Sanctioned

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  And then the pod was gone.

  Gaitune-67, Hangar deck

  Meanwhile, back at the base, the Queen Bitch’s key ship was activating and powering up remotely.

  Auto checks flicked through, one after another, preparing for takeoff. Preparing for an immediate gate jump.

  Minutes later, the hangar doors opened up, and a lone pod arrived, touching down gracefully next to the ship.

  Sean hopped out, and then hauled the body of Molly Bates out of the pod after him. His face locked in determination, he gently carried her up the invisible steps. As he hurried up them, he couldn’t help but remember her smile as she had examined the steps, when she was introduced to the ship only days before. He reached the top of the stairs, and made his way into the ship as fast as he could. He glanced back at the door he’d just come through, and could see her as if she were standing there right then, inspecting the magic of the door’s technology, marvelling at something she hadn’t seen before.

  He shook his head and fought back a tear as he bustled straight into the cockpit. He put her limp, and now bloody, body into the Nav chair where she had sat the other day. This time, he buckled her in as the chair quietly adjusted to her weight and dimensions.

  He paused a moment, adjusting her head on the headrest. His hand lingered on her face, and he gently brushed her cheek. Time was pressing. He went straight to the pilot’s seat, and started flicking switches. He had barely even strapped himself in before the ship was heading out of the hangar door, out into the inky blackness of space.

  Normally, they would turn back towards the inner system. The system wasn’t where they were going this time, though.

  The ship pulled a short distance from the asteroid, and a second later, disappeared.

  Senate House, Spire

  Oblivious to everything else going on, Paige and Garet were engrossed in conversation. Conversation about history.

  Garet had been trying to defend himself, or, more precisely, his actions. He was just beginning to realize that it wasn’t going to work.

  He sighed and rubbed his face with one hand before looking back at Paige. “Look, I valued power and status. Maybe I was wrong. But what I will acknowledge was that I didn’t do right by you.”

  He was frustrated, but trying his best to concede. He finally let his defenses down. “We should have had more conversations, before this all happened. But then we ended up on the rock, and, well… Everything changed.”

  He looked over at Paige on the other sofa, hoping for some glimmer of compassion. Paige took another swig of the beer he had sent for. Day drinking wasn’t good for her, but they’d been working so hard. And Garet had been so insistent they talk. “Yes, and you should have talked to me about taking the job.”

  Garet leaned forward, placing the beer on the mocha table. “I see that now. You had no reason to stay on Estaria, even without me putting you in that position.” There was a genuine sadness in his eyes.

  Paige didn’t look so sad. “It’s okay,” she reassured him. “I really did end up exactly where I was meant to be.”

  Garet held her gaze. “Yes, and…”

  Paige shrugged, amicably, but still distant. “Yeah I get it. And I appreciate you saying that.” She paused. “But what I’m more concerned about is whose side you’re actually on. I mean - we can’t tell. And from where I’m sitting, it looks like you’re playing both sides.”

  Garet nodded. “I know, I know. And to a degree, I think I was. I wanted it all. I wanted for them to not kill me; but, also, damn they made it all so tempting.”

  Paige frowned in disapproval.

  “It’s okay,” he told her, putting his hands up in surrender. “I’ve learned my lesson. I need to pick a side. No gray area, etc, etc. I’m on board. You’re not going to have to worry about that with me, now.”

  He picked up his beer bottle again and gestured around the room, at the place where they’d been sitting working for the last several days. “Plus, with what we’ve been setting up here, it’s not going to be necessary. The Syndicate is no more. We can finally start building a better world, without the fear of being knocked off in our sleep…”

  He stood up and started pacing. Paige’s gaze followed him.

  He swung his beer as he walked, deep in thought. “But, you know, it’s still not going to be easy. There will be people who are still invested in the old ways. There will be general resistance to change. There will be a need for re-educating even the people who it will ultimately benefit… out there…”

  He noticed Paige was smiling. “What?” he demanded, smiling a little himself.

  Paige’s smile broadened even more, and she flushed deep red on her chest. She shook her head a little and lowered her eyes, looping a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. “Nothing. It’s just… It’s good to see you when you’re like this…”

  Garet stopped and blushed too. “You mean over-caffeinated, and over-worked?” he jested.

  Just then, Paige’s holo buzzed. She picked up the call. “Joel? Hi,” she answered, confused. “Where are you?”

  Joel explained on the other end of the call. “I’m at Iantrogen. We’re doing a quick clean up. Can you do something for me, and not ask any questions? I’ll explain everything when we get back.”

  Paige nodded, glancing over at Garet with concern on her face. “Sure,” she responded.

  Garet wandered over to where Paige was sitting on the sofas.

  Joel was talking through her audio implant. “I had to attend to a situation. I’m sending the pod back to you. You can control it with your voice. It’s not Oz. I’ll explain that later. For now, I just need you and Garet to get in the pod and meet me back at Gaitune. We’ll all be there shortly. Understood?”

  Paige bobbed her head. “Yes. Yes I understand.”

  Joel’s voice was softer. “Thank you, Paige. I appreciate you just trusting me. I’ll see you soon.”

  Paige looked up at Garet. “Okay, sure. See you soon.”

  With that, the call disconnected.

  Garet sat on the sofa next to Paige. “Everything okay?” he asked, his concern mimicking Paige’s.

  She nodded, trying to act like there was nothing wrong. “I’m sure it’s fine. Joel didn’t say much. Just that he had to go somewhere, and that he was sending the pod back. He’d like us to take the pod back up to Gaitune now and meet him there.” She paused. “You okay with that?”

  Garet looked flustered. “You mean leave now? And go all the way there?”

  Paige started packing her things, her anxiety showing in her hurriedness. “Yes. It hardly takes any time at all in the pods. Maybe twenty minutes or so…” She looked up at him. “You haven’t been in a pod yet, have you?”

  Garet shook his head. “No, but I’ve got a feeling that’s about to change.”

  She smiled weakly. “Yeah. We should hurry. Joel sounded… not quite himself.”

  The pair packed up and made their way out of the Senate House. As soon as they stepped outside, a pod descended to their location and allowed them on board.

  “Hi,” said Paige, as she settled in, and strapped herself into her harness. “Gaitune, please.”

  The auditory feed crackled on, but it wasn’t Oz’s voice. “Gaitune, it is,” it replied, before taking the pod up into the stratosphere and beyond.

  Paige felt an uneasiness in her stomach. Something definitely wasn’t right.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Iantrogen Building, Downtown Spire

  Joel hung up the holo and turned back to Jack and Crash. “Okay, that’s Garet and Paige taken care of,” he announced.

  Jack jumped down from the bench by the window. “Pod is on its way,” she told him.

  Joel looked up at her. “Thanks,” he said absently, as he tried to think through the logistics. “Okay, so we have one more pod here, and you still need to pick up the Mini Empress.”

  Jack shook her head. “I don’t think I’m capable of flying that thing,” she confessed
. “I mean, the tech is like nothing I’ve seen. I was able to figure out bits of the weapons systems, but I need some training on that shit.”

  Joel scratched his head. “Is it safe where it is?”

  Jack ambled over to where he was standing, putting her hands on her hips. “I think so. I’d be happy to leave it until we can get back and retrieve it. It has a natural defense system, including a forcefield.”

  Joel waved his hand and pulled up his holo. “Okay. We’ll leave it. Let me call Maya. She and Pieter have two pods, so they can come get one of us, and then we can use Crash and Molly’s pod to get us all back to base…” His voice trailed off as he looked back over his shoulder at Crash, who was peeling himself from the floor, and accidentally put his hand in some of Molly’s blood that had dripped from the lab bench where he had been trying to save her.

  Joel’s face creased up again.

  “Hey,” Jack said, stepping closer and putting her hand on his forearm. “There’s hope. Sean wouldn’t have taken her if he didn’t have a plan.”

  Joel breathed, releasing the emotion that was welling in him. He nodded solemnly and connected the call with Maya.

  Maya answered within a few rings. “Hey,” she said brightly. “You should have seen his face!”

  Joel wished they could celebrate their victory, but it would be unfair for him to pretend. “Maya, we have a situation. Can you grab your pods and come and pick one of us up at Iantrogen? Sending coordinates now.”

  Maya hesitated, trying to process the unexpected intel. “Er. Sure. Yes of course,” she said, catching up. “We’ll be right there.”

  Joel replied, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice. “Thanks, Maya. See you soon.”

  Maya’s voice was now full of concern. “Everything okay?” she asked.

  Joel didn’t want to worry her, but at the same time, she needed to prepare herself. “Not really, but I’ll explain when you get here. Best thing you can do is help me get the team back to Gaitune.”

  Maya shifted into task mode. “Of course,” she said gently. “Anything you need. We’ll be there right away.”

  She clicked off the line, and Joel sent the coordinates.

  “Okay, that’s done,” he said to Jack. Then he looked over at Crash. “Give me a hand with him?” he asked.

  Jack nodded and walked over, gently stroking Joel’s arm as she let him be.

  Joel stood motionless, expressionless, for the four minutes and forty-eight seconds it took for the other pods to arrive. When they did, he hopped in with Maya, and let Jack and Crash take the other one.

  This was going to be the most difficult news to break to the team. Frankly, he didn’t know quite how he was going to do it.

  Iantrogen Offices, Spire

  Chaakwa Indus arrived at the scene, flashing her badge at the red and white tape. She followed the sound of voices down the corridor and into an open plan office area that looked like a war zone.

  She spotted her colleague near the doorway, and walked over to him. “Thanks for the call,” she told him, shaking his hand.

  Detective Barry Ferret greeted her. “Yeah, I figured you’d want to see, what with your involvement with this company.”

  Chaakwa nodded. “Yes. Still, I would have preferred to see her tried for her crimes than this. It’s definitely her?”

  Ferret chewed on his gum. “It’s her. We’ve had a couple of employees verify it.” He started walking into the sea of cubicles. “Want to see?”

  Chaakwa nodded. “Please,” she responded following him through the crime scene.

  Ferret started pointing things out. “This is where the main shooting happened. Video footage shows the Bates girl and one of her team holding back Newld’s personal security around here, after Jessica’s death.” He waved in the direction of the fire escape. “They disappeared off down there. There’s a broken window, and blood in a lab on the fourth floor.”

  He turned and headed up through the open plan office, leading Chaakwa through to the executive suite where Jessica’s office was. “Newld is just through here,” he relayed.

  Chaakwa noticed everything she could. Normally she’d be chatting away, talking theories. This time it would have been a waste of energy.

  Ferret stopped at the third door on the left. He signalled inside. “Through there,” he told her.

  Chaakwa stepped into the office suite, and then into Jessica’s actual office. Forensic personnel buzzed around, taking prints, photographs, and evidence, trying to determine what had happened.

  Chaakwa cautiously stepped into the office. She saw the sword first. Then the body facedown on the carpet. Ferret appeared beside her. “I know this is going to sound crazy, because we can see from the footage that the Bates girl came in here before Newld died. Thing is, for this to have happened, Newld must have done it to herself.”

  Chaakwa looked at him in surprise. Ferret seemed to glaze over, his eyes resting on the body in front of them, oblivious to Chaakwa’s stare.

  “You’re telling me she killed herself?” Chaakwa frowned.

  Ferret was still looking at the body. “Yeah. Some kind of ceremonial sword no less.” He turned to leave. “There were rumors she was an odd one. Strange practices, and all. I’ll tell ya,” he added casually, “suicide would make my job easier.”

  He ambled out of the room.

  Chaakwa looked around, unsure of what was really wrong with the scene. Something was giving her an odd feeling. She turned and followed after Ferret.

  “So that’s what you’re putting this down as? Suicide?” she pressed.

  Ferret kept walking as he talked. “Unless something turns up otherwise.”

  Chaakwa frowned, curious about how he was happy to let the gun fight go unsolved. “But what about the Bates girl, and the gun fight?” she asked.

  Ferret shrugged. “I’ll be trying to find out what that was about… sure. But if the forensics say she didn’t kill anyone, and she’s disappeared out of a window, chances are we’re not going to find her easily.” He opened the door back out into the open plan office, allowing Chaakwa through first. “Besides, maybe what this city needs is a few vigilantes to clean up the filth.”

  Chaakwa detected a hint of anger in his voice. She wanted to question him, but he was already on to the next conversation. She waved at him as he wandered away, talking to another investigator.

  Chaakwa headed back out under the crime scene tape and made her way out of the building. It looked like Molly and her team had been successful, at least. And had gotten away.

  All she could do now was wait…

  Aboard The Empress

  Sean couldn’t believe his luck when he looked down at the nav coordinates. Plotting a course to the ArchAngel was complex at best. Under the conditions he was going to have to find them, though, it would have taken an immense amount of mental fortitude. And time. Time they didn’t have.

  He glanced back at Molly’s body, strapped safely into the console chair. Bloody lucky she had already set those coordinates he mused, wondering if there was something coincidental or just downright mystical about how, out of all the places she could have plotted for the demonstration, she had chosen the ArchAngel.

  “Well, you said you wanted to see the ArchAngel sooner rather than later. Looks like you’re getting your wish…” he whispered to her.