by M. D. Cooper
Kylie realized that the two engineers who had helped Ricket were already gone. She followed the spy out of the engineering control center back down the passage they had just traversed.
“Wait. David…did he get Hannah?” Kylie asked as a new worry hit her.
Ahead of her Ricket nearly stumbled.
Ricket made chocking sound.
Ricket shook her head and didn’t respond, yet another strange response from the strange woman.
* * * * *
When they had entered the bay, the pinnace was the only ship in it—every other vessel had taken off already, either to engage in combat, or to flee the battle.
There was no time to consider the fate or purpose of the other ships as Kylie and Ricket raced onto the pinnace only to find that someone had shot up the vessel’s cockpit.
“Shit,” Ricket said as she shook her head. “I guess someone was pissed that it wouldn’t start up.”
Kylie ran a hand through her hair and reached out to David, routing her Link connection to the comms on the shuttle he had secured.
Kylie swallowed, and panic threatened to drag her under.
There was no response.
Damn it. Kylie was sick and tired of losing people. Just when she got David back, just when they reached common ground and they could work together he was going to sacrifice himself? Kylie didn’t think she could deal with it so she did the only thing she could do—she stopped thinking about it. She’d lock it away and deal with it later.
“Do either of you have a plan?” Ricket asked. “Because from where I’m standing, we’re royally fucked.”
“The doors?”
A thundering FOOMM shook the pinnace as the bay underwent explosive decompression. The pinnace groaned and vibrated the air rushed out into space.
What had started as their ride, had now become their coffin.
“Thank stars we closed the ramp,” Ricket said.
“There’ll be EV suits on this thing,” Kylie said. “We just need to get across the bay, and take a pod.”
They suited up as quickly as possible, and lowered the ramp. Kylie rushed down the ramp and into the bay just as the a-grav systems cut out. She lurched forward, and drifted off the deck. She didn’t even have time to cry out before a hand grabbed her boot.
Kylie shook her head. Focus, Kylie, focus.
The passage containing the escape pods was on the far side of the bay and the two women worked their way across the wide expanse toward it. It was only two hundred meters, but with the step-lock-step-unlock process of the boots, it was slow going.
Grayson’s voice was filled with relief.
Grayson’s mental tone cracked.
Tears filled her eyes as she glanced at Ricket who had reached the passageway with the escape pods.
Kylie blinked back her tears, first Grayson making her all mushy, then this.
The ship shuddered again, and a vibration—that felt more like a long groan—travelled up their legs.
Ricket turned and led her back out into the shuttle bay and toward the open doors where the blackness of space loomed. Kylie had tried not to look out as they crossed the bay, it was too heartbreaking to see the chaos and the carnage.
Somehow she couldn’t help but feel a little responsible. It was her father, after all, who had started this. Even if he did say an angel had told him to do it—had he gone insane years ago and no one had noticed?
Or had he always been like this and they had all pretended he was not so far gone.
Something shot into the bay—off to Kylie’s left—and hit the pinnace, sending a fireball and gouts of flame rolling across the bay. Debris flew around them as Ricket grabbed Kylie’s arm and raced to the edge, space looming beyond them.
Bright flares of light were everywhere. Engines burning hard, particle beams lancing through the blackness, the explosions of missiles spewing nuclear fire into the night.
Kylie looked back into the bay as another explosion shook the Liberation. There was little chance the ship would last much longer. The cold darkness of space wasn’t much better, but at least the danger was less imminent.
Marge said, then added after a slight pause,
Marge giggled nervously.
Ricket wrapped her ar
ms around Kylie.
Kylie took a deep breath as Ricket’s boots fired off and they floated toward the fire-filled cold of space.
Kylie smiled despite the circumstance, and confirmed with Marge that Grayson had their beacon. A feeling of serenity came over her. She had done all she could. Whether or not she lived or died was out of her hands. She looked through Ricket’s face plate and saw a look of acceptance on the other woman’s features as well. The only thing they could do was breathe slowly, and watch the battle unfold.
One thing was for certain, even with a quarter of the ships in the fight, her father’s fleet was not inconsequential. If that massive ship hadn’t shown up, things could have gone very differently.
As she considered the carnage around her, a ship drew near and Kylie wondered if it was Grayson’s Polis Fury. It had a familiar configuration, but at the current angle it was hard to make out.
Then the ship turned and its profile made its identity clear. Kylie knew the ship all too well. It had pursued the Dauntless on several occasions in the previous weeks. Always dogging them.
The Barbaric Queen.
The signal cut as the massive pirate ship slowed and caught them in a grav field, drawing the two women toward its yawning shuttle bay.
This is the worst day ever.
INGRATITUDE
STELLAR DATE: 10.07.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Barbaric Queen
REGION: Outer Silstrand System, Silstrand Alliance
Nadine had never seen Rogers fly like this before. His reaction times were so fast it seemed as though he was seeing things before they even happened. He wove through the battlespace like he was a dancer and the Barbaric Queen his partner.
The ship groaned as the a-grav systems struggled to keep the inhabitants safe from the g-forces, but somehow it held. Rogers seemed to know just what it could take.
Nadine couldn’t help but look upon the battle around them and feel as though it were her fault. If she had just gotten to Peter Rhoads like she was supposed to, this all could have been avoided.
If she were honest with herself, she had never pushed Kylie to return to her father as she should have. Life on the Dauntless—life with Kylie—was something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Nadine had just wanted to spend a little more time there.
And this was the result. What’s more, somewhere, in that giant mess, was Kylie.
“You okay, Nadine?” Winter asked.
She nodded, or at the very least she thought she did. “Kylie’s out there somewhere.”
“We’ll find her,” Winter said. Nadine studied him for a moment; it was uncharacteristic of him to offer false hope. Maybe he really believed it, or maybe he had no choice but to believe it.
“Damn. Our friends down in the brig are making a serious ruckus,” Rogers said with a tilt of his head. “They’re banging around a lot and creating quite the vibration.”
Nadine tore her eyes away from the holodisplay as another ship exploded. Kylie could have been on that ship. Or one of the other thousand hulls now drifting in the black. Nadine had sent Kylie to her death—if she could go back to The Futz and change that one moment….
Nothing had gone as expected.
“I’ll go quiet them down,” Nadine said and walked off the bridge before anyone could reply. Maybe she’d open Bubbs’ cell and let the cyborg pound her into a bloody pulp. Stars knew, Nadine deserved it for what she had done.
Halfway to the brig area, Rogers reached out across the Link.
Nadine’s breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat.
Was it Kylie? Is that what Rogers was telling her?
Nadine ran faster than she had in a long time, even faster than she had with a somethingasaurus on her tail. She slid down ladders and sprinted through passageways. She reached the bay door and pounded the control mechanism, bounding on the balls of her feet as it took forever to cycle open.
When it finally slid aside, Nadine raced into the bay coming to a hard stop when she saw the two figured in EV suits, both on their knees.
One of them rose and turned to her before reaching up and unlocked her helmet.
“Kylie?” Nadine whispered and covered her mouth for fear she’d let out the sob that was lodged in her throat.
The figure pulled the helmet off and Nadine knew she had never seen such a beautiful sight and she lunged forward to hug the woman she had feared she’d lost forever.
But the look in Kylie’s eyes was anything but welcoming; she reached out and grabbed Nadine’s arm, stopping her before they could embrace.
“What took you so long?” Kylie asked, barely masked rage behind her words. “Do you have any idea what you did?”
“I’m sorry.” Nadine’s struggled to find the words to convey how sorry she really was. “We were attacked, the Dauntless crashed on Jericho; we were injured and stranded. The only way we managed to get off was to barter with the Barbaric Queen and its captain. We got here as soon as we could. As soon.”
Kylie drew a breath and lowered her eyes. Behind her Nadine saw the other figure remove her helmet and shake her hair out. The woman looked familiar. “Ricket?”
Ricket nodded. “I guess you read the reports on my fallback mission.”
“Petra told me they were trying to insert you.”
“Why, Nadine?” Kylie asked. “Why didn’t you just tell me? We could have gone years ago, stopped my father before it got this far.”
Nadine ran a hand through her hair. “I didn’t know your father’s fleet had grown so…impressive.” Nadine cringed at her word choice, now of all times to start screwing up because she was nervous. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not impressed by what he’s done.”
Kylie held up her hand. “I know why you sent me there. I understand it even. Ricket explained everything to me. Without her, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten out of there alive.”
So Ricket did, did she? Nadine glanced the other Hand agent, but the woman’s face didn’t give anything away. “I’m glad you’re all right, Kylie. I’m glad—”
“I’m not all right. My family…I don’t know if they’re safe. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I need to find out.” Kylie pushed past Nadine and strode out of the bay.
“Which way to the bridge?” she called over her shoulder.
“Kylie, please, let’s talk about this!”
“Never mind, I’ll find it on my own,” Kylie yelled and kept walking, stepping out into the corridor as Nadine stared after her. It had gone so much worse than she had thought it would. She’d thought the near-death experience would have at least brought some sense of gratitude.
Ricket touched Nadine’s arm. “I wouldn’t go after her. Not yet.”
“What did you tell her?” Nadine shrugged Ricket off but stopped short of shoving her away.
“What was necessary to complete the mission. I didn’t know if we’d see you again, but how things spiraled out of
control…We needed to take care of Peter Rhoads and his family.”
“And did you?” Nadine asked with baited breath—was it finally done?
“Kylie did. She killed Peter and we got her family off into a shuttle but whether they survived…? I don’t think anyone can answer yet that.”
Kylie had killed her own father? No wonder she hadn’t wanted to talk to Nadine. Everything was just so wrong, she could barely stomach it. “I never thought it would go down like this.”
Ricket nodded. “You’re not the only one.”
* * * * *
“Kylie!” Winter’s eyes widened as she stepped on the bridge. He ran toward her and crushed her in a big hug. “Man, I never thought I’d see you again.”
She patted his back, feeling at home again just to see him.
Marge’s answer was a warm feeling and a smiling avatar.
Kylie raised her avatar’s eyebrows as she pulled away from Winter and patted his cheeks lightly. “I guess you guys have had a hard go of it, huh?” She glanced around the bridge and when her eyes settled on the pilot seat, she grinned.
She put her hand on the back of it. “Rogers, I wasn’t sure I’d ever again have the pleasure of…” Kylie stopped as she caught sight of his eyes, the way his hands were suspended in the air, strange wispy tendrils flowing from them. She didn’t know what to say or do but her instincts were to tear off whatever was on his hands.
“You too, cap,” Rogers said as if nothing was wrong. But things were wrong. Things were very wrong.
“It’s the only way he can pilot the ship, Captain,” Winter said gently. Somehow the way he said it was comforting, but the sight of it still creeped her out.
“That can’t be healthy. That can’t be good. Rogers, you’re putting yourself at risk.”
“No choice, Captain.” Rogers’ tone of voice was low and serious. “Besides. Look at the shit-show out there. People are dying. Stop worrying about my hands and eyes.”
“You’re okay with this?” she whispered to Winter.