by S. E. Smith
“For dragging you into this.” She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling back the dark locks. “If you hadn’t accepted my invitation to show you my town, you wouldn’t even be in this mess right now.”
Taro turned to study her. “I also wouldn’t be here with you.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yeah.” Taro gave a soft snort. “For better or worse.”
“For worse, it seems,” Adini muttered. She lowered her forehead to her raised knee.
“This isn’t your fault. I’d be cursing a pregnant sand viper if I needed to place blame. Or the gigadam Ithians. You didn’t come looking for me. It was the other way around.”
“Bet you’re sorry about that now.” She traced random patterns on the bunk with her fingertip.
Taro reached out to still her hand. “I’ll never be sorry.”
She raised her head slowly to meet his eyes. “I got the feeling you were angry with me. Because of what happened between us.”
Taro’s gut knotted. “No. Never with you. With myself. I knew the score, and I let you down.”
Her mouth fell open at his admission. “How can you believe that? What you did is so many lightyears in the opposite direction, Taro. Yes, I was frightened, confused, and in misery, but I cried out to you, and you answered. What we shared together was beautiful, and sensual, and genuine. And it wasn’t just because of flashpoint. I tried to tell you how I felt even before that.”
“I didn’t want you to think you owed me anything for helping you.”
“Taro. I think we both know that wasn’t the reason.” She moved her head slowly from side to side, her eyes muting to dark teal. When she spoke again, her voice was soft but knowing. “Who hurt you?”
“What?” He reeled at the punch of her unanticipated question. “What makes you think…”
“It’s written in your eyes…and sometimes between your words.”
Taro buried the sharp kick of remorse and gave a despondent shrug. “I was engaged to a merchant’s daughter. Lyra. I’m a nav. She got tired of waiting.”
“I’m sorry.” Adini eased closer, sliding her hand up to rub the tight muscles in his shoulder. “Being apart is a burden two lovers share. Separation doesn’t end relationships. People do. Knowing what I know of you, my guess is you were the faithful one.”
Taro closed his eyes. Not answering was his answer.
A loud knock preceded the seal sweeping back to reveal two frowning crewmen. Taro and Adini rose to their feet together.
“The commodore wants you relocated to the forward cabin,” the older of the men stated.
“Commodore?” Adini questioned, trading glances with Taro.
“Captain Gant,” the man corrected. “This way.”
The forward cabin turned out to be an observation deck much like the one on Calypso, but smaller and squarer.
“Why are we here?” Taro asked.
“For Ms. Kemm’s benefit.” The man indicated the view of empty space ahead. “Specter is on approach. We’ll be conducting a passenger transfer shortly.”
Adini stiffened. “My father?”
“Has been safely secured by Network assets,” Jaeo Gant’s voice sounded from the entrance.
Adini spun to face him as the men stepped aside to let Gant pass. “How is that possible? The Purmian system is more than a week distant.”
Jaeo Gant gave her a rare smile. “Not for some.”
Taro exchanged a surprised look with Adini as they turned to peer out the port. There, a single point of light moved against the distant starfield like a tailless comet.
“We’ll be reuniting you with your father as soon as he’s debriefed. Please remain here until I send your escort.”
Adini uttered a breathless, “Thank you.”
“The Network takes care of its own,” Gant responded, and left as quickly as he’d come.
Adini stood with Taro at the port, watching the light grow brighter before dividing into several distinct points—the running lights of an approaching vessel.
“So this Specter…” Taro stopped midsentence, catching Adini’s eye and glancing pointedly at the surveillance equipment mounted to the cabin wall. “…must be a very fast ship.”
“Very,” Adini agreed, her aquamarine eyes fixed on the lights.
Captain Jordan had said there were one or two other vessels in existence with Calypso’s technology. To engage the Ithian vessel, safely secure Adini’s father, and make the trip to the Bannan system in record time, the approaching vessel had to be one of them. Was this why his skipper wanted nothing to do with the Network? Did she fear Calypso would also be commandeered for her capabilities?
“Oh look, she’s white,” Adini whispered, her hands pressing against the port surface.
The illuminated craft loomed nearer, until her shape became discernible in the void.
Taro’s breath left his chest in a rush. “Dini…”
“I see.”
Taro clamped his mouth shut and shot her a look. Don’t say another word.
She nodded her silent agreement.
While Adini and her father shared their reunion in another part of the ship, Taro was escorted back to the detainment room where Jaeo Gant waited.
“We’re here to discuss a few details, Mr. Shall,” Gant informed him. “You told me Adini’s father was taken yesterday.”
“That’s correct.”
“From his home on Carduwa.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me…how is it you were on Banna today? It’s a two-week voyage, Mr. Shall.”
Taro’s jaw muscles clenched. Gant had latched onto that one damning blunder with all his teeth.
Gant straightened to his full, imposing height. “It’s not possible. You were already on Banna when Carbin was taken, weren’t you? You and Adini. You both lied to me.”
“She didn’t lie,” Taro snapped. “And neither did I.”
“Then explain how it’s possible.”
Taro felt the crushing weight of the rock and the hard place he was wedged between. What could he say to appease the man’s suspicions without mentioning Calypso? Yet he had to tell him something. “We came to Banna on a ship—a special express transport.”
“Express transport?” Gant’s eyes narrowed. “There is no express transport that can cover the distance from Carduwa to Banna in a day. Try again.”
Taro remained mute. He’d already dug himself a hole. He didn’t want to see Captain Jordan and her craft pulled down into the pit with him.
“Answer me, Mr. Shall, or I’ll have no choice but to call in my interrogator,” Gant warned. “Believe me when I tell you, you want to avoid that.”
“Why does it matter to you how she got here?”
“What matters is the truth. What have you been doing the last few moons, Taro Shall? Because there’s no record of you working as a navigator. There’s no record of you at all. Who are you mixed up with and what plot are you hatching?”
“There is no plot,” Taro said flatly.
“Then why don’t you just tell me the truth?”
Taro’s hands tightened into fists. “Because it’s none of your business.”
Gant stiffened, moving to stand over Taro. “Believe me, it is my business. I know your story is a lie. Because there are only two ships in the whole gigadamn galaxy that can—” Jaeo Gant’s eyes widened like he’d been hit with a stunpulse. His mouth dropped open and his lips trembled before a single word exploded from his throat. “Daea!” He lurched forward until his face was inches from Taro’s. “This express transport…was it the Phantom?”
“No.”
Gant locked his hands over Taro’s shoulders like he was ready to shake him senseless. “Black ship, cruiser class. Manta design. Yes? Like Specter? She’s configured exactly like Specter.”
Taro blinked, his jaw muscles locking. Calypso and Specter. He and Adini had recognized the similarities when the Specter had been on approach. Like yin and yang, lik
e negative images of the same design, but yes, nearly identical.
“Your captain is female,” Gant pressed. “LaGuardian. Blond hair. Green eyes. Her name is Daea.”
“No,” Taro barked. “No on all counts.”
Gant’s eyes went diamond hard. “Describe her.”
Taro swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Violet eyes. Black hair.”
“Black…” Gant whispered, his expression dazed, his fingers tightening like clamps on Taro’s shoulders.
Taro rumbled a warning. “Take your hands off me.”
Gant withdrew. Dropping his clenched fists, he loomed over Taro. “She uses a drive helmet to pilot the vessel.”
Taro froze, stifling a sharp intake of breath.
“Yes. Yes, she does.” The man planted a hand on the table and brought his eyes level with Taro’s. “Where is she? Where is the ship?”
Every muscle in Taro’s body tensed, but he remained mute.
“Haley’s Crest!” Gant stared at him, eyes blazing. From his throat came a harsh bellow, “You’re Daea’s gigadam navigator!”
“I don’t know what the Hades you’re talking about,” Taro snapped. “That’s not my captain’s name.”
Gant drew a deep breath and eased back. “No. Not anymore,” he breathed. “Just like her ship isn’t called Phantom any longer.”
A mystery ship that had suddenly appeared six moons ago. A captain with no prior history.
“What are you after?” Taro growled. “What do you want?” Keeping his silence now was pointless. This man knew.
“Nothing,” Jaeo said. “And everything.”
“It’s the ship,” Taro spat. “That’s it, isn’t it? You want it for your damned Network.”
“Her ship?” Gant gave a derisive snort. “Son, I gave her that ship. Phantom was mine, my legacy from my late brother Zaviar.”
Zaviar? Taro mouthed. Zaviar Mennelsohn? The ship designer?
“Something happened,” Gant said, swiping his hand across his eyes. “Something terrible. And I was responsible. She needed to be away from me, so I gave her my ship. She took it and just…disappeared. That was six moons ago.”
Six moons…
Jaeo Gant—or was it Mennelsohn?—stopped before the star chart, his gaze fixed on the image of planet LaGuardia. “Your captain’s real name is Daea Mennelsohn.” Jaeo Gant turned his head, and his sullen green eyes drilled into Taro. “I’m not after her, and I’m not after her ship. I want nothing from her but her forgiveness.”
Taro stared back, trying to digest the man’s words.
“You’re her nav.” The look on Gant’s face was haunting. Pleading. Desperate. Hopelessly hopeful. “Please…take me to her.”
Seven
Calypso was gone. Her hangar sat empty. No departure had been filed with Flight Authority. Not a trace remained to say that ship or captain had ever been there at all. Gant looked as stricken as Taro felt.
“Thank you for bringing me,” Gant said, shaking Taro’s hand before scrubbing a hand over his mouth. “When she disappeared, I feared the worse. At least now I know she’s still out there and she’s all right. Maybe fate just has another time and place in mind for us.”
Taro didn’t think that was likely, but there was no point in killing the man’s hope. “Maybe so.” He was relieved Gant hadn’t asked any further questions about Captain Jordan or Calypso, hadn’t pressed him for information about the alter-egos of either. It was as if the knowledge that she was alive and well was enough for the man. It was as if he didn’t want to know more.
“Maybe I’ll see you again, Taro,” Jaeo said. “Maybe soon. Now that you’ve been vetted by the Network, when things start to get worse with the Alliance—and they will—you know where you can turn.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir.”
Gant stopped to talk to Adini briefly before heading back to his ship, leaving Taro to contemplate the empty berth.
Calypso was gone. The best ship he’d ever navigated had disappeared into thin air like the phantom for which she’d originally been named. Whatever had transpired between his captain and Jaeo Gant, it was clear that reconciliation wasn’t in her flight plan.
At least Taro didn’t have to face the niggling sense of guilt that he was betraying her by leading Gant here. His captain had always had uncanny intuition. She’d probably anticipated how this would unfold when he’d left with Adini. She’d marooned him here, but she’d been more than fair about it. Captain Jordan—Mennelsohn—had sent full back wages and a healthy severance package to his credit account before she’d gone missing. He wouldn’t starve. At least, not for quite a while. But yeah. This had still cost him.
“I’m going to miss Calypso,” Taro said, his shoulders slumping. “And I’m going to miss Katrina, too.”
Adini stepped up to take his hand. “I know.”
He couldn’t tell her a black hole had materialized in his chest and neither Calypso nor Katrina was the cause. Their mission was complete and that meant his time with Adini was over. It seemed the bitter regret he’d been trying to avoid back on Carduwa had found him anyway.
“So. Guess I’m planet bound.” He braced his free hand on the hang wall. “I suppose you’re headed back home to Carduwa with Gant and your father?”
“We’re not going back to Carduwa.”
He cast a sideways glance her way. “No?”
“It seems we’re fresh out of StarDogs, and the Network needs my father’s talents…elsewhere.”
He shifted his weight and his frown deepened. “So where does that leave you?”
“Well. Actually.” She released his hand to hook a thumb in her skirt pocket. “It seems there’s an employment opportunity on Wisdom. Jaeo asked me if I’d like to train with his crew.”
“Don’t ever leave me, Taro.” That’s what she’d said. But this time he wasn’t the one who was leaving.
Taro looked away. So this was it. She’d go off to become an apprentice on a Network ship and he’d be left behind on Banna to scrounge for work. “Sounds dangerous. Being recruited by an enemy of the Ithian Alliance.”
Adini edged closer and settled her hand lightly on his shoulder. “It could be. But I think it’s where the future lies.”
“Huh,” Taro huffed, shaking his head. “Didn’t see this coming.”
“The Alliance has to be stopped, Taro. It may take calendars, or decades, or lifetimes, but someday, someone is going to end their tyranny.”
“And you think this Network can do that?”
“I know it can.” She turned aside, scuffing the toe of her boot along the hangar floor. “I also put in a good word for you.”
Taro pushed off the wall, turning to face her. Had he heard that right? “You did what?”
“Jaeo mentioned he could use a good relief navigator. And I thought…if you were to take the position, we could at least face the danger…together?” She tipped her face down to gaze at him over the top of her sunshield.
“Is that what you thought?”
“I did. I do. But the decision…is totally up to you.”
Taro crossed his arms and canted his head. “So you think you have it all figured out.”
“I guess that depends on your answer.”
“The man interrogated me, Adini.”
“Put yourself in his shoes.” She pushed the sunshield up into her hair. “Your story didn’t make sense to him. No ship except those under Network control could make the flight from Carduwa to Banna in a day. He couldn’t know you were flying with someone he’d loved and lost. Someone he feared was dead. And besides, you and Jaeo are on good terms now. Right?”
Taro heaved a conceding sigh. “Right.”
Adini reached out to him, sliding her hand over his shoulder in a light hold, her eyes soft in the shadow of the hang. “Come with us, Taro. Come with me. I don’t want to lose you to the galaxy the way Jaeo lost Daea. Never knowing where you are, if you’re all right, if you’re alive or dead.” She raised h
er free hand to cup his face. “It took me all my life to find you. I don’t want to walk away. Not now. Not when we have a chance to be together.”
Taro’s heart neared escape velocity in his chest, but he managed to keep his voice level. “That sounds like a pretty serious declaration.”
She dropped her hands and raised her chin, her eyes going defensive. “Take it however you like.”
Taro exhaled through a smile he could no longer suppress. “Like I said, you have it all figured out.” He gazed up at the bright Bannan sky. “You knew I couldn’t let you fly off and leave me in your thrust wash, didn’t you?”
“I’d hoped.” She reached out to grip his hands with a cautious smile. “So is that a yes?”
“Sounds like it is.”
He pulled her into a tight embrace, but it was only a moment before Adini broke away. “There is something else I have to tell you, Taro. There’s this little secret I’ve been hiding.” Adini dropped her gaze as she reached into her pocket.
Uh oh. Taro’s heart froze in his chest. Had he been wrong about Adini after all? Had his heart betrayed him again? “What secret?”
She pulled an object from her pocket. “This.”
She placed the item in his palm—the box Brellan had given her back on Carduwa—and pressed a button. The top slid open to reveal an incubator, and a tiny black head popped out to sniff Taro’s hand.
“Wha—”
“Say hello to StarPup. We duplicated the DNA pattern, so in essence she’s Katrina’s clone. She’s the only thing Brellan was able to salvage from our StarDog program when the Ithians raided our lab. I was saving her for someone…really special.”
“And I qualify?”
“With flying colors.” Adini gave him a cockeyed grin, and her aquamarine eyes twinkled.
“Hmm. I don’t know. Keeping secrets from me. That could be a deal-breaker.” Taro propped a hand on his hip, smiling down at Katrina’s little mini-twin. “Even if it is the cutest little secret I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“I wanted her to be a surprise.” Adini gave him a hesitant smile. “Think you can find it in your heart to forgive me for this one tiny little nondisclosure?”