The trip to Viya Station was much too long, and was over much too soon. Nothing happened, at least with the ship. Beryn and Twyla tried to talk me out of my agreement with Lowell. They didn't understand. They hadn't been on Serrimonia. They hadn't felt ten thousand years of memories inside the Eggstone. They didn't hold the pieces and feel its pain.
Jasyn hadn't felt it, either, but she'd been there with me. And she understood how I felt about Tayvis, better than anyone else. She finally convinced them to leave me alone. And then she distracted all of them by announcing her pregnancy.
I was happy for her, very happy. I wanted nothing more than to stay on the ship and fly our boring route. We were making the rounds of all of Lady Rina's business ventures that we'd inherited. We didn't have to worry about money, not much anyway. We could haul cargo when we wanted, which we did sometimes. Life was very relaxed. Nothing exciting had happened in the last few months.
Until Lowell walked into my life again.
We made transition from hyperspace to normal space without trouble. The ship handled a bit heavy on our approach to Viya Station. I adjusted the drive and ran an automatic diagnostic program.
We docked without incident at the Station. Lowell had managed a minor miracle. I'd had nothing but trouble at Viya. They'd banned me from ever setting foot on their station. And here they were welcoming me and my ship back. Well, not exactly. We were directed to a priority Patrol berth, technically not part of the Station at all. They shifted us over to Patrol docking procedures, too.
The ship lurched as the docking clamps engaged. I ran a few more checks while we shut down the engines.
"The maglev field is out of alignment," Clark said.
"How far and where is the problem?" I asked.
"You're the engineer, you tell me," he said with a grin.
"You stay on this end, I'll get Beryn to keep an eye on things in the engine."
"And you'll do what?"
"Crawl into the access space and look for the problem. Unless you want to."
"I'll run the diagnostics from here," he said as he turned back to his controls.
"Beryn?" I said into the com as I pulled on a headset.
"I heard," he answered. "I'm on it back here. Everything on this end checks out."
"I've got a bad signal from section sixty three," Clark said.
I muttered a curse. It was in the section right behind the cockpit. I pulled back the fibermat floor covering to expose the access hatch.
"Beryn said you might need these," Twyla said as she came up behind me with her arms full of tools.
I popped the hatch. The access space was small, a tight squeeze even for me. Conduits and tubing for all the ship's main systems passed through this section. The one I wanted was clear under all the others, right next to the ship's hull.
"Give me a number three probe and a screwdriver," I said to Twyla.
Jasyn stopped stirring something in the galley long enough to show Twyla which tools to hand me. I was already wriggling my way into the nest of pipes under the deck. I stretched one hand out behind me for the tools.
"I need a light," I called back.
She wiggled a handlight down beside me. I squirmed backwards until I could reach to clip it to my collar.
One of the field generator coils had developed a block, one that was barely in my reach. I squirmed down into the ship until all that remained topside was my back end with my legs spread wide to keep me from falling all the way into the access hatch. It was still a stretch to get to the blocked area. A section of tubing had slipped and was pinched off. I held the screwdriver in my mouth while I worked the probe alongside the tube. I wriggled the fasteners holding the tubing in place.
"You must be Dace," a voice said behind me, one I didn't recognize. "Charming."
I jumped and dropped the probe. It rolled under a section of wiring conduit. I swore loud and long as I scrambled for it. I whacked my head against a pipe.
"You got that kink worked out yet?" Beryn asked, his voice loud in my ears through the headset.
"You must be Lowell's errand boy," I heard Clark say through the headset. He was being deliberately insulting.
"The name's Vance Shiropi," the unfamiliar person answered. He didn't sound insulted.
"Do you need help, Dace?" Clark asked.
"No, I'm just fine." I got the screwdriver under one side of the tubing clamp and levered it back into position. I used the probe to hammer the clamp back into place. It wasn't good for the probe. I made sure the fasteners were tight before I tried to wiggle my way back out.
I was stuck. I was sure I looked like an idiot. I was head down in the belly of the ship with my butt sticking up and I couldn't get out. My head hurt where I'd smacked it against the pipe.
"You got it, Dace," Clark informed me. He waited for a moment. I didn't move, I couldn't. "You can come back out now."
"No, I can't," I whispered as quietly as I could manage. "I'm stuck." I didn't want to embarrass myself more than I already had in front of my unmet and unwanted companion.
Clark laughed. So did Beryn. I wanted to smack them both. I had to get out of the hole first. I wasn't going to get out without their help.
Hands grabbed my hips and helped lever me out of the hole. They let go when I was out far enough to slide backwards to sit on the floor. I turned to put the tools away. I expected to be rescued by Clark. I wasn't.
I was looking back at one of the most handsome men I'd ever met, even better looking than Jerimon. But not as good looking as Tayvis. Part of my brain wondered if Lowell picked them for their looks as much as their competence.
"Vance Shiropi," he said and held his hand out. He took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
He was half a head taller than me, which put him only slightly below average height. His hair was jet black, cut short and combed perfectly. His eyes were a deep brown with a slight tilt that gave him an exotic air. A small smile quirked the corners of his mouth. He looked like he belonged on a vid poster, not on my ship. I was acutely aware of my own lack of looks. I was short, with mousy brown hair and mud brown eyes and a huge bruise on the side of my head.
"I wasn't expecting you yet," I blurted out. "We just docked."
"Commander Lowell's impatient." Vance glanced at Clark behind me before continuing. I got the impression he made a deliberate choice to tell me more information in front of the rest of the crew. "He received word that three more ships have gone missing in the last two weeks."
"Did he tell you what he wants us to do?" I asked as I handed the tools to Twyla to take to the engine room.
"Fly to Serrimonia, the home world of the Sessimoniss," Vance answered.
"It isn't their home world." I corrected him before I could stop myself. As if it mattered. The Sessimoniss had been living on Serrimonia for over a hundred centuries.
Vance's reply was to merely raise one eyebrow. His were so perfectly shaped I wondered if he plucked stray hairs. I kept my mouth shut about it. With an effort.
"We stay there a week, if everything is quiet," Vance continued. "We run at the first sign of trouble. By the way, I'm a fully certified navigator. I understand you are a fair pilot on a courier class?" He put it politely but it was still offensive.
"Not fair," I said. "An excellent pilot. And a fairly good engineer."
"And an excellent shot with a blaster," Clark said behind me.
"I'll keep that in mind," Vance said. "Our ship is ready."
"I'm not." I pushed past him into the lounge. I wasn't ready to leave. I'd had a week to prepare and I still didn't want to go.
"Lowell sent this for you." Vance pulled a bag from his pocket. Crystals chimed inside. A blast of pain and need sent me reeling. My hand closed over the bag before I realized I'd moved.
"I'll be ready in half an hour." I tugged the bag out of his grip and ducked into my cabin.
I leaned against the wall as the door slid closed. I fought to keep some semblance of control. Pain and anger washed through me in waves. And beating like a heart was a great need. No words, no dry commentary. Only raw emotions came from the crystals.
"I'll do what I can to help," I whispered to the bag in my hands. "I promise."
The emotions subsided.
When I could breathe again, I pushed away from the wall and tucked the Eggstone shards into the front of my shipsuit, next to the other bag. I grabbed a duffel out of one of my storage lockers and shoved in an assortment of clothing. I barely noticed what I was doing. I stopped myself when I found one of the frilly dresses Jasyn kept insisting I buy in my hands. I had no idea what possible use I'd have for a formal dress where I was going. I put the dress back into my locker. I made myself stop and sort through what I'd already thrown in the duffel. I added more underwear and socks and decided I was done.
I opened a panel next to my bunk. The lid flipped up, revealing a row of photographs taped to the inside. One of me with Jasyn and Clark at their wedding, an old faded photo of my mother, the only thing of hers I owned, a snapshot of me with Darus on Parrus right after we escaped Vallius. There were a few others, more recent ones that included Beryn and Twyla. I even had a picture of Jerimon and Larella, smiling at each other at their wedding. The one I wanted was at the end, a grainy shot of Tayvis, a picture he still didn't know I had. I only hesitated a moment before I tugged the snapshot of Tayvis free. He was missing. I had to believe he was going to come back. I had to believe he still loved me. I tucked the picture into my breast pocket, over my heart.
I shut the locker. I was ready to leave. I had no more excuses. The Eggstone's shattered remains pulled at my shipsuit, a lump resting just above my waist. It was a burden that weighed more than a dozen worlds. I didn't want to go. I had to go.
Vance was flirting with Twyla and Jasyn when I came out of my cabin, my duffel slung over my shoulder.
"I'm ready," I announced.
Jasyn grabbed me and hugged me tightly. "Be careful," she warned me.
"You be careful," I answered and hugged her back.
She reluctantly let go of me. Clark surprised me by sweeping me into a hug "Come back on time. We'll wait for you on Tebros."
"I'll be there in three weeks," I promised as he let me go. "Don't damage my ship."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Clark tried to smile, but I read the tension in his usually mischievous green eyes.
"Jasyn needs you here, Clark, otherwise I'd demand Lowell let you come with me," I said.
"I know. Your ride's getting impatient." He nodded at Vance Shiropi.
"Let's go," I told Vance. I could have procrastinated leaving for a month. It wouldn't have done any good. I'd still have to go.
Vance nodded and led the way off the ship.
The Patrol crews in the docking bay gave us curious glances as we threaded our way to a docking berth farther along the rim of the station. My green shipsuit stuck out. Everyone else wore uniforms. One crew was in the pale blue of Exploration. There weren't any black Enforcers, not that I saw. I still felt as trapped as when I was marched through the station by a squad of Enforcers on my way to trial on Tebros. I ducked my head and followed Vance's silver uniform across the bay.
He stopped to talk with one of the hangar crews, finalizing our departure. I wanted to run back to the Phoenix. But I had an unspoken promise to the Eggstone and the Sessimoniss. And to Tayvis.
Vance shot an unreadable glance at me as he finished up paperwork. "Through there," he said, nodding towards an open hatch.
I went inside the ship.
It was tiny, smaller than was normal, even for a courier. The cabin was barely large enough for two short bunks and a microscopic galley and table. The cockpit took up most of the front of the ship. I dumped my duffel on a bunk and went to see what the controls looked like.
The flight controls were familiar, I'd flown several ships just like it during my training at the Academy, and then for a short time with Jerimon. Someone had been very busy adding extra equipment. Both walls were crammed with hastily installed scanning equipment. We had just about every piece available to the Patrol, or anyone else for that matter.
I slipped into the pilot's chair. I glanced overhead and found more nonstandard equipment. The ship had been equipped with battle strength shielding and a control pad for a blast cannon. Lowell really didn't want to lose us. That thought was small comfort. The mere existence of the extra equipment on the ship told me this was deeply serious. Lowell expected trouble, after promising me there wouldn't be any.
The hatch shut behind me. Vance came to the cockpit and took the other chair. It was close quarters. With all of the extra equipment we barely had room to breathe.
"We're clear for undocking." Vance flipped on the com and started the undocking sequence with station control.
I warmed up the engines. "What did Lowell not tell me?" I asked Vance in a tight voice.
"He said you had been fully briefed on the mission."
"He told me there wouldn't be any trouble. Why the cannon? Why the shields? Why all of this?" I waved my hands at the equipment covering both walls.
"My orders are to get you away at the first sign of trouble." Vance pushed buttons, releasing us from the station. "All of this is to make sure we can do that."
The station undocking arm clanked free. We were pushed gently away. I nudged the ship around.
"How many ships are missing?" I asked. "What happened to the Sessimoniss?"
"Shift to vector four three eight. At last count, there are eighty three ships unaccounted for, most of them missing in the last few years. And no one knows what happened to the Sessimoniss. I thought that was why you were included." His tone made it clear that he thought I didn't belong on the ship. I would have been glad to agree with him, except I'd be deserting the Eggstone. And Tayvis.
I sent the ship curving around to the vector he'd given me. I expected the engines to be sluggish, the ship was overloaded with all of the extra equipment. The engines were more powerful than I'd expected. The ship handled heavy, but the extra power made up for it. We wouldn't be quite as maneuverable as a courier normally was, but I hoped we wouldn't need to pull any fancy moves.
"The course is set, when you're ready," Vance said. He adjusted his controls.
I pushed the sliders up, giving the engine more power. We leapt forward into clear space. The lights turned green. I slid us through into hyperspace.
There was a moment of gut twisting nausea as we passed through the transect boundary. It was as familiar to me as breathing. The ship slid through the barrier, the vibrations rattling the ship for a brief moment. I closed my eyes. I was leaving Jasyn and my life behind. I silently promised that I would be back. Three weeks, no more.