Perilous Hunt

by Lindsay Buroker

  “He wants coffee too.”

  “He said that?” She couldn’t imagine Leonidas doing anything so wistful as vocalizing a desire for coffee. He never complained or admitted to discomfort, pain, or desires, not when he was on duty, and rarely in other circumstances.

  “He yawned. I interpreted it.”

  Alisa leaned back on her bunk. “I’ll make the coffee soon.” She switched channels. “Leonidas?”

  “Here.”

  “I heard you’re yawning. What would you say to a nice early morning surgery that might help you sleep better at night?”

  He didn’t say anything. Maybe she should have found a more tactful lead-in.

  “I suppose it might not,” Alisa said, “but I got the impression that, if some of the tinkering that had been done to your brain was untinkered, your neurotransmitters might play better together.”

  “Untinkered?”

  “I’m certain it’s a word. Even if the surgery doesn’t cure your nightmares, maybe we’d have a better idea of a starting place for other medical interventions. If nothing else, Yumi has dozens and dozens of boxes of powders in her cabin.”

  “Alisa, we need to find the children before worrying about—”

  “Trust me, I haven’t forgotten about that, but we’re stuck here until we figure out where they went. As for the surgery, Tiang said he would do it. Alejandro said the operating room on the station would be sufficient. And that he would assist Tiang. If you want them to do it.”

  Another silence followed her words. She would have checked to see if the channel was still open if she hadn’t been able to hear Mica grunting and something clanging in the background.

  “You talked him into it?” he finally asked. He didn’t sound ecstatic.

  Alisa hesitated. Should she mention Stanislav? No, that wouldn’t endear him to the idea. “I talked to him about it, yes.”

  “No strings attached?”

  “No strings.”

  “We should wait until we have the prince. And Jelena. And the staff is dealt with.”

  Alisa grimaced. The last thing she wanted to wait on was that damned staff. As to the rest… “We can’t do anything until Mica accesses the footage. And it’s a foregone conclusion that the Nomad doesn’t have medical facilities sufficient for complex operations, so unless you want to accompany Tiang back to some Alliance hospital, then the station may be the best bet.”

  “We’ve seen numerous ships out here in the asteroid belt. The station could be attacked again any time.”

  “The station is empty. Why would anyone attack it now?”

  “We’re here,” Leonidas said.

  “The empire already checked here. They should be searching for that shuttle now. Not that I want them to find it, mind you, but there’s no reason for them to return to the station.”

  “Alisa…”

  She took a deep breath. “If you don’t want to do it, you can say so, Leonidas. I’ll understand. You can wait until a better time. Or… if you decide never to do it, I’ll understand that too. It sounds scary.”

  “You wouldn’t mind?” he said quietly.

  “No. Look, I’ll fight for you to have whatever will make you happy, so long as it’s what you want. But I don’t want to push you into anything.” She would be disappointed if he never found a solution to his problems, but she wouldn’t say that. She didn’t want him making the choice because of her feelings. She wasn’t even sure what her feelings were right now, knowing that Tiang was only willing to do the surgery because of Stanislav’s mind manipulation.

  “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”

  “Good. Coffee? Mica said you were desperately in need of some.”

  “Your interpretations of what people say are often interesting.”

  “Because I’m an interesting person.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  Chapter 7

  Alisa wore her combat armor as she headed back into Sepiron Station, though she was using the helmet to hold the coffee mugs she had filled for Mica, Beck, and Leonidas. Yumi walked at her side, carrying a small pouch.

  “I think this will help as much as the coffee,” she said as they navigated the corridors.

  The gravity remained on, though occasionally a distant clank or clunk made Alisa wonder how sound the station was.

  “It’s stronger than caffeine,” Yumi added with a wink.

  “Is it legal?”

  “It is legal. And it’s fresh.”

  “Is it important that drugs be fresh?”

  “I think so. The drisht powder was compounded from bommil leaf and syrunesk procured when we were on Arkadius.”

  “When did you have time to procure anything? The only places we spent significant time were a junkyard and a jungle where we were busy being hunted by Alliance soldiers.”

  Yumi smiled at her. “Do you want to know?”

  “Not if you scraped a mushroom off the underside of a rusting hulk in the junkyard.”

  “Bommil leaf isn’t a mushroom.” Yumi chuckled, as if that were the silliest thing she’d heard. “And syrunesk… ah, perhaps you’re better off not knowing.”

  “I won’t ask for more details, but can I convince you to apply your scientific background to something less pharmacological?” Alisa asked.

  “Likely so. What did you have in mind?”

  “I assume most of the asteroids in this belt were cataloged at one time or another. Can you check the sys-net and see if you can find any likely locations for a hidden base or refuge? If the Starseers left in a shuttle, they must have had some destination in mind, and if it wasn’t equipped for long-range travel…”

  “What if they simply met up with another ship?” Yumi asked.

  Then they could be halfway across the system by now.

  “It’s a possibility,” Alisa said, though she did not want to consider it, “but I’d appreciate it if you checked the asteroids, in case the shuttle stayed in the area.”

  “I can do that as soon as I deliver my gift.” Yumi swung her bag.

  “Some people give flowers and chocolates as gifts instead of drugs.”

  “How uninspired.”

  “Halt,” came a call from ahead of them. Beck stuck his head around the broken Command and Control door—it was still stuck halfway open. “Only authorized personnel are allowed to approach.”

  “We have coffee,” Alisa said.

  “That makes you authorized.”

  “I thought so.”

  Alisa stepped through, clunking her armored shoulder on the broken door. Since she hadn’t heard of any additional androids leaping out at Mica, Beck, and Leonidas, she needn’t have put the gear back on, especially since her case had still been repairing all the dents, but she figured she should wear it often to get used to it. Besides, she didn’t trust the station’s life support not to break down while she was aboard.

  “The coffee has arrived,” Alisa announced.

  Mica held out a hand without turning toward Alisa. Her head was stuck inside a console, the panels pulled away, revealing all manner of circuitry. Though Leonidas wore his armor and had a rifle nearby, he was also tinkering with one of the computer systems. Only Beck and Bravo Six were on guard, each standing to a side of the doorway.

  “Greetings, Lady Captain,” Bravo Six said, turning his one working eye toward her.

  “Greetings, Bravo Six.” Alisa felt guilty about that eye now that he was cheerfully working with her people, but he had attacked her first.

  “You’re using your helmet to carry coffee mugs?” Leonidas asked, leaning his shoulder against the workstation he’d been tinkering with.

  “Was coffee caddy not one of the features listed in the sales specs?” Alisa handed a covered mug to Beck, then walked over and deposited another mug in Mica’s waiting hand.

  “No.”

  “Are you certain? It was a long list of features.”

  While Yumi settled cross-legged on the deck next to Mica, asking if she could hol
d anything or if a pick-me-up was needed, Alisa carried a mug over to Leonidas and offered it to him.

  “It’s not drugged, is it?” he asked, eyeing Yumi and her bag.

  “No…”

  “I don’t want to wake up on an operating table without my consent.”

  She frowned, stung that he’d thought she might arrange that. Had she been pushing that hard? Had she sounded insincere earlier? Damn it, maybe she was trying too hard. And if he was ambivalent, he might not appreciate her efforts.

  “I’m sure your enhanced taste buds would detect additives if they were in there,” she said, “but they’re not in the coffee and they’re not in this either.” She extracted the other item in the bottom of her helmet, a chocolate bar, and handed it to him. He had been over here for a while without anything to eat, so she figured he was hungry. It was unopened, so he shouldn’t be suspicious of it.

  He sighed and accepted it, only to lay it on the nearest flat surface and offer his arms. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”

  She stepped into the hug, even if it was silly the way their chest pieces bumped against each other. “It’s understandable. I’m shifty. And apparently conniving.”

  “Who said that?” His arms tightened around her, and he rested his chin against her hair—that was more pleasant than the bumping chests.

  “Alejandro. Will you beat him up for me?”

  “Of course. Can I beat up Abelardus too?”

  “He hasn’t insulted me lately.”

  “So?”

  She snorted and cupped the back of his neck with her hand. The palms of the gauntlets were thinner and allowed more sensation than most of the armor, but it still wasn’t the same as touching bare skin to bare skin.

  “Combat armor isn’t conducive to romance or cuddling, is it?” she asked.

  “Unfortunately not.” He sighed again and lowered his arms. “I don’t think you would find sleeping in it an appealing way to spend the night with me.”

  “Oh, I’ve already come to that conclusion. I decided you should sleep in yours. I saw there’s a command to lock it down.”

  “There is. I’ve even used it before for that very purpose.”

  “So someone could cuddle with you?”

  “So I wouldn’t hurt someone when I dozed off during a space flight in tight quarters. Prince Thorian, actually.”

  “Ah.” Alisa stepped back. “Since Beck and Bravo Six are watching Mica’s back, will you come with me to search the station? I want to take a look at the shuttle bay for myself—right now, I only have Stanislav’s word that there’s nothing useful down there. And maybe… maybe we can find where the children were sleeping.” She cringed inwardly at the thought of walking into another abandoned bedroom, as they had back on Cleon Moon, but there might be clues in such a place.

  “I will.” Leonidas picked up his rifle and the chocolate bar, giving her a shy smile as he did so. He also took a big swig of the coffee before setting it down and nodding to the door.

  Warmed by the gesture, she bumped shoulders with him. It seemed to be the limit of cozy, romantic gestures one could make when both parties were ensconced in armor.

  “Don’t forget your coffee caddy,” he said as they walked toward the door.

  Alisa snorted and grabbed her helmet.

  “You’re in charge, Beck.” She thumped him on the arm as she passed. When Bravo Six tilted his head, she thumped him on the arm too.

  “What?” came Mica’s muffled objection from within the computer console. “I don’t even outrank the security chef?”

  “You definitely outrank the security chef,” Alisa said, while winking at Beck and shaking her head. “But you’re busy, so it’ll be up to Beck to decide if you need to be hoisted off the deck and hauled to safety.”

  Mica’s response was too inarticulate and muffled to understand.

  “Your command structure could use some updating and clarification,” Leonidas said, as they headed into the corridor.

  “That sounds like a good job for a security chief to undertake.”

  “If you put me in charge of it, the security chief will end up outranking the captain.”

  “Sounds unorthodox.”

  “But appealing.” He gazed down at her through slitted eyes, probably fantasizing about having the authority to keep her from throwing herself—and the rest of the ship—into harm’s way.

  “I should have drugged you, after all.”

  He patted her back and led her toward an elevator. Thanks to the map imprinted in her mind, she knew it went to all the different levels, including up to the shuttle bay.

  “I explored a little earlier,” Leonidas said, the doors sliding shut after they entered. “I found two more imperial soldiers—both dead—near the airlock chamber. I suspect their ship or ships were responsible for scorching the hatch there.”

  “And destroying the Starseer transport ship?”

  “Possibly. Unless there are more enemies out here.”

  “I keep waiting for our buddy Tymmy to show up. After we saw his ship at the first station, Stanislav said he’d try to shroud us or cloak us—whatever—to keep his brother from following, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. I’m also not sure if we can trust him.”

  “No,” Leonidas agreed. “He could be the one helping Tymoteusz stay close to us. Tiang is a concern too. He didn’t give us a valid reason for wanting to come with us.”

  “You don’t think he came along because he adores you and wants to help you?”

  “I think he’s Hawk’s spy. I assumed you thought that too.”

  “Yes, it came to mind the second he volunteered to spend his leave with us. We’re not a pleasure ship. Nobody would voluntarily take a vacation with us.”

  “Yumi seems to find it appealing.”

  “Yumi’s not taking a vacation. She’s collecting drug ingredients for the founding of her mobile drug dispensary.”

  He squinted at her. “That was a joke, right?”

  “I’m not sure. As to the rest, I’ve been watching people’s comm messages to see what gets sent and received via the Nomad’s dish.” As the elevator stopped and Leonidas stepped out, she watched him out of the corner of her eye. “I noticed you got a couple of messages,” she said, trying to make it sound casual, not like an accusation.

  “Did you listen to them?” He didn’t sound affronted by the idea.

  “No.”

  “Really?” He arched his eyebrows, holding the door so she could step out.

  “Really. It did cross my mind. But I thought I should trust you to tell me if I needed to know anything.”

  “Huh.”

  She decided not to be insulted that he had expected her to snoop. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t laid the foundation for such expectations.

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they headed toward the shuttle bay.

  “Senator Bondarenko sent ships to look for Thorian and the staff,” Leonidas said. “I gather their intel was slow on hearing about everything. We don’t have the resources anymore that the Alliance does.”

  Alisa held back a grimace at his use of the word we instead of they. At least he was telling her about the messages.

  “They want your help?” she guessed.

  “They were asking for information at this juncture.”

  She pressed her lips together to keep from asking if he had provided any of it. She wasn’t snooping, and she wasn’t prying. Not this time.

  He met her eyes, almost as if he expected her to ask. “I haven’t answered them yet.”

  “Yet?”

  “First off, Bondarenko could have contacted me to enlist me in his new militia when the war ended if he wanted my help. He hasn’t contacted any cyborgs, from what I’ve heard. That he is interested in me now is telling. Beyond that, I don’t know where Thorian or the staff are, so there’s not much to share with them. When we do find Thorian… I don’t think handing him to Bondarenko is the appropriate move. His father wanted h
im with the Starseers until he’s old enough to… be his own man.”

  Or lead an army to reestablish the empire. Alisa knew that was what the plan had been. She hoped with all of her heart that the Alliance would be too established and too entrenched throughout the entire system for that to happen by the time Thorian was old enough to think about military strategy. Though she supposed someone could claim himself regent, use Thorian as a figurehead, and try to move the agenda forward sooner. Poor kid. Everyone either wanted him dead or wanted to use him.

  “You don’t think it would be better for him to be with a mother and a father?” Alisa asked. “He could be adopted, live a normal kid’s life, and not grow up learning to hurl people against walls and pry into their minds.”

  “That’s not what his father asked for.” Leonidas stopped in front of a set of double doors. “And he’s already got Starseer powers, just as your Jelena does. There’s no making that go away. They have to be trained by people who know how to train such children.”

  “Maybe Yumi’s mother would volunteer.” Alisa barely knew the woman, but she had raised daughters who didn’t seem interested in conquering the galaxy. They found Abelardus handsome, which was definitely a flaw, but a mother couldn’t be blamed for that.

  “It won’t be up to me,” Leonidas said, “but I gather the Starseers find the orphanage system with its multiple tutors and role models to be preferable.”

  “I don’t see how it would be,” Alisa said. “Boys need mothers and fathers. So do girls.” Alisa gave her braid an agitated tug—she had forgotten to put it back into a bun when she woke up.

  “Yes,” Leonidas said, smiling sadly.

  He waved his hand at the control panel, and the door opened for him.

  “Did Mica override something?” Alisa asked. “That’s not your usual method of opening doors.”

  “I overrode something.”

  “Is that what you were doing to that computer? Making sure you got access?”

  “I didn’t want to have to rely on Starseers or androids to finish my explorations.”

  They walked into the shuttle bay, where two of the three docking spots were taken by passenger craft capable of seating about twelve people. The names on the sides read Sepiron Station Shuttle 1 and 2 and matched up to names on the wall in the bay. As Stanislav had said, Shuttle 3 was missing.