’s not really becoming—the monster part,” Juasa said with a shake of her head. “That emitter, on the other hand, is bitchin’. It’s an electron blast that’s wrapped in a grav bubble. It only lasts for a few seconds, so the range is limited before it dissipates. Used mostly for close range space junk disintegration.”
“Maybe stand in the corner behind me,” Katrina suggested.
Juasa complied, and Katrina pointed her palm at a nightstand beside the bed.
A bolt of energy shot out of her hand and struck the nightstand, burning a hole in it and melting a p
art of the bulkhead.
“Damn, forgot about those.”
Katrina turned and walked toward Juasa, who was shaking her head with a wry smile on her face.
“OK, that was hot—no pun intended,” Juasa said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “Get over here. I’ll make an exception for just this one cyborg woman.”
Katrina laughed and stepped into Juasa’s embrace, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. Juasa’s hot breath mingled with Katrina’s own, their tongues touching as Juasa pressed her soft body into Katrina’s hardened flesh.
“You know what all this armor covering you means, right Kat?” Juasa asked as she pulled off her long coat.
“What’s that, Ju?”
“I can’t do much with you, so you have to spend more time on me.”
Katrina let out a throaty laugh. “You’re so selfless.”
“I try. Huh…these batts on your back make useful handles.”
A MEETING OF CAPTAINS
STELLAR DATE: 01.20.8512 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Rockhall Station
REGION: Orbiting Persia, Midditerra System
The captains, their first mates, and several members of Rockhall Station’s management were assembled in the briefing room Katrina had selected.
She had debated a conference room, but decided that she did not want them to feel as though they had a voice at the table. This meeting was her dictating terms to them.
As Katrina walked onto the low stage at the head of the room, it occurred to her that the tactics she was employing were the same as those her father had used so often.
Well, it was effective.
Of course, her father’s tactics had also driven her away to foment rebellion.
But these aren’t the innocent Noctus, she countered her own train of thought. These are pirates, raiders. These men and women are like my father, and I’m using their own tactics against them.
Of the captains, there were eight women and four men. The first mates were split evenly. In the front row sat Freya, the deputy stationmaster. Three repair crew chiefs were also present. They sat next to Freya, appearing perplexed, shooting worried looks at Lars and his blank expression.
Korin had made himself useful in the hours before the meeting and had connected with five others he knew would be happy to turn against Jace. Those five now stood ready in the hall outside, both to keep intruders out, and to come in and subdue the captains if needed.
Katrina, Juasa, and Lars stood at the back of the platform, while Korin and Stu took up positions on either side. Malorie stood at the lectern in the center and stared over the assembly.
“Good morning,” Malorie said after a few awkward moments of silence. “I’d like to introduce Katrina. She’s going to explain what’s going on.”
Katrina shook her head as she stepped forward, and Malorie moved to the side.
Three of the captains were staring wide-eyed at her, and Katrina suspected that they must have learned who she was at some point—though likely as Verisa, not Katrina.
She looked them up and saw that Hana, Jordan, and Gary were all senior captains in the Blackadder. She could tell that they were trying to reach out to their ships over the Link, but Sam and Ames had shut down their access.
“I see that some of you recognize me,” Katrina said as she gripped the sides of the lectern. “For those of you who don’t, I’m the woman who came through Kapteyn’s Streamer. I’m from the forty-third century, and I’m taking over the Blackadder.”
Katrina gained some small amount of pleasure from watching Malorie’s jaw drop. The woman mouthed ‘forty third’, her eyes wide.
In that moment, the room erupted with questions and exclamations. Half of those present were out of their seats. Korin and Stu hefted the rifles they held—kinetics, not pulse weapons—and each took a step forward. The station crew at the front quieted down first, and then the captains and first mates got the message and sat back down as well.
“What a shock,” Katrina said drolly. “A touch of discipline in you.”
“What do you mean, you’re taking over the Blackadder?” Freya asked.
“Just what it sounds like,” Katrina replied. “I already have Malorie’s support.”
Malorie nodded on cue, though she looked decidedly sullen.
“I also have your station AI and the AIs of your ships—those that have sentient AI,” Katrina continued. “For all intents and purposes, I have taken this station in a matter of hours, and no one even knew. The rest of the Blackadder stations will be mine just as easily—though they’re not my next target.”
Several of the men and women were sputtering, and one—a large woman named Tyra—rose and walked around the seats to stand before Katrina.
“I don’t know who you think you are, bitch, but I’m loyal to Jace. So you have some AIs, Malorie, and these two goons. That does not mean you’ve taken—”
Katrina held up her right hand, and a bolt of energy shot out, striking the captain in the forehead and burning a hole through her skull, cutting off Tyra’s rant.
Her body fell to the ground, and blood began to pool around her.
“Pots,” Katrina barked, glancing at a man three rows back. “You’re now captain of the Daggerfall. Congratulations.” Her gaze swept across the room. “Anyone else want to give their first mate a promotion?”
Heads shook back and forth, though some appeared angry rather than cowed.
“Let me explain what’s going to happen,” Katrina began. “It’s very simple. When Jace returns, he dies. Then I take out Lara. Within days, I will be in command of the Midditerra System. Do I need your cooperation to do it?”
“Doesn’t look like it,” a man named Pila, the captain of the Questing Night, said. “You seem like a one-woman wrecking crew.”
Katrina nodded. “You’re right. I don’t need you. I could kill all of you in the time it takes you to say, ‘please no’. But you can make things easier for me, and when I depose Lara, the spoils will go to those who stood beside me. Those who joined me first will get the largest share.”
“How do we know you can do any of this?” Freya asked. “We just have your word that you’ve taken the AIs. I think this is all a trick.”
Katrina smiled up at the ceiling.
“No!” Freya exclaimed. “You didn’t…he’s unshackled? He’s insane, he’ll kill us all.”
“How does it feel to have the tables turned, Freya?” Katrina asked. “Ames is aligned with my goals; his reward will be well worth it.”
“What’s that going to be?” Freya asked.
Katrina shook her head. “You worry about you, Freya.”
“So we’re just supposed to turn on Jace and the Blackadder?” Captain Jordan asked. “Just like that.”
“You’re not turning on the Blackadder,” Katrina replied. “For decades, Jace has slowly expanded your organization, but honestly, it was Malorie’s sithri operation that financed most of what the Adders have today. She supports me, and you should too.”
“She doesn’t look supportive,” Captain Hana said.
Katrina shrugged. “She’s conflicted over the impending death of her hu
sband; aren’t you, Malorie?”
Malorie sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Katrina turned back to the assemblage. “In just a few days’ time, we’ll control the entire Midditerra System. No more giving Lara first pick from ships, or sharing the spoils with her. You all, as the first ones to join me, will get more than you ever dreamed. But only if you submit to me.”
“Submit to you?” Freya asked. “Like Lars over there? He’s drooling.”
Katrina glanced at Lars and shook her head. “Lars had a reaction not unlike Tyra’s. He was just more useful alive than dead.”
“Shit,” someone muttered. Katrina saw that it was one of the first mates, a woman named Vera. “That’s how it is? We toe the line or you lobotomize us?”
“No,” Katrina said. “You’ll just end up in the brig ‘til all this is over. Then you’ll probably find yourselves in the sithri fields for awhile before I let you go.”
“You’d just let us go after awhile?” Freya asked.
“Well, if that’s what you wanted. Malorie and I are going to change the structure of things down there a bit. I want to turn Midditerra into a real civilization, not just the bright glow of a million plasma torches cutting ships apart. And Persia will be for all the people to enjoy, not just the elite.”
“You should have led with that,” Captain Jordan said, an eager smile on her face.
Katrina walked around the lectern and held out her hands. “I have goals that I mean to achieve. You can take the reward, or the brig. You pick.”
No one moved for a several long seconds, and Katrina shook her right open hand. “Reward.” Then she clenched her left fist. “Brig. Touch the hand you want. Freya first.”
Freya slowly rose and walked in front of Katrina. She hesitated for a moment and then touched Katrina’s open palm.
“Reward,” she said.
Katrina sent a passel of nano into Freya’s body, her bots moving through the woman’s bloodstream until they got close to her wireless Link transceiver. They settled themselves in and tapped her connection.
She could tell that Freya realized she now had Katrina’s nano in her, but doubted the woman could tell what the bots were doing.
