The black void was suddenly filled with flickering white light as ships began to pour from hyperspace back into real space. Ship after ship, each of them with the long clean lines of an Imperial warship, slid into the void only a few hundred kilometres away from the pirate fleet. There were perhaps only thirty or forty of them, but as each of them was a match for a dozen pirate ships there was little doubt as to who the victor would be.
“B-but! But! You’ll be destroyed right along with us!” Volkstag protested. “You and your stolen ship! Fight with us! To save yourself!”
“No she won’t you idiot!” Bella screamed. “Didn’t you listen! She can jump out anytime she wants.” Bella turned to Ping An, pleading. “Ping-An! Take me with you! I’ll be loyal! I promise!”
Several of the other Captains also began to rush forward, a few of them dropping to their knees in front of their captor. But Ping An rebuffed them all.
“Sorry Bella, you lost any chance you had for that when you tried to kill me at Evergreen.” Ping An told the cowering woman. “Goodbye Bella. Goodbye Volkstag.”
“Destroy her!” Volkstag screamed in raw fury as Ping An vanished. “Destroy her now!”
The fleet opened fire, but before a single missile or plasma bolt hit could reach her, the target simply flickered out of existence.
“No! You idiot!” Bella cried out. “Now the fleet thinks we were attacking one of their ships! That was an imperial cruiser!”
And she was right- overlays of yellow missile tracks were suddenly filling space in front of the Imperial fleet, which was now starting to advance on the pirates.
It had begun.
“Reform!” Volkstag screamed. “All ships reform and protect the command ship!”
But chaos reigned as each captain watched out for their own hide.
It was why Volkstag had chosen them, after all.
* * *
“Last shuttle aboard, Captain.” Ensign Lott reported.
“Great, all packed up and nowhere to go.” Kip shook his head. “The hyperspace jump sensor is off the scale and it looks like there’s a hell of a battle going on out there.”
Tysen nodded, watching the battle rage across the tactical display. “It’s good for us, Kip. Those pirates are keeping the fleet occupied.” Then he sent out a link request. “Mister Ulstead?”
“Here mate.” Came the tried reply.
“What’s the status on the VIPs we brought back?”
When Tysen had first regained consciousness after the explosion, he’d feared the worst, and there had been no sign of Admiral Veers or any of the people in the first grav-sled the pirate had attached her bomb to. However, the second sled had been flipped by the explosion and fortunately shielded the dignitaries from the worst of the blast. They’d been trapped beneath the sled, but that was a small price comparatively.
“Got six of them Captain- the medics are working on them now, but they’ll be okay.” The security man sent back, then paused and added- “And, Uhhh. What do you want me to do with the prisoner?”
“Keep her on ice until later.” Tysen ordered and closed the link.
Six out of seventeen, and they’d lost Admiral Veers. Tysen’s heart sank at the prospect of what that meant for peace.
It must have shown on his face, for a hand slid across his shoulder, and he looked up into Esther’s bright blue eyes. “Tysen, as I said before- it is not your fault.” She said intently.
“I should have told them to wait for me, Esther.” Tysen rubbed his temple. “I never should have left Cole in charge of the operation.”
“If you had, young man.” Said an authoritative male voice. “You’d have been lost like he was.”
“Father!” Cried Esther, and ran to the too-tall knight who stood in the doorway of the operations room.
“It is good to see you too, Esther.” Sir Fawn accepted her hug after he ducked inside, and then came over to where Tysen slumped against a console.
“The question is not so much what’s done Captain Tysen, as what will be.”
Tysen shook his head. “I know, sir. But the exits are locked and we’re surrounded, there’s no place to go. They’ll be looking for us soon, and we’ve got to find a place to hide.”
Sir Fawn raised an eyebrow. “You mean you can’t jump?”
“No, the command pod was destroyed when this ship was attacked.”
“Well,” replied the knight. “It looks like we shall have to create a new one.”
Tysen stared at him, shocked. “But sir, even the ship’s engineers don’t understand the hyperspace navigation system completely.”
But Sir Fawn just looked at him with an impish twinkle in his eye. “By co-incidence, I happen to be an expert on the subject. It will take time, of course, but I believe we can fashion a new one. Come along Esther.”
With that, the knight took his leave, and after getting Tysen’s permission, Esther did the same.
* * *
The Othello glided through hyperspace, en route to Sulvan Kay.
On the mighty ship’s command dais, Ping An stood with Betsey at her side, watching the crewmen from the Belleflower and the other pirate shuttles explore the bridge below. She’d been reluctant to leave the bridge since she’d come aboard and Betsey also seemed to want to avoid rest, and the hard truths that would come with time alone.
“Ping An, this ship is incredible.” Betsey commented. “Where did you get it?”
“She knows how to bargain,” said a wizened voice, and they both turned to see Lady Whitcombe standing behind them. The old woman surveyed the bridge, and then wrinkled her nose. “Fine if you’re the military sort. If you’ve seen one ship, you’ve seen them all.”
Ping An couldn’t help but smile at that. “Can I help you, your Ladyship?”
“Yes, be a dear and drop me off at the co-ordinates I give you. I have business to attend to there.”
“Alright,” Ping An agreed. “But before I do, could you answer a question for me?”
The Lady raised an eyebrow. “Only if you answer one first.”
“Go ahead.”
“The Home Guard’s fleet arriving as it did- that was no co-incidence. Did you inform them of the meeting so that they could eliminate your rivals?”
Ping An tried to smile, her cracked and blistered half-face taking on a ghoulish look. “And, if I did?”
Whitcombe snorted. “I chose the right partner.” Then, she looked at Ping An to indicate it was her turn.
“You wouldn’t answer when we were negotiating,” said the pirate. “But, what do you get out of helping me? You’re taking quite a risk giving me this ship.”
The Lady walked over to the rail and peered over it at the crew below, then she turned and looked at the pirate captain. “Call it an investment. Soon there will be war, and when it comes the strong will prevail. You are one of the strong, so I have given you power to use as you see fit. When the time comes, I will ask for a return on my investment.”
That was what Ping An had expected it to be, and she nodded in understanding. Then something in the woman’s choice of words struck her.
“Wait. You said “one of the strong”- does that mean there are others you’re helping?” She asked.
That drew a reproachful look from the old woman. “Do you think I became so wealthy investing all of my resources into one project?”
Ping An was concerned. “Who? Who else are you backing?”
The old woman just shook her head. Clearly she wasn’t telling.
Ping An glanced at Betsey, who just shrugged.
“Fine,” the Captain concluded. “I guess it’s a race to see who can pull together enough power first.” Then she smiled. “Well, with the clan behind me, I should be ready to make my first move soon enough. So, you wait and see how your investment pays off.”
“Oh?” Said Whitcombe, gazing at her with that half-interested look of hers. “What are you planning to do?”
“Wait and see, your Ladyship.” Ping An a
nswered. “Wait and see.”
* * *
“The last of the supplies from that pirate ship are on board.” Kip sent.
“Thanks Kip.” Standing on the observation deck, Tysen closed the link and considered. They had a full crew’s worth of people aboard this ship, but had been lucky enough to find an abandoned pirate vessel floating in space mostly intact. From it, they had gotten food and other needed supplies, and perhaps even something they could use to jury rig a navigation system.
If they only had enough time.
He could see the ugly, boxy pirate ship off to the right where they were docked. When Kip had told him it was called The Belleflower he’d been shocked. The same ship he’d sold that cargo to at Miraposa to save the station had come back as his savior now. He smiled when it occurred to him that maybe the supplies Kip was loading were the same ones he’d traded away all those months ago.
Was the pirate woman the same one whom he’d dealt with? He would likely never know.
He felt Esther’s approach before he heard her soft footsteps.
“How long does Sir Fawn think it will take?”
“Some time, I’m afraid.” She answered, stepping up to stand beside him. “He says it is a difficult business with what he has available.”
“That battle’s almost over now, they’ll come looking for us soon.” Tysen commented. “I’m going to take us deeper into the field to hide.”
“It sounds like a wise course of action.” She agreed. “However, what will we do if we escape? You cannot return to the service you knew.”
“No,” Tysen said softly. “No, I can’t, can I?” Then he brightened. “Maybe I should have loaded the crew on that ship over there, and we could become pirates. How does that sound? Do you want to be my pirate queen?”
He realized what he’d said a moment after he said it, and felt his cheeks suddenly burn. But Esther didn’t seem to mind at all, in fact, she looked up at him with her large eyes and peered into his.
“I would like that.” She said, with surprising tenderness.
“Ahh, yes…” Tysen said, feeling himself start to sweat and turning away to look at space. “Well, it’s a silly idea anyways. We need to find a way out of here first, then we can worry about what we’re going to do.”
“You will find a way. I have faith in you, Tysen.”
Still not looking at her, Tysen thanked the Squire, and peered out at the stars. The Empire he knew was ceasing to be, and despite his small attempts to stop it, things were spiraling out of control. A part of him wanted to just find a place to hide and ride out the storm, but that was the part that shamed him. Was he not responsible for what was happening? Security for the peace conference had been at least partially his responsibility, and he had failed in that duty.
Now war was coming.
He had to find a way to make it right. The Star Guard might still accept him, and likely would, but he knew it would be a matter of which Star Guard. The fleet would soon fragment along political and regional lines, and he could only guess what would happen after that.
Wars weren’t kind to soldiers, but they were far worse on civilians, and civil wars were the harshest of all.
Colonel Cole had said that the Empire needed good men, and after what Tysen had experienced over the past few months he couldn’t help but agree. There was going to be a need for experienced leadership, and maybe he could offer that. The state he served was no more, but perhaps there was a greater calling waiting for him on the other side.
It was going to be a long road.
Glancing over at Esther again, he said softly. “Thank you, Esther. For being with me.”
“It is my pleasure.”
“We may be at this a while.”
“I will stand with you as long as it takes, Tysen.”
And he knew, he wasn’t going to walk it alone.
FIN
Coming in Fall 2013:
The Crocodile Princess- A WuXia historical fantasy novel of Old China.
Coming in 2014:
Escalation- The Second Novel of the Twin Stars
Ocean Ghost- A mystery novel set in Taiwan
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About the Author: Rob is a teacher, writer and blogger based in London, Ontario, Canada. He is a teacher at Fanshawe College and the founder/producer of the Kung Fu Action Theatre audio drama group. He is married to his beautiful wife Connie, and owned by his dog Winston.
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Rob
Twin Stars 1: Ascension Page 30