Medusa's Touch

by Emily L Byrne

  There! There was a flat space just big enough to accommodate her ship several asteroids away. As long as nothing hit them on the way there, they’d be okay for the moment. The Astra lurched forward in a corkscrew pattern between and around several asteroids before she brought it in to land in a cloud of dust on the space from the schematic.

  The ship shuddered to a halt and there was a sharp bang as momentum forced the nose into the nearest rock. TiCara thought abject apologies at her ship, and belatedly, at her crew and her passengers. It had been a bad landing, made worse by the hit they had taken. Now all they could hope for was that the ship only had problems they could fix. And that they could stay hidden long enough to patch it.

  Of course, as long as she was making a list, she could add hoping that none of the other asteroids hit them in the mean time. TiCara groaned and rubbed her hands over her face as she unplugged. Being linked into the Astra after the ship was hit was like feeling the wound herself. She needed to disconnect to think, as much as for the comfort of her body.

  Erol was unbuckling from his safety harness and unfastening hers when she finished blinking her way all the way back into her aching body. Whatever he had been going to say was apparently forgotten in the surge of emergencies and the insistent clamor of the ship’s alarms. She answered her handheld as Erol slipped down the ladder, off to check on the rest of the ship.

  Ser, are you all right? My apologies, but we were being pursued by pirates. I’m coming down to speak with you after I assess the damage. Are your employees in your quarters? She was torn between hoping that Sherin was there and hoping she wasn’t. The tracker was still on her mind and she wanted to talk to the rep about it again, without an audience.

  Captain, we are bruised but otherwise intact. My rep is confined to her quarters but Sammo is here with me. Please come to us as soon as you have verified the status of the ship. My thanks. Vahn clicked off.

  TiCara scowled at her handheld as she tugged off her safety harness. That was odd. Why was Sherin confined to her quarters? But then, this wasn’t really the time to try to learn mind reading. She’d find out soon enough.

  Before she went to go and check on the ship, some instinct made her check the Electra coordinates again. This time she was sure of what she was seeing: they had shifted slightly since she first entered them after leaving Kyrin. It wasn’t a huge shift, a matter of a few degrees, but it was enough to ensure that she might have missed the location altogether if she wasn’t aware of the change.

  She stamped the pins and needles from her legs when she stood, her mind spinning at the significance of this. Had Sherin given her tampered coordinates? Had Vahn been deceived when he bought them? She answered Erol’s call in a daze, acknowledging that the rest of the crew was unharmed but that the starboard engine had been hit. They were looking at it, but he sounded as if his optimism had been left behind in Kyrin.

  TiCara dropped down the ladder to the lower corridor, and told Erol that she’d join them soon. She clicked off her handheld and hesitated. Every instinct screamed at her to go confront Vahn first, find out what the shifting coordinates meant.

  She knew that had to wait, but it was going to be difficult to deal with her passengers and her ship in the exhausted state she was in. Reluctantly, she signaled her medusas to reset her mood to alert and controlled. Slowly, their touch turned ice cold on her neck and scalp, cooling her tangled emotions along with her skin until she shivered at the contrast.

  The Astra needed to come first, regardless of what else she wanted to do. Then Vahn. She headed for the damaged part of the ship first, promising herself that she would deal with each problem one at a time. If worst came to worst, and they were stranded on this asteroid for long, they might need to enable that tracker again. Rescue by the Ears might be better than dying from lack of oxygen.

  Unless that Ear was Zig. She lost her footing and slipped down the last few rungs of the ladder she was on at that thought. But there would be time to worry about last resorts later. All residual fantasies fled as she worked her way through the ship, assessing the damage as she went.

  The crew let her know what they’d found as soon as she reached them. The pirates had hit them hard: they’d lost an engine as well as all the sensors on that side of the ship. The Astra’s metal skin was torn, exposing her delicate electronics to the vacuum outside as well as the dust of their hard landing. Ji-min nearly wept as they gave her that final bit of bad news.

  TiCara found her hands clenching and unclenching in an effort to not punch the walls and howl in despair. As usual, it was Vijay who was most optimistic. We still have life support and the greenbay is intact, Captain. Nothing to worry about for some time. He didn’t specify how long that would be and none of them asked. But he added, We also still have that synth skin from the time we disguised the ship to look like a small freighter. Can we use that to cover the electronics until Ji-min can clean and fix the tear?

  TiCara nearly hugged him, stopping only when she remembered how uncomfortable that would make both of them. Instead, she settled for an approving grin and used his old corp ship rank. Starshine, pure starshine, Lieutenant. That could work. What do you think, Engineer? She turned to Ji-min and was relieved to see the other’s face light up.

  Yes, Captain, it might. We’ll try it and see what it does. It’ll be much easier than trying that work in a suit. In moments, they had devised a plan of attack that sent Erol and Vijay outside in suits with the synth skin cover while Ji-min went to work on the engine from inside the ship. Once outside, they could also check for the pirates and set up the external sensors to supplement the damaged ones.

  TiCara lingered long enough to get them started, long enough that she began to sway from exhaustion. But instead of going to her cabin where her medusas were insistently encouraging her to go, she went to Vahn’s quarters. En route, she calmed her medusas temporarily with a protein shake from a nutrient dispenser. It wouldn’t substitute for sleep for long, but it would have to do for the moment.

  She was still drinking it when she buzzed the door to Vahn’s quarters. Sammo raised his dark eyebrows at her when the door slid open, but he stepped aside. TiCara grimaced. She was in no mood for more formality, and gave Vahn only a small bow by way of greeting. I apologize for the roughness of our landing, Ser. The ship has sustained damage and my crew is ascertaining what we will need to do to fix it. As for the pirates who shot at us, we have not seen them yet, but they may return soon. We need to be ready.

  And the first acceleration that we experienced?

  There was a corp ship behind us. It got too close and I took us through part of a comet’s tail to hide the ship before we jumped. Should blackhole our location for them.

  That was excellent thinking, Pilot-Captain. Your apologies for the roughness of the journey are unnecessary. I understand that both the speed and the evasion were needed. Does your crew have an ETA on when the ship may be ready to fly again?

  They hope to have one soon, Ser. I will let you know when they tell me. TiCara wondered if there was something more, something the old man couldn’t bring himself to voice yet. It could be nothing good. She noticed that he hadn’t mentioned Sherin and decided it was past time to ask. Why is your rep confined to her quarters, Ser? And on who’s authority?

  Vahn’s face tightened, a cold rage welling up in his expression just long enough for her to see it. What had Sherin done to trigger that? We locked my former employee, Sherin Khan, into her quarters. My apologies that it was done without notifying you, Captain, but you had other concerns. We believe that she planted the tracker on the ship and that she approached my rivals to betray me. But then, I believe you also had suspicions of your own.

  TiCara swallowed hard. True, she thought Sherin guilty too, but it was different hearing that same accusation from Vahn: the words sounded colder, more hard-edged and cruel. The way he described it was like something an Ear would do. Was there a Sherin that she hadn’t see yet? Was Sherin ever what she had seemed t
o be?

  For the first time, TiCara doubted her own ability to see through any Ear’s disguise. Had she been horribly

  wrong about the rep? Yes, Ser, I was suspicious. I spoke to her but was called away to assess the threat of the corp ship. Our discussion was...inconclusive. I did not know that you also had reason to distrust her.

  At first, I did not. But when Sammo showed me the tracker and I spoke to her, I understood what my rivals had offered her. She was unable to convince me that she could deny such a price.

  TiCara’s forehead wrinkled in astonishment. What was he talking about? She thought back on her conversation with Sherin, about the rep’s nervous rubbing at her head and her reaction to medusas. A horrible suspicion began to form in her mind. But she had to know the truth. She forced the words out, And that was?

  They offered to restore her medusas, Pilot-Captain. She was on Electra on a previous trip and some rogue nanotech cured of her implants. Surely you can imagine what a loss they must have been? I knew of this when I hired her, but had not heard that anyone claimed to be able to restore the tech. Vahn looked grimly disappointed now, as if a favorite child had failed him. I had originally hoped that she could tell me more of the asteroid, perhaps guide me here to negotiate with the techs, but her short term memory had been wiped of those details. She remembered only what had happened to her and little else.

  TiCara caught at the shelf next to her to steady her swaying body. She only just managed to keep her jaw from dropping open. When Elia had told her that tale back on Kyrin, she had thought it a myth, just more spacer fantasy. Like Electra itself. But if the story was true, the asteroid must be what Vahn said it was: both real and a large nanotech lab. And not all of that tech well controlled, from this story.

  I see from your reaction, Captain, that you did not know about this. I was unsure as to whether or not it was something Sherin Khan had told you. I know that you are, or were...close.

  TiCara bit back a hysterical giggle. Instead, she focused on the results of Vahn’s revelations. So you dismissed her from your employment and locked her in her quarters. Did you search for any more communicators or trackers? Sammo nodded in response.

  She was a tangled mass of emotions: horrified pity and relief, desire and disappointment, love and loathing. What she needed more than anything was to rest and think. Very well. Ser, I must rest and then go assist my crew. I will update you in a half cycle as to the condition of the ship and when we might depart. My Life Support Officer tells me that the food dispensers and air flow should all be undamaged. We are able to keep all critical services running.

  She stopped herself from telling them how long they could maintain that state. If Vijay was wrong, all of their concerns about trackers and Ears, betrayal and loss, might mean much less in the near future than they did right now. TiCara bowed formally and left Vahn sitting amid his cushions.

  It was only when the door closed behind her that she realized that she had forgotten to ask him about the coordinates. Of course, if they couldn’t get the ship spaceworthy, the coordinates weren’t going to help much. Lost in her thoughts, TiCara stumbled and caught herself on the wall. She added one more question to her list to follow up on later as she walked slowly toward her quarters and long-delayed sleep.

  Chapter 17

  TiCara’s brain whirled with thoughts about the coordinates, the state of the ship, Sherin, Sherin’s past, pirates and Ears. It was all too much for her for her to handle right now and for a change, she knew it. For the good of her ship and her crew, she needed to sleep. The situation would be no less painful and difficult after she woke up.

  Still, her thoughts hung on her until she felt as if she was wearing a blacksuit made of rock. She tried to imagine what she would have done had she been in Sherin’s place. Her stomach turned at the image of losing her medusas. That reaction was enough to direct her steps to another meal console for another protein drink. She drank her meal quickly in the quiet of the deserted crew lounge and debated on whether or not to ping Erol’s handheld and ask for a status.

  But she knew he would call her if they found out anything new. TiCara rubbed one hand wearily over her face, then dropped the drink container back into the dispenser to be sterilized for reuse. By the time she reached her quarters, she was thinking so hard about all of it that she almost didn’t realize that she wasn’t alone.

  Sherin was sitting on the corridor floor outside her room, her head resting on her knees. She had a mediwrap on one hand, from wrist to fingers, and TiCara could see a bloodstain on it. What...happened? How did you get here? Vahn told me he locked you in your room.

  The other woman tilted her head to one side and looked at TiCara sidelong. Your locks are old tech, Pilot-Captain; you need an upgrade. I took the panel off on the inside, then broke through the fused wires. A few cuts and bruises and I was out. I was going to come looking for you but I guessed that you were busy from the way you were flying and crashing. I waited here instead of going to the Bridge.

  TiCara opened her door, then leaned up against the wall next to it. I should just put you back in your quarters. But I’m nearly black-holed now. Too much wired time doesn’t leave me a lot of reserves. You can come in or you can go on sitting out here. Either way, I’ll want tru tell from you later. After I rest, assuming you don’t plan to kill me in my sleep.

  Sherin looked momentarily shocked and her voice was uncertain as she continued, You had tru tell from me before. But I’ve got more now. I can show you that it wasn’t me. Sherin waved a handheld at her as she scrambled awkwardly to her feet. TiCara could see that she was trying not to use her bandaged hand, and against her better judgment, leaned down and helped her stand up.

  Touching Sherin brought back her earlier feelings and a wave of longing filled her. She didn’t want to let the other woman go. It didn’t matter what she’d done or what she was going to say. Before she realized what she was doing, she had wrapped her arms around Sherin and the rep was leaning into her shoulder with a heavy sigh. Together they stumbled their way across the threshold into TiCara’s room.

  Sherin turned her face up to TiCara’s and kissed her, her lips gentle, but with enough pressure to part the pilot’s lips. TiCara felt Sherin’s tongue in her mouth an instant later and welcomed it in, deepening their kiss. She restrained her medusas with an errant thought, but she knew that she was too close to the edge to control them for long. And that wasn’t what Sherin wanted.

  TiCara pulled away carefully and dropped onto the bed. She held Sherin’s uninjured hand in hers and pulled the other woman down to sit next to her. With infinite care, she unwrapped Sherin’s injured hand and looked it over. The wound was deeper than the rep had implied and it was still bleeding.

  She reached over and pulled out the med kit that Vijay had placed in all the crew and passenger quarters and sterilized the wound before putting a clean bandage on it. Then she held Sherin’s hand up to her mouth and kissed her fingers.

  A gentle wheeze interrupted her reverie. Sherin was leaning back against the wall, her eyes closed, sound asleep. TiCara’s lips quirked in a smile, and she stood up and shed her blacksuit. When she was naked, she lay down beside Sherin, pulling the other woman around to lay next to her. Sherin woke up enough to undress with TiCara’s help, then they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  A chime from TiCara’s handheld woke them a few cycles later and TiCara reached for it, groggily. Erol’s code flashed across the screen and she turned it on. Yes, Second? She could feel Sherin stir against her and she let her free hand slid down the other woman’s shoulder, enjoying the silky warmth of her skin.

  Erol’s voice boomed out of the speaker. "Captain, we’ve got the synth skin in place and Ji-min’s set up the cleaners. We should know within a cycle if we can fix all the damage. Still no sign of the pirates or the corp ship.

  They must be waiting for us out there."

  Very good, Second. I’ll come and check on your progress in a cycle. Go get some sleep if you
’re done. TiCara noted that the ship’s computer had sent her a nonurgent message but clicked it off without reading it and turned to Sherin. Everything else could wait a little longer. She stroked Sherin’s hair gently. Now tell me what you wanted to tell me before we fell asleep.

  Sherin rolled over and reached for her suit. Belatedly, TiCara realized that they hadn’t put their suits in the ship’s clean closet. She wrinkled her nose as Sherin pulled a chip holder out of her suit. It reminded her that she hadn’t also asked Vahn about the coordinates. That chip you gave me, the one with the nav location for Electra—are you sure those coordinates were good?

  Sherin looked up, dark eyes wide and startled. Yes. Vahn’s contact vouched for them. Why?

  They don’t look tru. They’ve shifted, like someone put a worm in the code. TiCara studied Sherin in the cabin’s dim light. She could see nothing to tell her that the other woman was lying, so maybe she had been given the chip in good faith.

  Had Vahn thought the same thing? Maybe he had paid for decoy coordinates as well as the real thing, and was holding the real ones in reserve. She had heard about such things from other pilots.

  But there would be time to ask Vahn about that once the Astra was ready to fly again. They weren’t leaving the asteroid with coordinates that she had no reason to trust. It crossed her mind that given how little this client seemed to trust her, she should have trusted her own crew more. She sighed, feeling the weight of quiet frustration settle into her bones.

  Sherin interrupted her thoughts by holding up her handheld and displaying a string of communication messages. Vahn took my main comm unit, but I had this one in with my gear as a backup. These are the messages I exchanged with Elia and Zig. All of them. She held it out, her expression focused and her mouth set in a determined line.