by M. D. Cooper
“What is this?” Captain Antaris asked. “What is aboard your ship?”
“The pirates we escaped from were using us to smuggle weapons. We managed to drug one of them and then escaped on our ship. However, their illicit cargo is still aboard.”
“Weapons, you say?” Perry asked, his eyebrow’s arching.
“Yes,” Jessica said with a long sigh. “Hundreds of them. We don’t know what to do with them.”
“Don’t worry,” Antaris said. “We will clear your vessel of those stolen goods when we repair it. Consider this troubling issue no more. Come, you can tell us about these pirates and your harrowing adventure while we dine.”
“You are most gracious, Captain Antaris,” Jessica said.
“Nonsense. It is nothing,” Antaris replied as he turned and held out his arm. Jessica carefully stepped forward and slipped her own arm through his.
She had a moment of fear that Antaris would take a great step forward and she’d topple over in the tight skirt, but he must have observed how it would limit her steps and he measured his pace accordingly as he led her between the rows of soldiers.
“In which system did you say you were attacked by pirates?” he was asking. “I’ll be certain to send a missive to the appropriate authorities regarding your plight.”
Jessica had looked up other systems that would match the Sexy’s inbound vector, and only one—other than Kidron, of course—aligned. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.
“We had been passing through Dsmir,” Jessica answered as she concentrated on holding her ankles straight. “Cherrie and I were shopping for new dresses on one of their stations, when we came back to our ship—already half loaded with weapons. The pirates forced us to load the rest of them, but that was when Cherrie was able to slip into our galley and get a dose of her sleeping medication that we fed to the guard posted on the ship.”
“Forcing two women of your obvious quality to load cargo?” Antaris shook his head. “This is why we have a little to do with the surrounding systems as possible.”
“And you fly about with no escort?” Perry asked. “Were there no men with you on your excursion?”
“Dsmir is normally quite safe,” Jessica replied. “Cherrie and I have visited their renowned spas many times. They have an exceptional reputation…though that seems to have slipped.”
“You’re quite fortunate that we were at this jump point,” Antaris said. “House Charlemis is not known for their generosity. They may have simply destroyed you for being in Serenity without authorization.”
Jessica patted Antaris’s hand. “Well, then our luck has held. We are quite fortunate indeed.”
They approached a set of wide doors at the end of the bay, which led into an ornate passageway. Brass rails ran along the bulkheads, and soft carpets lay beneath their feet. Above, silver light fixtures cast long shadows down the corridor.
“The Acadian Light has been the flagship of House Laurentia’s navy for over a thousand years. It has fought and won many battles against the other five Houses of the High Table—and lesser houses as well. My father passed its command to me before he died—much to the chagrin of my brothers.”
Jessica nodded quietly as Antaris told of the many battles the Acadian Light had fought in. Or rather, what Antaris considered to be battles. Most of the battles between the houses appeared to be squabbles over imagined insults and slights.
Jessica wouldn’t have considered half of them to even qualify as skirmishes. Sabrina got into bigger fights in every other system they travelled to.
“How long have the five houses held the Serenity System?” Jessica asked. “The other stars in this region have only been settled for a few hundred years at most. If this ship is over a millennia old, does it date back to the original settlement?”
“No, this ship is not quite so ancient. For over four thousand years, the Houses have governed Serenity. And for those many years, House Laurentia has been the guiding light,” Antaris intoned, a statement that sounded memorized and recited by rote.
“And your ancestors are from the Perseus FGT ship?” Cheeky asked from her place at Commander Perry’s side.
“Yes,” Antaris nodded, glancing back at Cheeky. “My great, great, many times great, grandmother was captain of the Perseus. She led our ancestors across the gap between the galactic arms and deep into the Perseus arm. When they found Serenity, they knew it was the home for our people.”
Jessica noted privately.
“And so it has been ever since,” Perry added.
“And so it has,” Antaris replied.
“That’s incredible,” Jessica said. “It is no wonder that your culture is so very refined.”
“Why thank you,” Antaris said as they reached a lift entrance and he gestured for Jessica and Cheeky to enter first. Once inside, Perry operated a manual lever which caused the lift to rise. They passed seven decks before Perry stopped its ascent and pushed a button opened the door.
“This way, ladies.” Antaris gestured down the corridor before taking Jessica’s arm once more.
This corridor was even more ornate, with real wood paneling on the bulkheads with what appeared to be oil lamps mounted to them.
“I must say,” Jessica said with unfeigned appreciation. “You know how to do things right in the Serenity System.”
“Many thanks,” Antaris replied. “And here we are: our humble officer’s dining room.”
He stopped at a pair of wooden double doors and swung them wide. Within lay a room with decor to match the passageway, but with the addition of tall windows that appeared to look out over a series of low rolling hills covered with grass waving in a stiff breeze.
The illusion was completed by the draperies blowing in an artificial breeze near the open terrace in the back of the room.
Cheeky exclaimed.
Jessica had to agree, but more because of the spread of food laid out on the long wooden table, than the artificial embellishments.
Platters heaping with meats and cheeses, vegetables and fruits covered the ten-meter-long table. Bottles of wine chilled in silver buckets filled with ice, and servants in white coats stood ready to serve.
Four men were seated at the table and rose as the group entered. Two bore the same lapel markings as Commander Perry, and the other two wore a pair of slashes that she assumed meant they were lieutenants.
“Please, ladies,” Antaris said as he led them to the head of the table, gesturing for Jessica to sit on h
is right and Cheeky on his left.
“Gentlemen, the ladies Jessica and Cherrie,” Captain Antaris said to his officers who all nodded in response before resuming their seats.
Cheeky said.
Cheeky giggled.
“On your right, Jessica, is Commander Hernon, our astrogation officer, and on his right is our head of security, Lieutenant Borden. And to your left, Cherrie, is Commander Levi, who is responsible for keeping the Acadian Light in the peak condition you see it in. And last, but not least, is Lieutenant Ned, who commands our weapons crews.”
“It is very nice to make your acquaintances,” Jessica said.
“So wonderful an end to such a harrowing journey,” Cheeky added.
The meal lasted for nearly two hours as different platters of food were circulated and replaced. It seemed to be the custom to sample a portion of each food, but not to take any significant amount of anything.
“Surely you don’t waste the uneaten food,” Jessica asked at one point.
“Oh, of course not,” Perry said. “When we pass a course off, it’s taken down to the enlisted galley. The men enjoy it very much, I’m told.”
Though the men at the table were courteous in the extreme, they had little interest in hearing from Jessica and Cheeky. Rather, they spent most of the meal regaling the women with tales of their valor in various contests of wit and strength. They were light on suggestive looks, but the ones they did give felt possessive to the two women.
Captain Antaris, for the most part, remained silent as his men spoke, allowing them to entertain the women.
Over the course of the meal, Jessica’s assessment of Antaris changed. He was not as much a dandy as she had initially suspected. In fact, she began to wonder if he was privately encouraging his men to engage with the women so he could observe and judge their reactions.
One thing was for certain, he never took his eyes off them.
When the desert was finally cleared and a selection of coffees and brandies were offered, Jessica breathed a sigh of relief. Her narrow waist offered little in the way of stomach capacity to begin with, and the cut of her skirt restricted what expansion it was capable of.
She accepted an espresso with a splash of brandy in it—not because she needed a pick-up, but because it was the smallest drink offered by the servants.
Two of the men lit up cigars and Captain Antaris drew out a pipe and began to tamp down what Jessica assumed to be some form of tobacco from the smell.
“Do you smoke?” he asked Jessica and Cheeky. “I believe we may have some cigarettes on board.”
“I’ve not in years,” Jessica said. “It would be prudent for me not to start up again.”
“I’ll have a cigar if any of you gentlemen have one to spare,” Cheeky said.
Several of the men cast glances at one another, and Perry shrugged, pulling one from inside his jacket. “You are certainly an unusual woman, Cherrie. I’ve never seen a lady smoke a cigar.”
Cheeky cut the end and carefully lit the cigar, the embers at its end glowing brightly before she puffed out a smoke ring, and then blew out a second that passed within the first.
“It’s been a decade at least,” Cheeky said. “But yours smelled too good to refuse.”
Captain Antaris chuckled. “It would seem things are quite different outside Serenity.”
“Have you never ventured outside the system?” Jessica asked.
“Twice,” Antaris replied. “Once to Seraph, and once to Kidron. That was years ago, though. Both systems had been recently settled.”
“It’s a great big galaxy,” Cheeky said around her cigar. “You should get out there. A lot to see.”
“There is little out there that we need to see,” Antaris replied. “Serenity is the pinnacle of human society. There is little need to circulate with the masses.”
Jessica noted interest on the faces of the other officers. She wondered how many of them felt trapped in this strange star system.
They exchanged pleasantries for the next twenty minutes before Captain Antaris addressed his officers.
“Gentlemen, there are matters I must discuss with these lovely ladies. If you would excuse me, I would like to converse with them in private.”
Jessica wondered if this was the part of the meal where she politely declined sex—likely followed by a pitched fight as they escaped.
Iris sighed.
Jessica gave an internal sigh as she watched Cheeky tap out her cigar.
Jessica held back retort and prayed that whatever Antaris wanted to talk about it didn’t involve a pleasurable ending, because she didn’t know what she’d do if he pressed the issue.
When Perry closed the doors, and the servants filed out the back entrance, Antaris finished his brandy and fixed Cheeky, then Jessica with a level stare.
“My men provided me with a list of the weapons on your ship,” he said without preamble or an excess of flowery speech. “It is quite the collection. Advanced particle weapons, railguns, kinetics, and beam weapons. Something for every occasion.”
“The pirates who were going to use us to smuggle their ill-gotten wares were well-stocked.” Jessica replied somberly. “We were lucky to escape with our lives.”
“Well, that part of your tale rings true. Someone was shooting at you. There’s no mistaking that, nor the logs on your reactor, which show you hit shutdown at one point during the fight.”
“Are you saying you disbelieve us?” Cheeky asked.
Captain Antaris snapped his fingers and the double doors opened and a soldier entered, carrying one of the rail guns, still sealed in its plastic wrapping. Antaris rose and the soldier handed him the weapon with a curt nod before departing.
Antaris unwrapped the plastic around the weapon, and a small paper card fell out. He leaned the rifle against his chair and bent over to pick up the card.
The paper was blank, save for a small three-starred symbol in the lower right.
“Do you know what this is?” Antaris asked.
“Looks like stars,” Cheeky said.
Antaris fixed Cheeky with a level stare, his tone was both dismissive and accusatory. “This is a very old symbol once used by house Charlemis—it was the sign of an elite cadre of their military. One which carried out assassinations and other black operations.”
“I imagine lots of people used three stars for all sorts of things,” Cheeky said with a shrug, a response which caused Antaris to visibly bristle.
all stern like that,> Jessica said to Cheeky.
Cheeky’s tone contained an element of vehemence that belied the content of her statement.
Iris didn’t respond, and Jessica turned her attention to Cheeky, meeting her eyes and nodding slowly.
“Truth, then,” she said to Cheeky.
“OK, truth,” Cheeky replied with a curt nod.
“You have my attention,” Antaris said, his scowl remaining firmly in place.
“We did not come from Dsmir. We were at Kidron when we encountered a smuggler. A man named Derrick. He was using us to bring these weapons here. We escaped, but were unable to alter our destination with the damage we took.”
Antaris leaned back in his chair, flipping the card with the three stars on it over and over in his hand.
“I know of this Derrick,” he said finally. “He has been in Serenity in the past, trading with Charlemis—though the High Table has since forbidden him from returning. It would seem he has resorted to using others to do his dirty work.”
“You’re just not certain about our complicity?” Jessica asked.
Antaris nodded. “I’ve been beyond Serenity’s heliopause more than I can admit in the company of my officers. I know women behave…differently elsewhere in Orion space—and the galaxy at large, I assume. My men would believe you were coerced because they do not believe women capable of anything like smuggling weapons.”