Lana's Comet (Outer Settlement Agency) (8 page)

“Sir?”

The second he looked up at her smiling face, he knew. “What is it, Kagen? You’ve completed the assignment I gave you?”

“Yes.”

“And everything is in order?”

“Completely.”

“And backed up?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” He set the alarm on his omnitablet for one hour. “Take your break. Calorie tabs are in the back, if you need them.”

“I’m fine.”

“That wasn’t a question, Kagen. A rest is required. Go.”

Fleshy hips brushed against his shoulder as she went. It was no accident. The jolt of it was hot, immediate and gone too soon.

He ached to turn and watch her sleep each time she shifted on the noisy sheets, but didn’t chance it and redirected his focus. The overhead switch panel provided a poor substitute, but he used the time to check what she’d downloaded from Meash.

It wasn’t that she’d been right that shocked him. Rather, the degree to which she’d been that had him shaking with rage. Evidence of a virus called Telni brought bile scratching at the back of this throat. Each file contained endless pictures of test subjects with scabbed faces and dehydration so advanced that their skin was damn near see through. There were videos as well, but he didn’t have the stomach to watch them.

Hadn’t they learned anything from Meash Five? The bastards had created a new species and now another branch of the Corporation meant to kill ‘em off? All of it done in the name of profit.

No wonder Lana got out of there. The last woman who turned on a Meash Corp group nearly lost her life for it. He pulled up the files on Dr. Solia Calian and Lunar Sheriff Giancarlo Sable. Everyone knew they’d liberated the first Kin-Humanoids on Enceladus from Meash. How they’d managed it may be the key he and Lana’s survival.

It wasn’t an issue of going to the authorities. Without knowing whom to trust, Calian and Sable had the scenes of horror broadcast to everyone in the system. Public outcry forced immediate action. It was a lot more certain than going through the proper channels.

But that was a long time ago...back when Kin-Humanoids were still clones.

Things were different now. Old thoughts wiped away. Supposedly. Thousands of Kin must work for Meash these days. If word got out, rioting was sure to follow and innocent lives on both sides would be lost.

This required a soft hand, and OSA didn’t have a reputation for gentility.

For every plan he came up with he’d find a reason to dismiss it. When the alarm roused Lana though, it came to him that he wouldn’t have to solve this problem alone. He had a confident woman beside him and he saw nothing in her eyes close to defeat.

“I’m here,” Lana said and slid into the flight engineer’s seat. “I’m ready.”

“I know.” He cleared his throat and went on with the training that still had to be done. “Your next task is to weld in open space. There’s a lot of junk flying around and not every sensor picks it up. Most won’t be an issue, but we need to see what you can do in the event of outer hull damage. Suit up.”

“Where is the breach?”

He shrugged.

“Right, sir. What seems to be the problem?”

“Good question. Sensors indicate that something near the wing is off a few degrees. It’s back where it meets the access hatch.”

“Got it.”

She did. The woman made smart decisions all the way around. Lana went out through the cargo bay door rather than near the deck to save time. She wasted some moments around the wing, but he smiled at the screen when she quickly realized that problem started with the elevon and not the wing itself. Her management of the shock angle and collision point velocity showed a talent beyond most. He zoomed in to check the momentary angle relative to the weld piece. Perfect. Cyprus signed off his approval on this section of her training before she even made it back inside.

“You were magnificent,” he whispered as he helped her out of the suit.

“With our without your assistance?”

“Don’t get lippy, Kagen. But to answer your question, in spite of it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Had they not had the threat of distant minders, he’d have kissed her, removed her suit and...

Sirens split the air, yanking him painfully into the present and they jumped back to their seats, heads shifting from one panel to the other. “What’s going on, Lana?”

“Nothing. The sensors aren’t showing anything.” She leaned up to look out the windshield, then back to her screen. “This says that something is approaching fast, but there’s nothing there. I...I don’t know how to pass this part of the test.”

“That’s because this isn’t on it. Get someone on the comms now. I’ll try to make...” The shuttle dimmed to emergency lighting and the engine whirled down. “...Contact,” he finished lamely. “It’s probably a sensor out of calibration.”

“It’s a little more than that,” she added, pointing to one of the few lights still working. “The polarity panel is fuzzed. Maybe we can reverse them?”

“If we can reach them. They’re through the lox tank baffles. Pull up the schematics, I’ll get the tools.”

“We’re screwed.”

“Because?”

“Even though we can get to it from an interior access point, we don’t have the proper equipment to handle when we reach it, or rather, reach them. Trust me on this, Cyprus.”

“Cyprus?”

“Yep. Cyprus. It’s
that
serious. A regular visor can’t handle the infrared lighting. I’ve seen the damage from this and I’ve treated it dozens of times. It’s possible to reverse blindness with a medipod if we get to one in time, but we can’t even make contact with OSA base.”

“Then we’ll be careful.”

“This isn’t a joke.”

“What choice do we have? Wait a day and a half and hope the oxygen doesn’t run out? It will, Lana. We might buy some time with the support systems in the control suits, but not much. We’ll have to do this by touch. We’re good at that.”

At least she returned his smile and raised it with a wink. That was a start. Lana projected the glowing outline of the area he had to dig through. “There it is,” she said and zoomed in. “Two large blocks, separated by a synthetic backing.”

He half ran the short distance to the rear of the vessel and yanked at the siding until it gave way, then he shoved his hands into the guts of the ship. Lana provided him with virtual eyes by projected the schematics against the wall. He followed the map and grabbed hold of the first panel. With gritted teeth, he hauled the thing up, dropping it at their feet with a loud
thunk.

He rotated his shoulders a few times before going back in, trying in vain to ignore the searing pain. He got the second one halfway up before his shoulder gave out and he had to switch arms.

Lana toed one of the panels while he massaged his muscles. “So, these two things have to connect and separate.”

“Yeah.”

“No offense, but you’re struggling already. How am I supposed to lift up my end?”

“You don’t have a choice. I need your help, Lana. I wish I could do it alone, but I, uh, left my medicine back on base. I’m not burning on all thrusters.”

“Unbelievable.”

“We were in a bit of a rush.”

“Cyprus!”

“If this hadn’t happened, we’d have made it back with time to spare. We still can.”

She shook her head and circled the square metal boxes. “I’m about done with you and your—”

“We don’t have time for this, Lana.”

“Fine. Later. As for this, maybe I don’t have to lift it. The two just need to touch, briefly.”

“What are you thinking,” he asked, hands clasped behind his neck.

“We leave them on the floor. We push them together and together pull one back. One remains stationary the whole time. We take a break and together return them to the housing.”

Lifting up was one thing. Putting them back into very precise places would require more strength than he had at the moment. He wished for his meds. Yes, they were Kin meds, but they made him the best he could be. He’d never miss a dose again. Breathless and with his upper back quivering, he flopped down and leaned against the rear of the backrest. “Toss me a few calorie tabs.” She joined him instead, sliding in and leaning on his shoulder. It hurt too much to shrug her off. “Lana, there’s a chance they’re still able to watch this.”

“Small chance. And there’s an even bigger one that there’s an audio recorder here still working. I don’t care. Do you?”

He should. It could jeopardize what he’s worked so hard for all his years. But Lana needed him more than he needed OSA. Hell, she was about to save the universe. She could do whatever she damned well pleased. The decision – the question – of what mattered most in his life tilted so fast that his aching head spun. He traced the outline of her jaw and brought her over until his lips hovered over hers. “Nope.”

He punctuated it with a kiss, then held out one of the meat-flavored calorie tabs.

“You want to know what’s weird,” she said still chewing, “I’m not scared. I should be. I’m in a shuttle that may run out of oxygen with a man who’s in terrible danger, about to piss off the biggest corporation in the solar system and I’m not scared. Kinda happy, minus all the bad bits. Am I oversharing?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“But I need to hear it. It’s good to know what you’re fighting for. That’s the last lesson of training, by the way. Let’s try to make it home, okay? We’ll deal with the consequences of everything else when we get there.”

“If we get there.”

“Way to keep positive.” He kissed her again and arm in arm, they walked over to the panels and rehearsed the plan. They’d push, the boxes would connect and they’d pull, reversing the polarity. Easy.

Kinda, sorta, confident they could both do what they needed to, they turned their heads away, closed their eyes and pushed.

She kicked until her calf slammed against him. She kicked until the reverberation rang up her leg and into his body like a hammering sound wave. Ignoring the pressure on his upper arms, he waited a half second, then pulled with the little strength he had left. By the will of some unknown maker, he’d done it.

He got up to celebrate, but a blast knocked him against the walls and the panels together. He turned in time to save his eyes, but Lana’s scream indicated that perhaps she hadn’t been so lucky.

M
edical training goes out the airlock when you’re the patient.

Her limbs trembled and although her back was on the floor, dizziness set in as if she’d been running in circles. She redirected all of her energy to her vision, now blurred with flashing white and blue spots.

Cyprus called out to her, but she didn’t answer. She had to center herself first, get herself together or risk spiraling down a crater of panic and agony.

His hands patted her face.

His lips dragged across her forehead.

And still she did not move.

“I really need you to say something, Lana.”

“The panels?”

“Shifted back together. I’ll have to do it again.”

She tried to get up, but strong hands on her shoulders shoved her down. She ought to have said something – tried harder to be of assistance – but everything hurt too much. She couldn’t even turn her head to follow the sound of him running and grunting with effort.

Another blast. This one with more force than before.

More expulsions of air, more grunting and he was back at her side “Keep talking. Let me know you’re still with me.”

She retreated to the clinical and knew the precise moment his concern turned to terror. The hands that touched her went clammy and his voice dropped to a whisper. Each breath that came out of him was more of a gasp and every word had a heartbreaking tremor to it. “Lana?”

“I can’t see.”

He flinched against her and the hands that cupped her face dropped to draw wide circles on her back. Something whirred behind her. Had he done it? “Did it work? Do we have power?”

“Some. Oxygen and lights.”

But the words dropped like stones in the pit of an empty well. He was lying. Her faculties weren’t so far gone that she couldn’t sense it. Yes, the blast reduced her world to a series of shadows, but none quite registered as proper light. “We’re still at half systems. The light doesn’t feel bright enough. I’m a big girl. I can handle the truth.”

This earned her a kiss, one she leaned into, suddenly desperate for more contact. But a blast rocked the shuttle and the warmth of Cyprus’s body disappeared. He swore above her, cementing that more trouble had come. “We’re being fired upon.”

“Meash?”

“This thing isn’t built for offensive action.”

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding. It’s an OSA shuttle.”

“Yeah, for training. The panels will give us just enough power to burst out of here. Maybe.”

“Don’t waste it on that.” Even with her vision shot, she could sense that golden eyebrow jutting upward. “I know you want to get me back to base and you can’t see past that. Oddly enough, I can. Use whatever power we have left to send out a distress call. We’re running on batteries and the solar panel converters are useless. The only thing we know we can get out for sure is sound. Actually, not for sure, but it’s our best chance and you know it. Maybe we should send the files first.” Cyprus sighed and the sound of flesh hitting metal assaulted her ears. “Are you punching my ship, sir?”

“I am, Madam. And to whom shall we send the files? How many people knew we were destined for this ship? A dozen, maybe.”

“You’re not insinuating that your brother is in on this?”

“Of course not,” though the concern in his voice was undeniable. “But he ordered plenty of people to ready the ship and I can’t trust them. It’s done either way. I’ve coded the distress beacon for heavy fire. Someone will hear it. The question is whether they’ll come or not.”

“So what do we do until then?”

“We find out what the hell is going on.”

New sounds crackled to life as Cyprus sent out an audio pulse to the other ship. “State your purpose!”

“Purpose? To kill every damned lunar sheriff we find.”

The good news?
Their attackers weren’t representatives of Meash Two.

Bad news?
They were definitely pirates.