by Reiter
“Pipe this through the ship, Sati,” Jocasta had ordered in a very soft tone.
“Done, Captain.”
“And if you don’t mind me asking, where did we get this view?” Jocasta asked.
“The observation deck,” Satithe had replied. “It was–”
“I know,” Jocasta had quickly said, looking down at her instrumentation, another reminder of what the ship was missing. “It’s another improvement Z made.”
The star at the center of the tunnel had flashed before it faded from sight, leaving a black hole in its place. Jocasta piloted the ship for the hole which grew in size as they traveled down the shaft of light. Flying free of the tunnel and into open space, Jocasta’s eyes flared in anticipation. Her nostrils flared and her hands took tighter grips of the controls.
“Hold on for me, you big blue hemorrhoid,” she had thought as she moved her hand to the throttle. “There’s no way you’re going to leave me with this floating childcare center!”
“We’re receiving a transmission, Captain,” Agatha had reported. “It’s being beamed directly to this ship.”
“Source?”
“Three thousand meters, directly to our starboard side, Captain.”
“Satithe.”
The image on the view-screen had changed, taking with it the clarity and color of the picture. The wall of the observation deck was only so wide, and it did not stretch around the body of the Xara-Mansura. The image had been piped to the view-screen through one of the regular viewports.
About one-third the size of Black Gate, a construct of similar make, though painted white, floated in space. With the number of warships parked along its edge, it was clear to see that it was a military installation. Jocasta’s lips had pressed together as she considered ignoring the signal.
“Link us up,” Jocasta had ordered, taking her hands away from the console.
“Xara-Mansura, you are hereby ordered to power down,” a voice had spoken. “A shuttle is being sent to collect your Captain so that she may attend a meeting with the Commander of the White Gate Military Spacedock.”
“Message received,” Agatha had replied. “Control, recognize our Captain did not request this meeting. Might we at least know its purpose?”
“Nicely done,” Jocasta had whispered.
“You may inquire, Xara-Mansura,” the voice had responded. “That answer will be provided at the meeting as well.” Agatha had muted the microphone and Jocasta had snorted a laugh, getting up from her chair.
“Loose translation: because I said so!” Jocasta had stated. “Nice try, Murder. Bring us closer to the installation, just in case we’re in a transit lane here. Send the shuttle to the topside docking bay and have Llaz and Cliye meet me there.” Jocasta had turned to take her leave of the Bridge and not another word was said.
Jocasta had walked to her Ready Room where she remained for all of three minutes. She still managed to beat the shuttle to the rendezvous, but both requested crew members had been waiting for her in the bay, along with Annsura. The young Second Mate had made the approach to speak with her Captain, but a surprising and unexpected glare kept her from taking a second step.
The shuttle ride had been equally quiet. In fact, Jocasta had remained silent as they left the shuttle and were escorted into the battle station.
“Is she normally this quiet?” Cilrus had asked of Llaz who made no verbal response, but successfully communicated the need to be quiet.
“Leave your weapons here,” a young and attractive female officer had said as she came from the double doors of an office. Jocasta set her blue eyes on the woman and Llaz could hear the make of his Captain’s glove tightening around the neck of the cane. “You will not be permitted to–”
“Why don’t I carry the Captain’s weapons?” Llaz had suggested as he stepped forward. He smiled at the woman and gave a very conscious tilt of his head. “We know the laws of this side of the Gate; this crew and our ship have not broken any of them. Your Commander has no authority over us, as this is hardly a military or police action. Taking the woman’s weapons is not going to happen, and quite frankly, you’re standing way too close to expect to survive another faux pas.
“Now I know you have a job to do,” Llaz had continued, “but there comes a time when blindly following orders is the best way to guarantee you’ll never see home again.”
Swallowing hard, but maintaining her demeanor, the woman spoke. “Are you–”
“Promising you certain death if you insist on taking this woman’s weapons?!” Llaz had interrupted. “Yes, trust me, this is not a threat. It is the very definition of causality. You want the effect? Do anything other than agree to my suggestion!
“Like I’m even sure JoJo’s going to accept me holding on to her toys,” Llaz had thought. “But I stand a better chance at taking them than this idiot!”
“Very well,” the woman had said after looking at Jocasta once more. Llaz had swallowed hard and turned slowly to face his Captain. He could have collapsed to see her already unfastening her weapons belt. When she had given him both weapons belts, Jocasta looked up at the woman who nodded and walked ahead of her into the office.
“Not one scratch, Llaz,” Jocasta had said just before the doors closed behind her. Using his brace-com, Llaz opened a channel to Jocasta. He had winced when he heard his Captain begin speaking before she could be introduced.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“What did you s–”
“Your tight ass heard me,” Jocasta had interrupted, sounding more aggravated. “What the fuck do you want?!
“Ya see, I get it,” Jocasta had continued. “You’ve got your balls in a bunch because you’re being told what to do by the guy on the other side of the gate and–”
“The Governor of Black Gate has no authority here!” Commander Cavrell had said as he stood up from his chair. Dessahn Cavrell had seen many things in his term of service to his homeland; among them were far too many who wielded power they did not genuinely possess. He leaned forward on his desk and took in a deep breath to speak again.
“You interrupt me again and we’ll see if those drones of yours are fast enough to keep me from ripping your larynx out of your neck!” Jocasta had hissed. Unbeknownst to her, Llaz had used only his eyes to signal Cliye to be ready to act as he brought the man in on his channel. The large man had not expected to see action this soon, but he smiled with anticipation at the prospect.
“Now, where was I?” Jocasta had asked. “Oh yeah, you’re trying to substantiate the reason why no one says anything when you fart!” Jocasta had taken two steps forward, her eyes squinting into the brown eyes of the surprised officer. “You think it’s fear, and in a way, you’re right. No one wants to let that funk into their mouths, so yeah, they shut the hell up! But you pull me out of my lane, order me to power down my ship, and then order to me to disarm?! Gov, you wanna tell me why I don’t skin the fat freak right where he stands?!”
“Because we’re such good friends, Captain,” Isaiah Gundryss had replied over the intercom of the battle station, surprising the two installation officers. “It would seem that during the shuttle ride over to the station, a sweep team has been sent to the Xara-Mansura. They are there now, making an unrequested inspection.
“To make a long story short, Captain,” Isaiah had explained, “the good Commander has done his level best to ignore the notices my office has been sending to him advising him that one of the stipulations of me taking the Governor’s position was that I would have absolute authority over Black Gate and White Gate. And while I was prepared to allow this incident to serve as an official notice, I’m more moved to send a shuttle of my own to collect Commander Cavrell so that he and I can have a face-to-face meeting.”
“Apologize,” Jocasta had said. “Use your shoulder-mounted head for a change, think it through, and apologize. Right here and right now.”
Stammering for a moment, Dessahn’s attention was drawn away from Jocasta when the mo
nitor in his desk brought up a copy of the order from the Baronial Council declaring Isaiah Gundryss as Governor of Black Gate and Supreme Commander of the Baronial Armada. He whispered the words Supreme Commander, wondering what stroke of fate had fallen upon the man he had met and came away thinking there was nothing at all impressive about him.
“I apologize,” Dessahn had said clearly as he looked up at Jocasta. “I had been advised you were a pirate, and I took what I thought were the necessary measures to let you know such activity would not be tolerated here.”
Jocasta had nodded as she smiled. “Isaiah, my people hacked you into this idiot’s system, so you owe me one. Let this wannabe keep his funky seat and we can cross that one off the list.”
“Done,” Isaiah had said quicker than Jocasta had expected.
“You see, someone out there loves you,” Jocasta had said as she turned to leave. She had chosen to walk closely by the assistant. “That little wind-up toy you’re holding against your left thigh would have only made me more eager to kill you, sweet thing,” she had whispered. “Stealth has its time and place. Pull a blaster or fill a family plot!”
“The inspection is mostly automated,” Cavrell had said. “It will take some time to get the robot drones to stop and then report to the transport.”
“How long?”
“An hour at the most,” Cavrell had replied.
Jocasta had sighed before walking back to the shuttle, Llaz and a disappointed Cliye falling in behind her. The shuttle ride back was equally quiet, save for when she opened a channel to Kryltane to thank him for his ingenuity in breaching the White Gate computer systems and bridging Black Gate onto the same channel. Llaz had smiled as he realized what his Captain had done during her three minutes in her Ready Room. He smiled at the cunning, but more in relief of his fear that JoJo was becoming too focused on the matter at hand. They all wanted the First Mate back, but trapping Z could not have been an easy feat. Serious respect had to be given to the party, or parties, that had taken a hand in the triumph. Jocasta then ordered Goldie to meet her in her training room the moment she got back to the ship. The Xara-Mansura had been relatively quiet for forty-eight minutes.
“No, ideal is not the word that springs to mind,” Goldie agreed. “But you’re just dancing around my point. What is it about you giving ground?”
“Because right about now, I need to gain as much ground as I can,” Jocasta said, throwing down her towel.
“I thought I was the child in the room,” Goldie returned. Jocasta’s head snapped around. He did not move, nor did his eyes waver. “Your anger is intimidating, Captain. I know you possess the anger and the ability to run me through.”
“So why push me?”
“I said you possess the ability,” he replied. “I never said you’re using it!”
Jocasta bolted toward the boy, unarmed. He smiled as he ducked her first swing, a wild hook that stood a good chance of breaking his jaw had it hit. He leaned out of the way of her jab, hopped back from her attempt at grasping him. When she turned the failed grabbing attempt into a diving tackle, Goldie jumped up, flipped forward and over her body, landing safely on the floor as she fell.
“You see what you can do when you give a little ground?”
“No,” she hissed as she got up. “Show me again!”
“Fine,” Goldie said as he prepared himself to move. “You insist on doing things this way and you’ll never see him alive again!” The woman stopped. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she tried to remove the quickly forming tears. She staggered back a step and had to remind herself to breathe. Goldie quickly came forward and took hold of her arm. She tried to pull away from him, but the effort put to the feat was hardly noticeable.
“Get away from me,” she said softly.
“Not a chance!”
“You don’t even know him. Why do you give a damn?!”
With so many truthful answers available to him, Goldie decided to use the one that would impact the backbone of this ship and its crew the least. “Because I am getting to know you… and he’s important to you.
“But, Captain,” Goldie whispered as he took a tighter hold of her arm. “… this man you hunt is good. He knows about you, knows you’re coming. With what he knows about you, he’s made all kinds of plans and counterplans. From what Bantar, Amosse, and Teela have said, what this Professor O’Zhar wants is on this ship!”
“Captain, we’re receiving another transmission,” Silnee reported over the intercom. “It came in the moment the last of the White Gate drones boarded their transport.”
“Captain, this is Shotgun,” Kryltane called over the system. “It’s him. It’s NBA!” Jocasta stopped panting and Goldie immediately released her arm.
For Jocasta, the walk to the console was not a short one; it was a gauntlet of memory and purpose. She saw Scimitar, standing with his arms folded, his stern eyes fixed on her every move. She had wondered why he had ever cared to see to her training. With all he had to do for Rouge, who now stepped up beside her to gaze on her former wing-leader, he certainly had better things to do.
“Did I?” he asked before looking at his commander. She smirked, like she always did when she was curious to see the outcome of an event.
Opposite of those two stood Beta-Alphexeous, Beta-Chiaro and Nugar, the Master Traveler making a warming facial expression. He was about to speak, but Jocasta closed her eyes. She had already received is words, all their words. Each one of them had already made their contributions. This was her choice to make. Powering up the console, Jocasta took one steadying breath before speaking.
“Put it through.”
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.
Benjamin Disraeli
(Rims Time: XII-4203.02)
“We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, Captain,” Vidé announced. “And since you’re not fully aware of how acquainted I am with you, I arranged a slight demonstration of my ability. I hope you didn’t kill the good Commander Cavrell.”
“So much for making a solid first impression,” Jocasta said as she closed her eyes. “Anyone who would consider that fop as good earns a mark on the back pages of my book.”
“Oh, Captain, you sound so aggravated that you had to park that rather interesting ship of yours,” he jabbed. Jocasta muted the console.
“Satithe, I know he’s reading my voice, trying to get a fix on how to press my buttons. Can you filter me, baby?”
“Can and will, Captain,” Satithe quickly replied. “You may proceed.”
“Thanks, Sati. I’ll key in what emotions I want to come through on my brace-com.
“Is there a reason for a reason for this little chat?” Jocasta asked, typing in the word deceit. “I was in the middle of a training session and I’d like to get back to it.”
“I doubt that’s what you were doing, but that is truly of little matter,” Vidé returned. “And since, for you, that was asking nicely, why don’t we get to the bones of it all. You’re carrying quite the haul of raw materials bound for Azuria. I suggest you set a course for that barony, the one I am now sending to you, and keep to that course at the speed you have also been given. Any deviation from that course and that speed and–”
“And you’ll what?!” Jocasta barked after typing in unfiltered. “Kill him?! Do it! Kill him and recognize that I will drive myself into ruin finding you… and when I do find you, Net Black Assassin, I will take my time and pleasure in killing you slowly!
“So let me bring you out of that place in your mind where you think you’re holding all of the cards,” Jocasta continued. The volume of her voice had lowered, but she was every bit as angry. “You’ve got one of my people, that much is clear. The other clear part is that you want something I have in my possession. You can’t get it off my ship, so you do the next best thing: kidnap a crewman and try to work a deal.
“But we also know you took the brains of this group,” Jocasta said as she sighed. �
�It doesn’t take a genius to know that since I’m coming after him, he means something to me. We will follow your course, but if we need to deviate from it, we will, period! You took one of mine! That wasn’t the most trustworthy move to make, so I’m not going to trust that the course you send me is necessarily the best thing for my ship. It could be just another trap.”
“Fine, Captain,” Vidé replied. “You make some very good points. I might have removed the brains of your outfit, but it’s clear to me that I’m not dealing with a simpleton. You’ve got your demands and we have ours.”
“We?” Jocasta thought.
“You keep your appointment with Azuria. You make a stop anywhere else and we’ll have to revisit in what condition your man will be in when and if he is returned to you.”
“Fair enough,” Jocasta replied.
“From time to time, I’ll make a few calls just to make sure everything is reading clean and green with you. Once you are in Azuria, we will contact you with a meeting time and place. The items we require will also be named then, and the exchange can be confirmed. Are we square on this?”
“Square enough, NBA,” Jocasta said.
“Talk to you soon, Captain Starblazer.”
“We are clear, Captain,” Satithe reported as Jocasta turned to face Goldie.
“Give ground, eh?” she asked.
“Indeed,” he said as he nodded. “It wouldn’t hurt you to remember that the scabbard for your blade is also an effective weapon. You use it more in fighting than you do when we’re sparring.”
“Life preservation tends to run desperate from time to time,” Jocasta admitted.
“Well, take the desperation out of it and replace it with style. You’ve got more skill than most, Captain. It’s a shame you don’t use more of it!”
“Captain, this is Deolun, I’ve got some really good news for you!”
“You need me in the lab?” Jocasta asked. She could hear devices in the walls of the room beginning to power up. Small doors opened on all four walls and light was projected into the room creating a three-dimensional rendition of Deolun.
