Nimbus

by Jacey Bedford

  It was wrong, and she hated the very idea, but at the same time it gave her a feeling of safety, knowing that if she met any mindbending monsters, she had the potential to fight back. In fact, if she let herself, she had the potential to be the biggest mindbending monster on the block. But because she could, it didn’t mean she would.

  The difference between her and McLellan was that McLellan had enjoyed the job.

  So, free from the knowledge of the unlock codes, she slipped into the routine of Crossways as if she’d never been away. Thankfully the post-battle repairs and restoration had moved on in the time she’d been out searching for Hartwell. Though it might be some years before the station ceased to show its scars, it was now safe and secure for the survivors. Life went on.

  It was good to see her friends again, and catch up with what she’d missed. She took herself off to Java Joe’s and collected two extra-large coffees, with lids, and carried them up to the office, placing one on Wenna’s desk.

  “What have I missed?”

  “Well . . .” Wenna leaned back in her chair. “We lost one of the local crimelords about a month ago.”

  “Lost?”

  “Literally. Joe Keen disappeared. No corpse found, but there are plenty of ways to get rid of a body on a space station.”

  “Any suspects?”

  “Yes, but no proof. His right-hand man, Newmark, took over his smuggling racket. Guess who took over his money laundering?”

  “Roxburgh.”

  “Right first time.”

  “I guess Garrick had something to say about that.”

  “Nothing public, but he wasn’t pleased.”

  “Roxburgh’s organization is too big for Garrick to take on without the kind of firefight you don’t want to see on a space station.”

  Wenna shuddered. “Roxburgh’s a bastard, but it’s probably better to get the station back to normal before trying to tackle him.”

  “What else?” Cara asked.

  “Serafin’s lung transplant went well, but he had an infection, so Ronan isn’t prepared to discharge him from care yet. Serafin says the medics on Jamundi can take care of him, but Suzi Ruka says he has to stay put until Ronan’s absolutely sure he’s fully recovered. He says Suzi’s trying to keep him out of her hair while she gets the harvest in on Jamundi, but she says she’s built a new house for the old man’s twilight years so he can retire in peace.”

  Cara smiled at the thought. Serafin West was a Psi-Mech of extraordinary ability and even at his age—a well-kept secret, but she guessed he was top side of seventy—he was unlikely to retire. Suzi, maybe twenty years his junior, was on Jamundi helping the Ecolibrian settlers break ground on the virgin planet. Serafin had promised to join her permanently once he was fit.

  “Anything else?” Cara asked, “How are Gen and little Olivia now they’re home from Olyanda?”

  “They’re calling her Liv. She’s very forward. Steady on her feet, and already talking in complete sentences.”

  “Is that normal?”

  “What’s normal? It’s not normal to be born in foldspace with a void dragon looking on.” Wenna shrugged. “Max is having sleepless nights. He doesn’t say anything, but you can see it written in his face.” She jerked her head toward his office. “He’s late again this morning.”

  “I owe him. Ben owes him. Is there anything we could do to help?”

  “Not unless you want to volunteer to babysit and give him some time alone with Gen. I suspect the lack of sleep is putting a strain on their relationship.”

  “I can do that. How hard can it be?”

  Wenna laughed. “Try it and find out.”

  “Any juicy scandal?”

  “Surprisingly little, or maybe not much shocks us these days.”

  “Garrick and Mother Ramona?”

  “Personally, never better. You know they’re planning a big celebration at New Year, right?”

  “Their wedding. Yes.”

  “A joint celebration. Their wedding and Olyanda’s first platinum dividend. It’s going to be a masked shindig. Apparently, the station used to celebrate its original Independence Day with masks, so they’re reviving the tradition.”

  “And how is Garrick really?”

  “You know how he was before you left?”

  “He looked like death warmed up half the time. Lack of sleep, stress. And I’d be surprised if he wasn’t having nightmares about the Nimbus.”

  “That’s a fair assessment, but he looks fine now.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’d have said he was heading for a breakdown, but he appears to have turned himself around.”

  “Good for Garrick. I’m glad he’s doing so well.”

  “Of course, I don’t know if that means he’s on something.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  VISIT

  GARRICK RAN OVER THE CATERING ARRANGEMENT for the evening to take his mind off the wedding the following afternoon, and then had a small glass of Mona’s best single malt before retiring. The bedroom was too big for one. Mona had insisted on sleeping at her old place tonight. Why should he be so nervous? He’d been living with Mona for eighteen months. Why should the thought of marrying her have his stomach tying itself in knots? He knew he wanted to do it. She’d become the most important person in his life.

  When he’d first seen her, he’d been a little shaken by her marbled skin, so white and fine, but broken up with what looked like scars. Then he’d seen her close up and realized the marbling was nothing like scars. It sparkled softly, like a vein of quartzite. He’d touched her hand, finding her skin silky and unblemished. He’d been totally fascinated.

  She was an expert forger of identities, and he’d needed her to provide a couple of his couriers with credentials to get into the Greek Embassy in Johannesburg. She’d agreed to do it and insisted they seal their deal on her couch. That had been the start of it.

  She was a miracle on two legs.

  Now they were going to seal the deal for real with marriage vows. They’d invited half the station—or at least anybody who was anybody. They’d even invited Roxburgh, though mainly because it was better to know where he was.

  Garrick felt shaky all over. He’d never get any sleep at this rate. He’d already taken one detanine shot, but it hadn’t done much to settle him. How long ago was that? He checked the time on his handpad. Two hours. He shouldn’t take them this close together, but . . .

  He took the small bulb from the pack in his pocket, broke off the top to reveal the needle and popped the skin on his stomach with it. The needle was so fine that he hardly felt it, but he felt warm as soon as the detanine began to seep into his system. He sighed and began to relax.

  That was better.

  Mona wouldn’t like it, of course, but once they were married, he could ease off the drug. After all, it was nice, but he didn’t need it. He could give it up any time he liked.

  Cara and Gen had been friends on Olyanda in the first days of the Ecolibrian colony, before the discovery of platinum had started a chain of events that ended with the Ecolibrians fleeing the planet and Crossways taking it over.

  There had been a few rough patches. Gen falling for settler Max Constant, getting pregnant, and trying to hide the fact had not helped their relationship, but they’d survived it. Max had even turned out to be one of the good guys.

  Gen and Max’s baby, Olivia May Marling, was the foldspace baby.

  Since the birth, Cara had seen more of Max than of Gen. Visits to Gen were full of talk about nappies and feeding.

  Cara felt her jaw drop slightly as the door to Gen and Max’s apartment swung open. The tiny dot of a baby had turned into a sturdy toddler, walking and talking.

  “You look well,” Cara said to Gen. “She must be letting you get some sleep at last.”

/>   “Amazingly, yes,” Gen said.

  When she’d seen Max in the office an hour ago, he’d had dark circles beneath his eyes. Better not to say anything about his state of rest.

  “It’s Cawa, Mummy,” the little girl said.

  “Cara,” Gen corrected her.

  “Ca-ra,” Liv said very carefully.

  “Good girl.” Gen swept up her daughter on to one hip and put her other arm around Cara. “Glad to see you home. Some success, I gather.”

  “Well, we found Zandra Hartwell, but we couldn’t persuade her out of retirement. Jussaro’s still trying to work out the value of the information she gave him. Altogether, though, I think we did well.”

  “You’re going to recreate Sanctuary.”

  “Don’t ask and I won’t tell.”

  Gen raised one eyebrow.

  “Have you had a call to see Jussaro yet?” Cara asked.

  “Not formally, but there are rumors.” Gen tapped the damping pin stuck in her own collar. “I’d like to get rid of this.”

  Cara nodded. “I’m sure it will be your turn soon. When you get the call, don’t put it off.”

  “Help Ca-ra,” Liv said, as if she’d followed the conversation.

  “Very possibly, sweetheart,” Gen said.

  “That’s right, Liv,” Cara said. “You tell Mummy.”

  “Oh, she does. All the time.” Gen glanced down at Liv. “I don’t want the whole megacorp thing for her when she grows up.” She put Liv down on the floor and the toddler immediately sat and began pulling toys out of a basket.

  “Quite right. No one should have to worry that the Trust or whichever megacorp paid for their implant will come after them mind-to mind.”

  “How’s Ben?” Gen asked. “We were all worried.” She crossed to the kitchen corner. “Tea or coffee. It’s only CFB, I’m afraid, and decaff at that.”

  “Tea, please. He says he’s recovered, but I think he tires more easily. Garrick and the Free Company between them keep him on the hop constantly. With his background in the Monitors, he’s advising Garrick on policing, which means he often gets called on to sort out station problems that Syke’s militia can’t deal with.”

  “And how is he about foldspace?” Gen handed Cara a mug and flopped on to one end of the couch. Cara took the other end, half-turned to Gen.

  Gen was also a psi-tech Navigator, good enough to fly a jumpship. If anyone knew the perils of the Folds, and Ben’s reactions to them, it was Gen.

  “Oh, you know, he does the man thing and doesn’t talk about it in case he shows weakness, but after the business with the void dragons last year, and then the Nimbus, I reckon he has more reason than most to run away screaming. He won’t let himself, though. And no matter how he feels about it, he’s still damn good at what he does. Sometimes I think he keeps going on willpower, but however he does it, he’s still flying.”

  Gen pressed her lips together and shook her head. “If foldspace hasn’t broken him by now, it’s not going to.”

  “Have you ever spoken to void dragons?”

  “I’ve seen them, and I may have muttered obscenities at them a few times, but I’ve never had a meaningful conversation with one. I mostly saw the little things, the ones Ben calls otter-kind and Jake calls snakes.”

  “What did you call them?”

  Gen laughed. “Pests, mostly.”

  “Want to see the dragon.” Liv swiveled round on the floor and looked up at her mother. Her eyes shone. “Want to fly to the dragon.”

  “No, you don’t, sweetheart, not yet,” Gen said. “When you’re older, a big girl.”

  Liv pulled herself up on a chair and tried to stand on tiptoes to make herself taller. She wobbled and would have fallen, but Gen steadied her. “Much taller than that, sweetie.”

  “When are you likely to want to return to foldspace?” Cara asked.

  “I don’t know if I will. I couldn’t leave Liv behind.”

  “Not even with Max?”

  Gen gave her a look that said more than words could express. There was something wrong there.

  “Want to see the dragon.” This time Liv spoke directly to Cara. “Want to fly with Unca Ben.”

  “Sorry, Cara, I don’t know where she gets these ideas from. Liv, honey, you’re too young to fly into foldspace.”

  “I’m old now.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  Liv’s little mouth compressed to a sphincter and she managed a pretty good scowl for a child of her age.

  “Do you need some time off?” Cara asked. “I could babysit for you. Let you and Max have a bit of together time.”

  Gen shrugged. “Thanks anyway, but that’s probably not a good idea.”

  “Okay, but the offer’s open.”

  “Thanks.”

  Cara couldn’t quite interpret the look in Gen’s eyes. She supposed she might feel differently if she had children of her own, but surely it was all right to leave a child with a babysitter occasionally. Maybe Gen didn’t think Cara could be trusted, but it wasn’t as if she would be out of contact.

  That set Cara off on another train of thought as she left Gen and Liv a short while later. Contact between mother and baby was natural, but what if it was more than that. Had she sensed something in Liv? Was the baby a natural telepath? With two psi parents, it was quite possible Liv would be predisposed to having that kind of talent.

  Cara made a detour to visit Jussaro.

  “Hey, can I come in?” Cara hovered in the doorway of what had become Jussaro’s training school. “You’re not fixing any implants or giving any lessons today?”

  Jussaro shook his head. “I unlocked two more implants this morning: Yan Gwenn and Archie Tatum.”

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m tired if you must know. Zandra delivered a load of information that I’m still trying to process. Right now, if the megacorps caught me, I’d provide them with the biggest birthday present they ever had.”

  Cara raised one eyebrow. “A good reason for staying here, then.”

  “It sure is. I could do with some help, though.”

  “You haven’t decided who to ask yet?”

  “I was going to ask you, but I saw how you backed off. I know you’ve got . . . issues.”

  The way he hesitated and then emphasized the word made it Issues with a capital I.

  “You know why I don’t want to get too deep inside anyone’s head.”

  “You’re worried you might like it.”

  “No—well—yes, probably.”

  “You’re allowed to like helping them. Besides, if you haven’t gone psycho by now, you’re not going to. The very fact that you don’t want to do it is one of the reasons I think you’d be perfect.”

  She laughed. “You’re more trusting than I am.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve had more experience.”

  “I’d like to help with Sanctuary, though not the actual unlocking part.”

  “There was a complex network of people involved, but most of them only knew their immediate contacts. That’s why, when Alphacorp caught up with us, our cell was taken, but a lot of the others escaped.”

  “Would it help to talk it through? You have all the cells, right? You know who to contact to get Sanctuary up and running again.”

  “Before you start doing a happy dance, there are problems. It will take more time than I thought. I will, of course, unlock all the Free Company implants first, both here and on Jamundi.”

  “What about all the other psi-techs out there?”

  “I always thought that if I had the codes, I would pass them on, but that won’t work, will it? As Benjamin pointed out, if the megacorps know we have a way of freeing their psi-techs, the first thing they’ll do is change the way all new implants are coded from now on. Once they do that, we’re st
uck. If we keep the codes secret and only unlock the implants of those who find Sanctuary, we free fewer, but we can continue to free them for the foreseeable future. It’s a conundrum. What’s the most beneficial thing to do? This is going to take some thinking through.”

  “Well, I’m here if you want to bounce ideas off me.”

  “I know, thanks.”

  “Only don’t call on me tonight, I’m going to a party.”

  “Mother Ramona and Garrick’s wedding. I hope their security is tight,” Jussaro said. “It would be a perfect opportunity for the megacorps to get everyone who mattered in the same place at the same time.”

  “Tengue’s been working with Syke. Their security net is so tight I doubt if anything could slip through.”

  “I hope those aren’t famous last words.”

  She grinned at him. “We aren’t going to let the megacorps spoil tonight.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  CELEBRATE

  “OKAY, LET’S SEE WHAT TODAY HAS IN STORE for us.”

  Stefan took Crowder’s cane from him and placed it into the stand, within reach, but not in the way. Crowder dropped into his float chair and stretched his bad leg. Ah, that was better.

  “Coffee, sir?”

  “Sure, Stefan. I’ll take the usual.”

  Crowder waved his thumb over the message command. The holographic screen flickered into being, and more than twenty messages flashed up, ordered by what his messaging system judged to be the most important first. There was one real-time message flashing. He hit receive.

  Akiko Yamada’s face appeared on his screen. CEO of Alphacorp; priority number one.

  “Akiko, good to see you. How are you? How are Yoshiko and Etsuko?”

  “My girls are fine, Gabrius, as am I.”

  Her plain features were immaculately groomed, her smart business suit tailored by the best fashion house in Japan. She might not be a true beauty, but power lent grace and Yamada had that in abundance. She’d inherited her shares in Alphacorp, but had worked hard to rise to CEO and was fiercely protective of the corporation and her place in it.