Twin Stars 1: Ascension (23 page)

“A lady of the evening?” Ping An asked sarcastically.

Lady Whitcombe smiled at the wordplay. “If you like. However, I do expect to see you enjoy yourself.” Then she leaned in and gave a grandmotherly look that didn’t really suit her. “Remind an old lady of what it was like to be young, won’t you?”

The pirate looked at the wine, considering. She didn’t really understand what Whitcombe was trying to accomplish with this, but clearly the old woman was testing her. What could she do but play along?

“Fine,” Ping An said, reaching out and taking the glass. “Here’s to your health, your Ladyship.” She said in a mock toast, and then downed the whole thing, letting the sweet amber liquid blaze a trail down her throat.

“Whoa!” She said in shock as she stared at the empty glass, her mouth still filled with a sweet tingling sensation she had never had before. “That is good stuff!”

The Lady nodded in approval. “There, wasn’t so hard now, was it? Now, your admirers await.”

* * *

“Yes, it was good to speak with you again, General.” Lady Whitcombe said, waving a polite goodbye to the man who had just occupied far too much of her time. “Please give my regards to your husband.” The man gave her a stiff bow, and then walked away, leaving the Lady to rub her temples.

I thought he’d never leave
, she said to herself wearily. He hadn’t been the first to approach her tonight, and every one of them had wanted the same thing- assurances as to where she stood on the Imperial Council issue. It was so dull and boring, why couldn’t they be more interesting? Was she to spend her final years this way?

“Another drink, my lady.” Foster offered, appearing next to her table carrying another glass of the evening’s wine. Horrible stuff, obviously vat-grown despite the claims to the otherwise by their host, and it went straight to her head.

“No, thank you.” She waved it away. “I’ll be up half the night as it is.” Then, after a moment, she looked up at him, remembering. “How’s our girl doing?”

Foster paused, as if unsure of what to say, which got Whitcombe’s attention even more. “Well madam,” he began. “At first, I had almost believed she was getting into things. She moved around, she talked, she flirted with a number of people…”

“And?”

“After a time I began to notice a certain familiar pattern to her movements. She would speak to one, and then, when they had their back turned she would begin to flirt with another.”

“Oh my,” said Lady Whitcombe, amused. “Have there been any altercations?”

Foster nodded. “So far, six men and four women have stepped outside on the deck to settle matters of honor over her.” Then he sighed. “She seems quite determined to eliminate as many Nobles as she can. I am afraid if we leave her in this party much longer a riot may break out.”

“Hmph,” the Lady shook her head. “Amateur. In my day, I could have had twice as many duels over me by now.” She said, meaning it. Then she leaned back thoughtfully, pulling her shawl up over her shoulders for warmth. “Still, she does show promise, does she not?”

Foster inclined his head. “As you say, your Ladyship.”

* * *

“How dare you intrude on my affections!” Shouted the young man, so angry that spittle flew from his tomato-red face.

“Oh! Oh!” Cried Ping An, fretfully clinging to his sleeve. “Please! It was nothing really.”

The young Noble whipped off his jacket and draped it around Ping An’s bare shoulders, offering a few comforting words as he sat her down, then he looked up at the sneering blond man who stood nearby. “You sir, shall come with me outside,” he gestured toward the nearby glass doors to the main deck. “Where we will settle this with honor!”

“Outside?” Said the other man contemptuously. “Afraid to face me with witnesses, are you?”

This so enraged the first Noble that he sprang to his feet, drew his ceremonial rapier and immediately launched a furious attack on his foe.

Easily parrying the clumsy attack with his own sword, the blond man stepped back and laughed. “Pathetic! With family swordplay like that, no wonder your father couldn’t keep his mistress faithful!”

This caused the crowd that had gathered around them to burst into laughter, and made the first young man’s face turn even redder than it had been before. “I’ll make you eat those words!” He cried, and dove in to attack.

While the men dueled, Ping An slipped away, letting the young Noble’s gallant jack drop to the floor as she made her way to the bar. Slipping up onto a barstool, she ordered a glass of wine and then spun around to watch her work play out.

I wonder if her Ladyship is still glad she brought me?

She was surprised by how much fun this was, no wonder Nobles loved these parties so.

As she watched, she heard someone settle into the seat next to her. Glancing over, she found herself having to look up at the too-tall older man with salt and pepper hair who had taken the seat. He smiled down at her and raised his glass, speaking in a surprisingly gentle voice for his size.

“May I have the honor of toasting with you, young lady?”

Naturally slipping into flirtatious mode, Ping An smiled up at him coyly. “Are you looking for my affections, sir?”

The older man, who was wearing a red and purple suit styled like a military uniform, gave a gentle laugh. “Ah, if only I were younger.” He said nostalgically. “No, young lady, I’m too old to fight duels anymore, and love is no longer my life’s focus. I merely wanted to compliment you on a fine show. Those poor young people never even knew what hit them.”

“Your drink, madam.” Said the bartender, slipping it on the bar next to her.

“Thank you,” Ping An told the woman, and then offered her glass to the older man for a toast. “And thank you too, sir knight.”

“You are most welcome,” he said, clinking his glass to hers. Then, after they drank, he bowed his head slightly. “Sir Fawn, at your service.”

“Ping An,” she replied, finding the older man quite charming.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, Ping An.” The knight offered. “I saw you sitting with Lady Whitcombe, are you connected with her?”

“She’s my…aunt.” Ping An said feeling a little uncomfortable as she said it. “Do you know her?

That earned her another laugh, one which made the unease fade away. “Oh yes,” he said with a grin. “She and I go back some time. We’ve played more than a few games with each other, and I have to admit more often than not I was the loser.” His smile became wistful. “The lot of men, is it not? To lose to a beautiful woman?”

Ping An let herself smile at that, appreciating the old man’s humor. “I can’t believe you lost often, sir.”

The old man gave her a small toast with his glass and then sipped his drink, but when he looked up his eyes were more serious- the playful gallantry gone. “A word of advice, dear girl. Before you play with her too much, be careful you know what you’re getting into. She doesn’t gamble often, and when she does, she hates to lose.”

A little surprised by the sudden shift, Ping An could only nod in understanding. “I’ll...remember that. Thank you.”

Then the old knight smiled and slipped from the stool, the seriousness gone. “A tip, for the evening’s entertainment.” He said with a final toast. “Good evening to you, Ping An.”

Ping An was surprised by the man’s sudden departure, and wanted to ask him to stay so she could find out more, but then she noticed Foster was standing on the other side of the knight with a disapproving look on his face.

“Miss Zhang?” The servant said, bowing. “Her Ladyship sends a message for you.”

The old knight didn’t bother to look at the servant, but he nodded his head again in a polite gesture to Ping An as he walked away.

“Good evening to you too, Sir Fawn.” She said as he left.

Watching the knight go, Foster shook his head. “Old troublemaker. Don’t let him bother you miss, he’s always trying to stir something up.”

Ping An indicated that she wouldn’t, and then looked back toward the booth where the Lady had been sitting. It was now empty.

Following her gaze, Foster said- “She’s left for the evening, but she asked me to give you this room access code. You’ll be staying in one of this ship’s suites.”

“Oh, thank you.” She said, accepting the code through her neutral link. “You said there was a message?”

“There is.” He agreed. “She wanted me to tell you that she expects to discuss business with you at 10am sharp aboard her Yacht. It will be docked on the port side, so please don’t be late.”

Ping An let the words sink in- “discuss business with you”.

She’d passed. She’d done it!

“Thank you, Foster.” She told him, trying to keep her emotions under control.

“You’re most welcome, Miss Zhang.” He said, a hint of congratulations in his voice. “Good night to you, then.”

Ping An waited until he was gone before she let herself grin broadly. How was she going to celebrate? She scanned the room, and found what she was looking for. A large, hard-faced man whose own date looked like she was scared of him. Ping An finished her drink, adjusted her dress for best effect, and set off to work.

She was here to have fun, after all.

* * *

“Flight 6-5-2-Y for the
Bradford Ryans Orbital Transfer Station
will be leaving in 30 minutes from Gate 3-0-4-1, will all passengers please proceed to boarding.”

Ping An unconsciously looked up as she heard the announcement over the spaceport speakers, it was her flight, then she looked over at the man standing next to her.

“Look, Ping…” Solantro said, apologetically.

Ping An shook her head. “Hey, buddy. What did I say?” She said, glad he’d finally broken the ice after the long silent ride to the port. “It’s over, okay? Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m just…sorry, alright?” He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “We’re all a little on edge around here, and I just let my mouth run off.”

“Hey,” she said, reaching out to take his hand and looking him right in the eyes. “What I said the other night was wrong. I do have family. Family does stupid things, and family forgives, okay?”

Suddenly he was hugging her. “I love ya, Ping!”

“You too, buddy.” She said, returning the feeling.

Then, the moment over and the tension broken, he stepped back, gesturing toward the security gate. She nodded, and they began toward it.

“Oh yeah,” he said as they walked. “Did your trip here go okay? I never got to ask you about it. You said there was business you were trying to do.”

“Well, it was a little rough at first,” she told him. “But yeah, I’d say by the end it went great.”

“Did you get everything you wanted?”

Ping An grinned.

“And more, buddy. And more.”

CHAPTER SIX

2718, Day 210

Log of Acting Captain Albert Tysen
: The Crystal Leaf has left stardock and is currently en-route to New Wellington’s Gamma Jump Point. From there we will proceed to the Hephestas system to deliver an emissary to the summit to be held there in five days. Admiral Veers has entrusted me with this mission and given me acting command of this ship by my own request. After the incident on Fedrin, I wanted people I could trust for such a sensitive mission and the Crystal Leaf was sitting in spacedock without a Captain. The crew was surprised to see me, to say the least, but they’re eager for action and glad to be moving again. I can’t say I blame them, I’m a little tired of planet-side life myself.

There was a unique feeling to being on a ship in space that some people found disquieting and claustrophobic. Perhaps it was the tight spaces, or the recycled air, or the subtle difference between the feeling of real gravity and artificial gravity, but to some travel in space was something to be endured, not relished.

Albert Tysen was not one of these people.

Despite being born planet-side, Tysen felt at home on a starship, and felt it had a certain feeling of peacefulness and solitude that he didn’t feel anywhere else. It may also have been because aboard a ship everything had its order and place, and there was a feeling of cohesion among both man and machine. Everyone had their job to do, and knew that their lives often depended on the people around them, so they had to do it to the best of their ability.

Tysen liked that. He liked that focus, that clarity.

Which is why when he stepped out onto the bridge,
his bridge
he corrected himself
, he was pleased to see the small Cutter’s command area was running exactly as it should. All three stations of the bridge were occupied, with crew working quietly away at each, and Kip in the central chair.

“Status?” Tysen asked as he walked up to stand beside his friend.

“Three hours, twenty-three minutes to the jump point, Captain.” Kip said, without looking up from the work he was doing.

Tysen peered over the man’s shoulder at the holographic map hanging in the air just in front of his first officer. Sensing what Tysen was looking at, Kip added- “The Pegasus cluster- just going over our course.”

Tysen frowned. “I thought we went over this already?”

Kip nodded. “We did, but y’no me, Captain. Just trying to see if we can shave off a little time.” Then he closed the map and looked at his friend, “Something up?”