Stormcrow: Book Two: Birds of a Feather

by N. C. Reed

  The only dependable offspring the Delgado had was his sister Lucia, he realized with a start. Out of four children, only the youngest and arguably the most childish was one they could count on. There had to be a more irony in that than in finding an honest politician.

  He leaned back in his chair for a moment, but then got to his feet. He thought better on his feet, and he definitely had some thinking to do today. He'd chance not getting back with the Captain for a while, until he knew what he might do.

  -

  “I never thought to be where we find ourselves at this moment, my sweet,” Jerome sighed as he and Antonia sat in his study.

  “Nor did I my husband,” she admitted softly.

  “What was the commotion earlier?” he asked, looking for a distraction.

  “Lucia snuck away from her room last night and it was not discovered until this morning,” she smirked ever so slightly.

  “Where did she go?” Jerome asked. “You would think after the events of yesterday-”

  “She was afraid,” Antonia cut his tirade off before it could get started. “She went to the one place she felt she could be safe enough to sleep.”

  “And where was safer than her own room, here in this mansion, with the ridiculous amount of security we have?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

  “She slept in Sean Galen's room,” Antonia told him calmly. “She was too afraid to sleep, and she was exhausted. He makes her feel safe,” she shrugged. “She sneaked her way into his room and explained herself, I'm sure after a thorough dressing down by Galen, and he allowed her to stay.”

  “He allowed her to stay,” Jerome repeated. Slowly, as if testing the words out for himself.

  “Nothing untoward occurred husband, and I knew where she was at all times,” Antonia assured him. He looked at her sharply.

  “What are you not telling me?” he said finally, knowing there was more to it than she was saying.

  “He is the one,” she said simply. Jerome frowned in confusion for a moment, but then recognition dawned.

  “He is the one from your vision,” he said aloud. “Lucia's birth vision you called it.”

  “He is,” she nodded. “I could never understand it until I found out who he is. Who he really is, I mean,” she added.

  “What do you mean, 'who he really is'?” Jerome asked, his eyebrow now threatening his hairline.

  “During the war, the Commonwealth made an enemy of a man who would go on to become the most wanted man in history,” Antonia told him quietly. “They tried unsuccessfully for several years to bring him down, but failed. He is responsible for well over two hundred dead Commonwealth Special Forces Commandos. Alone.”

  “His name is Bringer of Storms,” she said it with reverence, he noted. “The Commonwealth knew him as Stormcrow.”

  For a moment, there was no reaction other than a frown of concentration, but gradually understanding dawned on her husband.

  “You can't be serious,” he almost breathed. “That. . .that boy, is . . . are you sure?” he cut himself off.

  “Very sure,” she nodded. “And yes, he is young. Perhaps younger than Antonio. I suspect he is closer to Luka in age, though still perhaps three years older than Lucia. His people were slaughtered almost entirely by a Commonwealth Raider attack. He and a few others were in the Aridas, preparing for a Raising ceremony. They were all that survived of his clan. He took to the stars after that, killing indiscriminately among any Commonwealth he could find. Those who belonged to the group that killed his people he . . . took his time with, shall we say?” a hint of a smile tugged at her lips, but she remained still otherwise.

  “He told you this?” Jerome was a naturally suspicious sort.

  “He did not, other than his name,” she told him.

  “Then how do you know all this?”

  “I may be shunned by my people, Lucien Jerome Delgado, but I am not entirely ignorant of the happenings of my home world,” she said with a raised eyebrow of her own. “I did not know who he was until after he and Antonio returned with Lucia and I asked for his name.”

  “Two names?” Jerome asked.

  “Bringer of Storms would be his Tribal name,” she told him. “Stormcrow would be his Truename, or clan name. Known only to his family normally, he used it as a calling card when he went on the warpath against the Commonwealth. A name they truly learned to fear.”

  “I should imagine,” Jerome nodded. He knew the name himself, as he made it his business to know who the galaxy's best known assassins were. “Antonia, I have always had faith and trust in your Sight, you know that,” he said after a few seconds thought. “But. . .is this truly someone we wish for our daughter to attach herself to?”

  “I do not think it matters now, my husband,” Antonia replied. “Lucia seems to have 'set her cap' as your people would say. Among my people she would already be here expecting you to begin negotiations with his father or tomkah for their marriage,” she did not bother to hide her amusement, either at the situation or his discomfit over it.

  “Tomkah?”

  “His clan elder,” she clarified.

  “I do not think I like this, Antonia,” he said finally. “ I don't deny that I like the boy, but. . .to have such a man be the one our daughter is married to? I do not know if I like that at all,” he shook his head.

  “What will be, will be,” she shrugged. “And think of it this way, my husband,” she smiled slightly. “Who's side would you rather he be on?”

  -

  “Sounds like you guys had quite a night,” Sean settled for saying as the foursome finished relaying their story to him. “Ever find out who that guy was?”

  “No,” Jessica shook her head slowly. “I've never seen him before. It's possible he mistook me for someone he knows, I really don't know.”

  “We haven't heard from the authorities yet, at any rate,” Meredith told him. “I do expect to hear something from them at some point, even if it's just to tell us that he's been identified or why he felt the need to grab Jessica like that. Anything else we find out would be a bonus.”

  “Can't leave you guys alone for a minute,” Sean shook his head sadly, and it took a minute for them to realize he'd made a joke.

  “I. . .I don't think I've ever heard you make a joke before,” Jessica looked at him. “Not that I can recall anyway.”

  “I'm always clowning around,” Sean scoffed, and that elicited a laugh from everyone at the table, since Sean never 'clowned around'.

  “Well, I think I'll get changed and take a look at those injectors,” he rose. “If I can get them down today, then I can clear and clean them tomorrow while you guys are at the doctor, and then Faulks can help me reset them the day after. That will have us ready to light off whenever Lincoln is cleared by the doc. After that, it's just wrench and lube work for me. Is there anything else we need to take care of, Captain?” he asked.

  “I suppose we could flush and fill the tanks while we're down for so long,” Meredith mused, thinking about what needed to be done. “Do we need to do that?” she asked him.

  “Never a bad idea to dump the black water tanks no matter how low they are,” he agreed. “But we just flushed the white water maybe. . .two months ago? That should be okay for another four months, I'd say. I'll take a look to make sure, but I think topping it off should be enough. No sense spending that money when we don't have to. Of course,” he stopped himself, “it might be cheaper here than wherever we are down the line. That's something to think about. Maybe check and see what the rates are here for that, Captain? If it's a big savings and we're gonna make another long Rim circuit it would keep us from having to do it somewhere that it would really cost us.”

  “Good point,” Meredith nodded. “I'll check into it today with the harbor master. I've got to let him know we're here for at least a week, anyway. Maybe now that the police want us to stay here for that week regardless we can get a rate cut,” she snorted.

  “No reason not to ask,” Sean agreed. “Well, I
'll be in Engineering then.” He headed aft to his room to change.

  “You need me for anything Captain?” Jessica asked suddenly. “If not, I'd like to go with Sean, assuming he doesn't mind. I'd like to learn more about the engine spaces while we're on the ground.”

  “So long as he doesn't mind and you stay out of his way, that's fine,” Meredith agreed.

  “Thank you,” Jess smiled and followed Sean toward the aft of the ship.

  “Might find a good cargo going out, too, Cap'n,” Faulks said after Jessica was gone. “Have to be careful what we take on I guess, but that's true anywhere really,” she shrugged.

  “We won't turn down any work that's not a rush job,” Meredith agreed reluctantly. “We've got one large cargo coming today, don't forget.”

  “But we're empty, too,” Faulks reminded her. “That today won't take more'n a quarter of the bay, and that's if we spread it out, like. We might catch another going the same way.”

  “I'll see what we can find,” Meredith agreed to look, her reluctance still there. “Be nice to make some of this down time pay off,” she admitted.

  “Well, in the meantime, it's a good time for a systems check,” Lincoln stood. “Might as well make use of all this free time. I suspect I won't be able to do it for a few days after tomorrow.”

  “I'll lend a hand, too,” Meredith joined him. “I can use the com on the bridge to make my calls and then help you with the check.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  -

  “Why are we doing this again?”

  Sean had not objected to Jess being in Engineering and she was watching as he worked to clear the way to the injectors so that he and Faulks could remove them. It was a major job regardless of the fact that he could accomplish it in just two days.

  “Sometimes the fuel mixture runs too rich, or maybe the additives in some fuels are too heavy,” Sean explained as he set a cowling aside. “Either one can cause a build up on the injectors for the thrusters. Over time, if we don't keep them clean, it could actually clog one up completely. If that were to happen when we were entering or exiting atmo-”

  “We'd be screwed,” Jess nodded, understanding. “If one of the injectors crapped out then the thrusters would fire wrong, or one might not fire at all.”

  “Right,” Sean nodded, pleased that she had picked it up so quickly. “Cleaning and clearing them isn't really that hard, but getting to them is a stone bi-, er problem, so we only do it at times like this, when we're down. The alternative is to be down when we're on the clock. Better to do it now, while we're dirtside for several days. We're already idle, so this way it doesn't cost us any money.” He pulled an intake restrictor from the compartment and set it alongside the cowling, careful to lay the bolts from the piece with it.

  “What's that?” Jess asked.

  “Intake restrictor,” Sean told her, his head back inside the compartment already. “That's what regulates the fuel mixture and how you control how much thrust we're using. When you dial up, say, fifty percent thrusters? That restrictor will open just over half-way to give you fifty percent thrusters.”

  “Why over half?” she asked.

  “You lose some in the mix,” he explained. “The restrictor will actually allow one hundred and ten percent of its rated fuel flow without the safety being over ridden. You can dial that up from the cockpit without even calling me.”

  “Right,” she nodded. “How far can they go when you override the safety?” she asked.

  “You can run at one fifty for two-and-a-half, maybe three hours,” he told her after considering her question. “After that you have to ease off or you risk melting something, probably the thruster cowling. They really aren't designed to run in the black so continued use at that heat can damage the housing, not to mention burn the cylinders and warp the injectors completely. They'll keep running until they melt.”

  “What if that were to happen?” she asked. “Melting injectors?”

  “Boom,” he said simply, shrugging.

  “Boom,” she repeated. “Like, the ship goes 'boom'?”

  “Like the ship goes boom,” he nodded firmly. “That would dump raw fuel into the thrusters completely unrestricted. Worse, with the injectors melted, their back-flow preventer wouldn't work. The fire would follow the fuel, tracing all the way back to the cells, and there you have it. Once the fire reaches the cells, we go 'boom'.”

  “Got it,” Jess nodded firmly. “Melted injectors; bad!”

  “Very bad,” he agreed. “Hand me that adjustable wrench?”

  -

  “I'm surprised you're still here, Antonio.”

  Tony looked up to see his mother joining him on the back portico, taking a seat opposite him at the table he using.

  “Just thinking,” he shrugged.

  “What about?” she asked.

  “What to do,” he shrugged again, raising his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “I have to decide if I'm going back to the Celia or not. And if I'm not, what am I going to do? Where am I going to go?”

  “You can of course stay here,” she noted dryly, but he shook his head.

  “I don't think so,” he told her gently. “In just one day I was already starting to return to the way I was when I decided to leave and go to school. If I stay, I'll end up back in that same frame of mind. I would work to prevent it but sooner or later, probably when the pressure was on, I'd find myself being too much like Gram.”

  She nodded her understanding. Lucius Delgado had not been an overly friendly or forgiving man. His ways had likely been responsible for what had happened to her daughter, in fact.

  “So long as you know the problem, you can guard against it,” she told him. “You must be disciplined, Antonio, that's all. Dedicate yourself to being what you wish to be, not what you fear being.”

  “What do you think I've been doing?” he asked her, though not unkindly. “So long as I'm away from here, I'm okay. Let me get somewhere like this, where I know what kind of power and influence I can wield, and it's like I go crazy. I did it yesterday in spades,” he admitted.

  “Yesterday was certainly a special case, my son,” Antonia chided.

  “Yeah, but if I justified it once, I'll do it again,” he nodded. “I know how I am, mom. If I took the old man's place, I'd have us in a war in a year. Two tops. Not because it's needful, but because I'd decide I'm Anthony-by-God-Delgado and I don't have to play fair, make a deal, or kiss your ass, and I'll prove it to you.” He stopped, aware that his voice had been rising.

  “If you know your temptations, you can resist them, my son,” his mother's reply was calm and reasoned.

  “Mom, it's not that I can't resist them,” Tony sighed. “It's that I don't want to.”

  -

  Jerome Delgado was not a happy man. Not at all. The news his wife had brought him was distressing to say the least. His daughter, enamored with an assassin? To the point that she spends the night with him? In Jerome's on house?

  Jerome Delgado was not unaware of the tremendous debt he owed Sean Galen, but that did not mean that he approved of his daughter, his treasure of a little girl, being a part of the man's life. Or he a part of hers.

  It had nothing to do with him personally, Jerome told himself. It was simply the fact that his daughter did not need the kind of trouble that being involved with such a man would inevitably bring. His daughter might not realize that, but he did.

  And yet, his wife was sure and certain that this man was the one she had seen in her vision the day of Lucia's birth. Not to mention she had made a valid point of her own; who's side would Jerome rather the Stormcrow be on, should it come to that?

  It wasn't that Jerome had need of someone like that, save in the rare event such as yesterday. He worked to keep the peace not only within his own organization, but between himself and what he considered the 'lesser' houses. The Delgado family was without doubt the most powerful individual organization in the galaxy but they did not live in a vacuum. Should the 'low
er' houses combine against them, even the Delgado would be hard pressed to stand against them all. Having a man like Sean Galen's alter ego associated with the Delgado even by rumor would be enough to make most all of them, any of them, think twice before instigating difficulties.

  That was not enough for Jerome to decide that his daughter should align herself with such a man however. He would not be like so many other family heads, trading his children in marriage for alliances like some baron or king of old. He had not done it to gain power or peace and he would not do it now to garner the support of an assassin.

  But the man was more than a mere assassin now, wasn't he? That was part of the problem. He had rescued Lucia from certain death and a horrible one at that. It was not only natural that she feel some measure of hero like worship toward him, but a fact that Jerome himself now owed the young man a great debt. One he had no real way to repay considering the kind of debt it was.

  The easiest thing would be to have Galen eliminated, but even had such a thing been something Jerome would consider, who would he send to try and kill the man that the entire Commonwealth couldn't eliminate? He snorted in rye amusement at the thought of any of the so-called 'toughs' around him trying to kill such a man. It would be like sending small children to hunt a lion.

  Of course, he might just be borrowing trouble he decided, looking out his office window. There was nothing to say that Lucia's infatuation with the man would progress any further than it already had. In a few days, the man's ship would be gone and it was unlikely to visit here again any time soon, if ever. Antonio had admitted that he had manipulated things to get them here the first time so that the pilot could see a doctor. If the ship, the Celia, remained on the fringe as it had since Antonio had joined it then they might never set down on San Lucia ever again.

  Problem solved.

  But it wouldn't be that easy, he knew. His daughter was headstrong and stubborn to a fault. While the events of yesterday might make her more cautious in the future, she was too much like her mother to be cowed for long. Not that Jerome had any reason to regret her mother's stubbornness as it was one of the reasons he had to thank for her being his wife.