by JC Cassels
The com clicked on.
“Tese, it’s Bo. The ship is secure and Chase appears to be fine. I’m going to have his brother check him out to be sure.”
“Thank the Maker!”
“You hang tight up there for a bit while we clean up the mess down here. Someone will be along to let you out in a bit. Barron out.”
A hand closed around Chase’s arm. “Hey, you look a little green.”
He looked up and met his brother’s concerned stare. “I don’t feel so good.”
Dev gently pulled him away from the bulkhead and shouldered some of his weight. “Come on, you look like you need a drink. I want to check you for injury first. It’s not everybody who can go up against a Predator who isn’t pulling his punches and just walk away.”
Chase stumbled a few steps, suddenly aware of the stabbing pain in his side. “I think he broke a couple of ribs.”
His knees buckled and he fell against his brother. Chase threw his arm around his shoulder. Dev steadied him.
“They were gonna kill us.”
Dev guided him into the lounge and settled him on the sofa. “That was their plan, yeah.”
He moved away and pulled a medipak from one of the lockers. Chase watched him work in silence as he passed the medical scanner over him.
“Your ribs are cracked, not broken,” Dev said. “I’ll take you down to sickbay and hit them with a bone fuser once we’re in hyperspace. Other than that, you’re fine. Just rattled is all.”
Dev squatted in front of him, and braced his forearms on his knees. The scanner dangled from his fingertips. “Hey, I’m proud of you, Chase. It’s not easy being Daavin Marin. You did good.”
He patted Chase on the knee and rose. He returned a moment later with a glass filled with Old Arturian.
“Here.”
Gratefully, Chase took it and downed the contents in a single swallow. The burning liquid lit a warming fire as it slipped down his gullet. Unable to speak, Chase held up the glass for another drink. Dev obliged. After the second glass, his shaking eased. He met his brother’s stare.
“She shot him in the head, Dev.”
“There’s nothing wrong with her aim.”
The sounds of activity in the companionway drifted into the lounge. “What are they doing?”
“Cleaning up the mess before I let Tese and Dash off the flight deck,” Dev said. “They don’t need to see that.”
“She’s done that before, shot a man in the head.”
Dev pulled his collar to one side revealing a burn mark on his shoulder. “She’s shot me more than once,” he said with a smile.
Carefully, Dev eased onto the sofa beside him. “Chase, I need you to hold it together. I know this is a lot to take in. I’m sorry. I have tried to protect you from this ever since I first found out I was Daavin Marin.”
“And all these years I thought I was looking after you.”
Dev shrugged. “We were looking after each other.”
Chase held out his hand. “I’ve got a chip.”
“I know. So do I.”
“The ship says I’m Daavin Marin.”
“Yeah.” Dev tapped his palm and the light flashed. “Says the same about me.”
“We can’t both be Daavin Marin.”
“No.”
Chase looked up at him. “I don’t want to be Daavin Marin.”
Dev sighed and dropped his arm around his shoulders. “Me neither, big brother. But we don’t have to worry about that until we talk to Andre.”
“Stett shot Ian, but I don’t think he killed him.”
“Ian’s fine.” Dev assured him. “He and Bo’s uncle have commandeered The Pride of Trisdos and are already heading to the rally point.”
“What’s that? A ship?”
Dev grinned. “The official First Sector State Yacht.”
“The official…” That broke through the fog that clouded Chase’s head. “Are you serious? You stole the Sovran’s private ship?”
Dev’s arm tightened around his shoulders. “Well, technically, you and I are Daavin Marin, so that makes it our ship. And if it’s our ship, then we can’t exactly steal from ourselves, can we?”
The hum of activity in the companionway faded. Bo stepped into the lounge, hesitating in the hatchway.
“How is he?” she asked.
“He’ll live.”
She nodded. “Good. Stett’s detail is wrapping up. They did a decent job stowing the cargo. We’re having a difference of opinion on whether he needs to install himself on board my ship or not. You need to take care of this your way before I take care of it my way.”
Chase looked to his brother. “What’s your way?”
“Diplomacy.”
“What’s her way?”
“Violence.” Dev grinned and rose.
Bo smiled sweetly at him before ducking back out into the companionway.
Chase swallowed. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll wait here,” he said. “I’ve had enough violence for one day.
“Duly noted.”
With one last, reassuring pat on his shoulder, Dev followed her out.
***
Leaning against the bulkhead with her arms folded across her chest, Bo left it to Blade to break the news to his friends that they would be traveling separately.
“Look, Con, we need as many birds going up now as we can get,” Blade said. “Ian has taken The Pride of Trisdos. I need you and your men to break grav in as many ships as you can. Head in separate directions and we’ll meet up on Themis. Wait for me at the Grand.”
“That’s in the Seventh Sector.” Stett said.
“I know,” Blade said. “That’s what makes it ideal.”
“But you’re not going to Themis, are you?”
Blade shook his head. “Not right away. I need to hammer out a few details, call in a few favors, and solidify a few alliances. When I contact you, be ready to go to war.”
“Four men,” Stett said. “How about I leave four men. That’s not much considering there are two principals, three counting the boy.”
“Nice try,” Blade said. “That’s a reasonable offer.”
“Then it’s decided…”
“It would make perfect sense if we weren’t traveling under The Barron’s command,” Blade said. “Hell, she’s the Scourge of the Seventh Sector. There’s not a pilot alive who can take her in flight. Never mind that we don’t have the racks to accommodate any extra passengers.”
“You’ve hot bunked before.”
Bo shuddered at the thought of sharing a bunk in shifts.
“I’m telling you no,” Blade said. “You’re lucky Bo let you aboard her ship at all. Don’t push your luck or you’ll piss me off. This is her ship. No security detail on this flight. That’s an order.”
“Sir, it’s my job as the head of your security to point out to you when you’re being reckless with your life and the lives of your family. As the Heir to the House of Marin, you do not have the luxury of certain rights.”
“Your objections are noted, Commander Stett, but you are only the temporary head of my PSD. I relieve you of that responsibility. You have your orders. You and your team are to serve as decoys and make your way to Themis where you will be contacted with further instructions. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” Stett said. “I will leave you under protest. Not even Blade Devon is indestructible. Take care of yourself, Doc.”
Blade held out his hand to his friend. “You too, Con.”
The two men shook hands. With one last nod to Bo, Stett disembarked.
She touched the hatch controls to seal the ship. The hatch hissed shut and outside the ramp cranked up against the outer hull.
“Sundance, open the flight deck,” Blade said. “Authorization Daavin Marin.”
The hatch at the top of the steps irised open.
“All clear,” Blade called out.
“Papa!” Dash squealed as he raced down the steps as fast as his little legs
would carry him. “Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa!”
Blade dropped to one knee and threw his arms wide to catch the little dynamo that launched himself at him.
Bo’s throat tightened.
Her husband gathered their son to him and buried his face in the boy’s neck, making just as much noise as Dash. He fell backward onto the deck plates, laughing and wrestling with the grunting little boy all the way down. The boy’s delighted giggles set the bulkheads ringing.
How had she ever doubted that Blade Devon would love his child?
She looked up into Tese’s wistful smile.
Embarrassed to be caught, Tese lowered her gaze and descended the steps. She paused only long enough to give Bo a quick hug then slipped silently past them and disappeared into the lounge.
“I – missed – you!” Dash timed each word with a bounce as he jumped up and down on Blade’s chest, landing hard on his knees.
Blade tried to speak but each bounce forced out another exaggerated grunt.
Dash giggled, enjoying his feigned distress. “Where – you – been?”
He coughed and hacked, playfully mugging for the boy’s amusement.
“Why – you – been – gone – so – long?”
He finally groaned loudly and the boy collapsed on top of him, giggling.
Blade wrapped his arms around Dash and pulled him close. “I missed you, too, Buddy,” he said, kissing him on the side of his head. “I’m sorry I was gone so long. I had to go find Mama.”
“Mama?” Dash lifted his head and looked at Bo. “That’s Mama?”
Blade nodded. “Mm hmm. Isn’t she pretty?”
“She looks just like her picture,” Dash whispered loudly.
“I know,” Blade whispered back, just as loud. “Why don’t you go say hello. She hasn’t seen you since you were a baby.”
“I’ll bet she missed me.”
“I know she did.”
Dash climbed off his father and scurried to her. “Mama!”
Bo fell to her knees and gathered him up tightly. He hit her hard enough to knock her off-balance and she nearly fell backward. Tears stung her eyes.
“Oh, baby,” she said softly. “I have missed you so much. But Mama’s back now and I am never going away like that again.”
He lifted his head. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
She looked to her husband for reassurance. He still sprawled on the deck plates at the base of the steps, propped on his elbows, watching them, his expression filled with tenderness, adoration, and inexpressible joy. His eyes shone too brightly as he met her gaze. She had never seen such a look of contentment on his face .
Bo reached for him and he crawled to her side, wrapping his arms around the both of them. She rested against him with a sigh. Dash burrowed deeper into her, chirping happily some nonsense about Zoomy and Bapi and the toy figure of his Papa he’d had to leave behind.
The Commonwealth be damned.
The Black Wing be damned.
Bo closed her eyes.
They had robbed her of her home, her father, and her brother. She hugged Blade’s arm tighter around them. No more. She wasn’t sacrificing one bit more.
She lifted her face to Blade, and his mouth took hers in a tender, leisurely kiss. She sighed, sinking deeper into him as his tongue touched her lip. A tiny hand touched her cheek and a wet, sloppy kiss planted beside it.
Laughing, she and Blade broke apart and showered their son with kisses until he giggled.
“Commander, General Rameus has ordered all ships grounded until further notice,” Sundance said, breaking into their idyllic moment.
Blade studied her with a grin. “He can’t tell me what to do,” he said. “I’m Daavin Marin.” He kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose and climbed to his feet. “Come on, love. You’re not going to let that blowhard tell you what to do, are you?”
He pulled her up from the deck plates.
“I should say not,” she replied. She held out her hand to her son. “What do you say, little man? You want to come watch Mama fly us out of here?”
He took her hand and held out his other hand to Blade. “Papa come, too!”
“Wouldn’t miss it for anything, buddy.”
He took Dash’s other hand and shared a smile with Bo. They lifted their son off his feet and he swung gleefully between them, giggling.
At the base of the steps to the flight deck, Blade scooped up Dash. With one hand on her backside, he nudged her up the stairs.
***
Sundance had already begun the pre-flight warm-up when Bo slid into the pilot’s seat and donned her headset. She keyed the internal com. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking,” she said, affecting a well-modulated tone. “Please secure all loose items and fasten your g-locks. We’ll be breaking grav momentarily.”
Blade looked up from buckling Dash into the navigator’s station. “That is so sexy how you do that,” he said.
He tweaked the boy’s nose and dropped into the seat beside her.
“How I do what?” Her hands flew over the console, taking shortcuts and diverting power to the repulsors. “Run through preflight, or announce our departure?”
“Yes.”
She smiled. “Good to know.”
A busy port like Trisdos would be nothing short of a nightmare to shut down. She scanned the air traffic com channels. “That’s strange.”
He buckled his g-locks and keyed the systems coming on line on his side of the con. “What?”
Her brow furrowed. “I’d expected a lot of chatter, but this sounds like panic.”
“Well, they’re grounding everything in the air…”
She shook her head. “No, this is more than that.”
He unclipped the headset from his side of the con and pulled it on. Every channel broadcast chaos. He concentrated, trying to filter through the chatter. Anxious voices complained of faulty location beacons transmitting incorrect coordinates, guidance systems spontaneously shutting down, traffic control misdirecting vessels, and near-collisions. Harried techs and controllers reported repeated malfunctioning systems, and anxious flight crews called for assistance. Over it all, he sensed that familiar, not quite entirely organic, sentience that was Edge.
“I think your brother’s having a little trouble getting a handle on not being limited by a body,” he said. “His Prenaha is all over the place.”
The ship’s sublight engines cycled loudly as power flooded through them.
“Fine,” she said. “I get the message, Edge. We’re leaving. But you’d better leave the flying to me unless you want to blow us out of the sky.” She spared Blade a glance. “Is he even on board?”
Blade nodded.
She guided the ship up and out of the docking bay. “Give me shields as soon as they’re ready,” she said.
He called up the targeting display. The forward screens lit up with green blips swirling around them like a swarm of angry insects.
“Be careful, Edge,” he said. “Those ships you’re playing with are all carrying people. Let’s let them go home to their families, okay?”
“He’s clearing a path,” she said.
An escape vector opened ahead of them. Bo dumped more power into the repulsors and threw her ship into the breach. The chaos closed in behind them as they climbed higher.
The shield indicator flashed full power. “Shields up,” he said, engaging the system.
An out-of-control ship spun toward them from a higher altitude. “Incoming! High right!” he called.
“I see it.”
His heart thumped a faster rhythm as he eyed the rapidly closing bogey.
With balletic grace, Sundance banked and climbed, narrowly missing the other vessel.
He risked a glance at her.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Honestly, Dev, you need to learn to relax.”
He swallowed and tried a casual smile. “Sorry, love,” he said. “It’s been a while si
nce I’ve flown with a maniac.”
“You’re overdue.” She risked a glance over her shoulder. “Dash isn’t worried.”
He looked back. The little boy yawned and absently kicked his feet, oblivious to the excitement.
Blade shook his head. “He’s a Barron, all right.”
Bo smiled. “It’s in our genetic code.”
The ship broke through the thin veil of atmo with a flutter on the forward screens. She reached for the sublights as he disengaged the repulsors. He glanced over the readout from the sensor array.
“I’m reading sentry ships ahead,” he said. “Consular Guard fleet will be harder to for Edge to manipulate, and the hyperdrive is only at forty percent.”
“All I need is sixty,” she said. She tapped in a command routing enviro systems through the repulsor drive.
His brow furrowed. “To blow us up?”
She shook her head. “You have no faith in me.”
“The Asoning injectors are pegging.”
“Good.”
“You’re gonna overload the sublights.”
She sighed. “You know the problem with teaching you to fly? You never quite got your wings, but you think you know what you’re doing.”
“Oh, no, love. I freely admit that I don’t know a damn thing about this kind of flying.”
“Good,” she said. “Now watch and learn. This is an old blockade runner’s trick. Let me know when the hyperdrive is up to sixty percent.”
His jaw tightened. “The sentry ships are closing in. They’ll have us in tractor range in five minutes. The jump corridor is at least fifteen minutes away.”
“I only need three. What’s the hyperdrive reading?”
“Fifty-one percent.”
She frowned. “Come on, baby, you can do better than that.” Her hands flew across the con. “Reroute all non-essential systems into the hyperdrive.”
“Fifty-five percent and the sentry ships are still closing. They’re powering up main weapons banks and ordering us to heave to.”
She muttered a curse. “Screw it. This will have to do.” She triggered a cascade and the con lit up. Klaxons sounded a warning. She opened the hyperdrive engines and the power reading spiked into the danger zone.
