Talk of the Pirate Guild set Charley’s mind onto matters of administration. As soon as the icebird touched down at Ottova spaceport, she was greeted by a lone man standing on the tarmac. He was wearing a plain suit and carried a thin steel suitcase.
“Good afternoon,” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yolox Starcane. Guildmasters Agent.”
Charley blinked. She hadn’t expected to come across the Guildmasters on Frostfire, but it made sense that they would exploit the aftermath of battle. Frostfire had become a place of importance once again, which represented innumerable opportunities for business and trading.
“You setting up shop here?” Charley said with a chuckle. “Let’s do business, then.”
It was good timing - Charley felt powerful and confident after reclaiming her pirate gear. Yolox Starcane opened his suitcase and an entire wall of light screens spewed forth to surround him. He dragged pieces of data this way and that, attempting to present Frostfire’s assets in an orderly manner.
“Congratulations, Miss Silverton,” Starcane said. “You have accumulated wealth since touching down on this planet.”
Charley felt a twinge of discomfort. “That wasn’t my intention,” she said. “I chose to assist the rebels, nothing more.”
“Nonetheless,” Starcane insisted, “A number of assets have fallen your way by Right of Conquest.”
Charley nodded, ready to hear the good news.
“When you arrived, your portfolio was relatively straightforward,” Starcane said. “Around 200,000 credits, two armadillo class fighters.”
“Are they still intact?” Charley asked suddenly, keen to see her ships again.
“As far as I am aware, yes,” Starcane said. “You also have rights concerning the facility known as ‘Ghost Fort’ and all weapons, vehicles and materials claimed in the Battle of Ottova Spaceport.”
Charley could barely breathe. Such a roster of assets seemed unimaginable to her.
“But how?” she stammered. “All I did was- ”
“Lead the rebels with courage and conviction,” Starcane said. “You have been nominated by all possible contenders as the sole claimant in this matter.”
Kovacs. Jack Kovacs had nominated the Pirate Guild as owner of all the spoils of war as a means of keeping her around.
“I understand,” she said. “I need time to digest this. But thanks for providing the update.”
“That’s not all,” Starcane said, his head buried in lightscreens. “As a result of leading the rebel attack on Frostfire, the Pirate Guild is now in the top 50 on the galaxy power list.”
Charley wasn’t prepared for her reaction, but tears welled in her eyes. It was silly, but she became emotional whenever she progressed the cause of the Pirate Guild. It wasn’t about her, it was about honoring the memory of all the wonderful old pirates that had gone before her. To see the Pirate Guild so high in the ranks, like they used to be, was immensely gratifying. Harry put an arm around her as she took a few moments to recover herself.
“As for personal ranks, Charley Silverton, Pirate Commander, has shot up the list,” Starcane said. “Along with every member of the crew.”
Pirate Commander. The words seemed strange and foreign to Charley. She’d heard that Commanders achieved their rank by leading armies into battle. She supposed that she had filled that criteria, but that didn’t mean that she deserved it, or felt like an experienced campaigner. There was still so much to learn and things were moving too quickly. Most of all, she didn’t want to build people’s expectations. Unreasonable expectations she could never deliver on. She felt like crawling into a hole and staying there.
“Finally,” Starcane said, “there is the matter of bounties. The Pirate Guild is officially the most wanted Guild in the galaxy. This is due to being outsiders in the criminal world as well as identified threats to the Galactus Empire. The bounty on your head, Miss Silverton, has skyrocketed to over a million credits.”
Charley felt deathly cold out there on the tarmac.
“You don’t have to say these things,” Harry said sharply. “Leave the poor girl alone.”
“I mention it as a matter of courtesy,” Starcane said firmly. “It is not always possible to know your enemy’s location, but it is helpful to know their motivation.”
Charley couldn’t breathe. How was she supposed to operate with such a massive bounty on her head? Who was she able to trust now? She knew she could trust her immediate crew, but her dealings with strangers would never be the same again. Worse, she would always be looking over her shoulder. Well, at least until that bounty was reduced. And that wasn’t going to happen as long as Emperor Galactus ruled the core worlds.
“I bid you good day,” said Starcane amiably, closing his suitcase crisply. “The Guildmasters intend to set up an office here in Ottova. Until next time.”
Feeling more vulnerable than she did a minute ago, Charley’s mind worked overtime. Where could she go with such a bounty on her head? There were potential assassins everywhere.
“We need to consolidate your power base,” Harry said. “If I was you, I’d establish a sanctuary here on Frostfire. One that you can trust. Somewhere we can plan the Pirate Guild’s next move.”
Charley smiled. As ever, Harry Teks was the voice of reason. There was only one immediate answer to all of this - the Ghost Fort. Charley wasted no time in taking one of the icebirds to Scantia to check on her ships. She was immensely relieved to see the Surprise and the Phoenix sitting in the small airfield, just as she’d left them. The town itself was still largely deserted. Most folks were still holed up at Ghost Fort or had migrated to Ottova to make a new start. Already Charley had noticed a huge cargo freighter in high orbit. The people of Frostfire were now being noticed once again. Word of the rebels’ victory would’ve filtered back to the core worlds. What that meant for Galactus’s regime remained to be seen. Charley still didn’t know why the Emperor had come all the way out to Frostfire in the first place. She reminded herself to ask Harry when they had a spare moment.
Charley took a special thrill in piloting the Surprise to the Ghost Fort and landing it in the inner courtyard. Gronko took the Phoenix and found plenty of room alongside its sister ship. Charley felt better having her “armada” tucked away inside the fort. Once she was comfortably installed inside the facility, she commissioned a team of engineers to repair the damaged front gate. The next order of business was to dismantle Kovacs’s command outpost. It wouldn’t be needed in the short term and Charley hoped to set up something more permanent. Finding there were many talented artisans in the local villages, Charley commissioned a team to produce a hanging banner for the keep. The symbol of the Pirate Guild - an embossed skull over a pair of plasma blasters on a tri-color of red, white and blue - was soon proudly displayed in the cavernous keep. The pirate captain received a jolt of pride and adrenalin whenever she looked at the beautiful tapestry.
Over the following week, Charley made the fort less like a makeshift bolt hole and more like a castle fit for a queen. She purchased furniture, rugs and pieces of art to fill the wide, draughty spaces. She engaged a trader from the freighter in high orbit to purchase advanced tech for communications and other systems. There were several rooms deep in the fort that were suitable for coms and quantum data storage. Appointing Harry as her recruitment manager, Charley engaged the services of several young people with an aptitude for quick-thinking and technical problem solving. These new members of the Pirate Guild would be her eyes and ears on Frostfire and beyond. If a large force entered the system or if something unusual occurred, she wanted to know about it quickly. Six new Guild members were inducted within the space of a few days. Charley had red, white and blue uniforms made up with the Pirate Guild insignia emblazoned on the left breast. Finally, Charley engaged a weapons expert from the roving cargo freighter to upgrade the missile towers and establish a new security protocol controlled only by the Pirate Guild.
All of these tasks made Charley’s l
ife a blur for several days. On Harry’s advice, she was determined to establish a secure environment for the Guild. Vanessa, Gronko and Molly, as foundation Guild members, all helped where they could, but Charley insisted they take much needed rest and recreation. Sorting through logistical matters with other rebel leaders, Jack Kovacs was detained in Ottova for well over a week. Charley certainly didn’t begrudge him his passion for the ordinary folk of Frostfire. The truth was that Charley was quite happy to spend her nights with Harry. Sleep came easily, soft and low against the backdrop of the crackling fire. Life was good.
70
One murky dawn saw Charley atop the rampart, looking out over the river as heavy snow fell. The weather was thick and oppressive, veiling the plain in villainous grey. She clutched a steaming cup of citron chai like it was the only thing that could keep her alive. She let her thoughts drift, first to Harry, then to Frostfire, finally to the notion of Fate itself. She wasn’t an overly superstitious person, but she felt drawn to this place, as if it had been calling her for some time now. She was pondering the preposterous notion of ruling Frostfire as some kind of figurehead when a hazy yellow light pierced the cloud. At first Charley thought it must be lightning, but it was too slow, too graceful. It must’ve been a vessel behind the cloud bank and she promptly forgot about it. Until a gloved hand touched her on the shoulder.
Behind her stood Vin Teks, looking stern but strangely calm in black leather from head to toe. His skin was still as pale as Charley remembered it after the incident with the monolithic jellyfish on Bonesse. His veins seemed swollen somehow, closer to the surface of his skin. His eyes were disturbingly bereft of anything like human empathy. There was something alien in Vin now, that much was beyond doubt. Behind him stood a tiny ship of some kind. It was shaped like a capsule standing on its end. It barely looked capable of taking Vin ten yards, let alone across the northern skies and neatly astride Ghost Fort’s upper rampart.
“Vin,” Charley breathed. “You gotta stop creeping up on me like that.”
She felt far less playful than her words might have suggested. Seeing Vin before her made her feel angry. She’d only just begun feeling more secure about her new situation when who should show up but a specter from her past. A man who had been her lover.
“I want you to come with me, Charley,” Vin said in a voice more gravelly than she remembered. “I promise to return you by noon.”
With that, Vin chuckled. Loud and sustained, it was nothing like how he used to laugh. Charley hated the idea of leaving with the strange, other-worldly ex-pirate, but what choice did she have? She’d seen Vin lay waste to an entire space station with no weapon to speak of. She was terrified of the man and struggled to conceal it from him.
“Considering that you’re not really asking, I’d better come along,” she sighed. “I’m gonna hold you to your word, though.”
A complacent gleam in his gaze, Vin beckoned Charley to his ship. The pirate commander stepped over to the small vessel and climbed into the tight space. Vin stepped in after her, facing her at very close range. Embarrassed, she could only look away.
“Launch,” Vin said crisply.
The capsule surged into the air unlike any ship Charley had encountered. The capsule soared noiselessly through thick cloud bands in the lower troposphere.
“What technology is this?” Charley found herself asking.
“The Master has learned how to shape rock,” was Vin’s enigmatic reply. His eyes bore straight through her. He didn’t seem to be exerting any control over the capsule.
“Do I make you nervous?” Vin asked with the hint of a smile. Charley didn’t know how to answer. This Vin was light years away from the man she knew. She had no hope of pinning human expectations on him - to do so was pointless. He was clearly past the point of no return. Instead, she peered out of the clear hull and tried not to panic. The capsule split the atmosphere like a tracer bullet, breaking orbit with minimal disturbance. On a technical level, Charley was amazed at the ship’s performance. It was treating the usual physical restraints of travel with contempt. Once the capsule had broken orbit it actually accelerated, entering warp speed with minimal preparation. The only clue that they were traveling at immense speeds was the way the background patina of stars became slightly distorted. Charley wasn’t even sure if they were still in the Mandavar system. Her answer was forthcoming - a small moon hove into view and the capsule slowed with incredible control.
“Where are we?” she asked breathlessly.
“You people call it X567,” Vin said.
X567. This system had yet to be explored by humans. With a cold chill, Charley realized she was far beyond the known galaxy.
The moon was grey and rather unremarkable. It was illuminated on one side by a distant red dwarf. The capsule settled into a gentle orbit that transported them to the night side. Here, Charley could make out some kind of base. Smaller buildings encircled one of the most beautiful structures Charley had ever seen. A golden spire, an obelisk that seemed to shimmer against the dull grey of the moon. Charley knew one thing instantly - such a construction was not designed by humans.
“What kind of tower is that?” she asked, suddenly obsessed by the object.
“It’s not a tower,” Vin said. “It’s a warship.”
Before Charley could answer, the capsule had passed round the moon’s night side and was accelerating again. The glittering panoply of stars swooned as the vessel reached the same scorching speed as before. Charley could only assume they were heading back to the Mandavar system. Vin remained impassive throughout the entire return journey. Charley couldn’t get the image of the golden spire from her mind. She had a thousand questions but none seemed a logical starting point to what she had just seen.
Frostfire appeared in the distance, safe and familiar. Charley was content to remain silent as the capsule approached. The image of the golden spire wouldn’t go away. It haunted the edge of her vision like a disturbing dream. The capsule broke orbit and sank beneath Frostfire’s usual dense bank of cloud. Within seconds, Ghost Fort was visible against the Hanov Range. Charley’s instincts told her it was the same day, only around noon. Harry must be wondering where she was.
The capsule landed softly on the rampart as before. Charley stepped out gingerly, giddy from her whirlwind trip. She glanced at Vin, who clearly had no intention of following her out. Charley sensed she wasn’t going to see Vin for some time.
“Why did you show me that?”
“The Master has chosen,” Vin said. “The Master wishes you to choose also.”
“Choose what?”
“Choose between humans. Or the Vom.”
It all made sense.
“That golden spire - it was an alien warship. The Vom, whoever they are, are preparing to attack humans. That’s why Emperor Galactus came to Frostfire.”
A blizzard of thoughts filled Charley’s mind. If Galactus was out here to set up a defensive perimeter, Charley and the rebels had done an excellent job of confounding his plans.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Vin said with a smile. “The Master believes you have chosen well so far.”
The capsule closed over Vin and shot into the air. Within seconds it had disappeared into the low cloud. Its noiseless travel was eerie and discomforting. Charley shivered against the cold. What did it all mean? She could only assume that Vin’s “master” was the ancient, sentient jellyfish on Bonesse. A creature that knew about this other species called the Vom. A species preparing to wipe humans from existence. But Vin had advised Charley to “choose”. Choose what? The enemy? Charley had no love for the Imperials, having just battled with them for control of Frostfire. But if Vin believed she could turn her back on humanity, he was sorely mistaken. The burning question in all this was why the ancient creature, Vin’s Master, had taken such an interest in her? Did this creature intend to protect Charley if she chose to help the Vom?
All she could do was wait and see what transpired. With a rush of clarity she rea
lized she would do what she had become accustomed to - follow her heart as a pirate. The answers would come. She just needed to let events flow toward her. Hugging herself against the cold, she returned to the warmth of the keep. Her castle. Her home.
Something told her that she should enjoy it while she could.
FINIS
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The Pirate Guild Page 33