Mandrake Company- The Complete Series

by Ruby Lionsdrake

  “No. I mean... I just thought... when I got that ranking... it was more of a compliment.”

  Kalish snorted and thumped him on the chest. “Tick’s good looking, despite that awful name.”

  “I’m still not positive we’re not talking about dogs,” Tia said.

  “Do dogs get ice cream ratings too?” Sedge asked.

  “Nah.”

  Mom was giving everyone a baleful look for this ridiculous conversation. “I’ll go out with you, Kalish.” She tapped her rifle. She had leaned Carl against the control panel when she had sat down, but the weapon was never far from reach. “I’m assuming you want to look.”

  “Yes. Take us down, please, Tia.” Kalish ducked into the corridor, heading for the exit hatch in the cargo bay.

  “Take your weapons,” her mother said. “I’m sure there are more than glow bugs and bats out there.”

  A good point. Kalish had been more worried about the air quality, but she diverted to her cabin and grabbed her weapons belt. Sedge was waiting for her by the hatch when she stepped out. He was also armed.

  A few minutes later, they were standing by the exit hatch when the ship ran into something. The deck heaved, pitching Kalish into Sedge. He caught her, bracing his back against the hull.

  “Tia,” Kalish yelled toward the corridor at the same time as her mother walked out of it.

  “Sorry,” Tia called back from the bridge. “It’s not like there are airstrips out here. I was trying not to hit that squatty tree thing and scraped the bottom.”

  “Does she actually have a pilot’s certification?” Sedge asked dryly. He was still gripping Kalish’s arms, and he smiled down at her to smooth any insult the words might have offered.

  Kalish wasn’t insulted. Her sister was a... challenging employee. “Sort of. She’s been taking lessons in the summers since she was twelve, but mostly on one-man ships. I love the Divining Rod, but she’s a barge.”

  “I see.”

  Mom cleared her throat, her eyes closed to slits as she regarded the way Sedge was holding Kalish. He let go, his hands spreading innocently, at the same time as she stepped back. Kalish hit the open button and didn’t comment. She was old enough that she didn’t need her mother’s approval on boyfriends, but she didn’t disagree with any of the arguments Mom would bring up if they discussed it, starting with that this wasn’t the right time and ending with he was a mercenary and who knew what motivated him.

  Sedge sneezed as soon as the first whiff of plant life wafted in.

  He grumbled about alien ecologies, then led the way down the ramp, his hand resting on his pistol. The ground was uneven beneath the verdant fuzz, and Kalish almost tripped as soon as she tried to walk across the bumps. She recovered quickly, not wanting Sedge to have to catch her and give her mother another reason to glare. She picked a route between the tough plant burrs, kicking one on the way and finding out that they didn’t have any give. Some small animal or lizard skittered away, but she never caught sight of it.

  Tick and Striker were already at the wreck, Striker staring at something on the hull that Kalish couldn’t yet see, and Tick wandering around, his gaze toward the ground.

  Curious as to what Striker was gaping at, she walked toward him first. The smell of foliage teased her nose. Knowing that the ethylene probably accounted for the flower smell, she tried not to inhale deeply. Her wound had healed nicely, so she had no need for a painkiller, especially not one that might mess with her mind. She wasn’t close enough to the edge to see how far the drop was, but she was certain the fall would kill a person.

  When she and Sedge joined Striker, Kalish could understand the reason for his gape. The entire port side of the craft had been torn open, more than six inches of hull and all of the wiring and panels underneath it. The bare insides of the ship lay open to the elements, a big pile of ore still loaded in the back.

  Wordlessly, Striker pointed at something between the ore and the short corridor leading to the cockpit. A human skull lay on the deck, flesh and muscle long since decomposed—or picked clean by scavengers.

  “Where are the rest of the bones?” Kalish asked.

  Tick walked up, holding a femur that had been gnawed clean. “All over the place. There’s another skull over there. Must have been two pilots.”

  “I thought the miners were sending unmanned ships in here to do their work,” Sedge said, walking around the exterior of the wreck. He touched the hull, where a few identification letters remained, barely visible beneath the grime. He took out his tablet and recorded them.

  “Maybe they used to send manned ships,” Tick said. “Until too many miners got eaten.”

  “You see any footprints?” Striker asked.

  “Just from small creatures. Nothing that could have done this.”

  Kalish looked at him sharply.

  “You think an animal did this?” She pointed at the hole. She would have guessed the craft had run into a stalactite or other formation and then tried to fly to safety before crashing. But... she had to admit, she didn’t see any ominous terrain features leering out of the darkness.

  Tick touched the ragged edge of the hole. “Yup.”

  She leaned closer, trying to see what he saw. It was an irregular hole, but did that mean something’s teeth had done this?

  “Teeth marks,” Tick said, shining a flashlight on the hull for her.

  Kalish cursed softly, spotting the long gouges under the better light. “I knew that there were animals down here, but I guess I didn’t believe that they would be big enough to eat a ship.”

  The mining craft was sturdy, too, clearly meant to deflect wayward rocks and handle a beating in tight tunnels. She didn’t know if her freighter would be any tougher, and this hadn’t been tough enough.

  Striker was circling the craft, and he stopped near the broken drill head. He kicked something on the hull. “This has laser banks. Funny, you wouldn’t expect that on a mining ship.”

  “You would if the miners know about the cave critters,” Tick said.

  Critters. That was far too innocuous a word for anything that could tear open a ship as easily as a can of four-fin fish.

  “How long ago do you think this happened?” Sedge asked.

  Tick dug into a pocket as he gazed around thoughtfully, first at the ship, then at the ledge, then at the skull. He popped a fresh cube of gum into his mouth. “Ship’s old. It’s been here a while. Fifty, hundred years. Funny thing about the bones, though.”

  “They don’t look that old,” Sedge said.

  “They’re not.” Tick turned to look into the darkness beyond the ledge. If any daylight remained on the planet above, it wasn’t slipping through holes anywhere. Nothing but blackness lay behind the influence of the ships’ lights. “My guess is that these two came exploring at a later date, found the ship, came down to take a look, then got et before they could get away. We probably don’t want to spend the night here.”

  “Et?” Kalish asked.

  “Yup, et. Might be you two can use that one on your little Crucible game tonight.”

  “It wouldn’t be worth many points.” Sedge smiled, though he appeared tense as he gazed into the dark void all around them.

  Kalish shifted uneasily. She had been worried about ancient alien booby traps, assuming that in an armed ship capable of dealing with the rigors of space, they could handle anything the wild kingdom threw at them. That might have been a mistake.

  * * *

  Sedge lay in the narrow bunk, staring at the metal frame of the one above him and trying not to think about that wrecked ship and those skulls. But everyone had been subdued when they had returned to the ships and had taken off again. Kalish hadn’t mentioned the Crucible game they had yet to finish, instead muttering something about doing more research and then disappearing into her cabin. A shame. Sedge wouldn’t have minded a distraction. More than that, he was enjoying the challenge of playing with her. She had an unorthodox style that seemed a touch arbitrary on the surf
ace, but the closeness of their score proved she simply had a different way of solving problems, one that was as effective as his logical approach. He imagined life with her would always be interesting. It was a shame that this mission would end before long, and they would have to part ways.

  He ordered the lights off and closed his eyes, willing himself to get some sleep. If he could. Their little fleet had flown for another two hours before settling down at the bottom of the cavern, on a flat rock field next to a stream. Sedge had felt better being down there than up on some ledge, until Tick had pointed out a couple of clawed animal prints more than four times the size of a human foot.

  Striker had volunteered to stay up for the first watch, over on one of the shuttles, and everyone else was supposed to be resting, since they would want to continue on early in the morning. It seemed strange to worry about time, or that it was even passing in this quiet, lightless place, but the miners might have found their entrance hole by now, depending on what Captain Mandrake was up to. Those ruses wouldn’t keep the locals distracted indefinitely. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough pilots that the search party could continue flying around the clock, and the caverns were too treacherous for autopilot systems.

  A soft knock sounded at the hatch.

  Kalish? Sedge hadn’t been thinking of sex—funny how seeing a mauled ship and gnawed human bones could drive such things from a man’s brain—but it leaped to the forefront of his mind now. Who else would come knock on his door?

  Sedge sat up before he remembered how low the bunk above him was. He clunked his forehead on its frame, groaned, and rolled out of bed. “Come in,” he said before remembering that the ship did not have automatic doors. “Lights,” he added and reached for the wheel that opened the hatch.

  It opened before he touched it. He smiled warmly, expecting Kalish to walk in, perhaps wanting to drive dark thoughts away by finishing their game. Or perhaps by starting... a new type of game. His body warmed at the thought.

  But it wasn’t Kalish who walked into the little cabin. Her younger sister stood there, wearing silky pajamas that dipped low in the front, revealing a hint of cleavage.

  Sedge swallowed and stepped back, unsettled both because he had been thinking of her as more of a kid than a woman and because he couldn’t think of any good reason why she would have knocked on his door. He immediately started thinking of excuses, afraid he would get caught in the appearance of a situation he had no wish to be in.

  Conscious of the fact that he had taken his shirt off for bed, as he usually did, he swallowed and said, “Can I help you?”

  Tia looked him up and down, her gaze lingering on his torso and crotch, then gave him a sultry smile. “Oh, I think you can.”

  Sedge could scarcely keep from gawking at her brazenness. He hadn’t been self-assured enough to be so forward at twenty. Hell, he wasn’t now.

  “I...” Am panicking. Stop it. Just shove her out the door, and you’re fine. Sedge held up a hand, palm toward her. “I’m sure you’re very nice and, ah, have good taste in ice cream, but I didn’t come aboard looking for bedroom company.”

  No, then why aren’t you sleeping on one of the shuttles?

  Because I would rather have my own room than bunk with Striker and Tick. Especially Striker.

  Sure, keep telling yourself that, buddy. While you’re at it, stop talking to yourself.

  “Are you sure?” Tia asked, thrusting her chest toward him. “Sometimes we find things we weren’t looking for, and it’s fortuitous. Like a lucky penny.”

  Sedge made a point of not looking at that chest, even if she, like her older sister, had some appealing curves. He didn’t want to bodily shove her out the door, but he would if she didn’t accept his rejection and walk out on her own. For the moment, he kept his back to the far wall, more comfortable with space between them.

  “Not this time.” He extended his hand toward the door. “Have a good night.”

  “You would prefer Kalish?”

  Uh, how was he supposed to answer that without offending her? Or confessing to something he wasn’t sure he should, not to Kalish’s family, at least not first. He hadn’t even been that forthcoming with her. “I’m just here to help find the ruins.”

  She was watching his face now, her eyes difficult to read. She was attractive, which was part of why he felt so uncomfortable with her in his room. Did she make a habit of trying to steal men interested in her older sister? What if Kalish walked in and caught them together? Would she immediately assume he was an asshole who had invited Tia to come here?

  “Mingus used to proposition me,” Tia said.

  “What?” Sedge asked, thrown by the non sequitur. “That was... the last boyfriend?” Or had it been the business partner she spoke of with reservation? He remembered the name coming up, but Kalish hadn’t shared anything specific with him.

  “The slimy bastard who was only sleeping with my sister to try and get some of her money, yes,” Tia said, animosity creeping into her voice. She had dropped her sultry, chest-out pose and scowled, less at him and more at the wall beside him. “She didn’t see it, even after almost a year together. Oh, he flew the ship and helped out with the business, I guess, but he was just trying to get her to make him a partner. I can’t believe she didn’t see it. She’s supposed to be the smart one in the family.” Tia rolled her eyes. “I knew he was a bastard the first time we met. Whenever Kalish wasn’t around, he would try to get me to sleep with him. He was gross too, rubbing his crotch and looking me up and down. He kept accidentally pushing me up against the wall. He wasn’t like that around Kalish, of course, but I saw that side of him right away. If I had been here from the beginning, I could have told her, kept her from falling for him, but he was a smooth talker.” She squinted at him, as if suspecting him of the same crime.

  Sedge almost choked. As if he could smooth talk anyone. He was doing well if he could flirt with a woman at a bar without sneezing in her drink.

  “She finally saw through his smarmy charm,” Tia went on, “and kicked him out when he started pressing for that partnership, but he still made off with over ten thousand in artifacts. Bastard.”

  Sedge spread his hands, not certain what she wanted him to say, or why she was telling him all of this.

  “All right, good,” Tia said, as if he had spoken. She nodded curtly then gave him the dimpled smile that seemed more natural to her, the one that made her seem young. “Good night, salted caramel.” She winked at him and left, shutting the hatch softly behind her.

  Sedge stared at the closed door for several moments, trying to work out what had happened. Had that been a test? To see if he could be trusted to be faithful to Kalish? That seemed odd when they didn’t even have a relationship, not yet, anyway. Maybe Kalish had confessed something to her younger sister, feelings for him perhaps? Dare he hope?

  But maybe that had been a warning as much as a test. A warning to stay away from Kalish, or at least not think of her and her treasure-hunting nose as a path to riches. Sedge slumped against the wall. As if he would have gone into the military if money were the most important thing in the galaxy to him.

  Sedge lay back on the bed, but he didn’t turn off the lights. The situation—or more precisely, the hit of adrenaline it had brought—had left him wide awake. He thought of Kalish, wishing she would wander into his cabin in sexy pajamas. No, it wouldn’t be practical, not when there were creatures out there that could tear open the side of a ship with teeth and claws. Still, he was keeping his boots and weapons close, as he always did on a mission. Surely playing a game together, or even holding hands again, wouldn’t put them in a disadvantageous state. Was she up right now? Lying awake in her cabin and unable to sleep? What would she do if he knocked at her door? Just to check on her, to see if she wanted to talk...

  She would probably be suspicious of his motives. Even if he had saved her life, he was still a mercenary, perhaps nothing more in her eyes. Maybe she believed that he would be like this Mingus person,
someone who was attracted to her because she had some money—or could find things of value that were worth money. By her words, she had spent most of what she had to hire Mandrake Company. He felt guilty about that. He liked her enough that he would be happy to help her for free.

  His mind drifted back to his earlier musings about Kalish’s father. Maybe he could help her. If she would only tell him the details about that, he might be able to think up a creative way to get him back for her, one that didn’t hinge on her being able to find some ancient relics that may or may not be there. If some underground heathen was the one who was blackmailing her, someone in Mandrake Company might have contacts that could help. Even if the captain tried to stay on the straight side of the law most of the time, the mercenaries had engaged in contracts often enough with shady characters to know more than a few. Some of them even owed the company favors.

  An idea leaped into his mind, and Sedge sat up, almost clunking his head on the bunk again. Maybe he could find out for himself what had happened to Kalish’s father. If there had been communications with someone and they had taken place here, the records should be on the ship. If he understood the situation fully, he might be able to work with the company to surprise her with a solution.

  Sedge chewed on the side of his mouth. He wanted to leap in heroically, to help her, but would she appreciate it? She was an independent and capable woman. Maybe she wanted to find her own solution, do things her way. But if this was her father, and she loved him, wouldn’t she want him safe and back with the family? No matter who made that happen?

  “Let’s figure out where he is first,” Sedge muttered, reaching for his boots and shirt. It would be a moot point if he didn’t have the power or contacts to do anything.

  He checked the time before leaving his room. It was late, but Tia had still been up. Would Kalish or the mother still be up? What if they caught him wandering around the ship? The bridge would be the likely place where communications had been received, so if there was a record, the computers up there should have it. If he heard some footsteps, he could shut down the computer and pretend he had simply gone up to look at the view because he couldn’t sleep.