Mandrake Company- The Complete Series

by Ruby Lionsdrake

  Nodding, Sedge slipped into the corridor. The lights had been dimmed for the night, and only a few glowing buttons and backlit displays on the bridge cast illumination, a reddish blue that was enough to guide him in that direction. He called up the view screen before sitting in the pilot’s chair, and he gazed out at the cavern for a while. They did have an arresting view from their landing spot beside the creek, with striated red and brown walls rising up on the sides, forming arches overhead. Fortunately, he didn’t see any hungry, giant animals strolling toward them. Something that reminded him of a mix between a bird and a bat had landed on Thatcher’s shuttle, but it did not appear too inimical.

  Sedge listened as he gazed, trying to hear sounds that would indicate others were up. When fifteen minutes passed, and he didn’t hear a hatch creaking open or so much as a footstep coming from the corridor, he leaned forward and touched his fingers to the control panel. He thought about closing the hatch to the bridge, but that would make it more suspicious if he was found in here; a man did not need to be locked in a room to canyon gaze.

  The control panel lit up beneath his fingers, but a retina scan came up immediately, telling him only recognized eyeballs would be allowed access. Well, he knew a few workarounds for that. He pulled out his tablet and set his base-level security hacking program to work, not expecting too much resistance from the old freighter.

  As it hummed away, it occurred to him that Kalish wouldn’t appreciate this intrusion if she caught him. Her mother might try to shoot him.

  You’re not going to get caught. You’re a trained spy.

  Please, I’m trained to stay in the rear and catch spies.

  His hacking program beat the retina scan, giving Sedge access to the computer. As soon as he started digging around, he forgot his qualms. He was committed now. Best to get in and out before he was discovered. Easier said than done. His program had won him access to the navigation controls. Another password guarded the files on the mainframe, this one requesting a simple text entry. He reached for his tablet, to call up another routine, but paused, his hand hovering in the air. Tia was the one up here most of the time, so she may have been the one to set the passwords.

  Sedge typed in honey lavender. The computer flashed a red “Wrong password” at him. Not sure of how many attempts he could make before he was locked out, he almost reached for his tablet again, but two more possibilities floated into his mind.

  Edgardo Garcia? No. What had the racquetball player’s name been? Oh, yes. Nikolay Volkov.

  As soon as he entered that last v, the files opened to him. He hunched over the keyboard, his fingers flying faster than he could have spoken voice commands. He didn’t want to speak, anyway, not when someone might wander out to the lavatory at any moment.

  He dipped into the communications records, scanning through recent exchanges with Mandrake Company, earlier ones with a banker, and some with people who shared the family surname. A series of comm calls received from a Dirk Cometrunner caught his eye. That sounded vaguely familiar. A pirate captain? Sedge would have to check the network, something that might be difficult from down here. He hadn’t tried to comm out yet, but with tons and tons of rock over their heads, he expected the signal to be weak.

  Sedge entered a couple of commands to get text versions of what had been video calls and scanned through the conversations, starting with the earliest date. He read less than a sentence before he knew he had struck pay dirt. His heart pounded rapidly, the silence so thick that he heard it against his eardrums. It was as if he were about to leap into battle, not simply skim through someone else’s mail.

  Kalish Blackwell, you’ll perhaps remember me as the buyer of the Stalingrad Ruby that you put up for auction last year. The piece was truly exquisite and the lady friend of mine who received it was grateful. Very grateful. Out of curiosity, I looked you up, wondering how you came to own the ruby. I see you’ve had a lucrative treasure hunting career, despite your young age. I salute you. There is a treasure I have been seeking for some time, one that may or may not exist, at least according to the academics. The system is big, and I believe one of these particular treasures must have survived, at least one, if not more. An intact one. I am talking, of course, of something the ancient aliens most assuredly left behind in their haste to leave. One of their faster-than-light spaceships. Such a find would be invaluable for what it could tell our scientists, and I, of course, have seen and done everything in our system. I am ready for the next great adventure, to return to Old Earth and find out what happened to the world from which we all came, the world that never sent another ship after the initial wave of colonists came to our system, the world we have only speculated about for the last fifteen hundred years.

  Ah, but I’m certain you’re not interested in my passions and my plans. You only need to know that I want one of those ships, and I’m certain one still exists. I will trust you to find it for me.

  I hope you will forgive my presumptuousness, but I am going to assume you won’t be interested in dropping all of your current projects and becoming my employee, so I have made some arrangements to assure I get what I want.

  Your father was recently traveling to a conference on Dekaron VI. Alas, he was delayed. He has come to be a guest on my ship. He is safe, and will remain so as long as you return my message and confirm that you are willing to perform this task for me.

  Should you become distracted or attempt to stage a rescue instead of simply embarking on this hunt, I fear I cannot guarantee his safety. It’s my crew, you see. They’re loyal to me, but an unreliable lot when it comes to guests. I’m sure that as someone who works with family, you have experienced the whims of an unreliable crew as well, such as your mother and young sister...

  Sedge glared at the text, hating the man for threatening Kalish’s family. He had the father, and he was going out of his way to let Kalish know that he was aware of everyone in the rest of her close family. He skimmed through the messages, including Kalish’s responses. She hadn’t given a lot away, saying only that she would look for evidence of what Cometrunner sought and that it would take time. The pirate seemed to be willing to allow her some time, but he had sent weekly messages, wanting updates on her quest and also letting it be known that the father was perhaps in not so fine of a condition as he had been at the beginning of their exchanges.

  Sedge’s fingers curled into a fist, and he fought the urge to punch the control panel. That wouldn’t do anything to the kidnapper, and it might get him caught.

  He had the name of the pirate now. Perhaps with that information, he could do something. He had to talk to the captain, see if Mandrake Company did have any contacts who might be useful. He would also hope that the captain would be willing to use them if he did have them. Sedge had never asked for a favor from Mandrake, and he was loath to do so, especially since he did not know how the captain felt about him, even after almost a year. But if Mandrake knew a way to steal back Kalish’s father, then the company wouldn’t have to worry about the rest of the mission. Kalish might still want the ancient ship, if there was indeed such a craft in here, but from the bulk of the messages, Sedge had gotten the impression that she had only gone to these lengths, including trespassing on a private claim, because she wanted her father back.

  A thump came from somewhere down the corridor. Sedge froze, his hand hovering over the command that would close the program. He hated to shut it down without erasing his tracks, because then Kalish or whoever logged in next would know someone had been there, and it wasn’t as if there were dozens of people roaming the ship who might be blamed. Ears straining, he listened for the telltale clank of a hatch being opened. Seconds ticked past. It didn’t come.

  He licked his dry lips, then typed as quickly as he could, backing out of the program and altering the file open dates, so there wouldn’t be a record of this more recent invasion. With luck, he could return to his cabin without anyone the wiser.

  A clank came from the corridor. Sedge grimaced, finger
s flying as he backed the rest of the way out of the program. He wasn’t going to have a chance to flee back to his cabin after all, not if someone checked on the bridge.

  Soft footsteps sounded, so soft that he wouldn’t have heard them if it hadn’t been so quiet. He turned off the control panel, wincing as the light level dropped noticeably, and leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head as he gazed out at the canyon.

  “Sedge?” came a soft voice from the door. Kalish.

  8

  Kalish watched curiously as Sedge lowered his arms and turned toward her in the seat, his face lit by the green glow of the control panel. His short hair was tousled, and his usually tucked-in shirt hung loose about his waist. He must have been in bed at some point.

  “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” He shrugged. “I thought I would add my eyeballs to whoever’s standing watch over in the Mandrake Company shuttles. But mostly I’ve been thinking, so I don’t know how helpful those eyeballs have been.” He tapped his temple, then glanced down her form, his eyes lingering on her socks briefly.

  Kalish usually padded around the ship in her socks at night—the bare floors tended to be cold—but she felt silly in them now, or maybe vulnerable. He hadn’t yet seen her in her pajamas and almost bare feet. Of course, he had glimpsed her without her shirt on in the tent, so she supposed socks wouldn’t embarrass him. She smiled at the memory of the way he had pointedly looked at the ceiling and waited for her to change.

  He smiled back at her tentatively. He had an attractive smile. Tia had been right. He deserved a high ranking on the handsomeness scale, even if she had been too busy watching him sneeze and finding his list of allergies a tad odd to notice it when they had been introduced.

  “What have you been thinking about?” Kalish asked, padding onto the bridge. She could have sat in the co-pilot’s seat, but she felt the urge to be closer than that. Maybe it was the soft lighting or the fact that they were alone in the night, with everyone else on the ship asleep. It made him seem approachable, and it made her... want to approach. She stopped behind his shoulder and gazed at the view screen, the stream just visible along the bottom edge.

  “Uhm.” He looked at her, then at the stream. “I was thinking about you, actually. What you’ll do after you find... whatever it is we’re looking for.”

  Was he trying to ask if she might be available for a date after they finished this mission? Kalish had sensed from the beginning that he was interested in her, but when Commander Thatcher had told him it wouldn’t be appropriate for Sedge to pursue a romantic relationship with her, he had been quick to say that he knew that. No objection.

  “I have a list of relics, wrecks, and lost colonies that I would like to search for. I was actually in the middle of an intriguing hunt when this... situation came up.” Kalish nibbled on her lip, almost tempted to tell him about her father and her problem, but she couldn’t let herself forget that he was a mercenary, someone more likely to have a tie to pirates than to respectable citizens. Not that she could judge, now that men had been killed in her name. She sighed. “What will you do after this mission is over?”

  Kalish wondered if things might be different then, if they might meet on a random space station and enjoy some time together. She rested her hand on his shoulder and thought about smoothing his hair. Would that be presumptuous? It was actually cute tousled, and she mostly wanted an excuse to touch it. Her own hair was a frizzy tangle if she didn’t keep it in braids, and she had always liked the feel of soft, straight hair beneath her fingers.

  “I, ah...” His gaze drifted to her hand, then upward, his eyes meeting hers. “As a mercenary, the reward for a job satisfactorily completed is usually another job. But, uhm, I do have some leave accumulated.”

  “What made you choose to become a mercenary? You don’t seem much like Striker, which is more how I imagine mercenaries.”

  “Thank you.” His mouth twisted wryly. “The crew is an interesting mix of thuggery and intelligence, but I’ll agree that there are quite a few Strikers represented, especially among the combat specialists. As to the rest... I am technically part of a family business too. A horticulture business. My parents do a lot of genetic manipulation of plants with food or medicinal purposes. They’re both intelligent and educated people, and I grew up helping with the business, mostly the indoor part of the business, computer work that didn’t involve touching the plants or wandering through the greenhouses.” He wrinkled his nose and smiled.

  The smile made Kalish want to scoot even closer to him. There was nothing on his face that suggested he minded her touch.

  “How did you go from being a gardener to being in the Fleet? You said you started out there, didn’t you?” She raised her hand to his head and combed his hair into place, pleased that his short dark locks were as soft as she had suspected. She took her time, letting his hair play over her fingers.

  Sedge closed his eyes and leaned toward her, resting the side of his face against her stomach. A shiver ran through her belly, and a warm ache bloomed between her thighs. She shifted closer to him, stroking his hair, with little thought toward smoothing it now.

  “I took my first spaceship ride when I was twelve,” Sedge said, and the feel of his jaw moving against her stomach teased her flesh, making her want to have more of him touching her. His hands remained in his lap, clasped politely there. She wished he would lift them up and slide them along her body. “I was on my way to spend a few weeks with grandparents who live on Orion Prime,” he went on. “It was the first time in my life I could breathe through my nose without the assistance of a cocktail of antihistamines. No plants in space, at least not on most transport ships. Hygienic atmospheres carefully regulated by computers. I was in love. My parents are pacifists and weren’t enthused by my decision to join the military—they pointed out that I could become a pilot and run freight if I wanted a life in space, but that sounded boring. I wanted the challenge of working in intelligence, of solving puzzles and... helping people.”

  He tilted his head up, looking past the swell of her breasts and meeting her eyes. His face was earnest, as if he was willing her to understand that he wanted to help her too. Kalish was not sure why he would find her so worthy of his time, but she was glad he was here with her on this quest. She trailed her fingers down to his ear, tracing its contours, then stroked his cheek.

  “Did that work out how you hoped?” she murmured, still wondering how he had gone from being a Fleet officer, a respected occupation in the system as a whole, to being a mercenary officer, a decidedly less respected occupation. Who ever thought fondly of men who fought not for honor or to protect the citizens of GalCon but purely for coin?

  “Fleet wasn’t quite as noble of an organization as I had thought as a boy looking in from the outside. Oh, there are honorable soldiers, but there are just as many who join solely for their own gain, wanting to leverage their service into political or economic power. And GalCon itself can be a bully at times, as the survivors of Grenavine and Spero will tell you.” Sedge seemed to be enjoying her ministrations, for he closed his eyes and turned his face toward her stomach, tiling his head down as she massaged his scalp.

  Kalish could feel his warm breaths through the thin fabric of her pajama shirt. She curled her fingers into his hair, again wishing he would lift his hands from his lap and touch her. Maybe he was remembering his commander’s admonition and believed he shouldn’t?

  “I won’t pretend Mandrake Company is all about nobility and honor either,” Sedge said, “though the captain has more of a virtuous streak than you would expect from a mercenary, but to a man, everyone there is honest about why they’re there. Nobody’s playing games and trying to pretend he is something better than he is.” He took a deep breath, and his hand came up to her waist. He looked up at her again, leaning his head back into her palm. “That feels wonderful, Kalish.”

  She smiled at him, inordinately pleased at the acknowledgment.
/>
  “Sit with me?” he whispered.

  She looked at the other chair, but was enjoying his closeness and touching him. She had been thinking of letting her hand drift southward, to his shoulder. Maybe he would like having someone slide his shirt aside and check on his wound, just to make sure it had completely healed, of course.

  Sedge shifted in the chair and patted his thigh. She flushed with warmth, realizing what he had been asking.

  “All right,” she whispered, feeling oddly shy as she turned to sit in his lap, as always, conscious that she didn’t have the slimmest hips in the world. But he must have strong, muscular legs to match his torso. Maybe he wouldn’t notice much.

  His arms came around her waist, guiding her onto his lap, and it was her turn to lean against his torso. She rested a hand on his shoulder while sliding the other around the back of his neck.

  “You smell good,” he murmured, never taking his eyes from hers.

  “I thought we agreed that me and my non-fragrant shampoo didn’t smell like anything.”

  His smile broadened. “Exactly.”

  His hands had finally found their way out of his lap. One arm curled around her waist, his fingers kneading her back, radiating warmth and pleasure that made her want to squirm closer. She could feel his arousal, prodding at the back of her thigh through her pajama bottoms. That and his lingering smile gave her the courage to lower her lips to his. He wanted her, padded hips and all.

  His lips welcomed hers, returning the kiss without hesitation. Warmth curled through her body, the heat that had kindled in her core earlier going from that of a match to a fire. She thought he might be tentative, maybe shy, but his kiss was sure and confident, without being overly aggressive. She parted her lips, inviting him to explore, even as she leaned her breasts against his chest, aware of the hard muscles beneath his shirt. A pert nipple prodded her, and she lowered a hand to stroke his chest, rubbing it through his shirt. As their kiss deepened, she wriggled in his lap, relishing the feel of his erection, wishing there were fewer clothes between them.