Deuces Wild Boxed Set: Books 1-4: Beyond the Frontiers, Rampage, Labyrinth, Birthright

by Ell Leigh Clarke

  She started pacing across the bridge as she spoke. “My research tells me there are only three months to go until this year’s vessel shows up. So just hold out ’til then, avoid getting eaten by a feral Tamagotchi or whatever, get picked up, and you should all be happily home in…eh, about five months, give or take. So get ready to disembark, and remember that if you try to break my ship, I will step on you.”

  Satisfied, Nickie turned off her communicator and shoved it back into her jacket. Almost immediately, Grim’s communicator went off instead. Nickie stared at him for the entire duration of the brief conversation, if it could even be called a conversation. Grim hardly said anything until the end, and then his only contribution was a bland, “Yeah, all right,” before he hung up.

  “Durq would rather stay on the ship,” he informed Nickie as he tucked his communicator away again. “He would rather take his chances here with us than on the colony with everyone else.”

  “Durq?”

  Grim sighed. “Skaine. Small. Probably still hiding in the closet in the galley. You pulled him out of the room beside the galley earlier today.”

  Come with me if you want to live, Meredith repeated crossly. Really?

  “Oh, right.” The name sort of rang a bell. “And…why do I care what he’d prefer?” she asked flatly, her eyebrows rising.

  “Because letting him get eaten is cruel and would shunt you from ‘vigilante’ to ‘psychopath,’” Grim reasoned like a teacher explaining where a math equation went wrong. “Besides, if we’re going to pretend to be a Skaine ship, we should probably have a Skaine on board that we can show people if they get suspicious.”

  “But he’s a Skaine,” Nickie protested. Her tone only avoided whining by a very slim margin. “Having one around is just asking for trouble.”

  “You’ll probably barely see him,” Grim replied as he leaned down to hand the dishes from dinner to Brandy and Lefty. “I figure he’ll just stay in the galley or his own room most of the time.”

  “And it would be useful to actually have a Skaine aboard a Skaine ship,” Meredith agreed. “He’s not wrong in that regard.”

  Nickie groaned when the pair of them ganged up on her, and she slumped into the command chair. “Fiiiiine.” She huffed, folding her arms over her chest. “He can stay. But I don’t have to like it. And it’s not for him. It’s just so we can use him as a front man,” she insisted sharply.

  “Your generous sacrifice will be remembered,” Grim assured her, feigning as much earnestness as he could manage while still keeping a straight face. “Anything you need me to do before we drop off all the other Skaines?”

  Heaving a sigh, Nickie shook her head. “No, not really,” she replied glumly, sliding lower in her seat. “Meredith and I can handle it.”

  “Mostly me,” Meredith chimed in through the speakers. As Grim tried and failed to muffle a snort of laughter behind his hands, Nickie waved both middle fingers at the ceiling.

  The dock at Memento Luna could scarcely be dignified with the term, really. It was open-air and tiny, with only enough space for four ships considerably smaller than the Penitent Granddaughter to dock at once, so the Granddaughter wound up occupying two spaces.

  Nickie felt a bit like they were double-parked, regardless of the necessity.

  There were docking workers, of course. The colony was too low-tech for the entire matter to be automated. But there were only a handful of them, and when Nickie tuned into their radio chatter, they all sounded like they were minimum-wage students working through a school break. It seemed that an unscheduled battleship dropping into orbit was the most exciting thing that had happened in months, and Nickie wasn’t even surprised. The workers nearly went bonkers when a hoard of surly Skaines started filing out of the ship like the galaxy’s angriest colony of ants.

  The Skaines being unloaded weren’t pleased about the conditions of the colony, and they made their thoughts known as they shouted and raged and picked senseless fights with each other as if Nickie would change her mind if they just kicked up enough of a fuss.

  As if.

  Truth be told, she was hardly paying them any attention, other than the bare minimum awareness to make sure they weren’t trying to break part of the ship as a last act of rebellion. Instead, she was comfortably squirreled away on the bridge.

  The doors to the bridge were locked, so none of the Skaines could get in. Even if they could, Meredith was only letting them off one room at a time. Nickie wasn’t particularly concerned about a room’s worth of Skaines coming after her, and all of them so far had made the wise choice to simply leave without making a fuss.

  It helped that Lucky and Bradley were patrolling the corridors. They had both acquired their own tasers. Nickie wasn’t sure where the tasers had come from, but she decided it was probably good they were armed. Saved her the hassle of stepping in.

  So far, only two of the Skaines had been shocked and left drooling on the floor for a few minutes, and that seemed to have been enough of a warning to the others not to try any sort of funny business.

  Meredith and the bots were handling the unloading of the Skaines without her.

  And since her help didn’t seem to be needed, she instead sat around on the bridge of the ship scrolling idly through the job database.

  Besides, she was refusing to actually look up for the time being. Despite Grim’s assurance that Durq would probably stay in the galley most of the time, he was right there on the other side of the bridge, partially hidden under a terminal and watching the unloading proceedings on the main viewing screen.

  “There’s a slave shipment that’s supposed to be picked up not far from here,” she observed eventually, glancing in Grim’s direction. “Headcount of at least a few hundred, and a pretty hefty payout for transport.” She paused for a split second to see if he had any sort of reaction to the news. “We’ve got plenty of time to interrupt them. The planet is in this quadrant.”

  Grim’s eyes narrowed in thought, and his mandibles pulled close to his mouth. “Are you sure that’s the best idea when there are only three of us?” he asked after a few seconds of thought. “It’s not like we’re armed to the teeth or anything.” His mandibles twitched as he cautioned her, “Maybe we should wait to be vigilantes until after we have a crew?”

  Nickie scoffed. “Please, I count for at least fifty people on my own, so there are fifty-two of us.”

  There was a beat as her gaze fell on Durq. He blinked at her before withdrawing farther back into his hiding spot under the terminal. She was pretty sure he squeaked in alarm, like a chew toy one gave to pets.

  “Fifty-one and a half,” she amended, turning her attention back to the database. “That’s a perfectly respectable crew, and anyway, this is a battleship. I’m pretty sure I can find some goddamned weapons on board. Plus, I could get creative.”

  Grim shrugged, conceding the point without an argument. He wasn’t the sort to bash his head against a brick wall recreationally.

  Nickie grinned triumphantly and bookmarked the information on the trade. Her eyes slid to the side as Meredith chimed in.

  The last of the Skaines are off of the ship. I’ve run a scan to make sure we don’t have any stowaways other than Durq, and there were no notable incidents to report. Shall I pull the ship out of the dock?

  The results of the scan appeared in the corner of Nickie’s vision.

  Make it so! Nickie confirmed. She tapped her finger against the offer in the database. And here are our next coordinates.

  I’ll do my best to make the approach subtle.

  Nickie almost wanted to caution her to make sure the exit was subtle, considering how tightly the ship was cramped into the dock and how likely it seemed that they could take out half the dock with one wrong move. She kept the thought to herself, though, less because she knew Meredith could handle any sort of maneuver than because she figured it would be funny as hell if something did happen.

  As the ship began to pull out of the dock Nickie look
ed at the primary viewing screen, where the gaggle of Skaines was milling about in irritated bemusement. The continued chatter of the dock workers made it seem like a scene straight out of a really bad comedy.

  Nickie bowed with a flourish and waved at the screen. “So long, farewell, goodbye, and all that other bullshit. I’d say I’ll never forget our time together, but the details are already getting fuzzy. Glad to have you out of my hair, scumbags!”

  She waved one middle finger at the screen.

  Grim watched her like he wasn’t quite sure whether he thought she was funny or just exasperating. She grinned at him over her shoulder.

  “You ready to blow this pop stand?” she asked brightly, settling back in her seat.

  He shook his head. “As ready as I’ll ever be, as long as you’re finished with your dramatics.”

  Nickie scoffed and flapped a hand at him. “Yeah, right. Not fucking likely.”

  Chapter 11

  Tabitha

  They rendezvoused with the QBS Nor’easter a few hours later. The captain, a woman named Jane Kelly, was surprisingly open to a detour that would bring them into the system.

  The reason for the detour was made clear not long after Tabitha came on board. Kelly’s crew was moving the slaves to the spare living quarters, and Kelly herself came to take Tabitha and the Tontos to the viewing deck.

  A ship floated outside, looking fresh from production. Its paint was shiny and it had a red stripe across the bow, and Tabitha looked at it curiously. It looked familiar, but—

  She did a double-take.

  ACHRONYX?

  Hello, Ranger Two, Achronyx replied smugly.

  The Tontos had also identified the ship and were laughing and nodding their approval.

  As you can see, Achronyx told them all, the repairs went very well.

  Yeah, I’m glad you took this chance to get your face fixed, Tabitha joked. You weren’t looking so good.

  Ryu smirked, and Achronyx sat in stony silence.

  “It was explained to us,” Captain Kelly said, “that we could tow or crew the Augustus, and you could continue on your travels on the Achronyx.”

  “Sounds great!” Tabitha agreed. She shook Kelly’s hand. “Nice to meet you. We’ll go transfer over our stuff.”

  I don’t know, Achronyx interjected stiffly. Perhaps Ranger Two does not want an old broken-down ship like me around.

  Oh, come on, Achronyx. Tabitha chuckled as she made her way down the corridor. I have nothing but respect for your abilities as an EI and a ship.

  Achronyx waited, ready to be mollified.

  You’re just as ugly as sin, Tabitha told him cheerfully. That red stripe really distracts the eye, though, so that’s good.

  Kemosabe, Hirotoshi interjected, please do not provoke Achronyx. I do not want to be flown into the side of a planet.

  You’re worse than she is! Achronyx accused. She insults my looks. You insult my calling as an EI. I would never dishonor myself by killing my crew.

  Everyone settle down, Tabitha ordered. We’re just kidding with you, Achronyx.

  Achronyx grumbled, but docked and allowed them all to come aboard with their things.

  Knowing that Achronyx was grumpy, Tabitha and the Tontos made a big deal of all the new upgrades. The ship had been cleaned inside and out, and many improvements had been made beyond new paint and giving the ship a new hull.

  It was good to be home.

  As they worked with some of the crew, one of the previous slaves came up to her.

  “I wanted to thank you.” Uleg was moving his weight from one leg to another. “To have someone come and stand up for us…it means a lot. When we were captured, we were taken from a poor colony. They had no resources to come find us and fight for us, or even buy us back. We thought we would never see our homes again.” He clasped Tabitha’s hand in both of his. “Thank you. Thank you.”

  Tabitha nodded awkwardly, then, surprised, allowed herself to be hugged. After he left, she walked back to the ship in silence with Hirotoshi beside her.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked her.

  She frowned at the question. “I don’t know.” She glanced over her shoulder briefly. “Well, yes I do. I didn’t do what I did for them. I did it for Shin.”

  Hirotoshi said nothing. He waited, his face passive, as the blast doors closed and the ships began to undock from one another.

  She continued talking. “I wanted to kill all of the Skaines for what they did to him. I guess I still do. I just feel like I should be doing it for the slaves, too.” Tabitha lifted one shoulder and looked at him. “But I’m not. I just don’t… It’s not that I don’t care at all. I just don’t care as much as I think I should.”

  Hirotoshi considered this as they began to walk back to the bridge. “Perhaps it is part of the same thing,” he suggested finally. “Kemosabe, you are angry at the Skaines—”

  “That’s enough of an understatement to be inaccurate,” Tabitha quipped.

  Hirotoshi smiled. “You want to root them out because they hurt people. Because they hurt you. You don’t have to care about Shin or the slaves. You can care for both. So many of these people have also lost loved ones to the Skaines.”

  Tabitha stopped at the door of her rooms, thinking about this piece of advice. Hirotoshi gave a little bow and walked away, leaving her to her thoughts. He had seen enough death in his years not to fall prey to the feeling Tabitha had now: the desire for blind vengeance.

  He would step in, as he had on the planet, to gently guide her away from actions he thought she would regret.

  But he knew the only way forward for her was to grieve for Shin in her own way.

  In her rooms, Tabitha settled into a deep chair and considered Hirotoshi’s words.

  I’m glad to be back, Achronyx, she said finally. I was just telling Kouki before we took off from the planet that I wanted to go back and get you.

  Is that so, Ranger Two? Achronyx sounded wary, as if he suspected her of making a joke at his expense.

  Yes, Achronyx, it is. Tabitha stood up and went to the side of the bed, where there was a picture of her with the Tontos. She had taken to looking away from it when she got up each day, and whoever had cleaned the ship had polished the glass.

  She stared at the picture for a long time.

  “I miss him,” she finally admitted aloud. “You get used to war, Achronyx. You think because you’ve pulled things off before…” She bit her lip. “I left the Tontos on the ship on the last mission. I thought my plans had gotten someone killed. I didn’t want them to get hurt following me.”

  Achronyx said nothing, waiting in silence. It was, oddly, the perfect way to comfort her.

  “I miss him,” Tabitha repeated. She put the picture frame face-down on the bedside table and went to change. “Head back to Farha Station, Achronyx. We’re still hunting Skaines.”

  Farha Station

  Tabitha, Katsu, and Hirotoshi swept into Guildert’s offices on Farha Station a day later. They had taken their time with the journey since Hirotoshi pointed out that they still had plenty of time before the “smart virus” was supposed to activate.

  “Don’t you think we should just let him figure it out on his own?” Tabitha asked.

  “No. Remember, you wanted to keep him as an informant,” Hirotoshi pointed out.

  “Oh. Right. Why is the fun thing never the smart thing to do?”

  “Surely a question for the ages.” Hirotoshi looked like he was close to rolling his eyes.

  “Keep being snarky, Number One, and see where it gets you in sparring.”

  Hirotoshi did grin at that, and they had gotten to work on planning their next steps.

  However, when they got to Guildert’s offices, they found that the Torcellan had already determined what the “smart virus” really was, and he was not pleased about the whole affair.

  “I spent considerable time and effort,” he ground out, tight-lipped, “on determining what, exactly, had been put into my blood,
only to find out that my information was given under false pretenses. It was an inert compound!”

  “Are you sure about that?” Hirotoshi held up another syringe, his face bland. “Because that’s quite a gamble.”

  “Not a gamble at all,” Guildert told him angrily. “I have access to the best scientists in the sector, thank you very much. And do you know why I needed to do that? Because accidents happen, and if you had died, I would have died with you for no good reason! Or so I thought.” He sniffed and settled back in his chair. The lights woven into his silvery hair cast tiny shadows on his face.

  “Yeah, Hirotoshi.” Tabitha elbowed him. “That was really rude. You should apologize.”

  “You threatened my life,” Guildert told her, sounding outraged that she had not already offered an apology.

  “That is also considered rude,” Hirotoshi told Tabitha gravely.

  “Oh. Right. Well, in my defense, I still haven’t ever met an honest information broker. You gave us way more than we asked for, dude. Was the sex tape really necessary?”

  Katsu closed his eyes in pain at the memory of seeing the video.

  “I believed I was bargaining for my life!” Guildert slammed his hand down on the table. “No. This is too much. You have to go. I will not deal with you any further.”

  “But we have more Skaines to find,” Tabitha explained.

  “Then go speak to Don Guido,” Guildert snapped. He saw their faces and sighed. “He’s at Yeven’s Bar on Level Fifteen, and yes, he already knows who you are, and no, I don’t suggest you cheat him.”

  “I would never cheat someone named Guido,” Tabitha told him after a moment. “That’s just a really bad idea.”

  The Tontos nodded seriously. Some things were apparently universal amongst humans, even vampires who had spent most of their lives in Japan and Australia.

  Guildert gave them a totally baffled look, but he snapped back into fighting form a moment later. “And now I must ask you to leave.” He threw an arm out and pointed at the door. “I will not suffer your presence any longer.”