by M. D. Cooper
“And?” Winter prompted.
“And…give him slides of the virus, but dead cells. So it can’t infect anyone anymore.”
Winter sighed and resisted showing a display of anger. Grace was supposed to have destroyed the slides, not kept them as a bargaining chip.
“But it can be reverse engineered. She’s a doctor. She fu—She knows that.” He took a deep breath.
“She thinks it’ll save Chimin. I’ve tried to convince her. She’s made up her mind.”
“For today maybe, but next year, ten years from now?” He shook his head. “When’s he coming in?”
“Less than half an hour. Pete’s clearing them for docking bay six.”
Same one the Barbaric Queen had docked in when they landed on Chimin for the first time.
The cycle of life, damn stupid thing, Winter thought.
Cassandra continued. “Quaker has agreed to have a platoon of his troops in the docking bay to keep them in line.”
“Does Silstrand know what Grace is planning to do?”
Cassandra shook her head. “No, she hasn’t told them.”
Fuck it all to high heaven. Winter groaned and rubbed his face. Amid all the complicated situations, he didn’t know who to be loyal to, but he knew the virus couldn’t get off Chimin. “All right, thanks.”
“You’re not going to tell them, are you?” Cassandra’s eyes widened.
“Nah, girl. Nah. You did the right thing by telling me. I’ll see what I can do.” Winter gave her a wink and a soft tap on her chin with his fist.
Visibly relieved, Cassandra nodded and hurried on her way.
Winter felt grief, but there was nothing much he could do about it.
“Sorry, Cass,” he muttered, “that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
COFFEE
STELLAR DATE: 02.19.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Outside Rosetto’s Stellar Palace, Silstrand City, Silstrand
REGION: Silstrand System, Silstrand Alliance
The Mark.
Pirates operating out of a secret base near Gedri.
Kylie never thought she’d see them again. After getting crushed by Tanis Richards, and then with Maverick gone and Silstrand cleaning up the Fringe, what was left of that relic should’ve faded. Clearly, there were some remnants left.
Kylie didn’t like how that made her feel. If they were here, why? Did it have something to do with her old life? She’d always feared it’d catch up to her someday.
Stealing, salvaging, doing heists when necessary. They were all things that embarrassed her and reminded her she wasn’t always a good person—working with the SSF and the Transcend, her work in the past was nothing but a humiliation.
And running into the Mark was nothing but a painful reminder.
She kept it all to herself, locked away, as she returned to the restaurant and found Grayson wrapping up with the police.
She wanted to pull away, but more importantly, she wanted to feel safe. She couldn’t do that planetside, so she needed to do the next best thing.
“Back to your shuttle and then the Barbaric Queen?” Grayson asked as he followed Kylie over to a waiting skycar.
“It’s safe there. If someone comes all the way through the spaceport, we’ll see them. There will be a log. It’s best for everyone.”
“You have a room waiting for you fifteen minutes down the road,” Grayson argued. “If that’s not secure enough, I’ll assign additional security.”
She’d already fought with Rogers and Ricket. The last thing Kylie wanted to do was fight with Grayson. “I’m not a piece of jewelry. I’m not going to be babysat or locked in a safe.”
“That’s not what I’m suggesting. I don’t think of you that way.”
Kylie knew he didn’t, but she felt defensive. At the same time, she could sense he was offended. She shouldn’t have said anything else, she should’ve let sleeping dogs lie, but that wasn’t who she was.
“I know how you feel about being back on your ship, but you don’t need to run,” he said.
“I’m not running,” Kylie said, even though she knew that’s what it was, but she wasn’t ready to talk about it. “I’m tired, I want to get some sleep and deal with all this tomorrow.”
“Something else bothering you?” Grayson asked softly.
Kylie nodded. “Rogers and Ricket went undercover to look into the threat. I know you knew what they were up to, so don’t deny it.” She couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice no matter how much she wished she could.
“I won’t deny I wanted you to take one night for yourself or that I wanted to treat you. A few hours to yourself isn’t the end of the world, but had I known the threat was against us and not Paul, I would’ve told you.”
That was supposed to make it better?
“He’s my brother. You should’ve told me your suspicions.”
“Kylie. You knew that we were looking into the people who attacked the convoy earlier today. That’s not news. Your brother is being protected as though he’s under existential threat already. You can’t be with him every moment of the day. Even he would agree with that.”
“I don’t want secrets, I don’t want you to handle me. I want us to be…partners. If we go back to how things used to be…” She didn’t have the heart to say it.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing. I thought you wanted the night off…. Is it so wrong to want to protect you?”
The sincerity in his voice moved Kylie.
“No, but I don’t sit on the sidelines. This is my neck on the line.”
“All the more reason for you to be guarded.”
“All the more reason for me to get out there and solve this thing. These are men from Jericho, Grayson. I’ve been working to dig myself out of that hole for a long time. It’s my fight.”
“You don’t need to worry about Maverick anymore. He’s dead. Or, I’m reasonably sure he is.”
Grayson was trying to reassure her, and for that Kylie was grateful.
She blew out a breath of relief. “If you can, have someone make sure David and my mom are safe. I don’t want them to get caught up in whatever this is.”
Grayson nodded. “And we’re OK?”
“One fight doesn’t mean it’s over. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to fight for us.” Kylie took his hands and squeezed them, even if she was disappointed. Even if she wished Grayson had chosen a different course of action.
Couldn’t he trust her?
He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she.
“You know I am. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kylie kissed him and got into the car, where Rogers and Ricket were already waiting.
They spoke little on the way up, and when they arrived in the shuttle, Mr. Fizzle Pop was sleeping on one of the seats, only cracking open a single eye to stare at them as the three settled in for the ride.
By the time the journey was over, Kylie was second-guessing both her behavior and her choices. But she didn’t have the energy for apologies that night. After a brief ‘goodnight’ to Rogers and Ricket, she headed straight for the captain’s quarters.
Somehow, Mr. Fizzle Pop was already curled up in the center of her bed, fast asleep.
She sat and shook her head at the furball. “Have you somehow discovered teleportation?”
“GO AWAY, BIG BUTT.”
Kylie would’ve snickered if she was in a better mood.
“You have to share. Move over, or I’ll shove you.” She threw him a look.
Mr. Fizzle Pop peered at her with one eye open, but didn’t move. “SIGH.”
“Any sign of Bubbs?” Kylie pulled herself under the covers, pushing the cat over in the process before curling a pillow up behind her head.
“NO.”
Bringing up Bubbs must’ve upset Mr. Fizzle Pop, because he scooted closer to Kylie’s shoulder and curled his tail tightly around himself.
She scratched his head. “Sorry, buddy. We’ll take care of you until she comes back. You’re one of us.”
Mr. Fizzle Pop hopped up to his paws suddenly.
“FUR ITCH. FUR TWITCH! NO LIKE.” He bounced around, trying to lick his back, meowing in frustration.
Life with a cat.
“It must be so simple to be you,” Kylie said.
His whiskers twitched. “COMPLICATED. COMPLICATED CAT.”
As if to prove his point, he reached around her and swatted a picture frame off her end table.
Kylie peered at him with one eye. “What’d you do that for?”
“DON’T KNOW. HAVE TO.”
“You don’t know why you swat my things down constantly?” she asked.
“HAVE TO.”
Mr. Fizzle Pop reached across her again, and Kylie closed her eyes as a drinking glass fell to the deck.
It was going to be a long night.
* * * * *
Kylie awoke with a kink in her neck, but luckily the cat was nowhere to be seen. She cleaned up her floor, put everything back on her nightstand, and headed to the galley. She could smell freshly brewed coffee, and for once, it actually smelled good.
Kylie admitted.
Kylie cringed.
She heard voices as she stepped into the galley. Ricket and Rogers both stood by the table, sipping mugs of coffee. They both froze when they saw her.
“Cap…morning,” Rogers said.
Ricket nodded a greeting. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Kylie quickly stepped inside and rounded toward the kitchen counter. “I’m sorry for last night. I was out of line. I’d like to forget it and have us get ready for today. The trial will be starting soon, someone wants to kill and/or capture me, and I don’t want any blowback on my mom especially. She’s going through a lot. I need to know she’s safe.”
Kylie stopped in front of the coffee maker when her eyes took in the sight of a black and gold multi-armed servitor that looked a bit like a barrel on wheels.
An actual servitor…pouring coffee into her ‘Kiss the Captain’ mug. Then it handed it to her as if it were nothing.
Kylie stared into the mug. It had the perfect ratio of coffee to cream and was a golden brown.
What the—?
“Understood and completely understandable.” Ricket paused to consider her words before continuing on, “Everyone could see how stressed out, I mean, overworked, you are. We want to help.”
“You can help me out by explaining why there’s a servitor serving coffee in the galley.”
Kylie sipped her coffee to discover it was rich, creamy, and smooth. All things she hated.
“Is there something else you’d like it to serve other than coffee?” Rogers asked.
Ricket slapped his stomach playfully. “We thought you ordered it. Or Marge.”
“Well if I didn’t order it, and you guys didn’t order it, then….”
Kylie watched with growing surprise as the servitor placed a saucer down on the counter and the cat lapped it up.
“You ordered the servitor?” she questioned the cat, feeling like she was going crazy. “How’d you do it? Marge, if you started giving him an allowance…”
Mr. Fizzle Pop looked bored as he glanced up. “I DIDN’T. ROGERS DID.”
Rogers gasped. “I didn’t!”
“YOU TALKED ABOUT IT. GET RID BAD COFFEE. MEAN TALK ABOUT MAIN ASSHOLE.”
Kylie crossed her arms, slightly amused that Mr. Fizzle Pop understood who was in charge, yet slightly offended. “MFP, I have a name, use it.”
Mr. Fizzle Pop tilted his head to the side. “NO ‘MFP’! ‘MR. FIZZLE POP’!”
Kylie ignored him and continued. “Rogers, if you wanted to talk about my coffee, you could’ve said something.”
“Oh, Jim,” Ricket shook her head. “How much money did you spend on that thing?”
Rogers’ eyes bulged. “You believe the rude-mouthed cat over me?”
“Well, if you put it that way…yeah, I guess I do. Mr. Fizzle Pop wouldn’t lie.”
“Of course he would!”
“WOULD,” Mr. Fizzle Pop agreed, “BUT DIDN’T.”
We’re lucky he manages to stay out of jail!”
“AM FAST. FLUFFY. STUPID HUMAN FACES LIKE FLUFFY.” With that, Mr. Fizzle Pop puffed his fur out, looking like a giant fuzzball.
Kylie resisted saying ‘aww’, but only just barely.
“I think we’re losing the point of this conversation,” Kylie said.
“There was a point?” Ricket asked. “Other than who bought the servitor?”
Kylie nodded. “We need to track down whoever put this hit out on me. Ideas?”
“Well, we took the job. Or our Virt-Go personas did,” Ricket said. “If we managed to capture you, and turn you over….”
“My coffee isn’t that bad, is it?” She smirked. “No, I get what you’re saying. They think you have me, and we arrange a meeting with the next guy up. I like it.”
“Problem is,” Rogers said, “Silstrand City is so wired that everything goes out on a live feed. Everyone’s already seen you get away from last night.”
“We’ll have to make it look good, and we can’t let anyone in on it—not even the local PD, or the military—minus Grayson,” Ricket said. “Unless you want to…get back at him.”
Kylie shook her head. “No, I’m over behaving like that. I’ve had enough of that in my youth, trust me. We bring him in on it, but we need to come up with a plan first. The trial starts in just a few days, and I’d like to have it done before that, but after I visit with my family.”
Truth was, she should’ve gone to see her mother and David already, but if she were honest with herself, she dreaded the very thought.
“We’ll contact you as soon as we have something,” Rogers said. “About the servitor…. Can we…keep him?”
Kylie gave it the once-over. “Fine, as long as he doesn’t get in the way, he can stay. But I’m not naming him.”
“Yay,” Ricket said with a clap.
“ ‘ASSHOLE’ NICE NAME,” Mr. Fizzle Pop suggested.
Kylie picked the cat up, dangling him in the air, and gave him a level stare. “Don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone.”
“HEY.” Mr. Fizzle Pop frowned. “UNFAIR. PUT DOWN. OR PEE ON YOUR CLOTHES.”
Kylie did as he asked with a sigh. How did Bubbs put up with him for all those years?
REPERCUSSIONS
STELLAR DATE: 02.19.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Delphin Reach, Silstrand City, Silstrand
REGION: Silstrand System, Silstrand Alliance
A message hit Grayson’s queue, and he accepted it with some amount of trepidation.
Grayson thanked the stars that she was in a better mood this morning as he walked through the double doors leading into the main conference room on level sixteen.
He’d set a patrol near the Barbaric Queen’s orbit the night before and already knew Kylie was wel
l, but he would have felt better if she’d been somewhere where he could have kept an eye on her personally.
However, relationships—successful ones—were about give and take. So he had to let it go; he wanted this time to be different. Grayson didn’t want to slip into old habits, but was dismayed by how easy it had been.
“Sorry I’m late, General,” he said to the senior officer present and then nodded to the others, who, for the most part, consisted of the usual suspects.
General Samuel sat at the head of the table; to the right was Commander Maureen, his assault leader from the Polis Fury, and on the general’s left was Commander Fallon, the ship’s XO. She was a bullish woman, who rarely saw eye to eye with Grayson, and he wondered how much trouble she’d make for him today.
Normally, he didn’t mind differing points of view, but when Fallon hadn’t gotten her way, the commander had taken her complaints straight to the top.
“You had some excitement last night,” Samuel said. “Everything under control?”
“Tip-top,” Grayson assured him.
He took a moment to pour himself a glass of water, using that moment to size up the table. Fallon seemed calm, too collected for his liking, and he wondered what had been said in his absence.
Maureen didn’t display any visual tells that Grayson had privately messaged her.
“Since arriving on Silstrand,” Grayson said after taking a sip of his water, “I’ve been keeping tabs on former Empress Mei’s status. She’s resting comfortably in her cell. The accommodations are not up to her standards of comfort, so with time, she may provide some information we can use on Orion or Peter Rhoads’ fleet.”
“We’re sure that her latest nano and that upgraded rejuv tank were supplied by Orion?” Fallon asked.
“We’re sure. Fen confirmed as much with her descriptions of ships and the names of personnel. The empress had been double-crossing Rhoads as she worked to figure out a way to double-cross Orion. She has no allegiance to anyone but herself,” Grayson said.