by Gwynn White
Together they jammed the wraith jack deep into the jaw of the wraith and Keva pressed the button. This time two bodies absorbed the vibration, and two sets of hands worked together to hold it in place.
The wraith flailed and snapped its jaw at them as it fell off the edge of the ship and slithered away.
They ran to the second one.
“We’re running out of time,” Eddqin shouted.
“ILO, hot engine cycle. Get altitude as soon as you’re free. We’ll jump.”
The engines started, the winds rising around them.
A group of security personnel rushed out from the building, heading toward them.
The second tether released. Just one more.
“Halt,” the lead officer shouted, his rifle directed at Keva and Eddqin. “Ghost Star shut down your engines.”
Ghost Star did not shut down.
Keva and Eddqin jammed the bar into the teeth of the last wraith, but it wouldn’t go far enough to dislodge the tether.
“I order you, Ghost Star, shut down your engines.”
“I can take them if you can free the tethers.” Keva pulled out one of her knives, weighing its balance and preparing to throw it at the main guard.
“She cannot follow your command,” Eddqin shouted, shooting Keva an intense look and a shake of his head. “She was programmed to only follow the instructions of her captain.”
Keva re-sheathed her blade and released the bar before waving Eddqin back, she used her foot and kicked the end of the jack, forcing it farther in.
The security guards approached their guns up. “Then you command it to shut down,” the leader commanded.
Eddqin faced them and shrugged. “She’s always been a little buggy, even for me.” He left Keva, taking a few steps toward the detail, his long robes flowing in the engine wash.
Keva kicked the bar repeatedly. With each kick, it slid deeper down the tether’s throat. She grabbed it and pushed the button, holding on with all her might while Eddqin distracted the guards. She wedged a foot against the ship and pried with everything she could muster.
The last tether slipped away.
“We’re clear,” Keva shouted.
The nose hatch dropped.
“Stay where you are,” the leader shouted.
Keva stopped, her hands itching for a fight.
“Kadira.” Eddqin turned. “You will take care of her, will you not? You are what she needs now.”
What was he planning? He understood the AI. They needed him.
The security leader advanced. They were out of time.
Keva nodded.
With a wink, Eddqin turned and rushed the guards with a yell.
Keva ran, dodging shots, leaping to the opening.
“I’m on.”
“Will Master—”
“Fly!” Keva watched through the closing hatch as the guards split their fire between Ghost Star, and Eddqin, before one of the wraith tethers captured him in its polished jaw, delivering the body to the guards.
“Aye, Captain,” ILO said.
Dothylian’s voice carried through the small ship as she screamed Eddqin’s name.
Keva didn’t waste time on grief she didn’t feel. The man had given his life to protect someone he loved. There was honor in that. She was upset they’d lost their best lead to help ILO and she felt marginally bad for Dothylian. Not bad enough to stay and die, though. Eddqin wouldn’t want that anyway. It’d be a shit way to honor what he’d done.
They lifted into the air as the detail continued to fire.
“Will they be able to lock onto us?” Keva asked.
“No.” ILO’s voice filled with regret. “Eddqin was quite good. He changed our transponder and hid a scrambling code in the matrix.”
Keva hadn’t heard of that before, but it made sense.
“Where are we going?” ILO asked.
“Will we be able to gain clearance to Set’ar Station with this transponder?”
“Yes. We have already received passage.”
“Then, ILO, let’s go find Hale and get the hell out of here. Hard burn as soon as you’re able.”
11
With the new transponder, they had clearance to leave Terra Qar airspace and dock within Set’ar without an issue. Keva owed a small debt to Eddqin. They all did.
And he’d informed Keva how she would repay his debt before sacrificing himself. You will protect her, will you not?
Her original idea was still the best. Dothylian would have a good chance of creating a new life for herself on Kalamatra.
Keva ushered Dothylian to one of the spare sleeping units where the girl could wash and hopefully get some sleep.
“Will you leave the communicator with me?” Dothylian asked as Keva turned to leave.
“Why?”
“I would like to talk to my brother. I have not spoken to him in so long.” Dothylian’s breath caught and her eyes filled with tears. “And we both lost the best man we have ever known.”
“No.” Keva didn’t have time for tears. She was too busy saving both their lives. She touched the communicator hidden in the folds of her clothes and tucked it further in. “No. Get some sleep. You need the rest.”
Dothylian turned her head and cried into her pillow.
Keva left quickly. Otherwise, she feared she’d punch a woman she knew didn’t deserve it. None of this situation was her fault.
Keva was on edge. Something felt off. Why had she chosen to risk the mission again, this time to save someone who may not have died immediately? She might have figured out a way to remain alive, to maintain a life in the comforts of her society.
Then why had Keva risked everything to save her?
The guilt.
Didn’t outweigh the mission.
The civilian world had made her soft.
She went to her quarters to change and pressed the chip in her wrist to turn off Kadira’s bio ident override with a sense of relief. She didn’t enjoy being Kadira Saqqaf and no longer needed to be her to leave the Qo system. Ident confirmations were only made to get in. She much preferred being Keva Duste, spacer and hauler. The rules were simpler.
As were the clothes and methods of speaking.
She groaned as she slipped into her comfortable military boots. She could relax her ways of thinking as well. The mental readiness needed to maintain her Elite persona was exhausting. She let her hair down and braided several smaller sections which she kept free. She missed having her hair down.
She washed away the makeup, and her skin felt free. No makeup, hair down, clothes fitting as they should. Her weapons—real weapons—strapped to her thighs, her calves, her arms.
Yes. She preferred this identity.
Even in her own clothes, she wasn’t looking forward to the conversation she was about to have.
She walked to the back of Ghost Star, feeling the landing gear settle as ILO parked at Set'ar Station, and opened the door.
Hale Reeve stood outside it, leaning on one arm, his head bowed. He stared at her through thick eyelashes. “Keva.”
Blessed Black. That man. “Hale.”
He pushed off and then stepped onto her ship without asking permission. “We have to talk.”
“This is my ship.”
“Not according to your transponder.”
Keva let the door close.
“And word on the wire is you’re carrying a fugitive. Two, in fact.” He leaned in close. “You being one of them.”
She rolled her eyes and turned.
“What’s this? Did you seriously steal an atmoshuttle?” He gestured to the shuttle taking up most of the space in the holding area.
“It’s a long story.”
“That you’re going to tell me.” He closed the door behind him as he came aboard.
She led him around the shuttle and into the belly of Ghost Star. To a lounge she rarely used. An entire wall was nothing but vidscreens. She didn’t understand why anyone would set up a room like this for wor
king in the black. Communications were slow at best. She nodded to one of the comfortable chairs.
He took in the room with an upraised eyebrow of his own. “Your idea?”
“Inherited.”
“You could change it.”
“I could.” She shrugged and went to the wall to her left. “Drink?”
“Anything sturdy?”
She had something for him. She pulled down a glass and a decanter of some terran bourbon she’d acquired from a merchant on a particularly difficult haul. He’d bartered it for his life after she threatened to kill him when the job went sideways. It was decent stuff and hard to come by.
Hale took the glass she offered and sat down.
She took in a deep breath and sat opposite him, not knowing what she would tell him.
He stared at her, waiting with that irritating smile of his.
“We need passage to Kalamatra.”
“I guessed that. Already bargained for it.” He took a sip.
“We also agreed on a price.”
“Before you became a fugitive for the second time and brought another with you.”
“Look, I’m having a fuck of a day—”
“You also changed your transponder—something I’d like to know how you did—and now I can’t register you for flight.”
She hadn’t thought of that. Changing the transponder had helped in everything else, but now they were going to need verification and Eddqin was dead.
She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
He nodded with an “I’m glad you’re seeing things clearly now” look on his face.
Oh, she hated his face. “What do you want?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll help you.”
“How?”
“I have a plan.”
“You…have a plan.” She raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t a question. It was a statement questioning his potential plan.
He shrugged. “But about payment.”
She hated when he harped. “I’ll extend more Tarn. How much do you want?”
“You’ll owe me.”
“What?” No. That was a bad idea. That was an idea which led down dangerous hallways.
He smiled, obviously enjoying her reaction. “You’ll owe me.”
“No.”
He shrugged. “I’ll leave you two here, then.”
She…that man. She sipped her bourbon to calm her nerves. “What would this favor look like?”
“It depends.” He set his glass on the arm of his chair and propped his ankle on his knee, the hilt of the knife holstered in his boot sticking out like an omen.
“On what?”
“On how much like partners we become.”
Partners. “You want in on the cut.”
His expression didn’t move. He didn’t even twitch.
“You want me to give you a portion of the profits of whatever scam I’m running.”
He frowned and bit down on his bottom lip. Finally, he blinked and shook his head. “No. You’re not running a scam. You’re searching for something. You’re doing something underground and most likely illegal.”
A cold chill swept through her.
“Of course, it’s illegal.”
“I just can’t figure out who you’re running for.”
She forced her expression blank.
“I’ve heard rumors of a weapon. You have Dothylian Solvei aboard Ghost Star—”
“Not Ghost Star anymore.”
“—who ran out on a wedding contract with the Zerveks, I’m guessing the two things are somehow related since the head of Z-Corp is the one who sent out the newest warrant for your arrest.”
Warrant for her arrest? Oh, shit.
Keva swallowed.
Hale clamped his lips shut and slammed his hand down on the arm of the chair. “You gonna say anything? No? Okay then.” He slammed his drink back and made a move to get up.
She raised her hand. “Stop.”
He stilled and glared at her.
There was more to Hale Reeve than she thought. “There will be things I can’t tell you.”
He shrugged. “I won’t be able to tell you everything I know either.”
Was this smart? She had no idea how deep his loyalties ran or what his true motivations were.
“What else do you know?”
“You want me to start? I don’t think so. You’re the one out here on a ship with no registration, basically stranded on this station. You need my help. Time to give a little, Keves.”
Working with Hale, and his connections, she might be able to put more pieces together. She’d failed in her original mission because she hadn’t been told her assumed identity was related to one of the very people responsible for the research she’d been searching for.
The more she knew, the better would be able to operate. Every piece of data she collected the better she could do her job. What did the Syndicate expect of her if they continually tied one hand behind her back?
“Okay. My real name is Keva Duste, not Kadira Saqqaf. I assumed that identity after the girl died—apparently, she was murdered. When I came here two years ago, I met her sister. I was supposed to find out more about research being done by the Elite that didn’t get official approval through normal channels, something off the books. I had the name of an informant who I never connected with. I imagine they were killed before I ever arrived. That was the sum-total of the information I received.”
It might be helpful to know a little more than she typically received. If Hale could fill in the blanks, and there were some gaping ones, she could get to the bottom of this much faster. Working with the Syndicate gave Keva a sense of worth, but they never told her more than they thought she needed to complete an assignment. That way, if arrested, what would she give up in interrogation?
He sighed. “You think the research and this weapon are related?”
She took another sip of her drink, exhaustion starting to blur the edges of her mind. “I do.”
He got up and poured himself another finger of liquor. “I’m waiting to hear what you have to do with any of this.”
“While I was on Qar I found out Kadira’s father may have been closer to the weapon than we’d guessed. The people in charge murdered him for his work. The Elite run in strange circles. They smile at your face, and stab in the back.”
“Wait.” He sat back down. “You’re telling me your people sent you out on a mission where you could be a target without any information?”
When he said it out loud, it seemed crazy. “What we do is crucial. They don’t want us to endanger the overall mission if caught.”
“That’s…” He saluted her with his glass. “Bullshit.”
She couldn’t disagree. “My last mission was a failure. I had to run before I found out any intel of use. We learned nothing.”
“This time? What’d you learn?”
She smiled a little and drained her glass. “I don’t know yet.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Okay?”
“Your turn. I showed you mine.” Keva smirked, the drink and exhaustion relaxing her usual walls. At times like this, she remembered just how damn attractive Hale was.
He opened his expression raising one hand as if in surrender. “I work for the Families.”
That startled her. She didn’t know anyone who operated for the Families, and as far as she knew, they were small-time business owners who helped keep the system clean of trash and other debris. Some were very wealthy, of course, but barely of notice in comparison to the Elite.
“We caught word of Batch D-65 a few years ago. We’ve been trying to find their base of operation, but have failed. We were lucky to track it down to the Zerveks. They didn’t do a very thorough job hiding the money trail. I guess assuming you’re above the law means you aren’t so skilled at knowing how to break it. What Intel were you able to get?”
“None so far.”
Hale raised an eyebrow and leaned forward.
She didn’t need him to threaten to leave again. “Dothylian managed to install a mind worm into Wilmur Zervek.”
His expression slowly bloomed with understanding. “That’s the reason she’s here.”
Not really. “Yes. She got the worm into him. Now we can monitor him, his conversations, his location, everything.” She motioned to the spread of vidscreens in front of them. “All I have to do before I go after him is get her to safety.”
“And how are you going to do that? She’s marked.”
“I know some people.”
He settled back into his seat with a smirk.
“Trust me. When we get to Kalamatra, I have a plan to ensure her freedom. I don't think she's going to be very happy about it, though.”
“Does it have anything to do with her face? Because it's been plastered all over the newslines and facial reconstruction isn't cheap.”
“The newslines travel slower than the speed of light.” Not quite, but information was slow in the systems.
“Your face, too, for that matter.”
She had a plan for herself, as well. She wasn’t looking forward to it, but desperate times and extreme measures and all that. Facial tattoo. It would throw the scanners off without requiring her to get surgery, and enough people did it for fashion so people wouldn’t automatically regard her as an outlaw. “Your turn. What else do you have besides a ship.”
“Besides a mighty fantastic ship?”
She chuckled. “You’re allowed your opinion.”
He gave her a mocking expression, but walked to the wall of vidscreens and fingered one of them idly. “We’ve tracked the location of the developmental station to HUMP.”
“What?” This was huge. “How did you manage that?”
“I’m not telling you all my secrets, but I will say their base of operations is out in HUMP. It’s a large station, and they call it Heliac Nine.”
“Heliac Nine?” This could be very bad.
“Which reminds me, you’re going to have to change the name of your ship.”
“What?” She glanced around her. “No.”
“Yes. Anyone who’s smart will be able to tell you’re masquerading with the wrong transponder if you don’t change the name on the hull.”
She’d never been fond of the name, so it didn’t particularly irk her, but she had to come up with something new. That was irritating. It was one of those details she didn’t enjoy. Maybe she’d ask ILO what her thoughts were.