Twin Stars 1: Ascension (21 page)

“Aww, man!” Ping An stowed her beg and slid into the passenger seat, admiring the faux black leather interior. “You didn’t have to!”

But Solantro just shook his head and grinned at her as the car started up by itself, “Hey, you’re my friend. Mi Casa-Su Casa, right?” Then he grabbed the wheel and slid it out from the curb and onto the road.

“Thanks, Sol! I really owe ya! Sorry for the short notice.”

She’d called him on a whim as the transport was just hitting the planet’s atmosphere, planning for a quick meeting if she’d had time. Instead she’d suddenly found herself a house guest, and “no” was not an acceptable answer.

“Don’t worry about it,” he brushed it off. “You and me go way back, right?”

“Mmmm,” she nodded, giving him a quick once-over and shaking her head. Where was the boy she’d met in the cramped and cluttered room that their asteroid mining colony called a school? He still had that enthusiasm and exuberance that had gotten him into so much trouble as they’d grown, but so much had changed it was hard to recognize him now.

“So why’re you here?” He asked excitedly, and then didn’t bother to wait for an answer. “You finally get yourself a decent job and settle down? No way! I could never see you tied to a desk- that would be crazy! You musta been…”

As he talked, Ping An let the warm, sweet planetary air wash over her, not really listening, and thought back to why she’d come. Her plan to procure a ship that could navigate in hyperspace was in its final stages. She was here to meet with the head of the Polyvaris Corporation, and tucked away inside her head were the files she’d gotten from Commander Taylor’s personal documents. She also had other things she’d collected over the years, bits of evidence she’d saved and notes she’d made, all of which showed that Polyvaris had been engaged in illegal dealings with corrupt members of both Fleets.

In truth, she was scared. This was a huge gamble she was making, and easily one which might get her killed. She could have done this anonymously, tried to work through intermediaries, but in the end felt it only really had a chance of working if she, herself, did the talking. Even now, part of her wanted to run away, but she felt in her guts that this was the right approach. She had studied, prepared, and now it was time to show what she could do.

“…And he just drove away, right after he scratched my paint! Can you believe it? I said, can you believe it? Hola! Ping! You listening to me?”

“Mmmm?” Ping An said, and looked at him. “Oh yeah, I’m listening. Sorry.”

Solantro laughed again. “Ping, you’re such a liar!” He teased. “It’s okay, Grace always says I talk to much anyways!” Then he gestured past her- “You enjoying the view, eh?”

In truth, Ping An hadn’t even noticed they’d gotten away from the forested parklands where the space port was located, but now that she looked, she realized they were driving onto one of the massive bridges that connected the different floating islands around Castle City.

The Imperial capital of New Wellington was unique in all the known galaxy, for it was not a solid terrestrial planet but in fact a gas giant. However, that wasn’t what made it unique, as gas giants were as common as stars in the universe- no, what made it unique was that this one had both an oxygen rich outer layer and a relatively low level of radiation. With a little tinkering, that oxygen layer had been transformed into something breathable by humans, and soon after that they’d begun floating asteroids from the system down with contra-gravity generators attached to act as land masses upon a sea of inert gas.

It was a project that had begun with the goal of creating a playground for the ultra-rich of the Empire, but as more and more began to take advantage of this incredible environment it had slowly turned into a full-scale colonization effort. Now there were thousands of large and small landmasses hovering on the sea of clouds, some of them as big as the old Earth continent of Australia, others mere city size. All of them only tiny spots on the vast blue and white cloud ocean upon which they drifted.

Ping An could only nod at the spectacle as Yuri, the system’s smaller blue dwarf star began its journey beneath the horizon, generating a thousand purple reflections on the cloud sea. Kae, the primary star, was still above them, shining down yellow and making the whole scene all the more surreal.

“It’s…amazing…” Was all Ping An could say.

“Yep,” he said proudly. “Still takes my breath away when I see it. Sometimes Grace and I will take Luis down to the park and watch the second sunset- you can’t really see it when you’re in the city.”

“Wow man,” Ping An shook her head. “I envy you. I really do. There are some things you just can’t put a price on.”

“I hear that,” he happily agreed. Then his voice took on a more familiar tone. “So, you ever think of settling down, Ping?

“Nah,” she shook her head. “I was born in space, and I’ve never felt at home anyplace else. Still, if I were going to settle down...this would be a good place to do it- when the time’s right.”

“Yeah?” Solantro said playfully. “When’s that going to be, sexy? When you conquer the galaxy?”

Ping An laughed. “Might just be, buddy. Might just be.”

* * *

The doors of the elevator swished open, and Ping An stepped from them into Remy’s Outdoor Cafe. Calling it outdoor was a bit of a misnomer, as while it was indeed located outside on the roof of the second tallest building in Castle City, the invisible bubble that surrounded it kept much of the effects of being outdoors at a safe distance. What it did allow, however, was a spectacular view of the city towers and the sea beyond.

“Miss Zhang?” Asked an old man in a formal black and white business suit. He had an angled, lean face and a pointed nose, but his expression was kind, and his eyes bright.

When she nodded, he bowed and bid to her to follow him. As she did, she looked around at the busy cafe. It was designed in a faux tropical jungle style, with small flowering trees and lots of green plants placed to offer discreet privacy to its clientele. Servers dressed in brightly colored tropical shirts flitted like bees from table to table of the large space, delivering tea and sweet cakes on wooden trays. The clients here were all well dressed business types, but not the common kind who did the work- these were the bosses who dressed a bit more casually but balanced if off with little touches of jewelry and other affectations to show their true status.

Then abruptly, as Ping An followed the old man, the tables around them became empty and the sounds of the cafe faded away. The section they had entered, near the edge of the roof, was devoid of patrons who might disturb the person there. And, as the servant led Ping An around another patch of plants into a brightly lit section, she saw the reason why.

Sitting at a lone spindly black metal table set against the edge of the roof was Lady Clarisse Whitcombe, head of the Polyvaris Corporation. Not a large woman, she looked quite old and frail at first glance, but even just seeing her sitting there alone Ping An suddenly had a feeling of energy and strength from her. It was like the tables nearby were empty not merely because she wished it, which Ping An imagined was the case, but because they were pushed away by her aura of strength.

As they approached, Ping An looked at her more carefully. She had short grey hair that was styled and cut at the chin, and a somewhat flat face, with deep set eyes the color of the sea. She wore a perfectly cut business jacket of salmon pink, with a cobalt blue shirt beneath that matched her eyes, and accompanied by a long skirt that was just a shade of pink off from the jacket. At her neck was a broach with a large piece of polished amber set into it.

She showed no sign being aware of them, her steady, unfocused gaze telling Ping An she was actually in a linked conversation with some distant person. Before her at the table, Ping An could now see the magnate had laid out a small leather-bound paper book, a pen for writing, and an empty champagne flute.

The servant indicated with a gesture for them to wait, and Ping An did, trying not to fidget and to stay calm. She self-consciously tugged at the business dress she’d borrowed from Solantro’s wife Grace and practiced what she’d come to say in her head.

Then, after a time, the old woman, who Ping An had almost come to think of as a statue, suddenly blinked and looked at them- annoyed.

“Foster, I believe I will need a new manager for the bioplastics division. This one will not do, not do at all.”

“Yes, madam.” Said the old man, formally. “Will you also be needing lunch?”

“I will.” She agreed. “Also bring me another glass of Terisian Champagne.”

Foster nodded. “Very good, madam. However, before I do, this young lady is your lunch appointment.”

“I know who she is, Foster.” The woman snapped, only barely glancing at Ping An. “I’m old, not senile.” Then she gestured for him to go. “Now, leave us.”

“Of course, Madam.” Foster bowed and left.

The old woman fixed her eyes on Ping An, looking her up and down and pursing her thin pale lips in a expression of what the young pirate took to be distaste- although whether it was at her, or her borrowed dress she couldn’t say.

Finally, without offering Ping An a seat, she opened her book, picked up her pen, and began writing. As she did, she said with casual disinterest- “You have the two minutes until my wine comes, young lady- so make good use of them.”

Well that’s my cue
. Ping An thought, took a deep breath, and then began.

“I want you to give me a ship. If you don’t, I have information that will burn your company down around you.”

What could have been called a smile came to the older woman’s lips, but she didn’t stop writing. “Succinct, direct and to the point. I like that.” She said with approval. “The answer is no, now is there anything else?”

Ping An had expected many things, but casual indifference was not one of them. However, she’d worked too hard and come too far to give up now.

“You saw the files I sent,” she pressed. “I have enough to see half of your executives up on charges. I also have proof you’ve been using your company’s money as your own personal bank account.”

After settling in at Solantro’s apartment, Ping An had sent a request to meet with Lady Whitcombe and attached copies of the documents she’d acquired to the message. Less than half an hour later, a reply with a time and location had come back for this meeting. It had given her hope they might be scared.

So much for that.

“Well,” the old lady agreed. “That was a good bit of detective work- I will admit. Did you do it all yourself?”

“Oh, I had help.” Ping An answered. “Help that will take action if you try anything.”

That earned a full smile, “Vaela Smith, you mean? Your friend who helped you get into Commander Taylor’s private files?” Then the older woman looked up at the surprised pirate. “Oh come on, dear. You think in two hundred years nobody has tried this before? Please, assure me you can be more original than this! Although,” she paused thoughtfully. “I will admit the ship request is a new one. Why do you want it? Some piece of hardware to impress your pirate friends perhaps?”

“No,” Ping An shook her head. “I need it because I want to face down the Imperial Fleet.”

“Really?” A hint of amusement appeared in the old sea-colored eyes. “That is interesting. Are you a rebel then?”

“No. An opportunist.” Ping An said plainly. “I see an opportunity coming, and I want to be able to seize it. “Chaos favors the brave” after all.”

“It does indeed. It does indeed,” the older woman said watching the pirate more carefully now. “You’ve gone through my memoir.”

“I accessed everything I could find. I wanted to know who I’d be dealing with.”

“And, what did you learn about me?”

As Lady Whitcombe spoke, Foster appeared carrying a tray of food.

“Your wine is coming.” Ping An pointed out.

“So it is.” Said the Lady, her eyes not leaving the pirate. “Answer my question before you leave.”

Ping An held her gaze. “I learned you and your sisters built Polyvaris from the ground up during a market crash. You saw when opportunity was coming, you prepared and you grabbed it. It’s the story of your life, and how a girl from a small rimward planet became one of the most powerful women in the Empire today.”

That raised an eyebrow. “You want to me, then?”

“No, I want to be better.”

The old woman chuckled, then quoted- “To accept an idol means to accept inferiority.”

“Something else I learned from you.”

“I had no idea I had such a diligent student.” The Lady said thoughtfully, then turned back to writing in her book, the interview clearly over. “Good day, Miss Zhang.”

“Good Day, my Lady.” Ping An turned and left the way she’d come.

Foster set the table for his mistress, then bowed and said “Shall I have her dealt with accordingly, madam?”

Pausing, the grand dame pursed her lips, considering. “Let me think about it, Foster.” She said. “Let me think about it.”

* * *

Solantro and Grace Juarez lived in a small apartment on Castle City’s West Side, in a building that had once been the in-capital residence of a Noble family before one of the last market crashes. Since then, the building had been converted into an awkward set of apartments for some of the wealthier members of the working class to live in. Castle City was notoriously expensive, and even this modest home would have been out of their reach if Grace’s family had not helped them jump ahead on the waiting list through connections.