Shades of Dark

by Linnea Sinclair

  “Got a positive,” Verno growled and there was the usual flurry of activity, confirming the bogey’s ident. A tri-hauler, sluggish and slow, lumping along overburdened.

  The Karn proceeded, sleek and armed to her teeth, but with no shuttle. I’d never live that down. “Most women just want jewelry,” Sully had grumbled at some point.

  We were in Baris, not far from Garno, heading for the A-B and Dock Five. Back where we began, in a great many ways. But Five was a hub of information. Always had been. Another reason Fleet never shut it down.

  Out of jump, we needed to go back to regular duty shifts. We’d stay off the major trafficked lanes, yes. But we were in Baris. One sector away from Aldan and the heart of the Empire.

  I resigned myself that I’d have to sit duty with Del. I didn’t trust him, plain and simple. I sent Marsh, Verno, and Philip—with much grumbling—off the bridge. Next shift would come on duty in six hours, with Ren on a swing shift always available in between.

  I retired to the ready room. I didn’t have to be on the bridge on the Karn. She was a good-sized luxury yacht but still small enough that I didn’t need to have my ass glued in the pilot’s chair the entire shift.

  Which helped. I still needed distance between Del and myself. Even if it was only ready room to bridge distance.

  I sat in Sully’s seat at the table, facing out the doors to the bridge, and pulled up the deskscreen. We were no more than ten, fifteen minutes from an Imperial GA-7 data beacon. Time for the former pride of the Sixth Fleet to play hacker. I picked up the signal, initiated a grab, and waited for the information to flow.

  The news headlines weren’t good. More reorganizations in Fleet, headlines said. Reorganizations, my ass. Dafir Command and Baris had been gutted. I didn’t recognize any of the names of the new admirals, and the few old that stayed on…I’d suspect Philip would say Tage was welcome to them.

  I keyed in a search for news of Jodey Bralford and the Nowicki. Data was still coming in, but that was something I knew Philip would want to know. I wanted to know. I suspected that was another reason Philip grumbled as he was leaving the bridge. That suspicion was confirmed when he showed up at my elbow a few minutes later.

  “You’re off duty,” I told him.

  He grunted and sat next to me, bringing up his own deskscreen. “I need to know what’s happened to my people.” He shot me a glance that held an emotion I’d never equate with Philip Guthrie. It was tinged with despair. “I survived. Many didn’t. Don’t think that won’t haunt me for the rest of my life.”

  “Then make your survival count,” I said quietly.

  “I intend to.” He brought up the same news feeds I had coming in, keyed in his own search parameters, then sat back and read the headlines and abstracts, tagging one now and then for the full article, as I did.

  Sully appeared in the doorway to the bridge. “Transmits in?”

  “Just coming in now.”

  “Anything from Drogue?”

  We hadn’t heard from the affable monk in over a week. That was worrisome. Everything was worrisome, now that we were back in realspace. Funny how jump was such an insulator, though not without problems of its own.

  “I’ll let you know.” I scanned the list, my heart warming when I saw Drogue’s personal transmit code. It was addressed to me. “Yes, there is.” I opened it. It was text not vid, sending condolences. “Just letting us know we’re in his prayers,” I told Sully.

  Sully nodded, his dark gaze sweeping over me, over Philip. He glanced over his shoulder to where Del sat at helm then stepped further inside the room, leaning his hands against the back of the chair opposite us. “Guthrie.” His voice was clear but quiet.

  Philip looked up.

  “A request. Suggestion. Don’t answer me now. Think about it. When we hit Dock Five, any number of a dozen things could go wrong. Likely will, as long as you’re with this ship. Consider permitting a link with me and Chasidah. For safety. Yours and ours.”

  Philip started to speak, stopped, then leaned back in his seat. “That would make me very uncomfortable, even beyond the obvious reasons. But you could do that?”

  “I can establish a mental link with anyone. It doesn’t have to be a deep bond. I don’t need their permission. But I’d prefer to have it.”

  “I can see its efficacy in combat,” Philip admitted. “But even then…”

  “We have time before Dock Five. Just give it some thought.”

  I nudged Sully mentally. You could have asked me first before volunteering my mind, ky’sal-mine.

  A distinct wince. Chasidah, I didn’t…it just seemed reasonable. I’m sorry. God, I…would it bother you?

  I took my few seconds’ enjoyment at watching him squirm. It was worth noting we’d only been together as a couple for a little over three months. Three tumultuous months, but it was not a long time. We were still adjusting to each other. Sully’s penchant to act first and ask forgiveness later was an adjustment we’d have to work on.

  Someday, someday you will remember to ask me first. I think it’s a great idea for when we hit dock. But learn to ask. The captain has spoken. I sent a rainbow.

  And you know how I feel about the captain…

  Get back to your station, Mr. Sullivan!

  Philip darted a glance my way as Sully left.

  “Private conversation,” I told him.

  “That’s what worries me.”

  “It shouldn’t. They all can go narrowband or broadband. That’s why I can’t always hear everything going on between Del and Sully. Or why Sully can shut Del out from me.”

  “What comes out of my mouth is filtered. What goes through my brain is not.”

  “It’s like talking to someone in a crowded room. I’d mostly hear the thoughts you wanted me to. The rest is just so much buzz in the background.”

  “I’ll worry about that later. Right now,” and he tapped the screen, “let’s see what new crisis Tage has created.”

  I shunted the news feed headlines to him, including my highlighted selections. I wanted to check the rest of the transmits. There was likely something from Marsh’s family. He and Dorsie would want that.

  I saw Marsh’s messages come through, cleared them for his personal in-box and Dorsie’s. The next line caught my eye and I grabbed Philip’s arm. “Jodey,” I said. “To me, but…”

  I opened it quickly. The transmit quality was bad, the image grainy. Something that can happen when layers of secure coding are added for security reasons. But it was Captain Jodey Bralford, unshaven and looking tired.

  “Chaz, I’m hoping this reaches you. I’m sure by now you know what’s going on. Tage has decimated Fleet, disbanded the Admirals’ Council. The rest of the ministries are in total disarray, unless you’re a Tage supporter.” He barked out a harsh laugh then sobered. “Philip managed to send me a warning. It took all of ten seconds for my crew to know what we had to do. We’re safe but I’m not going to say where right now for fear of interception. But, Chaz—” and he halted, wiping one hand over his face. “Philip’s missing. Reported dead. I don’t know if that’s true. But I though you should be prepared. Maybe you’ve already heard but if you haven’t, I thought it best coming from me. I hope to God you’re safe. Contact me if you can. Philip had some last wishes. If it comes to that, you need to know.”

  He signed off.

  I looked at Philip, more than slightly surprised.

  He pursed his lips but color dotted his cheeks. “I’m alive,” he said after a moment. “It’s moot.”

  “I think Jodey needs to hear from you.” I smiled. “Was it a lot of money?”

  “Almost as much as I lost to your husband last night.”

  I chuckled then realize what he’d called Sully. My husband. Oh my. “How do you think he pays for this ship? I don’t think there’s a card room on the rim or Dock Five that doesn’t have a chair with his name engraved on it.” Whatever name he was using for wherever he was.

  “But he loses to Ren.�
�

  “Baffles me too. He refuses to explain.” I poked his forearm with my index finger. “Answer Jodey. Use my transmit code.”

  He did, giving Jodey a basic recounting without getting into particulars that could threaten either the Karn or the Nowicki.

  I cleared another transmit to Marsh and Dorsie—they had a large family. The next transmit packet was unfamiliar and code-sealed. And it wasn’t a code either Sully or the Karn knew. But it was marked for Sully’s attention.

  I sent a mental nudge. Sully? Something odd in the in-box.

  On my way.

  It took only a few seconds, then he was swiveling around the seat on my left, peering over my shoulder. He nodded. “It’s for Del. We’d put out some feelers. Shoot it to the bridge.”

  He left and I heard his deep tones and Del’s mixing over the beeping and occasional trill of the bridge comps. Then, “Chaz!”

  Sully. Excited, but a good excited.

  I pushed out of my seat and sprinted to the bridge, Philip on my heels.

  Del had swiveled the chair at helm around and was leaning back, arms folded triumphantly over his chest. He was grinning smugly. “We’ve got a lead on Burke’s gen-lab ship. Right here in Baris.”

  Sully pulled up the chart on the large viewer over the nav station. Three of Baris’ four quadrants were generally deemed “respectable,” with Fleet or commercial stations dotting the spacelanes. Six stations in all, including Corsau, which had at one time been Baris 5. The world of Garno straddled the A-B like Dock Five did, but on the opposite axis.

  It was Dock Five’s end of the axis where the problems were. That’s where we were headed. Right through the Five-Oh-One, a small asteroid belt that had been mined out. It was a storm-prone area with dangerous magnetic fluctuations. Ships disappeared in the small wide darkness between the asteroids, never to be heard from again. Everything from plasma winds to black holes to corrosive particles was blamed. Reality, though, was often more mundane: pirates.

  It was a region the Karn was familiar with. But that didn’t mean caution wasn’t advised.

  “This was one of the first sections of the mining operation to be abandoned,” Sully was saying, using his lightpen to highlight a roughly spherical dwarf planet at the fringe of the belt. “There’s a refueling platform here with the usual solar arrays and a small cargo depot. They’ve been pretty much scavenged to nothing.”

  “So why would Burke use this?” I asked.

  “Because they’ve been scavenged to nothing. Between that, the storms, and the corrosion, it’s not a popular place. The depot probably doesn’t even have grav generators anymore. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable of stops, but it’s remote and defensible. You could do basic repairs or pick up supplies dropped off by a sister ship as long as no one else found the supplies before you did. It’s a good way to keep identities secret. The supplier might not even know who he sold the goods to.”

  Sully touched a point deeper into the belt. “You could hang out here, blend in with the magnetic fluctuations and debris, wait for the supplier to depart, then slip in and get what you need.”

  “The lab ship is scheduled for a pickup,” Del said.

  “And what’s going to keep Burke’s lab ship from knowing we’re coming?” Philip asked.

  Sully grinned. “Because we’re going to get there first.”

  It would be two days at specs-plus-Sully, with Marsh keeping the sublights grinding at max, and Del and Verno switching off at helm every few hours so tired eyes and minds didn’t make mistakes. Based on Del’s information, that would give us a six-hour window to work with. That was not at all a comfortable amount of time. Ships did arrive early. If the lab ship did, then we’d have to pull back, wait for another chance to take it out while it was at dock somewhere else.

  There was no way we could attack it in the lanes. It was as well armed and armored as a Fleet patrol ship.

  It had been one at one time. Not a P-40 like my Meritorious, but the larger P-75.

  Philip had his thumbs hooked in the belt of his hip-holster. He stared out the forward viewport. “If we could somehow get the Nowicki here by then…”

  But we couldn’t.

  “We can’t assume either,” I said, half-consciously drumming my fingers on the pilot’s chair armrest as a dozen scenarios danced through my mind, “that she’s going to sit at the depot, systems cold. I wouldn’t. Not in the Five-Oh-One. And since she’s a former P-class, she’s rigged to come online in a matter of seconds. She may have med-techs on board,” I added, “but I’ll bet you a bottle of Lashto in Garno’s best bar she’s got a top-trained command crew on her bridge. We come in, guns blazing, and they’re going to blaze right back at us.”

  “A few torpedoes would be nice,” Sully intoned from the nav station. “I’d even forgo a new shuttle to have those installed.”

  He looked at me, one dark brow slightly arched. He was not going to let that go, ever.

  Torpedoes would work. But as he said, we didn’t have any.

  Suddenly Sully leaned forward, elbow on armrest, hand open.

  Good idea, angel-mine!

  Good idea? Which one of the dozens of things in my head had he grabbed?

  “Why destroy what we can use?” he said. “And this is Chaz’s idea, though she didn’t know she had it. At least, not quite like this.”

  “The beauty of a ky’saran link,” Del said softly.

  “Destroying the lab ship achieves our purpose, but we don’t know if there are innocents on board. Kidnapped Takas, for instance. As Chaz keeps reminding us, we’re not here to be murderers like they are. But more than that, we destroy the ship, we lose all the data. Names, contacts.”

  “Proof.” Philip nodded. “So we don’t target them. We ambush them. We get to the depot first, wait till they dock, take the ship, crew, and data. I like it. I like it a lot. Of course,” he glanced slyly at me, “we don’t have a shuttle that we can—”

  “The Karn can drop us off and go hide,” I said.

  “Little more risky,” Philip countered.

  “I’d rather have the Karn come back for us, ion cannons at full, than try to make a run for it in a lightly armed shuttle.”

  “Not that we even have a shuttle in which to make a run for it.” Sully shrugged lightly.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Mr. Sullivan. You’re pushing my buttons.”

  “If it’s the button that activates your captain mode, I’m all for it.”

  Del snorted out a laugh.

  “See what you started?” I shot back at Philip.

  This time he shrugged, hands moving outward in a classic “what did I do?” gesture.

  I sighed. “Gentlemen.”

  “Marsh, Verno, Ren, and Dorsie stay with the ship,” Sully said. “The four of us, we go in as a team. Two Kyis and two extremely well-armed and well-trained humans. Lady and gentlemen,” he glanced at the three of us in turn, “I see this as an unqualified success. We stop Burke, we gain data. And if we’re careful, we’ll even gain another ship.” He pointed to Philip. “Don’t discard your title just yet, Admiral Guthrie. We could be on our way to building you a fleet.”

  Sully disappeared with Del shortly after that. Verno came on duty. I stayed on the bridge. Philip wandered in and out, waiting for something from Jodey, I was sure. Then Marsh showed up, shooing me out of the pilot’s chair. Sully was still nowhere to be found—out in woo-woo land somewhere. I sighed. I went to the cabin, stripped out of my coveralls, and threw on workout slinkies and an old thermal of Sully’s, and headed for the gym.

  Fabulous smells were emanating from Dorsie’s galley. I heard Philip’s voice when I passed by. Two excellent cooks collaborating. Dinner would be good.

  An hour later I was sweaty, pleasantly tired, and feeling very limber. I was looking forward to a nice shower but when I entered my cabin, Sully was at the deskcomp and Philip sat at my dining table with the datapad. Both looked up when I stepped through the open doorway.

  “
Anything I should know about?” I balled up my damp towel and tossed it in the direction of the bedroom. “Do I have time for a shower?”

  “Yes and no,” Philip answered, motioning to one of the chairs at the table. “Sit.”

  Sully followed me, brushing my forehead with a kiss before I sat. He leaned on the edge of the table.

  Philip tapped at his screen. “Jodey’s going to try to give us some support. He’s three shipdays out of Dock Five, out in Calth. He’s been meeting with some high-powered political types who’ve abandoned Tage, including Senator Falkner. There’s very preliminary talk of an independent alliance, a new Admirals’ Council. Very preliminary. Jodey says at the very least he’ll do a meetpoint with us when the meeting is over. He also sent this.” He swiveled the datapad around so I could see it.

  I scanned the verbiage and diagrams quickly. It was data on the Kyi-killer weapons. That was Philip’s area of expertise more than mine. I nodded. “Break it down for me.”

  It was Sully who did, very succinctly. “A Kyi can’t use one. The backwash would kill us.”

  “It was designed that way,” Philip explained, when I switched a look from him to Sully and back to him again. “Like the jukors, having minds that the Ragkir can’t control. These weapons,” he pointed to the rifle on the table, “can only be fired by humans. They’re supposed to be fatal to a Ragkir.”

  “Supposed to be?”

  “They’re still in the testing stage. And since three of their prototypes are now missing,” Philip grinned broadly, “that’s set them back a bit.”

  I shoved the rifle away from Sully. “Don’t go trying to prove them wrong.”

  “I don’t intend to. I can feel something in that power pack, Chaz, and it doesn’t like me. It’s the way they’ve configured some kind of plasma. I don’t even want to dismantle it on this ship to find out what it is.”

  “What is Tage so scared of?”

  “You really don’t know?” Philip asked. “It’s underlying more than half of the things Del’s said to us. The Stolorths want Baris back.”