On a Rogue Planet (14 page)

But right now she was worried about Xander. He was more…shut down than usual.

She leaned into him. “We’ll find Technis. Don’t worry so much.”

“I do not worry.”

She fought a smile. “Next, you’ll tell me you don’t lie either. I’m offering some comfort and support. That’s part of this man-woman thing, too. You’re supposed to lean on me a little, let me help.”

After a second, he did lean a little of his weight on her and this time she hid her smile by burying her face in his chest.

Zayn moved the ship into their assigned space on the end of one long docking arm. There was a muted clang as the
Infinitas
docked.

“Welcome to the Edge,” Zayn said with a grim smile. “Bring me back an ale.”

“Sure we can’t pry you away from the ship?” Dathan asked.

“Nope. Galaxy’s Edge is known for its gangs who like to raid empty ships. No one is touching my girl.” Zayn patted the command console.

“All right.” Dathan gestured to the others. “Let’s get this over with.”

Mal followed Dathan and Nik off the ship, Xander right behind her. They entered the wide corridor that led through the docking arm to the central core. The metal floor was scuffed and stained. A tired-looking cleaner droid lazily moved across the floor and seemed to be doing nothing more than stirring the dust around.

There were a few people walking to and from the ships. There was mix of species, some Mal didn’t even recognize, but most were wearing standard starship uniforms—cargo pants and work shirts.

“Moonrakers is on level Upper 13.” Dathan strode ahead, his eyes alert. “We’ll need to take the travel tubes up.”

They reached the tubes and stepped into one of the cars. Dathan tapped Upper 13 on the panel and they were whisked upward by what Mal knew was a strong blast of compressed air.

Upper 13 was completely different than the docks. Here, people bustled in all directions. Some wore robes, others light body armor, some were dressed in the height of fashion—sharp suits and barely-there dresses. Regardless of what people were wearing, everyone was armed. Knives were strapped to thighs, swords rested in scabbards and every second person wore holstered guns. Mal tried to imagine where everybody was headed. Off into the far reaches of space, for excitement and adventure.

Lining the mostly open level were bars, restaurants and shops offering enormously overpriced goods any respectable deep space explorer might need. Neon signs blinked offering clothes, provisions, weapons, even workers.

Moonrakers was set in a quieter corner. No flashing lights here. This was a serious bar for serious drinking.

They stepped inside and it took Mal’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting. Slowly, shapes emerged from the darkness. A long bar manned by a cranky looking Taxalian with a set of impressive horns and two serving syndroids. The droids had fairly realistic faces until you realized that nothing moved. They never blinked and when they spoke, their lips were still. Two female servers—of the humanoid variety—moved amongst the tables and booths that covered the rest of the space. At the back were several holo-pool tables. A couple of men stood holding the electronic pool cues and hitting at the virtual balls. Mal spied some interesting laser burns on one wall and couple of fist-sized dents on another.

The bar wasn’t crowded but there were still plenty of customers, most busy with their drinks. A few were wearing dark-blue Patrol uniforms with their coats undone, laughing at the bar. Unwinding after shift. Other patrons were huddled quietly in the booths—relaxing or doing business they didn’t want anyone to overhear.

From a booth in the back, a man stood.

Mal hadn’t forgotten that Dare Phoenix was intense. But she had forgotten the sheer impact of him.

He was as tall as Xander, with a big, muscled body that went with the height. His tobacco-brown hair was long and brushed his broad shoulders. His face was outrageously, holo-actor handsome. The face of a fallen angel. But it was his eyes that trapped your attention. Liquid silver, like mercury, and just a little scary. Like he could see your thoughts, like he could give you an order and you’d hurry to obey.

If she were picking a ship for Dare, he’d be a Sethian battlecruiser. Big, sleek and dangerous.

Two men rose from the booth behind Dare to flank him.

These two were shorter than their older brother, but only by a few inches. They were also built with muscled frames. They could have been twins except for a couple of differences.

The man on the left had bright silver eyes, like polished metal and he was grinning. Justyn Phoenix’s face was mobile and gave the impression he laughed a lot. His brown hair was shot through with gold, had the hint of a curl and was in desperate need of a cut.

Rynan Phoenix, on the other hand, had muted gray eyes that made Mal think of both brushed metal and the dangerous thunderstorms that gathered over the jungle planet of Wylda. He wasn’t smiling and his set face made her think he rarely did. His dark hair was cut military short.

She’d pick a Dangar runnership for Justyn. Sleek with a hell of a lot of speed and brilliant cloaking capabilities. Perfect for getting in and out undetected. And she just happened to know it was exactly the ship Justyn owned.

Rynan would be a solid cuttership like the Galactic Security Services preferred for its Patrol ships. Good shield capabilities with an excellent weapons array.

Beside her, Mal sensed Dathan and the others tensing up as they faced off with their cousins. She almost expected a tumbleweed to roll past like in an old Earth western movie.

“Malin.” Dare said her name in his deep voice, then yanked her forward into a tight hug.

She was passed to Justyn, who planted a smacking kiss on her cheek. “Nice to see you, kid. You like that scoutship wreckage I sent you?”

She grinned at him. “You know I did.”

“Malin.” Rynan touched a hand to her cheek and left his welcome at that.

Then arms pulled her back until she collided with a hard chest. Xander’s arm slid around her neck holding her tightly to him. She felt the fine tension running through him and without thinking, she gripped his arm and stroked his skin.

“CenSec,” Rynan growled.

Dare watched them with a set face and Justyn’s smile dissolved like a sugar cube doused with water.

“You’re keeping interesting company, Phoenix,” Dare said in a low voice.

At first she thought he was talking to her, but then she realized he was looking over her shoulder.

Dathan stepped forward. “He’s a client.”

Justyn snorted. “Even we wouldn’t take CenSecs on our convoys.”

Nik moved up beside Dathan. “Always took you for cowards.”

Rynan’s eyes narrowed and he took a menacing step forward.

“Enough.” Mal pulled away from Xander and pressed one hand to Dathan’s chest, the other to Dare’s. “You guys haven’t seen each other for
years
and you’re already priming for a fight. And the CenSec has a name. Xander, these lummoxes are my other cousins, Dare, Justyn and Rynan.” She pointed to each in turn “And this is General Xander Saros.”

The new Phoenixes were silent then finally Dare gave a nod. Everyone relaxed. A fraction.

“Take a seat.” Dare nodded toward their booth. “And let’s talk.”

Everyone settled in and Mal found herself wedged between Xander and Dathan. The gods save her from overprotective men.

“Where’s the fighter pilot?” Dare asked.

“He stayed with the ship.”

Dare lifted his chin and gave a grudging nod. “Smart. So—” he leaned back “—how can we help you?”

Mal opened her mouth but Xander beat her to it.

“We’re looking for a rogue planet.”

Something flashed in Dare’s mercury-colored eyes. “Really? Why?”

“None of your business. We just need to know where the planet, Technis, is located.” Xander’s voice was as welcoming as a tub full of icy water.

Mal barely resisted rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “Boys. We’re asking them for help, so I suggest we all try and be nice.” She waved down a server. “Ales, please. For everyone.”

With a nod, the woman strolled away. Moments later, they all held icy mugs filled with dark, frothy ale.

Dathan took a sip of his. “Mmm, nothing quite like Beduan ale.”

“It’s always smooth,” Justyn agreed. “I like smooth.”

Xander simply ignored his drink, his focus on Dare.

The tension had dropped a notch, so Mal waded in. “Dare, we know Technis passed here several months ago. We were hoping you might know where it went or better yet, where it is now.”

Dare sipped his drink, his gaze thoughtful. “This is important.”

“Yes.” She glanced at Xander’s closed face. “Xander’s planet is under attack and something was stolen, something important. He needs to find it in order to save Centax.”

Justyn whistled. “Centax under attack?”

“Who’s dumb enough to attack Centax?” Rynan asked.

“A Centaxian on a power trip,” Xander answered darkly.

Dare sipped his drink. “So this ‘something important’ is on Technis?”

“Yes,” Xander said.

“Technis is not a nice place.” Dare took another measured sip of his ale.

“You’ve been there?”

“No. Heard from people who have.”

And Mal knew Dare heard lots of interesting things. Perks of being a convoy master. “We know its surface isn’t hospitable—”

“I’m not talking about its environment.” Dare lifted his drink and looked at Justyn.

Justyn tapped his fingers on the table in a quick rhythm. “Technis is run by a guy called Forge. He calls himself a technomancer.”

“A what?”

“Technomancer. He’s quite proficient with tech and engines. He apparently makes syndroids. Not like these.” Justyn gestured to the bar. “I’m talking big, old-fashioned robots. Rough and raw. He enjoys having them fight each other…and sometimes his guests.”

“Nice.” Dathan took a big swig of his drink.

“Do you know where Technis is?” Xander asked.

“It passed by here four months ago,” Dare said. “On our last convoy run, we spotted it by Rabati Han.”

“Rabati Han?”

“A cavanserai. A small moon that offers respite to convoys. It’s a few hundred million kilometers out of Galaxy’s Edge.”

“Any idea where Technis is now?” Mal asked.
Please have an answer.

“I can make a few educated guesses.” Rynan pulled out his palm-sized Sync. Seconds later he expanded it so it covered most of the table. Everyone moved their drinks out of the way.

The screen lit up with a starmap.

“Here’s Galaxy’s Edge.” The space station was clearly visible. “Here’s the edge of charted space.” Rynan traced one long finger across a curved blue line. “And here’s our main convoy route.” Another line, this one bright yellow and not straight at all. “This is Rabati Han and where we last saw Technis.”

Xander leaned forward, brow creased. “Based on its trajectory from Galaxy’s Edge, it’s likely headed in this direction.” He added a new line linking known locations of Technis.

Dare shrugged. “Maybe. But rogue planets are notoriously difficult to track. They wander, get affected by other space objects, change direction and can end up anywhere.”

“It gives us an area to search at least.” Xander circled what he’d obviously calculated to be the likely area Technis was located.

Dare studied the area. “That’s a two month trip at interstellar speed.”

Mal’s chest hitched. So long?

Xander slammed a fist onto the table. “My planet doesn’t have that much time.”

“There’s a way to cut the trip down to four days,” Justyn said.

“How?” Xander demanded.

“You can take the Via Maris Bridge.”

“No way,” Nik said. “That bridge is out of charted space. The bridge portals aren’t maintained by the GED like the ones in the central systems.”

Mal had never travelled on a bridge. There weren’t too many stable versions of the distortions of space-time that could be used to take shortcuts between two known points. They required correctly calibrated bridge portals that oriented a ship entering the bridge.

Rynan crossed his arms over his chest. “The portals
are
maintained, by deep space convoy members.”

Dathan snorted. “Right, by hacks who fancy themselves bridge engineers like the Galactic Engineering Division. Who knows where you’d end up taking that bridge!”

Rynan’s eyes narrowed. “There are plenty of qualified people out here. We don’t need the GED or any other central government pushers poking their interfering noses into our business.” He shot the off-duty Patrol officers at the bar a significant look.

Justyn grinned. “Oh, I don’t know. A few of them have quite nice noses. I don’t mind them attempting to keep the law and order out here on the Edge, as long as I can outrun them.”

Rynan shook his head. “Just because you have a certain female Patrol captain gunning for you doesn’t mean the rest of us enjoy their unwanted presence.”

Justyn gave a mock shiver. “The delicious Captain Sander is welcome to chase me anytime.”

Dare raised a brow. “You’ve been taking her on a merry chase for three years. The last time she caught you she almost found your illegal shipment of Gluk’sol wine. She would have happily thrown you in the brig.”

Justyn grinned and let out a gusty sigh. “Yep.”

“Uh, that was a lovely story, but can we get back on track?” Malin asked.

“We’ll take the bridge,” Xander said.

“Wait a minute, we need to discuss this—” Dathan said.

Mal shook her head at her cousin. “Not now, Dath.” She turned back to Dare. “Technis and this Forge…what else do you know about him?”

“He’s insane.”

Justyn ran a finger over the condensation on his glass. “And he likes to party. When he’s anywhere near civilization, he likes to throws these balls and invites people he finds interesting…or wants to kill. He gives the coordinates to Technis and well, his parties are legendary in their excess.”

Suddenly Justyn trailed off, his gaze looking over Mal’s shoulder. He leaped to his feet.

Mal looked back and saw a tall woman in a Patrol uniform entering Moonrakers. Wow, she was stunning. She clearly had a reptilian in her family tree—her caramel-colored skin shone with a golden sheen, her shapely head was bald and a gorgeous, bronze scale pattern was visible on her forehead and cheekbones. Mal envied her the toned curves that filled her navy-blue uniform.