Fractured Stars

by Lindsay Buroker

  As if that would happen. McCall wouldn’t mind seeing the toppling of the empire, but nothing she’d read or seen on the sys-net suggested the Alliance had anywhere near the manpower or resources to accomplish that.

  She hunkered down in the back of the depression as the roar of engines grew louder—a lot louder. Not only did she fear they were right along the ship’s flightpath, it sounded like the craft was flying low. To land next to the dome?

  Not one but two white bullet-shaped ships came into view, flying past only a hundred yards from the group’s hiding spot. McCall hoped the pilots were looking at where they meant to land, not at the scenery below.

  “Shit,” Dash cursed. “Those are law-enforcement ships.”

  Numbness crept into McCall’s heart. She hadn’t noticed it at first, since her view of ships wasn’t usually from underneath them, but now she realized he was right. They were almost the exact model of vessel Dash and Axton had been flying before they usurped her ship.

  “Could they already have been called in to look for us?” Rose asked.

  “Those are definitely imperial law-enforcement ships,” Jae-yoon said. “Not planetary security.”

  “How could the prison have called in reinforcements from the core worlds so quickly?” Rose asked.

  “Those ships may have already been out among the border worlds,” Dash said. “And it has been six days since we escaped.”

  “I was hoping they would assume we’d been eaten or killed and not send anyone to hunt for us.” Rose sighed wistfully.

  McCall scooted to the far side of the depression and scrambled up the slope high enough to see the ships land. Dash flopped down beside her.

  The vessels activated their thrusters and settled onto a snow-covered landing pad near the dome, one beside the other. The thrusters melted the snow into puddles before turning off. By the time a hatch opened a minute later, the water had hardened into ice, the sunlight glinting off it.

  “Maybe they know where the door is,” McCall murmured as two figures in blue combat armor walked out.

  At first, she questioned the armor—did they expect the civilians here to attack them?—but then she decided the officers had likely donned the suits as protection from the cold. Combat armor was rated for space which was only slightly colder than this place.

  Dash stirred and gripped her arm. “That’s our way off this planet.”

  “What? Stealing one of their ships?”

  “It had better be both of them, so the other one can’t chase after us.” Dash pointed as the armored figures reached the side of the dome, and an oval opening appeared in the opaque wall. “They didn’t leave the hatch open, but I know a lot of law-enforcer codes, and my handprint opens a lot of doors. They may not have removed me from the database yet. It’s also possible—” Dash glanced over his shoulder—making sure nobody else was close enough to listen? “If the pilot or someone else is still inside, I may be able to convince the person to open the hatch long enough for us to force our way in.”

  “This all sounds like a quick way for us to end up back in prison,” McCall said. “Or in front of a firing squad.”

  “Only if we’re caught. Assuming there’s fuel enough, we can fly them straight to the nearest Alliance base.”

  McCall had no idea where the Alliance bases were, but she was positive they were a long way from wherever Axton had taken her ship. She needed to get the Star Surfer, and she needed not to break any laws along the way. Any more laws. She had the hope that her punishment for taking Scipio would be a fine and that she might buy her way out of trouble. She would go into debt if she had to—she knew she could work it off eventually. Though she worried the empire would insist she give Scipio back in addition to paying a fine. That… was not going to happen. If she helped Dash and a bunch of Alliance people steal law-enforcement spaceships, matters could only get worse.

  “The Alliance bases aren’t posh and full of the latest tech,” Dash said, looking at her, “but I’m sure there’s enough satellite access to let you hunt the sys-net for Axton. Hells, you can probably do that from one of those ships down there.” He waved at the law-enforcement vessels. “If you figure out where he is, I’ll detour before we go to the base. I’ll help you take him down. And if this doesn’t work and we get captured, I’ll say I made you come along, say you didn’t have anything to do with taking the ships.”

  McCall blew out a slow thoughtful breath, the frigid air clouding in front of her face. She didn’t want him taking any blame for her, but could she truly object to this plan? As much as her instinct was to balk at stealing ships, this would be the fastest way off the planet. Who even knew if there were any ships inside the domes? If she parted ways with Dash and the others, she would be stuck in a prison uniform and possibly with no way to use her banking chip. She would likely end up having to steal one way or another.

  “I’ll help you get him and your ship back,” Dash said again, looking intently at her. “I owe you that. I’d help even if I didn’t, but you wouldn’t be stuck down on this moon in that uniform if it weren’t for me. I haven’t forgotten that.”

  “I know you’ll help. I believe you. I’m just thinking things through.”

  “Think as long as you want.” Dash looked toward the dome. The armored officers had disappeared inside, the door closing behind them. “Up to ten minutes.”

  “What?”

  “I’m sure they’re not planning to get hotel rooms and spend the night. We may have a limited window.”

  “Ah.” McCall habitually reached for her bracelet, but it was inside her jacket and glove, so she couldn’t fiddle with it. She grimaced and scraped her gloved fingers through the snow instead. “Who’s your second pilot?”

  This time it was Dash’s turn to ask, “What?”

  “You wanted to take both ships, but I don’t know how to fly those craft. Walters said he was about to start training, right? Is one of the others an experienced pilot?” McCall pointed her thumb toward the rest of the group.

  “A good question.” Dash grimaced. “I’ll ask. If not, we may have to sabotage the other ship instead of taking it.”

  “Theft and willful destruction of government property? It’s possible you’re a bad influence, Dash.”

  “Does this mean you won’t want to have anything to do with me once you get your ship back?” He smirked, but there was a worried furrow in his brow.

  She shouldn’t, especially if he was cavorting with the Alliance, but McCall couldn’t bring herself to say no. She had known him less than two weeks, but she would miss him once he was no longer a part of her life. She had the urge to collect him, the way she had Junkyard and Scipio, and keep him on her ship.

  But he wasn’t an android or a dog. He was a person with a path that unfortunately didn’t line up with hers.

  Dash’s smirk turned into a sad smile. He patted her on the back and said, “I’ll go see if we have a second pilot.”

  14

  They didn’t wait for full nightfall, but Opus had set, leaving only distant Novus Solis burning low on the horizon. Frost Moon 3 was far enough out from it that it seemed more like a star from another system than one of their own suns, and a soft twilight had fallen with the nebula visible in the sky. It wasn’t that dark, but it would have to do. If they waited any longer, Dash worried the law enforcers would come back out, reclaim their ships, and take off before he and McCall could enact their plan.

  His plan, he admitted. McCall wasn’t enthused about the idea of theft. Understandable, but he had little to lose now that Axton had, he was positive, reported his betrayal to Headquarters. He did, however, have much to gain if he managed to get off this planet with a ship and seats full of Alliance prisoners. Getting Rose Akerele back to the base would definitely be a coup.

  “What if we just kidnap the pilot?” McCall whispered.

  “What?” Dash pulled his focus back to their advance on the spacecraft. He had talked Rose and the others into staying behind so they
could try again on their own if his attempt to snag them a ship didn’t work. In truth, he wanted to use his telepathic power without having to worry about revealing himself.

  “Instead of sabotaging the other ship. Maybe you could convince him to step outside to buff out a scratch on the hull, and we could tie him up and take him for a ride.”

  “Nobody’s going to come out into subzero weather to buff anything.”

  “You know what I mean, Dash. We wouldn’t have to permanently kidnap him, since that’s as much a crime as theft and sabotage are. We could drop him off ten miles from the dome. Long enough for us to fly out of range before pursuit starts.”

  “I’ll keep that idea in mind.” Dash had been wondering how they would sabotage the second ship, since everything he could think of, short of firing at it, would involve getting inside first. “Let’s worry about this one first.”

  They were walking up the center of the valley, following the vehicle treads Dash had noticed earlier. There was nothing to hide behind, so they weren’t bothering to try. He hoped whatever passed for security for the dome was waiting for them to get closer and wouldn’t send troops outside to capture them.

  “Can you tell how many people are in the ships?” McCall asked.

  “Not until we get closer. Sorry. One of my half-siblings could.”

  She glanced at him. “Is that an important piece of trivia?”

  He grunted. “No.”

  As they neared the ships, Dash slowed his pace. He stretched out with his mind, sensing a single person inside the closest vessel. The pilot, presumably.

  There were three people, including a pilot, in the second craft—that one hadn’t let anyone out yet. Was the crew waiting for a report from the others? The pilot was alone in the navigation cabin, and Dash decided McCall’s kidnapping ruse might work if he could come up with a way to convince the man to come out alone. But he wanted to get the other ship for his team first.

  He pulled off his glove and rested his palm on the icy hatch lock reader. The surface was covered with frost, but it lit up long enough to flash Access Denied. So much for that thought.

  He put his glove back on and closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the pilot inside. On how to convince him to open the hatch.

  “We should have brought some Southern Arkadian dumplings,” he muttered, then tried to convey the idea that the two armored law enforcers were on their way back so the pilot should open the hatch. He definitely shouldn’t look at his exterior cams and wonder who the two fur-clad strangers rubbing the hull were.

  “I can eat those without trouble,” McCall said. “The wrappers are made from rice paper. Rice and I get along moderately well.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind in case I ever have the opportunity to pick up take-out food for you.”

  “Most of those places deliver.”

  “Not to secret Alliance bases.”

  “They might if you gave them directions. And a big tip.”

  Dash snorted but then frowned. He sensed distrust from the pilot. And suspicion.

  “I think the pilot may have some Starseer genes,” Dash said. “Or he’s just one of those sensitive mundanes.”

  “Does that mean you’re having trouble convincing him to let us in?”

  “Yes. He’s now looking at us on his camera too.”

  “Maybe the other pilot would be more amenable to your manipulation?” McCall suggested.

  “I’ll try, but he has two other men on board who might object to his sudden urge for fresh air.”

  Dash, aware that they were being watched on at least one man’s cameras, headed around the front of the first ship, as if he intended to bypass them and walk into the dome. He was a normal dome denizen returning from a stroll in sub-zero temperatures. No need to worry about him… He certainly wasn’t an escaped prisoner.

  Using his senses, he found the pilot of the second craft, not in navigation but in the head. Dash almost dismissed him in favor of someone closer to the hatch, but he paused. That might actually work well.

  He stopped walking and stuck his gloved hands in his pockets as if he were considering the dome, but he concentrated on the man, planting the idea that his colleagues from the other ship were in trouble. Someone was stealing their vessel, and they needed help. Dash added a suggestion that the pilot might get in trouble for having been away from his duty station and not paying attention for so long, even though he had no idea how long the man had been in the lav. But he was young, probably new to his rank. Maybe…

  “This ship.” Dash tilted his head toward the hatchway as he sensed the man yanking up his trousers and running out of the lav. “As long as nobody stops him to ask what he’s doing, I think we’re going to be invited in.”

  As Dash jogged between the ships and toward the hatch, he checked on the locations of the other people again. Then grimaced. The two men were in the passenger cabin right next to the hatch.

  “Get your stun gun ready,” he told her, slinging his rifle off his shoulder.

  She had brought the lone stun gun the team had remaining. Dash almost asked for it, since he didn’t truly want to shoot anyone with a deadly weapon, but she was capable with it.

  “I don’t think it’s an invitation if we need weapons,” McCall murmured.

  Dash stopped next to the hatch but where they wouldn’t be in sight when the pilot opened it. McCall came up to his shoulder, pointing the stun gun. He would let her fire first.

  As Dash reached out to the pilot again, wanting to reaffirm his mental suggestions, he found the man next to the hatch controls, but he wasn’t looking at them. He was looking at one of his comrades. Someone had questioned what he was doing. Hells.

  Dash attempted to share urgency with the pilot again. He wished he could affect two people’s minds at once with the same message, but it would take someone more powerful than he for that.

  A rumble started up nearby and Dash jumped. It wasn’t this ship but the one with the lone pilot who had been watching them on the camera and probably found them extremely suspicious.

  “Is he taking off?” McCall stared. “Without his fellow officers?”

  The hatch in front of them opened, and Dash touched her arm, drawing her attention back. “Stun as soon as—”

  McCall leaned around the jamb and fired. A soft thump sounded—someone hitting the deck?

  “Now?” she asked, leaning back.

  “Now works.”

  Dash started to charge in, but the other two crewmen appeared behind the crumpled pilot. They leaped through the hatchway, blazer rifles at the ready.

  Dash grabbed McCall and pulled her behind him as blazer bolts shot out, slicing through the air where she had been and splashing against the armored hull of the other ship. The owners of the weapons wore dark blue combat armor, but they had been relaxing and didn’t have their helmets on.

  “Aim for their heads,” Dash barked, shooting as he spoke.

  He took one man in the face, but the other ducked as McCall fired. The stun bolt clipped his shoulder, the nimbus surrounding his torso, but with the armor on, it didn’t affect him. He pointed his blazer straight at McCall.

  Dash lunged in and slammed the butt of his rifle into the man’s head. He staggered back but still managed to fire. Dash gasped, terrified the bolt would hit McCall, but she had moved. She had her back plastered to the hull of the ship.

  The law enforcer snarled and lunged at Dash, his speed enhanced by his armor. Dash tried to dodge out of the way and club him again with the rifle, but the man’s armored fist slammed into his shoulder. It hit like a wrecking ball, hurling him backward.

  Dash hit the snow-covered ice hard but rolled and got his feet under him. As he sprang up, he was aware of the nearby ship lifting off, but he couldn’t worry about that now. The law enforcer charged at him, lifting his rifle to fire.

  McCall shot him in the side of the head.

  Without his helmet on, the enforcer had no defense. His eyes rolled back in his head
as he tumbled to the snow, his momentum sending him skidding into Dash’s feet.

  “Thank you,” Dash said as he jumped aside.

  “Stun guns are a preferable weapon when you don’t want to kill your enemies,” McCall remarked, waving hers.

  “Yes, I would happily be using one if we hadn’t blown the rest of them up.”

  “Next time we’re attacked by giant robot predators, I’ll attempt to blow up the rifles instead.”

  “Call me odd, but I’m going to hope there isn’t a next time for that.”

  “Odd.” She smiled.

  Dash jogged up to the hatch, patting her on the shoulder as he passed. “You’re perky when you don’t eat.”

  “I’m perky when I don’t eat horrible food. You are going to stop at a grocery store after we abscond with this ship, right?”

  “Uh.” Dash hadn’t had any such plans, since he had no money and was wearing neon green clothes under his parka, but it would depend on what kinds of rations they found inside.

  The roar of engines grew louder, and thrusters fired as the other ship lifted off. Dash didn’t know what the pilot planned, but he couldn’t worry about it until he had this ship secure.

  He did a quick mental double-check to ensure he didn’t sense anyone else inside, then jumped through the hatchway. He and McCall hurried to drag out the unconscious pilot and leave him on the ground with his stunned colleagues.

  “Close the hatch,” Dash ordered McCall, glimpsing the other ship in the air, and raced toward navigation. He feared he was barking obvious orders, but he worried about that other ship and that an attack might come from the dome itself once their security people figured out what they were doing.

  “We’re sealed in,” McCall called back.

  Dash slid into the pilot’s seat, glad he was familiar with the controls. The comm light flashed, and he grimaced, imagining someone ordering him to give up the ship.