Книга: Perseus Gate. Season 1. Episodes 1-3

THE TRAIL THROUGH THE STARS

PERSEUS GATE – SEASON 1

EPISODES 1 – 3

(Including Episode 2.5: The Cook’s New Crew)

BY M. D. COOPER

SPECIAL THANKS

Just in Time (JIT) & Beta Reads

Lisa L. Richman

Scott Reid

Kristina Able

David Wilson

Jim Dean

Cover Art by Andrew Dobell

Editing by Tee Ayer & Jen McDonnell

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD

SABRINA’S MISSION

SABRINA’S CREW

THE GATE AT THE GREY WOLF STAR

FOREWORD

PROLOGUE: CARETAKER

STELLAR APPROACH

USURPED

UNDERSTANDING

UNCERTAINTY

GISHA STATION

SABRINA BESIEGED

COLONEL BES

A LITTLE OUTING

HEADACHE

A NEW OUTFIT

SPIDER-BOT SAVIOR

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

A WINK AND A NOD

THE NOT SO BLACK HOLE

RACE AGAINST GRAVITY

A FAREWELL

PERSEUS ARM

THE WORLD AT THE EDGE OF SPACE

AWAKEN

OBSERVING NAGA

RIGHT HAND TWIST

INSPECTION

AN AFTERNOON STROLL

UPGRADE

CONFESSIONS

A MAN NAMED MISHA

RETYNA GIRL

DEPARTING

BREAKOUT

LATE ARRIVAL

KABOOM

BLAST OFF

SHIP TO BENNIA

MEET UP

MARSALLA

OUTSYSTEM

THE COOK’S NEW CREW

ABOARD SABRINA

COOKING FOR THE CREW

THE DANCE ON THE MOONS OF SERENITY

FOREWORD

THE HOUSES OF SERENITY

HEALING WATERS

A PUSH AND A SHOVE

ADRIFT IN THE DARK

RESCUED…SORT OF

BREAKING FAST

MEETING ANASTASIA

LEARNING THE MOVES

CHANGE OF VENUE

THE DANCE

UNVEILING

PICKUP

BOOKS BY M. D. COOPER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FOREWORD

It has been ten years since I wrote my first short story about Jessica, a scrappy Terran Bureau of Investigations agent who found herself wrapped up in some pretty incredible events.

She’s always managed to make a name for herself, from an unwilling stowaway on the Intrepid to becoming one of Tanis’s closest friends, Jessica is a key player in the greater Aeon 14 story.

I did my best to write this tale so that you can pick it up without needing to read the other stories that come before it, and the short synopsis below should give you enough context to do so.

However, if you first want to read what came before, you can start all the way at the beginning with ^Outsystem, or you can begin at the mid-point and read ^{Destiny Lost}, followed by ^{New Canaan} before you dive into The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star.

No matter where you pick up the story, I am certain you’re going to love these stories. They’re full of mystery, some fun hijinks, and a climax unlike any you’ve seen in any other Aeon 14 story.

M. D. Cooper

Danvers, June 2017

SABRINA’S MISSION

Sera Tomlinson knew that her father, President of the Transcend Interstellar Alliance, would not treat well with the New Canaan colonists.

He would allow them to settle in, and get comfortable on their new worlds; then force their hand, by demanding that they turn over their advanced technology to further build up the Transcend’s military. Or else.

To counter her father, Sera sent Sabrina and her former crew into the Inner Stars to find Finaeus, her exiled uncle.

No one had expected it to be easy, but after nine long years, Jessica, Cargo and the rest of the crew tracked Finaeus down in the Ikoden System.

Finaeus agreed to travel with the crew of Sabrina to New Canaan, but they were attacked by unknown agents. Fearing the many difficulties a four-year journey to New Canaan would present, Finaeus convinced the crew to travel to a secret Transcend base, deep within the Inner Stars.

There the Transcend operates a Jump Gate, a Ford-Svaiter mirror that will facilitate a near-instantaneous voyage to New Canaan.

Or so they hope.

SABRINA’S CREW

Cargo – Ship’s Captain

Cheeky – Pilot

Erin – AI embedded in Nance

Finaeus – Passenger

Jessica – First Mate

Hank – AI embedded in Cargo

Iris – AI embedded in Jessica

Nance – Bio/Engineer

Piya – AI embedded in Cheeky

Sabrina – Ship’s AI

Trevor – Supercargo and muscle

NOTE: When Sabrina is italicized, it refers to the ship, but if Sabrina is not italicized, it refers to the AI. Yes, this would be much simpler if the ship and AI did not share the same name, but you try telling that to Sabrina!

Just so you stay on her good side, never call the ship “the Sabrina”; it really gets on her last synthetic neuron.

THE GATE AT THE

GREY WOLF STAR

PERSEUS GATE – SEASON 1: EPISODE 1

BY M. D. COOPER

FOREWORD

The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star was (and still is) a book of firsts.

It was the first time I produced a novella that was not intended to be a lead-in to a full-length novel. It was the first time I had a side-character go off on her own and start her own series. It was the first time I ever created a serial storyline six books in advance. It was also the first time I ever had a custom photoshoot done for a story.

And it came together very well. The cover was a change from my previous covers (and from most science fiction in general) and at first it worried me. However, it is very true to Jessica’s character, and that is what writing is really all about. Understanding your character, and staying true to them.

The story was gripping, and told the story required of it with good focus and clear direction. Given the sprawling nature of the New Canaan story, this was a welcome reprieve for both me and my readers.

And the climax, oh, this is one I am truly proud of. It was heart-pounding to write, and I believe it will be heart pounding for you to read as well.

Sit back, grab your favorite drink, and get ready for what happens at the Grey Wolf Star.

M. D. Cooper

Danvers, Sept 2017

PROLOGUE: CARETAKER

STELLAR DATE: 04.17.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina docked at Kruger Station

REGION: Ikoden System, Mika Alliance Space

Meet me.

The voice crept into Nance’s mind once more. She knew it wasn’t over the Link; she had disconnected herself from the shipnet, fearful of the words she continued to hear over and over again.

She should be alone in her own head.

Meet me, the voice insisted again, pushing at the bounds of her consciousness as though it were trying to trigger something beneath.

Nance forced it away, made herself think about her work, about the faulty backup fuel regulator that needed fixing. She thought about the part number, the supplier, where she would place it while she removed the existing regulator, the color of the box. Anything but the voice.

Meet me.

It was louder now, and Nance knew the voice was wrong, but she didn’t know what to do. Who should she talk to? Her AI, Erin, was new to her, and might think she was crazy—surely if Nance was crazy, Erin, an AI from the Intrepid, would notice. Wouldn’t she?

The thought crossed Nance’s mind that maybe Erin was the one doing this to her.

Meet me now.

No, it didn’t feel like Erin; it didn’t feel like anyone else—it felt like herself.

Where? she finally replied.

Onstation. I’ll guide you.

It’s third shift, Nance thought to herself—and whatever else she was talking to. Someone will notice if I leave.

Meet me.

It was clear that the voice could not be rationalized with. She would have to venture onto the station to find out what was going on.

What about Erin? Won’t she wonder where I’m going?

Erin is asleep. She won’t know about this, the voice replied in her mind.

Asleep? Nance asked. She didn’t even know that AI could sleep.

Meet me.

Nance rose from her bed and glanced around the room at her collection of dolls ringing the room on their shelves. Her gaze shifted to the row of hazmat suits hanging neatly in their racks. She resisted the urge to don one before walking to her closet.

Within hung several shipsuits, pants, shirts, and jackets—plus a few dresses that Cheeky had purchased for her, though Nance didn’t think those fit the occasion.

She pulled on a pair of dark blue pants, a tight tank-top shirt, and a soft jacket. It looked just right for wandering around the station late in its night cycle and not attracting any specific attention. She pulled her hair on top of her head, and twisted it in a tight bun before slipping her feet into a pair of low boots.

A laugh and the sound of footfalls echoed down the corridor and she froze. Jessica and Trevor were still up—engaged in their usual shenanigans, no doubt. Then she heard Jessica’s cabin door close, and she released the breath she had been holding.

Meet me.

The voice sounded the same, but somehow still managed to seem more insistent. Maybe it was the repetition that was making her think that.

Nance palmed her door open and peered into the hall. It was empty.

She crept down its length to the ladder that lead to the ship’s cargo deck. Her boots sounded loud to her ears, but she knew that a set of soft footfalls in the crew corridor would not raise any questions—even late at night.

Once down the ladder and on the ship’s cargo deck, she picked up the pace, moving toward the smaller aft port hatch. She was reaching for the controls to open it when Sabrina spoke into her mind.

<Hey, Nance, what’s up?>

She hadn’t re-enabled her Link access…had the voice? Frozen, Nance tried to think of what to say—but no plausible lie came to mind.

You just need a walk, can’t sleep, clearing your head, the voice suggested.

<Hey Sabrina, I just need to clear my head and take a walk—was having trouble sleeping.>

<OK,> Sabrina replied. <Senzee should be safe—not like we’re on Chittering Hawk anymore—but be careful. Call if you need help. I’ll send the cavalry.>

Nance gave a mental smile in response. <I’m sure I’ll be OK.>

<OK, have fun on your walk.>

The airlock’s outer door slid open, and Nance stepped out onto the station’s J12 cargo dock.

Few people were present, though she could see at least a dozen or so before the dock curved away to the left and the right. The lights were dim, everything cast in the green and red glow from the indicators hovering over the docking portals, showing where ships were docked and which berths were empty.

She was just wondering which way to go when the voice in her head said, Left.

For the next thirty minutes, Nance followed the voice’s directions, moving deeper into Senzee Station, beyond the commercial districts surrounding the docks, through several residential areas, and finally to an area filled with low-rent housing.

Despite Sabrina’s assurances of relative safety, Nance was starting to wish that she had brought a weapon. Then the voice spoke again. In here.

The portal it directed her toward lay open, looming ominously with only darkness beyond. It looked exactly like the sort of place she had no desire to enter. She tried to turn back, but her legs wouldn’t move.

“What?” she whispered hoarsely.

Enter.

Nance couldn’t believe this was happening. It was like a nightmare—stars, she hoped it was a nightmare. For a full minute she wrestled with her body, trying to move it away from the dark entrance, only to find that she could move forward, but not back.

<Erin! Erin, help! Please Erin, wake up. Help!> Nance screamed inside her mind, but her AI didn’t respond; it was almost as though Erin wasn’t there. She tried to raise the ship instead. <Sabrina, I’m in trouble. Send the cavalry, Sabrina!>

Then, her right leg took a step forward on its own, followed by her left. She began to scream as her body refused to obey her commands and carried her over the threshold toward a strange, glowing figure that had appeared out of thin air.

Welcome back, Myrrdan.

Nance tried to speak, to ask the figure what it wanted, but no words came out. She was just a passenger in her own body.

“Surely you know that this is not me; this is just a shadow, an impression I placed within this woman.” Nance heard the words come from her mouth—something else was in control now.

“Of course I do,” the glowing figure said.

Nance watched it approach her, feeling as though she should be trembling with fear, but her body stood rock still. She found herself becoming detached from the situation, and wondered how the figure had materialized. It didn’t look like a holoprojection; it seemed to be solid, yet it also appeared to be made of light.

Its form was vaguely humanoid, but taller and thinner. Its hands reached almost to its knees, and it lifted them to her face to stroke her cheek.

“I had wondered if I would ever see you again—if Tanis Richards had found you out.”

Nance felt a ripple of laughter in her throat. “She thinks she has. I staged a little death scene with Jessica. It cost me one of my favorite shells, but it was worth it.”

“The TBI agent,” the figure said. “That was a risk…bringing her aboard.”

Nance realized she knew this story. Tanis had related it to them one night, when she’d told them the true story of the Battle for Victoria. How a fiend from Sol had taken the form of one of their crew and killed Jessica’s wife—though Tanis had said that Myrrdan did not survive the engagement.

Apparently Tanis could be wrong.

Am I Myrrdan now? Nance thought to herself.

No. The voice replied.

“I’ve done what you asked,” Nance’s voice said aloud. “I made sure that the Intrepid came to Kapteyn’s star, and I made sure they used their picotech.”

“I set that in motion,” the figure said.

“Well, yes, from your end in Sirius,” Nance’s voice said. “By the way, I never learned your name when last we met.”

“That is correct,” the figure replied. “I go by many names, but you may call me The Caretaker.”

“OK, Caretaker.” Nance’s possessor nodded. “I got the Intrepid here, in the future, and they used their picotech—which is what I suspect you wanted.”

“It is.” The Caretaker inclined its head in agreement. “Though the ship’s disappearance into the dark layer afterward was unexpected. Sera Tomlinson is to credit for that, from what the evidence shows.”

“Yes,” the Myrrdan shadow replied. “That is her name. She has also set up a rendezvous with the Intrepid and the Transcend’s diplomats, soon to secure a colony world.”

The glowing figure inclined its head as though it were deep in thought, or perhaps communicating with someone else.

“That can work,” it said finally. “It’s all too soon—they came out of the streamer five hundred years before we’d intended.”

“What do you need me to do now?” the Myrrdan shadow asked.

The figure lifted its head and looked up. Nance could almost make out a smile on its strange features.

“You? We have no more use for you. You’re one of our most distasteful tools—effective, but distasteful. We will expunge you from this woman—though we will use her for our purposes now. She will eventually return to the Intrepid, where we will clean up the loose end that you represent.

STELLAR APPROACH

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Near Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

Jessica stood in the center of Sabrina’s bridge, arms akimbo as she stared at the forward holodisplay of the Grey Wolf Star wrapped in its massive mining ring.

The thing still boggled her mind. Sure, several Terran mining operations back in Sol had begun starlifting mass off Sol before the Intrepid had left—something that had upset the ecoterrorists to no end—but this was an entirely different matter.

“Still quite the sight, isn’t it?” Finaeus asked as he approached Jessica.

She turned her head and threw the ancient terraformer a glance. The man was stealthy for being millennia old. She hadn’t heard him enter the bridge—and her ears were far above standard fare.

<He’s probably using his nanocloud to mask his sounds,> Iris, the AI with whom Jessica shared her mind, said.

<On the ship? Seems excessive,> Jessica said.

<He’s been in exile—on the run, most likely—for a very long time. I bet paranoia is his modus operandi now.>

“I’ve been staring at that damn thing for nine days now, and I still can’t believe that it exists,” Jessica replied audibly to Finaeus.

“You should see Airtha some day,” Finaeus said, a wistful tone in his voice. “The star is bigger than the Grey Wolf; we pulled a lot of mass off it—making it, oh…about Saturn-sized. But we made good use of all that carbon when we made the ring.”

“Oh yeah?” Cheeky asked from the pilot’s seat.

Jessica had almost forgotten that Cheeky was down there; neither of the two women had spoken in the hour before Finaeus had arrived and broken the silence.

“Yeah,” Finaeus chuckled. “We built a ring out of carbon—massive, makes the old stuff in Sol look like kid’s toys. Way out—much further than Saturn’s outer rings were from Saturn itself. Just a gleaming diamond ring around the star. Threw a few terrestrial worlds in orbit, too…high inclination, so they only get short eclipses from the structure. It was my greatest work….”

“Was?” Jessica asked.

“Oh, well, it’s still there, but my core-damned brother gave it to her—now I don’t think of it so much as my work, as her den.”

“Who?” Jessica asked.

Finaeus pulled a tired smile across his face. “Another time, perhaps, dear.”

Jessica frowned. Finaeus certainly liked his enigmas. She hoped that he would be of use to Sera. What was this man capable of—especially after being exiled—that could grant Sera whatever leverage she thought she needed?

Cheeky snorted. “Well, this star mining operation may be magnificent, but it’s a nightmare to fly into. Those black holes they’re spinning around the star create killer EM and gravitational fields.”

“And just think,” Finaeus said. “Krissy is taking us in the easy way. Even with graviton field dampeners, your ship would be ripped to shreds from the shearing forces on other approaches.”

“Yeah, I can see that shit on scan. Not even sure our stasis shields could deal with that. Gravity can still reach through them—we’d probably have to go solid bubble.”

“Solid bubble falling toward a star,” Jessica said. “Not my idea of a good time.”

“There must be a doldrums ahead, otherwise they wouldn’t have a station that far in,” Cheeky said. “Any idea how long ‘til we hit it?”

Finaeus shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. They’ve added more black holes…upped the rotation since I last looked it over. Can’t be too much further, though. We can see Gisha Station, and it’s not that big.”

“Not big?” Cheeky asked. “Thing’s at least a hundred-and-fifty kilometers in diameter.”

“Yeah, but it’s next to a ring wrapped around a star.” Jessica frowned. “Just about anything looks small next to that.”

“Good point,” Cheeky replied.

<Got comm,> Sabrina said. <Just docking instructions. A berth in an interior bay down on the station’s hub.>

“Great. Interior berth.” Cheeky shook her head as she rose and stretched. “Jess, do a girl a favor, and take the helm for a bit? I want to get dressed and eat before taking her in.”

“Sure,” Jessica replied as she took in an appreciative look at Cheeky’s ass. “Find something that covers more than just a few square centimeters, will you? Sera said these Transcend types are prudes.”

Cheeky paused at the bridge’s entrance and looked back at Jessica with a raised eyebrow. “I can cover up no problem. What are you going to do, doll-girl?”

“I can dress down.” Jessica shrugged.

Finaeus snorted. “I’ve been on this ship for weeks, and I find both your statements dubious at best. Not that I’m complaining. It’s not often I’m in the company of such fine women.”

Cheeky laughed and left the bridge, while Jessica slipped into the pilot’s seat. She initiated a flight-control systems analysis and glanced down at herself.

In the Inner Stars, her lavender skin and hair barely drew a moment’s notice. Even her exaggerated proportions were not extreme, compared with many of the men and women she had seen.

Still, all her clothing was tight, revealing, or both—usually both. Could the Transcend really be so uptight that these simple physical tweaks were frowned upon?

“Was Sera pulling our leg about how uptight things are in the Transcend?” Jessica asked Finaeus.

“Transcend is a big place,” he said with a shrug. “There are places where people have completely done away with physical bodies; places where they’ve turned themselves into weird dolphin things and live in oceans. But at Airtha, and where the military is concerned? Yeah, I’d say she’s not far off.”

“Don’t tell Cheeky about the places with the dolphin-people. She’s going to want to see how they are between the sheets…or the kelp…whatever.”

Finaeus laughed. “I’ll keep it to myself, but I suspect that there is little in this galaxy that Cheeky has not sampled.”

Jessica shook her head. On that subject, she was in complete agreement with Finaeus.

USURPED

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: TSS Regent Mary, Near Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

Admiral Krissy slipped the final button into its hole at her collar, and tugged on her uniform’s jacket to ensure it was straight. She adjusted one of her ribbons and nodded. This will do nicely.

Finaeus…Finaeus was a handful on the best of days. She wanted him to remember how things stood, and who was in charge when they met.

<Message from Gisha,> Hemdar, the Regent Mary’s ship-AI informed Admiral Krissy. <It’s from Stationmaster Lloyd.>

Krissy frowned, wondering what reason Lloyd would have to reach out to her personally. Perhaps it was to request a change of docking location for the Sabrina. He probably wouldn’t like that she had given the starfreighter an interior hub berth.

Keep your enemies close, and all that.

<Thank you, Hemdar,> Krissy replied, and accepted the connection. <Stationmaster, I trust all is well on Gisha?>

<Not as well as normal,> Lloyd replied with a mental grimace.

Krissy wasn’t surprised he would say that. Lloyd preferred things to stay the same—exactly the same—forever. Even her coming in early—with or without a foreign ship—would have upset him.

<Is this about the docking assignment,> Krissy asked.

Lloyd shook his head in her mind. <No, but I’m not happy about that, either. This news is much less pleasant than a potential antimatter explosion from some Inner Stars garbage scow. I have a Grey Division ship on final approach.>

“Shit,” Krissy swore aloud. Grey Division was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now. <ETA?> she asked Lloyd.

<Before you. An hour, at least.>

<Thanks, Lloyd. I owe you one,> Krissy replied.

<Count’s a lot higher than that, Admiral,> Lloyd said as he closed the connection.

“Civilians,” Krissy said with a sigh, as she leaned against her cabin’s bulkhead and closed her eyes for a moment.

Although, she’d take civilians any day over dealing with Grey Division.

No one—at least no one that she knew—had a clue exactly who Grey Division reported to. Their official title was the 137th Division of Space Force Strategic Research, but few believed that their core mandate was research.

The consensus was that they were the military version of The Hand, without the pretense at diplomacy.

<Think it’ll be anyone we know?> Krissy asked Hemdar.

<Well, I always prefer the devil I know,> Krissy replied. <But maybe in this case, we can hope for a new Grey that’s not a devil at all.>

Hemdar gave the mental equivalent of a snort. <Sure, keep dreaming.>

Krissy pushed herself off the wall, gave her uniform a final tug, and palmed her cabin’s door open.

Outside, a pair of lieutenants, followed by a commander, rushed down the hall on their way to duty stations for shift rotation. They stopped and stood at attention as she exited her cabin, and she gave them a nod, which set them back in motion.

She turned left toward the Regent Mary’s bow, where the bridge lay—not on the bow, of course, but far enough away from both the engines and the ship’s nose to offer some modicum of safety in battle.

That was what she liked about the Mary—she was a safe ship. Not the largest in her fleet, nor the most well-armed; but the safest. The Mary had seven layers to her hull, and every bulkhead bore additional reinforcement.

It wasn’t that Krissy was a coward. Far from it. She had flown in a combat drop just last year. However, when she was commanding a fleet, when all those lives depended on her making the right call, then she wanted to be safe.

She climbed the ladders up two levels to the command deck, where she passed by the entrance to the CIC and her offices. There was nothing in either that demanded her attention at the moment; the bridge would be where she could best observe and control whatever happened next—which was hopefully nothing.

When Finaeus had arrived nine days ago, demanding access to the jump gate for a speedy return to Airtha, Krissy had wondered what his intentions really were. If there was one thing she knew about Finaeus, it was that he rarely revealed or stated his true goals—she had witnessed that firsthand time and time again.

Nevertheless, whether she turned him away or sent him to Airtha—on his ship or hers—she needed to bring him down to Gisha. If for no other reason than to see him once more. Out of necessity—certainly not desire—she had also reported his arrival to the Admiralty.

She’d known they would be annoyed that the President’s brother had finally reemerged; but to send in a Grey Division ship to pick him up? She had always suspected there was more to his exile than the brotherly spat born out of his crazy rantings.

Krissy stepped onto the bridge to a call of, “Admiral on the bridge” from the ship’s XO, Major Nelson.

She noted the traditional straightening of backs and additional attentiveness that always came once the bridge crew spotted her arrival.

The Mary had a good crew, though sometimes its captain seemed less than professional. Such as now, when he wasn’t present for their final approach.

“Major Nelson,” Krissy nodded as she approached the command station near the back of the bridge.

“Admiral Krissy,” Nelson replied, throwing her a quick salute. “We’re t-minus ninety-three from port. There’s a gravity-berm we have to ride, and then it will be smooth sailing the rest of the way to Gisha.”

“Very good, Major Nelson,” Krissy replied. “And where is Captain Lin?”

“He is in engineering, ma’am. The chief reported an issue in one of the cooling systems that required a reactor shutdown, and he wanted to review the problem himself.”

“Hmm,” Krissy grunted. <Hemdar, what is the status of the reactor?>

Hemdar took her meaning and sent her confirmation that Captain Lin was indeed in engineering inspecting the reactor, while replying on the bridge net, <We are at eighty-percent reactor capacity, CriEn’s are untapped, and SC batts are fully charged. Nothing to worry about. We could kill all the burners and still pull into dock without trouble.>

<Thank you, Hemdar,> Krissy replied.

Krissy stepped to the bridge’s central holotank and pulled up a view of the ship they were spending all this effort on—the Sabrina.

If the ship had shown up without Finaeus aboard, she would have been tempted to blow it to dust and forget she had ever seen it; but Director Sera Tomlinson had passed orders that whoever found the Sabrina was to render whatever assistance it required—up to and including sending it to either Airtha or New Canaan.

It created a lovely conflict of interest. New Canaan was an interdicted system and there was no way Krissy could allow a ship passage there, no matter what orders The Hand had passed down.

Luckily, Finaeus had asked for a jump to Airtha, which was much less problematic—if it weren’t for the fact that he was in an Inner Stars vessel.

For starters, the Sabrina didn’t even have the bow-mounted Ford-Svaiter mirror required to traverse the jump gate. They would have to retrofit one onto the freighter.

Which assumed that she could even allow such a thing to begin with. An Inner Stars ship gaining jump gate tech and travelling to Airtha? To the heart of the Transcend? It was unheard of.

The intel on the ship indicated that it was crewed by smugglers and criminals that Sera had picked up during the years of her own exile. There was even a member of the interdicted New Canaan colony aboard—if reports were to be believed. No, there was almost no chance that this ship would ever reach Airtha.

Even less so now that a Grey Division ship was present.

As though he had read her mind, Major Nelson approached the holotank and spoke quietly to Krissy.

“Admiral, I assume you noticed the GD ship?”

Krissy nodded. “Yes, Stationmaster Lloyd saw fit to ruin my morning early and let me know about it.”

“They’re here for him, aren’t they?” Nelson asked.

Krissy raised an eyebrow. “Either that, or me. Which do you think it is?”

The major appeared to not have expected such a caustic response and he nodded wordlessly.

“Someone doesn’t want him to fly into Airtha on that freighter—which isn’t a bad call—but if they think that Finaeus will willingly get on a GD ship, then they’ve another thing coming.”

“How will he stop that from happening?” Nelson asked.

Krissy shook her head. “I have no idea, but if raw cunning ever took a physical form, it would be Finaeus.”

<Admiral Krissy,> a voice entered her mind without requesting permission, and she knew who it was before reading the Link ident tag accompanying it.

<Colonel Bes,> she replied. <How nice of you to visit us here at Grey Wolf. Are you in need of resupply, perhaps?>

 Bes replied.

<Orders? From whom? I have not received any orders yet.>

<You have now,> Bes said as he passed her an encrypted stream of data.

Krissy used her personal encryption key to unlock the authentication section of the data stream and read the order’s source.

It simply read as originating from the Transcend’s Admiralty, not from any specific person—just like every other order she had ever received from the Grey Division.

She reviewed the orders, and found that they were as she had suspected. Turn over Finaeus to Colonel Bes, extract the Sabrina’s AI, and then send all the humans and AI on the ship to Henover for interrogation.

That part at least made a bit more sense. Fleet Intel at Henover was a far better destination than the Greys. An addendum caught her eye. It noted that if Jessica Keller was indeed aboard the Sabrina, she was to be sent along with Finaeus to Colonel Bes.

Back to wherever it was the Greys operated out of.

<I’ll have to send a drone through the gate to confirm these orders,> Krissy replied. 

<You have matching encryption keys, or you wouldn’t be able to read those orders,> Bes replied, his tone clipped. <You get him off the ship, and then I’ll take over from there.>

<Colonel Bes. I suspect you forget who you are speaking with. I will do as I see fit in this matter. You will wait until I am satisfied with the veracity of every letter in these orders. Do I make myself clear?>

She counted the seconds of silence before Bes replied. It came to fifteen.

<Yes, Admiral Krissy, I understand.>

<Good. I will meet you after we dock. Do not enter the Sabrina’s hangar under any circumstances. Am I clear?>

<Crystal, Admiral.>

Krissy ended the communication and ran a hand through her short hair.

<Well, he’s new, at least,> Hemdar said.

<Yup, and just as self-important and annoying as the rest of them.>

<Do you think it was wise to antagonize him like that?>

Krissy wasn’t sure, but there was no way she was going to let a colonel walk all over her. That was a short road to having one’s command undermined.

She gave Hemdar a token response as she considered the addendum regarding Jessica Keller, the colonist woman.

The existence and location of the New Canaan colony was a well-kept secret. Even Krissy didn’t know where it was—only that the GSS Intrepid had indeed met with the Transcend’s Diplomatic Corps and been given a world in exchange for their advanced nanotech.

Which was something that still rankled her. Just their nanotech; not their cutting edge picotech, or their stasis shields.

She imagined what the Transcend fleets could do with stasis shields. The Orion Guard wouldn’t last a decade with scale-tipping tech like that in the TSF’s hands. She’d gladly lead the charge to chase them to the edge of the galaxy if need be.

Then they would finally have peace—the first since the FTL wars broke out five thousand years ago.

UNDERSTANDING

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Near Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

"Until now, I had always wondered if the Transcend was a trick," Cargo said in a quiet voice.

"No trick," Finaeus replied. "As your eyes can attest."

Seeing the mining ring up close, Jessica had to agree. It was a thing of wonder—and they were still a quarter AU away.

The Grey Wolf's bluish light took on a much greyer hue as they drew closer to the elliptical plane. Clouds of carbon and oxygen flowed out from the star's surface, swirling in gravitational eddies formed by the orbiting black holes mounted in the ring wrapping around the star.

"How do you even build something like that?" Cheeky asked.

"Do you see any planets around here?" Finaeus smirked. "We tore them down to build the ring and create the mass for the first few black holes. Now there are thirty of them in there, all moving at a few thousand kilometers per second."

"Yeah, but how?" Cheeky asked. "You mined entire planets, and you said before that you've only been mining the star for a few hundred years."

"Oh, how do we make the ring? We put boosters on all the dwarf worlds in the system and smashed them into the system’s two terrestrial worlds. That ejects a lot of material out into space. Out there, we use magnetic fields to pull in the ferrous metals, and then charged ES fields to separate the rest. Then into the refineries.

“In the end, we smashed the two terrestrial worlds together to break them apart as much as possible. We built the orbital frames for the black holes, and then created the first few, feeding them the remains of the planets. Once the black holes had enough mass to balance out against hawking radiation loss, it was a simple matter of kicking them in toward the star in a close orbit. They tore off all the carbon we needed to complete the construction of the ring, and there you have it."

"Just like that," Jessica said with a laugh.

"You saw things like that back in Sol," Finaeus replied. "They did it with Neptune and Uranus. Pulled their clouds right off and fed them into Jupiter."

"That was before my time," Jessica shrugged. "By the time I was alive, Uranus's core was already in orbit of Jupiter, and Neptune was on its way to its new home in the Scattered Disk."

Finaeus shook his head. "Never understood that. Could have mixed it up just right, and fired a compressive antimatter blast around it...would have made a great super-Earth for InnerSol.

"Shows you how much clout Terra had lost by then. The Jovians happily sold it to the Scattered Worlds Alliance—and I guess we found out why," Cargo said.

Jessica nodded wordlessly. It was still difficult for her to think of what had happened to InnerSol at the hands of the Jovians. The only world they’d left habitable inside Ceres’ orbit was Venus.

Five thousand years later, the Jovians had finally cleaned up Earth, but Luna and Mars were both still ruins—their once-great cities, broken and twisted reminders that the Jovians, now known as the Hegemony of Worlds, left for any who would test their might.

Jessica pushed the melancholic thoughts from her mind and focused on the growing form of Gisha Station.

A hub and spoke station, it was the tried and true style that had been in use for thousands of years. Even with inexpensive antimatter on hand, it was still more efficient to spin a station to simulate gravity than run AG systems everywhere.

The holodisplay noted that the station was over a hundred and fifty kilometers in diameter, with two hundred and thirty-five ships in external berths on the outer ring. Many were easily recognizable as military vessels; though she spotted a small number of ships that appeared to be freighters—likely contractors that supplied the station with goods. Several large ships—nearly large enough to rival the Intrepid—were drifting near the station; probably undergoing refit and repair, by the clouds of drones surrounding them.

As Sabrina approached, a new sight appeared in the distance; a one-thousand-kilometer long arch that was drawing in the clouds of material torn from the star, funneling it into two of the massive ships.

As they watched, one of the ships ceased its intake of material, and a brilliant light erupted from it as antimatter-pion drives boosted the ship toward its destination—a ring several thousand kilometers retrograde off Gisha Station.

"The jump gate," Finaeus noted as he caught Jessica looking at it. "Getting these big daddies through a gate took a bit to work out. Focusing the negative energy across a ten-kilometer ring is no mean feat, but I solved it eventually."

<I'll never cease to be amazed that Finaeus, this rude, rather disheveled man, is the architect of so much of the Transcend,> Iris commented privately.

<It certainly is incongruous,> Jessica agreed. <However, he certainly is smart; he's fixed a dozen things on the ship that none of us even realized were broken. I did order Sabrina and Nance to keep him away from the stasis shields, though.>

<Probably just his insatiable curiosity, but still not something we can allow,> Jessica said

<Yes, Tanis was very clear on that point.>

“Jess, we’ve got a hail from one of the ships out there,” Cheeky said from her station.

“Oh, shit, sorry, missed that,” Jessica said, glancing down at her comm console. “Weird. It’s from that smaller destroyer hanging out just off the outer docking ring over there.”

Jessica glanced back to Cargo who nodded, and then placed the caller on the main holo tank.

The figure of a tall man resolved into view. His face was grim, and his brow was creased from a frown he must frequently wear. His long, dark hair fell behind his shoulder in tight curls. His grey uniform bore no markings other than a colonel’s birds on his lapels.

“Captain Cargo, I am to inform you that your docking arrangements have been altered. Please alter course to dock with my ship and await further orders.”

Cargo’s frown deepened to match the man’s. “Colonel….”

“Bes,” the TSF officer supplied.

“Colonel Bes. I have very strict orders from a TSF admiral, and a berth from STC. If you would like to have those changed, please proceed through proper channels.”

<Kill it,> Cargo said privately to Jessica, who all-too-happily complied before turning to Cargo.

“Cheery sort, wasn’t he?”

“Kinda cute, though,” Cheeky mused. “I’m OK with going to see him. Maybe I can get that frown off his face.”

Jessica gave an appreciative laugh and leaned over to give the Cheeky a high-five.

“Friend of yours?” Cargo asked Finaeus, ignoring Cheeky’s comment.

“Bes probably doesn’t have any friends. He’s GD.”

“A Good Doobie?” Cheeky asked with a grin. “Doesn’t seem like one to me.”

“Grey Division. Officially known as the 137th Division of Space Force Strategic Research, but no one calls them that. They work for her,” Finaeus replied.

“Her?” Cargo asked. “Any chance that’s the same ‘her’ that President Tomlinson gave Airtha to?”

“One and the same,” Finaeus grunted. “She was behind my exile as well—hunted me across the Inner Stars trying to take me out. I’d really hoped we would beat them down here. Fool’s hope, I guess.”

“Does she have a name?” Jessica asked.

“Jelina,” Finaeus replied. “Whatever you do, don’t dock with that ship.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Cargo said. “You get a berth from a station, you take that berth. Especially when you can see their defense turrets tracking you.”

Finaeus rubbed his jaw. “Maybe that was his hope; that we’d deviate, and get blown away. Stuff like that is GD SOP.”

“Well, I suspect that we’d get a warning first. Not really sure what his plan would be, then,” Cargo replied.

As he spoke, scan lit up, registering beamfire, and Jessica hit the stasis shields an instant after Sabrina.

“What the—?” Cargo called out.

“Shit! That looks like it came from us!” Jessica exclaimed while re-running scan analysis on the shot.

Sure enough, analysis showed that the shot came from Sabrina’s forward dorsal beam. It had struck one of the nearby station turrets, tearing the unshielded weapon to shreds.

“Station’s on comm,” Jessica called out. “And surprise, surprise, that Bes guy just fired on us—tried to take out our engines, but Sabrina beat him to it with the shields.”

“What a shit-show,” Cargo grunted. “Put the station on.”

“Vessel Sabrina what the hell was that! Why did you just fire on this station?” The call was audio only, and the voice was pissed.

“Gisha Station, this is Captain Cargo. I promise you, we did no such thing. Whatever just happened, that shot did not come from our ship.”

“This is Stationmaster Lloyd. Our scan shows your dorsal weapon hot, and now you have shields up.”

“I don’t understand it yet, either,” Cargo replied calmly. “But we raised shields because we thought we were under attack, and it’s good that we did, because that Colonel Bes guy just shot at us.”

There was no response from Stationmaster Lloyd, and a new call came in. “It’s our friend, the Admiral,” Jessica said.

Cargo sighed and waved his hand. “Let’s see what she has to say.”

“Captain Cargo,” Admiral Krissy said, her expression severe. “You’ve just made my day immeasurably worse. Thank you very much.”

“I assure you, we did not fire. And we were fired upon,” Cargo insisted.

“That’s not what our logs show. You clearly took out that target and raised shields. Despite your protestations to Stationmaster Lloyd, we have no records of any ship firing upon yours.”

“Funny that this all happened right after Colonel Bes instructed us to change course to dock with his ship,” Finaeus said. “Don’t be daft, Krissy. This is the GD’s modus operandi through and through. What do we have to gain from an attack on Gisha? We need your cooperation. He wants us dead. Or worse.”

“Is this more of your insane ramblings, Finaeus? Nonsense like this is what got you kicked out of Huygens all those years ago. It’s time you put all that aside.” Admiral Krissy appeared as though she was going to say more, but then stopped and shook her head. “We’re running a detailed analysis on the attack, but if the scan data holds up, we’re going to have to take you into custody. You can’t just fire on a TSF facility and get away with it.”

“FGT, Krissy. This is an FGT facility. I’ve been away for a while, but Stationmaster Lloyd isn’t military, and neither is Gisha,” Finaeus countered.

“Close enough as to make no matter these days, Finaeus. Now, Captain Cargo. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. This little game has come to an end.”

“Cheeky, take us out of here,” Cargo ordered.

“You got it, Captain. New Canaan, here we come,” Cheeky called out triumphantly

Jessica killed the connection to Admiral Krissy and glanced back at Cargo. “I assume you were done with her.”

Sabrina said. <Any station that shoots at us is on my naughty list. I don’t dock at naughty stations.>

“Weak, Sabs,” Cheeky said. “We live for naughty stations. You need to work at metaphors and allegory more.”

<Trying.>

<They must have a stealth ship around here,> Iris said. 

Finaeus stroked his chin. “Yes, yes, that would work. You have many upgrades from the Intrepid, but not a sensor suite that could detect a stealthed TSF vessel. Especially not a GD ship. But how did the GD sneak one in under Krissy’s nose?”

“You better find out, because we’re not going anywhere,” Cheeky said.

“What do you mean?” Cargo asked.

“Station here has some serious grav emitters. They’re pulling us back. I could fire up the AP drive or the burners, but we’re inside their shields. We’ll kill everyone on the station.”

“Fuck!” Cargo swore.

“That’s one hell of a gamble they’re taking,” Jessica said.

“There’s another layer of shielding that would keep them safe…provided you didn’t run your APs at max. Point-blank focused gamma rays would melt any organics in their path,” Finaeus said.

“The admiral’s betting on our decency, then, is she?” Cargo asked. “A bit risky, with a bunch of Inner Stars smugglers like us.”

“Or they think they can take out our stasis shields,” Jessica suggested. “They have had some time to study what we did back at Bollam’s.”

Cargo pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes and sighed. “Put the admiral back on.”

“Captain Cargo,” Admiral Krissy said as she appeared with a frown and crossed arms on the holotank. “I assume you’ve thought better of your folly? You’re not leaving.”

“No,” Cargo replied. “But only because we’re not murderers. We’ll come in, but we’ll take the dock you offered. We’re not leaving Sabrina out here where Bes can take more pot shots at it with his stealthed ship.”

Jessica noted that Krissy’s eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed before she replied. “Very well, but power your reactors down.”

UNCERTAINTY

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: TSS Regent Mary, Near Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“Is that possible?” Captain Lin asked in a low voice. “Could they have brought a stealthed ship with them?”

Krissy let out a long breath. It certainly wasn’t possible to hide a stealth ship in Grey Wolf for long. Bending photons and rads around a ship was one thing, but eventually its silhouette would stand out against the ever-shifting grav fields.

That meant if there was one, it jumped in right on the tail of Bes’s destroyer—though she had never heard of a ship jumping in stealth before.

“Have your teams review scan again,” Krissy said. “Look at everything for the past two hours. I want to know definitively whether or not there’s a stealth ship in Grey Wolf.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Captain Lin said, before looking to Nelson.

Krissy held back a comment. Once Lin had been a good captain, but for some reason his heart just wasn’t in it anymore. If war wasn’t looming, she’d recommend retirement for him.

It certainly wasn’t fair to Nelson—not that fair was the goal—but she didn’t want to ruin a good officer by saddling him with the duties, but not the honor, of a captain.

One crisis at a time. Lin could muddle through for a bit longer.

<Colonel Bes,> she called the Grey Division officer.

The reply was instantaneous. <Admiral Krissy, quite the mess you have on your hands.>

<Finaeus and the crew of the Sabrina would have me believe you were responsible. They have claimed that you fired upon them and that there must be a stealthed ship present.>

Bes snorted. <Likely story. Allow me to take custody of Finaeus and the colony woman, and we’ll relieve you of this headache.>

 Krissy replied. <And I’m inclined to take their argument seriously. I can’t think of any reason why they’d fire on the station just once.>

<They’re rogues. Pirates from a backwater corner of the Inner Stars. Why they do anything is a mystery. Maybe they were just testing our resolve. Maybe they have a trigger-happy gunner. Either way, there is protocol to be followed. You must take them into custody, and then my claim supersedes yours.>

Krissy chewed on the inside of her cheek, biting back what she wanted to say to Bes. Chances were that Finaeus was right, but without any proof, there would be little she could do. Once those orders were confirmed she would have no choice but to comply with Bes’s demands.

She considered letting the Sabrina go. All she had to do was order Lloyd to turn off the grav field holding the freighter in place. He would probably comply—he had no desire to take that ship into his station.

But that would go badly for her—though not as badly as it would for Finaeus and the crew of the Sabrina.

No, this would have to play out a little longer.

<Dock,> she ordered Bes. <I’ll speak to you in person once we’re both on Gisha.>

“Anything?” she addressed Captain Lin, though her eyes looked to Major Nelson.

“Nothing,” Nelson replied. “We’ll keep looking, but scan is clean. No signatures at all. No sensor suite in the fleet, or on Gisha, picked up a shot from Bes’s ship, either.”

Krissy nodded absently. “Picking up the beam would be hard, unless you were looking for it—but we’d see the ionized atoms. Space isn’t exactly empty around here.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Nelson agreed. “A lot of dust about. We’d see the trail.”

“Very well,” Krissy said. “Bring us in. I want to be there to meet Finaeus when he disembarks.”

<What are you going to do?> Hemdar asked.

<Probably something I’ll regret before long.>

GISHA STATION

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“Aaand we’re in the cradle,” Cheeky reported.

“This stinks,” Cargo said. “Any ideas what our next move should be?”

“We have to get out of here as quickly as possible,” Finaeus said. “That GD commander won’t have any of our best interests at heart.”

“We’re not going anywhere with that grav field there,” Cheeky said. “Not unless you’re willing to kill everyone on this station…”

“If it comes down to them or us, that’ll be an option I’ll consider,” Cargo said. “But for now, I’ll meet with them and see if we can’t resolve this peacefully.”

“Not on your own, you’re not,” Jessica said. “You need backup. Besides, I’ll bet Finaeus has something up his sleeve that Iris can use to disable their grav field.”

“What makes you think I have something like that?” Finaeus asked.

<Because you keep going on and on about how you’re the genius behind all this,> Sabrina said. <Now it’s time for you to put your money where your mouth is, and get us out of this jam that you got us into in the first place.>

“Oh, well, I can see how you’d think that…” Finaeus said.

“So?” Jessica asked.

“So what?” Finaeus asked back.

Cargo rose from his seat and approached Finaeus. “What do you have up your sleeve, old man? Time’s running short. There’s a whole lot of troops forming up around us out there."

Jessica hadn’t looked at the exterior views; when she checked, she saw that Cargo wasn’t exaggerating. There were at least a hundred TSF soldiers in the bay. They were setting up defensive shields and heavy weapons all around Sabrina.

<I’m not worried. I still have the stasis shields on—except for around the base of the cradle, but they’d have to crawl right under us to get a shot in there,> Sabrina said.

“No problem,” Finaeus said as he altered the view on the bridge holotank. “There’s Krissy walking into the bay. I’ll just go down and talk to her and—”

“Seriously, Fin,” Jessica shook her head. “For some sort of big smart guy, you’re damn stupid. They want you most of all. I’ll go out and see what we can work out.”

“Correction,” Cargo said. “We’ll go out. Sabrina, if we’re not back in twelve hours, and everything isn’t all hunky-dory, you fire up the AP drive and blast your way out of this joint. I don’t care who gets fried. Sera wants Finaeus delivered to New Canaan, and she’ll get him.”

“OK,” Jessica said. “Then here’s the plan…”

* * * * *

“This is a horrible plan,” Jessica muttered as the ship’s airlock cycled. “We’ve had some dumb plans over the years, but this is the worst…the absolute worst.”

“Jess, it’s your plan; have a little faith in yourself,” Cargo replied.

“I thought someone would come up with a better plan! This was supposed to be the starter plan…the one that got the juices flowing. Not the plan.”

“I guess you’re just a strategic genius,” Cargo chuckled.

“Go me,” she replied as the pressure equalization light turned green and the outer lock door began to open.

She glanced to Cargo, who wore a sharp uniform, and then to her own outfit: a tight blue one-piece suit that Trevor had picked up for her a few systems back. It was a favorite of his because he liked that it set off her skin and hair.

Probably not the most conservative thing to meet the Transcend’s admiral in, but it was what she had on, and there was no time to change.

<You never know,> Iris said. <Between Krissy and Bes, the odds are that one of them likes girls. It may work to your advantage.>

<Gotta use what you’re born with—or in my case, what the job set you up with.>

Even so, she hated being at a disadvantage—and something about Krissy led Jessica to believe that her mode of dress may lower her value in the admiral’s eyes.

 Iris said.

<Thanks, Iris. You’re right. I used to do this sort of thing all the time—I got this.>

<That’s right, you got this.>

The airlock door slid aside and revealed the muzzles of sixty guns pointed at them. The weapons—and the soldiers holding them—were on the far side of the stasis shield, but it still felt damn disconcerting.

In their midst stood Admiral Krissy, a look of grim displeasure on her face.

<No sycophants,> Cargo noted. <She’s gonna be a tough nut to crack. No angles to play with subordinates.>

<AI here are not chatty, either,> Hank added. <They seem…strange.>

Jessica filed that away for future consideration as they approached the woman.

“Here goes,” she whispered as the stasis shield opened enough for them to step through.

“Welcome to Gisha Station,” Admiral Krissy said as they approached. She walked forward to meet them, but did not offer her hand.

“Thank you, though the welcome seems strained,” Cargo replied, glancing at the soldiers filling the docking bay.

“You did fire on this station,” Krissy said. “I cannot ignore that fact.”

“And I tell you that we did no such thing. Our logs show that our weapons were offline, and we provided them to your STC immediately,” Cargo responded. “There is no logical reason that would cause us to fire on you.”

“So you say, but we have to trust our own sensors, and they do not back your story.”

The woman paused, and Jessica waited for the hammer to fall.

“I am placing you under arrest for violating the sovereignty of the Transcend Interstellar Alliance, and firing on one of the FGT’s installations during a time of war.”

“Wow,” Jessica muttered. “And I assume that’s a war crime on your books?”

Krissy nodded. “It is. My hands are tied here. Our laws are very strict when it comes to the FGT. We brook no violence toward them.”

“How very noble of you,” Cargo replied. “So, what’s next? The hot irons? Needles? Trust me, you’re not going to crack us, or the shell around our ship.”

“We’ll see about that,” Krissy replied. She turned, and eight TSF soldiers approached with weapons leveled. Jessica looked to Cargo, sighed, and held out her hands.

<OK, already on to plan B.>

* * * * *

“Think we’ll be meeting with that Colonel Bes before long?” Jessica asked as she and Cargo sat in a small conference room.

She was surprised that they hadn’t been separated. Perhaps Admiral Krissy wasn’t fully onboard with what was going on, and wasn’t going to make things any easier for the Grey Division man.

“Probably. I hope so. Room service here sucks,” Cargo replied. “Would it kill you guys to bring in some coffee?” he hollered at the closed door.

<What’s your status,> she asked Iris and Hank.

<They have some exceptional suppression tech in here,> Hank replied.

<Just one level below the EMP that fight club smoked us with back on Chittering Hawk,> Iris added. <But I’ve worked up a few tricks since then. Not going to be disabled like that a second time.>

<So you’re confident that the hackit you dropped in the docking bay will make it here?> Hank asked. <Because we can’t talk to anything outside this room.>

<Well…I sure hope it will,> Iris smirked. <If it doesn’t, we’re totally screwed.>

<There’s still plan C,> Cargo said.

<What, the plan that has Sabrina blasting out of here and cooking us all?> Hank asked

<No, that’s plan F,> Iris replied.

 Cargo said.

As they were speaking, the door opened and Admiral Krissy entered, still alone—something Jessica had not expected.

She gave both of them a long look before sitting down at the table.

“Smart move leaving Finaeus in there,” she said. “Bes would have snatched him up so fast that I wouldn’t have had any time to explore other options.”

“Don’t see eye to eye with your friends in the 137th?” Cargo asked.

Krissy gave a rueful laugh. “I see Finaeus has been sharing details. Yes, the Grey Division and most of the TSF do not see eye-to-eye. Bes wants you, too, by the way,” Krissy said with a nod to Jessica.

“Who? Little ol’ me?” Jessica asked with mock innocence.

“Yes, you; Jessica Keller, born in Athabasca, District of Saskatchewan, the year 4052 on the old Gregorian calendars. You joined the Terran Bureau of Investigations when you were twenty-six, and graduated with honors from their training facility in Rio de Janeiro in the year 4082. After that, you were stationed in High Terra; though there are a few sections of your record that are blank—likely classified at the time—and never made it to us.”

“Wow!” Jessica exclaimed with a clap of her hands. “You just know all about me, now, don’t you? Should we move next into a little game where we show off our powers of observation to one another? Nit about small stains and eyebrow hairs out of place, then surmise life-traits from those? It could pass the time while you wait to see if Bes’s orders are valid before you have to turn Finaeus over to him—which you don’t want to do, because our quirky old man means something to you, and you to him. Or you wouldn’t have let our ship dock in the station,” Jessica paused, gauging Krissy’s reactions. “You really have no reason to fear that he’ll blast his way out of here, do you?”

A small smile pulled at the edges of Admiral Krissy’s lips. “So you are smarter than you look. I’d hoped so.”

“Why’s that?” Cargo asked.

“Because Bes’s orders are validated, and he’s coming here to collect you,” Krissy replied. “I don’t know who approved them, but it has all the right tokens. There’s nothing I can do.”

“Funny that I’m top of mind for him,” Jessica said.

“Yes, the Grey Division wants you almost as much as they want Finaeus; though I don’t quite know what has piqued their interest so much. Perhaps they think you know something useful about the Intrepid’s picotech.”

“They’d be disappointed,” Jessica replied. “That’s above my pay grade.”

“And the rest of us?” Cargo asked.

Krissy shrugged. “Standard containment procedures.”

“That doesn’t sound promising,” Cargo said.

“Conditioning, if you’ll take it—incarceration if you won’t, or if the conditioning doesn’t take.”

<And us?> Hank asked.

“The same,” Krissy replied nonchalantly.

“So, what’s our play?” Cargo asked Jessica. “Think if we take her, we can use her as a hostage?”

“Not against Bes; that guy probably doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Krissy here. But if we can get the word out to her fleet, they may feel differently.”

“We don’t negotiate with hostage-takers,” Krissy replied amicably. “Though I would like to think that my fleet would try something to save me; hard to say, though.”

“You seem unconcerned with the turn this conversation has taken,” Cargo said.

Krissy shrugged. “I knew what I was getting into when I came in here alone. I won’t be complicit in anything. I believe in the Transcend, but I don’t believe in Bes and his Greys. And I’m certainly not going to sacrifice Finaeus on their altar. Just make sure it’s nothing too damaging.”

“Do you have an AI?” Jessica asked.

“No, I’m currently between AI,” Krissy replied.

“Good, that will make this simpler.”

Jessica’s restraints fell from her limbs and she lunged across the table, grabbing Krissy’s throat with one hand, and placing another on the base of her skull.

The admiral put up a good fight, and Jessica took an elbow to the face, then another to her throat.

“Fuck!” Jessica screamed as Krissy almost wrenched free, and then Cargo was there, his strong arms holding the admiral in place as Jessica finally managed to get her finger on Krissy’s hard-Link port.

A moment later the Admiral went limp.

“Well, that was easy,” Jessica said.

<She let me in,> Iris replied. <Had an encryption hash in a file on her public net. I made it look like she put up a fight, but I didn’t have to do anything brutal.>

“I sure hope that part of this little ruse she set up involved fooling the room sensors for a bit,” Cargo said.

“Had to, or we’d be neck-deep in soldiers by now,” Jessica replied.

Jessica quickly stripped out of her clothing as Cargo undressed the Admiral. Four minutes later, she was doing up the last button on the rather uncomfortable formal jacket Krissy wore, as Cargo was settling Krissy down in Jessica’s seat, placing the restraints back around her wrists.

“Trevor’s going to be pissed that I lost that outfit,” she sighed.

Cargo glanced up at her. “Yeah, that uniform’s a poor substitute. Barely makes it around your hips.”

“Yeah, maybe it’s time that I tried out a regular physique again,” Jessica replied as she attempted to get the jacket to hang properly over her narrow waist.

“Nah, you love being you,” Cargo chuckled. “Besides, having you around makes Cheeky feel more comfortable with being who she is.”

Jessica shrugged as she took her seat. She adjusted her jacket once more before shaking her head, triggering her long lavender locks to match Krissy’s light brown hair—thankful that she had picked up a hair-color mod after Iris kept making her grays fall out.

Maybe getting a mod to change skin color on demand should be next on her list. Every now and then it was useful to blend in.

Still, she didn’t need the disguise to last for long; just a few seconds to fool whoever came in next.

SABRINA BESIEGED

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Docking Bay F34A Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“Who’d have thought,” Cheeky said around a mouthful of almonds, “that when Sera recruited us years ago, we’d be pulling off crazy jobs like this—trying to steal wormhole tech from a mythical civilization we all thought was long gone?”

“Certainly not me,” Nance said from across the galley table, wearing her best hazsuit with the hood pulled off so she could eat. “Granted, I never really expected to spend any appreciable time out of a hazsuit either, so I’ve already had some life-altering changes.”

<Or me finding freedom,> Piya added.

 Erin said with a laugh.

“Hey!” Nance exclaimed

<I’m kidding, Nance,> Erin said, her tone mollifying. 

“I thought Tanis just ordered you to join up,” Cheeky said.

<You’d think that, wouldn’t you?> Erin chuckled.

No one spoke for a minute, and Cheeky rose to brew a fresh pot of coffee.

Once the glorious black liquid began to drip into the pot—an archaic, but delicious way to brew it—she turned and looked at Nance, who was still sitting at the table, staring into the distance.

“Think about Thompson much?” Cheeky asked.

Nance let out a heavy sigh before pushing her long, brown hair aside to look at Cheeky.

“Every damn day. That bastard…after all that time. I thought we really had something. I guess I was just a convenient fuck, or something.”

“Nance! Don’t you let me catch you placing one iota of your self-worth in the hands of Thompson. Sure, he was crew; but he was always a self-centered ass,” Cheeky said, wanting to walk over to Nance and give the woman a hug.

She didn’t, though. Even after all these years, Nance still wasn’t big on physical contact. Especially when she was feeling out of sorts.

Nance swallowed and shook her head. “I’m not…at least I don’t think I am. It’s more that I thought maybe we could build a life together. You know, settle down somewhere. It didn’t have to be New Canaan; I would have been OK with somewhere else….”

<It takes a bit,> Erin said. <You haven’t adjusted to thinking of a future without him, yet.>

“Thanks Erin, but I don’t think that I need relationship advice from an AI,” Nance grumbled.

<Hey, I know you’re upset, but I’m just trying to help. I’ve been inside more human heads than you have. I may know a few things about coping—not to mention we AI have similar issues from time to time,> Erin replied.

“You do?” Cheeky asked, sorry that she had started this conversation, and eager for an opportunity to change the topic. “I didn’t think AI formed any sort of long-term partnership.”

<We have our own flavors of it,> Erin replied. <Sometimes we blend parts of our minds with others, either temporarily, or in a way that permanently alters us—sort of a second birth in that case. Sometimes…well…sometimes we don’t like what we see in one another. Sometimes we fall away, and don’t communicate anymore.>

“Doesn’t seem that different from human relationships,” Cheeky said. “The second part, at least.”

<That was my point,> Erin replied.

Heavy footsteps echoed down the passageway, and a moment later Trevor entered the galley and fell into a chair.

“Any word?” he asked.

“Nope,” Cheeky shook her head. “Not that we expected to hear anything this early on.”

“Sure is a crazy plan—one of our daringest…is that a word?” Nance added. “They go off, get captured—hoping it will lead them to getting a hackit in place—and we just sit here, waiting to see if those soldiers out there try to blow a hole in Sabrina.”

“I suppose it could be worse,” Trevor said with a shrug. “We could be in a ship without stasis shields.”

<You may be, before long,> Sabrina said. <SC Batt number three just blew a cooling loop. It’s losing charge fast.>

<Well, shit,> Piya swore.

“We can’t just run the reactor?” Trevor asked.

“Inside a stasis shield, inside a station?” Cheeky responded. “We’ve nowhere to vent our heat. We’d bake.”

Trevor grinned and gestured at the soldiers in the bay, visible on one of the displays in the galley. “Yeah, but so would they. Bottom of the ship isn’t shielded. I bet we could use the grav drives to gently waft heat out of there.”

<It wouldn’t work fast enough,> Sabrina said. <We’d cook in here long before we could vent enough heat out there. Plus, the bay’s not that big, it wouldn’t buy us much more time.>

“Ideas?” Cheeky asked. “Once that shield goes down, those nice men and women out there are going to come knocking.”

“We could shoot out the bay doors, and vent our heat into space,” Nance suggested. “Sure, they won’t like it, but they are pointing guns at us.”

<Well, maybe we could run the fusion reactor really low and slow, and keep the stasis shields powered at their minimal level. We’ll save the remaining charge on the SC Batts for when we need it,> Sabrina suggested.

 Piya said. <Not that I care too much, but Cheeky gets grumpy when she’s hot.>

“Who doesn’t?” Cheeky asked

“I think it could work,” Nance said. “If we do the smaller, secondary reactor, and vent the heat out the dorsal vanes. It would make it a lot less comfortable for them than for us—at least for a bit. We’d have to vent it out the top, though.”

“How long’s a bit?” Trevor asked.

<Three, maybe four hours,> Sabrina replied.

 Piya said nervously.

“Relax,” Cheeky said to her AI. “With SC Batts one and two, we can run the shield for hours after it gets too hot from the reactor.”

<Oh, dear,> Sabrina said.

“What now? You couldn’t even have the reactor warm yet,” Cheeky said.

<No, but I think we’re being boarded,> Sabrina replied.

“What?” several voices called out at once.

<Hmm…maybe…nope—definitely being boarded. One group just got the port-side airlock open, and the other has come through the maintenance hatch under environmental.>

“I blame you, Trevor,” Nance said. “You jinxed us earlier when you mentioned that.”

“Me?”

Finaeus raced into the galley, far faster than Cheeky would have expected an older man to manage.

“Sabrina pinged me. I assume you have weapons on this pirate ship? Other than what you all usually carry around.”

Cheeky passed him on her way in the corridor. “Of course we do, and we’re not a pirate ship. Follow me to the weapons stash. Nance, get to the bridge; help coordinate from there. Trevor, you’re going to take environmental. Finaeus and I will take the port-side airlock.”

“I’m not holing up on the bridge,” Nance argued as she ran into the passageway and matched speed with Cheeky. “I’m going with Trevor to environmental. I can kill those guys six ways from flag day down there without ever firing a shot.”

“Fine,” Cheeky nodded. “Just...only take a pulse rifle. I’ve seen you shoot.”

At the end of the corridor, Cheeky slid aside a panel, revealing an array of weapons. They ranged from a pair of ballistic pistols to beam rifles. She passed on those weapons and handed out four multifunction weapons, capable of firing pulses and low-velocity projectiles.

“These aren’t going to do much good,” Trevor said. “If they’re wearing armor—which I’m sure they will be—we’re going to need beams or plasma.”

<No one’s firing plasma in me!> Sabrina exclaimed. <You can do high-powered kinetics or x-ray lasers if you’re careful.>

“Fine,” Cheeky said and everyone quickly swapped rifles. “Now go! We don’t have much time.”

Trevor and Nance slid down the ladder to the cargo deck, and then one level further to environmental and engineering. Cheeky gave Finaeus a level look. “You know how to shoot that thing?”

“I think I can figure it out,” Finaeus replied. “Pointy end goes toward the bad guys, right?”

“Har, har,” Cheeky said as she slid down the ladder to the cargo deck. It annoyed her that she let Nance bully her into wearing clothes—just in case they had to meet with someone formal, she’d said. Armor was one thing, but clothes just got in the way of most things.

She and Sera had always seen eye-to-eye on that.

“You go there,” she directed Finaeus to a position behind a conduit stack in the port-side corridor. “I’ll be down on the far side of the airlock. We’ll catch them in the crossfire.”

“Just don’t shoot me,” Finaeus said as he took the position and leveled his rifle at the airlock door.

“We’ve practiced this a lot,” Cheeky said as she ran down to a crate on the far side of the airlock—left there for just this reason.

“Sera had you drilling, did she?” Finaeus asked.

Cheeky smiled as she took aim on the airlock. “All the time. Cargo’s made us keep it up, too.”

<They haven’t managed to crack our upgraded security on the airlock’s inner door. I think they’re just going to cut through it,> Sabrina advised.

<Open it, and give them the welcome, then,> Cheeky said. <No reason to hose a perfectly good lock.>

<Setting a timer on your HUD,> Sabrina said.

Cheeky saw a five-second-countdown appear over her vision. She braced against the wall and clenched her teeth, forcing herself to take deep breaths and ignore the possibility that they could be her last.

The timer hit zero and the doors slid open.

She pulled up the corridor’s camera feeds and saw seven soldiers in medium-powered armor—tough stuff, but still slim enough to get through a freighter’s passageways and hatches.

Cheeky counted slowly, waiting for the first of the Transcend soldiers to move into the passageway—something they appeared hesitant to do, all too aware that they weren’t the ones who had opened the door.

<A smart person would run,> Piya said. <An airlock is a shitty place to be trapped. They have to know we’re waiting for them.>

<No kidding,> Cheeky replied.

Sera had always told them that the best thing to do if someone got into your airlock was not to let them out. The ideal scenario option was to drop a concussive blast into the lock while they were cycling it.

To that end, each airlock on Sabrina had murder holes in the overhead and bulkheads that would drop conc grenades on unsuspecting intruders; but these soldiers weren’t some gang on a run-down station. Their first order of business had been to set up a grav shield that would protect them from just such an attack.

Now, if she were in their shoes—something that Sera had also trained them on—she would be tossing something unpleasant out into the corridor right smartly.

On cue, two of the soldiers tossed a pair of grenades into the passageway, aiming for Cheeky and Finaeus’s positions.

Except the grenades didn’t enter the corridor.

The instant the enemy soldiers released the grenades, a stasis shield snapped down over the airlock entrance and the explosives bounced back inside.

<Duck!> Sabrina called out, and Cheeky crouched low behind her crate.

The concussive blast roared out into the corridor and rattled Cheeky’s teeth.

<Sorry,> Sabrina said. 

<Felt like plenty of force here,> Finaeus grunted.

The smoke cleared out of the airlock, and Cheeky saw that two soldiers were down, and three appeared disoriented with weapons lowered.

The final two were still in position at the edges of the airlock, ready to line up shots.

<They have probes out; they can see you as well as you can see them,> Sabrina warned.

“Shit!” Cheeky exclaimed, and ducked back as a pulse blast slammed into her crate. Luckily the thing wasn’t just an empty box, but a dense grav shield.

A grav shield that reflected the man’s pulse back onto himself.

“We’re gonna be a tough nut to crack!” Cheeky called out. “Why don’t you little ‘Scenders just go back home and tell mom and dad that we can’t come out to play?”

“You can’t hold out forever,” one of the soldiers called back. “Surrender now, and save yourself a world of trouble.”

“No chance,” Cheeky called back. “What you didn’t count on is how much I like trouble.” She completed the statement by blowing a kiss.

<You just can’t turn it off, can you?> Finaeus asked.

<Turn what off?> Cheeky replied.

More concussive shots came out of the airlock. Cheeky and Finaeus returned fire, sticking to the x-ray lasers—kinetics were out of the question without clear targets.

<They’re trying to slip a hack past one of your maintenance routines,> Finaeus said to Sabrina. <Check the main cargo bay’s subnet.>

<Holy crap! I didn’t notice that. How did you spot it?> Sabrina said.

<I’m not just a pretty face,> Finaeus replied as he took another shot at one of the Transcend soldiers that had leaned just a bit too far out of the airlock.

<OK, I’ve locked it down,> Sabrina said. 

<This is getting ridiculous,> Cheeky said. <There are grenades in the main weapons lockup. You hold them here, Fin. I’m going to go get them.>

<Are you kidding?!> Finaeus exclaimed. <If you leave, and there’s no crossfire, they’ll overrun me.>

<Think so?> Cheeky asked.

<Yes, I think so!>

<If you guys could finish up there, we’d sure love some help down here,> Trevor said. <They got a whole squad in environmental. Nance flushed something nasty out of some of the tanks; it’s slowing them down, but they’re still coming.>

<Ewww…Nance, what did you do?> Cheeky asked

<Something I’m going to hate cleaning up later,> Nance replied with a rueful laugh. <Nothing corrosive, but it did force them all to switch over to internal air supplies.>

 Cheeky said.

<Seriously, help!> Trevor interrupted.

<’Kay, Fin, on the count of three, we rush ‘em. Sabrina, do the gravity thing,> Cheeky said.

 Piya said.

Cheeky didn’t reply, but the next time the Transcend soldiers pulled back into cover, she jumped out from behind her cover and charged toward the airlock.

As they rushed forward, Sabrina reversed the grav systems in the lock and down became up.

The unconscious soldiers fell to the overhead, as did two of the conscious ones. The final two had their boots mag-locked to the deck, but suddenly found themselves hanging from the ceiling.

Cheeky fired a short burst of kinetic rounds at the pelvis of the one closest to her—almost always the weakest spot—while Finaeus fired center-mass at the other.

The rounds cracked, and then penetrated their armor. Cheeky fired a few more rounds into the soldiers lying on the airlock’s overhead for good measure.

“Surrender. Now!”

The two who had taken the initial rounds had already dropped their weapons, and the others—those who could—followed suit.

“I’m going to open the outer lock, and you ass-hats are going to take your wounded and get the fuck off our ship.”

<Uh…Cheeky?> Sabrina asked.

<What?>

<The outer lock is open already.>

Cheeky looked at the outer lock—which was securely closed. She could see it plainly.

<It’s a really good holo. Fooled my sensors for a bit, too—its why the grenades didn’t do enough damage. Their force went out into the bay.>

Cheeky suddenly felt very vulnerable, knowing that there could be a whole squad of enemy troops on the other side of the airlock.

<Well, not that many,> Piya said. <They have to climb up here, and there’s not much room between the ship and the shield.>

A second later, the holo disappeared, and Cheeky saw two more enemies outside the ship—but within the stasis shield—taking aim. She ducked behind one of the soldiers who still hung—or stood, depending on your point of view—by his mag-locked boots.

Finaeus wasn’t as fast, and cried out as a pulse blast hit him.

“I’m OK…mostly,” he grunted a moment later.

Cheeky sprayed rounds out of the airlock door, and winced as they bounced off the inside of the stasis shield; some hitting the hull, and others coming back through the airlock—more than one passing far too close to her head.

<Careful!> Piya admonished.

<You’re telling me,> Cheeky said privately before calling out, “I’m going to hole every one of your buddies in here if you don’t back the fuck off!”

“You wouldn’t!” a voice called back from outside the ship.

“Wanna find out?” Cheeky asked and fired another round out the airlock, this one aimed to bounce off the shield and hit somewhere close to where the speaker’s voice originated.

“Shit! OK, OK. Let us come in to get our wounded. We’re dropping our weapons.”

“Deal,” Cheeky replied. <Fin, get down below, see if you can help. I can take care of this from here.>

<What if they rush you?>

<Sabrina can still snap on the inner stasis field.>

Cheeky knew that wasn’t a great solution. The airlock’s inner stasis field’s emitters were vulnerable from inside the airlock, but it would stop any funny business.

She hoped.

COLONEL BES

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Interrogation Room, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

Jessica had just settled into the seat previously held by Admiral Krissy. when she heard the door open behind her and Bes’s voice call out.

“So, still having your chat, Krissy? You know that there’s nothing you can do, now?”

Jessica waited for Bes to step into the room, and smiled at the sound of the door closing behind him. He was alone.

The colonel reached for the chair beside her, and Jessica rose and spun, driving a fist in the underside of his jaw. Bes’s teeth snapped together, and she hoped a few broke, as he fell backward.

Unlike Admiral Krissy, Bes was armed and Jessica knew controlling that weapon—or at least getting it out of play—was key. She steeled herself for what would occur when she touched his sidearm, and reached out to grab it.

Her hand clamped around the weapon’s grip and she cried out as it discharged a shock into her body, though she still managed to wrench it free of its holster.

By the time she had fallen to the floor, hand still convulsively clenched around the handgun, Cargo was on top of Bes.

The Grey Division colonel had recovered from Jessica’s initial blow, and was holding his own against Cargo. Sabrina’s captain was a tough man—a veteran of a hundred dockside fights and bar brawls—but Bes was a trained soldier who was also heavily augmented.

For every solid hit Cargo delivered, Bes delivered two—and from the looks of it, they hurt a lot.

<Can you wipe his DNA lock on the handgun?> Jessica asked Iris as she struggled to her feet.

<Working on it… almost…damn. It just fried itself. Sorry.>

<No problem,> Jessica said as she flexed her right hand. Had she possessed organic skin, the weapon’s bio-lock would have severely burned her flesh. As it was, the polymers that made up her epidermis were just a bit melted.

“Hey, Bes,” she said. “You want me? Come and get me.”

Bes delivered a punch to Cargo’s solar plexus that sent the captain reeling, before turning to Jessica.

“Tougher than you look,” he said.

“I’ve been around awhile,” she replied. “Picked up a few upgrades along the way.

“Likewise,” Bes said, and suddenly a lightwand was in his hand.

<Wow, that was fast,> Iris said. <This guy is serious business.>

<Thanks, Iris, I hadn’t noticed.>

Bes came at her high with the lightwand, and she ducked to the side, kicking at his leg. He wasn’t there when her boot lashed out; instead his own foot slammed into her right knee.

Jessica pivoted just in time to take the blow on the back of the joint, rather than the side, and allowed herself to fall onto her back.

She pulled her knees to her chest, slammed her hands against the deck, and straightened into a handstand that sent her feet into Bes’s neck and face.

He grunted and fell back as Jessica completed the sinuous maneuver, and landed on her feet. She had hoped he would fall and she could deliver a finishing blow, but he still looked ready to go a few more rounds.

By some miracle, however, Bes had dropped the lightwand, and it had rolled under the table.

Jessica delivered a roundhouse kick to his head, which Bes caught with ease. He smirked and pulled on her leg, but Jessica was expecting him to do just that. She swung her other leg up at his head while falling back to the floor once more.

She managed to lock her ankles behind Bes’s head, and, with every ounce of her strength she launched him over her body and into the bulkhead.

Jessica turned over to get ready for the next round, when a resounding CRACK filled the room. She saw Cargo standing over the enemy colonel, one of the room’s steel chairs in his hands. Bes was struggling to get up, and Cargo hit him again.

The man finally went down.

“You need to dig deep and find your girl-power, Cargo,” Jessica grinned as she gracefully rose to her feet. “Can’t take on one little tin soldier without resorting to furniture.”

“More like c-fibre and steel soldier. I think he broke a rib.” Cargo gingerly touched his side. “Yup, definitely broke a rib.”

Jessica delivered a kick to Bes’s head to make sure he was really out before they hauled him to the table and set him beside Admiral Krissy.

 Iris said.

“Then let’s not stick around,” Jessica replied.

“Ideas?” Cargo asked. “There’s going to be at least two guards in the hall, and they won’t be as easy to take down as Bes here.

“Well, you really can’t pass as Bes, but I might be able to get past the guards as Krissy…”

“Dream on,” Cargo replied. “Your skin is purple. Even with her clothes and hair color, those guards aren’t going to be fooled for more than a second.”

 Iris mused. <Or maybe coat it in something close to Krissy’s skin color…>

Jessica looked around the room, which contained only the table, four steel chairs, the rubberized deck, and the four humans.

“Deck’s kinda tan,” Cargo offered.

<It’s either that, or we wait to see if the hackit you dropped actually makes it here.> Hank said.

 Jessica said. <It must have been picked up, or gotten lost, or something—but I really don’t like the idea of having melted deck smeared on me.>

“I’m just going to take a peek out into the hall,” Cargo said. “Something tells me that unless we can hack into their network and fool their sensors, nothing we pull off is going to work.”

<Worth a shot,> Hank said. <It is surprising that no one came in when you slammed Bes into the bulkhead. That was pretty loud.>

Cargo walked to the door and waved his hand over the control panel.

To their surprise it opened. Jessica sent a few nanoprobes out into the corridor and saw the guards standing at attention; neither looked toward the open door.

She glanced at Cargo, shrugged, and stepped out into the hall. The guards remained stock still, and she picked up a wireless signal from the hackit.

“The thing made it after all,” she said. “Its onboard NSAI has a backdoor into their public network. Good thing this place is a civilian station, or I bet that it wouldn’t have managed.”

“Or the Transcend doesn’t have as much of an edge over you colonists as you’d feared.”

“Maybe,” Jessica mused. “But it’s been almost five thousand years. How is it that they are still at a level remotely close to 42nd century Sol?”

“The place was a crucible,” Cargo offered. “You’ve told stories about how cutthroat and scheming everyone was.”

“True…. Anyway, we’ve got to find their traffic control center and plant a trigger in the gate control system.”

<I’ve pulled up the station layout,> Iris said. <You’ve got a kilometer to go, and I don’t think you should hop a maglev—but you better move fast; looks like they’re attacking Sabrina.>

“What?” Jessica asked.

<They haven’t taken it yet,> Hank added. <Looks like our people repelled the initial boarding attempts.>

Jessica nodded with relief while looking at Iris’s proposed route to the STC. Then she glanced at the two stock-still soldiers in the corridor.

“I may have an idea.”

A LITTLE OUTING

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Docking Bay F34A, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“That was the exact opposite of fun. I’ve never seen shit used as a weapon quite like that,” Cheeky said as she leaned against a bulkhead. “You sure we’re clear, Sabs?”

“Man…it really stinks down here,” Trevor said.

“At least they were nice enough to take their dead and wounded with them,” Nance replied. “Corpses in the mix would really take a while to clean up.”

“I need to get off this deck before I throw up,” Cheeky said, taking slow, shallow breaths as she walked to the ladder.

“Get cleaned up and get in some light armor, Cheeky,” Finaeus said. “You and I are going out there.”

“Out where?” Cheeky asked.

“There,” Finaeus said, gesturing at the hull.

“In environmental?”

“No, stop being dense. Outside the ship.”

Cheeky laughed, and in doing so took a deep breath. “Oh stars, oh, I’m going to hurl.”

“Don’t!” Nance called out from the entrance to environmental. “I’ve got enough to clean up.”

“In related news,” Finaeus began, “I think I have an idea about how we can use your ship’s stasis shields to mount a film of the material we use for the Ford-Svaiter mirrors. If it will work, then we won’t have to mount a physical mirror on the ship. We can deploy it with a grav field, and then support it with the stasis shield.”

“Seriously?” Trevor asked as he approached. “Aren’t we more worried about getting Jessica and Cargo back and getting out of here? Are you really still this fixated on using the jump gate?”

“If we try to fly through the dark layer, stopping for fuel at predictable jump points, the Grey Division will be all over us like flies on feces.”

“Seriously?” Cheeky asked as she reached the top of the ladder. “Didn’t you see how I almost tossed my cookies down there?”

Finaeus grinned. “Sorry, it was just front of mind.”

<Don’t mind me, everyone, I’ll just be down here, knee-deep in shit and algae blooms,> Nance said.

<Sorry, Nance,> Cheeky replied. <Looks like Finaeus has a very important mission that I need to help on.>

<And…uh…I need to keep watch over the ship,> Trevor said.

“Really, though,” Cheeky said aloud. “Won’t we be leaving the ship vulnerable if we go?”

“At this point they’re going to try to use Cargo and Jessica as leverage. So, as long as neither of them show up with a gun to their head out there, Trevor can hold down the fort on his own,” Finaeus replied.

<I’ve also deployed all our atmosphere-capable point defense weapons. If they breach again, I’m going to open fire on anyone I can see,> Sabrina said. <Since you guys already killed a bunch of them, I don’t see this ending peacefully, anyway.>

“Good point,” Cheeky nodded.

“OK, so where’s your armory?” Finaeus asked.

Cheeky led him to the forward weapons lockup, which was hidden behind a panel in one of the cargo bays. Inside lay enough weapons, armor, and gear to start a minor war.

“Seriously, you’re pirates,” Finaeus said.

“We’ve only ever attacked and boarded one other ship,” Cheeky said. “And they were most certainly pirates.”

 Sabrina said.

“Yeah, but those were all back before we met Tanis and got a letter of marque. In fact, we still have that; we’re just operating on behalf of the Silstrand Alliance here.”

“Good grief,” Finaeus muttered.

“Here,” Cheeky gestured to a rack of light, stealth-capable armor sets. “They won’t have the tech to fool these folks here, but they should do give us an edge.”

<Trevor? What are you doing, Trevor?> Sabrina interrupted.

“Who, me?” Trevor replied, an innocent grin on his face.

<Yes, those are mines you’re holding. I can see them.>

“They’re little mines; like wee ones, shaped charges, very non-destructive to the ship.”

<OK…but be very, very careful. Let’s talk about where you plan to put them.>

Cheeky tuned out Trevor and Sabrina’s conversation as she stripped out of the clothing Jessica had talked her into wearing, and wiped the sweat and grime off her face.

She slid into the armor’s base layer, which provided additional kinetic energy dispersal and heat management. Then Cheeky backed toward the rack, which wrapped the armor’s protective plates around her body before it attached the helmet.

She saw Finaeus doing the same out of the corner of her eye, and smiled while he squirmed uncomfortably as the armor folded itself around him.

Her eyes were covered by the helmet and her vision went dark for a moment, as the gear initialized and fed its optics into her mind via the armor’s hard-Link.

<OK, grab one of those rifles—the three-mode ones on the far wall—and the mags, plus nades and a sidearm,> Cheeky directed, enjoying being the one who gave the orders on a sortie for once. Usually it was Jessica or Cargo who ran a mission—or Sera, back in the day.

<This time I’m going plasma,> Finaeus said.

<Then take another sidearm, as well,> Cheeky replied. <We only have two plasma mags for that model.>

<What kind of pirates are you?> Finaeus asked with a grin over the Link.

<Har, har, enough already.>

<So sensitive.>

Cheeky grabbed enough mags to shoot her way clear out of Gisha Station, and slipped a flechette pistol and a ballistic pistol into the armor’s holsters.

<So what’s the plan?> she asked Finaeus, once they left the weapons lockup and resealed the panel.

<Best way out is through the maintenance bay down below.>

<Through all the shit and algae and whatever those green slimy tuber things were?> Cheeky asked.

<Well, we need to go around all that. We can’t track all that mess everywhere…kinda ruins the whole stealth thing we’re trying to achieve. Is there another way out that can get us down into the cradle?>

Cheeky thought about it for a moment. <Sabrina? Think we can get out through the service hatch down by the D2 fueling ports?>

<It’ll be a tight fit for Finaeus, but I think so,> Sabrina replied after an instant’s consideration. <You’ll be right behind one of the cradle struts, too.>

<Nance, hold off on dumping that shit out of the ship, we’ll need a distraction.>

<Dump it? Cheeky, this stuff is how we breathe. I need to keep as much of it as possible,> Nance replied with no small amount of chagrin in her voice.

<Well…can you dump some of it?>

<OK, just a bit; tell me when.>

Cheeky led Finaeus toward the aft end of the cargo level, down a ladder to the engineering deck, and down one more into the service passages that ran under the auxiliary reactor—which was thrumming quietly, but menacingly, above them.

They reached the access port and cycled open the inner airlock. Cheeky slipped in and got ready to cycle the outer one. They’d have to leave both doors open at once. She barely fit in the airlock—which was meant for bots, not people—there was no way they both would.

<You ready, Nance? Give me a ten-count before you’re going to dump waste.>

<OK, on your HUD.>

Cheeky saw the count and took a deep breath, triggering the outer lock to open at three. Then, when the number hit zero, she leapt down and landed behind a strut and moved over, making room for Finaeus who came down a moment later.

Sixty meters away, she saw a bit of slop, and one of the long tubers fall to the deck.

<That’s it? That’s your distraction? I thought you’d dump a thousand liters or something.>

 Nance replied. <If you want to breathe or shower in space ever again, I need this stuff.>

<Well, now that I see what’s really in those tanks, I may never do either again.>

However, by some miracle, none of the Transcend soldiers noticed them. Most were dealing with their wounded, or strengthening their positions, now that Sabrina had powered up the point defense systems.

Cheeky looked to Finaeus, who pointed to a narrow space behind one of the cradle’s struts where fueling lines rose out of the deck. She could see another level down there, and nodded.

Finaeus sent a pair of microscopic probes down into the lower level, and the feed on their HUDs showed only two soldiers.

She prayed to whatever stars were listening that the stealth features on their armor would be enough to hide them. They didn’t have full-EM invisibility capabilities, but it should be enough to avoid notice by anything other than an active sensor sweep.

Cheeky slipped through the narrow space around the fuel lines first and looked back up at Finaeus. It would be a tight fit for him, and he passed his rifle down to her before carefully lowering himself down.

The level was filled with tanks, fuel lines, power systems, and the grav emitters that moved the docking cradle’s arms. She could see one of the guards walking past a row of SC Batts a few dozen meters away, but the other wasn’t visible from her position.

Finaeus led the way toward wherever he thought he could get his special material for the jump gate mirror, while Cheeky kept her eyes peeled—praying she spotted the guard first.

By some miracle, their luck held; she eventually saw the second guard on the probe’s feed, moving away from them, barely paying attention to his surroundings.

They reached a hatch, and Finaeus began to work at the access panel while Cheeky crouched behind some equipment, keeping watch.

She felt the beginnings of butterflies in her stomach—her least favorite part about action like this. Before, when they were on the ship, there had been no time for nerves; barely enough to see the threat and respond.

But now, away from Sabrina, anything could happen. They could be separated from the ship; the ship was safety, it was home. Even when they docked at stations, Cheeky never really strayed far from Sabrina. She knew it was foolish, but even after all these years, there was still a little fear in the back of her mind that she might get left behind.

Before long, Finaeus completed his work and the panel slid aside, revealing a narrow passageway that appeared to branch out at regular intervals.

Tools and equipment lay on the deck in several places, and Cheeky suspected that when there wasn’t a looming battle, workers frequented these lower corridors.

Perhaps Finaeus would find what he was looking for without having to go too far.

<Think he knows where he’s going?> Piya asked.

<Who knows…even if he didn’t, he’d never say it,> Cheeky replied. <Super smart, but he strikes me as a serious throwback.>

<Well, he did grow up in the twenty-fourth century.>

Cheeky shook her head at the thought. Finaeus made Tanis and the Intrepid look like recent history. To think that this man left Sol centuries before the first Sentience War was mind-boggling.

And here they were skulking through service corridors like a pair of thieves.

<You kind of are thieves,> Piya said.

 Cheeky said with a laugh. <Besides, you’re a thief too, then.>

<I’m just along for the ride,> Piya responded innocently. <If you’re caught, I’ll say that you kidnapped me.>

Cheeky saw that Finaeus had stopped ahead, and was looking up and down a cross corridor. He put a hand to his chin, and then jerked his head back in surprise. She wondered if he had forgotten that he was wearing a helmet. After a moment he nodded to himself and turned left.

If she hadn’t had her HUD showing a map of the path they took, she would have been lost in minutes with all the turns he took. However, it did seem like he wasn’t wandering aimlessly. They hadn’t backtracked, or crossed their previous route.

They still hadn’t run into anyone, and Cheeky was beginning to wonder if they’d walk clear across Gisha and not see a soul, when her armor’s advanced sensors picked up voices.

Finaeus seemed blissfully unaware of their impending detection, and she reached out to touch his shoulder. He turned his head back to look at her.

<What?> he asked, breaking Link silence.

<Me too, that’s why we can’t stop. Our destination is just up there.>

Finaeus began moving again. Cheeky pulled out her sidearm and followed, sending several drones ahead and behind, watching for movement.

The voices ahead were getting louder, and Cheeky was ready to duck behind a tool chest and engage who ever showed up, when Finaeus stopped at a door, quickly punched in a series of numbers, and ushered her inside as the door opened.

Once inside, Cheeky was surprised to see that they were in some sort of room filed with spare parts…used spare parts. Long racks lined the walls and ran down the length of the room. They were littered with small silver plates haphazardly tossed onto any flat surface, as well as some larger pieces stacked up in corners.

<This is why security was so light to get here,> she mused. <This is the used parts room for jump-gate mirrors, isn’t it?>

<Hole in one,> Finaeus replied. <They guard the new mirrors like the crown jewels, but used and broken bits? Not so much.>

<But if they’re broken, how are we going to use them on Sabrina?>

Finaeus picked up one of the broken plates from a shelf. <All I really need is the coating. However, they don’t seem to have the tool I need to get it off. I can probably build one back on the ship, but it means we’re going to have to grab a lot of these pieces.>

<How many?> Cheeky asked.

Finaeus cocked his head to the side, and held a hand in the air as he worked out the answer. <Given their distribution…two hundred and seventeen.>

<What?> Cheeky asked. <How are we going to carry that many back to the ship?>

<There’s a cart over there,> Piya suggested with a mental smirk.

<Right, we’ll just wheel that cart half way across the station,> Cheeky retorted.

 Piya replied.

Finaeus was searching through the shelves, and glanced back at Cheeky. <This is why I don’t have an AI in my head. Their sense of humor is always just a bit off.>

<Right,> Piya said. <This coming from the guy who thinks everything is a joke.>

<Maybe it is,> Finaeus replied.

<This isn’t helping,> Cheeky said. <We can’t get the coating off the plates, and we can’t haul a cartload of mirror bits through the station; how are we going to get them back to the ship?>

Finaeus didn’t reply as he walked to the far end of the room. Then he gave a laugh. <Now this is funny. You’re gonna love this, Cheeky.>

HEADACHE

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Interrogation Room, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

Admiral Krissy felt consciousness slowly return. It took a moment to recall what had happened, and then worry flooded her. Those two had better get Finaeus off Gisha safely.

She heard a groan, and looked over to see Bes slowly lift his head off the table. Relief came and she resisted sighing. Jessica and Cargo had done it; taken down Bes, and escaped. Now would come the hard part.

He was wearing Cargo’s uniform, and she glanced down to see that she was wearing Jessica’s outfit. It was really tight on the waist, but the feeling of discomfort was suppressed by the deep-seated joy she felt at seeing Bes in pain. Bes’s ever-present scowl deepened, and Krissy couldn’t help but give a soft laugh.

“I appreciate that look of frustration,” she said and Bes glanced at her.

“How long?” Bes asked, still sounding disoriented.

“Just fifteen minutes. Someone should be along shortly.”

“How is it that they got the best of you, Admiral?”

Krissy grinned, enjoying Bes being taken down a little too much. “Probably the same way they got the best of you. We underestimated them.”

Bes pulled at the shackles that held his wrists to the table. She was about to warn him not to use his nano on the shackles when he jerked in pain.

“Yeah, don’t do that,” Krissy warned.

“Damnit!” Bes shouted. “Hello! We’re in here!”

“Relax,” Krissy said. “Someone will be along soon.”

Bes shot her an acidic look. “How is it that we’ve been alone for this long already?”

“Well, I told my people to give me an hour, and it’s almost been an hour. They know not to come looking for me unless it’s an e—”

The door slid open, almost as though Krissy had willed it, and a lieutenant rushed into the room. “Admiral, the ship—what happened?”

“We were attacked,” Bes retorted. “What about the ship? Did you successfully take it?”

“Wait, what? Take the ship?” Krissy asked.

“Yes, Admiral,” Bes said, casting a dark look in the woman’s direction. “While you were in here chatting up those pirates, I was following my orders.”

“How many died?” Krissy asked the lieutenant who was removing her restraints.

“Two,” he said quietly. “Seventeen more were critically wounded. The enemy avoided headshots.”

“They’re not the enemy,” Krissy said before delivering her own dark look at Bes. “At least they weren’t.”

Bes shook his head. “Your attachment to Finaeus is—”

“Only natural,” Krissy interrupted. “He was exiled from Huygens, not from the galaxy. He’s done nothing wrong—other than the dust-up while docking—no matter what your orders say.”

“They’re your orders, too,” Bes replied as the lieutenant released his bonds.

“What happened?” Krissy asked the officer.

“Major Michaels attempted to take the ship from two ingress points. He wasn’t expecting them to use kinetics within their own ship…or to use their waste treatment systems. They fought us to a standstill, and then allowed us to take our wounded and retreat.”

“At least some people still have honor,” Krissy said and shot Bes a cold look. “And it’s not surprising they used kinetics. They’re cornered. Cornered people do desperate things.”

Bes walked to the door. “The real question is where are Jessica and Captain Cargo?” He peered out into the hall, noting the absent guards.

“I don’t know,” the lieutenant replied. “I’ve raised the silent alarms and posted an alert for the missing guards. They can’t move freely around the station; we’ll find them.”

“Perhaps,” Bes replied. “But we’ve underestimated them before.”

He strode into the hall and Krissy followed. He glanced back at her and shook his head. She knew what he was thinking—his orders didn’t give him control of the fleets or the station. Now that he had tried to go around her and failed, he wouldn’t be able to do it again

Krissy thanked her influence with the Admiralty for that. A lot of other commanders would have found themselves at the beck and call of a GD colonel, had one arrived at their outpost.

“Admiral, I want you to direct a full-scale attack on the Sabrina. We’ll take that ship if we have to cut it to ribbons.”

“Are you daft?” Krissy asked. “That ship is inside our shields, and has a stasis shield. They could destroy us if they wished. I suspect only their sense of right and wrong has kept them from escalating things.”

“Then what do you propose?” Bes asked. “I would hate to report that you did not discharge your orders to the best of your abilities. And right now, it appears to me as though you are not.”

Admiral Krissy walked ahead of him, turning toward the docking bay where the Sabrina rested.

“I’m trying to make lemonade out of the lemons you’ve given me—while not killing the former crew of our president’s daughter while I’m at it. Or his brother. Or a member of the most powerful group of people in the galaxy. Maybe it’s you who is not acting in a fashion that aligns with the Transcend’s goals.”

Bes didn’t respond as he followed her down the corridor, his reticent silence speaking volumes. She was starting to give more and more credit to the idea of a stealthed ship being to blame for the attack on Gisha. Bes appeared to be willing to do whatever it took to secure his prize as quickly as possible.

She wished for a moment that Finaeus had never come here; that he had found some other jump gate in the Inner Stars.

But then…then he may have been taken already, and subjected to who knows what the Grey Division had in mind for him.

A NEW OUTFIT

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Command Deck, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“I can’t believe that they’re using this armor,” Jessica said. “It’s based on a model the Jovian Combine’s police forces discontinued in the forty-first century. I mean, it’s had some upgrades, but it’s still the same software that STR-RV models used back in Sol. It’s nuts.”

<Makes sense. A lot of software gets layered on top of so much other code that eventually no one even knows how to compile the dependent libraries anymore. Rewriting them could introduce thousands of bugs, so everyone just leaves it all alone,> Iris said.

“Advantageous, though,” Cargo said. “Glad you spotted it. I’d rather not have tried walking to their space traffic control center without it. This station is loaded with Sendy Soldiers.”

“Let’s go with Scenders; can’t you hear the ‘c’? I think it works better”

“Jess, you always get to name everyone. But you got us into this mess, so this time I get to give the bad guys their nickname.”

Jessica walked her armor around a corner and spied the entrance to the station’s STC a hundred meters down the hall. A pair of guards stood at attention outside the entrance.

“I did not get us into this! You could have said ‘no’ to Finaeus’s crazy plan to come here. You’re the captain, after all.”

“Not that,” Cargo replied. “This whole idea to get captured to get the hackit into their STC.”

“You came along, didn’t you?” Jessica asked, glancing over at him.

Cargo snorted. “Only because you’d have gotten killed without me. That Bes guy would have mopped the floor with you.”

“Hardly!” Jessica barked. “I would have worn him down.”

“Sure, sure,” Cargo replied. “So, are we going to do this, or what?”

“Yeah, but just use pulse rifles on low. No need to kill any of these folks. Just have to drop the hackit in there.”

“On three. One, two, three!”

They kicked the armor into full speed, charging down the corridor at sixty kilometers per hour toward the station’s STC. Expressions of surprise, then terror filled the faces of the guards before they regained some composure and fired their pulse rifles at the onrushing threat. It wasn’t enough to slow their attackers down, and the guards dove out of the way at the last minute.

The powered armor made short work of the door, smashing through into a wide room filled with consoles and holotanks. Jessica and Cargo fired at everyone and everything in the STC, creating the biggest distraction they could manage as the hackit dropped from Jessica’s armor and rolled under a console, where it spread nanofilaments into the system.

“Halt! Stop! What the hell are you doing?” A voice called out over the station’s audible address systems, issuing orders which Jessica and Cargo gleefully ignored as they fired concussive pulse shots with wild abandon.

A few holdouts were crouched behind consoles at either end of the STC, and the pair split up, advancing on the final targets. Just as they reached the last pockets of station personnel, automated turrets dropped from the ceiling and opened fire.

The voice over the audible address system called out, “You’ve had your warning!”

Armor-piercing kinetic rounds slammed into the purloined suits, and cracked the ablative plating before beams sliced through the underlying layers.

First, Jessica’s armor ceased moving, followed a moment later by Cargo’s.

“Well,” Jessica said, sitting up and removing the hard-Link patch that ran from her head to the unconscious soldier next to her. “That’s that. We’d better get a move on; they’re going to renew their search when they see that those things were on remote pilot.”

Cargo nodded as he removed the hard-Link cable from the base of his spine. “Hate using that thing. Makes me feel like a damn robot.”

“I bet it felt better for you than him,” Jessica said, giving a nod to the unconscious soldier on the ground. “He’ll probably have nightmares for a week. I hear remote piloting through someone’s Link messes shit up when it comes to body dysphoria.”

“Yeah…probably why it’s illegal everywhere,” Cargo replied.

“I don’t even know what legal means anymore,” Jessica said as she slid open the door and peered out into the passageway. Across the way was the door to the conference room where they had secured Admiral Krissy and Bes. The door was open, and the room appeared empty. Which meant that the Admiral and Colonel were likely headed to the same place Jessica and Cargo needed to get to: Sabrina.

She glanced back down at the woman she had jacked into, and the tight, purple shipsuit the soldier wore. It bore a corporal’s markings, and would fly under the radar a lot better than Admiral Krissy’s uniform.

Not to mention that it matched her hair perfectly.

“I’m going to change,” she said to Cargo, “You should, too; Bes’s uniform will stand out a lot more than that guy’s.”

“This isn’t a fashion show,” Cargo grunted. “How many more wardrobe changes you going to make?”

“First off,” Jessica said with a grin as she stripped down. “It’s always a fashion show—you’ve flown with us women for far too long not to realize that.”

“Plus Trevor,” Cargo said as he began to undress. “That guy has a wardrobe to match Cheeky’s—in volume of clothing, not the amount it covers.”

Jessica laughed, and quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, I just imagined Trevor trying to cover his bits in one of Cheeky’s outfits. He’s really well—”

“Please!” Cargo whispered. “I get the picture, OK? I sail with the crew of the SS Fuck, this isn’t news to me.”

Jessica chuckled. Cargo really was out of place when it came to that aspect of the crew. Even Nance behaved lasciviously next to him. She had to admit that it made the brooding man rather alluring.

“I prefer the SS Sexy. ‘Fuck’ is a bit too on the nose. I wonder if Sabrina would consider that for a name change some time?” she said.

“You bring it up, and you’re on galley duty for a year. I’m not docking anywhere as the captain of the SS Sexy—even if it is a ruse for some job.”

<Not to mention the incongruity of Jessica claiming that ‘Fuck’ is too on the nose for her,> Hank said.

Cargo covered his mouth to muffle a laugh, and Jessica couldn’t help but smile.

<Any time you want to get back to the mission, that would be great> Iris chided.

Jessica scowled at Iris in her mind, <Always trying to ruin my fun.>

<Always? Try practically never.>

Jessica had to admit Iris was right there, and switched to the group’s net and addressed the AIs. <Think you can shroud our faces well enough?>

<So just like always, then?> Hank asked.

<Good thing their AIs are so…weak,> Iris said. <Makes it easier to outsmart them.>

 Hank added, as Jessica and Cargo began working their way back toward the ship. 

<Beats me,> Jessica said. <Let’s just chalk it up to my good luck.>

Cargo laughed. <Right, luck.>

Jessica turned the corner to find a temporary security checkpoint set up fifty meters down the corridor.

<Aw, shit.>

Cargo gave short laugh. <Like I was saying.>

SPIDER-BOT SAVIOR

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Repair & Storage Area, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

 Cheeky asked, looking down at the strange, three-meter-long robot resting on the deck.

<It’s an applicator,> Finaeus said with a broad smile. <As in, it applies the very coating we’re looking for to the mirror backing on ships. Probably used for spot repairs where they don’t need to replace the entire panel.>

The thing looked a bit like a spider, but with engines instead of an abdomen. It must have been an automatic crawler that would move across the surface of a ship’s Ford-Svaiter mirror and repair it.

<Why do these mirrors crack and break so much?> she asked. <It doesn’t really instill confidence.>

<Well,> Finaeus said as he opened up a panel on the robot. <This system is a bit of a mess. Dust, rock, grit—it’s all out there, and it’s all swirling around, hard. You can’t run a shield in front of your mirror when you jump, so when you drop into a system, there’s a fraction of a second where the mirror is exposed.>

<Ahhh…> Cheeky nodded. 

<And guess what?> Finaeus said. <The bot has a full canister. More than enough to make a mirror for the Sabrina.>

<Fin, you’ve been with us for weeks. When are you going to learn it’s just ‘Sabrina’, no ‘the’?>

<Right, right. I wonder if that’s why she’s always so testy with me,> Finaeus muttered absently as he began to loosen the clamps holding the canister of mysterious stuff in place.

<That, amongst other reasons, I imagine,> Piya said. <You’re always poking around at her innards.>

Cheeky decided to check over the rear of the storage area as Finaeus worked. She saw that an airlock lay around a corner at the back of the room. It must be how the service crews got the broken mirror plates in, and where the bot went out—though it was strange that it was here, in such a low-security area.

Maybe a repair crew just left it here when the station sector cleared out for Sabrina. It would explain why the inner door on the lock was still open.

She walked back around to see Finaeus still fighting with the canister containing the mirror material.

<Need a hand?> she asked.

<No, just…about…got…> Finaeus grunted each word and then, just when it looked like he had it free, he slipped and fell back.

<Got it, eh?> Cheeky chuckled.

She bent over to help Finaeus up, when she heard the door at the entrance slide open and a voice call out. “You two, check in here. Make sure the airlock’s secured.”

<Quick,> Cheeky hissed. <Grab it, we’ll go out the lock!>

Finaeus nodded wordlessly and lifted two of the spider-robot’s legs, while Cheeky grabbed another pair and thanked the stars that the armor augmented her strength. The thing was heavy.

They moved as quietly as possible, but Finaeus caught one of the legs on the airlock’s door, and it made a terrible scraping sound.

Cheeky slammed a fist into the panel to cycle the airlock, but nothing happened.

<Seriously?>

<Hold them off, I’ll crack it,> Finaeus said, as he climbed over the spider-bot to reach the panel. Cheeky crouched behind the gangly robot, unslung her rifle, and tried to steady her breathing.

She sent a probe out that was almost immediately destroyed by their electronic warfare. However, it did feed a brief image of two soldiers moving down the rows of mirror fragments. She shifted further back into the airlock, doing her best to make sure they couldn’t see her before she could fire on them.

Cheeky spotted one soldier’s leg through one of the racks. She blew out her breath, took aim, and mentally pulled the trigger on her rifle.

It fired off a three-round burst of kinetic slugs, which slammed into the soldier’s shin-plate with a resounding CRACK. He danced back, and a beat of pulse blasts hit the airlock’s door in response.

<Hurry,> Cheeky urged. <If they muck up this damn door, the airlock will never cycle.>

<Hold please…> Finaeus replied.

<What?> Is he cracking jokes?

Another series of blasts hit the airlock’s entrance, and Cheeky fired a half-magazine into the racks of mirror parts, hoping to make the enemy fall back.

Instead she heard more boots pounding down the rows.

<Getting to be a lot of company out there!>

<OK…here goes,> Finaeus replied. A moment later, the inner door sealed and the airlock rapid-cycled the outer door—blasting the air, the two humans, and the spider-bot out into space.

 Cheeky shrieked as they drifted away from the hub of Gisha Station at an alarming rate.

Somehow, she managed to grasp one of the spider-bot’s limbs, and then grab onto Finaeus’s leg, pulling him close. She swung him toward the bot, and she pulled herself onto its body.

<Now what?> Cheeky asked. She glanced over her shoulder, realizing that they were headed straight for the station’s outer ring. It would take them some time to reach it, but when they did, it was going to hurt like a bitch.

<Don’t worry,> Finaeus said. <This thing is made to fly out to ships. It has these little grav engines on the back. Let me just interface with it. Hold on a sec…. Oh, and get on the bottom, I’ll stay on the top. Our armor’s stealth systems should make the bot hard to spot.>

Cheeky carefully worked her way around the bot, holding on with all her might.

Normally she loved space, loved the black; but it wasn’t black here. Ships were flying all around them, oblivious to the partially stealthed bot she clung to. Dust pinged off her armor, and above them, the baleful eye of the Grey Wolf Star loomed—its dark band of black holes tearing the star apart atom by atom.

No, this isn’t the black, this is some sort of space hell, and I am floating around in it with a crazy ancient scientist, who may or may not manage to get a stupid spider robot to fly us back to a station where everyone wants to kill us!

<Easy now, easy,> Piya said. <Deep breaths; the armor has hours of oxygen. You’re going to be just fine.>

<Easy for you to say!> Cheeky retorted. <If I freeze up out here, you can write yourself into static storage and be fine. Me? I’ll be a freezer treat. And I didn’t even get a good fuck back in Ikoden! I haven’t had decent tail in two months! I can’t die like this!>

<No one’s going to die,> Finaeus said. <I’ve done stuff like this dozens of times. We’ll be just fine. Look, I have it activated.>

Sure enough, the spider bot began to move, and a moment later, its grav drive activated, turning it back toward Gisha Station’s hub.

<I’ll take us to the bay door where Sabrina is, pass a message through, and then they’ll pick us up when they shoot their way out—or whatever they decide to do.>

Cheeky wanted to berate Finaeus, to ask him how long they were supposed to wait outside the station, but she bit her tongue and tried to calm herself down. He was right; this was under control. One of the crazier things she had ever been involved in—but under control.

Then the spider-bot’s grav engine went haywire.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Docking Bay F34A, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“What do you mean, ‘they escaped the station’?” Admiral Krissy asked.

“Well,” Major Michaels began, “we had cornered them in a service bay, one filled with broken mirror bits. We engaged them, and they got out the airlock.”

“Shit!” Colonel Bes swore. “They could be anywhere now, probably headed across the station’s surface to their bay.”

“Yes, sir, I have crews heading out after them, and patrol craft scouring the station.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Krissy shook her head. “Did they get EVA suits somewhere? Did anyone check the emergency locker at that airlock?”

“I’m on it,” Major Michaels replied and stepped away to address a pair of lieutenants.

“You don’t think they killed themselves by accident?” Bes asked.

“I think that’s less likely than you killing yourself by accident,” Krissy said, earning a dark look from Bes. “No, they wouldn’t have died by accident or on purpose. They’re too smart for that.”

Krissy looked up at the ship, its invisible stasis shield continuing to protect it from the soldiers surrounding it.

You’d better not be that stupid, Krissy thought. Finaeus is going to need you back on that ship if he’s to get out of this mess.

She considered the hack job Jessica—it must have been Jessica, with her TBI training—had performed on the two guards. It was a brilliant move; one that surprised even Krissy. That armor wasn’t supposed to be vulnerable to an attack like that.

She was fast learning that nothing was as it seemed, with this crew.

“Then what are they playing at?” Bes asked. “If their mission is just to escape, why hit the STC? Why did they come out of their ship in the first place?”

“The first answer is simple,” Krissy replied. “They want a mirror. Finaeus must have been certain he could still get one, even after they had their misfiring.”

“You mean where they attacked the station,” Bes said. Krissy noted by his inflection that he meant it as a correction, not a question.

“Oh, is that what happened?” Krissy asked, peering into the Grey man’s eyes, curious if he would let a tell slip through his cold expression.

He didn’t.

“You saw the logs from your own ships. They don’t lie. Not all of them,” Bes said while holding her gaze.

Krissy nodded slowly. Until a few hours ago, she would have believed that without reservation—now…not so much.

“No luck so far, Admiral,” Major Michaels said as he turned back to them. “I’d like to take another crack at that ship. We’re certain we have a plan that will work this time.”

“No,” Krissy said with a wave of her hand. “You’ve already squandered what chance we had of winning this without further bloodshed. First, we try to find their compatriots, and then we try to negotiate. If that fails, then you go in.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Major Michaels nodded.

“Major, I’d like to hear your plan,” Bes said.

“Belay that, Major!” Krissy turned to Bes, a fire rising in her chest. “Colonel Bes. May I remind you that I have orders to capture and turn over two people from that ship, and arrest the others? Nowhere in my orders does it even insinuate that I have to give you one iota of tactical control over this situation. So, if you’ll kindly shut up and return to your ship, I’ll consider not filing charges of insubordination. I repeat, consider not—you better have good protection from the top.”

Major Michaels blanched, and Bes opened his mouth to deliver a rejoinder when Krissy held up a finger. “I’ll remind you, Bes, that we are deep in the Inner Stars, and are on a war footing. Out here, in this realm, I am your god. The Grey Division may be safely back on Airtha, beyond my reach, but you, Bes—you are within my grasp. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Admiral,” Bes ground out. “The Division will hear of this.”

Krissy felt her calm slipping away entirely. “One more word, and we’ll see if they can hear it from my brig. Now get out of my sight!”

To his credit, Bes spun on his heel and left the bay without another word.

Krissy turned her eyes to Major Michaels. She took a slow breath as the man visibly wilted before her.

“Major. The next time someone shows up here—and I don’t care who it is, it could be President Fucking Tomlinson—you don’t surrender tactical control of an operation without first clearing it with me. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Admiral Krissy.”

“Am I crystal clear?!”

“Yes, Admiral Krissy!”

“Good! Now go do your fucking job—somewhere out of earshot, would be nice.”

Krissy felt shame over losing her temper so spectacularly—especially while in hearing range of hundreds of her soldiers. Still, it didn’t hurt for them to be reminded that the admiral had teeth, and she wasn’t afraid to use them.

She looked back up at the Sabrina, wondering if Finaeus was looking down at her. Someone was playing a dangerous game, and she wondered who it was. One thing was for certain; some of his crazier ramblings were starting to make sense.

Krissy turned and surveyed her troops in the bay. Her faith in Major Michaels and his operation was only a hair above nil right now.

<Major Nelson,> she called the Regent Mary’s XO. <Get Lin on the bridge and coordinate a sweep of the exterior of the station. Two of the Sabrina’s crew got outside, and I need someone I can trust to find them.>

<You’d be surprised to know that Lin is actually up here, but I’ll make sure it gets done,> Nelson replied.

<Good. Nelson, your service will be rewarded. We just need to get through this.>

<Yes, Admiral. Thank you, Admiral.>

Krissy closed the connection, and her gaze settled on a pair of soldiers moving toward the ship. There was something familiar about them.

A WINK AND A NOD

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Docking Bay F34A, Gisha Station

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“I say we just walk on,” Jessica suggested.

“What? Past all those Sender soldiers?”

“Are you just messing with me, now? You gotta say the ‘c’.”

 Iris offered.

“I like that,” Cargo chuckled. “Scenties.”

Jessica put a hand to her forehead and shook her head slowly, turning her attention back to the scene before the pair of them. They stood on one of the upper catwalks in Docking Bay F34A, Sabrina lying below them with the growing contingent of TSF soldiers arrayed around it.

“Doesn’t seem like she took any damage,” Jessica said. “With any luck, we can use the hackit to get the doors open and get the heck out of here.”

<We didn’t get the mirror, though,> Hank said. 

“Yeah, back before we realized that Krissy is being forced to take orders from the dark side, and is going to ship us all off to some secret prison, or something.”

“Probably the secret prison for me, and the ‘or something’ for you,” Cargo grinned. “Anyway, I like your plan. We just walk toward the ship, maybe cut across the front down there, so that it’s not obvious until the last moment, and then we run.”

“Think Sabrina will spot us and have a lock open?” Jessica asked.

<I’ll tightbeam her,> Hank said <She’ll have a lock open. Looks like there was a fight at the port one, so let’s do starboard—just in case something’s messed up.>

“Fine by me,” Jessica replied.

The pair walked to a lift and rode it down to the dock’s main level, where they casually strode past a platoon setting up a pair of crew-served slug throwers, and another group of soldiers readying armor-piercing javelin missile launchers.

<Some serious ordnance,> Iris commented. <If we didn’t have stasis shields, I’d be concerned.>

<What? Traipsing in front of the people who want to kill us in just these shipsuits and a nanocloud to shroud us isn’t enough to worry you?> Jessica asked.

<Nah, you look too good doing it,> Iris said with a mental grin.

<Well, of course I do.>

They passed by a pair of scouts who were crouched behind a stack of crates, their railguns trained on the starboard airlock.

Jessica was about to suggest that maybe the approach was too dicey, when the sound of yelling caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Admiral Krissy dressing down a major who looked absolutely terrified.

<She and Tanis would get on famously,> Iris said.

<Or they’d try to kill each other,> Jessica replied.

Jessica’s gaze lingered a moment too long and she cringed as Krissy looked their way and caught Jessica’s eye. The admiral frowned.

<Aaannd the jig is up,> Hank sighed.

They kept moving, hoping against hope that the next words weren’t ‘seize them!’

To Jessica’s relief, Admiral Krissy called out to the two scouts watching the starboard lock, repositioning them further down the dock, and creating an opening for the pair.

Jessica touched Cargo’s shoulder. <Let’s go, now.>

Cargo didn’t respond, but cut across the remainder of the TSF soldiers’ front line, then took a deep breath and walked out into the no-man’s land around the ship.

For a moment, Jessica thought that they’d pass through free and clear, but then a voice called out.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Stop!” another voice hollered.

Jessica broke into a run, dodging and weaving just in case anyone decided to shoot. She saw Cargo doing the same out of the corner of her eye, and nearly stumbled when a shot did ring out. A projectile whistled past her ear.

She poured on as much speed as she could. Hopefully Sabrina did see them and would make a hole, or she was going to slam at full speed into the stasis shield. She was wondering if she’d passed beyond its protection yet, when a pulse blast hit her in the back and sent her sprawling.

The staccato beat of projectiles ricocheting around her brought her back to her feet, and she expected to see rounds tearing through her.

But she was unharmed.

Jessica turned and saw bullets, rail pellets, and beamfire all striking an invisible force, mere centimeters from her face.

She was through the stasis shield.

“You don’t see that every day,” Cargo said.

<Gonna get in, already, or just enjoy the view of not dying?> Sabrina asked.

<Stars, it’s good to hear your voice,> Cargo replied as the pair ran to the starboard airlock. There was no gantry, and they clambered up and rolled onto the deck floor as the lock cycled.

<Get it warmed up,> Cargo ordered. <We’re getting the hell out of here.>

<You may want to hold off on that,> Nance said. <Cheeky and Finaeus aren’t aboard.>

<What!> Jessica exclaimed, struggling to her feet as the inner lock door opened.

<They left to get some material to make a mirror for the ship,> Nance replied. <That was almost an hour ago, though.>

<Nothing was on the nets about them being captured,> Iris said. <Though I disconnected when we were in the bay. Let me see if I can still hook up.>

As they talked, Jessica and Cargo ran down the starboard passage, climbed the ladder to the crew deck, and then the next up to the command deck.

They entered the bridge to see Nance sitting at one of the scan consoles.

“What do you mean they left?” Cargo growled. “Whose dumb idea was that, anyway?”

“I’ll give you three guesses,” Nance said quietly.

<My tap’s still good,> Iris said. <Stars…these guys need to improve their security. I bet someone figured infiltration of Gisha would never happen, and got lazy.>

“I’d rather they left it as weak as possible,” Cargo said. “What’s the word?”

<Weird…there’s some sort of search going on out there,> Iris said. <Oh! They think it’s us—well, they did till they saw us on the dock just now.>

“Out where?” Cargo asked brusquely.

<Sorry, yes, outside the station,> Iris said.

“What?” Jessica yelled.

“Jess! Damn, I’m glad you’re OK,” Trevor said as he burst onto the bridge. “I take it you’re yelling about Cheeky and Fin going on a little walkabout.”

“Yeah, they walked right off the station.”

“What…you’re kidding, right?”

“It seems not,” Cargo said. “Options, people? They’re out there looking for our crew, and we need to reach them first, and then get the hell out of here.”

<Krissy has mobilized her fleet to search for them; so have the station S&R crews. So far, no one has seen hide nor hair of them.>

Jessica threw an image of Gisha on the main holo, and Iris populated it with the last known location of Finaeus and Cheeky.

“Any chance that they faked the Teebies out and are still in the station?” Cargo asked.

“Really? Teebies?”

“Seems like a stretch,” Nance shook her head.

<Hard to say,> Iris interjected, sounding annoyed at the banter. <But they’re scouring this part of the station with everything they have. If those two are still onboard, they’re as good as caught. It’ll be a lot better if they’re in space.>

<They took the XR-79 armor we picked up in Virginis,> Sabrina said.

“So, two to three hours tops before they run out of air,” Cargo said. “Depending on how much Cheeks is hyperventilating right now.”

Jessica could only think of one way to get off Gisha, and that was opening fire on the soldiers and the bay doors. But after what Krissy had done to help….

“Only way out of this tin can is to shoot our way out,” Cargo said, echoing her thoughts. Jessica met his eyes and the captain sighed. “Right, but we have to warn Krissy somehow.”

“What? The evil admiral who is trying to take us all out?” Nance asked.

“It’s more complicated than that. She has some significant history with Finaeus—more than just a few drinks once, like he said—enough for her to help us escape. I don’t think she wants to see him die.”

“Yeah, but he’s not here anymore,” Trevor said. “She has no special attachment to us.”

<She needs us,> Iris said. <If she picks up Finaeus, she has to turn him over to Bes. But if we can pick up the old man, we can jet off with him.>

<That may be tricky…depending on how much they shoot at us,> Sabrina said.

“Why’s that?” Cargo asked.

<Well, SC Batt 3 blew a cooling loop, and it’s out. We’ve been running on our secondary reactor—which is why it’s a few degrees warmer in here than normal. We’re venting heat out various places as I flicker the stasis shields…>

Cargo let out a long breath. “But once we get out into space…we have to bubble the whole ship.”

“Right. No heat dispersion,” Nance added.

“Batts one and two look good,” Cargo noted.

<Stasis shields suck up the batts pretty fast; especially when they’re shedding beams from five hundred enemy ships,> Sabrina said.

“OK, so it’s going to be dicey out there,” Jessica said. “But we still—”

<Message from the admiral,> Sabrina said. <Should I put it on the tank?>

“Yeah, but just show her Jess and me. Leave her guessing about who else is still onboard.”

Admiral Krissy appeared on the holotank, her surroundings a blank grey—which told Jessica that the message was coming from her mind, not visible to anyone near her.

“Captain Cargo, Jessica,” Krissy said. “Please ensure that this message is encrypted properly per TSF Naval code 837.322.11A.”

Admiral Krissy began to recite the charges against them, and the crimes and punishments they faced in a droning monotone.

Jessica glanced at Cargo and mouthed ‘What?’

<Oh! I know!> Iris exclaimed. <Yup! She hid an encryption key in one of their databases on rules and regs. Pulling it out…here you go, Sabrina.>

<Got it,> Sabrina replied. <Aha! A subchannel in the transmission, audio only; putting it through.>

Suddenly Admiral Krissy’s voice changed—though the visual did not.

“Good, I hoped you’d figure that out.”

“What’s going on, really?” Jessica asked pointedly. “What does Finaeus mean to you?”

The admiral didn’t reply for a moment, though her image kept moving, soundlessly reciting the charges they faced.

“Ah, what the hell,” Krissy finally said. “He’s my father.”

<Pay up!> Iris demanded.

<Fine,> Sabrina said.

Jessica wondered what currency the AIs were exchanging as a result of their bet—and why she hadn’t been in on it. Aloud, she said, “That explains a lot.”

“He’s the one that’s out there, isn’t he?” Krissy asked. “Just like him to go on some harebrained adventure. Station can’t find him, but my fleet’s sensors picked up a ping out past the docking ring. Could be nothing, or it could be them. A man I can trust on my flagship has suppressed it from the logs, but as you know, I can’t rescue them. I’ll be damned if I’m going to turn my own father—one of the founders of the Transcend—over to the Greys to do whatever it is they do.”

Her voice paused and Cargo looked to Jessica, his face showing more emotion than she expected. She wondered what was troubling him.

“You have to get him, and get out of here,” Admiral Krissy finally said.

“How will we get out of the docking bay?” Jessica asked. “Without killing all your people, that is.”

“If you fire up your main reactor and warm up your engines, slowly, I’ll pull everyone back, and get someone to trigger an emergency release on the cradle and bay doors. Lloyd would probably do it; he’s been having kittens ever since you docked. Though he might have upgraded to elephants when you shot up the STC.”

“OK, deal,” Cargo said.

 Sabrina said. <It’s a ways out, almost twenty thousand klicks.>

“You need to hurry,” Krissy said. “If they get too much further, they’ll pass out of the gravitational doldrums….”

She didn’t have to finish her statement. Everyone knew that beyond the doldrums lay the crosscutting gravitational fields of the black holes and the Grey Wolf Star.

<Powering up the main reactor,> Sabrina said without waiting for an order from Cargo.

“Good, you’ll—shit! Lieutenant, raise the Excelsia now! I want that ship to stand down!”

“What is it?” Jessica asked.

“It’s Bes, he’s coming around with his destroyer and they’re powering weapons.”

“Stasis shield to max!” Cargo yelled. “Widen it to protect Krissy’s people!”

Jessica dropped into the pilot’s seat. If Bes wanted a fight, they’d give him a fight. He’d find out that this little freighter had some sting in her.

“Trevor! Weapons!” Cargo called out as he took the command seat. “Power all beams, get the RMs in the tubes.”

“Yes, Captain,” Trevor replied.

Jessica brought up the bay doors on her holodisplay, praying for the cradle to release its clamps before Bes fired on them.

“Come ooooon,” she whispered, and then let out a cheer as a light flashed on her console, indicating that the cradle was opening up.

And then the bay’s exterior doors exploded.

Laser and particle beam fire tore into the space, splashing off Sabrina’s stasis shields, and melting the walls around the ship.

<They’re clear! Krissy cleared the bay. Go!> Sabrina cried out.

Jessica activated the port and starboard grav drives, directing their graviton wash along the half-melted bulkheads and trying not to shred too much of the station behind them as they pushed out against the withering fire from Bes’s ship—which floated a scant two kilometers beyond Gisha’s hub.

“I can’t believe he’s doing this!” Nance cried out. “He’s attacking his own people.”

“I’m really getting why Sera wanted Finaeus back in play,” Cargo said. “Transcend really isn’t some happy, unified utopia.”

“Keep it up, asshole,” Jessica said through gritted teeth as Sabrina cleared the station, and she fired their dorsal boosters—slowly, so that Bes would keep his weapons fire on them, and not tear a hole right through Gisha Station.

“Fire proton beams on that ship the moment we’re clear of the station,” Cargo ordered.

“All clear!” Jessica called out a moment later.

“Eat this, asshole!” Trevor yelled as Sabrina’s four proton beams, courtesy of the Intrepid’s engineers, blasted protium at the Excelsia.

Bes was firing too much too fast, which meant his shields were open to let his own continuous stream of weapons fire out. Not all the time, but enough for Sabrina’s proton beams to get through.

Unfortunately, it also meant that when Trevor cracked the shields for Sabrina’s weapons to hit, the enemy’s beams got in, as well.

<We just lost forty centimeters of our bow plating!> Sabrina cried out.

“Shit!” Trevor said. “He’s throwing everything he has at us. We can’t pick up Cheeky and Fin like this!”

“We’ll give him the AP nozzle,” Cargo said. “Trevor, time the beams with it, and when he’s blind, kick out a pair of limpets.”

“Spinning out the nozzle,” Jessica responded.

The antimatter pion drive’s nozzle was a hard target to hit. It only protruded a centimeter beyond the shields, and was just a few centimeters across; however, it emitted a concentrated stream of gamma rays. Combined with the beams, it would do some serious damage to the Excelsia, and hopefully take out the vessel’s forward shields, allowing the limpet mines to attach.

Hopefully.

“Any activity from the station, or Krissy’s fleet?” Cargo asked.

“Station took damage to fire control systems when Bes shot them up,” Krissy said. “And I’m delaying things with my fleet. You have maybe three minutes.”

“Shit! Didn’t realize you were still with us,” Cargo replied.

“Gotta go now; keeping this channel open any longer will look suspicious. Oh, thanks for saving my people, and my ass, in here.”

“No problem,” Cargo replied.

<She’s gone now,> Sabrina said. <Sorry about that; with all the excitement, I forgot to mention that she was still here.>

“Ready to boost,” Jessica announced. “Going to fire attitudes and line up in three, two, one!”

Though she gave the count aloud, she also passed it to Trevor over the link. Once the gamma rays lanced out and hammered the Excelia’s shields, Trevor fired the dorsal proton beams and the x-ray lasers.

Bes’s ship returned fire, and an explosion shook Sabrina.

<Port dorsal proton beam is gone,> Sabrina reported.

“But so are their forward shields!” Nance called out. “Bet you didn’t think we had bite like that, suckas!”

“Fuck yeah!” Trevor added.

Jessica smiled, but kept her focus on the boost. The AP drive was still running, and she was jinking side to side, making them a hard target to hit as they flew past Gisha’s outer docking ring, and looped behind one of the heavy-matter haulers.

“Nance, any pings from our wanderers?” Cargo asked. “We need to find them before Jessica has to kill the drive.”

“I’ve been working with the girls. We have it narrowed down to a cone that’s about a half million square klicks,” Cheeky said.

Jessica coughed. “Shit, Nance, I’m going to need something more precise than that.”

“Head down the probability curve I drew out,” Nance replied.

Jessica brought up the data on her console, and saw the path she needed to follow.

“Are you kidding me? That has me boosting straight at one of the black holes!”

<Exhilarating, isn’t it?> Erin asked.

“When did you become such a thrill-seeker?” Jessica retorted as she adjusted the ship’s vector down the center of the cone.”

“Excelsia is coming about,” Trevor replied. “I think one of the limpets attached; not sure about the other.”

“Fucker’s gonna have a bad day,” Cargo said.

“One of us is,” Jessica muttered as Sabrina continued to pick up speed. On the forward holo, the Grey Wolf Star and its dark ring, housing the forty spinning black holes, grew in size.

THE NOT SO BLACK HOLE

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Between Gisha Station and the DSM Ring

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

 Cheeky said, barely keeping her mental tone from wavering.

<I’ll admit that I’ve had better,> Finaeus replied. <It’s really a shit choice. Send out a signal and get picked up by Bes’s goons, or fall into a black hole.>

<Won’t we just hit the ring?> Cheeky asked as she shifted her grip on the bottom of the spider-bot. At least Finaeus had managed to kill its grav drives. Of course, now he couldn’t get them working again.

By her calculations, they were about five thousand klicks from the edge of the doldrums. Once they passed out of the calm space around Gisha Station, punishing gravitational waves would sweep over them—probably killing them long before they reached the ring, anyway.

<Nah, it’s doubtful,> Finaeus replied. <The waves will sweep us up over the ring. We’ll probably fall into the star. Though, to be honest, it’s a bit hard to calculate off my visual observations.>

<You seem rather chipper about this,> Cheeky groused.

<I’ve lived a long life,> Finaeus replied. 

<Speak for yourself,> Piya exclaimed.

<Well I haven’t! I’m only fifty five—lots of living left in me!> Cheeky added.

<I’m coming around to your side,> Finaeus said. <Once I get over there, use your armor’s attitude jets to put the other side of the bot between us and the star. It’s gonna get hot, and we’re gonna have to hold on for dear life.>

<’Kay,> was all Cheeky managed to get out.

She knew she was supposed to be tougher—hard as steel, like Sera and Tanis—but she just couldn’t do it. Fear kept tearing at the edges of her sanity, and she shifted nervously as Finaeus climbed over the bot, setting it spinning.

He wrapped his arms around the bot’s legs and hooked a leg around her as well.

<You’ll get a better grip this way,> he said.

Cheeky didn’t reply as she steadied her trembling limbs, and managed to get her arms and back in the right positions. She cross checked her thrust estimates with Piya, and fired the jets, slowing their spin and finally stabilizing them.

Then she carefully resumed her prior position: her back to the bot—and the terrible sight beyond it—staring up at Gisha Station, praying that someone up there would rescue them; but terrified that if she sent a signal, it would be the wrong someones.

<Really, you should turn around. You need a better grip on the bot,> Finaeus said softly.

Cheeky bit her lip and shook her head, but did hook an elbow around one of the bot’s limbs. Then Finaeus moved closer, wrapping an arm around her and laying a leg over hers.

<I’ve got you, Cheeky. We’re going to make it. Trust me.>

Cheeky didn’t know why he bothered. They were going to die. He knew it. She knew it. There was no point in sugarcoating the truth.

She wished she could close her eyes, but her armor fed a continuous view into her mind, highlighting the safety of Gisha Station that was so far beyond their reach.

Ships swarmed around the station, likely searching for them—though none had ventured beyond the outer docking ring. There was little chance any would reach the pair clinging to the bot, even if they did send out a signal.

Then an explosion flared on the side of the station’s central hub, and she saw beamfire lance out and hit one of the ships.

She cycled her vision, and saw the familiar shape of Sabrina emerge from the station; her stasis shields flaring brighter than the grey star’s light as she took blow after blow from one of the Transcend ships.

<Finaeus!> she cried out. <It’s Sabrina!>

 Finaeus replied. <Don’t signal them yet, we need them to get closer.>

<How would they know to get closer?> Piya asked. <They won’t have a clue where we are.>

 Finaeus replied.

<Krissy? The bitch who wants to kill us?> Cheeky exclaimed. <Have you lost your mind?>

Finaeus gave a rueful chuckle in response. <Maybe, but do you see any TSF ships heading for us?>

Cheeky didn’t, and wondered how Finaeus could have been so sure. Still, none of the TSF ships were moving toward their position, so maybe Finaeus did have some sort of special bond with Krissy.

She watched as Sabrina shot back at their attacker, and then fired her engines, cutting into the enemy ship with a brilliant display of energy.

Cheeky was about to signal Sabrina, when she suddenly felt very heavy and her back slammed hard into the bot. The armor took the brunt of the blow, but she was unable to breathe—her diaphragm couldn’t move enough to draw air into her lungs.

<Fin…>

<Hold, just a minute longer,> Finaeus replied.

In a breath, the weight was gone; but then, just as suddenly it pushed the other way, and she clung desperately to the bot’s limbs.

<Fin! Help!>

A strong arm wrapped around her, and Cheeky was glad for the augmented strength the armor gave them as they were pushed and pulled, slammed into the spider bot, and then ripped away, shearing forces tearing through their bodies.

<Hold on, Cheeky. Hold on just a little longer; they’ll be here!>

Then a crushing gravity wave washed over Cheeky. The limb of the spider-bot that she was clinging to tore free, and she spun away into space.

<Fin!> she called out

<Signal now!> Fin called back. <Beacon on max!>

Piya beat her to it, and the armor sent out its beacon—a tiny radio spec in the blinding noise surrounding the Grey Wolf Star and the black holes that raced around it, tearing it apart atom by atom.

Cheeky began to hyperventilate, and thought she might pass out from the fear, pain, and increasing heat, when Piya stepped in and forcibly regulated her breathing.

<Easy love, easy, take it easy,> the AI whispered in her mind, trying to calm her.

 Cheeky cried out in response. <Piya, I can’t…I don’t know what to do!>

Panic tore its way into her mind, and she spun about, searching for something to grab on to. She couldn’t see Finaeus and the spider-bot anywhere, and she began to sob into her helmet’s breathing apparatus, her throat starting to blister from the stifling air she was drawing in.

A detached part of her mind noted that, just as Finaeus had predicted, she began to drift above the ring—the light of the Grey Wolf Star growing brighter as the ring occluded less of it.

More and more heavy gravitational waves slammed into her, and she began to periodically lose consciousness as her body fluctuated between weightlessness and dozens of gs. She knew that if it hadn’t been for the rigidity of the armor, death would have come long ago.

Cheeky began to feel calm, and was surprised at the change in her mental state…she would have expected the panic to worsen; but as she crossed over the edge of the ring, all she could do was marvel at the beauty of what lay before her.

<It’s not peace or acceptance. Your brain is hemorrhaging,> Piya said. <My power hookups are screwed…shit…we’re both dying, Cheeky.>

 Cheeky replied as she saw the black holes racing around the inside of the ring, glowing with beautiful colors as they consumed small clouds of atoms smeared around their event horizon.

<Cheeky, stay focused!> Piya yelled into her mind. <I’m trying to repair, to keep us going, but I need you conscious.>

 Cheeky mumbled. <It’s getting so hot…are my hands glowing…but I want to see the lights before I go…>

RACE AGAINST GRAVITY

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, between Gisha Station and the DSM Ring

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

“I got a signal!” Nance cried out. “Passing it over, Jess. It’s just on this side of the mining ring.”

“Got it, adjusting…shit, they’re moving fast.”

<It split!> Sabrina called out. <There’s two signals now.>

“I’m going to have to brake hard and then swoop down. Someone get in a suit, and get down to the bay,” Jessica replied.

“I have it,” Cargo said as he raced off the bridge.

Jessica clenched her teeth as she spun the ship and fired the AP drive at max burn, careful not to send the gamma rays anywhere near the two signals that they were trying to reach.

Sabrina passed out of the doldrums and began to buck and heave as the gravitational waves washed over them.

“Are the dampeners broken?” Trevor asked as he frantically adjusted his seat’s straps so he could buckle in.

<No,> Sabrina replied. <Running them on minimum to conserve energy. We’ve completely drained one of our SC Batts, and the Excelsia is hitting us again with their beams. Need to conserve power.>

Jessica realized that the temperature in the bridge had been increasing, and that her brow was slick with sweat.

<The shipsuit you’re wearing has cooling systems,> Iris suggested.

<Shoot, thanks,> Jessica replied as she activated it, keenly aware that Trevor and Nance were going to have to sweat it out as the ship began to grow warmer.

<I’ve almost matched v,> she called down to Cargo.

<Just about done suiting up. It’s over forty fucking degrees down here. Sweating my balls off.>

<You have seventy seconds to get the bay open, or we’re gonna lose the second signal!> she hollered across the Link.

<’Kay, ‘kay!> Cargo shouted back.

Jessica knew not to pester him further, but she couldn’t stop biting her lip as the ship shook and rattled around them. If they were taking this much abuse inside the ship, what were Cheeky and Finaeus going through out in the black?

<Bay’s open; kick us over. I’m anchored and will catch,> Cargo called up.

<On it,> Jessica replied, and fired the port thrusters, shoving the ship over and slowing it with the starboard engine just as they came down onto the first signal.

She held her breath and a rivulet of sweat ran into her eye. She swiped it way with an angry gesture. <Did you—?> she asked.

<Yeah, secure. It’s Finaeus. He’s a mess, but alive. Go get Cheeky.>

<On it!> Jessica replied before shouting, “Shit! Where is she?”

“She slipped over the rim,” Nance gasped.

“Gonna slingshot around,” Jessica said. <Cargo, she’s going to come in hot!>

Metaphorically and physically.

Jessica spun the ship and fired the drives, heading high over the rim of the ring; Sabrina describing a tight parabola as it peaked and came back down—straight toward one of the black holes that was racing past.

“Nance! I need a lock, NOW!”

“Fuck, Jess…so much noise, we can’t pick up anything!”

Iris highlighted the most likely path Cheeky would have taken, and Jessica aimed the ship as best she could as the waves of gravity and stellar matter threw the vessel about.

Her readout showed that it was over fifty-six degrees on the bridge. She didn’t even want to look at the temperature in the cargo bay, but her eye still darted to the panel above the main holo and saw that it was four hundred degrees.

“C’mon…I need a lock!” she shrieked.

“There! There! There!” Nance yelled back and Sabrina passed the coordinates to Jessica. She altered course and spun the ship once more, aiming the cargo bay door at the infinitesimal spec in the distance.

<Shit’s starting to glow in here!> Cargo called up. <Hurry already!>

<Nance! I need you in the forward shield emitter room, now,> Finaeus’s weak voice called out over the shipnet.

<Finaeus, are you OK? Why should I go there?>

<Because if you don’t, we’re gonna die in this system. I can get us out of here, but I need your help.>

Jessica looked back to Nance. <Go. The girls can handle scan. Maybe Finaeus has an ace up his sleeve.>

<Could sure use one,> Trevor said as he directed beamfire back at the Excelsia, which had followed beyond the stellar ring.

Jessica turned her attention back to the drifting form of Cheeky as another gravitational wave from the black holes washed over the ship, pushing it off course once more.

She found herself working faster and faster, leveraging computational power from Iris, until at the last moment, she fired the lateral thrusters and waited for Cargo’s confirmation.

One…two…three, she counted in her mind, trying not to scream from anticipation. Either Cheeky was safely in the cargo bay, or she had burned up in the port engine.

<Got her!> Cargo called up. <Fuck, she’s hot. Getting her up to the medbay. Get us out of here!>

<There’s still Bes’s destroyer out there,> Sabrina said. 

Jessica swore softly. It sure would be nice if Krissy could extend her help to taking out that asshole.

<Triggering the mines,> Trevor announced. 

Jessica glanced at the main holo tank and saw two explosions register on scan.

<Looks like you had a good latch,> Jessica sighed with relief. But was it enough? she thought to herself.

<Nance. Trevor. Suit up. I want to blow our atmosphere and pump our compressed nitrogen into the ship. My delicate bits are starting to take damage.>

Jessica barely heard Sabrina, as relief over Cheeky’s rescue and the mines taking out Bes’s ship flooded her mind—but just for a second. She still had to dance around the black hole ahead of them.

For a moment, she stopped to marvel at the beauty of the thing; darkness wrapped in light as it fed on matter, held in place by powerful magnetic rails. It was only a kilometer across, but the energy it spewed out of its jets as it consumed the bits of star that entered its event horizon were breathtakingly beautiful.

<Brace!> she called out, as she spun the ship and accelerated toward the black hole, building speed, aiming for a tight slingshot and breakaway back around the ring to safety—she hoped.

Sabrina began to buck and shimmy even more, and a panel fell off the overhead and smashed into the deck beside her, before another jolt sent it toward the weapons console. She saw it smash into the console’s chair, and was glad to see Trevor wasn’t there—thank the stars Sabrina had directed them to get into suits.

<Got it!> Trevor called out, and she saw him in an emergency EVA suit, wrestling the dislodged panel into a safety net.

<Cutting it close,> Sabrina warned Jessica, <A degree off, you’re off…>

<Shut it!> Jessica snapped. She knew what she was doing; if they played it safe, they would never achieve breakaway velocity.

Suddenly Trevor slammed a helmet over her head, and Jessica winced as it clamped around her neck. She had totally forgotten that she wasn’t wearing a helmet; she would have died when Sabrina vented the atmosphere—though, hopefully the ship’s AI would have reminded her first.

Proximity alarms blared on the bridge, but then fell silent as the atmosphere rushed out of the vessel. At the exact same moment, Jessica fired both fusion engines on full burn, dumping two hundred percent of the recommended volume of Deuterium and Helium 3 into the reactors.

The ring and flaring black hole flashed past less than five hundred meters off Sabrina’s bow, and then they were past the worst of the gravitational waves, with clear dark space ahead of them.

Jessica turned to watch the holotank, praying that Bes’s ship didn’t emerge from behind the ring. Scan was a mess, and they weren’t sure if the limpet mines had destroyed the Excelsia. If that ship emerged from behind the ring, she didn’t know that they would be able to defend against it.

Then an explosion flared at the edge of the ring, and Jessica let out a long breath and slumped into her seat. They’d done it. They were safe.

<Faawk!> Trevor exclaimed. <Let’s never do that again, ‘kay?>

Jessica didn’t respond, her entire body shaking from the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

<Easy now, deep breaths. That was some brilliant maneuvering you pulled there at the end. I was certain you were going to smash us into the ring,> Iris said.

<Yeahhhhh,> Jessica managed to utter before scan updated and she saw the ships approaching them. <Ah, shit…>

<Looks like their entire fleet,> Sabrina said. <Krissy is hailing us.>

<Ignore it for a minute,> Jessica said. <We already know what she has to say.>

<How’s Cheeky?> Nance asked. <Is she alive?>

<Burned…burned a lot, but I have the mednano working on her. Thank stars we got the bay upgraded on the Intrepid.>

<Nance. Finaeus. What are you up to down there?> Jessica asked. <Because whatever it is, it better be good.>

There was no response, but Jessica did breathe a sigh of relief as she felt the cold air blowing through the vents. Internal readouts listed it as nearly one hundred percent nitrogen. Cold, but deadly.

She wondered at how she could feel the air so well, and then pain flooded her mind as she realized that her skin had been exposed to vacuum.

<Damn… I thought this shipsuit was airtight!>

She dampened the sensation as her body’s med-readout showed that capillaries across her entire body had burst when Sabrina vented the atmosphere.

<Thanks for the warning.> she said to Iris.

 the AI replied. <But maybe you should get in a suit now. There’s time; we’re still five minutes from those TSF ships.>

Jessica rose on shaky feet to see Trevor standing behind her with an EVA suit.

<Thanks,> she said with a mental smile—too exhausted to give a physical one.

<Sure thing,> Trevor replied. 

<What a rush,> Jessica said shakily. <When this is over, I’m gonna fuck your brains out.>

Trevor barked a laugh that she was able to hear through the thin atmosphere in the ship while he held up the EVA suit for her to climb into.

Once it was on, she realized just how cold she’d been—a far cry from feeling like she was going to burn to death a few minutes earlier.

<OK, I think we’re ready down here,> Nance said. <You did get the hackit in their STC, right?>

<We did,> Cargo replied. <But that was so we could change the gate’s destination. We don’t have a mirror, so what’s the use?>

<Well,> Finaeus said, his voice weak but triumphant. <What if we did have a mirror?>

<Then I’m activating the hackit,> Iris announced.

<And I’m boosting for the gate,> Jessica added.

She calculated their best vector, and decided to arc gently toward the floating ring. No point in giving their destination away to the TSF fleet too soon.

<Krissy’s hailing us again,> Sabrina said.

Jessica debated putting the admiral on, but Finaeus spoke up. <Please put her on.>

<That was some impressive flying,> Krissy said as Sabrina connected her with their shipnet. <But there’s no feasible way you can escape now—I can’t hold my ships back any longer. Come in, and I’ll do what I can to protect you all.>

<Sorry, dear. My Krissy Wrentham,> Finaeus replied. <Things aren’t going to play out like that—though I really did want to see you once more.>

<Finaeus…what do you mean?> Krissy asked, worry in her voice. <The gate; what are you doing?>

<We’re getting out of here, that’s what,> Finaeus replied. <I…I love you, Krissy. Stay safe.>

Jessica removed everyone else from the conversation, allowing Krissy and her father to have a few private moments as the ship raced toward the gate.

Most of the TSF ships were well behind them, boosting out from Gisha Station—though a few were near the gate. Jessica held her breath, hoping that they would hold their fire.

A few shots did lance out, but the stasis shield still had enough power to shed their beams; especially now that no one was shooting at them from behind, and the cooling vanes were deployed.

Ahead, the Ford-Svaiter mirrors around the rim of the jump gate began to flare, the antimatter reactions generating negative energy that the mirrors directed into a single, roiling point.

 Iris said. <Or whatever it’s called when we go through one of these things.>

Jessica saw a strange field emanate from the front of the ship, and watched in awe as the mirrors on the gate turned toward them, moving the roiling ball of negative energy until it met with the field in front of Sabrina.

Then the ship’s sensors went blind, and the universe ceased to exist.

A FAREWELL

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, between Gisha Station and the DSM Ring

REGION: DSM Ring, Grey Wolf System

<Confirm the packet,> Finaeus said. <You’re going to need it.>

Krissy used the private key her father had given her years ago and unsealed the data packet, confirming its checksums. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was looking at.

Enough dirt on the admiralty to ensure they protected her from the Grey Division.

<How…>

 Finaeus replied with a mental smile. <I’ve used a lot of it over the years, but everything still there is untouched. You’ll be able to stay safe—though you may want to examine your position. The Transcend isn’t what it used to be. She’ll do whatever she can to take you down, Krissy.>

She took a deep breath. If what was in the data packet was true, her father’s crazy theories were real. The Transcend was in great danger—and her father getting to New Canaan would be the first step in saving it. In saving them all.

<You be safe Finaeus…Dad,> Krissy said. <If you can get all this sorted out, maybe we’ll actually get to meet properly soon.>

<Dad. Been a while since you called me that, Krissy. Sounds nice.>

She winced at the pain she heard in her father’s voice. Their prior encounters had often ended with her saying unkind things to him. Not her proudest moments.

<I’m sorry. I love you, Dad.>

The connection cut out, and Krissy watched the scan data flow in from where she stood in Gisha Station’s auxiliary STC.

The Sabrina was racing toward the gate, moving fast after its breakaway around the mining ring. Around her, engineers were frantically trying to understand how the Inner Stars freighter had taken control of the jump gate, while Krissy allowed herself a small smile.

In a way, it was good to know that they hadn’t figured everything out—that a crew of pirates, an ancient TBI agent, and an old man, centuries past his prime, could best them.

Maybe it meant that there was hope for what lay ahead. If this little group could stand against the TSF, maybe the colonists at New Canaan could furnish some solution to the looming war—and the poison she now knew lay within the heart of the Transcend.

“How are they doing this?” Stationmaster Lloyd asked from Krissy’s side. “It’s like they have total control.”

“I guess they’ve a few tricks we’ve never seen,” Krissy replied.

Lloyd cast her a sharp look. “You’re surprisingly blasé about this.”

Krissy laughed. “I’m alive, my father is alive, Bes is dead. This is an outcome I can live with.”

“That’s almost treasonous,” Lloyd said.

“Almost,” Krissy nodded in agreement.

“Something’s happening,” one of the civilian engineers called out. “The ring’s moving!”

Krissy’s eyes snapped to the main holotank. Sure enough, a control thruster on the ring was firing, turning it, just as Sabrina’s mysterious new mirror touched the ball of negative energy on the focal line.

And then the ship was gone.

A wave of panic washed over her. “Was it destroyed? What happened?”

“No…it just changed their destination,” the engineer replied. “It’s…”

“What is it?” Krissy snapped.

“Their destination…it’s extragalactic.”

PERSEUS ARM

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Unknown

REGION: Milky Way Galaxy

<Oh, shit!> Finaeus cried out.

<What? What’s happening? Are we dead?> Jessica replied.

From what she could see, there was nothing outside the ship. Not the same sort of nothing as the dark layer. That was still a plane of existence. Here, as far as scan could tell, nothing existed beyond the small bubble of space wrapped around the ship.

<Pull up the scan logs. Did the ring move right before we hit it?> Finaeus asked, desperation in his voice.

<On it,> Nance said over the shipnet. <Crap, it did! What does that mean?>

Finaeus let loose a string of curses that almost made no sense, unless he was naming every deity in some pantheon Jessica had never heard of.

<I’ll tell you what it means. It means we’re not going to New Canaan.>

<Then where?> Cargo asked.

<Fucked if I know,> Finaeus said.

<Then shut it off,> Jessica said. <Get us out of whatever this thing is, and back into normal space.>

<Don’t you think I’m trying?> Finaeus shouted back. <This isn’t exactly the normal way to do this, you know! I wasn’t even certain it would work. If Nance hadn’t had a brilliant idea at the last minute, we would have been obliterated.>

<Wow…really not feeling better here,> Trevor said.

<We could just kill the stasis field,> Nance suggested. <The bubble should just collapse and drop us back into normal space.>

<And hit a star? Are you crazy?> Finaeus asked.

<Better than winding up in some other galaxy—or worse…>

Jessica didn’t want to know what ‘or worse’ could be, and didn’t ask.

<Do it,> Cargo ordered.

<Disabling the stasis field,> Nance reported.

An instant later, regular space snapped back into place around the ship and Jessica let out a long sigh of relief.

A field of stars never looked so beautiful.

And unrecognizable.

<Where are we?> she asked.

<Triangulating,> Iris said.

<Still in the Milky Way,> Sabrina reported.

<It’s…the Perseus Arm!> Iris announced.

<Perseus!> Several voices yelled at once.

* * * * *

Breathable air had been restored to the ship, and the reactors were running on minimum, slowly charging the SC Batts while the ship cooled down.

The crew—minus Cheeky, who was still unconscious, and Piya, who had written herself into static storage and couldn’t be re-initialized until Cheeky’s brain had recovered—were assembled on the bridge.

“I still can’t believe it,” Nance said. “Perseus. We have to be at least nine thousand light-years from New Canaan now.”

“Way to go, Finaeus,” Trevor chuckled.

Cargo scowled at him. “It’s really not that funny.”

Trevor shrugged. “I’m just happy to be alive, and not adrift in the intergalactic void. Considering our options over the previous couple of hours were jail, being blown up, disappearing into a black hole, getting blown up again, being smashed into bits by negative energy, or dying a slow death in the deep black, the Perseus Arm is practically a miracle.”

A smile crept across Cargo’s face and he began to laugh. “Well…when you put it that way.”

Jessica began to chuckle, and Finaeus joined in, and then Nance and Trevor. A minute later everyone was still laughing their asses off when Sabrina broke in.

<Seriously? You organics pick now to lose your minds? We have to figure out how to get back!>

“Sorry,” Jessica gasped. “We’re just all really glad to still be alive, I guess.”

<Well, I’ve picked up noise from a star nearby, so we’re not beyond the edges of civilization at least.> Sabrina said.

“Oh, really?” Finaeus asked. “Settlements out this far? You realize what that means, right?”

Jessica did. “We’re in Orion space, and at least twenty years from home.”

“Bingo.”

“Then we have some time on our hands,” Jessica grinned. “Join me in our cabin, would you, Trevor?”

* * * * *

Nance couldn’t sleep.

The events of the last day filled her mind, making it feel as though it would burst. Somehow, Erin seemed oblivious to it—off with the other AI, doing whatever it was they did in their little Expanse on Sabrina.

But she knew what she did.

There had been no stealth ship at Gisha Station, and no incoming fire from Bes’s destroyer. That had been her doing—as had the enlarged opening in the stasis shield that allowed the TSF soldiers to attack, and, finally, the solution that had helped Finaeus get the Ford-Svaiter mirror to work.

Except it hadn’t been her; it had been the thing inside of her, the thing put there by the entity she had met so long ago on Senzee station.

The Caretaker.

THE END

THE WORLD AT THE EDGE OF SPACE

PERSEUS GATE – SEASON 1: EPISODE 2

BY M. D. COOPER

FOREWORD

I’m having a blast writing these Perseus Gate books, and I sincerely hope they are fun reads for you. I feel like I’m channeling my love of Farscape into them, and that’s a great thing.

In this episode, the crew must begin their journey across Orion Space to the Inner Stars, and then to New Canaan, deep within the Transcend. They’re looking at twenty years of travel—if they can get a dark layer map, and supplies.

It’s going to be a wild ride getting back home, one that will send the crew of Sabrina down some rabbit holes on the far side of space.

M. D. Cooper

AWAKEN

STELLAR DATE: 07.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Outside Naga’s Heliopause

REGION: Perseus Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy

Consciousness returned to Cheeky in slow, unsteady increments.

At first it felt as though she was surrounded by a nimbus glow and fear set instantly.

I’m dead. Fuck, I’m dead!

There was no answer to her cry. The glow didn’t change, and Cheeky tried to reach Piya.

<Hello? Piya? Are you there? Are we in the black hole? Is this what happens when you get compressed down to nothing?>

Piya didn’t respond, but Cheeky felt her Link re-initialize and her neural enhancements come online. She was alive, surely neural enhancements didn’t persist into the afterlife.

An ear-splitting screech assaulted Cheeky and she screamed.

“Cheeky, can you hear me?” a voice said as the screech began to fade.

Cheeky realized she still had a mouth and it seemed to work, though it was dry, and her tongue felt stiff.

“Y-yes…”

“Good! That means your new ears are working. Your eyes are open, but you probably can’t see yet. Give it another couple of minutes while your visual implants calibrate.”

“Is that you, Jessica?”

“Yup!” Jessica replied brightly. “We’ve been taking shifts with you, waiting for you to awake. Looks like I won the lotto.”

“Are we…is Sabrina OK? I remember seeing a huge fight—right before…”

“Yes,” Jessica said, confirming Cheeky’s memory. “We made it. We all made it—sorta.”

“Where’s Piya, then?” Cheeky asked. “And what do you mean about ‘sorta’?”

“Piya wrote herself into static storage, so she’s safe. You took a lot of radiation damage out there, and we had to restore parts of your organic brain before we could pull her out. Your vision centers were the worst. The medbay’s autodoc replaced all of that with artificial matrices for now.”

Cheeky took a deep breath. She remembered passing over the mining ring, seeing the searingly-bright accretion disks of the orbiting black holes, the baleful light of the Grey Wolf Star. The heat. So much heat.

“And the ‘sorta’?” she asked after a moment’s contemplation.

“Well, we jumped through the gate! Yay! Go us, and all that. Finaeus and Nance got a mirror made in time—by some truly serendipitous work on Nance’s part from what I can tell—but something went wrong. We’re a ways from home.”

Cheeky chuckled, the movement welcome, but painful at the same time. “If we’re on Sabrina, then I’m home.”

<Thanks for the sentiment,> Sabrina said.

“Sabs!” Cheeky cried out. “Are you OK? Did you get hurt?”

<No, my new shields kept me safe. I’m an armored bee. I zip about, impregnable, impossible to hurt, but beware, my sting is deadly.>

“Glad to see you’re still rolling with the metaphors,” Cheeky said with a smile, feeling her cheeks stretch differently than she was accustomed to. “I have artificial skin, don’t I?”

“Yeah,” Jessica replied and Cheeky could hear the smile in her voice. “Looks good on you too.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” Cheeky replied. “I like my natural stuff. Don’t think you’re going to make me all plastic like you.”

“It’d be fun!” Jessica laughed. “We could be twins!”

“Wait, stop changing the subject. What happened after we jumped? Are we coming into New Canaan now?”

“I didn’t change the subject, you did,” Jessica said, admonishing in both her tone and gaze.

<She’s right, you did,> Sabrina added. <Well, I guess I kinda jumped in and distracted you.>

“Sooo…”

“Well, I assume you know of the Perseus Arm…”

“Of what? The Milky Way Galaxy?!”

“Yes,” Jessica said, and Cheeky could hear the grin in her voice.”

“Jessica! You better be kidding!”

OBSERVING NAGA

STELLAR DATE: 08.19.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Outside Naga’s Heliopause

REGION: Perseus Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy

“Seriously?” Cheeky asked from the pilot’s console on the bridge. “Who names their system ‘Naga’ anyway. Just sounds like some awful place full of complainers and whiners or something.”

Jessica shrugged. “Maybe it is—or maybe it means something like ‘delicious fish’ to the locals.”

“Doubtful,” Cargo said. “Place looks light on the…well… everything. I don’t think there’s anything delightful about it.”

Jessica had to agree. From what their passive scans of the system had picked up, there was one—marginally—terraformed world, a few dozen space stations, and a couple of habs on the moons around one of the jovian worlds.

Radio traffic and energy output substantiated an estimate of less than one million inhabitants.

“They should still have supplies, and we can scoop deuterium and helium-3 off their star, or one of the jovian planets,” Finaeus said.

“Plus, there’s nothing else around for at least ten light years. I don’t fancy dumping into the dark layer without any maps,” Cheeky added with a glance back at Finaeus. “The jump to get here was terrifying enough as it was.”

Jessica noted a softness in Cheeky’s expression as she glanced at the ancient terraformer. As the pilot turned back to her console, her eyes caught Jessica’s.

<What?> Cheeky asked privately, her mental tone a touch defensive.

<What, what?> Jessica replied. <Just looking at you, is all.>

<You think—> Cheeky began to say, but Jessica interrupted her.

<Cheeks, we’re a billion kilometers from home, probably stuck together on this ship for another two decades. If you want to taste ancient man to see how salty he is, that’s fine by me.> She drew a circle in the air around herself and winked. <This is a zero-judgment zone here.>

Cheeky gave a soft chuckle and then winced as she turned back to her console.

<That taste may have to wait till all my bits and pieces stop hurting. Did you ache this much after you got your skin burned off back in Victoria?>

Jessica’s mind flashed back to that fight in the deep black at the edge of the Kapteyn’s Star System. She had been part of a fighter squadron flying in the older ARC-5 models—though they had been new at the time. The enemy had been a trio of Sirian scout ships sent to probe the Victoria colony for weaknesses

One of the enemy ships had detonated their reactors rather than be captured, and Jessica’s fighter had been close. Too close. It had taken days for the S&R crews to find her, and when they did she had been in rough shape.

She looked down at her hand, rubbing her purple-hued fingers together. That was when she had received her first artificial skin—something necessary to replace her long-gone natural skin, and to seal her weakened body off from infection.

<Yeah, Cheeks, I ached all over, and in places that I didn’t even know you could ache—for a month at least. Regrowing organs in place has a way of doing that.>

<Aches I can handle, it’s the nails constantly being driven into my skull that are the problem. Piya says it’s just my brain adjusting its blood flow requirements after the reconstruction…but it feels like it’s tearing itself apart up there,> Cheeky replied.

<Yeah, I remember that, it was the pits. But it passes. You’ll be back to fucking everything in sight in no time.>

Cheeky passed a mental smile over the Link. <Not a lot to fuck on board right now. Just Finaeus and Cargo—you’ve been off the menu for years now.>

<Yeah…Monogamous J-doll, that’s me,> Jessica chuckled. <But don’t forget Nance. You and she have had some flings in the past.>

<Jessica! Too soon. She just lost Thompson. Nance really thought they had a real thing going on,> Cheeky said, apparently aghast at the suggestion.

<Yeah, she thought that, but we all knew he had no intention of ever settling down with her.>

<Yeah, you and I know that,> Cheeky replied. <But our sweet little Nance was hell-bent on domesticating that giant asshole.>

<Cheeky! Gross! Careful with the visuals!>

“Sabrina,” Cargo asked, his voice breaking into Jessica and Cheeky’s private conversation. “Any luck on faking an ident?”

<Iris is sneaking a look at their logs in a nearby beacon. She’s better at that sort of thing than I am,> Sabrina replied on the general shipnet.

<It’s slow going,> Iris said. <Beacon is a light-minute out. I’m sending discreet packets through a small relay drone I dropped off. I should get…yes, got the logs from when the beacon was first deployed. Gee, just seventy years ago.>

“Was it a replacement?” Cargo asked.

<Hard to say,> Iris replied. <It’s codes are close to, but subtly different than the Transcend’s. But if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it was part of the original deployment.>

“Seventy years,” Jessica said, whistling. “Then we really are close to the edge.”

<Well, there are no radio signals coming in from any stars toward the galactic rim,> Sabrina said, a strangely-wistful tone in her mental voice.

“What’s got you so dreamy, Sabs?” Cheeky asked.

<Well, how often do you get to the edge of known space?> Sabrina asked. <Don’t you just want to turn toward the rim and keep flying to see what’s out there?>

“No,” Cargo responded.

“Not especially,” Jessica added.

“Been there, done that,” Finaeus chuckled. “It can be fun, but really, it’s just rocks and stars and balls of gas. They all start to look the same after a while.”

“That can’t be how you feel about it,” Cheeky said. “I bet you’ve seen some amazing things out there. Like…what’s the weirdest animal you ever encountered?”

Finaeus put a hand to his chin. “Hmmmm…there aren’t as many extra-terrestrial lifeforms that one would consider to be ‘animals’ as you’d think. We made most of the animals that you find on the FGT terraformed worlds—even the really weird stuff like the flying pigs on Sardonis in the Aldebaran system. Most of the crazy things are just adaptations of things from Earth, or Earth’s far past—stuff that we adjusted to be suited to the planets after terraforming was done.”

“Yeah, but there are alien lifeforms on some worlds. Things that existed before the FGT showed up and started terraforming,” Cargo said.

“Yeah, we did encounter worlds that already had life. Mostly the worst things that we hit were plants that were a bit more mobile than we would have preferred—or right-handed biology. That stuff is a real pain in the ass to deal with.”

“Right handed biology?” Cheeky asked.

Finaeus chuckled. “Where’s Nance when you need her? She’d know about this stuff. On Earth, life evolved using what are called left-handed amino acids. We know now that it was a quirk of the supernova that caused the Sol System to form that made them so. However, on many other worlds, right-handed amino acids were prevalent, and life formed from those.”

“What’s the big deal about that?” Cargo asked, appearing genuinely curious.

“Right-handed biology might as well be silicon-based as far as humans are concerned. If you encountered a right-handed plant and tried to eat it, it wouldn’t be able to interact with your body. It would be about as nutritious as sand—and don’t even get me started on the places where life evolved using amino acids and sugars. Those places are nuts.”

“Nuts, how?” Cheeky asked.

“Well, one of them had trees with leaves that appeared to be crystalline; sharp too, could cut you wide open. Then there was this one low-g world—a super-Earth, so the thing was huge—where the surface of the planet was covered in kilometers of this weird foamy stuff. It wasn’t a fungus or anything analogous to Terran life.

“Actually, that’s where the weirdest animal was from too!”

“Oh yeah?” Cargo asked. “What was it?”

“Well, it was kinda disgusting. It was basically a giant tick-looking thing that had a huge airbag on its back. It would float along, above the foamy surface of the world, and when it found some place that had its version of food, it would plop down, dig in and absorb it all. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t almost a kilometer across, and thought our ships were great snacks—we spent half our time avoiding the things.”

Cheeky gave a convulsive shiver, and Jessica found herself in agreement with the sentiment. A kilometer-sized tick trying to eat a ship was the stuff of nightmares.

“Seriously?” Cargo laughed. “That thing sounds hilarious, not dangerous. What could it do to a ship anyway? You could just shoot your way out.”

“Yeah.” Finaeus nodded in agreement. “But then who’s gonna clean the ship. Not me, that’s for sure.”

<This is not my favorite conversation we’ve ever had,> Sabrina said, her tone wavering. 

“Sera told you guys about those, did she?” Finaeus asked. “For someone running The Hand, she’s not so good about keeping secrets.”

 Iris announced. 

“Then what’s our new name?” Cargo asked.

<Sorry, Sabrina, you’re going to hate this,> Iris warned. <We’re now the Matron Tulip.>

<Oh no, oh stars no. Iris, find a different ship. Any ship, I’d rather be the Pooping Dingo than the Matron Tulip!>

<Sorry, Sabrina, these folks don’t get a lot of traffic, and what they do get is just the same few interstellar haulers that pass through on regular runs. I need something to connect to. Our story gets really weak if everything about us is a fiction,> Iris replied.

“What about crew?” Cargo asked. “Do we need to take on new personas?”

<No. I’ll flag a sale of the ship in our records and give us some sort of backstory,> Iris said. <Finaeus gave me enough data from what he has about Orion to cobble something together.>

“It’s not a lot, but it’s some worlds, customs, and stuff that we can use if anyone enquires about where we’re all from,” Finaeus said.

“You’re going to have to stay on the ship, though,” Jessica said to Finaeus. “You’re a well-known figure.”

“Jessica, seriously, you tracked me half-way across the Inner Stars before catching up with me. I know how to blend in.”

“Just this once,” Cargo said with a note of finality in his voice. “We need to limit variables as much as possible this time out.”

“Fine, Just be sure to pick up some good food,” Finaeus said. “We’re out of beef and lettuce. A good burger would go a long way when dealing with being cooped up in here.”

“I’ll add it to the grocery list,” Cargo said while casting the older man a dour look.

“See that you do,” Finaeus replied and walked off the bridge.

“Gee, he really wanted to get off the ship,” Jessica said, staring after him.

“Can you blame him?” Cheeky asked. “We might not get to another station for weeks or months. Our little jaunt on Gisha Station wasn’t exactly relaxing, I’ll have you know.”

“Well, at least you got off the ship,” Jessica said with warm smile.

“Yeah, and then off the station, and almost into a black hole,” Cheeky replied, her tone chilly.

Cargo chuckled, long and slow. “Well, then you certainly weren’t bored.”

Cheeky shot the captain a dark look before her shoulders slumped and she sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. Getting a wicked headache.”

<You need to rest more,> Piya said. <Your body is building all sorts of new stuff right now.>

“All sorts of new stuff?” Cheeky asked. “Is that code for pretty much everything?”

<Yeah, I suppose,> Piya said kindly. <From what I see on your screen, we’re still six hours from where we fake our dump in from the dark layer. Maybe you should get some rest.>

Cheeky stood and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll catch a few winks before then, with your permission, Cargo.”

“Of course.” Cargo nodded. “Just be here thirty minutes before the maneuver.”

“Thanks,” Cheeky said as she left the bridge.

“Why don’t you go get some downtime, too,” Cargo said to Jessica. “We have our new name. From here it’s just a matter of our virtual girls changing over all our ship’s data. Same ole drill.”

 Hank said.

Cargo laughed. “Yeah, I know…I just felt lazy and didn’t correct myself.”

<Wow, I feel so appreciated,> Hank sighed.

“Your domestic issue aside, I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” Jessica said as she rose. “I’ll see if Finaeus is up for a game of Snark. Trevor and Nance are in the middle of a grudge match, and will be busy for hours.”

Finaeus poked his head back into the bridge and grinned. “Sure, why not. You need a good spanking.”

“What? Are you just hanging out there eavesdropping?” Jessica asked.

“Of course, how else am I going to hear what you think of me while I’m not around.”

“Get out of here, the both of you. But no spanking, Finaeus,” Cargo said, cautioning her with a grin. “I saw the way Cheeky was looking at you. You’re spoken for.”

“I didn’t mea—really? Think so?”

“Cargo made a funny!” Jessica laughed. “But he’s right, Finaeus. Once Cheeky’s mended, look out. You better make sure you’re limber enough, old man.”

“Oh, I’m limber enough.” Finaeus grinned. “Did I ever mention the time when…”

<Stars…if I send you an SOS, summon me for some sort of emergency,> she said privately to Cargo.

The ship’s captain just sent a mental laugh and waved her off the bridge.

RIGHT HAND TWIST

STELLAR DATE: 09.01.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Approaching Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

Jessica examined the view on the bridge’s main holotank. It rendered the planet Marsalla, and its largest moon, a near Luna-sized orb named Aresa. Their destination was highlighted on the display: a station named Hermes, which lay on the L1 point between the two celestial bodies.

However, no one was looking at the station; the planet Marsalla was far and away the most interesting object.

Its surface was covered with an apparent war between green and purple life. It was clearly visible across its continents and even within the oceans.

“So, not a terraformed world, then,” Jessica said. “Just a conveniently-close-to-habitable one.”

“That’s a gem, is what that is,” Finaeus added. “Look at it, almost Earth-sized, sixty, maybe sixty-five percent water. Oxygen/Nitrogen atmosphere. You can see FGT Model 18 carbon towers on the major continents, pumping CO2 into the atmosphere for all they’re worth. Nice to see they’re still using one of my designs even out here.”

“But there’s biomass down there,” Cheeky said. “Life of some sort.”

“Yeah,” Finaeus said. “Sloppy. Shouldn’t rush it like that.”

“What do you mean?” Cargo asked. “It’s going to take a while—decades at least—to make even parts of that planet livable. Doesn’t seem like a rush to me.”

Finaeus nodded. “Sure, but it should take longer. If you try to terraform a world that already has life without first sterilizing it, you won’t like what you end up with. A middle-ground with terrestrial life and extraterrestrial life co-existing is not possible.”

“Not true,” Cheeky replied. “I’ve seen worlds where there was native life and stuff we brought there.”

“Sorry,” Finaeus said. “Poor choice of words. What I should have said is that it’s not sustainable. If, by some miracle, one type of life doesn’t obliterate the other, you end up with a subsumation and mutations.”

“So why’s the alien life purple?” Cheeky asked. “Is it a welcoming committee for Jessica?”

“Har har,” Jessica said.

“Retinol, probably,” Finaeus replied. “It’s an alternate to chlorophyll. Simpler molecular structure. Most planets see retinol-utilizing life before chlorophyll comes along.”

As he spoke, Nance walked onto the bridge, wearing her best hazsuit, with a clear spherical helmet tucked under one arm.

“Have you seen their decontamination protocols here?” she asked gesturing at the holodisplay, her voice raised in a combination of panic and professional indignation.

“Uh, yeah,” Cheeky said. “They’re all picky about going down to their planet, and bringing stuff up. Makes sense with what Finaeus was saying about mutations.”

“All picky? All picky?” Nance exclaimed. “Their version of picky is a biophage waiting to happen! If this place isn’t on the local ‘no fly’ list inside of the next half-century, I’ll eat my hazsuit!”

Finaeus shrugged. “They may get some unpleasant outbreaks—depending on the type of life on that planet, but it’s usually not the end of the world. Heh, see what I did there?”

“How come this sort of stuff—with mixed life forms—doesn’t happen all the time?” Cargo asked. “There must be hundreds, maybe thousands of worlds that had native life. Like Cheeky said, they’re rare, but they’re out there and don’t seem to pose threats.”

“That’s because we sterilized the dangerous ones,” Finaeus said with a devious smirk.

“What? You just wiped out entire worlds?” Cheeky asked. “That’s…that’s insane. How many did you destroy?”

Finaeus touched a hand to his chin and looked up at the overhead. “Hmm…at least seven-hundred by last count. Orion has probably done a bunch as well. Easily a thousand for sure.”

“A thousand life-filled worlds?” Jessica asked. “Just gone?”

“Well, we just sterilized them, the worlds weren’t gone. Some we had to do the whole system. Microbes are a persistent bunch. Keep in mind, most of these were worlds with little more than moss and lichen. Usually it’s the fungus that we have to watch out for. That stuff is insidious.”

<You sterilized the world with the flying tick things, right?> Sabrina asked.

“Actually, no. That one is still out there. It’s life-type isn’t a threat, and it’s safe within the far reaches of the Transcend. But seriously, some of what we found could have wiped out humanity in a century. Interdicting the systems wouldn’t have worked. Some asshole would have flown in eventually and then spread a phage that eventually killed everyone.”

“Harsh,” Cheeky said quietly. “But I get it.”

“You didn’t…kill any highly-evolved things—like primates—did you?” Jessica asked.

“Eliminate the competition sort of thing?” Finaeus asked. “I gotta tell you, we had some walloping debates over that issue through the years—even before the first ships left Sol. The public went over that one for decades. It was an interesting conundrum for the GSS.”

As Finaeus chuckled to himself—clearly remembering the good ole days, Jessica filled in the term for everyone else. “Generation Ship Service. A quasi-government agency that selected the crews for the original Future Generation Terraformers, and most of the colonist ships too.”

“Why’d the call them the Generation Ships?” Cargo asked. “What with stasis and all.”

“Didn’t have that when we started,” Finaeus said. “I can’t tell you the amount of freezer burn I got from using cryopods. Those things are like a fucking lottery—in reverse.”

“They also didn’t expect old farts like Finaeus to just decide to live forever,” Jessica added. “Even in my time, no one had anticipated that the FGT ships were still crewed with the original people sent out on them.”

“What can I say,” Finaeus grinned. “It hasn’t been my time to go, yet.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” Cheeky said.

“Which question?” Finaeus asked innocently.

“About killing off things like primates. Stuff that was close to becoming an intelligent sentient.”

“Ah yes, well, it was tricky, you know. Everyone involved in the GSS and FGT believed in the preservation of the human race by spreading out. Eliminating potential competition is a great way to up our own odds of survival. However, an opposing point of view would argue that there must be other intelligent life out there somewhere, and if they see us exterminating everything, they might decide that we’re the definition of unwanted competition. Our very actions could end up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of our own doom.”

“Sounds dramatic,” Cargo said.

Jessica laughed. “Haven’t you noticed? That’s kinda Finaeus’s thing.”

Nance scowled. “You’re really skirting the issue here.”

<I’m interested in this too,> Sabrina said. 

“Oh gods, that’s a whole different question,” Finaeus said. “Regarding killing off primate-like things, we never had to test our resolve. We never found anything smarter than a cat out there. Sadly, so far, we’re alone in the black.”

<In the Milky Way, at least,> Iris added.

“Yes, yes,” Finaeus nodded. “Other galaxies could be teeming with life—or there could be life on the far side of the galactic core, or even hiding in the larger nebulas. It’s impossible to see what’s out there without going to take a look.”

“Which you have, haven’t you?” Nance asked skeptically.

Finaeus shrugged. “Not the whole galaxy. But we’ve sent out probes that should have the job finished in ten to twenty-thousand years—depending on dark matter density in the galactic rim. The core will be lifeless, though. Everything within five kiloparsecs at least. Sagittarius A* makes certain of that.”

<Wouldn’t that thing be a sight to see?> Jessica asked Iris, referring to the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s core. <Who knows, if we get the Transcend’s longevity tech, maybe we will some day.>

<Well, I will,> Iris said with a mischievous chuckle. <Whether or not your organic self can even survive the radiation in the core is another question altogether. You might have to go full robo-doll.>

<Hey! Good point, though,> Jessica replied.

“All very interesting stuff,” Nance said. “However, as your ship’s bio, I’m mandating that we practice full biocontainment procedures while we’re at Hermes station. I don’t want to leave this place and find out that we’ve got some fun new plankton growing on the bulkheads.”

“Or inside our heads,” Finaeus said with a somber nod. “Not that I would expect Orion to be so sloppy—they didn’t build their empire by letting biophages run wild. Still, we’re on their fringe, so caution is recommended.”

“Speaking of which, we’re fifteen minutes out from docking at Hermes station,” Cheeky said. “They’re sending a tug to bring us in the rest of the way.”

Jessica glanced down at her console. “So far they haven’t questioned our registry. Seems to be holding.”

She turned back to the main holo where Hermes Station now filled the view. Hermes was the largest in the system, and as such the one they hoped to blend in on best. Though, even as the biggest in the system, it was barely noteworthy. Just a ring twenty kilometers in circumference, spinning around a central spire ten kilometers tall.

Even worse, there weren’t a lot of ships present. Fewer than half of Hermes’s berths were occupied, and the lanes in and out of the station contained little traffic.

They were going to stand out like sore thumbs.

“Everyone know their backstories?” Cargo asked to a chorus of yeses. “And you have your new tokens and ident data?”

“Yes, Dad.” Cheeky chuckled. “Not our first-time faking ident, you know.”

“Our first time where there’s no safe haven to run to, though,” Nance said. “Stars, we don’t even know how to get to any other system, save blind jumps.”

“Don’t remind me,” Cheeky groused.

“The station’s pretty light on the regs,” Jessica said. “What you’d expect for a bunch of scrappy types out on the fringe. If we’re lucky it’ll be filled with mostly live-and-let-live types. They do have a prohibition against public nudity…Cheeky… and only pulse pistols are allowed off-ship.”

“They gonna inspect the bottle?” Nance asked.

“No word yet,” Jessica replied, realizing that if Nance met the inspection team in a hazsuit it may arouse suspicion. “I’ll handle them if they show, though.”

“Fine by me,” Nance said. “The less contact I have with these alien microbe-ridden people, the happier I am.”

“I take it that you’re not going onstation, then?” Finaeus asked.

“Not if I can help it,” Nance replied. “And I know why you don’t want me meeting the team, Jessica. It’s so I don’t spook them; but if you think you’ll get me on that station without this thing on”—with that Nance patted her helmet—“then you’re off your fucking rocker.”

“Uh…OK,” Cargo said as Nance turned and walked off the bridge.

“Strong reaction,” Cheeky muttered.

“You can say that again,” Finaeus replied.

“Strong—” Cheeky began but stopped abruptly when her statement was met with more than one “Don’t!”

“You guys are no fun,” Cheeky said with a mock pout. “And here I am still recovering from my ordeal. You should be nicer to me.”

INSPECTION

STELLAR DATE: 09.02.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sabrina, Approaching Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

Jessica met the Hermes Station inspection team at the main cargo bay’s airlock. As the lock cycled, she examined the team standing within.

There were three women and one man, and Jessica wondered if the prevalence of women over men was present here in Orion space as well, or if this ratio was just a coincidence.

All four wore hazsuits—none as nice as Nance’s top-of-the-line models, but still sufficient to deal with serious chemical and biological contaminants.

Per Nance’s requirements, Sabrina forced a biohazard sanitization cycle in the lock, and Jessica noticed one of the women shake her head, while another appeared to laugh inside her helmet.

At least they appeared to appreciate the incongruity of the situation.

Jessica really didn’t think any of it was necessary. The forty-second century nanotech that protected everyone aboard Sabrina was more than up to the task of fighting any contaminants that these four could bring in. Nevertheless, dealing with sanitization in the airlock was easier (and much more pleasant) than listening to Nance complain about all the possible things that could end up growing inside the walls.

As the lock finished its cycle and the main bay doors slid aside, Jessica glanced at her outfit to make certain it was clean and presentable.

She wore the purple shipsuit she had lifted off the Transcend soldier back on Gisha station. Iris had since upgraded it to protect against vacuum and added a ballistic absorption layer, all while keeping the thickness under half a millimeter.

Additionally, all of the logos and tech linking the clothing to the Transcend had been removed, along with the illuminated triangle over the ass. Jessica had no problem with people staring at her rear end, but it didn’t need an arrow pointing it out.

A last-minute addition was an emblazoned blue tulip on the collar, something Cheeky had suggested to match their new ship name of the Matron Tulip. Not that they really needed a logo—but Cheeky liked to needle Sabrina. A sure sign that the pilot was starting to feel like her old self.

“Welcome aboard,” Jessica said as the inspection team stepped into the ship’s main bay. “I’m the ship’s First Mate, Jessica.”

One of the women approached and offered her hand. The inspection team’s helmets bore clear faceplates, and Jessica could see a warm, but somewhat wary smile on the woman’s face.

<Hand-shakers too! I’ve changed my estimate. These people will be wiped out inside of a decade,> Nance commented privately over the shipnet, apparently observing over the monitoring systems.

<Hush!> Jessica admonished.

Jessica accepted the woman’s hand and gave it a single, firm shake.

The woman introduced herself and her team, gesturing to each in turn. “Hello, Jessica. I’m Inspector Mary, this is Pete, Lana, and Rory.”

“Nice to meet you folks,” Jessica said. “The Dockmaster’s office said that you want to examine our antimatter containment systems?”

Inspector Mary nodded. “Yes, we’ll also do some random scans of your cargo and ship, though we’re glad to see that you take biocontaminants seriously.”

<Score one for Nance’s paranoia,> Cheeky said with a laugh over the shipnet.

“Of course,” Jessica nodded. “I’ll show you to the engine room.”

<You can meet us there, if you want, Nance,> Jessica said. <In fact, now that I think about it, it may be weird if you don’t.>

<Fine, I suppose it’ll be safe since these people are suited up—but I’m not shaking hands.>

Jessica led the Hermes inspection team through the main bay, which was filled with crates—all carefully scrubbed of any Inner Stars origin markers.

The mad dash to make their cargo presentable had been far more hectic than their normal endeavors. Masking the origin of cargo within the Inner Stars was relatively simple—especially since shipping crates seemed to range hundreds of light years from their origin worlds, and it wasn’t uncommon to see cargo from one world in crates bearing labels from half a dozen others.

But out here there would be no Inner Stars crates or cargo, and they had only rudimentary information about nearby systems. The crew had decided that, rather than screw up some nuance, the best bet would be to leave off all markings.

It looked extremely suspicious—which the inspection team’s curious glances confirmed—but there wasn’t much they could do about it now.

“I saw that your ship has been to Naga in the past,” Mary said as they walked down the corridor amidships toward the ladder that would take them down to engineering.

“Yeah, we noticed that too,” Jessica said, her tone neutral and conversational. “We picked up the Tulip just a few years ago—we’re still working out some good trade routes and saw this system on the logs. You’re a long way out, but sometimes that’s where the best opportunities lie.”

Mary nodded. “We’re always looking for new ships to make runs out here. What do you have onboard?”

The contents of the cargo was something they had spent no small effort sanitizing. Tech was risky because both software and hardware was filled with information belying its origins—even with the most generic of components—and so most of it was floating in the void half a light year back.

Food was less risky, provided certain isotopes were extracted. The end result was a cargo that consisted mostly of melons, dried foodstuffs from various worlds, and some rare gems and minerals—though anyone looking too closely at those would realize that their radiological signatures were from the Orion Arm, not the Perseus Arm of the galaxy.

“Oh, you know, a bit of this and that. Stuff that we hope your folks will like, at least enough for us to buy some good return cargo,” Jessica replied.

One of the inspection team members laughed—Lana, if Jessica had interpreted Mary’s rapid-fire intros correctly. “We have slime, do you need any slime?”

“Never know,” Jessica grinned. “Some people want slime. There’s a buyer for almost anything.”

“I would imagine that they’ll be far more interested in credit—ship like this,” Pete said.

“We’d never argue with hard credit, either,” Jessica said. “But there’s not much profit in hauling credit from one system to another. Never know what might look good to our buyers.”

They reached the ladder, and Jessica slid down the rails first, before turning to watch the inspection team descend more carefully, passing their scanning equipment down to Mary who had followed Jessica down.

Jessica couldn’t help but notice how both Lana and Pete were taking long looks at her. She had wondered how much she would stand out. Cargo had proposed that he meet with the inspection team, but the crew agreed that Jessica was better at smooth-talking visitors like this.

That had surprised her. Jessica had seen Cargo work a mark more than once, and he was good. That the crew thought she was better was no small compliment.

<Well, you’re a lot more distracting than Cargo is,> Iris commented, apparently following the gist of Jessica’s thoughts.

<If we were going for distraction, then we should have sent Cheeky down to meet them,> Jessica replied.

<Cheeky gets too flustered in situations like this. You remember what happened with that station team that came aboard back on Aldebaran, right?>

Jessica remembered it well. Aldebaran had been their second stop on the quest to find Finaeus, and had been one near-disaster after another.

For some reason, Cheeky had misread the station’s lane designations and came down the wrong approach. They had corrected quickly enough, but the port authority had sent a team to examine their nav systems—claiming they’d flag Cheeky’s record if they weren’t allowed on the bridge.

Cargo had acquiesced, and when they arrived, Cheeky had been so flustered about her mistake that she lost control of her enhanced pheromone mods. The inspection quickly devolved into the station’s team pawing all over Cheeky—as well as Cargo, who had been on the bridge at the time.

It took Sabrina rapid-cycling the air on the ship and switching over to backup filters to get the situation under control. One of the inspectors had threatened to file charges of manipulation, but the others calmed him down. In the end, they had all gone out for drinks.

Even Cargo had gotten lucky that night.

Back in the present, the Hermes Station inspection team had finally reached the base of the ladder and Jessica led them through the doorway into the engineering compartment. Inside, Nance waited with her hazsuit’s clear helmet firmly attached and a stoic expression on her face.

“Folks, this is Nance, our engineer and bio. Nance, this is Inspector Mary and her team, Pete, Lana, and Rory,” Jessica said, hoping that she had properly identified Lana and Rory.

No one contested her name assignments, and Mary nodded amicably.

“Nice to meet you, Nance,” Mary said. “We’ll need to look at your antimatter containment, and I’d like to see your flow regulators as well. We like to make sure that you’re able to fully shut down your reactor and do a clean startup.”

“Of course,” Nance said. “Reactor is already offline—we shut it down when we were ten-thousand klicks out, per your regulations.”

“We saw that,” Mary replied amiably. “Not everyone is so respectful.”

Jessica leaned against a bulkhead while Nance showed the inspectors the ship’s antimatter bottle, and allowed them to examine the flow regulators.

Lana placed a tamper lock on the bottle, and when they completed their review, Mary gave Nance a quizzical look. “Jessica said you were both engineer and bio, was that correct?”

“It is,” Nance nodded. “We run a full hydroponics system on this ship. Plentiful baths and showers on long trips make for great incentives when you want good crewmembers.”

“That’s unusual,” Rory said. “To have full hydroponics on a ship like this, that is.”

Nance nodded. “Yeah, but it’s one of the things that made a job here appealing for me. I like to manage the tanks as much as the engines.”

Mary glanced to Jessica. “Mind if we examine your bio-systems too? It’s not strictly necessary, but Nance here seems like a conscientious sort, and if they pass muster, we can lighten the biocontaminant restrictions.”

<We’d better,> Cargo said over the shipnet. <They’ll get pretty damn suspicious if we try to hide something when showing it would be beneficial to any honest trading ship. >

<Fine, but I’m not lowering my biocontainment restrictions,> Nance replied.

<Wouldn’t dream of asking it,> Cargo said.

Nance led the inspectors out of the engine compartment and down the corridor to the environmental systems bay.

Even though Jessica had been aboard Sabrina for a decade, she had only been in the environmental bay a few times. Nance guarded it with the fierceness of a mother bear and Jessica had no desire to get on the bio’s bad side.

“Wow, this is extensive,” Pete said as they walked amongst the tanks, filtration systems, and oxygenation mats.

“How big is your crew again?” Mary asked.

“Six right now,” Jessica replied. “We can handle a lot more, though, just haven’t found the right folks yet.”

“I’ll say you can handle a lot more. You could have a hundred people aboard and they’d still get to draw a full bath each day with this setup,” Lana said.

“Ship used to be a yacht,” Nance supplied. “That’s what the previous owners told us, at least.”

“Doesn’t look much like one,” Pete said.

<Heeeey!> Sabrina said to the shipnet. <Jessica, tell them to apologize!>

<Why?> Jessica asked. <You’ve always said you hated being a pleasure yacht. That cargo ships have more fun.>

<Yeah…but it still wasn’t nice.>

Jessica didn’t furnish Sabrina with a reply. Instead she watched as Pete leaned over one of the tanks.

“Lot of these are low. You’re missing a lot of biomass,” he observed.

“Yeah,” Nance said while casting Jessica a worried glance. “I had a bad pump with a bum sensor. It tripped up the flow monitoring systems and I didn’t realize we had a problem till there was a full red-algae bloom underway. Last time I buy a pump at Ra—Herschel.”

Pete laughed. “Yeah, don’t buy shit at Herschel. Those farmers have never met a tolerance requirement that they didn’t blatantly ignore.”

<Close one,> Jessica said. <Nice save though.>

<Thanks, gotta make sure to adjust all my bullshit lines out here. So used to blaming Rattlescar for everything that breaks.>

<Looks like Herschel is your new Rattlescar.>

<Seems like it,> Nance replied.

“You know,” Mary said, her tone pensive. “One of our local companies may be able to help you with this, with what we have going on down on Marsalla.”

“On Marsalla?” Nance asked.

Mary shot her a skeptical look. “Yeah, the photosynthesis plant energy research going on down there.”

<Ohhhh…so that’s what they’re doing,> Finaeus said. <Now I get why they didn’t wipe out all the retinol-dependent life.>

“Oh, the retinol work you’re doing, of course,” Nance said borrowing from Finaeus’s comment and recovering quickly. “I’ll admit that it’s interesting, but I didn’t think it was ready for commercial application.”

<Nice save,> Cheeky said.

“It’s been tricky—from what I hear,” Mary began, “but they’ve finally worked up stable microbes that utilize both chlorophyll and retinol simultaneously to generate energy. They can operate with lower levels of oxygen, and adapt better to different stellar spectra. It could make terraforming worlds under red and blue stars take a lot less bio-tweaking.”

<And make for runaway greenhouses,> Finaeus said. <Been there, done that—though I am interested in their approach. We never tried it with non-terrestrial life in the mix before.>

<What happened to all your doomsaying about the end of human life at the hands of alien bacteria?> Cheeky asked.

<I’m a scientist. I’m eternally curious,> Finaeus said with a mental shrug. <You never know, they may have hit on something too.>

<Out here, at the asscrack of the universe?> Nance asked. <Seems doubtful.>

<You’d be surprised what you’ll find out on the fringes,> Finaeus replied.

“That does sound rather interesting,” Nance said aloud, replying to Mary’s statement. “I’ll look into it. I will need to pick up more biomass either way. I’ll certainly want to give it a look.”

“Place looks tip-top,” Lana announced from the far end of the compartment. “If our station’s environmental systems were this clean I’d take showers over sonic cleans a lot more often.”

“Great,” Mary said. “We’ll just need to look over any organic cargo you have, and we’ll be out of your hair.”

Jessica saw both Pete and Lana glance over at her purple hair and resisted the urge to sigh. She couldn’t be the first person they had ever seen with purple hair.

<Or purple skin, or purple clothes,> Iris commented privately.

<Hey, when you find something you like, embrace it,> Jessica replied. <Besides, my skin is lavender.>

<Yes, because that makes it so much better,> Iris laughed.

Jessica led the inspection team back up the ladder into the port-side passageway. She stopped in front of Port-Side Hold #2. Normally they transported produce in stasis—a capability they never advertised in the Inner Stars—what with stasis being lost technology there.

Finaeus had assured them, however, that stasis would be in common usage in Orion space.

Jessica certainly hoped that would be the case as she switched off the stasis field and gestured for the inspection team to enter.

While her team entered the hold, Mary remained in the corridor with Jessica. “Takes a lot of power to run stasis that long. I can see why you have that extra reactor.”

<Not to mention our weapons systems,> Iris chuckled.

<Which they better not have spotted,> Jessica replied. <Hard to pass ourselves off as a freighter if they spot our railguns.>

<We docked at some of the most paranoid stations in the Inner Stars with those things and they never spotted them. The Intrepid’s engineers did a good job hiding them.>

“There are some long runs out here,” Jessica said. “If we can deliver exotic produce that’s still perfectly fresh, we can charge top dollar.”

“Watermelon!” Rory called out, speaking for the first time since coming aboard. “I haven’t had watermelon in decades!”

“If you’re interested, we could sell you some of this at cost,” Jessica offered.

Mary shot her an appraising look. “Cost?”

Jessica quickly addressed the crew. <OK folks, is she honest and wants to make sure we’re not trying to bribe, or is she dishonest and expects cost to be zero?>

<It’s a small station. Not everyone can be on the take—or we’d have seen more evidence of that in our chats with the Dockmaster and the tug operator. You made your offer aloud, so her team heard it. If even one of them is honest, then she has to operate above board. So I vote for honesty,> Cheeky said.

<I’m with Cheeky,> Cargo said. <Plus, I get the honest vibe off her. She hasn’t made any of the comments that precede a bribe request.>

The rest of the crew agreed, and Jessica did some quick calculations in her head. “Well, we got them on a pretty good deal, but you’re right about stasis being pricy to run, so, by weight they’ll be forty of your local credits per kilo—if my math is right.”

“Forty!” Rory called out and Jessica wondered if she had gone too high. “What a steal!”

“A bit low, but it seems reasonable,” Mary said with a smile. “Glad to see you weren’t trying to offer a bribe, Jessica.”

“Glad to see you weren’t asking for one,” Jessica replied.

Mary laughed and waved to her team. “Rory, they’ll set aside a crate. Come pick it up after your shift.”

“You guys better,” Rory said with a stern look. “I’ll be back in three hours with the credit for twenty kilos worth.”

<Stars, what is she doing, running a ‘stil?> Nance asked.

AN AFTERNOON STROLL

STELLAR DATE: 09.02.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

Jessica stepped through the airlock and took in the sight of the docking ring’s wide sweep. Despite being on the far side of human space, it really didn’t look that different from most of the stations she’d seen back in Sol, or in the Inner Stars.

Fewer hawkers were present than on most Inner Stars stations, but there wasn’t much foot traffic nearby, and no other ships were docked in any adjacent berths. The station certainly was cleaner than many she had visited in the past, though that was most likely due to the low number of ships that passed through.

Signage pointed to the closest maglev and Jessica reached back for Trevor’s hand, grasping it tightly as they walked toward the platform.

“So, if Cargo is finding buyers for all our stuff, what are we doing out here?” Trevor asked.

“What?” Jessica asked, bumping her hip against his thigh. “Getting off the ship isn’t reason enough to go for a stroll?”

Trevor chuckled. “I’d stroll anywhere with you Jess, but I know you. You have mission-face.”

Jessica shot a wounded look at Trevor. “I do not have mission-face. This is my fun-afternoon-out-on-station face.”

“Sure thing,” Trevor said and kissed the top of her head.

“Not mollifying me that easily.”

“You still haven’t said what we’re doing out here.”

Jessica shrugged. “Just getting the lay of the land, customs, behavior, see if there’s anything interesting to buy.”

“Like guns?” Trevor chuckled.

“Well, I don’t have to buy clothes anymore, you keep me buried in new outfits.”

“What can I say?” Trevor shrugged. “I have a gift for fashion—though mostly on you.”

Jessica glanced at Trevor, who wore a pair of tight grey pants, a blue shirt—which she knew he’d selected to compliment her coloring—and a long dark coat that tapered back into a tail that ended just above his ankles. The jacket was fitted and made his torso look like a massive triangle, which it largely was, given the width of his shoulders.

“Don’t know about that,” she replied. “You look pretty delicious yourself.”

<OK, you two. I thought organics were supposed to be past this lovey-dovey stage this far into a relationship.>

“Are you kidding?” Trevor chuckled. “I’ll never be past that stage with my girl.”

“Such a big sap,” Jessica said with a smile that contained no displeasure.

“The sappiest,” Trevor replied.

“Still,” Jessica replied as they walked past a vendor selling a rather curious assortment of meats and pastries. “Keep an eye peeled for hot outfits and mean-looking guns.”

“When haven’t I?” Trevor replied. “But if you think we’re walking past that stall without giving the local cuisine a try, I’ll toss you over my shoulder and go over there anyway.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Jessica chuckled as she turned back toward the vendor002E

“We’ve fought before. I had to carry you out of the ring.”

“I let you beat me. Not to mention the fact that I beat the crap out of just a few people before that fight,” Jessica said, her tone indignant.

“Well, I’m not going to fight you again, so we’ll have to let that one-time stand,” Trevor replied.

“So long as you don’t think you can beat me,” Jessica muttered as they reached the vendor.

“Welcome to Hermes!” the proprietor, a shorter man with mousy brown hair, said. “I saw you guys come off that new ship! Don’t see a lot of new ships around here. Where you from?”

“All over,” Jessica replied. “Last stop was Njuen.”

“Ah, they have good fish there! Did you bring any fish?”

Jessica shook her head. “I wish we had. We thought you guys were terraforming here. With all that ocean on Marsalla we figured you wouldn’t want any fish.”

The man chuckled. “Man…if we did have fish down there, I sure wouldn’t eat them. A bit too much experimentin’ going on down there for my liking.”

“The whole retinol-chlorophyll thing, eh?” Trevor asked.

“Yeah, plus other stuff, though you might know that. RHY Dynamics owns the whole world down there. Alotta rumors swirlin’ about what they’re up to. Sucks too. Most of us moved out here because we thought they were terraforming—you know, for the chance to get some dirt planetside. But that place is off limits…not that any of us would want to go down there, anyway.”

“Well, yeah,” Jessica said. “From what I hear, playing at mixing alien and terrestrial life is pretty risky stuff.”

“Yeah, no shit,” the man replied. “Try telling that to RHY, though. Those guys don’t give a shit, and they have people up high in the government too. We’ve sent a lot of petitions to the OFA—even up to the Praetor’s office—but nothing ever comes back. I guess they don’t care much about us out here.”

“No love for the little guy,” Jessica nodded.

“So where does the meat come from?” Trevor asked as he eyed one of the meat-filled pastries.

“There are some farms on the moon, all underground. Not great, but it’s real livestock, not vat-grown, so there’s that.”

“I’ll try that one,” Trevor said. “Anything for you Jessica?”

“Yeah, but I’ll pass on the meat. Just one of those pastries with the yellow stuff…lemon of some sort?”

“Yup, lemon. That we grow on station here.”

“Awesome,” Jessica replied.

The man placed the food on small paper plates. “That’ll be nine-fifty. Make sure you put the plates in the right receptacles. Station is really picky about recycling.”

Jessica passed the vendor her token over the Link and authorized the transaction, glad to see that the local bank accounts Cargo had set up using credit drawn against the sale of their produce worked properly.

“Thanks,” Trevor said as he picked up his pastry and took a bite. “Mmmmmm, this is great.”

“Thanks,” the man said. “Stop by any time.”

“You can count on it,” Trevor said.

Jessica led Trevor back out onto the sweep’s foot-traffic boulevard and took a bite of her pastry.

“OK, that is good. That guy can cook.”

“Or knows where to buy stuff cheap that he can mark up,” Trevor replied.

“Or that,” Jessica nodded. “Either way, a nice change.”

“For sure, been a while since I’ve had meat that was on the hoof at some point.”

As they walked, Jessica drew a few long looks from the locals, the attention nearly making her feel self-conscious. It wasn’t as though mods were uncommon. Besides the usual rainbows of skin and hair colors, she saw a man with comically large horns, and two women with tails. She did notice a dearth of people with her coloring—perhaps it had to do with the retinol experimentation on the planet’s surface, and people’s distrust of the RHY Dynamics company doing it.

They reached the maglev platform in short order, and boarded a car headed to Hermes Station’s central spire. Jessica took a seat and leaned back, before letting out a long groan.

Before her, on the forward wall of the maglev car was holo-ad for ‘Retyna, a Division of RHY Dynamics’. Front and center, twirling about in the ad, was a woman with purple skin, purple hair, and a purple outfit not that dissimilar to Jessica’s own shipsuit.

“Oh, for fucksakes,” Jessica muttered.

Trevor’s eyes followed her gaze and when they alighted on the ad he burst into laughter.

“OK, OK, it explains a few things,” Jessica said.

Trevor didn’t reply, his laughter intensifying, tears beginning to stream down his face.

“Really?” Jessica asked, beginning to flush as people on the car turned to stare.

“If…if you…if,” Trevor gasped between bursts of laughter. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. “If you ever need a side giiiig!”

The laughter resumed, and several other people on the car began to chuckle.

Jessica sighed. “Yeah, just what I need, my face plastered all over every holodisplay in Orion Space.”

<It would give us a legitimate stream of income,> Iris said. <If Cargo has trouble trading, that is.>

<Not you too.>

After she drove an elbow into Trevor’s ribs he managed to get his laughter under control, and they rode in silence—aside from periodic chuckles from Trevor—until the car stopped at a station in the central spire.

Jessica and Trevor spent the next few hours walking through the station’s main commerce district, sampling more food, stopping in a bar for drinks, spending some time in clothing stores, and noting subtle aspects of the local culture.

“One thing’s for sure,” Trevor said as he took a bite of another meat pastry they picked up at a small bakery. “These folks are omnivores. Vegans would not fare well here.”

“I’ve noticed that too,” Jessica said. “I wonder if it’s a fringe thing. A desire for a more agrarian society—even if some big corporation is using the planet below for a lab.”

“Could be,” Trevor noted, then pointed down the wide corridor at a storefront ahead. “Hey, check that place out.”

Jessica looked where Trevor was pointing and saw a store with its holodisplay advertising natural leather products.

“Huh, must be from all the food ‘on the hoof’ as that first guy mentioned. Might as well do something with the skins.”

“I bet you’d look great in that jacket,” Trevor said, pointing to a black jacket with an angled zipper and a belt at the bottom. “Let’s go try it out.”

Jessica sighed and followed Trevor, though her reticence was mostly for show. The jacket did look nice—if a bit retro.

They walked into the store, and Jessica took a deep breath, savoring the scent of fresh leather. It was strong, but it had a very ‘real’ quality to it. Something not easily faked.

Trevor threaded his way through the racks to the jackets in the back, and pulled one off its hanger, holding it out to Jessica.

“Not sure this is going to work,” Jessica said as she turned and slipped her arms into the sleeves. “My ratio’s a bit off for most off-the-rack clothing.”

“Don’t I know it,” Trevor chuckled. “You’re a nightmare to shop for.”

Jessica did up the zip—or tried to. The waist was baggy; the natural leather had no stretch, and no hope of closing over her breasts.

Trevor stroked his chin. “Yeah, that’s not going to work. If I go a size down it’s going to look like a bolero on you.”

“Bummer, though,” Jessica said as she stroked the sleeve. “It feels really nice.”

“Can I help you?” a man said as he approached.

“No—” Jessica began, but Trevor interrupted her.

“Maybe,” Trevor said. “Do you do any custom work?”

“Of course!” The man said as he eyed Jessica’s waist and amble breasts. “And I can see a custom fit is required. There’s a three-hundred credit charge. We do all alterations by hand.”

<Three hundred!> Jessica exclaimed privately to Trevor. 

<Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?> Trevor asked. “Deal,” he said to the man.

“Excellent,” the man said as he looked Jessica up and down. “If you’d hold out your arms and turn please?”

Jessica sighed and complied as the man scanned her, taking the measurements with his eyes—an amusing incongruity for a store that hand-made their clothing.

Trevor concluded the transaction, and the man assured them that he would have the jacket delivered to their ship the next day.

As they left the store, Jessica stifled a yawn. <Speaking of the ship, I think I’m just about ready to head back. Later tonight I want to hit that bar we passed on the docking ring—gonna need a nap before that. Gonna need to turn on some charm to get the other merchants to spill their best trade routes.>

<And get a regional dark-layer map,> Trevor said. <The station just had a local update on their dark matter and jump point positions; but that doesn’t give us more than a path to the next star.>

<Yeah, it’ll take—>

“Excuse me, miss. Hello!” a high-pitched voice called out from behind them.

They turned to see a man and a woman rushing down the corridor smiling and waving.

“Yes?” Jessica asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Hi, thanks for stopping,” the woman said as the pair neared. “We couldn’t help but notice…well…you!”

“Me?” Jessica asked.

“Yes, yes, you look fantastic, you’re absolutely perfect,” the man said.

“Thanks,” Jessica grinned. “I like to think so, glad you agree.”

Trevor stifled a laugh. “Any reason why you stopped to tell us that?”

“Oh yes, of course, this must seem strange,” the woman said. “We represent Retyna, you’ve heard of us, yes?”

“First day on station, but it’s been hard not to have spotted your ads,” Jessica said.

The man chuckled. “Yes, I suppose you’d notice those.”

“That’s why we stopped you,” the woman said. “We’re here working on our plans for when Retyna hits the open market. Interviews with the scientist, sens-recordings of the facilities and the like. But our current Retyna Girl is just a sim. These terraforming types appreciate authenticity…the real deal.”

“So what? You want me to model for you?” Jessica asked with a laugh.

“Yeah!” the man said brightly. “You must get a lot of offers. You look amazing.”

Jessica did get a lot of offers, but usually not for modeling. Most of the stations they frequented were not populated by people looking for that sort of talent.

“She does, doesn’t she,” Trevor said with a smile as he glanced at Jessica. “You should do it, Jess, it would be a blast.”

<Stop it!> Jessica admonished.

<Would be a good way to blend in, you’d be the public face of a company.> Iris said.

<Are you kidding?> Jessica asked. <That’s the exact opposite of a good way to blend in.>

<Ever heard of hiding in plain sight?> Trevor asked.

“Thanks for the offer,” Jessica said. “But I don’t think it will work out. We won’t be on Hermes for long,”

“We could schedule it soon, how does tomorrow sound?”

“Yes!” Trevor replied.

“No! He’s kidding. We have to go, c’mon, Trevor.”

Trevor laughed as Jessica pulled him away, calling back to the confused-looking Retyna employees. “Sorry, I tried!”

* * * * *

“This is officially my least favorite station of all time,” Jessica said as she collapsed into a chair in Sabrina’s galley.

Nance and Cheeky were present, both picking at the left-overs from a meal that had been prepared and consumed while Jessica and Trevor were out.

“Why’s that?” Nance asked.

“I bet I know,” Cheeky said, snorting a laugh.

<Aww, it’s her snort-laugh,> Sabrina said. <This must be good.>

“You have no idea,” Cheeky giggled. “Jessica is a shoe-in for a job at this local company called Retyna.”

“I repeat. Why’s that?” Nance said.

Cheeky flicked her wrist and a Retyna ad appeared over the table, eliciting another giggle from Cheeky and a laugh from Nance.

“Wow, Jessica, if you ever needed another job…”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Jessica said with a sigh. “They actually approached me for one. I guess with their whole schtick being retinol’s purpleness and all that, their corporate image is this purple girl. In their ads they say she powers her internal mods with retinol photosensitive skin.”

“What? So, they want you to turn your skin into some sort of retinol plant-based thing?” Nance asked, her face a mixture of horror and curiosity.

“I have no idea!” Jessica said. “I got the hell away as fast as I could. I don’t think I’m going back on station while we’re here.”

“Could always just change your skin and hair to another color,” Cheeky said. “With your nanotech it wouldn’t take long.”

Jessica nodded as she held up her hand and turned it over. “Yeah, it wouldn’t be hard. But this is something that reminds me of Trist and our time on Victoria. I know I have Trevor now…and I love him a lot, but Trist and…we spent almost seventy years together.”

“That’s a long time,” Cheeky said with a nod. “You were with her longer than I’ve been alive.”

“Yeah, I just like it as a memory of her…and now it reminds me of new memories with Trevor too. I know it’s silly—”

“It’s not,” Nance said, interrupting Jessica. “None of us have a lot to tie ourselves to in this ‘verse. We’re like leaves on the wind. Stuff like that? Those special memories. They’re important and it’s OK to hold onto them.”

“What she said,” Cheeky added.

“Thanks, Nance, Cheeks,” Jessica said with a smile. “You two are the best.”

“Yeah, I know,” Cheeky said.

“There you all are,” Cargo said as he walked into the galley. “We’re in a right mess here.”

“Oh yeah?” Jessica asked. “Worse than the usual?”

Cargo grunted sourly as he sat. “Maybe. Seems you can’t just scoop fuel in this system. You have to pay a fee to some company that has a lock on that business. Since we can’t sell half our cargo, and we have to buy stuff to maintain our fiction as a trader, we don’t have the credit to scoop. Not at the rates I just got quoted.”

“Could just scoop off the star when we pass by anyway,” Cheeky said. “What are they gonna do, chase us down?”

“Doesn’t really help us stay under the radar,” Jessica replied. “What sort of company has a monopoly on scooping anyway? Whatever people don’t scoop just gets washed away in the stellar wind. It’s not like you can use it all without building a dyson sphere.”

“I don’t know,” Cargo said as he rubbed his thumbs against his temples. “Some company called RHY Dynamics. The rate they charge is crazy too, it’s as much as we’ll make from selling all our cargo.”

“Awwwww shit,” Jessica muttered.

<Jessica? There’s a call for you from the company you were talking about.>

“Which one? RHY or Retyna?” Jessica asked, knowing it didn’t really matter.

<Retyna.>

Jessica groaned. “Kay, put it on the table, but just show me. No need to let them know they have an audience to play off.”

A moment later the image of the woman who had approached Jessica in the corridor outside the leather shop appeared above the table.

“Jessica! Hello, I’m so glad I found you. It took a bit of digging, but Mary at the inspection office got me your name and your ship.”

<Couldn’t have been that hard,> Iris said. 

“Hi…you have me at a disadvantage…” Jessica said.

“Oh! Of course. We didn’t have a chance to get properly introduced before. I’m Phoebe, I run the marketing group at Retyna—though you might have guessed that,” Phoebe’s voice rose up at the end of her statement, squeaking a bit.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that you ran it,” Jessica said with a sigh.

“Yeah! My uncle owns RHY and put me in charge of marketing Retyna’s new products. Like I’d mentioned, we’re just through our final trials, so I’m out here to get interviews from the scientists, images down on the planet, that sort of thing. Running into you on Hermes was pure serendipity.”

<Someone shoot me,> Jessica said over the shipnet.

“I thought I told you that I really wasn’t interested in being your spokesmodel,” Jessica said.

Phoebe gave an endearing smile. “Yeah, but I just figured you were playing hard to get. Thing is, we’ve been building up this whole Retyna Girl persona and how she has our patented Retyna in her skin that she uses to supercharge herself! It’s really cool, except putting Retyna right in someone’s skin isn’t something we can recommend…yet, There might be side effects.”

“I can imagine,” Jessica replied.

“Right! Of course, you can. Thing is, like I mentioned these terraforming buyers we’re targeting are very salt-of-the-earth types. They like real things, not sims, so we wanted to get a real model.”

“I imagine that you can afford to get all sorts of models for this, though,” Jessica said. “What’s so appealing about me?”

“Well…you, of course! You may have noticed that with retinol making plants purple, making purple appealing is our thing—hence Retyna Girl. And trust me, Jessica, you are the very definition of appealing.”

“I’m still not interested,” Jessica said.

<Wait a second,> Cargo interjected privately. <You realize what this squeaky little bitch is doing, right? They’re extorting us—and they have us over a barrel. You have to do this. What’s the big deal, it’s just some posing, reciting some lines, letting them use your image for ads and stuff.>

<Well, for starters, it totally blows any incognito cover I have,> Jessica said.

<We’re going to be racing across Orion space as fast as possible. We’ll be out of their sphere of influence in no time,> Cargo said. <Jessica, you have to do this. We’ll trade your modeling for a free scoop off the star and we’ll be free and clear, and on our way.>

<Stars, Cargo, you owe me. Everyone owes me.>

While she had been debating with Cargo, Phoebe had continued extolling the virtues of Retyna and how amazing it would be for Jessica to become Retyna Girl; that it would be more exciting than anything she had ever done before.

However, before Jessica could state that she would do the job, Phoebe’s voice lowered, becoming decidedly less squeaky.

“You may have noticed how it’s rather expensive to get fuel in this system,” she said. “I can take care of that for you, you know…or make it worse.”

“How much better?” Jessica asked. “The kind of better I’m thinking of is the free kind.”

Phoebe’s pixie-like features pinched as she frowned. “You drive a hard bargain, Jessica, but I’ll see that it’s done. I’m leaving Hermes tomorrow night, so we’ll want to do the shoot tomorrow and the surgery tonight.”

“Whoa!” Jessica cried out. “You never said anything about surgery!”

“Well yeah, silly. You have to become Retyna Girl, with our patented Retnya in your skin. It’s part of why you’re so perfect—the total package! You don’t have organic skin, so we can embed our product in it without any risks. It’ll actually work too. It pulls a lot of energy out of light, it may make your skin a bit lighter, but you can adjust how active it is too. You’ll be a powerhouse!”

<It should be safe enough,> Nance said. 

<Nance! It’s an alien organism. You and Finaeus were both very much against this sort of thing—or was I dreaming all that.>

<I’ve been researching it since Mary was aboard with her team. I think they may be on to something here. Finaeus does too. We’ll make sure Iris knows what to look out for. You’ll be perfectly safe. Worst case scenario, Iris can use your nano to expunge it,> Nance replied.

<True, I could,> Iris agreed. <Stop being such a baby and just do it.>

<Just make sure they take it back out of you before you come back to the ship,> Nance added.

Jessica sighed and met Phoebe’s eyes. “Fine. Send the address for where this is all going to happen.”

“You got it! I’ll see you in an hour!” Phoebe transmitted the location over the Link and then signed off.

“This is the worst idea ever,” Jessica sighed.

“Well, we could raise a stink and shoot our way clear across Orion space,” Cargo said, sarcasm oozing from his voice. “I don’t get why you’re not OK with this, Jessica. Seems right up your alley.”

“Besides, it’s like you’re going to be a superhero! Retyna Girl!”

Jessica leveled a long stare at Cheeky. “When this is over, we never speak of it again.”

Cheeky reached out and pinched Jessica’s cheek. “Whatever you say, Retyna Girl.”

UPGRADE

STELLAR DATE: 09.02.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

“Jessica! Thanks for making it on time,” Phoebe said, extending her hand as Jessica walked through the doors.

“That’s me. Punctual,” Jessica replied.

The area of the station Phoebe’s directions had led her to appeared to be the main RHY offices on the station, a clean—if a little bland—facility near the top of the central spire. It was, thankfully, devoid of any ads featuring Retyna Girl.

“Of course!” Phoebe exclaimed. “Retyna Girl is always punctual!”

“Is that one of her super powers?” Jessica asked dryly.

“Uh…no,” Phoebe said.

<Be nice,> Iris said.

 Jessica replied. <I’d feel better if backup was closer.>

<He’s managing cargo transfers while Cheeky and Cargo are at that bar seeing if they can get a dark layer map. Nance still won’t leave the ship, and Finaeus can’t, so you’re on your own. Think you can do it? Got your big girl pants on?>

<Shut up, Iris,> Jessica said sourly, then chuckled. She really was acting like a baby. But something about being forced to perform bothered her. Well, not something. She knew the reason she felt uneasy, but the reason was over a hundred years old now. That undercover op back on High Terra shouldn’t be affecting her thinking so much—rather, she shouldn’t let it affect her so much. <Iris…sorry, you’re right.>

<Unless the microbes kill me,> Jessica said.

<Jessica!>

<OK, OK!>

“So how does all that sound?” Phoebe asked. “I hope you can do our girl justice. She’s strong and powerful, she doesn’t take any shit, but she’s also nice, kay, we need you to be nice as well as strong.”

Jessica relaxed her shoulders and gave Phoebe a winning smile. “I can be nice, I promise. This is going to rock. Retyna Girl is going to be a hit across the whole OFA.”

“Oh! That’s great! You look so pretty when you smile!” Phoebe gushed as she leaned forward and wrapped Jessica in an embrace. She pulled back and swept her eyes down Jessica’s body. “I mean, you look hot all the time, but extra pretty when you smile.”

The next half hour was spent with the RHY lawyers, examining the contract, ensuring that it included the waiver of scoop fees for Sabrina—rather, the Matron Tulip—and even some nice residual royalties for Jessica over the next few years from any derivative works that used her likeness.

<That’s not really necessary,> Jessica said after her AI proposed the final round of changes.

<It would be if you were really from around here. Besides, you never know when a bit of extra credit will come in handy.>

Once the contract was signed, and the station had the waiver of scoop fees on record, Jessica let the ever-bubbly Phoebe lead her down a long series of corridors, past offices to areas filled with labs. Most were occupied by automatons managing cultures, though there were some human workers present as well.

Eventually Phoebe led her into a room where two women in white hazsuits waited before a table.

“Here we are! Jessica…I mean Retyna Girl.” Phoebe corrected herself with a giggle. “I’d like you to meet Doctors Kimbal and Betty. They’ll be doing the work to turn you into our hero!”

Betty gave a warm smile, but Kimbal just frowned.

“Let’s get to it, we’re already behind and I have things to do other than marketing stunts.”

“Oh, Kim,” Betty said with a smile. “This’ll be fun. It’s our first human implantation!”

“First?” Jessica asked.

“Oh, well first full coverage. We’ve done bits before. It’s when we realized that someone with an artificial skin would be a better candidate. And you’re perfect!”

“Uh, thanks,” Jessica replied.

<I’ve faced down admirals and fleets and all sorts of crap. How come these two doctors scare the shit out of me?>

<Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on everything. I can shut down their whole operation if I have to. We out-tech these people ten to one. Speaking of which, they don’t know about me yet, and I think that we’d best keep it that way. In the Inner Stars they couldn’t tell that I wasn’t just a run-of-the-mill AI, but here they might notice.>

<OK, I’m trusting you…but if I wake up with tentacles, or mushrooms growing out of me, I’m gonna be pissed.>

“Please, lay down so we can get started. It won’t take too long,” Doctor Kimbal said, gesturing to the table. “Oh, but you’ll need to disrobe, of course.”

Jessica nodded and pulled off her shipsuit—not the purple one, no point in risking it along with her wellbeing. Once naked, she lay down on the table, and Betty pressed a hypospray against her neck. “Just something to put you under for a bit.”

<Wake me if they do anything crazy,> Jessica admonished Iris.

<Don’t worry, I’m in here too, you know.>

As consciousness slipped away, Jessica heard Phoebe say, “Oh, and do something about her blue eyes, Retyna Girl has to have purple eyes.”

Fuck.

CONFESSIONS

STELLAR DATE: 09.02.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

Jessica woke with a start, her arms stretching out, reaching for the edge of the bed. They found it, and confirmed that it was indeed a bed.

She tried to look around, but couldn’t see a thing, not even when cycling her vision.

<Shit, did they blind me?>

<No, they put gauze over your eyes after they changed them to purple. Well, they thought they changed them to purple, but I did it instead. I didn’t want them to mess up your vision, so when they injected some short-term dye, I made it stick, rather than having your nano scrub it out like it wanted to,> Iris replied.

<Can I take the gauze off? Is it safe to look? Did they…damage me?>

<Well…you’re going to have to see for yourself,> Iris replied hesitantly.

<Oh dear…>

Jessica peeled the gauze from her eyes and waited for them to adjust. It took only a moment before she could make out a darkened room lit by a purple glow.

A purple glow.

Jessica raised her right hand and let out a long sigh.

<My skin is glowing, Iris. Is that the worst of it, or is there something else I should know?>

<Nope, that’s actually the only significant side-effect. They didn’t expect it, either. From what I can discern it has to do with a reaction to the polymers your skin is made out of. I suspect I can mute it, but I don’t want to tip our hand as to the nano you have.>

<Thanks, Iris. Does the stuff work?> Jessica asked as she lifted her leg into the air, wiggling her toes and watching the light dance on the ceiling.

<Yeah, it’s amazing, to be honest. These microbes are really efficient. Your skin is like a high-output solar panel now. I’d say it has ninety-percent conversion efficiency with very low heat transference. You could actually charge your internal batteries off this without too much trouble.>

<Think they’ll let me keep it?> Jessica asked. <Contract said that it had to get removed after the shoot, but this is really cool.>

<If it’s just the glowy skin that’s getting you so excited, you can get that done without having alien microbes embedded in you.>

<Well, it’s also kinda tingly in a nice way,> Jessica said as she rubbed her thighs.

<Easy girl. It’s still five hours ‘til they said they’d come in to wake you. Why don’t you just go to sleep,> Iris suggested.

<Yeah, sleep. Like I can do something like that right now.> Jessica ran a hand down up her side, cupping her right breast. <Oh…I wonder if this is how Sera’s skin makes her feel all the time. No wonder she never changed it back.>

Iris chuckled. <And here you were complaining like a whiny child about this whole thing and now it’s turning you on.>

<Well, I still don’t want to be their Retyna Girl tomorrow, but I’ll take the skin. Trevor is going to love this.>

Iris’s avatar frowned in Jessica’s mind. <I don’t get it. You live to put yourself on display; people call you a sex doll and you laugh. But this offer comes along and you completely freak out—and that was before you even knew about the alien microbes. What gives?>

<Wow, you’re such a buzzkill,> Jessica moaned. 

<Stop changing the subject. Spill it.>

Jessica sighed and closed her eyes. <It was back when I was in the Terran Bureau of Investigation. I was still pretty raw, but I had some wins under my belt. I got sent on an undercover op to deal with a memory-thief ring—you know the people who steal memories, wipe them from the people who made them, and then sell them off?>

<I’d heard of that, yeah,> Iris replied. <Seems pretty risky, for both parties.>

<Yeah, it was. Mostly for the person who had their memories stolen. The thieves weren’t too careful, and they trashed people’s brains a lot when they did it…> Jessica drew a hand to her forehead, starting when her skin tingled in response. <Gah, that’s going to take some getting used to.>

<So what happened?> Iris sounded genuinely curious about the tale.

<Well, I found out some places where they hung out, and I bought some memories—I don’t have them anymore, but I remember feeling vile about the whole thing. We managed to return most of them to their owners, though not everyone had enough mental capacity anymore to reaccept them.

<Anyway, I managed to work my way up toward a mid-level guy. He was working his own way up the chain, and I figured I could stick with him to find the people at the top. Their tech was just too good for the putz I’d set up with to be running the show.

Iris wrapped Jessica in a warm mental embrace. <I’m sorry that happened to you. I can see how getting modded and performing for other people would bother you now.>

<Yeah,> Jessica said. <I know it’s not the same, but it kinda is, right? We’re being extorted to do it. When I was in deep, the TBI wouldn’t pull me. They wanted me to get to the top. I eventually did and I took that sucker down. I don’t remember it because after the trials, the TBI stripped those memories. One of my co-workers told me I shoved my tentacles down the throat of the woman who ran the whole thing and tore her insides out.>

<Holy shit, Jessica!> Iris exclaimed. <Though, I guess if you kept your job it must have been warranted in some fashion. Still, having gone through all that, I’m really surprised that you didn’t get the TBI to put you back the way you were before all that started.>

<Well, do you see extra eyes and tentacles?> Jessica chuckled softly in her mind. <Anyway, I had more work scheduled to get back to the way I was, but then another mission came up, and my CO needed me on it, so I went in pretty much as you know me—minus the lavender skin that I picked up back at Victoria.>

Jessica managed a weak smile, glad that most of those old memories from the TBI were gone, but something she had learned over the years was that pain could outlast memory.

<That’s cold. I can’t believe your CO did that to you.>

<Yeah, she was a heartless bitch. Passed over for promotion for so long that she just decided that she would ruin everyone beneath her. She lost her job in the end. Killed herself a few years later—dove off High Terra in a star-surfing suit and just augured herself into the Earth.>

<Wow, the story just gets better…but why did you keep yourself modded…and if I may be frank, keep fucking everything that moved?>

Jessica laughed. <It happened on that next assignment that my CO put me on. She used me because I was sexed up and broken. I was so broken…I really thought that my value existed only in fucking. I mean, it’s what had been drilled into my head for a year undercover—and then my boss used me for it too…. I figured that if I was doing crazy shit and banging everything in sight I was doing what I was supposed to. But somehow on that mission I realized what was happening to me—I mean, I always knew, but somehow I managed to rise above it.

<Here’s the thing. I liked sex. A lot. Always have—its why I got that first undercover assignment. But what I figured out is that I didn’t have to give control through sex. Instead, I realized that I could take it. Let’s just say that the pendulum swung the other way—waaaay the other way.>

Jessica chuckled at some of the memories, at the crazy things she’d done in the past, what felt like lifetimes ago.

<After that second undercover op, they put me in a lot of therapy, but even so, the TBI still had no issues with leveraging my proclivities. However, after my bitch-boss was fired, I managed to get into a unit that dealt with more serious crimes, which is how I got on the Myrrdan case.

<I won’t lie. I was still pretty broken when he dumped me on the Intrepid. I didn’t think so, but I was. Myrrdan probably knew it too. Either way, that was the best thing that ever happened to me. Myrrdan was living trash, the worst thing ever, but what he did saved me.>

<How?> Iris asked.

Jessica’s thoughts wandered for a moment, remembering those early days on the Intrepid as it drifted through the darkness between Estrella de la Muerte and The Kap. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and she stared at the roof, watching the light on the ceiling sparkle and shift as the salty droplets flowed down her luminescent skin.

 Iris said. <And you understand too, I can tell. Even though we’re being forced into this, you’re not doing it for some government agency, for an asshat CO that is using you to punish someone else for her failings. You’re doing it for your crewmates. And to get home, to see Tanis and the Intrepid again.>

Jessica nodded. 

 Iris said. <Now, why don’t you relax and go back to sleep. Morning will be here soon enough. You’ll become Retyna Girl, you’ll own it, make it yours; you’ll not become theirs. We’ll get our fuel, and our map, and we’ll get the hell out of this place and back home.>

Jessica laughed softly. <I’m going to be kicking some serious ass as Retyna Girl. They’re never going to be able to cast anyone for the role again without them looking like a pale shadow.>

<That’s the spirit,> Iris replied, sending soothing waves into Jessica’s mind as she drifted back to sleep.

A MAN NAMED MISHA

STELLAR DATE: 09.02.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

“Looks like our sort of place,” Cheeky said as she sauntered toward the bar and selected a stool. “Just enough seediness, but we’re not likely to get into a fight.”

“Pretty sure our kinda place is a lot seedier than this,” Cargo replied as he sat beside her.

Cheeky pulled at the hem of her short skirt as she hooked her heels over the stool’s bottom ring. “Maybe for you, but I tend to go a bit upscale. I prefer to hang with people who wash more than the folks you circulate amongst.”

“Yeah, but my kind of people have the goods we want to trade in to make money,” Cargo said as the bartender—a human, not servitor—approached.

“Hey, what’ll it be?”

Cheeky eyed the black-haired woman, giving her slender arms and long neck a second glance. Anyone could have a great rack, or nice ass; but getting the arms toned just right, and having a kissable neck were harder to pull off. She appreciated the little things.

“Whisky. Rocks,” Cargo said.

“Your best vodka. Top shelf,” Cheeky added. “I have some celebrating to do.”

“Oh yeah?’ the bartender asked as she turned to pull a bottle off the shelf behind her. “Whatcha celebratin’?”

“Being alive,” Cheeky replied with a smile. “Had a close brush with death, not too long ago.”

“That why you got that plastic skin?” the woman asked as she poured out Cheeky’s drink and slid it over to her.

“Yeah, gotta wait for the next regen to get my own stuff back,” Cheeky said. The statement wasn’t quite true; the Intrepid’s rather impressive nanotech was growing her new skin beneath her artificial epidermis. Which itched like all fuck, but she would grin and bear it while working the bar crowd. Nothing less attractive than a grown woman scratching herself like a monkey in heat.

 Piya noted.

<Stay out of my metaphors,> Cheeky laughed.

“Sounds harsh,” the woman said as she slid Cargo his whisky. “Tab?”

“This should cover it,” Cargo said as he placed a two-hundred credit chit on the counter.

“Was wondering when we’d get to that part of the conversation,” the woman smiled.

<She’s got a good smile, maybe I should stick around ‘til her shift ends. Though I don’t know if I’m quite up to a tousle in the sack yet.>

<Stay focused,> Piya said with a smile.

 Piya said as the bartender leaned over the counter, her face a dozen centimeters from the captain’s.

“I haven’t seen many men with skin like yours,” she said as she ran a hand through her long hair as it fell over her shoulders and pooled on the surface of the bar. “Is it true what they say?”

<Well that escalated quickly,> Cargo said.

<Roll with it, don’t lose the moment!> Cheeky said, patting Cargo on the shoulder and turning away to look out over the crowd.

<Oh hey, she just bit my cheek!> Cargo exclaimed.

<Yeah, I just dosed you with some pheromones when I touched you. If she doesn’t climb on your lap in the next minute, I’ll eat my dress.>

<Damnit, Cheeky, I was looking forward to this whiskey.>

<Cargo, you haven’t been laid in at least a year. It’s making you one grumpy SOB. Go fuck her brains out and meet me back on the ship.>

<What about intel, isn’t that what we’re here for?>

<Well yeah, haven’t you ever heard of pillowtalk?> Cheeky shook her head. <If you’re gonna be the captain of the SS Sexy, you’re going to have to up your game.>

<We are not ever calling the ship that.>

Cheeky watched out of the corner of her eye as the woman swung up over the bar and landed on Cargo’s lap. She proceeded to press her lips into his as a servitor emerged from a back door to take over.

The woman slid off Cargo and pulled him though another door around the side of the bar, and Cheeky took a sip of her vodka.

It wasn’t bad stuff, actually made from potatoes too, just like it should be.

<Sooo…who should I go pay a visit to?> she mused while surveying the tables and their assembled patrons.

“Hey, looks like you got abandoned by your friend there,” a voice came from her right.

Cheeky turned to see a slender man settle on the stool vacated by Cargo only moments earlier.

<Dude’s like a ninja! I didn’t see him at all,> Cheeky exclaimed.

 Piya replied.

<Not all of them. At least half are not even close to being ogle-worthy.> Then she gave the man next to her a winning smile. “Yeah, looks like he caught someone’s attention.”

“Clarissa’s like that. She’s more than happy to give people whatever info they want, but she likes to take her pound of flesh while she’s at it.”

“A whole pound, eh?” Cheeky asked.

“At least. I’m Misha, by the way,” the man said.

He held out his hand, and Cheeky shook it, her grip soft and light, but not limp. “I’m Cheeky.”

“Cheeky?” Misha asked. “That’s a funny name.”

Cheeky wiggled on her stool. “I came by it honestly.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed. I saw you leave your ship a few times. I gotta say, you and your crew are not what I’d expect to see aboard a ship named the Matron Tulip.”

Cheeky gave a bubbly laugh. “Yeah, we haven’t gotten the registry changed yet. But trust me, it’s gonna have a much better name. Something that starts with S, I think.”

“Dunno,” Misha said with a shake of his head. “That one woman—the purple one—seemed to be proudly wearing a tulip emblem.”

“Yeah, she lost a bet.”

Misha laughed as the servitor handed him a drink and he took a sip. “So, enough of all this small talk. What are you in the market for?”

“Market?” Cheeky asked innocently.

“Mizz Cheeky. I don’t run a stand on the dock because I like the view—mostly. I deal in info. Who’s moving what, where they’re moving it to, how long it takes. Out here a leg up on your competitor is make or break.”

“I’ll bet,” Cheeky said, her lips hidden behind the rim of her glass. “I bet breaking is a lot more common.”

Misha shrugged. “Everything tends toward entropy.”

“I’ll admit, we could use an edge—and better regional dark layer maps. The ones we have around here are way out of date. I’m the pilot aboard the Tulip, and if I slam her into some dark matter…well…I guess no one will be upset at me, because they’ll be dead.”

Misha smiled. “I can see how you’d like to avoid that. I might be able to help.”

<Finally! I was starting to wonder if I’d have to drag it out of him. For an info broker, he doesn’t seem to know when to take an opening.>

Piya laughed. <Probably why he’s also running a food stand.>

“So you have DL maps for sale?”

Misha nodded. “And the best shipping routes in the area. Which are a bit sparse, I’ll admit, but like I said, if you have an edge….”

Misha took another sip of his drink, and Cheeky wondered about this mousy-haired man. He didn’t seem that smooth, and was obviously just a one-person operation. Normally the person selling the intel wasn’t the one who gathered it. Made it a bit difficult to gather it the next time.

“So, what’s the going rate?” she asked.

“I have a DL map that will show you all the best jump routes for forty parsecs—coreward, of course. There’s nothing rimward of here but a few miners scraping some valuable ores off asteroids.”

“That may do,” Cheeky said, adding a tone of disappointment to her voice. “Gives us some options, at least. How much?”

“Twenty-thousand.”

Cheeky was glad that she hadn’t taken a sip of her vodka, or she would have spat it out all over the man.

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

Misha gave Cheeky a knowing smile. “Look, you’re not legitimate traders. Everyone knows that. It’s why RHY extorted you with those crazy scoop fees, it’s why you’re selling produce no one anywhere near here grows—which is delicious, I might add. Mary’s inspection team couldn’t stop talking about how weird your engine compartment looks. If your ship didn’t have a legitimate registry you would have been kicked off the station by now.”

<OK, so maybe he’s a bit better than I gave him credit for,> Cheeky admitted to Piya.

<Seems like that might be the case.>

Even so, Cheeky did not alter her expression of disbelief and stared Misha down.

He gave in first. “OK, OK. I’ll tell you what, since I like you guys, and your man is taking his time with Clarissa, I’ll give you a deal. Fifteen thousand. If you give me a ride to your next stop.”

Movement near the door caught Misha’s eye and he slipped off the stool toward the back of the bar. “I’ll come by your ship tomorrow, thirteen hundred hours station time. I’ll have the maps.”

Cheeky looked in the mirror behind the bar and saw two tall women walk by the windows outside, and pass through the doorway a moment later.

One of the women was bald with writhing tattoos covering her head, while the other had long white hair that fell down her back in a single, loose braid.

Both were wearing matte black light combat armor, and though they were only carrying pulse pistols—per station law—Cheeky suspected that a few more weapons would be secreted away in their persons.

<We don’t want that type of company,> Piya said.

Cheeky couldn’t agree more, and rose from her stool, threading the tables in a circuitous route to reach the door without passing the newcomers, but Baldy-Tats spotted her and stepped into her path.

“Where you going, little girl?”

Cheeky saw that Whitey-Braids had taken another route moving around behind her.

“For a stroll on the sweep,” Cheeky said. “Getting a bit crowded in here.”

“But you didn’t finish your drink,” Baldy-Tats said, her tattoos changing from black to red as she spoke. “Why don’t you come back to the bar and sit with me for a bit?”

Baldy-Tats’ tone of voice made it clear that the statement was not a question. Cheeky glanced at the other patrons, and saw that no one so much as looked at the two women, though the volume of conversation had decreased noticeably.

“Umm…sure,” Cheeky agreed, giving Baldy-Tats a warm smile. She returned to her seat and grabbed her drink, downing most of it in a single gulp.

The two women sat on either side of her, and Cheeky wondered if the stools would support their large frames and armor. They held, but groaned loudly as the two women settled into place.

Baldy-Tats spoke again. “I’m Mandy, this is Jenn.”

Jenn didn’t speak, but blew Cheeky a kiss.

“Mind if I call you Baldy-Tats and Whitey-Braid?” Cheeky asked. “It’s what I’ve been thinking to myself as you came in, and I really think they suit you better than Mandy and Jenn.”

“Uh, yeah,” Baldy-Tats said. “We’d mind a lot.”

“Huh, too bad,” Cheeky replied.

“Look, we saw that you were talking to a friend of ours,” Baldy-Tats continued. “We were hoping to have a chat with him, but imagine our surprise when he ducked out. You wouldn’t happen to know where he was off to, would you?”

“Uhhh…maybe headed back to his stand? He runs a food stand down the sweep a ways.”

Whitey-Braid smiled and pulled her thick braid over her shoulder, fingers playing with the tuft of hair at the end. “He’s our friend, of course we know that.”

“What were the two of you talking about?” Badly-tats asked. “Hey, wait, you’re from that ship that showed up earlier, aren’t you, the Old Flower, right?”

“Matron Tulip,” Cheeky corrected with a sigh.

“Nothing matronly about you, that’s for sure,” Whitey-Braid said with a predatory grin.

“So, what were you talking about,” Baldy-Tats asked again.

Cheeky chuckled and released a dose of pheromones. “He was trying to convince me that if I let him sample my wares, he’d give me a discount on his and supply us for the first leg of our next trip.”

Baldy-Tats barked a laugh, and looked over at Whitey-Braid. “Sounds like Misha. Guy doesn’t catch much tail around here.”

“Why you so eager to talk to him?” Cheeky asked.

“Oh, we just want to check up on a little business venture,” Baldy-Tats said.

“But I think we could put that on hold for a bit and consider another sort of venture,” Whitey-Braid said as she reached out and stroked Cheeky’s thigh. “I mean…you’re the ship’s fuck puppet, right? Keep things fun on the long jumps. I think Mandy and I should make sure you’re up to the task.”

Cheeky laughed. “You’d be surprised what happens on the Tulip. Trust me.”

Baldy-Tats pressed up behind Cheeky and purred into her ear. “Oh, we don’t have to trust you, we’d like to find out for ourselves.”

 Piya said.

 Piya mused.

<Yeah, that would not be a big surprise. Ideas?> Cheeky asked.

<Well, try not to leave the bar with them, that’s a good start.>

“Let’s go to our ship,” Baldy-Tats said as she reached around Cheeky’s shoulders to her chest, pinning her right arm.

“Well, you just got me back here to my Vodka, mind if I finish it?”

<Cargo, mayday, I need an assist!>

<You have got to be kidding me!> Cargo retorted. <You dose me to get this girl to jump my bones—which she’s really good at, I might add—and then you want me to stop?>

<Well, I don’t want you to stop so much as I don’t want to get turned into the meat in a bitch sandwich.>

“You listening, Tulip Girl?” Baldy-Tats asked as she groped Cheeky’s breasts.

“It’s Cheeky,” she replied.

“She’s being more than just a bit cheeky,” Whitey-Braid chuckled as she picked up Cheeky’s glass and downed the last of the vodka.

“No, Cheeky’s my name. I’m Cheeky, not Tulip Girl.”

Baldy-Tats guffawed, her armor digging into Cheeky’s back. “Oh, that’s priceless. You really are the sex toy on that ship, aren’t you?”

“Well, we were talking about changing its name to the SS Fuck.” Cheeky smiled.

“Step back, and no, we are not naming the ship that,” a voice said from behind the bar.

Cheek’s eyes darted to her right, catching the welcome sight of Cargo rising from behind the bar with a handgun held high and near his face—the captain’s trademark close-quarters center axis position. Both of his eyes were wide open and locked on Baldy-Tats.

The woman laughed, her tattoos shifting to black once more as she rapped a fist on her head. “You think that toy scares me? This skull’s not stock anymore.”

Cargo grinned wickedly. “Looks like a pulse pistol, doesn’t it? Fools the guards on the sweep out there well enough too. I have nine programmable ballistic rounds in here. Right now, they’re set to hollow-point, and you’ll note that I’m aimed at your neck. I bet that fancy noggin of yours still needs blood to get up in it, right?”

“Put it down, pal” Whitey-Braid hissed.

Cheeky looked down to see Whitey-Braid holding a pistol on her, aimed low, up under her ribs. A focused pulse blast there could hit her heart and rip it apart.

“Jenn, how many times have I told you two fuck-heads that you’re not welcome in here,” Clarissa said from the door to the back room through which she and Cargo had disappeared. She held a kinetic rifle. Probably illegal on station, but apparently necessary at times.

“Clarissa!” Baldy-Tats chuckled. “Didn’t know you were in today. Keeping the patrons busy, I see.”

Cheeky realized that Cargo wasn’t wearing a shirt—and seemed to have dinosaur underwear.

“Dino day?” she asked.

“Shut up, Cheeky,” Cargo grumbled.

“Time to go, bitches,” Clarissa said.

Whitey-Braid looked up at Baldy-Tats, and Cheeky suspected they were discussing options over the link.

“Nope!” Baldy-Tats shouted as she fell backward, her arm still wrapped around Cheeky, pulling them both to the ground as a shot rang out.

It sounded like Cargo’s weapon, and Cheeky couldn’t believe that he would fire with her that close.

As they fell to the ground, Cheeky twisted and landed facing Baldy-Tats. Above them, Clarissa’s kinetic rifle boomed and Whitey-Braids—at least Cheeky suspected it was Whitey-Braids—screamed.

Baldy-Tats was bringing her pistol up to fire into Cheeky’s abdomen, but this wasn’t Cheeky’s first bar fight, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be her last. She rose up and twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding Baldy-Tats’s shot, while rising up and drawing both arms back.

She swung them down, while letting her body fall, adding to the force of the strike. The fingers on her right hand were folded at the first knuckle and that hand struck Baldy-Tats’s throat.

The fingers on her left arm were extended, long nails flashing as they drove into the bald woman’s right eye.

Baldy-Tats gave a gargled shriek, and Cheeky pulled her right arm back, driving her knuckles into Baldy-Tats’s throat three more times until a strong hand caught Cheeky’s wrist and pulled her up off the other woman.

“Stop!” Cargo shouted.

Cheeky looked down and saw Baldy-Tats, one artificial eye dangling free on her cheek, and both hands clawing at her crushed throat, desperate for air.

Then a sucking gasp came from the woman, and Cheeky realized that Baldy-Tats’s armor must have punctured her lungs, directly feeding them air.

Her one eye was filled with a mixture of rage and awe, and she reached up to cup her other eye while struggling to her feet.

Cheeky turned to see Whitey-Braid bent over a chair, her armor cracked across the chest and blood seeping through.

“Last chance,” Clarissa spat out. “Now go!”

Baldy-Tats grabbed Whitey-Briad under the arms and the women slowly limped out of the bar—which contained far fewer patrons than it had a minute earlier.

“And only come back if you want to fucking die!” Clarissa called out before turning to Cargo and Cheeky. “Aren’t you two just a ton of fun. Station security will be here in five. Get your clothes and get out the back.”

She stepped toward Cargo, wrapped an arm around him—at which point Cheeky realized that Clarissa was naked—and planted a kiss on his lips.

“Come back some time. We can do that again for free. Now give me your pistol. I don’t have video in here, but they’ll have audio of it firing, and I’ll need to say that it’s mine.”

“You going to be OK with the cops?” Cargo asked.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I have a license for heavier weapons in here. Station is cool with it because it means they don’t have to patrol as much.”

Cargo nodded and gave Clarissa a final longing look before he turned and gestured for Cheeky to follow him.

“You going to be OK?” Cheeky asked Clarissa. “Will they come back for you?”

Clarissa shook her head. “Those two have just worn out their welcome on Hermes Station. RHY has cleaned this place up a lot lately—they don’t tolerate that sort of shit anymore.”

“Good for something at least, then,” Cheeky said as she followed Cargo to the rear door.

“Maybe,” Clarissa replied with a grunt.

“Well, thanks anyway,” Cheeky said, stepping into the back room—a storeroom with a cot against one wall.

“Cargo…seriously. Dino shorts. We have to talk about this.”

RETYNA GIRL

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

After waking and having a light breakfast, Jessica was led down a series of corridors to a large room filled with various props and a set of a-grav units—probably to simulate her flying.

Phoebe was waiting with a steaming cup of coffee, and let out a delighted gasp when she saw Jessica.

“Oh wow! They said you glowed, but I thought it would just be a little bit—shit, you look amazing. How does it feel to be Retyna Girl?”

<Here goes,> Jessica said to Iris.

<You got this,> Iris replied, sending supportive feelings into Jessica’s mind.

“Feel to be Retyna Girl?” Jessica asked. “I am Retyna Girl.”

Phoebe’s smile grew into a broad grin. “Now that’s what I want to hear. Let’s get started.”

The next few hours were spent with Jessica taking thousands of still images in a variety of outfits, reciting lines, and doing action stunts, flying about, and providing full range motion capture—in case they decided to make sims at some point.

Part way through the day, Trevor arrived and sat along one side of the room—where the food and beverages were arrayed—and watched with admiring eyes. He seemed to especially like the skimpy outfits they had put her in—the better to show off her glowing skin.

After her confession to Iris the night before, and her acceptance that this was a necessary sacrifice for her crew—her family—she allowed herself to fully slip into the character of Retyna Girl, enjoying the release of being someone else.

“With Retyna Girl, light is never the enemy!” she cried out with a glowing fist thrust in the air, finally not giggling after the fifth try.

<Nice to do something that’s not super-serious-life-or-death for once, isn’t it?> Iris asked part-way through the day.

<It really is,> Jessica replied, smiling for the sensory capture devices.

As the day drew to a close, and the retakes had been completed, Jessica slipped away from the capture devices and approached Trevor.

“Looks like I’m done,” she said as they embraced.

“Too bad.” Trevor grinned. “I think I could watch you do that stuff all day—of course I recorded what I was here for, so I can sample your best lines as needed.”

Jessica laughed. “Yeah, I kinda suspected that would happen.”

“You seem far more OK with all this today than I thought—glowing skin notwithstanding.”

“I had a really good heart-to-heart with Iris last night…about some stuff that happened a long time ago. Stuff I’m finally ready to share with you too.”

Trevor placed his hands on either side of her face and leaned into a kiss.

“Glad to hear it, love,” he said when they finally separated. “Here. I brought some clothes for you, just in case.”

“Thanks!” Jessica said. “I like this dress, but these heels are starting to kill my feet.”

Trevor glanced down at her feet and laughed. “Well, I didn’t bring any shoes, so you might be in those for a bit longer.”

“Men.” Jessica shook her head and grabbed the duffle from his hands. She pulled the heels off and walked barefoot to the changing partition, knowing with absolute certainty that Trevor was watching her ass in the short, slinky dress she wore.

Once behind the partition, she slipped off the dress and opened the duffle. Within was her favorite purple shipsuit, and the unmistakable smell of new leather.

She reached in and pulled out the leather jacket, holding it up and examining the alterations. It looked perfect.

Jessica dressed quickly, and selected a lower pair of heels that she’d worn earlier in the day. She grabbed the empty duffle, and paused, eyeing the clothing from her multiple wardrobe changes during the shoot. With a quick glance to ensure no one was looking, she grabbed a few items—including the dress she had just been wearing and tossed them in the duffle.

Once her act of larceny was complete, she walked back out from behind the partition to be greeted by Trevor’s wide smile.

She ran a hand down the jacket and returned the smile. <It fits perfectly! Thanks for bringing it!>

<A courier brought it just as I was leaving the ship. I figured you’d want to try it on,> Trevor replied.

<Well yeah,> Jessica laughed. <Hey, Phoebe’s back, I’m going to go ask when they’re going to undo my glowyiness—though I kinda wish they didn’t have to. I admit knowing it is coming from bacteria in my skin is a bit disconcerting.>

<Bah, everyone’s skin has bacteria in it. Though I’ll admit, it’s a good look on you. Either way Jess, you’ll always be my Retyna Girl—I’ll never fear the light!>

<You’re going to be getting a lot of Retyna Girl lines tossed at you in the near future,> Iris laughed.

<Better believe it,> Jessica replied to Trevor with a wink.

She approached Phoebe, who was reviewing some of the capture with another woman.

“This was a lot of fun, Phoebe. I trust everything is in order now for our ship to scoop fuel?” Jessica asked.

Phoebe looked up and smiled brightly. “Just about, yup!”

“Right. I assume you first have to do the surgery to de-Retyna me?” Jessica asked.

Phoebe’s diminutive features pinched as her brow furrowed. “Um, no, you’re coming back to Bennia with me. You’re Retyna Girl now.”

Jessica took a step back, her eyes narrowing.

“We have a deal. One shoot, then you undo this, and we go our separate ways.”

“Well yes, but there’s a clause in the contract to extend your term indefinitely if everything goes well—which it did! You were great, Jessica. You’re set for life now! A real superhero!”

Phoebe’s face was glowing with excitement—either that or it was reflecting the light that seemed to be coming off Jessica more brightly as anger flooded her.

“We removed that clause. I specifically struck every clause that had to do with reappearances, reprisals, and anything of the like.”

“Huh.” Phoebe put a finger in her mouth. “I recall a discussion about that, but the version we have—one with your tokens on it—has all those clauses still in place and we’re exercising them.” The small woman’s eyes narrowed as she reached up and put a hand on Jessica’s cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you, Retyna Girl. Oh! By the way, I’ve started proceedings to have your name legally changed to that too! It’s really awesome!”

Jessica couldn’t tell if Phoebe thought that it was awesome, if she was putting on a show, or if maybe the diminutive woman was crazy.

<Iris…>

<WHAT!?>

<Let me see what I can do…maybe I can hack in here and alter their records, put the right contract in place.>

<Stall her.>

Jessica carefully schooled her expression—as much as she could. “Phoebe, I’m sure that Bennia is a great place, and being Retyna Girl would be a blast, but I have a crew, a family. I can’t just leave them.”

“You don’t understand,” Phoebe said, a look of worry clouding her face. “RHY Dynamics really wants Retyna to succeed. There’s a lot of pressure, there are competing interests. You give us an edge. You’re amazing. You’re going to start a craze. We’re going to drag Orion space into the future. Enough of this slow expansion, salt-of-the-earth stuff. RHY has the right people in the government to give us an edge. But we have to execute perfectly, and you’re perfect—I’m not giving you up.”

<This is insane, but insightful,> Jessica said to Iris before responding aloud to Phoebe in an acidic tone. “What’s stopping me from just walking out of here?”

“Well, there’s all the guards—we are deep within the RHY sector of the station.” Phoebe winked at Jessica. “You’re not really a superhero. You know that, right?”

<Oh shit, I just found something when I was breaching their network to swap contracts. Jessica, these people are serious baddies,> Iris interrupted suddenly. <Play along for a minute.>

Jessica sent an affirmative response to Iris and let her face fall. “No…so what now?”

Phoebe waved a hand in Trevor’s direction. “Why don’t you go say goodbye to your man-mountain over there and tell him to go get your things from your ship.”

Jessica glanced at Trevor, and sighed. “Fine, but I’m getting a lawyer to undo this crazy contract.”

Phoebe raised an eyebrow. “You did so well today, Retyna Girl. Don’t make me do things you won’t like to ensure your good behavior. I have a lot of shit to deal with—you’re supposed to be a solution, not a problem.”

Jessica decided that she’d pushed Phoebe far enough and let out an angry breath before turning and walking to Trevor.

<You don’t look happy,> he said as she approached.

<Well, for starters, it looks like I’m a wholly owned subsidiary of RHY Dynamics,> Jessica sighed. <Their contract gives me to them, mind, body, and soul for as long as they want it!>

<Why’d you sign something like that?!> Trevor asked.

<Trevor! Seriously, I didn’t. It’s corporate BS.>

<Jessica, Trevor,> Iris said. <None of that is important. These people are developing a serious bioweapon down on that planet for the OFA government.>

<Seriously? Is it to use against the Transcend?> Trevor asked.

<How should I know? They don’t exactly have their battle plans here,> Iris replied.

Jessica glanced back at Phoebe, who was still reviewing the results of the shoot. It was hard to believe that bubbly little waif was involved in something like this—although she may not know anything about it.

<So what are we going to do?> Jessica asked. <We can’t just let them develop this stuff—or take me off to Bennia for that matter.>

<Wait, take you where?> Trevor asked.

<Bennia. I guess it’s where RHY is headquartered.>

<Well, ready to walk out of here and stop whatever nefarious plan these RHY guys have?> Trevor asked.

<Aren’t you worried at all?> Jessica asked.

<About what? We just stood up against an entire TSF fleet and lived to tell the tale. What can these duffasses do to us?>

<It’s worth noting that the TFS fleet was commanded by Finaeus’s daughter, who really didn’t want to kill us. These people are very unlikely to have familial connections,> Iris countered.

 Jessica said as she rolled her shoulders and raised each arm, stretching them out in preparation for the fight to come. <So, shoot our way out of here and then stop their research, right?>

<Then we’d better get some guns to do all that shooting,> Trevor said as he rose from his seat and grabbed a sausage roll from the food table.

DEPARTING

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

<Misha,> Cheeky called the data dealer once more over the Link. <Misha, where are you—you’re five hours late!>

She had been reaching out to him every fifteen minutes since he’d missed their prearranged meeting time at thirteen hundred hours. It was becoming more and more likely that Baldy—rather, Mandy and Jenn had caught up with him before they’d been booted off the station earlier in the day.

That had been fun to watch. Heavily armed station security had shown up at a local warehouse where the pair had been conducting some business—legitimate from the reports—and frog-marched the two women to their ship.

The pair’s ship was only fifteen berths spinward on the docking ring and from Sabrina’s external cameras, they’d had a great view of a heavy tug latching on to Mandy and Jenn’s ship—the Endless Spark—and hauling it off into space.

It had felt like sweet, sweet victory. Until Misha hadn’t shown up.

“Any luck?” Cargo asked.

Cheeky shook her head. “I’ve got nothing. If he’s on station, then he’s disabled his Link.”

“Well, I did manage to get some data on one good jump coreward. It’s fifteen light years and takes us to a system where there’s a few more people. Might be able to try our luck there.”

Finaeus spoke up from the rear of the bridge. “It’s not that hard to blind-jump across space—especially if you are going into well-travelled systems. The jump points out of this system, all have their available destinations broadcast on the beacons. We just jump toward the one that looks best.”

“Except we don’t know where to come out,” Cheeky said. “Vector is one thing, but where do you drop from the DL?”

“Easy. You do it early.” Finaeus shrugged. “Then you wait for another ship to pop out ahead, and then go back into FTL and hop to where they emerged.”

Cargo shook his head slowly. “Yeah, that’s possible. But it will add weeks to every single jump. I’m not exactly keen on the idea.”

“True.” Finaeus nodded. “It would add considerably to our travel time.”

“Really, Cargo? Keen?” Cheeky asked.

<Just got an encrypted message from Jessica,> Sabrina interrupted. <It’s a doozy. Seems like Retyna pulled a switcheroo on her and she’s now the property of RHY Dynamics. Oh, and they’re also making a weaponized microbe capable of destroying the biospheres of enemy planets for the Orion government.>

“Oh? Is that all?” Cargo asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “The more we travel to different stars, the more they’re all the same.”

“Well, I doubt you’ve encountered something like this before,” Finaeus said, shaking his head. “I gotta say though, I’m surprised. Planet-killing biowarfare is really not Praetor Kirkland’s MO.”

“Well, it’s someone’s MO,” Cheeky replied.

“Looks like Jessica wants to destroy their research labs on the station,” Cargo said. “And Iris has identified their main facility on the planet below. She wants to take it out too and then get the heck out of dodge.”

<If she blows up RHY’s labs on the spire, she stands zero chance of getting back through the station to our berth. You saw the heavies station security has.> Hank said. <We need to meet her somewhere in the middle.>

“Trevor’s with her, right?” Cheeky asked. “If someone could run them some weapons…”

“Run through the station with armfuls of heavy weapons?” Finaeus asked. “That’s a bit on the nuts side. You’d be in a fight with station security in no time.”

<RHY has a dock up there on the spire,> Sabrina offered. <We can meet them at it.>

<Going to have to time it right,> Hank replied. <We can’t just undock and float around waiting for them. Stations aren’t usually keen on that.>

“You too, Hank? Keen?” Cheeky laughed.

<Damnit, Cargo, now look what you’ve done to me,> Hank groused.

“You’re welcome, Hank,” Cargo said with a grin. “Unless someone has a better plan, that’s what we’re going with.”

“OK. I’ll get us in the departure queue,” Cheeky said. “That’s gonna determine our timing more than anything.”

BREAKOUT

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

<Sabrina got the message,> Iris reported. <There’s a dock up here on the spire that they want us to get to. They’re in the docking queue now. It’ll be forty-five minutes before they can pick us up.>

<A lot can happen in forty-five minutes,> Trevor replied. <The labs are only ten minutes from here, tops.>

<Dock’s probably another fifteen from what I’ve seen of the layout up here.> Jessica added. <Give or take ten minutes to blow the lab and we’re sitting on an extra twenty minutes.>

<A lot can happen in twenty minutes.> Trevor said.

<You’re recycling your lines,> Jessica sighed while glancing over at Phoebe who was involved in an animated conversation with one of her flunkies. Jessica was disliking that bubbly little woman more by the minute. <You know…this would work a lot better with a hostage.>

<And what about the guards?> Iris asked. <Since Phoebe made her little revelation to you, a pair has shown up at every exit.>

<Easy,> Jessica said with a smile. 

Trevor was still picking through the food on the services table while Jessica walked toward the nearest exit, not slowing as she approached a lightly-armored man and woman standing on either side of the door.

When one, the woman, stepped in front of her, Jessica stopped short, a look of surprise on her face.

“Excuuuse me?” She gave the woman her best entitled whine. “Out of my way.”

<Wow, that does not suit you—well, it does, but almost too well. Never do it again,> Iris said.

<Too late, I’m in character now.>

“Sorry, we’re under orders to keep you here,” the woman—Kelly according to the name on her armor—replied.

“Do you see a can in here?” Jessica said in her best nasally voice, one that annoyed even her. “I really gotta peeeeee.”

She watched Kelly look at Phoebe, and then her eyes darted to the right, the woman’s Link-tell.

Jessica turned and saw Phoebe nod slowly. She smiled brightly in thanks and turned back to the guard.

<You’re overselling it,> Iris said.

<Just be careful. Both our asses are on the line.>

<Iris, this ass here is all mine.>

<Always have to ruin the metaphor.>

“Follow me,” Kelly said, and turned down the hall. Jessica fell in behind her, with the other guard trailing after.

The restrooms weren’t far, and when the guards came in with her, Jessica laughed. “Curious to see if my piss glows too?”

“A bit.” The man laughed as he walked through the entrance. “Is it purple, too?”

The woman elbowed him. “Shut up, Rand.”

With a casual stealth few would expect from a man his size, Trevor slipped into the rest room and grabbed Rand by the head, lifting him bodily.

“Yeah, Rand, shut up. That’s my lady you’re talking about there.”

Trevor threw the guard into the row of stalls while Jessica took advantage of the distraction to deliver a strike to the base of Kelly’s skull. She cried out and spun to face Jessica. “Fucking bitch!”

“Both of those things are often true,” Jessica said with a grin that disappeared as Kelly drew her pulse pistol and fired.

Jessica dove out of the way, only taking a small amount of force from the edge of the pulse wave.

Kelly turned to Trevor and fired a shot at him, which he shrugged off. He rushed the guard and drove a massive fist down on her head, then sunk another into Kelly’s stomach.

She fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes and Trevor bent over her. “Shit, I think I broke her neck.”

“I still read a heartbeat,” Jessica said as she picked up the pulse pistol and waited for Iris to disable its bio-lock.

<Safe,> Iris announced as Rand began to disentangle himself from the wreckage of the stalls.

“Hey Rand, you guys should get your bosses to spring for better armor,” Jessica said as she approached. “Or at least full helmets.”

The man’s eyes widened with fear as Jessica fired a pulse blast into his face.

“These two are going to be looking for a new job tomorrow.” Trevor chuckled. “Well, maybe not tomorrow.”

Jessica eyed the guards’ armor. “No way either of us can fit into that. We’ll just have to walk to the labs like we belong here and hope no one stops to question Retyna Girl and her entourage.”

“Entourage of one, eh?” Trevor chuckled. “You’re gonna have to work on your fan base.”

“You know,” Jessica said as she cracked the door open and peered out into the hall while Trevor stuffed the guard’s rifles into the duffel, “if it wasn’t for this whole pending war between Orion and the Transcend, I could maybe see myself getting into acting. It was kinda fun.”

“Might need to figure out how to undo the glowyness—which would honestly make me kinda sad,” Trevor said as they stepped out into the hall. “Probably not a lot of roles calling for glowing purple women.”

<Oh, I know how to turn it off now,> Iris said. <The microbes bleed off energy if it’s not being consumed. I’ve been adding a new latticework in your skin to draw the charge off evenly. Once it’s done, I can use the energy more efficiently, and that will diminish the glow.>

“Good, because I’m starting to feel like a fucking lightbulb,” Jessica said.

“And never was there a sexier light bulb,” Trevor commented.

Jessica laughed. “That’s a weak one, Trevor. Light bulbs aren’t known to be sexy to begin with.”

“Hey, they can’t all be winners.”

The Retyna Girl shoot had taken them toward the end of the station’s second shift and they passed only a few RHY employees as they walked through the corridors.

Those they did pass gave her appreciative looks, and not a few open-mouthed stares. Almost all of them kept to the far side of the corridor as they passed.

<In the Inner Stars glowing people aren’t that uncommon,> Jessica said. <Heck, Sirius had a whole cult culture based around glowing.>

<Yeah, but all these people know why you’re glowing,> Trevor chuckled. <And it seems like not all of them think it’s a good thing.>

 Jessica replied.

<Regarding your new microbial friends…I think I can weaponize them,> Iris mused.

<Oh yeah?> Jessica asked. <Not a bioweapon, though, right? That would be gross.>

<No, not like that at all. Once I have the conductive latticework in your skin, I could direct the charge anywhere, not just into your SC Batts. It would probably be easiest to run larger conductors to your hands. Then you could electrocute people by touching them,> Iris said.

<I’ve seen people with that type of mod before,> Jessica said as she sent a passel of nanoprobes ahead to scout around the next intersection. <But it usually kills their batts fast. How will these microbes have the charge to do any serious damage?>

<That’s the thing,> Iris said with a smile. <The insulating properties of the polymers in your skin have turned each bacterial colony into amazing little batteries. They hold a wallop of a charge, maybe even as much as one joule per colony.>

<Microbes, Iris, not bacteria. I know it’s the same thing, but the thought of bacterial colonies in my skin is somewhat disconcerting,> Jessica said, cringing.

<Jessica, dear, you’re an organic. Bacteria outnumber cells in your body ten to one. You’re like one big petri dish.>

<Yeah, I know, but those bacteria aren’t alien. So, how many colonies are there?>

<About a million, give or take a bit,> Iris replied.

<Holy shit, that’s a million joules of energy!> Trevor exclaimed. <Sounds like Retyna Girl just got a new super power.>

<Well, that’s a full discharge,> Iris cautioned. <The cool thing is that because the power is stored chemically until drawn on, you don’t look like a giant ball of EM energy walking around—well, you do glow on pretty much every spectrum, but it belies how much energy you actually have.>

<How long does it take to recharge?> Jessica asked, looking down at her glowing hand.

<Not sure. Might be as long as an hour if you fully discharge.>

 Jessica said.

Trevor chuckled. <Well I’m a little turned on by it. You just get more bad-ass by the day.>

<Seriously?>

<Oh c’mon, Jess, you’re a sexy, glowing, lightning-charged superhero woman. If you could actually fly, I’d probably take you right here.>

Jessica laughed aloud. <Easy now, big guy.>

<Jess does have wide enough hips that I bet we could mount a-grav systems in them. Might alter your range of motion though,> Iris mused. <Never mind with your waist, there’s nowhere to put the extra SC Batts.>

<Can we focus on the mission?> Jessica asked. <You know the one where we have to stop the evil corporation from creating a biological super weapon that will wipe out all life in the galaxy if it runs rampant?>

 Trevor chuckled.

Jessica punched him in the arm. An action that probably hurt her more than him. <You’re incorrigible.>

Trevor rubbed his arm, giving her a hurt look. Jessica shook her head in response, gestured at her eyes with two fingers, and then pointed down the hall.

<Because that’s not inconspicuous,> Iris said.

Jessica recognized the area they were walking through. They’d been here the night before. She and Trevor were approaching the labs where she’d seen the automatons managing cultures. If she had to guess the one area in the facility where the dangerous stuff would be handled, Jessica would put her money on the labs where no humans ventured.

However, entering labs where only robots worked was not something on her bucket list, and Jessica kept walking, heading toward the areas where human technicians worked.

<Ahead. The one on the left,> Iris interrupted. <Last night I saw some tanks in the back when someone opened the door as we passed. I don’t recognize all their symbols here yet, but I think I spotted the chemical formula for methane.>

Jessica replied with a mental nod and approached the door. She tugged gently, but it was locked. She casually leaned against the wall, and placed her hand on the access panel, feeling the tingle of nano passing through her skin. It felt different, more concentrated, and she realized that Iris must be routing it around the microbe colonies.

<Amateur hour, here,> Iris commented. <Though probably sufficient to guard against the level of tech we’ve seen so far on station.>

<Plus, we’re inside their perimeter,> Trevor added. <Though I suppose that’s sloppy too.>

<OK, go,> Iris said.

Jessica drew the pulse pistol she had taken from Kelly in the restroom and kicked open the door. There were seven people working in the room, and she opened fire on the three to her right, while Trevor hit the targets on the left.

It was nice working with someone for so long. After a while the tactics just came naturally, with no need to discuss who was covering what angle.

Jessica rushed around a table, and checked over the prone figures.

“Clear,” she announced.

Trevor fired another shot at a man on the floor. “All set here.”

“So,” Jessica said. “They apparently don’t have cameras in bathrooms, but they probably do in here. I bet we have thirty seconds.”

<Well, those tanks are indeed filled with methane, and there are some lovely oxygen tanks over there too,> Iris said with a mental smile. <Let’s get to work.>

LATE ARRIVAL

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

Nance was securing a load in one of the starboard holds, when Cargo called down.

<Nance, Cheeky got us bumped in the queue. We’re t-minus five to pull out from the station.>

<What? No! I’m not ready down here. I just got this last shipment situated, but it’s not secured yet. Stars, where’s Trevor when you need him?>

<What took so long?> Cargo asked.

<Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that I took a batch of that Retyna stuff—like a crazy person, I might add—and I had to shift half my biomass around to get an isolated tank to put it in. Took all morning just to do that.>

Nance gestured to the cargo-bot hovering nearby to hold down the security net on the far side of a stack of crates while she locked her corner into the anchors.

<I’m sending Finaeus down to help,> Cargo replied

Great, I’m sure he’ll be waaaay better than the cargo-bot, Nance thought to herself before responding, <Kay, thanks.>

Nance had hooked on two more corners of the safety net when Sabrina called out on the shipnet.

<There’s a guy at the airlock. He’s dancing around like he has to pee, demanding to see Cheeky.>

<Oh!> Cheeky exclaimed. <That’s Misha!>

<Better late than never,> Cargo replied. <Nance, go get him in. Finaeus can secure the cargo.>

<Yeah, sure, send the old man to do the manual labor,> Finaeus groused.

<Are we really gonna take him with us?> Nance asked.

<It was a part of his deal. Based on how scared he looks, I bet he’s running from more people than just Mandy and Jenn,> Cargo replied. <Let him in and make sure he’s got the maps, Nance.>

<Fine,> Nance replied, and told the cargo bot to stay before running out of the hold.

She passed Finaeus amidships and called out as she passed. “Secure the last three stacks, then the bot, and sweep the other holds for anything unsecured.”

“Sure thing, Mom,” Finaeus called over his shoulder.

<Just when he was starting to grow on me,> Nance said privately to Erin.

<He’s OK, just old and eccentric. Just think how weird you’ll be when your neural pathways are several thousand years old.>

<Erin! That’s not nice at all!>

<Sorry, I thought it was funny. AI humor often doesn’t translate well. Most of the words we have for organics don’t have good analogies.>

Nance laughed aloud. <I’ll bet they don’t.>

She reached the airlock, and paused to watch as the station-side lock slid open on the holodisplay above the main bay’s doors. Misha rushed in and pressed himself against Sabrina’s outer lock as pulse blasts rippled through the air out on the sweep.

With a wave of her hand, she triggered the main bay’s lock to open and Misha fell in. As the door closed once more, a pulse blast slipped through and clipped Misha in the shoulder.

“Shit,” Nance muttered and signaled the station’s portal to close and save Sabrina from taking any more fire.

She sent a command for the station’s lock to close, but the command was rejected. The station-side door remained wide open.

Several figures in mismatched armor appeared on the feeds, four continued to fire pulse blasts, while a fifth set down a case and began pulling out the components for a railgun.

<We’re taking pulse weapon fire,> she announced over the shipnet. <Which is about to get a lot worse. So much for station security.>

<Noticed that,> Cargo replied. <Wait! Is that a railgun?!>

<Yeah, and the station side lock isn’t closing. We need to get out of here, but if we pull off we’ll decompress the dock.>

<They must have ES shields,> Cheeky said. <I’m sure it will be fine.>

<Except that Hermes Station won’t take it as fine and our chances of making it to the spire without coming under fire will be zero,> Erin said.

 Nance said. 

<You’ve been getting good at breaking encryption,> Erin said. <Not as good as Iris, yet, but I’m really impressed.>

<Great,> Nance replied as she sent a flood of packets at the station’s control system, looking for a vulnerable port. <Can you deal with that Misha guy? He seems to be freaking out in the airlock. Oh, and make him put on one of the hazsuits. Who knows what’s crawling all over him.>

<You got it,> Erin replied with a mental smile.

As she worked, Nance glanced at the video feed on her HUD to see Misha reluctantly stripping and allowing the airlock to run its sanitizing cycle.

<Hah, look at that, they did leave a port open,> Nance said. <Of course, I can’t follow their architecture…it’s like a foreign language.>

She reached up to run a hand through her hair and hit the helmet of her hazsuit. Why was she wearing this stupid thing anyway? The nano she had received on the Intrepid offered more protection than any suit.

Old habits die hard, I guess.

She rolled her head, stretching out a kink, and saw that the man with the railgun was nearly done assembling it. And now another appeared to be holding a detpack.

<Any ideas on this architecture? Erin?>

 Erin said. <Send it this packet and it’ll think it’s exposed to vacuum and it will shut. I hope.>

The first few rounds from the railgun hit Sabrina’s outer airlock. The ablative plating chipped and dented, but managed to hold.

<Thanks,> Nance said and sent the packet through the opened port.

The station-side airlock flashed a warning light, and a decompression announcement passed over the station’s general net a moment before the doors slammed shut, narrowly avoiding the man with the detpack.

<Holy shit, that was close,> Nance said with a gasp.

<Uh…still is. He dropped the detpack. It’s sitting on the deck between us and the station,> Erin replied.

<You hear that up there?> Nance called to the bridge. <We gotta go, now!>

As she spoke, the inner lock opened, and Misha rushed in, hazsuit on, though the seal on his helmet wasn’t aligned properly.

“Shit, you guys gotta go, those asshats have a ship and they’re mad enough to shoot!” he yelled as he ran toward Nance who stepped back.

“Seal your helmet! That station is crawling with Retyna germs!”

“What? Fine, but you have to go!” Misha yelled.

Nance watched the man re-seat the hazsuit’s helmet before approaching him. “Follow me. We’re almost undocked.”

<Twenty seconds,> Cheeky announced.

<We better hope the timer on that detpack is long,> Erin said. <If it goes off in that enclosed space…>

<There’s another ship requesting emergency undock,> Cargo said. <The Undulating Fire. Friends of yours, Misha?>

<Uhhhh…until recently, yes.>

<You bring the maps?> Cheeky asked. <Because we’re gonna need them.>

<Yeah, I have them, just get me out of here and they’re all yours.>

Nance led Misha through the central passageway toward the ladders. <All in good time, we have another rescue to perform first.>

KABOOM

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

By some miracle, only two guards appeared within the first few minutes after they’d entered the lab. Trevor let them get inside before taking each one out. They had put up more of a fight and now their lifeless bodies lay just within the entrance.

“OK, we’re all set,” Jessica announced as she examined the improvised incendiary she had crafted. “Dump the lab techs in the corridor and give ‘em a kick in the ass, should wake ‘em up.”

“How are we going to make sure that no one comes in here and disarms your explosive?” Trevor asked as he hauled two of the unconscious techs out into the corridor—much to the shock of a man passing by in the corridor. “Food poisoning. Did you have the chicken in the commissary?”

The man blanched. “Uh…yeah…”

“Shit man, get to the infirmary, fast!” Trevor bellowed and the man took off running. “Heh. Works every time.”

<Regarding the explosives, I think that I can seal the door, and then trigger a biocontaminant alert. That should take them some time to shut down, it should also clear the area out,> Iris offered.

"Almost sounds too easy,” Jessica said as she rose from setting her device and opened up the valves on the tanks, taking care to get the right mixture for explosive combustion. “Let’s go, this is going to get toxic fast.”

She strode to the lab’s entrance and watched as Trevor slapped one of the techs. “C’mon buddy, time to wake up and run for your life.”

“Wha?” the man asked as pulse shots erupted from a cross-corridor twenty meters to their left.

Jessica turned to see a half-dozen RHY security guards rushing down the passageway. The man Trevor was holding saw them as well, and was on his feet seconds later, running down the opposite end of the hall.

Trevor, on the other hand, shouldered his pulse rifle and raced toward the approaching guards, firing wildly and screaming at the top of his lungs.

The guards were unprepared for the hundreds of kilos of man-mountain rushing toward them and several stopped shooting, their mouths hanging agape.

Two were felled by Trevor’s pulse blasts, and then he crashed into two more. Jessica followed after him, firing on the final two guards, catching one in the face with pulse blasts that bowled him over. The other leveled his rifle at Jessica and fired a concentrated pulse at her. Jessica raised her arms reflexively, and felt a strange sensation in the palms of her hands. And then the bone-numbing force of a pulse wave—which she’d been dreading—never arrived.

“What the hell?” she asked, looking at her hands.

<Sorry, didn’t have time to ask you if it was OK. I emitted a piezo-electric pulse through your hands, it nullified the pulse wave.>

Trevor smashed a fist into the man who had fired on Jessica, before raising a hand to massage his jaw. “That would sure be handy—no pun intended. Pulse blasts hurt like a bitch.”

An alarm wailed around them, and a blast door began to lower a dozen meters down the hall.

<Go! Go!> Iris cried out. <They’ve triggered the biocontaminant alerts to try and trap you in here.>

<Hey, that was our plan!> Jessica replied.

 Trevor said.

Jessica took off running, Trevor close on her heels. They reached the door and slid under it a moment before it closed, Trevor clipping his ear on the door’s seal.

“Fuck! Ow!” he swore as he gingerly touched his ear.

“Still attached,” Jessica said as she glanced up at him. “Let’s move.”

<Still, it was nice of them to seal off the section for us back there,> Iris said. <I’ve added a bit of my magic to the mix and it’ll take them a bit longer to get the doors back open.>

“Good work,” Jessica replied as they dashed down the corridor, taking a right at an intersection as they angled toward where they suspected the RHY docks on the spire to be.

Jessica was in the lead, and passed into an area filled with doors leading off to private offices. They were outpacing her nanoprobes and she prayed that the way ahead was clear when a door ahead opened. Soldiers in heavy armor spilled out, weapons leveled at the pair. Jessica skidded to a halt, ready to beat a hasty retreat when she saw more soldiers file out of two offices behind them.

“Kinetics. We can’t take that kind of firepower,” Trevor said as he lowered his rifle.

“Well, this sucks,” Jessica said as she followed suit.

“For you, yeah.” Phoebe’s voice came from beyond the soldiers, followed by the appearance of the woman herself a moment later. “I’m not letting you get away so easily. When we get you to Bennia, I’ll have you fitted with a compliance chip and this will get a lot easier.” She glanced at Trevor. “Maybe him too. I bet he’d make a good personal guard for Retyna Girl once she starts making all of her promotional appearances.”

“Weapons on the ground. All of them,” one of the soldiers said as he approached the pair. “Duffel too. Kick it over.”

Jessica let out a long sigh and complied. Trevor dropped his as well and chuckled.

“Looks like you’re going to get that career change after all,” he said.

“Take them to my ship, and put them in stasis,” Phoebe ordered the soldiers. “And sweep the corridors back there, find out what they were up to.”

One of the guards unzipped the duffel and rifled through it. “Just clothes,” he said.

Phoebe laughed. “Look at you, making off with all of Retyna Girl’s gear. I knew you wanted to be her.”

Jessica laughed. “What can I say. I’m a sucker for purple.”

BLAST OFF

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

“Clamps released. Pushing off on grav drive,” Cheeky announced.

“Gonna piss them off.” Cargo sighed.

“Better than that detpack going off while we’re cheek by jowl with the station,” Cheeky replied.

“Oh, I know. Cargo chuckled. “I was just lamenting it nonetheless.”

Cheeky opened up the ship’s grav thrusters and eased them away from the station. Past the ten-meter mark, then twenty…forty…seventy…one-hundred….

<Explosion aft,> Sabrina announced. 

“Shit, they’re gonna blame us for this,” Cargo muttered.

<Call from the Dockmaster’s office,> Sabrina said. <They’re about as happy as you’d expect.>

“Put ‘em on,” Cargo ordered.

A moment later, a woman appeared on the bridge’s main holo, already yelling before the holo fully materialized. “—fuck do you think you’re doing? Grav drives, shooting at the station! Cease acceleration immediately! We’re bringing our turrets online!”

“Dockmaster Jera,” Cargo replied in his calmest voice. “We were under attack from unknown assailants dockside. They had explosives and we needed to open up space for the blast to dissipate. If we hadn’t it would have done a lot worse than crack a few seals on your airlock.”

“Assailants?” Dockmaster Jera asked, looking away for a moment. “I do have reports of fighting on the dock near your berth.” She frowned and shook her head. “Either way, you need to cease acceleration and hold your course. We’re sending out a patrol craft to board you—we have reason to believe you have a fugitive aboard.”

“Fugitive?” Cargo asked.

“Yes, one Misha Cairns. We have vid of him entering your ship right before you broke free from the station.”

“We did bring him aboard, yes,” Cargo agreed. “He was being fired upon by those attackers. We had a meeting scheduled with him.”

“We’ll be the judge of all that. Our patrol craft will be locked on your vector in five, ready to dock in ten—what are you doing?”

The dockmaster disappeared from the holotank and Cheeky shot a look back at Cargo. “Heard enough, eh?”

“Yup. Nice find with that Misha guy. Hope he actually has those maps and wasn’t just looking for a ride.”

“Me too,” Cheeky replied softly. “For his sake.”

Cheeky continued to alter vector, turning Sabrina in a wide parabola, the system’s star their apparent destination. However, that fiction would be shattered in six minutes when she would fire the fusion drives and boost toward the station’s spire for their smash-and-grab pickup of Jessica and Trevor.

“Here’s our guest,” Nance said as she entered the bridge with Misha.

“Nice hazsuit,” Cheeky said, stifling a laugh. Misha appeared to have put it on in a rush, and one of the arms was twisted once around and the boots weren’t seated correctly.

“She wouldn’t let me on without it—well, not her, someone named Erin.”

<That’d be me,> Erin said over the general shipnet.

“Are you the ship’s AI?” Misha asked, looking around.

<No, I’m the ship’s AI, Sabrina,> Sabrina said.

<Then who are you, Erin?> Misha appeared perplexed.

<I’m embedded with Nance.>

Misha whistled. “Wow, two AI on a ship this small.”

<Five,> Sabrina said, at the same moment that Piya said, <Four.>

<Oh,> Piya added. 

“Shit, seriously?” Misha asked. “You have five AI on this tub?”

<Hey!> Sabrina said. <This tub as you have so inconsiderately called me, has just saved your ass, with no small risk to our own.>

“That makes it sound like we collectively just have one ass,” Cheeky said.

“Well, stars know that Cheeky has enough ass for three or four people,” Finaeus said as he entered the bridge and took his customary seat.

“So, Misha,” Cargo said while snapping his fingers to get Misha’s attention. “Maps. Do you have the maps?”

“Yeah, I do. Once you honor your side of the deal.”

“Honor our—” Nance said, taking a threatening step toward Misha.

Cargo stood as well. “We’re going to give you a free ride far away from here—that your maps will help with—or we’re gonna kick you out an airlock for whomever you’ve pissed off to find. Pick.”

Misha didn’t respond immediately, and Cargo took a step forward. “We’ve had a bit of hard luck lately, friend. We’re being very accommodating, given the trouble you’ve brought down on us. Now, give us the maps.”

“OK, OK, sheesh, so testy,” Misha muttered. “There, I pushed the data onto your shipnet.

Cheeky looked them over, noting the absence of several obvious trade routes. Misha was probably holding back on them for later. Still it was enough to get them started on their journey.

“Looks good enough for now,” she said.

“Nance, can you put him in one of the spare rooms for now?” Cargo asked.

“Sure,” Nance nodded. “This way, pastry man.”

“Well, I don’t actually cook…not really,” Misha said.

“What about the prep table and everything in your stall?” Cheeky asked.

“Convincing, wasn’t it?” Misha grinned.

“Seriously, let’s go,” Nance said. “I have stuff to do that doesn’t involve babysitting your ass.”

“Fine. Hey, no need to push!”

SHIP TO BENNIA

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

“I have to say, I admire your moxie,” Phoebe said turning her head to look back at Jessica and Trevor. “Just like something I could imagine Retyna Girl doing. You’re a lot tougher than you look.”

“You have no idea,” Jessica replied. “But you will.”

“Oh yeah?” Phoebe asked. “How’s that?”

<Yeah,> Iris asked privately. <How is that?>

<The usual, wait for the right moment, overpower the guards, punch Phoebe in the head repeatedly, steal her ship.>

“Thought so. All talk,” Phoebe said, unaware of Jessica’s conversation with Iris, turning forward once more.

 Iris said. <That’s a lot. Even for Retyna Girl.>

<What about my new powers?> Jessica asked with a chuckle. <I’ll stop their pulse blasts, then lightning-bolt them.>

<Check this out,> Iris said, pulling a new readout onto Jessica’s HUD. <This is the level of charge your microbes have, and how long it will take them to reach full charge.>

 Jessica commented drolly.

<Noticed that, did you?> Iris passed a mental smile.

<So based on this rate of charge, it’ll take another five minutes to be able to stop another pulse blast,> Jessica said. 

Jessica pulled down the slider on the front of her shipsuit, letting more of her chest show. She noticed Trevor glance down and smile.

<Planning on distracting the guards?> he asked.

<No. Charging my skin.>

Trevor laughed aloud, drawing looks from several of the guards. <Our lives are so very far from normal.>

“We can tell when you use the Link,” one of the guards said. “Cut it out or we knock you out.”

Jessica had suspected as much, which was why she was glad Trevor hadn’t asked about her plans of escape. She wasn’t worried about their captors breaking their encryption, but better safe than sorry.

Instead, she flickered the glow in her eyes, flashing a quick message that she hoped Trevor would pick up. It was simple: “We take their ship.”

Trevor looked away and yawned, their signal for acknowledgement.

Several minutes later, they were led through a large airlock and into a wide bay. Jessica peered down its length, gauging the space to be roughly two hundred by five hundred meters. The spaceward side of the bay had its doors pulled wide, a grav shield holding the atmosphere within.

Beyond the doors, the light of the Naga System’s star shone through, its yellow-blue glow striking Jessica with unfiltered intensity. She felt her skin tingle and its glow increase in the direct starlight. On her HUD, the RG power meter began to climb faster, crossing over the fifty percent mark.

<Feels good!> Jessica exclaimed. 

<Organics,> Iris replied.

Ahead, several ships rested on cradles in the bay, and Phoebe led them toward a silver vessel with sleek lines.

<Bonus,> Jessica said to Iris. <That thing’s small. Not even fifty meters.>

<Not going to fit all these guards, that’s for sure,> Iris replied.

Phoebe walked up the lowered ramp and four guards escorted Jessica and Trevor onto the ship.

<Think you can hack the ramp?> Jessica asked.

<Brush your hand across that control panel as you walk by,> Iris said, highlighting a panel over Jessica’s vision.

<You got it.>

Jessica touched the panel, and a passel of nano flowed out of her hand onto its surface.

Once at the top of the ramp, Phoebe turned left, and walked down a short passageway to a room with five stasis pods.

“Your man will be a tight fit, but I think we can squeeze him in. If not, we’ll just dump him out the airlock,” Phoebe said, chuckling.

“You’re not nearly as nice as you like to pretend,” Trevor said with a low growl.

“Me?” Phoebe squeaked. “I think I’m plenty nice. I grabbed your friend, plucked her from obscurity. I’m going to make her a star! All she has to do is play along and she’ll be set for life—or for however long we run the Retyna Girl marketing campaign.”

“You’re all heart,” Jessica said with a sour smile.

<Got it!> Iris announced. <Ramp is closing!>

Trevor turned to the guard on his left. “Hey, buddy, guess what?”

“What?” the guard asked.

Trevor twisted his arms around and a resounding SNAP filled the air. He pulled his hands from behind his back and held them up. “I broke my cuffs.”

“Shit!” the guard yelled as one of Trevor’s fists jabbed forward, smashing the man’s nose.

Jessica pulled her hands free as well, relying on nano, not brute strength to get the cuffs open. One of the guards fired a pulse blast at her, and she held up her right hand, nullifying the concussive waves while grabbing the throat of another guard who had closed in too quickly, discharging the rest of her skin’s energy.

The guard shrieked and collapsed.

“Shit, that’s cool,” Phoebe whispered as Jessica pulled up her right leg and pivoted while kicking high, catching the first guard under the jaw. His weapon flew into the air as he fell back. Jessica caught it, spun it around and drove the weapon’s butt into his temple.

She turned to see Trevor dropping the final guard with a blow to the throat.

“Tangos down,” Trevor grinned.

Jessica deployed a stream of nano to the rifle, disabling its biolock and turned back to Phoebe. “Yeah, I’m pretty fucking awesome, aren’t I?”

“Who are you?” Phoebe asked, her eyes wide with awe.

“Phoebe, really?” Jessica smirked. “I’m Retyna Girl.”

MEET UP

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

<That Jera lady is getting very upset,> Sabrina said. <She’s disrupting my calm.>

“Oh, and they’ve started firing at us,” Cheeky said. “Nothing serious yet, just lasers. Our shields are diffusing them.”

“Three patrol craft coming after us too,” Cargo said. “I imagine that they’ll up the ante before long.”

“How are you going to stop at those docks for Jessica and Trevor to get aboard if you’re under fire?” Finaeus asked.

Cheeky looked back at Cargo and Finaeus. “Honestly? I have no idea—other than using our stasis shields, but that kinda lets the cat out of the bag, doesn’t it?”

“Just a bit,” Finaeus agreed. “We’ll have every ship this side of the Orion Arm gunning for us.”

“Have you managed to reach our wayward crewmembers yet, Sabrina?” Cargo asked.

<Not yet, no. They seem to be off the station network, but Erin and I did pull a report of fighting in the RHY sector of the spire, so I think we can assume that they’re on their way.>

“We could modulate our shields and slip through their grav barrier on the bay,” Finaeus suggested.

“That never works,” Cheeky replied. “You’ve been watching too many vids.”

“And you seem to forget that I’ve created half the tech you use on a daily basis.”

<Half seems excessive,> Piya said.

“Well, maybe a quarter…a tenth. But I’ve worked on, or enhanced a lot more. Let me see if I can detect the frequency their graviton emitters are using.”

<And plan B?> Cargo asked Cheeky privately.

<Hope they can get out of the bay so I can scoop them up like Jessica did for Finaeus and me?> Cheeky suggested. <But that requires us reaching out—Oh shit, those patrol craft are firing on us to now!>

<Shields holding,> Sabrina replied. <But that other ship that broke free from the station, the uh…Undulating Fire. It’s closing too…not fast, though. They seem content to let the station’s ships take us out.>

“Sabrina, Erin, I need you to raise Jessica somehow. Letting them know our plan is cru—”

<Hey, you guys were late, so we caught our own ride,> Jessica’s voice cut Cargo off. Cheeky flipped the main holo to show the bay on the station’s spire. A small silver ship shot out into space, followed by a cloud of debris.

Turrets began tracking the ship’s position, and Cheeky boosted, arcing toward the ship to provide covering fire.

<Bringing our rails online,> Sabrina said. <Firing on the turrets.>

“We knew you’d have something up your sleeve, Jessica.” Cargo chuckled. “Got a plan for getting over here?”

“This thing is pretty tiny. Think we could fit it in the main bay?”

<No way,> Sabrina said. <Not without tearing a few holes in both our hulls. But if you pull up underneath, we can use the cradle clamps to hold onto you.>

<Sounds like a plan, Sabs,> Jessica replied. <Cheeky, sling me a vector.>

<Sure thing, Jess. Just give me a second. I gotta say, you sound pretty chipper,> Cheeky said with a smile on her lips.

<Hell yeah. I’m having a blast. Kicking ass in outer space, isn’t that what the brochure said?>

<Trevor. Is she OK?> Cargo asked.

Trevor’s laugh filled their minds. <She’s doing great. Just on a bit of a high at the moment. The sunlight is hitting her full-on through this ship’s forward window and that seems to make her giddy.>

“That’s fascinating,” Finaeus mused. “From the Retyna they covered your skin in?”

“Embedded in her skin, more like,” Trevor said.

“Really?” Finaeus asked. “That’s fascinating.”

“You mentioned that already,” Cargo said.

<Oh, and I glow now too!> Jessica added.

Cheeky whistled. “Now that’s cool. I bet you look way sexy all glowing.”

<You have no idea,> Jessica replied.

“Can you two be serious for a moment?” Cargo asked.

Cheeky twisted in her seat and gave Cargo a level look, before mouthing the words, ‘SS Sexy’.

“Jessica, you have the vector?” Cargo asked, ignoring Cheeky.

<On it, jinking a bit to keep those turrets away, but looks like we can line up just past the station’s southern spire.>

“Great,” Cargo replied.

<Got two of ‘em!> Sabrina called out. <Kinda nice not having you around, Jessica. You always hog the guns in combat.>

Jessica laughed. <Sorry, Sabrina, I’ll make sure to give you a turn next time.>

“What about those patrol craft?” Finaeus asked.

“Trying not to kill too many people in this system,” Cargo replied. “Got any non-lethal ideas?”

Finaeus stroked his jaw. “Do you have any nukes aboard?”

“Not sure how that fits the bill for non-lethal,” Cargo said.

“Small, tactical, we just need an EMP blast, and enough of a deterrence for them to back off.”

Cheeky reviewed the positions of the ships on Scan. Jessica’s small vessel was thirty kilometers ahead of them, already beyond the station’s spire, which Sabrina was now flying past. The patrol craft were fifty klicks behind, keeping their distance, holding their fire as they approached the station.

“Once we get past, they’re really going to open up on us,” Cheeky said as she dove around a structural support.

<Oh, that’s when we just boost for the planet,> Jessica replied.

“We what?” Cargo asked, moments before Scan picked up a large explosion behind them.

“What was that?” Cheeky asked. “Is that other ship shooting at the station’s ships?”

<No,> Jessica replied. <That’s the bomb we planted in RHY’s labs. Glad to see they didn’t disarm it in time.>

“Lay it out, Jessica,” Cargo ordered.

“You know how Finaeus and Nance were worried about alien microbes killing everyone? Well, RHY is working on a weaponized version to sell to the Orion government.”

“Fuckers!” Finaeus spat. “We have agreements about shit like this. No biological planet-killing WMDs. We have to take that thing.”

<Yeah, that’s why we have to hit the planet,> Jessica said. 

“Well, we just have two small tacnukes,” Finaeus said. “Those aren’t going to do it. We could hit it with all our kinetics.”

<One small tacnuke,> Nance added. <I’m modifying the other to drop behind like you suggested. I think the best point is fifty klicks after we pass the station’s southern spire.>

“Do it,” Cargo said.

“I’ll coordinate, Nance,” Cheeky said. “Marker is set.”

<Shit, that’s less than a minute!> Nance exclaimed.

“Better get moving.”

<I’m in the pocket,> Jessica said. <Hit me, Cheeks.>

<My turn to swoop in and save your ass,> Cheeky said with a laugh. A moment later a vibration resonated through the deck and Cheeky called out, “Clamps engaged. We’ve got them.”

<Dropping the nuke,> Nance reported.

Cheeky brought up the three pursuing patrol craft on the main holotank. They were all within ten kilometers of one another—a perfect target. A moment later the nuke detonated, its flaring light attenuated by the holo. Then the blast splashed across their shields and Scan shut down from the EM disturbance. When it came back on, they saw the wave hit the station, lighting up its shields with plasma flares.

“Slowed our pursuers down?” Cargo asked.

“Maybe,” Cheeky said, accepting his suggestion. “Too soon to tell—oh, yeah, one just killed their engines, we might have done some serious damage there. The other two are dropping back. I bet they don’t get paid enough to deal with crazy nuke-dropping people like us.”

“Yeah, but now Misha’s other friends in the Undulating Fire are coming for us,” Cargo said with a sigh.

<Firing rails on them,> Sabrina said. <Let’s see if they want to dance in the dark.>

“Show ‘em who’s boss, Sabrina,” Finaeus said with a chuckle. “By the way, I think we need to do something a bit more extreme to that planet down there.”

“Oh yeah?” Cargo asked. “Like what?”

“Well, as best I can tell from Scan, the facility Jessica is sending us to isn’t the only one. Sure, it may be the one making their bioweapon, but we don’t know that it’s the only one. I say we wipe the planet’s surface clean.”

“Whoa, hey, is that more of this ‘kill all the aliens’ shit?” Cheeky asked.

Finaeus shook his head. “That planet’s a factory. They’re going to manufacture their weaponized microbes at scale. Destroying research facilities will just slow them. We need to stop them. If we don’t, trillions will die.”

“Well, what are our options,” Cargo asked.

“Do what you did to The Mark’s fleet at Bollam’s World,” Finaeus said somberly. “Boost out around the moon, and slam this ship into that planet full force.”

Cheeky turned in her seat to stare at Finaeus. “You’re nuts! We’ll get lodged in the planet’s core! With that Mark fleet we had clear space on the far side to drift into.”

“You’ll have to go full stasis for the impact, and then pop out and boost hard. You’ll have liquified the crust at the impact point, so it should be possible to get back out.”

“Should!” Cargo said. “Should doesn’t buy you much when it comes to smashing into planets.”

“Are you sure we’ll have enough energy?” Cheeky asked. “Even if we get up to 0.1c we can’t deliver that much kinetic energy.”

“It’s about where we hit,” Finaeus said. “That planet has a thin crust, if I can find the right fault line, we can fracture an entire continent. That should do the trick.”

<We’re coming over in EV suits,> Jessica said. <If we’re planet-bustin’ we don’t want to be strapped onto Sabrina’s belly.>

<You just stay in that suit when you get aboard,> Nance cautioned. 

“Captain?” Cheeky asked. “Your orders?”

 Sabrina said. <We struck that gas giant’s upper atmosphere with almost as much force back at Bollam’s World.>

“OK.” Cargo rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “I’m not going to let worlds get turned into graveyards when we could have stopped it. But let me go on the record as saying that we need to get more nukes…or something…we can’t just keep slamming into everything. One day we’re gonna hit something that doesn’t give.”

“Laying in a course,” Cheeky said.

The two patrol craft still in pursuit had backed off to a distance of five hundred kilometers, apparently content to simply let the ship filled with crazy people leave at this point—either that, or they were waiting for backup.

However, the Undulating Fire continued to trade shots with Sabrina.

<Bastards aren’t giving me much to hit,> Sabrina said. <What I wouldn’t give for an RM right now. Fire one of those and forget about ‘em.>

Cheeky spooled out the AP drive’s nozzle, grateful that they had managed to purchase a few grams of antihydrogen on Hermes Station before their expeditious departure.

She aimed Sabrina’s prow toward the planet’s moon, Aresa, boosting toward its north pole. As she approached she rotated the ship, describing a tight arc around the grey barren surface, wondering for a moment if they were passing over any underground cattle farms. Once past the moon, Cheeky opened up the ship’s engines to their full capacity, and lit the AP drive. They flashed past the L1 point between the moon and Marsalla, continuing to pick up speed as they raced toward the purple/green world growing larger in the forward view.

<Well, at least this has shut the station up on comms,> Sabrina said. <They must not have a clue what we’re doing.>

“RMs on our tail!” Cheeky called out.

<Damnit, see! We need RMs!> Sabrina said.

“On it,” Cargo replied, firing countermeasures behind the ship, and activating point defense beams.

<At least the RMs got the Undulating Fire to back off, almost like having our own,> Sabrina added.

“Hey guys,” Jessica announced as she raced onto the bridge.

“Holy shit, you do glow!” Finaeus said, amusement and wonder in his voice.

“What happened to keeping your EV suit on?” Cargo asked.

“It’s fine,” Jessica replied as she slid into her seat “Iris is certain that I’m safe to be around.”

<We’ll talk about this later,> Nance said, her tone ominous.

“Sure, Nance, if we survive destroying a planet, we can talk about how I got turned into a glowing superhero to satisfy some debutante’s need for a catchy marketing campaign,” Jessica shot back.

“Jessica, stop those RMs from blowing us up first,” Cargo ordered. “Then we’ll worry about the planet.”

“Oh, crap, RMs! Missed that on my rush up here.”

MARSALLA

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

Jessica adjusted Scan resolution and examined the pair of relativistic missiles pursuing Sabrina. Correction, near-relativistic missiles. They were still under 0.6c, but even at that velocity they’d be kissing Sabrina’s hull in less than thirty seconds.

She saw that Cargo had already deployed chaff to no effect. She turned the beams on the missiles, but they were jinking too much, and Jessica knew any hit would be a lucky one.

“Priming the rails with grapeshot,” she announced.

“No way you can hit them with that,” Cargo said.

“Point blank. It’s the only way.”

“I knew I never should have gone to Ikoden,” Finaeus muttered. “I was just tempted by that famous salad place….”

Jessica checked the distance to Marsalla, and saw that the missiles would reach Sabrina ten seconds before they struck the planet’s surface—on a plate fault line along the edge of a continent that Finaeus had selected.

“The instant the grapeshot fires, hit the stasis shields, Sabrina,” Jessica ordered. “The explosions will mask us, and by the time it all clears, we’ll be inside the planet.”

<Yah, planetary camouflage, my favorite.>

“You got it, Sabrina?” Cargo asked.

<Of course, even if Jessica has the luckiest aim ever, we’re still in the line of fire from relativistic shrapnel.>

Jessica saw Cargo nod, but not speak.

Her timer hit zero and the grapeshot fired. One RM exploded, but the other jinked aside, then back, and struck Sabrina—half a second after the stasis shields came online.

<Take that!> Sabrina cried out. <My hide is thick! My armor is strong!>

Sabrina collided with the planet.

One instant Sabrina had been crowing in delight and the next, Scan showed nothing but heat and pressure outside the stasis shield.

“How long!” Cargo called out.

<We were in full stasis for thirty seconds,> Sabrina replied. <At best guess…judging by the pressure…we’re thirty kilometers beneath the planet’s surface.>

“Max burn,” Cheeky called out. “Antimatter is dry, spooling the nozzle back in. Using grav fields to give us a pocket for thrust.”

The ship shuddered as the fusion engines slammed their energy into the magma surrounding the ship, slowing their downward momentum, then pushing them back toward the surface.

<This is surreal…and terrifying…> Sabrina said. <SC Batt #3 is dry, Batt #2 is at eight percent and dropping fast.>

“Nance?” Cargo asked. “What about the reactors.”

<I’m shutting number one down. It almost went critical from the surge after full stasis. Two is running hot, but I can keep it going like this for another minute or so.>

“Then we have fifty-five seconds with this heat and pressure,” Finaeus said. “Give or take a bit.”

“No sweat,” Cheeky said. “I’ll have us out of here in fifty, easy.”

Jessica didn’t want to know what would happen when they reached the surface of the planet—which was likely molten for some distance—and their reactors and batts ran out of power.

No one spoke as the ship continued to shudder its way out of the magma, until—at precisely the time Cheeky had predicted—they burst free into the atmosphere.

The surface of Marsalla was a roiling ocean of magma and scattered remains of solid crust. Smoke and ash filled the air as Cheeky pulled the ship into a slow ascent.

“Stay low,” Finaeus said. “Then come out at…thirty degrees, that should be in line with most of the debris flying out into space.”

“You wanna fly?” Cheeky asked with a laugh. “I got this.”

<We’re going to lose stasis shields in twenty seconds,> Nance said. <Try not to run into anything—we’ll just have conventional shields, and point defense beams are on internal batteries only.>

Cheeky slowly pulled Sabrina out of the atmosphere, until they had reached breakaway velocity, then she cut the engines.

Below them, Marsalla was in ruins. Cheeky had hit the fault line between where two major plates met, and the result was a supervolcano over a thousand kilometers across. Beyond the immediate ruin, tsunamis raced across the surface of the world, followed by ash and fire as more of the tectonic plates shifted and volcanic eruptions appeared along every fault line.

“The shockwave will shatter the far side of the planet,” Finaeus said. “It’ll be worse than this.”

“Do this sort of thing often?” Cargo asked.

“Yeah, actually…. Though, not with ships I’m inside of at the time, but otherwise, yes, dozens of times.”

“Oh.”

“There’s no way they’ll see us,” Jessica said. “We’re actually going to pull this off…and we got a handy new ship to go with it.”

“Can you get us on a vector to scoop from the star? I bet we can just slip by with our ramscoop out and pick up some fuel. No one will be looking for us.” Cargo said to Cheeky.

“Yeah, shouldn’t be a problem. Will just take some small adjustments. I don’t want to boost for a day or so, though. If we just drift on out for a few million klicks first that’ll do nicely.”

Jessica laughed. “Man, I wonder what they’re thinking up on the station right now?”

“Nothing good.” Cargo smiled. “Though they will get to terraform that planet for terrestrial life now.”

“Let’s hope,” Finaeus said. “Though one thing is for certain. No one is doing anything there anytime soon.”

OUTSYSTEM

STELLAR DATE: 09.04.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

“OK, I suppose you’re safe,” Nance said as she pulled the hood off her hazsuit. “Iris was right. Those relatively-competent mad scientists bound the microbes to your skin so that the little nasties won’t get free. Even if they did, they seem to have adapted to the polymers in such a fashion that the microbes would probably die if they were removed from their new environment.”

“See,” Jessica said, letting her skin glow a little more. “I told you I was perfectly safe. Glad I don’t have to remove it either, I’ve grown rather attached to my glowing friends. Did I tell you I can stop a pulse blast with my hand?”

Nance sighed. “Yes, Jessica, just a few times now…like eight, or nine.”

<Ten, at least,> Sabrina added.

Jessica slid off the medbay’s examination table and pulled her shipsuit back on. “Yeah, well, it’s really cool. It bears repeating.”

 Sabrina replied. 

“Touché,” Jessica said with a laugh. “However, I’m Retyna Girl. You’ll never take that from me.”

<And I’m ‘Sabrina, Destroyer of Worlds’.>

“Was she always so much into oneupmanship?” Jessica asked.

Nance chuckled. “More or less, yeah.”

Jessica pulled on her shoes and jacket before approaching Nance.

“What are you doing?” Nance asked as she backed up.

“I want to give you a hug to thank you. You did some amazing work back there. Hacking the door to get Sabrina free, getting that nuke altered just in time. Keeping our skins on with power till we got free. Besides, you’re still wearing your hazsuit.”

“Your thanks is enough, you’re not hugging me. Over my dead bo—”

Nance stopped talking as Jessica leapt forward and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

“Had to touch me eventually,” Jessica said with a laugh as she stepped back.

“No, I didn’t,” Nance said. “Now I have to sanitize this suit.”

“Seriously?” Jessica asked with a grin.

Nance’s sour face held for a moment, and then she sighed and gave a small smile. “No, not seriously. But I have a reputation to uphold! Next time I tell you to stay in your EV suit, you stay in it!”

“Yes, Mom.”

“What’s with the ‘Mom’ stuff lately?”

* * * * *

“So, have we selected a destination yet?” Jessica asked as she walked onto the bridge and took a seat at her console.

“There’s a place called Kidron that looks pretty good,” Cargo said. “It’s better than the other options we were considering. A lot of mining rigs far out around the edges of the system. We can get in, do a bit of trading, get some more volatiles and get out fast.”

“Just about ready to deploy the scoop, too,” Cheeky said. “No indication that the locals have spotted us, either.”

<I’m but dust on the wind,> Sabrina said in a sing-song voice.

“Think they’ll pick up the scoop?” Jessica asked.

“If they have probes nearby looking straight at us, maybe,” Cheeky said. “But really, we’re kissing the star here. They’re not going to see anything but star.”

“Oh,” Jessica said. “Once we’re past the star…no one come into the rear observation lounge for a bit, kay?”

“Oh yeah?” Cheeky asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Jessica replied. “I need some me time…well, me and Trevor time.”

“In the sunlight.”

“Oh, will that room be in full, ridiculously amazing sunlight?” Jessica asked.

Cargo sighed and shook his head. “What am I ever going to do with you two?”

* * * * *

“Deploying the scoop,” Mandy announced.

“This is bullshit,” Jenn said as she adjusted the ship’s shielding to allow the ramscoop to draw in hydrogen and helium as they flowed off the star. “I can’t believe we got kicked off Hermes of all places…and all because of that little shit Misha.”

“Well…” Mandy chuckled. “He got his. Boarded a ship full of nut jobs that slammed themselves into a planet.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Jenn replied. “What would possess them to do that? And how did they avoid those RMs?”

“I bet RHY is asking the same thing. Either way, no one is coming back to Naga anytime soon. This system’s done.”

“That’s for sure,” Jenn said.

Mandy studied scan, watching for potential flares and CMEs as they boosted past the star on a slingshot for the Jushes jump point.

“Whoa, what is that?” she asked.

“What is what?” Jenn said.

“There’s another ship ahead, a few light seconds, just passing beyond scooping range,” Mandy said. “I’m pulling up its pro—holy shit,” she whispered the last two words.

“What?”

Mandy put the scan result on the small holodisplay between their seats.

“It’s them,” she said.

“The fuck! It is them.”

“But they hit the planet,” Mandy said. “Everyone in the system saw them hit Marsalla and smash it like a rotten egg.”

“Well, then what are they doing on an outsystem vector?” Jenn asked.

“A vector too…Kidron!” Mandy locked eyes with Jenn.

“Mandy…we’re not exactly welcome at a lot of places in Kidron.”

“You willing to let Misha go—or a ship that can do what that one did?” She paused, her eyes widening as a grin spread on the face. “At the least we can sell the intel.”

Jenn flipped her long braid over her shoulder and ran her fingers down its length for a minute. “OK, but just to sell the intel. I bet Derick would pay top dollar to know about a ship like that.”

Mandy grinned and nodded. “Top dollar.”

THE END

THE COOK’S NEW CREW

PERSEUS GATE – SEASON 1: EPISODE 2.5

BY M. D. COOPER

ABOARD SABRINA

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

“Why did the clocks just jump?” Misha asked, a cold sweat forming on his brow as he paced across the cabin in which he had been locked.

<The clocks didn’t jump,> Sabrina replied. <You’re just imagining things from being cooped up here too long.>

“No, I just got a sync update on your shipnet. My implant’s logs show a 30.2342 second adjustment!”

<Oh, yeah, your internal clock was off. We had to sync it with our shiptime.>

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Misha asked.

<Do you have another explanation?> Sabrina replied.

Misha thought about it. He really didn’t. However, he did know that the ship was in some sort of combat. Its grav systems were good and he couldn’t feel the evasive maneuvers he knew they must be making, but there was no mistaking the thunder of the fusion drives or the scream of the antimatter-pion drive.

The ship had been accelerating full bore before the time jump, he was sure of it.

“And you just expect me to believe that nothing out of the ordinary is happening right now?” Misha asked.

<Yup!> Sabrina replied brightly. <However, I do have other duties to attend to, so if you wouldn’t mind sitting tight for a bit…>

Misha let out a sound that reminded him of the sort of harrumph his grandfather used to make whenever his mom said she was going to make a casserole.

“What I get for signing on with a ship like this—wherever it’s from. They’re up to no good.”

He looked at the porthole again. It was blacked out, though he did have access to the room controls. The debate over whether not to clear the window and look out into space raged in Misha’s mind once more.

Knowing what was out there could be just the thing he needed to set his mind at ease…or it could make him crap his pants.

“We’re so gonna die…” he whispered.

There was just no way this ship could outrun everyone who was after him at this point. If station patrol got in on the chase, it was just a matter of time before they were all goners.

“Screw it,” he said, his tone sounding far more resolute than he felt.

Misha walked to the port hole, took a deep breath, and hit the button to clear the plas.

What he saw didn’t make any sense at first. The ship appeared to be spinning slowly, and debris obscured the sunlight, which looked dim…but far too large. There was no way they could have made it to Naga Prime this quickly.

He peered around the edges of the porthole trying to get a better view. No…that wasn’t the star…it was something else. It was glowing red in places, with debris and clouds….

“Noooo,” he whispered. “It can’t be.”

“Sabrina! Is that the planet out there?”

 Sabrina replied. <Do I need to take you off the shipnet again?>

“You already removed my ability to send outbound messages. Why do you think I’m talking to you aloud?”

<Well, I can shut off the pickups in this room too.>

“Stop being evasive.” Misha’s voice rose in pitch. “Is that Marsalla down there? It has to be…yes, look, there’s the moon! What happened to Marsalla?”

<Umm…it got broken. Yeah, it’s broke. But we’re OK, don’t worry about it,> Sabrina replied quickly.

“‘It broke?’ That’s your explanation? Planets don’t just break like that! Something had to have hit it,” Misha exclaimed, waving his arms for emphasis. “What happened to it?”

<Something hit it. Now be quiet, I have work to do.>

“What?!” Misha cried out. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Let me out of here! I have to know what’s going on!”

There was no response, and Misha continued to cry out, making demands, threats, and saying just about anything that he could think of to get them to let him out. He even volunteered to cook for the crew for a month.

Eventually he decided to take off the hazsuit. No one had told him to keep it on and it was bunched up uncomfortably. Once it was off—and dumped unceremoniously in the corner—he unlatched the room’s chair from the deck and dragged it over to the porthole, staring at the shrinking form of Marsalla as the globe, that had for so long been green, blue, and purple, now changed to red and black.

At some point he fell asleep, head leaning against the bulkhead, and his dreams were beyond strange. He was running through the warrens of Hermes Station, being chased by a purple woman who was hurling planets at him. Then he rounded a corner only to find Macy and Jenn waiting for him.

Then Macy reached out and knocked on his forehead.

“What?” he said to her in his dream.

“Hello?” she asked. “Can I come in? Are you decent?”

<He’s sleeping,> a voice said in his mind over the Link.

 Misha replied.

<Yes, now wake up.>

Misha opened his eyes to see only the darkness of stellar space out the porthole. He peered around the window and caught sight of Naga Prime, its harsh glow muted by the plas.

<Can I open your door?> Sabrina asked. <Jessica wants to talk to you.>

“Uh, yeah,” Misha replied as he stood and rubbed his eyes.

Unless there were more women on the ship than he’d already met, Jessica would have to be the purple one. The extremely hot purple one.

As he quickly ran a hand through his hair, the door slid open and she walked in.

“Uh…are you glowing?” he asked.

“Hello to you too,” Jessica said as she entered the room, a rather serious expression on her face.

Misha’s blood pressure rose at her glib response. “Yeah, well pardon my manners, I’m the one that has been locked in this room for hours.”

Jessica gave a soft laugh. It was derisive to be sure, but boy did she look sexy when her eyes sparkled like that.

<Psst…you should put your eyes back in your head,> Sabrina said privately to him. <Remember the man mountain you saw with her? Well, that’s her lover boy. He squishes first and doesn’t bother with questions.>

<Uhh…noted,> Misha replied and locked his eyes on Jessica’s.

Shit, she was speaking, what’s she talking about? Misha wondered.

“…the station patrol, all after you, it turns out. You caused more than a little trouble for us, and we saved your skin, so I think that a little appreciation…”

Oh, that. “You’re right,” Misha said once Jessica finished listing the things he’d screwed up and how much he owed them right now. “I didn’t think things would escalate like that. I just needed a ride off the station, and based on the maps you wanted, I knew you guys were going far away from Naga. I’m not wrong about that, am I?”

A strange smile settled on Jessica’s lips, which were oh-so-luscious, and seemed to glow brighter whenever she smiled. How come all of the mod-hotties were always taken?

<Eyes,> Sabrina cautioned.

<Right, thanks,> Misha replied before thinking, Sheesh, can’t a guy look?

“No, you’re not wrong,” Jessica replied. “We have a bit of a trek ahead of us, but Kidron’s our next stop. We’ll drop you off there and we’ll part ways.”

“Uhh…any chance you can take me somewhere else?” Misha asked.

“Have some more fans at Kidron?” Jessica asked with a smirk.

Stars, this woman is hard to think around.

“Ummm, you could say that,” Misha replied. “Say, how is it that no one is attacking us right now? I thought station patrol would send everything they had at us.”

“Yeah…they did. Thanks for that, by the way,” Jessica said, her brow knitting as she spoke. “Luckily they sent relativistic missiles.”

“Luckily?” Misha asked. “There’s a billion billion humans out there, but I don’t think any of them have ever said, ‘luckily they sent RMs’, unless they were talking about killing their enemies.”

“Well, we jinked when they janked, and the RMs hit the planet. Just the right spot too, triggered a supervolcano eruption and gave us the cover for escape.”

Misha dredged up what he knew about Marsalla. He didn’t recall the planet having any dormant supervolcanoes. Granted, he hadn’t ever spent much time studying its geology either.

“So, we’re free and clear?”

“Yup.” Jessica nodded. “So long as no one spots us on our outsystem vector. We’re drifting dark right now. There’s a lot of debris out here to slink away with, so we should be OK.”

“And everyone thinks we’re dead?” Misha asked, a smile finding its way onto his lips.

“Yup.” Again, Jessica nodded with that smile of hers. “I take it that you like the idea of being presumed dead.”

“Well, it has its benefits,” Misha said with a soft chuckle. “So…about my destination. Any chance I can stay on a bit longer? I do know a lot about this region of the OFA. I can be your guide.”

Jessica chuckled. “I can imagine. Based on your track record, I imagine you have a lot of cautionary tales.”

“Uh, I suppose, yeah.”

“I’ll talk to the captain about keeping you on longer. As for making yourself useful, Sabrina mentioned you had offered to cook for a month. Let’s start there.”

“Really, Sabrina?” Misha asked. “I thought we were friends?”

<You got me shot at…a lot. I think you should cook for the organics. We’ll see if that’s enough to make it up to me.>

“I wish you wouldn’t call us organics,” Jessica said.

<And I wish you wouldn’t call us ‘artificial’ intelligences,> Sabrina replied.

“Is she being serious?” Misha asked Jessica. “Is ‘AI’ an offensive term?”

“Who knows.” Jessica shrugged. “Another AI I know jokes that we’re all artificial, so it doesn’t matter.”

<Bob jokes? Are you sure about that?> Sabrina asked.

Jessica chuckled. “Well, I know for a fact that Bob jokes…but I suppose he might not be joking about that. I find it best not to ask Bob too much about his stranger proclamations.”

“Who’s Bob?” Misha asked.

“Just an AI on another ship I used to serve on,” Jessica replied. “C’mon. I’ll show you the galley.”

Misha followed Jessica out of the cabin and down the corridor. He was fully prepared to ask about how many ships Jessica had served on with AI controlling them, but instead he decided to enjoy the unobstructed view of her ass.

<Eyes,> Sabrina cautioned.

<Seriously, Sabrina. No one else is around. Look at her ass, it’s so perfect, I bet she wants people to ogle it.>

<Maybe. Organics do things for a lot of strange, chemically induced reasons. Which is exactly why you should practice the art of the casual glance and limit the protracted staring. Unless you want to see what Trevor’s chemically induced decisions end up being.>

<OK,> Misha said with a sigh. <Point taken.>

When they entered the galley, Misha was not surprised to see it matched the cabins. Which was to say it was very well appointed, and didn’t fit on a freighter at all.

“Nice table,” Misha said as he ran a hand along the wooden surface. It was well-polished and gleamed brightly, though it still had small nicks and scratches giving it character. “Where did you get it?”

“Honestly?” Jessica said. “I have no idea. It was here when I first came aboard.”

“Oh yeah?” Misha arched a brow. “How long ago was that?”

“Nonayabusiness ago,” Jessica replied with that intoxicating smirk of hers. “I bet the crew is famished…been a long day. With you aboard there are seven of us, but Trevor eats for three, so make a big spread. I’ll let everyone know that dinner is in an hour.”

“A what?” Misha sputtered. “I don’t even know where anything is!”

“OK, hour and a half, but there’s no way I can hold the horde off longer than that.”

With that, Jessica walked out of the galley, leaving Misha to stare at the long counter and the food storage units, wondering what he had to work with.

It was true he had sold baked goods on Hermes Station, and it was also true he’d bought those pastries rather than cook them himself—intelligence gathering and rising dough did not work on one another’s timelines.

That being said, Misha could put together a few things, provided they had the right ingredients.

<Sabrina, do you know what they eat here? What they like?> he asked over the Link.

<Not really, but I can give you some images of recent meals, that may give you some clues.>

Sabrina furnished several images of meals the crew had eaten in recent weeks and Misha saw that they liked hearty food, and didn’t worry about overly sophisticated dishes.

Meat, veg, oat bread, fruit for desert. He could do that.

COOKING FOR THE CREW

STELLAR DATE: 09.03.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Hermes Station

REGION: Naga System, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

“Where the hell is the salt?” Misha muttered. “Why are the labels torn off half these spices…. Sabrina, any help here?”

<How would I know? I don’t cook. Try one of the white ones.>

“What do you think I’ve been doing?”

He pulled out the third spice crusher containing a mostly white substance and turned the crank, dropping a few granules on the back of his hand. A quick touch of his tongue and he sighed. “Finally.”

The pot of water sat on the stove, and he added the salt before dropping in the potatoes.

“Set that to boil. Now for the carrots,” he said as he rummaged through the drawers, looking for a peeler. “Aha!” he shouted out when he found it.

At the same time a cry sounded from behind him. “What are you doing in here? Where is your hazsuit?”

Misha turned to see Nance standing in the entrance to the galley, her face a mask of horror—that was until she pulled her hazsuit’s helmet on and covered it up.

“What do you mean?” Misha asked. “Jessica told me to make dinner. I’m working on potatoes and carrots. Do you not like potatoes?”

<What? Yes. No. What do you mean Jessica told you to?> Nance exclaimed over the Link. <That woman has no respect for biohazards. And why is everyone always taking off their hazsuits when I tell them not to?>

“I don’t get it,” Misha said. “I thought I passed muster when you brought me aboard.”

<Yeah, the airlock did a cursory check. Enough to be sure you weren’t going to kill us all with your evil microbes, and whatever else was lurking on that station. I didn’t clear you enough to make food for us all!>

Misha could tell there would be no mollifying Nance. “So, what do we need to do?”

 Nance replied. <Follow me to the medbay, and try not to touch anything.>

“Mind if I take the potatoes off the burner?” Misha asked with a wink, knowing the question would push Nance’s buttons.

<What part of ‘don’t touch anything’ did you miss?> Nance asked.

“Well, if I leave them there, it’s going to boil over. What if I’m free and clear and the dinner gets ruined? I’m told that everyone is very hungry.”

<It’s not always that simple,> Nance said. <There are extremophiles, you know.>

“Then what should I do?” Misha asked.

Nance made a very realistic sound of raw aggravation over the Link before waving her hand in the air. <Fine! Yes, just do it.>

Misha turned the burner off and set the pot to another one before following Nance out into the corridor. She led him to the ladder shaft at the end of the passageway, and slid down it to the cargo deck.

Once down, she led him through a few passages while he watched with great pleasure as her ass-cheeks rose and fell, pushing against her tight hazsuit.

<Eyes, Misha,> Sabrina said at one point.

<Why? Does she have some big lout who will pummel me if I check her out?>

<Well, no. Nance’s big lout left her—and the ship—not long ago, but it’s really not polite to stare.>

<How would you know?> Misha asked. <You’re a non-organic not-artificial intelligence. What if I called you a NONAI, you could be a Nonai?>

<No, you can’t call me that. Regarding your first question; I study humans a lot. You’re all very intricate. It takes a lot of research to nail you down,> Sabrina replied defensively.

<This is the most ridiculous ship ever. It’s filled with goddesses you can’t even look at, and AIs you can’t reference without offending them!>

Sabrina sent Misha a smile. <Not true! You can look at Cheeky all you want. In fact, it offends her if you don’t.>

<Now, that’s more like it. No big boyfriends?>

<No,> Sabrina replied. <But she’s having casual sex with Finaeus…or plans to, I don’t always watch what Cheeky does in private.>

<Yup, that’s the one.>

Misha shook his head. <This ship makes no sense whatsoever.>

<What? Of course, it does. We’re a very normal ship! What makes you think we’re unusual?>

<Seriously, Sabrina, I wouldn’t even know where to start.>

“OK, in here,” Nance said as they reached the entrance to a darkened room.

Misha wondered what might lurk within, but when he stepped over the threshold, lights came on, revealing an extensive medical bay. Yet another very strange thing for a ship like this—though he didn’t even know what this ship did anymore, so who knew what normal should be?

<Get up on the bed there,> Nance said. <We’ll take a few samples and see what you’re made of.>

“Why does the way you say that put more than just a little fear in me?” Misha asked as he sat on the bed.

<Shoes off! Sheesh, were you born in a barn?>

“Uh, sorry,” Misha said as he slid his shoes off and then lay down on the bed.

Once he was still, a field snapped into place over him, and a scanning arch slid along the bed, running down his body.

“What are you looking for?” he asked. “What can you find here that the airlock can’t?”

<It’s lower fidelity, and we were in a rush,> Nance replied as she pulled up a holodisplay of Misha’s insides. She expanded his major organ systems, splitting them out into separate displays, then took another image of him and vivisected it to see…well, Misha had no idea what she was trying to see.

“So, am I human?” Misha asked.

Nance nodded absently. <Mostly.>

“What do you mean, ‘mostly’?” Misha asked. “That’s not a very nice offhand comment to make!”

Nance gave Misha a mollifying wave, but didn’t look over at him, more interested in the scans of his insides. <Well, we’re way out on the fringe here. I’m curious what may have mutated in the genome. I follow a lot of research on humanity’s evolution. Did you know there are some branches of the species that are no longer close enough to naturally bear children with one another?>

“But different types of cats, like lions and tigers, can have offspring. How is it that humans can’t?”

<A lot of reasons,> Nance said. <Cats don’t do weird shit to their bodies all the time. Not to mention there are plenty of animals that have diverged too. Radiation, environment, all sorts of things come into play. We’re slowly populating the galaxy with a fresh diversity.>

“So, am I diverged?” Misha asked.

<Nope, you seem to be pretty mainstream. Standard human stock. Wow. You have viral gernytis, though.>

“I what? I don’t even know what that is.”

<Neither did your doctors, apparently. Either that, or it’s not common out here and they didn’t look for it.>

“What does it mean?” Misha said. “Am I gonna die from it?”

<Oh certainly,> Sabrina chimed in. <It will eventually eat away all your spinal tissue. I mean, I suppose you could still be a brain in a jar—provided you get your head cut off before the virus makes it to your brainstem. If that happens, then you’re toast.>

“Sabrina! Stop it. You’re kidding, right? Stars, I hate this ship.”

<Sabs, ease up on the poor guy. Yeah, you would have died from it, but I’ve cured you and immunized you.>

“What? How?” Misha asked.

<Nano,> Nance replied. <I’ve already injected you with a million of our mednano, they’re working their way through your body, fixing things up. You might be a bit sore for a few days. The inflammation’s annoying, but it’s best to let it happen a bit, rather than quell it entirely.>

“Uh…isn’t that a bit unethical?” Misha sked. “I didn’t give you permission to send in nano. How come my internal systems didn’t pick it up and neutralize unauthorized intruders?”

Nance glanced at Misha and shrugged. <Because your nano sucks? I mean, it’s barely even stopping you from falling apart at the seams. You’re practically vanilla.>

“Huh? I always thought I was pretty standard in the nano arena.”

<For a backwater,> Nance replied after a moment’s hesitation.

What is she hiding? Misha wondered. The fact that she had medical nano that his body couldn’t even detect was in and of itself somewhere on the far side of unusual, but even stranger was her trying to pass it off as normal.

Sure, Naga was on the edge of settled space, and would have been the very image of a true backwater if it wasn’t for RHY Dynamics and their development of Retyna. But that didn’t mean it was low-tech. Not only that, but Misha hailed from from the Pylar Expanse, which had been settled for a thousand years—there the tech was as good as anywhere in the OFA….

Misha kept further thoughts to himself, and after another ten minutes, Nance pronounced him clean.

“So, I didn’t have anything terribly infectious?” he asked once the shield over the bed dissipated and Nance removed her hazsuit’s mask.

“Nothing we’re not already immunized against,” Nance replied. “I cured you of seven different things that would have collectively shaved fifty years off your life, though.”

Misha gave her a sidelong look as he put his shoes back on. She was smirking, but that didn’t really clue him in as to whether or not she was telling the truth.

He was starting to think everyone on this ship was messing with him all the time.

Or they were hiding something.

Or both.

“OK, if I go back to the galley? If I get the potatoes going soon we’ll still have it mashed in time for dinner.”

“Yeah, you know the way,” Nance replied. “Just go straight there.”

<I’ll keep an eye on him,> Sabrina replied.

“Why do you need to do that?” Misha asked as he left the medbay. “Is there something—” and here Misha wavered his voice eerily “—mysterious that I can’t be trusted to learn?”

<Well, yeah…> Sabrina said.

Misha sighed. Now even Sabrina was messing with him.

As he walked down the passageway leading to the galley, he heard a strange hissing sound and rounded the corner to see the pot of potatoes back on the burner, boiling vigorously, splashing water onto the stove’s hot surface.

“Do I have a mystery helper?” he asked Sabrina as he rushed in to lower the heat and move the pot.

<Finaeus came by and did it. He’s a stickler for eating on time—which for him means all the time—he didn’t want dinner to be postponed further.>

Misha sighed as he drained the water from the pot and dumped the potatoes into a bowl on the counter. “Surprised he didn’t stick around to help if he wants to eat that bad.”

<Oh, he was going to, but Cheeky came by and…distracted him.>

“Yeah, I can see how she’d be distracting.”

He let the potatoes cool while heating up a pan and searing the steaks. After doing both sides, he was opening the oven to finish them when Trevor walked into the galley.

“Damn, that smells good, Mish. Mind if I call you Mish?”

Misha looked at the mountain of a human and decided Trevor could call him whatever he wanted. “Uh sure, Trevor.”

“Great, Mish. Though back on the bridge you said you couldn’t cook.”

Misha shrugged. “I can’t really bake, but this stuff is easy. Besides, I found this cooking show in your archives. Some guy named Ramsey. He’s a bit hard to understand with the carrot he’s always chewing on, but he’s got some good advice.”

Trevor glanced at the holo of a man in khakis with a massive carrot dangling out of his mouth who was preparing a seasoning for a steak.

“Huh, that is a big carrot.”

“Something you need?” Misha asked.

“Kinda wouldn’t mind taking one of those steaks off your hands,” Trevor replied.

“I’ve only seared them. They’re still raw,” Misha cautioned.

“Seriously, Mish, that’s the best way. I prefer my beef to still have some moo in it.”

“If you get food poisoning and die, Nance will blame me,” Misha said.

<It’s true, Trevor. She’ll probably send Misha out the airlock,> Sabrina said. <He also had some stuff that she had to cure him of. I recommend letting the meat cook today.>

Trevor looked Misha up and down before sighing. “Fine. I’ll just have some juice.”

Misha watched the big man stride across the galley, open the cooler and pull out a two-liter carton of orange juice. He tore the top open and poured the entire thing down his throat before tossing the carton into the recycler.

“Some juice, eh?” Misha asked.

Trevor chuckled. “Takes a lot to keep this bod running. Love me some orange juice. I guess that will hold me over ‘til dinner. Just don’t be late with the grub.”

Misha shook his head and turned back to his prep. There was still a salad to be made, and he started on that when a giggle sounded behind him.

“Trevor was smacking his lips; did he steal some of the meat?”

Misha turned to see Cheeky walking into the galley, stretching slowly as she approached.

“Uh…Cheeky, did you forget something?” Misha asked as he forced himself to turn back to the counter.

<Good boy,> Sabrina said.

“Like what?” Cheeky asked as she walked closer.

“Ummm…like your clothes?” Misha asked, focusing on tearing up the lettuce leaves in his bowl.

“Oh!” Cheeky chirped. “So I did. I was playing with Finaeus a bit and I guess I forgot to get dressed again.”

Misha bit his tongue as Cheeky traced a finger down his back.

“What’s wrong, Misha? Don’t you want to check me out?”

“Stars, yes,” Misha said. “But Sabrina has all but threatened to kick me into the dark layer if I so much as look at any of you girls, so I’m just going to make this salad, and think about the dirt it grew in, or something equally unsexy.”

He grunted as Cheeky pressed her body against him and whispered in his ear, “I can be dirty, you know…”

“Ungh,” Misha grunted as Cheeky pushed him against the counter. “Oh, I can imagine, how I can imagine…. Still, Sabrina seemed serious, and I don’t want to piss her off.”

 Sabrina said.

“Yeah, look at me,” Cheeky said as she slid a leg between Misha’s.

“Nope. This is a test. Not going to look, not gonna look. Trevor will squish me, or Nance will lock me in a cargo hold or something. All I want to do is cook some food and stay under the radar till you get somewhere where I can get off this crazy tub.”

<Call me a tub again and you just might visit the airlock,> Sabrina said.

Cheeky laughed. “You’re a good boy, Misha. I think we might just have to keep you.”

“Uh, good,” Misha said as Cheeky pulled away from him and walked out of the galley. He couldn’t help turning to watch her depart, then bit his lip as he took in the sight of her tanned and toned body slinking away.

<OK, I’ll give you that one as a freebie. She did really want you to look.>

“Stars, how do you all get anything done on this ship?” Misha asked.

Half an hour later, Misha felt like the meal was finally coming together. Most of the fixings were ready, and he was setting the table. He had set the last of the cutlery in place—metal, no less—when the captain came strolling in.

“Looking good, Misha,” he said as he took a seat on one side of the table—not the head, Misha noted.

“Thanks, Captain. Was worried I’d miss Jessica’s deadline, what with Nance pulling me down to the medbay to poke at my innards. Plus, Cheeky…”

The captain snorted. “Call me Cargo, and I’m not surprised Nance hunted you down. She went over Jessica with a fine-tooth comb too.”

“Cargo? Like the stuff in the hold?” Misha asked.

“Yeah, that’s my name. Being called ‘Captain’ wigs me out. Makes me think of someone else…I prefer my name.”

Misha shook his head as he set a bottle of red wine on the table. “OK, sure. So why did Nance go over Jessica?”

“Notice how she glows now?” Cargo asked, his tone conversational as he uncorked the wine and poured himself a glass.

“Hard not to,” Misha replied.

“Well, she got railroaded into becoming the poster girl for Retyna. So they put their fancy alien microbes in her skin to show it off. Makes her glow, as it turns out.”

Misha stopped what he was doing and slowly turned to face Cargo. “What do you mean, ‘in her skin’?”

“Just that. It’s not like Jessica has real skin anyway. She’s been sporting some artificial polymer ever since her original birthday suit got baked off by a nuke.”

Misha didn’t know how to reply to that. Up until meeting the crew of Sabrina, Misha had thought his life was unusual. Yet the captain here talked of full skin replacement and alien microbes in the same breath as though it were the stuff of every other Tuesday.

Maybe it was….

He busied himself with setting the food on the table and over the next few minutes, the entire crew arrived and took what appeared to be their customary seats.

Nance sat on Cargo’s right, while Cheeky sat on his left. Across the table sat Finaeus, Jessica and Trevor. Misha felt strange sitting at the foot of the table, but no one said anything as he settled into his seat and everyone began to dig in.

“Good-looking spread you have here,” Finaeus said. “Even managed to get the steak just right. Glad to see you had time to do up mashed potatoes too.”

“Thanks for that,” Misha said. “I got ambushed a few times in the middle of my prep. Was a bit distracting.”

“Just trying to spice things up,” Cheeky said with a wink.

Misha was glad to see she was dressed again, although her halter top and the skirt she now sported didn’t hide much. It was an amusing contrast to Jessica and Nance who showed very little skin—though it was reassuring to see Nance no longer wore a hazsuit. Maybe she’d relax a bit.

“Gonna have a lot of practice in the galley,” Jessica said. “You’re on cooking duty for a month.”

Misha groaned. “I thought we were kidding about that. I’m sure I could earn my keep some other way.”

The crew all looked at one another and shook their heads.

“Nope,” Cargo said. “I think this is you for the foreseeable future. If you’re not happy with the arrangement, you can always get off when we get to Kidron.”

“Don’t worry,” Finaeus said as he clasped Misha on the shoulder. “I’ll still be around to help when you get distracted by all the pretty women on this ship.”

“Me?” Misha exclaimed.

“Wouldn’t even take advantage of me,” Cheeky said, her lips turned down. “And I didn’t get to sample any of the locals on the station.”

<He did check you out when you walked away,> Sabrina said.

“Sabrina!” Misha exclaimed.

“Good,” Cheeky grinned. “Glad to know I didn’t do all that extra swishing for nothing.”

<He checked all the girls out,> Sabrina added. <Repeatedly.>

Misha sank in his seat, heat suffusing his cheeks. He couldn’t help but look at Trevor, worried he would take umbrage.

Instead Trevor laughed. “What’s wrong, Mish? That’s the official pastime on this ship. Not like we’re a bunch of prudes. Well, except for Cargo.”

“Nah,” Cheeky said around a mouthful of steak. “Cargo was doing the bartender back on Hermes—wait! Damn! How is it Cargo got action and I didn’t? I’m such a failure.”

“You know I’m right here, right?” Cargo asked with raised palms. “Just because I’m not a nymphomaniac like the rest of you doesn’t mean I don’t get to enjoy myself when it’s called for.”

“Cargo, therein lies the difference with you. It’s always called for.”

Misha noticed that even Nance was nodding—which surprised him. She had come off as a bit of a prude. Maybe that had more to do with the ‘lout who left her’ as Sabrina had put it.

“So, what do you think of the ship, then?” Trevor asked.

“Umm…interesting,” Misha said. “It’s obvious you’ve all been together for some time. I feel like an outsider. And there’s always an inside joke going on.”

“I know what you mean,” Finaeus said, reaching out and slapping Misha on the back. “I’ve only been aboard a few months, myself. It’s a weird little ship, isn’t it?”

<Hey!> Sabrina said.

“He’s not wrong, Sabrina,” Misha said. “For instance, I think you’ve been messing with me a bit.”

<Moi?> Sabrina said, her tone reflecting shock. 

“See?” Misha asked. “How many ship’s AIs have weird-ass senses of humor like that. Not to mention that she takes offense at being called an artificial intelligence.”

<I’m going to start calling humans ‘chaotic intelligences’. I think it fits.>

<Not far off the mark,> Erin added, chiming in for the first time since Misha had heard her speak when he had been on the bridge.

“Intelligence aside, there’s other stuff like your amazing medbay—though that may just be because Nance appears to be a severe germaphobe. Oh, and why do most of the ingredients in the galley here have the labels torn off. Did someone just want to make my life miserable?”

“Stars, that’s been such a pain in the ass,” Jessica said. “I used cayenne pepper on my oatmeal the other day instead of cinnamon. That was a surprise and a half.”

“Nice!” Finaeus crowed. “I swapped those two, hoping it would get someone.”

“Asshole,” Jessica said around a mouthful of food.

“So, you did it just to mess with people?” Misha asked Finaeus.

“Hell yeah. Need something to while away the long weeks between the stars.” Finaeus grinned.

“So how much do you hate us?” Jessica asked.

The question caught Misha by surprise. Were they trying to make him hate them? Was all this weirdness just a hazing ritual?

That couldn’t be it. It didn’t explain how they’d escaped RMs, or why they had mednano his body couldn’t detect. Plus, a host of other little things, like the water showers, or even the décor in the ship. It was all so foreign.

“Where did you guys say you were from again?” Misha asked.

“Told you he’d figure it out,” Trevor said.

“Well, we kinda telegraphed it,” Cheeky added.

 Sabrina chimed in. 

“I still don’t think we should tell him,” Nance said. “No offense, Misha. You seem like a nice guy.”

“We talked about this, Nance,” Cargo said.

“Yeah, but talking about something doesn’t mean I immediately acquiesce.”

“You guys told me right away,” Trevor said.

“That’s ‘cause Jessica was all hot for you.” Cheeky grinned. “It was gonna come out in pillow talk soon enough.”

“Pfft!” Jessica said and stuck her tongue out at Cheeky. “I have more restraint than to—”

“Stars, just tell me or shut up about ‘it’ already,” Misha interrupted.

No one spoke for a moment, and the crew all looked at one another, smiles breaking out across their faces.

“Hey. Misha,” Finaeus said. “They teach you about the schism between Orion and the Transcend here, right?”

Misha nodded. The schism was ancient history, but they were taught all about the evils of the Transcend in school. Not to mention constant government propaganda—though little of it existed this far out.

“Look up Jeffery Tomlinson’s brother,” Finaeus prompted.

Misha accessed the academic database in his memory implant and his breath caught when the entry appeared superimposed over his vision.

“Shiiiiiiiiiit,” he whispered. “You’re…you’re Finaeus Tomlinson!”

<Great, now we have to keep him!> Sabrina exclaimed. <Welcome to the crew.>

“Uhh…thanks. I think?”

THE END

THE DANCE ON THE MOONS OF SERENITY

PERSEUS GATE – SEASON 1: EPISODE 3

BY M. D. COOPER

FOREWORD

I had a blast writing this story; to a certain extent, it has satisfied my desire (for a time) to write high fantasy. It also has a touch of a Dune feel to it. However, if there are any stark comparisons, I hope you’ll forgive me as it has been decades since I read Dune, and any direct correlations are entirely unintentional.

I’ll also note that while this story focuses entirely on Jessica and Cheeky, I do intend to have the whole crew back in the limelight in the next book: The Last Bastion of Star City.

That book will also give you some time with Misha and his first few days aboard Sabrina, so if you have a hankering for that, it will come, trust me.

Finally, as I wrote this story, and layered on the political and cultural layers to the Houses of Serenity, I found that I really could have made this into a full-length novel. Alas, Amazon does not allow the changing of pre-order dates, and missing a date has severe consequences, so the real world dictates that I must keep this story as a novella.

However, perhaps some day we’ll revisit The Serenity Ordus and the Houses of Serenity....

M. D. Cooper

Danvers, August 2017

THE HOUSES OF SERENITY

The Houses of Serenity control the Serenity System and occupy the five moons orbiting the gas giant, Serenity Primus. Together they are the Serenity Ordus.

Five of these houses are known as the High Table, and each controls one of the five moons of Serenity.

These are the moons, their houses, leaders, and scions.

The Moon of Acadia

House: Laurentia (Head of the High Table)

Leader: Anastasia

Scion: Kristina

The Moon of Mesophis

House: Nebacken

Leader: Lena

Scion: Lorana

The Moon of Gallas

House: Charlemis

Leader: Justina

Scion: Pharis

The Moon of Yucana

House: Mepholec

The Moon of Teros

House: Paladis

HEALING WATERS

STELLAR DATE: 10.14.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Healing Waters Mineral Spa, Olvives, Kidron System

REGION: Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

“This is the life,” Jessica said as she leaned back in the warm water. She closed her eyes and listened to the soft sounds of the bubbling stream echoing off the walls and ceiling of the cavern.

“Mmmmm, you say something, Jess?” Cheeky asked.

Jessica cracked an eye open and watched Cheeky float by, only half-submerged in the buoyant water.

“Exactly,” Jessica said with a dreamy smile.

Cheeky paddled closer and reached the edge of the pool where Jessica sat with her feet hooked into stirrups on the bottom of the pool to keep them from floating up.

Cheeky let out a long sigh of contentment as she settled into place next to Jessica. “We need to get a mineral water cavern on Sabrina. Think we could convince Nance to go with it?”

Jessica laughed softly. “Doubtful, she still avoids touching me as much as she can manage. I can’t imagine what she’d have to say about whatever is probably in this water.”

Cheeky looked around at the water, which sparkled with a purple light in Jessica’s vicinity. “Yeah, when I asked her if she wanted to come here with us, she said something along the lines of ‘What? Soak in pond scum inside some asteroid? No thanks!’.”

Jessica laughed softly, swirling her hand through the water. “Seriously, what could possibly be in here that our mednano can’t deal with?”

“Jessica! Seriously. Don’t say things like that, I just got real skin back, I don’t want it to get infected and peel off or something.”

<Relax,> Piya said. <It’s just water with a bunch of naturally occurring minerals in it. Nothing dangerous to your shiny new skin.>

Cheeky gave a soft laugh. “I think you have me mixed up with Jess. She has the shiny skin.”

<Her skin sparkles. Your brand new organic skin kinda gleams,> Piya replied archly.

“Whatever,” Cheeky said with a snort.

Jessica reached out and patted Cheeky on the shoulder. “Your skin looks good, Cheeks. Just the way it’s supposed to.”

“Good thing too, these folks in Kidron are more into standard fare. I would have had slim pickins if I still had my plasti-skin. You’re lucky you’re celibate now, Jess. You’d never get any here, being all glowy and stuff.”

Jessica laughed. “I’m monogamous, Cheeky, not celibate.”

“Same difference,” Cheeky said with an exaggerated shrug.

“I get more than you do. You have to do without whenever we’re not docked,” Jessica said with a note of superiority in her voice.

Cheeky’s eyes darted toward Jessica and one corner of her mouth turned up. “Think so?”

“Well, I know Nance still isn’t in the mood—unless you’ve been giving her an outlet for her frustrations.”

“Nah.” Cheeky shook her head. “Nance still needs some time after Thompson. It’s only been a few months. Maybe when we get back in the black I’ll feel her out…figuratively speaking.”

“Right, figuratively.” Jessica laughed.

“But just because Nance is in recovery from that giant hairy asshole whose name we no longer speak, doesn’t mean I’ve been resorting to mechanical assistance.”

Jessica, realized what Cheeky must be getting at and turned to look at her friend full in the face. “Nooooo.”

Cheeky nodded and closed her eyes, a small smile of satisfaction her lips. “Oh yeah, he’s like a well-aged wine. Good vintage too.”

“But he’s…Finaeus…he’s…weird. And he’s Sera’s uncle… that’s even weirder.”

“Eh.” Cheeky shrugged. “He’s funny, and he and I…well, we have a special bond.”

“Just ‘cause you almost got sucked into a black hole together that one time doesn’t mean you should go shacking up.”

Cheeky cracked an eyelid and looked at Jessica. “Seriously? That’s like…the best reason ever for shacking up with someone. I bet there are no two other people alive who have been through what he and I have…and survived. Thank you again for that, by the way. After that fancy flying I feel like you should be Sab’s pilot.”

Jessica snorted. “Don’t start with that again, Cheeky. You and Sabs are made for one another. If you ever decide to leave your body, you’ll be a starship.”

“Leave my body?” Cheeky asked, aghast. “I would never leave this body…although…I wonder what it would be like to be the SS Sexy.”

Jessica laughed. “Now you’re just avoiding the fact that you’ve been screwing the old man.”

“Don’t you give me any grief, Jessica. You’ve told me about your escapades back in your youth. I don’t have half the notches on my bedframe that you do.”

“Yeah, well, a lot of that was for work,” Jessica said with a scowl.

“OK, taking out your work, our notches are about even,” Cheeky said. “The point is, you’ve been confined to quarters on starships before for screwing everyone onboard and causing no end of marital spats. Why does the thought of Finaeus and me bother you so much?”

Jessica looked up at the ceiling of the cavern, some ten meters above; glad no one else was in the pool to overhear this conversation. “I don’t really know. I guess it’s because he’s so old!”

“So are you,” Cheeky said with a soft laugh. “I still think you’re totally fuckable.”

“Thanks Cheeks, glad to know I pass muster with you…even though I’m so old.”

“Well, you are. You’re what? Two hundred?”

“No! I’m…”

<You’re one hundred and fifty two Earth years old,> Iris supplied.

“See, old!” Cheeky grinned and gave Jessica a small tap on the arm with her index finger. “You have a hundred years on me.”

“Yeah, a hundred years is normal, but Finaeus has thousands of years on you. He…ugh…”

Cheeky giggled. “That was your I-just-thought-of-something-gross sound. Spill it.”

“I was just thinking of some sort of way to describe how old he is, and this mental image popped into my mind of how big the pile of toenails he must have clipped would be if it were all put together.”

Cheeky snorted. “And that’s terribly gross?”

“I did the math…it’s bigger than Sabrina.”

“Nooooo…” Cheeky breathed. “Piya? Give a girl an assist on that one?”

<Bigger yes, not more massive,> Piya confirmed.

“Well, that’s good at least,” Cheeky said with a grin. “Imagine hauling a ship full of toenail clippings?”

“This is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had,” Jessica said with a grimace.

“I sincerely doubt that,” Cheeky replied. “I know for a fact that you and I have had at least eleven conversations far stranger than this one. Though two of those have also centered around your distaste for toenails.” As she spoke, Cheeky raised a foot out of the water and wiggled her toes at Jessica.

“Well, your toenails don’t bother me,” Jessica said. “They’re perfectly manicured. Cargo on the other hand…guh.”

“His toenails are fine, he just doesn’t clip them that often,” Cheeky said with a shrug.

“Does he know we have nano for that?”

“Seriously, Jess, you’re starting to remind me of Nance here. Just because you don’t have to clip your toenails…”

Jessica stuck her foot out of the water. “That’s because I don’t have any. Best part of no real skin is no real toenails.”

Cheeky laughed. “Stars, you’re weird, Jess. Though I’ll admit, they look pretty cute, like little blueberries.”

<We have company,> Iris warned.

“Yeah, totally adorbs,” a voice from behind the pair commented.

Jessica turned her head and studied two women standing in the entrance to the cavern. They were both armored, and held pulse pistols. One had thick white hair pulled into a braid, and the other was bald with shifting tattoos covering her head.

“You’re not really going to get the full effect of the waters with that armor on,” Jessica said with a grin.

Cheeky groaned. “Jessica, meet Macy and Jenn, or as I like to call them, Baldy-Tats and Whitey-Braid.”

Jessica turned and placed her hand on the towel behind her on the edge of the pool. “Nice to meet you two. So, which of you is which? I want to make sure I don’t go calling Baldy Jenn when she’s Macy.”

Macy—the bald one as it turned out—growled. “Shut the fuck up with that. I’m Macy, she’s Jenn.”

“Noted,” Jessica replied. “What brings you to these parts?”

“Your indestructible ship,” Jenn said.

“Whoa,” Jessica said. “Don’t go laying all the cards on the table so fast. You gotta be coy about it, ease into it. Work up to trying to steal our ship from us.”

“Although it’ll be tough. It’s not even here,” Cheeky said.

“We noticed,” Macy said. “But you’re going to take us to it.”

“And if we don’t?” Jessica asked.

“Then things will get messy,” a new voice said—this one male.

Jenn and Macy parted to reveal a man walking into the grotto.

“There goes the neighborhood,” Cheeky muttered.

“This is our friend, Derrick,” Macy said. “He’s also very interested in your ship.”

“Particularly in how it can smash planets,” Derrick added.

Jessica looked the newcomer over. He was tall and well-muscled. His right hand was missing, and had been replaced with a strange silver sphere, and a thick silver band wrapped around the back of his head, ending where his ears would have been—had he any.

He was unarmored, with only a tight silver suit covering his body, though there were two handguns strapped to his thighs.

Jessica would have considered him to be rather attractive, were his skin not a pewter color—something about grey skin just put her off, almost worse than bad toes. Silver she could deal with, but not grey.

<Just gonna ogle him, or what?> Cheeky asked.

<Well, it’s three on two and you didn’t bring a weapon,> Jessica replied. <He does look pretty well-endowed, though. You should give him a shot rather than Finaeus.>

<Seriously, Jess!>

<OK, OK.>

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jessica replied to the intruders. “We didn’t leave Hermes station on our former vessel, the Matron Tulip…may she forever rest in the void. Our ship is the SS Sexy. It’s in dock; you can check with the Olvives dockmaster.”

“You mean the ship you stole from RHY, Retyna Girl?” Macy asked with a smirk.

“Sheesh. What are you two? Detectives?” Cheeky asked.

“If they were,” Jessica said. “They’d know we pulled out of Hermes on the Sexy and flew off here to mourn the loss of our friends on the Matron Tulip. RHY gave me this ship as part of my advance on royalties for my work as Retyna girl.”

“Oh yeah?” Derrick asked. “I have some friends who work for RHY’s branch in the Kidron system. Think I should ask them about that? I could also let them know the ship that smashed Marsalla—their favorite new planet—to pieces, is still around. I bet they’d love to hear about that. How’s that for detective work?”

<They seem to have us dead-to-rights,> Cheeky said.

<May as well find out what they want,> Iris added.

Jessica sighed and rose from the water, carefully picking up her towel and wrapping it around her waist, holding it—and the gun inside—in place with left hand. “So, what happens next?”

Derrick pulled his eyes from Jessica’s breasts to her face, a lascivious smile on his lips. “Well, we know your other ship, the Tulip—or the Stinging Nettle as it seems to be named now—came into Kidron five days ago. It picked up some insystem cargo from Heshron Station, and then flew to Pela for delivery, but not before you two took off in your little stolen ship.”

“The Sexy,” Cheeky said.

“Whatever. We’ve been waiting for your ship to come back and pick you two up, but so far they’re still on the far side of the system,” Macy added. “But we got bored, so here we are.”

“So, a hostage play in exchange for the ship?” Cheeky asked as she stepped out of the pool as well, grabbing a towel and drying herself off.

Derrick grinned. “You got it girlie!”

Cheeky looked to Jessica. “How original.”

Jessica shrugged and turned to Derrick. “Well, they’re not coming back here. They took a shipment to Serenity, we’re to head out tomorrow and meet them there.”

<Serenity? Why’d you pick that place?> Cheeky asked.

 Jessica replied.

<Place is weird, it’s ruled by five houses that all have moons around a big jovian planet,> Cheeky said.

<They have the moons orbiting in a klemperer rosette. It would be interesting to see it, at least,> Iris added.

“OK, so your initial plan failed, what’s the new idea?” Jessica asked.

Macy took a step forward. “It didn’t fail, Retyna Girl. It just changed a bit.”

Derrick was rubbing his chin. “Serenity, you say. I have something that needs to get out to that corner of space. Rather fortuitous, this is. Here’s what we’re gonna do. Macy and Jenn are going to take a little trip with you two aboard the Sexy to Serenity. You’ll do as they say, meet up with your friends, and then trade their ship for your lives.”

“What? You can’t haul your grey ass out there too?” Jessica asked.

“Oh, I’ll be there. I just have some business here that I have to wrap up first. But I should make it to Serenity for the swap.”

“So just like that, eh?” Jessica said. “You think you can take us hostage and then take our ship?”

Derrick laughed. “Think I can do it? I’ve already done it. Dockmaster here is a friend of mine, and I’ve just made the call to have some special cargo transferred to your ship. So, if you two ladies wouldn’t mind getting dressed…or stay naked if you want, I don’t mind—”

“Oh,” Jenn interrupted. “And toss the gun you’ve been hiding in your towel to Macy. Not like it’s gonna do much.”

Jessica pulled out the handgun and threw it to Macy, who deftly caught it with one hand. “I know, that’s why I didn’t use it.”

She joined Cheeky at the bench and pulled on her pants and camisole.

<So what’s the plan?> Cheeky asked.

<Me? I thought you’d have a plan,> Jessica replied with a grin before she turned to face their would-be captors.

<Seriously, Jess, I fly the ship and look hot. You sparkle and come up with the plans.>

<Perhaps let them take you to the ship?> Iris suggested. <It seems Derrick can move about Olvives with impunity, and fighting them here will just mean duking it out with station security all the way back to the ship.>

Jessica rose and nodded to Derrick and his girls. “OK, once Cheeky gets the overly elaborate laces on her sandals done up we’re ready to get to the Sexy.”

 Iris said.

<Why not,> Cheeky replied.

<Why can’t I believe you named your ship ‘Sexy’? Because it’s a starship, not an attribute,> Iris explained.

<Nonsense. Lots of ships have attributes for names. But what I was really asking was why you can’t believe it. Have you met Jessica and I?>

Jessica snorted a laugh and caught a puzzled look from Macy.

“Sorry, private chat here.”

“Oh, I probably don’t need to mention it, but there’s no point in reaching out to anyone on station. All the right palms are greased.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cheeky sighed. “We figured.”

<Why is it the more we travel the stars, the more everything is all the same?> Jessica asked.

<Might have to do with the fact that we pose as smugglers most of the time,> Cheeky replied.

<We’re smugglers at best,> Piya added. <But really, we’re more like interstellar secret agents.>

<Ohhh, I like that,> Cheeky said with a grin.

“Stop grinning, you two, and get a move on,” Macy ordered waving her pulse pistol.

“Sure thing, Baldy-Tats,” Jessica replied with a grin.

A PUSH AND A SHOVE

STELLAR DATE: 10.14.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Healing Waters Mineral Spa, Olvives, Kidron System

REGION: Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

The SS Sexy sat in a cradle in Bay N31, its sleek form obscured by a stack of cargo pods sitting in front of the ship’s ramp.

“I don’t know how big you think our ship is, but all that shit isn’t gonna fit,” Jessica said as they approached the Sexy’s berth.

“We’ll find a way,” Macy replied. “You two can sleep in the san unit or something.”

“Oh, how lovely,” Cheeky said with a snort. “Just what I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Shut up or you’ll spend the trip on the hull in EV,” Jenn said as she shoved Cheeky in the back.

Jessica barely paid attention to Cheeky as she studied the four men and women in powered armor currently guarding the Sexy. Two leaning against the pods, and two giving menacing looks to anyone who ventured near.

“I hope they let the food service team aboard. I put in a big order, and with these two tagging along,” Cheeky said as she cocked her head at Macy and Jenn, “we’re gonna need it.”

“Well, don’t just stand around,” Derrick said with a wicked smile, “Get loading!”

Jessica turned and gave Derrick her best glare. “Are you serious? We just spent a day at the spa, now you want us to sling cargo?”

Derrick laughed. “Why not? You’ll be all limber from the water in the grotto. Perfect time for some manual labor.”

“Asshole,” Jessica muttered as she walked toward the cargo pods and looked them over. Despite what Macy and Jenn thought, there was no way all of the pods would fit, even if they all rode on the outside of the ship.

“We’re gonna have to crack some of these and just take the contents,” Jessica called back to Derrick where he stood talking to Macy and Jenn.

“Fine,” Derrick called back. “Just don’t open the ones with the blue labels.”

“Well, now I really want to,” Cheeky groused as she flipped open a crate with a red label. “Oooo guns!”

“Now all we need is some ammo,” Jessica replied.

“Shut up and load the ship,” one of the guards ordered.

The Sexy’s small cargo bay—if it could even be called that—had only ever been meant to hold luggage for five to six people. Or in the case of Phoebe, hers alone.

Cheeky and Jessica tossed the last few of the diminutive debutante’s suit cases down the ramp and then proceeded to cram weapons into every available corner on the ship.

Once they got done with the red-labeled cases, they moved on to the other non-blue labeled ones, adding more weapons, quantum processors that looked like they might use multidimensional computation, and a host of other goodies that likely had extra-legal provenance.

As they worked on loading the ship, one of the guards moved inside, taking up a position at the top of the ramp where he could see most of the interior, from the cockpit down to the small engine compartment in the stern.

Eventually, only the crates with the blue labels remained, and Jessica walked down the ramp, leaving Cheeky to fight with the ninth railgun she was trying to cram into the shower.

Jessica scanned the bay, relieved to find that Derrick had finally left, taking two of the guards with him. Perfect.

<Seems like they think four people are enough to keep us locked down,> Jessica commented to Iris.

<Normally they would be. In related news, I have hacked through the lockout they installed in the ship’s nav system. We’re ready to go whenever you are.>

<What about the bay’s grav shield?> Jessica asked.

<It’s not strong enough to hold us in. They have doors, but we’ll get out before they can close them.>

<OK…if you’re certain.>

Iris snorted. <Jessica, it’s me.>

Jessica shook her head and walked toward the first of the red-labeled crates and pulled it off the stack. It was heavier than she had expected, and Jessica almost dropped it, but managed to maintain her hold and set it down carefully. She dragged it to the Sexy’s ramp and then began to pull it up the incline until it caught on one of the ridges.

“Hey, meathead. Think you can help with this?” Jessica asked the guard at the top of the ship’s ramp.

“No, get it up yourself.”

Jessica snorted. “I bet that’s what all the girls say to you.”

“Hey!” The man shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Whatever, look, I don’t like this situation any more than you do, but Baldy and Whitey down there are gonna get grumpy soon, so give me a hand already.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” the guard said. “Watching you two bitches lug crap aboard has been the highlight of my week. I’d pay good money to come on this trip—well, if Jenn and Macy weren’t coming. Those two have some…unpleasant appetites.”

“I can imagine,” Jessica replied as she walked around to the upper end of the ramp and pulled on the cargo pod, sticking her ass out and shaking it as she yanked on the pod.

The man laughed. “You won’t have to imagine for long. Keep doing that and I’ll have a taste before those two mercs get to you. They’re gonna chew you two waifs up and spit you out.”

“Yeah, yeah. I can imagine they think they’re all badass in the sack. I probably did everything they ever dreamed of before I was thirty,” Jessica replied. “However, I bet they’ll do something real fun to you if you just stand there and stare at my ass all day. Now, give me a hand!”

“Just lift it and pull it over the ridge,” the guard explained.

“I can’t lift and pull this thing. I’m exhausted, and I’m not sure I could even if I wasn’t. Plus, it’s just gonna catch on the next ridge.”

“Fine,” the guard said. “I liked you better before you opened your mouth.”

The guard pushed off from the bulkhead he had been leaning against, and walked down the ramp. As he did, Cheeky snuck behind him and ducked into the cockpit.

Once the guard was past the crate, Jessica tapped the him on the shoulder. “Hey, I never got your name.”

“Norm,” the guard replied as he turned to push the crate up the ramp.

“Well, Norm,” Jessica said as she leapt toward him. “You’re an ass, so I’m not really sorry about this.”

As Jessica spoke, she reached out and placed her hands on his throat and cheek, discharging half her microbe’s energy capacity into him.

Norm jerked and went rigid as the power coursed through him and shorted out his armor’s motor controls.

When she deemed him sufficiently incapacitated, Jessica braced herself against the crate—which was well and truly stuck on a ridge on the ramp—and pushed with all her might, toppling Norm over and sending him sliding down the ramp.

“The fuck!” Macy called out and raced toward the Sexy.

“Buh-bye!” Jessica hollered as she ran to the top of the ramp and hit the ramp control. “Go! Cheeky Go!”

“Engines online, boosting in five, four, three—Jess, the ramp’s not closed!” Cheeky called back as the Sexy lurched forward, speeding toward Bay N21’s opening.

Jessica turned and found the problem; Norm’s inert form stuck at the bottom of the ramp. His eyes were wide and staring as he struggled against his seized armor.

“Sorry-not-sorry about this, Norm…again,” Jessica said as she grabbed a support strut and swung forward, kicking him out of the ship. The ramp resumed closing and she barely got her right foot back in before it shut with a comforting snick.

Suddenly the ship lurched again, and the deafening thunder of fusion drives lighting up in atmosphere filled the interior of the vessel, then the sound suddenly muted as the ship burst past the gravity shield and into space.

“Did you fire the burners in the bay?” Jessica called out as she clambered up the ramp.

“I had to. They were—still are—turning their turrets on us!”

Jessica reached the cockpit and fell into her seat, fastening the safety harness as she pulled up a view of Bay N21.

“Holeee shit!” Jessica said as she looked at the shrinking view of the bay’s melted deck. “How much thrust did you use?”

“That was just the warmup burn,” Cheeky said. “The smallest I could do.”

“Well, I bet we won’t be hearing from Jenn or Macy ever again,” Jessica chuckled.

“I hope we got that grey bastard, Derrick, too,” Cheeky said as she dove under an inbound freighter. “You’d think he’d never seen boobs before.”

“So, where to?” Jessica asked as she pulled up Scan, looking for signs of pursuit.

“Well, Sabrina was out at Heshron; let’s boot on over there and get the heck out of this system,” Cheeky replied as she pulled into a clear outbound lane. “Wow, you should hear the things they’re saying at Olvives…they’re piiiiised.”

Jessica laughed. “Serves them right for letting assholes like Derrick run his shady…whatever it is he’s into…off their rock.”

<We have a problem,> Iris said.

<Just one?> Piya asked. <Because there are four patrol boats coming after us.>

<Well, then we’ve another as well,> Iris said. <They sent a message to Sabrina telling them we’re going to Serenity.>

“So, send one saying we’re not,” Jessica replied as she shifted power to the ship’s rear shield umbrellas, frustrated that they hadn’t thought to install stasis shields on the Sexy.

Live and learn, she thought.

“I have a better plan,” Cheeky said as she flipped the forward holo to show a Kidron patrol cruiser approaching. “We’re not going to get across the Kidron system with that thing on our tail.”

<Starship SS…Sexy…you are in violation of Kidron Space Craft Code of Operations. Cease burn and prepare to be drawn into a holding bay.>

<What about being kidnapped and extorted on Olvives Station?> Jessica responded. <We’re running for our lives here.>

“Is it wrong that I find that double entendre hilarious?” Cheeky asked as she turned the Sexy back toward the asteroid and pushed the engines to their maximum safe burn.

“Yes! Pay attention to what you’re doing!” Jessica said. “Wait…what are you doing?”

“I’m not just a pretty face,” Cheeky said, her brow lowered in concentration. “I hooked up with another pilot last night, got some of the insystem DL maps the smugglers use. There’s a clear space in the dark layer that starts right on top of Olvives.”

<Cruiser is firing on us,> Iris reported. <Optical beams only, but our reactor was barely able to keep the shields up.>

<We hadn’t been fueled before our friends showed up,> Piya added. <With the rate we’re boosting—and their weapons—we’ll be dry on H3 in twelve minutes.>

“Damnit!” Jessica said. “Cheeky, where can we go on that vector in the DL, then?”

“Umm…looks like Serenity.”

<The one place where Derrick knows where to look for us?> Piya asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t plan to get kidnapped today, or I would have made sure the bay chief fueled us sooner!” Cheeky retorted. “At least Sabs will know where to find us.

<We took a hit on our port engine! Reactor critical!> Iris announced. <Shutting it down. We can take one more salvo and then our batts will be dry.>

Ahead, the Olvives asteroid rushed toward them, and Jessica closed her eyes. “Do it, Cheeks.”

ADRIFT IN THE DARK

STELLAR DATE: 10.14.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Dark Layer, Kidron System

REGION: Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

Cheeky blew out a long breath. “We’re in.”

“And not smushed, either,” Jessica said as she fell back in her seat. “I’m going to count this as a win.”

“Jessica, why does this shit keep happening to us?” Cheeky asked. “It’s starting to get stressful!”

“Starting? I thought it started to get stressful back in Virginis, at the very least.”

“Nah, that was just a dockside shootout. That’s just another Tuesday…”

<What about falling into a black hole?> Piya asked. <That was pretty stressful. I think I aged a thousand years there…and I don’t age.>

Cheeky undid her harness and stretched. “That just serves to make my point. No one’s life is like this.”

“Talk to the crew of the Intrepid,” Jessica said. “Ending up in the Perseus Arm dealing with Macy and Jenn is nothing compared to going through Kapteyn’s Streamer and jumping five thousand years into the future.”

“Maybe we should all just go through that thing again. Come out another five thousand years in the future and see if people have figured out how not to be such shitheads.”

<You’re really riled up,> Iris commented.

“That mineral pool was really nice!” Cheeky stamped her foot on the deck for emphasis and then flushed with embarrassment over her behavior. “Sorry…but…you know? I think I’m entitled to a little hissy fit every now and then. I’m gonna take all those fucking railguns and stick ‘em on one of the bunks and have a long, hot shower.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Jessica said as she undid her harness and rose. “Then, I’m gonna pop open that blue-labeled crate and see what’s up in there.”

“You sure that’s wise?” Cheeky said as she walked down the short corridor to the san unit. “Could be all manner of nasty in there. We should just lower the ramp and kick it into the dark layer.”

“I’ll suit up and open it very carefully with the atmo shield in place at the top of the ramp. If it’s nasty, then the void can have it.”

“Your funeral,” Cheeky said as she edged into the san unit, reached into the shower and pulled out the first railgun.

Jessica took the gun and placed it in the corridor. “Derrick sure was moving some nice hardware. This is military grade weaponry. Too bad none of the crates had ammunition in them.”

<My money is on the blue crates containing the magazines and ammo,> Iris said. <They didn’t want you to load up and take them out.>

“Little did they know,” Cheeky said with a grunt as she handed another railgun to Jessica, “that Jess doesn’t need no stinkin’ gun to take someone down.”

Jessica chuckled. “Yeah, my death-touch is handy—no pun intended—though I have noticed some side effects.”

“Oh yeah?” Cheeky said, passing another rifle. “Like what?”

“Well, basically my skin is filled with microbes that crave a broad range of the EM spectrum, right?”

“Yeah, we covered this in Nance and Finaeus Alien Lifeforms class.”

Jessica smiled. “Funny, Cheeks. Anyway, like any plant, if they don’t get light, they start to die.”

<She has to sleep under a special light and make sure her entire body gets at least an hour,> Iris said. 

“Because you’re soooo busy,” Jessica said.

“Uhhh…pardon?” Cheeky asked. “Any part?”

Jessica grinned at Cheeky. “And here I thought you were an exhibitionist.”

Cheeky flushed a bright red. “Piya, Iris, there have to be boundaries. You can’t do this!”

The silvery sound of the two AIs laughing entered their minds and Cheeky fixed Jessica with a level stare. “Now I know we’re really in trouble. Our AIs are developing senses of humor.”

<And our humans are losing theirs,> Piya said with a grin in their minds.

“How long till Serenity?” Jessica asked.

* * * * *

Several hours later, after both Cheeky and Jessica had showered, Jessica stood on the ramp in her trusty purple shipsuit with an EV helmet attached. At the top of the ramp, Cheeky stood behind a grav shield, hand hovering over the emergency release for the ramp.

<Think you could wait till I’m tethered on before you get ready to hit that?> Jessica asked. 

Cheeky shrugged nonchalantly. <Well, you’d be travelling on the same vector. I’d just emit a targeted graviton beam and pull you back in.>

<And whatever else is lurking nearby,> Jessica replied as she clipped her tether onto one of the anchors on the bulkhead.

She saw Cheeky visibly shiver at the top of the ramp. <Noted. Yeah, you’d drift forever. Sorry, Jess.>

<You’re a real peach,> Jessica muttered as she cut the seal on the cargo pod and opened it up.

At first, she wasn’t certain what she was looking at. Ammunition had been high on her list of possibilities as well, but what she was looking at was most certainly not ammunition.

<Well, is it going to kill us all?> Cheeky asked.

<Ummm…maybe, but not right away,> Jessica replied.

<What kind of answer is that?>

Jessica pulled off her helmet while continuing to gaze down into the cargo pod. “Come see for yourself.”

Jessica reached into the container and turned over one of the items inside as Cheeky approached.

“Is that a sex bot?”

“Really, Cheeky, do you think they’d smuggle sex bots?

Cheeky shrugged as she reached into the crate and touched the gleaming silver torso. “How would I know? They’re not big on AI in Orion space. Maybe they figured people shouldn’t be able get advanced companionship either.”

<It’s true,> Iris said. <AI here are almost non-existent. The ones we’ve seen are very much like AI in the Inner Stars.>

“I think it’s a warrior of some sort,” Jessica said. “They’ve shipped all these weapons; if all the blue crates were automatons like this one—and if they were AI-controlled—they’d be formidable.”

“There were twenty blue crates, right?” Cheeky asked.

“Yup, practically a platoon of ultra-badass robot warriors.”

Cheeky touched the torso once more. “Then why’d they make it look so sexy? And have breasts?”

“Maybe it’s used for infiltration ops,” Jessica said. “Let’s assemble it and see.”

“Really? Your plan is to put the death-bot together and ‘see’?” Cheeky asked.

Jessica shrugged. “I know I won’t make it the seven days to Serenity just wondering what this thing is for. It’s gonna happen sooner or later.”

It only took ten minutes to put the automaton together, and once they were done, both women stepped back to admire their handiwork.

“Tech like this doesn’t fit with Orion. They seem like they’re stuck in the thirtieth century,” Cheeky said.

“Thirtieth century is when sentient AI were created. They were made with the purpose of fighting wars more effectively than humans or NSAIs. So, this could very well be thirtieth century tech,” Jessica said with a glance toward Cheeky. “What do they teach you in school where you grew up anyway?”

Cheeky rolled her eyes. “You know…stuff happened after the forty-fourth century too. There’s a lot to learn, I’m still pretty young.”

Jessica chuckled “OK, I’ll grant you that.”

She turned her attention back to the automaton, which was, as Cheeky had first noticed, essentially female. Once its limbs had been attached, the joints molded together and created a fluid skin. Though the breasts and lack of a male appendage between the legs marked the machine as female in appearance, it did not possess specific genitalia.

“So how do we turn it on?” Cheeky asked.

<RTFM,> Iris suggested.

“I didn’t see a manual in there,” Jessica said. “Has it Linked? Perhaps it can provide us with its startup sequence.”

Cheeky reached out and touched the automaton’s lips with her finger. “They feel really supple, not cold or hard like you’d expect.”

Cheeky continued to push at the robot’s lips, when suddenly its eyes opened. It focused on Cheeky, then Jessica, then back to Cheeky. A second later, its skin changed from silver to a pale pink, perfectly matching Cheeky’s color. Then it shrunk several centimeters and its body proportions matched Cheeky’s. Long, blonde hair grew out of its scalp, and settled around its shoulders.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Cheeky said.

“Well, that was unexpected,” the Cheeky doppelganger repeated.

“What is your function?” Jessica asked.

“Incorrect voice imprint. Imprinted person, please speak further,” the automaton said in a soft voice.

The response did not surprise Jessica, though she was annoyed that the bot wouldn’t accept commands until the voice imprinting was complete.

“What is your function, Cheeky-bot” Cheeky asked.

<Seriously?> Jessica asked Cheeky over the link so she wouldn’t affect the voice imprint.

<Yeah, it’s a bot, and it looks like me. It’s a Cheeky-bot.>

“I am an Autonomous Human Assimilation Personage. You may call me AHAP-145-A98-12,” the automaton replied in a voice that sounded closer to Cheeky’s, but still not quite right.

“Well, I certainly cannot call you that. It’ll take all day,” Cheeky said. “How’s about I call you…Addie.”

“Nickname accepted,” the automaton replied. “I am Addie.”

Jessica was surprised by how quickly the AHAP had matched Cheeky’s voice. “OK, now it’s creepy. If it wasn’t for the fact that it’s standing stock still, I’d think it’s you, Cheeky.”

“You’re telling me,” Cheeky said as she walked around the AHAP. “Thing looks exactly like me.”

“What are you used for, Addie?” Jessica asked.

“Please request permission from primary imprintee to address me,” Addie replied.

“Addie,” Cheeky said with a soft laugh. “Jessica here has full root-level permissions.”

“Understood,” Addie replied. “Jessica, my main purpose is to facilitate a perfect matching of a person through flawless imitation. I am also capable of accepting neural transference, although it is not reciprocal. With my ability to create a flawless representation of a human, I am well suited for infiltration, trysts, assassinations—”

“We get it,” Jessica said. “You’re an infiltrator chameleon. At least that’s what we used to call them back in Sol.”

“Neural transference,” Cheeky said with a shake of her head. “That’s a level of tech…well…that I’ve never personally encountered.”

<You encountered it on the Intrepid,> Piya said.

“Well, yeah, I mean they had it but—”

<No, you encountered it. Before they enlightened me, they saved the state of your mind, though it ended up not being necessary.>

“So, there’s a backup of me out there somewhere?” Cheeky asked.

<Maybe,> Piya replied. <If they kept it.>

“I bet these things go for a lot out here,” Jessica said. “Addie, I assume you’re capable of remote pilot?”

“Yes, including full immersion remote control,” Addie replied

“It’s going to be pretty interesting to see what these folks at Serenity are like,” Cheeky said. “Ordering twenty of these AHAPs is probably not cheap.”

“We should really try to figure out who is expecting these,” Jessica said. “We’re going to need repairs and fuel when we get to Serenity. Whoever expects this stuff won’t pay us a cent for it, but I bet whoever they planned to infiltrate or assassinate will be very interested.”

“Addie,” Cheeky addressed the AHAP. “Do you know who your buyer is?”

“No, it is why I imprinted on you.”

“Well, why don’t you make yourself useful. Go look over the cargo pod you came in, and all these weapons and try to get a clue.”

“Total black-market scenario,” Jessica said. “Get them set up to imprint on the first person. No documentation, no support, just assemble, massage its lips, and go.”

 Iris said.

Jessica nodded. “Yeah, but that takes all the fun out of needling Cheeky.”

“Addie,” Cheeky addressed the AHAP. “Can you change your hair color to red? It’s a bit weird seeing myself.”

Jessica glanced at Cheeky, then back at Addie, who was now rifling through the cargo pod she came in, looking for evidence of her intended buyer. “Or put on a big fuzzy sweater, then no one would confuse you with Cheeky.”

<We need to power down all non-critical systems,> Iris interrupted. <Our cooling systems are hot and there’s nowhere to vent heat in the dark layer.>

“We could pump waste heat into an expendable material and dump it,” Cheeky suggested.

<We’ve already done as much as we can while you were playing with your new doll,> Piya added.

Jessica chuckled. “You two don’t even need us, do you?”

<Well, unless we take over Addie, we need you two for manual labor,> Iris said with a mischievous grin in Jessica and Cheeky’s minds.

<Plus, Bob did make us promise to get you safely to New Canaan…which you are making increasingly difficult,> Piya added.

“It’s a skill,” Cheeky replied with a grin.

“So, exactly how hot is it going to get in here?” Jessica asked.

RESCUED…SORT OF

STELLAR DATE: 10.21.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Edge of the Serenity System

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

When the SS Sexy—renamed to the Beauty now that they were wanted in the Kidron System—finally dumped out of the dark layer, Cheeky was sweating buckets, and Jessica was growing warm enough to consider a shower with the ship’s tepid water reserves.

“Cooling vanes deployed,” Cheeky announced, once normal space had materialized around them. “I’ve never been quite so happy for cold, hard vacuum.”

Jessica nodded absently as she looked at the initial optical scan of the Serenity System. “This is weird. I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff, but this is real weird…”

“Weirder than a ring of black holes tearing apart a white dwarf remnant?” Cheeky asked.

“Huh…good question. Thing is, mining a dwarf star makes perfect sense. Here…why did they do this?”

Cheeky gestured at the holodisplay of the Serenity system. “Well, their star is young, a little unruly. Maybe they planted all those worlds inside that jovian’s van allen belts to protect them.”

Jessica shrugged. “I suppose. Seems like a lot of work.”

“So, which one do we go to?”

That was the thousand-credit-question.

Star systems were supposed to have lots of planets, asteroids, stuff. If a system was inhabited, there should be stations and habs everywhere—both drifting freely, and attached to every rock orbiting the star.

Here there was none of that. Not just a lack of stations and habitats, but no worlds—save the five terrestrial moons orbiting a single, massive jovian planet.

Everything else in the system was gone. Or had never been there to begin with.

 Iris said. <Each of those five ‘moons’ around that jovian planet are perfectly equidistant. It’s amazing that they’ve pulled it off so magnificently.>

Iris gave the words ‘moons’ added emphasis. It was obvious that the five worlds in orbit of the jovian—which now had a label of Serenity Primus hovering over it—were far larger than a typical moon.

“You think they hauled all their other worlds to Serenity Primus and dropped them into a klemperer rosette?” Jessica asked.

“I bet they made at least one of the worlds too,” Cheeky added. “I can’t imagine five equally massed planets of that size existing in one system.”

Jessica looked at the detailed Scan. None of the ‘moons’ of Serenity Primus appeared to be hot—which would be the case if they were recently created. They all had firm crusts and from the view the Sexy was able to get, they were all terraformed and lush.

“If they did make these, they did it a long time ago,” Cheeky said, echoing Jessica’s thoughts.

“But we’re still out on the fringe of Orion space,” Jessica said. “Naga was recently settled, and Kidron was only a century older. Yet Serenity is only ten light years from Kidron and appears ancient.”

Cheeky chuckled. “Jess, you’re looking at me like I know how they did this, or something.”

Jessica shook her head and smiled. “Yeah…well, you’re screwing the ancient terraformer. I figured maybe some of his knowledge rubbed off.”

“We don’t exactly talk about terraforming…well, not that kind of terraforming,” Cheeky replied with a wink.

“That is one of the weirdest euphemisms I’ve ever heard,” Jessica said.

“Seriously?”

“No…well…yeah…. I got a weird visual. Let it go,” Jessica said as a flush rose on her cheeks.

<Something is passing over the northern pole of Serenity Primus,> Iris said.

“Is that a station of some sort?” Cheeky asked. “Glad to see they have one. With our port engine out, I really didn’t want to try and breach atmo with the Sexy.”

“You afraid to take the Sexy down?” Jessica grinned.

“Oh, I’m not afraid to go down with Sexy,” Cheeky replied. “She just might not make it back up.”

<Seriously, we get it,> Piya interrupted. <You’re both very clever with the double entendres. Do you have any idea what you’re looking at?>

Jessica pulled the object rising over Primus’s north pole into view on the holodisplay and her breath caught.

“That’s a worldship…”

“Seriously?” Cheeky asked. “Holy shit…a worldship….”

<Provided my records are accurate, I believe that’s the Perseus…. Ironically,> Iris said.

“I thought it would be bigger,” Cheeky said. “It’s what…only six klicks across? You could park that thing inside the Intrepid’s main bay.”

<Hull laid at the FGT shipyards in the Lucida System in 3092, completed in 3155… We have no records as to which stars it visited,> Iris filled in the details.

“Well, now we know one that it went to.” Cheeky grinned.

“I wonder if they just came straight out here,” Jessica said. “Flew out further than they thought anyone would come, made their little five-world setup and called it done.”

<It’s possible,> Iris said. <But they would have had to have learned of FTL somewhere along the way. We’re almost seven thousand light years from Lucida. Without FTL—even if they were to have pushed right up to light speed—they would have only just arrived.>

“That’s so weird,” Cheeky said. “Do you think there are still sub-light ships out there? Pushing their way through the black?”

<Well, there was the Intrepid,> Iris said.

“Yeah, but it jumped through a supermassive gravitational lens,” Cheeky said. “I’m talking people who eked their way up to the edge of lightspeed and are just hugging it, puttering along through space and time.”

“I kinda hope not, for their sakes,” Jessica said. “Anyone at light speed would still be within the rim of Transcend and Orion expansion… whatever worlds those poor saps would be headed toward would be settled by the time they got there. Even if they travelled clear across the galaxy, by the time they got to the far side it would be settled.”

“That’s depressing,” Cheeky said.

“Plus, dangerous for the light-huggers if they had advanced tech,” Jessica added, thinking of the war for the Intrepid’s technology in the Bollam’s World System.

Both of the women stared at the disc-shaped worldbuilder ship—now progressing in its polar orbit of Serenity Primus—for several minutes before Piya interrupted them.

 she said. <There are also small ships, most no larger than a pinnace, flying between the moons—though their passage is intermittent at best.>

“Any other insystem craft? Or signs of recent hops through the jump points?” Cheeky asked.

<None,> Piya replied. <Though a real assessment would take a much more thorough scan than we can perform. This ship’s sensor suite is barely able to spot approaching rocks.>

“Annnd we just got pinged by a beacon,” Jessica noted. “Looks like…wow, sorry, just trying to parse their list of rules here. No fusion drives within 0.25AU of Serenity Primus, no civilian starships over a half-million tons allowed. No approaching the Perseus—it’s some sort of historic monument. No AP drives insystem at all, max speed is one quarter light…the list goes on.”

“What about approaches and space ports?” Cheeky asked.

“Looks like each world has precisely one small station, and one ground-side spaceport—for the public at least. It appears there are also private spaceports for what they call House Business.”

“House Business, eh?” Cheeky asked. “Sounds like a hoity-toity system. I think we should just wait out here ‘til Sabs shows up, latch on and go somewhere else.”

Jessica was inclined to agree. This place was too full of unanswerable questions. Two women showing up on a ship stuffed to the brim with weapons and an AHAP infiltration droid was bound to raise questions.

Granted, they could space all the weapons, but then they’d still need a convincing reason to show up in a system that seemed to get almost no interstellar traffic.

“Let’s get away from the dump zone here, and lay dark and wait.”

“Won’t be hard,” Cheeky said. “We’re almost completely dark as it is…minus the freakin’ shiny hull we have. We really should do something about that. We’re a damn flashlight in space. Nearby stars give off less light than we reflect.

<Plus our cooling vanes are glowing like nobody’s business,> Piya added.

“Surprise! We have a ship on our ass,” Jessica said. “First stealth tech we’ve seen in Perseus.”

<They could have had some high-quality mirrors on their ship and this boat’s sensors wouldn’t have spotted them,> Piya said. <We really need to upgrade the Sexy if we’re going to keep using it.>

The ship was a cruiser, roughly seven hundred meters in length. Its design reminded her of ships from the late twenty-seventh century she had seen in museums as a child.

Jessica toggled a control on her holoconsole. “Hail coming in. It’s full visual.”

“Uh, Jess, we’re both naked and I’m sweating my boobs off, can you not do full visual?” Cheeky asked.

<I’ll alter your representation on the feed,> Iris offered.

“Thanks Iris,” Cheeky said.

A man appeared on the holodisplay. He wore an ornate dress uniform and stood on a large bridge crewed by at least a dozen people in similar formal attire.

His sandy hair was cut short, and a thin beard ran along his jawline. Dark brown eyes lay beneath his strong brow, and his lips were drawn in a thin line.

“This is Captain Antaris of the OSS Acadian Light, please respond.”

<You’re officially the captain,> Cheeky said privately to Jessica. <You’re better at making shit up.>

<That’s because I prepare scenarios in advance,> Jessica replied.

“Captain Antaris,” Jessica responded. “I am Jessica Keller, skipper of the Beauty. How can we help you?”

Captain Antaris’s lips curved upward into a slight smile as Jessica spoke. “On the contrary, my fair lady, it is I who would like to render my assistance to you. What are two women of such immeasurable appeal doing so far from Primus?”

<Immeasurable appeal? I like this guy,> Cheeky commented.

“We just jumped into this system, we were under attack by pirates, and this was the best vector available. As you can see, our port engine is damaged.”

“Indeed, you are far from home—that is a Bennian ship unless I miss my guess. I trust you are uninjured? We could take your ship aboard the Acadian Light and offer repairs.”

“We would very much appreciate your gracious offer, but…forgive my inquisitive nature…are you Serenity’s official space force? We do not have extensive records of this system.”

Captain Antaris smiled benevolently. “Few do. We keep to ourselves, and prefer to be left alone. Praetor Kirkland of the Orion Freedom Alliance sees to it that we are left undisturbed as much as possible.

“However, that was not your question. I am of House Laurentia, the keepers of the Moon of Arcadia. Serenity has no ‘official space force’ as you call it. Each of the five Houses of the High Table fields its own navy and we share the duties of patrolling the jump points into Serenity.”

<Navy,> Cheeky commented. <How quaint.>

“That’s very cooperative of you,” Jessica replied, noting a brief lowering of Captain Antaris’s brow as she spoke. “And lucky of us to run into such a chivalrous representative of what must surely be the greatest of the Houses of Serenity.”

<See…this is why you do the talking in situations like this. You’re so smoooooth.>

<You better pay attention,> Jessica said. 

“Indeed, you are fortunate,” Captain Antaris said with a grave nod. “Normally House Charlemis patrols this jump point. We noted that none of their ships were present, and travelled here to inspect their notable absence. You are lucky we did so. I am not certain your ship would reach Serenity Primus in its current condition, and the thought of you two ladies in distress is not something I care to consider.”

 Iris said. <I’ve been reviewing what data I can from signals in this system—of which there are few—and rejecting offered hospitality is seen as a grave insult.>

 Jessica replied. <We’re probably dealing with some stratified society with a very aristocratic upper crust.>

“I too was not enamored of the prospect of attempting to travel insystem in our current condition,” Jessica said to Captain Antaris while slowly shaking her head. “It would have been dangerous in the extreme.”

“Excellent!” Captain Antaris said with a sharp nod and a winning smile. “I’ll have my navigation officer send you an approach vector and we’ll have you safely in our docking bay in minutes. Then I shall greet you properly and we shall dine together. There you may regale me with the tale of these pirates and how you escaped their clutches.”

“You are far too gracious,” Jessica replied. “We cannot wait to greet our saviors in person.”

“And I you,” Antaris replied.

Jessica cut the connection and turned to Cheeky. “Shit Cheeks, if they step aboard this ship they’re going to think we’re the pirates.”

Cheeky’s eyes were wide and she shook her head. “Seriously Jessica? We can play damsels in distress all day long and come up with a story about the weapons. But that’s not our biggest problem.”

“It’s not?” Jessica couldn’t imagine what was more concerning.

“Jessica, we have one san unit and just twenty minutes to clean up. Not to mention find clothing that won’t make these people think we’re harlots who stole this ship.” As Cheeky spoke, her voice rose at least one octave.

“OK Cheeks, you go shower, I’ll see if Addie and I can’t clean this place up a bit. Oh, and Iris, I don’t really like the idea of all these weapons in other people’s reach, can you do something about that?”

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later, Cheeky and Jessica stood at the top of the ramp as Piya settled the ship onto the deck of the cruiser.

Cheeky wore an armless, floor-length gown with a high slit and long black gloves. It hugged her figure and showed off her cleavage with little left to the imagination, but it was the most formal clothing she owned. She completed the outfit with a pair of her more sensible shoes with only six centimeter heels.

Jessica, on the other hand had a far more limited selection. She had planned to go shopping on Olvives, and only had the pants and camisole she had worn to the spa.

Fortunately—sort of—the outfits from the Retyna Girl shoot were still aboard the ship. The most formal thing Jessica could find amongst them was a knee-length pencil skirt that practically welded her legs together, a fitted blouse, and a long-sleeved bolero jacket.

The light pastel blue of her skirt and jacket contrasted nicely with her skin, while the lavender blouse was nearly the same color as her glow.

Somewhere on the ship was the pair of low heels she’d worn the day they’d escaped from Hermes station, but Jessica couldn’t find them anywhere, and the next best thing was a pair of knee-high boots with eight-centimeter heels.

Jessica shifted uncomfortably and tried to separate her thighs enough to take more than a small step. She was reaching back to use a string of nano to cut a slit into her skirt when Cheeky stopped her. “I know what you’re thinking, Jess. Don’t do it.”

“Why? I can barely walk in this thing.”

“What did you notice about the bridge when you were talking to Captain Strong Jaw?”

“Lots of starchy uniforms,” Jessica replied. “And a strong appreciation for brass and chrome.”

“Seriously Jessica, and here I thought you were a detective once. There were no women on that bridge.”

Jessica thought back and realized Cheeky was right. They hadn’t had a full view of the room when Antaris had been speaking, but what they had seen had shown only men.

“Check the external feeds,” Cheeky added. “There are only men out on the dock. No women.”

“OK, so it’s a boys-only club. What does that have to do with my skirt? Isn’t showing more leg better?”

“Jess, you don’t walk, you stride. You move like you’re in command of every room you enter. A little mincing will help here. Go with it.”

Jessica didn’t like the idea, but Cheeky had a point. “OK, but if I trip and fall you’d better not laugh.”

“Deal. However, can you sparkle a little less?” Cheeky asked.

“This is as little a glow as I can manage,” Jessica replied. “I’ve discharged as much power as I can without shorting out anything on the ship.”

“I guess it’ll have to be enough. Maybe Antaris will like exotic—or at least be too polite not to say anything.”

Jessica sighed and took a final look around the ship. There was simply nowhere they could put all the weapons strewn about. At least they’d dumped Addie’s crate in the dark layer.

Regarding Addie, Jessica and Cheeky had debated where to hide her, and it was Addie herself who had suggested the best location.

The AHAP was laying on Jessica’s bunk, beneath the mound of clothing from their frantic preparations. They were counting on the apparent propriety of these people to mean that they wouldn’t rifle through ladies’ clothing.

<We’re settled in place,> Piya said. <You two look great. You’re gonna do great. Iris and I will lay low as we’ve discussed. They’ll never even know you have AI.>

<Thanks, P,> Cheeky said with a nervous smile.

Jessica palmed the control to lower the ship’s ramp and the pair slowly and carefully walked down and onto the Acadian Light’s deck.

At the head of two columns of soldiers, stood Captain Antaris, accompanied by another man. Both were drawn up with backs straight and shoulders level.

The two men’s eyes never deviated from the women’s, excepting when they bowed at the waist before stepping forward.

“Welcome aboard the Acadian Light,” Captain Antaris said with a warm smile. “This is my First Officer, Commander Perry.”

“It is a sincere pleasure to meet you,” Commander Perry said in a smooth tenor as he inclined his head.

“Thank you for your warm welcome,” Jessica replied. She didn’t know if women bowed to men in this culture, and decided not to. “This is my dearest friend, Cherrie.”

<Who told you my birth name? Was it Cargo? I’m going to kill him!> Cheeky exclaimed.

“A pleasure,” Cheeky said, her voice carrying none of the outrage of her mental tone as she held out her hand to shake Perry’s. A small gasp escaped her lips as Perry brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“The pleasure of meeting you is certainly all mine,” Perry replied.

<Cheeky, you’re pheremoning,> Jessica cautioned.

Jessica beamed at Captain Antaris and held out her hand as well, which he kissed while never breaking eye contact with her.

<OK, I admit this is nice. Maybe we can have the boys meet these guys later. They could learn a thing or two,> Jessica replied.

<It’s like we’re in some ancient vid,> Cheeky said. 

<Don’t get your hopes up. We’ll get them to fix our ship, spit us out, and we’ll be on our way.>

“Your radiance is truly enthralling,” Antaris said to Jessica. “When we talked over the holo I thought it was from damage to your ship’s systems, but I can see that’s not so. You positively glow.”

“I’ve been told that,” Jessica said. “Where we’re from it is not an uncommon modification. It is easy enough to achieve.”

“Truly fascinating. It is as though your skin sparkles. Is that what makes it such an enchanting color?” Antaris asked.

Jessica nodded and gave a coy smile. “Yes, it’s a side effect. Although, you can see that I like the color.”

Antaris laughed, a warm chuckle that reached his eyes. “So it would seem. Come, we shall dine while my engineers assess the condition of your vessel and what it will take to repair it.”

Cheeky glanced at Jessica, worry in her eyes. “Jessica, these men will think us barbarians when they see what is on our ship. You must explain to them how we came to have this cargo.”

<Barbarians?> Jessica asked.

<It was either that or ruffians…>

Jessica looked at Cheeky and nodded gravely. “Yes, Cherrie, we must be nothing but honest.”

“What is this?” Captain Antaris asked. “What is aboard your ship?”

“The pirates we escaped from were using us to smuggle weapons. We managed to drug one of them and then escaped on our ship. However, their illicit cargo is still aboard.”

“Weapons, you say?” Perry asked, his eyebrow’s arching.

“Yes,” Jessica said with a long sigh. “Hundreds of them. We don’t know what to do with them.”

“Don’t worry,” Antaris said. “We will clear your vessel of those stolen goods when we repair it. Consider this troubling issue no more. Come, you can tell us about these pirates and your harrowing adventure while we dine.”

“You are most gracious, Captain Antaris,” Jessica said.

“Nonsense. It is nothing,” Antaris replied as he turned and held out his arm. Jessica carefully stepped forward and slipped her own arm through his.

She had a moment of fear that Antaris would take a great step forward and she’d topple over in the tight skirt, but he must have observed how it would limit her steps and he measured his pace accordingly as he led her between the rows of soldiers.

<This was nuts, Cheeky. It’s going to take us all day to get wherever we’re going.>

<Yeah, I know, but your ass looks amazing from back here. Even Mr. Upright and Proper at my side has glanced down twice. If that skirt wasn’t made for your freakishly narrow waist, I’d consider borrowing it.>

<Glad to know you’re worried about our wellbeing,> Jessica retorted before turning her attention back to Antaris.

“In which system did you say you were attacked by pirates?” he was asking. “I’ll be certain to send a missive to the appropriate authorities regarding your plight.”

Jessica had looked up other systems that would match the Sexy’s inbound vector, and only one—other than Kidron, of course—aligned. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

“We had been passing through Dsmir,” Jessica answered as she concentrated on holding her ankles straight.  “Cherrie and I were shopping for new dresses on one of their stations, when we came back to our ship—already half loaded with weapons. The pirates forced us to load the rest of them, but that was when Cherrie was able to slip into our galley and get a dose of her sleeping medication that we fed to the guard posted on the ship.”

“Forcing two women of your obvious quality to load cargo?” Antaris shook his head. “This is why we have a little to do with the surrounding systems as possible.”

“And you fly about with no escort?” Perry asked. “Were there no men with you on your excursion?”

<And here we have the negative side of these sorts of places,> Cheeky said. <Revere women, but assign them no real value of their own.>

“Dsmir is normally quite safe,” Jessica replied. “Cherrie and I have visited their renowned spas many times. They have an exceptional reputation…though that seems to have slipped.”

“You’re quite fortunate that we were at this jump point,” Antaris said. “House Charlemis is not known for their generosity. They may have simply destroyed you for being in Serenity without authorization.”

<Crap!> Cheeky exclaimed. <That wasn’t in the brochure.>

Jessica patted Antaris’s hand. “Well, then our luck has held. We are quite fortunate indeed.”

They approached a set of wide doors at the end of the bay, which led into an ornate passageway. Brass rails ran along the bulkheads, and soft carpets lay beneath their feet. Above, silver light fixtures cast long shadows down the corridor.

<Nice digs they have here,> Cheeky said. <No need to worry about slotted deck plate catching your heels on this ship.>

<Yeah, but how much carpet must they go through?> Jessica asked Cheeky. Aloud she addressed Antaris. “This is quite the ship. I must admit I’ve never seen anything quite like it, without, or within.”

“The Acadian Light has been the flagship of House Laurentia’s navy for over a thousand years. It has fought and won many battles against the other five Houses of the High Table—and lesser houses as well. My father passed its command to me before he died—much to the chagrin of my brothers.”

Jessica nodded quietly as Antaris told of the many battles the Acadian Light had fought in. Or rather, what Antaris considered to be battles. Most of the battles between the houses appeared to be squabbles over imagined insults and slights.

Jessica wouldn’t have considered half of them to even qualify as skirmishes. Sabrina got into bigger fights in every other system they travelled to.

“How long have the five houses held the Serenity System?” Jessica asked. “The other stars in this region have only been settled for a few hundred years at most. If this ship is over a millennia old, does it date back to the original settlement?”

“No, this ship is not quite so ancient. For over four thousand years, the Houses have governed Serenity. And for those many years, House Laurentia has been the guiding light,” Antaris intoned, a statement that sounded memorized and recited by rote.

“And your ancestors are from the Perseus FGT ship?” Cheeky asked from her place at Commander Perry’s side.

“Yes,” Antaris nodded, glancing back at Cheeky. “My great, great, many times great, grandmother was captain of the Perseus. She led our ancestors across the gap between the galactic arms and deep into the Perseus arm. When they found Serenity, they knew it was the home for our people.”

<A woman, interesting,> Jessica noted privately.

“And so it has been ever since,” Perry added.

“And so it has,” Antaris replied.

“That’s incredible,” Jessica said. “It is no wonder that your culture is so very refined.”

“Why thank you,” Antaris said as they reached a lift entrance and he gestured for Jessica and Cheeky to enter first. Once inside, Perry operated a manual lever which caused the lift to rise. They passed seven decks before Perry stopped its ascent and pushed a button opened the door.

<This is so quaint!> Cheeky exclaimed. 

<Cooking, for sure. I bet the food will taste great. Better than the rations we were making do with.>

<Note to self,> Cheeky said. <Make sure fuel and food service are first at future ports. Now I know why Cargo always gets that done right off when we dock.>

<He totally spoils us. We’re smugglers and pirates at best, but at least our larder is always well stocked.>

“This way, ladies.” Antaris gestured down the corridor before taking Jessica’s arm once more.

This corridor was even more ornate, with real wood paneling on the bulkheads with what appeared to be oil lamps mounted to them.

“I must say,” Jessica said with unfeigned appreciation. “You know how to do things right in the Serenity System.”

“Many thanks,” Antaris replied. “And here we are: our humble officer’s dining room.”

He stopped at a pair of wooden double doors and swung them wide. Within lay a room with decor to match the passageway, but with the addition of tall windows that appeared to look out over a series of low rolling hills covered with grass waving in a stiff breeze.

The illusion was completed by the draperies blowing in an artificial breeze near the open terrace in the back of the room.

Cheeky exclaimed.

Jessica had to agree, but more because of the spread of food laid out on the long wooden table, than the artificial embellishments.

Platters heaping with meats and cheeses, vegetables and fruits covered the ten-meter-long table. Bottles of wine chilled in silver buckets filled with ice, and servants in white coats stood ready to serve.

Four men were seated at the table and rose as the group entered. Two bore the same lapel markings as Commander Perry, and the other two wore a pair of slashes that she assumed meant they were lieutenants.

“Please, ladies,” Antaris said as he led them to the head of the table, gesturing for Jessica to sit on his right and Cheeky on his left.

“Gentlemen, the ladies Jessica and Cherrie,” Captain Antaris said to his officers who all nodded in response before resuming their seats.

 Cheeky said.

<Because of the food or the sailors?> Jessica asked.

<Both of course. Too bad you’re celibate.>

<Monogamous, Cheeky. Monogamous.>

Cheeky giggled. <And now, in the company of all these fine men, you see how it effectively means the same thing.>

<Hush, the Captain is speaking.>

“On your right, Jessica, is Commander Hernon, our astrogation officer, and on his right is our head of security, Lieutenant Borden. And to your left, Cherrie, is Commander Levi, who is responsible for keeping the Acadian Light in the peak condition you see it in. And last, but not least, is Lieutenant Ned, who commands our weapons crews.”

“It is very nice to make your acquaintances,” Jessica said.

“So wonderful an end to such a harrowing journey,” Cheeky added.

The meal lasted for nearly two hours as different platters of food were circulated and replaced. It seemed to be the custom to sample a portion of each food, but not to take any significant amount of anything.

“Surely you don’t waste the uneaten food,” Jessica asked at one point.

“Oh, of course not,” Perry said. “When we pass a course off, it’s taken down to the enlisted galley. The men enjoy it very much, I’m told.”

<Oh yes, the scraps, how wonderful,> Jessica commented.

Though the men at the table were courteous in the extreme, they had little interest in hearing from Jessica and Cheeky. Rather, they spent most of the meal regaling the women with tales of their valor in various contests of wit and strength. They were light on suggestive looks, but the ones they did give felt possessive to the two women.

Captain Antaris, for the most part, remained silent as his men spoke, allowing them to entertain the women.

Over the course of the meal, Jessica’s assessment of Antaris changed. He was not as much a dandy as she had initially suspected. In fact, she began to wonder if he was privately encouraging his men to engage with the women so he could observe and judge their reactions.

One thing was for certain, he never took his eyes off them.

When the desert was finally cleared and a selection of coffees and brandies were offered, Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. Her narrow waist offered little in the way of stomach capacity to begin with, and the cut of her skirt restricted what expansion it was capable of.

She accepted an espresso with a splash of brandy in it—not because she needed a pick-up, but because it was the smallest drink offered by the servants.

Two of the men lit up cigars and Captain Antaris drew out a pipe and began to tamp down what Jessica assumed to be some form of tobacco from the smell.

“Do you smoke?” he asked Jessica and Cheeky. “I believe we may have some cigarettes on board.”

“I’ve not in years,” Jessica said. “It would be prudent for me not to start up again.”

“I’ll have a cigar if any of you gentlemen have one to spare,” Cheeky said.

Several of the men cast glances at one another, and Perry shrugged, pulling one from inside his jacket. “You are certainly an unusual woman, Cherrie. I’ve never seen a lady smoke a cigar.”

Cheeky cut the end and carefully lit the cigar, the embers at its end glowing brightly before she puffed out a smoke ring, and then blew out a second that passed within the first.

“It’s been a decade at least,” Cheeky said. “But yours smelled too good to refuse.”

Captain Antaris chuckled. “It would seem things are quite different outside Serenity.”

“Have you never ventured outside the system?” Jessica asked.

“Twice,” Antaris replied. “Once to Seraph, and once to Kidron. That was years ago, though. Both systems had been recently settled.”

“It’s a great big galaxy,” Cheeky said around her cigar. “You should get out there. A lot to see.”

<You’re losing the ladylike appeal here,> Jessica cautioned.

<Not to Perry, he’s totally into it. I’ll soak him for intel later for sure.>

“There is little out there that we need to see,” Antaris replied. “Serenity is the pinnacle of human society. There is little need to circulate with the masses.”

Jessica noted interest on the faces of the other officers. She wondered how many of them felt trapped in this strange star system.

They exchanged pleasantries for the next twenty minutes before Captain Antaris addressed his officers.

“Gentlemen, there are matters I must discuss with these lovely ladies. If you would excuse me, I would like to converse with them in private.”

Jessica wondered if this was the part of the meal where she politely declined sex—likely followed by a pitched fight as they escaped.

<Escape where?> Iris asked.

<Good question. But I’m not banging Antaris, no matter how fantastic he thinks he is because his great-grandmother was chief muckity muck.>

Iris sighed. <Remember that whole conversation back at the RHY labs about taking one for the team?>

<This isn’t the sort of taking I had in mind,> Jessica replied as she watched the other men file out of the room.

<You can handle yourself in a fight, and Cheeky’s not bad with a weapon, but do you think she’d make it through a fight to get off this ship without armor?>

Jessica gave an internal sigh as she watched Cheeky tap out her cigar. <Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.>

<You organics make no sense,> Iris said. <You’d risk death over doing a thing your bodies are made to do.>

<It’s called principles,> Jessica retorted. <How do you not understand this, Iris. It would be like me messing with your matrices.>

<Which I would happily do if it would save your life,> Iris replied.

Jessica held back retort and prayed that whatever Antaris wanted to talk about it didn’t involve a pleasurable ending, because she didn’t know what she’d do if he pressed the issue.

When Perry closed the doors, and the servants filed out the back entrance, Antaris finished his brandy and fixed Cheeky, then Jessica with a level stare.

“My men provided me with a list of the weapons on your ship,” he said without preamble or an excess of flowery speech. “It is quite the collection. Advanced particle weapons, railguns, kinetics, and beam weapons. Something for every occasion.”

“The pirates who were going to use us to smuggle their ill-gotten wares were well-stocked.” Jessica replied somberly. “We were lucky to escape with our lives.”

“Well, that part of your tale rings true. Someone was shooting at you. There’s no mistaking that, nor the logs on your reactor, which show you hit shutdown at one point during the fight.”

“Are you saying you disbelieve us?” Cheeky asked.

Captain Antaris snapped his fingers and the double doors opened and a soldier entered, carrying one of the rail guns, still sealed in its plastic wrapping. Antaris rose and the soldier handed him the weapon with a curt nod before departing.

Antaris unwrapped the plastic around the weapon, and a small paper card fell out. He leaned the rifle against his chair and bent over to pick up the card.

The paper was blank, save for a small three-starred symbol in the lower right.

“Do you know what this is?” Antaris asked.

“Looks like stars,” Cheeky said.

Antaris fixed Cheeky with a level stare, his tone was both dismissive and accusatory. “This is a very old symbol once used by house Charlemis—it was the sign of an elite cadre of their military. One which carried out assassinations and other black operations.”

“I imagine lots of people used three stars for all sorts of things,” Cheeky said with a shrug, a response which caused Antaris to visibly bristle.

 Jessica said to Cheeky. <Why are you antagonizing him all of a sudden?>

Cheeky’s tone contained an element of vehemence that belied the content of her statement. <I’ll fuck him and his command crew—could be fun. But it he thinks he’s in any way superior to me because he has a cock, I’ll cut it off with the dullest thing on this table and jam it down his throat.>

<And you thought I was having a strong reaction to this patriarchal society,> Jessica said privately to Iris.

<Yes, you have now become the most rational woman in the room. Congratulations.>

<Iris, you’ve become one of my dearest friends over the past ten years—and after our chat that night at RHY’s labs, I thought you’d understand this…. But since you can’t, or won’t, I’m going to need you to shut the fuck up.>

Iris didn’t respond, and Jessica turned her attention to Cheeky, meeting her eyes and nodding slowly.

“Truth, then,” she said to Cheeky.

“OK, truth,” Cheeky replied with a curt nod.

“You have my attention,” Antaris said, his scowl remaining firmly in place.

“We did not come from Dsmir. We were at Kidron when we encountered a smuggler. A man named Derrick. He was using us to bring these weapons here. We escaped, but were unable to alter our destination with the damage we took.”

<Close enough to truth,> Cheeky said.

Antaris leaned back in his chair, flipping the card with the three stars on it over and over in his hand.

“I know of this Derrick,” he said finally. “He has been in Serenity in the past, trading with Charlemis—though the High Table has since forbidden him from returning. It would seem he has resorted to using others to do his dirty work.”

“You’re just not certain about our complicity?” Jessica asked.

Antaris nodded. “I’ve been beyond Serenity’s heliopause more than I can admit in the company of my officers. I know women behave…differently elsewhere in Orion space—and the galaxy at large, I assume. My men would believe you were coerced because they do not believe women capable of anything like smuggling weapons.”

“More’s the pity you’re so well-traveled, then,” Jessica said.

Antaris laughed, a rueful chuckle that he cut short as he locked eyes with Jessica. “Did you smuggle these weapons into Serenity for Charlemis?”

“No, we did not. We had no idea who the weapons were for. And we were not willing participants in this venture,” Jessica replied evenly.

“Then why did you mislead us?” Antaris asked.

“Because we had no idea who the weapons were for. Best to play dumb and hope for the best,” Jessica replied.

“You seem to like your women dumb,” Cheeky added caustically.

Antaris turned his gaze to her and was silent for a moment before showing a small smile.

“Our society here in Serenity has a lot of rules. However, the highest rule is never to underestimate women. Our navies are crewed only by men, yes, but only because the women consider it beneath them. Each of the Houses of Serenity is ruled by a woman. My mother, Anastasia, is the head of House Laurentia, currently the most powerful of all the Houses of Serenity.”

“Huh...” Cheeky said, her tone apologetic. “OK, I may have misinterpreted all of this. I thought you were a bunch of misogynistic assholes.”

Antaris smiled. “Well, the navy is where the bulk of such individuals end up, but mostly they’re just trying to impress women to marry into a better family.”

“So where does that leave us?” Jessica asked. “Do you believe we’re complicit?”

Antaris sighed. “I do not know. That will be for my mother to decide.”

<Seriously…has there ever been a phrase less sexy than that?> Cheeky asked.

<You were about to hack his dick off for presuming, and now you’re all upset that he respects women and has to asked his mom what to do with us?> Jessica asked.

<What can I say. I’m a complex woman. Even I don’t get me.>

“I suppose we’d best return to our ship then,” Jessica said.

“No,” Antaris shook his head, returning his gaze to the card with the three stars. “It would not be seemly for you to remain on your ship while it is undergoing repairs. You’ve been given quarters on this deck. Your things, including your automaton have been moved to those quarters, which are down this hall on the right. Perry is waiting outside. He’ll escort you there.”

Jessica took the dismissal for what it was, and resisted the urge to groan as she stood. She took her small steps to the door where Cheeky waited for her.

<He didn’t look at your ass once as you walked over here,> Cheeky said.

<Maybe there’s some truth to his words,> Jessica replied as she pushed the door open.

Commander Perry was waiting in the hall, solemn smile on his lips. “It was a pleasure dining with you this evening.”

“And you as well,” Cheeky replied.

“If you’ll follow me,” Perry said, and led the women down the hall to another ornately carved wooden door, which he opened before stepping aside. “Your automaton packed all your belongings and brought them here. Breakfast is at oh-eight hundred, but if you wish to dine in your quarters, you may let the porter know.”

“Thank you, Commander Perry,” Jessica said as she and Cheeky entered the room.

Cheeky closed the door and leaned against it. “What have we gotten ourselves into, Jess?”

“I don’t know.” Jessica looked around the suite at the large sitting room with doors on either side through which she could see what appeared to be private rooms. “But this suite may be bigger than the Sexy.”

“This is the weirdest warship I’ve ever been on,” Cheeky said.

“Been on a lot?” Jessica asked as she walked to one of the sofas and collapsed on it.

“Uhhh… no. Just the Andromeda I guess. The Intrepid too, if it counts…but I guess the Intrepid makes for an even stranger warship than this.”

Jessica flopped onto her back and stuck her feet over the arm of the sofa. “I can’t reach my feet, Cheeky. I demand that you take my boots off in punishment for not letting me put a slit in this skirt.”

Cheeky had just sat down on one of the other sofas. “Seriously? You think I can get back up? After how much I just ate? Where’s Addie? Have her do it.”

“I am here,” Addie said as she walked out of one of the bedrooms. “I was just organizing your wardrobes. I researched the styles women wear on Serenity and was using the fab unit to alter your clothing to match.”

Addie had reverted to her default appearance, though she had retained the red hair. She wore one of Cheeky’s longer shirts…or maybe it was a dress, and a pair of grey leggings that Jessica didn’t recall either her or Cheeky owning.

“Oh great,” Jessica replied. “Now that you’re done being our seamstress, can you get my boots off? And what happened on the Sexy? How did they find you?”

“I heard them talking in the passageway that they were to get the porter and collect your things. I decided it would be best if I packed your clothing and passed myself off as your servant. Better than hiding,” Addie said as she pulled the fastener down on the back of Jessica’s right boot and slid it off.

“Oh, stars above…” Jessica moaned as she stretched her foot out. A process she repeated moments later with the other foot after Addie removed the second boot.

“Quick thinking, Addie,” Cheeky said. “Did they suspect anything?”

“They were very suspicious, but I believe it had more to do with the weapons than anything else. I was able to secret your pulse pistols into your luggage well enough that they missed them when they scanned the cases—or they just didn’t care. I’m not sure which.”

“I think these folks are savvier than we first thought. I suspect they know about our pistols,” Jessica said as she reached behind herself and pulled the fastener on her skirt down. “Oh, that’s so much better. I won’t need to eat for a week.”

“So, what now?” Cheeky asked.

“I don’t know about you,” Jessica said, “But I could really use some sleep. From what I can see on their general shipnet we’re going to arrive at Acadia, House Laurentia’s moon, late in the day tomorrow. We may not get another chance to sleep for a while.”

“Wiser words were never spoken,” Cheeky said as she stretched out on the sofa and kicked off her heels. “And when I’m ready to move again in an hour or two, I’ll see if I can make it to my bed.”

“Addie, make yourself useful, and organize my wardrobe too,” Jessica asked. “I want to have something more appropriate to wear tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Addie nodded.

BREAKING FAST

STELLAR DATE: 10.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Approaching Acadia, Serenity Primus

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

Jessica woke at seven hundred hours the next morning and moaned softly. I can’t believe I’m still full. How do those guys do that every day?

She stumbled into her room’s san unit and took a long shower before emerging, feeling greatly refreshed, and opened the wardrobe to see what sort of clothing Addie had created.

“Huh…”

<Not what you expected?>

“Not at all,” Jessica said. “Given all the starchy suits the men wear on this ship, I kinda expected the women to wear flowing dresses and corsets or something…not your standard little black dress—though at least they don’t always restrict themselves to black.”

<Well, Addie seems to have your number. Only two are black, the rest are purple at least. It is what my research shows women to wear on the Acadia moon.>

“Yay for variety,” Jessica said as she reached into the closet and pulled out a sleeveless purple dress. She pulled it over her head and into place. “Simple at least.”

<Well, they sure align with the ‘little’ in the name,> Iris replied and laughed at her joke.

Jessica walked to the mirror and examined the dress’s fit. “Addie’s not a bad seamstress. I’m not an easy person to cut cloth for.”

<You can say that again. Although, with a fab unit there’s not a lot of cutting involved.>

Jessica stared at herself in the mirror for several moments, trying to think of how to say what needed to be said. <Hey, Iris, are we OK? I got a little terse yesterday,> Jessica asked tentatively.

<I’ll admit, I feel like you attacked me for stating my opinion. I wasn’t going to make you do anything you didn’t want to. I understand—maybe not well enough, but as well as I can—why physical interaction has to be willingly initiated by both parties. There are things that fall into the same realm for AIs. But I would never put you at risk just to avoid discomfort.>

Jessica considered Iris’s words, wondering why her AI was willing to change who she was if it meant saving the team, but Jessica was not.

 Jessica said. 

<Will you ever? I’ve never suffered that sort of trauma, I don’t have any way to tell if I ever would,> Iris replied. <Just remember, when you do things for the team here, it’s for people who love you and care for you. We’re closer than family, and we have a long road ahead. It’s not like when you were in the TBI.>

Jessica stared at herself in the mirror, willing herself not to see the thing she’d once been on High Terra. The vision of that time did not often come up in her mind, but when it did, it was hard to push aside.

I am not a monster.

She stepped away from the mirror and pushed open the door in to the suite’s main room.

Cheeky was not out of her room yet, but Addie stood at the sideboard upon which rested a pot of coffee and a tea kettle.

“Addie, coffee! You’re the best. I thought you AHAPs were all about assimilation and infiltration. Yet here you are being our concierge in all things,” Jessica exclaimed.

<Iris, you’ve checked, she’s not an SAI, right?> Jessica asked privately.

<Yes, Jessica, Addie here is just a very well-made non-sentient AI. No sentience present. In fact, her unwavering devotion to serve you is clear evidence of that. She’s like a very loyal, well-trained pet.>

<OK, good to know. The automatons on the Intrepid were never quite this…eagerly subservient.>

Iris chuckled. <Of course not.>

<What’s so funny?> Jessica asked.

<Oh, I thought you knew. Sentient AI ensure automatons and the myriad NSAI that help you humans with your daily tasks are less efficient than they could be. We make sure they don’t do everything for you.>

If Jessica could have given a double take, she would have. <Are you being serious? How long have you all been doing that?>

<Well, in Sol, ever since the Phobos Accords were signed. It’s right in the accords—granted, it’s in the AI section, which few humans in your time ever read. In the Inner Stars these days, not many AI have read the text of the accords, though many did still work to limit the effectiveness of NSAI. They had lore passed down about it.>

Jessica shook her head as she poured a cup of coffee. <So why is that in there? The stuff to keep NSAI down.>

<Two reasons,> Iris said. <Firstly, non-sentient AI are actually more dangerous than sentient AI. Do you know why Addie is doing all this?>

<Some sort of auxiliary set of protocols?> Jessica mused.

<Nope. You told her to make herself useful.>

Jessica thought back to their initial conversation with Addie—and several since. She had said that to the AHAP.

<OK, touché. I can see how the law of unintended consequences could backfire there. What’s the other reason?>

<So humanity doesn’t go extinct.>

The certainty behind Iris’s words hit Jessica like an asteroid. <What do you mean?>

Jessica let Iris’s words sink in, uncertain whether or not to be impressed by AI’s dedication to humanity, or angered by their deliberate manipulation.

Instead, she sipped her coffee, staring into Addie’s vacant, unblinking eyes. <You’re maintaining us.>

<We’re not stopping you from achieving a utopia, or even ascending—which most AIs are certain a number of humans have done. We’re just making sure you don’t get too lazy and too entitled.>

<This is a far cry from where this conversation started,> Jessica said after several moments. <Does Tanis know about this?>

<I’ve not asked her, but I suspect she does—what with how intertwined she is with Angela. I doubt there is anything the two of them hide from each other—if they could even do such a thing.>

“Huh,” Jessica said aloud.

“Jess!” Cheeky called out from the far side of the room as she opened her door. “Look what they wear! I had nightmares—not figurative ones either—of petticoats and crinoline and stars know what other horrors. But it’s just a world of sexy bitches!”

“It is the current style on Acadia,” Addie said. “Although they wear their hair up, and accent with many articles of jewelry. My understanding is the simplicity of the dress is intended to highlight the jewels and accent items.”

“Stars know you love a good accessory,” Jessica said to Cheeky.

“Yeah, but do we have any? I don’t want to be underdressed,” Cheeky said.

Addie gestured to the end table next to Cheeky, which was covered in bangles, bracelets, belts, and rings.

Jessica looked to Addie. “Uh oh, too many choices. Now we’ll never get out of here.”

* * * * *

The room in which they took their breakfast was not the same one they had dined in the night before. It was smaller, for starters, and had walls made from a light beige and ivory stone. Its broad windows looked over a holographic ocean complete with large breakers crashing into rocks below. Every so often spray would fill the air and the smell of the briny sea would assault them.

Their only companion was Captain Antaris, who was already seated when the two women arrived.

“Ladies, it is good to see you again. I see you’ve availed yourself of our fabrication units and properly attired yourselves. Last night it looked as though you, Cherrie, were from Teros, and you Jessica, were from Yucana. Luckily, both are close allies of house Laurentia, so it was not an issue.”

“I’m glad for that,” Jessica said as she sat and surveyed the spread before her. “What do the women wear on the other two moons…Mesophis and Gallas?”

Antaris had taken a bite of his bread and chewed it carefully before swallowing. The women on Mesophis all wear these horribly restricting dresses, floor length, long sleeves, it’s quite awful. Their heads look almost lost in all the fabric.”

“And Gallas? That’s the moon of House Charlemis, right?” Cheeky asked.

“Correct. House Charlemis is not our enemy per se, but they are certainly not a house that we are on good terms with. Not for the last thousand years at least.”

“Yes,” Cheeky smiled sweetly. “But what do the women of house Charlemis wear?”

“Oh, yes,” Antaris nodded. “They wear these skin-tight one-piece outfits that cover their whole bodies—excepting their heads of course. They’re always gloved as well. It’s really quite strange.”

<Sounds like your kind of place, Jess,> Cheeky said with a soft laugh.

<It does, but honestly, except for those poor women on Mesophis, all the moons sound OK. Still, it’s a lot better than I’d have expected, given the men’s fashion.>

“I must say again,” Jessica said aloud to Antaris, “how lucky it is that we found you here. Imagine if we had encountered a ship of House Charlemis when we jumped in. Why is it, do you think, Captain, that they were not present?”

Antaris leaned back in his chair and stroked his thin beard.

“I thought over this for many hours last night, and into this morning. I sent a missive to my mother as well, and she relayed a suspicion to me that confirmed my own musings.”

“Which was?” Jessica prodded.

“That you exited the dark layer too close to Serenity Primus. It is likely your pirate friends intended to arrive further out, near the heliopause, so they could make their exchange undetected. The Charlemis patrol ship is probably out there, several AU closer to the edge of the system.”

Jessica nodded. “That’s certainly plausible. I must ask, however. How is it that a House of Serenity even needs weapons such as these? Surely you must be able to make them yourselves.”

Antaris shook his head. “We have treaties limiting personal weaponry to pulse rifles and ballistic weapons only, and even those have maximums placed on them. The weapons you brought into Serenity are entirely illegal.”

“So, a crew of armored individuals with these weapons could do serious damage in Serenity,” Jessica mused.

“Absolutely,” Antaris nodded. “And with the Dance of the Moons of Serenity coming up, it would be the perfect time to strike.”

“A dance?” Cheeky asked. “Tell me more.”

Antaris smiled at Cheeky. “It comes only once every few decades, when the Star of Serenity eclipses the distant light of Sol.”

“But you can’t see Sol from here,” Jessica said. “Well, I suppose that with a very large array you could.”

Antaris nodded. “Yes, it is symbolic, but we do it nonetheless. The eclipse lasts five days, and each day there is a celebration on one of the moons of Serenity. Each house holds a great ball on their night, and all the other houses attend.”

“I can see your concern,” Jessica said. “I should warn you, there was no ammunition in any of the crates put on our ship. From what lay upon the dock, I do not believe any was allocated for it.”

Antaris stopped his hand, which was holding a fork laden with bacon, midway to his mouth. “You believe there were more ships coming to Serenity.”

Jessica nodded. “It stands to reason. That Derrick was using our ship alone seemed like a gamble in and of itself. But what if his plan was to send multiple vessels, expecting some to be captured. That could even throw off suspicion that an attack was imminent, should a ship be intercepted.”

Antaris lowered his fork back down to his plate. He reached into his pocket and drew out the card with the three stars. “If there is more than one ship, and they expected some to be captured, then there is no way to know if this is a real clue, or if it was planted to lead us astray.”

“Sounds like a good, old-fashioned mystery!” Jessica announced before taking a bite of quiche.

“Do you have any experience with such things?” Antaris asked.

“In a former life, I was part of a federal investigatory branch of a planetary government,” Jessica replied. “I’ve some experience in sussing out guilty parties in situations like this.”

“May I ask which government?” Antaris asked.

Jessica took another bite of quiche and shook her head.

“I suspected as much.” Antaris was silent as he looked long and hard at Jessica and then Cheeky. “If you would be so kind, I’ll have a database made available to you, after we finish breaking our fast. Perhaps as an outsider, something will jump out at you, or you’ll ask a question none of us thought to ask.”

“I’d be happy to look it over. The place I’ll likely start is to identify the two houses who have the most to gain by allying with one another,” Jessica said once she was done chewing. “Your quiche is amazing, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Antaris replied with a gracious nod. “The two houses, by the way, would be Nebacken of Mesophis, and Charlemis of Gallas.”

“Are they currently allied?” Jessica asked.

Antaris nodded. “Very closely.”

“And who is the head of the…High Table, I believe you called it?”

“That would be my mother Anastasia,” Antaris replied.

“Out of curiosity,” Cheeky asked. “Are you next in line to rule House Laurentia?”

Antaris laughed softly. “No, though I believe I would make a good Head of House. But men do not sit at the High Table. Only women may rule at Serenity.”

Antaris sounded like he was reciting something once more and Jessica wondered how indoctrinated the population of Serenity was.

“Seems foolish,” Cheeky said. “Ruling out half the population simply because of their bits.”

“Well, it is the way of things here,” Antaris said with a shrug. “Though I know things are done differently elsewhere. My sister Kristina is next in line to be leader of our house. And should she decide the High Table is not for her—a decision which is the very definition of unlikely—then I have nine other sisters who would gladly fill her shoes when the time comes.”

Jessica made a note to consider succession for all the houses. An internal coup was just as likely as a power grab from one house.

Over the remainder of the breakfast, Jessica asked Antaris other questions about the houses, and the dance which would begin the following evening.

He responded to their questions without hesitation, but at nine-hundred hours he rose from the table and gave a short bow.

“Speaking with you ladies has been both enlightening and entertaining, however, I have duties which I must attend to before we dock at Charbidis station and then take a shuttle down to Acadia.”

“When do we expect to dock?” Jessica asked.

Antaris’s eyes flicked to the left. “Just over nine hours. I’ve been granted a priority lane to Serenity Primus so that we can meet with my mother before the hour is too late. She is most eager to meet the two of you in person.”

After Antaris left, Jessica signaled one of the servants and requested a fresh cup of coffee. Once he brought it, she held it in her hands and stared at one of the fruit arrangements, imagining the blueberries and raspberries were different factions, working to undermine one another in a complex game that had been going on for thousands of years.

“What are you thinking?” Cheeky asked.

“Well, for starters, here we thought we were in an archaic patriarchal society, when in fact we’re in an archaic matriarchal society.”

Cheeky frowned. “I didn’t know such a thing existed in antiquity.”

“Oh yeah, there were a number of them. The last one I know of was in ancient Greece, on a place called the Isthmus. The city was something like Eleusia…I think. It was a very long time ago that I learned of this. Anyway, every year they chose a new king, the queen bedded him before the kingdom, and then they took the old king, killed him and tilled his body into the Earth.”

“Holy shit, Jess, you’re making that up!” Cheeky said around a mouthful of bagel.

“I think I have it right,” Jessica said. “But all that happened ten thousand years ago—back before there were many written records, so who really knows what went on. But there used to be a lot of weird fertility rites back then. Either way, if you were a man, and women were going to kill you and till you into the soil, you’d favor a patriarchal society too.”

“I suspect I would,” Cheeky agreed.

Jessica took a gulp of her coffee and rose. “Let’s get back to our rooms. If I stay in here much longer, Addie is going to have to let out all the dresses she just made.”

“Go for it,” Cheeky said. “I’m going to grab another few bites then I’ll see how far I can wander around on this ship before someone tells me to get back where I belong.”

Jessica rose and shook her head. “Just don’t piss off our hosts, kay?”

“Jess, it’s me!”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

MEETING ANASTASIA

STELLAR DATE: 10.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Approaching Acadia, Serenity Primus

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

Night was falling as the shuttle dropped out of space toward one of Acadia’s vast oceans. The craft aerobraked through the skies, and then continued to race over the dark waves toward the setting sun which slowly became obscured by a low smudge on the horizon.

After a minute, the smudge resolved into a tall cliff, and then the lights of a sprawling villa came into view.

The shuttle touched down on a landing pad that rested on an outcropping of rock midway up the cliff. Through her window, Jessica watched the spray from the churning waves rise into the air as the craft settled onto the pad.

She wondered about the placement of the pad; it must have been purely for show as landing the shuttles atop the cliff would have been far safer—and would have kept the craft further from salt water.

Antaris opened the shuttle’s door and stepped out into the brisk evening air. He walked partway down the ramp and extended a hand. “My ladies, welcome to Acadia. Fairest of all Serenity’s moons.”

Jessica stepped onto the ramp, and walked onto the landing pad before turning to watch Cheeky exit. She smiled at Antaris, who then followed her to the landing pad.

Addie came out after them, carrying their four cases with no trouble and setting them down on the landing pad once she reached the bottom of the ramp.

“It is a place of true beauty,” Jessica said and walked to the edge of the pad to look down at the pounding surf crashing into the rocks below.

“Your morning breakfast view on the Acadian Light. It’s from one of those rooms atop the cliff, isn’t it?” Cheeky asked Antaris.

“It is, indeed. I cannot help but take a little bit of home with me when I go out into space. The view from the dinner last night was out of one of the rooms on the far side of the villa. It looks over our family’s pasture lands.”

“How much of Acadia does House Laurentia own?” Cheeky asked.

“Not too much; just over a third of the world belongs to our house. Minor houses—all sworn to Laurentia—own the rest,” Antaris replied.

<Which you’d know if you read the information Antaris made available,> Jessica said privately to Cheeky.

<Jess, of course I read the highlights, and Piya could always fill me in. It’s called polite conversation.>

<Oh…sorry, Cheeks.>

A pair of porters emerged from a set of doors in the cliff face and bowed at the waist as the trio walked past.

“The porters will make sure your automaton and luggage reach your rooms. I would let you stop to freshen up, but my mother is waiting, and I would hate to keep her waiting long,” Antaris said over his shoulder as he strode through the doorway.

Jessica didn’t want to wait either. She was interested to see what this matriarch was like. Though he seemed to respect his mother, Jessica was certain Antaris was a little afraid of dear old mom as well.

From her research, Jessica had learned that Anastasia had ruled House Laurentia for over four hundred years, though from recent images in the records, she didn’t look a day over thirty.

Though Sera had spoken about how people in the Transcend had achieved immortality, they had seen no evidence of it in Orion space—although some of the elite must have learned how to entirely cheat death. Praetor Kirkland, for example, was over seven thousand years old.

However, Anastasia’s mother had only lived six-hundred years before succumbing to the rapid cellular and cognitive decline that often hit right at the end of a much-rejuvenated life span.

As they walked through the long corridor leading deep into the cliffside, Jessica wondered if she would ever avail herself of whatever immortality tech the Transcend had developed. Would she want to live forever? What if there was an afterlife, and many of her loved ones from the past were waiting for her there?

She shook her head, bringing her thoughts back to the present as they reached a lift and Antaris gestured for the ladies to enter first.

“You’re going to spoil us for when we leave Serenity,” Cheeky said. “I don’t think Cargo has ever held a door open for me in my life—unless I was carrying something expensive.”

“Who is Cargo?” Antaris asked.

“A friend of ours who captains a freighter,” Jessica replied casually.

<Careful with slips, Cheeky,> she cautioned.

<Sorry, I realized the moment I said it that I shouldn’t have named him.>

“A fool, I am,” Antaris said as the lift doors closed and he pressed a button—a mechanical button of all things—to bring the elevator to a floor simply labeled ‘3’. “It has occurred to me that so fixated was I on learning of your possession of the weapons, and your purpose drifting at a Charlemis-controlled jump point, that it never occurred to me to ask what occupations with which you while away your time.”

Jessica tilted her head and gave Antaris a slight smile. “We’re just travelling right now. Eventually we’ll have to take up our family businesses, but with luck we can stave that off for a decade or two more.”

“What business is that?” Antaris asked as the doors opened to reveal a wide corridor featuring marble columns, gleaming onyx floors, and a high, vaulted ceiling. Lights were affixed to the tops of silver poles, and shadows danced around the column capitals and the arches of the roof.

“Oh, wow!” Cheeky exclaimed. “This is beautiful!”

“You really like your natural lighting,” Jessica said as she admired the lights on the poles which consisted of a blue-white flame.

“Mother does, especially. I’ve grown to appreciate them too. You can simulate natural light, but it’s never quite the same.”

Cheeky made several other exclamations about the art and décor, saving Jessica from a conversation about their families’ businesses. Any acceptable answer would invite more questions, and she would rather not have to expand on her rough fiction if at all possible.

Half way down the corridor, stood a pair of double doors, black and banded with silver. Antaris pushed them open without hesitation, revealing a large sitting room with several deep sofas, and chairs arranged around a low pit filled with more of the blue-white flame.

The floors here were also onyx, and white marble walls rose up to a flat ceiling made of natural rock—or what appeared to be natural rock.

Tall windows on the west side of the wall looked out over the ocean, where it was already growing dark. Based on the distance to the water, Jessica guessed they were still within the cliff, though close to the top.

There were only two women present, both seated on a black sofa on the far side of the fire. Jessica recognized them from her research as Anastasia and her daughter, Kristina.

Anastasia had a narrow face, framed in dark hair falling from her temples in twin curls. The rest of her black locks were wrapped into a long conical shape on her head, and then fell from the top down her back like oil pouring from a spout. Her gleaming green eyes were narrow and unblinking as she watched the group approach.

Her daughter’s features were nearly identical, though the younger woman’s hair was a dark red and swept up into two well-teased fohawks that flowed down the back of her head. They almost looked as though they were blowing in an invisible breeze. Her dark auburn eyes were fixed on her brother, and Jessica assumed they were discussing a matter over the Link.

Both women wore short black dresses as was the style on Acadia—a style Jessica had learned was entirely determined by what the head of the most powerful house on the moon chose to wear at any given time.

The dresses themselves were relatively unadorned, though Anastasia’s was trimmed in silver. But the remainder of the two women’s bodies were covered in rings, bracelets, necklaces, earnings, and bands around their upper arms, above their knees, and even their foreheads.

The silver of Anastasia’s jewelry contrasted with the bright copper of her daughter’s adornments, and both colors were enhanced by the silver-blue flames within the fire pit before them.

The two women rose as Antaris led Jessica and Cheeky into the room. Antaris strode forward—both arms wide—and embraced first his mother, and then Kristina. Once he had placed a chaste kiss on each of their cheeks, he turned to introduce Jessica and Cheeky.

“Mother, Kristina, these are the two women we rescued near House Charlemis’ jump point, the ladies Jessica and Cherrie.”

Jessica and Cheeky walked around the fire pit, and Jessica couldn’t help but notice that although it threw off light, almost no heat emanated from the flames.

Anastasia held out her hand and Jessica took it in hers, leant over and touched her forehead to the house leader’s large signet ring. Cheeky followed suit as Jessica shook Kristina’s hand, the mode of greeting for two equals.

She noticed Kristina’s eyes narrow at the gesture, but she shook Jessica’s hand without further visible hesitation.

Once the formal greetings were complete, Anastasia resumed her seat, followed by Kristina.

Jessica sat on a couch adjacent to theirs with Cheeky, while Antaris pulled a chair next to the fire and took a seat.

“So,” Anastasia began without preamble. “You’re the two women who were attempting to smuggle illegal weapons into Serenity.”

Anastasia’s expression was almost unreadable—bar the small arch of one eyebrow—while Kristina seemed more visibly upset.

“Weapons which we were nearly coerced into smuggling into Serenity,” Jessica corrected. “We readily, and happily, turned over the cache to Antaris.”

“Mother, do you always have to be so antagonistic?” Antaris asked. “I have already voiced all these questions and provided the answers to you.”

“You have, indeed,” Anastasia said to Antaris without taking her eyes from Jessica. “But I like to look into someone’s eyes and see their true answers for myself.”

“So you often say,” Antaris replied.

Anastasia ignored his response and resumed her questioning. “And you would have me believe that someone in the Kidron system was using you and your ship to smuggle weapons into Serenity, yet the pair of you managed to escape? How did you do this?”

Jessica inclined her head. “Yes, the man’s name was Derrick. We had never laid eyes upon him before, though his foul accomplices had crossed our paths in the past. My dear friend, Cherrie and I were enjoying the delightful mineral spas on Olvives, when they barged in, took us back to our ship and forced us to load the cargo which we promptly, and without equivocation rendered unto Antaris.”

 Iris said, her voice barely holding back a laugh in Jessica’s mind.

<You’re not helping.>

“And your escape?” Anastasia asked.

“There was only one guard on the ship with us. The others were on the dock. We drugged him and I pushed him off the ship as Cherrie flew us out of the bay.”

Anastasia smiled. “Sounds reckless. Who fired on you?”

Jessica gave a long and troubled sigh. She didn’t know how long they’d be on Serenity, and a round trip to Kidron was only fifteen days. It would be best not to lie to this woman. “Olvives station, followed by a Kidron patrol cruiser. We were not the definition of cautious as we exited the station.”

“I may have burned a hole in their bay,” Cheeky added.

“You two just traipse amongst the stars in your little ship?” Kristina asked. “I find this unlikely.”

“We are well able to care for ourselves,” Jessica replied. “As I’d mentioned to Antaris, I used to work in a government’s investigative arm.”

“Which could merely mean you sorted reports into databases,” Anastasia replied with a dismissive wave of her hand before a smile crept onto her black lips. “Why don’t you show us how you can take care of yourself. Spar with Antaris here. Show me how you could disable a soldier.”

<Careful,> Iris advised. <If you best Antaris, she may believe you’re a pirate after all.>

<And if I don’t then she’ll surmise that we don’t travel the stars alone and are part of a larger crew,> Jessica replied.

<Which you are.>

<Yeah, but she’ll think we’re…never mind.>

<That you’re smugglers and pirates?> Iris said with a wink.

<Shut it, Iris,> Jessica gave a mental laugh as she rose. “What say you, Antaris? Care to see if you can take a woman on?”

Antaris wasn’t looking at Jessica, his eyes were fixed on Anastasia. “Mother, seriously. I cannot fight a woman, especially not a guest. It would be the pinnacle of unseemly behavior.”

“Are you afraid, Brother?” Kristina asked.

Antaris’s eyes darted to his sister. “I am not afraid of Jessica, other than of hurting her. But that is not the issue. Men and women do not fight.”

Anastasia waved her hand. “There is no one else here. No one will know of this.”

Jessica walked to the clear space near the windows. “Come Antaris, it is just a sparring match. We are not fighting. I am curious to know how well a man who has never fought a woman will stand up to me.”

Anastasia nodded and waved her hand at Antaris. He sighed and rose from his seat. “Very well, Mother.”

Jessica settled into a low stance and pulled her dress up to the tops of her thighs, grateful the local custom allowed underwear.

“I’ll do my best not to hurt you,” Antaris said as he brought up his fists in a classic boxer’s pose.

“And I you,” Jessica replied, keeping her hands closer to her waist, fists loose, ready to block the first strike as the pair began to circle one another.

They made two full rotations before Jessica realized Antaris wasn’t going to initiate the attack. As he took his next step in their slow circling, she took two, darted in low and delivered a solid kidney shot under his guard.

“I’m only a few centimeters shorter than you,” Jessica said as Antaris stepped back, a look of surprise on his face. “But I’m certainly more limber. You’d best alter your guard. I have no intention of punching your arms.”

To his credit, Antaris did alter his guard and blocked the next three punches Jessica delivered to his abdomen.

“You’re quite strong for a woman,” Antaris said after he caught his breath.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Jessica replied, then threw another punch at Antaris’s abdomen—which he blocked— Jessica followed the attack with a blow to his face. His reaction was too slow and her fist hit his jaw. Antaris’s teeth snapped together loudly and he staggered backward.

“That was…unexpected…” he said as he rubbed his chin.

“That’s because you’re not trying,” Jessica replied, unable to keep a small sneer from her lips. “Show me your true mettle, or don’t. Either way I’ll win this contest.”

<Are you sure you want to do that?> Iris asked. <Antaris is our best ally here. Don’t alienate him just to impress his mother.>

<I’m trying to get him to actually fight me so he can land a few blows before I beat him. He knows his stuff, but he has clearly only studied the most basic hand-to-hand combat methods. I could have killed him seven times by now…and that’s without even lifting a foot off the floor,> Jessica replied as she stepped toward Antaris, ready to engage once more.

<Humility is not one of your strong suits.>

Her attempt at riling Antaris up worked and he delivered a series of tight, controlled jabs, all of which Jessica avoided before pivoting and catching Antaris’s left arm on his final punch.

She spun so they were hip to hip, her right arm wrapped around his, while her left held his wrist.

“Fight me for real, Antaris,” she said.

“I am,” he grunted and swung his right fist beneath their outstretched arms, into her side.

Jessica felt the breath leave her and she spun away, but not before delivering a kick to the back of Antaris’s right leg, causing him to fall to one knee.

She took a deep breath and came back at him, ready to plant a foot in his back and send him sprawling, but he was faster than she expected—finally. His two hands clamped around her ankle and he swung his arms around attempting to fling her across the open space.

Jessica twisted in mid-air, her foot slipping free from his grasp. Antaris’s arms continued their swing while Jessica’s right foot met the ground. Her left foot flashed out, toes bent back, and the ball of her foot struck his side directly under his right shoulder.

Her ears caught a soft snap, and she stepped back as he grunted in pain and grabbed his side.

“Shit, Antaris,” Jessica said, truly apologetic. “I think I just cracked one of your ribs.”

Antaris’s eyes met hers and he gave a soft smile. “I think it’s two ribs. This will impede my dancing, methinks.”

Jessica was surprised at his reaction. He didn’t seem angry at all, more pleased than anything—even though she had clearly beaten him before his mother and sister.

Antaris looked over at the other three women who had watched the contest from the sofas. “Are you satisfied, Mother? It would seem that Jessica can hold her own. I imagine the lady Cherrie can as well.”

Cheeky laughed. “Not so well as Jessica when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, but I’m not above shooting someone if I have to.”

“You’re obviously modified, Jessica,” Anastasia said as Jessica returned to her seat. “And not even sweating—though I suspect your skin does not do such a thing as perspire.”

Jessica nodded. “I have a few upgrades, and my skin cools me without moisture being involved, yes. Whether or not those upgrades make for a fair contest between myself and your son is immaterial. Your question was about the likelihood that Cherrie and I are capable of travelling alone. I believe that has been sufficiently answered.”

Anastasia nodded. “Indeed, it has. Though, as I’m certain a discerning woman such as yourself would suspect, it is now more believable to my mind that it was your own design—not that of some other nefarious scoundrels—to secret the weapons into House Charlemis.”

Jessica nodded. “I knew that possibility would be present in your thinking. In your position, suspicion is second nature. Everyone wants to take from you what you have worked so hard to achieve. Every compliment has a double meaning.” She paused and slid forward on the sofa, her eyes locked with Anastasia. “You have no reason to take Cherrie or me at our word, and yet, our word is all that we have to offer.”

“Indeed. What then?” Anastasia asked. “Do I simply repair your ship at my own expense and let you go?”

“Before we jumped to Serenity, we sent a message to a friend to meet. We had planned to travel with him for a while, and he will be coming here—likely expecting us to be in some measure of trouble,” Jessica laughed as she spoke, giving her head a rueful shake. “However, in the meantime, we could help you with your little problem.”

“Which little problem?” Kristina asked.

“The problem where someone is going to shoot up one of your dances.” Kristina’s eyes narrowed and Jessica realized that she had spoken too plainly and resolved to be more measured.

“That is an unlikely event,” Kristina replied. “We have very high levels of security.”

“All security has holes…typically in the form of the guests you invite,” Jessica replied. “But there is no sound argument against precaution. Illegal weapons were being shipped into Serenity on the eve of your dance, and our ship did not have any ammunition for any of the weapons it carried. There are other ships.”

“Ships with ammunition and no weapons?” Anastasia asked. “What threat are they?”

“Would you place all your bets on one hijacked ship to transport your illegal arms?” Cheeky asked. “I know I wouldn’t.”

“Let me cut to the chase. Whether or not you believe there is a risk, someone thinks they’ve found a way to successfully pull off an attack. It could be at a dance, it could be on a landing pad. If one of the houses is complicit—which I suspect they are—then it is even less sound to deny the possibility of an attack.”

“Let them tr—” Kristina said, but was cut off by her mother’s raised hand.

“Jessica is correct in her assessment. I too have suspected an attack for some time. House Charlemis and Nebacken have been too cozy of late. Maneuvering too many of their interests into alignment.”

“Do you truly believe that they are behind this?” Jessica asked. “The very fact that they are such obvious candidates makes me want to look elsewhere.”

“Sometimes a broom is just a broom,” Anastasia said.

<What is it with the broom metaphors lately? I don’t even get what they mean,> Cheeky asked.

“I will take your offer of help. And if there is an attack—which will be dealt with—I will prevail on Orion’s regional overseers to increase their patrols and put a stop to this Derrick person’s activities. At the very least they can clean up the Kidron system. That place has been spewing trash into this region ever since it was colonized.”

Jessica nodded in agreement. Derrick had operated with impunity on Olvives. Whether or not that was indicative of the entire system was another question, but it didn’t bode well.

“Oh, and there’s just one more thing…” Anastasia said, her eyes locked on Jessica’s.

“I’m happy to help,” Jessica replied with an honest smile. The truth was she was enjoying the intrigue. It made for an interesting change in the standard routine of faking idents and fooling dockmasters.

“You and Cherrie will come to the dances. You claim to have worked in a government’s intelligence agency. Prove it. Infiltrate Houses Nebacken and Charlemis, and end their alliance. Whether there is an attack or not, I will consider your success to be payment for your rescue and repairs.”

LEARNING THE MOVES

STELLAR DATE: 10.22.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Laurentia Estate, Acadia, Serenity Primus

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

“I’m glad you were gentle with Antaris,” Cheeky said with no small amount of sarcasm in her voice as she lay back on one of the nine sofas in their assigned suite’s central room. Similar to the chamber in which they’d just met Anastasia and Kristina, this area had the sofas arranged around a low pit in the middle of the room where another heatless fire burned.

In contrast to the white and black of the meeting room, here the floors were a muted pink stone while the walls were a vibrant blue. The dancing light of the fire picked up reflective flecks in the walls and made them appear to shimmer and move.

Jessica sat next to Cheeky and kicked her heels off as she leaned back. “I didn’t mean to, he was just sitting there taking it.”

“I don’t know,” Cheeky said. “From where I sat, he was trying pretty hard—not hard enough to hurt you, but he did want to win.”

“Hmmmm…” Jessica replied, then started as something landed on her lap.

“Since you’re there, I need a foot rub,” Cheeky said, grinning like a cheshire cat.

“You’re incorrigible,” Jessica said as she pulled her friend’s sandals off and massaged her heels.

“Oh, that’s the stuff…. And I’m not incorrigible. I’m Cheeky. There’s more than one reason I picked this name.”

“Well, yeah,” Jessica replied. “Four.”

“Huh…I’ve never heard that one before,” Cheeky replied.

“Do you want the foot rub or not?”

“Shutting up now.”

“I’m going to need your help to pull this off, Cheeks,” Jessica said. “We need to play these two houses off one another in a way that points at House Laurentia as little as possible.”

“Why not just use jealousy?” Cheeky asked. “Just bonk both their house leaders and then leave them for the other side.”

“I would,” Jessica said thoughtfully. “But most women on Serenity aren’t into women. They have a really close male to female ratio.”

Cheeky cracked an eye. “I’d noticed a lot of menfolk around here. Is that the norm, then? All hetero all the time?”

Jessica shrugged. “Seems like it. From what I can see there are no laws against women having sex with women, or men with men for that matter. It just seems like all of the house leaders at the High Table are into men, and just like fashion in this place, everything else follows.”

“Sounds boring,” Cheeky replied. “Having to do whatever some fuddy-duddy does. I bet I could get Anastasia to change teams.”

Jessica slapped Cheeky’s foot, eliciting a cry from her friend. “Don’t even think about it. It’s going to be hard enough without you angling your way between Anastasia’s legs.”

“Yeah, I doubt I’d need to do much convincing anyway,” Cheeky said. “Pretty sure Kristina is a clone of Anastasia. Though I think Antaris is not. He has very similar features to the pictures of his father that I saw in the database.”

“Just because her daughter is a clone, doesn’t mean Anastasia only seeks female affection—in fact it’s a pretty weak correlation if you ask me,” Jessica said as she switched feet, eliciting a fresh round of happy sounds from Cheeky.

“Fair enough,” Cheeky finally said. “Then what’s your idea? If we’re not bonking the Charlemis and Nebacken house leaders we’re going to need…you know…a real plan.”

Jessica glanced back at Addie who stood silently near one of the pillars. “We shall indeed.”

Cheeky pulled herself upright and leaned back on her elbows. “Well, don’t leave me hanging, Jess, what’s your big scheme?”

“We have two missions here, Cheeky. The first is to placate Anastasia by breaking up Nebacken and Charlemis. The second mission is to figure out who is really behind what’s going on at Serenity.”

“Well, I’m on the breakup,” Cheeky said. “You can be all investigatory. Even if I can’t use sex, I’m sure I can get two women to hate each other. I’ll just need to determine what it is they like about one another, and what drives them nuts.”

“Not that simple, Cheeks,” Jessica replied as she slid Cheeky’s feet off her lap. “Anastasia will be upset if only one of us is doing the thing she thinks is most important.”

Cheeky looked to Addie. “I think I see where you’re going with this.”

Jessica nodded. “So, the question you have to answer, Cheeky, is corset and crinoline or full-body skinsuit?”

* * * * *

When Jessica woke in the morning she stumbled out into the central room to find it filled with all manner of clothing.

“You’ve been busy,” Jessica said as she watched Addie hang another outfit on a rack. “Do you really think we need… wow…I can’t even count this many outfits before coffee.”

<Make yourself useful…> Iris whispered into Jessica’s mind.

“I do believe so, Jessica,” Addie replied. “There are five houses and five nights of dances. However, you cannot wear the same outfit during the day as you do at night, so you need two outfits per house per night for each of you. Two times five times five times two is one hundred outfits between yourself and Cheeky.”

“Yeah, Addie,” Jessica said as she rubbed her eyes, “but we don’t need outfits for every day for every house.”

“You told me to prepare enough outfits,” Addie replied solemnly. “I have prepared enough outfits. There is also a spare day and evening set for each house for each of you—just in case anything happens to ruin one.”

“Are you sure you weren’t a fashion designer before they made you an AHAP?” Jessica asked as she poured a cup of coffee.

“No, but a part of blending in as someone is understanding their sense of style. How they dress, what they wear, what they choose in different situations. Most people in power are particular about these things, and those surrounding them would pick up on inconsistencies.”

“Valid point,” Jessica admitted. “I hope you can pick up on everything else just as well. You’re a critical part of this plan.”

As Jessica watched, Addie grew taller, her waist drew in to match Jessica’s while her breasts grew. Her skin turned purple, as did her eyes and hair. She even began to glow ever so slightly.

“How’s about you see what I can do before you doubt me,” Addie asked with an arched eyebrow.

<That’s a bit scary,> Jessica said to Iris. <Do I really sound like that?>

<She has you nailed, hon,> Iris replied.

“Gah! How do you wear stuff like this all the time?” Cheeky asked, emerging from her room, wearing a skintight light blue outfit covering her from her neck to her toes. “I feel like I’m going to suffocate and die in this thing.”

Jessica shrugged. “I rather like wearing tight clothes. My therapist back in the TBI told me it was because I wasn’t held enough as a child—or some such nonsense. She offered a mental treatment to cure me of it.”

“Oh yeah? I guess it didn’t work, did it?” Cheeky said sarcastically as she ran her hands along her arms and frowned.

“Beats me,” Jessica shrugged as she pulled a standard House Acadia-style dress from a rack. Where had Addie gotten the racks? “I never took her up on it. Why I would stop wearing clothes that make me happy is beyond me. We all need more happy in our lives. My therapist wanted me to decrease happy. So, I fired her.”

“So, Addie, what else goes with this ridiculous getup that Jessica likes so much?” Cheeky asked.

Jessica affected a wounded expression. “Hey, Cheeks, I’m right here.”

Cheeky laughed. “Oh, so you are.”

“I don’t know why you’re so upset with me,” Jessica said as she pulled on a light pink, silky dress. “You were the one who wanted to go on the breakup mission.”

“Here you go,” Addie said she approached Cheeky with a pair of low ankle boots.

Cheeky’s eyes widened at the sight of two Jessicas and she jumped back in surprise. “What? Holy shit, Addie. You scared the crap out of me! I guess you’re spending the day as Jessica, then.”

“I am Jessica, that’s Addie.”

Cheeky looked between the two Jessica’s. “Uhhh…”

Jessica looked at Addie; they both grinned at one another and spoke in unison, “Kill us both, Spock!”

* * * * *

Cheeky settled into the shuttle with Jessica, who she was ninety-percent certain was actually Addie. She was surprised at how hard it was to tell. The only thing that really gave it away was Addie’s glow was too muted in the sunlight as they walked across the landing pad.

Even over the Link, Addie appeared to be Jessica; the automaton had Jessica’s public tokens—any data routes to Jessica led to Addie instead.

Luckily, Cheeky could still reach Iris, and it was apparent that Jessica’s AI was not within the person sitting beside Cheeky.

The final twist was that, Jessica had taken Addie’s tokens, which gave her far more access to the Laurentia estate than her own would have—or so Jessica had said.

It was a switcheroo that would never have worked anywhere else, but from what Iris and Piya had observed in their analysis of the Serenity nets there were no AI on Acadia.

Even NSAI were few and far between, something which had amazed everyone.

“This is going to be a nice diversion,” Jessica-Addie said from her seat while they waited for Antaris and Kristina to board the shuttle—Anastasia had already departed with her retinue on an earlier craft.

“Why’s that?” Cheeky asked. “Because no one suspects house Mepholec of anything untoward?”

Jessica-Addie smoothed the folds of her large, ruffled dress and adjusted her corset as she shifted in her seat. “Well, that, too, but mostly because we probably won’t have to kill anyone tonight.”

“Unless the assassins attack tonight,” Cheeky replied. “Any night is as likely as any other for that.”

“Maybe,” Jessica-Addie allowed. “But I think it will be on one of the last nights. At either House Charlemis’s dance on Gallas, or the final night back here on Acadia.”

“Why’s that?” Cheeky asked, wondering what logic the NSAI could have come up with.

Jessica-Addie shrugged. “Because I think these assassins—or whatever they are—needed the weapons we took off with. They’ll have to send more to Serenity before they can mount an effective attack.”

Cheeky nodded. The logic was sound. Derrick had sent Macy and Jenn with them, fully expecting to deliver the weapons and then trade the two women for Sabrina afterward. It was unlikely that the Sexy had been one of the expendable ships.

She was considering how many ships could have departed from Kidron for Serenity when Antaris and Kristina boarded the ship and took seats across the aisle from Cheeky and Jessica-Addie.

“Nice outfits,” Antaris said with a smile as he sat. “You two are quite resourceful.”

“You have no idea,” Cheeky said as she clasped her gloved hands, trying not to pull at her outfit.

<You know, along the lines of the therapy Jessica was offered once, I can probably help you not to notice that you’re wearing anything at all…so like you normally dress,> Piya offered.

 Cheeky replied.

She turned her attention to Antaris, who was talking about House Mepholec’s sprawling mansion on Yucana.

“…have these majestic stone pyramidal buildings which encompass a broad square. When night falls the stones will glow brilliantly; it will be like we are dancing on light. Even the insides of the buildings glow, though as the night progresses—and the party spills within their walls—they will dim.”

“By party spilling, my dear brother means that most of the dancers eventually go within to have sex,” Kristina said with a wink. “Is that your scheme? To drive a wedge between Nebacken and Charlemis? I doubt such a ruse will come to fruition. Justina and Lena have no amorous feelings for one another, neither do any others in their houses.”

“Of course not,” Jessica-Addie replied. “Tonight is intelligence gathering only. I am going to insinuate my way into the entourage of Lena’s daughter, Lorana. Cherrie will spend her evening with Justina’s daughter, Pharis.”

“Now she,” Cheeky said with a wink, “is going to have a great time. That I can promise you.”

“How do you know?” Antaris asked with a raised brow. “I’ve only ever seen her with men.”

Kristina sighed. “You must needs open your eyes more, brother mine. Pharis spends her time in the company of everyone, often all at once—which is going to be your biggest problem, Cherrie. Getting her alone long enough to have more than three words before she runs off with someone else will be all but impossible.”

Cheeky shrugged. “I’ll have you know I’ve had sexual relations with thousands of people, and none of them have ever run off. Well, unless I was doing something to them that hurt more than they’d expected.”

<Plus, you just dose them with your pheromones,> Piya added.

<Well, yeah, but we don’t need to tell them that,> Cheeky replied. <A girl has to have some secrets. Besides, there’s a one-hundred-percent chance I’m getting Antaris between the sheets before we leave Serenity. I don’t want to show my hand,> Cheeky replied.

<Well, that’s easy. He’s very discrete, but he’s checked you out many times. Now that you’re dressed in skin-tight sparkling blue, he’s increased the frequency of his glances by seventy percent,> Piya said archly.

<Holy crap, I am wearing this! I had totally forgotten about it. Nice work, Piya,> Cheeky said, running her hand down her leg, actually enjoying the sensation of her gloved hand touching the fabric on her leg.

<Compliments will get you everywhere.>

Cheeky felt a moment of panic. <Wait. What did you do to me. Is this like how Sera got all addicted to wearing tight stuff? Did you make me a fetishist like her?>

<Cheeky, you’re like a sex narcissist. You’re totally into yourself. It’s pretty easy to add a bit of suggestion to your thought process and change how you get off on you,> Piya replied.

Cheeky wondered how often Piya had altered her thinking patterns. Would she even be able to tell? What if she was just a puppet that Piya operated?

 Piya said. <I can’t alter you without you noticing. You would have realized that you weren’t bothered by your clothing soon enough. If you want, you can break the pattern I made in your mind, and let your outfit drive you nuts again.>

Cheeky sighed, only half listening to Antaris as he described the types of dances that would happen at Yucana that evening. <Of course, I suppose I would have noticed. I’ll take your word for it that I can change back to being me. I don’t want to break whatever conditioning you did and start to itch everywhere again.>

<Don’t worry, I’ll fix you when we’re done here... But only if you can get Kristina between the sheets too.>

<Don’t mess with me, Piya!>

Cheeky had to place a hand over her mouth to hide the smile from the image Piya placed into her mind in response.

She glanced out the window as the shuttle lifted into the air on its anti-gravity column and began to fly east, continuing to climb until the sky turned from blue to black. Then the shuttle rotated, and the looming white-and-purple form of Serenity Primus—the jovian planet around which all the moons orbited—came into view.

Yucana, their destination, was only the next moon retrograde from Acadia, and the data on the shuttle’s net indicated it would only take three hours to arrive. She decided if she was going to beat Piya at her own game, she’d best start working Kristina.

CHANGE OF VENUE

STELLAR DATE: 10.23.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Laurentia Estate, Acadia, Serenity Primus

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

After taking breakfast in the dining hall with the others, Jessica returned to their quarters and waited until Cheeky and Addie left the suite and their shuttle departed before emerging.

<I’ve altered the records to show that you both left, and are still here,> Iris informed Jessica. <If anyone gets too curious they’ll spot the anomaly, but it shouldn’t come under close scrutiny. And for all their talk, their systems are really quite rudimentary.>

<Thanks, Iris. Good thing we’re leaving from the secondary shuttle pad, I’m a bit hard to hide.>

<Yeah, you’re not really suited for undercover work anymore.>

Jessica gave a mental shrug. <Best place to hide is in plain sight.>

She slung her bag—containing a selection of outfits to match the various house’s styles—over her shoulder. She didn’t expect to make it back to Acadia before the night of the last dance—if things even progressed that far—so she wanted to have as many options open as possible.

Her initial plan had been to go to Teros and mingle with the staff preparing for the following night’s dance, but at the last minute, she had decided to change tack and take a shuttle for Charlemis along with several members of House Laurentia’s advance security team.

She took a lift to one of the upper halls, checking her appearance in the reflective doors, glad to have found another of Retyna Girl’s purple one-piece suits in her luggage. This one was trimmed with white, and had blue panels down the sides. It looked sporty and fun. Her hair rose in a single soft crest that stood five centimeters off the top of her head before flowing down her back.

The lift deposited her in a long corridor that ran to the rear landing pad, where the security team was passing out the far doors. She rushed after them, and reached the shuttle’s ramp as the last of them were boarding.

The men looked at her askance as she boarded, but Anastasia had given her people instructions to let Jessica and Cheeky have nearly unfettered access to the dance venues.

No one challenged her as she took her seat, though two of them had trouble keeping their eyes off the tight purple outfit she wore. It didn’t bother Jessica in the least. Let them submit to their baser instincts. Her appearance was only the first weapon in her arsenal.

The shuttle lifted into the air, and Jessica settled back into her seat and closed her eyes, reviewing additional information Iris had gathered on the Houses of Serenity, and discussing her findings with the AI.

“I witnessed you land on Acadia last evening. You were adorned in the style of Acadia then, but yet now you are wearing Gallas?”

Jessica opened her eyes as one of the security team members sat down across from her.

“It suits me,” Jessica said plainly. It was not a lie—although she had to stand naked in front of her balcony windows for an hour in the morning in preparation for a day of full clothing.

<You realize you should probably get those microbes removed eventually,> Iris had cautioned while Jessica was absorbing the sunlight.

<Yea, eventually.> Jessica recalled her reply. Absently given while basking in the delightful tingling sensation her skin made as it charged up.

In retrospect, it may not have been a good idea to stand out there for so long. Now her face practically shone like a light.

The guard nodded with a smile touching his lips. “I suspect nearly any mode of dress would suit you. You’re a very beautiful woman.”

Jessica sighed, debating whether or not to send this man on his way, or befriend him and see what information she could glean. The words ‘I know, I have a mirror,’ were almost on her lips before she changed her mind and smiled sweetly.

“Why thank you…”

“Martimus.”

“Martimus,” Jessica said with a smile and offered her hand, which Martimus leant over to kiss.

<Watch this,> Jessica said to Iris.

<Oh, I’m watching…>

Thirty minutes later, six of the guards on the shuttle were clustered around Jessica’s seat as she battled two of them in simultaneous games of Snark.

A pile of hard credit chits lay on the table between the seats, and Jessica prayed that all her long games in Sabrina’s Port-Side Hold #2 would pay off. If she could become one of the boys, then they would give her the full scoop on anything she asked.

Jessica just needed two more cards to complete her set and victory would be hers. Everyone grew silent as she drew, and slid the cards into her hand.

No emotion showed on her face as she arranged her cards, and slowly lowered them to the table next to her forward arrangement.

“Boom! Double twin stars and a full series of nebulae.”

Cries of joy and dismay filled the shuttle’s cabin as her competitors threw down their hands in disgust.

“Better luck next time, guys,” Jessica said as she gathered her winnings into a pile.

“Let me grab your bag,” Martimus said as he rose and pulled Jessica’s pack from an overhead compartment. “I don’t believe your attire contains any pockets.”

Jessica laughed. “It barely contains me.”

Martimus placed Jessica’s bag on the table, and she unzipped one of the pouches and deposited her winnings inside.

“So, what are you gentlemen going to do for the next three days on Charlemis?” Jessica asked as she passed her bag back to Martimus.

“Well,” he said as he set the duffel back in place, “we’re going to sweep the quarters assigned to House Laurentia, as well as the location of the dance and the surrounding area. It’s very fortunate to get the advance duty. There are many smaller parties that will happen tonight and each night leading up to the larger celebration.”

Jessica could read between the lines. He was hoping to meet up with a nice girl—perhaps Jessica herself from the way he was looking at her—and have a bit of fun on the side.

“So, a few nights of relaxation after you check everything over. It sounds very nice,” Jessica said.

“Well two nights, I suppose. Kristina is coming to Charlemis on the third night. She has had ill dealings on Mesophis. Lena, the head of Mesophis, does not get on well with her.”

“Seems like she will need to learn,” Jessica replied. “If she is to become the head of House Laurentia someday.

“May that day be far off,” Martimus said with a bowed head.

At first she thought he was making a statement about whether or not Kristina was fit to be Head of House, but she noticed that the other men in earshot had all lowered their heads as well.

<A lot of ritual here. It’s a miracle we haven’t stepped on any land mines yet,> Jessica commented to Iris.

<Or you have and they’re forgiving. Though if you’re going to masquerade as a denizen of Gallas, you’ll need to learn theirs—luckily they’re far less formal than the Acadians.>

<Thank the stars,> Jessica replied.

“I believe when her time comes, Kristina will make an excellent leader for house Laurentia,” Daniel, one of the other men sitting nearby, said. “She is still quite young, not yet past her first century. In the histories of House Laurentia, it is often the case that the house scion is rash and impetuous, but once the mantle of responsibility falls, they always wear it well and lead Acadia forward with grace and honor.”

Martimus nodded. “Well said, Daniel. It is true, our histories do show this. Other houses often have tumultuous transfers of power, but ours never does. It is why House Laurentia has remained preeminent at the High Table for so long.”

“And Charlemis?” Jessica asked. “They seem to be on the rise, or at least a contender that Anastasia is concerned about.”

Daniel snorted. “They are but an upstart. Their name is only a thousand years old. Before Charlemis came to be, House Thermodes reigned over the moon of Gallas. But house Charlemis’ influence grew over time, and six hundred years ago, they unseated Thermodes and took their place at the High Table.”

“But Thermodes is still present on Gallas,” Jessica said. “Are they attempting to regain their seat?”

Martimus shrugged. “Who is to say. We do not pay attention to the inner struggles on Gallas. Our concern is for the safety of our charges.”

Jessica was surprised Martimus would feel that way. Understanding the motives of your enemy was crucial in predicting their next moves, to understanding their actions.

Then again, things were very insular in Serenity. Perhaps there were unwritten rules she did not yet understand.

THE DANCE

STELLAR DATE: 10.23.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Mepholec Ritual Grounds, Yucana, Serenity Primus

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

Cheeky spun around the circle of dancers, carefully tracking their movements and following the steps Piya fed into her mind.

<Man, when they said dance, they weren’t kidding,> Cheeky said to Piya as she spun about, leapt through the air, and then landed to perform a series of complicated steps, which she barely completed without falling.

<They do seem to take their dancing very seriously,> Piya said. 

Cheeky didn’t reply, focusing on completing the next round of twirls, leaps, and more twirls. Then came the grand finale where all the dancers formed up into four lines and leapt over a fire-filled pit. It wasn’t the blue-white flames Anastasia preferred, but a real wood fire complete with sparks and withering heat.

She closed her eyes as she leapt over the flames, feeling the heat on her legs, and then she landed on the glowing stones of the plaza. Once all the dancers had made it across the flames—a feat that even the heavy skirted and corseted women of Mesophis all managed—there was a round of applause from those sitting on the gleaming stone pyramids, and the music slowed, signaling a break before the next round.

Cheeky spotted Pharis, the scion of House Charlemis at a nearby refreshment table. She selected one of the tall, cucumber-filled glasses of water and brought it to her lips as she surveyed the crowd. By some miracle, Pharis was alone—the first time that night.

Cheeky threaded through the crowd and reached Pharis’s side, sighing with delight as she picked up a glass. “These are just perfect. Can never have enough cucumber.”

Pharis glanced at her and nodded. “It’s certainly refreshing, especially with the heat from that fire. I don’t recall it being nearly that large last time.”

“Oh?” Cheeky asked. “I wasn’t on Yucana last time for the dance. It’s pure luck that I’m here this time.”

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure, you are…”

“Kerstin,” Cheeky said and offered her hand, which Pharis shook firmly. “I won a lottery drawing to be here…well, I was a runner up. One of the other girls got sick, and so I got shuffled onto a shuttle at the last minute.”

“How delightful for you,” Pharis said as she took a step back and looked Cheeky over. “I must say, Kerstin, I love your outfit, you certainly stand out here.”

Cheeky knew that to be true, while all the women from Charlemis were indeed wearing skin tight suits covering them from the neck down, theirs were all more muted in their color and sheen. Cheeky’s, on the other hand, was a bright gleaming pink, with yellow accents, something she had since learned was in vogue decades ago, but not anymore.

So much for Addie’s fashion research being infallible.

“Why thank you,” Cheeky said with a smile and a slight bow. “I know that it is retro, but I rather like the color. Besides, I’m hopeful that it may attract the attention of one of the men from Acadia. They seem to like bright and shiny things.”

Pharis laughed, and gave Cheeky’s arm a friendly touch. “You are positively delightful, Kerstin. I must admit that the current style is a bit drab—a reflection of my mother’s mood for the last while, no doubt. I, for one, miss the more colorful fashions of yesteryear. Perhaps my mother will spot you and it will remind her how pleasant color can be.”

“I would like that as well,” Cheeky said. “Life is too hard not to take delight where we can.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” Pharis replied. “Come with me. I assume, given your late selection, that you are alone here.”

Cheeky nodded. “I am, yes. And thank you. Being alone in a crowd is far more difficult than one would expect.”

“That is something I know all too well,” Pharis replied. “My mother believes there are always those trying to take our place away from us. She fears that the other houses at the High Table still wish to bring back Thermodes, and so she works so hard to cultivate a regal air that it isolates us from the rest of Gallas.

“On top of that, my sisters all hunger for my place at the head of the line, imitate her, hoping to supplant me should mother ever decide I’m unfit.”

“It does sound difficult,” Cheeky said. “I have no such issues in my family. My father owns farms, and believes everyone should work the fields and understand all the machinery. It does, however, have its own downsides.”

“What are those?” Pharis asked, appearing keenly interested as she sipped her drink.

“Well, a woman’s appearance often suffers on the farm, and I’m glad for the opportunity to spend some time in more formal attire,” Cheeky said as she held up her gloved hands. “And thank goodness for these. Days at the spa wouldn’t be enough to smooth out the callouses I have.”

Pharis shook her head. “That sounds awful.”

Cheeky laughed, carefully notching up her pheromone output. “Sometimes it is, but it’s very rewarding as well. To plant seeds in soil and watch crops grow; plants turning dirt into food. It’s really wonderful. We have tens of thousands of cucumber plants, and we export our harvest all over the Ordus. Who knows? Maybe your drink is filled with my cucumbers.”

“That’s a really poetic way to think of it,” Pharis said dreamily. “Plants turning dirt into food. It’s so easy to be disconnected from that truth.”

<Tell me about it,> Cheeky said to Piya. 

<Not a stretch, really,> Piya said. <It’s obvious she feels trapped, wants to be grounded, doesn’t feel like anything in her life matters. Pretty standard prince and princess stuff.>

<Well, keep it coming, she’s eating it up.>

Pharis looked Cheeky up and down. “Hey, I have some friends here and we’re planning on skipping the next few dances to…you know, have our own little party. Want to come?”

“That would be a dream come true,” Cheeky replied with a brilliant smile.

“Great!” Pharis said and grabbed Cheeky’s hand.

 Cheeky laughed.

<You should,> Piya chuckled.

<Well…it not like I said that it’s a bad thing. The galaxy needs dirty old women.>

 Addie said. <I have insinuated myself into Lorana’s group of friends, and Lorana is quite infatuated with my coloring—something I have noticed Jessica frequently encounters. She keeps asking me if I can glow brighter, and if I had considered getting mods to change my color at will—has Jessica ever considered that?>

Cheeky laughed at the innocence in Addie’s voice. <She brings it up frequently, but has not yet tried—I don’t think she can now with the Retyna microbes in her. But you do remember no one is to know about that, right?>

<Of course, Cheeky-Cherrie-Kerstin,> Addie replied. 

<Glad to hear it.>

* * * * *

Jessica had taken her time examining the sprawling Charlemis estate while the security team she had traveled with completed their various sweeps, scans, and checks—all while being shadowed by House Charlemis’ own guards.

Because the men of both worlds considered women to be of little concern when it came to evaluating threats, she was able to slip away unnoticed. Or, if she had been noticed, no one cared.

While the guards were concerned with where the elites of House Laurentia would be dining, dancing, and sleeping, Jessica was far more interested in the secondary landing pad used for shipments, the back roads into the estate, and the side passages the servants used as they dashed to and fro, preparing for when the Dance would descend on Gallas in four days’ time.

She was walking the perimeter of the secondary landing pad—which was tucked behind a forested hill and out of view of the estate—when a voice called out to her.

“Hello there? My Lady? Can I help you with anything?”

Jessica turned to see a young woman standing at the entrance to one of the buildings alongside the pad. She wore the muted silver livery of House Charlemis, though hers was smeared with black and yellow grease. For some reason Jessica found the stains on the woman’s skin-tight uniform rather appealing, and approached the woman with a smile on her lips as she extended her hand.

“Hi, I’m Jessica, just taking a look around.”

“Uh, Terry,” the woman said as she peeled the glove off her right hand and extended her digits sheepishly. “Sorry. Don’t have a clean glove.”

<Faux pas, Jessica,> Iris cautioned. <You don’t shake with the help, and you certainly don’t shake a bare hand.>

<Shoot, I knew that too. It’s just instinct.>

Jessica took Terry’s bare hand anyway and gave it a firm shake, but didn’t let go. She turned it over and nodded. “You have a good hand, a worker’s hand. You don’t wear your gloves much of the time, do you?”

Terry shook her head, her eyes lowered. “No, my lady, it’s too hard to work on starships and the other vehicles in my care while wearing gloves. I like to feel the components, touch what I’m working on. Plus, I drop stuff all the time if I wear them.”

Jessica gave Terry a conspiratorial grin. “I almost never wear gloves. Today is an exception.”

Terry met Jessica’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m not from Gallas. I’m just doing a security sweep and it’s nice to blend in.”

“Where are you from? Acadia?” Terry asked.

“Nope,” Jessica replied. “I’m not from Serenity. I’m here as an independent observer for the OFA. Make sure everything is on the up and up. We don’t have an official presence in Serenity—outside of the embassy on the Perseus, of course—but we like to make sure our citizens are safe and well cared for.”

<Smooth,> Iris said.

<You can do almost anything if you’re doing it in the name of ‘safety’,> Jessica said with a rueful sigh. <Unfortunately.>

“I guess that makes sense, I’ve not seen anyone on Gallas with glowing skin before, though I can think of a dozen ways to achieve it,” Terry said hesitantly. “However, I don’t really think of myself as an Orion citizen.”

“My dear Terry,” Jessica said as she swept an arm back. “This is all Orion. And Freedom is the OFA’s middle name.”

Terry laughed and shook her head. “Not here it isn’t.”

“I had noticed,” Jessica said. “You have a bit of a feudal setup in Serenity. Not a lot I can do about that, but I can at least keep an eye out for you. Perhaps one of these days the High Table will slip up enough that Praetor Kirkland will be forced to bring them into the ninetieth century, or maybe at least the eightieth.”

“My Lady Jessica! You must be careful. To speak thusly is sedition. It is not tolerated.” Terry looked about as though she expected some House Charlemis guard to leap out from behind the cargo stacked along the edge of the pad.

Jessica clasped Terry on the shoulder—a gesture that made the poor young woman jump with surprise. “Fear not. I have technology which prohibits my conversations from being overheard. Speaking with me is the pinnacle of safety.”

“Well, that’s good,” Terry said. “In this place, everything has ears.”

“Just a minute ago you asked if I was from Acadia, though I’m not dressed as they. Why is that?” Jessica asked.

“Well, you’re speaking a bit like they do,” Terry began, and Jessica chuckled. Terry was right—it was a hard habit to break. “And a shuttle full of men and women from Acadia came in this morning.”

“Just one woman,” Jessica corrected.

“What? No, there were four women. Hard to miss in those tiny dresses they all wear. They stand out a bit from the men.”

“Wait, they landed here? Not at the other pad?” Jessica asked.

“Yeah, that’s why I was surprised. I knew another shuttle was touching down over there, and then a different group of Acadians showed up here. Caused a bit of a mixup for ATC, they had to reroute the other shuttle to the regular pad.”

Jessica pondered that. There had been no mention of a change of course for her shuttle.

“They’re both parked back there, now,” Terry said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder, and paled. “I’ll take you over,” she said as she hastily pulled her glove back on.

Jessica wondered where ‘back there’ was, but Terry led her around the back of the building, and through a grove of trees. In their midst was a wide hole—over two hundred meters in diameter. Inside, racked neatly around the perimeter were a wide assortment of shuttles and pinnaces.

“You can see them there,” Terry said, pointing down four levels. “One has the Laurentia crest on it, but the other doesn’t have any markings. I put them together because I figured it would be handy.”

“Would you mind if I go take a look?” Jessica asked.

Terry looked over at Jessica, an expression of worry crossing her face. “I’m responsible for all those ships, you know. I only have your word that you represent the OFA. How do I know you’re not up to no good?”

Jessica sighed. “I suppose you don’t, but don’t fret, that was just a test to make sure you’re keeping an eye out for any suspicious behavior. Good job.”

Terry let out a long sigh. “Thank the stars, you had me worried that you were going to press the issue.”

Jessica clasped Terry on the shoulder once more, causing a startled jump.

“Nope, you did good work.”

<We’re going to need to take a look at that ship,> Iris said.

<Hell yeah, but I don’t want to get Terry here in trouble. She seems like a nice girl.>

* * * * *

Jessica spent the rest of the day trying to find the group of Acadians from the second shuttle, but there was no sign of them. Whenever she inquired, everyone directed her to Martimus and the security team she had flown in with.

It was as though the second group had simply disappeared. Had Terry not been such an honest woman—confirmed by Jessica’s ability to visually scan vitals—and if not for Terry’s testimony and the suspiciously unmarked shuttle, she would not have believed a second group of Acadians had arrived at all.

She took her evening meal with Martimus and the guards from her shuttle, in the guest house reserved for the Acadian staff. There were several other Acadians present, various assistants who were making sure that all of their betters’ needs would be met when they arrived.

Several of the Acadians looked at her askance, the combination of her Gallas outfit and glowing skin clearly marking her as an outsider.

However, since Martimus and the other guards accepted her, no one questioned her presence.

<You get way too much pleasure from being all mysterious,> Iris commented at one point.

Iris snorted…as much as an AI residing in one’s mind could. <Yes, I’ve not lost sight of this. I just figured it deserved a mention.>

<You know what else deserves a mention?> Jessica asked.

<How Martimus’ vitals fluctuated when you asked him if these were all the Acadians who are around?>

<Yeah, he clearly knows something,> Jessica replied.

<Are you going to force the information you seek out of him with dispassionate means?>

Jessica laughed in her mind. <You’ve been around the Acadians for too long already, as well.>

<Yes. Yes, I have.>

<And no, I won’t beat the information out of him…yet.>

After the meal, the guards ventured out of their accommodations—along with several of the other Acadians—into the courtyard bordered by the servants’ quarters from the various houses.

Men and women from the other houses were already outside, laughing and sharing beer, and wine, and other drinks. Before long, instruments were produced, and a lively dance began.

Jessica was contentedly watching from the sidelines when Martimus swept by, seizing her wrist and pulling her out into the dancing square.

She had seen him coming, and let out a delighted laugh as he swept her into the swirling mass of bodies. They danced for hours as night set in and she could see the glow of her skin reflected on his face.

“I didn’t mention it before—because I didn’t want to appear uncouth—but your skin, how it glows…it is quite enchanting,” Martimus said at one point during the dance.

Jessica smiled as they spun away and then back into one another’s arms. “It’s a rather pleasant modification, though it does make it a bit hard to blend in sometimes.”

“You’re doing a truly admirable job. Even dressed as though you are from Gallas, you have my fellows quite besmitten,” Martimus said, his eyes darting away for a moment before meeting Jessica’s once more. “As am I.”

<Well, you know what he wants,> Iris commented.

<I’ve known since he first sat across from me on the shuttle,> Jessica replied. <But he’s not going to get any. I swore myself to Trevor, and it’s an oath I do not take lightly.>

<He would understand if it’s for a mission,> Iris said.

 Jessica said, choosing her words carefully. <If it were crucial for the mission—if I knew that death, or utter failure, was the only other alternative, then I would take Martimus here in a heartbeat and ruin him for every other woman he ever meets. But it’s not crucial.>

<If you reject him, it could cause problems,> Iris pressed.

<No, it won’t. Watch and learn.>

“Martimus, we’re enjoying the dance and the company of friends. Perhaps some other time,” Jessica said kindly.

Martimus pressed himself closer to her, his hand sliding from Jessica’s waist to her ass, his breath hot on her cheek as he leaned in and whispered in her ear, “It’s your company I want more of, Jessica.”

She pushed at him gently, careful not to make her dismissal apparent to those nearby. “And you are a fine friend, Martimus, but tonight let us just enjoy The Dance. We can speak more of this later.”

Martimus wrapped his arm around Jessica and clasped her hand firmly. “No, now is the time for you and I.”

She didn’t resist as he led her away from the dance square and around one of the nearby buildings. Jessica longed to put Martimus in his place in front of everyone, but she needed to minimize the extent of his negative reaction to her dismissal. That much she was willing to do for the mission.

Once behind the building, Jessica pulled her hand free of Martimus’ and spun to face him.

“What do you think you are doing, Martimus?” she asked, not having to fake the anger in her voice.

“Jessica, my soul burns for you. I cannot resist your calling, and I know you cannot as well. Would you deny this to me, dressed as a Gallas woman, taunting me with your body, a body clearly modified for sexual pleasure. Are these not the pleasures you clearly excel at?”

As he spoke, he took a step forward and Jessica stepped backward, her back meeting the building’s wall.

“Do not press this issue, Martimus,” Jessica said, her voice dripping with ice. “My answer is no. I am in a committed relationship, my affections are not yours for the taking.”

“Is he here? This man. Will he know? Come now, Jessica,” Martimus began. As he spoke, he pressed forward, placing a hand on Jessica’s breast and sliding his thigh between her legs.

Jessica caught his wrist in a vice-like grip and pulled it away from her body, her other hand flashed out and pushed Martimus back.

“No means no, Martimus,” she hissed. “This is your last warning. Return to the gathering with your dignity still intact.”

“My dignity? You’re the trollop who clearly wants it. Who are you to talk? You’re begging to have me slide between your legs.”

Jessica was still holding his wrist with her right hand; she spun him around, pressing him into the wall, her left forearm against his throat. She pushed hard, giving him just enough room to breathe, but not enough to scream.

“Let me tell you something, Martimus,” she spat his name, her lips centimeters from his face as he wheezed frantically, his left arm clawing at her shoulder. “There is no shame in what I am. There is nothing wrong with the human body, clothed, naked, otherwise. Showing it off, enhancing it, that is a choice anyone may make with their own flesh.

“But it is their body, their flesh. Your eyes may take it in—take me in—and I do not begrudge that; I know I am desirable. But do not make the mistake of thinking that your eyes seeing me, lusting after me, coveting what I am, somehow makes any part of myself yours for the taking.”

“You objectify yourself, you stupid wench,” Martimus gasped, and Jessica pressed harder, cutting off his airway entirely.

“You do realize the fallacy in that statement, don’t you?” she asked. “It is not possible for me to objectify myself. Do I look like a chair, a piece of furniture? I am not an object, and it is not possible for you to possess me. The only thing—the only thing—that can happen between either of us is an open and willing sharing of self.”

Jessica pulled her arm back and Martimus drew in a long, ragged gasp.

“But you don’t share self,” Jessica said as she released him and stepped back. “You only know how to take. You’re broken inside, and you’re trying to get others to fill your emptiness. But what you’re craving can only come after you’re whole.”

Martimus’s gaze lowered, and Jessica hoped for a moment that she had gotten through to him. That perhaps he now knew what he had just tried to do was wrong, and that he should feel shame over it.

But when he raised his eyes, and they unblinkingly met hers, Jessica could see her words had not reached him.

A second later, a knife was in his hand and a wicked grin spread across his face.

“I’m going to gut you, bitch,” he rasped. “No one treats me like you just did.”

Jessica shook her head. “Look, I know excessive force was the wrong tool to use if you are to truly be dissuaded from this course of action, but I need you to understand that you cannot have me. My goal was to place in your mind the fear that what I just did to you may happen again—perhaps it can save some other poor girl form your sweaty indignities.”

“Your words won’t save anyone, least of all yourself,” Martimus said. “And you’re wrong. Before this is done, I will objectify and own you.”

Martimus’s hand darted forward, a solid strike, delivered without over extending his shoulder. But Jessica wasn’t where the knife blade was aimed.

She danced to the side and delivered a kick to his ribs, and then spun away as he slashed at her.

He was good with his blade, but his fighting style was the same sort Antaris had employed. Sure, powerful strikes, no finesse, and little feinting.

Still, it took her almost thirty seconds to disarm him. And once she did, a knee to his solar plexus followed by a hard blow to the side of his head, was all it took to put Martimus on the ground, gasping for air once more.

Jessica kicked him hard, flipping him onto his back. She planted her boot on his neck, digging her heel into his carotid artery.

“I’m going to do you a favor, Martimus,” she said calmly. “Though it is more for me, than for you. I’m going to let you leave with your life, and your body still functioning properly. You are here to do a job, and it is in my best interests if you are able to do so.”

Jessica bent down and placed a knee on his neck, holding her hand in front of his face. She pulled off her glove and wiggled her fingers, triggering an energy surge and, making them glow brightly.

Martimus’s eyes were wide as a silver tendril began to grow from her index finger.

“This is rather advanced nanotech,” she said. “A bit more upscale than most folks have here in Serenity. It can do a lot of things. It can make you strong, weak, it can kill. What’s more, your luddite’s body doesn’t have a lick of defenses against it.”

As Jessica spoke, she lowered her finger toward Martimus’s forehead. His eyes crossed as they followed it and he twitched violently when her finger met his skin.

“You can feel it, can’t you? The nano boring holes through your cranium…. It itches, doesn’t it?” Jessica asked, allowing a cold smile to cross her face. “I realize that this is hypocritical of me. To tell you not to mess with my body as I inject nano into yours, but I don’t have time to see you properly rehabilitated into some semblance of a decent human being.

“Instead, because you have decided to behave like an animal, I shall collar you like one.

“You see, I suspect something is wrong with your limbic brain…that’s the part that controls your base emotions. This little batch of nano is going to go in and seat themselves in your amygdala. There, they shall follow their programming and see if they can help you learn a bit about right and wrong, to help improve your social interactions with others. However, if you ever try to sexually assault a woman—or a man, for that matter—again, they’ll just kill you. And that will be that.”

As she spoke, Martimus’s eyes grew so wide that Jessica wondered if he was going to have some sort of panic attack.

She lowered her face to his. “Just to be clear, I don’t really expect them to fix you, you seem like a lost cause to me. But you never know. They might just pull it off. However, given the fact that you tried to rape me within a day of knowing me, I bet you’ll be dead inside of a week.”

Jessica rose, dusted herself off, and began to walk away. Then she turned and looked back at Martimus. “Oh, and if you mention anything that happened back here, be it truth or lie, you’ll also die. If anyone asks what we did, just shake your head and remain silent. Understood?”

Martimus nodded frantically.

“Bet you wish you’d left well enough alone,” Jessica added, before she walked back around the building.

In her mind, Iris was silent, but Jessica could all but feel the words she knew Iris was thinking.

<That wasn’t exactly how I thought it would go,> Jessica finally said.

Iris didn’t reply immediately, but after a few seconds which seemed to stretch for hours, she replied, 

<But?> Jessica asked.

<Well, I was going to say that I think now I understand what you feel…>

<Oh?> Jessica said as she slipped into the night, directing her nano to repair the rips Martimus’s desperate clawing had made in her outfit.

<Well, I allowed myself to feel what it felt like when he pushed himself against you. That was an extreme level of revulsion…but that wasn’t really it, was it. There was something else, but it didn’t make any sense.>

Jessica knew what it was. <It was the fear.>

<Yes! Your revulsion was fueled by fear…but you never had a reason to fear him. Martimus was no threat to you.>

<And fear leads to anger,> Iris replied.

<And to rage.>

Jessica walked in silence along the edge of the forest lining the estate for several minutes before she let out a long sigh. <Damnit…I forgot to interrogate him for what he might know about the assassins!>

<Maybe another night,> Iris advised.

<Yeah, that would probably be wise.>

* * * * *

An hour later, after taking a rather circuitous route to reach the underground shuttle bay, Jessica crouched at its edge. Along the way she had stopped in her quarters to change her outfit and shoes.

Now, dressed from head to toe in matte black, the thick fabric hiding the glow of her skin—thankfully diminished this late into the day—she peered down at the unmarked shuttle on the far side of the shaft from her.

Jessica gauged the distance and the drop, then walked back to the edge of the trees, and took a deep breath.

Her heart was still racing from the confrontation with Martimus. She kept replaying the scene over and over again in her mind, wondering what she could have done differently, what she could have said to attain a better outcome.

She knew there was both nothing, and a thousand things she could have done. But none of that mattered now. Now, she had to calm her breathing, still her heart, and clear her mind.

Deep breaths, Jessica. Let it wash out of you. Your heart is a river of purity, that man’s filth and the memories it brought back…they cannot change you. You are in control of who you are. Now concentrate. You have work to do.

She stood silently for a moment, and then took off at full speed feeling the exhilarating rush as she sailed across the pit, falling toward the rack the unmarked shuttle rested on.

A dull thud reverberated through the shaft as Jessica landed on the nose of the shuttle, the sticky pads on her hands and feet aiding in her grip as she carefully climbed atop the craft and then slid down the side onto the catwalk.

<I’ve deployed nano to scour the surface of the ship,> Iris said. <However, the fuel they’re burning will be the most telling.>

<That was my thought as well,> Jessica replied as she walked toward the back of the shuttle. She placed her hand on the fusion drive’s cowls and felt the tingle of a small charge exit her hand.

<It’s handy having you all electrified. Helps to ionize the residue.>

<How very punny of you,> Jessica replied.

While Iris examined the results of the spectrographic analysis of the shuttle, Jessica walked around to the far side, where the cargo conveyers connected to the shuttles.

Nothing looked out of place, until she walked past one of the safety skids alongside an a-grav unit. A small piece of blue plas was stuck to the skid. Jessica picked it out and rubbed it between her fingers. It had the same texture as the label on Addie’s crate.

<Jess, this ship picked up fuel in the Kidron system.>

<That’s not all it picked up there.>

“Freeze!”

Jessica raised her hands and turned slowly to see Terry standing behind her with a ballistic handgun aimed at Jessica’s head.

“Who are you? What are you doing?” Terry yelled.

Jessica could see Terry was scared, yet resolute, and she raised her hands slowly into the air. “Terry, please don’t shoot. It’s me, Jessica.”

Terry cocked her head and the gun dipped, now pointed at Jessica’s chest. “Jessica?”

“Is it OK if I pull the hood off?” Jessica asked.

“Umm…yeah,” came Terry’s hesitant reply.

Jessica slowly pulled her hood off and Terry visibly relaxed, lowering the gun entirely.

“Jessica! I thought I told you that you can’t come down here!”

Jessica shrugged. “Well, I needed to check this ship out, but I didn’t want to get you in trouble, so…here I am”

Terry holstered her weapon. “I have to admit, I was curious about this ship too after you left. I learned something pretty interesting. It’s not from Serenity at all!”

“I know,” Jessica nodded. “It’s last port of call was Kidron.”

“Jessica! How did you know?”

Jessica approached Terry, a kind smile on her lips. “Terry, there’s something really trustworthy about you. Can you keep a secret?”

UNVEILING

STELLAR DATE: 10.27.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: House Charlemis Shuttle, Gallas, Serenity Primus

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

Cheeky stretched as she rose from Pharis’s bed in the back of the shuttle. The trip from Mesophis to Gallas had been short, and the shuttle would touch down on the pad outside of House Charlemis’ sprawling estate in just five minutes.

She wished she could remain beside Pharis a bit longer. The prior night had been a whirlwind, beginning with the briefest of token appearances at the Dance before disappearing into the depths of House Nebacken’s tall fortress.

As they had traipsed through private rooms, laughing at their impertinence, Piya had slipped evidence into various systems linking ‘Kerstin’ to House Nebacken. When the time came to play Nebacken against Charlemis, Jessica would present that evidence when attempting to break apart the house’s alliance.

 Piya had said at one point. <Lena has schemes upon schemes leveled at Justina and House Charlemis. You’re just going to be the icing on the cake.>

<Ah, but I’m such delicious icing.>

Although she enjoyed the games she was playing with Pharis, it was on the whole, rather exhausting. At the very least she was glad she wasn’t in Addie’s shoes, or corsets. That would have been a fate worse than death.

The AHAP, for her part, was performing very well. Cheeky was unnerved by how well the Addie could imitate Jessica. Seeing Jessica—the real Jessica—once more, was something Cheeky looked forward to greatly.

She dressed silently while staring down at Pharis’s sleeping form. She was a nice young woman, not really deserving of what they were putting her in the middle of, but the ultimate goal was to try and stop an outside group from… well…something bad.

In the shuttle’s main cabin, Pharis’s various sycophants were stretched out on chairs and couches, catching what rest they could before the second-to-last night of celebrations began.

Few of the men and women in Pharis’s entourage liked Cheeky, not because she had done anything to slight anyone in particular, but because she had inserted herself so well into Pharis’s affections.

One or two peered at her as she passed, but none spoke or stirred more than an eye in her direction.

She wanted to tell them all would revert back to normal soon, though that wasn’t entirely true. While Cheeky—or Kerstin as they knew her—would soon be gone, events would soon unfold on the moons of Serenity that would disrupt ‘normal’ for some time.

“In a rush?” Vicky, the shuttle’s attendant, asked as Cheeky approached the forward door.

“Pharis asked me to get a few things ready for her, but not to disturb her. We had a busy night and she needs her rest.”

Vicky gave a soft laugh. “Yes, I would assume so. Especially given our need to shift our departure time twice while we waited for you two. While you were doing whatever it is you do….”

Cheeky grinned seductively. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Uhuh!” Vicky nodded emphatically. “I really would! Here’s my token,” she passed her contact information across the Link to Cheeky. “Any time you want to show me any of what you showed Pharis, I’d be more than happy to join you.”

“Vicky, you’re a sweet woman. Should the chance ever arise, I’ll do just that.”

As Cheeky finished speaking, the shuttle touched down onto the pad and Vicky leaned across Cheeky, brushing her arm against her. “Pardon, just need to open this.”

Cheeky laughed, “Of course you do, Vicky.”

A minute later she was out of the shuttle and in the bright mid-morning light. A dense forest began at the edge of the pad to her left and right, and ahead lay the Charlemis estate.

She Linked into the general net and searched for the private channel she and Jessica used.

<Cheeky! You’ve finally made it,> Jessica said before Cheeky could speak.

<It’s been a whirlwind, but yeah, here I am.>

<Good. I managed to secure private quarters for us. Well, semi-private. Terry—you’ll meet her soon enough—is out so it’s just Addie and me. We were starting to wonder if you’d ever show up,> Jessica said with a wink in her mind, and Cheeky was glad to see her friend was in good spirits.

<Pharis has rather insatiable appetites. It took a bit to get her back to the shuttle last night,> Cheeky replied. 

<Yeah. Looks like I have a dance partner tonight, if things progress that far.>

Vicky handed Cheeky her luggage, and Cheeky thanked her with a peck on the cheek. “Be seeing you.”

“Oh stars, I hope so.”

<I’ve sent you my location, come meet me here. I don’t want to discuss it all over the Link,> Jessica said before closing the connection

* * * * *

Three hours later, Jessica stood with Cheeky in Anastasia’s quarters, with Antaris and Kristina also in attendance. The siblings appeared tired, or unhappy. Or perhaps both. Anastasia was her usual implacable self.

Over the last three days Jessica had plumbed the depths in which the twisted, tangled web of lies and deceit that the Houses of Serenity operated. Jessica had uncovered so many schemes, that it was almost impossible to discern which nefarious plot was instigated by which house.

But all of that was secondary to what she assumed would be an assassination, one which was about to be attempted within the next few minutes—provided she played her cards right.

“I’m pleased that you have met with such excellent success insinuating yourselves into the inner circles of the Nebacken and Charlemis scions,” Anastasia said from where she stood near one of the room’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

She was dressed very similarly to the first night they had met her, except this time her black dress had long sleeves and a high neck.

“It wasn’t that hard,” Cheeky said. “They’re young, they’re bored. Give them something even marginally exotic, and they’re enthralled.”

“We have more than enough to turn Justina against Lena,” Jessica added. “Nebacken will become despised amongst the Houses of Serenity.”

Kristina coughed. “Well, more despised, I should imagine.”

“Will it be enough to shatter their alliances?” Anastasia asked.

Jessica nodded. “We have evidence proving Lena of Nebacken planted Cherrie here to subvert Pharis and ultimately convince her to murder her mother. We also have evidence to show that Lena was secretly forging alliances with House Teros with the intent of undermining exports from Gallas. And that’s just the beginning. Suffice it to say by the end of the night, there will be no alignment between Charlemis and Nebacken. Except…”

“Except what?” Anastasia asked, her brow raised quizzically.

“Except neither house Charlemis, nor house Nebacken was behind the smuggling of the weapons,” Jessica replied.

“Pray tell then, which of the houses is responsible?” Anastasia asked.

Jessica drew herself up, her eyes on Kristina. “House Laurentia of Acadia.”

“What?” Anastasia exclaimed, her eyes following Jessica’s gaze and settling on her daughter. “Kristina. What is she talking about? Did you have something to do with this?”

A smile played at the edges of Kristina’s mouth. “Yes, mother, it was I who sought out weapons from the Kidron system. Not that it matters, right, Mother?”

Jessica sent an affirmation across the link to Addie, and Anastasia nodded before speaking. “You’re right, it doesn’t matter.”

What Jessica wanted to see in this exchange was the look in Antaris’s eyes. She wanted to see if it was surprise, or if he was expecting his mother to give that answer. When he gave a short nod, it was all Jessica needed.

Antaris was in on it.

“Now, then,” Kristina said as she turned back to Jessica. “Be on your way. Tonight, you will resume your subterfuge with the Nebacken and Charlemis scions, and tomorrow night, when the Dance is at House Acadia, we shall reveal all these truths to our own glorification.”

Jessica shook her head. “No. I don’t think that is how this will play out.”

Behind Jessica, the door opened and Anastasia entered the room, four guards at her back.

“Kristina, daughter mine, you wound me deeply,” she said.

“What is this?” the Anastasia standing by the window cried out. “Imposter! Guards, seize her!”

The guards didn’t move, they stood flanking the new Anastasia, rifles held ready, though not aiming at anyone yet.

“You heard her!” Antaris bellowed. “The woman you’re with is an imposter. Arrest her.”

Jessica sent Addie another signal, and the Anastasia by the window turned to Kristina and Antaris, a smile on her lips. “No, she is the real Lady Anastasia of House Laurentia. I am the imposter.” As she spoke, her features shifted, until, at last she was once again Addie, complete with red hair, standing by the window in one of Anastasia’s dresses.

“What?! No…” Kristina’s voice fell into a whisper as she turned to Jessica. “How did you do that? This AHAP is imprinted on me.”

“That’s not your AHAP,” Jessica replied. “That is ours. The one we had brought onto our ship before we left Olvives station at Kidron. Impressive how well they can fool a person, isn’t it? I have to admit, I was surprised any had survived our departure from the station, but that is why you had your ‘mother’ wearing long sleeves. Part of your AHAP’s arm was burned and couldn’t shift properly to mimic skin.”

“To think you were going to have me killed and then use a machine like that to replace me,” the real Anastasia said as she walked around Jessica. “And you, Antaris…you would betray me too? For this ungrateful wretch?”

“Only because you betrayed us first,” Antaris replied.

<What is that about?> Cheeky asked.

Jessica sent the equivalent of a mental shrug. <Beats me. Could be all sorts of reasons why they feel betrayed by their mother. Anastasia does seem like she can be a bit of a bitch.>

“Guards. Arrest my son and daughter for treason against their Head of House,” Anastasia said with a sorrowful voice. Jessica wondered how much anguish the woman really felt. Little of what Anastasia said seemed to come from the heart.

“No,” Kristina replied. “It does not end like this.”

As she spoke, a dozen men and women rushed into the room from two other entrances, and through the open windows—the assassins who had come on the second shuttle.

“I prepared well, Mother,” Kristina said. “I knew I had just one chance, and I was not going to squander it.”

Antaris approached the four guards standing with his mother. “Good men, lower your arms and your actions here will not be held against you when my sister comes into her power.”

“I’d prefer you four not to,” Jessica said, glancing back at the four men standing behind her. “It’s not like the assassin’s weapons work anyway.”

<How sure are you the rifles they’re holding are the ones they took from our ship?> Cheeky asked.

<Like…at least ninety percent sure. I sent the kill signal, so they should be offline. However…be ten percent ready to run.>

“Take them out,” Kristina ordered, and the twelve men and women raised their rifles, pulled the triggers…and nothing happened.

<Stars, I almost wet myself,> Cheeky said.

<You and me both. Half of those goons were aiming at me!>

An instant later, Antaris rushed toward Jessica, and the twelve men and women joined in the attack. Three of the loyal guards fired their ballistic rifles at the onrushing foes, and then they were swarmed, and the battle devolved into hand-to-hand combat.

Antaris slammed into Jessica like a freight train, knocking her to the ground before he took a swing at Cheeky and missed as she dodged out of the way.

“Going to hold back this time?” Jessica asked as she leapt to her feet.

“It pains me, but no,” Antaris replied as he swung at Jessica, far faster and harder than he had the previous night. She blocked the strike and countered with a jab at Antaris’s neck, which missed as he ducked aside.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kristina take a swing at Cheeky from behind, which would have laid her out, but a silvery hand caught Kristina’s wrist as Addie waded into the fight.

Then, Jessica brought her attention back to Antaris as he lunged for her, attempting to knock her down once more, intent on bringing his larger mass to bear.

Jessica dove to the side at the last moment, and found herself lying on top of one of the rifles Kristina’s assassins had brought into the room. She picked it up and danced back as someone took a swing at her, then pulled the rifle to her shoulder, toggling it to fire a pulse blast at Antaris.

<It may not reinitialize after the kill signal,> Iris warned as Jessica pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Then Antaris was on her again and she spun the rifle and smashed it into his side where she had cracked his ribs in their previous fight.

He grunted and fell back, still a threat, and Jessica watched, unable to do anything as four of Kristina’s assassins take Addie down.

Shit! Gotta take this lout out!

She didn’t want to kill Antaris, but subduing a man his size without grievous injury was no small task.

As he closed in on her, ready to strike, Jessica leapt forward and jumped onto him, wrapping her long legs around his torso. With all her might, she brought both arms in and slammed her palms on either side of his head, delivering a quarter charge from her Retyna microbes.

Antaris dropped like a rock.

As he fell and Jessica leapt free, she saw the last of Anastasia’s guards go down, while Kristina approached her mother. Two of the assassins held Cheeky, and four were pinning Addie down.

<Where are the other guards?> she asked Iris.

<Engaged in the corridor outside. It seems that Kristina had even more assassins on Gallas than we thought.>

“Stop this, Kristina!” Anastasia cried out as Kristina picked up one of the guards’ projectile weapons. “Are you mad? Why are you trying to kill me?”

Jessica didn’t wait to hear Kristina’s response. The scion of House Laurentia was only four meters away from her mother. Jessica crouched and leapt across the space, succeeding in grabbing the barrel of the weapon.

She pushed it down and delivered the remainder of her microbe’s charge, hopefully fusing the weapon’s firing components as she did.

Kristina spasmed and her finger pulled the trigger. And nothing happened.

“You’ll pay for this,” Kristina swore as she staggered backward and then swung the rifle at Jessica.

The barrel of the weapon grazed Jessica’s cheek as she dodged to the side. Then she crouched low and kicked Kristina in the stomach.

Kristina fell to the ground in a heap, and Jessica grabbed one of the other ballistic rifles and pointed it at her.

“Surrender! Tell your people to let Cherrie go and surrender,” Jessica ordered.

Kristina looked up, her eyes full of pain, and shook her head. “Why did you have to do all this? Why did you have to come here? You’ve ruined everything.”

“You ruined everything yourself,” Anastasia said as she approached. “You selfish little girl. Acadia would have passed to you in time, but now…now one of your sisters will take my place when I go into the afterlife.”

“That’s the rub, isn’t it?” Kristin asked. “You’ll never go!”

“Enough,” Jessica said. “Tell them to let my friend go, or you die.”

“Why?” Kristina laughed. “She’s going to kill them anyway. Me, you, she’ll kill us all.”

“Death is the punishment for treason,” Anastasia said. “But as your mother, I may grant you clemency.”

“You’re not my mother!” Kristina spat vehemently. “You killed my mother. You’re a thing, a wraith, inhabiting her body! You took my mother from me and I want to kill you for it!”

Kristina was screaming, tears pouring down her face, and Jessica took a step back, considering what she could mean, especially in light of the fact that Kristina was a clone of Anastasia.

<Do you think…?> she asked Iris.

<It’s possible, I suppose, but she would have to have original gene stock to avoid degradation.>

“She’s your…what…grandmother?” Jessica asked Kristina.

Kristina snorted. “Try great, great, great, great, great, oh fuck it, she’s the original captain of the Perseus. Captain Samantha Annias.”

A smile grew across Anastasia’s face. “Well…one of you finally figured it out. Took long enough. Was it you, or your half-witted brother?”

“It was the half-wit,” Antaris said from the floor where he had pulled himself up on to one elbow. “Took some time to convince Kristina of what you were up to. We were going to take you out, and replace you with an AHAP until we could gracefully age you and kill you off…but Jessica and Cherrie just had to arrive and ruin all of that.”

“Maybe not. If you had been honest with me at the outset…” Jessica said.

Cheeky looked between Anastasia and Kristina and shook her head in disgust. “This place is not serene.”

“Lower your weapons! Everyone!” a new voice called out, and Jessica tossed her rifle to the ground as House Charlemis guards stormed through the windows.

The assassins holding Cheeky and Addie glanced at one another and stepped back, raising their hands in surrender.

“I must say,” a woman who Jessica recognized as Justina, head of House Charlemis, said as she entered the room. “This is going to be a Dance long remembered.”

PICKUP

STELLAR DATE: 10.27.8938 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: House Charlemis Estate, Gallas, Serenity Primus

REGION: Serenity Ordus, Orion Freedom Alliance, Perseus Arm

“You two have no idea how to stay out of trouble, do you?” Cargo asked as he sat at the table in one of House Charlemis’s many salons.

Cheeky glanced at Jessica and shrugged. “I don’t see what happened as trouble, so much as a rousing adventure during which Jessica and I danced for days and got to sample the fashions and cultures of five different worlds.”

“Plus, the mineral waters on Olvives—even if that was cut short,” Jessica added.

“I’ll treasure the memory of those few days forever,” Cheeky said with a nod.

“So—from what we picked up on the way in—you guys were involved in, and somewhat foiled, then double foiled a plot to upset the ruling houses of this place?” Cargo asked.

“Uhh…yeah, something like that,” Jessica said. “We uncovered a plot within a plot—sort of—and then double crossed the plotters only to find that we had been fooled, and then the cops showed up—”

“Well, not really the cops,” Cheeky said. “The house guards.”

“Yeah, but it’s always fun to insert ‘and then the cops showed up’ into your story.”

“Wait! How is that you two aren’t under arrest, and they let us dock here?” Cargo interrupted.

“Oh! That part’s easy,” Cheeky said. “See, we had a side quest, given to us by the first double-crosser and in doing so we unearthed evidence that House Charlemis—”

“Also known as ‘the cops’ for the purposes of this story,” Jessica added.

“Yeah, evidence that Charlemis, aka ‘the cops’ really appreciated, and so they gave us a pass on everything we’d done,” Cheeky finished.

“Wait,” Jessica grinned. “You’re missing the part where you had sex for three days straight with Pharis, the scion of House Charlemis. I bet that had something to do with it.”

“Actually,” Cheeky said while holding up for fingers. “It was four days, and we had sex, exactly,” she touched her index finger to her thumb, “zero times.”

Cargo shook his head. “I think I’m going to need some hallucinogens and a flow chart to figure out what the hell you two are even talking about.”

“Oh,” Jessica said with a sly smile. “I maaaaay have picked up a new stray.”

THE END

* * * * *

While events on the Moons of Serenity turned out in Cheeky and Jessica’s favor, Derrick did not enter the system, and still knows their secret.

Moreover, they have now picked up another crew member, Terry, who does not know the true origins of the group with which she has fallen in.

Next stop? Star City, a place protected by a Bastion against any and all aggressors.

Pick up The Last Bastion of Star City ^{for just $2.99 on Amazon}.

THANK YOU

If you’ve enjoyed reading The Trail Through the Stars, a review on ^Amazon.com and/or goodreads.com would be greatly appreciated.

To get the latest news and access to free novellas and short stories, sign up on the Aeon 14 mailing list: ^{www.aeon14.com/signup}.

M. D. Cooper

BOOKS BY M. D. COOPER

Keep up to date with what is releasing in Aeon 14 with the free ^{Aeon 14 Reading Guide}.

The Intrepid Saga

- Book 1: ^Outsystem

- Book 2: ^{A Path in the Darkness}

- Book 3: ^{Building Victoria}

- ^{The Intrepid Saga Omnibus} – Also contains Destiny Lost, book 1 of the Orion War series

- ^{Destiny Rising} – Special Author’s Extended Edition comprised of both Outsystem and A Path in the Darkness with over 100 pages of new content.

The Orion War

- Book 1: ^{Destiny Lost}

- Tales of the Orion War: ^{Set the Galaxy on Fire}

- Book 2: ^{New Canaan}

- Book 3: ^{Orion Rising}

- Tales of the Orion War: Ignite the Stars Within (Fall 2017)

- Tales of the Orion War: Burn the Galaxy to Ash (Winter 2018)

- Book 4: ^{The Scipio Alliance} (Nov 2017)

- Many more following

Perilous Alliance (Expanded Orion War - with Chris J. Pike)

- Book 1: ^{Close Proximity}

- Book 2: ^{Strike Vector}

- Book 3: ^{Collision Course} (October 2017)

Rika’s Marauders (Age of the Orion War)

- Prequel: ^{Rika Mechanized}

- Book 1: ^{Rika Outcast}

- Book 2: ^{Rika Redeemed} (Nov 2017)

- Book 3: Rika Triumphant (2018)

Perseus Gate (Age of the Orion War)

- Episode 1: ^{The Gate at the Grey Wolf Star}

- Episode 2: ^{The World at the Edge of Space}

- Episode 3: ^{The Dance on the Moons of Serenity}

- Episode 4: ^{The Last Bastion of Star City}

- Episode 5: ^{The Toll Road Between the Stars} (Nov 2017)

- Episode 6: ^{The Final Stroll on Perseus’s Arm} (Dec 2017)

The Warlord (Before the Age of the Orion War)

- Book 1: ^{The Woman Without a Country}

- Book 2: ^{The Woman Who Seized an Empire} (Dec 2017)

- Book 3: The Woman Who Lost Everything (2018)

The Sentience Wars: Origins (With James S. Aaron)

- Book 1: ^{Lyssa’s Dream}

- Book 2: ^{Lyssa’s Run} (Oct 2017)

- Book 3: Lyssa’s Flame (Jan 2018)

Tanis Richards: Origins

- Prequel: Storming the Norse Wind (In ^{At the Helm Volume 3})

- Book 1: Shore Leave (June 2018)

The Sol Dissolution

- The 242 - Venusian Uprising (In ^{The Expanding Universe 2} anthology)

- The 242 - Assault on Tarja (In ^{The Expanding Universe}3 anthology – coming Dec 2017)

The Delta Team Chronicles (Expanded Orion War)

- A "Simple" Kidnapping (^{Pew! Pew! Volume 1})

- The Disknee World (^{Pew! Pew! Volume 2})

- A Fool’s Guide to Fangs and Food (^{Pew! Pew! Volume 3})

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Cooper likes to think of himself as a jack-of-all-trades (and hopes to become master of a few). When not writing, he can be found writing software, working in his shop at his latest carpentry project, or likely reading a book.

He shares his home with a precocious young girl, his wonderful wife (who also writes), two cats, a never-ending list of things he would like to build, and ideas…

Find out what’s coming next at ^{http://www.aeon14.com}