by Taylor Smith
She finally took a deep breath and composed herself. “Saundi, and three lost on the Vulture,” she said slowly and nodded toward the damaged cruiser at the end of the bay. “There’s to be a memorial for them when we get home. And Clew paid such a high price compared to the Alliance.”
“Without the Alliance, we’d all be dead now,” he relented. “Those that Clew lost will be honored. Including Saundi.”
She turned to him in confusion. “Even Saundi?” For some reason, the thought of that gave her some respite. Saundi was always a bit of a pirate anyway.
“She died fighting for Clew. Of course she’ll be remembered here, the same for the three lost on Vulture, even though they turned on us in the end. Regardless, we owe them that much.”
Haley sighed and nodded. It did make her feel a little better. Her view of everything had changed, especially that of Clew pirates. Her goodbyes had been brief, though she hated goodbyes. Andy had given her a hug. She never pegged him as a hugger.
She shook her head suddenly, still confused from what had happened during the battle. “How did you do it?” she asked. “How did you shut down an entire battle group?”
He grinned and shook his head. “I don’t know myself. I hope to find out soon though.”
She sighed again and was about to press the issue when something else caught her attention. She looked to the left of the Reaper to see a small shuttle pull into the docking bay. As she gazed at the ship that would take her away, a man exited and made his way toward them.
“Ensign Marks, we have to –“.
“Go away,” Cade said with a soft tone that also held more than a hint of danger.
The man looked at her, then to Cade and retreated back to the shuttle.
She couldn’t help but laugh. The poor man was just doing his duty but had probably never faced a moment of danger in his life. Being aboard Clew was probably scaring him senseless.
“I’m sorry for how I treated you, Haley,” Cade said slowly. “I wish that we had more time to get to know each other.”
“Me, too,” she replied with a smile, her gaze still upon the shuttle. The two parts of him had definitely met. She turned back to Cade and spread her hands and said, “What happens now?”
“You go find the Alliance you’ve always dreamed of and I –,” he faltered. Finally, he chuckled and said, “I don’t know. I figure out what I’m supposed to do.”
A chirp from her wrist tugged for her attention. She looked at the message and acknowledged it. “I have to report to the Prometheus,” she said, still unsure why she wasn’t happy about that. She would miss Cade and Andy and even Criss, but she should be jumping for joy at boarding the flagship.
The Allied Fleet had turned on Clew but what did she really expect? They’d been hunting Clew Station for years, and she understood why they’d tried to finish that mission. They just weren’t expecting to be one-upped by pirates. She could imagine the code monkeys aboard each ship going crazy trying to find the rogue code that led to their defeat.
Cade turned to her and smiled. Haley, dragged from her thoughts, decided right there that yes, he was handsome. Especially when he smiled at her.
“Take care of yourself, Haley Marks,” he said softly and held out his hand for her to shake it.
Haley shook her head, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as passionately as she dared. When their lips parted she could tell neither of them wanted it to end.
Whistles and catcalls arose from all around them. Haley flushed and stepped away, just to be held against him for a moment before he let her go.
Cade grinned. “Pirate space station, remember? Not much tact here,” he said, as the hoots finally died down.
Haley laughed and smiled back at him. “Take care, Dorian Cade.” Then she turned and didn’t look back.
She boarded the small shuttle and chose a seat that wouldn’t give her a view of the docking platform where Cade stood. She pictured in her head that he was standing there staring at the shuttle and wouldn’t move until it was out of sight. She decided she liked that thought.
She took a deep breath as the hatch closed. If she ever saw Cade again, she knew he would still be a pirate, and she would still be an Officer of the Allied Fleet.
Chapter 23
Cade watched as the shuttle lifted from the platform and made its way through and out of the vast docking bay. He wondered if he’d ever see her again, but he knew if that were ever to happen that they would be on opposite sides from one another. Still, it was hard to convince himself that he never wanted to see her again. Maybe someday, but not soon. Asaya’s smile still haunted his dreams.
As the shuttle disappeared from sight, he turned and made his way out into the heart of Clew. It was an odd feeling. As he walked, people would yell his name, or slap him on the back in thanks. The red Jolly Roger on his long coat notwithstanding, he was a fairly recognizable guy and people knew him as the man that helped Andrew Neese save Clew.
He finally stopped at the heavy wooden doors that lead to the Leviathan and the council chambers. He gazed up at the skull and crossed swords for a few seconds, then finally pushed both doors open. He couldn’t help but grin. Neither door made a sound.
When he arrived at the council chamber he made his way across the hard floor. His boots echoed in perfect tempo as he approached Andy and Mallian.
“Cade, there ya are, my boy,” Mallian ground out with a smile and embraced him.
Cade returned the hug from his adopted father and shook his head. “I don’t understand what happened. How did you disable an entire fleet?” It still sounded ridiculous to him, and he was chomping at the bit to find out how they did it.
“All in good time, boy,” Malian replied with a smile. “The present question is how we avoid the Alliance now that they know where we are.”
“They won’t find us,” Andy replied with a roll of his eyes to his father.
“Why not?” Cade asked.
“Because Clew won’t be here,” Andy said with a grin.
That didn’t make sense. He’d seen the outside of Clew and the empty engine housings. “How can you move a space station? The engines are gone. I’ve seen them.”
“Leviathan,” Mallian said. “She can’t undock anymore because she’s been permanently attached to the station,” he paused and held a finger up. “For that very reason. Aye, she can turn this tin can on a credit if we need her to.”
Cade shook his head and smiled. “I guess I have a lot to learn.”
“Aye, boy,” Mallian said and draped his arm across Cade’s shoulders. “As soon as the Alliance is gone we’ll be turnin’ this great beast onto a new heading.” He laughed and slapped Cade on the back.
“I had a feeling you two had a plan for that,” he said then turned his attention to footsteps echoing through the chamber.
“Ah,” Mallian said with a wide smile. “There’s my girl.”
Andy turned to Cade with a grin and said, “Cade. I’d like you to meet my baby sister.”
Cade turned to see a slim figure walking through the shadows toward them. Several candles flickered in the hall and small wisps of light danced off the red skull patch on her left breast but he couldn’t read the name yet. She was dressed all in black and as she neared, Cades eyes widened.
He felt a hand flitter across his back as she walked by and approached Mallian. “Hello, Daddy,” she said and gave him a hug.
“Oh, I’ve missed ya, dear. Sorry I had ta send you away,” Mallian said, then winced. “Had ta be done.”
“I forgive you,” she said and then turned to Cade. “Hello my new, handsome brother.” She walked toward him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Saundi?” Cade started but couldn’t get his mind wrapped around the fact that she was still alive. He looked down at her jacket and the ship name under the Jolly Roger. It read: No Quarter. “You’re the captain of the No Quarter.”
“Oh, don’t act all surprised. You look better when you’
re focused and angry,” she replied, obviously delighted to surprise him. “My ship is a mess but most of us survived. We were in trouble, so I shut our systems down and played dead. It was nice to be back in the saddle again.” Then she draped her arm around Andy’s shoulders. “But you ruined our big plan, didn’t you?” she glared at Andy.
“Sorry Cade,” Andy said with a wry grin. “Saundi’s cover was a little sensitive. And then the situation got –“.
“Wrecked!” Saundi exclaimed and walked toward Cade with her arms crossed. “I was sent to the stupid Alliance Academy,” she said the name of the institution with a toddler’s accent, “to look after and bring back one of our own. And you two dunderheads bungled it up!”
“What are you talking about?” Cade asked finally finding his words.
“It’s all about espionage, boy,” Mallian said with an understanding tone. “We’ve had moles in the Alliance for two hundred years. It’s how we slipped under the scanners all this time. How we survived.”
“One of our own,” he repeated Saundi’s words then turned his gaze toward Mallian. “Haley?”
“He can think on his own,” Saundi said with a dreamy smile. “Cute.”
“Haley’s mother was aboard the Sunspark to relay information to Clew about their patrols,” Andy began. “Haley’s from Clew. When they were attacked, the Alliance rescue ship got to her before we could. We lost her. We were only able to track her down when she joined the Academy. So we sent Saundi to look after her and find a way to either get her home, or turn her into an embedded asset.”
“Pretty easy hackin’ the academy systems, by the way,” Saundi added with a grin. “Class schedules, student records, dormitory assignments. Even making ground-breaking improvements in the Allied Fleets tactical systems.” She looked to the ceiling as if remembering a great dream. “Wasn’t hard to embed a small virus into their control subroutines at that level. Just a flick of the wrist and every system aboard starts running continuous diagnostics.”
Cade’s jaw dropped. “You shut their ships down.”
Saundi smiled and winked at him. “Was an easy assignment. Hell, they taught me how to do it at the Academy,” she said with a laugh. “Then Valiant happened,” she said, her tone turning to disgust.
“Aye,” Mallian nodded. “That bastard became too much of a problem. So we played around a bit with graduate assignments. We knew it would be dangerous, but we needed to find out how the hell he was killin’ all our people. We also needed ta keep Haley close, so we sent her aboard too.”
Cade nodded, trying to take it all in. He was still in mild shock of seeing Saundi alive, but he was able to make some sense of it. “I’m impressed, Saundi.” He thought about Haley for a moment then turned back to her. “She said her father had died before she was born,” he said remembering their conversations aboard the Reaper. He suddenly jerked upright and looked to Mallian. “Another sister?” he almost shouted.
“No, boy,” Mallian scowled, then looked to Andy and Saundi with a worried look.
“That’s where it gets difficult,” Andy started, but Cade cut him off.
“Just tell me. Who’s her father?” He was getting intensely nervous now. “Did I just kiss my sister?” He didn’t know if he could live with that.
“That be Torbeck,” Mallian said quickly, as if to rip a bandage off a painful wound.
“Damn,” Cade whispered, put his hand to his forehead and stood there in shock, unable to think. It had to be Torbeck, the first man Cade had ever killed. “I didn’t know.”
Saundi wrapped an arm over his shoulder and whispered in his ear, “She didn’t either, so you might want to try and forgive her.”
She was right. He had blamed Haley for everything. He’d placed every horrible moment of the past month on her, and it wasn’t right. But everything was over now. He’d beaten the man who’d destroyed everything he’d loved, but there was still a gaping hole that was left behind. Maybe someday that would be filled, but for now he’d have to live with it.
“That’s why we didn’t tell her the truth. She was born here, yes, but you’re family now. Regardless of it all, she’s linked to Clew now, and to you,” Saundi continued, then stepped away from him. “We’ll see her again.”
Cade thought about what Saundi had said. She was right, and it was time to move on, though he wasn’t sure if he felt excitement or trepidation at seeing Haley again. “What will happen now?”
Andy grinned at him and said, “Now, you and I have to fix our ship and get back out there. The Reaper is officially mine now, and you’re my XO if you’re still interested. We have a lot of repairs to make on the station and our ships. That takes supplies, which means we have to be hitting the trade lanes again soon.”
Cade finally smiled and unconsciously reached up and felt the Reaper patch on his coat. “What else would a pirate do?”
It wasn’t truly a question that needed an answer, yet Saundi smirked at him and replied, “I know what a pirate would do. There’s a celebration below us, but I just happen to have a present for my new big brother. The party will have to wait.”
Mallian and Andy both lit up. “Aye,” Mallian said and wrapped his arm around Cade to lead him from the room. “We all have a bit of a… surprise for ya, ma’ boy. Might be just the thing ta’ finally put all those demons to rest.”
Cade let them lead him from the council chamber and into the heart of the Leviathan. The decks weren’t as clean as the Reapers and the walls were dull and old, but he could tell they shone bright many years ago. They rounded several corners to come to a door where they all stopped and looked expectantly at Cade.
He turned toward them questionably and Andy nodded to the doors control panel. Cade looked at the panel which read “locked” in bold red letters. He glanced back at his friends once more and unlocked the door.
The door swooshed open, and he peered inside. He looked back to the three beaming people in the corridor and said the most heartfelt ‘thank you’ he believed he’d ever offered to anyone, and then entered the cell.
The last month of Cade’s life had been pure hell, but it was finally over. Clew would go on, but the fanatical remnants of the Deshi Combine had ceased to be. The Alliance would be furious after Saundi had effectively neutered an entire Allied Fleet battle group, and they would soon return once they cleaned their systems of the virus she’d planted.
The Alliance would definitely return and in greater numbers, but Clew wouldn’t be here. Only hours from now the station would shudder under the weight of the mighty Leviathan’s engines as it directed the hulking structure onto a new heading. Clew would live on, streaking through the void and its inhabitants would live on due to the courage of those rogues who choose to risk everything for their home.
There were hard times ahead, and he couldn’t wait to board the Reaper again and fulfil his new destiny. He thought he had known what he wanted, but now, as he searched his soul, he found a darkness that no longer lay in wait. The boy and the pirate had definitely met, but now the boy only lingers in the background. There was nothing for him now except the path that he had been forced onto. He could no longer deny it, nor did he want to. He embraced it. Cade was a Pirate of Clew.
A wicked grin slowly formed across his lips.
“Hello, Andrelli.”
And the door slid shut behind him.
The End
From the author:
Thank you very much for reading The Pirates of Clew. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
This book is the beginning of a trilogy, though it was meant to be able to stand on its own. I have many more exciting adventures planned for Cade and Haley so if you enjoyed this book, please throw some stars my way. It would be very much appreciated and it also lets an author know his or her work is enjoyed.
Thank you,
Taylor L. Smith
