by K A Bledsoe
It was a relief to all as the patrol ship shuddered out of transwarp.
“Well, this ship is obviously not completely repaired so, Diarmin, you take it back to the base. I will take our ship along with the kids.”
Lenore saw her husband hesitate before answering, but she was too tired to try to figure which of the dozen reasons why.
“I, um. I could use the kids to help me,” he said as he stood to take the pilot’s chair that Lenore had vacated.
“Fine.” She supposed he didn’t want her to be alone with them, especially Quinn, afraid of a confrontation where he wouldn’t be able to moderate. “Alli, do you have the shuttle unlocked yet?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You stay here with your father. I will take Quinn back to our ship.”
Diarmin looked like he wanted to protest but knew better. She took pity on her family and softened a little. She put a hand on her husband’s arm as he sat in the pilot’s chair.
“Look, I don’t want Quinn on this ship at all when we return. He needs to be distanced from the situation with no possibility of being considered an accomplice. Alli, you can erase the recordings with your usual skill.” As Diarmin nodded she leaned down, lowering her voice so Allison wouldn’t hear. “I promise I won’t get into anything with him until we are away from the patrol base.”
A small smile appeared on his face but didn’t reach his eyes. He nodded again.
“Well, see you two at the base,” she said and tossed Allison a wave. She waved back solemnly. She is worried too. We all are.
Lenore retrieved Quinn from sick bay, still groggy despite the reviving medications that his father had administered. Proof that the stun beam was a little more intense than usual. Lenore thought that maybe he would learn a lesson from this experience, but she wasn’t sure exactly which lesson she wanted it to be. She had to help him all the way to the shuttle and he slid from her support into the copilot chair with a thud.
“Mom, I’m—”
“Not now, Quinn. We still have a lot to do and you are in no shape for a discussion.”
He fell silent as she undocked and headed for their yacht, drifting in space off the port side of the patrol ship. Not a word was exchanged as they docked and disembarked. The relief Lenore felt upon coming home was overshadowed by the odd grimace on her son’s face as they entered through the airlock. She helped him to his cabin and he finally broke the silence.
“I’m better. I can help on the bridge.”
“No.” Her abrupt denial brought his head up in surprise. Lenore regretted her short temper and tried to smile. “You still need rest. It’s a short flight back and I can handle it. Don’t make me lock you in.” That last was supposed to be a joke but her tone was just a little too sharp. He straightened up, looked her directly in the eyes, pivoted abruptly, and disappeared into his room. For a moment, tears pricked at her eyes. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. Or had she? To get even for the hurt he had caused her? His door slid closed on her hesitation.
Fiercely she fought down all the emotions. They would have to deal with this when things were back to normal.
She turned to head for the bridge, trying to ignore her feelings that they may never get back to normal.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Since it was several hours back to the patrol base, everyone got at least two hours of sleep, although Lenore had only dozed in the pilot’s seat. They had been on the go for over a day and Lenore knew it wasn’t nearly over yet despite the fact that they had caught the thieves. The patrol ship touched down only minutes before she landed the yacht. Quinn hadn’t come out of his room or tried to contact her in any way. Several times she had been tempted to go in there but didn’t know what to say. She decided to give him time to completely recover from the strong stun shock before starting any conversations anyway.
As she exited the craft through the open cargo bay, she saw Diarmin and Allison approaching. They met up equidistant between the two ships.
“Sherrod gave permission to land and had dozens of questions that I told him needed to be answered in person,” said Diarmin.
“Good,” said Lenore. “Are the prisoners still secure?”
“I left them where we had trapped them, in the cell and rooms.”
“What if they break out of their rooms?”
“I sealed the bulkhead in the area as well,” Allison chimed in. “I figure with my scrambled codes it would take an hour to get out of their rooms and two more to get through the bulkheads. I don’t think they will try anything, especially since we told them if they did, their rooms would be flooded with a nerve toxin with a paralytic agent absorbed through the skin.”
“A nerve toxin?” Lenore didn’t think that was standard issue on any patrol vessel that she knew of.
Allison shrugged. “It’s really only a sedative but Dad said a nerve toxin would make them think twice.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Lenore’s mouth. It should probably worry her that Allison didn’t blink at a bald-faced lie, but she felt oddly proud. “Good job you two. Alli, you head back to our ship while your father and I take care of the rest of this.”
“Sure.”
Allison skipped back to the lowered cargo ramp as they headed for the base entrance.
“Do you think the cargo is still intact?” she asked Diarmin.
“I don’t know. I examined the six-alls and they don’t appear to be damaged, but we are right up against Bondle’s deadline of when they will go inert.”
“He will have to determine that.”
The conversation took only a dozen steps but the door to the station opened and Lieutenant Hammins came out, limping heavily with Bondle hovering as if he wanted to help but the lieutenant had refused. A large bandage covered his left eye and his right arm was immobilized against his body.
“Thank you, Captain Fleming, for the return of the patrol vessel, although I should arrest you for sedating me and leaving without my authorization.” His smile made the threat hollow and Lenore could tell that the humor helped to hide his pain.
“You are welcome, Lieutenant.” Lenore bowed her head slightly along with Diarmin.
“My vaccines. What about my vaccines?” asked Bondle while shifting from foot to foot so rapidly it looked like an awkward dance.
“The cargo seems intact,” said Diarmin. “But I don’t know if they are still active. You should determine that.” He indicated the way and Bondle proceeded at nearly a jog, pulling his scanner out of his coat pocket as he hurried along.
“While they check on that, let’s return to the base, Lieutenant, and I will fill you in on what happened.”
“Please, call me Sherrod.”
Lenore nodded and began to report as they headed for the entrance. By the time they reached his office, she’d finished her abridged version which left out the capture and subsequent rescue by their children. Sherrod was as surprised as they all were that Kurla was behind the entire scheme.
He shook his head sadly. “She had me fooled.”
“She had us all fooled,” said Lenore, noting an edge to her voice that showed she was still angry about being duped.
Sherrod began to ask his own questions that, despite his obvious pain and fatigue, were quite insightful. Lenore’s respect for the man was raised a notch and she had to think of a distraction before he pulled the entire story out of her. She did not want this man to know that she had been the intended target, not the cargo. Fortunately, Bondle and Diarmin returned before Sherrod could get too far.
“The cultures are still active!” Bondle’s excitement was contagious. Lenore was a little surprised at the relief she felt at the good news. She tried to tell herself it was relief that they would be paid, but she knew she felt for the scientist.
“How long do we have?” she asked as she stood.
“I estimate twenty-four hours, no more,” he replied.
“Then there’s no time to waste,” said Lenore.
“Wait,”
said the lieutenant, holding out his good hand to halt them. He awkwardly got to his feet. “I am the one who pulled you off your course and I gave my word that I would get you to your planet on time.”
Diarmin gently gripped Sherrod on the left shoulder and eased him back into the chair. “It wasn’t your fault and you are in no shape to pilot a ship. You have enough to do right here.”
The frustration on the man’s face was evident. “You’re right. I already called for reinforcements, but it will be at least a day before they get here.”
“And you need to guard the prisoners until they arrive.”
“Again, you are correct.” He sighed and gave Lenore a rueful smile. “Looks like I owe you even more.”
Lenore felt uncomfortable with the praise. “Just doing what I was hired to do. Diarmin, you bring the prisoners to the base’s brig while I get the cargo transferred.”
“But I need everyone to give their reports,” said Sherrod, rising again to his feet.
Lenore pulled a flimsy out of a pocket. “Here is everyone’s account of the events. We really shouldn’t delay.”
Diarmin had already disappeared out the door, Bondle following closely. Lenore stood ready to help the lieutenant, but he was steady in his limping stride as they left the base.
“I would ask you to return to give a fuller accounting, but I am not going to see you again, am I?” asked Sherrod at the door to the outside.
Lenore stopped and faced the officer “You are a very shrewd man, Sherrod. It is a good thing you are also honest. Therefore, I will be honest with you as well. No. We will not be returning.”
Sherrod tilted his head, somehow maintaining his dignity even with a bandaged eye. “I meant it when I said that I owe you. If you ever need anything, just ask.”
“You can return the favor by not reporting our names.”
He grinned. “I get the feeling your name isn’t really Fleming anyway.”
Lenore smiled back. “Like I said, a shrewd man.” She held her hand out. “It was an honor to meet you, Lieutenant Sherrod Hammins.”
He took it in his good left hand. “The honor is mine, person who shall remain anonymous.”
Sherrod remained in the doorway as she headed toward the ships, feeling a little lighter for the first time in days.
***
As soon as she was back on the ship, Allison headed to Quinn’s cabin. The door was closed so she knocked.
“Quinn, it’s me,” she said. He might not want to open the door for Mom or Dad.
The door slid open and Quinn turned back to his bed without saying a word. Allison took that as oblique permission to enter so she did, a bit hesitantly. She sat on his desk chair, balancing her personal pad on her lap.
“Um. How are you feeling?”
“Okay. Still a little woozy.” He was lying on his back staring up at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry I stunned you,” she said.
He shrugged. “We knew it was a possibility.”
“Yeah, but we didn’t know it would be so powerful. Mom said that setting is made for crowds so it was dangerous in a small room.”
Quinn merely shrugged again. Allison didn’t know what else to say. Since she didn’t want to leave either, they sat in silence. After a few moments where they avoided looking at each other, her fingers itched for something to do so she activated her pad. A few taps had her hacked into both the patrol ship and base. A few more taps and she verified that Kurla and her crewmates were still locked up tight, Dad and Bondle were in the cargo bay checking out the samples, and Mom was in the office with the lieutenant. Of the group, Allison figured the one to listen to would be her mother, so she activated the monitor’s audio settings. As her mother’s voice piped through her pad, Quinn turned his head and appeared to be listening as well.
She turned up the volume and neither made a sound until Bondle and her father had entered the patrol office.
Allison chuckled. “It’s funny how Mom worded that whole story. She didn’t tell everything, but she also never lied. I need to learn how to do that.”
She looked at Quinn and he looked back at her with a smile. She wasn’t sure what the smile was for but was glad to see it.
“Alli, please help with the cargo transfer,” came her mother’s voice through her wristcomp.
“Okay, Mom,” she answered. As she stood, she glanced back at Quinn, but his smile was gone, his gaze returned to the ceiling. Allison hesitated, biting her lip. She didn’t want to say the next thing but felt she had to.
“Quinn, I…” she swallowed. “I think it’s sort of my fault why Mom and Dad are so mad. Well, not mad maybe just upset. Sad? I don’t know—” She cut herself off as Quinn sat up to stare at her.
The look in his eyes was not friendly. But she had to get this out.
“I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I kind of eavesdropped on you and Kurla in the spare bedroom. I did it because I didn’t trust her and wanted to prove to Mom that she was up to something. But instead I heard you talking about leaving and I…well…I got scared. I didn’t want to lose you. I played the recording for Mom and Dad because I thought they would, I don’t know. Maybe stop you or maybe do some of those things you want to do or, I don’t know.” Allison’s rambling apology stuck in her throat as Quinn sat there saying nothing. She shuffled her feet as Quinn looked toward the floor. “I guess I want to say I’m sorry. It made them think you joining Kurla was real. Except.” She stopped but realized she needed to say this. “We never planned that. And I heard everything. And it felt…real. Quinn.” Her hand came up but dropped back at her side. “I have to ask. Did you mean it? Did you really want to join Kurla’s crew?”
Quinn’s head shot up and Allison eagerly awaited his denial. She would even accept anger that she dared suggest such a thing. Instead he stared at her.
“Allison. Where are you?”
The message at her wrist made them both jump and broke their locked gazes. Quinn still said nothing but lay back down on his bed and rolled to face the wall, away from his sister.
Allison felt a weight on her chest as she left toward the cargo bay.
***
The cargo was stored within twenty minutes, about the same time as it took for Diarmin to transfer the prisoners. Two trips each. For Lenore and Allison, one trip per six-all with Bondle nervously dancing around the antigrav floats and muttering to himself. Diarmin, the first trip with the two men, both in binders with Diarmin’s blaster trained on them if they so much as twitched. The second was with Kurla whose face Lenore saw as she maneuvered the last six-all out of the patrol ship.
She did not look pleased. Lenore had the feeling that this was the first time the girl had been detained. Perhaps even the first time she had failed in a scheme.
Good. She needs to be taken down a peg.
As Lenore considered that thought, she wondered if the girl knew just how serious her situation was.
She had just finished securing the cargo in their bay when Diarmin entered.
“What took you so long? Kurla make a break for it?” She was joking but her attention was caught with Diarmin’s answer.
“Not exactly. She wants to talk to you. Alone.”
Lenore looked questioningly at her husband, but he shook his head. “I don’t know why, but Sherrod gave his approval if you want to.”
Lenore didn’t really want to see the girl who had imprisoned her, threatened her family and tried to corrupt her son. But something in her said she should, and there were still some questions unanswered.
Diarmin seemed to agree. “I will prep the ship,” he said as he lightly touched her arm. “Go.”
Without a word, Lenore left the cargo bay and headed back into the base. As she passed by the office, a glance showed Sherrod at his desk. He looked up briefly but went back to his terminal. The message was clear. He wouldn’t interfere.
As she approached the brig, Lenore’s hands twitched to pull out a weapon, but she knew that would be asking for
trouble. Especially because, depending on what Kurla said, she might do something she would regret.
Standing at the front of the cell, eyes on the doorway, Kurla’s chin raised slightly at Lenore’s entrance. Lenore had to admire the girl’s bravado.
“Thank you for coming,” she said.
“Make it quick. I’m on a schedule.” Lenore thought she was unemotional but the suppressed anger in her voice was evident. It didn’t deter Kurla in the slightest.
“Very well. I want to make a deal with you.”
Lenore was too surprised to laugh. “You have nothing I want.”
“I notice your son isn’t in a cell. Quinn, I believe is his name.”
“What’s your point?” Lenore crossed her arms.
“It just seems if you are going to arrest the crew and he was a member of that crew, he should be here. If you urge leniency for me, I will keep quiet about his joining the crew.” Kurla’s voice dropped to just above a whisper and the look of a conspiratorial confidante was almost comical.
“Talk away,” said Lenore, purposely not whispering. “First of all, he was acting the entire time. Second, even if he wasn’t, there were no illegal acts committed while he was a part of your crew so no reason to arrest him.”
Kurla’s face turned from pleasant to fierce during Lenore’s explanation. Lenore was finding it very hard to maintain her own temper at Kurla’s attempt at manipulation. I need to get out of here.
“I will not plead for leniency for you,” Lenore said. “You have acted with malice, deliberate deception, intent to harm and possibly even murder.” She headed for the door, tossing one last comment over her shoulder. “Enjoy your trial.”
“I wasn’t alone in this. I can tell you who I am working for. Who planned the operation.” She tossed her hair out of her eyes. “My snooping devices also told me your daughter’s name, Alli. I’ll tell them everything I know.”
That stopped Lenore cold. Slowly, she pivoted to face Kurla. The triumphant grin of satisfaction on Kurla’s face quickly vanished as she caught sight of Lenore’s expression. Lenore took the three steps back to the field until the only thing separating the two women was an inch of energy.
