by M. D. Cooper
Kylie held a hand to her chest. Double speak, her?
“If we could please get on to the questions,” one of the senators said.
“By all means,” Harken replied and tipped her hand to the panel. “I’m looking forward to getting to the bottom of….”
Kylie wished she knew. There was no way Winter wouldn’t have fired to stop Harken’s tirade if he was able. He was either captured, or dead, but it wasn’t something she wanted to say out loud.
So many questions and no answers. Kylie listened to some more of Harken’s testimony as she weighed her options. The bitch was claiming Maverick’s injury at the hands of Jason was faked.
“This ‘Jason’ mercenary is just as imaginary as the girl’s kidnapping. That’s why Kylie and Maverick can’t produce him,” Harken said with a grin.
Kylie saw Vaax nod slowly, and the Senators turned to each other and discussed the proposal. Harken looked happy as well, and Kylie worried about what the woman may have had planned.
Then Hersch spoke “We will grant a recess until tomorrow morning. All parties are to return at 08:00. We will allow Maverick to present his evidence at that time.”
Kylie breathed a sigh of relief as a sharp tone played through the room, signaling to everyone the session was over. Maverick buttoned his jacket and threw a hard look at Kylie.
Kylie and Nadine rose, their hands clasping each others.
Maverick nodded.
There was a lot on the line.
Nadine touched Kylie’s cheek and brought her in for a sweet kiss. It was the first real kiss they had shared since her rescue. It was nice to be with her again and feel that sense of understanding, comfort. Kylie could be herself with Nadine in ways she never could be with Grayson.
So why was he still so much on her mind?
“C’mon, let’s find Winter and Lana before this all blows up in our face.” Kylie led Nadine through the wide doors into the waiting area. A crowd had gathered outside and a police barrier had been erected just around the corner.
Nadine gasped.
Kylie refused to think that. She forced herself through the crowds in an attempt to get an eye on the situation. A body was in a bag and two medics were lifting it onto a hover pad.
“What happened here?” she asked a nearby guard.
“A guard was gunned down.” He shook his head. “They were just manning their post and then called in a fight—don’t worry, though, we’ll get her.”
“Her?” Kylie asked Marge and her brow furrowed.
The officer pointed to a nearby holotank. Floating within was Lana’s altered face and fake name of Reanna. Beneath it were the word WANTED FOR MURDER OF GFF OFFICER.
“She gunned him down in cold blood. Fast,” the guard said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He gestured for Kylie to move to the side as the medics pulled the body past and Kylie numbly followed his instructions.
This was bad. Real bad.
“Winter probably got her out,” Nadine said as they hurried down the other side of the corridor. “I know you feel responsible for this girl, but Kylie, she’s trouble.”
Kylie was taken back by Nadine’s harsh words. “She’s just a kid.”
“Trouble comes in small packages. You know this.”
She did, but it didn’t mean Kylie liked it. “Right now, she’s our problem, but we need to make sure Winter got her back to the ship. Let’s just get out of this crowd for a moment so that—”
They rounded the corner and nearly ran into someone Kylie had never expected to see again. Her mouth fell open as walked toward them, hands in his pockets and a big grin on his face.
“Hey, baby sis.”
BROTHER MINE
STELLAR DATE: 09.23.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: People’s Republic Tower, The Futz Spire, Freemont
REGION: Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
“Sister?” Nadine asked, her mouth agape.
Kylie nodded silently, amazed at how much like their father he looked. She imagined it was what Peter Rhoads would look like if he had ever taken rejuv.
“David?” she finally managed to stammer.
David nodded and laughed as he gripped her elbows and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“By the stars, how we’ve missed you, baby sis! You’re looking all right too! Fit and happy.” He grinned. “I told Father you’d be fine, and now I have the proof with my very own eyes and can give true testimony.”
“How’d you find me?” Kylie’s words seemed drowned out by her own surprise.
“Wasn’t easy. Was a big long journey, really. But I talked to someone who talked to someone. It led me here, and then I heard you were giving testimony here. You know how it goes. But Dad and Mom wanted me to find you, and their wish…. Well, you know—”
“—how it goes,” Kylie completed their childhood axiom. “Yeah, I do. It’s great you’ve found me, but if you don’t mind, I really have to be going.”
“Just like that? I just got here. I haven’t seen you since your wedding.”
“I’m divorced now,” Kylie said casually.
“I heard. Mom and Dad told me. They were disappointed at first, but not as disappointed that you’re off piloting a ship as a trash person.”
“Junker,” Kylie corrected him with an amused smile. “You still couldn’t talk your way out of a wet paper bag, David.”
He laughed. “Ain’t that the truth? Dad’s the brain of the operation and that’s no lie, but I have my uses. One of those uses is coming here to fetch you.” David glanced at Nadine for what must have been the first time. “Pardon my rudeness. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend? She’s real pretty and…” he addressed Nadine. “Did you know your hair is blue?”
Nadine laughed and offered him her hand. “Nadine Devonire. Kylie and I are friends, and yes, I had noticed that my hair is blue.”
David shook her hand. “Well, it’s good to know Kylie has some of those—friends, that is, not blue hair. You know, when she left, I didn’t think it was a good idea. Mom said she needed to stretch her wings and do things her own way. Dad wanted her back but she met with success; got in the SSF, got married, but then it all fell apart, and she still didn’t come back home. Broke the old man’s heart too.”
Kylie sighed. “David…”
“But they didn’t send for her.” David waved his finger at Kylie, but his eyes didn’t leave Nadine. “No, no. They let her have her life of freedom and wild flights of fancy. Meanwhile, me and her brother, Jacob, we’ve been doing nothing but holding down the fort. The reckoning is coming, you know. We all have to do our part, so why hasn’t she done hers?”
Oh, God, not the reckoning. Nadine knew about Kylie’s family just as Kylie knew about hers, but that didn’t mean she wanted Nadine to have to meet one of them and
experience their craziness first hand. “David, we have work to do, so if you wouldn’t mind….”
“Work? I have work too, Kylie. Still I’ve busted my ass to find you. I have farms to tend to, worlds under my watch, new hands to teach. I have to spread the gospel of Peter to as many as I can, but I set it all aside to come find you.”
“Why?” Kylie asked and crossed her arms. “Why’d you waste time coming to find me then, if you’re so busy?”
David shrugged. “Like we said, what Dad wants, he gets. And he wants you back home where you belong. He’s through with indulging you. We need you, sister.”
Kylie rolled her eyes. “He has more than his share of worshippers and people to spread his message. He doesn’t need me.”
“Hell, he doesn’t! Things are getting bad out there, Kylie, even if you don’t see it. There are wars brewing everywhere, even rumors of systems being taken over by AI, kicking out the humans, or turning them into machines.
“Gedri’s a dung-heap. You can’t hide here. Everyone knows Scipio has had its eye on Silstrand forever, and this will be the first place to fall.”
He leaned in close, whispering hoarsely. “When the AI come, Gedri will be ripe for the taking—hell, with the way people are modded here, they’d welcome their machine overlords.
“Lord above, you’re traveling with a woman with blue hair, so you must know. No offense, to you,” David nodded to Nadine.
Kylie opened her mouth to speak but Nadine put a hand on her arm. “Maybe returning to see your family wouldn’t be so bad, Kylie. How long has it been?”
Not long enough in Kylie’s opinion, but that wasn’t the point. “Nadine, you can’t be serious.” Nadine wasn’t a family girl herself, so where was this coming from?
Marge commented.
“I could come with you. Just a visit, after this GFF business is wrapped up. You need to lay low. I mean…relax.”
David raised his hands. “Hey, I can sense some tension here. If you two are having a lover’s spat, I don’t want to get into the middle of it. I truly don’t. But listen to her, Kylie. It’s time you came home and saw Mom. She’s not getting any younger.”
Kylie expected that her mother wasn’t, considering how against mods and rejuvenation techniques her father was.
“Is she sick? Mom’s okay, isn’t she?” she asked.
“She tires faster than she used to. I know it’d perk her up to see you. Life’s short, you ought to know that.”
Kylie did. She really did.
“Look, you go do what you need to do. I’ll find you tomorrow. You can give me your answer then,” David said.
“And if my answer is no? What then, David?”
“It’s so good to see you.” David gripped her arms tightly before he leaned in to kiss her cheek again. “Bye, girly-girl.” He snapped his fingers as he turned and walked toward a lift, leaving Kylie staring after him.
Nadine touched her arm. “Well, he’s an interesting fellow.”
“Mind telling me what that was all about?” Kylie asked angrily.
Nadine’s eyes widened with surprise. “Nothing. I just thought…it would be good for you. It’d be good for both of us to get away and reconnect.”
“I don’t disagree with that, but to go home? See my parents? I’ve told you about the way my father thinks. How he behaves. I couldn’t bring the crew there, I don’t want to leave the Dauntless behind…and what about Lana? We need to get her to safety.”
“Oh, of course. Absolutely. We do that first. But I thought… well, if your brother went through all this trouble. I guess I just wish my family would come find me someday, that’s all.” Nadine’s stare grew distant and Kylie felt a pang of guilt
“I’m sorry I snapped. I shouldn’t have.” Kylie swept Nadine’s hair back and kissed her cheek. “Forgive me?”
“Just think about it.” Nadine smiled. “Please, for me, just think about it.”
Kylie settled into the hug, placing her chin against Nadine’s shoulder. “I promise I will—oh shit!”
“What?” Nadine asked.
“We need to find out if Winter and Lana made it back to the ship!”
WELCOME TO THE CREW
STELLAR DATE: 09.23.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Emperor’s Tears, Bay 1295C, Ring 15, The Futz, Freemont
REGION: Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
Tayna crossed her arms as she and Captain Gabriel inspected Grayson’s repairs to the engine’s intermixer. Grayson hoped his work would pass muster; the QA98 was harder to use without Jerrod to analyze the results, but he was relatively certain that he had the issues solved.
After a few more minutes examining the readings, Gabriel straightened and smiled. “I gotta say, Tom, this is good. Real good. Some of the best work I’ve seen in a while. It’s like you’re an old hand. You sure you’re new around here?” Gabriel slapped him on the back and burst out laughing.
Tayna laughed at the captain’s joke and gave Grayson a pointed look, so he joined in as well.
When the laughter died down, Grayson replied. “Thank you, I tried my best. If you’re happy with my work, I hope you’ll extend a paying gig? I’ve fallen on rough times and—”
“Don’t beg, Rudy. You’re in.”
Grayson sighed with relief. “Thank you, Captain. You won’t regret it.”
“I better not.” Gabriel played it off as a joke, but Grayson saw a look in the captain’s eyes that hinted at a darker meaning. “We take off in nine hours. We have a new cargo that needs to be delivered yesterday, and we’re headed out of Gedri. I hope that won’t be a problem for you.”
“No, sir. I have no love for the GFF. Wherever the mission takes us is fine by me.”
“Excellent. Happy to have you on board. If you have any business you have to take care of before we leave….”
Grayson shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, Captain. I’m afraid I don’t have anyone here to say good-bye to.”
Gabriel gave a commiserating nod. “Tayna will show you to your new quarters then, and we’ll do introductions before we ship out.”
The captain turned and strode out of the engine room, head held high, until he had to duck through the doorway. In full control and confident. Grayson would expect nothing less from the Scipian spy.
Tayna placed a hand on Grayson’s arm. “Come on. I’ll set you up with quarters near mine. That way if you have any middle-of-the-night problems….” She threw him a lascivious look before she took the lead. He couldn’t help but notice her hips were sashaying a lot more than necessary.
Grayson would have to be careful about her. She was the type who was used to getting her way, he could already tell.
And with the six-inch blade she kept strapped to her side, she probably got it frequently. Grayson didn’t need that kind of trouble. What he did need, was time alone on the ship.
So, he followed after her and when Tayna showed him his quarters—which were not large, or comfortable by any stretch of the imagination—he feigned appreciation.
“Thank you. This will do nicely.”
“Not much to look at, but the sheets are clean and we’re close to the galley. Speaking of, we work on a rotating basis. You don’t have any cooking skill, do you?”
“I…” Grayson choked over his own words, “make a mean spiral potato.”
Tayna nodded. “Not bad. I love me some taters.” She patted her perfectly contoured waist. “I have metabolic mods. I can eat carbs for days and don’t gain an ounce of weight. I live off fries, cake, and warm rolls as much as possible.”
Grayson chuckled. “It seems like a great way to live.”
“Sure is. Well, get your gear settled and you can find me around. I can give you the full tour of the place later.” She threw a hungry look his way as she walked out the door. All Grayson could think was he had better keep her at arms length if he were to find
out what Captain Gabriel and his crew were up to.
Or maybe not.
Maybe getting close to Tayna was the right move—if he could bring himself to betray his feelings for Kylie.
REGROUP REDUX
STELLAR DATE: 09.23.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: The Futz, Bay 12A, Ring 2, Freemont
REGION: Gedri System, Silstrand Alliance
“What happened?” Kylie asked as soon as the airlock cycled.
Winter and Rogers were waiting in the passageway—Rogers with a look of worry, and Winter with one of shame.
“How did you just let her run off?” Kylie yelled at Winter. “You were supposed to watch over her!” Lana could be a handful, it was true, but Winter was a tough guy. How could he have allowed this to happen?
Winter’s expression went from shameful to resentful. “I never signed up to a babysitter, all right? We were doing the job. Everything was going along as planned.”
“Except Harken isn’t dead,” Nadine said. “This puts Vaax— and us—in heaps of danger. If we can’t pull this off…”
Kylie held her hand up to quiet Nadine. It wasn’t like her to get so hot under the collar. Kylie took a deep breath and nodded. “Easy. Go ahead, Winter.”
He sighed and pointedly ignored Nadine. “Lana saw someone sitting with the president that she knew. The guy who convinced her to smuggle the nano off Silstrand. I think she called him Drax. Or Drex. Something like that. Anyway, it’s not important. She chased after him. I chased after her and that’s when I found the dead guard. She was nowhere to be found. I searched as much as I could, but I had to bug out and clean up the rifle before they found it.”
Kylie took a deep breath and considered what they knew. “Okay. This guy, Drex. He worked for someone in Scipio? Is that what we’re saying? And if the president knows him…”