“I just followed Gregor’s lead,” Terrance replied apologetically. “He said it was better to make a door and apologize later than to knock and get shot.”
“Which one is Gregor?” Spin asked. Terrance pointed to the last man she killed, the one in the exosuit next to the shuttle, and she nodded. There was little left of his head, so no chance of revival. “Well, I hope this doesn’t overwrite the good I’ll be doing for your crew.”
“Oh my God, what the hell did you do?” Nigel said as he got a look at the only working turret on the Fleet Feather, well, formerly working. The barrels had been bent and the rotary ball was part way out of its socket. “And what the?” he said, looking more closely at the rear of the ship where someone in an exosuit – most likely Terrance – punched fist sized holes through an interior bulkhead. “The Feather isn’t even space worthy anymore! What were you doing back here? Trying to get in, or just being an asshole to whoever had to fix it later? Me! That’s me! I have to fix this!” Nigel said, whirling towards Terrance and waggling his steaming weapon at him.
Terrance cringed half way to kneeling. “I’m sorry, man! I’m new to the Angel! Wanted to score points with the commander.”
“Can I shoot him? It won’t make the repairs go faster, but I’ll feel better. Please, can I shoot him?” Nigel begged Spin.
“Is it safe?” the Governor asked in Spin’s comm.
She laughed at Nigel and shook her head. “We’ll get him to help you, I’m sure the Angel can spare him.” Spin answered her communicator. “It’s safe. We’ve got it under control. Just wondering, who dropped the party bomb?”
“It was Della’s idea. There wasn’t much else we could do from here, but we thought a distraction was better than nothing, so we painted it and dropped it through a hole.”
“It worked, good thinking,” Spin said, laughing to herself.
21
There was no doubt about it, the firefight that happened next to the Fleet Feather was the loudest thing to happen on the whole continent. The continent that happened to have at least one contingent of United Core Authority ship hovering over it, or set down on it. Whatever was going to happen, it had to happen fast. Her inspection of the damage to the Fleet Feather took ten minutes with Nigel’s help.
Inspecting their Long Runner took only a little longer, and to her it came down to one question; “Which one will take less time to repair?” she asked Nigel as he finished extracting the large shard of metal that had destroyed the main port thruster with Leland’s help.
“This looks bad, and if we were still flying around, it would be,” Nigel explained, nodding at the devastated thruster. “But almost all the damage was to that one component, and the Long Runner uses pretty standard parts. I’ve already contacted the dealer, and they have spares. We can get one delivered in ten minutes, and with this guy’s help we can have this swapped out in about an hour. The Fleet Feather needs patching and I need to replace a main aft support that got torn up by some asshole in an Exo Suit.”
Spin looked to the small parts shed where the three survivors were tightly bound. The bodies of the fallen were piled under a tarp, something that made Spin cringe, if she had more time they would have done something that showed a little more respect. “So, how long for that?” she asked.
“Eight hours if I rush it and have all the metal? I can source what I need from scrap, but that takes time too.”
“There’s life support for everyone if we’re forced to take off in the Long Runner. Get it fixed up, and get us the modules that are missing.”
“You mean the wormhole generator and the supercharger module?” Nigel asked.
“If the Supercharger module will help with the power reserve issue I had with the guns, then yes, both.”
“It’ll solve it, and extend the jump distance,” Nigel said.
“That sounds expensive,” Leland said.
“That’s not a problem we have anymore,” Spin said quietly. “Just hope we don’t have to get out of here in this thing. The life support will take care of us, but it will be cramped.”
“I haven’t seen anything on the local ‘net about the fight yet,” Della said as she emerged from the Fleet Feather. “Do you think it’ll get picked up?”
“Definitely,” Spin replied. “There must be so many privately owned watcher bots drifting above us that it’ll be posted from ten different angles before sundown.”
“So we’re runnin’ then, soon?” she asked.
“I’m sorry, Della,” Spin said. “You should get some essentials together in case we don’t have time to repair the Feather.”
“Oh,” she looked at the Long Runner for a long moment. “A small bag,” Della said. “I’ll tell everyone else.”
“Thank you,” Spin said. She turned to Leland. “How is your patient doing?”
“Healing faster than expected, but I couldn’t wake him up while we were under attack, otherwise that might have been cut short.”
“I understand, don’t worry about it.”
“But that is going to be trouble,” he said, nodding at the shed. “How bad?”
“We’re about to find out,” Spin said as she watched one of the Cool Angel’s shuttles descend towards their landing area. With the shuttle that was already there from the attacking crew, the Long Runner, and the Fleet Feather, there would be almost no room left. The passenger hatch began opening before the shuttle touched down, and Spin decided that there would be no better time to send a big reveal to the Cool Angel crew. It wasn’t the way she planned it, but she had a sinking feeling that she had to take care of her interests so the people who trusted her wouldn’t be stranded or worse. As quickly as she could, Spin attached a message to the money she was holding for the Cool Angel crew. It said;
This was stolen from you by Captain White and I am returning it to the crew of the Cool Angel. This is your share; I’m keeping the bounty he collected on me. Courtesy of, Spin.
Spin added the deposit records and entered the password that sent shares to everyone who was serving on the Cool Angel when she was captured. When she finished, Sun was setting her foot down on the black and grey plastcrete of the landing area. “What the hell is going on?” she asked. “Are you trying to take the Angel behind my back?”
The accusation took Aspen by surprise. Nothing she did, except for the redistribution of funds, looked to her like a play for the Cool Angel. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Hugo, just as furious, led two crewmembers off the shuttle as they carried a heavily damaged torso with Dorian’s long coat hanging off it. They threw it to the ground. “Leland!” Spin cried, and the medical technician was already running towards the corpse with Nigel right behind.
“He tried to kill Captain White for the command codes, now White’s in the wind,” Hugo said. “He was already putting another crew together, or he had another ship running all along.”
Sun looked down at the display on her small forearm band and shook her head. “You really are trying to take the Angel for yourself. Did this all really come from White?”
“Yes, the records to back it up are in the message with your share of what he was skimming from our jobs,” Spin said. “Everyone got their fair share according to the crew hierarchy, except for me, I just took the bounty he made by turning me in.”
“What about Sun? Nigel?” Hugo asked.
“You don’t really know me, Lieutenant,” Spin spat the last at Hugo. “But I take care of my people, and that’s what I’ll use most of that money for.”
Sun strode towards Spin. “For all this to work, we have to do it by the rules the entire crew agreed to follow. The vote, splitting the money, dealing with the Captain, it’s twisted now. The crew has been given all this ready cash, enough for them to all buy their own small ships, and Dorian has made sure that White won’t poke his head out for a very long time. You’ve forgotten your place, little girl, and it has cost us all dearly.”
Spin made a conscious cho
ice and an incredible effort to see past her anger. There were people counting on her, and out of all of them, Sun was the one who could best take care of herself. “White was corrupt, he turned us in, so he was already about to get spooked. I sent records and the money the crew deserves to them to back that up,” Spin said with an increasing level of calm. “I did not send Dorian.”
Leland, Jorin and Nigel carried what was left of Dorian into the Fleet Feather, and Spin paused to watch before continuing. “Now you’re telling me you would have held some or all of the Angel crew’s money back so they would return to the ship and vote you up as Captain.”
“Me or Hugo, either one of us would lead the Angel honestly,” she said.
“Politics. Pure politics of the worst kind.” Spin looked past Sun to Hugo. “I want you to gather the corpses of the crew members who were sent here to tear my ship up along with what’s left of the rest, and the First Officer, and go. Being a part of that crew, being near leaders from that crew has cost me and the people I love enough.”
“Bodies?” Hugo asked as he rushed to the shed, two crewmen behind him.
“Under the tarp. I’m keeping one of their exo frames,” Spin said coldly. Her hand found the gun strapped to her thigh, and she rested her hand on it. Her gaze locked with Sun’s. “Someone sent a bunch of the loading staff from the Angel to get their First Officer, you weren’t available, so Nigel and I took care of it. I would have talked them down, or even bribed them, but the knuckleheads weren’t very talkative while they were tearing the Feather apart. Where were you?”
“I was in a meeting with the Angel Lieutenants,” Sun said. “Discussing what White did to us.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Spin said. “Neither do you. The trust is broken. When that shuttle takes off, I want you on it.”
Spin turned towards the Fleet Feather and started walking.
“Aspen, you have to see how badly you screwed all of this up, and how I can be led to think that you’re running a one-woman coup for the Angel.”
“I was, but it was so you would get the votes, even if the crew were on their way off ship to spend the pile of money I sent them,” she replied. “But now that we’re taking inventory of mistakes, how about considering someone who would slip her friend medication without checking to see if it had a genetic component?” Spin stopped and half turned. “That dose triggered a genetic anti-tampering measure. You cost me, maybe as much as nine months. Now I don’t have time to forgive people like you, and I have to work on another plan.”
“What? I didn’t know, I’m so-“
“Not knowing is no excuse for not taking the time to find out when it’s my life you’re playing with. I don’t have time for you, Sun. Go help your fellow Lieutenant with the dead.”
“You can’t seriously think you can lead anyone, just look at what happened today, and you don’t have a plan.”
“Today is your failure,” Spin said. “And as for a plan, I’m going to get a fast ship before the Authority finds out we’re here, then blast for British controlled space. I’ll leave whoever isn’t up for the next part there, where slavery is illegal and they’ll be free. Then I’m going to Geist. If there’s a cure, it’ll be there.” The whole plan was fabricated on the spot, but Spin had to admit to herself that every word of it felt right. “You can stay here, or sign up with the Angel crew. I don’t care.”
“Come with me, we’ll get this sorted out. The goodwill you’ve earned with whoever stays aboard will go a long way, you won’t even serve under me anymore.”
“You want me to believe that a profiteer crew would go to Geist, one of the most dangerous places in the galaxy, without the promise of a rich target? We both know better.” Far behind Sun, four crewmembers from the Angel worked to load the bodies in the back, while Hugo untied the survivors inside the shed. “You’d better go help your crew. I’d hate to think of the impression you’d make during this tragic time. Losing the Captain and crewmembers on the same day. They’ll need strong leadership.”
“Aspen,” Sun said, pleadingly.
“Goodbye,” Spin replied, walking through the hatch and closing it behind. She rushed to the infirmary, where she was shocked by the sight of Leland working elbow deep in Dorian’s chest. “How is he?”
“His brain was saved, in emergency stasis. I’m just working on getting the container free of his body. It’ll be good for another twenty hours. The damage he took is incredible, whoever did this must think he’s dead.”
“What do you need to keep his grey matter working, doc?” Nigel asked.
“I’m not a doctor,” Leland said, smiling a little. “A long term stasis medium with the systems to go with it would do the job nicely. A new body for this guy would be better, but that would take time, a specialist and a lot of money. I have to be honest, there are some interfaces I could hook him up to, but I’ve done everything my conscience demands of me. He’ll be stable, in storage once we get the support vessel, but I don’t care about restoring him.”
“This is one of my oldest friends,” Nigel said. “I’ll pay you to get him installed in something that gets him up and moving again, don’t worry.”
“That’s if we can trust him,” Leland replied. “You can’t trust a man with more than one master, and I think Dorian had at least two.”
“We’ll face that situation if it ever comes up. There’s no time to go body shopping right now,” Spin said, “but I’m sure you can find the stasis system you need in the market here.”
“I can go do that, I’ll be finished here in a couple minutes. I’ll need a few credits though,” Leland said.
“What about him?” Spin asked, nodding towards Keith, who laid in the other bed with his legs inside corrective casts.
“Him? He’s been pretending to sleep since we dragged Dorian in here,” Leland replied. “He’s done, ready to walk out. His bones are still knitting, but the reconstruction casts can keep working while he hobbles around on crutches.”
“I was half asleep,” Keith replied. “You want me to leave with these things still working?”
“There’s a shuttle outside with Hugo and Sun, they need a First Officer to interrogate about Captain White’s hidden money and the betrayal of crewmembers,” Spin said.
Keith’s eyes widened and he recoiled slightly as Spin described the crimes. It started as soon as she mentioned hidden money. “I was about to retire as First Officer, move on to better things. I could pay you quite a bit if you sent me in the other direction. I have a small ship ready.”
“If you could barter time, that would be a done deal, but money happens to be the one thing I don’t need right now.” She crossed the room and started to help him out of bed, only to be frantically pushed away.
“No! Do you know what they’ll do to me?”
“Can I have a few volunteers to take this trash out the airlock?” Spin called over her shoulder.
“Okay, I got it, hold that box open,” Leland said as he withdrew a black box from the Dorian’s chest cavity.
Nigel held a metal box open and watched the container with his old friend’s brain slip inside. “Can he feel anything?” he asked.
“His mind is in complete hibernation. When we plug him back in to something compatible, he’ll just be missing some time,” Leland closed the lid and sighed. “Okay, we’re safe to drag this guy off the ship,” he said, looking at Keith.
Mirra cracked her knuckles in the doorway. “Said you needed help with this?”
Spin could only step aside as Nigel, Leland, Jorin and Mirra carried Keith as he protested and spat curses. They walked him down the ship’s debarkation ramp and nearly dropped him on the pavement. “Here’s your First Officer,” Spin said to Hugo, who rushed over to the Fleet Feather. “I’m pretty sure he was in on everything White did, so you’ll have someone to hang after the funeral tonight.”
“The Cool Angel is an important ship,” He said as he helped Keith to his feet. “It doesn’t matter who takes the role
of Captain, you’ll want friends aboard and this is not the way to make them.”
“I don’t have time to care,” Spin said. “Besides, I’m starting to see how dirty your ship is. You knew all about the Captain skimming, didn’t you?”
Hugo struggled with Keith, who was a head shorter and much thinner.
Spin didn’t wait for an answer. “Expect to get found out. Good luck.” She closed the ramp way.
“So, what now, Captain?” Nigel asked.
When she turned around, she found that everyone on the Fleet Feather had come to the main passenger cabin. They were all looking at her expectantly. “There is no time for any elegant solutions. This ship won’t take us into space again because I’m going to buy another. While I do that, Leland and Nigel will go get the parts we need to keep Dorian alive and restore our Long Runner, just in case.”
“What about hiding here? It’s a good world, there are safe places here and there,” Jorin asked. “I mean, I want to go with you, but some of you have money and can afford to hide out.”
“We all have a slave mark, and five more United Core Authority ships just entered orbit,” Mitchell said. “None of us are safe here.”
“We have to be off world in two hours,” Spin said. “We need to pack provisions into anything we can use as a crate. That’s food, water, survival gear, tools, and then you can move on to other things you want to keep from this ship. Start packing the essentials into the Long Runner.”
“Where is this new ship going, Spin?” Leland asked as he wiped his hands on a sterilizing cloth.
“British Alliance Territory,” Spin answered. “The safest place for us. Whoever wants to leave then will get paid and can start a new life. I only have three months left before my clock runs out now, so I’m going to Geist to see if there’s a cure for people like me. If anyone wants to follow me then you’re more than welcome.”
“I’ve watched a doll die before. I don’t want to see that again,” Leland said. “I’m in.”
Cool Pursuit: Chaos Core Book 2 Page 17