by J. J. Green
Carina was down in the hold working through the cargo, trying to figure what everything was worth and putting it all into some kind of order. No expert on contraband, she was sure she was undervaluing some items and overvaluing others. The jewelry was the most straightforward. Lomang could not have made it as a smuggler if he couldn’t tell the difference between genuine precious stones and paste, so she assumed that if something looked like a sapphire, ruby, or diamond, that’s what it was. The same applied to the thick gold chains, which certainly felt heavy enough to be the real thing.
A few of the illegal drugs were also somewhat familiar to her, not through personal use—Nai Nai had warned her that narcotics and hallucinogens would weaken her ability to Cast—but through her time with the Black Dogs. Mercs could get away with drug abuse in ways that military personnel could not, which was one reason some of them made the switch. As Carina removed the powders, pills, and liquids from their hiding places, she smiled sadly, remembering Smitz. Obnoxious, defiant, and disgusting in his habit of chewing a narcotic herb and spitting his brown saliva wherever was most convenient to him, her fellow merc had given his life in the rescue of Darius from the Dirksens.
As had Captain Speidel, the closest thing she’d had to a father since Ba had disappeared when she was three. Carina sighed and continued her work.
She had rearranged the items into groups ranging from the least to the most valuable according to her estimates. Payment would need to be made so it was important she’d got it roughly right.
When she was nearly finished, she climbed into the cargo mech to move the heavy or unwieldy objects she couldn’t manage by herself. She could have asked Bryce to help her but he was in charge on the upper levels, supervising the kids and maintaining security.
She started up the machine and walked it over to the long cylinder of the rolled-up rug. After grasping it with the mech’s pincers, she turned it upright and stepped to the side of the bay, where she balanced it against the wall. Next, she extended the mech’s arms to grip the netting that lay on the floor, raised the edge to the ceiling, and slipped it over the hooks.
Previously, she had shifted a large, ornate cabinet made from dark, close-grained, heavy wood from its position in order to search it, and had found a cache of uncut gems in a secret compartment. Now she needed to slide the furniture against the wall. As she turned toward it, her comm button sounded.
She opened the comm but before she could say anything, Bryce said, “Some of the crew have escaped! The ones in the brig.”
“Shit. Where are you? What’s happening?”
“Castiel and the kids are with me on the bridge. I’m not sure where the crew is. Take care, Carina. They might reach you in the hold.”
“I’m coming up. Are you armed?”
“We have weapons and elixir. We’re heading out to round the escapees up before they reach Lomang and the others.”
“Okay. Be careful. I’ll join you as soon as I can. Let’s leave the comm open.”
Carina had put down her pulse rifle to use the mech. She scanned the hold to locate it and saw it propped against the wall near the door. She turned off the machine, and heard the snick of its safety cage unlocking.
As she prepared to jump down, the hold door opened and in strode the giant wearing nothing but an open vest and pants. He didn’t notice her at first as his gaze roved the cargo greedily. He’d clearly slipped down to steal something while the rest of the crew were attempting to take back the ship.
He was standing between Carina in the mech and her weapon, but she had her elixir canister on her belt. On the other hand, as soon as she moved… She slid her hand slowly toward the canister.
The giant’s head whipped up. His eyes focused on hers in a ferocious glare. He was only a few steps from her. She wouldn’t have time to unscrew the canister and take a drink before he was on her.
She restarted the mech as the giant reached her, the safety cage locking her in.
The giant snarled and grabbed at her through the bars. He was so tall and his reach so long, the cage was no impediment. He snatched the elixir canister from her waist and threw it across the hold.
Shouts and the fizz of pulse fire came from Carina’s comm.
“Carina,” said Bryce. “Where are you? They’ve taken Darius. We stunned or Enthralled most of them but one ran in and snatched him as he was trying to Cast.”
Both of Carina’s hands were fastened around the giant’s thick forearm, trying to prevent him from grabbing her throat. The mech rocked with their struggle. The man’s other hand appeared through the bars. Carina squirmed away to avoid his grip but there was nowhere for her to go.
“Carina,” said Bryce. “What’s happening? Are you okay?”
The giant’s hand approached her head, trying to grab her face. She leaned forward and bit it, grinding her teeth into the flesh of his palm. He roared. The man’s other hand gripped her head and tried to twist it to break her neck or the hold of her teeth, or both.
Through Carina’s comm, Bryce cursed. She heard more gunfire and Parthenia’s furious shouts, demanding the return of Darius.
The mech rocked more in Carina’s violent struggle with the giant. Suddenly, she recalled another time she’d been in a mech, on Ostillon, when she’d been trying to convince someone to let her fight in the Mech Battle.
She stopped fighting the giant and grasped the controls. Immediately, her opponent thrust both arms up to his armpits into the cage and enclosed Carina’s neck in his fists. She pivoted a pincer so that it faced toward her. The maneuver was hard to perform. The pincers were not intended to be used in that direction.
“Shit!” she heard Bryce say. “What’s that?”
But the world was closing in around Carina as the giant attempted to strangle her. She tensed her neck muscles, fighting back against the pressure. With a great effort, she pulled in the pincer, fast. The metal smacked against the giant’s back. His eyes widened and he shouted in pain but the pressure didn’t lessen. She wanted to take hold of her attacker and pull him off the mech but she couldn’t see anything except the man’s face and arms.
She swung the pincer out and in again.
The second impact made her point.
The giant screamed in pain and let go of her. She stepped back several paces on the mechanical legs and moved the pincers forward.
The giant’s face was screwed up in pain and sweat glistened on his forehead. He stooped but his neck craned upward, his eyes fixed with rage.
Dimly, Carina heard the dull clang of metal on metal from above. Something large had impacted the ship and she knew what it was. They were being boarded.
“It’s over,” she said. “Go back to the brig now and I won’t hurt you.”
“Ha!” the giant replied. “You’ll never hurt me, little woman. Come out of your crate before I rip it apart.”
“I won’t warn you again.” Carina opened the pincers.
The giant clenched his fists, yelled, and ran at her. She swiped one pincer wide, smacking the man across his chest and sending him careening across the hold. Netting broke his fall. He staggered as he righted himself. A welt was already visible on his chest.
“Don’t be stupid,” said Carina. “I’ll kill you if I have to.”
When he didn’t run at her again, she thought he’d heeded her warning, she realized he appeared to be thinking. His gaze ran up and down the mech and over the cargo. Then his eyes lifted briefly upward before returning to Carina’s face. He began to pace sideways.
If she didn’t miss her guess, he appeared to be planning to go around her, climb the netting behind her, and jump onto the top of the cage. He probably thought he could reach in and throttle her from above or poke her eyes out. If so, it was a stupid plan. She wouldn’t be able to remove him or make him stop without killing him.
The giant passed to her left and Carina turned the mech to follow him. She wanted to catch him before he reached the netting. She didn’t want to kill him if s
he could avoid it. Remembering Captain Speidel had reminded her he had a different image of her, an image she wanted to live up to.
She stepped forward to cut the giant off. He sped up but the mech was faster. She jabbed a pincer into his path, which he ducked, but she was already moving the other pincer in his way. He lunged in her direction, seeming to intend to run under the prehensile pincer arms. Carina gently closed one toothed grip around his waist. If she squeezed too hard she would cut him in two.
“Arghhh!” The giant yelled more words in his own language as he pushed down against the pincer, the thick muscles of his arms and chest bulging with the strain.
“Don’t fight it,” said Carina. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She lifted him up, sending his legs dancing. He glared and hollered, spitting out his fury.
Carina carefully closed the second pincer around the man’s hips. She was going to have to leave him there for a while. From the sounds that were coming from her comm she was still needed on the upper decks, though things seemed to be more in hand now.
When she was sure the giant was secure in the mech’s grasp she turned off the machine and climbed out. Her captive’s ire continued to ring in her ears. Though she had no idea what language he was speaking, it wasn’t hard to guess his meaning.
She rubbed her neck and walked toward the hold door.
As she reached it, it opened, and a familiar figure stepped through and grinned. “Your boyfriend said I’d find you here.”
“Atoi!” Carina exclaimed. She reached out and grabbed the woman’s hand, pulling her into a hug. Atoi was more muscly than she’d been when Carina had hugged her goodbye as she left the Black Dogs.
“Been working out?” she asked as they stepped back.
“You know me, Car,” Atoi replied. “What’s with all the brats on the upper decks? They belong to you?”
“I’ll explain everything later. Is the ship back in our hands?”
“Sure is.” Atoi’s eyes turned toward the giant, who was now watching them both with a silent glare. “You had your own little fight going on down here I see.”
“I wouldn’t call him little,” replied Carina, “but, yeah. Is Tarsalan still in charge of the Black Dogs? I was surprised she wasn’t the one who replied to my message.”
“No, she isn’t,” Atoi said. “We have some catching up to do.”
Chapter Twenty
Carina didn’t think she’d ever seen a more disparate bunch of people. On one side of the room sat Bryce and the mages, on the other sat the remaining members of the Black Dogs. There were nineteen in total, including Lieutenant Colonel Cadwallader. Some faces she recognized, like lithe, fit Brown, Jackson with his prosthetic arm, and the staring eyes of Halliday. Other faces were new. Clearly, the band had undergone a few changes in the year or so since she’d left.
Compared to the scarred, battle-hardened men and women, Bryce and her siblings looked young and vulnerable. They were also still dressed in the expensive fabrics and elaborate styles of Lomang’s wardrobes, whereas the mercs wore armor of various styles, ages, and states of repair. The children sat upright and neatly, betraying their cultured upbringing, while the mercs sprawled and some hung an arm over the backs of their chairs. From the looks on everyone’s faces each side was curious about the other, but the kids looked a little scared. They were wise to be so. Carina knew her former fellow mercs well. Most were ex-military who had left—or been dishonorably discharged—due to psychological problems, addictions, or lack of control.
One of the few exceptions was Stevenson, the pilot. He was steady and reliable, and Carina was glad to see he remained with the band. She’d never felt confident flying the Zenobia. Now he could take over the responsibility it would be a weight off her shoulders.
“So,” said Cadwallader, “who goes first?”
“I’ll start,” Carina said. “There are a few things we need to get out of the way. I had to think long and hard about telling you this. I’m taking a risk but I don’t really have a choice about it. If I don’t tell you Lomang’s men will.” She went on to explain, as briefly and simply as she could, about her and the children’s ability to Cast.
Some of the mercs smirked and rolled their eyes as though they didn’t believe her.
She retorted, “If you think I’m making this up, fine. I don’t give a shit. I’m not going to provide you with a demonstration because I’m not a performing animal, and frankly it’s in my interest if you don’t believe me. It doesn’t matter, except for the fact that if you decide to back out on the deal I made with Cadwallader and try to take the ship, you’ll find yourself spaced before you know it. Then it’ll be too late to change your minds.”
“You didn’t make a deal with Cadwallader,” said a man she didn’t know. “You made a deal with all of us.” Half of his face was scarred as if it had been burned. He reminded her of Carver, who had died in the first attempt to rescue Darius on Orrana. She hadn’t had her facial scar fixed because she liked the look.
“Yes,” Cadwallader said, his unnervingly pale blue eyes settling on Carina, “things have changed somewhat since you left us.”
“For the better!” exclaimed the scarred man.
“The short of it is,” continued Cadwallader, “Tarsalan planned to disband us and sell the Duchess and all our equipment and armor, which wouldn’t have been a problem if I hadn’t discovered she was also planning to sneak away without paying the wages that were owed. I couldn’t in good conscience allow that to happen. I had already winked at the abandonment of good men and women who had refused the suicidal mission to rescue that young man.” His gaze flicked to Darius and then back to Carina. “I wasn’t about to look the other way again.”
“We mutinied,” Atoi said, grinning. “I wish you’d been there to see the look on Tarsalan’s face when we forced her off the shuttle on some godforsaken planet at gunpoint, Lin.”
“Should have killed her,” the scarred man said. “Would have been safer.”
“Maybe,” said Cadwallader. “But I don’t think murdering an unarmed woman would have been a good beginning for our enterprise.” He said to Carina, “I’ve retained my function as CO, but all profits are shared equally, after subtracting expenses. When we received your message I discussed your proposal with the rest of the troops and we took a vote.”
“It was a no-brainer to agree when we heard it was you,” Atoi said.
Judging from the expressions of some of the other mercs, Carina doubted the vote was unanimous. The newcomers didn’t know her. She couldn’t expect any special treatment or consideration from the Black Dogs. They had a business deal, nothing more.
“I’m certainly glad you agreed to take the job,” said Carina. “As I outlined in the message, I anticipate we’ll be using your services for three, possibly four, months. We need to return to Ostillon and while we’re doing that we have to keep Lomang’s crew under control.”
“The men we fought when we boarded your ship?” Cadwallader said. “Was that all of them?”
“I don’t know,” said Carina, looking at Bryce.
“No, that was only the ones from the brig,” he said. “We managed to stop them from releasing the others. Thanks for your help in rounding them up.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” said Cadwallader. “When you didn’t answer our hail I guessed things might have gone south. I’ll take a look at your security arrangements as soon as the meeting’s over. We can post a round-the-clock guard. You won’t have any more trouble from them.”
“You said three to four months,” Halliday said. “That’s longer than it’ll take to get to Ostillon. What happens then?”
“There’s information I want somewhere on the planet,” Carina replied. “We’ll need protection as we search for it.”
“Wasn’t Ostillon under attack from the Sherrerrs recently?” asked Cadwallader.
“That’s right. The Dirksens were using the planet as a hideaway. I’m not sure if they’re
still there but the place is in turmoil right now. The economy’s broken down due to the war and the population is desperate. We need your help to keep us safe.”
Atoi asked, “What are you looking for?”
“Honestly,” Carina gave a humorless laugh, “I’m not exactly sure. But I’ll know when I find it.”
“We can shorten the journey to Ostillon for you,” said Stevenson. “The Duchess’s engines are faster than the Zenobia’s. If we keep the ships tethered the Duchess can tow the slower ship.”
“Good,” Cadwallader said. “The faster we get to Ostillon and you find your information, Lin, the faster we get paid.”
“Sounds good,” said the scarred man.
“We’ll need to maintain a presence on your ship,” Cadwallader said to Carina. “I mean soldiers sleeping and eating here, not just guards on duty. If there is a breakout it’ll be easier to subdue with us already on hand.”
“I can see the sense in that,” Carina said, though she’d thought the mercs would mostly keep to their own ship. “There’s room and food to spare, but I’d like to remind everyone there are kids aboard. These are my half brothers and sisters and I won’t take kindly to anyone behaving inappropriately around them.”
Her comment garnered a few smirks.
“I understand,” Cadwallader said.
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” the scarred man said. Suppressed snorts of laughter erupted from various mercs.
Carina clenched her jaw but she didn’t say anything.
“I’d like to speak to my soldiers in private for a few minutes,” said Cadwallader, “then I’d appreciate a tour of the ship.”
“Let me know when you’re ready,” Carina said, then she left with Bryce and the children.
As soon as they were outside the meeting room, Ferne said, “Did you used to work with those people? That’s so cool. No wonder you’re good at fighting.”
