by Skyler Grant
5
"Am I not saying no enough? Do I need to get the shotgun? Okay, I'll get the shotgun," Taki said.
Tamara directed a hard look Taki's way. "We just agreed that we are lacking good options. Ice has pilots, a lot of them, and perhaps even more important, the last we knew she had a station crew to operate Port Blank. That is exactly what we need here."
Quinn was conflicted. Ice was a powerful part of his past and a lot of good and bad came with that.
"I don't know who you're talking about, but it sounds like she's got the resources we need. Why is getting the lady onboard a bad thing?" Donna asked.
"We used to date," Quinn said.
Taki said, "She is a space pirate. Not one of those, we took half your cargo, be on your way space pirates. One who will steal your ship right out from under you and, if you're lucky, you get to join her gang."
Donna frowned and settled back, looking thoughtful.
"So we put limits on her," Quinn said.
Taki was wry. "We desperately need your help. Why don't you come here and, oh by the way, stop having fun and toe the line? Would you do that, sir? We invite her into this she'll have us over a barrel and know it."
"Let's just back up a step. Even without a crew for those ships and station we have a plan. Will it stop Sinclair?" Quinn asked.
That caused a moment of silence around the table as people thought.
Dela said, "I know folks like him from back when I was working with Monk. Their pride and their reputation is everything. Even if we hit him again, harder this time, he isn't going to give it up. Maybe we slow him down and maybe we don't."
"Which is where killing him comes in," Mara said.
"If you can do it in time," Quinn said.
A pause and a nod. "If," Mara said.
"What I'm hearing is a lot of maybes. This many gets people killed," Quinn said.
"Not our problem though, is it? Not really. We load up the colonists smart enough to want to get away and let the rest handle their own problem," Kara said.
"One we brought down upon these people’s heads," Taki said.
"After saving them from a problem we had nothing to do with," Kara said, and then paused. "Well, I guess we had something to do with the last invasion, and the plague. But before that it weren't our problem."
Jinx reminded them, "They're my people. They swore to me. I didn't want them to, but it’s done and we're going to do right by them."
"Besides which we have a fortune tied up in the colony. You prepared to walk away from that?" Dela asked.
Bringing up money worked. Kara slouched and grunted, "We coulda had fun with that money. Guess getting to kill people to keep it safe is almost as good. All right, we need the pirate."
Quinn held up a hand as Taki started to protest once again, interrupting her. "I know you don't like it, Taki, but they're right. These folk are in danger because of a mess we created, and it’s ours to clean up. To do that we need her."
"I've got the comm frequency for Monk. He can probably put us through," Dela said.
Mara slipped a bracelet from her wrist, sliding it across the table, and a holographic interface for the comm system came up.
Dela tapped a few keys on her wristcomm.
The line crackled open. The sound of gunfire was in the distance.
"Bad time, peacock," Monk said.
"Peacock?" Quinn asked.
"I had a pet name. Ironic one, given he only let me wear gray. I've got the whole family here, Monk. We need to chat with Ice," Dela said.
"Boss is going to hate that, or love it. Give me a minute," Monk said.
It was more like five minutes before the display rippled with a visual communication. Ice wore a form-fitting white jumpsuit, had brilliant white hair and piercing blue eyes. Everything about her spoke of winter, including the coldness of her expression.
"I burn half my fleet saving your fucking ass and you don't stick around for drinks or even send a word that you survived?" Ice asked.
"You were on the run Ice, so were we," Quinn said, as placating as he could manage.
"Bullshit, I checked all our old dead drops. I took risks to check them."
"We had big bounties on us, you had one on you. We ran for the Deep Rim."
"You could have called. You should have called—and don't bother pretending that’s what you’re doing now. Not with your whole damned ship on the line. You need something," Ice said, leaning forward.
"We've got ourselves a situation. A colony world that needs defending. We've ships—a station even—that can help, but not the pilots and crew to make them work. Heard you and yours are having trouble finding safe harbor. Seems we might have something to offer each other," Quinn said.
"The strays you had with you last time weren't enough? You picked up more. Damn it, Quinn," Ice said, her tone bitter. "They're going to get you killed. Me and mine might be on the run, but we're too mean to be put down. Come join us, you've a place here."
"We aren't doing that," Jinx said firmly.
Mara's bracelet sent video as well as playing it, a blue indicator showing that Ice had shifted the view to Jinx.
"I know you. Though you're wearing more clothes," Ice said.
"Excuse me?" Jinx asked, puzzled.
On their last visit with Ice they'd kept Jinx hidden away. It was best not to tempt the pirate with any bounties. As far as anyone knew, Ice had never set eyes on Jinx.
Ice furrowed her brow and tapped at a few keys. A promotional visual for a pulp-holo movie, called The Thief of Stars. The art was a bit stylized, but it really was a passable imitation of Jinx, a gun in each hand and an outfit that left little to the imagination.
"Somebody on Arkstone works fast," Quinn said.
"Why would I rob anything while I’m wearing a loincloth? It doesn't even make sense," Jinx said in a pained tone.
"I like it. Look at the clasps, royal colors of the First Imperium. I can totally make you one of these," Dela said.
"Did you do this?" Jinx asked, turning to stare at Tamara.
It was a fair question. Anyone might have made the picture, but the First Imperium connection wasn't something that was known on Arkstone.
"Of course it was me. If you'd claimed a title of Empress you'd have been wearing more ... probably. You want to be a legendary outlaw, so be it," Tamara said.
"Why?" Jinx asked.
"Later. We're still live with a pirate listening in, in case you've forgotten," Tamara said.
Ice hadn't. She said, "Haven't seen it, but I can read a summary. A Centauri on the edge of space, monsters, her harem of beauties and the one man who could win her heart."
"I'm straight," Jinx said, still fuming.
Tamara said smoothly, "Trust me, people find it far more compelling if you aren't."
"Any of this dreck true?" Ice asked.
"Lot of it is," Quinn said.
Ice gave a pained and bitter laugh. "Just like the good old days with you and Kat before you threw me aside. You did it again. You're a piece of fucking work, Quinn."
"You aren't good for him. You never have been," Taki said.
"You think you've won by trailing along behind him and playing his loyal dog for years?" Ice asked, suddenly taking on an unstable tone. "Fuck that."
"You aren't forcing your way into our family," Taki said.
"Sugar, if I wanted to join your little band of misfits it would take more than you to stop me," Ice said. "Send me coordinates. We don't lift a finger to help until we have a deal that makes me happy, and I am starting out in a seriously bad mood."
A flicker and the comm signal went out.
"That went ... well," Quinn said.
"That woman going to be trustworthy?" Donna asked.
"No," Taki said and then allowed, "Not until a deal is struck."
"Which most of you are going to have nothing to do with. This is a colony matter. I'll handle it," Jinx said.
"And if she does try to force her way into our
family?" Taki asked.
"Then I and Dela deal with it," Tamara said firmly. "Family negotiations are up to us."
"You can't let her in. I won't stand for it," Taki said.
"You have my word, I am a good negotiator and I will try to work it another way, but if this family’s survival hinges on her becoming a part of it, I will keep us safe. I'll always keep us safe," Tamara said.
6
"Mara will be fine," Tamara said, as she walked alongside Quinn. They were headed to check on Asara. Whatever information she had on Sinclair and his operations became even more valuable as the threat he presented grew larger.
"We won't know that until she reports in," Quinn said.
They'd sent Mara in the Tango to follow the trail of Sinclair's ships. Quinn thought it a wasted effort, but Mara was certain she could isolate their traces enough to follow them back home.
"Of course we do. I assure you, the only way a woman that irritating became a part of this family was by being so incredibly good at what she does."
Asara was in the infirmary, a sheet pulled up to her neck and a medical feed attached to one arm. She looked exhausted, pale and weak.
"You doing okay?" Quinn asked as he pulled up chairs for himself and Tamara.
"Pumped full of pain killers and still feeling it. Doc Conner thinks it might be that I always will," Asara said, as she shifted a few pillows about. "Not complaining though. Rather live like this than the other way. That girl did right by me."
"Time to prove yourself deserving of that goodwill we showed you," Tamara said.
"I figured. Heard Sinclair paid you a little visit. I warned you."
"Fact isn't lost on me," Quinn said, settling down. Tamara sat beside him, hands primly folding into her lap.
"He's threatened to come back and take everyone here unless we surrender to him. You think he'll do it?" Tamara asked.
"He will. Doesn't matter what it costs him," Asara said.
"We aim to hurt him again, worse than last time. Hoping you can help us to do that," Quinn said.
"You got him once because he didn't think anyone on Arkstone had the nerve to hit him there. Too much money, too much influence. You got your free punch." Asara winced with pain as she shifted her weight.
"We want to hit the Block," Quinn said.
"And do what? Do you have any idea what you're even dealing with?"
"We don't. Hoping you can tell us," Quinn said.
Asara grunted, reaching for the control panel beside the bed. The numbers on the nearby display went up as she increased her painkiller dosage.
"The Block is an old prison ship. Originally it was built to hold one hundred thousand prisoners and five thousand guards," Asara said.
Quinn felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Whatever he'd been expecting, that wasn't it.
"Can't hold that now, right?"
"It doesn't. Automated routines do most of the prisoner management. He'll have maybe a thousand staff aboard and usually around fifty thousand stock."
Tamara had that distant look that meant she was remotely accessing with data through her implants. "It wasn't originally registered under that name. Do you know what it was?"
Asara shook her head. "No clue, never heard it called anything but the Block."
"Flash a message to Mara. She might be able to receive even if she isn't talking," Quinn said.
Tamara nodded.
"So it is big? What about the defenses?" Quinn asked.
"Weaker than they look. Systems inside are well maintained. Got to be to keep the stock well-behaved. But outside? Well, guns are old and the parts hard to find. I still wouldn't get in a shooting war with it unless you've got a fleet," Asara said.
They didn't. Even if somehow Ice got to them in time, they wouldn't be doing anything like a head-on assault.
"Explains why he held back some forces," Tamara said.
"Guess so," Quinn said.
Tamara angled her head. "Communication back from Mara. She is returning, ship we're looking for is hiding out in the Angaraka system. I don't know how, but she found the original ship ID. I'm pulling up the plans now."
Tamara handed over a tablet and Quinn looked it over. The ship was big.
"How many gunships does he have?" Quinn asked.
Asara told them, "Usually six playing guard duty. They cycle off and on in eight-hour shifts. They scramble, you're dealing with eighteen."
It was a lot. Too many. Quinn was confident of his abilities against a few ships, especially given the maneuverability of the Centauri Bliss, but skill only got you so far against large numbers.
"Can we hack their flight and weapon systems? Turn the main ship against its defenders? With that much automation aboard it has to be vulnerable to it."
"Quality computer firewalls— for its time—for all the internal security. Probably updated as much as possible because Sinclair isn't an idiot. All flight and weapon control is from manual control stations inside the ship," Tamara said.
"I don't buy it. The original ship maybe, but that was a long time ago. They'll have made things easier for themselves," Quinn said, with a glance towards Asara.
"There is an autopilot for orbital control and refueling procedures. Far as I know everything else is still manual," she said.
Refueling, that had possibilities. Quinn cycled through the ship blueprints.
"Armored fuel tanks, but not when open. That has possibilities," Quinn said.
"If you could hit them. Maybe. Take out the whole ship," Asara agreed.
"We're not murdering fifty thousand slaves. But if we can open the fueling doors and pick the right angle we might make the defenders much less likely to take shots at us," Quinn said.
"Won't help against the guns from the Block itself," Tamara said. "Besides. What are we going to do even if we can get close?"
"We can't hack flight control, but what about the prisoner control systems? Can we open the cells?"
"You mean do exactly the thing those systems are designed to prevent?" Tamara asked, leaning back in her chair as she considered it. "I should say no, but with me and Mara involved ... perhaps. It would take time though, time you won't have."
Putting a plan together wasn't a linear thing. The pieces didn't always line up right at first. You found the best ones you had and connected them as you could.
"What if we send you first, in the Tango?" Quinn asked.
"I can't promise it. However, looking at the systems as originally built it is possible."
"It also won't help you. Slave rebellions are a thing you're always worried about as a slaver. The whole prison section can be sealed off. Dosed with tranquilizer or nerve gas," Asara said.
"We don't need them to take over the ship. We just need those in command looking inside instead of out. An extended jump and a fast approach, and I can be on them before they realize what is happening," Quinn said.
Tamara said, "Again. To what end? Those disruptor cannons of ours aren't going to do anything useful against a ship of this size."
"I'm thinking of the runic sphere," Quinn said.
Tamara looked startled and then a slight smile curved her lips. "I see. It might work, if Jinx can manage to move a ship that large. I assume you're thinking somewhere in the Core?"
"Of course. I know they're a little preoccupied with their civil war, but I assume you know of at least one of the smaller Imperiums that still hate slavery."
"That would be most of them. Emperor Klaus would be my choice, a weak claim to the throne, but he served in the army and is, by and large, a decent man. We let him know a ship full of slaves is being dropped on his doorstep, he'll see them free."
"You aren't going to manage a tow a ship all the way to the Core," Asara said. No one answered her.
Tamara looked thoughtful. "Why send in the Centauri Bliss at all? Jinx with the orb in the Tango and we do things without a shot being fired."
"Mana. We top her off, then make sure our tanks and the reserves are full
as well, just in case. I don't know what it’s going to take to move that beast, but I'm concerned Jinx might not have the power with just the mana she can hold," Quinn said.
Tamara sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "I hate asking her to do things like this. I worry about the baby."
"Fire hands and all, everything says all is well there. You think something puts the baby in danger we won't do it."
"Right. Magic. You people are weird," Asara said, raising her painkiller dosage more.
"I don't think anything is risking the health of your child. If I did, I would call a stop to it. But power like Jinx's is carried in the blood and the more she uses it, the stronger her bloodline grows."
"Our kid is getting stronger?" Quinn asked.
"I think it likely. A problem, or an opportunity, for the future."
7
All the components of the plan were coming together. Melody loaded the reserve tanks aboard the Centauri Bliss and they were topping themselves up on mana. Mara had made her return and was working on software, based on the old prison ship specifications, which she thought would speed up a hack.
Not everyone was busy, and Quinn, Tamara, and Kara found some time alone in the bedroom. It was deep into the night when Quinn felt Tamara stirring against him and sitting up.
"What is it?" Quinn asked.
"Response to the message I sent out. To my sisters," Tamara said, grabbing a robe and pulling it around her shoulders before she grabbed her tablet to tap away.
The figure that appeared on the screen looked a lot like Tamara—if Tamara put on a few years and got in a barfight. A black eye, bruised lip, she'd been through a lot.
Quinn could feel the way Tamara stiffened at the sight of her.
"Tourmaline. You've looked better," Tamara said.
"I've felt it," Tourmaline said, and her voice wasn't right. Too pained, too strained. "That the boy you ran off with? You could do better."
"There is a gem somewhere beneath the rough. You didn't call to question my life choices," Tamara said.
Kara stirred, peering at the screen blearily.