by Tony Healey
"Oh," he smiled. "Yeah, I guess you would know something about that."
"Hmm." Jessica frowned at the scar on his chest – a diagonal gash from one side to the other. "That's a nasty scar. I didn't really notice it last night, in the dark."
"Ah, that. Yeah. Someone once told me all scars are a lesson well learned."
"Good words."
"I thought so too," Will said – he could almost hear Captain Shaw saying it in his gravelly, world weary voice. He propped himself up on an elbow so he could really look at her.
"What?" she asked.
Will reached out, played with one of the curls of her hair. "Just thinking."
"About . . . ?"
"Why we didn't do this sooner."
"I know what you mean."
"It took for everything to fall apart for us to get back together."
Jessica kissed him, on the chin. Then the side of his neck, rough with stubble. She didn't mind it. She moved to his lips, not some playful peck, but a validation that, despite everything, she was happier than she'd been in a long time.
"I missed you," he said, when she lay back, looking up at him.
"I missed you too. But we're together now."
"Yes, we are . . ." he looked away, to where the brightness of the perpetual day streamed through the window. It caught the dust motes in the air and made them dance. "We have so much to do."
Jessica reached out, ran a hand down his chest, across his scar again, fascinated with it. "Let's not talk about that right now," she said in a sleepy purr. "Let's have this moment, this morning, just you and me. Can we do that? Have this little piece of daydream before we have to go out there and deal with all the real stuff?"
Will kissed her. Held her in his arms. Kissed her again. "Of course."
* * *
To look at the sky, you wouldn't have thought that the planet could be so chaotic, but it was. One side continuously burned from exposure to its parent star while the other remained in darkness, permanently cold. In between, a strip of the planet all the way around on which life could survive. The Union had attempted a colony on Steria, to study the effects of having both perpetual night, and endless day on the same world. But conditions proved too extreme, there was no native life on the planet. Eventually, the Union declared their colony – nicknamed "Twilight Town" – a failure and left. But the colony remained as it was: a small, self-sufficient town in need of residents. When Jessica and her band arrived in the Captain's yacht they found a store with supplies, clothing, even weapons still inside. The accommodations weren't just survival shelters, but modular homes. Beds, windows, kitchens. Jessica had been wise to choose Steria, since the Union had abandoned it as a lost cause. No one would look for them. Indeed, she wouldn't have been surprised if they'd all but forgotten what they'd left on Steria.
That's what we are. The members of the Lost Cause Club. Jessica looked at her comrades in the town square. What had she said to Chang when they left the Defiant?
"We each have different paths. This is mine. The Chief, Hawk, and Selena are going to stick together. The rest of you will separate But perhaps . . . just perhaps . . . though we walk different routes, we're still headed the same way. And I take that to mean that one day our paths will cross, will bring us back together. It's that hope I'll hold on to. It's that hope that will keep me going."
If only she'd known how soon that would be. Their new friends from the Spectre had assembled in the town square too. The square was perfect for meetings, its official function from the time when the colonists had put it there at the centre of town.
Meryl Gunn sat on a low wall next to Selena Kyle, the former Chief of Engineering sipping at black coffee in an attempt to ward off a fog of sleepiness. Selena welcomed Hawk to join them, but the legendary pilot remained standing, twisting left and right, working out the kinks.
"Sorry darlin', but if I sit down, I might not get back up."
Evidently, he'd grown accustomed to the bunks on the Defiant, and was having a hard time adapting to those in the colony.
Her Mother, Dr. Kingston, sat on a chair, cup of hot tea in her hands, waiting for the meeting to begin. She had a look of serenity – Jessica wondered if Kingston had noticed Will's visit to her hut the night before.
Across from her, the members of Shadow Force who formed the crew of the Spectre: Barbie the gigantic Mantipor, standing with her arms crossed, immovable as a mountain, the Xantian pilot, Kalar. Will assured her he was the best around. Next to him stood Punk the Alpor, a force of nature in himself, despite his small stature. He sat on the ground, disassembling his weapon and cleaning all the pieces. Will squatted in front of him.
"Punk . . . is that really necessary right this minute?"
"Huh." The Alpor looked up. "Tell me, is it necessary we hold this bloody meeting?"
Will stood, turned to Jessica, and gave her an, I know, don't ask, look. She took that as her cue to get the meeting underway.
"Okay let's get started," Jessica said. She had had time to think about their next move, and she'd had to make more than a few hard choices. But, her plan would work. Of that she was certain. "The longer we wait, the more chance criminals have of driving the Union to a war it doesn't want, or need."
Dr. Kingston lifted her cup. "Hear, hear."
Jessica smiled. "So, the plan. You've all trusted my judgement so far. I'm hoping you'll trust me a while longer. The first order of business is to rescue Captain Shaw. He's currently being held by Matz on an asteroid called Amity. Will, just elaborate – how do we know for certain he'll be there?"
"It's well known that Matz has been after his hide for a while. Added to that, Matz has a history of capturing people in their debt and holding them at a secret location."
Meryl spoke up. "And we know where this location is?"
"Yes. In Shadow Force, we're privy to information you might not otherwise come by. There was a drive to uncover the secret dealings of a lot of the galaxy's criminal elements a while back. One such piece of information that was gathered concerned their holdings, premises, things like that. That's how I know Matz have such a place, and that they'll be holding Rick there," Will explained. "X has built an entire city out there, on the asteroid. You have to know them to go there, if you know what I mean. You can't just land on Amity, though we have a way around that. In that city, they have a prison for holding people like the Captain who don't pay up on time. If luck's on our side, that's where we'll find him."
"Unless they've killed him already," Barbie said.
"Or that, yeah," Will said.
"Okay. We have a plan in place. Once we find the schematics for the building, using the Spectre's database, we can adapt it suitably for the rescue operation," Jessica said. "Any questions so far?"
There were none.
"Once we have Captain Shaw back, we will need to break into two teams. One to kidnap Professor Dajani. The other to take our hybrid prisoner to Zac'u IX and have it analyzed, so that we can provide hard proof of its whereabouts. Doctor Kingston, you're confident that Dajani will testify as to the truth?"
"Testify? What, are we going to trial?" Meryl cut in before Kingston could answer. "I didn't realise that was part of the plan"
"How else, Meryl? After all, we did steal the Defiant. Furthermore, we're as good as terrorists right now. There will be a trial. We will have our moment to reveal the truth. But first we must get all of the pieces into position."
"Hey, what about the rest of 'em?" Hawk asked.
Jessica frowned. "Of what?"
"The hybrids. There's gotta be a big facility with 'em all in it. Growin', bein' trained."
"Correct," Dr. Kingston said. She sipped her tea. "Professor Dajani will be able to provide all the facts. An independent investigation will show him to be correct. But first we have to capture him, and I hasten to emphasise to everyone here that should we fail in acquiring him, it will be disastrous."
"Understood," Jessica said. "So–"
"Don't mind m
e butting in," Barbie boomed. "But I think I missed something here. You said you go to trial. I take it you mean yourself, and your crew?"
Jessica nodded. "Yes."
"Right. So am I correct in thinking your plan involves you handing yourselves in?"
That prompted worried looks from Meryl, Selena, and Hawk. Jessica had been hopeful she'd get away with addressing it later on. "Yes. It's the only way this will work, the only way we'll get an open, public trial."
"If the Captain says that's what we do, I'm with her," Selena said.
"Count me in," Hawk said.
Meryl shrugged. "You know my answer."
Jessica made eye contact with each of her companions in turn. "What we are about to do isn't simply about clearing our names, or punishing Admiral Kerrick and the Vice President for what they've done. It's about the Terran Union. Having our voices heard. Making a difference. We can stop an illegal army from being created, stop a potential war, but most of all," she sighed, paused for a second. "We can honour Admiral Grimshaw's life, so that it was not ended in vain, so that his death has a positive influence, in pushing us to reach for the truth."
Will looked at her, eyes glassy with emotion. "Amen to that."
2.
If you got high enough, Jessica mused, you'd be able to look in one direction and see night, then look the other way and see endless day.
As it was, the middle of both seemed just about right.
For those living in Twilight Town, there could never be sunset or sunrise. For what seemed to be endless daylight, it was slightly subdued, and Jessica had to remind herself that they were slightly closer to the day side of the planet than the night, otherwise the colony would have been too cold.
Doesn't stop the clouds from gathering, she thought, looking to the horizon where they bunched together in ominous, grey banks.
"I brought you a drink," Ardai said, joining her on the roof of one of the shelters.
She looked at the cup. Black coffee. "Thanks."
"I'm afraid there wasn't anything stronger."
"That's alright," she said, clinking her cup against his. "It's all about the company anyway, huh?"
Will nodded and said, "That it is."
"Looks like a storm coming. They can get nasty here."
"All the more reason to get moving," Will said. "If Rick is alive, I don't know for how much longer. I'd rather get going sooner than later."
"We'll get him, Will," she said, reaching out and taking his hand. "I promise."
"We've gone over those plans three times now. It's the best chance we have. Hopefully we'll cause so much chaos they won't know what's happening."
"Fingers crossed."
There was a flash and then the rumble of thunder. They both looked away, to the horizon, where the storm was building.
* * *
"I swear you're bleedin' cheatin'," Punk said, shaking his head in disgust. Barbie simply chuckled, scooped the cards up and shuffled again, dealing them out with the same fluid movements she'd demonstrated the last six times. Punk had lost every game so far. For someone with gigantic hands, Barbie could have been a piano player.
"It's called skill, short stack," Barbie said. "Something you could use a bit of."
"Don't count me out just yet. And stop commentin' on me height. Hurts me feelin's. You won't like it when I wipe the floor with ya."
"Yeah sure, shorty, let's just keep playing till we hit that magic double figure, huh? I'm here all day long."
Punk shook his head. "No respect . . ."
Kalar slid past, headed for the drinks dispenser.
"Thirsty my man?" Barbie asked the Xantian.
"I have a serious craving for sugar and bubbles," Kalar said. "I think I'll be skipping the diet soda today. It's a full sugar day, I think."
The lights in the canteen dipped suddenly as lightning struck the Spectre. They regained their usual illumination within seconds, however, the effect was enough to shock. Barbie looked up. "Good thing we're insulated," she grumbled.
Punk guffawed. "Pah! I once saw a ship take a direct hit from a plasma storm. Think this is bad? That ship got blown in half. One hit, that's all it took. It was like an axe breaking a bit of wood, that. Bloody spectacular!"
The Mantipor rolled her eyes. "Again with the war stories. Ready?"
"For what?"
"Another whooping, that's what. Come on, don't back out on me now. Not when you're about to come into your own, like you keep telling me."
Kalar shimmied past again, his tentacles held high, a can of cold soda in each. "I'll be on the bridge if you need me."
Punk watched him go, then turned back to Barbie. "I've a feelin' I'm out of my losin' streak now, matey. I feel it in me fingers."
"You don't have fingers."
He waved a paw at her. "It's one and the same when I'm counting your credits."
* * *
Rain lashed down on Twilight Town.
"Damn!" Hawk said, following Selena inside. "Cats and dogs or what?"
She ran her fingers through her wet hair. "I know, but I kinda like the rain."
"What's there to like about it, darlin'? It's one of the things I like about being up in space. No bad weather to contend with."
"Precisely why I like it. It's normal. I miss rain, thunder, lightning. I miss the wind, sometimes," she dried her hair with a towel. "Does that sound silly?"
Hawk shrugged. He turned on the heater in their quarters, and soon it was toasty warm. The rain pounded the roof, ran down the windows in sheets. Lightning crashed around them, close now as the storm moved across Steria. It grew dark outside.
Selena sat on the edge of their bed. It was simple, not too comfortable, but it was theirs. They were outlaws together. "Do you think everything will work out?"
"Sure," Hawk said. "If I know the Cap, she'll come out on top. She always does."
Selena looked at the heater, glowing bright red on the wall. "I hope so."
"Will you be alright here while we're gone?" he asked her.
She looked at him in false outrage. "Mister Hawk, what are you implying? That I need a man to feel safe?"
"Well . . ." he said, hardly prepared for the hard thump she gave him on the arm. "Ow! Maybe I shouldn't worry, 'cause ya hit like a man."
She spent the next five minutes chasing him, the pair of them laughing like children as she tried to follow the hit with a second.
* * *
That evening, the sky regained its composure, the clouds thinned out, and the storm passed. Though to call it evening would suggest that the sun had set, or was in the process of doing so.
"Are you coming?" Will asked from inside the Spectre. The Captain's yacht would remain on Steria until Captain Shaw was free. Dr. Kingston remained behind until their return, along with Selena Kyle. Once they returned with Shaw, the plan was for Kingston, Hawk, and Barbie to leave and capture Professor Dajani.
Will stood at the top of the ramp.
Jessica started up, stopped halfway, and turned back. "Do you think they'll be alright here on their own?"
"It's safer than taking Dr. Kingston with us," he said. "And Selena will keep her company."
He didn't have to remind her of Dr. Kingston's importance. They couldn't risk her being injured or killed in Captain Shaw's rescue. Although she was Jessica's Mother, Dr. Kingston was just too vital to their plans.
Jessica nodded, continued up the ramp, and stood next to Will as he retracted it, sealing them inside the Spectre. "I know it's silly, I . . . I wouldn't tell the others this, not in a million years, but . . ."
Will held her, softly, by the shoulders. "I know. You've just got your Mother back. You don't want to lose her all over again. And you won't."
"Thanks for, well, being here I suppose. I don't know what I'd do without you all."
"Come on, don't get mushy. We've got a gambling swine to rescue," Will said, heading for the bridge. "And we've gotta spring him from a jail in the middle of a criminal city. What could
possibly be challenging about that?"
3.
A lifetime before, the Chimera Cluster had been the theatre of war for Captain Driscoll and the crew of the Manhattan. Hunting down the Draxx, taking whatever steps they deemed necessary to give the Terran Union an advantage in what had proved to be a tiring conflict. Now, decades later, the war with the Draxx had been consigned to history. Yet the Chimera Cluster had a part still to play.
Captain Lisa Chang gazed out at the gigantic nebula,a maelstrom of peach and purple gases swirled together. There were star systems inside. Asteroid fields. Places where planets might have been, millennia before, that were now endless stretches of debris.
There was danger, too. For not only was the Chimera Cluster a volatile region of space in itself, it was once more host to a phantom enemy, hiding within its midst. The Amarax . . .
"It should be easy to find something that big," Captain Chang said, almost to herself.
Chief Kolvin stood next to her, hands clasped behind his back. "Indeed. You would think so, wouldn't you?"
She turned to face him. The observation deck was otherwise empty. Chang kept the lights off – it made for an entirely different experience, sitting in the dark, coasting through space. Thoughts had a way of finding their own voices . . .
The Gobol engineer regarded the vista beyond the Intrepid with his strange eyes.
"My apologies for getting you to meet me here, Chief," Chang said. "I know it's your downtime."
"On the contrary. While we're on assignment, I do not take downtime."
"Well, as much as I appreciate it, I'd prefer it if you did."
"I will . . . consider it, Captain."
"Good. I can't have my Chief of Engineering sick with exhaustion."
She led him to a row of comfortable chairs and asked him to take a seat. A call went out on the overheads and Chang hesitated, listening in case it was for her. It wasn't. Kolvin shifted in his seat.
"Captain, what was the purpose of our meeting here?"
"I wanted to speak with you privately, Chief. As you know, our mission is to locate the enemy vessel and call it in. But there is a possibility we will have to engage the Namar in battle."
