BlackWing VII
Captain Dori Anderson
"It's drifting," Phillip, my second-in-command informed me. He'd taken the conn when I retired to my cabin, and I'd gotten roughly three hours' sleep before he sent mindspeech, asking me to come to the bridge.
A freighter, with no signs of life aboard, had been left to drift in the shipping lane. No identification was on the hull; Phillip had already checked for that. Its erratic movement could spell trouble to smaller vessels barreling through who weren't looking for such anomalies.
"I've already sent images with the notification to headquarters," Phillip said. "They have no record of a missing ship, or anything that resembles this one."
"Did they have instructions for us?"
"Approach with caution," Phillip replied.
"The standard answer from the night crew at headquarters," I huffed. "This doesn't make sense to me," I added. "It shouldn't make sense to the eggheads at headquarters, either."
Phillip snorted a laugh at my description.
"Bring us closer—slowly," I ordered our helmsman.
"Yes, Captain."
BlackWing X
Randl
First, I realized I was dreaming.
This dream reflected reality, and that concept almost occurred too late.
BlackWing VII
Captain Dori Anderson
We'd covered roughly half the distance between us and the ship when it exploded. Our shields were up, but they were no match for this.
A part of me understood that the ship—and our bodies—were flying apart.
Until they weren't.
I heard Phillip's shout as our bodies were stretched to the limit and pulled away with the rest of the crew while VII continued to explode behind us.
BlackWing X
Travis
"What happened?" I knelt beside Dori's chair in the galley, where she and all her crew sat in stunned silence. Her hands shook slightly—some of the others were having quiet meltdowns. The rest of my crew were doing their best to console and care for our new passengers.
Randl, his back toward us and dressed only in sleep pants, stood at the galley windows, gazing at the stars we flew past. Tattooed on his back was a strange image. A large, quarter moon cradled a sun within its center void, and within the sun lay an Udjat—the eye of Horus.
The Udjat was a symbol from Ancient Egypt—on Earth, far in the past. How had he come to get it, and why?
That question had to wait. I placed a hand on Dori's shoulder to steady her. "We found an abandoned freighter in the shipping lanes," Dori worked to keep a quaver from her voice. "We sent the information to headquarters, since we found no evidence of lifeforms aboard. They told us to approach cautiously to investigate, because they had no record of a missing ship like that one. We got halfway to it when it exploded. Tore right through our shields. Should have killed us all."
"Here. Drink." Bekzi arrived with a cup of calming tea with plenty of whiskey laced in.
"I can call for a physician," I offered.
"No, we're just shook up—and without a ship," she whispered.
"I give others same," Bekzi said and walked away to get more tea and whiskey.
Randl
"Hey, bro," Trent approached me carefully.
"Captain Trent," I acknowledged with a slight nod.
"Want to talk about this?"
"I barely got them away," I stated flatly.
"I don't think that's the problem," he said. "You got them away. That's what matters. I'm still wondering how you did that. Some of them say they thought they were dying at first, until they found themselves here and whole."
"I don't want to talk about it," I replied. "Not that part, anyway."
"All right. What can you tell me?"
"This has turned into a game of Irzu," I said. "The Prophet made the first move. We countered. This is his second move. He thinks he scored a hit with this one, because there's space debris of VII and the abandoned ship all over that shipping lane, now."
"How would he know to target VII?" Trent asked.
"Look at it this way—there have been three BlackWing ships in orbit around Bornelus from time to time. X, VII and XII."
"And now he's targeting all three." Travis' words reminded me of cold steel. "I need to alert Kooper," he turned to go.
"I've already sent a message. For now, the Prophet can't find us, because Terrett is aboard. There are no Sirenali aboard XII, and none were aboard VII."
"Not good," Trent cursed under his breath for a moment. "I'll see if I can't change that." He folded away instead of walking.
Travis
Kooper's on his way, Trent sent mindspeech.
Let me know when he's here, I replied.
Bring Randl and Dori with you, he added.
Will do.
"Thank you for saving us," Dori said before drinking the last of her whiskey-laden tea.
"Don't thank me. That was Randl."
"Huh?" her head jerked up immediately.
"He's more talented than most people think," I admitted. "Come on. Kooper's on his way and he wants a meeting."
"I feel cold," Dori said as she stood to follow me.
"Here." I Pulled in a blanket for her. "Wrap up in that, and if you need something warmer, just say so."
"It's just shock," she mumbled and followed me out of the galley. I sent mindspeech to Randl, who folded space instead of walking.
"What the hell happened?" Kooper demanded the second we walked into the Captain's cubby.
He was pacing and frowning at Randl, who stood against a wall with arms crossed over his chest.
"The Prophet, who wanted to treat us with our own medicine," Randl replied calmly. "He's seen X, VII and XII in orbit around Bornelus in the past. He's hunting those three ships."
"He sure as hell hit VII," Kooper fumed.
"The crew are all alive," Randl said. "It was the best I could do with the time I had."
"I'm sorry," Kooper continued pacing, but now his forehead wrinkled in frustration. "We lost a valuable ship to that lunatic."
"I know that. For now, he thinks you lost its crew as well."
"I've already sent BlackWing I toward Revalus, to take VII's place," Kooper growled.
"I think you should send a ship to Pyrik, too."
"What?" Kooper jerked his head to stare at Randl.
"He may have a beef, as some people say, with them as well."
"Fucking hells," Kooper sighed. "Captain Anderson, you're welcome to go on shore leave with your crew until a replacement ship is commissioned," Kooper told Dori.
"With your permission, I'd like to stay aboard X," she said. "The others need time to recuperate. I want to get this bastard."
"Captains?" Kooper asked Travis and Trent.
"She'd be a welcome addition," Travis agreed. "An extra hand is always appreciated."
"Good enough. Anderson, I'll keep you posted on the status of your next ship."
"Thank you, Director Griff."
"Randl, keep me advised," Kooper said and folded space.
"That went well," Randl mumbled. Trent barked a laugh.
Randl
"I'm sorry about your ship," I said.
"Me, too," Dori sighed as she and I followed Jayna toward Dori's assigned cabin.
"I'll see you at breakfast?" I asked before turning down my passage.
"Maybe. Trent gave us permission to sleep late, so I may do that, and then send messages before heading for the galley."
"Good enough. Good-night," I said and walked away from her and Jayna.
I'd had a second—maybe two—to make the decision to take the crew and leave the ship, to distract the Prophet.
Let him believe he'd gotten his revenge for soldiers killed—at least for now. Kooper was already working to get Sirenali aboard XII, and reassigned I to Revalus. I hoped he'd warn them to keep a watch for unusual activity around that planet.
Randl?
Quin's ment
al voice reached me.
Hey, Quin, I replied.
I heard there was some excitement, she said.
Yeah. A real mess.
Everybody all right?
Everybody's fine. How did you find out?
Terrett.
Ah. Your Sirenali mate. He's keeping us safe, you know that?
He's good at it.
And I'm grateful.
I think BlackWing VII should be grateful to you.
I don't need thanks. I need my hands around the Prophet's throat.
A lot of people feel the same way.
No doubt.
Are you going to bed now?
Yes.
Pleasant dreams.
Any dreams would be more pleasant than the last one I had, but thank you.
You're welcome.
"Where'd you get the tattoo?"
Travis set his plate on the table I occupied. Breakfast was hash, eggs and toast, one of my favorite meals. I'd almost finished my food when Travis joined me.
"It was a gift—from the Eagle Warlord. That's a secret, by the way."
"Back tattoos denote extreme bravery, or services rendered to the Warlord that none other could accomplish," Travis said and cut into his eggs.
"It's the latter, I assure you."
"I'm impressed with the workmanship."
"Thank you. It isn't dragons, though. Any girl will be more impressed by dragons."
"Who's more impressed by dragons?"
Sabrina set her plate down next to Travis, while Dori, who walked behind Sabrina, was forced to take the chair next to mine.
"Everybody," I said.
"He's dissing his tattoo, when it was earned," Travis said.
"Where is it?" Sabrina asked.
"It's a full back tattoo," Travis told her. "Someday, Trent and I will explain what you have to do to earn one of those."
"What did you do to earn it?" Dori asked before biting a corner off a piece of toast.
"I delivered pizzas on time," I said. She'd get the reference; like Sal, she was from Old Earth. Sabrina sighed because she had no point of context for my words.
Dori ducked her head to hide a smile.
"You deserve an arm tattoo for last night, at the very least," Travis pointed his fork in my direction.
"Nah, that's all right. I think one is enough," I replied. "Where did they take your crew?" I asked Dori, hoping to change the subject.
"Le-Ath Veronis. Kooper has housing reserved on both hemispheres for emergency situations. Phillip supervises them for now."
"Anything new on the Prophet after last night?" Travis asked.
"I've not gotten anything. He's probably gloating, because he views the attack as a complete success," I said. "Let's hope he continues to think that, and that Kooper finds Sirenali to round out Captain Anderson's crew and the crew of XII."
"That has been arranged," Terrett pulled an extra chair to the table to sit at the end.
"If you helped with that, I'm grateful," Dori nodded to him.
"You are welcome. There are others who will be more than happy to join ships' crews, to keep them safe. They are very determined in this matter."
"Where will the Prophet go from here?" Dori asked.
"No idea. I have plenty of research to do. I'm not convinced that the logging industries didn't have something to do with this, even with no other evidence found to the contrary. Something is going on, there, and I want to know what it is."
"The ASD did a thorough investigation," Sabrina pointed out.
"Like the thorough investigation of Bornelus before the giant worms attacked us? I'm sorry, that didn't come out the way I meant it," I apologized.
"With the Prophet involved, we could miss a lot and not realize it," Travis agreed. "Randl, let me know if you find anything that warrants further investigation."
"I will."
I really am sorry, I sent to Sabrina.
"I know," she mumbled aloud.
We'll talk later, I said. She and I—we needed to clear the air between us, as Sal would say.
She had no interest in me; I understood that. During my absence, David revealed to her the secret I'd carried a year ago—that I'd cared for her. She didn't want to say how she really felt now, because she didn't want to hurt me.
That was and wasn't a good thing. It was time for both of us to move forward—with the proper understanding, of course.
We could be friends—that's what she wanted, anyway. Perhaps it would be easier to go on with my life if we weren't working together, but that felt like the coward's way out. I'd deal with this and get past the tiny ache that remained in my heart.
"Randl, Trent's calling us to the bridge," Travis pulled me away from my thoughts.
"All right." I stood when he did and followed him out of the galley.
"Tell me what you see." Trent placed a comp-vid in my hands.
"Shella Karp," I began. "She's ah, got a growing obsession," I breathed as I studied her image closely. "I need to see her in person," I added.
"Where is she?" Travis asked. He peered over my shoulder so he could see Shella's image better.
"In the group coming from Pyrik," Trent said. "I just got this from Kooper, who says it came from Quin. Kooper says she's the new President's assistant in charge of scheduling and events."
"What does Kooper want to do about this?" I lifted my eyes to Trent's.
"He says he wants to keep her under observation. Therefore, Kell and Opal will be aboard the ship carrying the contingent from Pyrik."
"Do you think she could explode like some of the others?" Travis asked.
"No idea. Quin gave Kooper what she had; Randl needs to see her, too, and Kooper figures nothing will happen until she gets to Campiaa anyway."
"So the first of the Prophet's soldiers makes her presence known," Travis sighed.
"Or it could be another trap—a distraction, this time," Trent pointed out.
"I'll add her to the list of things I need to research," I said. "Will you ask Kooper to forward all her records, from birth until now?"
"Sure thing," Trent said. "We're still on course to reach Cloudsong in three days. That gives you time to investigate her thoroughly."
"Yeah." I handed the comp-vid back to Trent.
Dori
I was writing my report on the destruction of BlackWing VII and the rescue of the crew when someone knocked on my cabin door.
I was surprised to find Sabrina on the other side.
"What can I do for you?" I asked after inviting her in.
"I need some advice," she said.
"What advice would that be?"
"Well, I wanted to come to you, because you're a Captain and a woman," she said.
"I may or may not be able to help until I hear the question," I responded.
"How do you—tell someone that you like them, but don't love them—at least romantically."
"That's a good question," I said. "I've found honesty usually works best."
"But what if that hurts their feelings?"
"Then be nice about it. There are some assholes out there who can fly off the handle when they're rejected, but normal people generally don't react that way."
"That's not helping," she mumbled. "I thought it wasn't a problem, since he'd disappeared and was presumed dead. Now he's back and says he wants to talk."
"You're referring to Randl."
"Yes."
"The way I understand things, he knows exactly how you feel about him. You won't be revealing any secrets to that man when you tell him you don't want a romantic relationship. At least he's willing to talk to you—if he fell into the asshole category, he'd be vindictive and insult you every chance he got. If I were you, I'd hear him out first. Then, if you still need advice, come see me."
"That makes me feel awful," she admitted.
"That's what happens in situations like these. Everybody feels awful—at least for a while. Work this out and get past it. That's my temporary advice
."
"I really liked it when we were friends," Sabrina sighed. "I could take my troubles to him and he'd make me feel better every time."
"Then don't use him as a crutch unless he offers," I said. "It isn't fair to him, you know."
"I know."
She walked out of my cabin without another word, her shoulders sagging as if I'd delivered the worst news in the world to her.
She might be a genius, but she still had growing up to do.
Randl
"Can we talk now?" Sabrina waited outside my cabin when I reached it.
"If that's what you want," I said, although that was mostly a lie.
I left the cabin door open and walked inside; she followed me and took my desk chair while I settled on my bed.
"Tell me what you see when you look at me," she said.
"That eerily reminds me of my previous boss," I said.
"No—I didn't mean it that way. You can see that I don't have romantic feelings for you—can't you?"
"Yes. I've come to the realization that it can't and won't be. I'm all right with that. Mostly."
"I wish we could go back to the way things were after we first met, but I've been told recently that it wouldn't be fair to you to ask for or expect that."
"I'm coming to terms with all this, but it will take time," I said. "Someday, maybe we'll be like that again. I'll do my best in the meantime, if it will make things easier for you."
"That gets me off the hook completely, as Travis would say." She sighed and stared at her hands, which were folded in her lap.
"This was one-sided from the start, so there's no reason for you to bear this burden," I said. "You never offered more than you were willing to give. I wanted to take it further, but it just wasn't happening for you. I can understand that."
"You know who I love," she said, her voice husky with emotion. "I hope this doesn't interfere with that friendship."
"It won't. That's separate. Travis, Trent and I get along very well, and I appreciate their willingness to work with me."
"Randl, anyone would be privileged and honored to work with you. You've done so much, while I feel useless most of the time."
"Don't feel that way. I still have the pistol you made for me," I forced a smile. "Never had to use it, thank goodness, so it's still good."
MindMage: BlackWing Pirates, Book 2 Page 5