by M. D. Cooper
“I don’t envy her, but she has strong friends. She has you. She’ll be all right.”
Grayson hoped so.
Maureen bit into her tuna sandwich and gave him an eye. “Caesar salad, sir? Really?”
“What’s wrong with a salad wrap? They’re tasty.”
She let a burst of laughter go. “Of course, Colonel. I thought…Never mind me. Maybe you’re watching your waistline, which is none of my business.”
Grayson quietly grumbled. Maureen had never said anything like that before hanging out with Kylie. Now even his lunch options were under scrutiny.
“I had a steak the other night,” he said defensively.
“I’m sure you did.” Maureen said, but couldn’t keep the smirk off her face.
After lunch, Grayson returned to the SAFI Tower. In the lobby, the noncom at the front desk nodded to him.
“Yes?” the colonel asked.
“Delivery came for you. Flowers. Secret admirer?”
Grayson wondered who had sent them—it seemed unlikely that Kylie would risk her cover as a current kidnapee to send him a bouquet.
As he opened the door and turned toward his desk, a fistful of blossoms was shoved into his face. Grayson flailed and fell back onto his desk as a woman kicked the door shut with one foot before leaping on him and wrapping both hands around his throat.
Grayson drove a knee into the woman’s groin while simultaneously slamming the heel of his left hand into her arm, breaking her grip on his neck just as the blade sprang out, barely missing his face. She grunted, but still held his throat with her other hand.
Summoning all his strength, Grayson punched her in the ribs with his right fist while rolling to his left and flinging his assailant away.
Flower petals scattered through the air, and he spat out several that were stuck to his lip. The woman didn’t re-engage, instead dashing toward the door to yank it open and sprint down the hall.
As Grayson rushed to the door to chase after his attacker, he noticed a note on the floor, half covered by the remains of the bouquet. Even as he ran past, he could see the handwritten words.
‘She’ll never be yours.’
Out in the hall, there was no sign of the woman. He pursed his lips, pulling up security feeds and wishing that he’d gotten a better look at her face, but between her hat and hair, it had never been exposed more than a sliver.
Was it possible it was Nadine? Would she be so angry about all that had happened that she’d be working this hard against them?
THE STING
STELLAR DATE: 02.22.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Barbaric Queen, orbiting Silstrand
REGION: Silstrand System, Silstrand Alliance
Kylie wasn’t supposed to contact Grayson, but after Maureen told her what had happened at Delphin Reach, she couldn’t help herself.
She paced the width of one of the Queen’s cargo holds, weaving around the shipping containers and other gear. Rogers and Ricket waited for her next to the doctored stasis pod; everyone was ready to go except for her.
It was true, all of it, but Kylie didn’t like it—especially the guilt she carried because of it all.
“C’mon, Cap,” Rogers clapped his hands together. “Time to go!”
“We’ll have your back and his. Please, Kylie,” Ricket said, and Kylie could still see the worry lines on her friend’s face. She’d be upset if Marge wanted to separate and get her own body, too.
Ricket sounded really torn up, and Kylie felt for her friend.
“This thing is safe, right? You’re not really going to stick me into cryo—though I suppose my nano can break me out of it, like Lana managed that one time.”
“Yup, totally,” Rogers said and slapped the lid with his palm. “This baby is hardwired to display your vital signs and show you in optimum stasis. Of course, that means if you run into trouble, no one will know, and it has a short oxygen supply. We have to properly seal it, though. Otherwise….”
“Otherwise it won’t work.”
“Great,” Kylie murmured. “Who’s worried?”
“You tapped into the control system?” Rogers asked. “I don’t want to close you in here unless you can get yourself out. I wouldn’t want you to get stuck and die.”
“You really know how to instill confidence in a girl, Rogers. And yes. I have access.”
Rogers grinned. “Good, and I try.”
Kylie took a nervous breath. “Guess I’m ready.” She looked at Rogers’ and Ricket’s disguises for the first time and thought Ricket’s was alluring, and Rogers was appropriately gruff. “You guys look great. I like the leather.”
“Thanks,” Ricket said with a quizzical look. “I think.”
“ASSHOLE GONNA BE OK?”
Kylie glanced down and saw Mr. Fizzle Pop staring up at her with wide eyes. “Of course, I’ll—”
“GOOD. NEED FEED ME.” Mr. Fizzle Pop’s tail swished as he quickly turned and sprinted out of the cargo bay.
“I think you’re supposed to follow him,” Ricket whispered.
“I really don’t think I’m going to.”
Kylie lowered herself into the cryopod and took a series of deep breaths.
“See you on the other side, Cap.” Rogers gave her a jaunty wink, but she saw worry on his face.
She had to stay calm. She watched the pod close. The glass turned semi-opaque over her, and she closed her eyes, the sound of her own breathing echoing in her ears. She felt almost like she were underwater.
Kylie managed a slight nod. She watched the blurry view above her change as Rogers and Ricket got her loaded into the transport vehicle they’d borrowed from an SSF impound yard.
* * * * *
Rogers and Ricket pushed the pod out of their skiff and onto the wide transportation platform. At two hundred levels up on the Gorman Spire, it offered a stunning view of the city, but all Ricket could do was scan the crowd, wondering how many enemies were waiting for them out there.
“She’s real still,” Rogers said quietly, glancing down at the stasis pod.
“She’s supposed to be. She’s pretending to be in cryo.” Ricket guided them past a bench, where people sat awaiting their shuttle or taxi.
“I know.”
“Head in the game, Rogers. Make your growl face and paste it on until we’re done.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ricket took her own advice and kept herself from glancing down at Kylie, knowing it’s not what her cover persona would do. Instead, she struck up a casual saunter, her impassive gaze conveying that she was the mistress of all she saw.
C1. Thing’s bigger than I thought it would be—capable of spaceflight, but no FTL, so insystem only. Whatever its destination, it’s close by,> Laura said.
Grayson didn’t reply for several long seconds before he sent a single word.
The shuttle settled on its pad, and Rogers and Ricket approached as the boarding ramp lifted from the cradle. They were already at the base of the ramp when the door opened and a pair of women and a man walked down to greet them.
“So this is her?” one of the women said.
Ricket nodded. “We gonna get paid, or what?”
The man growled. “Yeah. Send your credentials over and you’ll get your money.”
“We don’t hand the merch over until we do,” Rogers grunted, giving the trio a hard look.
Ricket didn’t show any visible reaction to Marge’s admonishment, but she had to admit that it was harder than she expected. Luckily, the payment came through a second later, landing in an account she’d set up for her cover identity.
“OK. That’s the amount we agreed to. She’s all yours.”
She and Rogers let go of the pod and stepped back, watching as the man took control of it and floated it up the ramp. A moment later, the door closed and the shuttle lifted off, drifting away on an a-grav column.
All the while, Ricket found a lump forming in her throat, hoping that they hadn’t just put Kylie in serious danger.
“I hope she’s OK,” Ricket whispered.
“She will be,” Rogers said, his hand massaging the back of her neck. “The cap’s always OK.”
* * * * *
It was too hard to see through the pod’s cover, so Kylie had threaded a nano filament through the seal and watched via an overlay on her HUD.
A moment later, the light coming in from the pod’s cover dimmed, and she knew they were inside.
Half a minute later, the feeling of movement ceased and she felt the pod shudder as the a-grav pad lowered to the deck.
Kylie did her best to regulate her breathing, but she was getting lightheaded and knew that if she was going to have a chance at taking control of the shuttle, she needed to get out now.
Kylie kicked her legs straight up, hoping she’d hit something important and was satisfied with a grunt as the shape looming over her fell back. Without waiting to see if she’d made enough room, she clawed her way out of the cryopod, blinking rapidly to clear her vision.
A panel gave under her hand, and she pulled it aside, fishing out her pistol.
She managed to get it out just as a man’s voice shouted, “What the hell?”
Then something hit her side, and Kylie fell over as her flow armor seized around her, the pistol slipping from her grip. The impact with the deck knocked the last of the cobwebs from her mind, and she finally got a clear view of the room.
It was a small cargo bay, only six meters across. The pod was against one bulkhead, and the person she’d kicked initially—a woman who was clutching her chest—was against the other. Looming over her was a burly man with an unpleasant sneer on his face.
She didn’t hesitate a moment longer, swinging a leg into his groin, and then grabbing his collar when he doubled over in pain. Pulling herself up while dragging him down, Kylie shifted a knee and slammed his face into it before delivering a kick to his stomach.
Her gaze swept the room, and she saw her pulse pistol between herself and the woman at the same time as her enemy did. Not waiting another second, Kylie dove for it as the woman managed to lift a snub-nosed pulse rifle and fire a blast that went over Kylie’s head.
She hit the deck with a grunt, and her hand found the grip of her pistol. Still laying prone, she squeezed off three shots at the woman’s left leg, causing her to fall, whereupon Kylie shot her in the face, crumpling her enemy’s left cheekbone with the point-blank shot.
Behind her, the man was groaning as he scrambled to his feet, so she rolled over and fired at his arm, back, and head, and he fell to the deck once more.
Kylie rose and checked over her two assailants, making sure they weren’t going to get up, before grabbing the woman’s pulse rifle and dropping breach nano on the control unit.
It was where she had been held against her will and sold to Kylie.
Kylie hadn’t realized that Marge was still holding onto that anger.
I suppose I should talk to her about going back there sometime…seeing if we can right some wrongs.
The breach nano disabled the rifle’s biolock, and Kylie crept down the passage as Marge threw the schematics up on her HUD.
the AI said,
Kylie leaned against the wall, watching on her HUD as the enemies approached. As the first rounded the corner, she fired the rifle, its concussive pulse hitting his body with a sickening crunch. The next enemy paused, probably due to seeing the body of her buddy hit the deck
Kylie broke cover and fired a shot as the female assailant returned fire. Kylie’s flow armor shed the rounds, and she set off in pursuit as the woman ran back toward the bridge.
Deciding to use all her advantages, Kylie quickly stripped off her clothes and activated her armor’s stealth.
Marge calculated.
Then the leader, the mastermind, must be on the bridge—if they were present. Kylie had a feeling they would be. The fact that the shuttle could go anywhere in the system indicated that this was the ride out to a transfer location.
If the person in charge wasn’t aboard, she’d have to take it to wherever her abductors were going.
She stepped to the door and crouched low while placing her hand on the panel, releasing a passel of breach nano. A moment later it lit up, turning green, and the door slid open.
Immediately, a series of projectile rounds came through.
She was s
till in stealth, and the rounds all passed overhead. Kylie didn’t hesitate to charge forward, wrapping her arms around one of the enemy’s legs and knocking her back into the seats.
The woman punched Kylie in the side, and then in the face. Her flow armor protected her, but the impacts still knocked her about. She drove the butt of her rifle into the woman’s jaw, pushing herself back and getting some distance between them.
Then a boot hit Kylie, and she knew the other enemy was in the fight. Deciding it was worth the risk of hitting the pilot or damaging the shuttle, she dropped the rifle and fired her pulse pistol at the second assailant before turning back to the woman and shooting her in the face.
The woman fell to the deck and Kylie put a foot on her neck. “Stay down,” she ordered.
When she turned back to the man who had kicked her, he was holding his own weapon on her.
“Drop it, buddy,” Kylie ordered.
The man laughed. “That’s my line for you.”
“I don’t think so. My armor can shed whatever you throw at me, even from this distance. Even if it didn’t, the nano I have would be able to kill you before you even give me a scratch. Either way, I’d win, so like I said, drop it!”
The assailant glanced back at the captain. “Is she…”
“Telling the truth? Yes. You better do what she says.” The man stood, buttoning his jacket and Kylie didn’t relax her stance as the man lowered his weapon.
“You there, pilot. Sit back down.”
“Or you’ll what? Shoot me?” He laughed. “I don’t think you will. You want too many answers, don’t you, Kylie?”
Kylie guessed that’d make a man angry. “Listen, Smithers, tell your boy to stand down or I’ll blow his head off. You know I can.”