Wrath of the Void Strider (13 page)

Nervously, the merchant prince smiled and urged his surviving guardsmen into motion.  Between them, they collected their dead and all three boxes.  When all had been set securely inside, Lodoxol and his henchmen vanished beyond the primary airlock.  Moments later, the shuttle decoupled from the
Sanguine Shadow
.

Zerki breathed out and gritted her teeth.  “Stay here,” she snapped, casting a steely glance toward Takeo.  Spinning about on her heels, she returned to the lift and ascended to the deck above.  She stormed the length of the command module, the cargo junction, headed directly for sick bay.  Bruce Cajun gingerly peeled away the pieces of armor that had been partially fused to what remained of D’Arro’s left shoulder.

Still in her powered combat suit, her helmet tucked under one arm, Taryn regarded Zerki.  “Captain, I—”

“Don’t you ‘Captain’ me!” she snarled, cutting Taryn off.  She glared at the byriani woman.  “Who the hell are you, and what are you doing on my starship?”

“Filan Portssi,” the byriani replied.  She glanced to Taryn.  “She rescued me.”

“Great!  Welcome aboard.”  Zerki fumed, her face red.  “Explain yourself, Sikes!”

Cajun raised his hand.  “I can’t concentrate with you yelling, Captain.”

Zerki shot him a withering glare.

“Right, earphones,” he answered.  “Good idea.”

Taryn squared her jaw and crossed her arms.  “Hey, back off!  I saved his life.”  She drew a deep breath and recounted the events that had unfolded aboard the
Imperium
.  She spared no details.

When Taryn had finished the telling, Zerki sagged against the wall.  “You killed him?”

Taryn nodded, unashamed.  “He was going to kill D’Arro.  I had no choice.  Check the helmet cams, if you don’t believe me.”

The captain rubbed her eyes and puffed her cheeks.  “Ospyreans,” she muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Zerki smiled wanly and chewed on her upper lip for a moment before answering.  “It means… at times, I envy how fiercely loyal you are to each other, but other times…  Times like this…”  She trailed off.  “We’ve brought the Union to the brink of another galactic war.”

“What!?  How?”  Taryn looked incredulous.  “It was self-defense!”

Silence hung tensely in the air.  Cajun breathed out, set his earphones in place, closed his eyes for a moment and returned to his work on D’Arro.  He felt nauseous, and his normally steady hands began to shake.

Zerki took Taryn’s helmet.  “I’ll send the footage up the chain.  Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll only throw us under a train.”  She managed a parched smile.  After a lengthy pause, she set her hand upon Taryn’s shoulder and nodded.  Solemnly, Zerki exited the surgical station.

Filan hugged Taryn’s arm.  “Thanks,” she whispered, and she followed after the captain.

Chapter 09

The mess hall was crowded, filled with a din of conversation.  Dressed in her street clothes, Taryn sat close to the entrance with Gavin and Takeo at her side.  She pushed her food around, and glanced up at Filan as she approached with a tray of edibles.  “Hey, Filan,” she muttered.

“Hi, Taryn,” Filan beamed, and she plopped down across from her rescuer.  She wore jeans that were several sizes too large, belted tight with a yellow cargo strap, sandals and an oversized beige sweater.  She gazed into the air near Takeo’s shoulder and grinned.  “It’s good to meet you, Fogg.”

Takeo startled.  “Come again?”

Filan pointed.  “That’s his name, isn’t it?”

Gavin stood up.  “Fogg!  You’re here?”

Fogg took the shape of a small chrome toadstool and settled near the edge of the table.  He was dense enough to cause the table to creak under his weight.  Upon the surface of the cap, he printed, “HELLO TAKEO.  HELLO GAVIN AND TARYN.”  After a moment, the text vanished, and a valentine heart appeared in its place.  It slowly faded.

Takeo laughed joyfully.  “Finally, some good luck!”

“Hey, Fogg,” Taryn glumly added.

“I thought we left you back on Afskya,” said Gavin.

Fogg printed, “I FOLLOWED.”

Suddenly, the mess hall fell silent, as D’Arro stepped into view at the doorway.  Thick bandages wrapped his left arm, and he slumped against the jamb.  Cajun did what he could to bolster the ospyrean giant.  Wincing, D’Arro muttered, “No, I’m alright.  Don’t strain yourself.”  He straightened with some effort.  Regarding everyone present, he at last smiled.

The crew softly clapped, getting to their feet.  D’Arro waved his hand dismissively, smiling and nodding awhile as a general sense of good cheer swiftly spread.  “A couple things,” he announced over the din, and the crowd fell quiet.  “First off, let’s have a moment of silence for Danielle Molin and Tom Worral.  They were two of our finest, and will be sorely missed.”

A somber hush followed.

“We’ll bury them at sea as soon their next-of-kin’s been notified.  I’ll post details about their services as soon as I have them.”

His mood brightened visibly.  “And the next thing,” he began, looking directly at Taryn.  He gestured for her to stand, and she did so reluctantly.  “I know everyone’s heard of her, but for you guys who haven’t met her yet, that’s
the
Taryn Sikes.  She saved the
Shadow
, and she saved my life.”  He winced as he bowed slightly at the hip, and uncertain cheers rose from the crowd.  When they had died away, he resumed.  “My undying thanks to you.  I owe you my life.”  His smile was lopsided.

One of the salvagers demanded, “What about the ellogons?  Maybe she saved our lives, but she started a war in the process!”

D’Arro’s expression flattened.  “Captain sent in the footage.  The ellogons drew first blood, and they know it.  Trust me, they don’t want another war any more than we do, but if it gets that far…  You know,” he interrupted himself, “for all the stupid reasons wars are fought, defending someone’s life might actually be one of the few times it’s clear who the good guys are.”

The salvager leaned back and crossed his arms.  “Sure.  I can see what you mean.”

“Don’t worry,” Zerki said as she stepped into the dining hall, with Valerie, Krane and Collins at her back.  “I’m taking care of it.”  Her assurance seemed to put the crew at ease.  Looking to Gavin as he sat close by, she smiled and asked, “You got a minute?”

“Of course,” he replied and excused himself from the company of his friends.  He followed Zerki to the officers’ table as D’Arro moved to join them.  The rest of the crew returned to their respective benches.

Taryn plopped down and sneered as a small crowd formed, making its way closer.  “Great,” she grumbled.  A mix of gratitude, wonder and anger dressed the faces of those who now sought her attention.  She cleared her throat and sat up straight.  She managed a polite smile.

Filan stood, took up her food and motioned for Takeo.  She suggested, “We should give Taryn her time in the sun.”

Takeo glanced to his companion.  “Are you okay with that?”

“Not really,” she said, “but I’ll be alright.”

Rising to his feet, Takeo nudged Fogg, prompting him to disperse and keep pace.  They joined Filan in the far corner, where she and Takeo stood and talked as they ate.

Zerki regarded her fellow officers.  “There isn’t going to be any war, but the Union’s cutting us loose—unofficially, of course.  Free to pursue his own justice, Lodoxol’s going to put a price on the
Shadow
and every single one of us he personally encountered.  It’ll be big enough to put a lot of very bad people on our trail.  He also knows that we know where Behemothylax is, and that it’s very likely our next stop.”

“Is it?” Collins asked.

After a moment, she nodded and firmly stated, “It has to be.  If we run, they’ll never stop coming for us.  We need to send a clear message that we can and will hold our own.”

“Don’t mind running.”

She narrowed her gaze.  “I do.”

“He’ll be expecting us to make a move for the crash site,” said Krane.

“Sure,” said D’Arro, “but Beta Team did a real number on his engines.  If we move now, there’s no way he beats us there.”

Zerki shook her head.  “That thought hasn’t crossed his mind.  No, by now he’s in negotiations with the best mercenary team his considerable wealth can buy; probably one with warp engines.”  She looked to Gavin.  “Our only hope is you.  With you in the rig, we have near-instant jump capability.  That might buy us enough time.”

Valerie asked, “What if the mercs are waiting there for us?”  She nodded toward D’Arro.  “If we get boarded, we’ll have no way to fight back.”

D’Arro puffed up and looked proudly toward Taryn.  “Yeah, we do.  You should’ve seen her!”

Zerki’s expression darkened.  “I did.  She’s got the killer instinct, but she’s still a rookie, and she’s got no control.  If she tried to lead a combat team, it’d be the Taryn Sikes Show for the ten seconds it’d take her to get gunned down.”  She shook her head firmly.  “I won’t risk any more lives.”

Valerie suddenly perked up and glanced toward Filan and Takeo.

“What is it?” asked Zerki.

“We have a stowaway,” she muttered and slowly got to her feet.

Gavin grabbed her sleeve, tugged, and gestured dismissively as she regarded him.  “No, it’s okay.  That’s our friend, Fogg.  He’s an AI.  He followed us from Afskya.”

Also getting to her feet, Zerki motioned for Filan and Takeo to approach.  Startled out of their lighthearted conversation, the two crossed the mess hall.  When they had come close, the captain asked, “You’re traveling with an AI?  Why didn’t you declare that on your enlistment form?”

Takeo’s face reddened, and he glanced to Gavin for a moment before clearing his throat.  “I’m deeply sorry, Captain.  We just found out that he’d followed us aboard, not five minutes ago.”

“Fair enough.  In that case, no apologies are necessary.”

Fogg took the form of a tiny, anthropomorphized flying saucer and issued from his glowing signboard, “HELLO CAPTAIN IBARRA.  I AM FOGG.  THIS IS MY HUMAN TAKEO SATO.”  He extended a tiny, mechanical arm-like appendage toward her.

Zerki smiled somewhat and took his hand between her thumb and index finger.  “Yes, we’ve met.”

Valerie furrowed her brow.  “How haven’t I sensed you before now?”

“I DID NOT WISH TO BE SENSED,” he printed. Tiny lights flashed along his underbelly, hypnotically in sequence.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Zerki.  Glancing to Filan, she continued, “Right now, you’re both guests aboard my starship.  Unfortunately, this isn’t a passenger liner, and everyone needs to earn their keep around here.”  Regarding the flying saucer, she asked, “Fogg, will you fly with me?  You can room with your human, and I will pay you a fair wage for as long as you do.  You don’t need to decide now, but if you choose not to join my crew, the next time we make berth, I’ll have to ask you to disembark.”

“YOUR OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT IS ACCEPTED,” he replied.

“Very good.”  She turned to Filan.  “How’s your shape-shifting?”

The byriani smirked.  “Not.  Like, at all.”  Her inner circuits glowed briefly, and she raised her hands, wiggling her fingers.  “But I’m extra conductive!”  With a downcast expression, she added, “And I can personally run half a zettaflop.  Hard to believe it’s a birth defect, right?”

“That’s on par with most capital ships’ central computers,” said Krane, and he quietly whistled.  “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Filan winked, both playfully and sadly.  “I’ll try to remember that the next time I’m on my home world, when they restrict me to the visitors zone.”

Krane winced.  He mouthed, “Sorry.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t know.”  She smiled.

“I think I can still use you,” Zerki continued.  “I’ve been upgrading what I can, but the
Shadow
’s fiber is starting to show its age.  If you can really run that much data, I’d be willing to pay you for it.  I’ll make you a similar offer: will you fly with me?  You’ll have room and board and a fair wage for as long as you do.  You don’t need to decide now, but—”

“Yes,” Filan interrupted, and she gazed upon Takeo for a moment.  “My answer is yes.”

“Very good,” said Zerki, and she looked to her first mate.  “Val, could you please make it official?”

Valerie smiled cordially.  “Sure thing.  We’ll start with your ratings.”  She looked to Filan.  “After we figure out your quarters, I’ll come by with the proper forms.  You’re an Imperial citizen?”

Filan’s cheeks brightened, and a wave of dim light cascaded across her forehead.  “I was Lodoxol’s property.  I don’t think I have any citizenship.”

“Sorry to hear that,” muttered Valerie, and she squeezed Filan’s shoulder.  “Can you read English?”

Downcast, her cheeks brightened further, and she whispered, “No.  Not yet.”

“That’s not a problem.  I’ll apply for Union citizenship on your behalf under the Articles of Eminent Emancipation.”

Brilliant tears gathered in Filan’s eyes, and she threw her arms around Valerie.  “Thank you.”

Awkwardly, Valerie embraced Filan and regarded her captain uncertainly.  Zerki nodded sadly in response and gave Valerie a reassuring squeeze of her forearm.  Fogg descended to eye level.  In Ellogon, he printed, “I WOULD BE HONORED TO TEACH YOU.”

Wiping at her nose, she disengaged and hunched bashfully.  “Thank you.  You’re all so nice to me.”

“I’m glad you came in out of the cold,” said Valerie, and she smiled appreciatively.  “You’ve got a fierce will.”

Filan squeaked, “Thanks.”

“So, ratings.”  She took a deep breath.  “Except for command crew, everyone starts out in the Merchant Star Navy as a Spacer Recruit.  That’s an E-1 pay rate, and that’s what both of you will be earning.  As for quarters, Filan, I’m assigning you to E-034.  It’ll be a few hours before it’s ready, so maybe you can familiarize yourself with the ship or kill some time in the rec room.”

Looking to Takeo, she said, “I’m reassigning you to E-033, and you’ll be bunking with Fogg.  That was Worral’s old cabin, so please be patient while we get it ready for use.”

“Of course,” answered Takeo.

Valerie retrieved her tablet and scrolled through crew assignments.  “Filan, Fogg, I’m putting you both on D’Arro’s security team to start.  As soon as he’s able, he’ll train you in the basics of squad tactics, firearms and hand-to-hand combat, as it’s applicable.  Assignments aren’t necessarily permanent, by the way, so if either of you find yourselves drawn to different kinds of work, just let us know and we’ll figure something out.”  She smiled professionally.  “With that in mind, Filan, unless other duties take precedence, you’ll be interfacing with our computer during periods of tactical movement, including all entanglement events.”  She glanced to the byriani.  “Do you know what an entanglement event is?”