The Complete Intrepid Saga: Books 1 - 4: Aeon 14 Novels
Page 93
“I guess not,” Cheeky replied. “But they lived a long time, over five-hundred years from what I’ve read. How old are you? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Cheeky, really…” Nance sighed.
“I don’t mind,” Tanis held up her hand and smiled. “I’m still pretty young, only about two-hundred and eleven years of real-time on my clock.”
Thompson whistled. “You look pretty good for two-eleven. None of us are over fifty. Two-hundred is about the best we can hope for—unless we strike it rich somewhere along the line.”
“Or live in the AST,” Nance added.
“AST?” Tanis asked, trying to guess at what that could be.
“If every time needs to have a dark, greedy empire, the AST is ours.” Sera’s expression was grim. “It is what has grown from the first interstellar government that started with Alpha Centauri, Sol System and Tau Ceti. Hence, the A. S. T. At least, that’s what everyone else calls them. Their real name is The Hegemony of Worlds.”
Tanis nodded. It made sense that those systems were at the core of a large empire. Alpha Centauri and Tau Ceti were two of the most powerful colonies when she had left Earth. Alpha Centauri even had slow, but regular trade with Earth.
“Who knows what could happen,” Tanis shrugged, “If we really have a treasure-trove of tech, and it is stuff that’s completely lost we could trade it for a colony world. You guys could end up living as long as I plan to.”
“Girl, you could trade that tech for a hundred colony worlds and still have money to burn. Heck, you could trade it for fully populated worlds,” Cheeky exclaimed with arms flung wide.
“We have a few systems to hop through before we get to Bollam’s World. You can shop around,” Sera laughed.
“So it’s Bollam’s we’re off to,” Thompson said with a frown. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“I’ve struck a deal with Major Richards,” Sera nodded at Tanis. “We’ll be well compensated—enough that each of you can retire after this run.”
Thompson looked about to say something else, but Sera shot him a dark look and he closed his mouth.
Tanis replied.
The rest of the meal progressed pleasantly, Tanis asking questions that would help her understand the present time as best she could, but she found herself coming back to the odd behavior that Sera displayed and Angela’s earlier warnings that Sera was hiding something; something significant.
RENDEZVOUS
STELLAR DATE: 07.05.8927 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Sabrina, Interstellar Space
REGION: Galactic South of Trio Prime, Silstrand Alliance Space
Sabrina exited FTL three light days away from her previously anticipated exit, an unfortunate consequence of entering the dark layer at an irregular vector. Cheeky’s calculations were as accurate as could be; it was just impossible to predict a ship’s precise location in space, when you weren’t even in space.
However, Cheeky had things well in hand as she rotated the ship a hundred and eighty degrees. Starting with a slow burn, she lit up the Fusion engines and brought Sabrina down on the meeting location.
The rendezvous was deep in interstellar space. No stars shone nearby; there were no planets, or moons, or bodies of any sort. The only marker for this meeting place was a clump of dark matter resting alone in the void.
During the days of FTL transit, the crew had ditched the cargo container in which Tanis had been found, and faked the logs to show that instead of outrunning the Padre’s ships they had been stopped and boarded. Logs now showed the container being removed and then Sabrina being allowed to leave the Trio System.
Regarding Tanis, Sera decided that the best place to hide her was in plain view, as a new crewmember.
“Too bad we don’t have access to any advanced modifications. Those cheekbones are pretty distinctive,” Cheeky had commented.
“Amusing statement for someone named for their own cheeks,” said Tanis.
“I’m not known for those cheeks.” Cheeky pointed to her face, then placed her hands on her butt and swished it side-to-side, “these cheeks, though…”
“Believe me, I harbored no confusion on that fact,” Tanis smiled. “Though I can do something about my cheekbones, if you think it’s necessary. Will he know anything about me?”
“He may. There are ways to send messages through FTL far faster than a ship can travel. If you can mask your appearance in some way that will stand up to inspection, do it,” Sera said.
The major sucked in a deep breath as her face changed right in front of their eyes. Slowly, her jaw widened and her cheekbones became less prominent. Her lips filled out and the corners of her eyes turned up.
“Hot damn! I’d forgotten how much that hurts!” Tanis said in a somewhat huskier tone, as she touched her face gingerly.
“Wow! That’s amazing!” Cheeky reached out to feel Tanis’s face. “How in the stars did you do that?”
“I worked counterinsurgency in the TSF,” Tanis’s statement was met with blank stares and she laughed. “I may as well have said Praetorian Guard, it’s probably better known.”
“Praetorian? Is that what the Regulan military calls its Royal Guard?” Nance asked.
“Yeah,” Sera said. “But they ripped it off from the Romans. The Praetorian Guard is the military unit that guarded Caesar.”
“The salad?” Cheeky asked, visibly confused.
“The Roman Emperor.”
Cheeky’s mouth formed an O, but the expression on her face indicated she had no idea who the Roman Emperor was, when he lived, or on which planet he had ruled.
Tanis was dumbstruck. “I guess a lot changes in five thousand years.”
“It has a lot to do with location too.” Sera said “I’d bet people in the Sol System know all about the Romans. People on rim worlds don’t care to know much about AST worlds.
Tanis spread her arms with a flourish. “Rachel Imnir, at your service. After serving as a station comm and nav tech on Coburn Station for a few years, I grew weary of it. Now, I’m working on my pilot’s license, and managing scan and comm here on Sabrina, while Cheeky shows me the ropes and helps me get my practical experience hours in.”
“If Kade asks more than that he’ll already be suspicious and we won’t be able to fool him with anything further,” Sera said.
“That’s an encouraging thought,” Cheeky said.
Both Tanis and Sera began to say that they’d gotten through worse and stopped, eyeing each other for a moment. Then Tanis smiled and Sera let out a laugh.
“I doubt it’ll be the last time either.”
THE MEET
DATE: 07.09.8927 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Sabrina, Interstellar Space
REGION: The Mark’s Interstellar Drop Point, Silstrand Alliance Space
Sabrina had finished deceleration and was drifting near the meeting point.
Sera wasn’t sure if Kade himself would be at this transfer, but she hoped not; this whole ‘hiding human cargo act’ was making her stomach twist enough as it was. Her misgivings aside, Tanis was actually fitting in with the crew quite well. She had picked up the comm and nav systems with appreciable speed and had watched Cheeky’s final maneuvering of the ship with great interest. The crew had helped her flesh out a few parts of her story in greater detail, but Sera was still of the opinion that if too many questions were asked it was an
indication that they were already in trouble.
Flaherty and Thompson had moved cargo to be transferred into the few rooms off the bow corridor. They also placed a few containers in the corridor itself. It made for some tight maneuvering, but the sooner they could transfer the cargo and got on their way, the better.
Tanis had argued very strenuously that perhaps they shouldn’t stick around for the meeting, but Sera said she needed the business with Kade right now and couldn’t afford to run across the Orion arm just to avoid him.
The meeting time arrived and they expected The Mark ship to show up on scan at any moment, decelerating towards the meeting coordinates. Sera was certain they had a few passive probes floating quietly in the area, so they would know who was around and be able to drop back into FTL if something were amiss.
As much as Sera wanted to look for those scan probes and tap into them, the chances of The Mark picking up on it were just too high.
Even though there was plenty of room, the bridge felt crowded with four of them up there. Tanis was operating scan at the comm station and Sera wondered what it would be like to go from what had to be a very clean, crisp, and ordered society to working on Sabrina. Tanis’s back was straight and her movements spare and efficient. If she was feeling any anxiety over this cargo transfer, she wasn’t showing it.
She surveyed the rest of her bridge crew. Cheeky was wearing a bit more clothing than normal—she didn’t much like being ogled by the types that made up Mark crews. Cargo was as inscrutable as ever as he checked over ships systems and did whatever it was that always seemed to keep him busy at his station.
Sera accessed her Link again to see if scan showed anything; to be informed yet again that The Mark ship hadn’t arrived.
Even as Sera was pondering the possibilities, Tanis spoke up. “There they are. Just came up on scan.”
“They? There was only supposed to be one.”
“Two ships, one an obvious freighter, the other looks a bit smaller, larger engine signature—you have it on record as the Vertigo. Both have turned and are firing AP engines to decelerate.” Tanis plotted out where the two ships would come to a relative stop and sent the co-ordinates to Cheeky, who laid in a course.
“And we’ve got contact.” Tanis announced. “They’re still a good thirty light minutes out, so it’s just a welcome.” She sent the message to Sera’s screen, who saw with dismay that Kade had made an appearance himself. The message was brief. It instructed them that Kade’s ships would decelerate to 0.15c and maintain their current course. Sera was to bring Sabrina up to a matching speed and set a course to intercept. The maneuver would make for a faster overall rendezvous.
Sera piped the pertinent information to Cheeky, who put Sabrina on course to match up with Kade’s ships. Once that was done, she sent a message over the ship’s main net.
It was easing into the third watch and Sera decided that things would be hectic soon enough. She slated everyone to get at least six hours of sleep before the rendezvous.
She opted for sleep first. If anything interesting happened, it would be later rather than sooner. After her allotted six she was awake and back on the bridge nursing the first cup from a fresh pot of coffee.
Humans may have done a lot in the previous ten millennia, but so far nothing had been invented that was better than a cup of coffee after waking up. Well almost nothing, but people didn’t invent that.
By the time a soft seal was made against the Vertigo, Sera had quelled her anxiety over potential conflict with Kade. Her concern was more due to the wrench it would throw in her plans. Kade had made it clear he wanted to meet with her and look over the cargo, which was something he had never done before.
Sera was starting to wonder if they should have just thrown Tanis in a hazsuit and dropped her in one of the nastier enviro tanks, one that no one would go peeking in. Too bad she hadn’t thought of that earlier. They could have kept the container she had been in and shrugged when it was found to be empty.
Sera cycled the bow airlock herself and let Kade and his two companions on board. She was tempted to wait for him on the bridge, but this was no time to antagonize the pirate with power plays.
He came through the lock first, just as she remembered him from the last time they’d met. His long dark hair was somewhat greasy, and, although his clothes were crisp—and probably cost more than the value of all the cargo they were to transfer—they somehow didn’t transmit that wealth to him.
With him was a person that Sera had dealt with many times, and liked less on each encounter—Kade’s right hand woman—Rebecca.
Rebecca was a beautiful woman, who had no compunctions about using her looks to her advantage in every way possible. She also looked nothing like a pirate, more like the unlikely combination of a princess and a dominatrix
Where Sera gleamed in her tight leather, Rebecca sparkled with necklaces and bracelets. All made of diamond, platinum and whatever was currently the most expensive gem in vogue.
Beneath the jewelry, her body was sheathed from head to toe in a tight, black material that gleamed and reflected every light in the corridor. The combined effect made her almost difficult to look at—though Sera certainly appreciated the appeal.
Kade probably hoped that some of Rebecca’s style would make him look better than he did. Unfortunately, for him, the opposite was true—having her nearby just made him look somewhat dumpy.
Rebecca’s eyes raked over corridor crowded with cargo and locked on Sera’s, the expression on her face filled with distaste for all aspects of Sabrina—including her captain.
Sabrina said.
Sera replied.
The third person was a man Sera did not recognize. He looked cowed by the company he was keeping and Sera wondered why he was here. “Welcome aboard Sabrina,” Sera said.
Sera knew that Kade harbored desire for her; as she offered her hand, she tilted her hips and smiled. She was fully prepared to do whatever it took to remain in the pirate’s good graces.
Kade took it and smiled; his eyes traveling over today’s leather outfit; a dark green with yellow piping down her sides. It was more formal than usual, with the pants loose from the knees down, where they fell over low-heeled boots. The jacket was form fitting and fastened with a double row of brass buttons down her chest. She’d even topped it off with a captain’s hat in matching green leather. Kade practically licked his lips.
“Sera. You know Rebecca, and this is Drind. He’ll be going over your scan logs to learn what he can of Padre’s ships that took my property.”
Had she not known better, the emphasis he placed on ‘my’ would have caused Sera to believe it actually was his. It certainly seemed as if Kade’s ethics did not take into account the fact that he had stolen it from Padre in the first place, or that the property he spoke of was a person.
“Of course.” Sera said in the polished voice she used for speaking with the pirate leader, which drew a dark look from Rebecca. “You’ll pardon the mess. The men have things ready for transfer to the Starskipper so that we don’t cause any delay. This way to the bridge.” She gestured down the corridor.
Kade smiled magnanimously. “Of course. I’ve instructed the Starskipper to dock while we are here and transfer the cargo while we talk.” As though his words were prophetic, she heard the light clang as the Vertigo disengaged from the soft dock and maneuvered away
, to allow the other ship room to link to Sabrina.
Sera hid her thoughts behind a mask of pleasantness. Kade must have felt either invincible or unthreatened by her, if he didn’t feel the need to have any type of escape route during parts of their meeting. For her part, Rebecca looked more concerned with scuffing the shine on her outfit than finding out about the missing freight container.
Sera used the lifts to bring them up to bridge deck. They stepped into the command space, where Cheeky, Tanis and Cargo were all at their stations coordinating with the Starskipper for its soft dock.
Kade noticed Tanis right away. “New crew? I didn’t know you were looking, Sera, I could have furnished you with anyone you’d need.”
Sera introduced Tanis as Rachel Imnir and explained that she would be assisting with comm and scan. She didn’t go into details as to why, after years with the same crew, she had decided to add another member. Offering it unasked would be too suspicious.
Whatever stars watched over Sabrina smiled and Rebecca asked the question fist, and Sera explained it was to expedite dock duties. Currently Cheeky, Cargo, or she had to remain on the bridge while docked to watch scan and comm. This way they could all be out on station at once.
Kade and Rebecca seemed satisfied with this answer and didn’t press the issue further.
“Perhaps our technician could look over your logs with your new comm tech while you and Cargo join us in your lounge to discuss some things?” Kade phrased it as a question, though it wasn’t one.
Sera acquiesced and called down to the galley for Nance to bring up some refreshments. She spared a glance for Tanis, as Drind sat with her to go over scan from the Trio departure. She was impressed, absolutely nothing about the major belied the tension Sera knew she had to be feeling.
The four sat in the observation lounge. A moment later, Nance, looking more than a little uncomfortable, entered with a selection of drinks she had previously prepared. The bio wasn’t wearing her hood—Sera had asked her not to—in an attempt to show they had nothing to hide. She asked preferences, and quickly began to pour the drinks.