by Sara King
“Let go?” Dallas asked. Stuart could have groaned. He pulled his hands along his face, wishing he were anywhere but here.
“Lose it. Belly up. Break.”
“Why do you think that?” Dallas demanded, puffing up. “I went through the Academy.”
“You’ve still got the mental resiliency of a toadstool.” Without another word, Rabbit left the mess hall.
Stuart quickly got up to follow him.
“You, too?”
Stuart froze and sheepishly glanced back. The hurt in Dallas’s face was unmistakable.
“I was finished eating,” he said, embarrassed. “Thought I could catch some sleep before my shift comes up.” Never mind that a suzait didn’t need to sleep, aside from brief catnaps to repair muscular damage or recharge glucose levels in the host bloodstream.
The whimper that followed chipped at his soul. “Why does everybody hate me?”
Stuart sighed and sat back down. “They don’t.”
“Yes they do. In the Academy, on Mary, on Beetle… Nobody even stood up for me when Athenais decided to dump me on T-9.”
“Yes they did.”
“What?”
“They did. She came down to The Shop afterwards and complained to everybody who’d listen that her entire crew was trying to mutiny on her. They all wanted you to stay.”
“They…did?” Dallas sniffled and wiped the back of her hand across her nose, looking up at him, hope all-too-clear in her face.
“Yeah,” Stuart said. “The way things were going, she was gonna have to come crawling back to you on her knees.”
Dallas wrinkled her face immediately. “I woulda told her to go to hell.”
“She knew that. That’s why she didn’t do it.”
Dallas was silent a long time.
“I guess I woulda died if I’d stayed on Beetle,” she said finally. “She saved my life, in a weird sorta way.”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
Dallas glanced at her watch. “I’ve gotta get back to the controls. Wanna come?”
“I dunno. You pretty much got everything interesting outta me yesterday.”
“No I didn’t. I still haven’t asked you about the shifters. How do they, you know?”
Stuart rolled his eyes. “That will take all night, right there, and I wanted to get some shuteye.”
“Please? I’ll give your shift to Darley as a punishment.”
Stuart winced. “No, I’ll keep my shift. I don’t need as much sleep as humans, anyway.”
“Then let’s get moving,” she said, getting up as she looked down at her watch. “Autopilot timer’s about to go.”
A half-second later, the convenient little red lights above the hallways started to flash and a pleasant female voice said, “Mainframe overloaded. Manual systems engaged.”
Dallas squeaked and bolted for the cockpit. Instead of following, Stuart found a nice, soft spot of floor and sat down. When the ship started to rumble with centrifugal force, he laid back and considered how well the plush red and black carpet matched the enameled ebony walls.
When it was finally over, he got up and found Dallas at the controls, looking pale.
Calmly, Stuart unbuckled the watch from her arm and wrapped it around his wrist.
“Huh?” Dallas said, blinking at it.
“From now on,” Stuart said, “I’ve got the watch.”
“But…”
“Think of it this way,” Stuart said, sitting down beside her. “You get more storytime.”
She beamed, her blue eyes going wide with a grin. “That sounds so coo—”
“Screen,” Stuart said.
A week after getting electrocuted by the worm, and after three whole days passing without their ‘captain’ attempting to paste them across yet another space-rock, the airhead pulled the ship out of drive and shut off everything but com and life support. Then, against all standard stealth procedures, she got on com and ordered everyone into the command room to take stock of the situation.
Tommy got the sinking feeling that they were all about to spend a very, very long time on a very, very nasty place. He decided he was going to ask Rabbit to double his pay.
“See that black spot right there?” Dallas asked, once they were all standing behind her at the helm. She pointed a manicured finger at to the computer’s 3-D render of the surrounding area. “Erriat Planetary Guard,” she said. “There’s another one over there, in that debris field.”
“How do you know?” Rabbit asked, scanning the field with his eyes.
“That’s where I’d be.”
Thomas laughed, but quickly disguised it with a cough at Rabbit’s sharp look.
Oblivious, their ‘captain’s’ fingers flew over the controls and she brought up another image. It was a close-up of Erriat’s surface. Dust clouds swept over half the planet like huge orange storm-systems. “That’s where they drop off prisoners. There’s a holding facility there, plus one of the biggest mines on the planet. Hundreds of miles deep. Entry points here and here.”
Tommy thought she sounded like an Academy student giving a report. He peered at the magnified image of the orangish-brown planet, wincing at the huge megastorms swirling across the surface. Landing in that was not going to be fun. Flying in it would cause him issues, so he could only imagine what it was going to be like with the blue-eyed little space-rock sitting in the pilot’s seat. Realizing this would be the perfect opportunity for him to prove his skills—when she inevitably panicked and he had to take over for her—Thomas had the smug feeling that she wasn’t going to be captain for very long.
Standing directly behind the girl, Rabbit’s ‘mechanic,’ who seemed to be no more than a drunken, dirty drifter to Tommy, was looking ill. “Pray she didn’t get stuck at Orplex.”
“There’s only a forty percent chance she did. They send three out of five to other mines around the planet.”
Darley gave their ‘captain’ a scathing look. “Forty percent chance, eh? Are you an expert now?”
“I read up on it,” Dallas said, shrugging.
Tommy rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to storm from the helm to go start drafting his will.
“All of this is irrelevant anyway,” Rabbit said. “I have a contact on Erriat. An old friend. One of the ones who founded the planet. He should know where they sent Athenais.”
Darley’s face twisted. “His name Angus Greele?”
Rabbit nodded.
“I’ll be stayin’ on the ship,” the drifter growled, hatred in his stormy gray eyes. “I ever lay eyes on that bastard, I’ll kill him.”
“He’s got too many bodyguards for that.”
“I don’t care. I’d put a bullet between his eyes before they took me down.”
Rabbit sighed. “Wouldn’t do you any good. He’s like Athenais and me.”
Darley scowled. “So what’s he need the bodyguards for?”
Rabbit smiled. “Because if he didn’t have them, he’d have people like you putting bullets between his eyes twenty-four-seven. That gets somewhat distracting.”
Unnerved to think that there were more of the unnaturally long-lived criminals lurking in the Quads, Tommy cleared his throat. “So they’re friends. Is there a possibility that he realized Athenais was put on his planet and he rescued her? Maybe she already got word out and all this is unnecessary.”
“No.”
The way the monied little creep said it, Tommy couldn’t tell which part of the question he was answering. Frowning at Rabbit, he said, “No possibility of her discovery or him rescuing her?”
Rabbit laughed. “Oh, I’m sure there’s a possibility he knows she’s here.”
Thomas cocked his head at that. “I thought all the ones who shared Athenais’s…problem…were friends.”
Rabbit looked amused. “If Angus knew she was on the planet, he’d take to delivering her punishment himself.”
“So you’re just going to tell him she’s there?”
Rab
bit grinned. “What better way to find her?”
Thomas narrowed his eyes at his employer, not liking the man’s shifty, secretive, manipulative attitude. Reminded him of a suzait. He glanced at the worm across the room to make sure it was keeping its distance.
“All right!” Rabbit said, rubbing his hands together. “Dallas, you ready to do this?”
“I’m still not coming,” the mechanic interjected.
“Fine,” Rabbit agreed. “You can stay on the ship with Dallas.”
“But I want to go!” Dallas objected. “I’ve breathed enough recycled air to make a horse puke.”
“Erriat’s air will make you sicker. Besides, we need you to stay at the controls in case we need an emergency evacuation. You’re the only one who could get us out fast enough.”
Like a petulant three-year-old, Dallas muttered something under her breath and sank back down in her chair. Space-rocks were bad enough, but they were trusting their safety to this? It was all Thomas could do not to rip the controls out of her grip and shove her off of his seat. Obviously, she’d taken a step in the right direction when she’d selected her last career…
“Wait,” Thomas began, realizing what Rabbit had said. He turned to his employer with a frown. “‘Emergency Evacuation?’ I don’t like the sound of that.”
The criminal shrugged wiry shoulders very cleverly disguised by several layers of silk. “Angus is my friend, but he finds out why we’re here, he’s gonna be furious. He’s pretty much got the Planetary Guard at his fingertips, so hopefully we’ll be gone before he has a chance to think of a reason to keep us here.”
More and more, Tommy was wishing he’d never signed up for this trip. “What about the alien? Will he be coming with us?”
“Absolutely. We may need him.”
Thomas stiffened at the surge of disgust that slammed through him at the thought. “Then I’ll be staying here with Darley and Dallas. I’m not going anywhere with that parasite.”
Rabbit gave a tired sigh. “Is anyone not gonna give me trouble?”
The parasite said, “I don’t really have any objections to anything you’ve said.”
“Prolly because he wants to take Angus and rule Erriat,” Tommy snapped.
The parasite made a disgusted sound.
“That would definitely make things easier,” Rabbit agreed. “If you get the opportunity, you should probably take it.”
The entire crew stared at him. Thomas felt like he’d been punched.
“I thought he was your friend,” Tommy sputtered.
“Oh, he is,” Rabbit assured him. “But Angus is gonna make things hard for us. It’s just the way he is. If Stuart took over for a few hours, this whole operation will go much smoother.”
Tommy felt the tiny hairs on his back shift. He wasn’t sure who was more disgusting—the parasite, or the criminal. “You’d willingly hand over another human to this…thing?”
“Did it once before,” Rabbit said. “Before Stuart took him, the man was a constant menace in the Forgotten District. Did us all a favor. I wish I had more suzait friends. Would solve a lot of problems.”
“Friends?” Tommy sputtered. “You can’t possibly share a bond with that thing. It’s inhuman.”
“Hey, uh, guys,” Dallas interrupted. “Planetary Guard’s moving. I think they found us. Want me to evade them?”
“No,” Rabbit said, moving to the com gear. “Open up a channel with them. I want to say hello.”
As Dallas had predicted, a second ship skimmed out of the debris field to join the other and they approached Retribution with guns ready.
Lucky guess, Tommy thought, disgruntled.
A moment later, the flashing red TARGET LOCK warning made everyone in the room flinch.
Identify yourself. This is John Wayne of the Erriat Home Guard. We have you locked into our weapons grid. You have thirty seconds to comply.
Rabbit snatched up the com set. “This is Retribution, out of Terra-9. I’m Jake Ferris. I’ve come to see Angus Greele.”
There was a long pause on the other end, then,
Rabbit?
“Affirmative. I need to talk with you, Angus.”
What the hell were you doing skulking in the shadows like a damned pirate? Come on in. Lee, Wayne, show him the way. And Rabbit, let your pilot know you’re in for a rough ride. Big storms this time of year.
“Will do,” Rabbit said. He turned to their ‘captain.’ “You landed planetside before?”
“On a simulator,” Dallas said, nodding.
“You did all right?” Rabbit asked, looking concerned.
“Well, there were a couple rough patches,” Dallas said, “But I think so.”
Immediately, Thomas stepped forward. “I can handle this. I’ve made numerous landings in a wide range of climate variances—”
“Then take it slow,” Rabbit said to Dallas, completely ignoring him. “There’s megastorms down there that could tear a freight carrier apart.”
Tommy stared at them with his mouth open. “What is this?” he demanded. “Flight Training 101? Why are we going with a boot, when I’ve got the skill—”
“They’re moving closer,” the parasite noted.
Indeed, the two gunships moved to take up positions on either side of Retribution and the TARGET LOCK warning went dead. Tommy let out the breath he’d been holding. Robert E. Lee began transmitting coordinates and Dallas flipped on all systems to normal and set a course for Angus’s landing pad.
“Your name is Jake?” Darley said into the silence that followed. He looked stunned.
“It’s Rabbit,” Rabbit said.
“But Jake’s your real name?”
“It’s Rabbit.”
“So how’d he know who you were?” the mechanic insisted.
“Code.”
“That didn’t sound like code. That sounded like your real name’s Jake Ferris.”
“Darley,” Rabbit warned.
“Just wonderin’ why the hell you call yourself Rabbit when you got a perfectly good name like Jake.”
“There’s millions of Jakes in the Quadrants. As far as I know, there’s only one Rabbit.”
“That’s because Rabbit’s a damn sissy name. What kind of man wears a name like Rabbit?”
The scruffy booze-ridden drifter had a point.
“God damn it, Darley, just let it be, okay?”
Darley lifted his hands. “Fine. But the guys at The Shop are gonna hear of this.”
Rabbit let out a huge sigh. “You don’t want to do that.”
“Why not?”
“That would piss me off.”
Darley laughed. “So?”
“I own almost all the bars on Terra-9.”
“Oh.” Instantly sober, Darley lowered his head.
So this was the notorious crimelord that had T-9 authorities in knots. Tommy looked him over, assessing the wiry little man. Funny, Thomas had thought he’d be a lot fatter.
“We’re entering the atmosphere,” Dallas announced.
“Everyone find a chair,” Rabbit said. “Turbulence in this place is a killer.”
Tommy strapped himself in to the navigator’s seat and watched with trepidation as the two gunships peeled away, leaving Retribution to finish the final descent herself.
“Dallas, make sure you give us a rough landing,” Rabbit ordered. “Let the wind knock us around a bit, falter on the updrafts, then hit the dirt a bit too abruptly, got it?”
Dallas frowned at him. “Why? I can handle this no prob.”
“I know, but I don’t want Angus to know that. The more incompetent he thinks we are, the less likely he’ll take us seriously.”
Dallas got a devious look on her face. “I can do incompetent.”
Of course you can, you ignorant little twit, Thomas thought. God, he itched to put his hands on the controls and wrench them from her petite little fingers. Let a real pro show her how it’s—
His thoughts were interrupted as the ship caught a bla
st of wind and started listing to the side. Dallas over-corrected and Retribution started to roll.
Fairy Spreads Her Wings
When Stuart and the others emerged from the ship, both of his companions were green in the face. Colonel Howlen had elected to go with them, after all, since the smell of vomit was still thick despite the antiseptic spray.
A roaring greeted them as soon as they stepped out of the airlock and a broad-shouldered man with a dark brown goatee and ring-covered knuckles moved forward to embrace Rabbit.
“It’s been so long!” the big man cried, wrapping Rabbit in a hug that made his wiry body disappear. “I thought you’d forgotten about me.” He released him, then thumped him on his scrawny back, grinning like a fool. “Good to see you!”
Several of his teeth sparkled with the glint of gold, Stuart noticed. Hell, most of the man sparkled, either with the glint of gold, the facets of gems, or the gleam of silk.
“Good to see you, Angus,” Rabbit managed weakly, sounding queasy.
The big man turned his attention to Stuart and the Colonel. He saw the sickly look on Howlen’s face and laughed. “What’s the matter? That pilot of yours give you a run for your money?” He roared with laughter and slapped Rabbit on the back.
Rabbit promptly retched all over the entryway.
“God, Rabbit!” Angus said, quickly retrieving a gold-trimmed boot from out of range. “You look like you went through a centrifuge. You need a new captain?”
“Needed one for awhile,” Howlen muttered. Stuart resisted the urge to glare at the fool.
But Angus nodded. “I’d agree. Watched the poor bastard come outta the storm like a bow-heavy torpedo. Didn’t land into the wind, so he had to try three times before he could land close enough for my dockers to get hold of your ship. Thought you guys were gonna come sailing through the bay once or twice, on the way by. Really, Rabbit, those storms aren’t something you should let a boot screw around in.”
“Amen to that,” Howlen growled.
“Where’d you get him?” Angus demanded. “Academy washout?”
“He’s better in space,” Rabbit managed. He had gotten back to his feet, but had needed to steady himself on Stuart’s arm. He sounded miserable.
