RIDERS OF THE ENDLESS VOID
Usami sucked sweetened red wheat paste from the tube as she watched newcomers stream through the Capitola’s arrival lanes. She kept her distance. Weeks cramped on board a passenger ship, where water had to be saved for drinking, gave travelers what the locals called the “new settler” smell. Best to let them air out a bit.
The new settlers would focus on arranging quarters and making sure their funds transferred to the accounts here aboard the ancient generation ship the original settlers had cannibalized to create a makeshift home.
Usami glanced at the datapad containing the job request. She could do the job herself, but Uncle Leone shot that idea down as soon as he’d heard it. Get an experienced pilot, not a child, he’d said scornfully. But how long could they wait? As she slurped down the last bit of red paste, she studied the faces streaming past. None of them looked like pilots.
The lanes cleared. Usami hopped on her leviboard and slipped through the remaining people. Kids gasped as she eased by, and she heard one begging their parents for a board. She laughed, circled a trash can to toss her paste tube, then glided toward the recruitment office.
The lines here remained empty. People had given up on posting new jobs months ago, when the accidents began. Uncle Leone had told Usami and her mother that people stopped applying for work as the accidents grew worse, and leaving jobs posted on the board cost too much when the wait stretched into weeks.
Usami hopped off the board, kicked down, and flipped it into a waiting hand. The normally cramped office felt uninviting without the noise and warmth the job seekers had once brought to it. She stepped to the clerk and dropped her datapad down.
“How’s it going, Emee?”
Emee clicked her tongue. When she exhaled, Usami smelled cotton candy and mint.
“It’s going fine, Usami. Obviously.” She motioned to the empty room.
“I know, I know. Have y’all come down on those fees yet? My uncle thinks it’ll help get business going again.”
Emee rolled her eyes. “I’m already going to the poor house ’cause of the accidents. Your uncle wants me to get there faster.”
Usami sighed. “Anyone looking for work?”
Emee clicked her tongue again. “Do you even have to ask?”
“Well, we need a pilot.” Usami held up the datapad.
“Good luck finding one.”
A chime sounded as the door to the office slid open.
The man who entered wore a standard travel-issue jumpsuit, but something about the way he held himself made Usami pause. Pilots walked with that kind of swagger.
He was also augmented, his sleeve rolled up to reveal a forearm inset with controls and a datascreen, while the silver beads of input jacks gleamed on his temples. As he crossed the room, Usami could see the spacer’s roll to his steps, the easy movements of someone used to coping with a wide range of gravities.
His voice was low, edged with sleepless gravel. “Sorry to interrupt. I was told I might have some luck finding work here. Wanted to come before the rush.”
“You a pilot?” Usami asked.
The man glanced between the two. “I am.”
“How can I—” Emee began.
Usami interrupted. “Emee, those fees come down yet? Didn’t think so.” Usami handed her datapad to the man. “I got a job if you’re interested. What’s your name?”
“Gem.” He took the pad, but studied Usami’s face rather than the data. “Aren’t you a little young to need a pilot?”
“I’m fourteen. Can you fly the ship on the pad?”
He didn’t bother to look. “If it has thrusters, I can make it move.”
“You’re hired. Emee, lower those fees. Follow me, Mr. Gem.”
Gem nodded. “Just Gem is fine.”
Emee clicked her tongue twice. “You tell your uncle, since your daddy is gone, someone’s gonna have to get things under control soon. Or ain’t no reason any of us came here, trying to make new lives.”
“I’ll let him know.”
Usami let Gem keep the datapad as she walked toward the exit. As they stepped out of the office, leaving Emee’s scowl behind, she realized he didn’t have that new settler smell. The man’s scent seemed more like new circuits and chemicals. Not pleasant, but aggressively neutral as scents went.
“Long flight, stranger?” Usami asked.
“Yeah, but my ship handled it while I slept in stasis,” Gem said.
Usami raised an eyebrow. “Your ship handled it?”
Gem nodded.
Usami waited, but he remained silent.
“How can a ship navigate star systems while the pilot is in stasis?” Usami asked. “That goes against protocols.”
“Ini is an advanced AI. He…” Gem frowned and looked at his arm. “He told me to shut up.”
Usami’s eyes went wide. “Your ship talks to you?”
Gem pointed at the pad. “Yeah.”
He went silent and refused to speak again.
Around them, people swarmed the ship’s barracks section, searching for their new residences. During the initial exploration of the Capitola, Usami’s father and uncle had discovered over ten decks filled with crew quarters forward and aft on the capital ship. Thousands came to the Capitola each year and, in the five years since the original settlers had arrived, they’d only managed to fill three decks.
Every section had its own flavor, a mélange of colors and smells and sounds created by the mingled remnants of humanity, the refugees and veterans of the Void Wars or others from planets devasted by the ravages of the corporations that had plundered their resources. This section, established by Usami’s father almost six years ago, had corridor walls painted with the saying of Khons, handprints along the edges of each mural showing where those praying had touched the border in tribute.
“Do you have quarters yet?” Usami asked.
“Nah, I went straight to the job office as soon as I got in.”
Usami took the datapad from Gem and pulled up the job. “It’s your lucky day. Previous pilot’s quarters are available.”
“That’s appreciated. Are they far from a hangar?” Gem asked.
“They’re only for work ships, normally. I’ll check with my uncle about giving your ship access. But, yes, your quarters will be near the hangars.”
Gem nodded. “Thanks for that.”
They arrived at the old pilot’s quarters. Usami keyed in a code on the datapad and waved it over the door’s keypad. It slid open, and they stepped inside.
The previous occupant’s belongings still littered the apartment. Clothes lay on the couch midway through folding. A cup with the dregs of sour blue liquid sat on the table. Each breath filled Usami’s lungs with stale and scentless air.
“No one’s been here for a while. Whose place is this?” Gem asked.
“Guy whose job you’re taking. He took off in a hurry. It’s why I could get you accommodations so quickly.”
“Why’d he leave without packing?”
Usami sucked her teeth. “You gonna run if I tell you?”
Gem shook his head.
“Cetus and his attack drone, Carina, ran him off.”
Gem raised an eyebrow.
“Cetus thinks he should run this place. My uncle Leone and father thought different. Especially after Cetus tried to claim Capitola and the debris field for himself. My father caught him and made sure he could never sit on the council.”
“Interesting. But why run off the pilot?” Gem pressed.
“Good pilots help us salvage the ships in the graveyard. Without the pilots for the cutters, we can’t get in. Most pilots are having trouble staying spaceworthy. The guy here seemed to have a sixth sense to avoid the accidents.”
“You don’t think they’re accidents?”
“Everyone knows they aren’t. My uncle thinks it’s Cetus. The accidents started after he hired Carina.”
“Why Cetus?”
“Because he’s got the cash and backers now to pay for our claim, if we can’t pay our taxes. No cutters, no taxes.”
Gem nodded.
Usami rolled her eyes at his lack of verbal communication. “Consider this place a bonus for hazard pay.”
Gem nodded again. Usami couldn’t read the man. He continued to study the apartment.
“Please don’t run.” Usami covered her mouth, shocked she’d spoken out loud.
Gem stole a glance at Usami. “Never that.”
They shared a smile.
“We’re down the corridor a ways. Come by for dinner. My uncle will be there, and you can talk to him. The black door.”
“Still mourning?”
“Nah, mourning time is over. We just haven’t had time to strip the black off.”
Gem nodded. “It’s nice to see you folks keep the old customs here. See you there.”
“Don’t forget to enter your new key code.”
Usami headed home to let her mother know there’d be one more for dinner.
* * *
“Time is relative. The hours, days, and years we measured our lives against were in reverence of Sol. Now, time is malleable as millennia separate us. Khons forever guides our journeys as Sol shall forever be our origin. If they know Khons, and are of Sol, then they shall forever be our family. Blessed be they. Amen.”
“Amen,” Usami and Leone said in unison, unfolding their hands.
“Beautiful prayer, Lyra,” Leone said.
“Thanks, Leone. I wish we’d waited for the new pilot.”
“I figured he’d have been here by now. It’s hard to miss the door,” Usami said.
She reached for a roll as Leone took thin protein strips from another plate. A yeasty aroma burst from the roll as she split it open, and her mouth watered in anticipation. Usami grabbed some strips to stuff in the roll, splashing it with spice oil before taking a bite.
Someone scratched at the front door. Usami stared at Leone, who eyed the door with a raised eyebrow. Lyra glanced between the two as the scratching intensified. Some new scheme of Cetus’s to intimidate them? Her stomach twisted with tension, and she was unable to swallow.
Leone stood, pulling his plasma blade from its sheath. Usami and Lyra followed.
When Leone flipped the outside view screen on, Usami saw Gem scraping at the door and frame, methodically removing the mourning coat applied there.
“Uncle Leone, it’s okay. That’s the new pilot, Gem.”
Lyra stared at the man stripping the coating’s layers from the door. “He’s handsome, isn’t he?”
Leone cut his eyes at Lyra.
Lyra stared him down. “I said what I said.”
He slid the cutter back into its sheath and opened the door.
Curls of black paint furred the flooring near the door. Gem’s face was moist with sweat as he mopped at it and gave Usami a quick smile where she stood with the first bite still in her mouth.
“Hey, Gem, I’m Leone. Nice to meet you.” Leone extended a hand to Gem.
He shook it once, then got back to scraping.
“What are you doing?” Leone asked.
“Usami said that the mourning had passed. The final journey can’t be made if the traveler thinks his family still misses him. I want to help your brother along his way.”
Leone’s mouth opened, then closed. Lyra and Usami nodded their approval.
“I guess I’ve been slacking on my brotherly duties over the past year.” Leone chuckled. He grabbed a grinder and started removing the coating from around the door as Gem continued scraping the entryway.
Usami waved the door closed and took a seat on the corridor bench outside it with her mother as the two men worked. The nausea she’d felt earlier disappeared, and she continued eating her sandwich.
Leone’s shirt became soaked with sweat, and he took it off. Lyra slapped her daughter’s leg as Gem did the same. The mechanisms set into his arm gleamed metallically, but the rest of him was quite human. Usami rolled her eyes at her mother, but noticed the chiseled body and wondered why a pilot needed to be so fit.
After an hour the two men had finished stripping the mourning coat from the entrance. Usami stood and rubbed her fingers along the door and walls surrounding her home. She buried her face in her mother’s chest. Lyra pulled Usami closer, stroking her head as heavy sobs shook the young woman’s body.
“It’s fine, Usami. Khons is flying with your father on the final journey.”
Leone slapped Gem on the back. “Thanks for reminding me of my duties. My brother can fly free now.”
“No worries,” Gem said.
Leone stared at the man, waiting for more, then laughed when nothing came. “Usami wasn’t lying when she said you were a man of few words.”
* * *
Usami listened to Lyra sing her father to rest, the sweet voice rising up in the final act of mourning. Usami knew Lyra missed her husband as much as Usami did. So far she’d politely refused any of those who’d thought they might replace him, holding her grief close. Her eyes were closed now as she sang.
Riders of the endless void,
Khons has led us home.
Our journey through the timeless night,
No more shall we roam.
But you are called to move along,
And we speed you on your way,
You follow Khons and wander on,
We’ll follow you one day.
The gathered crowd clapped and cheered.
“Thank you all for bearing witness. We are honored you were here with us as the mourning ended,” Leone said.
The cheers grew louder.
Another hour passed before the crowd began to shrink. Usami hugged the neighbors and thanked them for being there as Lyra and Leone walked around shaking hands and sharing stories. Gem stood off to the side watching the people and studying his forearm datapad. Usami walked over to him, distancing herself from the emotions she felt near the crowd.
“Thanks for doing that, Gem,” Usami said.
“No worries. Ini thought it would be a good idea.”
“Your ship?” Usami raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, he’s always listening. Aren’t you, Ini?” He spoke to the datapad.
“Of course. What else is there for a lowly, sophisticated AI such as myself to do? I can’t very well come inside, now can I? I live vicariously through you. Which is difficult with your personality—or lack thereof,” a voice replied from it.
Gem frowned, and Usami snorted with laughter.
“See, Gem? I’ve made the girl laugh in less than a minute. You spent an hour thinking about jokes to break the ice.”
Gem’s eyes went wide with shock. “You promised.”
Usami roared with laughter at Gem’s embarrassment. She laughed so hard she had to sit down on the bench. Her legs kicked out as she rocked back.
“Ini, I’m going to dismantle you and sell you like cheap scrap,” Gem said.
Usami wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thanks, you two. I needed that.”
A silvery face took shape on the datapad. “Any time, dear. I know your father’s loss is deeply painful. We’re both glad we could help your family in some small way. Thanks for giving my partner here a job.”
Gem’s head dipped down. “He’s right.”
Usami and Gem bumped fists.
“I do all the work, and this lout gets all the love,” Ini lamented.
“I’d hug you if I could, Ini.”
The face on the datapad smiled.
Lyra strolled over. “Thank you again, Gem. Looks like you two are having fun. I hope we can all get to know each other better.”
“Yes, ma’am. Let me get washed up. Is dinner still available?”
“It is. You can clean up in our place. We have some towels you can use. Why don’t you head on in with Leone?” Lyra said.
“Yes, ma’am.” Gem followed Leone, who’d just stepped inside.
“Mama,” Usami pleaded.
“It’s been over a year, and a lady has eyes. Now get inside, and let’s finish dinner with our guest.”
Usami laughed and followed her mother.
* * *
From afar, the debris field marking the ship graveyard looked like a murky cloud. Over the past two months Gem had approached the cloud from different routes every few days. As Ini neared, the ship’s lights reached out, glittering swathes made from metal bits and glass tilting to catch the light and return it. Usami released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
Gem glanced back at her, half-smiling. “Still don’t trust my flying?”
She shook her head.
Leone frowned. “Stay focused,” he said softly.
They approached the ship that was their target. An old Cooper-Stevens XR, its heavy armor plating would be good salvage, relatively easy to cut loose from the wreck.
“I’ll strip the pilot chamber electronics,” Usami said.
Leone nodded. While she did that, he and Gem would start tethering pieces and using the plasma cutter to sever the plating connectors.
The ship’s system pinged. “Incoming ship.”
“What?” Leone said, startled. “I’ve filed the paperwork on this section. No one else should be here.”
“The signal is from the Raptor.”
Carina’s ship. Of course.
Usami took a deep breath. The air inside Ini smelled like Gem, the same neutral smell of circuits and chemicals, rather than rank human sweat.
“Open up a channel,” Gem said.
Carina didn’t even bother with pleasantries. Said, “Left you a present, Leone.” Her voice was low and mean, even over the comm channel. “Call it a goodbye gift. Because you and yours need to say goodbye and move along.”
“Not going to happen!” Usami yelled before Leone could reply.
“In that case…” There was a click as Carina cut comms.
“They’re powering up!” Leone said, staring at the screen.
Gem slid into the pilot’s chair faster than Usami had ever seen anyone move. “Turn that plasma cutter on,” he snapped.
“What? You can’t use that as a weapon…” Leone began, but Usami was already swinging into place at the cutter’s controls.
“Can’t use it as a weapon,” Gem said, fingers flying over the controls, “but I can use it to turn something else into a weapon. That drone started the fight cold, and it’s going to take a good three minutes to get its systems ready.”
He was feeding numbers to Usami as quickly as she could enter them, so fast she could barely keep up.
Leone was watching the monitor. “Carina’s at half power now,” he said.
“Execute!” Gem said.
Usami slammed her finger down on the execute button, and the cutter began firing according to the calculations, each time hitting one of the wrecks around them, stirring them into motion. It was impossible to have calculated that on the fly, Usami thought. How had he accomplished it?
“Three-quarters power,” Leone said.
Gem’s voice was as calm as though Leone had said it was time for dinner. “One more wave of shots, Usami.”
Just as she hit the last one, and the plasma cutter’s blue bolt flashed out one final time, Leone said, “She’s firing!”
Red light struck out from Carina’s ship. Every time it fired, somehow, impossibly, one of the revolving bits of debris was in front of it, reflecting it, and then a bolt even doubled back to strike the attacker.
Usami wanted to shout victory, but she saw Leone staring at Gem, wide-eyed. “How did you do that?”
Gem pushed himself up from the chair.
“Just lucky, I guess.” His eyes met Leone’s in challenge. Something hovered in the air, unspoken. Leone was the first to look away.
“If you did that, could have hit her directly,” Leone muttered. “Instead you just tapped her enough to drive her away.”
“And that was enough,” Gem said.
All the way home, Leone was silent.
There, Usami told Lyra in great detail what had happened, trying to convey the sheer wonder of the precision of those shots. Leone stayed silent, and Gem was modest, shaking his head and changing the subject when Lyra tried to thank him. In the end, she simply leaned down to kiss him, saying once more, “Thank you,” and getting a mumbled, “Wasn’t an issue” in reply.
But late that night, Usami got up to get a glass of water and heard Leone and Gem talking.
“I know you’re a man of war,” Leone said. “Here. We’re celebrating.” From where she stood in the hallway, holding her breath and listening, Usami heard the gurgle as Leone poured something. There was a clink as the two men touched cups.
“Celebrating?” Gem said, letting the word trail off in question. “Celebrating what?”
Leone cleared his throat. “You stood up to them. Reminded us that it’s…well, that it’s possible to stand up. I’ve been talking to the other salvagers. We’re going to stand together. Won’t be run off.”
There was the soft slap of him clapping Gem on the shoulder. “Night.”
Usami shrank back into the shadows as Leone exited. She was about to turn to go, when she heard Gem murmur something. Was he talking to her? She paused.
“I don’t know, Ini,” he said.
She breathed out silent relief. Talking to his ship. She did turn to go but couldn’t avoid hearing his last words, “I thought we’d left all that behind. I said I wouldn’t kill again.”
* * *
Usami stared across the launchway as Ini sat in a refitting bay. Over the past three weeks, crews had removed the plasma cutter and reinstalled Ini’s original weapons. Everything about the custom ship screamed murder as Usami watched the refitting team make their final checks.
It wasn’t what Gem would have chosen, she knew. Her eyes were hot with unshed tears as she saw him moving toward Ini, his steps slow and reluctant.
“Where’s that pilot of yours, little girl?” Usami turned as Carina spoke.
“Doesn’t matter, does it? And you better not touch me, there are witnesses here.”
Carina grabbed Usami by the shoulder. “Little girl, let me be clear. If your uncle doesn’t give Cetus the rights to this capital ship, and all the salvage rights, then I can’t be responsible for what happens next. But I guarantee you’ll have nothing.”
Carina’s increasingly painful grip brought the tears to the girl’s eyes till they spilled out. She tried to pull away, but the woman’s grip held her like a vise.
“Now where’s your pilot and that fancy ship of his?” Carina dug her fingers into Usami’s shoulder.
Usami slapped Carina across the face. The woman let go in shock.
“You think your hard attitude is gonna help you? You’re just Cetus’s lapdog, and you’re only good for fetching, so go fetch somewhere else.”
Carina’s face turned red with rage. “Little girl, I don’t care who’s watching. You’re about to feel more pain than you can imagine before they pull me off you.”
Carina stepped toward Usami, fist raised. Before she could strike, she tumbled backward.
Lyra stared down at the other woman lying on the ground before her.
“Carina, if you ever in your life think about putting your hands on my daughter again, you won’t have much life left to live.”
A crowd gathered around the women as Carina stood.
“I’m telling Cetus to quit playing nice with any of you. You’re all gonna be dead.”
Carina pushed through the crowd and stomped away.
Usami wrapped her arms around her mother. “Mom, that was awesome.”
“I can bluff with the best of them, love.”
A chuckle ran through the crowd as everyone separated.
“Where are you headed, Usami?”
“I was going to talk to Ini, Gem’s ship. It looks like it’s being refitted for something dangerous.”
“Gem’s ship can talk?”
“Yes, ma’am, I’ll introduce you.”
Usami took Lyra’s hand and led the way to Ini. Crews made final checks on the remounted hard points before moving on to the next ship.
“Where’s Gem?” Usami asked the passing workers.
“Not sure, but the ship’s still open.”
Usami and Lyra boarded the ship and walked to the cockpit. Lyra studied the ship as they went.
“This isn’t a regular ship. Where was this made?”
“I was made a long time ago, Ms….”
Lyra jumped as the voice spoke from everywhere.
Usami laughed. “Ini, this is my mom, Lyra.”
A chime rang throughout the ship as if Ini were laughing.
“The Lyra. I’ve heard good things about you. I see why Gem has been smitten.”
Lyra blushed. “Oh really? What did he say?”
“I’m not at liberty to repeat those words, but I will say all of them were good.”
Usami snorted. “Ini, don’t tease her.”
“I’m not teasing.”
Usami rolled her eyes at the smile on Lyra’s face. “Ini, what’s going on? Why’d they mount your original weapons?”
A sound similar to a human sigh passed though the ship. “I’d prefer not to say, Usami.”
“Ini, please.”
The mechanical sigh passed through the ship again. “This Carina woman, she’s dangerous. We’ve seen her type before. She won’t stop until she’s stopped.”
“Stopped how?” Lyra asked.
A voice spoke up from behind them. “With the only thing our type really understands: force.”
The two spun around to find Gem standing in the doorway to the cockpit.
“Here’s the deal: I’ve asked around to where the ships are Cetus uses. After working a few guys over in the bar I found out where they’re keeping them. Luckily, it’s not too far. It’s where Cetus is holed up.”
“What are you doing?” Lyra pressed.
“They’ll ride with Khons on the endless void. They can figure out the toll once they arrive.”
Lyra reached for Gem’s hand, then stopped. He stepped up and grabbed her hand, interlocking their fingers together. Lyra blushed and turned away.
Gem gently turned her face back to him. “Look after Usami. Let Leone know so he can be prepared if this goes nova.”
“Of course.”
Gem leaned in and kissed Lyra.
“Usami, watch your mother. Keep her safe.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Ready, Ini?”
“I’m never really ready for this, Gem.”
“Ladies.” Gem pointed to the exit.
Lyra squeezed Gem’s hand before exiting the ship. Usami followed.
Ships leaving for the day lined the launchway, and the two had to walk all the way around to leave the area safely. Usami sucked her teeth.
“Mom, I forgot to give Gem a hug. Can I go back and do that?”
“Sure, he could use our support. I’ll meet you back at home.”
Usami kissed Lyra on the cheek, then ran back to Ini. She peered through the door. Gem studied star charts while talking with Ini. As they spoke, Usami slipped through the door and back into a storage closet, where she sat on the floor and waited for takeoff.
* * *
“Ini, keep the throttle down and drop a mag-mine array.”
“Gem, I’m noticing odd signals…”
“Ini, shut up and do your job.” Gem’s voice was harsh. How much did he hate this? Usami wondered. How much had it cost him to go back to being a soldier?
“Gem, I must report—”
Gem cut the ship off again. “I. Don’t. Care. Let’s get this job done.”
Usami crept out of the closet and made her way toward the cockpit in silence.
Gem punched in calculations at a terminal as the ship charged toward Carina’s base. Usami wanted to know about the mag mines, but decided against revealing herself. Red dots blipped onto a screen behind Gem, then faded away. In their place, yellow lights began flashing.
Usami studied the dark mass through a porthole as they circled it. No light reflected from its surface, and she only knew it was there because it blocked the stars on the other side. As she watched she saw a flash from the inky blackness surrounding the station. It burst out two more times, changing direction with each movement and lighting the side of the station briefly. Usami’s eyes went wide when she realized what the lights were.
“Gem, a ship just fired maneuvering thrusters to get behind Ini!” Usami ran to the cockpit as she yelled.
Gem whirled in shock. “Usami, what the heck are you doing…?”
“Gem, you may plan on suicide, but we’re not letting her die. There’s a target lock on us. Taking evasive actions,” Ini snapped.
The g-forces threw Usami against the opposite wall as Ini made a hard turn at full throttle. Gem unstrapped himself and ran to Usami to help her up as Ini straightened the ship. He dragged her to a seat and strapped the young girl in. Usami’s head rolled as she tried to regain focus.
“Ship. Behind us,” she stuttered.
“I know. We’ll talk about why you’re on board this ship once we get home.”
“Indeed, young lady. A firefight is no place for a civilian.”
Usami gave a shaky double thumbs-up as Ini made another sharp turn. The ship’s hull rattled as explosions detonated nearby. Ini made two more sharp turns as Gem’s hands flew over the console.
“That ship is dark to radar, but I see others exiting the base.”
Usami stared at Gem, who hadn’t strapped himself back into the seat but easily handled every maneuver Ini made. The man stood as Ini made another sharp turn and went over to the comms panel and pressed a few buttons.
“You have two minutes to stand down. If you don’t, you’ll all be next week’s salvage,” he said into the comm.
Silence filled the cabin.
“Crap, I hoped she’d be piloting the dark ship. Ini, you’ve led them long enough. Let’s make this three dimensional.”
A rumbling tone sounded over the internal speakers.
“Is Ini laughing?” Usami asked as her head cleared.
Gem stared at the girl as if surprised to see her. “You could say that. Usami, you knew what I was coming out here to do. Why’d you hop on board?”
“I felt like if I didn’t, something bad would happen.”
He stared at her. She stared back. Then he nodded, almost imperceptibly. “It might have,” he said. “I guess it was good you were here.”
Usami’s stomach lurched as the bottom seemed to drop from under her. She and Gem floated as Ini changed direction. She felt the ship twist as it began a flip end over end. Gem punched a console, and the screen blew up into a holographic display.
“Light it up.”
Ini’s hard points moved to fire as the ship continued to shift. The sharp staccatos from the turret’s barrage echoed throughout the ship, deafening Usami and reverberating through her bones.
Explosions from the initial volley flashed with each hit on the opposing craft. The dark ship disengaged and pulled away.
“You’re losing your touch, Ini. I thought you’d take her out for sure.”
“That ship has moves. It’ll be a shame to scuttle it.”
“Shouldn’t it have picked up the target lock like we did?” Usami asked.
“Remember the calculations I made before? Ini and I can do that in our heads. We don’t normally turn the targeting laser on. It’s there if needed.”
The flashing yellow lights began turning green as the ships leaving the base passed through them.
Gem waved a hand, and the green lights replaced the previous view.
“The mag mines have cameras. Can we use those to find some way to see that ship?” Gem asked.
Usami shrugged right before Ini spoke. “I don’t think so. We need her to respond to your comms call so I can get a lock through that channel.”
“Fine, then. Detonate and let’s see what happens.” Gem flipped the comms panel button again to broadcast his next words. “You were warned.”
One by one the green lights erupted, sending flashes like a distant nova burst popping all over the screen. The ships collided together as they scrambled to figure out what was happening.
Usami stared at the views, eyes wide.
“Mag mines only turn on once they make contact with a ship’s hull. We remote detonated them instead of setting the timer.”
Usami nodded at the explanation.
“I saw the dark ship flash into view a few times, but it’s dark again. Calculating all intercept vectors based on last known positions.”
“I’ll take over the piloting while you do.”
Gem sat down as three remaining ships flew toward them to attack. Gem’s fingers ran across the console and Ini’s movements became more erratic. Usami heard a ringing sound as munitions fired from the other ships hit and bounced off the hull.
“Really, Carina must have kept the good rounds for herself.”
A target lock indicator came on, and Gem cursed.
“Ini, looks like she beat you. Brace for impact.”
Usami’s straining stomach emptied itself as Ini lurched end over end after the impact. When the spinning stopped, Gem lay on the floorboards. Usami unbuckled herself as alarms sounded. She found blood on the console Gem had sat at before she noticed the gash on his head. He pushed himself up slowly, and Usami moved to help him.
“Looks like those other three ships are coming back, Gem,” Ini said.
Gem accepted Usami’s help with a nod as he sat back in the chair. “I got them, find Carina. She’s smarter than I thought she’d be.”
Gem’s fingers flew across the console.
Ini made a sharp turn and flipped to face the three ships coming toward them. Gem fired thrusters and flew at the lead ship. Usami stared as the two ships came within two hundred meters of crashing.
The lead ship veered off, and Gem’s fingers danced across the console, causing Ini to strafe the lead ship. The turrets let loose on the other ship’s broadside.
The target lock indicator flashed again.
“Not this time.” Gem engaged full burn toward one of the two remaining ships while deploying countermeasures. As the ship veered, Usami saw it heading into the remaining flashing yellow lights. Two turned green as the ship made contact.
“It’s only a hundred meters out, Gem!” Usami screamed.
“Stay calm, Usami,” Gem said.
Gem passed Ini below the other ship, narrowly avoiding a collision. He did a hard burn on the other side, putting distance between the two ships as fast as possible. The screen showed the missile beginning to pass under the ship. Gem detonated the mines.
The screen turned into a bright white light as the mines detonated the missile.
“Only one scrub and Carina left,” Gem said.
Usami pointed at the screen. “Looks like the scrub is taking off.”
Gem followed her finger with his eyes. Where she pointed the remaining ship had begun turning toward the capital ship.
“When he gets to the Capitola, he’ll have a lot of explaining…”
Before Usami finished the sentence, the ship burst apart as another missile cracked it like an egg.
“We’ve got to find her,” Gem growled, “Any luck, Ini?”
“None. I didn’t think she’d shoot down her own men.” Ini’s voice sounded flat to Usami’s ears.
“I have an idea. Can I use your comms?” Usami asked.
“Sure,” Gem said.
Usami flipped the comm switch and licked her lips. “Hey, lapdog, looks like we took out all your buddies. How about you run back to your daddy Cetus with your tail between your legs? How do you think a stray like you will be punished?”
Gem’s mouth hung open as Usami turned to him smiling.
A crackle came across the comms, followed by an enraged voice screaming at Usami. “Little girl, you’re about to get what’s coming to you! How dare you slap me? This is going to be so sweet when I tell your brave mommy that her daughter was killed on that ship. I can’t wait to see her tears. Your uncle will—”
The comms went down.
“Ini, did you tag it?” Gem asked.
“You know it. Let’s go hunting.” Usami thought she heard a smile in the ship’s voice.
A crackle came across the comms again. This time it was a man’s voice. “Usami, this is Cetus. I’m going to call your uncle and mother now. I wonder if they’ll sign over the deeds knowing I have you here.”
Usami glanced at Gem. He switched the view, and she saw Carina’s ship creeping up behind them. Gem smiled.
“Cetus, you sound as greasy as I remember you looking. Just remember, your mourning coat will remain forever, and you’ll never make the final journey.”
“Why, you rude little—”
Ini cut comms and pulled Gem’s strafing maneuver. Without acquiring a target lock, the turrets and missiles launched toward Carina’s ship. The screen went white one last time as the dark ship became star stuff.
Usami rushed toward Gem and wrapped her arms around the man, nearly knocking him over.
Gem laughed and squeezing her gently. “He’s right, you were being rude.”
Usami pulled away, grinning. “Maybe somebody can teach me better?”
Gem sucked his teeth. “Maybe someone could stick around and do that.”
Usami nodded. “You shoulda seen Mom earlier when she stared Carina down. I guess I’ve still got some things to learn from her.”
Gem tousled Usami’s hair. “Guess I’ll stick around to see that, too.”
The End