Embrace the Romance

by S. E. Smith

  “Is this safe?” Zara asked, holding a hot cup of tea in both hands.

  “Safe is relative. You’ll be fine as long as you stay on board.” He didn’t have to tell her not to let anyone in. He doubted she’d ever open a door again without verifying who was on the other side first. His anger had morphed into a controlled burn, which was good. He wasn’t the best at impulse control. If the outlander had still been on the space station, there was no telling how that would have played out.

  Thirty minutes later, Marco slid into the bar behind a large, drunk crowd of off-duty federation jocks. The place stank of tarnor weed, and the air was thick with the violet haze. He stayed close to the jocks. The outlander was nowhere in sight. He checked his com again. No further updates had been sent by Ru, so he should be here. He took up a spot at the end of the bar from where he could see the entire room, and waited. Although Ru still hadn’t responded, he was comforted by the fact that the location changes were coming fairly regularly.

  How’s it look? Zara’s text popped up on the com.

  I don’t see him. What if he sold it to someone?

  No way. He wanted Ru, though he didn’t know what was special about him. He wouldn’t sell.

  Just then, a door in the wall at the far end of the bar opened, and three men and two women filed out. One of the men was counting a fistful of the local currency, dinarie.

  Bingo. There’s a gambling room in back.

  Can you get in?

  Am I good looking? He regretted it the moment he hit send. He was such an ass.

  She didn’t respond.

  He pocketed his com and headed for the bartender. “I hear there’s some entertainment to be had in your non-existent back room.”

  The portly man reached into his pocket and the door at the end of the bar swung open.

  That was anti-climactic.

  Marco walked around the bar and entered the room. More like rooms. The entry was a large parlor with archways branching off in six different directions.

  He had to remain inconspicuous, so scanning the rooms wouldn’t work. This was going to be a long night. A long, probably expensive, night. He was about to start at the room on his right, but stopped. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, expanding his psi. Didn’t know what the fuck he was doing, what he was looking for, but it felt right. He imagined his psi was a single beam, the sweep of a radar, and started on the right.

  A fascinating array of impressions trickled into his awareness. There were several naive impressions. People concentrating on the rules, unaware of the real game. Poor suckers. When he got to the third room on the left, he stopped the probe. If there was such a thing as evil, it would be an outlander, and he was willing to bet he’d just come across a handful of them. He let the anger burn as he entered the room and found his mark. Unfortunately, his mark found him at the same time.

  The outlander said something to his buddy sitting next to him. Dude was a nasty looking high-tech cyborg. The left side of his chest was metal alloy, which he hadn’t bothered covering with synskin. His left arm incorporated a nasty piece of hardware that no doubt housed any number of weapons. He nodded, and grinned at Marco. It was a gruesome sight. Pointed metal teeth filled the lipless space. Drool slid down his chin. The two stood and made their way toward Marco. They stopped at the entrance. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  “I believe you have something of mine.” Great, now he was starting to sound like Ru.

  The whir of a laser canon emanated from the cyborg’s arm as he pointed the thing at Marco’s chest. That was one big-ass charge, judging by the volume.

  “I got something that formerly belonged to you.” The outlander crossed his arms and waited.

  “Looks like I’m outnumbered.” Marco wanted nothing more than to plant his fist in the asshole’s face.

  The outlanders laughed and left him standing there. He gave them a few minutes to clear out, then made his way back to the ship.

  “You didn’t have a plan?” Zara stared at him incredulously.

  “No.” Idiot.

  “What did you think was going to happen? He’d just hand it over?”

  “I guess I was assuming a little aggressive discussion would be enough. That cyborg has some pretty impressive tech.”

  Zara shook her head. “So what do we do now?”

  “Now I call in some reinforcements.” He should have done this before, but spending time with Armond Nolde was never at the top of his to-do list.

  He eased out of the dock and made the jump into subspace. Once he was satisfied they were out of tracking range, he killed the engines. They’d wait for another location ping from Ru. In the meantime, he placed an interstellar call back to Earth. Due to the lucrative nature of asteroid mining, the subspace communication was decent here. When Armond answered, it was with his usual air of disdain. He was such a prick.

  “What can I do for you, Marco?”

  “What makes you think I need anything? I could be calling just to say how much I miss your smiling face.” In the almost decade he’d worked with the man, he’d never seen him smile. He was, however, an extraordinarily powerful psi, and had the ability to use the portal-making distorters without any assistance. “Rucon said I could call if I needed anything.”

  “I am aware of this. I’m surprised it has taken you this long.”

  They had a long history of pushing each other's buttons. Problem was, it was damn hard to tell when he was riled, but Marco would bet his left nut that he pissed him off just as much as Armond did him. “Yeah, well, some things take time. I need your help to retrieve something from an outlander.”

  “You realize how dangerous those people are?”

  “No, it totally escaped me.”

  “If Rucon approves, I can depart within the hour. I assume you have your distorter with you?”

  “Um, not exactly. I kind of left it on earth.” Only partially true; he’d accidentally put it through the wash. Again. They needed to waterproof those things.

  There was a long pause. “What quadrant are you in? I’ll need to locate the nearest portal where you can pick me up.”

  “Excellent.” Marco disconnected and sent Armond their location.

  “You didn’t say goodbye,” Zara said.

  “Let’s just say our relationship isn’t one of pleasantries.”

  “So you don’t get along?”

  He let out a bark of a laugh. “That, sweetheart, is an understatement. He is water to my oil, always has been. A stuck up, self-righteous prick. He’s smart, though, can be trusted, and has a skill we need right now.”

  “What’s that?”

  The existence of the distorters wasn’t common knowledge throughout the galaxy. It would be more fun to show her. “Just wait and see.”

  “Do you work with him?”

  “Yeah. He’s also an Earth Protector with the Cavacent Clan.”

  “Right, I’d heard you signed on with them.”

  Not long after their break up. Leaving Sandaria had seemed like a good idea at the time. And it had been. He’d never regretted signing on with that family.

  Armond sent them coordinates for Xanbar65, a planet not five hours from where they were. He set off.

  Zara appeared a few minutes later with a platter of sandwiches and a pot of tea. She’d always liked her tea. “I made lunch.”

  “Thanks.” He took a sandwich and she poured. No milk, lots of sugar, just the way he liked it. She was milk, no sugar. Funny the things you remember.

  Zara kept herself busy with her tablet, but Marco couldn’t help but steal glances. He’d forgotten the way the amber streaks in her hair would catch the light that way.

  “You’re staring at me.” She didn’t look up.

  Well, shit. “Sorry.”

  She took a deep breath, then met his gaze. “This is a professional relationship, Marco. Nothing more. I’m completely intrigued by Ru. Nothing more,” she repeated. She’d always done that when she was nervous.

&n
bsp; “Professional, sure. I just want to say I really appreciate your help.” He should apologize for being such a dick back on Sandaria, but he couldn’t find the words. He made love to women, he didn’t communicate much with them. Never noticed that before. Or maybe he’d just never cared.

  “You’re welcome.” She gathered up the remains of lunch and left him alone. He spent the remaining time trying to corral his thoughts and keep them away from a certain female currently occupying the same space as him.

  Three hours in, he received another ping from Ru. They were on course for Sigma Vector 9 in outlander territory. No surprise there. They would just have to get in and out fast.

  Right on time, he docked on Xanbar65. He went and fetched Armond, who was waiting for them in the transit lounge.

  There was a certain comfort in their animosity. He wasn’t sure how Armond felt, but personally, he’d come to like the humorless, stoic, asshole.

  “Thanks for coming. I’ll get us underway, and then I have someone I’d like you to meet.” They made their way back to No Commitments and departed the space station. They found Zara a few minutes later in the galley. She was stirring something in a pot that brought back a flood of memories. Her place, first date. She’d cooked a spicy dish from the Granat region of Sandaria. Gods, he hadn’t had that dish since then, and his mouth was watering.

  “Zara, I’d like you to meet Armond Nolde. Earth Protector extraordinaire.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Armond.” Zara wiped her hands on the apron she wore and extended her hand.

  He gave her a perfunctory shake. He’d never been good with pleasantries. Never would be.

  Marco poured himself a beer, and they sat at the counter where Zara was cooking. “So, we’ll be on Sigma tomorrow around 16:00 local time. That’s a six-hour transit for us.”

  “Rucon said we’re retrieving a com unit?” Armond asked.

  “Yes,” Marco said.

  “A very special com unit,” Zara added.

  “Is there sensitive information stored on it? And if so, why would you keep something like that localized on a com?”

  Zara’s eyes lit up as she spoke. “That’s actually an interesting question. We don’t know exactly where his sentience is located. I can tell you that doing a copy and migrating all the data that comprises Ru did not produce another sentient entity. Which is pretty damn interesting, when you think about it.”

  “Are you saying your com unit has become sentient?”

  “Yes.” Marco and Zara answered at once.

  “It’s a lot like Ria’s com, only more so. Ria’s has developed a range of personality types but hasn’t yet formed a solid persona. There’s a difference. Not to say it won’t happen, but it hasn’t yet. Hard to explain. Her com has preferences, but not a firm sense of self, like Ru does.”

  “I am looking forward to seeing this phenomenon.”

  “Yeah, well, we have to get him back first,” Marco said.

  “Him?” Armond asked.

  “More like a gender neutral they,” Zara provided.

  “How did you come to lose such a unique device?”

  They filled him in on the outlander who’d taken Ru, and how he was sending location data but nothing else.

  “We must move with caution. It would be best if we can keep the identity of your ship confidential, or is it too late for that?”

  “Probably too late. He knew I was no longer on the station.” Marco said.

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Zara added. “He could have just gotten lucky.”

  “Maybe, but we shouldn’t count on it,” Marco said. “Stealth mode?”

  “Yes.” Armond gave a curt nod.

  It was a highly illegal maneuver. They would modify their transponder to another ship’s signature, and electronically alter the ships marking. That was an illegal piece of tech they’d acquired from the planet Vertan. If the federation caught wind of it, Rucon would be severely fined, but this far out on the fringes of controlled space, it wasn’t likely.

  “Anyone hungry?” Zara asked, pulling some bowls from the locker.

  “Am I ever not?” Marco gave her a grin. She used to tease him about how much he ate.

  “I recently ate,” Armond said. “I have work to do, however, so I’ll set up over at the table.” He left the two of them alone in the galley.

  “Suit yourself.” Zara spooned a heaping portion into a bowl and handed it to Marco before serving herself. She sat on the stool next to him and they ate in silence until Marco had finished. “That was every bit as good as I remembered.”

  “I made a large batch so we can freeze the leftovers.”

  Marco recalled the meals she’d cooked at her place. She liked cooking, which was unusual. Most people just got creative with the food gens, but not her. She liked to do it the old-fashioned way. Said it relaxed her. He took care of the cleanup, and headed to the cockpit for the rest of the trip.

  At Sigma Vector 9, it took almost an hour to get a dock assignment, as the station was surprisingly active. Active and swimming with outlander ships.

  Zara wandered into the cockpit as he slid into the docking bay. “What’s this special talent Armond has?”

  “You won’t believe it,” Marco said, getting to his feet. “He can use things called distorters. Come on. I’ll let him explain.”

  They found Armond right where they’d left him at the table in the galley. “Zara would like to know about the distorters.”

  Armond filled her in. “The devices have the ability to create bi-directional portals between two or more of them.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  Marco really liked that crease in her forehead when she squinted her eyes that way.

  “I assure you I am not.”

  Marco laughed. “Yeah, Armond doesn’t do humor.”

  “But how? That goes against everything I know about portal theory.”

  “Not everyone can use them, as it takes an alternative form of psi.”

  Zara’s mouth formed a perfect O with those perfect lips of hers. “There’s an alternative form of psi? And you both have it?”

  Marco shook his head. “Not me, unfortunately. That’s why I had to get Armond here. He can port me, but I can’t do it.”

  “This I have to see. So, what’s the plan? You have a plan this time, right?”

  “Plans are highly overrated, especially when you have something like this up your sleeve.”

  “Marco—”

  “I mean it,” Marco assured her. “All I have to do is get Ru in my hands and I’m out of there.”

  She wasn’t convinced, and might even be worried.

  “As soon as I’m on the surface, Armond will depart the station and get far enough away to be out of tracking range. When I have Ru, I’ll signal him and I’ll be right back here with you. Couldn’t be easier.”

  “Oh sure. All you have to do is enter a hot den of outlanders, and get one to hand over Ru.” Zara turned to Armond. “Is he completely sane?”

  “His intellectual capacity is within acceptable limits.”

  “Coming from anyone else, that would be an insult,” Marco said, strapping on the outlander weapons he’d picked up on Xanbar65. “It’s almost a compliment from this one.”

  Five

  A sense of apprehension settled over Zara as Armond eased out of the docking bay. She stood behind him, arms crossed, not sure what else to do.

  Down on the planet, Marco had made it to the location Ru was transmitting from. Given the brief description, hot den wasn’t too far off. It was an old warehouse on the edge of town. Drugs, music, he said it would provide the perfect cover, but that cover could go both ways. He could disappear in a place like that. The tension in her gut belied her casual feelings toward her old lover.

  Armond was certainly a strange person. Marco had assured her he was safe, but she’d never met someone so devoid of emotion. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he wasn’t human at all. Mor
e machine than man.

  “I’m worried about him.” The words were out before she processed the thought.

  Armond set course and turned toward her. “He is an exceedingly proficient operative. Highly trained, and oddly lucky.”

  “Lucky?”

  “I believe there are individuals who are, in fact, lucky. I have witnessed Marco get through numerous situations that could have, should have, perhaps, ended poorly. I can only assume it is a phenomenon that could best be explained by quantum entanglement. A fascinating area of research.”

  From what little she knew of Armond, the response surprised her. But then, if you were going to believe in luck, you’d want a way to explain it. “So, what happens now?”

  “Now we wait,” Armond said, rising to his feet. “When he has Ru in his possession, he’ll signal me and I’ll bring them aboard.”

  “I wish I could see what was going on.”

  “That is not currently possible.”

  Yeah, he was an odd bird, all right. They made their way to the lounge to wait.

  Armond declined her offer of tea, and instead continued working at the table. She made herself a pot and decided to review her analysis of Ru to keep herself busy. It was nearly forty minutes later when there was a beep from the distorter that sat in front of Armond. With lightning speed, he reached out, placed his hand over the device, and disappeared.

  Gone.

  Vanished.

  “Hello?” She jumped to her feet. That’s not the way this was supposed to work. Marco was supposed to be here now. All of them. Here. Together. That’s what they’d said, right?

  She grabbed her com, but no, that was stupid. She was out of range. The ship might be able to reach him, but oh, god. She didn’t know how to use the equipment. Or how to fly this thing.

  She spun around the empty space. She was alone on a ship she couldn’t fly, deep in outlander territory. What the hell was she going to do now? The absurdity of the situation was terrifying. How long should she wait before trying to contact someone? What if outlanders found her first?

  Behind her, a horrific bellow sounded.

  She swung around just as Marco slammed into her, sending them both flying. They crashed onto the dining table. A flash of pain shot through her shoulder, and the table shattered on impact, spilling them to the ground. She landed on top of Marco just as Armond’s data pad skidded to a stop at the feet of a blue-black skinned woman of ample proportions who stood next to Armond himself.