by Rachel Aukes
“My boss, Dr. Smith,” Throttle said.
“Smith?” she asked.
“Yeah. He runs the volunteer unit on L-Two,” Throttle said.
“That makes sense,” the first tech said. “I try not to spend much time on second, if you know what I mean.”
Throttle scolded, “Everyone needs care, even those down on L-Two.”
“Yeah, sorry,” she said, then motioned behind her. “Ms. East isn’t showing any symptoms yet, so she may have gotten lucky. But everyone else in this building has become symptomatic so far.”
“Lucky her,” Throttle said.
“Well, I think we need to make a couple of calls to see what JCMC has figured out since we’ve been over here.”
“I’ll let you at it,” Throttle said and moved to the side to let them pass.
As soon as the pair was inside the elevator and Throttle’s team was in the hallway, Birk spoke quietly. “Once they make a call, they’re going to figure out that everything you said doesn’t add up.”
Throttle gave a small nod and walked toward the door at the end of the hallway. A guard sat at a desk off to the side. His skin was pale and covered in a sheen of sweat, and his eyes were glassy. It looked like he was struggling not to fall from his chair.
“We’re here to check on Ms. East,” Throttle announced.
“Your people were just here,” he said, heaving on the last word.
“Yes, and we have new information on the virus. We need—”
The guard jumped to his feet and ran down a side hallway. A second later, Throttle grimaced at the sound of heaving taking place.
“I think I’m going to be sick just listening to that,” Birk said, and she noticed he was looking paler.
Throttle reached over the desk and pressed a button. The door opened to reveal a foyer before another door. The four people entered the small room, and the door closed behind them.
Anna East’s visage appeared on a screen near the inner door. “What do you people want now? I told you I was feeling fine.”
Birk stepped forward. “Contagion Protocol Alpha, ma’am. If there’s a possible pathogen outbreak on Jade-8, leadership is immediately quarantined to prevent exposure and to ensure no disruption in leadership. We’ve been sent to bring you to the medical center quarantine ward. It’s set up with full network access for you to conduct any necessary business from the safety of the ward. As soon as the lab confirms we’re not dealing with a dangerous pathogen here, then you can safely return to your office.”
Worry caused Anna to blink rapidly before she composed her features. “I’m not going to the JCMC. Quarantine me in my office if you have to.”
“Sorry, ma’am. The only fully equipped quarantine ward is at JCMC,” Birk said.
Anna huffed. “Fine. Come in, then. I need to grab a few things.”
The door opened, and they stepped into Anna East’s office. She was busy stuffing a bag with a tablet and folders. She looked up, and she practically snarled at the stretcher. “You can’t possibly expect me to ride in that.”
“It’s for your safety, ma’am,” Birk said.
To the left of Anna’s desk, Throttle noticed a small kitchenette with a contraption added onto the faucet. Anna East had her own purification filters. No wonder she hadn’t become sick.
She turned to catch Anna’s gaze on her.
“The water around here tastes awful,” Anna said. “That filter at least makes it somewhat drinkable. Hopefully, you have something to make the water decent at the medical center.”
“It’s probably not as good as you’re used to,” Throttle said softly, careful not to make eye contact or else risk being identified.
Anna set her bag on the table. “How long do I have to be quarantined? I’m very busy and have a lot of meetings. I really don’t have time for this.”
“As soon as we determine there’s no risk to you, you can return here, ma’am,” Birk said.
She sighed. “What if I just stay here in my office until this whole thing passes? If no one comes in, I’ll be safe.”
“Sorry, ma’am. That’s not protocol. We can’t block the air vents here,” Birk said.
“Well, screw protocol,” Anna said. “You can’t make me go.”
Birk shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am, but you have to come. Protocol Alpha states—”
“I’m staying,” Anna interrupted.
“The pathogen may be airborne,” Throttle said in a hurry. “That’s why so many became symptomatic around the same time. You could already be infected, and if you are, don’t you want to be at the medical center where we can give you the best support?”
Anna looked to the vents before turning back to Throttle. “Okay.” She grabbed her bag and started to walk toward them before pausing. “Wait, we’ve met before.”
Throttle shrugged. “Maybe at the blood drive?”
Anna guffawed. “I’ve never donated blood.” Her eyes narrowed. “Remove your mask.”
When Throttle made no move, Anna repeated, “I said remove your mask.”
Throttle sighed and pulled down the mask.
Anna stiffened. “Captain Reyne.” She lunged at her desk and hit a switch. A slight hum emitted from the wall before it was silent again.
Throttle opened her case and pulled out her gun, and she heard three other cases click open.
Anna leaned back, suddenly relaxed. She then looked across the other three in the room. “Let me guess. Here’s the rest of your crew.”
“And let me guess, you just powered up your energy shield,” Throttle said.
Anna dramatically waved her hand through the air before crossing her arms. “You did all this just to get revenge?”
“I’ve been known to hold a grudge,” Throttle said.
“Well, now you’re going to spend the rest of your life with those passengers of yours, working for the Starlight Mining Company.” She reached for a red button on her desk.
“Now!” Throttle yelled.
Birk and Nolin dove forward. Nolin flapped open a mirrored sheet that was larger than a person. He and Birk stretched it and brought it at an angle against the energy shield. Throttle ran behind them and leapt over the desk, tackling Anna.
Anna clawed and scratched. Throttle flipped her gun around and slammed the butt into Anna’s temple. The woman went limp into a moaning heap. Throttle started dragging her from around the desk when the door opened, and the sick guard rushed in. He could barely stand, and the gun shook in his hand.
“Stop,” the guard ordered weakly.
Finn leveled his pistol on the guard. “I haven’t killed anyone in fifteen years, friend. Don’t be the one to make me break my streak.”
The guard stood for a moment. Already, his body was beginning to heave.
“We don’t intend her any harm,” Finn continued.
Another moment passed before the guard heaved again. “Screw it,” he said before heaving again. He turned and rushed from the room.
Finn kept his gun leveled on the doorway while the other three loaded Anna onto the stretcher.
“Do you have the sedative?” Throttle asked Birk.
“Close enough,” he said and pulled out a syringe containing a murky, ink-like oil.
“Is that…sweet soy?”
Birk grinned. “It is.”
She frowned. “What are you doing with that?”
“It’s not for me, I swear. I just brought a bit along for bartering.”
“You brought the most addictive drug from back home for bartering?”
“For bartering with bad people,” he emphasized before shrugging. “Or in case we ever needed someone to not raise a fuss. Like right now.”
She rolled her eyes. She’d thought she’d left the worst of the Trappist system behind her. Turned out, her crew had brought it with them.
Anna had recovered from the blow and began to swing her arms in erratic motions.
“Hold her down,” Birk said.
Throttle a
nd Nolin flattened her body with theirs while Birk shot the hallucinogen into her arm. After a few seconds, Anna no longer fought. She shook her head and moaned, but her actions progressively became slower, like she was swimming underwater.
They placed the cover over her and sealed her onto the stretcher.
“We need to hurry,” Nolin said. “There are too many loose strings walking out there right now, and it only takes one to unravel, and this plan goes to shit.”
Throttle pulled her mask back on, and they rushed from the room and to the elevator. The guard was nowhere in sight, and Throttle was thankful they didn’t have to kill anyone. They rushed down the elevator and through the hallways. As they entered the large hallway, the pair of medical techs from earlier were walking toward them.
Throttle’s team turned in the other direction.
“Hey, wait!” the woman called out. “We have to talk to you.”
“Stop!” the man yelled.
“They aren’t armed. Keep going,” Birk said.
Throttle’s team started running. The pair took off after them. Throttle turned a corner, searching for a place to hide, but found nothing that would conceal four adults and a stretcher. Seeing nothing, she stopped and flattened herself against the wall. “Keep going. I’ll catch up,” she said.
Birk understood her plan and stayed, while Finn and Nolin continued to run ahead, with Anna groaning on her stretcher. Throttle heard the footsteps before they reached her and sprang forward. She twirled out from the wall, punching the first tech to reach her before they had a chance to know what was happening. He went down, out cold, from the single, neck-cracking blow.
Throttle turned to find Birk struggling with the other tech. Birk had grabbed the woman’s wrists and restrained her against him.
“Come on already,” Throttle muttered.
He grimaced. “You know I can’t hit girls.”
Throttle heaved a sigh and stepped forward. Birk let her go, and Throttle wasted no time in punching the woman, and she went limp.
“You’re hopeless,” Throttle said to Birk as the pair took off to catch up with the others.
The four disguised in medical uniforms came across several more Jaders on their way back to the gutters, but fortunately no one batted a second glance at medical techs walking through the East side with someone in a quarantine tube.
They reached the doorway to the gutters to find Cinder waiting inside. “Follow me,” she said and didn’t wait.
Cinder moved at a graceful run through the tunnels. About a half hour in, Anna East started to raise her voice and scratch at the cover, in hallucinogenic bouts.
“Hold on,” Throttle said and walked back to the stretcher. She tugged her white coveralls so she could slide her hand inside and reach her cargo pocket. She pulled out the roll of black tape.
Nolin and Finn pulled off the cover, and Anna shot up, only to be pressed back down by Finn. Throttle ripped off a length and fastened one of Anna’s wrists to the stretcher. She then did the same with Anna’s other wrist and ankles. Finally, she stuck a strip over Anna’s mouth. Throttle smiled. “Much better.”
She put the tape away, and they continued following Cinder until the girl stopped before another large door. Only this time, the large gutter rat with the homemade battle-axe stood blocking the door.
“What’s up, Axe?” Cinder asked.
The man named Axe walked forward, past Throttle and Birk, and to the stretcher. He looked down at Anna East. “She should be dead,” he said. “For all her crimes, she deserves to be dead.”
“We need her alive,” Throttle said.
“We’d all be safer if she was dead,” he drawled. “The same with her brother.”
“I don’t disagree with you. But the deal is she stays alive,” Throttle said.
After a moment he stepped away from the stretcher and started to walk down the tunnel.
Cinder opened the door and jumped back. On the other side stood several of Jakob West’s security guards. The girl took off running down the tunnel, leaving Throttle and her group.
Muscles tense, Throttle stepped forward. One guard cut through the center of the group. “I’m here to escort you to Mr. West’s office.”
“After you,” Throttle said.
The guard led the way. His armed men broke into pairs, covering all of her group and Anna East. Throttle couldn’t tell if they were there to keep Throttle and her crew from escaping or there to protect her team. Either way, they didn’t give her a comforting feeling.
Cinder had brought them out at a location very near to Jakob’s office. He must’ve suspected they’d use that door to have his forces there. Or he’d stationed guards at all potential entry points. She supposed that was the more likely scenario.
They reached Jakob’s office, and the guards surprisingly allowed Throttle’s people to push the stretcher into the office, though all the guards followed.
Jakob stood the moment she entered. “Open the cover,” he said nervously.
Throttle nodded to Finn and Nolin, who lifted the cover. Anna was still in a stupor, but at least she was no longer on the verge of a bad bender.
Jakob’s jaw slackened. “Release her!”
Finn pulled out a knife and cut through the tape. They helped her off the stretcher, but she couldn’t stand on her own.
“William,” Jakob ordered. A guard rushed to take Anna from Nolin’s arms and carried her away from Throttle’s group.
“What’s wrong with her?” Jakob asked.
“We had to drug her,” Throttle said. “She’ll be fine once the drugs wear off.”
He took a breath and his muscles relaxed as he leaned against his desk. For the first time, Throttle noticed several of the same mannerisms in the West siblings.
Throttle lifted her chin as she met his gaze. “I’ve held up my end of the deal. Now it’s your turn.”
“What about the sickness on the East side? I don’t want any of my people getting sick,” Jakob said.
“It’s in the East water system. Easy enough to clean out. As long as they don’t drink the water, they’ll be fine,” Throttle said.
He eyed his sister, though Throttle could tell he craved to move closer to her, except the energy shield stood between the brother and sister.
“I completed my end of the deal exactly as I said I would. Now, release the restraining cables to both of my ships and the warehouse. My ships, supplies, and passengers are mine, and you sanction our launches from Jade-8.”
Jakob returned to his chair and typed in several commands. “Done. You are free to go. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you. Don is standing outside and will show you to the dock.”
She tilted her head in Jakob’s direction, turned, and led her team out. She shot one final glance at Anna East, who was still too drugged to have any idea of what was happening. Throttle left to find Don waiting along with a half dozen guards. Many of the guards followed her team out before the door closed behind them.
Throttle narrowed her gaze at the shorter man. “What’s going on, Don?”
“I’m to escort you to the Javelin. Or to the Gabriela, your choice.”
“I need to get to both ships to prepare them for launch,” Throttle said. “We can start with the Gabriela since it takes longer.”
“Follow me,” Don said.
Throttle eyed her three team members, and they all bore the same dubious expression. None of them trusted what was taking place.
Don escorted them down a couple of elevators and to a tunnel with a moving floor. Throttle stepped cautiously on it.
Don chuckled. “Haven’t you ever seen an autowalk before?”
Throttle shook her head.
“My, your people are behind the times,” Don said.
“If we’re so behind the times, why are you fascinated with our tech?” Birk blurted out.
Don sobered, lifted his chin, and took a few steps forward.
As they moved down the walkway, Jakob West’s
voice came over the loudspeakers.
“Good people of Jade-8, today is a glorious day. For too long, we’ve been split in half, forced to choose sides. That fracture had stalled our progress and stymied the power of cooperation. Well, no longer. As of two minutes ago, my sister, Anna, and I have signed a treaty reuniting Jade-8 under a single leadership. Anna has graciously stepped down so that Jade-8 can thrive. I, Jakob West, will serve as leader, once again, over all of Jade-8. Anna West will remain on my staff as a valued cabinet member. Working together, we will become the most profitable Jade station in the Ross system.
“Our first order of business is to see to the health of the East residents, where gutter rats—in their attempts to make a statement—released a nonlethal contaminant into the water supply. I promise you that we will hunt down those responsible and purify the water as soon as possible. Over the next few weeks, you may see some superficial changes as Jade-8 is reunited. Please do not be alarmed, as everything I’m doing is to improve your living experience on the best colony in the galaxy. Be patient and know that good change is coming soon.”
Throttle would’ve stopped, except the autowalk kept moving her forward. “Don, why’s Jakob blaming the water problem on the gutter rats?” she asked in a manner like a teacher asked a first grader why he was carrying crickets in his pocket.
“Because they’re the easiest scapegoats and most likely to want to do harm to Jaders. Would you rather have him publicly blame you?” Don asked.
Throttle rolled up her sleeve and tapped her wrist-comm. She hadn’t wanted to use it in front of Jaders, but she realized that secrecy was no longer important. “Sylvian,” she said, “have the cable locks been released from the Javelin?”
“No, Captain. The locks are still in place.”
“Go on red alert. Stand by for further instruction,” Throttle said and turned to Don. “I’m starting to get the feeling that Jakob West isn’t going to hold up his end of the deal.”
“Ah, so you do have more crew members,” Don said. He watched her, his expression eliminating any doubt that he knew Jakob had no intention of playing fair. He held out his hands in a placating fashion. “You see, it’s all business. Your ships, those computers you and your crew wear on your arms—all of that can help Jade-8 grow. Besides, those colonists in the warehouse, stored in those cryopods, were already sold. Jakob can’t give away something he no longer owns.”
