by Tim Pratt
“Don’t mention beaches,” Severyne muttered.
“Now, when chasing them was our only option, going to Jol-Nar and hoping to catch them coming or going was our best bet,” Azad said. “I’m lucky almost as much as I’m good, after all. But now we don’t have to chase them: we can sit here and wait for them, because we know they’re coming back.”
“You’re sure the information you received from the secretary was reliable?” Severyne said. “I don’t understand why he would help you. Surely Sagasa places a premium on discretion in his employees?”
“Oh, totally, but that Winnaran hates Sagasa’s ass. One time he overhead Sagasa tell a client he liked to hire Winnarans because they’re a ‘naturally servile race’ that’s ‘only happy when they have boots to lick’ and that they’ve been ‘looking for a new emperor to serve for centuries, and who’s more imperial than me?’ He could still quote that years later. So now, for a price, the secretary is willing to slip people info about Sagasa’s clients, as a way of proving his own independence. We did some business last time I was here, and we just did a little more business today, though you paid for it.”
“How did you discover this Winnaran’s tendency toward duplicity?”
“In my line of work, Sev, it pays to talk to people. That’s the first step toward developing an asset.”
“Am I an asset, Azad?”
“You certainly have many notable ones,” Azad said.
“You will not deflect me with your innuendos,” Severyne said.
“Here I thought I was flirting.”
“Are you manipulating me?” Severyne said, more quietly.
Azad put her hand on Severyne’s shoulder, briefly. “Only insofar as I’m always manipulating everybody. You and I have goals that align, so there’s no need for a bunch of bullshit. The only problem we have is figuring out how to achieve those goals. I have strong opinions, and I will make every effort to bring you around to my way of seeing things. Fortunately, you have a bright analytical mind, so as long as my ideas are good, I have confidence you’ll agree with them – and if they aren’t good, you’ll make them better.”
Severyne was flattered by the compliment, though she didn’t want to feel flattered. “We know, if your source is to be trusted, that Duval left his ship here for safekeeping, and that he intends to return for it. Your plan is to lie in wait on his ship and ambush them.”
“That’s it exactly. Why rush around to Jol-Nar when we can just sit here and get our scientists and the power cell delivered into our hands?”
“I can see one reason why not,” Severyne said. “What if they fail? What if their daring heist is a disaster, and Duval and his crew are captured by the Hylar, along with our scientists?”
“That would be unfortunate,” Azad said. “I’m not sure us being in orbit around Jol or Nar would make it any less unfortunate.”
“Nevertheless. We will dispatch my guards to Jol-Nar in the ship Sagasa has loaned us, where they will wait on the outskirts of the system, close enough to monitor comms traffic. If there is a disastrous crime, there will be news reports, yes? The Hylar have very poor information control, as I recall.”
“If you mean they have a mostly free press and that their news doesn’t consist entirely of government propaganda, then yes, their information control is poor as piss.”
“Excellent. I will put my squad leader in charge, with strict and specific orders. If there is any suggestion that Duval and company have been arrested, he will send a message to us, and we will formulate a plan to liberate Shelma and Thales. I will have my guard station whatever garbage vessel Sagasa has for us along the most direct return route for Duval’s ship, so even if our enemies do succeed in their mission, my people will have an opportunity to disable and capture Duval’s vessel on their way back. It is always wise to have contingency plans in place.”
“I like it. Don’t send them on the most direct route, though. Have the computer compute the best route from Jol-Nar to evade and mislead pursuers, and station your people somewhere along that trajectory. Even if Duval isn’t literally running from the cops when they leave Jol-Nar, they’ll be careful when they depart.”
“You think like a criminal, Azad.” Severyne did not mean it as a compliment, but the human grinned.
“See, you’ve improved our plan already. Belt and suspenders is a good idea, when you have the resources to deploy both. I have to admit, I hope your crew doesn’t catch Duval, though. I want to snag him personally.”
“All that matters is the outcome,” Severyne said, though secretly she agreed.
“I have one little refinement to suggest. On the off-chance that Duval encounters your guards but manages to evade them, we can make sure they’re really taken by surprise when they get back. All we need to do is record a little video of you being threatening and imperious, and I know you’re good at that.”
Now they were sneaking through an airlock to break into Duval’s ship, preparing to lay an ambush. There were so many variables in play that Severyne could not possibly account for them all. But instead of terror, she felt only exhilaration. Perhaps a life in station bureaucracy wasn’t the most fulfilling possible future for her. “I may have misjudged myself for my entire life,” Severyne said out loud.
Azad glanced at her. “It’s never too late to figure out who you really are, Severyne.”
She scowled, annoyed at herself for revealing her inner state. “How are you going to gain access?”
“Oh, the external controls for the airlock can be operated in a couple of ways. There are transponders in the ship’s environment suits, of course, to allow re-entry from spacewalks and whatnot. But there’s also a backup system that’s keyed to biometrics, to allow people to enter from stations. This door should open for any member of Duval’s crew.”
“We are not Duval’s crew.”
“True, but we’ve been up close and personal with them. These doors are pretty forgiving, since people might be trying to board in a hurry while getting shot at and stuff, so you don’t have to get your retina scanned while singing three verses of ‘The Sun Shines over Jord’ and having your blood drawn – you just gotta show the ship real quick that you’re you. When I smashed that little Yssaril bitch over the back of the head, I made sure some blood and hair stuck to my fingers.” She dipped into her pocket, and then smeared her fingertip over a sensor. The airlock door unsealed. “Ta da.”
“You couldn’t have known you were going to need Tib Pelta’s genetic material to open a door,” Severyne said.
“Hey, I like planning for contingencies too.”
“Do you have my hair in your pockets?”
“No, Sev, I have not collected any of your genetic material. We’re partners, not adversaries. I don’t need to use you. I work with you.”
“You are a very convincing liar. I can see why you are moderately successful in your chosen career.”
“I’m the best there is at whatever it is I feel like doing. Shall we explore our new ship?” They stepped into the airlock and on into the vessel itself. “I was wondering, why didn’t you send the Grim Countenance out on your contingency mission?”
“And risk losing a ship of the Barony? The garbage scow Sagasa foisted on us is more than a match for the small vessel Duval took, if your treacherous Winnaran is to be believed. The superior firepower of the Grim Countenance is hardly necessary.”
“Ha, fair enough. Better hope that garbage scow comes back, though, or Sagasa is going to claim the Grim Countenance as his collateral.”
“We will solve that problem if it arises.” Severyne wrinkled her nose at the state of the Coalition vessel as they inspected it. There were dirty dishes in the galley, personal items at workstations on the bridge, and wrapped pallets of emergency supplies in almost every bit of unused space. “Is this a ship of the Coalition fleet or a cargo vessel?”
; “I think they did relief missions back in the colonies. Look, in here, it’s some kind of lab.”
“Is there anything of value here?”
Azad poked through the bits of wire and sheared pieces of metal scattered on the bench and shook her head. “Looks like they took everything with them when they left. Makes sense. You don’t want to leave that kind of tech lying around unattended. Let’s keep looking around, though.”
They found Duval’s cabin – Severyne was tempted to urinate on his bed, but decided that would qualify as conduct unbecoming a Barony officer – but she did pick up a bottle of liquor and was about to smash it on the wall when Azad plucked it from her hand. “Hey, that’s Coalition gin. There’s this botanical on Moll Primus, sort of like a citrusy version of a juniper, I can’t really describe it, and they use its needles to infuse the booze – we’re going to keep this and celebrate our success later.”
“Fine. But I wish to desecrate this space somehow.”
“I’ll wipe my butt on his sheets later or something. Let’s move on.”
They found Shelma’s body not long after.
Chapter 24
First, Azad noticed the exo-suit tank, tucked into the corner of a storage space. She didn’t know what it was, but Severyne’s reaction told her it was something important, and bad: the Letnev stiffened, and then emitted a sort of keening wail. “Where is the medical bay?” she snapped.
Azad, who had the basic schematics for a whole bunch of different ship models filed away in her head, didn’t ask questions; she just led the way. The medical bay was gleaming and sterile – there were automated systems in place to keep it that way, even on a Coalition ship – and Severyne was clearly familiar enough with the basic layout to pull up the information she needed. She consulted a terminal, then went to a wall full of rectangular panels of various sizes and pressed the smallest one.
The panel hissed, then slid open with a gout of icy vapor, a drawer extending into the room. There was a Hylar body on the rack, pseudopods curled up, body shriveled in the cold, various sensors connected to her. Was the ship conducting some sort of diagnostic, perhaps to determine cause of death? There was no obvious sign of injury.
“Shelma is dead.” Severyne’s voice, always icy, was now absolute zero.
“I’m so sorry, Severyne,” Azad said.
“I will be executed for this.”
Azad winced. Sev was probably not wrong. “You don’t know that. There are still ways you can turn this around.”
“What ways?” She spun, fists clenched, and glared at Azad. “My sole mission was to recover Shelma! As long as I brought her back, we could cover up everything else, and life would go on. My director would have hated me, and I would have had to transfer to another posting at some point if I hoped to advance, but my life would have continued. Now I will be on record as overseeing a catastrophic security breach, and failing to redress that breach. I am dead. I am walking, and talking, and dead.”
Azad took a step toward her. “We still have Thales. He’s not in a drawer here, and if he was gone, Duval wouldn’t be rushing around making moves. Your lot tried to recruit Thales, too, so…” She trailed off.
Severyne laughed. “So what? Do we cut him in half? Or do you propose to share custody of the man? A joint project between the Barony and the Federation? We’ll make wormholes and explore the universe together? You were going to betray me and try to take both of the scientists and all their files anyway. Now that there’s only one scientist, you want to share?”
“You were going to betray me, too,” Azad said quietly. “It’s the business. We work together until we don’t. But now I don’t have to betray anybody, and neither do you.” Relief flooded through her. There was a way through this. “Sev, why don’t you come with me?”
The Letnev blinked at her. “What are you talking about?”
“You said it yourself. If you return to the Barony empty-handed, you’re dead. So stay with me instead. Help me complete my mission. Don’t go back.”
“The director will send people to find me. They have ways of tracking down rogue officers.”
“If you defect to the Federation, we can protect you.”
Severyne shuddered. “You want me to join the humans?”
“Is that worse than joining your ancestors?”
“You will have to give me a moment to think about that.”
Azad laughed.
Severyne took a deep breath, then closed the morgue drawer. “I will consider your offer. In the meantime, my personal mission has changed. It is no longer possible to recover Shelma. Instead, my new objective is to destroy Felix Duval. To ruin his life as thoroughly as he has ruined mine.”
“Well, hey,” Azad said. “We’re standing on his ship. That’s a pretty good start–”
“You have made overtures toward me,” Severyne said abruptly. “Were they sincere, or were you merely mocking me?”
Whoa. Having your life destroyed could do a number on anyone’s sense of self and priorities, but that was a pretty abrupt turn, even by catastrophe standards. Unless Severyne had been interested all along, and now that her old life was over, she was willing to loosen up certain strictures…
Oh. Or it could be for another reason. “They were sincere, but I didn’t think you’d take me up on them. Listen, you’re under a lot of strain. I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret later–”
“Letnev do not allow themselves regrets,” Severyne said. “We only move forward. Let us go.” She turned and stalked back toward Duval’s cabin.
Azad watched Severyne go and ran a complex mental calculation. She had no particular need to kill Severyne now, that was true, which opened up the way for a different kind of relationship… but Severyne had even more incentive to kill Azad. That was the only way she could lay claim to Thales, after all, and halfway redeem herself with her superiors. Azad figured this sudden desire for carnal connection was about thirty percent terror-induced arousal (that was absolutely a real thing, as many eve-of-battle assignations over the years had proven to Azad’s satisfaction). The other seventy percent was an attempt to get Azad to let her guard down – to make her think Severyne had feelings and affection for her, so she wouldn’t see the gunshot to the back of the head coming.
Azad made her decision. Sure, it violated her rule, but transgression made it more exciting in a way, didn’t it?
She was used to people trying to kill her. At least this way, they’d both get some enjoyment out of being alive first.
•••
Afterward, Azad stretched like a cat and turned over in Duval’s bed – the captain’s quarters had the best bunk, which was nice – and looked at Severyne’s face. The Letnev woman had the slightly stunned expression of someone who’d just tried, for the first time, something that would become their new avocation, passion, or addiction. “Nice, huh?” Azad said.
Severyne turned her head, looked at Azad for a moment, then looked back at the ceiling. “I am not inexperienced. At the academy, sometimes… well. The nights in the dormitory were cold, and there were few ways to warm up. But humans do run hotter than Letnev, it seems.”
“Could be that’s just me.”
Severyne’s expression shifted to seriousness. “We should prepare ourselves for Duval’s return.”
“Oh, even if they went to Jol-Nar, committed the theft in five minutes, and came straight back, we’d still have hours.”
“Nevertheless, I desire no further surprises. We need to fully seize control of the ship’s systems.”
“Look at you, going from all pleasure to all business. Fine, I’ll put my pants on.” Azad kissed Severyne’s cheek and rolled out of the bunk. It was still safe, to a high degree of certainty, to turn her back on Severyne; the Letnev still needed her. But once they subdued Duval and had Thales in hand, then Azad would have to get properly vigilant.
That was fine. Vigilant was pretty much her default state.
•••
Severyne sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge while Azad hacked the ship’s systems. “What’s funny is, the intrusion tools I’m using are made by the Mentak Coalition. It’s no good being a pirate captain if you can’t take control of captured vessels, so they’ve got a whole suite of techniques for spoofing authorizations and cracking encryption. But because the Coalition is full of people with rather flexible moral systems, those tools didn’t stay proprietary for long – they got sold on the black market, and Sol got their hands on one, reverse engineered it, made some tweaks so the tools could attack Coalition safeguards too, and here we are. A nearly universal spaceship key. And… there. Welcome, Captain Severyne, to the good ship Temerarious, now yours to command.”
“Wait. You’re giving me the priority authorizations?”
“You’re the one sitting in the big chair. I’m much better at running weapons anyway. The ship is ours. Now we just wait, for word from your people on the garbage scow, or for Duval to stroll through the door.”
So they waited. They ate in the galley, ran diagnostic checks on the weapons, and took turns showering in the captain’s bathroom. Severyne considered showing open affection to further distract Azad and keep her off balance, but was afraid it would be seen as manipulation; better to carry on as she had been.
Sleeping with Azad had been enjoyable, she had to admit, if only to herself. Severyne didn’t have much time for pleasure for pleasure’s sake in her usual life, let alone with someone of a different species, but that sense of the forbidden had ultimately made it exciting instead of disgusting. Maybe I really have misjudged myself my whole life. She thought, briefly, of what would happen if she took Azad up on her offer, but “Come with me” didn’t mean “Travel through the stars committing various interesting crimes and having sex” – not really. It meant “Defect, and sit in a Federation of Sol military interview room for one million hours describing Barony security protocols.” That was not appealing. It was even less appealing than going home a failure and being executed; at least that would be over relatively quickly, and cause her less shame.