Arion had arrived in humanity's primary solar system — Sol — five hours ago and they were just an hour short of the bustling red planet of Mars.
"Dorian suggested we start with Natalia Lizst," Luc explained. "She believes Berta will seek Tali’s advice about whether or not to help us find Marek."
"She goes by Bit and that's not going to work. Dory might be right, but Lizst and me are like oil and water, if you know what I mean," Jimmy said. It wasn't lost on Luc that Jimmy had slept for nearly sixteen of the twenty-four hours they'd been underway and his mood had improved significantly.
Gob chuckled. "You are an acquired taste, my friend."
"What if we split up? Gob and I talk to Natalia. Jimmy and Doctor Q talk with Bit."
"Leave Arion with us," Jimmy said, causing Luc to raise an eyebrow. "No, hear me out. Bit's all about technology and this ship is full of the best of the best. I could at least get her attention with it."
"The 'ooh shiney' factor," Luc said. "Fine. Here goes nothing."
Luc had been dreading the conversation since he'd exchanged messages with Dorian. She'd explained the loss of Tali Lizst's friend and her sworn statement that she'd never again take a team into battle. After an hour of reading the attached information on the hundreds of missions Tali and her teams had undertaken, he'd come to understand why Dorian was pushing him toward her. While Luc was confident in forming strategy, he had very little experience leading a ground-based squad. Sure, they'd trained periodically for ship breaching drills, so he knew the basics. The fact was, he was leaning on his new skills to get him by, but he should know better.
"Attempt to establish comm with Natalia Lizst. Use Dorian Anino established protocol," he instructed his AI. Dorian had been confident he could gain an audience with the reclusive woman. Dorian just wasn't sure he'd be able to sway Tali to his cause.
"This better be important." A woman in her early thirties with long blond hair hanging loosely around her face appeared on the crisp vid screen in Luc's stateroom. The woman's drawn expression was at odds with her features and Luc instantly felt like a heel for bothering her in her grief.
"Natalia? Lucien Gray," Luc said.
The woman's eyebrows raised in stunned disbelief. "The Luc Gray? From Fariza?"
Luc wasn’t sure how to proceed, but he knew, at a minimum, he wanted to convey his gratitude. One of her team had died saving him and he felt the burden deeply. "Thank you for getting me back from Marek. I'm sorry about Ben."
A small smile broke across her face and disappeared just as quickly. "That's who he was," she said. "He lived big every day. He was my shield."
"I'm in Puskar Stellar. Can we talk?"
"No reason to," Tali said. "I'm done with all this."
"I won't push," Luc said. "I just want to talk it through. If you tell me to leave. I will. I understand. I've already taken more from you than I had a right to."
Tali stared into the screen, her eyes rimmed with tears that refused to flow. After almost a minute she finally answered. "Yeah. You need directions?"
"No. We'll be in a shuttle."
"We? I hope you don't mean Jimmy. I don't know if I'm up for that."
"Nope. There's someone else you should meet."
Tali nodded, terminating the comm.
"Ship is yours, Jimmy. Gob, you're with me. Kane, I need you to stay with the ship. Any chance you have any of that Squid's Ink left?" Luc asked.
"Understood sir. And yes, would a carton of five be sufficient?" Kane asked.
"That'd be perfect, meet us at the starboard shuttle?"
"Of course."
"What's the plan, boss?" Gob asked as they made their way to where the shuttle was nestled into the side of the ship.
"We listen," Luc said. "And we hope Jimmy and Doctor Q find some way to inspire Bit Coffman to take on our cause."
The controls of the shuttle were simple and Luc allowed the AI to navigate through the impossibly busy airspace above Puskar Stellar. Luc had never seen so many different ships in his entire life and it seemed they were all moving faster than was reasonable by at least twice.
Traffic loosened when they dropped into the atmosphere. Instead of setting down into the massive metroplex that made up Puskar Stellar, they sailed across a brownish field of grass, finally pulling up to the only structure for tens of kilometers — a single white clapboard home.
It was late in the Martian day and as they got closer a single pillar of smoke rose from a fire a few meters from the house. Luc's enhanced vision easily picked out the small-framed woman who fed logs from a stack into the blaze. Even when they were still eight thousand meters away, something alerted her and she turned, looking directly up at their approach.
"She is very small," Gob observed. "Are you certain she is the mighty warrior Jimmy described?"
"I am," Luc said.
"She must be very good, then."
Luc set the shuttle down on the grassy hill above where Tali Lizst now sat on the ground leaning against a log. Next to her, a cat Luc estimated to be thirty kilograms lay across her lap, accepting a rough scrubbing of the fur behind its ears.
"Meow," the cat complained and jumped up as Luc and Gob approached.
"Just hold still." Tali stood quickly, following the cat as it bounded toward them. "She's territorial but she's never actually hurt anyone."
To Luc's horror, Gob dropped to his knees and held a hand out, palm raised upward.
"No. Godzilla, stop!" Tali said as the cat yowled and jumped at him.
Gob accepted the cat's pounce and wrapped an arm around its torso. He allowed the big animal to latch onto his hand as it tried to rake him with its back claws.
"Naughty Godzilla," Gob rumbled. "No biting." He freed his hand and captured the back claws. Carefully, he set a very confused Godzilla onto the ground. The cat's ears were laid back as it hissed at him and took a couple more swipes.
Unexpectedly, Gob rolled onto his back and held his hand out again to the cat. The move so surprised Godzilla that it turned abruptly and ran off, disappearing into the tall grass.
"I don't know what happened," Tali said. "He never attacks anyone."
"I probably surprised him," Gob said, pushing off the ground to his feet. Tali's eyebrows rose as he gained full height, which while not quite twice her own, might have seemed like it. He stuck out his hand and when the flummoxed Tali slowly did the same, he grasped her hand, kissing the back gently. "Gabino Alcazar. It is to you whom I am indebted, Natalia Lizst."
A smile broke out on Tali's face, something she'd thought might never happen again. "You're the big man from that station over Fariza. Wow, did you grow."
"Something that would not have been possible without your leadership," Gob said. "My friend, Lucien Gray, would like to entreat you to join us on our quest to rescue the woman Katriona and the children Marek has enslaved. I do not think our voices are necessary."
"Maybe we should sit down. I brought this really great beer, Squid's Ink Amber." Luc said, trying to redirect. He’d been taken off guard by Gob's blunt presentation.
"No. Hold on," Tali said. "Why aren’t your words necessary?"
"We share a bond, Natalia Lizst," Gob said. "Natalia saved Gabino and now Gabino will save Natalia."
"That's rather simplistic," Tali said.
"I am a simple man, Natalia," Gob said. "In simplicity, truth is more easily found. You have mourned your dead and now we must tend to the living. Tell me your heart does not yearn to see the children saved. Did you know that Dorian Anino's scientists were able to free the children's minds? If I could only have done this one thing in my entire life, it would have been enough. Do you not agree?"
"I do. You are very strange, Gabino. And yes, Dorian shared the news with me. It's the only reason I didn't sail my ship into the sun when I returned to Mars."
"Were you also aware that from the time those children were released from the medical tanks they have only months to live?"
Luc looked at Gob, confu
sed. "I didn't know that."
"Ask Dorian Anino," Gob said, not turning to Luc. "She is ashamed that her student, the one called Zoya, has corrupted the children in this way. Do you really think your heart can take no more pain? I too have suffered the loss of my teammates; I know what you feel. I, like you, would gladly stand in their place, for the pain left behind is greater than any bullet."
"It's not my fight," Tali said, looking at the ground. "I just can't do it anymore."
"You will come with us, Natalia Lizst. You will come because our lives belong to those children. Our lives belong to Katriona. Only in freeing them will you find any rest."
Gob stepped forward and wrapped his large arms around Tali, who disappeared in his grasp. Luc could hear her sobbing as she pounded her fists into him.
"You ask too much," she finally said, pushing gently away from him.
"No, Natalia. I ask just enough," he said, picking up her tiny, trembling hand in his own.
"Did you really think I wouldn't know your people were talking to Bit at the same time you came here?" Tali looked over to Luc. She'd wrapped both arms around Gob's huge arm as he stood next to her. To Luc, it appeared like she was holding onto Gob as a boat might an anchor in a storm.
"We're desperate, Tali," Luc said.
"Then you're screwing up," she answered. "It's 1600. Bit has been working all day and is hungry. She'll be grumpy. Tell your team to meet us at Megliano's by the college. This is a woman you feed first. Remember this list: pizza, fizzy soda, jalapeno cheese popcorn. If you don't show up with two out of the three of these items, you’ll get nowhere."
Luc looked at Gob with a new sense of respect. He'd underestimated the young man's dedication. It was a mistake he hoped to not repeat.
Luc settled onto the bench seat of the grav-bike behind Tali. He'd never seen one up close and was surprised at how solid it felt. The seating did force him to be in close proximity to Tali, but she’d wanted him along so they could talk before getting to the restaurant. She’d also required the freedom of having her own transportation. So after throwing what she called her 'go-bag' into Arion's shuttle and giving Gob instructions on where to park, she'd led Luc out to a weathered barn where the bike sat.
"Hands on my waist," Tali warned casually just as the bike lurched forward and started skimming across the grassy field.
In his previous life, getting thrown from the bike would have been a real possibility, but with his new reflexes, Luc responded easily. He grabbed on and scooted forward to reduce the buffeting airflow that attempted to separate him from the bike. Warmth radiated through her silky top. The material was tucked into tight leather pants and for a moment, he had a hard time not being distracted by his proximity to such an attractive woman. They didn’t speak as they enjoyed the visceral thrill of rocketing across the plains outside Puskar Stellar.
Tali finally broke the silence. "I wasn't able to find any infantry or small team tactical experience in your folder."
"I cross-trained with Nuage security forces and technically, we were considered backup. But no, I was never in the field with boots on the ground," Luc said.
"You handled yourself well in the attack on Anino's compound. That must have been hard breaking that kid's knee." Luc heard no accusation in her voice, but then she couldn't make him feel worse about the decision he'd made.
"It was," he replied. As a Falcon squad leader, he'd lived in an environment where every move he made was replayed and scrutinized. That type of management style had taught him to avoid defending his actions unless a specific accusation was made.
"It was the right move. You were in a tight spot," Tali said. "You took them out of action and saved their lives. Was that part of your thinking?"
"Former more than the latter," Luc admitted. "I knew I couldn't continue to fight them and have any chance at helping Katriona. I needed them disabled."
"Fair enough," Tali said. "You have a strong record with Nuage. I see we have some common friends."
"Oh?" Luc asked.
"I spent time with Liam Hoffen and his crew," she said. "Celina Dontal is a very close friend."
"That's crazy," Luc said. "I see Celina a couple of times a week. Her diner is one of my favorite places for breakfast. We're not close, but we talk. Her daughter, can't recall her name. Seems like she got in some trouble a few stans back. Needed help. Were you part of that?"
"That's how we met, and it was her sister," Tali said. "You have a problem. Jimmy isn't going to follow your lead. He's an elite operator at the top of his game and he has a chip on his shoulder. He'll subvert you at every turn."
"Already running into that," Luc said. "We've had a few pissing matches and I've knuckled him under."
"Good. At least you're aware of the problem. Explain how you knuckled him under."
"I had to put him down when he disrespected Dorian."
"And he let you? That doesn't sound like Jimmy."
"Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think he let me do anything," Luc said.
"Interesting. You're faster than Jimmy?" Tali asked.
"No. Definitely not," Luc said. "He lacks martial skills."
Tali grunted appreciatively.
"You have the potential to be a strong tactical lead," Tali said. "Some of your experience as squad commander will transfer, but running a team takes time and practice. My assessment is that you're not ready for it."
Luc saw no reason to answer. He'd recently been thrust into two leadership positions he felt ill qualified to handle. Running the R&D division of Wotton seemed like the least of his problems when compared to taking a team into a hostile environment.
"I take it by your silence that we're in agreement," Tali said.
"The nation of Nuage is small. Everyone in any leadership position is expected to wear many hats. That often requires us to operate out of our comfort zone," Luc said. "Those children and Katriona, they need help. If my only choice is taking a green team of exceptional soldiers into harm's way, that's exactly what I'll do."
"We wouldn't be talking if I hadn't suspected that," Tali said. "There's a better way, but it'll cost you."
Luc chuffed a laugh. "If you want tactical command of the team, it's yours."
"Good. I accept, but only for the next mission," Tali said. "After that, we'll figure out a more appropriate role. Fact is, I can't organize a team that moves faster than I can plan. It was exhilarating working with Jimmy, but our limitations got Jammin killed. It's a simple fact."
"You can't own that."
"A good leader recognizes her limitations," Tali said. "Let's focus on today. We'll let tomorrow worry about itself."
During their conversation, they'd flown over the city of Puskar Stellar. According to what he could recall, it was one of two free trade zones on Mars. Goods sold or exchanged within the city's limits were not taxed, although permanent businesses paid hefty real estate taxes. Given time, Luc had in mind to visit the Bazaar, an open-air market that stretched for kilometers in all directions and was open every day of the Martian calendar. It was widely accepted that if you wanted something and couldn't find it in Puskar Stellar, it either didn't exist or you weren't looking hard enough.
When Luc felt Tali's grav-bike slow and start to descend, he brought his attention to their immediate surroundings. While he didn't have much experience with cities, his eyes were drawn to a neighborhood where all the roofs were made of the same orange-brown slate. It was a feature unusual to his experience.
"What's with the orange roofs?" he finally asked.
"University Hills area," Tali explained. "Puskar has a free university. If you keep your grades within an acceptable range, they pay for housing and give a stipend for incidentals. It's one of the real jewels of Mars. Bit is a professor there. She's kind of a big deal."
"Jimmy is sold on her," Luc said. "We're here because of him."
"Smart," Tali agreed, setting her bike down on the top level of a parking structure. "You're building rapport by letting him make
a decision."
Luc swung his leg off the back of the bike and stretched. He expected to feel sore from the ride, but his recovery was quick.
"I need access to the layouts of Arion," Tali said as they jogged down a set of stairs leading to ground level. "And I assume you have some budget available."
Luc's AI presented him with varying levels of access and he selected the clearance he'd created for trusted crew. The selection would allow Tali access to the ship, its layout, stores and weapons. About the only thing she couldn't do was cause Arion to take off without a specific override from him.
"Budget for what?"
"Umm, hold on. Looks like you have a pretty substantial investment in hardware. Holy frak, that's some expensive equipment," Tali said, obviously reviewing the infantry modules Luc had picked up. "Wotton really needs to update their comm gear and you could trim quite a bit of this out, but that's a better armory than I'd have expected."
"I had help from Doctor Quentin Wilder," Luc said. "He's their main research scientist."
"Oh, I know who Doctor Quentin is," Tali said. "Kind of hard not to in my line of business. Wotton Enterprise has excellent equipment if you're willing to pay a premium. What about exercise equipment, training lures, dummies and holo projectors? I can't find any of that."
"How much do you need?" Luc asked.
The area they walked through was carpeted by thick, green grass and dotted with broadly canopied trees. Young people were everywhere — some stretched out reading books or studying, some racing around, and others throwing balls. The entire scene was full of energy and hope. It wasn't hard to tell why Tali liked the area.
"Quarter of a million should do," Tali said, looking sideways at him, raising an eyebrow.
It would flatten his personal account, but he didn't care; the money had been given to him. He wasn't about to hold onto it now. He pinched the sum and flicked it to Tali. "Anything else?"
On a Pale Ship: A Privateer Tales Series Page 29
