by JN Chaney
* * *
When we reentered the ship, I saw Hitchens and Octavia on their feet and against the wall. “You guys all right?” I asked, stepping through the airlock.
Both of them stared at me with wide-eyed expressions. Octavia shook her head, looking out of the corner of her eye to the other side of the hall.
At that moment, I saw a gun appear, followed by the man holding it as they walked into view. “Put the call in. Send our coordinates,” said Fratley, holding his ear. He beamed a smile at me, moving the gun so the barrel was aimed in my direction.
“Shit,” I muttered.
“You ain’t lying,” he said, shaking his head. “Should’ve killed me back there. You’re getting stupid, Jace.”
“Put the gun down and just leave, Fratley.”
“And walk away from my money? I don’t think so.” He looked at Lex, who was standing behind my leg, holding my waist. “That little bitch is coming with me.”
Abigail raised her rifle at him. “Touch the girl and you’ll lose your head.” She dropped her aim to target his hips. “Both of them.”
He laughed. “So many threats. What a toxic environment you’ve constructed here, Jace. I don’t think I like it.”
“Then leave,” I said.
“I will. Very soon, too. Just give me the freak and I’ll let the rest of you go. Even the nun. How about that? You can keep your toy and I can still get paid. Win-win.”
“Except I’m not giving Lex to you,” I said.
“You’ll do exactly that if you want to make it out of here alive.”
I saw the same pistol Hitchens had used earlier resting in front of me, centimeters from the wall. He must have dropped it earlier when he went to check on Octavia. All I had to do was get to it before Fratley could get a shot off, but that was easier said than done.
If only Fratley didn’t have his own weapon aimed at the doctor.
I watched him tap the side of his ear. “This is Captain Oxanos. Prepare another boarding party. I need reinforcements.”
“What’s wrong, Fratley? You can’t handle this on your own?” I asked.
He ignored me. “Repeat. This is Captain Oxanos. Someone answer me, goddammit!”
I heard a click inside my ear. “Sir, I managed to block all outgoing transmissions. Captain Oxanos will be unable to contact his ship until he leaves.”
I couldn’t answer Siggy without drawing attention to myself, so I kept quiet, looking at both Octavia and Hitchens, and then at the extendable pistol on the floor. If I was quick, I might be able to get to it while Fratley was distracted.
Octavia seemed to track what I was thinking. She had both of her hands around Hitchens’ arm. We eyed one another, and she gave me a slight nod.
Fratley snarled in frustration, unable to reach his ship. “Those idiots. I don’t know what they’re doing, but when I get over there, I’m going kill every last one of them.” He glared at me. “Jace, I swear to the fucking gods, if you do anything stupid here, so help me, I’ll kill this fat piece of shit where he stands, you hear me? Do you, Jace? Do you understand what I’m telling you? I’ll plug every last one of your friends while you watch, and then I’ll take that little girl with me and burn this ship where it floats. And I’ll keep you alive for all of it, just so you can see—”
Octavia pulled Hitchens to the floor, suddenly, and I dove forward at the pistol. I quickly grabbed the gun, rolling on my knee in a single motion as I brought my sights to Fratley.
Before I could pull the trigger, however, Fratley fired at the two archaeologists, hitting Octavia in the middle of her back. She landed on top of Hitchens, who wrapped both his heavy arms around her, and they fell together against the floor.
At the same time, I unleashed a bullet of my own. It snagged Fratley’s wrist, splitting bone and flesh.
Behind me, Abigail followed suit, firing her rifle and hitting him in the shoulder.
I ran forward, raising my gun and bringing it down across his face, knocking him in the jaw and nose.
Fratley fell, wheezing and bleeding, snot and blood rolling down his cheeks and lips. He tried to lift his pistol again, but collapsed his arm instead.
I pressed my foot to the ravager king’s wrist, then aimed the barrel at his forehead, cocking my gun a final time. “Don’t.”
Abigail ran over and kicked the weapon from his weakened hand. Fratley’s fingers wriggled on the floor like worms, trying to touch a gun that wasn’t there. “Bastard,” he muttered as spit and blood pooled out of his mouth.
“You should have left it alone,” I said.
“Octavia needs help!” yelled Hitchens. “She’s not moving!”
Abigail swung the rifle around her body so it was on her back, then ran to the doctor. “Easy,” she said, pulling the woman off of him. “Octavia?”
“She needs to go to a hospital!” cried Hitchens.
“How bad is it?” I asked.
Abigail shook her head.
I stared at Octavia, an anger rising in me, and I dug my hand into Fratley’s neck, squeezing as hard as I could. “Look what you did, you piece of—”
He tried to laugh, and it came out garbled.
“Shut the fuck up!” I shouted at him. I pulled my fist back and punched him again. He took the blow, but didn’t stop laughing or coughing.
He tried his best to speak. “Union…coming…! You’re—”
Before he could say another word, I buried the barrel of my gun into his mouth, pulling the trigger, splattering brains and blood against the floor beneath him.
I stood, stepping back from the body, and dropped the pistol at my feet.
TWENTY
I stared down at the body of Fratley Oxanos, ravager leader and legendary former Renegade, lying motionless on my floor.
What had I just done?
He was on his way to bleeding out, no doubt about it, so I had no reason to kill him now. Fratley had already been disarmed, so the danger was gone. He was finished.
“You idiot,” I whispered, staring at his motionless body.
“Jace, we have to do something here,” pleaded Abigail, still holding Octavia.
I turned away from the corpse at my feet, hurrying over to the woman with the bullet in her spine. “Is she breathing?”
“Barely,” said Abigail. “We need to get to a hospital.”
“Sir, may I have your attention for a moment?” asked Sigmond. “I hate to interrupt but we have a situation.”
“What is it now?” I asked, not bothering to hide my frustration.
“I’m detecting slipspace activity. Another rift is forming.”
“Another rift? Who is it this time? What can you see?”
“It appears to be a Union cruiser, sir.”
I looked at Fratley. Was this what he meant when he’d mentioned the Union?
“What are we going to do?” asked Hitchens.
“First, we’re getting out of here,” I said, looking at each of them. “We’ll find a place to patch Octavia as soon as we’re clear.” I turned to the speaker. “Siggy, open a tunnel!”
“Right away, sir.”
I felt the ship vibrate as we initiated our slip drive. It would only take a few seconds for the engines to prime, and then we’d be free and clear, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
“What about that ravager ship?” asked Abigail. “Won’t it come after us?”
“I’ll handle that. You all look after Octavia. Oh, and someone go get Freddie. Make sure he’s okay.”
“I’ll check on him,” said Abigail.
I started running for the cockpit, going as fast as I could through the ship. When I was finally in my seat, I fired up the quad cannons and took aim at the ravager ship, targeting their thrusters. They wouldn’t be expecting us to fire, since Fratley was still onboard, but my ship was no match for a one-on-one fight. The safest option was to disable their engines before they had a chance to raise their shields, then get out of this system.
I was only going to have one chance at this.
“Here we go,” I muttered, pulling the twin stick triggers and firing a barrage of torpedoes.
“Enemy ship is reacting,” said Sigmond. “They’re attempting to release their countermeasure flares.”
I watched as a series of small pods dispersed from the larger ship, scattering into the space between us.
Three of the four torpedoes hit the newly-created field, but the last remaining missile continued toward the enemy ship.
It collided with the vessel, exploding in a wonderful display, shattering a chunk of their hull off of the craft, setting them adrift.
I brought up the scanner and checked their status. “Looks like we got them!”
“The tunnel is open, sir. Shall we proceed?”
“Do it!” I barked.
“Receiving a transmission,” said Sigmond.
“Attention, this is General Marcus Brigham with the UFS Galactic Dawn, calling the vessel identified as The Renegade Star. Please respond. You are in violation of multiple Union laws, including the possession and theft of classified Union property. Stand down now or be prepared to face additional charges. You will not be warned a second time.”
“Siggy, cut that channel and get us out of here!”
“Entering slip tunnel now,” responded Sigmond.
I had no idea who Marcus Brigham was, but he could piss off. I wasn’t going to fall for whatever he was selling.
We entered the tunnel right as the cruiser was leaving its own. I watched as the opening sealed behind us, and we pushed into the swirling emerald cloud of slipspace. We were back on the run now, for better or worse.
“What other orders do you have, sir?” asked the AI.
“Put us through a few more tunnels and then find us a planet with a hospital,” I told him. “And make sure it’s as far away from Union space as possible.”
* * *
Abigail and I loaded the shuttle with the bodies of the ravagers. most were dead, but a few were still breathing, though they were unconscious. I didn’t really care what happened to them after this. They deserved whatever they got.
Fratley was the last to be taken inside. I sat him down in one of the seats, my eyes lingering on him for longer than I realized.
His face was different now, all the rage and fury gone. He seemed so placid and calm, almost peaceful, so unlike himself. I wondered, briefly, if we all looked this way when we died. All our hate drained out of us. All our anger gone. Would Fratley find peace now? If the gods truly existed, would they treat him well?
A part of me hoped not. I wanted him to suffer for his crimes, for hurting Octavia and Abigail, for trying to take Lex. I wanted to tell him that dying wasn’t good enough…that he deserved more.
But I couldn’t. He was gone. For better or worse, he was free now, all his ambition finally lost. He was like anyone else now.
“Jace, are you ready?” asked Abigail. She was standing far behind me at the entrance to the shuttle.
“I’m right behind you,” I said, still looking at the dead man.
She stepped off the ship and went back through the airlock, leaving me alone. My eyes stayed on the former Renegade for a long moment before I finally turned away. “So long,” I muttered.
* * *
I waited in the lounge for Freddie to give me the news. Aside from Octavia, he was the only one of us with any medical training. Despite being injured himself, he was doing his best to take care of her.
“How is she?” I asked as Freddie came out of the hall.
“Not good,” he said, removing his gloves. “I can’t say for certain. I’m no doctor. We need to get her to a proper hospital.”
I felt sick to my stomach, hearing the words. If I’d shot Fratley when I had the chance, when he was unconscious on the floor, this wouldn’t have happened. “Siggy already has us going to a colony planet called Bellium. It has one of the best hospitals in the six systems. It’ll take a few short hours.”
“She’s not in any serious danger right now, as far as I can tell,” he assured me.
I nodded, slowly. “Thanks, Freddy.”
“The good news is she’s alive,” he said. “I have faith in her.”
“Faith,” I said, quietly. “Yeah.”
Freddie stood there for a second, but then quietly turned back to the hall, leaving me in silence.
I sat on the small couch, staring at the destroyed coffee pot in the corner and the tables that had been knocked over. I took the nearest one and straightened it, wiping the top with my sleeve.
The viewscreen was on, but muted, so I touched the controls to turn the sound up. It was the Union News Network, and the anchor I disliked was talking about a recent awards ceremony.
“I never liked that guy,” said Abigail, standing near the hallway. She had a few bandages on her face, concealing her cuts and bruises. I was glad to hear her voice.
“Who does?” I asked.
She sat near me, crossing her legs and placing her arm over the back of the seat. “Have you seen the new warrant list?”
“Let me guess.”
She nodded. “We’re all there.”
“Perfect.”
She took a small pad from her right pocket and tossed it to me. “You, me, Freddie, Hitchens. We’re all wanted. Two hundred thousand credits each.”
I read over the document, scoffing. “A million for the whole lot of us. That’s big money. We’ll have every Renegade in the galaxy after us.”
“Are you going to turn everyone in?” she asked.
“I’m considering it,” I said, a wry smile on my face.
Abigail smiled, but it soon faded, and her eyes trailed off, focusing briefly on the television. “We can’t go back now. We’re done.”
“It’s not like either of us had anywhere to go back to in the first place,” I said.
She nodded. “Not after what happened to Arcadia.”
“I’m sorry about that,” I muttered. “The only reason Fratley did that was because of me. I—”
I felt her hand touch mine, and my eyes lifted to see hers. “You saved us all, Jace. Forget the rest. If it wasn’t for you, we’d all be dead.”
I didn’t say anything.
“You know,” she continued. “Maybe we can find a nice beach somewhere, far from all the noise.”
“A beach?” I asked, trying to imagine myself with sand between my toes.
“You never know,” she said, smiling, and for the first time since I’d met her, she had a warmth to her. It made me smile.
You could open a bar,” I suggested.
She scrunched her nose. “I’m no good at mixing drinks.”
“Oh, right. You’re a nun. I almost forgot.”
“I think we both know I was never really a nun, Jace.”
I nodded. “I always knew that. Somehow.”
“What are you two doing?” asked Hitchens, entering the lounge from Octavia’s room. Abby’s hand slipped off mine as soon as the doctor spoke.
“We’re just talking about what kind of alcohol to sell in our new bar,” I answered.
“We’re discussing our next option,” corrected Abigail. “The Union has warrants on every last one of us, which means we can’t go back.”
“Why would you want to do a thing like that?” asked the archaeologist.
“You have a better idea, Professor?” I asked.
“If you can’t return, why not press forward? We have the map to Earth. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no reason not to follow it.”
Abigail looked at me. “That was the initial plan.”
“Except it didn’t include me,” I added.
“That was then,” she said.
“We could use your expertise, Captain,” said Hitchens.
“That map has you leaving the Deadlands,” I said. “My so-called expertise only extends so far. I’ve never been beyond this part of space. I don’t know what’s out there.”
“Not many
do,” said Hitchens.
I shook my head. “What about Octavia?”
“I’ve spent the last seven years with her at my side. I know she wants nothing more than to see this mission through to the end. Since I met her, it’s been her dream, and mine.”
I had to admit, the idea of seeing the unknown was enticing. There were plenty of colonies beyond the Deadlands. Plenty of worlds with people on them. A few other empires, such as the Sarkonians, who kept to themselves. I’d always wanted to see their worlds. This could be my chance.
At the same time, I knew I couldn’t go home again, not after everything I’d done. Taurus Station wouldn’t have me now…and Ollie was gone.
Aside from these people, who else did I really have? Where else could I go?
“How about it, Jace?” asked Abigail.
I looked at both of them. Hitchens with his belly and jovial mustache, still smiling at me, even despite Octavia’s situation. Abigail with her quiet resolve, determined to fulfill her mission.
And Lex, standing at the doorway, there in the corner of the lounge, watching me with that strange, intense curiosity. I played like I hadn’t seen her there, but I knew she was waiting to hear my answer.
“Okay,” I finally said, looking back at Abigail. “I’ll take you where you want to go. I’ll help you find your way to Earth, wherever it is.”