“Winter!”
Lana chased him down the hall.
“Winter!”
He clenched his teeth and walked a few paces without acknowledging her, until she called out again. Finally, he turned around and watched her run toward him. Despite their disagreement, he didn’t mind the view.
“Is there a problem?”
“No problem, but if you’re going to visit Ranstock, I want to come with you.”
“Damn straight I am. I’m going to ask her a few more rather pointed questions. Now that we know who she thinks she is, we can dig a little deeper.”
“You’re not seeing the forest for the trees.”
Winter scowled. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means you’re so angry about what’s happened to Chimin, you can’t see when opportunity is staring you in the face. If Ranstock is who she says she is, and I believe her, then we have someone here who can take the throne from Empress Mei if Grayson can’t get her to sign the treaty.”
“So he’d just remove Mei from power? That doesn’t sound very much like democracy.”
“In times of war, it is what it is. That’s why the fleet from Silstrand is on its way. To install their own leadership until an election can take place here, and on Battia. If we can skip all that and prove that Ranstock is Mei’s daughter….”
Winter pressed his lips together and shook his head. He didn’t respond as they entered the precinct and walked to the lift that would take them to the holding cells.
Pressing his hand against the ident plate, he let out a long sigh. “I don’t know, Lana. It just sounds too convenient. How’d she know? Who told her? If she’s that scared of Mei, would she really bother to poke around in Hanoi at all? If it was me, I’d stay clear.”
“She says she wants to make a difference,” Lana said as the lift door slid open. She followed Winter in and pushed the button for the cell level. “I believe her.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because her eyes are trustworthy. Sincere. She’s telling the truth.”
Winter waved her off. “Since when are you such a good judge of character? If you were, you and I never would’ve slept together.”
“Hey.” Lana narrowed her eyes and poked her finger into his arm. “That’s uncalled for…although, given what you’re doing here, maybe I was a good judge of character.”
Winter grunted and shook his head, ignoring the compliment. “Sorry. You’re right. I take it back. Besides, that was one of my favorite memories of being on that ship.”
Lana smirked, and he liked seeing her dimples again. She was damn adorable…. That was part of the problem. She was young, had a future. What was Winter but an ex-con who wasn’t exactly going places?
“And here I thought we weren’t talking about that.” Lana tucked her hair behind her ears.
“We hadn’t got a chance to yet. I had things I needed to do, things I felt guilty for. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you, no matter how much fun it was. Life’s about more than just fun, you know?”
“I’ve learned that the hard way,” Lana admitted.
“I guess you did.” Winter nodded. “Still….” He touched her chin. “Don’t mean we can’t take a break once in a while, you know what I mean?”
The lift doors opened, but neither moved. Then Lana pulled her head back.
“Doesn’t mean we can, either.”
Did she just shoot me down before I even got to a real proposition? “And what if I made a move?” he asked aloud.
Lana bit her lip. “Guess you’d have to make one and see what happens.”
Winter liked a challenge.
He stepped up closer to her and eyed her lips with both great desire and great suspicion. Lana closed her eyes, and he was pretty sure she was going to take the kiss, no questions asked.
But a moment later, shots rang out, echoing down the corridor.
ARRIVAL DAY
STELLAR DATE: 12.21.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Solidarity, approaching Starlight Station, Dante
REGION: Dante Velorum System, Fringe
The moment had finally arrived.
“The fleet’s STC is asking for verbal confirmation,” Ricket said. She leaned forward and activated her console with a few keystrokes, careful not to disturb the fluffy furball held in the crook of her arm.
Kylie nodded. “Here goes nothing.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “This is Chassea of the Solidarity. Seeking permission to dock on Starlight Station for a ride down the strand.”
“Good to see you, Solidarity,” a mellow-sounding voice came back over the comms. “Is the product alive and well?”
Kylie could feel a wave of remorse coming from Marge. “Alive and kicking. We also come bearing gifts. We have a canister of the good stuff, compliments of Raynes for Paul Rhoads.”
A moment passed, and Kylie exchanged a nervous glance with Ricket. If the fleet’s space traffic control didn’t buy what she was selling, things were going to end really fast.
“Acknowledged, Captain Chassea. Welcome to Dante, remain on your current vector. You have a berth in bay 81-103.”
“Affirmative,” Ricket answered sounding exactly like Elizabeth—which made sense, since she had altered her face to look like the other woman, all the way down to the electric blue highlights that flowed down her hair. The STC signed off, and she turned to Kylie. “You ready for this?”
Kylie nodded and ran her fingers through her long, blonde locks. “What do you think?”
“You look hot,” Ricket grinned. “Surprisingly close to Chassea, even without facial mods. Actually, you might be too hot to pull her off.”
Kylie rolled her eyes at Ricket but appreciated the compliment. “Marge? Any updates?”
<Schematics for the station are on your HUDs now, though your best bet is to get down the elevator as quickly as possible. By the time they discover you’re lying, you need to be on the planet’s surface. Then disappear. Find your brother.>
<And do what we came to do,> Laura added.
“It’s risky. They’ll heighten security once they discover our deceit,” Ricket said.
Kylie nodded. “I can work with that. Question is, what are we going to do about him?”
Ricket glanced down at Mr. Fizzle Pop and stroked his head. “We can’t let anything happen to the cat. I mean, Bubbs would kill us.”
Kylie smirked. “Right. I mean, you’re right. It’s true.” She leaned forward and spoke to the cat. “Hey, Fizz. Fizz….” She shoved him, but he didn’t wake up, so she snapped her fingers under his nose. “Ham!”
Mr. Fizzle Pop snorted awake. Eyes wide, he stared up at Kylie. “DINNER? LUNCH?”
“All of the above if you can help me out with something. A buffet of burgers unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
“DEAL! WHAT JOB?”
“I need you to stay behind and create a small distraction. When it’s over, escape and use your tracking system to find me.” Kylie pressed the bell hanging around Mr. Fizzle Pop’s collar. “Do you think you can do that?”
“NO.”
Kylie sighed. “Please….”
“It’s the only way we can get back to Bubbs,” Ricket said.
“FINE. OK, ASSHOLES.”
“You know what they say….” Ricket led Kylie on. “Two assholes are better than one.”
Kylie smirked. “We’d better get ready.”
“NOBODY SAYS THAT,” Mr. Fizzle Pop argued.
<Do you remember how to use the Link to talk?> Marge asked.
Mr. Fizzle Pop glanced around, bouncing on all four paws. <WHERE’S SHE? TAIL STILL ITCHES.>
Kylie scratched the top of his head. “We’ll explain it to you later. If you need us—”
; <GONNA WATCH CAT VIDEOS. NEED SNACKS.>
Kylie sighed and glanced at Ricket.
Ricket shrugged. “Giving him the Link was your idea.”
<It was actually my idea,> Laura said. <He’ll get used to it. Was trivial too, what with the visual tracker overlay he already had. It’ll just take some—>
<SNARFLE, GAG. SNORT. HAIRBALL.>
<Time…> Laura sighed.
* * * * *
Ricket and Kylie completed their subterfuge by getting dressed in Chassea’s and Elizabeth’s clothes overtop their Mark X FlowArmor, which was configured to appear exactly like their skin.
Kylie pulled on the white leather pants—which she’d already worn a few times—followed by a pair of black ankle boots, and a slinky, black, glimmering shirt. She plaited her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and changed the color of her eyes to brown.
Though her abilities as a Hand agent allowed Ricket to alter her face to match either woman’s, her build wasn’t right for Chassea, which was what had her playing the part of Elizabeth. With her facial mods and now the outfit—a purple mini-dress with spaghetti straps, and tall, spike heels—Ricket was the spitting image of the ship’s pilot.
Kylie had considered trying to have her nano change her facial structure, but Ricket advised against it, since she already looked so close, and even with the proper mods, the bone structure change was excruciating.
In the end, they’d decided to bet that the relatively low tech of the Revolution Fleet would be fooled by the moderate changes to her facial structure via the flow armor.
Once changed, Ricket returned to the bridge for the final approach, while Kylie waited at the airlock. The moment the ship settled on its cradle, she cycled the airlock, only to come face-to-face with two Revolution officers. They introduced themselves as Pasa and Fritts.
“You really got everything?” Pasa asked in greeting.
Kylie carried a metal cylinder across her chest and she gave a tug on the strap over her shoulder. “Right here in this unit.”
Ricket appeared behind her a moment later and lifted the yellow tube she carried. “Raynes’ gift is in here.”
When Pasa reached for her canister, Kylie lifted it higher and shook her head. “Sorry, but these are for Rhoads himself. Our orders are to bring them directly to him.”
Pasa shook his head. “We were sent to retrieve them by Janice herself. You can’t expect us to really just let the likes of you down onto the planet to find Mister Rhoads? Do you have any idea how important a day it is? How many dignitaries are arriving for the gala?”
“No can do. We didn’t go through hell and back getting this stuff just to hand it off to you so you can fumble it and ruin everything. We only get paid on delivery, so we’re going to deliver.”
Fritts sighed and elbowed Pasa. “Actually, from what I was told, Chassea is allowed down to the planet. Standing orders are that she’s allowed to see Rhoads and his wife. No questions asked.”
Really? Well, that’s interesting.
Pasa’s face twitched. “Fine. You’re both allowed to go.”
Kylie smiled. “Thanks, guys. It’s nice that you can be so reasonable.” She gestured to Ricket. “Let’s get out of here, Liz.”
“Funny,” Fritts said, “I’ve never heard you call her anything but ‘Elizabeth’.”
“Long mission,” Kylie said. “My head is spinning from everything that’s happened.”
“Yeah, cut us some slack already.” Ricket slapped Kylie on the back as they stepped off the Solidarity and walked across the docking bay.
When they finally reached the waiting elevator car, Kylie and Ricket found a secluded corner of the mostly empty cabin, settling into their seats for the thirty-minute trip to the surface.
<That was closer than I would’ve liked,> Kylie said as the car began to descend.
<Yeah,> Ricket agreed. <Interesting that Fritts knows the Solidarity’s crew well enough to know how Elizabeth and Chassea refer to one another.>
<Even more interesting how Captain Chassea have permission to just go see my brother without any trouble.>
Ricket gave Kylie a sidelong glance. <Think we can use that to our advantage?>
<Maybe. We’ll play it by ear.>
<Laura, Marge, have you heard anything about this gala they were talking about? What’s the deal with that?> Ricket asked.
<Working on it. Their networks are a tad more secure than we were expecting—better than the other fleet that hit Silstrand,> Laura said. <But it looks like it’s happening tonight, and it’s where your brother is going to be. Might be a good place to catch up with him.>
Kylie nodded. <Well, we’re not going to get to hang out on this planet forever. The sooner I can make contact, the better. Blending into a crowd is certainly easier than catching up with him in private.>
<It’ll take a bit longer for me to pull down the schematics of the buildings,> Marge chimed in. <But we have isolated where the gala is being held. Easy to tell by all the security moving around planetside.>
<Huh, yeah. Hyperion Hotel. That’s quite the establishment for a backwater like this,> Kylie said.
<BYE, ASSHOLES. HAVING FUN! BRING FOOD.> Mr. Fizzle Pop’s voice suddenly thundered in their minds.
Ricket grimaced and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes.
“OK…I think that’s the first time I’ve ever permanently applied a volume filter to someone’s communication,” Kylie said, still feeling like her ears were ringing, even though they played no actual part in receiving the message.
"Did you catch the sound from his audio pickups?” Ricket asked with a soft laugh.
Kylie shook her head, and then replayed the message, now able to pick out the sound of a man…no, two men screaming in the background.
“I almost feel bad for poor Pasa and Fritts,” Ricket muttered.
Kylie nodded absently as she brought up the city’s layout, noting that it was several kilometers from the base of the elevator to the Hyperion Hotel.
<That’s a long trek. Think our covers will get us all the way there?>
<Of course,> Laura said. <Technically, they’re expecting you and your packages. We should simply send a message to your brother that we’ll bring them right to the hotel.>
<Seems almost too easy,> Ricket said. <Do you want to reach out to Paul, Kylie?>
<Stars, no. I don’t want to talk to him ‘til we come face to face. Can we just send a message to his office?>
Marge sent over a warm smile. <On it.>
<Thanks, Marge,> Kylie said.
<Local chatter at the hotel is slow, no AI,> Laura added. <From what I can pick up, they’re still awaiting Paul’s arrival. If we can get you in right after he arrives, security will be more focused on him than you. Might be able to get your weapons through the door by disabling their security arches for a bit.>
<That, or you grow us some new ones when we get in,> Ricket suggested.
<I’d need to find a source of metal or good formation material to do that.>
<Still, plausible,> Marge said. <Uploading layout of the city, including where the armed guards are stationed, and the schedule for their rotations.>
<Got it,> Ricket said as their HUDs accepted the uploads, and their displays refreshed.
<Population of the city below is just over two hundred thousand, by the way. Low crime, small police force,> Laura said. <A pretty nice place, considering it’s in the Fringe.>
<A lot of the populace is offworld working at the shipyards right now,> Marge pointed out, her voice carrying an uncharacteristic amount of anger. <Even if it looks like a nice place, these people are helping to breed war—whether they know it or not.>
<Perhaps,> Ricket said diplomatically. <But they might not know how their ships and weapons are going to be used.>
<Against AIs you mean?> Laura asked.
<They might not have a choice,> Kylie added. <News of what my father did to Hubei will have reached Dante weeks ago…. These people have rea
son to fear the Rhoads name.>
No one responded to her statement, and Kylie drew in a slow breath to calm herself. <Look. We’ll be on the planet soon enough. We’re dealing with this head-on. No one is suggesting that we let them keep building a fleet to wage war on AIs and modded humans.>
<Sorry, you’re right.> Marge’s voice was meek. <Easy to get a little hot under the collar when you know what these people want and how threatened they are by us.>
<They threaten all of us,> Ricket said. <I was just trying to point out that we don’t want to hurt anyone if it’s not necessary.>
<People are allowed to want to live without AIs in their heads or mods in their bodies, but genocide is a different matter,> Kylie said. <It’s hard to separate who’s who, so let’s err on the side of caution.>
<Of course,> Marge said equably.
Ricket nodded as well, and Kylie hoped the subject was put to bed. She gazed out the elevator car’s main window, and saw a ship approaching Starlight Station above.
Its hull was sleek and a matte light grey in color, and there was almost as much engine as the rest of the ship.
What I wouldn’t give to helm a ship like that.
Ricket’s eyes followed Kylie’s gaze, and a small smile graced her lips. “Quite the beauty. Fast; well-armed, too. Oh…shit…Laura?”
<Yeah, I see it. Looks a bit like an older model of the corvette the TSF used to build,> Laura supplied. <I’ll see if I can find out more about it.>
“Does it have a name?” Kylie asked.
After a few moments, Laura answered, <The Guard’s Might.>
Ricket caught Kylie’s eyes and shook her head. <Looks like we got here in the nick of time.>
FATE
STELLAR DATE: 12.21.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Executive Residence, New Roma
REGION: Dante, Dante Velorum System, Fringe
<Good news, Mr. Rhoads. The Solidarity has docked, and the couriers are on their way down the elevator. We’ll have everything ready for the demonstration with time to spare,> Cecile said.