Cassie leaned in as he went through start-up, her expression one of sharp, clinical interest. She tilted her head in a listening posture as the Shadow came to life and then gave him a quick nod of satisfaction. “Sounds good."
He had to agree. The powerful hum of the ship vibrated under his skin like a call to freedom, sweet and wild.
"All right, try the port,” she said briskly.
He was reluctant to merge with the Shadow for the first time in front of an audience, but he understood why she wanted to be there. If something went wrong, he might not be able to remove the connector himself.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, he slid the connector into his data port and then forgot to breathe at the rush of sensation and information. The ship wrapped herself around him silkily, every powerful drive and vulnerable circuit becoming as familiar to him as his own skin. He explored her as reverently as a worshiper entering a goddess’ domain, amazed by the sensitivity of the controls and the sheer beauty of her construction.
"Del? How does she feel?"
He opened his eyes to see Cassie frowning at him—and dark spots swarming at the edges of his vision. Remembering that he needed oxygen, he let out his breath in a whoosh and took another. “Like a dream,” he rasped, unable to hide his reactions with the Shadow still within him.
Her frown changed to a knowing grin, and she patted him on the shoulder. “Just don't let her walk all over you, Del. These Shadows can be powerful capricious."
He nodded to show that he understood what she was saying—he had to control the ship, not the other way around. Taking another deep breath, he tried to get past his awe and look at the ship more clinically, to see if all was functioning as it should. Cassie helped by asking him technical questions about what he could see of the different systems and how they responded to him.
After a few minutes, she gave him a sharp nod of approval. “Okay, I think we're ready. Wait until I'm up, then follow me out."
She ducked out of the slicer and moved away down the row of docking pads. Del sealed himself in and commanded the slicer to lift off the pad. The Shadow was moving almost before he'd finished the command, and he grinned with delight. This was going to be the ride of his life, he thought and his heart rate accelerated with excitement.
He spotted Cassie's Shadow lifting off its berth and turned the slicer to follow her out of the docking bay, exclaiming under his breath at the effortless response from the ship. The difference between this vessel and any other slicer he'd flown was like the difference between a nutrient drink and a seven-course meal—both were fulfilling, but the joy was in the delivery.
Cassie led him beyond the station's traffic range, cruising out over the swirling fury of the gas giant. “Okay Del, before we get down to putting her through maneuvers, I need you to break out her max velocity. So we're going to head out of the solar system, turn around, and head back. Clear?"
"Clear,” he growled, trying to keep eagerness out of his tone. He accepted the information she sent him on course and destination as she spoke.
"On three. One, two, three..."
The force of acceleration shoved Del into the pilot's seat, but he barely noticed. Power ran through him in a steady roar, lighting up every nerve ending with fury and exaltation. It was like being at the center—and in control—of a nova. Planets and space debris flashed by him in brief blips of color and he clenched his teeth to hold in wild laughter.
When he slowed the ship to a stop at the coordinates Cassie had sent, he realized that he was panting like a sprinter. “Sun's blood!” he gasped and heard Cassie chuckle in his ear.
"Yeah, I know—almost better than sex. I don't suppose you noticed how she handled that speed?"
"Uh...” was his creative answer.
"Okay, on the way back, pay attention to the nuances, like shifts in the drive or hiccups in the circuits. Even subtle glitches like optic fade or sensory slurring are important."
Her dry, clinical tone helped to focus his mind, and he braced himself to ignore the experience of the return trip and center critical attention on the system's functions. It wasn't easy, but he was happy to report when they slowed to a stop above the gas giant that all appeared to be running smoothly. If Cassie heard the thrill in his voice, she was polite enough not to mention it.
She then led him to an area marked off by locator beacons. He could see what amounted to an obstacle course in that area, different objects set up to challenge the Shadow's maneuverability. Cassie sent him the specs on the course, and he raised his eyebrows in astonishment.
"Do I get a last request?” he asked and heard a muffled snicker from her.
"What good is a training course if it doesn't test the limits of ship and pilot?"
"I knew this job was too good to be true,” he sighed, but eyed the course with an eager grin.
"Oh, give over, Del. You're dying to get in there—admit it."
"Admit I'm suicidal? Don't think so,” he retorted, but moved into position next to her at the start of the course.
"We'll take it slow the first time,” she said, her voice taking on the brisk tone that he had discovered was her way of getting down to business. “Pay close attention to the inertial dampeners and maneuvering thrusters. Keep me informed the whole way."
"Understood,” he replied, settling into the cold focus that he needed to concentrate on a complicated run.
"On three,” she said again, and he felt a muffled amusement under his icy concentration. He had a suspicion that Cassie had never been in a real slice.
At her signal they began the course, moving at an almost sedate pace. It was frustrating to Del that he couldn't unleash the power he felt in the ship, freeing the wild delight straining his control. He wasn't sure if the eagerness he felt was his own or the ship's.
Cassie's very specific, technical questions helped him to contain his energy and focus a detached concentration on the ship's systems as they went through the different maneuvers of the course. They traversed the difficult course several times, each time at a faster speed, and each time Cassie asked her questions until Del was answering them before she spoke. Finally, Cassie brought them back to the head of the course and gave him his freedom.
"Last time through,” she said as they lined up at the starting point. “This time I want you to go at the fastest pace you can. I won't distract you with questions, and I won't be flying with you. I'll watch from a distance and see if I can pinpoint any problems. At that pace, we may see more from her than she's shown so far. Keep an eye on the systems I've talked about and let me know if you see anything."
"Will do,” he said briskly, trying to keep the grin out of his voice. At last he could push the ship to her limits.
"Let me get in position,” she requested, and he sensed her ship leaving his side, maneuvering to a spot that he guessed had a clear view of the whole course. “All right, any time you're ready."
Del didn't bother answering, at least not verbally. He shot into the course, whipping his Shadow through the obstacles with reckless speed. The ship responded to him as sweetly as he could have wished, spinning vibrant threads of pleasure through his body as they dodged, twisted and roared through the course. He'd been right—flying a Shadow was as much profound ecstasy as touching a goddess. The end of the run came too soon, and he spun the ship around, unwilling to let the moment go just yet.
"Del?” Cassie asked with amusement in her tone, as he dove back into the course from the other end.
"In a minute,” he growled as he let the power and fantastic suppleness of the ship soak into him. The smooth, effortless response made him feel invincible. Only in his dreams had he imagined such exaltation...
A vision of green eyes and a luscious mouth made him gasp and wrench out of the course abruptly. He swore under his breath as he coasted to a halt, feeling a heated foolishness. He hadn't let his concentration break like that since he'd been a teenager. But the dream he'd had of Sin had snuck up on him, and the sensations of th
e ship had taken more of a lustful turn than he could handle.
"Del, are you okay?” Cassie asked, her tone anxious as her ship came along side him. “What happened? I didn't detect any system failures..."
"I'm fine,” he muttered, feeling even more foolish. “Just got distracted for a second."
"Well, stop it!” she snapped. “You scared the crap out of me."
"Sorry. Next time I'll warn you when I plan on losing concentration."
"You know, I can recognize sarcasm when I hear it, you big oaf,” she grumbled, but he heard the relief in her tone and grimaced in remorse. “You two did make a nice couple while it lasted. I caught a couple of minor hesitations, only visible on the sensors, but other than that she was smooth. Did you detect anything?"
He was grateful for the change in subject and went into detail for her, going over each system as he remembered them. She was very thorough, analyzing his every observation with as much clinical interest as a doctor. But he couldn't tell if she was satisfied with his answers or not—at the end of each string of questions, she would make a noncommittal sound and move on to the next system.
Finally, she announced that they were ready to stress the ship in the gas giant's atmosphere. They dipped below the course and dove into the swirling mists of the upper atmosphere. Visibility became severely limited, and the sensor readings were reduced to the surrounding area only, while invisible forces jerked and smashed at their ships. This was something new for Del—he'd never flown a slicer in such a miserable environment. He was surprised by the sudden appearance of another training course out of the dense clouds.
"You're kidding,” he stated flatly, and Cassie chuckled.
"Nope. And this one takes you further into the atmosphere before bringing you back up. No better way to stress a ship than gravity. I'll send you the specs so you know what you're getting into."
The specs showed a less complicated course than the last one, but that wasn't much comfort when the swirling pockets of gas battered at his Shadow. “And me without a will,” he sighed.
Cassie laughed softly and aligned her ship with his at the start of the course. “Just think of it as a challenge."
"Yeah, that's what they always say about death."
"You're a tough guy. You can handle it,” she said dryly. “Just don't get distracted this time."
He snorted and said in a sardonic tone, “On three?"
"Don't mock me or I'll keep you out here past dinner time."
"You're a heartless woman, Cass."
"Don't you forget it. Ready?"
"Let's do it."
Del had no idea how long they ran the cloud course. Time seemed to stop inside the giant's atmosphere, enveloping him in a pocket of never ending challenges. His eyes burned with useless straining to see through the thick mists, his neck muscles were on fire with tension, and his reflexes seemed to be on the verge of failing by the time Cassie called a halt.
"I'm getting a signal from the station. Somebody's trying to contact us. We'll have to cut this short,” she said matter-of-factly.
Del shook his head in dismay. How much longer had she planned on keeping him out here? “Not dinner time yet?” he tried to tease, but his voice was hoarse.
"Sun's sake, Del, if you needed a break, all you had to do was ask!” she exclaimed with impatience. “Come on. Let's get up there. The atmosphere blocks most transmissions, so we have to get above it."
The vacuum of space was a sweet and blissful peace after the angry battering of the atmosphere. Del sighed deeply in relief as he broke out of the swirling mists and into the steady emptiness of space.
"Cassie here,” she said in her usual brisk tone. “You rang, station?"
"Hey, Cass,” Kai's voice answered. “Get that cute bottom of yours back here and pour me a drink."
"Party's on, then?"
"Already started. Any luck out there?"
"Couple problems. One of the exchangers has a pin leak, and the aft injector's baseline is off by a few microns. She's also slushy in a one-eighty twisting roll to starboard."
This was news to Del. As far as he knew, his Shadow had performed above all expectations. He raised his eyebrows in amazement, but kept his mouth shut. He wasn't familiar with Shadows, and Cassie had shown an incredible amount of technical knowledge during their flights.
"Stabilizer alignment?"
"Probably. I've got to run a diagnostic on her to be sure."
"Tomorrow."
"No argument,” she replied, heading towards the station.
Del caught up with her, waiting a moment to be sure Kai was through before asking, “Party?"
"When the bosses have been gone for a while, we almost always have a welcome home party for them."
"They've been gone a while?"
"Yeah, it took them almost a week to find you."
"A week,” Del mused, thinking furiously. They'd been looking for him before he'd started running from the Core. How had they known that he would head for the Fringe and Hector's slices? It was a question he should have asked himself before. Was it luck? Or had they followed him out there? If they'd been able to track him, then the Core could have done the same. In that case, Trev and Brax would have been on him before the Shays, so that made no sense. Unless the Core allowed the Shays to pick him up, but that would mean they were working together...
Del shook his head in confusion. He was weary, both in mind and body. He needed rest before he could figure out what that information meant, if anything.
"I'm glad they came back when they did, though,” Cassie murmured, reminding Del of the drama from the night before.
"Did you know Pete well?"
"Well enough,” she said shortly. “He put on a good show for the Shays, but I think he was a plant. Not a very bright one, though. You'd think the Core would pick a spy with more brains."
Her voice was acid enough to burn, and Del wondered what she thought about him. As far as he knew, the crew didn't know about his background. Even if she was right about Pete, the paranoia she'd shown might easily be turned on him.
Remembering what Bib had said about Cassie's past, Del kept silent. If the story was true, she had plenty of reasons to hate the Core and suspect them of deceit. And his own experiences with them hadn't taught him any different.
They entered the docking bay and landed without further conversation. Del wouldn't have believed it would be possible, but he was actually relieved to disconnect from the Shadow. He couldn't remember ever feeling this tired after slicing.
Cassie looked him over critically as she exited her own slicer. “I need a san. How ‘bout you?"
At least she wasn't telling him outright that he was sweaty and stunk. With a wry curl of his lips, he answered, “Could use one."
She gave him a smirk before glancing over his shoulder and grabbing his arm, tugging him away from the landing pads. He looked over his shoulder and saw the conveyor arm swinging over his head to clamp onto his Shadow.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you I'd asked Control to take her in,” she winced as he stepped back quickly, getting out of the way.
"Just don't drop her, Control,” he said for Cassie's benefit, but jumped when a voice answered.
"Acknowledged, Adelmo Givliani."
Cassie snickered next to him and tugged on his arm again. “Come on. Let's get cleaned up. They'll be way ahead of us by now."
Irritated that he always seemed to be a source of amusement for her, he muttered, “And you've got a drink to pour?” as they moved towards the maintenance bay.
She narrowed her eyes on him. “Don't you take that tone with me, Givliani. Manny and I are just friends. Don't get me wrong, he's gorgeous, but he's also a pain in the ass. Besides, he's my boss.” She sent him a pointed look that had him wondering if she'd also seen him with Sin that afternoon.
"Pain in the ass, huh?” he asked to lead the conversation away from that thought.
"If you don't know it by now, you'll find out soon eno
ugh.” Her eyes brightened as a teasing smile brought out a dimple in her right cheek. “Has he given you the ‘stay away from my sister’ speech yet?"
The woman was smarter than was healthy—either that or she could read minds. He scowled at her. “It was more like broken birds and Shays don't mix."
The smile faded from her face and she nodded. “That's another reason Manny and I will stay friends and nothing more. I think it's his way of protecting himself."
They strode through the door into the maintenance bay.
"Protecting himself? What the hell does that mean?” Del asked.
She gave him a cool, searching look as they crossed the bay to the door leading to the lift. “You two are alike in that, I think. Connecting with people leaves you vulnerable to hurt."
They entered the lift, and Del looked down at her with a frown. “Do you psychoanalyze everybody you meet? You must be hell at parties."
She made a face and brushed a hand across her forehead, looking away from him. “Sorry. Reflex,” she said abruptly.
He wondered what that was supposed to mean, but didn't get a chance to ask. The lift doors opened on the pilot's level and she stepped out immediately.
"See you back here in fifteen? They're up in the Gold Rooms in case we miss each other."
"Gold Rooms?"
"Yeah, the suites outside Sin's place ... do you know which level that is?"
He nodded and moved after her as she strode briskly up the corridor. She stopped at a door several down from his and disappeared inside. He entered his own place, amazed again at the size. Shaking his head, he moved through the suite to the lavatory. It was ridiculously large and Del grumbled to himself about wasted space as he undressed and stepped into the body sanitizer.
Moments later he stepped back out, feeling energized and his skin tingling faintly. Moving into the bedroom, he found a clean shirt and slacks, pulling them on with swift efficiency. He was striding to the front door when he realized that he'd been rushing. And why. Coming to an abrupt stop, he clenched his hands into fists and called himself something unflattering. He refused to go charging up there to see her.
Sunscapes Trilogy Book 1: Last Chance Page 10
