by M. D. Cooper
“If we were anywhere other than in the OFA, I’d say yes, but apparently they don’t teach much Inner Stars history here,” Cheeky replied.
“It’s an ancient colony ship, but it’s still crewed,” Misha supplied. “They have amazing tech too. We’re on our way to meet them.”
“Huh?” Terry said. “Jessica hadn’t been too specific about where we were going. She just said into the Inner Stars. Is that where they are?”
“Not anymore, no,” Cheeky said with a grin.
“What is it?”
“They’re in the Transcend,” Cheeky said.
“Whoa!” Terry couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The Transcend was decades away. It may as well be on the far side of the galaxy. “You can’t be serious.”
“Completely,” Cheeky replied. “But they’re not really a part of the Transcend. They’re separate, like how the Serenity Ordus is separate from the OFA.”
“I hope not too much like the Ordus,” Terry said.
Cheeky laughed. “No. Tanis wouldn’t stand for anything like that. She’s too fixated on efficiency.”
“Tanis?” Terry asked. “Is she their leader?”
“More or less,” Cheeky replied. “Let me start from the beginning…”
As Cheeky recounted the tale of the Intrepid, Terry found herself growing more and more awestruck by the company she was in. To think Jessica had been on that ship, and not just on it, but a crucial part of a lot of the story Cheeky told…
“I guess Jessica really is quite the old lady…to think I had a bit of a crush on her,” Terry said with a shy smile.
Misha chuckled. “I think everyone has a crush on Jessica. It’s OK.”
Cheeky gave a long sigh. “Yeah, it’s such a shame, she’s wasted on just one man.”
“She mentioned Trevor,” Terry said. “He seems like a good guy.”
“To be sure,” Misha replied. “He’s one of the good ones. I can’t fault Jessica for sticking to him. Can’t blame a guy for dreaming, though.”
“Or girl,” Cheeky added. “Jess is on my bucket list for sure.”
“Gonna be a long wait, Cheeks,” Jessica said as she sauntered into the galley and walked toward the chill unit to rummage around inside. “Trevor’s told me how you keep hinting at a threesome. Just not his thing, though.” She pulled out a bottle of wine and turned to a cupboard to find glasses.
“What’s wrong with him?” Cheeky said with a shake of her head. “It’s like you two are from Finaeus’s time or something.”
Terry had been staring at Jessica’s outfit; it wasn’t the sort of thing she had ever seen anyone wear before. A tight pair of black pants that came down to her calves, and a simple top that hugged her chest, but hung loose around her waist.
Maybe there were some options between Cheeky’s bare minimum wardrobe and what she was accustomed to.
“How old is Finaeus?” Terry asked. “Is he older than you, Jessica?”
“Oh, hells yes,” Jessica replied. “He has almost two millennia on me—birth-date-wise. In lived-years he has even more.”
“But…that would put him back in the twenty-fourth century?”
“Twenty-sixth,” Misha said with a wide grin as he set a bowl of peas and carrots on the table. They were slathered in a glaze and smelled delicious. “You probably know who he is. He’s kinda famous…or infamous around here.”
“I have no idea,” Terry said and tapped her head. “I don’t have a lot of history up here. Want the part number for a Nebaken 451 Executor Class shuttle and I can rattle that off, though.”
“His last name is Tomlinson,” Misha said nonchalantly as he turned and walked back to the counter.
Terry turned, agape, to Cheeky and Jessica, who were both grinning like cheshire cats.
“Noooo…” she whispered. “That Finaeus Tomlinson? From the Transcend?”
“One and the same,” Jessica said. “We’re taking him to where the Intrepid is, at the behest of Sera Tomlinson.”
Terry pushed her chair back, knocking it to the floor as she rose. “You’re…you’re spies!”
Jessica rose as well, holding out a hand, which had ceased glowing. Something Terry had come to realize meant that the woman was worried. “No, not spies. We didn’t plan to end up in Orion-controlled space. It was an accident.”
Jessica had always been nice to Terry, but she had also lied and omitted a lot of truths over the few weeks they’d known one another—some mighty big truths. She now realized that she had no reason to believe anything the Jessica said.
“How do you accidentally end up on the far side of the OFA from the Inner Stars and the Transcend?” Terry asked, skepticism dripping from her voice.
“Jump gate accident,” Jessica said with a shrug. “We were trying to take a shortcut to New Canaan.”
Terry folded her arms. “Pretty bad shortcut. I don’t know exactly where New Canaan is, but I bet we’re just about as far away as you can get and still be in settled space.”
“You can say that again,” Cheeky said with a rueful laugh. “Why don’t you sit back down. Until a few months ago, most of us didn’t even know that Orion existed. We thought the whole area around the Inner Stars was just one happy family. Hell, Sera sent us to find Finaeus to keep New Canaan safe from the Transcend. She didn’t say word one about Orion to us.”
Terry looked to Jessica who was nodding, and then to Misha who was leaning against the counter, grinning like a fool.
“What’s so funny?” Terry asked.
Misha shook his head. “You. When they told me this, I was excited, amazed. Mind you, I’ve never been really tight with the law, so their nefarious ways didn’t bother me much. But you, you’re such a product of your restricted environment. This little jaunt on Sabrina was a grand adventure. Until you realized that it really is a grand adventure. Now you’re terrified of it.”
Terry raised her hands. “But Misha, they’re probably wanted by the Orion Guard. Stars, I’m probably wanted by them too, just for being associated with all of you.”
Misha shrugged. “I’ve been wanted plenty in the past. Doesn’t bother me much. These guys are my ticket out of Orion, into a place where a man can actually make a name for himself.”
Jessica turned to Misha and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I thought that we were just taking you to the next system where you weren’t wanted. Not clear into the Inner Stars.”
Cheeky flashed a grin Misha’s way. “I think we’ll have to go clear to the Inner Stars to find a system where Misha’s not wanted.”
“Hey, this still doesn’t explain how you guys got out here,” Terry said, uncertain if all this banter was to mollify her, or if they really were just this casual about traipsing across space, with one of the most sought-after people in the galaxy.
“Like I said, it was a jump gate accident,” Jessica said. “Somehow the gate re-aligned right before we entered it. Sent us out here.”
Terry recalled that Jessica had said that before—she had ignored it because she hadn’t known what it meant. “I’ll bite. What’s a jump gate?”
“Wow, they really keep you in the dark in Serenity,” Misha said as he walked to the stove and pulled out the ham. “Super-fast travel, makes FTL in the dark layer look like sub-light.”
“Seriously?” Terry asked.
“Yeah,” Jessica replied, sitting back down. “I’ll tell you about them. But I really want you to know that I didn’t intend to hurt you, and I told you as much as I could. We’re not really in a situation here where we can share a lot with strangers.”
Terry bit the inside of her cheek as she considered Jessica’s words. It wasn’t as though The Serenity Ordus was a place of openness and honesty. The houses were always clawing at one another for primacy. Why should this be any different?
She sat back down and scowled at the two women as Misha turned back to the counter. “Fine, tell me about these jump gates.”
Jessica and Cheeky recounted their experiences at the
Grey Wolf Star and Terry found herself getting lost in the story. What these two women—and the rest of the crew—had gone through, was unbelievable. Except, could she believe it? No one would make anything like this up….
“And that’s where we found ourselves, about a light year past the Naga System, staring into unsettled space,” Jessica finished with a shrug.
“So now you have what, a twenty-year flight home?” Terry asked.
“Give or take a bit, yeah.” Cheeky nodded. “We have some decisions to make though. Naga didn’t have a lot of good FTL routes, and we’ve gone from bad to worse.”
“You’re referring to the Stillwater Nebula, aren’t you,” Terry asked. “There are no jump routes through—or anywhere near—that thing. It’s a giant mess of dark matter.”
“Yeah,” Cheeky said. “That’s what Misha’s charts say too. Because of that, there are some pretty heavily trafficked systems around the periphery. Not the sort of places we like to stop in.”
“Because of the whole thing where you’re interstellar fugitives,” Terry replied.
“Yeah, that,” Cheeky said.
Misha set the last of the food on the table and took a seat. “There’s a way through. Just have to be brave enough to take it.”
“Oh yeah?” Jessica asked, before taking a sip of her wine. “I think we qualify as brave…or stupid. Either one usually works in scenarios like this. What’s the route?”
Misha shrugged. “Dunno, but I know who does.”
Cheeky snorted and reached for a slice of cheese, only to have her hand slapped away by Misha. “You wait for the rest of the crew, Cheeky. And the people who know the way through Stillwater are at a place called Star City.”
“Whoa, no no no no!” Terry exclaimed. “We cannot go to Star City. They’re insane, they’re…damn, I don’t know what they are! But they’re no good!”
“What’s so crazy about this Star City place?” Cheeky asked, finally sneaking a hand under Misha’s radar and snagging a piece of cheese.
Terry folded her arms. “Serenity used to trade with them, they settled out here about a thousand years after the Perseus Worldship established the Ordus. At first, they were normal, but then they started to mod themselves more and more. When the Orion Guard eventually showed up out here, they tried to get Star City to join the Alliance, but Star City wouldn’t.”
“Why not?” Cheeky asked as she took another bite of her cheese.
Misha scowled at Cheeky. “They’re all crazy high-tech there. Like your kinda high-tech. They don’t mesh with Orion’s doctrine, and weren’t willing to change.”
Terry nodded. “So the Orion Guard attacked them—and lost.”
Jessica straightened. “Really? One city fought off the Orion Guard? And they’re still around to tell the tale?”
“They didn’t just fight them off,” Misha said. “They spanked them like they were whiny children. Star City is impregnable, and the very definition of isolated.”
“How did they beat the Orion Guard?” Jessica asked.
Terry looked at Misha, wondering if he knew. No one at Serenity did, though many would like to know. The houses had never been terribly fond of their less-than-optional absorption into the Orion Freedom Alliance.
“Don’t know,” Misha said. “The Guard doesn’t exactly publicize how they were beaten. Not good for business, you know.”
“How long ago was that?” Cheeky asked.
“A thousand years,” Misha said.
“I assume that the Orion Guard has the world blockaded, or something, right?” Jessica asked.
“Star City isn’t a world,” Terry said with a curt laugh. “It’s a star. Hence the name.”
Cheeky shook her head. “Before I saw the Grey Wolf Star, I would have thought you were talking crazy talk, but now I can only wonder what amazing thing we’re about to see next.”
“Well, this time it’s a neutron star, not a white dwarf,” Misha supplied. “They built a shell around it. It’s your standard, mythical dyson sphere.”
“Go big or go home.” Jessica whistled. “I’m starting to see why they’re the sort of people who can hold back something as big as the Orion Guard.”
“Why doesn’t the OG just fling something at it?” Cheeky asked. “Smash whatever they’ve built around the star and call it a day? Not that I’m advocating killing these people.”
“Who are we killing?” Finaeus asked as he and Cargo entered the galley.
“What took you so long?” Misha asked. “The meat’s getting cold.”
Terry watched Finaeus Tomlinson as he took a seat. For a man who had been instrumental in most of humanity’s colonization efforts he seemed…small. Almost unassuming. Though she could see a raw intelligence behind his eyes. A sort of hunger.
Nance came in a moment later and slipped into a seat, stealing it a moment before Cargo, leaving him the last one standing. Everyone was looking at the last open seat.
“Just sit in it already,” Jessica said. “You’ve been captain for ten years now. It’s about time you took the head of the table.”
Cargo sighed. “Not happy about this. It’s Sera’s chair.”
“Fine,” Cargo groused and sat. “OK, I’m in the chair. Everyone happy?”
Terry had no idea what was going on, but everyone else seemed to think it was hilarious. Jessica glanced at her and smiled.
“Cargo used to be first mate aboard Sabrina. He’s been captain for ten years, but hasn’t taken the old captain’s seat—well, ‘til now.”
“But you sat in the command chair on the bridge,” Terry said. “How is this so different?”
“I sat in the chair on the bridge a lot when she was here,” Cargo said. “It wasn’t so weird. But this…this is her chair.”
“I can get you a stool and you can sit on the corner,” Nance said sardonically.
“Shut up, Nance,” Cargo said. “Anyway, who are we killing…or not killing?”
Jessica—with a few interruptions from Misha—brought Cargo and the rest of the crew up to speed on the wonders of Star City, and how it may be the key to getting through the Stillwater Nebula.
“So, if they’re so unpleasant—” Cargo began.
“Not to mention interdicted,” Trevor cut in.
“Yeah, that too,” Cargo said with a nod. “How are we going to get in there, and why do you think they know a way through the Stillwater Nebula? And I also want to know how they’ve stopped the OG from smashing their little bubble world around the neutron star.”
“I know the second answer,” Terry spoke up, blushing as all eyes turned on her. “Uh, well, rumor has it that they have some sort of super weapon that just obliterates anything the OG sends in. They had used up most of the worlds in the system building the sphere around the star, so it didn’t take the OG long to run out of rocks to throw.”
Finaeus shrugged. “Probably some sort of directed energy weapon powered by the star. Drop some mass in, and then make an X-ray beam that will annihilate just about anything. Hell, I bet you could make a neutron beam capable of killing things in other star systems. This is sterilize-the-galaxy type of shit. I can see why the OG wants to shut them down.”
“Damn,” Nance whispered. “I’ve read about what you can do with a dyson sphere and a regular star. You could have a field day with a neutron star…that thing is one hell of a weapon.”
“Well,” Misha said with an arch look. “I know of a FTL route that takes you deeper in the Star City System than the FTL points the OG watches.”
“Really…” Jessica mused. “And why isn’t this on the charts you provided us?”
Misha shrugged. “Gotta keep some things up my sleeve. You can always replace the cook. The guy with special knowledge is a different story.”
“I’d really like to see this place,” Finaeus said, his eyes alight. “We could learn a lot, I bet.”
“Like how fast they
can blow us to bits?” Cargo asked.
“A star-powered atom beam would obliterate you,” Nance said. “Stasis shields or no, you just wouldn’t exist anymore.”
“What about the part where they blow everyone up?” Trevor asked around a mouthful of peas.
“It has merit,” Jessica said, then looked to Misha. “What about a path through the nebula? That’s the real reason to see these people. How do you know they have this?”
Misha gave an uncertain smile. “Well, I don’t know for sure. The guy who had the DL route into their system told me that they had a way through Stillwater; said he got it from them. He wasn’t big on sharing, though. Not for the money I had, at least.”
“Figures,” Cargo said. “I’m not really interested in taking that sort of risk. Not without something more certain than a guy you knew saying they had a route through Stillwater.”
“Oh, I believe he had the route,” Misha said with a sharp nod. “You may not, but he often had goods from the far side of Stillwater. And his trips took months, not years.”
“How is it that he shared this with you?” Jessica asked. “That seems like dangerous information to bandy about. I bet some people would resort to less-than-pleasant means to extract it from him.”
Terry wondered that as well. While she knew of Star City and their war with Orion, she had never heard of a secret route through Stillwater. Not that Serenity traded enough to warrant a route like that anyway.
Misha flushed. “Well, it was pillow talk. You know how people get after a good time.”
“Misha!” Cheeky exclaimed. “I didn’t know you swung that way. I’ve been the object of most of your ogling. You’ve never even checked out the boys—now I feel cheap.”