by M. D. Cooper
Winter walked over to the far side of the bay and lifted a cage of live chickens, all of whom began to flap and squawk at the disruption. He ignored them and followed Lana as she pushed one of the hover sleds down the ramp.
“Yeah, how did they do that, anyhow?”
Lana thought about her answer as she put her boxes down on the sled. “A lot of tech and time in a medtube. Plus an AI who said she was modifying me down to the molecular level. They said it was simpler to alter the nano and the changes it had made to me than to extract it entirely. I got the impression that removing tech wasn’t something they’d even consider. Either way, I wasn’t awake for most of it.”
“Sounds scary,” Winter said. “I don’t envy you in that area. Anyway, glad to see that you came out OK. Looking pretty fit too, I’d say.”
“Thanks.” Lana smiled, aware that it would come off as flirtatious.
Winter’s eyes widened. “I didn’t mean it that way. I mean, it’s nice to see you healthy. That’s all.”
“Sure.” Lana’s smile faded. “The chiefs on the Polis Fury love their drills. A looooootta running on that ship. It keeps me busy, anyhow.”
“And here I thought, with your special nano, you wouldn’t be needing any of that.”
“Maybe not, but muscle has memory and it responds better if you practice and go through drills. It’s OK, though, it’s not like I’ve had a lot of better things to do—well, after Gedri at least.” Lana looked back at the fully loaded cart. “Better get this stuff where it’s going. Thanks for the chat, though.”
She started pushing the sled across the docking bay, when suddenly, Winter called out after her.
“Let me walk with you. I’m headed back that way, anyhow.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the crew unloading the ship. “These guys can finish up.”
Though she knew Winter was bad news—at least, he used to be—his attention made her happy, maybe even a little giddy. Then she scolded herself, remembering that she’d sworn not to fall for him again just because he was a big, dangerous man. Lana wasn’t looking for a fling; she wanted him to see her as an equal, not just some cute babe with superhuman powers.
It was easy to say that but in reality, Winter was more than a little easy on the eyes. His muscles had muscles, and his build…well, something about how he moved just made her melt on the inside.
Who could blame a girl for going weak in the knees for all that?
“I’ve thought about you before, you know?” Winter said as he caught up. “Wondered how you were faring…and if you blamed me. It’s good to see you in one piece, see what you’ve become. I mean, how you’ve grown.” He grimaced. “Shit, I’m not very good at this stuff.”
Lana smiled. “It’s good to know you care, but I don’t blame you, Winter. The nanotech made me unstable. My body couldn’t handle it…and the hormones made me lash out in different ways.”
“Hormones,” Winter said with wide eyes, and his eyebrows rose up.
Lana realized she had phrased it the wrong way, and that he was thinking about something else entirely.
“The anger outbursts are what I mean…and you and me, I mean.” She could feel a blush heating her cheeks. Nervously, she tucked her hair behind her ears.
“Oh yeah, I know. I got what you were talking about.” Winter cleared his throat.
But Lana could see he hadn’t, and she didn’t know what to say.
While it was true they’d had sex in part because of the nano making her aggressive, the attraction to Winter had been hers to begin with. The changes in her body had only pushed her faster than she may have gone normally.
She opened her mouth to say something, but then Grace contacted her over the link.
She was grateful for the save.
Lana interrupted her before this conversation took too long.
Lana looped Winter into the conversation.
Winter nodded.
The idea saddened Lana, but she didn’t say so.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
STELLAR DATE: 12.20.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: The Immortal One’s Palace, Banglad, Battia
REGION: Hanoi System (independent)
Maureen sat at the vanity in the private chambers she had been escorted to. A cup of steaming tea waited for her, sitting beside a soft bristle hairbrush.
There were many things about Battia that she didn’t like—it was a backward society that had yet to embrace democracy—however, the ornate furniture and the attention to detail was lovely…unlike life aboard a stark and utilitarian starship, which was how she spent most of her days.
Maureen stroked the brush’s bristles—so soft to the touch—and then picked it up to trace a finger along the gold filigree on the back. She pulled the bobby pins from her hair and then brushed her long locks until they were silky smooth. Picking up her cup, she blew on the tea to cool it off, but then changed her mind on drinking the beverage and set it back down.
Normally she wouldn’t bother keeping such careful records, but with Major Fallon’s critical eye always on the colonel, she thought it necessary. Fallon was a competent XO, but had certain prejudices that impacted her behavior.
Grayson had enough on his plate without having to worry about his XO making trouble for him.
Leaning back in the chair, Maureen caught sight of herself in the mirror. She surveyed the room in its reflection, studying the large bed in the background, covered in a deep red-and-gold bedspread. Behind it stood a closet, its sliding door decorated with intricate seals and an ornate border.
Maureen didn’t usually pay such close attention to decor, but seeing as the closet door was slowly opening, it had captured her interest.
Her hand automatically slid to her hip, but her weapon wasn’t there. She’d felt uneasy handing it over on Geonova, but had known it was the best way to get an audience. She’d left a small pulse pistol in her boot, but if the attacker had a gun, reaching for her own would just get her shot in the back.
Noooot yet.
Out from the closet stepped a woman shrouded in black. In her hands, she held a long, curved sword. Maureen would have been impressed, but even without the mirror, the four drones she had set in the corners of the room would have alerted her to the assassin’s presence long before she was in striking distance.
Maureen picked up her tea and feigned taking a sip before setting it down on the vanity next to the serving tray. Then her hand slid to the tray, and without further hesitation, she spun and wh
ipped it at the intruder.
The woman in black remained sure-footed as she twisted to the side, avoiding the flying serving tray with ease.
While the assassin evaded the attack, Maureen rose and lifted her chair, jabbing the wooden legs toward the other woman. Her enemy dodged backward and then sliced off two of the chair’s legs with her sword.
Glad this place is so old-school. If she had a rifle, I’d be toast.
Without hesitation, Maureen again thrust the chair at her adversary, and her enemy dodged to the side, then kicked the chair away. Rather than try to hold on, Maureen let go of it, and the assassin overbalanced and stumbled.
It was exactly what Maureen had hoped for. She snapped her booted foot forward and struck the attacker directly in the sternum, causing the woman’s chest to make a sickly crunch.
The shrouded enemy stumbled backward, and Maureen used that opportunity to reach down to her boot and draw her pulse pistol, firing it without giving any verbal warning.
Her assailant fell to the ground, going still—barring a soft moan. The blast had hit her at close-range, and had likely snapped a few ribs and cracked her sternum further.
Maureen bent over and scooped up the sword to get it out of reach, receiving a jolt of electricity through her hand where it touched the blade.
Dammit! Who biolocks a sword? She groaned before reaching out to Grayson.
Maureen was about to answer, when the doors to her room burst open, and six palace guards rushed in.
“On your knees!” one of the armed men ordered. “Now, or you’ll wish she’d killed you.”
DANGEROUS ALLIES
STELLAR DATE: 12.20.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Barbaric Queen
REGION: Dante Velorum System, Fringe
Once the autodoc—as well as Elizabeth’s own analysis—had pronounced her fit, she was allowed to move to private quarters.
Though she was kept under lock and key, and the room was small, it was at least comfortable. The bed was one of the softest she had slept on in years, not to mention the blue loveseat and the crystal chandelier hanging above it all were luxuries she’d never before had afforded to her while in captivity.
She supposed it was one of the benefits of being onboard an ancient cruise liner. The opulence reminded her of the sort of luxury she had been used to as a doctor, before she’d left Silstrand for the Fringe.
It amazed Elizabeth that a ship which had been in the hands of pirates for decades was still in such good condition. She could barely feel the thrum of the engines, and the fine woodwork throughout the ship was still in pristine condition.
Rogers had explained that the former captain, a man named Kingfisher, had forced his crew to spend much of their downtime cleaning and polishing nearly every surface on the ship.
It was a work of art. Elizabeth just wished she could stay.
A knock came at her door. She turned to see that it was Bubbs. She wasn’t wearing her gun-arm—a regular arm and hand were mounted in its place—but something else was different than all the other times she’d visited.
Then it hit Elizabeth: the woman was wearing blush on her cheeks, and her black hair was hanging down along her jaw line rather than pinned in the tight bun she usually wore. Her mouth was even twisted enough so the corners of her lips turned up and not down.
Surprisingly, she was quite beautiful.
“Greetings,” Bubbs said with a nod. “I brought your lunch.” She slid the tray onto the small coffee table in front of the loveseat.
“Thanks.” Elizabeth was pretty sure she had only just eaten a few hours ago, but if Bubbs was looking for excuses to come see her, she liked that just fine.
“The brig’s repairs will be done soon. Then, I’m afraid….”
“You’ll move me back in there. Jacob, too. And Chassea?”
Bubbs nodded. “All of you. If the captain finds you all in quarters like this and not the brig…well, I’ll need two gun-arms.”
Elizabeth swallowed hard. “Then I guess we won’t get to have these little visits anymore.”
“I want us to. I’ve talked to Rogers about keeping you on permanently, but he wants to wait for our captain to return. She’ll make the final call.”
“I hope she likes me as much as you do. Well,” Elizabeth dropped her gaze, “maybe not as much as you do.”
Bubbs flinched when Elizabeth reached out to touch her. First, her hand landed on Bubbs’ waist, and then it moved up her side.
“What…what are you doing?”
“Seeing how you feel. I don’t think we need to beat around the bush so much, do we? We’re both adults.”
Bubbs’ breath skipped as Elizabeth caressed her breast. “No one…has touched me like this in a long time.”
“There’s no reason for you to be afraid. I’m a doctor. I’ve seen it all.”
“Not this.” Bubbs shook her head. “I never….”
Elizabeth slipped her hand against Bubbs’s jaw and pulled her closer. Bubbs’ eye closed, her lips parted, and she was breathless by the time Elizabeth kissed her. The smell of her skin and hair set Bubbs on fire.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.” Bubbs pulled away, though she kept her hands on Elizabeth’s hips.
“I do. We’re both adults. Why shouldn’t we, before I move back to the brig? That bed over there is big enough for the both of us, and I want to feel. For a little while, I want to feel like all of this means something. Show me that it does.”
Bubbs looked like she might walk away, her eyes flitting between the bed and the door, but then she gave Elizabeth a hard yank forward and kissed her, unable to let her go.
* * * * *
Elizabeth stood in the cell that had recently been repaired and watched as her large captor swung the cell door shut. Bubbs scowled a lot, but this expression looked so much sadder than all the others. Elizabeth slipped her hand between the bars, and Bubbs squeezed her fingers.
“I will talk to my captain,” she said emphatically. “I will make her understand.”
Elizabeth nodded. “If you can’t, if she doesn’t see things your way, it’s OK. I know—”
“She will. She’s reasonable and a good person. She will do what is right.” Bubbs smiled, and Elizabeth thought it was beautiful. The other woman slipped her hand against her cheek. “She always does the right thing. She’s a lot different than I am.”
“You’re not a bad person, Bubbs. I think you’re a wonderful woman. Even if you did pin me to the floor when we first met.”
Bubbs grunted. “It was much more fun to pin you to the bed.”
She backed up, but didn’t break her gaze right away. She stood staring for a moment before she turned and left the brig, leaving Elizabeth feeling alone and so very horrible.
She sat down on the edge of her cot and covered her face. What am I going to do?
“You better keep your shit together,” Chassea said from the cell across the way. “We almost have everything we need. You have to do your part.”
“I will.” Elizabeth nodded, but inside, her heart was shattered. Her resolve to do what she promised all but broken.
But she had to. It was for the cause.
I’m sorry, Bubbs.
THE RUSE
STELLAR DATE: 12.21.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Housing Block H-31, Chimin-1
REGION: Chimin Asteroid Group, Hanoi System (independent)
“Hey, wait up!” Lana called out as she caught Ranstock heading toward one of the housing blocks.
She trotted up to the woman, but the Coalesce leader barely paused at the sound of her voice. She finally reached Ranstock just as she rounded a corner and approached a balcony overlooking the block’s central c
ourtyard.
The woman paused at the railing, glancing around at the apartment block, but didn’t say anything until Lana reached her side.
“Lana, I suppose you have a good reason for chasing after me all this way.”
“Sure do. They’re playing a vid tonight in the Children’s Ward at the hospital, and I thought I’d go and cheer up some of the kids.”
Ranstock nodded and, while Lana could only see her profile, she seemed to approve.
“Are you asking me to join you?”
“I was…if you’re thinking of saying yes.”
“I might be. I’m just not sure why you seem to have taken such an interest in me.”
“Well, we had lunch, and I thought we clicked right away. Am I wrong? I thought maybe we could be, you know, friends. At least while we’re both trapped here on Chimin, you know. Plus, you seem like the kind that likes kids and wants to help. I know I am, and I feel like we’re a similar type.” Lana didn’t know why she was rambling on for so long, but something about Ranstock’s penetrating stare made her nervous.
Ranstock suppressed a laugh. “I’m not stuck here exactly. I have my own ships, remember? I suppose I just want to make sure that Chimin is taken care of.”
“And you’re not sure if that guy Winter is the one for the job?”
“Not at all.” Ranstock sighed as she stepped away from the edge of the balcony. “He’s a hothead, an opportunist. He’s found something in Chimin—I don’t know what exactly—but he plans to use and exploit them. I’m here to stop that. Or I was, until the SSF and Colonel Grayson showed up and backed Winter. I fear there’s nothing more I can do.”
“Yeah but Winter was left here by that Rhoads lady.” Lana followed Ranstock back toward the exit of the apartment block. “She saved Chimin from destruction. I don’t think she’d leave behind someone she couldn’t trust.”
“It’s just a feeling I have. Until I shake it, or until Silstrand pulls me away kicking and screaming, I’m staying here. Without Raynes, the Papote Alliance is essentially a bunch of kids pretending they know how to pilot starships. But what I really want is to find out where they got their funding, and what that might mean for the rest of the system.”
