Twin Stars 1: Ascension (2 page)

“It is, but the call of
The Black
must be answered.” Ganymede’s sense of righteousness was so strong it even carried over this shallow link they shared.

“Yes, praise to
The Black
.” Io answered in their creed, showing a determination no less than Ganymede’s.

The link finished, Io followed the line into the next lift car.

Perhaps there was time to save a few more before the end came.

* * *

They were on their way to their deaths.

At least, that’s how Zhang, Ping An saw it as she rode with her compatriots down the tube from the docking hub into the main habitat ring of Miraposa Three’s orbital transfer station. A strange thought to have when faced with such a spectacular view- simulated blue skies and the huge tracts of greenspace that stretched out before the descending transparent walls of the tube’s car, but it was still how she felt. Below their feet, expanses of urban space were now coming up at them, a landscape filled with banners and balloons that looked more like a giant birthday party than an execution.

But, what Ping An also saw was another poorly planned mission which was being improvised almost as they went, one that her Squadron Leader Camus had accepted from the clan leader without so much as a question, and one that had more ways to go wrong than Camus had hairs in his bushy beard. How had she gotten herself into this? Hadn’t she protested enough?

Obviously not, because here she was riding the lift car down the tube and feeling the gravity of the habitat ring tug at her soul more and more as they descended towards ground level.

Their mission team was small, consisting of eight operatives- optimal for an infiltration mission such as this. Their goals were similarly small- reconnoiter the station for a possible raid by their pirate clan, specifically a raid upon the station’s cargo docks. Before they could do that, however, they needed to know where their cargo was located, and what level of security to expect.

The way the clan leader saw it, security wasn’t likely to be a big problem, as the transfer station was in holiday mode and there was a good chance the security personnel were partaking in the festivities in some way. Ping An wasn’t sure she agreed, but she was willing to concede that it might be true, if they had the resources to run a proper raid on the station- and therein lay the crux of the problem, they had one ship and a little less than fifty people to overrun an orbital transfer station with over a quarter of a million inhabitants. Well, not overrun, just cow long enough to get what they needed, but even that was an extremely tall order.

It wasn’t as if Ping An didn’t have ideas on how to make it work, she did, but she wasn’t in command, was she?

A bell rang, and the lift car’s main doors opened.

The eight space pirates flowed out with the rest of the people and walked out onto the street, but while their bodies joined the crowd, their minds were anything but separate. Through Linkspace, Camus was already giving orders.

“Everyone got their masks and costumes on?” Camus glanced around at each of them. “Good. Ping An, take Justin and Leederman to the second promenade and follow the plan. The rest of you are with me. Any questions?”

Ping An glanced at the two he’d given her- Leederman gave her a thumbs up, and Justin a curt nod. Leederman was young, with more guts than brains, but she knew from experience she could trust him. Justin she wasn’t so sure about, the man had just transferred in, and unknowns were always a bad thing in dangerous times like these. He seemed able enough though, and maybe he’d prove it.

She’d just have to take that into account.

“None, Squadron Leader.” She sent back to her commander.

“Then good luck, Sparky!” Camus gave her a reassuring smile, then led his men away.

You too, boss
, she thought, then motioned for her wingmen to follow her.

“C’mon boys, let’s go enjoy the party.”

* * *

The Miraposa III colony had been established some three hundred years earlier, during the fourth colonization wave. The original settlers were mostly of Portuguese extraction, but it hadn’t taken long for this world’s abundant mineral resources to attract settlers from across the Empire.

So, it was no real surprise that Tysen and Kip found themselves in a French-style outdoor cafe called Chiangmai Sunset drinking
Rüdesheimer Kaffee
on the edge of one of the public squares. Their crew mates had long disappeared into the festival, and now only the two officers were left to consider the day.

“Kip, I have to say, this place isn’t at all what I was expecting.”

“Ahh, Miraposa Three. Home of art, culture and some of the best lookin’ women in the Empire!” Kip opined, leaning back into his chair as he admired some of the latter.

“I meant the café,” Tysen laughed. Then, with a long glance at a pair of ladies walking by wearing little more than blue feathers he added- “but, you’re definitely not wrong about the women.”

“To the women!” Kip raised his glass and they toasted, drawing a few giggles from some ladies at a nearby table. Tysen smiled at them, and toasted them as well, causing them to giggle shyly and turn away to whisper among themselves.

“There we go! Al!” Kip encouraged. “Lighten up, okay? Live a little! You’re always so stiff I think sometimes you’re going to snap if anyone touches you.”

Tysen gave him a pained look, then sighed. “Am I really so…?”

“Anal? Inflexible? Self absorbed? Boring?” Kip listed. “Shall I go on?”

“No. No, that’s quite enough.” Tysen said and took a long drink.

“Al,” Kip counseled, saying what he’d obviously wanted to say for some time. “I like ya. You’re a good guy. But, it just ain’t so great for you to be inside your head all the time. You need to live a little- get out and actually experience the world for once! The Universe isn’t rules and regulations- it’s wild and fun and crazy and you’re gonna miss it if you don’t learn to loosen up.” Then the ginger haired man leaned in and grinned at his friend. “C’mon, you’re a Noble and you’re gonna be around for another five hundred years, you want to spend them all trying to organize your dress socks better?”

“I don’t organize my dress socks.” Tysen answered coolly.

“No, you re-organize them, which is even worse!”

“Everything has its place, Kip.” Tysen said. “If everything is where it belongs, then everything will function properly.”

“Spoken like a true Noble.” Kip shook his head. “But like I said, the Universe is a messy place. Everything falls apart sooner or later. What’re you going to do then?”

“That’s what we need to keep from happening.”

“See, Al? That’s your problem- you try to control everything. Sometimes you gotta take chances- be flexible. Nothing good comes without a little risk, right?”

Tysen looked at his friend a moment, he didn’t have to ask where this came from. With so much going on, he’d been especially hard on the crew in recent weeks, and it seemed like his crew had found a spokesperson to speak on their behalf. No wonder they’d disappeared so quickly after arriving at the cafe.

It had been so hard not to worry- most of the best men had already deserted, and the ones who remained seemed to grow less interested in following orders by the day. With the social unrest going on in so many places, the Star Guard needed ships more than ever, and ships needed crews. Tysen might not be able to control other ships, but as third-in-command of the
Crystal Leaf
he could control her, and he would see that she was ready to meet any situation- as was his duty.

However, there was wisdom in Kip’s words. As Kip had just said about him, if a man is pushed too hard he could break things, and Tysen needed to keep what crew he had left. Perhaps a little flexibility in his approach to command was called for. Perhaps he could change his command style…a little.

Yes, Tysen considered. He might try that.

“Kip…I…” He began. Then he noticed that his comrade’s eyes were glassy, and fixated on something on the street behind him.

Annoyed at being ignored, Tysen turned to see what was so damned important that…And caught his breath…

“Beautiful…” The words escaped Tysen’s lips without him even being aware he’d said them.

“You can say that again, buddy.” Kip agreed. “You can say that again!”

There were many ways to describe women, and Tysen had used most of them in his time, but the only word he could think of to describe the woman that walked near them was- perfect. Slightly above average in height, with a slender form that wasn’t slender in the right places, she had the elfin beauty to her face that Tysen had always found attractive. Her hair was a simple light brown bowl cut, and her clothes a nondescript form fitting powder blue bodysuit and boots, but the way she wore them still made the men around her stop and stare in wonder as she passed. On another woman they were clothes, but on her- style.

Tysen drank in her beauty, even the act of breathing forgotten for a moment, and then his senses returned and he became aware of something- she was not alone.

“Forget it, Kip.” He cautioned his friend. “Take a look who she’s with.”

At first, Tysen almost mistook him for one of the street performers; he looked like a stilt walker who was several heads taller than the beauty who walked beside him. He wore an odd dark blue military dress uniform with a white ribbon tie that was strange even in these festive surroundings, but once Tysen focused upon the too-tall man, all doubt was gone as to his manner or his origins. His face distinguished, and he was older but not old, with graying temples and a manner that made Tysen feel like this was a man who was used to being in charge. Despite his size he moved with a grace that made it seem like gravity had blessed him with only the lightest of her touch, and had a fluidity to his stride that only increased his presence.

“Yeah,” said Kip, disappointment clear in his voice. “I see him. Think he’s a real Noble, or that’s just for show?”

“Oh, he’s for real. There…” Tysen gestured to the long curved scabbard that the man had hanging from his hip. A weapon in a place where weapons were outlawed, and carried so openly as to display the power required to bear it. “And take a look her, don’t you think she’s a little too perfect?”

The pair were passing the café now, close enough to see not only the woman’s flawless skin, but also to see the dark jeweled choker she wore around her neck. A collar that marked her as a bioroid- one of the inhuman companions that tended to the needs the nobility.

“She’s a Squire.” Kip said, shaking his head in disappointment. “Must be nice to be a Noble.”

“Yes,” Tysen said absentmindedly, watching them go.

“You’re a Noble, Al. Why don’t you have one of those?”

Tysen looked at his friend, considering what lay behind those words for a moment, then, deciding that it was just momentary frustration, he smiled. He was used to prejudice by standard humans against the post-human species to which he belonged, but not from someone so close. “I’m not a ship captain, nor a captain of industry, Kip. A Squire is as much a sign of status as that sword he’s carrying, and I’m just an enlisted man like you are.”

“Not for long,” Kip said dryly. “You’ll be captain in no time, with a Squire to tend to your every need, and I’ll still be Lieutenant James Kipps- caveman officer.”

Tysen decided not to let this mood continue. “Don’t be jealous, Kip. Being a Noble isn’t always pleasant either- it comes with a huge number of duties and responsibilities. Besides, despite their near physical perfection, nobles still fail to use their brains just as often as everyone else. Just look at me.”

That broke the growing tension, and both laughed.

“So, they’re just as stupid as everyone else.” Kip said finally.

“Exactly,” Tysen nodded, and then stood up. “And, on that note I shall meet you when this festival has become a little less family oriented.”

This caught Kip by surprise. “Hey! Where are you going?”

Tysen pointed across the square. “They have a colonial museum I thought I’d check out.”

“A…museum?” Kip said slowly, then sighed. He clearly felt he hadn’t made as much progress with his crewmate as he’d thought. “Well Al, if that makes you spin, go ahead. But, if I find some fun, I’m not sharing.”

“And, you are most welcome to it,” Tysen pulled his mask down over his face. “Link to me if anything comes up.”

* * *

Ping An ran, but not fast.

Well, not as fast as she could go. If she did, then she’d easily be able to out-pace their pursuers, but she’d also lose her two crew members. She might not like them, especially at the moment, but she was responsible for them, and where Ping An came from, duty to others was not something that was taken lightly.

“Leederman!” The name was spoken like a curse over the Linkspace network between their implanted neural links. “What part of ‘not attracting attention’ don’t you understand?!?”

"But...But...." Leederman stammered as they dashed around a street vendor’s stall, nearly knocking over patrons as they scrambled past. Ping An had to pause and help Justin avoid falling as he nearly tripped over a small dog.

"Getting into fights is not inconspicuous!"