Sabercat (Tommy Reilly Chronicles Book 1)

by T. L. Knighton

Dianne shook her head negative.

  "So why go to Armstead?"

  Tommy shrugged. "She won't tell us until we're out of atmo and into the black."

  Harley leaned back against his chair. "And you agreed to this?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, but only because if we don't like what we hear, we can drop her at Ararat and carry on."

  The big man rolled his eyes. "Like you'd do that. You know damn good and well we're in."

  "How do you figure?"

  "Because I recognize her. I know your brain. You're going to do whatever she wants, because you figure you owe her."

  "He doesn't," Dianne said, her eyes still half staring off into the distance.

  The big man looked at her as if she'd just declared the deepest black was the most ruby-like red. "I understand you don't think he does, but he doesn't," Harley said with a soft smile, shifting his eyes to Tommy.

  "I'm not going to risk the crew unless it's for a damn good reason. You don't just go to Armstead without approved cargo or a death wish for crying out loud," Tommy said.

  "Well?" Harley asked, turning his attention back to Dianne. "Is it good?"

  She turned and looked at the big man, a burning intensity in her eyes. "It is."

  Harley sighed. "Alright. But I'm putting on my armor before we go anywhere."

  Tommy smiled widely. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

  "And we're going to work in some more simulation time. You've got to start learning how to hit what you're aiming at for crying out loud."

  He shrugged and replied, "It was a moving target. You know as well as I do that those aren't as easy as in the vids. Besides, if I'd had my rifle…"

  The big man cocked his head and smirked. "That's what's got me so completely baffled. You should be able to learn this crap."

  ** ** **

  The man sat in front of the quancom, short for quantum communicator, and waited patiently. Impatience could be fatal in his line of work, and he wasn't interested in an early retirement. Besides, she was a busy woman.

  Eventually, a stately figure glided in front of the camera. All soft curves and perfectly styled hair, she didn't look the half century old he knew she was, but the wealthy could afford to keep themselves young. Even the extra weight most of them sported these days was no obstacle if you had enough money, which was why they all had so much of it. Except for her. She made sure she was still stunning, her bright red dress designed to capture and hold attention for as long as she wanted it.

  "Yes?" she said.

  "They missed, and now she's onboard a ship and escorted everywhere. I don't think we'll get another chance before Ararat."

  "Why don't you take out the ship?" she asked, her tone making it clear that she felt annoyed for being forced to ask.

  "It's his ship," he replied, his emphasis on the word making clear just whose ship it was.

  "Ah. Was he there?"

  He nodded once, then said, "I'm afraid so, ma'am. He's unhurt, however."

  The wheels of her mind turned as she stared off into space. "That means Dane, the big one, is protecting her, correct?"

  He nodded again. "Yes, ma'am."

  "Then you're right. You won't get another chance until you reach Ararat. But that may work out better."

  "Ma'am?" he asked, suddenly confused.

  "Mister Wilson," she said with a sweet smile, one he knew better than to trust, "you need not worry yourself on such matters. Let's suffice it to say that we will turn responsibility over to an associate who has connections on Ararat that should be sufficient for the task. Just return to Earth."

  "I'll be on the next ship," he said.

  A bored nod told him that he could have saved his breath, that she expected no less. As the screen blanked out, he released the shudder he'd been holding in. A trip to Earth was the last thing he was looking forward to, but one did what one was ordered to do after all.

  ** ** **

  Cody's feet dangled from the overhead as Tommy entered the engineering spaces. A warren of pipes and conduit stretched everywhere, color coded for easy identification. That didn't help Tommy a damn bit, but that's why he hired an engineer. "Everything okay?" he asked.

  "Yep," Cody said from within the shaft, discolored and aged metal surrounded the dingy, orange clad legs. "Just installing the new dampener. Well, new-ish."

  "How's the fit?"

  Cody slipped down from the overhead, his knees bending to soften the landing. He stood upright and brushed his hands on his coveralls, splotches of grease and hydraulic fluid that never washed out staining them. "Not awful. It's built for a Capissen 38, but…" he said with a shrug.

  "Heard bad things about those. Is this a good idea?"

  "Eh. The engines were crap, but the inertial dampeners are good. Hell, if the fit is solid, we might want to look into replacing the rest with these They're a lot cheaper than the military grade units that are standard on these Harrison classes."

  Tommy chuckled. "I'm doing good to replace the food we eat when we're underway. But, keep an eye on the dampeners. If we have to make repairs, we might as well replace them with something a bit cheaper but just as good."

  The ship's engineer nodded. "You're the boss."

  "By the way. Any word on those countermeasures?"

  Cody grinned. "Oh, definitely."

  "This isn't something the EDC is going to have a kitten over, is it? God knows, I can't afford any more of their chafing fines."

  "Fines?" Cody asked.

  Tommy shook his head. "Nothing to worry about. Whatcha got?"

  Cody outlined his plan. It was simple. It was devious. It was something that, if it worked like it was supposed to, would definitely deal with any problems they ran into while flying in the black. Tommy found himself grinning like a fool.

  "You talk to Adele?" Tommy asked when the other man was finished.

  "Sure did."

  "So she knows the necessary maneuvers?"

  Cody nodded. After a moment, he said, "Boss?"

  "Yeah?" Tommy answered, an eyebrow arched.

  "Why do I get the feeling that you're kind of hoping we run into trouble out there now?"

  Tommy's grin grew even bigger.

  ** ** **

  The next couple of days were a flurry of activity. Everyone had a thousand things to do before dust-off, and they were all important. Dianne offered to help where she could, which was odd for a paying passenger, but it also made her fairly popular with the crew. Especially since she offered to cook.

  The last night dirtside, Tommy found her chopping onions in the narrow kitchen section of the galley.

  "Fresh vegetables? How long are these going to hold out?" she asked him without looking up from her task.

  Tommy shrugged. "Not really sure. We're only two weeks out from Ararat by gate, so we'll probably run out or lose it, but not long enough that we'll be down to rations packs."

  "That why you wanted half up front?" she asked, looking up at last. A playful glint in her eye and the sly smirk on his lips put him at ease.

  "Not quite. We had expenses, and the Port Control had me bent over," he said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

  She chuckled. "Now that's funny. You having trouble with the law? Never saw that before."

  Tommy found himself chuckling softly. "Yeah, I guess not. Little different this time."

  "How so?"

  "Well, we got into orbit a day before we were due. Then, Port Control keeps us floating, not letting us land. When they finally do, we're late," he said with a shrug. "So, fines made it…interesting."

  "Interesting," she said, her voice just a hair above a mutter. "Everything about this has been 'interesting'."

  He leaned against the counter. "How so?" he asked as he sipped the water.

  Dianne put the knife down and looked at Tommy. "I look at you, and I see the guy who called me Dirty Dianne, the guy who put gum in my hair at homecoming, the guy who beat up the only boyfriend I ever had because he asked you to stop
calling me names. I see all of that…and then…and then I see this. You're flying on a boat older than you are, and on your own dime. You're not cashing in on your family name so far as anyone can tell. Now, you're the guy who worries about his crew, who saved my life, and who shot back at someone trying to kill us."

  Tommy looked away. He knew his history all too well. No matter what he did, he'd never be able to shake that. It was in his head, reminding him that on some level he deserved all the karma he was getting, even if his crew didn't.

  Picking up the knife, Dianne started back on the onions. "Sorry, I just…"

  "I get it," Tommy said. "Believe me, I know."

  "What happened?"

  He turned to look at her. She continued chopping, but stole glances at him as she could. "You didn't hear?" he finally asked.

  "I heard. Was it as bad as the stories."

  Tommy shrugged. "Depends on the stories. One had us eating a shuttle crew when they set down, which was bull. If you mean the official stories, then yeah, pretty much."

  Several times, Dianne tried to say something before finally managing to utter, "Well, you had supplies, right? Ride to one of the colonies? Something?"

  "Nope."

  "Damn. That had to be bad."

  Tommy chuckled mirthlessly. "Worse than that. This thing called a sabercat decided we looked tasty one night after I'd killed something to eat. Harley busted his back and couldn't walk. That put everything on me. Supplies were gone, most of our gear got chafed up by the sabercat, everything. We had to damn near go stone age just to make it."

  Her crystal blue eyes studied him with a tenderness he'd never seen from them before, a tenderness he didn't deserve. "You kept Harley alive?"

  Tommy smiled at the memory. "More like we kept each other alive."

  She laughed softly. "I guess you have changed. Tommy Reilly giving up a chance to take the credit like that? What has the world come to?"

  He smiled. "I'm not worried about the world. Just my place in it."

  "So why did you name your ship after it?" she asked.

  Tommy shrugged again and said, "It kind of made sense. If it weren't for that cat, well…I'd probably still be that schmuck you had to deal with back in school. It's like the sabercat killed that guy, and I took his place. Kind of." He paused for a moment, considering what he'd just said, then, "Ah, forget it. That doesn't make any sense."

  "No," she said, "it does. I understand, I think."

  Tommy nodded, then turned and left.

  Chapter 3

  Tommy stood stoically on the bridge, his legs wide enough apart to help him deal with shifts and shimmies, his arms crossed. He felt like the captain of a great starship as he looked out the viewing port. Captains should always command their ships like this, he thought smugly.

  Of course, he still didn't have a chair to sit in, so there was that.

  "We're out of atmo, Captain," Adele said.

  "Go ahead and set course for the gate," Tommy replied.

  Adele nodded, her eyes locked forward.

  "Can you hail our passenger and ask her to meet me in the galley?" Tommy asked as he turned and walked down the long corridor toward the common area of the ship.

  As his boots clanked against the metal grating that formed the floor in the bulk of the ship, Tommy's mind ran through the possibilities. Armstead was an ugly world. From a natural standpoint, it was nice. Beautiful forests, rolling hills, rugged mountains, and pristine oceans made it everything one could hope for.

  Unfortunately, the Church of Eternal Vigilance also had complete control over it.

  The Church of Eternal Vigilance wasn't what most people thought of when they thought of religion. Boasting a dogma that wasn't revealed until members were fully invested in the church, members who had left described it more as a cult. A chafing scary cult, too.

  Some reports before the Diaspora had church leadership taking members who were thinking improperly and locked them an unconditioned metal shack in the desert, their only human contact being hours upon hours of interrogation. Others involved excommunication of members who failed to report loved ones' sins to leadership, and excommunication meant no contact with anyone still inside the church. Ever.

  What they did to their critics outside the church was even more interesting.

  It also happened to be well-financed.

  A century earlier, amid more and more pressure from Earth's governments, the Church financed one of the first colony ships on its own. They chose Armstead as their destination, the most habitable planet humans had found in their search.

  It also happened to be one of the furthest they'd managed to identify as habitable, hence the Church's interest in it.

  When the gateship arrived, the Church wasn't particularly interested in connecting with the rest of humanity. It was the gateship captain who pointed out that there were still adherents on Earth. Armstead reluctantly agreed to a gate, but keep the EDC well away from the planet. Instead, they maintained their own fleet of ships to enforce their territorial sovereignty.

  Without a pre-approved cargo, no tramp freighter would go near Armstead. No one wanted to be blasted out of space. The Armstead Navy was notorious for that.

  Tommy walked into the galley and pulled out one of the mismatched chairs and waited. Moments later, Dianne strode into the galley. She scanned the room, quickly finding Tommy and walked up to the table, pulled out another chair, and sat.

  "You rang?" she asked.

  Tommy nodded. "We're in the black. Time to talk."

  She nodded slowly. "I guess it is."

  "What do we get in Ararat?"

  "You'd pick up a load of precious metals. Gold, I think."

  He tilted his head as he studied the woman for a moment. "So, your grand plan that will risk our lives is a shipment of gold?"

  She shook her head. "No, that's the cover. Gold can be approved easily since Armstead lacks much of it, so my contact on Ararat got a load."

  Tommy sighed as he dropped his head. Pinching the bridge of his nose, his elbows resting on the table, he asked, "So what's going to get us killed?"

  "A data chip. I'm picking it up on Armstead."

  He lifted his head and glared at the her. "I'm not in the mood to play twenty questions. I want to know what you're willing to risk my chafing crew's life on, and I'm sick of playing the 'only answer with as little as possible' game. Played it all my damn life, and I'm not interested in more of it."

  She nodded and said, "I'm sorry. You're right. On the chip is a video. Supposedly, Senator Sowards taking a bribe to grant Armstead her independence."

  Tommy leaned forward and studied her for a long moment. "Senator Dwayne Sowards? Taking a bribe?"

  She nodded.

  "If he did…"

  She nodded again. "If he did, then that explains why he championed Armstead independence, but did everything he could to block independence for everyone else."

  Tommy considered for a moment. Armstead's independence made it the only independent colony, and Sowards had been key in that. The senator was one of the more influential members of the Earth Alliance Senate.

  He also happened to be a close political ally of one Senator Maureen Reilly.

  "And if Sowards is booted out of office for taking a bribe, preferably taking some of his cronies with him, then there might be a chance for some of the planets to gain independence. Right?"

  "Something like that," she answered with a pained smile.

  "What's in it for you?"

  Dianne jumped slightly. "What do you mean?"

  "Principles are good and all that, but risking your life like this? There's more to it."

  She chuckled mirthlessly, her skepticism as plain as her skin. "There's the old Tommy Reilly."

  "Don't pull that. You know as well as I do that my family's political. That means learning why people do things. There's more. I want to know what it is."

  Her glare bore into Tommy, making him uncomfortable. He held her gaze, however
, refusing to back down.

  Time seemed to stretch on as the two battled with their wills. Finally, Dianne said, "Okay, maybe there is."

  "What?"

  "Sowards is responsible for my mother."

  His eyes widened in shock. "What?" he barked in surprise.

  "He's the asshole who asked my mother to head up the delegation to the Carriff Cartel."

  Helen Caldwell was a noted State Department official with a reputation for being rather "by the book". This was the reason given for her heading up a delegation to one of the more notorious pirate bands, supposedly to negotiate an ending to their attacks on transport vessels.

  "That's right. Didn't he ask pretty publicly?"

  Dianne nodded. "She'd been looking into some allegations of illegal deals between Sowards and the Caliphate of North Africa. He pops up on the news, asking publicly. She couldn't say no, then…"

  She didn't need to fill in the blanks. Tommy knew what happened. The shuttle reached the Cartel's base, then left a couple of hours later. When it docked with the frigate they'd traveled there on, the crew opened the airlock to see that every member of the delegation had been killed. Horribly.

  News vids ran story after story about what happened in excruciating detail. Even the old Tommy had laid off of Dianne out of a profound sense of pity.

  "So it's personal," he finally said.

  She nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess it is."

  A heavy silence descended upon the pair. Tommy considered what she'd said. He had his crew to think about, but…

  "We're in," he said, his voice so quiet even he could barely hear it.

  Dianne appeared to have heard it fine. Her eyes shot wider as she said, "Really?"

  He nodded.

  "Thank you!"

  He nodded again and stood and started walking toward the bridge.

  "Can I ask you why?" she asked Tommy's back.

  He said without turning around, "Because I'm trying to do what's right, not what's easy these days."

  "Is that why a group matching the description of the crew reportedly stole two hundred thousand dollars worth of irrigation equipment for the New Bern settlement?"