by David Adams
James gave a laugh, leaning in and kissing her cheek from behind. “Don’t worry; I’ve got your back. You okay, Tai?”
There was no answer. Liao twisted her body, looking over her shoulder. “Tai?”
Tai lay on his back, his skin ghostly white, his body as limp as a doll. Two blooming red flowers crept over his chest, blood seeping onto the concrete below.
It took her a second to process what had happened, but the moment the reality of the situation hit her, she was moving. She broke away from James’s grasp, crawling over to Tai’s prone form. She fumbled inside Tai’s pocket, pulling out his phone with one hand and tossing it to James. “Call an ambulance!”
Liao lifted Tai’s head, cradling it as the Chinese man’s blood poured into her lap. She watched as James, ashen faced, flipped open Tai’s phone, tapped in 911, then held the device to his ear. Liao looked back down at her bodyguard and friend.
“Kang, Kang, can you hear me?”
He didn’t move. She propped up his head, pulling it into her lap, while her other hand searched for his injuries. “Don’t worry, okay? James is getting help. We’re getting help.” She gave a quiet, nervous laugh as she adjusted Tai’s head, eliciting a soft groan from the barely conscious man. “What kind of a bodyguard dies from a couple of little boo-boos like that, hey? Suck it up, you’ll be fine. You’re going to be fine.” She brushed a clump of Tai’s hair away from his face with a bloodied hand, her gaze turning up to James. “How long...?”
James asked the operator, then nodded to Liao. “Four minutes. They’re coming as fast as they can.” He spoke into the phone. “Yes, I’ll cover the cost.”
“Fuck!” Liao pressed her hands to Tai’s ghastly wounds, pushing her fingers to his blood-soaked shirt, trying to stem the blood loss. “Kang, you hear that, yeah? Four minutes. You’ve gotta take care of my apartment when I’m out, you know, so you’ve got a lot more work to do. And after that… after that, I’m going to get my ship back and I’m going to need... I’m going to need people I can trust. You can work with Cheung. We’ll get you a nice cushy position on that boat, okay?”
Tai’s blood continued to spill unabated onto the ground. Liao’s hands were soaked up to her elbows, but she kept her hands pressed against the entry wounds.
“But you listen to me, Kang,” she continued. “If you die, I swear to God I’ll have you thrown off my boat. You hear me? If you die, you’re getting the boot, and don’t you dare think I won’t... Don’t you dare even think that for a second... because I will. I will. I will.”
She kept her hands there, failing to hold Tai’s lifeblood within his body, pressing on his wounds even after the ambulance arrived. She rode with them, keeping the pressure on her friend’s injuries all the way through the journey to the Shock Trauma ward, releasing only after the doctors had pronounced Tai’s time of death.
6:56pm Thursday, August the 18th, 2039.
*****
New York
8:30pm
James and Liao took a driverless cab back to her apartment, the ride taken mostly in silence aside from asking each other if they were fine over and over like a broken record. She’d had time, at least, to wash her hands before making her statement to the police, two tired looking officers who dutifully took down her details but reminded her that the likelihood of finding the person who had killed Tai, and making a conviction stick, was low. There were so many crimes of this nature every day that the local law enforcement, its funding slashed to almost nothing, had little hope of catching someone who wasn’t arrested at the scene.
She felt strangely empty, though, just as she had after Velsharn was destroyed by her ship’s missiles. Sadness, self-pity, resentment: none of these things would bring back Kang Tai, his body occupying a tiny block in the district hospital’s morgue.
There was anger there, too. Yes, Tai was her bodyguard, but why did he do that? The man who accosted them was only looking for money, and he’d escaped with most of it anyway. Yes, he had fired at Anthony, but perhaps he could have still been reasoned with. Maybe there would have been a way to end this without bloodshed. But he’d chosen to act and now her friend was dead. He was a good man, a useful person. To intervene was a stupid, risky decision, and Tai should have known better.
Or so she told herself, silently, over and over.
The autonomous vehicle pulled up outside Liao’s apartment, and a robotic voice read out the cost. James swiped his card over the pay receiver and, with an electronic chime, the doors unlocked.
“Thank you for riding Flexicar New York, your safe, prompt service.”
Safe. Liao did not feel particularly safe in this city, and it was with cautious eyes that she scanned the area before stepping out of the vehicle. James held the door open so the car wouldn’t leave.
“Don’t worry about packing; we don’t have time. Just grab the baby and some essentials.” He paused a moment. “Are you okay?” James asked, reaching out with his other hand and gently touching her hip. It was almost exactly where her scar was.
Liao nodded, inhaling gently. “I will be. It’s okay.” She looked up at the towering, concrete pillar. “Jennifer will be freaking out if she’s still here.”
James shook his head. “She would have gone home by now; it’s late.”
The idea of her child being alone in the apartment for hours suddenly invigorated her. Without saying anything, she stepped purposefully towards the heavy steel door of the apartment complex, swiping her key and pulling it open. Her immediate destination was the elevator; a swift jab of her finger at the button summoned it to her, the wait intolerable.
After what seemed like the longest ride in the history of the universe, Liao stepped out onto their floor. She broke into a run, swiping her card over the door’s sensor and pushing it open. Immediately, the sound of a wailing baby reached her ears and her heart stopped.
“Hello?!”
It was her. Jennifer stepped out from the kitchen, cradling the screaming infant, a distraught look on her face. “Miss Liao! Oh, thank God. What happened? Where did you go?”
Liao leaned her shoulder up against a wall, realising suddenly that she had been holding her breath. “We were mugged,” she said simply. “Tai was shot.”
The young woman’s eyes went wide. “Is he okay?”
Liao reached up and ran her hand through her hair. “Sorry, I would have called earlier, but he took my phone and we left Tai’s phone in the ambulance. We didn’t have your number.”
Jennifer bounced the baby gently, trying to get her to calm down. “Ambulance?”
“He’s dead. Sorry. We did everything we could, but…”
Jennifer stopped, freezing completely in place. “I… oh my God!”
“I know. I’m sorry. He just lost too much blood.”
“What? What happened?”
“We got to Anthony’s place and got the food, but I forgot yours. I went back to get it, and on the way back, this guy just walked out of nowhere and pulled a pistol on us. I guess the guy saw us the first time and had enough time to see we had cash. Anthony chased after us to return my wallet, and it startled the mugger. There was a firefight. The man was wounded, but he got Tai. Then he ran off.”
“I… oh God. Sorry, sorry. I tried calling your phone over and over… I guess that’s why you didn’t pick up.” She hesitated. “I… ran out of credit, so I used your landline to call my dad, Miss Liao, just to let him know where I was. He was seriously freaked out. I’m sorry. I’ll pay you for the cost, somehow—”
Liao had totally forgotten about the landline. She momentarily cursed herself for her stupidity. “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Look Jennifer, something else has happened, too. I’m being recalled.”
Jennifer’s face fell, her expression one of shock and devastation. “Wh-what?”
“There’s something big going down. I needed to be at the airport about fifteen minutes ago.” Liao moved as she spoke, stepping into her bedroom, yanking down the bigg
est suitcase she had, and throwing it open on the bed. Jennifer followed her as Liao started throwing random items of clothing haphazardly into the case.
“Miss Liao, I’m—I’m sorry about Tai.”
“It’s okay. He was doing his job.” Liao felt her voice tighten as she tried to keep herself calm, throwing in her dress uniform’s shoes alongside her boots, not caring if the latter got scratched. “And he’s gone. We can’t do anything to change that. I’m sorry about it, too, especially with all this that’s happening.”
Jennifer’s tone was thick with emotion as though it were she who had pulled the trigger. “I’m sorry, Miss Liao. I’m really, really sorry. I’ll pray for him tonight.”
“I know. It’s okay.” Liao took a breath, yanking out and upending her underwear drawer into the case. “He was a good man, and he died doing his duty. His family will be proud.” She studied the young woman’s dark face, frowning slightly. “Is everything okay?”
“No—well, yes, are…” Jennifer hesitated, her voice cracking. “Are you thinking of replacing him as your bodyguard when you go back into space?”
“James will probably find someone for me on the ship,” Liao admitted, “and Commodore Vong will probably insist upon it. The military tends to be somewhat callous when it comes to replacing us. We’re interchangeable cogs in a giant machine unfortunately.” She met Jennifer’s gaze for a moment, then shook her head and looked away. “Bastards will probably dock his Friday pay because he’s dead.”
“And you’re taking the baby with you?”
“Yeah.”
Jennifer hesitated and Liao heard her shuffle ever so slightly. “I… see.” There was a slight tremor in her voice as she spoke. “And… when will you be back?”
“I don’t know,” Liao answered, moving into their en suite and gathering anything that looked important. Vitamin pills, deodorant, her favourite comb. “I’m just going to leave most of this stuff here. I don’t have time to pack it. The apartment’s paid up for the next month. Take whatever you want.”
Jennifer followed Liao as she walked, gently bouncing the baby. “And you’re leaving right now?”
“Yeah.” Liao threw the armful of assorted stuff into the case.
“Can I come with you?”
Liao stopped, blinking in confusion. “Honestly, I could use your help, but there’s a lot of protocol to go through before I can just bring a civilian on board a military ship. Trust me; Summer’s paperwork was crazy.” She laughed. “Besides, believe me; it’s not exactly a pleasant life up there.”
Jennifer’s voice suddenly became pleading. “I don’t care if it’s not comfortable, Miss Liao. I really need this job. Even if it’s part time, it’s all that’s keeping my sister in school. My family needs it. There are five of us and I’m the only one who brings in any income. I know Mister Tai was the one who hired me, and I know I messed up, but I’ve worked so hard for you—”
“What? No, you’ve been a gem. You haven’t messed up. That’s not why this is happening.” Liao struggled to comprehend, confused. Her packing was forgotten momentarily. “Why did you say you messed up?”
“It’s just… if I hadn’t asked for anything while ya’ll were out, then you wouldn’t have gone back for my slices, and none of this would have happened.” Jennifer’s voice cracked again, and Liao could see her emotions starting to get the better of her. “I’m so sorry. I am. I’m sorry. Just, please…”
She processed Jennifer’s words for a moment, then understanding dawned. “It’s not your fault. Hey, easy, it’s not your fault… I offered to shout you, remember? You’re not responsible for what happened.”
“But…”
Liao stepped closer, reaching out and touching Jennifer’s cheek. “Look, they pay me no matter what I’m doing, so me going away isn’t going to change a single thing. And, you know what? I kind of like this place… I want it to be here when I get back.” She gave a warm smile. “How about being a full-time house-sitter?”
Jennifer’s relief was palpable, written all over the young woman’s face. She gave a loud, relieved laugh and took several deep breaths. “Oh thank God. Really? Really?! Really-really-really?!”
Liao removed her hand and used it to close the lid of the case, nodding. “Sure.” She paused, reaching out for the baby.
Jennifer handed her over without complaint, and Liao could see her hands were trembling with relief. “Thank you, Miss Liao, thank you, thank you.”
Liao immediately thought of Velsharn and how, upon seeing its destruction, she blamed herself. It was true that, while she did turn her ship over to Ben’s control, and the residual guilt sometimes plagued her, she was not the one who killed all those Toralii. Ben was.
“One thing I’ve learnt… is that when something bad happens, a million other things could have happened, for better or for worse, but you can’t spend your life worrying about what could have been, and what tiny, minute thing you could have done differently. What’s done is done. When there are agents of death in the world, the blood they shed is entirely on their hands. Tai’s death is no more your fault than mine, or his own, or anyone else’s.”
Jennifer looked up to her, and Liao could see that she was still struggling to keep herself from crying. “Okay.”
“And if Tai hadn’t taken the job in the first place, none of this would have happened, either. He knew what he was getting into.”
“I know.”
Liao nodded, then fished in her pocket for her set of keys, handing them over. “One more thing.”
“Yes, Miss Liao?”
She smiled. “Help me carry the suitcase down to the car.”
Chapter IV
“Victory?”
*****
Cerberus blockade
Lagrange point between Mars and Phobos
Hours Later
Lieutenant Bai Peng preferred his new post as chief tactical officer aboard the Cerberus blockade to service on the Beijing and counted himself lucky that he’d been able to keep the same position on the space station.
The Cerberus blockade was the only open jump point in the entire Sol system. At every other point, gravity generators powered by micro nuclear reactors generated fluctuating pulses of gravity to constantly shift the Lagrange points. With that interference repositioning their location so rapidly and so randomly, no vessel could safely jump into them. In order to permit entry and egress from the system, aside from the far out regions near Pluto, one had to come through Cerberus.
Cerberus was home to nearly thirty heavy gun batteries, one hundred fifty nuke batteries, two wings of fighters and Broadswords, and three gargantuan rail guns on giant pivot turrets in case larger ships jumped in. These gave it equal firepower to two Pillars of the Earth, all focused on one area. Furthermore, a ring of gravity mines meant that if a hostile vessel were to enter, the jump point could be locked out until it was destroyed to prevent reinforcements.
It was safe, secure, but an important position. Perfect for him.
“So Bai,” said Yvonne Walker, the strawberry blonde, Australian communications officer who shared his shift, “I heard a rumour that the Kel-Voranians pulled their embassy.”
Peng swivelled in his chair. “You serious? The one in Melbourne?”
“Yeah,” she answered, “caught it on the fleetwide this morning. That’s what Bravo-seven-eight was about.”
Bravo-seven-eight was the Task Force Resolution code name for a Kel-Voran ship that had appeared in the jump point nearly eight hours ago, identifying itself as the B’vall. It had requested entry to the Sol system under the guise of diplomatic business. Since the Kel-Voran were normally allies of the humans, this request was granted. The jump point between Earth and the Moon was enabled temporarily for the ship to jump. Peng and Walker had tracked the B’vall as it landed on Earth, escorted by some of the planet’s Broadswords. Hours later, it returned to space, flew to the Earth-Moon Lagrange point, and requested exit from the system. With clearance granted, t
he gravity generators were briefly turned off and the ship had jumped away.
“Well, that’s a bit ominous, don’t you think?” Peng said.
Walker shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe they just decided on a change of scenery, or maybe it’s a political move.”
“Maybe it is; maybe it isn’t.”
“Well, I’m inclined to think some big shit is about to go down,” Walker said, casually tapping a finger on her console. “I heard they recalled the fleet. Everyone who’s on leave—boom. Cancelled. The Tehran is picking up Captain Liao from Earth, then they’re coming here to stand watch with us.”
Peng peered skeptically at Walker. For the last ten hours, the Sydney had been docked at the blockade station for system checks on the troubled vessel’s systems, but it was common knowledge that the airlock was sealed and that nobody had either come aboard or departed. Rumour was that the ship was on high alert and ready to disengage at a moment’s notice.
“Really?” said Peng. “They’re going to have both the Sydney and the Tehran guarding the jump point in addition to all this crap?”
“Yep.”
He laughed. “You’re mental if you think Fleet Command is so fucking shit-scared that they’re going to dedicate two-thirds of the fleet to guarding the jump point. How can we perform any operations if we do? That’d mean there’s only the Beijing and the Rubens out there.”
“Ooo,” said Walker, “careful, careful. We’re not meant to be talking about the Rubens.”
Peng rolled his eyes. “Everyone knows about it,” he countered. “It’s not like it’s a huge secret. We’ve had them dock here dozens of times.”