by Tom Jordan
Was Stormwulf still out there? Could the members of that team have followed them to Keillor?
Were they being followed right now?
Jade turned around, looking at the people behind her on the escalator. She saw a pair of uniformed officials, some well-dressed business-looking types, some other pilots, and local mining workers, judging by their clothes. Labor robots waited in twos and threes, standing unnaturally still as they rode the escalator.
Get ahold of yourself. Jade had enough trouble on her hands without losing her cool and getting overwhelmed by paranoia.
Tommy led them through a series of shafts and corridors before reaching a passage with exposed rock on the left side and a motorized walkway hugging the right-hand wall. Humanoid worker robots were loading it with a series of crates from a pallet. The corridor faded to a tiny point in the distance. There was no way Tommy’d make it that far—he rubbed his leg and leaned against the wall. He was obviously fading.
Jade surveyed the area. A younger guy sat perched atop a stool, smoking a cigarette and watching a video on a transparent tablet. His clothes looked slept in, and he bounced with an occasional snicker. Blue light from a BIKE RENTAL sign washed over him, and chunky, compact bikes rested in a row next to him.
“Hang here for a minute, Tommy,” Jade said.
He looked up, managing a weak smile. “Sure.”
“Hey there,” Jade said to the bike-rental guy. Who smokes cigarettes anymore?
The guy looked up from his tablet. “You wanna bike?”
“Yeah…this goes to Hangar C, right?”
“You lookin’ for C One, Two, or Three??”
Jade pursed her lips. “Two, I believe. My friends are—”
“Yeah, yeah. About seven kilometers. The ’bots are using the conveyor so they won’t let you on. Bike’s the way to go. Just turn it in to Jules at the other end.”
“Grab hold, big guy,” Jade said, swinging a leg over the bike. It was gray, and looked like a single piece of polymer fresh out of a fabricator.
Tommy cleared his throat. “I know that shifty guy just told you how to run this thing, but you’ve never ridden one of these, right?”
Jade patted the seat behind her. “Come on. We’re gonna save you some steps. If I can fly a spaceship, I can fly a bike. Probably.”
Tommy shrugged and swung a leg over, sitting directly behind Jade. “Try not to ram anyone, Captain.” He snorted.
“Hold on, wise guy.”
The bike rose off the ground, floating stably. Jade throttled silently ahead, lurching forward with a little more force than she expected. Tommy clasped his arms around her middle, and then eased his grip once she got a feel for the throttle. After a few minutes he put his head on the back of her shoulder. She guessed from the slow rise and fall of his chest that he’d fallen asleep. She watched what seemed like an endless line of cargo the robots had loaded onto the conveyor. Someone was getting their money’s worth from the automated workers.
She eventually reached the end of the tunnel, waking Tommy from his short nap, and handed the bike back in. She and Tommy reached another descending shaft, this time leading down to a room with three tubular elevators. Each had a glowing display over a curved door. Tommy picked the rightmost elevator, which read HANGAR C-28. The door opened after a short wait, and three laughing men in flight suits stepped out, slapping each other on the back. Jade took them for cargo haulers like herself.
Or rather, like she’d been until recently. What was she now? A bounty hunter? A failed entrepreneur? Another thing to think about later.
Jade followed Tommy into the elevator, figuring there’d be time after finishing this job to make sense of what her life had become.
Henning waved to Jade and Tommy from across the hangar. He was dwarfed by Audacity, whose curved bulk towered many meters above him. The ship was surrounded by a few others, mostly cargo haulers of various makes. One vessel hunkered low to the deck, looking menacing with sharp angles and landing lights that cast halogen glows on the metal around it. It was painted a base layer of black, with brilliant yellow highlights slashed through, and the bright color put an accent on just the right spots.
“Jade!” Tommy shook her shoulder so hard that she had to widen her stance to avoid losing her balance. He stabbed a finger at the ship. “That’s a Frontier XFX!”
She looked back at Tommy. “Why haven’t I heard of it?”
“It’s not on the market yet! Oh, man!”
“If it’s not available, then what’s it doing there?”
He pointed at the roof overhead, which was slashed through with visible mineral veins. “Lots of money here, with the natural resources and tech markets. It could have been sold to a high-profile buyer. Or maybe it’s a prototype an employee is using.”
“It looks pretty mean,” she said. “What’s its usage?”
He counted off on his fingers. “Amazing atmo performance, great weapons capacity, extreme jump range, high heat dissipation due to a new composite hull, next-generation everything. Multipurpose like Henning’s Sakharov, but with more of a combat bent. And hey, it’s got two cabins!” He elbowed her in the shoulder. “Christmas is coming!”
Jade laughed. “I think you might have more money in your pocket than I do, Flight Commander. How do you know all this stuff, anyway?”
Tommy just grinned. They walked over to Henning, and he nodded to them both. He skipped greetings and pleasantries and hooked a thumb over his shoulder.
“Marco’s over there somewhere calling the contact to try and get someone to pick up this crate before the countdown’s up. You guys doing okay?”
Tommy rubbed the back of his neck. “I think so. We had to improvise on the landing.”
Henning raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
Jade nodded. “Little bit tricky. But we made it.” She looked around the hangar. “Did you get bothered by customs? Did they give you one of those skin patches for tracking?”
“It’s itchy,” Tommy said.
Henning frowned and held up his hands. “I’m staying right on my ship. I’ll get resupplied from here. I’m not going through any of that shit.”
Marco appeared, ducking beneath his ship’s bow and putting a hand on the exposed landing gear. Jade let out a breath at seeing him. Tensions had been high and she found herself anxious to be close to him now that he was in sight. He was a pleasure to see, especially in his tight flight suit, with the way it let her see his physique. His full hair blew just right from some nearby thruster wash. He looked like a model from one of the advertisements on the hangar walls.
Henning looked over his shoulder at Marco’s approach. “Good news?”
“The buyer has someone on the way,” Marco said, nodding. “I gave them full disclosure. The contact wasn’t happy about the crate being tampered with. They already started talking me down on the reward. You can bet they’ll continue to do that once they’re here.”
“Son of a bitch,” Henning said. “Figures they’d bullshit us about it. Where’s the gratitude?” he asked no one in particular.
“Yeah,” Marco replied. He looked away, taking in the Frontier XFX. “Hey, XFX, nice,” he murmured. “I didn’t think that was for sale yet.”
“How long until they arrive?” Jade asked.
“Twelve hours,” Marco replied, turning his raptor gaze back to her eyes. She felt her knees weaken a bit.
“Cutting it closer than I’d like,” Henning said.
“Right. The crate has seventeen hours left on its countdown display,” Tommy said, looking at his wrist computer.
“It is what it is,” Marco said, looking at Tommy as if to assign subtle blame. Tommy looked away. Jade was noticing a trend: Tommy didn’t stand up to Marco. Her friend’s distaste for confrontation had sometimes put him in unpleasant spots back in flight school, and it wasn’t helping him here. Having three brothers, Jade had learned to assert herself at an early age, something Tommy hadn’t had to do. She resolved to talk to h
im about it sometime in the future.
“What’s our plan until the buyer arrives?” Jade asked.
“I booked us some rooms,” Marco said. “My treat. We all should rest and coordinate some repairs and maintenance.”
“That’s generous, man,” Tommy said.
“Yeah, well, we’ve had some setbacks on this one,” Marco said, avoiding the gazes of the rest of the team. “It’s the least I could do for all of you. I figured you’d pass, though,” he said to Henning.
“I’m fine here. But thanks,” Henning said.
“The old man stays on his cozy ship, even in port,” Marco said to Jade. Henning sneered at Marco, who didn’t notice and turned back to him. “But there’s food on the way for you, man. Thanks for your help.”
Henning’s eyes widened. “That’s…actually really nice of you. Thanks, mate.”
“No problem,” Marco said. “Anyway, guys, the place is called Domare Suites. Reservations are under your own names. And an repair team will be getting in touch with you about Ghost of Jupiter, Tommy.”
“I should stay and meet them,” Jade said. “Ghost has a lot of problems.”
Tommy cleared his throat. “Yeah, there are power issues, conduits maybe. Then there’s the canopy, thruster trouble, and the—”
“It’s all taken care of,” Marco said. “Don’t worry about it.” He leaned against a power station bearing a DO NOT TOUCH sign as he scrutinized the surrounding starships.
“I’d like to check out the crate one more time while I wait,” Tommy said. He held up both hands, palms open. “No mischief. Just a check.”
Marco narrowed his eyes, but acquiesced. “Okay. Saito, come with me to the hotel?” He shot a look into her eyes. Jade was able to read its meaning without needing him to put words to it. She was afraid Henning or Tommy watching them would sense it, too, and she felt her cheeks warm.
“Okay,” she said, focusing on his eyes.
Marco took her hand and pulled her toward the hangar exit. “Be well, guys,” he called over his shoulder. “Relax. You earned it.”
Jade walked away with Marco. She gripped his hand and pressed her body close to his. She turned back to see Tommy watching from atop Audacity’s ramp, an odd, flat expression on his face.
“Can I ask you something?” Jade said.
“Shoot,” Marco said, leaning against the elevator wall.
She let go of Marco’s hand, then wrung both of hers together. She exhaled.“I just killed two people.”
“Okay,” he said, like he wanted her to continue.
“Okay? That’s it? That’s not a big deal to you?”
He shrugged. “You had no choice.”
“Maybe.” She glanced sideways, considering the thought. “Does this make me the bad guy? Or girl, rather? How do we know the other team were all criminals? What if I killed someone who—”
“Stop.” Marco held up his hand. “The line between good and bad is very thin out here. There are places it doesn’t exist.” He smoothed back his hair and held her eyes with his. “What does exist is ambition. Resolve. Whether or not you’ll be pushed around or will take what you want.”
Jade pulled in a big breath, pushing her concerns above her discomfort. “But shouldn’t you take care of your friends? Why do you ride Tommy so hard? He’s a good guy. He’s our friend. He’s only trying to help. You owe him an apology. There’s no call to criticize him so harshly. Would you do the same to me?”
Marco stared into her eyes. She grew uncomfortable, eager to speak to fill the empty space, and then he finally spoke.
“Didn’t I send for a medical team for Tommy?”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Didn’t I give you weapons for your ship?”
“Yes, but—”
“And repairs are happening aboard Ghost right now. And Henning’s getting food delivered. Are you questioning my devotion to the team, Saito?”
Shit.
“I didn’t mean you don’t care about the team, I think you were just too rude to him. Not everyone’s motivated like that. It pushes some people away and makes them resent you.”
“There’s a lot at stake here. I know I’m firm, but it’s because I want us to succeed. And that includes Tommy. Did I get upset? Yeah, maybe. But things haven’t gone well. We’ve had setbacks and losses. You’ll have to pardon me for getting upset over that.”
He had a point. His anger had justification. She would talk to him about smoothing things over with Tommy, but later might be a better time. She didn’t want to push Marco away. Like he’d pointed out, he’d done a lot for the team.
The elevator chimed and she followed him out. A hallway stretched to either side, hotel room doors dotting the walls.
“Thanks for sending the engineers to check out Ghost.” She put on her most pleasant smile. “I’m worried about him. Tommy too. We’ve all been through so much.”
He turned to her. “It’s nothing, Saito. We’re a team.”
Jade sighed and nodded. “This is your room?” Indigo hues from hovering advertisements outside washed through the frosted glass and gave the subdued furnishings a diffuse, serene quality.
Marco paused, staring into her eyes. She stood transfixed. Her feet seemed to have a weight of their own, like she was on an alien planet with high gravity. Her chest tingled with nerves and electric emotion.
“I bought two rooms. One for Tommy,” he said, taking her shore-leave bag and placing it on the bed, “and one for us.”
“Oh,” she said, mesmerized.
He took her hand and cupped it in front of his chest. “I’m seeing you in a new light, Saito.”
His dark eyes bored into hers. He moved in, kissing her. She closed her eyes and flushed with inner warmth. She acted on instinct, parting her lips. The taste and feel of him overwhelmed her. It was heady and intoxicating. Her flight suit quickly felt constricting and stuffy.
The room was silent, punctuated only by the occasional sound of traffic or machinery from the city hub below, and by the sounds of their breath and lips.
She sighed, and a soft moan escaped her as her passion ignited. Her tongue found its way to Marco’s while he gripped her upper arms and leaned farther in, kissing her more deeply. She tried to push herself against him, but he held her firmly, only adding to her need.
He broke the kiss, but looked into her eyes from so close that they were all she could see. She gazed into their rich brown depths. He stroked her hair with one hand, which continued down until it reached her shoulder. His deft fingers unfastened the snaps that closed her flight suit from one shoulder to the other. A flap of fabric dropped, exposing the zipper. He leaned in for another kiss, and before Jade realized it, the zipper had traveled from her collarbone to just below her navel, exposing a wedge of bare skin.
Part of her mind was aware enough to analyze the situation. Here was bold, gorgeous Marco. The impossible man she desired but would never be able to have. This was actually happening. Emboldened by the thought, she laid her hands on either side of his hips. He felt firm, strong.
He leaned in to her again, kissing with unrestrained passion. He peeled her flight suit over her shoulders and downward to her hips. She felt the tingle of a shiver as the flushed skin of her bare torso met the room’s cool air. Marco continued the kiss. She opened her eyes and stole a glance, and saw that his were closed.
Marco trailed two fingers down her back, causing her to moan and shiver again. His hand lingered low, exploring the dimples of her lower back.
She whispered in his ear when the kiss ended, “This isn’t fair.”
He leaned back and looked puzzled, until she unzipped his flight suit and pulled it down in the same fashion that he had hers. Marco remained locked in to her eyes, as though savoring the moment. Jade took the opportunity to drink in the sight of his chest, shoulders, and stomach. She trailed her fingers over him and savored the feeling of his lean, firm physique.
They pulled each other into a close embrace, begi
nning another hungry kiss. Jade’s breasts pressed against Marco’s chest. She felt his quickened breathing through his stomach, tight against her own. Though Jade was taller than Marco, their bodies fit together. It felt right, and after two years alone in space, his body offered a warmth no heater or blanket could match.
“Marco…” she whispered. He looked into her eyes. She felt exposed to the air, and to Marco, yet she also felt the stir of nerves and her arousal. The comfort of his strong embrace drowned out the part of her that was nervous for what was to come. The erect firmness of him pressed against her hip and she pushed against him. She wanted to feel it.
Marco suddenly knelt and hoisted her up over his shoulder. She gasped in surprise, and then laughed. Marco laughed in return. She gave his shoulder blade a small kiss from her upside-down position, and then yelped as Marco smacked her behind in response. Her hair was in disarray, all over his back and in her own eyes. He dropped her on the bed, where the mattress cushioned her fall. She lay back and stared up at him between her knees. He smiled, his white teeth contrasting with his full, dark hair. The neon glow through the windows accented his physique and created small shadows across his chest and stomach. He was lean. Strong. Irresistible.
He began to untie her boots and then pulled them off one at a time. She looked at the glow of color and shadow on the ceiling until Marco grabbed her hands and pulled her back up to a sitting position. Kneeling on the floor, he was just higher than she was, and he tipped her head back for another kiss. A thrill stole her breathe as his hand slipped into her flight suit, past her navel, and beneath the waistband of her underwear. He explored gently, caressing and pressing, setting her alight with warm, moist pleasure.
She moaned at his touch. It had been a very long time since anything like this had happened. Her troubles and stresses from the last few days were some of the worst in her life, and she could feel them burn away in the purifying fire of pleasure.