The smallest stardrive he'd ever seen was made for a cramped diving bell that took delvers into wraith space to mine flux crystals. And that drive was a cube a meter across on each side. A stardrive was always cube-shaped, its size proportional to the size of the vessel. The drive in the Outworld Ranger was easily three times the size of the one in the diving bell.
“Can a drive be smaller than the one we stole from that diving bell two years ago?”
“That’s the smallest version ever made, sir.”
"Then I do not see one in the open."
“I haven’t detected one either, sir. And it’s not important enough to risk anything more than a level three scan.”
Siv took a seat at the bar and flashed a smile at the man sitting next to him. “You used a level three and couldn’t find it?”
“That’s why I’m perplexed, sir. All I know is that it’s here, and the scan told me it was on the first floor and not in the basement.”
“So it must be tucked behind the bar or in the kitchen.” Siv waved a hand at the bartender. “Or maybe it’s a dead stardrive the owner’s holding in his office for sentimental reasons.”
"Maybe, sir. Or maybe it's going to be transferred to a new ship soon because I don't think it's possible to detect the resonance unless the drive has been active recently. That's my best guess, but it's a guess as ignorant as a Tellerian street urchin."
Even the wealthy on Telleria disdained education and intellectual pursuits on religious grounds.
Siv ordered a pint of Head Slam. “Should we be concerned?”
“I…I guess not, sir.”
“Alright then. Let’s get down to business.”
Silky opened an expanded locator in his HUD showing everyone in the room with labels identifying the names and occupations of all but five patrons. And Silky would no doubt figure out who those people were soon.
Siv casually glanced back, noting each of the unidentified. Judging from their appearances, four of them were spacers, crew for some of the captains, or people looking for new work.
The fifth person wore a cloak with a hood pulled up to hide their face. He or she was in a booth in the far corner, leaning across a table talking to a starship captain. According to the HUD, this person was armed with a plasma pistol, a neural disruptor, and two shock knives. That was twice the armament anyone else in here had access to. He was surprised the bouncer had let them in with that many weapons.
From his angle, with the person turned away from him, Siv could make out only a few details. They had a slight build and wore thick armbands and matching gloves. Their cloak bore a few grime stains but appeared well maintained.
The information in the HUD updated. Silky had pegged the identities of the other four, and Siv had guessed right. The only new info on the fifth was gender: female.
“Anything you can tell me about the secretive lurker in the corner talking to the captain?”
“If I knew anything, it would be displayed in your HUD, sir,” Silky said with annoyance. “Want me to listen in?”
“Please. If they’re paying for transport then maybe we can hitch a ride along with them by splitting the cost.”
Siv downed his drink and once again smiled at the captain sitting beside him, a bearded gentleman wearing an immaculate suit. Siv started to say hello, but the man shook his head.
“Don’t even ask. I’m not leaving until whatever the hell that’s going on in this system moves on.”
“How did you know I wasn’t another captain?”
The man laughed. “Seriously?”
Siv nodded.
“Well…you just don’t have the right look about you. Aside from that, you reek of desperation.”
“Fair enough,” Siv replied. “Any advice on who I should talk to next?”
The man shrugged. “I didn’t know any of these captains until a few days ago. Most that I’ve talked to are sitting tight. But if you were to offer enough, I’m sure a few would hear you out.” The captain scanned Siv. “It’d probably take considerably more than you have.”
Siv sighed. “I appreciate your honesty.”
The captain’s face softened. “You might try Jax, the man in the far corner who’s negotiating with someone now. Or try the old woman, Telsa. She’s got bigger balls than you and I could ever dream of. She might do it for a fair price.”
“She any good?”
"She was one of the best-damned pilots in the galaxy once. But she's over a decade past her prime."
“Thanks.”
“Can you tell me anything about what’s going on out there?”
Siv shook his head. “Not a clue.”
The man chuckled. “Yeah, right.” He lifted his glass in Siv’s direction. “Good luck to you.”
“Sir, the mystery patron just attempted to broker a deal with Captain Jax.”
“How much?”
“Five thousand credits, half upfront. When that didn’t work, she made a significant threat. And even that wasn’t enough.”
Siv motioned for the bartender to give him another pint then realized he’d finished off the first way too quickly. He needed to slow down. Showing his anxiety could send even a willing captain running away fast.
“What kind of threat?”
“She apparently broke into his office here on the planet and got hold of information on illicit activities he’s been involved in.”
"Gutsy. She must be desperate because if he did take her on, he'd probably just space her as soon as he was in orbit. He could maintain the coverup of his crimes and get a nice sum of money for his effort. Assuming he doesn't hire someone to ice her on her way home tonight."
“She’s well armed and seems confident, sir. I suspect she can take care of herself.”
“How many credits did he want, considering the threat?”
“Fifteen thousand, sir. And I believe his initial offer before the threat was more than double that.”
Siv sputtered half a sip of ale back into his mug. “’Nevolence! That’s steep for a man with a ship as sorely in need of repair as his.”
Based on Silky’s research, Jax was a decent captain with a solid crew, but his cruiser was old, poorly armed, and in need of a complete overhaul.
“None of these captains want to die, sir. Even worse, they don’t want to lose their ships.”
Siv grabbed his pint and headed toward a table in the middle of the room. Based on the info Siv had, the young captain at the table had considerable gambling debts he needed to pay off and soon. He would talk to him first then approach the mystery woman bargaining with Captain Jax.
Siv made it three steps before Silky yelped.
“Sir! Stand still now!”
Siv stopped and braced himself for an attack. “What’s happening?”
“Sir, the hyperphasic signature’s moving now. It’s faint, and I’m struggling to pinpoint it without a level five scan.”
Siv released a deep breath and relaxed.
“Sir, it’s moving toward us and—”
“It’s the mystery woman, right?”
Having left the booth and Captain Jax behind, she was hurrying out of the pub. She glanced hard at him, probably since he was again standing still like an idiot. He started walking toward the middle table, but out of the corner of his eye, he watched the woman as she moved past him.
With the hood pulled up over her head and given the typical, pub-level darkness, he couldn’t make out anything about her face save for a brief, reddish glint in her eyes. Up close her clothes, worn over a mesh armor bodysuit, were old-fashioned and grungier than her cloak.
He sat down and said hello to the young captain.
“Confirmation?”
“Confirmed, sir. She’s the source of the resonance.”
“How’s that possible?”
“No idea, sir. But are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Siv took a sip of Head Slam. “I haven’t a clue what you’re— Oh! I am now. Where’s Mits?”
> “She just parked her bike two blocks away, sir. I cleared her to come in.”
In his locator, Siv watched the woman exit the bar. He apologized to the captain. “Sorry, I’ve got to run. Hopefully, we can talk later.”
“Unless you’re very wealthy, I wouldn’t bother.”
Siv nodded then stood. “Patch me in.”
“Mits, a woman giving off hyperphasic energy readings just left the bar. She may have acquired passage on a ship leaving the planet.”
“She didn’t succeed,” Silky said. “He wouldn’t come down on the price any further.”
“Is she carrying a stardrive?” Mitsuki asked in a mocking tone.
“She’s carrying something,” Silky replied. “And whatever that something is, it might be a device that could take her into wraith space.”
“Oh shit, a lead!” Mitsuki said. “Help B with her positioning. I don’t have the range to pick her up in my locator.”
Siv walked outside, glanced both ways, then set off to the left, following after the woman.
“Launch a spy-fly to keep a visual on her.”
One of the miniature drones zipped out from the compartment on his belt and flew off into the night.
“How much money do we have?”
“We’re about nine thousand credits short of what he wants, sir.”
“We could sell the bikes or offer them to him.”
“I don’t think he’d accept stolen goods, sir. And I had assumed we’d sell them off and was counting that in. Pick up the pace, you’re losing her.”
Siv quickened his pace to a half jog. The woman was undoubtedly moving in a hurry. The video feed popped up, showing her taking long, quick strides.
“Do you think she’s onto us?” Mitsuki asked. She was watching the same feed.
“If she’s the one who rescued the ambassador,” Silky said, “then I think she has good reason to be moving quickly. Slow to a walk and turn here, sir.”
Siv slowed, rounded the corner, and saw the woman half a block ahead of him, moving through a tangle of people. For the most part, the streets were empty, save for small groups moving from one restaurant or nightclub to the next.
Siv lost direct sight of her but kept tabs using his locator and the spy-fly.
“Got an ID yet?”
“Still working on it, sir. If she’d take the damn hood off, it would be a lot easier.”
“Maybe I should start wearing a hood.”
“Brazenly hiding your face is damned suspicious, sir. I don’t think it’s doing her any favors.”
The woman turned onto another street. Siv checked Mitsuki’s position. She was walking out onto that same street. Siv turned the corner. He was half a block away from the woman, and so was Mitsuki.
The woman slowed her pace then suddenly sprinted into an alleyway. The spy-fly zipped after her. Siv and Mitsuki both took off into a run.
The spy-fly had lost sight of her. And when they reached the alley, they saw no sign of her either. It was like she’d vanished into thin air.
“Damn it!” Mitsuki cursed. “She was our only lead.”
“Sir, I’m detecting a hyperphasic signature. The kind you’d see in the wake of a stardrive activation.”
“You think she popped into wraith space right here?” Siv asked.
“It would seem that way, sir. And before you ask, I still have no idea how. The Benevolence never made stardrives that small.”
“Are you certain about that?” Mitsuki asked.
“As certain as I can be. But…I guess it is possible. But if it had created a few miniature drives, I’d think they’d have made their way into the special forces. An individual being able to escape into wraith space is a powerful ability.”
“Maybe it was a prototype,” Siv suggested.
“Perhaps, sir, but if so, how would a random woman on this backwater planet have one?”
“I don’t know. But maybe she’s not random.”
Mitsuki stalked around, examining the alley thoroughly. She cursed again. “Seriously, what now?” she said aloud. “She was our lead to Ambass—”
“Comms, Mits,” Siv urged.
“Sorry, I’m just frustrated is all.”
“Sir, I’m going to risk a level-five scan. Just a quick burst.”
“Is that wise?”
“Call it a hunch, sir. Not a you, gut-level hunch. A highly educated 9G-x guess.”
“Go for it.”
Siv watched the power meter on the scanning equipment dip a percentage point then level off.
“Get anything from that?”
“Sir, Wings, don’t look up. She’s on the rooftop of the eight-story building directly east. She’s using binoculars with audio boosting to spy on us.”
Siv stalked around the alley, pretending to be searching for a clue to where she’d gone. “How’d she get up there so fast?”
“Dimensions in wraith space don’t match ours exactly, sir. And she is wearing an antigrav belt.”
“What should we do?” Mitsuki asked.
“We can’t sneak up on her,” Siv said. “She’d see us coming from…well, eight stories away.”
“Yeah, but what if it doesn’t matter?” Mitsuki asked. “What if she can’t pop into wraith space as often as she likes?”
“Silkster, would she be limited in how many times she can do it?”
"A normal drive can do it as often as you like, sir, but the minds of a crew can't handle it. A sequence of repeated jumps, say three or more in less than half an hour, can cause short-term memory loss and confusion. But we have no idea whether she would have this problem."
“And she’s only jumped once that we know of in the last half hour,” Mitsuki said.
“You know what?” Siv said. “Screw this.”
“Screw what, sir? Mitsuki? I’m pretty sure you’re not into her. And I’m already screwed into my socket. So…”
Ignoring Silky, Siv looked up, directly toward the woman. He spoke in a normal tone, knowing she’d be able to hear him well enough with the equipment she had.
"We are friends of Ambassador Vim's daughters. We have come to rescue him. I swear we mean neither you nor the ambassador harm. You're trying to get passage off-world, and so are we. I know you weren't able to negotiate a price with Captain Jax, but maybe we could pay him what he wants by pooling our resources."
She didn’t respond. She did, however, disappear from the edge of the building.
“I’m tracking her now, sir. She’s moving down a level and… She just returned to wraith space.”
Siv sighed. “I did what I could.”
Mitsuki started walking back toward the street they’d entered from. “We’d better scatter before—”
The woman appeared ahead of them at the end of the alley, a little more than fifteen meters away. She pocketed a small black cube then aimed a laser rifle at them.
“Where the hell did that rifle come from?” Siv cursed.
“She must’ve stashed it somewhere, sir.”
“You have two seconds to prove your claims.”
“Ambassador Vim’s daughters are Oona and Kyralla,” Siv said, taking the risk that she knew that much. “We rescued them from Tekk Reapers on Ekaran IV.”
“And?”
“They were staying with their uncle, Pashta,” Mitsuki added.
“Go on.”
“Oona’s a messiah,” Siv said.
“Anyone who’s after them would likely know all of that,” she replied suspiciously.
She had confirmed, though, that she knew all of those things, so she clearly had the ambassador’s confidence. Or had forced the information out of him.
“Silkster? Some help.”
“Tell her what we know about her, sir.”
“Oona saw a vision of you taking her father through wraith space. That’s why your miniature stardrive caught our attention.”
The woman didn’t respond.
“Ambassador Vim didn’t handle traveling through
wraith space well. It was torture for him.”
She still had the hood pulled up, hiding her face, but Siv imagined her eyes narrowing as she hissed, “Where did we go?”
“Oona couldn’t tell. She lost track of you. Her visions aren’t reliable.”
“How did you find me in the pub?”
“We didn’t know you were there,” Siv replied. “We came looking for the same thing you did and information on the ambassador. We just got lucky.”
“For a change,” Mitsuki muttered.
"Why do you need transportation off-world? How did you get here?"
“We hitched a ride,” Mitsuki said, annoyance edging into her voice. She hated negotiations and never talked her way through extractions. “But our ride couldn’t wait on us.”
“Where is the ambassador’s daughter now?” the woman asked.
“Somewhere safe, far away from here,” Siv answered.
“How are you tracking my cube drive?” she asked.
“I have a sophisticated sensor array,” Siv said. “Using it, my chippy noticed your hyperphasic signature.”
“My chippy?” Silky scoffed. “Should I start referring to you as my human?”
”Some of the other players here can do the same,” Siv added. “You’re in over your head.”
“Sorry. Not buying it. None of it.”
“It’s all true, I swear,” Siv said.
Mitsuki spread her hands out. “We’re trying to help you and the ambassador.”
“Who would come here to rescue him without bringing a team of agents and their own ship?”
“She has a good point, sir.”
“I swear we’re telling the truth,” Siv said.
“Anyone can swear anything,” she replied. “And Galen never mentioned either one of you.”
“We’ve never met him,” Siv said. “And we only just met his daughters. It’s a long story. Give us a chance to explain everything. But maybe somewhere else. The longer we’re all out in the open, the greater the danger that our mutual enemies will find us.”
“Sorry, but your story stinks.”
She squeezed the trigger, firing the laser rifle.
28
Siv Gendin
Siv hit the ground. Mitsuki ducked, knelt, and drew her neural disruptor.
Breaking Point Page 20