Sunscapes Trilogy Book 1: Last Chance

by Michelle O'Leary

  Chapter 5

  Sin shifted restlessly in her seat and felt Kai's foot clip her ankle—again. She was going to have bruises. She sent him a quick glare, but he seemed engrossed in the droning diatribe of one of the board members. She knew she should be paying more attention or at least looking like she was, but she'd had a long, mostly sleepless night and what little sleep she'd gotten had been infected with painful dreams. It did not surprise her that most had been about her father.

  The worst had been a dream where he was talking to her in a casual voice about inconsequential things—a new purchase he'd made for her dead mother or how good the swordfish was that he'd had for lunch—but his hands had been covered in clotted blood. And he'd kept trying to touch her with them. He'd seemed puzzled when she'd drawn away, but would continue talking as though he couldn't hear her horrified pleas and accusations.

  These dreams were a reaction to the day before, she knew. Not only were they a response to her failure with Pete, but also to her success. Rescuing Del from the Core would bring her father to mind.

  "Sins of our fathers,” she sighed under her breath and shifted again. She didn't need Kai's kick to her ankle to bring her attention back to the board this time, though. The silence was enough. She glanced up to see all of the board members staring at her from their seats—or more accurately, their holographic projections staring at her. None of the board members currently resided on the Shay station.

  The one who had been speaking was looking at her with stiff disapproval. He had been with them since her father was alive, and he still sometimes saw them as the little holy terrors that used to disrupt meetings to steal their father away.

  "Perhaps you could do me the courtesy of paying attention while I am speaking,” he lectured in ponderous tones, confirming Sin's suspicions that he was indeed seeing them that way at the moment.

  She didn't allow herself to stiffen or betray her sudden anger in any way. He was a good man who'd served their company well, and she didn't need to be taking her sleepless night out on him. On the other hand, he couldn't be allowed to treat her as though she was a wayward child.

  With a gentle smile that she knew didn't cut the coldness in her eyes, she said, “Perhaps you could remember to whom you are speaking, Marcus."

  He stiffened even further and his lips thinned in anger, though he dropped his eyes. But surprisingly—or maybe not, considering that he used to be her father's man—he didn't back completely down. “I cannot do this company any good if the information I have to impart is not heard."

  Before she could respond, her brother cut in, “Marcus, I can see that you've got something on your mind. You've been dancing around it for the past half hour. Maybe if you got to the point, my sister might be more inclined to listen."

  It was a rebuke to both of them and rather deftly done. Sin shot her brother a wry smile, but he was focusing his polite and solemn attention on Marcus Feeny. The older man shifted in obvious discomfort in his seat, still not looking up at them.

  "All right. As you may have heard"—he shot Sin a cool glance—"I have been talking about the galactic economy and our place in it. While Shay Enterprises is a powerful company and has thus far rivaled any other such, there is a growing concern in myself and other members of the board that we will not be able to maintain our position for much longer.” He paused and shifted again, before lifting his head and looking directly at the both of them, his expression set. “Quasicore continues to grow. Even now that company has expanded into several different marketing areas and has infiltrated many powerful aspects of our society. Even the government.” He hesitated, and Sin watched him take a quick look around at the other board members with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Don't do it, Marcus, she thought, but he continued, “Even ... even this board."

  Sin kept her eyes trained on him, but noted in her peripheral vision one member twitching involuntarily. She only hoped the others hadn't seen it. There were two of them, the spies the Core had weaseled into their board. But they were more useful right where they were—she didn't need them to be exposed.

  "Marcus, I didn't know you were prone to paranoia,” she said lightly.

  "But it's true. There's Core in this very room—"

  Kai leaned forward abruptly, and Marcus fell silent at the dark frown on her brother's face. “That was unfairly said, Marcus. This company has stayed strong by believing in itself. Now your fellow members will be looking at one another with suspicion. Are you trying to sow dissent?"

  Just that easily Kai turned Marcus’ accusation against him. The other board members where now looking at the older man with a certain measure of hostility. A lesser man would have been stammering guiltily, but Marcus had more courage than that. And years of experience with their father's trials by fire.

  He lifted his chin and met Kai's gaze with dignity. “You know that was not my intention. I have always had this company's best interest in mind."

  And as easily Kai deflected the accusation away from the older man. “I do know that, old friend. I also know that these are trying times, and the Core is like a shadow over everything we do. It's easy to jump at shadows."

  Marcus’ brow furrowed, and Sin could see that he wasn't going to let it go so easily. When he opened his mouth to speak, she interrupted him, “Would it ease your mind if we told you that we know for a fact that the Core has not subverted our company?"

  That wasn't a lie. Spies were only effective if the information they stole was accurate and complete. The two Core board members were blithely unaware that they were being spoon-fed information or that their every movement and every breath were known.

  "It would ... if it was true,” Marcus answered hesitantly, his brow still furrowed.

  They were going to have to talk with him later to find out his source of information. He would not have brought the subject up in the meeting if he hadn't been certain, and they needed to make sure no one suspected the spies.

  "Trust us, Marcus. We wouldn't lie to you of all people,” she said softly, evoking the memory of her father. He and her father had been good friends outside of the boardroom, and Sin shamelessly used that to forge a connection with the older man.

  Marcus subsided back into his chair with a nod of acceptance, his expression losing its troubled frown, but Sin knew he'd just postponed his concerns until they could speak privately. Which was exactly what she wanted him to do.

  "Wonderful,” she declared with a brilliant smile, before turning to the rest of the board. “Now that that is settled, I believe we should conclude this meeting for today. We've run over—again.” She lifted a sardonic eyebrow.

  Several members chuckled in response, both Core spies among them. They must be feeling nervous relief, she thought.

  "And our accountants are chomping at the bit to beat me over the head with my expense account.” She grimaced theatrically, and there was a bit more laughter. “Thank you all for attending. Until next time."

  She leaned forward as they murmured their collective goodbyes and tapped the controls. As one, the holograms blinked out of existence, and Sin gave a deep sigh.

  "You okay?” Kai asked mildly, and she gritted her teeth.

  Ordinarily he would have taken her to task for being inattentive during the meeting, but he knew how she was feeling after yesterday. Sympathy wasn't what she needed, though. She much preferred to bicker with him. At least it would take her mind off of those damned dreams.

  "You mean besides the toe-shaped dent in my ankle?” she snapped with a glare.

  He flashed her an accommodating grin as he pushed back his chair and stood. “No more than you deserved, Sissa. You were wiggling like a Closten eel over there."

  "Better than snoring in their faces,” she scoffed and rose to her feet, joining him as he walked towards the glass partition of their office. “Got a guess on how long it takes Marcus to call?"

  "I'm betting any second now. Should we take it?"

  "We need to talk to him. I want to
know who tipped him off.” Then she rubbed a weary hand around the back of her neck. “On the other hand, I don't think I'm sharp enough to dig at him today."

  "I've got a couple of minutes before I have to corner Spec. I could—"

  A chime interrupted him and a toneless voice said, “Marcus Feeny is calling through private connection. Do you wish to receive?"

  Sin exchanged a wry glance with her brother. “He's all yours,” she muttered and walked through the partition as it demolecularized out of her way.

  Her meeting with the accountants went fairly well and faster than expected, mainly because she did a lot of nodding and agreeing. Placated, they let her go early, and she was able to spend a little time in her quarters with a soothing cup of tea. It helped relax her, but did little to alleviate her weariness.

  "My kingdom for a nap,” she sighed as she sank further down into the inviting cushions of her sofa.

  "You do not have to personally give the Yakamoro Collective the tour of the station. You can send someone else,” Mina suggested quietly.

  "Nice thought, but you don't woo a merger out of somebody by sending a lackey to herd them around. Are they here yet, by the way?"

  "Their ship is docking as we speak or I might have suggested that you postpone the meeting entirely."

  "Why, do I look that bad?"

  "You look lovely, as usual. But I am aware that you had ... a difficult night's sleep."

  Which was putting it gently. Sin frowned up at one of Mina's hidden sensors. “Privacy,” she growled. “You aren't supposed to be watching me sleep."

  "I wasn't. You weren't sleeping."

  "You know what I mean."

  "Yes, I do. But you had a difficult day yesterday, and I was concerned for you."

  "Thank you, Mina,” Sin sighed as she sat up and put her cup down. “I appreciate your concern, but that's a breach of protocol. What if I'd had someone in there with me?"

  The AI gave an uncharacteristic snort. “And how am I supposed to have missed someone passing through these quarters to your room?” Her melodious voice took on a sweetly sarcastic tone as she continued, “But you do have a point. Perhaps we should go over the precepts of privacy since it has been so long since you have had someone in there with you."

  "Now that's a low blow!” Sin exclaimed as she stood, propping her fists on her hips and glaring at the nearest sensor.

  "Does this mean you are sufficiently awake to deal with the Collective?"

  "This means you and I are going to have a talk when I return,” she gritted, stalking towards the door. She paused at the entrance to check her appearance in a mirror.

  "I will look forward to it,” Mina answered placidly.

  Sin echoed the AI's earlier snort and left.

  The Yakamoro Collective was gathered in the spacious and ornate reception area, being attended to with dignified efficiency by several members of the Shay staff. The group of about a dozen men and women were already wide-eyed and quiet with provincial awe.

  The Shay service and elegance had impressed more powerful people than these, Sin reflected with wry amusement. Technically the acquisition of the Collective's holdings would be more of a take-over than a merger and most other large companies would have just run roughshod over them, but the Shays believed in preserving the dignity of the people they worked with. It made future relations with them much more amenable, and the respect they gained only helped with further acquisitions. It had been their father's vision, but neither Sin nor Kai could argue with it.

  While they were distracted by her staff and the delectable items of food and drink offered, Sin took the opportunity to greet each one separately. She had memorized the names and faces of the visiting members of the Collective and what each did for the company. Greeting them on a personal level helped to decrease any hostility they might be feeling towards this merger and Shay Enterprises. It was hard to hate a company that gave such individual and flattering attention to potential employees.

  Once they had been sufficiently charmed and stuffed with food, she took them on a tour of the Shay Station. Sin was careful to keep them out of the more sensitive areas like Research and Development while still giving them the impression that they were being allowed deep into the workings of the station. She deliberately left the courier section to last.

  The Collective was suitably impressed with the armada that was Last Chance's courier ships, and many exclaimed at the wide variety of slicers in the docking bay. As she expected, several requested a closer look at the Shadow ships, and she consented with a smile, directing the floater that held them all towards the maintenance bay alongside the conveyors. Sin explained that much of the maintenance of the ships was done by automated systems and the ships were moved through the maintenance bay at regular intervals on the conveyors.

  She could see as they entered the bay that her crew was hard at work on several slicers, doing some of the more delicate work themselves rather than let the automated systems try to handle it. She explained this to the Collective as she landed the floater and smiled when several heads popped out from between slicers to grin at her. They knew better than to interrupt a business tour, though; they continued working as she moved up the double row of slicers with the Collective in tow.

  She saw a new Shadow in the line and caught sight of both Del and Kai working on it. Her heart did an extra thump when Del glanced up and caught her eye, his dark eyes vibrant and his expression unreadable.

  Sin realized one of the reasons she'd made the maintenance bay part of the tour was so that she could see him. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she looked away from him to catch her brother's eye. He lifted his eyebrows at her in question, and she gave him a slight nod in response. An advantage of being a twin—they could almost read each other's thoughts, and Kai would now be preparing to take over for her with the Collective, at least for the Shadow demonstration.

  She was in the middle of describing the characteristics of their prized Shadow slicers when a member of the Collective interrupted her with one of the questions she'd been expecting.

  "Ms. Shay, is it true that you are a slicer pilot yourself?"

  As a probing question, it wasn't a very bold one. She had deliberately worn her hair up so that her data port could be seen. Rumors were best met head on, even if they were true.

  Sin smiled at the portly gentleman and did him the courtesy of not pointing out the obvious—the port behind her ear. “Yes, that is true. Our father wanted Kai and I to be well versed in every aspect of our company, especially such a lucrative part. Which makes a great excuse for a hobby, don't you think?” She flashed them all a mischievous smile and got a smattering of chuckles in return.

  A young woman stepped forward, her features set in determined resolve. Sin could see by her expression that she meant to ask at least one of the bolder questions.

  "We have also heard that you fly the off-lanes yourself. That would make slicing more than a hobby for you, wouldn't it?"

  "I have an extremely efficient and competent crew of slicer pilots to make the off-lane courier runs, Diana.” The young woman almost flinched at Sin's gentle tone and the use of her first name. “Occasionally my brother and I will travel with them when we head out on business trips to destinations along their path. It helps to sharpen our piloting skills to fly with experts."

  Sin heard someone choke in between the slicers, but didn't glance over to see who it was, keeping a bland expression on her face and her eyes locked on the young member. In retrospect, she probably should have invited these questions somewhere else.

  "But isn't it true that you have not lost a slice?"

  It was a subtler question than the last one. It would have been well known if Sin had flown in a legitimate slicing circuit, so this woman was indirectly accusing her of racing illegally. Not only that, but she was implying that Sin was downplaying her skill as a pilot. In other words, the Collective had heard rumors of the Shadow twins’ covert activities and were fishing for a
nswers.

  Sin allowed a hint of a smile to edge her bland expression. “I'm flattered, but no that's not true, though I do think I'm a competent enough slicer pilot. We've never flown the professional circuits, but when slicing on our training grounds, I win more often than not.” She raised her voice and finished with, “Right, brother?” without breaking eye contact with the young woman.

  "In your dreams, sister,” was Kai's bland answer as he stepped out from between slicers. He rolled down the sleeves of his shirt and shrugged into his dress jacket as he came to stand next to Sin. “Don't let her lead you astray, ladies and gentlemen of the Collective. I let her win."

  Sin lifted a wry eyebrow and looked up at her brother, meeting his teasing smile as the group chuckled. “Marcus?” she asked softly enough for the rest not to hear.

  "Anonymous tip,” he answered as quietly.

  "How convenient,” she said in a dry tone.

  He gave her a little grimace of acknowledgement before turning his attention to the group. “I'm sure you're all anxious to take a closer look at our most prized slicer, the Shadow. You're in luck. We've got one over here that you can inspect to your hearts’ content. Just no drooling please—it shorts the circuits."

  They laughed and followed him past a couple of slicers to the ship at the end of the row. Sin let them pass before heading to the Shadow that Del and Kai had been working on. Del was watching her with cool speculation on his face as he leaned casually against the ship. She tried not to watch the muscles in his forearms flex as he wiped his hands on a sani-cloth.

  "Del,” she murmured in greeting.

  "Sin. Your tourists seem awful curious."

  "So they do,” she answered blandly and tried not to grin at the challenging tilt to his head.

  "You lie pretty."

  She let a cool smile touch her lips. “How has your first day been?"

  He took the change in subject well, with only a wry curl at the corner of his mouth. “So far so good."

  "You've met the rest of the crew?"

  "Sure have. An interesting bunch,” he commented, his smile becoming more prominent, almost teasing.