Rogue Pursuit: A Space Opera Adventure (Shades of Starlight Book 1), page 18
“Start at the beginning.”
“I was born on—”
“Not that far back.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s relevant, smarta—”
“Fine.”
“As I was saying,” she said. “I was born on Kyrgon, a colony world, five weeks early. My mom went into labor on a supply run, and there wasn’t time for her to travel elsewhere. But Kyrgon is super new. At the time they’d only had a settlement for twenty years. They had no medicine, no hospitals, no official doctors. No trained medical professionals want to live out there, and no colonists can afford medicine with all the taxes and regulations in place.”
“People know the risks when they move there.”
“What about the people serving the Confed by traveling there?”
That shut him up. He had to admit, despite all his training, he hadn’t known much about actual life in the colonies before this trip. Had never been so far from Ruby Prime.
But still. She was breaking the law.
“Over the years I’ve been to nearly every colony, and they’re all the same. You grew up on a primary. You have no idea what it’s like out here, how the Confed’s laws make it worse. So, when my dad died and I took over, I thought, maybe I can do something to help.”
“Supplying alcohol to pirates. Way to make a difference in the galaxy.”
Her eyes flashed. “Small price to pay for them helping me divert food and crops and water purifiers to undernourished children.”
“Shades, did you already know those people on the desert planet?”
She stared at him. No response meant yes.
“What about Kel? He was helping, wasn’t he? You alone couldn’t smuggle all the illegal goods we know are out there, which means others are involved. Somehow you pass Confed checkpoints and scans. You had to have an inside source. Where did you meet?”
“That’s not relevant.”
“You were his secret girlfriend, weren’t you?”
She snorted. “No need to make it sound cheap. I was his girlfriend. If he chose not to tell you about me, maybe you weren’t as close as you thought.”
“That much is obvious.” He crossed his arms and studied her. “Why did you agree to help me?”
“Besides how suspicious it would’ve looked if I refused, since you lied about this being official Confed business?”
Of course she’d take the chance to remind him he wasn’t as innocent as he wanted to believe.
“What do you know about Kel’s situation?” he asked. “Make your answer good, because now I’m going to doubt every word that comes out of your mouth.”
She stood still, chin lifted in defiance. They glared at each other.
She sighed, rolled her eyes, and plopped into the seat. “At this point, not much more than you. I received a message from him right before you approached me on Prime. Said he’d learned something dangerous and told me to meet him at that hotel on Naxus. But he was gone when we got there, and now I want to find him, same as you.”
“So he can’t turn you in, and all your revolutionary friends?”
“I don’t care about revolution. I just want to help people.”
“Right. By breaking the law.”
She shrugged. “If the law isn’t working, yeah.”
“Did you understand the message on the mirror?”
She hesitated before nodding.
They approached the wormhole, and she focused on the console.
The wormhole opened, a riot of orange, blue, magenta, and light green, assaulting his eyes. The colors reminded him of a primary school classroom. The moment they entered, a side-to-side rattle overtook the ship that almost made him forget their previous conversation.
Perrin calmly made adjustments that reduced, but didn’t eliminate, the rattling.
“What did the message say?” he asked when she finished.
“A date—four days from now. And a warning of danger to all three governments.”
“What kind of danger.”
“I have no idea. Don’t you?”
Tai shook his head. “Another agent was researching a network of revolutionaries, and Kel was sent to find him when he went dark. Obviously, the other agent got too close to exposing Kel and your friends.”
“It has to be more, though. If that other guy had a list of names, Kel could’ve destroyed it. Or given the Confed a few minor players and deleted the rest. Why take off across the galaxy and burn all his bridges? Besides, that wouldn’t warrant a warning about extreme danger to the empires. Something bigger must be coming.”
“Like what?” Tai had heard no hints of an impending event. This deadline loomed sooner than having to make it home in time for his hearing. Would’ve been helpful to know when they started.
“I don’t know.”
How easily they fell into working together. He couldn’t let himself be sidetracked by her sharp, curious mind and easy conversation. She was a traitor, no matter what motives she claimed.
“Do you think Kel killed him?” Her quiet voice broke the silence.
Tai’s chest tightened. “That doesn’t sound like the Kel I knew. But as you so kindly pointed out, I obviously didn’t know him.”
“Well, I don’t think he did.”
They watched the mess of colors.
“What now?” she asked. “Planning to turn me in? Have my ships searched?”
“You could send them a message to dump the goods and by the time I return, the evidence would be gone.”
“True.”
He tapped the arm of the chair. “But then I’d put a watch on every ship you own, and your smuggling days would be over.”
“Also true.”
“Have you smuggled weapons?”
“Never. Almost all needed supplies to the colonies. Enough alcohol and fancy stuff to satisfy the pirates and a few posh colonial governors to help pay the bills. But nothing dangerous. No illicit drugs. No people.” She bit her lip. “Since we found those weapons in the desert, I told my ships to stop smuggling for a while. I want to help people, not start a war. Go ahead and search them.”
Tai wanted to believe her but look where that had landed him—halfway across the galaxy with a criminal and a crush. On his best friend’s ex.
“Who broke up with whom?”
“Seriously?”
He shrugged.
“He broke up with me. Said I was too stubborn. Restless. Independent.”
Kel was a fool. He was right, of course, but that was exactly what made Perrin so special. Which Tai needed to stop thinking about. He shouldn’t feel so relieved that she and Kel obviously weren’t right for each other.
“If you want to be mad,” she said, “don’t be mad about the lying. You’re the last one to talk, and I don’t mean convincing me to help in the first place. You’ve trained your whole life to deceive people for what you see as the greater good.”
“You could’ve at least mentioned you knew him.”
“When you suspect he’s a traitor? ‘Oh, hey, that criminal you’re following, I used to date him’?”
“Fine. I would have done the same. That still doesn’t let you off the hook for deliberate, consistent lawbreaking.”
“Fair enough. But as you stew in your anger, consider the fact that Hank and Amira couldn’t have cooked us that meal without the water purifiers I bring. You think it’s easy to find water on a desert planet? Or that a single bio-dome is enough to grow cops for an entire city? And Hank’s son, I saved his life with moon flu vaccines.”
Tai tried and failed not to picture the kind family and cute kids.
“And we both might disapprove of some of the pirates’ activities, but when a famine hit Actius and the Confed did nothing, Digger stopped a shipment of grain from one of the Amber worlds. He gave it to me to deliver and didn’t ask for anything in return, and we saved more lives. So maybe if you took your Ruby-colored head out of your butt for five seconds, you might not be so quick to judge.”
Tai grunted and frowned at the floor.
“Now what?” she asked.
Now what, indeed. He needed her help if he planned to continue. He could turn around now and take her in, which seemed dishonorable after she had helped him. Not to mention if he did that, this trip had been a waste.
He twisted his ring and studied her. “I assume you want to find Kel? Do you want me to drop you off somewhere?”
“Why would I want that?” she asked. “We stand a better chance together. Why do you think I stayed after Naxus?”
“I don’t know if I can trust you anymore.”
“We need each other.”
“Then we have to be honest,” he said. “No more secrets. If we’re going to keep working together for now, I need to know you’re not hiding anything else.”
“What happens when we find Kel?”
“We’ll worry about it when the time comes.”
“And the smuggling?” she asked.
“If you help me find Kel before my mother and the other governments, I won’t report you.”
“For past crimes or…?”
“There will be no future crimes.”
“If I refuse?”
“Do you?”
“Just want to make an informed decision.” She put on an innocent expression the way most people changed shirts, a look he would’ve bought a day ago. “Out of curiosity, would it affect your job if your mom found out you traveled across the galaxy with a criminal, without realizing I was a criminal, for several days?”
Probably. Or at least his reputation. Which was already trashed after living with a double agent for years.
“Do you agree or not?” he asked.
“Fine. Deal.”
What was he thinking? Agreeing to continue partnering with a known criminal, and giving her a free pass for her crimes? Didn’t that make him as bad as her and Kel? Was his career worth it, if it was built on a lie?
But he’d come this far, and even if they went home now, Perrin could report him for working with her. Unless he locked her in the brig.
The ship gave another mighty shudder, and his stomach revolted.
Which he would strongly consider as soon as they were out of this sun-forsaken wormhole.
18
Perrin stared at one of the few wormholes she’d seen that she would classify as ugly.
Or that might have been her mood.
Had she ruined everything? Had she told Tai too much?
He’d guessed the high points. If he was going to think the worst of her, she wanted him to know she hadn’t broken the law solely to help herself. Not that his opinion should matter. He’d asked for help with a job. She shouldn’t be disappointed he was upset with her.
But the judgment in his eyes made her feel she’d lost something she hadn’t realized she wanted.
She glanced at him as she monitored the shields to keep the rattling as minimal as possible. That sharp jaw and those dark eyes looked ready to tear a hole in the view screen. Better it than her.
Despite her better judgment, she’d been enjoying this adventure. Been enjoying getting to know Tai. That had been stupid. She’d known he would learn the truth eventually, even if she hadn’t expected it this soon.
Would he keep his word not to arrest her? She figured he meant it now, but held little hope his offer would last once he had more time to consider it.
The ship quaked. Metallic clanging sounded deep inside the vessel, followed by a snap.
Yet another thing in her life that was breaking.
Tai’s face had turned rather green.
“Want to go check the engine room?” she asked. “See if everything’s okay?”
He rose without a word.
How were they going to continue? If they found Kel, both were working for different causes. Different outcomes. Now not only was she planning to betray him, Tai was aware of that. No doubt he intended to do the same to her. And he was better equipped to handle the situation. She probably stood no chance. But that wouldn’t stop her from trying.
The illusion of being on the same team had been nice while it lasted, though. She missed it already.
Sparks exploded on the console, burning her hand. She ignored the sharp pain and kept working.
When Tai returned, he said nothing.
“Everything okay? With the ship?” she hurried to add, since things with them obviously weren’t.
“Broken capacitor. I replaced it.”
“Look,” she said after a few minutes of silence, then wished she hadn’t, then realized she had to continue. “We can’t go the rest of the trip without talking. Can we, I don’t know, pretend to be civil?”
“Fine.” He twisted his ring once, twice, three times. “Tell me about this wormhole and why it feels like my ship is breaking apart.”
She noted with a sinking heart the use of my where before he’d said our. Then scolded herself. Did she really think they could build an “our” that could last beyond this mission?
“Tetradic,” she said, relieved for a safe topic she could talk about for hours. “Four colors in two complementary pairs. It’s one of the worst combinations. Analogous colors, the ones in a row, aren’t bad until you have two primaries. Even triadics are fairly stable; those are three colors equidistant apart on a color wheel. Complementaries are rough, like blue and orange or red and green. But this one has two sets of complementary, which taxes the shields and the deflectors. We’ll have to stop planet-side and check the ship. Kel would’ve, too. Unless you want to risk your ship breaking apart. Everyone would play it safe like this.”
“This one looks like a child’s paint tray.”
“I know. Hideous, right? I might love the wormholes, but some are definitely prettier than others. This one was probably designed by a five-year-old.”
He twisted his ring again and worked his jaw. “You think they were designed, then?”
She appreciated his efforts to continue the conversation, even if his tone remained stilted. “I do. I know some people believe they’re naturally occurring, but that’s hard to imagine. I don’t know if it was an ancient race of space travelers or a higher power, but I don’t think they’re random. They’re too ordered. Systems that logical must have a creator. What about you?”
“I never really thought about it. Well, I did, but never decided on anything. I prefer not to think too much about them. Especially what happens when…”
“When they fold? There are theories about what happens if your ship is still inside. Not like, you know, when a wormhole collapses and you can’t use it again. But if you’re actually using it when it folds. Some people believe that rather than destroying you, it transports you into an alternate dimension.”
“You look intrigued by that idea. Please don’t test it.”
“Most people say your ship breaks apart and you die in space. Don’t worry, I won’t.”
They lapsed into silence. He’d found a safe topic. Now it was her turn. Problem was, she didn’t know what he cared about like she did with the wormholes, and her burned hand was throbbing. “Got any… hobbies?
He blinked. “Really? That’s what you’re going with?”
She huffed an awkward laugh. “I’m trying here.”
His face softened the slightest fraction. “Okay. I like flying. Fishing. Sports. Racing.”
Mostly exciting activities. Not surprising. “If you could only do one, which would it be?”
“Flying, I guess.”
“Like your dad?” The words slipped out before she considered that wasn’t the best subject to bring up.
He fell silent.
So much for that topic. Better if they stopped talking, anyway. She enjoyed it too much.
The colors intensified, and the exit appeared. They shot out like the wormhole couldn’t wait to spit them into space. The expanse of black was a relief to her eyes. Her brain felt like it had been placed in a blender. A dull headache pulsed at the base of her skull.
She’d never been so happy to leave a wormhole.
“This system is empty, but it has two other wormholes,” she said. “One doesn’t go anywhere, at least nowhere that’s been charted. The other leads to a system with two decent-sized planets with several colonies. Which is good, because we need to make repairs. We should try that one.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” His voice oozed sarcasm.
She set the course, and as she pushed away from the screen, his hand darted out and grabbed her forearm.
“What happened to your hand?” His tone was accusatory, like she’d injured herself on purpose.
When he turned it over to reveal a blistery red welt covering her palm, he winced and hissed out a breath. She suspected his angry tone covered genuine concern.
She cleared her throat. “Console sparked at me. It’s nothing.”
He released her. “Wait here.”
“Not much of anywhere else to go on a spaceship, genius.”
But he’d already left.
She debated leaving the bridge just to annoy him, but she didn’t like the tension between them. Inevitable. Expected. But she still missed their earlier camaraderie. Of course, back then she’d been lying to him.
Tai returned a minute later with a med-kit.
He sat and swiveled his seat toward her, taking her hand and setting it palm-up on his knee.
Her heart thrummed in the wound, each beat pulsing. His leg was warm and firm under her hand. His hair fell over one eye as he rummaged through the kit. She focused on the red welt to avoid looking at him.
Why was he being so nice? She wanted to insist she could do this herself. Would have, a week ago. So why was she letting him take care of her?
He glanced at her. She swallowed.
“Ready?”
No smart remark came to mind. She nodded instead, disappointed with herself.
“This will only sting for a second.”
That worried her far less than the way her heart stuttered at his fingers gently grasping hers.
First, he used anesthetic spray. It hit with the expected sting, then the wound went numb. His eyes searched hers like he needed permission to continue.
Her arms tensed. She wished he would get on with it. And that he would gaze at her like that forever. She looked away again.
