“Another one? What is that now, like, eight?” Cal spluttered.
Another volley of railgun fire hammered the front of the ship. The sound of each impact was terrifying, a sharp, sudden crack that was far too close for comfort.
Cal launched three missiles at the closest squadron of fighters. He watched, with not entirely unexpected dismay, as the ships took evasive action.
“I’m just wasting bullets here,” he said. “Retract weapons.”
“What are you doing?” Loren yelped, as the spikes withdrew from Cal’s head and he found himself back in his chair. “Shoot them!”
“I can’t shoot them. They move,” Cal pointed out.
“They always move!” Loren replied. “The point is to shoot at where they’re going to move to!”
“Yeah, that’s not working,” Cal said. “But it’s fine.”
Those rattling keracks pummeled the hull again. “How is this fine?” demanded Loren.
“It’s fine because I have an idea. Head for the station,” Cal said.
Loren glanced back, just for a moment. “What?!”
“Fly close to the station. You know, like really close, so they can’t risk shooting at us.”
Loren hesitated, as if about to argue, but then shrugged. “Why not?” she sighed, then she twisted the yoke and jammed forward on the throttle, and the Untitled lurched sickeningly around until the screen was filled by the ugly expanse of Sunstation Kappa-Seven.
“Get down there and hug that bedge,” Cal urged. “Those ships won’t be able to shoot. Not unless they want to risk hitting the station.”
“Do we really want Mistress Loren flying us that close to something, sir?” Kevin inquired. “The consequences of hitting it would be quite catastrophic.”
“She’s not going to hit it, Kevin,” Cal assured the AI. He flicked his gaze to Loren. “You aren’t, are you?”
“Guess we’ll find out,” said Loren, throwing the Untitled into a dive.
Cal gripped his armrests and braced his feet on the floor in front of him as the station grew larger. They were close enough that he could see windows now, with faces watching them from the other side. Human faces. The bad guys’ faces.
Down in his lap, Splurt bubbled sadly.
And then, Loren pulled them out of the dive, leveling the ship off so it was flying parallel to the station.
There was a screech and sparks appeared at the bottom of the screen.
OK, parallel-ish.
“Got it, I’ve got it,” Loren said, adjusting their trajectory a fraction. “That part was sticking out.”
“Well, it isn’t sticking out anymore,” Cal said.
The station raced by below them. Above and behind, the attacking ships fell into a single follow formation.
“They’re hanging back,” Loren said, her relief palpable. “They’re not shooting.”
“See? What did I tell you? What did I say? They can’t risk it,” Cal grinned. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I’m the captain.”
“You ain’t the captain,” Mech told him.
Cal smiled down at Splurt. “He doesn’t mean that. See, he might be stubborn, angry, aggressive, stuck-up, just plain mean, and…” He frowned. “Where was I going with this again?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. The point is, I am the captain, and I’m the one who saved us once again from being blasted into a million pieces.”
Up ahead, two gun-turrets unfolded from the walls of Kappa-Seven. Out of the corner of his eye, Cal saw more popping up at the edges of the viewscreen.
“OK, just FYI, there’s a possibility I spoke too soon,” he admitted.
“Shizz!” Loren hissed. She pulled up just as the turrets opened fire. Laser blasts crisscrossed all around the Untitled as it twisted into a desperate corkscrew maneuver that took it up and away from the station’s surface.
Behind it, the pursuing ships returned to battle formation and fired a flurry of torpedoes.
“You made it worse!” Loren snapped. “You actually found a way to make it worse!”
Cal wished he could argue, but it was a fair comment. The situation was worse. They were now being shot at by countless more guns than they had been a few minutes before. However you looked at it, whether objectively or subjectively, it was worse.
“Mech, tell me you’ve got it!” Cal hollered.
“Almost. Gimme—”
“Don’t you dare say ‘a minute!’” Cal warned.
“Got it!” Mech announced. “I got a copy of the page scan. We know where the Sentience came from.”
“Punch it in!” said Loren, spinning to avoid a burst of turret fire, but failing spectacularly. She pointed the ship away from the station and pushed the sub-warp engines to Full Speed Ahead.
“Coordinates locked,” Mech announced. “Can we risk jumping to warp this close to these fonks?”
“Have to,” Loren said. “We’re about to lose shields.”
Mech gripped the console. “Then go!”
“Wait!” Cal yelped.
“We can’t wait!” Loren protested, shouting to be heard over a hail of railgun ammo that smashed against the hull.
“They already had the page. They know where we’re going. Either they’ll follow, or they’ll already be there waiting,” Cal said. “We’ll be flying right into danger.”
“We’re already in motherfonking danger!” Mech pointed out. “Shields are at three percent. One more hit and we’re done.”
“They’re going to be waiting for us. I know it.”
“So, what do you suggest?” Mech demanded.
“Broadcast the coordinates to Zertex,” said Cal. “Send them to Jjin. Tell him where we’re going.”
“What?!” Loren spat. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Maybe,” Cal agreed. “But if we get Zertex and these guys fighting, maybe it’ll buy us enough time to do what we have to do.”
“Damn it. He’s actually got a point,” Mech groaned. “It might work.”
“And it might get us killed,” Loren hissed through gritted teeth.
“With these shields? We’re already dead,” Mech said. He tapped the console. “It’s worth a try.”
“Kevin, attach this photograph,” Cal said. He fired off a middle-finger salute with both hands and sneered in the direction of the camera.
“Got it, sir.” A picture of Cal appeared on screen. “Like this?”
“Exactly like that, Kevin. Only not upside-down.”
“Very good, sir. Image attached.”
“Sending now,” said Mech. “I hope this don’t backfire, man.”
Cal smiled. “Since when have any of my—?” He shook his head. “No. No, I almost walked right into that one,” he muttered. “I hope so, too, Mech. I really do.”
“Done. All sent,” said Mech. “Now, get us out of here.”
“Gladly,” said Loren.
And then the warp disk spun, the stars stretched out, and the Currently Untitled leaped blindly into the unknown.
Twenty-Three
The last of the Greyx stood over the last of the Symmorium, a clawed hand resting on the girl’s head. Tyrra was restless, her feet shuffling, her fingers flexing in and out.
She was not, as far as Miz could tell, conscious. Not properly, although she wasn’t exactly unconscious, either. It was as if she was stuck somewhere between the two states, neither one nor the other.
“Hey, it’s OK. It’s OK,” Miz whispered. “Shh. You’re OK.”
They were in the medical bay, Tyrra taking up just a little over half the space on the bed. Savage shark-species or not, she was still just a kid. A kid who’d been through too much.
Miz shot a glance over to the Symmorium Sentience. It was propped on a chair, wedged in place by a pillow and a pair of Loren’s boots. Having it close had seemed to calm Tyrra at first, but the Sentience’s glow had gradually faded, and once it was dark, Tyrra had quickly become agitated again.
“We’re goin
g to fix it,” Miz whispered to her. “We’re going to bring your people back. You won’t be alone anymore. I promise.”
There was a knock on the doorframe outside. The door stood open, and Miz turned to find Cal leaning there. She immediately withdrew her hand from Tyrra’s head.
“Hey,” Cal said. “How you guys doing back here?”
Miz shrugged. “Like, how should I know?” she asked. “How did I end up on babysitting duty, anyway? Oh, wait. It’s because I have to do everything around here.”
Cal held her gaze. She relented surprisingly quickly.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” she admitted, her voice softening. “It’s, like, I don’t even know if she’s there. You know? I’m talking to her, but I don’t know if she can hear me.”
“She can hear you,” Cal said. “I’m sure she can hear you.”
Miz shrugged again, but looked secretly reassured by this.
“Whatever,” she said.
Cal entered the room, patted Tyrra on the leg, then crossed to the Sentience. “This doing anything?” he asked, rapping his knuckles on it.
“Not since it went dark,” Miz told him. She looked from the Sentience to Tyrra. A long, curved canine tooth chewed her bottom lip. “Are they going to die?”
“What? No. They’re not going to die. We won’t let them,” said Cal. He smiled. “And, if they do, we’ll just go and get them back like we always do.”
Miz swallowed and looked down for a moment. She blinked a few times before looking up again. “You promise?”
“Promise? No,” Cal admitted. “I’ll do better than promise.” He winked, and fired off the double fingerguns. “It’s a Cal Carver guarantee.”
“You’re so lame,” Miz said, smirking.
“Normally, it’s not actually a legal binding guarantee. Thankfully, no one ever thinks to check the small print. But on this occasion?” He put a hand on Miz’s shoulder, and glanced from her to Tyrra. “I’ll make an exception.”
He gave her a reassuring pat, then gestured toward the door. “Anyway, you got a minute? We’re having a strategy meeting. So far, the best we’ve been able to come up with is, ‘don’t die,’ so we could really use some more input.”
Miz shot Tyrra a worried look.
“Kevin will keep an eye on her,” Cal said.
“I don’t have eyes, sir,” Kevin pointed out.
“Not an actual eye, Kevin. I don’t want you to put an actual physical eye on her,” Cal said. “I want you to watch her.”
“The way I watch you, sir?”
“Yes, but without the creepy undertones, or those whispering sounds you sometimes make when you think I’m sleeping,” Cal said. “Just keep her under observation.”
“Very good, sir.”
Cal turned to Miz, then a thought occurred to him. “And, you know, tell us if anything happens.”
“Oh. Right. As you wish, sir,” said Kevin. “For clarity’s sake, though, what sort of thing?”
Cal made a vague waving gesture. “Just, I don’t know. Anything. If she does anything, tell us.”
“Very good, sir,” Kevin replied.
Cal turned to Miz. “See? She’ll be fine for—”
“In. Out. In. Out.”
Frowning, Cal raised his eyes to the ceiling. “What are you doing?”
“Reporting, sir. In. Out. In. Out. In.”
“Reporting on what?” Cal asked.
“Her breathing, sir,” said Kevin. “You told me to report if she did anything.”
“I meant anything significant,” Cal sighed.
“Breathing is quite significant, sir.”
Cal rubbed his temples and muttered darkly. “OK. Thank you. No, you’re right. You’re absolutely right,” he admitted. “So, you see how she is now? You see everything she’s doing right now? Ignore all that. Take that as a given. Tell us if she starts doing anything that isn’t any of the things she’s doing now. OK?”
“Got it, sir.”
“Or, if she stops doing any of the things she’s currently doing,” Cal added, just to be on the safe side. “If she stops—you know, picking an example—breathing, then you should tell us.”
“Goodness, this is more complicated than I first thought,” Kevin said. “But you can count on me, sir.”
Miz scowled at the ceiling. “Can you just, like, show us a video feed on the main screen?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kevin confirmed. “Of anything in particular? I have some of Master Carver’s space-kitten footage queued up, if that’s of interest.”
“Of this room,” Miz tutted. “Show us a feed of this room so we can keep watch on her ourselves.”
“Aha! Yes. That’s an even better idea, ma’am. I shall start at once,” Kevin said.
From up front came the sound of Mech’s dulcet tones. “What the fonk is that shizznod doing on the screen?” he wondered.
“We heard that,” Cal said.
“You were supposed to!” Mech called back. “Now hurry the fonk up.”
Cal held an arm out to Miz. “Shall we?” he asked.
Miz moved to take his arm, then stopped herself. “Better not. Wouldn’t want to upset your girlfriend, or whatever,” she said, her usual scowl returning.
With a final check of Tyrra, she strode past Cal and thumped heavily in the direction of the bridge.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Cal muttered.
“You can say that again,” Loren called from up front. Cal grimaced as he remembered the video feed. “Now, hurry up so we can get started.”
Cal sat in his chair, willfully ignoring the usual warp-speed fireworks that streaked across the screen. The top right corner of the screen showed a feed from the medical bay, where Tyrra lay fidgeting fitfully in her not-quite-sleep.
Loren and Miz had turned their chairs to face his. Mech stood across from Cal, so together they formed the four points of a rough square.
“Where is it we’re actually going, anyway?” Cal asked.
Mech frowned. “What? We’re bringing the Sentience home. You know that. Seriously, do you ever pay attention?”
“I mean where exactly?” Cal asked. “Where do Sentiences come from?” He frowned. “Is it Sentiences? Sentii, maybe?”
“It’s a planet,” Loren said, ignoring everything after the first question. “It’s listed as uninhabited, but the atmosphere’s breathable.”
“Good. I like breathable. Breathable’s good,” Cal said. “So, let’s run through the plan as it stands so far. We come out of warp. We expect the EDI to be there waiting for us.”
“And Zertex,” Loren reminded him.
“Zertex?” asked Miz. “Why will Zertex be there?”
“He called them,” said Mech, pointing to Cal.
“What? Technically, you called them,” Cal retorted.
“Only because you fonking told me to.”
“Oh, and if I said you should jump in a river, would you do that, too?” Cal demanded.
“Depends. Can I drag your sorry ass down with me?” Mech asked. “Because if so, then hell yeah, I’m in.”
Cal shook his head reproachfully. “You know, with an attitude like that, you’re never going to get into Robot Heaven.”
“Not a robot.”
“Robot Space Heaven.”
“I’ll hurt you, man. I mean it. I’ll hurt you.”
“Guys!” said Loren. “Can we focus?”
She waited until she was sure they’d both stopped, then turned to Miz. “We thought if Zertex showed up they might keep the EDI occupied.”
“She says ‘we,’ but it was really my idea,” said Cal.
“It’s a terrible idea,” Miz said.
“No, Loren was right, it was a joint decision,” Cal continued. “I mean, it’s risky, sure, but…”
His lips moved silently.
“Actually, I don’t really have anything more to add after that. It’s just risky.”
Miz rolled her eyes. “Great. So, we come out o
f warp and all those losers are waiting for us. What then?”
“That’s kind of the entirety of the plan,” said Cal.
Miz snorted in something like amusement. She waited, her eyes darting around the others.
“Wait, what? That’s seriously it?” she asked. “Stop the ship near a whole load of bad guys? That’s the plan?”
“Not all of it, no,” said Cal, shifting a little uncomfortably. “We workshopped some stuff about trying to not get ourselves killed, but decided that was pretty much a given, so we left it out. I’m open to putting it back in, though, if you think it would help.” He raised a hand. “All those in favor?”
No one responded.
“Overruled,” Cal said, lowering his hand again. “It’s going in. Captain’s decision.” He smiled at Miz. “We’re also going to try not to get ourselves killed.”
Miz flared her nostrils. Her brow was furrowed in a way that Cal had rarely, if ever, seen before. After a few moments, he worked out what she was doing.
She was thinking. Properly thinking, not just conjuring up some new insult, or contemplating which of her claws looked better than the others. Actually properly thinking.
“So, like… We come out of warp, and what? There’s a load of Earth and Zertex ships fighting in orbit?”
“Ideally, yeah,” said Mech. “Course, they could just decide to team up on us.”
“They wouldn’t!” Cal gasped. He chewed his lip. “Would they?”
“Maybe,” said Mech. “They worked together for years until just a few days ago.”
“Shizz. Then why the fonk did you call Zertex, Mech? What were you thinking?”
“Everyone just, like, shut up, already,” Miz barked. Literally. She leaned forward, her arms resting on her thighs as she thought. “So, when we stop it’ll be us, all the ships, then the planet?”
Cal blinked. “Huh?”
“When we stop,” said Miz, more slowly. “It’ll be us, then the ships, then the planet?”
“Is that…? Did that make it clearer for anyone?” Cal asked, looking around.
“Yes. The EDI and Zertex ships will be between us and the planet,” Loren said. “That’s the order. Us, the ships, then the planet.”
“Oh. Gotcha,” said Cal. He nodded. “Yeah, that’s the annoying part.”
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