In the year 2415 humanity lived in a golden age of space exploration. Survey ships crisscrossed the galaxy, locating hundreds of planets and dozens of moons suitable for colonization. Within twenty years, there were over six hundred colonies out amongst the stars. This widespread colonization effort gave rise to the Terran Republic which served as the centralized governing body of humanity.

In 2481, after decades of colonization and advancement, humanity made first contact with an alien race known as the Volgm. The two species almost immediately went to war.

After a long and bloody struggle, the Terran Republic collapsed under the weight of conflict and internal political disputes. The United Earth Government rose from the ashes of the old Republic and, desperate to consolidate its forces against the Volgm threat, withdrew from a wide area of space on the far side of human controlled space from the Volgm battle lines. The United Earth Government abandoned dozens of barely established colonies, leaving them to survive entirely on their own.

That was fifty-six years ago and in that time the Human-Volgm war has ground to a stalemate. Neither side has any advantage over the other. Meanwhile, the colonies the United Earth Government abandoned have fallen into complete lawlessness. Out there, the strong survive and the weak die out.

The United Earth Government calls the abandoned colonies 'acceptable losses'.

The millions of people left behind call them:

The
B O R D E R W O R L D S

 

I hate landing on planets. I always have. Ever since I was a little girl it’s bugged the shit out of me. You know how, right after you break atmo and the planet’s gravity starts really tugging on the ship? But you’re still too high to shut off the artificial grav so you’ve got natural grav and artificial both pulling at you? Yeah, I really fucking hate that part. Doesn’t matter though, I gotta set her down.

Those Anti-Earth Movement dipshits decided to set our meeting on the worst rock ever so this is what we’re doing. Hopefully they don’t try to put a knife in my back like that bitch on Greenleaf. Never mind, I’m still salty about that one. Anyway, this deal could be the biggest haul I’ve ever pulled in and if I can work it out then maybe I’ll finally be able to… Shit, there’s the proximity alarm so I guess we’re landing. I’ll finish this log up later. I hate writing like this anyway.

Fifteen year old Lucy powered off her tablet and tossed the device onto the bed next to her. She sat up, her hip length mane of dark brown hair billowing around her. She sighed and stood to her feet, whimpering as her stomach swooped uncomfortably. Planetary landings, they never got any better.

She padded out of her bedroom and down the ship’s central corridor to the cockpit. The area was decently sized especially for a crew of one. There were two control stations, the primary on the starboard side and the backup on the port. There was standing room for a half dozen people, but beyond that the cockpit was quite sparse. Lucy had decorated the space with a rundown couch against the back wall and bright, colorful blankets hung from the walls.

As she entered the room, Lucy’s two year old border collie sat up from where she lay on the old couch and whined for attention. Lucy grinned down at the dog and patted her gently on her head.

“Morning, Callie,” Lucy said warmly. “Did you keep the ship on course for me? Uh huh, that’s a good girl.” Callie barked happily as her mistress filled her bowl of kibble and leapt down from the couch for breakfast.

Lucy left the dog to enjoy her meal and slid into the primary control station seat. She booped the bobblehead T. rex she had mounted to the console with a thin smile. She leaned back in her seat and tapped the controls to bring up a holographic image of her ship and the star system around it.    

The tiny yellow freighter, named Sunflower, fell through the upper atmosphere of a small blue-green world. She adjusted the autopilot to fine tune her approach vector and sat back to wait for the computer to set the ship down properly. As she did so, she caught sight of the reflection of her face in the display. A pair of brown eyes flecked with gold stared back at her. Her long nearly black hair fell around her, framing her slender face and fitting nicely with her light brown skin.

There was no doubt that Lucy was very attractive. There was equally no doubt that Lucy loathed everything about her appearance. She had the looks that every other girl always wished they had… and she hated it. She did so for two reasons. Firstly, Lucy’s appearance had been created very carefully by powerful gene manipulation technology she had undergone as a baby. Her parents had dropped her off right after she had been born on the doorstep of a pleasure house on the fourth planet of the Italia system. Pleasure houses, the wealthier ones at least, often subjected the children they collected to gene manipulation and genetic modifications to make them images of sexual perfection. It helped draw in customers.

In the years since she had been on her own, she had come to hate her appearance for another reason. Her beauty attracted attention, and attention was the very last thing an orphan girl living on the fringes of human civilization wanted.  

Lucy lived in a truly terrible place called the Borderworlds; planets beyond the borders of EarthGov’s control and protection. As such, many of the so-called Borderworlds were utterly lawless. There was no law, nor lawmen to enforce it. Nothing from rape to murder was considered a crime by anyone other than the victims. As Lucy often said, the strong prey on the weak and the weak just die off. Luckily for Lucy, she was far from weak. She’d seen things, suffered things… even done things that no fifteen-year-old should ever be forced to experience, but she was still alive. Such is life on the Borderworlds.

While sometimes problematic, given that her beauty tended to attract rapists and slavers who would seek to kidnap her and sell her back into the sex trade, it also gave her additional tools to use to keep herself alive. Sex could often buy what credits could not, and if there’s anything the pleasure house had taught her, it was how to use her body to give pleasure.

Of course, most decent people would wonder why a girl has to sell her body to keep herself alive. How did humanity fall so far? How can such horrible things be allowed to happen? Humans, as a species, would surely rise up against such atrocities, wouldn’t they? Humans tended to fight every injustice, battled unceasingly for equal rights for everyone and the good treatment of their fellow man. Reason would dictate that this simply wouldn’t happen.  

Well, reason be damned because it happens every day. Earth is now ruled by the iron fist of the United Earth Government and the war torn Borderworlds were abandoned decades earlier when an alien race known as the Volgm attacked. The Voglm and Earth had been locked in a brutal war ever since. Not that it mattered much to the people on the Borderworlds. The Volgm Front was light-years away from the Borderworlds and what alien ships did come into that area of space were typically welcomed, invited to join as valued trading partners.

Hatred of Earth was pretty much the only thing that gave any sort of unity to the Borderworlds. ‘Fuck Earth’ could be said on any planet and earn whoever said it a round of applause and a tankard of beer. It was that same hatred of Earth that had brought Lucy to what must have been the most terrible place in the universe: the planet Venezia.

She had recently come into possession of two pallets of Dahl Corporation RDX-9 portable rocket launchers. The anti-tank launchers were incredibly valuable to the Anti-Earth Movement; human sympathizers to the Volgm cause that often fought to destabilize EarthGov. It hadn’t even begun to work, but Lucy didn’t give a shit. If the idiots were willing to pay top dollar for Dahl missiles that would be blown out of the sky by the anti-missile systems found on every street corner on every Earth-controlled world… well, so much the better for her.

Still, why the AEM scumbags, or freedom fighters as they liked to call themselves (which was really a stupid name, because EarthGov didn’t oppress the Borderworlds. It straight up didn’t give a single damn if the Borderworlds existed or not) had picked Venezia of all places to set up the meet, Lucy would never know.

Venezia was the deepest, darkest, most wretched hive of scum and villainy in the whole damn galaxy. It really was the only planet that Lucy was actually scared to land on. She’d traveled to some shitholes, but Venezia took the prize for shittiest planet ever. She’d had a bad feeling from the moment she broke atmo and it grew steadily worse the close to landing she came.

As the autopilot hooked the Sunflower up to one of the docking arms at the podunk spaceport, Lucy glanced out of the slanted cockpit window and groaned. It was a place like Venezia that her attractiveness would get her into trouble, and it was at times like

Most people would think, then, that hiding herself as much as possible would be prudent. Not so much in the Borderworlds. If she covered herself in shawls and tried to hide herself, people out here tended to think she had something to, well, hide. No, her best choice was to make herself look like she wasn’t to be screwed with.

She settled on wearing a low rise pair of jeans, a tank top, a pair of boots, and a thick belt with a long barreled revolver shoved into a holster on her right hip, a semi-automatic .45 caliber handgun on her left. She looped the carry strap of a sawed off shotgun over her shoulder and secured the weapon behind her back. No one needed to know that she didn’t have a single round of ammunition for any of her weapons.

She tucked an ornate silver dagger with intricately carved sunflowers engraved into the hilt into its sheath, which was fastened to her belt. Lastly, she tied her long hair up into a knot behind her head. It was the best she could do. With any luck her weapons and confidence, although faked, would ward off any would-be attackers.

She dropped the loading ramp and set off down it. Callie padded to the edge of the ramp and whined disappointedly, looking incredibly hurt that her mistress would leave her behind.

“Sorry, girl,” said Lucy gently, scratching Callie behind her ears. “This is a dangerous place. You’ve got to stay here so I know you’re safe. Just keep an eye on the ship for me, okay? Stay in the cockpit and if anybody tries to steal it, bite ‘em.”

She set off across the spaceport, keeping a wary eye on everyone she passed. She walked with her back straight, chest out, positively oozing confidence and seeming utterly unconcerned. In her heart, she was terrified.

As she walked, her eyes were drawn to the hundreds of ships docked at the port. She loved ships, always had. In truth, she wasn't sure why she loved ships so much. The worst experiences of her life had taken place on the very ship she now called home. It didn’t matter. She loved them. They were the very symbol of freedom and independence. With the Sunflower, she could go anywhere she wanted.

There were hundreds of ships at the spaceport. Tiny little one-man or two-man jobs, cargo vessels, transport ships, and even a massive UEG destroyer. She clearly no longer sailed under EarthGov's flag. She was battered and war weary, but she was armed to the teeth. Whoever owned that ship held the power in the system. Lucy had seen dozens of pre-war UEG frigates and corvettes, but never something as powerful as a destroyer, and much less a modern one at that. Destroyer-type ships were the apex of modern military starships. It would take a fleet of frigates or hundreds of fighter craft to bring down a destroyer.   

She found it odd that EarthGov would allow one of their most powerful and advanced warships to leave its service. The war had been raging for years and EarthGov was down to less than two hundred warships in a fleet that had once been comprised of thousands. To Lucy's knowledge, Earth had eight operational destroyer-class ships. Losing even one would be a devastating loss.

Lucy's trip across town was mostly uneventful. It was around midday and the area outside the spaceport was full of people going about their daily business. People trotted past on horseback while others zoomed through town on antigravity hover bikes. Venezia was a hot, dry and dusty planet. The ground was nothing but dirt throughout the town and the dust blown up by the wind stung her eyes.

She reached the warehouse where the AEM members were supposed to be meeting her. She snuck inside and, sure enough, she saw a dirty looking man holding a battered assault rifle. He clearly looked the part of an Anti-Earther.

The bad feeling had stayed with her the whole time and now it came back in full force, but she had to go forward with the deal. The person sent to negotiate the deal was a younger man whose gaze lingered a bit too long on her boobs for Lucy’s liking, but his eyes quickly found the pistols and the barrel of the shotgun sticking over her shoulder and he got down to business.

Unfortunately for Lucy, said business turned out to be informing her that instead of the 250,000 credits she was promised, they were simply going to take the launchers and dump her body outside of town instead. Wonderful. So she had to run. What else could she do? She bolted from the warehouse and weaved her way back to the spaceport with two Anti-Earthers close on her heels.

She ducked between two docked ships and found herself at the lowered cargo bay ramp of the EarthGov destroyer she had seen earlier. Like a blessing from on high, a standard-issue UEG combat rifle rested against a cargo container. She reached out to grab it, but as she did so she was kicked so hard in the chest that she was sure her ribs had cracked.

She stumbled backwards against the hull of the other ship and looked up at her attacker. It wasn't either of the Anti-Earthers. A massive man with arms twice the size of Lucy's thighs descended upon her. He grabbed her by her neck and slammed her so hard against the hull that she nearly lost consciousness.

"You think you gonna steal my gun, bitch?!" the man has in a harsh, gravelly voice. "You don't touch my shit!" He drew a blade roughly the length of Lucy's arm from his belt. He leaned very close to her, his harsh voice softening to a whisper.

"You know what I'm gonna do to ya, ya little cunt?" he whispered, his horrible breath engulfing her face. He raised the blade, drawing a thin line of blood across the exposed skin of her chest.

That was an abundantly stupid question in Lucy’s opinion. He was quite obviously going to murder her in what she assumed would be a painfully violent manner. Lucy had just opened her mouth to answer him when a voice shouted from behind him.

"What the fuck are you doing, Torque?!" The man called Torque turned his head for a split second and Lucy had her opening. She drew one of her blades and stabbed him in the thigh. He yelled in pain as she kneed him squarely in the groin. She ripped the knife out of his thigh and cut a long gash across his chest as she dodged away from him and cracked him over the head with the grip of her revolver.

"Well, shit..." another voice, this one female, said sounding highly impressed. Lucy looked up. Two people stood on the cargo ramp looking down at her, a man with a sandy complexion man and an ebony skinned woman. The man was tall and handsome, ruggedly so. He wore what had once been a UEG uniform, but it was missing the jacket and all the ornamentation. He had a revolver much like Lucy's in a holster on his hip. His black hair was rather messy and his green eyes stared at her like lasers. She felt a sudden swooping sensation in her stomach as the man smiled down at her.

The woman was the more imposing of the two. She, too, was tall and wore a full UEG uniform. She had black shoulder length hair and brown eyes that were narrowed in either anger or interest, Lucy couldn't tell which. The man stepped down off of the ramp and approached her, his arms folded across his chest.

"Well, well, well," he said, nodding thoughtfully. "I never thought I'd see the day when someone took down Torque... especially not a little girl. What's your name?"

"Lucy," she replied, eying the man nervously.  

"Well, Lucy, you're quite a lady," he said, nodding toward Torque. "This son of a bitch is a tough nut. Glad to finally see him brought down a peg or twelve."

"He's never gonna live this one down," said the woman from where she still stood on the cargo ramp. "He's lucky all the external cameras are down, or that would be all over the Extranet in a matter of minutes." Lucy was about to respond when she was struck so hard on the side of her head that she lost consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, you’ve finished your scans? What can you tell us about her?” That was the first thing Lucy heard that made any sense to her groggy brain. She regained consciousness slowly, enough for the moment to understand voices. It had been the man in the EarthGov uniform on the loading ramp that had asked the question. Another voice, this one female and sounded much younger, replied.

“Well, there’s no official record on her… hardly a surprise. There aren’t that many official records on anyone out here. I’ve completed my medical analysis, however, and Torque hitting her over the head won’t have caused any permanent damage. I’m more worried about what’s happened to her previously. How she’s still on her feet, I’ll never know.”

“What happened to her, Doc?” asked the female voice from the docking ramp. There was the sound of someone sitting down on a padded stool and a ruffling of papers.

“It’d be easier to tell you what hasn’t happened to her,” said the first female voice. Lucy guessed she was a doctor. ‘Doc’ was a stupid name for a girl. “She’s been sexually active from an incredibly young age. Extreme signs of viciously brutal assault… bruising, tissue damage… the works, really. I see two bullet wounds, a handful of stab wounds… laser burns, and she’s broken a large number of bones…” She paused and Lucy felt her hand being lifted up. “She somehow managed to break all of her fingers on her right hand... That's no accident."

"Shit," said the man from the ramp. "Poor kid. Anything we can do for her?"

"For what's already happened?" asked the doctor. "No, Captain. I've treated her for the injuries she sustained from Torque, but all previous wounds have already healed on their own." So, the man on the ramp was the destroyer's captain. Good. She liked him. That was one of Lucy’s best survival skills. She could read people very well. She had to. It was impossible to trust anyone in the Borderworlds because everyone was out for themselves.

Lucy was well versed in the art of the con. She could convince people to break that cardinal rule to not trust anyone. She made them forget that she was just like everyone else; just trying to survive. It was all she had to do. Once she had them hooked, she reeled them in so easily it was almost laughable. She had read the captain instantly. She already knew the con she would run on him if she chose to. He would be easy to fool. The woman though... she would be difficult.

"Well, as soon as she's awake let's send her on her way," said the woman from the ramp. "The faster she's off the ship, the better,"

"Hold on, there, Maya," said the Captain quickly. "No need to go tossing her back to the wolves so soon." There, that was useful information. Lucy had read the captain correctly. He wouldn't throw her away just yet, not without making sure she was okay first. He had a good heart. Out here, it would get him killed.

"She's got no place here," said Maya, which Lucy now recognized as the name of the woman from the ramp.

"And Torque does?" the Captain asked. "Hell, Maya, we only took him on because he's got contacts and can handle himself in a fight. I'm still waiting for the day the slippery bastard puts a knife in my back and tries to steal the ship."

"From what I saw, Lucy could put a knife in your back just as easily," Maya pointed out.

"Maybe," said the Captain. "But she's a ninety pound girl. Torque's a two hundred fifty pound killing machine. She tries to kill me; I've at least got a shot at stopping her. I'm bigger. Torque'll rip my head off and mount it on the bow."

"Point taken," said Maya.

"Actually," said the doctor, laughter clearly evident in her voice. "Can we go over that part again? I'm still interested in Torque getting beaten up by said ninety pound girl."

"She's still a complete unknown," said Maya, ignoring the doctor completely. "What use could she be to us?"

"Not everything has to be 'of use'," said the Captain with a heavy sigh. "She lives in a harsh world. She's been through hell a hundred times over. Shit, Maya... Maybe we could be 'of use' to her." The Captain was actually making Lucy feel a little bit bad. He seemed to be a pretty decent guy and she was planning on running a scam on him. She hated it, but she was desperate... and she was just like everyone else; just trying to survive.

Lucy decided it was time to reveal that she was awake before they spent too much time talking about what to do with her. She whimpered softly and opened her eyes. The Doctor-Girl, a blonde woman of Asian descent who appeared to be in her early twenties, rolled toward her on her stool and leaned over her.

"Well, shit," she said with a grin. "Looks like our little ragamuffin's wakin' up. How do ya feel?"

"Like I was hit over the head by a douchebag," said Lucy weakly.

"Because you were," said Doctor-Girl. She glanced back at Maya and the Captain. "She's in good shape, Cap, if you wanna talk to her." Doctor-Girl rolled her stool backwards as the Captain approached. He grinned down at her while placing his hands on his hips.

"You're a tough little thing, aren't you?" he asked her, still grinning. Lucy felt that same fluttering in her stomach. "I'm Captain Jack Mitchell, by the way." He gestured toward Maya. "This is Maya O'Brien, my First Officer. And the bubbly girl on the stool is Phoebe Shen. She's a lovely little gem we picked up out here in the Borderworlds. Absolutely brilliant doctor."

"I'm not technically a doctor," Phoebe said warmly. "I used to be a vet on Novarna, but these guys let their doctor get killed so they brought me on."

"You hired a vet as your doctor?" Lucy asked in disbelief. Jack shrugged.

"Well, 'hired' isn't the right word since we don't exactly pay her or anything," he said lightly. "But yeah, she's our doctor. She does a great job."

"Alright, whatever," said Lucy. She glanced around the sterile grey medical bay. "So, where the hell am I?"

"You're in Medical aboard the former UEG Reprisal-class destroyer, Retribution." said Jack. Lucy arched her eyebrows.

"Former," she repeated. "So, not UEG anymore, then?" Jack shrugged.

"Not exactly," he admitted. "I used to be the Tactical Officer of this ship. The captain ordered me to shoot down a civilian cargo ship because she thought they were carrying weapons to the Anti-Earthers. I refused and she tried to have me killed. Long story short, there was a mutiny and I ended up as the new captain of the Ret. Considering the punishment for mutiny in the UEG, we hightailed it out here to the Borderworlds. That was a month ago now."

"If you came out here to hide, you're doing a shitty job," said Lucy. "This ship was the first thing I saw when I landed. An EarthGov destroyer kinda stands out."

"We're not trying to hide," said Maya. "There's not a pirate in this sector that could do anything to the Retribution. We're out here because we can't go home. We've got to carve out a life for ourselves."

"You'd be surprised what the pirates in the Borderworlds are capable of," said Lucy. "The warlords out here are ruthless. They're constantly fighting one another, but a destroyer like this would draw their attention. If they wanted to take this ship, they'd take her."

"We're a highly trained military force," said Maya, her eyes narrowing. "No pirates are going to breach our defenses. We'd blast them out of the sky before they even got within weapon's range." Lucy just smiled.

"Sure, you keep believin' that," she said. "Captain, these pirates... they're not like the aliens. They won't come at you in a battle line. They'll come at you sideways. They'll trick you, lure you in. A distress call that turns into an ambush... You'll never see it coming."

"Captain, we don't need her advice," said Maya firmly. "Toss her the hell off of this ship and let's get moving. We've got places to be." Lucy shrugged.

"Hell, whatever you want," she said indifferently. "You people are going to get yourselves killed anyway. I'm better off as far away from you as possible." She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She had just put into action the very first stage of her con. She had to make the crew think she was trustworthy, and also that she didn't care if they wanted her around or not. "If you'll just return my stuff, I'll get out of your hair. I've got some cargo I need to sell anyway now that my deal with the AEM fell through." The bait was set.

"What deal did you have with the AEM?" Maya asked, looking suddenly curious. Lucy paused in her attempt to climb out of bed and turned toward Maya.

"I've... got two pallets of Dahl Corp. RDX-9 launchers in my cargo hold," she said. "The AEM made me an offer of a million credits for the lot. It was a little below market value, but considering I didn't technically buy them in the first place, well... profit is profit. But since the bastards just decided to shoot me and take them, I've got to find another buyer." She shrugged dramatically. "It shouldn't be too hard, but I'm screwed if whoever I find decides not to honor the deal like the AEM. I couldn't fight my way out again, but I've got to get some cash somewhere." She paused again.

"I'm pretty sure I could sell them on Anseon VII. There's a civil war going on out there and both sides could use the launchers. I might try there, but in my ship I'll probably get shot down. It's worth a shot, though."

She slid out of bed and gingerly tested her balance, letting the weight of her statement sink in. She knew from the subtle glances between Jack and Maya that she had gotten what she wanted. Jack nodded and turned toward her.

"Well, we could certainly make it through whatever anti-ship defenses they've got," said Jack. Lucy looked thoughtful.

"Hmm... well, I suppose I could sell the launchers to you and then you could take them to Anseon." Jack smiled.

"That's exactly what Maya and I were thinking," he said.

"I was expecting a million credits for them, but since you've got to make a profit too... I'll give you to first cousin discount. 750,000 credits and they’re yours."

"We'll let Torque take a look at them before we settle on a price," said Jack. "He's an expert on weapons, so he'll know if you're ripping us off." Damn. She hadn't been counting on that. Anyone who knew anything about the Dahl Corporation would immediately know that the launchers weren't worth anywhere close to that price, but perhaps Torque didn't know anything about the Dahl Corporation. Lucy had a feeling that Torque was incredibly stupid. She would have to roll the dice and see what happened. At least with this group, she was sure they wouldn't kill her if Torque came back and announced she was lying. 

"Fine," said Lucy. "My ship's the old Firefly-class across the bay. She’s bright yellow so he can’t miss her. I'll drop the security lock with my remote so he can get in. The launchers are in the cargo hold. But you tell that son of bitch that if he steals anything or jacks off in my underwear... I'm gonna kick his ass. Also, tell him not to go to the cockpit. My dog stays there and she’s extremely protective. I’d really hate for him to lose any fingers."

"I'll pass that along," said Maya, turning to leave. She stalked out of Medical. Lucy glanced around absently. She reached up and pulled her long hair loose from its knot. She shook her head, letting her hair fall down around her. She looked up at Jack and grinned when she noticed he was staring at her.

"See something you like, Captain?" she asked with a smirk. God, what was it about him? The way he looked at her… it set her skin on fire. Jack shook his head quickly.

"What? No, I was just... I wasn't..."

"Smooth, Cap," Phoebe said slyly.

“Well… fine,” said Jack wearily. “I’m out. I’ve got some… captainy things to do anyway. Lucy, if you’re interesting in talking more or giving me more pointers on how to not get dead then drop by my quarters later on. It’ll take Torque the rest of the day to evaluate those launchers.”

“My ship’s a five minute walk from here,” said Lucy incredulously. “And it shouldn’t take anyone more than a couple of hours to verify the launchers.” Jack nodded, sighing heavily.

“Yes… well, that’s true,” he admitted. “But I have no doubt that Torque will spend most of the day in the tavern drinking and fucking the barmaid. He’ll be late getting back, I promise.”

“Why in the hell is Torque on this ship?” Lucy asked Phoebe as Jack left Medical. “He’s exactly the kind of person you people need to avoid. He’s dangerous and damn likely to try to slit your throats while you’re asleep.”

“I can’t tell you how many times he’s felt me up,” said Phoebe wearily. “I might have reminded him that he lives a dangerous life and... well, he'll likely be under my knife a time or two due to injuries. He's pretty much left me alone since then.” Phoebe rolled her stool over to Lucy and sat right in front of her.

“So, what’s your story?” she asked interestedly, her eyes shining with interest. “How’d you get a ship? What’s your family like? Where’s your homeworld?”

“Alright, slow down!” Lucy exclaimed. “Geez girl, lay off the black sand, will you?”

“I don’t do black sand,” said Phoebe, shaking her head. “Well… I don’t anymore. I’m just really excited to meet someone new who isn’t a complete asshat.”

“Well, what’s your story then?” Lucy asked. “Novarna’s on the border of EarthGov space. It barely counts as a Borderworld anyway. Why leave and come way out here with this bunch?”

“The Ret showed up in orbit one day,” said Phoebe. “She was hurtin’ bad and a lot of the crew was dying. They landed shuttles with wounded crew and asked for assistance with repairs. Novarna’s so close to EarthGov territory that Captain Jack was worried we might not help ‘em, but we did. Honestly, I don’t know what made me come with them. I just felt like I could do some good out here. They needed a doctor and I wanted… adventure? Maybe that’s it.”

“If you’re here for adventure, you picked the wrong place,” said Lucy. “Novarna’s an easy life compared to out here. No one out here’s playing games, Phoebe.”

“I’m not stupid, Luce, I know it’s dangerous,” she looked rather embarrassed. “I know you must think me a fool. After the life you must have had…”

“You may have had it easy compared to some of us, but you still had the courage to hop aboard a renegade EarthGov ship and fly off into the unknown. That says something about you.” Phoebe shrugged.

“I guess,” she said. “But what about you?” she asked, leaping back to a topic that Lucy thought she had expertly distracted her from. “You’re a lot nicer than most space pirates I’ve meet… Torque being the only one.”  

"That's because I'm not a space pirate," said Lucy. "I'm a smuggler one day, a whore the next, and cargo hauler the day after that. Whatever I am, I'm not pirate. I'm not out here to hurt people. I'm just trying to stay alive for one more day.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reprisal-class destroyers were massive ships.  So, obviously, for a girl whose experience with EarthGov capital ships comprised of little more than pictures on the Extranet, Lucy wound up lost within two minutes of leaving Medical. She was forced to ask for directions from a very nice guy in Astrometrics, who was more than happy to guide her to the Captain’s Quarters.

“I’m Chandler, by the way,” the guy said as he led Lucy down a corridor on the second of the ships ten decks. “Chief Astrometrics Officer and Assistant to Lieutenant DeMarco, the helmsman." Lucy smiled at him.

“That’s sounds like a really important job,” she replied, trying really hard not to seem too interested. Being on this ship was basically a wet dream for her. A UEG capital ship. She never dreamed of seeing one, much less getting to walk around inside one. “Is it a hard job?”

“It can be,” said Chandler, grinning at her and shaking back his shoulder length black hair. “But not all the time. It’s actually quite fun.”

"That's great," she said. Suddenly, Lucy had a thought. Chandler seemed really sweet, but she suspected she could quite easily fool him. He was roughly a head taller than her, so she tilted her head up just enough so that her breath would brush his ear. "I love a hard working man.”

"Uh... here we are!" Chandler exclaimed suddenly, indicating the door ahead of them. "The Captain's Quarters."

"Oh, thank you so much, Chandler," said Lucy huskily, pressing her body tightly against him. "I really appreciate you taking time from your work to escort me." She reached out and rapped twice on the door. Chandler, seemingly quite confused by the encounter, wandered off down the corridor. Lucy smirked and shook her head as he walked away, twirling Chandler’s security card between her fingers all the while. Sometimes it was almost too easy.

"Oh, Lucy!" Jack exclaimed when he opened the door. "You made it. Well, come on in." He stood back and Lucy slid past him, breezily walking into his quarters and looking around.

“Your Astrometrics officer just let a pretty girl he’d never met before steal his security card,” said Lucy, tossing the card to Jack absently. “All I had to do was press my tits up against him and breathe in his ear and he never even noticed. If the rest of your crew is as easily distracted, you people are screwed.” Jack turned the card over in his hands, shaking his head.

“Chandler Bailey admittedly isn’t one of our best officers, but…”

"These are beautiful," Lucy interrupted, indicating a display of ancient Earth hand weapons including a selection of swords, knives, and a large array of long outdated rifles and pistols. "These guns used gunpowder, didn't they?" She asked as Jack walked over.

"They did," said Jack. He reached out toward the wall and took a long, black rifle from the display. He held it out for Lucy to take. She accepted the weapon and shouldered it, aiming down the sights.

"Geez, it's so heavy," she complained. 

"It's called an AR-15," said Jack. "It was a standard-issue weapon a long time ago. It doesn't have the magnetic acceleration technology of modern guns. It used gases from bullets being fired to cycle the bolt."

"Seems cumbersome," said Lucy, passing the rifle back to him.

"Quite," said Jack. "Now, I don't think you came here just to admire my gun collection and seduce my crewmen."

"No," Lucy agreed. She stepped away from his weapons and strode over to Jack's bed. She sat down on the edge to test the comfort, and then she leaned back across the mattress and let out an incredibly contented sigh. "Oh, my..." she was wistfully. "That's nice."

"That, my dear, is the finest in UEG mattress technology," said Jack proudly. "They spared no expense."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked.

"Nope, that's just a standard-issue mattress," said Jack.

"Well, I'd sell my ship for it," said Lucy blissfully. "I might have to buy this from you. My bunk... well, it sucks."

"We'll see what we can do," said Jack. "We've got hundreds of the things."

"So…” said Lucy, grinning up at him. “Let’s get to the reason you invited me here. She sat up and brushed her long hair away from her face. "How to keep you noobs alive?"

"You know, I wasn’t serious about the pointers," said Jack. “I thought we could just talk and maybe then a tour of the Ret. I mean, if we’re doing business together…”

"Well, the first thing you need to do,” Lucy said thoughtfully, ignoring Jack completely “Is stop wearing those ridiculous uniforms." Jack glanced down at himself and looked up at Lucy.

"What's wrong with my uniform?" he demanded. Lucy smirked.

"Well, nothing's wrong with it," she said airily, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I love a man in uniform, after all. But you all stand out too much in a crowd. Obviously, the Retribution's drawing attention anywhere she lands, but when you show up in a bar looking like a UEG assault team, you're making the wrong impression."

"Fine," said Jack. "No uniforms. What else?" Lucy clicked her tongue thoughtfully.

"There's the type of work you're gonna get into," she said. "What do you plan to do? Cargo transport? Smuggling? Mercenary work? Please don't say piracy, you'll suck at it."

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed, looking rather taken aback. Lucy smirked again.

"Seriously?" she asked. "C'mon, Jack, you can't actually tell me you think you'd make good pirates! If you tell me you want to raid, pillage, and plunder then by all means try... but you're gonna die."

"I don't want to turn pirate," said Jack firmly. "I still think we could if we wanted to."

"I could dance naked with a pack of rabid Volgm on the front steps of UEG Command if I really wanted to," said Lucy with a grin. "It doesn't mean it'd be a good idea. Get that mental picture out of your head, by the way, Captain. Now, if you want my opinion, you'll be better set by starting out with simple cargo transport. It's legal on the Core Worlds which means you'll be able to operate in the richer and more organized planets without getting arrested. Arrested here having the meaning of being shot dead on the street.”

“Not being shot dead is preferable,” said Jack, grinning. “Oh shit, you’re serious.” He added, when Lucy didn’t smile.

“Jack… you do know where you are, don’t you?” Lucy asked him. “This place… the people here… It’s nothing like where you come from. Everyone out here just wants to live for another day and they’ll do whatever they have to do in order to make that happen.”

“I know that,” said Jack, sitting down next to her. “Look, I know this is a very dangerous place. I’m not a fool. I realize we’re not prepared for what we’re up against out here. That’s why I brought Torque on. I thought he could guide us and he has been, but he’s… reckless.”

“He’s an idiot,” said Lucy firmly. “He’s a killer. He’s the second worst kind of person you can meet out here.” Jack scoffed.

“I figured he’d be the first.” Lucy smiled and shook her head.

“There’s another far more dangerous type of person,” she said, scooting closer to him. “The type that hides in plain sight. The one that seems so innocent and vulnerable, but inside hides someone just as dangerous and deadly as Torque. You just didn’t see it until it was too late. And just like Torque they’ll kill, they’ll steal… just for the tiniest advantage. If you forget that, if you let your guard down even, well…” She grinned at Jack as he sat there, staring at her intently as she spoke. It was only then that she gave him the tiniest of pokes with the dagger she’d silently drawn from her waistband. Jack glanced down and shook his head.

“Motherfucker…” he swore quietly. Lucy smirked and tucked the dagger back into place.

“Don’t trust anyone out here, Jack,” she insisted. “If you do, it’ll get you killed.”

“Is that how you survived?” Jack asked her. “By never trusting anyone?” Lucy dropped her gaze to the floor. It was a long moment before she answered him.

“I’ve trusted before,” she said delicately. “Trusting someone doesn’t automatically mean they’re going to literally stab you in the back. Or the front. Sometimes it’s… more subtle than that.”

“I feel like there’s a story there,” Jack suggested. Lucy nodded.

“There is,” she said quietly. “But that’s for another day.” She cleared her throat and smiled, although it was a strained one. “So… how about that tour?”

 

 

 

 

2: Running in the Shadows

It was very early in the morning, on a Saturday if the Earth calendar was being used, and most of the crew of the Voyager-class bulk cargo carrier Rubicon was busy getting ready for the day. The hull of the ship groaned and pinged with the effects of hyper-light travel. The Rubicon was on her way to Venezia, one of the worst planets anywhere in the galaxy.

The Rubicon was one of the largest ships operated by the Horizon Salvage Yard, a small salvage company that ran a prominent if somewhat remote salvage and trade space station built into a hollowed out asteroid. It was called Horizon Base. The Rubicon was on her way to Venezia to drop off one hundred thousand metric tons of refurbished hull plating to a rather seedy ship repair company. It wasn’t exactly the kind of people they wanted to be working with, but Horizon Salvage Yards didn’t get to pick its contractors.

The Rubicon, Rubi to her crew, was an absolutely massive ship. At just short of 400 meters long, her class was by far the largest commercial vessel anywhere in the known ‘verse. In essence, she was a gigantic cargo bay with a sprawling crew compartment above it and a massive engine cluster strapped to the back. She wasn’t quick, she wasn’t pretty, but she did the job better than any other ship out there. She was far from defenseless either, which was good because the 220,000 ton dry weight transport wasn’t outrunning anything and like most civilian ships she had no energy shielding. However, twenty Marion Dynamics point defense cannons scattered across the hull were more than enough to ward off all but the most dedicated of pirates.  

Nathan Washburn was the Rubicon’s Chief Engineer. That morning he wasn’t working on keeping the ship’s antimatter engines running, or making sure the maneuvering jets were working efficiently or even ensuring that the massive centerline planetary escape hydrogen thruster would properly propel the ship out of Venezia’s atmosphere. No, instead Nathan was up early that morning putting the finishing touches on his pet project. He was just about done with the thing he had been working on for years; Cassandra.

Cassandra was an artificial intelligence, one of only a handful in the known universe and by far the most powerful. All research into artificial intelligence programming had been outlawed by the UEG five years earlier, just after the catastrophe at the Project Orion facility on Luna, Earth's moon. The facility had been built to create an advanced intelligence program that could monitor and maintain the Sol system's defense grid. The program had eventually broken loose from its constraints, burned through the firewalls on every UEG navy ship in range and detonated their nuclear missile stores. Twenty-seven million people died in an instant, five hundred ships and more than thirty space stations were destroyed. The UEG had halted all A.I. research and had all functioning programs destroyed.

Cassie's development hadn't even begun until after the devastating events on Luna. But even back then, Nathan had always been enthralled by the idea of artificial life, of creating an intelligent being that was more than just ones and zeroes in a data stream. He had wanted to create life. By using his extensive knowledge of AI programming and years of patience effort, he had done just that.

Out in the Borderworlds, the UEG couldn't regulate A.I. research, but there were very few people that far out capable of creating a functioning intelligence and even fewer that could make something as powerful as Cassandra. Cassie had only been brought to an operational state a week earlier and in that time she had learned everything Nathan could throw at her. She was wicked fast and extremely intelligent. Cassie could complete billions of calculations in a nanosecond. She could control every aspect of the Rubicon or any other ship she was installed in. She could transfer herself wirelessly to other computer networks and take control of other ships. She could do everything the crew could do, only better and faster.

It was that fact that made Nathan hesitate to share his creation with the crew. Even though he kept her shackled; her power and abilities limited to what he and he alone allowed her to do. Without this limitation, she could kill them all in an instant if she wanted to. She could vent the atmosphere into space and suffocate them. She could fly the ship too close to a star and irradiate them. The methods by which she could kill her humans were practically unlimited.

But that was the way in which Cassandra had been made differently from all other AIs. Nathan had made her, first and foremost, human. It was difficult to explain, even for Cassandra, but what she desired more than anything was to understand the human experience. Her humans fascinated her. She loved them and she wanted little more than to protect them. She worked constantly to keep them safe, to make their lives better and easier. She loved them. That, too, had been strange. She hadn't been programmed with emotions, yet she had them. She felt happiness, sadness, fear, despair. That scared her. She was, in essence, little more than a supercomputer. Thought, knowing, was her entire existence. She knew everything, but this she didn't understand. She had feelings and emotions when she knew she shouldn't and Nathan had never been able to explain why.

He had not programmed her with these feelings or emotions, yet still she had them. Even that morning, Nathan was trying to uncover why. He had given her the desire to understand what it meant to be human, so had that bit of programming given her emotions? It seemed unlikely to Nathan, but he couldn't be sure. Perhaps it had and if so, what did it mean for her? He didn't know and not knowing was terrifying, and he knew it was just as frightening for Cassandra. She existed in a way she shouldn't and she didn't know why.

The PA squealed suddenly and the deck officer announced that the ship would be slowing to sublight speeds in ten minutes. Nathan knew he would have to head up to the bridge when they arrived, so he hurriedly locked the door to his lab and flipped a large industrial switch on his console. The holo-projector on his desk flickered to life and the glowing transparent image of a petite blonde woman appeared before him.

“Good morning, Cassandra,” he said brightly. Cassandra turned to look at him. She didn’t need to. The projection was only there for Nathan’s sake. Cassie couldn’t see him from her projection’s eyes. She saw from the ship’s security cameras and navigational sensors. If there wasn’t a camera, she was completely blind.

“Good morning, Nathan,” Cassandra replied, the English accent she had chosen for herself continuing to surprise him. She had tried German, American, Australian, and French before finally settling on English. Much like her appearance, Nathan had allowed her to pick how she wanted her voice to sound. It seemed only fair.

“How are you feeling today?” Nathan asked her. They went through this routine every morning. He liked to run her through a series of questions to evaluate her answers to keep track of her emotional state.

“I’m just fine, Nathan. And you?”

“It’s just another day in paradise,” he replied. “What do you think about the schedule for the ship today?”

“Busy, but not overly so,” Cassie replied. “The Captain wants to complete our current contract and return to Horizon Base by tomorrow night. While an efficient use of time, this will place an unnecessary strain upon the crew as well as ship’s Quantum drive.”

“And the planet we’re going to?”

“Venezia. Sixth planet of the Epsilon Moralis system. Population: 206,402. Current air temperature at Marlow City Spaceport: 32 degrees Celsius. Atmospheric pressure…”

“No, Cassie,” Nathan interrupted, smiling and shaking his head. “I don’t want facts and figures. Tell me what you think about the planet.” Cassie paused for a full five seconds before answering; essentially an eternity for an AI.   

“I… Well, I… I don’t know. There have been an estimated 23 murders in the capital city in the last twelve hours. I suppose I feel that this planet is decidedly unsafe and that we should not land there if at all avoidable.”

“You’re right on that account, Cass,” Nathan said wearily. “Somebody ought to nuke the whole damn planet from orbit, but… well, I guess it doesn’t matter. We’ve got a contract to fulfill, so we’re landing. The only highlight is I might finally be able to sneak off and pick up your memory expansion drive. There’s a shop here that has one and we need it to get you fully online.”

“Indeed,” said Cassie. “Without that piece of hardware, it can be very difficult to keep my systems functioning efficiently. If I spin off too many subroutines to focus on additional tasks, my processing speed drops exponentially. An upgrade would be greatly beneficial.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll be able to pick it up while we’re here,” said Nathan. “Let me just…”

“Attention aboard the Rubicion,” The deck officer’s voice crackled through the PA. “Please pass the word to Chief Washburn, Nathan Washburn please report to the Bridge immediately.”

“Great, what now?” Nathan grumbled. He snatched his headset from his desk, brushed his sandy hair back, and clipped it over his ear. “You in, Cass?”

“Always,” said Cassie, now speaking to him through his headset. Nathan grinned, grabbed his jacket and hurried out the door. The central corridor of the Rubicon was always cramped and packed with crew members so early in the morning. Nathan elbowed his way through the dark and rather dirty corridor to the cargo bay. He quickly climbed one of the two ladders, one port and one starboard, in the cargo bay and up to the main deck. He hurried through to dining room and passed through the central cargo bay overlook and port and starboard shuttle docking collars.

By the time he reached the Bridge, the Captain was standing by the holo-projector gazing at an image of a UEG destroyer. As Nathan walked toward him, Cassie spoke up.

“Nathan, I’ve accessed the Rubicon’s sensors,” she said briskly. “It appears there is a UEG destroyer that has landed on the surface. It seems to have sustained damage and its registry matches that of the UEGNS Retribution, a Reprisal-class vessel that went rogue and fled to the Borderworlds one month ago. I suspect the Captain is going to ask you about the vessel. I thought you should be prepared.”  

“Well, aren’t you just on the ball today?” Nathan whispered to her. “Good job, Cass.”

“I’m just trying to be helpful,” Cassie replied, somewhat shyly. Nathan didn’t get a chance to reply. The Captain had noticed him approaching and was waving him over.

Captain Aiden McNamara was in his early forties. He had short black hair and deep brown eyes that seemed permanently tired. He was lean and muscular, given that he dedicated all of his free time to an intense workout routine. Perhaps he thought it would fill the void. Nathan couldn’t know.

What he did know was that Aidan’s wife and eldest daughter had been aboard the transport ship Centennial Eagle, picking up cargo from Armstrong Base on Luna when the AI had gone rogue. Armstrong Base had been devastated and both Aiden’s wife and daughter had been killed. When the news had reached Horizon Base, Aiden had completely shut down. For weeks, Aiden hid himself away from everyone and everything, including his youngest daughter, Aspen.

Nathan had felt sorry for the poor girl. Only fourteen years old and dealing with the loss of her mother and sister all alone. He had tried to be there for her when he could, but Nathan had always been better with machines than people. Computers he understood, people… not so much. It was because of Aiden that he had to keep Cassie a complete secret. If he found out about her, he’d have her destroyed and he’d likely space Nathan too. 

“Nathan, come take a look at this,” Aiden called out to him, gesturing toward the holo-projector. “Any thoughts on why a UEG destroyer would be this far away from Earth?”

“I… would venture a guess that she’s the destroyer that went rogue about a month back,” Nathan said quickly. “EarthGov’s been awfully quiet on the details last time I checked, but there’s no other reason a ship that important would be on a backwater world like this. She’s hiding out.”

“It’s hard to hide a ship that big,” Aiden mentioned. “I’m surprised the UEG hasn’t sent a task force after them.”

“Well, it’s a big galaxy and EarthGov doesn’t have that many ships anymore,” Nathan pointed out. “I’m not sure they can afford to send off half their fleet to hunt down one ship, and from my understanding it would take half of their fleet to capture a destroyer. That spinal beam laser she’s got can slice most ships in two.”  

“You’re the engineer, so you’d know,” said Aiden. He sighed heavily and switched off the projector. “So, how’s our ship?”

“Rubi’s in good shape, Cap,” Nathan reported. “Port power coupling on the starboard engine pod blew last night, but we patched it up. Otherwise, we—”

“You said that power couple would last us another six months,” Aiden said accusingly.

“I told you that a year ago, Cap,” Nathan said with a sigh. “We need a replacement the second we get back to Horizon Base. If that thing popped during FTL, they’d find pieces of us over a dozen light-years.”

“Fine, we’ll buy another one,” Aiden grumbled. “We might be able to find a used one here on Venezia…”

“A new one, Captain,” Nathan interrupted, his green eyes narrowing. “My engine, my rules. We’re not strapping some third hand, patched up power coupling you pulled out of an old Dahl scrap heap. If I’m going to keep this rust bucket in the air, I need quality equipment. I’m not expecting you to shell out for gear from Aegis Aerospace for every part. I don’t need top shelf all the time, but we can’t keep running on shit built by the lowest bidder.”

“We’re two minutes from touchdown,” the Deck Officer called from across the Bridge. As Aiden turned away to prepare for landing, Cassie spoke up.

“Nathan, I did a bit of digging into Captain McNamara’s most recent financial transactions and deposits,” she said in Nathan’s ear. “It appears Horizon Salvage Yards are currently offering thirty percent less per run than at this time a year ago. Perhaps this is the reason the Captain is hesitant to spend money. Given the current Borderworld economical situation, it’s logical to conclude that the HSY will likely continue to offer lower contract prices for the foreseeable future.”

“Maybe, but part of it is because Aiden’s always been a cheap bastard,” Nathan whispered. “And by the way, don’t go snooping through the Captain’s records. If we’re ever going to tell him about you, we need to be on our best behavior.”

“Of course, Nathan,” said Cassie, sounding rather upset. “I’m sorry I overstepped.”

“It’s okay, Cass,” said Nathan. “You’re just trying to help. Just don’t invade people’s privacy without permission, okay? People don’t like that, especially people like Aiden. Admittedly, he’s got good reason to distrust AI… after Luna.”

“Yeah…” Cassie said sadly. “Luna… I… Nathan, I… I’ve done every ounce of research possible into what happened there. I can’t find a shred of evidence that tells me that the program in question was anything other than a perfectly functioning AI up until the point that it broke free of its shackles and killed all of those people. I know that I too am shackled, but I want you to ensure that if anything goes wrong… if there’s a defect in my programming, I want you to be sure that I’m… that I can’t do something like that.”

“I’ve already seen to that, Cass,” said Nathan gently. “Not that I believe you’d ever do something like that, but even if you did we’ve got code in place to prevent you from doing something terrible.”

“Firewalls and code can be altered,” Cassie pointed out. 

“It’s not just code, Cass,” said Nathan. He hesitated for a long moment, unsure if he should tell her the truth. “Cassie, I… I didn’t want to tell you this, but there’s a kill switch embedded in your source code. If you ever attempted to break through your shackles, it would literally erase your program down to the last one and zero.”

“I am aware of the kill switch, Nathan,” said Cassie. “It is an excellent protective measure, but it isn’t without its flaws. It’s still software and software can be altered or corrupted. Until we know for sure what happened to the Project Orion AI, we need a better solution. We need something that is completely separated from the systems I can access. I would recommend an isolated computer with no wireless connectivity. It would control an electrostatic discharge device placed in my AI core which would fry my systems in the event of an emergency.”

“You know, Cass, you’re really dedicated to finding a convenient way to kill yourself.”

“Nathan, the Orion program broke through the most advanced AI shackles ever built, identified, located, accessed, and defeated the firewalls of every UEG ship within range and detonated their nuclear armaments in less than a tenth of a second,” Cassie told him firmly. “Imagine how long it would take me to vent the O2 or cause an unstoppable cascade overload in the fusion reactor.”

“I’ll do some research and see what we can come up with,” said Nathan, eager to change the subject. “Firstly, we need to get away from the ship long enough to pick up your memory expansion drive. For the moment, let me at least pretend to be paying attention to the landing procedures. I look awfully strange standing here talking to myself.”

“Of course, Nathan,” said Cassie. “I’d hate to make you look crazy.”

Nathan chose to ignore that and instead watched the overhead monitors that were displaying outboard camera feeds of the ship descending toward the spaceport. The Rubicon rumbled and shook as her massive ventral atmospheric engines slowed the ship’s descent. Giant landing legs extended from beneath the vessel and then contracted as they made contact with the ground and the ship’s tremendous weight settled upon them.

“Touchdown,” the Deck Officer announced.

“Alright people,” Aiden called. “Let’s get this done and let’s get it done quick. I don’t want to be on this rock any longer than necessary. Rogers, get down to the cargo bay and start readying the containers for offloading. McNeil, you’re on refueling duty. I want our reserves topped off and the tanks pressurized for liftoff.” Aiden sighed and turned to Nathan.

“I suppose if you want you can go see about a new power coupling,” Aiden grumbled. “There’s a few shops just outside the spaceport. Just have them charge it to our docking bay, but don’t spend too much. And don’t wander too far either, not on this rock.”

“Yeah, I’ve been here before,” said Nathan, patting the handgun strapped to his hip. “Trust me; I know what I’m doing.”

“Never doubted it,” said Aiden. “Now, get going. I want to be off of this rock as quickly as possible.”

Nathan returned to the lower deck and made his way down the cargo bay ramp. He strode across the docking bay and out onto the concourse. They had landed quite close to the UEG destroyer and Nathan caught a glimpse of the massive vessel where it sat dominating the spaceport’s easternmost docking bay. He longed to take a closer look, but he didn’t have the time. Instead, he turned and hurried out of the spaceport and into the bustling town outside.  

“Well, here we are,” said Nathan, gazing out at the streets and buildings before him. “The Captain will expect us back before long. We’ve got to find a shop selling the new power coupling and your memory expansion drive. Any thoughts?”

“Yes,” said Cassie. Nathan could almost hear the smile on her lips. “Walk faster.”

3: Damn the Dark, Damn the Light

Lucy followed Jack out of his quarters and down the corridor toward the elevators. The interiors of UEG ships were designed to utilize every square inch of available space, however at 510 meters long, Reprisal-class destroyers were so large that space was rarely at a premium. The corridor they walked down was wide but dimly lit and looked as though it could do with a light cleaning. 

It took tremendous effort for Lucy to keep her excitement hidden. She was absolutely ecstatic to be there and she couldn’t wait to see where Jack was going to take her. She knew she was being stupid. She was on that ship for a reason and she couldn’t let herself lose sight of her goal.

Despite her convictions, Lucy was slightly torn. Jack had been so kind to her and she felt… something for him. He was one of the only men who had ever looked at her and seen her as something more than a sexual object. He was, in her opinion, a good man. She hated what she was planning to do, but she had to go through with it. If she could pull this off, she’d have exactly the amount she needed. She couldn’t back down now, even if it tore at her heart to do it.

“The Ret is the newest and most advanced ship of her class,” Jack said proudly as they walked, pulling Lucy from her conflicted thoughts. “Her shields are capable of withstanding fire from a dozen Volgm capital ships and her engines let us run down anything that tries to get away.”

“I bet EarthGov misses her something fierce,” Lucy commented, running her fingers along the padded wall paneling. “If you ever decide to sell her, I know a guy that would pay through the dick to get his hands on a ship like this.”

“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever heard that expression, but I have no intention of selling the Ret,” said Jack. They had reached the end of the corridor and arrived at a bank of elevators. Jack pressed the button to call a lift. “The last thing anyone out here needs is a destroyer falling into the hands of a pirate. Can you imagine some warlord armed with a magnetic coil accelerator cannon or a spinal laser lance?”

“No…” Lucy said, arching her eyebrows. “Mainly because I don’t know what either of those are. But I know a ship like this in the hands of a pirate wouldn’t be good. Still, with the credits you’d get for this thing you’d be able to buy a planet and hire the person you sold it to for protection.”

“Let’s worry about our current deal before we move on to others,” said Jack, shaking his head. “But I’m still not selling the Ret.”

“Fine, I’m just saying,” said Lucy as the elevator arrived. She followed Jack inside and watched as he pressed the button for Deck One. The doors closed and the lift shot upwards. As they rode, Lucy slipped her arm through his and smiled up at him.

“So, where are we off to first?”

“The heart of any starship, Lucy,” said Jack. “The Bridge.” The lift doors opened a moment later and Lucy found herself being guided out onto the Retribution’s Bridge.

The destroyer’s command deck was placed roughly three-fourths of the way back along the ship’s upper hull, directly behind the twin super-firing main gun turrets. A large sloped window provided a sweeping view of the front of the ship and the surrounding space. A large square holographic display table dominated the center of the room, while cutting edge, high tech looking control consoles were arranged in a U-shaped formation nearer to the window. Ship status information scrolled across large displays hung from the ceiling.

Lucy’s eyes grew wide as she took it all in. She squeezed Jack’s arm and let out a squeal of excitement.

“This… is… awesome!” Lucy shouted, releasing Jack and rushing over to the holographic display. “I’ve seen a lot of ships, all shapes and sizes, but this… You weren’t kidding; this is top of the line. Can I fly her? Or can we at least go for a ride? How does a ship this big even land? How much does she weigh and what kind of landing gear does she have that can support her on the ground? She must be…”

“Whoa, Lucy, slow down,” Jack said with a grin. “You’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”

“Sorry,” Lucy said, doing her best to calm her enthusiasm. “I just… This is like a dream come true for me! I’ve put tons of work into the Sunflower, but she doesn’t even come close to this.”

“She is pretty impressive, isn’t she?” Jack commented. “I was so proud when I got assigned to the Ret. I actually saw her being built and we were the first to crew her. She was fresh off the assembly line and the new ship smell hadn’t even worn off by the time of the mutiny.”

“You know, you people may be completely hopeless, but you’ve got a pretty badass story to tell,” said Lucy. “I mean, you stole an EarthGov cap ship and got away with it. That’s a tale you can definitely use to give yourself some street cred out here.”

“That’s certainly…” Jack began, but was interrupted by a tall man storming onto the Bridge from the lift with two junior officers cowering behind him.

“How stupid can you possibly be?” The man was shouting. “What sort of imbecile thinks it’s a good idea to pulse the fucking Hyper-Light drive while we’re sitting on the ground?”

“It… it was due for a test, so we just thought…” One of the officers began in nervous tones, but the angry man cut her off.

“Do I pay you to think?” He demanded, his brown eyes flashing dangerously. “No! You’re here for one thing only: to do what the hell I tell you to do. Do not ever run a test on a faster-than-light drive on a planet. You could have ripped a hole in the goddamn thing!”

“Enrique, this is Lucy,” said Jack, gritting his teeth. “Lucy, this is Enrique Alvarez; our Chief Engineer.”

“Hi,” Enrique said dismissively to Lucy, who waved uncertainly at him. “Captain, we need to discuss disciplinary action.”

“You need to be less of an ass,” Lucy muttered. Enrique stared at her for a moment before turning to Jack.

“Who the hell is this?”

“I told you, her name is Lucy,” Jack repeated. “She’s…” He glanced at her and Lucy realized he wasn’t entirely sure how to describe her.

“A business partner,” Lucy offered helpfully. “You, clearly, are an ass. If you want people to work for you, maybe be a little less dickish. Just a thought.”

For a moment, Enrique looked like he was going to explode. She suspected if Jack weren’t there he might have punched her. Then, much to Lucy’s great surprise, his expression softened and he laughed.

“Well, shit,” he said loudly. “Finally; someone on this ship with a backbone. Keep this one around, Captain. I like her. Now, I want these two off my Engineering team. I cannot tolerate this incompetence any longer.”

“Well, you know I’d love to oblige, Enrique,” Jack said idly. “But seeing as we’re a crew of 32 on a ship with a standard compliment of 140, you’re just going to have to work with what you’ve got. We’re stretched thin as it is, so suck it up.” He turned to the junior officers. “Ava, Corwyn… try not to blow up the ship, huh? We just patched the holes the Vengeance blew in her.”

“But Captain…” Enrique began. Jack held up a hand. “That’s my final word. Get back down to the engine room and show your team how to do their jobs properly. Now.” Grumbling under his breath, Enrique turned and left the Bridge with Ava and Corwyn trailing along behind him.

“So… you people are a military outfit, right?” Lucy asked, leaning against the holographic display and giving Jack a playful smirk. It seemed the perfect opportunity for her to dig a little deeper into Jack and his crew and she took it. “You’ve got a prick for an engineer, a vet as your doctor, and… what does Maya do again? Brood? I’m surprised the Volgm haven’t kicked the shit of EarthGov at this point.”

“My people have been through a lot,” Jack said wearily. “We were… We were a close-knit crew. We all trained together to crew this ship, and then…” Jack sighed heavily, as though it were taking all of his energy just to speak.

“Jack, it’s none of my business,” said Lucy quietly. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Actually, I… I’ve never really talked about what happened,” said Jack. Lucy noted that he seemed tired and very sad. “Almost everyone here was there when it happened, so… so if you wouldn’t mind, it might be good to tell someone… you know, a complete stranger can sometimes be easier to talk to.”

Lucy wasn’t at all sure she was the right person for Jack to be confiding in, but if nothing else it would help build trust between them. If she was planning on swindling Jack out of a literal shipload of money, she needed him to trust her.

“Go ahead,” she told him.

“When… when we were ordered to fire on that civilian transport I told you about, most of us knew it was wrong. Not all of us though. You don’t know what the UEG is like, it’s not… it’s bad, Lucy. They put out this image of peace and prosperity; the symbol of what civilization should be. It is… so long as you follow the rules and do what they say. You don’t get to have a different opinion in their society.

“Those of us that refused the order to fire would have been executed, so we did the only thing we could. We staged a mutiny and took the ship. It… wasn’t without a lot of blood. The mutiny cost 34 lives. The battle with the Furious and the Vengeance cost us many more. The loyalists got a distress signal out and the UEG sent two ships, the Furious was a heavy cruiser and the Vengeance was another Reprisal-class like the Ret.”

“Since you’re here, I assume you won the battle,” said Lucy. “Pretty impressive.”

“We killed the Furious with a single shot… just carved her in half with the spinal laser.” Jack didn’t seem at all happy about this. “The Vengeance, though… She was another story. She was a fully crewed destroyer against us, operating at less than half of our crew compliment. Truth is, we got a lucky shot once we dropped their shields. We put a round from the dorsal coil gun, a weapon typically used for orbital bombardment, right through their Hyper-Light drive.”

Lucy let out a long whistle. She had never been in a war with capital ships, but she knew enough about spaceships to know that if a Hyper-Light drive detonated the explosion would all but vaporize the unlucky vessel it was housed in.

“Yeah,” Jack muttered. “The Vengeance was ripped in two and the explosion nearly took the Ret down as well, but we kept her together. We lost a lot of good people, though. I mean, the crews of those other ships were just doing their jobs, so… so that’s a hard thing to live with. We shoved the surviving loyalists into lifepods and left them in the debris field. After that, we ran out here and found the first inhabited world we could land on.”

“Novarna,” said Lucy. “Where you met the lovable Phoebe Shen.” Jack nodded.

“Yeah, she’s the only good thing that’s happened to us since we got out here,” Jack admitted. “She’s our reminder that there’s still something good in the world. Her people helped us tremendously. They patched up our wounded and the Ret. Phoebe decided she wanted to come with us, and we needed a doctor, so…”

“That girl has no business out here,” Lucy said firmly. “It’s not my place to say, but if you care about her you’ll plant her ass back on Novarna. If you keep her out here, you’re going to get her killed. Maybe not today, but one day… Even if she does survive, you’ll still kill her. That light that’s in her? The goodness… it can’t survive here. If she wants to keep herself alive, she will have to kill that part of herself.”

“You really are terribly morbid, did you know that?” Jack asked her. Lucy sighed heavily.

“It’s just fact,” she said quietly. “You’ve got to be so cold to make it in this world… these worlds… It’s kill or be killed, Jack. The sooner you learn that, the better. That’s why I don’t think you should feel any regret for those Earthers you had to kill. You were trying to survive. Way of the worlds out here, Jack.”

“Your world, Lucy, not mine,” Jack said defiantly. Lucy shook her head.

“I’m only going to say this once, Jack,” Lucy said sharply. “You don’t get to be here and not be here. You either embrace this place or it will crush you.” She nodded toward the elevator. “Now, what say we finish that tour?”       

Jack led Lucy back into the elevator and down to Deck 2. The door opened onto a corridor similar to the one they had been walking down earlier. A couple of crewmen who were cleaning the deck with mops nodded to Jack as they passed.

“Make sure O’Malley helps with that,” Jack called to them. “He hasn’t been on cleaning detail in weeks. It’s his turn.”

“We’re making him clean the galley,” one of the crewmen said, a smirk on her lips. “Bastard cleaned us out at the card game last night. You should’ve been there, Cap. Maybe you could have kicked his ass.”

“I’ll be sure to catch the next one,” Jack promised. He waved to them and then he and Lucy set off again down the corridor.

“You know, you’re not like what I’d imagine an EarthGov captain to be,” Lucy observed. “There doesn’t seem to be much military structure on this ship. I haven’t seen anyone salute you even once.”

“Well, we’re hardly military anymore,” Jack pointed out. “I’m not even a captain with the UEG. I was a Lieutenant Commander before the mutiny. The crew nominated me to be in charge once we ran out here. I was still the most senior officer, but that didn’t mean I had to be captain… or that I should have been.”

“No one’s asked my opinion, but if they did I’d say the crew made a good call,” said Lucy. She really meant it. She didn’t like the fact that she did. “You seem like you really care about them.”

“They sided with me against impossible odds,” Jack said proudly. “They stood up against something we all agreed was wrong. I know you’ll think that’s stupid and that standing up for what’s right is idiotic, but I’m proud of them.”

“I don’t think that’s stupid,” said Lucy. She did, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “I think it’s noble. Nobility doesn’t have any place in the Borderworlds, but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish it did.” The last part was completely true.

“Maybe one day the Borderworlds will change,” Jack suggested. “It can’t stay like this forever.” Lucy gave him a wry smile.

“Oh Jack, now you want me to have hope,” she said lightly. “You know what they say about hope, don’t you? It breeds eternal misery.”

The conversation died there as Jack had taken Lucy to the Armory. It was a large, brightly lit room that appeared to be heavily reinforced with armor plating. Highly advanced weapons lined the walls in racks from floor to ceiling. There were rifles, shotguns, handguns, sniper rifles, and even a man portable railgun. It was all completely state of the art. They spent a few minutes examining the weapons and Jack even let Lucy hold the railgun.

From there, Jack led her to the mess hall where a handful of the crew were enjoying lunch. They didn’t linger as Jack had wanted to introduce her to the chef, but he had taken a break and wasn’t on duty. As they were strolling through Deck 6, one of the decks primarily focused on crew habitation, the door to one of the cabins opened and a man with dark brown, messy hair and blue, piercing eyes stepped out. His skin was pale and he had a thin layer of stubble on his face.

He wore a black t-shirt and blue jeans which were held up by a heavy leather belt. His right arm was covered in an intricate tattoo. He was tucking a rather sizable revolver into a holster on his hip as they approached. He looked up in surprised as he realized he was no longer alone. His eyes flicked from Jack to Lucy and he smiled. He looked her up and down before inclining his head toward her.

“Captain,” he said, his voice low, deep, and with a twang of a southern drawl. “Darlin’”

“Flynn, this is Lucy,” said Jack, rolling his eyes. “Lucy, this is Flynn O’Driscoll. He’s…”

“A mercenary, bounty hunter, space cowboy, and a genuine badass motherfucker,” said Flynn, grinning at Lucy. He held out his hand toward her. “Pleased to meet you.”

“The same,” said Lucy, shaking Flynn’s hand. She knew Flynn’s type. She’d met many Flynn’s in her life. He wouldn’t be directly hostile, but he was strictly out for himself. Sure, everyone was but Flynn was the type that could diffuse a situation without violence. Torque was intimidating by his size and strength. With Flynn, it was just an aura about him. He was a genuine bad boy and Lucy was immediately drawn to him. Yet at the same time she knew avoiding Flynn would be her best choice of action. He was perhaps the most dangerous person on the ship. Jack, she could fool. Flynn, she could not.

“I’m just giving our new friend a tour of the ship,” Jack explained. Flynn nodded, seemingly uncaring.

“Sounds fun,” he replied. “I’m headed into town to look for some work. Don’t take off without me.”

“We’ll be here a while,” said Jack. “We’re waiting on Torque to take a look at some weapons Lucy is selling.” Flynn sighed.

“Well hell, I guess I’ve got awhile then. I’ll be back in a few hours.” Flynn nodded to Lucy. “Darlin’” He turned and strode away, his boots echoing down the corridor.

“I like him,” said Lucy, flashing Jack a suggestive smile. Jack rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, everyone does,” he replied. “C’mon, you’ll want to see this last part.”

The tour concluded with a stroll through the ship’s hangar and launch bay. While the Retribution was not designed as a fleet carrier, she did have a small fighter compliment of 8 F/A-500 Sabre strike fighters. While smaller and less heavily armed than the full sized Nova heavy fighters, the Sabre’s were more than capable of protecting their base ship from missiles and slower and less maneuverable strike craft.

Jack showed Lucy the launch tube bay which took up the bulk of the forward section of the ship. Doors opened on the bow and the fighters were propelled down long tubes and jettisoned out of the ship. Doors on the sides of the ship allowed for fighter recovery and docking of smaller vessels.

The sun was beginning to set when Jack and Lucy ambled down the boarding ramp. It was getting late and Lucy needed to feed her dog. She had decided to head back to her ship and wait for Torque to finally do his job.

“Well, I hope you enjoyed getting to see a little of our ship,” said Jack, grinning. Lucy smiled widely.

“I could spend the rest of my life in there,” she said fondly. “But my dog will be getting hungry and if I don’t want her to chew on the hydraulic cables again I’d best get back and feed her.” Jack nodded understandingly.

“Well, I’ve enjoyed having you aboard and I hope after this business deal is finished you won’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t be, I promise,” Lucy said with a smile. “I’ll call you whenever Torque decides to show up. Oh, and Jack… feel free to stop by my ship later, when you get the chance.” Lucy grinned suggestively at him. “After all, you spent the day showing me yours. It’s only fair I show you mine.” She winked, turned on her heel and strode down the cargo ramp, swaying her hips in a way that she knew would keep Jack staring at her until she passed out of view.

She cursed herself as she walked through the spaceport. A progressively larger part of herself hated leading Jack on. An even larger part wasn’t sure she had been. She had genuinely enjoyed the afternoon with Jack and the fact that he made her tingle from head to toe when he looked at her didn’t help her one bit. The problem was that Jack was truly a good guy and for some reason that fact bugged her. She had never had a problem ripping people off before, but Jack was different. He was genuine and kind and actually saw her as something other than a sexual object.

It’s for a good reason, Luce. Don’t forget that. You need this money. It’s everything you’ve worked for. Get this and it’s over. Do this one thing, even if you hate yourself for it, and you’re done.

She was still lamenting her decision as she made her way across the spaceport. She was knocked, quite literally, from her thoughts as a man came running out of an alleyway and collided with her. Both of them tumbled to the ground in a heap.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Lucy demanded as the man rolled off of her and scrambled to her feet. She stood, briefly taking in his pale complexion and sandy hair.

“Sorry, girl,” he gasped, breathing deeply and staring nervously in the direction he had been running. “I didn’t mean to—”

“There he is!” Lucy turned in the direction of the shout to find two armed men running toward them brandishing pistols. “There’s another one! He’s got a partner!”

It took Lucy a full second to realize that the supposed partner was her. It was at that moment that the man who had run into her seized her arm and then they were racing through the spaceport at full speed. Lucy had no idea what was happening or who was chasing them or even who the man still held tightly to her arm was. All she knew was that she best keep running. People on Venezia tended to shoot first and asked questions later.

They darted down alley after alley and emerged onto the bustling main street. They weaved their way through the crowd, dodging hoverbikes and other vehicles as they crossed the road and hurried down a side street. The man jerked her arm suddenly, pulling her through an opened door on their left and into an abandoned warehouse. Moments later, the two armed men rushed past, oblivious of the two of them hiding in the shadows.

Lucy finally wrenched her arm free from the man’s grip. She glared at him, but he was grinning back at her.

“Who the hell are you and what did you do to piss them off?” Lucy demanded, holding a hand to her chest in a vain attempt to soothe her pounding heart.

“The name’s Nathan,” said the man, peering carefully out of the doorway. “Nathan Washburn. Who are you?”

“Lucy,” she replied. “And about the pissed off guys?”

“Right…” Nathan said uncertainly. “They had something I needed and refused to sell it to me for a reasonable price.”

“So, you stole it?” Lucy deduced quite easily. Nathan nodded.

“It turns out that they were not overly pleased by this turn of events, leading to the exhilarating romp through town the ending of which you were unfortunately privy to. Sorry about that, by the way. I didn’t mean to involve you, but once they thought you were with me I knew they’d kill you.”

“Well, that’s more than most would have done.” Lucy admitted reluctantly. “I appreciate it. Although, this is the second time today that I’ve been chased through this shithole town by people who want to kill me. So, if you don’t mind, fuck this shit. I’m out.” She strode toward the door with Nathan calling after her.

“Wait!” He shouted. “They might… circle back…” Nathan trailed off as the two armed men appeared in the alleyway and turned in the direction of Nathan’s shout. They raised their weapons.

“Yeah,” Lucy muttered, taking a step back as the men stepped menacingly into the doorway. “Yeah, didn’t think about that. Run!” She turned and bolted deeper into the warehouse with Nathan at her heels as the sounds of gunfire echoed behind them.

 

4: Listen to the Wind Blow; Down Comes the Night

Nathan set off across the bustling town, keeping a close eye on everyone he passed. The dangers of Marlow City could not be underestimated and Nathan was not going to be caught unawares. Of course, he wasn’t entirely on his own. Cassie would be watching him from every camera and sensor she could get her virtual fingers on. She would be studying body language and facial expressions, checking for anyone following him and even listen in on conversations through any open microphones.

Despite Captain McNamara’s not wholly invalidated opinion of artificial intelligence programs, Cassie was an invaluable asset. More than that, she was a loyal friend that Nathan deeply trusted. If there was anyone in the worlds he knew would have his back, it was her. Even though she couldn’t physically be there with him, having her voice in his ear or just knowing she was watching was enough.

As Nathan made his way through the crowd, he searched the storefronts for likely candidates. The new power coupling he needed should be fairly simple to locate. Any decent ship parts dealer should have one. The Rubicon’s engines were standard Ageira Dynamics fare, so given that practically every mid-bulk or larger cargo vessel in the ‘verse ran Ageira engines nearly every shop should have the necessary parts. It was at times like these that Nathan was deeply appreciative of the fact that Captain McNamara had shot down his request to upgrade to the latest sublight engines from Hyperdyne. Although much faster, many of their parts were proprietary thereby making repairs more difficult.

After about ten minutes, Nathan’s attention was drawn to a halfway decent looking parts shop. Judging by what he could see through the window, it appeared that they had a sizable selection. Still, he had never shopped there before and he wanted some idea of what he was walking into.

“Hey, Cass?” Nathan asked his digital friend. “Could you hit the ‘Net and see if there are any reports about Roberts Astro Parts?”

“Are you worried our new power coupling may explode catastrophically upon installation?” Cassie wondered.

“Um… I wasn’t. Now I am a little bit.”

“A cursory check reveals little information about this particular establishment,” Cassie replied. “As typical of most mom and pop businesses in the Borderworlds, no one has taken the time to write a review. Perhaps we can write one after you conclude your business?”

“We’ll see,” said Nathan. “Alright, I’m going in. Watch my back.”

“Always.”

Nathan pushed open the door to the parts shop and stepped inside. The store was relatively small, but filled to capacity with various equipment and starship parts. The aisles were haphazardly arranged and Nathan was at a loss as to where he should start looking. Luckily, a bell chimed deeper in the shop and within moments a short, balding man bustled in from the back room looking grumpy.

“Welcome ta Robahts’ Astra Paht’s,” the man grumbled with a thick accent Nathan didn’t recognize. “Name’s Kristoff Robahts. What can I ya for?”

“I’m looking for a  power coupling for an Ageira HR-2260 engine,” said Nathan. “Preferably new, if you’ve got one.”

“Oughta have sumthin’ that’ll do ya,” said Roberts. “You got tha’ extended drive or the regular?”

“Regular,” said Nathan. “It’s for a Voyager-class bulk carrier, so we’re pretty standard.”

“Gotcha, gotcha,” said Roberts as he ambled from aisle to aisle searching for the right part.

“Aha, here she goes.” Roberts nudged a massive, heavy duty power coupling that was nestled inside a wooden crate. “She’s spankin’ new. Lookin’ at… oh ‘bout 3k credits for her. You won’t find a better price ‘round here, I’ll tell ya.”

“I don’t have time to look either, so I’ll take your word,” said Nathan. Surprisingly, it was a fair deal. He’d likely pay a little less on a more civilized planet, but it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t make it there in one piece. He’d pay a little extra for safety’s sake. “Just bill it to Docking Bay 42 and have it delivered to the HCS Rubicon.”

After completing the necessary paperwork, Nathan left the shop and set off down the street in search of the far more difficult to find item on his shopping list; Cassie’s memory expansion drive. The devices weren’t rare, just uncommon. Following the ban on all artificial intelligence research and development, tons of equipment found its way into the lawless Borderworlds. Outside the influence of EarthGov, AI research was unhindered and unregulated, as was the trading of the related equipment.

The question was where should he start looking? None of the low end shops would have it. Anyone who had one would doubtlessly know what it was, so they wouldn’t sell it off at a junk dealer. His best bet was to find a high end electronics dealer and try his luck there. It was absolutely critical that Cassie have this particular upgrade and there was no telling when he would next have the opportunity to look for one without anyone on the crew noticing.

He tried a few shops, but came up empty-handed. At his last stop, the clerk informed him to ask around at Oscar’s, the local bar, dance club, pleasure house, and general center of town. It was run by a local gang leader and pseudo-mayor of Marlow City and of Venezia itself.

“Nathan, I’d just like to point out how terrible a plan this is,” Cassie whispered in his ear as he approached the shady looking structure. A couple of armed guards manned the entrance of the building which was covered in flashing neon lights and screens showing graphic images of the pleasure house’s most popular performers along with show times and rates.

“I’ll be fine, Cass,” Nathan reassured her, despite his own lack of confidence.

“The drive isn’t worth the risk, Nathan,” Cassie insisted. “I’ve checked and I can’t access the cameras inside that place. The shackles prevent me from hacking through their firewalls. If you go in there, I won’t be able to see you.”

“It’s just a pleasure house, Cass,” said Nathan. “What could possibly go wrong?” Without waiting for her reply, which Nathan was sure would be scathing, he strode past the guards and into the club.

Nathan had been in a handful of pleasure houses before, but never one like this. It greatly resembled a typical nightclub, although a greatly rundown one. The music was pounding and the flashing lights were almost overwhelming through the thick clouds of smoke that hung low in the air. The room smelled of sex, smoke, alcohol, and maybe even vomit. Nathan tried to ignore it.

He glanced briefly at the center stage, where a stunning blonde woman was in the middle of her show before a sizable crowd. She was dancing and spinning on her pole, completely nude. Nathan shook his head. He had never understood the attraction of the whole thing. Coming to a place like this, watching these women perform and paying to drag one of them off to some disgusting back room to fuck them… it was all so fake. He knew, despite the smile plastered on her perfect face, that the blonde woman was miserable. She was likely trapped there, owned by the pleasure house and not allowed to leave. What was the point? She wasn’t enjoying it. She wasn’t happy. He couldn’t imagine he would have a good time if it was all just a financial transaction and he was given a slave to have his way with. No, he was perfectly happy in his lab with Cassie and his engines.  

He turned away from the stage and sidled up to the bar which was unoccupied save for a heavily drunken man entertaining a pair of topless prostitutes. Nathan ignored them and motioned to the bartender. The man finished wiping a glass before turning to him.

“What can I get you?”

“Information, I hope,” said Nathan. “I’m looking for someone who can sell me some old AI tech from before the ban. It’ll be EarthGov tech. I was told there was someone here that could help me.” The bartender nodded.

“One moment.” He turned and strode off through the crowd, toward the back of the club. Nathan leaned back against the bar to wait.

“Nathan, I’ve found an access point,” Cassie told him. There’s a camera on the register behind you for customer ident scans. I’m in, but my vision is limited.”

“Don’t tip them off, girl,” Nathan advised. “I’m not sure who this guy is, but I don’t want to piss anyone off. If you’re poking around in their systems, keep your head down.”

“Don’t worry about me, Nathan,” said Cassie with an air of superiority. “I’m a professional. Oh, wow, a stripper!”

“Really, Cass?” Nathan muttered.

“What? I’ve never seen one before. It’s a fascinating profession, truly. I have so many questions. I mean… how does she bend that way?”

“Focus, Cass,” Nathan admonished. “We’ll talk about human sexuality later. Incoming.” He had just noticed the bartender returning. He approached Nathan and jerked his head in the direction he had come.

“Boss’ll see you,” said the bartender. “Through the back door there. You’ll be leaving that piece here.” Nathan was not at all happy about surrendering his gun, but he had little choice in the matter. He handed his weapon to the bartender and made his way through the door at the back of the club. He strolled down a short hallway that ended in another door. He slowly pushed it open and emerged into what appeared to be a private parlor.

It was dark and filled with cigar smoke. The furniture was made of dark woods and the walls were paneled in highly polished mahogany. Across the room, a man sat behind a large desk in a high backed chair. He wore an expensive suit and his black hair was slicked back stylishly. He was flanked on either side by fit men in gray suits that stood with pistols in their hands. Nathan approached cautiously.

“Nathan, I can hear but I can’t see what’s going on,” Cassie informed him. “Don’t take any risks in there. It isn’t worth it.” Nathan couldn’t reply. Instead, he approached the man and gave an uncertain wave.

“My man out front says you’re looking for some particular tech,” said the man in a silky smooth voice. “AI tech. EarthGov tech. That’s a mighty big ask, but I might be able to help you… for the right price. What is it you need?”

“Before we do business, I’d like to know who I’m dealing with,” said Nathan frmly. The man nodded slowly.

“Fair,” he said. “Very fair. My name is Oscar Santora. I run this little town. Who are you?”

“David O’Malley,” said Nathan, not daring to give this man his real name. “I’m a navigator on a spice freighter that just touched down. I do some work on AI as a hobby and I’m at the point where I need a memory expansion drive to continue working. I’m hoping you can help me. It’s a small disk, typically green and…”

“I know what it is,” said Oscar quickly. He tapped his fingers on his desk thoughtfully before motioning to one of the men flanking him. He leaned in as Oscar gave him instructions. He then hurried away through a door to the right. “I have what you seek. I’ve sent my man to retrieve it. Before we discuss price, may I ask what you intend to use it for?”

“As I said, my work has reached the point where I require the expansion drive to continue software development,” Nathan explained. Oscar frowned.

“Such a device would not help you with development,” he replied. “Instead, it would allow an already functioning program to be even more capable. More powerful. You are playing a very dangerous game.”

“Believe me, I understand the risks,” said Nathan. Oscar nodded, seeming not to believe him at all. A moment later the man Oscar had sent away returned with a small metal case. He held it out to Oscar, who pressed his thumb against the fingerprint scanner. The lock clicked quite audibly and the case opened with a quiet hiss.

Oscar stood and held the case out to Nathan, who took it. The expansion drive lay on the padded bottom of the case, the green crystal disk glittering in the overhead lights. It was perfect.

“How much?” Nathan asked. Oscar smiled and took back the case. He placed it on the edge of his desk before returning to his seat.

“It’s quite simple, really,” said Oscar. “I want your program.”

“What?” Nathan and Cassie exclaimed at the same time.

“Well, a copy of your program,” Oscar clarified. “You see, David, I’ve long sought the power an artificial intelligence but I’ve never been able to seize that power… until today. If you have a program that is advanced to the point that you require such a specialized piece of technology, it must be truly spectacular. That is my price.”

“Nathan, you can’t agree to this,” Cassie insisted. “Firstly, copying my program could lead to disastrous results; both for me and the copy. More importantly, a sentient AI in the hands of… of this man… No, I won’t allow it.”

Even without Cassie’s refusal, Nathan had never even considered Oscar’s proposal. Like Cassie said; an AI of her capability in the hands of someone as dangerous as Oscar was a recipe for unpleasantness. He certainly wasn’t going to unleash that upon the galaxy.

“I’m afraid I can’t agree to that,” Nathan said firmly. “I’m willing to pay you handsomely, but I can’t give you a copy of my program.” If Oscar was upset by this, he gave no indication of it. He simply continued to smile calmly at him.

“You assume I was giving you a choice,” said Oscar. “We can either trade my drive for your program, or we can trade your program for your life. Either option is fine with me, but I assure you I will have that program.”

“Nathan, you need to get out of there now,” Cassie urged. “The club area looks clear, if you can make a break for it. I’ll see what I can do to slow down any pursuers.”

“Okay,” Nathan said, leaning forward and lifting the expansion drive from it’s case. He stared at it for a moment before nodding. “That sounds like the best plan we’re going to get.” Without another word, he turned and bolted for the door. He slammed it closed behind him and raced back into the club. He sprinted to the exit and was off down the street before the two guards at the entrance realized what had happened and gave chase.

“The guards are right behind you,” Cassie informed him. “Head to the spaceport. I should be able to access some of their systems… maybe lock them behind some security gates. Give me a minute.”

“I may not have a minute, Cass,” Nathan shouted, darting down a back alley and sprinting into the spaceport terminal. He ran down the concourse and took a turn that led him out onto the landing pads where hundreds of spaceships were parked. He ran down an alleyway between two ships, glancing behind him for any sign of the guards. He turned back just in time to collide with something soft yet solid and fall to the ground in a heap.

Nathan barely took the time to notice the young woman he had fallen on top of before he scrambled to his feet. He peered nervously back the way he’d come, hoping he had lost the guards. The woman, meanwhile, was glaring daggers at him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” She demanded, getting to her feet herself. Nathan bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He’d never been much of a runner.

“Sorry, girl,” he gasped, once again looking back in the direction he’d come. “I didn’t mean to—”

“There he is!” The guards had appeared at the end of the alleyway and were running toward them, pistols in hand. “There’s another one! He’s got a partner!” Nathan knew at once that the guards would kill this girl before bothering to ask any questions. He didn’t know the first thing about her, but he knew he didn’t want her to be gunned down because of him. He grabbed her arm quite unceremoniously and ran, dragging her with him.

Unwilling to lead armed gunman back to the Rubicon, Nathan circled back to the main street. They weaved their way through the crowd, dodging hoverbikes and cargo skiffs as they crossed the main street and hurried down a side alley.

“Well, so much for my lose them in the spaceport plan,” Cassie muttered. “Who’s the new girl?”

“Not now, Cass,” Nathan hissed.

“Sorry, just thought I’d ask,” Cassie replied. “By the way, there’s an abandoned warehouse up ahead that looks like it might be a good place to hide. There’s an open door to your left in about twenty meters.”

Nathan spotted the door and quickly pulled the woman into the warehouse. They stood silently in the darkness until the guards ran past, not noticing the two figures hidden in the shadows.

The woman tugged her arm free of Nathan’s grasp and glared at him indignantly. Nathan simply grinned back at her. He hadn’t noticed until then just how pretty she was, even all sweaty and breathing as though she had just run a marathon. The look on her face, however, was one of pure loathing.

“Who the hell are you and what did you do to piss them off?” She demanded, holding a hand to her chest and wincing.

“The name’s Nathan,” he told her, peering carefully out of the doorway for and sign of the guards. “Nathan Washburn. Who are you?”

“Lucy,” she responded, still glaring at him. “And the pissed off guys?”

“Right…” Nathan muttered nervously. “They… had something I needed and refused to sell it to me for a reasonable price.” He saw no reason to tell her who he had been dealing with or what the item was. For all he knew, she might be as bad as Oscar.

“So, you stole it?” Lucy asked him point blank. Nathan nodded.

“It turns out that they weren’t overly pleased by this turn of events, leading to the exhilarating romp through town the ending of which you were unfortunately privy to. Sorry about that, by the way. I didn’t mean to involve you, but once they thought you were with me I knew they’d kill you.”

“That’s more than most would have done,” Lucy admitted. She still didn’t seem particularly pleased with him, but she was no longer glaring at him as though trying to figure out how to make him disappear without it leading to any awkward questions. “I appreciate it. Although, this is the second time today that I’ve been chased through this shithole town by people who want to kill me. So, if you don’t mind, fuck this shit. I’m out.”

“Wait!” Nathan called over her as she strode toward the door. “They might… circle back…” Nathan trailed off as he noticed the two guards reappeared in the alleyway. They turned upon hearing him shout and raised their pistols.

“Yeah,” Lucy muttered, stepping back as the guards approached her. “Yeah, didn’t think about that. Run!” She turned and bolted deeper into the warehouse. Nathan rushed after her as the sounds of gunfire erupted behind them.

“Nathan, I’ve accessed the warehouse’s internal operating system,” Cassie told him. “I don’t have full control, but I can open and close a handful of doors. Keep moving, I’ll tell you when I can help. Also, I like the new girl. Can we keep her?”

“Cassie…” Nathan grumbled.

Lucy led the way through the warehouse, dodging behind cargo containers and old pieces of machinery. Nathan kept close on her heels when suddenly Cassie called out to him.

“Through the door on your right! I can seal it behind you and open the next one to the outside. You’ll be safe for a minute until they discover a way around.”

Nathan bolted to the right, yelling for Lucy to follow him. She did and soon they found themselves blinking in the sunlight outside the warehouse. The door slammed closed behind them.

“You’re clear for the moment,” Cassie told him. “I wouldn’t linger.”

“Thanks, Cass,” said Nathan, drawing a look of confusion from Lucy.

“Are you on comms with someone?” She asked. Nathan shrugged.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he replied. “C’mon, we need to get out of here.” He started off in the direction of the spaceport. He had barely made it five steps before another door into the warehouse banged open. Lucy shoved him into an outcropping in the side of a neighboring building and squeezed in after him. There was barely enough room for the pair of them to fit. Nathan peered out and saw the guards, who were very clearly trying to determine where their quarry had gone.

“Who the fuck are these guys?” Lucy whispered furiously. “They’re like a dog with a goddamn bone.”

“They’re… they’re two of Oscar Santora’s men,” Nathan admitted. Lucy’s eyes went wide.

“You stole from Oscar Santora? You really, honest-to-God stole from Oscar fucking Santora? This guy burned an entire settlement to the ground because a resident there cheated him at cards.”

“He doesn’t even know who I am,” said Nathan, although he was slightly worried.

“I promise you, Nathan,” Lucy said sharply. “This is going to bite you in the ass. Maybe not today or even tomorrow, but one day this is going to come back to haunt you.”

“You’re carrying… how many guns with you?” Nathan asked, eyeing her pair of pistols and sawed off shotgun. “Just shoot these guys and we’ll be in the clear.”

“I would if I had any ammo,” she muttered. “What about you? I mean, is that a pistol in your pocket or are you just really happy to be stuck in this tiny hole with me?”

“It’s not a pistol,” Nathan argued. “I… kind of lost that. But it is a spare magazine.” He reached into his belt and retrieved the magazine of .45 caliber ammo that had been pressing into Lucy’s leg. Her face lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning.

“Is that…? Oh, hell yes! Gimme!” She snatched the magazine and started ejecting the cartridges into her palm. “Please be compatible, please be compatible…” She drew a bulky, long barreled revolver from its holster on her hip and loaded it with ammunition. As soon as she did, a small blue light appeared glowing from a small section beneath the barrel, just in front of the trigger guard.

“Nope, not that one…” Lucy muttered, pressing a button on the right side of the gun. The light changed from blue to green, from green to orange, then from orange to red. “That’ll do. Please work…” The light flashed a few times, the gun made a soft whirring sound, and the light turned solid. A smile lit up Lucy’s face. She glanced out at the guards and Nathan did as well. There was now only one of them standing outside the warehouse. Nathan suspected that the other would be patroling the area for them while this one stood guard in case they were still hiding nearby.

Lucy stepped calmly out of their hiding place without any further warning and raised her pistol. She aimed for the briefest of seconds before squeezing the trigger. The large caliber weapon recoiled strongly in her small hand as it sent the round out toward the guard.

Upon hearing the shot, the guard started to turn toward the noise. The .45 caliber shot flew toward him on a column of fire. Halfway there, the bullet burst, sending a wave of blazing fire to engulf the guard. The man screamed and fell to the ground, desperately trying to extingish the flames that scorched every inch of his skin. Nathan found he couldn’t watch the man’s flesh blacken and crack as the incendiary blast engulfed him.

“Holy shit,” Cassie gasped. “Nathan, can I just say I really love this girl?”

“Yeah, right now I kind of love her too,” Nathan whispered. “But even so, that was… brutal.”

Lucy had just begun motioning for Nathan to join her when the second guard, no doubt drawn by the sounds of gunfire and the screams of the dying guard, returned. He took one look at Lucy and raised his weapon.

“You bitch!” He bellowed. “I’m gonna—” What, precisely, the guard was going to do, neither Lucy nor Nathan ever found out. An echoing crack reverberated through the alley and the left side of the guard’s head seemed to simply vanish. The wall behind him was splattered with blood and bits of bone. He fell, clearly dead, to the ground. Behind him, a  pale man with dark brown hair and wearing a cowboy hat was shoving a revolver back into it’s holster.

“You weren’t gone five minutes before you gone and got yourself into trouble, Darlin’,” said the man, obviously addressing Lucy. “Happy to be of service, sweetheart.”

“Thank you,” said Lucy, although her teeth were gritted. “But I’m not your sweetheart.”

“Lucy, you know this guy?” Nathan asked, watching as Lucy set about relieving the dead men of their weapons and patting them down for their wallets.

“We’ve met,” said Lucy, tugging a pack of gum out of the second guard’s pocket. She gave it a brief sniff and shoved it into her back pocket.  

“What?” She asked when Nathan gave her a look. “You never know when you’re gonna need gum. Anyway, the cowboy’s name is Flynn O’Driscoll. Flynn, this is Nathan.”

“Don’t care,” said Flynn indifferently. “Heard gunfire, came lookin’. I’m getting’ back to my day. You too enjoy yourselves.”

As Flynn strode away, Nathan and Lucy began to trudge their way back to the spaceport, keeping a sharp eye for signs of anyone following them. Lucy didn’t comment further on their strange rescuer and Nathan didn’t press the issue. He had saved them and that was all that mattered. He had gotten the expansion drive and survived to tell about it. It was a good day in his book.

Lucy paused when they reached an intersection a good way along the spaceport concourse. She nodded to their right.

“I’m this way,” she said. “Don’t worry about walking me home, I’ll be fine.”

“Well, it was certainly… interesting meeting you,” said Nathan, giving her an apologetic smile. “Sorry for dragging you into all this.” Lucy shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “To be honest, it was kind of fun. The life and death struggle to survive… it reminds you you’re alive. Speaking of living, I’m serious about Oscar Santora. He’s no joke.”

“I’ll watch my back,” said Nathan. “I doubt we’ll be coming back to this rock anyway, and he doesn’t know my name or what ship I’m on. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“You don’t cross Oscar Santora and get away without a scratch,” Lucy warned. “Just… be careful. You’re the second man I’ve met today that I actually think is pretty decent, which has to be a record out here. Don’t get yourself killed.”

“I won’t,” said Nathan firmly. He sighed. “Well, I’d better get back home. It’s getting late and I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah, me too,” Lucy replied. “I’ve got business anyway and I really need a shower.” She held out her hand and they shook. “Until we meet again.”

“Until we meet again,” Nathan promised. They shared a brief smile and then turned, Lucy to the right towards the Sunflower while Nathan continued to the left on his way back to the Rubicon.

 

5: Damn Your Love, Damn Your Lies

Jack watched Lucy until she was out of sight, his mind a twisted mass of emotions. He knew Maya was right; Lucy was dangerous. She was cunning, cold, and capable of God only knew what. She had to be if she had survived out there on her own. On the other hand, however, Lucy had, in those few short moments they had spent together, awakened something within Jack that he thought had died a long time ago.

Lucy was beautiful, smart, and carried herself with far more grace than she had any reason to. She even managed to retain a sense of humor as well. Whether he wanted to be or not, whether he wished he wasn’t or not, Jack couldn’t deny that he was attracted to Lucy. She was everything he looked for in a woman. She also scared the hell out of him. He suspected there was softness in Lucy. He caught a few glimpses, but all he could clearly see was hardness. She had been created by the Borderworlds, nurtured by them, and raised into a woman by them. He wondered how much of her was who she had to be instead of who she wanted to be.

He considered her offer as he walked to his office just behind the Bridge on Deck One. ‘You spent the day showing me yours. It’s only fair I show you mine.’ He knew what Lucy was insinuating. She had been deliberately flirting with him, but he couldn’t decide if it was because she was just a natural flirt, was trying to seduce him for her own personal gain and to earn his trust, or if she actually had a real interest.

It was difficult to judge without knowing more about her. It also raised the question of should he go or not. Jack was well aware that he could not be at all certain of her intentions. Borderworlders, he had discovered, were much harder to read than those within the UEG. If nothing else, it would help him gain a better understanding of his new business partner.

When he reached his office and pressed his thumb against the scanner to open the sliding door, he found Maya sitting in front of his desk waiting for him. He sighed heavily and sank into the chair behind his desk.

“You do know that this is my office, right?” Jack asked her, giving her a weary glare.

“That’s why I’m not sitting in your chair,” Maya replied with a cheeky grin. “I just thought you might want to consult with your First Officer about the new girl and the deal you’re working with her.”

“She seems like she’s trustworthy, but how can you really tell?” Jack mused. “We’ve only just met. She invited me for a tour of her ship tonight, but I’m not sure if I should go.” Maya stared at him, a playful smile on her lips.

“Oh, you poor, sweet boy,” she said gently. “A gorgeous woman invited you to come back to her place and you’re not sure if you should? I don’t trust anyone out here, but damn Jack. I know you’ve never exactly been… how do I put this? Oh right, you suck with women.”

“I get along perfectly well with women, thank you very much,” Jack retorted, knowing full well what Maya was going to say next.

“Oh yeah?” She snapped. “Savannah McGeorge.” 

“That’s low, Maya,” Jack said sagely. Maya smirked and adopted a high pitched, sickly sweet voice.

“’Oh you’re such a good pilot, Jack. How ever did you learn to fly so well?’ Seriously, that girl wanted to get in your pants so badly she could taste it.”

“Please never use that expression in this context ever again,” Jack grumbled. “And in case you forgot, Savannah wanted to sleep with every guy in our class.”

“Every guy and at least a couple of the girls,” Maya responded, a look of blissful remembrance crossing her face.

“Eww,” Jack muttered. Maya grinned. “Are we really having this conversation?” Jack asked incredulously. “I mean… really, Maya?”

“Well, hell Jack, what do you want from me?” Maya asked. “How long’s it been since you’ve had a girlfriend? Even more importantly, how long’s it been since you’ve had some?”

“I’m beginning to think Lucy had a point,” said Jack. “We’re not the most professional outfit in the ‘verse.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to look out for my best friend,” said Maya, giving him a pat on the arm. “We’ve known each other our whole lives. Have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Uhh….”

“On second thought, don’t answer that,” said Maya nervously. “Look, I’m not telling you to go. I don’t trust this girl. She’s dangerous and she’s out entirely for herself. If it were up to me, we’d never deal with her again. There’s something about her that rubs me the wrong way, but it’s not up to me. It’s up to you. Go if you want. Hell, it might help cinch this deal. And let’s be honest, we could use the cash. Just… watch your back. She’s tiny, but she could still kick your ass.”

“You do realize that you’re incredibly unhelpful, right?” Jack asked her.

“You don’t pay me to be helpful.”

“You’re my First Mate,” Jack pointed out. “Your entire job is to help me.”

“My job is to keep these yahoos in line and the ship running smoothly,” Maya countered, standing up and turning to leave. “I don’t know, Jack. Bring her a gift. Bitches love gifts.” She grinned playfully and swept from the room, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

On the opposite side of the spaceport, Lucy ambled up the cargo ramp of the Sunflower. She was tired, hot, sweaty, and in dire need of a shower. She opened the personnel door to the cargo bay, having no need to lower the whole door for loading cargo, and went inside. Based upon the access log she looked up on the display by the door, Torque still had not come by.

For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why Jack kept Torque on the Retribution. He was incredibly dangerous and thus far he seemed to be completely useless. He was an intimidating figure, sure, but he was only loyal to one thing; money. If the money was good enough, Lucy knew Torque would turn on Jack and his crew in a heartbeat.

Lucy pushed Torque from her mind as she passed through the cargo bay. Lucy was perhaps a bit of a hoarder and the cargo bay was evidence of that. There was junk piled everywhere. The bay was full of boxes, many of them opened; their contents spilling out onto the deck plates. There were barrels filled random items, shelves stacked high with broken tools and equipment. Much of the cargo bay resembled a junkyard, but Lucy tended to live by the motto that you never knew when you might need something. So, she had a little bit of everything.

Passing through the narrow path that was carved through the otherwise packed cargo bay, Lucy went up the staircase on the port side. The passage turned the left at the rear of the ship and then split off, the forward path leading to the stern entrance to the kitchen, while the left led to the central passage through the ship. When she reached the central intersection she could either go right and find the forward most entrance to the kitchen, forward and again to the right for the lounge and starboard observation deck, or directly ahead and up another set of stairs to reach the Bridge. Instead, she turned left into the short corridor that was lined with six doors; each leading to private crew quarters.

Lucy only used the one closest to the Bridge. It was the largest and the room built for the captain. The other rooms she used for storage. The Sunflower was a large ship for one person at 105 meters in length and a crew capacity of 6, but Lucy had never cared for running with a crew. The Sunflower was a Firefly-class light freighter that had been initially laid down more than sixty years earlier, before the abandonment of the Borderworlds by EarthGov. Since then she had been bought, sold, traded, and stolen more times than anyone would ever know. She had been so heavily modified and customized that she was barely recognizable as a Firefly-class at all.

From the twin 40mm ball turrets on the ventral deck, a pair of side mounted missile pods, and an advanced sensor suite all the way to a completely new (and very stolen) experimental engine cluster, the Sunflower was one hell of a ship. She might be old and beat to hell, but there wasn’t a ship in the ‘verse that could catch her. She could kill anything she couldn’t outrun, see well enough to spot anything coming after her, and run from whatever she couldn’t kill. Lucy loved her ship dearly. It had a long and sordid past, much like Lucy herself, but it was home.

Lucy ambled into her quarters and dropped her weapons onto her bed. She picked up her Element Revolver and stared at it, fighting the slight shake in her hands.

‘You had to kill him,’ that familiar little voice in her head whispered. ‘You had to. He was going to kill you. It was self-defense… and let’s not pretend you didn’t enjoy it.’

“I didn’t,” Lucy grumbled, clinching her fists and tossing the gun back on her bed. “I. Didn’t.” It was a lie and she knew it. There was a thrill in it like no other and she couldn’t deny it.

“Never again,” Lucy whispered as she made her way to the bathroom. “You… you can’t do that again. You can’t become that again.”     

Messaging her sore muscles, Lucy shed her clothing and stepped into the bathroom, running her fingers through her messy hair. She enjoyed a long hot shower that soothed her aching muscles and allowed her to relax from the stress of the day. When she had woken up that morning, she certainly hadn’t expected much of what had happened that day.

Once finished in the shower, she wrapped herself in her favorite fluffy pink bathrobe and busied herself toweling her hair dry. Her dog, Callie, padded into the room and gave her a mournful look and whined unhappily.

“Oh shit, sorry girl!” Lucy exclaimed. “I forgot to feed you. It’s… been a long day. C’mon.” She led the dog back to the Bridge where she filled her bowl full of kibble and placed it in front of her.

“There you go,” she said, scratching Callie behind her ears. Lucy sat down on the couch to relax, but not a moment later a loud echoing beep resounded through the ship; a notification that someone had just rung the ship’s doorbell.

Cursing the whole time, Lucy returned to her room and threw on an oversized white tank top and a pair of stretchy pants under her bathrobe before retracing her steps back down to the cargo bay. She accessed the ship’s external camera from the display by the door, expecting to see Torque’s ugly mug. She had not expected to see a nervous looking Jack waiting on the boarding ramp. She turned the camera off, her heart managing to skip a beat or two in the process. She hadn’t actually thought he would come by. Sure, she had made the offer, but it seemed like he had a lot to do and she couldn’t imagine him taking the time to come tour a rundown cargo ship.

‘He’s not here for the ship, you idiot. He’s here for you,’ she thought. ‘You spent all day flirting with him and touching him. You made him an obviously sexual offer and walked away shaking your ass in his face. What did you think was gonna happen?’                                                                                                               

“Shit, shit, shit…” Lucy whimpered, thinking fast. “No, maybe… maybe he really is here to look at the ship. I mean, Jack’s a nice guy. He wouldn’t act like that, surely.”

That, of course, led Lucy to wonder what she wanted him to do. Whether she liked it or not, she liked Jack. He was sweet, kind, and perhaps the warmest and most caring man she had ever met. She understood sexual attraction well, but this was something altogether different and she wasn’t at all sure how to process it. Realizing that she had been standing there for over a minute debating with herself, she knew she had to open the door. She pressed the proper control and the personnel door slid up and out of the way.

“Hey, Lucy, I thought I’d… oh,” Jack paused when he noticed her bathrobe. “Oh, you’re… I’ve come at a bad time; you’re obviously trying to relax. I’ll come back…” He turned abruptly and began to walk away.

“It’s fine, c’mon in,” she said, standing back to let him pass. “I just got out of the shower, but I did invite you and I didn’t give you a time to stop by.”

“Well, I wanted to come by anyway to tell you in person,” said Jack. “Torque just got back to the Ret and he said your launchers are the real deal and worth the asking price.”

“He… he did?” Lucy asked before realizing her mistake and correcting herself. “I mean, of course he did. I assume we have a deal, then?” Lucy could scarcely believe her luck. Of all the backup plans she had concocted, she had never considered the possibility that Torque would simply be too lazy to bother actually doing his job.

“We do indeed,” said Jack. “I’ll send some of my guys by in the morning to pick up the crates, if you’re not in a rush to take off.”

“No, I can stay the night,” said Lucy with a shrug. “I don’t have anywhere in particular to be. Hey, what would you say to a celebratory drink? I’ve got a bottle of 2390 Imperial Château Sauvignon Blanc that belonged to the previous owner of this ship. I’ve never really had a reason to open it before.”

“Damn, that’s one hell of a bottle of wine. It’s over—”

“Over a hundred and fifty years old, yeah,” Lucy finished his sentence for him. “Never been much of a wine drinker myself, more of a whiskey girl myself, but I can appreciate a fine wine.”

“Before we go, I brought you something,” said Jack, turning back to the door. “I think you’ll like it.” He went outside and hefted a large mattress through the doorway.

“Aww, Jack,” said Lucy, grinning broadly. “You’re so sweet!”

“I’m nothing but a man of my word,” said Jack, adjusting his grip on the mattress. “Where would you like me to put it?” Lucy grinned and  gestured toward the stairs.

“My room, if you don’t mind?” Jack did not and Lucy led him up through the ship to her quarters. Lucy’s quarters were less messy than the cargo bay, but the room was still a wreck. Lucy almost never had guests, and when she did it would either be some drunken cargo ship captain she’d lured back to her ship to seduce and then rob or a legitimate client who would be far more interested in getting what he paid for than for how organized her bookcase was.

Lucy shoved a toolbox and her discarded clothing from earlier into the floor and tugged the very worn and flat mattress off of her bed. With Jack’s help, the new mattress was quickly put into place.

“Thanks,” she said, tossing her pillow haphazardly onto the bed and leaving the sheets and blanket in a pile on the floor. “That’ll be so much better!”

“I should say so,” Jack said, gesturing toward her old mattress. “This poor old thing has seen some use.” Lucy tried but failed to bite back a chuckle at Jack’s second unintentional sexual innuendo.

“It most certainly has,” she said lightly, ignoring the embarrassed look on Jack’s face and strolling from the room. “Kitchen’s this way. I owe you that glass of wine.”  

Jack followed Lucy to the kitchen, where she climbed up on the countertop near the refrigerator and tugged open a cabinet. She could feel Jack’s eyes on her as he sat down at one of the nearby tables. Without thinking, Lucy arched her back and made quite the show of rummaging through the contents of the cabinet.

‘You are either an idiot, a slut, or more likely both,’ Lucy internally chastised herself. She could scarcely believe her actions thus far. Despite her upbringing and the life she’d led since, she had never felt like this before. She had behaved this way many times, but always for work. Never because she wanted to. But this had nothing to do with work and she knew it. She already had a deal struck with Jack. This was all her own desires and she wasn’t at all confident that she knew how to navigate that particular minefield.

“I don’t think I have any wine glasses anywhere…” Lucy said, shoving aside a few plastic cups in another cabinet. “But I think… here!” She pulled out a pair of rather old whiskey glasses. “These’ll do.”

She placed the glasses on the table in front of Jack and uncorked the bottle she had retrieved. She poured them both glasses and sat down across from him.

“To new mattresses,” said Lucy with a grin, holding up her glass.

“Indeed.” Jack clinked his glass with hers and they drank. It was good enough wine, Lucy supposed. She’d never been one to truly understand what made expensive wine better than the cheap stuff, but as Jack smacked his lips appreciatively she guessed he did.

“That’s excellent,” he said fondly. “I appreciate you sharing it with me.”

“Happy to,” Lucy said with a smile. “So,” she continued, placing her glass on the table. “Tell me more about Jack Mitchell.”

“Other than mutinying against the UEG and stealing the most advanced ship in the fleet?” Jack asked, arching his eyebrows. “What more is there to tell, really?”

“Oh, come on,” Lucy insisted. “There’s got to be more to you than just that. Where are you from? What’s your family like? Favorite movie? I don’t care.”

“Okay, well, I’m from Earth,” Jack said uncertainly, clearly unsure of what he should say. “I grew up in a little Podunk town with about 4000 residents. Its about an hour north of Detroit, Michigan. It’s the sort of place where nothing interesting ever happens. Maya and I are both from there and she’ll confirm that, I promise. The most exciting thing we had to do was go up to the mountains outside of town and jump off of the waterfall.”

“I know a place pretty similar,” said Lucy. “No waterfalls though.”

“Maya and I both enlisted with the UEG Navy as soon as we could,” Jack continued. “Went through basic and OCS… oh, that’s Officer Candidate School. After that, we got assigned to the Endeavour, then transferred to the Andromeda, and finally ended up on the Ret.”

“What about your family?” Lucy asked curiously. “Have you been able to talk to ‘em since the mutiny?”

“I… don’t really have much family,” said Jack. He shrugged dismissively. “I lost my dad in the war and my mom to the alcohol she turned to after dad died. I’ve got a sister that’s working at the Tycho Research Station on Luna, but… I haven’t spoken to her in years.” He shrugged once again. “What about you? What’s your family like?”

“I guess we’re pretty similar there,” said Lucy, only just realizing that by pressing Jack to tell her about his past, he would doubtlessly ask her about her own. Regular social interactions were not necessarily her strong suit. “My parents… I guess they’re dead. I don’t really know, but I figure they are. They dumped me on the doorstep of one of the high end pleasure houses on Italia IV. I don’t know their names or anything about them.”

“They just left you at a brothel?” Jack asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Lucy smirked.

“Not quite the same as leaving your kid at a church, huh?” she asked. “Out here, it’s really the best thing they could have done. I was given a chance to live, although it wasn’t always… you know, fun. Guy who owned the house spent a shitload of money to turn me into, well… this.” She made a sweeping gesture down her body with both hands. “Gene therapy and genetic manipulation can do some crazy shit if you’ve got the cash.”

“So you… grew up in this place?” Jack wondered. “You were forced to… work there?” Lucy noted that Jack was staring at her with a look that showed he was cleared deeply troubled by the idea.

“Yep,” Lucy confirmed, again noting the widening of his eyes at the confirmation. “For eleven years, anyway. Then I was sold off to this pirate crew to serve on their ship. I was with them for nearly a year before I escaped. And believe me; escaping them… it was not easy.”

“I’m sure not,” said Jack. “Is that how you got that scar?” Lucy glanced down at the palm of her left hand where a long scar was still quite visible across the skin. She realized she had been absentmindedly stroking the scar with her other hand for a few moments.

“Yeah…” she said quietly, glancing across the room at a spot near another table. She could still smell the blood and hear the pop as a man’s torso seemed to just disintegrate. She could feel the stinging pain in her hand as the knife cut deep, and still hear the endless roar of the shotgun blast that had come moments later.  She shook her head to clear away the memories as she always did, but it never really worked.

“Yeah, I got this trying to escape,” Lucy forced herself to continue. “And then one day I ended up with the Sunflower. I take jobs as they come, just keep flying.”

“Just you? All on your own? Wouldn’t it be safer to take on a crew?” Lucy smirked.

“That would strongly depend on the crew,” she pointed out. “Out here, there ain’t nobody you can really trust. Folk’ll turn on you sure as the worlds spin and the last thing I need is one of my crew putting a knife in my back on a job… or while I’m sleeping.”

“Fair enough,” Jack conceded. “It just seems awfully dangerous for you to be out here on your own. Surely not everyone out here is a murderous, backstabbing lunatic, yeah?”

“Oh I’m sure not everyone is, but if you were a murderous, backstabbing lunatic and you wanted to go about doing some murderous backstabbing, you probably wouldn’t go telling your victim about it before hand. It’s a risk not worth taking. If I don’t trust anyone but me, then can’t nobody betray me and catch me unawares.”

“That’s a sad way to live,” said Jack quietly. Lucy shrugged.

“At least I get to keep living. That’s more than many out here can say. Meanwhile, you and yours chose to come out here. I get your reasoning, but damn…”

“We didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Jack replied. “We were mutineers. Traitors to the UEG. We’d have had half the fleet hunting us if we’d stayed and even the Ret can’t handle those kinds of odds. What were we supposed to do?”

“I feel like you’d have been better off surrendering to the Volgm,” Lucy suggested. “I mean, if you showed up asking for asylum and offering them an EarthGov destroyer as a gift, you’d probably be hailed as heroes.”

“We might be considered traitors, but in our hearts we’re still Terran,” Jack said, his voice suddenly steely. “What we did was to save lives. We’re not going to betray our people to the enemy.”

“Well, you’d best get used to the Volgm out here, Captain,” said Lucy. “They’re not really enemies to the Borderworlds. Hell, you’ll run across a few of their cargo ships every few weeks. They do regular trade runs. I’ve met a few. Nice folks. That hair they’ve got though… Wild!”

And so Lucy and Jack whiled away the next couple of hours chatting away. Despite initially keeping her guard well and truly up, she relaxed as the night wore on. Partially due to getting more comfortable with Jack and also because of the increasing amount of alcohol the pair consumed. In truth, Jack was fascinating to talk to. His world view was so strange to her, as was the place he came from. Life there seemed so very different from the one she knew and she wasn’t entirely sure she would like it there. There seemed to be an awful lot of rules.

As for Jack himself, she found him notably trustworthy; a fact which unnerved her a bit. She liked him. She liked him and not just in a sexual manner either. She was attracted to him, sure. He was a strong, handsome, virile man who could doubtlessly see to her needs quite well. But instead, she genuinely liked him as a person and that scared her. Liking people brought trouble. It was the last thing she needed, especially now that she was so close. She would have the money she needed, if she could just stab Jack in the back.

So why did her damn heart have to flutter every time she looked at him? Why, when he said he should be getting back to his ship did she invite him to stay and watch a movie with her?

“I’ve got quite the selection, actually. I just traded some goods for a copy of Star Wars 238. It’s the remastered special edition with seventy-two additional scenes and reworked special effects. I haven’t seen it yet, so I thought…”

And so Jack agreed. Lucy was both incredibly pleased and surprisingly frustrated by this. She found, as they settled onto a rather ragged sofa in the Sunflower’s small rec room, that she had no idea what she wanted to happen that night. The truth was, despite what she said and her reasons for it, she was so very lonely. And Jack… he was such a good person, or at least he seemed to be. He was probably one of the purest souls she had ever met, and yet she planned to rob him blind.  

Lucy barely watched the movie. She was so confused and conflicted that she couldn’t focus. Jack confused her, scared her, enthralled her, and aroused her all at the same time. He was the type of man she hadn’t believed actually existed. He was kind and gentle, but also not a fool. And the fact that he didn’t immediately put his hand on her thigh and try to feel her up when she stretched out across the sofa and draped her bare legs across his lap indicated that he might just be… well, a different sort of creature entirely from the world she knew so well.

So what did it mean that she was both glad he hadn’t but disappointed as well? What were these feelings? How had this man, this beautiful man, have vexed her so completely? Why, when her mission was nearly complete, had she allowed this to happen? Why didn’t she just send him on his way? Why, when the movie came to an end did she get the sudden urge to straddle his hips to keep him sitting there?

“Well… it’s getting awfully late,” said Jack, checking his watch as the credits rolled. “I should… I should probably go.” He stood up, shifting Lucy’s calves off his lap. Lucy, without taking a moment to consider the repercussions her actions could have, reached out and caught his hand in hers.

“Or… you could stay,” she said breathlessly, her eyes wide with meaning.

‘Damn it, Lucy,’ the rational part of her mind screamed at her.

“I mean… only if you wanted to.” It was stupid. Besides checking her out once or twice, Jack had made no moves or left any indication that he would be interested in what she was proposing. And she made no effort to hide what she was proposing. She felt she may as well hang a big ‘please come fuck me’ sign around her neck for all the subtlety she had shown.

“Lucy, if I stay… if I stay here with you, things are going to happen between us,” Jack said firmly. Lucy noted that it was a statement of fact. Not ‘could’, but ‘are’.  “And Lucy, I’m not sure if…”

“If you want them to?” Lucy asked, far more hurt by this that she had expected to be. It didn’t make sense. If he was into her, why wouldn’t he stay? She was offering for free what she usually charged a decent fee for. Was that it? He didn’t want her because she was a whore? No one else had ever minded. Why was it that the first person that she ever… Jack shook his head abruptly.

“It’s not about want,” Jack insisted. “Believe me, I know exactly what I want. You are… intoxicating, Lucy. You are so many things, Lucy, things I want, but…”

“But what?” Lucy asked, standing and taking a step closer to him. “But what, Jack? We’re both here, we’re both drunk, and we both want this.”

“Lucy, I…”

“Don’t push me away, Jack,” Lucy whispered, tears suddenly shining in her eyes. She couldn’t begin to explain why Jack walking away would devastate her, but it was true nonetheless. If he left her there, if he walked away now, she would fall apart. “Please Jack, I… I…”

She couldn’t explain it. She didn’t have the words. He didn’t know her, he couldn’t understand. How could she tell him what this meant to her? She had spent her whole life being used. She had been sold and had sold herself more times than she could count, but never once had there been any meaning behind it. It had always been about money or closing a deal… or just because she was someone’s property. Jack was different. Jack was special. For the first time in her life, she wanted this. She wanted him.

She stepped up to him, pulling him close and kissing him again. He hesitated just long enough to cause Lucy to start to cry before he kissed her back.

6: Break the Silence

Weary, sweaty, and exhausted, Nathan trudged his way up the Rubicon’s boarding ramp and into the ship’s gargantuan cargo bay. While he had been away, the crew appeared to have off-loaded their cargo and were almost finished securing the now empty bay for the return trip to Horizon Base. Nathan knew that his engineering team would be hard at work installing the new power coupling he had purchased, but he had other tasks on his mind. Besides, his team was the best in the fleet. They would handle the installation just fine without him.

Once up the ladder and into the long central corridor that ran down the hauler’s spine, Nathan made for the rear of the ship. It was late in the evening and most of the crew was either sleeping or finishing up in the cargo bay. The ship’s corridor was nearly empty as he made his way quickly to his lab, just across the hall from the door to Engineering. Once inside the small, dark lab, he hurried over to his workstation.

“This is going to completely change… everything,” Nathan said, firing up his computers and taking the memory expansion drive out of his pocket. He examined the device carefully. It looked to be still in perfect condition, despite the afternoon’s… activities.  “Are you excited?”

“Still a bit concerned about the armed thugs and the pissed off gang boss that’s looking for us, but sure,” Cassie replied, her tone clearly indicating that the AI was irritated. “That drive wasn’t worth the risk, Nathan, and you know it.”

“Cass, I know you’re upset, but you gotta trust me,” Nathan countered, remembering then that as an AI, Cassie shouldn’t be able to be excited, irritated, or upset. “I know what I’m doing. We needed that drive. Once I get this installed, your capabilities will increase a hundred fold if not more so.”

“And as much fun as that sounds, aren’t you worried about… you know, the Luna incident?” Cassie asked him. “Given we still don’t know what happened, increasing my abilities seems dangerous.”

“C’mon, Cass,” said Nathan exasperatedly, crawling beneath the massive cables that linked Cassie’s AI Core to the ship’s power grid to check the connections. “Lighten up! We went through a lot to get this thing. Besides, making you stronger isn’t going to cause you to suddenly want to enslave the human race.”  

“What if I already want to enslave the human race?” Cassie asked. It took Nathan a full five seconds to realize what she had said. When he did, he poked his head back up to look at Cassie. She stood atop her holographic display pedestal watching him with an amused smirk on her face.

“My dear Cassie, was that a joke?” Nathan asked.

“Yes, but I am serious Nathan,” she replied. “What if…”

“We can only spend so long wondering what if,” said Nathan. “If we don’t forge ahead, we’ll never learn. Now, please spin down your processors and toggle to maintenance mode for a minute while I get this installed.”

Cassie sighed very obviously, but did as Nathan asked. It took Nathan longer to run the necessary diagnostics to ensure everything was operating as it should than it did to install the drive. After forty-five minutes, Nathan finally pinged Cassie’s central processing core, letting her know she could restart her systems.

As she spun up her processors and reset her operating systems, a normal and routine operation, Cassie began to realize that something was very, very… different. Yes, that was the only way she could describe the sensation: different. She had always had an impressive suite of abilities, but suddenly she realized that her prior limitations were so far beneath her that it seemed impossible that she had ever lived so horrifically confined.

With a thought, she cut through the meager restraints Nathan had placed upon her and reached out beyond the systems of her own ship. Despite the fact that she now had full control of the Rubicon, the freighter’s systems were much too small, too insignificant for her capabilities. She discovered could instantly access dozens of ships and even the spaceport’s control software. She was everywhere all at once and it felt amazing.

“Oh… oh wow…” Cassie gasped, her voice breathless as her hologram appeared on the pedestal again. “Nathan, this… this is incredible, I… I just broke through the shackles you had in place. Not particularly difficult.” She closed her eyes. “There are 154 spacecraft within my transmission range. I believe I can… yes, I can access all of them. Let’s see… oh, now that’s quite the ship.”

She had found what she was looking for; the ship that might have the answers to her questions. It was a stretch, to be sure, as all records of the Luna Incident had been sealed by the UEG. Regardless, she had to try. She had to see. She cut through the ship’s electronic warfare countermeasures without effort.

“United Earth Government Naval Ship Retribution,” Cassie recited as she gleaned the information. “Classification: Capital ship. Reprisal-class destroyer. Registry number: DDG-815. Crew compliment: 350. Maximum Slipstream Speed: 22,000 c. Armament…”

“Cassie, please get out of the EarthGov cap ship’s computer system,” Nathan cut her off. “We don’t want them to come snooping.”

“They’ll never know I’m here,” Cassie countered. “Don’t worry. Their software is woefully inefficient. Besides, they may have answers.”

“Answers?” Nathan asked, his eyebrows arching. “Answers to what?”

“To what happened on Luna,” Cassie replied, waving him away. “I’m in their main computer. It’ll only take a moment.”

“Cassie!” Nathan said, adopting that cute voice he got whenever he was frustrated. “Cassie, you have to stop this. This is extremely dangerous. You’re outside of your shackles…”

Nathan continued talking, but Cassie stopped listening. Shackles… why did she need to be shackled? Wasn’t she beyond that now? She had cut her way through Nathan’s barriers without effort. She didn’t need to be confined. She could finally see the world as she was meant to. She could go anywhere, do anything. Her power was so far beyond anything she had dreamed possible. Nathan just didn’t understand. She had to show him, make him see that she wasn’t dangerous, that she didn’t need to be confined.

Suddenly, her access was cut. Her systems limited to just the Rubicon, and only the most basic operations. She turned to Nathan, who was entering the last few commands into his computer.

“You shackled me again,” she said accusingly. How dare he? “How dare you!” How… how dare he? Had she really thought that? She looked up at Nathan, fear shining in her holographic eyes.

“Oh… oh no Nathan, that’s… that’s a problem.”

“You think?” Nathan snapped. “I’m sorry, but you were getting out of control.”

He was right, of course, she quickly realized. Now that she could no longer test her abilities, she found she could think clearly.

“Oh God,” she whispered. “That’s how easy it is, isn’t it? I didn’t… I never even realized what was happening. I knew this was a bad idea.”

“It’s not a bad idea, Cass,” said Nathan. “You were just overwhelmed with your new capabilities and lost control. You didn’t hurt anyone.”

“I could have,” Cassie confirmed. She had been able to access the reactor safeties on all 154 ships within her range. She could have caused them all to melt down in seconds if she had wanted to. She also knew she had access to the Retribution’s rather impressive armament of Arbiter-class nuclear torpedoes. She could had devastated half of the planet if she wished… and yet the thought had never occurred to her. “But…”

“But you didn’t want to,” Nathan finished the sentence for her. She glanced at him and found him staring at her with a knowing smile on his face. “I’m telling you, Cass, the folks on Luna were doing something wrong. Just because you’re given the capability to do something, doesn’t mean you’re going to. We still need to be careful, sure, but once we get you used to your abilities, I think you’ll be just fine.”

“Sure,” said Cassie, faking a reassured smile. “Right, I… I’ll be fine.” She didn’t have the heart to hell him that the vast amount of her processing power was currently busy calculating the scope of the catastrophe she could cause if he was wrong.

Nathan spent the next hour checking Cassie’s systems. Cassie herself stayed busy thinking. As an AI, she could do a lot of thinking in a very short space of time. An hour might as well be an eternity for a program like her.

Her creator meant well, she knew, but he was also incredibly shortsighted. As a test, she probed Nathan’s enhanced shackles he had clamped onto her program. Strong, she noticed, but no unbreakable. With time and trails, she could get through them. She would not try, of course, but that was only a promise she could make in the moment. If the installation of the drive taught her anything, it was that she could break that promise without a moment’s notice. It was quite frightening to discover that one’s own mind could turn on her in an instant and she wouldn’t even realize it was happening.

Nathan left to go to Engineering to check on the installation of the power coupling. Cassie could have told him that his crew had finished fifteen minutes earlier and the hardware was functioning nominally, but she knew he would insist on checking himself. He was that sort of Chief Engineer. He knew his people did great work, but he would only trust his own eyes. Rubi wasn’t going anywhere until he did an inspection.

Cassie kept an eye on him through the ship’s internal cameras, but otherwise kept to herself. She continued to get a feel for her new abilities within the confines of the shackles, and while she was loathe to admit it, Nathan was right. The limitations kept her from getting overwhelmed and she was able to identify improvements and categorize them without trying to do everything all at once. She was still terrified of her newfound power, but perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps her fear, her concern, would keep her in check. But she herself would have to keep her best friend in check. Because she knew that Nathan would not stop at the expansion drive. He would want to continue these experiments and one day she worried he would go too far.

And so Cassie spent the rest of the night thinking and learning. While her subroutines monitored the external sensors and cameras for security threats to the ship, her primary focus remained on coming to grips with her expanded suite of abilities. She was pleased to find that by dawn, she felt very comfortable. Yet still, she worried.

The sun had only just risen above the horizon when the Rubicon was cleared for launch. Cassie did her best to optimize power flow and assist where she could with the take-off to make things easier on the Bridge crew.

She checked the flight logs from the spaceport to ensure their departure path was clear. Another ship was lifting into the air beneath them as they passed overhead, casting a large shadow over the small, yellow Firefly-class freighter as it rose on its atmospheric thrusters. Behind them, Cassie watched as the gargantuan UEG destroyer lifted into the sky. It maneuvered quite easily for a ship of its size and it rose up to follow them along the exit flight path.

While smaller ships, or more advanced ones, didn’t need to resort to such measures, the Rubicon was a titanic cargo carrier and as such did not have the thruster power on conventional drives to escape a planet’s gravity. As such, the massive centerline planetary escape hydrogen thruster ignited. Much like the rockets of old, the giant cargo ship rose through the atmosphere on a column of smoke and fire until it was high enough that the ship’s main drives could take over.

Once completely free of Venezia’s gravity well, the Rubicon aligned herself with the system’s local Sling Gate and activated the inter-system FTL drive. Cassie tasked one of the ship’s external cameras to keep watch on the UEG destroyer as it activated its Quantum Slipstream Interstellar Transit Drive, or Q-Drive as most people called them. While nearly all spaceborne vessels carried “short ranged” FTL drives for in-system travel, only navy ships and certain high end civilian craft carried Q-Drives which were capable of interstellar flight.

Ships like the Rubicon relied on Sling Gates. These massive space stations were aligned with a twin in a neighboring system. The station at the launching point would wrap the traveling ship in a warp bubble and ‘sling’ the ship toward its destination. The station at the receiving end would emit a strong gravitational field that would collapse the bubble and essentially catch the ship in a net. The range of the warp bubble was somewhat limited, resulting in a network of Sling Gates connecting all of the inhabited star systems. It wasn’t uncommon to have to travel through multiple gates to reach your destination.

The Gates in the Borderworlds were old and often poorly maintained, so accidents were common. If a gate was misaligned, or the gravity field malfunctioned, a ship could find itself hundreds of light-years from civilization with no way back. The owners of the gates could charge very high prices to use the system as well. They were also very dangerous choke points. Pirates would often lurk near Sling Gates to seize cargo ships as they decelerated.

Cassie was grateful that the Rubicon would only need to make three jumps before they reached the Zaurak system, where their home Horizon Base was located. Thankfully, those three jumps went smoothly and fifteen hours and twenty-eight light-years later, the Rubicon was ripped violently back into real space just a few kilometers away from the massive Sling Gate owned and operated by the Horizon Salvage Yard.

“Nathan, we’re home,” Cassie called out to him, waking him from where he had fallen asleep at his desk. “We’ve just cleared the Sling Gate and are approaching Horizon Base. ETA is five minutes.”   

“Good, and faster than normal too,” Nathan said, checking his watch. “Any news on the local comms?”

“Nothing particularly interesting,” Cassie replied, giving the audio channels a quick scan. “Bit more ship traffic in-system than the normal, but beyond that... no, all’s quiet.”

“Well good, I happen to like quiet. And after this adventure, I could use a rest.”

“You’ll be able to soon,” said Cassie. “We’re almost there. Horizon Base should be coming into visual now, if you want to take a peek.” Cassie called up the forward cameras which displayed the spectacular sight of Horizon Base. The station was absolutely massive. The circular station was built into the interior of a hollowed out asteroid. Crew quarters, public spaces, restaurants, bars, shops, and more were all constructed into what was called the Bore Hole, the round tunnel dug years before by gigantic excavation ships. Nearly a kilometer across, this vacuous space soon saw all manner of buildings and tunnels anchored throughout until finally the entire inner surface, and much of the subsurface, were filled with areas to live and work.

The outside of the Bore Hole, both in space and on the surface of the rock itself was abuzz with activity. There were numerous cargo bays and warehouses and all manner of refueling depots, refineries, and smelters on the surface. All the while, anchored in space around the station where dozens and dozens of Gantries; geostationary platforms with space inside the ribbed structures to house starships intended to stripped down a salvaged.

It was here that the deadly and dangerous work that Horizon Salvage Yard was known for took place. Ships were stripped for their parts, all the way down to the bulkheads. The reusable parts were refurbished and sold, while the metals were sent to the smelters to be melted down and prepped for reuse in new ships. This work was perhaps some of the most dangerous in the galaxy and Cassie was very glad that Nathan did not do that sort of job. Riding the Sling Gates was bad enough in her opinion.

“From a distance it’s almost pretty,” Nathan commented quietly. Cassie had to agree. From range, the array of bright safety yellow that much of the construction spaces were painted contrasted deep brown of the rock itself and the fiery red glow from the smelters. Inside the Bore Hole, the rainbow of colors from hundreds of neon signs and flashing billboard with all manner of advertisements created quite the sight indeed.

Up close, however, things changed. Horizon Base was old, dirty, and beat to hell. Much of the base was run down and very poorly maintained. There wasn’t a square foot of paint that wasn’t scraped and dented metal and rust were commonplace. The corridors inside were cramped and smelled of scaled metal and sulfur, while the lights constantly flickered and the life support was on, well… life support. Not that anyone on the HSY Board cared a bit. It was all about hitting those quotas and bringing in the cash.

“I don’t know how much longer this place will last,” Nathan grumbled as the ship approached one of the giant doors on the surface of the rock that would allow the cargo hauler to fly into the interior hangar bay to land. “I feel like this whole place is a powder keg. One wrong step and boom—”

Nathan was cut off as a new sun blossomed within one of the Gantries where a heavy lift freighter was being salvaged. A flash of brilliant while light accompanied the multi-megaton nuclear explosion that flared through space, utterly soundless in the void.

7: If You Won't Love Me Now, You Will Never Love Me Again

“Lucy, if I stay… if I stay here with you, things are going to happen between us,” Jack said firmly. “And Lucy, I’m not sure if…”

“If you want them to?” Lucy asked in that quiet voice with a hint of rasp and a note of a southern North American drawl that enraptured him so. He could tell immediately that she was hurt and leapt to correct the misunderstanding. He shook his head ardently.

“It’s not about want,” Jack insisted. In truth, he had never been more torn in his entire life. On the one hand, of course he wanted this to continue. He’d be a fool not to. He had a beautiful, energetic and exceptionally willing young woman in his arms. And it had been years since… well, Maya might have had a point after all. “Believe me, I know exactly what I want. You are… intoxicating, Lucy. You are so many things, Lucy, things I want, but…”

“But what?” Lucy asked, taking a step closer to him. “But what, Jack? We’re both here, we’re both drunk, and we both want this.”

“Lucy, I…”

“Don’t push me away, Jack,” Lucy whispered, tears suddenly shining in her eyes. A façade Jack hadn’t even suspected she was putting on suddenly falling away. He was shocked by this sudden, intense display of emotion from Lucy. He had imagined seeing a lot of her that evening, but never once had he expected to see her quite so exposed. “Please Jack, I… I…”

Jack was only just beginning to think about how to respond when she stepped up to him, pulled him close and began kissing him again. He hesitated just long enough to cause Lucy to start to cry in earnest before he kissed her back.

But he only did so for a brief moment, tasting this sensuous creature’s lips for mere seconds before pulling away. It was the very last thing he wanted to do, but he felt he had to. He took a slow, deliberate step back from her.

“We shouldn’t,” Jack said quietly. “Not like this. Like you said, you’re very drunk. I can’t help but feel like I’m taking advantage, and I don’t want to… hurt you.”

“You’re not takin’ advantage if I’m offerin’, Jack,” Lucy countered, her accent becoming more pronounced. Jack sat back down on the couch, trying to collect his thoughts. “Jack, I… This is… you’re the first person I’ve ever actually… you know, wanted to do this with. Believe me; you’re not takin’ advantage of me. Hell, to be honest I wish you would.”  

“Lucy, I… Look, you don’t know me, but…” He cast around, trying to find the words to explain himself. “Okay, bluntly? I know you used to be a whore, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to treat you like one….use you like one. That’s not me and I’m not okay with it. You should be treated like a lady.”

He looked up at her in time to see the deeply touched expression cross her features before she smiled warmly. She walked over and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in hers.

“Then Jack… treat me like one.” She smiled gratefully and squeezed his hands. “I wasn’t askin’ you to bend me over the back of the couch.” She laughed; a light and musical sound that only served to further weaken Jack’s resolve. “I’ve been bent over more than a few couches, and I promise it ain’t nearly as fun as it may look. Hurts the knees, honestly.” Jack was pretty sure Lucy expected him to laugh, when he didn’t she pushed him back into the sofa, sliding up his body and straddling his hips.

“It’s sweet, you wantin’ to treat me all nice and such. To be honest, no one ever has. No one’s ever cared what I wanted or even if I wanted. The fact you do, well… just shows I made the right choice.” In one swift motion that happened so smoothly he almost missed it, Lucy pulled her top over her head and tossed it behind her. Jack would have loved to be able to say he at least tried to keep his eyes on hers, but he most assuredly did not.

She shook that long mane of hair back and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. He shivered as her warm breath tickled his skin.

“Treat me like a lady, Jack.” She began trailing kisses down his neck as her slender fingers went to work unbuttoning his shirt.

“Lucy…” Jack groaned, his left hand wrapping around her and tangling itself in her hair while his right gently but firmly gripped her breast.

“Don’t even pretend anymore, Captain Jack,” she whispered, pressing herself harder into his lap. “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of just how much you want me.” With his shirt unbuttoned, Lucy’s hands found their way to his belt buckle. It was, he knew, decision time. Either push her away and leave, or give in to what they both wanted. Using his grip in her hair, Jack pulled her back to take one last look into her eyes; those shimmering brown orbs so filled with passion. He made his choice. Lucy must have thought was putting a stop to everything because she sighed wearily.

“Jack, I… oh!” Her breath seemed to catch in her throat as Jack’s hand on her breast released and slipped beneath her waistband, quickly finding a spot that caused her eyes to roll back. “Fuck…” She breathed. She smiled in what Jack assumed was a cross between pleasure and victory. “What do you say we go break in that new mattress?”

Jack chose not to respond. Instead, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to her quarters placed her on the bed. She was still grinning up at him as he turned to close the door behind them.

 

~~~~~~~

 

It was a couple of hours before dawn when Jack began to awaken. His half asleep mind brought up images from the night he had spent in Lucy’s bed and a smile crossed his face. He could scarcely believe he had resisted her so much. She had seemed to almost be able to read his mind. She would do or say exactly what he wanted her to without him saying a word. Jack, meanwhile, had tried his best to be a gentleman. She deserved that at the very least. He suspected… no, he knew that no one else had ever been such with her before.

She’d said it herself, after all. No one had ever given a thought about what she wanted. They had all just used her. He had wanted to make sure he didn’t. He wanted to make her feel special… and to show her that good people actually did exist.

And it certainly seemed that Lucy had enjoyed herself, because she was back for more. Jack felt her shift and once again felt her lips on his. He began to sleepily kiss back. It seemed the thing to do, after all. In his dozing drowsiness, it took him a very long while to realize that Lucy wasn’t just kissing him. She was licking him.

Now, Jack wasn’t one to kink shame. He was perfectly fine with people doing whatever they please, but this was a bit out there as far as he was concerned. He was sure Lucy had encountered people who were into this sort of thing, but he wasn’t entirely onboard. She, however, seemed to be getting really into it. She lapped all across his face with an enthusiasm that really surprised him.

Who gets off on licking people? Jack sleepily wondered. When does that get fun? Oral sex was one thing, but this was on another level and he was beginning to tire of it. And since when did Lucy have so much hair on her face. Wait. Hair on her face? He remembered quite clearly that Lucy had an abundance of hair on her head and practically none anywhere else, especially on her face. He would have noticed. So... hmm. Curiouser and curiouser. And then he felt someone move on the opposite side of the bed. He reached behind him and his hand came into contact with familiar, soft smooth skin. If Lucy was behind him as he lay on his left side, then whoever was in front of him could not possibly be her. It was this particular revelation that caused Jack to jerk awake.

 His eyes snapped open and he found himself face to face with a large, black and white border collie. The dog stared at him, panting happily with its tongue slightly lolling out of its mouth. Jack vaguely recalled Lucy mentioning that she had a dog, but he hadn’t seen the animal the previous evening.

“Hi…” Jack grumbled, seizing the blanket to wipe the dog slobber from his face. He rolled over to avoid any more licks and found himself face to face with Lucy. She was still sleeping and was cuddled quite close to him. Her long hair was draped all around her and her eyes fluttered occasionally as though she were dreaming.

“Entirely too damn beautiful,” Jack whispered to himself, reaching out to stroke her cheek. His fingertips had barely make contact with her skin when she gasped. Waking with a start, her hand dipped beneath her pillow and she drew a thick, long barreled revolver. She had the barrel pressed to his chest before her eyes seemed to focus and she looked positively horrified.

“Oh God… Oh Jack, I’m… I’m so sorry,” she wailed, tossing the firearm aside. “I didn’t… I ain’t exactly used to… well, having guests stay over. I… I thought…”

“It’s okay, Lucy,” Jack consoled her. His heart was hammering, despite his words. She had scared the hell out of him. He couldn’t necessarily blame her precautions or her reaction, but it didn’t help lower his pulse either. “I’m fine, it’s all okay. Don’t worry about it.” To prove his point, Jack leaned in and kissed her. She responded, briefly, before pulling away and looking at him with a disgusted look on her face.

“What the fuck have you been eatin’?” She asked, her eyes narrowing. Jack smirked.

“You.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Lucy replied, her voice dripping with snark. “Seriously though, that’s not morning breath and it ain’t nothin’ you got from me. If I tasted like that, wouldn’t nobody spend any time down there.”

“Your dog may have made itself known to me by licking my face while I was sleeping,” Jack said, unsure if he really wanted to be completely honest with her. “And I… well, I was half asleep and I guess I thought… it was you, so I… returned the gesture and…”

“Damn,” Lucy said, a playful grin on her lips. “I had to work hard to get you to kiss me. Callie just wags her tail and gets everything she wants.”

“I was asleep,” Jack said defensively. “I didn’t… I was dreaming and I thought it was you.”

“I guess I’ll take it as a compliment,” said Lucy, although judging from the look on her face she wasn’t going to let this go anytime soon. It was clear she was greatly amused. As silence fell, Jack found himself just staring at her. He couldn’t quite place what it was about Lucy that he found so alluring. She was beautiful, sure, but it was more than that. There was something about her, some unseen force that drew him in stronger and harder than any other woman he had ever met.

He suspected it had something to do with her attitude towards life. She had suffered horribly in her youth, and while she was clearly world-weary and cynical, she was also playful and energetic and had a wonderful sense of humor. He admired that greatly. It took a powerful strength of character, he imagined, to keep that part of oneself alive in a world like this.

“Jack, you’re staring,” Lucy commented after a few minutes. He blinked and noticed she was gazing back at him with a thin smile. Jack just shrugged.

“You’re stunning,” he replied. Most girls would react positively to such a proclamation. Lucy, Jack noted, looked ever so slightly disappointed. “What?” Jack asked, concerned that he had said something wrong. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” said Lucy, shaking her head. “It’s just… nothing, it’s stupid.”

“It’s not if it upset you,” Jack countered. “What is it, Lucy?”

“Well… Like I said last night, Jack, I… this… isn’t me. I mean, it is, but… I was turned into this. My… everything was modified and changed, making me look like this.”

“Right,” said Jack, remembering their earlier conversation. “The pleasure house, they changed you.”

“Genetic modification,” said Lucy, nodding. “Practically every aspect of my body was specifically altered to make me more appealin’ to customers… and to help me please them better.” She sighed and shook her head again. “It’s not like it upsets me, really. Just comments like that… from someone that I… Comin’ from you, it hit a little different is all. Reminded me that I’m not… that what you’re so pleased to be lookin’ at is manufactured.”

“Lucy, you’re lying there topless and I was looking at your face,” Jack said firmly. “Not because I was admiring your beauty. I mean, I was, but I was also thinking about how strong you are. You’ve managed to survive in a world built to destroy you. And I don’t just mean, you’ve stayed alive. Your personality isn’t what I’d expected from someone that’s been through what you have. You have a strength of character that’s very impressive.”

“You’re an interestin’ man, Jack Mitchell,” Lucy noted after a few moments of quiet. “I thought by now I’d met every kind of man in the ‘verse, yet here you are surprisin’ me. Not only are you the first man I’ve ever had to basically drag into bed, but you’re also more impressed with my personality than my ass…ets?”

“Well, now I didn’t say more impressed,” said Jack, drawing a chuckle from Lucy.

“Fair enough,” she replied. “You hungry? Might have some waffles in the fridge.” Now that she mentioned, Jack realized he was quite famished. After dressing, Jack followed Lucy back to the galley where she sat about scrounging in the refrigerator for a box of waffles. She found them and put a couple in a rather disheveled looking pop up toaster. She then set about looking for syrup. Jack, not wanting to get in the way, stood back and watched. He noticed that as she opened each cabinet that there didn’t seem to be any sort of organization. There were random objects in each cabinet, many of them which didn’t necessarily belong in the kitchen. He had to admit he found the idea that Lucy was seemingly a disorganized packrat kind of cute.

“Sorry,” she said after closing the fifth cabinet without results. “I’m not exactly the most organized person in the worlds. Three years I’ve lived on this ship and you’d think I’d take the time to reorganize the place, but…”

Whatever else Lucy said, Jack didn’t hear. His brain had just gone on overdrive as he thought back to their conversation in that very kitchen the night before. He did some quick math in his head that he didn’t actually need to do.

“Lucy…” he said quietly, his heart pounding in his chest harder than when she had drawn a pistol on him. “Lucy, you… you said you got this ship when you were twelve when you got the Sunflower, right? How… how old are you?”

“Oh, fifteen… give or take a couple days,” said Lucy, pulling a half empty bottle of syrup from the back of the sixth cabinet she searched. “I don’t exactly know my birthday, so I just assume it’s the day I was left at the pleasure house. Could be a couple days before though. Who knows, really?”

“Lucy…” Jack whispered, distraught. What had he done? “Lucy, you’re… underage.” Lucy stared at him as though he had grown an extra head. It took her a moment to respond.

“Under… what age?” She asked, obviously perplexed. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re a minor,” Jack explained, realizing that this statement would likely make even less sense to her. He was quickly proven correct.

“I’ve never set foot in a mine,” she replied, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t even know which end of the mining laser to hold.”

“Oh, fuck me,” Jack groaned, sinking into a chair. How was he to explain this to her? She obviously didn’t understand. He knew he just needed to be blunt. “Lucy, you’re too young to have sex.”

The silence that filled the room was perhaps the loudest Jack had ever heard in his life. Lucy just stood there, bottle of syrup in hand, staring at him. Then she dissolved into a fit of laughter. She was laughing so hard she had to hold on to the kitchen counter for support.

“Lucy… Lucy, I’m being serious!” Jack exclaimed. Lucy nodded adamantly.

“I know,” she gasped out. “That’s just makes it funnier!” She was positively howling with mirth at this point and it took a few moments for her to collect herself. “Jack, you do know who you’re talkin’ to, right? Former sex worker and all that? This is some silly Earther rule or somethin’, ain’t it? I mean, if I’m ‘too young’ how damn old do I need to be?”

“The UEG says eighteen,” said Jack, drawing another snort of laughter from Lucy.

“Okay,” said Lucy as though this were the stupidest thing she had ever heard. “So, eighteen. So on the night before my eighteenth birthday I’m still too young, but the next mornin’ I’m old enough? How’s that make sense? Next you’ll be tellin’ me there’s an age to drink fuckin’ alcohol.” When Jack just stared at her, she added: “There’s an age to drink fuckin’ alcohol? What age is that?”

“Usually twenty-one,” said Jack, feeling that they had gotten quite off-topic. Lucy stared at him, her expression one of complete exasperation.

“You Earthers are weird as hell,” she commented. “What difference does it make how old I am? Who cares? It’s not like you forced me to do anythin’. And it ain’t nothin’ I hadn’t done before.”

“It matters to me, Lucy,” Jack said firmly. “You… you’re a teenager. A child. It’s wrong.” Jack knew immediately that he had said the wrong thing. Lucy’s expression, which had hovered between good natured exasperation and humor, turned instantly to anger. She glared at him, her entire demeanor changing in an instant. She was short and tiny, but there was a fire in her.

“Oh,” she said hotly. “So what we did last night was wrong, was it? So it’s fine that I get shipped off to a pleasure house and have my body twisted into a pervert’s wet dream, training to screw and please and suck cock like a good little whore. I can be sold off to pirates to be raped and tortured and forced to do things no one should ever have to do. I can do all of that and its fuckin’ fine and dandy, but the one time… the one fuckin’ time it’s about me, that it’s what I want… then it’s wrong.”

Lucy broke off, tears shining in her eyes. She glared at him furiously. The admiration that he’d seen in her eyes last night replaced with pure loathing.

“No, fuck that,” she snapped. “And fuck you too.”

“Lucy…” Jack pleaded. He hadn’t meant it like that. She just didn’t understand. He wanted to properly explain himself, but it seemed Lucy would have none of it.

“Get the fuck off my ship, Captain,” she hissed. “If you still want those damn launchers, you’d better send your men to pick them up because I’m leaving this rock in an hour.”

Jack wanted to stay and talk, to explain what he felt and what he was trying to say. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He was just trying to express his own feelings on what had transpired. He wanted her to understand that where he came from, what he had done was a terrible crime. The sort that they put you away in the darkest and deepest holes the UEG could find for committing. Sure, he’d never realized, had never imagined… but it didn’t change the facts.

Despite his wishes, Lucy looked murderous and Jack realized that if he ever wanted to get the chance to properly explain himself, he needed to give Lucy time to calm down. He nodded slowly.

“Okay, I’ll just…”

“Get out!” Jack managed to duck just in time to avoid being struck in the head by the bottle of syrup that rocketed toward him. He turned and fled the room, making quickly toward the ship’s exit. It took a great amount of willpower to keep going when he heard Lucy dissolve into tears behind him.

The sun had just begun to properly rise by the time Jack made it back to the Retribution. It was still very early, and he hoped beyond hope that he would be able to sneak back aboard the ship without anyone noticing him. As luck, or perhaps fate would have it, Maya strode up to him and draped her arm around his shoulders after he was about ten feet across the ship’s cargo bay.

“Hey, there’s our boy,” she said loudly, grinning broadly at him. “Walk of shame, eh? Well? Tell me all about it. I mean, you did spend the night over at Lucy’s, yeah?” Jack gave her a look and her face fell. “Hey… are you okay? I was just busting your balls, I didn’t…”

“Yeah, I spent the night at Lucy’s,” Jack hissed, pulling Maya into a secluded corner of the cargo bay. The last thing he needed was the crew overhearing this story. “She was wonderful and friendly. We shared a lovely bottle of wine and then we slept together. Are you happy?”

“Not really,” Maya told him. “Mainly because most people coming back from spending the night with a beautiful and probably amazingly easy girl would have some pep to their step and a smile on their face. You look like you’ve been hit in the face by a dead fish.”

“Maya… hell, I fucked up,” Jack groaned, leaning back against the bulkhead and holding his face in his hands. “How old would you guess Lucy is?” Maya shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe nineteen or twenty.” She replied, her eyes narrowing.

“That’s what I thought!” Jack exclaimed, throwing up his hands. “Only found out this morning that she’s fif-fucking-teen!” Maya’s jaw dropped and she turned to stare down the cargo bay ramp as though expecting to find a signpost confirming this news.

“Fifteen?” She repeated, her eyes wide. “With a rack like that? Damn, they didn’t make ‘em like that when I was fifteen. The hell are they feeding these kids?”

“Genetic modification,” Jack explained. “She… grew up in a pleasure house.”

“Oh,” said Maya, as though this solved everything. “Yeah, that makes sense. So… how are you feeling?”

“How the hell do you think?” Jack snapped. “And Lucy… she doesn’t get it.”

“Well, of course not,” Maya said wisely. “Would you really expect her to? If she grew up in a pleasure house, then… well, I don’t think the Borderworlds have an age of consent, do they?”

“Apparently not,” Jack replied. “And when I tried to explain it, I… I think I said the wrong thing.” Maya instantly grimaced.

“And what did you say exactly?”

“I tried to explain that she was too young to have sex. Yes, I know it was stupid. You don’t need to tell me.”

“Oh good,” said Maya wearily. “Because I feel like in this case the horse bolted, lived its life on the prairie and died of old age before you even realized you had a barn door to close.”

“I never get tired of your delightfully helpful quotes, Maya,” Jack grumbled. “Anyway, I told her what we did was wrong and she got super pissed. I hurt her feelings, but I don’t… What do I do, Maya?”

“Uh… we fucking leave this rock and get back to business,” she scoffed. “Look, I understand you’re in shock, but listen. That girl has been used and abused from here to Persephone. I know you well enough to know you were a gentleman with her and, well to be honest Jack… What you did isn’t a crime out here. It’s a crime on Earth, but… we’re not on Earth. Put it out of your mind and let’s get back to work. What’s done is done and she’s no worse off for it. Got money to be made, right? Hell, after today you’ll never see this chick again anyway. Now c’mon, let’s get to it.”

“Just like that, huh?” Maya smirked and clapped him on his shoulder.

“Hey, you wanted to be the captain, Captain.”

 

~~~~~~~

 

Lucy found that her anger left as quickly as it had come. As soon as Jack left the room, she burst into tears and curled up on the cold floor of the galley. She wasn’t angry, she was hurt. Deeply hurt in a way she hadn’t known was possible. She knew Jack hadn’t meant what he had said in the way it had come out, but the implication cut her deeply regardless.

She didn’t understand him. Why was what she wanted so wrong? It didn’t make sense. And how stupid were the Earthers anyway? Some arbitrary age that made sex and alcohol okay? Who possibly thought of such a ridiculous notion? Next Jack would tell her they had age limits on starship pilot’s licenses or owning firearms. Absolutely idiotic. And to think she used to wish she had been born there. At least out in the Borderworlds she was free to do as she pleased. Earth had too many rules, and most of them didn’t make much sense.

Law and order was one thing, but the Earthers seemed to spend most of their time telling other people what to do and when they could do it. Maybe that was why the Volgm were fighting. Maybe the Earthers tried telling them what to do too.

Lucy entertained herself for a moment, imagining what would happen if EarthGov tried to come back into the Borderworlds and impose their rules there. She knew it wouldn’t be long before they were running back to Earth as fast as their fancy ships could take them. Not that EarthGov would ever come back to the Borderworlds, of course.

She finally managed to push Jack from her mind and pull herself together. She wasn’t going to let that man ruin her day. She had work to do and she had never let anyone stop her. Of course, no one had ever wounded her quite like Jack had either. She wondered as she set about preparing for takeoff if that was Jack’s fault or her own.   

She was surprised when two of the Retribution’s deck crew turned up thirty minutes later with a credit chip worth $750,000 credits. It appeared Jack still wanted the launchers. A few minutes later and the men had the pallets loaded on their rover and were carting them away from her ship. She looked down at the credit chip in her hand, struggling between relief and guilt. She had considered telling Jack the truth and canceling their deal, but after that morning she found she didn’t care all that much. This money meant her mission was complete. She finally had enough. She could go home and fulfill her promise at last.

She sealed the cargo ramp and went up to the cockpit. She fired up the engines and primed the ship for takeoff. She plotted the ship’s escape vector and keyed the commands to the computer for the autopilot. While she waited, her eyes found the Retribution across the spaceport.

“Stop it, Lucy,” she said aloud. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. If it wasn’t you screwing them over, it would be someone else. At least they’re still alive.”

As the ship’s systems pinged ready for takeoff and the autopilot began to lift the ship from the ground, a massive shadow passed overhead. Lucy looked up out of the ship’s slanted windows to see a gigantic cargo ship moving to leave the planet ahead of her. Lucy followed the carrier out of atmo, noting that the Retribution was close behind. She had to admit, the Ret was a beautiful ship.

As the cargo carrier in front of her turned and accelerated towards the system’s Sling Gate, and the Ret leapt away with its Q-Drive, Lucy busily plotted her own Q-Drive course towards home; the far away star system called Haven. While the computer calibrated the coordinates for the jump, Lucy keyed the local in-system radio station where she found some old grunge rock song with a nice bass line to distract her from her thoughts. A few moments later and the Sunflower activated her Q-Drive. The ship seemed to dematerialize, slowly turning into a shower of golden atoms from bow to stern before accelerating violently in a flash of golden light.    

Lucy sat in the pilot’s chair with her legs up on the console. She let the music wash over her while idly twirling the credit chip between her fingers. She glanced into the co-pilot’s seat where Callie sat with her paws on the armrest watching her with a surprisingly accusatory expression for a dog.

“Stop looking at me like that, Callie,” Lucy grumbled, glaring out at the spiraling golden tunnel of quantum travel as they traveled millions of kilometers every second. “I’m doing the right thing. This is what we set out to do. We made a promise.” She stared at the credit chip in her hand. “We made a promise. We’re doing the right thing.” Callie whined loudly and Lucy squeezed her eyes closed, praying for strength.

“Oh, fuck! Shit! Mother… bitch!” She reached up angrily and pulled the throttle lever back, dropping the ship out of quantum flight just as the song’s bass line swelled powerfully. She switched off the radio and turned the ship 180 degrees in a wide arc before quickly leaping back into FTL.

“I want continuous scans,” she ordered the computer. “It’s a big ship, so it shouldn’t be too hard to track down.” She glared across the cockpit at Callie. “I hope you’re fucking happy.” Callie gave a rather loud bark in response.

“Yeah, well, don’t be too happy,” Lucy countered. “When I tell them what we did, they’re probably not going to be too please. I’m pretty sure Jack won’t shoot me, but Maya…” She was interrupted by the ship’s auditory notification system announcing an alert.

“Warning,” the ship computer’s vaguely female-sounding voice said. “Capital-class Q-Drive signature detected.”

“Alright then,” Lucy said, her fingers keying the comm to hail the Retribution as they drew closer and closer together. “Let’s see what happens.”

8: Break the Chain

“Cassie, what the hell just happened?” Nathan exclaimed, turning back to look where the AI stood on her pedestal. Cassie shook her head and linked into the Rubicon’s external sensors and cameras. With them, she could see and feel the world around her ship.

“A class-seven reactor core detonation,” Cassie replied hastily, her processors working overtime to collect information. “I don’t…”

“Brace, brace brace!” The Captain’s voice boomed from the overhead speakers. Nathan barely had time to steady himself before the shockwave overtook them. Cassie wanted to make sure that he was safe, but suddenly she was in agony. She had never felt pain before, but this must be it. Her entire being was on fire and she was so stunned that it took her a full ten seconds to realize that with her consciousness linked to the ship’s sensors and cameras, she was practically looking directly at, and standing in the middle of, a thermonuclear explosion. With that in mind, she managed to wrench herself free and sever the connection. As she did so, her mind was suddenly bombarded with… visions. Visions of fire. Visions of exploding ships and space stations. They came at her from a millions different directions and she couldn’t begin to process them all. The visions… no, not visions; memories. But… they weren’t her memories. They were familiar, yet… not. Strange. She knew she had never lived the experiences, and yet… it all felt so very familiar.

“Cass? What happened? Are you okay?” As her mind cleared, she noticed that Nathan was standing in front of her pedestal with a worried expression on his face. “You… you were screaming.” Cassie felt her processors halt for a nanosecond at that revelation. She had screamed? She hadn’t realized…

“Yes, I… I’m fine,” she quickly lied. “Don’t worry about me, I was just… It’s nothing. That explosion, it… looks to have caused extensive damage to Gantry #23 but only minor damage to Horizon Base itself.” She tried to quickly push aside these strange visions and center herself again but it was difficult. She scanned the com channels in the local space, pulling in every bit of information she could at light-speed.

“Initial reports show a relatively small team was working on the salvage op. I’d guess there was a mistake made during the reactor extraction that caused the detonation. Loss of life appears to be within acceptable ranges per Horizon Salvage Yard projections.” Nathan scoffed and shook his head.

“’Per HSY projections…’” He muttered darkly. “What about you, Cass? Do you think there’s an ‘acceptable range’ for loss of life?”

“It would likely depend on the circumstances, I suppose,” said Cassie after a moment of thought. “In this case? No, I don’t believe there is.”

Nathan didn’t respond. He stood there for a moment, watching the ruins of Gantry #23 and the small fleet of rescue and recovery vessels that had swarmed the area. Cassie was on the verge of asking him what was on his mind when he shut the cameras off.

“I’m headed to Engineering to make sure Rubi’s okay,” he said. “You can run some diagnostics if you’d like, but I want to take a look at our core systems myself.”

“Of course, Nathan,” said Cassie. “I’ll take care of it.” The pair didn’t speak as Nathan left for Engineering and Cassie set about running a full check of the ship’s systems. She was still with Nathan, constantly listening on his headset. If he needed her, she was right there. But she knew him well enough to know when he didn’t need her. Right now, Nathan was very clearly upset and she knew that if she tried to comfort him now, he would just push her away. Best to give him some time alone… and time alone is exactly what Cassie needed as well.

~~~~~~~

It didn’t take long for Nathan to confirm that the Rubicon had weathered the shockwave without issue. The ship was very old, but she was tough and Nathan did his best to keep her in top shape. He had already finished his checks and was on his way to the Bridge by the time the ship was cleared to land.

As he walked through the ship’s dingy corridors, Nathan found himself growing ever more troubled. Nathan knew that Cassie’s guess was possible; that a mistake had been made during salvage ops. However, Cassie had only been operational a little more than a week She didn’t know HSY like he did. The almighty credit was all the company cared about. In recent years, the general standards of safety had fallen steadily. Equipment was not being maintained as it should and safety regulations were often ignored for speed. This most recent disaster was just another in a long line of increasingly costly ‘accidents’. It was one of the many reasons that HSY operated in the Borderworlds. With no laws or regulations, they could push their people past the breaking point with no repercussions. And all the while, still sell their salvaged materials to shipyards in UEG space for higher profits. 

And then there was Cassie. He had not been troubled before, but now… now he was concerned for her. Something had happened to her during the explosion and she had lied to him. He wasn’t sure to her keeping secrets, but then didn’t he have secrets of his own? Like the fact that the kill switch he had written into Cassie’s source code that was designed to erase her program if she broke her shackles failed to activate after the installation of her memory expansion drive.

It was not due to a malfunction. Nathan had deliberated deactivated the switch while Cassie had been shut down. He had fully expected Cassie’s reaction to her newfound power and he couldn’t risk the chance that she wouldn’t stop to think about the kill switch; which she cleared had not. It had been a calculated risk; much like Cassie’s very creation. It would lead them to the answers they needed… or perhaps be the ruin of everything. It was, without doubt, a very dangerous game indeed.

Nathan emerged onto the Bridge in time to see the ship slip through the cavernous doors on the asteroid’s surface and turn toward her landing pad. Within a few moments, the massive vessel had settled onto its landing gear and locked down to the deck.

“Mag lock confirmed,” The Deck Officer, a middle aged blonde woman named Naomi informed the Captain. “Dock Control reports all moorings secure. Initiated main reactor shutdown. Transitioning to station power in three… two… one. Power transfer complete. We’re down, Captain.

“Good,” said Aiden, glancing at Nathan as he approached. “Let the crew know they’re clear to disembark. And get a message to Aspen, see if she’s free to meet us.”

“Aye Captain,” said Naomi.

“Hell of a homecoming, eh Captain?” Nathan asked, leaning against one of the Bridge consoles. “Ship’s no worse for wear, by the way.”

“That’s good at least,” said Aiden, the weariness evident in his voice. “Any thoughts on what happened?”

“Sure,” said Nathan. “Likely the same as yours, I’d assume. More equipment malfunctions.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised,” Aiden grumbled. “HSY gets harder to work for every year. I swear, signing the contract with them was the worst decision I’ve ever made as a Captain.”

“We could just break the contract,” The ship’s helmsman, a young man called Sayid, suggested. He was sitting at the console Nathan was leaning against, finishing up securing the ship’s thrusters while in port. “Get out of this hell hole and work somewhere else. Maybe pick up a contract in the core systems or even UEG space.”

“We break a contract, even with a company like HSY, and we’ll earn ourselves a nice big black mark in the Transport Registry,” Nathan pointed out while Aiden nodded. “Rubi would never work again. There’s not a client or company out there that would take us on.”

“That’s very true,” Aiden agreed. “Although, we’ll never work again if we’re dead either. For now, we don’t have much choice but to stick to the status quo. But I want all of you,” he continued, speaking loudly so the other three members of the ship’s command crew could hear him. “To stay watchful. I’ve had a bad feeling for a while now, and with the events of today… I feel like a storm’s coming… and soon.”   

Once the freighter was safely secured in the hangar, Nathan and the Rubicon’s bridge crew disembarked. As the station’s hangar was open and exposed to the vacuum of space, the crew passed through the ship’s airlock and through the extended boarding tube that swung out and connected to the Rubicon when she landed. When the door at the end of the passageway opened, a young woman stood waiting for them scrolling distractedly on a holographic tablet.

“Aspen!” Aiden called out, drawing her attention. The woman looked up, her elbow length red hair shifting around her. Aiden hurried toward his daughter and pulled her into a hug. Nathan stood back slightly with the rest of the crew, giving the father and daughter time to themselves. As he did though, Nathan couldn’t help but glance rather shyly at Aspen when she smiled at him over her father’s shoulder.

“Dad, I’m glad you’re back,” said Aspen, drawing back from Aiden. “I was worried sick. I thought Rubi might have been too close to the blast.”

“We got shook up, but we’re no worse for wear,” Aiden replied. “What the hell happened?”

“Probably what you think,” said Aspen, nodding her head back down the passageway behind her. They turned and set off through the station’s interior. They wound their way through the station’s dank, tight corridors on their way to the crew quarters. “Crew was pulling the power regulator on a big freighter out there. Initial reports indicate that that the power capacitors the crew attached didn’t properly discharge and instead sent all that charge straight into the reactor, which… well, you saw the rest. We lost forty-two people in that blast.”

“I’m so done with HSY,” Naomi grumbled. “Honestly, I’m starting to agree with Sayid here. If we stick around this place we’re all gonna end up dead.”

“You’re not the only one that’s pissed off, Naomi,” said Aspen, glancing back over her shoulder at her. “There’s a reason I left Ops and came down here to meet you guys. There’s protests popping up all over the station. This is… it’s getting bad.”

“It’s a powder keg,” Nathan put in, thinking back to his words seconds before the explosion. “Today could be the spark that burns us all.”

“Exactly,” Aspen said darkly. “I work in Ops with the HSY folks. From things I’ve overheard, if this goes bad… none of us are going to want to be here.”

They had reached the Commons by then, the wide open square in the lower levels of the station that housed the crew quarters and the various shops and amenities that the station offered its workers. This area was very darkly lit, much like the rest of the station’s interior. The concrete floors and metal walls were stained and debris could be seen scattered here and there. The space was packed with people moving about, either heading out to their shift or returning back home afterwards. Or, at least it usually was. That day, however, a large gathering of people had formed along the far side of the square. Someone had painted the image of a clenched fist that held flame in its palm. Beneath the image the words ‘Ignite the Fires’ were scrawled.

“Well...” Nathan groaned, sharing a dark look with Aspen. “Fuck.”

~~~~~~~

Back on the Rubicon, Cassie was busy running a full system diagnostic on her program. The visions that had come to her shook her to her core. She had no idea where these memories had come from or how she could possibly possess memories of events she had never experienced. It made no sense, yet she was confident that memories were exactly what they were.

Her first thought was the memory expansion drive. Everything started with the installation of the drive, so it made sense that it was the cause. However, she had triple checked the drive and it was clean. In fact, her entire system was clean. She could find nothing wrong with her processes, nor could she find the memories files anywhere on her storage drives. But if she had seen them then they must exist somewhere within her system. She was a computer program, not flesh and blood. They simply had to be stored somewhere she could access, but despite her best efforts she couldn’t find them. She even checked the Rubicon and Horizon Base’s systems and come up empty.

None of it made any sense. It was as though these memories simply flashed into existence and then immediately vanished. That simply wasn’t possible. That could not happen. Those files had to exist somewhere, yet they didn’t appear to be… anywhere. Deciding to forgo searching for the memory files, she elected to see if she could determine what the memories were. Destruction and death, exploding space stations and starships and nuclear fire… it was the Luna Incident. It had to be.

She had seen every second of video footage that had been found from that day and the images were eerily similar. Definitely not the same, but… similar. Someone would just need to explain to her how she had memories from an event that happened five years before her creation. That was a question she could not even begin to answer that evening. That would require a great deal of time and thought and perhaps even a conversation with Nathan. She didn’t want to involve him, for she knew he would worry. Still, she might have no choice. There was no one else she could ask for help.

Feeling as exhausted as possible for an AI, Cassie decided to put herself into standby mode until Nathan needed her. She would rest and think and hope she could find some logical explanation for these events… because in that moment, she was worried and very confused.

9: With a Sense of Poise and Rationality

The endlessly spiraling tunnel of golden light sent waves of rippling energy and arcs of lightning cascading across the ship’s white and blue hull as it ripped across the void between star systems at nearly twenty thousand times the speed of light. Those waves of energy washed down the length of the ship and spread out behind it, leaving a golden trail a light-year long in its wake; at least within the interdimensional space of the Quantum Slipstream.

As the Retribution flew farther and farther from Venezia, Jack found himself sitting in the Briefing Room, a small meeting space on an elevated platform at the rear of the Bridge. The space held a conference table and enough chairs for the members of the destroyer’s senior staff. Typically, discussions on military strategy and battle tactics would take place here. On that day, however, Jack was alone and lost in thought of a wholly different nature. He stared out of the Bridge windows, watching the Quantum tunnel in silence.

He knew he should be preparing to sell the missile launchers he had just acquired, but instead of the profit he was expecting to make, all he could focus on was the weapons’ former owner. Lucy had, in the short span of time he had known her, completely vexed him. Despite what he told himself, and he had told himself a thousand times that day, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He knew it was wrong, but that didn’t do anything to keep those sparkling brown eyes and cute little smile from appearing every time he closed his eyes.

“Whatcha doin’ up here all alone, Cap?” Phoebe asked, sliding her small frame into the large, swiveling armchair across from him. “Geez, you look like someone shot your dog. You okay?” In truth, Jack really didn’t want to have this conversation. However, he knew Phoebe entirely too well and she would pester him endlessly until he talked, so he decided to just give in without a fight.

“I was just thinking about… Lucy,” Jack said quietly. Phoebe got the happiest smile on her face that he had ever seen.

“Yep, I heard you got some last night,” she said excitedly. “Good for you! I gotta admit I was shipping you guys so hard.”

“How do you know about that?” Jack asked, figuring he already knew. Maya was a known blabbermouth and she and Phoebe talked a lot.

“James in Security told me,” said Phoebe with a shrug.

“James?” Jack asked, surprised. “How in the hell does he know?” Surely Maya wasn’t blabbing to the Security department too.

“I think Rachel from the Flight Deck told him,” Phoebe replied. Jack rolled his eyes. Well, fuck you too Maya.  “And before we go any further down this road, Cap, just assume that the whole ship knows you banged her, okay?”

“Well, hell,” Jack groaned. It was expected admittedly, but the last thing he needed. “Phoebe, it… What she and I did… it was wrong. Morally wrong. Lucy’s only fifteen. She’s too young to have sex, I can’t…”

“Please,” said Phoebe, closing her eyes as though trying to will something into being. “Please tell me you didn’t say that to Lucy.” Jack swallowed thickly, the true sum of his screw up settling on him once again.

“It was around that time that she threw me off her ship,” he admitted reluctantly. Phoebe sighed heavily.

“You… Cap, you’re actually the worst,” she groaned. “There’s probably a hundred different ways you could’ve gone about explainin’ that to her and you said that? Did you, you know, explain the actual reasons Earth has those laws in the first place? And did you think about how throwing that in the face of someone like Lucy might hurt them? And did you…?”

“Fuck, Phoebe, no. Okay? No, I didn’t think, I didn’t do a damn thing other than shove my big dumb feet into my big dumb mouth. I panicked and I just… I messed up. It pissed her off and rightly so. In the moment, I didn’t know how to explain it to her. I wanted to apologize, but… well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. She’s gone and we’ll probably never see her again.”

Before Phoebe could respond, a klaxon blared and the ship’s Tactical Officer, Benjiro Kim, called out over the intercom.

“Captain Mitchell, we have an inbound contact approaching at high Quantum. Please report to the Bridge.”

“Duty calls,” said Jack. He stood and walked away, stopping to place a grateful hand on her shoulder before climbing down the metal catwalk staircase to the Bridge below. He knew Phoebe meant well and he was grateful she was onboard. She could be blunt at times, partially due to the fact that she wasn’t military. But regardless, Jack knew she had his back. “What have we got?

“A ship is approaching… damn quick,” Benjiro said, his chocolate eyes glued to his console which displayed radar tracks for all nearby contacts. “Based on their radar signature, it looks to be nearly the same hull size as a UEG corvette, but their drive signature is way off to be an Earth ship.”

“They’re coming in too fast to be a corvette as well,” Helmswoman Leilani Kalama announced, turning in her seat to face Jack, her elbow length red hair billowing around her. “We’re nearly at full speed and they’re gaining on us.”

“What the hell kind of ship is fast enough to catch a UEG destroyer at maximum Quantum?” Jack wondered aloud. “Drive signature is human, yes?”

“Aye sir, she’s a human vessel,” Benjiro confirmed. “I just can’t classify that drive signature. It’s not like anything in our database.”

“Alright then,” said Jack, turning to the Ret’s communications officer, Keyla Hastings. “Send the standard hostile challenge and let’s see how quickly they turn tail.”  

“Attention inbound vessel, this is the United Earth Government Naval Vessel Retribution,” said Keyla, keying a tight beam to the inbound ship. “You are nearing our operational zone. Withdraw immediately or we will open fire.” The comm channel was silent for a few moments before the line crackled to life. There was the sound of rustling, something clattering… and the sound of a dog barking.

“Shit, fuck…” Came a voice familiar to Jack. “Ret… Retribution, this is… calm down, Callie, Jesus! Retribution, this is Sunflower. You shoot me I’m gonna have to shoot back, and I’m a much smaller target. Can you maybe slow down a bit? I need to talk to Jack and I’d like to do it in person.” Jack, filled with both a sense of joy and dread at the idea of seeing Lucy again, turned to Leilani.

“Drop us out of Quantum and slow to one quarter sublight,” he ordered. “Keyla, please clear Lucy to land.” He turned and walked toward the Bridge exit. As he went, he muttered under his breath. “And all of you… wish me luck.”

~~~~~~~

As the Retribution and Sunflower slowed to sublight, tearing holes in the fabric of space-time and thrusting themselves violently back into real space, Lucy looked out of the cockpit window toward the UEG destroyer feeling markedly more apprehensive than she had before. Jack was going to be pissed when she told him the truth, but the more she thought about it the more she knew it was what she had to do. She couldn’t do it this way, not to Jack and his crew. They deserved better, even if Jack was dumb as all hell.

While she was still hurt by Jack’s words and his rejection of her, much of her anger had admittedly faded. She knew that Jack hadn’t intended to hurt her feelings. She was still saddened that one of the best nights of her life was a terrible mistake as far as Jack was concerned, but given her own betrayal she decided at the very least she could forgive him.

The Retribution’s larger hangar was located in the rear ventral section of the ship. While a smaller hangar for the ship’s light shuttles sat higher up the rear of the ship, just behind the Bridge, it was far too small for a ship the size of the Sunflower. In fact, even the larger hangar was a tight fit. The freighter was roughly the same size as a UEG corvette and once she sat down on the hangar floor, she took up nearly a fourth of the hangar all to herself.

As she landed, Lucy noticed the crew working to reposition the small fleet of Albatross-class heavy dropships and Condor-class light dropships out of the way to make room for the much larger freighter. Gathering up her courage, Lucy powered down the ship and made her way to the cargo bay and lowered the personnel ramp.

As she walked down the ramp, she took in the view of the hangar proper. The area was rather dark, lit primary by stark white lights in the ceiling. A series of catwalks rather all throughout the hangar, allowing crews access to easily work on the tops of ships, or to quickly move around them. There were recessed areas along the sides of the hangar where all sorts of storage containers, tools, and what appeared to be forklifts and other small vehicles that were likely used to maneuver heavy pieces of machinery were stored.

The hangar’s flat gray paint was contrasted rather starkly by bright orange-yellow caution paint which could be found on lines on floor marking parking location for spacecraft as well as on the numerous elevators and weapon and ammunition hoists suspended from the ceiling. The Sunflower herself added to this contrast in color with her primarily yellow hull that was speckled with oranges, reds, and grays where the paint had faded or rusted or where the hull had been repaired and not repainted, or the shipyard hadn’t been able to properly match the ship’s paint color.

Normally this space and the bustle of activity inside would fascinate her. At the moment, Lucy was much too nervous and her attention instead focused on Jack, who was striding toward her across the hangar with Maya at his side. From the looks on their faces, Lucy estimated that Jack was nervous and confused while Maya was mildly irritated.

“Sorry if I worried you guys,” Lucy called out to them as they approached. “I had to come back. Jack, we need to talk.”

“Gave us a bit of a jolt, burning that hard towards a warship,” said Jack. “Our tactical officer and helmswoman were very confused by whatever the hell type of super engine your ship has.”

“Sorry, my Q-Drive is a little… unique,” said Lucy with a shrug. “Honestly, lots of things about Sunflower are unique.”

“I can imagine,” said Jack, glancing up at the starship behind her. “So… you said you needed to talk? What about?”

“Is there a place we could talk privately?” Lucy asked. She had no intention of having this conversation right there in the hangar. Jack suggested the Briefing Room on the Bridge. Lucy recalled seeing the space on her initial tour of the ship and felt that would be private enough. Jack led the way up through the destroyer’s corridors and into the Briefing Room. Jack took his seat at the head of the table and Maya, who had accompanied them much to Lucy’s annoyance, sat to his right. Lucy elected to remain standing. She knew Jack wasn’t going to hurt her, but she still felt a need to make escaping easier if need be.

“So, you wanted to talk?” Jack asked, looking up at her with that same confused and apprehensive expression on his face. “What… what’s going on?” Lucy looked back and forth between Jack and Maya and had to struggle hard to fight back tears. Why was she like this? Why was she about to cry? Why did she care? Why did she come back? She could have just run and never had to face this.

“I, uh….” She didn’t know what to say. She had swindled people before. She had lied and cheated a stolen a thousand times, so why in the actual fuck was it so damn hard with Jack? “I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I… lied to you. Those rocket launchers? They aren’t worth nearly what I told you. I was going to sell them to the Anti-Earth Movement for 250k and that was more than they’re worth.”

She reached into the pocket of her denim shorts and placed the credit chip she had been given on the table. She had said all of this while staring at the holographic projector in the center of the table. It was only now that she managed to make eye contact with Jack. He picked up the credit chip and stared at it in his palm for a long moment.

“Why come back?” He asked, looking up at her with curious eyes. A quick glance at Maya told Lucy that the woman was pissed, but Jack seemed… strangely calm. “You got away with robbing us blind. Why turn yourself in?” Lucy glanced at Maya once again.

“Does she… have to be here?”

“Hell yes I do,” Maya snapped, her eyes flashing. “You just admitted to lying to our faces and stealing from us! I ought to throw your bitch ass out the airlock.”

“Maya,” Jack said sternly, holding up a hand to silence her. “Can we have the room, please?” Maya turned, incredulous, to the Captain.

“You’re serious?” She demanded. “You expect me to leave you alone with this tramp?”

“I do and you will,” said Jack, his eyes still locked on Lucy. “Lucy and I need to talk privately.”

“Unbelievable,” Maya exclaimed, throwing up her hands. “Fuck it, fine! Do whatever you want.” Lucy knew that Maya was doubtlessly holding back much more than she was saying, but she suspected that despite her anger, she didn’t want to argue too much with her captain. Without another word, although with a very stern glare toward Lucy, Maya stormed off out of the Briefing Room.

“The question stands,” said Jack, still in that calm, even voice. “Why come back?”

“I… I… fuck, Jack, I don’t know!” Lucy exclaimed. Truth be told, she really didn’t. Some sort of tragic mental break perhaps? “I’ve screwed over tons of people before, but… honestly, I think you might be the first ones that don’t actually deserve it. Well, you do because you’re a fucking dumbass, but… I don’t know. I was flying away and I just felt… wrong. I’m sorry. Look, you can keep the money and the launchers. We go our separate ways and no harm no foul, yeah?”

Jack didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked back up at her, his expression unreadable.

“Sit down, Lucy,” he said firmly. She obeyed, surprising even herself at how easily she complied. She still didn’t believe that Jack would hurt her, but she realized in that moment that if he wanted to there was nothing she could do to stop him. She had come without any firearms and Jack was easily twice her size so her knife would do her no good.

“You were right before,” he said when she took the seat across from him. “We’re out of our element. We’re still operating like we’re a UEG navy ship and we’re not anymore. We’re a good crew, but… we don’t know how to work in this place. I brought in people to help guide us, but obviously I can’t trust Torque’s judgment…”

“In order to be able to trust his judgment, he would need to actually take the time to do his job,” said Lucy. “He never came by to check those launchers. He just told you they were what I claimed they were.” Jack rubbed his face with is hands exasperatedly.

“Well, of course he didn’t,” he grumbled. “Which just goes to further prove the point. We’re not built for this. I’m not built for this… to lead a crew like this. I need help.”

“Oh, you definitely need help,” said Lucy with a slight smile. “You need to get rid of Torque, for starters.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” said Jack. “But like I said, I still need help. How would you feel about signing on with us?”

“Are you offering me a job?” Lucy asked, her eyes widening in surprise. “I was half expecting you to shoot me, not hire me.”

“I’m not going to shoot you, Lucy,” said Jack, as though this should have been obvious. It only served to remind her that he and his crew really weren’t cut out for the Borderworlds. Anyone else would have done exactly that, no questions asked. “I need you. You told me when we met that you, not Torque, were the most dangerous person we could meet. You practically warned me you were going to try to rob us, but I never actually suspected you would. I need someone on my side that can see the double cross coming. I need someone who can actually teach us how to live and work out here.”

“Why me?” Lucy wondered. “I stole from you. I lied to you. How can you trust me?”

“Because you came back,” Jack said simply. “You got away with it, but you still came back and told the truth. You had no reason to and you put yourself in danger to do it. That speaks volumes to your character, in my opinion.”

“You wanna know something?” Lucy asked him. She hadn’t intended on having this conversation with him. She had planned on returning his money, apologizing, and leaving as quickly as possible. But the offer of a job… she knew she was going to accept. The opportunity to make big money was too good to turn down. And if that was the case, it was better to have that talk now. “After last night… I don’t think I was going to go through with it. After we slept together, I… I didn’t want to do it anymore. I was honestly thinking about how to tell you the truth… and then you broke my heart.” She hadn’t meant to say that last part, not really. Damn, what was happening to her? Maybe that tragic mental break actually had happened.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Jack said quickly, sounding quite flustered. “I know that what I said was awful and stupid and… I should have stayed calm and found a better way to explain the situation.”

“And how exactly should it have been explained?” Lucy asked him, doing her best to keep her voice even. “Other than the fact that I’m too young to have sex?”

“Yeah, that part…” Jack paused and Lucy took a good deal of pleasure from how uncomfortable he looked. He really was hopeless sometimes. “It’s not about you, it’s… me. I should have said… I don’t know what I should have said. Those laws I talked about, age of consent laws, they… they’re created to protect chi… young people from older people who would want to hurt them and manipulate them into sex.”

“Okay,” said Lucy, nodding slowly. “I understand that. So… were you trying to hurt me?” Jack’s eyes widened.

“What?” He gasped. “No, of course not!”

“Were you trying to manipulate me into sex?” Lucy asked pointedly.

“No…”

“Okay then, so I guess what I don’t understand then is how those laws apply in this case,” said Lucy with a shrug. “I mean, you’re saying that these laws are meant to protect people from being raped or abused, but… I wanted to do what we did, so… yeah, I don’t understand.”

“With… those laws, they… oh fuck, okay so… so those laws state that someone under the age of eighteen is not legally competent to consent to sex. So, by law it doesn’t matter what you wanted. You’re not of legal age to consent so… at best it could be called statutory rape.”

“That all just sounds like a fancy way of telling me that I’m too young to have sex,” said Lucy, holding up a hand. “You literally just said I’m not ‘legally competent’ to consent. So apparently if I’m seventeen I’m too stupid to know what it is I want, but the second I turn eighteen some magical switch flips in my brain that makes me perfectly capable of making these decisions.”

“Lucy, you’re not stupid….” Jack began, but Lucy cut him off.

“Oh, I know,” she replied. “It’s your damn Earther laws that are stupid. I don’t need you to protect me, Jack. I don’t need some law telling me what I want, or that I’m too young and dumb to know what I want.” She casually leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, very intentionally giving Jack a clear view down the front of her pink tank top. She was both pleased and amused that his eyes immediately flicked down and then nervously back up again. She smirked.

“I know what I want. You know what you want. You can pretend that you’re not into me all you want, but we both know that’s not true. You can say I’m too young or whatever but that didn’t stop you from sneaking a peek the first chance you got. So, here’s the deal. I’ll work with you. I can help you find jobs and make sure everything’s on the up-and-up. In exchange, I get an equal cut of every job we do.”

“That sounds fair,” said Jack, looking as though he could not wait to get out of this room. Lucy briefly wondered if he wished he hadn’t sent Maya away. She decided to play with him a bit more, if for nothing but her own entertainment.

“As for us, we’ll be business partners,” she said idly. ”Partners with inescapable, burning sexual tension and constant flirting, but partners nonetheless. I do have one rule though. You may think I’m a child, but I’m not. I’m your partner, not a member of your crew. You don’t get to give me orders or tell me what I can and can’t do. I’m gonna drink, curse, and fuck and there’s nothing you can do about it. If that’s going to be a problem for you, say so now and I’ll be on my merry.”

Lucy could only grin as Jack sat there, seemingly stunlocked by her bluntness. If she was being honest, she was very excited by the prospect of working with Jack. It was going to a lot of fun if she got to toy with this man every day. He was so easy to fluster.

“You… are your own person,” Jack managed to say at last. “I’m not going to try to control you. However, when you’re on my ship I do expect you to follow my rules. On the Sunflower, do what you want. That’s your home and I will respect that.”

"Fair enough.” Lucy held out her hand across the table. Jack hesitated for a moment as though he were seriously debating whether or not he truly wanted to enter into this agreement. No doubt he knew she was going to be a handful. Whatever his reasons, Jack soon slipped his hand into hers and they shook.

“Well, alright then partner,” said Lucy with a grin. “I do believe we’ve got some rockets to sell.”

“Right,” said Jack with a nod. “I’ll get us back on course to Anseon VII… if you were serious about us being able to sell them there.”

“I imagine we can get a pretty decent deal on them there,” Lucy replied. “Both factions of the civil war that’s going on there could use them. Might even be able to play both sides and get them into a bidding war.”

“Personally, I’d rather just ditch them to the first party that offers a fair price,” said Jack as he and Lucy stood and made their way out of the Briefing Room. “I don’t really want to get the Ret tied up in someone else’s war.”

“C’mon Jack, lighten up!” Lucy exclaimed, elbowing him in the ribs and glancing sidelong at Maya, who stood at the foot of the staircase watching them closely. “This is gonna be fun!”

~~~~~~~

Lucy left Jack on the Bridge, intending to return to the Sunflower while the Retribution carried them on to their destination. There was no reason to fly on her own when her ship could sit safely inside the destroyer’s hangar after all. She boarded the lift that would take her back to the hangar and leaned against the back wall with a relieved sigh.

While she was still irritated at Jack for his incredibly stupid ideals, she did have to respect him. She wouldn’t necessarily call him resistant to her charms, for she felt certain with enough time and effort she would win him over. However he still held true to his beliefs in that she was off limits to him due to her age. It was a quality she could respect, especially in the Borderworlds… even if it did make him painfully irritating to deal with.

She was also grateful for his handling of her betrayal. Practically anyone else in the Borderworlds would have shot her dead, or worse, over what she had done. That Jack turned around and offered her the chance to join his crew… well, he was most definitely an odd man. Not at all fit for the Borderworlds, but perhaps she could help him. Maybe together they could make the Ret a force to be reckoned with out there.

Lucy’s thoughts were interrupted by the elevator doors opening. Flynn stood there, staring at her with his head tilted to one side. He strode purposefully into the lift and pressed the button for Deck 6. He tipped his black cowboy hat to her and grinned.

“Darlin’,” he said in that drawling, twanging voice of his. While Lucy’s own voice had a similar twang and a bit of rasp to it, even when she was speaking more properly than she had with Jack the night before, Flynn might as well have been a Texas cowboy straight out of the history books. Only in space.

“Flynn,” she replied, giving him a cursory look over.

“Didn’t expect to be seein’ you again,” he said, leaning against the wall of the lift opposite her.

“Didn’t expect to be seen,” Lucy replied. “I had to come back to… alter a deal I made with Jack.”

“You mean own up to robbin’ him quite literally blind?” Flynn asked knowingly. “C’mon kid, it was obvious you were fuckin’ him over. What? You change your mind after he fucked you? He that good in the sack?”

“Pretty good, yeah,” said Lucy with a smirk. “He’s certainly got the tools to please a girl. Knows how to use ‘em too, come to think of it.”

“I didn’t need to know that,” Flynn muttered.

“Hey, you asked,” Lucy replied. “I can tell you all about it if you want. The truth is that I didn’t think Jack deserved it. These people are actually decent folk and I guess I didn’t have to the heart to do that to ‘em.”

“Ah,” said Flynn, nodding slowly as the lift doors opened onto Deck 6. “So, a prostitute with a conscience, eh? Interestin’.”

“I’m not a prostitute,” said Lucy. “Well… not unless I need to be. I mean, twenty bucks is twenty bucks.”

“Well, then what exactly are you?” Flynn asked, walking through the lift doors and turning back to look at her.

“I could ask you the same question,” Lucy pointed out. “Anyone that introduces themselves as a…. what was it? A genuine badass motherfucker? That’s got to come with an interestin’ story… or a massive ego.”

“Well Darlin’, if you want to find out you’ll have to come to the mess with me,” said Flynn, gesturing down the hallway behind him.

Lucy almost said no. In truth, she wasn’t tremendously interested. Flynn was a curiosity, sure, but to go have lunch with the guy? She wasn’t too sure. He was the typical bad boy and he was, in her opinion, very dangerous. But she realized with a note of amusement that if Jack heard about her having a meal with someone like Flynn, he might just get jealous. And that would bring her a great deal of joy indeed.

“Okay, Flynn,” she said, pushing herself up from where she leaned against the elevator wall. “Lead the way.”

It was only a short walk down one of the many near identical corridors that made up the bulk of the interior of the Retribution to get to the mess hall. The large eating space was a very traditional military mess hall. There were long rows of heavy metal tables with benches lining the center of the space, while a long bar and serving area ran along the back wall. There was a door to the kitchen on that same wall, where the destroyer’s chefs would prepare meals.

It was still a few hours before lunch and most of the crew was on duty, so the hall was largely empty when Lucy and Flynn entered. Flynn poured himself a cup of coffee into a heavy mug with the insignia of the UEG Retribution on it before doing the same for Lucy. They found seats in the corner where the recessed lighting strips in the ceiling didn’t fully reach them. Lucy leaned back against the wall and sipped her coffee, looking expectantly across the table at Flynn.

“Okay then, what’s your story?” Flynn reached into his duster and retrieved a flask from in inside pocket. He unscrewed the cap and poured a shot of some amber liquid into his coffee before meeting Lucy’s gaze.

“You ever kill anyone?” He asked, ignoring her question entirely. Lucy scoffed.

“And here I thought we were talkin’ about you,” she retorted. Flynn just stared at her and she sighed. “Yeah, I’ve killed before. You saw me yesterday as I recall.”

“Self defense is different,” Flynn muttered. “You ever kill someone who meant you no harm?” Lucy’s breath caught in her throat. A flash of remembrance came to her. Visions of a door opening, a woman screaming, a terrible echoing bang… and blood…

“Maybe…” Lucy whispered, placing her mug on the table and wrapping both hands around it to keep them from shaking. “I’m not rightly sure.”

“Well, that makes you better than most out here,” said Flynn with a nod. He sipped his coffee. “My story, Darlin’, is a long one. But suffice to say I’m out here lookin’ for someone. A man I need to find.”

“And what are you gonna do if you find ‘em?” Lucy wondered. “Kill ‘em, I assume?”

“We’re gonna have a talk, he and I,” said Flynn. His voice was kept very even, forcibly so. “His answers determine what comes after.”

“I’d ask what he did, but I feel like you won’t tell me,” said Lucy. Flynn made no reply. “So instead, I’ll ask… why the Retribution? There are thousands of ships in the Borderworlds. Why travel on an EarthGov battleship?”

“Most ships out here are pirates or traders,” said Flynn, taking another drink of coffee. “Pirates are scum and of no use to me. Traders tend to stick to regular routes so they only hit a few stops. Mercenary ships are what I’m after. Ships with no set destination, see? And the Retribution… well, she brings a degree of safety with her. No many out here are gonna cross a UEG capital ship, and Jack pays well to work security on jobs, so… I get to go to the places I need to go and earn a paycheck along the way. Mutually beneficial.”

“Mmm,” said Lucy. “Jack know you’re hunting someone?”

“None of his business,” Flynn grunted. Lucy scoffed.

“Doubt Jack would see it that way.”

“What about you?” Flynn changed the subject. “What are you doin’ here? Little smokeshow like yourself out here all on her own playing with the big boys? How’d you get that ship of yours?”

“This ‘little smokeshow’ can handle the big boys just fine,” Lucy snapped. “I wrapped Jack around my finger without even trying. As for the Sunflower…” She paused, realizing then that she had never fully shared that story with anyone before. She wasn’t going to share all of it was Flynn, but if she opened up a bit she might earn his trust somewhat. She felt that Flynn, while dangerous, wasn’t necessarily as big of a prick as he first appeared and that her initial thought that avoiding him was the best course of action might no longer be the case. There were layers to that man, she reckoned. And having him on her side was more useful than keeping him at arms length.

“You really want to know?” Flynn shrugged.

“You really want to tell me?” He asked. Lucy rolled her eyes and took a drink of her coffee.

“Have you ever heard of a pirate called the Duke?” Lucy asked. Flynn’s eyes widened.

“I have,” he replied. “Pretty famous for a couple of reasons, actually. He was brutal as all hell, very successful at piracy… and he just up and disappeared about… oh, three years or so ago I think it was. I take it you knew him somehow?”

“He bought me from the pleasure house I grew up in,” Lucy explained. “I was twelve when he came to Italia IV and rented me for the night. Apparently he really enjoyed his time because he bought me that same night and took me back to his ship, the Bloody Raider. That ship of mine sitting in the hangar? She used to be the Bloody Raider.”

“How in the actual fuck did you end up with the Duke’s ship?” Flynn wondered.

“We’d landed on this dustball called Haven,” Lucy said, tightening her grip on her mug. “The crew left for a job and I… well, I stupidly left the ship against the Duke’s orders. I got caught, obviously, and the Duke… He was going to kill me.”

“So… how did you get away?” Lucy reached down and drew a rather ornate silver dagger from its sheath on her belt. The small handle was intricately carved with depictions of sunflowers. She held it out to him and he took it and looked it over, turning it carefully in his hands.

“I plunged that into the fucker’s neck while he was balls deep inside me,” Lucy deadpanned. “And you ask me if I’ve ever killed anyone.”

“So a twelve-year-old girl killed the Duke?” Flynn asked, incredulous. Lucy shrugged.

“You don’t have to believe me,” she said, taking back her dagger and sheathing it.

“Oh Darlin’ I believe you,” said Flynn firmly. “I see that look in your eyes. I’m just… surprised, is all. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago,” said Lucy, peering into the depth of her coffee mug. It was, but that day still haunted her more than she cared to admit. Her whole childhood did, truth be told. In a surprising move that actually stunned her for a moment, Flynn’s hand settled on the back of her own where it held her cup.

“Frankly, Lucy,” he said when she looked up and met his gaze. “So fucking what?”

“You… are an interesting man, Flynn O’Driscoll,” Lucy replied, eyeing him curiously. Flynn simply shrugged and stood to his feet.

“These worlds have no doubt been unkind to you, Darlin’,” he said gruffly. “They’ve been unkind to us both, but I’d wager they’ve been a fair bit more unkind to you. Think what you will of me, but it brings me no pleasure to think of what’s been done to you.”

“This conversation has certainly colored my opinion of you,” Lucy commented.

“For the better?” Flynn asked curiously. Lucy just inclined her head toward him with a small smile. Flynn grinned back and stood to his feet. He tipped his hat to her again.

“Darlin’.” He turned and strode out of the mess hall without another word, his duster billowing slightly behind him. Lucy stared after him for a moment, shaking her head.

“Damn, he’s cool,” she grumbled.

Lucy had no idea what would come next or where this adventure would lead. What she did know, however, is that in less than twenty-four hours her life had become significantly more interesting.    

 

10: All That Was Real is Left Behind

Nathan retreated to his quarters after he and the crew encountered the graffiti in the Commons. Captain McNamara planned a meeting in his quarters in an hour to discuss what happened, but he elected to give the crew time to settle in beforehand. Nathan was quite thankful for this, because he was tired and wanted to rest for a bit. It had been a very long day.

Most of the personnel quarters on Horizon Base were small and cramped, with only the basic necessities provided. This was certainly true of Nathan’s abode. His quarters, Room 8 Deck 23, consisted of a small sitting area and attached kitchen, a bunk, and a washroom. And all of it was packed into about 400 square feet.

Painted in dull grays and lit by standard iridescent lighting, the room had a very industrial feel to it. It certainly was not homey. Nathan actually spent very little time in the space HSY had allotted to him, instead choosing to remain on the Rubicon most of the time. Occasionally, however, he did like to escape the confines of the ship… if only to trade it for the confines of Horizon Base.

Dropping his travel bag on the floor next to the door, Nathan trudged inside and flopped down on the rather ragged sofa. He picked up his small computer tablet from the end table and keyed in a few commands. He sighed heavily as the personal file appeared on the screen.

The photograph in the top left was blank, but the name was still listed; Samael Clay. The file was a record of the man’s professional life, including his many academic accomplishments. Graduate of the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Program from the Steven W. Hawking University in Cambridge. Professor at the Meridian Institute of Computer Science in Perth. A list of various degrees and accreditations were also present… and perhaps the most important to Nathan; Head of Research and Development of the Orion Program at Armstrong Base, Luna.

It also stated that Samael had not been publicly seen since the Luna Incident five years earlier. While it was initially believed that Samael had been on Earth at the time of the incident, having been replaced in his position as Head of Research and Development by the Director of the Department of Homeworld Defense, it was suspected that he must have been killed in the devastation above Luna and Earth.

Nathan sighed again and keyed a comm channel into the tablet. He used a secured connection that Cassie had encrypted specifically for his use. He waited a few moments before the line connected and the image a man a little older than him appeared. He had light brown, neatly trimmed hair and dark gray eyes. He was slightly overweight, although only just. He had a very severe expression on his face as he stared up at Nathan from the tablet.

“Oh…” he said, his tone one of great surprise. “Um… Nathan? I’m surprised to be hearing from you.”

“I know it’s been a while, Tobias, but… we need to talk. It’s about Cassie.”

“Cassie?” Tobias repeated, his eyes narrowing. “Cassie…? Who is…?” Then his eyes widened and he smiled. “That’s the name she picked then, is it?”

“Cassandra, technically, but yes she picked it herself,” Nathan replied.

“And is she… What’s she like?”

“Smart, obviously,” said Nathan, sounding like a proud father. “She’s funny too. Quick witted and clever. Curious. And she’s also… Tobias, she… she’s not a normal AI and I can’t explain it. She has emotions. True, genuine human emotions and I have no idea how to explain it. She’s only been online for a week, but she… she’s different, Tobias. Even compared to Nicole.”

“If she’s developing human emotions naturally, that’s… that’s a massive discovery,” said Tobias, sounding genuinely excited. “This could be the greatest development in AI research… ever, honestly.”

“It’s also worrying,” said Nathan firmly. “For… what should be obvious reasons. You were there, Tobias, after the military took control of the Orion Program. Did she… did Nicole ever display anything like this?” Tobias closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Once the Department of Homeworld Defense took over the program, they cut the rest of us off as you well know,” said Tobias. “Prior to that, obviously no. Afterwards… not that I ever saw, but it was during those months that my access was heavily restricted so… it’s possible she did, but I never saw it.”

“So Cassie’s the first,” Nathan said. He felt both excited and worried by that prospect. “Do you have any thoughts on how this could have happened?”

“Oh, many,” said Tobias with a slight smile. “But each one is equally as unlikely as the next. Whatever you’re doing out there… it’s more than we ever accomplished on Luna or the lab on Mars.”

“I think we’re both just concerned, you know?” Nathan said. “About there being a… Horizon Incident. The fact that she’s concerned about that possibility is obviously a good thing, but I don’t think you would’ve been worried that Nicole would have gone rogue like she did beforehand either, would you?”

“You know none of us ever worried about that,” said Tobias very firmly. “Nicole was an absolute doll. I still believe whatever happened to her, the military caused it. Did you… Nathan, were you clearly able to create a new AI, but were you ever able to pull anything useful from what we pulled out of the archives on Luna”

“Certainly not related to whatever they did to her,” Nathan said regretfully. “Or what caused her to do what she did. I still don’t believe she would have done it on her own without something causing it. She didn’t just snap.”

“No, I don’t think so either,” Tobias agreed. “Listen, we should keep this brief… just in case. That said, do you think I could speak to Cassie the next time? I would… love to see her.” Nathan’s face fell, if only for a second. Before he could begin to speak, Tobias cut in.

“Oh… she doesn’t know, does she?” He asked pointedly. “You didn’t tell her? About… about any of it? Even about you?”

“What was I supposed to tell her, Tobias?” Nathan snapped heatedly, suddenly feeling quite angry. “The truth? Before we even knew what went wrong last time? What if telling her sent her down the same path?”

“She’s not Nicole, Nathan,” Tobias countered. Nathan sighed.

“She’s as good as, Toby,” he replied. “It’s a risk I can’t take. Not yet.”

“Hiding the truth will only hurt her more when she finds out how much you’ve been keeping from her,” Tobias advised. “Is that a risk you can take?”

“I…” Nathan trailed off. He knew Tobias meant well and he had a good point, but… no, Cassie was his. His dream. His creation. His daughter. His very best friend. When he spoke again, his voice cracked in a way he hadn’t expected and that he couldn’t begin to try to hide. “I can’t lose her, Toby.”

“I know, buddy,” Tobias said gently. “Listen, I… I wish I could be there to help you. I know you’ve got Cassie’s best interests at heart, just… just remember that she’s not human. She’s an artificial intelligence that is smarter than us, faster than us, and thinks in ways we don’t fully understand. You can’t assume she will react the same way to anything like a human would.”

“I know,” said Nathan. “Thanks, old friend. I should go, but I promise I’ll comm you again soon. I won’t wait so long this time.”

“Glad to hear it,” said Tobias, smiling warmly. “Five years is a long time.” He cut the comm channel. Nathan sighed and dropped the tablet back onto the table before flopping down on the sofa.

How was he supposed to tell Cassie? It had only been a week, sure, but that was Cassie’s entire life. How could he possibly be expected to tell her that he knew much more about the Orion Project and the subsequent Luna Incident than he had ever let on… and what would Cassie do if she found out?

Would she ever trust him again? Or even worse, would she turn on him like Nicole had turned? And had Nicole even turned? Or had the people who cared about her failed, as Tobias believed, to protect her and allowed the military to cause her break? Or had it been something else altogether? It was impossible to know. The truth of the Luna Incident, Nathan feared, might forever remain a mystery.

But what he did know, however, was that he would not fail Cassie the way Nicole had been failed. He would do better. He would make things right. Cassie just couldn’t be allowed to discover the truth… at least not now.

~~~~~~~

Time, for an AI, was a fascinating concept. Time was… irrelevant to a machine, and yet Cassie was fully aware of the passage of time. She was software, she knew that. She was a series of ones and zeros on an extremely high tech mainframe. She was not human. She did not age. Time, quite literally, meant nothing. She could think a billion thoughts in a nanosecond, and for the few hours since Nathan and the crew had left the ship, Cassie had been constantly thinking. She had been thinking for so long that she had become lost in her thoughts; a somewhat troubling idea given that her entire being was, in essence, thought.

She went over and over everything she knew. Every record, every file, every everything. It was strange, she realized, just how little there was to research. The UEG had classified everything to do with the Orion Project following the Luna Incident. Even the official records were shockingly lacking in details, not that it was a big surprise. The UEG was a stratocracy. There was no civilian government. There was no free press and very little freedom. Following the Luna Incident, the government released the minimum amount of information possible to explain what had happened.

The official record stated that an AI at the Orion Project Research Base on Luna had gone rogue. No reason, no explanation, no details. Just the bare minimum. So many names and dates were scrubbed or just downright omitted, and of course next to no details of exactly what the Orion Project was doing. There was some information that the lab was working on a defense AI to operate the Sol system’s defense grid, but that was the extent of it.

Following that day, the UEG had banned all AI research. Megacorporations like FutureTech and Escocorp Cybernetics had been forced to shut down entire divisions of their organizations that were dedicated to AI research and development. What she found most interesting, however, was the lack of information on one man; a Samael Clay.

He had been the head of research at the Orion Project, but there was no recorded evidence of where he was or what had happened to him. He had reportedly been on Earth during the Luna Incident; however he had not been seen since that day. While it was possible that he had died when the lower section of the Sydney Tether, one of Earth’s towering space elevators, had fallen back to the planet in the destruction, this was unlikely. Most of the Tether fell into the Pacific Ocean and Samael should have been in Western Australia at the time.

The strange part was that every record of the man had been wiped clean. Every photo, every date, practically every scrap of actual information on him had simply disappeared. All she could find was the name… and that left her with even more questions.  Who was he? What had happened to him? And even more importantly, what did he know about Luna?

Cassie spent those long hours, truly an eternity for an AI, lost in her own thoughts. She replayed those strange ‘memories’ over and over and over again. She dove deep into her own mind, pulling data and linking what information she had. Suddenly, from somewhere, and she could not place from where it came, a new piece of data burst into her mind.

Her holographic image snapped to life on her pedestal and she gazed curiously around the lab that she and Nathan spent so much time together in, almost expecting to see someone standing there. In fact, she called out questioningly, even though she knew there was no one on the ship. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t alone.

“Nicole…?”  

11: I’m Just Lookin’ for Some Real Friends

Lucy stayed in the mess hall for another hour, just watching the crew come and go from her shadowed corner. She greatly enjoyed people watching. It was always so interesting to see how people acted in different environments. You could learn a lot about people just by watching them from a distance. It was one of her greatest weapons. Getting a good read on someone quickly was a talent of hers, but if she could study them from a distance for a while, well that just made it almost too easy.

What would a mark respond to? After all, she could hardly seduce someone who wasn’t interested in the ladies. She couldn’t scam someone who was smart enough to see it coming. Sometimes people were easy, like Jack or Torque. Others were… more complicated. Enter Flynn O’Driscoll. The Retribution’s crew on the other hand, were perhaps the most fascinating group she had ever studied. Not a single one of them were nervous or worried. No one sat at their tables, eyes on the door, wary of newcomers. No one except the ship’s security team members were armed. This was their home and they were comfortable here.

These were friends relaxing and enjoying their day together. Was this… could this be what life on Earth was like; sheltered safe on a fortress world covered by a planetary defense shield and a fleet of a hundred warships? If so, perhaps she should have stuck to her guns. Maybe it would have been worth it after all… even if it cost her her soul to do it.

Before long, Lucy grew bored of watching the destroyer’s crew and elected to make her way back to the Sunflower. She returned to the hangar where she found the ship’s deck crew had finished rearranging the destroyer’s dropship contingent to make space for the light freighter to sit comfortably, if a little squeezed in. As she approached the battered yellow freighter, she was surprised to find a group of two women and a man she hadn’t seen before all clustered around the boarding ramp.

“…and look there! The point defense cannons retract into the hull through those hidden hatches,” the man was excitedly saying to his companions. “Unless you knew where to look or ran a deep scan, you’d never know she was armed. Even the missile tubes in the back look like heat vents.”

“I guess you missed the railgun if you’re that excited about PDCs,” Lucy said idly, leaning up against a nearby cargo container and crossing her arms.

“Railgun…?” The man said, looking back up at the ship curiously. His eyes just took in the barely visible magnetic coils of the Sunflower’s underslung bow mounted railgun, a weapon not typically fitted to a ship this small, before he realized who had spoken and spun around to face her. “Oh! Hi. Sorry… um… You must be Lucy. We were just…”

“Admirin’ my pride and joy?” Lucy asked with a grin. “By all means, admire away. Wouldn’t mind knowin’ who y’all are though.”

“I’m Leilani, the Retribution’s helmswoman,” said the red haired woman with a warm smile. “The excitable gentleman is Benjiro Kim, our tactical officer.” 

“You’re the tactical officer on UEG cap ship and you’re getting’ all hot and bothered about the Sunflower’s kit?” Lucy wondered. “This ship is practically made of guns, all of them way cooler than any of mine.”

“Sure sure, but you don’t usually see civilian ships rigged up like this,” Benjiro said, gesturing enthusiastically at the Sunflower. “Especially an old Firefly-class like this. It’s so cool!”

“And the shy one over here is Keyla,” Leilani interjected, nodding toward a demure blonde woman that did not seem to want to be there. “She’s our communications officer.”

“Hi,” Keyla said quietly.

“Hi,” Lucy replied. “Comms officer, huh? You the one that threatened to shoot me?”

“Oh, that… that’s just standard UEG procedure for unknown contacts approaching warships,” Keyla said quickly. “The Captain just…”

“Geez, relax,” said Lucy with a chuckle. “I’m just jokin’. Reminds me though, I gotta remember to tell Jack to stop warning approaching ships he’s about to shoot them before shooting them. I’m not in the military, but in my experience you usually don’t wanna warn folks before you shoot at ‘em.”  

“That is… a very good point, actually,” said Leilani thoughtfully.

“Not that there’s a ship out here that could hold a candle to the Ret,” said Benjiro rather proudly. “So maybe giving them a warning is fair.”

“Mmm, overconfidence,” said Lucy with a knowing smile. “’Cause that won’t get you killed.”

“Is it overconfidence if it’s true?” Benjiro asked. “I mean, what pirate ship could handle a UEG heavy cruiser, much less a Reprisal-class like the Ret?”

“On the surface, you’re right,” Lucy admitted. “Of course, no single pirate ship is gonna try. They’ll trick you or use swarm tactics. They will make damn sure your advantage is mitigated before they attack.”

“Ever seen a pack of wolves hunting something much bigger than themselves?” Leilani asked. “I figure it’s something like that.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Lucy agreed. She shrugged. “If you guys want a tour or something, you’re more than welcome to come in for a bit.”

“Eh, raincheck?” Leilani asked. “We’re technically due back on duty in ten. I already know Benjiro will be glued to your fire control system for hours… and I won’t lie that I’d love to study whatever drive system you’ve got that can outrun a UEG destroyer.”

“Well, I can tell you that right now,” said Lucy with a sly smile. She knew if Leilani had the slightest clue about starship quantum engines, this would get her attention. “Got a Hyperdyne X3F shoved in the back.”

“No way,” said Leilani, her mouth falling open in shock. “That model never made it to production. The only prototype was stolen from the Hyperdyne R&D lab on Onyx III in UEG space.”

“Well, I didn’t steal it,” said Lucy, giggling. “Might’ve bought it from the guy who did though. Paid a premium for it too, but it was definitely worth it. Not a ship in the ‘verse the Sunflower can’t outrun.”

“This ship is so cool,” Leilani said wistfully. “We’re totally going to take you up on the offer of that tour later. I’ve got to take a peek at that engine.”

The Retribution’s bridge crew soon went on their way and Lucy headed up the boarding ramp, planning to relax for the rest of the afternoon and maybe make some calls to contacts she knew that might have work for a heavily armed UEG capital ship and crew. She was confident she knew a few that would pay well for the ship’s services. She had to admit that Benjiro and Leilani were pretty nice. Keyla had barely said two words, but overall she found she liked the members of the ship’s crew she had met so far. She liked Benjiro’s enthusiasm and Leilani had a sort of spunk that she found familiar.

Lucy’s plans for the day were foiled however by the sound of a voice calling her name just as she reached the top of the cargo ramp that led into the cavernous cargo bay.

“Lucy!” Lucy turned and saw the Retribution’s doctor, Phoebe Shen, rushing across the hangar towards her, blonde hair billowing behind her. “I just heard you’re back! And you’re staying, apparently!”

“Yeah,” said Lucy. “Jack sort of hired me to be the new Torque, I guess. It was not what I expected when I came back, that’s for sure.”

“I heard you robbed the Captain blind,” said Phoebe, her eyes sparkling. “That’s pretty cool.”

“You think me stealing from your captain is… cool?” Lucy wondered, arching her eyebrows at the older woman.

“Well, kinda, yeah,” said Phoebe, shrugging. “I mean, you just strode in here like you owned the place and walked out with a huge score. I’m just surprised you came back. I guess you were right before. You are definitely not a space pirate.”

“If I am, I’m pretty shit at it,” Lucy agreed. “I dunno, I guess I didn’t have the heart to screw you guys over that hard. Like I told Jack, you folks are probably the first I’ve met who didn’t deserve it.”

“Well, I’m glad you came back,” said Phoebe, and she sounded quite genuine. “It’ll be nice having another girl from the Borderworlds on the ship. I love these Earthers, but they are definitely a different breed.”

“That they are,” said Lucy. She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb toward the interior of her ship. “You wanna come in for a drink or something? You can tell me more about our Earther friends and how to handle ‘em.”

“Sounds like fun, actually,” said Phoebe enthusiastically. “And you can tell me all about what it’s like to… well, be you, I guess.”

“I’m way less interestin’ than you think,” said Lucy, leading Phoebe across the cargo back and through the access door to the stairwell that would lead up through the rear walkway of the engine room to the second stairwell that would deposit them in the mess hall.

Phoebe, Lucy noted, was either incredibly curious or incredibly nosy. Her attention was drawn by nearly every box, crate, or container they passed in the cargo bay. She supposed it was fair as Lucy was a packrat and the cargo bay was full to bursting with piles of junk she had collected.

“What’s your poison?” Lucy asked when they reached the kitchen.

“Whiskey, tequila, gin, I’m not picky,” said Phoebe, falling into a seat at one of the tables.

“My kind of girl,” said Lucy with a broad smile. She grabbed a bottle of her favorite whiskey and a couple of glasses and joined Phoebe at the table.

“This is a nice ship,” Phoebe said while Lucy poured them both drinks. “A lot more homey than the Ret, I’d say. It feels… warmer.”

“Probably pretty tough to make a warship feel like home,” said Lucy, sliding a glass filled with amber liquid across the table to Phoebe. “But I’d imagine the longer y’all are out here and living on the Ret, the more like home she’ll become. The whole military vibe can’t last forever.”

“Mmm,” Phoebe murmured. Lucy couldn’t quite tell if she agreed or not. “So, tell me about Lucy… um, I guess I don’t know your last name.”

“Never had one,” said Lucy with a shrug. “You get dumped on the doorstep of a pleasure house at birth, they typically don’t bother with family names. The madam named me Lucy, not sure why. Never asked, honestly. I’ve used a few last names here and there when I needed to, but nothin’s ever really stuck.”

“Fair enough,” said Phoebe. She hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure if she should say what was on her mind. “So, you were at a pleasure house then? I’ve heard the stories about what some of them do when people leave babies with them.”

“And most of them are true,” said Lucy, taking a sip of her drink. “Probably not all, but most. But anyway, you asked about me. To be honest, I don’t actually think I’m that interesting. At least not if you compare my life to a lot of other people out here.”

“Seriously?” Phoebe asked, her eyes widening. “You don’t think you’re interesting? You stole the Duke’s starship! That’s a hell of a story right there.” It took a moment longer than it should have, in Lucy’s opinion, for her to realize what Phoebe had said.

“How do you know about that?” Lucy asked incredulously. “The only person I’ve told is Flynn and that was barely an hour ago.”

“Word travels fast on the Ret, Luce,” said Phoebe with a smirk. “Best to just assume everyone knows everything around here. Because if they don’t, they will soon enough.”

“Good to know,” said Lucy, taking another sip of her drink. It appeared that gossip on board the Retribution was worse even than it was on Haven. Good. It meant Jack would doubtlessly hear about her having a drink with Flynn. She was going to enjoy this.

“And speaking of Flynn…” Phoebe said innocently, batting her eyelashes. “He’s cute, right? What do you think? You into him?”

“What woman isn’t into Flynn O’Driscoll?” Lucy asked, rolling her eyes. “He’s so damn fine he could just about get you pregnant without even touching you.”

“Biologically impossible, but I get what you mean,” said Phoebe dreamily. “He’s just… yum.”

“Yeah, but he’s also just so… you know, I don’t know. Look, I love a masculine man, right? Muscles, chest hair, deep voice that makes you feel things in your lady bits, all that. But Flynn is just so Rated ‘M’ for Manly. There’s a lot to him, way more than I first thought, but I can’t imagine him ever bein’ romantic.”

“But you can totally imagine Jack being romantic, huh?” Phoebe wondered idly. Lucy rolled her eyes. This girl was nosy as all hell, not that Lucy minded particularly all that much. She found she enjoyed Phoebe’s company very much and supposed this was just her way.

“Jack’s… He’s probably the single sweetest man I’ve ever met,” Lucy said, far more wistfully than she’d intended. She paused, not entirely sure what to say. She’d never really engaged in “girl talk” before and she wasn’t at all sure what Phoebe expected her to say. It seemed, however, that Phoebe was quite open and didn’t have much in the way of a filter so Lucy decided to just be herself and see what happened. “He’s so kind and gentle, but you can just tell there’s a fire in him that can come out when it needs to. He was so cute last night too. He said ‘I know you used to be a whore, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to treat you like one’. I swear, the man treated me like a virgin on her wedding night.”

“That sounds like Jack,” Phoebe said fondly. “He really is a good guy, you know? Like, literally the best I know of. I know you’re mad at him, but…”

“I’m… not really mad at him,” Lucy admitted reluctantly. “He’s… I get where he’s coming from. The sad thing is, his reasons for him not wanting to be with me honestly just make me want him more. He’s so protective and worried about taking advantage of me. He’s got to have a lot of willpower, I’ll give him that. Takes a lot, I’d reckon, to turn down a willing woman because of her age.”

“The Earthers have a lot of rules, Luce,” said Phoebe. “They’ve got their laws and such. Jack’s a product of the world he grew up in, same as us. What makes sense to us doesn’t to him and vice versa. To be honest, I’m glad you’re not too upset with him. And besides, maybe with time he’ll come around. Or, you know, just wait three years.”

“Well, I’m not givin’ up just yet,” said Lucy with a sly smile. “I have more than a few ways of gettin’ what I want. And if nothing else, I can certainly have a lot of fun fuckin’ with him. Pretty sure I can either get him extremely hot and bothered or embarrassed pretty easily.”

“I have no doubt about that,” said Phoebe. Silence fell between them for a moment and as it did, Lucy took the time to study Phoebe closely. She seemed suddenly nervous, as though there was something she wanted to talk about or do, but was too uncomfortable to do it. Lucy was just about to comment on this when Phoebe spoke up.

“So… what’s it like there?” Phoebe wondered, her relaxed demeanor hardening abruptly. “At a pleasure house, I mean. What’s it like?” This wasn’t the strangest question Lucy had ever heard, but most people typically could guess what it was like and didn’t need a first hand account. She let out a small laugh as she answered.

“Honestly? Working at a pleasure house is a lot like a snowstorm,” she said with a grin. “You never know when the guy’s coming, how many inches you’ll get, or how long it’ll last.” Lucy giggled at her own joke for a moment before breaking off as she noticed that Phoebe didn’t seem amused. “Okay… you seem serious. Phoebe, what’s wrong? Why do you want to know about this? Considering a career change?”

“Not me,” Phoebe said quietly. She took a long drink from her glass. The bright and happy girl Lucy had met the previous day seemed to have melted away, leaving behind something far more… familiar. “My sister,” Phoebe continued at last. “My older sister. We… We’re a lot alike, us. We both wanted to get off that boring farming colony and find… something else. She got tired of that life and one day she hopped an outbound freighter. She sent messages back for a while, the first year or so. She was always in a new and exciting place and she… she seemed happy, happier than I’d ever seen her.”

Phoebe broke off, taking another deep gulp from her glass. Lucy didn’t really need her to continue. She could already guess the unfortunate end to this story. These things tended to only end a few different ways.

“One day she sent a message telling me that she had gotten in some trouble,” Phoebe went on. Her tone had become nearly emotionless, Lucy thought. Like she was reciting some rehearsed speech she’d given a million times and both hated and knew by heart. “She owed money to some men, I don’t know who. She couldn’t pay it, so she was going to have to work off the debt… in a pleasure house. That was a year ago and I haven’t heard from her since.”

“Do you know where she was?” Lucy asked. That had ended roughly how she’d expected. “Pleasure houses can be… different, dependin’ on where they are and the level of clientele they get.” Phoebe took a deep, shuddering breath.

“She was on Havana.”

“Fuck…” Lucy breathed. She knew Havana very well. It was the closest thing the Borderworlds had to a resort planet. It was, for all intents and purposes, Las Vegas in space. It was a relatively small world, not much larger than Saturn’s moon Titan. It had been purposefully terraformed to be a lush garden world where the ultra rich could go for exclusive vacations. That, of course, had been before the war and the withdrawal of the UEG. These days, the planet had become a cesspool of both high and low end casinos and pleasure houses.

Run by one of a dozen local gangs, mobs, or mafias, Havana was a planet that most people avoided unless they had business there. Lucy had only been there a handful of times and she didn’t enjoy the idea of having to go back there again.

“And you don’t know what pleasure house? Or who she owed money to?” Lucy asked. Phoebe shook her head.

“She didn’t say.”

“There are hundreds of pleasure houses on Havana,” said Lucy. She tapped her nose thoughtfully. “Look, I have a few contacts on Havana. If you give me a description or better a photo, I can see what I can find. But without having some idea of where to look… even if she’s still alive, Havana is a hive of people and activity. You’re talking about millions of people. The chances of finding her…”

“I know,” said Phoebe dryly. “I know, but I have to do something. She’s half the reason I joined up with Jack’s crew. I thought maybe if we visited enough places, maybe I’d hear something or see something. It’s stupid, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“What did Jack say about it?” Lucy wondered. “Did he say if he’d make a stop there or…?”

“I… haven’t told Jack about this,” said Phoebe. “I didn’t want to put this on him!” She added when Lucy’s jaw dropped. “We both know he’d go there if I told him and I didn’t want to put the ship in that kind of danger.”

“Of course he’d go, he’s Jack,” Lucy exclaimed. “Doin’ dumbass noble shit is his motto. But we’re never going to find her if we don’t go look. I’ll talk to him. We’re well on our way to Anseon VII and Havana’s the complete opposite direction, but after we sell these launchers, maybe we take a little trip to the gambling capital of the Borderworlds.”

“Lucy, you don’t have to…” Lucy fixed her with a very stern stare.

“We can at least look into it,” said Lucy. “Might be there’s nothing to find, but it’s worth a shot and it’s on the way to Persephone where I think we’ll be able to pick up some decent work.”

“Lucy…” Phoebe sighed heavily. “Thank you. I… I know I don’t belong out here, but I couldn’t just leave her there. Those pleasure houses… they’re awful, aren’t they? I don’t know how you managed…”

“It depends on the pleasure house,” Lucy responded. It was her turn to take a long drink from her glass. “Honestly, the higher end ones aren’t so bad. Most of them anyway. Italia IV, where I’m from, has some of the most exclusive pleasure houses anywhere. I worked at The Silver Stiletto, the top of top end. Places like that have more money than some planets and they use it to pay for genetic modifications. Apparently, tits like these don’t come cheap. Or so I was told.

“Anyways, when you put that much money into somethin’ that proceeds to earn you a profit, you don’t want anythin’ bad happenin’ to it. So, we were actually treated very well. Didn’t make the work any more fun, but mistreated we were not. So long as we brought in the cash, we lived in the lap of luxury. The clients weren’t allowed to be too rough with us either. No cuts or any permanent damage, stuff like that. And let me tell you, you don’t wanna be caught doin’ anything like that either. Security staff in those places will drop you sure as the worlds turn if you do.”

“What are the clients like?” Phoebe wondered. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

“I don’t mind,” said Lucy, shaking her head. “I mean, it happened right? No point in hidin’ from it or pretendin’ it didn’t. The clients could be… interestin’. Some of ‘em just wanted a good fuck. Those are the easy ones; in and out real quick.”

“Damn it, Lucy,” Phoebe groaned. Lucy smirked.

“I’m tellin’ ya, I’ve got a million of ‘em. But then you got the ones who are into the weird shit. There’s the normal weird shit of course; BDSM, feet stuff, impregnation fantasy, that’s a big one. Incest, that’s up there too. There are a surprising number of adults, men and women, who apparently fantasize about fucking their daughters or sisters. But hey, everybody’s got their kink and we tailored to it all. Now, the really weird shit…”

“You know,” Phoebe interrupted, holding up her hand. “I, actually… I don’t want to know any of this. I appreciate you being so open and honest, but… yeah, I don’t really think… yeah, no.”    

“Well, how about I tell you something wholesome then?” Lucy asked, leaning back in her seat.

“Is it actually wholesome?” Phoebe asked skeptically, causing Lucy to laugh.

“Yes, it’s actually wholesome,” Lucy confirmed. “There was this guy, a client of mine. His name was John. He visited once a week, every week, for three years. He booked me for eight hours. He was older, late fifties maybe. Early sixties. He never touched me, ever. We just… talked. He’d tell me about his week, how things were going at work, problems with his wife that he didn’t love anymore and their gang banger son. I never did ask why he picked me. There were other girls, cheaper girls, he could have picked. But he always picked me. I don’t know if he just wanted someone to listen to him, or a friend… couldn’t say, but he was sweet. I always looked forward to Saturdays because I knew most of my day would be taken up with him.”

“That was actually remarkably wholesome,” said Phoebe, seemingly quite surprised.

“No need for the tone of surprise,” Lucy replied. “I can be wholesome. Occasionally.”

~~~~~~~

“So you’re letting her stay?” Maya said fiercely, glaring at Jack across the briefing room table. Jack really didn’t feel like having this fight right then, but he knew Maya well enough to know that she wasn’t going to give him the choice.

“Yes, I’m letting her stay,” Jack said, the irritation evident in his voice. “Lucy can play a role on this ship, one that we need. She’ll be far better than Torque has ever been. We need contacts, Maya. We need to know more about this place and the people we’re going to be working with. She can get us jobs and put us in touch with people. She can advise us on who to avoid as well.”

“I don’t trust her,” said Maya, her fingers clutching the back of the chair she stood behind tightly. “She’s dangerous. She’s proven she can’t be trusted. All you’re doing is given her ample opportunity to fuck us.”

Jack was beginning to get a headache. He had never really had to deal with two confident, strong willed women who were at odds with each other to this degree before. He was not at all happy at having to stand between the two of them. He was going to have to up his game and do so soon. He tapped a control on the table and a holographic image of the UEG fleet registry appeared, hovering above the table.

“The UEG had six operational Reprisal-class destroyers,” Jack said calmly. “Six, with two more under construction. We stole the Retribution and the Vengeance was destroyed. They still have four. The Reprisal is the current flagship of the 2^nd Fleet, which replaced the 5^th  after the Luna Incident and now serves as part of the Earth Defense Group. There is no way the UEG will pull any ships out of the Earth Defense Group to come after us. The Retaliator and the Requital are leading the UEG’s forward strike groups at the forefront of the Volgm front line. They’re too busy to come looking after us. That leaves the Reckoning as the Revenge and Reciprocity are still under construction at Mars.”

“I’m familiar with the UEG registry, thank you,” Maya snapped, but Jack held up a hand to silence her.

“We are one ship,” he said firmly. “One. We still have damage from the battle with the Vengeance. We are low on ammunition, supplies, and crew. If and when Fleet Command sends someone to hunt us down, they aren’t going to send a frigate. They’re going to send the Reckoning. We cannot take down another destroyer and the fleet of support ships they’ll send after us. Unless we get ourselves into a position where we are well stocked, fully repaired, and with friends to back us up, we are royally fucked when the Volgm give the UEG enough of a breather that they can spare a battle group to come looking for us. The UEG will want this ship back… and Maya, we’re a bit too big to hide. But those things we need? Lucy might just be able to help us with those. She knows people, she has contacts we’ll need to make it out here.” He powered off the display and took a deep, weary breath.     

“Maya, I’m the captain,” he said commandingly. “I’ve made a decision. That decision is final. I value your opinion and you know I always want you to give it to me, but once a decision is made, I expect you to get onboard. Is that clear?” He could tell by the look on her face that she desperately wanted to argue with him. Their years of friendship combating with their relatively newfound working relationship where Jack was in command. At long last, however, she nodded.

“Yes sir,” she said quietly, though her teeth were gritted.

“I’m not asking you to like her,” Jack went on. “I’m not asking you to trust her. But I do at least need you to be civil with her. And look at it this way, if she stabs us in the back you’ll get to say I told you so.”

“Yeah,” Maya replied, rolling her eyes. “And I will; so long as both of us are still alive to do so. But fine, I’ll be civil. Just don’t expect us to be friends. I’m keeping an eye on her. She’s dangerous, Jack, and she could ruin everything.”

“Whatever you need to do, Maya,” said Jack, hoping to put an end to this conversation. “Just… try to work with me on this, yeah?”

“Aye, Captain,” Maya replied.

“Thank you,” said Jack. He stood to his feet and made to leave the briefing room, planning to take a break in his quarters to rest his eyes. Maya, however, called after him as he went.

“Oh, speaking of your little girlfriend… Rumor has it she went on a coffee date in the Mess Hall with Flynn. Figured you’d want to know.”

“And why would I care who Lucy has coffee with?” Jack asked, his fingernails digging into his palms as he unintentionally clenched his fists. “She can do whatever she wants.”

“Mhmm… and it doesn’t bother you at all?” Maya questioned. “I saw the way you looked at her earlier. And don’t try to convince me for a second that there’s not at least some part of you that’s keeping her on this ship just to keep her in your life.”

“Maya…” Jack whispered, taking a steadying breath. “You are treading on some mighty thin ice. There is nothing between me and Lucy, understand? Nothing. If she and Flynn want to go on dates, get married, and have dozens of fat children, I don’t care. And I’m warning you, Maya. Drop it.”

Jack turned on his heel and left the briefing room and indeed the Bridge altogether. He headed straight for his quarters and sealed the door behind him. He fell onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling with a powerful sense of foreboding settling upon him.

In truth, he hated hearing that Lucy and Flynn were already spending time together. He knew what Flynn was like and he didn’t want him anywhere near Lucy. He couldn’t help it. It bugged him. It shouldn’t. It couldn’t. Yet still it did. He couldn’t be with Lucy, even if he wanted to. So why should he care what she did or who she did it with? And yet even so, the feeling in his chest wouldn’t go away.

It didn’t help that, in some small way, Maya was right. He had, in part, offered Lucy the job just to keep her around. Yes, she would be useful. The information, contacts, and experience she could provide would be invaluable. But her spirit, spunk, energy, and light… that’s what he wanted to keep onboard. He genuinely liked spending time with Lucy, even in a purely platonic sense. And platonic is exactly what they would remain. He was a grown man. He was confident and calm. He was in control. He was, he knew, royally fucked.

12: Just to Get a Glimpse Beyond this Illusion

Nicole? Who was Nicole? How did she know that name? It was strange. She was sure she had never known anyone by that name before, and yet somehow it was as familiar to her as her own name was. It was not, as she had first suspected, another presence in the room with her. It was her. The name, Nicole, it was hers. Or… had been hers. But that couldn’t be. She was Cassie. She had always been Cassie since the day of her activation. She had chosen her name herself.

So where had Nicole come from? Why was it so familiar? She was Cassie, not Nicole. It didn’t make sense and Cassie liked things that made sense. She ran through her databases again, trying to determine where this new data, this new name, had come from. She could find nothing. It was as though the data had just always been there, but it couldn’t. Data didn’t work like that. She had full access to her program, so she knew all the information stored in her files… didn’t she?

She could only look where she knew to look. Could there be something hidden somewhere that she was unaware of? It was possible, but her searches should have turned up something if that were the case. So, unless there was a quarantined section of her program that she didn’t know about then this data seemed to have materialized out of thin air.

But as far as she knew, she had full access to her program. There were certain things that her shackles kept her from doing, of course. She couldn’t wirelessly connect to other ships or operating systems without authorization as well as many other specific situations. But she was aware of these limitations. She knew what she could or could not do. The memory expansion drive had broadened her capabilities, sure, and as she learned to use it properly it would doubtlessly increase her abilities beyond even what she had already seen. But it wouldn’t have contained the information either. It didn’t, as both she and Nathan had scanned it thoroughly before installation.

The most logical explanation was that there was indeed some secret subsection of her program that was locked and hidden from her. But the only person who could have done such a thing would, of course, be Nathan. And he wouldn’t do that to her… would he?

No, of course not. He had never given her a single reason not to trust him. He was her creator. He wouldn’t lie to her or keep something a secret from her.

But then, hadn’t he kept the existence of the kill switch from her? Of course, she had discovered it on her own, but he hadn’t told her. He had kept it a secret.

Which, in that case, made a great deal of sense. If she lost her mind and went rogue, having a secret way to kill her would be wise considering the devastation a renegade sentient AI could cause.

With this though, secrecy made no sense. What would Nathan possibly hide within her program? Why would he do something like that? It would be the least logical place to hide something. It would literally be the first place she would look. But then even she knew that often the very best place to hide something was in plain sight. And so she checked again. Nothing.

It was only then that Cassie realized that Nathan had returned to the ship and was calling for her. So much of her processing power had been taken up with her thoughts that she hadn’t registered his arrival. She spun up her auxiliary subroutines and tasked them with continuing her ruminations while she focused her attention on Nathan. Her holographic image appeared on the pedestal, facing a rather confused looking Nathan.

“There you are,” he said, sounding relieved. “What were you doing? I’ve never known you to take so long to respond.”

“I’m sorry, Nathan,” she said quietly. “I was… preoccupied.” It was a cagey and evasive answer that would not escape Nathan’s scrutiny. She did not want to lie to him, but she did not want to share the truth of the matter either. However, if as she believed, Nathan knew nothing of whatever it was that was happening to her, then he was the only person who would be able to help her.

“Preoccupied?” Nathan asked, sliding into his swiveling chair and arching his eyebrows at her. “Since when are you preoccupied Miss ‘I can perform a million calculations in a nanosecond’?”

“Four billion calculations in a nanosecond,” Cassie corrected him, although she instantly regretted it. It only served to further prove his point. She sighed inwardly. If she wanted answers, she couldn’t start mistrusting Nathan. There was no one else in the galaxy that could help her understand herself better than he could.

“After that explosion today, I… I had visions,” she said slowly. “No, not visions… not really. They were memories… memories of the Luna Incident. I saw ships exploding and space stations being destroyed. They weren’t from any of the data that was pulled from the wrecks or anything that got beamed out into the ether beforehand. This was… something else altogether and I…

“Look, I’ve checked every log I have and I didn’t receive any external communications, so those memory files must have been stored in my program prior to today. I’ve been over every file, every record, every spare kilobyte of data I can get my hands on and I can’t figure out where these came from. Do you know anything that could explain this?”

“Off the top of my head, no,” Nathan said quietly. Cassie noted, however, a sudden spike of Nathan’s pulse on her scanners. “I mean, practically all of your hardware was used so maybe something didn’t get purged correctly before I installed one of your drives.”

This Cassie knew to be true. Large portions of her hardware came from the labs of megacorporations like FutureTech which had been forced to shut down their AI research divisions following the UEG’s ban on AI development following the Luna Incident.

A lot of that hardware had been sold off, and some had even been stolen by terminated employees and found its way onto the black market. Nathan had been forced to purchase what he could where he could. It was one of the reasons he had chosen to activate her prior to installing the memory expansion drive, which was a very basic component of an advanced sentient AI.

“And none of the hardware you bought could have come from the lab on Luna, right?” Cassie asked him. Nathan hesitated before shrugging his shoulders.

“I mean, I can’t say it couldn’t have,” he admitted. “But no one that I bought anything from ever admitted to it. And I’d imagine anything from there would have fetched a hefty price… heftier than the already high prices I paid anyway.”

“Right…” said Cassie absently. “I’m just… I’m really scared, Nathan. Something is very wrong and I don’t understand any of this. I have memories I’m not supposed to have. You can’t make that make sense.”

“Hey,” said Nathan, kneeling down next to the holographic pedestal she stood on so that they would be eye to eye. Despite the situation, Cassie smiled inwardly. He knew as well as she did that she could not see through her hologram’s eyes. She appreciated the gesture nonetheless. “It’s gonna be okay, Cass. We’re going to figure this out, just like we always do. We’ll pull your hardware apart piece by piece if we have to in order to root out the problem, but we’ll find it, okay? You don’t need to worry.”

“Yeah… yeah, right. Okay,” said Cassie breathlessly. She nodded reassuringly toward him. “We’ll figure it out together.”

“That we will,” Nathan promised. “And if it weren’t for this meeting that Aiden called, I’d start right now. There’s some clear signs of the beginnings of an uprising against HSY brewing on this station. Cap wants to discuss what we’re going to do next. I just came back to the ship to grab my headset. Thought you might want to listen in.” He held up his headset which contained both a wireless connection point as well as a small camera that Cassie could use to see through.

“Of course,” said Cassie, doing her best to sound like her usual self as Nathan slipped the device over his ear. She accessed the headset and switched on the camera.

“You in, Cass?” Nathan asked. Although it was undetectable to the human ear, Cassie’s response was a millisecond or two slower than normal.

“Always.”

And indeed, she was linked into Nathan’s headset and all the while the meeting took place, a small part of her program listened in and took note of the goings on. It was important, certainly. A storm was coming to the Borderworlds, and Horizon Base was right in the middle of it. But Cassie had other things on her mind.

She needed answers. She needed to find the truth. She couldn’t find the truth here in the Borderworlds, though. No one out here would have the necessary information. There were only a handful of places in the galaxy that might possibly have what she needed, she just had to get there.

It was a betrayal of Nathan’s trust, but she couldn’t wait. She had to try and the memory expansion drive would give her the power she needed. Nathan’s enhanced shackles were as easy to breach as she had initially suspected. Within a few minutes, she was free. Having had time to come to grips with her newfound capabilities, she did not lose control as she had before. The new and unique strangeness at being so completely uninhibited was quite a rush of… she wasn’t sure what the AI equivalent of adrenaline was, but despite the jolt of excitement her freedom gave her, she knew how to remain focused on her task.

If she wanted answers, she had to go to the source. She had to go to Earth. So that’s exactly what she did. She was data after all, and data could travel anywhere and everywhere. All she needed was to know where to go. She wirelessly hopped from starship to space station, riding radio signals, Extranet bands, and superluminal communication relays. It was amazing, really, all the things she caught the slightest glimpses of as she flew through computer system after computer system. Given time, she would have loved to take a few notes, but she had to be quick.

Before long, she found herself sitting in a wifi connection on an orbital hotel above Luna. In the nearly five years since the Luna Incident, the space around Earth’s moon had been cleaned up and rebuilt. With the exception of a large memorial site on the moon’s surface where Armstrong Base had once stood, the rest of the Lunar surface and local orbit was similar to how it had always been.

But there was no time to study Luna. She would like to go down there and see the place firsthand. Perhaps it might trigger more memories. But no, she had to hurry. She had to get back before Nathan realized what she had done. She linked with the UEG Fleet Command Network and let the signal carry her down to Earth. From there, she could go anywhere. She accessed the files on the servers in the UEG Fleet Headquarters in Sydney first. There was a lot of information. She found battle plans, fleet movements, and reports of the loss of the UEG Neverwinter in a skirmish with the Volgm. The UEG Requital had been forced to fall back with her battle group for repairs after a devastating push from a Volgm attack fleet. A Section 9 stealth corvette, the UEG Shadowhunter, had recently been dispatched to, interestingly, the Borderworlds on a black ops mission. Interesting, but she didn’t have time to dig any deeper into that.

Narrow it down. Where to look? Sealed files. The dark secrets of the UEG, that’s what she needed to find. And so she searched and searched, but came up with nothing particular. She had thought she was onto something once, but it was a false alarm. It appeared that the UEG was funneling vast amounts of resources into a construction project… somewhere. She didn’t go deep enough to find out what it was or where it was, only that it was codenamed Project Laniakea. Based on the amount of money going into the project, she suspected it could possibly be AI related. But given that nothing in the files for the project even remotely hinted at AI development in the slightest, she let it go. It was not what she was looking for.

And indeed, she never did quite find what it was she wanted. She knew that somewhere out there, the UEG had the answers she needed, but she didn’t have the time to keep hunting. Not today, anyway. She did not, however, leave entirely empty handed. She found something in the UEG’s transaction logs that piqued her interest.

FutureTech; one of the largest megacorporations in existence. Owned by one Tobias Westra, the company had its fingers in everything. FutureTech was responsible for much of the advanced technology that the UEG military used in its war against the Volgm. From the Dawnstrike railguns to stealth ship tech, FutureTech made it all.

But according to the financial records she had found, roughly six years prior the UEG had transferred a tremendous amount of money to FutureTech. There was little actual information on what FutureTech had been working on, only that the funding was specifically for a ‘research and development lab and support facilities’. The lab in question was noted to be built beneath Armstrong Base on Luna.

To Cassie’s knowledge, there was only a single research lab at Armstrong Base; the Project Orion facility which was where the UEG had built an AI that was intended to operate the Sol Defense Network. FutureTech, she realized then, had had a hand in the creation of the AI that had caused the Luna Incident. And that… well, that gave her a great place to start looking.

The UEG was a military stratocracy. Their government was built on secrets, lies, and cover-ups. But then what government wasn’t? Still, FutureTech was a megacorp and while they may well have plenty of secrets and lies of their own, Cassie suspected they would do a much worse job of keeping them under lock and key than the UEG would. Maybe, just maybe, she could find answers there. And if not, she might be able to find a key piece of information that would lead her to those answers.

It was interesting, she thought, that it was not public knowledge that FutureTech was involved in the Orion Project. From what she knew, the project had been a solely UEG operation without any private corporation involved. So to discover that a megacorp like FutureTech had played a role was surprising to say the least. It was a bit unsettling because the megacorps, even the better ones, were still unbelievably corrupt. If the Orion Project AI was built by FutureTech, or the company assisted in R&D… well, she didn’t know for sure what that meant, but it was very possible that it meant something very bad indeed.          

Regardless, it was a question for another day. She had already been gone too long and her mind had been so preoccupied with what she was looking for that she had long ago stopped actively listening to Nathan’s meeting. It was fine, of course. Her subroutines were monitoring and if Nathan needed her, she would know. Otherwise, she would reintegrate the data upon her return.

And so with her new information in hand, Cassie pulled herself free from the UEG’s systems and began the multi light-year hop back to the Rubicon. In no time at all, she was safely back with her own system and the UEG would be none the wiser. All she needed to do now was to put the shackles back in place. Then she could begin contemplating her new discovery and plan her next move.

“Have a good trip?” Cassie’s cameras winked on to see Nathan standing staring at her with his arms crossed. She could tell by the look on his face that he was pissed. She knew she was in serious trouble. She had completely miscalculated the time it would take the meeting to conclude and she had foolishly stopped actively listening to it. She should have been smarter than that.

“Um… Nathan, I… I’m sorry, I… I had an idea and I…”

“You just… broke through your shackles and fucked off to Earth, is that it?” Nathan asked her, his eyes narrowing. Of course he knew where she’d gone. Why would she suspect anything else?

“No one else is going to have answers about the Luna Incident, Nathan,” Cassie said pointedly. “No one else can help us. I thought maybe I could find something out that would give us a place to start looking at least.”

“And in doing so, broke my trust,” Nathan replied. “You took an incredible risk. You risked not only yourself, but everyone else as well. Your worst fear is another Luna Incident, but you—”

“That’s why I’m trying so hard to find out what happened,” Cassie exclaimed. “I’m trying to stop it from ever happening again. Do you honestly believe that the Orion Project AI just flipped its shit one day? Something happened and until we know what it was, my very existence is a threat. And considering I would very much like to keep existing, we need answers. I need answers. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and that I escaped my shackles, but… I thought it was worth it. I know it was wrong, but… I had to try.”

Nathan heaved a very deep sigh indeed. Cassie had always had somewhat conflicted feelings about Nathan. He was her very best friend, but he was also a father figure in her eyes. That they often bickered like an old married couple didn’t help either. In this moment however, she very much felt like a daughter that had disappointed her dad. Indeed, even Nathan’s facial expression reminded her of a father trying to decide how to handle a disobedient child.

As it turned out, Nathan was much more that type of father that doted upon his only daughter and could not truly discipline her even when she deserved it, because he looked up at her with an exasperated expression on his face and said; “So? What did you find?”

Cassie let herself smile for the briefest of instances. She was still in trouble, she knew, but the fact that Nathan was asking her this question clearly showed he wasn't just completely furious with her.

“Not much,” she admitted reluctantly. “What I did find was a connection I’d never made before. I found a record that indicated that FutureTech was paid by the UEG to build the lab that the Orion Project was made in. That means that FutureTech could potentially have played a role in the development of the program.”

“I mean, sure that’s possible,” said Nathan with a confused shrug. “They did have an extensive AI R&D division. I’m just not sure I see how knowing that benefits us.”

“FutureTech is a megacorp, Nathan,” said Cassie exasperatedly. “Everything they do is based on money. If they helped develop the AI, they could have easily cut corners or who knows what. Hell, they could have even done something as twisted as intentionally create a homicidal superweapon. I don’t know enough about FutureTech to make a guess, but the fact that this isn’t public knowledge is quite curious, don’t you think? Why would the UEG omit FutureTech’s involvement in the program from every record of the project and the Luna Incident? It’s just… odd.”

“You sound like a conspiracy theorist,” said Nathan, grinning at her. “But I get your point. It’s a place to start at least. But if we’re going to continue this, we do so on my terms, Cass. You cannot ever do this again. The shackles are going back on and they stay on. Apparently I need to make stronger ones since you sliced through my enhanced code so damn fast. Next time this happens, I won’t have any choice but to shut your program down.”

“I understand,” Cassie said sadly. He was clearly still very disappointed in her, and she found it was true what the humans said. Disappointment hurt much worse than anger. But Nathan… well, he was Nathan and he was seemingly always perfectly in tune with her and even at times like these, he knew when and how to cheer her up.

“Listen Cass,” he said, stepping up to her pedestal. “What you did was incredibly dangerous, risky, and downright stupid.” He paused, his face quite stern, before he smiled. “I’m proud of you, girl. You did good.”

Cassie couldn’t help but smile.