“You’ll have it by next pass. I promise,” a gravelly voice says from somewhere in the depths of the cavernous room Dot’s taken us to.
“I’d better, Civie. Or I’ll tell that wife of yours how much you lost in the game last night.” The sound of a glass slamming onto a table is followed by raucous laughter.
I’ve memorized the path we’ve taken and could get us out if the need arises, but I’m trusting Talie’s instincts. Though, walking through a room piled so high with junk I’m afraid we’ll be lost forever, I start to doubt.
There is more laughter behind a nearly floor-to-ceiling pile then, “Bye-ya, Civie. Stay alive, mate.”
We hear footsteps and a door slide open and then closed as we round a corner. I take in the scene before me. The bot? Don’t trust it. The kid it’s taken us to? Definitely don’t trust him, either.
He looks to be my age, or a year or so older, but still too young to be drinking whatever is in the bottle on the table next to him. He’s got goggles pushed up into dirty black hair making it stick straight up, and he’s wearing a beige shirt and pants so smudged with grease they look black. Over the top, he’s wearing an odd sort of vest with pockets in all shapes and sizes, each bulging with unseen things.
It’s the look in his dark eyes that makes me hesitate. Calculating. Smart. He may look like he’s mad, but there’s intelligence behind the guise. “What’ve you brought me, Dot?”
Talie steps out from behind me, and immediately his demeanor changes. “Well, hello, love. Dot, give yourself a raise.”
“Captain Leef Debray, may I introduce you to Master Renner Cartha and Mistress Talie Zarna the—”
“That’s enough,” I tell the bot.
It seems to shrink as I tower over it.
I turn back to Leef. “Your bot has made us an interesting offer.”
“It’s not my bot. I just fixed it up.” Leef’s stare is locked on Talie, and a spark of jealousy ignites. “But I’m interested to know exactly what type of offer it’s made you. There are a few things I could see myself agreeing to.” He sets his glass down and pulls off the goggles, running greasy fingers through his hair as if it may help tame the chaos. It doesn’t.
I resist the urge to pull Talie to my side with a protective arm and instead focus on the kid. “It says you can deal with our chips and that you’ve got a ship with no signature.”
Leef’s eyebrows rise. He takes another long look at Talie before finally deigning to look at me. “It would have to be worth my while.” He glances again at Talie with a wink, and my fists clench.
“What is it you’re after, Captain Debray?” Talie says.
I have to bite my tongue. She doesn’t need my defense.
“Freedom and the pursuit of beautiful women.” Leef winks at her, and I take a step forward before I think better of it. “Unless there’s something here?” He gestures between us, eyebrow cocked.
Rather than answer, Talie clears her throat. “What does freedom mean to you?”
His smile is slow to form, transforming his angular features one inch at a time, though never fully making the shift to happiness.
“That, m’lady, is a curious question.” He fingers a datapad on the cluttered desk, tapping in a few things before he looks back to Talie. “To some, freedom may mean anonymity, the kind chip hacking offers, but to others, it’s a deeper sense of liberty that comes with anarchy.”
“Spoken like a true Rimmer,” she comments.
All of this flowery talk makes me antsy. I want a simple yes or no from this rim-trash, but I don’t think pressure is going to be what makes him crack.
“And what does freedom mean to you?” Leef turns the question around. His expression is calculated openness, but I see through it. There’s a deeper understanding behind his dark gaze. He taps a finger against the datapad in his hands.
“It means a lot of things.” She glances at me, then back to Leef. “But for our purposes, it means hacking our chips and finding transport that’s untraceable.”
“I see,” he says. “You want to hide from portsec and bum a ride… to where, exactly?”
Talie looks at me again. Whether it’s for permission or to see what my reaction is, I’m not sure, but at this point we’re stuck here if we can’t make something happen. It’s either this flirty Rimmer or Hike’s man.
“We need to get to Meloran,” she finally says.
“Meloran.” His head cocks to the side, and that spark of curiosity reignites. “What could a”—he looks down at the datapad—“wanted Drawxian soldier and a circus queen want on Meloran?”
My stomach tenses. He’s clearly very good with tech. Then again, it’s not hard to find something that will scan our chips—his bot probably sent the data.
“Does it matter?” I challenge.
Most Rimmers are in it for the money. I doubt he’s any different.
“Depends.” He taps on the pad then looks at me again. “You’re a dangerous one, mate.”
I’m taken off guard, but he’s not wrong.
“Three hours, give or take a port-minute.” Leef’s eyebrow quirks in challenge.
Now I can read his words as if they were a book. He knows exactly when my tracker goes back online. I don’t care if he knows. I care if he can do something about it.
“Are you as good as the bot says?”
“Better.” His rakish smirk flashes, and I have the vision of someone from a vid. Cocky, sure, and more than likely to get you arrested—or worse.
“And what’s your charge? We have an untraceable cred chip.”
“The limit is—” The bot begins, but Leef stays it with a look.
“I see it.” His face scrunches up in thought. “Seems like you need some chip work and a ship, but you two come with quite a load of baggage.” His gaze flickers to Talie but then lands on me. “Sorry, mates, but I’m outta the game.”
“This is no game.” Talie steps forward. “Please, Captain. It’s crucial we get to Meloran.”
I hold my breath and watch the exchange. Talie is so earnest, and Leef seems just as resolute.
“Yes, please, Captain Debray,” Dot says.
“Not you too.” Leef rubs at the back of his neck.
It’s the first time I sense real hesitation from him. His eyes flicker to the datapad again, and I can’t help but wonder what he sees there. No doubt my warrant, but we can pay well above that offer, and I’ve never heard of a Rimmer turning down an opportunity for cash.
It’s time to press our advantage.
“Come on, Talie. He’s not interested.”
Talie reaches for me, pulling me close. “We’re out of options.” Her whisper is frantic.
“We’ve still got Hike’s connection,” I remind her.
“But it’s been over two hours.” She turns to look back at Leef, and I follow her gaze.
He looks between us then back to his datapad before searching the ceiling, thinking.
“Let’s go.” I will her to understand and take a step back the way we came.
“Come off it.” Leef tosses grease-stained hands up. “It’s pathetic watching you try and play me. I suppose I could use an escape from the boredom of Bolarius. I accept.” He spins on his booted heel, snatches up a satchel, and starts throwing things in.
“This is very exciting.” The bot does the same but with a metal box.
“You’ll take us?” Talie asks.
“Yes.” Clanking and clunking accompany his words as he disappears behind a stack of junk.
“What’s the catch?” I call out.
“Your chip has sufficient payment.” A huge thud sounds, and Talie jumps. “But,” he pops his head around the corner, “things may be a little cramped.” He winks at Talie and disappears. “Come on.”
Stars. Looks like Leef McFlirty Pants is our only hope.
“It’ll be okay.” Talie’s whisper is soft against my cheek before she tugs me toward the back of the large, junk-filled room where Leef and the bot have disappeared to. There’s a hatch, and only when I see the full extent of it do I realize it’s an outside dock with an interior airlock.
He turns and grins right at me. “Pretty nice for a Rimmer, eh?” He spins around and beckons us down the hall behind him. Dot has its box in hand—or gripper—and is rolling after him.
Talie and I move into the hallway as Leef and Dot process through the airlock. Once its cycle is done, we go through and then emerge onto the main deck of Leef’s ship.
“Welcome to The Andromeda.”
<<WELCOME ABOARD, MOST HANDSOME CAPTAIN IN ALL THE VERSE>>
Music blares from the speakers, and I reach for a blast pistol I don’t have.
“Whoa, mate, you need to relax.” Leef bypasses me with another load of gear.
“You make your ship do that?”
“I don’t make Mabel do anything she doesn’t want to.”
“Mabel?” Talie asks.
“The ship.” Leef falls back into his captain’s chair with an overly dramatic sigh. A panel of flashing lights come to life behind him, and the shield covering the sio-glass retracts to uncover a view into the Black. “Now, if you would, Lady Talie, take the co-captain’s chair with my compliments.” He gestures to the large, plush chair next to his, and then he flips down a bucket seat behind his and gestures to me. “You sit here.”
I suppress a sigh, barely covering my annoyance, and he laughs. Then he begins swiping switches and tapping buttons on the digital dashboard.
“We’re leaving now?” I ask.
“Yep. But first things first.” He takes Dot’s case and stows it, then latches the bot into an open hatch made for what I assume would be a nav-bot. Then he pulls out another datapad from a different vest pocket. “Your arm, Sir Cartha.”
“You can call me Renner.” I roll up my sleeve.
“Doesn’t Sir Cartha have such a posh ring to it though?”
He taps buttons on the pad, and his focus narrows. I don’t like that look.
“How will you get around the tracking chip?” I’ve spoofed my fair share of regular ident chips, but military grade trackers are no walk on the green.
“Patience, patience.” With a few taps, he runs the pad up my arm. I hear more than feel a click, and he pulls back with a satisfied smile. “Done.”
“What did you do?”
“A gearhead never tells.” He winks. “You’re invisible to scanning technology. And yes, we cleared up that nasty ticking-clock you’ve been dealing with. It’s disabled.”
“Thanks.” I want to dislike him. I do. Yet I can’t deny he’s effective. I’m close to pressing him for details, but I get the sense he won’t budge.
“And now you, Lady Talie. And,” he holds up a hand, “don’t tell me it’s just Talie. Where would the elegance be in that?”
She smiles, meeting my gaze, and then focuses on Leef’s hands cradling her arm. I bite my tongue.
“And you’re gone too. We can switch that back on if needed, m’lady. But for now, it’s better if you go incognito.” He looks at her for a long moment before turning away.
I re-run his words through my mind and wonder…is it possible he sees through what her chip says? Is his technology that advanced?
I haven’t asked, but I assume her true identity chip is still embedded, but it would be off and shielded for her safety. There’s no way to ask without giving too much away, so I hold my tongue, but I wonder…just who is this Leef Debray? And can we trust him?