by J. N. Chaney
“Why would we do either?” said Mack. “Sure, we’ve been tracking the guy, but there’s no reason to kill him. Kaska would just replace him with someone else. Calliope wouldn’t even know we were watching him because he got added to the list after she left.”
Jax shot her a glance. “You positive the system hasn’t been compromised?”
Mack nodded briskly. “Absolutely. It might be a bitch to hack Constable tech, but I made the Genesis a veritable fortress.”
“Then he must know something, something Calliope knew we’d find important.” I pointed at the display. “Whatever it is, it’s in there. Each of us can take a section. If nothing shakes out, we’ll switch. Run down every piece of information, no matter how unimportant it seems.”
We spent the next hour learning about Senator-Richard Peralta. Some of the details were old, like the vacation he’d taken on a resort world called Serenity. It didn’t take long to realize that the government didn’t have nearly as much caution hiding where their people had been as they did future schedules. That made it a simple task to confirm Calliope’s data.
It gave me an idea. “He seems to go to a lot of meetings,” I told the room. “Can we cross check that list to see who’s been going with him, and where?”
“Working,” said Vega.
It only took a second for a star map to appear. Small pinpoints of light depicted Peralta’s movements, which spanned multiple systems.
“He attends a lot of meetings with Kaska,” Mack noted.
“And he visits Prosperitas monthly,” Farah added. “What’s he doing?”
Prosperitas was a mining planet in the White Cross system. It was supposed to be the biggest producer of N02-99, the Empire’s most important metal.
It in no way compared with Neutronium, but it was more readily available. We used it in anything from ship hulls to personal armor and weapons — and that was just the tip of that proverbial iceberg.
In a move that surprised just about everyone, the Union had given the entire system of White Cross back to the Empire. I’d been shocked that we got the handful of ships. No one but the Emperor and his chosen circle knew exactly what the Sarkonian Empire had given up in exchange for those. So whatever had prompted the return of White Cross must have been a big deal.
“Auditing,” Mack said.
“Hardly riveting stuff,” I remarked dryly. A point on the star map caught my attention and I pointed at it. “What about that? Why is it red?”
“It is an unknown,” Vega answered.
“Unknown as in you don’t know what’s there, or it’s uncharted?”
“Yes.”
Farah snorted.
“Funny.” I flicked a glance at Mack, but she shrugged. “V, can you clarify what you mean?”
“Certainly, Captain. I don’t have sufficient information to provide you. According to Miss Walker’s notes, ship logs show that Senator-Peralta regularly visited this site, but the region is not on any existing star map.”
“Thanks. That really clears things up, V.”
Jax cleared his throat and moved next to me. “I think I can help with this one.”
All of our heads turned to swivel to stare at the Void operative. I rolled my hand for him to continue.
“That’s Xanderis. I recognize it from the tristar system.”
I checked the screen and frowned. “I’m assuming since it’s not on the map that it’s a Void facility?”
“Not just a facility. The facility. It’s where all the operatives get their upgrades. We train there too. It’s really a base of operations. If we’re not on an op, that’s where we live.”
I wasn’t looking at Mack and Farah, but they had to be staring. With Jax taking up temporary residence on the Second Genesis, his status as a Void operative had felt a little removed. He didn’t exactly talk about it, and to be honest, I kind of forgot. Well, maybe not so much forgot as the idea was in the back of my mind.
Jax had a presence about him that couldn’t be ignored. I had gotten used to it though. His “upgrades,” as he called them, weren’t outwardly obvious. I knew from Commander Navari’s data cache that his fellow Void operative Dolph had an ocular implant, cybernetic limbs, and other enhancements not visible to the naked eye.
Looking at Farah’s brother now, I wasn’t sure which parts of him weren’t human, but I had my guesses. Farah was taller than me, though not by much. Both Mr. and Mrs. Singh were what I considered to be average height. Jax, on the other hand, was anything but average. His bio put him at two meters, almost a whole head taller than me. He wore his blonde hair cropped close in the usual military style.
I dragged my eyes away. “I guess they have labs there then,” I said thoughtfully.
He nodded. “That’s right. I haven’t been back, but there was some chatter about Kaska visiting not too long ago.”
“Yeah, you blew your cover pretty hard,” I said, recalling his standoff with the Vice-Admiral on Sarkon. If he hadn’t we’d be dead, but it was coming back to bite us now.
Farah turned to face him, lips pursed. “He recognized you on Sarkon. Called you by name. Sounds like he’s already visited.”
The siblings had been getting along better, but from the sounds of things, they weren’t at the hug and make up stage.
Jax met his sister’s accusing gaze with a level one of his own. “Yes, the Vice-Admiral has been to the facility before. He’s in control of the entire Void operation. It’s only been in the last year that his visits dropped off.”
I perked up at his mention of that. “A year. Is that a specific timeframe?”
He nodded. “Pretty close. Does that mean something to you?”
“Maybe. Hold on.” I pulled out my datapad and started to dig through files. It took me a minute longer than it probably would have taken Mack or Farah, but tech wasn’t my deal. Finally, I found what I was looking for and moved it to the main display.
“Ah,” said Mack, figuring it out first.
“What?” Farah looked from her to me, then back at her brother. “What does a year have to do with anything?”
I pointed at the holo. “A year ago is roughly how far Navari’s data goes back. Seems to me that it’s an odd coincidence. I’m not really a big believer in those anyway.”
“But why?” Farah asked, twisting slightly to study the data. “What’s the point of staying away?”
It was a valid question. The timing felt important, but I got the sense we only had part of the puzzle. “The Void is kind of a touchy subject. Stealing kids and all that. Kaska might want to distance himself from those activities. Remember, the Emperor is still a teen himself.”
Mack enlarged another portion of data on the holo and jabbed a finger towards it. “I always thought that the missions in the cache were randomly timed, but what if they point to an endgame?”
I’d considered this before and always dismissed the idea. “Looks like he had a timeframe in mind to finish whatever his plans are.”
“It’s not much, but we should take this to the Solaris Initiative,” Jax said. He waved a hand at the look on our collective faces. “Not all of it. I know you’re suspicious about them, or Dunham. Point is, they’re still the rebellion and could use the information. At the very least they’ll get suspicious if you don’t check in. Makes more sense to have something to share.”
Much as it pained me to agree, I did. My concerns about Angela Dunham were still there, but even I had to admit that we had no evidence. Just my hunch that there was more to the rebellion’s leader than met the eye. I couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that maybe I was being paranoid. The uncertainty bothered me most and was probably why I had latched onto this idea about Dunham to begin with.
It took a second for me to realize that the bridge had fallen quiet and the group was looking at me expectantly.
“Yeah, alright,” I conceded. “Mack, what’s happening on the net with the Initiative lately?”
She tapped away on her pad for a few se
conds before shooting a grin my way. “Pretty favorable, all things considered. Most people seem to really like you as the poster girl.”
“Me?” I frowned, uncomfortable with the idea. “I thought it was us?”
That much was true. After the incident at Kaska’s house, both Farah and I had been branded the face of the Solaris Initiative. Then, the more the video of me arguing with Kaska got replayed, the more my face got plastered on the propaganda.
Most recently was a still of me that someone digitized, just of my face in the moment where I smashed the pad Kaska had been taunting me from. The artist froze the image in the moment before I brought my foot down. I looked fierce, if a little crazed, which the government was quick to point out. Supporters of the rebellion made it about smashing through tyranny, which was something I could get behind.
Farah cocked her head in my direction. “You said you were okay with this. Besides, it’s not forever.”
“Maybe not, but it is causing issues in the interim. We didn’t think about how hard it would make travelling. Harder than it already is anyway. Remember the dockmaster on Taurus last time? Good thing he was a supporter. I thought we were done for sure.”
That made both of them snicker, but Jax just looked at us in confusion. “It’s not really funny. If you guys get caught by the authorities, it will screw up a lot,” he admonished.
For some reason, this sent Farah into a fit of laughter. Again, Jax looked less than amused.
“Sorry, big brother. You’re just so serious.”
He stared hard at her. “I don’t understand why you’re laughing about this.”
“Jax, it might be best not to try. I have terabytes of data on human behavior at my disposal and still don’t quite grasp it all.” The slight synthesized texture of Vega’s voice added another layer to the whole situation.
Struggling to hold back a chuckle of my own, I coughed. “V, what’s our ETA to home?”
“Seventy-four standard hours, Captain.”
“Good. Okay, Giggles, calm down. We have some work to do before we get back.”
Farah finally sobered and wiped a tear from one eye. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just… never mind, I’ll get going again.”
“Don’t,” I warned. “Let’s sort through Navari’s shit and see if something new pops. I want to see if we can find a connection between these dates.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
3
Almost as soon as we were back on Neblinar I was off Genesis and threading through the throngs of people. A few nodded to me, a few gave me space and cast wary glances my way. I returned the nods and ignored the rest. In recent weeks, I’d learned that with notoriety came a number of side effects.
I stopped at one of the many food vendors and waved to the man working the hover cart. Sven grinned, revealing his trademark smile missing more than a few teeth.
“Hey, old man,” I said by way of greeting.
“Hey yourself, Cortez. The usual?”
His gravelly voice matched his weathered face, which I found endearing. “Yeah, that’ll do, Sven. How’s business?”
“Steady, just the way I like it,” he replied, stacking meat onto a little spike before wrapping it in a biodegradable sleeve and passing it over. I didn’t miss the extra piece he added and dumped a few extra credits in his palm. Sven jangled them and tipped his chin in thanks. “Glad you’re home, Captain. Just keep an eye out. Been hearing whispers lately.”
“Like what?” I snagged a few napkins and shuffled to the side so I wasn’t holding up the line.
Sven shrugged noncommittally. “Hard to say. Just watch yourself. Don’t want to lose my best customer.”
He moved on to the next order and left me to ponder his cryptic warning. I figured it had to do with the rebellion and probably wasn’t anything major. Still, it paid to be cautious and I sent Mack a note to keep an ear open while we were home.
I didn’t know exactly when I started viewing the planet as home, but somehow it was. We’d settled into the fray like we’d always belonged. Me and Mack, anyway. Part of me thought Farah viewed it as temporary, until whatever happened with the Initiative and the government finished its course.
As I walked, questionable meat kabob in one hand, I wondered how she thought everything would play out. Hell, I wanted to know too. Did we really expect the rebellion to win and gain some independence from the Empire?
It seemed impossible, but here we were. I wouldn’t have thought any kind of uprising would have success, marginal or not. Despite my misgivings, it couldn’t be denied that Dunham had built something that stood a chance. Maybe for the first time ever. But what if it succeeded, what then? Would people like Farah be able to go home? I doubted it, if the Empire had anything to do with it.
Neblinar shone around me and I knew I would be content to stay there. At first glance, the place was utter chaos. It had only taken me a little while to see through that and become enamored with the freedom it represented. I didn’t rent an apartment or anything, but every time we docked I felt a familiar tug. Something I’d never experienced before. Long stretches of space travel didn’t bother me like it did some people, but I did prefer to have my feet on solid ground.
Merc Depot appeared in my field of vision and I stowed the brooding for later. The meat was finished, so I tossed the trash after a quick swipe with the napkins and stepped inside. The mercenary supply store was owned by Clint Russell, an arms dealer Farah and I had met on Leah station not long after our departure from the Empire.
As soon as one booted foot crossed the threshold, an upbeat chime tinkled its way through the store. A man who wasn’t Clint sat behind the counter holding a datapad. I’d never known Clint to hire help beyond his intimidating delivery team, and this guy didn’t meet those requirements. He was a head or so taller than me, but had the musculature of a string bean.
I could feel his eyes on me and started to browse the ammo offerings with a lazy curiosity while keeping some of my attention on the new clerk. He didn’t strike me as a criminal, what with the baby face and all. Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
It didn’t take long for the kid to make his move. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he set the pad down and slid off his stool. Hooking my thumbs through my belt loops, I rocked on the balls of my feet, ready to make a grab for the pistol strapped to my left thigh.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
No one had called me ma’am in a while, and it made me think the clerk had a military background. “Yeah?”
“I’m going to have to ask you to surrender the weapon. Can’t have you in the store with that.” He pointed at the gun and gave me an apologetic smile.
I snorted. “Keep dreaming. You’re crazy if you think I’m just handing my gear over…” My eyes dropped to his name tag and took note of the sidearm at his hip before coming up lazily. “CJ.”
The apologetic smile fell away and his expression went a few degrees colder, revealing the edge I knew lurked beneath the surface. “Ma’am, I assure you it will be quite safe up front. If you won’t comply, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
His hand twitched a little and instead of backing up, I stepped closer, arranging my features into a snarl.
“Son, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said a familiar deep voice from the door to the back room. “She’ll lay you flat before you know what hit you.”
I didn’t take my eyes off the clerk but started to put the pieces together. “CJ… would that be Clint Junior?”
“That’s right, Alyss. I’d appreciate it if you gave him a pass this time. He’s still learning.” Even though I was still watching Junior, I could hear the amusement.
“Sure, Clint. This time.” I dropped my hand and stepped back, then turned to my friend. “Still not giving up my gun though.”
Clint was a big man with a balding head and easy smile. “Of course not.” He clapped CJ forcefully on the shoulder and steered him back to the counter. “I already t
old you, stop trying to make people give up their weapons. You’re going to lose me customers if you keep that shit up.”
I chuckled when he made his way back over. “I didn’t know you had a kid.”
“Tried to keep it under the radar. He just did four years in the Union infantry and is still adjusting to my status as the local arms supplier.
My thoughts immediately went to Calliope. She’d looked young and innocent too. Until she didn’t. I didn’t hide my reaction fast enough and Clint laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” he said just loud enough for me to hear. “I love the kid and I’m proud as hell of him, but he ain’t no spy. Believe me.”
“Okay, good.” I relaxed a fraction and swept an arm to encompass the ammo I’d been looking over. “Got anything new?”
“Not since you were in last. Need to restock any of that?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Didn’t do any shooting this last time around. Got any grappling hooks?” I was thinking of our trouble back on Dulsa and how something like that could be avoided in the future.
Clint raised an eyebrow. “Of course. I feel like there’s a story here though.”
My smile turned catlike. “There might be.”
“I think it might be worth a discount. Let’s work out a deal.”
In the end, we haggled for 10% and Clint got the full story of Farah and I beam hopping over a carpet of Helfire. He considered the exchange well worth it and had to pause and catch his breath from laughing by the time I finished. Now that I wasn’t in danger of dying, the story was a little more amusing to me and I was snickering when something across the room caught my eye.
“Since when do you carry swords?”
Clint followed my gaze to the small collection of blades featured on the wall. “Some people like them. I had enough requests to get a couple in here.”
I walked over to get a better look with Clint trailing behind me. “Seems a little archaic. I think I read about them in stories when I was a kid. Some ranks of the Imperial army wear them as part of the dress uniform, but I didn’t think they were used in combat.”