by M. D. Cooper
He had to admit that the room was certainly opulent, but after having been aboard the massive I2 back at Silstrand, little impressed him anymore.
A red carpet stretched across the golden floor, leading to the opulent seat, upon which sat an even more ostentatious woman.
As they approached, Grayson studied her intricate red gown and headpiece. It had to weigh a ton, considering it appeared to be made of diamond-encrusted gold, with strands of pearls hanging from antler-like shafts of red crystal.
“Empress—” Grayson began as they reached the dais, but Hai stepped between him and the throne.
Shaking his head quickly with eyes wide, Hai pushed down on their shoulders, indicating they should first kneel. Then he shuffled over, his slippers whispering on the gold floor, and knelt beside Grayson, bowing his head so deep it nearly touched the floor.
Grayson and Maureen didn’t drop any further, and the colonel felt that holding back an impatient sigh was as much grace as he could manage.
While they waited for whatever signal would allow them to rise, Alice checked in.
He nearly chuckled as he sent across his heartfelt thanks.
Alice sent her non-verbal agreement across in a wave of feelings.
Grayson wondered what it could be. Even though Battia as a whole was barely spacefaring, the empress had the means to travel elsewhere if she really wanted advanced medicine to help her bear a son.
“Rise,” Mei finally said, “and come let your empress look upon you.”
Grayson stood and allowed Maureen to take the lead. He pulled up the data Alice had procured on his HUD and saw that over the centuries Mei had ruled Battia, nothing had really improved. The lifespans of the peasants, the crime rates, how ‘justice’ was meted out…none of it was pleasant. Tyranny and death appeared to be the only style of rule Empress Mei believed in.
Maureen reached the dais, and when Mei offered her hand, Maureen took it but didn’t quite touch her lips to the woman’s hand, as she seemed to desire. When it was Grayson’s turn, he looked Mei in the eye instead of the ring. He was struck by her absolute exotic beauty.
With her high cheeks, epicanthic folds on her eyes, dark olive skin, and silky smooth hair pinned into buns on either side of her head, her physical attractiveness was undeniable. He could see how it would be easy for a man living on Battia to fall for her beauty and be in awe of the power she wielded.
Mei raised her hand and her throne lit up, the gold shifting hue to give off a ruddy gleam. “You dare look me in the eye as though we are equals? What is your name and position?”
“Colonel Grayson of the Silstrand Alliance. I’m certain you know why we’re here—this system is joining our Alliance.”
Mei’s haughty expression didn’t change. “That does not interest me. I care not for Silstrand and Scipio. I care only for Battia. Nothing here will change. You’ve come all this way for nothing.”
Maureen took her cue from Grayson. “Empress Mei, you must hear us out. The Hegemony and Scipio are at war, and a distant nation known as Orion seeks to destabilize the Fringe systems further. Now that the Revolution Fleet is gone, you are defenseless. The first pirate fleet that comes through Hanoi will pillage your world. They’ll take your resources, your people.”
“Unless of course you don’t care for your people,” Grayson added. The empress’s expression hardened, and he knew his words were true. “While you live here in this fortress, the commoners on your world suffer. Half of them are bordering on starvation—though other parts of your world easily produce enough food to feed them. All the while, you sit on that throne, unwilling to lift a finger to help them. You keep them trapped on this world, indentured to you. That’s why you so readily aligned yourself with Peter Rhoads, isn’t it? It gave you the excuse to strip the last vestiges of technology from them and keep them squarely beneath your thumb.”
Mei’s eyes widened. “No one has ever spoken to me this way. Never.”
“Then maybe,” Grayson sneered, “you need to get out more.”
She may be right, but he couldn’t let the empress think she had the upper hand.
“Men have been killed for saying less,” Mei fumed.
“Perhaps we should just end this charade. You won’t make a move against us,” Grayson warned. “If you do, the Polis Fury will destroy your palace. The ship is in geosynchronous orbit above us, and the railguns are loaded.”
The empress smiled sweetly, her head tilted to the side, but Grayson could tell the expression was one she struggled to maintain. “We are not helpless, Colonel Grayson. My palace is well defended.”
“That may be, but you can’t destroy my ship. The rest of my fleet will be insystem any day now—it’s possible that they already are, and it’s just the astrostorms that are keeping us from seeing them. Regardless, they will take control of this system. Far as I can tell, you rule with only yourself in mind. So, let this be a warning to you, Empress Mei Maji.”
As Grayson spoke, he stepped up the stairs, causing three of the guards—which he’d spotted hidden behind the nearby tapestries—to emerge and aim their weapons at him. He ignored the threats.
“Sign the accord, and your way of life remains the same. You will become part of the Silstrand Alliance, though will remain largely autonomous. Don’t sign the treaty, and we will blockade your world and wipe out your defenses. Following that, we’ll remove you and install our own government, and you’ll never see the light of day again.”
Mei didn’t blink, but she did raise her hand, and the three guards lowered their weapons. “Colonel Grayson, you are a brave man to come before me and speak this way. Brave and perhaps very stupid.” She took a breath. “I will consider your words—they have some merit. We will discuss them later over dinner. Hai, show them to their rooms so they may freshen up.”
The guards stepped forward, and Grayson gave a shallow nod to the empress.
Maureen matched his gesture and gave him the side eye.
Grayson had worried about that as well. The empress was either a little crazy, or she didn’t want to lose face in front of her followers.
ays.> He gave the empress a glance over his shoulder and saw a smirk on her lips.
There was no reason to trust her. Not at all.
Grayson breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the timing of his bluff had gone off so well.
His XO never failed to make her feelings known.
FRIENDS AND FOES
STELLAR DATE: 12.20.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Barbaric Queen
REGION: Dante Velorum System, Fringe
Geesh, tough room.
Once Rogers had the ship’s destination—a station near Dante, but not too near—he stretched and rose from the pilot’s seat. He swung past his cabin to change into fresh clothes.
Later, as he passed Chassea’s quarters, he heard her call out, “Hey! Do I really need to stay in here? I promise I won’t do anything bad. I’m just hungry and exceptionally bored.”
“After that explosion and everything your people did….”
“That wasn’t me. I wasn’t even in the brig. You know that. I was strapped down to a chair, being interrogated. I gave you what you want to know. I promise I’ll be a good prisoner. I’ll even return to my room after we’ve eaten. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to me.”
Rogers checked his sidearm. “Fine. I’ll let you out to eat, but that’s all I can offer you. You can’t have a knife, but I’ll give you a spork—” Rogers suddenly remembered that Kylie had once shoved a spork through a woman’s ear. “I’ll give you a spoon.”
“All right, but if I behave, maybe you can allow me time to stretch my legs. Even prisons allow time in the yard for their inmates. Don’t be so cruel, Rogers.”
“I’m not promising anything, nothing at all. We’ll see what your behavior dictates.”
“Deal,” Chassea said with a smile in her voice.
* * * * *
After having breakfast with Rogers and—to her extreme distaste—Chassea, Bubbs reheated the prior night’s meal and brought it, along with a surprise, to the medbay for Elizabeth.
Jacob was still unconscious, but was recovering nicely inside the medtube. Elizabeth lay in one of the beds along the far wall. Though held in place by restraints, she was still able to sit up, which was her current position. Her eyes tracked her captor’s approach.
Bubbs set the food tray down onto a small table and then swung it out over Elizabeth’s lap. “Ground beef steak with gravy and mashed potatoes. It’s one of Rogers’ specialties. I kind of like it.”
“Thank you. It’s very kind, considering what we did,” Elizabeth said as she picked up the plastic spoon.
“What Jacob did,” Bubbs corrected, peering into the woman’s eyes, looking for any clue she was lying. “You had nothing to do with it—so long as you were telling the truth.”
“I was.” Elizabeth chewed thoughtfully. “Still, we don’t deserve your kindness. This is really good. Compliments to Rogers.”
“He’s competent in the kitchen, but I never tell him that.” Bubbs sat down in a chair beside the bed. “Are you feeling all right?”
“A lot better now, thanks to you and Rogers. He acted fast to get us out of there.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Jacob…he just can’t stand to lose.”
Bubbs gazed into the medtube where Jacob lay, still recovering, his chest rising and falling gently. “I understand. I don’t like to lose either, but I wouldn’t blow up a brig I was stuck in to prove my point. He’s stupid and foolish.”
“You really tell it like it is, don’t you?”
Bubbs shrugged unapologetically. “Sorry. It’s a habit.”
“Oh, no, it’s OK.” Elizabeth leaned forward and touched Bubbs’ hand. “I don’t mind. It’s refreshing to know what someone thinks. I’ve seen all types of people in my travels across the stars; some are more honest than others. I like knowing where I stand.”
“Or where you lie.” Bubbs chuckled at her little joke.
Elizabeth laughed, and Bubbs had to admit she liked seeing the woman before her happy—her nose crinkled slightly, and her dimples made her look remarkably cute.
“You don’t seem much like a smuggler. You’re not like Jacob or Chassea.”
“I’m not,” Elizabeth admitted with a slow nod. “I fell in with them more than I joined them. I needed somewhere to belong, and Chassea…well, she takes care of me. Always.”
“You should find better friends.” Bubbs stood and started to make her exit.
“Thank you for the food. Maybe one day, we’ll be friends.”
“I have enough friends,” Bubbs replied, and though her voice carried her typical disdain, her heart didn’t feel it.
She could already tell she liked Elizabeth more than she should. More than she’d liked anyone in a long time. But affairs of the heart were dangerous, and Bubbs had no extra time to spend on complications.
Still…she couldn’t help but think that having a doctor onboard might be a very good idea.
* * * * *
As they repaired the damage in the brig, Rogers scrunched up his face in confusion and gave Bubbs a long, appraising look. “Come at me again with what you just said?”
Bubbs sighed as she held the metal panel up so Rogers could weld it back in place. He flicked his protective mask back down and got to work.
“It’s disconcerting talking to you when I cannot even see your funny little eyes,” she said.
“I’m afraid this is as good as it’s going to get for now,” Rogers said, as the molecular welder rejoined the material together.
Fine, then. “Well, it would be helpful to have a doctor onboard. Elizabeth is kind, not like the other smuggler scumbags. She has those augmented eyes for med scans. If my bad arm gets blown off, it’d be nice to have someone who can fix me. Someone that has experience and that might be able to give us advice…like with your eyes, if something were to go wrong.”
“Aww, you worried about me? Also, we don’t need a doctor, we have the medtubes. Just stick you in, and you’ll be right as rain.”
Bubbs didn’t respond directly. “Just…what do you think?”
Rogers shrugged. “We already have Chassea coming out of her room for dinner, and you making regular visits to the medbay, and now you want to let another one of them out?”
“I don’t trust Chassea, but I trust Elizabeth. She doesn’t know yet that I’ve asked. I’m making this request, not her.”
Rogers put his welding equipment down and flipped his mask back up. “You’ve been visiting the medbay a lot. Are you sweet on this woman, Bubbs?”
Her good eye narrowed as it fixed on his face. “I resent the accusation that I could be sweet on anyone.”
“Bubbs, you’re human. You have…needs. We all do.”
&
nbsp; “I do not. I have an arm attachment for that.”
Rogers rolled his eyes. “Oh, gross! Do you really? Wait, don’t answer that question.” He flipped his mask back down. “I’m not going to give you a yes or no, but she stays locked up. We’ll wait for the cap to get back; it’s Kylie’s call. If we need a doctor before that…I guess she’ll get her big break.”
Bubbs smiled. “I feel quite content with your answer, thank you.”
She couldn’t wait to let Elizabeth know.
LONG TIME COMING
STELLAR DATE: 12.17.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Judith’s Pride, Platform 8 North Docks, Chimin-1
REGION: Chimin Asteroid Group, Hanoi System (independent)
A few hours later, Lana met Winter aboard the Judith’s Pride, the freighter that had come in from Geonova Station. They walked wordlessly to the ship’s cargo bays and began to help the dockworkers load crates of supplies onto hover sleds.
They helped transfer staples like oatmeal and rice, chicken, pork, and less…specific protein, and powdered milk. As Lana was lifting two boxes, one onto each shoulder, she noticed Winter staring at her.
Not in a bad way, more in the way that showed he was appreciating her lean and muscular arms. Lana had to admit she liked the attention, even if he hadn’t said anything.
“Need some help with your boxes?” she asked.
“Nah, I’m good,” Winter said with a shake of his head. “I’d just forgotten how strong that crazy tech makes you. You’ve been lifting crates by hand for the last forty-five minutes and you’ve barely broken a sweat.”
“You should see what else I can do—I mean,” Lana cleared her throat, “it’s thanks to the nano and everything the ISF did to stabilize me.” She shifted her eyes away, so Winter wouldn’t see her blushing.
