by Bianca D'Arc
It wasn’t really necessary, since there was a fully-aired umbilical connecting him to the station, but he liked taking the extra time to ensure his ship’s air was as pure as he’d left it. Many traders left the airlock open when they were docked, not wanting to take the time to cycle through every time someone came and went from the ship. It was also a way to mix stale ship air with a bit of station air for those too cheap to pay for fresh air supplies.
But such arrangements had their drawbacks too. What if the station air was tainted? Madhatter Station had been the target of a pirate attack not too long ago that had seen every major concourse and ring of the massive station, dosed with sleep gas. Several ships full of people had also felt the effects of the gas simply because they had left the umbilical hatches open to station air.
The Matilda had been one of the pirate ships in that encounter, but Julian had liberated her from her former crew and used her to repel the pirate fleet. She had become his property a short while later and he had begun the work of turning her from a pirate ship into a cargo vessel that one man could handle on his own.
Finally, the airlock completed its cycle and the inner hatch slid open. Star stood before him, smiling uncertainly.
“Hi,” she said, her soft voice carrying in the silence of his ship. “Permission to come aboard?”
“Granted. Against my better judgment.” He stepped out of her way to let her aboard. The whole exchange was oddly formal and it made him wonder. Most civilians didn’t have a clue about the military tradition of seeking permission to board a vessel. “Can I help you with your bag?” he asked. It looked heavy, if small, and the strap was biting into her shoulder. Even if he was pissed off at her tactics, he was too much of a gentleman to let a female suffer.
“I’m okay,” she insisted. “Is there a place I can stow my stuff?”
He didn’t like leaving her with the obviously heavy bag, but he couldn’t very well grab it off her back now, could he? He grimaced and stepped forward, heading for the crew compartments.
“I’ve given you the first officer’s bunk.” He spoke as he walked briskly down the companionway, Star at his side in the small space. “It’s not grand, but it should do. As I told you, I’m not used to having passengers on the Matilda.”
“It’s okay. All I need is a rack and a cube of space to put my stuff. I won’t get in your way,” she promised. “I might even be able to help a bit. I do have my pilot’s license and I’m somewhat familiar with this kind of ship. I could watch the bridge during your rest periods, if you want.”
“Well, that’ll be up to Matilda. Usually, she runs the ship all on her own. If she needs me, she just wakes me up.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize you had crew.” She looked a little embarrassed, but he couldn’t really figure out why she would feel that way. If anything, he was the one about to be embarrassed when he admitted he’d given his ship’s AI a personality.
“Not crew. Not exactly,” he grimaced as he led her down the hall. “The AI is named Matilda. Just like the ship. She’s…well…I gave her a personality.”
He chanced a glance at Star and she was smiling. “I guess it gets boring all by yourself for weeks on end when you’re on a long haul.”
He kept silent, letting her think what she wanted. “I might as well introduce you. It’ll start the process of reading you in.” Julian pitched his voice toward the audio pickups placed all over the ship. There was no part of the ship where the AI couldn’t hear him. “Matilda, we have a passenger this trip. Please let me introduce you to Ms. Star Senna. She’s authorized for basic ship systems and is assigned to the first officer’s cabin.”
“Pleased to meet you Ms. Senna,” came his mother’s recorded voice over the ship’s speakers. “I’ve got you logged in. Just enter your hand print when you get to a comm station, for the record. Welcome aboard.”
Now why did it feel as if he’d just introduced his new girlfriend to his mom? Julian had felt exactly this sensation when he was a lad, bringing the girl he’d hoped to marry to meet his mother when he’d been very young…and very foolish.
“Thank you, Matilda,” Star said with a little smile. So far, so good. She probably thought the personalized AI was a little strange, but she was playing along for now.
Star settled in, stowing her bag in the first officer’s quarters. She freshened up, then joined Julian on the bridge for departure. She hadn’t been kidding when she offered to help him with ship duties. It would be a long, very boring trip if all she had to do was sit on her butt.
Julian was mumbling something to himself when she made her appearance on the bridge. He didn’t look too happy, but she refused to regret forcing her way onto this ship and making him take this trip a little early. More than just his feelings were riding on what would happen next.
“Reporting for duty, Captain,” she said with a trace of humor.
Julian whipped around, as if she’d surprised him. Damn. The man could move fast. She had to remember he was Enhanced. He had wicked-sharp reaction times and had been trained to make the most of them.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to sneak up on you,” she apologized, trying to make light of his reaction.
“I guess I’m just too used to being alone here,” he admitted graciously. “I’m working on the nav maps. Shouldn’t take too much longer.”
“I’m qualified as a navigator,” she offered. “I really do have my pilot’s license and more than just that. I’ve trained on multiple ship systems and would be very happy to help out on this trip.” She moved farther onto the bridge, moving slowly to stand next to him. “You’re taking us awfully close to the Pyramid,” she observed with some concern.
She could feel him looking at her with surprise, but she didn’t react. She had run into this kind of situation before. She would have to prove herself by doing, not by telling him about her credentials. He’d have to see her in action before he believed in her skill.
She could tell she had surprised him by instantly recognizing the quadrant map he was viewing and the course he had plotted between the ever-moving hazards of the Milky Way galaxy. Good. Let that be his first lesson.
It took him a moment, but he finally replied to her implied question. “It’s the shortest way at this point. In a few weeks the systems would have aligned a little better and we could have avoided that region of space, but right now, it’s the best way.”
“Yeah, I see that.” She traced the route with one finger as the 3D holographic map revolved slowly. “It’s cutting it very close though. As a general rule, I like to keep clear of the Pyramid. Strange voodoo goes down there on a regular basis.”
“You don’t believe those old wives tales, do you?” Julian looked at her, one eyebrow raised in question while the hint of a smile danced around his lips.
“I’m clairvoyant, Julian. A walking, talking, old wives tale. Living proof, if you will, that sometimes there’s truth in those old spooky stories. And I’ve seen enough reports of things that happen and ships that just disappear in the Pyramid to not discount it so easily.”
He raised his chin as if willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, though grudgingly. He then turned back to his mapping. “After we get through this quadrant, it should be safe sailing until we hit the galactic rim. At that point, we’ll have to use the jump point out near Last Spiral Station. They’re going to ask questions, but I think we can get through on the fact that Matilda is a legit cargo ship.”
“With no cargo,” she mused.
“Who said that?” Julian straightened and smiled at her fully this time. “It just so happens the hold is half-full with luxury items ready for sale or trade.”
She smiled at him. “I’m impressed. Winters said you were good, but I didn’t realize you would actually be living the life of the trader you’re posing as.”
“Say what now?”
She could see she had truly surprised him. Good. It had been a long time since she had been in the field and it was good to know sh
e was still able to pull off a cover—at least for a little while. The time had come to come clean with Julian though, now that they were underway. He had to know more about her, if not her exact mission, so they could move forward.
“General Winters. I work for him. As does most of my family. In fact, he’s part of the family. Married in. Once he realized the kinds of intel we could supply, he put most of us to work for him.”
She watched Julian’s reaction. He would be a good poker player. He didn’t give anything away. But she knew she definitely had his attention.
“Look, I know you’re Enhanced,” she said, dropping another bomb on him. She figured it would be best to knock him off balance all at once now, rather than a little at a time later. “I know about your work for General Winters and what you really do out here on your trips from planet to planet, and the Rim and back. I know you’re a spy, for lack of a better word. And I want you to know, I admire you for it.”
“How do you know what you think you know?” Julian challenged him. “Those cards of yours again?”
“Nope. Though they’re usually involved when I seek knowledge of the future,” she shrugged. “I work directly for Winters. Where do you think you guys get your intel from? Most of it is hard data, of course, but some of it comes directly from me and my gift. Your last mission to Last Spiral Station, for example. You took on a shipment from Robart the Red. It was a shipment that contained intel on troop movements along the Rim that was meant to make its way to the jit’suku side, but you stopped it.”
Suspicion filled his gaze. “Where did you hear that?”
“Nowhere. I told General Winters about the data cubes that were hidden in the shipment. I even told him where to find them—inside the pink canisters. I couldn’t see what else was in the canisters, but the sickening pink color of them will stick in my mind forever. I saw them. And I saw you taking them out and replacing them with the doctored cubes with the misinformation we wanted to give the enemy.”
“Sonuva…” he trailed off, seeming not to know how to deal with any of this. Good. Let him figure it out now, before they got into the thick of things. “Why are you telling me this?” he demanded, angry.
“So you’ll be prepared when it comes time for us to act. You can’t underestimate me. You have to let me do whatever it is I need to do when we get to that point.”
“More of your visions?” He sneered.
“Actually, yes. You and I are going on an adventure and it’s not going to be easy on either one of us.” She got serious. “I know what you can do, being Enhanced and all. You need to know when to trust me. You need to know about what I can do—and what I do all the time for General Winters. I’m his best remote viewer.”
“What’s a remote viewer? Is that just another word for your crazy-assed see-the-future routine?”
Damn the man. He was stubborn.
“Remote viewing is an ancient practice. Of all the currently active Senna seers, I’m the one most talented at it. You can give me a topic—a person, place or thing—and I meditate on it. Nine times out of ten, I’ll come up with a vision of exactly that thing. I file my reports with General Winters directly and he sends out his spies and operatives to act on my intel. That’s my job. It’s what I’ve done for the past several years. I don’t go out in the field much at all, but this time, when I meditated on the jit’suku emperor, I saw myself on Solaris Prime—with you, Julian. Whatever is going to happen, we both need to be there.”
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. I’m going to kill that bastard, and then I’ll probably be put to death. But at least I’ll have the satisfaction of revenge before I go to my grave. It’s all I live for now.”
He turned away, fiddling with controls while the ship went along on its course. They were flying in the general direction of where they wanted to go, but he hadn’t yet locked in the course. She stayed by the map table.
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” she said quietly. “I saw us both surviving the encounter, but it’s going to be tricky.”
Julian whipped back around. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly serious.” She hit a few buttons experimentally that shaved a few hours off their planned route, then looked back at him, meeting his gaze across the hologram. “There are many possible futures coalescing around you, Julian. Just like there are many routes to our final destination.” She traced the ever-changing patterns of the stars in the hologram with faint gestures. “Just as the stars shift and we change our course to adapt, so too do the possible futures shift with each new decision or action—or even inaction. Many different outcomes to the current journey are possible, but there is at least one route where you and I don’t die, and our entire galaxy comes out the better for it. I’m working toward that future. It’s my hope you’ll play along.”
He moved toward her, meeting her gaze across the faint glow of the hologram. “As long as I get my revenge, I’m willing to entertain doing good for our galaxy at the same time. But my revenge comes first, Star. That’s non-negotiable.”
Silence reigned for a full minute before she held out her hand to him, right through the hologram. “If you’re willing to work toward the best end possible, then we have an accord.”
He took her hand slowly, his gaze uncertain as they shook on it.
“By the way, my official rank is lieutenant colonel, but I don’t often use it,” she added, figuring it was best to get everything out on the table—as much as she could right now. At the moment, she needed him to start taking her and her qualifications more seriously.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” He cursed under his breath. She almost smiled. She outranked him.
“I’m afraid not.” She reached into the secret compartment in her sleeve, withdrawing a tiny ident chip. “Winters sent this along in case you wouldn’t believe me.” She handed it to him.
Julian muttered under his breath as he plugged the chip into the map station viewer and her dossier popped up. It displayed her rank, her job title, her image—in uniform—and included orders authenticated by General Winters himself, directing Julian to take her wherever she wanted to go.
“Well why in the world didn’t you just give me this to begin with?” he shot her a disgusted look. “You Senna ladies enjoy making us do tricks and bark like dogs, don’t you. Woof, woof.”
“Now Julian, you’re scaring the girl,” the AI piped in, speaking in a chastising voice that shocked the heck out of Star. “Her heart rate is elevated and your nonsensical ranting just caused a fear response. Knock it off, numbskull.”
Julian shut his eyes, squeezing them tightly as if he just wanted to disappear. Star just watched, stunned both by his off-balance rant and the AI’s interference. That was some personality he’d given the computer. It almost sounded like…
“Is that your mother’s voice?” Star didn’t quite believe it, even as she said the words.
“Don’t,” he grit out holding up one hand as if to stop her words. “Just don’t.” He turned and stomped off the bridge, heading back into the other parts of the ship.
Left alone on the bridge, Star wasn’t sure what to think. But there was at least one other personality around that might be able to give her some answers.
“Uh…Matilda?”
“Yes, Colonel Senna,” the woman’s disembodied voice came over the speakers. Star noted that the AI had been listening when she’d revealed her true rank to Julian.
“Am I right? Is your personality is modeled after Julian’s mother?”
“Indeed, you are correct,” the AI stated. “My son is a sentimental man,” she said, sounding more like a mother than an AI. “He gave the basic AI in this ship my personality and fed in all the recordings I ever sent him. I like to believe that part of me was in those recordings. The small part that lives in the AI now. I watch over him and try to keep him safe, though just lately he seems to have a death wish.” The AI actually sounded worried.
“I’m here to try to prevent his deat
h—and the deaths of many others in the Milky Way, and the jit’suku galaxy,” Star admitted.
“That is a concept I can endorse. Perhaps we can work together, Colonel.”
“Just call me Star and yes, ma’am, I think we can definitely work together. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Julian came back onto the bridge sometime later. Star was still there, but he pretended to ignore her. At least that’s the impression he gave. He didn’t look at her or otherwise acknowledge her when he went back to the map hologram, sorting out the final route he planned to take.
Star was pleased to see he left her small course corrections in the final plan, though he didn’t say anything at all to her about them, or anything else for that matter. He simply plugged in the finalized course and let the ship do the rest. They had already been heading in the general direction they needed to go, this flight plan just gave the ship a more detailed plan for vectors and velocity.
Star sat in the co-pilot’s seat, watching the stars. She loved being in space, though she didn’t often get much time for travel with her work load. She didn’t say anything when Julian settled into the pilot’s seat right next to her. If he wanted to ignore her, that was fine. She could play that game too.
Though it was hard to completely ignore him. He was, after all, the most attractive man she’d ever met. His looks ticked all her boxes on the mental checklist of her perfect man. He was tall, rugged, handsome in a piratical sort of way, and smart. She knew his war record inside and out. He was highly trained and excelled at almost everything, including being one of the best pilots of his generation—if not the best.
She had admired him when she only knew him by his file, but now that she’d met him, she found herself attracted to him in a very unprofessional way. She had to constantly remind herself of the seriousness of their situation and the enormity of what hinged on their actions. They were the fulcrum of some very important events and even she couldn’t see how it would all come out in the end.
