Twin Stars 1: Ascension

by Robyn Paterson

  Then she saw something that made her stop short.

  Two boys, a thin one with brown hair and a stouter, darker one, were playing chess at one of the tables, but behind the larger of the two a man in a harlequin mask stood making quiet gestures to the smaller boy. As Ping An watched in disgust, the man, who she presumed to be a father or older sibling, directed the boy in his moves, helping him to cheat his opponent.

  What? Don’t any of the parents see this? She looked around for someone who might take a hand, but there didn’t seem to be anyone connected with this boy, or who noticed what was taking place. Finding no help, and feeling a rising sense of indignation, Ping An made a decision.

  * * *

  Tysen was starting to regret doing this.

  He’d started to coach the boy on a lark, mostly because the older boy seemed to be treating him so poorly, but now he felt like he’d made a mistake. They were now a dozen moves in, and the larger boy was only another move from losing quite badly, while the younger one was getting a bit cocky with his attitude thanks to Tysen’s help.

  Yes, it was definitely getting time to call an end to this. Once the older boy made his next move, and fell into Tysen’s trap, he’d slip away and hope none of the parents noticed or got angry with him. After all, this really wasn’t his business. Again, he cursed himself for getting sentimental.

  When the woman in the blue jacket and red skirt came up behind his protégé, Tysen at first wondered whether it was his mother or elder sister. If that was the case, Tysen would definitely have to bring this to an end, perhaps just stop things and apologize. He could explain himself by…

  And then, just as the boy in front of Tysen was about to put down the fateful piece and walk into a final trap, the woman across the table attracted the boy’s attention and stopped him with a motion of her hand. With another gesture, she had him move the piece back and drop it into another square, carefully breaking the web Tysen had been weaving.

  Then the dark haired woman in the half mask looked up at him and smiled- her eyes filled with defiance and challenge.

  At first Tysen was surprised, but then inwardly he laughed. Oh that’s how it’s going to be, is it? He thought, his ego rising. Well, this might be fun after all.

  Tysen gestured to the expectant boy and told him his next move…

  * * *

  He’s a spacer, he’s got calluses on the insides of his hands from holding zero-gee rings. Thought Ping-An as she motioned for another move. A station worker? No…He’s too smart. Maybe an administrator?

  Whoever he was, he was good.

  Ping An had expected him to be competent, but he was far beyond that. There were few people who could beat her in a game of chess, but so far he was easily her equal based on the moves he was making. The game was twice as difficult as it was being done through proxies, and if they pushed the kids too much the young boys would probably quit. But, the kids seemed as into it as she was, enjoying the challenge of this odd game.

  Might be a father or a big brother, but those are military boots he’s wearing. She considered. They looked like Type 64’s. Who wore Type 64’s?

  * * *

  Tysen was impressed. She’d gotten the child out of that trap and on the offensive in two moves.

  Well done, miss! Well done.

  He was honestly enjoying this. It had been so long since he’d had a real opponent, one who could challenge him at this level. He wondered if she might be a local chess champion, or if perhaps she was a visitor like himself. He’d really like to get to know her better after this, if possible, such talent was so rare. The only other person he knew this good was Admiral Veers, and Tysen’s mentor was one of the best in the fleet.

  He struggled with clues as to who she might be, but the clothes she wore were too nondescript and that half-mask made it difficult to judge much beyond her youthful appearance. She was perhaps of Asian descent, and in her twenties if she was a standard human, but if she was a Noble that guess could be wildly off.

  Then he saw the next move, and he knew she’d made a mistake.

  * * *

  The officer corps from the 106th fleet!

  That was where she’d seen Type 64’s before- in crates from a raid on a shipment bound for the Star Guard’s 106th fleet. They’d had piles of the godawful things and nobody wanted to buy them. They’d ended up just dumping them on a backwater planet somewhere.

  So, she concluded. He was a military officer, or perhaps the partner of one.

  No, the way he played he was Guard, and his build and posture gave him a military air she was certain of now that she thought about it. His fingers were long and graceful, and his height marked him as a Noble. But, despite the danger this new information raised, she was happy to consider it. It made the game even more interesting. Perhaps he…

  What? What the hell?!?

  Ping An stared at the board. She’d been so busy thinking about her opponent’s identity that she hadn’t seen through a feint, and now she watched as her opponent’s proxy removed her queen from the board.

  Oh ho! She chuckled to herself. Not bad, military man.

  Her assistant looked up at her with a pained look, but she shook her head at him and gestured for him to continue.

  She’d lost an important piece, but this game was far from over.

  * * *

  She’s getting careless.

  Tysen watched his opponent make another poor move and sighed. The loss of her queen had clearly unnerved this woman, and now she was making one bad move after another. A pity, really, but in any fight the person who got emotional generally lost, and it was time to finish this.

  Tysen closed in for the kill.

  And then, suddenly, his rook was taken and vanished from the board.

  He realized he was the one who’d made a mistake- a big one.

  * * *

  Ping An watched another piece follow her opponent’s rook into the capture pile, and smiled.

  It was sad, really, but he was just getting what he deserved.

  She knew he expected her to act erratically after such a major loss, so she played on it and let him think she was trying desperate moves, but in reality she’d simply changed the focus of the game on him. In Chess, the target is your opponent’s King, but instead she was setting up to eliminate his rooks, bishops and knights- his major support pieces.

  Now he was being forced to make choices about which pieces were more important, and every choice he made cost him another piece.

  The game was heading for a close- but on her terms.

  * * *

  That’s it, lad. Pawn to Queen Six.

  Tysen was in a difficult spot, and he had only one chance left. She was holding almost all of the major pieces on the board now, but if he could force her to go on the defensive he might still have a chance.

  Her style was fluid, almost erratic, but it was a style, and it had its holes.

  He just needed an opening.

  * * *

  Well, the men are waiting. She considered. I really should go.

  The game was almost over, after all. She just needed to…

  Then she saw what he was doing, but it was too late.

  She was in check, and he had the initiative.

  * * *

  Tysen could see her eyes narrow- her jaw tighten.

  Things were critical now, and every move counted. He’d just wrested control of the board from her, and while he was still in a weak position there was now an opportunity to even the odds. He intended to seize it, and he intended to win.

  He watched as she tried to use her bishop in a sacrifice trap, to stop his advance and cost him his remaining knight, but he ignored it and chose a safer move.

  * * *

  She’d bought herself time, but would it be enough?

  Ping An surveyed the board.

  They were almost out of pieces, this couldn’t go on…

  * * *

  …Much longer. Thought Tysen.

  H
e really wanted to talk to her when this was over.

  She challenged him better than…

  * * *

  …Anyone I’ve ever met, she admitted to herself.

  If this guy was an officer in the Guard fleet, he was really going to…

  * * *

  …Be trouble. He made another move.

  He wasn’t good at small talk, and she’d obviously challenged him because of what he’d been doing. Still, he wondered if he should try…

  * * *

  …to recruit him. She thought, as she avoided his advance. It’s a real…

  * * *

  …waste if I miss this chance to meet someone…

  * * *

  …talented like him not to be one of…

  * * *

  …us, and so good that I can …

  * * *

  …make one more move…

  * * *

  …oh! The game is…

  * * *

  …almost over…

  * * *

  …need to move…

  * * *

  …right there …

  * * *

  …and I will…

  * * *

  ...finish…

  * * *

  At first, Tysen felt a minor shudder run through the ground under him, and his enhanced senses immediately told him something was wrong. Then he heard the sound of explosions- not one, but many, and in series as they ripped through the buildings of the habitat ring.

  * * *

  Ping An watched the people around them began to panic as the first shockwave hit. Although the nearest explosion was some distance away, it still caused a thunderous rush of air and left the ground beneath their feel shaking.

  Was this Camus? She wondered. Was there a plan she hadn’t been told of?

  Then she heard Camus’s voice ring out in the back of her head.

  "Ping An?!? Ping An, you okay? What the hell just happened?"

  No. Not him. But who?

  * * *

  "Al! Al we got trouble!"

  Kip’s voice kicked Tysen out of his momentary sense of shock at what was happening around him. At once, his military training kicked in, and he began running down his options. This was a crisis, and it was his responsibility to do something.

  But, before he did, he turned and looked at the woman who had been his opponent.

  Like him, she was still standing there, their young proxies long gone and the unfinished game before them- still waiting.

  For a moment, the world ceased to be, and there was only the two of them- all the noise gone.

  “Another time?” He asked her.

  “Sure,” she smiled back. “It will be fun.”

  And then, he was back in the moment and running away from the square, a glance over his shoulder telling him she was doing the same. Inwardly, he wished her well and hoped for her safety.

  "Kip," he sent as he dashed along the forest path. "Situation report."

  "Al, I’m with a bunch of the crew, and we’re not too far away from your location. I’ve tried to contact the ship, but I’m getting…"

  Tysen felt more than heard the feeling he interpreted as a mental gasp through the link.

  "Dear god…Al! AL!!! Look up! Look up through the dome!!"

  Under the branches of the trees, Tysen was unable to see the dome, but then as he broke out from under the foliage a scene of horror that mirrored Kip’s words came into view.

  Beyond the dome that separated the habitat ring from the cold of space, the Star Guard Cutter Crystal Leaf drifted - torn loose from the station by the explosion that had decimated its command section. The smooth lines of the ship now ended in a jagged front, and Tysen could see blue sparks and bits of debris hanging in a cloud around the lifeless hulk as it moved…closer?

  That was when the real horror of the situation struck Tysen- the ship was on a slow-motion collision course with the habitat ring, given inertia by the explosions and pulled in by the station’s own microgravity. While under normal circumstances there were a dozen ways of preventing the collision, these were not normal circumstances, and in the confusion it was likely the drifting ship wouldn’t be dealt with until it was too late.

  "Kip," he sent. "We’ve got to get on board that ship. Get to the shuttle port."

  "Way ahead of you, buddy. We’re our way there now."

  Tysen immediately called up the station map and started to look for the nearest lift tube to the docking ring, but then a thought brought him up short. If Kip didn’t arrive in time, it would be up to station control to stop the drifting ship, but he had no doubts station control had other priorities. Someone needed to go there and impress upon them the urgency of the situation, and perhaps he could also learn more about what was going on.

  "Kip, change of plans…"

  * * *

  “Our job just became a whole lot easier,” Camus mused to the rest of the assembled pirates as Ping An arrived to join them in an alleyway. “That Imperial Cutter isn’t gonna bother us anytime soon.”

  It had taken Ping An nearly half an hour to make her way through the chaotic environment of the station. Luckily, most of the people here were slowly making their way to emergency shelters, and the streets were gradually becoming clearer. Of course, this was a double edged sword, because soon the streets would be filled with security personnel and bots locking everything down and hunting for the real culprits.

  What would they think when they found a small band of suspicious people with fake identities wandering about?

  “Could it be one of the other pirate clans?” Justin asked. “We’re near Bahir territory.”

  “Our job may be easier,” Ping An said, ignoring Justin. “But only if the transfer station is still here.”

  They all looked at her. “What do you mean?” Her mission commander asked.

  Ping An pointed upwards and all of them turned to look- it seemed none had noticed the sword hanging above their heads. Typical, she thought.

  “She’s torn loose from her moorings and is floating next to us in an unstable orbit. One more explosion like that, and she’ll go right through the dome above us or tear sections off the docking ring.”

  Camus frowned, clearly unsure of how to proceed.

  “So, what do we do?” Asked one of the other pirates, and they looked from Camus to Ping An.

  Ping An shrugged. “Well, Camus is the boss, but if I were in charge I’d head for the docking ring and get out of the big bubble that can go pop.”

  “She’s got a point, boss.” Leederman agreed.

  “Yeah,” Camus made his decision and jerked his thumb in the direction of the nearest lift tubes. “She does. Alright boys, let’s get back to the shuttle. We found what we were looking for, no point in being greedy.”

  “Don’t worry, Camus.” Ping An commented as they began to leave. “We’ll have another chance soon- chaos favors the brave.”

  He gave her a quizzical look. “I thought that was fortune?”

  “Only for those not smart enough to know the difference.”

  * * *

  Tysen leapt up into the air, clearing two abandoned wrecked cars and landing fluidly on the other side to continue his run for Colony Control. According to his layout of the station, the nearest access port to the command hub should be just a few blocks ahead of his current location. He would still have to get past a likely very paranoid security detail, but he’d deal with that when the time came.

  “Talk to me, Kip.” He said it aloud; he was too focused on dodging people and obstacles to put the effort into a Linkspace conversation.

  "We’re almost there, Al." Kip’s voice sounded in his head. "We commandeered one of the worker shuttles and we’re heading to the ship, but there’s no signal from Captain Dorrick or any of the bridge crew."

  Tysen felt a pang of regret. Dorrick gone? He and his captain didn’t always get along, but Dorrick was a fair man who he greatly admired.

  "Al, if they were in the comma
nd section…"

  “Have you reached Commander Halston?” Tysen pushed away his regret; there would be time for mourning later. He had practical realities to deal with.

  Kip’s tone told the tale. "Halston was on board too."

  “Then I’m in charge.” It was a statement of fact, and he said it more to himself than he did to his friend. He had been prepared for this day, and it was finally here.

  "Looks that way. Hey, we’re almost ready to dock. Any orders, commander?"

  Tysen mentally winced at his friend’s suddenly formality, he understood it, but he wasn’t sure he liked it.

  “Just do what you can and keep me informed. I’ll let you know more when I can get to Colony Control; they’re not answering my link requests.”

  "Got it, wish us luck!"

  Tysen cursed inwardly. What the hell was wrong with this place? He’d been sending military coded link requests that should have gone right to the head office of the colony, but all he’d gotten was a wait response. Then again, that shouldn’t surprise him- he’d seen no checkpoints as he’d raced here, and what security people he had seen had either been rushing around aimlessly or trying to help the injured. It was like they’d never had an emergency drill in their careers! At least the population seemed to know enough to retreat to shelters, but there seemed to be a strong lack of discipline in this force. He’d definitely have to file reports about this once the situation was under control.

  Not that this should have surprised him, he mused. Once the Star Guard would have done inspections on places like this and made sure they were prepared, but with the budget cuts and the current state of things it had likely been some time since an inspector had been here. All the responsibility had been downloaded to local authorities, and it was clear they had more important things on their mind.

  Reflexively, Tysen ripped the Harlequin mask from his face and let it tumble into a passing recycle bin- the party was over.

  * * *

  Brother Io hummed to himself as the lift carried him back up towards the docking hub.

  It was a happy song, one which had always come naturally to him as he went about work he enjoyed doing. He didn’t know where he had learned it, perhaps it was something from childhood, but it came from his lips today as he looked out through the transparent sides of the lift tube on the habitat area retreating below him.