by T. M. Catron
After Harper dismissed herself, Rance shut the door and looked at Tally. He rarely asked to speak to her in private. Usually, he spoke his mind in front of the crew.
“Captain, I’m worried about going to Prometheus.”
“I thought we had it all settled, Tally. You’re going to stay on the ship where no one will recognize you.”
“With all due respect, I’m not worried about myself, and you know it.”
Rance sighed and leaned against the wall. “What would you have me do? Cancel the hyperspace jump and run away?”
“It’s not about running away. It’s about staying out of trouble. I’m worried about this one, Captain.”
Tally’s confession surprised Rance. He often hid his worry beneath a scowl or a dismissive wave. But he rarely voiced his concerns in such a serious manner.
“I’m worried about it too,” she admitted. “But I think it’s the right thing to do.”
“We don’t know what is the right thing here.”
“If Moira asked for help that I’m able to give, then that’s the right thing to do.”
Tally took a deep breath and stared at Rance intently with his large green eyes. “I won’t argue with you, but I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you to reconsider.”
“I have reconsidered. My decision is final.”
He nodded. “Okay, then I will support you from the ship. James, Harper, and I will provide tactical help. But if you get into trouble, we’re coming to get you.”
Rance pushed off the wall. “Thank you, Tally.”
The next evening, Rance walked around the ship with a makeshift box in her hand. Henry had caused trouble all day. He kept popping up everywhere, and so did his fur. Fine, ginger hairs floated around the Star Streaker. They drifted and settled everywhere—floors, clothes, beds, and the air return vents.
Harper had used some of it to make an antihistamine for Solaris. But everything she’d tried so far had only made him sneeze harder. Finally, he’d barricaded himself in his quarters to get away from the creature.
“Huh,” James said. He stood on a small hoverboard in the corridor on the top deck, peering into the ventilation shafts. A ceiling grate lay on its side near a bulkhead.
“What?” Rance asked.
“I just figured out how Henry gets into your room, Captain. He’s going through the ventilation shafts. There’s a ton of hair up here.”
“How’s he getting inside? Even he’s too big to get through those slats in the grates.”
“He must be able to flatten himself out.”
“All the more reason to get him into this box. If he isn’t being played with or fed or watched, he has to live in here.”
“Aww, Captain.”
“Aww, Captain, nothing. I keep finding him in my boots. My flight suit is covered in hair, and my entire room smells like cinnamon.”
“That’s not terrible.”
“It is terrible. He won’t leave me alone.”
“He likes you and Solaris best. I can’t figure out why. The two of you don’t like him at all.”
“I just don’t like him on the ship. And after his attack on Tally, maybe we shouldn’t keep him. Maybe we can find a nice home for him on Prometheus.”
James cast her a pitiful look. “He loves the Streaker! We can’t abandon him on a strange planet.”
Rance shook her head. “You only say that because you haven’t found him pushing buttons in the cockpit.”
James paled. “You found him in my cockpit?”
“Yes, about an hour ago. That’s when I went to find a box and make him a crate myself. It seems no one else was going to follow orders and do it.”
James hopped down off the hoverboard and sprinted to the ladder. No doubt to check the instrument panels in the cockpit.
“I’ll just put this hoverboard away, shall I?” she called after him.
Rance hunted the entire ship for Henry, but no one had seen him. If he could climb through the ventilation shafts, he could get stuck up there and die. Then they’d have to take the Streaker apart to get him.
She hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Finally, she stowed her box down in the galley with strict instructions for Abel to keep looking. She wanted to check on their flight status.
As Rance passed Solaris’ quarters, she heard a happy squeal and soft clink. She paused and knocked on the door.
“Solaris? Is Henry in there?”
He didn’t answer, but Rance heard the unmistakable sounds of Henry swinging around the room. If Solaris were in there, he wouldn’t have allowed that to continue.
Henry’s hair would be everywhere, and Solaris was already sneezing all over the ship. The one place he had been hiding without problems had been his room.
Rance pushed the button at the door. It hissed open, allowing light from the corridor into the room.
Henry sat in the middle of the bed, surrounded by a pile of blankets.
“Solaris?” Rance asked one more time.
But he wasn’t under the covers. Henry looked up at Rance and hummed.
“Get out of there, you little fur ball. You’re going to make him miserable.”
Henry held up one of his arms, and something shiny caught the light.
“What is that? Put it down.” Rance glanced up and down the corridor. She didn’t know where Solaris was, and he would want Henry out of there as soon as possible.
Rance stepped into his room and walked over to the bed. She’d planned on grabbing Henry and getting out, but when she saw what was in his hand, she paused. Henry held it out for her to see.
It was a ring—an intricate, heavy gold band. The top had an old-fashioned ship’s sail with a slash through it. The symbol looked familiar. Rance held it up to the light to get a better look.
It was Pirate Kaur’s standard. Kaur was the most feared pirate in the galaxy. She’d never seen the standard painted on a ship, thankfully, but any captain worth her salt knew what it looked like.
What was Solaris doing with this ring?
“Ahem.”
Rance turned. Solaris stood in the doorway, looking irritated.
“Oh. Umm.” Rance pointed to Henry. “Well, this is awkward.”
“Yes. May I ask what you’re doing, Captain?”
“Henry got in here. I was trying to get him out.”
Solaris waved his hand at the creature. A small, transparent wave of energy shot out of it and pinged Henry. He trilled again, hopped off the bed, and scuttled out of the room.
“I’ve never seen you use magic without your staff, Solaris.”
Solaris looked both amused and annoyed. The struggle played out over his face like he wanted to say something but couldn’t decide which emotion would win out.
The ring was still in Rance’s hand, and she didn’t know how to give it back to him. She half-thought of trying to sneak back into his room later and replace it. Maybe she could blame Henry for its disappearance. But it looked like a personal trinket, and Rance was embarrassed she’d even touched it. The longer she stood there, the more uncomfortable he looked.
“Of course, it’s your ship, Captain, and you can go anywhere you wish,” Solaris said finally. “But what about the rules?”
“No companions in quarters?”
He smiled.
“I think we’ve established the circumstances around that one already.”
“Oh? You thought I was in trouble. I see.”
Rance snorted. “Next time I’ll just leave Henry in here to wallow all over your bed. What do I care if you have red, puffy eyes?”
“Because I’ll look like a mess. You won’t want to look at me.”
Rance couldn’t figure out why she felt more awkward all of a sudden. She fiddled with the ring in her hand. She smiled, attempting to diffuse the tension. Solaris gave her a puzzled look and backed out of the doorway.
Rance left the room. When she reached the corridor, she turned and held the ring out to him. “Henry found this
.”
Solaris nodded and took it. Then he put it in his pocket.
“It’s Kaau li’s,” he said without hesitation.
Rance raised an eyebrow in surprise. Kaau li was the smuggler who had dropped the Caducean Drive, and Deliverance, into their possession. Kaau li was also the mother of Pirate Kaur’s child. Rance had suspected Solaris had a thing for the woman. But she was still embarrassed about trespassing in his quarters, so she decided not to tease him about it.
“You don’t have to tell me why you have it,” she said. But she hoped he would. “Unless you’re a pirate. Then I need to know about that.”
Solaris grinned. “Not a pirate.”
“Okay.”
Rance turned to leave, but her curiosity burned too hotly to just let the subject drop.
“Why do you have it?”
“I thought I didn’t have to tell you?”
“You don’t.” But Rance held her breath, waiting for an answer anyway.
Solaris smirked and shook his head. “I suppose it is odd that a Galaxy Wizard would have something like that. Kaau li gave me the ring after I saved her from the Enforcers. I felt weird about telling you.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
Rance was about to ask more when James’ voice came over the comm. “Exiting hyperspace in six hours, Captain.”
Rance bristled at the interruption, but Solaris looked relieved. As she turned for the ladder into the cockpit, he sneezed.
“All right, crew,” Rance called over the comm, “spend the next six hours sleeping. We’ve got to be fresh when we arrive. Abel, Henry was heading down to the cargo bay. Make sure he’s safe in that box. We all need some sleep.”
Despite what Rance told her crew about sleeping, when she finally laid down she stayed awake a long time, staring at the dark ceiling of her cabin. Everything Solaris and Tally had told her was true. They were headed straight for an unknown, possibly dangerous situation. But she didn’t feel she had any other options.
She rolled over on her side, staring at the blank wall. The ring in Solaris’ room was another puzzle. After thinking about it a while longer, she decided it wasn’t her business. Solaris hadn’t tried to hide it. Maybe some day he’d tell her why he hadn’t wanted her to know about it.
The gentle hum of the Star Streaker pulled Rance into an uneasy sleep. She dreamed of random things, mostly of her father searching for her, and not being able to find Moira when they landed on Prometheus. She woke when the cabin lights came on, signaling the exit from hyperspace. Rance pulled on her magnetic boots—mercifully free of Henry—braided her hair, and walked out the door.
In the cockpit, James was already strapped into his seat, hunched over the control stick.
“Five minutes, Captain.”
Solaris came in right behind Rance. His hair still stuck up in the back—he must have just woken as well. Abel and Tally were in the hold, strapping into seats that folded out from the walls. Harper was in the control room.
Rance shook the last bits of sleep from her brain and commed the crew. “Remember, we’re going to find Moira, bring her back to the ship, and take off again. No wandering. No one has permission to leave the Streaker unless their names are Solaris, Abel, and Captain.”
“Yes, Captain,” the others chimed in.
Solaris glanced at Rance just as the blue haze of hyperspace washed over the ship and disappeared. She looked out the window, expecting the sparkling cities of Prometheus to reflect the light of the green star it orbited.
Instead, she saw enormous, dark Renegade ships blocking their view of everything.
Everything except more ships behind them.
Gigantic black ships, repurposed Renegades and Destroyers, blocked the view of the planet. They were armed from every side—rotating guns, hull-piercing blasters, and cannons that could blow the Streaker into another galaxy.
None of them were Unity ships, either. Each one had a different symbol painted on it, but all carried an additional symbol next to it—a black sail with a slash going through it. Just like the ring in Solaris’ room.
“That’s Pirate Kaur’s standard,” Solaris said calmly. He spoke as if he hadn’t just revealed that the deadliest pirate in the galaxy had surrounded one of the most powerful planets in the empire.
Rance fought the urge to panic. Now they knew what was happening on Prometheus. Despite the shiver of fear that ran through Rance, she couldn’t help but be impressed at the display of power surrounding the planet. And angry. Kaur had grown bold indeed if he thought he could swoop in and take over the second-most influential planet in the empire.
James altered course and ducked beneath the first Renegade. Through glimpses between ships, they saw numerous tiny ships had launched from Prometheus. None of the smaller spacecraft were getting through. Kaur’s ships surrounded the planet like predators at a watering hole, waiting for prey.
Rance almost ordered James to turn and run. But what if Moira was stuck on the planet below, with no way to escape?
As if he was thinking the same thing, James asked, “Still want to go in, Captain?”
“Yes,” she said a little too loudly. No one commented on it.
A small X-Class fighter with the slashed flag symbol dove through the herd, and the prey scattered.
Solaris looked at one of the dark ships blocking their view of Prometheus. “I didn’t realize Kaur had so many ships,” he said. “He’s been busy.”
“Where’s Unity?” Rance asked. She never thought she’d wish to see the military might of Triton. But the pirates were more frightening than any Unity fighters she’d ever faced. How different she’d felt from a few days ago when she’d wished to see pirates instead of that Unity ship, the Malta. After seeing Kaur’s standard on so many ships, though, Rance knew which one she preferred.
James turned the ship away from the planet and then glanced over his shoulder at Rance.
“What is going on?” she repeated.
“I don’t know,” James said. “Looks like all those little ships are trying to get out.”
“Looks like it,” Solaris answered. “That’s why we haven’t been able to get through to your friend, Captain. They’re jamming all communications off the planet.”
“Are the pirates attacking the entire planet?”
“Looks like it,” Solaris repeated grimly.
James concentrated on flying through and around the old Renegades and Destroyers. Once, these ships had been the prize of Unity. But as newer models and technology replaced them, they had been stripped down and sold to the highest bidders. Rance wondered if Unity knew it had sold its own ships to pirates.
As they entered the main mass of ships near Prometheus, they saw many of them had symbols of Noble houses.
“If they aren’t letting them through,” Rance said, “what will happen when we try to get out?”
James hunched over the controls, his nose inches from his flight controls. “Too late now,” he said. “We’ve passed the last barricade.”
“Solaris, I think it’s about time you did some of your magic work.”
Solaris frowned. “Except I don’t think it will matter,” he said. “No one is paying attention to us. I’d rather save my energy for now, if it’s alright, Captain.”
“Just be ready, then.”
The order was unnecessary. Solaris had been sitting with is staff across his legs since they saw the first ships. His relaxed hands contrasted sharply with the worried look on his face. With all joking put aside, Rance thought she was glimpsing a look at the real Solaris, the somber, dangerous, Galaxy Wizard one.
“Did Unity abandon Prometheus completely?” Rance asked, thinking aloud. “It doesn’t make sense. Prometheus is a Core world. Triton would never leave it defenseless.”
“Unity must have been overwhelmed early on,” Solaris said. “But they’ll be back. And with more firepower. This place is about to get a whole lot more interesting.”
“Captain
?” James said. “What do you want to do?”
“If Unity is on the way,” Solaris added. “We don’t want to be caught here when they arrive. It’ll be a bloodbath.”
“Captain?”
“I’m thinking, James!”
If they landed on the planet, they had no guarantee of leaving again. Rance’s flight suit was starting to feel hot. She tugged on her collar, hoping to allow some airflow to her skin. But the sweat began to bead on her forehead too.
She didn’t want to abandon Moira. What if she were still stuck down there, alone and scared? What if Rance and the Star Streaker were her only way out?
“Right now, everything looks peaceful,” she said, ignoring the fear rising in her throat. She’d made her decision. “We don’t need much time.”
At that moment, one of the tiny ships in the center of the field exploded in a blinding flash of white light. All the other tiny ships scattered like leaves in the wind.
The Renegades had begun firing.
“Get out!” Rance said.
James swooped beneath another space cruiser, rolling to the side to avoid hitting its short stubby wing. As they passed, another blinding flash of light told them a nearby ship had exploded—a large civilian transport. Then, one by one, ship after ship transformed into bursts of light. Smaller fighters dodged around the bigger ships, taking out the cruisers that tried to run. It looked like a fireworks display, set against the backdrop of sparkling Prometheus. It was as if the pirates had thrown a horrific, planet-wide party.
The display sickened Rance, but she couldn’t stop watching in horror as ship after ship exploded into millions of pieces.
“Sons of Triton!” James said. “They’re going to kill them all!”
“Us too.” Rance leaned forward, watching the screens for signs of anyone locking onto the Streaker.
Solaris stood, extending his staff until it was almost as tall as he. Then he raised it over his head, knocking the ceiling as he did so.
He brought it down on the floor with a crack.
Bright white light filled the cockpit. At first, Rance thought one of the Renegades had finally hit the Star Streaker. Then she realized Solaris was doing something to the ship. It quivered and shuddered, and James sprang back from his controls.