by Rachel Aukes
“I can, on occasion, like now. Per galactic law, marshals don’t have to do a damned thing with the bodies after serving COLD warrants. It’s a lovely legal loophole that works for me, and maybe not so well for you.”
The man’s look of shock morphed into anger. His face turned red. “You’ve destroyed my bar. I demand restitution for the damages and the—the carnage!”
Punch cocked his head. “This is your bar?”
“Yes.”
Throttle’s jaw clenched as she realized who the man was. She glanced down at Sophia to see her frozen, staring at him, at her Boss Man. Throttle aimed her pistol, but Punch took a step closer to the bar owner, placing himself in between Throttle and Boss Man.
Punch took another step closer. “So everyone who works here works for you?”
“Of course.”
“Even that little girl back there?” Punch asked.
The man seemed to sense the direction Punch’s questions were leading, and he gulped. “I pay her fair—”
Punch shot him between the eyes. “Consider this her notice of leaving you.”
Punch turned back to Finn and Throttle.
“I scanned him. He didn’t have a warrant,” Finn said.
“He should’ve had one,” Punch said calmly, coldly.
Throttle kept her gaze on Punch. “You’re handling the paperwork for him,” she said.
He shrugged and then casually stepped away. “Sure.”
Throttle had worked with Finn for nearly three years, and she trusted him completely. Punch had been partnered with them for the past three months, but Throttle thought that even if she’d worked with him for three years, she still wouldn’t know him well enough to trust him. It was the cold, indifferent manner in which he dealt with his anger that bothered her most. The bar owner had triggered him and had triggered Throttle, too, but she wouldn’t have shot an unarmed man, no matter how much she despised who he was and what he did.
She let out a deep breath. “We’re done here. Let’s get Sophia out of here and back to Free Station.”
Chapter Two
“What the hell were you three thinking, taking on an entire pirate crew?” Chief Roux asked. He sat in his chair, arms folded, scowling at the three marshals. He often looked displeased, but his permanent frown deepened as he watched Throttle, Finn, and Punch.
“We didn’t know what we were up against until we were in the bar, and they didn’t give us any chance to retreat,” Throttle said.
“You should’ve transmitted an emergency signal to the local cops,” the director of the Galactic Peacekeepers said.
“It went down too fast,” Finn said.
Chief pursed his lips and didn’t speak for a length. “The news thinks you’re heroes. I think you’re lucky to be alive. Punch, I put you with Throttle and Finn because I thought they’d rub off on you. Instead, it looks like your foolhardiness is rubbing off on them.”
“Thank you, Chief,” Punch said.
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
Throttle’s brow lifted. “Does that mean you’re taking Punch off the Black Sheep, then?”
“No,” Chief replied and turned to Punch. “I need to be convinced that you, Marshal Durand, can be a team player.”
“I’m a great team player,” Punch said. “Ask these two.”
“He’s a great team player,” Throttle echoed perkily.
Chief grunted. “You’re just saying that to get him off your team.”
“Did it work?” she asked.
Chief eyed her for a moment, looked at Finn briefly, and then settled his gaze upon Punch. “Tell me about what happened to the bar owner.”
Punch shrugged. “Poor bloke got caught in the crossfire.”
“Hm. And is that exactly what I’d see if I were to watch the playback of the event recorded by your Atlas chip?”
Punch cocked his head. “Chief, if I know you, you watched those playbacks long before we made it back to Free Station.”
Chief ignored the comment and instead looked at the three marshals standing before him. “You are working together until I’m convinced that Punch understands that being a marshal is about being a part of a larger team and not about running down personal vendettas. Peter Antonov would’ve faced a jury for his crimes—you didn’t have to kill him.”
“He was a murderer. There was no doubt what his sentence would’ve been. I saved the Ross system millions of credits by cutting out the courtroom and prison time.”
“You are a marshal, not a judge, jury, and executioner,” Chief said with a sharp edge to his words. “All of you are to uphold the law. If the Peacekeepers bend the law to our whims, then we’re no better than the criminals we hunt. You used to be a good marshal, Punch. I’m hoping you remember how to be one again.”
“I’m still a good marshal, Chief,” Punch said.
Chief and Punch held a stare-down.
Throttle sighed. “What’s our next assignment, Chief?”
Chief turned to her. “You don’t have one. I’m giving you a ten-day leave. With Belmont coming just a few months after the attack on Free Station, you all need some rest. Your entire team is on leave, and I’ll send a notice to let Specialists Salazar-Martin and Edwards know. During your leave, I want each of you to see a GP counselor for a stress test. Do whatever you need to get Belmont out of your heads. Come back in ten days. If you all have a green light from the counselor, I’ll see about giving you a new assignment.”
“Do I have access to the High Spirit again?” Punch asked.
Chief considered the question for a length. He finally nodded. “I’ll have the restraining cables detached from the High Spirit within the hour. Just be sure to have it back in its docking bay by the time your leave is up.”
“You can count on me,” Punch said.
Chief cocked his head. “Remember, the High Spirit is GP property. It’d be a different story if you owned the ship like Throttle owns the Javelin. Then I couldn’t withhold the ship from you. But the High Spirit is mine, not yours. I’m loaning it to you for your leave. After that, I won’t assign it to another marshal, but you don’t get it back until I authorize you for solo work again.”
Punch grimaced. “Yeah, yeah.”
Chief held up a hand. “I’d prefer you to remain with the Black Sheep on the Javelin while on leave. I think you all need time off duty to get to know one another better. I can’t force you all to get along. After all, what you do while on leave is entirely at your discretion…as long as you’re not breaking the law, that is.”
Punch sneered. “I’d never dream of it.”
Chief frowned. “With you, I’m not so sure.”
“Will that be all, Chief?” Throttle asked, eager to get back to her ship and the rest of her and Finn’s team.
“Yes. I’ll see you all in ten days,” Chief said.
“What will happen to the girl?” Punch asked.
Chief answered, “Sophia Mercier will be placed in a new home. A recently retired Peacekeeper, a software specialist, has offered to adopt her. She’ll have a good shot at a decent life, thanks to your team.”
“Good,” Punch said.
Chief turned his attention back to his computer screen, and the trio left his office.
They spoke little as they walked through Free Station. Three months earlier, pirates had invaded the GP headquarters in the Ross system. Many Peacekeepers had lost their lives, and the station had been heavily damaged. The hallways still bore scars from rifle blasts. The uppermost level was still closed for repairs after a significant hull breach. Free Station would eventually look like nothing had ever happened, but the Peacekeepers would never forget. They’d believed no one would be foolhardy enough to attack them on their own turf. Their hubris had caused them to have almost been destroyed. Almost. If it hadn’t been for Chief’s leadership, they would’ve been.
“So where are you off to?” Throttle asked Punch as they rode the elevator down five levels to the docking bays.
He shrugged. “Not sure yet. Maybe I’ll head back down to the Widow’s Club in Belmont. I bet I could get a few cheap drinks there since they lost all their usual clientele.”
Finn snorted. “I bet they won’t even let you through the front door.”
“There’s always a bar willing to serve a marshal,” Punch said. “How about you? Taking that pretty wife of yours on a romantic vacation?”
“Wherever we go, I can promise it won’t be to Belmont or anywhere you’re at,” Finn said.
Punch smirked. “Aw. You’re just jealous because Sylvian likes me more than she likes you.”
“You’re just jealous because you can’t even get a woman to talk to you unless you kidnap her,” Finn said.
“Throttle talks to me and I didn’t kidnap her. Right, Throttle?” Punch asked.
“Chief forced us to work together. That makes it close enough to kidnapping,” Throttle replied.
“Touché. So, what will you be doing with your ten days of leave? No, that’s an easy one. You’re going to Canaan to hang out with your old buddies.”
She nodded. “I’m that easy to figure out?”
“No. You’re from the Trappist system. You don’t have anywhere else to go except to Canaan.”
The elevator opened, and they strode through Free Station’s space docks. The Javelin was docked not far from the elevator, so they didn’t have long to walk before reaching the dark ship. Its long, smooth hull was a sharp contrast from the jagged lines and cargo racks found on many ships. Its dull gray hull seemed to blend into the surrounding space, giving it the appearance of a smaller craft. The reality was it contained a full bridge, five cabins, and a cargo hold capable of carrying a single-passenger ship.
As they stepped through the open airlocks and on board the Javelin, Punch gave the other two marshals a small nod. “I’ll grab my gear and switch over to the High Spirit. Don’t have too much fun while on leave.”
“See you in ten days,” Throttle said, and she and Finn headed to the bridge.
Sylvian stood as soon as she saw them. “I received a message from Chief. We’re on administrative leave?”
Finn met his wife halfway. He embraced her and kissed her. “We are. Chief said we needed a break.”
Sylvian smiled. “That’ll be nice.” Then she frowned. “But what will we do?”
Finn smiled. “Anything we want.”
“Punch is heading out on the High Spirit as soon as he grabs his things from his cabin here,” Throttle said.
“Oh, okay.” Sylvian looked at her captain. When the realization of what that meant hit her, she released Finn. “Oh.”
“Punch has left the Javelin,” Rusty, the ship’s central computer, said. “Which will be a nice break from him trying to hack my systems with his fat-fingered attempts.”
Sylvian let out a breath. “So it’s safe to talk now?”
“It’s safe,” Throttle said, then looked upward. “Rusty, tell Eddy to come to the bridge.”
“You think he’ll try to sell the data card?” Sylvian asked.
“I don’t know,” Throttle replied. “But I know that he’s been acting standoffish lately.”
“He always acts standoffish,” Sylvian said.
“He’s been acting more standoffish,” Throttle clarified.
Finn nodded. “I noticed the same. He seemed distracted the last couple of times we sparred.”
“I already heard that we’re on leave. You didn’t have to call me up here to tell me that,” Eddy said as he entered the bridge. The lanky engineer had black grime covering his hands and halfway up his arms.
“I called you up here so we can talk about something.” Throttle glanced across the faces of the rest of her team, the Black Sheep. “Eddy’s right. As of now, we’re on leave. The next ten days are yours. I can drop you off wherever you’d like.” She paused. “I’m taking the Javelin to follow Punch.”
Eddy frowned. “Why would you follow Punch? Isn’t he still flying with us?”
“He’s taking the High Spirit and going out on his own leave,” Finn answered.
“That’s nice. That’ll give me time to fix that air vent in his cabin without him breathing down my neck.” Eddy stiffened. “Wait. Why would you follow Punch?”
Sylvian spoke. “Because back during the pirate attack on Free Station, Punch had me download the Atlas network’s system schematics onto a data card.”
Eddy frowned. “Why would you do something like that?”
“Because things were hectic at the time, and I thought it’d be easier—and safer—to go along with him than to get on his bad side.”
“You did the right thing,” Finn said.
“Of course you’d say that. You’re her husband.” Eddy turned back to Sylvian. “You did an idiotic, very stupid thing.”
“Eddy,” Finn scolded.
“What? We saw what happened when the pirates took control of Atlas. What’s stopping Punch from selling that card to someone else who wants to do the same thing all over again?”
Sylvian shook her head. “The data on the card is the architecture of Atlas, not codes to bypass its firewalls. Even if Punch sold the card, all it contains is how to build a network like Atlas. It doesn’t provide any of the data currently accessed through Atlas. Besides, I didn’t copy all the files, so it’s incomplete. Even if someone tried to build their own Atlas, they’d be missing several key parts.”
Throttle looked at Eddy. “After what happened on Free Station, none of us like the idea of anything related to Atlas, no matter how small, getting leaked out. That’s why I’m going to follow Punch. He told Sylvian he wasn’t going to sell the data card, and maybe he was being honest, but I’d still rather play it safe and keep an eye on him in case he’s out to build up a retirement fund the illegal way.”
Eddy shrugged. “Okay. Let’s follow him. How are we going to do that without him noticing?”
Throttle nodded at Sylvian.
The software specialist spoke. “Punch gave me access to the High Spirit’s systems back when I flew with him. Since then, I’ve been making tweaks so I can mirror whatever he’s doing on his panel. We’ll be able to see his flight path, as well as any communications, as soon as he enters it.”
Throttle grinned. “And I planted a tracker on his knife. That means we can monitor both his flight plan as well as his current location.”
Eddy clapped his hands. “Sounds good. I’m in. Just let me know what you need from me.”
Throttle spoke. “Hopefully, this is a simple shadow trip, completely uneventful, and we return to Free Station after ten days of a relaxing flight. If not, it’ll be good to have your expertise on board.”
“Of course it will. Now, I have a list of projects to work on, and I want to get started,” Eddy said and walked off the bridge.
Throttle watched him leave and then turned back to the other two members of her team.
Finn spoke. “I wouldn’t like it if I found out my coworkers were tracking me.”
“I wouldn’t either,” Throttle said. “But the alternative was to tell Chief about the data card, which I bet would cause Punch to be out of a job. The way I see it, we’re giving him the benefit of the doubt.”
He shrugged. “He might not see it that way.”
“That’s his problem,” Throttle said.
“It was my idea to ghost his systems. I’ll take full responsibility for it,” Sylvian said.
“We’re a team. Anyone who doesn’t want to shadow Punch can enjoy ten days of leave,” Throttle said.
Sylvian chortled. “I’m coming along.”
“Ditto,” Finn said.
Throttle smirked. “I assumed that. Still, thank you both.”
“We’re a team. That’s what we do,” Finn said.
Sylvian headed to her workstation. “Ever since the Chinese destroyed the ship that Punch seemed to think was trying to contact him, I’ve had Rusty monitor all of Punch’s system usage on the Javelin. We’ve been pa
rsing that history.” She looked back at both marshals with a wince. “He’s been obsessed with the ship that was destroyed three months ago.”
“The one blown up by the Chinese?” Finn asked.
Sylvian nodded. “That’s the one. My guess is that he’s been trying to find someone with ties to whomever was on that ship.”
“Do you know if they could be the Swarm?”
Sylvian replied, “Other than the Chinese announcing that the ship they destroyed was an enemy, the name hasn’t popped up anywhere, not even on the news. I think everyone assumes the Swarm is a conspiracy theory about first contact rather than a real thing. But Punch did make a connection with someone—who may or may not be tied to that ship—because he’s going to meet with that someone at the outer edge of the Tumbleweed Trail.”
Finn groaned. “Of all places…”
Throttle frowned. The Tumbleweed Trail was an asteroid belt on the edge of the Ross system, named that because of the vast amount of rocks in the belt that were rumored to cause an unusually high number of shipwrecks. Most people avoided the area, since the shipwrecks were more likely caused by the high number of pirates hiding in the belt than from asteroids. The Black Sheep had been there once before, to investigate a pirate attack and tug back the wreckage to Free Station. Finn had bruised a few ribs, and Throttle had a concussion the last time they’d been out there, no thanks to being chased by pirates. It was a sector that none of her team desired to see again.
It was also the perfect place for a clandestine meetup. A ship could hide among the asteroids until the other party showed up, and no one would be the wiser. That gave Throttle an idea.
“Rusty, create a flight plan for the Tumbleweed Trail,” she said.
“My pleasure,” Rusty said.
“But we don’t know for sure if Punch is going there until he initiates his flight plan,” Sylvian said.
Throttle looked at Sylvian. “The ship that was blown up? I saw it first out by the asteroid belt. Punch is connected with that ship somehow. It’s no coincidence that he was looking at those maps. He’s going there, and I want us to be there and in a concealed position before he arrives. He won’t notice us following him because we’ll be well ahead of him.”
