Now seated, she buckled her safety restraints. “What on Earth is going on? Did something hit us?”
“Yeah,” replied Kendrick nonchalantly, “enemy fire.”
“Who are they?”
He looked annoyed. “Don’t know; they ain’t answerin’ my hails an’ they ain’t got no markings. Their transponders don’t match nothin’ official, but they’re definitely military. Look like small police class corvettes. I’m tryin’ not to kill these hound dogs, ‘cause I don’t wanna shoot nothin’ official, but they ain’t givin’ me much choice.”
Captain Royce said this all very calmly as he maneuvered the ship to avoid the attackers. No, maneuvered was too crude a word. Kendrick did not merely maneuver the ship; he willed it to go where he wanted, as though it were an extension of his own body. There was no other way for her to describe it. His ship was substantially larger than the two enemy crafts, but he was handily out-flying them.
“Must be from either Tranquility Base or a nearby outpost; these things ain’t fast enough to catch me from the O.S.P., and we’re practically on top of the moon.”
Indeed, she could see the moon below, as though she were in a plane descending to an airport on Earth. He accelerated suddenly, hard enough to pin her to her seat so that she could not move at all. He brought Selene into a vertical climb, rolled her, and then came around at the fighters. He rolled and turned, avoiding their frantic shots, rolling to the one on his left, and nearly sideswiping it as he passed. The hapless pilot tried frantically to roll the other way, hitting his partner in the process. The ensuing conflagration consumed both crafts. It was eerily silent. She had never seen, much less been on board during a space dogfight.
It amazed her that Captain Royce was able to outmaneuver the smaller cruisers with a ship as large as Selene, but it was becoming clear that her captain was anything but ordinary and the ship was definitely in a class of her own. With their attackers out of the way, Royce calmly resumed his flightpath as if nothing had happened. She wondered if he had been a military pilot before his current life as a space trucker. If so, why had he left? His skills were clearly undiminished. But he did not have that ex-military vibe to him. She had worked with many former soldiers and they all had a certain way about them. It was not something she could readily describe, but she knew that Kendrick Royce did not have it. Nevertheless, if he was not ex-military, what was he?
“You okay, Doc?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine, thank you.” She smiled at him, hoping that she was conveying her gratitude, genuinely touched by his concern.
He nodded and smiled slightly, but said nothing.
Fiona sat in silence as he flew, pondering her circumstances and how quickly they had changed. Less than twenty-four hours ago, she was dead in the water. Now, she was running again, but with no idea where she was going and with the distinct possibility of becoming permanent crew aboard the Selene. It would mean leaving her former life behind, but looking at her gentleman captain, she wondered if that would really be so bad?
3
The Selene sailed the rest of the way to Tranquility Base without any further issue. Fiona stayed on the bridge with Kendrick and as the ship descended, she could feel the Moon’s gravity taking effect. By the time they docked, the gravity was as great as it would get; and after traveling in a ship with spin gravity equivalent to Earth’s, the difference was immediately apparent. Fiona felt that they should simply flee, but Captain Royce was adamant about sounding the deck, whatever that meant, and making any necessary repairs.
“Tranquility Tower, this is Captain Kendrick Royce of the Selene, requesting a vector and a berth.”
“You’re cleared to land,” replied the Tranquility Base traffic controller. “We picked up the dogfight on our sensors. Everything all right?”
“Why yes, ma’am. Any idea who them cats were?”
“Pirates, we believe,” said the woman at the other end. “Initiating scan. Do you have anything to declare?”
“Fifty crates of beer, ten crates of Kentucky bourbon, ten crates of assorted canned drinks, six air purifier units, one crewman and myself.”
“Thank you, Captain Royce,” said the controller. “Scan confirms. What is the nature of your visit to Tranquility Base?”
“Top off fuel, make my deliveries, resupply and make any necessary repairs before takeoff. Got me a gig tonight at the Lunar Module, too. You should check it out if you can.”
“I just might. Please transmit your codes.”
Captain Royce nodded. “Done.”
“Looks good, Sir. Vector uploaded. Please dock at bay D-26.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Silencing the com, he turned to Fiona, shaking his head. “Sheesh, was that a load of bull, or what?”
“Um, Sir, how are you going to explain me?” She was worried now.
“You’re my crewman; ship’s doctor and backup vocalist. Why?”
“Well, you left the station with a crew of just yourself,” she observed. “You have not made any other stops where you could have picked up any passengers.”
“Would you relax, Doc?” He smiled that crooked smile. “I always transmit that I have a crew of one to four, depending on my job. I don’t like the Alliance stickin’ their nose into my business.”
Fiona laughed. She imagined a man of his caliber would certainly want the authorities out of his business. Kendrick seemed to be a bit on the shady side, but that still did not explain his magnificent ship.
Then, the captain said, “Now, go change, so you look the part.”
“Part of what?”
“What—you didn’t hear me?” The captain smiled broadly, the first real smile she had seen from him. “I got a gig tonight. An’ like I said; you’re my backup vocalist.”
Fiona felt the color drain from her face as she realized that he was not just talking about covering for her; he really did expect her to get up on stage and sing with him.
“I don’t sing on stage,” the doctor sputtered. “I only sing in church!”
“Nonsense! That’s like me sayin’ I only sing on stage. I sing for enjoyment. Earnin’ a livin’s nice, an’ I love that I make people happy, but I’d sing even if I never had another gig. Now, you just said you sing. That’s good; church singin’ means you’ve probably got some rudimentary training. Now, I’d like to hear you.”
Fiona gulped. She had never sung in front of others outside of church, but singing for Ken was hard to refuse after she had stowed away on his ship. Time to take one for the team, she thought. She cleared her throat and tried to overcome her fear. Only in church had she ever been unafraid to sing. Otherwise, even an audience of one was enough to stifle her voice. In spite of this, it was imperative for her to remain on Kendrick’s good side as much as possible. Since he was not pressing her for sex, singing for him was not unreasonable.
“All right, Ken, here goes.” She cleared her throat and hoped for the best.
“Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! His, the scepter, His, the throne;
Alleluia! His, the triumph, his the victory alone …”
Fiona finished the entire hymn, surprised that she still remembered all of the lyrics. She was also surprised that he sat quietly and let her sing the hymn in its entirety.
“You sing real good,” he said without a hint of sarcasm.
She blushed at the compliment.
“There ain’t no way you’ll be able to learn my set list, but I sing some gospel numbers that you might know. Otherwise, let me sing the first verse and the refrain, then join me on the second verse and do the best you can.”
“Ken, I was surprised that I was able to sing at all for you. Normally, I get severe stage fright outside of church. A performance in a club? I don’t know if I can.”
“But in church, you got an audience,” he countered. “As big, or bigger than what I git in the small joints I sing in. An’ all you gotta do is back me up; no solos or even duets; just some harmony to enhance what I’m already doing.”
; “Yes, but in church, I’m singing to God, not to the audience.”
“Religious, huh?” he said. “Well, consider this the church of stayin’ free from the Alliance.”
“The Alliance?” she gasped. “You don’t think that that was them in those ships, do you? If they should catch me …” As soon as the words left her mouth, she froze. Her hands went up to cover her still open mouth, her eyes wide.
“So, the Alliance is after you.” Then, he got a very serious look and said, “Somebody say, Amen.”
Tracht sat in his private office assessing the situation. It was rapidly unravelling for the Alliance, based on his own man’s report. If it unraveled too much, he would have to deal with the fallout, but for now, he was well insulated from that. He simply needed to take steps to keep it that way. Captain Royce’s involvement was a bonus; his skills were highly sought after, and Tracht was already finding ways to bring the gypsy captain into his web of intrigue.
“Captain Royce destroyed them, Sir,” reported Captain Lorgen. “Didn’t even fire his guns. He just out-flew them until one of them took out the other.”
“Impressive! Just as I predicted he would. Do we know if the good doctor is onboard?” Colonel Tracht needed to know that detail. It was vital to his next move.
“I think it a reasonable assumption, Sir,” replied the captain. “He reported himself and one crewman. The scan confirmed that he actually had another individual on board, likely female.”
“He showed up here reporting himself and one crewman as well,” noted Tracht pessimistically. “Doesn’t sound promising.”
“Yes, but that combined with the analysis of the security footage pretty much confirms it,” countered Lorgen.
“What was in the footage?”
“We found a reflection in the picture window by the docking tube, a barely perceptible image that briefly showed a lady who roughly matches the Doctor’s description,” Lorgen explained. “Very quick, hard to spot from that angle; we almost missed it. After that, we enhanced the footage of other cameras and were able to get a better look at her reflection in the picture window. If he hadn’t had a bay with a picture window, we’d have never seen her. It appears that she snuck on board the ship. The fact that Royce has not reported her, does not look good for him.”
“Not necessarily,” replied the colonel flatly. “His ship is large enough that she may still be hidden. As I pointed out, he reported himself and one crewmember when he arrived here. On the other hand, maybe, he found her and took her to his quarters. Space trucking does get lonely, you know and bedding her would certainly be an option for him. If he found her after takeoff, then reporting her would not have been possible anyway. Unfortunately, the OSP tower’s familiarity with him meant that he docked without being scanned.” Tracht paused for a moment, carefully considering how much of the larger picture he should use to season his orders. “You have my permission to bring him in. Do so professionally. A man of his talent could certainly be an asset and I have a certain … project that calls for a man such as Royce. There aren’t many pilots of his caliber. If he refuses to cooperate, disable his ship, tranq him and bring him in; I’ll see what I can do with him from there. In the meantime, I’ll keep Xing and his agents busy here to give you a head start. Arrogant little prick; keeping him chasing his tail should be easy.” The colonel paused again, considering his words to convey his true intent, but requiring Lorgen to read between the lines. “If the Alliance causes you any trouble, deal with them as you see fit. They’ll never be able to track the Enigma.”
Captain Lorgen smiled wickedly. “Understood, Sir.”
Protected by a large, strong bio-dome, against the gray, cratered moon, Tranquility Base looked like a city on an alien world. Spacecraft docked outside of the dome, with special docking tubes connecting to the ship, to enable safe travel to and from the port. A monorail circled the city and each tube had a station for it. Fiona still marveled at it all. She was a bit hesitant to step outside of the ship, but Kendrick had furnished her with a new set of clothes. They were much more … showy than she would have liked. She asked why he had a wardrobe of women’s clothing on board, but his only answer was, ‘former crewmember.’ Talk about vague!
The doctor looked in the mirror at the final product. The black leather pants and boots were definitely not her thing, but it was better than a mini skirt. Whoever had worn these pants had been a bit curvier than Fiona, whose body was mostly stick-straight, causing the pants to sag a bit.
The hot pink top showed way too much of her chest in her opinion. Though it was within the bounds of social taste, Fiona disliked showing even a hint of cleavage and the sleeveless top showed far more than a hint. The doctor was not a busty woman, though the garment’s prior owner had been. Thankfully, the back of the top had lacing that allowed her to gather the top, keeping it from hanging too loosely or showing too much. These clothes are not cut for a middle-aged woman, she thought.
The blue jean jacket that completed the look covered her well enough to satisfy her dignity. She had her long hair pulled back in a ponytail and tucked it under the jacket and she applied enough makeup to look noticeably different than she normally did. Only her large glasses really stuck out, though the doctor could not decide if this was a good thing or not. She made her way to the bridge, finding it empty, and picked up the com to summon him.
“Captain, I am all ready. Would you like to come down to see?”
“In a bit,” he replied, his voice crackling over the loudspeaker. “Deliveries have all been picked up by the teamsters, so it’s Saturday night an’ I just got paid. Right now, I’m out here with the mechanic. I need to git some of the panels repaired. I got me some spares on board an’ she says she can have ’em in place by tonight.”
“I am sorry that this happened, Captain. I wish that I could contribute to the cost.”
“Thanks, but I got it covered; Heather’s lookin’ for a permanent gig, an’ I figure with circumstances the way they are, it might be good to have an actual mechanic on board. Besides, I think she may be lookin’ to git off this rock.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Don’t ask me,” he said sarcastically. “Ain’t gotta clue; nobody ever tells me why they’s bein’ chased. But I know the look of someone who’s lookin’ to run.”
Fiona laughed. She caught the sarcasm and the reference to her refusal to tell him why she was on the run. She offered him an olive branch.
“Sir, when I think that the time is right, I promise I will tell you.”
“Well, little lady, you better spill it pretty darn soon then, ’cause that time has already come an’ gone, Doctor. Anyway, Heather’s back, so I’m gonna put her to work. Royce out.”
He was right, of course. She should have come clean with him right from the start, but Fiona could not yet bring herself to do so. Partly for his benefit, but now, she had also begun to worry about what he might think of her if he found out what she actually was. Would he hate her? Would he be disgusted? Would he be sympathetic? She hoped that it would be the last, but more than likely, he would view her as a threat and might actually turn her in.
No, the thought, I cannot take that chance. Not yet. Maybe once I know him better ... She flounced back and heaved a deep sigh. “What in Heaven’s name have I gotten myself into?” she asked aloud to herself, wondering where the last decade of her life had gone.
Kendrick returned to the bridge two hours later, waking the dozing doctor with a start. He was wearing a dark navy jump suit, the kind mechanics wear over their clothes to keep them clean. He had goggles on, though he was wearing them above his eyes like a headband. She had to laugh; usually, he was so careful to look cool. Seeing him with messed up hair and grease spots was a change from his king-of-cool look and kind of cute. Don’t fall for him, Fiona, she thought.
“How are things going?” She tried to take her mind off how attractive she was finding him. She hoped he would respond with good news and was truly relieved
when he did.
“Repairs are goin’ all right. Looks like we’ll be ready to go by mornin’. Probably sooner, but Heather needs to git some things together an’ I’d like to actually sleep while we’re not movin’. Say, you look great! Guaranteed backstage passes for you, baby.” He pointed at her with the index finger of both hands and flashed an approving smile.
Fiona could not help but admire him as he struck the pose.
“I’d better change so I don’t make you look bad. We leave for the gig in a few.”
She blushed at this. Not many men paid her compliments, and most that did were disreputable men who usually wanted something from her. Not coincidentally, they were all a part of why she was on the run. The doctor wondered why she had stuck with them so long. Then she remembered the children. They were the reason she stayed, the reason she had joined up with them in the first place. Who would fight for them if we don’t?
When Kendrick came out ten minutes later, he was dressed as usual: head to toe in black leather, but he was carrying his amp and had his guitar slung over his back. It was an ‘if I were ten years younger’ moment that she desperately tried to put from her mind. She had long had a dream of what her future husband would be like, and Royce was definitely not it. Oh, he certainly is handsome, she thought, but he’s a space-faring vagabond. On Earth, he would simply be a gypsy trucker. Indeed, his life seemed aimless to her, living from one delivery to the next. Why did he have to be so darned sexy?
Fiona realized that her captain might be like herself. Kendrick may have had a life that he was forced to leave behind. One thing was certain; vagabond space truckers did not cruise the space ways in ships like the Selene. Had he been captain of a normal freighter, those “pirates” would have forced them down and captured them.
Pirates. She knew that they had not been pirates and he did too. Those were Alliance military vessels, local cruisers. Somehow, the Alliance knew that they were here and that she was onboard. There were only but so many places one could go from the OSP and the Moon was the most likely destination. Alliance forces were after her. If they survived the night and got through his gig without incident, Fiona knew that she would have to confide in him.
The Silver Liner: Takes Flight! Page 4