The Colossus Collection

by Nicole Grotepas

  “Is that sarcasm?”

  “I wouldn’t dare. Your strength is truly admirable. I must admit, however, that seeing the bruising on your face brings out my own instincts. I feel as Darius expressed, that I would like to destroy the male who did that to you.”

  “It was the Constie guard.”

  “Did he do anything else?” Shiro asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye. He used his lion head cane to walk, spinning it casually.

  “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  Shiro stopped on the corner where the Green Jade district gave away to the Ice Jade district. There were very few people out walking. They’d reached a market district and the tents were all closed up. Light from the streetlamps illuminated their path, as well as the faint glow of lights that shone through the jade the covered the buildings. Holly stopped as well and turned to look at Shiro.

  “What?” She asked.

  “Holly. Did he hurt you in any other ways?”

  She’d never seen Shiro this mad, except the time that she fought with him about haggling back on Joppa. And then it was a different sort of anger. This was barely suppressed rage. His dark eyes flashed—she could see it in the shade cast by the brim of his bowler. His lips quivered. And he’d called her Holly, not Ms. Drake. Her stomach flipped at hearing her first name on his voice.

  She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to admit the inherent weakness in her body, that a male could choose to overpower her, and without her being more clever or strategic, she would lose. It made her want to roar, to become a giant, and tear through the city, demolishing buildings in her path and making men cower before her. She was tired of being at a disadvantage without a gun or via more clever means.

  But, she also didn’t want to care. If Shiro, Odeon, or Darius knew, what the fuck did it matter?

  “He tried,” she said. “I outwitted the dickhead.”

  She turned and began walking again, feeling the weakness in herself and wanting to run from it.

  Shiro ran to catch up to her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

  “I took care of it.”

  “You did. Admirable. I admire your strength.”

  “It isn’t strength. It’s being clever. Males will always be stronger than me. It’s unfair. I hate it.”

  “Ah, yes, I understand. There will always be a male that’s stronger than me, as well. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m a slender Earthling, whose ancestors had to invent clever martial arts to fight back against stronger, more physically robust males.”

  “It’s not the same.”

  “No, you’re right. I just want you to understand that perhaps in some tiny way, I can grasp the struggle.”

  “Let’s change the subject.”

  “Agreed.”

  They came to Yellow Jade district. More was happening on the streets than in the previous two districts. This was a district where the poorer classes who took care of the inhabitants of the wealthier districts lived. Different modes of transport funneled them in and they walked along the streets to their homes, stopped into the bodegas and bought groceries before heading to their condos.

  Neither Shiro nor Holly said much more and soon Holly was letting herself into her condo with Shiro standing beside her.

  “Good night, then,” she said at the door.

  “That’s it?” He asked.

  “I’m tired. You’re tired.”

  “Very well, I won’t try to convince you.” He turned to go.

  Holly sighed. “Fine. Come in for a minute.” She went in and took her shoes off by the door.

  He grinned and followed her inside. “Why, thank you. So kind of you.”

  She wasn’t in the mood for his attempts at being cute. Though she was somewhat thankful that he’d joined her on the walk—she was getting tired of being surprised by perpetrators—she was too tired to entertain.

  “It’s your condo, Holly, but can I get you something to drink? You seem exhausted.”

  “I am. And yes. Just a glass of wine. There’s some on the counter, under the cabinet.”

  “Sit down, let me get this for you,” he said, tossing his cane and bowler onto the seat of the empty armchair.

  She was going to do that, even if he hadn’t invited her to. She yawned and stretched, sitting down on the sofa and stretching her legs out to put on the Ottoman. What a weird word. Ottoman. What did it mean? She wondered lazily. Maybe she was more tired than usual.

  “Why are you calling me Holly and not Ms. Drake?” She asked Shiro. Her speech was slurred. She could hear it.

  Shiro came into the living room, two glasses of wine in his hands. He handed her a glass. “Is it bothering you? I didn’t realize I was doing it.”

  “It’s not bothering me. Just strange. A change.”

  She sipped the wine as Shiro sat down on the sofa a few feet away from her. The wine spread through her limbs, making her weak. It had been a few hours since she’d eaten. Shiro began speaking. She tried to stay awake, to listen to him, to converse, but she felt herself drifting off. There was nothing she could do to fight it.

  25

  Holly woke when the light of dawn pierced through the shades covering the windows. She was on the sofa, her glass of wine still on the end-table, and someone had covered her with a throw blanket.

  When she sat up and moved around, she remembered that Shiro had been there. And he’d been calling her by her first name, rather than his standard formal address. She wasn’t sure which she liked best, but there was something intimate about his use of her first name.

  She glanced at the clock. She needed to be at the Molten Taco to meet Meg and Gabe for a quick brunch.

  Soon, she was ready and heading out the door, feeling better, though still tired. The idea was to keep moving so that she could avoid thinking about the weird events of the middle of the night. It all felt like a dream as she went through the city on the way to meet her sister. There was still a feeling of being violated by the Constellation guard, though she’d managed to stop him. That sensation of powerlessness haunted her at times, to know that someone could control her body physically, with their body. At least she was clever and never gave up. There was that. She stood taller in the Spireway gondola as she thought about how hard she would fight to defend herself. She’d never give up again.

  She’d been reborn. She’d laid down and lost herself in her marriage to Graf. But those days were gone.

  Meg and Gabe were waiting for her outside the Molten Taco.

  “Where’s Lucy?” Holly asked as she approached her sister and Gabe.

  “School, where do you think?” Meg asked, giving Holly a quick embrace.

  Gabe laughed. “Someone doesn’t have kids.”

  “I wonder who,” Holly joked back. “I forget important details like that. And I was a teacher. You’d think I’d never forget when school was in session.”

  They went inside and ordered the standard Molten Taco breakfast—a large family style skillet of eggs, bacon, potatoes, ahiocot from Yaso, and cheese. There were small warm tortillas to wrap the ingredients in, and to drink there were mimosas and Frozen Pearls.

  “What happened with the mole, Gabe?” Holly asked. Meg, Lucy, and Gabe had been staying in a hotel since Iain had caught their tail that morning in Analogue Alley. Though Holly had warned him, Odeon simply ignored it. He claimed that the mole had never seen him and so he had nothing to worry about.

  “He’s been in a holding cell for a few days. Sweating him out. A few people that I’d suspected were part of it gave me shifty looks when I took him in. Meg has to lose her tail every time she goes home, so do I.” He shrugged and piled sauce onto the taco he was making.

  “Mom isn’t happy about this. Just when she arrives back on Kota, she’s ripped from the comforts of her own home. Her words.”

  “She’s already calling your condo her home. At least she still adapts quickly,” Holly observed, as she finished her taco and picked up a tortilla to make a
nother.

  “You going to tell us what happened to your face, kiddo?” Gabe asked.

  Holly flinched. She’d forgotten it was there. “Got hit.”

  “That’s it?” Meg asked, dropping her taco to the plate in an exaggerated gesture. “Someone hit you.”

  “Spill, Holly,” Gabe prompted.

  “That’s it. I’m not talking more about it. But rest assured the bastard got what he deserved back.”

  “So, it was a guy?” Meg asked, her nostrils flaring, her eyes flashing between Gabe and Holly. Holly would have sworn she could see Meg’s hackles rising. She appeared to get larger in the neck. It was a trick of Holly’s mind, she knew. It was still daunting. “Who?”

  “I’m glad you guys are figuring out the mole shit. Any idea how soon this stuff will be all sorted out? When will you be able to go back to your condo?” Holly asked, trying to divert their attention.

  “Holly,” Gabe began, finishing his taco. His fingers were covered in sauce. He wiped them with a napkin and swallowed. “Is someone harassing you?”

  “No. It’s part of the job. I’ll never see the bastard again. Let’s move on. I wanted to know what was happening with you guys. So let’s forget about my face and talk about something important: both of you. I have to leave soon for a meeting. The crew is meeting Iain.”

  “So Iain is working with you?” Meg asked.

  “Gabe didn’t tell you?”

  “No, he didn’t.” Meg glanced at Gabe, then began making another taco.

  “Not a big deal. I didn’t know it mattered to you. Sorry,” Gabe said.

  * * *

  Holly finished her breakfast and left Meg and Gabe early to make it back to the Bird’s Nest before Iain arrived. She wanted to introduce him and she knew that, given his military history, he wouldn’t respect a leader who couldn’t be punctual.

  She rushed through the front doors of the Surge Club, waved at Torden and took the stairs two at a time to get into the Bird’s Nest. If Iain were early, he might be there already. She skidded to a stop in front of the coffee table and looked around. Charly was at her desk, flipping through ledger files on her v-screen. Darius was at his bay of computers. He spun in his chair and looked at her. No sign of Iain. She breathed a sigh of relief and then paced to catch her breath.

  “You look rested, Drake.”

  “So do you. That nap while we were in the Megaron must have done it,” Holly said, grinning at him.

  He stammered a series of unintelligible syllables at her.

  “Are you joking? Aw, Darius. D-man. Is that what you did?” Charly asked, looking up.

  “How’d you know?” he finally managed.

  “You were the only one not falling asleep on your feet last night when we got back.”

  “Won’t happen again, Drake. I’m so sorry. Just please,” he said, making praying hands at her, “please do not tell the others. They’d destroy me. I’d never live it down.”

  “Fine. Don’t worry about it. I won’t tell the others, just don’t do it again. We count on you,” she said. If he’d stayed awake, perhaps she wouldn’t have had to deal with that guard. But she wasn’t going to put more guilt onto him. He knew he’d fucked up and he was sorry. That was good enough for the moment. She was disappointed, but people made mistakes.

  Holly turned and went to the window overlooking the floor to wait and watch for Iain so that she could hurry down and meet him when he arrived.

  She didn’t have to wait long. He strode in looking purposeful and waited at the bar for Torden to notice him. Holly rushed down the stairs and hurried to greet him.

  “Iain, hey.” She paused beside him at the bar. “This is Torden. He’ll get you a drink if you want one. What would you like?”

  Iain nodded at Torden, then turned to Holly. “I’ll have something after I meet your team. I’ve assembled a crew, but they won’t be here tonight. I can introduce them to your team, however. I have images of them and a small presentation prepared. Do you have a way for me to show it to your team?”

  God, he was prepared. “Definitely. If you want to tell Torden what you’d drink later, he’ll have it sent up when you’re ready.”

  “Whisky,” he said to Torden. “On the rocks. I have to keep my wits about me.”

  “Thanks, Torden,” Holly said, nodding at the Druiviin. “Come on, this way.” She led Iain up the stairs next to the edge of the bar.

  Inside the upper room, Darius and Charly both paused in what they were doing. “Some of the crew aren’t here yet. When they show up, you can start. For now, this is Darius Jackson and Charly Stout. Guys, meet Iain Grant.” They told him hello and shook his hand in a formal greeting, then went back to their desks.

  Darius helped Iain set up his presentation on the v-screen. As they worked on it, Shiro came sauntering in, twirling his cane, looking as pleased as a cat with a mouse between its teeth. Holly hadn’t seen him since the night before.

  “Ms. Drake,” he greeted her. He’d gone back to his formal greeting, she noted, nodding a hello to him.

  “This is Iain Grant. Iain, Shiro Oahu.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Grant. I look forward to working with you.”

  “Ah, and this is Odeon Starlight,” Holly said, as Odeon strolled in carrying his icreash, his stringed instrument of preference.

  “Sorry, Holly. I just came from a midday performance,” he said, then turned to Iain. “Happy to have you on the team, Iain.”

  “Thank you. Is this it? Can we begin, Holly?” Iain asked, an image appearing on the v-screen.

  “Go for it,” she said.

  Iain launched into a rundown of the crew members that would accompany him and manage the tanker. He told them the reason for introducing them in the first place this way was so that Holly’s crew would be able to trust them once they were manning the ship. It wasn’t necessary for the team to remember their names, though if they did, it could make everyone feel more cohesive and safe. If nothing else, just remember their titles.

  “Now then, shall we discuss when the ship is set to launch?” Iain asked.

  Darius looked at Holly. She shrugged. “We were thinking in a week, maybe.”

  Iain bowed his head and touched his lips with his steepled fingertips. He looked up at her, dropping his hands to his side. “Holly. I thought part of the reason you wanted me was because I could get the ship away from the base before stasis happens.”

  “Stasis?” Holly repeated.

  “The base goes into voluntary no-fly for a month in five days. During that time all the tankers are taken into the launch bay of the base to be serviced.”

  “So,” she said, blinking. “This means we have to leave soon? We have to do it soon. We can’t wait.”

  “Yes, that’s what it would mean.”

  She paced, irritated. “We didn’t know that. I didn’t know it.”

  “We were going to use a tanker that had just dropped it’s hydrantium cargo at Po,” Darius explained.

  “That won’t work. Too far out,” Iain said.

  “So we have to adapt. Shit,” Holly said.

  “Take one from the base. Trip flies us in.” Odeon strummed his icreash once.

  “It’ll be heavy with cargo.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Not if you want to do this now,” Iain said. “And you’ll need to leave in two days.”

  Shiro laughed. “Everything just became incredibly urgent, chaps. Not to worry. The plan will work. We’ve got everything figured out. One variable changed. No problem. Iain can handle it. He’s our lynchpin.”

  “I suppose that’s right,” Iain said.

  “We leave in two days. Noon. Trip will have her cruiser again. And I need to get the teachers here. Iain, you ready your crew. I’ll ready mine. We’ll leave Kota in two days. Can you handle that?”

  “Not a problem,” he said. “Now then, how about that drink?”

  26

  There was no longer time for slow introductions and a casual period to brea
k everyone in. Elan had been in the city for a night by the time Holly was able to see him again. The reunion wasn’t sweet—in fact, when she saw him again, it was when the crew officially met the entire team again out at the shipyard where Trip’s ship was being rolled out of the maintenance hangar onto the launch staging area.

  “Is this everyone?” Darius asked, looking at the huddle of people. “It’s a lot to fit onto the Olavia Apollo.”

  “What should I do? Book another ship really quick?” Holly asked. “This isn’t ideal. I know. Nothing we do ever manages to be ideal. It’s always on the brink of disaster. But it’s the best I can do. We can do.”

  Trip strode up and interrupted Holly’s hushed conversation with Darius. “Holly Drake, this is more than I normally like to accommodate. Can you leave someone behind?”

  Holly looked over the group. There was Iain, with his crew of six. Holly’s crew of three sans Darius—who would be staying behind—plus the explosives expert that Odeon and Shiro had finally settled on, Petra Bast, a human female who was currently playing with a lighter as she stood apart from any of the other groups. Iain kept eyeing her like he didn’t approve of her toy. And then Elan, Estelle, and Valentine.

  “Not anyone that I know of. We need them all. I can’t determine which of Iain’s crew could be left behind. Unless you want to leave your ship in the base and man some aspect of the tanker flight?” Holly asked, giving Trip a hopeful look.

  “No, that won’t work. I’m not leaving her behind for that long.”

  “Can you manage all of us?”

  Trip did the Centau equivalent of a human sigh by flicking her head to the side. “Sounds like I will have to. Load them up, Holly Drake. Only essential crew members on the bridge with me, ever. That means you, Odeon, Shiro, Charly, or Darius. And Iain Grant can be there as well, since he’s been a commander.”

  Holly turned to Odeon who stood next to her, his Ousaba gripped before him like some kind of fabled broadsword out of a story, held point down with both hands. “Let them know they can board, please.”