Coalescence (Dragonfire Station Book 3)

by Zen DiPietro

  She froze. “Oh dude, no, too far.”

  “Really?” Krazinski frowned.

  “Just kidding! When we’re done with them, there won’t even be any ashes to send!”

  “And…and we’ll confiscate all of their holdings and use them for the very thing they hate most—the PAC!”

  It was the worst bit of trash talk ever, but Krazinski seemed enthusiastic now, so whatever. If it was helping him, she’d play along. “Yeah! We’ll liquidate all their assets!”

  Raptor appeared, looking perplexed by the things he’d heard as he entered the mess hall. He looked from Fallon to Krazinski and back, then shrugged. “Tried your comport but you didn’t answer. We’ve got the ships on long-range scanners, if you want to see them.”

  She was already on her feet.

  Peregrine watched as Raptor and Krazinski followed Fallon onto the bridge, but Fallon had eyes only for the screen. There she saw them—two large people carriers, being very obvious about what and where they were. Just as they’d been directed to do.

  She leaned over Hawk’s shoulder to see their ETA. Eight hours. Longer than she’d have liked. She felt like a kid at an amusement park, always in the line waiting to get on the ride. But she could see it now. They were close.

  “All right.” She decided to let Ross sleep, since he’d just come off his shift and would need the rest. She’d fill him in later. “Let’s go over it again.”

  Krazinski’s presence on the Nefarious made for the perfect opportunity.

  He was the one who sent the message, relayed through one of the transport ships, to Dragonfire Station. It would make sense to Colb that PAC command would set up there as they prepared to repair and occupy Jamestown. Fallon was already established there, and the proximity was as good as they’d get.

  And Colb knew that command would take risks to return themselves to Jamestown, in order to soothe their allies and restore confidence. He also knew that protocol in such a situation was not to have escort ships with heavy firepower that would only draw attention to the VIPs within.

  Colb would recognize this as the perfect opportunity to take out the entire PAC command at once.

  In retrospect, Fallon would have gone with smaller, less conspicuous ships. She’d expected to have to use smoke and mirrors to imply the presence of important people. Krazinski had made all that unnecessary, and now she worried that her ships were too obvious.

  Well, she could do nothing about all that now. She could only play the game with the pieces already on the board.

  When a trio of ships crossed their vector a mere ten thousand kilometers away, the crew of the Nefarious braced themselves. But the ships were only rusty trawlers that puttered right by.

  Nothing.

  They arrived at Dragonfire as scheduled. So they followed out the farce. They gave all the proper docking signals and informed the station of three hundred passengers to board.

  Avian Unit remained in the Nefarious for two days, docked and ready to meet an enemy at any moment.

  But still nothing. Fallon and her team, including Krazinski now, finally had to admit that the plan hadn’t worked. They boarded Dragonfire and met with Hesta to decide what to do next.

  “Either Colb saw through it, or he decided not to risk taking us on in that situation,” Krazinski said, sitting at the head of the table in an executive boardroom.

  Hesta’s decision to make their meetings more formal due to Krazinski’s presence amused Fallon, but she kept that to herself. Rank didn’t mean as much to Fallon as it once had, but she couldn’t blame Hesta for not feeling the same way.

  “We need another plan to draw him out,” Hawk said.

  “No. That didn’t work before. Repeating the process won’t be any more effective.” Fallon traced a whorl in the design of the tabletop, then froze. Details shifted around in her mind to take on a new pattern.

  “He doesn’t want to destroy the PAC. He wants to run it.” She continued to stare at the curving lines of the whorl, letting the new mental image coalesce. “He thinks he has a better way. One that somehow involves illegal technology.”

  She ignored the voices around her. Kept them at a distance, a murmur in the background. She was busy chasing the logic, letting it lead her to the truth. She blinked slowly. The universe shrank down to include just her and the whorl.

  Colb didn’t want the people of PAC command dead. And if he didn’t want to destroy the PAC, he had to be concerned about the Barony Coalition, which was its biggest immediate threat. That meant Colb must want the same thing that the rest of them did—to reestablish PAC command at headquarters. Keeping the allies from knowing there was a true danger. Preventing everything in the PAC zone from going to shit.

  “He’s at Jamestown,” she said. “He’s gotten around your safeguards and he’s repairing it. If he succeeds, he’ll be the only person who can offer us a chance to keep the peace. We’d have to take it. Which would mean letting him run command his way.”

  She ran through the logic a second time, looking for flaws. But nope. It was the only thing that made sense.

  Krazinski said, “Jamestown will take months to repair. Even with an army of engineers he can’t hope to bring it back to full function and pretend nothing happened.”

  Hesta spoke up. “He doesn’t need full function. He only needs to make it appear restored, and to lock you out. To make himself the face of salvation.”

  “And give us no choice but to work for him,” Peregrine added.

  “It makes sense.” Hawk didn’t seem happy about it, but he appeared entirely convinced. At least he wasn’t swearing.

  Fallon assessed her people. Raptor, Peregrine, and Hawk looked ready to burst into action. She hadn’t been sure how Krazinski, Ross, and Hesta would take her conclusions. She didn’t have the same bond of trust with them. She hadn’t saved their lives repeatedly, as many times as they’d saved her life. She hadn’t worn their blood, or they hers.

  But they sat up straight, with their shoulders back. Ready to roll.

  Hesta was the first to speak. “Sounds like you all need to get your asses back to Jamestown Station.”

  Fallon stood. “I’m ready. How about the rest of you?”

  They stood.

  “Good. Ross, you begin preflight on the Nefarious. Hawk and Peregrine, you’ll be in charge of getting your hands on any repair tools and parts that might be useful.”

  Hawk frowned. “How do we know what gear we can grab, and what might be of use? We could use some engineering help.”

  Fallon smiled. “I’m way ahead of you.”

  Fallon sent Raptor to collect Kellis and Arin.

  Krazinski’s job was to order any PAC vessels with firepower, whether military or not, that were within a day’s distance to maximum burn their way to Jamestown. Since he no longer had a direct connection to central command, that meant trying to track down individual ships that were within range. It was slow work, and Fallon could only hope Krazinski managed to rally some support.

  Fallon didn’t know what kind of support Colb had behind him. There were far more unknowns than Fallon preferred for a mission. Precision strikes were more her style. But she had a target, and a final chance to save the PAC, and Prelin’s ass, she’d take it.

  Which put her right back where it all started. In Wren’s maintenance bay. Wren wasn’t lying under some rust heap this time. She turned the moment Fallon walked in. Fallon watched Wren study her face. A crinkle appeared between Wren’s eyes as she stopped in front of her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Three mechanics tried to pretend not to be listening. Fallon ignored them. “I need your help.”

  Wren stiffened her spine and said, “Let’s go.”

  Wren was already yanking things out of their tidy spots and piling them onto an anti-grav unit when Fallon left the shop. The other mechanics had been given the afternoon off and Hawk and Peregrine would arrive in minutes. That allowed Fallon to see to her other pre-mission errand.
r />   “Do you have any other dirty tricks?” she asked.

  To Cabot’s great credit, he didn’t bat an eye. He hadn’t minded ushering a customer out in the middle of a negotiation, either. The favors she owed him were stacking up.

  “What kind of dirty tricks are you in the market for?” he inquired.

  “The kind of thing that the hero uses to save the day and live to fight again, while saving the universe.”

  “Oh, that kind of thing.” He nodded knowingly. “Unfortunately, I sold my last one the other day, but let me think what else I might have.”

  The man was positively unflappable. He’d have made an excellent BlackOp.

  “There might be something, depending on your specific needs. Would you like to follow me to my warehouse?” he asked.

  Even under the circumstances, Fallon froze, staring at him. Cabot was notoriously secretive about his stockroom.

  “Oh, come on now, Chief. It’s not like there are many secrets between us at this point.” He walked to the back of the store without even looking to see if she followed.

  “There might be one or two.”

  He waved a hand dismissively. She followed him behind the counter and into his secret sanctum. It didn’t look like much. Impressively organized rows of shelving stood stacked neatly with various boxes and items. Cabot strolled down the third row, stopped, and removed a box the size of a small suitcase. He returned to where she stood, next to a table, and set the box down. He gestured to it with a little flourish.

  She unlatched the lid and removed it. “What the hell are you doing with two crystal-matrix converters?” The mechanisms that allowed the conversion to power interstellar flight were incredibly expensive. She hadn’t realized how successful a trader Cabot was.

  “Waiting for the right buyer. I also have high-quality energy-transfer units to go with them. Both brand new, zero degradation. As you can imagine, it takes a special buyer to make this kind of purchase.” He smiled benignly.

  “Yeah, I’d say so.” A ship’s value was largely based on its propulsion system, and this was pristine, high-quality equipment.

  He rested a hand on the side of the box and nudged it toward her. “Take them. If speed is important. And if it isn’t, you can use one of these to create a rather impressive bomb. The same engineer who could install them into a ship could make them quite…incendiary.”

  “I sure hope we don’t have to blow anything up.” Fallon couldn’t imagine what would cause her to destroy the very thing she was trying to rescue. Still. Better safe than sorry. “But thank you.” She curled her fingers around the box.

  “I’ll get the transfer units.” He strode in one direction, then paused and changed course. After picking up a small box, he resumed his original path and retrieved another case.

  “Here. I acquired this just the other day, thinking it might be your kind of thing. All-purpose, you might say.” He pushed the box at her.

  Inside she found a weapon case. Lifting its lid, she saw a projectile weapon. “A harpoon pistol?”

  He made the scoffing sound of someone who’d been insulted. “A priyanomine harpoon pistol, thank you very much.” He touched the handle. “Priyanomine harpoons, as you may know, are much more deadly than any bullet. They’re noncombustible, nonconductive, and durable enough to withstand an explosion—or pierce a bulkhead. So watch your aim, unless you’re trying to depressurize a ship or a station.”

  Under any other circumstance, she’d be highly irate at him having such an item on her station. But she could use every advantage she could get right now.

  “Yeah, that could be useful all right.” She’d never used one. On the one hand, she hoped she got the chance, and on the other, she knew that would require a dire situation. “We can settle the price when I get back.”

  His benevolent expression faded, changing into something far more shrewd and grim. “If what you’re going off to do is anything like what I suspect, I’m the one who’ll owe you. Along with all the other citizens of the PAC.”

  “When I return, we’re also going to have a very frank, in-depth discussion.”

  Rather than seeming perturbed, he smiled. “I’m looking forward to it. You hurry back.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  10

  “So how does it feel?” Hawk asked.

  Fallon spared him a brief glance before returning her attention to navigating the Nefarious. “How does what feel?”

  “Flying your team into battle, along with an admiral, and a few civilians. Plus, the fact that you see two of those people naked on a regular basis.”

  This time she turned her head to give him a frosty glare. “Fine. It feels fine.” After a pause she added, “And shut up.”

  He laughed. “Come on, Chief, this is our biggest adventure yet. Got to laugh about it.”

  She smirked. She liked that her team had adopted her Dragonfire title. “I’ll laugh when someone says something funny. Why don’t you go see how Wren and Kellis are doing in the engineering room?” Sadly, this was the closest her ship had ever come to having a proper crew. It still fell short, but at least she had an engineering team.

  “I could just call them.”

  “But then you’d still be here,” she pointed out.

  He laughed. “All right. Don’t mind stretching my legs.” He ruffled her hair on his way off the bridge.

  She smiled after he left. He was funny. She just didn’t want to encourage him.

  At the moment, she wanted a little time to think. To work through the details and possible scenarios. To plan how best, in every situation, to protect her team. And salvage the PAC.

  Her deep thought was interrupted by Raptor’s “Hey,” as he took the seat recently vacated by Hawk.

  “Hey,” she answered.

  “Thought I’d keep you company. While you think.”

  He sat silently beside her for hours as they blasted through space at the highest speed she’d ever flown the Nefarious. She was risking mechanical damage, but she had replacement parts and two brilliant engineers. She watched many millions of dark kilometers blast by as she thought ahead to what was to come.

  And still he sat there. Just silent and there. For her. Neither of them left their post and when they finally saw Jamestown appear on the viewscreen, rotating the wrong direction and way too fast, she turned her seat to face him.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “You’re welcome.”

  She hesitated, fighting an internal battle. She felt like he deserved to hear a declaration of feelings, but for her it felt like scraping all her guts out and dumping them on the floor. But screw it. She’d get it out, quick and clean. Like getting a hand lopped off by a samurai sword. “I love you.”

  He looked surprised, then scowled. “Prelin’s ass, we’re all going to die, aren’t we?”

  “I hope not.”

  “Well, don’t go saying a thing like that in a situation like this. It doesn’t sound right, coming from you, and I don’t like it.” He gave a quick head shake. “I mean I do, it’s great, but still. Just no.”

  She laughed. “Okay, I take it back.”

  “Can’t take it back.” He grinned at her. “But you should probably go say it to that wife of yours. She might be freaking out about now.”

  “You think I’d marry a freak-out type? No way. You have a lot to learn about Wren. Also, she’s not my wife.”

  He said nothing. Just smiled and made a shooing gesture at her.

  She relented. “Fine. I should check on everyone anyway, and get ready. Call Ross up to take over the Nefarious. I’ll see you on Jamestown.”

  “Aye, Captain.” He sat in the pilot’s seat when she vacated it. “Hey.”

  She turned around. “Yeah?”

  “I love you too. And I know saying it isn’t your thing, so in the future, don’t. I already know. Always did.”

  She smiled. There was only one thing to say to that. “Blood and bone.”

  His return s
mile said everything that would ever need to be said. “Blood and bone.”

  It pleased Fallon tremendously to see the two best engineers she’d ever met in her engineering room. She walked in behind Kellis and Wren as they both stood looking at the propulsion chamber.

  “Did you break it already?”

  They turned quickly, amused.

  “We were just admiring it. This is one fine ship you’ve got,” Wren said. Her eyes shone, and she looked absolutely lovely.

  “Enjoying the change of pace?” Fallon asked her.

  “Absolutely. And it’s very interesting to get a glimpse into your life.” Wren glanced at Kellis to include her in the conversation. “And what a surprise to learn that this one had already gotten a glimpse.”

  “More than a glimpse,” Fallon said. “She stormed a PAC base with us.”

  Kellis made a self-deprecating gesture. “I didn’t do much. Just tagged along, really. Cut through a bulkhead.”

  “Still, the idea of seeing all this in action is fascinating.” Wren showed none of the nervousness Raptor had anticipated. Hah. She’d have to rub that in later.

  “Let’s hope you still think so once we get on the station. Do either of you have any questions?” Fallon had thought hard about which engineer to take to Jamestown and which to leave on the ship. She’d decided that since Kellis was more accustomed to working on board a ship while Wren had more experience on a station, there was no reason for them to switch that up.

  “You’re sure I shouldn’t come with you on the Outlaw?” Wren asked.

  “No. It’s a great ship, but you’ll be safer here. Plus you’ll have more people to protect you during boarding. I don’t expect Colb to let us waltz right in. The only question is how much protection he has.”

  “Do you have any idea what kind of ships we can expect?” Kellis asked.

  “No. He had time to get to a mercenary station, which means he had the opportunity to hire mercenary ships. Those could be anything from slag heaps to warships. So we’re planning on warships. Classes and models, I have no idea. We’ll have to adjust as we go.”