By the time Reyer, Vas, and Kelsey got back to the ship, the other hostages were almost done being processed.
“Lynx?” Reyer said.
The bot was standing partway down the ramp, standing in front of the hostage he’d just drawn blood from. “Hello, Miss Reyer. You made it back alive, but I see you’re limping quite badly.” His hand began whirring around.
Ciro stepped out of the ship, onto the top of the ramp. “He’s already done me and Jane. We checked out.”
“Is this why you were delayed?” Vas called up to his brother.
“I happened to be somewhere that had a few items with power supplies that I knew they wouldn’t be needing. Naturally, I pocketed a few. That’s not a problem, is it, Captain?”
“Only because it worked out. You were supposed to blow that thing and get back to the ship immediately, Ciro.”
“I apologize. You can punish me later.”
When Lynx was done with their blood tests, Vas and Reyer were able to shove their way into the crowd of people.
Jane was yelling, “Don’t touch that! Yeah! You know those things down on the planet? You want to become one? Back off or you’re my next experiment.”
“We should probably get that e-pistol away from her before she becomes too fond of it,” Adan whispered.
Reyer snickered. Vas put his arm under her shoulder and across her back, and pulled her to the front of the ship with him. When he got to the top of the stairs, he turned.
“I suggest you all stand on top of each other to make way,” he called. “My copilot needs to get through, and he doesn’t squish well.”
Three people had to stand on top of the middle bench to make a way for Lynx. The robot took his place in the copilot’s chair.
“Ciro, is that everyone?” Vas called.
“Yes, sir!”
“Close the ramp. Everyone comfortable?”
“No,” a man said. “It’s cramped in here.”
“If you don’t want to come, we’ll be happy to let you out.”
“Shut up, Peters,” someone called.
“No, thank you,” Peters said. “I was only wondering why you blew up our ship!”
“We blew up your ship because we didn’t know if we’d succeed in rescuing you, and we sure as hell weren’t going to let those things get off planet.”
Judging by Peters’ scowl, he didn’t like the answer, but it was enough to shut him up.
Vas bent over Reyer. “Alix, I want to get out of here. Can you lay down the rules while Lynx and I take off?”
As the captain sat down, Reyer pushed herself away from where she’d been leaning and climbed to the top of the three stairs.
“Welcome to the Golondrina!” she shouted. “Hopefully, we won’t be in space long, but until we’ve landed we’re all going to have a chance to get close to each other—”
“Who are you?” It was Peters again.
Reyer grabbed onto the pilot’s and copilot’s chairs to keep herself steady as the ship lifted away from the planet. “We’re your goddamn heroes, sir! That’s Captain Hero. I’m Miss Hero. That lovely woman over there with the e-pistol is Dr. Hero, and the man by the ramp is Super Hero. Now, I’m not a nice hero. My painkillers won’t do jack right now, and I have it on good authority that makes me somewhat testy, so, please, don’t make me shoot you.”
“You’re from the Rising, aren’t you?”
“Not all of us.”
“But some of you are?”
“Are all Supremacy workers this whiny, or are you a base favorite?”
“He’s a base favorite, Miss Hero,” someone said.
Another voice called out, “You can shoot him if it’ll mean more room.”
Peters fell into a sullen silence.
Alex went on, “Is anyone injured that hasn’t been treated?”
“You mean aside from yourself?” Lynx said.
Reyer ignored him. No one else spoke.
“Good,” she said. “We’re going to take turns standing and sitting, except for those two.” Reyer pointed to Kelsey and the man with four holes bored into his head. “They get those seats for as long as they want. Don’t touch anything. Don’t approach the cockpit. If any of the heroes tell you to move or do something, you do it fast. Are we clear?”
There was a rough chorus of “Yes, ma’am.”
“What about you?” Lynx said. “Judging by how you’re holding yourself, you are—”
“Shut up, Lynx.” Reyer winced as she eased herself down to sit between the pilot’s and copilot’s chairs. “I’m going to curl up here and pretend I’m dead. Is that good enough for you?”
“We have opiate based painkillers, Miss Reyer.”
“We also have seventeen members of the Supremacy on board this ship, and there’s still only five of us.”
Lynx looked down at her. “I’m not sure such acumen is good for your well-being.”
Jane fought her way up to cockpit. “Do we know where we’re going?” She kept her voice low.
“P67,” Vas said. “It’s close, and we’ll be there quickly.”
Jane smiled. “Good. Once we’re back in the border, can you have Ciro get me a line down there?”
[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]
There was static noise as the line was patched and repatched through relays to a private receiver. Once it was connected, the indicator light only blinked twice before it glowed a steady green.
A gruff voice got on and demanded, “How did you get this number?”
Jane leaned over the microphone. “Teo Bhrams gave me his card and told me to call him. Is he there by any chance?”
“Who’s calling?”
“Tell him it’s Jane Cerva.”
The line went quiet until a more mellow voice came on: “Good evening, Dr. Bonumomnes.”
Jane smiled. “You figured out who I was?”
“It wasn’t difficult. There are few women as charming as you who also happen to be so devastatingly good at the tables. I only had to call around to a few other casinos before I was able to track down your real name. May I say, I’m impressed with your work?”
“My gambling career ended years ago, Mr. Bhrams.”
“I was referring to your scientific labors, Doctor.”
“You did do your homework. I had no idea I’d be so fascinating to you.”
There was a pause on the line. “I rather think you did. Are you calling to set up a poker night?”
“Not exactly. I have a favor to ask you.”
“Oh?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Bet you a ten coin it’s so bizarre that even if I gave you a thousand years, you’d still never guess it. Another ten coin says you’ll say yes.”
Silence.
“I’m listening.”
[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]
Mr. Bhrams agreed to arrange for everyone to stay in one of his luxury hotels overnight while he and a few of his friends worked to find transportation for all of the hostages to get back to where they needed to be. He went even further by ensuring that there were medical personnel waiting at the hotel’s private port to meet them. After Reyer’s various wounds had been cleaned, disinfected, and rewrapped, she was doped with Exaludnium. Vas put her to sleep in a private suite reserved for Mr. Bhrams’ special guests, then turned her muddy clothes over to the dismayed cleaning staff. The captain left her side only long enough to check on Ciro and Jane’s work.
Ciro and Jane were setting up a special site.
“It’ll be a new kind of virus,” his brother explained.
The plan was that Jane would have her work hosted on several servers. One would be on P67, and at least two others would be volunteered for duty without their controllers’ knowledge. Ciro would send out a code that would lay dormant in the systems until someone typed in the word “xeno.” Once the keyword was entered, it would redirect them to the site where Jane would publish her work.
“You’re going to stay here and keep studying?” Vas asked.
“Yes,” Jane said.
“It’s the safest thing we could think of,” Ciro added. “If she’s giving the information to everyone, no one should want to target her for what she knows.”
“And Gaoyun is a free-plane,” Jane said, “so, theoretically, anyone can come to ask me questions or work with me.”
“Anyone?” Vas said.
Jane sipped her coffee. “Yup. Tell the Rising that if they want me to keep doing my work, I’ll be happy to accept donations. My only stipulations are that there are no strings attached, and my results hit my site every day.”
“What if the—what if someone tries to shut it down?”
“I won’t let them,” Ciro said.
Jane must have been exhausted; her inhibitions were decidedly impaired. She ruffled Ciro’s hair and kissed his cheek.
“And you don’t mind living here?” Vas asked.
“Mind it?” she said. “This is my favorite inhabited planet. Come and visit whenever you like.”
The captain smirked. “I’ll remember you said that, Doctor. But I was talking about the fact that living here will have a serious impact on your relationship with the Supremacy.”
Jane’s face became grave. “I know. I would’ve wanted things to be different, but science comes first. Especially this.”
Adan smiled, then pushed himself away from the doorway he’d been leaning on. “Ciro, can you hack me a secured line?”
“Not a problem,” his brother said. “It’ll take two minutes.”
“No, I mean a secure line. I need to talk to a few people—including people at Home Base.”
“All right. Give me five minutes.”
[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]
Reyer’s rest starved body sank so deeply into sleep that by the time she’d woken up, the work was done. The site was up and running, and the ship was resupplied and ready to go. As much as Vas wanted to give her time to linger, he was under orders to fly as soon as possible. The only thing left to do was say goodbye to Jane.
The two women held each other tight for a long time.
“I’ll miss you,” Jane said.
“You’re amazing, Jane,” Reyer said.
They let go of each other. Vas held out his hand.
As they shook, Jane said, “Captain.”
“Thank you for your help, Doctor.”
Ciro looked at her with his hands tucked deep in his pockets. “Are you sure—”
“Yes, Wonder Boy,” Jane said. “I’m not joining the Rising.”
“It never hurts to ask.”
“I’ll hurt you if you ask again.”
Ciro gave her an awkward one-armed hug, which she returned with the addition of a small eye-roll. “If you ever change your mind—” he said. Dr. Jane drove her finger deep into his ribs. He limped away with his hand over his side. “Aaah! Okay! I got it!”
“Lynx!” Jane said. “Look after these idiots for me!” She pointed at Ciro. “Especially that idiot. He needs watching.”
“You are not the captain, nor recognized as an authority figure in the Uprising, so I am not compelled to obey you. However, I will take your instructions into consideration so long as they don’t conflict with any of my primary programs and orders.”
“You’re a masterpiece.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Lynx picked up Reyer’s kit bag and Ciro’s case and led the group over to the Golondrina. Reyer and Vas flanked Ciro. Both of them could easily see him fidgeting more and more with each step up the ramp.
“Don’t do it,” Vas muttered to his brother. “Don’t—”
“Of course he’s going to do it,” Reyer said. “He’s a Vas.”
Ciro had turned around before Alix had even finished speaking. “Jane!” he yelled across the port.
“Yeah?” she yelled back.
“You must know how madly I love you!”
“Yeah, I do. I love you too, Wonder Boy. You’re the cutest puppy I’ve ever had.”
Ciro put a hand to his chest. “I’m not joking!”
She shielded her eyes from the sun with her arm. “Neither am I!”
Ciro sputtered, then shouted, “But…then—”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the doctor yelled. “After everything I’ve been through to get here, some handsome young boy comes along and tells me he loves me, so I’m supposed to drop everything and follow him? Noooo, I don’t think so. Call me when your little war is over. We’ll see if we both still feel the same.”
Ciro rolled his head back and groaned. “That’ll take forever! You know what? No. I’m not going to wait that long. I promise I’ll keep in touch!”
“How—” A thought occurred to Jane. “Stay out of my files, Ciro Vas!”
Ciro put both hands to his lips, kissed them loudly, and threw his arms wide. “I adore you! See you around.” He was grinning.
Jane shook her head as she watched the ramp close. When the ship lifted away from the port, she waved one last time, even though she knew they probably couldn’t see her.
Vas and Lynx took the ship out of atmosphere.
“Lynx,” Vas said, “plot a course through normal space and get ready to drop into velox.”
“Yes, Captain. Do we have a destination yet?”
Vas glanced over his shoulder. Alix was sitting back on her bench. Her kit bag was open beside her, but her dark reader was sitting on top of it, ignored.
“Not yet, Lynx,” he murmured.
“Sir, did you receive orders from Home Base?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Then they should be executed without delay, regardless of your personal feelings in the—” Lynx stopped. “Is that facial expression indicative of exasperation, frustration, or sadness?”
“Lynx—”
“Shutting up now, sir.”
Vas turned to the main deck.
Ciro sighed happily as he spun around, gazing at the ship. It was considerably more barren without Jane’s supplies and experiments—not to mention the absence of seventeen extra, mud-splattered, smelly bodies.
“So much space,” Ciro said. He opened up his case and began pulling out various tablets and wires. “I can actually spread out.” He hummed as he worked.
Reyer smiled. “You seem cheerful.”
Ciro looked up at her and winked. “You heard her. Jane loves me. She thinks I’m handsome and cute—”
“She called you a puppy,” Adan said, coming down from the cockpit.
“Hey!” Ciro pointed at his brother. “She said I was the cutest puppy.”
“You’re hopeless.”
Ciro shrugged. “Probably.” He plugged two tablets together. “Do you need me to set up a line?”
Vas shook his head.
“Don’t you need to get a hold of Home Base?” Reyer said. “You need to report in—tell them what’s been happening.”
“Always the good little soldier,” Vas said.
“Her penchant to follow protocol is considered a valuable asset, Captain,” Lynx said. “Considering the tendency toward group homogeneity, one might have expected you to pick up some of her traits, but I’m afraid the opposite is more likely true.”
Vas sat down on the bottom step. “You’ve fooled, Lynx,” he said to Reyer, “but I know better. You’ve always been the kind to charge into danger. But you fill out all the paperwork afterward and have a nice sharp salute.”
Reyer smiled at him and said nothing.
“Anyway,” he went on, “I don’t have to get a hold of them because I talked to them last night. I also got a hold of Gardner.”
“Gardner? He’s alive?”
Vas nodded. “He’s under house arrest at the moment, and I suspect he’s in a lot more trouble than he was willing to let on, but he managed to talk his way out of prison. He also swore to me that he’d done most of what he said he would.”
“He canceled the warrants for Jane?”
Vas hesitated, wondering how Reyer had missed the more relevant and immediate implications. “Yes, and he deleted a lot of files. Everything Harlan did in his search for the planet is gone—the special orders to find you, your face on every Supremacy computer—it’s all gone.”
“They still have a file on your past activities for the Rising,” Ciro said, “but give me some time and I might be able to take care of that too.” He looked up from the tablet he was working on. “I went into a few of their databases to double-check—”
“How did you do that?” Alix asked. “We’re nowhere near a Supremacy base.”
“I may or may not have stumbled across some codes and information while I was setting the battleship up to self-destruct. They turned out to be useful. I can confirm Gardner actually did it. The man-hunt is off.”
“And even if all the human-xenos aren’t dead,” Vas said, “they already know where the planet is. No one should be looking for you.”
“So you’re not stuck with me anymore?” Reyer asked.
“Ito relieved me from my orders when I reported in.” Vas kept his voice even. “I’m no longer your bodyguard.
“I see,” she whispered. In a louder voice, she said, “So what happens now?”
“That’s up to you. I have orders to take you wherever you want to go, but then I have to get back to base. Apparently, they need Ciro.”
“It’s nice to be loved,” Ciro said.
Vas stood up and wandered closer to her. “What do you want to do, Miss Reyer?”
Alix sighed. “I don’t know. I can’t go back to P48—not until it’s freed. That’ll probably be at the end of the war. The peacekeepers there are bound to have notes on me, and I doubt they’ll ignore me if they stumble across me.”
“By the time you were through with them, I don’t think they’d be able to.” The captain sat down on the middle bench. “You really are the worst at being retired.”
Reyer smiled at his joke, but it was half-hearted and distracted. She stared out the small porthole at the stars.
“Come with me,” Vas said. “I’ll take you back to Home Base.”
“I don’t belong there.”
“Why?” Ciro said. “Because you’re not a soldier?” The challenge in his voice was obvious. “You won’t be putting the base in danger anymore. There’s no one looking for you now. I know it’s small at the moment, but I hear that captain’s quarters are pretty generous—”
“Master Ciro,” Lynx said from the cockpit, “my experience indicates this is one of the times when you will be told to shut up. I’ve been informed you aren’t supposed to interrupt humans when they’re flirting.”
Ciro started to say something, but then pressed his lips together and held both his hands up.
Reyer looked back at Vas.
“Come home with me,” he repeated. “I want you there.”
“All right,” she said.
“Is that what you want, Alix?”
“Yes.”
Ciro stole up the stairs to the cockpit and dropped into the pilot’s seat.
“Master Ciro—” Lynx noticed Ciro’s hand signal and lowered his volume— “that is Captain Vas’s seat.”
“He won’t mind,” Ciro whispered.
“He has stated otherwise numerous times in the past.”
“Special circumstances. I know for a fact he’d rather have me up here than down there. You aren’t supposed to interrupt humans when they’re flirting, remember?”
Lynx looked down at the main deck. “I see.”
A moment later he noticed that Ciro was holding out his closed fist.
As with all important communication gestures, Lynx had been trained to give fist bumps, but he still hadn’t been able to understand how they applied in different social circumstances. What did it mean? Triumph? Joy? Camaraderie? He’d probably never figure it out.