Randolph Lalonde - Spinward Fringe Broadcast 08 - Renegades (20 page)

“Absolutely.”

Minh-Chu considered
going with them for a minute, but knew exactly what Jake would be
putting on the table, and it was all too good for Oz to pass up. The
beats of the negotiation and the outcome were obvious; Jake didn’t
need his help.

“So, was it worth
it?” Ashley asked Stephanie.

“Was what worth
what?” Stephanie replied.

“The two months
away.”

“Oh yeah,”
Stephanie said with a serpentine smile. “We visited eleven ports,
stole more data from more crews than I thought was possible, and got
the lay of the land out there. Regent Galactic’s companies, even
the Order of Eden, have a whole soft underbelly, and it’s bigger
than anyone thought. What we brought in today is nothing compared to
what we can get our hands on. The Order doesn’t think anyone knows
how much they depend on the supply routes at this end, or how much
property Regent Galactic has, but we know now, and when we hit them
in the future, it’ll be surgical. We know how to really hurt them.”

“Not to mention,”
Minh-Chu added, “the Warlord crew may be small, but they’re all
experienced information gatherers now, even the Samurai Squadron.”

“I wish I went with
you this time,” Ashley said. “It sounds like there was a lot to
see.”

“Oh, there were long
boring parts too,” Stephanie said.

“Just ask Joyboy,”
Minh-Chu added. “He holds the record for signal interception duty.
We had to leave him adrift in a fighter for six days so he could
listen in on a Regent Galactic rebroadcasting node. I think he’d
made up imaginary friends by the time we got back to him.”

“Oh gosh, okay,”
Ashley chuckled. “Still missed you guys, though.”

“Me too,” Minh
said. “I’m glad the Warlord needs its pilot back now that things
are about to get really exciting.”

Shozo Of House Fallen Star

“The new drive is
complete on the Fallen Star, my Dominant,” Shozo told Clark. The
sound of her voice, and the comforting presence she offered through
her biological emanations made it impossible for her to surprise
Clark as she approached him from behind. Humans who couldn’t feel
her presence through their noses or skin were often startled by her,
since it was Shozo’s habit to observe a person unseen if she could
before approaching them, usually from behind. She made no sound as
she moved, breathed, or observed the space around her with bright,
wide blue eyes.

She almost looked human
under the neck to floor-length dress she imitated. Her neck was a
little too long, her curly blue hair always looked wet, and her
fingers were too long, so to any human she still seemed alien, even
from behind. Once they got over her interpretation of how she felt
she’d want to look as a human, Shozo’s face drew all the
attention. It was a piece of shape shifter art, especially since it
matched her personality so well. Her big blue eyes spoke of a quest
for wonders, boundless curiosity, and her little pursed lips suited
her shy nature just as much as her squeaky voice did.

“The tests were
successful?” Clark, known to so many as The Beast, asked.

“They were beautiful.
A splash of gravity around the ship, and like a little cotoa fish, it
was gone. Nine point three light years in five seconds, better than
predicted. The navigational system is being upgraded, but that will
be complete by the end of the day. All but one of the shuttles need
more work that will take much longer, I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to
apologize, Shozo, you were only supposed to observe and report on
this project, but you’ve shown how quickly you can learn, and
you’ve taken charge several times while I was unavailable. I don’t
think I’ve heard from any of our builders for a week because they
prefer to communicate through you.”

“I’m sorry,
Dominant. You delivered us from decay, and are wonderful. They should
universally love you,” Shozo said. “I am alive because of your
generosity.”

While it was true to an
extent – Clark had given her a piece of his own framework
technology in a graft so it could help her regenerate the
contaminated tissue that was killing her – he didn’t like being
thanked for it. There was no way he could have known what an
incredible, artful person he was saving at the time, and now that he
did, seeing her so vividly alive was more than enough of a reward.
Her dress was caught in a slight gust, and the hem raised just enough
for a pair of soldiers in dark green armour to catch a glimpse at how
she moved along.

Instead of feet, Shozo
had thousands of hair-thin tendrils that allowed her to glide along
the floor with silence and grace. They served her just as well in
water. The soldiers seemed a little surprised, but couldn’t help
but grin at Shozo’s endearing visage as she smiled at them. “No
one should expect to be universally loved, even by the people who
trust them to lead,” Clark said.

“But that’s not
what Eve seems to think. She speaks to her followers like they all
love her, and she recruits people quickly, demanding their love, and
so many give it freely after her people have cared for them. I keep
wondering if your living would be easier if you asked to be loved
like she does. I say this with respect, my Dominant.”

“It’s hard for
humans to express their needs. They mostly depend on vocal languages.
Their instincts tell them that’s a weakness, or their social group
isn’t open enough. Issyrians are lucky, they can sense when someone
in the pod is in need, and that is one of the things that saved me.”
Clark felt strange explaining human limitations to her. She was an
appealing, dainty looking creature, while he was jagged, in angular
carapace armour growing from his flesh, and a death’s head face
that most humans could barely stand to look at. “I can’t hide my
emotions or vulnerabilities when I’m in the waters with your
people, and they respond.”

“Our people, my
Dominant,” Shozo reminded. “With respect.”

“I’ve been away
from the pools for too long,” he replied. “Sometimes I forget.”
He looked past her through an upcoming transparent section of hull.
They were aboard the Overlord Two, in the middle of the First Fleet
of the Order of Eden. Another group of brand new destroyers build by
Regent Galactic was arriving from the Iron Head Nebula, loaded to the
airlocks with supplies, and woefully under crewed. Regent Galactic
had no problem manufacturing all the ships and supplies they needed,
but the recruiting efforts near the Iron Head Nebula and the nearby
systems were not as rewarding as they had to be.

Clark noticed that
Shozo was staring through the transparent hull as they passed the
deck-height window. A concern weighted her expression, and he could
feel her anxiety, which was normally a minor note of her fragrance,
but it was rising to an overpowering potency. “One assignment ends,
and another begins. The builders can finish their work without you,
but I still need your help, Shozo.”

“I know, you don’t
have to speak it. I only wish you could shed this war and take us to
clearer waters,” she said, her big eyes looking through his
corpulent visage without flinching. “You refuse all help from the
Fallen Star House, and let no Issyrian fight for you, but your human
generals disobey your orders. I heard you speaking to two of them who
killed millions of humans, and I could feel that it was against your
orders.”

“They were governors,
but they may as well have been generals,” Clark corrected gently.
The conversations she was talking about were some of the least
pleasant events from the last few months. A pair of governors
contacting him, boasting that they’d used all the power of the
Order of Eden in their area to take the Nuham System, bombarding the
inhabitants of five colonized worlds into ruin and near extinction.
They were to communicate with Nuham and offer them terms, not try
once then blitz them into oblivion. His grip on Regent Galactic and
Order of Eden forces was slipping; there were many ambitious
governors who wanted his place.

“I am sorry, my
Dominant,” Shozo said. “Is that different?”

“No, their rank and
position makes no difference. They’re supposed to help me control
these sectors so we can manage the Edxian’s settlements in this
galaxy. That’s not happening, so I’m bringing them here soon.”

“I sense deception,”
Shozo whispered. “I am shamed in admitting that I’m intrigued.”

“They think I’m
going to be pinning medals on them,” Clark replied. “But I value
medals as much as the Issyrians do.” He could instantly feel that
she understood what he was inferring – Issyrians had no love for
medals. Their deeds were remembered best by their fellows, and the
more good a member of the community did, the more the feelings of
others towards them spread through the waters. Anyone swimming into
their clutch or near it would know who the most goodly Issyrians
were, and who they had impressed.

Her anxiety only abated
a little, and he started to realize that most of the anxiety was for
him, not herself. The airlock leading to the Fallen Star, the home of
their Issyrian House, was just around the corner. It was time for him
to give her the next assignment. “I am sorry for what I have to ask
you to do for me, Shozo,” Clark said.

“Anything, my
Dominant,” she replied, her eyes and essence revealing more
curiosity than apprehension.

“I pressed you to
make sure the Fallen Star was ready with the new faster than light
system because I have to ask you to go far away. If the system works
as it should, your journey won’t be dangerous, but your skills at
diplomacy and your empathy will be crucial to you when you meet with
the people I need you to see. You are going to lead the Fallen Star,
the House will accept you as a pod matron.”

“Will I be back
soon?” Shozo asked, unable to mask her worry.

“No, I’m sorry. You
will never be able to return to the fleet,” Clark told her, feeling
a wash of sadness pass to him from her. He had to demand this of her,
she was the perfect person for the mission, but it was difficult for
him to keep his resolve.

“House Fallen Star
will collectively mourn your absence, regardless of how long it takes
you to follow us on our journey,” she hesitated a moment. “You
will be following us?” she asked with no hesitation. He couldn’t
help but feel that he was abusing her devotion to him, but there was
no one else he’d send.

Clark knew she could
feel his sorrow at her departure. That would be some consolation to
her. “Not for some time, perhaps never,” Clark replied. “But I
need you to find a life for that House, a new purpose. The Order is
not the place for you.”

To anyone listening in
on the conversation, they would hear it end there. A long moment of
silence was filled with notions of love, sadness, and a shared
understanding that could only be expressed chemically. After several
minutes, Shozo of House Fallen Star quietly left.

Two Captains

“The Carthans are
down, they’re not recovering, and they’re not getting
reinforcements here,” Jacob Valent told Captain Terry Ozark
McPatrick. “How can the contract for Haven Shore keep us out?”

The broad causeway
leading to the bridge of the Triton was busy again. Repair crews
moved between the various system access areas leading to the nerve
centre of the ship. People recognized both of the commanders
immediately: Oz in a black and silver Triton Officer vacsuit and Jake
in his long coat and heavy black vacsuit. The armoured long coat was
a replacement, as was his vacsuit, but his battle-worn sidearm was a
survivor. The back of the weapon poked out from behind his jacket as
he walked towards the lifts.

“You know I’d love
to see Triton, Haven Shore, and the Warlord all get along, but for
now we’ll have to settle for you and me building Triton Fleet,
getting on while Haven Shore drifts off,” said Oz.

“How is Carthan
influence still holding us back? They can’t enforce something on
Tamber without dropping the ball on the major ports under their
control on Kambis.”

“They have a media
machine, their solar system news feed. It concentrated on how Ayan
broke things off with you, then pushed Liam right out of the solar
system. The vote for keeping the Warlord out of Haven Shore had
everything to do with perception, not much to do with politics.”

Jake couldn’t help
but scoff and shake his head at how petty the game the Carthans
played was. They made Ayan look like some man-eater, when the truth
was far more elusive. It was true that she broke things off with him
with little explanation, and that burned for months. What Jake
regretted most about that situation was that he let her go; he didn’t
fight for her at all, and, in retrospect, he believed he should have,
at least until he understood why she had to break ties with him. He
didn’t know or care to know much about her relationship with Liam,
but he was quietly pleased that it didn’t work out. Gossip wasn’t
something he enjoyed, but that news was welcome even though he was in
the middle of a convenient relationship with someone else at the
time. His focus returned to the moment, walking with an old friend.
Oz was probably one of the few people in the galaxy who understood
him. “How many voted against the motion to split away from Carthan
support?” Jake asked.

“It only took one,
they were still governing by consensus.”

“That never works, I
have no idea why anyone went along with Liam’s model. Consensus
government is something for dreamers and crazed optimists.”

“You know, he had me
convinced it could work for the first few months, and it did,” Oz
replied. “But Liam’s gone, and the government is shuffling into a
new majority system, adding seats so Haven Shore is set to grow,
finally.”

“It’s about time.
Too bad Liam left though, he was a good asset to the Triton at
least.” The statement irked Jake as he said it. He was glad to see
Liam Grady leave, and knew that the people tending the Triton knew
more than they needed to since the computer’s records were fully
accessible at long last. Seeing footage of Ayan standing across the
table from Liam at council meetings made him wince, though he’d
never admit it.