"I underestimated him."
Jimmy shrugged. "Go ahead and beat yourself up for not guessing he'd created a zombie army. End of the day, we rescued her," he nodded to Katriona, "all those kids, and as a bonus, Katriona took out the mad scientist who created the entire mess."
Luc's HUD updated, showing that Gob and the kids had been loaded into Arion and were leaving the system. Gob's wounds, while serious, were being tended to in the ship's enhanced medical tank.
"Gob's good to go," Luc said, sharing the info with Jimmy.
"That a fact? Good. He's solid," Jimmy said. "Hey doc, you got any whiskey?"
Luc chuckled as the man harrumphed and moved from Luc back to the unconscious Tali.
After several minutes, the shuttle stopped shaking and natural light filtered through the small glass portholes. Luc leaned across an empty table and attempted to get a clue as to where they were going. Only able to see clouds shrinking below them, he determined they were headed into space.
It wasn't much later that a clunking sound echoed through the shuttle, signaling that the craft had mated with another ship's docking collar.
Potters reappeared from the cockpit and smiled broadly. "End of the road for us," he said, pushing open the hatch into a catwalk.
Wordlessly, the doctor who had been working on Tali grabbed the frame of her gurney and pulled the top of it into the walkway where the gravity-assist kicked in and she floated behind him.
Potters detached Katriona's gurney, extended the legs and stacked it atop Zoya's. He stopped and motioned for Luc and Jimmy to precede him out the door.
"Hang on a second," Jimmy said, pulling a knife from a case strapped to his thigh.
"What are you doing?" Potter asked, suddenly concerned.
Jimmy didn't hesitate but drove his knife into Zoya’s brain.
"Stop!" Potter demanded.
Luc pushed Jimmy into the catwalk and received no resistance. "What the heck, Jimmy?"
"'Mostly dead' isn't quite good enough for one such as that," Jimmy replied.
Their conversation was interrupted by Kane who stood waiting at the airlock into Little Deuce. "Oh my goodness!" Kane exclaimed. "Were you actually rolling in the mud? Don't step another meter into this ship or she'll never get the smell out. Same for you, James Bang."
Luc looked at Jimmy who wore the same surprised expression.
"Pardon me," Potters said, pushing Katriona and Zoya around them.
"Remove your clothing," Kane insisted.
"When did you become my mom?" Jimmy asked.
Kane pulled a 400ml bottle of a vintage whiskey from his pocket and dangled it between his fingers. "I am no one's Mum, but Ms. Anino runs a clean ship and that will not change due to my lack of diligence."
"You hand over that bottle and I'll give you a right-proper show," Jimmy said, mimicking Kane's muted British accent as he unzipped his armored vac-suit.
Luc pulled his vac-suit off and attempted to fold it.
"Oh dear. Please stop, Mr. Gray," Kane said. "You're only making it worse. Leave it on the floor."
"Luc!" Dorian called, rounding the far corner just behind the reedy doctor who tried inelegantly to get out of her way.
Luc stepped toward her, suddenly aware of the smell Kane had brought to his attention. The quandary was almost too much. Dorian was racing toward him and he desperately wanted to hold her, but she was such an elegant woman and he couldn't bear to transfer his battle filth onto her.
"Stop." He held up his hand too late. She pushed it aside and knocked him back into the bulkhead.
"I was so worried," she said, kissing his face. "And you're so dirty."
"Oh …" Kane squeaked.
"But I don't care," she finished, wrapping her long fingers around the back of his head and pulling him to her.
"Perhaps the two of you could find a shower?"
Luc pulled back. The voice belonged to Emilie Bastion. When Luc turned, he found her staring at them in the hallway.
"That is a fantastic idea," Dorian said, enthusiastically.
"Emilie?" Luc asked, gently pulling Dorian's hand away from his face. "Are you … Is that …"
"Shower first, Captain," she said with a wink.
Luc allowed Dorian to pull him down the hallway and into her chambers, where she dragged his suit liner off and tossed it aside.
"Who are you?" Luc asked. "And what happened to the CEO of Anino Enterprises?"
She dropped her own suit to the floor. "I want you, Luc Gray."
"Not complaining," Luc said as she pushed him toward the shower. "But …"
"But what?" she asked. Slamming him into the shower wall, she pressed her naked body into his as she kissed him roughly. "Knowing you were on that planet standing against Marek, all I could do was think about what you said."
"What did I say?" Luc asked, running his hands up and down her back, unable to get enough of her.
"We have to live for today. Take the moments we have. Luc, I don't want to live without you in my life," she said. "I don't care who knows it."
"Soap," he said.
"Soap?"
"This moment requires soap," he said, grabbing at the dispenser on the wall as he watched the pink-brown water flowing off him grow clear.
"Let me," she said, pushing his hand away.
For a few minutes she ran her hands all over him, lathering the soap along his body and then allowing the water to rinse it away. Her ardor had been slowed and he simply enjoyed being with her.
"You saved us, you know. Sending Nuage, that is. We were done. Marek had us," he said, reflecting on the battle that now seemed a million miles away.
"Not by half," Dorian said.
"How's that?"
"Bit Coffman was transmitting Marek's diatribe. He wasn't going to kill you. He wanted to have Zoya cook your brain so you'd join them," she said. "If it hadn't been Nuage, I'd have had the largest UCN fleet in history locking down Grünholz. Believe me, they were already steaming this way."
"I thought we weren't going to involve Nuage," Luc said with a smile. Dorian tickled him as she dried him with a soft towel.
She pulled on his hand and dragged him to her ornate bed. "When Admiral Marsh saw that Festove was involved, she became quite amenable. I believe she launched that strike in less than ten minutes. I'd say she was more than a bit concerned she might be implicated."
"I'm still not sure of her involvement," Luc said.
"Stop talking already," she said, climbing onto him.
Luc entered the galley and blushed as Jimmy, Tali and Emilie started clapping upon his entrance.
"Stop," he said, embarrassed. "Any word on Katriona?"
"What, didn't the boss tell you?" Jimmy asked. "Or were you too busy dee briefing."
Emilie cackled at Jimmy's play on words and held out her hand for a fist bump, an action Luc had seen her do hundreds of times in after-action squad meetings.
"Still sedated," Tali said. "Word is she’ll be fine; no permanent damage."
"What about you, Emilie?" Luc asked.
"It gets better every day," she said. "My recall has big holes in it, especially recent stuff, but I got back memories of my childhood, parents and old friends. Dorian's scientists are amazing."
"Will you go back to Nuage? I bet you could get your job back. I hear there are some openings at the top," Luc said.
"No. Not for now," she said.
"What will you do?"
"Actually, I'm going to stick around," she said. "Dorian is looking for a pilot who can double as a bodyguard. Pay is good and I get to see the galaxy like I've always wanted."
Luc nodded. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought she was underselling herself, moving from membership in an elite squadron to a wealthy exec's babysitter. But he knew Dorian, and she stirred up more than her fair share of excitement.
"That's great."
"Thank you, Luc," she said, picking up his hand. "Dorian told me how you came for me."
"Yea
h, well …" Luc cut off his answer as he choked up.
"Katriona's sister — Sveta’s mother — is dead," Tali said. "Fariza killed her in retaliation for something Katriona did for Marek."
"What about Sveta?" Luc said.
"Arion is a few days ahead of us. I authorized the use of the TransLoc drives," Dorian said. "It's the only way we'll save as many of the kids as we can. You should all know, though, Zoya poisoned an entire generation of Fariza's children with the water supply. We've been successful in healing the brain trauma, but she messed with their genes. If we don't find a solution, they'll all be dead within a few months."
Luc stared out at the stars while he drank his morning coffee on the bridge of Little Deuce. A soft thump on the carpet drew his attention and he turned, surprised to see the petite woman he shared so much with and yet had barely spoken to. He'd been working through the daily reports his two department heads had been forwarding. With Dorian's help, he'd started to make sense of the mid-sized corporation tangle.
"I guess that answers whether Dorian was able to remove the behavior-controlling nanites Zoya injected into you," Luc said.
Warily, Katriona looked from Luc to Dorian, who'd also set down her reading pad.
"What have you done to me?" Katriona asked, her fingers picking at the thin, blinking medical device attached below the base of her skull.
"Only that which is in your best interest, my dear," Dorian answered. "Please don't remove that device. It is the only thing keeping the self-replicating nanites from flooding your bloodstream and rendering you incapacitated."
"There is pain," Katriona said.
Dorian nodded. "There will be until we reach Irène where I have a machine that will fully cleanse your blood."
"You said you have Sveta," she said, looking at Luc.
"Sveta and the other children have gone ahead. They wait for us at the laboratory on Irène," Dorian said.
"She is sick," Katriona said.
"I know. Zoya …"
"No. She has a disease. Without her medicine she cannot live. It is killing her, but her medicine slows it," Katriona pushed.
Dorian grimaced and bit back an impatient response. Luc jumped in, knowing he could defuse Dorian's ire.
"Sveta's disease was caused by Zoya," Luc said. "She was poisoning the water in the slums, targeting children of Sveta's age. The pain you feel is Zoya’s doing, as well. The scientists are aware of both issues."
Katriona sighed and seemed to deflate. Her legs wobbled and Luc jumped up to help her into one of the bridge chairs. "I am glad I killed her then," she said firmly.
"Where did you get that weapon? Report from Nuage was that it was a shiv made of bone?"
"They locked me in a dungeon. There were dead. I sharpened a bone from one of their victims. I wish I could kill her again," Katriona replied angrily. "What of Marek?"
"He is dead."
"Why did you come for us?" Katriona asked. "I do not know you, but you told me you would come and you did."
"Because it was the right thing to do," Luc answered and watched a look of disbelief cross her face.
"I'm hungry," Katriona said. She stood back up and walked from the bridge.
"She doesn't trust us," Dorian said.
"Would you?" Luc asked.
"No. Probably not."
"Boss man!" Gob pulled Luc into a bear hug, having met Little Deuce on the roof of Dorian's laboratory outside Joliot as soon as it landed.
"Tali Whacker!" Bit exclaimed and lumbered toward the small woman.
"Nicknames. We've talked about this, Bit," she reprimanded, although it was obvious to all but perhaps Bit, that Tali was not overly serious.
"Sorry," Bit said, abashed.
"You're in a good mood." Luc stepped back, looking up into Gob's boyish face.
"And Kitty Kat," Gob turned and picked up a startled Katriona, who balled her fists and punched him in the chest until he let her down.
"Get off!" she said. "And don't call me that."
"She said you would be grumpy."
"My Sveta?" Katriona turned her head quickly back to Gob.
"You should come and see," Gob said.
Luc looked back to Dorian, who was talking with one of the scientists.
"Go ahead," Dorian called. "I'll catch up."
"See who?" Luc asked.
"I don't want to ruin it," Gob said and jogged off toward the stairwell.
Luc looked back to Jimmy who shrugged nonchalantly.
"This is pretty great," Bit said. "We should go."
As a group, they followed Gob to the third sublevel. The room they entered was filled with playground equipment and highly energetic children all bounding around like manic crickets.
"This is insanity," Luc yelled to Gob over the din.
"They can do this for ten hours," Gob yelled back. "It's like they've never played before and have to get it all out of their systems."
A boy Luc estimated to be no more than eight stans ran up to the group and stopped in front of Gob, careful not to make eye contact. He placed a tiny hand into Gob's and pulled at him.
"Duty calls," Gob explained and ran into the fray.
The five: Luc, Tali, Bit, Jimmy, and Katriona laughed as the massive man was set upon by the horde of children. As he watched, Luc wasn't completely convinced the children had lost all their feral tendencies, but Gob seemed to genuinely enjoy the attention.
A blonde-haired girl separated from the group and launched herself into Katriona's arms. Luc's throat closed for a moment as he was caught in the emotion of their reunion.
"Kitty Kat," Sveta cooed as she buried her head into Katriona's neck.
Luc felt like a voyeur but was unable to pull his eyes from the happy pair. After a few minutes, Katriona stopped swaying and opened her eyes, still holding Sveta to her.
"What now?" Katriona asked, looking intently into Luc's eyes.
"Join us," Luc said. "Be part of something bigger than yourself. The galaxy is filled with bad people. We have an opportunity to stand in their way."
Katriona paused for only a second. "I'm in."
But of course, that's another story entirely.
About the Author
Jamie McFarlane is happily married, the father of three and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. He spends his days engaged in a hi-tech career and his nights and weekends writing works of fiction.
Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review at Amazon, even if it's only a line or two; it would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated.
If you want to get an automatic email when Jamie's next book is available, sign up here. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
For more information
www.fickledragon.com
[email protected]
Acknowledgments
To Diane Greenwood Muir for excellence in editing and fine word-smithery. My wife, Janet, for carefully and kindly pointing out my poor grammatical habits. I cannot imagine working through these projects without you both.
To my beta readers: Carol Greenwood, Kelli Whyte, Linda Baker, Matt Strbjak and Nancy Higgins Quist for wonderful and thoughtful suggestions. And, to Diane Wendt for grammar sanity checks. It is a joy to work with this intelligent and considerate group of people. Also, to my advanced reading team, you’re a zany, fun group of people who I look forward to bouncing ideas off.
Finally, to Tom Edwards, cover artist extraordinaire.
Also by Jamie McFarlane
Privateer Tales Series
1.Rookie Privateer
2.Fool Me Once
3.Parley
4.Big Pete
5.Smuggler’s Dilemma
6.Cutpurse
7.Out of the Tank
8.Buccaneers
9.A Matter of Honor
10.Give No Quarter
11.Blockade Runner
12.Corsair Men
ace
Pale Ship Series
1.On a Pale Ship
Witchy World
1.Wizard in a Witchy World
2.Wicked Folk: An Urban Wizard’s Tale
3.Wizard Unleashed
Guardians of Gaeland
1.Lesser Prince
On a Pale Ship: A Privateer Tales Series Page 35
