“Thanks, Lucinda!” I yell at her back.
“Don’t thank me! Thank Gus!”
I look around. “Where is he?”
“He’s on the Baltimore. Scavenging.”
“We need to go. Get him back on the ship. I want as many klicks between them and us as we can manage before they come to.”
“We already have a rendezvous set up with the Alliance.”
I stop short at that. “Really?” Putting my hand on Baebong’s shoulder I look him in the eye. “Thanks, friend. I knew I could count on you.”
He shrugs. “I like this gig. Wasn’t ready to walk away yet.”
“Good thing for me.” I smile and move away toward the corridor that will bring me to the flight deck, as Baebong moves off down the airlock to retrieve the rest of our crew.
“Captain?”
I turn to face Macon. He’s standing at the end of the airlock on our side. “Yes?”
“What do you want me to do?”
Hug me? Forgive me? Make everything go away? “Go see what you can do to help Lucinda. If that’s what you want to do.” Hopefully he doesn’t want to kill me. I don’t really think he does, though. Mostly because he was doing a really shitty job of it in the pit. He could have broken my neck about three different ways in the time it was taking him to dance around and pretend to warm up. I might have let him, too. But he didn’t take the opportunity offered, and I don’t believe he ever will now. Some bonds cannot be broken, even by big mistakes. Whopper ones. Thank the universe for that.
“Okay. I can do that.” He looks like he wants to say more, but then he doesn’t. He just hangs his head, walks off, and disappears down the corridor.
I look around me and take in the exercise equipment that the twins installed for me, the dented, scraped up steeloid that surrounds the cargo bay, and the airlock still linking me to a group of people who are going to wake up soon and wonder what the hell happened and where I went.
Talk about making enemies. I thought the OSG was after me before, but that’s nothing compared to what I suspect their new mission will be: find Cass Kennedy at all costs, and when you do, annihilate her, her crew, and whatever technology she has that knocked us on our asses.
Yeah. I’m pretty much screwed. I doubt the Alliance will want anything to do with me, now that I’ve brought so much heat to our cause. So where does that leave me and my crew? I have no idea, but I’m not going to worry about it until I actually talk to the people who will say yay or nay to my membership in the Alliance. My father always said that there’s no use worrying about things that might never happen, and he wasn’t always wrong.
Chapter Thirty-Two
AFTER A VOYAGE PUTTING SOME serious distance between us and the WS Baltimore, a brief nap filled with nightmares, and a quick de-briefing with Baebong about our next steps, I join my entire crew on the flightdeck. They’re facing me from the bottom of the stairs, and I’m standing in front of my chair. Even Tam is there, although he’s being propped up on one side by his brother and Baebong on the other. His face has pretty decent color to it, all things considered.
“Thanks, everyone. For still being here, for coming to get Tam and Macon and me.” I gesture at my friend. “We’ve known each other for a long time, it turns out.”
Macon looks at the floor. “Too long.”
“Not long enough,” I correct.
“How come you didn’t recognize him?” Gus asks, bending over to see Macon around Jeffers.
“He’s had a little MI,” I say sarcastically. More than a little. More like a shit-ton. I look to the others. “We’ll give you the details later, but suffice it to say that he, more than any of you, has great reasons to choke me to death, but for some crazy reason, he’s decided not to. At least for now.”
Several smirks come out and Gus laughs. He stops when he realizes he’s the only one doing it.
“We have a meeting with the Alliance down on the surface of Ogadana in one hour, thanks to Baebong.” I give him a nod. “Before we get there, I want to clear the air among us and get your thoughts on some things.”
There’s a general shuffling of feet and a couple of coughs, but I get no flack so I take that as a good sign and continue.
“As you know, I called up the Baltimore to get some MI for Tam. MI he needed as a result of my mistake.” I look over at his pale face. “I’m sorry, Tam. I never should have left my weapon there for that pirate to use against you.”
He shakes his head. “Hey, now I know what it feels like to be stabbed. Don’t apologize.”
“We’ve always wondered that,” Gus says by way of explanation. He looks at his brother. “I’m so jealous of you right now, it’s not even funny.”
I shake my head at their wacky gingerness. “Anyway, without all of you and without your efforts, I wouldn’t be standing here.” I try to smile, but it’s not really working out, so I quit. “Now… I heard some things on the Baltimore that make me question how and why I’m really here. Like, first of all, how me winning this ship might not have all been left up to chance. Regardless, now’s not the time to worry about it. It’s something we can try and figure out later when we don’t have the OSG up our butts.”
I glance at Macon, but he’s staring at the floor. I’ll get into that head of yours later, Macon.
“For right now, all we need to know is that the Alliance is waiting on us, and they’re going to decide if we can join today. However, based on the fact that I now have a giant target on my back, I’m not sure they’re going to want to take that risk on.”
“You mean we have a giant target on our backs,” Lucinda says. Her arms are folded across her chest.
So much for singing hallelujah, I guess. “Right. You’re right. And I’m sorry about that too.”
Jeffers speaks up. “We all voted. We made the choice to help you both willingly.” He looks first at me and then at Macon. Macon nods at him in thanks.
“Technically speaking, I didn’t vote,” Tam says, holding up a finger, “but I would have voted to help.”
“Thanks. Thanks to all of you.” I bow, hoping they’ll understand that I fully appreciate the sacrifice they’ve made. I pray none of them will have to die for it.
“So, what are we going to do now?” Macon asks.
I want to jump and cheer about the fact that he’s included himself in that ‘we’, but I won’t. It might have been just a slip of the tongue or my hope reading something into his comment that wasn’t really there. Besides, captains of DSes don’t jump for joy.
“Now, we go to Ogadana and have the meeting. See what they have to say.”
“What if they want to take the disk?” Baebong asks.
“Not a problem,” Gus says, smiling. “We have our own now.” He looks at Tam. “It was way simpler than I thought it was going to be. Once I had that picochip…”
“What picochip? You don’t have a picochip,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
He gives me a lopsided grin. “Well, we kind of do. See, we put some mods into that water uptake chute … sweeps for electronics that might have gotten loose? Holds onto ‘em. Sends me a signal. Forgot to mention that before. Sorry about that.”
I should probably be angry that he kept my picochip and chose not to tell me, but I get why he didn’t. And if he hadn’t, who knows where we’d be right now.
“We’ll discuss that later.” I focus on the group as a whole. “Right now, I need everyone to get ready for a short flight and a landing at Ogadana.”
“Will I have time to pull samples?” Lucinda asks.
“I’ll make sure you do.”
She’s the first one to leave the group, headed for the nearest corridor.
“Dismissed!” I say before she’s fully out of the room. She hesitates, but then continues without a word.
Baebong leaves his job as prop for Tam and takes his seat on the flightdeck. The engineers limp out together, and Macon departs through the same corridor Lucinda did. That leaves Jeffers lookin
g up at me from the bottom of the stairs.
“You have something to say?” I ask, expecting a reprimand.
He shakes his head. “Just glad to have you back, Captain.” He gives me a slight bow before walking up the stairs toward the empty chair on the flightdeck.
“Glad to be back,” I say, taking my seat at the helm. I want to sing and dance and cry all at the same time, but instead I stare silently out at the Dark. One step at a time. You can dance when this is all over.
Chapter Thirty-Three
OGADANA IS AS DRY AS an old bone that’s been stuck in a dehumidification chamber for a week. A single huff of air sends dust flying up in the air for long periods of time before it settles again. My engineers are freaking out about keeping that crap out of our systems.
“I have to run the filtration exhaust the entire time,” Tam says, sounding very tired and frustrated. He’s not fully recovered from his injury, and he won’t be for another couple days. MI can only do so much before the body has to take over and accomplish the rest.
“We’ll be all right,” I say, hoping I’m not lying. I’ve never gotten this close to the dusty planet before. “Just keep it steady and let me know if you run into any problems.”
“Look!” Baebong says. “Right there!” He’s pointing out the clearpanel at a mountain range coming into focus. Three ships are hovering in a circle, exactly where they said they would be. The thrusters on the bottom of their hulls are sending up big, cup-shaped plumes of dust that are starting to wrap up around the top of them.
“They’re filling the atmosphere above so they can’t be seen,” I say as I watch them in action. “Brilliant.”
“We need to get over there before we’re stuck in the middle of it,” Baebong says.
“Yes. Right.” I work the arrays on my left and right to guide us over. “Just taking it nice and easy…” My eyes jump from the clearpanel to the radar, making sure I get close but not too close.
When we’re within range, a big cloud of dust covers our ship, making use of the clearpanel impossible. Piloting instruments-only, I move into position, my blood pressure skyrocketing to new heights. I hate having this big of an audience during such delicate maneuvers.
Once we’re in position and I can set up an anchor thrust, I finish up the sequence and open up the comm. “DS Mekanika, this is the DS Anarchy, extending a reach.” Using the coordinates provided to Baebong, I keep the reach open, not worrying about sending it encrypted. If anyone else were here, we’d know about it. The Alliance assured Baebong that they always scan the area around their meetings before settling in.
“DS Anarchy, this is Captain Beltz. It is good to hear your voice again.”
His cheerful, accented transmission has me smiling. “Likewise, Captain. So what’s the procedure here?”
“Just one moment while we clear the air a little bit.”
There’s a big whooshing sound and then suddenly our clearpanel isn’t useless anymore. We’re in a circle of drifter ships, all hovering at a similar altitude with heavy, accumulated dust in the atmosphere above us. Our ship is the fifth one to the party, but I don’t see any of Langlade’s Kinsblades in the group. I want to ask why not, because I assumed he was a part of this somehow, but I’m going to wait to see what Beltz has to say first. I have a feeling I’m going to need to do some begging, so I don’t want to push my luck right off the bat with an interrogation.
“Welcome to the Alliance,” Beltz says. “Everyone is linked in to the comm, but I will save us the confusion and provide you with an introduction. First, though, let me say that everything said or done here is confidential. If you share the information about us with anyone, we will kill you. There is no mercy for traitors.”
Before he can say another word, I cut in. “Sorry to interrupt, but I want to be sure you’re aware of my latest conflict with the OSG before you give me any sensitive information.”
Beltz laughs. “If you are here to tell us that you were recently an invited guest on the Warship Baltimore, do not bother. We are well aware, as we are aware that someone used the schlafhammer there.”
I bug my eyes out at my crew, and they stare back at me. I’m sure the guilty looks I see on their faces reflect the one on mine.
“And you’re still allowing us here and introducing us?” Does this mean we’re going to die soon?
“Of course. We have already accepted you into the Alliance. We are not afraid of the OSG.”
“You should be,” I say, worrying I’ve just joined the looney dome crew.
“Fear is their greatest weapon. We will not arm them with it. Now for the introductions…”
I guess we’re done with that part of the conversation. I shrug at my crew, and we all go back to focusing on the transmission.
“In your three o’clock position, you have the glorious DS Mekanika, here to provide the Alliance with parts and mechanical technology. We are a crew of four, including my cousin Jens, my good friend Jacov, and my lovely sister Helga.”
I make sure I’m not transmitting when I speak to my crew. “Did any of you see a Helga when they were here?”
They shake their heads. Hmmm … a mystery onboard the DS Mekanika. I’ll bet she’s butt ugly, that’s why she hides.
Beltz continues. “And in your one o’clock position, you see there the DS Arcadia. Captain Romulus brings his wife Binta and his son, Mohamar. Together, they are shepherds and manufacturers of woolen items. They are always looking for brownshins workers, so if you have anyone there who would like a change of scenery, please do speak up.” He laughs and then continues.
“In your eleven o’clock, there is the DS Huna. There are not just one but two fully qualified medical technicians on board, along with many fine instrumentations and healing chambers.”
“Damn, I wish I’d known that before,” I say mostly to myself.
“I tried to tell you it was a bad decision to go to the OSG,” Baebong says.
“Tam would have died if I’d waited,” I say angrily.
“Yes, he would have,” Jeffers says, looking over at Baebong. “There’s no point in second guessing ourselves now.”
Baebong nods, possibly agreeing. I don’t have the time to figure him out, though, because Beltz is still talking.
“The Captain of the Huna is Kaiholo. He has with him Kimo, Olina, Ailani, and Kekoa. You can visit with him and ask him who does what over there. I am always confused by the names, so I do not remember exactly.”
Baebong laughs silently. I can see his shoulders shaking.
“Last, in your nine o’clock, you have …,” I think he’s hesitating for effect, “… the DS Osiris. Captain Alana and her crew —Beltine, Lim, Damra, and Sorci— are here for the pleasure of our crews. Together, they practice the fine and integral art of personal relaxation and sexual satisfaction.”
My jaw drops practically to the floor.
Gus transmits from the engine room, his voice about three notches higher than normal. “Did he just say there’s a DS full of whores out there?!”
I cut him off, blocking him from listening in anymore. I don’t want the poor kid to blow a nut before he even sees any of them. In my experience, they tend to be kind of worn-out looking and used-up in the head.
“Hallelujah is right,” Baebong says under his breath.
Jeffers just clears his throat.
“Do they have any weaponry?” I ask, hoping these chicks are going to have more to contribute than just entertainment.
“Oh, you will not be disappointed with the DS Osiris, do not worry, Captain Cass.”
The line goes dead for a few seconds. I chew my lip as I wait for the next transmission. This guy is full of surprises today.
“Captain Alana, here. Captain Cass, what does the DS Anarchy have to offer the Alliance?”
I clear my throat, hoping I don’t sound as nervous as I feel. They’ve given us their identities, their location, and their method of staying hidden. And they’ve told us we’re already accep
ted. Do I dare to tell them about the biogrid? Is this some kind of trap?
I hate to say what I have to say, but I don’t feel like I have any choice.
“How do I know I can trust you?”
Beltz’s voice comes over the line. “You know that you can trust us because the entire time you have been playing around in the Dark with your little friends at the OSG and that pirate who nearly took your ship from you, we have been watching and listening. And we have a pretty little explosive device affixed to your hull that we could have detonated long ago. But we have chosen not to. As a show of good faith, of course.”
I feel myself going light-headed and have to sit back in my seat to keep from keeling over.
Gus is on the line before I have time to even think about what to say in response. “Son of a bitch! I see it! Just below the aft landing gear! How did we miss that, Tam? Sneaky bastards!” He’s off the line as quickly as he arrived on it. He and Tam are probably punching holes in the walls down there.
“I appreciate you not blowing us up,” I say, trying to sound calm when I’m anything but.
“Of course. It was an investment in our future to wait and see what you would do. You did use the schlafhammer, that is obvious. We will have to find a plan for that, but in the meantime, welcome. Welcome to the Alliance. Please tell us you have something to offer, other than your quick wit and bad decision making skills.”
My head feels like it’s going to explode. “Uh, well, we have a Level G biogrid here growing enough food for everyone on all the Alliance ships and then some.”
There’s a long pause for the reply comes. “Well,” says Beltz, I think a little bit shocked by my transmission if his tone is any indicator. “That is something, isn’t it?”
There’s a long period of silence before anyone transmits again.
“This is Captain Alana again, Captain Cass and crew. Welcome to the Alliance.”
“This is Captain Huna,” says a man’s deep voice. “Welcome to the Alliance.”