by Skyler Grant
"Maybe I'll finally get off my leash," Kalisa said hopefully, as she leaned back in the copilot seat.
Their monitors continued to feed them video and sound from both Tamara and Dela, coming through their implants.
"They're finishing up real fast out there," Dela was saying.
"Already?" Tamara asked. "I hoped they'd delay this a little bit."
"Do we have a problem?" Kadello asked Vixana, kicking Joline off his sword as he pulled it free.
"Long live the Emperor?" Vixana asked with a weak smile.
"Good girl. I can use you," Kadello said.
"I wouldn't count me out just yet," Joline said, still standing. Her voice was strangely cold and distant. There was something odd about her eyes, they'd gone completely gray.
"Surprising. Let’s see how you handle decapitation," Kadello said, and swung a two-handed blow towards Joline's neck. The sword hit, and it gave every appearance of going right through with only a fine spray of gray dust escaping. Joline didn't even look perturbed.
There was an incoming comm signal from inside the ship. Quinn opened the channel.
It was Jinx, her voice shaky. "Quinn, I'm watching this. It is bad, it is really bad."
"Is that your magic talking?" Kalisa asked.
"It’s ... almost excited, even pleased. But I know that billions of people who weren't going to die before are going to now."
Joline gestured, an almost negligent flick of her fingers, and the bodies of her slain guards rose from the floor. Their expressions were vacant, empty, their eyes gray like hers.
"Your problem, Marquis Kadello, is that nobody ever really trusted you. Not I, not the Emperor. If he had, you'd have known what I knew, and you'd have grabbed for his greatest weapon instead of that blade," Joline said in the same cold voice. "Kill him."
The guards closed in. Kadello landed a dozen blows that should have killed them, but they were unstoppable. Wordlessly he rolled away from a sword strike and fled through the door with the guards in pursuit.
"Long live the Empress?" Vixana asked hopefully.
"You are a duplicitous, cowardly creature. We too can use you," Joline said. "Thieves, out of the vault."
Kara led the way, followed by Dela and Tourmaline.
"We had a deal. We honored our part," Dela said.
"We did. You did. Take your plunder and leave our space. Tell your queen she may do as she chooses on the Rim, but the Core is ours," Joline said.
Up close the changes to her were obvious. A thin network of silvery veins now covered her flesh, and the wounds Kadello had so recently inflicted weren't so much closed as they streamed a steady spray of silver dust like a hole poked in a bag of sand.
"I know you ... don't I? The Glittering Sands?" Tourmaline asked.
"The Emperor thought to enslave us and only made us stronger. Go before we change our mind," Joline said.
"Please, don't leave me here," Vixana said, choking out the plea.
Tourmaline stared at her. "We can't save you. Do what this thing says and you might just stay being you. Everyone? Back to the shuttle."
They lost sight of the chamber as the trio quickly made their exit.
"What the hell are the glittering sands?" Quinn asked Kalisa.
Kalisa let out a chuckle that seemed almost pained. "I must have known her before, Tourmaline, in one of her different lives. The team wasn't that large. Our grand experiment to fuse nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. It was a catastrophic failure."
No guards were moving to prevent their team’s escape. They were being allowed to reach the Whiskey. It seemed whatever had taken over Joline didn't care about the loot they had with them.
"What happened?" Quinn asked.
"They consumed the whole planet our testing facility was on. Only about half our team even made it out," Kalisa said. "The expedition that would later bring humanity magic included a lot of us from that doomed project. People eager to escape what we'd done."
"Your past just keeps coming up, doesn't it?" Quinn said.
"More than I would like," Kalisa said in disgust.
"What about Opalia?" Jinx asked. Quinn had forgotten she was still listening through the comm.
"Not for the sands, that was a disgrace for all who were involved. Your ancestor was the captain of the expedition," Kalisa said.
The team was moving at a run. Dela's implants obviously weren't all sensor-related, and she was keeping pace with ease. It was something she wouldn't have been able to do before.
As they neared the Whiskey Quinn tapped in the flight routine.
"On alert," Quinn said.
"Ready and waiting," Jinx said.
Kalisa managed to avoid sharing any more deep, dark secrets of her past. As soon as the Whiskey was actually inside the Centauri Bliss, still undocked, Quinn was feeding in coordinates and sending them to Jinx.
Reality bubbled and twisted. For a time he was a barkeep in a little hole in the wall, dreaming of space as he listened to the stories of spacers.
Then they were on the other side. Klaxons throughout the ship blared at multiple weapon lock-ons, a nearby moon’s defenses responding to a strange ship suddenly materializing. They wouldn't be lingering. The Centauri Bliss shook as the Whiskey slammed into the docking clamps at speeds not recommended.
The next set of coordinates went through. Reality melted more. In this life Quinn and Kat had never broken from Ice, and they murdered and plundered their way throughout space. In time they stumbled into a Centauri of their own, a pirate lord and his pirate queens. The might-have-been seemed to stretch on for years.
Reality snapped back around them. It was a long jump, longer than they'd usually attempt and following right after another. Quinn and Kalisa both heaved making a thorough mess of the controls and creating a reeking stench in the cockpit.
They'd gone all the way back to Hope's Reach, back home. Back to the one place in the universe where they could already feel a little bit safe.
Around them sensors were already picking up gunships on approach and pulling into defensive formation, protection and an honor guard for the Centauri Bliss.
"I really must spend some time developing a proper anti-nausea medication for your method of travel," Kalisa said, gesturing sharply.
With crackles of red lightning the vomit began to flicker out of existence. Canceled out by the power of Chaos magic.
"I don't think I've ever been as impressed or turned on by you as I am at this moment," Quinn said.
"The jump wasn't that impressive," Jinx said through the comm.
Right ... still connected.
Quinn killed the line and sat back for a moment to think. They were safe, they'd gotten away from whatever it was that Joline had become, and were home. Richer and better equipped to show for it.
Of course, they'd gone back to save the Core and it seemed they'd instead released a monster that might kill billions, if Jinx was to be believed.
Was that their responsibility? Was there something they could do about it, even if it was?
Quinn had spent a very long time running and hiding away from his problems, and as glad as he was in some ways to have stopped doing that, sometimes they all piled up and seemed insurmountable.
What they faced, and what they'd do about it, wasn't his decision alone.
Quinn hit the ship-wide comm. "Lot just went down. Lot more than any of us were expecting—and we were expecting regicide with a side of regicide. We all need showers and a stiff drink. Family meeting in four hours to discuss."
"We'll do the meet. But I'm telling you now, this is the sort of thing we need Mara for, and she's not here," Tourmaline replied.
"I think she's right," Kalisa said, in unexpected support.
"We'll have to figure that out then. She's not here and we don't have an easy way to get a hold of her. Four hours, come with what you know," Quinn said.
They were back on the Rim and at Hope's reach. While Mara and Taki might not be here at the
moment, another member of the family could attend the meeting—someone usually absent.
Ice.
Quinn hadn't talked to her since she'd more or less forced her way into their family in exchange for her defense of the colony.
They also hadn't done anything approximating a proper wedding night, and Quinn was sure she'd insist on it.
Ice was complicated, and so tangled up with his memories of Kat it was sometimes difficult to separate the two. Quinn knew he'd have to find a way to start.
She too was another problem he could no longer run from.
20
Everyone was gathered around the table. It was steak sandwiches and mountains of fried potatoes for dinner.
Ice had joined them, elbowing aside others to get a seat beside Quinn.
"You people eat terrible food," Ice said.
"It's delicious," Jinx said.
"Maybe you just don't have enough of it," Kara said, her plate piled high.
"Before we get on to the ‘just how badly we're screwed’ part of things, let’s handle any not-screwed bits. We have some of those, right?" Quinn asked.
Ice told them, "We're doing well here. We've had a lot of folks from the Core, a lot more just wanting a new start. We've got most of the fleet working on skeleton crews and industries starting up on the planets."
"What about the clans?"
"They're here. They've tested us. None have pushed the point, and we made it clear we'll defend our worlds but not stop them from passing through—and they've passed by."
If they were ever going to be in a place to stop the clans, it wasn't now. Meanwhile, having them respect the territory of the Clan of Thieves was about the best they could expect.
"I'm still going through the diplomatic missives, and it looks like that hasn't gone unnoticed. We've a few worlds wanting to join us. Some the clans have already hit, and one the clans are afraid of being hit by," Tamara said.
Jinx said, "Only if they have something to offer. A military or industry, or agriculture we need. If not, they're welcome to immigrate to one of our planets if they can pull their weight."
"Cold. I like it," Kara said.
"We don't have time to protect every wimp in space. There is stuff we need though, and some of them might be useful," Ice said.
"How did we do on our take?" Quinn asked.
"I took the most dangerous items that myself and Tourmaline could find in the vault," Tamara said.
"I don't even know how to recognize half of it," Dela said.
"The most hazardous of them all won't mean anything to any of you, but Kalisa will recognize the importance. We claimed the Epsi coil," Tamara said.
Kalisa sat sharply upright. "That bastard had it? It was supposed to have been destroyed."
"Mind filling the rest of us in?" Quinn asked.
"It was the artifact which originally gave us our magic. I don't know what it is good for now, or if it is good for anything, but I'm very glad we're the ones who have it," Kalisa said.
"The others are similar. The weapon believed to have wiped out the Indroxi. The crystal that was all that remained of the crew of the Sindrohome," Tamara said.
"What I'm hearing is that we're not rich," Kara said.
"These items aren't for selling. I wasn't about to let Joline have these relics. The Emperor was ... responsible, in his way," Tamara said.
"So we've a bunch of the deadliest items in space now eating up room in our hold. That’s just fantastic," Quinn said dryly.
"Oh, husband. I for one am delighted," Kalisa said, beaming a smile at Tamara.
"Fine. Not rich. So what happened to Joline?" Quinn asked.
"At a guess? The Emperor didn't abandon all of his deadliest weapons. Do you recall the alterations seen to the scepter?" Tamara asked.
"The head had been replaced," Dela said.
Tamara nodded. "I think he hid something very dangerous in something nobody would think anything but an ornament. The one piece of regalia he usually carried with him."
"The Emperor could wipe out all life in the system at a thought. He was the most powerful Order mage alive. Why would he need whatever that stuff was?" Quinn asked.
"You say it as if the two are distinct," Kalisa said. "The intelligence controlling the sands was a beautiful construct. Perfect, ordered. It destroyed almost everything it touched, because it abhorred the disorder. It was reducing it to a simpler, more ordered state."
"I have a feel for Order now. What it wants ... what it craves. It was almost excited by whatever was happening with Joline," Jinx said.
Kalisa said, "We had several android crew when magic was discovered. None gained any sort of abilities. Never has any human construct ever, to my knowledge."
"And they haven't now, have they? Not really. Yes, a mind vastly more powerful than a human mind, but it’s sort of riding in Joline. In control of her, but it is still her blood, her power," Jinx said.
"It's a lot like Tourmaline and her descendants. We all thought we were the strongest riders, and the Emperor probably was strong enough to keep these nanites in charge, and use them," Tamara said.
Kalisa said, "But Joline does not have nearly his power, or his will. At first exposure they began to rule her."
"You know where I'm going with this. Is this our problem?" Quinn asked.
Ice said quickly, "Absolutely not. At worst you're a smuggler ship with a stake on a few Rim worlds. At best you're the equivalent of a border barony. No matter how many glowing tats Jinx gets, this isn't your problem."
"Without us, Joline wouldn't have gotten what she needed to complete the regalia. Without us, billions wouldn't be facing death—people who weren't going to die before," Jinx said.
"Does it matter how we feel about it? We don't have a thing to do about it. Joline, or whatever is ... wearing her, has the regalia, and has eliminated the competition. What options do you think we have?" Tamara asked.
Quinn looked to Kalisa. "Seems to me you're the best one to answer that. You're the most powerful magic-user we have. If the Emperor was able to control these things, can you?"
"I don't know," Kalisa said, with a pensive look down at the table. "The sands were powerful, but limited. Communication across distances was difficult for it, so the potential for them to spread was diminished. If Order magic has lifted this restriction they'll be formidable."
"But what Order magic grows, you can shrink," Quinn said.
"Perhaps, but I am not immune to being taken over myself. I fear the chaotic nature of my own mind might make that easy."
"You know who we need? We need Mara and her family. They are the experts on magical threats and have always kept a close eye on the royal family," Tamara said.
Quinn rubbed at his eyes. Until Mara settled whatever issues she was having, something like this was only going to further complicate matters. Still, they were right. "Mara gave us a channel to reach them in an emergency. Encrypt up everything we have on what happened to Joline. Your recordings, and whatever sensor data Dela got. Bundle it all up and send it off, and tell them we want to talk."
Tamara closed her eyes for several moments, "Done."
"I'm all for a little regicide, but you just got home. Maybe take care of business here first, before you even think of heading back there?" Ice said.
"You defend the nest and then you hunt," Vess said with a nod.
"We'll need you to stay behind and keep building up the fleet," Quinn said to Ice.
"You left me behind once already and look what happened. Now you don't even have Taki to watch your back, and you think I'll let you saunter off again?"
"We need you here."
"I don't care where you need me. I joined this family for one reason and one reason only, and that was to keep you safe. Not to babysit the colony you pretend to care about, but keep abandoning to do something more interesting," Ice said.
That hurt. It wasn't like that with Hope's Reach. Quinn knew they'd been drawn away from the colony, more than once
, but it was all on things that in the long term should make the colony safer.
Kara said, "Stud’s right. You're the only one that can manage a fleet like that and keep your people in line. I'll watch his back for you."
Ice narrowed her eyes at Kara. "You haven't given me much reason for confidence. I know how fierce you are, but you're always off looking for fights of your own."
"Give you my word, badass to badass. Until Taki gets back with us or we get back to you, I'm stuck to his side and anything trying to get to him will have to go through me," Kara said.
Ice studied Kara and finally nodded. "If anything happens to him, I'll take it out of your hide."
Tamara told them, "We got a response. That was faster than I expected. A set of jump coordinates, outer edge of the Core. Nothing else."
"We can work with that. Every moment we give Joline to solidify her power makes things harder. Everybody get to your stations or get off this ship. We go in ten," Quinn said.
21
They didn't know what they were jumping into. If there was anyone who would have both the means and capabilities of killing them quickly it would be Mara's family.
Quinn and Dela were in the pilot and copilot seats as their two best behind the controls. Kara, Kalisa, and Vess were all in the hold and in full armor and gas masks. Tourmaline was behind the controls of the Whiskey. The shuttle was well-armed and with a completely separate atmospheric system, and it would be easy to overlook if some assault were aimed at the ship.
When everyone had given the all clear Quinn sent the coordinates to Jinx and reality twisted around them. For a time Quinn lived the life of a gardener, and it wasn't nearly so dull as he might have thought.
Reality cascaded back around them. Briefly. A bare awareness of the return to the cockpit. They were inside a cargo hold of something. It was a lot like the disguise they'd pulled off with the ore hauler. Visuals were all he was getting though, any stronger sensor readings were being blocked.
Reality twisted again. Quinn this time found himself on a Rim world, and in love with an alien woman. He didn't recognize the species, blue skin with tiny silver whorls below the ears.
