Edge of Redemption (A Star Too Far Book 3) (39 page)

“You drink, Captain?”

“Hmm? No, patches for me,” William said, without taking his eyes off the
Garlic
. It was almost gone now, just a bright smudge against the black.

“I’m gonna get smashed. It’s going to be the most epic hangover you ever did see.”

William faked a smile. His only thoughts were on the future. He’d pushed the future out of his mind while he had a duty to Winterthur. But now, without a ship, his duty was to get back to UC space. Court martial, he thought. A damned dirty word.

Shay took two gentle steps and sat on some conduit. “Drunk,” she said and leaned back against the wall. “So goddamn drunk.”

The hull creaked and groaned. A man of small stature walked carefully through the spine of the ship and came closer to William and Shay. He was old and wore a smile that bordered on a mischievous grin. He had the look of someone with a joke he couldn’t wait to tell.

“Captain Grace.” Mao placed his hand on his sternum and gave the slightest of bows. His eyes were bright, beady points of light.

“Captain Mao,” William said with a smile.

“My nephew, bless his idiotic soul, is tending to your crew.”

“You have my thanks,” William said, and glanced out towards the
Garlic
.

Mao came closer and set a gnarled claw of a hand on William’s shoulder. He pointed at the smudge of light that was the
Garlic
. “Just think, it’ll be part of the stars forever.”

“Yes,” William said. “I guess it will.”

“You think of things in too short a timespan.” Mao turned away from the crystal window and shuffled a few steps away. “That ship will be a legend someday.”

William didn’t think that they’d do any such thing. “How long ‘til we arrive?”

Mao stopped and shrugged his bony shoulders. “We haven’t even properly braked yet, it’ll be a while.”

William nodded. He glanced over and saw that Shay was asleep, drooling on her suit.

“Not bad for the
Grouper
, eh?”

William felt himself blush a bit and nodded to the old man. “Not bad for the
Grouper
.”

The
Grouper
snaked around through the system and took the most efficient route back in towards Winterthur. The hull was old enough to discourage the strains of rapid maneuvers. It was a thing of physics leisure, straight lines and gentle vectors.

The docking station still held the hulk of the dropship, though no tubes snaked across. Titanium bright lights danced on the hull and lights poured across the hull. Far below the carbon black ribbon disappeared into the clouds. The sea was obscured while farther away the slightest tendrils of human activity fought for a hold.

William walked to the aft of the
Grouper
with his crew marching behind. He had asked Mao to head back to UC space immediately but he discovered that the frugal Mao was anxious to fill his hold with ores. “Never travel empty!” he’d told him with dreams of gold in his eyes.

William just wanted to get it over with. He knew in his heart he’d done the right thing by staying and fighting. But he also knew that he’d broken his orders to the very core. The only consolation was that he upheld the Covenant, and that was his oath.

Plus he had some Marines to pick up.

The ancient intercom crackled and popped. “Could you engage the blue and red lever please?”

Huron stepped close to the airlock and pulled on each of the pitted handles. The first centered the airlock with the second priming the seals. A moment later a compressor hummed and atmosphere slowly equalized.

“Drunk,” Shay mumbled and nodded at the door. “Fucking drunk.”

The door opened and the smells of nanite propellant and death rolled into the ship. The crew of the
Garlic
hesitated and William waved them forward. Huron was the first to leap into the zero gravity of the umbilical and enter the station.

William watched them go and stood with his toes on the worn orange line. His doubts crawled over him and he felt the weight of command on his shoulders. Finally he pushed himself out into the zero g and coasted into the station.

On the other side, Corporal Vale Thorsidottir stood in a dirty suit of battle armor. Beside her stood Igor and Grgur, both at attention. Grgur was hunched over with a wide swath of bandages across his chest. Igor showed wide white teeth and smelled a bit like a brewery.

“Corporal,” William said with a salute.

The Marines relaxed and regaled the crew of the
Garlic
with stories of the assault. The initial wave launched perfectly but the dropship suffered a critical malfunction.

“Once the convicts thought we were going to die, they found the Lenten reserves and got rip roaring drunk,” Igor said, smiling.

Grgur tried to laugh but it sounded like a bad wheeze. “Then we boarded the station and shot all the Hun.”

“Shot them all?” William asked hesitantly.

Igor shrugged. “We offered terms.”

“No survivors?” William asked.

Igor shook his head. “They sealed up on the far side of the station. Then the shooting stopped and we found them all. Dead.”

“Dead? Like dead-dead or with a UC bullet?” William asked, almost wishing he hadn’t.

Igor shook his head quickly. “No, no. They did something, they were all dead. Like a suicide.”

William caught glances from the Marines and turned to see Emilie Rose watching them. He nodded to his Marines and dismissed everyone. “I’ve got this watch,” he said to Shay.

Shay grinned and led the crew towards the waiting cargo elevator. The Marines broke away from the rest and stood away from William at a respectful distance. Vale walked over and talked to a woman with scarred alloy arms.

“Captain. Fine work,” Emilie said. She looked worn, tired, and even thinner than before.

“Same to you, Ms. Rose.” William turned and walked slowly through the cargo area. He saw a group of monks and nuns, and made a mental note to find the Abbot.

“What will you do now?” Emilie asked.

William smiled. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Things are going to work out here, I see a future in politics.”

“Politics?”

Emilie smiled and looked away. “I came here to make my fortune,” she said in a wistful voice. “Instead I found something more.”

William didn’t say anything, but wished he’d found something more. With the threat of immediate invasion gone, he was left without a task, without a ship, and most of all, without a purpose. All he could think of was the only thing the future held was a court martial.

Emilie looked at William and studied his face. “You can stay.”

“No, I’m afraid I can’t,” William said, and walked away.

A voice hollered through the solitude of the hold. “Captain, Captain!”

William stopped, turned, and squinted towards the docking array.

Wei scrambled through the debris waving both of his arms over his head. “Captain!”

“What?” William asked.

“Someone is asking for you,” Wei said.

William glanced at the elevator and saw the doors still open and his crew standing inside. “Who?”

“Come, come! It just came in from the edge of the system.”

William followed Wei back to the
Grouper
. He was excited, and also nervous. It must be a UC ship, he thought. He nervously itched the stump where his augmetic hand was. His fingers scratched at an itch he could never seem to ease.

“There!” Wei said, pointing at a comms console old enough to be in a museum.

Mao stood on the edge of the bridge with his arms crossed on his chest and a crooked smile on his face.

William looked down at the smudged screen and picked out the source. His heart beat faster and the excitement rose in chest. He gently touched the console with trembling fingers.

The Gruffalo appeared on the screen and looked a dozen years older. Behind him a wide and open bridge was bustling with officers and crew. “Hello William,” he said, smiling. “Interested in a job with the real Colonial Navy?”

William smiled at the screen and wondered if he’d just found his calling. “Hard to go back when you can make a difference,” he said, and felt his path open before him.

From the Author

I hope you enjoyed reading this series as much as I did writing it.

When I set out a year ago I wrote a novel that I would enjoy. Much to my surprise, other people enjoyed it as well. So I kept writing, and writing, and finished the story of William Grace.

There’s a lot unsaid in the story, an entire universe exists that you only get a taste of. I did this on purpose, one, you don’t want a history book, and two, everyone loves that sense of mystery. Will you see more from this universe? Maybe someday.

For now I’ve got other projects lined up. I hope you enjoy these even more.

––––––––

O
ne last thing, if you enjoyed this novel please leave an
honest
review on Amazon and tell a friend about the series.

Even better, leave me an
honest
review
, tell
a friend, and drop me an
email
, I’d love to hear from you.

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C
asey

[email protected]

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ind more at
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