by Jaleta Clegg
"I did a manual reentry once," she said. "It wasn't supposed to happen. One of the other cadets got too careless in the engine room. He shut off the hyperdrive in the middle of the flight."
"Then you have more experience than I do," I said. "I've only done it in simulations."
I carried my sandwich across the lounge, acutely aware of their eyes on my back the whole way.
"What are you doing?" Jasyn asked, her tone very carefully neutral.
"I believe it's called a jigsaw puzzle." I sat on the bench and pulled out the table with the pieces scattered across it. I looked up to find them watching me, except for Darus who was staring at the floor. Clark was trying to repress a grin. Ginni hadn't bothered. Jasyn's face was blank, her emotions well hidden. Beryn and Twyla were just staring at me. I bit into my sandwich as I picked up a piece.
"She's right," Clark said. "There isn't really anything we can do, so we may as well just relax. We've got two days."
"Cards, anyone?" Beryn offered. "I think I've finally figured out how you keep cheating," he told Ginni.
"Then I'm going to help Dace with her puzzle," Ginni said.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Darus asked. He looked like a kicked puppy.
"Pull up a seat," I said.
"Let me take him for a while," Clark offered to Jasyn, reaching for Louie.
"Let me," Twyla said. "You go finish your game of Crystals."
Things settled into a more normal pattern. In two more days, we'd find out how far off course we were and whether the engines were going to hold or not. Until then, there was nothing we could do. If the bolt was stripped and the coupling slipped again, we would probably all die. Nothing I could possibly do was going to change it. We had to trust to luck or fate or whatever that we would make it.
I spent a few minutes trying to make my piece fit. The puzzle was gradually taking shape. Ginni was much better at it than I was. Darus was almost as good as she was. He put in several pieces while I struggled with one.
"Sorry about fighting with you," Darus finally said, very quietly. He glanced up at me. Ginni pretended not to hear. "You just looked so blank all the time. Getting you mad was the only way I could know that you hadn't completely given up."
I sighed and put my piece back and picked up another one. "You couldn't just trust me?"
"Are you going to start yelling at each other?" Ginni snapped a piece into place.
"I don't think it would do much good," Darus said.
"Hah! You just lost both scouts," Beryn gloated at the table. Clark frowned at the Crystals board.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
I smiled. I was home. Life was mostly back to normal. And with any luck at all, we'd make it to Tireo in a few days. Maybe there, I'd find the courage to leave the ship again. My stomach didn't tie itself in knots at the thought. Maybe I was ready to start living again.
The piece in my hand still wouldn't fit anywhere. Ginni took it from me and turned it. It snapped right into place. I shook my head and picked up a different piece.
The rest of the two days to Tireo were dull. Louie still threw food at me whenever he had the chance. I wasn't the only one he used for target practice. Jasyn got a face full of mush one morning. Beryn got most of Louie's lunch down his back. Louie split his dinner between Twyla and Ginni. Beryn and I got some of the overflow as it landed on the table. Darus and Jasyn got dessert on their heads. The only one not splattered with food by the end of the meal was Clark.
"Whoever taught him to throw food," Jasyn growled after dinner, "is going to scrub this ship." She glared at Beryn. It was funny. She had chocolate cream dripping from her hair. I did my best to smother my grin.
Beryn pointed his finger at me. "She did it."
"You were the one who encouraged him," I said. "Clark was there, it's his fault."
"I don't care who's fault it is," Jasyn said. "You three get to clean up." She plucked Louie out of his chair and tucked him under her arm.
"Kaka!" he shrieked, reaching for his dinner. She ignored him, carting him into his nursery.
Ginni wiped the spaghetti smeared down her front. Twyla picked peas off her lap.
"I never imagined children were so messy," Clark muttered as he picked bits of toast off the floor.
I scraped up the food splattered across the table, dumping it into the disposal unit.
"You get the ceiling, Beryn," Clark said. "And make sure you clean off that intake vent or we'll be smelling rotten spaghetti for the next month."
Beryn put his hands on his hips and looked overhead. "You shouldn't have taught him that trick, Dace."
"I wasn't the one throwing cheese and crackers at him," I said.
"No, you were wearing them."
"Shut up and clean," I said. But I was grinning.
"Yes, ma'am," he answered as he climbed onto the table. He popped the vent cover loose. Strands of spaghetti hung from it.
Twyla and Ginni went into their cabin. Darus mumbled something about washing chocolate out of his hair. Beryn rinsed the vent in the sink. Clark and I picked food off the floor and the chairs and the table.
"It's nice to see you smiling," Clark said to me.
"Is it possible to wash this wall?" Beryn asked.
I looked up from under the table. Spaghetti was plastered across Jasyn's mural of fish.
"I'll go ask her," Clark said. He went into the nursery.
Beryn very carefully pulled strands of noodles off the wall. I kept picking up the floor.
"Do you really think we're going to make it?" he asked me. "The engines. Do you really think we're going to make it through the jump?"
"We've got a pretty good chance of it, yes." I scooped up a handful of peas and noodles and put it into the disposal.
"I'd hate to have us disappear," he said. "Paltronis would wonder about it forever."
I paused, halfway under the table. Beryn and Paltronis? She hadn't given me any indication that she was involved with him. I glanced back at him.
"We'll make it, Beryn," I said.
He looked down at me. "Caid told me to trust your luck. One of the last things he ever said to me. He told me to find you and trust your luck to carry me through."
"Then let's hope I've used up all my bad luck. I've certainly had enough of it."
"There are times I miss him," Beryn said. "He was tough to know. Being his grandson wasn't always easy."
"I can imagine. Did he make you help with the hydroponics?"
He laughed. "I heard about your green hair. He deliberately left it leaking to see what you'd do."
"He was trying to set me up with Jerimon at the time. I really liked Caid, even if he was a slave driver."
"At least he died the way he wanted," Beryn said. His grandfather, Caid, had taken the Swan and Lady Rina's body and flown into a star. Their deaths had made us rich. Jasyn and I had inherited Lady Rina's estate. Beryn had inherited Caid's. I'd rather have them alive than have their money.
"She says to just wipe it off with water," Clark said, coming out of the nursery.
Beryn took a damp rag to the fish on the wall, removing the sauce stains.
"We've got maybe ten hours until we're supposed to make the jump point," Clark told me. "Since the engine room won't be safe, I'd rather have you in the cockpit at the controls."
"Ginni's done it before," I said. "Let her handle it. I'll take copilot."
He cocked his head and studied me. "Are you certain?"
"She's good, Clark. I trust her."
He nodded. "Get some sleep while you can. I'll tell her."
He left the lounge. I heard him knocking on the cabin door at the back of the ship. Ginni's answer was muffled.
"Go scrub off the spaghetti," Beryn told me. "Unless you like looking that way."
I looked down at the sauce on my shipsuit. I went to shower and change.
Chapter 9
The room was large, muffled in darkness. One whole wall blazed with stars, an enhanced view of t
he space they traveled through. Will paused in the doorway. A single figure stood outlined against the brilliant points of light scattered across the black of space. This room was the favorite place of the Federation's unorthodox president. He came here whenever he wanted solitude. No one else used the view lounge. Will walked silently across the carpeted floor. Roland still knew he was there, without looking.
"What is it this time?" he asked, still watching the stars.
"You missed the briefing," Will told him.
"So, summarize it for me."
"It isn't good for morale when you appear completely disinterested."
Roland sighed. "Nobody warned me being president would require so much tedium. Do you think you could spice up your reports a bit?"
"You want dancers? Flashy lights?" Will shook his head.
"No, I guess it was a bad suggestion," Roland said. "It would help if your reports had some good news in them."
"There's plenty of good news. Our unofficial trade with the Empire is working. There won't be food riots anytime soon."
"But the Empire is still unstable. And someone is still pushing. It's going to collapse. It's only a matter of time."
"We have plans in place. When it does fall apart, we'll be there to pick up the pieces."
Roland shook his head. "There has to be a better way. Too much change, too fast. People will die needlessly. I've been thinking."
"You make me nervous when you look that way. What are you thinking?"
"We need someone in place, on Linas-Drias. If we can push it just the right direction, the Empire falls, briefly, but enough remains intact that we avoid the riots and the chaos. And in the process, we find the real head of the crime syndicates."
"You can't wipe out crime entirely, Roland. It's always going to exist."
"I am well aware of that. What we can do is force them into retreat. Take out the leaders and it will be years before they can rebuild. Years we can use to keep them small and disorganized. We get one step ahead of them instead of three steps behind."
Will frowned at the display of stars. "Who were you thinking of sending?" Roland was grinning, his face barely lit by the starlight. Will shook his head. "She won't agree."
"I think Dace would be the perfect agent to send. She already has the contacts."
"I thought you said you wanted to avoid chaos. She can disrupt an entire planet's economy just by flying past it."
"Which makes her perfect. I was thinking of offering her the post of trade ambassador to the Empire. What do you think?"
"I think you're insane."
Roland grinned. "So I've been told."
Will shook his head again. "She won't agree to it."
"How will you know until you ask her?"
"Catching up to her to ask is going to be a bit of a problem."
"She's back on her ship, isn't she?"
"Yes, but they're somewhere on the far side of the Empire. I suspect Jasyn is ducking her responsibilities to the Gypsy Council. We don't have many contacts on that side. They're stripping out their beacon every couple of stops. I've got people tracking them, but they're usually a planet or two behind. If they decide to really start hiding, we're going to have a very hard time finding them again."
"Just look for something burning," Roland said. "Dace will be somewhere in the area. I want you to find them. Let Jasyn know she's needed on Tebros. When they get there, you can approach Dace about becoming my trade ambassador."
"I'll let you do it. I want to live." Will cocked his head. "I'll let you talk to both of them. I want to live with all my body parts intact."
Roland studied him for a long moment. "You want to explain that remark?"
"No, but I will. Jasyn hates the Gypsy Council. She's still head of it, yes. It's a post for life, usually. The only way off the Council is to be challenged and lose. She was furious at you for manipulating her into the position. Currently, they're mostly overlooking her absence. Jasyn will fight tooth and nail to stay away from Tebros as long as she can. She hates politics."
"And Dace?"
"She hates politics even worse. She won't ever agree to your proposal, Roland."
"I still want to talk to her. Find her for me, Will."
"I know where she is, Roland. Finding her isn't the problem. Contacting her and getting her to listen will be."
"So send someone she will talk to. What is Tayvis up to? You could send him."
"No one has seen him for a couple of months. I have no idea where he is. Last I heard, he was on the raid in the Cygnus Province. He disappeared after that. Chief Querran couldn't find him anywhere when she went looking."
"Why would he disappear like that?" Roland asked, puzzled.
Will shrugged. "I suspect it had something to do with Dace's engagement to Vance Shiropi."
"Which she broke off, completely."
"After his mother tried to kill her."
"She does pick the most interesting people to get involved with, doesn't she?" Roland turned back to the stars. "What is the situation with Lowell and his people?"
"His people don't exist anymore. They've been shifted away from him. He is shut off from his contacts. I've got people in his office, but they have to be very careful. He's got a target painted on him wide enough no one could miss it. They slip him what they can, but someone doesn't want him knowing anything."
"It isn't just the crime syndicates."
"No, the corruption runs all the way to the top. The Empire was ready to fall without help. It's just falling apart faster with the crime syndicates picking at it. I've got reports on most of the members of the Council of Worlds. More than two thirds of them are connected to the syndicates, whether they know it or not."
"That isn't good news, Will."
"Most of what I have isn't good, Roland. It's more important than the good news. I've managed to trace the leader of the conspiracy." He shuffled his feet.
"Then who is it?"
"I can't find that out. She has her identity too well buried."
"She?"
"The Lady, Ice Maiden, Snow Queen, she's got half a dozen names. I have dozens of people trying to trace her. The best information I have is that she lives on Linas-Drias, posing as a wealthy eccentric. Scholar was investigating her when he disappeared. I have copies of his last reports. They aren't much use. And before you ask, no, I haven't had any luck tracking down Scholar. No one's seen him for months."
Roland didn't comment. He tucked his hands into the sleeves of his brown robe and watched stars burn.
"We are getting closer," Will said after a pause. "I have a general description of her. She wears a long veil and gloves. All I know for certain is her height. I can guess she's fairly young."
"With all of your technology and sources, you can't find out information on one young woman."
"She's very good, Roland. Lowell missed her for years. From everything I can piece together, she's been setting this up for at least four years, if not longer."
"How long does it usually take to become leader of a crime syndicate?"
"If you have the right connections, maybe ten years. Less if you're ruthless enough."
"So how did she manage to become the head of not just one syndicate but all of them in less than four years?"
Will shrugged. "I have no idea."
"We need to know who she is."
"Don't tell me my job, Roland."
"You work too hard. You don't have to run the entire Federation by yourself. Isn't that part of my job description?"
"I thought you were the figurehead. Isn't that why you spend so much time watching vids and attending parties?"
"That's the part I enjoy." Roland sighed and turned away from the viewscreen and the sweeping view of space. "You should delegate more. You don't have to personally oversee everything. You have very good people working for you. Trust them."
"I do, but there are some things I need to attend to personally."
"And you're making yourself sick. As
of this minute, you're on vacation. For the next two days."
"Roland, I can't."
"I'll make it a presidential order," Roland threatened.
"I don't have time."
"Make time. There's a vid showing tonight. You should attend. Spend some time with our local celebrity. Dariana Grace is quite charming."
"And you're another of her adoring fans. Haven't you seen all of her vids yet?"
"Three times through," Roland said proudly. "It will do you good, Will. You need to relax. Let the galaxy's problems take care of themselves for tonight."
"Just let me make a few calls," Will said, giving in.
"You have ten minutes before I come looking for you."
Will read the gentle threat in Roland's face, even in the darkened room. "Ten minutes, no more," he promised.
Roland nodded and left.
Will stood alone in the room staring out into space. Roland was right. He was too tired. He was going to slip somewhere, if he hadn't already. There were too many problems, too many questions, and not nearly enough people he trusted. When had it grown so big? When had life caught him up so completely? Five years ago, he'd been on Dadilan, resigned to living on a primitive world studying languages no one else would ever hear.
Dace had happened. She'd changed everything in the few short weeks she'd been on Dadilan. Life hadn't been the same since.
He watched stars burn, avoiding his calls, and wondered where she really was. He wished her luck. He turned his back on the stars and sent out a message that would eventually bring her to the Federation, to Roland's floating capital. He wondered if Roland ever regretted his choices. He knew he had plenty of his own regrets. Some inner sense warned him that he'd regret sending that message.
He did it anyway.
Chapter 10
"Ten minutes, more or less." Ginni twisted her fingers together over the controls until her knuckles were white.
"Setting the override." I flipped the switches and set the controls to bypass the automatics. It took a few minutes. Ships aren't designed to be flown manually through hyperspace. It's possible, but only if you're desperate or stupid. We were desperate. Even if we got a good lock on a gravity well, we weren't going to make it through the jump in one piece. I had deliberately understated our chances of blowing up. Ginni was the only other person on the ship who knew what we faced. She'd done it once, at the Academy, in an armored Patrol cruiser. I was fairly sure she knew our ship was like paper compared to that one.