by Mason, Jolie
“Because someone must. Go along, now. Your captain is waiting.”
She nodded. Tybalt was her childhood. He’d been the only one to see her, and she only now realized she’d never seen him, not as he really was. Confused, Nina stepped out into the bay and headed at a jog to the back hatch so the shuttle could be launched. Ra’dan waited beyond the hatch, his face stern and thoughtful. He tapped the latch controls behind her. The door hissed to a seal.
“Launch sequence initiated. Nina, I have been asked to open a comm to you. By the Nina.” Luca’s voice drifted through the hallway where she and Ra watched the shuttle hover, waiting for the doors to open so it could shoot free of the Bell.
“Go ahead.”
“Nina, I changed my mind. If I never say this, I’ll regret it, and you know how I hate regrets, little one.” A pause stretched a moment on the comm.
“I’m listening, Ty.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t respond all right. Just listen.” She waited as he appeared to gather his nerve. “Nina, I love you. Always have. Always will.” He laughed harshly. “I know you ran from your life, but I wish you’d stayed, Nina. I really wish you had given me a try. We could have had fun.” The comm fell silent. That little announcement hadn’t been on private comms because Luca hadn’t had time to patch in a private channel. It was a very public, very emotional goodbye.
She watched the wedge silhouette shoot trimly forward out of the bay and into space through the squared window panels in the hatch. It felt like everything she’d ever believed about her life had flown out of that bay and into space.
6
Nina met Ra’dan’s somber eyes. She’d watched the shuttle depart. He’d apparently watched her. He had this way of being so still in the storm, so still she could forget he was there. It was hard to believe that he hadn’t always been here, watching her. She’d feel afraid any second now, but, right in this moment, she watched the calm in his eyes and took a deep breath.
Her sister had become a despot. Her father had been murdered, and she wasn’t really sad about it. Her betrothed, and childhood friend, fought for the rebellion on Brin. There was no help for Sor. The last thought broke her heart. War would spread across galaxies, and the slavers would have carte blanche with her home because no one had time to render aid with the universe burning. That was the complete list of her problems, and it made her want to hyperventilate.
Nina breathed deeply again, trying to be strong for him, until he reached for her.
She crumbled the moment he folded her up in his arms, cradled against his broad chest. She sobbed. “No one is coming”. How much faith she had placed in her sister! The betrayal cut like nothing else could. She felt his hand, soothing on her back.
She heard Luca’s voice, canned and tinny, coming through the interior comm. “Where to, Captain?”
He sighed into her golden waves. “Take us closer to Sor, Luca. Find a place to hide. I’ve got some calls to make.”
Nina looked up at him, tears flowing freely down her face. “What do we do now?”
His hand reached for her wet cheek. She leaned into it as he brushed away the evidence of her sorrows. She wished she could give him half the peace he seemed to give her. Nina was stronger when he held her, braver when he touched her.
“I’m going to fight them.”
“We are”, she said, shaking her head. She hooked her hands on both his shoulders and pulled herself a little taller to look him in the eye. “Where you go, I go.”
He smiled back at her broadly. She noticed a glint in his eyes. Pride?
“I know”, he said.
*****#*****
Ra’dan dreaded the comm he was about to make, and he stared at the viewscreen like it was a mortal enemy. He finally breathed in deeply and triggered the comm. It had been daylight on Taarken for hours, and she was bound to be up and around, waiting for word on his trip anxiously because she’d never approved, never wanted him anywhere near any of the slaver planets.
She was there like magic in a moment, smiling through dark curls and laughing with joy at his comm. “Ra’ddy, my baby! How’s the trip home?” She stopped to study him on her own screen. “That bad, huh?”
“Dea,” he began, but stopped and looked away. As overprotective as she was, this would kill her. “Is Caden around?”
Aricka Badu, former captain of the Bell and second mother to Ra’dan, sat straighter in the chair and went on full alert. She was human, but it hadn’t ever made a bit of difference to the love he felt for her or her love for him. In some ways, she was a fiercer mother than the Sorian women he’d known. Sorian mothers didn’t interfere in their offspring’s lives to the level Ari Badu was capable. The minute he told her what he intended she would go supernova.
“If you need Caden, things are out of hand”, she said and then waved her husband over to the screen. “Or you’re about to tell me something I won’t like. Which is it?" The older man actually looked younger and happier than the last time Ra’dan had seen him on Prime. The gray at his temples didn’t stand out like it had. He smiled, showing the beginning of laugh lines around his mouth. Marriage had made a new man of him.
“Ra, what can I do?” That was it. No questions, just what can I do. Ra swallowed. The family he’d made was more loyal than any family he could have been born into. Freedom had only been the first step. Ari, the crew of the Bell, and his new life had kept him moving forward one step at a time.
“I need weapons that can’t be traced back to the Carnes Syndicate. Big ones, and, Ari, Dea... I’m sorry.”
“No”, she said. “I forbid it.” Caden’s hands fell to her shoulders, but she shook them off. “You will not give him weapons of any kind, Caden. He's going to do something stupid.”
Caden looked tensely through the screen, reading his intentions clearly. “Love, he’d just go without them. Better that he have a chance, if we can provide one.”
“Ra’dan, you will not do whatever fool thing it is you’re planning. I mean it.”
“Caden, this war is bigger than the three planets. The Empress has lost her mind or just decided to follow her father’s example, and a galaxy wide rebellion is already in motion. Sor has been handed to slavers. Along with other planets with large agrarian populations. It's only a matter of time before this spreads.”
“Do they have fleets?”
“We can’t be sure. So far, nothing’s arrived on planet but transport ships and trooper shuttles.”
“I can dispatch the Merriweather...”
“No”, he said sharply. “You cannot send an identifiable ship!” He took a breath and held it to calm himself. “Taarken is going to be a target, both because of your mines and your money. Don’t rush that day coming. If the Imperium sees you as an immediate threat, they will take the system. I can do this on my own. You have to prepare your people.” He met Ari’s worried gaze. “And protect our family.”
Ari glared at first one then the other. “Ra’dan, you can’t take back a whole planet with a few side irons and hope.”
He smiled. “True, Dea. However, there is a resistance. I can help them.”
“You're going to stay”, she stated blankly.
She looked defeated over the vid, and so very lovely. Ari had been the family he’d lost and the mother he chose. In the darkest time of his life, she’d been there, and he’d seen her through the worst of hers. This could well be the last time he saw her, he thought.
“What kind of weapons did you have in mind?” Caden asked.
Ra’dan told him just what his target was. He felt like there was one strategic place on the map the resistance could remove to cripple the slavers once and for all. It wouldn’t end the war in one fell swoop, but it would slow down reinforcements and supplies. It would take out their forward staging area. That could make all the difference, but it would require a good plan, and a really, really big bomb.
In the meantime, Ra’dan would go planet-side and connect with the rebels
while he waited for his weapons to be delivered to the Bell. Ari listened to them both sadly, then simply rested her forehead in her hand. It hurt him to hurt her, but he had to do this. For his sister, Nina, and his people. Maybe, he also wanted to take those years back, the years he lost to slavery and servitude.
“Ari”, he said. “I must do this.”
She sat back in her chair, as close to tears as he’d ever seen her. “Not a scratch, do you hear me?”
“I thought I would send the Bell with Luca. She can handle the ship, I think.”
“I wasn’t talking about the damn ship, you idiot.” She pointed at him. “You will come home in one piece or else.”
He chuckled. “I promise I will not knowingly get myself killed.”
“Better not. If there’s anyone in the universe capable of haunting you beyond our graves, you know it’s me.”
There was some truth to that. He smiled.
“All right. Anything else you want to tell me? Governments you’d like to get permission to overthrow?”
Caden had gone, probably already finding what Ra’dan needed. It was strange to know all he had to do was ask. He’d spent so much of his life alone.
He wanted Ari to know one more thing, just in case. He tapped the screen and sent a file over the feed. “Just this”, he said.
Ari looked over the file. “Nina Quell, doctor. Nice picture. Who is she?”
“We are bonded”, he answered. The look of surprise in her eyes took him back. He’d never imagined she would disapprove? Did she?
“You mean like the Sorian marriage thing, bonded?”
He nodded, his throat temporarily clogged with apprehension.
She scanned the file anxiously, looking at him occasionally. Finally, she said, “The Empress’ sister? Ra’ddy, really? Have you met that woman? She’s a nightmare! Can't you do anything easy?”
Ra chuckled in his relief. Leave it to her to disapprove of royalty, not him. Never him. Tears pricked his eyes. “I’m in love with Nina, not her sister.”
Ari put the datapad down in front of her and smiled a half smile. “In love?”
He wiped a hand brusquely over his eyes, then nodded. “Yes”, he said, roughly. “In love. She is... perfect.”
“Nobody’s perfect. Caden snores like a swine. You must be in love.” Ari waved that away. “But, a doctor, yeah?”
This time he laughed out loud. “She’s very smart.”
“By human standards, she’s very pretty. What about by yours?”
“By any standard, Dea. She reminds me a little of my mother.”
He watched her face crumple behind her hand as she worked out to which mother he referred, his human one. He’d never known his Sorian mother. She had been killed when he was small. He’d had Marmy, and then Ari. He’d never felt as if he missed a thing.
Ari wiped her eyes because she hated to cry. Seldom did it, and she only really wept with joy. Marriage had removed her stoic, and somewhat sarcastic, edge, given her the peace he’d wished for her. She was stronger for it.
“Do you understand why I must help my people?”
She paused a moment, but nodded. “I understand. Do you want us to pick up Nina?”
He scoffed. “And have her remove an appendage? No, thank you. She’s a doctor. She won’t quietly sit out the war on a peaceful planet.”
Ari smiled. “I like her already. Sounds like my boy is in good hands. You be safe and smart.”
“Always, Dea. Always. I love you.”
She sniffed. “I love you, too, Ra’dan Sevarus. Come back to us. That’s all I ask.”
He nodded. He flicked off the comm and covered his face with his hands. That had been easier than he suspected it would be. He went to the basin and washed his face. Looking in the mirror, he studied the darker green tone of his skin, so like the jungles of Brin. Fleetingly, he wondered how it looked to Nina. Did he look exotic to her the way she had to him? In such a short time, she had become second nature. He knew her, inside and out, the way her hair flipped around her face. The way she laughed and the curve of her smile were familiar to him as breathing, and as necessary.
Shaking his head, he commed Luca. There was no time for this now. “Luca, I need you to scan the comms and see if you can find the rebel factions. We have a surprise for them. Get an idea where the lightest fighting is and find a shuttle drop close enough to make contact without comms.”
“You wanna go on foot?”
“Yeah, it’s safer that way. Can’t risk the information. A shuttle is too likely to appear on scans, and I doubt we'd ever get close enough to any of the rebels to make contact in one..”
“You got it.”
Ra’dan pulled a towel off the rack to wipe his wet hands. They had to find Na’len, if he was still alive. He’d be able to help them formulate a strategy for getting that bomb to the port. He wanted to detonate a huge bomb in the middle of enemy territory, so he needed good intelligence and men to do it. The plan was insane, but he’d been toying with it since they left Brin. His instincts screamed that it could work. If he could get the Sorians to go along with it. It would be a hard sell. They had a lot to lose.
The slaver ships were dependent on the port. Without the port, they just couldn’t move the manpower they needed onto Brin easily. Instead, they’d be shuttle bound, and shuttles just didn’t come in invasion size. For that, you needed troop and transport ships docking at a facility. He didn't think the slavers would have that kind of manpower, given how thin they appeared to be spread across the quadrant. It would severely cripple the invading force.
The space port would be crawling with slaver troops and mercenaries. The real question was how they’d get the bomb he’d asked for inside the facility. For that, he needed some information about the state of things on the planet.
*****#******
Nina had given up trying to find Ra’dan. He’d said he had calls to make. She could wait, right?
The Carry Bell was a pleasant ship to fly on, she thought. There was a soothing hum to the engine and the crew going about their business in the halls and corridors. Nina loved the noises. She’d found her way back to her cabin with weariness pressing her down. She hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep since she left Brin.
The utilitarian room wasn’t as welcoming as it could have been as she sank onto the single bunk tiredly. It was very empty to be such a small room, or maybe she was just feeling very alone. When she thought of Brin, she always thought the same thoughts, thoughts turning around and around in her mind. Was her clinic still standing? How were her friends? Would she get that life back? Always buzzing beneath her thoughts like little stinging bees, she wondered how things were back home.
Her hatch beeped, startling her from her thoughts. “Identity”, she said sighing.
“Brine, Luca. Pilot”
“Oh,” Nina whispered surprised. “Open.”
Luca stood leaning on the outer hatch holding two scotch glasses and a bright green bottle of Sorian Brandy. Her uniform looked rumpled, as did her bouncy, blond curls. “Girls night, Quell!”, she announced to the room before strolling in with feline grace.
“Luca. I don’t know if I’m great company.”
“That’s okay. We’re getting sloppy drunk anyway.”
Nina laughed, and felt relief ease its way into her soul. She hadn’t been able to just relax in a long while. Given the events with the Imperium and the revelations about her family, Nina thought she might need a good stiff drink. “All right. I’m in.”
Luca popped the top and began pouring. Handing one of the glittering glasses to Nina, she eased herself into the only chair in the room. The desk chair wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was the only option.
Nina spilled a good long swallow down her throat and savored the sweet mint flavor, followed by a nice, smooth burn. “I do love Sorian brandy”, she sighed.
“You love all things Sorian.” Luca’s good natured teasing was infectious.
“Green is
my favorite color”, she laughed.
“Nina,” said Luca, refilling Nina’s already empty glass. “You are serious about our boy, aren’t you?”
Nina stared down into her glass swishing it from side to side. “I’m so serious it scares me.”
“What does that mean?”
Nina drank deeply. “I don’t know if you know much about my background, but family relationships haven’t been easy for me to maintain exactly.”
Luca nodded. “In all fairness, your family is full of assholes, so I doubt it is exactly your failing.”
Laughter bubbled from deep inside. Nina hadn’t laughed like that in a while. “Never said it was a rational fear.”
“Without too much sharing that could send me into years and years of mental trauma from which I may never recover, what’s he say?”
Nina smiled timidly. “He says he loves me, that we’re already bonded. By accident. ”
“Ha!” Luca laughed quietly at the ceiling. “You can stop worrying now. Sorian bonds don’t just form. There’s very specific requirements and prerequisites. That dog. Just like him to lock you down without giving you the option to run.”
Nina wondered about that. She wondered if she’d had anything to do with it as well. Luca was mightily entertained, but she wasn’t wrong. Bonding wasn’t something that usually just happened by accident. Nina had to want the bond, and she had to be open to it.
Companionably, Luca curled her legs over the chair to get comfortable. “Have you seen a bonding ceremony yet? It’s one of the most beautiful rituals I’ve ever seen.”
Nina remembered the only one she’d been to on planet. Nessa’s bonding had been amazing. The first part of the ceremony was reminiscent of Earth ceremonies. There was a hand fasting and vows. There were speeches and gifts from each of the families, and then the lights suddenly dropped away leaving the whole room in utter darkness but for the patterned glow coming from the Sorian’s bodies which were displayed in near transparent wedding garments.
