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The challenge had to wait. Once I’d logged out, Doc took me back to medical, and gave me a once over just to make sure I was okay.
“Hit the sack,” he said, when he was done. “You’ll be reporting to Mack in the morning.”
“What time?”
“Oh-dark-hundred,” Doc replied, which was hardly helpful. “I’m sure you’ll work it out.”
Oh-dark-hundred? It was always dark in space—and Doc snickered. Yeah, sure. Laugh it up, old man.
“I can still kick your butt on the mats.”
There was a part of me that disagreed with that, but the rest of me made sure it stayed real quiet. This was not a theory I wanted to test. I left the med-center listening to Doc making soft chicken noises under his breath and pretending I couldn’t hear him. I was way too tired to take him on, and he was way too old for this kind of shit.
I set the alarm for early. Oh five hundred seemed about right, but I couldn’t be sure, so put it back another hour.
Mack woke me up at three.
He just waltzed into my cabin, turning on the lights as he came.
“Up,” came through the implant, as he pulled back the covers, and took two steps back.
I came out of the bed like a shot, hitting the floor in my bare feet, and going in swinging, before I’d registered who it was.
“Do you bloody mind?” he asked, after the first hit connected, and he’d blocked the next three, by which point I really was awake.
I blinked. “Sorry. I’ll go get dressed.”
And he’d raised his eyebrows, folded his arms, and leant back against the wall.
“Move your ass.”
I don’t know why I felt guilty. He’d been the one to set a meeting without telling me, and without giving me the time. Ass.
“And mind your manners.”
Sure thing, boss, I thought, grabbing a uniform hanging in the closet, snagging some underwear, and vanishing into the san. All I could think was that it was a good thing I didn’t sleep in the nude.
“As if that would change anything.”
There was just no answer for that, so I showered in silence, trying to work out a way to get some privacy back. I wondered if it would do any good to ask Mack, and then discarded the idea. I doubted he’d understand.
“Coffee?” he asked, when I emerged.
“Sure,” I said, and he pushed off the wall and led the way out.
Once we hit the corridor, though, he surprised me by heading towards the control center, instead of the caf.
“I’ve got a call to make,” he said, catching my curiosity. “You’re invited.”
Funny how it didn’t sound like I had an option to decline.
“You don’t.”
“About that,” I said, meaning him in my head, and not the option to decline.
“No,” he said.
I wanted to ask why, but didn’t want to sound like a whiny kid, and, for some reason, Mack chose not to comment. As we hit the control center, I wondered who Mack wanted to call at this time of the morning.
“Skymander,” he said, and, as we entered, I saw why.
Melari Hazerna was waiting, Tens by her side. She smiled at Mack as he entered, sparing the briefest flicker of a glance for me, before giving Mack her full attention.
“Thank you,” she said. “Tens has told me how you saved me.”
Way to make a girl feel invisible.
I followed Mack across the room, letting him stand on Melari’s other side, as I took up station beside him. I couldn’t work out why he’d want me with him, given I hadn’t been there when they’d pulled Melari’s fat out of the fire.
“No, but you made sure I was able to reach her in time,” Mack said. “If you hadn’t stopped the arach...”
It was the closest he’d come to saying thank you, and I didn’t know how to respond. Having my ass kicked, even when I was right? That I could handle. Being thanked? Even when I’d earned it? Not such an easy ride.
“You are sooo messed up,” Tens said, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment.
“Enough,” Mack said, and the forward screen revealed the lounge room in which we’d first met Skymander and Treivani.
Their faces lit as soon as they caught sight of Melari, and her face reflected their joy. It made me wonder exactly when they’d formed their happy little triumvirate. Mack nudged me in the ribs, and I focused on the screen.
I watched the smile fade from Skymander’s handsome face, as he turned to Mack.
“I see you completed your end of our bargain,” he said. “Does Odyssey know?”
“Odyssey are aware.”
“And do they approve?”
“They are happy we have rescued your betrothed, and the Lady Treivani’s sister,” Mack replied.
“But?”
“They do not approve of your methods of choosing a partner.”
Skymander’s face darkened, and Treivani moved swiftly to his side, slipping her arm through his and gazing up at him. The change was instantaneous, as though she reminded him that Odyssey’s attitudes were not necessarily ours, and were certainly not hers. I saw the tension leak out of Skymander’s shoulders, as he guided his wife to a seat beside him on the couch.
“Tell me of the mission,” he said, and Mack baulked.
“That is not standard procedure.”
Skymander named a figure, and Mack sighed.
“We reached Costral orbit at oh-nine-hundred,” he said, “and entered High Costral Station. Cutter and the Odyssey agent, Delight, infiltrated the station arm housing Corovan Chemical at eleven-hundred. By this stage, Andreus Corovan had enacted his plan to infect High Costral with the virus, and all ships on station air were also infected.”
Treivani’s jaw dropped, but Skymander’s expression turned to stone.
“We called for Odyssey assistance, and Cutter and Delight were able to resolve the situation in the laboratories, using the delivery system that had been utilized to deliver the virus to deliver the cure. We apologize, but the cure is now publicly available, due to the need to save the station, so that we could proceed with the mission.”
Skymander moved his hand, as though signaling that it didn’t matter, and Mack paused. Skymander’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but in the end, all he said was, “Continue.”
“There was a short delay before we ported in to Costral,” Mack continued, and then went on to describe the mission to Andreus Corovan’s isolated stronghold. “We sent the Lady Melari straight up to the ship, and followed some time later.”
Skymander’s interest sharpened.
“Why the delay?”
“We were captured by an arach expeditionary force.”
“Arach? On Costral?” Lady Treivani had quite forgotten her husband, and was out of her seat and approaching the screen.
“Yes, Lady Treivani.”
“How many? And where?”
“We don’t know how many. The ones we encountered were at the Corovan stronghold, and on a ship heading out of the system. We were fortunate to escape with our lives.”
“And the planet?”
“Costral is safe for the moment. Odyssey are conducting an investigation into the depth of the compromise.”
Lady Treivani subsided, and I watched as she pulled her courtier’s armor back into place.
“Thank you,” she said, and glanced at Skymander. “I’m sure Clan Hazerna will be in touch with Odyssey on this matter.”
Looking at the determination on her face, I, too, was sure of it.
Once his wife had re-seated herself at his side, Skymander looked at the screen.
“We will meet you at High Costral in three standard days, so that the Lady Melari can transfer to Skymander’s Flag. In the meantime, I trust you will make her stay as comfortable as possible aboard your ship.”
Mack tensed, as though he’d received an unpleasant surprise, but then he cleared his throat and replied.
“Certainly, Lord Skymander. We will keep her safe.”
And Tens moved swiftly to his console and made a few adjustments that I had a feeling Delight wasn’t going to like. Skymander ignored him.
“The cure. I take it you have the formula, also?”
“Of course. We have the developmental files, as well as the formula for both variants, and possible paths of further research.”
Skymander sat a little straighter.
“And do you have the names of the scientists, too?”
“They are currently under Odyssey protection,” Mack told him, and Skymander smiled.
“So they are no longer in Corovan’s employ?”
“No.”
Skymander’s smile grew broader, but he didn’t try to garner any more information on the matter. It wasn’t hard to figure out that he had the resources to discover their names for himself, and would try and employ those scientists before anyone else could. I wondered if Odyssey would let them go.
“Your contract closes with the delivery of those files, any samples of the virus and its cures, and, of course, the safe arrival aboard the Flag of the Lady Melari Hazerna.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Mack said, at his most diplomatic, and they ended the call, together.
Mack turned to the Lady Melari, and offered her his arm.
“Let me escort you back to your quarters,” he said, and Melari gave him a happy smile, as she entwined her arm through his. “I take it they are sufficient.”
I hesitated, before following them, and, like Mack, ignored the curious glance Melari cast over her shoulder. At least I wasn’t invisible anymore. This time, I would play the escort, and watch, since that’s what it seemed Mack wanted me to do. Mack, for his part, appeared strangely oblivious to what I was thinking, and gave the lady what looked like his undivided attention.
We delivered Melari to her cabin, and I waited with her, just inside the door, as Mack checked it for intruders.
“Even out here?” Melari asked, surprised, and Mack nodded.
“Even here, my lady. Not because there is likely to be an intruder, but because it’s better to take no risks rather than discover our assumptions were incorrect.”
“Are you sure you’re not Clan?” she asked, and I wondered what sort of life she’d had to even think it.
“The sort where assassination, moral compromise, and danger, are always present. High clan nobility must be constantly on guard—and so must we,” Mack replied, but only in my head, and not where Melari could hear it.
Well, that explained her attitude.
Mack returned, indicating that the room was hers.
“All clear,” he said. “What are your plans for the day?”
Melari gave a long and drawn-out yawn, waving her hand dismissively as she turned away.
“Day?” she asked. “I’ll let you know when I’ve woken up. This is an uncivilized hour to be calling my fiancé.”
I was glad I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“Quit your whining!”
I startled at Mack’s voice reprimanding me through the implant, and drew a hasty breath, as I followed Mack out into the corridor.
“Breakfast?” he asked, once the door closed behind him.
“Sure,” I said, wondering if he’d forgotten the coffee offer he’d bribed me with, in what seemed an age ago.
“That’s breakfast,” he said, “I forgot it would be delayed.
Uh huh. I just bet he had. I didn’t believe there wouldn’t be a similar ‘forgotten’ delay regarding breakfast, until we’d hit the caf and were sitting down with food and coffee before us.
We ate in silence. Me, because I couldn’t think of anything to say. The short time that had passed since I’d made my attempt to run away from him and Odyssey hadn’t left me with a lot of time to think, and I still didn’t know what I was going to do next. Getting to know Mack and his crew hadn’t even featured on the agenda, since I’d never planned to be here this long.
“And now?” Mack asked, jolting me out of my own head.
I jumped and felt coffee slosh over my fingers, glad it had cooled since I’d poured it.
“Now, what?” I asked, playing for time, and hoping he hadn’t meant what I thought he had.
“What are you planning on, now?” he pressed, because, of course, he had meant what I’d thought he had. Damn man was still reading my mind.
He had the gall to smirk at that, but he didn’t let the subject alone.
“Still going to run away?” he asked, and I stared at him, with no idea what to say.
To be honest, I didn’t know what I was going to do. Was I still going to run away? I had no idea. Did I want to spend the next however long working with Mack, and being an Odyssey employee?
I don’t know and oh hell no!—although, that last bit depended entirely on how much I’d made from the however many ops we’d just crammed into the last few weeks. Given the risks we’d faced, and the unexpected opportunities that had come our way, I had my fingers crossed I was getting somewhere close to meeting the colossal sum Odyssey had set for my release.
“Like that is it?” Mack asked, and I realized I’d gotten lost in my thoughts again.
I shrugged.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” I asked.
Mack glared at me, as though I should have some idea, but Tens interrupted us before Mack could respond.
“You need to take this,” he said, speaking directly to the captain, even though I could hear him, and then Tens added, “on the bridge,” and we were both on our feet and heading for the door, our breakfast dishes and half-drunk coffees forgotten on the table.
I felt Mack’s fear that something had gone terribly wrong, that we were being hailed by Odyssey or GalPol because we’d been found in breach of a law we hadn’t known about, or something. Whatever it was, we made it to the control room in double-quick time.
Tens was waiting for us, when we got there, but the big surprise was that Delight was waiting for us, too. She turned to look at us, as we rushed through the door, eyebrows arched, and one hand on her hip.
“Took you long enough,” she said, and Mack closed his mouth on whatever he’d been about to say.
It was a silence that Tens hurried to fill.
“I have a call on hold from the Clan Corovan,” he said. “Delight is here as Odyssey’s representative. She will observe and advise in Odyssey’s interest.”
‘In Odyssey’s interest’, I thought. Not her own interest, or anybody else’s. Well, this would be curious to see. Delight was not impressed.
“Shut it, Cutter.”
I’d forgotten that she could see into my head, and I shut, looking to Mack for some kind of a clue as to what I was supposed to be doing next.
“Watch and learn,” Mack said, and moved to take the position he had held when speaking with Lord Skymander.
Delight stepped up beside him, and Tens moved to flank her. I followed Mack, standing next to him as I’d done with the previous call. Once we were all in position, Tens allowed the screen to go live.
“I’m sorry for the delay,” he replied, lying smoothly. “The captain was on another call, and Odyssey insisted on having its representative present.”
“How did they even know we were calling?” the Corovani lord challenged, and I saw it was not Andreus.
“They did not know you were calling, now,” Tens explained. “They only knew you would, and left orders in place.”
“Orders?”
“We are under contract.”
The Corovani snorted.
“Several contracts, if my information is correct,” he said.
Mack cleared his throat.
“Our contracts are not your business,” he said.
“They are, when you are in breach of them.”
“Are you referring to the contract we held with Lord Andreus Corovan?”
“A contract with one of us is a contract with all.”
“Those terms were not in this contract,” Mack said. “This contract was made while we were under duress; it was made under false pretenses; and”—Mack held up his hand to still the Corovani’s protest—“and Lord Andreus did not have the permission of either the Corovans, or Clan Hazerna, to make it. He was not acting in anyone’s interests, but his own, as dictated by the arach.”
Up until the point that he said arach, Mack had been facing a very angry lord. At mention of the star-faring spider race, the lord froze.
“Arach?”
“Yes, my lord. The arach. They had manipulated Andreus into acting for their interests.”
There was the sound of hurried footsteps in the background of the Lord Corovan’s call, and he looked off-screen, his eyes widening at whatever he saw. He had just time to turn back to the screen and say “Please, help us,” before the call ended in darkness.
“On it,” Delight said, and then glared at Tens. “You need to release the teleport lock,” she said. “I promise I will not take the Lady Melari from this ship.”
Tens hesitated, and then nodded.
“Done,” he said, and Delight disappeared in an all-too-familiar silver glow.
Tens said nothing, after she had gone, but stood still, staring into space for several minutes. Mack waited until the comms specialist had finished whatever it was he was doing through his implant, and I waited, too. I even took a leaf out of Mack’s book, and didn’t say a word.
“Is Melari still on board?” Mack asked, when Tens blinked.
“Yes.”
“Did they try?”
And Tens smiled a very satisfied smile.
“Oh, yes.”
Mack mirrored Tens’ expression, and took his place behind the captain’s console.
“Case,” he said, “you’re needed on deck.”
He turned to me.
“Can you do navigation?”
“Some.”
“It’ll be enough for this. I’ll have Case and Tens keep a half eye on what you’re doing.”
I nodded, and slid into the seat he indicated, wondering why he didn’t call up his navigator.
“It’s early.”
For that matter, I wondered where the standing watch were. No ship left its command center unattended in flight.
“I stood them down. I needed privacy for that last call.”
Man had an answer for everything.
“It is my ship.”
Again, with the slight emphasis on ‘my’. Anyone would have thought the man had a hard-on for the Shady Marie.
“Shut it, Cutter.”
Tens snickered, but the laughter was gone and his face was a perfect blank, when Mack snapped his head towards him.
Case came on deck, shortly after. She hurried over and seated herself behind her console.
“Where to, boss?”
Mack rattled off a string of coordinates, and Case slipped the flight helmet over her head, and got to flying. I felt the drives power up in a fraction of the time I was used to, and wondered what she was doing. Mack explained.
“We’re in a hurry, Cutter. No time for niceties.”
“We’re not going back to the station?”
“We’re taking the long way around. Find out where we are, and plan us some contingencies. I’m calling Skymander. Case, get the crew in their pods.”
Pods?
“Ride might get bumpy.”
Not what I wanted to hear.
