by Richard Dee
I understood. “She didn’t have a reputation, but she’s got one now.”
“Exactly, she’ll go far. People don’t forget stuff like that.”
“Way to go.” Griff must have been listening from the top of the ramp. “That’s a Jimbo trick, she’s been paying attention.”
“Is Ria with you,” he asked. “She is,” said Griff, “but she’s keeping out of your way.”
“I understand, she doesn’t like me, never mind trust me. I’m sorry Griff, this isn’t what I want.”
“I know,” he said.
I told Rixon about the attack on his mother. He went quiet, then you could see him getting very angry.
“Malkin’s gone too far,” he said. “Non-combatants are inviolate, everyone sticks to that. The trouble is, there’s nothing I can do. If I go to her, then I’ll be grounded and unable to get to Malkin.”
He was right but I had expected more emotion, even though they hadn’t been in touch for years, I reckoned that he should have cared more.
“Why are you here?” I asked him.
“I needed to see you. I’ll tell you when Melva arrives,” was all he would say.
Our bay was situated in the transhipment area. Free from customs inspection, we could swap cargo and personnel on payment of a single fee. The next morning, after sleep and breakfast, Freefall came into view and dropped to land beside us. Her ramp opened and Melva stepped down. She looked tired but happy; as we hugged I could feel the tension fall from her. Griff and Ria came down, there was a lot more congratulating. If she was surprised to see everyone, she never said.
“I did it,” she exclaimed. “I dropped the load from Nova on Caraca, won the auction and loaded up with stuff for Felton. Thanks to Rixon and his friends, I managed to deliver it. Even got a bonus for early arrival. Then I came straight here. I need to sort out some maintenance jobs, top up the water and stores but I can get some good food now. This lockdown that’s going on, Angie said it was a Federation thing, suppressing something embarrassing to them. What’s it all about?”
“You’d better see the disc,” I suggested. “It’s to do with aliens.”
“Like the Khayan?” she said. “Angie told me all about them, and the Truth Movement; when we were sorting out the transhipment.”
“So you know a bit about it then.”
“Oh, sure. And Gran knew a lot as well, she reckoned it was an open secret in the surveying and world-building community. She knew some people who had been thrown off a world that went quarantine, they knew about the stuff the Federation were trying to hide.”
“That’s what we heard too.” It seemed like a few people knew a bit but didn’t let on. It would all make the Federation’s job of keeping things quiet that much harder. It only needed a few people to start talking about what they knew for the story to go viral.
“The lockdown’s all to do with what Irin and I found, on Qister-Alu. There was a lot more evidence and it’s all going public if they can get past the censorship.”
Her eyes widened. “You were there?” she said. “That was you? Myra told me you had been through some adventures. I was asking her what you’d been up to. She told me about the person you took to Callo, what happened on Prairie and the missile, then Qister, and played me the recordings of your conversations. But I didn’t connect it all together.”
“You can watch the disc later,” Rixon said. He had come down to join in. He hugged Melva. “Now we’re all here, I can tell you what I’ve been up to and what I’ve found out. Let’s all get comfortable and I’ll explain. I’ve got some good news.”
We all trooped up to the mess room in Freefall. Even though it was early, I produced a bottle of New Devon’s finest vodka and we passed it around, using paper cups.
“I’ve been calling in some favours, tracking Malkin down,” Rixon said, “but I had to change my plans when I heard about the comms blackout.”
There was another thing that was bothering me. We had no idea what the General was up to regarding Malkin. For all we knew, she knew where he was but couldn’t tell us.
Irin was close to tears. “It’s all happening at the wrong time,” she said. “I need to get my family back.”
“I’m sorry, Irin,” Rixon said. “I know it’s an inconvenience and it’s all so unnecessary. The Federation have shot themselves in the foot. All the IW knows what’s going on. At least we’re here and can move if we get any information. Which is where the Sister comes in.”
“What do you mean?” she said.
“Well, after they dropped Melva’s cargo, they went back over the border so that Malkin or the General could get us a message. Malkin if he was ready to deal, the General if she knew where he was. I’ve been talking to them. Everyone over there thinks it’s hilarious, the Federation getting worked up about something that they see as positive.”
“What did you find out? About Malkin or what’s going on?”
“I’ve found out a few things,” he said. “There’s been a big shakeup since you saw Dolmen.”
“What’s happened?” Griff looked interested at this point, he knew Dolmen as well.
“There’s big trouble between the families, Dolmen’s dead, it turns out that Strachen was one of Malkin’s men all along. He was biding his time. He killed him. Now it’s war; between the three families and Malkin. Trouble is, Malkin had infiltrated the families and he’s taken out a lot of the key players. The only good thing is that it’s probably distracted him from dealing with any hostages he has.”
“And did you find out where he has them?”
“No, but I’ve got a list of places, four or five planets he hangs out on. Of course, the trouble is that if we get to the first and he’s not there, we mess ourselves up with the rest.”
So we have to choose, one in five chance. Not good odds. Perhaps the General could narrow it down; if we ever heard from her.
Irin, predictably, wanted to go off and start looking straight away. “Come on then,” she said, “what are we waiting for, we have three ships, we can leave now, start looking.”
Rixon shook his head. “Five planets; that’s a lot of places to search. Most of them are not exactly friendly. If we say the wrong thing, not only will we be dead very quickly, then so will your family. We have to wait and see what the General can tell us.”
Ria, who had been quiet throughout, was suddenly vocal. “I don’t want to be involved in charging to the IW on some sort of crusade,” she said. “I think the first thing you should do is get Messinya; she’s your mother, Rixon, remember.” Her tone was witheringly sarcastic. “You need to man up, get her safe from whoever has been threatening her.”
“It’s all connected, Ria,” said Griff. “We get Malkin and release Irin’s family, it all goes away. If we go to Messinya first, we might be able to chase Malkin off, but it won’t solve the problem. And he’ll know we’re after him, it’ll mean the end for Irin’s family.”
“Plus, with the lockdown, once Rixon lands, he can’t take off again,” I added.
“Good,” she spat, “if he’s stuck with her, at least he can protect her properly.”
Griff was whispering furiously in her ear, she pushed him aside. “What will you do when you get to Malkin? Kill him and set off another gang war.” She looked at Irin and me, saw Melva’s disbelieving face. “Am I the only one who can see it? He’s manipulating you all. This is Rixon all over, he makes you think that he’s helping everyone else but it’s really only about what he wants.”
Rixon exploded. “Where do you get that from?” he shouted. “How is this about me? All I want to do is stop Malkin and get the hostages released. I don’t care about his criminal empire. If he lets them go, then I’ll leave him alone.”
She gave him a look. “Malkin, he’s a rival, isn’t he? If you get rid of him, it’ll help you get on; one less obstacle to you being the boss?” She looked at Irin. Jerking her head in his direction she shouted, “Didn’t he try to kill you once?! Wasn’t he your capto
r, forcing you to work by threatening the very people he’s now offering to save? Why has he changed his mind? I’ll tell you,” she paused for breath, “because it suits him. Rixon might be helping you but just remember what’s in it for him. If you believe he’s doing it for you, with his history, then I feel sorry for you.”
She got up and stormed out. Griff looked angry; he shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say, she’s still sore about Elana, and wonders how you can help a stranger before your own mother.”
“Griff, can you and Ria get Misty back to Nova for Jimbo?” I asked, trying to give him a way out, save him having to decide between Ria and Rixon, which would probably finish his relationship with whichever of them he left.
“Sure,” he said. “I wish I could come and help but with one arm…”
“Ria has me down as a bad guy. I guess I can understand it,” Rixon said. “What can I say? I’ve seen that what I did was wrong; all I can do is try to make it right. This is a problem of my making and I want to sort it out. I don’t want to be a gang boss, I just want a quiet life.”
“I know,” replied Griff, “and I’ve told her till I’m blue in the face, but she thinks that you’re trouble and I can’t change her mind.”
“I believe you,” said Irin. “I can see you’ve changed. Let me go and talk to Ria. We’ve spoken a lot and I understand her. She hated me for what she thought I’d done. I was sure that I’d shown her she was wrong. Now she blames you and I can see why. I want my family rescued, but if you think we should save Messinya first, then let’s do that.” She got up and crossed to the doorway. She turned.
“But, if I ever find that Ria was right,” she said, her cheeks had turned red, a warning sign, “then I swear that you’ll never be safe from me.” Without waiting for an answer, she was gone.
“You’ve got a good one there,” Griff said. “I believe her.”
“So do I,” said Rixon. “I just want to do the right thing.”
“That went well, I’m getting to love my new family,” said Melva, with just a hint of sarcasm. “I’m going to watch the disc and read all about what you’ve been up to. Sort it all out, please. If you don’t, we’ll all be at each other’s throats and I can’t stand living like that. I’ll go and you won’t see me again.” She picked up the papers and left.
I got another bottle out; the three of us sat drinking and talking until the sun came up.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Next morning, when we had exhausted the subject and soaked up the vodka with some food, the Sister landed beside us. The brightly decorated hull made a splash of colour against the grey hulls of the other ships. There were only three of us to see it land. Melva was still in her cabin, Ria and Irin must have spent the night on Misty.
“There’s Angie,” Rixon explained. “Hopefully, she’ll have some news for us.” We all trooped down to the ground.
A single person descended when the ramp opened. Medium height and brown-haired, she was dressed in a flowing robe patterned with flowers and sparkling from a metallic thread. Rixon went over to her and they embraced. Arm in arm, they came over to us, Rixon made the introductions. “This is Angie,” he said. “Angie, meet Dave Travise and Griff.”
“Hi, Dave, Griff,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you both, but where’s Irin and Ria?”
“There’s been an argument.” Melva had come to stand behind us.
Angie smiled. “You working your happy families magic again, Rixon?” she said. “Hi Melva, we’re all sorted, your stuff’s on Felton and CosCorp are very happy. The money’s been transferred.”
“Thanks for all your help,” Melva said.
“You alone?” Rixon asked. She nodded.
“I’ve dropped everyone else off, and I got a message from Malkin for you.”
“Great, let’s get everyone together.” Griff started towards Misty.
“I’ll go and get them, it might be better,” offered Melva. “It was that sort of argument.”
“Let’s get your stuff shifted over,” said Angie. “Can I borrow your ground car to load it all on?”
“What have you got?” I asked.
“Some hostage rescuing gear,” he said, “in case you forget yours. The car will save us carrying it all across.”
When we loaded up, I saw why. There were rifles, pistols and ammunition, as well as a few bags with unspecified contents. Enough for a small army. “That’ll keep it all away from prying eyes too,” he suggested, as we shut the trunk on it and drove the car into Freefall’s hold.
We went up to the mess for coffee, Angie looked around. “I didn’t get up here last time, too busy shifting pallets in a suit. If this is Freefall; where’s Myra?”
“Did someone ask for me?” Myra said, then there was a gasp from Angie as she recited her details. “J. Angela Walch, the registered owner of the Sister. Citizen of the IW, hello again. You were in the hold on the moon of Castra. I might have been quiet but I was listening. You’re starting to keep some strange company, Dave.”
“She’s with me,” Rixon said.
We were saved any more of Myra’s observations by the arrival of Melva; with Irin and the more reluctant Ria in tow. More introductions followed. Irin was relaxed but Ria seemed unhappy that someone else had arrived, and that they appeared to be on Rixon’s side.
“Tell us your news, Angie,” said Rixon.
“I got the message we were expecting, from Malkin, three days ago, after I’d dropped Melva’s cargo. He was just inside the line, near Felton.”
“Is this about a meeting?” asked Ria. Angie nodded.
“That’s right, he said to tell you that, in exchange for you surrendering to him, he’ll release Irin’s family and the Villiars manager.”
“Except we know that all he really wants to do is kill me and Irin,” he said. She nodded, her face showed concern.
“But the General has a plan to bring him down,” I added. “It should solve everyone’s problems in one go.”
Ria looked at Rixon. “See, Ria,” he said, “it’s not just about me.” She said nothing.
“I spoke to the General as well,” Angie said. “She must have been monitoring the comms on the Sister. She met me near the border, alone. She said that she knows where Malkin has them.” There was a gasp from Irin. “He’s been holding the hostages on Herstra,” Angie continued, “but he’s not with them at the moment. He’s at a meeting on Bartrams Landing. The General has made sure that he’ll be detained, giving us time to get to Herstra and rescue them before he gets back. Then with their testimony, she can arrest him and put him away. That should bring the families down.”
That sounded like a good plan, but I could see a flaw.
“Why doesn’t the General just rescue the hostages herself – if she knows where they are and who has them?”
“Because she thinks that there may be a leak in her forces, she doesn’t know who to trust,” Angie replied. “She hasn’t told anyone else that she knows the location. If we can get there, do the work, wait till she arrives, there’s less chance of Malkin wriggling out of it.”
“If you do this, Rixon,” Ria spoke, “will it be the end, will it protect your mother?”
Angie answered it for her, “Melva has told me why you’re unhappy, Ria. And I can tell you that this will solve it all. Get rid of Malkin and it’s over, honestly.”
“And there’s nothing in it for him,” she pointed at Rixon. “This isn’t just him making everyone do what he wants?”
“If anyone’s manipulating anyone, it’s the General,” she answered. “Rixon isn’t set to be the next big boss; if that’s what you mean. I’m not just saying that; in case you’re wondering. He’s sorry and annoyed and trying to put things right.”
“We don’t have to go with him, Ria,” said Griff. “We can take Misty back to Nova and let him get on with it.”
“Suits me,” she said. “Although I’d like to be there when he falls on his arse.”
“Hang on a m
inute, Ria,” I broke in. “It’ll be me and Irin and her family with him if he does.”
“Oh, yeah.” Her expression changed as she suddenly realised what she had been saying.
“We should head for Herstra,” Rixon said. “While Malkin is away from the place. We can be there in less than seven days.”
“What about Rixon’s ship?” asked Irin.
“That’s no problem,” said Griff. “Leave it here. I can get it back to the owner, there’re plenty of pilots on Kendye who will do a ferry job for me. I might even be able to take a cargo back with it, win-win. I’ll organise it.”
“Thank your man for the loan,” said Rixon. “I’ll come with you three. Angie, can you stick around, but keep out of sight?”
“Course I can,” she smiled. “I’ll get to Herstra and keep out of the way, don’t worry, they’ll never know we’re connected, but I’ll be close enough if you need a hand.”
“Great, then we’re organised, might as well get going.”
Angie said goodbye and went on board the Sister. It took off, if everything went according to plan, we wouldn’t see it again. It was comforting to know that it would be there if we needed it though.
“It’ll be good to get back to Nova,” said Ria, “away from all the manoeuvring that Rixon’s doing.”
“You’re wrong,” said Griff.
“I don’t care,” said Irin. “If he gets my family back, he can rule the IW for all I care.”
“If she won’t say it, then I will,” Griff turned to her. “I hope you get your family back safe, Irin. I know that Ria does too.”
There was a moment’s silence. “I’m sorry,” Ria said, “of course I do, it’s just that I don’t trust Rixon. But if you can use him, before he uses you and you get your family back safe, that’s a result.”
They walked off and boarded the Misty. As we watched, it took off and disappeared.
“I’m sorry to lose Griff,” said Rixon, “but I couldn’t have put up with Ria much longer.”
“Ria is so irrational about it all,” Irin said. “We talked and I thought that she had accepted things. I wonder if there wasn’t more to her friendship with Elana than she lets on?”