by Taylor Smith
“Who are you calling boy, old man?” Cade responded immediately.
Laughter erupted, echoing up and down the hall. Some of the seated men banged their fist against the thick table.
“I like this one,” another elderly voice announced.
“You like anyone who be talkin’ back,” another retorted. “Kill the boy, and be done with it.”
More laughter resounded through the room until finally a sharp banging silenced all of them. At the head of the table sat a large man wearing a dark coat bearing the same design, only the Jolly Roger on his coat was red. Cade turned to look at Andy’s coat where the same red skull and swords stood proud.
“We got bad business ta talk, and we nigh got all day,” the gravelly voice spoke and seemed to vibrate through the room. “Mr. Cade,” the man growled out. “Come closer. And welcome aboard.”
Cade looked at Andy and at his nod stepped closer to the table. With all the things he’d seen in this place that he knew were over-dramatized, he felt a hint of real fear when he stepped up to the table. When he stopped, he could see the shadowed faces that lined each side of the wooden monstrosity. Countless papers, cups and maps were scattered across its surface, and the candles that were strewed haphazardly about were real. Of all the powerful men in this room, the open flames caused him the most concern. “I was born on Clew,” he said at the man’s welcome. “I’ve been here before.”
“You’re not on Clew, Mr. Cade,” the man at the end of the table said. Cade could tell he was grinning. “You’re on board my ship. She be The Leviathan.”
Cade stood at the edge of the table, stunned. Growing up, even on board the Grim Shoals, he’d heard the tales of the ship above, embedded in Clew. The ship that started it all, but he’d never believed he’d be standing in it. He’d never even met anyone that had been aboard. Very few ever had the honor.
“We kill him,” came an old voice to his left.
“Aye, we kill ‘em for murderin’ a Captain o’ Clew,” came another on his right.
“No,” boomed the reply from the man at the end of the table as he stood to his full height. “You’ve all seen the vids, you have. This,” he pointed at Cade, “man, waited. He waited and listened. You can see the look of disbelief on his face as he listened!” As the man’s voice grew louder, the hall seemed to shake. “He waited until the bastard uttered the one man’s name he hoped not to hear! And when he heard that name, he stuck that traitor like a pig, he did! The boy was in his right! Each of you saw it!”
The sudden quiet was deafening. Cade realized he was on trial for killing Captain Torbeck, and he knew his life was about to be decided. He wanted to glance back to Andy, who had told him everything would be ok, but he didn’t dare break eye contact with the men that sat before him now, and certainly not the man who stood at the end of the table defending him.
“Not one of ya will defer?” the man shouted his question. Several hands rose and were joined by aye’s but not even half the table. More than one face turned to glare at Cade, their eyes shadowed.
Cade suddenly felt hot. A small tear of sweat rolled down his brow.
“So be it,” the man at the end of the table said in a low growl and rose to his full height. “Dorian Cade!”
He stood as straight as he could, and lifted his chin. He would never get his vengeance against Andrelli, but at least he would die satisfied that he ran Captain Kova’s sword through Torbeck’s chest. He tried not to think of Andy who had led him to his death. He had considered him a friend, especially when he needed a friend so badly, and he’d been that. He decided that he wouldn’t hold it against him.
The man at the end of the table continued his sentence, “In response to yer slaying of a Clew Captain, I hereby decree you,” he paused. “Bound to my family from this point onward.”
The room erupted in chaos. More than half the men at the table stood, raising fists and shouted obscenities among other rants.
Cade stood in confused shock. He looked back to Andy who grinned back at him, then motioned for him to turn back around and stay quiet. Cade obeyed and turned back to the chaos in front of him. Knives had been pulled and were waved in the air along with more insults and jeers.
A deafening boom echoed through the hall as the man at the end of the table slammed his fist into the wood, splintering it with a loud crack. “Ya dare challenge me?” he shouted, looking around the table. “The first aye will be gutted with me own hand! He’s not ta be harmed!”
The council was suddenly silenced. Several looked at one another for support but found only eyes glancing downward.
“That’s the end of it!” the man at the end of the table roared. “Get off my ship if ya know what’s good for ya!” He pointed at Cade and shouted, “Not you!”
Cade stood unmoving, the remnants of the man’s booming voice still reverberating through his feet and into his prosthetic muscles as the council members slowly made their way out, mumbling to each other. His heart was about to beat out of his chest. He hoped he wouldn’t have a heart attack at this young of age.
A hand clapped his shoulder. Cade turned and found Andy.
“Congrats, brother,” Andy said with a weary grin.
“Aye,” ground out the man at the end of the table as he stepped closer to them.
Cade saw his face for the first time. He had a dark beard peppered with silver and a red Jolly Roger on his jacket. Under the skull and crossed swords read ‘Leviathan’. Cade looked closer and found the man looked like an old Andy, just with a lot more scars. “What just happened?” he asked.
The man at the end of the table laughed a loud, hearty laugh and grabbed Cade’s shoulder. “Ya part of me family now, boy.” He nodded to Andy and said, “My son asked a favor, he did. You know how many times my boy asked a favor of his old man?”
Cade looked at Andy, then back to the old Andy and shook his head.
“Never,” the man laughed. “Mallian be my name. Mallian Neese.”
“The Pirate King,” said Cade. “You’re the king of Clew.”
Mallian groaned and Andy shook his head in warning.
“Naw, boy,” he grated out. “The Neese family run the place, they do. But for all’s sake, leave the silly titles be!”
Cade grinned in understanding and nodded. “Well, thank you.” He owed the two his life and didn’t know if he could ever repay them.
“Ya seem a smart man, Mr. Cade. We’re gonna need ya in the comin’ war.” Mallian said, his face darkening.
Cade looked between the two, the moment growing serious. “What war?”
Andy spoke first. “We decrypted the drives the girls had on them,” he started, then looked at his father. “It seems Torbeck was intent on giving Clew to Andrelli for a final payout.”
“But we stopped him. I killed him,” Cade replied not understanding.
“Pirates be a fickle bunch,” Mallian said with a sneer. “They be crafty too. It seems that that pig Torbeck had a trackin’ system aboard. It lit Clew up like a bonfire the moment ya docked. But it wasn’t his, nor was it somthin’ he picked up on Clew. We couldn’t make heads or tails of it until we decoded that drive and found the cipher.” He turned and eyed both of them one at a time before continuing, “Seems our Captain Andrelli isn’t who he appears ta be.”
Cade turned to Andy, who had a dire look. “Who is he?”
Andy shook his head. “The tracker wasn’t Clew, nor was it Alliance. That tracker was Deshi tech. And it activated when we docked. It must have been some safeguard of Torbeck’s. Usually the command crew on the station would detect a subspace signal, but Torbeck had tinkered with the system making it ignore the beacon.”
“Which means,” Cade said, but couldn’t get the words out.
“Aye,” Mallian growled. “Andrelli knows where Clew be now.” He clapped his arms around the two boy’s shoulders. “My boys, the Deshi be comin’.”
Chapter 14
Haley stared incredulously at the pirate facing h
er, then down to the clothes he held toward her. “What’s this about? Where are we?” she asked with crossed arms.
They’d awoken from their transit tanks and had been ushered into a large room with a table, a couch and some food. They’d choked the barely edible meal down and had sat stir-crazy for several hours. The man who faced them now had told them to change out of their uniforms giving no reason why.
The man finally relented somewhat and replied, “Just get dressed. You don’t want to go out there wearing that.” He nodded to their gray Allied Fleet uniforms. “Believe me.”
The look on his face told her he wasn’t just trying to be difficult, but actually held a slight worry. Haley took the proffered clothes and passed a set to Saundi.
“Whatever,” Saundi said as she accepted the clothes with a wince. “Not my style, but not like we have a choice.”
“Seems not,” Haley said and waited for the man to leave before carefully folding her uniform and donning the mismatched garb. The beige pants were too big for her, so she had to use the belt from her uniform to tighten them. The gray shirt was also loose, but fit better than the pants. They weren’t given shoes, so she slipped her boots back on. “Dreadful,” she said. There wasn’t a mirror in the room, but she could tell it wasn’t pretty.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” came Saundi’s voice from behind her.
Haley couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her friend. Saundi also wore her black fleet issue boots. They went great with the hot pink pants and green shirt. “You look – “
“Just stop there,” Saundi said as she looked down at the mess she’d been given. “I’m gonna kill ‘em.”
Haley laughed again as she found a small moment of joy in the terrible situation. They had no idea where they were, and even less of a notion of what was about to happen. The fact that they made them change, and the silence of the ships engines led her to believe they were on a non-allied station somewhere.
The door opened to reveal a man she didn’t recognize. He had a frightening visage with scaring across his face, a silver artificial eye and a black long coat bearing the red skull and crossed swords. The name “Reaper” appeared beneath. He didn’t wear a glove on his left hand which was obviously metal as she caught the glimmer of light reflecting off it as he moved.
“We need to hurry,” he said to both of them.
Haley looked up as she recognized the voice. “Cade?” she asked to which she received a nod back. Now that she looked harder, she could tell it was the same man, but she’d never seen him without the bandages covering half his face. Her heart immediately went out to him. It must have been a painful and traumatic experience.
“Wow. We really did a number on you, huh?” Saundi said as she looked him over. “Sorry.”
Haley looked to Saundi and found seriousness instead of the flamboyant sarcasm she came to expect from her. With the outfit she was wearing, it was hard to take her seriously though.
Cade glanced away briefly, then back to Saundi with a glimmer of a grin. “Ditto,” he replied with a nod to her clothes. “Follow me closely. And try not to look around like a tourist. This can be a rough place. If the people here realize you’re outsiders…” He left the rest unsaid and turned to lead them out of the room. “You’re also being tracked,” he said over his shoulder.
Haley took that as a warning not to run. She looked at Saundi, who shrugged back at her, and the two followed Cade out into the corridor of the ship. They walked past several crew members who stood aside to let them pass, but not without weary looks. “Where are we going?” she decided to just come out and ask since it was obvious he wasn’t going tell them himself.
“Clew.”
Wide eyed, Haley shot a glance at Saundi who shared her shock.
Cade led them out the main airlock of the ship and onto a docking platform that bustled with activity. Haley glanced about, trying not to make it obvious and couldn’t help but notice the frantic pace the crowd held. The sounds of hydraulic lifts in action, crates being stacked heavily atop one another and commanding shouts assaulted her senses.
They snaked their way through the chaos and into another corridor that was less packed and chaotic. It seemed to go on forever until Cade turned through a large arch that opened into what seemed an enormous open space filled with shops and restaurants. Haley looked up and found the space was cylindrical, sporting at least ten levels horizontally. They made their way onto the bottom level where trees dotted the floor, growing up through holes surrounded by potted plants and benches.
People walked hastily around them, showing the same sense of urgency they held at the dock. She looked to Saundi, who kept her eyes forward as if afraid to look.
The more Haley saw, the more the rumors of Clew just being a haven for scoundrels and murderers became untrue. Sure there were pirates here, but what she saw was more families and children. “How many people live on Clew?” she asked in a low tone to Cade.
“Over four thousand,” he replied.
They passed a group of adults herding ten to fifteen small children. “What’s this about?”
Cade looked to where she was gesturing. “Orphans and children whose parents are off station,” he said matter-of-factly. “Someone has to look after them.”
This wasn’t a collection of savages and thieves. This was a home. Why would these people choose to live here instead of the safety of the Alliance? It didn’t make sense to her.
“Here,” Cade said as they approached a large set of doors at the end of the massive space that opened swiftly at their approach, revealing a small waiting area and a lift toward the back.
Haley and Saundi followed him into the lift and waited as it took them to what she guessed was the command center for the station. Her assumption was proved correct when the lift opened to reveal an open space lined with consoles and the people that manned them. The room was round, sporting windows along the entire outside wall. In the middle of the room a raised platform holding several more consoles stood. Screens hanging from the ceiling encircled the platform, and she could see one man stood facing them. He was a big man, and seemed to cast his shadow across the entire command center. Obviously in charge.
“Captain,” Cade said as he led them up and onto the command platform.
“Ah. This must be Haley Marks and Saundi Adair,” the large man drawled out in an accent that Haley rarely heard. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, ladies. I be Mallian Neese. Proprietor of this,” he gestured around him, “humble establishment.”
“Where’s our data drives?” Saundi asked with her fists on her hips and a scowl on her face.
Mallian laughed, seeming delighted with Saundi’s boldness and tossed the small devices to her. “The originals.”
Haley cringed as the fate of both her and Saundi flew through the air then relaxed as her friend caught them. “All of it?” she asked, eyeing the man curiously.
“Untouched, I assure you,” he said with a slight bow and a sly grin. “We made copies, ya see. That original of Andrelli’s personal data won’t do ya any good though. The data you stole, it be encrypted.”
Haley looked at Saundi and nodded, then glanced back to Mallian and Cade. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m sure we can handle our own encryption.”
“It’s not Alliance encryption,” came a voice from behind her and found Andy ascending to the command platform. “At least not the part that concerns you the most.”
Haley eyed him for a moment and asked, “What do you mean?”
Andy stopped in front of her, holding another small drive. “You told Cade that Andrelli didn’t want you on his ship.”
Haley gazed at Andy, unsure of his motives but accepted the drive he offered. “That’s right.”
“He was scared of you two,” Andy said, then motioned to the drive she now held. “Fully decrypted. Most of your data was encrypted with Alliance methods. Easy enough to break. But not the personal data copied from Andrelli’s files.”
&nb
sp; She held the new drive up, eyeing it suspiciously. It had surprised her to hear him say that Alliance encryption was easy to break. She knew they had top notch security but something else ate at her. “Who is Andrelli, really?” she asked, a bad feeling coming over her.
“And that,” Mallian said in a low tone, “is the right question. Andrelli is a Deshi mole, my girl.”
Haley reeled inwardly at that statement, and shook her head. A Deshi in command of an Alliance Heavy cruiser seemed way too farfetched. The implications of it were staggering. She knew his crew were handpicked by him and his XO and she wondered how many others aboard were imposters.
Cade stepped forward and said, “When we were able to decrypt Andrelli’s files using captured Deshi decryption methods, we found the tracking system that he had given Torbeck. It’s one hundred percent Deshi. And he wasn’t the only one tracking the Reaper.”
The tracker! Haley shot her gaze to Cade with a horrified look. “It’s still active! The tracker! I’m sorry, I thought it was Alliance and they could,” she stopped suddenly, wondering if she’d said too much.
“We know,” Cade replied and nodded. “We’ve been able to deactivate it, but the damage is done.” He sighed and said, “The Black Sabre just docked. A ship of ours. They received word from our picket ships along the border that the Deshi are massing. It’s the first time in over a hundred years that they’ve all come back together. They’re coming.”
Haley shook her head, thinking of all the people she’d seen in the station. There were families and children here. They didn’t deserve what was coming. The Deshi never took prisoners. “Can you evacuate everyone in time?”
“Evacuate?” came the response from Mallian. “This be our home, girl. There’s nowhere to go. We fight.”
“But that’s suicide!” Saundi suddenly shouted. “You can’t risk all these people! And the children! What’s wrong with you?”
“What would you have us do?” Andy asked. “If we’re lucky, we could evacuate a couple hundred people using every ship we have. Do we leave the rest to the Deshi?” Andy shook his head. “You go tell a mother and a father that they and their daughters and sons will be left undefended to the Deshi.”
