by Mason, Jolie
Laughing, he leaned over her shoulder and said no thanks. Pulling up the ship’s codex accounts, Luca started learning like a sponge because ships really don’t fly themselves.
Home from the Hill
Jolie Mason
1
All Luca Brine could see around her was darkness. It was so heavy she couldn't be sure her eyes were actually open. It was entirely possible they were pasted shut from the head trauma she vaguely recalled somewhere in her battered memory. Inky, impenetrable darkness pressed in on her, heightening all her other senses.
The thick smell of pungent drugs, unwashed bodies and sweat floated through the small, cloistered room. Sounds drifted past a set of bars in a small window of the only door in or out. The light glowing in that window dimmed, so that no light broke the veil.
That may have made the sounds worse, to tell the truth. Shouts, mournful moans, and the whisper of what could be broken, unanswered prayers were clearly audible through the doors, even the walls. Not being able to see, strapped to a bed with medical restraints, her mind fuzzy from the drugs the beefy nurse had held her down roughly earlier to administer all played with her head, twisted her insides horribly, and she thought the drugs were making her sick. Whatever they had in that syringe, she felt awful now. She knew she was weak and helpless.
A loud clang reverberated through the facility, causing the other prisoners to stir and yell and fight. She stiffened, listening with all her might, breathless. Footsteps. Steady and unhurried. Luca panicked. Her breath wheezed harshly, as she fought the restraints. Her heart pounded out of her chest. Her eyes teared painfully. He was coming.
When he came, he would hurt her again. She tugged one more time at her wrist, wrenching it painfully. Was that his hand on the door? She fought wildly, tearing at the skin of her arm against tight straps.
Breathing hard, Luca sat up in the bed. She looked around her quarters, the captain's cabin of the Bell. The dream again, she thought. Just the dream. She thought of it as the dream. It was the only one she had at times.
She took in each shadow against the stark white furnishings. She'd added color, but the furniture remained white as snow in the dim lighting. Strangely, that was a comfort. That ghostly pale, built-in cabinet symbolized home and sanity for Luca.
She'd had the same damn dream every night for the past month . She'd written it off as anxiety, but that seemed harder to do right now. It was all so very real. Right down to the dank funk in the air of that brutal darkness. She knew the one she feared was a doctor, and she feared that he was all too real.
Luca jumped out of the bed and headed for the small shower. She never looked at the digital numbers on the wall telling her the time. Sleep was over for the night. She'd just get ready for planet fall and go from there.
***#***
Leaves of blazing crimson fell everywhere on the forested planets surface as the shuttle banked and turned to hover then touch down on the soft soil of Clarion Prime in mid-fall.
Hitting the comm, Luca said, “Carry Bell, we have arrived. Russert, you will not break my ship.”
Russert's young voice came back with a laugh, “Under control, Captain. Arrival acknowledged.”
She smiled at the thought of the newest addition of the crew of the Carry Bell, a dimpled, baby faced boy of around twenty. He was a genius pilot for his age. Give Luca a few months and he'd be nova in the pilot's chair. Command would take a bit longer. He was a work in progress.
“The Officiate sends his regards and a site map. I take it we've been summoned.” Emery's slow drawl slid up her spine like water in a pool. She'd made him her First Mate, and she'd been regretting the choice ever since. It wasn't his work.
It was proximity. She had to spend more time with him than she thought was healthy for her. He made her spine tingle every second he was with her. Her and every other female on board. It wasn't like she was special, other than being his boss.
She slid the console out and back into the resting position, swinging her black, leather clad legs out of the seat. “Let's not keep him waiting, then. Besides, I skipped breakfast. If I don't eat soon, I'll die.”
Emery laughed that silky laugh of his. “How can one person hold so much food?”
“My metabolism is high. Let's go.” She didn't wait to see if he followed her down the shuttle's ramp and out into the clear, crisp air of a truly spectacular planet. The temperature was just where she liked it. In that sweet spot where you just felt the hint of a chill, just enough to nip your nose, not enough to freeze you out. She zipped her black and crimson uniform jacket. She was the only crew she knew of on the Bell who still used the old school, low tech clothing. It gave her an old fashioned appearance, dating her uniform, but it was mechanical instead of tech. Less to go wrong, easier to fix. She didn't approve of throwing away good clothes, and, call her old fashioned, but sometimes the old ways were the best.
It was why she'd taken up Ari Badu's habit of buying more expensive paper books. They felt more permanent, less ethereal in her hand. She wouldn't have to ever worry about whether they were real or needed a power source. They were always there.
The day on Clarion wasn't sunny. It wasn't really cloudy either. Overcast, she'd call it. She followed a path edged by lovely, fall shade flowers and shrubs. Ahead there was a low tech gate with a single guard dressed in formal grays. She nodded to him as he returned her gesture and opened the gate.
“Captain, the Officiate is waiting on the veranda. Take the path to the right.”
Emery caught up to her just in time to hear the directions. They both headed right, side by side, in silence, until they were well away from the guard.
“Is Caden sure about this place?”
“He says they have the tech, then they have the tech”, she answered quietly. The path wound around a stone lined, rectangular veranda surrounded by more copies of the gray guard at the gate. A portly man with an Old Earth goatee and antique style clothing sat at an elaborately set table shoving canapes into his rounded, rosy cheeks. The guards intercepted the two of them before they could approach the patio.
One ran a scan device over them, each in turn. He turned to look at his employer. “Clean, Sir”, he reported.
She met Emery's bright green eyes. They each knew what the other was thinking. It was getting to be that way with them, more like partners because they worked in a pair so much. He raised an eyebrow at her as if to say, this is a bit much. She agreed.
She thought, Lots of security for a backwater. Opulent surroundings and signs of technology beyond the locals. This was a company planet, and, as such, it probably fell outside the Empire's influence.
Company planets made Luca nervous. They tended to be a law unto themselves, and getting in a tight spot might require more rescue than she had available.
“Officiate Perkins. My employer appreciates your taking the time to sit down with us.”
The portly man waved them to sit across from him at the beautiful table which they did. “Captain Luca Brine of the Carry Bell, your reputation precedes you, my dear.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head causing her short curls to bounce in ringlets around her face. “How could an Officiate of Clarion know my reputation?”
The man smiled an oily smile before responding. “You are legendary as a pilot, Captain Brine. However did Badu keep you in such a very small operation as Badu Shipping and Hauling?”
“It's a family business.” She said nothing else, and she would say nothing else. People asking about Ari made her more nervous. At this rate, she'd be climbing her FM looking for high ground like a feline by the time they made the Bell.
“Ah, I see.” He looked them both over and poured another glass what appeared to be juice of some type. He didn't because she wasn't really family, but he let it go. “So, Caden tells me he's interested in some of my more volatile stock.”
She nodded. “Carnes Syndicate is looking to upgrade it's security tech. You are the premiere manufact
urer of drones and mech technology.”
He smiled. “I'm also one of his very best customers. Tell him that I appreciate the discount very much.”
“He appreciates the business.”
The man motioned a quietly standing servant to his side with fresh damp cloth. She tried not to react, but she jumped a bit because he'd been so still Luca hadn't even noticed the servant standing there holding a washcloth in a bowl.
“He understands that some of the tech he's requesting is contracted exclusively with the current buyer?”
She nodded. “He also understands that current buyer is in... Shall we call them difficulties? He also knows that the tech can be concealed. With the Imperium in such chaos, who'll notice if you widen your customer pool?”
Perkins nodded. “Just so. Just so. It's my understanding that he wants the most sensitive items packaged and loaded aboard the Carry Bell specifically.”
“Shipments will be handled by my ship and a sister ship, the Carry Call.”
He chuckled. “Captain Badu has chosen such strange ship names. I presume you know the history of them?”
Luca's eyebrows ticked up. “I'm surprised you do.”
He laughed again. “Admiral Eustice M. Carry, Commander of the final fleet that fled Old Earth and founder of the short lived Galactic Alliance. Ari has always had a rebellious nature.”
“You won't hear me argue that point. Sir, do I inform the Syndicate that we have a deal?”
“Your first shipment is ready for you at my distribution hub. Just tell Carnes, he better make sure I don't regret this.” He gestured widely indicating the veranda, his men and his breakfast. “This life is comfortable, Captain, and I do not intend to give it up.”
She looked around, noting the girth of his soft figure and the immaculate trim of his beard. “Can't say I blame you. It is very comfortable.”
Soft, weak, that was her thought. A thought she kept firmly buttoned up, making sure nothing on her face gave her away. She didn't trust the man for all his efforts to appear harmless and charming. He was a shark of industry, and a man like that would never be harmless,not while he had power.
Luca put her datapad down near the Officiates where it lay between his juice and a pastry. Tapping the screen she shared her contact information with the man. “You have our contact information should you have concerns, Officiate. We have quite a tight schedule on your planet.” She smiled as she rose. “It's been a pleasure.”
The Officiate rose with her in a show of old fashioned gallantry. Luca still thought it was just that, a show. She'd bet the Officiate was the least gallant man she'd ever met.
“It has been a pleasure, Captain, and I never say things I do not mean.” The man looked her up and down in an obvious show of male interest. “How long are you in port, Captain Brine?”
She cut her eyes away to hide her disgust. It always came down to this wherever she went. Men were men, and she was apparently a magnet for male interest whether she encouraged it or not.
“Plan is to ship out tomorrow. We have a few service issues to work out on the Bell. Some parts to pick up.”
She looked back only when she erased the annoyance at the unwelcome attention from her features. Her pleasant, business smile was misinterpreted almost immediately, she knew, as the Officiate took her pleasantness as interest. Because, of course, a man with power couldn't imagine a woman who didn't want access to that power.
“We are having a small celebration here in my home, a ball. I would love it if you could attend, Captain. It is not often I have the opportunity to entertain such a beautiful woman in my home.”
She felt Emery step closer as she fielded the invitation as she had a thousand times before. “I'm afraid, Officiate, we've got a rendezvous with a mining freighter to make. But, I thank you for the offer.”
Perkins stepped closer taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. “Perhaps the next time you come to our planet, Captain.”
“Perhaps”, she said.
She and Emery walked back the way they'd entered past the guard at the gate, making their way toward the shuttle. She paused on the path. Emery stopped beside her, turning toward her hands on his hips.
“I know that look”, he said sternly.
“Something is wrong.”
“Like what?”
“I don't know”, Luca answered turning her head slightly back toward the veranda and the Officiate of Clarion. “Just something.”
She looked squarely at her FM, his dark hair needed a trim as usual. The thing that always shocked her, though, was she never saw doubt in his eyes. If she said she had a feeling, an instinct, he didn't question the truth of that. He just started looking for the trouble.
Luca hadn't had that experience before now. Her far too feminine, good looks and innocent manner usually made people underestimate her. Not Em. He trusted her judgment, even when she wasn't sure she did.
They resumed their walk to the shuttle. “So, we're waiting on the HD couplings to be delivered and installed this afternoon. You and I can grab some lunch after we pick up our drones.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
***#***
The distribution center rested in the middle of a large complex teeming with mechs and drones, either being tested or used for some purpose. Everywhere Emery looked there were more machines than he'd ever seen. He'd landed the shuttle in the lot, and he and Luca now made their way across the plaza leading to ornate glass doors.
He breathed in as Luca opened the door ahead of him. In the time he'd come to know Luca Brine, he had learned two things. She was the most capable woman he'd ever met, and she really didn't like being made to feel like some female piece of fluff. He was careful she never saw his attraction, but it was there. He just didn't know what to do about it.
He watched the gentle sway of her hips, the swell of her ass in black leather, and tamped down the heat pooling in his abdomen. Her body was a temptation, but it was her mind that fascinated him most.
She didn't know how much of her history he actually knew, but it was a lot. Luca didn't share herself easily. He'd learned her from...other sources. In spite of knowing his chances with the woman, he found himself observing her every move at times. Good thing he was an expert at hiding that.
He watched her carefully now as she announced them to a worker and handed him a purchase order. The tall man in a workers coverall hastened to locate their delivery and have it moved to the loading dock.
Luca wandered back toward him with her hands resting in her pockets. “Loading slip 4. Let's go get the shuttle ready to load. For some reason, I don't like this planet.”
“Sure.” He fell into step behind her again as they walked through a smaller interior door into a loud loading area. The shuttle wasn't far. He told her to wait at the big open cargo entrance while he flew the shuttle carefully into loading slip four. Emery opened the back shuttle hatch and left it ready to load. Stepping out, he went back to Luca who stood nervously scanning her environment.
They stood waiting as two techs did last minute runs on the mech and five drones, round spheres that fired rockets and patrolled perimeters more efficiently than a man. These, in particular, were heavy artillery drones exclusively designed for planetary defense. Caden had already amassed a great many defenses in case the Imperium made their move. The techs were finally loading the last of the drones when he asked, “You're still hungry right?”
She nodded over the noise of mechanized joints rattling and clanging on metal. One of the techs handed her the invoice and a datapad and scrib to sign the receipt, while Emery climbed into the pilots chair and pulled out the console.
She joined him, and he lowered the hatch and ran through pre-launch. “Parts and service is near the town market. You wanna grab food there?”
She answered distractedly, “Sure, I'm fairly famished.”
He glanced her way. “Anything wrong?”
She shook her head, but not with conviction of any kind. “Just
got the grimms, I guess. Something about this planet doesn't feel right. I'll be glad to blow the dust off is all.”
Emery trusted instinct. It was what kept him alive this far. If she had a feeling, she had a feeling. That was worth taking note. He started running some basic scans for surveillance and tracking. He'd tell her if he found something.
***#***
A blustery wind had blown up while they were in transit to the marketplace, a rounded plaza surrounded by red brick everything; shops, walkways and fountains. All charming and old world looking as though they'd been standing for centuries. They could have. She didn't know. They'd parked the shuttle on an elevated garage roof designed for flight vehicles and taken the lift down.
The service parts they needed were not on the main plaza but off of it in a slightly more industrial area. They'd walked more than a couple streets before Luca realized she was teetering on the edge of chilled with the wind blowing through her coat cutting a path over her skin. Em hardly looked effected.
She'd also noticed he played with his datapad a lot more than usual, since they'd landed in the crowded market. The tall brick buildings sported large numbers that led them to the maintenance shop. A bell tinkled as she pushed her way into the storefront.
It smelled of grease and metals, the comforting scent of machinery. Comforting to spacers anyway. She made her way to the long counter top and the man standing behind it watching a vid of some game. Loud cheers emanated from the single speaker.
“Come on!”, the man shouted in disbelief. “That was completely out!”
He looked over at them and gestured at the vid. “Can you believe that?” She smiled and shook her head.
Emery, however, leaned over to look at the screen. “Is it the intergalactic playoff?”
The shop owner shook his head. “Intermediary. And the Clarion Tangos are probably out of the running if the calls keep going against them. What can I do for you two?”
She introduced herself, and he immediately knew what the needed, thought it took him a moment of waving and gesticulating at the sport on the vidscreen to tear himself away.
