by M. D. Cooper
“We tried to double-cross her,” Kylie said. “Once we got into space, her merc reached out to us and made a very convincing argument for why we should fall in line.”
“He didn’t hurt Nadine? Did he?” Maverick asked.
“Like you’d care,” Winter said with a growl.
Maverick placed a hand on his chest and gave Winter a wounded look. “I like Nadine. You’ll recall that I granted her her freedom when Kylie first found her.”
Yeah, in return for what amounted to my eternal servitude, Kylie thought.
Marge was right and Kylie centered herself with a breath. “He didn’t do anything permanent, no,” Kylie said while shaking her head. “But we agreed to play along and keep the SSF busy. They thought we were chasing leads all over.”
“We never thought they were gonna give Nadine back,” Winter interjected. “So that’s why we went to Perseverance to grab Lana.”
Vaax shook her head and laughed. “Maybe you’re not as smart as I thought. If you can’t take out one merc, what made you think that you could take Lana from Harken’s brothel on Perseverance?”
“Well, for one,” Kylie laughed. “It was a brothel, or so we thought—not some crazy doll-girl mod joint. Secondly, we knew where it was—unlike the merc. Our plan was to take Lana and trade her back for Nadine.”
Maverick whistled. “Look at you, Kylie. Finally, all grown up and making big girl decisions.”
Kylie felt a moment of pride, and then disgust.
“Back to Nadine,” Vaax said. “There’s no way that Harken would have let her live after what you did.”
“Yeah, I can’t think of a reason either,” Kylie said with a wide smile. “So, we contacted the merc and told him to tell Harken that Nadine was dead, and we’d pay him a handsome sum to get her back.”
Vaax frowned and Maverick snorted.
“Bold move,” Maverick said. “But I know how much money you have, and there’s no way that it’s enough to buy off a merc from Harken.”
Kylie nodded. “Yeah, it’s kinda nice that we bumped into each other, isn’t it?”
Vaax laughed and wrapped an arm around Kylie. “Oh, I like you, captain. You’ve got guts. I bet you’ll go far. This is perfect. You’ll get your lovely girl back, I’ll get that merc, and we’ll have Harken’s head on a platter.”
“I’ll do the deal,” Kylie said. “If anyone else shows up he’ll bolt, you know that.”
“Of course I do, my dear girl,” Vaax said. “But first we have to eat.”
“Eat?” Kylie’s stomach was already so queasy, she didn’t think she could eat anything.
“Of course. I’m starved, and we still have a lot of kinks to iron out in your story before you testify.”
Kylie blinked. “Testify?”
“Yes, of course. You’ll have to testify before the commission that has been assembled at Freemont. They are reviewing my fitness to be sworn in as president, and Harken and her faction are challenging me. With your testimony and especially with what we can get from that merc, Jason, Harken’s group will be decimated.”
Oh, is that all? Kylie thought. This woman couldn't be serious. She couldn’t testify in an official capacity. The SSF would know. Samuel would come for her, the Dauntless couldn’t dock at Freemont under any circumstances.
Winter wasn't as couth with his response. He leaned forward with his eyes wide. “You want us to what?”
Vaax touched her eyebrow, a sure sign that someone had contacted her over the Link. “Excuse me, will you? I have a few matters I need to attend to. Maverick, be a dear and entertain our guests before dinner is ready?”
Maverick nodded. “Of course.”
“Good,” Vaax smiled at Kylie. “Over dinner you can tell me all about your assault on Perseverance. I’d love to know exactly what Harken was up to and how close you got to freeing Lana. This is going to be fun.” Vaax rose and swept out of the room, the four guards following.
Kylie had to admit, the woman had a sense of style—probably lethal too.
Once she was gone, Maverick breathed a sigh of relief and rose from his chair to sit next to Kylie. “Now I know why I don't like strong women.”
“What the hell, Mav? How’d you get us roped into this?” Kylie asked.
Maverick glowered. “How did I? You came to Gedri to scam me, Kylie. You and Nadine were going to steal from me, right? Play me for a fool and take the girl?”
“Mav, you didn’t have the girl.”
“But if I did, you were going to take her from under my nose. You’re no better than Harken, far as I’m concerned.”
Kylie forced her finger into his face. “I’m nothing like that sleaze ball. And as for you, it’s wrong to keep human beings as cargo, servants, and slaves. I won’t apologize for that, so don’t get all holier than thou with me!”
Maverick turned to her and his eyes bugged out with rage. Kylie used to be afraid of that look, but now all she could think of was how much she wanted to claw them out. “Say one more thing to me in that tone,” Maverick whispered hoarsely, “and I’ll gut you like a fish.”
“That line’s getting old. Just like you,” Kylie spat back.
“Whoa, just whoa!” Winter held his hands up. “The both of you cool the hell down. We’re sitting here stuck on a GFF ship. If I read this situation right, it seems like your position, and Vaax’s are a bit unstable right now. Right?”
Maverick nodded. “Right.”
“Hell,” Winter snorted, meeting Kylie’s eyes. “Are we sure we don’t want to go back Harken on this? What has Maverick ever done for us?”
He knew how to push buttons, that was sure.
“You’re even dumber than I remember, Winter,” Maverick said. “Harken hates Kylie. OK, so I’m a little hot under the collar today. Having to dance to Vaax’s tune is wearing on my last nerve. Still, Kylie. You should have just told me what was going on. I would have helped you.”
Kylie sincerely doubted that, but she needed Maverick as an ally, not an enemy. She took a deep breath. “General Samuel had us under arrest, we didn’t have a choice but to do what he asked. Samuel promised us a letter of marque if we got his daughter back and—”
“A letter of marque?” Maverick interrupted stroked his chin, staring out the windows. “One of my ships with the authority to take out enemy vessels? Hell, I would’ve sold myself out for that.” He laughed at his own joke and leaned forward to refill his glass. “You should’ve just told me that when you arrived at The Shade. We would have celebrated and taken Harken out together!”
“Would that have been before or after you got shot?” Kylie sighed and tried to force Maverick back on topic. “Listen, we can’t stay here and chit chat with Vaax all night. The merc that shot you took Nadine hostage. I have to get her back.”
“Nadine…” Maverick said wistfully as he sipped his drink noisily. “She’s my second favorite after you. You know, I once had my people try to alter a girl to look just like her—could never get the nose right, though. I don’t want to see Nadine hurt but…”
Kylie cocked an eyebrow while Winter just sighed. “Get on with it already!”
“OK, you have Vaax all hot and bothered to get that merc. I’ll convince her that you can do it—and you’d better. I can help you get your ship repaired—couldn’t help but notice that it’s a bit worse for wear. Thing is, I can do all that but I don’t really know that I want to. Maybe I just want to watch it all burn.”
Kylie sighed. “What do you want, Mav?”
“Harken dead. That’s the best way to deal with her, not throu
gh testimony and politics. You’ll need to hunt her down. A senator named Ian is protecting her. He has her somewhere on Freemont. They’ll bring her out when they need to, probably have her testify after you.” Maverick shook his head.
“So I need to hunt her down and kill her, and free Nadine and get the merc for Vaax?” Kylie asked.
“It’s important, Kylie. If the commission finds against Vaax and Ian’s faction put in their president, Vaax is gonna die, and I may not be that far behind. How long do you think you’ll last with Harken in charge of the syndicates and sitting at the right hand of the new president? Vaax is our best option right now. Killing Harken will be just the show of force she needs to convince them she’s the one for the job. I know it’s a lot to ask. I don’t want to see you get hurt, Kylie.” Maverick’s voice dropped in tone as he slid his glass onto the table.
Kylie knew that. Twisted as it was, even when she was his slave, she always knew he meant her no lasting harm. That’s why she never had to sleep in the cage, and why she never ended up beaten and bruised like the others. It didn’t make Maverick a good man, quite the opposite, but he did have a soft spot for her that could be exploited.
She slid closer to him and put her hand on his knee. “Mav, I will get you Harken. Even kill her if that’s what you need me to do, but Nadine has to be first.”
Maverick shook his head. “If they convene early and Ian produces Harken…”
“That’ll be the perfect place to take him out, then,” Winter said. He set an empty platter down on the table, and looked around for more. “You guys have any more snacks?”
Maverick laughed. “You want to take Harken out in the middle of an official GFF session? Have you lost your mind, Winter? Maybe you never had one.”
Marge responded with a giggle and sent a warm, happy feeling across their Link.
“Look,” Winter leaned back onto the sofa and crossed his arms. “They produce Harken, we kill Harken, you and Vaax claim responsibility. You’re strong, Vaax has her display of force. She keeps the GFF, you keep your gig, we all go back to business. Looting people, stealing ships, sounds like getting back to the status quo is easily attainable.”
Winter might’ve been right. It did sound possible to sort all this out and put it behind them. Who knew such a thing was possible?
Maverick snapped his fingers together. “We keep you around for a reason, son. I like it. But I’m worried about you getting to the GFF commission in time.”
“We will,” Kylie said. “We’ll just need advance warning from you and Vaax.”
Maverick nodded. “We’ll convince her. She’ll go for it if it’s sold the right way, but first dinner.”
Kylie wanted to let out a groan. “We don’t have time to stay for dinner.”
“You don’t have a choice. Vaax will never let you go before we discuss the final details over a meal. It’s a personality quirk.”
Kylie suspected that Vaax just wanted more time to study her and poke at her story over a long drawn out meal. She didn’t like the sound of it but Winter leaned forward and slapped his hands together. “When do we eat? There’s no way I’m leaving before dinner.”
Kylie did groan then and put her head in her hands.
Maverick was speaking, and Kylie forced herself to pay attention.
“So, like I said before, the Dauntless is barely keeping it together. This merc sounds like bad news. You’re going to need some help,” Maverick said. “You’ll also need at least some credit to convince the merc that you can buy him off. I’ll furnish that too.”
Kylie shook her head. “Shields are down and we pushed the reactors nearly to meltdown. Our weapons really aren’t that great either.”
“She’s nothing more than a floating tin can right now, huh? I should’ve known. Say no more.” Maverick blinked and Kylie’s HUD lit up with a series of coordinates. “That’s a little place I maintain that Harken doesn’t know about. I’ll have my people ready for you. They’ll move fast and get you ready to take out that merc.”
“Thank you, Maverick. I really appreciate that.” Kylie almost choked on the words, but she did mean them.
“I’m still a self-serving bastard, don’t worry. If I’m going to keep my head, I need Harken dealt with.” Maverick stood and offered his arm to Kylie. “Ready?”
Kylie had no choice but to accept.
FATHER FIGURE
STELLAR DATE: 03.22.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Seltis, Wales
REGION: Hyperborea System (independent)
Six months before Lana’s capture…
Peter let a hand brush against the heads of the tall wheat stalks as he walked through the field. His eyes were half-closed as he meditated on what he knew to be true.
Some called him Savior. Some even the Almighty but Peter Rhoads was none of those things. Instead, he simply spread a message of hope and love. A message of how a pure humanity was the future, and how all could partake in it. But he also spread a warning.
In the Hyperborean System, he had established one of his most prosperous colonies. A safe haven from invasive technology and AIs. There, his people lived a happy, yet unplugged existence.
Peter smiled as he considered his accomplishment. The three terraformed worlds of Hyperborea had been occupied by humanity for millennia. Once they had been advanced, wrapped up in their technological accomplishments and virtual worlds.
But wars had laid the Hyperborean System low, made it fertile, receptive. A perfect place for Peter Rhoads to plant his seeds.
He always wore a black suit, drank his tea hot enough to scald, believed in folding his own laundry and in humans caring for the land. His clothing, food, and the tasks he performed were always completeled with the simplest tools possible.
The nets and the data they held were still present, but their information was displayed on two dimensional screens, not holodisplays or inside people’s minds.
Here, on the second terraformed world in the system, a planet named Wales, people worked hard and prospered. And when they worked, their hands got dirty and grew callous. They wanted good lives, they wanted to live by the fruits of their labors. But most importantly, they wanted to be left alone.
As Peter walked amongst the crops, he could see an old city skyline in the distance—some of its towers stretching kilometers into the sky. Many of the buildings toppled from wars, many more taken down, their steel used to build plowshares—and other tools.
Closer to the fields through which he walked, the low buildings of the new city were visible. Simple structures made of materials anyone could produce. Stone and concrete. Wooden walls, cellulose insulation, steel nails, and tin roofs brightly reflecting the sunlight. They were unadorned, but well made.
The settlement’s streets were filled with vehicles carrying food, raw materials, and the products of industry. It was a bustling center of trade and commerce; all operated by humans.
People in core systems would think that those who dwelt on Wales were simple, that their lives had no meaning. But as Peter looked at the faces of the crowds surrounding him, he knew that was not true.
The apparent simplicity of the people on the worlds of the Hyperborean system belied a firm grasp of science and advanced technology that humans could fully control.
“Be proud of what you have built here,” he said to those who walked with him—there was always someone walking with him. As Peter had moved out into the fields surrounding the city, he had amassed a crowd of men, women, and even children. He pointed at the new city. “You built that. Not a machine, nor an AI with a preconceived notion of what you should have. Of what we
should be. No, we are human and we forge our own path.”
Murmurs of assent and scattered applause met his words. Some bowed their heads, and other gazed longingly at him as he spoke. Peter reveled in their delight and respect. As he walked, Peter checked the crops for signs of pests and blight. When that was done, he checked on the cattle and the pigs in a nearby farm before he and his followers gathered on the hill.
Nearby, a man in a leather vest and dirty jeans was working on a microwave transmission tower, one that beamed power down from space-based fusion reactors to the surface, where it was distributed to the new city and the farms surrounding it.
“What are you doing, good man?” Peter asked as he approached.
“We’ve worked out a way to increase throughput while also decrease transmission loss,” the man said deferentially.
“Through human ingenuity?” Peter asked.
The man’s face split in a broad smile “Of course! Our engineers had a recent breakthrough just a month ago and we’re already installing the new systems! We’ll be able to double the available power to all nearby settlements.”
Peter turned to the crowd and began to clap. An instant later, the people joined in, though Peter made certain that he clapped the loudest and the longest. As the applause for the technician died down, Peter gathered the crowd around him and stood with his hands folded before him.
“Gentlemen and ladies, you’ve succeeded here because of hard work and determination. Now you must stay the course and remember the truths we hold dear. Young lady—Sally if I recall correctly—do you remember your tenets?”
A young girl in front, with curly pigtails and a polka dot dress, nodded. “These truths are self-evident. There is one God and he leads man. Not machine and not AIs. AIs lead mankind toward the reckoning where they shape our destiny and bring about our destruction. Humans shall guide the course of the galaxy and not machines.”
Sally’s gaze flitted about as she spoke, and when the crowd signaled their approval with polite applause, she sighed and gave a nervous smile.
Peter couldn’t help but be reminded of his own daughter before she’d left him. He bent down in front of her, resting one knee on the ground. His joints ached and his bones creaked, but that was part of getting older in a natural, and graceful way.
