Wings of Retribution (63 page)

The blue fluid seemed to glow in his hand, letting off its own luminescence.

Not being a fan of drugs, Tommy turned to give it back to the Strangers.

“Colonel Howlen.”

Tommy jammed his hand into his coat pocket and turned, his spine prickling.

Juno smiled at him.  “Enjoy your flight?  I heard that the Trader recommended you to the dockmaster, he was so grateful to be alive.”

“I’ve never heard of storms that reached up into the atmosphere,” Tommy replied.  “It was quite an experience.”

“I’m so glad we found you when we did.  We’re always in need of pilots on Xenith.  That useless girl who was with you can barely even captain a freighting vessel.  No wonder she gave up when we flew at her with Everest.  It makes it hard to imagine how she got to be captain of such a fine ship.”

“Rabbit gave it to her.”

“I see.”  Her face darkened.  “I’ve always thought Rabbit was a bit of a fool around women.”

“So have I,” Tommy said automatically.  It was one of the things they had tried to brainwash into him.  Automatic disdain for any of the rest of his crew.  Fortunately, he had used the same techniques in the S.O. and had known how to combat them.  Hell, what
he’d
been taught had made her crude attempts look like unsophisticated child’s play.  Then again, he figured that seven thousand years’ of advancement in the field would probably do that.

“I must say, the Emperor appreciates having you in the fleet.  It was good of you to join us.”

“I always wanted to fly for the Emperor,” Tommy responded.  “It’s a dream come true.”

“Is it.”  Juno smiled at him.  “Rabbit told me about your past, Colonel.  You’re working for the same department I was, it’s just under a different name.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do.”  Juno glanced at the cargo the Strangers were unloading.  “One of the first things Psy-Ops taught its officers was how to resist Psy-Ops techniques from the enemy.  You were never brainwashed, Colonel.”

Tommy stiffened.

“But that’s fine.”  Juno smiled, waving a dismissive hand.  “You’re a fine pilot.  We can use more like you on Xenith when the time comes.  Too bad you’ll be dead.”

Tommy’s eyes widened, but Juno held up a hand.

“I’m not killing you, Colonel.  I’m simply not ready to launch my attack yet.  It will be another hundred years, at least.  Even with the revenues from the floater wash, our fleet isn’t big enough.”

“Then what—”

“I just wanted to warn you.  Do anything to harm the Empire and I will personally blow a hole in that young captain’s head.  I’ve seen you go out of your way to check on her.  Do you have a thing for younger women, Colonel?”

Tommy stiffened.  “I was just seeing how she was doing.”

“And whether or not she resisted the brainwashing.  Let me put your doubts to rest.  She is completely and utterly under my spell.  She did not even resist the processes.  Deplorably impressionable, the idiot girl.  It never even occurred to her she was being brainwashed.”

“She always was a spacehead,” Tommy replied.

“Yes, I can see that.  And clumsy, too.  If she doesn’t stop dropping crates, I’m going to have to drop her to shuttle duty.”

“She won’t like that.”

Juno smiled.  “Yes she will.  You know as well as I do she’ll like whatever she’s told to like.”  She tapped her skull patronizingly.  “She’ll even like to take a bullet in the brain, if you misbehave.  “

Tommy looked away.  “Don’t hurt her.”

“As wretched a pilot she is, she’s still worth her weight in gold.  You, on the other hand…”   She reached out and touched the front of his spacer’s coat.  “You’re a fighter pilot.  You’re worth a hundred of her caliber.  So don’t think I won’t kill her in an instant if I see you continuing Athenais’s self-righteous little war.  Understood?”

Tommy nodded.  Inwardly, he was thinking that war always involved casualties.  So much the better if one of them happened to be a brain-dwelling parasite.

“You sure you want to do this?” Dallas whispered, eying the young woman apprehensively.  “You sure you don’t want a bigger body?  She’s…petite.”

You’re petite,
Stuart said. 
And I get along in you just fine.

“But…”  Dallas swallowed.  “Don’t you want a guy?”

No acceptable males have shown themselves today.  Now, unless you have a better idea, I need to make the transfer.  Pretty soon, she’s gonna finish delivering those crates and be on her way.

“She looks kind of sickly,” Dallas muttered.  “Maybe you should wait.”

You’re due to ship out tomorrow.  It’ll take you three days to deliver that cargo.  More if this piece of junk breaks down on the way.  If we’re going to do this, we need to do it now.

“But…”  Dallas took a deep breath, suddenly dreading being alone.  She couldn’t finish her sentence.

Don’t worry.  I’ll be back.

He’d be back?  Dallas straightened, finding some comfort in that.  “Fine.  Let’s do it.”  She stalked over to the tattoed Stranger and punched her in the face.

The woman fell sideways, knocking some crates from the cart she was unloading.  She was holding her nose, staring up at Dallas in horror when Dallas climbed on top of her and grabbed her by the hair.

“Stuart is very important to me,” she said, her nose inches from the woman’s face.  “You take good care of him or I’ll
end
you, okay?”

Wide-eyed, the woman nodded.

Wow, that was subtle.

I am beyond caring about subtle.
 
Now get out.

She probably thinks you’re a raving psychotic.

That’s what I’m going to be if anything goes wrong.

You know, I could have handled this better.

I’d rather you saved your shock for in case you get in a pickle. 
She slapped her hand over the woman’s mouth, still gripping her hair. 
Now let’s get this over with before I change my mind.
  She pressed her ear to the other woman’s ear and stiffened.

She felt Stuart retreat from her brain with a twinge of regret.  His warm, wet body slipped through her ear canal almost delicately and then he was gone.

Beneath her, the woman’s eyes widened and she began to convulse.

“Hold still!” Dallas snapped, pressing her hand harder over the woman’s mouth as she tried to scream.  The woman hit her in the chest and tried to pull her arm away, to claw at her ear, but Dallas managed to stay on top.  The girl started kicking out, convulsing, screaming at Dallas’s hand, and Dallas had to fight the urge to hit her in the head a few times to quiet her.

Then the Stranger went limp.

Dallas released the woman’s mouth and backed away.  “Stuart?”

The woman sat up and cocked her head to the side, allowing a thin trickle of blood to escape.  Then she smiled weakly at Dallas.

“Keep something over your ear until the wound heals.  My body secretes powerful antibiotic and healing agents, but the tissues are very delicate nonetheless.  You should keep all foreign bodies from entering your ear canal.”

“You sound like you’re drunk.  But I’ll try.”

Stuart stood up and brushed himself off.  “Then I’ll see you back here in three days.”

“Okay.”  Dallas turned.

“Dallas?”

She turned back quickly, hope blazing in her chest.

“Thanks, Dallas.”  It sounded…final. 

She deflated, her hope draining into a sick feeling in her gut.  “You’re welcome,” she managed.  Was he saying goodbye?  Was she ever going to see him again?  A nagging part of her was telling her he had put too much emphasis in it, that he was saying his farewells.  After all, he could go anywhere.  Why should he have to hang around on this utterly insane planet?  He didn’t
need
her.

She watched him smile at her and turn toward the cart.

The aching loneliness was tearing at her core already, almost too much to bear.  She didn’t know how she withstood it before Stuart.  He’d been such a…friend.  She felt her eyes begin to tear up and she turned away.  Behind her, she heard Stuart’s footsteps return to the cart and the engine start.  She almost called to him right then, almost begged him not to leave her behind.  She gripped the crate in front of her to keep from following him, fingernails digging into the wood.  She heard the engine rumble, heard the tinny sound of the wheels backing down the ramp.  Moments later, he was gone.

Through tears, Dallas trudged back to the ship and began numbly packing more crates for transport. 

To Claim Retribution

Athenais found herself shoved into an enclosure filled with aliens, the door slammed shut behind her.

“Uh, hello,” she said, staring out at the strange faces.  “I hear you’re all shifters.”

“Athenais?”  A squid-looking alien shifted into a familiar, nine-fingered man.  “Is that you?”

“Hello, Paul,” she said, glancing at the others.  “Where’s Morgan?”

Paul glanced up at the wall above them and Athenais followed his gaze.  Sheltered from above by a lip of stone, a body swung.

“Oh,” she said.